The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Century: 2009

By Alan Moore & Kevin O'Neill

Obligatory warning: Major spoilers ahead:

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Century: 2009 marks the completion of a narrative arc that began with Black Dossier. But it also works (whether or not the LOEG actually continues from here) as a fitting conclusion for the series as a whole. Having brought the Victorian-era cast right up to an apocalyptic Twenty-First Century, there isn't much left to do but to give them a fond sendoff. That is, if they can survive the rampage of Oliver Haddo's antichrist.

Admittedly, I was less engaged with the de rigueur tangle of cultural references found in this book. Partly, this might be due to the contemporaneous nature of what was being referenced. And the heavy Anglo-centric focus didn't really help, as it's something of a personal blind spot. So I'm pretty sure I missed about 99% of them on my first reading. While I picked-up on some of the James Bond allusions, I had already lost interest in that franchise even before Roger Moore left the role. But given the overall mood, I'm not sure it matters. In my review of Century: 1969, I noted an oppressive undercurrent just beneath a surface of gaudy colors and sexual liberation. Forty years later, things have become far worse. The year 2009 apparently discloses an exhausted world just waiting for an inevitable end.

Lest there be any doubt where everything is heading, LOEG's satire is far more blunt than in 1969. As the glorious monuments from previous adventures crumble, nuclear war is an ever imminent threat, British bobbies look and act like Imperial Stormtroopers, and popular entertainment  as a whole is crude and apathetic. It's vaguely reminiscent of the Cold War ennui of Watchmen. The comic attacks the essentially bourgeois nature of pop culture, specifically through its biggest target: J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series. As principal characters Mina Murray and Orlando stand on the ruins of Hogwarts, the former comments "This whole environment seems artificial, as if it's been constructed out of reassuring imagery from the 1940s…"  Just one of a continuous string of zingers castigating the mega-popular franchise. And yet nothing is quite as reactionary as Mina's own indictment of the new millennium: "People were desperately poor in 1910, but at least they felt things had a purpose. How did culture fall apart in barely a hundred years?" To which Orlando replies "By becoming irrelevant, same as always…"

Eh, whatever. But Mina was trapped in a madhouse for forty of those hundred years. So I can cut her some slack. Isn't her distress part of the point? Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill are most effective when capturing the inner turmoil of the cast. In 1969, they were grappling with the consequences of immortality. In 2009, they're dealing with an overwhelming sense of crushing defeat. Allan Quatermain in particular cuts a truly pathetic figure driven to the depths of despair by Mina's disappearance in 1969, yet manages to perform one last act of heroism before being killed by the antichrist's magical piss. I know that sounds ironic, but it's actually quite touching when read. Given how anachronistic a figure the "Great White Hunter" has become, it's as fitting a way as any to end Allan's life of adventuring. And after being put through the ringer, all of these vintage (but cleverly re-imagined) characters are just about ready to call it a century, and a career.

But if anyone has earned the right to be a crank baying at the world, it's Alan Moore. And if anyone has had cause to complain about the uninspired perpetuation of media franchises, it's also him. If he wants an underwhelming Harry Potter to be easily bought down by an equally unimpressed Mary Poppins (And not by the more conventional means of the mythical sword Excalibur), I'd say it's as clever a way as any to depict the fall of Western Civilization. So what comes next?

T-Shirt Design: Super Embarrassing

Go to: May Contain Content by Kerry Callen (via Michael May)

People need to vote for Superman and Wonder Woman at Threadless.com to make the T-shirts available.

Cartoon Series: A cartoonist's worldview

By Nicholas Gurewitch

Go to: The Guardian, by various artists (via Tom Spurgeon)

Comic-Con Album Pt 14

People were still milling at the lobby, appraising their purchases.

And I finally took my leave of my first Comic-Con.

Pt 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13

Comic-Con Album Pt 13

The San Diego Convention Center Exhibition Hall

After the announcement, the giant hall begins to empty.

