Comics/Graphic Novel Reviews and Articles
I'm now writing reviews and features for the Comic Book section of Entertainment Fuse.
You can see my articles here
A list of my recent articles can be found here
Reviews (just a sampling)
Ghost: In the Smoke and Din trade paperback by Kelly Sue DeConnick (w) and Phil Noto (a): "Unchained Memory"
Saga #14 by Brian K. Vaughan (w) and Fiona Staples (a): "The Opposite of War"
Lazarus #4 by Greg Rucka (w) and Michael Lark (a) : "Dystopia Now"
Features
San Diego Comic Con: The Early Years
Should Comic Book Movies Be Based on Comic Book Stories?
Top 10 Female Avengers
Tough Knot: Marvel and DC's Marriage Problem
I wrote a column called "The Modern Age" for a site the Nerd Signal.
Hero Fight Club
What Does Fox's Deadline Mean For Future Daredevil Films?
Parenting During A Space War" (BKV's Saga)
Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes Adapts Famous and No-so-famous Stories
"One For Them" - Comic Creators Juggle Different Projects
Some reviews for Pop Matters
Best American Comics 2008
Edited by Lynda Barry
Strange and Stranger: The World of Steve Ditko
by Blake Bell
Justice Society of America #1-4
by Geoff Johns (w) & Dale Eaglesham (a)
I also did many reviews for sites that have stopped carrying that content, so there are no links (so sad!). Here is a review I wrote for the first Best American Comics edition, which was edited by the late, great Harvey Pekar.
Best American Comics 2006
Edited by Harvey Pekar (guest editor) and Anne Elizabeth Moore (series editor)
Houghton Mifflin
Rating: 4 stars (out of 5)
Houghton Mifflin’s Best American series is no stranger to ideological controversy. In 1996, Adrienne Rich, that year’s guest editor of Best American Poetry, decided that the previous volumes had had too much academic poetry and, so, selected poems by children, convicts and mysticals. Nice idea but soon lousy poetry. However, the backlash came swift when traditionalist curmudgeon Harold Bloom, guest editor of the Best of the Best American Poetry, wrote a scathing Introduction derailing the Best American Poetry volume edited by Rich, and selected zero poems for the comprehensive “Best of the Best.” What does this have to do with the premier edition of the comics version of the Best American series? Well, the ideological line that is clearly demarcated in reading the volume is that the “best” comics include no superheroes comics, the medium’s most recognizable subject matter. Guest editor Harvey Pekar, who has often blasted the costume genre, briefly addresses the issue in his Introduction, saying “I looked at superhero stories but just didn’t run across any that (I thought) were particularly good.” This may be dismissive and it would be a shame if the talents of creators such as Brian K. Vaughn, Jeph Loeb, Brian Michael Bendis and countless other writer/artists working on superhero titles never got their due in the Best American series. Yet while I may disagree with Pekar’s sentiment in the theoretical, I can’t disagree with his actual selections because, simply, the Best American Comics 2006, as it is, is a great book.
Whatever the rationale, there are benefits to the exclusion of mainstream comics in the first edition of Best American Comics. For one, the majority of the work here presents itself as “Art” rather than lighter entertainment. For a Best American Comics book that may be, at least a bit, justifying its important existence along the literary and scientific titles in Houghton Mifflin’s Best American franchise, Moore and Pekar’s selections strike a strong first note. There is a great deal of work here that should impress even a reader previously unconvinced of comics as a serious form of expression. There are a number of politically themed pieces, such as Joe Sacco’s subtle “Complacency Kills,” which manages to build sympathy for the U.S. soliders in Iraq even at it obliquely questions their purpose there. Lloyd Dangle goes for the more direct route in his satirical “A Street-Level View of the Republican National Convention.” Perhaps most powerfully, Seth Tobocman, Terisa Turner and Leigh Brownhill collaborate on “Nakedness and Power,” a tale of political activism by women in Africa that manages to inspire and motivate rather than simply bash easy targets. Even Kim Deitch’s “Ready to Die,” which covers a death row inmate about to be executed, feels somewhat political though Deitch tells the story of meeting the inmate from a personal level.
