Young Liars

Young Liars is an ongoing comic book series from David Lapham, published by DC's Vertigo imprint. It can be classified as crime fiction with a fairly realistic presentation, but much of the story and characterization is somewhat outlandish. Danny, the protagonist, is an aspiring musician who is obsessively in love with Sadie, who comes from a wealthy, unscrupulous (and very strange) family. Sadie is very uninhibited, due to a bullet being inextricably lodged in her brain. Other members of the group include CeeCee, a rock groupie; Donnie, a transvestite; Annie, an anorexic former model; and Runco, a rich boy who has many get-rich-quick schemes.

The real question is how to read Young Liars. Is it meant as a realistic take on the life of certain underground characters of New York City? Is it some kind of farce? Is it some kind of fantasy or dream? I think the correct answer is that it is all of these things. There are realistic aspects, but there is much that is clearly not meant to be taken seriously. For example, when Sadie beats up men twice her size, or water skis behind and then hijacks a cruise ship, this can be seen as a fantastical representation of what it is like to be involved with someone who has a brain injury or for some other reason cannot control their behavior. Sadie's paranoid suspicion of her family can also be seen in this way. No doubt, many people who are trying to break from their family often feel as if they have a midget Pinkerton detective chasing them. CeeCee's hangups regarding her abortion are very realistic, but the way that she keeps the fetus' tiny arm as a keepsake is perhaps a bit much. But all of the hangups, obsessions, unhealthy relationships, misguided goals, envies and backstabbing behaviors are very valid.

So the book should be read on several levels, and we probably wouldn't be reading it at all if these outlandish elements were not part of Lapham's style. Also, he doesn't even try to disguise the fact that Danny is not a reliable narrator. So that fact alone provides a clue that the entire story is purposefully over the top, exaggerated, not realistic, and dreamlike. It is meant to entertain and provoke, and perhaps make some valid observations about the dark issues many people cope with.

Lawless

Lawless, the second volume of Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips' Criminal, begins shortly after the events of Coward. Tracy Lawless is AWOL from military prison, determined to find out who murdered his brother, Ricky Lawless. To get started, Tracy pulls a strong-arm robbery on the mob and tracks down an old acquaintance who specializes in forged identity documents. (If you think all of this will come back to haunt him later, you're right.) In short order, Tracy tracks down Ricky's old crew, murders their wheelman, and infiltrates the gang as their new driver. Tracy then gets close to Ricky's old girlfriend Mallory, who is also a member of the gang. Much mayem ensues, Tracy ends up finding out a lot more than he bargained for, and the ending leaves him with more questions than ever.

Incognito

Incognito is a new series from Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips. Scheduled to begin in December 2008, the five-part story will be released under Marvel's creator-owned imprint, Icon. In a nutshell, the story is about a super-powered villain attempting to hide out in the witness protection program. Like Sleeper, the protagonist of Incognito has super-powers. However, according to published reports Incognito will be more of a crime noir story, where Sleeper was a bit more like Watchmen-- an exploration of human nature in a world much like our own where some people just happen to have super powers. The new story will also have somewhat of an espionage theme, not unlike Bruabaker's current presentation of Captain America. Suffice it to say that we will see a very dark and pulpy blend of genres.

Like Criminal, Incognito will fill out the 36 pages with prose articles in the back. Reportedly, there will be more articles about the pulp realm, such as Doc Savage and the Shadow, as well as articles about the world that the comics industry grew out of.

http://www.warrenellis.com/?p=6451

Superman and the Mole Men

Superman and the Mole Men is the 1951 black and white film which served as a pilot of sorts for the long-running Superman TV series. The 58 minute feature is somewhat serious and has a science fiction theme, whereas the TV series was usually more humorous and crime-oriented. In a nutshell, Clark and Lois are sent to investigate a race of subterranean Mole Men who are disturbed by the drilling of the world's deepest oil well. Despite their peculiar appearance, the Mole Men present no threat, and the majority of the story revolves around Superman protecting them and helping the townspeople to overcome their fear and prejudice. Even though George Reeves felt it would go nowhere, the movie was relatively well received, and it led directly to the successful TV series. The feature was eventually turned into a two-part show, and was used as a cliffhanger between the first and second seasons.

