Cerebus The Aardvark is a series with as divisive a reputation as its creator. Depending on the source, the series is one of the greatest comics of all time with how experimental it is; or it’s the series that ruins the lives of its characters and creators. But this article isn’t about Dave Sim’s fall by Author Tract, where writers imbue characters with their world views. It’s about how the series reflects parts of Sim’s life.
Sim’s Cerebus Syndrome
Cerebus began as a parody of Barbarian comics like Conan and Red Sonja. Like most parodies, it makes fun of the unusual tropes surrounding the setting. Skeletal warriors to an entire issue in dedication to the Aardvark peeing. Sim and his partner at the time Deni do whatever necessary for publishing. But they decide to self-publish out of necessity. Unfortunately, things don’t get any easier, and Sim hospitalizes himself after using LSD to get him to work better. It’s at this point both Sim and the series change attitudes.
Psychedelic Enlightenment?
Psychedelics have a reputation for improving or damaging people’s thinking processes. Writers like Alan Moore and Terence McKenna are known users of these mind-altering drugs. But for Sim, it’s difficult to see if this was good or bad. His recovery has him change Cerebus into an overall narrative. To Sim’s credit, this was years before Watchmen, which has a similar goal. But it’s also a time when Sim’s does whatever he can to get his name out.
The Legal Tug-Of-War
Most of these attempts come from Roach, a mentally ill man who forms dissociative identities based on popular superheroes. The Wolverine parody, in particular, was supposedly a means of advertisement. This also includes a crossover with Spawn that will never be reprinted due to Sim and Todd McFarlane clashing over copyright. Something that Sim previously criticized by helping create the Creator’s Bill of Rights. However, with how Sim uses the imagery of Spawn through an army of pastiches while presenting them as merchandise, it’s difficult to determine the difference between parody and mockery.
Cerebus and Sim
A higher rise before the fall.
Cerebus, in particular, is essentially Sim’s avatar, sharing a drive for success by any means. The Aardvark is a smart aleck who just wants money, power, and to drink all day. Seemingly in reaction to Sim’s need for success, Cerebus enters the storyline “High Society.” In that story, Cerebus with some help, secures some high political positions, including Prime Minister. Sim, at this time, gets his footing both in art and business with his then-wife Deni Loubert.
But while High Society and “Church & State” present some very high rises both in and out of the story, they also reflect the challenges Sim goes through. One of the reasons Aardvark-Vanaheim is so successful is because of the earliest trade paperbacks. These “phone books” were distributed directly through mail order, cutting out the publishing middlemen to make more money. This upset comic distributors, not unlike how Cerebus starts an unpopular war for his own benefit that ends in his exile. But both Sim and Cerebus are popular enough for others to follow their examples. Comic companies open the market for trades with distributors, creator-owned material becomes a practice, and Cerebus becomes a Pope.
Who’s The Mouthpiece?
Being on top of the world can get to people’s heads, Cerebus and Sim are no exceptions. When it comes to important women in their lives, they have a tendency to drive them away. Cerebus gets married three times but mistreats his first two wives with his influence as Pope. Sim divorced Loubert and drove some of his female staff away for going against former friends like Jeff Smith. It certainly doesn’t help that Sim has an anti-feminist mindset he instills into the series.
It might be because Sim set his goals too high; 300 issues is a lot, unlike the initial 156. Most of the third act composes of essays about his various opinions instead of comics. But the YouTube channel “Comic Tropes” hypothesize that this is from the initial LSD. Cerebus’ “ascension” certainly seems to imply that. Many who take psychedelics believe they enter a higher consciousness, even if most cases only report synesthesia. Yet during the Aardvark’s second ascension, he actually speaks with Sim where his creator talks him down. If Cerebus truly is Sim’s mouthpiece, does that mean that Sim is talking down to himself or scapegoating his creation for his own flaws?
The Highs and Lows of Cerebus
Nobody can ever really know what goes through the fundamentally flawed minds of others; just interpret it. Cerebus is a testament to how comic creators take chances both in artwork and business. Sim’s artwork evolves throughout a nearly 30-year run gaining more details and surrealism. It’s also a story of success against the odds of self-publishing. So much that creator-owned companies like TKO Studios use more refined methods of Sim’s marketing. However, it is difficult to separate the good from the bad when the source triggers ugly parts of people’s psyches.
But even then, Sim’s downward spiral isn’t anything new in comics. The above Alan Moore after Watchmen has a reputation for his very confusing rants about mainstream comics. His creator-owned comics like Promethea and Cinema Purgatorio are practically rants against what he hates. Even now, there are several creatives who are very difficult to tolerate because they rant about their beliefs so much. The vast majority of them are on the ComicsGate campaign.
What do you all think? Is Cerebus a complete reflection of Dave Sim as he dives into an abyss? Or is there more to it? Leave your thoughts in the comments.
Welcome to ‘I’d Buy That For A Dollar’ a column where I will be exploring the weird and wonderful world of dollar bin diving. The only rule is each and every comic is purchased for one dollar (or less!).
This week’s comic is Eclipse Comics’ Detectives Inc. #1
Written by: Don McGregor Art by: Marshall Rogers Colors by: Tim Smith Letters by: Tom Orzechowski
Detectives Inc. tells the story of Ted Denning and Bob Rainer, two low-level private investigators in seedy ’80s New York. A friend of Denning’s ex-wife has had her lover killed by a hit and run driver. After the police seem unconcerned, she hires Detectives Inc.
Eclipse comics was one of the more prolific indie publishers in the 1980s. They published tons of titles and also were one of the first to re-print manga in the states (their early manga titles include Mai The Psychic Girl and The Legend of Kamui). But what they were really known for was more mature aimed books that ran the gamut from sci-fi to crime.
The creators behind Detectives Inc. are also prolific. Writer Don McGregor has a long history and has written and worked for nearly every publisher you can imagine. Artist Marshall Rogers was a legend too. He started as an architectural student (something that is evident in his meticulous rendering of buildings and area) and has drawn everything from Batman to Mister Miracle, to Marvel’s G.I. Joe. One of the most well known Marshall Roger’s stories is how he got tapped to re-draw G.I. Joe #61 after a young Todd McFarlane’s initial entirely penciled issue was rejected by Marvel.
Detectives Inc. is a gritty book and an excellent history of its creation is included in the back matter of this issue. This whole issue is great from start to finish. McGregor’s script is very hardboiled, with a lot of narration. His characters also have that great ‘buddy cop’ banter. And the art is, of course, fantastic, with added life brought in by colorist Tim Smith. Lettering legend Tom Orzechowski rounds out the creative crew. Anyway, let’s take a look at some pages!
