#IReadsYou Review: LOVE AND ROCKETS VOL. IV #4

LOVE AND ROCKETS VOL. IV #4

FANTAGRAPHICS BOOKS

CARTOONISTS: Gilbert Hernandez; Jaime Hernandez

EDITOR: Eric Reynolds

COVER: Gilbert Hernandez

BACK COVER: Jaime Hernandez

VARIANT COVER: Jaime Hernandez

36pp, B&W, $4.99 U.S. (November 2017)

Love and Rockets is the seminal alternative comic book series produced by brothers, Gilbert Hernandez and Jaime Hernandez.  It has been published since 1982 by Fantagraphics Books, where it started out as a magazine-sized comic book that ran for 50 issues (1983 to 1996).  It later returned for a 20-issue run as a standard-sized comic book, (Vol II, 2001-2007), and 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 has his own characters and stories.]

In late 2016, 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.  I prefer the original format, but I understand that for various reasons the brothers and publishers felt the need to initiate format changes at different times.

Under a front cover by Gilbert, Love and Rockets Vol. IV #4 offers six stories and vignettes, two by Gilbert (Beto) and four by Jaime.  The issue opens with Gilbert's “Since I Don't Love You,” which finds Pipo Jiminez deciding if she will travel to Palomar for the funeral of Soledad Marquez.  The rest of a story is a flashback covering the horrible consequences of the love triangle involving Pipo and Soledad & Manuel (stars of the original L&R story, “Heartbreak Soup”).  Later, Killer and Chino take an overview of Killer's... eccentric movie career as she embarks on a singing career.

On the Jaime side of things, the “Locas” girls' punk reunion has come to an end, but Jaime offers a trip back to 1979 and the days of the young punk Locas and Maggie's burgeoning crush on Hopey.  Plus, while Maggie's away, Doyle will play, but his playmate, Sonny, specializes in wearing out his welcome.  Plus, Doyle learns about the “brick guy” who almost killed him by attempting to smash in his head.  There is also some classic, Jaime sci-fi, as sisters Lumina and Isla reunite as the Anima situation turns more intense.

THE LOWDOWN:  I have not read an issue of Love and Rockets Vol. IV in almost five years, and that was Love and Rockets Vol. IV #3, which was at least two years old when I read it.  I just finished reading #4, which was published in 2017.  My, has time passed, but the passing has not confused me when it comes to Love and Rockets, especially as much of this issue is set in the time period the series covered during the first decade of its original run.

Gilbert's tale, “Since I Don't Have You,” recalls the heartbreak that is one of the defining characteristics of the fictional Mexican village of Palomar (the setting of many of Gilbert's stories) and the lives of its denizens.  Jaime's 1979 flashback recalls the Maggie and Hopey with whom I fell in love and the early stories in which Jaime essentially honed his craft.  I have a crush on Doyle, so any story about him, including this one that goes back to his near-death, I welcome with open arms.

I'll say this for sure:  Love and Rockets Vol. IV #4 reminds me that I need to engage another re-read of this series, which means going back to the beginning.  I honestly can't say that issue #4 will attract new readers, but it is chicken soup for the L&R fan's soul.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of Love and Rockets will want to read Love and Rockets Vol. IV.

A+

10 out of 10

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

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#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/

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

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

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#IReadsYou Review: RED ROOM: Trigger Warnings #1

RED ROOM: TRIGGER WARNINGS #1
FANTAGRAPHICS BOOKS

CARTOONIST: Ed Piskor
EDITOR: Eric Reynolds
COVER: Ed Piskor
VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: Jim Rugg; Peach Momoko; John Gallagher; Nick Alcorn; Trey Antley
MISC. ART: Diego Rodriguez; Felipe Gasparino Goncalves; Emalie Scipione; Ignacio Di Meglio; Alex Mercado; Barry Tan; Christian Meesey; Barrett Williamson; Isaac W. Stone; Gabriela Sepulveda; Christopher Roy; Vampire Frog; Kauz Hunter; Chris Mori; Ryan Brown; Kevin Alvir; Christopher Couse; Len Danovich; Ryan Bredahl
32pp, B&W with some color, $3.99 U.S. (December 2021)

Red Room: Trigger Warnings is a new four-issue comic book miniseries from cartoonist Ed Piskor.  It is part of an overall series, entitled Red Room, that Fantagraphics Books is publishing as three miniseries for a total of twelve issues.  Piskor is best known for Hip Hop Family Tree, a comic book that chronicles the early history of Hip-Hop culture.  It has been published in webcomic, graphic novel, and serial comic book form.

Red Room focuses on a murderous, dark web subculture in which a secretive audience pays with cryptocurrency so that it can view “murder for entertainment” in real time via webcam.  A “Red Room” is a place on the Internet with an encrypted I.P. address.  Each Red Room is a webcam stream where viewers can watch a “torture star” murder another human being in the most brutal, savage, vile, and stomach-turning ways.

Red Room: Trigger Warnings #1 opens in the family melodrama of Davis Fairfield and his daughter, Brianna, a budding journalist.  Davis lost his wife, Delores, and his other daughter, Hayley, in an automobile accident (as seen in Red Room #1: The Antisocial Network).

