#IReadsYou Review: NOW: The New Comics Anthology #12

NOW: THE NEW COMICS ANTHOLOGY #12

FANTAGRAPHICS BOOKS

CARTOONISTS: Cecilia Varhed; Bhanu Pratap; Cynthia Alfonso; J. Webster Sharp; Kayla E.; Noah Van Sciver; Rahel Suesskind; Francois Vigneault; Tim Lane; Max Clotfelter; Matt Lawton & Peter Bagge

DESIGN: Jacob Covey

EDITOR: Eric Reynolds

COVER: Alex Graham

BACKCOVER: Noah Van Sciver

ISBN: 978-1-68396-695-1; paperback (February 2023)

112pp, Color, $12.99 U.S.

NOW: The New Comics Anthology is an alternative-comics anthology series launched in 2017 and edited by Eric Reynolds.  Now is published by alt-comix and art comics publisher, Fantagraphics Books.  Over its four-plus decades of existence, Fantagraphics has published what is probably the most diverse collection of comic book anthologies in the history of North American comic books.  That line-up includes such titles as Anything Goes, Critters, Mome, Pictopia, and Zero Zero, to name a few.

NOW: The New Comics Anthology #12 offers a selection of works from thirteen cartoonists and comics creators, as well as a back cover “comics strip” from one of its contributors, Noah Van Sciver.  Now #12, as usual, holds to editor Eric Reynolds' creed (from NOW #1) that this anthology showcase “...as broad a range of quality comic art as possible...”

The contributors list also includes a Leroy favorite, the great Peter Bagge.  But let's take a look at each of Now #12's cartoonists' contributions individually:

THE LOWDOWN:  The illustration that acts as Now #12's cover art is entitled “Untitled,” and is produced by Alex Graham.  Like the cover for Now #11, it looks like something at least partially inspired by the animation seen in late British sketch comedy television series, “Monty Python's Flying Circus” (1969-74).

“Coronation Station” by Cecilia Vårhed:

While riding a commuter train – apparently during the height of the COVID pandemic – a young woman is harassed by a quintet of hipsters who are too cool to wear face masks.  After making them feel guilty, she finds herself invited to an apartment where a “spiritual experience” brings about unpleasant revelations.

Despite its surreal twists, “Coronation Station” captures the tensions of the pandemic.  The lead character is absolutely lovable, and I find that Vårhed has composed this story in a way that makes me feel connected to her lead.  This story is both a fascinating slice-of-life and slice of recent history.  I'd love to see this character again.

Big Head Pointy Nose” by Bhanu Pratap:

A boy with a beak-like nose and mouth feels out of place until... he doesn't.  This 16-page story has a picture book quality.  In fact, Pratap's lavish, rich colors convey a story that embraces both an alt-comix aesthetic and a story book sensibility.

Untitled by Cynthia Alfonso:

This 18-page story reminds me of the animation and production design of the films, Pink Floyd – The Wall (1982) and Heavy Metal (1981).

Untitled by J. Webster Sharp:

If David Cronenberg's nightmare about a ventriloquist's dummy and Tim Burton's dream about doll-making were somehow merged, there would be trouble.  Or we'd get Sharp's visually striking eight-page short story.

“Precious Rubbish” by Kayla E.:

Kayla's nine-page story riffs off old St. John Publications romance comics and religion.  Divided into five vignettes, it plays with childhood trauma and the adult securities inherited from them.  I enjoy Kayla's comix, although they trouble my imagination.  The thing is that Kayla E.'s work exemplifies the experimental, adventurous spirit of Now.

“Mellow Mutt” by Noah Van Sciver:

Yarn-spinning, tale-tellin,' and lies shape this lovely four-page story by Noah Van Sciver, one of my favorite regular contributors to Now.  Set in the halcyon days of the original theatrical release of Jurassic Park (1993), Noah summons pieces of the ghosts of Peanuts and one of those 1980s coming-of-age Hollywood movies.  “Mellow Mutt” epitomizes the crazy imagination of children, and how they can take mass media and make of it what they will.

“Monster Finger” by Rahel Suesskind:

A booger eats a booger.  This colorful throw-back short comix is an absolute delight even if I lack the imagination to adequately describe it to you.

“The Bird is Gone” by François Vigneault:

I first came across the “passenger pigeon,” the extinct species of pigeon that was once the most abundant bird in America, via a “CBS Evening News” segment decades ago.  Vigneault's seven-page comix, “The Bird is Gone,” is a history of the demise of the passenger pigeons in gory and horrific detail.  Ostensibly a historical piece, the aesthetic of “The Bird is Gone” recalls another extinct entity, EC Comics.  Dark and detailed, the story is a damnation and condemnation of Americans' careless appetites and of our appetite for destruction.

“Li'l Stevie” by Tim Lane:

This story is not the first comix in which Lane has used the late actor, Hollywood legend, and screen icon, Steve McQueen, as his subject/muse.  This is story made me do some research, and I was shocked to discover that McQueen had a very troubled childhood (to say the least).

Lane uses the form of the early comic book and style of the “Big Little Book” to detail the horrors of Li'l Stevie's boyhood, with Li'l Stevie being a stand-in for Steve McQueen.  In drawing “Li'l Stevie,” Lane uses the visual style of cartoonist Ernie Bushmiller and his famed comic strip, Nancy.  The result is a spellbinding, heartbreaking tale.  Other than an actual audio-visual recording of McQueen's childhood (which obviously doesn't exist), I don't think anything can convey the loneliness and desperation of an abused Li'l Stevie with more blunt force and brute power than what Tim Lane does here.  This is not genius.  It's fucking genius.

Untitled by Max Clotfelter:

This one-pager, a reminiscence of a comic book fan's experiences with other comic book people, is a delight.  Is there more?  I must have more.

“The Cartoonist” by Matt Lawton and Peter Bagge:

Burt Fisher is a newspaper cartoonist who draws a single-panel comic, “The Ruckus Room,” which he inherited from his late father, who created it.  Fisher hates the strip, and he says that he has been trying to destroy it via his take on the strip.  However, his version of The Ruckus Room has proven to be quite popular with readers.  With deadlines piling up, Burt's editor, Nancy, has hired an assistant to help him.  The young man, named Glen, is about to discover just what a mess Burt Fisher is.

The Ruckus Room is a thinly-veiled version of the classic newspaper comic, The Family Circus, which was created by the late Bil Keane, who drew it until his death.  One of Bil's four sons, Jeff Keane, now writes and draws the strip.  I think “The Cartoonist” is less about The Ruckus Room and more about Burt Fisher, one of those self-absorbed GenX types who ages into a slightly sociopathic curmudgeon.  Matt Lawton and Peter Bagge seem like a perfect pairing, at least I think so and want more.  I've been reading Bagge's comix and comic books for four decades (Lord, help me), and “The Cartoonist” is the pure essence of him.

I usually pick a “best of” entry after each edition of Now that I review, but, as far as Now #12, I can't.  There are five stories here from which I could pick a favorite, but I don't won't to slight any of them by saying, “this one is the best.”  The other stories are experimental and also explore the medium of comics in interesting ways, and even the stories that perplex me also impress me.  Not only does editor Eric Reynolds have a knack for getting acclaimed veteran and star cartoonists to appear in Now, but he also has a golden eye for talent – emerging cartoonists or little seen creatives.

