The Factual Opinion

The Virgin Read: Part Of Being In A Relationship Is Pretending You Agree With The Other Person Sometimes, Even When It Hurts Really Really Bad To Do So

Each week, the non-comics reading Nina Stone picks out one random comic book based off her own made up criteria, reads it, and then writes about that experience. While she's been doing these columns for awhile, she's only successfully managed to enjoy, remember, and keep up with one series. This week, she picked Cinderella: From Fabletown With Love # 1.

Cinderella: From Fabletown With Love # 1
Written by Chris Roberson
Art by Shawn McManus & Lee Loughridge
Published by Vertigo/DC Comics

This one is right up my alley, but not necessarily on the story alone. It's the whole idea that I'm a big fan of. I don't even know what you call this type of story--but yeah, I guess I'm into it. It's not just a modern day version of a fairy tale, that description doesn't cover how clever I felt this Cinderalla story came across.

It's sort of like watching someone do a puzzle, a puzzle that has an unknown solution. I love when an artist can make those kind of things fit, and they certainly did here. All the pieces of the story just started to fit together perfectly. Personal disclaimer: I write music for children. Every now and then I take a story book and put it to music, or I get the kids to tell me their favorite subject matter and put that into a song. And it's always so cool when lyrics, rhythm, style, sing-ability all fit together into the perfect package. You feel like that song was there all along just waiting for you to sing it. 

I wouldn't even know how one goes about gets started making comics, but Cinderella: From Fabletown with Love made me feel like I was reading somebody who knew exactly how to do it, somebody who knew how to make the "puzzle" of a fairy tale character & a contemporary setting work. I was hooked from the first page where the dialog reads: "Everyone knows my story. I get dressed up. The clock strikes twelve. I lose a shoe." But what's being illustrated is dressed up Cinderella in a serious fight, losing her shoe after kicking the gun out of some guy's hand, and then them both falling down passing a large clock reading midnight. I flip the page to learn that Cinderella is a spy. And I just had to find out how else they tie the fairy tale to this story line.

You know what? I never found myself disappointed or wishing they'd been a little more clever. Nope, not once. (If that sounds like I was expecting to be disappointed, it's only because last week had me a little wary of another gross comic, and it didn't help that the people at the store told me that this past week "was a light one", meaning that there wasn't a lot to choose from.) I loved that she's a divorcee who 'the fairy tale" didn't really work for. I love that she owns a shoe store called The Glass Slipper. And, yes, I'm going to have to check out "Fables" because I love the idea that there's a magical place -- somewhat like Hogwarts? -- where all the Fairy Tale and Fable characters exist. And yet the also exist in the "Mundy" world (Muggles?). I'm sure Mundy is short for mundane. One can't help seeing a few Harry Potter similarities. But you know what, when you compare stories about magical lands and magical places, it's likely that they'll have stuff in common.

Anyhow. Loved that the former guy to give Cindy her "marching orders" was Bigby Wolf (Big Bad Wolf! I get it!). And now it's Beast, from Beauty and the Beast. It's pretty clever (and kind of hilarious) that there's a whole complex full of elderly, magical people....like somewhere one might find a Fairy Godmother living. And then Puss n Boots, and the mouse and the bird? I'm just loving this stuff. And like I was mentioning early, Chris Roberson has found a way that it all works together. It's so clever, and cute. I got worried at the end and am wondering what will happen next. That hasn't happened in a while.

And hey, I didn't mean to neglect the art. Sorry. (This is a long one too. I think i'm getting carried away!) I've slowly become a fan of Oeming and the art is similar to his. That style will always draw me. This book has quite a bit more going on in each page - from the number of frames to the colors, and it all supports and expands the story. There's an "old" cartoon-y feel, and it felt like it matched up well with fairy tales and fables. I mean, the picture of Puss-In-Boots looks like it could have come out of a storybook (that's a compliment), and the Beast had a Disney-esque appearance. At no time was I distracted by the art, and that's something that's happened a bit lately. In other comics I've had problems with the way certain body parts were drawn or how a woman was contorted into a position that would not be humanely possible. Sometimes it's just with facial expressions that don't seem to emotionally match what's going on in the story, but none of those problems came up this time around. I looked to the pictures for information that the words might not be giving me and vice versa.

