AN AARDVARK, OLD GODS AND A GAY TANK COMMANDER: |
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In recent years the much publicised "growing up" of comic books (or if you prefer, their swift "maturing" into the much more universally acceptable form of the "Graphic Novel"), has been heralded by such critically acclaimed and award winning titles as MAUS, THE WATCHMEN, SANDMAN, HELLBLAZER and more recently THE PREACHER, and one might think that the way had to some degree, been proverbially paved for this once most overlooked and underrated of literary mediums in general.
Not so. Although there are those inordinately dedicated folks who make it their business full-time to stand and fight for the lesser known "indie" element of the comic book industry, sadly it seems that theirs is a near insurmountable task. Even the so called "mature" titles have had a tough enough time as it is, gaining critical acceptance as legitimate literature or even, as a valid art-form in their own right. It seems even those recently converted degenerates reading around some of the fine and once ground-breaking titles mentioned above, are quite content with this their altogether briefest of flirts with the format. And really, who can blame them? Just why should one make an effort to seek out and keep up with a monthly, bi-monthly or even quarterly publication if it means just that... more effort than it might be worth? It seems important to take another (amateur) shot at alerting that all too slim element of the book-buying public partial to a touch of "sequential art", to the flourishing, but decidedly fringe existence of the inspirational, but (cue fan fare - till now!) near impenetrable "indies".  
Of course, there are those who'd argue that any insensitive exposure of these criminally overlooked graphic gems, might bring down a veritable cavalcade of unwanted fan-boy shit upon the talented and decidedly, overworked heads of all concerned and that, "we're all quite happy out here going on unpraised and unoticed, thankyou". Better that the field remains peripheral, purely as a kind of influential undercurrent and so, able to remain free of the increasingly censored requirements of the comics mainstream, and further, undiluted by the periodic "re-vamp" tactics of MARVELesque sales-boosting gimmickry? (Um... I supppse that's not altogether a bad thing really, is it?)
Bar an extended introductory preamble through the all-encompassing phenomenon that is CEREBUS, the following overviews do not run in any particular order nor do they fall into somekind of tight-ass personal shortlist. I'll simply attempt to outline the hottest and generally most entertaining elements of the underground world of the self-published and perhaps inadvertently assist to expose a quite unexpected variety of cool alternatives to the graphic novel norm and an entire gaggle of hot indies truly kicking the trendy, one-dimensional ass of much contemporary fiction. You are likely to experience some degree of difficulty in obtaining at least a couple of the books reviewed below. You could do a lot worse than contacting the more than able crew at: Page 45, 9 Market Street, Nottingham NG1 6HY tel: (0115) 95098045 fax: (0115) 9500950 Cerebus Bacchus Rare Bit Fiends The Desert Peach and Stinz Optic Nerve |
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