Summer Wars: Not really all that seasonal

Links: I'm kind of late linking to this, seeing as it has already met its goal, but I wanted to point out this Kickstarter campaign by Joshua Hagler, whose comic The Boy Who Made Silence I really loved.  This one is for a 3-D animation project, but he's a pretty great artist, so I'm excited to see anything he does.

I enjoyed Think of the Children, a webcomic which imagines that Fredric Wertham and pals were actually fighting against a demonically possessed William B. Gaines during that whole Seduction of the Innocent affair that comics people are so obsessed with.

The first issue of Double Feature Comics is up, featuring stories by Tim Seely & Ross Campbell and Dennis Hopeless & Mike Norton.  Only 99 cents for either Ipad or PDF formats.  Get it while it's hot!

You could also check out this comic from LA Times Magazine by Don Winslow and Sean Phillips.  Nice.

And here's a free download of an uncompleted graphic novel by Vasilis Lolos, if you're wondering where he's been lately.

On a more timely note, I won't be at the MOCCA fest this weekend, but if you're going, you might want to check out The Tavern of Ill Repute, an event at the I Made an Art gallery, taking place on Saturday, April 9, and including work by artists (names like Danny Hellman and R. Sikoryak, as well as several others), new animation, performers, live music and a clown (?). Sounds like it could be fun.

Okay, I'm behind on comics reviews, but here's something else:

Summer Wars
Directed by Mamoru Hosada

Japan, 2010

How is it possible that a cartoon can feel so much more personal and full of life than most live-action movies? As an anime produced by a leading Japanese studio (Madhouse), Summer Wars must have taken tons of people and money to produce, but compared to any number of blockbusters, this one feels like something inspired by life, as if somebody worked to project their own family history onto the screen. It’s an effect that works to give the crazy plot about the end of the world via virtual reality internet hacking an emotional impact, something that sticks in the heart rather than just dazzling the eyes.

That plot? After establishing a future world in which the internet has been taken over by an especially Japanese version of Second Life called OZ, in which everyone has a cutesy avatar and interacts via a shiny, candy-colored virtual space, we are introduced to a student named Kenji, who is quickly dragged over his head into two different situations at once, in the on- and offline worlds. A fellow student named Natsuki pays him to come along with her to a big family get-together for her great-grandmother’s ninetieth birthday, waiting until it is too late for him to back out to reveal that she is passing him off as her boyfriend. He gets thrown into the chaotic interactions of all the family members, as they gossip, eat together, argue, play, and act like a group who are intimately familiar with each other.  Meanwhile, Kenji receives an anonymous midnight email containing a string of coded numbers, and being a math whiz, he cracks them, then wakes up to discover that he seemingly enabled a hacker to take over any and every account in OZ, completely disrupting not only the online world, but any offline services he wishes, including traffic signals, power grids, trains, and emergency services, with little in the way of reason beyond a trickster-like delight in widespread mayhem.

The interesting thing is where Kenji’s two worlds collide, as Natsuki’s family alternately rejects and accepts him, teaming up with him to fight the online threat or viewing him as an interloper. There are subplots about a family black sheep who is involved with the ensuing chaos, a younger cousin whose online avatar, a rabbit wearing a Marty McFly jacket, is a martial arts champion that becomes a defender against the all-consuming cyber-monster, and Granny’s matriarchal leadership, not only of the family, but of various powerful acquaintances who she encourages to pull together in the time of chaos, seeming to single-handedly hold the country together.  There’s a foreseeable family tragedy, leading to scenes of devastatingly relatable emotion, and a pulling together of forces, as multiple generations marshal their resources in a ragtag effort to stand against what ends up being a world-threatening villain.

Somehow, this all ends up being an enormously satisfying conflict, perhaps due to the realistic family dynamics of Natsuki’s clan, combined with the over-the-top unreality of OZ, which is presented as a virtual reality playland full of cartoony avatars and ever-expanding physical space, even though the characters themselves only seem to experience it through tiny browser windows and cell phone screens.  The scale of the conflict keeps expanding, as the hacker turns from a creepy Shiva-like monster into a gigantic, roiling mass of Facebook profiles, eventually facing off against Natsuki in an inscrutable Japanese card game for all the world’s marbles, a kind of silly yet effectively tense battle which includes what must be the most dramatic winning throw of a card in history.

