Reviewed by Adam Ford
by various artists
Avodah Books
$24.99
I first saw KRAMERS ERGOT number four at Tim Danko's house the week he was packing to move to New Zealand. I picked it up and started reading and the conversation went on above my head for the next twenty minutes or so as I turned each page to reveal a new wonderful comic and tried to suppress the instinctive ooh-ing and aah-ing that the pages inspired.
My review copy arrived one Friday night a few months later while I was at a party in the city. Craig had been to our post-office box and when he got to the party he pulled out a giant cardboard package and handed it to me. I knew exactly what it was and tore the package open immediately. After a quick flip to remind me of what was inside, I passed the comic around like a proud father. The looks of rapture I received from my comic-making friends as they reluctantly passed it back to me were exactly what I'd hoped for. Craig told me if he'd known what was in the package he would have opened it himself and read it cover to cover before giving it to me. I understood perfectly.
KRAMERS is a 200-plus-page anthology of comics and illustrations encased in a crayon-coloured cover depicting some kind of carapaced humanoid figure striding across a rainbow. Inside you'll find the work of some thirty-odd artists working in almost every medium conceivable: lineart on exercise-book paper, coloured pencils, crayons, collages stuck on torn up boxes, solid inks, grey waterpaint washes, bold guache blocks of primary colours - you name it. Some of the stories feel like they've been written on the spot with no revision, real stream-of-consciousness narratives. Some of the art has a real childlike naievete to it, almost like a slightly more sophisticated kind of outsider art. Some of the comics are disjointed and surreal like outsider art, but sometimes that approach feels indulgent and lazy - sure, it's big and striking and weird and colourful, but is that enough? For many of the contributors to KRAMERS, the answer, happily, is no, that's not enough. These comic artists understand the importance of story-telling and have explored the possibilities of narrative as much as they have the possibilities of drawing.
Reviewing anthologies is always tricky - trying to provide an all-encompassing take on the book as a whole is often impossible. You end up having to be content with making lists of what you like. That's cool. I'm okay with that. Here's my list of people who I discovered for the first time in KRAMERS, my list of people who made me scream with pleasure and vow to track down complete catalogues of their entire body of work to date:
Anders Nielsen - Sisyphus
Nilsen's sparse, open linework is beguiling in its obvious simplicity and hidden complexity. He has two short stories in this issue, both featuring Sisyphus (the character from Greek mythology who's cursed to push a boulder uphill for eternity) and a nosy, talkative goose. The second story, featuring the Minotaur's pontification on the tragedy and irony of love, is my favourite.
David Lasky & Frank Young - The Carter Family
A simple retelling of a true incident in the life of the famous country music band, what makes this strip so good is its use of techniques evocative of 50s-era newspaper strips: the recurring title logo, the flat-but-vivid colouring, and the linework reminiscent of strips like Gasoline Alley.
Marc Bell - There is No Escape
The main section of this comic is a bizarre story that reads like Captain Beefheart and Esquivel collaborating on a long-form nursery-rhyme. Bell's intricate, colourful and ubercartoony artwork is the kind of thing you could linger over for days. And the internal logic of the baffling story had me laughing and scratching and double-taking in slack-jawed amazement.
John Hankiewicz - Hanshaw Development
A dark fragmentary story of mutual dislike and manipulation. The spare use of block pastel colours for only the protagonists' jackets is a lovely touch, accenting the clean lines of the rest of the art.
Sammy Harkham - Poor Sailor
This is a very black story of compounded loss and death, told with almost no dialogue. Despite its apparently cruel intent, its subtext is one of hope and its tranquil pacing is a great counterpoint to the violence depicted. Harkham's black and white art is minimal and evocative, with lots of lovely pauses for scene-to-scene transitions.
Souther Salazar - Give me Drumrolls Forever & Please Don't Give Up
Sketchy lineart cut and pasted onto different backgrounds, the text also hand-written and cut out to be scattered around the figures. These two comics read like illustrated poems, with the imagery serving to accompany and elaborate on - rather than illustrate - the text. Please Don't Give Up is a breathtaking work that is painted, drawn and stuck onto what looks like torn up cardboard boxes.
Jeffrey Brown - Don't Look Them In the Eye
Slice of life stuff about scruffy inner-city indie kids, but an endearing take on rather than an indulgent one. Brown's characters have a kindness and a hope about them that makes their day-to-day activities that much more interesting.
What I like about all of the above comics is their sense of fun, their sense of play, their sense of adventure, their sense of joy and their sense of hope - which comes across even when the stories themselves are really dark.
This is the concluding paragraph where I'm supposed to say something insightful that ties all previous observations together in a neat, pithy statement that makes the reader want to go right out and buy the book (and if it makes me look clever, then that's an added bonus). But all I can think to say about KRAMERS is: to those who made it - Congratulations. It's beautiful. You must be very proud.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
Adam Ford is a regular contributor to PopImage, creator of the online comic GODLINGS, a novelist, poet, journalist, zine-maker and big fat stupid-head. For more of Adam's comics, insight and reviews check out labyrinth.net.au/~adamford.
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UNTIL YOUR HEART STOPS v3.1
by Brian Domingos
Scenes From The Future: Part VI
03/31/04
It’s that time of the month already. PREVIEWS time! It seems to be a week early, but I ain’t complain’. This is a hit list from the April PREVIEWS catalogue from Diamond Comics and has all the comics/books/magazines, etc. shipping in June.
Get to it.