Pt 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12

Comic-Con Album Pt 12

Jeff Smith

Charles Vess

Back at the Cartoon Books, a PA message declaring the official close of Comic-Con causes someone to pull out a bottle of champagne. Toasts are made. And there is a visible sense of relief over reaching the end of another convention.

Pt 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11

Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Vol. 2

Sailor Moon Vol. 1 was primarily a team-building effort, with the Sailor Senshi engaged in a defensive campaign against an enemy they didn't know.  It's not unusual for many long-running manga series to dole out information in small chunks in order to preserve the intrigue. But Naoko Takeuchi keeps up the relatively quick pace. With Vol. 2, the number of pitched battles are cut down slightly to allow for a rapid succession of earth-shattering revelations that by the end of the book supply the broad outlines of the scope of a war being fought, and the destiny of its protagonists. As a result, Vol. 2 is highly overwrought, as what is at stake is no less than the survival of the entire planet.

At the center of this cosmic struggle is the thwarted romance between Usagi Tsukino and Mamoru Chiba. The story picks up right where it left of, with the two finally confronting each other about their respective secret identities. What initially looked to be a case of simple teenage infatuation turns out to be something that has already managed to survive death and endured for ages. The significance of this doesn't go unnoticed by the series villains, the Dark Kingdom. So they go about abducting Mamoru and turning him into one of their agents. This is seen as a major catastrophe by Usagi and the Senshi not just for the obvious personal reasons, but also for reasons having to do with the story's cosmology. For evil's influence is both pernicious and irreversible. The present warring parties are basically reincarnated versions locked into repeating an ancient pattern. And the lone attempt to defy fate comes from an evil henchman momentarily shaking off the influence of his masters, only to have the evil poured right back into him.

The volume is also notable for the introduction of Sailor Venus, the often mentioned Sailor V playable character of the video game. Unlike the genki girl found in her own series, Minako Aino joins the team as the serious-minded and battle-hardened veteran. There seems to be a bit of retconning taking place in order to make the original Sailor V concept mesh better with Sailor Moon. This involves some narrative sleight-of-hand over who is the actual lost princess of the Moon Kingdom and the location of the legendary crystal. Both issues are quickly and cleverly resolved, and the team is finally complete. This shifts the focus to directly confronting the attacks of an increasingly bold and reckless Dark Kingdom

In the end, Vol. 2 serves as quite a contrast from the more straightforward Vol. 1. The melodrama, supplied backstory, expansion of the conflict, more intense battles, and the introduction of a more fatalistic undertone, all add up to an emotionally draining story. If there's a weakness to the approach of putting a series of obstacles in order to block Usagi/Mamoru's relationship, it's that the plot mechanics have upstaged character development, especially that of the other Senshi. But the volume ends with a suitable enough cliffhanger, with Mamoru's fate in the balance.

Comic-Con Album Pt 11

The late Cynthia Myers is calling it a convention

While there will be people who are going to feel embarrassed by the glamour girl component of Comic-Con, it's hard to deny that both cheesecake and beefcake are very much a part of the con's trashy pop-culture mélange. Luckily, those with more purist notions about how comic conventions should be run aren't completely devoid of events that cater to them.

And so is Lou Ferrigno

Pt 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

The Higgs Boson

Go to: PHD Comics on Vimeo by Jorge Cham (via Heidi MacDonald and Lauren Davis)

Whatever you do, stop calling the Higgs Boson the God Particle!

Webcomic: Paleo

Go to: Paleo by Jim Lawson

Comic-Con Album Pt 10

Jeff Smith sketching for a fan

Unsurprisingly, I was a little star-struck on my first Comic-Con. This made me hesitant to approach some of the exhibiting artists. But as any experienced attendee will tell you, most industry professionals are used to interacting with their fans at these events. And Jeff Smith was one of the nicest people I would meet at Comic-Con. At the time, he was still flush from the success of his self-published comic book series Bone, and was then promoting his collaboration with fantasy illustrator Charles Vess, the miniseries Rose.

