Sam and Twitch, Book 1: Udaku

Rating:
Summary: A fine mystery comic and an excellent read all-around!
Review: 'Sam and Twitch: Udaku' is a graphic novel in the best hardboiled detective/police procedural/buddy flick tradition. It features a pair of supporting characters from the 'Spawn' comic book series, but there's nary a superhero or super-demon in sight--save for a brief but humourous appearance by Spawn himself. Instead, we have Sam and Twitch returning to the police force... and immediately becoming embroiled in their strangest case yet, while having to fend off crooked cops and I.A. officers with unknowable motivations.

Bendis has woven an excellent story with this work, and Angel Medina's art has come a long way since I first saw him working with Barry Blair on the Nightwynd line of comics. I still see some Blair-like influences here and there in Medina's work (not a Bad Thing... I was quite fond of Blair Aircel material years ago), but Medina is coming along nicely as an artist with his own style.

I've never been much of a Spawn fan, but this is an excellent graphic novel, and I'll be looking for future volumes. Sam and Twitch are a pair of nice additions to the crime genre. I would, in fact, have given the book Five Stars if not for some poor production value... sometimes, the dialogue (which is presented without the traditional comic book bubbles) get lost against the toned art, and at other times it is lost in the gutter of the binding. It's a distraction that pulls one out of the otherwise engaging read.

Rating:
Summary: Great story & art marred by sub-par format
Review: Ever since my first viewing of the Spawn HBO animated series, the seemingly mismatched NYPD partners Sam Burke and Max 'Twitch' Williams have topped my list of favorite comic book characters. Naturally, when TMP/ Image released a 'Sam And Twitch' ongoing comic book, I snapped up the first issue in a heartbeat, and enjoyed just about every panel of action and words. Brian Michael Bendis's writing and the eerily McFarlane-esque renderings of Angel Medina and Jonathan Glapion really gave the series' first story arc, "Udaku", the look & feel of a hard-boiled detective story with conspiracy intrigue reminiscent of the "X-Files" and a bit of "NYPD Blue"- style attitude. The pacing is unbelievably swift at times; although the TPB runs for about 180 pages, I find it to go by quickly. The dialogue that is depicted- the little halts and bits of stuttering here and there, the emphasis, inflection- is remarkable when "seen" by the minds' eye (heard by the minds' ear?). The captions aren't couched in word balloons, so you're able to see more of the art behind the words.

As this caper unfolds, the in-jokes and gags written and illustrated into this story become apparent. One scene in a pawn shop features a certain home-run ball "formerly" owned by a certain comic-book mogul. One of the chapters starts out at a Kiss (who have a monthly Image book ) concert. In one scene, our heroes begin looking through mafia case files featuring the names of the books' three collaborators- Bendis, Medina, and Glapion- on the subject tabs. Their names pop up again on a few newspaper headlines at a Grand Central Station newsstand during one of the books' climactic moments. Also on display at the stand are issues of the Kiss comic and 'Jinx', one of Bendis's earliest comic book gigs. There's even a brief appearance by Spawn, in a scene that takes a jab at the gimmick of using guest-star super heroes in other super hero books. It's also a message to the reader that the S & T comic series is not another Spawn franchise book. This is the less-than-dynamic duos' show all the way, and don't you forget it!

But now you're probably wondering why I gave the TPB three stars when I enjoyed the story, art, and the silly sideline moments so much. The problem I have with this collection is in the presentation. The powers that be at Image/TMP (Todd McFarlane, 'natch) decided to give this collection more of a Sam Spade 'crime noir' movie look by reprinting it in greyscale black and white instead of its original full-color format. The many subtle shades and contrasts that were apparent in the single issues are now obscured in the black and white conversion, and a few of the more vital visual elements are harder to see or can't be perceived at all. And since McFarlane has stated that he stands by his decision to present the collected Udaku chapters in this manner despite fanboy complaints, it's doubtful a color Udaku TPB will ever be released.

Another problem: the binding is set a bit too deeply. I take a look at one of the many two-page splashes or other similar actions that take space right in the middle of the book, and a little bit of the art and captions are hidden in the deep binding. It's like an Al Jaffee MAD magazine fold-in gone horribly wrong.

And my last gripe, albeit a weird one, is a very small change of dialogue. One of Sam's lines in the original book has been 'corrected' in the TPB. In the third issue, he says in one panel, "I had to take a squirt. Shot of Barbara". The "Shot of Barbara" line was actually a description of the panel from a rough draft of the issue's script that somehow got added into the character dialogue by accident. But even though it was a mistake, I felt that the line fit perfectly, and gave the scene the right tone. It was one of those one-in-a-billion moments where the error worked better, and should've been left alone instead of being corrected. Heavy sigh...

