Normally, in this column, you see a spotlight book and then two or three other items down below that. But for issue fifty? A spotlight book, two more full books below it, and four comics. Seven books this week! See: truth in advertising. It really is a double-sized issue! Now… all those comics. All those trades and graphic novels. They aren’t gonna read and review themselves, right? Playtime is over. Let’s get to it, shall we? Oh! One thing that I want creators and publishers to red this column to know that could be of some use: I am friends with a number of other comics reviewing folks, and that comes in useful in one particular way for me. It helps me avoid “review bunching.” For instance, over a period of a couple of days last week, I know that a couple of friends each covered (to varying degrees) the hot new book from Sam Hiti, END TIMES. So that means I push back my review of that book for a couple of weeks. I try and find a fresh angle that maybe they didn’t cover. And people don’t read the front page of MPS and decide they don’t need to open this week’s column because they’ve already read about that book at least twice this week and don’t need to again that soon. Onward…

KYLE BAKER: CARTOONIST VOL.2
Written and Drawn by Kyle Baker
Published by Kyle Baker Publishing

Some of you may recall that I reviewed volume one late last year. If you didn’t read it, take a moment. I’ll wait.

Okay! So now you know how I feel about Kyle Baker. You know that I think he’s a giant in this field, and that he’s one of the few talents worth your dime every single time he puts out a project. You also know that, on a personal level, he’s my favorite comics creator. But that doesn’t mean I can’t be objective about his work.

That means I can stand here and steadfastly report that not every strip and gag in this collection is a solid homerun. There are a few that miss the mark and don’t tickle the funny bone, instead lightly grazing a rib as they whiz past. Kyle definitely isn’t perfect.

But honestly… who is? And a book where the creator bats 95% is more than what you can normally hope for. CARTOONIST VOLUME 2 is another wonderful and amusing piece of art, head and shoulders above almost everything else being published today.

Baker offers up a mix of multi-page stories along with a healthy section of single-panel gags that range from the heartfelt amusing to the sublime. It is in the opening story “Delight” that he grabs you and makes you pay deeper attention to what looks like a surface trifle. We see a small flying bug make his way to a ceiling lamp, only to get into the dish to see the light within and discover the dead bodies of countless others of his kind. Undaunted, the bug flies to the bulb and begins to hug and kiss it, until he too is dead at the bottom of the dish. And them Baker’s camera swings up to see the next bug peeking over the dish at the light with a look of lust in his eyes…

Here again, Baker engages your brain. Yes, it’s drawn rather amusingly, and sure, it does offer a nicely satiric look at the nature of human futility. But also then consider that Baker is also possibly taking a look at the comics industry as well. How many times have fans allowed themselves to be burned by the same old shit, day after day? How many times do we see Marvel or DC cancel a title because of low sales, and then resurrect it five years later, only to eventually cancel it for low sales again? How many small companies start out talking some shit about how they’re gonna make quality books that no one can ignore and that they’re gonna bury the big two, only to crash and burn a few years down the road (Mark Alessi, I’m looking at you)? “Delight” is too good, and Kyle Baker too smart, for me not to believe he’s making a bigger point here.

The bookend story in the volume is what really sets Baker apart from just about everyone else, though. Baker is clearly a devoted father, and he actually explained publicly that his young daughter Lillian protested the ending he had written for his first PLASTIC MAN arc so much that he changed it to make her happy. Lillian gets a nod here again, as the final gag in the book is an adaptation of a “joke” she told daddy so he would put it in one of his books. Now, call me an enormous sap, but if you can’t get a warm and fuzzy out of it when you read it, your heart should be checked to make sure it hasn’t turned to some form of masonry.

One thing you notice about Baker’s work here and in the first volume, is the sparseness of dialogue. The majority of his stories and gags are told without words of any kind. Many artists wouldn’t be satisfied without adding additional “voice” to the process, but Baker never seems to fall into that trap. It also makes me read and deconstruct the panels with a bit more of an analytical eye to make sure I don’t miss anything.

Reviewing Baker’s work, I find myself worrying that it sounds like I work for him in a PR capacity. The thing is, though, is that he really is just that good. If you’re looking for a high quality book, and one that you can share with someone who doesn’t normally read comics, then this book, and the rest of Baker’s oeuvre are for you. Grade: A+

SIBAM?

