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RICK TREMBLES' MOTION PICTURE PURGATORY
by Rick Trembles
(192pp trade paperback, B&W, $16.95 from FAB Press,
www.fabpress.com)
Review by Mike Hunter
Maybe it’s the subject matter – film criticism - unusual even for alternative comics. Perhaps the fact that, aside from appearing in the
Montreal Mirror newspaper (may its circulation increase!), Rick Trembles’ work is only occasionally seen in comics anthologies. (Though those who hang about
The Comics Journal message board are regularly alerted by Rick himself to online postings of his latest review-strips...in color, yet!) How else to account for the relative lack of fame and insufficient acclaim given this Canadian comics creator? Several sessions* of dipping into the delights of this splendid collection can’t help but impress upon the discerning reader that Rick Trembles is a remarkable talent, and that his "Motion Picture Purgatory" is a top runner for the most formally inventive comic strip ever. ”The unique layout of each one of these strips is a marvel to behold,” says Pete Bagge, if I may bring in one of the “big guns” to confirm my judgment.
There’s an architectural fascination with structure in Trembles’ comics: the critiques of some cheap-thrill-a-minute movies (
Alien Adventure,
House of 1000 Corpses) are depicted as carnival rides, appropriately Escheresque visuals echo the convoluted narrative of
Last Year in Marienbad. For
Valentine, a huge cartoon heart makes an edifice from which sprout windows, doorways, balconies, each showing a scene from the film. In
Cube, the lethal structure in question fills the panel, emerging from the pictorial space toward us, rendered transparent to simultaneously show moments occurring at different times in that Canadian “sleeper hit.” Cross-sections are another favorite visual stratagem of Trembles: the sinking ship of
Titanic, peril-laden
House on Haunted Hill or residence of Norman Bates, worlds above and below the grave of
This Night I’ll Possess Your Corpse, motels with roofs lifted so we may look down and watch the characters scurrying about like rats in mazes.
Scenes are frequently depicted in that odd nonconvergent, “paraline projection” variety of perspective used in some architectural renderings. Aside from a few recognizable likenesses, most people are “icon-ized,” the women featuring similar pearlike heads, differentiated with details like hair color. (Yet Trembles can render a deft caricature as well.) The fill-in-the-blank psychological exam given Alex the Droog is replicated in the
Clockwork Orange review,
Unbreakable turned into a Road Runner cartoon. Here and there are admiring hommages to Ray Harryhausen, Georges Mélies and innovations in the Fleischer Brothers cartoons from Trembles, who has a soft spot for the charm of low-tech film FX magic, dating back to his nerdly boyhood. Back then, privy to the technical secrets of
King Kong, young Trembles “...would take great pleasure in walking the streets vividly imagining scenarios of rampaging stop motion animated dinosaurs demolishing urban environs!” (...Sounds good to me!) Outré rarities, “B”-movie classics, and even porn** (
Flesh Gordon Meets the Cosmic Cheerleaders) are covered along with Hollywood blockbusters. A lengthier writeup will sometimes leave a single image afloat in a sea of hand-lettered verbiage, while occasionally words are dispensed with completely, in favor of striking visuals.
In a few reviews Trembles will cover “making of” background information, cultural backdrops to the events onscreen, or, in the style of the now-hoary “New Journalism,” insert himself into the comic strip. The writing is literate (related articles and interviews are frequently quoted), yet with a punkish attitude, perceptive, always entertaining and sharply funny. Special praise must be given to the jaundiced, witty wordplay and alliteration awesomely amok atop all "Motion Picture Purgatory" strips:
“S&M overlord’s FX-overloaded psyche surrenders to science!” (
The Cell)
“Fearsome ‘fly-on-the-wall’ filmmaking at the funny-farm!” (
Titicut Follies)
“Impossible impregnations promulgate puerile profundities!” (
Being John Malkovich)
“Duelling doppelgangers dismantle dystopia!” (
Fight Club)
“Bondaged beast batters buildings for belle!” (
King Kong)
“Beelzebub plays cupid to a frump’s unpumped rump!” (
The Devil in Miss Jones)
Critics yearn to make their writeups at least possess some aesthetic merit. In this "Rick Trembles’ Motion Picture Purgatory" collection, Trembles regularly creates critiques which are, unquestionably, works of art in and of themselves. Worthy to revisit and enjoy again and again. (An index is helpfully included, by the way.) Lastly, kudos to English publisher FAB Press for a handsome (the trade paperback has embossed covers printed in silver and black), reasonably priced volume, and above all for recognition of the talent of Rick Trembles. (May the book go into several printings!)
* Each one-page critique is so dense with information (in an enjoyable, entertaining way, I hasten to add) and graphically intense, I fear prolonged reading might cause heads to explode, as in David Cronenberg’s
Scanners.
** The
Montreal Mirror gives Trembles remarkable leeway: X-rated body parts and activities may be regularly seen, though those expecting lubriciousness, be warned: arousal is unlikely to result.
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