Comiculture #1
Edited by Steve Buccellato
Featuring stories by Klaus Janson, Jessica Wolk-Stanley, Marc Siry, Ben Raab et al
Published by Mad Science Media
My first thought after putting this down was that it seems like an Americanized 2000 AD, which isn't necessarily a bad idea. And while the entire package didn't knock my socks off (especially the $6.95 pricetag), Comiculture is a worthy experiment that bears watching.
Probably the biggest name (other than the cover contributed by the great Walter Simonson) here is Klaus Janson, and on the heels of his Guide to Pencilling Comics, I have a newfound respect for the thought and effort that he puts into his work -- on top of the fact that he's always been one of my favourite inkers. Janson's short story, the eight-page "Training Wheels," finds a haunted photographer coming to grips with his personal history. It leads off the issue, and is the strongest piece in it and the best reason to recommend the magazine.
In addition to writing, pencilling and inking the story, Janson also colours it, and I had forgotten just how good a colourist he can be. The story features a variety of settings, from urban cityscapes to sunny beaches, and it gives Janson a chance to show off his colour chops while reminding readers how much he contributed to the atmosphere of Frank Miller's Daredevil. "Training Wheels" is really a terrific short story that is done justice by the magazine's superior format and production quality.
The other standout piece of the issue is "My Harlequin Romance" by Jessica Wolk-Stanley, a remembrance of young womanhood told in an appealing and almost subversive girly-girl style. The cheerful storytelling style couches an admirable honesty and a blunt personal assessment that makes the story a winner.
"With No Power" is an hilarious and apparently true story about an intern at Marvel Comics who ends up dressing as Spider-Man for a day. The dull reality of being a real-life superhero had me laughing out loud in spots -- this is an example of the kind of autobiographical delight that makes the genre so rewarding.
There's a batch of other stories here of varying quality, as you'd expect from an anthology -- some standalone stories, some ongoing serials. The diversity of genres and storytelling approaches is such that I find it hard to imagine any reader not finding at least one gem in this debut issue -- and as I said, I found at least three that had me glad I picked up the issue. As is the norm with anthologies, there's some stuff you'll probably find not to your interest, but on the whole I found this debut issue surprisingly satisfactory, and I'll definitely check out future offerings. Grade: 4/5