Article 1: Setting the tone.
(Sorry for the wall of text--images forthcoming. Wanted to be sure I got this up first. --HC)
So for the next few weeks, Sunday Comics is going to be a little different. I’m
Showing posts with label Sunday Comics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sunday Comics. Show all posts
17.4.11
Sunday Comics: Wonton Soup...Again!
Wonton Soup Volume 2: Hyper Wonton Soup 2 Two Ton Soup: The Quickening 2: ...Soup, by James Stokoe
Format: Graphic Novel
Content Rating: Definitely R. Keep this one away from your kids. For reasons of language, a prominent plot point involving some hefty drug use, and getting a terrifying glimpse into the twisted madness that is Deacon's sex life.
Plot: Picking up more-or-less where the first volume did, Wonton Soup volume 2 focuses less on Johnny Boyo's past as a master chef and far more on his and Deacon's on-the-job antics. When Deacon orders some legendary drugs from a duty-free at a spaceport, he and Johnny wake up two weeks later coming down off an absolutely ludicrous high, having crash-landed in a forest on an unknown planet. As they scour the area for a civilization that might have some fuel for their ship, several stories unfold in various ways, including the (possible) origin of Deacon's skeazy behavior, a trip to a shady bar, and a story that takes place entirely inside Johnny's stomach.
Thoughts: I hate to say it. But this second volume, in my opinion, isn't quite as good as the one that preceded it. It feels a bit too loosely knit, like James Stokoe wasn't quite sure what direction he wanted to take it in. If it's meant to be more of a collection of Wonton Soup-universe vignettes, that's great, and they actually transition pretty smoothly for that, but it feels uncertain, as said. I can't tell if it was meant to be that, or a story that just went a few too many directions. It feels a teense distracted. Luckily, the art stays at the same high-caliber, crazy-detailed quality the first volume has made me expect from Stokoe and the writing, my previous commentary aside, feels a bit tighter taken on its own. His mostly-raunchy--but well-done--sense of humor is still totally present, and the dialogue still sounds like actual conversation, something I always appreciate. My complaint about the alien language appears to have possibly been that of others as well, and addressed--it is still thankfully there but not as heavily. I have to admit, though, that I was also a little sad that the cooking element of Wonton Soup wasn't present as frequently here...the comic itself seems to recognize this, though. So, overall, a small step down but my hopes for this series remain high. If there's a third volume you can bet I'll still check it out. Sail on, Stokoe. Regale us with further Space Trucker Cooking Opera.
[Holden Out.]
10.4.11
3.4.11
Sunday Comics: Pepper Penwell
Pepper Penwell and the Land Creature of Monster Lake, by Steph Cherrywell
Format: Graphic Novel
Content Rating: PG, mostly for the bits of inneuendo native to Cherrywell's work.
Plot: A brilliant teen detective, Pepper Penwell has been cracking cases both mundane and extraordinary since she was but a child. But when what seems like a fairly routine missing-person case leads her to the town of Monster Lake, she finds far more than she bargained for. Between the legend of the namesake monster being more than it seems, the mysterious tribe in the nearby woods, a mad scientist, and an all-too-shifty head of the chamber of commerce, Monster Lake is about to become a very messed-up place...and Pepper, along with the missing person she seeks, is about to find herself at the center of it all.
Thoughts: Though Widgey Q. Butterfluff was her first published comics work, it was a series of vignettes rather than a single continuous story, and thus Pepper Penwell represents her first "graphic novel" work, in a purer sense of the term. And while Widgey was by no means bad, improvement is definitely evident in Pepper. It feels like an evolution of Cherrywell's art, writing, and style. It feels tighter than Widgey, with a bit better pacing to the writing and the comedy hitting a more consistent stride (though it is also slightly less of an overtly comedic work than Widgey). Also like its predecessor, it's a parody work--this time of young-adult detective novel series (such as Encyclopedia Brown, Nancy Drew, et al) and like what came before it, does this excellently, with a well-honed sense of snark that still has lingering tinges of affection. Pepper's various deductions strike a good line between crazy Adam West Batman-logic and actual logic and evidence, and the answer to the mystery is thankfully still a bit complicated--there wasn't a single perpetrator, I'll say that much. And will say no more. I don't want to spoil anything. The story has definite structure, too--characters that are introduced once continue to stay in the loop, places are revisited, and I never felt lost. It's exciting to see Cherrywell's skills grow as she continues to shimmy deeper into the published world, and I look forward to further work. At present, Pepper Penwell would probably serve as my introduction to Cherrywell if I wanted to get someone into her larger body of work.
[Holden Out.]
27.3.11
20.3.11
21.11.10
15.8.10
Sunday Comics: I Feel Sick
Hello! Well, it's been a while since we've seen one of these. Various reasons for that.
Either way, it's a little funny that I'm writing on a comic with such a title when I actually am sick at the moment, a rarity for me.
