Pulp (Action) (Graphic Novel)

 

by Ed Brubaker  (Author), Sean Phillips (Artist)

Publisher : Image Comics; Illustrated edition (August 4, 2020)

Hardcover, 72 pages

Amazon Listing

Once again we come along to an incredible crime story by the team of Sean Phillips and Ed Brubaker. While this is not officially part of the series Criminal it might as well be. With the current lack of enthusiasm by most fans for the comic market, it seems this pair has gone from a recurring series, to limited series, and now seem to be attempting to adapt the European method of one-shot volumes in a series. Which may or may not be successful. The only thing that I would suggest here is that they stop putting out the book in hardcover only. A lower-cost softcover variant would probably yield more sales.

The term pulp is used in several methods here. In the book, the protagonist is a former gunslinger and train robber who, in his twilight years, began publishing fictionalized accounts of his former crimes to the pulp magazines in the late 1930s. After being mugged of all his money, he is contacted by a retired Pinkerton agent, who was part of the squad trying to bring the former gunslinger’s gang to justice. The old Pinkerton proposes a deal to rip off some new villains who have appeared on the scene, The American Bund, aka the American Nazi League.

This meta-aware book of pulp features, which also includes the sleaziness of the pulps, while incorporating nearly every old-style genre (with the exception of the Tarzan mythos) we have heist, revenge, vigilante, and westerns mixed up against the always ready go-to antagonist of the century, the Nazi. At this point it seems there have been more Nazis shot in films, TV, and literature than in real life. If you’re looking for something else besides pulpy material and a pulpy ending - spoiler alert - in a book called Pulp, you have best look elsewhere. But please don’t, you’re gonna love this book.

For more readings, try books by Rex Hurst

Food in the Gilded Age: What Ordinary Americans Ate (History)

                                          by Robert Dirks

Publisher : Rowman & Littlefield Publishers (April 14, 2016)

Hardcover, 226 pages

Amazon Listing

“Italians believed that the higher prices they paid were justified because of the superior quality of their diet. In their opinion, they ate better than members of other nationalities, and generally speaking newcomers from Italy expressed very little interest in trying other people’s foods. This created the impression that Italians disliked foreign dishes. Wood circulated that they dreaded going to the hospital for medical help and that they avoided seeking employment outside of their own neighborhoods because of the unfamiliar foods they might have to eat. Regardless of whether this was true, it seems fair to say that no nationality other than the Chinese clung with greater tenacity to their native cuisine.”

This is an academic text, so don’t expect a narrative or natural flow to the text. A good deal of it for the first several chapters is dry calculation, flooded with numbers and statistics, which I’m sure proves the author’s point, but it is similar to reading a textbook - narrative be damned. It isn’t until the later chapters, where the author begins breaking down dietary habits among various immigrant groups of the late 19th and early 20th century that the book perks up.

On the positive, all of the sources are well documented and impressive. Additionally, scattered throughout the book are old school recipes culled from the cookbooks of the Gilded Age. There are twelve of them ranging from all across the United States. Most are based on the dietary habits of poor immigrants, or poor Americans in the southern USA. The book ends oddly. It just sort of stops when it runs out of information. Usually there is some sort of conclusion. It’s almost as if he had written one, and it was pulled by the publishers to cut down on costs.

For more readings, try books by Rex Hurst

 

Art Out of Time: Unknown Comics Visionaries, 1900-1969 (Art)

by Dan Nadel  (Author), et. al.

Publisher : Abrams; Illustrated edition (June 1, 2006)

Hardcover, 320 pages

Amazon Listing

“Comics come from the awkward meeting of words, pictures, and commerce. The stories encompass life and death; art and comedy; unknown worlds of the future and the prosaic present. All of these narratives exist in torn newspapers, filthy magazines, badly printed pamphlets, and exquisite editions. Within all of these formats there have been competent journeymen artists as well as those brilliant practitioners: Visionary artists whose drawings and ideas surpassed all boundaries, in a medium that - until recently -routinely ignored such talent. While some of today’s best cartoonists are recognized, their lineage remains under-explored. Art Out of Time is a book about that American lineage: dozens of artists who mixed deep talent with low-down genre to create brilliant and unusual impurities in the decades before comics became a viable medium for personal expression.”

