Rack Raids

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You Think You Got What It Takes To Be A Warrior Scribe?

We’re looking for a few good Vikings. If you have a love for comics and strong writing skills, we could use you. We’re going to bring on two new staff writers for “Thor’s Comic Column” and Rack Raids. If you want to be one of them, send me two comic book reviews – one floppy from the past two months and one trade – by September 5th at scfahey@yahoo.com. The boys and I will review all the submissions and notify the lucky Viking apprentices.

Zero Killer #1 (Dark Horse)
by Graig Kent

Post-apocalyptic stories all-too-often wind up taking place in a desert atmosphere, and while some fun stories can be told where only a harsh, dry, sandy environment exists, I like the after-annihilation stories that are set within the remains of recognizable civilization. Movies like Omega Man or The Quiet Earth allow a small number of survivors to explore a suddenly lifeless society, to scavenge buildings, to attempt to establish some sort of ‘normal’ life. Zero Killer is set 34 years after the nuclear “Zero Hour” in a flooded New York city where the upper floors of the city’s skyscrapers hold the only life and the taller buildings - the World Trade Center, the Chrysler Building, the Empire State Building - house the gangs that pretty much rule the city.

Zero is one of few freelancers in the city, unaligned under a gang, and dangerous enough to be relatively untouchable. Zero is a bounty hunter for the gangs, specializing in returning strays in trade for supplies. On his latest mission, which kicks off this issue, Zero takes down a trio of thugs, saving a girl, Stark, in the process. Stark tags along with Zero as he returns the thugs to the Panthers, led by Lady Dahlia, who’s as ruthless as she is naked.

Clearly envisioned by writer Avrid Nelson, the world of Zero Killer is intriguing. The introductory text and the peripheral materials, though, which includes a faux brochure for new military recruits that primes them on the hierarchy of the gang-controlled buildings and the potency of the radioactive natives is the meat. This military side of the Zero Killer world is unfortunately left untouched in the story, which is a shame because it seems like an even better vantage point to explore the environment and all its nuances and dangers. Hopefully subsequent issues will find Zero encountering “JOCOM” and expanding upon the threat they present or establishing the control they actually have in this world.

The art by Matt Camp is spectacular: highly detailed, cleanly rendered with characters that are distinctly identifiable by their face alone. Camp is a real talent, with shades of Paul Gulacy in his style. He’s lucky to have Dave Stewart, one of the masters of color in modern comics, accompanying his art. With Camp’s shading and Stewart’s colors, the book has a definite sense of atmosphere, with an unrelenting mid-day sun that bakes the flooded city and washes everything in a bright yellow.

This first issue serves as a nice introduction, but the potential of this book is so much greater than the first story we’re presented. Even if Nelson doesn’t capitalize on the rich structure of his new world in this series, with Camp and Stewart’s brilliant art, this is certainly one book any pulp sci-fi fan should pick up.

THREE AND A HALF OUT OF FIVE VIKINGS

Three Fingers (Top Shelf)
by Graig Kent

Rich Koslowski’s 2002 graphic novel Three Fingers is in parts satire, parody and sketch comedy. Committing fully to an alternate world, ala Roger Rabbit, where toons and humans coexist, Three Fingers uses analogs of some of the most famous - Mickey Mouse, Porky Pig, Foghorn Leghorn, Bugs Bunny - to set his fiction as something recognizable to the average reader.

Under the guise of a biography, Three Fingers explores the dawn of new cinema with Dizzy Walters and his muse Rickey The Rat as they set the world alight and toons finally gain acceptance in society. Koslowski here adheres so closely to the formulae of the TV biography that you can practically hear A&E’s Jack Perkins narrating, which is to the book’s definite advantage. With the format, interspersing “photographs” (lovingly rendered by Koslowski) with narration and “interviews” with toon celebrities and experts, there’s a tangible reality to the proceedings despite how unreal it is. The revelatory nature of the story makes the book fascinating, and at times shocking, with the main reveal of the story eliciting an audible exclamation when I read it.

Though not overtly rough with language or gratuitous anything, this is certainly not a kids book. The humor is sophisticated, not meant to be a chuckle-fest, but rather a clever and creative lampooning that commits seriously to a silly idea. It’s ingenious in some respects, and as much as it could have delved into sophomoric or juvenile comedy, it maintains a certain dignity and class, as if it were really handling its topic as serious journalism.

