Supergirl is New To Me
GRAPHIC-NOVEL COLUMN: Supergirl is new to me By Dan Brown I don’t know much about Supergirl. If you’re a regular reader of her adventures, then you likely know more about the venerable character than I do. How unschooled am I on Supergirl? I haven’t yet seen the new movie starring the Maiden of Might, which opened last weekend. And although I’ve had decades, I haven’t ever watched the 1984 feature film that stars Helen Slater in the title role, either. I do remember Supergirl being killed off in 1985 in the legendary Crisis on Infinite Earths miniseries that rebooted the DC Universe. And I did greatly enjoy Canadian writer Mariko Tamaki’s attempt to relaunch Superman’s cousin in 2018 in Supergirl: Being Super. More on that in a moment. So in an attempt to learn more about the Woman of Tomorrow, I picked up the DC glossy magazine that features four “acclaimed” Supergirl issues, each one representing a new stab at bringing the hero back to prominence. One story has the flavour of a vintage sci-fi novel a la the John Carter of Mars books. Another reads like a Twilight Zone episode. In the third tale, she was reintroduced as a secret-agent type operative. And in the concluding instalment, she’s basically a plot device in the relationship between Superman and his frenemy Batman. The multiple efforts to freshen up Supergirl point to an unavoidable conclusion: Comic fans may not find her all that compelling. It’s not like she was the first “Super” spinoff. That distinction goes to Superboy, who appeared in 1945, seven years after Action Comics No. 1 landed. Kara Zor-El wouldn’t depart Krypton’s Argo City until 1959, in the same era when DC introduced a dog, cat, horse and other super-powered survivors of Krypton. Each time, the publisher diminished what made Superman’s origin so poignant. His claim to fame – being the last son of a doomed planet, sent to Earth where its yellow sun would make him invincible – wasn’t so unique anymore. He wasn’t so special. So if you want a collection that tries to square the 1950s/1960s DC weirdness with the current continuity, as well as appeals to modern readers who would rather their comics be grim than silly, check out this magazine. I do love reading regular comics on a larger page. Now, if you want what I consider a superior Supergirl anthology, pick up the afore-mentioned Supergirl: Being Super. In my (admittedly limited) experience, it is the best Supergirl story out there. It effectively evokes the mood of what it would be like living as an alien teenager attending high school in a small American town. In one scene, Kara pops a zit on her chin. A minor problem we’ve all experienced, right? Just temporary grossness. Yet since she’s from Krypton, the zit explodes all over the bathroom, coating walls, floor and ceiling in thick green extraterrestrial slime. As if coming of age wasn’t bad enough. Even better, Being Super is pencilled precisely by Joelle Jones. If anyone reading this column has seen the new motion picture, I’d be grateful to hear your take. Is it good enough that I should see it while the movie is still in theatres? I understand the flick takes many of its cues from the John Carter-tinged Supergirl tale I mentioned above, and its structure mirrors not any comic property, but the classic movie western, True Grit. Is that the right combination of elements to turn Supergirl into a vibrant movie property? And maybe entice readers to seek out her comics? Let me know your answer in the comments! Dan Brown has covered pop culture for more than 33 years as a journalist and also moderates L.A. Mood’s monthly Graphic-Novel Group book club.