Pt 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9

Comic-Con Album Pt 9

Rumiko Takahashi

Accompanied by a Ranma ½ cutout. I believe this was the popular mangaka's first visit to Comic-Con. And she was placed in the autograph area with the other celebrities, starlets, has-beens, and ne'er-do-wells.

 Pt 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

Comic-Con Album Pt 8

Fans line up for the Rocky Horror Picture Show midnight screening

Moon Prism Power meets the Time Warp. Cosplayers from different subcultures rub shoulders during Masquerade night.

 Pt 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

Comic-Con Album Pt 7

The Comic-Con Masquerade

You know how for years you keep hearing Comic-Con described (not without a hint of derision or perhaps self-loathing) as "nerd prom"or "geek vegas", so you finally move from the other side of the world just to see what it's really like? No? Anyway, I come into my first Masquerade late. The hall is packed, and the audience is cheering wildly. I look up at the huge stage and see a lone cosplayer, dwarfed by the two massive television monitors that flank him. He's lip-synching to the cheerful Mighty Mouse theme song booming from speakers scattered throughout the room. The cosplayer looks hilarious dressed in mock Mickey Mouse ears, nose, and whiskers, bright red and yellow spandex, with a puffed-up chest. And he exudes a clumsy, geeky charm, as he acts as if he barely remembers the lyrics. The crowd can't get enough of him. Some are even singing along. The energy is truly amazing. Far more intense than any costly event I've ever attended. As the performance ends, they spontaneously erupt into "MOUSE! MOUSE! MOUSE! MOUSE!" That's probably when it really hit me that I had finally made it to Comic-Con.

 Pt 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

Hark! A Vagrant Calendar by Kate Beaton

Go to: Drawn & Quarterly (via Kate Beaton)

Awesome! Must buy one, somehow.

Comic-Con Album Pt 6

Cosplayer Selina Desire

The self-proclaimed Kat Goddess of Love was in the house. Looking at my old 35 mm rolls, I realize I didn't photograph that many cosplayers during the entire trip. This might have been personal reticence. Comic-Con was my first big convention. But I suspect the transition to digital has helped free-up my shooting habits. I may have been initially overwhelmed by the variety of things that were going on around me. And this made me conservative. But being able to fit two to four hundred images within a single memory card, as opposed to carrying a couple of rolls of film fitting only thirty-six frames each, is a huge step up in image capacity. The instant feedback is also quite useful when assessing what to photograph.

 Pt 1, 2, 3, 4, 5ss

Avatar The Last Airbender: The Promise Part 2

Writer: Gene Luen Yang

Art: Gurihiru

Avatar: The Last Airbender created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko

When part one of The Promise was published, Legend of Korra had yet to premiere on Nickelodeon. But by now, it's pretty clear where the comic's narrative is heading, in so far as the bigger picture is concerned. Avatar Aang and Fire Lord Zuko's friendship will survive. And the burgeoning conflict between the Earth Kingdom and the Fire Nation colonies will be resolved by those two, leading to the founding of the United Republic of Nations. This isn't really a spoiler. It's the principal setting for Korra. With the TV series about to conclude its first season, the comic is starting to feel a little bit extraneous. Not that it would have made a dent on the legions of avatards who lined up to buy the book. But ideally, its release could have been better timed.

And The Promise: Part Two doesn't contain a whole lot in the way of major revelations. Nor does it significantly move the plot forward. Aang and Katara take their sweet time informing Earth King Kuei about the troubling events from the first volume. There's even an interlude where they hang out with the local chapter of Aang's official fan club. As its members all happen to be girls, Katara gets to squirm in discomfort as they fawn all over her beau. And then there's Zuko soliciting advice from his father, former Fire Lord Ozai, as was suggested at the end of the last book. He knows, or should know, what Ozai will say on the matter. So Zuko seeking his council seems to indicate a continued pathological need to earn his father's love and approval. The only person who undergoes a sudden change is Kuei. An ineffectual ruler and comic-relief from the TV series, he uncharacteristically decides it's time to go preemptive in order to be taken more seriously by his subjects and his enemies. Now that sounds vaguely familiar.

