Tokyo, A Homecoming

If you haven't seen Tokyo, A Homecoming, a four-page story about one man's return to Japan after the recent earthquake and tsunami, you should definitely check it out.

A couple things struck me about this mini-graphic novel (it's more of a graphic article, really), which was written by Joe McCunney and illustrated by The Fates Crew. First was the timeliness of it. The tsunami occurred on March 11 and this feature was printed in the April 25 issue of New York Magazine, less than two months after the incident. While first person reportage like this is nothing new in comics (Joe Sacco and Josh Neufeld come immediately to mind), the timeliness of this comic is something new (at least to me). The subject is still fresh enough in people's minds to make this more relevant and emotionally engaging than a full graphic novel several years removed from the tragedy. The trade-off, of course, is length, but in this case, the shortness also works to its advantage. The article doesn't attempt to explore the incident from all angles, or put it in a broader historical context. It's simply a first person account of the situation as it stands today.

The other thing that struck me was the artwork's combination of Eastern and Western styles. Again this is nothing particularly new, but the seamless blending of manga figures and effects with more American-influenced settings and digital coloring, enhanced the outsider's perspective of the story, which focuses on a Japanese-American returning home for the first time since the tragedy.

Anyway, I personally would love to see more examples of the comics medium used in this kind of reportage capacity, and hope that more magazines embrace this format.

Music Review The Vaccines - What Did You Expect from the Vaccines?

A few months ago, I started participating in a private CD of the month club with a group of friends. Basically, the idea is that we each write a review of the CD to each other on an email list. These are pretty informal, but I thought, in the interest of keeping my blogging momentum up, I'd share a few here on Unattended Baggage. It's worth noting that of the six guys who participate in this group, I'm the only one who doesn't live in the UK. Thus, a lot of the music is British, although it's pretty much anything goes. This was my review of The Vaccines' What Did You Expect from the Vaccines:

This was my first exposure to the Vaccines and my first impression was they sound just like Coldplay. This was based on about 15 seconds of “All in White,” but still. Of course, this is only one of their many influences once you get into the album. On second and third listens, the album reminds me a lot of the high energy ‘80s punk albums like the Ramones, or even the more recent Strokes album. Lots of short, punchy songs to get you amped up and dancing, without dragging things out.

Wreckin Bar – Good opener, although it’s a blatant swipe of early punk songs. Still, these guys do justice to the old bands they’re imitating. The song is a rollicking sing-along, mosh pit power pop. Nothing original, but well-crafted and fun.

If You Wanna – Very catchy song, good guitar hook with what sounds like a synthesizer/keyboard? Definitely a highlight.

A Lack of Understanding – decent song, not a standout. This song also really sounds like a Coldplay track to me.

Blow It Up – another solid song, with great energy and a good hook.

Wetsuit – I really like the crashing cymbals in the chorus of this song, which is also probably the best showcase for the singer’s voice on the album. He sounds pretty good, although his voice doesn’t blow me out of the water.

Norgaard – This is another old school punk song, with its speedy, looping guitar chords, fast-paced drums and high energy. Interesting how the background singers bring in a ‘60s doo-wop beach sound. A weird touch, but it works. Great song!

Post-Break Up Sex – Anther song reminiscent of the Ramones. I can hear shades of "The KKK Took My Baby Away" in the opening minute or so. I love this song, another standout and the best lyrics (and title!) on the album.

Under Your Thumb – Would have preferred a Stones cover of "Under MY Thumb," but this song’s not bad, although a little too whiny and bland compared to other tracks.

All in White – This was the song that immediately made me think of Coldplay, and it’s not just that the singer sounds like Chris Martin; the whole song has a Coldplay vibe. That said, it’s still a pretty good song. I can imagine this being the big breakout radio hit from the album, although it’s not my personal favorite. It has that mass appeal style, though. Very consumer-friendly.

Wolf Pack – Not much to say about this one. OK song, but not my favorite.

Family Friend – I also get a Coldplay vibe from this song. Maybe it’s the slow, drawn out reverberating guitar chords and casual drumbeat. The song definitely builds toward a dramatic climax and I can imagine this as a good concert finale, with the band jamming for several minutes (a la MC5’s "Kick Out the Jams") before leaving the stage to cheering crowds. It would have been a solid closer for a solid album, except for the...

Hidden Track – I personally find hidden tracks kind of tired by this point. Just add the song to the album or don’t, you know? The quiet piano ballad, which sounds almost like a done-in-one studio demo, is kind of an outlier from the rest of the album, which I guess is why it was buried. It’s not bad but I definitely don’t think it adds anything to the album and probably should have been cut.

So, I guess my feeling about this album is that it’s well above average, with some truly excellent rock songs, but there’s nothing particularly original or interesting that distinguishes The Vaccines from several other bands. The best part of this album is that the songs are short. I like these guys, but their lack of originality keeps me from calling the album a classic. Still, I’d rate it 8/10.

Saturday Morning Comics Ramble

I haven't done one of these in a while but in the interest of blogging more, here goes nothing...

