Inkstuds Radio

It’s time for a toony Tuesday(sorry, very Canadian reference). I spent most of the day writing for school, so I didn’t get much of a chance to read anything so I am going to review something I read awhile ago.

First off, Master Race by Bernie Krigstein. I read this today while working on a paper about literary traditions with a reference to Maus. Krigstein was doing some crazy shit on the page that looks like something that belongs in an issue of Raw. Master Race is an 8 page story from Impact Comics #1 published by EC in 1954. It follows the story o a former commander of a German Concentration Camp that is haunted by his horrible actions while riding a New York subway. Krigstein uses all sorts of odd angels and close ups to capture the despair and fear that character is dealing with when he recognizes another passenger as someone from his past. He also utilizes a really neat cinematic look to slow action right down and then also uses to a similar technique to give the idea of speed and movement on the subway. I don’t think I can accurately describe what Krigstein does with this story, so maybe go read Paul Gravett’s essay on Krigstein, he is smarter than me.

My other review for today is the much anticipated Asterios Polyp by David Mazzucchelli. This is one of the best books that I have read in quite awhile. I know David has been working on this for several years, and it shows. Batman Year One and Rubber Blankets are some of my favorite comics, and I think this will join the stack. I feel like this shows such a progression in technique in styles. His other work, is that of a younger cartoonists and reflects a certain sensability that has shifted with this latest work. Asterios Polyp is a story of love and lonely, balance and chaos and  lastly loss and renewal. The story follows the life of Asterios Polyp, who plays the role of a bit of an anti-hero. Throughout the book, we are shown his new life and his old life, constantly contrasting to show some dimension of change. The old Asterios is kind of detestable, while the new, you want to admire and root for. I am going to avoid too much of a description of the story, and leave that for you when you read it. I am curious of how much of the character is a stand in for Mazzucchelli. Asterios is professor of architecture known for his incredible designs, but not having any of them built, while Mazzucchelli has been removed from comics working on this epic, that he has become a figure that everyone is waiting for something from. There are more little points of comparison and analysis, but I will save that for someone more capable.

The part about the book that I find fascinating, is his use of representation. The past and present both have a unique colour scheme that seem to reflect the state of mind that Asterios is in. The colours he uses are very very close to what Frank Santoro and Ben Jones have been using with Cold Heat and I find it fascinating that both books use the similar hues. But that is something that Frank can analyze, the way he loves to analyze colour. The book also has a great use of representational symbols that show Mazzucchelli really speaking to the strengths of what can be done with comics when pushed far enough. At some points I do feel like I am reading a Scott McCloud book, but he manages to reign in before that can happen. I highly recommend picking up this book when it comes out(june 2).

Until this book does come out, maybe do yourself a favor and go order Rubber Blankets #3 from Last Gasp. Mazzucchelli really deserves to be spoken of, with the same level of respect as guys like Clowes, Ware and Pante.This book will remind all the new fans of alternative comics, just who David is and why he is important.

Today i read an oldy that is a goody. I have a long time love and respect for the work of Moebius, but I had never read his Blueberry work. I decided to finally read the first of many volumes of his fine collaboration with Jean-Michel Charlier – Chihauhua Pearl. This book follows the intrepid hero on his journey for a half million dollars worth of confederate gold. Blueberry lives in world very similar to the Leone spaghetti westerns. None of the characters are good people and even the protagonist himself is fault with faults of his own. Moebius takes you through a messy dirty mexico filled with back stabbers, greedy confederate deserters and much more. Don’t expect a western along the lines of Deadwood though.

There are all sorts of little touches of Moebius’s work that he throws in that I love. Blueberry looks obviously filthy and you can see how he is getting more and more run down as the story progresses. His characterization is great, he is not a completely likeable hero, but at the same time, he steers away from being a Han Solo type of anti-hero. He is bit of an idiot sometimes even, which is a nice touch that alot of creators don’t use nearly often enough(except Johnny Ryan, but all of his characters are idiots).

The way the book is put together, it seems that the series was originally published as half page segments in a newspaper, but it doesn’t ruin the pacing at all. I think 99% of webcomics folks that are trying to do extend stories should read this, just to see how a master does it and take extensive notes. I know that this book will be hard as hell to come by, but if you get the chance, do yourself a favor and go hunt it down. I have even seen some Blueberry stuff on ebay for a decent price recently.