Koslowski’s art is on-point, rendering the interviewees with exceptional detail in pen and ink set amidst a single bright lighting source and a black background. His “photographs” are set apart with an ink wash technique that gives them a taken-from-reality feel. The narration is note-perfect throughout and sucks the reader in. The last time a comedic biography worked this well in comics was Kyle Baker’s flawless The Cowboy Wally Show. This certainly reaches very close to that bar. A tremendously entertaining read well worth seeking out.

FIVE OUT OF FIVE VIKINGS

Death, Cold as Steel # 1-3 (Panel Press)
by Graig Kent

Through two volumes of Raised By Squirrels, writer Bram Meehan has been slowly building a unique world of superheroes and political espionage, the main story of those two books set in modern day and still building to its climax. Short back-up features have expanded his universe somewhat but it’s here, in this three issue mini-series that Meehan finally capitalizes upon his concept and hammers out a story that is different in tone then his other works, and yet reads very well both independently and fitting to the world he built.

As the title immediately implies, this mini-series has a healthy film noir undercurrent to it. Set immediately post-war in 1946, the Steel Soldier - America’s first public superhero, an integral part of their war effort, a national hero, and dubbed “the Indestructible Man” - is found dead in an alleyway. Investigator Aubrey Norris is called upon by his government to investigate the death as quietly as possible, and as he comes to terms with the new S.Q.R.L. (Superhuman Qualities and Research Laboratory) department, it’s people and their abilities, he only finds himself in danger as certain parties wish the investigation canceled. As Norris get beaten, threatened and starts assembling the puzzle, he finds his answer, but has no idea how he’s supposed to close the case.

Though briskly paced, Meehan’s story comes together with much excitement and intrigue, the noir overtones fittingly heavy and enjoyable. Artist Jamie Chase, using heavy markers and a loose structure, hits the noir home. Chase, with Monica Meehan assisting in production, toys with forced perspective and uses some digital shading/lighting tricks to accentuate the story, giving some scenes a Hitchcockian sensibility. There are hints of Frank Miller within Chase’s layouts as well as pulp and newspaper strip illustration, a gritty and fascinating mixture that serves Meehan’s story exceptionally well.

Overall, this is a sharply told tale with some rough edges, and an ending that is both surprising and smart. A solid steel read.

THREE AND A HALF VIKINGS OUT OF FIVE

Jellyfist (SLG Publishing)
by Graig Kent

If you and your buddy were to sit down and jam, to create some off-the-cuff, off-the-wall cartoony nightmares where rubbery penis creatures were the subject of endless derision from other rubbery penis creatures, or where rubbery rabbit looking things were made the target of sleazy ice-cream innuendo by rubbery purple badger-like creatures, or where the rubbery hobo apocalypse replaces the zombie apocalypse, or where rubbery body parts swell up and explode in great measure, extruding bees or rubbery, amoebic, parasitic offspring, well, you would likely have a great time making it, but it’s not likely to attract you a publisher or draw you much attention.

But when you’re Jhonen Vasquez with a legion of both goth and hipster fans alike, well, this kind of thing is expected of you and is equally a sure-fire hit. In fact, if ugly little critters aren’t being beaten bloody or if happy-go-lucky potatoes aren’t being eaten by squids, well, by gum, a Vasquez fan would likely be disappointed.

Jellyfist is an undersized squarebound collection of short (one to three pages) sketches, a collaboration between Vasquez and artist Jenny Goldberg, whereby Vasquez would pump out an irreverent, sparsely detailed script and leave it to Goldberg to illustrate in her imaginatively twisted and, well, rubbery style. The end results are alternately curious, disturbing, funny, ugly, warped, and, occasionally, detestable.

These are (self-admittedly by Vasquez) inside jokes for the creators, something to amuse each other. They’re each so short though that they pass quickly like gas (sometimes amusing, sometimes inappropriate) and would otherwise be forgettable, but what lets the audience in on the joke is the creator commentary wherein Vasquez and Goldberg (in a Red Bull induced fugue state) detail what went right, what went wrong, and what disturbs even them. It’s like watching a mediocre film but discovering a tremendously insightful and enjoyable commentary track that makes it better, even worth revisiting. It’s actually via the commentary that I find the strips to be entertaining, knowing the creative process behind them somehow brings some sense of order to the chaos.

Utterly bizarre, and therefore definitely not to everyone’s liking, but admirers of Vasquez or fans of irreverent cartoons like Aqua Teen Hunger Force will certainly get into it.

