CREEM ONLINE: Off Register

February 2005

Consider yourself warmly welcomed to the sixth installment of America's only rock 'n' roll comic book column!

IN THIS ISH: Angeltown: best new series of the year—Frank Cho does Shanna—Harold Gray’s lost western masterpiece—Superman and Batman conquer the world—Max Allan Collins’ crimestopper’s textbook—Waist deep in the big muddy with Joe Kubert and Sgt. Rock—The secret life of H.P. Lovecraft—George Herriman and Krazy Kat’s concrete love bouquet—Frank Kelly Freas’ most well-known painting—The dry wry wit of Kyle Baker and Plastic Man - Manga master Katsuhiro Otomo and Akira—The understated elegance of Bernard Krigstein—Art Spiegleman in the shadow of The Comics Journal.

MEANWHILE: Like most people, I went out on Boxing Day to trawl for bargains. Unlike most people, however, I spent most of my time in numerous comic book stores checking out what was new and noteworthy. And so, in no particular order, here are some of the more interesting comics-related publications that I picked up over the Holidays which get the CREEM Magazine Off Register Seal Of Approval and deserve a place in your bookshelf.

ANGELTOWN: Every time I see a black character in a comic book talk like general manager Theodore Long does on WWE’s Smackdown! my eyes roll up into the back of my head like the Undertaker’s. Y’feel me, playa?

That said, Vertigo’s new title Angeltown gets my unequivocal vote for best new limited series of the year—and yeah, I know it’s only January. Torn from today’s tabloids, this five part story titled “Baller” is ostensibly about a corn-rowed, trash-talkin’, thuggin’ ‘n’ buggin’ L.A. basketball star by the name of Theo Burnett (no relation to Sonny), who’s up on a murder rap that may be legit and, then again, may not.

But what really gives this series its gritty patina is the man hot on the one: Nate Hollis, the down ‘n’ dirty detective who’s in a race against time to locate the missing baller before someone else does. When the Angeltown movie gets made, this’ll be a perfect role for actor Laurence Fishburne—which alone should tell you what kind of no-nonsense cop Hollis is in Angeltown. And although I don’t know who the right actress would be to play the role of lissom bounty hunter Irma Ducet, man, would I ever like to sit in on that casting call.

Not meant for kids by any stretch of the imagination, writer Gary Phillips and artist Shawn Martinbrough have crafted an intelligent adult comic that more than lives up to its advance billing as a hardcore, hardboiled thriller. And while it has more than its fair share of sex and violence, the entire proceedings are tempered with an underlying layer of sharp caustic wit that sounds blue yet smacks true.

But as good as Martinbrough’s art is at conveying a hot urban environment, it’s colorist Lee Loughridge’s finely hued earth tones which give Angeltown it’s distinctive sunset vibrancy.

Angeltown is Miami Vice with balls.

Now b’lieve that.

SHANNA THE SHE-DEVIL: OK, so maybe I didn’t pick this one up over the holidays but, hey, any time one of the world’s greatest good girl artists comes up with a new pin up queen, that’s reason enough for me to celebrate.

And so should you, because Marvel has just published the first issue of Shanna The She-Devil which is written and drawn by Frank Cho. You know Cho: he’s the guy who gave the world Liberty Meadows or, more precisely, Liberty Meadows’ bodacious beauty Brandy. And yeah, I know that’s an alliterative three B’s in a row, but I couldn’t come up with the triple D that this book deserves, if you catch my drift.

Now I’ll be the first to admit that I expected this book to be little more than an excuse for a series of titillatin’ illustrations but, boy, was I ever a big boob for thinking that. Cho knows that you can only get so far with a skimpy come-on like that if there isn’t any solid meat on the bone to back it up. So I was pleasantly surprised to find that Shanna is a tense action-packed gore-fest that features a hoard of ravenous dinosaurs and the Nazi-created, super-charged, honey-haired goddess who enjoys slaughtering them with her bare hands.

Shanna The She-Devil is what Jurassic Park would have looked like, had it been directed by the late Russ Meyer. Only bloodier. A lot bloodier. And if the cover illustrations for the next five issues are any indication of what Cho has planned, you’d better start saving up your pennies now because you’re gonna need to buy two copies of Marvel’s Shanna The She-Devil every month. One to read and one to drool over.

