Some of you may have been worrying (or hoping) that your beloved writer of Gonzo’s Dressing Room had slipped into coma or been kidnapped by aliens. Well I’m back and I’ve apparently chosen an excellent time to do so. Lately, there has been an explosion of interesting first issues on the shelves. Let’s delve into five of them for the Dressing Room’s triumphant return.
He-Man and the Masters of the Universe #1
I remember going to the local department store with my parents when I was three or four years old when I saw the original He-Man action figure. Of course I convinced my parents to buy it immediately, I believe Beastman and Skeletor followed soon after.
Now I have a large dresser draw full of Masters of the Universe figures most of which are missing arms or have been gnawed on. So when I saw this comic at my local shop, I picked it up on impulse.
The story is of a simple woodcutter named, Adam who dreams of being a barbarian hero who fought along side and against the characters we have come to know. With his elderly father falling deeper into illness and dementia, he is inexplicably called to “go out into the world” where he is immediately set upon by Beastman and a clumsy seven page battle ensues.
The beaten Beastman retreats to his master, Skeletor who wishes to stop Adam from discovering too much about his past. The young man’s dreams of being a great hero are true. He-Man is actually He-man, gasp. So much for unpredictability!
James Robinson’s script is awkward and Philips Tan’s pencils seem incredibly rushed. The old man being fed porridge by Adam being the only well executed panel.
I might stick around this title to find out what happened to Teela and to see if they have the guts to include Orko. After that, the few issues of this comic I will buy will end up deep in my comic boxes, never again to see the light of day.
Adventure Time: Marceline and the Scream Queens #1
One of my good friends at the comic shop is a twenty year old woman obsessed with Adventure Time. To me it’s a poorly drawn kid’s show about a highly annoying pre pubescent boy with a diaper on his head and his barely more mature dog with the voice of Futurama’s Bender.
The one saving grace is Marceline the Vampire Queen. An interesting, complex character who I have admittedly not seen on television. She, and to a lesser degree, Princess Bubble Gum, made the first story ark of the main Adventure Time comic bearable to me.
The story behind this mini is a personality clash between Marceline and Bubble Gum. Princess Bubble Gum finds rock music and the rock lifestyle to be chaotic and distasteful. Besides, she’s jealous of how her subjects fawn over the vampire queen. Her angry words convince Marceline that maybe she and her music are shallow after all. Simultaneously, Bubble Gum has a change of heart and the two decide that the princess will tour with them as their stage manager.
Marceline’s band is comprised of a ghost, a werewolf, a random guy ingeniously named, “Guy” and Marceline herself. The drummer, Bongo is referred to as “the ghost of a really famous drummer.” (I have my money on Keith Moon.)
Meredith Gran provides a rollicking tale aimed directly at kids but I still found it accessible as an adult. Her artwork is even more kiddy than the cartoon but I can look past that.
Princess Bubble Gum’s roadie outfit is a stroke of genius.
This comic also contains a short story by Jen Wang. Her artwork is amateurish and hit and miss. The more stylized she tries to become, the better. The story is clumsily written but sweet and touching.
With a little help from your inner eight year old, you’ll probably enjoy this comic. Just stay away from the main series which doesn’t have an ounce of girl power to save it.
The Crow: Death and Rebirth # 1
John Shirley has a minor masterpiece on his hands. His ability to make the somewhat strained concept of this comic perfectly organic and believable is a miracle. This comic is very much as advertised. A re-imagining of James O’Barr’s original Crow series set in Japan.
Kevin Colden’s art is shoddy but Matthew Wilson’s colors perform an intricate dance with Shirley’s script to tell a tale of intimacy, alienation, horror and loss. With elements of Elizabeth Bathory and Invasion of the Body Snatchers, let’s hope future issues don’t let violence trump brooding.
Put this issue at the top of your pull list or at least near it.
(Were you expecting a longer review on this one? Hey I've got two more to do. I'm sure someone's already stopped reading at this point. Give me a break blogospehere!)
Eerie: #1
$2.99 for this? Eerie has to be the best value in comics around. This horror anthology is exactly what the doctor ordered for anyone sick of mainstream comics, who needs a break from superhero crossovers, or just wants to remember why they fell in love with comics in the first place.
The first story is a grizzly atmospheric “what if” type of horror story by (in my mind, super star) David Lapham.
The final story is a strange, sad yarn that flirts with purple prose. Despite Richard Corben’s art which appears to have been done by at least three different people, this story is a definite hit.
The palate cleansing second offering would be funny and stupid to anyone save a die hard Twilight Zone aficionado or someone from an extra terrestrial culture. The true standout in this compilation is Christopher A. Taylor’s “Beta-Eden”, a tale of the joyous discovery of a new Earth that goes horribly, horribly wrong. This gruesome tale hits on every psychosexual anxiety the male mind could possibly conceive of. At times you truly feel for the “villains” without ever loosing your perspective of being firmly in the protagonist’s skin.
Dial back your time machines to the late 50’s, make sure your parents aren’t looking and climb up to your treehouse with this excellent read.
I Feel Sick #1
Oh, Jhonen Vasquez, as always the fundamental issue at hand is madness; the “madness” of social norms, the “madness” that is dealing with other people, the “madness” of creativity and the creeping madness that can screw you up for ever.
Our heroine, Devi is a freelance artist who has finally landed a descent gig. Unfortunately, it is taking up all of her time, making her a little crazy. (Not that she’s the poster child of normalcy any way.)
To make matters worse, an horrific-baby-doll-version-of-herself painting has begun to talk to her. Jhonen’s work, even his kid cartoon Invader Zim, is about some force trying to drive someone insane; a force you yourself feel while reading his work. You ache with anxiety over the dark broodings of his heroes and heroines. Inwardly, you laugh maniacally at the gruesome whack-a-do comedy. You note with pleasure the ransom non sequiturs, all the while wondering, “Should I really be enjoying this?”
If you suffer from mental illness put this comic down NOW and go see if the ten year olds have left any copies of Scooby Doo on the shelf. But then again if you weren’t a little mentally ill, you probably wouldn’t enjoy this comic anyway.
