Think Cosmically, Act Locally

#1 - Local by Brian Wood and Ryan Kelly

For my first venture into reading of the year (horrible start to the year caused by a very, very busy January), I read Brian Wood (of DMZ fame) and Ryan Kelly's wonderful 12 issue comic series Local.

While wandering Title Wave books in Anchorage with my mom, we randomly came across a comics "section" (two quick points: quotes on section because it was on book shelf which is smaller than my collection, and that Title Wave is the place that had an employee that I asked "where are your graphic novels?" to which she responded with , in the most condescending way possible, "we only have the German novel Maus", with a look of contempt and disdain in her eyes - not a fan of her) and I eagerly looked through it. While I'm not a fan of Title Wave and their pretentious nature ("I read, thus, I am better than you"), they do offer killer discounts. I saw a collection of all 12 issues of Local and saw that it was only $17.50 while it was $29.99 at Barnes and Noble, well, needless to say I eagerly snatched it up.

Strangely, I then went to Barnes and Noble, drank my coffee and tore through the whole series while listening to Explosions in the Sky (a current fave). I loved every second of this story, which follows one character named Megan McKeenan through her youth as a person who never can find a true home. Each issue features her in a new location, with most issues focusing on her while some focus on others with her simply appearing in them.

All in all though, it's a study of the meaning of home today, of finding yourself through the lens of a location, and it really is an excellent read for a younger person such as myself who still has not necessarily solidifed my sense of identity. The character of Megan finds herself impulsively jumping around the continent of North America, not really searching for something in particular, but trying to find something all the same. She begins her travels in Portland and weaves the continent, and Wood and Kelly meticulously researched each and every location Megan visits (I totally recognized the Pharmacy in Portland and the route she takes into Missoula, Montana) to add a real sense of realism to the story.

Wood really is the king of realistic comics right now, as even his more outlandish comic DMZ, which follows a photographer in a modern day American civil war, is steeped in realism unseen in other comics today. Not only are the locations entirely accurate, but the emotions and thought process behind characters simply feels more human than characters in other comics (or books for that matter). The growth he writes into protagonist Megan is natural and really gives the book an arc when on first sight there doesn't appear to be one.

Of course, Ryan Kelly's art really grounds the story as well, as his locations are not quite photo realistic but extremely detailed, his characters properly convey emotions and thought (although his men do tend to look a bit...similar), and he creates one of the more dynamic looking female characters around with his look for Megan.

All in all, this book is fantastic. Not only does it hit home with the search for identity today, but Megan really has this every girl feel that strikes me strongly as well. I can see a bit of every girl I've ever known in her, and she truly is a remarkable creation by Wood and Kelly.

I definitely recommend this for everyone who wants a good read, regardless of whether you're into comics or not.

Local: A-

The future is now

One of the ongoing themes of my blog has to be the struggle to prove that there is a place for the comic book medium next to mainstream literature. Most people look at comic books and assume that there is no real gravitas or substance, that within their pages are just people in tights running around and "POW!"ing or "ZAP!"ing each other. 

Of course, you have to remember that we're in an age in comics where heroes fight civil wars, that national icons are assassinated, that actual philosophical questions are posed to the readers. Of course, there is the occasional scantily clad superheroine (or near constantly if Greg Land is doing the pencils) and the massive brawl from time to time. But when even mainstream comics are stretching to put readers in a place that was often reserved for books, you have to wonder what the more niche, edgy works are doing.

For one of the best examples of what those works are doing and one of the best examples of the legitimacy of the medium, we have Vertigo's DMZ. This comic was created by writer Brian Wood (a rising star in the industry) and artist Riccardo Burchelli and it is the story of photojournalist Matthew (Matty) Roth. Matty is on his first assignment working for Liberty News Network, an assignment in which he is being taken into the demilitarized zone that is Manhattan. The setup for the story is that the nation was torn apart by civil war, and is best saved for Wood himself to say (taken from an interview he gave):

Midwestern militia groups revolt against their local governments in protest of rampant U.S. adventurism overseas and, in the absence of the National Guard, are able to gain far more ground than they thought possible. Small insurgent groups pop up in towns and cities across the country, and a sizable force, the Free States Army, pushes toward Manhattan. The city proves too big for them to take, and also for the U.S. Army to defend. The war stalls there, a stalemate, neither side being able to shift things.

This book is incredibly interesting, especially right now, because of the fragile environment we exist in following George W. Bush and his eight years in office and leading into the most tense presidential election I've ever experienced. The disparity between the two primary parties has never been so great, and this type of civil war is not that unbelievable when imagined in today's context.

Ultimately though, what makes this book so great is the human angle. Wood takes a unique angle that really doesn't show any political leanings or take sides, but really shows how wars (and especially the civil variety) can affect the people caught in the middle. How when it gets down to it, neither side in a war is ultimately right, both just end up being incredibly wrong because of the tragic cost of human life. We really get the perspective of what it's like to be on the ground and the daily struggle a person has to go through to just survive the day. Not only that, but you get perspectives into government, the control of mass media, and opportunistic corporations trying to get the easy dollar. This is not your grandfather's comic book by any means.

The characters are very three dimensional and believable (all the way from Matty to small supporting characters - especially after Wood's six issue vignette series about supporting characters that was collected in the trade paperback "The Hidden War"), and Burchelli does a masterful job of conveying what it takes to survive through his art. It's his first work for an American released publication, and the guy is just knocking it out of the park.

It's a remarkable story that really shines because of the allowances the comic book medium provides it. I greatly encourage anyone and everyone to check this out, as I honestly feel as if it is an important story to be told for people in America today. Of course, ultimately I know only Erik is going to read it (you better! this recommendation is for you!) but it's worth a shot for even non-comic fans.