Who says this isn’t the Marvel age of pulchritudinous pandemonium?

JOE KUBERT: Whether it’s a new album by Bob Dylan; a new movie by Clint Eastwood; or a new comic by CREEM artist Robert Crumb, as the long decades pass we begin to get complacent and take it for granted that these creators will always be around to enrich us with their personal visions. Then, when a George Harrison or an Alfred Hitchcock or a Will Eisner suddenly dies, not only do we mourn that they’re no longer around, we especially mourn that there’ll be no more Harrison albums, no more Hitchcock movies, and no more Eisner graphic novels.

So when semi-retired comics legend Joe Kubert steps out of the classroom to illustrate a brand new Sgt. Rock graphic novel some 50 years after he first co-created the World War II character with the late Robert Kanigher, you’d better believe that it’s an event not to be take lightly.

Of course, once an artist reaches his 70s and 80s, there’s always the chance that he’ll be too old to cut the aesthetic mustard. But, amazingly enough, Kubert’s artwork on Sgt. Rock: Between Hell And A Hard Place (Vertigo Books) shows very few signs of rust, if any. And because Kubert wisely eschews the use of any sound effects, the entire proceedings are cloaked with an apprehensive stillness that’s not at all unlike the eerie silent winter battle scene in Patton.

As for the writing, suffice it to say that anyone would be hard-pressed to emulate the terse dry wit of Kanigher in his prime. But, that said, even a certified card-carrying skeptic like myself has to admit that 100 Bullets author Brian Azzarello does a more than admirable job of crafting the same kind of heartfelt battlefield dialogue.

In Sgt. Rock: Between Hell And A Hard Place, not only is Easy Company faced with the dilemma of pushing through infested enemy lines, they also have a triple homicide on their hands to solve. And if you think Rock was a hard case in the past, just wait until you see how he reacts to the prospect of one of Easy being a cold-blooded murderer.

Trust me when I say that this taut barnburner is a vintage Our Army At War Sgt. Rock combat story. Now if only Kubert and Azzarello would come up with a new Enemy Ace graphic novel…

BERNARD KRIGSTEIN: The first time I really became aware of just how beautiful the late Bernard Krigstein’s artwork was, was back in 1972 when I saw his pages for Ray Bradbury’s “The Flying Machine” from Weird Science-Fantasy 23 gorgeously reproduced actual-size from the original 1953 art in Russ Cochran’s oversized EC Portfolio Two. The elegance of his fine line work was staggering and gave me a whole new appreciation for his talent.

Fantagraphics Books’ new B. Krigstein Comics hardcover by editor and art director Greg Sadowski is the companion volume to his equally-outstanding B. Krigstein Vol 1. And although it’s not quite as outsized as EC Portfolio One, this hefty coffee table book is nevertheless large enough to provide additional insight into Keigstein’s fluid style—whether it’s for a western, romance, or a horror story.

Of the 34 complete stories contained herein, most of the art is either computer scanned and restored from actual comic book pages, or reproduced directly from Krigstein’s own photostats. Equally fascinating is the thorough Notes section which details how the art was digitally restored and recolored, including comparisons to the actual printed comic book pages.

Many of the new pages were recolored by veteran Marvel artist and EC colorist Marie Severin, who candidly admits that she got the willies fifty years ago when she had to color “Pipe Dream,” Krigstein’s harrowing opium den tale which was written by Johnny Craig for Vault Of Horror 36. “I rushed through it. I didn’t want to know anything about dope.” Then she got déjà vu all over again a full half century later when she had to color the new digital restoration. “When I saw it again it brought back all those negative feelings.”

Go have a look for yourself and see what she means. I guarantee that Krigstein’s harrowing images will stay with you for the rest of your life, he’s that good.

SUPERMAN / BATMAN: Kicks keep gettin’ harder to find, but beginning with issue 14, DC’s Superman/Batman title kicks into high gear with a story line and dazzling artwork that’ll have you flashing back to the good old days when comics gave you a contact high just by looking at the cover.

The new “Absolute Power” story arc posits what would happen if (a) three strange visitors from another planet had found baby Kal-El on Earth before the Kents did; and (b) if those same three had likewise spirited away the young vengeful Bruce Wayne immediately after his parents were gunned down. I’ll give you a hint: they raise Superman and Batman to take over the world and enslave it. “The Hitler twins!” exclaims renegade free-thinker Green Arrow when they track him down—just before Superman incinerates him with his heat vision.

