Comics Daze

Oh my deer — it’s been a couple of months since I last had a day for comics reading. I guess I’ve just somehow been insanely busy or something? Dude. Gotta find more time for comics.

And I’ve got a new camera since the last time… let’s see how the results are.

For music today: Albums that I had as a teenager only. Just because.

Genesis: And Then There Were Three

14:13: The Mess by Noah van Sciver (Fantagraphics)

Well, it’s nice to see Van Sciver finally trying to do something other than his usual thing (and I like his usual thing).

Unfortunately, what he’s doing is a bog standard Apple TV series — you’ve seen this thing a bunch of times: A family visits the old, spooky neighbourhood, and there’s spooky stuff that spooks them.

So while a total cliché, this thing can work well — but Van Sciver does not have an ear for dialogue, and the story is both too unfocused and too basic at the same time. There’s the obligatory plot twist that you’d have to be a moron not to see coming, and

.

I suspect Van Sciver made this with Netflix TV series money in mind. But why would they buy this, anyway — there’s nothing here that’s new. Perhaps the mother’s total ineptness (just maddeningly so) is because Van Sciver tried to capture Stranger Things s1?

I guess it’s nicely drawn, though?

Elvis Costello: This Years Model

14:46: Legion of Super-Heroes #1 by Williamson/Sherman/Bonvillain (DC Comics)

I enjoyed reading the Legion comics when I was a child, but I’ve continued to pick up every new iteration… It’s such a simple concept that it’s hard to figure out why it’s never successful. Every iteration since the 90s has been pretty dead.

But this looks promising. Most of that’s down to the really attractive artwork, of course. And they’re doing The Origin Story once again, which I normally hate — but it seems to work well here. I’m on board.

15:02: Philcockophy by Josie Girand (Desert Island)

This book is a collection of sex gags.

It’s pretty funny. I like the artwork.

15:08: King-Cat #85 by John Porcellino

This issue is about dreams (mostly).

Heh heh, that’s a classic one for sure.

It’s a very good issue. Feels focused.

David Bowie: Stage (1)

15:18: Heart Shapes Tears by Abby Jame (Silver Sprocket)

I was really sceptical going in here — you know, “Instagram comics”. *shiver*

But this is really good! It’s got a very distinct point of view, and it’s funny. And it works as a book — cumulatively, these pages grow into something bigger, more despairing. It feels like a real glimpse into something fake. Good stuff.

There’s also some short actual comics stories in here, and I like them fine, too. But they seem a bit under-developed in comparison.

Hey, I made waffles.

15:43: Dog Days by Keum Suk Gendry-Kim (Drawn & Quarterly)

I picked this up at a sale… I think I quite liked Gendry-Kim’s previous book(s), so I’m not sure how I missed this first time around.

Oh, D&Q… “contemporary autofiction”. I guess “autobio” is too declassé now.

The artwork is really very appealing.

And the entire book is about dogs and how they’re treated in South Korea. (Spoilers: Badly.)

So in between stories of what her dogs get up to, there’s all these scenes of mysterious dog butchers and… people make liquor out of dogs!? How does that even work? “Soju!?” That just sounds wrong. And evil. And impractical.

I wasn’t aware that you could make likker from meat at all…

Anyway, the book’s pretty solid — the storytelling is good, the artwork’s great, and you get a sense of being there. And it’s quite moving in its low-key way.

16:18: Fish in the Percolator

I guess this came in a Mystery Mail box…

It’s about coffee. It’s fun.

David Bowie: Stage (2)

16:20: Roy #2 by Gilbert & Natalia Hernandez (Fantagraphics)

I’m not sure whether this series is going anywhere or if it’s totally improvisational — it rather feels like the latter.

But it’s very enjoyable anyway.

16:28: Š! #60 (Kuš)

I got this from here.

The concept for this issue is Gen Z. That is, all the creators are Gen Z — I love that concept.

So, understandably, it’s mostly artists I haven’t heard of before, because I’m old.

