Even the Internet Seems Quiet Today

Everyone's ready for Memorial Day and the three-day weekend.

If you're in the mood for some star-spangled comics, what with the holiday and all, go read some Captain America, preferably the Brubaker issues where they flash back to WWII. Bru manages to show Cap and Bucky as heroic while still portraying the horrors of war in a way that's a bit more realistic than the standard super-hero fare.

Or you could read some of Garth Ennis war comics. But I have to say I'm in more of a Cap mood today.

Formed a (Fictional) Band, Part 1 - The Comics

I was thinking about Scott Pilgrim the other day (I think about Scott Pilgrim a lot, often at awkward and inappropriate moments) - specifically, I was thinking about how awesome the name of Scott Pilgrim's band is -- Sex Bob-Omb. Not only is the name of the band awesome, referencing the classic Super Mario 2 character, but the portrayal of the band as a noisy group of indie kids thrashing their instruments just for the joy of it is awesome too.


Then I realized that the other band most prominently featured in Scott Pilgrim - the Clash at Demonhead - is a great fictional band in their own right. Aside from featuring Scott's evil ex-girlfriend, Envy Adams, as the lead singer, they are a perfect portrait of an indie band that has just enough success to be pretentious jerks but not enough to be truly famous or to really have "made it" in any meaningful sense. Just looking at them, you can imagine what they would sound like - probably kinda cool and edgy, but nearly as cool and edgy as they think.

This thought then led me to a thought about fictional bands in general, and how there seem to be a lot of them in movies and television, and to some extent even music (I'll explain in a later post the criteria to be a fictional band within music itself, because that area does get quite tricky), but not all that many I can think of within comics. While Phonogram is a music-centric work, it focuses on fictional characters' interactions with real music, not a fictional set of musicians. Nor do many of the other comics dealing with music really posit an entirely new band - they usually just reference, or even feature, an existing real-world band - KISS comics, anyone?

There are a few notable examples, however. The most notable one in the super-hero genre has to be Dazzler. While not technically a band, she was a musician, and even had her own series for a while. When she became a bit character in the X-Men universe, she also interacted, along with the other X-Men, with Lila Cheney, a character who fronted her own intergalactic band that toured the stars. While these examples are notable, they aren't notable for the quality of comics, as I've always found anything featuring Dazzler to be pretty abysmal.

Moving on, there's also Mike Allred's Red Rocket 7, an alien clone who becomes a rock star and provides a gateway for Allred's exploration of the history of pop and rock music. This limited series is well-regarded by many (though I've met some Allred fans who believe it is his worst comics work), but I must confess I've never checked it out and don't have too much of an opinion on it. It looks pretty cool though, and I like the concept behind it.


Finally, I'll move on to my favorite - Danny Duoshade from David Lapham's sadly cancelled Vertigo series, Young Liars. Young Liars was just about as rock and roll as a comic book can get, capturing the possibility and energy of rock and punk music perfectly. It also didn't shy away from the dark aspects of the culture, and featured its share of paranoia and drug binges. One of the most interesting aspects of the book was that it was hard to tell from issue to issue what was really real and what was a lie. Was the main character Danny just a loser, or was he really the ultra-famous rocker Danny Duoshade. Which aspect of the character was real and which was a facade? Danny and his fictional band, coupled with the entire format and story of Young Liars, is probably the most successful portrayal of music on the comics page I've ever come across (each issue even listed tracks for recommended listening by Lapham).

The Public Domain Is Wonderful

Especially when you have a Kindle or some other electronic means of reading which allows you to get these works for free.

I recently read both The Picture of Dorian Gray, by Oscar Wilde, and Venus In Furs, by Ritter von Leopold Sacher-Masoch (quite a mouthful of a name, right?). Both were highly enjoyable and worth checking out. Venus In Furs doesn’t approach the level of Dorian Gray on a purely literary basis, but it is wickedly fun to read. I mean, this is the work that literally gave the term “masochism” its name, and inspired the excellent Velvet Underground tune by the same name, so its got to be at least worth a skim, right? Also, whips are employed liberally. Its just that type of book.

