Michael Deeley has been reading comics since he was 12 years old. His first book was an issue of Silver Surfer by Jim Starlin, leading him to see all comics as ideological conflicts with big-ass fight scenes. At the very least, he expects a comic to be entertaining in some fashion, which is why he thinks Secret Wars II is better than Dark Knight Strikes Back. He has never work in the comics field, but he does have a belligerent attitude and a lot of free time.
During his brief intervals in the real world, Michael looks for a paying job that should, (theoretically) lead to a better life involving more comics, privacy, and women.
He currently lives between Pittsburgh, PA, and the Pittsburgh International Airport, in a suburb so new, it only has one McDonalds.
“Maybe that’s what I tried to create: A story from the other side of the border when it still existed.”
-Vittorio Giardino, ‘A Jew in Communist Prague’
This week, I took a look at some comics that were created outside of the United States. I was curious to se what kinds of comics would be produced in countries older than the US: countries where comics are respected as an art form and a successful mass media. Would they reflect specific national values? How different would they be from American comics? Would they more closely resemble art than American comics, as so many believe? It turns out “foreign” comics are the same, but different.
First, I want to thank the Carnegie Public Library for providing me with so many non-American comics. I really do appreciate their large and varied collection of graphic novels. The library’s in a budget crunch right now, so anyone reading this in Western PA please help them out with a modest donation of money or books. Second, I put this together in a rush, as I always do, and did not find all the comics I wanted. So my apologies in advance for not reading anything by Moebius, nor the popular ‘Asterix the Gaul’ series. Finally, regarding Manga, I already did a column about that, as well as a column devoted to ‘Raijin Comics’. So that’s covered.
And now for the books:
After the Snooter W/A: Eddie Campbell Country: Australia
‘After the Snooter’ is a collection of short comics written and drawn by Campbell from 1997-2001. They were all written at a time when he re-evaluated his life. Campbell uses a visitation from a weird insect he dubbed “the snooter” as the starting point of a mild mid-life crisis. He revisits his childhood home, becomes a self-publisher, and gets lots of money for the film version of ‘From Hell’. Through it all, Campbell wonders how his life led up to this point, and wonders how his old friends have changed. Most of the stories were published in his magazine “Bacchus”. Since Campbell lives and works in Australia, this counts as a “foreign” comic, even if it’s printed in English. Besides, I was already reading it when the week started.
Frankly, this is the weakest of Campbell’s works. There are some great stories in here, but they don’t quite come together as a cohesive whole. The snooter appears infrequently. The theme of reexamining one’s life is often ignored to make room for another anecdotal story. Campbell’s visit with Alan Moore is followed by an elaborate plan to spend $3500 on books without upsetting the wife. The stories about his children read like Dave Barry jokes. ‘Snooter’ works best as a collection of Campbell’s work rather than a narrative or an autobiography. Still, Campbell is a fine artist and writer. He turns a smart phrase and his black inks create fantastic detail. The book is worth reading, but only Campbell fans would think it’s worth buying.
The Mercenary Vol. 5: The Voyage W/A: V. Segrelle Country: Spain
This looks like a story from “Heavy Metal” magazine. OK, there’s a knight called Mercenary who lands on a giant island ruled by insect people and women with wings. The insect people capture his flying dragon. His armor resembles an insect’s body, so he wears the face of a giant spider and poses as an insect king. He fights, escapes, and leaves. Then there’s a sequence where he’s testing a pair of glider wings when he’s shot from afar by young boy that thinks he’s a bird. Turns out, that was a dream brought on a radioactive water. He lands on another island where gods/aliens cure him and tell him how to save the people on a nearby third island. He does, with the help of the god/aliens’ spaceship.
In other words, stuff happens.
I’m going to be fair and not assume all Spanish comics are like this. In fact, I know they’re not, having read the works of Milo Manara, (I won’t talk about them here since they’re always sold in the porn section. Suffice to say, I’ve seen them and liked the art). I found this fully-painted series to be stiff and surprising lifeless. I would call the English translation “casual”, as the hero often sounds more like an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. than a knight. Somehow I can’t picture someone who says “shit” so often would also say, “By the gods” or “damnation”. Finally, I don’t know if this all takes place on an alien world or some distant post-nuclear future of Earth. It is book 5 in a series, so it must be assumed one has read previous volumes. But based on this, I’m not anxious to look.
, if you can buy it cheap or read it for free.
