Superhaters need not apply

Astro City

written by Kurt Busiek, art by various

Superhero comics are not for everyone. Some people can't stomach that particular breed of nonsense. They simply cannot enjoy costumed antics, no matter how well-written those antics may be. I recommend only one superhero comic to those people.

Astro City is not it.

Astro City is literate, it is fun, and it captures the emotion and spirit of superheroics. But if you couldn't crack a smile at the most recent X-men or Spider-man movies, if you avoided the superhero cartoons as a kid, if you just simply can't stand grown-up persons dressed in funny costumes, you may as well stop reading now. There are comics for you, but Astro City is not going to win you over to the sequential arts.

As its title may or may not suggest, Astro City is about a city populated with superheroes, supervillians and othersuch supernatural folk. But Busiek is interested in more than just the adventures of these people, evil plots and suchwhat. Busiek is interested in what it would feel like to live in such a city. He follows a variety of characters: the superhero try to carve a life between floods and alien attacks, the innocent on the street surrounded by wonder, the down-on-his-luck criminal who just happens to have metal skin. Astro City is about the humans behind (and within) the superhumans.

Plus it's fun to read.

The most recent Astro City tale, entitled “Dark Age,” brings us back to the 70s in Astro City. The story follows two brothers, a cop and a small-time criminal. Watergate and Vietnam are sapping people's trust in their institutions. People view even their superheroes with suspicion. When a tinpot despot travels to negotiate a Vietnam peace deal and is assasinated by an American superhero, tensions come to a head. Meanwhile, the criminal brother finds himself marked for death by a renegade super-vigilante and his brother must help him survive.

So far the tale is as good as any of Busiek's, and that's high praise. The fourth issue of the 12-issue story comes out this week (yesterday, as of the time you're reading this), and if you have been looking for a good way in to quality mainstream comics, I heartily recommend it. There are a number of paperback collections of earlier stories available as well, any of which would be a fine read. Don't let the numbers scare you, each book is self-contained.

NEW THIS WEEK:

Astro City: The Dark Age #4

What did you think I was going to feature?

He Makes Comics, Too

Fray

written by Joss Whedon, pencilled by Karl Moline

Dark Horse

ISBN: 1569717516

Serenity 1-3

Dark Horse

written by Joss Whedon and Brett Matthews, art by Will Conrad

Astonishing X-Men (ongoing)

Marvel Comics

Written by Joss Whedon, Art by John Cassaday

So, you've just created one of the most definitive television icons of the decade. You have no less than 3 other television shows in various stages of creation. What do you do?

Well, if you're Joss Whedon, you start making comics.

For those of you who haven't been initiated into the mysterious cult of the House of W, Joss Whedon is a third-generation television writer who wrote such films as Toy Story and Alien: Resurection. He stumbled back-assward into geek imortality when he was approached by the nacent WB to turn his teen comedy Buffy the Vampire Slayer into a television show.

Eight years, 3 television series and a feature film later, Whedon dominates cult media in a unique way. So perhaps it makes perfect sense that he's become a powerful force in comics as well.

But what about the comics themselves?

Fray was Joss Whedon's first comics writing effort, released beginning in 2001 and now collected in a trade paperback. It tells the story of a vampire slayer in the far future. It's Buffy crossed with Blade Runner, and it can be a lot of fun. It provides a level of completion to the Buffy saga, giving the reader a vauge idea of what happened after the series ended.

As a comic, it is a strong first effort by a talented writer. But it is nonetheless a first effort. Whedon's trademark dialog is somewhat awkward here in comic form. The art does its job, but I get the feeling that Whedon didn't quite know what to do with it yet. Buffy fans will enjoy it, but I can't recommend it to anyone else.

The comic adaptation Serenity, which bridges the gap between the eponymous feature film and the television show Firefly, is a similar case. Whedon only “plotted” the tale, with Brett Matthews covering the scripting duties. Nevertheless, Whedon's voice sounds through. Matthews does a fairly good job of duplicating Whedon's style, and the characters' space-drawls come through without awkwardness. The comic stands well enough with the rest of Firefly, and fans will enjoy reading it between showings of the film. For people who liked the movie and haven't seen the show, it is a decent introduction to the earlier adventures of the crew. Beyond that, it's not a very notable title.

Finally, Astonishing X-Men. Given how much Buffy's fantasy soap opera format owed to the X-Men mythos, it is perhaps inevitable that Whedon would end up giving something back. Well, we can mark his creative debt “paid in full,” because Astonishing shines. Whedon draws on classic X-Men without ever giving up his own voice. Here he attacks comics with the technical mastery shown in his films and television shows. His versions of the X-Men characters sparkle. His Kitty Pryde (aka Shadowcat) is perhaps the strongest character in mainstream comics today.

