Brandon Graham is something of a hero in the world of comics. He seems to have a magic touch that allows him to create stories with the most loopy plots full of the most absurd puns. Sometimes his art appears to function at the level of the most basic signifier, however, those basic elements have a way of building into glorious heroic structures.
Take in Brandon Graham’s work piece by piece. Let it roll around in your mouth. Savor each morsel.
“Multiple Warheads” has just completed a four-issue run with Image Comics, with a promise of more to come. In this first run, we follow the adventures of Sexica and Nikoli as they make their way to the Impossible City. Threaded throughout this road trip tale is a parallel tale of an organ smuggler in pursuit of the ultimate magical organ. For a comic that has all the signs of being made up as it goes along, this is a nicely balanced layered plot.
This is a good time to look back at Issue Four, the whole shooting match, and consider what it all means. Let’s start with a top ten list, a highlight of some of the beautiful treats found in this last and most recent issue.
1. Mysterious Books. Ah, a portal to something more or is it mostly to use on your bum?
2. Feet. Oh, so much to say about peds, a beautiful subject in its own right.
3. Maps. Maps inside of fruit, no less.
4. Whales. When in doubt, a floating whale.
5. Another arresting isolated image: The bird becomes an instant piece of art.
6. Faced with Faces: One of a variety of possible paths for our hero.
7. Another odd bit of word play that deserves a closer look.
8. More details not to be missed. Would this work as a real game? Sure.
9. Heart dissected for your pleasure.
10. Motorcycle diaries.
And then take that motorcycle sequence and add it to this complexity:
For those new to Graham’s work, or even for those with already some passing interest, the key lies in the details, the parts and the whole, on a page by page basis. Graham’s comics tend to add up more like an experience than just as a work with a driven narrative flow. It brings to mind such dreamy stuff as the films of Terry Gilliam that, for the most part, seem to be best digested as a series of compelling sequences instead of a traditional story. It works in the hands of Gilliam because he’s a master of the visual and the same can be said of Graham. And, with that in mind, there is a story, a big story, to follow in “Multiple Warheads.”
Graham reunites two of his favorite characters, two young lovers by the names of Sexica and Nikoli. The last time we saw these two, Sexica was an organ smuggler. As a last hurrah, Sexica sewed a wolf’s penis on to her boyfriend, Nikoli. It was a birthday present, you understand, and Nikoli was pleased and so was Sexica. Howwever, this fun did not come without complications. Nikoli is now sort of a werewolf. Only sort of, so that’s not too bad. He’s mostly a mechanic and a good guy. There’s also Lenin, Nikoli’s car. And there’s Pumpkin Patch, Sexica former organ smuggling boss. Our story begins shortly after everything has been blown to bits. Nikoli and Sexica must leave their destroyed Red City and head to the Impossible City.
Along the way, Sexica tries to relax on her impromptu vacation but there are lingering regrets over having retired from organ smuggling. To contrast that with what she’s missing, we have this other story going on about another smuggler who has been assigned to find the most magical and powerful organs yet to be smuggled! What is magical and powerful is sort of relative in this world but it’s best to just keep moving toward the next big thing until further notice.
It’s at the first chance to get back into the game that Sexica takes the bait. Some weird little penguin-like creature is in search of a wizard’s larder and that’s good enough for Sexica. She admits that once an organ smuggler, always an organ smuggler: “I’ve always been like this. I need to see what I can get away with to feel like I’ve got freedom.”
That pretty much sums it all up. We all would like to see what we can get away with so we can feel like we have freedom!
Brandon Graham and “Multiple Warheads” will stir up your subversive side and inspire you to pursue your own freedom. Okay, so that takes care of this first batch, “Multiple Warheads: Alphabet to Infinity.” The next batch is to be entitled, “Multiple Warheads: Ghost Town.”
Find Brandon Graham here. Find “Multiple Warheads” here. Find our friends at Image Comics here.
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THE DEVASTATOR #6 Review
“The Devastator” is the kind of quarterly humor magazine I had always thought of putting together back in college. My best friend and I did put out an issue of something that was a combination of his aspirations towards sytle and my aspirations towards wit. In a lot of ways, I see that tension, which can work really well, in the pages of this 56-page magazine. This is what people in search of stylish snark are really looking for and this mag pulls it off nicely.
In this issue, the theme is “Indie” and what that means. It will mean something different to each new generation. But, as R. Sikoryak and Michael Smith’s parody of “American Splendor” makes clear, whatever batch of 18 to 35-year-olds you belong to, you can be just as clueless as the one that came before.
I’m from the Gen X batch and, as is fully documented, we are a good-natured but uniquely alienated group, always demanding authenticity from others. Same darn thing can be said for the latest crop. In “Stat Attack!” by Lesley Tsina, a mock survey of college radio listeners reveals that the most compelling reason to tune in to college radio is to “fight the powers that be.” In Noah Van Sciver’s comic elegy to those who haunt indie bookstores, again, some things never change. That same baby soft cutie with her fingers crumpling up the ends of her sweater is still not going to give you the time of day. But the weirdo covered in aluminum foil will stick to you like glue. Such is the life of the young artist with a shit job.
How better to soothe the pain than to be a poseur? This activity is explored by Micki Grover and Matt Taylor in “Barry’s Time Machine,” where it’s not good enough to know all the names of obscure techno bands but you need to hop into a time machine and literally be the first to “discover” Nikola Tesla, right after his birth, and be the first to declare dinosaurs are cool. For an even closer look, we get a detailed analysis of the many, yet limited, facial expressions of the hipster. You can find that in “Ace of Face,” by Amanda Meadows, with art by Bryan Wolfson (see above).
And if you look way above, you see the cover art by Andy Ristaino, the lead designer on Pendleton Ward’s “Adventure Time,” seen on Cartoon Network. I feel it necessary to give that long description because what Andy Ristaino and Pendleton Ward, and all the other great talent that bring you the animated adventures of Jake, a magical talking dog, and Finn, the human boy, are saying something important. They’re talking about a whole new generation of chill people (no haters allowed) who are sensitive and enlightened souls. These are the grandchildren of John Lennon. And the brothers and sisters of Michael Cera. They’re flower people without the flowers, since flowers have feelings too.
I think that sentiment carries over significantly to something like “The Devastator.” It’s got a vibe like “National Lampoon” and “The Onion,” which is a good thing and makes sense, but it’s definitely cultivating its own unique laid back voice. It has tapped into the all the good stuff coming from the punk and zine scene from yesteryear and found itself quite relevant and much needed. Sweetness is cool and sweet, especially when sprinkled with just the right dash of sarcasm.
You can get your copy of “The Devastator #6” starting on October 16 for only $8. Save with a subscription by getting four quarterly issues for $30. Visit our friends at The Devastator.
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Filed under Entertainment, Hipsters, Humor, pop culture, The Devastator, Youth Culture
Tagged as Entertainment, Hipsters, Humor, Pop Culture, Social Commentary, Youth Culture