To Be the Man You've Got to Beat the Man

Joe Keatinge & Nick Barber “Ringside Volume 1” (Image, 2016)

Ringside is hyped as a series set inside the world of professional wrestling.  As far as this first collection is concerned, it’s less set inside than it tells the story of a former wrestler.  It’s really a crime story, with a few guys who used to wrestle in the story.

And their former wrestling days have nothing to do with the story, other than to provide some color.

As a crime story, it just doesn’t really work for me.  Perhaps it’s too decompressed? It certainly feels like not much actually happens in this book.  We spend a lot of time in flashbacks, but there’s no real payoff to the flashbacks, either in plot or in emotional beats.

Nick Barber’s style is somewhat unusual for this type of story.  Normally I see artists with a more realistic style, but Barber goes for a rougher, almost impressionistic sketchy style.  I wasn’t sold 100%, and I can see a lot of people being put off by this style.

On the whole I was disappointed with Ringside.  Not only did it not give me the story that I wanted, but I found quite a bit lacking in the story they chose to tell.

I Remember When You Were Charming

Warren Ellis & Jason Masters “James Bond Vol 1: VARGR” (Dynamite, 2016)

The Bond franchise is really weird.  I’ve read the books by Fleming.  I’ve seen most of the movies. I’ve never been a big fan, but it’s always been there for most of my life. 

So I wanted to read this eARC to see what a talented comics team would do with the property.

Those of you expecting some crazy deconstruction will be thoroughly disappointed.  Just go read Casanova.  This is more about Ellis going right for the core of the series.

We have Bond being called to work on a case after another agent has been killed.  There’s a villain who absolutely fits the mold of “Bond villain”, complete with lair, crazy plan, and vicious henchmen. Yes, one of the henchmen is a beautiful (but deadly woman).

Ellis deals with some of the problematic issues head on.  Staff members are now people of color.  Some of Bond’s more precious quirks are lamp shaded (get a real gun, Mr. Bond).

This works so well because Ellis doesn’t try to reinvent the wheel.  He tells a damn good Bond story, one that you could visualize as a movie.

Masters’ art is well chosen for this pairing.  It’s not flashy, but gets the job done.  Characters are clear and distinct.  Action sequences are clean and easy to follow.  It all works in the service of the narrative.

I know that Ellis doesn’t have a great track record of longer runs in recent years, but I would definitely like to read more of his take on Bond.