I’m really not sure what it is about Hellboy, but I love everything about him. He’s a bizarre character who’s delivered in a dead pan straight-forward way. He’s not broading. He’s only a little haunted. The bottom line is that he’s just a Joe trying to get the job done.
Eric Powell has managed to do the same thing with The Goon. Sure he’s got problems… Who doesn’t? Ok, he’s a little weird…. So are you. The Goon’s just trying to make a living and deal with the strange shit that he comes in contact with. This time, that strange thing is Hellboy.
THE GOON #7, you see, has them meet, a thing that was destined to happen. It was in the stars if you believe in any of that hooey. I don’t know what’s going to happen in the story, but I’ll bet it’ll be a little messed up and a bunch funny. To make it that much more appealing it’s co-written/co-illustrated by Powell and Mignola.
I know. Holy Moley.
(PAGE 31, $2.99; Order Code: APR04 0104)
We’re still waiting on the last part of Brian Azzarello and Eduardo Risso’s BATMAN: Broken City. It’s due out today and will be sure to please. But maybe not everyone.
See, Azzarello has upped to ‘detective’ part of the Batman character. He’s chosen to go with a Philip Marlowe-esque pulp narration which seems to bug a good portion of fandom.
To me, though, it’s perfect. We see Batman enjoy himself a little more than usual, which is a nice change of pace. The story itself revolves around a murder and Batman’s hunt for said Murderer. Everything goes wrong when Bats figures out that he’s got the wrong guy.
The price of this book is a whooping $24.95 because it’s a hardcover. But before you all groan, you’ve gotta check out the artwork. Dave (RED SON) Johnson does the covers in his unique style and Risso does some of the best work of his career. There are lots of black and suggestive panels that lead you across the page. The rest of the 100 BULLETS creative team, colorist Patricia Mulvihill and letterer Clem Robins round out the group. They’ve all been working so long together, it’s no surprise it’s such a beautiful book.
So if you’re looking for a superhero story with a different pace, this is one to check out.
(PAGE 99, $24.95; OC: APR04 0277)
Next up is the first issue of the new CHALLENGERS OF THE UNKNOWN by Howard Chaykin.
Chaykin is sole creator this time around, strongly following up his recent Original Graphic Novel, MIGHTY LOVE. CHALLENGERS is a six issue series that surrounds 5 ordinary people who are thrust together to take on a Higher Power.
There’s a three page preview in the PREVIEWS catalogue, which shows off some fine artwork and some already dramatic scenes.
Although I wish this had been released as an OGN, I’m sure Wildstorm editor Scott Dunbier will keep Chaykin on track.
(PAGE 103, $2.95; OC: APR04 0299)
Were it not for Brad Meltzer’s incredibly strong “Archer’s Quest” in GREEN ARROW, I really doubt I would have given IDENTITY CRISIS a second glance. However, Meltzer proved that he knows what he’s doing and DC coupled him with the titanic art team of Rags Morales and Michael Bair.
DC and Meltzer have been vague about the going-ons of IC but he implied that it’s a pretty hardcore mystery set in the DC Universe. Someone is going to die; at least one person. By the end? Who knows.
Meltzer has a knack for pacing and an eye for details. His plots are complex, but not too much. He’s got a great sense of balance in that sense. He says just enough and loads the script with all the pieces necessary for an engaging story.
Morales and Bair are a consistently solid art team. They drew JSA for a bit, bringing Hawkman back to the DCU. They followed him to his own monthly series and have just finished up their run, doing 90% of a two year jaunt.
Teaming them up with Meltzer is a dynamite idea. I’ll be there for issue one, at the very least. I could do without the Michael Turner covers, though.
(PAGE 106, $3.95; OC: APR04 0316)
To be honest, I didn’t enjoy the first issue of ARROWSMITH. I picked it up because at some point in the past I remembered enjoying Kurt Busiek and Carlos Pacheco’s AVENGERS FOREVER. (Another read of that left be dead cold. But that’s beside the point.)
ARROWSMITH: So Smart in Their Fine Uniforms collects the six issue mini series by Busiek and Pacheco. It centers on the teenaged Fletcher Arrowsmith who leaves home to go to war in 1915. This sounds like many young man’s tales during the time of World War I, however, there are some differences. In this world, the things of myth, dragons, trolls, magic, and wizards are all real. All. Real. Combat’s a bit different when you have your own personal dragon. Sort of like an alchemist jet pack.
While the first issue left me cold, the subsequent episodes hammered out the idea that Busiek and Pacheco really Know this whole new world. There’s a slight difference in culture and geography, and you probably wouldn’t notice if you closed your eyes. As you read it, though, you see that there’s nothing common here. The stakes are Raised.
If the plot doesn’t grab you, the lush artwork of Pacheco and Jesus Merina will make it all worth the 15 bucks.
(PAGE 112, $14.95; OC: APR04 0352)
Finally. I mean it. By the time PLANETARY: Leaving the 20th Century comes out, it will have been at least 2 and a half years since the last hardcover.
This third collection picks up where the last one “The Fourth Man” left off. Warren Ellis has deviously plotted PLANETARY with hints and bits and pieces, just waiting to be placed together. A young Elijah Snow follows clues that lead him to the greatest detective of the 19th Century. The next part gives us the “why” and the “how” of Mr. Snow’s memory loss. Episode 15, then, has Planetary starting its assault on The Four. There are three other parts after that, each one adding more and more clues that go towards the plot.
Artist John Cassaday and colorist Laura (DePuy) Martin produce some of the best artwork in comics today. Each stroke of Cassaday’s pen is expertly placed and Ms. Martin’s colors give the pages a life of their own.
