By Britt Schramm
June 20th, 2005
Let's face it; I was on the fast track to becoming a jaded bitter old fanboy. I know that this admission is nothing new to anyone who's read my last couple of columns. During my month-and-a-half-long break from writing this column, I had a chance to step back and reassess my previous columns. And on the whole, I still like them. They're not perfect by any stretch of the imagination. But I did notice that I was going down the bitter Comic Book Guy path on the last couple of posts. Maybe it was because I was becoming frustrated with the impending reliance of the big crossover crappola that the Big Two was beginning to force down our throats. Or maybe it was due to a lack of sleep with the new arrival that came on Cinco de Mayo. Or maybe it was that third Grilled Stuffed Burrito that I shouldn't have thrown down in one sitting. I dunno. However, after mulling it over for a couple of weeks, I've come to a decision -- I'm gonna try to make this column more about showing my love for comics and try not to let the other crap bother me so much.
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Now, that doesn't mean that I'm going the way of being the corporate comic book's Yes Man and say everything about comics is the best thing since Jessica Alba wearing a see-through top to the MTV Movie Awards since that's totally not my personality. Plus, it would sound as grating as the British accent on that guy on "Hit Me Baby One More Time" (which, by the way, sounds like someone from SNL doing a awful Robin Leach impression with fake John Elway teeth). But I'll give it my best effort so I don't always sound like the constant drone of doom and gloom about the state of comics in today's world. I know that I won't be perfect but I'll try. Think of me as a recovering pessimist who goes on a bender every once and awhile. I can't help it. After all, I have been a Red Sox fan for over 25 years.
So, rather than gloat from up on high about my crystal-clear prediction about the unbelievable pervasiveness that both "Infinite Crisis" and "House of M" killer crossovers (to borrow the line from Timmy Hardaway's defining b-ball move) are having on the other monthly titles (see Newsarama's account of the financial commitment to read the entire crossover storyline here), this week's column will be about preaching the gospel of love towards all of the things that I'm currently digging in today's four color realm. Again, this stuff may not be new to anyone out there but this is Week #1 in PftL's new positive direction so bear with me as this is uncharted waters from here on out. Please remember - just like the Mohawk that I had for about a week while I was on leave and had to cut off before heading back to work - it may look like an ugly mess but it still has its moments of coolness.
Now, onward...
Pocket-sized/Digest-sized/Manga-sized trade paperbacks - The re-introduction of these smaller books reminds me back to the days when I was first starting to read comic books. In the late '70s and early '80s, DC was publishing a series of digest collections of older issues called "The Best of DC Digest" and "DC Special Blue Ribbon Digest". One digest per month would be dedicated with some various issues from titles like Superman, Batman, Jonah Hex, and Legion of Super-Heroes. At the time, the cover price for these digests ran like $1 or $1.25 (compared to the price of a monthly was around 55 or 60 cents). And with over 90 pages, how could a kid with a $5 a week allowance pass a deal like that up?
The same could be said of today's pocket-sized versions. They're usually a good $4 to $6 cheaper than most trades. They're easier to carry around in a messenger bag when going on travel. They fit nicely in your hands so no one can see when you're reading them in a meeting that will never end (not that I have tried that). Now, I'm not saying that all trades should be this size since some art needs to have the regular size but for books like "Sentinel", "Dead @17", "Hardy Boys", or "The Batman", they're the perfect format for reading. Really, what's not to love about them? (If you want to learn more about the old DC Digest format click here).
The re-emergence of the Horror genre - I didn't read any horror comics when I first began reading (eerily similar to Corey Haim character in "Lost Boys" but I was way more nerdlike - shocker - even back then, I had all the characteristics of a Comic Book Guy in training). As I was growing up, I began to develop an appreciation for the genre by watching great '80s horror schlock like "Friday the 13th", "Nightmare on Elm Street" and "Hellraiser." By the '90s, I was watching almost everything that Full Moon Entertainment was putting out and reading comics that had some horror elements in them like Alan Moore revision of the DC character "Swamp Thing," Mike Mignola's "Hellboy," and "Hellblazer."
So, when this new wave of Horror books started coming out, I no longer had any preconceived bias against horror so I was ready to read some sick books. The first one I picked up was "30 Days into Night," the Steve Niles/Ben Templesmith bloodbath of a series. That story about vampires going to the one place where there is 30 days of night just so they can feed on the residents was great and from there, it was all over. Soon, I was grabbing other twisted books like "The Walking Dead" and "Dylan Dog," the creepy Italian comic series that was collected and translated in the States by Dark Horse. In the relatively near future, I'm really looking forward to the "Land of the Dead" adaptation as well as the "Shawn of the Dead" mini-series, written by some rookie comic book writer -- I just wish that I could remember his name. [Here's a hint--it's the same as the guy who just fired you-Ed.]
The introduction of humor back into comic books -- If the last one dealt with Horror making a comeback, this one is all about the knee slappers. As I have said in a previous column, the Giffen/DeMatteis/Maguire Justice League brought back some of the light-hearted humor to the world of superheroes. Then, 1992 rolled around and you know how that went. Laughs were dead and grim, gritty and mutants were king. Humor was relegated to the newsprint and the good ole adventures of Archie and his gang until about seven or eight years ago when books like "Adventures of Barry Ween, Boy Genius" and "Liberty Meadows" along with a couple of other books that seemed to escape the clutches of the dark mutant shadow that was dominating comics during that time.
