Dry Spell

by Ken Krekeler

I really enjoyed Ken Krekeler's series Westward, so was more than happy to find his earlier graphic novel, Dry Spell, in a pile of trade paperbacks.

Dry Spell opens with Tom, an apparently quiet guy who has a boring job, a girlfriend he mostly gets along with, and trouble sleeping.  As the book progresses, one of Tom's co-workers figures out that he used to have a costumed identity, as does he, and tries to convince him to come out of retirement.

We learn that when Tom was operating as part of the super-community (which centres around Apollo, a Superman analogue), he had to make use of psychedelics to motivate himself.  His co-worker spikes his drink, and soon enough, Tom is sleeping with a woman from his former life, and contemplating returning to that world.  He's also finally able to paint, something he's been trying to do for ages.

Krekeler's story is about people being true to themselves, even when that means embracing aspects of their personality that they don't particularly like.  He includes a great deal of character development in a short space, and has a couple of twists in the book that I didn't see coming.

Krekeler is a talented artist, and as a writer, has a very strong ear for dialogue.  I think he comes at superhero stories from an interesting perspective, and look forward to seeing some of his future work.  This book was recently re-released, and is worth tracking down.

Westward #2-4

by Ken Krekeler

I read the first issue of Westward a while ago, and because I couldn't find any subsequent issues, I did something I almost never do, and ordered these three comics on-line.  Ken Krekeler's series, and his unique voice, caught my attention, and I wanted to find out more about this story.

Westward is about Victor West, a spoiled rich kid and son of an industrialist in a steampunk future.  In the first issue, it appeared that Victor had been in a coma for a number of years, but in fact, he is an android, or a 'manifold', with the original Victor's thought-patterns, but none of his memories.  The shock of seeing Victor up and around caused his father to have a heart attack, and now his sister runs the company.

This series is about a number of things.  On the one hand, it's the story of Victor's quest to better understand himself and the abilities that his body holds, and of his attempts to return to normal family life.  It's also about CLAW, an anti-corporate group that is responsible for increasingly violent attacks.

Krekeler's writing is pretty nuanced.  His characters are very believable, and it's clear that he's pacing this story to last a while.  Each of these issues introduces some new story elements, without ever overwhelming the reader.  Krekeler's art is a little rough, but quite serviceable for the story.

The first trade, which collects the first three issues, just became available this week.  I suggest it's well worth a look.

Westward #1

By Ken Krekeler

I gave this a serious look through at the comics shop last week, but decided not to give it a try.  Then, I read at the Comics Should Be Good blog about how this is an excellent comic, so I added it to my haul for this week.

It is a very good comic.  Ken Krekeler is telling a pretty different storie in this series.  We open with a few establishing scenes that let us know that we are a little ways into the future, and that not everyone is happy with corporate dominance.  We don't know much more than that though, when we are introduced to Victor, who has just woken up from a ten-year long coma.  He has no real memories, although his personality seems intact.

As the comic progresses, we learn that Victor is the son of the owner of Westward Enterprises, a very powerful corporation with a wide variety of holdings.  His sister, Annabelle, more or less runs the company now.  We also learn, through flashback, that Victor was a high-priced model and complete and total moron.

What we don't know, but can start to figure out, is just what kind of accident Victor was in, why so many people are so interested in just how his recovery is going, and why the 'manifold' project, which seems to involve him, has been so expensive.  There are a couple revelations handed to us in quick succession at the end of the book that make me look forward to the next one.

Krekeler is a fine writer, and his art is serviceable, in a way that reminds me a little of when Brian Michael Bendis used to draw his own comics (if he had a steampunk aesthetic).  This is a nice thick comic, that only cost $2.99.  There is definitely more than enough going on here to bring me back for the next issue.  You should ask your store to start carrying this, or order a copy online from Krekeler; it's very good.