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 A quarterly magazine for truth, faith, and logic. |
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Primum Mobile Staff:
Primum Mobile is a quarterly web magazine. This issue and all its contents are © Copyright 2004-2008 by the editors. All rights reserved.
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Ex LibrisA room without books is a body without a soul. Welcome to the Primum Mobile Ex Libris page. Here you will find books which our editors found particularly well written and intellectually inspiring. Some of the authors listed would not, perhaps, subscribe to the beliefs inherent in this magazine, but the editors found enough understanding in each to place it within this room. To our knowledge, every book listed here remains in print and are readily available at your local bookstore or online dealer. Graphic Novels The Sandman A dark story about stories, a myth about myths. If anyone says that comic books are for children, loan him one volume of this work. If he still denies the value of the medium, he probably scoffs at The Lord of the Rings also, and you should probably avoid discussions about literature with that person in the future. There are ten volumes, each rather costly (around twenty dollars), but worth the investment.
1602 Something strange has happened to the time line, causing all the Marvel heroes and villains to appear not in the 1960s, but in 1602. It’s worth the money just to try to pick out all of the cameo appearances, but the story and art are first rate. There is a sequel by other people, but also worth the time if the original appeals to you. Fables A fairytale for adults, Willingham puts the classic characters from nursery rhymes and children’s stories into New York City, where they must not only interact, from protect their adopted home from the Adversary, who drove them from the old country in the first place. A modern comic that is magical in its delivery, atmosphere, and personality. A delight.
Kingdom Come Beautifully written by Waid and wonderfully painted by Ross, Kingdom Come puts the DC heroes (Superman, Batman, et cetera) into Revelation. It’s not terribly Biblical, but that is hardly the point. How will Superman save the world from Armageddon? It is a touching story with characters you actually care about. Besides which, the Justice League never looks so good as when Ross is painting them. The Fantastic Four Waid and Wieringo spent a magnificent time on the book that began the Silver Age of Comics, and the Best Comic Book Magazine in the World hadn’t been so good since Stan and Jack began it all. The two most notable collections chronicle the return of Dr. Doom in the most insidious and evil way possible. And then, defying world opinion, the Fantastic Four single-handedly invade Doom’s kingdom, Latveria, to finish the battle they began over forty years ago. Any of the story arcs produced in this period are well worth the money (Imaginauts and Rising Storm would be next on our list), but these two are the best. Jinx Bendis writes five thousand comics every month, and most are really good, and so it might seem surprising that only one of his collections made this list. The reason is that while our other authors will turn out one of two great storylines a year, Bendis’ talent is spread over five thousand books, and so ultimately few achieve that classic benchmark. This particular book is one of the best examples of a crime graphic novel there is. His characters (as always) are crisp and true, and sympathy for them really drives the reader forward. If you see his name in the comic book store, you are most likely in for a treat, even if he doesn’t hit a homerun every time, but this collection is particularly good. Batman There have been several good Batman stories over the years, so it may be easier to lump them together. Year One shows us the creation of the Batman by Frank Miller, the legendary Batman scribe. The Long Halloween, which occurs immediately after Year One, picks a young Batman against the mob in a fantastic murder mystery. Another great mystery, with wonderful art by Jim Lee, is the more recent Hush, available in two volumes. The Dark Knight Returns A Batman book worth its own entry on this list, Miller shows us his vision of Batman’s future. Gotham has decayed farther, and Bruce Wayne must come out of retirement one last time to save the city. But this time, his friends are fewer, his new Robin untrained, and another hero is ordered to take the Dark Knight out. The climax pits Batman against Superman himself, and it is not an event to miss. V for Vendetta Grainy and creepy, this might be Moore’s finest work. The story is mainly told through the illustrations, for Moore intentionally kept dialogue to a minimum. Still, the characters are fully realized and very sympathetic, even though the hero never removes his mask, and his actions are very often troublesome. The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen A dark look at the heroes and villains of the late 19th century as famous literary characters are thrown together in a kind of early Justice League. Though we feel that Moore’s cynicism is more prevelant in some characters than their actual and original character (Mina Murray being the prime example), the interaction between characters who should never meet is so intriguing and true that it makes the small flaws disappear. A warning, like The Sandman, this story will have you forever digging through bookstores for the source material for these wonderful characters. Watchmen A wonderful vision of the Justice League or the Avengers, and one of the books that solidified that the Dark Ages of Comics had come. With frequent digressions into the (fictional) history of comics after the rise and fall of the heroes and the authors of these books, the book ties together dozens of characters and plots into a terrible climax that will have you wondering which side you are on. A classic. Fourth World For almost a year, beginning in 1971, Jack Kirby wrote, drew, and edited four interconnected comics at the same time. The result is Fourth World, his unfinished masterpiece. There is no doubt that he was building a mythology here, one only fully understood if all volumes are read. When they are, they begin to build upon each other into an awful giant of a universe. Unfortunately, sales were low for these books, and only Mister Miracle lasted past the eleventh issue. Still remnants of the Fourth World exist in DC’s universe, most notably Darkseid and Scott Free, but the original intent of these books are now forever lost. Still, what remains provides a glimpse of a majesty that makes your eyes wide and your pulse quicken. It is a doorway (or boomtube) into a world that we find is suddenly barred. We can look through the bars, but go no further. Twisted Toyfare Theatre Do not worry with this one until you know a thing or two about comics, but these volumes collect the short “comics” from Toyfare Magazine. The authors of these shorts pose their cheesy super-hero action figures into scenes, take pictures, and add speech bubbles. The result is fun, irreverent, and absolutely hilarious. 
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