Comicsgirl

I, of course, went to see Scott Pilgrim vs. The World this weekend.

I liked the movie. It had a great, manic energy and it just kept moving forward without any hesitation. There really wasn’t a wasted moment nor was there any time to stop and get bored. Or honestly, really think. Director Edgar Wright did a beautiful job of capturing the giddy spirit of the comic. It’s a pretty seamless, joyful adaptation and the video game and manga-inspired touches are playful. The whole production design is perfect and spot-on.

But I guess my problems with Scott Pilgrim vs. The World are the same problems I have with the comic. Mostly, Scott Pilgrim himself.

I did enjoy Bryan Lee O’Malley’s comic. I think it captures a certain period of life very well. But I think that’s also its flaw. The older I get, the less I’m interested in the drama of young twentysomethings. I did love the final volume of Scott Pligrim and I think O’Malley brought it all together in a very satisfying manner, but I think it took too long to get there.

In some ways, the abbreviated pace of the movie works a bit better for me — it edits down the comic to its essential parts. And as annoying as he can be, I think Michael Cera was perfect for the role of Scott. Mostly because Scott is annoying. When his friends in the movie make fun of his naiveté and idiocy, it’s believable to me whereas it was less so in the comic (I know Scott’s friends in the comic treated him much the same way, but I often felt there was too much implicit approval with regard to Scott’s behavior and we were supposed to be cheering him on. I realize it’s personal, but I’ve known guys who were like Scott at this age, and well, they weren’t people I wanted to celebrate).

In the movie, Scott’s relationship, however chaste it is, with Knives is given a slightly more distasteful overtone. Scott’s too weak to be predatory, but he does come across as more unintentionally opportunistic. Likewise, all the supporting characters, especially Anna Kendrick as Scott’s sister Stacey and Kieran Culkin as Scott’s gay roommate Wallace, provide the voices of reason and are two of the more interesting parts of the movie.

I don’t think the movie quite did Ramona justice, though. Even in the comic, it did take a while for readers to learn much about her, but here, she mostly remains a mystery. Mary Elizabeth Winstead does play her with some pathos, but there’s not much to work with. I can understand what Scott sees in her — she’s cool and cute — but as for what she sees in Scott, I really don’t know (but unlike the comic, the movie only takes place over a handful of days, rather than a year, so it’s still a very young relationship).

If nothing else, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World is incredibly entertaining. All in all, I think this movie is fated to play in dorm rooms for the next decade or so, and definitely shows what it feels like to be young in the early part of the 21st century. And it does have something to say about relationships and their baggage (although I think the movie does sacrifice a lot of the deeper issues of the comic for the sake of fun, which is understandable, but doesn’t make it as meaningful as it could’ve been).

It’s also wonderful in that it reveals what else comics have to offer other than “superheroes” or “serious autobiographical.” Whether or not that will have a lasting impact, I don’t know. Ultimately, I like this movie for what it is, and what it represents. I had fun, even if, in the end, I still feel a little ambivalent about the plot overall.

A Drunken Dream and Other Stories Buy at Amazon.com

I didn’t buy that much while I was at Comic-Con. Yes, a good portion of that was because I lost my wallet on Saturday (and it never turned up, by the way. I’m going to assume it’s in a landfill somewhere now) but I really didn’t have that much money to spend in the first place.

But it was a privilege to purchase Moto Hagio’s A Drunken Dream and Other Stories (Fantagraphics, 2010, with translation by Matt Thorn). It should go without saying that if you’re at all interested in women’s comics or manga, you should buy this book. But in all honesty, I think even if you just like comics and beautifully-told stories, this should be a part of your bookshelf.

Most of the stories here revolve around loss. Sometimes the loss is a physical death or departure. Sometimes it is more psychological as characters try to come to grips with who they are or aren’t. Often, it’s quite a bit of both. “Angel Mimic” has a young woman coming to terms with her choices and “The Child Who Comes Home” has a family facing pain they’d rather forget. Hagio treats her characters with affection and sympathy and rarely is anyone ever completely right or completely wrong. Through their anguish, she show tenderness for the human spirit.

Hagio does deal quite a bit with what it’s like to be a girl or woman in a changing world. The earlier “Girl on the Porch with a Puppy” focuses on a little girl who does not behave in the way her family expects, with a disturbing ending. “Hanshin: Half-God” focuses on conjoined sisters. One is beautiful but empty-headed and the other is ugly but intelligent. Told from the perspective of the “ugly” sister, it deals with how she perceives her own worth in the world, especially once she and her sister are separated and she is the one to survive.

The centerpiece of the book is Hagio’s “Iguana Girl” about a girl, Rika, whose mother can only see her as an iguana and subsequently shuns her. As Rika grows up, she has to find her own self-worth (even she believes she’s an iguana) and make peace with who she is and her relationship with her mother. It’s a powerful story — Rika is strong and funny despite her mistreatment and Hagio makes the wise choice of drawing Rika-as-iguana as cute rather than realistic. It gives the story a lightness and humor that balances the thoughtful tone.

