A copy of GODZILLA: FINAL WARS. One that will play in a Region One player. Or even one on VHS. I don’t care. But I’m a huge fan of the big green ass-kicker, and I’m sick of waiting for an undetermined U.S. release of the film. And I know it’s running around out there. So if you have it, and are willing to help a brother out, your comic collection will grow by at least ten. Okay? First person to contact me and actually come through gets the books.

SECOND, I’m in looking for new and cool music. Specifically, I’d like to hear a variety of things. So, the first five people who send mix CDs get comics packs, too. Any that arrive after that get put into a drawing for a larger pack of books I’ll send out later this summer. Make sure your name, mailing address, and e-mail are included, and e-mail me if you have any questions. Got it? Good.

In the meantime, this week’s column finds me pressed for time (and incredibly tired). I spent a lot of time working on a pitch for a new comic this week, and when I got to the end, I realized that I had written a completely different story than the one I started with. So now I basically have to start over. On the bright side, the story I wound up writing was much better, and figuring out the lead character led me through some very interesting research.

OWLY VOL. 2: JUST A LITTLE BLUE
Written and Drawn by Andy Runton
Published by Top Shelf

The first OWLY volume made my “Top Ten of 2004” column last year, and (between you and more) was my personal favorite. Runton’s tale of the unlikely friendship between an owl and a worm and their further adventures was a bright shining beacon in the dark sea of DIASSEMBLED IDENTITY RAPE COMIX that ruled the sales charts last year. With simple strokes of the pen conveying complex emotion and growth, OWLY promoted the concept that it is truly the content of a being’s heart that makes them wondrous.

Volume two is more of the wonderful, beautiful same. Owly and Wormy decide to do something nice for the local hummingbirds and build them a home. However, the papa hummingbird doesn’t trust Owly (because, well, he’s an owl) and rebuffs their efforts in an angry manner, breaking their hearts. But the weather can be a harsh mistress, and that decision may cost the hummingbird family their lives, unless they can learn to trust Owly and his intentions.

There’s more depth of spirit in these pages than you’ll get from any major publisher this year, and the book can be enjoyed by young and old alike. It isn’t a coincidence that Top Shelf released a brand-new OWLY adventure as its entry for Free Comic Book Day; OWLY stands as a representative of the best that comics have to offer. Grade: A+

FILLER
Written by Rick Spears and Drawn by Rob G
Published by AiT/PlanetLar

FILLER is a book with a really terrific premise that doesn’t quite knock that premise out of the park.

John Dough is background, a guy who fades into the ether. He lives on the fringes of society, unnoticed. He makes his money not from holding a 9-to-5, but from doing things like donating plasma… or filling out police lineups. Never the star. But one day he makes the mistake of helping a hooker who’s been beaten by her pimp, and he suddenly finds himself at the center of the story… or as close as a guy like him gets.

It’s difficult to put my finger on just where FILLER skews away from its potential. It certainly hits the right beats for a noir story: there’s a tough guy at the center who makes a moral choice that bites him in the ass; a femme fatale who leads him around by his dick just long enough to make him stupid; a perfectly framed crime; a delicious revenge plotted out. But somehow the elements just don’t gel into something that transcends the genre or even into something that thrill you despite the genre. Two things do jump out, however; the decision to print the book in black & white with red highlights works against the book. It invites unfair comparisons to SIN CITY (which anything in the genre will these days) but more than that the red seems to eliminate detail from Rob G’s art. What we see here lacks the rich detail we see in TEENAGERS FROM MARS and THE COURIERS. I think the book might have looked better in black & white with greytones and would have served his art in better fashion.

But the real sticker is the bizarre meta turn that Dough’s story takes in the last third of the book. It feels like the book is cheating at that point. I know it’s meant to be an ironic take on the book’s concept and title, but Dough’s tale was working fine without it. There are a lot of good things in this book, and it entertained me nicely for the first two-thirds, but the ending lost me. And lost the book a better grade. Grade: B

HACK/SLASH: COMIC BOOK CARNAGE
Written by Tim Seeley and Drawn by Federica Manfredi
Published by Devil’s Due

I was surprised at how much I liked the last entry of this series. It was my first exposure to what I thought sounded like an immature and exploitive concept: hot young, scantily clad girl and her monstrous assistant travel around and try to kill “slasher” killers. Instead, it turned out to be a nicely self-aware take on the genre and it was very entertaining. And the concept would certainly make good films.