Now #12 – wow, I don't know if I have the words to convey just how impressed I am with this edition.  I'll take the easy way out and say that I'm blown away.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of classic alternative-comics anthologies will want to discover NOW: The New Comics Anthology.

A+

10 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"

https://www.fantagraphics.com/

https://twitter.com/fantagraphics

https://www.instagram.com/fantagraphics/

https://www.facebook.com/fantagraphics/

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtLxEaspctVar287DtdsMww

The text is copyright © 2023 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for syndication rights and fees.

---------------------------------

#IReadsYou Review: NOW: The New Comics Anthology #11

NOW: THE NEW COMICS ANTHOLOGY #11
FANTAGRAPHICS BOOKS

CARTOONISTS: Theo Ellsworth; Jesse Simpson; Justin Gradin; Tim Lane; Baptiste Virot; Stacy Gougoulis; Natalia Novia & Ariel Lopez V.; Kayla E. Chris Wright; Steven Weissman; Josh Simmons
DESIGN: Jacob Covey
EDITOR: Eric Reynolds
COVER: Daria Tessler
BACKCOVER: Nick Thorburn
ISBN: 978-1-68396-520-6; paperback (March 2022)
128pp, Color, $12.99 U.S.

NOW: The New Comics Anthology is an alternative-comics anthology series launched in 2017 and edited by Eric Reynolds.  NOW is published by alt-comix and art comics publisher, Fantagraphics Books.  Over its four-plus decades of existence, Fantagraphics has published what is probably the most diverse collection of comic book anthologies in the history of North American comic books.  That line-up includes such titles as Anything Goes, Critters, Mome, Pictopia, and Zero Zero, to name a few.

NOW: The New Comics Anthology #11 offers a selection of fourteen cartoonists and comics creators, as well as a back cover “comics strip” from Nick Thorburn.  NOW #11 holds to editor Eric Reynolds' creed (from NOW #1) that NOW showcases “...as broad a range of quality comic art as possible...”

The contributors list also includes a Leroy favorite, Steven Weissman.  But let's take a look at each of NOW #11's cartoonists' contributions:

THE LOWDOWN:  The illustration that acts as NOW #11's cover art is entitled “Untitled,” and is produced by Daria Tessler.  It looks like something at least partially inspired by the animation in “Monty Python's Flying Circus.”

“Untitled” by Theo Ellsworth:
The NOW regular offers a one-page comic with an impressive display of curvy lines.

“Snub” by Jesse Simpson:
What's with the eyes on the two lead characters, seriously?  I want to say that it has something to do with either emotions or personality.  So after being snubbed (maybe) by fellow party-goer, “Kevin,” two friends talk it out and reveal that it does bother them, although they are also saying it does not.  I like that Simpson creates what seems like a natural conversation.  The characters are talking as much to themselves as to each other.  I want more of this.

“Wounded Candy” by Justin Gradin:
Grover, a garbage man employed by a waste disposal company called, “Talkin' Trash,” and a creature, something I call a “sidewalk spirit,” have an adventure with a celebrity Halloween mask, lots of garbage, and vomited gum.  “Wounded Candy” is the kind of edgy, surreal fantasy that alternative cartoonists produce.  Why draw a Doctor Strange comic book for Marvel that pretends to be “way out there” when you can go “off the beaten path” in many phantasmagoric directions via alt-comics?  [If you say page rate...]  Once again, I say “Encore! Encore!”

“The Junkman” by Tim Lane:
I know Tim Lane's work from Glenn Head's amazing anthology, Hotwire Comics, specifically Hotwire Comics #2.  Lane drew the cover and contributed three stories, “Outing,” “In My Dream,” and “The Aries Crow.”

“The Junkman” takes place in a junkyard.  It features a young man with an instant camera and an older man sitting in the remains of an automobile, a 1955 Chevy Belair.  The young fellow likes to take pictures of junk, and the older dude likes to ponder what could have been.  Lane's art is sort of a combination of Charles Burns and of EC Comics' Al Feldstein and Jack Kamen.  Lane's art looks like it belongs in a 1950s comic book, which makes it the perfect method and medium for a story that laments choosing practicality over risk.

As lovely as the art is, with all its textures and draftsmanship, “The Junkman” is driven by the high-quality of the dialogue and how it evolves this moment in time between two different men.  They are really talking past each other for a time, and then Lane reveals that in their differences, there are connections and familiarity.  “The Junkman” is a tremendous work of comics storytelling.

“Interior Design,” “The Visit,” “Allo?” and “The Great Escape” by Baptiste Virot:
This suite of four stories, which totals seven pages, are surreal exercises concerning the difficulty of escaping one's current situation.  Virot's “clear line” style and flat colors reveal the skills of someone investing in print making.  I wish periodical comic books could support work like this, but alas...

“Mandorla” by Stacy Gougoulis:
I was just talking to a friend about the idiotic things stupid people do for a selfie.  Starting with a failed selfie, “Mandorla” is about the perception of time, possible lives, and especially about how life goes on … after us.  As the story goes down the rabbit hole of time, I found myself drawn into it.  Gougoulis' storytelling is so powerful, I barely escaped.

“Mission: E5” by Natalia Novia & Ariel Lopez V.:
Woodcut art, acid, Jack Kirby, and the last six decades of science fiction films come together in “Mission: E5.”  At the end of the story, we are informed that “Mission: E5” was inspired by the 1917 story, “A la Deriva” (“Adrift”), from author Horacio Quiroga, the influential Uruguayan short story writer (among other things).  I also felt drawn in by this story, and once again, I barely escaped the time-bending surrealism.

“Precious Rubbish” by Kayla E.:
This comic book is another case of adaptation, in this case a combination of old publications, including comic books, and text messages between the cartoonist and her elderly mother.  “Precious Rubbish” is an ordeal to read, but not because it is a terrible work.  It is as if Kayla E. is exorcising some personal demons … that I recognize.  So, this is another excellent entry.

“Monet Coil” by Chris Wright:
This story pits French surrealist Claude Monet and American expatriate and prolific portrait painter, John Singer Sargent, in a battle over a woman.  Monet believes that every moment is a rebirth, but Sargent just wants Monet to stay away from the woman.  Monet and Sargent were apparently real-life homies, but I have not found anything about them fighting over a woman.  However, I enjoyed this philosophical tale, which reminds me of the work of the late great cartoonist, Richard Sala.

“Now” by Steven Weissman:
This story about two women who place a baby in the mouth of a weird breed of cat called a “Qat” unsettles me.  But I'm a fan of Weissman, so I like it.

“Shortcut” by Josh Simmons:
I am still chuckling at this tale of two dopers who come to an ignoble end after taking a shortcut while smoking their weed.  Encore!  Encore!

“Some Guy's Food” by Theo Ellsworth:
This is an effective one-page comic.  I have feeling that someone might exploit this for a YA dystopian prose or graphic novel before the talented Theo Ellsworth does.  Seriously, these are nine panels full of raw comics and graphical storytelling power.