GRAPHIC-NOVEL COLUMN: GNG does a twofer
By Dan Brown SPOILER WARNING: This column contains plot details from two graphic novels. If you value surprise, stop reading now! You’ve been warned. The L.A. Mood Graphic-Novel Group met Saturday, June13. Because our May meeting had been cancelled, we covered the assigned books for both May and June in our most recent sitting. The books: Mouse Guard: Dawn of the Black Axe, plus the graphic-novel adaptation of The Iliad. Dawn of the Black Axe Here’s the headline: All five members of GNG who were present gave this book a thumbs up. We loved it. Carol Vandenberg, L.A. Mood’s co-owner, has always been enchanted by the world-building David Petersen does on his Mouse Guard books. Petersen has created in his imagination an entire culture of medieval mice who live in a far-flung setting, which requires the Guard – whose members are forest rangers – to keep routes between the different communities open. Petersen’s mouse world has the same level of detail as Seth’s mythical city of Dominion. The Black Axe is kind of like Batman, operating outside the rules governing how Guard members behave. And yes, he carries a honking big black axe. His quest: To rid mousekind of the giant snakes that plague them. The new thing in Dawn of the Black Axe is how Petersen, who usually illustrates each book, recruited Gabriel Rodriguez to handle art duties. I thought the story might suffer with Petersen focusing on writing alone, but the group really appreciated what Rodriquez brings to table. Part of the discussion also centred on the Black Axe’s spirit guide. Is the ethereal elk real, is he a ghost, is he a projection from the axe bearer’s mind? I like how Rodriquez sometimes draws the elk as solid, but in other panels he appears to be from another plane of existence. GNG member Amanda pointed out there’s not a lot of joy in the book, no respite from the gloom. But that’s not what interests Petersen. This is a book about the cost of doing your duty and the sacrifices and compromises that follow. The Iliad We weren’t so effusive with our praise for this Gareth Hinds book. We read his comic version of this epic tale in part because its sequel, The Odyssey, is coming to the big screen this summer in a Christopher Nolan adaptation. Overall, we gave The Iliad not a thumb up or down, but a thumb sideways. It's fine. Carol thought it didn’t work on its own, but would make a good adjunct to studying the written version of the epic work. GNG member Matt noted how making it into a comic required Hinds to disrupt the rhyming of the original. I found it to be Biblical in the sense there are many, many lists of the participants in the battle to overthrow Troy, which came across to me as similar to the long verses in the Bible indicating who begat whom. They go on and on. I also stumbled because the names listed in The Iliad aren’t familiar to me. I have a hard time dealing with the notion of gods and mortals who share many of the same feelings and motivations. In The Iliad, gods have children with mortals, they feel human emotions, they change their minds – it’s a mix that makes me uneasy as a reader as I’m not used to thinking of immortals with Earthly traits. Looming in the background of our discussion was a larger question: How can an artist adapt an ancient work of art so that it still speaks to readers in 2026? If you make too many changes, it may be more relatable, yet you’ll anger the purists. The bottom line: This Iliad would be a fine textbook or companion piece to the original. L.A. Mood’s Graphic-Novel Group meets the second Saturday of every month. Next month’s selection is Jeff Lemire’s autobiography, 10,000 Ink Stains. Lemire hails from Southwestern Ontario and if you’ve ever wanted to get a glimpse into his artistic process, check this one out! We’re set to meet July 11 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 33 years as a journalist and also moderates L.A. Mood’s monthly Graphic-Novel Group book club.
Monster of the Abyss artist Eric Olcsvary visits with GNG
By Dan Brown SPOILER WARNING: This column contains plot details. If you value surprise, stop reading now. You’ve been warned! The L.A. Mood Graphic-Novel Group met Saturday, April 11, and had a special guest, Tillsonburg artist Eric Olcsvary. This is a brief outline of our discussion with him during our hour-long meeting. The book: The first two issues of Monster of the Abyss, written by Scott Wojcik, and illustrated by Olcsvary. The discussion: Eric gave us a look into his creative process, his background, and his partnership with Wojcik, who is also a local creator. Olcsvary says Wojcik is an idea machine! Wojcik’s kids Ashton and Hayden helped the writer come up with the story for Monster of the Abyss. This comic series follows the adventures of Sleepy Joe, who is a “magical and unique” stuffy brought home from a store in the “Eatons Mall.” Over the two issues he undergoes a drastic transformation, and Olcsvary said Joe being able to think but not talk (his mouth is stitched shut) is a key part of the character’s personality. Oh, and although many readers have asked the creative team about this, Sleepy Joe is not a reference to former U.S. president Joe Biden! By issue No. 2, Sleepy Joe has become Creepy Joe after being pulled into the underworld and having his persona changed. L.A. Mood co-owner and GNG member Gord Mood said the entity that forcibly transforms Joe, the Gloom King, is a Nietzschean kind of being. “Even the strong-willed can be broken, their resolve crushed,” it tells the toy. “Friendship is a lie, when darkness rises they’ll leave you to rot. You’re better off embracing your true nature. You are a creature of fear, destined for darkness.” If you haven’t guessed by now, Monster of the Abyss is a horror story. Olcsvary explained to the group’s members that although he is a metalhead when it comes to music, he is not a big horror guy – he just keeps getting offers to draw horror books! The part of the book where Joe is in the black pit also prompted a digression among the group about brainwashing. To what extent can a person (or even a fabric toy) be induced to do things that are outside their normal moral sphere? We had wide-ranging opinions. Another point we spent a decent chunk of time talking about is the colouring of the book. The first printing of Monster of the Abyss No. 1 was in black and white, which was followed by a colour version with colours by Payton Atkinson. We agreed as a group that we enjoyed the coloured version more. Olcsvary has described his own lines as a “bouncy, ink-heavy art style full of movement and unique composition.” He told us on Saturday that inking is his favourite part of the comic-making process! You can find Monster of the Abyss on the rack reserved for work by local comic creators. L.A. Mood’s Graphic-Novel Group meets the second Saturday of every month. Next month’s selection is Mouse Guard: Dawn of the Black Axe by David Petersen and Gabriel Rodriguez. Be warned, I am a HUGE Mouse Guard fan! We’re set to meet May 9 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 33 years as a journalist and also moderates L.A. Mood’s monthly Graphic-Novel Group.