THREE AND A HALF VIKINGS OUT OF FIVE

Raided: Inanna's Tears #1 (Archaia Studio Press)
by Sean Fahey

Ancient Sumer, one of the earliest known civilizations, isn’t exactly your typical comic book setting, which right away made the first issue of the new series Inanna’s Tears something I had to check out. My curiosity was piqued. Interestingly enough, the series – which follows Entika, a young Sumerian girl who discovers that she has been chosen by the Goddess Inanna to be her people’s new spiritual leader – centers around a very familiar comic book theme…with great power comes great responsibility. This is the second comic I’ve picked up from Archaia Studio Press in as many weeks and I continue to be impressed with their unique catalog. I’d love to see more historical fiction (and diversity), similar to this, in comics. The characterizations are strong – you have a “villain” in the warlord Belipotash who sincerely believes his actions are justified and that he is acting in the best interest of his people – and the artwork is fantastic, with earthly colors that evoke both a sense of place (the Middle East) and the passage of time. If you’re looking for something “off the beaten path” the next time you’re at the comic store, you might want to give Inanna’s Tears #1 a look.

THREE AND A HALF VIKINGS OUT OF FIVE

Fletcher Hanks: I Shall destroy All The Civilized Planets / You Call this Art?!!: A Greg Irons Retrospective (Fantagraphics Books)
by Elgin Carver

The comics of today could not exist as they are had they not been preceded by the underground comics of the 1960s that paved the road taken by many of the more influential artists and writers of the past 20 years. For those too young to remember, the schism that divided the culture of this country during that decade did so more profoundly than any other time since the War Between the States and affected every aspect of that culture, including comics.

Artist on the west coast delved into the culture and comics past and present and found them lacking. They wanted to express themselves in a personal manner, utilizing the comic book as medium. They found visual influences from those comics they had read as children but the content came from lives often lived on the fringe of society. Dissatisfied with the options open to them, holding values often radically different from the norm, and anxious to express, even flaunt their beliefs in the face of The Man, They developed stories more violent and sexual than any comic book seen previously, and for the most part seen anywhere today.

One of the obscure visual influences many of these artists used was Fletcher Hanks. Described in a short passage in The Comic Book Reader’s Companion as… a true primitive….drawing like a deranged Grandma Moses…his work has to be seen to be fully appreciated. First printed in comics like Jungle and Fantastic, to the eye of the connoisseur his work seems more advanced today than when first published. However if one is completely honest and not just reactive to passing fads, this is truly primitive art. What is today termed outsider art, art made by the untrained but esthetically pleasing due to the underlying talent and strength of the artist.

In this volume we get 15 complete stories by Hanks and a visual tale of the editor Paul Karasik’s search for details of Hanks life. The results of that search bring to life data that presumably reduces the standing of Hanks in Karasik’s mind. Work both bizarre and childlike with stories truly strange and practically nonsensical are as distinctive as any other comic artist of that era. Why they would be influential can be easily understood.

One of the better artists of the underground comics world was Greg Irons. Distinctive and of clear talent, Irons’ comics were chocked full of extreme graphic violence and sex. The total amount of comic book work Irons did was probably no more than that of Hanks, but was of highly superior quality. Like Hanks, Irons private life would be, to most, distasteful, even abhorrent in some aspects. His early death after being struck by bus in Bankok, Thailand on what was described as a trip in search of prostitutes, especially after having abandoned comics for work as a tattoo artist, deprived the comic world of a talent that might have been as influential and powerful as that of Robert Crumb, his best known contemporary.

In this volume a quite complete biography is accompanied by many, many examples of his work but few complete comic stories. When one has only read the comics and knows few details of the life or the artist, it is possible to take the stories in and reflect upon them from a variety of viewpoints, taking this concept and then that as the meaning to be derived. However when one is faced with eccentricities of the individual responsible for the work, it becomes difficult to separated the artist from the art. Those that have seen the documentary on Robert Crumb’s life can easily understand. In retrospect one cannot but wish Fantagraphics had given us a book with the complete comic art of Irons and none of his life.

Perhaps the best course is to enjoy the work of any artist working in any genre without knowing anything of their private lives. However books of this quality make it difficult to follow this advise.

