Speculative Friction:
a blog of comics and literary criticism written by Bill Baker

2-15-06

"back in the saddle again"

A lot on my mind this past week, including some ideas on how some European creators seem to be approaching their characters and how that differs in some major respects from most American's portrayals, but nothing really crystallized enough to ramble on about here. And that's due to the fact that I'm in the midst of preparing to attend the first NY Comic-con in a week and a half. It seems just a few months ago that I was dragging my butt back home in early December, exhausted from both my trip to the ever-fun Mid-Ohio con in Columbus as well as the 13 or so cons which preceded it. I've been doing that many shows every year for each of the past seven years.

Well, no more. This year, as the dearth of scheduled appearance under BitGutters' "When" heading will attest, I'm cutting back. Way back. Right now, I'm only sure that I'll be hitting the NY Comic-con, and the Wizardworld Chicago show this August. I'm almost certain to be at the Book Expo in Washington, DC, during mid-May--that's increasingly turning into my real bread-and-butter show for a number of reasons--and there's a very, very slight chance I'll also attend San Diego again this year. This would be my 10th straight SD con, and I really do hate the idea in some respects, but something has to give when you find yourself spending more time on the road or recuperating from the trip that you spent on the trip...or that you're spending working. Obviously.

Still, there's a real excitement to preparations for these kind of events. That mixture of excited uncertainty and expectation, a dull reminder of that "I can't wait" Christmas Eve-style of anticipation.

Adding to that sweet tension is a different kind of sense of satistisfaction delayed, something that I haven't experienced for about a decade now. This other stir of emotions is the result of my writing a short-short tale that's been accepted to be part of a forthcoming anthology of tales based in world of The Wicked West , the wild and weird supernatural western series created by Todd Livingston, Robert Tinnell and Neil Vokes. This is how Bob T. describes the project:

"For the upcoming THE WICKED WEST 2: ABOMINATION AND OTHER TALES Livingston-Tinnell-Vokes have opted to invite several creators and friends to contribute stories from the original GN's world - most featuring lead character Cotton Coleridge. Among those who have already committed to attending the party, in addition to their hosts, Livingston-Tinnell-Vokes, are:

• Mark Ricketts [Nowheresville among other fine OGNs]
• Mike Hawthorne [Hysteria]
• Mike Baron [co-creator of Nexus and Badger]
• JCVaughn [McCandles and Company]
• JK Snyder III [Dr. Midnight among other projects]
• Bill Baker [comics journalist, but you know that]
• The Fraim Brothers [great cartoonists and illustrators, and the team assigned BB's story]
• Adam Burton
• Adrian Salmon [The Faceless: A Terry Sharp Mystery]
• Micah Farritor [artist on Tinnell and Livingston's The Living and the Dead OGN from Speakeasy)
• Andrew Sands
• Joanna Estep
• Filip Sablik [Diamond rep extraordinaire]

"And there's still more folks who are about to join the celebration, and will be announced a bit later!"

This marks a real return to my comic book roots, in a sense, as I spent the better part of six years in the early 90s trying to break in as a comics writer with both the major and many of the indy comic book companies then in existence, but with little real success, in the end, despite garnering some real and serious attention from a few noted editors of the day.

Still, and in spite of some serious planning to re-engage that aspect of my writing career, this particular story and opportunity came as a complete surprise. One of the problems I've encountered on the creative front is the simple fact that I tend to want to work only in and on specific arcs or stories. I have no real yen or even a little real desire to write, oh say Superman for the next few years, putting my indelible stamp on the character. Nope, that kind of ongoing gig isn't for me, with only a few and very rare exceptions [for instance, I'd just about kill to get a chance to do my "Introducing the Debt Patrol!" two-plus year arc on The Doom Patrol, or the extended Swamp Thing: Planetary God/dess saga from around the same era, but don't expect to see my name on either title in this lifetime, realistically].

Sometimes, I'll come up with a major arc or even a one or two issue tale which encapsulates just about everything I want to do with a character...and which typically means that I'll never get to do the story, since it will violate some new or unknown tenet of the character or continuity. Which drives me nuts after a point, since I'm really just interested in telling a good story that I, and hopefully others, will enjoy. Or at least that's what seemed to happen for the most part.

