A Few Recent Reads

Ah, Seattle. Home to such great comics stores as Zanadu Comics (not Xanadu comics, as I've previously spelled it) and Confounded Books (a small-press/indie comics/zine emporium that shares space with Wall of Sound Records, a mere block from my humble apartment), and comics friendly bookstores, like Bailey/Coy Books on Broadway. Here, a man has options when he decides it's time to pick up the latest in picto-narrative printed matter. And, if he knows where to dig, he can find some cool little gems that he may not have found otherwise.

Take, for example, the work of the Finecomix Collective, whose new anthology Moxie, My Sweet showcases the work of several authors bringing to life the stories of Mark Campos, who in turn delves into the styles of several authors from diverese fields such as science fiction, fantasy, magical realism, and funny animal cartoons. Highlights here include Elijah Brubaker's handling of the fairy-tale "Colony of Cats," a story that feels familiar yet fresh with it's re-working of bedtime story themes; Scott Faulkner's take on "Can of Beans," a bittersweet love story (aren't they all?) set in the music industry; and Dalton Webb's Pogo-esque jazz funeral in "The Crow Passes."

But my favorite work from the Fine Comix folks is by one Kaz Strzepek, who is here responsible for the art on a short, wordless piece by Campos, that could be about making the best of a worst situation, or about how the world always gets you down in the end. Or maybe it's about howwe can try to craft our own destiny, but are ultimately at the mercy of the cosmos? Could be all of the above. But aside from this story, Strzepek is also responsible for a series of minicomics (2 so far that I know of under the title The Mourning Star. 2 beautifully undersized mincomics, quite generous in length, with handscreened covers and matching binding thread, The Mourning Star is sort of a post-apocalyptic sci-fi/fantasy rendered in a cartoonish yet detailed manner. In the space of two issues, Strzepek has crafted a world full of wandering souls troubled by their own pasts, as well as the very real threats of the present (including desert creatures and possibly hostile strangers speaking foreign languages). The art style has an omnipresent whimsy that neverless does not detract from the occasional menace and grotesquerie of the setting.





And with that said, I leave with vague promises of "more later," but exactly what and exactly when is left unclear.