Superman Smashes the Klan #1

I usually don't review monthly periodicals here, but in this case I'll make an exception. For one reason, it's a larger than usual issue, and second it's written by Gene Luen Yang, former National Ambassador for Young People's Literature. Superman Smashes the Klan is a comics series based on a series from The Adventures of Superman radio serial based on a real story. The story is set in 1946 and follows the Lee family, who are Chinese and Chinese-American and moving to Metropolis from Chinatown. As they are settling into their new environs, they encounter prejudice both subtly (from neighbors) and extremely visibly from the local chapter of the Clan of the Fiery Cross (a thinly veiled Ku Klux Klan). As the Lees live across the street from cub reporter Jimmy Olsen, their situation comes to the attention of star reporters Clark Kent and Lois Lane. And of course, Superman also intervenes.

Notably, in this story Superman recounts the tale of how he began to learn about his Kryptonian roots and encounters the substance Kryptonite for the first time. So in a clever way, Superman's immigrant status comes to bear in fantastical terms on the more terrestrial concerns of the main narrative.

Although this tale is fictional, and it contains its share of superhero tropes, it is the very human and insightful supporting characters who steal the show. The Lees are a collection of distinct individuals: the mother clinging to her old ways and wanting to speak Mandarin, the father trying his best to do right by his family but also assimilate into US culture, the headstrong older son Tommy tries to use his athletic ability to win friends, while younger sister Roberta is more tentative and suspicious. I enjoyed getting to know them in short order, and it is easy to be moved by the events that envelop them. And I also find it fascinating to see a tale originally told in 1946 is still sadly relevant and applicable to events of today.

This book's author Gene Leun Yang is one of the premier comics creators working today. He was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship and has also won the Printz Award for his graphic novel American Born Chinese. He has explored themes of immigration, belief, identity, and growing up in his many works, including The Eternal Smile, Level Up, The Shadow Hero, the twin volumes Boxers & Saints, and New Superman. It was drawn by Gurihiru, a duo of Japanese artists named Chifuyu Sasaki and Naoko Kawano who have been drawing lots of American comic books over the past decade. Most of their notable works have been for Marvel Comics, but they also have drawn a number of books in the Avatar series. Their style is clean and crisp, telling the story and introducing the characters in vibrant fashion. Yang speaks more about the inspirations behind this series in this interview.

All of the reviews I have read about this book have been glowing. Ray Goldfield called it "one of the most engaging first issues that I can remember out of DC, and I expect that the final product is going to be a modern classic." Alexander Cole wrote, "It does a fantastic job adapting the historic radio drama that helped destroy the reputation of the Ku Klux Klan in America and it’s as heartfelt and entertaining as a comic can really be." Lizzy Garcia opined that it is "an excellent Superman story and a reminder of why I adore the character so much." My pal Paul Lai also has some insightful things to say about it in his podcast.

Superman Smashes the Klan #1 was published by DC Comics, and they offer more info about it here. There will be three issues in the series.

Hey Kids! Comics!

Today, the properties that originated in comic books are big business. Superhero stories spawn huge franchises that cross over various media platforms and used to sell a myriad of products. But the people responsible for creating these often beloved and highly commercial characters and stories are often buried in obscurity, relegated to a single line of a movie credit (if they are lucky), or often cut out of receiving any credit at all. Famously, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster sold Superman to what would be called DC Comics for $130 and spent decades trying to be compensated for their creation. Jack Kirby created or co-created pretty much every character in the original Marvel Universe, but he received no royalties, and worse yet mostly people attribute his work to Stan Lee. Even more recently, Thanos creator Jim Starlin feuded with Marvel over compensation over the main villain for a movie that had a $1.2 billion opening weekend. Such situations of inequity are the focus of this book, Hey Kids! Comics! that chronicles the lives of several fictional comics creators.

