Cruisin' with the Hound: The Life and Times of Fred Toote'

Spain Rodriguez was an underground comix artist who created one of the first undergrounds, Zodiac Mindwarp, and also contributed many works to other anthologies like Zap and Weirdo. He was a prolific artist, known for his strong lines as well as his radical political views that came through in works like the ultra-violent Trashman and an illustrated biography of Che Guevara. He died late last year.

Cruisin' with the Hound contains a series of autobiographical comics that appeared in various publications over the years. These stories follow the "North Fillmore Intelligentsia" as they gallivanted in Buffalo, NY, getting into fights, trying to get laid, buying old EC comic books, and rolling with motorcycle gangs. These stories are an excellent time capsule that reveals many details about life and a growing counterculture movement in the 1950s, but there is also a timelessness to them. These are people striving to find their ways in the world, and it is very easy to empathize with them as they posture, philosophize, and carouse. This book does not sanitize events or get overly nostalgic either; it shows us a gritty and physical version of American life.

A central figure in all of this is Fred Toote', one of Spain's friends whose dark demise is mentioned but not shown here. Fred is a character, driving a car without breaks and without regard to traffic laws, showing off to impress girls, and often making a spectacle of himself. There is something tragic and amazing about him that very much impresses me every time I read these stories. I should mention these tales are frequently hilarious as well.

A collection of a lifetime's worth of stories executed by a comics virtuoso, this book has been well reviewed. The Comic Journal's Jeet Heer called it "a splendid book." The reviewer at Publishers Weekly wrote that it "has energy and rot and sex and fury to spare." Paul Gravett proclaimed that it "comes highly recommended" and provided a link to a podcast of a panel review of the book.

Cruisin' with the Hound contains some of my favorite comics ever, and it is capped off by a substantive interview with Spain. It also contains adult situations, nudity, coarse language, sex, and is definitely not meant for children.

Its publisher Fantagraphics provides previews and much more here.

Glory, Volume 1: The Once and Future Destroyer

In the 1990s, Glory was a thinly disguised Wonder Woman clone with an impossibly thin waist published by Image Comics. Her series was heavy on the cheesecake poses, as you can see from the following cover:

Exhibit A

Last year, however, the series underwent a serious overhaul, both visually and stylistically, and Glory was depicted as a brawny, scarred warrior queen. Just check out the cover for this collection:

That's Glory in the middle.

I have to admit I had only read one Glory comic book before now, and it was written by the much-celebrated Alan Moore, but I cannot for the life of me remember anything about it. This book makes a pretty big impression. The plot follows the exploits of Gloriana Demeter, the offspring of an Amazon and a Demon (here shown as alien races). She straddles both races, but eventually chooses to lead neither and breaks from her parents to become a protector of Earth. Her exploits began in World War II, but when this book begins it is set in the present day where Glory has been missing for years. A young Asian reporter named Riley has an uncanny lifelong connection to the superheroine, constantly dreaming of her and tracking her across the globe. She finds what she's looking for in an extremely off-the-beaten-path locale, and nothing turns out as she thinks.

I don't want to spoil things too much, but there are many twists and turns, and each chapter ended with a cliffhanger that kept me wanting to read more. The Once and Future Destroyer is serial comics at their most enticing and engaging.

This book, which accounts for half of this particular Glory saga, was the co-creation of Joe Keatinge and Ross Campbell. Keatinge is a writer known for his new superhero-themed series Hell Yeah as well as co-editing the Eisner and Harvey Award winning anthology Popgun. Campbell is an artist and writer known for his goth-horror-comedy series Wet Moon, his webcomic Shadoweyes, as well as his atmospheric and deft drawing abilities. You could drop the "l" from the series name to describe the action and battle scenes, but Campbell also excels at portraying the quiet character moments as well. Here is an interview with both creators speaking about their collaboration.

This book has received much positive attention and has appeared on many Best of 2012 lists. Publishers Weekly captured much of the flavor of reviews I have read and praised both creators' contributions to this book, "Campbell's art is stunning, creating a female hero who is physically intimidating in a way never seen in superhero comics and creating worlds both familiar and fantastically bizarre, and characters ranging from friendly old French bartenders to armies of individually distinct demon-like creatures from another world. Keatinge's story gives instant depth to its complex characters and excels at slowly presenting a more and more complex narrative spanning thousands of years and several worlds and cultures."

