Showcase: Scarecrow and Two-Face, Girls: Conception, and Fallen Angel Vol. 5

[Stephanie]

Welcome to another graphic novel Showcase! June is here, and with June comes summer. We’ve got another fun batch of comics that will kick off your summer in a good way: BATMAN: SCARECROW AND TWO-FACE YEAR ONE, the Luna Brothers’ Girls Volume 1: Conception, and Peter David’s Fallen Angel: Red Horse Riding.

Batman: Scarecrow and Two-Face Year One

Bruce Jones and Mark Sable deliver a double-punch of origin stories in BATMAN: SCARECROW AND TWO-FACE YEAR ONE.

Jones’ side of the book takes us into the mind and dark past of the famous villain, the Scarecrow (aka Jonathan Crane). Fans of the World’s Greatest Detective—emphasis on the detective—will be happy to know that the tale weaves a twisted psychology in with the good ol’ detective work of Batman and Robin. Filled with entertaining (not stale) indirect bird puns and just a “little pinch” of humor, you’ll feel and see the beating heart of terror thanks to Sean Murphy’s wonderfully illustrated panels.

The second half of the trade executes a different approach. Mark Sable’s TWO-FACE doesn’t begin from bare essentials; instead, it molds and continues the famous detective story, THE LONG HALLOWEEN. Along with fresh flashbacks and a more focused spotlight on the Harvey Dent aspect, Sable’s insights offer a new look at both LONG HALLOWEEN and the ex-District Attorney’s origins. Sable might not earn points for originality, but he and artist Jesus Saiz put a new, impressive spin on the classic Jeph Loeb/Tim Sale work. With solid art and character-centric pages, SCARECROW AND TWO-FACE will easily fit into your Batman collection.

Girls Volume 1: Conception

Joshua and Jonathan Luna team up and repeatedly produce visually appealing, exciting cliffhanger stories. Their comic, Girls, fits the description perfectly. Parents are warned: nudity and swearing occur plenty in this comic, but if you don’t mind an off-the-wall read, you’ll probably fall in love.

Girls follows Ethan Daniels, a desperate bachelor from the middle-of-nowhere Pennystown—a peaceful residence until an unexplainable “boom” dramatically tops off Ethan’s drunken bar rampage against the women of the town. As he drives home in sheer frustration at being toyed with by women, he nearly runs over a naked and injured woman smack in the middle of the road. He takes her home, and although she says little to explain what happened to her, she makes it clear that she’s deeply attracted to Ethan. One night of succumbing to temptation leads to much bigger problems the next day, when the mysterious girl’s mention of, “She killed Ma!” inspires the suspicion of murder and unexplainable clones hatching from giant eggs. The naked women begin attacking the female inhabitants of Pennystown with violent rigor—but gigantic eggs and stampeding nudes are only the start of the strange phenomena that plagues the town.

The premise might be outlandish, but the Luna Brothers know how to write good comics. If you can keep an open mind, you’ll find that Girls provides a wealth of humor and a fascinating interpretation of gender and everything that goes along with it.

Fallen Angel Volume 5: Red Horse Riding

IDW’s Fallen Angel, written by Peter David and largely illustrated by J.K. Woodward, hits a high note with the fifth volume of the series. One thing’s for sure: the fate of Bete Noire and those who walk through its streets will never be the same again.

Fallen Angel’s son and city magistrate, Jude, becomes the target for the Hierarchy and Gilles De Rais—rumored to be in service as one of the Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Both want Jude dead, and even Jude’s half-brother, Jubal, looks forward to seeing Jude overthrown so that he may take his place as the powerful magistrate. No one in Bete Noire remains safe from the battle that rages and the war that’s just beginning—and Peter David fulfills that promise and beyond. If you haven’t been reading Fallen Angel, you’re missing out on a gripping book. Don’t want to catch up with four volumes? No problem. The beginning of “Red Horse Riding” makes it easy to jump into the heat of the action.

You can find all of these trades over at the Impulse Creations shop. Know a book that deserves a place in the Showcase spotlight? Send an email to wita.gen@gmail.com with the subject line, “Showcase Suggestions.”