Terra #4

I haven't had a chance to finish reading all of my comics from the past week, plus I am working on my epic 'Best of 2008' post. I did want to mention this about Terra #4:

I wish all mini-series ended with the lead characters going shopping and getting sushi for several pages. I love it!

Faith Erin Hicks on The War At Ellsmere

Today sees the release of Faith Erin Hicks' second book, The War At Ellsmere. I read an advance copy of the book and it is fantastic.

The story, like all good ones, is set in a boarding school. It focuses on Jun, a poor girl who is admitted to the posh school on a full scholarship due to her genius IQ. Jun immediately feels out-of-place, but is determined to not let it bother her. While there she manages to make one good friend, and one mortal enemy.

Where Zombies Calling, Hicks' debut, was a zany romp with zombies and social commentary on student loans, Ellsmere is a little darker and far more subdued. The ink-heavy art and the gothic setting give the story a very dreamy feel, which is enhanced by the magic realism Hicks' incorporates into the book to keep readers on their toes. The book also has lots of humour and witty dialogue. I am a huge fan of Hicks' facial expressions.

After the disappointing cancellation of the Minx line of books for teen girls, it's exciting to see SLG publishing such a excellent book for the same audience. In fact, this is one of the best books I've seen for teen girls in awhile, at least as good as Hope Larson's Chiggers, or Mike Carey's Re-Gifters. If all is right in the world, then this book should secure Hicks' spot among the top indie comic creators.

I did a Q&A with the Halifax-based, football-loving, ultra-talented and all around super nice Faith Erin Hicks. If you want to meet her (and you DO), then stop by Strange Adventures comic shop in Halifax this Saturday, Dec 6 from 6pm-8pm for her book launch. Last time she did one at the shop there was a line-up out the door!

Alright, here's the Q&A. I'm in purple, in case you can't follow.

Boarding schools are totally awesome places for stories to be set. What is it about them that makes them so awesome?

The greatest thing about setting a story in a boarding school is that there are no parents. The teachers are there and provide some kind of authority figure, but boarding school is a great way to set up a story where children are pretty much on their own, but not in a dangerous way. They're still properly fed and not harassed by terrifying island monsters like in Lord of the Flies. Plus I'm a bit of a sucker for rich, old, Victorian meets Fairytale architecture, which you just have to have in a boarding school story.

What was your school experience like growing up? Is there any of yourself in Jun?

I was homeschooled growing up (until high school), so that's probably why the idea of boarding school is so exotic to me: the idea of being in an environment that excludes parents and where you're surrounded by children your own age. I think I was more like Cassie than Jun when I was a kid. I was pretty shy and mousey, and very dreamy. I liked talking to trees and had this idea that everything magical I'd read in stories was the absolute truth. I never had cool come-backs to the mean kids like Jun has.

I did go to a hyper-competitive animation college, though, which is where the sabotage-heavy environment at Ellsmere comes from.

Something that I thought was really interesting about this book is that there are virtually no male characters at all. I don't really have a question here, but maybe you want to comment on that.

In a much earlier draft of the story, there was a male character, a standard tweeny love interest which I included because I really thought I couldn't do a story without a male character. I've always had male characters in my comics; I like writing them, and I felt like I would be excluding people if I wrote a story without a male character. However, as Ellsmere progressed, I realized that the male character I'd created didn't fit with the story at all, and for the sake of the story, I should just toss him and hope that my readers wouldn't have a huge problem with it.

There's another element there in that I wanted to do a story about two girls fighting, and have the fight not be over a boy. Those kind of stories always leave me cold, and I can't remember reading many where you have women doing battle with each other over things other than men. And I'm a little tired of that stereotype. I want something different! This probably sounds completely pretentious, but I wanted to do something almost ... I don't know, Shakespearean. I wanted to have this Good Verses Evil fight, the kind of battle you see in plays like MacBeth or movies like Star Wars, but have the battle be between two young girls. But, of course, still have that battle be appropriate for younger readers. No hands getting chopped off by lightsabers here, kids.

This is your second published graphic novel. Do you feel like a comic book star yet? Have you had some exciting fame moments?

Oh, lord no. I'm always terrified someone's going to leap out of a bush and yell that I'm a complete fake and can't draw worth beans, and take away all my comic projects. I'm completely blown away that I've found anyone willing to publish me, let alone done as well as I have. Honestly, working in comics, I feel more like a fan than a professional. I'm always so excited to meet people who do comics for a living, and so thrilled when they actually take the time to talk to me.

