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Breakdowns - Brought A Knife To A Gunfight

An Ashley Wood convention poster to the first person to identify the artist behind that song title. Yeah, it's the first Breakdowns contest, why the hell not? E-mail me.

No time for a lengthy intro, as there's a lot to get to again, and I promised myself the column wouldn't run as long as last week, which is tough to do because we've got Part Two of my take on the Eisner Awards, reviews of several comics from last week, some graphic novels and a DVD called GOD HATES CARTOONS.

But first, shortly before this site began its second, serious(er?) incarnation, those of us in or around the comics community heard of the terrible plight of writer William Messner-Loebs and his wife, whose work you may remember in WONDER WOMAN and elsewhere. He and his wife were evicted from their house-work has been scarce since the speculator boom of the 90s crashed, and his wife Nadine is handicapped, which requires relatively expensive care-and have been moving from homeless shelter to dive motel for the past month or so. While ACTOR, the foundation established to help comics professionals in special need, did offer some aid (including, I believe, generous contributions of time and money from Kevin Smith and others-no, he didn't and wouldn't ask me to mention him), it's a continuing need. Now, I'm not preaching to anyone, nor am I the most generous person in the world, but I do believe in "returning the favor" for those artists whose work has touched and enriched our lives. If you share some of that belief, please send a check or money order to:
Bill & Nadine Messner-Loebs PO Box 558 Pinckney, MI 48169-0058

Please make those out to William F. Loebs, which will make it easier for them to deposit the money. The email address is BillMLoebs@aol.com if you wish to contact them directly. Thanks to Steve Lieber and Jamie S. Rich for the heads-up

ONI PRESS COLOR SPECIAL 2002 by Various. Oni Press. $5.95
Warren Ellis, Phil Hester and Ande Parks offer up a hilarious first look at THE OPERATION, which Ellis will bring to Oni some time in 2003. It's a government organization handling paranormal phenomena in a world where it's commonplace and accepted. A running gag about shapeshifters being akin to hillbillies worked every time, and it's fun to see Ellis pack so many witty lines in, FRONT PAGE-style, with such obvious delight and lack of cynicism. Nothing wrong with that, but this is just a nice change of pace. Gail Simone's BIG SNOBBY GIT is good, broad comedy that doesn't overstay its welcome. Ted Naifeh's COURTNEY CRUMRIN story here seems like it was an outtake from last year; it's a prequel to a miniseries that's already over. Not bad, but he's much better in the mini, where he can stretch out. VACANT by Phil Hester and Mike Huddleston had the best art and a gripping premise, a living but disembodied spirit trying to adjust. The other high points are also prequels, to Gary Phillips' and Brett Weldele's SHOT CALLERZ and Neal Shaffer's and Daniel Krall's ONE PLUS ONE, respectively. A quirky bit of noir on the latter, reminiscent of a less neurotic Daniel Clowes, and a robust, somewhat strained slice of gangsta crime prose with illos on the former. Phillips seems to like the sound of his tap shoes. TECHNORGANIC wasted its time getting started, failing to make much of an impact, the last two pieces were forgettable, and ANGST MAN AND BUDDHA MASTER by Gossett and Kayl of TEAM RED STAR, touted as revenge on Brian Michael Bendis for his jabs at them in last year's special, got little mileage out of an old photo of Bendis, looking like a young Springsteen. Only existing fans who know what Bendis looks like now will get the joke, and many of those have already seen the joke a year ago on his message board, many times. I'd like to say the rest of the story was accessible and funny, but I didn't get it at all. However long this took them away from producing more issues of the wonderful THE RED STAR is too long. Overall, this is at least a buck too high, but has just enough good stuff to justify getting it. Well, maybe. The successful miniseries will probably collect their respective teaser stories in the eventual trade paperback.

DEADLINE #4 (OF 4) by Bill Rosemann and Guy Davis. Marvel Comics. $2.99
It was nice to learn that this miniseries will be collected in a couple months, which means that any of you who missed it can catch up then. I don't blame you; if not for Guy Davis doing the art, I might have skipped this story of Daily Bugle journalist Kat Farrell, who reluctantly covers the superhero beat and gets involved in the story of just who's killing some of these masked villains. It turns out that Rosemann's able to put together a credible, twisty little mystery, and one with supernatural elements tailor-made for Davis' macabre style. Better yet, he has a good ear for dialogue, creating in Kat a very appealing, real woman, and Davis does just as well with stuff he doesn't get to draw that often, like newspaper offices and apartments. This is worth tracking down.