The Bottle City of Kandor

Possibly the most iconic and memorable element of the Silver Age Superman mythos, the Bottle City of Kandor was created when Brainiac shrunk and stole the capitol city of Krypton, preserving it inside a glass bottle aboard his spacecraft. Superman eventually recovered Kandor from Brainiac, and placed it inside his Fortress of Solitude for safekeeping.

The bottle containing the city is made of unbreakable glass, and is sealed by a super-hard metal stopper. Superman keeps a close watch on air hoses and related apparatus and a doorway has been installed in the stopper to facilitate an easier exit. The gravity conditions and red sun of Krypton are duplicated to allow the Kandorians to live normal lives within the bottle. Superman uses a special monitor screen to keep in close communication with Kandor.

To enter Kandor, Superman uses Brainiac's shrinking ray to reduce to microscopic size. Once inside, Superman becomes an ordinary human being, without super-powers. Superman's most notable adventure within the bottle was probably when he and Jimmy Olson adopted the identities of Nightwing and Flamebird in order to investigate a criminal scientist. The other most notable aspect of the bottle city is the Superman Emergency Squad, a team of Kandorians that leaves the bottle from time to time in order to assist Superman.

Of course, the Silver Age Bottle City of Kandor was swept away in DC's Crisis on Infinite Earths. Over the years, DC has brought out newer, different versions of Kandor, but nothing as cool and interesting as the original.

American Splendor

Sporadically published since 1976, American Splendor is a series of autobiographical comics based on the life of Cleveland native Harvey Pekar. In the 1960's, Pekar gained inspiration from the work of artist Robert Crumb, who eventually became one of the artists for the comic series. Taking Pekar's everyday life as its subject matter, American Splendor tells stories about Pekar's job as a file clerk, his money problems, car troubles, health problems, and a multitude of other anxieties and awkward situations that Pekar often experiences.

Pekar gained a certain level of notoriety in the 1980's when he appeared numerous times on David Letterman's show, and his graphic novels were eventually the basis of a 2003 movie starring Paul Giamatti.

American Splendor has most recently been published by the DC Comics imprint Vertigo.

Cerebus the Aardvark

Cerebus the Aardvark, created by Dave Sim, is one of the longest running comic book series ever published. Difficult to describe, the comic chronicles the adventures of Cerebus, a three foot tall aardvark who lives in the fictional world of Estarcion. Beginning in 1977 and completed in 2004, the series develops many religious and political themes as it follows Cerebus through numerous occupations and careers. Initially he is a mercenary, and later he is a politician, a religious leader and eventually a messiah.

Initially conceived as a parody of the sword and sorcery genre, and no doubt inspired by Steve Gerber's Howard the Duck, Cerebus was one of the first independent comics, at a time when the comics landscape was almost completely dominated by DC and Marvel. Involved in much controversy over the years, Dave Sim nevertheless became one of the leaders in the fight for creators' rights in comics.

Probably the best known storyline of the series was High Society (issues #26-50), where Cerebus finds himself enmeshed in the fast-paced world of high finance and politics. These issues were subsequently published as a graphic novel available through mail order only, which angered comic shop retailers who felt Sim owed them a great deal for the initial success of Cerebus.

In many ways, the arc of Cerebus from 1977 to 2004 is also the history of the many different ways that comics changed over the years, both creatively and as a business.

Doc Savage

Doc Savage is a 1930's pulp character who was a very important forerunner to the modern superhero. Most fully realized by author Lester Dent, Doc Savage is a 6 ft 6 in giant, raised from birth to have great strength and endurance and near super-human physical abilities. He was also educated in all fields of learning in order to become a renaissance man, as well as a premier martial artist, explorer and adventurer. He is described by Dent as having the mental abilities of Sherlock Holmes and the physical abilities of Tarzan.

Doc does not wear a costume, but he does have a distinctive physical appearance. His skin is bronzed, his hair is close-cropped, and he has hypnotic gold-flecked eyes. Thus he is often described as "The Man of Bronze". Similar to Bruce Wayne, Doc has vast wealth and connections, and like Superman, he has a Fortress of Solitude. (Mort Weisinger pretty much lifted this idea in its entirety for the Superman mythos.) He also has a cohort of gifted teammates, which makes him the leader of one of the first 'super-teams'.

One of the more notable works in the Doc Savage canon, particularly for those interested in the Wold Newton hypothesis, is Philip José Farmer's fictional biography Doc Savage: His Apocalyptic Life.