The story by Jeph Loeb just may be the best he’s ever written, and the jaw dropping art by Carlos Pacheco (pencils), Jesús Marino (inks) and Laura Martin (colors) is not just astonishing, it’s about as letter-perfect as you can expect a superhero comic to be these days. And I’m not exaggerating either when I say that the current “Absolute Power” storyline is the best superhero comic I’ve read since Kingdom Come. It crackles with all the bone-snapping action of an NFL wildcard game played without any referees.

In fact, after the first two installments drag everyone involved to Hell and back, the teaser at the end of issue 15 gleefully proclaims: “NEXT MONTH: THINGS GET WORSE!” And boy do they ever. In spades.

GEORGE HERRIMAN: Pick the greatest newspaper comic strips of all time, and it’s a lead pipe cinch that these names will be on your list: Winsor McCay’s Little Nemo In Slumberland. Elzie Segar’s Thimble Theatre. Chester Gould’s Dick Tracy. Al Capp’s Li’l Abner. Milton Caniff’s Terry And The Pirates. George McManus’ Bringing Up Father. Hal Foster’s Prince Valiant, Harold Gray’s Little Orphan Annie. Walk Kelly’s Pogo. Charles Schultz’s Peanuts. Bill Watterson’s Calvin And Hobbes.

But as originally inventive as these iconic creations are, the one stroke of pure genius that will forever undisputedly tower head and shoulders above them all as the greatest incomparable newspaper comic strip of all time, is George Herriman’s immortal Krazy Kat. Now don’t get me wrong: I go Pogo as much as the next guy, but the Jack Acid intrigues of the Okefenokee swamp can’t help but seem just a tad normal by comparison when placed next to the surreal morphing landscapes of Coconino County.

For those of you not in the know, Krazy Kat revolves around the eternal love triangle of Ignatz (the brick-tossing mouse who hates the Kat and addictively seeks to ‘crease his bean’ with a brick every chance he gets), Offissa Pup (the law-abiding dog who loves the Kat and hates the anarchistic Ig), and the is-he-or-isn’t-she star of our show, the gender-vague Krazy (who loves that ‘dollink’ mouse and thinks that each bounced brick is a concrete love bouquet).

Several noble attempts have been made over the years to issue a complete chronological Krazy Kat collection, but the archivists at Fantagraphics are in the process of finally getting it right. And if you own their 1984 large format four volume set of The Complete E.C. Segar Popeye, you’ll know that Fantagraphics is no slouch when it comes to preserving classic comic strips for future generations.

Volume Five of Krazy And Ignatz features the usual plethora of obscure strips and complementary illustrations, all strung together by the usual informed annotations of historian extraordinaire Bill Blackbeard. But it’s the especially rare collection of heretofore lost strips from 1933 that are the centerpiece of this volume, which is the last to appear in black and white.

Then, if you like what you see—and how can you possibly not—go find a used copy of Patrick McDonnell’s definitive dissertation from 1986, Krazy Kat: The Comic Art Of George Harriman (Abrams). And if McDonnell’s name rings a bell, that’s because he also happens to be the culture vulture creator of the Katzenjammerish strip Mutts.

And talk about the ultimate crossover: Does anyone else remember the month of Sundays when a realistically drawn, brick throwing cat actually did invade the Okefenokee in Pogo? If I hadn’t cut out and preserved each one of those Sunday pages for posterity, I’d (a) think that I’d imagined the whole surrealistic episode; and (b) always wonder where I picked up the word “smearcase.”

ART SPIEGLEMAN: Speaking of Das Kids, a hundred years ago comic strips like the Katzenjammer Kids and Buster Brown appeared in the Sunday comic sections printed on giant broadsheets the size of a full newspaper page. Ask anyone who owns a collection of such large format funnies and they’ll tell you how much they bemoan the current shrunken state of today’s skimpy sections.

