ASTRONAUT DOWN hits your local comic book store August 28th, but thanks to AfterShock Comics, Monkeys Fighting Robots has an exclusive twenty one-page preview for you.
About the trade paperback: Douglas Spitzer wants to be one of the “astronauts” selected for the crucial Mission Politzer. And just like astronauts like Buzz Aldrin and Sally Ride, Douglas is brave, adaptable, and self-sacrificing. He’s one of the program’s best candidates.
But if he qualifies, Douglas won’t be traveling through space; he’ll be launched into alternate realities on a desperate mission to save Earth from a horrific crisis that has our world on the brink of extinction. Unfortunately, it’s a mission where everything will go wrong, where Douglas’s training and very humanity will be put to the test, and where a deep-seeded secret could sabotage everything.
Writer James Patrick (KAIJU SCORE, CAMPISI: THE DRAGON INCIDENT) and artist Rubine (SEARCH FOR HU) lead us on a perilous undertaking to save the planet from total destruction!
This 128-page volume contains the entire series, issues #1-5.
The series is by writer James Patrick and artist Rubine, with colors by Valentina Briški, and letters by Carlos M. Mangual. The cover is by Rubine.
Check out our ASTRONAUT DOWN preview below:
Are you picking up the trade paperback of ASTRONAUT DOWN from AfterShock Comics? Did you read the single issues? Sound off in the comments!
The premise is simple: read one comic every day for the entire year. It seems like a simple task but there is no way that I read 365 comics last year, even if you count the individual issues in collections. So, this year, I am committing myself to this reading challenge, in the hope that I can broaden my reading habits and fully engage with my favorite hobby again.
This week, I’m looking at comics that have some kind of controversy attached to them: whether it’s linked to one of the creators, or the content of the comic. Obviously, this means that there may be some triggering aspects to this post, and the references made. Therefore, you may want to skip this week and come back next week when I’ll talk about some more wholesome comics.
At the end of last week, I looked at Shipwreck from AfterShock Comics, superbly drawn by Phil Hester, and written by Warren Ellis. Ellis was forced to face his disreputable actions when he was accused of sexual coercion and manipulation. The widespread accounts of his misdeeds and his seeming lack of accountability for his actions has led to the writer disappearing from the comic industry. However, his back catalog is still available, and his work is still visible in the history of the medium. Last week, I read one of his comics through the lens of hindsight, applying what we know now about the man to his art. This week, I intend to do something similar with a number of comics that, in one way or another, have links to controversies within the industry. The idea is to see if we can “love the art but hate the artist,” a question raised by Claire Dederer in her book Monsters: A Fan’s Dilemma, and also see if there is a legitimate reason to include these works in a continued discussion of comics.
The Otherside #1-2 Credit: DC Vertigo
Comic Number 210: The Other Side #1-2
The Comic
In Jason Aaron’s tale of the Vietnam war, two soldiers tell their stories from conscription to battle. The hook here is that one is a young American bullied into the war, and the other is a member of the Viet Cong, manipulated by honor and his belief system.
From the outset, this is a violent comic that deals with the trauma and the consequences of war. Aaron sets the scene by referencing a number of pop cultural events over the top of a disturbing image, set in the forests of Vietnam. Both central characters are introduced to readers following scenes of death and destruction, foreshadowing their lives to come.
This is an engaging comic and is very well illustrated with a mix of over the top comical acting contrasting the disturbing, often grotesque, dream sequences. Both central characters become plagued by the war they are entering and their visions are vivid, brutal, and occasionally dark humored. In the first issue’s editorial, Jason Aaron refers to his cousin who was a veteran of the Vietnam war and wrote the short story that Full Metal Jacket was based on. There are similarities between the film and The Other Side, and the influence is clearly there in Aaron’s script. However, the artwork is more inline with the shock horror comics of the 1950s, some of which are referenced briefly throughout the comic.
The Controversy
The Other Side came out in 2006/2007. In 2020, the artist, Cameron Stewart, was accused of predatory sexual behavior and of grooming teenage girls. When the story broke, he was dropped by DC, where he had worked on Batgirl and Catwoman, two titles that had a large female fanbase. It also became apparent that his behavior was not news to many inside the industry. Stories surfaced of convention organizers warning potential victims against spending time with the artist, especially one on one.
Aside from the shock of the original allegations and the numerous stories that followed, was the fact that it didn’t seem to be surprising to a large number of people. There are also stories of Stewart moving cities to avoid the reputation that he earned.
The pattern of the news story was also nothing new in the industry: it followed a format similar to too many other stories. However, where the cases of Cameron Stewart and Warren Ellis differed, is that there was an instant negative reaction to the news that resulted in action being taken against the creators. In some past instances, the allegations were dismissed, overlooked, and down played. Some of the allegations didn’t even become news, instead lingering as bar room gossip until much later.
I previously looked at the way the allegations against Warren Ellis affected the way we read his work, but is the same true for an artist instead of a writer? The simple answer is, yes, but it can be more complex. Reading The Other Side in light of the Stewart allegations becomes harder on an emotional level. You maintain the knowledge of the artist’s personal life in the back of your mind, which means you are consciously looking for reflections of that within the work. With his work on a title like Catwoman, the process is easier than with a Vietnam-based war story like The Other Side. But the knowledge doesn’t go away, so we examine the work that much closer, which, as a result, pulls us further away from the story, engaging less. Even though Stewart is illustrating Aaron’s script without adding any biographical content, it is difficult to read his work without applying his personal behaviors to his visual representations.
The Massive #1-3 Credit: Dark Horse Comics
Comic Number 211: The Massive #1
The Comic
During a year-long event of natural disasters, the shape of the world’s nations changed forever. The oceans reclaimed much of the land and the majority of the survivors found themselves facing new challenges just to stay alive. The once environmentalist leader, Callum Israel, leads the crew of the Kapital on a search for their sister ship, The Massive, and finds that they are still fighting the same old fights against corruption and greed.
In the first arc, Landfall, the crew of the Kapital are introduced across two different time periods. The first sees them chasing down the Massive and trying to ward off relentless pirates. The second storyline is set just after the year of catastrophes, and begins to build the world that the rest of the series is set in. Across the first three issues, these two story threads set the scene and bring the reader into the world of Callum Israel and help to confront his personal dilemmas. It also lays out the environmentalist concerns of the writer and artists.
Artist Kristian Donaldson’s dramatic character work compliments the rigidness of the technology and vehicles that are integral to the comic. There is a real sense of machine versus nature with the human element trapped in the middle. Coupled with the color work of Dave Stewart, the narrative is clear even with the time jumps, and the reader can see a path being laid before the characters. As setups go, Landfall is perfect. It is the end of the world as we know it but not in a way we would expect.
The Controversy
For a while, The Massive was one of my favorite comics, however I don’t talk about it or recommend it to anyone. The simple reason is that the writer, Brian Wood, was accused of mistreating women. Initially in 2013, where he issued a dubious apology to one of his victims, and then again in 2019 when new allegations were made and previous ones repeated, this time forcing Dark Horse to cancel their future projects with Wood (I recommend this blog for details regarding the accusations and how they came about. It has plenty of links and references).
Unfortunately, the pattern of behavior associated with Wood and the way that the industry handled it, is one that seems all too familiar. As with the case of Cameron Stewart, people within the industry knew about the instances of mistreatment, but nothing was done about it. When accusations were made public, apologies and empty statements were made, excuses issued, and the whole thing was swept under the carpet (see this opinion piece on The Comics Journal website). Only when the story becomes too big, the number of women making complaints too high, or the accused becomes undefendable, is action taken within the industry.
With a writer like Brian Wood, the accusations seem to go against the work that he produces. His comics are full of strong, complex and independent women, just like in Joss Whedon’s work. Wood was the first to write an all female X-Men team and, using The Massive as an example, more often than not writes stories that revolve around a central female character, with her strengths and weaknesses pushing the story forward. The persona that Wood gives as a writer is contradictory to the accusations made of his personal life, just like Warren Ellis. Maybe because of the content of the work, it makes it harder to accept the reality of the creator. As readers, we want to respect the artists because we have so much faith and affection with the work: to accept that the artist is less than perfect is to ruin the art work. Once more the conversation returns to “the stain” that Deaderer talks about in her book.
If you go back and re-watch Whedon’s work, you can see a pattern of cruelty dished out to the female lead characters. Was that always there or are we reading into it after the fact? Are we looking for a different power dynamic in the work because we know of the creator’s behavior? The same can be done with Wood’s work. In The Massive, Mary is placed as central to the plot, an enigma to solve so that the greater narrative will make more sense. But is Mary actually a strong figure in the story or is she just a narrative device to be used, a puzzle to be solved? Once Callum can understand Mary, he will finally have control of her and the situation they find themselves in. By breaking her, solving the puzzle, he will become the dominant character and triumph. Or, am I reading too much into it?
I occasionally still read The Massive, but these days I approach it with different eyes, and a certain level of skepticism.
The Fade Out #1-3 Credit: Image comics
Comic Number 212: The Fade Out #1-3
The Comic
From the superb creative team of Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips, The Fade Out is a noir mystery set in mid 20th century Hollywood. It starts with the murder of an actress and a cover up by the company she is working for. The character, Charlie Parish, knows that there has been a cover up and his attempts to figure out why lead him into the murky Hollywood underworld. Corrupt law enforcement, unscrupulous producers, self-serving actors, alcoholic and drug using writers… this comic has them all.