Davis is also a Red Room star.  He is “The Decimator,” and Pentagram Picture's “The Decimator Presents: The Rat Queens!” is a gruesome hit.  The bitcoins roll in for Davis and his boss, Mistress Pentagram, but there is trouble on that proverbial horizon.  Brianna is digging into her father's secrets.  What's with the heart attacks, and where does all the cash-on-hand he has come from?  The answers may doom them both.

THE LOWDOWN:  Red Room returns in a new miniseries, but things are as gruesome as ever.  I think that the element that makes Red Room work in all of its horrifying and horrible glory is Piskor's deft touch with his characters.

This is the balance of the series, how ordinary people are caught in the trap of the Dark Web and the Red Rooms.  One can make an argument that the owners and torture stars are inhuman, but the torture victims and the Red Room fans are human.  Their faults and foibles are amplified by their obsessions and lusts, and that makes them fascinating.  Piskor makes his reader want to hone in on the fools as well as the fouls.  Following Davis and Brianna (inadvertently) to their doom is like chasing a prize, but this would not work if Piskor did not create characters that we can engage.

Trigger Warnings does not miss a beat following The Antisocial Network.  There is a sense of verisimilitude even if the Red Rooms seem unbelievable because they are not unbelievable.  Torture, you say?!  Even the “Father of our Nation” owned humans as property and used them as he saw fit – even violently.  Oops, I should have offered a trigger warning.  Instead, I offer praise and encouragement that you, dear readers, at least once, try this truly amazing comic book.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of Ed Piskor's work and of alternative comics as science fiction will want to read Red Room: Trigger Warnings.

A+

10 out of 10

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


Buy and/or subscribe to Red Room here: https://www.fantagraphics.com/collections/red-room

https://twitter.com/EdPiskor
https://twitter.com/cartoonkayfabe
https://www.youtube.com/c/cartoonistkayfabe
https://www.instagram.com/ed_piskor/
https://linktr.ee/edpiskor

https://www.fantagraphics.com/
https://twitter.com/fantagraphics
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https://www.facebook.com/fantagraphics/
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The text is copyright © 2022 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint or syndication rights and fees.

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#IReadsYou Review: RED ROOM: The Anti-Social Network #4

RED ROOM: THE ANTISOCIAL NETWORK #4
FANTAGRAPHICS BOOKS

CARTOONIST: Ed Piskor
EDITOR: Eric Reynolds
COVER: Ed Piskor
VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: Kayfabe; Jim Rugg; John Gallagher; Geof Darrow
MISC. ART: Preston Asevedo; Small Man Big Mouth; Andrew Gutierrez; Mike Manzi; David Lawless; Adam Lemnah; Anthony Negron; Charlie Franz; Ralph Bednarski; Vinny Olmstead; Tony Fero; Jay Daken; @Gigacrab; Jeff Brown; Slowhed; Dr. Ben Anthony; Yaakov Agrat; George Vega; Steve Meesey; Michael Murphy
32pp, B&W with some color, $3.99 U.S. (August 2021)

Red Room: The Antisocial Network is a four-issue comic book miniseries from cartoonist Ed Piskor.  It is part of an overall series, entitled Red Room, that will be published by Fantagraphics Books as three miniseries for a total of twelve issues.  Piskor is best known for Hip Hop Family Tree, a comic book that chronicles the early history of Hip-Hop culture.  It has been published in webcomic, graphic novel, and serial comic book form.

Red Room focuses on a murderous, dark web subculture in which a secretive audience pays with cryptocurrency so that it can view “murder for entertainment” in real time via webcam.  A “Red Room” is a place on the Internet with an encrypted I.P. address.  Each Red Room is a webcam stream where viewers can watch a “torture star” murder another human being in the most brutal, savage, vile, and stomach-turning ways.

Red Room: The Antisocial Network #4 opens with the notorious host of this comic book, “the Crypto-Currency Keeper.”  He informs his viewers that Red Rooms existed before the World Wide Web did and takes them back to the days of VHS and Betamax with a story entitled “Cyclical Terror!”

This is the story of Raina Dukes.  Her father, Edward, was the victim of Red Room star, Donna Butcher.  The torture and murder of Edward was titled “Donna Butcher Gets Her Man!,” and was one of the most notorious snuff videos of the 1980s.  However, the tape was digitized for the Internet, gaining it an ever growing audience.  The death of her husband dragged on Raina's mother until the day she died.  Raina has been plotting her revenge for decades...

“Pure Evil!” is the story of Evie.  Once she was Donna Butcher, and her Red Room exploits made her famous.  However, hubris and tax evasion led her to federal prison.  “Snuff Said!” is the story of the eventual meeting of a torture celebrity (Donna Butcher) and revenge seeking victim (Raina), so how will it all work out in the end, for both Evie/Donna and Raina?

THE LOWDOWN:  In “Morgue Files,” Ed Piskor's afterword for each issue of Red Room, he discusses how the spirit of EC Comics' publications shaped Red Room #4.  EC Comics was probably the first great comic book publisher that actually produced excellent comic books crafted by the best writers, artists, and editors.

Science fiction, fantasy, horror, war stories, crime stories, and tales of comeuppance:  EC Comics did it all with style and superb craftsmanship – and a little fine art.  EC's horror comic books also had a horror host/mascot.  The most famous may be “the Crypt-Keeper” from the classic EC title, Tales from the Crypt, which was the inspiration and source material for the HBO television series that ran from 1989 to 1996 and for two spin-off films.