This is indeed a collection of great material from unknown artists from the past. Some are nearly forgotten, most of their work lost except for a handful of pages, others have been re-discovered recently. Often these were regional comic strips from lesser known papers, rarely distributed by any of the cartoon syndicates, but still exceptional in their own way. The book is broken into several sections focusing on commonalities in expression rather than chronology. Exercises in Exploration where it seems the author is playing with form and function in the comic medium. Slapstick - the great use of physical humor in a static medium - the art transcending its frames. Acts of Drawing - where the expressionism of the art supersedes other parts of the narrative. Words in Drawing - Where the plot comes out leaps and bounds above the art. Finally ending with Form and Style where the sheer graphic inventiveness of the strip is celebrated.

While this is a great book in many ways, there are a few niggling detractions. Part of the problem is that several of the illustrators in this book have been “rediscovered” in recent history. The whole comic-ology of both Fletcher Hanks - head of the superhero so-bad-its-good department - and Ogden Whitney - with his immortal Herbie, the Fat Fury comic - have been reprinted over the last ten years. The same is true of much of Milt Gross. So some of these weren’t new to me. Most were, however.

The largest problem, and one noted by many besides myself, was that often the material was difficult to read. Many of these were printed originally in old time papers and given a full length newspaper page to develop. In order to reprint them, they had to be shrunk down to the books size - which in itself is not small, but still not big enough for a full reprint. This is about a third of the book. And while you can admire the art in these parts, reading them is a chore. But what there is here is a unique collection of material.

For more readings, try books by Rex Hurst

Rusty Brown (Drama)

by Chris Ware  (Author)

Publisher : Pantheon; Illustrated edition (September 24, 2019)

Hardcover, 356 pages

AmazonListing

This is Chris Ware’s book, culled from the pages of Acme Novelty Library. A series which ended ten years ago, and has now been collected into this volume. What is interesting is that the story itself is not over. The very last page ends with “Intermission”. Thus the book is meant to be part one of a however-many series. I have my doubts anymore is forthcoming. Acme Novelty Library came out only once a year -if that. So it took ten years to get this far, and another ten years to collect it. So we will probably have to deal with the material presented here as the final product.

Not that there’s anything wrong with the contents of Rusty Brown. If anything, the material is too good. The art is always crisp, precise, and meticulous. Perfect curves, immaculate edges. Nothing beats it. It sucks you in and forces the reader to admire each page for about half an hour. One minor detail is that the author often plays about with the size of the panels, and so a lot of the words are really tiny. Stick your eyeball a millimeter from the page tiny. That might have a negative impact on your enjoyment.

The story itself rambles. I’m pretty sure the author has an idea of what happens to each of the characters throughout their entire lives, but is scattered about its presentation. In the first few segments all of the character’s lives intersect together at a Catholic school in near-rural Nebraska. After these initial stories introducing the characters, the story focuses on individual characters using that time period of the late 1970s as a pivot. 

Unfortunately, the titular character Rusty Brown, fades out of the action after the first story. The action then focuses on his father and his failed writing aspirations, mostly due to fear of rejection. Jordan Lint, a boy we see bullying the titular Rusty Brown and his tumultuous life. Whether he was a good or bad man remains up in the air. I have the feeling a lot was left out of the tale. Finally, we see the life - or part of it, there’s gotta be more - of Rusty’s third grade teacher, Joanna Cole, and her lonely life in snow-bound Nebraska. The stories here are good. Damn good. Mixed with equal parts nostalgia and despair.  These aren’t triumphs of the human spirit, but they are undeniably human.

