CBGB #4

Written by Kelly Sue DeConnick and R. Eric Lieb
Art by Chuck BB and Dave Crosland

I hope this series, which was a bit of an experiment for a publisher like Boom, was successful enough that they will repeat it, giving us more thematic anthology mini-series, hopefully not just related to punk.

CBGB has been a pretty interesting title, each issue featuring a couple of stories set in, around, or inspired by the legendary New York punk club, all with a heavily indie feel.  This closing issue has two tales, the first of which, by DeConnick and BB, was amazing.

It's main character, Tex, is about to leave New York for Portland, with her husband and two young children.  Over the course of the story, she reminisces about her life since coming to New York, showing us how she met her husband, and detailing some fantastic conversations with her best friend, a professional fortune cookie fortune writer.  It's amazing how quickly DeConnick is able to develop these characters in such a short amount of space.

The second story, about a man who travels back from the future to CBGB to catalogue it for his society, is decent.  I like Grosland's art, which lies somewhere between Bá and Moon, and Christian Ward.

In all, this has been a cool series, and people should pick up the trade when it is published.

CBGB #3

Written by Kim Krizan, Robert Steven Williams and Louise Staley
Art by Toby Cypress and Giorgio Pontrelli

This issue is a disappointment compared to the first three stories across the two earlier issues of the comic.

The first story, written by Krizan (who is a screenwriter) is an odd tale about the origins of rock and roll (I guess), which can be interpreted as culturally insensitive or misinformed, and it has to do with three youth who leave their "tribes" and end up forming a band.  "Boy, do you like Big Noise?" is a good sample of the dialogue.  I was waiting for a character to say something like "Me make-um heap big music."  The art, by Cypruess, is as strange as his art usually is (and I mean that in a good way), especially with wide vertical bands altering the tone of many panels.  The art should be enough to redeem this story for me, but somehow it doesn't.

The second story, written by Williams and Staley (Williams edits the CBGB website) is a music and weed-fueled time travel story that is cute, but came across as flawed.  A professor of music (we assume) goes back in time to the night he broke up with his girlfriend and decides to stay for a concert instead, which somehow alters the timeline, although I don't understand how.

I like this series (more in theory than in practice this month), and hope that the last issue is going to be impressive.  This type of project is crying out for a Vasilis Lolos story, although I think I'm going to be disappointed there...

CBGB #2

Written by Ana Matronic and Mr. Sheldon
Art by Dan Duncan and Mr. Sheldon

There are two stories in this issue of CBGB, of vastly differing styles and appeal to me.

The book opens with a story written by Ana Matronic, who is apparently in a band called the Scissor Sisters (should I know who they are?), and drawn in a style that seems like a cross between Becky Cloonan and early (ie. Shade the Changing Man era) Chris Bachalo.  In this story, the narrator is a writer with a bad case of writer's block, in 1970s New York.  Her only true release comes from attending shows at CBGB, and writing about them for the Village Voice.

It's a very nice piece, and works as a great tribute to a very specific time and place. 

The second story, by Mr. Sheldon, is cute I guess, but completely not my thing.  This is a pretty cool comic though - I like that Boom is trying something so different from what they usually publish.

CBGB #1

Written by Kieron Gillen and Sam Humphries
Art by Marc Ellerby and Rob G

I didn't pick this up when it came out last week because of the price.  I figured I'd trade-wait it or get it at a con some day, but then the manager at my comic store encouraged me to take a second look, and I'm glad he did.

I couldn't care less about punk or the history of punk music, but I do like it when Kieron Gillen makes comics about music, and I've liked Rob G's stuff for a long time (although I think it's a shame they didn't work together on this comic).  I also like comics that have a strong sense of time and place, and that is something this new anthology series has in spades.

There are two stories in this issue.  The first has a punk wanna-be experience a Dickensian moment, and get visited by the three ghosts of punk - two ghosts of punk past (one giving the romantic side of things, the other more actuarial in his focus) and the ghost of punk future.  It's a nice primer on the history of the famous New York club, and it's a cute story.  The second story is set in the late 70s, and tells us about a punk kid who discovers that his recently deceased uncle once played CBGB.

This is an odd little project, and very much a labour of love, which makes it deserving of some support.