Eddie Campbell's Egomania
By Eddie Campbell
Published by Eddie Campbell Comics
Available from Top Shelf Productions
Eddie Campbell has spent the past couple of years distilling his outstanding autobiographical comics into a series of sublime and rewarding graphic novels, the most recent being After the Snooter. His journey as a cartoonist and chronicler of the human condition (his, at least) has now led him to a quarterly magazine that promises to reveal Campbell's interests, wisdom and brilliance. All of those are on display in the first issue of Egomania. There's something for everyone here, as Campbell rolls out a cartoon essay (the first two chapters of a longer planned graphic novel) on the History of Humour, an interview with a Golden Age Batman artist, an article by Campbell's daughter on the From Hell movie premiere, and an essay about paintings. The Batman article and interview is fascinating for how much it reveals about Campbell and his development as a cartoonist (I'm amazed and gratified he didn't end up doing Batman comics every month -- a bullet dodged, that). The From Hell piece is a behind the scenes glimpse of comics history that's uniquely appropriate to this magazine. The pieces on humour and painting didn't capture my immediate attention, but I'm not captivated by every word of The Comics Journal, either. A good magazine is about diversity, and Egomania has that in spades. I found a second reading of the painting piece gave me a deeper appreciation of the depth of the magazine and even more fondness for Campbell and the way he magages to reveal himself when he's talking about something almost totally other from himself. There was much more here that I liked than not, and I'm gleeful with anticipation of the future of this magazine. Grade: 4/5
Small Favors Book One
By Colleen Coover
Published by Eros Comix
Collecting the first four issues of Coover's delightful adults-only fantasy, Small Favors really transcends the label of mere pornography and, whether it means to or not, presents lesbian sexuality as so wholly normal and human that it really is an important work aside from its presumed, prurient intentions. Colleen Coover clearly sees the joyous and empowering elements inherent in healthy sexuality of any stripe (she just happens to work in "girly porno" as she calls it), and her work serves as a hilarious, sexy textbook for using our bodies to love each other. Annie is a girl who can't keep her hands off herself, and Nibbil is a little sprite sent to make her stop abusing herself. Annie's just too adorable, though, and soon her and Nibbil are finding every way in the book (and inventing a dfew new ones) to make each other feel good. I don't enjoy this as porn (honest to God -- I read it for the articles!), just as a blissful exercise in sensual delight. Coover's a great, salacious cartoonist whose work should be must-reading for anyone who sees sex as a gift, not an evil necessity to perpetuating the species. Grade: 4.5/5
Peanutbutter and Jeremy #3: Nest and Window
Exchange
By James Kochalka
Published by Alternative Comics
Between his daily diary strips, the recent Pinky and Stinky graphic novel and the soon to be released Fantastic Butterflies, one gets the impression that James Kochalka is a bit prolific. He's also constantly working on new music, and even trying to branch out into biological reproduction these days, I hear -- and yet, every new release comes as a delightful surprise. In this latest all-ages PB&J, Peanutbutter enters into a deal with a gun-wielding Jeremy (is these no end to his perfidy?) who gets angry when Peanutbutter is unable to hold up his end of the bargain. PB&J is a great entry into Kochalka's style, so if you've never tried his work, this issue is a great place to start. Longtime fans will be pleased as well by yet another tale of these two creatures flung together by circumstance, fate, and the gentle, odd mind of James Kochalka. Grade: 4.5/5
Mystic Funnies #3
By R. Crumb
Published by Fantagraphics Books
Crumb is supposed to be turning out "two books a year," as we learn in the strip on the inside front cover, and maybe that pressure is to blame for the rambling and unsatisfactory "Hipman" story that leads off this issue. A seeming satire with no firm target, it's a forgettable exercise that only briefly deceived me into thinking the issue was a bust. "Don't Tempt Fate" is a masterpiece of autobiographical comics parsed out in six brilliant pages. Crumb explains a historical mystery that's been hinted at in earlier strips and delves into a life lesson learned at a painful price. It's one of his strongest stories ever in terms of both the writing and the art, and fully justifies the four bucks this issue'll set you back. A shorter funny animal strip and two one-pagers (including the excellent "Cradle to Grave") round out this issue, but it's "Don't Tempt Fate" that will have me re-reading this one in years to come. Grade: 4/5
30 Days of Night
By Steve Niles and Ben Templesmith
Published by IDW
While many episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer have provided chilling moments of vampiric evil, I don't think the comics have ever even come close to depicting the inherent potential for terror that the genre holds. 30 Days of Night, on the other hand, couples a brilliant idea (vampires invade a town where the sun won't rise for weeks and weeks) with a terrifying depiction of the alien amorality at the heart of vampirism -- people as food and little more. In this middle chapter, conflict arises between the vampires, providing a ray of hope for the survivors of the bloody massacre that has been visited upon the community. Ben Templesmith's art is unclear in spots but conveys the mood of Niles's twisted script well for the most part. This story reportedly may be headed for the big screen, but you should check out this visceral first version of the story while you can. Grade: 4/5
Catwoman: Selina's Big Score
By Darwyn Cooke
Published by DC Comics
A rollicking heist caper (think Ocean's Eleven, right down to the Brad Pitt and Carl Reiner characters), Darwyn Cooke's hardcover original graphic novel serves as a prequel to the current, excellent monthly series written by Ed Brubaker (who is thanked in the notes at the books back section). Cooke's words don't cut quite as deep as Brubaker's do at their best, but visually the book is a reminder of the power and grace Cooke visited upon the monthly book's first four issues. My only quibble about the art is the somewhat thick line Cooke employs, which in places makes me long for the more elegant work Mike Allred did over Cooke's pencils, and makes me suspect that the art may have been drawn at the same size it's reproduced at. As you might expect, there are many striking images, often of Selina prowling the rooftops, or setting the scene of a cityscape or the desolation of Death Valley. Cooke's gorgeous renderings are enhanced by the subtle and assured colour work of Matt Hollingsworth. As a prequel, the story doesn't end up in any truly surprising places, but this is a welcome addition to the monthly title's canon, and I only wish a hardcover collection of Brubaker and Cooke's first four issues was in the works. I know a trade paperback is in the works, but those issues deserve a more permanent collection, and it would look great next to Selina's Big Score on my bookshelf. Grade: 4.5/5