The writing is tight and precise, just like all of Brubaker’s work. He focuses on character development while slowly creeping along the various plot threads. Phillips’ artwork sets the scene, fixing the action directly into the center of a bygone day Hollywood that is recognizable from classic movies. The art is atmospheric, illustrating hot dry nights, dingy backrooms, and glamorous producer parties filled with bright light and glitter, hiding a darkness underneath. These atmospheric highs and lows work so well because of the coloring provided by Elizabeth Breitweiser who worked with Brubaker/Phillips on Fatale as well as some of their Criminal comics.
The comic is steeped in unscrupulous people and actions. It focuses on the corruption of an industry and the consequences that atmosphere has on the people inhabiting it. Each of the single issues also comes with an essay about the real people of Hollywood from around the time the comic is set. These essays demonstrate that the comic isn’t mere fantasy and the debris of searching for fame litters the streets and graveyards of tinsel town.
The Controversy
We could also title this part as “the dangers of association.” The Fade Out is a comic about corruption and generally unlikable people, and — while the writer and artist have not been involved in any controversy — the colorist on this title has. Elizabeth Breitweiser is an excellent colorist who has worked for most of the major publishers on some of the biggest titles. Her work in The Fade Out and Fatale was perfect for setting the scene and atmosphere of both comics. In 2019, she and her husband set up their own independent publishing company, Allegiance Arts & Entertainment. However, in the year before, the Breitweisers were embroiled in an online altercation between creators in mainstream comics and those associated with a particular outspoken, often referred to as a hate group, comic organization: Comicsgate.
The problem started with a tweet from Mitch Breitweiser seemingly supportive of Donald Trump’s winning of the American Presidency. This resulted in a string of comments from those, mostly working for the mainstream, disagreeing with the sentiment while a section of right-wing creators shouted support. As the Breitweisers adopted a ‘be friendly to everyone’ attitude at first (they had a crowdfunding project to promote), they began to receive endorsements from the Comicsgate crowd. Because neither Elizabeth or Mitch spoke out against the organization, they were seen to be a part of it. This led to a bit of a backlash, and forced the couple to pull out of a comic convention appearance at the Lakes International Art Festival in the UK due to safety concerns.
It is also at this point that Elizabeth stopped working on comics for the main publishers. In the following year, they launched Allegiance Arts & Entertainment, publishing and distributing their own comics with an initial contract to have them stocked in Walmart.
The most curious aspect of this story is that there is very little evidence to show whether the creators were supporters of any comic organization or if they were victims of turbulent times. Most available news stories about the incident come from unreliable online news outlets. Other articles, such as the one from Arkansas Times about the launch of their company, address the issues but suggest that the Breitweisers wanted nothing to do with any of the arguments, and stepped away from an industry that they saw as failing the fans.
Allegiance Arts & Entertainment are still producing comics but with very little fanfare online. They have small announcements of new books and are occasionally featured on ‘comics to avoid’ features due to the perceived past allegiances. However, it is very difficult to find anything online about the controversy surrounding Elizabeth Breitweiser because the accounts on Twitter and elsewhere where it played out have been deleted. We know that she completed her work on the Kill or be Killed title with Brubaker and Phillips but then did not return to any of the mainstream comics where she made her name.
In a society where careers can be made or broken on social media, public promotion and interactions become a rocky ground that is difficult to traverse. Often, saying nothing is the best course of action, however, as the central character in The Fade Out discovers, that can be just as problematic as speaking out. Just like Cameron Stewart in The Other Side, you can’t see Elizabeth Breitweiser’s controversy that surrounded her and her husband directly in her coloring work, but just like in the comic, there is clearly more to uncover below the surface.
Sin City: The Big Fat Kill Credit: Dark Horse Comics
Comic Number 213: Sin City: The Big Fat Kill
The Comic
Most people will be familiar with Frank Miller’s Sin City series, if for no other reason than it was adapted into a popular, stylistic movie with an all-star cast in 2005. The movie takes several stories from the comic book series and merges them together in an anthology style narrative. In The Big Fat Kill, Dwight comes to the defense of his girlfriend, Shellie, who is being harassed by a former lover. Being Frank Miller, this leads to some excessive violence and a few tragic turns of events. The story deals with police corruption and brutality, organized crime families fighting over territorial rights, and the abuse of women in many forms.
Miller has a unique artistic style, especially in the Sin City comics. Solid black shadows create negative space from which the images emerge, a reflection of the harsh black and white morals of most of the characters. There is a simple right or wrong approach to the characterization which is complicated by the nature of the story. If you, as a reader, can’t buy into the simplification of morals then this book is difficult to read. But this simplification also complicates other aspects of the comic.
The depiction and treatment of women in this comic is a source of contention. Miller hypersexualizes the female characters and, more often than not, makes them victims — even the ones who on first appearance seem strong willed and independent. There is always a hero coming to rescue the damsel. There are also other visuals that can be misconstrued or incorrectly interpreted, such as the swastika throwing stars.
The Controversy
Despite the violence and questionable treatment of women in the Sin City series, it is not the comic itself that is surrounded with controversy, but the creator. In some respects, we might have been better looking at Frank Miller’s Holy Terror, because that’s one of the more controversial of his titles. However, I do not own it, therefore was unable to include it here.
It was with the release of Holy Terror, and some of the online statements that Miller made, that began the vocal backlash against his work. In 2011, when Holy Terror was released, Miller made various outspoken statements on his online blog, one of which attacked the Occupy Movement. This earned him a response from Alan Moore who labeled Millers work as “misogynistic, homophobic and misguided.” There were also accusations of Islamophobia with the release of Holy Terror which led to fans and creators to boycott conventions where the writer was due to appear. In 2021, the popular Thought Bubble convention in Leeds, UK reversed a decision to include Miller as a guest due to backlash on social media.
Unlike some of the other creators I have written about, the controversy surrounding Miller has not ended his career, or even slowed it down. Miller continues to produce work that both excites and offends the industry, depending on where you stand. His work has always been challenging, and he has never shied away from his opinions. Holy Terror might be too close to the bone for some people, but his work has never been easy or agreeable. Where excessive violence has usually been a part of his comic work, the treatment of women and religion has always been questionable. On occasion, the work could be seen as satire or a reflection and judgment on the mass media entertainment as a whole, but this is not always clear and, combined with his online comments, Miller has managed to cause offense.
How is it that one creator can cause offense and effectively be removed form the industry while another can maintain their standing? Part of it may come down to the initial standing that someone like Frank Miller has. He was one of the voices that revolutionized modern superhero comics with a style and substance that was always controversial. His work was also beloved by the comic-reading fans who, in the late 1980s, didn’t have as much access to biographical information about writers and artist. The 1980s superhero comics also had a much different, less diverse, readership than today. The fans didn’t care about the creators’ politics, and as a result, the publishers didn’t either.
Once that reputation has been built, it is difficult to break down, especially when a lot of the original fans are still buying the comics. Take Stan Lee as another example: seen as the father of modern comics by some, his reputation has been challenged on a number of occasions (as evidenced in this review of a book about the publisher) but his standing within the industry hasn’t changed. It would take more than disagreeable opinions to alter the way people interact with these creators’ comics. And that is another difference between Miller’s situation and that of someone like Brian Wood: the controversy boils down to words and opinions, not actions. Although objectionable, Miller’s views are just that, personal opinions. It is possible to pass judgement on someone for their opinions, but it is harder to implement a punishment. Should art be reserved only for the people whose opinions are currently acceptable by the majority? It is understandable that some people would not want to work with Miller, or even be included in the same event, but it becomes harder for organizers and publishers to disassociate themselves on the grounds of personal opinion.
The notion of association comes up again here; any publisher must weigh up the costs of associating with outspoken creators. In the Thought Bubble/Miller incident, the organizers of the convention believed that taking the creator off of the guest list was the best action for their convention. Thought Bubble is a very diverse convention, championing small press and diverse creators, and the inclusion of Miller would definitely harm the convention’s reputation. Other events might not feel affected in the same way.
When we read comics, we take many things from them. Some of those things we may find disagreeable, and we may relate those views to the creator, but that does not mean that we should revoke their right to create comics. We have a choice, as readers and as consumers. We can decide not to engage with certain creators, publishers, and events, just as they have a choice who they work with and how they promote their brand.
Batman: Damned Credit: DC
Comic Number 214: Batman: Damned #1
The Comic
Lee Bermejo draws Batman’s penis. It may be in the shadows, but its shape can be defined.
There is more to the comic, but this is the only aspect anyone talks about when discussing Damned, which is itself a review of the comic. Even after the comic was reissued with heavy shadows replacing the offending member, this comic will only ever be known as the one with Batman’s penis.
The Controversy
The problem is obvious. There was outrage that Batman was drawn fully naked with his penis visible in several panels. Batman: Damned was the first release of DC’s Black Label, a new imprint aimed at a more mature audience. However, the audience wasn’t apparently mature enough for naked Bruce Wayne. Online media was quick to jump on the comic and a host of jokes was posted across Twitter.
What is surprising about this is how fast DC decided to edit out the offending member. The digital edition featured edited pages and all subsequent printings would match the digital version, thus removing any reason to buy the comic in the first place. The main problem here is: why did DC do this? A cynical person might say that it was released in this way to generate a story and make the first issue of Batman: Damned a collector’s item from day one. However, the whole situation highlights a sexist attitude towards mainstream comic production. Other than Doctor Manhattan in Watchmen, there are no notable examples of a penis in mainstream superhero comics. There are, however, plenty of examples of naked, or virtually naked, female characters. In fact, most of the female superhero’s outfits barely cover their bodies. The controversy isn’t really that DC included a few panels of the barely visible Bat-Penis but the fact that it was an outrage and a newsworthy story, while the treatment of the female characters is still so poor.
