I
have a small stack of comics I’ve gotten that I want to draw some
attention to. I don’t typically review comic books and I didn’t
feel like I could write a full-length post about any one book; not
even a collection. But once again fortune has intervened and I
realized our nation’s Independence Day was coming up. One lame play
on words later and I had the forum for my comic book reviews.
Klassik
Komix: Giant Monsters Starring Professor Morté
Available
From MiniKomix.com
Editor:
Jer Alford
Original
Art: Shane Morton
It
was a lock that I was going to take a look at this one. Not only does
it feature a bunch of giant monsters from the Golden Age, the
collection is presented by my pal and Monstrosity Championship
Wrestling boss, Professor Morté!
Giant
Monsters collects reprints of giant monster comics from the Golden
Age with all-new interstitials and introductions drawn by none other
than Morté himself. Each story is a bite-sized morsel of fun and
terror – from the realms of fantasy to the Congo to the far-flung
depths of outer space, there’s something here for everybody. This
is a perfect little book to carry around with you or leave in the
bathroom readin’ rack.
There
are nine short comics followed by a longer, featured tale that is
broken up into three parts. I really like this format. I honestly
think the big publishers would benefit by aping this on a quarterly
basis to feature some of the md-level characters.
Anyway
– there aren’t any duds here. Each story moves right along and
delivers the twists and turns you would expect from classics pulp
sci-fi and fantasy. The art is a lot of fun to look at because at
first glance it all has that “old comics” look. But as you make
your way through the book, different artistic styles become apparent
and it’s a blast to see the different styles of storytelling.
And
then, of course, there’s Professor Morté’s artwork, which I
always enjoy. Not only are there the intros and interstitials, he’s
crammed a few other goodies in the pages that I don’t want to spoil
but that I guarantee will take you back to the wide-eyed days of your
youth.
The
quality of the book itself is nice. The covers are thick and sturdy
and will bear up to some travel and storage in bags or cargo pockets
or whatever. The pages are thick paper with a nice, aged tint. I
don’t know if you can request “old timey” paper or what, but
this stuff feels and looks aged and vintage. The binding is good –
I read this thing like it was any other book and the pages are all
intact. The printing looks great – there’s none of the blotching
or loss you might expect from such a publication. Everything is clean
and professional.
This
is a curiosity that’s worth your time. I had a lot of fun reading
it and will definitely be keeping it in my Weirdo Books collection.
Calabrese:
The Comic Book
Available
From CalabreseRock.com
Writer:
Eric M. Esquivel
Artist:
Dave Baker
Colors:
D.W. Frydendall
Letters:
Robert Mion
Cover/Additional
Art: Andrew Barr
If
you’re not familiar with the band Calabrese, they’re three
brothers that play horror rock full of “whoas” and “ohs”.
Their
comic book is absolutely hilarious.
Loaded
with non-stop pop culture references and humor from the dark spirit
world, Calabrese:
The Comic Book
is part Scooby-Doo,
part Tomb
of Dracula,
and part MAD
magazine. As much as I like Calabrese’s music and the brothers
themselves, I did not expect such a fun, fully-formed narrative from
this comic book.
The
story depicts Bobby, Davey, and Jimmy as unwilling agents of the
supernatural equivalent of S.H.I.E.L.D. They get roped into visiting
a very familiar Eastern European country to assassinate the current
ruler. It’s a load of familiar tropes blended up and applied to
America’s premiere horror rock band. The art is fun and cartoony.
If I had to describe it I’s say it’s like pre-code comics as
drawn by Pendleton Ward. Not as out-there as Adventure
Time,
but with the same loose, expressive style.
The
production of the comic is on par with anything from the big
publishers. There aren’t any of the printing errors or even editing
issues that often plague projects like this, though there is one word
bubble where I think “lost” is supposed to be “not”. And I’ve
got Batman comics with worse errors than that.
There
are times where a
lot of
story needs to be told and the print gets super tiny and dense. For
the most part it isn’t an issue. As a matter of fact, it’s pretty
amazing how little the jam-packed dialogue interferes with the art.
But there is one section of backstory where it gets a little tough to
read. Otherwise I burned right through the story and was left wanting
more. I could easily see this as a sustainable premise if the
brothers and the artists involved can invest the time.
This
one is another fun book that I’m glad to have. But let’s face it
– you’re not going to go to CalabreseRock.com
and just order a comic book. So go ahead and get yourself a shiny,
new Calabrese shirt, some stickers, and maybe a switchblade comb or
some fancy Calabrese shades to go along with your funnybook.
Radio
Cult: The Comic Book
Available
From RadioCult.com
Writers:
Various
Artists:
Various
Cover:
Peter Cutler
Radio
Cult is another rock band who have produced their own comic book, but
theirs actually has more in common with Professor Morté’s book
than with the one from Calabrese. It’s an anthology style book with
several different stories from a number of creators.
This
is a fun-filled book that would be right at home in the all-ages
section. There are four short stories by various creative teams, as
well as activity pages and fun ads, both of which are hilarious
spoofs on familiar products.
I
know I’ve talked before about how I haven’t read Archie comics,
but I don’t know how else to describe the feel of this one. The art
all just has this wonderful sweetness to it, aside from one tale that
evokes the style of Tales
From the Crypt
and the old EC Comics stuff.
A
lot of style and story is packed into this comic book. I feel like
the band did everything just right – the anthology format gave a
number of creators the opportunity to tell stories, the ads are a
hoot, and the whole comic is quick fun that demands multiple reads.
This is the best sort of cross-promotional merchandise.