Lately, though, I've been coming up with whole graphic novels, all original or perhaps owing a little something to a notion raised by a genre or idea presented elsewhere. Again, there's essentially one tale being told, even if it might take three or six hundred pages to tell it.

But short stories? Rarely to never. First there's no market for them in mainstream comics and, aside from good homes like Kevin Eastman's Heavy Metal, there's no real place to show them, and hence no real reason to pursue it. Which is why "a minor incident of no real import" caught me by such a surprise.

Bob Tinnell and I were talking about some of his upcoming projects when he mentioned that he and the guys were looking to bring some new blood and new perspectives on The Wicked West and inquired if I'd like to consider contributing to the second book. Now, if you don't think I was both pleased and honored, you're wrong, but I had to tell him that I didn't really have anything, even an inkling, to offer him at that point--despite being a fan of the book. He was persistent, though, and was kind enough to say that if I did come up with anything I thought might work, I should let him know. I expressed my doubt about that happening, in spite of, or perhaps because of my admiration for what they'd done in the first book, but I would do just that if anything presented itself.

A month or so went by, and I didn't think about the subject except fleetingly, and then only with some frustration and a little regret that I had nothing, still. And then, at a time when I was caught up in some other professional concerns, an image which was both ridiculous and sublime presented itself to me.

[And, yeah, I was in the shower. Weird how the private moments presented by a space can stimulate ideas and reveries that might otherwise be rejected or run over by more banal or other concerns, don't you think?]

I called Bob and explained the basic idea to him, and that it was basically a two pager, to see if it would fit the proposed collection. It seemed to, so I spent about three hours writing up the script and doing some excessively raw rough page layouts and sent them to Wicked West HQ. Next thing I know, it's accepted and Los Bros. Fraim had jumped on board to illustrate it.

And, yeah, I'm quite happy with this turn of events. And while I don't want to make too much of this event or the cause of it--the tale is, really, intended to be something of a literary equivalent of an aperitif, something to cleanse the palate between bigger, darker or heavier delicacies being presented--I really do have yet another sense of excitement and anticipation humming underneath the "It's con season!" buzz. Maybe it's a groaning cliché in this context, but it really does feel good to be back in the saddle again. Even if it does mean switching horses, or genres, on occasion.

Because sometimes even dreams can be ridden off into that blazing sunset and into a new tomorrow. And that's one of the particular joys that this medium offers which I hope I never, ever take for granted.

Enough babbling. Now it's time for...

What's Bill been reading this week?

2-8-06 to 2-14-06

Borgia: Blood for the Pope
The teaming of Milo Manara, long know for his lush landscapes and luxurious depictions of the female form, with the iconoclastic film director-turned-comics writer Jodorowsky, who mixes violent emotions with operatic action and transgressive content is perfect for this historical pageant. A tale of unfettered lusts, appetites and ambitions, this first volume of three firmly establishes the character and nature of not just the Borgia clan, but of Rome on the cusp of evolving from a Medieval mindset to one which would give birth to that flowering of knowledge and expression commonly referred to as the Renaissance. But, like any birth, this one is accompanied by a great deal of pain, blood and worse, all a reminder of the fact that all new life arises from death and decay. A stunning and very mature minded book, recommended for those looking for something that's decidedly off the American mainstream market's typical path. Just be aware that there's lots of sex and nudity and perversion being portrayed herein. [Probably just doubled the potential sales, right?]

First hardcover volume of a trilogy portraying the rise of the Borgia court in pre-Renaissance Italy
Heavy Metal [or Editions Albin Michel/Sefam, Paris]


Roy Thomas' Anthem
This first issue of the alternative timeline series is really solid. Taking place in a world where the Japanese and Axis forces have gained control of much of the world by employing what appears to be versions of a Godzilla-like monster and HG Well's Martians' flying saucers to further their causes in a way never possible in our reality. However, there's an underground movement in this nearly beaten America which has just awoken what appears to be their last ditch secret weapons--a group of super humans. The only catch is that these potential heroes have little or no memories of their past, collective or individual, to guide them. Even worse, just as they're revived, the Nazis discover and penetrate into their hidden base. As a first issue of a four issue arc, with a potential to lead to an intriguing retro ongoing series [all of the action here is apparently set in the early 1840s], this is well-paced and nicely drawn introduction to everything you need to know about the world to enjoy the story. The only catch is that, just as the reader is up to speed, it's time for the issue break. Still, fun and fairly satisfying independent superheroics, with some real potential for interesting stories.

