10 Comics Read at Least Twice in 2018

This past October, shortly after the announcement of the 2018 list of Man Booker Prize nominees, the leading literary award in the English speaking world given annually, I visited Drnaso at his northwest side home and studio in Chicago. He’d just been nominated for this prestiges prize, the first graphic novelist in its’ history. Drnaso was affable, unassuming, and genuinely appear to have enjoyed a bit of my off-color humor. His home was filled to the ceiling with artworks by Chris Ware, Ivan Brunetti, Anya Davidson, and other notable Chicago cartoonists, mid 20th century kitsch, a large library of prose and picture books, and a handful of friendly felines. Sabrina is a masterwork by a young man who clearly understands the power in combining image and text with subtle gesture. In early inspection one may believe that this is merely a story about a fake murder and the repercussions. Yet, Drnaso reminds that he is a remarkable storyteller and artists who observes and understands the world in which he lives. The depth of Sabrina is found in how Drnaso presents a complex commentary on our society infatuated with and willing to bend our belief systems to fake news. This is a book that should be more widely read beyond the comics community.

I’m still trying to get my mind around Upgrade Soul. This may be ready for a 3rd read in early January 2019. Initially, I sensed a creator merging the wordsmith adeptness of Jeff Lemire with the visual line-work of a present day Moebius. To celebrate their 45th anniversary, Hank and Molly Nonnar decide to undergo an experimental rejuvenation procedure, however things turnout a bit unexpected. The two are severely disfigured, yet superior in terms of their intellect and physical strength. After the procedure the couple grow in different ways that raises interesting and provocative questions. Daniels understands the importance of subtle nuance. He delivers a remarkable piece that questions our search for extending life, what shapes our being, our mind, and our physical bodies. And, ultimately, what is essential in defining our identity. This is something that was completely off my radar and now points me to other rising talents, Tony Sandoval, Hubert Boulard and Bertrand Gatignol, also offered up by the St. Louis based publisher Lion Forge.

Now in his late 60s, Jim Starlin is still considered a vital force in the comics industry. This book, in my opinion, is long overdue. This is a primer that resonates for the materials originally dropped in the mid-1970s, when I first discovered comics. Collected here are not full stories, but a sampling of pages and covers from Captain Marvel (issues 25-34) and additional covers taken from Strange Tales, Warlock, and Iron Man. This stuff is magic. Starlin’s art style defines the psychedelic visual vocabulary that immersed its’ readers in similar fashion to that of the counter culture movement. One of the items that stands out is the amazing crew of collaborators that worked alongside Starlin. He was surrounded by the industry’s top talent. At times, there was Mike Friedrich and Steve Englehart on plots/scripts. Inks were done by Jack Abel, Klaus Janson, Dan Green, Al Milgrom, Chic Stone, Dave Cockrum, and Pablo Marcos. And lettering by Dave Hunt and Tom Orzechowski. The pages and covers are illustrated at scale, so one can see all the imperfections in this most perfect artist’s artifact by IDW Publishing.

Here, Jason Lutes has produced a graphic novel on par with seminal works like Art Spiegelman’s Maus (1991) and Jaques Tardi’s C’était la guerre des tranchées (1993). I have long awaited for this compiled version. The initial book, Berlin: City of Stones (2000), piqued my interest in history based visual narrative. The 2nd installment, Berlin Book Two: City of Smoke (2008) left me wanting more. And now, I am fortunate to see the full story with support material compiled by Montreal publisher, Drawn and Quarterly. The book follows the lives of a number of individuals, most prominently art student, Marthe Müller, living during the decline of the Weimar Republic between 1928 and 1933. Lutes has done extensive research and describes a world not dissimilar to our own here in America today. The layout and pagination is lyrical and poetic. Lutes is an adept draftsman and conveyer of the artmaking process. Coupling this with material that resonates in the present reminds of the cyclic nature of humanity during a time of civil strife. Go read this, you may look at our current milieu with a bit more perspective.

Ed Piskor may be considered by many to be the coolest comic creator working today. From Wizzywig to Hip Hop Family Tree to this new venture with the X-Men I sense he knows how to keep it all together. Here, he plows through early X-Men years via an oral history format similar to that found in his most recent history of hip hop. Told by the Watcher, you get a concise look at the origins of main characters, some early stories, and the creation of Dr. Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters. Piskor consolidates issues 1-281 into a 240 page exhaustive, succinct, and sweet format that uses his trademark style of aged pages and a drawing style in sync to that seen in the original issues. If you feel the need to familiarize yourself with the history of the X-Men and not the time or finances to read all the back issues, this is your book.