It's official. Kataang wins!

However, the volume's most prominent section is an extended detour from geopolitics in the form of Sokka's visit to Toph's metalbending academy. It's actually a rather charming side story that focuses on her maturation into the role of wise mentor figure, although it does manage to touch on the concerns of main plot. It's the comic's best character-based exploration of the ATLA universe. The backstory it references will unfortunately be opaque to non-fans. If this were still the TV series, it would be fitting material for one of the filler episodes. But given the relative brevity of this comic, it takes up a disproportionate amount of the narrative. And given the number of plot threads weaving in and out of each other without much actually happening, the comic feels like it's mostly biding its time until it can deliver on the big payoff in the third act.

But unless they belong to the faction wishing that Zuko would just get past his daddy issues, most fans will be pleased with The Promise. Gene Luen Yang pretty much gets what made the cast so popular, and his portrayals of them are pitch-perfect. He even manages to tease the shipper contingent by throwing in a few underutilized romantic pairings. And even the original character he introduces to give voice to the issues of racial identity and post colonialism dovetails nicely into the multiculturalism of Korra. Yang genuinely loves these characters, and his story is in many ways the highest form of fan fiction - one were he ends up actually getting paid to write it by the Powers That Be.

Toph defines her new responsibilities

Comic-Con Album Pt 5

Scott McCloud conversing with a fan

Scott's table was located at the far end of the exhibitor hall that year, where he was promoting the sequel to his landmark Understanding Comics. This famous work was used as a textbook for one of the college courses I had enrolled in. But after coming face to face with him, one of my classmates noted, with some disappointment, that he didn't look like his cartoon avatar. He considered it to be a lot thinner and younger than the actual person. So I guess it's true. People under the age of twenty-one do think they're immortal.

On a personal note, I do consider Scott to be an important influence on my outlook as a comics fan. If not for creators like him pleading for a broader understanding of the medium, I probably would have "outgrown" comics a long time ago, like other people often claim. So meeting him a was kind of a big deal to me at the time.

 Pt 1, 2, 3, 4

Comic-Con Album Pt 4

The entrance to the massive DC Comics booth

With the old DC Bullet logo. I liked that logo.

Pt 1, 2, 3

Comic-Con Album Pt 3

Mark Waid makes his entrance

Mark came into the room late, and chose to sit out that year's Pro/Fan Challenge. He then spent the rest of the session heckling his teammates from the sidelines.

Pt 1, 2

Comic-Con Album Pt 2

The late Will Eisner signing his work

I didn't know it then. But this was the only time I'd get the chance to meet him.

Pt 1

Sculpture: Guy Laramée's Book Carvings

El amor por las montañas

The Great Wall

Biblios

Go to: Guy Laramée website (via Lauren Davis)

This is every bibliophile's nightmare. But those are some pretty landscapes.

Comic-Con Album Pt 1

Young cosplayer at the DC Comics Booth

Who watches the watchmen?
Who watched Watchmen?
Who will read Before Watchmen?

In the lead up to this year's Comic-Con International, I'll be posting photos from the very first Comic-Con I ever attended. Scanning old film negatives and cleaning up the images of dust and scratches is a pain. So enjoy my trip down memory lane!

