Funnybooks I am reading

OK, kids, it is time, once again, for me to help expand your reading horizons. Sure, sure we all love Spidey (if not the current BND “storyline”), but funnybook fans don’t live by Spidey-Mans alone (or as one crank once told me “bona fide” comic fans’ collections don't start with Amazing Spider-Man and end with X-Men.” (For what it’s worth, he was a serious, A-hole, and I eventually put him in his place.) Still, there is something to be said about sampling what else is out there, and while I’m a hard-core Spidey-phile I make it a point to acquire as many Indie funnybooks onto which I can glom.

Well, recently, between the NY Comic Con, my fellow creators in the Comicbook Artist’s Guild, and FCBD, I have a stack-and-a-half of funnybooks that I’ve been able to sample over the past month. I’ve already mentioned quite a few of the books that I've been reading, and I wanted to take a break in the action to talk about a few more. (then when I’m done here, I’m probably going to go over to my film blog and review some of the recent films I’ve seen.)

In the meantime, I’m gonna talk funnybooks.

First up, I want to wax eloquent about is one of the most unique comics that I’ve ever seen. Andrea Grant’s Minx is truly a delight to read. Andrea is up to her third issue of a comic that combines Super heroics, her American Indian heritage, Greek Mythology, along with philosophy, and a most unique approach to storytelling, and mode of delivery. Andrea simply refuses to limit herself to a single thing, or approach. Her comic is full of traditional artwork, combined with (and layered with) photography, and what can only be described as a college-like approach to her production.

Not satisfied with with ordinary, Andrea has gone out of her way to deliver something that is nothing less than refreshingly spectacular in both its approach and delivery. It would be well worth your time to seek out and purchase this book.

A second comic that I find myself enjoying is Heroes in Birmingham. I wrote about this unique comic some weeks back when I read the first issue. Now that I've read the second issue I find that I like it even more than I originally did (which was actually quite a bit then). The premise is that the local cadre of heroes are all corporate sponsored,and owe their allegiance to their corporate masters. Writer Rachel Kadushin has crafted a very interesting world full of superheroes that don't seem to follow normal conventions, which is precisely what makes it interesting.

And now (as the blokes from Monty Python’s Flying Circus used to say), for something completely different. Towards the end of the Indy After Party (hosted by CAG) at the NY Comic Con, fellow CAGer Luis Torres placed a couple of comics in my hands One of them was a little gem entitled Café is some of the silliest stuff I've seen in quite some time (and you’ve got to know that I’m a big fan of random silliness). The story (co-written by David Gregory, with art by Alexis Torres and Andres, and follows a couple of Hispanic (not Mexican) guys working at the coffee café that is set inside a book store. It involves an exploding chicken, a conversation with God, a plot against humanity, and, well, more random goofiness than you tend to find in a comic these days.

Finally, the comic I am currently reading, is 5 Shots, by Jemir Johnson. This book is a five short crime stories, told in a square-bound B&W comic that is slightly smaller than a regular-sized comic. The stories are a series of visceral street-level crime dramas, that grab you right from the get-go, and keeps you there all the way through to the final page. Jemir is another CAG guy who is putting himself out there and has seemed to have hit a hot spot with these five tales. Hell, the guy has even managed to get his book listed on Amazon! if that isn’t I don’t know what is! These stories really got me going and I think that you’ll like them too.

Well, That’s it for now, see you in the funnypapers!

There are Heroes in Birmingham!

That’s right, there are Heroes in Birmingham. I know this because I read about them in Rachel Kadushin’s fine comic, Heroes in Birmingham. She currently has two issues out and a third one is on the way (I’ve only read the first issue, but I really enjoyed what I read, so as soon as I can acquire the second, I'll be grabbing that one up as well). The 32-page story is about a bunch of heroes living in Birmingham (no state identified).

One of the very interesting things about this is that there is no text page explaining who these characters are. Nothing to say if this is the present or near future, and very little in the way of expository material to slow down the pace of the story. To be sure, this is not only a bit odd, but a touch confusing as well. Still, taken as a whole, it really doesn't detract for the narrative as it forces the reader to pay attention to what is happening.

Also, there are more than a few non-verbal sequences that simply explode with action, no ranting heroes and villains spoting off about whatever nonsence fills the writer’s heads (I don’t know how many of you have ever been in a fight, but as a rule, you simply don’t go on about your philosophy and the nature or th oppressed man and crap like that. You get down and fight.

I think that years of reading comics makes us think that writers have to fill each panel with words, or it isn’t actually written. Rachael proves that simply isn’t so,and there is a lot of good that can be learned form this. Needless to say, the story reads well, the art is very nice, and the story moves along at a rapid clip. Again, my only real clip is that I’m not entirely sure what is going on all the way through.

At times the story seems a touch disjointed (as she moves from one set of heroes and characters to another) leaving the reader in the dust. Still, there is quite a bit of things going on here, and as a reader you feel that you have spent your money wisely on a book with a full 32 pages of art (some home-grown comics that I’ve picked up have way less than a newsstand comic, and cost way more, which always makes me feel that I’ve been gypped. Not so much of that here. You get the full measure.

So, with that, I’m recommending Rachel Kadushin’s comic, Heroes in Birmingham, and urging you all to find a copy and pick it up.

Well, having finally gotten through the stack of comics produced by friends of mine, I think I’ll go back to Spidey next time and let you know what I think about all that. Like that’s a big secret, eh?