There is also a surprising cohesiveness to the anthology, as well. Most of the selections are black & white, written and drawn by the same artists, and often self-published as well. Therefore, a reader truly get a taste of contemporary indie/literary/alternative comics. Even with the inclusion of more popular creators such as Jaime Hernanadez, Lynda Barry and Robert Crumb, there is a general feeling of energetic momentum with the book due to the newer artists. As Pekar states in his Intro, comics are getting less and less newspaper space and yet artistically they are perhaps as strong and diverse as any time since the late 60s. Anders Nilsen’s “The Gift” and Lilli Carré’s “Adventures of Paul Bunyan & His Ox, Babe” strike a similar melancholy chord despite their widely divergent subject matter. Joel Priddy creates a smart, funny and moving tale with astonishingly emotive stick figures drawings in “The Amazing Life of Onion Jack.” Rebecca Dart’s “Rabbithead” is dense and difficult at the same time it is magnificently formed and illustrated.
This isn’t to say that every piece is successful. Some selections straddle another demarcation line, the vague difference between comics and cartooning. Tom Hart’s cartoony “The Executive Hour” is satire that is neither funny nor revealing. Some of the one-page selections like David Lasky’s “Diary of a Bread Delivery Guy” and Alison Bechdel’s “Only Disconnect” feel slight even when they are well done. Meanwhile, the quality and potential power of David Heatley’s “Portrait of my Dad” is completely overshadowed by how blatantly he rips off the illustrative style of Chris Ware (who is, ironically, also included in the anthology so you can compare), right down to the child-like drawings against bright backgrounds, and crisp layout combination of text and image. However, these are the exception. The vast majority of the thirty selections here are exceptional examples of contemporary comics, and with the overall quality so high, a reader will pay consistent attention. There are no gems lost in the middle of an otherwise crappy ‘zine.
It is encouraging for fans of comics, firstly, that Houghton Mifflin thought enough of contemporary comics to green-light a new series of the “Best American” franchise solely for comics. Perhaps even more delightful is that the book produced is such high quality, and so excellently put together (which is at least moderately more important than in a text-only anthology). For a medium that has been historically so male dominated in its creation and consumption, it is refreshing to see so much brilliant work included here by female artists as diverse as Esther Pearl Watson, Jessica Abel and Olivia Schanzer. The critical and public reaction to the book has been very positive. In a medium like comics that has an often tenuous relation with consistent publishing, this warm reception should ensure future volumes of Best American Comics, where ideological and critical variations by Editors can be discussed like so many of the other Best American series. As Pekar writes, “If this variety of stories can be done in comics, they can be done brilliantly.” It looks like if these stories are indeed done brilliantly, a wider audience may finally get to see them.
You can see my articles here
A list of my recent articles can be found here
Reviews (just a sampling)
Ghost: In the Smoke and Din trade paperback by Kelly Sue DeConnick (w) and Phil Noto (a): "Unchained Memory"
Saga #14 by Brian K. Vaughan (w) and Fiona Staples (a): "The Opposite of War"
Lazarus #4 by Greg Rucka (w) and Michael Lark (a) : "Dystopia Now"
Features
San Diego Comic Con: The Early Years
Should Comic Book Movies Be Based on Comic Book Stories?
Top 10 Female Avengers
Tough Knot: Marvel and DC's Marriage Problem
I wrote a column called "The Modern Age" for a site the Nerd Signal.
Hero Fight Club
What Does Fox's Deadline Mean For Future Daredevil Films?
Parenting During A Space War" (BKV's Saga)
Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes Adapts Famous and No-so-famous Stories
"One For Them" - Comic Creators Juggle Different Projects
Some reviews for Pop Matters
Best American Comics 2008
Edited by Lynda Barry
Strange and Stranger: The World of Steve Ditko
by Blake Bell
Justice Society of America #1-4
by Geoff Johns (w) & Dale Eaglesham (a)
I also did many reviews for sites that have stopped carrying that content, so there are no links (so sad!). Here is a review I wrote for the first Best American Comics edition, which was edited by the late, great Harvey Pekar.
Best American Comics 2006
Edited by Harvey Pekar (guest editor) and Anne Elizabeth Moore (series editor)
Houghton Mifflin
Rating: 4 stars (out of 5)
Houghton Mifflin’s Best American series is no stranger to ideological controversy. In 1996, Adrienne Rich, that year’s guest editor of Best American Poetry, decided that the previous volumes had had too much academic poetry and, so, selected poems by children, convicts and mysticals. Nice idea but soon lousy poetry. However, the backlash came swift when traditionalist curmudgeon Harold Bloom, guest editor of the Best of the Best American Poetry, wrote a scathing Introduction derailing the Best American Poetry volume edited by Rich, and selected zero poems for the comprehensive “Best of the Best.” What does this have to do with the premier edition of the comics version of the Best American series? Well, the ideological line that is clearly demarcated in reading the volume is that the “best” comics include no superheroes comics, the medium’s most recognizable subject matter. Guest editor Harvey Pekar, who has often blasted the costume genre, briefly addresses the issue in his Introduction, saying “I looked at superhero stories but just didn’t run across any that (I thought) were particularly good.” This may be dismissive and it would be a shame if the talents of creators such as Brian K. Vaughn, Jeph Loeb, Brian Michael Bendis and countless other writer/artists working on superhero titles never got their due in the Best American series. Yet while I may disagree with Pekar’s sentiment in the theoretical, I can’t disagree with his actual selections because, simply, the Best American Comics 2006, as it is, is a great book.
