REVIEW: Russell's Reviews Volume One # 12

[Tom Russell]

Awfully short this time around for

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                                               2008

LADY LAWFUL & DOCTOR DEVELOPER # 7 [MAR 21], Burton

   This installment of LL & DD is comprised of three
different vignettes, any one of which I'd probably
find entertaining enough to stand on its own.  So,
getting three of these, as you can imagine, was an
unexpected and delightful treat.
   The thing that strikes me most of all in this
series is the very delicate sort of balancing act that
Andrew Burton's pulling off.  There's a danger when
dealing with kinky material-- bondage porn,
sex-related hospitalizations, and computerized
death-trap simulators-- that one might go too far and
alienate their vanilla readers.  Andrew avoids this
trap by grounding the kink in the couple's
relationship, in their love-- and accompanying lust--
for each other.
   Kinky material, and BDSM material in particular, is
inherently transgressive; it's about pushing
boundaries, and this can make some audiences
uncomfortable.  The relationship between Lady Lawful
and Doctor Developer creates a sense of trust and love
that underpins anything transgressive going on, and
makes it "safe" both for the participants and us
observers.
   I also want to say that I really love how Dr.
Developer notes that Deeplover is an anagram of his
name; that's so damn nerdy. :-)

SPORKMAN # 18 [MAR 24], Fishbone

   This issue's opening scene, in which the morning
routine and life of Roger Important is explained, was
very good: I liked the numerous details provided, such
as the types of machines in his uncle's house, the
general tidiness of his room, and how that said
tidiness is not the result of OCD but rather the only
form of rebellion available to him.  (Though that
might be justifying on his part; later, he can be see
organizing a shelf full of adventure novels by
publisher.)
   In the second of the three scenes, Mickey makes the
acquaintance of his partner, Martini, and demonstrates
a rather remarkable Holmesian talent for observation
and deduction.  Not being familiar with the character
outside of SPORKMAN # 8 to the present, I'm not sure
if this talent is something we've seen before, or if
it's a new aspect of him.  Either way, I'm a sucker
for that kind of thing, and I'm looking forward to its
use in later issues; I'd really like to see him make
the same kind of completely off-the-wall deductions
that Holmes made from the tiniest of details, like the
time, if I recall correctly, that he deduced that
Watson was thinking of buying a house from the pool
chalk on his finger-tips ("The Adventure of the
Dancing Men"?).

DEREK RADNER'S PRIVATE JOURNAL # 4 [MAR 26], Van
Domelen

   This edition of the PRIVATE JOURNAL, tying in to
the "Coming Home" arc over in the ASH series,
concentrates less on aspects of villainy, morality,
and the like and more on the nitty-gritty of Derek's
plan.  (Of course, the willful manipulation of time is
in some way villainous in and of itself.)
   I really liked the point Derek makes regarding
violation physics-- one of the core, and most
interesting, ideas in the ASH universe-- and I have to
say, his three-tined plan does sound convincing.

BY THE WAY DEPARTMENT

   What did the fork say when he was finally washed?
   It's about tine.

OKAY SO I USED THAT ONE ALREADY

   But it's still a good joke.

GODLING # 12 [MAR 27], Vandersteen

   GODLING is one of my favourite series, but many of
the things that endeared it to me in its earlier
issues-- the gonzo ideas, the Golden Age immediacy,
the primal and almost mythic power it had-- doesn't
seem to be in evidence with these last couple of
issues.  The series is evolving, but into what, I'm
not quite sure as of yet.
   This particular storyline is, in theory,
interesting.  Godling, in his civilian identity, is
falsely accused of rape by a student whose advances he
rebuffed.  There's a lot that can be explored there, a
lot of potential-- the innocent man falsely accused of
a heinous crime, the way in which he's already been
tried in the eyes of society, the delusional woman who
would lie about it, and of course the almost always
dependable spectacle of a court room drama-- potential
that hasn't been fully explored or exploited. I
enjoyed the peek in his accuser's mind-set in the
previous issue, and that's because it did explore the
situation that Jochem's set up; I think this
particular story would be better served by less
supervillains in the court-room and more focus on the
actual, and potentially compelling, storyline.



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