9-11: EMERGENCY RELIEF
by Various
$14.95, b&w, 128 pages, Page 216, Alternative Comics,

Chris's Pick of the Month.

There are two very good things about this book. The first? All of the proceeds from it's sale are set to be donated to the American Red Cross. The second? It is a collection of some of the most gifted writers, artists, and storytellers in the comics industry, under one volume. The list of names is huge, and impressive, coming from all corners of the comics industry (and you can find the complete list of contributors here.) In advance of the book making it's appearance, Dean Haspiel's short story name has been posted in it's entirety at comicbookresources.com. If all of the stories included are as gripping and powerful, it may well be the best book published in 2002. Also of note to PopImage readers, Steve Stegelin will have a two page BOONDOGGLE short included.

The outpouring of support for the victims of the September 11th tragedy has been simply inspiring. I counted no less that four high profile releases solicited this month, each committed to giving all of the profits to the Red Cross and other related charities. The comic industry may have a lot of problems right now, but charity and kindness is not one of them. Bravo to all of you who participated in this book.

Scott's Pick of the Month

BATMAN: THE TEN CENT ADVENTURE
By Greg Rucka, Rick Burchett & Klaus Janson
$.10, FC, 32pg, page 77, DC, NOV010553

This stunt can't come at a better time than now. Greg Rucka has transformed Batman into the hard-boiled crime comic that it should have always been. Batman has never been about being a superhero. He doesn't have super powers or a magic ring, he has a brilliant mind and a body pushed to its limits. Greg Rucka understands that and has boiled the character down to his basics. I've been touting the Batman books for a while now, and I'm hoping this 10-Cent adventure opens the excellent books up to a wider audience.

This is the best thing ever. A full issue of Batman. For ten cents. I hope every retailer out there is ordering a minimum of one hundred of these, and hopefully a full thousand. And then, I hope they take advantage of the opportunity to hand these out to every single person that even steps inside the doors of their store. And then I hope that they've ordered a significant number of the follow-up issues to this story, and have a good number of BATMAN trade paperbacks on the racks as well. Most notably the newer stuff like Greg Rucka's DETECTIVE run, DARK KNIGHT RETURNS and STRIKES AGAIN by Frank Miller, etc. And then, I hope those retailers stock other works by the Batman creators. Like WHITEOUT and SIN CITY and 300 etc. Because this is a real opportunity to open up comic stores (not to mention the industry) to the general public. Let's take it.

It's even cheap enough that retailers can afford to give it away with each purchase.

FRIGHTENING CURVES PRINT SET
Art by Aman Chaudhary, designed by Antony Johnston
$49.99, Full Colour, 6 gorgeous prints, Page 406, Cyberosia Press, NOV

As the admittedly biased description above says, these are gorgeous pieces of artwork. Six super-high-quality prints on glossy stock. Not only suitable for framing, but worth showing off to every visitor who enters your home, apartment, or laboratory. Sure, they're expensive, but quality costs. And these are high quality. Honestly, they're really attractive, and hey, you deserve them :).

I've seen the prints at this past San Diego Comic Convention and can attest to their quality and beauty. Would it shock you to find out that it wasn't paint that brought those images to life but rather a loose pencil sketch and PhotoShop? Aman is the newest in a recent string of artists forgoing standard pencil, ink, or paintbrush techniques for the computer. Traditionalists be damned, it takes an artist to make a computer program sing like Aman does.

REVOLUTIONARY GIRL UTENA VOLUME 1 TP
by Chiho Saito
$15.95, b&w, 200 pages, Page 308, Viz Communications, NOV

For some reason, this book was solicited again this month (it was one I talked up quite a bit in the last Previews Review). Just in case this is the real solicitation and last month's was an error, I'd like to remind you to order it. UTENA is really, really freaking weird. I just want to re-iterate that. I just finished watching UTENA: THE MOVIE last night, and it's really tripped-out and beautiful. It features some strangely non-linear storytelling, undefined gender roles, all sorts of great stuff. This isn't the book you think it is. Give it a shot.

