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The Layer Method
Our top Secret time-saving technique for creating and merging balloons and tails in Illustrator.
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Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Wizard World Chicago Loot, Part One
Stykman, Empty Chamber, the Ztarian Saga, and yes, Little Bunny Foo Foo
 The Miscellaneous Adventures of Stykman #3 (AKA Comics)
Written and Illustrated by Jonnie Allan
Jonnie Allan’s done it again and delivered another grin-inducing issue of Stykman. In the second issue, Stykman got involved with the devil and help speed up the apocalypse. This issue continues that story.
Usually humor books find comedy in the End Times by being irreverent, but Allan manages to stay relatively consistent with actual, Biblical theology while not taking himself or his story at all seriously. That’s impressive to me, but I don’t want to make too much of it because Allan’s aim isn’t to present an accurate interpretation of Revelation. It’s to make you chuckle.
And Stykman #3 will certainly do that. Maybe it’ll be at Stykman’s usual idiocy. Or at the creativity that went into creating guys like Buck Nekid and General Sod. Maybe it’ll be at the hilariously ludicrous way in which the Final Battle Between Good and Evil is fought. Or possibly at the sight of kids running gleefully – money in hand – for an ice cream truck as the end of the world takes place around them. Whatever tickles you the most though, you won’t be able to help but love the refreshingly innocent charm of this book.
 Little Bunny Foo Foo (Cori Doerrfeld)
Adapted and Illustrated by Cori Doerrfeld
I love Cori Doerrfeld’s mini-children’s-books as much as I do her mini-comics. Her interpretation of Little Bunny Foo Foo isn’t exactly intended for kids though. At least not the pre-school set that Doerrfeld usually writes about. Foo Foo is a cute, little bunny and all, but the malicious glee with which she scoops up field mice and bops them on the head reveals a darker side to Doerrfeld’s work. As does the non-traditional, but so deliciously funny ending. Not that the book’s overly brutal or anything. Kids who can appreciate the dark humor will certainly love it as much as any adult.
 The Ztarian Saga: Twilight (Fish Combo Productions)
Written by Randall Wesley Krok; Illustrated by Bernard Schmalzried
Someone (one of the creators probably, but he never introduced himself, so I’m not sure) handed me a copy of The Ztarian Saga at Wizard World Chicago and I figured, “What the heck. I’ll check it out and review it.” There’s no number anywhere in the book, but the last panel says, “To be continued” and there’s a sketch gallery in the back, so I’m thinking it’s an ashcan. I hope that the finished first issue is more professionally done though.
The art, though uninked pencils, is very good. Schmalzried has a talent for faces and body language and he’s not afraid of backgrounds. His characters convey a sense of humor without even speaking. It’s quite nice. He’s also got a good design sense for aliens, scifi technology, and futuristic cities. I’d like to see his stuff inked though because it doesn’t look finished as it’s presented here. The hand-shading isn’t ugly, but it is a bit amateurish.
The lettering also lacks professional quality. I’m no fontmeister, but that looks suspiciously like Comic Sans to me. And the placement of balloons is counter-intuitive. There’s an internal logic to how the balloons are placed, but you have to figure it out by re-reading panels a few times until you figure out what the (uncredited) letterer is up to.
I’m not sure about the story itself. A bunch of humans are at war with some aliens called Ztarians and the book begins as the humans hurry to fortify a city against Ztarian attack. We get to know two humans in particular, Victor and Cahir. Victor is a higher-ranking soldier than Cahir, but the two are obviously fond of each other and have served together for a long time. Even though there’s too much exposition in the dialogue, Krok has created a convincing friendship and I’d be interested in seeing it progress along with the war. Unfortunately, the pair is quickly split up as the aliens attack and the last page focuses on the battle from a high-level point-of-view. When we leave Victor and Cahir, we lose our real connection to the event and stop caring what happens. The cliffhanger, with the aliens pouring into the city, is emotionless because neither of are heroes are central to it any longer. We know they’re out there in the battle somewhere, but we don’t know specifically what they’re doing and we lose interest.
As unrefined as the preview is, I’m curious to see what the actual first issue is like. I assume that it’s longer, so maybe it ends at a better spot than the preview. The saga, as described in the preview’s back matter, isn’t that original in concept (sort of Battlestar Galactica meets The Book of Revelation), but I do think that these creators have some talent and I’d love to see it polished up and re-presented.
 Empty Chamber #1-2 (Silent Devil)
Written by A. David Lewis; Illustrated by Jason Copland
A. David Lewis is an online pal of mine and Jason Copland is not only my good friend, but is illustrating a comic I wrote called Kill All Monsters!. So, my thoughts on Empty Chamber might be biased just a teensy bit, but really, if I hadn’t liked it, I could’ve just not said anything. But I did like it. Actually, I loved it.
Hardcore indie fans may know Lewis and Copland from Lewis’ short-lived anthology series Mortal Coil. Others may recognize Lewis as the writer of the critically acclaimed graphic novel Lone and Level Sands. Both of those works are highly intelligent, while entertaining reads. Empty Chamber continues the tradition, but puts even more focus on the entertainment aspect.
It’s a thriller, expertly written and wonderfully illustrated, about a young man named Aamer “Matt” Mahtganee whose main flaw is that he’s overly fond of conspiracy theories and survivalist lore. He doesn’t actually do anything with his knowledge; he just seems to like knowing it. But that’s enough to have attracted the attention of the wrong people and soon Matt finds himself caught between assassins who are plotting to destroy the world and the ultra-secret government agency trying to stop them. As Matt observes at one point, “How very Nick Fury.”
Lewis has come up with a clever, believable apocalypse plan and likable, interesting characters (on both sides of the conflict) to have it affect. It’s amazing that he and Copland are able to introduce the scheme, put it in motion, introduce complications, and wrap everything up in only sixty-six pages, but they pull it off by densely packing every page with story. The whole thing never feels rushed. On the contrary, everything unfolds exactly as it should with just the right beats for humor or emotional impact.
The two issues form a complete story with a satisfying end, but it’s obvious that there are other stories to tell with these characters and I’d love to read them. Or, at the very least, I’d love to see these two issues collected into a trade paperback. I’m not certain why it wasn’t released as a single graphic novel to begin with. It’s a great story that deserves to sit on the bookshelf rather than hidden away in a longbox.
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Michael May takes a look through what's out in comic shops this week.
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Friday, February 8, 2008
• The End.
So long. Farewell. Auf Wiedersehen. Good night.
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
• Closing time
You don't have to go home...
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
• Oni resurrects letters columns
Resurrection series features letter-writing contest
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
• And... we're back
With Red 5 info
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
• Happy Thanksgiving!
From aka Comics and Comic World News
• Happy Birthday, COMICRAFT!
Lettering powerhouse and CWN sponsor turns 15
Monday, November 19, 2007
• Surrogates movie ready to start production
Bruce Willis to star
More >>
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February 4, 2008:
November 20, 2006:
A Comic-Con without the Captain