It should be noted, too, that the last part of this book is “Part One of Two,” a first for PLANETARY. The second part, issue #19, comes out today and is a great place to prep for this hardcover.
Oh, man, I love how it’s getting back on track. PLANETARY is one of the greats.
(PAGE 112, $24.95; OC: APR04 0355)
EX MACHINA is a brand new series from DC/Wildstorm.
Writer Brian K. Vaughan and artist Tony Harris combine superheroes and The West Wing giving us the story of Mitchell Hundred, the World’s First and Only Superhero. Mitchell grows tired of the ‘small stuff’ and wins the seat as Mayor of New York City.
Vaughan shows the world his knack for dense plotting every month in Y: THE LAST MAN. He’s got a great sense of dialogue and dramatic timing. I’m sure he has a couple years worth of stories mapped out and ready to go.
Harris is a personal favorite of mine. He co-created Jack (STARMAN) Knight for DC and his fantastic JSA Elseworld series’ were just collected in trade paperback last week. His style has morphed since his ‘photo realistic’ days and he’s currently working with a more organic look.
June brings him back to the monthly comics game and I can’t wait to get a regular dose of Tony Harris again.
(PAGE 113, $2.95; OC: APR04 0356)
Wildstorm gives us both a new SLEEPER maxi-series as well as the collection that wraps up the first series.
SLEEPER: All False Moves has Holden Carver still in over his head and looking for a way out. He’s slowly working his way up the bad-guy food chain and keeping his head down. An operative contacts him and gives Holden a way out. Will he take it?
In SLEEPER: Season Two, Holden has come to grips with himself and his fate just in time for his superior to snap out of his coma. As the only man who knew of Holden’s secret mission John Lynch was the man behind the plan. When he was shot and incapacitated, he left Holden all alone. Now Lynch’s new task is to bring Holden in. Luckily Lynch has something Holden wants.
Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips firmly inserted SLEEPER into the Wildstorm Universe. Brubaker picks and chooses which aspects he wants, making it easy reading for new readers but with enough bits of continuity to tickle the long time fan like myself.
Philips’ artwork is action/sci-fi with a tingle of crime noir. He uses deep shadows and unique panel layouts to keep the pages moving. He’s the kind of artist who does talking heads as well as he does car chases and gun fights.
This is a tremendous opportunity for new readers to get on the SLEEPER train, as well as old readers who need a fix.
SLEEPER SEASON TWO #1 (Of 12) (PAGE 113, $2.95; OC: APR04 0357)
SLEEPER: ALL FALSE MOVES, VOL 2 TP (PAGE 113, $17.95; OC: APR04 0358)
I’d be doing you all a disservice if I didn’t mention the 50th issue of 100 BULLETS. The issue marks the halfway point of the series, leaving just 50 issues to go. You should also check out the six collections of 100 BULLETS. It’s a hard hitting crime/mystery story with a little bit for everyone.
Azzarello and Risso have stayed consistent the whole way through, never once letting the quality level slip. My hope is that this milestone jump starts them into taking on the next 4+ dozen issues.
Also released this month is HELLBLAZER: Highwater, a collection that contains the last eleven (#164-174) issues of Azzarello’s run.
I really enjoy Azzarello’s Constantine and am looking forward to a heaping dose. There are two story arcs drawn by regular artist Marcelo Frusin, with single issues by Giuseppe Camuncoli and Cameron Stewart.
Now if you could just get some Mike Carey HELLBLAZER issues in tpb, we’d be all set.
100 BULLETS #50 (PAGE 115, $3.50; OC: APR04 0367)
HELLBLAZER: HIGHWATER TP (PAGE 115, $19.95; OC: APR04 0371)
Now here’s something I never thought I’d see:
The CITY OF SILENCE tpb.
CITY OF SILENCE was a three issue series by Warren Ellis and artist Gary Erskine. The script is from the early ‘90s and bridges the gap in Ellis’ work catalogue between LAZARUS CHURCHYARD and TRANSMETROPOLITAN. The mini series finally saw print in the early ‘00s and is a pretty decent read.
The artwork is top notch, mixing cybertech and street grit. Erskine’s work has traces of Tony Harris, while at the same time, it’s completely unique. I don’t know what happened with that cover, though. It’s not at all what I was expecting.
The script is pretty standard Ellis cyberpunk. It’s interesting to read as a study of Ellis’ work, placing it beside similar stories and seeing where it fits. One can see the themes and the subtle transitions from CoS to TRANS.MET. ‘The Future’ is a popular concept that Ellis uses and CITY OF SILENCE is a great example of his Point-Of-View.
I look forward to adding this to my shelf.
(PAGE 139, $9.95; OC: APR04 1389)
CLOUDBURST is a brand new OGN from Image by writing duo Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray.
The concept is this: Lauren Moore, a young scientist, invents a satellite system that creates weather systems on dry planets. She’s sent to an uninhabited planet to start a new living environment only, it is inhabited and the locals are about to be killed off. Moore wants to stop the impending genocide but her only hope is a drifter that may not actually exist.
Palmiotti and Gray are great at coming up with these cool ideas. This story sounds pretty interesting and I’m glad it’s coming out in one part rather than a mini series.
And don’t fooled by the coverl the artwork inside is vastly different than the lovely Ms. Amanda Conner’s work. The first part is stylized and looks a bit like Ash Wood or Ben Templesmith. There’s scratchy line work and deep inks. The second part is a more open style with less detail and more definition. To see an example of all this check out the preview samples here.