ISLAND VOLUME 1 POCKET MIXX TP
by In-Wan Youn & Kyung-Il Yang
$14.95, b&w, 168 pages, Page 308, Tokyopop,

I'm really torn about ISLAND. It's a really pretty series, being one of the few translated Korean books on the market. The art is very fresh and sexy, and gruesome when it needs to be. The concept and the story too, are lots of fun; A rich/bitch girl goes to teach on an island off the coast of Korea to learn a little humility, where she is promptly stalked by a serial killer. That's not the worst of it though, because there are also ancient demons out to get her (who will do much worse than the killer), so she hires the serial killer to destroy all the monsters, at $10,000 a pop. So it's sex and death, the key ingredients for any good horror story. What really bugs me though, is that this volume is pretty much a straight translation from Korean, with little to no re-writing. The translation is laughably bad, and is actively detrimental to the story. In fact, the first time I read the book I threw it down in disgust, and it's only after re-reading that I began to appreciate it. Although this problem will be fixed for future volumes, this one is the real introduction to the stories. So I can only give it, at best, a very cautious recommendation. If you think the terrible sub-titles and dubbing of old Kung Fu Films is hilarious and appealing, you'll have no problem here. If not? Stay far, far away.

All your serial killers are belong to us!

Did I do that joke last time? :)

AKIKO VOLUME 5 TP
by Mark Crilley
$12.95, b&w, 112 pages, Page 302, Sirius Entertainment,

Akiko is a wonderful all-ages book that has recently made the leap to mass-market distribution novels (which are selling quite well, by all accounts). It's another of those examples of the comic industry not getting it while the mainstream does. Buck the trend! Pick up this, the newest volume of AKIKO! (I haven't read the stories in volume 5 yet, but the first three volumes are just brilliant.)

I'm hoping Akiko's success is the mass-market will do one of two things. Either wake up creators of all-ages comics to the fact that the Direct Market has neither the ability, nor desire to sell comics to young girls. Or maybe, even better, prove to the Direct Market that the success of books like Sailor Moon and Powerpuff Girls is not a fluke, and that girls will buy comics if you order and sell them.

Nah. Girls don't like comics, silly. "If it's not for a twelve year old boy, it's not a comic book." Oh well.

BUNNY TOWN #1
by Will Allison
$2.99, b&w, 32 pages, Page 299, Radio Comics

"Fans of Johnny and Lenore should love the dark, gothic humor; and fans of Lortnoc will not want to miss this serving of Hello Kitty- style cuteness, warped by the darkest of evil!" I'm beginning to think that the work of Jhonen Vasquez is almost it's own genre now. It's a little bit sick. On the other hand, Will Allison did the under-appreciated PERVERT CLUB, and that buys a lot of credibility in my book.

Will Allison does good comics. PERVERT CLUB was a hell of a lot of fun and It's a shame that it's not around anymore. Count me in for whatever he has lined up next.

POPBOT #1
By Ashley Wood
$7.99, b&w, 48pg, page 286, Idea & Design Works, NOV012419

I'm biased in favour of people who use orange intelligently in their Previews advertisements. What can I say, I'm easy? It helps that this comic is described as "Dadaist", and it's by the very talented Ashley Wood. I'd even recommend it if it wasn't so expensive. $8 for a b&w 48 page book? Pass.

Granted, it's pricey, but sometimes you have to pay more for beautiful things. I'm going to give the book a chance to grab me.

BIPOLAR #2
By Tomar & Assof Hanuka & Etgar Keret
$2.95, b&w, 36pg, page 279, Five O'Clock Shadow, NOV012385

I picked Bipolar #1 blindly, and was very surprised at it's quality. It was clever, well written and had nice art, all for three bucks. I wish all the comics sold would offer as much.

WHITE RAIN #1
by Yoshitoshi ABe
$3.50, b&w, 40 pages, Page 276, Fanboy Comics,

Second time is the charm? This is re-solicited after, you know, not coming out for some reason. So, in the spirit of re-solicitation, here is my exact hype for WHITE RAIN #1 from last March's Previews Review:

"Yoshitoshi ABe is brilliant. I fawned over his haunting, beautiful work enough [on his awesome book ESSENCE]. Suffice to say it's still haunting and beautiful, but now it will be in a beautiful comic book. WHITE RAIN is creepy, SERIAL EXPERIMENTS LAIN- like science fiction, created entirely from pencils and zipatone. I'm so very happy to see this coming to print. Order two. One for yourself, and one for a friend."