Dorian Gray, though, is well worth your time. Quite possibly my favorite book at the moment. I always knew the basic story, but had no idea that it was so well-written by Wilde. Aside from a couple of tedious passages that go on interminably about things that are decidedly non-essential to the plot, this book is full of wondrously wicked wit and is eminently quotable. I probably could, and actually might, do a quote of the day for at least a full month from this book and still have many more quotable lines to spare. Some aspects of the book are, understandably, quite dated, but there are many parts of it that read as if they could have been written today.

The Faustian bargain that provides the basic thrust of the book is portrayed meticulously by Wilde. For those who don't know, the story of the book is that of Dorian Gray, whose wish that he might stay young forever while his portrait ages instead is granted. The consequences of this arrangement are dire for Dorian, for while he shows no outward detriment from the hedonistic life he leads following the bargain, the terrible toll of his choices can be readily examined by Dorian in the form of the painting. Wilde shows both the upside to a carefree, hedonistic existence and the inner turmoil provided by Dorian's duplicity convincingly. While the surface message of the book may be that Dorian's lifestyle catches up to him in the end, we can't help but identify and root for both Dorian and his incorrigible corruptor, Lord Henry, who has all the best lines in the novel and seems to be quite happy despite his failed marriage and seeming lack of moral standing. I was left wondering if perhaps the true message of the novel was that it is dangerous to hide our true selves from the world, and that we should instead let others see us as we truly are, whether that be good or bad.

In short, it provided much more entertainment and food for thought than I had dared to expect.

I Have Seen the Future

And it is

LAZERTITS *

* Surgeon general's warning: Lazertits is decidedly not safe for work. Children and small animals should not be exposed to Lazertits. If you experience an erection lasting longer than four hours after viewing Lazertits, please consult your therapist.

Back From Mini-Break (With Some Quick Music)

So I've been gone for a while after mostly keeping up with my "post every weekday" pledge, due to a combination of being busy, being lazy, and being slightly ill.

I hope to do some more in-depth stuff later, but for now I'll just post a link to this performance from Janelle Monae that blew me away. It's really just phenomenal, with a winning homage to James Brown thrown in for good measure. I have very little grounding in this type of music, as it usually is not my thing, but I think I will check out her new album ArchAndroid. It has a sci-fi concept, is getting great reviews, and is being compared favorably to Andre 3000's half of Outkast's Speakerboxx/Love Below album, which I loved.

(Not So) Simple Simon

I guess I’ve been promising reviews of the two remaining Top Shelf “Swedish Invasion” books for a while now – or at least since my C2E2 update, and wow, I really can’t believe that was almost a month ago already – so now its time to deliver. My review of The Troll King is here, but today I’m going to focus on 120 Days of Simon, by Simon Gardenfors, and Hey Princess, by Mats Jonsson.

As I’ve previously mentioned, both books are firmly ensconced in the autobiographical comics genre, but each book takes a very different approach to what that means. 120 Days of Simon is more tightly focused and bounded by a central conceit, as it only deals with a particular slice of the author’s life. Specifically, the book recounts something of a social experiment conducted by Gardenfors, in which he travels across Sweden over the span of 120 days, and never stays overnight in the same place for more than two nights. Sometimes he stays with friends, and sometimes he stays with volunteers who’ve agreed to host him after he made his experiment known on the internet. The fact that so many people allow him to stay with them makes more sense once us non-Swedish readers figure out that Simon is actually a rather well-known (or at least I gather this is the case from the book) rapper in his native country.

This premise both helps and hurts the book in certain respects. On the plus side, it keeps the book from taking on the rambling, aimless tone that sometime plague autobiographical works. The high concept nature of what Simon is doing gives us more to focus on than the random life an unfamiliar Swede. On the other hand, the premise almost reads a bit too much like a bad VH1 celebreality show – watch as Simon travels around the Swedish countryside having unprotected sex, taking drugs, and generally behaving badly!

But what rescues it from that for me is that the story is charmingly rendered, with simple cartoon figures interacting with each other over two panels per page for the duration, and the fact that, unlike many readers – from what I can tell from the few other reviews I’ve read – I actually found Simon quite likeable throughout the course of the book. Maybe I’m a sucker for the story of a guy on a quest, even if that quest is just to have fun and get laid a lot, but I found the journey Simon went on to be pretty compelling.