EC Comics which had its heyday from 1949- to 1954 could not have published something like Red Room, as notorious as it comic books were.  However, Piskor's art and story are true to the spirit of EC, especially Red Room #4.  Piskor's compositions and page design are … I'm not sure if I have the words.  If he uses an assistant to help draw Red Room's pages, I would still call him incredible.  If he draws all this by himself, I'll call him “Muad'Dib.”  The craziness, the violence, the anger, the suffering, etc.:  it all comes through the powerful graphical storytelling of Red Room: The Antisocial Network #4.

This fourth issues proves that Red Room: The Antisocial Network is both one of the best debuts of 2021 and one of the best comic books of 2021.  Through the allegories, metaphors, and symbolism, this series has the gift of having a ring of truth and of being prophetic.  If the antics in Red Room seem silly and exaggerated to you, dear readers, your favorite news source can introduce you to the Ukraine.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of Ed Piskor's work and of alternative comics as science fiction will want to read Red Room: The Antisocial Network.

A+

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


Buy and/or subscribe to Red Room here: https://www.fantagraphics.com/collections/red-room

https://twitter.com/EdPiskor
https://twitter.com/cartoonkayfabe
https://www.youtube.com/c/cartoonistkayfabe
https://www.instagram.com/ed_piskor/
https://linktr.ee/edpiskor

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 or site for reprint or syndication rights and fees.

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#IReadsYou Review: BLUBBER #6

BLUBBER #6
FANTAGRAPHICS BOOKS

CARTOONIST: Gilbert Hernandez
EDITOR: Eric Reynolds
COVER/BACK COVER: Gilbert Hernandez with Paul Baresh
24pp, B&W, $4.99 U.S. (August 2021)

Blubber is an intermittently published, black and white, alternative comic book series written and drawn by Gilbert Hernandez, cartoonist, comic book creator, and graphic novelist.  He is best known for being one-half of the duo referred to as “Los Bros.”  Gilbert and his brother, Jaime Hernandez, are Eisner Award (Will Eisner Comics Industry Awards) winners, and they have produced the seminal, alternative comic book series, Love and Rockets (Fantagraphics Books), for the last four-plus decades.

Blubber offers short stories and vignettes featuring a cast of misfits, monsters, and anthropomorphic types.  Beto also presents his usual mix of bizarre characters, strange stories, and outlandish sex and sexual acts, all hallmarks of his comic book output going back to the beginning of his early career.

Blubber #6 is comprised of multiple one-pagers and a few short stories.  It also opens with a one-page comic inside the front cover (frontispiece) and ends with another story inside the back cover.  I'll discuss each story individually, to one extent or another.

THE LOWDOWN:  The inside front cover story is entitled “Giving It a Go.”  It's about giving a device called the “Fuck-U-Later” a go.  Mila gives it a go.

That I don't find this disgusting says a lot about me.  That I kinda wish there was such a device...

“Ulu Extreme Productions Present 'Young, Fast and Scientific'”:
Pupusi's ability to take the voluminous ejaculations of Maximiliano a.k.a. “Max” during the filming of the movie, “Young, Fast and Scientific,” impresses people on the set.  So Kolchak, Wilfer, Zoe, Ulu, and John Dick (he of the three-foot+ erection) join in on the fuck-tastic fun.

As usual, Beto shows the facility of his pen in drawing exaggerated genitalia.  However, he does “stick the landing” by drawing natural looking genitalia on Page 3.

“But is it Pretty?”:
Corazon has breasts that aren't real, but feel real.  She does however have a well-endowed member that is real.  Well, Mila wants to put that member to use.

All I can say, Beto, is “Wow!”

“The Nahanny”:
Peaky, the athletic trainer who appeared in “Ulu Extreme Productions Present 'Young, Fast and Scientific',” is back in this half-page, five-panel story.”  A non-human character wants to suck on her biceps.

I like Beto's design work on the non-human character, whose name may be Kemp or “The Nahanny.”  Beto's character designing talent is probably not appreciated enough.  I can see the influence of “Silver Age” comic books on this genius in “slick” drawings.

“Kemp”:
Kemp sucks on Zoe's balloon-like breasts, with disastrous results.

This story shares the page with “The Nahanny.”  The panels are almost too small to read, but I didn't let that stop me.  And I like the characters.

“The Damn Loo!”:
“Tin Man,” the robot character featured on the cover, (sexually) assaults one of Beto's signature cryptids, the “Loo.”

Once again, I am digging the design of the Loo.

“Cisnero's Secret”:
Pipusi spurns the advances of Cristobol and Efren, but she takes it up the bum from Cisnero.  Apparently, this action takes place with The Beatles 1967 pop tune, “Strawberry Fields Forever,” playing in the background.

I like that this one-pager deals with something that vex's almost all men.

“Gay Wheeler”:
Gay Wheeler is not gay … but he is willing to perform oral on Max, who says he isn't gay either.

This a cute story, but it gets better when Beto offers us Corazon' ability to bang her own boobs.

“Don't Fuck with the Loo”:
This time the Loo gets the best of Tin Man.

Untitled:
John Dick's penis is so long (and thick) that he has a … hard time finding someone to adequately pleasure him and it.  Luckily, Cisnero comes along and tries to offer John a “soothing blowjob.”