For more readings, try books by Rex Hurst

 

Mack the Knife/ Go Man! Relax! (Superhero)

 

by Starlen Widener, Bill & Baxter (Author) Matt Wagner (Introduction)

Publisher : Caliber Press; First Edition (January 1, 1989)

Softcover, 144 pages

Amazon Listing

This book is a rarity. Not just in numbers - I dare you to find it, it will be a chore- but in style. It is an old fashioned flip book, which became a style back in the 1970s when paperback publishers would print two novellas together, but you would have to flip the book over to read each one. Thus there were two covers for each volume - as in here. From what I’ve understood, the fad started because of a printer’s mistake, but the publisher was too cheap to just toss out the bunch, so he just kept the book as is and threw a new cover on its back. Most of these were laid out like old films. You had the A story -a classic novella or a named author - and then the B story. And, of course, the regular paperback price was applied to a book which might be only half good.

This book was put out by Caliber Press (now called Caliber Comics), a variation of which has fallen and risen several times over the last four decades. It’s probably best known for its zombie comic, Dead World. This was its first incarnation in the 1980s, when the dream of the direct market was in full swing, and hadn’t yet faded off into the current nightmare we are facing. This book reprints two stories from another folded indie-publisher, Nerve Publications - which started out with the mini-comics craze, moving onto fanzines, then regular comics before folding due to lack of funds. Both of these appeared in its anthology magazine Nerve before it went out of business.

What would pass for the A story here is a series called Go-Man. Three parts to the story. I sure wish there was a lot more. It touched on tropes just coming into fashion in the superhero world. The clash between old and new values in heroes (essentially, creators trying to push the comics code authority to its absolute limits). The reality of a business-funded superhero and what the genetic manipulation of humans would ultimately result in. It’s a dense, realistic world. A story essentially ahead of its time. While the art is not the best, the writing more than makes up for it. 

The B story is “Mack the Knife” a funny animal tale of an anthropomorphic shark - the titular Mack. He is a criminal on the run who breaks down in a small town, and attracts the unwanted attention of the thugs who live there and a hot woman. Hilarity ensues, along with a fair share of sex and violence. Fun fare all around.

 For more readings, try books by Rex Hurst

Odd is Art (Art)

 

by Ripley's Believe It Or Not! (Compiler)

Publisher : Ripley Publishing (May 8, 2018)

Hardcover, 144 pages

Amazon Listing 

One of my impulse COVID buys from the Ripley’s Sealife Museum in Myrtle Beach, SC. Since most of the country was blocked off, my wife and I’s had to settle for the resort town in the off-season - a place where I notice no one was wearing a mask and no police were handing out tickets. Still the lack of activity left me with some extra cash so I picked up a copy of this book and was happy with the purchase.

The book focuses on pieces of artwork crafted from unusual substances or from unusual artists. Each work is showcased large and accompanied by an informative caption. Scattered throughout are in-depth features that go into more detail about particular artists and their work. Each time I turned a page I found something weird and unique. From coffee bean portraits, to glued ash sculptures, to whole books printed on toilet paper. It’s all a fascinating read.

I would say more, but I think the pictures speak for themselves.

For more readings, try books by Rex Hurst

Jesusfreak (Historical Fiction)

 

by Joe Casey (Author), Benjamin Marra (Artist)

Publisher : Image Comics; Illustrated edition (March 26, 2019)

Hardcover, 64 pages

Amazon Listing

As the writer Joe Casey points out, this is not a religious story, but it is the story of a religious figure. The freak in this case is Jesus himself. The book here attempts to tell an alternate story of Jesus, free of previous religious context and the tales spun in the Gospels or the Quran. The authors obviously put some research into the story, especially in terms of what else was occurring in the land at the same time and in terms of history - which is often left out of the stories presented in faith documents. Thus we have a much more historic looking and acting Jesus and Pontius Pilate.

