Sputnik (1993) #1-2 edited by Michel Vrána
Vrána had edited the (very good) Reactor Girl anthology, and here he’s starting a new one. Reactor Girl was quite unassuming, but Vrána seems to want to class things up here. We have “Departments” and “Features”, but no “Manifesto”.
And it’s magazine sized, and is printed on aggressively white and shiny paper, so it seems tailored for, say, being sold in hipster record shops, perhaps.
Which makes it kind of odd that Vrána starts off the series with the first part of a nonsensical Jay Stephens super-hero parody thing.
More apt is Dylan Horrocks… but these single page introductions to the “departments” seem rather portentous.
It’s a solid story, though, about racism and stuff.
Carol Swain does a vignette about punks as zoo exhibits, and this is perhaps the most relevant story in the issue — if this is aimed at music stores, that is.
There’s even a 7″ included. I’ve been listening to it while reading this issue, and it’s pretty OK? The band is called Daddy Carbon, and there’s no explanation as to why it’s included in the magazine. Discogs says that it’s their only release. Perhaps they were friends of Vrána?
It’s a Toronto band…
Nick Craine does an illustrated interview with the guy who was going to adapt Yummy Fur to the movies. That never happened ,of course.
Craine does his best to make the interview thrilling, but… it doesn’t quite work.
C’mon. This sort of thing just feels like wasting space in a magazine that’s only 48 pages long. But I mean, reprinting some Adrian Tomine is probably a good idea, anyway.
So the first issue is mostly people already published by Black Eye.
The second issue is completely different. Daniel Richler and Dominic Burgatto do a long pieces about… I have no idea.
That’s followed by an even stranger piece by Ian Carney and Aidan Potts. If they were going after the record store market, the first issue seemed pretty well conceived. While I like the artwork here, using half the issue on things that impenetrable doesn’t really sound like a good choice for the long term survival of this anthology.
Brian Biggs provides a brief (and funny) respite.
And then it’s back to scratching your head with Vincent Aliberti and Sean Scoffield, which, again, has compelling artwork, but is pretty opaque.
Speaking of compelling artwork — has anybody ever done a real collection of Jeff Johnson’s comics?
I guess these are reprints, but they’re the best thing in the issue.
So: One pretty good issue, one pretty bad issue, and it’s over.
I guess they saw what the sales were on the second issue and decided that that’s enough.
Nick Wyche writes in Overstreet’s Comic Book Marketplace/Monthly #12, page #007:
Sputnik #1 (Black Eye Productions)
I Inentioned once before that I felt that you
get more bang for your buck with many
anthology comics, and Sputnik definite-
ly falls into this category. With work by
cartoonists like Jay Stephens, Adrian
Tomine, and Dylan Ilorrocks (whose
work I’ve rec()mmended previously),
this magazine format comics slick,
intelligent, and poised to make a big
impact on the business with it’s cross-
market potential! It even comes with a
vinyl 45 single!
Cross-market potential.
The Comics Journal #167, page #116:
From the ashes of Tragedy Strikes press comes a
new imprint, Black Eye Productions, with its flag-
ship anthology, the very classy Sputnik. Featuring
Sweet production values and a care for detail, it
looks great and reads even better. Editor Michel
Vrana has tapped several artists from the former
company for this smart, stylish, and engaging pre-
mer Issue.
A jam-packed 48 pages (plus an extended-play
45 rpm record that is, at best, unnecessary), the book
includes a visually engaging Randy the Skeleton
story by Ian Carney and Aidan Potts, an allegorical
episode from Wai Out Strips’ Carol Swain, and a
nutty “Atomic City Tales” segment
from Sin Comics’ Jay Stephens, the
only cartoonist who dares a con-
tinued Story (and who suffers
accordingly). Longer segments,
listed as “departments,” are even
better. “Feature Fiction” Offers Dylan
Horrocks• nine-page “Black Sun,” a tale
of xenophobic bigotry. It’s a rich, convincing intru-
Sion into some odd territory. ‘Mini-Comic Pro-
file” is devoted to the conspicuously worthy author
of Optic Nerve, Adrian Tomine. He contributes three
deft, fully realized vignettes (and a back cover),
each demonstrating a mastery of the mini format.
Nick Craine subverts the staid Q & A format in an
“illustrated interview” with Bruce McDonald, the
Canadian director currently at work on a screenplay
for Chester Brown’s Ed the Happy Clown. ne dis-
cussion is submerged in a quirky narrative that takes
place in a car (a location where Craine’s Cheese
Heads have had some memorable moments). It’s an
ingenious construction that emphasizes texture over
text, experience Over inforrnation.
This blog post is part of the Total Black Eye series.