The Once and Future Destroyer is published by Image Comics. This review from samax amen provides some preview pages. Campbell also provides a number of preview images and summaries from each chapter of this book at his website.

My Top Graphic Novels from the Last Year

I read a lot of comics and graphic novels over the course of a year, and I review the majority of them on this blog. What follows is a list of my favorites that I wrote about here, plus two whose reviews are to come in the new year. Most are from 2012, but I could not resist including a couple from 2011 that I did not get to reading until this past year.

From 2012:

My Friend Dahmer
A deeply creepy and thought provoking book, this graphic novel haunted my thoughts for days and weeks after I read it. Not really voyeuristic, instead it depicts a slow descent into depravity by painstakingly small degrees. This book disturbed me by how much I could relate to some of the characters and situations as well as how they would all lead to eventual horror. Derf's art is incredible in its mix of realism and cartoon. His storytelling is also dead on, with tension-filled sequences, humorous interludes, and painful observations. Maybe the best thing I read in the past year, this graphic novel is an impressive masterpiece.

Wizzywig
This graphic novel was a close second in my brain. I really enjoyed Ed Piskor's tragic and compelling account of a fictional super-hacker whose exploits were based on real-life events perpetrated by others. The story beats and art were so expertly laid out they kept me intrigued, while the blend of fiction and reality left me fascinated and wanting to learn more. The story focus, style, and delivery all combined to make this book a highly satisfying reading experience.

Friends with Boys
Faith Erin Hick's tale of adolescence, family drama, friendship, school, and a ghost was one of the most heartfelt and evocative books I read all year. Her character work is strong in terms of her art design but even stronger when it comes to her writing. Each person feels three-dimensional and also intriguing. I was sad to come to the end of the book and realize I could not spend more time with them.

One Dead Spy
The first volume of Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales hopefully augurs a long series of sequels. This book is at once informative, entertaining, and inventive. It made me laugh at loud while also teaching me much about the American Revolution. Intelligent in delivery and rich in details, it may just be the best historical adaptation I have ever read in graphic novel form.

Cruisin' with the Hound
Sadly, we lost comix institution Spain Rodriguez this year, but we also saw the publication of his works I most appreciate. This book collects various stories that have appeared in anthologies over the years about his formative years as a gang member and roustabout in the 1950s in Buffalo, NY. The artwork is masterful and the stories pop with energy at once sexy, rough, familiar, funny, and bittersweet.

Glory: The Once and Future Destroyer
I just read this book in the past week, and it is everything that superhero and episodic comics should be. Ross Campbell's art suits the wide range of bloody battle scenes, alien creatures, and quiet, emotional moments. Joe Keatinge's writing takes a tired Wonder Woman knock-off and reinvents her as a hulking and formidable character while surrounding her with a fantastic supporting cast and intriguing narrative situations. Every chapter ended with a cliffhanger that kept me wanting more.

The Graphic Canon, Volume 1
Russ Kick's edited book of literature, myths, and legends includes works from many nations and eras and has as diverse a cast of comics creators adapting them. Not everything in this volume is A-1 material, but the hits far outnumber the misses, and the ambitiousness of this first of three volumes cannot be denied.

Here are my couple of books published last year that I could not resist including:

Freshman: Tales of 9th Grade Obsessions, Revelations, and Other Nonsense
One of my greatest comics joys in the past year has been finding the work of Corinne Mucha. I love her mini-comics, and this book is an excellent look at adolescence that is evocative, empathic, and not cloyingly nostalgic. The characters are familiar and real; the situations awkward and memorable. Mucha's cartoonish style, comic pacing, and storytelling chops are excellent.

Infinite Kung Fu
Kagan McLeod's epic combines the best aspects of kung fu movies, supernatural fighters, undead adversaries, and legendary tales. The action sequences are incredible, the cast of characters intriguing, and there is a guy who can punch you so hard you cough up centipedes. Extremely fun and engaging.

There you have it, not a top ten, but my Best of Last Year.

Thanks for reading my blog. Happy New Year!