If you're looking to check out this amazing crime drama in full color without the art being obscured or dialogue changes, I recommend you grab up the original issues 1 through 8 instead of the TPB. And you better get 'em quick! Thanks to his writing efforts on "Ultimate Spider-Man", "Powers", and other titles, Bendis is on the fast track to comic book stardom, and just about any earlier works of his are sure to be in high demand. And you fanboys out there know what happens to the value of suddenly-in-high-demand funnybooks...

'Late

Rating:
Summary: Great story & art marred by sub-par format
Review: Ever since my first viewing of the Spawn HBO animated series, the seemingly mismatched NYPD partners Sam Burke and Max `Twitch' Williams have topped my list of favorite comic book characters. Naturally, when TMP/ Image released a `Sam And Twitch' ongoing comic book, I snapped up the first issue in a heartbeat, and enjoyed just about every panel of action and words. Brian Michael Bendis's writing and the eerily McFarlane-esque renderings of Angel Medina and Jonathan Glapion really gave the series' first story arc, "Udaku", the look & feel of a hard-boiled detective story with conspiracy intrigue reminiscent of the "X-Files" and a bit of "NYPD Blue"- style attitude. The pacing is unbelievably swift at times; although the TPB runs for about 180 pages, I find it to go by quickly. The dialogue that is depicted- the little halts and bits of stuttering here and there, the emphasis, inflection- is remarkable when "seen" by the minds' eye (heard by the minds' ear?). The captions aren't couched in word balloons, so you're able to see more of the art behind the words.

As this caper unfolds, the in-jokes and gags written and illustrated into this story become apparent. One scene in a pawn shop features a certain home-run ball "formerly" owned by a certain comic-book mogul. One of the chapters starts out at a Kiss (who have a monthly Image book ) concert. In one scene, our heroes begin looking through mafia case files featuring the names of the books' three collaborators- Bendis, Medina, and Glapion- on the subject tabs. Their names pop up again on a few newspaper headlines at a Grand Central Station newsstand during one of the books' climactic moments. Also on display at the stand are issues of the Kiss comic and `Jinx', one of Bendis's earliest comic book gigs. There's even a brief appearance by Spawn, in a scene that takes a jab at the gimmick of using guest-star super heroes in other super hero books. It's also a message to the reader that the S & T comic series is not another Spawn franchise book. This is the less-than-dynamic duos' show all the way, and don't you forget it!

But now you're probably wondering why I gave the TPB three stars when I enjoyed the story, art, and the silly sideline moments so much. The problem I have with this collection is in the presentation. The powers that be at Image/TMP (Todd McFarlane, `natch) decided to give this collection more of a Sam Spade `crime noir' movie look by reprinting it in greyscale black and white instead of its original full-color format. The many subtle shades and contrasts that were apparent in the single issues are now obscured in the black and white conversion, and a few of the more vital visual elements are harder to see or can't be perceived at all. And since McFarlane has stated that he stands by his decision to present the collected Udaku chapters in this manner despite fanboy complaints, it's doubtful a color Udaku TPB will ever be released.

Another problem: the binding is set a bit too deeply. I take a look at one of the many two-page splashes or other similar actions that take space right in the middle of the book, and a little bit of the art and captions are hidden in the deep binding. It's like an Al Jaffee MAD magazine fold-in gone horribly wrong.

And my last gripe, albeit a weird one, is a very small change of dialogue. One of Sam's lines in the original book has been `corrected' in the TPB. In the third issue, he says in one panel, "I had to take a squirt. Shot of Barbara". The "Shot of Barbara" line was actually a description of the panel from a rough draft of the issue's script that somehow got added into the character dialogue by accident. But even though it was a mistake, I felt that the line fit perfectly, and gave the scene the right tone. It was one of those one-in-a-billion moments where the error worked better, and should've been left alone instead of being corrected. Heavy sigh...

If you're looking to check out this amazing crime drama in full color without the art being obscured or dialogue changes, I recommend you grab up the original issues 1 through 8 instead of the TPB. And you better get `em quick! Thanks to his writing efforts on "Ultimate Spider-Man", "Powers", and other titles, Bendis is on the fast track to comic book stardom, and just about any earlier works of his are sure to be in high demand. And you fanboys out there know what happens to the value of suddenly-in-high-demand funnybooks...

