OCTOBER COMICS

It may be cliché, but this time of year, especially here in New England, evokes a feeling of unease that is exciting.  We all like to be scared or disturbed by our fictions, to a certain degree and when the mood is right.  It’s thrilling, gets our blood racing, makes us feel alive while reaffirming that life.  It’s a combination of things, no doubt, that can elicit this mood in October—the creeping darkness that sends us into our homes far earlier than we’ve come to enjoy during the summer months, rising winds that rattle tree branches and send dried leaves skittering down the road like a pack of rats threatening to overrun us, the chill air forcing us to pull our jackets tighter to keep out the cold that will soon lay trees bare and send snow our way.

And of course, there’s All Hallow’s Eve. 

I love fall in Maine.  The leaves change color, the days aren’t as warm, and winter is coming.  Yeah, I’m that guy.  I also love pulling out some appropriate comics for the season and reading them, as well, and a few years back I did some capsule reviews for some of these under the heading of “October Comics.”  Those books, which I would highly recommend, were:

• Starchild by James Owen
  
• Frankenstein by Steve Niles & Scott Morse  
• The Universal Monster adaptations by Art Adams, Denis Beauvais, and others  
• Coraline by Neil Gaiman, adapted by P. Craig Russell  
• The Broadcast by Eric Hobbs & Noel Tuazon  
• Batman: LOTDK Halloween specials by Jeph Loeb & Tim Sale  
• Taboo, a horror anthology from Spiderbaby Grafix (Stephen Bissette) 
• Hellboy by Mike Mignola, et al.  
• A Glimpse of Crime & Terror by Steve Niles & Scott Morse 

I plan on adding more entries to this list in the coming weeks.  Hopefully you’ll join me on a reading of some cool, moody comics.  And add your own favorite titles in the comments, if you like.  I’m always looking for something new to read.

Thanks,

chris

2014 – a Reckoning … of comic collections read

This year I decided to start tracking my reading a bit more closely.  I wanted to be able to look at trends in my reading, and possibly identify deficiencies in my habits that I could work on.  For the year, I read 100 collections-slash-graphic novels.  Not a bad number.  But what did I read?

I finally got my hands on Bendis’s Alias, which was a great series.  It tapered off a bit at the end, but still, some really great writing, and I appreciated Andreyko’s art, which helped make this book stand out even more.  This led to me re-reading Bendis’s Daredevil run with Alex Maleev.  Not as great as I remember, from my first reading, but still a strong series of issues, made all the more impressive by the fact that, with rare instances and one fill-in storyline that I can remember, this creative team was on the book for a serious run.  Now I’m halfway through the Brubaker/Lark run, and though I’m not enjoying it as much, it’s still a solid read. 

I also dipped into the Geoff Johns Green Lantern mythos this year - and wrote about it here, here, and here.  I stopped after the Sinestro Corps War, relatively underwhelmed.  There was some nice art (when it was Ethan Van Sciver), and the stories were well done, but I think the facts that Hal Jordan is now a firm fixture in the DCU and that I knew some of the twists and turns coming is what killed it for me.  I may return to see how things lead up to Blackest Night, one of my favorite Flash stories of recent years, but probably not.

I also finished up Bakuman this year, reading the last 11 volumes over the entire course of 2014.  Great stuff.  As long as you can buy into the distinct tropes of manga, then you should enjoy this.  Great drama, great characters, some really funs scenarios, and beautiful art, all revolving around two school friends who decide they want to become the biggest manga creators on Weekly Shonen Jump.  The way the creators manage to imbue their stories with drama and tension, when it revolves around creating comics, is impressive.  Worth checking out. 

I also read the full Locke & Key this year, by Joe Hill & Gabriel Rodriguez.  One of the best comic stories in years.  Amazing.  If you haven’t read this series yet, and you call yourself a comic fan, get on it.  You will not regret it. 