One Dead Spy

This first volume of Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales, fittingly enough, tells the tale of Nathan Hale. It is also written and drawn by Nathan Hale. Hale was a Yankee spy during the American Revolutionary War who is probably best known for his famous last words. In this book, just before he is hanged, something magical happens, and he is given full view of American history. To stall his inevitable end he starts telling stories to a talkative hangman and a priggish British proctor, beginning here with his own. Those two make great foils for each other and for Hale as well. This situation sets up a sturdy storytelling engine, as Hale acts as Scheherezade, setting up a series of books. Its first sequel was released simultaneously, Big Bad Ironclad.

Adding to a narrative delivered in enjoyable fashion, Hale also provides copious back matter, including a reading list for future research. He also provides a section for fact-checking, run by babies(!) and a bonus story about Crispus Attucks. This book surely does not skimp on information about the people and events of this time period.

Creator Nathan Hale already has drawn two graphic novels, Rapunzel's Revenge and its sequel Calamity Jack. He has also drawn a variety of children's books, including Frankenstein: A Monstrous Parody and The Dinosaurs' Night Before Christmas. He shares his publications, news, and fun artwork via his blog.

Reviews I have read about this book thus far have been very positive. Travis from 100 Scope Notes gushed, "Full of thrilling moments, engaging historical information, and boundless creativity, this is what graphic novel nonfiction for kids should be." Kirkus Reviews called the book, "An innovative approach to history that will have young people reading with pleasure." Brett Schenker wrote that "it’s great to be able to read something that’s entertaining for both kids and adults (and educational)!" Mike Pawuk at the School Library Journal concluded, "With Nathan, the Hangman, and the British Soldier, the mix of humor, adventure, and historical facts makes this an engaging historical series, and I can’t recommend it high enough for all libraries."

One Dead Spy is published by Amulet Books. There is a preview available at Amazon.

Wizzywig

Kevin Phenicle is a slight, nerdy adolescent who gets picked on by his peers and who lives with his grandmother. He does not look like much of a threat to anyone. But as "Boingthump," Kevin gets into all kinds of mischief and mayhem. He copies and sells pirate versions of popular computer games. He scams the phone company so he can make all kinds of free calls. He gains access to classified databases. He rigs phones so he wins radio station contests. He invents computer viruses and worms. As a hacker, he finds himself the target of FBI sting operations, ends up imprisoned multiple times, and spends much of his life on the run from the authorities.

Boingthump is a fictional amalgam of a character, with attributes of many famous hackers. He is based mainly on former fugitives Kevin Mitnick and Kevin Poulsen, but he also runs some famous scams perpetrated by legends like Cap'n Crunch, Captain Zap, and Phiber Optik. He even gets credited for an infamous TV jamming scheme. Although Boingthump perpetrates many criminal acts, he appears as a sympathetic figure in this book. It is difficult not to root for him when it seems he is really trying to infiltrate and hoodwink monolithic authorities. Having the support of a friendly radio DJ advocate helps make him seem less unsavory, as does the stark contrasts with an oily TV newsman who capitalizes on Boingthump's notoriety and the thuggish figures who antagonize him, embodied by federal agents and prison inmates.

The contents of this book first appeared serialized as a webcomic, which is still available online. Creator Ed Piskor is best known for multiple collaborations with Harvey Pekar on American Splendor as well as The Beats: A Graphic History. A prolific modern creator whose style is reminiscent of underground comix, he is currently working on a Hip Hop Family Tree webcomic. Piskor talks more about his work on this graphic novel in this interview with IFC.

This book definitely has much to add to the discussion about the benefits and drawbacks of technology hacking. Reviews of it I have read have been very positive. Wired Magazine's Steven Levy called this story "a delight, wryly rendered and packed with dead-on details of the hacker life." Comics Should Be Good's Sonia Harris wrote that "the book is beautiful, a lovely experience to read, made with much love and attention to detail" and well worth buying. The Onion's A.V. Club Comic Panel concluded that Piskor's "passion for the subject jumps off the page, making Wizzywig both an entertaining read and a powerful argument-starter."

A preview and more can be found here from the book's publisher Top Shelf.

