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For a series that’s delighted in off-the-wall insanity, overblown ideas and concepts and no small measure of “WTF?” moments, it’s a surprise that the finale of Dallas should be so… well, low-key. But then, Gerard Way already demonstrated with Apocalypse Suite

that he has the capacity to come up with a ballsy, bonkers, explosive kind of an ending – so really, what we’ve got here is The Guy Who We Still Can’t Get Over Being The Singer Out Of A Crappy Emo Band Yet Also Being Able To Write A Really Entertaining And Inventive Comic adding another string to his bow.

Because despite the fact that the series had apparently left itself a hell of a lot to wrap up – and, indeed, dithered over doing so while spending the bulk of issue #5 in a plucked-out-of-time Vietnam scenario – the salient plot points are taken care of fairly swiftly. A superb twist effectively ends the main story ten pages in, leaving the remainder for Way to explore the effects on the Academy of their, essentially, being torn apart even more firmly than they were at the end of volume one.

And in a way, it’s fairly saddening – here’s a group of characters that have always been the very definition of the word “dysfunctional”, and yet it’s always felt like there’s been a particular, idiosyncratic sort of glue holding them together. But despite the oft-stated plans for a third series, this genuinely feels like Way tearing that asunder – and I’m left curious as to just how he can make a compelling “team” book out of it from now on. What’s notable, meanwhile, is a distinct shift in his storytelling to fit the change in tone – everything gets slower

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download porky s dvdrip , now that the madcap elements of the story are over and done with; you suspect that at no other point in the series to date would the pacing have afforded an entire nine-panel page devoted simply to showing an ordinary, everyday New York City and confirming the definite lack of a world-destroying apocalypse.

I do feel a little like some of the energy that the series had has seeped away as this second volume has gone on – maybe somewhere around the time that Hazel and Cha-Cha were killed, particularly as that was coupled with the rather-difficult-to-top image of the Earth exploding in on itself – but the simple fact remains that it’s been one of the most gloriously inventive comics series of recent years, carving out a genuinely unique niche for itself and remaining infused with a remarkable level of craftsmanship throughout (from Way’s careful plot construction to Ba’s magnificent artwork). It ends with a whimper rather than a bang (although there’s a rather significant “BANG” in its pages, come to that), but that’s not necessarily a bad thing – intelligent comics, no matter how fundamentally bonkers, know when and when not to go for the jugular, and “intelligent comics” is certainly what Umbrella Academy, for all its surface veneer of childish tomfoolery, has firmly marked itself out as. Roll on volume three, frankly.

I always hate being the millionth person to make a particular observation – but it really does bear repeating that it’s a massive surprise that The Bloke From My Chemical Romance should be writing a comic like Umbrella Academy. Alright, so, the crapness of his band aside, we know that Way is a longtime comics fan who used to work in the industry – but even so, I’m not sure anyone would have expected a series that shows such an assured grasp of storytelling, and a surfeit of ideas, making it a highly enjoyable if completely bonkers read.

Having missed the first volume of the series, I will admit to having felt a little lost over the first couple of issues of Dallas, but stuck with it by virtue of having enjoyed a number of the ideas and moments that were being played with (remind you of anyone? Way wears his Morrison influence on his sleeve, and it’s something that extends to the storytelling style as much as the aesthetic). I’m glad I did, as issue #3 is where the details and nature of the plot begin to unfurl, and carried along by some helpful opening-page recaps, I’m starting to feel a bit more immersed in the book’s world – not to mention pleased that it’s turning into a madcap time-travel story, with an absolutely terrific twist involving Number Five revealing itself in the process.

There’s a gleeful exuberance about the whole thing, characterised by Gabriel Ba’s terrific artwork (and as good as he was on Casanova, he looks even better in full-colour, and perfectly suited to the story). Cheerily terrifying psychopaths Hazel and Cha-Cha are absolutely inspired creations, both in concept and execution – delivering lines such as “All we’re interested in is red licorice whips and instant armageddon – and we got twenty bucks for candy and more killing power than we know what to do with” from beneath massive oversized novelty head masks that look like something out of a Sam and Max game. And there’s a superb sequence involving The Seance, Heaven (brilliantly rendered in pure black and white) and God.

