I completely missed this discussion when it went down here. Good on you, Joe, for helping to hip the masses to the singular talents of Mr, Hanks! I just learned that Fanatgraphics is soon to publish this --- "Originally featured in two paperback volumes, this deluxe hardcover collects for the first time all of Hanks’ previously published material, plus several gems newly discovered for this volume, making this the very first complete collection of the works of Fletcher Hanks." It's time to hand those softbacks over to a friend in need and plunk down for a pre-order!
Hmmm, indeed. That might just be the case. A nice hardback edition would be great . . . especially if its 'complete'.
Fantagraphics is where it's at. They're putting out new Love and Rockets. Brothers Hernandez is the best. And that new Clowes book is pretty keen aswell.
Most definitely! They're just of inestimable cultural value. I think of them in a similar light as Criterion (but better). I use them pretty much exclusively for reprints of classic strips these days, but there was a time when I was more into alternative/underground/"comix"/whathaveyou type stuff, and I at least sampled most of the major (and some not so major) figures in that arena. With the exception of the Hernandez Bros. There was a lot of stuff competing for my attention at the time and their stuff, while it was expertly drawn, struck me as boring (based solely on leaf throughs and reading a panel here and there). It seemed like it was maybe soap opera stuff, for lack of a better term. I mean, obviously they've been tremendously successful, I'm just curious about the actual content of the stories. From what I've seen, it seems like they've been really influential as far as making "regular", slice of life style stories a more popular type of comic/graphic novel form these days.
I understand. The soap story stuff is kind of lame... though, I do enjoy the wrestling and scifi stories. It's all so gorgeous.. I like having around just to look at.
Well, I was just assuming it was soap opera stuff, really. Though, I'm sure there's more than just that going on. As far as sci-fi, do they/either of them have any standalone sci-fi stuff? 'Cause that I would probably check out. I kind of feel I've neglected them, even though I know all their peer's work.
not into SteamPunk things as I find it to be Juggalo Chic, but damn Lantern City is a great fucking comic.
SB is always reliable for such great on-point quotes. So you are not extremely excited for Suicide Squad then? Come on, everyone know tattoos and dyed hair are the pinnacle of cool.
They are certainly one of the best. Speaking of Fantagraphics, i bought this one recently. Its the second collection but i haven't read the first. Megg & Mogg in Amsterdam by Simon Hanselmann (cover below). I just picked it up in a book shop, and before i knew it, i had read 10 pages or so and was chuckling away at the bleak humour like a loon . . . I like it when i buy comics totally cold like that sometimes. Reading reviews is not always a good thing. Now to track down the first collection . . . .
At times it becomes very non linear, but ya there is some scifi stuff in there. more like jet propelled Cadillac racing, and less Fantasy. for me, It's like liberty meadows or strangers in paradise... Drawn/ put together so well, it calls me to read the books. Simon Hanselmann's work is great.
One of my favorite reads in the 1990s. I try watching the AMC show. The acting from the majority of the cast was hard to swallow. Tulip making a rocket launcher out of tube rolls and other junk was far fetch. Better off reading the comics.
I'm going to take that as a negatory on their being any standalone sci-fi stuff by them so far as you know. When you'd referred to "scifi stories" I had a glimmer of excitement that they'd done some genre-specific, self-contained science fiction stuff. Guess I'll have to keep living a Hernandez brothers-less world. Sigh...
I can definitely see how fans of Preacher might not be that into the tv adaptation. I have enjoyed it for the most part, but never read the entire series. I just tend to look at these things as completely separate entities than the comic counterparts. Even more so than Walking Dead. I think if you try to set aside the strengths/notions of the comic, and just look at it as silly tv that happens to share a name, it is okay, and least for entertainment. But it is far from perfect, that is for sure. I thought it had a much stronger start than it lead in to, and should probably just try to stick the the mystery of it and try to do its own thing that way with what it has. The medium is obviously different - and this isn't Millar (blech!!) - so you will never be able to easily do a straight adaption to the screen. You've got he limitations of the screen, material, and actors, all playing a part. And there is always what you put into it too. I can feel while hard core fans might not get into it. It's okay, but yeah, not the comic. For me, that's all right, too.