It features several characters over the course of eight decades, and they appear to be based on specific familiar figures as well as some composite characters. The main three, Ted Whitman, Benita Heindel, and Ray Clarke, all shed a unique light on the comics industry. Whitman is an African American artist, working in a field dominated by white men. Heindel is a white woman also trying to navigate this world. Clarke is a white man, but he is a freelancer who bounces between companies and gets a wide look at goings on in comics as a whole. Over the years, they deal with the low regard and low pay of the job, ego-maniacal publishers and editors, turbulent years when comics companies were in financial distress, and the need to be adaptable in order to survive in multiple times of change.

 

 

 

As a person pretty well versed in comic book history, I recognize that a bunch of the stories told here cleave closely to actual events, albeit in fictionalized fashion. They are fascinating, gripping tales that offer a counterpoint to the glam and glitter associated (especially with) superheroes today. The storytelling is tight, the characters are strong and memorable. The biggest issue I had with the book was keeping up with it large cast of characters and time shifts, but after the first chapter I got into the swing and rhythm of the book and everything clicked along well. I feel this book is complex enough that rereading it is rewarding, so it has that in its favor as well.

This volume collects what was a five-issue series, and it was created by Howard Chaykin, a veteran comics maker with decades of experience. He cut his teeth in the industry as an assistant to legends Gil Kane (who I feel is the inspiration for the Clarke character) and Wally Wood. He notably drew some of the initial Star Wars comic books for Marvel in the 1970s, but it was in the 1980s that he really began making his mark transforming comic books with his independent series American Flagg! and the X-rated Black Kiss. He has numerous comics credits since then, and he speaks more about his work on Hey Kids! Comics! in this interview and also writes more about it in this article.

The reviews I have seen about this book have been mixed. Dan Traeger concluded, "I highly recommend this if you’re a fan of comic book history, or if you’re a fan of Chaykin’s historical fiction." Alan Boon wrote, "If you’re even a casual student of comic book history, and aren’t averse to seeing Stan Lee pulled down off his pedestal and given a beating with a rock in a sock, then this could hold some interest for you." Cole offered some interesting insights in his review at The Perfect Bound Podcast. Derek and I also discussed the first two issues in this episode of The Comics Alternative podcast.

Hey Kids! Comics! was  published by Image Comics, and they offer a preview and much more info about it here.

Masterful Marks: Cartoonists Who Changed the World

There have been a great many cartoonists who have had a huge impact on the world, and even some failed ones (like Hugh Hefner) found ways to still truck in comics and be successful. This book Masterful Marks tells a number of biographies about these titanic figures, using comics as the medium and a number of notable contemporary creators as authors. Many of the stories told here are superb in terms of their topic and also by their execution. Peter Kuper's bio of Harvey Kurtzman was cleverly and masterfully composed in ways that incorporated his subject's signature style in the narrative. But my favorite one was by Drew Friedman about R. Crumb, which conveyed Crumb's influence and also contained a good number of personal anecdotes about his encounters with different comics creators. It was a beautifully drawn essay with lots of fun flourishes and lively storytelling:

The other entries were as diverse in style as the subjects they cover. Many of them focus on hard luck tales of creators being cheated out of their creations and the fortunes they wrought. I really enjoyed Mark Alan Stamaty's take on Jack Kirby as well as Ryan Heshka's beautiful artwork on the entry about Superman's creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster:

Other stories focus on those who found fame and fortune through art, including entries on children's book author Dr. Seuss, celebrated caricaturist Al Hirschfeld, and the progenitor of the macabre Addams Family, Charles Addams:

What was also excellent for me, an old fogey who knows a lot about comics and their creators, is that there are also some entries about folks I had never heard of, like Lynd Kendall Ward (who created the first graphic novels) and Rodolphe Töpffer (who created the first comic strips). The only real clunker in this book for me was the entry on Walt Disney, because it basically amounted to a few pages of an adult talking to a child with little action or creative use of comics to convey a narrative. It was like reading an encyclopedia entry, only in word balloons. Happily, all of the other entries in this book were much better, most being remarkably excellent.