“Untitled” by Nick Thorburn:
This is another weird animal tale, but it is less creepy that Weissman's tale.

NOW #11 may be the best entry in the series since NOW #1, and that is saying a lot.  Not too long ago, I declared NOW #10 to be a series high point.  What The New Yorker is to American single-panel cartoons, NOW is to alternative and art comics.  If I have to pick a best of NOW #11 – and I don't – I'll choose Tim Lane's “The Junkman,” but tomorrow, I could change my mind.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of classic alternative-comics anthologies will want to discover NOW: The New Comics Anthology.

A+

10 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


https://www.fantagraphics.com/
https://twitter.com/fantagraphics
https://www.instagram.com/fantagraphics/
https://www.facebook.com/fantagraphics/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtLxEaspctVar287DtdsMww


The text is copyright © 2022 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for syndication rights and fees.

-------------------------

#IReadsYou Review: NOW: The New Comics Anthology #10

NOW: THE NEW COMICS ANTHOLOGY #10
FANTAGRAPHICS BOOKS

CARTOONISTS: Julia Gfrörer,; Tim Lane; Jacob Weinstein; Steven Weissman, M.S. Harkness; Walt Holcombe; Theo Ellsworth; Joakim Drescher; Silvia Rocchi; Alex Nall & Hartley Lin; Chris Wright; Noah Van Sciver; Celia Vårhed; Richard Sala; Karl Stevens
DESIGN: Jacob Covey
EDITOR: Eric Reynolds
COVER: Rebecca Morgan
BACKCOVER: Nick Thorburn
ISBN: 978-1-68396-399-8; paperback (July 2021)
108pp, Color, $12.99 U.S.

NOW: The New Comics Anthology is an alternative-comics anthology series launched in 2017 and edited by Eric Reynolds.  NOW is published by alt-comix and art comics publisher, Fantagraphics Books.  Over its four-plus decades of existence, Fantagraphics has published what is probably the most diverse collection of comic book anthologies in the history of North American comic books.  That line-up includes such titles as Anything Goes, Critters, Mome, Pictopia, and Zero Zero, to name a few.

NOW: The New Comics Anthology #10 offers a selection of sixteen cartoonists and comics creators, as well as a back cover “comics strip” from Nick Thorburn.  NOW #10 holds to editor Eric Reynolds' creed (from NOW #1) that NOW showcases “...as broad a range of quality comic art as possible...”  This latest edition also includes nine pages of never-before published comics from the late Richard Sala (1955-2020).

The contributors list also includes a Leroy favorite, Noah Van Sciver.  But let's take a look at each of NOW #10's cartoonists' contributions:

THE LOWDOWN:  The illustration that acts as NOW #10's cover art is entitled “Feminist Mountain Man,” and is produced by Rebecca Morgan.  The illustration is what it says it is, with some modern additions, such as a button bearing the logo of the NFL's Pittsburgh Steelers – a sight I always welcome.

“The Counterweight” by Julia Gfrörer:
This beautiful one-page comic is composed of 24 panels that depict the evolution of love and war and the impermanence of a union.  Gfrörer's lovely art also celebrates drawing the human figure in motion.

“The Mobbing Birds: by Tim Lane:
Tim Lane's story, “The Mobbing Birds,” has two things going for it.  The first is its textured, almost photo-realistic art.  The second is having the legendary Hollywood star and cultural icon, Steve McQueen (1930-1980).  The combination of the two create the sense of this story being select scenes from an actual Steve McQueen movie.  “The Mobbing Birds” is like a slice of Americana, probably the dominant theme of Lane's comics, and I find myself fascinated by it.  I wouldn't mind seeing it as a full-length graphic novel, but then, there's the McQueen estate...

“T.D. Ramanujan” by Jacob Weinstein:
This story focuses on T.D. Ramanujan, the administrator of a table tennis federation in the nation of India.  The art reminds me of mid-90s Chris Ware, and the lead character and the setting are quite interesting.  The story's most powerful moments are set during World War II, and the way Weinstein draws the characters makes each one look like a unique figure.  I would certainly like to see more comics set in this milieu.

“No More Or Less Alive” by Steven Weissman:
I have read so many alt-comics anthologies that I am sure I have previously come across Steven Weissman's amazing comics many times.  “No More Or Less Alive” is NOW #10's most explosive, in-your-face story.  A nature story and quasi-animal fable, it is set in “Black Feather Valley” and focuses on a mother gopher fighting a wheat snake for the lives of her seven nursing pups.  If I ever had the words to convey to you, dear readers, the power of this story, I can't find them as I write this.  There must be some literary comics award that will recognize this story as one of the year's best comics.

“Go Big, Then Stay Home” by M.S. Harkness:
Cartoonist M.S. Harkness is also a competitive weightlifter, and this autobiographical comics short story recounts a trip she took with her friend, Elis Bradshaw, a competitive female power lifter.  Early in 2020, Harkness and Bradshaw travel to Columbus, Ohio for a power-lifting event, the “Arnold Fitness Expo,” where Bradshaw will compete, with Harkness there to help.  “Go Big, Then Stay Home” provides an interesting look at the world of power-lifting, but what really amps up the drama is that COVID-19 looms over this story.  Interestingly, the story is set in the last days before the pandemic shutdown so much of public life.

“I'm Trying to Sleep!” by Walt Holcombe:
“I'm Trying to Sleep!” is comic relief, the short story equivalent of a gag strip.  I think I have read Walt Holcombe before, and I'd like more.

“You Wouldn't Think So but It Happens All the Time” by Theo Ellsworth:
This colorful story is about the interaction of humans and animal-hybrids, but such interaction requires traveling to the animal-hybrids' world.  But it ain't easy to go to the animal-hybrid world.  I wish there were more of this story, because it seems like there should be.

“Miserable Mildrid” by Joakim Drescher:
One might mistake this for a series of “funny animal” one-page comics, except “Miserable Mildrid” is not that, even if it has a passing resemblance to such.  However, the porcine-ish Mildrid offers humor as creator Joakim Drescher digs into such ailments of modern culture and popular culture as conspiracy theories, incels, fan culture, COVID-19, and the subsequent shutdown.  “Miserable Mildrid” is solidly alt-comics, and it is one of my favorite entries in NOW #10.

“I Hate Parties” by Silvia Rocchi:
“I Hate Parties” is an observation more than it is a story, and it is indicative of something that I have noticed in the four volumes of NOW that I have read.  Many of these stories could be longer … in my humble opinion.  It's as if these cartoonists don't realize either their own potential or the potential of what they create.  “I Hate Parties” is an example of this...

“Real Witches” by Alex Nall & Hartley Lin:
...On the other hand, “Real Witches” is a two-pager that feels complete.  Its 21 panels recall classic 1950s and 1960s newspaper comics concerning the lives and adventures of children, except that “Real Witches” has a strong angle of modern edginess.  If Charles Schulz's Peanuts debuted today, it might look and read like “Real Witches,” another of my favorites from this volume.