One person who decided to use this antique format to illustrate his latest beef is Art Spiegelman who, in 2002, created a series of ten large format comic pages which take the government to task over 9/11. In The Shadow Of No Towers (Pantheon Press) reprints the entire series in full size on heavy cardboard stock. And although I don’t agree with any of the sentiments that Spiegelman expresses, I fully support his right to convey them in such a gaudy high-falutin’ manner.

He wasn’t always such a nebbish, though. If you want to be see what kind of fun-loving egghead Spiegelman used to be, check out his Two-Fisted Painters insert from the first issue of RAW.

THE COMICS JOURNAL: Noah Bartlasky, however, is a lot less forgiving. In the Nov/Dec issue of The Comics Journal (#264) he contributes an absolutely withering essay titled In The Shadow Of No Talent that doesn’t mince any words. “Virtually every aspect of the book is an aesthetic nonentity,” Bartlasky writes. “Spiegelman’s thick pen lines, which were occasionally charming in Maus, deaden the grab-bag of styles he attempts here. The layouts are cluttered and rely, almost desperately, on over-obvious gimmickry. Worse of all, his borrowings from other cartoonists seem perversely boneheaded.” And that’s just one of the milder passages.

As you can see, The Comics Journal is to comic art what CREEM is to rock ‘n’ roll in that both offer expert informed criticism with uncompromising honesty. Everyone likes to claim that they have a “take no prisoners” attitude. But if you don’t take any prisoners, then you’ll never get any information out of them. Like CREEM, The Comics Journal takes a lot of prisoners captive—and then reminds them in no uncertain terms the price they have to pay for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Of course, sometimes the advanced level of comicologist criticism in The Comics Journal makes this column look like Stan’s Soapbox but, what the hey, we can’t all be eggheads all the time!

HAROLD GRAY: When comics historian Maurice Horn devoted a full half page to Harold Gray’s western comic strip Little Joe in his 1976 World Encyclopedia Of Comics, he concluded his entry by stating that Little Joe was “a very intelligently written, well-drawn, and gripping strip. It is definitely a minor classic and merits reprinting in permanent form.”

Yet some 70 years later, Little Joe has yet to be reprinted. At least until now, albeit partially. In the above-noted issue of The Comics Journal (which has recently begun to print full color glossy inserts of vintage comic art), Gray’s minor masterpiece is finally on display in a series of 1938 excerpts which are a timely reminder of just how realistically hard-hitting the comics used to be. As Little Joe shows, Dick Tracy wasn’t the only two fisted tough guy throwing hot lead around back then. Speaking of which…

MAX ALLAN COLLINS: Chester Gould personally picked him to write Dick Tracy, and his run on the strip admirably attempted to match Gould shot for shot and villain for villain. He knows Mickey Spillane and he edited the Mick’s best short story anthology, Tomorrow I Die. He wrote the pioneering crime comic Ms. Tree. His graphic novel Road To Perdition was made into the depression-era movie starring Paul Newman and Tom Hanks.

So when I saw Road To Perdition 2: On The Road staring back at me on the shelf with crime author Max Allan Collins’ name on it, I had more than enough personal references on file to trust that the man wouldn’t let me down—and I was right. This three part graphic novel continues the story of Michael O’Sullivan and his son as they wage a one man bank robbing spree across the Midwest in the 1930s to get back at the Capone gang that done them wrong.

I expected to get a good solid story for my money, and I wasn’t disappointed: this is one of the top crime comic reads of the year. I didn’t count on the double barreled dose of solid artwork that went with it, however. Because what’s really unique about this book is that part one (“Oasis”) is smoothly illustrated by José Luis García-Lópes; part two (“Sanctuary”) is roughly illustrated by Steve Leiber; and part three (“Detour”) is a hybrid of the two, penciled by García-Lópes and inked Leiber. It works.

FRANK KELLY FREAS: It sure was nice to see all the press coverage that Freas got when he died, all of it rightly centered on his innovative five year run as MAD’s maddest cover artist in the Fifties before Norman Mingo took over. How ironic then that the one painting of his which has been seen by more people than saw all of his MAD covers combined, is one of the worst he ever did, yet will forever remain on display all around the world for everyone to see. Namely, the cover painting he did for Queen’s 1977 album News Of The World. It’s so bad, it makes Ken Kelly’s cover to KISS’ Destroyer album look like a vintage Frazetta.

