Derek Laufman Takes on Fairyland
By Dan Brown Derek Laufman’s work is, above all else, fun. The Byron-based comic creator took over as the artist for the Image series I Hate Fairyland with its 41st issue. Created and written by Skottie Young, the cartoony comic stars Gert – a green-haired, foul-mouthed moppet – who yearns to return to the real world. And no one is going to get in her way. I don’t know a lot about I Hate Fairyland so I recently checked out issues 41 and 42, plus an anthology comic (Untold Tales of Fairyland No. 5) that includes a Laufman-created story. I am now of the opinion that this series is the perfect showcase for his style of art. Laufman does all-ages work. He does more adult-oriented work. And I Hate Fairyland combines both strands in one unserious, fantastical, outrageous platform. With a yellow ribbon in her curls, Gert may appear to be a cute child. But she knows how to swing the double-bladed ax she carries around, the edges of which always seem to be coated in green ichor. There is something heedless, unhinged, and funny about Laufman’s outlandish characters. Gert is always accompanied on her adventures by Larry, the wide-eyed bug who is her Jiminy Cricket figure. In a move that could never happen in a modern Marvel Comic, Laufman depicts Larry with a stogie in his mouth – heaven forfend that comic fans should be able to look at pictures of tobacco products. There’s also a tattooed pink walrus who tends bar at a dragon-themed pub, a sentient golden harp that  talks like a demented cherub, and a living forest with two eyes and a mouth on each tree trunk. Shades of John Byrne, who is famous for inserting cameos of himself into the comics he draws, there’s even a bearded illustrator in one bar scene who may just be Laufman himself. Gert is always drooling. Her nose is perpetually dripping. And in one scene, she identifies the steps of an invisible bridge by barfing on each one to reveal the path over a chasm. Slmon! Slurry! Slart! Sleating! Stoo! These are the sound effects as Gert stuffs her face before hurling. “That was an epic regurgitation,” she tells her sidekick with satisfaction after they have crossed safely to the other side. I Hate Fairyland No. 42 introduces a new character into the mix – the Hellicorn, who is an homage to Mike Mignola’s demonic Hellboy. Clad in a trenchcoat but no shirt, armed to the teeth, and sporting a purple pompadour, the Hellicorn journeys through a land populated by fairy-tale characters like the Old Woman in the Shoe, wreaking havoc as he shoots mud zombies, then battles with Mary (whose Little Lamb is not so small) before passing by the corpses of Jack and Jill. And yes, clenched between the brooding Hellicorn’s teeth is – a fat cigar. For more of Laufman’s art, check out his all-ages books like Bot 9 and The Witch of Wickerson, suitable reading for children. His dungeon-plundering title for mature readers is Crimson Fall. He has also done work for DC and Marvel, as well as such toy companies as Hasbro and Mattel. Laufman can tell you all about it in person when he appears on Nov. 2 at this year’s edition of Forest City Comicon, taking place at the Lamplighter Inn. I may just be first in line! 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.
Local Mini-comics Are Where It’s At!
By Dan Brown It’s been a month since Free Comic Book Day. So the time is right to go over the freebies handed out at local comic stores like L.A. Mood on May 2 to put a spotlight on the ones that stand out. What really jumped out at me this year are the mini-comics from local creators, more on that in a moment. There were more than 40 titles in all, with something for members of every fandom. Such heroes as the Hulk, Spider-Man, Judge Dredd, Archie, the Thundercats and the Transformers show up. Publishers from Dark Horse to IDW to Image to Boom! are represented.  Off the bat, I noticed how Titan Comics extended its streak for having the best cover of the FCBD lot, with the Scourge of the Serpent preview featuring a Roberto De La Torre rendering of everyone’s favourite barbarian, Conan, almost being swallowed by a giant snake. It’s a dynamic image and recalls the glory days of the Cimmerian over at Marvel, when he was drawn by John Buscema. And no surprise, Marvel put out a Fantastic Four sampler – the new FF movie, First Steps, comes out July 25, so expect lots more hype. The story concerns a group of bored teenage aliens who summon Marvel’s First Family by occult/scientific means. The Thing even gets to bellow, “It’s clobberin’ time!” but I’m not a fan of Johnny Storm’s handlebar moustache. (Nor Pedro Pascal’s, as regular readers of this column are aware.) There is a symbolic passing of the torch in I Hate Fairyland, with Byron illustrator Derek Laufman taking over art duties from Skottie Young. You can’t help but dig the four-page splash section Laufman supplies, including a glimpse at Hellicorn – his spoof of a certain demonic anti-hero. London/L.A. writer Sam Maggs is also part of the local contingent, handling script duties on Critical Role: The Mighty Nein Origins. The backup story is a Black Hammer prologue written by another Southwestern Ontario comic creator, Jeff Lemire. Now, about those mini-comics . . . They are not to be missed! Many of them were published by Kitchener’s Studio Comix. There’s a horror offering from Becka Kinzie titled Gehenna: Death Valley in which the characters recognize they are not acting wisely: “This is the stuff from horror movies! Stupid people doing stupid things!” one proclaims when they ignore warnings not to trespass In Wendy and the Sprite, Eric Olscvary sets himself the challenge of writing and drawing a comic about . . . a pile of snow. He more than rises to the occasion. Craig Ferguson and Alfonso Espinos offer readers a tale of the Night Spike, which has a Spy vs. Spy flavour and is also self-aware. At one point, after some back story is related, the Night Spike’s sidekick admits she embellished saying the duo had fought in the Secret Wars: “Well, I just said that to make the flashback a bit more dramatic!” I greatly enjoyed Scott Wojcik’s Cereal Box Time Machine, which tells the story of a trio of young siblings who get their hands on an all-powerful magic wand. They wish for a time machine – in the form of a cereal box – and are transported to a magical setting where they must rid a far-off land from a dragon who looks suspiciously like an overgrown version of their own cat. And I was utterly charmed by The Mini-Fridge Space Adventures from Roxy Reed Creations. It features a spaceship in the shape of a kitchen appliance with a penguin piloting the craft. The whole thing reminded me of Bob Burden’s Flaming Carrot. It also appears the mini-fridge of the title is larger on the inside. Hey, if it worked for a police call box, then why not? 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.