That this all works so well is a testament to the good writing, the creation of characters that interact believably. Their shared sadness and joy, fear and triumph are palpable, even in the face of just-beyond-believable events, and the reactions of the observers are what sell the real stakes of the battle even beyond the real-world consequences that we see, making the furious staring at screens and pounding on keyboards, or Kenji’s deciphering of 2048-bit encryption in his head, compelling and tense.  This is one hell of an entertaining movie, goofy and strange and sad and happy all at once, a cyber-thriller that manages to hit the viewer right in the emotional soft spot, and stay there after the brightness of the visuals fade.  That’s something special.

This week, I'm thankful for Ennis, Powell, BruPhil, Thompkin (DorkThom?), hell, even Millar

Elsewhere: I'm late linking to these, but I reviewed the latest episodes of Fringe and The Venture Brothers for The Factual Opinion, and Days Missing #2 and 3 for Comics Bulletin.

Links: Speaking of TFO, Tucker's latest episode of Advanced Common Sense is up, and it's as hilarious as always, all positive reviews of comics that really don't deserve it. At least one bit makes me want to start calling Tucker the new Miss South Carolina.

Online comics links: Joshua Hagler is going to be posting the issues of The Boy Who Made Silence on his blog in anticipation of the upcoming collection of the first volume of the series, so if you haven't read it, I highly recommend you go check it out. I raved about it here, if you want to know more of what I thought.

Colleen Frakes, whose Tragic Relief I just wrote about the other day (I liked it), is participating in that National Novel Writing Month thing that people do in November, except she's doing a graphic novel, and posting it on her blog as she goes. I'm liking it quite a bit so far; you can also read the whole thing on Flickr.

Viz's latest addition to their SIGIKKI site is the series Bob and His Funky Crew, which is a baseball comedy that's sort of similar to Cromartie High School, if a bit less absurd, at least so far. I liked the first chapter; give it a read.

New comics this week (Wednesday, 11/25/09):

Beasts of Burden #3

Have I mentioned that I'm loving this series? It's been really, exceptionally good so far, with the second issue especially standing out. Evan Dorkin, Jill Thompson, cute animals, beautiful art, really horrifying shit, what's not to love?

Creepy Vol. 3 #2

I don't think I ever even saw the first issue of this relaunched horror anthology on the shelves, but here's another one. I might check it out, who knows. This issue features the second part of a Joe R. Lansdale-written story, stuff by Dan Braun, Greg Ruth, Jason Shawn Alexander, and maybe some others? (ETA: "others" includes one Nathan Fox, so plan accordingly). Here's a preview.

Criminal Sinners #2

Ah, it's good to have this series back. I'm digging the current story arc so far, and I can't wait to see where Brubaker goes with it. And also how awesomely Phillips draws it. Yes, it should be good; I will try to control my salivary glands while I wait.

Fantastic Four #573

Jonathan Hickman's run on the title continues, with what appears to be a one-off adventure on Mark Millar's Nu-World with Ben, Johnny, Franklin, and Valeria. The fill-in artist is Niel Edwards, and he appears to be working in a Bryan Hitch mode, which makes for some excitement. Seems decent enough.

Ganges #3

I thought this newest issue of Kevin Huizenga's Ignatz series had come out a while ago, but maybe this is when it's hitting the direct market. Whatever; I haven't read it, since I'm not all that interested in comics about insomnia. Ha ha! No, I just haven't gotten to it; maybe one of these days.

The Goon #33

It's the latest issue of Eric Powell's signature series, although it apparently fits into Dark Horse's current series of one-shot comics, featuring a sure-to-be-funny self-contained tale that probably involves grotesquery and punching.

Immortal Weapons #5

Here's the final issue of this Iron Fist spinoff series, with a story about Prince of Orphans by David Lapham and Arturo Lozzi that also sees an appearance by Iron Fist himself, along with Luke Cage and a giant dragon. Looks pretty cool; I should have a review up at Comics Bulletin tomorrow.

