GNG Discusses The Road, as Well as New Instalment of Crimson Fall
By Dan Brown SPOILER WARNING: This column contains plot details about the graphic-novel adaptation of The Road, so if you value surprise, stop reading now. It also contains information about Derek Laufman’s The Shore Tower, so the same warning applies. Here’s the rundown on the latest meeting of the L.A. Mood Graphic-Novel Group, which took place Saturday, April 12. The books: Manu Larcenet’s adaptation of the Cormac McCarthy’s novel The Road. Later, Byron graphic novelist Derek Laufman joined us to discuss his latest book, Crimson Fall: The Shore Tower. The Road is a post-apocalyptic tale of a father and son eking out a bleak existence in a shattered American landscape choked with clouds of ash. The Shore Tower continues the monster-hunter adventures of an unlikely duo in a medieval world. The discussion: We begin our meetings with a lighting round. Each person around the table has two minutes to outline their initial thoughts. Then we follow up with a deeper discussion of the ideas raised at the outset. I kicked off the meeting by saying if the point of The Road was to depress the reader, then it worked on me. I appreciate the detailed art by French cartoonist Larcenet, however I could not get past such a dark depiction of human nature. The story takes place after some kind of apocalypse. The survivors must scrounge to live, so this is a society devouring itself. Literally. The bad guys become cannibals to survive. At one point in their journey, the father and son discover a kind of storehouse full of living humans with parts missing – they are being kept as a source of food. So if you’re looking for an uplifting story, a fable about the human spirit overcoming adversity, this isn’t it. There is a slight note of hopefulness at the end of the book, but not every member of the group read the conclusion the way I did. We also discussed the symbolism of the road itself, which is a relic from the previous civilization that looms large in the story. The father character is compelled to keep himself and his son walking, never settling in any safe haven for long. Even though Larcenet’s illustrations are amazingly detailed, the art couldn’t save the book for me. It’s too far from my own view of human nature. Halfway through our hour-long meeting, Byron comic creator Derek Laufman, who has worked with such companies as Marvel and Hasbro, sat down with us to talk about his latest project, Crimson Fall: The Shore Tower. It shows what happens when a knight and priest, at the behest of a local ruler, head to an island cloaked in mystery to find out why the lighthouse isn’t working. The book is pretty straightforward, although there is at least one big twist. Laufman described how, even though the finished product follows a straight line, he spent months trying to make a more complicated version of the story work in his imagination. After months of thinking, he couldn’t pull it off, so he went with a streamlined premise – although some of the elements from that earlier version are still present. Laufman talked about the joys of working on his own intellectual property, as opposed to illustrating characters like Spider-Man (one time, Laufman even designed the Marvel Christmas card!). He also explained how the leads in Crimson Fall are really the two halves of one persona – half is wise and thoughtful, the other impatient and action-driven. Further reading; I don’t think I’ll be picking up the original novel version of The Road, or checking out the motion picture starring Viggo Mortensen. But I do recommend the prose novel Lucifer’s Hammer by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle – like The Road, it takes place in a crumbling post-apocalyptic society in which some people have reverted to cannibalism, but there’s an equally powerful group of survivors fighting to restore order and technology. That’s more like it. As far as Laufman’s work goes, he has several other titles worth ordering: RuinWorld, the Witch of Wickerson, Bot 9. I would recommend any of these if you are a parent whose child is interested in fun adventure stories. The language used in his Crimson Fall books, on the other hand, is decidedly adult. L.A. Mood’s Graphic-Novel Group meets the second Saturday of each month. Next month’s selection is Maurice Vellekoop’s memoir of growing up gay in Toronto as part of a strict Dutch family, I’m So Glad We Had This Time Together. We’ll be meeting May 10 at the gaming tables in the store at 11 a.m. All are welcome to join the discussion! Dan Brown has covered pop culture for more than 32 years as a journalist and also moderates L.A. Mood’s monthly graphic-novel group.
Read Local, Shop Local, Attend Local Cons
By Dan Brown I’ll be honest with you: I don’t know how the Trump tariffs are going to affect the price of comics, if at all. But if you’re looking for ways to put your comic-book dollars back into the local economy, be it Southwestern Ontario or Canada, here are a few ideas for how to do so. For starters, you can patronize local comics stores like L.A. Mood, which employs Londoners and supports the local pop-culture ecosystem by hosting events like Godzilla Day. The Forest City has always been blessed with more than its share of places where you can pick up your favourite comic titles, and the same goes for all of Southwestern Ontario. Here’s a fun road trip idea for when the warm weather arrives: Make it your goal to visit all the comic stores in this corner of Canada, which will mean travelling to such communities as Sarnia, Windsor, Chatham, Kitchener, and Guelph. I did so a few summers back and it was a blast! Along the same lines, when convention season starts back up, you don’t need to go all the way to San Diego (or even Toronto) to hang out with other comic enthusiasts.London has cons aplenty, including Forest City Comicon – which this year moves to a new date (November 2) and venue (the Lamplighter Inn). Other shows to keep in mind include the Chatham Kent Expo, which happens April 26 and 27. I realize bigger cons get bigger names. That doesn’t necessarily make for a better experience, though. For example, almost every DC or Marvel panel I’ve attended at Fan Expo in previous years can be summed up in one sentence: “Our company has such cool stories coming out soon, but if we told you the details it would spoil them.” The difference at a smaller event is the friendlier vibe, which is much warmer. There is no substitute for meeting comic fans or cosplayers in your own backyard! And what’s that, you say you also want to read local at this moment in our country’s history? It’s easy to make that happen by throwing your support behind specific creators and publishers. There are guys like Byron’s Derek Laufman, the graphic novelist responsible for Bot 9, RuinWorld, and Crimson Fall. Fans can buy his books and art directly from his website. Laufman also has a Patreon page, which offers exclusive first looks at the projects he is working on. Other Forest City creators to check out include Diana Tamblyn, A Jaye and Alison Williams, Scott MacDougall and D.S. Barrick (who publish under the banner of River Donkey Adventures), Sam Maggs, and don’t forget Bryan Lee O’Malley. Among the cartoonists with connections to the wider Southwestern Ontario scene are Jeff Lemire, Seth, Scott Chantler, and Joe Ollmann. Or perhaps you want to support Canadian publishing houses. Done. There’s always Drawn & Quarterly in Montreal, the East Coast’s Conundrum Press, and Chapterhouse Comics (the publisher of Captain Canuck). They all do compelling work. If you don’t like my ideas and you need more suggestions, just consult with the staff at your comic-store or the nearest librarian. When it comes to comics, and pop culture in general, our dominion punches way above its weight. So if you have any other suggestions of other creators to support, or different ways to keep your pop-culture dollars circulating close to home, I would love to hear all about them in the comment box below! Dan Brown has covered pop culture for more than 32 years as a journalist and also moderates L.A. Mood’s monthly graphic-novel group.