In the grand scheme of things, is this even controversial?
Murder, Morphine, and Me Reprinted in The Mammoth Book of Best Crime Comics by Robinson
Comic Number 215: Murder, Morphine, and Me by Jack Cole
The Comic
Originally published in True Crime Comics #2 in 1947, the 14-page comic is, in some ways, typical of the period and features all of the cliches of crime comics. It has gangsters, molls, shoot outs, and punishments for all. Printed under a ‘True Story’ banner, to add legitimacy and greater impact to the disturbing story, the tale is a confession of a female drug dealer who fell in with the wrong crowd and, before she knew what was going on, she was in too deep.
The basic story itself is nothing new, not even in 1947, however, the way that it is told and the artwork by Jack Cole marks the comic out from the deluge of crime stories from the time. Cole’s artwork is visceral and disturbing. He fills the panels with immediacy of action that heightens the threat level of every scene. Some of the images are simply upsetting, stomach churning even, while others are discomforting and disorientating. Cole gets under the skin of Mary Kennedy, the central character, and makes her empathetic, an aspect often missing from the crime comics where the shock value is greater than the characters.
The Controversy
It might seem obvious where the controversy is around this particular comic: the contents are hard-hitting, even by today’s standards. However, Cole’s tale has closer links to the 1950’s comic book scare than most because Dr. Fredrik Wertham specifically referenced one of the panels in his book The Seduction of the Innocent. The panel in question (although not credited in Wertham’s book) is the first panel on the last row of page two. In it, the central character has a hand straddling her face, forcing her eye open, while the unseen assailant thrusts a needle towards her eyeball. The off-kilter border with a wavy frame, distinct on the page, emphasizes the horrific moment while the large, bold text stamps home the terror Mary is feeling.
It is well documented that Wertham was calling for the regulation of comics, deeming many to be unsuitable for the audience that it was either intended for, or who were able to read it. He has also been made a villain in the history of comics. However, in the discussion regarding this particular comic, Wertham makes a good point about appropriateness. The image of a needle almost piercing a woman’s eye is not just disturbing, it has a number of other connotations, especially in regards to violence against women.
Murder, Morphine, and Me The offending Panel from page 2 of the comic
In an email discussion between Craig Fisher and Bart Beaty about Fredric Wertham, Beaty proposes the fact that in this instance, Wertham might be right in his concerns. In response to a comment made by Art Spiegelman comparing Murder, Morphine, and Me to Salvador Dali’s Un Chien Andalou, Beaty says:
“By equating Cole’s work to a masterpiece of high cinematic modernism, Spiegelman suggests that the two should be accorded the same respect and seriousness. But Un Chien Andalou circulated in theatres clearly designated as adult spaces, while Cole’s work was made available to children as its primary market (as is evidenced by its price). Wertham’s argument would be that neither of these things were appropriate for children, and, in his efforts to elevate Cole for a New Yorker audience, Spiegelman seems to imply the same”
When True Crime Comics #2 was released, it was easily accessible by anyone with 5 cents. Even though there was a large adult readership, children were, more often than not, the target audience for these comics. To equate the comic to a modern medium, would you allow a pre-teen to watch the infamous eye scenes from A Clockwork Orange, or Zombie Apocalypse? Scenes in both movies contain a similar visual as the panel from this comic and both are disturbing beyond the obvious visual discomfort. The question raised here is about accessibility and appropriateness. If this comic was released into today’s direct market there would not be a problem, but would the same be true if it was placed in a newsagent or supermarket next to the LEGO and Minecraft magazines?
Zap Comix #1 published 1968
Comic Number 216: Zap Comix #1
The Comic
The banner at the top of Zap Comix #1 reads “For Adult Intellectuals Only.” It is a humor magazine, packed with obscenities, crude artwork, and vulgar gag comics. There is nothing subtle about this underground comic from 1968, and the main artist, Robert Crumb, is an infamous figure in comics history.
In an rebellious act against the restraints of mainstream comics, the underground movement was born out of a hippy-esq counter culture that wanted to create art in many forms. The production and sale of comics, such as Zap Comix, was a low key affair but the notoriety of someone like Crumb made Zap Comix, and the anthologies that followed, sufficiently big hits.
Modern readers may find Zap Comix a hard read because of the casual sexist and racist commentary and visuals. Crumb did not hold back and poured the darker parts of his psyche onto the pages. Obscenities fly across the panels and are mixed in with the type of school yard gags that made MAD magazine such a hit. There is a lot of good cartooning in the comic but it hasn’t become very well known due to the offense it caused, and the grotesqueness of the jokes and the treatment of the women throughout Crumb’s work does not make for easy reading.
The Controversy
Robert Crumb was a massive influence on underground comix, and it is no surprise that 1968 is often cited as the starting point for the movement because that is when Zap Comix #1 was released. As Roger Sabin has noted, “Zap stands as one of the most important titles in comics history” (from Comics Studies: A Guidebook). Crumb has been hailed as a genius, a forerunner for many modern comic genres, including autobiographical, and his work has been revered in exhibitions and numerous collections.
He was also extremely racist and sexist both on and off the page. Feminist writer Deirdre English and fellow cartoonist Trina Robbins both spoke publicly about the abusive and often violent attitude that Crumb had towards women. Crumb himself admitted that he had a problem. And despite this, his work is openly studied and discussed in academia and all forms of comic journalism. In 2022, a contemporary art gallery in France held an exhibition of his work to celebrate his style and contribution to comics history.
Why does this occur? Why is someone like R Crumb revered so much by the community despite the fact he behaved so badly? One of the reasons might be because he was part of a counter culture operating outside of the mainstream. The position he held is seen as being different to a staff writer at Marvel of DC. He has been placed on a pedestal, raised to the position of Artist with a capital A, instead of comics illustrator. As such we, the community, allow him special dispensation.
Or maybe it is because he owns his behavior and admits the mistakes he has made. But, in reality, is he any different to Warren Ellis or Brian Wood? Robert Crumb made a sizable contribution to the history and evolution of comics, but does this mean that the stain of his reputation is smaller, harder to see?
I don’t have an answer. I think that everyone should be held accountable for their actions, but I also understand the requirement to study the work that shapes the history of comics. Without people like Robert Crumb, the comic landscape might be very different. However, that does not mean that I endorse his behavior or would promote his work.
Looking at controversial comics and creators is difficult. The pattern of abuse by men in the industry is alarming, but almost as shocking is the number of times people get away with disgraceful behavior because of their position or bankability. There are, also, levels of controversy, with someone’s political opinions being of less importance than abusive and grooming actions. But, of course, in our age of instant media, anything that someone says can be used for or against the person saying it, making or breaking careers in the process. This is the reason why we should not shy away from these topics and discuss them openly. It allows the control to be taken away from heated arguments on places like Twitter, and for real action to be taken, as in the Warren Ellis case. After the storm on Twitter, those affected took control and set up a space for reasonable discussion and care to take place. The somanyofus.com website became a place for the victims to make a stand and own what had happened to them without persecution from social media bullies.
I love comics and I love the history of comics culture. Unfortunately, saying that means that, on occasions, I have to deal with unsavory topics or creators.
From next week, I will move on, and pick out some easy reading, wholesome comics to counter the last two, difficult weeks.
The premise is simple: read one comic every day for the entire year. It seems like a simple task but there is no way that I read 365 comics last year, even if you count the individual issues in collections. So, this year, I am committing myself to this reading challenge, in the hope that I can broaden my reading habits and fully engage with my favorite hobby again.
When it comes to monsters, comics have their fair share. There are, 1) the obvious monsters: the mutated violent creatures that attack the intergalactic and fantasy heroes, 2) the classics: such as vampires, zombies, and Frankenstein’s creatures, 3) the misunderstood: again including the adaptations of Frankenstein but also including those from Big Girls (Image Comics) and, of course, the Thing from the Fantastic Four, and 4) the villainous monsters — the evil people that exist for the superheroes to fight (will Lex Luthor, Norman Osborne, and Wilson Fisk please stand up?).
But, the worst kind of monster associated with comics is the disgraced creator. More and more over recent years, stories, allegations, and criminal proceedings have ended many creators’ careers and tainted the comic industry. When engaged in a project like this one, where a large majority of the reading comes from older material, it becomes difficult to navigate the uneven terrain and avoid the forbidden zones populated with disgraced or triggering creators and comics. Earlier in the year, I spent a week re-reading X-Men titles only to discover that a large section of my collection contained, for want of a better word, problematic writers. There are some websites that don’t even review comics from whole publishers because of their brazen associations with people and groups that appear to stand against one of the central modern comic mantras of ‘Comics are for everyone’.
Most people don’t want to cause unnecessary discomfort by discussing triggering topics or creators. And most definitely don’t want to be seen promoting the work of creators or publishers whose reputation and practices are questionable or even illegal. However, when the focus of an article, such as this, is less about advertising or recommendations and more about the dissection and the discussion of comics as social and cultural history, it is difficult to avoid some creators work.
