Back in the Loop

Unemployment is actually sort of good for some things, but one thing it definitely is not good for is keeping up a comic collecting habit. I've found myself on the receiving end of the downsizing stick recently, and have had to rein in my buying habits of late. Not having any disposable income really makes you think twice about what you absolutely need to pick up. And besides, it's not like I don't have a stack of unread stuff sitting here still.

This week's new installment of Love and Rockets was certainly a solid investment, mostly due to Jaime's contribution. His story this issue focuses on Ray and Vivian, two characters who don't seem to know what they want out of each other, yet find themselves practically attached at the hip. There's a scene early on, while Ray accompanies Vivian and her friend on some auditions, where Jaime's skill at depicting body language is at its understated best, with a lineup of hopeful ingenues revealing their attitudes with nothing but posture. He lets their attitudes shift and change, telling a separate little story behind Ray's introspective musings. There are so many great light comedic moments in this story, that the harrowing end to the installment hits a little harder through contrast. The quiet epilogue sheds a little more light on both of these characters, especially Vivian, who we get to see in sort of a new light. Quality from beginning to end, and yet another in the long list of reasons why he's a master of his craft.

I don't know if I'd put it on the same masterful level, but Nextwave: Agents of Hate has established its own high standard to live up to each month. It takes a true fuck-it-all attitude to take a concept that's already been run into the ground, and just keep pushing it until it breaks and splinters and becomes a parody of a parody, before taking on a life of its own and one-upping the original targets of its satire. I'm about as surprised as I could possibly be that Marvel is publishing one of my favorite regular series at the moment. The only thing that even comes close to this book is the late X-Statix, and possibly its recent spin-off, Dead Girl. They all share an irreverence in tone, but also, and more importantly, the understanding that satire is not an excuse to forget about actual drama. You can be as post-modern, self-referential and gimmicky as you want, but if you don't ultimately take your story seriously on its own terms, you'll probably fail. Nextwave succeeds not by undermining the tropes of superhero adventure, but by reveling in them shamelessly and unapologetically, with full awareness of their absurdity. It doesn't try to dress itself up as relevant, redeeming, or realistic, and there's something refreshing about that.

It's the end of the year, and lots of people are making lists to mark the occasion. We probably won't. But we may post some sort of wrap-up overview thing, in an informal, unranked, off-the-cuff sort of way. You have been warned.