The first six issues are collected in the trade paperback Astonishing X-Men: Gifted, and another collection of issues 6-12 is on the way. The first storyline is stronger, but the whole series delights. If you've ever liked X-Men, you'll like this comic. If you've ever liked Buffy or Angel, you'll probably like this comic. And if you've never liked any of them, there's still a pretty good chance you'll like this comic. You owe it to yourself to check it out.

At this point, Whedon could start doing Kabuki theatre and people would take notice. It's good to know that, at least in his comics, he deserves it.

NEW THIS WEEK:

Apocalypse Nerd #2

by Peter Bagge

Alternative comics legend Peter Bagge (Hate) finally brings the second issue of his new series Apocalypse Nerd, about two guys camped out in the woods after somebody nukes Seattle. Bagge is inspired as ever. Definitely worth checking out.

Happiness Between Two Covers

Yotsuba&!

Vols 1, 2, 3

Kiyohiko Azuma

ADV Manga

ISBN: 1413903290

“Cute” is an abused concept, sometimes, particularly in media. And perhaps nowhere more so than among those bits of Japanese culture trickling into the English-speaking world. My image of costumed fans shouting fragments of Japanese while the claw their way toward “chibi” images may be slightly exaggerated, but I still feel that cuteness is overused and underappreciated in Japanese comics translations

So believe me when I say that Yotsuba&! is truly, awesomely cute.

Yotsuba&! tells the story of a young girl with green hair and four pony tails (Apparently in Japanese, yotsuba can mean 4-leaf clover). She possesses an almost supernatural innocence about everything from air conditioners to swing sets to fireworks. She's visually cute, of course, but that doesn't begin to explain the concentrated happiness that comes out of this book. She's cute in exactly the same way that actual children are cute. Yotsuba is every hyperactive cousin you've ever had to babysit, and you don't even have to clean up the mess.

The book is helped along by a wonderful array of supporting characters. Yotsuba is raised by her father Koiwai, a translator. He is playful and eccentric in his own right, although he can't always follow Yotsuba's kid-logic well enough to play along. Jumbo is Koiwai's friend, defined almost entirely by his prodigious size. He tends to get roped into helping on many of Yotsuba's outings, in part because of his ill-fated attempts to get close to one of the neighbor girls. This neighbor family, the Ayases add more to the mix, with three girls of varying ages, a largely absent father, and a mother with an unusually frank dislike for her oldest daughter. Every character in the book is unique, eccentric, and utterly believable.

My only warning about the book is that it is printed Japanese-style, with the pages being laid out right-to-left. For those who haven't read any comics translated in this way, it can be a challenge at first. But Yotsuba&! is such a rewarding read that is is certainly worth a little effort. Still, I wish that a book with such a potentially wide audience as this had been made easier for the uninitiated to pick up.

On a more positive note, please don't be scared away if you can't find the first volume of the series. Each story is almost completely self-contained, and the order is of little importance.

With the bleak sunlessness of winter in Olympia fast approaching, it's good to have a collection of overpoweringly happy media around to fight off the inevitable blues. You owe it to yourself to snuggle up with a warm blanket, crank up some happy music, and give Yotsuba&! a try.

NEW THIS WEEK:

The Quitter

Harvey Pekar

The release of the brilliant film American Splendor helped catapult Harvey Pekar's autobiographical narratives into the public consciousness. The Quitter promises to justify that wide attention well. Looking back on Pekar's youth, this promises to be a very interesting read.

No Foolin'

Tricked

Alex Robinson

Top Shelf Productions

ISBN 1891830732

One element of the great potential of comics as a medium is its humanity. Comics have the power to put a face, literally, on experiences far beyond those of the reader. This visual connection, combined with intricacies of character, can make comics the most humane of the literary arts.

Alex Robinson's new graphic novel Tricked is a prime example. Robinson is best known for his series Box Office Poison, which tells the story of a group of young people in New York struggling to find a meaningful place. The characters are very strong, and the story is engaging. Robinson is brilliant at capturing the tense moments we've all experienced: first kisses, first dances, awkward silences, broken friendships, shitty jobs. Box Office Poison revels in these moments, and in the characters that experience them. The result is a strong, well-rounded first work. Upon reading the BOP collection, I not only felt that I identified with the characters, I felt like they had become my friends

Creating believable and relatable characters is always a challenge. But BOP's collection of hip, urban twenty-somethings was unlikely to stretch the boundries of its target audience. Right down to their interest in comics, the characters largely reflect their readership. And the one main character who doesn't fit this mold, an elderly comics artist, is usually seem more from without than from within.

But if there were any question that Robinson's ability to humanize characters extends beyond a narrow range of life experiences, Tricked answered it. Tricked tells the interweaving stories of a rock star, a sports signature forger, a lonely obsessive music fan, a runaway, a waitress, and the rock star's intern turned personal assistant. Each chapter consists of several pages about each character in turn, always in the same order.