I like all these OGNs coming out of Image Central these days. They’re always guaranteed the 8 bucks.
(PAGE 140, $7.95; OC: APR04 1390)
The first thing I saw from THE RIDE was the cover. I immediately recognized it as Adam Hughes and wanted to see more. The script is by Doug Wagner, whoever that is and the concept is “weird stories that surround a certain 1968 Camero.”
“Yeah, so what,” right?
The art is by Cully Hamner and Brian Stelfreeze. Yeah, that’s it. That’s all you have to know. Those are two of the best action artists working today. Their line work has momentum; it’s kinetic.
THE RIDE is a two part, black and white mini series from Image. There’s a preview of it here and it’s worth checking out.
(PAGE 147, $2.95; OC: APR04 1401)
Warren Ellis returns to Marvel Comics with a year long run on ULTIMATE FANTASTIC FOUR. Starting with issue 7, Ellis and artist Stuart Immonen take the book from Bendis/Millar/Kubert and you can be sure that there are big things in store for the FF.
Ellis has been writing his own Ultimate FF in PLANETARY for years. His group, The four are sadistic bastards bent on ruling the world. This time around, Ellis has the FF tackle Ultimate Doom. For that alone, I can’t wait; no one writes crazed despots better than Ellis.
There’s also Immonen and if his artwork is half as good as it is in SUPERMAN: Secret Identity, we’re all in for a treat.
I’ve got a good feeling about it.
Also from Marvel is the ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN: Script Book fully publishing some of Bendis’ favorite scripts. It contains the full scripts of #1/2, #13, #27 and #45; the ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN SUPER SPECIAL; and ULTIMATE MARVEL TEAM-UP #9 and #11, and is coupled with artwork by featuring artwork by Mark Bagley, Jim Mahfood, Chynna Clugston-Major and commentary by Bendis.
I love the POWERS script book already, so this is a must.
ULTIMATE FANTASTIC FOUR #7 (Marvel PAGE 15, $2.25; OC: APR04 1675)
ULTIMATE FANTASTIC FOUR #8 (Marvel PAGE 15, $2.25; OC: APR04 1676)
ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN: SCRIPT BOOK (Marvel PAGE 69, $17.99; OC: APR04 1735)
Brian Wood and Becky Cloonan are back from a month off to bring us DEMO #7. This episode of DEMO shows us John Hatfield, a poor kid who joins the army for college money. When war breaks out, he’s sent over seas and is faced with the dilemma of not wanting to shoot anyone. That’s tough luck for someone who can’t miss.
AiT/PlanetLar’s OGN of the month is Adam (TEEN TITANS GO!) Beechen and Manny Bello’s HENCH.
HENCH takes an inside look at the world of superheroes/villains from the P.O.V. of a professional hench man. The concept’s pretty unique and the artwork by Bello is one of a kind.
DEMO #7 (PAGE 214, $2.95; OC: APR04 2236)
HENCH OGN (PAGE 215, $12.95; OC: APR04 2239)
Just last week I was remarking that I enjoyed the first volume of KYLE BAKER, CARTOONIST and that I wanted more.
Kyle Baker must be reading my mind, because this June we’ve get KYLE BAKER, CARTOONIST: Now With More Bakers, and all new 128 page collection of comics that feature Baker’s family as well as many timely topics and comedic bits.
The cartoons are cute and thoughtful and some of them, they’re just messed up.
(PAGE 311, $14.95; OC: APR04 2749)
I love Scott Morse’s work. SOULWIND is an engaging epic and MAGIC PICKLE is a hilarious way to spend the evening. You can imagine how excited I was to find that he had a new book coming out.
Morse has a style that’s very unique in its ability to be child-like on one page and detailed and provoking the next. His plots are easy to get a hold of and his pacing is always spot on.
This time around, Morse and Oni Press are doing the OGN, SPAGHETTI WESTERN. It’s a bank robber book that’s a tribute to Sergio Leone and Clint Eastwood. It’s being published in the ‘landscape’ format, or “widescreen,” so the pages are read the long way across. There’s a slip cover for the book that makes the book appear as though it’s right side up.
It’s like this year’s LAST OF THE INDEPENDENTS… at least until BIG HAT.
(PAGE 318, $11.95; OC: APR04 2816)
Greg Rucka welcomes back the original QUEEN & COUNTRY artist Steve Rolston for a double-sized #25.
It’s been nearly three years since Tara Chace’s adventures began in Q&C and she decides to take a trip to Switzerland to blow off some steam.
This is a self contained issue that looks like a great place for new readers to pick up the series.
There’s even more Q&C fun in the QUEEN & COUNTRY: Script Book that contains Rucka’s full scripts for the first four issue story arc. Also included are bonus sketches, thumbnails and character designs, all by Rolston.
This is a MUST for all writers honing their crafts. Rucka’s scripts are as good in text form as they are drawn in the book.
QUEEN & COUNTRY #25 (PAGE 320, $5.99; OC: APR04 2820)
QUEEN & COUNTRY SCRIPTBOOK (PAGE 320, $15.95; OC: APR04 2821)
TOP SHELF Productions has a bunch of cool stuff this month.
First up is Matt Kindt’s 2 SISTERS, a WW II spy-thriller. Kindt, the co-creator/artist of PISTOLWHIP, has taken over both creative seats this time, writing as well as drawing to give us a decade and continent spanning story that details the relationship of two sisters from locales such as England and Spain and topics of war, rockets, secret spy weapons and even pirates and buried treasure.