I'm still trying to figure out if the spelling of his last name is a typo that stuck, or pretension. :)

STRAY BULLETS #23
By David Lapham
$3.50, b&w, 32pg, page 274, El Capitan, NOV012358

David Lapham's crime stories do something to you when you read them. You can almost smell the blood rising from the page and hear the screams of its characters (Who will, almost inevitably be screaming at some point). His stories aren't scary, at least not in the conventional sense, but they're shocking in their brutality and truth. These aren't the heroic tales of a stern PI tracking down a perp; these are the dirty little stories that most writers are afraid to write. They're stories about sweaty sex, violent death, consuming greed, and the cold sting of betrayal. They're stories about love, hope, hatred and loss. They're the stories that fall between the cracks and get ignored. STRAY BULLETS is back. Hold onto something.

Hey look, Stray Bullets is back! A book that is probably entirely unique in the comic industry, STRAY BULLETS rocketed to fame for it's hard-edged noir ideals and brilliant, cinematic storytelling. After a less-than-favourably-received dalliance with the MURDER ME DEAD limited series, the incredibly talented Lapham returns to his (in my opinion) best creation.

While I'll admit to liking his short, brutal stories more than his book length tale's, MURDER ME DEAD was a damn good read and a lot of reviewers were overly harsh with it.

I think it suffered from the fact that it wasn't Stray Bullets, personally. I mean, it's one thing to put out a bad comic, but I saw some surprisingly harsh reactions to MURDER ME DEAD. I guess I'll find out the real story when the trade paperback shows up in December.

JACK STAFF VOLUME 1: YESTERDAY'S HEROES TP
by Paul Grist
$15.95, b&w, 112 pages, Page 267, Dancing Elephant Press, NOV

Don't know who Paul Grist is? He's a British creator who has worked on scads of books over his esteemed career. What's he best known for? Most likely it's his noir detective series KANE, stories of Star City police officers. It's really quite good, and you should order it. So what's JACK STAFF then? That's his better selling pulps 'n' superheroes story, in which a forgotten hero from the 1920's is on the run for a crime he didn't commit, aided and abetted by all manner of heroes, robots, and more. Make sure it's on your order form.

OVERTIME
By Marc Bryant & Mal Jones
$9.95, b&w, 76pg, page266, Cyberosia Publishing, NOV012303

Local boys make good. While it might be a little bit suspect of me to be recommending it, seeing as Cyberosia is also publishing the PopImage book this spring and Marc and Mal are friends of mine, I would honestly be recommending it anyhow. I've read the first several pages of it online, discussed the plot with Marc, and seen a bunch of the concept art (not to mention the brilliant Brian Wood cover). This is going to be a great original graphic novel with good production design and at a decent price. Honest recommendation, pick it up.

I've had the pleasure of reading the whole script, and of seeing most of the finished art and bias or not, this is a fantastic book. It's a Sci-Fi book that defies the rules of Sci-Fi and it's a police drama that fits comfortably inside, but isn't defined by, police drama conventions. Marc and Mal have created a unique and enjoyable comic that uses the Graphic Novel form to its fullest. Don't believe me? Fine, go check out the downloadable preview at www.cyberosia.com/OTpreview.pdf

STRANGE KILLINGS #1
By Warren Ellis & Mike Wolfer
$3.50, b&w, 32pg, Page 230, Avatar Press, NOV012165

Bolstered by the strength of the sick and twisted Stranger Kisses, I'm rather looking forward to this newest 'Strange' mini-series.

I don't really have anything to add to this, except to say that a trade paperback collection is imminent. I can't see any advantage to
buying it serially.

THE WAITING PLACE #12
By Sean McKeever, Mike Norton & Jeffrey Linke
$4.95, b&w, 48pg, Page 220, Slave Labor Graphics, NOV012119

This is the final issue of Sean McKeever's THE WAITING PLACE. I was actually flipping through some early issues of the series earlier this month, and I was sort of saddened. McKeever originally envisioned the book as having "seasons", sort of like a television show. With this, the end of the series, I feel a sense of loss. TWP is an enjoyable book, with great characterization, solid art, and engaging stories. The comic industry is poorer for it's absence. Congrats on a great run, guys.

Earlier, I was speaking a little about books that the Direct Market doesn't support, and all-ages books aren't the only victims of their shortsightedness. Virtually all of the issues of this brilliant series were sold at a only handful of comic stores in our country. I've heard reports of some stores selling twenty or thirty copies. And yet most retailers still maintain that books like this won't sell at their stores. I'm sorry, but I refuse to believe that the only places that people who read comics like this just happen to live within ten miles of one of the few comic stores that actually stock the book. The real reason these books don't sell when they're actually stocked is because you've driven the customers that would buy them out.