The brilliance of it is that Robinson manages to take characters that could easily slide into cliché and stereotype and invest them with real life. When Ray, the pampered rock star, deals with his crisis of creativity, we feel it along with him. We understand and to some degree even relate to the obsessive Steve's uncomfortable way of dealing with women. We feel the awkwardness as the runaway Pheobe finally meets her father.

Words alone couldn't convey the depth of feeling, the true humanity of these characters. To see Ray as something other than a whiny rich white guy, we have to look him in his smoothly rendered face. Understanding Pheobe's feelings requires her empty, tired eyes. This book would not work the same way in any other medium, nor with a less capable artist.

Fans of Box Office Poison will find much of what they liked in this volume as well. One of this summer's strongest offerings, it is an enjoyable read and proof of what comics are capable of.

NEW THIS WEEK:

Lady Snowblood Vol 1

Kazuo Koike

Another 70s manga by Lone Wolf and Cub's Kazuo Koike makes it to the English-speaking world. This is always good news. Hunt down one of the many bits of culture mined for Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill films, and discover Japanese comics brilliance along the way. Everybody wins!

Comics Worth Reading (no, seriously)

In the past few years, the mainstream United States has begun to realize that comics are a viable artistic medium. The perception of comics as idiotic kiddy-fare read by overweight virgins may not have been totally dispelled (nor is it totally undeserved) but films like Ghost World, American Splendor and Sin City, as well as books like The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay and Fortress of Solitude have raised the public consciousness of good comics. Certainly this seems to be true among the relatively hip, literate portions of the population such as those found, say, at a public liberal arts university.

That said, many people open to the possibility of good comics still aren't reading them. There is another perception, again not totally undeserved, that comics fans and retailers are an insular, hostile group who will meet the uninitiated with scorn rather than open arms.

So in the interest of public service I am beginning my weekly comics review with a few of the no-brainier suggestions that such fans and retailers ought to be giving to comics neophytes. It's quite possible that you've heard of some or all of these. This list is intended as a jumping off point. These are some good, easy-to-find representations of what is possible in comics.

Maus I and II by Art Speigelman

Perhaps the best known English-language “graphic novel”, and the winner of the Pulitzer “special awards and citations--letters”. This is the true story of Speigelman's father's experiences as a Holocaust survivor, as well as Speigelman's own reactions. The characters are represented by various anthropomorphic animals, with Jewish people appearing as mice, Nazis as cats, French as frogs, etc. Unflinching and gripping, this is not only one of the greatest comics ever produced, it is one of the best works published on the subject of the Holocaust, in any medium.

Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi

If Maus can't slake your thirst for historical memoirs in comics form, Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis is another brilliant piece of literature. Satrapi was grew up in revolution-era Iran, a member of a leftist family. Peresepolis tells the story of this childhood. Unlike Maus, this story is seen through the eyes of a young girl who doesn't quite realize the magnitude of the danger around her. The character is so familiar, so relatable that the gaps of time and nationality seem nonexistent. In a time when the middle eastern world seems so distant, and when that distance has a strong and tangible political effect, this book is all the more relevant. The portions of the book where the revolutionary government uses the threat of Arab invaders to justify their right-wing social agenda are particularly chilling.

Persepolis 2 is also available, and continues with the story of Satrapi going to school in France. It too is a worthy read.

Buddha by Osamu Tezuka

It's important to note that many countries outside the English-speaking world do not share our cultural bias against comics. One oft-noted example is Japan. Japan's vast array of comics literature is comfortably enjoyed by a wide spectrum of the Japanese populace. A major reason for that is the efforts of one brilliant and visionary cartoonist: Osamu Tezuka. Emerging from the wreckage of World War II, Tezuka saw children's comics as a medium to spread his message of peace and respect for the environment.

Buddha is one of his historical epics, telling the story of Siddartha Gautama in his own unique way. Tezuka has an uncanny ability to mix classic cartoon entertainment, even slapstick, with genuine emotion. The result entertains at the same time as it deeply moves. Tezuka's ability is uncanny, and it's not surprising that he is known as the “God of Manga [Japanese comics].” The multi-volume epic Buddha shows him at the height of his powers. I cannot recommend it more highly.

Blankets by Craig Thompson

Craig Thompson is one of the hottest young voices in the world of independent comics. Blankets, just his second graphic novel, won him nearly all of the comics industry's major awards, something few if any other artists can claim. Blankets lives up to this reputation. It's a memoir of Thompson's life and young love in a fundamentalist Midwestern family. Thompson touches on faith, love, and trauma. I will admit that he does tend towards melodrama, but there is humor along with the pathos. But the book could be a Jack Chick religious tract and still be worth reading because Thompson's artwork is so astoundingly beautiful.

Ghost World by Daniel Clowes

You may have seen Terry Zwigoff's film clever film adaptation. Whether you have or not, the original comic is definitely worth reading. If you have ever been young in the United States, I can guarantee that you will find something relatable in this work. Often bleak, sometimes funny, but always disturbingly believable, Ghost World has earned a well-deserved place in the independent comics pantheon.