Goon References Please GNG
By Dan Brown SPOILER WARNING: This column contains plot details about Eric Powell’s Goon, so if you value surprise, do not continue reading. Stop now! The L.A. Mood Graphic-Novel Group convened on Saturday, March 14. Here’s a brief account of our discussion. The book: The Goon: Bunch of Old Crap Volume 1, which collects the character’s earliest stories. The discussion: Most of us appreciated the Goon, even if it wasn’t really our thing. Me, I loved it. I knew little about the Goon before this. I had a vague awareness of the long-running comic, and its supernatural flavour, but I had not actually read any of the his adventures. What can I say? Powell’s heedless spirit, which imbues the book with a unique energy, bowled me over. The collection was pitched by GNG member and L.A. Mood employee Matt. Much of our discussion centred around the book’s many references to the original source material that fired Powell’s imagination. For those who are new to the antihero, the Goon’s first issue came out in 1999. I found it to be a blend of ingredients that I have not seen in any other comics. One of Powell’s biggest inspirations is clearly Mad Magazine. You can feel the fun, anything-goes, slightly gross vibe in every panel. The protagonist – who looks like a giant boxer of old – is a former circus worker who becomes an enforcer for a mob boss. The twist, which comes fairly early in the chronology of the series, is the mob boss doesn’t exist – the Goon is himself the brains of the operation. He is accompanied by his homicidal sidekick Franky, who has eyes that lack pupils. Shades of Little Orphan Annie. It takes place on Lonely Street in a burg that is reminiscent of Central City, home to Will Eisner’s Spirit. The bane of the Goon’s existence are the zombies that keep popping up, only to be dispatched by his fist or a blast from a revolver. There are many other monsters rampaging about, like the sea creatures that evoke H.P. Lovecraft. There’s even a gigantic lizard-type baddie created by Powell as a way to express his love for such rubber-monster movies as Godzilla. Powell was also clearly influenced by Jack Kirby. The Goon often appears in action-packed spreads that unfold over two pages. Another source is the films noir of the 1940s. Franky is always seen in the duo's bar hangout trying to romance one dame or another. Even better, it’s so much fun to watch Powell cycle through so many different styles of illustrating. He never stops evolving. And for fans of old-school comics like yours truly, the throwback sound effects are a delight: Klang! Slap! Krash! Pow! I was in my glory. There are several more omnibus volumes of the Goon to enjoy, and I intend to get all of them. L.A. Mood’s Graphic-Novel Group meets the second Saturday of each month. Next month’s selection is from London comic creators Scott Wojcik and Eric Olcsvary, we are reading issues 1 and 2 of their Monster of the Abyss series. The group is set to meet next on Saturday April 11 at 11 a.m. at store’s the gaming tables. If you're interested in comics or graphic novels, we’d love to have you join us! 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.
