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Thursday, September 2, 2010
Freedom of the Press: SPX 2004
Attending this year’s Small Press Expo made me more conscious than ever of how far we’ve come in just the past decade alone. Once again, I couldn’t get over how many individual self-publishers had graphic novels and trade paperbacks of their work available (in addition to the usual amount of minis and standard-sized comics), not to mention the variety of ways they were displaying them. It’s great to see that so many people are not only recognizing the value of publishing in this format, but that they have the means to do so. As a result, my reviews will be divided into minis this week and GNs next week. Besides, this will give me more time to actually sit down and read all those GNs I acquired… The convention was a welcome respite from the growing tension surrounding the upcoming presidential election, now less than a month away as of this writing. All year long, in nearly every creative medium across the board, we have seen a tremendous increase of filmmakers, musicians, playwrights, actors, authors, and more express their views through their work on the state of the union over the past four years and what they believe the future of America, and quite possibly the world, has in store. Comics have proven to be no different. In the corporate titles alone we’ve seen events such as Superman’s nightmare of President Lex Luthor invading an Iraq-like country in JLA, the Fantastic Four’s occupation of Doctor Doom’s Latveria and subsequent standoff against the UN, and the Authority’s takeover of the American government. At SPX, conversations with a few creators revealed how much recent world events have played a part in their work. “A good amount of my work has always been political to an extent,” said Josh Neufeld of A Few Perfect Hours. “I’m one of those people that believes that the personal is political, the way you live your life is indicative of the things you believe in, your philosophies, your morals, et cetera. Because my work is autobiographical, my art has always somehow reflected elements of that…I think that if you read my work, especially my travel stuff, I’m always sort of engaging with political issues, but not just in a real heavy handed way because it’s not that appealing to me…Very, very political work often loses the artistic side of it and it becomes didactic and lecture-ish, and that’s not the kind of thing I want to do.” “I’ve always been too far away from things going on, really, to be directly affected by current events,” said Finder creator Carla Speed McNeil. “I always filter them through science fiction anyway, but I’m just not Art Spiegelman. I don’t think I have the validity of the voice to speak with. I wasn’t walking around the streets of New York when the Towers came down, so I don’t want to interfere with the voices of those who were.” Table For One creator Bosch Fawstin is working on a graphic novel about Muslim terrorism. “[N]o one wants to touch that these days, and I have to. I gotta comment on it. Ever since 9/11 especially, I gotta put all my emotions and thoughts on it, into a story. It’s not a [complete] story yet, but I know exactly where I wanna go. It deals with two brothers, both on either side of the whole issue. That should be out by around spring or summer of 2005, in full color.” He wrote some limited commentary about 9/11 in Table, but now he wants to explore the event’s repercussions and its meaning even further. “I’ve always been into politics and philosophy, especially philosophy; since 9/11, a little more so than ever…I want to make meaningful work, whatever it is.” Fawstin believes America should stay the course come November 2. “I think in the moment of truth, everyone will look and say, this guy [Bush] will fight the war on terror stronger than John Kerry. Right now, that’s the most important thing. People think the economy’s the most important thing, but without fighting the war, nothing else matters. We gotta make sure that we get them before they get us. “The fact is that we haven’t got hit since [9/11]. That’s a fact that we can’t overlook…I wish [Bush] was more aggressive, to be honest, but I think he’ll do better than John Kerry, and to me that’s the most important thing. I could agree or disagree with a lot of things he does and says, but when it comes to the war, he’s the best bet.” Wearing an American flag pin on his collar, he added that America’s tainted perception by much of the world doesn’t bother him. “They never liked us anyway, in general. Now they have a reason not to like us…Right after 9/11, they were sympathetic with us until we fought back, and all of a sudden the sympathy wasn’t with us anymore. I do resent that. We refused to be a victim. I think