The Graphic Canon 1: From the Epic of Gilgamesh to Shakespeare to Dangerous Liaisons

The first book of a proposed trilogy, this volume speaks well of what is to come with a strong initial offering. The works contained and excerpted here range from epic poems to plays, poetic fragments to novels, folktales to religious tomes, short stories to essays. They are illustrated by a who's who of comics creators both new and old, including Robert Crumb, Rick Geary, Gareth Hinds, Roberta Gregory, Valerie Schrag, Fred Van Lente, Ryan Dunlavey, Peter Kuper, and Will Eisner. 75% of the book's contents were also commissioned for this volume, so most of it is unavailable elsewhere. Excerpts from prior publications include great bits from longer adaptations such as Hind's Beowulf, Chwast's The Canterbury Tales and Divine Comedy, and Van Lente and Dunlavey's Action Philosophers series.

Although I cannot say all of the entries are tremendous, I can say that the majority are winning. Of the new adaptations, some of my favorites are:

• Schrag's beautifully rendered version of the randy anti-war comedy Lysistrata
• Kevin and Kent Dixon's comical retelling of the Epic of Gilgamesh
• Hunt Emerson's cartoonish version of the journey through Dante's Inferno
• Andrice Arp's rollicking rendering of "The Fisherman and the Genie" from The Arabian Nights
• Shawn Cheng's detailed depiction of the rebel characters from the classic Chinese novel Outlaws of the Water Margin
• Hinds' gritty excerpt from Gulliver's Travels set in the land of the giants, Brobdingnag
• Kuper's striking adaptation of "A Modest Proposal"
• Eric Johnson's dreamlike drawings of Spenser's The Faerie Queene 

A word of warning, which is probably not needed for most people familiar with any of these classics: this book contains depictions of nudity, sex, flatulence, violence, suffering, swearing, and philosophy. I would not suggest this book for small children without informed parental approval, though I think the vast majority of the book could easily be shared with most older students.

The Graphic Canon's editor, Russ Kick, is known more as a provocateur than a comics aficionado. He is a writer and editor of multiple books published by The Disinformation Society, including 50 Things You're Not Supposed to Know. He also created and maintained (until 2009) the website The Memory Hole, an archive of politically inconvenient government documents and photographs. He and his site gained notoriety when he published photographs of hundreds of coffins containing US military casualties of the Iraq War. Kick speaks extensively about his work and choices for this imposing graphic anthology in this interview with Joe Nolan.

Most of the reviews I have read about this book have remarked on its impressive range of styles and works. Francisca Goldsmith gave the book a starred review in the School Library Journal, calling this anthology "all diamond, no rough" and "a required purchase for any library." Mallory Gevaert wrote that it "is a whirlwind tour both through the classics and the numerous artistic styles and interpretations available to the modern comic-book writer. Sure, it’s educational; moreover, it’s fun." Wayne Alan Brenner summed up his rave review of the book, "The diversity and excellence of this volume, which goes to the 1700s, is just about overwhelming. And by the time we've recovered from the awe, around October, the next volume will be out."

A wealth of information about the book, including preview images, its stories, reviews, and authors, can be found at the series' blog.

My Friend Dahmer

When faced with the fact that their friends or neighbors are murderers, we often hear people on the news say things like, "I had no idea. He mostly kept to himself and seemed like a nice man..." The author of this book used to joke that his high school acquaintance Jeff probably turned into one. This book treads a fine line, making us feel some empathy for an adolescent who would go on to be a serial killer, Jeffrey Dahmer. Using copious news stories, investigation notes, and interviews as a guide, this graphic novel delves into his adolescence, showing how a world of childish antics, pranks, strange fascinations, casual alcoholism, and family strife could lead to madness. The author is not asking the reader to feel sorry for Dahmer; he is merely documenting what happened. As he writes very clearly in the introduction, "Once Dahmer kills, however -- and I can't stress this enough -- my sympathy for him ends."

Derf Backderf, the Eisner-nominated creator of this graphic novel did indeed graduate high school with Dahmer. He has been a cartoonist for more than two decades now, and he has also published the graphic novel Punk Rock & Trailer Parks, the comic memoir Trashed, and a 24-page comic book also called My Friend Dahmer that is something of a draft for this book. He talks more about his work on this volume in this interview.

