I got new comics the other day, so perhaps today is a good day to get into a proper comics daze. After Diamond’s collapse, it’s just hard to know what’s actually being published, so my comics buying has trickled off, but I think that perhaps I’ve now got it right at Goshenite, so I’ve been able to buy more stuff. I’m still not sure I’m hitting the correct PRH/Lunar dates, though…
And for music today: Albums from 1997 only. Just because.
| Stephan Mathieu: Wurmloch Variationen |  |
12:38: Butch: A Hate Comic by Peter Bagge (Fantagraphics)
Oh, so this continues straight off of the Hate series from the other year? Well, that’s cool. I wonder whether Bagge is going to settle into doing a series of sorta-yearly one-shots about the crew… that’d be fun.
In this issue, Butch is first adopted by some alt-right people who kinda screw him over, and then he lands a job after pretending to be trans. It’s a happy ending for Butch!
I wonder whether people on Bluesky are angry about it… no, doesn’t seem like it. I guess nobody’s read it.
| Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliott: Supa Dupa Fly |  |
12:56: Rio by Doug Wildey (IDW)
I’m not really a Duran Duran fan, but… oh, I did that joke already? Yeah, I read the Comico collection of Rio some weeks back, and I wanted to read the rest of these strips.
This is reproduced pretty dark? Was it this way originally? This is one of those books that’s halfway between those huge “artist editions” and a normal collection… which is… Well, I guess it’s cheaper than scanning and then restoring?
Anyway, the stories are solid. These are classic western stories — Rio is a drifter without much personality (beyond being a good guy), and he then encounters various famous personalities (Doc Holliday, Wyatt Earp, etc) and has some adventures. It’s not very original, but as these things go, it’s very entertaining. Wildey’s artwork is perfect for this sort of thing, and you can feel his love for this milieu.
But… this reproduction, man… I can’t imagine that this was how Wildey meant for it to look.
The book also includes an unfinished story — it’s fun looking at what stuff Wildey inked/coloured first and what he left for later, but…
Anyway, somebody should do a new collection of this material, but in a more restored, normal way, because these are very readable stories that deserve to be presented in a more readable format.
| Stereolab: Dots and Loops |  |
13:45: Hype #1
This book was included in a package of Comics International issues I received some weeks back. Either a mistake or somebody included it as a gift, I guess?
This was apparently published around 1990 by Miriad Comics, a shop in Croydon.
It’s pretty good! The artwork on all the pieces seem to have the same energy — they must have had some kind of scene going on in Croydon.
Most of the stories don’t really go anywhere, but it’s still a pretty neat book.
14:07: Š! #57 (Kuš)
I got this from here.
The theme this time around is Scandinavia, the Balkans and myths.
It’s fun.
And very pretty.
And interesting.
Yet another great issue, really.
14:27: Testament by J. Marshall Smith (Bulgilhan Press)
This starts off well — it’s a kinda traditional setup with colonists going to another planet, cared for by an android.
And the artwork’s nice — it’s quite Linnea Sterte.
But the story is just the most jejune thing about Christianity and god and stuff. Very disappointing.
14:51: All-Star Statics #2 by Jeffrey Lewis
Hey, did I read this before? It’s from 2023…
Yes, this seems very familiar, but I re-read it anyway. It’s still really good stuff — very lively take on autobio comics and stuff. Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be any new issues…
| Various: Recovery |  |
15:09: Naked by Éloïse Marseille (Pow Pow Press)
Well, OK… this art style just isn’t my thing — it’s very animation influenced and extremely tablet-ey.
I like the general feeling of the book — it’s all about sex — but the didacticism gets wearying after a while.
Heh he. Another book about The Horrors Of Herpes? Well, not quite, but it makes you wonder what kind of edumacational system they have over thar.
15:48: Rabbel 2 by Anna Fiske (No Comprendo Press)
This is really charming. Love the colours.
This is one of those rare comics for children that are actually meant for children to read.
But it’s amusing for adults, too.
16:17: Oddball #1 by Mike Bodziak (Seriously Disgusting Comics)
I guess this one came from Domino…
This is very strange…
… but I like the artwork.
| Laub: Kopflastig |  |
16:23: Prop Comic by Veronica Graham
At least that’s what I think this is called? It’s impressively big — it’s not tabloid size; it’s broadsheet size. That’s something you rarely see.
This is quite something… it’s kinda vague what it’s about, but it’s interesting.
I like it.
| Kaia: Ladyman |  |
16:38: Fun Time by Mike Dawson
I got this from here.
This is a collection of stuff previously published in various minis or on Insta and the like.
The er “desktop publishing aesthetic” doesn’t really appeal to me…
… but it’s amazing how well it works as a book. It doesn’t feel forced in any way, but still it hangs together in a digressive way. It’s an engrossing book, and funny, too. I very pleasant way to spend some time.
17:37: Metadoggoz by Bérénice Motais de Marbonne (Drawn & Quarterly)
I like the general look of this book… punky 80s comics…
But I found it really hard to get into this book. The mixture of Fake Drama scenes (like above) with an apparently metaphysical plot is just pure Snoresville for me.
So despite some cool pages (see above), I ditched the book halfway through.
| Fridge: Ceefax |  |
17:50: The Shadower by Peter and Maria Hoey (Top Shelf)
Wow, that cover doesn’t look so much like a Chris Ware knockoff, but like a knockoff of a Chris Ware knockoff. Like somebody really into Ethan Persoff.
The storytelling style is pretty unusual for this day and age — it’s mostly driven by captions with the images not really adding all that much.
And the images look very much like clip art. They aren’t, but they have that feel, so the whole thing is kinda offputting.
Oh, and they’ve seen The Rehearsal, I guess?
I kept on reading, because despite it all, I was getting kinda into it. But then the plot (oops spoilers) turned out to be some trite thing about identity. I mean, you can do that well (say, Auster or Lynch), but it’s not really done well here.
But I guess… it’s OK?
The Hoeys are keener on exploring the idea of identity, and they use a spy thriller to do it. They’re certainly not the first to do it, but they do it in a tonally odd way, which helps the story quite a lot.
Which I guess means that IDW has a good publicity dept:
Spies, double agents and political activism makes for a potent brew and that’s excellently exploited in a memorable graphic novel.
Although they seem to have sent it off to some odd sites:
Top Shelf Productions voluntarily rated The Shadower as a book for Mature Readers. I think that’s a fair assessment, though there is little in the way of offensive content.
But like all the Hoeys’ eerie, moving work, The Shadower on every page puts you in a state of unreal reverie that calls your conscience to wake up.
The Goodreads rating is 3.41, though, which is as low as it gets:
This is the first time I’ve ever read a graphic novel with a “show don’t tell” problem and I’m honestly a little unsure what to make of it. The story of The Shadower was interesting, definitely pretty unique overall, but 99% of it is written in summary of everything that’s happening on the page which leaves absolutely no room for the reader to interpret from dialogue or the literal artwork what’s happening in the story. Nope, we’re literally just told every single piece of what’s happening so much so that it basically makes all of the illustrations pointless.
18:34: The End
OK, I think I’ve read enough comics for today. Gotta run some errands.