Oh, and this isn’t the first time that Freas has been mentioned in CREEM, either. Back in September 1981 I took Queen drummer Roger Taylor to task for his pathetic Sci-Fi solo album Fun In Space by declaring: “Hey, it takes more than Kelly Freas paintings and copies of Creepy and Eerie to make the grade.” Still does.

KATSUHIRO OTOMO: Otomo’s groundbreaking multi-volume graphic novel Akira was first seen stateside in the late Eighties in the first of a series of softbound translations for various publishers. Now Dark Horse Comics has issued a new hardcover edition exclusively for Barnes & Noble and it’s a stone cold stunner. If you’re only familiar with the pretty movie version of this post-atomic tale, then you’ll be shocked at how intense the original graphic manga is.

And if, like myself, you already have dog-eared softbound copies of Akira lining your shelves, then now is the time to upgrade to this sturdy dust jacketed gold-leaf edition. Sure, some purists may object to the fact that, graphically, this is still the same mirrored English language version they’re already familiar with, but this is one instance when you can tell a book by its cover—and considering that the damage is only a mere fifteen bucks, you can’t afford not to have one.

And while we’re on the topic of sturdy dust jacketed gold-leaf hardcover editions, I would be remiss not to point out that Dark Horse has also issued Volume One of Yasuhiro Nightow’s anime manga saga Trigun (“Deep Space Planet Future Gun Action!”) in a similar Barnes & Noble edition. Trigun was originally published in 2000 and this first volume collects the first 12 chapters in the originally umirrored (right to left) Japanese format.

H.P. LOVECRAFT: Ever watch a movie that was so weird you couldn’t help but wonder how it ever got made in the first place? Well, that’s the same feeling I had when I read Lovecraft (Vertigo Books), an original graphic novel that details in dark dank detail the alleged insanities of Cthulhu creator Howard Phillips Lovecraft.

Which I suppose is only fitting given that this harrowing horror story is based on a screenplay by Hans Rodionoff for a movie that was never made. The adaptation is by Keith Griffen and the slimy claustrophobic artwork is by Enrique Breccia. Did the master of the Necronomicon really encounter medium-debunker Harry Houdini? As horror director John Carpenter says in his introduction: “In the end, the only person who could tell us for certain that this story is a work of fiction or not is Howard himself. But I imagine that if he were here, he’d say every word of it was true.” And if it isn’t, it should be.

KYLE BAKER: I’ve loved this guy’s words and pictures ever since I first read his sardonic breakthrough masterpiece Why I Hate Saturn (Piranha Press) back in 1990. Then I saw how adept he was at skewing conventional expectations when he smearcased The Shadow in issues 8-19 of that senses-shattering series. In fact, I’m still waiting for “The Shadow: Nuts And Bolts” to appear, but I guess that dire dénouement will have to wait until Baker gets through deconstructing DC’s latest revival of Jack Cole’s Plastic Man. (You may not recognize Jack Cole’s name but, in addition to creating Plas, he also drew many a shimmering full page color illustration of near-naked women for Playboy in the Fifties.)

Anyway, it looks as if DC finally got the formula right this time by allowing Baker free reign to run roughshod over the franchise. The man of a thousand artistic styles, this time he’s using an advance multi-million dollar computer art program that generates Day-Glo backgrounds and overlays which look like one of those Colorforms play sets from the early Sixties. Even better than that, Baker’s sick sense of humor is now so black, it’s ultraviolet. Then again, whaddya expect from a guy who once stuck Superbaby in a microwave over? Ding!

Anyway, DC has decided to celebrate Baker’s questionable taste by publishing Plastic Man: On The Lam, a collection of his first six months on the job. It features the goofiest comic art since Harvey Kurtzman’s Hey Look! series, only a lot more demented. So demented, in fact, that not only has DC bound this collection with an actual soft-ply wraparound plastic cover, every single page is likewise printed on sheets of pliable plastic. In other words, DC has finally invented a comic book that you can read in the shower!

Or is that stretching things a bit too much?

NEXT ISH: The enduring legacy of The Spirit, including rare commentary by Will Eisner which hasn’t been seen for the last 33 years. Plus: the cool jazzbo album art of Jim Flora; dishing the dirt on Neil Gaiman; and more comic book reviews than you can shake a stick at…if that’s your idea of a good time. Be seeing you!