Tag Archives: Brian Azzarello

Jonny Double (2002)

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Quote:
“You kids’re talkin’ about robbing a bank!”

“No, we’re talkin’ about goin’ to get a dead guy’s money.”

 

This book collects the four issue mini-series that was the first collaboration between writer Brian Azzarello and artist Eduardo Risso. This was the start of a successful partnership that has since produced 100 Bullets, the current Spaceman and some Batman stories.

Jonny Double is an ex-cop turned private investigator whose latest client has just turned up dead. The down on his luck Jonny is then hired by a mysterious Mr. Hart to find out what crowd his daughter, Faith, is running with and to keep her out of trouble. Everything seems fine until he is persuaded to impersonate the son of Al Brown (AKA Al Capone) to close out his daddy’s inactive bank account. However, the account is not as inactive as the Faith’s crew think and instead of scoring $300,000 they lift $7 million. Jonny’s world goes downhill fast as the kids start turning up dead and Jonny has to protect Faith from a legendary hit man.

This is an excellent book from Azzarello and Risso. A modern day noir crime caper with all the elements one might expect including a dumb PI falling for deadly femme fatale. Some of the parts of the story might be a bit too clichéd but the quality of the writing and art is such that you drawn along into the twisted narrative completely. There are enough red herrings to keep you guessing throughout the story and the ending neatly wraps up all the threads from Jonny’s past and present. The only thing that slightly jarred for me was Jonny’s speech patterns which were infused with 60s beatnik/hipster figures of speech. But otherwise this fabulous book should appeal to fans of 100 Bullets if they haven’t read it already.

Vertigo Resurrected (December 2010)

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Quote:
You’re all looking for something to blame when you should be looking out the window.

 

This comic is an collection of short stories from various Vertigo titles including Strange Adventures, Weird War Tales and Flinch. However, the reason I picked it up is that it features a previously unpublished Hellblazer story from the Warren Ellis run on the character.

The story, Shoot was written round about the time of the Columbine High School tragedy and was felt, probably rightly that it was too sensitive a story to print at that time. However, it is an excellent story featuring Constantine at the fringes of a series of pupil-pupil shootings across America. The story has John railing against the congressional advisor as the demons the children face are ones created by society rather than the Hellish forces that he is comfortable with.

This is story is the kind of horror that really scares me. Never mind scientists shooting corpses for some perverse pleasure or people sodomising the decayed carcasses of dogs (both of which were featured in the last comic I read), what scares me is the horror that could be all too real. So while I love the supernatural horror genre the ones that truly get to me are films like slasher movies where there is no supernatural element only the cruelty of fellow humans. [EDIT: I found a blog entry from Warren Ellis on the release of this story today (23/4/12). He certainly succeeded in his intention with me.]

The other stories feature a heavyweight roster of writers and artists from Vertigo past and present. They include Brian Bolland, Brian Azzarello, Grant Morrison, Frank Quitely, Garth Ennis, Peter Milligan, Eduardo Risso and Bill Willingham. These stories are of variable interest as they are playing second fiddle to the Constantine one but are mostly entertaining. One of the best features art by Bernie Wrightson in a classic horror tale. It has been a while since I have read any stories featuring Wrightson art and has made me move Roots of the Swamp Thing up in my to-read pile. Bill Willingham’s story, which he wrote and drew, is a good one featuring a nice flip on the trope of the enraged villagers of classic horror movies.

Startling Stories: Banner (2001)

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Quote:
“Your brain for God’s sake! It’s what makes you who you are.”

“It’s what makes me something I don’t want to be.”

 

This book collects the four issue mini-series of the same name by writer Brian Azzarello and artist Richard Corben. I know Azzarello’s work from various Vertigo series such as the great 100 Bullets, the not quite so great western series Loveless and a run on Hellblazer that I did not like terribly much. Corben also illustrated an Hellblazer story line during Azzarello’s run but I am more used to seeing his work in Heavy Metal magazine though he does have a serialised story running in the latest incarnation of Dark Horse Presents.

Doctor Samson is trying to capture Bruce Banner as the Hulk goes on an uncontrolled rampage devastating several small towns. Meanwhile, Banner is struggling to come to terms with his actions as the Hulk, both in the past and the present, as he tries to help in the aftermath of his most recent episode. And all the while General Ross is waiting for Samson to complete his mission so that he can take drastic steps to control the menace.

This is one of a number of tales labelled as Startling Stories. I am not sure of where they lie in Marvel’s continuity with at least one source claiming that they are set on an alternative Earth. In any case, this is a dark little tale from Azzarello with Banner attempting suicide after one particularly devastating episode that completely destroyed part of a town. Azzarello explores Banner’s feelings of guilt and remorse to a level that I have not read before – though I am not the greatest Hulk fan so am ready to be corrected on that. The art from Corben is as good as usual and I like his portrayal of the Hulk. I normally see his work in a fantasy or horror context and I think that this story is enhanced due to his background in those genres, especially in the scenes that feature a reflective Bruce Banner.