I’ve never really noted him for weird, curvy architecture, but this is something from Howard Chaykin, as inked and colored by George Freeman, script by Peter B. Gillis, from Warp Special #1, 1983. It’s one of several items I picked up from our own Frank Santoro at MoCCA, also including Don McGregor’s & Marshall Rogers’ 1980 Detectives, Inc., which I confess mainly caught my attention because the Journal reposted that vintage review in which Kim Thompson absolutely destroyed it. I also bought a bunch of Wallace Wood reprints off of Dan… I think MoCCA’s something about the small press? These were all pretty small, I guess…

Here’s a more representative page, which still looks to me a bit closer to the kind of work Chaykin is doing now than the really dense style of American Flagg!, which would begin almost immediately after First Comics released this little item – Warp was among the publisher’s first releases, notable for being based on a series of science fiction plays originated in the early ’70s by Stuart B. Gordon & Bury St. Edmond (amazingly, the then-running Elaine Lee/Michael Wm. Kaluta Heavy Metal feature Starstruck was also based on a play), though it’s now thoroughly overshadowed by the publisher’s later works.

It’s a bit silly to compare Chaykin’s contributions — naturally, he’s going to put more ingenuity into his own showcase series as opposed to a special issue of a different title with the same publisher — but it’s still easy to see (and appreciate, sure) this particular work as an energetic opening up of some  pedestrian scripting, while the Chaykin of Flagg!, in control of more elements of production, appears attuned to what I see in the likes of Detectives, Inc., a not entirely well-aged desire to pound some sophistication into the comics form via more elaborate page layouts and much, much more writing, just loads and loads of text. What’s enduring about Flagg! on a formal level is Chaykin’s aptitude for blending those impulses — words, panels, sound effects — into a unified presentation, so that what used to seem merely heavy became cacophonous, and then became representative of the world that was the site of its author’s satire. Warp was undoubtedly the appetizer before the main course, but it’s worthwhile seeing an altogether airier, perhaps collaboration-friendly style abounding.

And now, more.

Other Lives: Man, Vertigo Crime sure is stretching the boundaries of… oh, wait, this is a “just Vertigo” b&w hardcover graphic novel, and the newest 136-page work from Peter Bagge, whom I’m certain requires no introduction to anyone here. There is some intrigue involved, as a trio of uninspiring souls find themselves embroiled in complications via identity fuckery with online social media. Preview; $24.99.

Mercury: Meanwhile, in another demographic — since Vertigo comics are reliably Suggested for Mature Readers — Simon & Schuster presents this Scholastic-style softcover/hardcover YA double launch for artist Hope Larson, who’s completed a 240-page time-twister involving tragic and purportedly lucrative secrets out in the woods of 19th century Nova Scotia. Excerpt; $9.99 (or $19.99).

Dungeon: Twilight Vol. 3: Unless I’m hopelessly uninformed, I do believe this new NBM release wraps things up so far for this future tense wing of the much-admired Joann Sfar/Lewis Trondheim fantasy comics creation, covering albums released in 2006 and 2009, with art by “Kerascoët” (Marie Pommepuy & Sébastien Cosset) on the former and Obion on the latter. Preview; $12.99.

Yotsuba&! Vol. 8: We’re drawing near the limit on this one too; it’s up to a pretty recent (Nov. 2009) vol. 9 in Japan, and creator Kiyohiko Azuma takes about a year getting a new one out, this being a monthly serial and all. As always, a little green-haired girl observes the world in a humorous and life-affirming manner; $10.99.

Rogue Trooper: Tales of Nu-Earth Vol. 1: Often confused for Yotsuba&!, this is in fact a Gerry Finley-Day/Dave Gibbons creation from the pages of 2000 AD, in which a hardened super-soldier wanders a poisoned hell searching for the traitor that facilitated a massacre from which he was the sole survivor. Another 400-page Rebellion release imported by Diamond — of the type that Simon & Schuster will soon be releasing in North American editions, though not this particular book — covering materials 1981-83, with added art by the likes of Brett Ewins and Cam Kennedy, plus a pair of stories written by Alan Moore; $26.99.

Judge Dredd: The Restricted Files Vol. 1: Along the same lines, here’s 320 pages of previously uncollected (in this series) stuff from various Annuals and Specials, 1977-85, including art by Carlos Ezquerra, Brian Bolland, Kevin O’Neil, Brendan McCarthy, Steve Dillon, Brett Ewans, Ian Gibson, John Byrne(!!) and many more. Samples; $32.99.