BATMAN #605 by Ed Brubaker, Scott McDaniel and Andy Owens. DC Comics. $2.95
The "Bruce Wayne: Fugitive" storyline finally comes to a close in this extra-long issue. I read some complaints that the revelation of just who killed Vesper Fairchild and framed Bruce (Batman) Wayne was anticlimactic, but that misses the point for me. I mean, we all kinda knew it wasn't Bruce; no matter who it ended up being, the important thing was what effect it had on him. And this aspect is extremely well done, with Bruce reclaiming his own humanity again from the relentless machine that is Batman. It's the human, psychological elements of this story that raise it above most of the Bat-crossovers of recent years, though admittedly, the killer's motivation was a bit wonky.

SON OF THE GUN: BORN IN THE TRASH by Alejandro Jodorowsky and George Bess. Humanoids Publishing. $14.95
Jodorowsky likes to write about characters put through unbelievable hardship to become men, and this is no exception. It's kind of a Spaghetti Western, introducing us to Juan, a boy born with a tail. For this, he's thrown into the trash, where he's found by a midget whore, who decides against feeding him to the dogs, instead having him nurse on one with the other puppies, at times when he's not sucking on a pistol as a pacifier. From these lurid, degraded origins, it's no wonder he becomes a young punk, robbing and raping with other delinquents. But as this is a flashback, it's intriguing to see that he ends up a sort of messiah. This adds the necessary dramatic element to raise it above mere exploitation, since we know that for all the bad things Juan does, they're just steps on a journey of redemption and ascension. Bess, who previously illustrated Jodo's WHITE LLAMA saga for Humanoids, brings his vivid storytelling to play on more realistic settings. The sense of movement and garish but controlled coloring are evidence of a master at work. It's a handsome hardcover album in oversized, European format, and is the first in, I believe, a series of four.

BLAZE OF GLORY and APACHE SKIES #1 (OF 4) by John Ostrander and Leonardo Manco. Marvel Comics. $9.95 and $2.99
Unlike SON OF THE GUN, this here is an unabashed, conventional Western, featuring almost the entire stable of Marvel Western heroes such as Rawhide Kid, Two-Gun Kid, Kid Colt, Caleb Hammer, Outlaw Kid, Gunhawk and Ghost Rider (not the motorcycle-riding demon, but a similar m.o.). Ostrander updates the characters by blurring their morality a bit, as well as having Manco attire them in more realistic attire for the era. Gone are the clean lines of, say, John Severin, replaced by dust and facial stubble, faces grown hard by the sun and the constant violence of this world.

In this story, Rawhide agrees to help the black former gunfighter Reno Jones-now a family man-to defend Reno's town from ruthless developers, who are quite intent on killing every man, woman and child to get what they want. Since these citizens are mostly black or Indian, killing isn't really a moral issue with them. Rawhide pulls Two-Gun out of retirement, as well as the quick-tempered Colt and the bipolar Outlaw Kid. Hammer and Gunhawk are both out to bring the murderous Colt in, dead or alive, but it's Hammer's honor, or Gunhawk's lack of it, that proves pivotal, not to mention the assistance of Red Wolf and other tribal warriors. In essence, this is not a far cry from THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN, itself adapted from Kurosawa's THE SEVEN SAMURAI. There are the typical latter-day Western speeches about an era coming to an end; chances for redemption and betrayal; the kid who wants to be a gunfighter like his heroes; and a bit of romance. It's all familiar, but well-told, and Manco does a spectacular job capturing the period. I was particularly amused by his use of inky thumbprints to add texture and grit. The story does feel a bit cramped in places, like it could have used six issues to breathe a bit and get into more characterization, but within these confines, Ostrander hits the right buttons quickly and without artifice.

