What's worse than waking up to find that the month's best-selling comic book stars the Transformers? Finding out that both of the month's best-selling comic books star the Transformers. Welcome to your comics industry, July 2002.

If I'm honest with myself, this shouldn't bother me. So what if a quarter-million people want to read old toy comics? It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg. But I am bothered all the same, because I was an optimist in 2000. After the flood of mainstream publicity for terrific books like JIMMY CORRIGAN, DAVID BORING, SAFE AREA GORAZDE and THE JEW OF NEW YORK, there was no excuse for not knowing about the good stuff. The traditional comics readership was faced with a clear choice: progress or regress. And what did they choose?

Sigh. Well, let's to it...

PICK OF THE MONTH

EXPO 2002 ANTHOLOGY, by various
JUL02 1920, pg. 256, $9.95
www.spxpo.com

The Small Press Expo is an annual East Coast convention dedicated to all that's unjustly obscure in comics. And every year they put out a big, thick anthology that weighs almost as much as one of the bricks they give out at the Ignatz Awards. Why should you buy it? 1) It would be easier to tell you who isn't in it than who is. It's about the best primer on the alt-comics scene as you'll find between two covers. 2) At 350 pages for just $10, it's a stone bargain. 3) The proceeds benefit the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund. How can you not take a chance on this?

If you're feeling adventurous, you may also want to try POTLATCH 2002 (JUL02 1919, pg. 256, $5.95 for 160 pages), a collection of stories that weren't included in the last EXPO book, for much the same reasons. See www.potlatchcomics.org for details.

RUNNER-UP

CIVILIAN JUSTICE #1, by Graig [G as in Gennifer] Weich, Adam Meyerhoff & various, from Beyond Comics, Inc.
JUL02 1864, pg. 240, $3.99

Graig Weich's freakishly spelled name is one you will be hearing a lot more of soon. He is a man of many talents: he publishes, draws, writes, teaches, and when he is making movies (of which more later), produces, directs, writes the musical score, and makes the molded latex costumes. And now he's releasing his first comic book, CIVILIAN JUSTICE.

The cover will stir the blood of any patriot. Our hero, leather-clad with an American flag wrapped around his head (how does he see? the Founders guide him, I suppose) is trying to spear a chap who looks like the Afghan version of Rambo with... a flagpole. With flag still attached. A forthcoming resin statue, even more stunning than the cover, portrays our hero having successfully impaled the terrorist on his pole and waving him aloft. (Is it proper to pledge allegiance to the flag if it's emerging from a terrorist's chest wound? What's the latest court ruling?)

The solicitation sets the scene memorably: "Born out of tragedy, a new was [sic] has presented itself by evil terrorists." As opposed to kindly, lovable terrorists, no doubt. A fellow named Clint Martinson, whose first name ought to look interesting in all-caps comic book lettering, has a girlfriend who died in the World Trade Center attacks, and, "he cannot let her memory die in vain, so this man, this Civilian, will raise up and take justice into his own hands to represent the emotion of a nation and make a difference in the real world (by donating the profits of this book to the relief funds in NY in real life!)" They tend to confuse fiction and reality when they get excited over at Beyond Comics, Inc.

The ad also says this is to be a movie, starring a guy from NBC's show SCRUBS, the guy who wore the Darth Vader suit in STAR WARS, and Coolio. There is a trailer on the Flash-infested Beyond Comics website, but none of those people seem to be in it.

It's inspiring just the same, though: see Clint emoting desperately in a vacant lot we are asked to believe is the WTC wreckage site; hear big ol' superhero sound effects for everything, right down to Clint zipping up his costume; gape as Clint is fired upon by a pair of towelheads with automatic rifles at a distance of twenty paces... and this man, this Civilian, deflects all the bullets with nunchucks. For a full thirty seconds. Admittedly the nunchucks detract from the all-American theme, but still, how cool is that?

This is the kind of enlightened, relevant, forward-thinking book that will save the comics industry. And maybe- just maybe- it will make sense for us of America's War On Terror.

On to the other, lesser comics.

DARK HORSE COMICS

FLOOD, by Eric Drooker
JUL02 0018, pg. 30, $14.95

It's the last days of the twentieth century, and in New York it looks like rain.