The book weighs in at an impressive 336 pages and for $19.95 it’s a steal. Kindt’s style is very unique and very penetrable.
Next up is David Yurkovich’s LESS THAN HEROES: Threshold, a story about the four super-powered protectors of Philadelphia. It’s an off-beat look at a modern concept. The book contains the first four issues of “Threshold”, with new artwork and script revisions, as well as pin ups, an essay about superheroes and a bonus 8 page story.
This was an unexpected surprise but it looks like a Grand one.
2 SISTERS OGN (PAGE 336, $19.95; OC: APR04 2947)
LESS THAN HEROES: Threshold TPB (PAGE 336, $14.95; OC: APR04 2942)
Last and, God, not least is the first issue of Jim Massey’s DEATH TAKES A HOLIDAY.
Here we have Death himself, the Grim Reaper hanging out in bars and shooting the shit.
Apparently Death is a funny dude. I already reviewed this issue last fall and said,
"We have Death, himself, who decides to take a little vacation and not take lives for a bit. He spends most of his time at a bar, just drinking and shooting the shit. Some of it is pretty basic, 'observational' bits but it's all done with a strong wit and a great sense of humor. SUCH great humor. It's tremendously funny.
There's a bit where Jesus and Mohammed try to get Death to join their Anti-Devil Coalition. And then there's "Death: The Movie" - with some really nice moments in there."
Read more here, and then preorder it to line up and give Jim Massey your Money. Do it.
(PAGE 342, $2.95; OC: APR04 2962)
Upcoming
Items of interest shipping this week from Diamond Comics…
NOV030258 ARROWSMITH #6 (Of 6) $2.95
JAN040204 BATMAN #625 $2.25
JAN040236 FLASH #208 $2.25
JAN040264 GREGORY TREASURY VOL 1 (MR) $9.95
JAN040290 HELLBLAZER #194 (MR) $2.75
JAN040278 THE MAXX: BOOK TWO TP (MR) $17.95
JAN040298 MIDNIGHT, MASS: HERE THERE BE MONSTERS #3 (Of 6) (MR) $2.95
JAN040281 PLANETARY #19 $2.95
JAN041606 ALIAS: SECRET ORIGIN OF JESSICA JONES, VOL 4 TP (MR) $17.99
NOV031486 ULTIMATES #13 (RES) (Note Price) $3.50
JAN041602 X-STATIX VOL 3 BACK FROM THE DEAD TP $19.99
JAN042157 ALAN MOORES NIGHTJAR #1 (Of 4) $3.50
JAN042612 JULIUS GN (MR) $14.95
That’s it. This marks the end of four years at PopImage. It’s been a great time and I’m happy to be here for the long haul.
I’ll be back next week with a HELLBOY movie review. YEAH.
Brian Domingos is the Columns Editor at Popimage.com. Questions? Comments? Love Notes? Email him via brian@popimage.com.
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DOING THE WORK
by Harris O'Malley
March 21, 2004
And Now For Something Completely Different
It started with a phone call.
I’ve got a friend out in Los Angeles who’s having a go at making a life for himself in the entertainment biz. Started out in acting, got to a minor level of notability for those of us who would go actively looking for him and then went into music. The standard progression really.
But that’s not the point.
The point is I get a call from him and he mentions that he’s knows a person who knows a person who knows a person at Tokyopop and have I ever heard of their whole Rising Stars thing-a-majigger, because he knows a person who knows a person who… well, you get the picture.
For those of you (well… both of you, anyway) who read Doing The Work back in the Savant days might vaguely recall when I went off on a tear about Dark Horse’s Strip Search contest, with their grand prize of publishing the best of the submissions or such. In true wanna-be style (as I had yet to publish more than the first mini-comic of Between The Cracks ), I vented into a bloody froth about how people don’t need a damn contest to get into comics, they just need some free time, a marker, some paper and a couple Krispy Kreme’s to bribe the night-manager at Kinko’s. I ranted. I raved. I drooled. I think I even chewed on the carpet.
Rising Stars of Manga is like that; you send in a 15 – 20 page finished story, they read through it, judge it and if it’s deemed good enough you get published in the next Rising Stars compilation and a couple bucks. As an added incentive, the Grand Prize Winner also gets to pitch a book to Tokyopop.
Now, rather than explaining my stance on such things to my friend, I mentioned that I had heard of such a thing, but since my style isn’t what one could even charitably consider manga (even with the inclusion the much more realistic works of Takehiko Inoue or Ryouchi Ikegami), I didn’t really think it was worth my time or theirs to enter, but thanks very much for mentioning it, I appreciate it.
That’s when I remembered…
I’ve got a friend who’s recently moved back to Texas from Los Angeles. She’s an incredibly talented artist and a trained animator and I’ve been determined to get her to do comics even if I had to write the damn thing myself….
It wasn’t five seconds after he hung up that I called him back. “Changed your mind, huh?” he said. I could hear the smirk on his face.
“Yeah, kinda. I just remembered my friend who does do manga and I think I could get her to do a story for it.”
“Well that’s nice, but I don’t want to help her get published, I want to help you”
”Well, who do you think would be writing it?”
And so, since I’m never one to understand the words “over-booked”, I have committed myself to a new project. As the writer this time, instead of the artist or the sole-creative visionary.
This is going to be an interesting experience for me, I think just in terms of the technical aspects of the project. When I write out scripts for myself, they’re incredibly loose and informal beasts; it’s the bare bones with which to hang the art on.
