Last Ditch Summer
Summer is coming to a close here in Vancouver, which means it’s time for our 8 months of rain. I have really been enjoying reading outside. I have a nice deck and perfectly placed umbrella. It’s a process that allows me to clear my head and just be present with what I am reading. It’s too easy to get distracted by phone and whatever else is handy. If you would like to send stuff for me to read, you can mail to
Inkstuds
#2147 – 720 Sixth St
New Westminster, BC
V3L 3C5
Canada
and only if you are mailing from the United States
Robin McConnell
1685 H Street # 27043
Blaine, WA 98230
United States
or email me inkstuds@inkstuds.com
On Sunday, I had a lovely afternoon getting into Blurry by Dash Shaw. His second release from the steady and excellent New York Review Comics. I also like reading Dash’s work. Even if I don’t completely love a book by him, I know he is pushing and trying something new. There is that silly quote where Steranko describes himself as inventing x amount of techniques in a short amount of time. It always bothers me, because yeah, Steranko comics look great, but they aren’t particularly good to read. He is drinking his own kool-aid. Dash’s comics are always good to read. He sticks to the idea that you have to have a story to tell. This latest book is a story within a story within a story etc… It’s also about the things in life that connect us all, even if those connections are not completely obvious. That art is simple, but flexible, pushing small abstract moments to engage in wider ideas while also creating a living breathing world that is easy to fall into. I did find myself getting lost in some of the complex narratives, but that might just be me with my brain not operating at a 100 right. I also don’t know if he completely landed the ending and would possibly liked more time to be spent exploring that, but I guess it’s about how we get there, not where we end up.
Another book from New York Review books is the brand new Ninja Sarutobi Sasuke by Sugiura Shigeru. Translated with accompanying essay Ryan Holmberg, a man with a curatorial eye that is behind some of my favorite books right now. This is a collection of work from the 1950s. It’s completely batshit wild. The writing has a fun and naïve poetry to it, just moving through these situations and landscapes. As the book moves on, the artist seems to have more fun and in creating a world that is infused by range of influences and ideas. Years ago, after reading about this work in an interview with Chris Ware, I ordered a Japanese language book of this work, which was quite small, but still packed with such beautiful oddity. It’s fantastic to be able to have a hefty collection of this work.
Following along the works of Holmberg, is the latest of Yoshiharu Tsuge. At one time a fantasy of many publishers to be able to bring this work to an English language market. We now have 5 books out by him, with the latest, Oba Electroplating Factory being the fourth volume in Drawn and Quarterly’s collection. The work in this book is a collection of 7 stories from 1973 and 1974. It’s a mature artist creating immensely personal work that is revealing and painful and honest. Tsuge’s struggle’s are open for all to live in, as he is exploited as a young artist, leaning into his desires as his life settles into domesticity in his mid 30s and the creative blocks that torment. This series is phenomenal. I remember reading the small story in Raw years ago and wanting more work like that. It took D&Q and Holmberg a lot of work to make this happen, but i sincerely appreciative to allow us the opportunity to engage in one the mediums best.
On another note of the best, I have really been enjoying Richard Corben’s Den reprints from Dark Horse. Jose Villarrubia has been openly documenting the work it has taken to present these volumes with such care and dedication. Den has been printed in any manner of series, from underground comics, to pages of Heavy Metal and more. For the early volumes, there is absolutely no consistency on art mediums in a given book. I think the first volume has 3 distinct styles of colouring, including painting. I remember years ago, I interviewed someone who claimed to be the first person to painted comics. I got into a bit of an exchange with him, since his comics came out in the 80s, with me pushing hard that Corben had already done so much more than 10 years before this person. He eventually changed his argument to be first person to do a painted monthly newsstand comic, which means absolutely nothing. As you can see, the claim still really annoys me. Anywho, these books are great. Barbarian chaos in another world. The work of Villarrubia on producing such beautiful consistent quality is phenomenal. I recently picked up Horror From the Crypt of Fear, a new reprint of one of Corben’s earliest work. It’s a black and white work originally printed in Weirdom Illustrated. The reprinting is so badly done, that I suggest tracking down the original underground comics. It feels like print-on-demand book that was scanned as a low resolution jpeg. The line work looks uneven and pixelated. Save your Corben-bucks for the dark horse collections.
I grabbed issue seven of the Audra Show directly from Audra Stang at VanCAF earlier this year. I love the self published Audra show collection and this follow up issue is great. Beautifully risograph printed on pink paper, this comic is full of personality and frailty. The human vulnerabilities of young love and adolescent struggles. Audra is a great story teller making comics that are easy to jump into and vicariously live through the experiences.
At the Vancouver Art Book Fair this summer, I grabbed a stack of risographed comics by Oliver Arthur. The batman comic was especially touching. My friend and I crossed the border recently and the border guard, upon hearing we were bringing back comics, asked us our favorite superhero, we answered batman in unison. His other work is equally heartfelt and nuanced. Really strong work from someone I was not familiar with. He is trying a lot of different things with his comics and it’s working well. The awkwardness difficulties of life, brought forward and explored.
I was very happy to get Age of Darkness by Caza from my friend Marc at Wow Cool. He keeps digging out more great comics from his stacks of archives. This is a classic. The end of the world has never looked so delightful and grotesque. This book is very much for fans of 1970’s sci-fi a la Metal Hurlant. Caza is a really neat creator, as his work can range into all sorts of different directions. Floating World recently reprinted the pop art classic, Kris Kool. It’s a dynamite book. I hope we get to see more English language reprints. The work in Darkness is from the early 80s and this edition was published by Heavy Metal in 1998.
I am not going to say a lot about the Lucky Luke book by Blutch. It’s a concept that looks great, but I would much rather have a new Blutch book. I had never read Lucky Luke, so I was caught a little off-guard by the casual cowboy/western comics racism in how they portray Indigenous characters. I thought a book coming out in 2024 might be a little better informed, but also the French comic industry is sometimes still in its own bubble of complacency. I am not shocked when I come across this kind of depiction in an older book ( still doesn’t make it ok), but I expect a little better by now. Maybe they need a workshop…
Lastly, another French reprint, this time less off putting. Blood & Ice is by Tito Faraci & Pasquale Frisenda. I don’t know anything about the publisher, Epicenter, but have been picked up their low cost reprints pretty consistently. It’s classic reprint style of European language comic albums or works. Originally published in Italy in 2016, this book is beautifully painted and the book does a really good job of capturing the ink washes nicely. The story takes place during the French return from Russia during the Napoleonic war, so you know things aren’t going well for our characters. Judging by the cover, you would think it’s a war comic, but it’s better described as a dire horror comic. The quality of work from Epicenter hasn’t been consistent, but the low price point keeps me checking it out. I liked this book a bunch. the art is really great. Good genre comics.
