Wednesday at the Comic Book Shop
Wednesday is new comic day and the hump day is never quiet at your LCS (local comic shop). Mine closes at 6.00pm and so I never get to partake in the insanity of new comic day which is both fine and disappointing. Fine in the sense I don't have to fight the geek crowd to get my funny books, disappointing because I don't get to chat with the geek crowd. It is, occassionally, nice to hang with those who actually know what you're talking about when you extole the virtue of Mike Mignolia's Amazing Screw-On Head.
My LCS is now open until 7.00pm on Wednesday, and I wandered in on the way home. While in a conversation about the differences between the new special edition releases of Monty Python and the Holy Grail and Monty Python's Meaning of Life and the regular edition DVDs (because, you know, marketing folk specifically target suckers like us who bought the no-frills editions because we enjoy the films and who know we'll have conversations just like this before we fold and rebuy for the special bits), I happened to notice that Bill Sienkiewicz's Stray Toasters has been finally released in a trade edition.
Bill's work, in general, is incomprehensible if you aren't ready for it or if he's got a colorist who doesn't understand his style. But, if you've got the head for it, it is truly amazing. Stray Toasters is the pinnacle of his heyday in the market, coming after his revolutionary work on Daredevil: Love and War graphic novel and the Elektra:Assassin mini-series (both written by Frank Miller) which, to this day, still define the limitlessness of the art form. Ashley Wood and Ben Templesmith wouldn't have careers with their current styles if Bill hadn't blazed the trail a decade ago. Bill did a couple of short comics for the online Matrix collection and his "Broadcast Depth" is a stunning example of the textured nuances and expressive qualities of his work. Neil Gaiman tapped Bill to illustrate the fractured and hypnotic tale of Delerium in the recently released Endless Nights collection which is flying off the shelves in your local book store. And, if his website is still running, you should look at his storyboards for The Green Mile, look and marvel that those stunning illustrations were storyboards, illustrations done to map out the shooting sequence of the film and never really meant for wide consumption which is a staggering waste.
Okay, but Stray Toasters. I had the singles -- the individual "books" of this four issue series. Bought them fervently when they were released and read them enough times that I can quote more sections that I will admit to. In my eagerness to share the marvel of Bill's work, I lent them to a buddy. Along with my copy of the Elektra:Assassin trade (you know, the first edition with the picture of her with the bow and Garret on the super tricycle on the cover). My pal, in turn, lent them to the gal who lived across the hall from him.
She moved, putting everything in boxes and disappearing.
I howled like a wounded dog for weeks. The hole in my side never quite healed.
Last year, a hardcover collection of Stray Toasters was announced. I couldn't believe it until it actually was in my hands. I read it again and, yes, it is just as groundbreaking now as it was then. The feverish narrative is illustrated in pen and ink, childish drawings, watercolor, saturated oils, and mixed media. It is a story of love and loss, toast and jam, and toasters who have gone astray. It is a story of cats and monsters. (yes THAT page is my favorite and I should have bought the original when I had the chance, damn it!) It is an old friend and I was happy to have it back on my shelf.
One problem: there was no way I was going to lose it again. The hardback was mine and there was no way I was going to share. Which is so counter to the whole urge to bring others into the sticky mess of Bill's dream psyche. The solution to this problem is in my hands now. I have a reading copy of the book. If you know where I am during the day, you can come visit and I'll show you my favorite picture and, if you're up for it, I might even let you borrow my copy.
I will hunt you down if you lose track of it. Fair warning.
Walt Parrish, the Cliff Guy, has collected an amazing array of sketches from comic book artists and writers. Most often the request an artist or writer gets at a convention is to draw one of the landmark figures of the industry. Walt's only request is that the picture contains a cliff and the responses he's gotten over the years are wonderful and delightful. And extensive. So many of the people he has approached have delivered cliff sketches which delightfully encapsulate their character and style. Walt's even got a sketch from Bill Sienckiewicz. Did Bill draw him something from Elektra's early career when she trained with Stick and the others? Nope. Bill drew a very funny picture -- funny if you know Stray Toasters.
As it turns out, Walt and I shop at the same comic book store.