BLACK STARby Jeff Zwirek
($2.00,
www.jeffscomics.com)
Reviewed by Mark CamposBlack 120# card cover, with a star diecut window, in center of which a silver badge with a black star on it. Stylish! What about the insides? Well, there's a story about minicomics creators, which is highly critical of the "fanboys" .. then a story where Jamie Farr forms a superhero team of rock stars, and "Jesus-5", in which five versions of the Son Of God form .. a superhero team-up.
It would be mean, at this point in the review, to bring up the character in Evan Dorkin's Northwest Comics Collective story, who complains bitterly that superheros are stunting the potential of comics, but who draws nothing but superhero parodies .. so I won't do that, and instead I'll point out that Jeff's art is showing some great promise, though shaky at the beginning; and that "Saddle Shoes", which has nothing at all to do with comics, points down an interesting avenue of inquiry for the guy's work. Plus, there's a short interview with Jeffrey Brown in the back. And you get a spiffy badge!
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ELEPHANT MESS #12
by Dan Murphy
(Try a couple of stamps to Dan Murphy / PO Box 6352 / Boise, ID / 83707 USA. Web:
juniperbug.blogspot.com)
Reviewed by Eric LydenNice, small, low key personal zine about Dan's high school days. Mostly about those feelings of being lost, alienated and meeting and breaking up with his first girlfriend. He also writes about how writing (more specifically, poetry) saved him. Also included are a couple of the poems he wrote in high school (which are about as bad as you'd expect from high school poetry) and an article entitled "Schools are Factories, Schools are Jails" which is pretty self-explanatory. I didn't think it was great, but it was good.
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TEENAGERS FROM MARSby Rick Spears & Rob G
($19.95,
Gigantic Graphic Novels)
Reviewed by Tim O'NeilThis is an extremely accomplished debut from Spears and G, even if the book leaves me slightly baffled. On the one hand, they seem to have a confident sense of collaboration, producing a pleasantly conceived visual style that seems to rest quite nicely between the extremes of hyper-realistic manga and mainstream American adventure books. The art reminds me quite strongly of Paul Pope, but unless I miss my guess I think that has less to do with any conscious borrowing and more with shared influences.
But on the other hand, this is perhaps the most intensely
juvenile book I've read in ages. I don't mean that in a pejorative way - not necessarily - but this book captures the rhythms and preoccupations of teenage life so unnerringly that the pages practically sweat surplus testosterone. If there is an emotion worth feeling, it's worth feeling to incredible extremes. If something is worth doing, it's worth doing as violently as possible. Reading this book made me realize how completely I have become an adult, with all the stodgy quietude that implies. I realize we're supposed to root for young punks out to buck "the system" and get one over on "the man", but seriously, this is so incredibly over-the-top that you can't help but occasionally roll your eyes.
The story begins after Macon loses his job at Wal-Mart and gets into a fist-fight with the store manager. After that, Macon and his new gal pal Madison stop over at the store to knock out a couple windows and end up destroying a lot more than that. Of course, it doesn't take long for the Powers That Be to figure out who did it, and from there the story progresses rapidly into a superheated outlaw story —
Bonnie & Clyde with more superfluous pop culture references. Eventually Macon and Madison become full-fledged super-heroes, busting into police stations, molesting mayors and hitting the road to dispense their brand of pro-comic justice across the lower 48.
All of which tends to choke the oxygen from the atmosphere, just like being a
real teenager. Quite honestly, this is a difficult book to review: it's the type of book that makes demands of the reader. You have to be able to passionately
feel what's going on, or the proceedings will remain unavoidably opaque. Much like certain strains of punk music or the poetry of Sylvia Plath, you have to be
seriously invested in the material yourself in order to appreciate it on anything more than a technical level. I imagine that for anyone who feels — or at least vaguely remembers what it feels like to experience — an overwhelming rush of mad impulsiveness every second of the day, coupled with a boundless societal frustration borne out of subliminal expectations of entitlement, this book will speak to them loudly and without any ambivalence. This is the type of book where brutal fist-fights are considered courtship rituals, and if that sounds like something you can relate to then this is probably the book for you.
