September 02, 2005
The Value of Persistence
The Quitter
Creators: Harvey Pekar, writer; Dean Haspiel, writer
DC/Vertigo, 104 pages, black and white, hardcover, $19.99
So? Harvey Pekar has been writing comicbook stories about his life for at least 30 years now, but has never ventured into his own childhood for stories until now. In his first big book since the film adaptation of “American Splendor” became an indie smash, Pekar tells the story of how he grew up and became Harvey Pekar. What has always made Pekar’s work fascinating is the honesty he has with his audience; he’s never afraid to tell it like it is or admit to his own mistakes. Pekar’s tale is one of internal conflicts, how he struggled to find worth in himself whether it was through street fighting, sports, collecting records, writing jazz reviews, trying to hold down any kind of job and eventually creating comicbooks. This is a story that reads true, the story of a real life. Pekar shows a real maturity in his craft as well, maintaining a consistent and compelling narrative for more than 100 pages, making “The Quitter” his longest single story since the harrowing details of “Our Cancer Year.” Haspiel’s clean, more traditional comicbook-style of art is a departure for the look of most of Pekar’s stories, most of which have been drawn by alternative comics artists such as R. Crumb and Joe Drumm. Haspiel’s clean, black-and-white art evokes the best qualities of great comics art, from Jack Kirby to Bruce Timm, and is highly polished, easy to read and appropriate for the material. Emotions and action come through in just the right proportions. Grade: A
The Cute Manifesto
Creator: James Kochalka
Alternative Comics, 168 pages, black and white, $19.95
So? Kochalka writes and draws little stories about big things, including life, the nature of art, having a baby and comics. It may sound heavy, but it’s not. This is a quick and enjoyable read that feels like a friendly conversation with a friend who’s got a lot of insight into cutting through the clutter and enjoying life. A real refresher. Grade: A-
Supernatural Law: First Amendment Issue (#41)
Creator: Batton Lash
Exhibit A Press, 32 pages, black and white, $3.50
So? Supernatural Law has a great setup: Wolff and Byrd are law partners who specialize in cases involving the supernatural, defending the rights of the strange, weird and out-of-this-world in court. This issue is a First Amendment issue created in conjunction with the Comic-Book Legal Defense Fund, which assists members of the comics industry in free speech cases, most of which are leveled against retailers accused of selling inappropriate material to children. Batton Lash has always given the book a traditionalist spin on both the legal and comicbook elements, making his lawyers intelligent, well-educated and principled legal defenders while the ghoulish elements have an EC Comics influence (I know Batton is an admirer of EC great Johnny Craig – and it shows). This issue has the lawyers defending a warlock who casts a spell that allows paintings to speak their minds and explain themselves, leading to many people taking offense and suing the warlock. The plotting would be right at home in one of Jerry Bruckheimer’s procedurals and the outcome has basis in law as well as entertainment without being preachy. The book is more clever than heartfelt, but you can’t complain too much about a comicbook that’s too smart for its own good. Grade: B+
Sep 2, 2005 at 04:28 PM by Tom McLean in Reviews | Permalink
Comments
I like your stories I was wondering can you tell me something or should I say give me some notes about my paper I have to do Well I have to write about Value of persistance.
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