Who's Who in the CBU 2008

Name: Regie Rigby

Regie is a strange, almost ethereal creature. Who can plumb the hidden mysteries of his dark and murky past - a past which contains a terrible secret. A secret that taught him that with great power comes great responsibility, that criminals are a cowardly superstitious lot and just who exactly knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men.

By day, he assumes the appearance of a mild mannered teacher, bringing the joy of literature and the English Language to classes of enthralled and enthusiastic students. But by night?

By night he goes home and writes lesson plans. Sorry. That's as interesting as he gets. Really.

The rumours about rooftop struggles with underworld uberfiends, the gossip about the hidden cave filled with hi-tec equipment and the suggestion that his car might be fitted with turbo lasers are all nonsense.

When he's not teaching he reads comics. Sometimes he combines the two activities. When he's not doing that he's either playing computer games or asleep.

Bulldogs and Monkeys

By Regie Rigby

One of the finest comics in the world today is Stan Saki’s almost supernaturally good Usagi Yojimbo. This epic tale of Usagi, the masterless Samuri, or “Ronin” wandering through feudal Japan has enthralled, captivated, excited and inspired me for years now, and the fact that the main character is a rabbit has never seemed to be much of an obstacle.

I’ve often wondered why other artists haven’t taken on the anthropomorphic mantle in action/adventure stories – Saki uses the licence that animal characters give him to add more expression and dynamism to his art in ways that work beautifully but would probably look strange if we were dealing with human features. Why has nobody else tried this approach?

Well, it seems they have.

Bulldog Adventure Monthly, otherwise known as B.A.M!, has been around for ages, and I find myself kicking myself for not reading the adventures of Captain Winston Bulldog earlier. At Bristol this year though, I was able to get every single issue on C.D.Rom, and I’m looking forward to working through them as part of my regular summer holiday “Let’s read huge amounts of cool stuff” project.

I won’t have time to do that for a few weeks yet though, so I’m heartily pleased that my need for instant gratification has been satiated by the launch of Bulldog Empire. Fantastic stuff. It’s all here! Winston Bulldog lives in a world where humans and “Mammalians” (humanoid animals like Winston) and “Arboreans” (living trees) co-exist (so it’s not a full-on anthropomorphic book like Usagi). It’s a world a little bit like ours, but with much much cooler toys.

There is a hint of Luther Arkwright style dimension hopping action, with characters appearing from “the other side of the page”, which also suggests a certain postmodern attitude that really works in this kind of Sci-Fi fantasy action stuff. But there’s much more the Bulldog Empire than humanoid animals and talking trees.

No, there are also BIG ROBOTS!

Bulldog Empire opens with a battle between a giant demolition robot and the “Bimech” fighter planes piloted by Bulldog and his human sidekick Lieutenant Bell. I love these planes! One second they’re jet propelled Bi-Planes (an unutterably cool concept in itself) but the next they’re huge humanoid robots. Anyone who ever had a Transformer as a child knows that this kind of thing is beyond cool.

Better than all of this though, is the fact that this is a well-written story. I found myself drawn in to the characterization, the interplay, and of course the BIG. ROBOTS. FIGHTING. Jason Cobley presents a script with sharp dialogue and engaging characters, interspersing the exposition with well-paced action. The lovely monochrome art from the brush and pen of Neill Cameron is truly a thing of beauty, and if you’re paying attention is actually slightly different in style from one dimension to the next – a neat little device which just adds an additional layer of meaning to the narrative.

This is everything that was ever good about British Adventure Comics wrapped up in a neat little package. I love it completely and without reservation. You will too, so dash off now and get yourself a copy!

Monkeys with Machine Guns sounds as though it should be an anthropomorphic book, but it isn’t. With a title like that though there was obviously no way I wasn’t going to buy it – the choosing of the name alone should win an award for marketing.

This is an anthology title featuring five slightly macabre stories by the writer Chris Lynch. There’s a very black sense of humour at play here, but also a sense of the poignant and a masterful ability to manipulate the reader’s emotions. There’s real skill and (not to sound too pretentious but I can’t think of another way to put it) real craft on display. The middle story in particular was heart achingly sad.

Art is mostly supplied by Stu.art (which I assume is a pseudonym) and is pleasingly chunky. Presented in stark black and white, with nothing so indecisive as shades of grey Stu.art’s pages are reminiscent of Dave McKean’s linework, although there’s a slightly more raw quality which really works with the brutalist writing from Lynch.

Sitting in the middle of the book though, almost as a sorbet to clear the reader’s palette, is a six page story illustrated by Dark Smith (another pseudonym I suspect) which visually couldn’t be more different. Smith employs a much finer line, and leaves whole areas of the panel empty, presenting a more delicately structured panel, suggestive of Mobieus in may ways. Once again the art is perfectly suited to the script, and whoever decided which artist should handle the art chores on which story was either an editing genius or a really really lucky git.

Monkeys with Machine Guns (which so far as I can tell is the name of both the publishing house and the comic itself) oozes confidence at you. It’s every bit as slick as ballsy as something like Blair Witch, with the twists in the tale packing a real emotional punch. Like all good horror, Lynch also has something to say amidst the chills, making this a thought, as well as fear, provoking read.

We’re dealing with very different books here of course, different from each other and different from the other “Bristol Books” examined here over the last few weeks. The sharp eyed amongst you will have spotted a common theme though.

Actually, the not so sharp eyed amongst you have probably spotted it too – it’s not like I’ve been particularly subtle about it. We’re dealing here with individually published projects made by small British publishers who really care about what they’re doing. However big their ideas are there’s no corporate cash behind any of them. This is democratic storytelling at its most pure, its most passionate, and its most real. This is what comics should be about. All those people bumbling about with the big American publishers, slavishly grabbing whatever they push out because they must have every Batman comic regardless of quality needs to wise up.

That’s not where the industry is at. If you want corporate fiction, turn on the TV. It’s cheaper, and there’s more variety. Comics is where the creative talent goes to do it’s own thing. Why not join it?

Back in six (because I’m a day late as a result of forgetting what day it was) with even more goodies, because the well of talent is very deep indeed.