A Jew in Communist Prague 1: Loss of Innocence W/A: Vittorio Giardino
Jonas Finkel’s life is changed for the worse when Communists take over his home city of Prague, Hungary. His father is arrested for past “crimes against the state”. His mother struggles for money. They are singled out for discrimination and persecution because of their Jewish religion and their middle-class background. As Jonas grows up, learns first hand the cruelty and duplicity of people. That hard work is best done for oneself and no one else.
The cover of this book resembles a poster for a broadway play. The water colored image of a young boy walking through a snow covered city is marked in the upper corner by a yellow banner proclaiming the book to be “poignant” and “powerful”. It just strikes that this book should look so different from American comics.
The story is very personal and moving. You are with Jonas every step of his life. You feel his tragedies. You know the frustrations of his mother. You are living this life! This is only book 1 in a series, and I’m anxious to read more.
The White Lama Book 1: The First Step W/A: Jodorowsky-Bess Country: France
The master of a Tibetian Buddhist temple foresees a time of tragedy for Tibet. He surrenders his spirit to the wheel of reincarnation, intending to be reborn 20 years later. In those 20 years, white men from England conquer Tibet and convert its people to Christianity. A white couple moves in with a Tibetian couple after a magician proclaims the child each woman carries share a linked destiny. Meanwhile, the new master of the temple schemes to murder his predecessor. He hires men disguised as demons to kill the Tibetian couple’s baby. When the white couple protests, they are killed. The white woman gives birth as she’s dying. The Tibetian’s raise this child as their own. He is the reincarnation of the old master. Now, the two monks he charged with training his young body have arrived to prepare their master for battle.
This was a strange book. The transformation of the master into a tiny Buddha and the sudden appearance of the magician can only be described as “trippy”. I think the Dr. Strange comics could benefit from this kind of weirdness.
‘White Lama’ also displays an odd sense of humor. When the British conquer the Tibetians, they are baptized by a preacher. He gives them all new names, beginning with their king. He renames him “Jesus”. The king’s son asks for the same name, and is called “Jesus Jr.”. The son’s unborn son is called “Little Jesus”. Later, the corrupt temple master names this child the old master reborn. Hence the people praise the “Grand Lama Little Jesus”.
I don’t know if that’s satirical, or just stupid.
Anyway, ‘White Lama’ is very fast paced. A lot of things happen in a very short period of time. The people’s faith in their gods is exploited by those in power. The old master is just beginning his journey that will lead him in conflict with the inevitable Chinese invasion. Strangely enough, this reminds me of an Image comic; Very stylish, no internal monologues, very light read. Not bad at all.
Dusk: Poor Tom W: Richard Marazano A: Christian de Metter Country: France
Three FBI agents investigate the deaths of four people who died on the same night, in the small town of Salem. It quickly becomes clear that the four victims aren’t missed, and there are secrets no one’s telling. The truth comes out from a retarded man named Tom. The agents go home with a lesson about evil in men’s hearts.
There are references to EC’s old ‘Shock Suspense Stories’, the classic horror comic that told moral tales. Indeed, this feels like one of those old horror stories: A small town with a secret. The real monster turns out to be the dark side of human nature. The reader is left pondering how common and easy evil acts can be.
I found myself closely identifying with Joe, the young agent who still enjoys comic books. (There’s a reference to a Silver Surfer comic by Moebius.) He’s frustrated that no one can be punished for the crime since the whole town is guilty. How do you persecute a mob? Who do you punish? His superior asks, “What do you expect them to do? To bulldoze this little dump and put all the inhabitants in the electric chair?”
I would. If the whole town commits a crime, you punish the town. Arrest everyone, put them all on trial, punish them all, and destroy the town. Leave no sign of its existence, save a stone maker: “Here stood the town of Salem, tried and convicted of first degree murder”. You cannot count on a person’s conscience to punish them. If they had one, they wouldn’t have committed such a terrible crime. They certainly wouldn’t have covered it up. Still, from a bureaucratic point of view, trying and convicting over 2 dozen people for the murders of four people presents too many logistical problems to be worth the efforts.
Frankly, it’s rare that I find a comics story that makes me feel this strongly about anything. This reminds me of the short stories I used to analyze back in high school English class. I think today’s students could benefit from examining this story as well.