Fletcher Hanks: I Shall Destroy All The Civilized Planets

FOUR OUT OF FIVE VIKINGS

You Call This Art?!!: A Greg Irons Retrospective

FOUR AND A HALF OUT OF FIVE VIKINGS

Killing Girl #1 (Image)
by Graig Kent

Taking a page from Luc Besson, writer Glen Brunswick and artist Frank Espinosa introduce the latest young female assassin, Viper. At a young age, Sara was torn away from her family, brought into a criminal organization and forced into prostitution. But even as a child she had a vicious streak and during an attack she tore out the jugular of one of her assailants, earning her the nickname Viper. Her toughness identified, she was subsequently pushed into a different (though perhaps less dangerous) line of work, trained in combat and, at 19, a ruthless assassin.

This book opens in a conventional manner, showing off Viper’s skill on a job. Her narrative is intelligent, street-wise rather than intellectual, but insightful into her nature and the rough-and-tumble New York environment in which she lives. Before she even has time to calm down and down a slice of pizza, she’s called onto her next job upstate, taking out a family snitch hiding in the Witness Relocation Program. It’s here that Viper’s present clashes with her past, as one of the agents assigned to the snitch’s protection spots her and recognizes her… but not as an assassin, but as his wife’s long-lost sister.

There’s a familiarity to this story - with shades of La Femme Nikita and O-Ren Ishii’s story from Kill Bill - that are not quite tired cliché and yet they’ve been used enough to undermine some of the characterization of Viper. There’s a grindhouse-meets-soap operatic aspect introduced that should play out more evenly over subsequent issues.

Espinosa is handling strictly art chores, and Rocketo fans will know exactly what to expect in terms of a loosely structured yet highly animated aesthetic. Espinosa’s style isn’t as tailor made for this style of storytelling as it was for his highly fantastical debut, and at times some of the action can be difficult to interpret, but overall, it’s a unique pleasure to read in a style defiantly his own. Just be aware, while Espinosa’s youth friendly style proved to be good all-ages reading for Rocketo, this is more teen-plus in sensibility.

THREE OUT OF FIVE VIKINGS

Good as Lily OGN (DC/Minx)
by Graig Kent

It struck me as funny yesterday riding the subway home from work, my wife-to-be next to me, that was I reading a graphic-novel marketed towards teen and pre-teen girls, and she reading a collection of Lovecraft stories. Good As Lily was a voluntary purchase on my part, the Lovecraft collection foisted upon her and her English-major sensibilities kicking in, stating “I probably should expose myself to this stuff.” This is probably the only review of this book that you will find mention of Lovecraft, and really there’s no Lovecraftian metaphor extend to the title’s story, I just found it amusing. Turn-of-the-(20th)-century stories featuring tentacled monsters and eerie, creepy things have their appeal but somehow I think this wistful high-school comedy-drama with some supernatural underpinnings appeals to me more. I realize I’m probably in the geek minority on this, but it’s a surprisingly entertaining read.

In a previous review of a book from the Minx line, I commented on how Re-Gifters felt like a modern take on the John Hughes teen comedy. Good As Lily equally fits into the mold, and this isn’t to say that the Minx line in total is trying to emulate the success of much of Hughes’ 1980’s repertoire, but rather just to point out that he set the gold standard for this kind of story, and matching or exceeding that level of quality and entertainment is a great accomplishment. I think, in this case, writer Derek Kirk Kim (perfectly fulfilled visually by artist Jesse Hamm) crafts a story that in tone matches a Hughes movie having the same sense of comedy, with delightfully mature and insightful interaction between the “cast” while not being too Dawson’s Creek/Joss Whedon clever, and the occasional moment of madcap or slapstick that pushes the believability without spoiling the fun.

Grace Kwon has just turned 18, has been accepted into a prestigious college, and has a tight-knit group of friend. Her parents are supportive but she’s always felt that she’s never measured up to her older sister, Lily, who died suddenly at 8 years old. Grace has a mad crush on her drama teacher and is the lead actress in the school’s year-end play. There’s a lot going on, and a lot to think about, but things only become more complicated for her when she encounters 6-year-old, 29-year-old and 70-year-old versions of herself in a park. While hiding her alternate selves from her parents, she tells her friends they’re a cousin, aunt and grandmother, respectively. These other-selves seem to be wreaking havoc in her life, just at the moment when the funding for the school play falls apart and a rescue operation needs to be launched.