“Taffy” by Chris Wright:
“Taffy” is like a demented children's picture book that is entirely inappropriate for anyone to read.  I find it fascinating.  Strangely, “Taffy” reminds me of the work of another cartoonist featured in NOW #10, the late Richard Sala.

“Mellow Mutt” by Noah Van Sciver:
A boy and his toy triceratops and using the imagination to play action heroes:  that's “Mellow Mutt.”  It's silly, funny, crude, and ultimately sad.  What would NOW be like without an offering from the great Noah Van Sciver.

“Free Cone Day” by Celia Varhed:
“Free Cone Day” would be funny even if it weren't painfully true.  When you want something, like a job or a particular career, you can fool yourself to the point of foolish oblivion.  “Free Cone Day” is the kind of superb work of alternative comics that only NOW is original enough to publish.

“Five Shorts”
Richard Sala (1955-2020) was one of the great cartoonists and most unique comics creators of the last four decades.  I have reviewed many of his works and have compared his comics to Charles Addams, Gahan Wilson, and Edward Gorey.  Sala's “pop macabre” sensibilities placed him in the company of contemporaries and of such fellow purveyors of Gothic pop art and entertainment as Charles Burns, Tim Burton, Lemony Snicket, and Guillermo Del Toro, to name a few.

“Five Shorts” is a nine-page suite of never-before published comics from early in Sala's career.  He apparently never even showed them to his friends, according to NOW editor Eric Reynolds.  I thought the world of Sala as an artist and cartoonist, and I exchanged some emails with him back in the Aughts.  I am happy to get this early work in NOW #10.  In them, one can see the beginnings of the graphic style and sensibilities that made Sala an artist whose influence is probably wider than many suspect.

“In This Short Life” by Karl Stevens:
This one-page comic features beautiful, photo-realistic art, and some contemplation.

“Then... But... NOW” by Nick Thorburn:
This is another befuddling back cover strip from Nick Thorburn.  I like it.

So, in conclusion, NOW #10 is the best volume of the series that I have read since I read NOW #1.  It is full of excellent stories, inventive pieces, and beautiful art, but I must choose “No More Or Less Alive” by Steven Weissman as the best of NOW #10.  Like B. Krigstein, Weissman is innovative in the use of the space of a comic book page for “No More Or Less Alive.”

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of classic alternative-comics anthologies will want to discover NOW: The New Comics Anthology.

A

9 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


https://www.fantagraphics.com/
https://twitter.com/fantagraphics
https://www.instagram.com/fantagraphics/
https://www.facebook.com/fantagraphics/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtLxEaspctVar287DtdsMww


The text is copyright © 2021 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for syndication rights and fees.

----------------------

#IReadsYou Review: Katie Skelly's MAIDS

MAIDS
FANTAGRAPHICS BOOKS

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

CARTOONIST: Katie Skelly
DESIGN: Jacob Covey
EDITOR: Eric Reynolds
ISBN: 978-1-68396-368-4; hardcover – 7.3” x 8.8” (October 2020)
112pp, Color, $19.99 U.S.

Maids is a full-color original graphic novel from cartoonist and comics creator, Katie Skelly.  Maids is a fictional retelling of the scandalous true crime story of sisters, Christine and Lea Papin, who were convicted of killing their employer's wife and daughter in the northwestern French city of Le Mans in 1933.  The case has been the source of and inspiration of numerous works of fiction in the almost 90 years since it occurred.

Maids opens in the city of Le Mans, France, 1931.  Lea arrives at the home of the wealthy Madame Lancelin and her daughter, Genevieve.  Christine, an overworked live-in maid already employed by the madame, is reunited with her younger sister, Lea.  The sisters make the estate's beds; scrub the floors; wash and iron the clothes; work the garden; and prepare and serve the food, among many chores.  The sisters work from seven in the morning to seven at night.

Christine and Lea also spy on the domestic strife that routinely occurs within the walls of the Lancelin home.  The sisters have also experienced their own domestic strife, which they remember in flashbacks to their tumultuous time in a convent.  However, Madame Lancelin’s increasingly unhinged abuse of her employees and social class exploitation combine with the sisters' toxic upbringing and explodes into a shocking series of events.

THE LOWDOWN:  I had not heard of Katie Skelly until I got an email from Fantagraphics Books in the summer that was promoting their fall releases.  I was immediately taken by Maids' cover art and with the story.

Alternative cartoonists have a way of using the comics medium to get the most out of each panel and each page of their comic.  Plot, narrative, setting, characters, atmosphere, allegory, metaphor, symbolism, and social, political, or cultural examination are all layers.  The graphics (illustration, color, lettering) in any one panel or grouping of panels may contain all or some of these layers.  So one page of an alternative comics story communicates the layers of the story, much more than what the “surface” images or art communicate.

Maids is like that.  It is spare and intimate.  The illustrations are minimalist, and the colors are flat, although that palette is rich.  Underneath the surface, a variety of ideas and plots and back story roils.  The storytelling is catty and humorous, but there is an undercurrent that is full of mystery (in regards to the Papin sisters' upbringing) and high intrigue (in regards to the increasingly poor treatment the sisters suffer at the hands of their employer).  That is why Maids feel like an epic story of class conflict and exploitation, while at the same time being a fast moving, brutal true crime tale.

Author Katie Skelly presents Christine and Lea as individually complicated, and depicts their relationship as complex, largely due to its origins, almost all of it occurring before Maids begins.  Skelly presents the sisters' pasts in flashbacks, and forces the readers to think about what they are reading beyond the pictures.  I think that Skelly is aware that her readers' interpretations will be different from what she intends, and I think that she is okay with that.

If I, as a reader, consider the end results of the relationship between Christine and Lea and Madame Lancelin and Genevieve justified, then, I am making that decision because I want to and not because the author is telling me how I should think and feel about her work.  Even the way Christine and Lea are presented on the book cover to the audience demands that the reader actually engage this story and its characters.

There are so many layers to the graphical storytelling that is Maids, so much to ponder about the sisters.  I can see why many critics, reviewers, and readers are smitten with Maids.  There is epic storytelling power in this slim, hardcover volume.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Readers looking for exceptional graphic novels will want to read Maids.

9 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


https://www.fantagraphics.com/
https://twitter.com/fantagraphics
https://www.instagram.com/fantagraphics/
https://www.facebook.com/fantagraphics/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtLxEaspctVar287DtdsMww


The text is copyright © 2020 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint or syndication rights and fees.

-------------------

Amazon wants me to inform you that the link below is a PAID AD, but I technically only get paid (eventually) if you click on the ad below AND buy something(s).

#IReadsYou Review: NOW #8

NOW: THE NEW COMICS ANTHOLOGY #8
FANTAGRAPHICS BOOKS

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

CARTOONISTS: Theo Ellsworth; Sami Alwani; E.S. Glenn; Veronika Muchitsch; Henry McCausland; Zuzu; Noah Van Sciver; Walt Holcombe; Maggie Umber; Tara Booth
DESIGN: Jacob Covey
EDITOR: Eric Reynolds
COVER: Al Columbia
BACKCOVER: Nick Thorburn
ISBN: 978-1-68396-276-2; paperback (March 2020)
128pp, Color, $12.99 U.S.