The Woodchipper is Evidence of Joe Ollmann’s Greatness
By Dan Brown At some point in the last few years, Joe Ollmann went from being a very good graphic novelist to a truly great one. His new book, The Woodchipper, is proof he has made that transition. Out now, the collection contains five graphic short stories – or whatever you want to call them. “Short-story collections can be a hard sell,” the Hamilton comic creator’s cartoon self explains in the book’s introduction. Maybe so, but Ollmann is making a strong case for the possibilities of the genre. Just as the late Alice Munro was a legendary writer of prose short stories, Ollmann has mastered the graphic equivalent. His stories are thought-provoking, funny, and sad. The common thread running through the five pieces here is how Ollmann concludes each with one of his patented “anti-twist endings,” in which almost nothing happens, yet the main character’s world is forever changed. My favourite of the lot is called Meat, and tells the story of Kara, a security guard at an animal-packing plant who befriends one of the protesters outside the company fence. “I’m Paul Blart with a moral conscience,” Kara says in her inner monologue, before being presented with an ethical dilemma. I won’t give away the rest of the story, but let’s just say Jeff Lemire’s Sweet Tooth is no longer the only tale from a Southwestern Ontario creator that features a half-human, half-pig hybrid. And that’s the thing about the stories in this collection: None of them suffers for being short. They all feel as complex as a “full” graphic novel. Ollman packs each one with so much character detail and meaning. Also not to be missed is Nestled All Snug, in which bookstore employee Sasha gets locked in a bathroom in the back of the shop over the Christmas holidays. The slowly building drama here isn’t so much dependent on whether she can escape or not, but on what she will do to survive. Can Sasha, her mouth dry from hours of captivity, break down and drink the toilet water in order to endure? You’ll have to read the story to find out what she decides. As for the title story, it’s a perfect example of Ollmann’s theory about creating reverse-surprise endings. I’ll spoil it by revealing no human appendage actually gets torn to pieces in the titular chipper, but nothing is the same at the end of the story as it was in the beginning. Maybe you’re not familiar with Ollmann’s work. Maybe you’re looking for a point of entry into his oeuvre, which also includes full-length graphic novels such as Fictional Father and The Abominable Mr. Seabrook and yet more short-story collections. The Woodchipper, full of compelling character moments that centre on “non-incidents,” is the perfect place to start. I doubt Ollmann needs ideas, but I hope he considers a straight-on autobiography next time out. The snippets of his life we get from the introductions to his books just aren’t enough anymore. How about it, Joe? Dan Brown has covered pop culture for more than 33 years as a journalist and also moderates L.A. Mood’s monthly graphic-novel group.
It’s Easy To Beat Up On Graphic Novels
By Dan Brown Who will stand up for comic books? I’m thinking about this question after Alberta Premier Danielle Smith ordered school libraries in that province to pull books with pictures of “pornography” in them (her word). “What we are trying to remove are graphic images that young children should not be having a look at,” Smith added after the original ministerial order from her government blew up in her face. From what I’ve read, there are four specific graphic novels that have raised Smith’s ire: Craig Thompson’s Blankets, Alison Bechdel’s Fun Home, Mike Curao’s Flamer, and Maia Kobabe’s Gender Queer. I’ve read only one of those books, Blankets, and I recall it as an earnest attempt by Thompson to describe his struggles growing up in a fundamentalist Christian home. Perhaps Smith doesn’t like it because – spoiler warning – it ends with Thompson leaving the church. The other three books have one thing in common: The sex they depict isn’t between a man and a woman, but same-sex partners. Of course, Smith isn’t the first person to pick on comic books. Hating on comics is a tradition that goes back decades, extending back to the era when the audience for comics actually was children. These days, the typical Marvel or DC reader is a dude in his forties or fifties. You may have heard of Fredric Wertham, the notorious crank psychiatrist who campaigned against comics in the 1950s. It’s hard to believe now, but there were actual Congressional hearings in the U.S. into how comics were unfit for America’s kids. There were also comic-book burnings. Among his complaints with comics was Wertham’s feeling they were too violent, thus making young kids into juvenile delinquents. He also thought they turned straight kids into gay ones. Wertham hinted there was something going on between Batman and Robin between the panels, and even wrote a book detailing his research, which was thoroughly debunked years ago. But Seduction of the Innocent did have a major impact, with the comic industry opting for self-censorship in the form of the Comics Code, which lasted until 2011. How ridiculous was the self-censorship regime? A comic was once rejected by the Comics Code Authority censor on the basis of writer Marv Wolfman’s last name being in the credits, since the Code forbade mentions of the occult like, you know, wolfmen. Will anyone stand up for comics in Alberta this time around? I don’t know. I do know it’s easy to score political points by attacking comics and graphic novels, since there are so few organizations set up to champion them, at least in Canada. We do not have an equivalent to the U.S. Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, which supports creators, retailers, and educators. That said, I was encouraged to see that the Toronto Comics Art Festival spoke out against Smith’s lunacy. “We cannot stand by while governments and school boards strip these stories from bookshelves,” the organization’s board said in a statement early this month. “This fight is about the freedom to read. It’s about whose stories we allow to be told, and whose stories we try to silence.” I’m hoping others will follow TCAF’s example. At a time when there is a global information source containing easy access to all kinds of actual hardcore pornography, it seems odd to single out graphic novels that young Albertans likely aren’t all that interested in reading in the first place. They’d rather be playing on their phones. Dan Brown has covered pop culture for more than 33 years as a journalist and also moderates L.A. Mood’s monthly graphic-novel group.
