..for another mercy parcel from Amazon. This time, I received the first volume of ibooks' reprints of the classic MISTER X, the latest volume of DC's STARMAN, Grand Guignol, and the hardback BIRTH OF A NATION by a couple of American media-type-guys whose names mean next to nothing over here in the UK, Aaron McGruder and Reggie Hudlin, but drawn by the godlike Kyle Baker. Baker is a one man MAD magazine - and while previously he's been heavily influenced by the great Jack Davis, these days he can also do a mean Sergio Aragones impersonation. Haven't gotten round to reading this yet, but its a great looking book.
The Mister X collection features just about the only Los Bros Hernandez work I hadn't actually read at the time it was published - I remember seeing adverts for the collections published by Vortex (who also published another previous favourite of mine, YUMMY FUR by Chester Brown, and Brendan McCarthy's PARADAX). Didn't get it for one reason or another - probably just financial(hell, I was just a teenager at the time). A lot of classic creator-owned works are coming back on the market now, as publishing rights revert back to the artists. Ah. all those classic mid-eighties imprints that caused a revolution, but crashed and burned due to over-expansion as the market unexpectedly contracted - Pacific, Eclipse, First, Epic (I'm generalising horribly here, but that did in at least two of that four). Its good to see all that classic work back again - I'll be buying the AMERICAN FLAGG! hardcover, for certain. If the rights revert to the author, and the author sets up a deal with a print-on-demand company, destiny is pretty much back in the hands of the artist!
And I'm never as at my happiest than when I'm reading some James Robinson STARMAN. It's pure comicbook comfort food, superhero cottage pie. God, it was good, and the Grand Guignol arc was the emotional climax of the series (which more than most that make the claim), one big 80-issue graphic novel. A big family epic, like D H Lawrence with cosmic rods. I got tired waiting for DC to collate STARMAN faster a couple of years ago, and bought much of the remainder of the series as back issues, but bought this TPB to plug a few holes anyway. Re-read it hungrily, when I should have been getting some damned sleep. Realised recently just how influencial Robinson's tone has been amongst other DC writers of late, specifically Geoff Johns and Brad Melzer. It's almost the house style over there now. Its a shame Robinson wasn't appreciated more before he decided to try and make it as a screenwriter. I for one hope he makes it back to working in comics again someday soon. The art is (except for a few pages by Robinson's THE GOLDEN AGE pardner Paul Smith) by the massively under-rated Peter Snejberg, whose work always struck me as a cross between Steve Ditko and David Lloyd. Great stuff, but always "just not Tony Harris" in the eyes of many STARMAN fans.
Now, if only Robinson and Harris would make good on their promise for a new STARMAN OGN (thats Original Graphic Novel, for anyone outside the comic geek loop) or two. No hurry, James - Tony Harris has a fifty issue run of EX MACHINA to be getting on with in the meanwhile.