This book packs a wallop! So much energy and play from this newly introduced team for me. Set 10 minutes in the future, Charlie Ellison leads a normal unobtrusive day-to-day existence until she becomes the primary target in a social media campaign by Reapr. Offering a million dollar bounty, Reapr puts out a hit on Charlie and all of LA is in pursuit. The aesthetic style looks like that encountered in present day Saturday cartoons, full of clean line and bright colors. Yet the story swirls you through a frenetic pace that offers comment with panache and satire that conveys our obsession with online media and immediate gratification. In early stages, this book provides a fresh reminder that there’s plenty of young talent that is producing new books that are clearly aware of the materials defining our present ephemeral and misguided obsessions.

For some time I tended to cringe when I heard someone state that there would never be a cartoonist (or artist) as significant as Jack Kirby. Now, I tend to believe this is not entirely off-base as I thumb through the Heroes and Monsters Artist Edition published by IDW. This is a big book that measure roughly 15 1/2 x 22 inches, the size that Kirby worked at for most of his illustrious career. The book is divided into two section: Heroes and Monsters. The content was originally published between the late 1950s to the late 1960s, the artworks are taken from Tales to Astonish, Strange Tales, Tales of Suspense, SGT Fury, X-Men, and Journey Into Mystery. In casual conversation I’ve heard mention that Kirby tended to have a singular style, yet here there is evidence that refutes this myopic pronouncement. The man was a visionary. This can be best seen in the cover gallery in the later third of this massive tome. The dynamism of Thor #136, published in January 1967, inked by Vince Colletta, is a masterpiece in design and draftsmanship. Thor and Jane Foster battle the Unknown in the seminal story “To Become an Immortal!”. The intensity of this cover coupled with a adept skill in typographic design is second to none. This book is another reminder of the importance of Kirby’s fruitful legacy.

Beauty remains that book I’ve read religiously since inception that flows beneath the radar for a large swath of comics readers. When I receive my monthly comics delivery, I pull the book, read, reread, and admire the work of Haun and Hurley. These dudes have consistently provided a yarn and artwork that remains at the top of my monthly indulgence. Exterior beauty is obsessed by society, sound familiar? Here, an STD, “The Beauty”, can give you this, but at a price. Coupling exquisite artwork with thoughtful prose, Haun and Hurley present a work that brings into question conventional definitions of beauty, what this entails, the pursuit for of the physical, and a amalgam of periphery questions. This is a book that will certainly pique your interest if you are willing to indulge in something new.

I think Ales Kot may be the current weirdo comics writer that I find so absolutely fascinating. From his recent comics interpretation of the video-game Bloodborne (a favorite of mine, that he did not destroy) to his early book Wild Children (Image Comics), Kot’s language and narratives always feel unpredictable. Here, The New World, a five part miniseries, one finds a saddled love story encumbered in a similar format to that induced by the Capulets and Montagues set in a futuristic post-apocalyptic world. The 2nd Civil War in the U.S.A. has occurred and two lovers meet. One a hacker and part-time anarchist who holds a fondness for inflicting havoc on the government crosses paths with a overzealous cop who’s daily life, on and off the beat, is documented 24/7 in a reality TV show. Simply put, the two would most certainly only connect in a bizarre fantasy of this sort provided by Kot. And, to top-off the ensuing pandemonium you are treated to a sizable taste of the art of Tradd Moore. I see a bit of Nick Dragotta in this budding talent. My only hope is that this effort eventually develops into an ongoing series. I’ve only began to whet my appetite with this nugget of excellence.

There’s been much mixed reviews out there about the state of the Walking Dead. Kirkman and Co. are still grinding out a quality monthly which I have been reading for nearly 15 years (I was a tad late to this party, nevertheless I have since collected all the single issues). This is a complex book, well written, and identifies with the struggles of a constricted overbearing society. Rick Grimes and his clan are now living a stable life. There’s a community called the Commonwealth governed by Pamela Milton with precision and an iron hand that appear at surface a utopia. The book has always been on the exterior a horror book, but its’ strength is in the manner Kirkman weaves commentary beneath on innate qualities that drive the human species. We are a lot obsessed with equality and freedom at any cost. Those who do not align themselves with our belief system or mission is the enemy. Talk is cheap, action is what drives us, no matter how vile. This is perhaps over simplified, but the books one of the best examples made in this century to explain what makes humanity tick, including the zombies, today.