`Late

Rating:
Summary: Strong Ending Saves The Day
Review: I HATE SPAWN. Absolutely hate him. I've read a few Spawn-related books, and haven't liked one of them. I picked up Sam and Twitch: Udaku because of writer Brian Michael Bendis alone. I'm a big fan of his work on books like Powers and Ultimate Spider-Man. So.....

For the first half of the book it seemed like the "Curse" would hold true for Udaku. It just didn't hold my interest. I fixated on the numerous production problems, like- A)- Art being lost in the binding. This was especially troubling in the double-page spreads. In addition, the art itself doesn't flow smoothly; Page after page is crammed with 16-panel grids, and when you put pages like that side by side, the eye doesn't know which way to read- side to side across both pages, or one page at at a time. It got irritating after a while. I mostly blame that on problem B)- The black-and-white format. McFarlane says in his foreword it's to preserve the "Film-Noir" feel, but I think it's just cheapness on his part. For a Black-and-white book, Udaku is WAAY too pricey, and as with other books that were meant to be presented in color, the art in the book, not being drawn specifically FOR the black-and-white medium, is hard to follow at points; It's too cluttered and busy. Too many fine lines all blending together. And finally, C)- Word baloons didn't become prevalent for nothing. The dialogue floating around in the panels, with a squiggly line pointing to the character who is speaking doesn't work in a panel with five or six characters. I often had NO idea who was saying what to whom. Bad idea.

The story picks up in the fifth chapter, as we find out just who or what Udaku IS, leading up to what may be the most cinematic finale I've ever seen in a comic. I thought the revelation of the killer proved to be a little too Sci-Fi for my tastes, and I still don't really understand the signifigance of the body parts at the crime scenes. Bendis might have been better served by leaving the more far-fetched aspects of the tale on the cutting-room floor, but overall, Udaku had SLIGHTLY more pro than con going for it.

Rating:
Summary: Perfect crime noir story.
Review: I picked up an issue of Sam and Twitch at random. Totally at random. My name's Sam, so I said, hey, I'll buy it. It was really interesting, so when I saw the TPB for sale and happened to have the correct amount of money in my pocket, I picked it up. And the book amazed me.

The characters are interesting, and are far from the standard "two badass, muscular cops laying the smackdown...on crime." Sam is a fat, disgusting bear. Twitch is a little twig, with a kind of mad scientist/stick figure look. But the two really complement each other well. Their dialogue and interaction was well done, and surpisingly real at points. Great writing throughout.

The art was great and the panels were laid out in a manner that was slightly offsetting at first, but laid out an logical path for the eye to follow.

Although some have complained about the series being printed in black and white, I honestly enjoyed it more than the color form. It really made it feel much more like the grittier crime noir movies and old-school comic books that inspired this book.

So, it's a great book, but nonetheless there are problems. The first is that there seems to be no margin on the sides of the paper, and thus the binding takes out some of the middle of pages. This is only really a problem with the full page spreads, but is really upsetting since it can totally ruin the flow. The fourth page features an awesome spread of Sam and Twitch, with Spawn in the background...and Twitch's face is totally distorted by being set in too deep. The second and last is that it seemed to me two often that panels in a succession zoomed in on a character's eyes up to the pupil.

These complaints don't take away from the book, though. Get it, and you'll almost certainly enjoy it.

Rating:
Summary: Mcfarlane Alternitive- Great
Review: This is another production from Todd Mcfarlane, maker of the famous Spawn. The concept is based on a intrigueing down-to-earth, no super hero setting. The story is a standard cop plot, nothing new, however the characters are very interesting and distinctive for their own unique qualities. The art of this graphic novel is superb, even for black and white. The style of spawn is easily reconizable while new aspects bloom from the cold and dark New York setting. The comic scenes are well drawn and set up so action and movie cinema can play fluidly in your mind. Action scenes will make you want to play with action figures like when you were five years old. The pictures are very discreptive/detailed, with a heavy dose of expresion in every street and police officer. The story is geared to action while comedy spurts in every once in a while. The main characters are a duo of misfit cops which enrich the story considerably, with their unpredictable behavior and action. Conclusively, I'd give two thumbs up for the visuals (you actually might need a third thumb for this level of work). And the story... eh, not much. Characters were good too. I would definitly encourage all comic enthusiasts to buy this masterpiece (ya get the bang for your buck). I'd also recomend this comic to anybody who has even heard of the name "spawn".

Rating:
Summary: Awesome, Awesome, and more awesome!
Review: This was an awesome graphic novel! It take two already awesome characters, gives them their own title and makes them even better! If you liked the characters Sam and Twitch in the Spawn comics and the Spawn animated series, you'll love them in their own title. if i could give this book more thanfive stars I would. It was well worth the money and the time. buy it! now!