CWR WEEKEND BLOG EXTRA!

No reason just to use this blog as my news feed, right? Instead, I’ll be putting up new weekend content as often as I can, in this very space. Woo-hoo!

LOVE AND ROCKETS #16
Written and Drawn by Los Bros Hernandez
Published by Fantagraphics

I’ve made no secret out of the fact that I tend to prefer Gilbert Hernandez’ L&R stories over Jamie’s. It’s basically a question of the characters whose lives I find most interesting. However, that doesn’t diminish the respect and admiration I have for Jaime’s work. He’s every bit the amazing, talented genius that Beto is. And the lead story in this issue shows exactly why.

He takes his entire cast and puts them through an evening, viewing it through the eyes of one of the supporting characters. Yet, he manages, through body language and facial expressions, to tell everyone’s story effectively. By using this sort of “dual perspective”, he creates a near-perfect “slice of life night” that would tell even the newest reader who everyone is and why they react as they do.

The rest of the book contains even more fantastic goodies from both brothers, making this your usual excellent effort from the dynamic duo. Extra kudos for an outstanding cover that relates the theme of Jaime’s opening story in wonderful fashion.

DARK HORSE: 20 YEARS
Drawn by Various
Published by Dark Horse

This $.25 book offers up 20 cool pin-up style portraits of the characters that made Dark Horse the company it is today. Hellboy, Groo, Aliens, Grendel, Concrete… they’re all represented in these pages. And on the surface, that would be cool enough to get your two bits.

However, this book takes it one better. The primary creators do not provide the looks at their characters. Instead, there’s been some swapping, both direct and indirect. Stan Sakai draws SIN CITY; Frank Miller draws USAGI YOJIMBO, for instance. Then you get the train: CONAN artist Cary Nord draws ALIENS; CONAN is then drawn by Sergio Aragones; GROO then appears via Paul Chadwick; then we get CONCRETE done by Chris Warner; then Warner’s BLACK CROSS by Killian Plunkett, and so on.

I was a Dark Horse reader pretty much from the company’s inception, so this book is sort of an extra-special treat for me. I was buying DARK HORSE PRESENTS faithfully and marveling to the early appearances of many of these characters, plus many others, like FLAMING CARROT, HEARTBREAKERS, and HOMICIDE. So I tip my cap and send my warm wishes to the folks in Oregon for their first twenty years. Hopefully, the next twenty will be just as interesting.

/Mason