Witness this sample from the story Still Waters from Between The Cracks: All Miracles Have A Price:
PAGE 2
Grant's eyes lock with Erin's. Everyone else is suddenly faded and indistinct. Grant smiles, grounds out his cigarette and starts forward to meet her.
PAGE 3
He gets distracted by a voice from off panel.
JACK DAWSON (OFF PANEL)
GRANT BUDDY, WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN THIS DEN OF INIQUITY?
Grant looks back to see Jack grinning at him.
GRANT:
JACK. DO YOU MIND?
I'M IN THE MIDDLE OF SOMETHING.
Jack slaps his forehead.
JACK:
OF COURSE! GIRL HUNTING. HOW STUPID OF ME.
JACK:
YOU GO OFF AND CHASE THAT
ALL-MIGHTY TAIL.
JACK (YELLING):
AND IF YOU HAPPEN TO
REMEMBER YOUR OLD BUDDY,
ASK IF SHE'S GOT A SISTER!
PAGE 4
Grant works his way through the crowd and approaches a woman who looks somewhat like Erin from behind. He touches her shoulder; she looks back over at him and is obviously not Erin.
Grant goes off to another table and lights up another cigarette and looks pensive.
PAGE 5
It's the interior of an bustling pub. Grant and Jack are sitting at a table. Grant's holding his head in his hands.
JACK
OK, WE'VE BEEN HITTING EVERY DAMN CLUB IN ABBOT FOR A WEEK NOW.
JACK
I LOVE A GOOD MYSTERY, BUT THIS SI STARTING TO GET TEDIOUS, GRANT.
JACK
WANNA CLUE ME IN HERE, BUD?
GRANT
I'M LOOKING FOR A GIRL.
JACK
AREN'T WE ALL? SO WHO IS THIS
SPARKLING JEWEL OF FEMININITY?
GRANT
I DON'T KNOW.
Jack stares at him from over his glasses.
JACK
YOU. DON'T. KNOW.
JACK
I JUST BLEW $50 ON COVER CHARGES ALONE AND YOU! DON'T! KNOW?!
JACK
I NEED A DRINK.
Jack signals the waitress.
#####
What shows up in the script isn’t necessarily what shows up on paper. I tend to eschew panel descriptions or even set numbers since I’ll only ignore them anyway. I edit on the fly and it’s never really set until I’ve actually sent it to the printer. I’ll re-write the dialogue when I letter to suit the scene as I drew it, rather than as I wrote it, or else I’ll suddenly have a much better idea hit me from nowhere and just cram it in. The script itself isn’t a formality; for all of it’s mutability, it’s still fairly crucial. The one time I decided to improv my way through a story from start to finish was in the second half of Night of Ghosts and Shadows and it shows. The flow of the story is incredibly uneven and I found myself having to completely rework parts of the story to make up for elements that were too rushed or were dropped at the last minute.
At the very least, I need the script to establish the framework and set the pacing.
But with the current (and, at the moment, nameless) project, I don’t have that liberty. Since neither of us has worked with the other before (and since this will be, in fact, her first actual comic work ever), the two of us will be having to endure a precarious balancing act at the beginning as we try to establish an equilibrium over just how much of detail I should include and how much leeway I should give her to interpret the action of the story.
This is going to be an interesting experience, I think.
Like I said, I don’t know the meaning of “overbooked”, so I’m plugging away on my current project Berserker: The Wild Hunt with writer Jens Altmann. Anyone who would like a free preview ashcan should drop us a line at berserker2004@web.de with your snail-mail address and Jens and I will ship you out a copy.
And do let us know what you think, ok? It’s only fair.
Harris O'Malley is a writer/artist/publisher of BETWEEN THE CRACKS. Find out more at http://www.studiounderhill.com
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REVIEW: IRON WOK JAN OVERVIEW
Reviewed by Jonathan Ellis
Shinji Saijyo
Published by Comics One
Black and White, 200 Pages, $ 9.99 U.S.
Then there are those days. Saturday. You sleep in a little to make up for the sleep lost throughout the week, but you only end up tossing and turning. It was late in the day when you finally laid down so by the time you get up the weekend seems like it’s already almost over. Even though you can’t see outside and you hear no sounds of beating drops, you know that it rained some time today. It’s damp out. You get up, groggy, hair a mess. You choke up some blood in the sink on the way to the toilet. Some more blood when you blow your nose. You hop in the shower, hopefully the heat will rinse away the heartache and revive you, make you ready. It doesn’t. You’re unshaven and dark, the man in the mirror starring back at you looks like some evil Rasputin. You feel lost within your own home, you feel like a bundle of flowers left at the scene of a crash. Left to die in the cold.
Then there are the things that make you feel alive again. A friend. A woman. Dancing. But you will see none of those today. Today you wear solitude like a dark priest wrapped in black shrouds. So you pick up the book you bought yesterday, and that book is… IRON WOK JAN!
HA HA! COOKING IS ABOUT WINNING! I’M JAN AKIYAMA AND I WILL BE THE GREATEST CHEF IN THE WORLD! MY COOKING IS LIKE HEAVEN AND I WILL MAKE DISHES THAT WILL BLOW YOUR TASTE BUDS AWAY! HEEE!
…and the world is a happier place for it.
Iron Wok Jan is a regular manga from creator Shinji Saijyo and publishers Comicsone. Originally published in Japan in the mid 1990’s there are now currently 7 volumes available in English from Comicsone with an eighth volume on its way shipping in April, and according to the Comicsone website there will be 27 volumes of Iron Wok Jan: Gobancho in total.