This is Eric Drooker's first graphic novel, a wordless parable in the tradition of '30s woodcut novelists Lynd Ward and Franz Masereel. I don't think I can improve on Art Speigelman's review: "a complex, dream-charged vision... of a soulless civilization headed towards the apocalypse. It's a poetic and lyrical novel-told virtually without words... Drooker has discovered the magic of pulling light and life out of an inky sea of darkness." It's very good to see this important work back in print.

AMERICAN SPLENDOR: UNSUNG HERO #2 (of 3), by Harvey Pekar and David Collier
JUL02 0021, pg. 32, $3.99

More of the biography of Pekar's friend, Vietnam veteran Robert McNeill. Pekar is the man who made comic books safe for everyday life; you really should pay attention.

DC COMICS

SMALLVILLE: THE COMIC, by various
JUL02 0185, pg. 78, $3.95

Don't get too excited, it's a one-shot. The Super-book editors don't think a SMALLVILLE comics series would work because it would stand out much less in comics, home of superheroics, than the show does on TV. Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't the superheroics a merely incidental part of SMALLVILLE's appeal?

It's not my fight, really. But 6 million people watch SMALLVILLE every week. And the country's biggest comic book publisher doesn't think it has anything to offer them?

FIGHT FOR TOMORROW #1 (of 6), by Brian Wood, Denys Cowan & Kent Williams
JUL02 0242, pg. 88, $2.50

Kung fu story set in the New York underworld. Meant as a Hong Kong action movie on paper. I would like to see them pull it off. But given the way Wood's POUNDED just skidded to a stop, I think I'll wait and see.

PLANETARY/JLA: TERRA OCCULTA, by Warren Ellis and Jerry Ordway
JUL02 0224, pg. 84, $5.95

Ellis discharges his last superhero obligation. Usually in PLANETARY, Ellis is never happier than when he's killing off characters with suspicious resemblances to JLA members. But here he has to take them seriously. This may be a guilty pleasure for a lot of Ellis' fans. For those whose ideological opposition to corporate-owned superfolk is too strong, hang tight and wait for GLOBAL FREQUENCY #1 next month. In the meantime, tide yourselves over with the last issue of TRANSMETROPOLITAN (#60, JUL02 0253, pg. 90, $2.50).

LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN, by Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill
JUL02 0231, pg. 86, $14.95

A softcover trade? From the America's Best Comics imprint? Must be a production slip-up. About time, in any event.

SKREEMER, by Peter Milligan, Brett Ewins & Steve Dillon
JUL02 0251, pg. 89, $19.95

The collection of this, one of the books that prefigured Vertigo, has been long-awaited in some quarters. Not by me, though I like much of Milligan's work. I remember the first issue being a load of gratuitous brutality with a little sentimentality for balance, all justified by some fancy cross-cutting between present and past, some mutterings about free will, some obvious imagery (a crucifixion reference, for example, and a ledge that the lead has built in his mansion just so he can teeter on it) and a few literary references (to FINNEGAN'S WAKE mainly, and there's a torture nicked from 1984). Later reviews confirmed my impression that it was a cheap holiday in a whole fictional world's misery. I can see where Vertigo grew out of this. But I also see where they had to grow beyond it.

IMAGE COMICS

PARADIGM #1, by Jeremy Haun and Matt Cashel
JUL02 1190, pg. 127, $3.50

The formerly self-published comic has been picked up by Image Central, making it that much more likely that Cashel and Haun will be able to see their big plans through to completion. Professionalism pays off. I'm so pleased for them that I won't even bitch about how I'll have to buy issue #1 a second time now that they've remastered it with new story pages.

My original review of PARADIGM #1 is here.

STUPID COMICS, by Jim Mahfood
JUL02 1205, pg. 135, $2.95

Not to be confused with Image's other STUPID COMICS, the one by Hilary Barta that was part of their first short-lived 'non-line'...