Jesus is shown as a very tan, brown-haired Jew - as he would be. Though the only physical image we are given of him is in the Book or Mark where he is described as having curly hair - here he is shown with straight hair. He is a man wrestling with a burning desire though he doesn’t quite know what that is at first. Ultimately he finds it in religion when he hears the preaching of John the Baptist. Upon John’s execution, he takes up the mantle of preacher (or rabbi), but seeing as how John’s zealotry and calls for violence against the Herod kingship and the Empire of Rome, lead to his death and the destruction of his ministry, Jesus takes a more circumspect and peaceful attitude.

The character of Pontius Pilate is also more historically accurate. In the Biblical accounts, he seems hesitant to execute Jesus, but the historical Pilate had no such qualms. It had only been a handful of years since the Zealot uprisings and Rome was eager to squash all remnants of rebellion in Jewish territory. Thus the roman governor wasn’t hesitant to crucify anyone stirring up political trouble in the territory. He was so brutal in fact that many Romans wrote complaint letters to Emperor Tiberius - though historians have pointed out his caution may have been because his patron Sejeanus had recently been executed by Tiberius. It is interesting to note that in the Ethiopian Christian Church, Pontius Pilate became a Christian and they venerate him as a martyr and saint.

The point many readers get stuck on are the violent bits, especially where Jesus has a kung-fu battle with a reptilian demon in the courtyard of the fortress of Machaerus. If any scene were not meant to be taken literally it’s this one. It represents the protagonist’s internal struggle with doubt and fear, ultimately representing Jesus’s rejection of violence as an effective force for political or religious change - at least in his case. 

 For more readings, try books by Rex Hurst

We Can Never Go Home (Superhero)

 

by Matthew Rosenberg, Patrick Kindlon, Josh Hood

Publisher : Black Mask Comics; Illustrated edition (December 22, 2015)

Softcover, 164 pages

Amazon Listing

This book takes elements from several standard superhero elements and mixes them together with the boy and girl on-the-run-after- committing-a-crime trope. It isn’t the most unique concept for a superhero - or, more accurately, super powered comic as there are no real heroes in this story - but it does a lot with what it has. In the short space used here, a decent universe is crafted or hinted at. There is a much more nebulous universe lurking behind the tale of two dimwit runaways.

We have Madison, who secretly has the superpower to become bulletproof and beat the crap out of people when she becomes angry. She befriends Duncan, a high school misfit who waves his father’s gun around like a cock extension. She is tired of her life where she is forced to pretend to be normal, and Duncan is tired of not being able to fit in. Madison accidentally kills Duncan’s father and the two run off together. They sustain their runaway by ripping off a local drug dealer and then fighting the police.

Each decision they make drags them further and further down a hole to what will be a bad end. It seems that whenever one of them just about claws their way to the light, the other steps in a does something stupid to keep them on the run, wounded and with no money. The smartest thing Madison does is walk away from Duncan. They are each other’s kryptonite. Alone they might survive. Together their road ends at an early grave.

For more readings, try books by Rex Hurst

1984 Issue 4 (Science Fiction)

 

By Bill DuBey, Richard Corben, et. al.

Publisher: Warren Publishing (October, 1978)

Softcover, 92 pages

My Comic Shop listing

This is the last issue based I bought of the old “illustrated adult fantasy magazine” 1984 put out by Warren Publishing back in the late 1970s to the mid 1980s. I managed to find the first four relatively cheaply - albeit they arrived a bit musty - on eBay, but when I look at the prices for more of them, they certainly aren’t cheap. Granted, each issue is a fill 80 to 90 pages of material - just below standard for a graphic novel - so they price might be justified. But I plan to take a break from them for a while.

