Thursday, November 13, 2008

Kick Drum Comix #2

Kick Drum Comix #2 - Jim Mahfood (Image, $5.95) - I'm not sure what has happened since I did my mini review of the first issue of this two part series. In that review I mentioned that I loved Grrl Scouts, but was sort of uncertain about my feelings for the whole scene that Mahfood's stuff seems to embody. Since that time I attended the Small Press Expo and opened up my mind even more about what I think makes good comics and what I like from an art standpoint as well. This is all a journey, right?

I loved this issue like crazy. I don't know if I have just grown into his art or if it has just gotten increasingly cool, but it just explodes for me now.  The comic is again slightly larger in all dimensions than a regular comic, and the cover is a satin finish that looks and feels great, but that just drinks any oils out of my hands when I touch it. It contains two stories, one is about 26 pages, and the other is 21 or so. 47 large pages of cool stuff with 2 self contained stories for 6 bucks. It is slightly expensive, but a pretty good value, compared to some 4 dollar 22 page stories that are out there.

The first story is Brian & Rod: Battle of the bands, Battle of the hearts: Other than ending with vandalism, which generally makes me sad, even when committed against country clubs, I really liked this. The art is great, the coloring is brilliant it burns itself into your eyes in a good way. This is comic book art. It isn't realistic comic book art, but it has a definite style to it that like I said earlier has just snuck up on me and made me love it even though i resisted at first. Jim Mahfood is about 6 years younger than I am, but I swear I have known some of the characters he writes and draws. I am pretty sure I knew skaters just like these guys. I am not an artist, but I have a character I have drawn since 1986 or so, based on a sort of spiritual twin to Brian that I went to school with. Skating, Bands, and minor acts of property damage while trying to score chicks. It wasn't me, but I am pretty sure I was in art class in High School with those guys.

The second story is Echo Chambers: Bombastic Avenging Disco Space Goddess - It's pretty great as well, and not just because it has gratuitous nudity. Every panel, even ones that are just close ups of an eye and a nose, seems to have a LOT going on. The main character, Echo, Comes across to me as a sort of hip and sexy Mia Wallace(Pulp Fiction) meets the Bride from Kill Bill by way of... I don't know, someone sexy and blue who isn't a smurf... not that I find smurfs sexy or anything... I just find them blue. There is very little to the story, but there is more there than it looks like. It is a very good introduction to the character, and could be used to launch in to a series of stories featuring that character. You get a sense of her personality, as well as the general setting, etc. It's mostly a shower scene and a fight scene, but there is a sense of fun there that I like.

I recommend picking this and the first issue up if you haven't already. It's different and it's fun

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

TV Comics, the current trend

I just finished reading True Blood, The Great Revelation on the HBO site. A week or so ago I borrowed the Heroes hardback that has the collected comics from that show in it.  A few weeks ago I bought the first issue of Fringe, which is related to the TV series on Fox.

I have stopped watching Fringe, so I will just let that one go. I actively watch Heroes and True Blood, so I figured I should have a look at their comic offerings. 

The heroes book just didn't draw me in. It was like a comic version of deleted scenes in a lot of ways. Little snippets that relate to things that were on the air, but that don't really give you a lot more of anything you are probably hoping for in a comic related to a series. It's like with the show Lost. All I want is some hints and spoilers and answered questions, but all I can ever find is just supplementary stuff that doesn't answer any of the hard questions.

Reading the latest Heroes installment online, and reading the True Blood Great Revelation online made me see that if there is a unifying theme in online comics relating to currently running TV shows, it is that they all have really awful reader interfaces. Both sites seemed slow and hard to navigate in a readable manner to me. The art is decent on both, but the stories strike me as irrelevant. I guess something could come up in True Blood that makes the scene we were shown mean something. In the latest installment for Heroes, we get some background on two characters I believe we have been seeing on the show. It's ok, but it doesn't enhance my enjoyment of the show, nor does it come across as being something that stands on it's own. I appreciate the use of comics, but I am not sure they are being used to best effect.