I'm trying to tone it down, really. It's not the most professional thing to start squealing and giggling every time you meet a fellow cartoonist. But comics are just so exciting!

Your art is beautiful and it reminds me a bit of Paul Pope or Ryan Kelly. Who are your favourite artists or influences?

Paul Pope is a huge influence. I love his work. It's completely unlike anything I've ever seen, and he seems able to take cliches and overcome them through sheer drawing power. He's incredible. Ryan Kelly I like as well, although I've only recently been picking up his work. My number one art god is Jeff Smith, although nobody's ever told me my art looks like his ... Jim Rugg and Ted Naifeh are also worthy of worship. I like any artist who inks like nobody's business. I love ink.

So what's next for you? Are you going to return to your webcomic, Ice? Or are you going to swim in your piles of book money?

Hah, yes, I go diving in my giant pile of comic book money every morning, just like Scrooge McDuck! I would very much like to finish Ice, as it's close to completion, but I'm currently neck deep in my next project, drawing a graphic novel for First Second Books. I'm going to try and work on Ice soon, though. I don't like that it's unfinished, and I think it's a good story. I'd like to see it through.

Rachelle VS a letter from over 30 years ago

Here is a letter that was printed in Lois Lane #115 (1975):

Bitch, calm down. First of all, she's a fictional character so any answer to the question "What happened?" is going to sound crazy. And secondly, let's have a look at this allegedly "bulky" and "sometimes even fat" heroine (from Lois Lane #111).

MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

Thorn is so fat, she has to iron her clothes in the driveway! When she jumps she gets stuck!

This art was drawn by Gray Morrow and it is BEAUTIFUL. Are you kidding me? She looks totally foxy. She just looks real.

For the record, this is what Thorn usually looked like:

Supergirl Week: To be Continued...

Alright, so I picked kind of a busy week to attempt a theme week on this blog. But I have much more to say about Supergirl. So I promise another Supergirl Week sometime soon. Because I didn't even get into anything past the Silver Age, or her team-ups, or any of the other awesome adventures the last daughter of Krypton has had. And that's a shame, because look!:

Remember to vote today, Canada. And if you want to vote against Harper, that's cool with me.

Supergirl VS Max Headroom

Very sorry for the lazy theme week. I'm having a pretty busy week. Maybe I should extend this to be Supergirl Month.

Happy Canadian Thanksgiving everyone! Here's a clip of Supergirl kicking ass from the terrible-yet-adorable 1984 film. Fun fact! The skinny truckdriver is played by Matt Frewer, aka Max Headroom, aka The Guy on my T-shirt in my Profile Picture!

Supergirl How-To Guide #1

How to assist a child in getting adopted:

1. Assess situation and develop plan.

2. Call upon slave robot clone to take your place while you implement plan.

3. Use superpowers to fool potential parent(s) into believing child is worth their time and money.

4. Repeat until goal is achieved.

5. Return slave robot clone to hollow tree until next time.


Supergirl treats that robot as badly as Superman treats Supergirl. That robot probably has a rock or something inside that tree that it likes to boss around.

Emiko Superstar!

I'm taking a little break from Supergirl Week to let you all know about a fantastic book that was released today.

Emiko Superstar is the latest release from the soon-to-be-defunct Minx line from DC. The book is written by Mariko Tamaki (Skim) and drawn by Steve Rolston (The Escapists, Queen & Country). It's a Canadian double team of awesomeness!

The book is about Emi, a shy, somewhat nerdy teenage girl living in the suburbs. She is about to embark on a seemingly unadventerous summer, taking on a full-time baby-sitting job for her very normal-seeming neighbors. Her summer takes a major turn, however, when she discovers an underground performance art collective. She finds herself fascinated by the freakshow that is put on in an abandoned building (The Factory) every week, and by its free-spirited participants.

What I loved about Emiko Superstar is that every character in the book just seemed so familiar to me. Emi is a fantastic teenage female character, awkwardly straddling wanting to be responsible and grown-up, and wanting to drop out of her boring life altogether and do something truly unique and wild. The story promotes art and creativity, but doesn't shy away from showing the darker side of that world, and of some of the people in it. The older man, known as The Curator, who oversees The Factory is a particularly creepy figure.

The art is also fantastic. I always love Steve Rolston's art, and he does a great job with this story and its eclectic cast of characters.

Mariko Tamaki was kind enough to do a Q&A with me via email. The interview was done before the cancelation of Minx was announced.


