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Cover me... it's Comic Book Wednesday!
Jul. 25th, 2012 07:01 pmStand back true skeptics! We're going to switch up from the usual Burroughs/Breton sequential-art collage format of Comic Book Wednesday to explore a different aspect of my pop culture haunted subconscious. Today we're going to take a look at the independent comic books that not only showed me that there were truly groundbreaking works in the medium outside the 'Big Two' but also acted as a seminal influence on me as a story teller.
Before writing his popular deconstruction of the graphic arts medium, "Understanding Comics", Scott McCloud gave us Zot! - a whimsical adventure of fantastic imagination and crisp mangaesque art. Zot! was a stark contrast to the 'dark 80s' tales of cold blooded vigilantes, psycho mutants and ninjas galore that seemingly drenched the racks of comic shops with gallons of four-color blood. Zot! took place in an alternate earth that seemed to deliver the promises of a future now sadly consigned to the dungeons of kitsch fantasy. A world of simple ray guns, robots, a talking monkey and truly a rogues gallery's that rivaled Batman's and Spidey's.
Bill Willingham's Elementals could be mistaken for just another 'cape' comic. But what struck me as unique was the honesty of the characters' voices. There was something grounded about the Elementals that my friends and I loved, they were sexy and complicated and sounded like the real people with fantastic powers that Marvel had forgotten to be. Plus, there was some really, really awesome fight scenes... so sue me... I was 13.
If the Elementals was a taste of real... Alan Moore's Miracle Man was a slap to the chops of what a 'superhero' in our world would be like. Before Moore's 'Watchmen' revolutionized the medium while tapping into the collective cold war zeitgeist of the time, he created a parable-universe version of DC's Captain Marvel and took it in a direction both logical, nightmarish and awe inspiring. The tale of a Superman more Nietzschean than Kryptonian.
Based on an old Golden Age fighter pilot property, Airboy was a revamp that came at the reader with a one-two punch of the gritty action movies of the time and old fashioned pulp thrillers.
500 years in the future, Horatio Hellpop is given incredible powers by the god-like alien being known as the Merk and charged with hunting down the worst murderers in the galaxy. This is Mike Baron and Steve Rude's Nexus. Behind the sci-fi soap opera with a costumed vigilante at its heart was an ongoing examination of morality and society. Still going strong at Dark Horse Comics actually.
John Gaunt, aka Grimjack, is a private eye/mercenary in the city of Cynosure the pan-dimensional city that sits at the nexus of all realities. Awhile back I gave an interview about my book and I was asked about my influences. I feel bad having left John Ostrander & Timothy Truman's 'Grimjack' off that list - because looking back on it now I can truly see the creative impact it had on me. In fact if there was ever a 'High Midnight' comicbook I'd want it drawn by Truman.
Discovering Howard Chaykin's seminal sci-fi dystopian future/political satire American Flagg was like discovering a stash of porno magazines left in the park by some 'older kids'. But beyond the exquisitely drawn titilation, behind the fetish friendly outfits and copious amounts of 'Go-Gang' ultra-vi was one of the best damn written comic books of its time. Plus it had a talking cat and talking cats are just fucking awesome!
Finally we have Matt Wagner's Mage - The Hero Discovered. On the surface you might suspect another 'superhero' comicbook. There's the big iconic symbol on the chest, the bouts of superstrength and other fantastic powers on display. But what we get is the tale of Kevin Matchstick - a lonely, young man who upon encountering a stranger on the street is thrust into a mythic voyage worthy of Joseph Campbell. As a shy and bitter young man this series really spoke to me on a lot of levels while helping to open me up to an interest in comparative religions and other myths. Also the art is simply amazing, what starts off with a rough cartoonish style evolves over 15 issues into one of the most distinct styles in the industry. Plus in my mind some of the best coloring I've ever seen in a comic.
All right, that's it for this week... 'nuff said.
Before writing his popular deconstruction of the graphic arts medium, "Understanding Comics", Scott McCloud gave us Zot! - a whimsical adventure of fantastic imagination and crisp mangaesque art. Zot! was a stark contrast to the 'dark 80s' tales of cold blooded vigilantes, psycho mutants and ninjas galore that seemingly drenched the racks of comic shops with gallons of four-color blood. Zot! took place in an alternate earth that seemed to deliver the promises of a future now sadly consigned to the dungeons of kitsch fantasy. A world of simple ray guns, robots, a talking monkey and truly a rogues gallery's that rivaled Batman's and Spidey's.
Bill Willingham's Elementals could be mistaken for just another 'cape' comic. But what struck me as unique was the honesty of the characters' voices. There was something grounded about the Elementals that my friends and I loved, they were sexy and complicated and sounded like the real people with fantastic powers that Marvel had forgotten to be. Plus, there was some really, really awesome fight scenes... so sue me... I was 13.
If the Elementals was a taste of real... Alan Moore's Miracle Man was a slap to the chops of what a 'superhero' in our world would be like. Before Moore's 'Watchmen' revolutionized the medium while tapping into the collective cold war zeitgeist of the time, he created a parable-universe version of DC's Captain Marvel and took it in a direction both logical, nightmarish and awe inspiring. The tale of a Superman more Nietzschean than Kryptonian.
Based on an old Golden Age fighter pilot property, Airboy was a revamp that came at the reader with a one-two punch of the gritty action movies of the time and old fashioned pulp thrillers.
500 years in the future, Horatio Hellpop is given incredible powers by the god-like alien being known as the Merk and charged with hunting down the worst murderers in the galaxy. This is Mike Baron and Steve Rude's Nexus. Behind the sci-fi soap opera with a costumed vigilante at its heart was an ongoing examination of morality and society. Still going strong at Dark Horse Comics actually.
John Gaunt, aka Grimjack, is a private eye/mercenary in the city of Cynosure the pan-dimensional city that sits at the nexus of all realities. Awhile back I gave an interview about my book and I was asked about my influences. I feel bad having left John Ostrander & Timothy Truman's 'Grimjack' off that list - because looking back on it now I can truly see the creative impact it had on me. In fact if there was ever a 'High Midnight' comicbook I'd want it drawn by Truman.
Discovering Howard Chaykin's seminal sci-fi dystopian future/political satire American Flagg was like discovering a stash of porno magazines left in the park by some 'older kids'. But beyond the exquisitely drawn titilation, behind the fetish friendly outfits and copious amounts of 'Go-Gang' ultra-vi was one of the best damn written comic books of its time. Plus it had a talking cat and talking cats are just fucking awesome!
Finally we have Matt Wagner's Mage - The Hero Discovered. On the surface you might suspect another 'superhero' comicbook. There's the big iconic symbol on the chest, the bouts of superstrength and other fantastic powers on display. But what we get is the tale of Kevin Matchstick - a lonely, young man who upon encountering a stranger on the street is thrust into a mythic voyage worthy of Joseph Campbell. As a shy and bitter young man this series really spoke to me on a lot of levels while helping to open me up to an interest in comparative religions and other myths. Also the art is simply amazing, what starts off with a rough cartoonish style evolves over 15 issues into one of the most distinct styles in the industry. Plus in my mind some of the best coloring I've ever seen in a comic.
All right, that's it for this week... 'nuff said.