People, I'm going to go out on a limb and say something that I don't think I've said before. Here it goes. "I can see myself keeping up with this one." Yep. I can. I enjoyed it that much. I'm interested in seeing both how Roberson will tie the various Fairy Tale characters together, and I'm interested in seeing what happens next in this story.

PS. After I wrote this, I was told that this is a spin-off story from Fables, a comic that's already got 13 of those book collections. I don't know if I'll make time to read those or not...it's already a bit of a crunch just managing the once-a-week thing I'm doing right now. But I will say that hearing that made me like this comic even more, because I never felt confused, I never felt like I was missing something, and yet--13 books! That's a lot of comics.

-Nina Stone, 2009

The Virgin Read: Somebody Made A Mess On Somebody's Prom Dress

Each week, the non-comics reading Nina Stone picks out one random comic book based off her own made up criteria, reads it, and then writes about that experience. While she's been doing these columns for awhile, she's only successfully managed to enjoy, remember, and keep up with one series. This week, she picked Gotham City Sirens # 5.

Gotham City Sirens # 5
Written by Paul Dini
Art by Guillem March & Tomeu Morey
Published by DC Comics

You know what the best thing about this Gotham City Sirens comic was? The Batman/Doc Savage "First Look" in the back of the issue. Let me be clear. Coming from me, that's saying something. Because I never read the "sneak peaks" in the back of issues. But yo - this one has no word balloons, and all this super linear, super clean art. It looks amazing. It doesn't hurt that it's such a sharp contrast to the mess that precedes it.

Yes, I said it's a mess. I'm no art school chick, nor am I a huge comic book reader. I wanted to read Sirens because, well, I never had before, and it looked like it featured women--so why not? But all my problems with this comic are with the art. The story line I get. It's typical Joker stuff. Here are these three super-chicks who've been done wrong by Joker, one of whom is his apparent ex-lover. However, the guy we think is the Joker - SPOILER ALERT -  turns out not to be. He's one of the Joker's old sidekicks, Gagsworth A. Gagsworthy. To be honest, it felt like this character was pulled out of the air, but I imagine those of you who've followed Batman for a long, long time might remember this guy from some other time and place.

Mr. Gag Reflex is apparently not over being dissed by Joker, and so the plot is about him taking his breakup feelings out on Harlequin, the Joker's ex-girlfriend. I don't know how this completely relates to the issue before, but maybe it means that the Joker and Harlequin aren't actually over. To be honest, I don't really care if I ever find out. It took too many pages of overwhelming art to tell this story. Let me explain.

The first page is a - well, I don't know what it is? A two-page spread? Not really. It takes two pages to spread out 6 consecutive frames attempting to show, um, a cactus growing and exploding? The whole thing lacks contrast in color. The cactus and Poison Ivy are the same color, and so is her hair and, um, the rest of the page...??? You can't tell what's what.

I stared at this shit for ages. 

Then I flipped the pages and flipped them back again to try and figure it out.

Then, I got it. Basically--get ready for this, please--Poison Ivy "encourages" a cactus cock to grow and cum. Seriously. It's ridiculous. And the following page has all three girls covered in a white milky substance. What the fuck? And yeah, I just dropped an f-bomb because the more I look at this and write about it the more offended I am. This is like a comic drawn by an adolescent who can't see the world without seeing his dick. I've been told that it might not be him alone, that it was written this way, and I'm sure that's true. Still...

Grow up.

That's not all. On the following page there's this drawing from an unusual perspective - Harley is talking with Poison Ivy, and we're seeing the conversation occur through the legs of Catwoman.  ?????? How is that a perspective? She's having a conversation with them. In the previous panel, she's a few feet away from them. Is she suddenly standing on a large stool? How is this the perspective? It doesn't make any sense, it's useless to the story, it just looks like someone LOVED the For Your Eyes Only poster a whole lot.