And just to make sure that the retailers don't get all of my wrath this month, I'd like to point out that these retailers might be more willing to take some risks if comics we returnable, like other print material. Wake up publishers, if Diamond won't get off their asses and make comics returnable, then maybe you should. Sure, you may have to pulp some issues, but I'd be willing to bet that your orders would increase significantly.

All that being said, I'm really going to miss The Waiting Place. It was a touching, heart felt comic that had more to say about young people than a dozen WB drama's ever could. While I'm sure Sean and Mike will be moving on to some great new projects, I still consider losing this series a loss.

Actually, Diamond is actively against publishers going returnable on anything but a very specific overship basis. Despite that, some publishers like TOP SHELF and (I believe ANTARCTIC PRESS) do have policies where you can return new, saleable merchandise to them and exchange it for other books. Granted, it's not super-publicized, but as a retailer-only concern I can't see why it would need to be.

Cross-Gen also got retailers to take a greater look at their work buy making it returnable. I'm not sure if they still do it, but I'm certain it was a major factor in the fledgling comic publisher's modest success.

PUBLIC DOMAIN: A CHANNEL ZERO DESIGN BOOK
By Brian Wood
$12.95, b&w, 112pg, page 216, AIT/Planet Lar, NOV012105

I've been dying for this book. Ever since I interviewed Brian last year I've been desperate to get even further inside his head and see where CHANNEL ZERO came from.

I really like Channel Zero. I really liked the DUPE special, and I'm a fan of Brian Wood's art and design. This is really a no-brainer.

I wish more artists would do something like this. I don't mean an artbook; anyone can slap one of those together. No, I'd love to see a book detailing how someone like Chris Ware works and creates his comics.

POP GUN WAR #2
By Farel Dalrymple
$2.50, b&w, 24pg, page 212, Absence Of Ink Press, NOV012091

This is one of the lost gems of 2000, though I don't really know how lost it is, per say, considering how loudly it was shouted from the rooftops. The second issue to the beautifully illustrated, surreal tale of a boy who finds angel wings. I don't often recommend second issues, but I'm recommending this. Go and get it. And if you can find the first issue, get that too.

It's also worth mentioning that Farel won a Xeric grant for the first issue last year. They don't just give Xeric grants to anyone, so you know this is a quality book worth checking out. I'm hoping the new publisher Absence of Ink Press will make sure there is less of a gap between issue's this time.

WIZARD EDGE
$4.99, colour, 128 pages, Page 198, Wizard Publications, NOV

I'm sort of happy and sort of insulted. I mean on the one hand, this is a great opportunity for the 16-or-so books that are above this solicitation to get some much-needed and much-deserved attention. On the other hand, the solicitation prominently mentions books and creators almost entirely from the front of the catalogue, except not superheroes (or not entirely superheroes). I really, really want this to be good. I mean, I want it to be good a lot. But… no, let's leave it there. I'm expecting a lot out of this. I hope it doesn't disappoint.

It's Wizard, of course it'll disappoint. Someone once told me that It was pointless of me to be so hard on Wizard because it was what it was, and it caters to a willing audience. I agree, so why now is it courting another? The cynic could say that it's just another reason to talk more about Kevin Smith...

Whatever, Wizard can do what it wants, but I won't pretend that I'm not annoyed by Edge's lack of female creators or, in a mass e-mailing, Wizard referring to creators like Jim Mahfood and Andi Watson as 'newer' creators when both have had very long and successful careers.

I'm going to wait.

I'm not going to bother.

MOMENT OF SILENCE
cover by joe quesada & alex ross
kevin smith, joe quesada, bill jemas & brian michael bendis (w)/igor kordey, john romita jr., mark bagley & chuck austen (p)
• THE SCOOP: An all-star collection of creators craft four silent stories - with all proceeds going to the victims of 9•11•01.
• THE STORY: Inspired by the true events, four duos of titanic talent unite to remember the heroic sacrifices of 9•11•01. And, in keeping with our 'Nuff Said event, all stories will be told with images only. The creative teams include: Kevin Smith (DAREDEVIL, Green Arrow) and Igor Kordey (CABLE); Marvel's EIC Joe Quesada and John Romita Jr. (AMAZING SPIDER-MAN); Marvel Prez Bill Jemas and Mark Bagley (ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN); and Brian Michael Bendis (DAREDEVIL) and Chuck Austen (ELEKTRA). And it's all wrapped in a touching cover penciled by Quesada and painted by Alex Ross. Best of all, Marvel will give all proceeds to the families that lost loved ones during the attack on America.