we’re the moral leader of the free world and we have to defend ourselves, in spite of what they think. They can call it whatever they want, but it is our defense. That’s most important to us, and to me personally.” One of the most passionate entreaties at SPX for a change, however, came from the Goldman brothers, the writing duo behind the political graphic novel Everyman: Be The People, which debuted at the show. “We spent a lot of years in college and after having no faith in the system whatsoever, and I guess things got bad enough for us to not only start paying attention more, but to try and get involved,” said co-writer Dan Goldman. “And once I did, I realized that I really do care about this country. Maybe I don’t believe in what’s going on in the political arena now, but that doesn’t change the dream. That doesn’t change what the country was founded on, which is something that does shine a light in the world, despite what’s going on now in the name of that dream. The practice of [it] and the spirit of [it] are two completely different things…What we are doing in Everyman, basically, is pointing back in the direction of the way we think the founding fathers intended this nation to be, and our place in the world. We’re trying to show people that the America of our dreams is not really as far away as you might think.” A work of fiction inspired by the 2000 election and the Bush regime in general, the protagonists of Everyman share the goal of holding their administration accountable for their actions that run contrary to the oath they swore to uphold the Constitution and the laws of America. The Goldmans talked about informing their local congressman, whom they believe shares the same ideals they have, of their book. By presenting their views in this format, they say, they can bypass the more traditional media outlets that have a vested interest in maintaining the status quo. “People are always saying, ‘Well, if you believe so strongly in this, why don’t you get involved?’” said co-writer Steven Goldman. “This is how we’re gonna get involved. We’re writers. This is what we do best to contribute to the ideas and to get in people’s faces and to try and get them to think harder about the system. Especially with Be The People – everybody’s worried about the voting system being manipulated, but they’re not worrying that hard. Our leaders are not listening when we say these things don’t work and the system is vulnerable to hacking and manipulation and we don’t feel we should be voting with these machines. And they’re buying them anyway. They’re buying them according to a plan that was put into place after the 2000 election debacle, which was honestly more the result of partisan politicking than it was malfunctioning machines…What kind of message are you sending the American electorate when at any time you can be put on a list and suddenly [be] written right off of the American electorate system?” While the Goldmans liked how Kerry came across in the first debate on September 30, they believe he’s still got a long uphill battle. “He’s up against the Bush machine which has their fingers in the major papers, the networks, the advertisers on all of those,” said Dan Goldman. “Everything’s pretty much stacked against him. I hope and pray that Bush doesn’t sit in that chair for another four years, and that’s all I can do.” * * * One more thing I should mention before I get to the reviews: look for USA Today's Whitney Matheson to do a report on the show this week done in comic strip format. The artist is a friend of mine, Keith Carter; he’s an excellent one. Depending on how it’s received, it might mean the start of an ongoing series of comic strip articles about comics! So if you like it, be sure and let the paper know! Lionel’s Lament by Dean Haspiel & Josh Neufeld DeanHaspiel.com, $3 A jam comic in which each artist drew two panels of the story at a time, about a really bad day in the life of the protagonist. The two artists’ styles blend together better than I would’ve imagined; after awhile I had to go by lettering styles to distinguish who did what. As is the case in almost all jam comics, though, the story, such as it is, breaks down after awhile into Bizarroworld incomprehensibility. Still, if you’re a fan of either or both creators, you’re bound to find this a hoot. B- Remote by Adam Aylard Piece of Pork, no price listed Lonely rich man buys super robot to be his servant and companion. This was from a table with one of the best set-ups at SPX - a giant vending machine filled with tiny mini-comics inside plastic bubbles that you could get by placing 50 cents inside and twisting the handle, as if you were getting bubble gum or some cheap plastic toy! And as if that weren't enough, this comic, Remote, is circular in shape, stapled