^^ I read Preacher back in the day and still have the graphic novel set . . . and i've watched two episodes of the TV show so far. I remember the comic having some of the most fucked up violence and over-the-top situations going, and i thought they would never be able to adapt it for film or TV. They seem to have had a good crack at it, but obviously its not perfect. I'm enjoying it so far, but it already seems a little watered-down compared to the comics, but then i expected that for a TV show. I'm probably biased because I'm a big fan of Joe Gilgun (who played Woody in 'This is England'). I think he's great as the vampire Cassidy.
I don't expect any tv show or movie to be a perfect adaptation of any comic/novel. I went in to watching Preacher with an open mind. And knowing Seth Rogen help direct at least the first episode I wasn't expecting much. I have only watched the first 2 episodes. What I am going to do is wait for AMC to have a marathon on the episodes like they normally do and make my mind up whether to continue on to a second season. But right now as it stands I find the show ridiculously stupid.
I think it would be a serious shame if you were to miss out on the vast and varied talents of Los Bros because they haven't chosen to conform to any particular genre with their storytelling. I'll confess I haven't kept up with what they've been up to in the past decade or so, but reading their tales up to that point, vast arcs and stand-alone biscuits, gave me 20 years of many of my favorite moments in all of comix. I'm not sure where the appeal isn't in well told tales of punk rock, wrasslin', heartbreak, banger life, hot rods, sex, absurdity and, yes, epic amounts of human drama (writ large and small), especially when spiced by casual surrealism, jags of the highest and lowest of comedy, and bursts of any number of genre-referential awesomeness, all rendered in some of the most deft, varied and communicative drawings goddamn anywhere. Multiply that all by two, as the brothers each achieve all of the above in their own individual and idiosyncratic styles. Out of the gate their shit was incredible, only made more so by the fact that their characters actually grow and change as the years pass, and you get to watch it happen in something like real time. This kind of growth is common in fiction, sure, but so rarely even attempted in floppy magazines. All that said, you might dig the early issues of Mister X, a for-hire gig from their early days: It's a fun but uneven SF noir, heavy on the deco, that's above all great to look at. Here's a couple of quick reviews I dug up for you from Dreaming City and goodreads. You also might want to try out the very first L&R anthology, Music for Mechanics. It serves as a fine introduction to the brother's styles, the stories can stand on their own, and Jamie's contributions are pretty damn SF, with spacecraft, aliens, and even dinosaurs. Also, tits. Millar?
@toothaction Yes. Fuck that guy. Seriously so, so terrible. I know a lot of people dig his 'popular' works, but the fact that he has even made a name for himself, that is recognisable, from his 'craft' makes me cringe. I needed a serious, and I mean serious, amount of brain bleach after reading through The Ultimates (vol 1 only, thank bejeebus); thankfully I followed that up with some classic Claremont and Byrne to try and purge any memory. (I wish I could say that the horribleness of it was wiped fully from memory, but alas...) Honestly, there is plenty out there on this guy already, and I really don't want to get into [yet another] long, drawn out rant. I don't even want to subject people here to the horrors committed to the comic page in that book. Just do yourself a favour and avoid.
@toothaction That's quite an endorsement, and I appreciate the recs. Mister X does look pretty interesting. Didn't know they'd done anything like that. And, just to clarify, at the time I was reading these kinds of comics, I wasn't really able to read everything and I gravitated to the more willfully subversive and comedic stuff, so these guys ended up getting overlooked. These days, as I mentioned, I'm reading old strips almost exclusively, and even those I'm having increasing difficulty reading with any frequency, because I have something going on that severely limits my motivational/concentration resources. But, since I know I didn't give these important artists in a field I love a fair shake, I'm definitely going to try to check out that Mister X stuff and at least the first L&R story. Thanks again!
@ultrakaiju & @toothaction Starlight was pretty good though... Most of Millar's work Is lame. I think that guy hates superheroes. A local Denver dude does a comic called Cankor. you can read some of it on his blog. http://loafdish.blogspot.com/ Warning... It's gorgeous.
@3wing - It was a compliment! His book is hilarious, too; a perfect storm of influences and individuality. Thanks for the tip.