Invincible Iron Man #20

This is the first part of Matt Fraction's latest Iron Man arc, called "Stark: Disassembled". I expect Tony is going to come back from his coma or whatever pretty soon, but it should be interesting to see how Fraction is going to dig his way out of the hole he's put himself in. He's got a plan, man!

Northlanders #22

More Brian Wood Viking stories, with what I think is the second part of the current storyline, "The Plague Widow". I'll read it eventually.

Powers Vol. 3 #1

Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Avon Oeming relaunch what's probably their best series, and it's supposedly going to be monthly, at least for a while. We'll see how long that lasts, but hopefully it will be a good read. I'll wait for the collection; don't let me down, Christian Walker!

Tick Vol. 2 #1

I rarely read any Tick comics (although I've enjoyed his stories in other media), but the creative team on this relaunch looks interesting: Hector Plasm's Benito Cereno and The Middleman's Les McClaine. Those guys make it at least worth a look, I think.

Ultimate Comics Avengers #4

Mark Millar, still writing his league of assholes. More big action this issue, with Captain America fighting the new team and being a general badass. Millar can sure be fun when he just does action, and well, has his characters be dicks. Enjoy, misanthropes.

Unknown Soldier #14

Another Vertigo series that I read in collections. I'll get to it eventually, but I'll be waiting expectantly until I do.

Astonishing X-Men Vol 5 Ghost Box TPB

The first arc of Warren Ellis' run on Astonishing, with Simone Bianchi on art, and some kinda blah storytelling. I think I read this whole thing, but I don't even remember what it was about. Something about interdimensional mutants threatening to invade, and Forge turning out to be the bad guy. Really, Bianchi's art is probably the most interesting thing about it, what with the crazy layouts that he does, but it's still not all that good. We'll see if the current arc with Phil Jimenez is any better, but I kinda doubt it. Oh, if only Ellis could go back to Nextwave...

Boys Vol 5 Herogasm TPB

The porny miniseries that is apparently just another story arc in the main series gets collected, so I can finally find out what I was missing. I hear it's nasty, so don't let me down, Ennis!

Chew vol 1: Taster's Choice TPB

The indie (if Image counts) success story of the year gets its first collection, at the bargain price of ten bucks. I think I might have to buy it and see what all the fuss was about. I do like what I've seen of the series, and it's good to see something non-superhero get this much recognition in the "mainstream", so now let's see how it all works as a comic. Ah yes, that's what this blog is supposed to be about, isn't it? Comics! Don't let me down, hype!

Dark Reign Elektra TPB

I really don't have much interest in all this Dim Kingdom hoo har, so usually something like this would be pretty ignorable. And maybe it should be, but David Brothers piqued my interest with this excerpt, which features some pretty sweet action. That's something, I guess. But yeah, I probably still won't read it.

The Dead: Kingdom Of Flies TP

It looks like zombies will never get old, doesn't it? Here's yet another comic about them, but it's notable because it's by Alan Grant and Simon Bisley. Whoa, that's a team worth taking note of. If you're interested, the official site has some sample artwork, including a PDF of the whole first issue. Neato.

The Devil's Handshake

Archaia has this new graphic novel/prestige format one-shot about an Indiana Jones-style adventurer, and it looks interesting enough. It's written by Larry Hama, from a concept by Ryan Schifrin, with art by Adam Archer. Maybe interesting? Here's a preview.

A Distant Neighborhood Vol 2 GN

The second half of Jiro Taniguchi's latest thing that everybody is raving about. I never read the first one (or anything else by Taniguchi for that matter, which is a shame), but I might catch up to it at some point. My list of "read this someday" comics grows ever longer.

Doris Danger Giant Monster Adventures TP

Slave Labor is publishing this collection of Chris Wisnia's comics about giant, Kirby-style monsters, and it looks pretty cool. I met Wisnia at Wizard World Chicago a few years ago, and he was a cool guy, so I'll go ahead and recommend this even though I haven't read it. But if you want a sample, here are a few stories that you can read on the official site. Enjoy, freeloaders!

Eagle Annual Best of the 1960s Comic HC

It's a collection of the classic British boys' comics, featuring stuff like Dan Dare and PC 49: Extra Special Agent Harris Tweed (I love the British-ness of that name; couldn't they have worked tea and crumpets in there somewhere?). Neat stuff, it seems; gotta love the historical reprints, even if you never read them.

