“Bucko” is a webcomic-turned-graphic novel powered by the energetic talents of its artist, Erika Moen, and its writer, Jeff Parker. The beauty of this screwball comedy murder mystery is how it remains fresh and feels spontaneous up to the end. If you caught this comic while it was a red hot web sensation, you’ll want to get the book just released by Dark Horse Comics that adds some new things to the plot and does a fun and impressive job of giving you all the bonus features you could want. There is a cute and insightful ongoing commentary running at the bottom of most pages and there’s also plenty of witty observations in between acts. So, what happens in “Bucko”? Well, it seems like just about everything!
If this episodic comedy involving youthful misadventures makes you think of the cast of “Friends,” well, don’t. But the characters in “Bucko” can sure be friendly! The first few pages lead the reader to believe that stories about hormones run wild will dominate the comic. But there’s more going on here. As Jeff Parker explains in one of the book’s intermission observations, one of the aims of the comic was to not get predictable and not have readers just hanging on for the naughty bits. It’s a delicate balance. For a story to have authority, to really be a story, all the elements will need to follow a coherent tone. There needs to be a structure in place, an engine that keeps events and characters moving. As Parker puts it, “tone is everything.”
That said, the reader wants to be entertained and that’s the bottom line. Things move fast in this comic. It is a tight script that, for a webcomic, resembles more the best in television and not a clunky comic strip from yesteryear. Rich Richardson wakes up to a classic “morning after” scene. He is naked. He has had sex with someone new. He doesn’t know where he is at first. And then, bam! he realizes he has to get up and leave for an important meeting just minutes away! His partner from last night emerges, Gypsy Bouvier, and she’s still groggy too. All she can think to call the new boy in her life is, “Bucko.” Gyp fits Bucko up with one of her blouses and finds a tie from her roommate/lover to add to his look. Roommate/lover? There’s no time to ask questions! Bucko must rush to make it in time to a job interview so he can pay his rent.
Erika Moen has a delightful light touch to her drawing style. Her autobio comics, “DAR!” show the reader a very open and uninhibited person. Moen is comfortable with any topic, anything from sex to farts is fair game. That’s the spirit! Her chemistry with Parker is undeniable. Jeff Parker, you may know, is just as in love with the offbeat. Among a stellar roster of works, including comics scripts for X-Men and the Avengers, is one wacky adventure that Jeff did with Tom Fowler called, “Mysterius The Unfathomable,” which is required reading. In that story, eccentricity prevails. And so it does in “Bucko.”
In many ways, “Bucko” is all about the journey. Boy meets girl. Girl loses boy. And then…maybe…girl and boy find each other again. And, in between, we have steampunk Makers, Juggalos, Suicide Girls, meth heads, top hats and absinthe. With the journey, comes the right mix of attitude. It was during the start of the “Bucko” webcomic that the hit television show, “Portlandia” began to air. Okay, both are set in Portland and have a high hipster factor. Do you see any conflict with that? Actually no, the more the merrier. As Parker points out in the book, “While we shared a lot of things on a Venn diagram, we became conscious of staying distinct from the show.” In that regard, “Bucko,” is definitely in its own world.
“Bucko” is a 136-page hard cover, 8″ x 8″, and is $19.99. Visit our friends at Dark Horse Comics. And, if you’re in Seattle on October 20, come out and meet Erika Moen and Jeff Parker at Comics Dungeon.
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