Here are the opening pages. Fantastic use of panels and layout. And that lettering rules!Another great use of layout and the atmosphere created by the coloring is awesome.Those green colored panels as a flashback device are sublime!The ‘movement’ on Rainer putting on his pants is a classic, yet subtle sequential art tool. Awesome! Also, pardon the photobomb by my thumb!
There you have it folks, just a glimpse into another dollar bin gem.
You can find great dollar bins at almost every local comic shop. So find a shop, ask a comic clerk what they can do for you during this time and get some dollar comics! Pick them up curbside and have them delivered if you must!
Thirteen years is a lot of years. One hundred and fifty issues is a lot of issues. Yet somehow, writer Bill Willingham and artist Mark Buckingham make their brilliant series Fables feel too short. By the time you’re turning the final page, possibly after several years of reading about these characters, you already miss the world you’ve inhabited. Willingham and Buckingham made Fables, with 150 issues and a 13-year long run, work by employing one simple concept: kill your darlings.
Writers from all over the world will tell you, one of the greatest tips for writing a good story: be ready to kill your darlings. That means, everything must be expendable in order to move the plot forward. Even the moments and characters that have become the most dear to you as a writer must be sacrificed if they are getting in the way of the narrative. So why did 150 issues work in Fables? Because Willingham and Buckingham never spun their wheels. They were always moving at a breakneck pace.
The Premise
But what is Fables? It’s a series, a long one as we’ve established, about all the storybook characters from famous myths. Everyone from Snow White to Prince Charming (who it turns out is the same guy in each story as he’s not very loyal). These characters fled their fantastical homeland because they were driven out by a mysterious adversary. They now live in New York City in a clandestine community protected by various spells.
Our main players in the story are Snow White and Bigby Wolf. Bigby, formerly the Big Bad Wolf but now in human form, is the sheriff of Fabletown. Snow White, never to be a damsel in distress again, is the mayor’s right-hand woman and the biggest badass in Fabletown borders. But Snow and Bigby remain the main characters for only so long. Willingham is constantly shaking up the status quo. All the most “uninteresting” characters get a shot in the spotlight, and many main characters are disposed of unceremoniously.
A janitor becomes a king, a flying-monkey-secretary becomes a warrior-conqueror, and the mysterious adversary is beaten and brought into the fold before the series is half over. Main characters die by the dozen. The setting of the entire series shifts continuously. From Fabletown to the Farm (where Fables who can’t pass as humans stay), to the Homeland. Ultimately, it is a series that is continually evolving. It treats nothing as holy. No one is untouchable.
FABLES #144. Notice the sword and rose that frame the page. Buckingham frames nearly every page starting in issue 40.
The Art
But it’s not all gloom and doom. The characters of Fables quickly become family. Much of the consistency and familiarity of the series comes from series artist, Mark Buckingham. With few issues in the whole run that weren’t penciled by Buckingham, his style becomes familiar fast. He imbues every character with humanity. No one feels anonymous. After all, you can’t kill your darlings if they don’t feel darling to you.
Buckingham has the uncanny ability to turn three lines into a face full of emotion. His mix of realistic and minimalist styles gives the art, extreme range. At times Buckingham draws like Mike Mignola, with shadows obscuring faces and minimal details somehow coming together to create a brilliant whole. At other times he draws like Alex Ross, where everything seems so lifelike you wonder if you’re looking at a photograph or a drawing. But his transitions between these styles in Fables are seamless.
Buckingham also creates a border for each page. Roses in the margins of pages about Rose Red. Wolves in the margins of pages about Bigby. It’s amazing to become acquainted with his work. He has the power to make the tiniest things seem like a full picture, yet the testament to his love for this series is he often goes above and beyond. Wonderful details and beautiful garnishes are on every page.
13 years later it all comes to a close in their final 150-page issue.
Fables is a world to get lost in. With Willingham’s writing, you have real stakes and movement of plot. And with Buckingham’s art, you get all the right details to feel at home. With 150 issues, Willingham and Buckingham work in tandem. One pushes the plot forward constantly, never letting up on the gas. The other gives us the expressions and physical elements that make these characters feel like family. With the familiar always changing, they create a balanced magnum opus called Fables.
Batman: The Killing Joke remains after all these years what it has always been. Controversial. Somewhat problematic. And brilliant. Alan Moore’s disturbing tale of Gotham Police Commissioner Jim Gordon’s very bad day, as engineered by the Joker, continues to be the watermark by which the relationship of the Batman and the Joker is measured. In stark contrast is the beautiful art by Brian Bolland. Bolland’s pencils, mixed with John Higgins’ pop-art colors, produce an onslaught to the senses. It’s hard for one’s mind to accept the brutal story Moore tells with Bolland’s almost-cartoonishly clean lines.
The original theme of TKJ is mostly lost to a seminal moment in the DC Universe, which was an almost throwaway scene. And therein lies the controversy. We’ll touch on that in a second.
The Joker wanted to show Batman, via Gordon, that if anyone had a truly horrific day, their mind would simply break. The secondary story, supposedly the origin of the Joker, seems to bear this out. A failed stand-up comic, Joker looks to crime for a quick score in order to support his pregnant wife.
As he meets with the two men planning a robbery of the chemical plant where Joker used to work, two things happen in quick succession. The first is the introduction of the Red Hood costume he’ll wear as a distraction while the other two perform the heist. And the second is the arrival of the police, informing Joker his wife and unborn child were killed in a freak electrocution accident.
The rest is comic book lore. The trio arrives at the chemical plant and are immediately discovered. Batman is also on the scene, knocking Joker in a vat of chemicals. When he emerges, he’s white-skinned, green-haired, and insane. The Joker is born.
The scene I mentioned comes at the beginning of Joker’s experiment with Gordon. The Clown Prince of Crime shows up at the home of Gordon’s daughter, Barbara (secretly Batgirl). When she opens the door, he shoots her in the pelvis, shattering her spine. What follows is a scene of deviance no one saw coming in the DC Comics world of 1988. It’s still a hard read. Gordon is drug off by henchmen while Joker strips Barabara nude and begins taking very explicit photos of Jim’s gruesomely-injured daughter. The photos are later shown to Jim but fail to get the expected reaction. Batman arrives, rescues Jim, the Commissioner demanding the Dark Knight bring the Joker in by the book. If anything, Jim’s very bad day only made him a better cop.
(Still better than a copy of The Watchtower.)
The argument with this sequence of events is the practice of “fridging.” The concept was first voiced by writer Gail Simone after the body of Green Lantern’s girlfriend was found mutilated in her refrigerator in a 1994 storyline. Fridging portrays how a woman is introduced solely to move the male-dominated plot forward, not given respect as a character, sometimes not even given a name, and is considered to be a sexist and crude literary device and demeaning to women.
