The 40 Years of Comics Project - Day 1884: Razor: Torture #4, May 1996

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 After this issue, the series runs another 3, so I will never, likely, know what the final outcome of the story is. I have to say, not a great loss to me. The story itself, about a demon invasion of Earth, is pretty well-played out, and this take on it doesn't bring that much to the story. I'm more interested in the familial drama playing out - I feel like with Razor and Stryke we could have had a really intense look at sisterhood under violent and supernatural circumstances, but instead the focus is on violence and barely-covered women. Male gaze, amirite?

On a more positive note, I've enjoyed Rick Lyon's art - he's not quite as over the top as the early Image artists, and actually reminds me a great deal of Paul Ryan, whose work on Avengers v.2 I'm currently enjoying. A quick look at my database tells me that most of what I have by him is from Avatar Press, who I think are actually a direct descendant of London Night Studios. Oh, but he also contributed to Vixen Wars #1, perhaps one of the worst comics I've ever read.

Back into the Awesome U tomorrow with some of the new stuff I got from Doug Sulipa's Comic World. If you are jonesing for back issue bins to pour through, the Comic World site is the next best thing. Lots of weird and wonderful stuff.

More to follow.

The 40 Years of Comics Project - Day 1883: Razor: Torture #3, April 1996

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 So.

 

Every prominent woman in this issue is wearing either a cropped t-shirt or a skin-tight body suit. And those in the crop tops cannot seem to keep their underboob in check.

 

In fact, I really don't have a lot to say about this one, and that's because the first page was this:

 

 

That is Stryke. She's a badass assassin who killed Razor. And for some reason, she's posed like a porn star. Now, don't get me wrong. I don't mind a well-rendered drawing of a human body. I like human bodies. But there's just no reason for this aside from titillation - it doesn't help the story, from a written or artistic perspective. It's really just a random, semi-nude woman.

 

One more issue of this tomorrow, then back to Youngblood. I think I can make it.

 

More to follow.

The 40 Years of Comics Project - Day 1882: Razor: Torture #2, 1996

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Though this series is listed as, and was published as, a discreet series, it's quite obvious from my utter confusion over the narrative that Razor really is an ongoing series that is divided into what look like different mini-series. I have a bit of a problem with this. If you're going to market something as a mini-series, it should be possible to follow the narrative without having to have read too much of the character's previous adventures. Otherwise, why not simply list this as a continuation of the ongoing series? One of the answers to this question is obviously economic. A new #1 issue is going to sell much better than a #23 issue. A #1 also gives the option of variant covers and large-scale promotion. So if a title is starting to founder a bit, I can see a publisher deciding that a new story line deserves a new series. But at least give us a "Previously in..." section on the inside cover or something. There's some heavy-handed exposition captions, but they don't really give us the background for the overarching story that is necessary for proper understanding of what's going on in the comic.

That said, we get to see a razor-clad bondage girl fight an angel with a sword in this issue, which is not a bad thing. And Rick Lyon's art is such an improvement over Jude Millien's.

More to follow.

Further Reading and Related Posts

I've not read a lot, though there's definitely more to follow, but here's all the "Bad Girl" comics I've read for the project so far.