Partly because the book does have a defined end-point, there is a bit of drama in Simon’s story. He falls in love with a girl just before he’s about to go on his adventure, and while they agree not to be exclusive while he is gone, he still worries about losing her (I won’t give away whether he actually does get the girl in the end here). He also has some close calls with the angry family of a girl he meets on his travels, faces some financial peril, and engages in some serious introspection after sharing some peyote with one of his hosts. In the end, the book is just plot-driven enough to avoid the kind of navel-gazing many hate about autobiographical comics, but still focuses on the characters above all else. I would strongly recommend the book, with the caveat that your opinion may vary if you end up viewing Simon as a total jerk and not as an ultimately sympathetic character, as I did.

I’ll be back tomorrow (or so) with thoughts on Hey Princess!

Marvel: Geniuses or Idiots?

I think the answer is a bit of both.

Its a genius move to have a comic like Invincible Iron Man #25 on the shelves when Iron Man 2 launches. While firmly set in current Marvel continuity (actually, its firmly set in future Marvel continuity since it plainly occurs after the yet-to-be-completed Siege crossover), this book captures the spirit and tone of the Iron Man film franchise perfectly. I can't imagine anyone who is at all open to reading comics and who likes the Iron Man films disliking this book. Fraction's story, and most of all his portrayal of Tony Stark, is pitch perfect, and there are some genuine wow moments throughout this double-sized issue.

Now where does the idiocy come in, you might ask?

Well, Marvel are idiots for not finding a way to put a copy of this book into the hands of almost everyone who buys a ticket for Iron Man 2. They should be giving the thing away for free in theaters. And if they don't want to do that, they should be selling it digitally, and perhaps offering it at a reduced price (or maybe even, again, for free), to anyone who buys a ticket. They should NOT be leaving it up to the general movie-goer to have enough interest in Iron Man to seek out a comic shop, then hope that the proprietor of said shop has the good sense to put Invincible Iron Man #25 in their hands and say, "You liked the movie, you'll love this!" They aren't even leading the horse to water, much less trying to get him to drink.

So right, but yet so very, very wrong

I must own this. Glenn Danzig. Henry Rollins. Satanic Hall & Oates. Oh, did I mention its a romance comic? Will Glenn Danzig eventually try to kick someone's ass over this? Can whatever is contained inside this comic possibly live up to the brilliance of its premise?

Stay tuned, true believers. My order will be submitted today.

Filthy? Yeah. Rich? Not So Much.

So for my local graphic novel group, which meets every month, we tried a new experiment this month. Rather than all 20+ of us reading one GN and discussing, we split into four groups, allowing us to have a more manageable discussion. Each group got a different book to discuss, all related to the general them of "Crime". The assigned books were Torso, Road to Perdition, the first volume of Criminal, and Filthy Rich, the inaugural book from the new "Vertigo Crime" imprint. I ended up with Filthy Rich.

Coming into the discussion, I was prepared to be the lone contrarian who really disliked the book. But it turned out that most of the group agreed with me, with even the strongest defender of Azzarello and Santos' noir offering giving the book only a "C" grade. This really surprised me, because even though I didn't care for the book, I seemed to recall that it got pretty good reviews upon release. Also, although I haven't read much of Azzarello's work, including 100 Bullets, his signature series, I know he is a generally well-regarded writer, and that Filthy Rich fits right into the hard-boiled crime category for which he is known.

Actually, I think Azzarello's reputation might have hurt my reading of the book, because I expected a lot more from him than what I got. I had multiple problems with this book, which focuses on a down-and-out former football player, Rich Junkin, who lost his chance to make the big time after blowing out his leg just as he was about to turn pro. He's now working as a (really bad) used-car salesman, and gets involved in a shady world of high society and criminality after agreeing to act as a bodyguard of sorts for his boss's daughter.