• THE FORMAT: 32 pages, with no ads. Printed on glossy stock with a cardstock cover.
7-59606-tbd-00111 (MarvelPG)        3.50

If this is what I think it is, then Bendis recently announced that the art for his contribution will be done by none other than Scott Morse.

X-MEN: FALL OF THE MUTANTS Trade Paperback
Cover by Alan Davis
$24.95, FC, 272pg, page180, Marvel, NOV011852

Marvel, true to its word, is searching their archives for some of the classic stories that made them stars. In the 80's, it was all about X-Men. Chris Claremont was, after several years of towing the line, breaking out and turning the X-Men into his book.

You can now expect Chris to come along and make fun of me for talking about this, but screw him, he's not really right in the head.

I don't need to make fun of you. Your choices speak for themselves, fanboy.

Touch my God Phoenix!

THE ULTIMATES #1
By Mark Millar, Bryan Hitch, & Andrew Currie
$2.25, FC, 32pg, page 157, Marvel, NOV011803

I just read the Wizard preview of this and it's really, really good. Aside from the fact that Bryan Hitch is one of the best illustrators in the business, in my humble estimation, the story really appears to be one of the most thoroughly constructed superhero books in years. Seems like a lot of fun. I have no problem with well-done superhero books. This is going to be a very well done superhero book.

Mark Millar doesn't mess around when it comes to stretching the boundaries of superhero comics. He took Authority to the next, over the top step, leaving people asking 'Warren Who?' and remade the X-Men into a hip, counter culture teenage drama. I'm dying to see what he can do with the Avengers.

Marvel's Mangaverse Event

I think it's really telling that for all of the attention that Marvel has received lately for top-notch art and design on their comics, these books are looking even sharper and more attractive than their normal stuff. Granted, they're not all winners (X-Men, Ghost Rider…) but all in all, they're an incredibly sharp looking bunch. Special kudos go to SPIDER-MAN though, for being the hip, current, excellent looking book that Ultimate could have been.

Wow. Interesting slam on the Ultimate Spider-man book. I'm not sure how recasting Spider-man as a ninja trained by Uncle Ben is something that would have been cool as more than a one off, but I will admit that it looks fun. I'm also interested in checking out The Punisher and Fantastic Four.

I don't think ULTIMATE went far enough to re-cast spider-man in a current light. It's still really… old looking. Just look at that artwork, that's slicker than most computer animation, not to mention most comic books on the stands. Ultimate would have benefited from interiors that looked like it's covers. For a start.

Really now? I think the Ultimate Spider-man covers are a weakness myself. I don't think changing Spider-man as radically as this special issue would have been a very good idea. The Ultimates wasn't about starting from scratch, it was about pulling down 40 years of continuity and re-thinking the character. I'm not a teenager by any means anymore, but I'd like to think I'm still reasonably in touch with what will and will not work for them. If marketed correctly, I could easily see this book being popular fans of say WB's SMALLEVILLE. Can't you see a weekly drama based on the life of Peter Parker? I read Ultimate Spider-man and get the same feeling I get while watching the Superman drama.

NOBLE CAUSES #1
By Jay Faerber, Patrick Gleason, Amanda Conner, John Wycough & Jimmy Palmiotti
$2.95, FC, 32pg, page127, Image, NOV011515

Noble Causes is a buzz book. That is to say, it came out and found a lot of positive feedback, good sell-through, and an audience. So if you found this one on the racks at your local shop and decided to give it a try, remember to pre-order this book with your comic retailer. Because these sorts of books don't always see the increase in orders that they deserve. And this book deserves them.

