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Let’s start with the reviews this week, and then I’ll work to my point.

Speed Racer

Chronicles of a Racer, Issue #4

Written by Arie Kaplan

Art by Robby Musso

Colors by Jason Jensen

Letters by Chris Mowry

Edits by Chris Ryall

Published by IDW, 22 pages, presumably $3.99

I was never a big fan of Speed Racer as a kid, but it’s easy to see the attraction. A guy, a car, a girl... I mean, it’s a timeless formula. And this particular issue doesn’t disappoint. In Issue 4, we find Racer X at odds with Carfax, an almost Transformers’ style machine man with a burning desire to live forever. This issue opens on a cliffhanger, which I assume was held over from last month though that doesn’t detract from the issue’s overall readability. Issue 4 was my first issue of Speed Racer, and I had no trouble at all following the plot. In fact, I daresay that I came in at just the right time since the villain starts his Exposition on about Page 4.

The coolest thing about this issue is the way in which writer Arie Kaplan gives the plot the space to explore different settings. In addition to the classic Speed Racer stuff, there are elements of sci fi, western, and even romance storytelling here, giving the story a kind of historic/globe trotting feel. Honestly, even though I wasn’t that into the subject-matter—I suspect I’m well out of the target audience here—I could at least dig all the disparate elements and the way they came together. And the art was spot-on throughout. The book both looked and felt a lot like I think Speed Racer is supposed to feel with colors that almost jumped off the page.

As I said, I’m personally no huge fan of Speed Racer, but I know a good book when I see one. And this one is very good. Fans of Speed Racer—rejoice! Your hero is back, and at least to me, he seems better than ever.

FX #2

Story and script by Wayne Osborne

Pencils and Inks by John Byrne

Letters by John Workman

Colors by Greg and Gerry’s Color Shop

Cover Art by John Byrne and Greg Cordier

Published by IDW, 24 pages for $3.99

Man, oh man, I am becoming the biggest fan of John Byrne’s in my old age. Everything I’ve seen from the guy lately has been SO MUCH BETTER than the average that it not only makes me remember why I started reading comics in the first place (largely on his work, I should add), it also makes me wonder what the heck is up with the industry. You look at a book like FX—exciting, light-hearted, clearly skewed towards a younger-reader’s market—and you really have to wonder what’s going on over at the Big Two. When did superheroes get so serious, and why on earth does anyone think that’s a good thing? I mean, yeah, it’s a big market, and there is plenty of room for serious comics—Hell, I’ve written some of them—but serious superhero comics? I’ll take mine strictly in moderation if it’s all the same to everybody reading this.

So anyway, FX is a classic young-adult story. Our hero, Tom, is a high schooler in an adult situation. In this case, he’s gotten or inherited some kind of yellow-magic super power[1] that seems broadly similar to the powers of the Green Lantern. What makes the story work is that Tom handles things with an adolescent’s kind of devil-may-are attitude. He’s young, and he’s invincible, out there saving the world and having fun while he’s at it. And as he’s having fun, so are we. And then, too, FX has something that a whole lot of comics these days are missing completely—well formed supporting characters. Tom has both a best friend, Jack, and a would-be girlfriend, Vicki, and each has a unique personality. They are not at all alike. Heck, for me, the very best part of the book was the way writer Wayne Osborne had Vicki ramble nervously every time she got around our hero. It takes real skill to pull that off convincingly, especially because Osborne never just comes out and explains what’s happening. It just happens, and we see it. Awesome stuff there, and so far above the norm that I read it twice just because I liked it that much!

I’ve already raved about the art, but in case you were sleeping on me, I loved it. I loved everything about it and came away wishing that more comics were done in the same style.

*sigh*

FX is a one of those great books that I fear is destined to go under the radar. If that’s what happens then it’s a shame, but it’ll hardly be the first time. In fact, Tom Waltz told me last week that the future of my other favorite IDW title, Zipper, basically hinges on the success of the trade paperback. People, don’t let that happen here! Not only do you want to buy and read this book for yourself, you want to read it with your kids. C’mon! You know you’ve been looking for a way to get your kids interested in comics, and I’m telling you that FX is it. It’s not only skewed to the right age group, it’s actually good. Buy it, read it, enjoy it. And do it today, or as God is my witness, there’ll be NOTHING on the stands but Planet Hulk and some Skrull invasion event books, and then where will we be?

All of which brings me to my point, and it’s this: you can make the best comics in the world, but if you do it without getting the word out, then you might as well not bother. Genius produced in a closet is genius wasted.

I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking, “But my book is good. It’s really good. People WILL notice. I mean, it’s THAT good! They HAVE to notice!”