H.P. Lovecraft

H.P. Lovecraft (1890 – 1937), although relatively unknown during his own time, is one of the most important figures in horror fiction. His most notable creation was probably the cycle of stories known as the Cthulhu Mythos, a shared universe that has since been employed by many writers, most notably- for comic book fans, at least- Alan Moore.

Stories created within the Cthulhu Mythos usually take place in New England and center on the Great Old Ones, a fearsome assortment of powerful, grotesque alien deities who came from outer space and once ruled the Earth. These powerful beings are currently being held in abeyance, having fallen into a death-like sleep at some point in the distant past. The best known of these entities, but not necessarily the most powerful, is Cthulhu. Other key figures include Azathoth, the theological center of the mythos and Nyarlathotep, who does Azathoth's bidding.

The central theme of the Mythos is that the illusory nature of reality is a blessing. We do not see every aspect of reality, and we would surely lose our minds if we did. In the tradition of the Mythos, forbidden knowledge results in death and/or insanity.

Alan Moore has written prose stories set in the Cthulhun Mythos, and his works are sprinkled with references and homages to Lovecraft. Lovecraft's influence on Moore can definitely be seen in Swamp Thing, where Moore creates a mythos that is not unlike the Cthulhu Mythos.

Many books and dissertations have been written about Lovecraft. Other than his influence on Alan Moore, the important thing to know about Lovecraft is that he was one of the first writers to utilize what we would call a 'continuity'.

Hollywood discovers Ed Brubaker's 'Sleeper'

Tom Cruise and Hollywood have discovered Ed Brubaker, but comic book fans have known about Brubaker and his crime comics for quite some time. According to wire reports, Cruise is seeking the film rights to Brubaker's Sleeper, and the property does seem perfect for the big screen. Sleeper features a secret agent (Holden Carver) whose fusion with an alien artifact makes him impervious to pain, gives him a powerful healing factor, and allows him to store pain and pass it on to others through skin contact. Carver goes undercover in a super villain’s powerful organization and is eventually caught between two warring sides with unclear allegiances. Mayhem ensues. I'm sure this was one of the most successful Hollywood pitch meetings of all time. It's a 'high concept', easily translated to the screen, and it's a great role for somebody like Tom Cruise. Warner Brothers thinks this might be the next big movie franchise, on the level of the Bourne movies.

So who is Ed Brubaker, and what else is he working on? By his own admission, as a teenager he was 'kind of a thief and a drug-addict...and lived in a really ugly world of speed-freaks and scumbags.' Fortunately, he turned himself around. But he retained a somewhat bent perspective as well as an interest in dark subject matter such as pulp crime fiction. (In his autobiography, My Dark Places, crime author James Ellroy describes a similar scenario, with similar results.)

Brubaker is probably best known for 'killing Captain America'. Except it was actually Steve Rogers that was killed, and the Captain America persona was taken over by his sidekick, Bucky. All grown up now, Bucky was previously known as the Winter Soldier, a programmed Soviet assassin. Let's just say that he has some issues. He is a much darker character than Steve Rogers, and is much more suited to Brubaker's noir style. In the hands of Brubaker, Captain America has become a pulpy blend of sci-fi and espionage.

Brubaker is also one of the creators of Criminal. A straight-ahead crime series, Criminal features career criminals and ordinary people who get in over their heads, with violent and unpredictable results. One volume centered on a prizefighter who runs into some problems with the local crime bosses. Another story is about a Vietnam veteran who gets involved in a heist. Criminal is sharply written, beautifully illustrated by Sean Phillips, and is a worthy homage to the crime fiction of Raymond Chandler and Jim Thompson. Each issue also has a prose section in the back, highlighting subjects such as the Black Lizard reprints of classic crime novels, or Harry-O, the classic TV crime show from 1974-75.

Brubaker and Phillips are also working on a new series called Incognito, which Brubaker says is "about a completely amoral guy with super-powers forced to pretend he's a normal law-abiding citizen, because he's in Witness Protection."

See links below for more information. No word on exactly when Sleeper will come to the big screen, but it looks like things are coming along nicely.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/08/books/08capt.html
http://criminalcomic.blogspot.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleeper_%28comic_book%29

The Bottle City of Kandor

I found this great diagram of the Bottle City of Kandor.