In her book Monsters: A Fan’s Dilemma, Claire Dederer examines her own journey of interacting with artistic works by problematic creators. Although it doesn’t touch on any comic book creators or publishers specifically, the questions that are raised and discussions that she leads are relevant to the comic industry and its fan base. Is it acceptable to write about and promote the work of Frank Miller, an outspoken man whose opinions and work has caused offense to numerous people, so much so that he was removed from the quest list of the UK comic convention Thought Bubble in 2021? And what about Warren Ellis? A writer of some outstanding, influential work, but also someone who has taken advantage of a large group of women over the years, grooming them in online chat rooms and at conventions. Although he is not currently producing any work, how should people interact with his past work? Roc Upchurch was arrested for domestic abuse, pretty much ending his comic career. It also had knock-on effects for the comic he was working on at the time, which led to further complications with the writer Kurtis Wiebe and the publisher of Rat Queens, Image Comics. Is the mere mention of his name a step too far, or is it possible to examine his work and even engage with new work, if it was to emerge, without condoning his previous actions?
Monsters A Fan’s Dilemma by Claire Dederer
This is a rough sea to navigate, but reading Dederer’s book provides a fascinating and balanced view of the subject. I already have strong views on the connection between Art and Artist, believing that work can, and should, stand on its own two feet without needing to be propped up by the creator — in comics more so than other visual arts. However, this view has been formed over years of studying historical art and culture. It’s easier to discuss the works of a deceased artist than it is someone alive who has perpetrated heinous acts.
I raised this topic briefly in my X-Men week and cleverly sidestepped the issue to focus on different comics. However, I was forced to think about this subject again in Week 30 because of the comics I mindlessly pulled together to read. An exciting proposition of reading comics published through a single publisher, in this case AfterShock Comics, was slightly marred as I realized that one of the titles, one of my favorite titles, was written by Warren Ellis. Do I just ignore it? Replace it with a different title? That would be the easiest option. But, I have other comics I want to read, created by “monsters” as Dederer would name them. The works are important to the history of the British and the American comic industry. They can be classed as works of art along the lines of Rosemary’s Baby by Roman Polanski or Thriller by Michael Jackson, and they are fan favorites or have cultural significance, like JK Rowling’s Harry Potter books. To ignore them does a disservice to the history and study of comics but that does not mean that we have to endorse the creators or condone their actions.
But I started Week 30 with something a bit lighter, something fun and entertaining. It was the start of my read through the AfterShock Comics titles that I own. AfterShock, as a publisher, have put out some of the best titles in the last 10 years, and have had a very good social media presence that was warm, friendly and personal. So, it seems a little unfortunate that this week leads into my examination of controversies.
The Revisionist #1-6 Credit: AfterShock Comics
Comic Number 203 to 205: The Revisionist #1-6 (that’s actually 2 comics a day)
Written by Frank Barbiere and illustrated by Garry Brown, The Revisionist is a twisty-turny time travel story that falls somewhere between Time Cop and Millennium (the movie, not the television series). In the first issue, the reader is introduced to Martin Monroe, who is fully engrossed in his personal mission: killing time travelers in the past to save the future. Barbiere throws the reader into the thick of the action with a sequence straight out of 2000AD. It is an unspecified science fiction-esq setting mixed with violence and high stakes.
After that initial onslaught, however, the story slows down and becomes a journey of self discovery for the central character. His story starts at his lowest point, as a prison rat, squealing on the other inmates to impress the parole board, and one particular prison guard. The conflict between characters is expertly illustrated by Brown who concentrates on facial expressions and the characters postures in order to capture the level of threat and violence. There is a real physicality to the characters and the difference between Monroe and the prison bullies is clearly visible.
Where this comic really stands out is with the color provided by Lauren Affe. There are sequences where the art takes an abstract turn, where Monroe is speaking to his father through a form of telepathy. During these moments the coloring shifts dramatically to an unworldly color palette, making the experience as uncomfortable for the reader as it is for Monroe.
Affe’s effect on the emotional aspects of the plot doesn’t end there, however. She contrasts color themes on opposite pages so that there is a visible divide between the separate scenes. She also alters the background coloring to highlight specific foreground action. The reality of the scene is replaced with emotional signifiers. This is most apparent during fight sequences but also plays a part when focusing on memories, such as on the first page of issue 3 where Monroe is remembering a childhood birthday. The scene is about the relationship he has with his father and there are virtually no background details, only a faded mustard color. This color becomes a motif for Monroe’s memories and begins to bleed into the rest of his life as it spirals out of control.
As the story progresses, it becomes more and more complicated. A new set of bandaged characters enter the mix like an army of Invisible Men who speak a language no-one understands. The more that Monroe “fixes” the past the more time begins to unravel. The only constant is the violence that follows Monroe back and forwards through time.
Despite the complexity, Barbiere keeps a tight hold on the reins of the narrative and it never contradicts itself, except where it is meant to. Brown and Affe’s artwork keeps the momentum of the narrative moving. The layouts and color palettes are designed for an easy reading experience so that the reader’s concentration is on the story aspects.
The influences for this comic are clear and visible within the pages. This is a combination of a Philip K Dick story, with 1980s movie action, and 1990s television storytelling, all filtered through the hands of comic aficionados. The plot is a mix of ideas that can be found in a number of different places, novels, films, other comics, but the tight scripting and the exceptional artwork sells this comic. The Revisionist is a joy to read.
Relay #0-5 Credit: AfterShock Comics
Comic Number 206: Relay #0 – 5
Relay is another high concept science fiction mini-series that draws its inspiration from sources outside of comics. The central concept bears an uncanny resemblance to Stanley Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke’s 2001: A Space Oddity. In fact, it’s almost as if writer Zac Thompson asked himself “What would happen if the human race went looking for the creators of the monolith?” As an idea, it is very engaging and, after the 0 issue, the examination of a world shaped in the shadow of a monolith and the need by some to find meaning to their life, is a very fascinating concept. Thompson makes his central protagonists curious about the world, like the reader is after opening the comic. This allows the narrative to explore elements of the world, giving the reader insights into the landscape and the people. As the protagonist is shaped by his experiences, the reader is led through the philosophies of the creators.
I enjoyed this series when it originally came out and make time to re-read it every so often. There is a suddenness to the end which makes it less than satisfying. It definitely leaves you wanting more. However, the first issue, the Free Comic Book Day 0 issue, is a magnificent comic by itself. Obviously, it sets up the 5 issue series, but the story this single issue tells is compelling and thought provoking. It questions the birth of religions and hints at the consequences of those belief systems. It has a lot to say for such a short comic.
Jackpot #1 Credit: AfterShock Comics
Comic Number 207: Jackpot #1
With a minor tweak and the removal of the final page, Jackpot #1 would be the perfect, one shot, heist comic. The set-up is simple and the plot unfolds at exactly the right pacing to keep the reader on the edge of their seat. There are a couple of tongue in cheek references to the heist genre and Ray Fawkes is clearly enjoying stirring his sense of humor into the mix. Together with the bold, clean lined artwork by Marco Failla, Jackpot is a cinematic piece of entertainment.
Ray Fawkes has, over the years, produced some challenging comic work. The titles where he works as both artist and writer, such as Intersect and In The Flood, play with the concepts of narrative and visual storytelling. There is no compromise to his vision and his experimentation produces stunning results. But he also knows how to maneuver around mainstream comics, bringing his experimentation to a wider audience. In comics like Jackpot, Fawkes initially produces an experience that is easy to access for readers. He adapts his style to the constraints of mainstream storytelling and acknowledges the popular culture he draws from, such as the Ocean’s 11 film series.
I was lucky enough to see him on a panel a few years ago and his excitement and consideration when discussing a single panel in a comic layout highlighted his attention to detail. He came across as motivated and elevated by the process of creating comics, even mainstream titles. And this positivity shines through in his work. You can’t go wrong with a Ray Fawkes comic.
Shipwreck #1-6 Credit: AfterShock Comics
Comic Number 208: Shipwreck #1-6 (part 1)
There are a lot of really good AfterShock comics still to read. Stronghold, one of the best examinations of the superhero genre since Watchmen (yes, I said it) and Undone by Blood, one of my favorite comics of all time. However, it is difficult for me to skip past Shipwreck for a number of reasons.
Firstly: it was one of the first AfterShock comics I bought, and it impressed upon me the aims of the publisher. Here was a publisher committed to producing great stories and even better comics. They seem to give their creators freedom to experiment with their craft and do not conform to a house style. In 2016, when the first issue came out, this was a fresh and exciting publisher filling a gap that Image appeared to be losing at the time.
Secondly: The artwork, which I will talk about in a minute
Thirdly: At the time, I was a fan of Warren Ellis’ work. He had worked on a number of titles that I enjoyed. He wrote and created Lazarus Churchyard in the early 1990s which was one of my favorites from the anthology title Blast! More recently he worked on Moon Knight with Declan Shalvey, Trees with Jason Howard, and the start of The Batman’s Grave mini-series for DC.
I am going to discuss Shipwreck in two parts. I will look at the comic itself before discussing the writer in relation to his work.
The story’s protagonist, Dr Jonathan Shipwright, finds himself marooned on a new Earth after his experimental dimension hopping spaceship crashes on re-entry. The people he meets make little sense to him and the landscape less so. He is lost, searching for a way home but plagued by secrets that are revealed over the course of the six issues. The central character is complex, with the narrative often implying he knows less than he does and the reader is stranded in the topsy-turvy world desperately trying to find their feet.
The plot is superbly structured across the six issues and is definitely a title you should binge read. There are philosophical discussions about the nature of existence, the purpose of life, and the place of humanity in the world. But it is also a journey of self discovery as Dr Shipwright starts the series running from his life.