So, after all that, we've got some Joker-stuff happen. Fine. And then the girls are trying to sneak into his place, but, what is that stuff that follows Ivy around? Does she accidentally grow roots everywhere she goes? Is that on purpose? And, um, that's not ivy. That's not what ivy looks like. Those are just full on tree roots. This comic just keeps making no sense. Oh, by the way, I'm tempted to put on a black unitard and five-inch heels and balance in the pose cat woman is in on the bottom of the page where they bust through the ceiling into the Joker's pad. Then I'll post that photo here, just to prove that, um, it's impossible.  Her ass and thighs are so large compared to the rest of her, especially her ankles, that her center of gravity would make her fall on her ass right there. She could do it in flats - but not in those heels! Just ridiculous. And why is Poison Ivy, like, riding that tree limb?  

This is just fetish comics. And normally I'd just say "whatever", tee hee, move along and chalk it up as a "To each his own." But for whatever reason, the more I write about this the more pissed off I'm getting. Not on behalf of womankind or anything, I can't imagine that something this blatant has any impact on "womankind" beyond failing to get women interested in comics. No, I think I'm just angry because I just wasted a whole lot of time reading this comic and then I wasted more time writing about it. Feh. Ugh. I feel dirty. I'm gonna go take a shower. 

Forever.

-Nina Stone, 2009

The Virgin Read: "When you get old and think you are sweet, take off your shoes and smell your feet.."

B.P.R.D. 1947 # 4
Written by Mike Mignola & Joshua Dysart
Art by Gabriel Bá, Fábio Moon & Dave Stewart
Published by Dark Horse Comics

This week I first narrowed down my choice to two books:  BPRD and Hellboy. But when in the store, I was in a bit of a hurry, so I had the man deliver both, so that I might decide between the two at my leisure. When I revisited my choices, I realized that what had most attracted my attention were the two covers, both of which were drawn by Mike Mignola. Now, if you know me, (I realize you don't), you know I'm not usually drawn in by things like red skulls and creepy wings. But something about the overall "package" both those books have is just so attractive to me. I flipped through both books briefly and ended up settling, happily, on the BPRD. Possibly because of the added bonus of 1947...I love that era, I love historical fiction, and I love this FONT!

I will tell you, as I often do, that I don't have much of an art vernacular. Just now, in the previous paragraph, I was reaching for the right words to describe what I liked about the cover and realized I don't even know technical or semi-technical terms. So, forgive me, but I'll just have to gush, Nina-style.  (Yes, you may get phrases like "wack-a-doodle" or "bingy." I am sorry.)

The colorist's (i asked how this was made) used a technique that I have come to love and find in all of my favorite-ish comics. They employed only 3 or 4 major colors per storyline. Not only is this so pleasing to my eye, but it helps me follow the story, a story I haven't read the first three issues of. In this issue, the plot jumps back and forth through time, and that coloring choice was the major thing that helped me to keep it all straight.

On the drawing side, I loved the use of...would it be "perspective"? The way that the panels slowly "zoom-out" over a series of frames. Revealing one cat, and then two, and then ten, and then a frame that shows what seems like hundred of cats on the ground in the trees, etc. That scene, I'm guessing, probably has more meaning or impact to those who read BPRD regularly. But whether that's true or not, it had a definite impact on me.

I have to pause for a moment and just comment on BPRD as a comic. It's so different and interesting. I'd forgotten what the initials stood for and read the comic thinking to myself, "Oh yeah, this book has some science-fiction-y-weird-supernatural stuff in it...but it's so intriguing!" From the ringleted little girl suddenly appearing, to the cats and the strange old...person and his/her (?!?) information, to the vampire sisters and all their craziness, all within a storyline that had me engaged wondering what was going to happen next and how this guy was going to get rescued, rather than all the "weird stuff" sort of taking me out of the story to wonder if things were plausible. This is smart stuff, but most of all, it's fun.