NOW: The New Comics Anthology is an alternative-comics anthology series launched in 2017 and edited by Eric Reynolds.  NOW is published by alt-comix and art comics publisher, Fantagraphics Books.  Over its four-plus decades of existence, Fantagraphics has published what is probably the most diverse collection of comic book anthologies in the history of North American comic books.  That line-up includes such titles as Anything Goes, Critters, Mome, Pictopia, and Zero Zero, to name a few.

NOW: The New Comics Anthology #8 is a recent strong entry in this anthology series.  I wish that everyone could read the introduction to NOW #1, written by Eric Reynolds, even those who have not read that debut issue.  In the intro, Reynolds states that he wants to showcase “...as broad a range of quality comic art as possible...”

Does NOW #8 do that?  Let's take a look at each of NOW #8's cartoonists' contributions:

THE LOWDOWN:  The illustration that acts as NOW #8's cover art is entitled “Isle of Enchantment,” and it is produced by Al Columbia.  It is a beautiful piece – mixing the elements of nature illustration and vintage cartoons.  It is a striking and arresting image, and I can't stop looking at it.

“Psychic Bug Spy” by Theo Ellsworth:
I like the art for this one-page story that opens NOW #8, and speaking of story, “Psychic Bug Spy” does nothing for me.

“The Misfortunes of Virtue” by Sami Alwani:
I totally and completely love this story because it is a sheer delight to read.  So the story follows an alternative cartoonist and art comics creator, “Saehmeh the Dog.” Yes, Saehmeh Aehlawahni is an anthropomorphic dog, and he is also something like a lovable blend of snob and crank.  For years, he struggles as a cartoonist, mainly because most art comics publishers won't take the work of a dog seriously – no matter much they like that dog's work.

Ultimately, this 16-page story plays out, as a theme, this quote that opens the story, “When you desire control, you let desire control you.”  Sami Alwani's drawing style, a kind of pliable and elastic line work, is perfect for this story's shifting landscape of surrealism and Saehmeh's self-absorbed and internal way of living with himself and with others.  “The Misfortunes of Virtue” is the kind of comics short story that will one day be used to justify whatever time NOW exists as an ongoing publication.

“The Gigs” by E.S. Glenn:
This surreal story follows several characters that are criminal types.  Three of them can be described as an artist and a hit man:  Junior, the struggling painter-hit man; Butterfly, the recently paroled blues singer-songwriter-hit man; and Philip T. Crow, a self-published poet-hit man.

The Gigs'” graphical storytelling and graphic design are like a modern take on the revered cartoonist Winsor McCay's old-timey Little Nemo work.  The beautiful clear-line art and the gorgeous rich colors are mesmerizing.  My mind's eye savored the experience of reading this story.

“I, Keira” by Veronika Muchitsch:
Keira lives in an Ikea-like “home goods” store (Store No. 87) as a living mannequin.  The story is a procession of lighting, geometric shapes, colors, and patterns into which Keira becomes another object.  I am more intrigued by the graphics and graphical storytelling than I am by Keira … but I actually want more of this.

“Garden Boys” by Henry McCausland:
Two boys go on a treasure hunt and adventure through urban back lots and vacant properties – all of which seem to have a pastoral theme.  “Garden Boys” is like a young adult graphic novel distilled into 12 beautifully drawn pages.  I want more of this.

“Red” by Zuzu:
I know I've seen Zuzu's art somewhere before, or I saw something that looked like it.  “Red” is a slice-of-life of a larger story, but what is here – an except of friendship – is sweet.

“Saint Cole” by Noah Van Sciver:
I'm calling this an autobiographical comic, although I am not sure that anyone uses that term anymore.  Van Sciver recounts a book store signing in Paris that he did to promote his new graphic novel.  However, one of his best known works, the graphic novel, Saint Cole (Fantagraphics Books, 2015), hangs over the story.  This story offers flashbacks concerning the road Van Sciver took to Saint Cole, which included stints as a sandwich shop manager and hawking his minicomics from one comic book shop to another.

I'm prejudiced, but I love “Saint Cole” the short story, and I guess it's time for me to read the actual graphic novel.  A portrait of the artist as an always striving man … this story is poignant and absorbing because Van Sciver makes cartoon Noah so damn likable.

“Cheminant Avec Emily” by Walt Holcombe:
In English, the title is “Walking with Emily.”  This is another autobiographical tale in which Holcombe recounts his deep friendship with a young woman, Emily, whom he meets at San Diego Comic-Con in the late 1990s.  Their relationship gets a soundtrack when Emily introduces Holcombe to the music of the real-life French-Canadian duo, singer-songwriters and sisters, Kate and Anna McGarrigle.

Beautifully drawn, poignant, and bittersweet, “Cheminant Avec Emily” testifies that it is the bittersweet in life that acts like salt on the fruit of love and friendship – accentuating the sweetness.  This story reveals the art of the comics short story and exemplifies the comics short story as art.  I feel like a traitor making Noah Van Sciver's “Saint Cole” the second best story in NOW #8, but Holcombe's story steamrolls through this comic book like the Los Angeles Lakers' LeBron James charging into the lane on the way to a power-dunk.

“The Intoxicated” by Maggie Umber:
I think this story is supposed to evoke emotions in the reader.  That it scares me must say something about me.  I like the art which looks as if it were drawn in charcoal.

“Binge Eating” by Tara Booth:
Yeah, if you have issues with eating too much, you will get this in-your-face gem.

“Now” by Nick Thorburn:
This back cover comic strip about the playful evolution of a father-son relationship is an excellent bit of macabre comedy expertly executed in three panels.

So, the final verdict on NOW #8 is that there is a lot of interesting drawing and illustrating going on in here.  Some are simply examples of beautiful illustrating, while others are visually striking.  Others are odd and unique, while others are not so much about being pretty, as they are simply powerful.

Of NOW#1, I said that if the volumes that followed were half as good as the debut was, then, NOW would be a must-read series for serious comic book readers.  NOW #8 is more than half-as-good, much more.  So get NOW … now.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of classic alternative-comics anthologies will want to discover NOW: The New Comics Anthology.

8.5 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


https://www.fantagraphics.com/
https://twitter.com/fantagraphics
https://www.instagram.com/fantagraphics/
https://www.facebook.com/fantagraphics/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtLxEaspctVar287DtdsMww


The text is copyright © 2020 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for syndication rights and fees.

-----------------------------

#IReadsYou Review: NOW #1

NOW #1
FANTAGRAPHICS BOOKS

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

CARTOONISTS: Gabrielle Bell; Sara Corbett; Antoine Cossé; Eleanor Davis; Kaela Graham; Sammy Harkham; Conxita Hererro; Malachi Ward and Matt Sheean; J.C. Menu; Rebecca Morgan; Tommi Parrish; Tobias Schalken; Dash Shaw; Noah Van Sciver; Daria Tessler; Nick Thorburn
DESIGN: Jacob Covey
EDITOR: Eric Reynolds
COVER: Rebecca Morgan
ISBN: 978-1-68396-052-2; paperback (September 2017)
128pp, Color, $9.99 U.S.