* I had lots of fun at MoCCA last Saturday, although I have this nagging feeling that I missed out on a lot. I was only able to be there for 5 hours, which seems like a lot, but I missed some good books and a few people I had hoped to catch up with. Also, I wasn't able to get to any panels, although this is nothing new. It's always a little disconcerting seeing so many cartoonists huddled together under one roof, a reminder of how the alternative side of comics is no longer an exclusive club of insiders. I love all the creativity surrounding the medium, and certainly there is a wealth of interesting new voices and artists every year, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't miss the old days a little.

* On the plus side, I had a great time chatting with fellow writers Derik Badman, Matthias Wivel, Tim Callahan and especially Gary Groth. I also picked up a few interesting books, including Liar's Kiss (the slick new crime noir from Top Shelf), Vietnamerica by GB Tran (family memoir which looks outstanding!), Fart Party vol. 1 by Julia Wertz (I know this is not new, but after reading and loving Drinking at the Movies, several people I trust encouraged me to check this out), Crickets #3, Reich #8, Pood #3, Gabrielle Bell's new Diary mini, Lisa Hanawalt's I Want You #2, and a few other books that I can't recall off the top of my head. I also took a chance on an over-sized art book called Carrier Pigeon which labelled itself as a book of "illustrated fiction." There's no sequential art per se, but the graphic design and production values are incredible, and the eclectic illustrations are definitely striking.

* I did attend the Comics Journal panel discussion at the Strand on Friday night, which was actually really fascinating. I especially enjoyed hearing Gary Groth's reflections on interviewing Gil Kane and Burne Hogarth, two giant figures in the early Comics Journal years. Kim Dietch was also there to offer an artist's perspective on the Journal over the years, which I thought was a very nice touch. It was also exciting to hear that Fantagraphics is working on archiving the entire run of Comics Journals for free on the website. What a resource that will be!

* I was also excited to see the new Comics Journal book (issue #301) which I am proud to say I have an essay in ("The Decade in Comics"). It's a massive brick of a book with an impressive lineup of writers. The design of the book (by Criterion DVD's Eric Skillman) is beautiful.

* I'm eager to read Gary Groth's massive R. Crumb interview and see if he can convince me of the merit of his Genesis adaptation. My impression of it at this point is that it's beautifully illustrated (quite likely the best work in Crumb's illustrious career from a strictly aesthetic point of view), but that the project itself is not only flawed, but frustratingly devoid of purpose or critical thought. That being said, I am very open and curious to other points of view on the subject.

* As much fun as MoCCA was, I have to admit that I may have enjoyed Jim Hanley's Universe's incredible back issue sale even more (this was on the same Sunday). They apparently do this periodically, although this was my first time, but essentially, to clear out back stock, they allow you to fill up a box for $20 (the boxes typically hold about 150-200 floppies). They basically set up a room in the basement with dozens of long boxes which are completely unsorted and let people go at it. For the first hour it was like a feeding frenzy as people practically climbed over each other to scour for treasures. Everyone was pretty nice though, and eventually the crowd thinned out until only us die-hards remained. I was there for almost 5 hours! In the end, I walked with almost 200 back issues for a measly $30, including all kinds of great stuff, mostly obscure alternatives from the '80s and '90s. Some highlights include six issues of Graphic Story Monthly, Jim Blanchard's Cruel World #1, lots of Eclipse books, several Harrier Comics by Phil Elliott (a very underrated artist), three issues of Star Reach's Quack!, some random issues of Andrew Vacchs' Hard Looks and Ms. Tree, etc. Despite my wife's faint protests, I'm very much looking forward to the next sale.

* I've read a ton of good comics lately, although my time to devote to reviewing/blogging has been severely limited. I do still plan to post a Best of 2010 list (hopefully before 2012!).

* I've been particularly interested in older comics after reading Dan Nadel's Art in Time. I actually have a number of thoughts on that book, although I mostly enjoyed it. I did wish Nadel had chosen a better Glanzman story than Kona, which I thought was far inferior work to his war stories in Combat and also happened to be one of the worst comics scripts I have ever seen. The Harry Lucey crime stories that led off the book were incredible, a very different side of Lucey than most of us Archie fans are used to. Great stuff!

* Anyway, this interest in older comics prompted me to buy the three issue Buried Treasure series from Pure Imagination off eBay. In some ways, this was a similar project to Nadel's Art in Time. The magazine-sized series was compiled by Greg Theakston in the late 80s (apparently a follow-up series was published by Caliber Comics, although I have yet to see it). Theakston's selections were mostly excellent, focusing on classic, hard-to-find Frank Frazetta, Bob Powell, Mort Meskin and Alex Toth stories, among others. The Toth selections are particularly impressive, reproduced in over-sized black and white. In fact, the final issue consists solely of seven vintage Toth stories. Given the new attention Toth is about to get with the two upcoming biographies, this third issue is definitely worth tracking down.

* I also read the first trade of Buffy Season 8 from the library and I don't know, even though it was Joss Whedon I wasn't crazy about it. Maybe Buffy just works better as a TV show, or maybe Georges Jeanty just isn't that great an artist, but I was pretty disappointed. I might still read another volume to see if it gets better, but I'm not excited about it anymore.

* On the other hand, is it just me or has the Walking Dead's recent "No Way Out" storyline been awesome? This is literally the only new monthly series I still buy anymore. I've completely lost touch with the Marvel and DC universes.

OK, I guess that's enough for today. Take care out there, folks!