As a collection of cartoon shorts, there obviously isn’t an adaptable film to be made from Baker’s work. However, you could do much worse than to start making animated shorts of his “The Bakers” pieces. They’d make perfect interstitials. And beyond that, in 2003 at San Diego, Baker was showing a trailer for an animated version of his great graphic novel, THE COWBOY WALLY SHOW. This is a project Baker is working on himself, and I, like many fans, can’t wait to see a finished product. I have no doubt it would be an instant animated classic, just as the book was an instant classic itself.FINISHES

THE PAIN- WHEN WILL IT END?
Written and Drawn by Tim Kreider
Published by Fantagraphics Books

Kreidler, a cartoonist based out of Baltimore, shows a deft eye for the absurdist nature of modern life in this collection of gags. Whether it’s a panel of a rather homely, hairy, and overweight man looking happily in the mirror titled “Male Anorexia,” Gandhi proclaiming on his deathbed that he “always wanted to whap a lady in the face with his willie,” or a disembodied brain in a jar imaging his nurse nude in “It Never Ends,” Kreidler has something to amuse and offend everyone. A fair share of the gags fall flat, which isn’t a surprise, but the ones that hit are solid, put ‘em up in your cubicle kind of stuff. Not for the faint of heart either way. Grade: B

ATTACK OF THE POLITICAL CARTOONISTS
Written and Drawn by Various, Edited by J.P. Trostle
Published by Dork Storm Press

Now this is an interesting book. One part collection, and one part “Who’s Who,” this book brings to light the work of 150 different editorial cartoonists of every gender, ethnicity, and political leaning. Each one is given a page in this over-sized book, sharing their biographical details, the places where their work can be seen, the awards they’ve one, and panels that demonstrate the best that they have to offer. It’s instructive for the reader to see this stuff, particularly because some of these artists are not widely syndicated. As for myself, I found that I respected the work of artists whose political leanings were as far away from mine as possible, and was happy to get the opportunity to read it. I’m not precisely sure what the exact audience is for the book, but I think it’s long overdue that someone put it together. Grade: B+

SAN DIEGO STACK: PART ONE

SUPER REAL PREVIEW BROADCAST
Written and Drawn by Jason Martin
Published by Super Real Graphics

This is essentially an “issue zero” for what Martin is calling a “graphic series” due this fall. Essentially, SUPER REAL is the story of a group of twenty-somethings who are cast in a reality show about people to be given super powers. Now, matching comics to the reality trend has been a bit of a trend itself in comics as of late (WILDGUARD springs to mind), so it will be incumbent on Martin to make sure he sets his book apart from the others. The characters he introduces here are either a smart look at reality V or the downfall of the book- they’re straight from central casting, slotting in nicely to the reality TV clichés we see on every show. Now, if Martin uses that to his advantage for satiric purposes and to set up surprises for the reader, he’s in good shape. If he lets them stay stereotypes, this book is screwed. The art is a little rough and could use some smoothing, but in all, this has come potential. Grade: B

FADE FROM GRACE #1
Written by Gabriel Benson and Drawn by Jeff Amano
Published by Beckett Comics

It had me at “Hello.” A romance with some super-powers thrown in, this is a lovely book with a stunning price point ($.99). John and Grace are a very happy couple that find an unusual catalyst thrown into their life. Attempting to rescue Grace from a fire in their apartment building, John discovers that he has powers beyond that of a mortal man, and eventually he and Grace come to the realization that he is morally bound to use them for the good of others, even at a cost to themselves. You just know this is gonna be a tragedy. Beautiful colors, excellent production values, and high potential make this a worthy read. Grade: A-

ALCATRAZ HIGH #1 and 2
Written and Drawn by Bobby Rubio
Published by Bobby Rubio

I had difficulty knowing what to make of ALCATRAZ HIGH. Set in a not-too-distant future, it is the story of a group of high school kids who attend a campus in perpetual lockdown (like a prison). Part whimsical and part darker satire, there’s a strange tonality going on here that gave me difficulty. I wasn’t quite sure how seriously I was supposed to take the book. That’s too bad, because there’s plenty here that works. In a total rarity, the main character is a young Hispanic boy, and he’s not thrust into a bad stereotype role the way too many characters of color are. He’s smart, quick-witted, and charming. The art also has a nice animated style to it, and the layouts are simple and tell the story effectively. But off-setting that is an error by Rubio that he should consider fixing before he puts out a trade paperback: he waits until the end of issue one, after we’ve seen football played by kids operating robots and a school with armed security drones, to explain the premise of the series. That leaves the reader confused and assists the tonality issue. Still, there’s room here to grow. Grade: B-

That’s all for this week! See you in seven!

Write Marc from the links provided. Review materials may be sent to: Marc Mason, P.O. Box 26732, Tempe, AZ, 85285. You can also find me at The Comics Waiting Room

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