Graffic Traffic – More Comics About Buildings And Food – Column

Graffic Traffic

“More Comics About Buildings And Food”

by Ryk McIntyre

As I promised at the end of the last column, G & T indeed went to the Museum of Fine Arts for the “European Comics” exhibit, and let me tell you folks, if it had actually been there, instead of at the Boston Public Library, we all would have a lot more to talk about here. Also going there the day after the show closed didn’t help either. So, to console my bitter disappointment, I read a bunch of the comics that warm-hearted publishers everywhere have started sending us here at the office.

Usually it’s relatively newly released stuff, yet we’ll review even yesterday’s books, such as the two trade-paperbacks sent to us by Claypoool/Boffin Books, Elvira, Mistress of the Dark (various writers and artists) and Deadbeats: New In Town, both of which reprint the early issues of their respective comics. Of the two, Elvira at least has the goofy camp of the live shows/movies, if not the cleavage. Sorry, but Deadbeats comes off as a pale copy of the movie The Lost Boys, but never scares, and hardly entertains. Things were a bit brighter in the package from Sirius Entertainment Inc. (publishers of Halo – An Angel’s Story that was reviewed in these pages some months ago), which included issue #20 of Poison Elves, Sirius’ best known title, sort of an elfin story for the Marilyn Manson set; Animal Mystic – Water Wars, which matches the obvious sci-fi story with Vaughan (Cheech Wizard) Bodé-esque art by (I kid you not) Dark One and lovely colors supplied by Ashley U. This one is the best of the bunch visually. There was also Demongate. Bao Lin Hum and Colin Chan (story/art) manage to obscure their best moments visually, like the fight scene on pages 18-20, with its strong shadow and light play, by drawing too much like Barry Blair, a man responsible for more bad b/w comics than anybody. Then again, their best moments look a lot like Frank Miller so, see? It is who you rip off from that’s important.

For sheer thrills and giggles, it’s hard to beat anything that artist and now writer Kevin (JLA, Strikeback) Mcguire sloshes together in his eternal quest for super-hero comics that are… fun. From Valiant/Acclaim comes Trinity Angels, which hopes to make comics safe for buggy-eyed monsters, babes in revealing battle-dress, wry humor, bad humor, at least one sword, and the longest tongue I’ve ever seen. After a pile of bad or over-self-important books, this one is like ice cream; you know what you like ’cause you got it and that’s what you got. Another respectable costume book is Kurt Busiek’s Astro City (Image/words – k.b., art -Blyberg & Sinclair). In issue #6 we finally learn a little more about Shadow Hill, how the normal folks view the local heroes, and AltarBoy learns the truth about The Confessor! All in one issue, if you can handle it. Off of the hero books now, this month we have two books by our favorite shite-slinging, reservoir-dogging Scotsman, Garth Ennis and two of his usual suspect friends. Often mentioned in these pages, Preacher (Vertigo/DC, art – Steve Dillon) is the ongoing story of Jesse, the Minister who speaks with God’s Voice, and Cassidy, his vampire friend. In issue #26 we get the second part of Cassidy’s origin (carried over from #25), learn of his love affair with NYC, and even better learn his real name. I know words have power, and to know of someone’s True Name gives you power over them, but I don’t think Cassidy has much to fear about someone using his name against him. They’ll be laughing too hard. From Caliber comes a b/w book featuring Garth and constant collaborator John (HitMan, The Demon) McCrea concerning two wee bastards, Dougie and Ivor, as they try to live a Scots life with Dougie having to marry soon, Ivor taking over his uncle’s still after getting Uncle Shugie’s pet snake Eve killed in a bar prank, then having to deal with both its ghost and Shugie’s (who has a heart attack when he learns of Eve’s fate), who decide to haunt him. There’s also the foreigner with the mystery accent (I’m serious here) and other ominous tidings. Like when Ivor slips a laxative in Dougie’s drink at the bachelor party timed to go off about three days into his honeymoon. This is serious lowbrow humor here and I can’t recommend it enough. I’ll see what I can do about getting an interview with him, that’d be a swig of the poteen!