And everyone should check out the wonderful article Jay wrote for us about the evolution of Nobel Causes located here http://www.popimage.com/industrial/101701jayfaerber.shtml

DARKMINDS: MACROPOLIS #1
By Chris Sarracini, Jo Chen, Christina Chen, and Alan Wang
$2.95, FC, 32 pages, Page 114, Image, NOV

No no no no no. I know what you're thinking. STRIKE IT FROM YOUR MIND. We've all heard it before, and it doesn't apply here. This series is beautiful, illustrated expertly by Jo Chen (who is frighteningly talented), and ably assisted by her sister Christina Chen. It is written by a friend of mine named Chris Sarracini, and he can really write. So I'm going to tell you, drop all your pre-conceived notions about Dreamwave, and DARKMINDS in particular. This is going to be an

Chris is the DJ. Scottie's the rapper.


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USAGI YOJIMBO VOL. #1
Reviewed by Marc Deering

Rediscovering the ronin rabbit!

by Stan Sakai
Trade paperback
Fantagraphics
$14.95

I should be smacked. Really. See, I was just getting into comics when the "Black & White" explosion hit comics. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Adolescent Radioactive Black Belt Hamsters, Hamster Vice, Eclipse Comics, First Comics, all of them. I was there when they hit. Except I missed USAGI YOJIMBO. Oh, I saw it on the shelf, but I missed it. I'm paying for that mistake now, as I try to hunt down all the trades and spend a fortune on trying to read the entire series to date. Much to Stan's delight.

At the Pittsburgh Comicon 2001 this past April I found the first volume of the series at the Fantagraphics table. (Hehe, as a side note, Augie and I were fighting over who would buy it first and get to read it. You can see who won now, right?) Anyway.

I met Stan Sakai at last years' EXPO in Bethesda, MD, came across VOLUME #1 and haven't stopped loving it since.

VOLUME #1 is great. Stan sets up a character and world rich with history and culture. It's like walking in on an epic and watching it unfold before your eyes. Stan's art starts off very basic. That's not a bad thing, it's just that if you look at the earlier Usagi and compare it to the more recent stuff, you can see a big difference in the style of his art and the grace of his page layouts.

VOL. 1 is a great introduction to the character. Usagi is a wandering ronin, or masterless samurai, seeking shelter for the night. A lonely old woman takes him in and relates the story of a goblin terrorizing people in the nearby mountain. Usagi confronts the goblin but the story ends with a twist that you don't see coming. The first story shows you a hardened samurai sticking to the code of Bushido through even the toughest situations. More stories ensue and you are introduced to a wide variety of characters including Gennosuke, a character that still in comic to this day. The two stories featuring Genn are the funniest I've read in Usagi Yojimbo.

Overall, this is a series I'm very sorry I missed out on all those years ago. I am a huge fan of Fuedal Japan and the history involved in that era. If you are a fan of LONE WOLF & CUB this is a series to pick up. It has the same feeling that LW&C gives off. I highly recommend this series and with #50 on it's way, it should be a great jumping-on point for everyone else. Beautiful stuff.

Go. Buy it.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

 

Marc Deering is a regular contributor to PopImage .


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FLASH: RACE AGAINST TIME
Reviewed by Brent A. Keane

For diehard speedfreaks only
Written by Mark Waid and Brian Augustyn
Art by Oscar Jimenez, Jim Cheung, Anthony Castrillo and Sergio Cariello
168 page trade paperback
DC Comics
$14.95 US

Two words, right up front: don’t bother. Not unless you’re completely au fait with FLASH continuity. Since this follows on from a previous collection, DEAD HEAT (wherein Wally West – a.k.a. the Flash, the fastest man alive – defeated a self-proclaimed ‘god of speed’ named Savitar). Opening to the beginning of this volume is akin to walking in halfway through a movie. To wit:

· You’re utterly lost…not unlike the title character, bouncing through the timestream for a goodly part of the story.

· You’re baffled by the inconsistent art – Jimenez is at the top of his game, but Cheung’s proto-manga stylings underwhelm; Castrillo’s uncanny resemblance to early John Byrne borders on plagiarism; and Cariello turns in a lacklustre effort come the book’s climax.

· You’re confused by the aforesaid time-travel story line. If you don’t get the references, you miss out. Truth be told, you’re only seeing a glimpse of a long-range plot.

True, the dialogue snaps and the character interplay is fleshed out nicely, but it’s all for naught if you don’t care for the players. If you don’t know one Flash from another – and there are quite a few running through this book – then stay away.

NEUTRAL

 

Brent A. Keane has done his dash. Now he’s tired and wants to rest…


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INTERVIEW: JAY STEPHENS
Conducted by Jonathan Ellis

"You wish for interview, no? Hmmm...