There’s a lot of wildly entertaining concepts involved here, all of them revolving around having the opportunity to both look back upon your life at different stages and to look forward and see what’s to come. The 70-year-old Grace sees such potential in her younger selves, but only sees a life wasted in her own past. The 29-year-old Grace, nervous about the big 3-0 sees an opportunity to recapture what she felt she missed, hitting on her old drama teacher (which doesn’t go down well with her 18-year-old self), and it’s through her 6-year-old self that Grace sees where she came from, the distressed child that she maybe hasn’t yet grown apart from. Grace looks back and forward upon herself to see things about herself she never noticed before, both things she likes and doesn’t.

There’s a few very powerful moments, one where Grace confronts her parents, asking them if they ever wish she had died instead of Lily. I do have to admit the scene brought me to near tears (reading it on the subway, I managed to choke them back). The other involves a scene where the 70-year-old version has a conversation with one of her high-school friends and suddenly sees something she’d missed. There’s a touching sense of triumph in the resolution of that scene which should make any hardened heart soften at least a little.

There are awkward moments, some goofy parts, and occasionally a sense of mis-characterization, but overall Good As Lily is exactly what you want out of your entertainment, something comforting, rewarding, fun and leaving you with a smile on your face… even if there is no Cthulu. Recommended.

FOUR AND A HALF OUT OF FIVE VIKINGS

Atomic Robo#1 (of 6) (Red 5)
by Graig Kent

There’s not likely to be to many people who read Atomic Robo that don’t see a similarity to Hellboy. The former is not necessarily a rip-off of the latter, because superheroic, wise-cracking adventurers taking on Nazi scum has practically been a genre of its own for 60 years. This latest entry into the fray, though, just happens to come at a time where Mike Mignola’s popular creation has gripped his red right hand around film, animation, toys and comics. The comparisons also will stem from Scott Wegener’s art, which we all can admit is heavily inspired by Mignola’s blocky, ink-and-shadow-heavy style.

Is any of this a bad thing? Not at all. Brian Clevenger’s script is imaginative and fun, the dialog is witty, and any time Nikola Tesla is brought into the mix, even if just in conversation, my ears perk up. Wegener’s design for Atomic Robo is pretty cool, and his action fluid. Though, yes, Mignola-inspired (like Matt Smith and a handful of others) Wegener here cleans things up somewhat, allowing for the lush, vibrant colors of Ronda Pattison to shine. Overall the book is just robot-stomping-on-Nazis action, what’s not to enjoy? There may not be a lot of threat to the protagonist, but it’s sure gleefully entertaining to read.

There will be people who won’t be able to look past the similarities I mentioned above. Those people will be missing out. There’s room for Hellboy and there’s room for Atomic Robo (and already there’s a little buzz in my head that would like to see them together). Even if it feels slightly derivative, when a comic is this fun it’s easy to see past it, and hopefully future issues will help to delineate the two more definitively.

FOUR OUT OF FIVE VIKINGS

Notes for a War Story OGN (First Second)
by Graig Kent

In a country of indeterminate origin (could be any of the war-torn Eastern European countries of the past decade), three young, undereducated men, Christian, Stefano and Guiliano, forge out along the countryside, scavenging and squatting, searching for a life that’s different, if not better, than the one they know. Christian was bandied between foster homes, Stefano abused and hardened, now called Little Killer. Guiliano is the odd man out, from a good family with some money, and no matter what happens, he’s constantly reminded by his friends, he always has the option to return home.

These men, still boys, are quite naive in the ways of their country, aware of the war around them but mostly oblivious to it. They have their own little code of manliness and honor that pushes them through extreme situations. But despite being a gang of their own, they’re lost, directionless and impressionable. Enter Felix, who takes the cold Little Killer under his wing and puts him in charge of the other two, sending them out on deliveries and collections, teaching them violence as well as street smarts. Eventually, given a little confidence and a little money, the boys become Felix’s, they’re his to do as he pleases, and we learn that Felix is in many ways just as impressionable, the lot of them enlisted into the war, not entirely sure what they’re fighting for.

Notes for a War Story is a tale that translates across boundaries, one person’s war-torn country is another’s gang-riddled neighborhood, where young men are curried into servitude by clever leaders who are more charming or brutal or more intelligent, offering wanting children that which they don’t have. Is it a father figure? Money? A home, a family, a purpose?