It's funny that John says he is not gay, so what Cisnero is doing to him must be a dream.  But it is a dream he hopes to have over and over again.  Soothing blowjob … I hear ya talkin,' girl.

“The Thighs Have It!”:
Efren takes advantage of Kolchak's thighs, among other sexual delights.  Cisnero and “Strawberry Fields Forever” guest star.

All I can say about this one-page is that the thighs do indeed have it.  This story also shows off Beto's talent at cartooning the human figure.

“The Fruit of His Loins”:
The story focuses on a young man who is referred to as “Our Man,” but his name may be “Norte.”

This story, about narcissism and sexual hang-ups, showcases Beto's skill at cartooning exaggerated body parts...

“Plunk”:
More porno adventures at “Ulu Extreme Productions,” this time without the cameras.

“Clipper”:
Still more porno adventures at Ulu.

“Plunk” and “Clipper” are indeed true pornographic comics.  That's a good thing, and they're kinda nice.

“Dr. Sanz Was What?”:
Dr. Sanz wants to create a stimulant for penis augmentation.  After inventing a formula, he tries it on himself.  A dream shows him the possibilities of having an augmented member … the bad … and the good.

Beto's drawings of Dr. Sanz's face recalls the similarity of his graphical style to the late writer-artist Darwyn Cooke's.  The two collaborated on the odd miniseries, "The Twilight Children" (DC/Vertigo, 2016), and “Dr. Sanz Was What?” makes me think that they did share some aesthetics.

“Wilfer's Way”:
Wilfred likes to bang breasts and finds all other sexual acts to be nonsense.  But what if Pupusi could come up with something that was like fun-bag-fun, but not exactly it?

This one pager may be the best story this issue.

“Tamba”:
Peaky is enjoying sex with men, but is she ready for sex with cryptids?

What would Blubber be without multiple sex-with-cryptids stories?

“Fuck the Loo”:
Tin Man and Snowman the cryptid wreck the Loo.

 A funny story, especially because we learn that the Loo is a Republican.

“Zoe Loves Her Work!”:
Zoe loves her work – having sex.  Cisnero, Mila, and Efren do, too!

What can I say about this story.  I love reviewing comic books when it lets me read stories like this.

“Submitted for Your Disapproval”:
Baby meets Corazon … in a way.

I can love this story because Baby is in it.

The inside the back cover story is “Secret Sex.”  This story takes place partially in Efren's past and is about a woman he banged 35 years ago.  This is a lovingly drawn 20-panel one-page story.  I'd like to have the original art for it.

After reading any issue of Blubber, I think that Gilbert Hernandez is the only modern cartoonist doing true modern underground comics.  Blubber recalls the classic erotic/porn comics of R. Crumb, but Hernandez's work is more purely surreal.  I treasure Blubber #6, as I do every issue, because I see it as a gift from the rebellious spirit of a master of alternative comics.  Plus, my mind played “Strawberry Fields Forever” throughout the entire issue.

Blubber is the product of a master who just draws whatever the heck he wants to draw.  He submits it for your disapproval, and probably wants you to disapprove, dear readers.  But I won't, King Gilbert.  I'll always approve.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of Gilbert Hernandez must have Blubber.

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

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#IReadsYou Review: RED ROOM: The Antisocial Network #3

RED ROOM: THE ANTISOCIAL NETWORK #3
FANTAGRAPHICS BOOKS

CARTOONIST: Ed Piskor
EDITOR: Eric Reynolds
COVER: Ed Piskor
VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: Ed Piskor; Jim Rugg; Takashi Okazaki; Johnny Desjardins; John Gallagher
MISC. ART: The Baumanator; Sam Majkrzak; Jeff Manley; Birds of Sadness; Jorge Paz; Ben Perkins; Bill McEvoy; John Ashton Golden; Adam Lemnah; Sean Hollenhors; Tyrone Meijer; Barry Tan; Colin Sims; Matt Conover; Chris Anderson
24pp, B&W with some color, $3.99 U.S. (July 2021)

Red Room: The Antisocial Network is a 12-issue new comic book series from cartoonist Ed Piskor.  Piskor is best known for Hip Hop Family Tree, a comic book that chronicles the early history of Hip-hop culture and that has been published in both graphic novel and serial comic book form.

Publisher Fantagraphics Books describes Red Room: The Antisocial Network as “a cyberpunk, outlaw, splatterpunk masterpiece.”  Red Room focuses on a murderous, dark web subculture in which a secretive audience pays with cryptocurrency so that it can view “murder for entertainment” in real time via webcam.  A “Red Room” is a place on the Internet with an encrypted I.P. address.  Each Red Room is a webcam stream where viewers can watch a “torture star” murder another human being in the most brutal, savage, vile, and stomach-turning ways.

Red Room: The Antisocial Network #3 introduces Levee Turks.  Once upon a time, he was an encryption software prodigy.  Now, he's serving a life sentence for creating an online drug empire, and he has been in prison for six and a half years.  In that time, however, the dark web has made use of  what Levee created:  the suite of encryption software he made for the black market; the “Chat” client; the bitcoin trading app; and the “Anonymous” video streaming.  Hell, all his creations are in service of the Red Rooms' multi-billion dollar snuff industry.

Enter the FBI, led by Agent McNamara, proposing a deal.  McNamara wants Levee Turks to infiltrate the Red Rooms and help the FBI crack Red Room software, so that it can crack down on the deepest corners of the dark web. Reunited with his girlfriend, Rita, Levee discovers how much as changed.  Does he really know what he is getting into?