First issue in a new ongoing comic book series
Heroic Publishing
www.heroicpub.com


Testament # 3
Rushkoff, Sharp and company continue to up the ante as they rip the steering wheel off and floor it. If you think that this book consists of a bunch of talking heads looking serious while discussing the ramifications of free will in a deterministic universe and other esoteric topics, you couldn't be more wrong. This book has thrown more wild and original ideas, [literally] mind blowing graphics at readers in these first three issues than most monthly titles present in a year or more of issues. If you've ever wondered how someone other than the usual, largely English lot might handle big ideas in large and small ways, showing how it really effects and affects both the characters and plot of a story, this book is for you. And if you're just looking for some great eye candy and a techno-thriller nonpareil, this book is for you.

In fact, if you're really interested in seeing the medium explored in new and surprising way, you simply must read this book, now or when it is collected. This is one of the faces of the future of comics, and it's both fearsome and beautiful. Just like Life itself.

Third issue of an ongoing monthly title
Vertigo Comics
www.DCcomics.com


Showcase Presents: Metamorpho, The Element Man
I used to love this series and character when I was a kid. He was weird and grotesque, but embraced it. He was a hip freak who didn't mind being different, except when it interfered with his love life. Seeing this entire series, even in the crisp black and white repros presented here, gave me new appreciation for what Bob Haney, Ramona Fradon, Charles Paris and Sal Trapani, along with the help of a few other people like Joe Orlando, achieved with this decidedly "way out and wacky" 1960s offering from DC Comics. It's honestly worth the price of admission just to see what utterly original circumstance and strange devices Metamorpho and company face and overcome. And that rich line work of Fradon, Paris and Trapani really does deserve more notice, and this presentation highlights those and the other artists' abilities in ways that color pages can't, or perhaps mask. Recommended for those who never saw the stuff, and those who have fond memories of reading these stories in their original form.

A big, thick black and white collection of all the major early stories featuring Metamorpho, in his magazine and others
DC Comics
www.DCcomics.com


Marvel Masterworks: The Incredible Hulk volume 3
This hard cover collection captures in full color the end of the Hulk's run in Tales to Astonish and the first issue of his own magazine, version 2.0. It's all written by Stan Lee, and drawn by a bevy of some of the most notable names to have ever graced the halls of the House of Ideas: Jack Kirby, Bill Everett, Gil Kane, John Buscema and the mighty Marie Severin. These legends all were considered, at one point or another, part of the legendary "Marvel Bullpen" and there's ample evidence why they were accorded that honor on display in these pages. Perhaps not their best work, but definitely some of the most visceral these folks did at the time.

The 56th volume of the Masterworks series, which is the third to feature the Hulk, reprints Tales to Astonish 80 - 101, and The Incredible Hulk # 102

Marvel Comics
www.Marvel.com


JSA # 82
Paul Levitz and George Perez and co. apply themselves to a small but telling and very poignant chapter in the uber-Infinite Crisis story in this issue. Focused largely on untold events featuring the Silver Age versions of Batman, Superman and, more importantly, Lois Lane, this is a character study piece focused largely on Power Girl. And, as you'd expect from the quality of the talent involved, it's again both affective and effective comics. These guys made me care, if only for a moment, about a character that has with rare exception always been a cipher for me. I'd wish for more of this, but as with some of the sweetest things in life, the fleeting nature of the moment is probably also one of its real strengths.

The latest issue of an ongoing series featuring the modern adventures of the original super hero team, the Justice Society of America

DC Comics
www.DCcomics.com


Hellblazer # 217
While for John Constantine, the titular character, it might be true that "Empathy is the Enemy" for the reader it's the main thing. Denise Mina, the latest scribe to take on the ever-irascible supernatural con man, continues to effectively scrap away all the bullshit and lies enveloping Constantine to reveal the still beating, if a bit shriveled, human heart that lies beneath and powers this often overlooked series. And this might be the best use of Leonardo Manco's immense talents since his last turn at a Western comic. While surely still building steam, this run promises to be one hell of a ride. Wouldn't have it any other way...

The latest issue in Vertigo's long running supernatural series
DC/Vertigo Comics
www.VertigoComics.com