And on that note, back to the art! (Because I need to applaud more of it.) The subtleties! I was reading the story, just along for the ride, trying to figure out what the deal was with these sisters. The frames in which we first see them kill a man and then sort of revel in his blood immediately reminded me of a scene form True Blood. That one when they showed him and his Maker (that chick) in the 20s or 40s and how they took couples to bed and then devoured them and were just luxuriating in all the blood? Remember? I don't know if it was by design...but that was the only way vampires came into my head. At no time were these beings called vampires. But on the full page where the two ladies are in bed with Simon, on his neck, in contrast to the peachy color of skin and green and yellow dresses are 2 small red marks on his neck. VAMPIRES. And again - never called that. Never mentioned. But they did indeed have to stake them through the heart to kill them. I just loved the simplicity of those two little marks on that great big page. 

And then, two pages later? When the team arrives to save Simon, and the sexy, warm room of the previous page is revealed to actually be a decrepit, dark, decaying room with a half-dead Simon surrounded by crazy fanged skeletons? That was an AMAZING contrast. So cool.  

Now, I can't let this whole review go by without mentioning cute little Hellboy! I don't really know the significance of young Hellboy. But he sure is cute. I loved the page where he's reading a comic book eating a huge stack of pancakes. I love how the comic book is drawn to look like, well, old comic books. It's even got the typical WWII content of 1947. (Hell yeah, I read Kavalier & Clay. I know what I'm talkin' 'bout!)

And how about that cinematic last page? Hellboy holding his dog, looking up at the plane, and in the panel below, Trevor, through the window and the reflection of the plane that will hopefully return, Simon in tow. Alive.

This was a good one.

-Nina Stone, 2009

The Virgin Read: Sleeping With The King

Each week, the non-comics reading Nina Stone picks out one random comic book based off her own made up criteria, reads it, and then writes about that experience. While she's been doing these columns for awhile, she's only successfully managed to enjoy, remember, and keep up with one series. This week, she picked King City # 2.

King City # 2
By Brandon Graham
Published by Image Comics

Hello, again. This week flew by. It's all a blur. While gathering my thoughts about this entry I was struggling to remember why I chose this particular comic. And then I remembered--I chose it out of pure exhaustion. It's not a statement about the comic, I swear. I'd been up all night due to a mixture of Claritin-D, stuff on my mind, and the goddamned Latin Lounge across the street from my apartment which seems to think the neighborhood rules don't apply to it. Yelling at each other to speak, at 4:30 am, is a usual occurrence outside my apartment and hinders my ability to get a solid-8.

So when I walked into the comic book store at 6:30 pm on Wednesday, I was totally cashed. I could barely form words. King City seemed to stand out amongst the other new comics. And that meant my choice was quick and I could go home. And I did. (And I slept ten hours, hallelujah.)

What ironic is that just the week before, the salesman tried to tempt me with some black and white comic and I said, "no, I don't read those. Black and white makes me fall asleep." (Sleep seems to be an underlying theme with me, huh?) And yet here I am, with King City. Oh, and Achewood's black and white. Maybe I should reassess the things I say to the people at the comic shop.

If you've read King City # 2, you probably know that it's not very linear, and that not much actually happens. But it was certainly entertaining, and it went down smooth and easy. The most notable thing about this comic is that it has "moments." Here are some of my favorites:

1. The very idea that Pete's door has a water lock.

2. That Pete wears a full ski mask hat thing drawn similarly to Dumb Donald from Fat Albert. 

3. The way that Joe sees an old photo and at first we see him and Joe, and then we see the girl - and clearly get that there's a history.

4. The sign on the Do Not Enter doors that says, "Violators will be violated!" (And, "Beat it Horse Lips!")

5. There's a Mermaid. Need I say more? (Yes. Here's more.)

6.  The intro page to Chapter 7 begins with our friends reflection in the water of a toilet bowl, followed by the same toilet bowl without reflection, but with a stream of piss. 

7.  On the chainsaw gun things, there are various plays on famous cosmetic and beauty names: Elizabeth Hard On, Vandal Sasoon and Estee Murder.

8. The depiction of a guy's amputated leg is clear, yet shown in a fashion that keeps from drawing attention to it. Just confirmation of the fact when he straps on his prosthetic leg. Smart!

9. The line, "It's like a minefield of girl products in here. I'll trip and end up with my hair in curlers." So cute.

10.  The Marmoset. That she has one. And then that she holds it up and says, "Marmoset there'd be days like these." (I love a good pun! I'm the only one in the entire state, but I'm the one!)