THE LOWDOWN:  I don't have much to say about Red Room #3.  Of course, it is a damn good comic book, and I've already made this clear in reviews of previous issues.  The Red Room isn't dystopian science fiction; I believe that it is actually prescient – if not now, sooner than we would like to believe.

Ed Piskor does also offer a nice change of pace with Red Room #3.  Thus far, he has proven quite skilled and deft in creating interesting characters that are cogs in the Red Room gore-covered wheels, such as issue #1's David Fairfield and issue #2's Doctor Daniels.  It would be great to see Levee Turks and Rita again … before they're chopped up.  It is funny that they are both clueless and in deeper than they could ever imagine.

Red Room #3 proves that Red Room was both one of the best debuts of 2021 and one of the best comic books of the year.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of Ed Piskor's work and of alternative comics as science fiction will want to read Red Room.

A

9 out of 10

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


Buy and/or subscribe to Red Room here: https://www.fantagraphics.com/collections/red-room

https://twitter.com/EdPiskor
https://twitter.com/cartoonkayfabe
https://www.youtube.com/c/cartoonistkayfabe
https://www.instagram.com/ed_piskor/
https://linktr.ee/edpiskor

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 or site for reprint or syndication rights and fees.

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

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#IReadsYou Review: BLUBBER #5

BLUBBER #5
FANTAGRAPHICS BOOKS

CARTOONIST: Gilbert Hernandez
EDITOR: Eric Reynolds
COVER/BACK COVER: Gilbert Hernandez with Paul Baresh
24pp, B&W, $4.99 U.S. (January 2019)

Gilbert Hernandez is the cartoonist, comic book creator, and graphic novelist best known for being one-half of the duo referred to as “Los Bros.”  Gilbert and his brother, Jaime Hernandez, are Eisner Award (Will Eisner Comics Industry Awards) winners, and they have produced the seminal, alternative comic book series, Love and Rockets (Fantagraphics Books), for the last four decades.

As a “solo act,” Gilbert (a.k.a. “Beto”) has also produced numerous original graphic novels and several comic book miniseries for publishers like Dark Horse Comics, DC Comics, and Drawn & Quarterly, as well as for his original publisher, Fantagraphics.  In 2015, Fantagraphics launched Beto's comic book series, Blubber.

This black and white comic book series offers short stories and vignettes featuring a cast of misfits, monsters, and anthropomorphic types.  Beto also presents his usual mix of bizarre characters, strange stories, and outlandish sex and sexual acts, all hallmarks of his comic book output going back to the beginning of his early work.

Blubber #5 (which was released in 2019) is comprised of seven stories of one or two pages in length and three stories that are three pages and longer.  It also opens with the one-page comic inside the front cover (frontispiece) and ends with another story inside the back cover.  I'll discuss each story individually, to one extent or another.

THE LOWDOWN:  The inside the front cover story is entitled “Atom Baby Crunchers.”  It is about guys with balloon-like musculature, who are also well endowed in the penis department.  The one thing I like about this story is that everyone receives sexual pleasure, one way or another.

“Corazon”:
The first interior story stars a young character who appears to be female, has large breasts, and a penis (well-endowed) and a scrotum.  Corazon is always naked, even at work, where this story is set.  Corazon and a co-worker, Gronsky, must find their boss' old ink pens, which are missing, because he hates the new ones.  A co-worker, Cristobol, joins them.  The search involves dreams, remote viewing, water, a cult, and, of course, masturbation.  “Corazon” is one of Beto's usual surreal gems, which I generally enjoy, but I like this one especially because Beto isn't afraid to depict one guy sucking another guy's penis.

“Der Nimmy”:
Is this one-pager technically a furry story? Well, it involves sex and a human in a costume that resembles a large furry creature.  There is apparently also an appearance by Corazon.  No, honey.  Ain't nobody mad.

“Maximiliano's Huge Fuckin' Choad”:
This one-pager is about a guy, Maximiliano, with a long schlong who only enjoys satisfactory sex in a particular way.  Maximiliano also likes to have sex with “cryptids,” including the one that is featured on the cover of Blubber #5.  The fact that his story featured a form of coercive sex made me a little uncomfortable … but I got over it because it's Beto.

“Shitter”:
This two-pager features an office worker who enjoys clubbing, necrophilia, and coprophilia.  I like that Beto draws the gentleman's pubes as being neatly trimmed.

“It's Better to Die”:
In this six-page story, Corazon and two other balloon-breasted women travel through a land of faerie creatures such as fauns, kekeppy, and doogs.  They screw them and are screwed by them.  In this story, Beto shows off his incredible touch with figure drawing – human females and otherwise – and also his precise inking.  I don't know if he uses a brush to ink his art, but whatever he uses, he shows incredible dexterity with it.  “Tiki,” a diminutive, balloon-breasted woman, appears in this story.

“This Man, This Monster!”/”The Good Life”:
The cryptid featured on the cover appears in this story.  Blubber #5 has as a recurring plot element which indicates that having sex with a cryptid will earn someone a “2-way pass,” allowing them to travel between this world and the “Other Realm.”  “This Man, This Monster!” is a one-page comic that shares the page with a five-panel comic strip at the bottom of the page, entitled “The Good Life.”