The Killing Joke was intended as a one-shot, non-canonical story. As such, Moore is accused of taking a fully-formed, deeply-rooted character in Barbara Gordon/Batgirl and fridging her, solely as a way to torture her father. Seemingly, there’s no thought of her future, or past for that matter. Critics accuse Moore and Bolland of being gratuitous in their depiction of Barbara’s shooting, using it solely as a vehicle to shock and titillate.
The other side of the argument is that the shooting may have ended Babara’s career as Batgirl, but it created Oracle. Gordon’s new persona is arguably a more important figure in Batman’s history, due to her role as the lead dispatcher/researcher for the Bat-Family and proof one doesn’t need to be able-bodied to make a difference. Barbara spent 20+ years in a wheelchair, and during that time, helped found the Birds of Prey, was Batman’s most-utilized source of assistance behind Alfred and continued to be a strong female role model, doing it without baring skin or using her fists.
Various pundits have pointed out; however, that wasn’t Moore’s intention. His alleged misogyny is right there for all to see, say some. He had no plans for Batgirl post-TKJ. Again, this was supposed to be a one-time story with no basis in the DC Universe. Some readers have also posited the Joker raped Barbara during this time; again, not what DC readers expected in the late 80s.
My interpretation of the story has always been this: sometimes, terrible things happen. The idea that the Joker, a deeply-disturbed sociopath, would commit such an unimaginable crime against the daughter of the police commissioner raised the stakes for the character. Now, nothing is off the table. We see the Joker as a being who should never be underestimated, neither for his capacity for evil, nor for his ability to carry it out.
The story itself isn’t original, not in the world we live in. Again, bad things happen all the time, but this time, it happened to a beloved character. And it was graphic and brutal and hard to read. But to me, that act not only gave us the type of Joker Denny O’Neil and Neal Adams hinted at in the 70s, unequaled in his desire to create chaos and torment Batman, but it gave us Oracle. Oracle, who may have lamented her lost legs and her lost identity as Batgirl, but never let it crush her spirit. She had the worst happen to her, and she rose above it.
She wasn’t a sidekick. She wasn’t some piece of fluff to ogle. She was an important character and one of the Bat-Fam’s top assets. Batgirl and Joker’s shared history provided some intense scenes during the New 52’s Death of the Family arc, where Barbara had to face Joker for the first time as Batgirl since the shooting. She rose above the terror and the psychological damage and did her part to defeat him. She faced her fear and won. That’s what inspirational characters do. They elevate beyond his or her limitations, beyond their tragic backstories, and in defiance of all the odds, they win.
Batman: The Killing Joke remains one of my favorite DC stories. It’s Moore at his best and most sinister. It’s Bolland providing beautiful, clean artwork for a script that was neither, making the contrast all the more blunt. Brutal things happen to good people. More often than not, those things leave a mark or outright destroy the person in question. Barbara Gordon rose above being used as a pawn for someone else’s very bad day and came out on top.
And isn’t that why we read comic books in the first place?
During the ’90s, the big staples in horror at the time were struggling to release a good product, but then Scream came along and saved the genre. Ironically, the film would poke fun at and make mention of the three icons on multiple occasions. Of course, those three being Michael Myers, Jason Vorhees, and Freddy Kruger. When horror was at its lowest, Scream brought it back to life by being self-aware and not taking itself too seriously. A film that not only knew its audience but wanted to subvert every expectation they had at the time.
Directed by the “Master of Horror” Wes Craven, the film was written by Kevin Williamson, who would go on to write future sequels. Scream stars Neve Campbell, Skeet Ulrich, David Arquette, Rose McGowan, Drew Barrymore, Matthew Lillard, Courteney Cox, Jamie Kennedy, and Roger L. Jackson. Set in Woodsboro, California, Scream follows Sidney Prescott (Campbell), a young teen who is still recovering from the year-old rape and murder of her mother. Her troubles are accelerated when a killer begins threatening her and her friends and claims to hold key information regarding the demise of her mother.
Ghostface in Wes Craven’s Scream
Now, if you were to just go off of that general synopsis to judge the movie then you’d be missing out on its magic. The film sounds like every other horror movie that has come out before it but it’s much more than that. Williamson’s script takes horror fans into a world where the characters are aware of slasher films and all of the cliche’s that come with them. These teens are not fully clueless, they understand that “Someone has taken their love of scary movies one step too far” as pointed out in the tagline. Williamson subverts your expectations from the start with one of the most iconic openings to any horror film. That scene alone was enough to understand Scream was set to pull the rug out from under viewers at any given moment.
Adding to that, since Scream has characters who are aware of movies like Halloween and Friday the 13th, it also offers some of the best dialogue amongst a group of teens who are essentially living out the genre they love so much. Sidney’s group of friends consists of her boyfriend Billy Loomis (Ulrich), Tatum Riley (McGowan), Stu Macher (Lillard), and Randy Meeks (Kennedy). Meeks is the audience’s mouthpiece, his informed stance on the inner working of horror films and his awareness that there appears to be “certain rules that one must abide by in order to successfully survive a horror film” are what made him one of the film’s most beloved characters. There’s even an entire scene of him explaining these rules amongst his peers as they watch Halloween at a house party.
Neve Campbell as Sidney Prescott in Scream
All of the characters offer something to like about them and it helps when most of them love horror movies. Sidney is a great protagonist, she isn’t as upbeat as her friends due to the death of her mom, but it’s safe to assume that she was just like them prior to that. Campbell’s portrayal of this innocent teen who is struggling to cope with the loss of her mom makes Sidney a great character to sympathize with and root for as she becomes the center of the killings. She is our final girl, and what the film does so well is it foreshadow’s her eventual outsmarting of the killer in the end. Strong female characters was another aspect that made Scream such a breath of fresh air. Sidney is in the same position as most heroine’s in horror for the majority of the runtime, but she uses her fear to fight back in the end and give the killer a taste of his own medicine.
Overall the cast is amazing, Cox, who was known for her role on Friends, gives a great performance as this seemingly rude, arrogant, entitled news reporter who will stop at nothing to prove that Sidney targeted an innocent man as the culprit responsible for killing her mother. Gale Weathers was a “tabloid twit” as Sidney put it and the two were at each other’s throats due to Gale covering her mother’s death. In the end, Gale is a hero and her thoughts regarding what really happened are found to be true. Kennedy’s performance as Randy gets praised still to this day, not because his acting was so great, but because of the fact that he does enough in the role for audiences to get behind a character that represents them. Randy is just as much a horror freak as half the people watching the film, which makes him easy to like and grow attached to.