And make sure you check out Moebius’s site, it is AMAZING!1!!1!!!!!!

Have you gone to Leon Beyond recently. They are doing a great funding drive that has Ted May, Dan Zettwoch and Kevin Huizenga doing commissioned art at a ridiculously cheap rate. I just got a piece by Kevin that makes me very happy. You should go right now and get something for yourself, while the boys are still doing this. I will let you guess which one is mine.I will probably get another thing by one of the other guys in the next couple of months. I love good comix!

It’s the day after Emerald City Comicon and only bought a handful of mini’s and spent the rest of the time searching for silver age batman comics.

I had seen Erika Moen‘s name floating around, and was quick to grab some mini’s given he opportunity. I honestly don’t read many webcomics, so this stuff was all new for me. I picked up issues 1 and 2 of Dar. Her comics are a fun, honest trip through her own sexuality. Fans of Ellen Forney will be really happy with this. Erika has a lot of fun in her storytelling, and it is neat how she is using the comics to explore her own sense of personal identity. I do get a little bummed out by the webcomics format that tends to limit creators to a page or two, and would be interested in seeing what she does when her work is a little more stretched out. She does have a larger collection coming out, and I will probably pick that up.

Here is a quicky review. I spent the day at the Emerald City Comicon and just got back home from the extended drive. When i got home, I read The Bun Field by Amanda Vahamaki published by those good folks at Drawn and Quarterly. It’s a great example of how some of a young cartoonist taking in some great avant-guard influences. The Bun Field is an odd surreal journey that explores some of the horrors in childhood imagination. Amanda’s style is kind  of like a less well crafted Renee French. She is able to explore an interesting dreamlike quality that feels like the inside of abandoned five year old consciousness. There are some interesting tricks used by Vahamaki, where she plays with the camera angels in a shot, jumping back and forth from the inside of characters head, and then watching the world that character is in an how it is effecting. I do think it is a neat read, but in all honesty, $12.95, its a little steep, and reads like the creator still has some work to do with her idea’s before it is completely realized.

Today’s entry is Indian Summer by Milo Manara and Hugo Pratt. This book is a great example of two creators at the top of their game coming together to let all the kids know how comics are done. The background in this creative relationship helps add to the importance of a book like this. Hugo Pratt was a mentor for Manara as a young creator in his early days of cartooning. Manara’s longer work, the Adventures of Giuseppe Bergman, was very formed and influenced by the guiding hand of Pratt. He even included a character in the story, called HP, who bore a striking resemblance to Pratt. I have a whole lot more to say about Pratt, but I think its best to save that for when I review his Corto Maltese books.

Indian Summer, or in the original Italian – Tutto Ricominciò con un’Estate Indiana, tells the story of a group of pilgrims and their encounters with the local native population. It follows the snowballing effect of disaster when an outcast of the pilgrims shoots two natives that had just raped a young pilgrim woman who had been out picking berries. The story is full of all smut and corruption one could expect from Milo Manara, but it is balanced by Pratt’s fascinating story. The book is rife full of biblical such as the pilgrims camp being called New Canaan and most of the characters having names right out of the bible, such as Elijah. Pratt has a subtext within the story that can be seen as some kind of old testament confrontation between Israelites and Philistines, fighting over the fertile territory. Pratt provides a nice epilogue explaining what happens to the characters over time in 17th century North America, which is accompanied by some gorgeous watercolour sketches by Manara. Apparently the story was created with extensive research on Pratt’s part, into the history of that area and then piecing together his work into a fine narrative.

I am a huge fan of Manara, and this is probably one of his stronger books visually, and it is really neat to see two long time friends, work together in creating an interesting book.

At some point in the coming months, I will have a written interview with Manara to post. Unfortunately, he doesn’t speak English, so I had to rely on a translator to help with the process, but any chance to communicate with one of my comics idols, makes me a happy inkstud.