The Adventures of Tintin: Tintin in America, Cigars of the Pharoh, and The Blue Lotus W/A: Herge Country: Belgium
Tintin was one of those comics I’d always heard about but never cared to read. I’d known it was an international success, and considered one of the finest comics of the 20th Century. I finally dove in and saw what all the fuss was about. The book was a collection of 3 complete Tintin stories published by Little, Brown, and Company, the American publisher for most of the Tintin stories. These three were first serialized from 1931-1934. Tintin visits America to clean up the Chicago gangs. His pursuit of one gang leader leads him to an Indian reservation. Thus Tintin’s American adventure is a gangster story turned western. Next, he foils a smuggling ring in Egypt and rescues a Maharaja’s son in India. Finally, he becomes embroiled in Japan’s invasion of China and finally learns the secret behind the “cigars of the pharoh”.
One word: Wow. These stories are incredibly fast-paced. It’s just one thing after another for poor Tintin. Half the time, he escapes trouble through the help of friends. The other half, it’s bizarre coincidence. When gangsters try to drown Tintin by tying him to barbells and throwing him in the lake, we find the barbells are made of wood. They were supposed to be used in a phony body-building scam. No explanation is given for how they were switched or why. The stories twist and turn in ways you can’t predict, making them exciting and gripping. There’s plenty of humor, much of it derived from the authority figures being outwitted by a boy reporter and his talking dog.
These stories are the product of a different era, and it sometimes shows. For example, the American Indians are portrayed as the stereotypical “redskinned savages”. The Japanese are all portrayed with long, thin teeth. But such images are benign when compared to other comics of the time. Besides, they are trying to kill Tintin. Herge seems aware of the racial interpretations of his work. After Tintin saves a Chinese boy from drowning, they laugh at the ridiculous things white men believe about the Chinese. Tintin also stops an obnoxious, arrogant white man in Shanghai from beating a rickshaw driver. Most poignant is when Tintin finds oil on the Indian reservation. Developers offer him thousands of dollars for the wells. He turns them down saying it belongs to the Indians. The developers then give the Indians $25 and half-an-hour leave. Three hours later, a whole new city have sprung up. It’s funny, but sad.
To be honest, I would give these stories to a young child, with some reservations. I’d make sure that he knew Asians, Indians, etc. aren’t really like that, that there was a time when white people thought they were born superior to everyone else, and remind him that Tintin treats everyone fairly. Then I’d let him have fun traveling the world with Tintin.
So what did I learn this week? Non-American comics tell a wide variety of stories with unique art styles. Some are better than others. Basically, they’re like American comics: There’s a lot of different stuff out there, and you have to look for it. So they’re the same, just different.
If you want to order any of these books, or see more for yourself, check the following websites:
www.topshelfcomix.com (Eddie Campbell’s American distributor) www.nbmpub.com (The first American publisher of graphic novels.) www.humanoids-publishing.com (Books and the new Metal Hurlant magazine.) www.tintin.org (International site for Tintin, including comics, art shows, and the real-life inspirations for the stories. Click on the UK flag for the English language site).
And now for some new American comics:
Wildcats 3.13 -
I really wish Dustin Nguyen and Richard Friend would use the same title design for every issue. I keep missing this book when it comes out. I never recognize it! Anyway, Spartan takes over some auto plants to begin production of Halo’s new cars. Zealot is caught up in some fight with the Coda in Europe. And Agent Wax’s indiscretions have been found out. Very cool stuff.
Daredevil #51 -
Written and drawn by David Mack, Echo reflects on her Native American childhood and its storytelling tradition. There’s a sequence where Echo compares a shaman telling stories to a comic book. She dreamed of using pictures to speak to communicate with people who don’t understand her words. Comics are an international language.
Alias #26 -
Jessica concludes her tale about how the Purple Man enslaved her. After her fight with the Avengers, she spent many months in a coma. She awoke, was offered a place with S.H.I.E.L.D., turned them down, and quit the business. Now she’s going to meet the man himself. Best part?
Jean Grey: Do you harbor any feelings of resentment towards [Purple Man]? Jessica: Resentment? Of course not. He loved me. Jean: No, he didn’t. Jessica. Jessica: In his own way he did.
I love this book. Pity Rick Mays had to draw that sequence, but it did add to the unreality of it.
Uncanny X-Men #430 -
Xavier and Annie go into Polaris’ mind and learn she performed paternity tests to find out if Magneto was her father. In the Caribbean, Nightcrawler joins other mutants in a mass teleport that sucks them and the team to parts unknown. I gotta say, after reading ‘New X-Men’ #146, Xorn’s appearance here takes on a whole new meaning. Besides that, solid action book, two ongoing mysteries, but sadly no Juggernaut. Maybe next issue.