Hagio’s art is, of course, constantly gorgeous. This is evident throughout the collection, but very much so in the title story, “A Drunken Dream.” The lush scenes of this romantic tragedy are shaded in white, black, gray and red and transition from space to ancient Rome. Her talent for expressive faces and small, every-day details from the interiors of homes to clothing make all these stories feel like they’re populated by real people.

Thorn’s translation definitely seems to be true to Hagio’s stories. He is obviously a great admirer of her and he does her justice.

Also included is an overview of the manga scene Hagio was a part of, “The Magnificient Forty-Niners,” and an extensive interview with Hagio. Both are by Thorn and originally appeared in the July 2005 issue of The Comics Journal.

This is a beautiful book by an incredible creator. Whether or not you knew of Hagio before or this is going to be your introduction to her, it’s a book you need to have.

Cat Burglar Black Buy at Amazon.com

K was raised in orphanage where she was trained as a pickpocket and thief. Now she’s the most recent student at an exclusive all-girls school, Bellsong Academy. The school is so exclusive, in fact, there’s only three other students.

As it turns out, K’s been recruited by the stern Mrs. Turtledove for her special skills. What follows in Richard Sala‘s Cat Burglar Black (First Second, 2009) is a tale of secrets and late-night heists as K tries to outsmart the creepy Obtainers.

It’s a lot of fun, in a slightly cruel way, evoking the aesthetics of Edward Gorey and Charles Addams. Sala crafts a world that’s a little creepy but also playful with his exaggerated, loose lines and mood-setting colors. He also leaves the more frightening elements of the story off the page, suggesting the ultimate fates of characters rather than showing them outright, keeping the book light despite the subject matter.

K is a great heroine — she’s intelligent and resourceful. From her bright white hair to her mysterious past, she’s intriguing from the beginning and fabulous to follow as she dodges booby traps and scales fences. I love that we come in the middle of her story — Cat Burglar Black seems just like one small part of her life. While I don’t know if Sala will continue her adventures, I’d love to see more of her time in the orphanage and I’m curious about what kind of adult she’ll turn into.

But if we get no more stories about K, this one will be plenty. And I at least know I have more works by Richard Sala to explore.

Team Girl Comic Vol. 1 delights me entirely. Showcasing the talents of a collective of young women from the UK who range in age from early teens to mid-20s, it’s a playful, charming anthology.

Now, yeah, this kind of thing is made for me, more or less. I love women — especially younger ones — making comics. Even with the stories that weren’t quite for me, I find it hard to criticize anything here.

So, really, I’m not going to.

Certainly, I liked some things better than others — Gill Hatcher’s “Jesty Pesty” comics, about an awkward teenage girl, were funny and all too easy to relate to. Heather Middleton’s beautifully drawn “Decision, Or How to Make Mooli Paratha” gets to the heart of generational conflict quietly and simply.

But even the younger members of the collective show an impressive command of the comics form. While Jessica Hatcher’s comics about Twilight obsession aren’t really for me, they still exhibit a smart understanding of layout and storytelling.

Along with other contributors Emma McLuckie, Iona Mowat and Katie Pope, Team Girl Comic Vol. 1 makes me excited for volume 2.

Read more about Team Girl Comic and find out how to order (it’s currently available at various locations in the UK).

PDF review copy provided by Gill Hatcher.

Night Owls Buy at Amazon.com

At this point, you’ve undoubtedly read that Zuda has effectively shut down and is being folded into DC’s Digital Comics initiative. For whatever flaws it had in terms of the competition model and the interface, Zuda was a pretty cool thing and I liked that DC was open about what it meant if when you got a contract (you could read the contract online). I’m sad to see it go.

Night Owls Vol. 1 collects the Zuda comic by twins Peter and Bobby Timony. Set in the Roaring ’20s, it follows a supernatural detective agency consisting of Professor Ernest Baxter, flapper Mindy Markus and gargoyle Roscoe. They encounter (and often battle) vampires, rampaging monsters, mummies and their arch nemesis Mr. You. It’s both sweet and silly and told in the breathless tones of an old radio serial.

The Timony Twins have a kitchen-sink approach to this comic — there’s everything from romance to horror (Mr. You steals people’s faces — although Bobby Timony draws this in the least disgusting manner possible, overall) to high fantasy to science and slapstick humor as well as gangsters (it is set in the 1920s, after all). Part of what makes this comic so charming is how constantly surprising it is — there’s such a sense of playfulness and willingness to try anything.

Bobby Timony’s art has a classic comic feel — square-jawed men and beautiful women — while still feeling modern. The sepia tone colors also add to the retro feel.

Our core group of characters are fun to follow. Ernest is smart but slightly socially inept and while Mindy is capable and confident, she’s sometimes a little quick to throw a punch. Roscoe is mostly the wisecracking sidekick but provides perfectly placed humor. Peter Timony handles everything with a light touch, despite jealous lovers or mortal dangers that everyone tends to encounter on a regular basis.

(The Night Owls is still being moved over from Zuda so it’s not currently online. But I think it’s a good opportunity to buy it in book form. But then, I’m one of those people who prefers reading things in print, anyway.)