Kingsman: The Secret Service Due on DVD June 9

The surprise comic-book movie hit Kingsman: The Secret Service will be available on Blu-ray and DVD June 9 and for digital purchase May 15.

The film stars Colin Firth as a super-smooth secret agent who wants to train streetwise kid Taron Egerton into the Kingsman agency. The two, with the help of Michael Caine and Mark Strong, wind up trying to keep Samuel L. Jackson from taking over the world.

The Blu-ray has a 90-minute look behind the scenes of the film with “Kingsman: The Secret Service Revealed”, made up of these chapters:

• Panel to Screen: The Education of a 21st Century Super-Spy
• Heroes and Rogues
• Style All His Own
• Tools of the Trade
• Breathtakingly Brutal
• Culture Clash: The Comic Book Origins of the Secret Service

There’s also a gallery of production images, including sets and props, and an audio commentary.

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Doctor Who: The Eleventh Doctor #11

I haven’t been talking much about the Doctor Who: The Eleventh Doctor series. I liked companion Alice, but she quickly got lost in adding a couple more creatures traveling with them and a rather pedestrian storyline about the dangers of consumerism.

However, I had to make note of issue #11 (written by Al Ewing and drawn by Boo Cook) because of companion Jones. He’s a Brit musician they picked up in the 60s. We’re told he’s destined to be a “cosmic rock god”, he has multi-colored eyes, and so far he’s appeared in space-themed face paint and as a slick blond in a suit. He’s David Bowie, in other words, as is made ridiculously clear in this issue. (Bowie was born with the last name Jones, but he couldn’t use it because Davy Jones was already famous in the Monkees.)

The plot here is driven by the fourth member of the gang, a shape-changing alien called ARC. The Doctor hooks it into the TARDIS to try and find the bad-guy plot device, which causes a fragmentation of the team into different timelines. I was tickled that this was represented by using the four colors of traditional printing: Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black.

Anyway, in Jones’ segment, he views a future version of himself, as seen here:

The references are cheesy, but as a huge fan of Labyrinth, I loved seeing the Goblin King look, complete with the crystal globes and the way he promises a dream life. He goes on to say, “It’s only forever. Not long at all.” (That’s a lyric from the Bowie soundtrack song “Underground” from the movie.) Playing to shared references is a cheap way to get readers involved in your comic, but since we’re talking about a licensed property in the first place, it shouldn’t surprise me how effectively it works.

I also liked the way, as the timelines slowly were stitched back together, the panel backgrounds changed to the matching colors. The characters from Yellow and Cyan met first, so their panels went green, for example. It’s a nice nod to the essential qualities of the comic format. Also nice is how the companions save the day through their own smarts and determination, reinforcing their own virtues beyond friendship. (The publisher provided a digital review copy.)

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No Mercy #2

It’s the abandoned kids’ first night after the bus crash, and things are getting much worse for them quickly.

Various members of the group are handling the trauma in different fashions. Some are ignoring the depth of their risk, trying to find something to sing around the campfire. Others are attempting to care for their injured comrades, without the necessary knowledge or supplies, and becoming overwhelmed by the effort. The worst are panicking, which does no one any good but does remind the reader of how dangerous the situation really is.

And at night, particularly with bodies around, the coyotes will come. This is a flat-out “animals attack” horror scenario from Alex de Campi and Carla Speed McNeil, and the deep-shadow coloring by Jenn Manley Lee, with the only light a flickering fire, makes it all spookier, as the reader isn’t quite sure what she’s seeing.

The kids’ privilege is firmly on display, as no one listens to their guide, the only woman who’s aware of the serious danger they’re in. Well, there’s one exception, as we learn something important about the quiet kid.

de Campi and Speed McNeil seem to be using this premise to run through a variety of horror tropes, which makes the whole thing more interesting to those of us non-sadists who don’t normally read the genre. Last issue, it was an accident; this issue, monsters in the dark. I’m eager to see the next catastrophe. (The publisher provided an advance digital review copy.)

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Angel & Faith Season 10 #14

There are many benefits to continuing a beloved property in comic format:

• Storyline size. No budgets means bigger scope.
• Characters. Expand your cast regardless of whether actors are available, in shape, or as youthful as they used to be.
• Existence in perpetuity. Which can be a mixed bag, as there’s a drive to keep series going whether the writer has good idea for it or not. Sometimes an ending is a blessing.

Which brings me to Angel & Faith Season 10 #14. I should know better than to read anything written by Victor Gischler, since I haven’t liked his comics for years. Everyone sounds the same and the plotting is most generic, common-denominator possible.