Some other standouts from the past year also include:

• Ant Colony by Michael DeForge – one of the most distinct and enjoyable artists currently working in comics
• Family Ties by Eric Hobbs & Noel Tuazon – one of my favorite artists, who does not have enough work out there, but what Tuazon does have is all stellar
• Bumperhead by Gilbert Hernandez – on my Rushmore of comic artists.
• Nemo: Roses of Berlin by Alan Moore & Kevin O’Neill – Alan Moore, writing god, ‘nuff said.
• The Red Diary by Steven Seagle & Teddy Kristiansen – an incredible creative team with yet another phenomenal book.  Check out anything from them.
• NOAH by Darren Aronofsky & Niko Henrichon – gorgeous art, great story, and not what you expect.  Get it.
• Hip Hop Family Tree v.1 by Ed Piskor – check this out, a history of hip hop told through comics by a guy who is a signature talent.

And there were a lot more.  Going into 2015, I’m going to read through all of Gotham Central, finally, and I also plan on doing a near-complete Frank Miller re-read – I don’t know if I can take Holy Terror! but I am excited to re-read DK2 and possibly writing about it.  And whatever other great titles come across my various social feeds.  If you’ve got something to recommend, let me know.  And thanks.

-chris

W27 replay: OCTOBER COMICS 2 (Batman LOTDK, The Broadcast, & Coraline)

Three years ago, I did a short series here called "October Comics."  Like the over-arching title states, these were comics I felt epitomized this time of year - with the leaves turning color and falling, the temperature becoming colder, the nights longer.  It's a great time of year to curl up with a good book (or comic, as the case may be) and let that autumnal mood take you away on dark flights of fantasy and horror.  Here are a few books that can take you there.

BATMAN: LOTDK HALLOWEEN SPECIALS by Jeph Loeb & Tim Sale

I’m not sure why I picked up the very first LOTDK Halloween special. I know it had nothing to do with the creative team – neither Jeph Loeb nor Tim Sale was familiar to me at the time. It could have been the nice shiny cover, with that gold foil “enhancement,” but I like to think that wasn’t the case.More likely, it had to do with the fact that it was prestige format. When a publisher – most often DC comics – published a book in that squarebound format (see: Dark Knight, Longbow Hunters, Hawkworld, Killing Joke, etc.), it piqued my interest. So I bought that first special right off the shelf.And I loved it. The story moved along at a brisk pace, the artwork was stylish but appealing, and it was done in one.

With the success of that first Halloween special, it became an annual tradition for the next two years, with Loeb and Sale reuniting to tell other ethereal tales from Batman’s history. They too were immensely enjoyable and just plain fun reads. And, with each successive volume, I came to appreciate more and more the artistic talent of Tim Sale.

Sale’s linework is smooth and organic, with fluid inking that helps to suggest movement on the page in a similar manner to the inking style of Will Eisner. It’s a tough thing to accomplish in a static medium such as comics, and is a major reason why I have such trouble with many of today’s photorealistic artists – their work is just too precise, taking all of the energy out of their drawing.

Loeb’s writing has received a lot of criticism in recent years – not all of it undeserved – but in these specials, he really shines. The stories move along at a brisk pace and don’t collapse under the weight of a longer narrative. With the limited page count, Loeb was forced to pare things down and get right to the heart of the matter, and, similar to Chuck Dixon, Loeb can drive a plot forward pretty well. It doesn’t hurt that he was paired with a stellar talent like Sale.

I regularly return to these books, pulling them out of the longboxes to re-read every couple of years, usually during this season. These books help remind me why I love comics. If you’ve never given them a try, you should seek them out. You won’t be disappointed.

And, if you have the chance, read them late in the evening while the wind sweeps across your lawn – the creaking branches and rustling leaves will add to the atmosphere already present in Sale’s moody linework, and you might understand better why I cherish these stories.

THE BROADCAST by Eric Hobbs & Noel Tuazon

Since “discovering” Noel Tuazon’s work on Elk’s Run, with writer Joshua Hale Fialkov, I have become a huge fan of Tuazon’s work. His loose lines and cartoonist’s approach to drawing is far more appealing to me than the current flavor of the month at the “Big Two.” He, like many of the comic artists whose work I admire, is able to infuse his pages with more emotion and atmosphere than most artists working in the field.

So, when I passed the NBM table at last year’s Small Press Expo and saw they had only one copy left of Tuazon’s most recent book, The Broadcast (written by Eric Hobbs), I had to pick it up. And was I ever glad I did. This book, along with Tuazon’s return collaboration with Fialkov, Tumor, has solidly put him on my “guaranteed winner” list.

The Broadcast, Eric Hobbs’s first major graphic novel, comes from a brilliantly simple concept – how might a small group of rural Americans in early 20^th century America react if they believed Orson Welles’s “War of the Worlds” broadcast was real – a reality that earned Welles much criticism after that initial radio broadcast. I haven’t read The Broadcast since that first time last year, but the emotion of the book has lingered with me since then, rearing its head at unexpected times, so it is only appropriate that I write about it now, as best I can.

The Broadcast is more than just how people might react to a perceived Martian attack. It is really a story of how people under stress react to, and treat, one another and the hierarchy that quickly evolves in such an anxious time. This book is about these characters, about the injustices, perceived or otherwise, they manage to suppress until such a time as this, and the consequences of allowing one’s anxiety to dictate one’s actions.

None of the characters make it through this book in one piece, whether emotionally or physically, and Hobbs deftly handles the issues of that period – including most prominently the racism that was rampant, and is still a problem now, in our country. The Broadcast is, at times, a harrowing reading experience, but it is also touching in many instances. It’s a delicate balance of emotions that Hobbs and Tuazon manage to achieve wonderfully, and it elevates this book beyond what could easily have been a one-note story.

And the artwork from Tuazon is beautiful. His inkwash technique, coupled with Tuazon’s facility with facial expressions, perfectly evokes the atmosphere of the dreary, rain-soaked setting and the weight of finality under which these characters rest. Tuazon’s storytelling is on full display here, and any artist looking to break into comics would be hard pressed to do better than study The Broadcast, or any of Tuazon’s other work.

Although told in a quiet manner, this is a brutal book about the dark places of the human soul. It is a compelling read that shines a hard light onto the horrors of fear, very real horrors that feel more authentic than most of those found in graphic fiction, or fiction of any kind. Hobbs and Tuazon come together to showcase the best of what this medium has to offer, and I heartily recommend you seeking this book out. You won’t be disappointed.

CORALINE adapted by P. Craig Russell, from the novel by Neil Gaiman

I am a huge fan of Neil Gaiman and have read all of his published books. Coraline was an enjoyable read, but I would probably put it toward the lower end of my favorites by Gaiman. It was inventive and well-written, as I have come to expect from Gaiman, and he took me to another fantastic world that feels just beyond my reach, but there was a “weight” missing from it that probably has a lot to do with its intended audience. Ultimately, for me, Coraline wasn’t creepy enough.

As an aside, Gaiman’s “Graveyard Book” does carry that weight I so look forward to from his best fiction, and that was also intended for young adults, for what it is worth. (And it is only my opinion)

When I heard P. Craig Russell was going to be adapting Coraline into graphic form, I was intrigued but not overly excited. Boy, was I wrong to have that reaction!

Russell’s adaptation of Coraline was amazing. When I read it, I was thoroughly on edge. Something about actually seeing Coraline’s “other family” with those button eyes just creeped me the hell out more than Gaiman’s actual prose description, which is odd since Joe Hill’s similar description of the main ghost in his novel Heart-Shaped Box made me horribly uncomfortable when I read that.

Russell is known for his delicate linework, and he does not disappoint here. But I have to admit at how surprised I was with the manner in which he evoked the atmosphere of this eerie little novel. It is a testament to his artistry that he elevates Gaiman’s prose narrative to another level for me. This is one of the very few times I have thought that an adaptation of a work of prose was better – or worked better – than the source material.

I wish I could more precisely put my finger on what it is about Russell’s Coraline adaptation that makes it so much creepier for me. But, I admit, I can’t. I just know how I reacted to it when I read it – on an entirely emotional level that left me with that gnawing ache in the pit of my stomach. Check it out.

Go ahead, listen to the crisp leaves beneath your feet, the cool breeze rising to a soft shriek at your back, and watch for those long shadows growing deeper, with the coming of winter just over the horizon, and try to tamp down that shiver rushing up your spine as you spy something in the corner of your eye ... and turn to find nothing there. 

Then sit down to read these comics and try to tell me you don't get that same feeling of anxiety and anticipation as the words and images wash over you.  You can't.  

-chris

FYC Replay: Postcards - True Stories ... with Jason Rodriguez

For Your Consideration: Postcards: True Stories that Never Happened

By Chris Beckett

FRONT PAGE: When Editor Jason Rodriguez stepped into an antique shop with his girlfriend, he had no way of knowing what was awaiting him. A year later, as editor, Rodriguez had compiled one of the coolest comic anthologies in recent memory – one where all the story seeds came from old postcards and the notes they carried. Click on in and discover the “true stories that never happened.”

The 411:

Postcards: True Stories that Never Happened

Edited by Jason Rodriguez

160pp. black and white HC

Villard Books

$21.95

What It Is (with apologies to Dave the Thune):

One of the coolest ideas for an anthology comes from Editor Jason Rodriguez, editor of the Harvey-nominated ELK’S RUN. Following his girlfriend into an antique shop one day, Rodriguez happened upon a box of old postcards. As he began shuffling through them, Rodriguez discovered he was being afforded a window into the lives of people long since gone. As his mind wrapped itself around this idea, he realized that therein lay the seeds for an amazing variety of stories.

Inspired, Rodriguez set to work buying postcards and listing creators he felt would do well with such a concept. Bringing together some of the biggest names working in comics – Harvey Pekar, Phil Hester, Ande Parks – with some of the hottest new creators like G.B. Tran, Micah Farritor, and Joshua Hale Fialkov, Rodriguez has compiled an entertaining mix of stories that are at times touching, exciting, and troubling – a great feat that makes for interesting reading.

The postcards used as story seeds for this anthology date, for the most part, from the early half of the twentieth century. With cryptic messages and half-truths embedded deep between the lines, the real stories behind these quick missives will never be found. But as inspiration for the writers and artists brought together by Rodriguez, they are diamonds waiting to be mined.

The emotional tenor of the tales offered in Postcards is of a consistently high caliber. One particularly poignant tale comes from the imagination of Phil Hester. Known more for his artwork – oft-partnered with inker Ande Parks, also present as the writer of a separate tale – than his writing, Hester writes and draws a tale based upon a postcard with the reproachful line “Someone from Adams Co. told the girls that you married a man who had a boy 12 yrs. old.” Expecting a story full of scandal and gossip, Hester surprises readers, including his editor, by molding a very different tale from the few lines left on the back of that card. Delving deeper into the possibilities offered, Hester reveals how happenstance following close on the heels of tragedy can lift a person out of the depression so readily available at a difficult time in one’s life. The main character, his mother drinking poison on the eve of the boy’s twelfth birthday, spies a woman dancing madly within the forest one evening. She seems possessed, but unexpectedly becomes the boy’s stepmother when his father marries her. Within months, the boy’s father passes on and he is left with this woman who suffers from the then-unknown Tourette’s syndrome. As they both work past their grief, the boy discovers a pure, maternal love from this former stranger, a love that shapes his life in unexpected ways, rippling down through the years as he watches his own family grow up to have lives of their own. It is a touching narrative elevated by Hester’s understated and evocative writing – a diamond among gems.

An earlier story within the book that plucks a wondrously full narrative from the sparest of lines is the piece offered by Tom Beland author of his own comic True Story Swear to God. This seed, a Valentine’s card from a secret admirer, offers little in the way of information, stating, “Don’t get brain fever trying to guess who this is from. Just think of apple cake and lemon slice and you’ve got it.” From these few words, Beland creates a touching story that peers in to the final day of one man as he anticipates a reunion with his wife, dead these past five years. In eight pages, readers are able to fill in the details of this man’s life, discovering the romance he was lucky enough to have experienced, something many of us fail to find. For his final meal, the man goes to the diner that was once the soda fountain where he met his wife. Enjoying a blueberry muffin and an earl grey, he ponders his life, achingly aware of his age, surrounded by so many young people. Finishing, he takes the postcard from his pocket, the one from his wife’s photo album, the one he has carried with him every day for five years, and leaves it as a token that love lingered there – a fitting epitaph.

There are many more tales like these to be found in Postcards. Each one is a work full of emotion, some treading close to overly romanticized visions before pulling the audience back from the edge. It is a fine line these creators walk and a testament to Jason Rodriguez that each story is of such a high quality. With stories ranging from one of an expatriate American couple stuck in WWII France of their own accord to a tale of the highest stakes revolving around a game of tic-tac-toe set in the old west to a pulp hero yarn in the vein of the Shadow and the Green Hornet, this is an intriguing mix of story and art that all fans of the medium, and of good storytelling, should have on their shelves.

An Interview with Jason Rodriguez:

Why comics? What was it that attracted you to this storytelling medium?

Where to begin…

Autobio, sci-fi, historical epic…no matter what your story may be your budget stays the same.

There are so many challenges involved when writing a story for comics and so many novel ways that you can address those challenges.

Nostalgia – I can admit that, right? I’ve been reading comics since I was a kid. I still love to be involved in plays and I’ll occasionally write some prose but comics…it takes me back.

The community. The conventions, the message boards, the websites – when you’re making comics you seem to have a support network behind you from the start. Starving actors and unpublished writers are a cliché at this point; they’re in their small apartment trying to get their big break, no-one really helping them. But in comics? You can make a good comic on your own, put it out there, and all of a sudden the community is behind you.

I could go on.

What was the inspiration for Postcards, and how did you sell the concept to Random House?

The idea behind Postcards came from a postcard I found at an antique store. It was in a dusty shoebox, cost fifty cents, and was sent from an army private to his mom before he was shipped out to fight in World War II. I realized that this private may have never returned from the war and I may be holding his last communication in my hand. I wanted to do the book at that moment and everything just fell into place, including Random House who was already on line to publish Elk’s Run, another book I edited.

What has the reaction been to Postcards thus far, and would you characterize it as a successful project?

I’d categorize it as a good start. I think I learned a lot from this project. The book made it into some hands, not as many as we thought it would, but I know some of the things that held it back and I’m learning from it. The second volume (and other projects I’m developing) will benefit from the lessons learned with my first go around.

In your opinion, what is it that makes for a successful anthology? Do you think having a thematic “spine” helped with Postcards?

I think the thematic “spine” helped get Postcards in people’s hands, yes. It made for a very easy pitch. When I hand sell it at conventions it goes very fast because I put a quick pitch out there, people dig the concept, and they come on board. Now that’s not what makes a successful anthology, that’s the first step, I think.

As far as steps two, three, etc…I’m still theorizing on that one. I’ll get back to you.

You have a great mix of talent from well-known creators such as Harvey Pekar, Phil Hester, and Antony Johnston, to up-and-coming talent such as G.B. Tran, Micah Farritor, and A. David Lewis. How did you decide on the final “roster” for the anthology, and what criteria did you use when deciding upon contributors?

Some were friends that have fantastic books out, some were friends that I believed in, and some were folks I admired for a long time. There wasn’t really a formula, I just sat around and asked myself who’d be good for the book and came up with a list of about fifty names. I pulled out the folks that I knew I could get in the book (like Josh Fialkov, Phil Hester, etc) and went to them first. With a bit of a roster on board I went to the folks that I’ve never talked to before (like Ande Parks and Tom Beland and Harvey Pekar/Joyce Brabner).

What other projects are you working on that you would like to tell readers about?

I need a kick in the ass but once I get that, Postcards II is still in development. I’m also co-writing a biography of Sam Cooke with my friend Chris Stevens and I’m writing a young adult novel about a kid that’s known everything from the moment he was born except for how it is he knows everything. I have some other concepts that I like but I need that kick in the ass, as mentioned above.

OCTOBER COMICS The Broadcast by Eric Hobbs & Noel Tuazon

Since “discovering” Noel Tuazon’s work on Elk’s Run, with writer Joshua Hale Fialkov, I have become a huge fan of Tuazon’s work. His loose lines and cartoonist’s approach to drawing is far more appealing to me than the current flavor of the month at the “Big Two.” He, like many of the comic artists whose work I admire, is able to infuse his pages with more emotion and atmosphere than most artists working in the field.

So, when I passed the NBM table at last year’s Small Press Expo and saw they had only one copy left of Tuazon’s most recent book, The Broadcast (written by Eric Hobbs), I had to pick it up. And was I ever glad I did. This book, along with Tuazon’s return collaboration with Fialkov, Tumor, has solidly put him on my “guaranteed winner” list.

The Broadcast, Eric Hobbs’s first major graphic novel, comes from a brilliantly simple concept – how might a small group of rural Americans in early 20^th century America react if they believed Orson Welles’s “War of the Worlds” broadcast was real – a reality that earned Welles much criticism after that initial radio broadcast. I haven’t read The Broadcast since that first time last year, but the emotion of the book has lingered with me since then, rearing its head at unexpected times, so it is only appropriate that I write about it now, as best I can.

The Broadcast is more than just how people might react to a perceived Martian attack. It is really a story of how people under stress react to, and treat, one another and the hierarchy that quickly evolves in such an anxious time. This book is about these characters, about the injustices, perceived or otherwise, they manage to suppress until such a time as this, and the consequences of allowing one’s anxiety to dictate one’s actions.

None of the characters make it through this book in one piece, whether emotionally or physically, and Hobbs deftly handles the issues of that period – including most prominently the racism that was rampant, and is still a problem now, in our country. The Broadcast is, at times, a harrowing reading experience, but it is also touching in many instances. It’s a delicate balance of emotions that Hobbs and Tuazon manage to achieve wonderfully, and it elevates this book beyond what could easily have been a one-note story.

And the artwork from Tuazon is beautiful. His inkwash technique, coupled with Tuazon’s facility with facial expressions, perfectly evokes the atmosphere of the dreary, rain-soaked setting and the weight of finality under which these characters rest. Tuazon’s storytelling is on full display here, and any artist looking to break into comics would be hard pressed to do better than study The Broadcast, or any of Tuazon’s other work.

Although told in a quiet manner, this is a brutal book about the dark places of the human soul. It is a compelling read that shines a hard light onto the horrors of fear, very real horrors that feel more authentic than most of those found in graphic fiction, or fiction of any kind. Hobbs and Tuazon come together to showcase the best of what this medium has to offer, and I heartily recommend you seeking this book out. You won’t be disappointed.

chris

FYC replay: Elk's Run with Joshua Hale Fialkov

Here's another one from the archives. I remember Warren Ellis touting this online comic, Elk's Run, on his website, and I remembered the name when I saw the book at my local Borders. I was intrigued, so I pulled it off the shelf to check it out. I didn't stop reading until I got to the end. At that point, I realized that Joshua Fialkov and Noel Tuazon were two creators to keep track of. Since then, they have collaborated on the Harvey and Eisner-nominated graphic novel, Tumor, which is available from Archaia, and Tuazon did the art for NBM's The Broadcast last year while Fialkov will be part of the DC relaunch in September. These two creators are a couple of my favorites, and Elk's Run is a great book. Check it out.

-chris

For Your Consideration: Elk’s Run

By Chris Beckett

FRONT PAGE: One of the most compelling graphic novels released this past year was Elk’s Run from Villard Books. Created by newcomer Joshua Hale Fialkov and veteran illustrator Noel Tuazon, this book has been praised by the likes of Stuart Moore, Phil Hester, Warren Ellis, and Brian Michael Bendis. If you haven’t read this book, you’re missing out. Come in and get the 4-1-1 on an important graphic novel that should be in everyone’s collection.

The 411:

Elk’s Run

Written by Joshua Hale Fialkov

Art by Noel Tuazon, colors by Scott Keating

216 pp. color

$19.95

What It Is (with apologies to Dave the Thune):

John Kohler was a patriot. Heeding his nation’s call, he went off to the jungles of Vietnam and fought for his country, but the price he paid was dear. Watching friends die all around him, he lost a part of himself as he slogged through the rice paddies of Southeast Asia. Unlike so many, John survived his tour and returned home, but the country to which he returned did not welcome him. Like so many other veterans of this misguided war, John was shunned, considered “broken” and never given a chance to move back into society. For risking his life, and for suffering like none of those who did not serve, he was rewarded with a “scarlet letter.”

For a time, the pain and the frustration simmered hotly beneath the surface as John searched for direction in his life. But salvation was eventually discovered in the form of Walt Gronski, who dreamed of creating a utopia. Using his family fortune, he wished to help out these veterans who had fought valiantly on the other side of the Pacific. The coal mines his company had worked in Elk’s Ridge had been picked clean. In what had once been the mining village, these soldiers and their families would be allowed to live their lives in peace.

Hidden within the mountains of West Virginia, they were insulated from the hypocrisy and injustice of the outside world. Creating a charter, they established rules for the town and made a simple life for themselves. Mr. Gronski provided a tractor trailer full of supplies each month so that the inhabitants needed only work when they felt like it. Sure, there were the everyday maintenance issues found in any small town, but these were quickly taken care of and nobody balked at pitching in for the few hours a week it necessitated. All was well.

But over time things change, and change drastically, especially within a closed society such as Elk’s Ridge. Years passed and families grew. Children were born into this utopia, and though they realized there was a world outside the mountains within which they called home, they never had the opportunity to experience that world. Their parents didn’t wish them to be hurt. They had lived in that world, and it had brought them nothing but pain. So life proceeded without incident.

But when Arnold Huld’s wife decided finally to take her children and leave the stultifying town, it set things in motion that would have repercussions for everyone. Arnold turned to alcohol as a salve – becoming moody, staying inside, waiting at the window for his wife to return. But she did not, and one night – having drunk too much – Arnold took his car to the old coal tunnel, a popular spot for the local boys to prowl at night. Arnold, unable to drive straight, ran into Michael Taylor, killing him instantly in front of his friends.

The precarious balance upon which the town’s survival rested finally tipped, and the question of justice reared its ugly head. When they initially arrived in Elk’s Ridge, they all agreed to the oldest law of the land – an eye for an eye. But the decision must be made by Michael’s father. He hesitated, but there was nothing else to be done. Arnold Huld had to be killed.

Joshua Hale Fialkov has created – with the able assistance of Noel Tuazon, Scott Keating, and Jason Rodriguez – a very powerful tale that examines the insecurities and desires that all people have, whether they wish to admit them or not. Taking these emotions to the extreme, which does not seem as extreme in a world where politicians see terrorists hiding behind every tree but refuse to give those imprisoned any chance to prove their innocence, Fialkov lays bare the ugly truths of humanity that lie so very close beneath the surface. Elk’s Run is an incredibly engaging tale that is a clarion call to those citizens wishing to close off our borders to any “outsiders” they deem harmful to our way of life – conveniently forgetting that this country was built upon the backs of immigrants.

As engaging as its storyline is, Elk’s Run also incorporates a novel approach to storytelling. Jumping back and forth within the tale’s timeline, Fialkov relates the narrative from various points of view, allowing readers to experience the major events through the eyes of parents and children alike. This is a technique not used often enough, and it is incredibly effective in bringing across the horror lurking within this small town.

Noel Tuazon and colorist Scott Keating also turn in a wonderful job. Tuazon, an “overnight” success who has been working in comics since the early nineties, deftly handles the art chores with a brush stroke that utilizes negative space and closure to evoke the somber mood of this story masterfully. Tuazon also differentiates his style during flashbacks, creating murkier characters for the scenes in Vietnam while delineating in a style more reminiscent of a children’s story book for those scenes where the children are reminiscing. Each style decision is made to convey the various emotions within the scenes, and rather than intruding upon the reading experience, each change integrates smoothly into the overall narrative, a testament to the artistic talent of Tuazon. And the palette chosen by Keating is again, darker and moodier, adding yet another layer to this powerful book. It is a wonderful meshing of creators on an important graphic novel that should be on every fan’s shelf. Check this book out. If you’re like me, once you open that first page you won’t be able to put it down until the final one is turned.

An Interview with Joshua Hale Fialkov:

Christopher Beckett: Why comics? What was it that attracted you to this storytelling medium?

Joshua Hale Fialkov: I come from a film and theater background. My real first passion was theater, but, after producing a few of my own plays the reality of how fleeting theater can be (which is also part of its magic) really turned me off of it. I like the idea of a permanent record. That led me on to Film and Television writing. I spent a few years working in both industries in a production capacity, and had a pilot in development at one point, but, the reality of Hollywood also started to set in. There is no way to do what you want the way you want to do it, unless you're extremely lucky.

The frustration of Hollywood led me to find another outlet that allowed more creative freedom. Frankly, after I started comics, I feel like a found a medium that suits the way I tell stories. You can decompress and really stretch your wings from a style and characterization standpoint that is wholly unique to comics. I think that's one of the things that a lot of guys who try to 'cross over' don't get. You can't just 'port' a screenplay into comics form... it takes a totally different set of muscles to write comics.

Beckett: The concept behind Elk’s Run is really quite complex, incorporating Vietnam veterans and that post-war climate, small town politics, and post-9/11 fanaticism, among other things. How did the story develop, was it all mapped out before you began or did it take some unexpected detours through the course of its telling?

Fialkov: I grew up in Pittsburgh, PA, which, I could be mistaken, but, had the highest rate of serving soldiers in Vietnam anywhere in the country. So, I grew up with many of my friend's parents as Vets, or at the very least, had friends who were vets. So I spent a lot of time with these guys, one in particular, who served as sort of a basis for John Sr. I also spent a good year and a half in a small town on the border of Ohio and Pennsylvania as a pre-teen that really affected me for the long term.

I've always been obsessed with the ideas of closed societies... things like cults and militias, but also ethnic enclaves (for example, I live in Glendale, CA now, which has the highest population of Armenians outside of Armenia...) and religious orders. There's something about a community that shuts itself off that really fascinates me. And certainly, as a hermit-y writer who barely leaves the confines of my apartment, I can see the attraction.

All of that was where the story came from... the characters and plot were all just functional representations of those ideas.

Beckett: I liked the manner in which you would carry one story thread to a conclusion, and then in a following issue return to the same starting point but follow that same timeline from a different point of view. How was the decision made to tell the story in this manner?

Fialkov: Well, I always felt that stories like this were so one-sided. The one everybody sites the similarities to is John Milius's Red Dawn. The thing about Red Dawn, though, is the bad guys, aside from being cackling stereotypical terrorist types, have no motivation. Why the hell are they there? Why would they cage up people, etc. "They're evil." That's pretty much the explanation. But, the fact is, nobody thinks they're evil. Hitler was convinced he was doing the right thing, just like Churchill was. So, for me, the way to tell a story like this, and yet make it something wholly unto its own was to really explore the 'whys' of the community.

Beckett: Another technique that impressed me with the book was the variety of styles utilized by Noel Tuazon for the flashback sequences. Was this something initially in the script or did it come from conversations with Tuazon and Jason Rodriguez, the editor? And were there any concerns regarding the shifts in style?

Fialkov: Yeah, I'd intended from the beginning to really mix and match the style to the characters. Between what Noel and Scott Keating (the colorist) did, I think each chapter stands as its own little mini-story, with 'art direction' that befits the character represented. Noel's really an amazing talent, and while his stuff is really non-traditional (at least in comics), I think he's doing things within the medium that very few people have ever tried before. He's one of the best.

Beckett: What other projects are you working on that you would like to tell readers about?

Fialkov: Well, my big creator owned work right now is Punks the Comic, which is about as different from Elk's Run as it comes. It's a collaboration with Kody Chamberlain that's our tribute to 70's and 80's pop culture and comedy. It's really, really different from anything else on the stands right now, and I'm extremely proud of it. You can get more info on it here: http://www.punksthecomic.com. Aside from that, I've got a story in an upcoming Marvel Comics Presents, and I'm the regular writer on Harris Comics' Vampirella Quarterly, the fourth issue of which should be in Previews right now. There's a bunch more on the way, and the best way to keep track of me is at http://www.joshuahalefialkov.com.

Scripting via Poutine

NOTE: I've pulled all but the first image (leaving it as a teaser and placeholder) because I've managed to place the story with an online anthology, but they prefer first-run work, so I'll do my best to abide by that. I'd rather not say any more right now (superstition and all), but once it goes live the images will return here. Thank you very much Noel for the kind words and to those that have checked this short story out. It's much appreciated.
-chris

Over at the Poutine website - the collective home of Canadian artists Noel Tuazon (Elk's Run, Tumor, The Broadcast) and Jason Copland (Perhapanauts and collaborator on this UFO story for Ape) - Jason has thrown up 11 pages of art he did while in Las Vegas. He had no narrative in mind while drawing them, and has offered the pages up to writers who might wish to script a story with them. In his blogpost, Jason states that one can rearrange the pages as necessary to create the story, but I chose to keep them in the order offered, a nice writing challenge.

Below are the lettered pages as scripted by me. I hope they make sense. There's a bit of non-linear storytelling going on due to the restriction of keeping the pages in order as they are on Jason's site. maybe I'll return to this after the holidays to see what other narratives I can come up with, as this is really the beginning of something. Click the images to get a better look.

Artwork © 2010 Jason Copland

Enjoy,
chris