Still on the Shelf #83 - NBM
Craig Reade

Recently, you might have noticed a few mentions by me of some of NBM’s comics and other graphic literature. NBM has a pretty diverse line-up, but one of the things that struck me about them as a publisher is that they tend to do a lot of things that would qualify as more artistic than your average comic book. Sure they have their more traditional comic book type stories - Dungeon and The Hardy Boys come to mind, but they also are much more flexible when it comes to pushing the artistic envelope than your average comic publisher. For a while I have focused a great deal on individual small press comics, but I thought it might be a good idea, from time to time, to take a larger look at some of the things a particular publisher is putting out. So why not start this week?

Graphic novels and similar graphic storytelling projects are somewhat underappreciated in the comic community. Let’s face it – even though it is pretty clear that the average comic reader is quite a bit older than it was in decades past, the subject matter hasn’t exactly gotten much more sophisticated. Sure, comics have more adult themes, but they would hardly qualify as sophisticated. Look at the top ten comic sales in October – about the only one that comes close to qualifying would be Secret War, and that is only because as a series it is prized for its painted art. Beyond that one possible exception, it is all your standard super-hero storytelling: the same thing comics have been about for decades. On the graphic novel side, replace “super-hero” with “manga,” and the results come out about the same.

This is not to suggest that the popular comics of the day aren’t skillfully done, quite the opposite. Who can say that Identity Crisis isn’t an outstanding story? Despite the skill with which that story is told, I think there is a pretty clear distinction between something like that and something more “artistic,” like Kabuki. Now, personally, I like Identity Crisis far beter than Kabuki, but while the former is simply an amazing story, the other is seeking to push the artistic envelope.

When it comes to these more “artistic” properties, it seems that NBM has more than its fair share. So I decided to take a look at a few of their titles (artistic and otherwise), and let you know what I think.

The Jungle
Written by Upton Sinclair
Adapted by Peter Kuper

I am sure many of you have seen me mention that I am wary of the inclusion of politics in comic books. Usually I think this is a terrible idea. We all have our favorite mainstream books, and when the current writer of one of those books decides to use it as a platform for pontificating, it can make the reading experience less than enjoyable. I don’t read any of the mainstream comics for social commentary, and that is never going to change. I want Batman fighting the Joker, not Global Warming. This isn’t to say that comics should be sterile – Oliver Queen just wouldn’t be the same if he wasn’t a hard-core liberal, but real deep espousal of political ideas shouldn’t be something I find in Challengers of the Unknown.

There is a time and a place for it, and this is a good example. When your initial goal is to tell a story that conveys an idea, the political is to be expected. When presented properly, even if you disagree with the ideas espoused, one can hardly be offended by the political content. I am pretty far removed, politically, from a Socialist, but still admire the skillfully told storytelling in, and the historical importance of Upton Sinclair’s “The Jungle.”

For those unfamiliar, The Jungle, written in 1906, was seen by some as a damning exposé on the Chicago meat-packing industry. Though it did lead to some serious investigation and changes in the industry, with some added historical perspective, it becomes clear that The Jungle is a powerful argument for Socialism.

Obviously this is not the actual novel itself, rather, a graphic novel adaptation. And I have to say it was pretty impressively done. One of the things that Sinclair himself tried to convey was hopelessness of the disillusioned worker in the brutal American Capitalist system. The biggest challenge for Kuper here, in my eyes, was the artistic presentation, and he did a fantastic job. Jurgis (and all of the characters, for that matter), are clearly downtrodden at the beginning of the story, but they are still hopeful and idealistic, and that is conveyed in the art. The characters are happy, the colors are bright. But as the story progresses, and Jurgis is chewed up by the Capitalist machine, his life slowly destroyed, the art becomes darker, more chaotic. That is, until he “finds” socialism. Then he is bathed in red, and the art is suddenly brighter, the panels are happy once again. Triumphant.