Like
I said with Calabrese – you aren’t going to go to RadioCult.com
and just
order a comic book. Go ahead and load up your virtual shopping cart
with t-shirts, booty shorts, and kitty cat tiaras while you’re
there. Feel free to send me pictures of you reading your Radio Cult
comic while decked out in your sassy new Radio Cult attire! Unless
you’re a dude. Then keep that mess on Snapchat.
Andre
the Giant: Life and Legend
Available
From Amazon.com
Everything:
Box Brown
You
really don’t need to read past this sentence:
Buy
this book right now.
Andre
the Giant: Life and Legend
caught my eye when it was offered in Previews.
I think it was the first rundown I did a few months ago. I love
Andre, but Andre’s name and likeness have been used on plenty of
things I haven’t felt compelled to purchase over the years. That
simple image of Andre on the cover was so evocative. That’s what
got me. Just from the grainy, small picture in the green section of
Previews
I felt like I was looking at something special.
I
was absolutely right.
Box
Brown has taken everything he has ever heard about the most legendary
man in professional wrestling – Andre Roussimoff, or Andre the
Giant to pretty much everybody in the world – and created a
biography that covers fact, fiction, and everything in between. The
source material for this biography are the host of interviews,
documentaries, and articles about Andre that have come out over the
past thirty-odd years and Brown has documented everything
in the back of the book. Once you are done reading, you will feel
compelled to hunt down a lot of the resources – trust me.
The
book itself is possibly the most beautiful comic I have ever read.
Box Brown’s cartooning style is simple while being powerfully
expressive. The lines and dots that comprise our protagonist’s face
throughout the book tell the story just as much as the words that
accompany them. It will take hindsight to know this for certain, but
I believe one of the panels late in the book is my favorite that I’ve
ever seen. Andre is on his farm doing a Sports Illustrated interview
and is talking about family. There aren’t even any words in the
panel, but it’s one of the most moving I’ve ever seen.
As
touching as Andre
is, it is also hilarious. Andre was known for his inscrutable humor
and it is plenty in evidence here. Many of the stories told are
laugh-out-loud funny and the visuals that go along with them are
perfection.
I
have to credit Mike Gordon with drawing my attention to how well
Brown handles kayfabe and match psychology. I was aware of it on some
level, but it took Mike mentioning it for me to really understand
just how effortlessly Brown depicted matches from both the
perspectives of the wrestlers and the fans. I knew it was great; I
just didn’t give any thought to how difficult and complex a thing
such storytelling would be.
And
that is the true magic of Andre
the Giant: Life and Legend
– Box Brown has taken a multitude of stores about a complex and
enigmatic man and woven them into a seamless, compelling narrative. I
feel like the storyboards for a fantastic animated feature are right
here in these pages if there were a production studio brave and smart
enough to attempt such a thing.
Since
I commented on the physical quality of the above titles I feel like I
should do so here: it’s built well. Long gone are the days when
small press books would feel inferior to larger publishers’
products. This is a nice edition with a thick cover and sturdy pages.
The printing is clean and completely error-free as far as I could
tell.
I’ve
ordered several copies to give as gifts for various occasions because
this is my favorite thing that I’ve bought this year and I want to
share it with as many people as I can. This book is that rare magic
that is both entertaining and inspirational on many levels – not
just from the wonder and emotion of Andre’s story, but also from
the skill and talent of its creator, Box Brown.
Buy
this book right now.
On
the Beach
Available
From jeanvendors.com
Everything:
Jordan T. Neves
I’m
going to close this one out with the most truly independent release
of all – the minicomic I purchased from Jordan after interviewing him at Heroes Con.
I
hadn’t planned on reviewing it because it’s eight pages and I
honestly don’t know how to talk about eight pages, but they’re
eight great
pages. I had stuck this in my copy of Andre
and just happened to read it before writing the above review. The
whole time I couldn’t stop thinking about the little narrative I
had just experienced and that review ended up taking me twice as long
as it should have.
When
I was done I read On
the Beach
again.
Obviously
there’s a not a ton of story, and yet the pages here are crammed
with it; much of the narrative being suggestive. Halfway through
things… I can’t say they take a turn because expectations haven’t
been established, and yet a turn is exactly what it is. This was a
much different story than what I expected.
That’s
really all I can say without giving too much away. I’ll just say
this – if you see Jordan T. Neves at a con, pick up some of his
comics. And check out his webcomic at Maraudercomic.com. He’s got
interesting ideas and he created a comic that made me read it more
than once in thirty minutes. And he kept me thinking about it.
Nice reviews. So far I've only read one of these. Will definitely have to check out the others.
ReplyDeleteBobby
Just a bunch of fun books. It's nice that they all happened to hit me around the same time.
DeleteIt's very nice to read such positive reviews of five very different comic books that all so out of the main stream!
ReplyDeleteIt's nice to see such good books outside of the mainstream!
DeleteNice reviews of some great books! I'm always in support of folks giving indies some love.
ReplyDeleteI've only read two of the books here, but will keep an eye out for the other three. It is great that both Calabrese and Radio Cult have produced comics not just as easy merchandise money grabs, but because they love the medium. The Radio Cult one is exactly what the band is on stage - fun!
And the Andre the Giant book...I have to give you a shout out as well for recommending this biography to me. I've read many comics featuring wrestlers but this one is the first time I've read one that seriously took on the subject matter yet had the most cartoony style. And it works better than any other I've read! I enjoyed it so much, I bought a couple of other Box Brown comics that weekend as well.
I'm not gonna lie - I love my superhero books and rarely deviate from those and the big publishers. But stuff like this makes me happy. It's good to know that talented people have options to express themselves.
Delete