The most stimulating—and the most flawed—of the Windy City Comicon’s publishers
Moonstone's M.I.L.F. Magnet isn't for everyone.
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Much like our democratic system, most of mainstream America is under the assumption that comics are exclusively under the control of two parties: Marvel and DC Comics. But true diehards know there’s viable content well beyond those behemoths, and this weekend’s Windy City Comicon at Center on Halsted will feature several independent graphic-art publishers. The A.V. Club scanned the catalogues of three publishers that will attend to determine which of its projects deserve the big leagues, and which are better served for relative obscurity.
Publisher: Moonstone Books, a Chicago-based publisher, specializing in pulp fiction and continuing storylines of licensed properties.
Most flawless comic: Any fan of the 1984 cult film The Adventures Of Buckaroo Banzai Across The 8th Dimension must be thrilled that Buckaroo Banzai, their favorite neurosurgeon/rock star/samurai/alien-fighting jet-car driver is back. Original creators Earl Mac Rauch and W.D. Richter brought their satirical badass Renaissance man to comic form with a prequel series that’s just as ludicrous as the film. Honorable mention goes to the upcoming Phantom Double Shot: KGB Noir mini-series, in which the Phantom, a long-running pistol-wielding superhero, must stop the second coming of the USSR by battling resurgent members of the KGB. It’s just Moonstone’s way of helping end that blasted Cold War once and for all.
Most troubling comic: Definitely this year’s one-off adults-only comic M.I.L.F. Magnet, which followed the story of Taser, a young superhero with a hex that causes women over 40 to be overwhelmingly attracted to him. If you’re not into that sort of thing, though, then the panel-after-panel onslaught of poor Taser trapped beneath the ample bosoms of a fiftysomething lady becomes pretty uncomfortable, especially once the full frontal of the skeletal grandmother supervillian meets your virgin eyes. M.I.L.F. Magnet is obviously tongue-in-cheek, but it’s the sort of idea of that’s much funnier as a 10-second, “wouldn’t it be funny if this comic existed” joke than as an actual, “let’s draw pictures of old naked grandmothers” comic.
Publisher: Top Shelf Productions, a Marietta, Ga., and Portland, Ore., based publisher that boasts artists Alan Moore (V For Vendetta) and Craig Thompson (Blankets) in its catalogue.
Most flawless comic: One of the comic industry’s rising stars is Toronto’s Jeff Lemire, whose Essex County Trilogy has racked up awards and earned him an assignment with DC/Vertigo (the recently released graphic novel The Nobody). Even at 512 pages, Essex County is a quick, engrossing read that follows a rural Ontario county community, focusing on characters like a 10-year-old cape-wearing boy who fantasizes about alien invasions and superhero adventures with a former hockey player for the Toronto Maple Leafs. The trilogy has been so warmly received it’s caused hordes of comics fans to briefly idolize hockey players instead of Kevin Smith.
Most troubling comic: If there’s one blemish linked to Top Shelf’s otherwise winning output, it’s the just-started web comic King Pete, in which a young accountant happens to find himself sovereign king of the world. King Pete could evolve into something amusing, but currently, it feels a little too reminiscent of the mockably bad John Goodman comedy King Ralph. One other tidbit: In case you've somehow missed all of the ads, keep an eye out this month for the motion-picture adaptation of Top Shelf’s The Surrogates, a five-part sci-fi graphic novel from Robert Venditti. The comic itself was totally badass, but have you seen Bruce Willis’ frightening, awkward hair piece from the film? Yikes.
Publisher: Short Pants Press, a Chicago-based boutique press focused on quirky comics from Midwestern artists.
Most flawless comic: Short Pants publisher Sarah Becan evidentially couldn’t resist the desire to bust out the Ouija board when she was in a 200-year-old building on Nantucket, and the resulting conversations with those peculiarly talkative spirits from beyond the grave became her Ouija Interview series, which recalls those conversations verbatim. Becan depicts the ghosts as cutesy, floating spirits, even when they’re saying something like, “Oh yeah, my dad killed me.” Becan says she’s “never seen the board move quite as much as it moved in Nantucket,” but also admits she may have had a couple of glasses of wine. Still, Ouija Interview is hauntingly and perfectly handled.
Most troubling comic: Neil Brideau’s Sock Monster Collection (derived from his Sock Monster web comic) is a capricious and enjoyable one-panel comic where characters opine with philosophical flourishes, but it’s also the creepiest-looking stuff Short Pants offers, as if it were channeled from an LSD-induced nightmare. One character appears to be Mickey Mouse with fangs and an extra thorax, while the background changes from one grayish hellscape to another. There’s surely an audience out there for Brideau’s freakish, surreal artistic style, but it’s a bit too creepy for most tastes.
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