BROWNSVILLE
Written by Neil Kleid and Drawn by Jake Allen
Published by NBM

Neil Kleid first showed off his writing chops with the Xeric-winning NINETY CANDLES, and has recently been writing the INTIMIDATORS for Image. The latter book has been entertaining enough, but hasn’t given him the room to stretch and tap the potential demonstrated by CANDLES. This book, however, is the true next step in his evolution as a creative talent.

Set in 1930s New York City, this meticulously researched historical drama brings together the stories of many of the Jewish mob gangs of the era. Kleid puts the focus on real-life gangster Albert Tannenbaum at an early age in order to give the reader a broader window into the doings of the gangsters. Albert’s development from young boy idolizing the wrong men to adult forsaking conscience to a man in search of the real value of family is involving, helping the book rise above the standard “mob” stuff. Kleid’s story wisely keeps Albert’s own home melodramas off-camera as much as possible, making the gangster family the primary concern, as it truly is for the character.

Period pieces are always tricky to pull off, though, and BROWNSVILLE would go nowhere without the excellent art provided by Allen. His work is simple and moody, and his people have real dimension to them. His attention to detail is also a treat. Allen could wind up being an A-level talent if he keeps doing sequential work.

Putting the cherry on top, Kleid adds a detailed bibliography of his research sources at the end of the book, encouraging the interested reader follow-up on their own time. As a librarian, few things make me happier.

Honestly, gangster stories tend to be at the bottom of the list of things that hold the slightest bit of interest for me, so it’s quite a feat that I was drawn into BROWNSVILLE the way I was. I respected the level of historical accuracy and care put into the book, and was intrigued by the way Kleid focused his story not on the violence but on the plotting, planning, and consequences of it. This is a fine piece of graphic literature that should have strong appeal to the non-traditional comics reader.

SIBAM?

Kleid lists seven influential films in his bibliography that cover this era and some of the real characters in his book. Therefore, it works against the possibility of selling this book and getting it to the screen. Only two on the list would be considered real financial successes, adding to the uphill climb. You never know when a producer will get ambitious and go looking for Oscar-bait, though.

DUNGEON TWILIGHT VOL.1: DRAGON CEMETERY
Written and Drawn by Joann Sfar and Lewis Trondheim
Published by NBM

Seeing a new volume of DUNGEON is one of those Christmas-like moments; the previous adventures of Herbert the duck and Marvin the dragon have been amongst my favorite books of the past couple of years. And frankly, anything that the legendary Trondheim touches seems to turn to gold. Now, with this latest series of DUNGEON books, we’re introduced to some fun new characters, and a world that looks much different than what we’ve seen before. TWILIGHT takes place during the final years of the DUNGEON saga, and we pick up with the elderly and blind Marvin realizing that his time to die is upon him and he must make his way to the hidden Dragon Cemetery. However, even with the assistance of a faithful bat to guide him and a warrior rabbit that has taken his name, it won’t be that simple. One last quest must be undertaken, and then there’s the question of what’s happened to Herbert. TWILIGHT is a bit darker than the earlier volumes of DUNGEON, but it’s still an astonishing piece of entertainment, full of wonderful characters, wild action, and more twists and turns to the plot than you can shake a stick at. I love this book; you will too.

BLUESMAN: BOOK TWO
Written by Rob Vollmar and Drawn by Pablo Callejo
Published by NBM

The first volume of BLUESMAN was a punch to the literary gut; set in the Deep South during the 1920s, we were introduced to a pair of traveling bluesmen who have the misfortune of going home with the wrong woman at the wrong time. Three murders later, one of the bluesmen is on the run, the potential of a horrible death at the end of a noose all too real. This book picks up with the local law enforcement being called in, and more the backstory of the woman and her white paramour being fleshed out. Like book one, it’s meticulous, well-thought out stuff; never for a second do you forget that you’re immersed in this southern locale, and the mixture of racial attitudes avoids taking the story into overbearing areas. This middle chapter (book three is due later this year) focuses heavily upon the police investigation into the murders, knocking Lem’s escape from the scene into the background a bit. I was conflicted about that; the book is Lem’s story; but, he feels very decentralized from the plot here. Yet, the rest of the book is quite good, and the quality doesn’t suffer. I suppose all it really did was whet my appetite for the forthcoming conclusion. For a middle chapter, that’ll do.