If this sounds like a by-the-numbers, formulaic crime story, that's because it is, and nowhere does it really deviate from that formula. There were other issues as well, including some relatively weak art by Victor Santos. I don't think I had seen any of Santos other work before this, but here his work came off as the poor man's Eduardo Risso, or possibly the homeless man's Frank Miller. His rendering of the characters made it hard to tell who was who at times, and at other times his story-telling choices required a second look at the page to figure out what was going on.

I guess my main problem, though, was the lack of a strong lead -- or at least the lack of any strong, discernible motivation for the lead. Rich just kind of fumbles through the paces of the story, and we never really see any kind of plan or goal for him, beyond perhaps having sex with every woman in the story with a pulse -- all of whom seem to be inexplicably drawn to this washed-out loser. If Rich was a stronger character, or perhaps if the boss's daughter, who was probably the most interesting character in the story, had been cast as the lead instead, the familiar tropes of sex, drugs, murder, and double-crosses might have had more resonance and actually served the story, rather than simply leaving Filthy Rich to read like a connect-the-dots crime book.

All of which leads me to a broader point. I think I may have some idea why Filthy Rich got better reviews than, in my opinion, it deserved. A lot of people, especially people who write reviews on blogs or on comics websites, are very excited to see comics branch out of the superhero ghetto and include more diverse genres and subjects. Heck, I generally agree with them. But just because I love the idea of a Vertigo sub-imprint devoted to the crime genre, that doesn't mean I'm going to be any more forgiving to a sub-standard, by-the-numbers crime story than I would to a by-the-numbers, sub-standard superhero story. The problem comes in, in my view, when non-superhero books are given more latitude because they are trying to do something different (even if that something different would be considered formulaic or trite in another medium, such as film or prose novels).

So yeah, I would love to see more crime stories, but make 'em good crime stories, please. I'll discuss one of those good stories published by the Vertigo Crime imprint, Area 10, in this space soon.

The Troll King: A Review

The Troll King, by Kolbeinn Karlsson, is one of Top Shelf's recently released "Swedish Invasion" books that I picked up at C2E2. Before getting into the substance of the book, I do want to mention/disclose that both Karlsson and Mats Jonsson, whose book Hey Princess I will be reviewing on this site soon, were two of the nicest, friendliest artists I met at the show. Its kind of amusing that Karlsson's back jacket picture makes him look kind of scary and intense, but in person, he is a big, soft-spoken teddy bear.

But enough about that -- none of it would matter if the books were no good. And while I enjoyed all three of the books, they each offered something a little different to recommend them to the audience. While both 120 Days of Simon and Hey Princess are grounded firmly in the real world, The Troll King offers a sumptuous flight of fantasy into a slightly off-kilter forest world, swimming in strangely compelling oddness. I don't know if it was the geographic connection or something more, but as I read The Troll King I could almost hear Swedish band The Knife's Silent Shout album playing in the background, beckoning me further into the deep woods and introducing me to the strange characters to be found there.

The scenes portrayed in The Troll King take place mostly in a surreal dreamworld far away from society, featuring all manner of creatures -- the hair-covered male couple whose story makes up the bulk of the book, their strangely conceived children, the carrot-man who strangely transforms into a massive tree and later reproduces, the dwarf floating down the river, the green men who also make the forest their home, and other, stranger delights. And if the dreamlike quality of the work does not end with the depictions of the forest and its creatures, but extend to the progression of events, which follows the type of pleasant yet somehow foreboding logic of the deepest and most affecting of dreams.

Yet despite the surreal nature of the book, rendered beautifully by Karlsson, there is a real emotional response conjured by the stories found within. Particularly compelling are the hairy men, self-described as "ewoks," who hide their appearance to go out into the world and buy groceries at IGA. Their affection for each other is genuinely touching, as is their struggles with raising their two children, including the painful process of dealing with adolescent rebellion and their offspring's eventual rejection of their forest home.

Karlsson accomplishes most of these effects without any words at all, letting the art speak for itself and tell the story in a way that allows the reader to import his or her own significance to the symbolic images laid out on the page. While I've only read The Troll King for the first time today, it seems likely to be a book that will reward multiple re-readings, opening up new interpretations and connections between the psychedelically-tinged images contained within.