NOW is a comics anthology series launched in 2017 by alternative comics (alt-comix) and art comics publisher, Fantagraphics Books.  Over its four-plus decades of existence, Fantagraphics has published what is probably the most diverse collection of comic book anthologies in the history of North American comic books.  That line-up includes such titles as Anything Goes, Critters, Mome, Pictopia, and Zero Zero, to name a few.

NOW #1 proves that Fantagraphics has not lost a step with age when it comes to anthologies.  I wish that everyone could read the introduction to the first issue written by NOW's editor, Eric Reynolds, even those who have not read this first issue.  It seems as if everything Reynolds hopes NOW could achieve is in evidence in NOW #1.  Reynolds wants to showcase “...as broad a range of quality comic art as possible...”

NOW #1 does that, so let's take a look at each cartoonist's contribution.

THE LOWDOWN:  The illustration that acts as NOW #1's cover art is entitled “Plan B on Easter Morning,” and it is produced by Rebecca Morgan.  It is a stylish, colorful, full-color illustration that is surreal and kooky, and it reminds me of the work of Aline Kominsky-Crumb.

“Constitutional” by Sara Corbett:
This is a beautiful piece featuring an elderly woman and her wily cat that has vivid green eyes.  This one-page comic has a striking graphical style, dazzling colors, and eye-catching patterns drawn on characters and objects.  I could see “Constitutional” being a cover for The New Yorker.

“21 Positions/The Final Frontier” by Tobias Schalken:
This is a pantomime comic featuring two characters, one female and one male, each alone and each on the opposite side of the page.  They are imitating the ways in which people hold and touch one another.  I am impressed by the figure drawing, and every time I look at this story, I feel some raw emotions emanating from the page.

“Hurt or Fuck?” by Eleanor Davis:
This is a black and white comic, drawn apparently with a lead pencil.  I like its composition, but I don't know what to make of it.  I don't want to read too much into it... or read the wrong thing...

“Scorpio” by Dash Shaw:
The incomparable Dash Shaw (Cosplayers) offers this story of childbirth on Tuesday, November 8, 2016 (a.k.a. “The Day of the Clown”).  The intimacy and familiarity between the expecting couple feels genuine, and the story is warm and humorous.  I could read an entire graphic novel built around these characters.

“Dear Naked Guy In the Apartment Across from Mine Spread Eagle & Absent-mindedly Flicking his Penis While Watching TV,” by Gabrielle Bell:
This one-page comic is exactly what it says – a young woman sees her pudgy, naked neighbor lying in his bed and playing with himself every time she is in the kitchen of her (apparently) small apartment.  I read the neighbor as being aggressively passive-aggressive, but I'm not sure about the young woman (whom I'm assuming is the cartoonist).  Is she disgusted or distressed... “Dear Naked Guy...” is one of NOW #1's best entries.

“S.O.S. Suitcases” by J.C. Menu:
This 14-page, black and white, comic is a wild and woolly, surreal adventure tale that is alternative comics and neo-underground comix.  I think this story would be a perfect fit in a certain kind of comics anthologies:  from Zap Comix to Weirdo and from Zero Zero to... well, to NOW.

“Wall of Shame” by Noah Van Sciver:
This 15-page story is my NOW #1 favorite.  In an autobiographical slash slice-of-life comics story, Noah returns to his hometown of Denver, Colorado because the Denver Art Museum is holding an exhibition of his comics and illustrations.  Returning home, however, means a return to family... and a reunion with his younger brother, Jonah, a loud, shameless, womanizing, pussy-hound.

If I have encountered Van Sciver's work before, it could not have been much.  After reading “Wall of Shame,” I definitely want to read more it, especially anything like this story.  Once upon a time, I spent much of the 1990s reading the autobiographical, mock-auto-bio, and slice-of-life comics, comic books, and graphic novels produced by a number of alternative cartoonists and comic book creators, including Joe Matt, Seth, David Greenberger, and Julie Doucet, to name a few.

“Wall of Shame,” a very entertaining story, brings me back to those days.  That aside, this is a thoroughly engaging story of family ties, with Jonah as the kind of scene-stealing character that captures the imagination.  Noah leaves me wanting more.

“Untitled” by Tommi Parrish:
This lovely story is about two people talking about the struggles of understanding oneself when coming out as gay.  Reading this is like listening in on an intimate conversation, and at seven pages, this story is over much too soon.  After I read this, I could not stop thinking about the idea of “poisonous scripts,” which comes from the world of culture and pop culture and tells us what and how we should be, act, think, feel, live, etc.

“Pretend We're Orphans” by Kaela Graham:
This story has a delightful, picture book and fairy tale quality.  It works as a self-contained tale of imagination, but it would still be quite good as a piece from a larger work.”

“Songs in the Key of Grief” by Daria Tessler:
I feel like this is about Kurt Cobain.

“Here I Am” by Conxita Hererro:
This story is apparently based on an earlier work by cartoonist Gabrielle Bell, a contributor to Now #1.  I got nothing from it.

“Widening Horizon” by Malachi Ward (story/art) and Matt Sheean (story):
This is an intriguing science fiction comics short story.  I won't call it “alternative history,” because it reads like a classic science fiction short story that imagines a different past, present, and future.  Ward's beautiful clear-line drawing style perfectly captures the atmosphere of a story about spaceflight.

“Statue” by Antoine Cossé:
A stylish blend of landscape architecture, industrial design, Art Deco, and minimalism, “Statue” is a haunting tale that also manages to gleam with possibility.  I found that Cossé engaged my imagination with a story that challenged me to unravel its mysteries.  “Statue” is an example of a story that the reader can enjoy without having to know everything the cartoonist wants to convey.  I look forward to seeing more of this creator's work.

“I, Marlon” by Sammy Harkham:
The only reason that I know that the “Marlon” in “I, Marlon” is the legendary American actor, Marlon Brando, is because I recently read Michael J. Mann's massive biography of the actor, The Contender: The Story of Marlon Brando.  Shockingly, Harkham's one-age comic (apparently produced in 2016) summarizes some key themes in Mann's 700+ page book, which was published in late 2019 (and took me several months to read).

“Untitled” by Nick Thorburn:
This is a comic strip that runs at the top of the back cover.  I like Thorburn's drawing style.

So, the final verdict on NOW #1 is that it is one of the best first issues of a comics anthology that I have ever read.  If the issues that follow NOW #1 are half as good as it is, then, NOW is a must-read series for serious comic book readers.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of classic alternative-comics anthologies will want to discover NOW.

9 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


https://www.fantagraphics.com/
https://twitter.com/fantagraphics
https://www.instagram.com/fantagraphics/
https://www.facebook.com/fantagraphics/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtLxEaspctVar287DtdsMww


The text is copyright © 2020 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for syndication rights and fees.