The narrative is excellent, however the artwork is better. Phil Hester’s pencils and Eric Gapstur’s inks produce heavy outlines and solid black shadows which gives the comic a distinctive look. Everything on the page serves a purpose and the layouts are extremely satisfying to read. The interchangeable panel sizes, often overlapping or bleeding to the edge of the page with no border, opens up the world and draws the reader in. The figure work is bold and over exaggerated, creating perfect on page acting for the characters. Facial expressions and posturing make this a highly emotive comic. The violence is unsettling and there are moments of grotesque beauty.
Mark Englert holds nothing back with the colors. There is such a variety to the color palette and there are shades I don’t think I have ever seen in a comic before. Englert creates an unknown world through his use of bold, flat colors fields. There is very little subtlety but this works magnificently with the tone of the narrative and the heavy black ink work.
From a purely visual perspective, Shipwreck is one of the best comics released in the last 10 years.
However…
Shipwreck #5 page 18 Credit: AfterShock Comics
Comic Number 209: Shipwreck #1-6 (part 2)
There is an elephant in the room. Shipwreck is one of my favorite comics, as I’ve explained above, and it is something of a standard setter for AfterShock comics and indie/creator-owned comics in general of that time. However, you will not find anyone discussing it because of the writer’s behavior in his personal life.
In 2020, Ellis was accused of sexual coercion and manipulation by several women, and this led to a large group of women detailing an unsettling pattern of behavior. For information about the accusations and the reaction by the community, I recommend visiting the website SoManyOfUs.com. The outcome of the incident was that Ellis removed himself (or was possibly removed) from his ongoing comic productions and all of the titles he was working on ceased. The final issues of The Batman’s Grave were released as the issues had already been completed by that point but that was the end of his comic career to date.
Warren Ellis has not been convicted of a crime, but his actions have made it impossible for him to work in the mainstream comics industry. When it was, prematurely, announced that he was going to continue working on his crime comic Fell, the negative backlash forced Image Comics to release a statement confirming they would not be publishing the comic. The problem this creates for people studying, reviewing, and writing about comics is, how do you handle the back catalog of a problematic writer, like Ellis? He has worked on a vast array of comics, for most of the big publishers, and some of his work are classed as seminal comics work, or at least they were.
In her book Monsters: A Fan’s Dilemma, Claire Dederer asks the question “Can I love the art but hate the artist?” before explaining that, in the modern world, an artist’s behavior can become a stain that affects the audience’s view of the artwork retrospectively.
“The Stain — spreading, creeping, wine-dark, inevitable — is biography’s aftermath. The person does the crime and it’s the work that gets stained. It’s what we, the audience, are left to contend with.” (Dederer)
The simple solution is to ignore the work — pretend it doesn’t exist. In some instances this is easy to do. If the work has had no impact on the culture it is a part of then dismissing it from the discussion is the obvious answer. But more often than not, the artwork has already made its mark. Shipwreck, for example, may not be a historically groundbreaking comic, but it was fairly important to the rise of AfterShock Comics’ place in the market. Not only were they able to sell the comic on the reputation of the writer (who at that point was highly respected and influential), but the comic demonstrated the freedoms that the creators were given and the types of comic the publisher wished to be known for.
There is also another study potential. By re-examining the comic today, we could get a new insight into the character and the creator, just as Shakespearean plays are re-examined when new information is discovered about the playwright’s life. The text hasn’t changed but our perception of it will have.
Take the central character of Shipwreck, Dr Jonathan Shipwright, as an example. In the comic he is an intelligent man, one who is respected and admired by his peers. He has created something unique and sought after by others. He is also running away from his life, trying to leave behind the world for reasons that aren’t clear. In issue five, when Shipwright is asked why he developed a machine to help him escape his home, he replies, “I’m weak and I’m easily led and I’m scared of everything and everyone. I’m a coward. So I built something to help me run away.” In reply, Nina says, “Wow. You’re actually kind of creepy.”
In retrospect, the conversation here could be applied to Ellis’ own actions and engagement with them. He knows that he has behaved badly and not treated people with respect but the stance of “I’m weak” is his way of excusing his actions. He acknowledges that the protagonist, in this case a narrative representation of the writer, would come across as creepy to others but he is still the hero of the work, the misunderstood character just trying to find a place in the world. In issue six, he states, “I’ve been shown murders. Burials. Things that made no sense. Except here. They were the right decisions for here.” Again, this can be seen as an admission of guilt but with a caveat. The mistake wasn’t what was done, but the circumstances under which it occurred.
If you read Shipwreck knowing the accusations aimed at Ellis, the six-part story takes on a different life. It becomes a shielded confession and search for absolution. Dederer’s “stain” infects Shipwreck and gives it a more disturbing undertone. A fascinating journey of self discovery becomes an admittance of guilt but not an acceptance of it.
From a visual point of view, this is still one of the best comics in the last 10 years, and we can’t dismiss the artist’s work because of the writer’s actions. However, our understanding and reading of the comic will be forever stained and that stain changes our perception of the narrative.
For the next seven comics, I am going to look at some more controversial creators’ work and comics that themselves caused a stir when they were released. This means that there may be some triggering aspects to the comics discussed or material that some readers may find objectionable. Therefore I would recommend skipping the next installment if you want to avoid such discussions, but, please come back in a week or so, where I will discuss some more wholesome material.
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #31 hits your local comic book store on August 9th, but thanks to Marvel Comics, Monkeys Fighting Robots has an exclusive five-page preview for you!
About the issue: SPECIAL OVER-SIZED ISSUE!
IT’S THE WEDDING OF THE YEAR!
Peter Parker is the best man, and Tombstone is walking the bride down the aisle! That’s right – Janice Lincoln and Randy Robertson are tying the knot, and there’s NO WAY all the crime bosses in NYC aren’t seeing this as an opportunity to off Tombstone. This story sets up our big Spider-Event of Zeb and Johnny’s second year on ASM, and that’s just the HALF of it! Also in this issue: bachelor/bachelorette parties, other ASM-story preludes, glimpses of some of the biggest unannounced Spider-projects and extra bonus awesomeness!
The over-sized issue is by a slew of various writers and artists contributing mainline stories, backups, one-pagers, and previews. Of the three stories previewed below, the main story is by writer Zeb Wells and artists John Romita Jr. (inks by Scott Hanna), Emilio Laiso, and Zé Carlos, with colors by Marcio Menyz and Bryan Valenza; the Ms. Marvel story is by Wells and artist David Lopez, with colors by KJ Diaz; and the Mary Jane story is by writer Celeste Bronfman and artist Alba Glez, with inks by Elisabetta D’Amico and Craig Yeung, and colors by Jim Campbell. All three of these stories are lettered by Joe Caramagna, and the main cover is by John Romita Jr., Scott Hanna, and Marcio Menyz.
Check out our AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #31 preview below:
Are you reading AMAZING SPIDER-MAN? Sound off in the comments!
Monkeys Fighting Robots is pleased to announce TOP SECRET SERVICE, an upcoming graphic novel from Dark Horse Comics. The exciting new book is by writer Zack Keller (Creeping, Cuphead, Hotel REM) and artist Giovanna La Pietra, with colors by Valerio Alloro, and letters by Frank Cvetokovic.
About TOP SECRET SERVICE: After achieving their lifelong goal of becoming U.S. Secret Service Agents, best friends Chris Lu and Blake Sansome are not assigned to protect the current president, but instead a retired ex-president enjoying the quiet life on his Montana ranch. The rookie agents hate their boring assignment far from the high-profile action they crave… until an elite hit squad assaults the house. They soon learn that the kindly old ex-president was actually involved in a world-altering government conspiracy covering up alien contact. Now, people have come for the secrets only he knows… and the dangerous technology the aliens left behind.
Dark Horse boasts that the “thrilling, action-packed comedic adventure” is “perfect for fans of 21 Jump Street and Men in Black.”
TOP SECRET SERVICE will hit book stores on January 30th, 2024, and comic shops the next day, January 31st. It’s available for preorder now.
Check out the cover by Tonci Zonjic right here:
Are you going to pick up TOP SECRET SERVICE when it hits shops in January? Sound off in the comments!
The SHAOLIN COWBOY: CRUEL TO BE KIN hardcover hits comic shops August 9th, which makes this the perfect time to revisit our interview with the Cowboy’s creator, cartoonist Geof Darrow!
We spoke with Darrow back when the first issue of CRUEL TO BE KIN was coming out, and the conversation took us all over the map: from the Cowboy and Darrow’s overall creative process, to Akira Kurosawa films, and even stories regarding the cartoonist’s real-life pet alligator his family once kept.
About the book: In order to keep a newborn Komodo dragon from joining the endangered species list, the Shaolin Cowboy must first make him an orphan and then adopt him into the ways of the “Intercepting fist” to keep their road trip from turning into roadkill. When social distancing isn’t enough, the Cowboy has plenty of booster shots and jabs to keep a new army of foes, both new and old, from turning the situation from ugly, to bad, and no good.
“If Sergio Leone, Tsui Hark, Stephen Chow, and Sam Raimi could somehow have a child together and then disavow it, this book would be it . . . maybe.” – Geof Darrow
Thanks again to Geof Darrow for talking with us.
SHAOLIN COWBOY: CRUEL TO BE KIN hits bookstores August 8th, and comic shops August 9th.