It's a bit soon to call Jim Mahfood "a virtual legend in indy comics circles", I should think. I know him only for drawing Kevin Smith comics and for his slightly embarrassing GRRL SCOUTS. (A man using the spelling 'grrl' never bodes well.) Despite that, I'm always open to gag strips lampooning commercialism, temping, the security state, the music industry, and other modern pestilence. Particularly when they're endorsed by an impressive list of comics pros that includes my faves Peter Kuper (THE SYSTEM) and Jill Thompson (SCARY GODMOTHER).

MARVEL COMICS

Ha ha ha ha no.

ABSENCE OF INK COMIC PRESS

FORLORN FUNNIES #2, by Paul Hornschemeier
JUL02 1735, pg. 210, $3.95

FORLORN FUNNIES #1 was a treat. Hornschemeier's other book, SEQUENTIAL, is experimental and can be pretty oblique, and I was afraid this might be the same - but no, it's perfectly accessible, and often quite funny.

The main bits revolve around television; in one, a Snidely Whiplash-type Western villain has a terrible awful really bad day, and in another a short pale big-headed TV star implausibly named Mr. Dangerous is about to be cancelled - literally - by sinister executives. Hornschemeier is unmistakably wearing his Ware - Chris Ware, that is - influence on his sleeve, but not at the expense of his own ideas and aesthetic. This is an inventive, playful book, and I'm eager to see where it's heading.

AIT/PLANETLAR

ABEL, by William Harms & Mark Bloodworth
JUL02 1749, pg. 214, $12.95

This book is one of Larry Young's adopted orphans. It was first published by Slave Labor in 1996, in a botched and haphazard way and to virtually no notice whatsoever.

This has been advertised as a literary comic book and frequently compared to THE GRAPES OF WRATH, which makes me hopeful but also a little trepidatious. Midwestern Gothic and Social Realism aren't my favorite genres, because they lend themselves too easily to facile exposes of the Dark Side of the American Dream. ABEL is set in the heartland during World War II and concerns a boy who befriends a minority person 'cause he don't know any different. Can you blame me for being wary?

However, I am assured that this book confounds expectations. For instance, it is laid on thick in the book's first three pages, which can be seen at Harms' website, that the boy is weak and his older brother is a psychopath. Given the biblical overtones of the book's title, the obvious thing to predict is fratricide. But this is, I understand, a bit of misdirection.

Matt Bloodworth's art is, well, utilitarian. Very literal-minded, from the looks of it. Uncontaminated by style. That may well be the right approach for a story like this.

If I'm being overly cautious, it's down to lack of information. I haven't been able to find any more information on the book than what's linked off Harms' website: a handful of absolutely glowing reviews, including one by Steve Conley at iComics ("A dazzling and very disturbing comic. Very highly recommended"), and an enthusiastic interview at Sequential Tart. Beyond that, zip. Will it live up to its reputation? Color me cautiously optimistic.

ALTERNATIVE COMICS
ROSETTA, by various
JUL02 1761, pg. 216, $19.95

A very handsome-looking new anthology - well, the cover's by Dave Cooper, so of course it's repulsive, but handsome nevertheless. Says the website: "The contributing artists have been set the task to go beyond the boundaries set by their previous works and to push themselves into areas that they consider dangerous to their reputations."

Considering that the contributing artists include Cooper, Renee French and Ivan Brunetti, the mind fucking reels! Other favorites of mine represented here are Tom Hart, Michael Kupperman, Megan Kelso, and the two guys who do EILAND, Stefan van Dinther and Tobias Schalken. It's a hell of a lineup, and I'll be awaiting this with keen interest.

A FINE MESS #1, by Matt Madden
JUL02 1762, pg. 216, $3.50

Madden is Jessica Abel's husband, and a cartoonist with a couple graphic novels under his belt (the fairly short BLACK CANDY and the recent ODDS OFF). A FINE MESS is to be his catch-all title, collecting his short stories and his formalist experiments, like Exercises in Style, wherein Madden challenges himself to tell an utterly mundane little anecdote using as many storytelling styles as he can think of.

