COMICS PORTAL: Is an ‘Unplugged’ Comic Worth Buying?

DC is releasing an “unplugged” version of a recent big Bat-book! Will it sell well? DC sure hopes so!

What do you do when your biggest character has a strong mini-series produced by an accomplished artist? Well, DC has an idea that just might catch on—do an “unplugged” version featuring nothing but the artist’s line art!

Here’s the official description from DC:

‘Visionary writer-artist Marc Silvestri’s Batman & The Joker: The Deadly Duo has already gone down in DC Black Label history as an instant classic–-now you can appreciate the spectacular linework of a modern master in this unlettered black-and-white edition of the first two issues of the megahit series! It’s a must-have for students of fine comics art!’

Now, if you are expecting word balloons and any other forms of dialogue, you’re going to be disappointed. However, if you are big fan of Mr. Silvestri’s art—especially his line art—this is the book for you!

It’s also got two of DC’s biggest characters—Batman and the Joker—actually sort of working together, which doesn’t happen all that often. Batman is THE dominant DC guy right now, so why not have the first two issues come back for more? And it’s “only” $4.99, right?

Marc Silvestri is quite the name when it comes to artists. He started out in DC, then First Comics before joining Marvel in the mid-1980s. He was the penciller on Uncanny X-Men from 1987 to 1990. He then spent two years penciling for the spin-off Wolverine title.

Then in 1992, Silvestri joined with six other artists to form Image Comics with Jim Lee, Whilce Portacio, Rob Liefeld, Erik Larsen, Todd McFarlane, and Jim Valentino. Silvestri’s works mostly published under the Top Cow imprint, beginning with Cyberforce.

He’s come back to X-Men occasionally since then, also working on Hunter-Killer with scripter Mark Waid. His ability to portray dynamic action sequences has been one of his best-known attributes.

He hasn’t produced a lot in the last few years, so DC’s Batman & The Joker: The Deadly Duo gave him the chance to not only draw those important characters for the company, but also to write. What he will do next is still not clear.

I’m sure he’s happy to have this black-and-white version of those initial two issues back on the stands again!

Artists from around the world are picking up this special book, I hope. We could certainly use more creators who have the ability to make action sparkle on the comic page like Silvestri does! (Not that he wants more competition, though!)

One of the most intriguing trends in comics in the last several years has been the development of the writer/artist. As someone who has interviewed several people who feel this is an important part of their development as creators, I’m always asking people if they consider themselves artists who also write, writers who also draw, or do they prefer to be known as “storytellers?”

Most of the comics creators I’ve spoken with prefer the latter title. That doesn’t limit the directions they want to develop over the coming years.

However, I’m not sure every artist is also a great writer. Nor is every writer a great artist. There are some creators who do both very well, but that’s not true for everyone.

I could easily list a number of terrific artists I have enjoyed over the years who didn’t quite have the same level of ability when it came to scripting. I’d rather not name names, though, but I’m sure some of you already have the same people in mind.

That’s not to say that I didn’t enjoy Silvestri’s scripting on Deadly Duo. I did. However, I felt the art was stronger than the other part of the storytelling in that mini-series. Was that a bad thing? No, it may take some more projects before Silvestri achieves balance on both levels. I’d love to read comics where that was the case!

I’ve often written in this column that I’m concerned about the Dark Knight’s “overexposure.” How many books and other releases have to take place before Batman becomes passé, old news, “been there, done that” among even the most ardent of his fans?

That said, I have to say that I’m not likely to pick up this “unplugged” comic this week. I’d have to have the story memorized in order to be able to enjoy examining how Mr. Silvestri handled the various panel structures and character deployments. I’m sure they are terrific, though!

I mean, DC recently released a Bat-book with nothing but covers, from cover to cover, so to speak. I can’t help but wonder just what is coming next!

It’s just that, to me, this is kind of a step too far when it comes to selling Batman each month. See, I’ve seen these line-art pages in Dark Knight books before, particularly in the White Knight books from Sean Murphy. After I’ve read the storytelling pages, I don’t mind see some extra black-and-white art that’s great to look at. But a whole issue of it? Not my cup of tea, sorry!

If it is something that you like, wonderful! I hope you enjoy adding it to your collection, particularly if you are a die-hard Silvestri fan! I’m a fan of his, just not quite THAT big of one!

I’d rather not see whole books with just line art that I won’t be able to make heads or tails out of when it comes to story!

What do you think? Are you planning on picking up this “unplugged” comic? Do you enjoy this kind of examination of an artist’s wares? Or are you like me, more of a “story” guy? Whatever your opinion, feel free to share it in the space below!

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