Saturday, February 28, 2004
< comics/x >
MOXIE #1
(Produced by Fine Comix. E-mail Mark Campos to inquire about availability)
Moxie is an anthology put out by the Seattle collective, Fine Comix, the goal of which is to show that the comics medium is indeed an artform. I believe I read another reviewer's opinion that – in reference to their stated objective – this volume contains nothing that hasn't been done before. That may well be true but I believe the point is that some of the more experimental work is new (or fairly new) for the cartoonists in question. Of course, that's only an assumption on my part as I haven't read a great deal of work from most of Moxie's contributors.
That said, my absolute favorite work in here is the stuff by Dalton Webb, which includes a one-page strip and all four covers. There seems to be a heavy Dave Cooper influence but he's hardly a knock-off (note the front cover, which is a nice contrast to Webb's more cartoony interior work). I really enjoy looking at his drawings (his strip is lots of fun, too) and am interested in seeing more.
Second favorite? I don't know, there's a fair amount of interesting work. It could be Stefan Gruber's "All Sidewalks Say Something in Braille" (wacky cute brut). Or it could be Mark Campos' autobio piece about working in an animation gallery and learning a crazy-sounding Warner Brothers cartoon from his childhood actually does exist. Hell, for all I know my second favorite might be David Lasky's contributions (one a funny childhood story, the other a rendition of the first few verses of Genesis, the approach similar to this treatment of "The Raven" in Orchid). But, hey, there's even more stuff by Tatiana Gill, Sarah Gavin, Richard Visick, Jessixa, Elijah Brubaker, Davey Oil and Scott Faulkner. I'm looking forward to this group's next effort.
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Thursday, February 26, 2004
< recordings >
GRAPHIC MUSIC by Jung Robot
(Robet Jung, http://tci.homestead.com/jungrobot.html)
Review by Ben T. Steckler
This disc is subtitled "Songs Inspired by Comics". Okay. I can see in the track titles references to Mister Miracle, Preacher, Uncle Sam, Human Torch and Phantom Lady. There's even a track called "Splash Page/Wakanda", which is a reference to both the first page of a story, usually with a bold, attention-grabbing first panel, and to the homeland of T'Challa, AKA The Black Panther.
All that being said, this is Techno, and Robert Young must read his comics by the light of a Glo-Stick. I'm a much bigger fan of comics than I am of Techno music. I find it boring and repetitive, and I really loathe bands that don't really play instruments. The liner notes don't credit any musicians, so I'll assume that this was all sampled and programmed. When I think of Techno or Acid-House and Comics, the first band that comes to mind is Pop Will Eat Itself. But I'm reminded here more of Rob Zombie on the more upbeat tunes and Love & Rockets on the slower tunes. Again both artists with a comics influence. If I were a fan of Techno, I'd probably enjoy this disc, but me, if i'm in a club and they start playing this kind of music, I try to locate a pair of hypnotically-swaying boobies, and take my mind off the music.
The first time I listened to the track "Mister Miracle", I thought he was saying "Miss America". One of the hazards of that techno production, when the vocals are layered and dubbed to sound processed and garbled.
The best track is "Preacher: Fear of God". The music has more mood shifts, and tells a more complete story here. There's something to listen to, if you need to take a break from the dance. This track and "It is Uncanny" (which gives nods to Jack Kirby and Chris Claremont in its lyrics) are the ones that remind me of Love & Rockets, the band.
This is good music to dance to, or good background music for work or sex, and it gets a place in my collection because I have a thing for music that references comics.
But it's hard to just sit and listen to it. If you're a comics fan looking for some new music to trance-dance by, you might enjoy this, though, so go get yourself a copy.
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Wednesday, February 25, 2004
< comics/x >
THE AMAZING CYNICALMAN
($9.95 + $1.50 post. from Matt Feazell / Not Available Books / PO Box 12038 / Hamtramck, MI / 48212 USA. Web: www.cynicalman.com)
I've been reading Matt Feazell's comics for – oh, my – nearly 20 years now and I'm still enjoying them. They're not what I would call "cutting edge" (whatever that really means) but they're fun and make me laugh. Feazell's timing, humor and draftsmanship have all improved over the years but the truth is he had mastered the stick-figure form by the time I first saw his work sometime in 1985. This paperback collects the entire run of the "Amazing Cynicalman" weekly strips that originally ran in several Michigan newspapers. What you get is mostly family-friendly humor that includes the occasional commentary on local topics or politics.
Cynicalman, of course, is the primary character but not always the star. He shares the page with such aptly-named characters as Antisocialman, Stupid Boy, CuteGirl and Mr. Know-it-all. I know, I know... If you've never read the stuff before it all sounds like something out of a fifth-grader's notebook (okay, junior high then). Well, I suppose that's part of the gag. The characters are basically as shallow as their names would suggest but it doesn't matter because they're only vehicles for the artist's jokes. Scenarios I find really funny for one reason or another include Dr. Pweent (a mad scientist) turning the modern-day world back to 1900, most anything with Waldo Brakefluid (philosopher) and the Cynicalman versions of the American Revolution and How the Grinch Stole Christmas.
If you're put off by the concept of stick figures and haven't read any of Feazell's work I encourage you to look past your prejudice and check it out. You may find that it's not your cup of tea but I think you'll also realize that the guy knows what he's doing.
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Monday, February 23, 2004
< comics/x >
FELLOWSHIP
($3.00 from Frederick Noland / PO Box 12253 / Berkeley, CA / 94712-5253 USA. Web: www.altgeek.net)
Fredo has a real knack for drawing pathetic lowlifes. Some of them are rural bumpkins and some are urban hillbillies, but I'm certain I don't want to know any of them – even though I already do, I'm sure of it. Of the three pieces here my favorite is "Ramble", a story about a redneck vacation gone all wrong (or right, I guess, depending on your perspective). Another story is a wordless account of a man's chance (well, at first) viewing of his neighbor through her apartment window. This one proves once and for all that television is not what it's cracked up to be. The final piece is a funny two-pager that illustrates bestiality laws and punishments from those wacky Hittites circa 1400 B.C. Fellowship is funny and more than a little disturbing. Fredo manages to infuse into these vile dregs of humanity a blend of humor, sleaze, violence and desire that I actually find myself relating to. What the fuck is wrong with me?
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