Rose McGowan as Tatum Riley and David Arquette as Dewey Riley in Scream
Ulrich plays the dark and moody boyfriend of Sidney, he quickly becomes the suspect because of this darkness surrounding the character. They way Ulrich thrives in the role will keep audiences on their toes regarding Billy Loomis because he seems too in your face to be the killer, and the film makes it so obvious that he is being set up as the average red herring. McGowan stars as Tatum, the best friend of Sidney, and what’s great about this character is she is a clear mouthpiece for Sidney. When she has had enough and is too over it to stand up for herself, Tatum is right there to shut down anything threatening her best friend. Of course, Sidney finds her inner Tatum in the end when she is all alone in a final clash with the killer. Arquette plays Tatum’s brother, the incompetent but lovable cop, Dewey Riley. His performance is good for what it is, and he balances between can this guy be killed already and he is pretty cool.
Craven does what he does best and directs the film very well. He was the appropriate choice as he is known for his direction of Nightmare on Elm Street and The Hills Have Eyes. He understands and loves the genre, so no one was better to captain a film that deconstructs horror. Craven brings Williamson’s clever screenplay to life with ease as the terror and gore he is known for shines bright here. As with every great horror film, Scream features one of the best scores composed by Marco Beltrami. It’s so effective and memorable that Halloween H20: 20 Years Later borrowed bits of it two years later.
Courteney Cox as Gale Weathers, Jamie Kennedy as Randy Meeks, and Neve Campbell as Sidney Prescott in Scream
Scream is a clever shakeup of the genre that will even spark a few laughs in between the terror. The film is cherished amongst the horror community for popularizing the meta aspects of the film. Not only a ’90s treat that still holds up over two decades later, but also a near-perfect horror film.
THE SCENT OF MAY RAIN is the latest release from Weekend Warrior Comics, and Monkeys Fighting Robots has an exclusive three-page preview for you.
About the book: A Jewish golem woman created in 1920 spends 100 years on a journey to reveal her soul through her relationships with other women and theatre.
The 48-page comic is by writer Mark O. Stack, from a story by Stack and Rae Epsetin, and artist Kaylee Rowena. Cardinal Rae lettered the book. The character Pat Parker, War Nurse, was created by Jill Elgin.
You can purchase THE SCENT OF MAY RAIN right now at the Weekend Warrior Comics website. It’s available for pre-order in both digital and print.
SCENT OF MAY RAIN is a story about seeing the world with fresh eyes, without prejudice, and learning who you are.
MFR critic Gabriel Hernandez says of the book in his review:
“It’s a thought provoking piece of art that challenges the expectations of love, family, tradition, religion, and sexuality.”
If you’re looking to get into manga but don’t know where to begin, you won’t find a much better starting point than Bleach, a highly addictive and insanely bingeable comic from mangaka Tite Kubo.
Originally published inWeekly Shōnen Jump, Bleach is the story of Ichigo Kurosaki, a high schooler with the rare ability to see spirits. He meets Rukia Kuchiki, a Soul Reaper whose job it is to help guide spirits to the afterlife and protect humans from evil spirits. Through a series of events, Ichigo becomes entwined in the world of the Soul Reapers and their enemies.
It’s an incredible tale with gorgeous art that will have you hooked from the first chapter, so let’s break down what exactly makes this tale of life and death such a powerhouse.
The Characters
In the beginning, Bleach scratches a lot of the same itches as Invincible or early Spider-Man stories: Ichigo is a high schooler with a strong moral code who is suddenly imbued with great power. The story is very character-driven. There’s drama and comedy in Ichigo’s day-to-day life that we can all relate to, with the awesome addition of late-night spirit fighting. It’s in these early chapters that we get to see who Ichigo is, and set down the building blocks of our relationship with him as readers. This is what sucks you in.
And then…something amazing happens.
The series explodes into a sprawling 74-volume epic with a MASSIVE cast of characters, each of whom stands out as unique and memorable. Seriously, as you meet all of the humans, and Soul Reapers, and villains, and every persona in between, you’ll think to yourself, “there’s no way I’ll be able to keep track of all these characters.” But you will. I promise that you will, because I myself have a sh*t memory, but I can stop reading Bleach for two months, read a bunch of other stuff in the interim, and then jump back into it without missing a beat.
Kubo writes his characters so well, and with such distinct voices, that your subconscious mind will absorb them all and store them with ease.
Sense of Growth & Progression
Bleach consists of four major story arcs over the course of its 74 tankōbon volumes. Each arc builds off the previous one, and as the story grows, so does the world within. It gives the overall tale a sense of momentum and growth. You always feel like you’re going forward while reading, always marching towards a destination. Sure, it’s an action comic, and some battles might go on for chapters (or volumes), but even they are building up to some specific endpoint.
Whereas some long-running series have lulls where it feels like they’re spinning their wheels in place, Bleach almost always has a sense of purpose to keep you reading.
But, while the story grows bigger and bigger, it still retains that personal, intimate connection with the characters thanks to those early chapters where things were a little more quiet. And in fact, the characters grow quite a bit with the story.
This is just as much a coming-of-age tale as it is an action story. Ichigo and his friends change greatly over the course of the series. We see them fail and make mistakes. We see them learn from those mistakes, and, in turn, we learn from them as well. Again, Kubo imbues Bleach with purpose and meaning, giving it weight and making it more than just a “demon beat ��em up” comic. It feels real; life continuously moves forward and changes, and so too does Bleach.
The Art
We can’t very well talk about a comic and not discuss the art, can we?
Bleach was only Kubo’s second ongoing series, the first being the short lived Zombiepowder. So when Bleach begins, the art, while good, is more raw and unpolished compared to what it becomes as the series progresses. We as the reader get to see Kubo’s style develop in real time. The action becomes more explosive; the characters become more crisp, and their expressions more nuanced.
It’s like a drug for art junkies who are obsessed with the cartooning process and seeing how styles change naturally over time.
And, this being an action comic, sometimes there will be pages and pages of little to no dialogue, leaving just the art to tell you what’s happening. To say the battles are “explosive” as previously stated is actually an understatement. The fight sequences are fast and fluid, which makes reading them a breeze, and when a “f*ck yea” moment hits, you’ll literally scream “F*CK YEA!!” out loud.
Plus, Kubo absolutely NAILS visual comedy. He’s up there with the likes of Steve Lieber, Max Sarin, or Ryan Browne in terms of being able to make you bust out laughing while reading. Which is a good lead-in to…
The Humor
Damn, Bleach is a funny comic.
Yes, there is insane over-the-top action that will blow your mind. Yes, the series ruminates on heavy subjects such as life and death, and the moral responsibility we owe others. But between all of that, there are tons of laugh-out-loud moments that I personally just don’t see as often in American comics.