My book for today was Love and Rockets Volume 3 Book 1 by Los Hernandez. I am going to get to interview Jaime on Saturday at the Emerald City Comicon, so I figured it was about time to catch up with my favorite brothers. This new annual format is really fascinating because of the way that it sets a certain expectation of production and in the same part also, limits how they develop their own stories. Jaime’s work seems to be a return to old form of his early Scifi days. His story is truly uniquely Hernandez take on superhero comics. It is a great contrast After reading the Education of Hopey Glass, which really looks at the internal workings of Hopey as a character in herself without the being dependent on Maggie. Jaime’s story in this book, is an odd way of having a fun time of exploring Penny Century dealing with a tragic loss in a way that is very reminiscent of Byrne/Claremont X-men.

Gilbert’s work on the other hand, is a mixture of different odd surreal short stories. It is pretty much a continuation of his work in Fear of Comics. I feel like Gilbert is at a point in his career, where his cartooning is so strong, you can feel the comfort he has in one of his stories. I love that in one story, it will be an silent play of a figure dancing just following his form, and then the next story, will be a heart wrenching 5 page story of pain and loss.

The two brothers are certainly masters of the form and this is a great example of them having fun with their work. I am really curious to see how this format works in coming volumes. Will they return to longer form stories, or will there be an attempt to contain the work within the one book.

I also read Jaime’s page in Kramers Ergot 7(you can se the page here). I enjoyed the story in itself, but I don’t feel like he really played with the huge page. It is nice to see a continuation of the fun stuff.

I am starting out my daily comic reading challenge on high note. I picked up Apollo’s Song by Osamu Tezuka over the weekend at my favorite used book store(Pulp Fiction Books) for cheap. Normally I don’t pick up manga, but I make exceptions for Tezuka and Tatsumi. I had already read most of his Buddha run and loved it and some of Ode to Kirihito that I need to revisit. Apollo’s Song was really incredible. I had heard good things, but really, it blew me away. There are so many issues that Tezuka is dealing with, within this one book. In one part, he is doing a Scifi epic that is commenting on the changes in Japanese society in 1970. It seems to follow a thread throughout hte book of unease with his surroundings, as seen through his protagonist eyes.

It follows the life of Shogo and his problems with love. the accompanying chapters all take a different look at love and the challenges it represents. He sends Shogo through a mental minefield, leaping him through time like its straight out of a Philip K. Dick book. Tezuka makes some really interesting commentaries of Japanese life within Shogo. The part that I found most interesting, was were his character is living the experience of a German soldier during the second world war, loading  civilians onto trains to be taken away, and well, I don’t need to fill in the blanks for you. I have feeling that the use of Germans or Nazis was a way of making a comment on the Japanese military excesses during the war, without being direct. There is so much to be gleaned from this book on so many different levels. I really can’t recommend this enough. I find Tezuka so fascinating, because he can create such strong work, and still keep making lots of great comics and not slow down. I really feel like he doesn’t have a western contemporary that has the same level of timeless appeal. Kirby and Ditko are great, but in a certain way, they hold a kind of nostalgia that impresses on their importance and makes them hard to read as objects within themselves without relying on repuation.

My other book for today was Diamond Comics 3 published by Floating World Comic Store in Portland. This is probably the opposite of the Tezuka. This newspaper is definitly from Kramers School of comic making. I wish I could find more info on it, but they seem to only have stuff for the first 2 issues. I do really like the newspaper format of comics quite alot. Its fun, easy and feels almost disposable(but I am such a dork, that when I have enough, I am going to get them bound into a hardcover). This paper is worth it just for the Josh Simmons story, “Christmas Eve”. Its an fun little dream like piece and just like any of Josh’s work, it creeps you out at just the right moment. I also love the part by Nathan Fox, who seems to be the best guy at comic violence going right now. Bald Eagles, you need to step it up. Most of the other stuff is neat, but I feel like the cartoonists aren’t really fully realized yet and still have some more work to do to strengthen up on. You can find more info about it at Floating World’s Myspace page, if you still go to myspace. And I think you can buy this easily at Atomic Books.

Ok, so I have a huge stack of comics sitting there waiting for me to read and I really want to read them. I am going to try and read a comic a day. No guarantee on size of comic, but i will make try to get some more read.

Do people want to see my inane rambling of what I think about the latest issue of Youngblood?

Ok, so it won’t be Youngblood, but I really need to be more on top of this pile.