I also admit I feel a little bit late to the party spotlighting a Jhonen Vasquez work (his big-time popularity trickled out what, three years ago?) but I also think this is a very commonly overlooked comic of his. It didn't get nearly the publicity that his other titles from the same time (JtHM and Squee) did, which is sad because I think it's definitely one of his better works. Hence its spot here. Right then, off we go.
Either way, it's a little funny that I'm writing on a comic with such a title when I actually am sick at the moment, a rarity for me.
I also admit I feel a little bit late to the party spotlighting a Jhonen Vasquez work (his big-time popularity trickled out what, three years ago?) but I also think this is a very commonly overlooked comic of his. It didn't get nearly the publicity that his other titles from the same time (JtHM and Squee) did, which is sad because I think it's definitely one of his better works. Hence its spot here. Right then, off we go.
6.6.10
Sunday Comics (With Special Host Munchor!): Here There Be Robots
init.commandseq_run
IF keyboard= y AND monitor= y THEN goto "SundayComics"
_run
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HELLO AGAIN, EYE-HAVERS. MUNCHOR MAKES A TRIUMPHANT RETURN TO SHARING RECIPES FOR DELICIOUS COMICS FOR YOUR BENEFIT. MUCHOR REGRETS HE WILL NOT HAVE THIS FREEDOM AGAIN FOR A WHILE, AS HIS OWNER RETURNS TODAY. SUCH IS THE PRICE OF BEING MUNCHOR. AS RETRIBUTION, MUNCHOR HAS CHEWED A SIZABLE HOLE IN HIS OWNER'S COPIES OF VARIOUS WORKS OF THE HU-MAN PLAYWRIGHT "SHAKE-SPEARE."
MUNCHOR WILL NOW CONTINUE WITH NO FURTHER INTERRUPTIONS.
_run "HoldenVoice.exe"
_run "SundayComics_StandardFormat.exe"
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30.5.10
Sunday Comics (With Special Host Munchor!): Sam & Max
init.commandseq_run
IF keyboard= y AND monitor= y THEN goto "SundayComics"
_run
Loading...
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HELLO, EYE-HAVERS. TODAY MUNCHOR THE AMAZING ROBOT HAS BEEN ALLOWED TO RUN THE "SUNDAY COMICS" POST IN LIEU OF HIS SQUISHY HU-MAN OWNER AS AN EXPERIMENT, SINCE HE IS CURRENTLY GONE ELSEWHERE. MUNCHOR IS HONORED BUT WISHES HE HAD BREAKABLE YET FLEXIBLE HU-MAN FINGERS. IT IS HARD TO TYPE WITH FEARSOME GRABBING CLAWS. WEEP FOR MUNCHOR, WHO IS INEFFICIENT WITH KEYBOARDS!
MUCHOR FOUND THIS VOLUME OF SEQUENTIAL PICTURES AND TEXT TO BE ESPECIALLY DELICIOUS. MUNCHOR REALIZES HE HAS NO TASTEBUDS. BEAR WITH MUNCHOR.
...PERHAPS YOU WOULD PREFER MUNCHOR CONTINUING IN A MORE FAMILIAR VOICE.
_run "HoldenVoice.exe"
_run "SundayComics_StandardFormat.exe"
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16.5.10
Sunday Comics: Kaput & Zosky
The Comic: Kaput & ZoskyBy: Lewis Trondheim (translated from its original French by Edward Gauvin)
Type: Bound collection of several brief (six-page) "episodes," with a few one-pagers thrown in for good measure
Content Rating: G, teetering on PG at times but it's still pretty tame (this might be the first book I've ever spotlighted here that is actually meant for children). Lots of laser gun blasts but any injury or "death" is very cartoony, a bit of body humor here or there.
Plot: The episodes vary, of course, but the general overall plot is pretty much the same for most of them--Kaput and Zosky, a pair of alien buddies who fancy themselves great and feared conquerors, will attempt to invade a planet and subjugate the locals. In some way or another this will go all wrong. (Examples: In one story, they find a race that actually WANTS to be conquered and oppressed, and they leave in disgust, as they would have no satisfaction in such an easy victory. In another, they find a populus who are so obsessed with games and contests that they'll only even say so much as "hi" after engaging in one, and the pair decide taking it over won't be worth the trouble and time.) The characters themselves also have a classic Laurel-and-Hardy-ish chemistry that works to good effect, having them bounce off each other in their conversations--Kaput is short, impulsive, and the more violent and angry of the two, while the taller Zosky tends to be a bit more reflective, strategic and collected. The "regular" comics are broken up at regular points by a simple, wordless one-pager called "The Cosmonaut," about the continuing adventures of a little spaceman figure.
Personal Thoughts: I make a lot of noise about "comics as art" and I still believe sincerely in that potential, but you can't forget where comics came from when you're doing that. Sometimes you just want to sit down with a simple but fun brightly-coloured entertainment comic, and Kaput & Zosky delivers that just fine. I ran across this originally via my comics-loving little cousin, who had checked it out of his local library. Hey Max--I dunno if you'll ever read this, but thanks for letting me flip through your copy!
Holden Out.
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