Whatever the rationale, there are benefits to the exclusion of mainstream comics in the first edition of Best American Comics. For one, the majority of the work here presents itself as “Art” rather than lighter entertainment. For a Best American Comics book that may be, at least a bit, justifying its important existence along the literary and scientific titles in Houghton Mifflin’s Best American franchise, Moore and Pekar’s selections strike a strong first note. There is a great deal of work here that should impress even a reader previously unconvinced of comics as a serious form of expression. There are a number of politically themed pieces, such as Joe Sacco’s subtle “Complacency Kills,” which manages to build sympathy for the U.S. soliders in Iraq even at it obliquely questions their purpose there. Lloyd Dangle goes for the more direct route in his satirical “A Street-Level View of the Republican National Convention.” Perhaps most powerfully, Seth Tobocman, Terisa Turner and Leigh Brownhill collaborate on “Nakedness and Power,” a tale of political activism by women in Africa that manages to inspire and motivate rather than simply bash easy targets. Even Kim Deitch’s “Ready to Die,” which covers a death row inmate about to be executed, feels somewhat political though Deitch tells the story of meeting the inmate from a personal level.
There is also a surprising cohesiveness to the anthology, as well. Most of the selections are black & white, written and drawn by the same artists, and often self-published as well. Therefore, a reader truly get a taste of contemporary indie/literary/alternative comics. Even with the inclusion of more popular creators such as Jaime Hernanadez, Lynda Barry and Robert Crumb, there is a general feeling of energetic momentum with the book due to the newer artists. As Pekar states in his Intro, comics are getting less and less newspaper space and yet artistically they are perhaps as strong and diverse as any time since the late 60s. Anders Nilsen’s “The Gift” and Lilli Carré’s “Adventures of Paul Bunyan & His Ox, Babe” strike a similar melancholy chord despite their widely divergent subject matter. Joel Priddy creates a smart, funny and moving tale with astonishingly emotive stick figures drawings in “The Amazing Life of Onion Jack.” Rebecca Dart’s “Rabbithead” is dense and difficult at the same time it is magnificently formed and illustrated.
This isn’t to say that every piece is successful. Some selections straddle another demarcation line, the vague difference between comics and cartooning. Tom Hart’s cartoony “The Executive Hour” is satire that is neither funny nor revealing. Some of the one-page selections like David Lasky’s “Diary of a Bread Delivery Guy” and Alison Bechdel’s “Only Disconnect” feel slight even when they are well done. Meanwhile, the quality and potential power of David Heatley’s “Portrait of my Dad” is completely overshadowed by how blatantly he rips off the illustrative style of Chris Ware (who is, ironically, also included in the anthology so you can compare), right down to the child-like drawings against bright backgrounds, and crisp layout combination of text and image. However, these are the exception. The vast majority of the thirty selections here are exceptional examples of contemporary comics, and with the overall quality so high, a reader will pay consistent attention. There are no gems lost in the middle of an otherwise crappy ‘zine.
It is encouraging for fans of comics, firstly, that Houghton Mifflin thought enough of contemporary comics to green-light a new series of the “Best American” franchise solely for comics. Perhaps even more delightful is that the book produced is such high quality, and so excellently put together (which is at least moderately more important than in a text-only anthology). For a medium that has been historically so male dominated in its creation and consumption, it is refreshing to see so much brilliant work included here by female artists as diverse as Esther Pearl Watson, Jessica Abel and Olivia Schanzer. The critical and public reaction to the book has been very positive. In a medium like comics that has an often tenuous relation with consistent publishing, this warm reception should ensure future volumes of Best American Comics, where ideological and critical variations by Editors can be discussed like so many of the other Best American series. As Pekar writes, “If this variety of stories can be done in comics, they can be done brilliantly.” It looks like if these stories are indeed done brilliantly, a wider audience may finally get to see them.
Copyright 2016 Jim Bush