Coming Attractions

I don't have time for a full-on post today, but I did want to jot down a few books I plan on reviewing very soon here, time permitting. I'm making this list as much for myself (to remind myself what I want to write about and put pressure on myself to actually do it) as for any hypothetical reader - and I sometimes feel that all my readers are hypothetical - who may be interested.

So here we go...

Things I'll be reviewing -

1. The 120 Days of Simon by Simon Gardenfors
2. Hey Princess by Mats Jonsson
3. Filthy Rich by Brian Azzarello and Victor Santos (I read this for a monthly graphic novel discussion group I go to, and this was actually the first reading "assignment" we've had that I really didn't care for - at all).
4. Area 10 by Christos Gage and Chris Samnee

Other pieces I want to do -

1. Why Destroyer is an amazing artist, and could possibly be the Alan Moore of indie music.
2. Well, maybe I'll just leave it at that for the moment.....

Bollocks

So DC/Vertigo allows Milligan to do a Hellblazer two-parter which explicitly identifies England's Conservative Party as literal undead, soulless monsters, and Marvel apologizes for using a sign that was actually used at a Tea Party rally in a scene involving angry, anti-government protesters.

I've only one thing to say to that, Marvel:

Bollocks.

Bow to the Master

I'm usually more of a writer guy than an artist guy, but sometimes you just have to sit back and give credit to a true master of comic book artistry. In this case, I'm talking about Bill Sienkiewicz. Bill's work has been blowing my mind since I was a kid - it always captivated me when I ran across it, even before I was old enough to even pay attention to who the creators on a book were, because it was so utterly different than the other comic book art out there. I remember poring over his DD graphic novel with Frank Miller, Love and War, again and again, trying to figure out how he did that.

Today I finally got around to reading last week's Spirit #1, the relaunch by DC under its new First Wave imprint. The main story was good, with great art by Moritat, but the Sienkiewicz black and white back-up just blew me away, and was undoubtedly worth the price of admission even without the lead story. His art looks even better in black and white than in color - its atmospheric, moody, and more expressive and evocative than almost anything out there today. Here's a sample - take a look, and bow to the master:

More Streaming Goodness

New Pornographers' new album, Together, streaming at NPR. What's up with all the high-brow publications like NPR and NYT advance streaming the hottest new indie rock/pop music?

Oh well, I'm not complaining.

I'm just listening to the first track now, so maybe I'll have some more reaction later, but so far, so good.

EDIT: OK, I'm finished, and I was impressed. Much better than the comparatively weak Challengers. I always love the three or so Bejar (more on my Bejar love another day) songs on any New Pornos record, and this one was no exception, but I thought the non-Bejar tracks this time were much stronger than usual. After one listen, I would say this is a return to form for the superstar group that just kept going.

The National's New Album

I liked Boxer, I liked Alligator, but the new one, High Violet, has really bowled me over.

Its streaming at the New York Times website right now.

They took the quiet intensity of Boxer and took it up a notch. Well-crafted music, thoughtful and thought-provoking lyrics, and not a weak song out of the bunch. There's a lot going on in the music and the arrangements, but it never gets too busy to obscure the strength of the melodies. In short, the National leaves enough room to let the songs breathe and grow on you with each listen.

Favorite line at the moment: "I was afraid I'd eat your brains."

Brooding, engaging music plus zombies?!? This really is an early contender for album of the year.

C2E2 Quick Thoughts

I had a great time at C2E2 this weekend, despite only attending on Saturday and Sunday. I've seen mostly positive, though somewhat mixed, reactions online, but from a fan perspective, it was a very enjoyable show. There was plenty of room at McCormick Place (really, too much room, which is something I think they'll try to fix next year), making for an easy to navigate and un-crowded experience.

Some of the highlights of my time there include:

- Getting my Complete Action Philosophers book signed by Fred Van Lente and Ryan Dunlavey, both of whom were incredibly cool guys. I also got a quick Modok sketch from Ryan and chatted with him and his lovely family for a few minutes.



- A quick chat with Jim Mahfood, one of my all-time favorite artists, about the wonder of Hunter S. Thompson and all things Gonzo (he had on a Gonzo symbol shirt, I had a Gonzo tattoo to show off).

