Comic I Love: Tom Kaczynski’s “Beta Testing The Apocalypse”

A great way to get me to read something you wrote/drew/whatever is to put the word “apocalypse” in the title. I kind of love every kind of fiction that imagines apocalyptic or post-apocalyptic worlds, and I’m always interested in weird and different interpretations of that concept. I guess it isn’t particularly original of me, but I think that’s great because it means there’s always more apocalyptic fiction to read!

So anyway, I basically bought this book, “Beta Testing The Apocalypse,” because of its title. Sometimes I’ll just go on Amazon, or walk into Forbidden Planet or whatever, and just pick a few comic books at random. I figure that way I’ll end up discovering awesome stuff at least half the time, which has turned out to be a low estimate, actually.

And it was during one of these wide-net-casting sessions that I found “Beta Testing The Apocalypse,” by Tom Kaczynski.

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“Beta Testing The Apocalypse” isn’t REALLY about an apocalypse, or apocalypses, as we usually talk about them. It’s more about the ongoing “slow apocalypse” that, according to some (like me! hi there) is HAPPENING EVEN AS YOU READ THIS.

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Kaczynski’s conception of the slow apocalypse, which he conveys with a series of vaguely connected short stories, centers around cities and their surroundings and how we (humans, that is) interact with urban development, suburban sprawl, traffic jams, apartment buildings, city sounds, and so on.

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Even though this stuff obviously adheres to a strict definition of “comics,” I found myself thinking of each story more as an illustrated narrative. I know that’s kind of a tricky or at the very least blurry distinction, but Kaczynski’s style involves a pretty dedicated commitment to setting scenes with lyrical descriptions as much as imagery, which is something I associate with the space between “regular” fiction and comics.

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I kind of expected to feel like these stories were heavy-handed anti-technological bullshit or something, but instead they’re super nuanced and layered. Their message isn’t that cities and technology are necessarily bad or evil; rather each story looks at how humanity is changed by its relationship to cities and the rapid development of technology and so on. Sometimes that change is negative, but usually it’s just different, and it’s always presented in a balanced & ambiguous way.

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Also, the longer stories are interspersed with one-page short-shorts about noise.

You should read it.

Artist I Love: Nicholas Di Genova

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I found this tiny little booklet in the back of the Union Square Forbidden Planet.

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Designing monsters and uncanny animal things is something I’m interested in learning more about, and it’s surprisingly hard to find resources on the subject.

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But Nicholas Di Genova‘s stuff has such a level of obsessive virtuosity to it that it’s the perfect thing to have around for inspiration. Like, maybe someday, if I work really hard, I can be like 4% as good at this as this guy is!

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Or not.

Comic I Love: Robert Hunter’s “The New Ghost”

Remember when I said I would probably be posting about more books from the wonderful Nobrow Press? Well, here I am to make good on my promise.

I don’t want to say too much about The New Ghost by Robert Hunter, because it’s a very very short story that can be read in fifteen minutes, if you don’t linger too long on any one page.

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It’s about a ghost who only recently became a ghost, and his introduction to the ways of the other, more seasoned ghosts.

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The new ghost is especially interested in how the older ghosts interact with living humans.

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It’s kind of a quiet, subtle story that still manages to feel like it has created a big world by the end. The art style enhances this: Hunter uses a muted color palette and none of the black outlines that often separate objects in comics from their backgrounds. But it still manages to be incredibly detailed and expressive…

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…and kind of heartbreaking.

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Comic I Love: Jesse Moynihan’s “Forming”

I’ve been reading a billion comics lately, but I had absolutely NO TROUBLE deciding which one to post about first on this blog.

“Forming” by Jesse Moynihan is fucking fantastic. On like at least eight different levels.

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First of all, it is in beautiful vibrant color. I have a giant soft spot for things that are very obviously hand-painted and hand-lettered, and this is like Example #1 of why it is awesome when people do non-digital paintings. Also, I totally get why lots of comics are in black-and-white. And often I like that look a great deal. But there’s something about color…

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It is also worth noting that Vol. 1 of Forming is just like a really pretty book. I’m kind of a luddite about books and print in general, even though I love the internet for lots of things. I have a collection of over 1000 books in my tiny Manhattan apartment (we are VERY creative with space). People are always telling me to get rid of them, but I’m way too attached.

(Forming is published by Nobrow, for the record. They make lots of beautiful books and things. I will probably post about some other stuff of theirs at some point in the near future…)

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Another reason why Forming is awesome: The writing is actually hilarious. It’s basically the story of the origin of humanity on Earth, with lots of biblical stuff thrown in, as well as space aliens. But all the characters use very crass modern slang. Which, if poorly done, would maybe be stupid or obnoxious or whatever. BUT IT IS NOT. It is great.

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In conclusion, go read Forming. NOW. And then once you’ve decided it’s awesome, you should go buy the first volume. Because I want there to be a second volume.