Rereads

I just got paid up for the 2012 Edition of SPACE, the Small Press Alternative Comics Expo. SPACE is one of my favorite shows of the year, a very friendly, laid back show that's chock full of great creators and great comix. It's the only show where I've actually managed to make some legitimate friends. It's a lovely show and horribly underrated.

I've been rereading some stuff lately. I was rereading Bill Sienkowitz's "Stray Toasters", or I should say, I'm trying to reread it. "Stray Toasters" was an odd book that Mr. Sienkowitchz created for Marvel's long buried EPIC line back in the 80s. The imagery from the book has been a definitive influence on my own style, most notably in the creation of Broken Tea Cup (even the name was a subtle nod to "Stray Toasters" as well as Ted McKeever's "Plastic Forks", another influence). The story behind "Stray Toasters" is about isolation, child abduction, madness, and... um, other stuff. The art is the real draw of the comic, as Sinkowickowitchowsky experiments with Art and Storytelling in all sorts of wild and dynamic ways. It's a purty comic, make no mistake. But...it's...well...it's kinda boring. It's not just that the art is so indecipherable that you have to devote tons of effort just to try to figure out what the hell is going on. Okay, that's part of it. But, it's just not a very interesting or entertaining story. To make matters worse the overly complex artwork largely succeeds in distancing the reader from the characters, who probably would be fairly complex and interesting if they weren't portrayed in such a wooden and distant manner. In my opinion, if you want to argue the validity of Substance trumping Style, this book is a good example of how a book that's all Style and no Substance can be weak. All in all, I'm glad I've got a copy, but I think there was a reason why this particular comic has been largely lost to antiquity.

Before I continue, I'd like to note that is possible to create a comic that is visually interesting/experimental that still has a compelling story with deep characters. If you've never read it, Dave McKean's excellent "Cages" is a perfect example of a brilliant marriage of Style and Substance.

I also just reread Jack Kirby's "The Demon". The Demon is kinda odd in that it's the only Kirby creation from the 70s that other people actually did more with than Kirby. What I mean is that, honestly, all of Kirby's most famous creations from the 60s were eventually taken up by other creators and improved upon. (I would like to take a second to note how hard it was for me to make the preceding statement. I am literally gritting my teeth as I write this. But as devoted as I am to the King, there's no denying the success of Claremont's X-Men, Byrne's Fantastic Four, Simonson's Thor, Peter David's Hulk, and...um... I dunno, pick your favorite Avengers writer and insert their name here. I'm partial to Busiek's run myself. Having said that, NONE of those guys have ever matched the Raw Power and Inventiveness of those original Kirby books. Whew, I feel better now.) Anyway, most of Kirby's 70s creations were never successfully improved upon. Lots of people tried, but no one was ever able to get a grip on this horde of bizarre characters and concepts (which, incidentally, is why I'm I enjoy the 70s work so much. It's pure Kirby, and there's nothing anyone else has done to compare it to). Except for the Demon. Lots of people have used the Demon to great effect. He's had Series, Mini-series, and played a minor role in several notable works, including Neal Gaiman's "Sandman" and Alan Moore's "Saga of the Swamp Thing". With the possible exception of Darksied, he's appeared in more Animated Stuff than any other Kirby character from the 70s. And there's probably a reason for that. "The Demon" was an odd duck for Kirby. Most of Kirby's Heroes fell into one of two categories: Die-Hard, Tough as Nails Soldiers Battling the Forces of Evil and Injustice OR Cosmic Hippies Seeking Peace and Enlightenment in a Chaotic Universe. Etrigan the Demon, on the other hand, is a Cackling, Reckless, Vicious Beast from Hell whose only interests appear to be remorselessly slaughtering the forces of evil and serving his master, Merlin. It was a horror series by a creator who had done just about every type of comic, ever, but had only dabbled in Horror.

Rereading the comic, at first, I was about to write it off. It's an awkward book in many ways. And there appears to be times that Kirby's just going through the motions, most notably in a three issue story arc where, once again, Kirby taps into his obsession with Frankenstien's Monster (seriously, one of these days I'm gonna count up how many times Kirby used a "Frankenstien" in his books. In fact, there's a Frankenstien-bit in Kirby's "Forever People" AND "Jimmy Olsen" just a year or two prior). BUT, all criticisms aside, having reread the comics, there's some pretty kick ass stuff in here. First off, NO ONE has EVER designed Monsters the way Kirby did. And the Demon is chock full of cool, crazy, bizarre monsters. The other thing that really clicked with me upon rereading this material was that there is an expertly executed sense of Mood in these comics. Whereas other creators (myself included) would use blood and gore to create a horrific atmosphere, Kirby used Atmosphere to create an oppressively Dark Mood. It's something I didn't really pick up on at first (cause I'm an idiot), but it's there. It's similar, in a way, to those Japanese Horror Films from the Early Millenium. As always, Kirby was ahead of his times. No surprise there.

Also, all the stuff with Klarion the Witchboy was inspired.

I'm also rereading "OMAC". I have no criticism of that series. It's the Greatest Comic Ever Made by Anyone in the History of Ever. Poor Kieth Giffen's got his work cut out for him.

Side Note: I was describing "The Eternals" to Bro once, and I called it "The Greatest Comic Ever Made by Anyone Whose Name Wasn't Jack Kirby". That way I can call it a Greatest Comic Ever while still admitting that it's not quite as good as the Fantastic Four, Thor, the Fourth World or OMAC. Having said that, that scene where the Prime Celestial has the Formula for Eradicating All Life on Earth on HIS THUMB is the single most Awesome Page of Comics Art Ever. Just saying.