Illustration: The Walrus Cover

Go to: Hark! A Vagrant by Kate Beaton

Talk to the Fist

Go to: Darryl Cunningham Investigates (via Tom Spurgeon)

Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Vol. 1

My first exposure to the Sailor Moon anime in the nineties triggered a bit of a nostalgic reaction. This is because I grew up watching Super Sentai shows like Gorenger, well before the genre was exported Stateside and significantly altered to become the Power Rangers franchise. Nowadays, thanks to the wonders of YouTube, I can recall some of those long-forgotten forgotten episodes. This also means that I can't get that damn theme song sung by seiyu Isao Sasaki and Mitsuko Horie out of my head. But I digress. I don't know how many of the ideas behind the Sailor V and Sailor Moon manga came from the mind of creator Naoko Takeuchi, or of her editors. But both are a clever mashup of Super Sentai and the Magical Girl genre, revitalizing and updating them for a younger Japanese audience while serving as a kind of touchstone for older readers. But outside of Japan, Sailor Moon is seen in many quarters as kickstarting the international craze for anime and manga. Most Americans would not have been fully aware of Sailor Moon's pop culture lineage. Only that it was something weird, wonderful, and very different. Heroine Usagi Tsukino and the Sailor Senshi were not Disney princesses. They may have been sweet and feminine. But they still kicked butt! They opened-up the manga market to a whole new demographic. And after a long absence, the manga is back.

For the people who have been living under a rock for the last twenty years, Sailor Moon is the story of a fourteen year old girl named Usagi and her Sailor Senshi allies protecting the Earth from evil with their mystical powers. Unlike their Sentai counterparts who wore form-fitting, full body uniforms which were color-coded for each member, they wear clothes inspired by sailor fuku. That's the visual element that informs the series, meant to appeal to both Japanese girls and boys. Admittedly, some of the boys probably like it for more skeevy reasons. But there's no doubt that the look has become an enduring iconic image. So how did the Sailor Senshi get started? In a manner similar to most magical girl stories. A mysterious talking cat named Luna runs into Usagi, tells her that she's a magical guardian who has to find and protect the princess from a long lost kingdom, gather her fellow warriors, and search for a mysterious crystal that's the key to ruling the universe. Or something like that. Usagi will be the first to admit that she's not exactly hero material. And she blunders her way through her first mission. She's actually rather grating at the beginning. But not to worry. It isn't long before the other Senshi appear to lend her a hand.

Those only familiar with the anime will be surprised at how quickly the manga moves to assemble its principal cast. At times the pace feels hectic. There's plenty of room yet to flesh out the characters. But for now, each of the Senshi are portrayed in a recognizable shorthand. There's the braniac, the psychic, the tall one, and the crybaby. Other shojo tropes are used to further delineate them. While the Senshi are represented by astrological signs, their evil counterparts are long-haired bishonen named after precious stones. As for the bad guys themselves, their methods mostly involve sneakily draining the population of their life force. But their ultimate motivations remain a big mystery. The matter isn't helped by Luna's strangely obtuse statements. Then there's Usagi's would-be love interest Tuxedo Mask, whose reasons for aiding her remain unclear even to himself. By the end of this volume, a lot of things are still very much up in the air.

Compounding the breezy pace of the story are the fight scenes, which are short and mostly devoid of graphic violence. They typically commence with some posing, a hearty battle cry, followed by the discharging of exotic forms of energy. When someone looses, they usually get vaporized. In contrast to the conventional Sentai or shonen battle sequence, there isn't any elaborate exchange of increasingly ludicrous weapons/techniques/tactics, or a dramatic turning point when someone's defenses are finally penetrated. This is a shojo title. A person's belief in themselves, or in the power of love is what determines their ability to crush their enemies. Takeuchi's style may not be as intricate or "pretty" as that of later shojo artists. Her page layouts can often be crowded. And at this early stage of the series, she's still working out her character designs. But she already succeeds in illustrating the qualities of inner strength and beauty found in her protagonists.

Even after all this time, the series particular mix of princess-based fantasy and feminist sensibilities still continues to distinguish it from the content found in many other highly successful commercial manga. So it's great to see it's return to the English-speaking market.