There’s the visual comedy as mentioned, but the writing itself also never takes itself too seriously. Kubo maintains a constant sense of whimsy and levity throughout Bleach. The way characters bicker and argue adds a sense of reality to their relationship. And the banter during fight sequences rivals that of Peter Parker.
The humor balances out all the action and heavy themes, and that’s a big part of what makes this series so great and endlessly readable: it has a sense of perfect equilibrium.
It’s hard to not smile while you’re reading Bleach, for one reason or another.
The Message
Why do we love superhero comics? Why do the works of Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Jerry Siegel, and Joe Shuster stand the test of time? There are many reasons, but one of the biggest is that they inspire readers. They show us characters at the peak of morality. They remind us to be and do good, or at least to try. Bleach does the same.
Now, Ichigo Kurosaki isn’t the same ideal specimen as Superman or Captain America. He’s more of a Peter Parker. Ichigo is an everyman. He’s flawed. Sometimes he’ll make the wrong decision thinking it’s the right decision. But at the end of the day, he wants to do good, and he puts forth the effort.
Kubo makes it very clear early on in the series that all Ichigo wants to do is help people, especially those who cannot help themselves.
And with Ichigo being more of an everyman, we as the reader can see ourselves more clearly in his shoes. We can see ourselves making the same choices, and hopefully, in a perfect world, when we stop reading, we go out into the real world and we try to help others when given the chance.
But again, Bleach is a series in equilibrium. So instead of just showing “good guys” going out and helping people, Kubo introduces plenty of characters who operate in the grey. There are characters who we would consider “antiheroes,” and those who outright resist the urge to do good.
These aren’t “bad guys,” and they aren’t bad characters. They’re great characters, some of the best in the series. They give a different perspective on the story, and in doing so, they provide another lesson to the reader: remember to look at things from different points of view.
Bleach shows that not everything in life is black and white. It reminds us to be a good person, yes, but also teaches us that we need to question things and understand other people’s point-of-view in order to be the best version of ourselves.
Surprises
Tite Kubo loves to pull the rug out from under his readers. Bleach is FULL of surprises for readers.
They all come out of nowhere. You’ll just be reading, chugging along in a good groove, and then BAM, out of nowhere you get slapped with a shocker. A dopey character will reveal him or herself to be a major badass, or the plot will zig when it looked like it was going to zag. It’s hard to discuss a series’ “surprise factor” without risking spoilers, but the point is that Bleach keeps its story fresh and interesting.
Reading these moments is like getting a glass of ice water thrown in your face. It wakes you up and reinvigorates your interest in the series just when you thought you had a handle on the story. It keeps you engaged, which is crucial when you’re talking about getting through 686 chapters of a story.
But here’s the thing. Here is what makes Kubo both a genius and a horrible tease of a man. He will surprise you with a twist, but then he’ll take it right back and hide it for a long, long time. Volumes will pass where the twist is not addressed. This is dramatic irony at its finest. The story beats on, and the characters will go along with their lives blissfully unaware of the bombshell that you – the reader – know is coming for them. You so wish that you can just scream through the page and let them know what’s coming. But you can’t. So you keep reading while a small thought continues to gnaw at the back of your brain, asking, “What about that one thing?”
And then…
Sweet Release
Ok, I didn’t mean to bury the lead, but this section right here is why I wanted to write about Bleach in the first place.
I’ve thrown a lot of praise at Bleach and Tite Kubo, but I’ve been very careful to avoid using the word “master” up to this point, and that’s because if there’s one place I want to use it, it’s right here.
Tite Kubo is a master of catharsis.
His storytelling in Bleach is all about building something. Building anticipation; building dread. This is particularly apparent during major battle sequences. Kubo will back his heroes into a corner and make it look like they have no way out. Now, comic readers are used to these scenarios. You think to yourself, “obviously the hero finds a way to get out of this.” But Kubo manages to dig his characters into holes so deep that you genuinely start to believe that they can’t get out of them. Instead of thinking, “how is Ichigo going to get out of this?” you begin to think, “oh man, maybe this story doesn’t go the way I thought it did.”
Kubo is able to build true, genuine dread in a way that readers just aren’t used to anymore in American superhero comics.
And then comes the payoff. The payoff isn’t always good, for the record. The good guys don’t always come out on top. But whichever way it goes, Kubo’s payoffs are almost always mind-blowing. They’re less a “wave of sweet release” and more of a volcanic eruption of awesome after the anticipation and dread built up inside you hits critical mass.
You would think after the third or fourth time something like this hits you, it would get repetitive and boring. But here’s the thing…it never does. Each time it happens, Kubo somehow manages to go bigger, raise the stakes higher, even when you thought they were maxed out the last time. This series exhilarates you and charges you up; you won’t want to stop reading.
Bleach is one of the all-time great reads for readers young and old. It’s rare to find a series that can balance huge action with personal intimacy so well. There’s a little bit of something for everyone, and – most importantly – it’s a fun read.
You canread the first three chapters of Bleach for free right now on the Shonen Jump app, or read all 686 chapters by signing up for just $1.99/month (You’ll also gain access to over 10,000 chapters of manga, including the full runs of Dragon Ball Z, My Hero Academia, and One-Punch Man. This is hands down the best deal in digital comics. #notsponsored).
lThe story of the X-Men in comics is the medium’s equivalent of common biblical knowledge. Even casual non-comics fans are familiar with the trails of mutantkind and Charle Xavier’s team of naturally gifted heroes. From conflicts with Magneto’s Brotherhood of Mutants to the discovery of the Phoenix Force, and from Days of Future Past to the comic of Apocalypse, the X-Men’s history is considered some of the greatest work every put to the panelled page.
As it turns out, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Firefly creator Joss Whedon is also a massive X-Men fan. So when he was offered the task of writing said X-Men – with near-complete creative freedom, mind – he happily obliged. Even better, he paired with visual tour de force and Planetary artist John Cassaday to bring his vision of the canonical comic team to life. The result is, well, *ahem* astonishing.
Writing & Plot
Taking place shortly after the events of Morrison’s New X-Men, with Magneto and Jean Grey dead and Charles Xavier in self-imposed exile, Scott Summers (aka Cyclops) becomes the new leader of the X-Men and headmaster of Xavier’s School. The team sees the return of old friends, with the likes of Kitty Pride (aka Shadowcat) and Peter Rasputin (aka Colossus) rejoining the ranks and teacher lineup along with Emma Frost, Beast, and Wolverine. The new class and celebrated returns marks a new start for both the mutant heroes and Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters. However, threats from beyond the stars and within the confines of their own home threaten the X-Men and their students at every turn. Alien warlords, vengeful A.I.’s, shady government groups and even treachery within the X-Men themselves make for a Marvel story that is an outstanding mix of modern themes and homage to decades past.
