Blog Archives
Bechelli, Corey – Willy Wonka: Candyman
Willy Wonka: Candyman (written by Scott Oliver) Now Available! $.50
In case you were wondering, yes, this is one of those books that you can judge from the cover. If lookig at that doesn’t make you intensely curious at least to see what it’s all about, you’ve obviously never seen Willy Wonka (the one with Gene Wilder, I have no idea about the new one). It’s sort of a prelude to the happenings of the movie, except, of course, for the fact that the creators intended for none of this to be the backstory of the man. Wonka in this mini is a slave trader (the Oompa Loompas), a drug user, and someone who has no problem doing experiments on children. He gets close to his dream of making a candy that makes children addicted while also keeping them perfectly quiet and pliable, and that’s where things get dicey with the President. Any more than that and it’s just ruined, but the ending dovetails nicely into the start of the movie, and the real reason he offered the tour. This was originally a 24 hour comic that was apparently finished in the time allowed, but then Corey inked it days later, so I guess technically it can’t be considered a 24 hour comic. And if you’ve ever lost even a little bit of sleep thinking about such things, I am deeply sorry. The point is that it’s a little sloppier than your average mini as a result, but all that does is make Wonka seem more unhinged and manic. There’s also a genuinely unique and interesting story here, which is always nice when it comes to the 24 hour books, as some of them tend to be… well, less than completely thought out. No problem with that here, I recommend this completely to the people who grew up on this movie, although the people who didn’t may end up being a bit lost…
Bechelli, Corey – Solidarity
Solidarity Now Available! $.50
As I’m typing this the whole country seems to finally realize what a doofus we have running things and it’s not looking good for him to even finish out his term, judging from all the scandals hitting and still to come. That being said, this was made in 2003, when this country was a different place entirely. It’s about a man who takes his wheat paste and his fliers and posts them up all over town, trying to get people to wake up and take action. Of course the cops get involved, and that’s where things get tricky. If I had read this three years ago it would have been another chilling indictment of how far we’ve fallen, but I’m eternally optimistic that this country is going to get its shit together someday, so this just serves as a reminder of a time that is slowly grinding to a halt. Plus there are some great and practical instructions in the back on how to make the appropriate paste, and how to put up fliers all over town.
Bechelli, Corey – Pursuit
Pursuit Now Available! $.50
Oh yeah, now I remember why I didn’t review this comic until now (9/19/08, long after everything else on the page was reviewed): I didn’t know what to make of it. It’s a wordless comic, which can occasionally be the bane of my existence, as I often come up short trying to get a review anywhere nearly as profound as the work the artist put out, or at least as profound as they intended it to be. This follows the flight of a large bird through a city, focusing in on the people in the streets, all seeming to be either in a state of extreme nervousness and fear, perhaps of all the cops keeping an eye on things. And yes, it’s clear from his other work as well as this that Corey doesn’t entirely trust cops, and why on earth should he? They have free rein with tasers now, a “non-lethal” form of crowd control. Best to stay away from them if possible. We also see some reaction shots of animals, like a lion, monkey and a couple of dogs. Because… aw hell, I don’t know. I like his other books better (and am still wondering when he’s going to finish that damned Wizard of Oz trilogy), but if you’re a fan of the wordless stuff it’s certainly a cheap book to try out.
