So, this Saturday, Mr. Prof. John Jennings and I are presenting at one of the Horror panels at the Mid-Atlantic Pop Culture Association annual conference. We’ll be talking about the horror genre as it relates to the commodification of race and gender, and then how all that relates to our upcoming graphic novel The Hole: Consumer Culture. (Due out from Front Forty Press Summer 2007.)

In preparation for this fine event, we’ve been studying horror and criticism and sociology and pretty much whatever we can jam into our brains in the time available. While sloshing through the stage blood and foam rubber gore, I came across a reprint of a 70’s era “Horror-Mood” comic, which originally ran in the short lived New York based Skywald published series Scream.

The book in question is The Complete Saga of the Victims. The Victims in question are two scantily clad women bounced around from one strange horror scenario to the next, tortured as much by the senselessness of their illogical adventures as they are by the mutant sea monsters, vampire robots, and killer pterodactyls that each take their turn. The Victims fight for their sanity as their groovy outfits become increasingly shredded and their swinging hairstyles remain surprisingly unmolested. This is goofy genre mash up anti-narrative, an interesting historical artifact with plenty of weird sociological subtext to unpack.

And maybe someday I’ll carve out some time to write a proper review of the book, but I don’t really have it right now. No, I pretty much just wanted to mention an introductory blurb from the inside front cover. In singing the praises of Victims artist Suso Rego, Bedlam and Usher editor John Gallagher says: “Suso’s immaculate artwork… stands in damning contrast to the work of some of the ‘hot’ comic strip artists praised today. Sorry guys, you are cartoonists, Suso is an illustrator, whole different league.”

Actually, I think Gallagher doesn’t give Suso enough credit. Certainly, the artist does some fine illustrative rendering, comparable to his 70s horror comics contemporaries, folks like John Bolton and Bernie Wrightson. And while Suso is not nearly as skilled a visual storyteller as either Bolton or Wrightson, I wouldn’t go so far as to say he’s not at all a cartoonist. While many of his panel and page compositions early in the series make for static and barely readable visual narrative, he seems to improve his cartooning abilities later on, finding ways to put together narratively powerful sequences of panels rather than illustrations that barely interact with each other on the page.

Basketball and baseball are whole different leagues. When he joined the White Sox, Michael Jordan didn’t make it out of the minors.

And now we humble cartoonists offer you our weekly sequential art output:

Keep an eye out:

***

Updated Monday, October 23

Ongoing:

Day 8:Part four
by Damian Duffy and John Jennings, based on the poem “No Ark” by Deborah D. Grison
Waiting on his roof to be rescued, his throat cracked and dried by dehydration, a Katrina survivor still manages to find a voice. But will anybody hear him?

Dullsville #22: “Girl Scouts”
by Ed Cho
L’il Johnny and Company are on the run from the law and go to Mr. Jenkins for help. No Girl Scouts were harmed during the production of this comic. However there is a little thing I like to call Post-production.

Updated Monday, October 16

Ongoing:

Day 8:Part three
by Damian Duffy and John Jennings, based on the poem “No Ark” by Deborah D. Grison
Mr. Jenkins escapes one trap only to be caught in another. Out of the flood and into the fire.

Updated Thursday, October 19

Offworlder: “The Annihilation Play”
by Damian Duffy and Dann Tincher
Ref Quivernee contemplates desperate measures and danger closes in on Offworlder. Will him of the Blusuit evade capture, or is he destined to be drafted into the dreaded Ten Year Sport of Skell?!!!

—

Our surprise guest this month is the fifth week of October, bringing with it our new playmates BNN: Bipolar News Network” and Mr. Bombhead. It will also feature the final installment of Day 8, where the fate of fictional Katrina survivor Mr. Jenkins will be revealed. Sadly, the fate of real life Katrina survivors is still up in the air, sitting inside “temporary” FEMA trailers.

Also we at Eye Trauma would like to wish a fond farewell to cartoonist Hilda Terry who passed away last week at the age of 92. A pioneer in comics and women’s rights, Terry was truly an artist in a whole other league, and we thank her for her contributions to the medium and culture we love so much.

E-mail me at duff (at) eyetrauma (dot) net.

Thank you for reading Comix in Sharp Focus!

–Damian