Common in the critiques of I have read of this book is that it is not very diverse. There are no woman represented as subjects in the book, and Osamu Tezuka is the only creator represented from a non-European background, but I still think that there is much here among the biographies to inform, delight, and surprise those unfamiliar with many of these figures. I also think that such an absence also acts on a commentary about the history of comics, when many minority groups were not given entrée.

Monte Beauchamp edited this book and also authored four of its entries. He is a graphic designer, illustrator, author, and editor who has won multiple honors, including the Richard Gangel Art Director Award. He is best known for his long running anthology of comics and art Blab!, but he also has written a number of books about popular culture, including ones about Krampus and vintage matchbook cover art. Beauchamp speaks more about his work and choices in writing/editing this book in this interview.

All of the reviews I have read about this book praise and describe a collection of mostly strong stories. Don Simpson called it "a slick and attractive compendium of drawing board history told in a diversity of current styles." J. Caleb Mozzocco commented positively on the "Murderers’ Row of great contributors and collaborators" who worked on this book. Kirkus Reviews summed up, "There’s always a hit-or-miss quality to such projects, and some question over the selections, but what’s great here is really terrific."

Masterful Marks was published by Simon & Schuster, and they have a preview and more here.

The Bulletproof Coffin

The Bulletproof Coffin is a whole bunch of things in one package, including a critical commentary on the comics industry and how it treats its creators, a recapitulation of classic Marvel bullpen personae, a nostalgic look at Golden and Silver Age comic books, and a piece of good old fashioned science fiction paranoia. The story stars Steve Newman, a voids contractor whose job is to clean out dead people's houses and take their unwanted belongings to the local landfill.

He and his partner Joey Spinoza often go to each house the night before to select any choice bits, and consequently Steve has amassed quite a collection of collector's items like old comic books, toys, and store displays. He keeps all these treasures in his attic sanctuary, away from his wife and children.

The plot thickens when Steve finds an old television, some (he thought) unpublished comic books, and a Coffin Bug costume. Suddenly he finds himself compelled to wear the suit, which fits like a glove, and he is transported to all kinds of adventures with comics heroes The Red Wraith, The Shield of Justice, The Unforgiving Eye, and Ramona Queen of the Stone Age. They fight mysterious shadow men and a dimension-traveling zombie horde at the end of time, but they learn that their dire fates could be averted if they find their creators David Hine and Shaky Kane.

The proceedings are very meta-textual, with all sorts of jabs at industry conventions and also some satirical yet creepy recreations of comic book features like advertisements, letters to the editor, and fan art. This book contains some very elaborate packaging and commentary, and it seems to be a real labor of love as well as a lot of fun. All of these details do not weigh down the proceedings, and I feel that the adventure stands on its own merits as a piece of superhero action/science fiction.

What drew me to this book in the first place was the art by Shaky Kane. Kane has been drawing various comics since the mid-1980s and his style is influenced heavily by "Ed ‘Big Daddy’ Roth, Savage Pencil, Jack Kirby, Brett Ewins and Brendan McCarthy" (per his bio). His Kirby riff is prevalent in this book, but his art straddles classic and contemporary comics styles. It is both raw and polished, and it reminds me a lot of Bob Burden's. The story is by David Hine, who has written a multitude of comics for many different companies. Both creators speak about their work in this interview.

Reviews I have read have praised this book that is simultaneously in love with and highly critical of comic books.  Ryan K. Lindsay called it "a smart comic that is also insanely enjoyable." Alex Carr called it "entirely original" and added that "it's worth seeking out for any true culture vulture."

The Bulletproof Coffin was published by Image Comics. The entire first issue is available as a preview here. For those interested, there is a sequel, The Bulletproof Coffin: Disinterred.  I recommend this book for mature readers, as it contains some adult language, bloody violence, and nudity.

Trick or treat!

"Buy what won’t make you feel dirty."

I very much enjoyed Tim Marchman's interview with Len Wein --and a handler(!) from DC Entertainment named Pam, I might add-- about the recent Before Watchmen project that has ignited a firestorm of comics controversy about creators' rights and corporate control. His talk with Wein lends a different angle on the topic, one from a long-time comics professional, and also puts a finer point on multiple arguments made about the situation.