- New Dr. Who on the big screen with an appreciative audience who laughed, clapped, and cheered in all the right places.

- The look on my daughter's face when she was handed a free Iron Man action figure and got a picture with Spider-man at the Marvel booth. Great job by Marvel on their kids' day stuff.

- Getting my copy of Area 10 signed by Christos Gage and Chris Samnee, with a quickie sketch by Samnee. Both of those guys were really down-to-earth and great to talk to. A review of Area 10 should be forthcoming here in the next couple of weeks.

- A "Local" sketch by Ryan Kelly - beautiful work, Ryan.


- Some surprise purchases and signing, including buying a copy of "You Have Killed Me," from Jamie S. Rich and all three of the "Swedish Invasion" comics from Top Shelf. I was able to get 2 of the 3 signed and chat for a few minutes with the artists, Mats Johnson and Kolbein Karlsson. It was very interesting to get these guys take on Chicago and C2E2 - I hope they had a great time in our city. I also had my credit card for the purchase run by Matt Kindt, which was a very weird experience - ("Love your work, 3 Story was awesome, now process this transaction....")

- Drooling over Doug Mahnke original art for Final Crisis #7.

There was plenty more going on, but those were the things that really stood out for me. I did somehow miss a couple of creators that I wanted to see, such as Cameron Stewart, and Bill Willingham (despite seeing him in or around the DC booth about 7 times during the two days I was there), but for the most part I got to check out everything I was there for. As for the rest, the answer is easy for a seasoned Cubs fan - "Wait 'Til Next Year"!

We need more stuff like this

Looks like an indie version of Wednesday Comics, full of oversized newsprint awesomeness!

I'm back... again

So for a large variety of reasons, I haven't done this for a while. The long and short of it is I get busy at work, then when I get less busy I get lazy, then when I get less lazy I think of other things to do, then I pretty much forget that this blog exists and it all becomes a self-perpetuating cycle that stops me from doing something I really want to do. Either that, or it was all an evil plan concocted by Darkseid.

But now, for the one or two readers (read, people who accidentally clicked on this site while searching for something else) I may have left, I'm back with a renewed commitment to updating this site regularly. I know, I know, you've all heard this before, but this time it COUNTS!

To that end, though, I'll be making a few changes in the goals and format of this space. These changes are designed to allow me to keep doing this without abandoning it (for the third time), while also hopefully gaining some new readers and building a more stable presence.

The first major change is that I'm going to expand the coverage of this site to all pop culture, not just comics. The primary focus will still be comics, followed closely by music, with occasional posts on books without pictures, films, and television. In short, if I read it, listen to it, or watch it, its fair game. This expanded focus will allow me to say what I want to say on a wider variety of topics, and give me something to write about at times when I really don't have anything comics-related worth saying.

The second change is that I'm going to abandon all pretense of reviewing, writing about, or in any way covering newly released comics each week. Its just impossible for me to do that in a timely manner. By the time I make my way to the comics shop, pick up that week's books, read them all, and write something cogent about them, they're all pretty much old news anyway. And one tough week where I don't make it to the store until Saturday and don't have time to read everything until the next Wednesday pretty much blows the whole thing out of the water. Plus, I'd rather be writing about the stuff that I am really into at the moment rather than trying to figure out what the hell I want to say about this month's totally unremarkable issue of Batman, for example.

Finally, I am going to try to post something every weekday, and sometimes on weekends. Even if I'm swamped, even if that something is just a link to something interesting I found, or some song lyrics that have been running through my head, or a quick paragraph about a book, writer, artist, or band you should be paying more attention to. I'll try to make it more substantial than that, most of the time, but it may not always happen.

So here's a start. If you like comics, even just a little, tiny, insignificant bit... hell, even if you don't like comics but don't hate them, either... you should be paying attention to Paul Pope. His work is amazing, and like nothing else out there available today. Read this interview to learn more and see some samples of his work.

Oh yeah, and if anyone out there knows where to score a copy of Pope's art book, Pulphope, without breaking the bank, drop me a line.