Prometheus (2012)

Michael Fassbender as David the android

So I got to see Ridley Scott's pseudo-prequel Prometheus today. Yes, it's a visually impressive spectacle as everyone else is saying. It even manages to deliver some genuine thrills and chills. And the cast is generally strong, especially Michael Fassbender playing a scheming android channeling his inner Peter O'Toole. But the movie betrays its horror story roots, which means that some characters have to act like nincompoops for the sake of moving the plot forward. What this means is an entire crew of supposedly qualified scientists forgetting their years of training and making incompetent decisions. Some individual motivations remain maddeningly inconsistent. And then there's the weak philosophical pretense embodied by a pair of archaeologists who quickly abandon measured skepticism for New Age gobbledygook and a specious quest for the meaning of life. Boy, Scott sure did set them up for the ultimate letdown (and a possible sequel). So how'd the meeting with your Maker go, suckas?

But this is ultimately a work of great visual beauty. And for sheer poetry, no other scene in Prometheus equals its prologue...

Gluten Free

Go to: Eleanor Davis (via Tom Spurgeon)

To Bottle a Little Bit of its Loveliness

Go to: SuperMutant Magic Academy by Jillian Tamaki

Spot the Difference

Go to: Ty Templeton's ART LAND!! (via Laura Hudson)

Blog: You're All Just Jealous Of My Jetpack

Go to: You're All Just Jealous Of My Jetpack by Tom Gauld

Minicomic: Girl Apocalypse

Go to: Angie Wang, Illustrates (via Tom Spurgeon)

Strong Female Characters 2

Go to: Hark! A Vagrant by Kate Beaton

The King's Revenge

Go to: Tom the Dancing Bug by Ruben Bolling (via Tom Spurgeon)

Supercrooks #1, America’s Got Powers #1, Brilliant #3

I got to read a a few superhero comics with a high concept attached to it this week. On to the reviews.

Supercrooks #1
By Mark Millar, Nacho Vigalondo, Leinil Yu, Gerry Alanguilan, Sunny Gho, Virtual Calligraphy, Dave Gibbons

Mark Millar's and Leinil Yu's new series Supercrooks is another examination of the superhero genre, this time from the POV of the supervillain. Based on reading the inaugural issue, it looks like it's shaping up to be a heist story. The idea sounds interesting, although the playing with genre tropes makes the plot feel kind of obvious. The big eureka moment is when someone figures out that a successful robbery can be carried out by going to a place not patrolled by superheroes. Ya think? The crooks are the usual assortment of losers and lowlifes, while the costumed crime fighters are smug pricks who probably abuse their status. Reaaally? In a Mark Millar comic? Off course, the main protagonist is forced by extenuating circumstances to return to a life of crime.

The art is gritty and attractive, as expected of the mainstream-honed talent working on the comic. The costume designs go for the bold and iconic. If there's a weakness to Leinil Yu's character designs, it's that his people tend to look generic. This caused a bit of confusion when a Las Vegas crime boss and the main protagonist were drawn so alike they might as well be twins separated at birth.

America’s Got Powers #1
Jonathan Ross, Bryan Hitch, Andrew Currie, Paul Neary, Paul Mounts, Chris Eliopoulos, Leinil Yu

America's Got Powers is the superhero genre meets Reality TV. To be more specific, talent-based shows like the wildly popular Idol franchise. But instead of singing and dancing, there are gladiatorial games featuring super powered youths who gained their abilities in utero during a freak event 17 years ago in San Francisco. The TV show was created to channel their energies to less destructive avenues. But it now seems that the show's organizers are beginning to rethink their methods.

AGP isn't particularly subtle with its social satire. The military-industrial complex pulling the strings is obviously a nefarious entity that intends to use the contestants for its own selfish goals. The public that watches the spectacle is bloodthirsty and callous. And the contestants who succeed on the show become self-centered celebrities. There's some commentary on how mass entertainment is a way to distract the populace and a way for the privileged to wage class warfare on them. By contrast, the main protagonist is exceedingly kind to a fault. He also happens to be the one person left inexplicably powerless despite meeting all the conditions that gave the other youths their abilities. The only character who is hard to categorize is the scientist trying to understand the true nature of the super powered generation.