APACHE SKIES is the sequel, then, though no knowledge of the previous series is necessary. Rawhide Kid is again the star, especially since some of the other "Kid"s got themselves killed last time. He's helping the Apache Kid (named Dazii)'s widow track down his killers. With a smaller cast, there's plenty of room for Manco to put on the visual razzle-dazzle, and he's become even more proficient here, adding paints to his style. We'll see if Ostrander will use the increased "screen time" to develop Rawhide into the compelling character only hinted at so far. Nice in-joke involving THE KENTS, Ostrander's Western series for DC a few years ago, too.

GOD HATES CARTOONS (DVD) by Tony Millionaire, Kaz, Ivan Brunetti, Jim Woodring, Sam Henderson and more. Bright Red Rocket.
Well, damn, it's about time someone put some talented cartoonists to work adapting their strips and stories into animated form. And as with most anthologies, the results are mixed. Mark Newgarden's "Cartoons and You" is a nice looking faux-filmstrip, but a little light on laughs, and Tim Maloney's "Cat Head Theatre" is even less successful, encompassing an effect (animating cat heads to mouth a scene from Hamlet) that becomes dull in seconds.

But those are the exceptions, mainly. Millionaire makes the biggest impact with three or four funny and disturbing MAAKIES stories, involving favorite themes of alcoholism and dismemberment. They're all funny, and while the animation is not nearly as painstaking and baroque as his black and white strip, it's bright and lively and serves the stories perfectly well. Henderson's "Lonely Robot Duckling" is another seamless transition from story to screen, with good voice work, excellent pacing and appropriate color. Woodring's "Frank" story, "Whimgrinder", is a bit too primitive alongside much of the animation, Kaz's two bits are deliriously interesting, if bleakly themed, and Lance Myers' "Gutsman" is the perfect sort of over-the-top bloodbath for a Sick 'N Twisted Animation Festival. My favorite, though, is Walt Holcombe's "Sniffy La Pants", a wistful, weird, beautifully animated and orchestrated bit of romance a la Tim Burton or David Lynch, sorta. I could watch this style for hours.

And the less said about Brunetti's three installments of "Diaper Dyke and Captain Boyfuck," the better. Especially since we had to take down an innocuous banner ad last week because some people saw a pedophiliac theme in it that was simply not there. Anyway, I can take dark humor, but this one was a bit past my border. Overall, though, this is a pretty solid, fascinating taste of some top indie creators branching out into other media.

THE ALLEN AWARDS, PART DEUX
In which I go through the second half of Eisner Award nominees and make my semi-informed picks.

Best U.S. Edition of Foreign Material
AKIRA by Katsuhiro Otomo (Dark Horse)
EAGLE by Kaiji Kawaguchi (Viz)
HEY, WAIT . . . by Jason (Fantagraphics)
NOGEGON by Luc and Francois Schuiten (Humanoids)
UZUMAKI by Junji Ito (Viz)

My Pick: Only read the first and last nominees, and read lots of great reviews for #2 and 3, so...AKIRA was a nice presentation as far as decent paper for a reasonable price. An essential work of manga. UZUMAKI is not essential, per se, but I loved it. Volume 3 is coming in a couple months, and check here for a look at the first two.

Best Writer
Brian Azzarello, 100 BULLETS, HELLBLAZER (Vertigo/DC)
Brian Michael Bendis, POWERS (Image); ALIAS, DAREDEVIL, ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN (Marvel)
Grant Morrison, FF 1234, NEW X-MEN (Marvel)
Greg Rucka, QUEEN & COUNTRY (Oni); DETECTIVE COMICS (DC)
Mark Waid, RUSE (CrossGen)

My Pick: All good writers, but again, taking their various books into account, Bendis had not only a very high batting average, but wrote more, which adds a degree of difficulty. Next year I expect a similar list, with maybe Ellis taking a slot.

Best Writer/Artist
Jessica Abel, LA PERDIDA (Fantagraphics)
Dan Clowes, EIGHTBALL (Fantagraphics)
Carla Speed McNeil, FINDER (Lightspeed)
James Sturm, THE GOLEM'S MIGHTY SWING (Drawn & Quarterly)
Adrian Tomine, OPTIC NERVE (Drawn & Quarterly)

My Pick: I just got SUMMER BLONDE, which is Tomine's new hardcover, collection #4-8 of OPTIC NERVE, and it's gorgeous. Expect a review soon. However, again, Clowes reached a little farther, artistically and thematically, so I'm giving him the nod. And yes, this is another category where I haven't even read a majority of the works in question, so take it for what it's worth.