From The Pages Of Bram Stokers Dracula Harker GN

Okay, so this is "the first graphical sequel to Dracula ever to be endorsed by the Bram Stoker estate", which is one hell of a dubious distinction if you ask me. I suppose that's a mark of honor or something, but do you really need to get Stoker's descendants' stamp of approval to just write a damn sequel to Dracula? I'm sure it's been done plenty of times, and while this might be decent (or even really good, who knows), it seems like a cheap stab at relevance and attention. Anyway, it's by Tony Lee and Neil Van Antwerpen, and it involves Dracula's last bride trying to steal Mina Harker's unborn baby, or something like that. Enjoy, vampire fetishists!

Harpe: America's First Serial Killers GN

This appears to be a small, possibly self-published graphic novel about, well, what the title says, a frontier-era bit of history about some brothers who did some killin'. It might well be an interesting book; the official site is here, and it links to a bunch of reviews, and Newsarama has a preview. Yeah, I could give it a read if I ever got the chance.

Immortal Iron Fist TPB Vol 5 Escape From the Eighth City

I mentioned Iron Fist above, and here's what is likely the final volume of the main series, seeing Danny and his pals trapped in a mystical prison dimension and finding out deadly secrets and whatnot. Good stuff, although I remember being a bit disappointed by the ending. Still, it's cool, and shows that Duane Swierczynski had some good ideas and might have done some interesting stuff if he had been able to continue to the series. Ah well, such is life.

Incognito TPB

This bit of superhero/villain/pulp by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips was a decent enough diversion from Criminal, but I'm glad it's over and they're back doing the good stuff. If you've gotta have spandex in your crime comics though, you could certainly do worse.

Powers HC Vol 3 Definitive Collection

And just in time for a new volume of this series, here's the completion of the big hardcover collections from two volumes ago. Timing! This actually collects the "Sellouts" and "Forever" arcs from the end of the original series, which contain some of the series' strongest storytelling (although that might not stand up with a reread, which I should probably do someday). If you still need to catch up, or if you want the fancy-pants expensive version of the comics, here you go.

Proper Go Well High: A Trains Are Mint Book GN

Oliver East continues his travelogue series, and although I've never read the first one, this looks pretty nice, so I wouldn't mind checking it out. You can see some sample artwork at the official site.

Saga of the Swamp Thing HC Book 02

DC/Vertigo continues to collect Alan Moore's run on Swampy, so maybe I'll get to read more of it. I did get the first volume at the library, and really enjoyed it, so here's my chance for more. Gotta love catching up on the classics.

SHADE the Changing Man TP Vol 01 American Scream
SHADE the Changing Man TP Vol 02 Edge of Vision TP

Here's the other big Vertigo collection, the first two volumes of Peter Milligan and Chris Bachalo's revamp of an old Steve Ditko character, with some totally crazy/awesome ideas just sprayed all over the pages. Some really dark stuff in here; I like it a hell of a lot. The first volume was previously collected several years ago, but this is the first time any more of it has been collected, so don't let it go by the wayside. It's a weird, hard-to-follow series, but it's from Milligan's prime, fitting in alongside stuff he did in books like Enigma, or, I dunno, whatever other crazy shit was coming out from Vertigo at the time (and yes, I know, the series was originally pre-Vertigo, but it became part of the imprint at its beginning and kept up with the other stuff that was going on, so it counts). Good stuff, don't miss out.

Simon Bisley Illustration From The Bible TPB

I bet this will be more interesting than the Crumb version. Actually, this might not be a new release at all, but it's on the list of stuff that will show up at my local store this week, so we'll see if it makes it there. I expect weirdness and depravity; don't let me down, Bisley!

Sparky O Hare Master Electrician GN

I'm not sure if this is easily available outside of England, but it's a collection of strips by German cartoonist Mawil about a cute lil' rabbit who does wiring and stuff. Here's a review with some sample strips. Awwww.

Winter Men TPB

Ooh, another big release. Jog and some others have been talking this series up since it first started, and though it's been plagued by long, long delays, it finally finished up this year, and here's a collection of the whole thing. Now I can finally find out what the fuss is. I hope it doesn't disappoint. Brett Lewis, John Paul Leon, hidden secrets from the Cold War coming back to bite the world on the ass, et cetera. Rock.

