>It Sure Does Look Like An Indie... R>R> Last week, I spoke of independent comics, and what works and what doesn't. At the end of the column, I mentioned two works that I would have liked to have included, but didn't, since they were published by Image and DC/Vertigo. R> R> So, this week I'll talk about them. R> R> If you have a problem with that, go read Dhaise's column and wait for the Sparky stories. R> R> Anyway, the first of the two is easily one of the finest graphic novels I've ever read. And I've read some great ones. In fact, the story itself reminds me in some respects of my personal favorite, the Alan Moore/Eddis Cambell magnum opus From Hell. R> R> I speak, of course, about Torso, co-written by Brian Michael Bendis and Marc Andreyko, with Bendis supplying the artwork as well. R> R> The story, based on a true account of Elliot Ness' search for a serial killer, the Torso killer, possibly the first of his kind in the United States, bears much in common with From Hell, and the case it was based on. Both the Torso killer and Jack the Ripper were never brought to justice. Both, it seems, send written messages to the ones trying to bring them in. To say more could ruin the ending of either or both works for you, so I won't. R> R> However, Torso is very different from From Hell. Torso does not contain the depth or the metaphysics of From Hell, and keeps its story in a wholy realistic world. This is just as well. Bendis' other works by and large deal with telling crime stories (even his upcoming Ultimate Spider-Man arc brings in the Kingpin), and he's good at it. The real treat from him here may be his artwork. Combining photographs with stark black-and-white firgures, Bendis proves to be a pretty capable double threat with both the word and the line. And while I don't want to sell Andreyko short, there is much of the characteristic Bendis experimental panel layout here I've gotten used to from his Powers series. R> R> I'll probably have to read Torso again. It was that good. R> R> Torso. Written by Brian Michael Bendis and Marc Andreyko. Artwork by Bendis. Published by Image Comics. R> R> R> This leads to the other comic. Namely Kyle Baker's Why I Hate Saturn. R> R> Baker, for those of you who don't know, is the guy who managed to get a whole DC Elseworlds 80 page giant pulped after a few thousands copies were sold in England for a story about Superman's babysitter, where infant Kal El microwaves himself, drinks from a cow's udder, and chews an electrical wire before falling asleep in traffic. I saw it on the web before DC's lawyers put an end to that. Funny stuff. Of course, since then it won a Harvey Award or something and it'll be published in a hardcover Bizarro Comics later this year. R> R> However, in Why I Hate Saturn, Baker turns his highly satrical and acidicly funny eye on the singles scene, family relationships, and the homeless, among other things. Baker tells the story of Ann, a successful magazine columnist and her rather pessimistic view on life. She can't keep a relationship, she drinks a bit too much, and she's highly critical of, well, everybody and everything "hip" or "trendy". Then, one day, her sister shows up claiming to be Queen of the Leather Astro-Girls of Saturn, and things go bad. Not only is Laura a neat freak, and a vegetarian, who gets more dates, but...well, that would be telling. R> R> And Ann must have had a bad day when she got her ex-boyfriend's secret journal and found out that not only did he somehow date both sisters and not know it, he found Laura, despite believing the Saturn bit, to be the saner one. Ouch. R> R> Baker uses what might be an unfamiliar approach to what most are used to with comics. No word balloons. All the dialogue and narrative is written under or along side a series of panels. And it works fine. R> R> And Baker's wit shines through some really mean (but funny) sounding lines, such as "I hate abusing women, but it beats the alternative." and "Why do vegetarians spend so much time trying to make vegetables that taste like meat?" Try checking this out. R> R> Why I Hate Saturn. Written and Artwork by Kyle Baker. Published by DC/Vertigo. R> R> Well, that's all for this week. Just a note that I write this pretty early in the week, but before the week is out, I should have in my possession the last issue of Garth Ennis' Hitman, and possibly the last Preacher TPB. So, I guess you know what I'll be writing of next time... R>R>R> Tom Kelly 4/5/2001R> The preceding was my opinion. You are more than welcome to your own. If you have any comments or recommendations, both of which are highly welcome, send them to razorwitt@hotmail.com.