Told from Guiliano’s perspective, Gipi’s story is a young man’s story, the subtleties of which explore the needs and emotions, fears and desires that teenage boys have, and how easily swayed they are by predators who know how to give them what they both want and need. It doesn’t matter the intelligence or the class, it’s just predator and prey. Guiliano, unlike the other boys, always has an out, and as such, he’s always able to see past the situations they get into, and if there’s ever any doubt he can’t get out, he will leave. Guiliano dreams of his friends (and occasionally himself) headless, a metaphor for their aimlessness, their lack of control, and perhaps their inability to think for themselves.

Notes… is a potent and compelling read. Gipi’s roughly scrawled lines washed over with different hues of greyish-green watercolor representing the dark, dirty and ugly terrain in which these boys transgress. The character illustrations themselves may feel overly simplistic, but Gipi’s cartoons are well defined, his naturalistic dialog (well-translated here) and vague-yet-detailed environments suck the reader into this alternately believable and cinematic world.

FOUR AND A HALF OUT OF FIVE VIKINGS

The Lost Colony Book 2: The Red Menace (First Second)
by Graig Kent

Grady Klein’s Lost Colony series, despite the wonderfully vibrant colors, its attractive and simplistic cartoon figures and the high-spirited, whimsical storytelling, is not for kids. Exploiting stereotypes and playing with uncomfortably taboo subject matter a child would likely only see the comedy and adventure at surface value, and the Lost Colony is fueled as much, if not more so, by its subtext as its overt charm and slapstick.

Book 1 of The Lost Colony took me by surprise and I didn’t know what to make of it’s rather forthright attitude at addressing the of-the-era (mid-1800’s) attitudes towards slavery, amongst other racially tinged issues. The atmosphere of this book shifts to the war against the “red man” as a pair of hucksters make their way to the Island. Governor Snodgrass, having himself a fondness for war profiteering, allows the patriotic stage show and merchandise vending to continue, for a 50% share of course. For his good fortune, though, he must pay a price as his war colonel, Injun-hatin’, guns-a-blazin’, father-in-law pays a visit, which threatens to upset the status quo of the colony even more than the charlatans.

Somewhat more prepared for Klein’s storytelling this second time around, it was actually a much more enjoyable experience than the first volume. The characters, strangers before, suddenly are familiar, friendly, and welcoming, their prejudices and uncommon (for modern-day, anyway) candor less obtrusive, less offensive and actually understood. Perhaps Klein’s playing down stereotypes, or perhaps the characters are just rising up above them, either way they’re even more fun to be around.

The Island they inhabit is a multi-cultural utopia, in a sense, and every outside incursion threatens its sanctity, and although everyone in the colony may not get along, they accept one another’s place in the society. Klein uses the era and its people to address intolerance and racism but in such an indirect and entertaining manner. There should really be no way that this incongruous matching of taboo and cartoon, sophistication and fart jokes should work, and yet it does, gloriously well. Even if there weren’t a cliffhanger ending to this Book, I’d still want more.

If you haven’t visited the Colony before, then you’re like not prepared for what you’ll find, but it’s certainly worth taking the trip. A primer inside the covers will fill you in on the who’s who, then just settle into the rhythm and enjoy.

FOUR OUT OF FIVE VIKINGS

Arsenic Lullaby: Pulp Edition
by Graig Kent

In his forward, creator Douglas Paszkiewicz (looking to usurp Bill Sienkiewicz as most difficult name to spell in comics) states that his comedy is funny, and he knows it’s funny because, well, it makes him laugh. The best comedy generally comes from amusing one’s self or amusing one’s friends, and not from attempts to be clever or striving to create generic comedy that will make the most people laugh. With Arsenic Lullaby, it’s obvious that Paszkiewicz likes his humor on the more extreme ends of things, where the untouchable are touched, where the absurd is not obtuse, and where morose is a good thing. Others who similarly need Adult Swim or South Park, Patton Oswalt or David Cross to erupt a guffaw will know where that line is.

The Pulp Edition is the latest offering in the Arsenic Lullaby oeuvre, and despite it’s different name and oversized format, it’s the exact same style and quality that the familiar reader would expect. It’s also a perfect testing ground for new readers, introducing some of the regulars like Voodoo Joe, the cow-aliens and Baron von Donut, while also serving up more than a dozen new sketches of varying length (although a hearty dose of one-page zingers are strewn throughout). I can’t really describe them without spoiling the joke, but there’s worth-your-money entertainment here.