Years Of The Elephant GN

Finally, Fanfare/Ponent Mon has this release of a graphic novel from Belgian cartoonist Willy Linthout, apparently the autobiographical story of Linthout trying to cope with the suicide of his son. Sounds like some nice, bright, cheery material there. Good holiday reading. Probably very moving and emotional and all that, if you can stand it. If I ever get my hands on it, I'll see how much I can take.

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Kinda slow week? Maybe? Eh, everybody (in the U.S., anyway) is getting ready to stuff themselves and watch football in a brazen display of excess; comics are a secondary concern. Not for me though! I'll be here on the front lines, keeping everyone informed on my own sequential art consumption. I do it for you, so now you can be thankful as well.

The Boy Who Made Silence: I don't fit that description

Hey, look at this!  I'm blogging!  It's been a while, but that's what happens when I stop reading comics for a couple weeks to plow through a long novel.  I was thinking of trying to write a review, but if I never get around to it, the short version is: Anathem is really good, especially if you like Neal Stephenson, science, and trying to comprehend made-up language.  Also, I feel like I should say something about David Foster Wallace, because he was one of my favorite writers, and I'm really sad about what happened to him, but I haven't taken the time to do some sort of post about him.  So if I never get to it, I'll just say that he was amazing, I loved reading his books, and he will be sorely missed.

But I was going to talk about comics today, so here:

The Boy Who Made Silence #6

By Joshua Hagler

This is the last issue of the first volume of The Boy Who Made Silence; it might be some time before the second half of the story comes out, so there will be some time to reflect on the story and try to decipher all of Joshua Hagler's beautifully bizarre imagery.  It's a strange series, full of amazingly realistic character moments that swirl to the fore through a haze of surreality and near-abstract artwork.  And, as Hagler reveals here in an afterword, it's a deeply personal tale, with many moments taken straight from his childhood memories and interpreted into this weird story of a deaf boy who has some sort of people-connecting powers.

This issue sees all the townspeople who have featured in previous issues gathered together to witness the baptism of Nestor, the titular deaf boy, in hopes that he will once again create the "silence" that enabled them to experience each others' lives in such an intimate manner.  The preacher gives a stirring speech about faith and then performs the ceremony, which leads to a crazy remembered scene from Nestor's childhood and some disorienting storytelling that involves turning the comic upside down and sideways.  

Is that a dull-sounding summary?  Maybe so; this series really has to be seen to understand what makes it so special.  Hagler's artwork is just gorgeous, with a combination of realistic and distorted imagery, evocative brushwork that fluidly matches the emotional intensity of the scenes, and colors that enhance the feel of the scene, from greens and browns to set the landscape, to the deep blues of the water during the baptism, to the near lack of color in Nestor's childhood flashback.  The character work is especially good, bringing out the bruised humanity in Pastor Buddy:

Or the distorted memories of how adults can look to a young child:

But the thing is, these all seem so real.  The pastor's crisis of faith in the face of terminal illness is exactly the sort of thing that happens every day, and it's made all the more fascinating with Hagler's revelation in the afterword that he grew up in a religious family but has since renounced his faith.  And the childhood memories of a father leaving his family (along with an imagined moment in which Nestor connects with his mom, who, as we've seen in previous issues, is not exactly a tender woman) are so incredibly raw, I found tears in my eyes while reading them.

I'm having trouble articulating what exactly it is that reaches out and grabs me by the throat, but I think it's Hagler's raw, unfiltered emotion, which pours off the page and refuses to be ignored.  As fascinating as it is to read Hagler's explanations of where some of the individual moments came from, they're not necessary to get the full effect of the story.  And even if it is sometimes difficult to understand how everything fits together or where Hagler is going, he still grounds everything in his down-to-earth characters, making you feel like you're experiencing these moments right along with them.

I'm probably not doing this book any justice, but it's such a fascinating, beautiful work, full of real emotion and humanity, that I can't keep quiet about it.  I urge everyone who has the chance to give it a try, since Hagler is a talent that shouldn't be wasted.  I hope to continue to read his amazingly heartbreaking comics for years to come.