-------------------------

Review: LOVE AND ROCKETS Vol. 4 #1

LOVE AND ROCKETS VOL. IV No. 1
FANTAGRAPHICS BOOKS – @fantagraphics

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

WRITERS: Gilbert Hernandez; Jaime Hernandez – @BetomessGilbert @xaimeh
ARTISTS: Gilbert Hernandez; Jaime Hernandez
EDITOR: Eric Reynolds – @earinc
COVER: Jaime Hernandez
BACK COVER: Gilbert Hernandez
VARIANT COVERS: Gilbert Hernandez and Jaime Hernandez with Paul Baresh; Jacob Covey; Rico Renzi
36pp, B&W, $4.99 U.S. (October 2016)

The seminal alternative comic book, Love and Rockets, produced by brothers Gilbert Hernandez and Jaime Hernandez (“Los Bros”), has been published since 1982 by Fantagraphics Books.  It started as a magazine-sized comic book that ran for 50 issues (1983 to 1996) and later returned for a 20-issue run as a standard-sized comic book, (Vol II, 2001-2007).  Then, it became an annual graphic novel series which ran for eight volumes, Love and Rockets: New Stories (Vol. III, 2008-2016).  [It is important to note that Gilbert and Jaime do not collaborate, and that each brother had his own characters and stories.]

Late last year, Love and Rockets Vol. IV returned the series to its comic magazine format that fans of the original series fell in love with and probably still love and prefer.  Actually, I am one of those fans who prefers the original format, but I understand that for various reasons the creators and publishers felt the need to initiate format changes at different times.

Under a front cover by Jaime, Love and Rockets Vol. IV #1 offers four stories, three by Jaime and one by Gilbert (Beto).  In Gilbert's story, which is this issue's centerpiece, Baby Fritz, daughter of Rosalba  “Fritz” Martinez (actress, dancer, film producer), is plumbing the secrets and secret history of her mother's life.  Meanwhile, Fritz's wife, Pipo Jimenez, is demanding a divorce, which Fritz is reluctant to grant.  However, the bigger bombshell is a secret child.

Jaime's entries begin with “I Come from Above to Avoid a Double Chin,” the continuation of his recent “punk-reunion concert” story arc.  Maggie discovers that some of her old friends don't want to be punk anymore, and that some don't want to hate on Julie Wree anymore, either.  And there is a fight and minor bloodshed.  Next, Tonta Agajanian is attending a mini-comix show to sell her comix, but her half-sister, Vivian “Frogmouth” Solis wants to steal the show.  Plus, the adventure of Anima and Lumina continue with long-dong Katak.

I knew that I would like the return of Love and Rockets to a magazine-sized publication.  For me, there was something magical about that comic book at that size when I picked up my first issue all the way back in 1985 (probably Love and Rockets #11 – cover dated April 1985).

I think that when I read a Los Bros. comic book in a larger size, preferably magazine-sized, I undergo a sensory experience that goes beyond just reading a normal comic book.  I feel a sense of mystery in the black and white comix of Jaime, his pages filled with solid blocks of black to contrast the perfect cool white spaces.  That graphical style defined Jaime's early B-movie sci-fi, monster, and wrestling stories and made me feel as if the magical mystery tour had dropped me in a fictional world that was wild, weird, and wonderful.  I couldn't get enough.

In Gilbert's comix, the size did matter.  The drama of Palomar was big without being melodramatic, although I assume melodrama and soap opera influenced Gilbert's comix.  That dramatic heft made even Beto's weird fiction comics seem solid, as real as they were surreal and fantastical.  Thus, the violence in a story of aliens, superheroes, and other unreal beings was sudden and shocking as the violence that took place in stories starring Luba or Fritz.

For me, the bigger Love and Rockets Vol. IV #1 is a return of the real, unreal, and surreal.  It's bigger drama and the return of the mystery in live – in Locas, in Mechanics, and in outer space.

A

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


The text is copyright © 2017 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

-----------------------

I Reads You Review: THE HIDDEN

THE HIDDEN
FANTAGRAPHICS BOOKS – @fantagraphics

CARTOONIST: Richard Sala
DESIGN: Richard Sala and Jacob Covey
ISBN: 978-1-60699-386-6; hardcover (2011), 8.25" x 8.25" (dimensions)
136pp, Color, $19.99 U.S.

The Hidden is a 2011 full color, hardcover, original graphic novel from cartoonist and comic book creator, Richard Sala. Sala is known for his comic book series, Evil Eye (Fantagraphics Books), and such works as Cat Burglar Black, Delphine, and The Chuckling Whatsit. Published by Fantagraphics Books, The Hidden follows a group of survivors of a mysterious worldwide catastrophe that seems like it could be an extinction level event for humanity.

The story begins on a day when strange creatures begin an assault on humans, and it seems as if dark forces are at war with nature. An indeterminate amount of time later, the narrative finds civilizations in ruins. We meet two wanderers looking for safe haven or, perhaps, someplace not in ruins. They are a young woman named Colleen and Tom, her boyfriend. The couple finds a middle-aged man asleep in a cave. Although he cannot remember his name, he does remember an old trading post that he claims is a safe place.

Along their journey, the trio meets another couple, Glen and Sally, who claim to have witnessed a horrific and surprising massacre. When the small band finally arrives at the trading post, they find more mystery. Colleen also begins to learn of the terrible conspiracy and dark secrets behind the man who cannot remember his name.

Richard Sala’s Delphine was a modern take slash re-imagination of the fairy tale, “Snow White.” The following is a possible spoiler: Sala’s The Hidden is a modernization of Mary Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein: or, The Modern Prometheus (1818), but told in the context of our current times (which are beset by end-of-the-world fears). In fact, The Hidden goes beyond the end of Shelley’s novel, imagining a different fate for man, monster, and humanity. This graphic novel is essentially a parable about ethical-free, morality-light, cutting-edge science. Why do anything? Why play God? The answer to both questions is “because we can.” “Damn the consequences” is The Hidden’s unspoken refrain.

The back cover of The Hidden has a quote about Sala’s work from Publisher’s Weekly, which describes reading Sala as “an experience both jarring and fun.” That is quite true. I tore through The Hidden, flipping pages as if I were reading the latest potboiler, suspense thriller on the prose bestsellers’ list. I couldn’t wait to get to the next shocking and thrilling revelation.

The Hidden is jarring because of the action taken by the characters, both the leading actors and the bit players. Much of Sala’s work has a playful gothic aesthetic, similar to the mischievous macabre of Charles Addams and the lighthearted ghoulishness of Tim Burton. Sala goes past Addams and Burton. His comics contain moments in which the capricious nature of life and the seeming fickleness of existence delivers cruelty. This does not always appear as physical violence; sometimes, the result is a spiritual wound or a gash on the psyche. In The Hidden, the characters don’t do “playful gothic aesthetic.”

The Hidden is what Sala’s work always is, entertaining and bizarre, but it also reveals that Richard Sala isn’t just some guy drawing peculiar cartoons. Sala is a talent like no other. When I think of the comic book creator/hacks that are more famous (and perhaps wealthier) than Sala, it makes me realize that there may be a God, but there ain’t no justice.