top to bottom. While there's no need for it to be this way in terms of the plot, it's still cool to see. As for the story, while it does communicate what I believe the creator intended, it's a bit too sparse. I would've liked to have known more about the protagonist and why he feels he can connect more with an artificial intelligence than with other people. The art is very flat and bland; not enough solid blacks or variety in the ink line. Props for trying a different format, but the story doesn't do much for me. C+ The 3 Bad Ones by E. Davis Doing Fine, no price listed (but it cost me 50 cents) And this is the comic I got from the aforementioned vending machine. (Surely you didn’t think I wouldn’t include it?) At 1 ¾” x 1 3/8”, it is easily the smallest mini-comic (micro-comic?) I’ve ever reviewed. It’s about two-thirds the size of my pinky finger and I actually had to take my glasses off in order to better observe the details. The story’s about three fat, lazy slobs who go looking for a wife to be their slave. It’s pretty good. Funny, with a nice, appealing line and great use of solid blacks and hatching. It’s even presented cleverly: it actually has a gatefold cover that wraps around the entire book. What they say is true: sometimes good things come in small packages. B+ Tales From the Pimp by Phillip Chan & Joe Dunn Digital Pimp Comics, $3 A humor anthology of four stories. The best one, I think, is the second, about a terrorist cell who can’t quite get their demands across. Overall the art is decent – Dunn alternates back and forth between cartoonish and semi-realistic well, although he uses the same kind of ink line to describe facial wrinkles and wrinkles on clothing, so everything looks the same, which isn’t good. Are the stories funny? Outside of the second one, I didn’t laugh a great deal. C+ Liner Notes by Antar Ellis Stick Figure Studios/Failure Comics, $3 A collection of online autobiographical strips about the author’s lifelong love of music. If High Fidelity had been about a black guy, it would probably resemble this, although there’s not as much romantic stuff. The art is functional, not flashy. I liked the piece where the author reminisces about hip hop in 1993 and the more he talks about it, the more he ages until he’s an old man by the strip’s end. Pleasant and fun stuff. B Boxer by Lonnie Allen dAdA Graphics, $2.99 Another anthology – this one with three stories. My favorite was the second, about a mother coping with her sick daughter. The pictures and words told two different sides of the same story, which was very clever. The other two stories struck me as being way too far on the “artsy-fartsy” side. The art is best in the third tale, which doesn’t rely on muddy graytones as in the second or uneven hatch lines and blotchy shadows in the first. For three bucks, this is definitely overpriced, despite the color cover. C+ Purple Gorilla Comics and Stories by Pam Bliss PVC, $3 The Queen of Small Press returns with an all new series in which she pretty much opens up her sketchbook and lets loose whatever’s inside. The centerpiece is a new “Those Kids” story in which they chase a purple gorilla around town. I find I like the one-page material as much, if not more, than the stories. Sometimes, as is the case in the purple gorilla story, panel borders, combined with Pam’s somewhat largish lettering style, constrict the action. One might not realize, for example, that her new superhero character FourSquare is flying in the story’s tail end. Unfortunately, Pam didn’t make that as clear as she could have. I think I like her work best when she either doesn’t use panels (e.g. “Things I (Sort Of) Like About Summer”) or uses fewer words (e.g. “Wild Hunt”). Regardless, this book is a great way to get acquainted with the work of one of the most prolific and beloved artists in all of small press. B+ A Sacred Text by Justin Hall All Thumbs Press, $3.95 A tale set in the African desert, in which a fugitive slave encounters a religious order and is entrusted with their deepest secrets – including how his destiny is tied with theirs. 2001 Xeric Grant winner Justin Hall weaves a story of great warmth and humanity, in which the protagonist and his hosts work at looking past their initial mistrust of each other and find common ground, especially when they eventually face a shared threat. The art is at its best when depicting the Middle Eastern backgrounds and surroundings. You can tell the creator really did his homework in getting the look right. The only major complaint is that the lettering is very small – almost too small. A very engaging and thoughtful work. B+ Back with more on SPX next week.
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April 22, 2008:
February 4, 2008:
November 20, 2006:
A Comic-Con without the Captain