The story centres around Jan Akiyama, a 16-year-old chef who has been rigorously trained all his life by his grandfather, the legendary Chinese cuisine chef, Kaiichiro Akiyama. Jan is arrogant, egotistic and quite possibly, insane but at the same time he’s also one of the most talented and creative rising chefs in all of Japan. Jan has been sent to Gobancho, a top class restaurant in Tokyo run by the man who beat Kaiichiro Akiyama out of place for the title of best Chinese Cuisine chef in Japan; Mutsuju Gobancho.
The head of the Goncho kitchen is Yaichi Gobancho, a talented chef himself but his main role in this series is as a wise man that carefully studies his staff and reflects on their creations, cooking methods and technique. His niece, the feisty and busty Kiriko, granddaughter of Kaiichiro Gobancho is also a chef at the restaurant. Her philosophy is that cooking is about heart and until Jan showed up, was the star chef at Gobancho’s.
The kitchen is filled with a variety of chefs, most of whom wonder and marvel at the work done by their fellow chefs, Jan and Kiriko. Including seeming underdog Takao Okonogi, a friendly trainee who tends to be accident prone and yet is the only one who is able to befriend the more often hated and arrogant Jan.
Needless to say the two don’t get along and challenge one another in the biggest forum of them all, by entering the first All Japan Cooking Tournament at the Tokyo Dome. There they must face off against one another and hundreds of other rising chefs in a quest to decide who is the best of them all.
Not unlike a martial arts battle, Shinji Saijyo displays the characters cooking with speed and ferocity. Their cooking skills and techniques themselves are also much like martial arts moves, like Mutsuju Gobancho’s heat sphere or Jan’s knife shaved noodles. Every new battle, every new recipe takes the characters one step further pushing the series to be even more and more innovative with each new volume. In fact, each volume contains it’s own recipes, the majority of which being for creations with significant medicinal purposes.
The artwork is great, while incorporating features more often associated to younger tiered manga, such as big eyes, big breasts, thick and devilish eyebrows, overall the work is actually very detailed. Much like the dishes themselves, presentation is just as important as taste.
Much like Jan, this book is incredibly creative and quite possibly, insane. The range, knowledge and depth of the ideas put forward in these cooking techniques and creations are unheard of. The dishes created within this series would have the Iron Chef’s muttering ‘holy shit’.
VOLUME 1
Jan is a talented young chef at a top class restaurant in Tokyo called Gobancho. He is extremely arrogant and full of self-confidence regarding his cooking technique. He always challenges Kiriko, a talented chef at Gobancho and niece to the head chef. In this volume both Jan and Kiriko have entered a cooking competition. Who will win the culinary battle?
This volume also introduces famous food critic Nichido Otani. His taste buds are extremely sensitive, he is the holder of the tongue of God and has chosen to eat at Gobancho’s tonight and it’s up to Jan and Kiriko to be the shining stars of the Gobancho kitchen.
VOLUME 2
That cocky cook Jan is back continuing his non-stop quest in being the best chef in the world. In Iron Wok Jan #2, Jan takes his first step towards becoming the worlds greatest cuisine master, by entering the first All Japan Cooking Tournament. Hundreds of chefs, including Jan’s uppity rival Kiriko, flock to the Tokyo Dome for the competition. Will these chefs show Jan what true flavour is? Or will he turn the tables on them and become culinary king of Japan? Remember, “Cooking is a battle!” Well, according to Jan it is.
VOLUME 3
The All Japan Cooking Competition continues. What dirty tricks for winning does Jan have this time? Will he be able to defeat Yuji Kawhara, the chef who cooks with the latest in technological appliances? According to Yuji, “Cooking is about Technology!”
In this volume we also meet Celine Yang, another young chef competing against them. She is developing a new form of Chinese cuisine, Nouvelle Chinoise.
VOLUME 4
It’s the All Japan Cooking Competition finals and the finalists are: Kobe’s Celine Yang, the uppity Kiriko, and the cocky Jan. Who’s cuisine will reign supreme? The theme of this final cook-off? Noodles!
Celine’s philosophy is revealed, Cooking is about abundance and Jan and Kiriko make a deal. Whoever loses the competition has to leave Gobancho restaurant.
VOLUME 5
We’re down to the finals of the First National Young Adult Chinese Cuisine Cooking Contest! Jan Akiyama, Kiriko Gobancho, and Celine Yang must use their knowledge of preparing desserts to win this battle! Will the judges pick Celine’s roasted papaya pudding, Kiriko’s triple sweet soup or Akiyama’s candied blood eggs?
DESSERT BATTLE!
If you’re at all on the fence about the pure enjoyment this book provides, this is the volume that’ll change your mind.
This is the conclusion of the competition. Who will win?
VOLUME 6
With the Cooking Competition at its end, it’s back to the Gobancho restaurant for more great food and lots of controversy. The tension between Jan and Kiriko following the results of the competition, the restaurants newest recruit, Celine Yang and the return of… DAN!
A hot headed chef even worse then Jan, who is the better chef and to what lengths will they go to prove it?
VOLUME 7
The culinary fists continue to fly. Mutsuju Gobancho challenges all the trainees to come up with a new dish for ‘Show and Tell day’. The tastiest cuisine will have the honour of being added to the famous Gobancho menu. Kiriko, Celine, and Jan all try their hand at a new, original spring roll. Can they beat the old man at his own game?
Volume 8 hits stand in April, Order Code FEB04 2204.
Iron Wok Jan is the most entertaining comic currently being published. Of all the books I get, this is the regular series I look forward to the most. There’s a reason so many critics are espousing their love for this series and I’m certainly glad I listened to them and picked this book up.
