Top 5 Kevin Smith Comics!

Kevin Smith€™s film making endeavours, from Clerks to the soon to be released Red State (opens in Friday in the UK) but not many are aware that he has made quite a career for himself as a comics writer, contributing for the major companies such as Marvel, DC, Oni Press and Dynamite. With characters ranging from his own Jay and Silent Bob to Daredevil, and even Batman, he has put his indelible mark on the industry to become a popular writer among fans and critics alike. What follows is my picks for his top 5 comic books. And be warned, here be spoilers......

5. Jay and Silent Bob: Chasing Dogma

In 1998, Oni Press released Chasing Dogma to bridge the gap between Kevin Smith's films Chasing Amy and Dogma, showing what happened to the duo and how they got to the point when we meet them in the latter. The comic is pretty much what you would expect from Smith, the crude humour, frank talk of sexual positions and prowess, and pop culture references (these last two combined with a visit to a porn movie set, with the director being none other than Neil Patrick Harris!). Also many of Smith€™s former movies are referenced, such as a visit to the Eden Prairie Mall from Mallrats, and we get to what happens after Jay and Bob€™s talk with Holden McNeil in Chasing Amy. The book itself is also referenced in Dogma when Jay says they are in Chicago because they were looking for Shermer, Illinois (the fictional town from many a John Hughes movie), the quest that pushes the action of the book. Fans who pick up the book will notice major similarities with Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, especially since a major plot point involving Suzanne the monkey was recycled pretty much word for word and scene for scene in the film. It kind of takes away from the book, but other than that it is a must for any Smith fan.

4. Green Hornet

In 2004, it was announced that Kevin Smith was going to write and direct a big screen adaption of The Green Hornet. The script was finished, but the project died after the poor reception of Jersey Girl. The script went into a drawer, intended to never be seen again. But in 2009, Dynamite Comics, having acquired the rights to publish Green Hornet comic books, approached the author to write the character for print. Smith declined, but then remembered he already had a script done. Thus the Green Hornet comic book was born (this process would be repeated again with Smith€™s current Bionic Man book). Differing from the Seth Rogen movie (released the same year), it finds Britt Reid Snr. and Kato retired as vigilantes, having finally cleaned up the streets of Century City. Britt Reid Snr. and Jnr. don€™t have what can be an amicable relationship, the older disappointed in the younger€™s status of a Paris Hilton-esque socialite, the younger unable to get over his mother€™s death. This all changes when Snr. is killed by the Black Hornet, forcing Jnr. to take over the mantle of the Green Hornet, under the tutelage of Kato and partnered with Mulan, Kato€™s daughter. Reading the book you can see the scripts big screen origins: compressed time frame, limited setting, and the narrative flows by too quickly. But these are minor niggles in an otherwise fun story. The Green Hornet here is presented as a buffoon, the side kick to the much more competent Kato, with no fighting skills to speak off. The action scenes are done well, and would have looked great on the big screen. The humour is Smith at his most restrained, but suits the story very well. The story itself also feels like it would sit better on the big screen, but also quite dated, seeing as it was written five years previously. Having read the book and seen the movie several times, I€™m still torn on which works better.

3. Daredevil: Guardian Devil

Started in 2006, the Marvel Knights imprint was according to writer and artist Joe Quesada the platform for €œself-contained limited series that think outside the box, that challenge readers to re-think their favorite Marvel characters and re-evaluate the legends that surround them€. One of these series was Smith€™s Daredevil. Running from issues # 1 to 8, it presented the hero having a crisis of faith, trying to marry his belief in God with his penchant for running around the city dressed in a costume with devil horns. This crisis is added to when a baby, who may be the antichrist or the messiah, is left in his care. Released the same year as Dogma, this shares that movie€™s evaluation of what faith means. We find not only Matt Murdock at his lowest, but also his cast of supporting characters: Murdock€™s law partner Foggy Nelson finds himself in jail for killing a client he can€™t remember, Karen Page, Matt€™s ex girlfriend, returns with news that she is H.I.V. positive, even the Black Widow is drawn in, fearing for her life from a increasingly deranged Daredevil. The story moves on at a quick pace, each issue adding to the mystery. Smith also adds a new chapter to the Daredevil/Bullseye feud, with the master assassin brought into test our hero even further. He only appears in one issue, but leaves a lasting impact on the man without fear, one that€™s lasted until this day. It€™s with this book that Smith€™s talent didn€™t just belong on the big screen, but also on the printed page. He writes heart breaking moments just as well as all out laughs, weaving a compelling mystery the outcome of which no one would guess.