Issue four of this magazine contains a story which is rumored to have caused the downfall (ie bankruptcy) of Warren Publishing. The story is called “Mondo Megillah”, the third in the issue. Editor DuBey decided to adapt some classic sci-fi stories for the magazine. One writer suggested “A Boy and His Dog” by Harlen Ellison and DuBey agreed without contacting Ellison. When Ellison refused to grant permission, Dubay had an artist draw the story anyway, then provided the art to the writer to use as the basis for a new story. Ellison then sued for plagiarism and won - easily won. For if you ever read the story, you’ll see there’s no doubt the story was a rip-off, despite the gender swap of the main character. It’s said that this lawsuit drained the coffers of Warren so much, that when the market took a slight downturn, they couldn’t survive.

In this issue we are presented with the stories of “The Last War of the Worlds” which is a sequel to H. G. Wells’ War of the Worlds. Essentially it is a miniature version of the great sci-fi graphic novel Scarlet Traces - albeit this story came out first. Next is the continuing story of Idi Amin, in “Idi and Me”. Where a former dirty tricks agent, named Dogmeat, and a gender-swapped Idi Amin must travel through a new world filled with devolved human mutants. Again my suspicions was that the art for this piece was initially written for an entirely different story altogether.

After the infamous “Mondo Megillah”, was the latest installment of Mutant World, by Jan Strnad and Richard Corben. This feature’s dimwitted character continues on his post-apocalyptic journey for food and love - with tragic results. Fifth is “The Stunning Downfall of Muhammad Reptillicus” which is a contiunation of the Sally Starslammer story from last issue. Here Sally becomes involved in the fight business, only to find it’s rigged - shocking but true. After this is another full-color entry by Richard Corben, called “Ogre”. An orge in a fantasy setting lusts after a beautiful woman. Irony and tragedy are the result. One of the highlights of the book. “Lullaby”, the next story is incredibly messed up. Very sexual, lots of nude drawings, and deals with the aristocracy is a future civilization. Eighth is “Boys Camp” about two people setting up a detention camp for human children at the behest of alien invaders.

Last, we have what will become a recurring character, “Rex Havoc, Asskicker of the Fantastic”. In a similar world to the True Blood series all of the Universal Monster species have come out of the closet and announced themselves to the world. Collectively they are called the Fantastic and are now demanding human rights and the vote, etc. Rex Havoc, a tongue-in-cheek character, and his team attempt to prove the evilness of the fantastic races.

 For more readings, try books by Rex Hurst

1984 Issue 3 (Science Fiction)

By Bill DuBey, Richard Corben, et. al.

Publisher: Warren Publishing September, 1978

Softcover, 92 pages

MyComic Shop listing

   

On to issue three of the adult fantasy magazine 1984. This was published by Warren Publishing in the late 1970s to mid- 1980s, where it ended at issue 29 due to the publisher’s bankruptcy. I comment on the last post about how most stories were written by Bill DuBey and as such many of the stories have the same feel to them. Especially when dealing with sexual issues. As it turns out, that is because DuBey had a bad habit of rewriting other people’s dialogue and rearranging artwork without consulting the artist first. 

In the first issue, the story by Wallace Wood was cut down, rearranged and totally rewritten to make a very different story. As a result, Wallace Wood refused to ever work with the company again. The Mutant World continuing series in 1984 by Jan Strnad and Richard Corben often struggled with DuBey who would add what Strnad called, ”a spew of juvenile obscenities." This arrogance would ultimately cost the Publisher everything. As we will see next issue.

Despite what I said, this is a great issue of stories, with an amazing cover by Patrick Woddroffe.  DuBey could write fast and quick, and produce quality material - which is perhaps why he was so dismissive of other people’s abilities. Eventually the only writers who stuck around were hungry and just needed a paycheck. One thing which I do miss, that exists in the more popular magazines, are the lack of advertisements. Where is the weird old stuff? The lockets containing dirt from Dracula’s Castle. The creepy masks and ancient paperbacks? Ah well.