Best Writer/Artist-Humor
Tom Beland, TRUE STORY, SWEAR TO GOD (Clib's Boy Comics)
Chynna Clugston-Major, BLUE MONDAY: ABSOLUTE BEGINNERS (Oni)
Evan Dorkin, DORK (Slave Labor)
Makoto Kobayashi, "What's Michael?" in SUPER MANGA BLAST (Dark Horse)
Chris Ware, ACME NOVELTY LIBRARY (Fantagraphics)
Judd Winick, THE ADVENTURES OF BARRY WEEN, BOY GENIUS (Oni)

My Pick: I never said this list was scientific. I picked Beland in the other category for which he was nominated, but this time we'll go with Winick, who did riotously funny, and surprisingly sensitive, work in this third WEEN series. And this has little to do with me being quoted on the trade paperback, really. OK, maybe a little. Even if so, I don't think of BLUE MONDAY as a comedy series, exactly. It's funny, but I respond more strongly to the romance and teen soap aspect. Dorkin I've talked about enough already. Ware is brilliant but this book is not a yukfest, and WHAT'S MICHAEL? is so far removed from my sense of humor that I think it may be written FOR cats, not just starring one.

Best Penciller/Inker or Penciller/Inker Team
John Cassaday, PLANETARY (Wildstorm/DC)
Butch Guice, RUSE (CrossGen)
Gene Ha/Zander Cannon, TOP 10 (ABC)
Humberto Ramos/Sandra Hope, OUT THERE (Wildstorm/DC)
Eduardo Risso, 100 BULLETS (Vertigo/DC)
Francois Schuiten, BRUSEL (NBM); NOGEGON (Humanoids)

My Pick: I may very well be taking Risso for granted, since he's so reliably excellent, but novelty wins out here with Guice finally getting his due, and my pick. Laura DePuy's coloring is an important factor in RUSE's art being as good as it is, too. Ramos is good but I don't rate him better than a lot of people not nominated; Cassaday and Ha/Cannon did great work but not on a monthly basis, same with Schuiten. If you're going to throw Humanoids stuff in there, I'd prefer Juan Gimenez or George Bess first, though I know their work is a few years' old.

Best Painter/Multimedia Artist (interior art)
Allen Coulter and Snakebite, THE RED STAR (Image)
Dave McKean, PICTURES THAT [TICK] (Hourglass/Allen Spiegel Fine Arts)
David Mack, DAREDEVIL #16-19 (Marvel)
John Van Fleet, BATMAN: THE ANKH (DC)
Charles Vess, ROSE (Cartoon Books)

My pick: I was going to say kick McKean out, thinking this was mainly an art book. Nope, it's 11 new short stories and a few experiments; problem is it's very hard to find, and with a $45 tag. Probably excellent, but I can't say. I like Vess, but don't think the actual painting is exceptional; he just has a nice, Old World style. Van Fleet is impressive but I can't get an emotional connection to it, whereas that cool detachment fits well with the Russian iconography of Coulter and Snakebite's work on RED STAR. I go for either them or Mack, who did wonderfully sensitive work on a delicate story.

Best Coloring
Edgar Delgado/Studio F, OUT THERE (Wildstorm/DC)
Laura DePuy, RUSE (CrossGen); Ministry of Space (Image)
Patricia Mulvihill, WONDER WOMAN (DC), 100 BULLETS (Vertigo/DC)
Jose Villarrubia, FANTASTIC FOUR 1234 (Marvel)
Chris Ware, ACME NOVELTY LIBRARY #15 (Fantagraphics)

My Pick: One cannot diminish Ware's work in creating the tones for the world of his Jimmy Corrigan stories, nor the muted look Mulvihill gives to 100 BULLETS, such an important indicator of the murky, ambivalent morality. And yet, I'm going with DePuy here, for creating a recognizable period look for RUSE, with MINISTRY being the after burner shooting her over the top. Villarubia's swell, but it's always the same look with his stuff. I'm a little surprised by the various OUT THERE nominations, just because I know know one reading the book. Not a judgement, just an observation. What am I missing?

