Comics Fondle

Having never read THB, I don’t know how appropriate an introduction this issue is for it. But it’s a wonderful book, where Pope shows off his artistic skills, as well as his storytelling abilities–but also his philosophic read on the comic book medium. It shows just how much time he’s been wasting at DC.

The first story is the recap (I assume) of the old THB set-up. It’s the history of Mars, the colonization, and of the human race in general. It’s got some beautiful panels and Pope’s summarizing of human history–with an emphasis on technological advancement–is well done. There’s the utterly fantastic aside of a bug gumming up a computer. But the best part is Pope’s more downright comedic battle between Earth and the Moon and Mars. Pope gives the planets angry faces.

The second story is commentary on “grim and gritty,” but instead of using comic books, Pope applies the logic to Goofy. The story’s visually great, where Pope does lots with differing sizes and perspective, and it’s amazing he can turn such a simple story (with such a clear message) into an involving read. Less in the art department than the third story, but more in the plotting, it really reminds me of early Love and Rockets.

The third story, the straight one of the bunch, is, again, anything but. Apparently, it’s a semi-sequel to Tom Sawyer (not really, but sort of), where Pope has two girls sit and wait for a good milkshake. It showcases Pope’s skill of making the ordinary extraordinary not just through his art, but through his carefully chosen offbeat details, but also the attention to character. The best thing in the story isn’t even the great ending, it’s when the two girls (on Mars) take the time to wonder about a couple guys they see.

Comics From Mars is a great taste, though I don’t imagine it’ll bring Pope those illusive mainstream readers. Though… didn’t one of the Hernandez Brothers once write Birds of Prey? I guess anything’s possible….

A