Emiko Superstar is a story of freaks and geeks colliding. How much of yourself is in the character of Emiko, and do you feel you were more a freak or a geek at her age?

I was definitely a geek for a large portion of my teenage years - mostly because at the private school I went to there weren't a heck of a lot of freaks - and I was pretty good at Math and Chemistry (which makes you a card carrying geek in almost any high school). I suppose my experience was a lot like Emiko's in that I had to go outside of school to really connect with a freak identity, and finding that meant disconnecting with some geeky friends who were heading in a direction I wasn't too into (finance and law - ick). Unlike Emiko, I wasn't necessarily all by myself when I first discovered things like the Rocky Horror Picture Show, I had a pretty cool black lipstick wearing friend to go with me. So Emiko is far braver that I ever was.

Is The Factory based on anything that you've actually experienced or heard about? It certainly was familiar to me, and I wonder if every city has these sort of underground performance gatherings.

I had a pretty good feeling that things like the Factory exist(ed) in almost every city. I first discovered the freak salon when I was living in Montreal going to McGill University . It was like, "Hey, where are all the Goths going?," "Hey, what's THIS?" Places like the Factory are not always easy to find but when you do, it's like this underground city of eyeliner and amazingness. The idea behind this comic was to combine my love of the whole Warhol Factory scene with my experience of beer and bizarre performance art in clubs/warehouses in Montreal and Toronto - and the people that rule and love them.

I think the character of The Curator is particularly important in this story as sort of a warning to young people. It seems like its very common for a group of young "freaks" to have an older male acting as their leader, while at the same time perving on the girls and just being generally sketchy. Have you met many "Curators" through your involvement in the arts community?

It always kind of amazed me, the age range at these kinds of places - which is not to say ALL performance art scenes are like this - but there's this trend of a populous that contains a lot of teenage girls and a ton of older dudes, who end up acting as these kind of wise leaders. It makes you wonder why these guys get to be in this position and why they end up with so much cred - which - you know - for a place that's touting a resistance to authority and the mainstream - why buy into this male leader type thing - even if he is wearing a t-shirt with the word "SUX" on it. I didn't want to create any kind of moral tale warning girls about people like the Curator, but from the inception of the story it seemed like something that shouldn't be left out.

Of course, I want to repeat here, because I don't want to scare anyone off, it's not always this way. As someone who performs regularly in all kinds of spaces - feminist spaces, queer spaces, straight spaces, theatre spaces, literary spaces (and on and on) - I can say for certain that there are some places where freakdom flows and there's no king, which is an awesome place to be.

Steve Rolston did an amazing job on the art. Did Minx put you guys together for this book, or did you choose him yourself?

Shelly Bond, who is the Minx editor, put Steve and I together, which I will be eternally grateful for. Steve is so cool and creative and funny. He's always totally gotten this project and the hearts of the characters within it.

Minx has been putting out great books since its inception, with the aim being younger female readers. How important do you think Minx is as a label?

I am a huge fan of YA books - of fiction of all kinds aimed at Young Adult audiences, especially girls. I think it's great to have books that are not only aimed at girls, but tell girls' stories, you know? Like how when I was in high school all the books we read were boys' stories: A Separate Peace, The Catcher in the Rye, now Harry Potter, that kind of thing. And I think it's important to have girl voices and girl stories out there for girls, for boys, and for adult readers when I think about it.

Your previous book, Skim, was also about a high school girl. Is there something in particular that appeals to you about writing stories about teenagers?

Being a teenager is generally a messed up thing to be. It's all emotions and complicated and fears and anxiety, you know? And it's also an amazing, kind of a ridiculously free (in this way that doesn't seem free) time in your life. I think I like writing about teens because I like thinking about this time period in a person's lifetime. That may chance though. I mean, maybe I'll get too jealous and start writing books about people who have three jobs to pay the rent. Who knows?

Supergirl Plays Cupid

Here's a little story about a time where Supergirl gets tired of living in an orphanage and resorts to drastic measures in hopes that she can get the hell out of there. It's from Superman's Girlfriend Lois Lane #14 (1960).

Oh, calm down Lois. It's Superman. What's he going to do? Take all those waterskiiers back to his tour bus after the show?

How often does Supergirl spy on Lois?

Aaahh!! Those eyes! They will haunt me forever!

So this is how desperate and crazy poor Supergirl has gotten. And here's her plan:

Alright! Way to beat Superman at his own game! This is the sort of crap he would normally be pulling on Lois, because Superman loves nothing more than making Lois think she's crazy. Here's my favourite one:

Ahahahaha! A coffee pot! Nice one, Supergirl!