But there’s a lot of really strong pieces in here — my one criticism here would be that the stories are too short, so nothing gets much space to develop.

But jokey ones (like the above) fare very well.

And touching ones, like the above — aww. But some of the pieces tend towards either being rather didactic or being totally incomprehensible… but perhaps that’s just me.

It’s a really enjoyable anthology to read, anyway.

16:46: The Wilderness Collection by Claire Scully (Avery Hill)

So this is a pretty conceptual book…

I really like the artwork.

We’re promised “a sequence of events”, but that remains pretty elusive — at least for me.

I do like the artwork — the line somehow reminds me of Rick Geary.

Talking Heads: Fear of Music

16:54: Barbed Wire by Ethan Llewellyn

This is a collection of previously published material.

It’s a funny book — lots of gags that work — but the artwork is extremely dependent on cribbing figures from panels by Jaime Hernandez. But he’s also drawing everybody in this… what’s it called? quarter profile view? And I don’t know whether he’s copy-pasting his figures in and then redrawing them, but you get that photocopier effect that’s disturbing.

But I mean — pretty good anyway.

Oh, and there’s also Daniel Clowes.

But I mean, Llewellyn is (presumably) young, and the funny bits are really funny.

17:18: Mother Please Don’t Give Birth To A Monster by Shirakawa Marina (Drawing the Line)

Yet another Japanese horror comic from the olden days (in this series of books), but this is just from the 80s.

It’s body horror, but it’s not really the usual kind.

It’s very inventive and pretty grisly, and… I have to say that I was rather bored by the book.

Supertramp: Breakfast in America

17:38: Stickybun by Tunde Adebimpe (Desert Island)

This is apparently a book that was originally published in 1998? At least it’s presented that way.

And it’s great! It’s a classic indie one-person anthology — funny, well put together, well drawn and great storytelling skills. So I’m guessing the artist did one book and then disappeared into a more profitable profession?

The Residents: Eskimo

17:53: Forevr by Brian Box Brown (Top Shelf)

Brown has streamlined his style further, I think? It works pretty well — even though it’s very simplified, he has distinct character designs for each one (which is something you often don’t see in books with this look).

But it rather falls apart in scenes like this — the white-haired person is the daughter of the person with the beard and the person with the long, orange hair. And there’s nothing to indicate that in the designs at all.

I mean, you know from the text, but it’s not ideal.

The story is a satire about AI and the use of AI personas for dead people. “Satire” is code for “not actually funny”, which this book respects totally.

The future the book presents is pretty depressing and all too likely. It’s not a bad book, but it gets bogged down and lacks zip.

(I took a little nap in the middle of the book. 🥴)

The Police: Regatta de Blanc

19:33: Future Proof #1-4 by Virginia Paine

This is a story of a heist, and then intergalactic mysteries and love and sex and stuff.

It’s charming and engrossing — it just has a really good flow, like a classic 90s indie science fiction comic.

Lots of mysteries and strange things — it’s very entertaining. And with appealing artwork.

20:10: Poetry Comics by Grant Snider (Chronicle Books)

Oh deer. I assumed from the title that this was going to be, er, for grown-ups, but nope — this is for children. Not that there’s anything wrong with that!

And it’s not bad, really — it’s fine.

Ah, le terrain vague.

But even though this book is totes OK, I bailed after a couple dozen pages.

Neil Young & Crazy Horse: Rust Never Sleeps

20:19: The Machine is Broken by Jared Sarnie (Fieldmouse Press)

Hey, this looks really interesting…

So many Photoshop layers…

Anyway, this book is about assisted suicide (and not), and is told in a very convoluted but thrilling way — we’re constantly on the edge of incomprehensibility, and that really draws you in as a reader. It’s really good! And so many art styles — Sarnie is mad talented.

20:36: The End

And I feel like I’m on a roll here with these comics — many good ones in a row now — but I really have to make dinner. To avoid swooning.

But that was a really solid batch of comics today.