...an opportunity to warp tender young minds with impressive story of evil lifestyle...

...a little something for the future henchmen and goons, perhaps?"

That little tidbit comes courtesy of the current JETCAT CLUBHOUSE series available now from Oni Press. For those unfamiliar, Jay Stephens grew up in the not so quaint suburbs filling his days doodling away with images of bloody wolverine claws and daydreaming on fields of grass of the day he could exploit his cute little insomnia inspired creations into truckloads of cash. The trucks got stuck on the highway so Jay had some time while anticipating their arrival to share a few words with us.

PopImage: Now one of the things I want to know is, how do you go from Sir John A McDonald to having, what, half a dozen animation deals going on?

Jay: It's amazing what you can accomplish when you set out to prove your junior high school classmates were idiots.

Last we talked you mentioned selling your X-MEN comics for drug money. Exactly how many grams does the Dark Phoenix Saga go for?

At some point in my sixteenth year, it hit me. I could keep spending cash on slowly rotting paper products, or party with my girlfriend. My priorities have been straight ever since. Only difference now is that I have my own comics to peddle!

Although your work is primarily rooted in the indy scene, your name pops up every so often with titles such as THE INVISIBLES and ALIENS. How did you first get involved with the big name companies?

It's all a kind of "WHO YOU KNOW" scene, really. All the indy editors, creators and fans end up at major publishers eventually. It's gravitational. But INVISIBLES and ALIENS aren't mainstream. 30,000 copies isn't mainstream, it's underground! NICKELODEON MAGAZINE and CHICKADEE... NOW THAT'S MAINSTREAM.

I know many in the indy field sometimes get angered over certain creators going mainstream, I mean the nerve of some cartoonists wanting to make a living, do you ever feel certain talent don't belong doing work in the mainstream market?

Um, well, I just declared that there wasn't any such thing as "MAINSTREAM" comics, didn't I? But, really, the popular comics are in a constant state of flux, just as all pop culture is. Today's underground is tomorrows mainstream. That's just as true for comics as it is for music, film, fashion, and everything else.

How has reaction been from your strip in CHICKADEE magazine? A kids magazine, but with sales records most comic creators would whore themselves for.

Yeah. It rocks. Some months we get around a hundred letters from fans. All kids aged 6-9. Who says kids aren't reading comics anymore? They're just not reading piece-of-crap comic books.

Would you ever consider publishing your books through Scholastic to get them in the hands of more younger readers?

I've done work for the magazine in the past. NICKELODEON and OWL also do some publishing outside of their ongoing magazines... it's a matter of time, really.

What is it about the all ages and young readers markets that appeals to you?

One thing that keeps coming up in discussions about the rotten state of the industry, is that there's an obvious lack of 'entry level' comics. The kind of comics that get young readers excited, and make them into life long comic book readers. Apparently, I'm the only guy in the whole business who took this seriously.

ATOMIC CITY TALES, which was really your break out series gave nods to titles like the old FANTASTIC FOUR and EC Horror books. Any plans to do another series in the same style?

Hell, yes! Oni [Press] will be reprinting the first ATOMIC CITY TALES collection in April 2002, with the second collection following soon after. And parts of the MADMAN/JETCAT project will be in that style, too. There are more plans for ATOMIC CITY projects that are still in developmental stages, as well.

There wouldn't happen to be ANOTHER animation deal planned for ATOMIC CITY TALES as well, would there?

Naw... that would be ostentatious.

Your work has been described as having that Saturday morning cartoon feel - what cartoons were your faves growing up? What shows are you watching now?

I watched way too much TV as a kid. MIGHTY MOUSE, TOM AND JERRY, the bulk of HANNA-BARBERRA, ASTRO BOY, and the old FLEISHER CARTOONS... Boy, those were the days. Nowadays I'm stuck watching stuff that my three-year-old daughter watches. ARTHUR's not so bad, actually. From what I do catch, I like TEACHER'S PET, FUTURAMA, MOUSEWORKS, and all of Bruce Timm's junk.

Ever a big fan of those old books - Mr. Happy, Mr. Snow, etc?

Not really. My daughter has a bunch of those 'Mr. Men' books. I was more of a BARBAPAPA kind of guy.

Monkeys. Cute chaos. Everyone likes monkeys. You have theories on this, lets hear them.