The fact that Way’s comics explode with whacked-out ideas is less of a surprise than his ability to craft and construct a comic while maintaining a veneer of freewheeling dementia. Now that the plot has started to kick in – and with the meaning of issue #1’s God Save the Queen parody cover having become apparent – it’s turning into a compelling read rather than just an entertaining curiosity, with (I’m sure) plenty of twists and turns to come. Lovely touches such as the “adverts” on the back cover show an attention to detail and inventiveness of the sort that’s all-too-rare in current mainstream comics, and these qualities make it a series that’s well worth getting on board with.

After the last issue’s charming but pointless tribute to an undead cartoon series, “Season Eight” continues its preoccupation with it’s parent medium, focussing on the much-trailed “Harmony Bites” vampire reality TV show. Jane Espenson presents an unexpectedly complex single-issue story, managing to subtly re-write the franchise’s rules while keeping a light-hearted air to proceedings.

After four rigidly defined arcs, the decision to let the book’s various plotlines breath more organically is welcome. With the regular cast largely negated to cameos, the writer focuses her tale on the vampire’s conquest of MTV and the slayer who takes it upon herself to bring her down. What initially takes the reader aback is that the story isn’t an out and out satire of reality TV. There’s no particular punch lines or moments when events descend into a new level of farce. This is simply the means by which Espenson chooses to tell her story, with the only moment of socio-political commentary being subtly conveyed through the media’s willingness to cast the black girl who attacks the horrific Harmony as a villain. Rather than borrowing one of X-Men’s crusading politicians or resorting to the unconvincing military figures from Whedon’s first arc, the story uses this event to polarise public opinion against the slayer army, setting up an interesting, if less-than original, dynamic for future issues.

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Espenson occasionally betrays a lack of comics experience, with an early piece of innuendo from Harmony negated by the fact that the readers’ eyes have been immediately drawn to the next panel, which reveals the punch line. On the whole however, the writer succeeds in telling a very offbeat story, with the issue’s deficiencies coming from a creator with far more familiarity with comics. Despite having effectively had the previous five issues off, regular artist Georges Jeanty delivers some uncharacteristically weak work, with backgrounds frequently discarded and some very oddly proportioned figures. To be fair, his quirky style is better suited to close-ups than the massed crowd scenes the issue frequently calls for, with little demand for his charming trademark dot faces. However, when compared to a cover that sees Jo Chen exceeding even her high standards, its hard not to wish for a guest artist better suited to the subject matter. Despite these art issues and the slightly stereotypical doomed slayer, this story manages to entertain and confound the reader’s expectations.

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Buried in the 24^th December graveyard release slot, the rebooting of Dean Motter’s antihero has been a curiously low-profile affair. In advance publicity for the four issue series, the writer/artist has been at pains to highlight that the idea for a new series featuring the trenchcoated architect came from his publisher. Judging by the strengths of this first issue, however, the creator has been selling himself short. Mister X’s return isn’t yet certain to revolutionise comics in the same manner as his first appearance, but this is still a quality book.

The governors of Radiant City have finally located the source of the mental health issues plaguing the metropolis: the buildings themselves. Unfortunately, the problem is proving easier to identify than cure, with the demolition programme going awry far too often for comfort. The creator obviously sees the character of the city as a key element in the book, using a forthcoming mayoral election to show a range of figures in this introductory issue. We meet politicians, journalists and gangsters, as well as those just trying to make a living in the urban nightmare. The more mature market that Mister X finds himself in appear to suit him, and Motter predictably delays his hero’s appearance until the final page, giving the rest of the cast room to establish themselves. The plot is drip-fed throughout this issue, with details of the out-of-control eviction programme filtered through a variety of interested parties.

Although Motter’s art style is perfectly suited to the title’s retro-futurism, it takes quite a bit of getting used to. Despite working with an extremely small number of panels per page, his medium is the close-up, with the issue being intended to introduce the reader to a cast representing all elements of the nightmare city’s populace. Deliberately drab colouring adds a great deal to the atmosphere of the book, despite the vibrancy of the cover. The artist’s control over his work is remarkable, with not a single line wasted. Although not afraid to omit backdrops where they are not required, he’s able to instantly establish to mood of a location, at times resembling a more focussed Dwayne Cooke.