And just like that, I'm in love with that couple and want to know what happens next.  

All in all, like I said, not much happened. But for me it was like getting a nice introduction to everyone in a completely delightful way. All the little extra, entertaining details make this comic stand out from all others. It could just tell the story it wants to tell, or it can decorate the scenery. This is a comic book that enjoys being a comic book. And I totally enjoyed it.

-Nina Stone, 2009

The Virgin Read: Is That Britney, Bitch?

Each week, the non-comics reading Nina Stone picks out one random comic book based off her own made up criteria, reads it, and then writes about that experience. While she's been doing these columns for awhile, she's only successfully managed to enjoy, remember, and keep up with one series. This week, she picked Teen Titans # 75.

Teen Titans #75
Written by Felicia D. Henderson
Art by Joe Bennett, Jack Jadson & Rob Reis
Published by DC Comics

Is it? Look at her. Coach Daniel, the gym teacher at the school where I work, spied the cover of my Teen Titans comic and said, "Damn! They're not teens anymore! She's hot."  

So, that's the first thing.

Secondly, before you ask me if I read "the Ravager back-up feature": No. I did not. And I won't. I don't read those. I mean, you're asking me to commit to the title comic. I didn't ask for more, and I don't want it. I don't read those.

And now to answer the question of questions, "Nina, why did you pick Teen Titans this week?" Let me tell you, the guys at the comic book store asked the same thing. But it was with disdain dripping from their smirks. Well, I chose it for a pretty simple reason: because I have yet, in all these months (years?) to read Teen Titans. So, why not? Why not see if Teen Titans appeals to this 30-something gal, or at least try to see if it's really appealing to 'the teens" who I'm assuming are the target audience. Right?

Maybe not. I don't even know what can I really say about this comic? I can't say that I want to get on board and read Teen Titans from now on, nor do I want to catch up. But I have to give some kudos, though. I understood it. I could follow it. And no, there's no recap, but there are character descriptions, which is just as good, maybe even better. If I know a characters personallity or powers, than I know, like, how to be entertained by them - know what I mean?

However, after my post last week, you'd think I'd be all stoked that we have superhero-ish women with powers like telepathy, empathy, and martian changeling-ism (I think I just made up a word!). But in this case, no, I didn't really care.

The thing is that I'm a little confused. Who is this comic for? To reiterate Coach Daniel, these folks are not teens. They don't look like teens, and they only sort of act like teens if I'm gauging their age by their behavior, which is similar to the way 20-something reality TV stars behave. (Which is basically "teenager with open bar.") So, they really aren't teens, and I don't think this is a story that would really appeal to teens. I think it might appeal to "tweens." But the comics written for tweens are those more like Power Pack, right? (Okay, I cheated and asked which comic it was where the little kids played with Wolverine in the museum. I didn't remember that it was Power Pack. But it was.)

This is basically a Sci-Fi comic, though, isn't it? In Super-hero clothing? And I could be wrong, but I think the average sci-fi lover needs something a little more solid to sink their teeth in. I mean, I know the "fi" stands for fiction, but these are people who dig their science too, and love when things are at least roughly approach being scientifically plausible. In this case, we have some giant, weird, blobby monster whose description is just broad and unstructured: "an extra-dimensional entity of unknown origin." (Otherwise known as a six-headed monster.)

Hey - does Cass resemble Batgirl/Stephanie/Spoiler or is it just me? Or is it just Britney I see?

The art? Is that what you asked about? Some strange body positions and muscular fetish pictures. I think it was an attempt at sexiness, but a lot of it looked really strange to me. There was a page where the team were in the operating room--or whatever that was--and at the top of both pages are 2 frameless pictures on opposite pages from the same room. I thought it was supposed to be one big picture, so I read it that way. Then, when I realized it made no sense, and saw that there were duplicate characters, I figured out that the comic book had fooled me. And yeah, maybe that makes me a dope, a sucker, a great pretender, but I had to just comment on that - that's some bad art planning. The pictures meld together in a way that draws the eye across, rather than down the page. Good trick if that's what was intended--too bad it wasn't!  