Agree politically or not, Sinclair had a pretty powerful message to deliver when he wrote The Jungle, and Kuper did a fantastic job on his adaptation. It is worth a look if you are looking for something a little more on the literary side for your next graphic novel purchase.

The Fallen Vol. 2 – Cold Religion
Written by David Aaron Clark
Art by David Rankin

I almost decided not to write about this one this week. Not that it wasn’t good (in its own way, it was), but rather, because I was hopelessly lost.

The Fallen is a planned three issue series that would best be described as Urban Goth. It is dark, brutal, and twisted – it drips with forbidden sexuality and violence. It isn’t at all a stretch to say that this book is intended for mature audiences.

The story is very heavy, and at times difficult to follow, but I do attribute that to my missing the first volume. The story is revolves around an underground group of vampires and their interactions with an artist.

As I said, the story is a little muddy, but it is painfully clear that the tale is less important than the art. This book is most definitely on the “artistic” end of graphic storytelling. David Rankin (who replaces Volume 1 artist Miran Kim with this volume) uses an interesting blend of photo collage and painting to tell Clark’s story. While I found the story to be overly wordy and somewhat dreary at times, the artistic presentation is simply stunning. It is fresh and creative, and unlike anything else I am seeing in comics today. It is dark, imaginative, and very different than anything in the more main stream “comics.”

As interesting as The Fallen is, it is not for everyone. If you have a problem with disturbing imagery and somewhat blasphemous ideas, you might want to look elsewhere. As much as I respect Clark’s vision here, the art really is the selling point of this series, and not the story. If you like creative graphic art, you might want to give The Fallen a look. If you’d like to take a peak at some sample pages from the series, they are available on the NBM website. Again – this is something for mature audiences only, so keep that in mind before looking at the pages.

Boneyard
By Richard Moore

OK, this doesn’t really fit into the general theme of this week’s column, but I found it to be entertaining nonetheless.

Boneyard is the story of a man named Michael Paris who inherits a graveyard that happens to be filled with every sort of monster you might imagine. The thing is – the monsters themselves really aren’t that bad of people, those that “fear” them turn out to be the real monsters. Paris is constantly under assault by those who want to take the graveyard from him, including the IRS and the Devil himself.

I caught the third volume of Boneyard, and before I read the first page, I was suspicious. Included in this collection was Boneyard #9-11 and the Swimsuit Issue. I have a real hostility towards Swimsuit issues of comics in general, and right away I couldn’t help but be down on this book from the beginning. Just look at any of my past comments regarding the Chaos Lady Death vs. th eMedieval Lady Death, and that should tell you all you need to know about my feelings on sexing up your comic heroines.

The thing is – Moore surprised me with this story, and the fact that I enjoyed anything involving a comic book swimsuit issue makes it worthy of mentioning, I think. The plot of this third trade revolves around an attempt to raise money to save the graveyard from the IRS by making a “Monsters on the Beach” Swimsuit calendar! And, of course, the actual “calendar” gets presented to you in the form of a swimsuit issue, with the issue itself remaining consistent with the various plot points that were brought up in the main story. I guess what I am saying is, if you are going to do a swimsuit issue, this is the way to do it.

The story itself is pretty entertaining, and way better than I expected. Moore has some pretty deep characters here and I do really enjoy good, character driven stories. It was fairly easy to jump into in the middle – I am sure there are several things I missed from the first two arcs, but that didn’t hinder my enjoyment of this story too much.

Boneyard itself comes out quarterly, and carries a cover price of $2.95. The third trade should be available next month, and has a cover price of $9.95. I thought that Boneyard read quite well in the trade format, and that is certainly the most cost-effective way to read the back story. It isn’t a traditional horror story, and while there are some humerous elements, I would hesitate to call it a comedy. If you are looking for a light, character-driven story with some light humor, this is the book for you.

All three of these titles can be ordered from NBM’s website, or by your local comic shop.