Like a kid testing the temperature of a pool, the bigger comic book companies started to publish books that had some elements of humor in them like the much maligned "Major Bummer," "Aztek," and "PvP." Now, you see books on the racks like "The Goon," "True Story Swear To God," "Crayon Shinchan", "Jingle Belle" and the full circle return of Giffen/DeMatteis/Maguire in the books "Formerly The Justice League" and "JLA Classified," the soon-to-be published "The Defenders" and the mini-series "Hero Squared" (without the art of Maguire, though). It's a good time to like the humor.
The diversity of the written and drawn page -- This is possibly fueling my unquenchable thirst for comics at this time. Right now, there's a veritable wealth of different styles in comics, both in writing and in art; more than likely due to the growing of small press publishers. Works like "Blankets", Eightball", "Strangers in Paradise" and "Kane" more than prove that there is a healthy market for non-superhero stories as well as non-traditional superhero art. And you can see small press' influence upon their bigger brothers in the biz.
Fifteen years ago, you probably would not have seen a Matt Wagner ("Mage", "Grendel") Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight comic or read a Mark Schultz ("Xenozoic Tales") Superman: Man of Steel script without the success of their small press work. Nor would you see Scott Morse ("Soulwind", "Volcanic Revolver") using his moody atmosphere and use of non-realistic body composition in a Batman one-shot or Jim Mahfood ("Grrl Scouts") bringing his underground hip-hop funkiness and his love for natural looking female breasts into a Generation X book. Hell, I could possibly make the case that Brian Michael Bendis ("Goldfish", "Jinx") or the man that Entertainment Weekly put at #60 on their Summer Must List, Robert Kirkman ("Battle Pope") wouldn't be kings of all they survey in Marvel Land without the hard and successful work they put into their small press creations. I just like the idea that I don't have to see different people trying to ape or copy a more "popular" artist's style just to sell books. Comics are all about uniqueness and creativity and to stifle an up-and-coming artist by telling them to write/draw like someone else seems wrong.
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The New DC logo -- I know, I know. Being Mr. Pessimist, I should be up in arms over this one and begin to wax poetically for more then 500 words about changing this 25-plus year old icon that had been a part of my comic book reading since I started reading them. However, after rejecting it initially just for change's sake, I took a look at it again and realized that I kinda liked it. To me, it has a somewhat modern feel to it but not too cheesy. It won't look dated in a few years time. It looks majestic and cool when it rolls by on the big screen. And I'm even kinda fond of the nickname -- DC Spin. Sure, I'll miss the old friend, the DC Bullet, in the top right corner. But I'm embracing change right now and living in the Now. So, call me a DC Homer or a damn DC Dummy -- I could care less. I’m like Ren in the empty warehouse dancing and doing gymnastics with Kenny Loggins singing in the background, “I’m free!”
I could go on about more of the stuff that I'm digging now like Marvel making more trade paperbacks, the increase of original graphic novels and the growing list of comic book conventions throughout the country but I don't want to make everyone get a case of diabetes from my saccharine-sweetened words. I guess that the whole point of this column is to show that even though I joke around about people taking comics too seriously, sometimes I should realize that more myself. But it's only because I have such a real love for comics and get easily pissed off when stupid stuff goes on in the comic book community.
Hopefully from this point forward, I'll try to let that love show through in my subsequent columns. So, if you're a new reader, thanks for coming by and I hope that you'll stick around. And if you're a regular, don't worry. I'm sure that I'll fall off the wagon one of these days. Especially when DC skips a year in all of their books' continuity. Or probably when I make another run for the Border.
Before I go, here's a quick PftL endorsement:
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Of all of the books out there that are trying to make a buck off the Red Sox 2004 storybook season (and I know that there are more books being published on this subject than there are days in a year), the one for the true die-hard BoSox fan is "Surviving Grady
" by the good people over at AiT/Planet Lar. The authors, Tim McCarney and Tom Deady (or known on their blog posting respectively as "Red" and "Denton"), give you the raw, emotional roller coaster ride to the point of being clinically bi-polar that is a normal season in the life of a true Red Sox fan. It is a place where the beer flows like wine when the Sox win and when they lose, you feel like your heart has been ripped out, blended into a fine puree and served out of your empty chest cavity to anyone and everyone within shouting distance. The book contains such an in-the-moment fervor that I felt like I was experiencing combat fatigue, reliving every game and trade like it was the night before. If there is a Red Sox fan in your life, you must get this book for them. Also, it would make a great gift for an enemy who's a tortured Yankee fan (which I, unfortunately, know way too many). Truly, "Surviving Grady" is the gift that will keep on giving. I am Britt Schramm and I approve this message. (Okay, I know that last joke's shelf life has gone over, but I didn't have a chance to use it last year. Please cut me some slack.)
That’s all for now. See you next time, party people. And don’t forget to keep your boards and bags together and keep your continuity straight.
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