Word: comix
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Like determined ornithologists hunched in the bushes waiting for that extremely rare bird, comix fans have long been scanning the horizon for the arrival of the second volume of "King," (Fantagraphics Books; 72pp.; $11.95) Ho Che Anderson's three-part "interpretive biography" of Dr. Martin Luther King. Now, ten years after volume one we have the penultimate chapter. (Anderson intends to release part three next year.) Historical biography with African-American characters, created by an African-Canadian artist who has kept us waiting a decade for its continuation: if comic prices are truly based on scarcity each copy of this...
...novella, "Dumped" (Oni Press; 56pp.; $5.95), which along with SND and last year's "Breakfast After Noon," (see TIME.comix review) make a loose trilogy about the lives of England's urban, middle-class singles. Just as the Mercury turns small events into front-page news, Watson makes smart, compelling comix out of nothing more than relationships endangered by complicated personalities. The headline would be: "Couples Have Problems...
...writing comix about how relationships evolve Andi Watson defies expectations. (The least of these is that he is not a woman.) He uses an art form associated with fast-paced, plot-heavy, male-centric fantasy to tell naturalistic stories of love and loss. Both "Slow News Day" and "Dumped" have a soft, subtle pleasure in their stories of the things that really matter. While "Spider-Man" may be the comic character of the moment, his extraordinary powers would be laughably useless in Watson's world...
...publishing a whole series of pocket-sized paperbacks that reprint Japanese comicbooks, called "manga," the way they originally appeared, reading right to left. The experience is a bit like wearing generously-sized shoes on the wrong feet. It feels weird but you can get used to it. Perhaps younger comix fans, with less investment in the usual, Western way of reading, would adapt to it more easily...
...What a relief for comix fans to finally have something new they can give their nieces and nephews. Wataru Yoshizumi's "Marmalade Boy" and Osamu Tezuka's "Astro Boy" not only provide age-appropriate entertainment, but a window into another culture. These stories, filled with innocence, humor and wonder, will make girls and boys consume them with glee, until the books become dog-eared and swollen with rain. Be sure and keep extra copies for yourself...