Graffic Traffic
by Ryk McIntyre
Many years ago (1991 or so), the best and most profitable of Marvel Comics’ stable left, disgruntled at creating characters and being stiffed on licensing money, to form Image Comics. At first laughed at, they have since become easily the third largest comic company. To underscore their fortunes and Marvel’s trials, two of them, Rob Liefield and Jim Lee, were invited back to “re-launch” some of Marvel’s oldest core titles. Now they get the chance to do some stiffing themselves.
If you know anything about Rob “Can’t draw, don’t care, wait till you read my prose” Liefield, then I don’t need to tell you how bad Captain America and The Avengers are. I mean, I really don’t have to tell you. Let’s just move on, folks – nothing more to see here. At least Jim Lee’s crew makes Iron Man look “cool techno” even if everybody’s character is re-written with extra asshole or angst. Great haircuts, though. Bruce (Hulk) Banner makes it look like that early ’80s “New Romantic” thing could make a comeback. (Hairstylists rejoice!) Similarly, Fantastic Four, which, unlike the other three, up-dates their origin, benefits from the modern approach – the techno looks big, slick, and daunting, and the characters look, well, fantastic. In particular check out pages 40 and 41. That is one fine drawing of The Thing. Taking us up to their initial encounter with the Moleman, this comic at least accomplishes what this re-launch is supposed to be about: old favorites with a new look. Good if you like this sort of thing. (Sorry.)
Similarly, Incredible Hulk – Hercules Unleashed, also by Peter David, finally uses these two characters, especially Hercules, in the way he ought to be presented, set against Greek mythology. Apparently there to tie up several loose plot threads, it still makes a great stands-by-itself single comic, something there just aren’t enough of these days.
From Omaha Cat Dancer creator Reed Waller comes Thumbing Boxes, an erotic (I mean hot!) tale of voyeurism and fourth-wall storytelling. It starts off with two college students, who it turns out are a video watched by two women (who then have sex), which is in turn a video watched by two couples (more sex), which is yet another video watched by a single couple who then get up off the couch and go into their bedroom (I bet they have sex but we don’t get to see it, goddammit!). Done in an innovative computer art style (adroitly explained in the front inside cover – yeah all that print you tore past to get to the sex), this book is what erotica should be. Fantagraphic scores, so to speak.