Get to Know Our Staff: Part V

Part two, as promised, of Leo's questions. Get that notebook back out or ask the Google since you're clearly already on the Internet. 

4. Tell me about your favourite ongoing comic. 

Oh boy, that’s a big question. Do you mean, like, favourite ongoing comic of all time? Current favourite ongoing? I’ll… I’ll have to give you a few.  

1. The Sandman, by Neil Gaiman and a variety of artists. This is the series that turned me onto Gaiman’s work. It’s an epic in the actual literal sense of the word (you kids today), and I love it for all the reasons I’ve already mentioned re: Gaiman’s work, but also for the staggering amount of research that must’ve gone into it. It’s a work of literature, going far beyond the spandex perception of comics. It’s steeped in culture, history, and mythology, but also places its own spin on those—in fact, it creates its own mythology. Beyond the plot, it’s also about stories, storytelling, and dreams. It’s an incredible piece of work, and my favourite comic of all time.  

2. 
   

   Transmetropolitan, by Warren Ellis and Darick Robertson. Like Sandman did with Gaiman, Transmet is the series that got me onto Ellis’s work. It’s a near-future sci-fi political series that pits gonzo journalist Spider Jerusalem against the newly elected president of the United States. Spider is a truth-above-all-else old-school journalist who, yes, may be a total bastard, but you’re on board with him because he’s got heart when it counts. Like a lot of great science fiction, some of the weird things envisioned by Ellis in this series have actually come true (though thankfully not the Bowel Disruptor). And like the best science fiction, it’s really talking about present-day issues. It’s also wickedly funny. The first two volumes (12 issues) are magic, exploring the world Ellis and Robertson have created. 

Cover of Transmetropolitan: Lust for Life

3. Sex Criminals, by Matt Fraction and Chip Zdarsky. This is, by a considerable margin, my #1 book right now. The high-concept version is this: a couple can stop time when they orgasm, and they use that time to rob banks. But it’s so much more than that. It’s an unflinchingly honest look at sex and relationships without shame or judgment (though that may not be true of the main characters; they’re flawed humans like the rest of us). The book itself is mature yet juvenile, silly yet serious, light-hearted and fun yet deep and impactful—you could say the same things about sex, really. But it’s honesty of the dialogue that really grabs my attention (you see the same thing in Saga... and who doesn’t love Saga?). The characters are so well crafted, too; you really want to know how it’s all going to end up for Suzie and Jon. 

4. Oh, and I’ll also throw in Chew, by John Layman and Rob Guillory. Chew is just crazy fun. It’s about FDA agent and “cibopath” Tony Chu, who can get psychic imprints from the food he eats, i.e., if he eats an apple, he can tell you about the orchard it grew in and what pesticides were used on it, or if he eats a burger, he can tell you how the cow died, etc. This power also comes in handy when solving murders (the FDA is a far more powerful agency in this world). The series is ultimately about Tony vs. The Collector, another cibopath who keeps the food-oriented powers of the people he kills. There’s a lot more to it, but that’s the gist. It’s another wildly inventive book, very different from everything else on the stands. 

Cover of Chew #1

5. Casanova, by Matt Fraction and either Gabriel Bá or Fábio Moon. The book that got me onto all things Fraction. Much of this is an homage to Diabolik, but beyond that, I’d say it’s a superspy/sex/robots/time-travelling/dimension-hopping kind of book. It’s batshit crazy at times and a little complicated so you need to be paying attention, but wow, is it ever fucking cool.  

MAKE ME STOP GABBY WHY CAN’T I STOP 

6. Afterlife with Archie, by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and Francesco Francavilla. I love Archie books. I hate zombies. But I love this story about the zombie apocalypse starting in Riverdale. Whoever thought a mature look at Archie comics yet in a horrific setting could yield such a great book? It’s creepy and complex and has great character development—see Archie’s torment at having to kill his own father after he turned. Geez… that was brutal to read. Now if only the book (and The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina) would actually come out on anything even remotely resembling a regular schedule... 

Variant cover of Afterlife with Archie #1

I SWEAR THIS IS THE LAST ONE 

7. Atomic Robo by Brian Clevinger and Scott Wegener. This is the funniest book about a sentient atomic-powered action scientist robot built by Nikola Tesla you’ll ever read. Beyond the humour, which is ridiculous and silly, the book bases a lot of its material on real, hard science. There’s a great bit when they introduce Dr. Dinosaur (from FCBD 2009), and Robo takes down his entire origin (and time travel in general) as idiotic and scientifically impossible. You’ll see: http://www.nuklearpower.com/2009/07/24/free-comic-book-day-2009/ . 

5. Do you have a favourite artist? If so, who is it and why have you chosen them? 

This is a question Absar asked me many years ago, and I’ve given it some thought. I’m going to give you two groups of artists. I tend to prefer either a dark and sketchy style or a beautifully refined style. The middle ground doesn’t seem to hold much interest for me. 

Dark and Sketchy 

Simon Bisley (Lobo—the real Lobo, not the bullshit DC is producing today), Dan Brereton (The Nocturnals, The Psycho), Jhonen Vasquez (Johnny the Homicidal Maniac), Dave McKean (all the covers of The Sandman, Arkham Asylum). 

Bisley’s art is jagged and rough, mean-looking—perfect for Lobo. Brereton is a painter; great for monsters. Vasquez’s books are angst-riddled, dark, funny, gory, and nasty, with lots of hidden notes in between panels. (He also created Invader ZIM.) McKean is the best of the bunch, using mixed-media and Photoshop to create fantastical works. I still like his earlier, pre-Photoshop stuff a little better, personally—seems to have more weight to it. 

The thing that binds these artists together for me is that they’re unconventional. They don’t look like anything else out there. 

Lobo #1 cover art by Simon Bisley

Refined and Beautiful 

P. Craig Russell (The Ring of the Nibelung, Elric of Melniboné, Sandman #50, tons of others), Frank Cho (Marvel stuff, Liberty Meadows), Art Adams (he mostly does covers now, but he’s mainly a Marvel guy as far as I know). 

Sandman art by P. Craig Russell

And then there’s the other side of it: artwork that stands out from the norm by being simply gorgeous. Russell and Adams have similar styles with tight line work and fine detail. Cho… well, we all know what Frank Cho is good at. And yes, I know the women he draws are beyond idealized and not realistic, but good god, Lemon—so beautiful. Credit should be given, though, when it comes to anatomy: he draws six-foot athletic women as though they have actual musculature beneath the cheesecake. He understands how the body moves and functions, so his drawings look quite natural. He’s amazing.