Reviews of The Wake, Attack on Titan and Corto Maltese.

Due to recent changes in reading and spending habits, I pick up a majority of my weekly comics reading from the Columbus Metropolitan Library. The Columbus Metropolitan Library has a surprisingly extensive collection of comics, and has been an invaluable resource for keeping up on the comics world while trying to keep my costs intact.

As part of my 2015 New Year's Resolutions, I'm trying to write more columns and features to the Outhouse to make up for my decreased presence on the news side of the site (sorry, Jude.) What better way to start that than by writing about the comics I read on a weekly basis while promoting a fantastic local resource? This column will be part review/part rambling/part documentation of what I've read this year. I'll also include my "request/to read" lists, so you can follow along at home if you'd like.

Attack on Titan Vol. 1 & 2 by Hajime Isayama, translated by Sheldon Drzka (published by Kodansha Comics in 2012)

Chances are, you've heard about Attack on Titan due to the popularity of the anime, which debuted here in the US last year. Attack on Titan is an immensely popular Japanese manga series set in a world overrun with Titans, giant humanoid creatures whose seeming sole purpose is to attack and devour humans. The last remnantsof mankind live in a country surrounded by three large walls designed to protect them from the Titans. The main character of the manga, Eren, joins the military with his friends Armin and Mikasa, after their town is overrun by Titans in the opening pages of the book, and quickly come into conflict with the Titans after graduating.

Compared to some of the other manga in my current stack of comics, Isayama's art has a very "unpolished" feel to it. Many of the panels feel more like storyboard sketches than finished art, particularly during action sequences. The sketchy quality adds a level of dynamicity and uniqueness to the comic, it was also off-putting and confusing at times. Several panels were borderline impossible to read, a confusing mess of thickly inked, poorly defined sketches that bled into other panels. While I think this was a deliberate artistic choice, I can't help but wonder whether or not the artist felt rushed to get pages completed on time.

With all the backstory and gratuitous violence, the first two volumes of Attack on Titan felt like a Geoff Johns comic on steroids. Every other page, some parent is getting brutally murdered in front of their children, pushing them towards their eventual career fighting Titans or someone is getting disemboweled and ripped in half in a spectacularly grotesque fashion. However, in between the scenes of people getting eaten by giant naked humans is a pretty compelling story about three friends desperate to keep each other safe and alive in a world of madness. The relationship between Eren, Mikasa kept me invested in the manga and pushed me through some of the weak art and gorey violence.

Two volumes in and I'm still trying to decide whether or not I "like" Attack on Titan. I liked the characters and was intrigued by the early twists of the story. However, the artwork and the violent setting of the manga put me off a bit. I've just ordered the third and fourth volume from the library, and will probably follow up in the column when I've thought about the manga a bit more.

Corto Maltese: The Ballad of the Salt Sea by Hugo Pratt, translated by Hall Powell (published by Universe Publishing in 2012)

In 1967, Italian artist Hugo Pratt introduced the rough sailor Corto Maltese to European audiences in Una ballata del mare salato. Corto Maltese was a prolific adventure comic and redefined the adventure genre over in Europe, while Pratt became known as one of the great comic artists of his age. Despite the popularity of the character in Europe, Maltese remains largely unknown in America due to the lack of a widely produced English translation.

The only Corto Maltese comic available through the Columbus Library was this 2012 translation of Una balata del mare salato produced by Universe Publishing, an imprint of the Italian RCS Media Group. This reproduction was highly criticized for its poor reproductions of Pratt's art and awful choice of lettering fonts. When comparing the original black and white artwork online to the colored reproductions in this volume, it's pretty obvious that some of the quality of Pratt's artwork was lost.

Despite the obvious production flaws, Ballad of the Salt Sea is still an easy to read introduction to the world of Corto Maltese and Hugo Pratt. Pratt weaves a complex story filled with betrayal and mistrust and his artwork is amazing even in low resolution. I loved how much emotion and character Pratt's facial expressions showed, and his backgrounds are absolutely gorgeous. It's easy to see why Corto Maltese was considered to be more "drawn literature" than comic when it was first produced. There's a huge leap from the depth of storytelling present in Corto Maltese than many of its comic peers from the 1960s and 1970s.

Corto Maltese is a hugely likeable character, and it seems a bit foolish explaining how great this comic is when it's so well known over in Europe. IDW announced last year that it would be publishing its own high quality editions of the Corto Maltese books under its new EuroComics imprint, and I believe the first collection was recently released earlier this month. Hopefully, those editions of Corto Maltese are able to better capture the quality of Pratt's artwork. If you don't want to wait, feel free to track down Universe's translation of The Ballad of the Salt Sea.

The Wake by Scott Snyder and Sean Murphy (published by Vertigo/DC in 2014)

A science-fiction story with horror dressings, The Wake was an Eisner winning Vertigo miniseries by popular mainstream creators Scott Snyder and Sean Murphy about the discovery of a terrifying merperson near and underwater rig and the wide reaching consequences of that discovery 200 years later. The Wake impressively mixes small-scale horror, vast post-apocalyptic fantasy and high concept science fiction together, creating a story that's nearly perfect until the exposition heavy ending.

Artistically, The Wake is nearly flawless. Sean Murphy is one of the elite artists in mainstream comics, and The Wake might be his best work yet. It was impressive how Murphy seamlessly shifted his artwork from underwater horror to post-apocalyptic science-fiction, giving each of the comic's two parts a distinct feel. Colorist Matt Hollingsworth perfectly compliments Murphy's detailed and fantastical artwork with pale, almost luminous colors. The scenery in The Wake was absolutely stunning and some of the best I've seen in recent comics. I thought it was interesting how Hollingsworth (per his commentary at the end of the comic) emulated the style of Japanese artist Hiroshi Yoshida, a master of landscape scenes, when working on the coloring for the series. I also liked how Murphy used darker tones during Part One and brighter colors during the second part, again giving each part a distinct feel without making the comic disjointed.

While I largely liked The Wake, I was a bit put off by the ending, which required nearly a full issue of exposition by Snyder to explain. After nine issues of character focused action and the slow unveiling of a fascinating world, Snyder spends most of the final chapter of the series explaining the core concepts driving the comic in great detail. It wasn't my cup of tea, but I do think that folks who really want to understand the science and theories behind the comics they read will appreciate the detail.

The Wake is a very above average miniseries that most fans of mainstream genre comics will enjoy. The artwork is amazing, the story has plenty of intrigue, and there's a badass dolphin that's featured prominently in the second half of the story. Everyone loves a badass dolphin.

In the "To Read" Pile:

Journalism by Joe Sacco

Binky Brown Meets the Holy Virgin Mary by Justin Green

Nobrow 9 by various creators

Can't We Talk about Something More Pleasant by Roz Chast

Ghost in the Shell by Masamune Shirow

Morbius the Living Vampire by Joe Keatinge

Ant Colony by Michael DeForge

Bakuman Vol. 1-3 by Tsugami Oku

Andre the Giant: The Life, The Legend by Box Brown

The Flash Vol. 1-3 by Francis Manapul

Soul Eater Vol. 4-6 by Atsushi Okubo

Thor: God of Thunder Vol. 3 by Jason Aaron

The Stuff of Legend: Book 1 by Mike Raicht

Requested but Not Picked Up Yet

The Woods by James Tynion IV

Usagi Yojimbo Vol. 1 by Stan Sakai

Thank you for reading. If you have any reading suggestions or thoughts as how to improve the column, feel free to comment or send me a message via email or Twitter.