True Blood is a show that is set in a Louisiana backwater town during a time after the creation of a synthetic blood substitute that can be used by vampires for nourishment. Vampires have come out and revealed themselves, and in the US there is a Vampire Rights act that will be coming up for a vote soon. Not everyone is embracing this concept. The show is based on a series of modern vampire romance novels and isn't bad. I have said recently that I don't think it is particularly well acted, but I can't stop watching it. It's like the Sopranos, or the L Word, but with Vampires. It is a show with a lot of compelling characters with a lot of plot opportunities and multiple story lines. It makes for a show you want to keep watching to see how things come out.

The comic takes place earlier that the show, around the time of the Great Revelation when the Vamps officially came out.  It is an account of the Vampire 'King' of California and his trip to japan to meet with the Japanese interest responsible for Tru Blood, the commercial brand for the synthetic blood. It could be interesting if anything happened, but as it was, it read like a story about a guy going to a business meeting, with a bit of interesting background about that character himself, but not much more.

I'm not sure how I really feel about these sorts of things. They come across as more of a straight commercial than a comic I would want to read. I also think they are a sort of pandering. It's like... Geeks like comics, and our s is a geek demographic... lets give them comics, then they will love us.  Any thoughts on this are appreciated.

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Lions, tigers and bears

My youngest daughter had picked up volume 2 of Lions, tigers and bears at our local public library a month or so ago. I didn't read it at that point. We saw volume 1 last week and picked it up. She really liked the books, so I figured I should give volume 1 a read before it had to be returned.

Lions, tigers and bears Volume 1 - Mike Bullock & Jack Lawrence ($12.95, Image): This is a great comic for kids, and is also perfect for adults who enjoy adventure stories about imagination with a strong sense of good and bad in them. There is very little in this book that would be considered 100% new, I know I always say things like that. I don't mean them as a back-handed compliment. I feel compelled to point it out, but what I really mean to say is that I feel the author has taken some things that have been used in various forms, and has spun them into something unique and different. That is good storytelling. The art is pretty terrific animation quality art. It has a very familiar feel to it for the sort of story being told.  The characters, especially the animals are just awesome.

The main character is a young boy who lives with his Mom, next door to his Grandmother, and down the street from his best friends. He has had some trouble in the past being spooked at bedtime, and worrying about beasties, so his Grandmother reads to him every night and makes sure that he is safe and protected against the beasties that invariably are lurking around in the shadows, the closet, the usual places.

His Mom has to move to take a better job, and this is causing the boy, Joey, a great deal of worry. His Grandmother gives him a gift to take with him, it is a boxed set of 'Night Pride' Stuffed animals. There are four very cool looking 'great cat' stuffed animals, each with their own name and designation, like Ares, warrior of the night, etc. There are instructions on the box that suggest that stuffed animals are an extension of the tradition of guardians of children that have been carrying out that duty since time began. It states that one pride member should be set at each corner of the bed. It doesn't take long for that to get tested, and for Joey to learn just how real his new friends are.

This is a story heavy on imagination as a powerful force that can be harnessed and used by those young enough to still believe in such fanciful things. It isn't too heavy handed. It avoids overdoing it in a number of places, and reads as a fast paced  adventure about friends and heroism and imagination. I won't spoil the rest of the story, but this is good, fun, all ages stuff. If you have kids, pick it up,  at least check the library for it.

Monday, November 10, 2008

That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore?

I have had a nagging thought in my head for a while now. I think it may have resurfaced particularly loud for me prior to the release of the Dark Knight movie. I will go back and look at my review about the recent hardcover The Joker, as I don't recall what I may have said there.

I might hate the Joker. I really may not see whatever it is everyone else seems to see. I am greatly questioning my previous belief that The Killing Joke is a masterpiece. I don't think Batman would go to the Joker just to babble philosophically at him. I don't think Batman would laugh at the end at all.