Also..."Severe Kitchen Ware."

So Superman decides that he might possibly be in love with Lois. Which I never thought was the issue. I thought he just didn't want to put her in danger so he never acted on his feelings. Right?

Well, anyway:

"Perry said I could borrow his pleasure schooner any time I want."

I'll bet he did.

Good lord! Look at the size of Perry's pleasure schooner! How much does the editor of the Daily Planet make?!

Back to the date...
Those are some unorthodox cooking classes they are teaching at the Midvale Orphanage.

Holy crap, Lois! Do you want to date Superman or not? Because sometimes Superman has to go save lives, alright?

And now it's time for Supergirl to make some romance happen:

Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww.

What?! No! Ok, look Superman. It's one thing to suddenly decide not to propose to a lady, but you should NOT tell her that you were just about to propose but decided not to because she fell in the water. That's just cold. As is flying away suddenly, leaving Lois alone on a boat.

Superman feels kinda bad the next day, and decides to go apologize:

What?! That TRAMP!

"Love, Batman." I just melted. I know it's not really him writing that card, but still...

I have to say, this is bold for Supergirl. Especially since she hasn't actually met Batman yet. At least not that we've seen.

No! If anyone is going to be his Bat-Queen it's going to be me!!!

Ohhhhh dear. Now you've done it, Supergirl.

Oh, you Super-heel!

Well, it turns out that Superman was playing along the whole time:

"I'll never interfere with Cousin Superman's romantic life again!"

Well, at least not until your next appearance, when Superman makes you pretend to be his fiance. And it is just as creepy as it sounds. But I already talked about that story way back here.

The Supergirl From Krypton Meets Her Asshole Cousin!

I think the logical starting point for Supergirl Week is with her first appearance in Action Comics #252. I think Superman's initial treatment of Supergirl is one of the greatest (fictional) injustices of all time. Let's have a look:

Superman is just about to smash the missile to bits until he realizes that there's a person inside:

Ok, Superman in that third panel? Amazing. He goes from being totally shocked in the previous panel to being completely calm and thoughtful. And skeptical.

"I'm from Krypton!"
"Nope."

Man, Supergirl is just so cute in that last panel. Seriously. And I love Superman's off-panel babbling.

Supergirl cheerfully proceeds to tell the tragic tale of her family's short-lived escape from Krypton. And when she's done, Superman is shocked to learn something else:

How quickly he pulls his hand away.

So this is pretty great, right? Superman, who has been alone on this Earth for so long with no family and believing he is the last of his race learns he has a cousin! And she's here!

Yay! This will be perfect! She can live with Superman and they can bond and he'll help her adjust to life on Earth after the tragic and sudden loss of her family and equally-traumatizing solitary voyage through space!

Right?

"Yeaaaahhhhh...about that...see, I have a really small apartment, and y'know...I'm pretty busy. I can't really take care of a kid right now...I've got a lot on my plate...and the place is a mess, really..."

But don't worry! Superman has a "great idea" for her life on Earth! It's not like he's a douche or anything...

WHAT?! That is not a "great idea," Superman. That is actually the worst idea.

SERIOUSLY?! An ORPHANAGE?! After all she's been through?! What do you credit your heroism to, Superman? I'll tell you: your loving parents who adopted you when you crashed to Earth. So why do you think this is ok?

Superman gets some clothes to make his cousin less hot. He feels much better now.

Hey, you know what a good Earth girl name is? Kara.

Let's see what name she picks:

DC doesn't think much of its readers. They remind us that Linda Lee is Supergirl in the very next panel.

I also want to comment on Superman's story: wouldn't the guy at the orphanage want more information about that "big disaster that wiped out her whole community"? Wouldn't something like that have made the news?

Poor, poor Supergirl. She probably thinks this is how it goes on Earth. "Sure thing, Superman. Even though I am just as powerful as you, I will live in this godforsaken orphanage and remain unseen until you need me. Just let me know! I'll be right here...wearing this wig...alone..."

Her first Super Job? Cleaning her room!!!

Man that sucks.

No, Supergirl. No. You can't use your x-ray vision for spying on other kids. Also: you are disobeying Superman, actually, and I approve.

Proud of your cousin, eh? Maybe you should read some Superboy comics. He isn't the greatest friend in the world. You should talk to a guy named Mon-El.

Oh, Supergirl. Just you wait! I got two words for you: Flying Cat!