First story, drawn by Jose Ortiz, must have recycled from an old issue of Creepy or Eerie, because I swear I’ve read it before. It’s a weird sci-fi tale about a pair of old telepaths secretly run the world’s military apparatus. Next we have the first in a recurring character, Idi Amin - yes, that one - it’s another truly odd tale, set in the near-future where a character called Dogmeat Jones, part of the America’s Dirty Tricks Squad, causes the African dictator to have a sex change. In retaliation, he unleashes several genetic diseases which wipes out most life and leaves the rest as hate-filled mutants. This is another story which I swear the art was drawn for a different story and DuBey slapped new text onto. Third is, “In the Beginning” where scientists send a group of scientists back in time to observe the very first appearance of microscopic life on Earth, only to be terribly surprised.

Fourth, we have the next installment of Mutant World, which continues to be the highlight of the magazine - partially because it’s a color insert, partially because of Richard Corben’s art. The story itself is simple, but enjoyable. Fifth is, “Bring Me the Head of Omar Barsidian” illustrated by Jim James and Rudy Nebres, one of the more sexual tales in this issue. In it, the titular Omar is chased for escaping from the planet Orgasty, where he as one of the beautiful people he isn’t allowed to quit society. Sixth is a silent feature, illustrated by the mononym Nebot, called “The Strange Adventure of Doctor Jerkyll”. This obvious reference postulates what would happen if the scientist’s potion had turned him female.

Seventh is “Scourge of All Disneyspace”, another bizarre story where men have been mutated so they have no genitals, and a group of renegade women from the insemination factories run across a real penis for the first time. Eighth is ‘COMMFU” - Complete Monumental Military Fuck Up, where a psycho, trained by the government, accidentally initializes a killing spree in Flordia, rather than his intended target. Last is “The Harvest”, a story which caused controversy at the time. In a future world, where there are limited resources, white people hunt blacks for food. The ending splash page was particularly messed up. It depicts a man pulling a fetus from a dead woman and proclaiming to his son, “Your mama was asking for some veal”. Or words to that effect.

For more readings, try books by Rex Hurst

1984 Issue 2 (Science Fiction)

 

By Bill DuBey, Richard Corben, et.al.

Publisher: Warren Publication (August 1978)

Softcover, 82 pages

AmazonListing

Here we are, second issue of the magazine dubbed 1984, which ran with the tagline “Explosive Illustrated Adult Fantasy”. Which was Warren Publishing’s attempt to cash in on the success of Heavy Metal magazine - just like The Goblin was Warren’s attempt to grab some of the superhero boom from the 1980s. . And to some extent, it was a success. While it only lasted 29 issues, the reason for its cancelation was Warren Publishing’s bankruptcy.

In my opinion, the material here doesn’t come close to that in Heavy Metal or even Epic Illustrated magazine. For one Heavy Metal published a lot of material from many authors in many styles, often European material which had a proven track record of success. To cut costs, most of the material here was written by Bill DuBay. A talented man, make no mistake, but still one who has a specific style, so many of the stories have a similar cadence. Along with this, the magazine reuses many of the same artists from Creepy, Eerie, and Vamperella. So you are most likely going to see the same art styles from issue to issue, unlike Heavy Metal whose style varied wildly from story to story and issue to issue. Finally, what put 1984 behind was its adherence to black and white illustrations - the made the exception with Richard Corben’s recurring Mutant World stories, but that’s it. All other illustrated magazines went full color. There were a few stories that were exceptions, but that’s all they were - exceptions, not the rule.

I’m convinced that at least the first two stories (and possibly the seventh one as well, “Messiah”) were made from leftover art for a completely different tale, that DuBay repurposed. Often the art in “Last of the Red Hot Lovers” and “Scourge” were showing something completely unrelated to the text near them. He always made sure they connected up at the end, but my suspicions are strong on this. The frist details the sexual war between two different groups of mutated men, as they fight over the last of the women. One side had massively oversized genetailia (not shown) and the other causes the women to explode when they have sex. “Scourge” discusses the scourge of women in the universe. As it turns out, humans are the only race with two sexes. All the rest are made up of uni-sex races whio instantly want to capture and conquer as many human women as possible, which leads to glagatic war and the destruction of all civilizations in the Milky Way.