I Hated the Tim Burton Batman movie BECAUSE of the Joker. Take away the Joker and there isn't even a scrap that could be salvaged.

I have liked the two most recent Bat-Movies a great deal. I think the tone is more like what I expect from Batman. The Joker in The Dark Knight, and the one in the Joker Graphic novel are ones that speak to me. They aren't the same guy, really, but they are both some pretty scary, compelling and real seeming Clown Princes of Crime. I will try to flesh this out more in the next week or so, but feel free to comment if you have any thoughts or comments relating to the Joker. If you'd prefer to email, that's great too - talkinboutcomics@gmail.com

Sunday, November 9, 2008

The Good Neighbors

The Good Neighbors, book one: Kin - Holly Black & Ted Naifeh (Graphix, $16.95) - This is another book put out by the Scholastic imprint Graphix. I would say that this book falls into the Teen and up category. It is written by Holly Black, Author of The Spiderwick Chronicles, and is her first foray into Graphic Novels. Ted Naifeh, who has given us the Courtney Crumrin books, as well as Polly and the Pirates, provides the excellent art for this book. I am quite a fan of Naifeh's work, and have loved everything of his I have read.

The combination of Black & Naifeh works amazingly well. This book could easily be an extension of the world of Courtney Crumrin. Hopefully anyone reading that understands that it is high praise. It is more than just the art that gives that feeling. Black seems to have similar sensibilities in her writing to Naifeh, which I think gives his illustration even greater impact.

The story centers on Rue Silver, a cool teen with cool friends that break into abandoned buildings, don masks and take pictures. That isn't a huge part of the story, but it's part of the story, and makes me smile in it's similarity to the art attacks in the P.L.A.I.N. Janes. There is no negative there, but it is similar. Rue's Mom is gone, and in short order her dad is suspected of murdering her Mother, as well as a female student from the University he is a professor at.

There is a lot here, which is a very good thing to say about something billed as book one. We have Rue's discovery that Faerie (the titular 'Good Neighbors') exist, and that she is one by way of her mother. There is her ordinary world love life and friends, as well as the introduction of her Grandfather on her Mother's side and his less than noble intentions. Her father also hangs out there in the balance, having been a wreck since his wife left.

There are a ton of options open here. Her Grandfather has heard that only someone of his blood can stop him, he assumes this is Rue. He is planning to return faerie to the old days when humans lived in fear of them. There is a human student at her father's school that has been taking sinister advantage of a brother and sister faerie who will need to be dealt with. There is the mystery of the straw 'changeling' that was sent to masquerade and die in the form of her mother. There is a whole layer in Rue's world that was previously unseen.

Naifeh seems uniquely qualified to draw faerie and similar creatures. His Faerie have a great beauty too them, but also such an 'other-ness' about them as to seem wild and dangerous and even scary. It is the perfect scary-beautiful, or ugly-beautiful.

This is a really good book. I borrowed it from my awesome public library, but I am certainly looking forward to more in the series, and plan to buy the books for myself.

Saturday, November 8, 2008

Incredible JERK is more like it...

AAFES #6 - Stuart Woods & Cliff Richards - This is the sixth issue of the free Marvel comics created for, and distributed through, the Army and Air Force Exchange Service. It is not for resale. My mom picks them up when she sees them at the exchange when she goes shopping.

This one is called Fireline, and has the New Avengers logo on the front, as well as Spider-Man, Hulk and Iron Man on the cover. The sort of strange thing is that Spider-Man is the only New Avenger in it, and in the story, there is nothing to do with the New Avengers. Spider-Man, Iron Man, Hulk, and Human Torch are all in this, but none of them are there as part of any team really.

