Mice Will Be Mice(Captain Bijli; 2012)

Mice Will Be Mice is a self-published/creator owned one shot comic created by Shoei Emura(cool name #1) & Vidyun Sabhaney(cool name #2). I picked it up at the Blaft stall at the recently held Bangalore edition of Comic Con India. There was something about the cover and the hint of sarcasm that appealed to me.

I was pleasantly surprised by the art and the energy of the comic, there is some great thoughts at work here, a literal lab-rat undergoes a monstrous transformation and wreaks havoc on the unsuspecting city only to meet a hilarious climax. I remembered Rat Bastard but our lab-rat had other fate awaiting him. The book is pleasantly giant-sized(monster reference #3) which makes it scream "pick me up"!

I liked the perspective/zoom-in shots on the first page. There is some cool satire going on on the cruelties of human race leading to its own demise. 

I would to see a longer version for this but this is quite a little visual beast. I should be getting to more of the creators'works in Blaft's Obliterary Journal and The Pao Collective's Anthology Part I(Chilka).
More power to indie comics!

Dr Ajax Army of Bees: An Indian Detective with Nano Force

One of the many takeaways from Bangalore Comic Con was discovering cool new Indian comics and a whole new group of independent comic book artists and writers that deserve a wider audience. Dr Ajax is a series by Pipedream Labs, written by Anniswans, and illustrated by a group of artists like Devaki Neogi Kiran. There are 4 books out now. which are all standalone one shots in themselves. The genre is detective thrillers peppered with slight doses of science trivia and humor.



Now to talk about the first book I read, Army of Bees. The title has a nice rhythm to it, and some great cover art pulled me in right away. The book opens to a no-nonsense good old bank robbery, only involving animals instead of your standard edition Reservoir Dogs. The panels are neat and maintain the tension through the action sequences. There is a nice transition to the humorous 'team' elements where one meets the companions of Dr Ajax - Simantini(aide and sometimes adversary in his schemes and countless theories and hypotheses) and Mark & Monica(the miniature/nano results of a personality modifier experiment gone wrong). There is a fine balance between the dialog and art as we move through this particular mystery. Dr Ajax and Simantini are engaging in their petty arguments and remind one of the deductive banter between Holmes and Dr Watson.

The book goes further into some cool science lessons where you explore the central theme of how an attack can be planned using sound frequencies as a force and humans/bees/animals as the medium. There is good arc to how Dr Ajax applies his suspicions to the case which I can't give away for sake of surprise to reach a conclusion and this unlikely team combines concepts of human sciences, physics and nano force and unravel the mystery behind the Army of Bees.

Engaging,original and laudable outing for a comic book set in a neutral universe. I am excited to catch up on the next editions in the adventures of Dr Ajax and his mad team. 

Comic Con Express Bangalore 2012

Time to rejoice! The geeks have won. Very happy to see a comic con in my backyard. I thoroughly enjoyed the frenzy, the cosplays, meeting up with few Indian artists(that I shall be writing about soon), sampling pop culture in India(a rare occurrence), and generally colliding with Green Lanterns, Jokers a plenty and some work-in-progress superheroes. Way to go!

happythankyoumoreplease.

Comic Book Men: Kevin Smith Strikes Again

Kevin Smith inspires extreme reactions to whatever he does. The same goes for this new whatchamakallit part-fabricated-part-reality show on AMC. A bunch of ‘dudes’ go ‘watch their lives pass by’,(in the words of a store un-clerk Bryan), in the comic store and the show switches between their inconsequential musings and a collective elaborate musing session(more like a collective reassurance that this may actually be far from the worst job in the world) back in the apparent radio station where the gang discusses everything they do on the job. Once you get over the obvious distractions (why the fuck are they smiling so much, what’s with all the slo-mo’s and soft-porn nods, what do they know that I don’t, why is Smith the center of this limited universe etc.) you sub-consciously take in the trivia thrown at you and take this gang as another bunch of self-obsessed dudes you have seen hanging around in a neighborhood café and wouldn’t actually care much about them lest they should pick on your indifferent ass.




It’s interesting how Smith underplays some of his more recently exhibited outrageous behavior mostly media paranoia, and brings out miles of trivia in a little less pretentious manner to this bunch. However, you do realize he can’t stay sober for long, sadly and eventually. For a ex-character called Silent Bob he surely goes too far! Walt Flanagan is quite a reveal. I like it that he plays his businessman handle well above his comic book artist one and comfortably leads this pack of losers, if you will. Bryan offers some great dramatic moments, his wit borders on a Ricky Gervais-type sarcasm, deriving fun from other people’s misery. Schadenfraude, it’s called I believe. And he doesn’t let you go until you acknowledge you have been victimized. Nice and edgy angle to this mutual admiration sausage fest I would say.
Having seen 4 episodes, I have reached a certain comfort level with the cast. The show fills the spot of a nerdier, more approachable Big Bang Theory. The bargains may be doctored, but the stuff they haggle on is real. Same goes for the racism and offensive humor. It’s really in good taste, if good taste for you means unjustified oppression and uncontrolled gasps of paranoid behavior, may be a couple peculiar cases of repetitive narcissistic acts too. I kinda like the show.