So that's it. That's all I have to say. Not the deepest thing in the world. Mildly entertaining. But can I live without it?

Yes. Yes, I can.

-Nina Stone, 2009

The Virgin Read: That Part Where Ace Says "I Broke It" Was Pretty Wicked

Each week, Nina Stone picks out one random comic book based off her own made up criteria, reads it, and then writes about that experience. While she's been doing these columns for awhile, she's only successfully managed to remember and keep up with one series. This week, she picked Beasts of Burden # 1.

Beasts of Burden # 1
Written by Evan Dorkin
Art by Jill Thompson
Published by Dark Horse Comics

As you may be aware of, Monday nights are when this little column called the Virgin Read is generally published. And to be honest, Monday nights are, more often than not, when they are written. I've gotten better--I usually have the comic read before Monday, but sometimes? Sometimes it all happens in a that furious rush between work and dinner. Quickly reading, trying to crystalize my experience into words, wondering how to spell "crystalize", and so on.

After a long and lovely summer hiatus, my teaching schedule began again today. It was a great day, but I'm all kinds of wacky-tired, and on my way home thought to myself, "Oh Shit. I have to read my comic and review it tonight. And somehow, I have to do that before House starts, because I'll be damned if I'm missing the crazy season premiere."

Is that enough personal stuff? Do you like the wizard that I keep behind the curtain? 

Okay, Beasts of Burden. First things first: how lovely that in my tiredness I didn't find myself stuck choking down some nonsense about post-apocalyptic-zombie-superheroes. (I mean no offense if that's your thing, it's just not mine. I probably should, at some point, read one of those. I almost did. There was a zombie super-hero comic where Iron Man was surfing on an eagle, and that caught my eye. But then I looked inside and wanted to go to bed for the rest of the day. I assume I'll be given more chances? There will be more of those, yes?) This though, this Beasts of Burden comic book? I didn't have to worry about any of that. I had 20-something delightful pages of doggies and kitty cats! On principle alone, this comic is ALL right with me. In practice, I found even more reasons to like it. 

See, I can deal with frogs falling from the sky and forming into one giant demon frog if from the get-go we're dealing with talking dogs. I didn't know that was a rule that I had in my brain, but....it is, I guess. If you want frogs falling from the sky/giant evil frog, then this particular reader needs you to open with talking dogs. Know what I'm saying? Because if you do, explain it to me--I still can't fully understand why that was my initial reaction to the frogs, but it was. I saw the frogs and said "you've earned it, comic book."

I love each and every characterization of each and every animal, be it dog, cat or frog. There's a perfect mix of the human and the animal drawn in their facial expressions and body language. I'm a sucker for this stuff--the way these animals look on the page matches up exactly with how my head believes they would act. The dialog, their appearance--it's basically, and I don't mean this lightly, perfect. All of them make sense. In all of my acting experience and for all the times that a girl wants to have more lines, my favorite role was as the elephant, Big Mary, in the play of the same name by Mark Medoff. I had zero lines. I was on stage the whole time, had to have a complete emotional life and simply express it via body and face. So cool.  

There's something about using animals and great art depiction in a story--it's just a fantastic way to get kids interested, too. It's easy to follow the pictures and it made me want to read the words. Everything about this comic is inviting. When I was at the store to pick my comic this week, it was one of the easiest times I'd ever had. It felt like I'd found something made just for me. (Which made it that much nicer to see that there were so many copies of it, because that obviously means that it isn't made just for me. People want this type of story--I'm not going to feign an understanding of the business, or place a stake in it, but I hear enough about it to know that something like this even existing, being available--that's pretty special.)

But although it's good for kids, it's not just for kids. By the end I felt like I was reading Harry Potter meets Buffy The Vampire Slayer all in animal form, except that I liked it more than Buffy. A gang of neighborhood animals who are now Junior Apprentice Watchdogs (and a Watchcat), who use cooperation and "dogged" determination to destroy a giant frog demon. I mean, can it get any better than that? 