The art pencilled by Bryan Hitch is beautifully detailed in the grandiose, panoramic manner he's become known for. It can also get a bit distracting when he tries to base his characters of real-life celebrities, which is another Hitch affectation.

Brilliant #3
By Brian Michael Bendis, Mark Bagley, Nick Filardi, David Mack, Michael Aoan Oeming

College-age slackers invent superpowers. Nothing about my critique of the first issue has changed. The pacing is slow, and the characters still speak in a kind of shorthand that reveals nothing important, especially about the actual nature of the superpowers in question. The art is still mostly composed of talking heads. Events finally reach a crisis point at the end of the issue, when one of the characters is caught by the authorities using his powers for illegal gain. Three issues in, and the only guy who gets to use superpowers is the story's resident SOB? So no, the perky girl on the cover does not get to shoulder press a sedan. But with an erratic publishing schedule and only two more issues left, this series has pretty much lost any traction for me.

Cosmic

Go to: Zen Pencils by Gavin Aung Than (via Lauren Davis)

He just ripped-off Carl Sagan's star child statements!

Velveteen & Mandala

There's a lot in Velveteen & Mandala, which I believe is Jiro Matsumoto's official introduction to English speaking audiences, that's hard to stomach. It's a veritable series of creepy and disturbing episodes involving gratuitous nudity, violence, mutilation, rape, and defecation. It's a kind of otaku-laden phantasmagoria starring two sailor-suited teenage schoolgirls fighting zombies when they're not too busy making each other's lives miserable. All the while, Japanese society crumbles around them. And that's a strangely upbeat feature of the book. When everything and everyone else is dying, these two symbols of fanboy perversity somehow endure, inexplicably resistant to the forces of decay surrounding them. What does that say about humanity if the freaks and geeks are the people who inherit the Earth?

There's not really a great deal to be said about the plot, as it meanders about from chapter to chapter for 300+ pages and ends up explicating very little. Every so often, bombers drop corpses onto the riverside of Suginami Ward, Tokyo. And into this latter-day Sanzu wander two runaways - the violently antisocial Velveteen, and the ditzy Mandala. They both seem mentally unhinged as they take up residence in an abandoned tank and go about foraging for food. But the story takes a dark turn when the two are drafted into what appears to be an organized effort to process the corpses, which have turned into undead hordes that walk and talk like they're still very much alive. Where they originated from is unclear, but it seems that Tokyo's residents are being overwhelmed by war.

This is a visually dense book. After awhile the pop cultural references start to pile up: The vaguely reminiscent WWII setting, Hayao Miyazaki films, video games, RPGs, etc. As the violence and repellant behavior ramps up, Matsumoto gleefully captures all this with a frenetic drawing style that is both scratchy, yet detailed and accurate. Everything is covered in a texture that exudes a layer of dirt and grime. And the man loves portraying many scenes from the distorted perspective of a fish-eye lens. It's hard for me not to admire his virtuosity, even as I balk from some of the more upsetting subject matter.

What's the point of all this? Not much, actually, beyond Matsumoto exercising his artistic prerogative to shock or titillate. This is a work that actually breaks the 4th wall more than once to admit to the creator's lack of taste. And its social critique doesn't run particularly deep. Its nerd-centric focus seems more a twisted joke than embodying anything seriously-minded. But against my own better judgement, I found the final fate of these two unlikeable characters emotionally affecting. It's a strange, little book, though, which many readers will find unpalatable.

Photography: Off the Grid

Go to: Eric Valli (via Robert T. Gonzalez)

Sketchblog: This Nonsense

Merida

Go to: This Nonsense by Faith erin Hicks (via Tom Spurgeon)

Hm. Interesting title....

Generation Gap

Go to: Sam's Infatuations by Sam Hiti (via Michael May)

Happy May Day!