You know that our smiles and laughter evolved out of the simian response to fear... chattering and bearing teeth. Presumably, fear and insecurity are at the root of everything humans find humourous.

Wow. What an intelligent and thoughtful response. Did you read that in TIME or something?

My cousin's a monkey.

How did MADMAN/JETCAT come about? What will be the premise behind the series?

I'm not telling yet! It's really good and I don't want to spoil it. Doc Allred and I have been itching to jam for a while, and this seemed like the right moment.

You've got tons of collections coming up from Oni [Press] - how did you get involved with them and what are the current plans for the collections?

I'd known ONI editor Jamie Rich at DARK HORSE (See? It's all who you know) and liked some of the new books they were putting out. I basically pitched them the JETCAT CLUBHOUSE book over the table at San Diego. I've never been happier with a publisher (Though I guess that's not saying much, considering how often I've been screwed!), and I'm thrilled about having all my collections at a single publisher. The ODDVILLE reprint is due in January, ATOMIC CITY TALES-1 in April, JETCAT CLUBHOUSE in August, and ATOMIC CITY TALES-2 in October!

What inspirationed you to create characters like Jetcat and Space Ape?

Joy. Insomnia. Maybe both.

The Martian Manhunter used to have a little orange alien sidekick which you recently submitted a pitch to revive. Could you tell us a little about that?

Yeah, ZOOK. When writer Jean-Marc L'officier and I proposed a new ZOOK book to DC, they looked at us like we were heretics! They'd rather everyone forgot that a Pidgin-English speaking, interdimensional orange imp ever happened, I think. Just mentioning the name makes them throw you out on the street! I noticed Evan Dorkin was able to sneak ZOOK cameos into the BIZARRO book...
They probably haven't noticed yet.

And what about plans for a Bat-mite book? Maybe in the same vein of the recent Bizarro book?

I was happy to draw Batmite for a few panels of Dorkin's WORLD'S FUNNEST, but I doubt the opportunity till arise again anytime soon. DC has no sense of humour. Teeth firmly shrouded in lip at all times. Despite the constant moaning and groaning about how fewer and fewer people are reading comics...

Any confirmation on plans to work on Daniel Breretons NOCTURNALS: THE HIDEOUS LEAGUE?

Nope. I'd love to work with Dan on those characters again (we got really good feedback from their first appearance in NOCTURNALS: THE TROLL BRIDGE), but my calender is full for the time being.

What advice, if any, would you give to those trying to make it in the Biz today?

Don't even bother unless you love the art form so much that you have no other choice. It's harsh... but the rewards are there if you can manage to hang in for the long term. I seriously recommend trying everything else... illustration, mural painting, animation, graphic design, children's books, tattooing... before succumbing to comics.

What comic titles are you reading now?

DRAWN AND QUARTERLY, STRAY BULLETS/MURDER ME DEAD, LOVE AND ROCKETS, THB, SOF'BOY, HELLBOY, EIGHTBALL, NEW X-MEN, SUGAR BOOGER, PALOOKAVILLE, TOM STRONG, everything by Jim Woodring, Lewis Trondheim, Darwyn Cooke, Julie Doucet, and Joaan Sfar, MONKEYSUIT, X-FORCE, Rocco Vargas, geez... I could go on forever!

Comics journalism, in any form, how important is it?

Eight out of ten.

Finish these sentences;
Right now, in the industry we need more... Talent.
and less... hype.
and the weirdest thing anyone ever asked me to draw was... your momma.

Of course you can't leave without plugging. Plugging everything you can.

Plug. Plug. Plug...


Plug.

OK. 2002 will see four TPB's of mine published through ONI Press. If you didn't catch 'em the first time, you should pick up ODDVILLE! (JAN.), GO POWER!, THE COMPLETE ATOMIC CITY TALES VOL.1 (APRIL), and THE LAND OF NOD TREASURY (which is out now).

And there's even a couple of books for established Stephens sympathizers, the JETCAT CLUBHOUSE collection in August, and the long awaited SECOND ATOMIC CITY COLLECTION coming next fall. For the young and/or curious, CHICK AND DEE continues monthly in CHICKADEE MAGAZINE, With occasional digest-sized specials with more comics, puzzles and games. All this junk is detailed and linked on my website Jay Stephens.com, so check it out.

Thanks Jay.

 

Jonathan Ellis is Interviews Editor for PopImage.
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