If you're not big on cute comics, this is not for you. Because, dude, this is CUTE. But if you're wanting something that's just completely different, something that just feels and looks special, but is actually good enough that none of that "specialness" really matters, then you gotta check this one out. I really liked it.

-Nina Stone, 2009

The first ten pages of Beasts of Burden # 1 are available at the Dark Horse website.

The Virgin Read: So Long As Men Can Breathe Or Eyes Can See

Each week, the non-comics reading Nina Stone picks out one random comic book based off her own made up criteria, reads it, and then writes about that experience. While she's been doing these columns for awhile, she's only successfully managed to remember and keep up with one series. This week, she picked Achewood Volume 2.

Achewood Volume 2: Worst Song, Played On Ugliest Guitar
By Chris Onstad
Published by Dark Horse & Achewood

God Bless Achewood and Chris Onstad.

Why did I wait? After reading The Great Outdoor fight and loving it, you’d think I’d keep up, right? Well, that’ll all change now. Now that I’ve read Achewood in its daily format of Achewood-by-injection, I am so totally hooked. 

By the way, The Prologue and History of Achewood, which I would have probably skipped if it had been any other book, are works of genius all their own, totally worth the purchase price. The history is told by Onstad as if he was renting rooms in his house to the the various characters. They arrive in their various ways to rent space in his head. They end up renting it in ours too. (Man, I want to rent space in Chris Onstad’s head. What a cool, wet place to be.)

After these little vignettes, we get even more of Chris. First it's in the “Alt Text” that appears under every comic. And then, below that, is the commentary from now, reflecting back on the work. It’s a commentary on the commentary and is often as hilarious as the strip itself. Now, aside from Chris Onstad’s brain, what else makes Achewood so funny, so enjoyable, you ask?

I have a long and circuitous way of telling you.

Something about this book reminded me of another reading experience of mine way back in the early 80s. Okay, 1981 to be exact. No, I wasn’t reading comics. So what could it be? Oddly it was Delia Ephron’s “How to Eat Like a Child", which has since become a TV show, a musical, a recording, etc.  But way back then, it was a simple book, a book of instructions on, well, How To Eat Like a Child and How To Laugh Hysterically and How to Tease your Sister, those sorts of things. I remember the pure enjoyment I got out of reading that book. More so than any other up to that point. I wanted to share it  (much like my Achewood experience, where I made my husband sit down and listen while I read parts of Achewood’s History to him. With expressio.) and so I got up in front of my Sixth Grade class and read it to them. Let me explain to you the significance of this. That was an awful year for me. I entered it as an innocent little one into a class with four other girls who had failed the year before, and were thus thirteen-year-old-black-eyeliner-wearing-Van-Halen-listening-pot-smoking-breast-developping teenagers. They were also dumber than bags of hair, but I didn’t know that then. I was so intimidated by them, and when they called me a “goody-goody”, that moment served as the signpost to the end of my life. Getting up in from of them, with confidence, and acting out stories for them (maybe it wasn't goody-goody, but it was certainly drama-geek sort of way) stands, to me, as a testament to how much pleasure can outweigh fear. 

What was it about that book? Well here’s two lines from it’s description on Amazon: “Universal and timeless, Delia Ephron's How to Eat Like a Child is a delightful revisiting of the joys -- and tricky ploys -- of childhood” and “After the giggles of recognition have subsided, one thing will be very clear: all adults are kids in grown-ups' clothing.”

And that’s really the thing with that book and with Achewood, for me. It's the giggles of recognition, made better in Achewood because it’s so absurd! I’m not just identifying with behavior, I’m identifying with the behavior of a bear or a squirrel or a robot! I’m identifying with knowing people just like these characters and with Onstad's idea of "tweeking squirrels".

"One thing will be very clear: all adults are kids in grown-ups' clothing.” Or, in this case, after the recognition we realize that all adults are kids in grown-ups clothing who are even funnier when they are illustrated by the personification of animals. Am I right, or am i right?