GOOD-BYE, CHUNKY RICE
Written and Drawn by Craig Thompson
Published by Pantheon

Craig Thompson is the latest big-name comics creator to move to one of the larger book publishers, and his opening salvo is a re-release of this, his first major work. CHUNKY is the story of three characters: the lead character, a turtle who decides he needs to leave his idyllic life and search for something else in his life; his closest friend, a deer-mouse named Dandel, who is crushed by Chunky’s decision to leave his life behind; and Chunky’s neighbor Solomon, a gentle brute full of love who has never had it given back to him in his life. Each character faces their own stumbles along their new paths, but the book finds its footing with each scene dealing with Solomon. Fewer more interesting tortured souls have populated the graphic novel shelves. That really turns out to be GOOD-BYE, CHUNKY RICE’s most fatal flaw as a complete work; Chunky himself never quite comes alive on the page, being outshined by Solomon and Dandel both. Artistically, this is a nice-looking work, and if you look at Thompson’s later works, you can see where he learned some valuable lessons here. A valiant first effort by a guy who’s shown he can do much better.

THE TRAP-DOOR MAKER: BOOK TWO
Written and Drawn by Pete Bregman
Published by Treehouse Animation Comics

Another middle chapter rolls down the pipe as Bregman’s prequel story to THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA continues here. When last we left Erik, the future Phantom, he had found a home and a life working as the palace architect and security “consultant” for the Shah of Persia. Having gotten far away from his roots as a simple magician and sideshow attraction, Erik suddenly found himself respected and valued, an entirely new experience in his life. This middle section of the story allows him to demonstrate just how clever he is, along with giving him moments to define his integrity and what kind of man he chooses to be. This is what Bregman’s gift is as a writer; at one point, Erik is forced to blow off steam by battling a criminal in a gladiatorial arena. Erik doesn’t wish to kill anyone, and he’s an inferior physical specimen, but his analytical thinking skills and ability to improvise make him just as deadly as the larger man. It’s excellent action that frames solid character development. You know that a hard fall is coming for the poor guy, but at this point in the tale, you’re solidly behind him.

INTERIORAE #1
Written and Drawn by Gabriella Giandelli
Published by Fantagraphics

This entry in the Ignatz line of books (a series of prestige-level books printed at larger size and saddle-stitched) uses the format nicely. INTERIORAE follows a strange rabbit spirit who inhabits an apartment building in an unnamed European city. The rabbit floats through the building, spying on the inhabitants and entering their dreams. After completing his rounds, he makes his way to the Great Dark One, a spirit that seems to live in the foundation of the structure, and reports on what he has seen from the residents. It’s unusual and quirky, precisely the sort of thing you imagine when you think about European works, but it’s strangely emotionally affective. The people within represent us all, and the Great Dark One pays homage to the chestnut of the house-as-living-entity. Alternately creepy and cute, this works. I’d also find it fascinating to see how this story would play as prose; there’s something primal here that I’d like to see tapped with greater space and depth.

CHIMERA #1
Written and Drawn by Lorenzo Mattotti
Published by Fantagraphics

Also from the Ignatz line is this effort, to my mind the weakest and least interesting of the six we’ve seen to date. As an artistic experiment, there’s something to be said for CHIMERA; Mattotti’s story begins with a small paragraph of text that tells you that the narrator is drifting off to sleep, and from there you’re into his dreams. The pages then begin to present a fascinating stream-of-consciousness journey through his dreams and they eventually turn into nightmares. However, nothing about the journey ever truly becomes compelling or grips you emotionally. Instead, I became detached from the work as it became more and more like a high-quality sketchbook. I can appreciate the contents of the pages and the mastery of technique involved, but beyond that, I can’t recommend CHIMERA as a graphic novel reading experience. Held up against other books in the Ignatz series, like GANGES, CHIMERA doesn’t deliver.

See you in seven.

Review materials may be sent to: Marc Mason, P.O. Box 26732, Tempe, AZ 85285. You can also find me at Happy Nonsense and The Comics Waiting Room

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