CARTOON BOOKS

BONE VOL. 8: TREASURE HUNTERS, by Jeff Smith
softcover: JUL02 1890, pg. 251, $15.95

I'm slightly less eager about this now than I was last month, having since read VOL. 7: GHOST CIRCLES. The 'ghost circles' of the title are large, invisible holes in reality that now litter the ravaged BONE landscape. An idea that big needed some prior set-up. Nevertheless, as I said, I've got a lot of time for Jeff Smith, and he is presently just six issues away from the end of his story. When he started, I was in high school and Bush the Elder was president...

CYBEROSIA PUBLISHING

ROSEMARY'S BACKPACK, by Antony Johnston & Drew Gilbert
JUL02 1982, pg. 269, $13.95

This is decidedly not for the same audience that bought Johnston's excellent Weird London pulp novel, FRIGHTENING CURVES. It's a kid's book, through and through. The backpack of the title isn't really a backpack - it's some sort of magic critter that the government would like very much to have back.

It's tough to make a call on this, since the pages previewed on Johnston's website were the book's setup - and the setup is the least important part of a book like this. But I have confidence in Johnston, and I'm not just saying that because he's one of my editors here at Ninth Art.

DRAWN & QUARTERLY

FAIR WEATHER, by Joe Matt
Hardcover: JUL02 1989, pg. 272, $26.95

This is a collection from PEEPSHOW, the autobiographical book by comics' most infamous compulsive masturbator, Joe Matt. Matt is truly a quite good cartoonist, and if I've been dismissive of PEEPSHOW in this space, it's only because it's gotten repetitive. Matt portrays himself as ignorant, cheap, petty and obsessed with porn, and despite being self-aware enough to see himself that way, he doesn't seem to have any will to change. It maddens his friends, Seth and Chester Brown, and it frequently maddens the reader.

FAIR WEATHER was Matt's attempt to break out of his rut and do something different, by telling a story from his childhood rather than the present day. The departure was welcome at first, but the consensus seems to be that it dragged on too long. (Even D&Q publisher Chris Oliveros slagged it in a fanzine interview. Then again, he also slagged everybody else.) Is it worthwhile? Not having actually read it, I can't make the call. But I'd at least wait for the softcover.

FANTAGRAPHICS BOOKS

The most interesting-looking books from Fantagraphics this month aren't comics.

REBEL VISIONS: THE UNDERGROUND COMIX REVOLUTION 1963-1975, by Patrick Rosenkranz
JUL02 2043, pg. 290, $39.95

This is a gift book, which is to say it's an extravagance, so you'll already know if you want it or not. 240 pages, a quarter of those in color, copiously illustrated, including "hundreds of exclusive and rare comics", says the ad, and "written with the cooperation of every major figure from the period", from Crumb on down. Me, I can't justify the expense at present. But if anyone's feeling generous, my birthday's November 16th.

Note: Diamond used outdated information in their listing, with the wrong title (1967-1972 instead of 1963-1975) and the wrong price ($34.95 instead of $39.95). Only the full-page ad is accurate.

THE GANZFELD VOL. 1, edited by Peter Buchanan Smith
JUL02 2042, pg. 290, $8

Not the feast for the eyes that #2 was - this is shorter and digest-sized. But it's well worth having, especially for the interview with Paul Karasik. From him you can not only learn a great deal about the history of the medium, but equally as much about its nuts and bolts as he describes how he adapted Paul Auster's novel CITY OF GLASS for David Mazzucchelli to draw at the bequest of Art Speigelman. (Frankly, I think the adaptation improves on the original.)

SQUA TRONT: FALL 2002, edited by John Benson
JUL02 2045, pg. 292, $7.95

This is the tenth issue of the foremost fanzine dedicated to the EC comics of the '50s, which included MAD and the infamous horror comics that instigated the Comics Code. Most interesting to me is the discussion between Harvey Kurtzman, Arnold Roth and Al Jaffee about Kurtzman's post-MAD humor magazines, TRUMP and HUMBUG, which sadly never caught on.

There's also a panel discussion from 1978 between Kurtzman, Bernie Krigstein and Wally Wood, which must have been disheartening: Krigstein had long ago given up cartooning for the fine arts, Wood was thoroughly sick of comics and was only a few years away from committing suicide, and Kurtzman had just resigned himself to doing little but the PLAYBOY strip LITTLE ANNIE FANNY, which would consume the rest of his career.