Joss Whedon‘s established style of writing has always been a simple but effective method for creating a compelling story. He sets the rules for a newly created world and investigates those rules through character action and interaction. In the case of Astonishing X-Men, Whedon is entering a long-established world with a roster of beloved characters. He dances a difficult jig, having to both maintain the route Morrison set with the X-Men in his own run, while still letting his creativity and love for the classic material show through. So right off the bat he reintroduces longtime fan favorite Kity Pryde back into the mix, endearing his run to longtime fans as well as satisfying his own desires as a fan. Whedon’s character writing faced an intriguing challenge as well, having to maintain both long-established and newer character dynamics while still not running into series repetition. Fortunately, Morrison left him some interesting tools to play with for the future.
Whedon’s proven track record and playing out long-term plots with tight and believable character drama within works perfectly with Astonishing X-Men. Emma Frost’s inclusion in Jean Grey and Professor X’s absences makes for several uneasy moments between Kitty Pryde and the former White Queen of the Hellfire Club. The troubled romance between Scott Summers and the former villain is a mix of stress-inducing and oddly sweet. Of course, the rest of the team’s dynamic is spot-on in terms of their classic repertoire while also elevated to contemporary dialogue. Whedon has a very screenplay friendly style of character presentation that also relies on visualization (more on that later) to represent all sides of his characters. The humor here is stellar and ranges from simple jokes to massive pieces of hilarious dramatic irony. While the students aren’t quite as large a focus as they were in the prior series, they are still given considerable importance in Astonishing. A select few are given their own arcs – some inspiring, others tragic – and become instrumental in the X-Men’s success. Only one really builds a relationship with one of the teachers, however. This may be the one weaker aspect of the series, especially given how much time was spent developing the students as characters and the teachers as such in Morrison’s run. However, this is again made up for in just how much fun the series is to read.
Whedon takes a bold risk in Astonishing X-Men by opting to create new villains instead of recycling old ones. The first arc, “Gifted,” introduces Ord of the Breakworld, as well as the narrative throughline culminates in the final issues. The stoic alien warrior’s motivations against mutantkind spark the creation of the now-famous “mutant cure.” This also runs the X-Men into the path of S.W.O.R.D. and their clandestine agendas involving alien activity. The other major enemy Whedon introduces comes as one of the more morally polarizing revelations in X-Men’s recent history: Danger. The mutant team’s longtime training room gains a malicious sentience, resulting in an arc that not only showcases one of the most, er, dangerous villains conceived in X-Men comics, but also brings up a fascinating conversation within X-Men lore. Where exactly does self-actualized artificial intelligence fit in among the species hierarchy among humans and mutantkind? Oddly enough, this is probably the weakest arc in the whole run. The pacing in this arc is muddled a bit by its exposition laden plot points. This being said, even “Danger” is still a wholly entertaining and unique chapter.
When Whedon does use preestablished villains in Astonishing X-Men, it’s more in the service of analyzing the core team instead of crafting an external threat. Without getting into spoilers for those who haven’t read this, the character of Emma Frost comes into frequent question. This applies both in terms of her place as a former villain turned X-Man, and how fans perceive her place here. The arc where enemies both classic and from Morrison’s run appear is used by Whedon to solidify her spot on the team. This is a peak example of respecting the direction Morrison started while also paying mind to the years of prior storytelling. The entire plot, for all of its twists and satisfying character deep dives, realigns itself on the character that becomes the sort of “heart” of the team and brings about one of the most gut-punching beautiful endings in mainstream comics. Let “Giant-Size Astonishing X-Men #1 reign as one of the greatest single issues in recent history.
Art Direction
Of course, none of this series would work if the visual direction didn’t match the cinematic action and character focus that Whedon’s scripts require. So it’s fortunate that an artist like John Cassaday, who brought his style specializing on cinematic action and character detail to bear on Warren Ellis’ Planetary, was available for this endeavor. Cassaday’s work utilizes an almost digital style, creating a visual aesthetic that is indeed cinematic. This makes the comic easy to engage with in terms of character, as the character details for facial animations are entirely naturalistic. The art walks away from the standard superhero style that can sometimes come off as either “too cartoony” or “too slick” to be truly character driven. Cassaday is given a lot to work with from Whedon as well, since the writer scripts so many wordless panels that are driven solely by character expression or action. The X-Men have scarcely ever looked better, as their designs as both people and as heroes are slick and contemporary with a dash of classic superhero elements. Whedon’s decision to revert back to superhero costume designs is put into great effect thanks to Cassaday’s work.
While Cassaday’s lines of detail are the driver of character and action in Astonishing X-Men, the sharp aesthetic is the result of colorist Laura Martin. Her work walks all manner of tones to while maintaining a slick refinement regardless of what’s happening on page. The lively blues and yellows of the team’s suits to the mottled green of alien skin tones all have texture to their design. The variance in shadow and lighting across both characters and a slew of environments both creates atmosphere and pulls the readers into a believably designed world. Colorists are often unsung heroes in the artistic world, and Martin’s work with Cassaday is proof of why they need recognition.
Joss Whedon and John Cassaday’s Astonishing X-Men is cemented as a must-read run among absolute classics. Whedon’s mixture of character analysis, witty humor and tightly knit plotting make for a gripping read from the first issue to the Giant-Size finale. John Cassaday and Laura Martin’s visual work creates a comic that is both cinematic in scope while taking advantage of the unique devices found in the comics medium. However, these accolades can be said about a fair number of great comic series, especially a few X-Men runs. What sets Astonishing apart is the fact that it still sets forth in a new direction for the iconic characters. This direction continues the trajectory planted by Grant Morrison in New X-Men while also choosing to realign itself closer to the tastes and decisions of X-Men fand and writers of old. All this and it still finds plenty of new things to say about these comic book icons and the torn anti-mutant world they live in.
During the first half of 1990, two much-beloved creators wrote a five-issue Batman story, Batman: Gothic, alas, 30 years later, it’s hardly spoken of.
Although the story may be 30 years old, beware of spoilers! A few do pop up.
Looking at the casting call, you’d be surprised it isn’t as high up on reader’s lists. You have Writer Grant Morrison, Artist Klaus Janson, Colorist Steve Buccellato, and Letterer John Costanza. By this time, both Morrison and Janson’s names are ones many fans would recognize in the 90s.
BATMAN: GOTHIC ROLL CALL
The year before (1989) Morrison had written Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on a Serious Earth. Thing is, the back cover of Batman: Gothic Deluxe says this is his first Batman story. We’ll agree to disagree and say it’s his first “canon” story. Janson’s name brings up memories of his work with Frank Miller: Daredevil and Batman: The Dark Knight Returns.
