Graffic Traffic
“Thank You Sir, May I Have Another?”
by Ryk McIntyre
A promising development around G&Tville is the increasing number of companies sending us their stuff for review. That’s how we like it, that’s what we’re here for. So, if you’re a publisher who hasn’t sent something our way, especially if you’re a self-publisher, do so now. Our operators are standing by… well, slouching in an erect sort o’ way.
The biggest package always seems to be the one from Antarctic Press, usually a whopping twenty or thirty, mostly Manga (I talked about that last column…), or better yet the “Adult” stuff, copies of Genus (various artists/writers) sporting sub-titles like “Special Extra Large Lesbian Unicorn Issue.” I guess the word “bondage” just wouldn’t fit across the cover. Even worse, they sent Big Boob Bondage, a book so hideous it’s humorous. The book is credited to “Dementia,” I’d presume the person, not the ailment behind this. Even the venerable Bill Ward, a man whose drawn more than his share of “breasts avec size-impossible sans gravity,” would shake his head.
Brightest amongst the offerings were AFTERTIME (words/art by Patrick Thornton), a Warrior-Nun Areola spin-off that sports nice, uh, computerized color, and Athena #0 (words/art by Dean Hsieh) which, although the art is Manga-style, is a nice little punk-rock sci-fi boy-meets-hermaphrodite story. (Antarctic Press, 7272 Wurzbach Suite #204, San Antonio, TX, 78240 fax (210) 614-5029)
It was a very good day when a package arrived from Fantagraphics, perhaps the best non-Superhero publisher out there. One of these was Roberta Gregory’s Naughty Bits #21, a book I’ve talked about several times, and you should still pick it up. The other books were a mixed bag, I liked Minimum Wage (Bob Fingerman – words/art. PO Box 70, Gracie Station, New York, NY, 10028, or fingerbo@ village.ios.com) ’cause nobody draws the kind of people I’ve known combined with an art style that is professionally clean, but with a less-schooled creative natural ease. Very good, this one. I was less pleased with Trailer Trash (Roy Tompkins – words/ art), a milder version of Mike Diana’s Boiled Angel, but nearly as grotesque. If you like that sorta thing. Best of Breed definitely goes to ZeroZero #15 (various), a compilation that, this issue, features Joe Sacco (Palestine, Yahoo) doing a Christmas story set in Bosnia, and the ever-scratchy Richard Sala, who offers a chapter of The Creeping Whatsit, a Gothic with bats. Dave Collier, Sam Henderson and Al Columbia are also here, so that makes it a must-grab. You may not always like a Fantagraphics title, but you’ll also never find another book like it. (Fantagraphics Books, 7563 Lake City Way NE, Seattle, WA 98115, 1-800-657-1100)
On the absolute ass-opposite side of the comics world, I happened to catch the recent catch-up guide to the Marvel Universe, suffering as it is under the Post-Onslaught Continuity (say that with a straight face) called, Tales of The Marvel Universe (various writers and artists) which also serves to premiere two upcoming titles; Kazar (creative team tba) and a way-old Tarzan rip-off that served time in around X-Men books a while ago. Those of you who like saber-tooth tigers, dinosaurs, and spear-wielding native-types will like this book, those who long for the days of jungle girls in leopard bikinis who carry big knives will rejoice that Sheena the She-Devil is also in this book; and The Thunderbolts (Kurt Busiek – words, Mark Bagley – art) featuring the super-team that, in the absence of The Avengers and The Fantastic Four (see above Continuity reference), endeavor to fill the “hero gap” but a grave secret lurks ominously behind them. When I read that I thought, “Don’t tell me – they’re all actually Super Villains dressed up and acting like Super Heroes!!” Not to be a plot-spoiler, but you don’t get through Issue #1 without that being confirmed. I always wondered if some villain might ever hit on the correlation between showing up, again, in the same costume and how quickly he gets beaten up, again. Given the bad guise (that’s a pun) that makes up this team, the term “second string” comes to mind, but then again Marvel had a hit 6 years ago with The New Warriors, so anything is possible.
A whole other shade of comic book is the marvelous and rather Edward Gorey-esque Alec Dear – A Dark Pome (artwork by Matt Smith, words by Mediocre Concepts Unltd. Mediocre Concepts Unltd. PO Box 490, Hadley, MA 01035-0490). It starts off with a fade-in that is cinematic in its flow, and as elegant as an etching in delivery, introducing the mystic serial killer Alec Dear. Oh, and the rest involves infanticide, police intervention, an alcoholic clown, and how to escape with nothing but a corpse and some helium gas. Each mostly one panel page is suitable for framing and the poetry’s moth-eaten quality lends itself to the tricky sick territory this attempts.
Before I go, there’s this guy I know who works in a Comic Shop and yearns (yearns, I tell you) to get his stuff out there. For a while he has both threatened to put out another issue of his self-published title, and threatened not to. And with Eyewater #2, Tom Devlin (art, no words) has done both. No panels, no story, no captions or speech balloons, just a veritable Who’s Who of the Eyewater Universe. Perhaps this is just so we can recognize them on sight when Eyewater #3 comes out. Nevertheless, it is a picture book of Tom’s goofy, rubber-cubist style. Hey, for extra credit, see if you can spot Fidel Castro, The Emperor With No Clothes, Kurt Cobain (when he still had the back of his head), and The Girl with the Big Ones. It’s only a dollar, and it’ll fit in your back pocket, no problem. (Eyewater, PO Box 1956, Cambridge, MA, 02238).
Next month: G & T goes to the Museum… (Duhn, duhn duhhhhnnnnn…)