I have been a fan of Derf for decades now, first reading his comic strip The City in the Boston Phoenix while I was in college, and I have never noticed until now how his art style is so reminiscent of Spain Rodriguez's. That is not a bad thing, in my book, because the mix of staid realism with cartoonish faces, bodies, and postures plays to great effect here. The exaggerated grimaces of Dahmer imitating seizures for laughs, the dark moments with faces hidden in shadows, and the generally blank demeanors of the majority of people in the book make for great contrasting scenes where emotion and sensations come through. Not only do we get a strong sense of the characters but also the geography, with its claustrophobic woods and overwhelmingly hilly roads.

Derf also used pacing to great effect in the book. The first few pages, with a telegraphed image of Jeff walking on the side of a street and coming upon a roadkill, really set an ominous, borderline quirky tone for the story.  There are a couple of other sequences, when he takes a neighborhood dog to his private spot in the woods and when he picks up a hitchhiker later in the book, that are quite deliciously tense and suspenseful. Every event and scene deliberately moves toward a dark, inevitable end, and even though I knew how it would end I still thought the journey this book took me on was compelling and very affecting.

The scariest part of the book (and there are several tense sections) for me was just how mundane and additive Dahmer's descent into madness and depravity was. He was not an outcast, mostly a joker on the fringes of class who was not really friends with anyone. Add to that he felt he had to hide and repress his homosexuality in a time and place with little chance of acceptance. He turned to alcohol, which was not so out of place in the more lax attitude toward substances and the lower drinking ages of the 1970s. That no one got close enough to him to notice how much his family life was affecting him is horrific and yet utterly understandable; most people are uncomfortable sticking their noses into others' business. Yet somehow all of these factors combined to lead into a deadly, terrible, and unthinkable series of events.

Reviews I have read of this book have been very positive. The Cleveland Plain Dealer's Karen Sandstrom wrote that the power of this graphic novel is that it "allows the reader to mourn and pity the killer's own wasted life while never losing sight of who's to blame for what he became." The Comic Journal's Brandon Soderberg called it "the definitive piece of literature on the notorious murderer" and added that it is "also about what it’s like to be 16, self-involved, and lack the faculties to empathize." Time's Lev Grossman wrote of the power of the book, "It’s a great thing when you feel that you recognize yourself, deeply and movingly, in a work of literature. It’s kind of unnerving when that work of literature is a graphic novel called My Friend Dahmer." Kirkus Reviews gushed in a starred review, calling it "an exemplary demonstration of the transformative possibilities of graphic narrative."

This book was published by Abram ComicArts. Here is a preview available from The Beat.

Friends with Boys

With Friends with Boys, Faith Erin Hicks paints a very human, relatable, and moving picture of a girl in transition. Maggie has been home-schooled her whole life, but now she is about to enter public high school, and she feels like her life is being turned upside-down. Her mom, her only teacher, has left. Her three older brothers, her only friends, are growing up and becoming distant. Her dad has become the chief of police and has to change how he looks and acts because of his new role. To add to everything, Maggie is also seeing a ghost who follows her around more and more.

Hicks is a long publishing web cartoonist who is known for smart, idiosyncratic series like The Adventures of Superhero Girl and Demonology 101. She has also worked on a number of graphic novels including Brain Camp and The War at Ellsmere. She has won multiple Web Cartoonists' Choice Awards as well as a 2008 Joe Shuster Award for Best Creator (English Language) for her graphic novel Zombies Calling. Hicks talks more about the business side of creating graphic novels in this article.

Thus far this book has been extremely well received, with many expressing enthusiasm to see Hicks' latest work. Reading Rants wrote that "this insightful, smart" graphic novel "does a great job of not only telling the real deal about high school but also sensitively exploring the interesting dynamics of sibling relationships and how brothers and sisters can be your best friends—if you let them." Librarian assistant director Tasha Saecker commented that this book uses the graphic novel format well and that "the story takes several surprising twists, which makes it all the more readable." The tough critics at Kirkus Reviews awarded it a starred review. Also, for those who like to listen to their reviews, here is 3 Chicks Review Comics podcast.

I know it is early in the year, but I would be shocked if this graphic novel did not appear on any year-end "best of" lists. I was taken by how well executed and emotionally charged it was. Hicks is expert at creating small but powerful moments in very subtle ways.

This edition is published by First Second, and they provide a preview, discussion guide, and more here. Friends with Boys is also published as a webcomic.