“Tiki's Delivery Service”:
This two-page story features Tiki, the short of stature slash balloon of breasts woman.  She and Juevencio (who first appears in “Atom Baby Crunchers,” the story on the inside front cover) visit a place where men with low self-esteem are paid to allow others to alter, abuse, and use their penises.  Once again, Beto impresses with his ability to cartoon the penis – human and otherwise – in a variety of shapes, sizes, and lengths.

“See What You Made Me Do?”:
A woman named “Kolchak,” who has thick, muscular thighs has sex with a cryptid, hoping to earn herself a “2-way pass.”  However, taking it from a cryptid compels her to tell a secret – about a former boyfriend who was a serial killer.  Beto throws in a surprise with this story that makes the three-page “See What You Made Me Do?” rather delightful.

“Pupusi's Butthole”/Pupusi and Her Belly-Swelling Fetish”:
This is actually the title of a TV show that stars a Beto regular, Pupusi, who has appeared in a number of Beto's other works.  Beto introduces a new fetish, the love of “belly-swelling.”  The one-page comic shares its space with a five-panel strip at the bottom of the page, entitled “Pupusi and Her Belly-Swelling Fetish.”

“The Janx and the Ingrate”:
First, we get two more four-panel comic strips about Pupusi's fetish.  Then, it's on to the one-page comic that shares the space.  In “The Janx and the Ingrate,” we learn that the cryptid featured on the cover of Blubber #5 is called “The Janx.”  This creature has a foot fetish, and it has a surprise for the ingrate who does not appreciate the pleasure it gives.

“John Dick”:
This inside the back cover, one-page comic features a guy named “John Dick.”  John appears in the inside front cover story, “Atom Baby Crunchers” and also in “Maximiliano's Huge Fuckin' Choad,” but those are only cameos.

He is the star of the show in “John Dick,” in which he shows off his erect penis, which is somewhere between two to three-feet long.  “John Dick” asks the question: what do you do when your erect cock is so long and large that no human orifice can service it?  Is the answer to suck it yourself?

Right now, Gilbert Hernandez seems to be the only cartoonist doing true modern Underground Comics.  Blubber recalls the classic erotic/porn comics of R. Crumb, but Hernandez's work is more purely surreal.  I treasure Blubber #5, as I do every issue, because I see it as a gift from the rebellious spirit of a master of alternative comics.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of Gilbert Hernandez must have Blubber.

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 or site for syndication rights and fees.

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#IReadsYou Review: RED ROOM: The Antisocial Network #2

RED ROOM: THE ANTISOCIAL NETWORK #2
FANTAGRAPHICS BOOKS

CARTOONIST: Ed Piskor
EDITOR: Eric Reynolds
COVER: Ed Piskor
VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: Ed Piskor; Troy Nixey; Jim Rugg
22pp, B&W with some color, $6.99 U.S. (June 2021)

Red Room: The Antisocial Network is a 12-issue new comic book series from cartoonist Ed Piskor.  Piskor is best known for Hip Hop Family Tree, a comic book that chronicles the early history of Hip-hop culture and that has been published in both graphic novel and serial comic book form.  Piskor also produced a highly unusual history of Marvel Comics' X-Men via a series of comic book miniseries entitled X-Men Grand Design.

Publisher Fantagraphics Books describes Red Room: The Antisocial Network as “a cyberpunk, outlaw, splatterpunk masterpiece.”  Red Room focuses on a murderous, dark web subculture in which a secretive audience pays to view webcam murders with crypto-currency.  A “Red Room” is a place on the Internet with an encrypted I.P. address.  Each Red Room is a webcam stream where viewers can watch a “torture star” murder another human being in the most brutal, savage, vile, and stomach-turning ways.  With the help of untraceable crypto-currency, a subculture of criminals has emerged in which one side patronizes the webcam murders for entertainment and in which the other side gleefully kills to entertain in what seems like the evolution of the snuff films of folklore.

As Red Room: The Antisocial Network #2 opens, Pentagram Pictures streams the latest act of butchery from torture star, “Decimator.”  Elsewhere, former multiple Super Bowl champion, Mike Wilkins, is using a flood rescue as a “recruiting mission” to help the people behind torture star, “Poker Face,” find their next Red Room victim.  So how do you turn a guy named Damian into a victim no one will recognize?  You force Doctor Daniels, plastic surgeon, to work on him … because Poker Face needs fresh meat!

THE LOWDOWN:  Red Room is a science fiction comic book series, albeit a dark one.  It has elements of dystopian sci-fi, speculative fiction, and contemporary drama.  It would be easy to call this new series depraved, which it is not.  In a real world in which rich people want what they want and have the super-wealth to get it, the darkest corners of the web will one day offer murder and mayhem like that seen Red Room.  Or maybe it already is.  Each ISIS beheading was Internet ready.

Red Room #2 is a stand alone issue, as was the first issue.  In fact, the entire series will be comprised of stand alone, single-issue tales that are part of a larger narrative world.  This issue, Piskor, with this story of Damian as a man who needs to be saved (several times), tugs at the heart as much as Poker Face will tug on his intestines.  What keeps Red Room from being a joke or torture porn is that Piskor can depict humanity in the the most embarrassing and most horrifying scenes.