Bechelli, Corey – Parallel
Parallel
I do so love the random submissions. This one is a short silent mini paralleling (duh) the day of a harried husband and a carefree guy who happens to be cheating wife the previous man’s wife. It’s done well and has a lot more of a punch because it’s silent, as words can sometimes just clutter up an otherwise potent comic. Yep, that’s my crappy bit of wisdom for the day. Corey also sent along a few more comics which will be posted here in the coming weeks, which is wonderful as I’d much rather have a well-rounded opinion of somebody’s work than just one book, even if it is a book I like such as this one. No price but I’d say it’s a buck…
Bechelli, Corey – There’s No Place #2
There’s No Place #2 (written by Scott Oliver) Now Available! $2
Hooray for qualified praise! I loved this issue, thought it was a great continuation of this series. We get to see the funeral for Glinda, Tinman trying to talk sense (or at least patience) into the lion, Scarecrow crashing said funeral with an army of crows, and, best of all, an attack by those famous flying monkeys. So why only qualified praise? Simple. This book, #2 of a three part series, came out in 2005. As of today, 8/24/07, #3 still isn’t out yet, or at least nowhere that it’s accessible online that I could find. Meaning that, fun as this book was, it doesn’t mean a damned thing unless this series gets wrapped up, and the sooner the better. Sorry to be a jerk about it, but after 6 years of doing this website I’ve had all the dangling series that I can take. As a whole, this series has some serious potential, for fans of the old Oz books or the movie (and people who have somehow never heard of either), as it’s a dark reimagining of these fairly simplistic characters. This issue in particular has some revealing conversations between the lion and the Tinman, as both are fleshed out in a big way and even the Scarecrow, mass murderer that he is, becomes a bit of a sympathetic character. So, a plea to the creators: finish what you started, realize the potential with this story that you’ve built up with these first two issues, and let me praise this whole series unreservedly.
Bechelli, Corey – There’s No Place #1
There’s No Place #1 (written by Scott Oliver) Now Available! $2
So what happens after the end of The Wizard of Oz? Scarecrow has his brains, Tinman has his heart, and the lion has his courage. Then what? This three issue series seeks to answer that question, or at least posits a pretty interesting theory. Scarecrow, it turns out, has plenty of knowledge but very little wisdom on how to use that knowledge. The story begins with Scarecrow, after trying to explain his philosophy to the Munchkins, deciding that the direct approach is the best way to go and ends up killing almost everybody in the village. The Tinman, who is trying to plant two trees for every one he cut down before he got his heart, learns of this and decides to look up his old friend the lion. The lion has turned into a bit of a beast, seemingly happy to solve every problem with violence now that he’s no longer a coward. Mixed into all of this is the damage that Scarecrow did to Emerald City in his time as ruler and Glinda’s efforts to set things right. It’s a fascinating concept, if a bit difficult to see the actor who played Scarecrow in the movie going on a major killing spree. Well worth a look, especially if they can keep this up for the next two issues. $2
Bechelli, Corey – Hate Yer State #2
Hate Yer State #2 Now Available! $2
What’s the best way to review a book of political comics? If you figure that out let me know, as I have no idea. There’s some pretty funny stuff in here if this is your political persuasion (“this” being mostly that GW Bush and Republicans in general are shitbags, while Democrats are mostly worthless), but if this isn’t your thing, well, it’s not going to do a whole lot for you. There’s also a slight problem with the fact that political strips are incredibly topical, so that even though this book was done in 2006, as I sit here in 2007 (as somebody who pays a lot of attention to politics, sadly), there are plenty of faces in various strips that were a mystery to me. Possibly if I read them the week they came out it would make perfect sense, but a year removed I have no idea who were committing the outrages of the week. Still, some funny and disturbing stuff in here, and call me an eternal optimist, but I have to imagine that most people out there who pay attention to this stuff at all are more or less in line with his political views…
Bechelli, Corey – The Battle Within
The Battle Within (written by Scott Oliver) Now Available! $.50
Who likes a good boxing match? Granted, there’s all kinds of subtext here to go with the text (one quick glance at the cover will fill you in on that much), but there’s also plenty of good old fashioned hitting to enjoy. This is the story, on the surface at least, of a man who slowly rises through the ranks until he’s given a shot at the championship. Said championship is being held by a man who clearly got the belt through help from shady people, and the challenger is informed that unless he takes a fall his family is in jeopardy. Cut in with the action are shots of the challenger as a caveman with a club and the champ as a giant monster, quite possibly a lion but I’m not entirely sure. Anyway, a nice little tale for a measly $.50, with an unfortunately dopey ending line. Other than that there’s plenty to like here though, as it looks great and, like I said, plenty of punching is involved.