Here’s hoping you do the same.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
Jonathan Ellis is Co-Editor in Chief of PopImage
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Comics One.com - Publisher of Iron Wok Jan and lots more interesting Manga
POPPREVIEW: ANGEL OF THE WOODS
By Sean Michael Wilson
Written by Sean Michael Wilson and featuring art by Jorge Heufemann, Angel Of The Woods is an 84 page black and white original graphic novel from Boychild Productions and will be hitting stands in April 2004 for £5.99 UK or $8.99 US. Angel of the woods has been highly praised by professionals who have seen it, and has already received an arts council England grant!
'A mysterious creature subtly terrorises two young couples on holiday in the woods. Though the others are terrified, one of the young men begins to develop an affinity with the creature, which causes a fundamental psychological change to occur in him. What is the nature of its interest in him?'
Angel of the woods appears to be a straight horror story to begin with it, but soon becomes something quite different. Rather than being 'blood and guts', it is rather subtle, the monster being mostly on the edges of consciousness. As we read on we see it's really about the personal development of the main character - it's about how magick could actually transform someone individually. Illustrated in a rather classical European art style it is also, for the most part, realistic in setting, presentation and characters. This is a story that is essentially a classical 'birth of the hero' tale. The following are pages 2 through 8 of this upcoming graphic novel.
Published by New Suit, Adventures of the Right Hand is an upcoming storybook style comic by artist Woojung Ahn. This story is, quite literally, about the right hand. When the right hands jealously of the left grows, having to do all the work while the left does none, the right decides to leave hoping for an easier life somewhere out there. Woojung provided us with the following conceptional sketches, check them out for further insight as to the scenario of this story.
FREAK is a 64 page original graphic novel by Lee Ferguson coming in May 2004 from Image Comics. 
Best known for his art skills on the Chamber mini-series for Marvel and the more recent Mr. Keen series for Moonstone, Lee will be taking the reign of both writer and artist in this graphic novel [With Production help and lettering skills provided by Matty Ryan] and even saw fit to provide us with exclusive preview images as well as accompanying script excerpts. Here we present pages 14 to 18 of the forthcoming, FREAK.
PAGE SIXTEEN
PAGE SEVENTEEN
PAGE EIGHTEEN
THE COURIERS: Dirtbike Manifesto OGN
SCARS TPB
KYLE BAKER CARTOONIST OGN
HYSTERIA TPB
BATMAN: Detective #27 OGN
AMERICA’S BEST COMICS TPB
HELLBOY: Weird Tales, volume 1 TPB
The first book of note is THE DARK HORSE BOOK OF WITCHCRAFT. This hard cover (with a lovely cover by Gary Gianni) is the sorta sequel to last fall’s DARK HORSE BOOK OF HAUNTINGS.
The first book from DC Comics that I’ll mention is Matt Wagner’s clumsily titled BATMAN/SUPERMAN/WONDER WOMAN: TRINITY.
EMPIRE was one of my “Best of 2003,” so this collection of the issues 0-6 is a must. It covers the story of Golgoth, a Dr. Doom-like super-villain who succeed in conquering the world.
HAWKMAN has been a consistently decent read since it’s creation two years or so ago. I read it monthly and switched to tpbs, buying issues here for there. It’s good, but it’s never been a book to specially hunt down.
I’ve found that JSA is the kind of book where you either LOVE it or you hate it with a passion. Maybe it’s too superhero or there’s too much continuity. Maybe you just don’t like the characters.
One of the real surprises this month is the complete collection of Grant Morrison, Chris Weston and Gary Erskine’s THE FILTH.
Next we have a two-fer from Warren Ellis.
The second is my Must Must of the month, volume ten of TRANSMETROPOLITAN, “ONE MORE TIME,”. This volume collects the final six issues of Ellis’ socio-political sci-fi book about rogue journalist Spider Jerusalem.
SEAGUY is Grant Morrison’s first of three new mini-series from Vertigo.
FREAK is a full color OGN written and illustrated by Lee Ferguson.
There’s all sorts of hoopla surrounding the X-MEN: Reload stunt at Marvel this May. All of the X-books (other than WOLVERINE and X-STATIX) are being revamped to suit the readers. It’s a flashback to the 90s as a third X-book is added (ASTONISHING X-MEN) and EXCALIBER comes back, replacing X-TREME X-MEN. The whole thing looks like a wash, but the new Bishop book DISTRICT X has potential.
Next up is the first of three Marvel trade paperbacks, ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN: CATS & KINGS. It’s the eight volume of Brian Michael Bendis and Mark Bagley’s hit series. This volume features Spider-man meeting the Ultimate Black Cat as well as teaming up with Ultimate Elektra.
Marvel tpb number two is the first volume of a new series. VENOM: SHIVER is by writer Daniel Way and artist Francisco Herrera, and it’s surprising that Marvel is even releasing this book since they’ve been steam rolling and shit canning Way’s other books lately.
The last of the Marvel tpbs worth looking at is NEW X-MEN: HERE COMES TOMORROW, vol. 7.
This month AiT/PlanetLar gives us two very different books, TRUE STORY SWEAR TO GOD: 100 STORIES and SCURVY DOGS #4.
SALMON DOUBTS caught my eye as I did the required flip through the PREVIEWS catalogue.
Next up is another OGN from Alternative Comics, THE WHITE ELEPHANT.
With CLOSER, writer Antony Johnston and artists Mike Norton and Leanne Buckly bring some horror to Oni Press.