I have a good sense of humor, I like comedy, I respect it, but I don’t laugh out loud very often. Arsenic Lullaby makes me laugh out loud, regularly. If your standard laugh fare is Two and a Half Men or Shrek movies, or if the idea of a zombie fetus or jokes about starving Ethiopians offends you, you should probably stay away. But save your letter writing campaign, because Paszkiewicz isn’t out to push buttons, he’s not provoking an audience hoping for a negative response, he’s also not being cruel or taking cheap shots, instead just creating sketches that make him, and hopefully others, laugh. In my case, it worked.

FOUR AND A HALF OUT OF FIVE VIKINGS

Amazing Fantasy Omnibus (Marvel Publishing)
by Elgin Carver

Godzilla, Rhodan, Them, The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms, The Giant Behemoth, Konga, Gorgo, 20 Million Miles To Earth, It Came From Beneath The Sea, and on and on. Giant monsters, often brought to life by the Atomic Menace, loosed upon urban man, that was the bread and butter of movie going children of the 1950s. Movies, like all the popular arts, reflects the fears, hopes, mores, aspirations, and trends of the population at large. At least as far as the creator of the individual creator of the work can divine those aspects. The popular arts cannot and will not lead or create these feelings as the intent of their creation is to turn a profit. Profits come when one sells what the public already wants. What they want, they already know, even if only unconsciously. The movie makers knew the public was afraid of atomic power. They also knew the public wanted to be entertained. As those pieces fell into place, talented people like Ray Harryhousen and Eiji Tsuburaya were able to create images that viewers had been looking for. Comic books were, at least in the 50s, even further behind the curve than the movies. What sold there publishers reasoned, would presumably sell on the news stand and drug store racks.

Stan Lee is an old times huckster. He didn’t need a weatherman to tell him which way the wind was blowing. He could feel it just fine. As he struggled to peddle comics he gave everybody something. Cowboys and criminals, heroes and monsters, lovers and comics and more were fodder for the books he churned out year after year, decade after decade. A lot of negative things could be said about Stan Lee, and have. Much of the opprobrium that he received, he richly earned. But it must be said he was working in a highly competitive field. As a publisher he managed to take what was often chicken manure and make a relatively palatable chicken salad out of it. One such comic he put out was a shiftily titled comic commonly known as Amazing Fantasy. This is because the last issue of this 15 issue run had that title and the creation of his best known character, Spider-man (let me quickly amend that to his and Steve Ditko’s creation).

One of the positions that brought some level of distaste if not disgrace, to Stan, was his insistence for many years that the creation of the characters that today make up the Marvel universe was due to his amazing abilities and his alone. At least that was the impression given through his interviews and writing both in and out of the comics world. This may have been a clever marketing tool. Or not. Few now know and fewer are likely to in the future as the natural progression of life takes one player after another out of the game. At least today Kirby and Ditko get the respect and honor due them for their part in that creative process.

This book is a nicely bound collection of the complete run of Amazing Adventures 1 through 6, Amazing Adult Fantasy 7 through 14, and Amazing Fantasy 15. Through most of this run the major theme was giant monsters. Invasions from outer space was much more of a theme than the creation of menace’s by the misuse of atomic power. Still, the origin of the general theme driven by the success of monster movies cannot be doubted.

Steve Ditko has work in every issue of the run and after issue 6 it is his book alone. Jack Kirby has work in the first six issues and being the preeminent comic book artist of all time, including Marvel during this period. Ditko has been overshadowed and has in most histories received less than his share of praise. In this book as in his run on Spiderman’s own title, he is at his peak. In general, comic writing makes a story and the art enhances. Here the stories define why most well read people look down on the genre. The artwork pulls the stories out of the muck and make that chicken salad palatable. Distinctive in look he was able to take the most mundane and polish it into little jewels.

Another nice aspect to this collection is the reprinting of a few stories with Dr. Droom. These are clearly the later inspiration for Doctor Strange, another of Ditko’s great visual inspirations. While some aspects of the origin story are at the very least laughable, and others merely unquestioned oddities, the comic historian should appreciate their reprinting.

This is a handsome volume, done in a manner that most other reprinting’s should look to as a model. It is overpriced but if you remember monster movies fondly, enjoy Ditko, if you missed out on the earliest Marvels, or would like to see how casually, even accidentally, business empires occasionally come about, this is the book for you.

FIVE OUT OF FIVE VIKINGS