THE COMICS JOURNAL #247
JUL02 2039, pg. 290, $6.95

This month's theme is comics in the wake of September 11th. Features interviews with Aaron McGruder, whose contentious strip THE BOONDOCKS I tend to admire more than like, and Ruben Bolling, whose sometimes-political TOM THE DANCING BUG is one of the best weekly strips running. Also features a rundown of the 9/11 tribute books by the merciless R Fiore. I only wish he'd been able to sink his claws into CIVILIAN JUSTICE.

RAISIN PIE #1, by Rick Altergott & Ariel Bordeaux
JUL02 2040, pg. 290, $3.95

It turns out that Rick Altergott (DOOFUS) and Ariel Bordeaux (NO LOVE LOST) are husband and wife. It will be strange seeing them in the same book - Altergott is perhaps too slick a draftsman for his own good, while Bordeaux can barely draw at all. I suppose Robert and Aline Crumb set a precedent with DIRTY LAUNDRY, but I really can't see how this could mesh.

ANGRY YOUTH COMIX #4, by Johnny Ryan
JUL02 2041, pg. 290, $2.95

Tom Green would love this comic, I'd imagine. But it leaves me cold.

DEAD END, by Thomas Ott
JUL02 2044, pg. 292, $13.95

Hot on the heels of GREETINGS TO HELLVILLE is another collection of silent, scratchboard-style noir/horror stories by Swiss cartoonist Thomas Ott. I stand by what I said of HELLVILLE: it's the best noir cartooning I've seen this side of THE SPIRIT. Very, very beautiful.

T.O.T.T., by Thomas Ott
JUL02 2046, pg. 292, $49.95

And if you've not yet had enough Ott, here's a mega-expensive deluxe oversize art book.

HOTEL FRED PRESS

FRED THE CLOWN #4, by Roger Langridge
JUL02 2108, pg. 298, $2.95

I really am going to keep banging the drum for this madly funny and impeccably crafted book until you're all well and truly sick of it. This issue boasts the most ambitious Fred story to date, in a tribute to Buster Keaton in particular and silent film comedy in general. This suits me fine, as I've lately found the long-form, silent Fred stories to be the most satisfying.

INSIGHT STUDIOS GROUP

NAKED BRAIN #2, by Marc Hempel
JUL02 2126, pg. 302, $2.95

This collection of Hempel's gag strips includes a "four-fisted debate with fellow funnyman Evan Dorkin", creator of Milk & Cheese and the Eltingville Club, on the topic, "Just What Makes a Good Comic Book Funny?" Those of you who automatically said 'monkeys': go to the back of the class. The rest of you: know that there are no two men in comic books today more qualified to essay this topic. Go sit at the feet of the masters.

LIGHTSPEED PRESS

FINDER #28, by Carla Speed McNeil
JUL02 2154, pg. 308, $2.95

The last chapter of the Magri White storyline, which has allowed McNeil's imagery to get weirder and woollier than ever before. You can read the first chapter for free on McNeil's website.

MONKEYSUIT PRESS

MONKEYSUIT is an unusually strong anthology, done chiefly by artists whose day jobs are in animation. This month, Monkeysuit is spinning off a couple features from the anthology into their own books:

THE BIG PROBLEM WITH MARSHALL, by Pat Giles
JUL02 2167, pg. 311, $9.95

Not my favorite MONKEYSUIT feature, I must admit. The art is sort of a watered-down Bob Fingerman, and so is the writing. It's a sitcom on paper, and not in a good way. Much more interesting is...

ROVER #1, by Michael Foran
JUL02 2168, pg 311, $2.95

This is a silent strip, and a strange one. The Rover of the title is a small, skittish robot, basically a big eye on wheels, that lands on a distant planet, befriends a resourceful reptilian critter with a pointy head who acts as his guide, and sets out to explore.

The nearest comparison I can think of would be to Jim Woodring's FRANK stories, but instead of being disturbing, these are simple and cute. The storytelling is accomplished - not many cartoonists can tell a compelling story without words, as Marvel proved a few months back, but Foran does it cleverly and with a great deal of personality. Check this out.