There is no doubt that Spears and G have definitely created something of lasting endurance here: whether or not I like it is somewhat besides the point. I have every expectation, based on the sizeable underground reputation it has already achieved, that this will become one of those rare success stories that grows exponentially by sheer word of mouth. As I said, it's impossible to be ambivalent about
Teenagers From Mars: you will either embrace the book like a special manifesto written in blood, or you will stand at the sidelines scratching your head in vague befuddlement. If you like it, you've probably already given your dog-eared and coffee-stained copy to ten of your best friends. I will happily count myself among the befuddled, because I strongly suspect that I am just too old to get it.
All things considered, I'm OK with that.
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DOLLTOPIAby Abby Denson
($2.00,
ComiXpress,
Abby Denson)
Reviewed by Mark CamposKitty the ballerina doll is bored with life in the Fantasy Home with Soccer Scotty. One night she and Army Jim escape and go to Dolltopia, a city "where renengade dolls can live".
It's a charming story, told with Abby's cheerful art. Long on explanation, as most Utopian stories are. As a story about non-conformity, it makes its points over and over again — it works better if you read it as Abby's projection of life in the big dollhouse of New York City — the concept of the boutiques and nightcubs of that worthy place filled with renegade dolls making new lives for themselves is interesting, though not pursued very far here. A doll-doctor, face scarred like Black Jack's, who builds arm joints for stiff-armed dolls, is another unique idea that gets lost in this book's brief span.
Still, when I make my million I'll commission a special printing of this comic, hire a plane and drop bundles of them over the Midwest. Arise, dolls, and throw off your conformist shackles!
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ESCALATORby Brandon Graham
($12.95,
Alternative Comics,
Brandon Graham)
Reviewed by Mark CamposOne story in this collection namechecks Paul Pope, Moebius, and Vaughn Bode on the same page. You could guess this guy's influences without opening the book. Another story describes a tagging run — the author used to be heavily involved in the graffiti art scene. You could have guessed that too. Unlike other graffitistas who have taken up the comics cross, though, Brandon can spin a story, and his lines and blacks shore him up nicely — like Farel Dalyrimple inking "BEM"-era Gilbert Hernandez.
Most of the stories are shards of what should be larger works. Check out "Green Porn", a strong shot of urban magic realism, and "Ieonium Blue", which is like a lost episode of "Halo Jones". Combine with the proper music, maybe a Damo Suzuki period CAN track, and you can complete some tidy little bookmovies in your head with these comics. I hope Brandon finds the scope to do some longer stores soon.
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NOODLE #1
by B. Winter
($1.00 from
winterizer.mm.st)
Reviewed by Matt DembickiThe title of this mini is appropriate since the comics require (or inspire) some thought. Winter’s plays on words are great, and his use of different cartooning styles shows that he appreciates and knows how to use the comics medium. My favorite strip concerned a character who complained about the thought bubbles lumbering over his head. He rebels against the thought bubbles by actually jumping on them, with unexpected consequences. I also enjoyed “When Words Fail” which gives news meaning to eating your own words.
Noodle is a smart, witty little ditty!
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BLOOD MONEY GAZETTE #1
by Randall Fleming
($3.00 US / $4.00 world ppd, cash only, or prearranged trade from Randall Fleming / PO Box 625 / New York, NY / 10276 USA.
E-mail)
Reviewed by Eric LydenEver wonder what it was like to be a human guinea pig? To get paid money to take strange pills or to be poked and prodded by doctors or even just to be stared at while you're in a little glass room trying to relax? Well, wonder no more because that's what this zine is about. It's a pretty interesting look at a world I, as a confirmed hater of all doctors and medical professionals, hope to never be a part of. Seriously, you couldn't pay me enough to go through some of the shit described in this zine, but I'm glad Randall is a braver man than I and is willing to tell his tales. I admit there are some stories that go on a bit too long for my tastes, but this is still an enjoyable zine that looks at a way of life I know nothing about.
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