Cerebus #293 -
Sim makes fun of the U.N. and calls France the most offensive thing he knows: lesbians. Cerebus learns a visit from his son must be approved by the “United Sanctuaries Security Council”, a collection of the various sanctuaries/churches he founded. A single vote from Le Sanctuaire Upper Felda des Ricke et Joanne, Lesbiennes (a splinter group that believes Rick and Cerebus were both hermaphrodites and lovers), vetoes the visit because they fear Cerebus will try to have sex with his son.
OK, even given the long lag-time between the writing of a comic book and its publication, this is especially cruel towards France, not to mention passé. It’s a great joke at the end, but it left me with a bad taste in my mouth. I’m not even going to read Sim’s 29-page essay on why God is punishing Canada “as it continues to shirk its masculine responsibilities in the world”. I know it’s too late for this, but Dave, just shut up and do the comic! Honestly, sometimes reading ‘Cerebus’ is like enjoying the music of Orin Hatch. “Yes, he’s a despicable human being, but the man can sing!”
Eternal #4 -
Ikaeden forms a truce with the Deviants as Kurassus tricks Jeska into destroying her mind. And then the Celestials come. I always thought this would be a mini-series. Frankly, I don’t see how this could last as a monthly. Still loving it, though.
Raijin Comics #37 -
The first monthly issue has a double shot of “City Hunter”, where Saeba sneaks into a terrorist’s compound dressed as a woman. But with the whole place guarded by women, will his “mokkori” give him away? Also, Tasuke travels back in time to learn first hand the tragedy of the Moon Spirit Shao, and an interview with “Fist of the North Star” creator Hara Tetsuo. Just buy the damn thing already!
JLA/Avengers #1 -
Chances are you already have this. So what can I say?
*deep breath*
Polemachus, Arkon, Thundra, the Anti-Matter Universe, Qward., Thunderers, the CSA, Eternity, references to ‘Journey into Mystery’ and ‘Crisis on Infinite Earths, Grandmaster, Krona, Terminus, the Spectre, Starro, the Imperial Guard vs.Lobo, the Khunds vs. orange-skinned Marvel aliens I don’t recognize, reference to Barry Allen, Thanagarians vs. Skrulls, Mongul vs. the Brood, the Watcher, the Bell, the Wheel, the Jar, the eternity Book, the Orb of Ra, the Green Lantern Power Battery, the Spear of Destiny, the Medusa Mask, Dr. Doom, Latveria, Genosha, the Hulk, the Punisher, Fin Fang Foom and the monsters from 1950’s Atlas comics, the Ultimate Nullifier, Metropolis, Star City, St. Roche, Metron, the Infinity Gems, the Casket of Ancient Winters, the Evil Eye, the Cosmic Cube, the Wand of Watoomb, Mother Box, Loophole, Boom Tube, references to the JSA, Teen Titans, Supergirl, Captain “Shazam” Marvel, Booster Gold the Flash Museum and the Squadron Supreme!
Woof. This isn’t just two teams fighting each other, this is ‘Crisis II’; it’s ‘Secret Wars IV’. And later, we’ll see these two universes merge into one! Yes! My only complaint is that the Infinity Gems are called the “Soul Gems”. C’mon, Busiek, they haven’t been called that in over 10 years. I’m surprised Perez didn’t point that out.
Everything else:
Original Ghost Rider #1, reprinting Marvel Premiere #5; Essential X-Men Vol. 4: Uncanny X-Men #167-179, Annual #6; Uncanny X-Men #180, 251-255, Annual #7; Futurama #14; and the Top Cow comics.
Well, that’s it for this week. In non-comics news, I’m now able to act independently as a store detective. No more training. So to all grocery store shoppers in Western PA, keep out of trouble.
Next week, I’ll review the new movie “American Splendor”, based on the comics of Harvey Pekar. It’ll be a new experience for me since I’ve never really read a Pekar comic before. So I’m going to see the movie first, then read the comic. Weird.
Until then, please give generously to help buy more bandwidth for this site. We’ve blown the money on hookers and custom costumes. Hey, it was worth it to see Catwoman “fight” Wonder Woman. Can’t say how Spider-Man used his webs on Superman; that was the “men’s only” room.
