Horrors of the past and present

books:

	• Loveless Vol. 2: Thicker Than Blackwater Brian Azzarello Vertigo, 2007 - 168 pages average customer review:based on 4 reviews view larger image
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Horrors of the past and present

During the Vietnam War, M.A.S.H. created an artistic vehicle to discuss the Vietnam War. M.A.S.H. was set in the Korean War, but everyone knew they were talking about the current war. The same is true with Loveless. Although it is set during the American Civil War. The story is about our current wars and conflicts.

This series has been very good from the start. Brian Azzarello is smarter than me and he has used this horror genre to show us the similar horrors that persist in current military conflicts.

The former military commander of the war zone is replaced by a more violent and ruthless (loveless) new commander. The old commander says to the new, "I've come to understand -- and not easily - - that directly addressing one problem in this awful country only serves to create others that are worse. Force here is met with force, and not always by what it was you were forcing. There is hate in the air that these people breathe. Whether we are here or not . . . that ill wind will remain."

I wish I had an easy thought or sentence to summarize what should be done in areas of conflict where generations and histories of hatred have formed a place like Blackwater or Iraq. But I confess I do not. On the one hand, I admire the intents of soldiers who try to come in and restore order - where cultural order and honor may have never existed before - without dictatorial and violent rule also being present. And I honestly don't know if it is better to allow those places to remain backward, festering their religious, cultural, ethnic, and racial hatreds unchecked.

In our generation, we have seen the evil actions done by men, surrounded only by their incestuously single-philosophied supporters. What do we do with places like Blackwater, 1930s Germany, and Iraq, places that have never found solutions on their own, places that have bred horrific policies of death, brutality, and genocide? I wish I could clearly state how non-militant and non-violent policies alone could address and reform such places, but I'm not smart enough to show the clear path to a better society without militarily confronting the perpetuators of violence that have existed there for generations.

And so, as is the case with this incredibly good Vertigo Comics series, what makes a horror story exceptional is the degree to which it mirrors unending horrors we see persisting in our real world. And this reviewer feels defeated sometimes, because my intelligence and experience are not educated enough to show others how to better solve the issues in a place like Blackwater or Iraq. I see the brave, well-intentioned, often-intelligent, often well-executed, fully purposed, and sacrificial efforts we have seen performed by the often honorable US Military in Iraq. I'm missing key information on how to better improve those backward worlds.

But I do know I've never seen violence work as the best motivating and improving force in my immediate worlds. So while I cannot advocate complete non-violence, I focus on promoting the non-violent methods of improvement.

I continue to buy and read each issue of Loveless, because even though I'm not a fan of the horror genre, this series presents the best traditions of literary horror. This series is up there with Shelley's Frankenstein, The Portrait of Dorian Gray, The Scarlet Letter, The Fall of the House of Usher, Howard's End, and 1984, displaying the persistent horrors of present cultural forces - for so many good purposes.

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I hate cliffhangers....

This is the second volume in Brian Azzarello's Loveless series and collects issues #6-12. The art chore is divided up amongst three artists with regular Marcello Frusin (Hellblazer) being the the best of the lot, in my opinion.

This volume picks up on the heels of the first volume and the first three are sort of stand alone stories that reveal a bit more about the main characters. The first features former slave turned bounty hunter, Atticus Mann. The story is short but very powerful. We get a glimpse of why Atticus joined the Federal army in the Civil War. The second story features Ruth and provides back story about her going ons while Wes was away in the war. We get a slight glimpse into why her home was invaded by the U.S. Army. And the third tale gives the readers a glimpse into how Wes was captured by the U.S. Army. The last four issues comprise the "Thicker than Blackwater" arc where grisly murders are taking place and how the killer has ties with Wes. I will not spoil the ending but suffice to say, it was unexpected and the book ended with a huge cliffhanger.

Azzarello continues to prove why he is a master of writing dialog. But in order to fully appreciate the story, the dialog must be read very carefully. This is not a book that you can speed through. So far, while I have been enjoying the book, there are NO characters here that I like. Wes is not a hero, neither is Atticus nor Ruth. There is no black and white morality play here and it's hard to tell the good guys from the bad. But this doesn't detract from the story.

As for the art, I am surprised to see Mr. Frusin here only for two issues. I loved his work in Hellblazer and Loveless is not exception, if not better. The reason I gave this book 4 stars instead of 5 is because of the jarring departure of the usual cinematic art provided by Danijel Zezelj. Mr. Zezelj is a good artist but in my opinion, his work is too dark (literally) and most of the times obscure the character's faces and actions.

Other than the minor complaint about the art, I really enjoyed this book. This is one of the best things being published in comics, so go and pick it up.

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