Published by Vertigo (DC Comics). Written by Matt Wagner. Art by Michael Wm. Kaluta.
The Deal: Vertigo releases the latest issue of the supernatural mystery comic Madame Xanadu, which — as the title suggests — stars the psychic heroine Madame Xanadu. This issue features the second part of a five part story arc sending Xanadu on the trail of paranormal killer.
The Good: Madame Xanadu is one of those characters that, as a teen, I’d always heard about but never actually read about. So when I heard that Matt Wagner was writing a series starring the mystic super chick, I knew I had to get my hands on it. Twelve issues later, I’m finally getting around to reading the series and, I must say, I liked what I read. Now, from a plot standpoint, I can’t say that I totally understand everything that happened this month; then again, it is a mystery, so I guess I’m supposed to be a little confused. The tone of the series, however, is enthralling. With the great period costumes (drawn by Kaluta) and the flowery — yet strangely subversive and sexual — dialogue, the comic comes across like a paper version of a Merchant Ivory film. On top of the book’s tone, this edition of Madame Xanadu is peppered with a cool cameo (well bigger than a cameo actually) by another Vertigo-centric, detective-oriented heroine and makes mention of yet another DC sorcerer.
The Bad: Obviously, not everybody likes Merchant Ivory films. So, if you can only dig big, bombastic comic book stories, then this book may not be for you.
The Verdict: It took me a minute to finally pick up this comic, but I think I’ll check it out again next month.
Reviewed materials provided by Heroes Aren’t Hard to Find: www.heroesonline.com.
This article appears in Jun 30 – Jul 7, 2009.