Here is something that I noticed before, but to which I never really paid attention.  For a cartoonist, Piskor is an exceptionally skilled illustrator.  From perspective to figure drawing, Piskor's compositions are full of exaggeration and surrealism, but everything and everyone looks correctly drawn (for instance, the floodwaters sequence).  It is a kind of cartoon realism that not everyone could pull off … realistically.  So I highly recommend, Red Room: The Antisocial Network to you, dear readers.  Don't be antisocial and not read Red Room.  Reviews and quotes don't really capture the complex and multi-layered nature of this title.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of Ed Piskor's work and of alternative comics as science fiction will want to read Red Room.

A
9 out of 10

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


Buy and/or subscribe to Red Room here: https://www.fantagraphics.com/collections/red-room

https://twitter.com/EdPiskor
https://twitter.com/cartoonkayfabe
https://www.youtube.com/c/cartoonistkayfabe
https://www.instagram.com/ed_piskor/
https://linktr.ee/edpiskor

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 or site for reprint or syndication rights and fees.

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

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#IReadsYou Review: RED ROOM: The Antisocial Network #1

RED ROOM: THE ANTISOCIAL NETWORK #1
FANTAGRAPHICS BOOKS

CARTOONIST: Ed Piskor
EDITOR: Eric Reynolds
COVER: Ed Piskor
VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: Jim Rugg; Peach Momoko
64pp, B&W2-color, $6.99 U.S. (May 2021)

Red Room is a new comic book series from cartoonist Ed Piskor.  Piskor is best known for Hip Hop Family Tree, a comic book that chronicles the early history of Hip-hop culture and has been published in graphic novel and serial comic book form.  Piskor also produced the highly unusual history of Marvel Comics' X-Men in X-Men Grand Design, a set of three two-issue miniseries:  X-Men: Grand Design (2018), X-Men: Grand Design – Second Genesis (2018), and X-Men: Grand Design – X-Tinction (2019).

Published by Fantagraphics Books, Red Room is a 12-issue series.  Described by the publisher as “a cyberpunk, outlaw, splatterpunk masterpiece,” Red Room focuses on a murderous, dark web subculture in which a secretive audience pays to view webcam murders with crypto-currency.

Red Room #1 opens in Steel Valley, specifically at the Steel Valley Municipal Courthouse.  There, we meet longtime courthouse clerk, Davis Fairfield, who is about to get some terrible news.  His wife, Delores, and one of his two daughters, Hayley, have been killed by a drunk driver.  Now, Davis and his daughter, Brianna, a high school senior on the verge of graduating, must soldier on.  Luckily, Brianna has her friend, Taylor (“Tay-Tay”), but what does dear old dad have?  Where does he go for fun?

Davis Fairfield goes to a “Red Room.”  Red Rooms are places on the Internet with encrypted I.P. addresses.  Each Red Room is a webcam stream where viewers can watch a “torture star” murder another human being in the most brutal, savage, vile, and stomach-turning ways.  With the help of untraceable crypto-currency, a subculture of criminals has emerged in which one side patronizes the webcam murders for entertainment and in which the other side gleefully kills to entertain in what seems like the evolution of the snuff films of folklore.

Soon, Davis will find himself caught up in the machinations of murder-torture-porn entrepreneur, Mistress Pentagram, who has bloody ambitions for her “Pentagram Pictures.”  Who are these murderers, with names like “Poker Face” and “Sarah Jane Payne?”  Who are these victims, who could be you?  Who can stop this?!

THE LOWDOWN:  Red Room #1 is a science fiction comic book, albeit a dark one.  It has elements of dystopian sci-fi, speculative fiction, and contemporary drama.  It would be easy to call this new series depraved, which it is not.

Red Room trades in the depravity of humanity.  For all that it may be science fiction, Red Room, even with its exaggeration and inventiveness, is quite plausible, for the most part.  Let's not kid ourselves.  We don't have to go too far into cable and satellite television or online to find people during horrible things to their spouses, children, family, friends, co-workers, and strangers.  Mass shootings have become so frequent in the United States that they hardly register anymore with some people.

Ed Piskor's inventive depictions of torture and murder almost have a Tex Avery or Looney Tunes-inspired madness to them.  I find that this keeps me from loosing myself in the murders and then, forgetting the narrative.  It would be a shame to forget the story, but I understand why the cartoonist would depict the violence the way he does.  Piskor's Red Room has more in common with classic Underground Comics than the fantasy and horror comic books published by the defunct DC Comics label, Vertigo, or even Image Comics and BOOM! Studios.  Some of those comic books are satirical, but they are meant for the “straights.”

Red Room is a rebel vision, and Piskor's satire is closer to R. Crumb's than to Kurt Vonnegut's.  Like Gilbert Hernandez, Piskor is liberated in the way he can be scatological.  Red Room trades in trash culture in the creation of a work that speculates on a possible future for and direction of a segment of mass culture and entertainment.

Actually, the best thing that I can say about Red Room #1 is that I find it so intriguing.  From the first page on, I found myself drawn into its world.  Every page made me want more, and I really wanted more by the time I reached the last page.  And, dear readers, I have to recommend any comic book that gives its readers a first issue of 64 pages, especially when those 64 pages are all-new, all-different, all-good, and all-unapologetic.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of Ed Piskor's work and of alternative comics as science fiction will want to read Red Room.

