Let’s be honest.  You don’t know me.  I’m the new Guest Contributor, and for all you know I cut my teeth reviewing which Care Bear is the cutest and commenting on the new gay romance in Archie and how that has any impact on the genre known as comics.  So, let’s cover a few things very quickly:

     1. I’m not a professional (or even an amateur writer); this is my stream of consciousness, as twisted as it sometimes is.

     2. I am not a Fanboy.  That is, I don’t always know who wrote what, or who inked who or whatever.  I’m a purist in that I read (and have read for decades) comics ‘cause I like them.  If I fall in love with a particular artist or writer, it’s because what they did rocked my world so much that I actually read the front cover of the comic . . . which almost never happens.

     3. I am not a hipster.  I read mainstream comics that many of my counterparts may consider bourgeois.  Get over it.

So, back to A Tale of the Golem.   It’s pretty good: Crafted as a teaser, interesting characters, and a pretty straightforward (predictable, so far) story.  This isn’t a bad thing, assuming you want a good, traditional story.

#1 – The Art is Pretty Sweet

Granted, I read this on my PC (I hate you too, Mac Users.), so I didn’t get the whole scent of pulp, feel of paper, etc., but Dave Wachter works exceptionally well in black and white.  Where other artists (not to be named) get obsessed with lines, grit, and shading, Wachter manages to make black and white look clean with a simple and straightforward view of the world. (If you’re a gigantic geek like me, think Valkyria Chronicles)  I don’t know enough about artists to say who influenced him or how, but there is a bit of manga to what he does, and it all just “makes sense.”  What does that mean, you ask?  Good question.  It means the text actually corresponds to the art in a meaningful way.  Even with my 3 shots of Fireball Whiskey (amazing stuff – I recommend), I never lost the story, never wondered what happened, or anything like that.

I haven’t seen art like his often (ever?).  Saying it is reminiscent of anime/manga doesn’t do it justice . . . it’s just f—ing good.  Just trust me on this.  Check out the art.  If you don’t buy the comic, the link above is pretty impressive, too.

#2 – S–t is Gonna Go Down

So, the whole story is a WW2 thing in a European country TBD, where Nazi’s are kicking a–.  I’m not giving away too much here, because it’s all covered in the first page or two.  A boy, Dad, war, a European Miyagi (The Karate Kid reference) as Grand-Dad, and an obvious “cliff hanger,” where you know Issue #2 is going to be all about being careful what you wish for, fighting fire with fire, and becoming a monster to defeat a monster (pick your cliché).  Is it new?  No.  Is it enjoyable?  Hell yes.  Our budding Jewish Luke Skywalker is just at the Obi Wan/lightsaber introduction . . . And you’re left wanting to see where he goes from there.  Even though we know what’s going to happen next (at least I suspect), we want to read the next comic. 

Steve Niles is already known – and the story is not anything new (yet? I’d be surprised.) – but he does a great job of making it both compelling and traditional.  Like The Princess Bride, you still watch it (Don’t lie.) even though you know the story.  This is like that.

#3 – You Want to Be a Cool Kid

I got incredibly lucky with choosing to review this comic on my first run as a reviewer.  It’s going to be positively reviewed by pretty much everyone.  It’s going to continue its run all the way to the end (3 comics!), and it will likely boost our really talented artist (Wachter) in the ranks of artists.  So, you’ll get to tell all of your friends that you read this first, and everyone knows nothing is more attractive to the opposite sex than reading good comics first.  This comic is going to be recognized as one of the better comics of the year.  So, thanks for making my first comic review easy . . . This is a good one.  Shut up and read it.