July 2006 Comics

Comics from mid-June to mid-July from my pre-orders at Mile High Comics. What I thought was going to be a promising shipment of books turned out to be a letdown (or maybe I’m just in a slump with comics):

Mome 4 (Fantagraphics): Even stalwart Anders Nilsen, usually my favorite in this anthology, lets me down this time with a rehashed project that pre-figured his Dogs and Water book. David B’s long story is the highlight of the book, but… I don’t know, feels kind of empty. I think it’s time to just give up on this one. If anything really good comes out of it, I’m sure it’ll get collected later.

Babel 2 by David B (Fantagraphics): Had to dig up the first issue to better follow along with this issue. Reads much like a supplement to Epileptic, which is when this is at its worst. The best moments are David B delving into history and wars (Papuan natives, the Algerian war). Babel (aptly) is a heterogeneous work, jumping through times, themes, forms (dream, autobiography, war).

Patch of Dreams by Hideji Oda (Fanfare/Ponent Mon): This is an odd looking manga. The art is scratchy and occasionally looks like its been poorly scanned, but I think it’s just the thin pen used. Maybe not, but I expect good quality from Fanfare. The story on this one does not match that quality. Dreams, hallucinations, psychological problems, blah.

Phoenix 7 by Osamu Tezuka (Viz): Haven’t read this yet, the first part of a long chapter in Tezuka’s unfinished set of interlocking tales that jump between the past and the future. This is a past one. I know it’ll be good so I’m holding off to savour the experience. I am so glad Viz began putting this series out again.

My Most Secret Desire by Julie Doucet (Drawn and Quarterly): A collection of shorts by the now ex-comics artist, mostly dream stories. Doucet’s work is not for me, her crowded rough art does not appeal and her grotesque stories and imagery are not to my taste (reminds me of Crumb, who I am also not fond of).

The Left Bank Gang by Jason (Fantagraphics): A great concept–Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Joyce, Pound, even Stein in 20’s Paris as comic artists instead of writers–is here poorly executed. What could be something really interesting (and perhaps even an commentary on comics as related to literature or even envisaging the aforementioned modernists’ work into comics) turns into a crime story. The most interesting section uses a sequence of limited perspectives, one character after another, to unfold the events in a slightly mysterious manner. Jason’s art is as good as ever, clear line anthropomorphism, but the story really disappoints.

While these were mostly letdowns, two exciting books arrived in the mail this week from their respective publishers: Comic Art’s new issue (8 from Buenaventura Press) which looks great, and the first volume of Classic Comics Press’ Mary Perkins On Stage reprint series. Woo hoo. More on these when I finish them.

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