2. Batman: Cacophony

Late into his run on Green Arrow, Smith revealed a new character: the serial killer Onomatopoeia. Two things made this character unique. First, he only targeted unpowered vigilantes. Second, he never spoke, only repeating sounds he heard. It made for an unnerving and very unique villain. He debuted in Green Arrow #12 in 2002, but wasn€™t seen again (save for one panel in Infinite Crisis #7) till 2008 in this three issue miniseries. Onomatopoeia makes his way to Gotham, his sights firmly set on the Batman. To this end he breaks The Joker free from Arkham Asylum, setting him on course with villain Maxie Zeus, who betrayed the Joker by cutting a supply of Joker Venom he was asked to safeguard with cocaine creating a new super drug called Chuckles. This ignites a vicious gang war which can€™t help but draw the attention of Batman, bringing him out in the open where Onomatopoeia wants him. This miniseries is all about the villains. Maxie Zeus is dusted off after what seems like decades on the shelf, made somewhat relevant again, even if he is just comic relief. More light is shone on Onomatopoeia, showing more of his methodology, and what he gets up to when not on the €˜job€™. But it€™s the Joker (save for one misstep about sexual preferences) with who Smith excels with. This is a Joker completely off the reservation, from blowing up a school full of school children to gunning down club goers just because they picked the wrong place to party. He is also not the criminal mastermind we are used to, being pretty much a piece in some else€™s game. He is also given a severe dose of reality, with Batman informing him he is no longer his number enemy, having slipped down due to his inability to change his style. But it€™s The Joker who gets the last word, informing the Dark Knight €œI don€™t hate you because I€™m crazy. I€™m crazy because I hate you€, also saying he will only €˜retire€™ when Batman is dead. It adds a new layer to their relationship, putting everything that came before in a fresh new perspective.

1. Green Arrow: Quiver

Oliver Queen, the original Green Arrow, perished in a plane explosion in issue #101. He was replaced by his son, Connor Hawke, who was main character until the title€™s cancellation with #137 in the 90€™s. In 2002, DC was announced that the book would be restarted with Oliver Queen back in the lead role. As we all know death is not important in comics. A character is killed, only to be written back to life at a later time. The important thing is to give a good reason why the character returns, and to create interest for the return. With Quiver, incorporating the first ten issues of the new series, Smith succeeds in both. Reading more like The Brave and The Bold mixed with a road movie, it chronicles Oliver Queen€™s return from the dead, with his memory stopping a number of years before he actually died (giving the character a feel of his bronze age persona). He teams up with Batman and a succession of other hero€™s to unravel the mystery. What strikes me most about the arc is how much fun Smith is having. From Green Arrow discovering the inability of a domino mask to cover your identity, to being owned by Batman on his unoriginality (Queen at one point possessed both an Arrow Cave and Arrow Car), humour is to the fore. He also shows his ability to handle multiple characters, showcasing characters ranging from Black Canary, the Demon Etrigan, to the lesser known Stanley and His Monster (who have only been used twice since their creation in 1966). Delving into the more supernatural side of the DC Universe, the story makes you care about the character of Oliver Queen. He is a good man trying to get on with his life, unaware of all that has gone wrong (mostly by his hand) during the years he has no memory of. From trying to get back with his girlfriend Black Canary (even though to him they never broke up) to connecting with the son he never knew existed, the villain he battles with most is himself. Quite literally at one point. Bringing to mind the works of Alan Moore and Niall Gaiman, Kevin Smith created one of the best stories DC have published with this arc.