A

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux

Leroy Douresseaux on THE PIN-UP ART OF HUMORAMA

THE PIN-UP ART OF HUMORAMA
FANTAGRAPHICS BOOKS

WRITER/EDITOR: Alex Chun
ARTISTS: Dan DeCarlo, Jack Cole, Bill Ward, and others
COLORS/DESIGNER: Jacob Covey
INTRODUCTION: Howard Chaykin
ISBN: 978-1-56097-959-3; paperback
216pp, 2-color, $19.99 U.S.

Breezy. Cartoon Parade. Comedy. Gaze. Jest. Joker. Romp. Stare. Zip. These were once the titles of cartoon digests from Humorama.

Humorama was a New York City based line of digest-sized magazines mainly remembered for the single panel pin-up and girlie cartoons they contained. These digests also published black and white photographs of models (Bettie Page, among them) and actresses (such as Tina Louise and Julie Newmar), as well as jokes.

Humorama was a division of the publishing empire of Martin Goodman and was headed by his brother, Abe Goodman. According to journalist and pin-up cartoon connoisseur, Alex Chun, Abe Goodman was the largest buyer of cartoons in the world during the 1950s. Chun has edited several books that focused on cartoonists who plied their trade with Humorama, including The Glamour Girls of Bill Ward, The Classic Pin-Up Art of Jack Cole, and The Pin-Up Art of Dan DeCarlo.

Alex Chun’s latest volume is The Pin-Up Art of Humorama, which is a sort of “best of” collection of the pin-up cartoons found in Humorama’s various magazines. Chun’s frequent collaborator, designer extraordinaire Jacob Covey, essentially re-masters the cartoons in this book and brings them back to life by restoring the accent color (or 2-color) format in which they were originally published. Howard Chaykin (American Flagg!, Black Kiss) provides an introduction to this book that places Humorama and pin-up cartoons in general in a historical context, and he also relates them to his own life.

While it does feature work by the three Humorama cartoonists considered the most accomplished (Cole, DeCarlo, and Ward), The Pin-Up Art of Humorama also offers works by many other notable cartoonists. Readers will find cartoons by Dave Berg of MAD Magazine, illustrator Jefferson Machamer, legendary science fiction and horror cartoonist, Basil Wolverton, and Kurt Schaffenberger, the comic book artist best known for his work on such comic books as Superman’s Girlfriend, Lois Lane during the 1950s and 1960s and Captain Marvel during the Golden and Silver Ages. Humorama also featured the work of three syndicated cartoonists who would go on to have their own newspaper comic strips: George Crenshaw (Belvedere), Bill Hoest (The Lockhorns) and Brad Anderson (Marmaduke).

I am a big admirer of Alex Chun’s efforts at bringing the single panel pin-up art of the 1950s and 60s back into print. I don’t think of his previous publications as archival efforts merely intent on bringing dusty old artifacts out of the basement of magazine publishing history. Many of the visual elements and background details featured in these cartoons have changed since the heyday of the pinup cartoons: cocktail lounges, the architecture, interior design, office furniture, clothing (men wearing suits even in casual situations), and gender roles. However, the two most important things about them have not fallen out of favor – sex and humor.

Chun and the exceptionally talented graphic designer, Jacob Covey (who has designed several of Chun’s books), get the heart of why many of these cartoons are still bawdy, funny, sexy, and even relevant when it comes to relationships between men and women – 50 to 60 years after they were first published. The pay-to-play, the gold-digging, the lust, the office politics, the spouse who is cheating or has a wandering eye are all familiar to practically any adult reader. Even those who are not fans of comics can look through this book and recognize the humor, idea, and story (of a sort). The subject matter is timeless, and in the context of American culture, perhaps universal.

This is not a fine art book. Besides, there are works of art and artists that are no longer relevant and have been reduced to being important in the history of art. The single panel pin-up cartoons in Humorama publications were not meant to be fine art, but rather to be entertainment. Yet these cartoons did not entertain by simply appealing to the prurient interests to the buyers of such publications. Readers recognized such visual cues as scantily clad women and also the men whose hearts and libidos they sent racing. The readers got the joke about the machinations of scheming female characters and knew how the minds of the male characters worked.

We still get that, and so do Alex Chun and Jacob Covey. Chun fills his collections with the best cartoons – the ones that can still delight readers, and Covey uses his lively and inventive design sense to make these old cartoons fresh and vital. With The Pin-Up Art of Humorama, Chun and Covey will once again make you believe that the art of Humorama is still alive and kicking – although the line ceased to exist decades ago.

A

http://www.fantagraphics.com/

http://www.pinupcartoongallery.com/

The following is an incomplete list of the cartoonists whose work appears in The Pin-Up Art of Humorama. I will make updates and changes to this list, either through my own research or with the help of readers:

Felix Andrews
Dave Berg
Camill
Jack Cole
George Crenshaw
Dan DeCarlo as DSD
Dick Ericson
Stan Goldberg
Paul Hamilton
Lynn Harrison
Ramon Henri
Hergo (?)
George Hess
Bill Hoest
Lowell Hoppes
Woody Kimbrell
Bill Kresse
Chet Lown
Jefferson Machamer
Manent
Vic Martin
Jim Mooney
Paul Murry
Posner Murry
Kremos (Niso Ramponi)
Ray Osrin
Don Pengelly
Louis Priscilla
Homer Provence
Stanley Rayon
Robert Q. Sale
Kurt Schaffenberger
Carl Stamwitz
Stark
Jere Sturm
Tom Sutton
Bill Ward
Bill Wenzel
Basil Wolverton

Fantagraphics Books Brings Floyd Gottfredson's Mickey Mouse Back to Life

Walt Disney’s Mickey Mouse by Floyd Gottfredson
“Race to Death Valley”
Edited by David Gerstein & Gary Groth

Designed by Jacob Covey
Featuring essays by Warren Spector, Floyd Norman, Thomas Andrae and David Gerstein
FANTAGRAPHICS BOOKS, SEATTLE, WA
$29.99 Hardcover • 260 pages, color and black-and-white • 10 1/2” x 8 1/2” • ISBN 978-1-60699-441-2
HUMOR / Comic Strips • PUBLICATION DATE: Late May 2011

• Produced in full cooperation with The Walt Disney Company
• Great gift idea
• Featuring the #1 character franchise in the world
• Fantagraphics’ most anticipated release since the first volume of The Complete Peanuts, which has sold over 150,000 copies

Today everyone knows Mickey Mouse as the cheerful ambassador of all things Disney, and the #1 character franchise in the world. But back in the 1930s, Mickey gained fame as a rough-and-tumble, two-fisted epic hero — an adventurous, underdog scrapper matching wits with mobsters, kidnappers, spies, and even (gulp!) city slickers! And Mickey’s greatest feats of derring-do took place in his daily comic strip, written and drawn by one of the greatest cartoonists of the 20th century — Floyd Gottfredson.

Gottfredson’s vibrant visual storytelling has never been more beautifully reproduced, with each daily lovingly restored from Disney’s original negatives and proof sheets.

Walt Disney often said that his studio’s success “all started with a Mouse,” and today Mickey is among the world’s most recognizable icons. Now it’s time to rediscover the wild, unforgettable personality behind the icon!

Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse: "Race to Death Valley" (Vol. 1) (Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse)