Acts of Random Vertigo
By Martijn Form
The sun shines faintly on my body as I lie on the lush park grass. I'm staring at the clouds, trying to relax from a hard day at the office. Children around me play a passionate game of soccer. I love when they play outside and are not stuck in front of some LCD screen killing anyone who dares to cross their virtual path. Several fellow human beings are also enjoying the sun, reading some glossy magazines, and someone even tries to read a book.
*Sigh* But no one is reading a comic of some sort. What is the world coming to? It's such a good time to read comics. A lot of publishers are at the top of their game. Well, at least I'm having a great time reading comics. It's a part of my life and makes me happy. I wonder if Harvey Pekar, the writer of American Splendor, is a happy person? He doesn't seem to be. He worries all the time. About his health, or the fact he is feeling old, how to drive to and from the hospital.Pekar worries all the time. American Splendor Season Two is all about that. Pekar is a technophob; he can't use a computer, which must be a burden in a society that is all about 0's and 1's. He calls a friend to ask him what the best route is to the hospital. Gary has a computer, and must look like a wizard to Harvey.
Harvey: "Okay, the one thing is, there's a kind of jog on W. 130th and Brookpark. What is that? Can I get past it or is there some kind of impediment there where I'll have to detour?I love reading these kinds of conversations. Harvey Pekar is a master at creating stories about nothing basically. No DMZ, no Viking fights, no demons or spandex flying around saving the world. He just provides his train of thought.
Gary: Lemme see. Oh, I know what that is, that's where W. 130th goes diagonal for a bit and the street widened there. An extra lane's been added because all of the traffic coming from 480. It really shouldn’t pose any problem. Just stay out of the right lane so you don't get swept onto Brookpark.
With Vertigo's releases this past week you can travel through time and place in roughly 30 minutes. From Harvey Pekar's ultra reality into the harsh, blood soaked world of Northlanders #7 or the fantasy world of Madame Xanadu #1, or the prison without bars in House of Mystery #3. No other medium can do that; comics are superior that way.
In just reading Northlanders I'm glad I don't have to live my life in that world. Two hundred Saxons storming the beach. Sven with his Norsemen outnumbered. A raven flies overhead, a messenger of death and blood.
Sven: "Everyone hold the wall."Sven's actions are contradictory in this issue. He leaves the wall, to focus his attention away from the hungry Saxons and to his rival Gorm. Would a great warrior, like Sven, really commit such an action in the middle of a battle? Story wise it's great drama, but I feel that it's a bit out of character for Sven to behave like that. It contradicts the dialogue and actions from the first pages of this issue. The last two pages, especially, didn't feel right to me. Too much calm. This conversation between Sven and Hakkar should have taken place after the battle, not during. Still the saga of Sven is an addiction that I can't shake.
The Norsemen form a human wall, a shield, to hold their ground.
Sven: "Stupid thing to say, really. If your wall breaks, you'll probably die."
Without a doubt the best Vertigo art this week was found within Madame Xanadu. Amy Reeder Hadley is so perfect for this fantasy book. Her drawing lines are thin and her inking very light, leaving a lot of room for detail, which she provides in every panel. Man, can this girl draw a forest or what? She really pulls all punches when drawing the main character Xanadu. I took me only two pages to get sucked into her world. The story isn't world shattering so far. It feels like a prologue with a forced cliffhanger, but I have great faith in Matt Wagner. His dialogues are very fantasy-like, with a touch of the Shakespearian way of talking that melts right into the characters. I think… no, I believe, that after a few issues, this book can rival Fables.
It's three in the morning when a car alarm goes off somewhere. Usually I don't care, but I'm sleeping very light this night. I get up and stroll to the window. The city is asleep, and so is the car alarm again. Sunshine, my cat, is sleeping on my American Virgin issues that I laid out on the dinner table that morning. I love looking at all the covers for inspiration in my own work.
I have re-read American Virgin for the third time this week. It's one of my favorite Vertigo series of the last five years. The combination of sex and religion is so thought provoking, it really can keep you up at night. The themes Steven T. Seagle explores are profound, and besides It's A Bird is probably his best work yet. And to think that after reading the first story arc, I wanted to drop this book. I'm glad I didn't because Adam Chamberlain's struggle between God, religion and sex is sublime. Adam's love of his life gets murdered in the first arc, but then he finds a new girl. Their relationship is rocky, thanks to Chamberlain's family, who are freaks of nature without any effort to deserve that title.Becky Cloonan provides most of the art, and she can't draw a bad line, even if she wanted to. Her characterizations are moody and thoughtful and help Seagle's script rise to unearthly levels. It's more than sad that this series had to end due to low sales, but we always will have some fine trades to read, right?
American Virgin Vol. 4: Around the World will be in stores this week.
It's Saturday. I'm in the mood to find a new comic store, so I googled some stores that I haven't visited yet. I'm ready to dive into their back issues. I packed my note book, with Vertigo issues that are missing in my collection or are in dire need of being replaced. There are older Vertigo series I want to have in single issues, solely because of the letter pages. They are great, especially because of the printed comments by editors like Shelly Bond.
The first store I find has a basement with some nice post-Grant Morrison Doom Patrol issues. I'm really looking for the ones written by Rachel Pollack and drawn by Linda Medley. Talk about girl power. You don't see that very often in comics. If you think Morrison has a monopoly on weird and hallucinating stories, well, you haven't read Pollack's Doom Patrol. Comics don't get any weirder than that, and her writing is very dense, with lots of freaky and sadistic humor and sublime plotting.
The Doom Patrol is a bunch of misfits and--again that term--freaks of nature: Nils Caulder, a body-less-head kept on ice, who leads this bunch; Cliff Steele with a robot's body and a human brain; and my favorite darling, Dorothy, a monkey-girl of some sort, who has strange powers from friends in higher places.
It's really too bad that Rachel Pollack left comics to pursue other green fields.
My next stop is all about John Ney Rieber, a master storyteller that comic history shouldn't forget. His work on Books of Magic is so damn good. Of course, I have read every Books of Magic issue already, but I don't have the series complete in single issue form. I'm in the market for issues #41 and up, and in mint condition.
John Ney Rieber is also an unsung hero, just like Rachel Pollack. He doesn't write a lot of comics nowadays, and when he does, unfortunately they aren’t amazing like his run on Books of Magic. I hope one day he will pitch a good story to Vertigo to start a new series.
Sunday. The weather is grim again, but I am holding Doom Patrol issues #65-75 in my hands. I'm ready to dive into the world of Rachel Pollack. Eleven issues for 10 bucks. Now THAT is a bargain. Ohh, Sunday will be a good Vertigo day.
See you in seven, and don’t forget to collect those gone but not forgotten great Vertigo series when you pick up your new comics.
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