MOON KNIGHT #26 hits your local comic book store on August 2nd but thanks to Marvel Comics, Monkeys Fighting Robots has an exclusive four-page preview for you!
About the issue: While Moon Knight is dealing with the apocalyptic events of MOON KNIGHT #25, what of Hunter’s Moon? Khonshu’s faithful Fist leads new converts to war, but how exactly was his most recent resurrection flawed, and does this new weakness spell doom for Dr. Badr?
PLUS: A bonus page written by Jonathan Hickman – WHO ARE THE G.O.D.S.?
The issue is by writer Jed MacKay (with a special G.O.D.S. page written by Jonathan Hickman) and artist Federico Sabbatini, with colors by Rachelle Rosenberg, and letters by Travis Lanham. The main cover is by Stephen Segovia and Rachelle Rosenberg.
Marvel is building up to the death of Moon Knight this fall. This October, Moon Knight #28 will kick off “The Last Days of Moon Knight,” a three-part story by MacKay and Allesandro Cappuccio which will “be the culmination of MoonKnight‘s current era and the beginning of his next chapter.”
Check out our MOON KNIGHT #26 preview below:
Are you reading the current MOON KNIGHT run? Sound off in the comments!
Welcome to Self-Published Spotlight, a regular interview column where I will be highlighting self-published comics and the creators and small print publishers who make them.
Big Bang Comics has had a storied history in the world of comics. Born of a pure love for the medium, the concept created by Gary Carlson and Chris Ecker has grown throughout the years to become bigger, better, and bolder. So when comic critic and journalist Michael Fitzgerald Troy launched a Kickstarter campaign for an oversized Treasury Edition style collection, I knew I had to learn much more about it. Michael, as he is on his YouTube Channel, MFTtv, was a deep well of knowledge and brimming with enthusiasm. So check out that chat and more importantly back this project so we can all have it in our hands!
Monkeys Fighting Robots: So Michael, tell us a bit about Big Bang Comics.
Michael Fitzgerald Troy:Big Bang Comics is one of the longest-running independent comic book publishers founded by Gary Carlson and Chris Ecker with a pure desire to make the kinds of comics they grew up loving. And you can really see the inspiration that went into the creation of the largely Golden And Silver-Aged flavored homage style characters. But they are much more than knockoffs and shouldn’t be dismissed as such. These characters have stood the test of time and were thoughtfully and lovingly created by Gary and Chris. Big Bang started as Megaton that would through no fault of its own turn into a roughly 64-page annual anthology. Coming out basically when they could through grassroots publishing mechanisms. Megaton is especially noteworthy because it arguably had a hand in helping launch the careers of Erik Larsen and Rob Liefeld. Early versions of Savage Dragon and Youngblood make their first appearances in Megaton comics-promoting Rob Liefeld to coin Gary Carlson “The Grandfather of Image Comics.” Eventually, Gary and Chris wanted to focus the shift to the more Silver and Golden age characters they loved so much and Big Bang was born! After varying publishing deals and a stint at Image Comics Big Bang has continued publication mostly through Indyplanet where you can find an extensive backlog of Big Bang Comics.
Art by Dandy Don Simpson
MFR: How did you get involved with this project? How and when did it start?
MFT: When I interviewed Gary (Carlson) for my YouTube channel (MichaelFitzTroyTv) it occurred to me that it was kind of a shame that this humble legend in the comic industry was relegated to print on demand. Arguably, there’s nothing against it-it allows Big Bang an affordable platform to continue publishing. I just thought they deserved something more. Something special. And that’s where my BIG Big Bang Comics Pop Art anthology tribute was born! From my big, gigantic, artistic ego. I’m a cartoonist myself and definitely have a pop art slant. I was impressed by a lot of the artists I’d seen out there and actually had the pleasure to work with on some fan projects and whatnot. I especially loved what Eli Schwab at Cosmic Lion Productions was doing. His Ghost Agents project with Rocko Jerome seemed like a perfect model for what I wanted to do for a Big Bang tribute. A gorgeous art-focused treasury-sized format. Plus they do a Kickstarter to pay the artists. Seems like a good plan. Plus Big Bang had never done a Kickstarter before and they seemed open to it. I knew it had to be something really special to warrant a Kickstarter and let me tell you- THIS is something special! I thought a treasury-sized anthology with some of the most amazing up-and-coming artists that I know is the book I want to read. So that’s the book I’m going to make. I pitched it to Eli, I pitched it to Gary- they all said “yes” and here we are. And ego may have been the impetus but it’s far from the muse.
MFR: How did you score that sweet Jim Rugg cover?
MFT: “With great power comes great responsibility” and that’s in the DNA of every tried and true fanboy. I knew it had to be special. I knew we needed a little something, something. I knew we needed Jim Rugg. So, luckily I had a good in with Jim having interviewed him for my channel and I basically told him why he was the one that had to do the cover. And thankfully, he enthusiastically agreed! And gave us this beautiful Silver-Aged flavored “Baseball Card” style cover. He brilliantly suggested we turn into a trading card set as an incentive for the Kickstarter. (Which of course we did!) and that really speaks to the thoughtfulness you’re going to get out of a Jim Rugg cover. I couldn’t be happier-and Jim was drawn in by the treasury format and the chance to draw classic superheroes. Something he rarely does. As an editor that was oddly satisfying for me. To have it be meaningful and not just a paycheck!
MFR: There are multiple covers correct?
MFT:Yes. For the Golden Age fans, we have an amazing “chase” variant cover by the ever-amazing Kerry Callen. That was another satisfying moment in the endless list of mounting satisfying moments from working on this project. Apparently, Gary Carlson has been wanting to work with Kerry for years and it’s been a dream come true for him to see Kerry’s depiction of the characters he created. I was beyond the moon to be able to facilitate that. I actually have another Big BBC contributor Sam J. Royale to thank for the suggestion.
Chase Cover Variant by Kerry Callen.
MFT: Another major score for the book is Nick Cagnetti who has supplied the jaw-dropping Berzerker centerfold you’ll see associated with the campaign. I recently fell in love with Pink Lemonade and also interviewed him for my channel! See kids- if you want to work with the top talent in the Biz you need a YouTube channel or shameless tenacity. Fortunately for this project, I have both. Luckily Nick said yes. I gave him the tiniest thumbnail and he gave me this epic sweeping two-page spread that would make Erik Larsen jealous! And low-key- I hope it does! Rounding out the power players is Mahdi Khene. One of the most unique voices in indie comics right now. I was aware of Mahdi before Bootleg Spider-Man made him indie famous and I’m so happy we have him in the book. Another example of how perfectly this project came together. I told Mahdi I wanted him, period. And I held my breath. And he gave me the most amazing dead-on pitch-perfect Big Bang pin-up. It really speaks to his voice as an auteur to be able to mail the character so concisely. And so horribly really. He did rip off Ultiman’s face after all. To his credit Gary loved and man was I relieved!
Art by Nick Cagnetti
MFR: What’s it been like working with Gary, who seems like one of your heroes?
MFT:Gary has been the Jiminy Cricket in my ear the whole time. The real guiding force. I’ve taken delicate care to ensure that he approves of everything we’re putting in the book. He trusted the right guy I will tell you that. I have been so protective of these characters.
MFR: What other talent have you brought into the book?
MFT: So, after all the name-dropping- I have to say that there are a number of talented up-and-coming artists involved in the project. Some of the most unique and talented cartoonists I’m either a fan or friend or thankfully in many cases both. And it’s not just pin-ups. While the book is very art focused and takes full advantage of the treasury-sized format I wanted it to have substance too. So we have a handful of really great short stories featuring all the Big Bang classic heroes. The list of creators is crazy good! The aforementioned Sam J. Royale, Milo Trent, Jason Foster, Mike Madrid, Jason Quinones, James WINDSOR-Smith, Evan Quiring, Kasey BOUCHARD, The Q Method, Steven A. Wilcox, Bill McEvoy, and many more. A special shout out to the amazing Barry Tan who started with 2 pinups and now has 6! He also gets special credit as my personal therapist through this process. It means more to me than he’ll ever know. And I got to color some of his work. I’m actually acting as a colorist on a lot of the book. I’m kind of known for my wild color palette so I’m hoping some of that shines through. My battle cry throughout has been “Brignt! Beautiful colors! Bright beautiful superheroes!” I want this book to be beautiful not dark and muddy. It’s a superhero comic book for the love of Pete! I approached the stories with a “do no harm” approach. Out all the toys back in the sandbox unscathed. I mean except for Ultiman’s face. The stories aren’t necessarily canon but could be. There’s a great story with Megaton and Ultragirl that is a little squirrelly on continuity but it’s beautifully drawn by Christian Meesey so I had to make it work. There’s so much goodness here! For all comic book fans. For lovers of beautiful art and classic superheroes with a pop art twist. This book is incredible. There’s nothing else like it. A 100-page plus treasury-sized anthology with some of the top talent in the biz bringing nothing less than their A game. I’m so proud of this book. I hope it’s a huge Kickstarter smash and we get to do a sequel!
Welcome to Self-Published Spotlight, a regular interview column where I will be highlighting self-published comics and the creators and small print publishers who make them.
Peter Hensel has worn many hats in the comics industry. Starting as a fan, he moved into becoming a successful retailer and, most recently has jumped into the creator pool with his book, Suspense Stories of The Silent. Peter’s passion for comics has always been evident in our conversations, so when he set on creating his own project, I knew I wanted to talk to him about it. I think you’ll find Peter (much like I do) to have a lot of insight into comics and what makes them so great. So check out our chat and then make sure to support the Kickstarter campaign, so we can all get this book in our hands!