I encourage you to check it out!

Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons carving up a cake!
(image yoinked from IGN)

An article about the state of US superhero comic books at... The Wall Street Journal?!?!

 (Disclaimer: I totally copped the WSJ image.)

Tim Marchman comments on the failure of comics publishers to gain any market bump from the massive movie successes of some of this properties, the industry's overall continued poor treatment of creators, and the irony of these situations at at time when it seems comics is enjoying a time of great creativity and expansion in other areas.

My initial reactions:

• The US superhero-reading community has shrunken considerably over the past two decades, and the 1990s speculator bust and near bankruptcies of major companies did not help. Nor does the dwindling number of specialty shops, which are the main places to find comic books. These situations make for a small, specialty audience.

• Comic book publishers keep pushing out lots and lots of padded six-issue storylines so they can publish them as trade paperbacks. This strikes me literally as the "1000 monkeys pounding on keyboards" theory of writing. Eventually they hope they will strike upon a perennial best-selling book, like Watchmen, The Dark Knight Returns, Batman: Year One, or The Infinity Gauntlet. In the meantime, this process makes for a whole lot of junk coming out and precious few quality books. 

• Also, there is no substantial reward to any creator to make one of those books for a big publisher when in the long run it seems that if their work is successful, they will only get some royalties (which seem like peanuts in compensation) coupled with having little or no creative control. I cannot see why anyone would try to be creative at one of these companies then, other than to fulfill a dream to work on a property they themselves enjoyed, which is a sentimental but ultimately not-so-profitable endeavor.  

• Furthermore, creators are lucky apparently to have their names mentioned in the credits. If anything, having your name in the end credits is the equivalent of legal small print. As long as they give some credit to the creators, no matter how slight or buried, the company is covered. Not much of a career aspiration for a comics artist, to be three lines up from Best Boy or Catering Services...

• I have not been impressed by any of J. Michael Straczynski's comic work (thus no links from me), and Marchman's line that the upcoming batch of Watchmen sequels was the "rough equivalent of having Z-movie director Uwe Boll film a studio-funded prequel to Martin Scorsese's 'Taxi Driver'" was particularly well taken.

In any case, go read it and see what you think...

Hicksville

A love note to comics as a form, commentary on the business-side of the industry, and mystery story, Hicksville is the story of Leonard Batts, a biographer, trying to unearth the origins of Dick Burger, the most successful comics creator in America. He knows next to nothing about Burger's formative years and has a very difficult time finding Hicksville, a small town in New Zealand that is not on any maps. What he finds there amazes him: People from all ages and walks of life read and talk about comics. The library has complete runs of classics such as Action Comics but also obscurities like mini-comics from Mongolia. And everybody refuses to say anything about Dick Burger.

This story originally appeared serially from 1993 to 1997 in Pickle and originally was published as a collection with 50 new pages in 1998. This edition has some introductory material added where we see a frank discussion of the author's career as well as some shifts in the comics industry since. It also has copious back matter to help explain the many comics references within the narrative, for unfamiliar readers.

Hicksville is the creation of Dylan Horrocks, a New Zealand born comics artist who has mostly worked on his own creator-owned works but has also written for DC on books like Batgirl and Hunter: The Age of Magic. Horrocks publishes most of his new work on his own site, Hicksville Comics.

Hicksville has been a largely celebrated book. Richard from the Forbidden Planet International blog wrote that it "is staggeringly good, a perfect exploration of all that is right, and much that is wrong, with this beautiful, unique medium." W. Scott Poole sees the book as beautiful, vibrant, and still, sadly, very relevant concerning a comics industry that has changed little in 20 years. Peter Gutiérrez offered that it is "the rare work that manages to be both brainy and silly with equal credibility."

A pdf preview, a series of review blurbs, and other resources can be found here from Drawn & Quarterly.