Nonetheless, the other creators of Batman: Gothic share a huge spotlight. Batman: Gothic is Buccellato’s first DC Comics work, yet he had been around since 1987 in a multitude of roles. Costanza is a veteran in the comic industry. Having begun his career in 1965, he would go on to letter for Jack Kirby, among many other comic giants. The team behind the five-issue Batman story was one to be trifled with. Question is, why isn’t it held up to high regard as the other great Batman stories?
The beginning of the end – Art by Klaus Janson, Colors by Steve Buccellato, and Letters by John Costanza
TIMING IS KEY
Much like another Batman story I love and feel like isn’t talked about (Batman: The Cult), it came out during a crucial period. During the late ’80s and early ’90s, a fair amount of now-classic Batman stories came out, redefining the character and his mythos. Plus, Elseworld stories that are well-beloved. So, for Batman: Gothic timing was important, but good timing it didn’t have.
Another factor can be Morrison’s writing and his use of religion, calling it a “Gothic Romance” and myriad use of operas and plays. Morrison leans hard on all these inspirations, stuff that some fans wouldn’t like or could make them shy away. Each issue begins with a playbill that would introduce the “cast,” a quote from a play, and the issues name—thus showing Morrison’s inspiration. Plus, the main villain uses the Riddlers motif, but with a poem.
Morrison’s work back then wore its inspirations on the sleeve more so than now, which accrued him dicey glances from others. Nonetheless, isn’t all stories inspired by others? Plus, one of Daredevil’s(Born Again) most famous stories is heavily influenced by religion.
Batman: Legends of The Dark Knight #6’s Playbill.
IN THE MIDDLE
Another fascinating fact about Batman: Gothic is its publication history. Batman: Gothic was the second five-part story that ran in 1989’s Batman: Legends of The Dark Knight, with it being issue numbers 6-10. Morrison’s story was perfectly in the middle of other amazing Batman stories; Shaman and Prey. Both these titles were written by long time Batman favorites, Dennis O’Neil and Doug Moench. Meaning, it had an amazing standard to live up too.
Unlike other Batman titles at the time (there were a few), Legends of The Dark Knight focused more on the darker, earlier side of Batman. Usually, this meant it was a more adult heavy series. Plus, this made the series more lenient towards obscure plots, mostly out of the ordinary plotting. This “looser” rule set played into Morrison’s favor, with him tapping into some “non-mainline” matters.
Inverted bodies galore – Art by Klaus Janson, Colors by Steve Buccellato
A DEADLY BLAST FROM THE PAST
Morrison quickly introduces a long lost resident of Gotham once thought dead—Mr. Whisper. He also served as Bruce Wayne’s childhood teacher, Mr. Winchester. Yet, his history even goes further back with him being a monk named, Brother Manfred. Having caught the black plague, Brother Manfred sold his soul to the devil for three-hundred years. His arrival back in Gotham marked his ending days.
Much like Scott Snyder’s Batman: Court of The Owls, Morrison weaved Mr. Whisper’s story into the very soul of Gotham and its history. Twenty years past, when Bruce was in school, Mr. Whisper killed seven kids which gained the attention of Gotham’s local mobs. Back then, criminals of Gotham had some morals, plus they didn’t want the heat on them. They set out to kill him, only to find out it’s not possible. So, they drown him.
Nonetheless, twenty years past, and he returns to kill them to pass the time until his plan comes to fruition. For each of these deaths, a note is giving to the victim with a poem with a hint of how they’ll die. Look at it like a better/deadlier Riddler. Knowing their time is up, the criminal families involved go to Batman for help.
Bruce was a bad boy – Art by Klaus Janson, Colors by Steve Buccellato, and Letters by John Costanza
BATMAN: GOTHIC, A GOTHIC ROMANCE TALE
Batman: Gothic deals heavily with religion, yet with a somewhat supernatural feeling. But, at no point does Batman doubt any of it. Nor make light of the situation. Instead, Morrison writes a Batman that knows how to scare the criminals while taking everything seriously. When he sleeps, he has nightmares involving dead children, nursery rhymes, his father, and Mr. Winchester. As all the elements come into play, he makes a trip to Lake Dess to learn of what may be the truth.
Morrison’s plot can be boiled down to a structure he used in his later Batman run, and others too. A personal character that “maybe” immortal comes from Gotham’s/Batman’s past to haunt him and his city. Batman digs into his past to realize that character has always been there. Villian puts him in a death trap; once thinking he is done, they go their merry way with their plans, only for Batman to come back. This reads like Batman: RIP (minus losing his mind), and Court of Owls. Even the inverted theme throughout Batman: Gothic can be seen in RIP. Said inverted theme helps emphasize the religious matter and can be seen with the inverted cross, hanging victims, an inverted Bat-Signal, and Batman’s reflection, to name a few.
Batman: Gothic sets itself apart with how its villain is precisely as he seems. Yeah, in some parts it may not seem true, nonetheless, at the end, Satan returns to claim Mr. Whisper’s heart.
The end comes for us all – Art by Klaus Janson, Colors by Steve Buccellato, and Letters by John Costanza
GOTHIC DESIGNS
Batman: Gothic focuses on the big three pieces all good Batman stories revolve around; Bruce, Batman, and Gotham City. Each of these elements is given spotlight via Morrison’s script, yet, even more so by Janson’s art. Whenever a panel focuses on a location, Janson’s art breathes it into life. The city feels as much alive as the characters seen throughout. Be it the gothic architecture, grimy streets, allies filled with sketchy characters, and the tall foreboding buildings. Janson’s Gotham designs are some of the best around.
Another aspect Janson excels at is showing reactions with full faces, or full bodies. When a character is showing tense emotions, Janson gets close to their face to show the fear. He uses this frequently, to amazing effect. This gives him the possibility to show every detail on their face, making the reader feel what they are.
The fear in one’s eyes – Art by Klaus Janson, Colors by Steve Buccellato, and Letters by John Costanza
But, what would a Batman comic be without action? Luckily, Janson knows how to catch the reader’s eyes with a clean yet violent style that makes you feel each hit. In these fights, each violent action is portrayed in a panel that beautifully shows the motions, followed by a reaction. In his grasp during the final issue, Mr. Whisper has Batman strapped into a Rube Goldberg machine; because we all know this works out perfectly each time. Thing is when the machine starts, Janson never shows a full shot of it, as a way to keep the reader on their toes. Instead, each mechanism is showed working in a nine-panel grid. This method makes the trap feel deadlier and that Batman may not make it out.
