The stuff in the background is nicely fleshed out, the parody of Facebook and its CEO, Mark Zuckerberg. Instead, you have the social network Tincan and its kingpin, Theo Daniels. The idea that this media giant had to make a deal with the devil, so to speak, is hilarious. My only problem is I wanted more of the background! They even went to the trouble of creating an awesome logo for the fictitious Tincan, an Andy Warhol inspired soup can. And the Zuckerberg-like Theo Daniels should become an ongoing character. But, for the purposes of this story arc, the spotlight is placed on Eldre Koh, a rogue demon that Buffy thought she could trust but turns out to be terribly unreliable. He’s not much to look at and his social skills are limited. He’s a necessary foil to get us to where we need to go.
That said, let’s step back and look at what we’ve got. Do you feel like you have your own crazy mojo that you’d be willing to protect over anything else in the world? That’s what Buffy has been struggling with ever since joining her ex-Slayer pal, Kennedy, in the business of providing security for high-end clients. It just doesn’t suit her to be working for the suits. In the last part to, “Guarded,” we see what Buffy does when all hell literally breaks loose. Well, the girl can think on her feet, that’s for sure. She may have been distracted a bit by a seemingly good-natured and depressed demon. But, once she realizes that Koh is more than willing to kill her client just to restore his rep with the other demons, well, the claws come out. So, yeah, it’s a fun and action-packed ending that’s also true to life. Here you have Buffy working her ass off at a job that still sucks in her mind.
Andrew Chambliss brings this story to a satisfying ending with a big hint to where we go next. The art continues to be spot on: George Jeanty on pencils, Nathan Massengill on inks, and Michelle Madsen on colors, keep the action believable and lively. I don’t take anything for granted with this comic. It’s running smoothly with a nice build up to future events. But I sometimes wish some of the ideas that are brought up could be examined even more fully. You don’t bring up Facebook and all its issues and then abruptly move right along, do you? Well, maybe we’d end up getting off point. Or maybe it would be pretty awesome to delve further into the subject of social media. I’m just saying.
Issue 13 comes out September 12. Visit Dark Horse Comics.
KICKSTARTER: A NIGHT AT THE SORRENTO at 30 Percent Support
A NIGHT AT THE SORRENTO AND OTHER STORIES is a quirky batch of comics that is steadily gaining ground as the subject of a fundraising campaign at Kickstarter. It launched on April 3 and has reached the 30 percent mark in pledges. The campaign runs through May 6. You can view it HERE.
Now, here’s the thing about this one, it has a raw honesty to it that it shares with other Generation X artists. That’s where this artist, Henry Chamberlain, dates back to. That sort of blunt honesty has been refined over the years although an outsider’s view still remains. Think of Charles Burns, for example: acerbic, alienated, yet very heartfelt and authentic. You can find that in this collection of comics. That’s important to bring out here because this book includes the graphic novel, ALICE IN NEW YORK, which is an older work and very much aligned to that spirit. The other part of the book collects recent work, done in the last three years, that originated with 24-Hour Comics challenges. Altogether, you get one artist’s vision over a span of many years.
So, let’s focus in with a few more words about the graphic novel, “Alice in New York” that is part of this collection. What makes it share a Gen X sensibility has to do with the main character’s feeling of being at a loss. For many of a creative and intellectual bent, it just felt like we were in for a long stretch of lowered expectations. Sure, that’s pretty shortsighted. But, growing up in the ’80s, with Reagan and Thatcher running the show, with the Baby Boomers having hogged the spotlight for so long, with a perpetual rehash of pop culture, it didn’t look so good. Of course, we all knew things would change one way or another but it fostered a healthy sense of cynicism and self-deprecation.
You have the main character, Henry, a young man on his first visit to New York City still holding on to dreams of previous generations, from the myth of the Great American Novel to the lure of fifteen minutes of fame. Is it any wonder the boy is a wreck? But, he stumbles upon just the right circumstances and meets the right people to help him out. Is he too lucky? Well, sometimes you make the most of what you get, create your own luck. Add to that a little magic from Alice in Wonderland, and you have a story that transcends any generation which is what you want to do in the end!
Generation X’s way of life is not for everyone. You basically had to be there. Just saying that is so Gen X. If you’re looking for something to read that is a voice of a generation, while stubbornly refusing to be labeled, and ending up being so much more, then check out this work at Kickstarter HERE.
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Filed under Art, Books, Comics, Comix, Culture, Generation X, Kickstarter, New York City, pop culture
Tagged as 24 Hour Comics Day, andy warhol, Art, Books, comics, Entertainment, Generation X, Great American Novel, Kickstarter, New York City, Pop Culture, Social Commentary