And just as I’m buying into these characters, I'll read a series of frames that reminds me that they are, actually, animals. They're pets, taking over while the people are away. It might be an attempt to drive a car or the sight of Ray sitting on a motorcycle. (That was the best. Suddenly, Ray is drawn to scale. He's the size of an actual cat…on a motorcycle. And if that’s not cute enough, Ray in his thonged glory sits side-saddle. Onstad comments, and my laughs get doubled.)

Don’t you just laugh out loud reading this? I was on the subway and read Silk Robe. I hadn’t even read the title. What was hilarious was that although the comic was about Tedor being bummed about Penny, the whole comic lies in the two end frames where the robe is first stuck in between Cornelius' butt cheeks as he walks away. And in the final panel he reaches back and pulls it out with the sound effect “umph” in the left of the panel. Hysterical! I laughed out loud! For the 643^rd time!!

I could just go on and on. I have so many favorite moments in this book that I'll just go ahead and tell you that I LOVE it. I love this book, I love this comic, I love these characters. Man, I wish you were here right now because I’d just sit you down and read to you from this book, just like I did in the sixth grade. This thing is pure joy. Everyone needs Achewood in their life.

-Nina Stone, 2009

The Virgin Read: Mightily Tearing Through A Solo Vacation

The Mighty # 8
Written by Peter J. Tomasi & Keith Champagne
Art by Chris Samnee & John Kalisz
Published by DC Comics

Happy Labor Day! I think that's the most oxymoronic holiday we have. A day in the name of Labor and we, as a nation, all take the whole weekend off. I'm not complaining or anything...I'm just sayin'.

I chose to ready The Mighty this week, and what a pleasure it turned out to be! I had a couple of other books in hand at first--there was a Supergirl comic and a Spider-Man issue that almost made it home-- but I decided to go with something that caught my eye and looked like something I might not normally take a chance on. I don't have a good explanation for that, except that I seem to enjoy writing these more when I've read a comic that I had no advance knowledge of when I picked it.

I really enjoyed it. The very first page depiction of a coffin was well-drawn. It got me wanting to pay attention immediately, and the sequence on the next page, which is a close-up of the husband grieving, followed by a slow pan out to include the man I would come to know is Alpha One, got me excited to find out what was going on.

What I found so well written in this story was all the stuff that was unwritten. The subtext. I've never read this series before, but I clearly understood that not everything was as it seems. Now, that's hard to do, don't you think? In film it's easier to pick up on because you have either good actors and/or great film direction and usually some sort of musical underscore to help tell the viewer that "things are not as they seem." But in print? In comics? I can't imagine that's easy.

And although it was clear to me that things were a little wonky - I didn't totally know what, exactly, it was. I did not know why Cole (the grieving man) dug up an old body and cut off its hand, but I was intrigued by it, rather than feeling excluded by it. I felt the same way again when I watched Alpha One bury a nuke in a baseball field. It was clear that he wasn't telling anyone about this. I was left to wonder just what kind of super hero this guy is? Has the story been that he's the type to create problems so that he can then go solve them and look like the hero? I knew that I wouldn't be finding out the answer to that question in this issue, as he set the timer for 72 hours. But again, I did not feel excluded by the comic for not knowing this, I just felt invited, actually, to stay tuned--but not in a way that felt greedy. I felt like I was being given as much of the story that the comic could hold, with a touch of "more to come".

It certainly helped that I liked the art. Not just for the way things were drawn, but for the fact that the art was used to tell as much of the story as was the dialogue. If not more. In fact, just like in life, the words often contradicted the action - so it was the art that held the real story. I love that!

Now, of course, I have since sought the answers to my questions. It was almost an episode of I Didn't Even Ask. But it went more like this: 

"Do you really want to know everything that happened up until this issue?"

Me: "Well...yeah. Wait...okay, yeah."

And I have also learned that the series is probably going to be cancelled. !!! Seriously? Why? This is really good. This is a complex superhero story. This has real human motivation and emotion all over it. And intrigue! And it uses the comic form really well! Why don't people want to read this? I'm learning that the comic book industry can be so heartbreaking.

So, if you haven't read any of it, go read it. I wanna buy the previous issues and catch up. I'm kind of bummed. I could have gotten into this one.

-Nina Stone, 2009