The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck Vol. 2 (of 2): Concluding Boom! Studios’ hardcover reprint of Don Rosa’s biographical saga/dizzying Carl Barks homage, in case you missed the old one-volume edition; $24.99.

Teen-Aged Dope Slaves and Reform School Girls: Also in full force in Frank’s longboxes were assorted Eclipse reprints of Golden Age material – Seduction of the Innocent, Mr. Monster’s Hi-Shock Schlock, etc. This appears to be a Pure Imagination reprint of a 1989 Eclipse reprint focusing on scintillating material, headed up by a pair of Simon & Kirby stories from Headline Comics and a Harvey Kurtzman story about a cowboy with VD, I think; $20.00.

Dan DeCarlo’s Jetta: More of a ‘classic’ Golden Age of Reprints item here, an IDW release of all three issues of Standard Comics’ Jetta of the 21st Century (1952-53), boasting a probably irresistible mid-century pop sci-fi variation of DeCarlo’s signature style; $21.99.

Tom Strong Deluxe Edition Book 2: On the other hand, this is well-informed retro-futurism from Alan Moore & Chris Sprouse, its 336 pages (covering issues #13-24) featuring guest bits from Kyle Baker, Russ Heath, Pete Poplaski, Hilary Barta, Howard Chaykin, Shawn McManus and Jerry Ordway, and eventually spilling over a bit into the guest writer era of the title with the arrival of Peter Hogan; $39.99.

Excalibur Visionaries: Warren Ellis Vol. 1: Oh wow, is this the first time this stuff is being collected? Certainly one of the tucked-away points of interest for the bad old days of mid-’90s mutant comics, this was a notable early extended run on a series by Ellis, who’d only just made his professional comics writing debut four years prior. This book collects issues #83-90 from 1994-95, plus pertinent bits of 1995’s X-Men Prime, which was an Age of Apocalypse crossover recovery unit; $19.99.

The Savage Axe of Ares: Not reprints; yet another of Marvel’s b&w magazine-style specials that are nonetheless shaped and priced like comic books. Noteworthy for the presence of Ted McKeever, along with a few of the more interesting ‘realist’ artists in the publisher’s lineup, C.P. Smith and Leonardo Manco. Samples; $3.99.

Siege: Loki: Also a one-shot, a crossover tie-in deal from writer Kieron Gillen, here teaming up with his Phonogram cohort Jamie McKelvie. Preview; $2.99.

Irredeemable Special #1: This is Mark Waid’s nasty superpowers project at Boom!, which looks to be spending this one-off on an inter-national/generational tour of artists, with contributions from Howard Chaykin (plenty of him in this post), Paul Azaceta (a young artist who’s done some striking heavy-shadow cartooning) and Emma Rios (an interesting Spanish talent working here in a manga-type cute style). Samples; $3.99.

BPRD: King of Fear #4 (of 5): Very nearly at the end of a lot of ongoing threads. Mike Mignola, John Arcudi, Guy Davis. Preview; $2.99.

Prince of Persia: Before the Sandstorm: Your oddball media franchise tie-in item of the week, albeit mostly odd in the seeming bluntness of its focus. Disney Press clearly has bookstores in mind with this 128-page color comics anthology, primed to lead into May’s Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time movie – enough so that the work’s four-issue comic book serialization hasn’t actually occurred yet. Dynamite will have that ready next month, presumably to service the Direct Market’s special needs, or possibly just to milk some extra cash out of folks who won’t pay for all the artists involved but will pay nearly half the price of this entire book for just one. It is a nice lineup: Cameron Stewart,  Tommy Lee Edwards, Niko Henrichon and Bernard Chang, with pin-up/’cover’ images by Todd McFarlane(!) and stories by no less than the property’s creator, Jordan Mechner, who also has an entirely original graphic novel due out next month from First Second, Solomon’s Thieves, with artists LeUyen Pham & Alex Puvilland, who also worked on a prior related First Second comic, 2008’s Prince of Persia: The Graphic Novel, written by A.B. Sina, which the publisher will soon be reprinting to (also) tie in with the movie. Whew, goddamn motion pictures. Samples; $9.99.

BodyWorld: And finally, the Pantheon print collection of the webcomic by Dash Shaw (who is a contributor to this site); $27.95.

Labels: Howard Chaykin, This Week in Comics