Third is “The Kit” when euthanasia becomes legal, suicide kits are all the rage -until their used for murder. This one goes on too long, when it’s obvious where the story is headed. “The Janitor” contains no text, but shows the sexual exploits of a janitor at a catholic boarding school with a sci-fi twist. The highlight of this issue was Richard Corben’s “Mutant World”, just as it was in Issue 1 out protagonist Dimento now has to deal with the concept of religion and sin in his post-apocalyptic world.  It finished up with “Maneaters” about a space ship captain who survived a doomed expedition through cannibalism and is vilified by all polite society in many worlds for it.  Finally we have “The Microbe Patrol” which is like Fantastic Voyage meets The Happy Hooker. You can figure that one out on your own.

For more readings, try books by Rex Hurst

1984 Issue 1 (Science Fiction)

 

Written by Bill DuBey, Richard Corben, Wallace Wood, Nicola Cuti, et. al.

Publisher: Warren Publication (June 1978)

Magazine, 96 pages

MyComic Shop.com

This is the premiere issue of Warren Publication's attempt at a science fiction illustrated magazine, even though it is billed as “Tomorrow's World of Illustrated Adult Fantasy”, the stories (in this issue at least) are billed are all science fiction. 1984 is, of course, a reference to the classic dystopian novel of the same name, written in 1948. It was designed to compete with Heavy Metal so much of the material has more sex and violence than one would normally expect- even from a Warren publication. The magazine changed its name to 1994 with issue 11, supposedly due to a request from Orwell’s estate. It continued on until issue 29 when the whole of Warren Publications went into bankruptcy.

This wasn’t like the previous title from Warren I covered, The Goblin - in which most of the premiere issue seemed to be made up of leftover crap from the pages of Creepy - the premiere of 1984 began with a strong collection of stories by proven masters. Under the helm of Bill DuBay - The Rook. It clocks in at 82 pages, with 10 features and a cover by Richard Corben, well worth the buck fifty asking price. The editorial claims they “wanted to bring back the space adventures of their youth. The Shadow. Buck Rodgers, Flash Gordon.” Well they didn’t quite succeed in this first issue, but made a decent effort.

First we have “Last of the Really Great, All-American Joy Juice” written by Bill DuBay and drawn by Jose Ortiz: A tongue in cheek story in the aftermath of a massive war on Earth where nearly every male has been sterilized. Thus a space adventure begins to recover the last of the sperm banks on the planet. A little too silly, but as long as they aren’t all that way, I can take it. Second is “The Saga of Honeydew Melons” by Nicola Cuit and drawn by Esteban Maroto. A weird story about a talent scout having difficulty keeping live entertainment on a planet of miners. He turns to a mechanical solution with disastrous results. Fun story. Third is “Once Upon Clarissa” by Bill Dubay and drawn by Alex Nino. A truly weird love story about a girl being kept alive through the magic of future technology. Its only flaw is that most of the text is written in cursive, and has faded due to the age of my copy - making reading it less enjoyable than it should have been.

Fourth is “Quick Cut” written and drawn by the master Wallace Wood. It’s set in a post-apocalyptic future where humanity has divided into two distinct species and the sexual interplay and violence between the two groups. Rather more brutal than I expected, but I enjoyed it. “The Saga of Xatz and Xotz” no author or illustrator given, is a one-page filler about a couple of aliens landing on a devastated earth. Fifth is “Bugs” by Bill DuBay (surprise, surprise) about an exploratory earth vessel encountering what they think are the ships of an alien race. Sixth is the first installment of a recurring story called Mutant World, written and drawn by Richard Corben. Easily the highlight of the issue, this is the only color story which centers on a rather dim protagonist, Dimento, as he tries to make his way through a mutated Earth.