This time around, Seeley’s creations find themselves in the middle of a comics convention, as a slasher is striking at comics pros. The first to die is Steve Niles, and it certainly looks like the culprit was no fan of Niles’ new “grim and dark” take on a classic superhero character. Hi co-writer, Robert Kirkman, could be the next to die, and if he goes, could artist Skottie Young and colorist Messy Stench be far behind?

This HACK/SLASH entry is a good leap forward for the series, as it demonstrates that the characters can be used for more than wacky meta-commentaries on the horror genre. Instead, Seeley takes dead aim at the comics industry and some of the dumber trends that continue to infest modern comics (see: DIASSEMBLED IDENTITY RAPE COMIX). Taking a nod from Robert Rodi’s near-perfect novel WHAT THEY DID TO PRINCESS PARAGON, we get a fan who is pissed about the abuse of his childhood icons and ready to do something about it… even kill. It’s a damned funny (and sad) reminder of just how seriously some scary people out there take comics. Brrr.

Of course, what seals the deal and makes this book a complete winner is the ending, which demonstrates mightily the truest axiom about the comics industry: nobody even fucking learns ANYTING. Not even at gunpoint. Grade: A-

FELT: TRUE TALES OF UNDERGROUND HIP HOP
Written and Drawn by Jim Mahfood
Published by Image Comics

This is one of the more interesting experiments we’ll likely see in comics this year. Mahfood, a fantastic cartoonist, DJ, and all around talented guy, has taken Felt’s newest hip hop album, dissected it in his mind, pulled pieces from it, and delivered a concept comic based upon the songs and their lyrics.

Each song is represented as separate short story piece, along with some static spoken-word interludes which I can only guess might be direct lifts from the disc. Mahfood let’s his imagination run completely wild, offering up parodies of FEAR AND LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS, a hilariously subtle adaptation of a song passage devoted to the worship of a woman’s pubic hair, and a terrific homage to classic romance comics. That may sound all over the map, but it works. The reason? Because you have to focus back on the words.

Grade: A

THE COMICS JOURNAL #267
Published by Fantagraphics

This latest issue of the JOURNAL tackles the aftermath of Will Eisner’s recent passing, Eisner’s legacy, his influence on today’s modern comics creator, his contributions to the American military, and how Eisner remembered his own life. It’s comprehensive, staggering in the level of detail it presents on the man whose name graces comics’ highest award, and it shouldn’t be missed by anyone with a legitimate curiosity about what the name “Will Eisner” means to sequential art.

There are so many standout pieces in this issue that it’s difficult to pick a favorite. I think what bears noting is that they aren’t all sloppy wet kisses to the man; the JOURNAL has always been dedicated to removing facades and even in Eisner’s passing, they treat him no differently than they would anyone else. We get a warts and all picture of the man, and we’re better for it. Eisner was human, fallible, and it’s important that we remember that.

I enjoyed the pieces from Bill Sherman, Steven Grant, and Dirk Deppey (an interview about Eisner with Mike Ploog that informs Eisner’s post-SPIRIT career in amazing fashion) in particular. But oddly, it was a passage in Dave Sim’s piece that struck home for me.

Sim mentions that he had stopped buying Eisner’s newer works years ago. Not because he felt like his work had deteriorated, but because he knew that Eisner was aging and nearing the end of his output, and the thought of there coming a day when there was no new Eisner to read was very troubling. Having those books out there unread prevented him from ever reaching that end. I immediately understood the disappointment he was talking about, not only with Eisner, but also with others whose work I admire. Nicely put, Dave. Grade: A

SQUA TRONT #11
Published by Fantagraphics

SQUA TRONT is an interesting animal, a bookshelf quality zine devoted to EC Comics. This volume is dedicated to the work of the great John Severin, and Severin’s cover in itself makes the book worth your purchase. Gorgeous.

However, if you like content, there’s plenty here. There’s a lengthy interview with Severin himself that reads like a DVD commentary. The interviewer, Jim Vadeboncouer, had sent Severin a huge stack of his older work and then went through it with him issue by issue to get his comments. It’s a stunning trip down memory lane with one of the all-time greats, and it was a thrill to read it. There’s also a career-spanning checklist of Severin’s work at the end of the issue as well.

This volume also contains non-Severin material, including some wonderfully written pieces on the history of EC. But the heart of the book, and the reason to pick it up, is this brilliant creator. See to it. Grade: A-

See you in seven.

Review materials may be sent to: Marc Mason, P.O. Box 26732, Tempe, AZ 85285. You can also find me at Happy Nonsense and The Comics Waiting Room

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