Best Lettering
Dan Clowes, EIGHTBALL #22 (Fantagraphics)
Todd Klein, PROMETHEA, TOM STRONG'S TERRIFIC TALES, TOMORROW STORIES, TOP 10, GREYSHIRT (ABC); THE SANDMAN PRESENTS: EVERYTHING YOU ALWAYS WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT DREAMS BUT WERE AFRAID TO ASK (Vertigo/DC); DETECTIVE COMICS, THE DARK KNIGHT STRIKES AGAIN (DC); CASTLE WAITING (Olio); UNIVERSE-X (Marvel)
Stan Sakai, USAGI YOJIMBO, GROO: DEATH & TAXES (Dark Horse Maverick)
Dave Sim, CEREBUS (Aardvark-Vanaheim)
Chris Ware, ACME NOVELTY LIBRARY #15 (Fantagraphics)

My Pick: Christ, just give it to Klein again. Look at those credits!

Best Cover Artist
Tim Bradstreet, HELLBLAZER (DC)
Dave Johnson, DETECTIVE COMICS (DC), 100 BULLETS (Vertigo/DC)
J. G. Jones, CODENAME: KNOCKOUT, TRANSMETROPOLITAN (Vertigo/DC)
Jae Lee, "OUR WORLDS AT WAR" specials (DC); FANTASTIC FOUR 1234 (Marvel)
Mike Mignola, HELLBOY: CONQUEROR WORM (Dark Horse Maverick)

My Pick: I really think Kaare Andrews should be here for his wonderful pop culture homages in HULK (plus a couple great photorealistic ones for PETER PARKER: SPIDER-MAN), but he's not, so no use crying about it. Jae Lee is a major talent, but I didn't see anything special in those covers; mostly standard hero poses with the Villarubia soap scum for backgrounds. Jones is cool; his new Y - THE LAST MAN covers ought to insure a nod next year, and no gripe on the always-good Mignola, but it comes down, again, to Bradstreet and Johnson. Bradstreet experimented a bit more with design on each story arc, "Highwater" being a, well, high-water mark for him, but I have to go with Johnson, who lost his mojo for DETECTIVE by the end (and admitted as much) but continued to vary his style and design for BULLETS, showing greater range than anybody.

Talent Deserving of Wider Recognition
Jen Benka and Kris Dresen (MANYA)
Nick Bertozzi (THE MASOCHISTS)
Arthur Dela Cruz (KISSING CHAOS)
Dean Haspiel (OPPOSABLE THUMBS)
Dylan Horrocks (HICKSVILLE, ATLAS)

My Pick: Great, great bunch here. I've only missed MANYA and hope to correct that omission in San Diego this week, but the others are all great. Consider this a blanket endorsement of the others, but my pick has to be Haspiel, who put out probably my favorite one-shot last year. OPPOSABLE THUMBS is great autobiographical comics, and terribly funny.

Best Comics-Related Periodical
ALTER EGO edited by Roy Thomas (TwoMorrows)
COMIC BOOK ARTIST edited by Jon Cooke (TwoMorrows)
THE COMICS JOURNAL edited by Gary Groth, Michael Dean, and Anne Elizabeth Moore (Fantagraphics)

My pick: If we're talking forward-thinking importance, it's got to be TCJ, which laudably features in depth interviews with top talent, even if they're not "famous." But hey, Michael Dean, you ever break a story? Once? It's all old news by the time it makes it into an issue, and is often as laughably biased on one side as Wizard is biased on the other. For engrossing and fun history, generally with creators not too taken with themselves, I vote for COMIC BOOK ARTIST, edging out ALTER EGO with a wider scope, more interesting themes and greater sense of humor.

Addendum: I've been reading TCJ's new SUMMER SPECIAL 2002, and have to say, it's essential reading. The common stuff people don't like about the regular magazine-snotty reviews, Stan Lee/Marvel-bashing, old news...isn't here. It's just good stuff, appreciations of, and interviews with, major talents from today and yesterday; the best journalism of the medium, anywhere; and some cool comics commission for this collection by the cream of the indie scene.

Addendum #2: Isn't it time for an award for Best Comics-Related Website?