NBM

DUNGEON #2, by Lewis Trondheim & Joann Sfar
JUL02 2173, pg. 312, $2.95

More of Trondheim's satirical fantasy epic. You can read the first 10 (!) pages of DUNGEON #1 here.

DR. JEKYLL & MR. HYDE, by Robert Louis Stevenson, adapted by Lorenzo Mattotti & Jerry Kramsky
JUL02 2179, pg. 313, $13.95

NBM calls this "the return of one of the most influential comic artists of the last two decades", and that's not mere puffery. In the field of colour especially, Mattotti's mastery is unchallenged - his palette has an eye-scorching brilliance comparable to, say, Gauguin's. Him doing JEKYLL & HYDE is awfully tempting.

ONI PRESS

ONE PLUS ONE #1 (of 5), by Neal Shaffer & Daniel Krall
JUL02 2198, pg. 315, $2.95

The opening sequence of this, which is up at Oni's snappy website, is killer. The lead, David, is an agent of fate, and when he looks at people he sees them as they will look when they die. It would be an easy device to let slip into camp, but artist Daniel Krall, who has a fine way with faces, nails it. (I wish I could think of who Krall's art reminds me of. Maybe Nick Craine?) I'm hooked, and if you read the preview I suspect you will be as well.

QUEEN & COUNTRY VOL. 2: MORNING STAR, by Greg Rucka, Brian Hurtt, Bryan O'Malley, and Christine Norrie
Hardcover: JUL02 2199, pg. 315, $20
Softcover: JUL02 2200, pg. 315, $8.95

I'd say this is the best realistic espionage book in comics. But that would sound like faint praise, since this is the only realistic espionage book in comics - and isn't that a sad commentary?

PENNY DREADFUL PRESS

XXX LIVENUDEGIRLS #2, by Lauren McCubbin & Nikki Coffman
JUL02 2214, pg. 319, $6.95

With its second issue, this Xeric-winning book jumps from pamphlet size to 64-pages. These are not comics as you're accustomed to them - these are text story fragments, illustrated by photo-derived art. The titles of the stories in #1 - 'Booze,' 'Drugs,' 'Sex' and 'Rage' - give you an idea of the content. These are the interior monologues of hard-drinking, hard-living, hard-bitten gals who are, not surprisingly, more vulnerable and confused than they let on. I can appreciate the craft of it, but I have to admit it doesn't speak to me.

SHUCK COMICS

SHUCK #4: FIR FREE FEVER, by Rick Smith & Tania Menesse
JUL02 2243, pg. 324, $2.95

Shuck, the retired pagan horned god, gets struck by one of Cupid's arrows. Extensive previews of this bittersweet comic are on its website.

TOP SHELF PRODUCTIONS

CREATURE TECH, by Doug TenNapel
JUL02 2303, pg. 334, $14.95

Synopsis: zombified mad scientist "uses the Shroud of Turin to resurrect a giant space eel in an attempt to destroy the world". Out to stop him is Dr. Ong, who formerly aspired to be a pastor, but is now an atheist and a government scientist. Also, he has an alien bonded to his chest. Sounds completely cracked. Which I can get behind. Only thing is, TenNapel is a born-again Christian, which - yes, I know it's a prejudice - makes me nervous. I have the awful suspicion that this book has a moral.

VIDEOS SECTION
COMIC BOOK CONFIDENTIAL DVD, directed by Ron Mann
JUL02 3735, pg. 498, $19.95

The well-known documentary from 1988, featuring interviews with such luminaries as Eisner, Kurtzman, Kirby, Crumb, Spiegelman, Miller, Los Bros Hernandez and many more. The raw material is great, but unfortunately Mann can't resist adding cutesy, intrusive little touches. He keeps trying to jazz up comics art for the screen, by animating it slightly or by having the cartoonists narrate it or such, and it's cringe-inducing. Despite that, this is still the best comics history overview on film, and there's much here of historical interest.

Chris Ekman is a political cartoonist.

This article is Ideological Freeware. The author grants permission for its reproduction and redistribution by private individuals on condition that the author and source of the article are clearly shown, no charge is made, and the whole article is reproduced intact, including this notice.