Cover by Michelle Madsen

I checked out this issue because it promised to conclude a storyline about the return of Illyria and her host, Fred Burkle. I liked her character (and portrayal by Amy Acker), even if she was a prime example of Joss Whedon’s tendency to insert pathos and grief wherever possible. However, I wasn’t pleased to see that the return of these women and the showdown between them was boiled down to a slugfest. I don’t believe that’s good writing or authentic to the characters. There’s no creativity or cleverness in it.

All the characters, as Gischler apparently sees them, resort to punching first, last, and always. It’s visual, it’s true, but it’s boring to read and doesn’t feel right or authentic. Will Conrad does a decent job drawing this bilge, although the likenesses can be a bit static. And the two women punching each other in a background-less white area, although evocative of one of the show’s conventions, reads as a shortcut.

All the events in this comic read like they were generated by a scriptwriting computer: Vow of loyalty to friend. Shot of cast lined up facing camera to demonstrate teamwork. Expression of vengeance. Determination in the face of overwhelming odds. Statement of virtue of humanity over higher beings. Temporary victory not allowed to stand without hints of ramifications to drive next storyline. In short, it’s crap. (The publisher provided an advance digital review copy.)

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What If Marvel Made a Black Widow Romantic Comedy?

Scarlett Johansson guest-starred on Saturday Night Live last night, so the show created a fake trailer for the Black Widow movie fans are asking for. Only, in a case of “be careful what you wish for” and an example of how women are often treated in Hollywood, it’s a romantic comedy with every possible cliche.

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Nimona

Noelle Stevenson’s Nimona debuted as a webcomic before being reworked into a graphic novel. I find that it reads better — or maybe I’m better able to keep up with it — as a collection. Pages have been revised and a new epilogue added for this edition.

Although it’s set among knights and battles, it’s a very modern-feeling story, because Nimona is a very young and current character. She’s a shape-changing teenager with all the attitude and lack of respect for authority that goes along with that. Stevenson’s art does a terrific job of capturing those feelings visually, without needing to spell out for us everyone’s motivations textually.

We meet her as she meets one-armed supervillain Lord Ballister Blackheart. She’s a fangirl, and in spite of her abilities, Blackheart is a bit suspicious of her youth, enthusiasm, and drive. He’s also got a grudge against Sir Ambrosius Goldenloin. The two were young heroes together before their battle led to his loss of limb.

Nimona’s fascinating because Stevenson doesn’t make her stereotypically feminine. She doesn’t feel the need to prominently signify “this is a girl”, which is a refreshing take on these kinds of comic projects. In fact, the first thing we see Nimona turn into is not a cat or something fluffy or cute, but a shark. She’s also fond of being a dragon. (When she does turn into a cat, it’s to jump on someone’s head.)

There’s plenty of adventure and action here, portrayed in a way you’ve likely never seen before. Stevenson also humanizes the traditional bad guy type by giving him significant motivation and personal ethics, while Nimona doesn’t seem to take much of anything seriously. I figured her sympathies are as changeable as her physical state; plus, as we learn more about her background, she’s got good reason to ignore her past.

As the story continues, some items appear that will be familiar to readers, from documents revealing a secret conspiracy by a reputable source of authority to distrust of financial institutions. There’s a pending epidemic and discussions of how to reconcile science and magic. What appeals to me most, though, is the little family Nimona and Blackheart make and the fatherly way he treats her, particularly on board game night. Nimona is a fresh take on the classic knight vs. dragon story with a lot more depth. (The publisher provided an advance digital review copy.)

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Nimona Print Edition Announced

Noelle Stevenson’s charming Nimona, a webcomic about a supervillain with a hyperactive shapeshifting sidekick, will be coming to print from HarperCollins. The book will be positioned as a graphic novel for young adults, and it’s due in Winter 2015. Stevenson is a senior at the Maryland Institute College of Art and blogs at gingerhaze.tumblr.com.

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Beaton Has Two New Books This Year

Kate Beaton, acclaimed cartoonist who portrays history and literature with welcome sarcasm and lack of pretension, has two new books coming this fall.

Step Aside, Pops from Drawn & Quarterly is a followup to Hark! A Vagrant, with similar strips and topics. It’s due in September. You can get a sampling in the Drawn & Quarterly Free Comic Book Day 2015 book, with a neat range of subjects.

The Princess and the Pony is more of a departure. Beaton puts her fat pony character into a storybook aimed at 4- to 8-year-olds. The tale seems to be about learning to value friendship over appearance, and it’s due at the end of June from Arthur A. Levine Books.

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