But they don’t. They really don’t. Ask Emily Dickinson. You think they will, and you want them to, but if you don’t tell them both what you’re up to and why they should care, then there is no way in the world that they’re gonna just figure it out on their own. As I tell you this, consider that I graduated fourteenth in my class at Fordham Business School and was the first part-time student in recent memory to literally carry the banner for my class at the university’s Commencement. I know what I’m talking about here. If you want people to buy what you’re selling, then you need to tell them not only WHAT you’re selling but WHY IT’S SPECIAL. Where does it fit into the marketplace? Why should they buy YOUR BOOK instead of the other guys? That’s the information that they—and here I mean retailers—need in order to make good purchasing decisions. They’re NOT gonna do the research for you. They’re way too busy for that. You have to not only make it easy for them; you have to actually make it so that they can’t miss your message.

This is one reason why slogans work so well—they’re the fastest delivery system available for your hook. I have this in mind because I spent part of yesterday working with Alan Evans to develop a slogan for his webcomic Rival Angels. The thing is, with a slogan, it needs to be a single statement or phrase that immediately conveys your competitive advantage. “We’re the meat people!” is an example for a supermarket, I think Winn Dixie. “Everyday low prices!” for Wal-Mart. Hell, even “The Dark Knight” for Batman. Each of those slogans expresses in an instant what it is about the products on offer that’s at the essence of why consumers ought to give the brands a try. Winn Dixie specializes in its meat counter, with the idea that everything else is essentially a commodity. They get you in the door for their meats, and then you stay because, well, who’s gonna go to two grocery stores? Meanwhile, Wal-Mart competes on price. One way or another, they’re going to have the best prices on everything—even if someone has die. And Batman is nothing if not the poster-boy for dark superheroes. You read a Batman book because you’re expecting a certain kind of story, a story about a dark, disturbed knight-in-shining-armor. Hey, that appeals to some people.

Back when Proletariat Comics was a going concern, I developed a slogan for us, too. “Experimental Creators, Revolutionary Comics.” I never got much feedback on it, but it seems like a lot of people remember our little company fondly, and I honestly think that that slogan is a part of the reason why. It summed up exactly what we were. Untested (but hopefully talented) creators telling stories that were totally outside the mainstream. I don’t know that we did a lot that was great, but we definitely DID succeed in telling the stories we wanted to tell, and our readership understood what they were getting from our brand. To tell the truth, they got kind of fanatical about it. And that was way cool.

So then, coming back to Rival Angels, the trick was to figure out what makes Alan’s comic special. What’s his hook?

Really, asking that question is a lot like asking the question that I ask myself at the start of every review: What is this? I look at it in the same way when I review that I do when I pitch. For Rival Angels, it’s pretty easy. Rival Angels is a story about rookie professional wrestlers, told from a woman’s point of view. It’s definitely NOT a T&A book, although there are certainly some sexy characters, and it’s not, strictly speaking, a fight-book. Instead, it’s a character-driven story. It develops plots based on what the characters want—both in and out of the ring—and then it pays those plots off in wrestling matches. In that way, Rival Angels is solidly in the World Wrestling Federation[2] storytelling vein, although in fairness, Alan’s focus is even more on the wrestlers’ personal lives than the WWE’s ever was, even in the heyday of the HHH/Stephanie McMahon storyline. But it works for Alan; in fact, that unique approach is WHY it works.

Now, how to portray that in a phrase?

If it was a T&A book, I might have gone with “Sexy chicks that KICK ASS!” but I don’t like that, probably for the same reason that I don’t like T&A books. It’s crass. I doubt I’d read a comic for which that was an appropriate slogan. Instead, I wanted something that would portray that the girls are tough, would hopefully somehow drive home the point about the importance of characterization in the story, and would perhaps barely hint at the sexuality of the thing. Because, bottom line, I hope folks will read the comic because, in this order, they a) like pro wrestling, b) eventually start to care about the characters, and c) think that sexy girls are cool in comics. Those things in that order explain both why and how I would recommend Rival Angels to potential fans. With that in mind, I recommended: “These GIRLS will KICK your ASS!”

That’s hardly perfect, and I have no idea if Alan’s going to use it, but it was the best I could think of on short notice. And hey, if you’ve got a better idea, I’m all ears. Heh.

And by the way, if you’re wondering, PC LLC may be gone, but we’re not forgotten. Our entire catalogue was recently republished on WOWIO by Dakuwaka, minus the Hiro Arturian web comic. You can find Hiro (and everything else) on our homage webpage, here, or by clicking the ad there. That one’s my favorite from the old days, courtesy of my friend Olli Hihnala and Cary Kelly. I think all the links on that page work and will take you through to the appropriate pages on WOWIO. But by all means, if you find one that’s broken, let me know, and I’ll fix it.

And that’s all for this week. Short, sweet, to the point. I should do that more often.

Until next week, stay safe and have a great weekend.

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Dan Head is a utilities analyst and freelance writer. You can learn more about him and his work on his ComicSpace Page or by visiting the Friday Mad Science forum at AwesomeStormJustice.com.

To get your comic reviewed here, email Dan at dan@paperbackreader.com.