The crisp and avant-garde ideas alone make this book an arresting proposition in its introductory issue. If Motter also has a compelling plot for his protagonist to grapple with, there’s no reason why he shouldn’t be able to repeat his eighties triumph all over again.

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Resurfacing after a few month missing in action, the Buffy series understandably has a little difficulty in getting its momentum back. While there’s a handsome apology for the delay contained in the letters page, the third part of a four-issue arc is an awkward time for a title to go on hiatus, and as a consequence, the lack of fresh plot in The Time of Your Life’s conclusion is keenly felt.

The bi-centennial Willow has pulled off quite a feat, managing to unite every faction in the twenty second century against its visitor. Buffy knows her friend too well, however, being able to spot the witch’s real intentions. Given that this is a conclusion, the writer spends much of his time on action sequences, showing the readership both the threatened full-on Buffy versus Fray battle and the slayer army rallying after the attack on their castle. In light of the focus on future events, it’s unsurprising that the latter conflict feels rather messy, joining the internal politics of Team Twilight in being shoehorned as interludes in the slayers’ one on one brawl. The arc’s main weakness is that it leaves Fray’s world largely unchanged, making the story feel slightly inconsequential. While Buffy’s last act in the future will undoubtedly stay with her for some time to come, Joss Whedon comprehensively undoes of the alterations that he had made to the future slayer’s world, leaving the scenario exactly as Summers found it. While the slight stumbles in this issue don’t damage the arc as a whole, the inequality of impact that the two time periods have on each other is a more serious gripe.

The issue’s main strength comes from an unusual trick Whedon pulls off, in the form of a moment that carries considerably more weight after the reader has time to reflect upon it. Buffy’s execution of Willow is initially brushed off as a possible future vision, but after putting the book down and musing on events, it becomes clear that this actually stands as the character’s in-canon fate. How her killer deals with her part in events will provide interesting material for the book’s future. It’s a reasonable issue, but to truly get the series back on track, we’ll need to see this quality maintained consistently for a few months. There’s a lot riding on next month’s contribution from guest writer Jeph Lo-

Ah.

Now that Angel: After the Fall is finally upping its game substantially, the Buffyverse is finally firing on all cylinders again. The BtVS comic is currently paying an extended visit to the timeline of Fray, the future slayer Whedon cooked up some years back with guesting artist Karl Moline, and working to explain just how Fray’s single-slayer, magic-less timeline can be threaded to the present we’re experiencing in Buffy: Season 8. It’s the franchise’s first real foray into Time Travel, and as such, provides a wealth of new angles for Whedon to approach the story.

One interesting moment highlights, if ever there were any doubts, how Buffy has changed since Season 7 as a result of her role – not only is she out robbing to pay for the Slayer gear, she’s also content to let innocents die in pursuit of the larger evil. This is the kind of theme that was dealt with pointedly in Season 5 of Angel, but it’s worth bringing up again in the context of Buffy’s new Slayer Army. It’s this kind of ambiguous morality that leads Fray to get influenced by the apparently villainous Willow. Willow’s actions, so far, don’t actually appear to be evil despite her having the “Dark Willow” make-up on. I’d call it a safe bet that her actions in this arc are designed to prevent Fray’s timeline from ocurring, though with only one chapter to go, we’ll soon see.

While the issue features a lot of action, almost all of it is tempered by running conversations which point the way to Whedon’s next move. Unfortunately, it’s hard to see, at the moment, exactly where things are headed, but you can see the signposts all over this issue in particular, as characters figure out their situation. Only Xander and Dawn, now separated from the Slayer Army, feel like they’re treading water, through the introduction of the forest creatures makes for an amusing scene. Whedon’s trademark dialogue is on top form all issue, and that laone makes the comic worth buying.

While it’s a constant joy to keep reading the adventures of Buffy and co month after month, if there’s any bad thing you can say about the series, it’s that it’s not very friendly to anyone dipping into it. A lot of the series mythology is referenced at times, to the point where a new reader would be utterly lost. Even so, this is one of the few times a writer can get away with that – after all, Whedon is playing to his hardcore audience with this series, and bringing in new readers for the comic was never the plan. Perhaps, if this wasn’t Joss Whedon, I’d feel a bit less charitable but, y’know, we’re all a little biased somewhere.