Best Comics-Related Book
HAL FOSTER: PRINCE OF ILLUSTRATORS, FATHER OF THE ADVENTURE STRIP by Brian M. Kane (Vanguard)
JACK COLE AND PLASTIC MAN by Art Spiegelman and Chip Kidd (Chronicle Books)
KIMOTA! THE MIRACLEMAN COMPANION by George Khoury (TwoMorrows)
OPUS, VOL. 2, by Barry Windsor-Smith (Fantagraphics)
PEANUTS: THE ART OF CHARLES M. SCHULZ edited by Chip Kidd (Pantheon)

My pick: I was supposed to receive the Foster book for review and didn't. So it's out, not out of malice but because I've never seen it. OPUS is gorgeous; the PEANUTS is sort of a dressed-up edition of strips you could find collected for cheaper, but I do love Kidd's work. In fact, while the value of KIMOTA! is unquestioned, I've got to go with JACK COLE AND PLASTIC MAN, which features inspired Kidd work (rounded corners simulating the fluidity of Plas, old strips printed to look as old as they are, to great effect) and a thin but informative look at Cole by Spiegelman.

Best Comics-Related Item
DARK HORSE CLASSIC COMIC CHARACTERS STATUETTES, sculpted by Yoe Studio (Dark Horse)
HELLBOY PVC set (Dark Horse)
LITTLE ENID DOLL (Press-Pop Gallery)
R. CRUMB CATHOLIC SCHOOLGIRL STATUE, sculpted by Ken Melton (Bowen designs)
ROMAN DIRGE'S LENORE LUNCHBOX (Slave Labor)

My pick: For a comparable outlay of cash, you ought to be able to find a skeevy massage parlor to take care of your problem. If not, the Little Enid is the cutest of the Date Repellent nominees.

Best Publication Design
ACEME NOVELTY LIBRARY #15 designed by Chris Ware (Fantagraphics)
DRAWN & QUARTERLY, VOL. 4 designed by Chris Oliveros (Drawn & Quarterly)
NON #5 designed by Jordan Crane (Red Ink)
OPUS, VOL. 2 designed by Barry Windsor-Smith (Fantagraphics)
RED STAR, VOL. 1: THE BATTLE OF KAR DATHRA'S GATE designed by Team Red Star (Image)
SCATTERBRAIN designed by Cary Grazzini and Craig Thompson (Dark Horse Maverick)

My pick: I get sick of Ware winning so often, but his talent is undeniable. Crane is likewise an idiosyncratic genius with clever and bold designs. The rest are all nice looking books but don't stand out as winners. You could print the Windsor-Smith book on crumpled aluminum foil and it would still be nice, because of his art. The design is not the star here, it's just pulled up to nominee worth by the contents. The same could be said of SCATTERBRAIN except the contents are largely overrated and don't hang together well as an anthology.

Hall of Fame
Judges' Choices:
Charles Biro
Osamu Tezuka

Nominees (4 will be chosen):
Sergio Aragones
Vaughn Bode
John Buscema
Al Capp
Nick Cardy
Gene Colan
Dan De Carlo
Will Elder
Lou Fine
Herge
Bernie Krigstein
Joe Orlando
John Romita
John Severin
John Stanley

My Picks: The toughest category, as well it should be. Stanley's name is unfamiliar to me, but these are all champions, major innovators in and/or influences on the medium. Therefore, I don't want to debate the merits of each nominee. I'll just list my winners.

Herge' created TINTIN what, 50? 60 years ago? And they still hold up and are beloved the world over. Dan De Carlo defined the style of ARCHIE and JOSIE AND THE PUSSYCATS, helping make them enduring sellers through countless changes in teenage fashions, tastes and social mores. Bernie Krigstein was a true artist in a period when only commerce was rewarded. His genius compelled him to innovate and ennoble b-grade filler scripts, and when he got a good script, he made it a classic of the medium, such as "Master Race" for EC Comics. Sergio Aragones has one of the most recognizable styles in comics, known for his GROO THE WANDERER and decades of work for MAD MAGAZINE. He is a bottomless well of humor and as fun to read now as when I was twelve years old, and I can't say that about too many people. And listen, if Buscema, Cardy, Colan, Romita, or Severin are announced, I'll cheer as loud as anybody. Love all those guys, and their work has brought great joy over the years.

Hey, we ended on a sentimental note, whodathunk? See ya next week, I'm off to The Con. Don't forget The Loebs.

Chris Allen

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