The last three are: “Faster Than Light” by Jim Stenstrum and illustrated by Luis Bermejo, a comic story about the first faster-than-light cruise ship and the attempt to hijack it. Definitely not hard science fiction. “Angel” by Bill Dubrey and illustrated by Rudy Nebres, this seemed to be an attempt at another recurring character, revolving around a young lady raised by a militant monk society after a nuclear war. It ends with see more Angel next issue, but I don’t think we do. The final tale is “Momma Can You Hear Me” by Nicola Cuti and illustrated by Alex Nino - one of the better stories- about a man who was sold into slavery as a child and mutilated so nearly half of him is cybernetic implants, he comes back to his home planet in search of his missing mother. I would rate this last one as maybe third best. Always go out on a high note. All in all, a decent first issue. 

For more readings, try books by Rex Hurst

1941: The Illustrated Story (Action)

 

by Rich Veitch and Stephen Bissette (Authors and Illustrators); Steven Spielberg (Introduction)

Publisher : Heavy Metal / Pocket Books, New York; First Printing edition (January 1, 1979)

Softcover, 96 pages

Amazon Listing

“Rigid criteria were used in selecting the cast and crew for a project of this bulk. And I am proud to say that not one person who worked on this picture has a high school diploma. The cast was selected on the basis of good looks, bad taste, and low moral character... having made Jaws and Close Encounters people asked me, “when are you going to make an intimate personal film that shows who the real Steven Spielburg is?” Well, 1941 is my most intimate film - the statement I’ve always wanted to make.”

-         Steven Spielberg from his introduction.

This is an illustrated book based on the script for a failed film. 1941 came out in 1979, directed by Steven Spielberg, starring Dan Akroyd, John Belushi, John Candy, Christopher Lee, Tishiro Mifune, Warren Oates, Robert Stack, Treat Williams, Tim Matheson, and so on. A substantial cast. It was touted everywhere. Huge publicity for the film was splashed across TV and print. Belushi and Matheson was straight off of Animal House, while Spielberg just landed two major hits with Jaws and Close Encounters of the Third Kind. It could not fail. Until it did. A bomb. A major bomb. It was gone within a week from theaters, and nearly dropped out of the American zeitgeist, except as a trivia question.

Somewhere in that can’t fail category, Heavy Metal Magazine, still in a nascent form, bought the rights to make a graphic novel of the film. At the time, a novelization of a film was commonplace, but a graphic novel was completely new. There was a spat of time in the 1970s when they would do a picture book of a film made from the film stills, but that was rare. This was a great new idea. If only they had picked a different film to start with.

The book is essentially like the film. Two horndogs try to get laid. Meanwhile hysteria grips California in the wake of the bombing of Pearl Harbor. An assorted group of defenders attempt to make the coast defensible against an imagined Japanese invasion - which eventually turns out to be true. Comedy ensues. What sets this book apart is that the graphic novel is actually way better than the film. The combined efforts of Stephen Bissette and Rick Veitch elevated a raunchy comedy into a work of art. Stylistically it reminds me of old Heavy Metal, with insane backgrounds, reused old animations, and sometimes photos of the actual actors in their parts. Granted this was produced as the film was being made, so it looks different from the finished product, which is just as well. The film is a dud. This is a work of art.

If you are interested, avoid going to Amazon, where the price gougers are out in force. I looked at a few prices ranging from $155 to $650. The link above is to the Heavy Metal website, where copies are being sold for $3 apiece. I suppose these gougers justified their prices by claiming it's a rare item. That’s because no one wanted to buy a copy, due to its terrible source material. But apparently it’s not so rare. Most of the copies are still filling up a warehouse owned by Heavy Metal Magazine. Funny, I expected them to be buried in a landfill next to all those copies of E.T. for the Atari 2600.

For more readings, try books by Rex Hurst