Can he escape? – Art by Klaus Janson, Colors by Steve Buccellato, and Letters by John Costanza
A HEROIC INTRODUCTION
It is interesting how a creative team introduces the titular character and his nemesis in series. Usually, this can excel the storytelling, or make it feel flat. The manner the team introduces Batman in Batman: Gothic is gorgeous. This is due to multiple factors, with Buccellato’s colors standing out greatly. As Batman mostly operates at night, Buccellato keeps Gotham draped in shadows, much like its protector. When we first see Batman, a spotlight flashes upon his cowl while he’s on a building. Telling the reader, “Hey, here he is.” The following panel’s background is a brighter blue, helping show the lights still there.
These two panels exemplify Buccellato’s colors, but the following Batman moment shows how making the colors a little unnatural help even further. Having followed the two criminals, Batman drops down with an epic one-liner showing himself to the criminal he left conscious. He’s colored his usual grey/blue, yet behind him is a thick black that shapes his outline. Nonetheless, the color that catches the eye is the bright red behind him, that honestly shouldn’t be there.
Buccellato’s use of red to amplify the scenes makes perfect sense with the theme, and the emotional level. The red may seemingly come from nowhere, yet that doesn’t matter when it helps sell the scene. This is important as this happens in a few places, but when it does, it dramatically improves the story.
The king of hell – Art by Klaus Janson, Colors by Steve Buccellato, and Letters by John Costanza
A NOT SO DELUXE EDITION
Batman: Gothic Deluxe Edition was released for the storyline’s 25th anniversary. Yet, there a more than a few negatives. It seems that Buccellato’s colors take a hit with them feeling washed out. Much like the recent Justice League: A New Beginning TPB, it looks like it was printed on glossy paper. The thing is, comic art from the ’80s and early ’90s doesn’t work well with this paper. The glossy paper makes the colors look blown out while killing some of the lighter lines from the artist. The colors don’t take as much of a hit as other reprints, yet when comparing to the original print and issues on the DC Universe app, it’s noticeable.
On a weirder note, some of the pages are cut short. It’s not to an extent where you’ll notice it, but this fact is weird. What makes these clipped pages worse is how the Deluxe Edition is a larger format Hardcover. The larger format works beautifully for Batman: Gothic, yet the clipped pages feel weird. Included in the Deluxe are Morrison’s original synopsis notes for each issue, except issue one. It’s nice that issue #2-5’s notes are included, but why not the first issues?
Nonetheless, Batman: Gothic Deluxe Edition includes one fantastic extra; Grant Morrison’s original sketch of the death trap. On a final note: the Deluxe Editions cover doesn’t measure up to the original TPB. The original fits the interior art better while catching your eyes.
BATMAN: GOTHIC 30 YEARS LATER
Looking back at Batman: Gothic and the stories following, Morrison’s tale never seems to be referenced in media or other comics. Nonetheless, that doesn’t take away how elegantly he and the team behind the story did. Despite a moment with hard to read lettering, you’ll finish the fiver-parter wondering way it isn’t spoken of more. Every element brought forth is seamlessly woven into the fabric of Gotham and Batman’s history. Meaning, even though it may not be referenced again, it all happened.
Plus, themes present here are brought forth in his legendary Batman run later on. His work here and Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on a Serious Earth can be seen as his building stones for the future.
We end with a simple quote from Batman: Gothic’s final panel.
Art by Klaus Janson, Colors by Steve Buccellato, and Letters by John Costanza
THE SCENT OF MAY RAIN is the latest independently-produced graphic novel from Mark O. Stack and team. It’s a thought provoking piece of art that challenges the expectations of love, family, tradition, religion, and sexuality.
The digital release is set for 5/27, with the print release tentatively set for 6/17. You can pre-order either version of the book at weekendwarriorcomics.com.
Writing
Mark O. Stack and Rae Epstein have writing credit for creating the story. In 1920’s New York, a man creates a golem to act as surrogate mother for his daughter and sometimes companion for himself. Esther (the golem) acts as the surrogate for the reader as well, experiencing the world around her with naive and unsullied eyes. She does not age, and the story chronicles how her view on purpose and living evolves over the course of the last century.
Stack and Epstein are playing with a lot of ideas in this book, far too many to fairly address in a single review. Her creator makes Esther from raw materials to serve a specific purpose, but he encourages Esther to learn through exposure to the arts. The creator wants Esther to grow, but only within the creator’s narrow view of acceptable behavior for women.
Stack and Epstein infuse every page with cultural references that are authentic to each time period. Esther reacts to revelations about marriage and motherhood as would a child without benefit of upbringing or family of her own. She was literally born yesterday, so Esther’s reactions are akin to a space alien arriving on Earth and struggling to understand Earth society. Esther’s reactions are genuine from moment to moment.
In the end, Esther transcends her given programming and purpose to adopt a life directed by choice. The ending is poignant and inspiring, and Stack and Epstein conclude with a spirit of possibility for Esther. Again, this is a thought-provoking story that covers too many ideas to do justice here. (Spoiler for the ‘Conclusion’ section: get this book, and you’ll have tons to think about.) This is an excellent piece of writing.
Pencils/Inks
Kaylee Rowena does nice work here matching the art to the characters in a way that augment Esther’s personality and surroundings. Rowena draws the entire book in sketchbook style, with rough strokes that look almost like charcoal. She draws characters loosely as if for a children’s book. That works well in, again, connecting the art to the character of Esther via her childlike naivete.
Coloring
Rowena also takes coloring credits here, and – in a positive way – she created a book that looks old and weathered. Mystical practitioners traditionally created golems from clay and dirt. Rowena saturates the early years with sepia tones that gives the book an old Black & White movie feel. The sepia also connects the book with the raw earthen materials that make up Esther. It’s a subtle connection point, but it makes all the difference.
Lettering
Cardinal Rae takes letterer credit, and does an admirable job. Rae juggles well between English and (translated) Yiddish in a way that was still easy to read. Well done on the lettering.
Conclusion
THE SCENT OF MAY RAIN is an insightful, thought-provoking book that looks at our society’s views on love and life, over the years, through fresh eyes. There’s almost too many ideas, but all of them are worth experiencing and discussing. Get this book!
Again, the digital release is set for 5/27, with the print release tentatively set for 6/17. You can pre-order either version of SCENT OF MAY RAIN at weekendwarriorcomics.com.
Author’s Note: Local Comic Shops (LCS) are going through a tough time right now with the pandemic outbreak of COVID-19. Comics fans of every flavor that care about his or her LCS should try to do what they can. So, here’s my part:
If you’re in Northern Delaware, South East Pennsylvania, or Southern New Jersey area, please take a moment to visit Captain Blue Hen Comics in Newark, DE. Say ‘hi,’ pick up a book, order a book (they’re on Comichub.com), and let them know you support them.
If you’re nowhere near that area, please find YOUR LCS using Comic Shop Locator and lend your support.