Monkeys Fighting Robots:So Peter, what’s your comic book origin? How did you get into comics? Peter Hensel:I always knew that the real world just wasn’t for me. Virtues like truth, and compassion for those weaker than me, these values always felt within me, and comics always taught and reflected the goodness I wished the real world held. For me I’ve always been into comics, in my earliest memories I was already a fan of Sonic (The Hedgehog) comics. I guess the deeper question would be how did I get into the real world because I’ve never felt not into comics. Growing up, I never really did have schoolyard friends. I played Magic: The Gathering, though, and pretty much grew up in comic and card stores. I volunteered for tournament help and got paid in store credit for comics, so as I was a teenager it just always felt like I had a stack of comics I was waiting to read, and going to the library, I found my comic reading never had to end if I had the will to make one trip to the library! Which I could bike to, so I really never did run out of comics to read. Still, have some. I got into drawing comics after I wrote several sci-fi novels and self-published them. I enjoy writing prose, I really do, but in my entire prose writing, I did feel like I was just compensating for not knowing how to draw things. And so, my first gig actually making comics was William Hoffknecht of 100% Comics offering me the chance to write my own 1963-universe licensed story! I learned how to color and letter after receiving the first pages, and have started to draw on my own, too. Although don’t worry, Suspense Stories of The Silent is only gonna have a couple of doodles from me! A whole bullpen worth of artistic talent is bringing my written vision to life.
MFR: You’re also a comics retailer, with your own shop. How did you end up running a comic shop? And did that affect the way you saw the medium? PH:Well, the shop was born out of two moments. One was me genuinely wanting to support and influence the whole medium, not just as a customer deciding to purchase individual copies for myself, but as a store ordering multiple copies and supporting underground, less well-known titles. I want the shop to be a place where readers can discover things they’ve never encountered before. This was a fantasy I had for many years before actually opening up. The other motivating factor was, at one point in my early 20s, I had way too many back issue boxes. They started taking up the living room of a shared apartment instead of just my bedroom, so instead of having roommate issues, I did bring them to my first convention and then got a storage unit right after so my comics wouldn’t take up my whole life. The store came two years later when my Life Partner believed in me and a stable space enough to push me to lease my first very small month-to-month space in a San Antonio Mall. Through my time as a retailer, I’ve seen almost every type of comic either offered as a new one to order or in a box from someone trying to sell their collection to the store. All that time spent observing them, I kept imagining a comic that hasn’t looked like any comic I had seen before. Suspense Stories of the Silent #1 is that Eldritch comic from an unknown universe.
MFR: So what exactly is Suspense Stories of the Silent? Do you have a Hollywood-style “elevator pitch” for our readers? PH:It’s the debut of a character with ages worth of history. Three different eras of stories relate to the raw golden age origin, the fun and vibrant swing of post comics code silver age, and his cyberpunk maturity in a technological mystery. All of the stories pay attention to what suspense they leave the reader in, and really focus on the idea that a story needs to have an element of mystery and intrigue resolved by a twist ending. EC Comics’ short stories are a major influence on how these suspense stories try to tell as much with as little as possible. The Silent part does not mean the comics themselves are without words, but that the hero never does speak up and say anything. The people start to call him The Silent because he never provides any words, except to his young fan Gerald who grows up to become his superheroic companion that we meet in “Planet of the Sapes”. Unlike older EC comics, there is a clear narrative connection between all the stories, and it is intended for fans of bizarre bronze age back issues and extra especially meant for the smart and thoughtful Detective-like reader who appreciates subtle fantasies and obvious enigmas.
MFR: So once the idea was born, how did you go about getting the project started? What would you say was your very first step? And did have an A to Z plan from the beginning? PH:In a group meeting for 100% Comics Giant Sized ’63 Special, some of the characters didn’t have licensing rights, specifically the Ultimate Secret Agent, so calling upon the Jim Steranko Death of Captain America arc where publicly the American hero dies, the alter ego still lives on, shifting identities. Immediately, realizing that Ulysses Samson Armstrong’s voice would be instantly recognized from radio and newsreels, we decided to call him the Silent Minority. I went on to make the giant-sized 63 story with him and his falcon-like sidekick as minor cameos, but the idea of a hero who aged throughout the 40s through the comics code and beyond stayed with me. I made a comic special about my store Gotham Newsstand as a fictional 1946 store that the Silent M helped save from a violent body-doubling speculator-type character, and from there I knew he was gonna have a life of his own. Initially, I thought the second comic would come quickly, but I realized it would be best to work ahead as it has a pretty spicy cliffhanger, so I’m already more than halfway done with #2, and this Kickstarter is to raise funds to offset print this series on old newsprint styled pages, instead of keep it a smaller run modern digitally printed comic. So this Kickstarter is about making this an ongoing series instead of a three-issue mini-series, too, by raising a lot of interest which is even more important than the money were trying to raise in this campaign. To answer the second part, I’d say I planned the whole story together a year and a half ago, yea. Making the art and all the pages is taking a great amount of time focusing on each aspect of it. I didn’t quite plan to meet as excellent and eager an artist to make #3 happen, and the many plot and writing contributions from my artists have been incredible visions that became the future.
MFR: What would you say is something new you learned about the medium by creating this comic? Like do you see it differently now? PH:I had no idea of the tremendous amount of effort and revision that goes into every single page. On some of these pages, I dashed off a quick idea for a composition thinking about what issue #3 or #5 is gonna be like, but that random idea is so far away from now, considering the production time of the artists and the ability I have to raise or save personal money to pay them for their time… You really have to believe in the short little seven-page idea to see it through the many months from idea to the layouts to penciling to inking, then to lettering or coloring concerns. I learned to kind of sift ideas and leave some waiting, and to kind of reach for my own group of developed ideas when the time comes to go the studio with the artist and make what was loose and malleable into something molded and unchangeable. I initially learned how to color and letter my own pages to allow greater control and lower the costs of the project, but that has quickly become my own area of joy. Simply hand lettering some dialogue or finding the right way to shade colors on top of different colors, reproducing old school ben day dot coloring techniques with modern printing styles really has led me to see the old Copper and Bronze Age comics as something an intense amount of attention that many people gave. That sense of a letterer handling every page, then the colorist looking over everything too, really leads to more refined, elaborate pages, and I want to bring that sense of a whole group making a comic to these pages.
MFR: Let’s talk influences. Who are some of your favorite cartoonists? And since you found a love for lettering and coloring, do you have favorites in those as well?PH:Erik Larsen is my favorite cartoonist, of all time. Sometimes the stories are more about the set style, sometimes they’re talking heads exploration of a society with superheroes. They’re almost always funny, and each issue is a self-contained chunk of story that functions as its own moment and often reads differently in collected edition form. As an editor, Erik got lots of talent to tell his universe’s stories with the Image spinoffs Freak Force, Superpatriot, and Star, and in this first issue I function more as an editor overseeing his own creation than a full-on cartoonist. Although I did get nervous with this Kickstarter coming out and finished drawing a fourteen-page mini-comic story, I do want to cartoon, and visually I have tried drawing in the styles of Jaime Hernandez, butch guice, and Jack Davis to get a handle on anatomy, angles, and facial expressions before making my own pages. As a colorist, I learned a lot looking at the coloring of Cheis O’Halloran in Ice Cream Man. Using color shifts to convey the unreality of the Ice Cream Man encounters, or, sometimes, memories, delusions, temptations, and desires is all well done by establishing meaning behind background shifts and shifts in textures, among other decisions, too. You know, as a writer, W Maxwell Prince on Ice Cream Man and his other short works really inspired the emphasis on short forms, as well as Erik Larsen. The letterer I learned the most from is Tom Orzecowski and his amazing efforts in the Claremont X-Men at guiding your eye across the story with the design of lettering, sometimes foregoing captions and being able to capture different voices through different fonts and effects, too. For coloring though I spent a lot of time looking at a lot of older comics and how to emulate the Ben Day dot effects with many different layers of colored screen tone to achieve secondary colors and offset effects. Glynis Wein and Marie Severin are two of the best old-school colorists. They often color figures an unreal color, say orange when they erupt in anger, or maybe a chill. purple when they calm down. Or in memory sequences the backgrounds are red and all characters and foreground figures are light blue. They say a lot with simple color choices so the rest of the page’s elements can shine through.
MFR: Personally, I have loved seeing you grow as a creator. And it’s obvious you have a deep passion and understanding of the medium! PH:Thanks for that, Manny. I started drawing in a Zoom ‘zine group across the screen from you and it means a lot you’ve seen the growth.
MFR: So where can people find you and your work?
PH:Right now the most important place is the Kickstarter for Suspense Stories #1. The same books will be available through Gotham Newsstand’s Big Cartel as they do release. right now there are the store’s couple exclusive variants and the couple books I’ve published so far.
The premise is simple: read one comic every day for the entire year. It seems like a simple task but there is no way that I read 365 comics last year, even if you count the individual issues in collections. So, this year, I am committing myself to this reading challenge, in the hope that I can broaden my reading habits and fully engage with my favorite hobby again.