A
9 out of 10

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


Buy and/or subscribe to Red Room here: https://www.fantagraphics.com/collections/red-room

https://twitter.com/EdPiskor
https://twitter.com/cartoonkayfabe
https://www.youtube.com/c/cartoonistkayfabe
https://www.instagram.com/ed_piskor/
https://linktr.ee/edpiskor

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 or site for reprint or syndication rights and fees.

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#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"


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

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#IReadsYou Review: NOW #9

NOW: THE NEW COMICS ANTHOLOGY #9
FANTAGRAPHICS BOOKS

CARTOONISTS: Theo Ellsworth; Raquelle Jac; Keren Katz; Noah Van Sciver; Emil Friis Ernst; Ben Nadler; Ethel Wolfe
DESIGN: Jacob Covey
EDITOR: Eric Reynolds
COVER: Raquelle Jac
BACKCOVER: John Ohannesian
ISBN: 978-1-68396-371-4; paperback (September 2020)
120pp, 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 #9 offers a selection of seven cartoonists and comics creators, as well as a back cover “comics strip” from John Ohannesian.  NOW #9 holds to Eric Reynolds' creed (from NOW #1) that NOW would showcase “...as broad a range of quality comic art as possible...”

The contributors list includes a Leroy favorite, Noah Van Sciver.  But let's take a look at each of NOW #9's cartoonists' contributions:

THE LOWDOWN:  The illustration that acts as NOW #9's cover art is entitled “Nine,” and  is produced by Texan, Raquelle Jac.  It is a beautiful piece that reminds me of the drawings and doodles high school students commit to their tablets to pass the time or to ignore a teacher.  It is a striking image, a slice-of-surreal life that embraces a selection of the myriad variations of apartment living.

“The Real Me” by Theo Ellsworth:
This is a one-page comic that reminds me of the work of cartoonist/illustrator, Jim Woodring.  It has an unsettling quality, and I really felt that the subject of “The Real Me” was talking to me.

“Misguided Love” by Raquell Jac:
This story is the cover times 41.  The autobiographical story, “Misguided Love,” with its garish and sometimes subdued colors, is beautiful to look at.  Unfortunately, it is an ugly read.  There is just too much clutter, and some of the panels are drawn as to be impossible to read.  All of it is static between the author and her audience.  What I actually can understand or interpret is interesting, but this is way too obtuse in its graphical storytelling.

“The Raindrop Prelude” by Keren Katz:
The story offers some of the most beautiful drapery that I have seen in a comic book in a while.  The art has a Japanese woodblock printing quality, and the story involves, in a way, one of composer and pianist Frederic Chopin's 24 “Preludes,” specifically the “Raindrop” prelude.  The story is composed of several single-page illustrations (for the most part), and I felt my imagination floating through the story, while also trying to linger to keep looking at the pretty art.

“Spacehawk” by Noah Van Sciver:
This story is a tribute to cult cartoonist, Basil Wolverton (1909-1978), and his first character of note, the kooky “Spacehawk.”  Of course, Van Sciver's art does not match the peculiar nature for which Wolverton was known, but he captures the kookiness.

“Zoom” by Emil Friis Ernst:
At times, there is a Moebius-like quality about “Zoom.”  I could see it having a place in Metal Hurlant from long ago.

“Quarryhouse” by Ben Nadler:
I have mentioned in previous reviews that I once read a review of an Annie Lennox album (perhaps, in Spin Magazine), in which the reviewer said that every LP needed at least one great song.  I believe that every volume or issue of a comics anthology needs at least one great story.

“Quarryhouse” is the first of NOW #9's two great stories.  A mixture of Hey, Wait... era Jason and Acme Novelty Library-era Chris Ware, “Quarryhouse” takes place over a sixty-hear period – 1989, 2019, and 2049 and involves a tragedy (similar to the one in Hey, Wait...).  Depending on how one reads “Quarryhouse,” each time period introduces a new theme to the story.  I also believe that author-cartoonist Ben Nadler suggests that different generations of a family are connected much more deeply and intimately than by bloodline alone.  They share stories, pain, curses, guilt, and obligations, and are tethered by the need to reach across time to help one another.

“How Mums Annoy You” by Ethel Wolfe:
The 2013 Martin Scorsese film, The Wolf of Wall Street, was an adaptation of the 2007 memoir of the same name by notorious stockbroker and trader, Jordan Belfort.  The film received criticism because some people interpreted it as glorifying Belfort's criminal behavior and nihilistic lifestyle.  In answer to this, the film's screenwriter, Terence Winter, said that the film was about two things:  people don't change, and they never learn.”

NOW #9's second great story, “How Mums Annoy You,” is a story of abuse that focuses on an Internet “celebrity” who is also a predator and a manipulator of the young women who follow him.  Ethel Wolfe (a pen name used by the cartoonist John Harvey) may not realize that his story has a theme:  people don't change and they never learn … and they lie to themselves and others.  If Hollywood really paid attention to alternative comics, this story would have been optioned for film or television already.  It is a bracing read that left me wanting more.

“Art” back cover strip by John Ohannesian:
Meh.

So, in conclusion, the cover art and two great stories, “Quarryhouse” and “How Mums Annoy You,” are what make NOW #9.  There ended up being a little controversy about one of the contributors some months after this issue was published, but I'll let you find out the details for yourselves, dear readers.

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

A-
7.5 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 © 2021 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for syndication rights and fees.

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