It isn't the worst thing I have read. It is really pretty good considering my opinion about these sorts of comics. I am always suspicious of comics that seem too much like a recruiting tool or mindless propaganda. This doesn't really come off too strongly as either. It isn't terrible, and it showcases the resources used in the modern day fighting of forest fires, and centers on the National Guard. I have nothing against it.

What this really shows us, above all else is that the Hulk may be the #1 jerk in the Marvel Universe, with Tony Stark coming in at #2.

Here is how the comic goes: Some national guard guys are walking through the woods tracking something that might be big foot. It turns out to be the Hulk. For someone who wants to be left alone, he is clueless about how not to be found. He gets cranky at them and they say... You know what... You aren't hurting anyone, we'll leave you alone. Have a nice day Mr. Hulk... Hulks says.. Oh yeah... Like you could do anything to me if you wanted to... and then knocks down some power lines just to show he hates the National Guard. Everyone leaves. Oh, that power line... it sparks up and starts a forest fire that will devour San Diego if left unchecked.

Fortunately Tony Stark is nearby, touting his new civilian model armor line, and Peter Parker is there taking pictures of it. OMG Forest fire!!! Pete and Tony run off to change clothes and go fight the fire. Sadly, there is no hilarious scene where they get their costumes mixed up. There is a panel or two where Tony says 'They don't want your outlaw help' and Peter says ' Let's hear what they say' and National Guard guys say... 'Your darn right we don't!! I would rather see little kids burned to death than rescued by the likes of you!' (That dialog my not exactly reflect what is actually in the comic).

So, Hulk started the fire, and is apparently hiding IN THE FIRE, right next to the house of an old guy who will die in the fire without his help. A guardsman shows up and has to work to persuade the jerk to rescue the old guy. The good news is that Spider-Man has the human Torch on speed dial and Johnny pops right on over to help create a fire line as only he is qualified.

It's a little silly, but not the worst thing. I sometimes wonder who the audience for this sort of thing really is. I assume it is at least partly for the kids of people serving their country in the military, in which case I have no pithy comment, and think that's a pretty decent thing for them to do.

Friday, November 7, 2008

The Man Who Loved Breasts

The Man Who Loved Breasts - Robert Goodin (Top Shelf, 32p $4)
This comic contains three stories, all written and drawn by Robert Goodin.  The book gets its title from the first of the three pieces. There is no better way to get a sense of the look and feel than a six page preview on the publisher's site

The Man Who Loved Breasts tells us about Stanley, a man who works in an unfulfilling, repetitious and dead-end job for years. He decides that he needs a change, and that he should be doing something he is passionate about, but there is nothing that he is actually passionate about, or so he thinks at first. After a bit of consideration it comes to him... Breasts. He is passionate about breasts. He loves them all equally. 

A number of things are sort of funny about this. Other than a giant phallic nose, there really doesn't seem to be much of anything overly sexual about his desire to see and touch and be around bare breasts as much as possible. He's a guy who wants to handle boobs, which seems pretty sexual, but it is more like it fills a need in him than that it arouses him. The vocation he finds to satisfy his need is that of custom bra salesman. In that job, he actually helps people. I am not a lady, mind you, but even my mother laments the days when there were people who helped you find the exact right fit for a bra. Yeah, the idea of it being a guy seems a bit creepy, but I dunno... So this dream of his is going great until the new feminism of the late 60's comes along burning bras in it's wake and putting him out of business. Fortunately for him, the boob gods don't seem to condemn suicide. I enjoyed it and thought it was fairly clever.

George Olavatia: Amputee Fetishist - This is a strange one too. A strange man is in a clinic, about to give a semen sample for testing. The whole thing is his trying to communicate that he can't get aroused by anything short of an amputee. It is another sort of interesting study of people's desires not being easily explained to others.

A 21st Century Cartoonist in King Arthur's Court - This one made me laugh a lot. It is a pretty straight forward gag. It kind of underlines the fact that although we are awash in miracles and innovations, how many of us know even to a basic degree just how any of it works. 

I enjoyed this.