Some weeks are busier than others, and it can be difficult to find time to read some comics, never mind write about them. This week was all about catching up on new comics, comics that have been released in the last few weeks that I haven’t gotten around to reading yet. One of the reasons they start to build up is the aforementioned time issue, but another factor is that I’m reading more and more in a digital format these days. I barely go to a comic book shop, and I buy new comics even less. I’m lucky enough to have access to a few preview comics and our library has some good digital content so I don’t need to sign up to Comixology or Marvel Unlimited.
Although, I find it harder to read comics on a computer than I do picking up an actual physical copy. There is something to be said for the materiality of a comic book. The physical weight seems to imbue the narrative with metaphysical weight and makes the reading experience more real. A computer is artificial in nature and, for me at least, the screen creates a distance between myself and the comic, like a realization of the fourth wall. I find it harder to become immersed in a comic on a computer. The knock on effect is that I put off reading the digital comics building up in my special folder marked “comics.”
Of course, the other problem I have with a lot of new comics that I read is that they just aren’t very good. Imagine flicking through the television channels and there is nothing but Police Procedurals on. One or two of them might be worth watching, another few might do if you can’t find anything else, but the majority aren’t even going to make you stop flicking. That’s how I feel about the comic industry at the moment. The main publishers aren’t putting out many titles that I’m even intrigued by, never mind ones that I find irresistible.
It happens with comics. It comes in waves. I’m not saying there aren’t any good comics at the moment, I’m just saying it’s harder for me to find ones that I’m interested in. Maybe San Diego Comic Con will bring a slew of new title announcements to get my engines revving again.
Planet of Apes #4 Credit: Marvel Comics
Comic Number 196: Planet of the Apes #4 (Marvel)
From the ending of this issue, I am led to believe this is the penultimate issue. I even started to search for the Marvel solicitations to see if there was an issue after number 5 but the whole experience was bringing out the grumpy old man within so I gave it up. I have better things to do with my time.
Unfortunately, reading this iteration of Planet of the Apes is not to be considered as better things. It has been a disappointment so far. This entire issue is a fight on a boat with a voice over conversation that is, in essence, simply an information dump. The artwork is okay, and displays some moments of impressive action but there’s no depth to it. No wonder or excitement. Even the badly translated Indonesian PotA comics have a hook to get you reading. They may be dreadful in a number of ways but they also have a sincerity and a clear love of the franchise. This Marvel comic feels like a standard Marvel comic with all the trappings that come with being published through a massive corporation. I have read good things from David F Walker previously but this series has been a missed opportunity to really re-light the Planet of the Apes comic series. BOOM! Studios did a fantastic job with the franchise, and historically, Marvel opened up the simian world. Where previous series have been the chimpanzees and orangutans, developing ideas and creating political intrigue, this series is the heavy handed gorilla, bashing its way through the narrative in the hopes that it will come out on top at the end.
The Savage Strength of Star Storm #2 Credit: Image Comics
Comic Number 197: The Savage Strength of Star Storm #2 (Image Comics)
The series opener for Star Storm didn’t impress me at all. But occasionally, a bad first issue can lead to something greater. Issue 1 may have just been finding its feet, working through the kinks etc. Unfortunately, this second issue hasn’t succeed in finding its way.
The plot is very disconnected, with narrative elements appearing and disappearing with no explanation. The opening sequence is heavy with exposition that sets up the story, allowing the characters and the action to move from a funeral to a zombie attack via a family drama involving a vigilante mob princess. With more consideration, the narrative could have flowed more smoothly and the onslaught of story threads might have been less jilting.
The artwork doesn’t help the fast pace of the narrative, either. For large parts, the characters are quite static and inhabit awkward panels. For example, in once scene, two characters have a conversation in a panel while all of the other characters are lined up as if they are waiting for a bus. There is no visual or narrative need for such a composition and it pulls the reader out of the story. There are also some inconsistencies within the artwork, such as characters clothes changing between panels when there was no indication of time passing. This also makes it difficult to follow the fast flow of this story because, as a reader, you are stopping to re-read sections for narrative clarity.
I found this comic to be a frustrating read. This is a story brimming with over the top characters and an outlandish B-Movie plot, which could be very entertaining. Unfortunately, those elements are lost in a visual style that doesn’t embrace the unique qualities of modern comics and a narrative that doesn’t take the time it needs to introduce the different elements. At the moment, Star Storm has all of the toys out of the box but isn’t sure which ones it wants to play with.
Con & On #1 Credit: Ahoy
Comic Number 198: Con & On (Ahoy)
I don’t really like being negative about comics but occasionally it is difficult to find good things to say about something (see Comic Number 197). With Con & On #1, I wasn’t sold on the whole narrative but I enjoyed the way it was told, if that makes sense? To put it another way, I didn’t really care for the setting and the plot but the script was brilliant and the artwork delightful. It’s like watching a ballet and appreciating the talent of the dancers and respecting the choreography of each sequence but not really liking ballet.
The characters in this comic are wonderfully written, especially the caricatures of the comic creators and the obvious reference to the British Invasion. The narrative may seem to paint the comic industry in a poor light, but writer Paul Cornell is such a positive person, it is difficult to imagine this comes from a place of bitterness. The negative elements are more like that feeling of disappointment in a friend when they do something wrong.
Marika Cresta’s artwork is wonderful and captures the excitement, over whelming, chaos that is the convention scene. The layouts contain many overlapping panels, the building blocks of comics stacked on top of each other as if they haven’t quite found their place on the page. This mirrors the central characters journey through this opening issue because they are young enthusiasts looking for their place in the industry.
Con & On is a comic about the industry, it understands comics as a medium, and has an interesting collection of characters to follow. It has a lot going for it.
Dead Romans #5 Credit: Image Comics
Comic Number 199: Dead Romans #5 (Image Comics)
Every issue of this that has come out has impressed me. Fred Kennedy, Nick Marinkovich, Jose Villarrubia, and Andrew Thomas and doing a superb job of creating a comic that looks outstanding.
This issue shows the reader the cost of living with Rome from the point of the invader and the invaded. It also highlights the reach of the Roman Empire, demonstrated through the mix of nationalities that ride with a Roman army. As exciting as the story is, the historical facts seem to ring true, though I am not an expert.
It goes without saying that I love this series, I’ve mentioned every issue in this ongoing project. The subject matter fascinates me (I am currently listening to the audio version of Simon Scarrow’s Death to the Emperor and reading Pompeii by Robert Harris) and the artwork in this comic looks fresh and exciting. I could read this every week.
Antarctica #1 Credit: Image Comics
Comic Number 200: Antarctica #1 (Top Cow Productions)
Go into this one cold, if you can. I did and it really paid off. Therefore, stop reading this and go read Antarctica instead…
Gone? Good.
I knew nothing about this comic when I read it so I really got caught out when the crime mystery took a science fiction turn right at the end. You knew something was coming; Simon Birks teased at it all the way through, and there is something about Wili Roberts’ artwork that hints at a science fiction story. I can’t quite put my finger on what it is.
There are some impressive moments in this comic. Take the second page as an example. The same location drawn at different times, across a number of the years but featuring the same characters. They stack on the page like color coded emotion with the final panel featuring a heart breaking moment in the central characters life. You really feel for Hannah at that moment. It is a magnificent piece of storytelling.
There is another moment in the comic with the exact same page layout, five widescreen panels, with a single viewpoint. It’s as if these traumatic moments in Hannah’s life affect her in the same way, that they are linked in some way.
Antarctica is an impressive opening to a comic book series. The first issue draws the reader in by focusing on the central character and following her step by step from childhood to the world altering cliffhanger. One to keep an eye on.
Blade #1 (2023) Credit: Marvel Comics
Comic Number 201: Blade #1 (Marvel 2023)
I read the new Blade comic.
Insert shrugging emoji here.
It was just a coincidence that this came out this week because me and my son watched the first movie last weekend (He was curious what it was. He enjoyed it). I took that as a sign to read the new comic. I don’t know why I do this. Marvel just isn’t giving me anything at the moment. I should just step away. This is a good comic that will appeal to Marvel readers, but that’s not me at the moment. Check out the reviews by people who have more of a stake in this game.
Alien #4 Credit: Marvel Comics
Comic Number 202: Alien #4 (Marvel 2023)
What did I literally just say about Marvel?!?!
The Alien franchise, much like the Planet of the Apes franchise, is one of those properties where I enjoy the extended universe. I never really got into the Doctor Who books or the vast array of Star Wars comics, however I have always enjoyed a good Alien comic. The early Dark Horse comics (published at first by Titan comics in the UK in collected form and by Trident in a monthly magazine) have been regular reads of mine for years. Just like the films they are entertainment of the greatest order. They swing through the genres from horror to war story to allegory and center on the human condition.
However, the latest Alien output has been less than great. The first series that Marvel put out was plagued with problematic art thanks to the controversial working practices of the artist, but it also suffered from mediocre narratives and lackluster scripts. At least Thaw, written by Declan Shalvey, has a punchy script and fast paced action similar in vain to the 1986 Aliens movie. Andrea Broccardo’s artwork is more fluid and suits the story being told. It is a well rounded comic but does suffer from overused story elements.
All in all, it has been a good reading week, despite the lack of time I’ve had to actually pick any comics up. Reading brand new comics is more of a challenge than reading older ones from my collection, the quality is more varied and sometimes it is difficult to find anything positive to say. Either because the comic isn’t very good or, as is more often the case, it doesn’t appeal to me on a personal level. I have become so tired of the superhero genre that I give it a wide berth and I’m always disappointed when I dip my toe back in but it’s very rarely the fault of the creators. It is a genre, as a whole, that has lost its appeal for me.
