Yeah Dude Comics 2014 Subscription #5: Box Brown's New Physics

Masterpiece

After reading the previous Yeah Dude Comics (Future Masterpiece) left a bitter taste, I decided to wait a few days before cautiously diving into Box Brown's New Physics. I haven't read Brown's Andre the Giant yet, but I found his newest output from Retrofit Comics (the inprint he runs) to be quite phenomenal. I've thoroughly enjoyed Number 1 and Number 2. I wasn't expecting this pink mini comic to pack such a punch, let alone be one of my favourite comics of the year. Brown shows off his mastery of design, colour and storytelling and manages to create a poignant commentary on social media and it's ultimate consequence in this comics.

New Physics tells the story of Vern, a "desperate hedonist" who turned her life around through social media. She became a sort of social media guru and used it to create "New Physics", a sort of religious cult. Her following grows steadily until a fateful incident that ends the book on a surprisingly grim note. Do not be fooled by the lavish pink colour, this story is dark and disturbing. 

Social media consumption through inhalation

The story is a very interesting commentary on the modern use of social media. Brown imagines a futuristic world where everyone is connected through these see-through helmets that allows them to remain online at all times. Not only do the people of this world use social media constantly, they live and literally breathe it in. Their helmet emits these gases that allows them to be fully immersed in the connection. Imagine a food blog where you can not only see the food, but also inhale it's aromas.

The future setting and the rise of Vern also allows us to wonder if this is the logical end of Twitter and Facebook connections. If we are all connected and are all followers of Person X, reblogging, reposting, discussing Person X's opinions and thoughts, are we not preaching Person X's gospel? Is it that strange a concept to believe that we may see the rise of an organized religion purely through social media? In a striking moment, Vern addresses one of her "High priests" by telling him that he "is truly one of New Physics' Top 10 commenters". A modern religion for a modern age. 

Brown even manages to criticize the mindless consumption of false remedies and promises of salvation promoted by cult-like religions. The idea that, by spending,a bit more money, you'll somehow be more in tune with God is ludicrous. Vern capitalizes on this hawkish behaviour. As a follower, you can even spread the gospel yourself. BUY IT NOW: New Physics™ Apparel, New Physics™ Rebalancer. Buy the Concentration Tools of the Godhead. Find redemption through consumption of the New Physics branded products. What would a Torso Reimaginer do anyway?

Colour & Depth

Brown manages to make very efficient use of a very limited palette by using only black, grey, white and pink. The bright pink is used to create depth for the building or numerous vistas we see whether they be exterior or interior. It is also the colour of texts in social media (as in the previous image). It's also used as a stylistic element in clothing and on the New Physics™ Torso Remimaginer. It is a truly brilliant use of colour.

New Physics managed to become one of my favourite comics of 2014. I'll gladly read it over and spread the New Physics light to all. I'm a New Physics convert.

For further discussion, I've placed some articles on Social Media and Religion below should you wish to delve deeper into the very real possibility of the emergence of a web-based religion.

What are the Effects of Social Media

How Strongly Can Social Media Influence and Control People's Life

Practicing Religion in the Age of the Media

Yeah Dude Comics 2014 Subscription #4 Josh Burggraf & Victor Kerlow's Future Masterpiece: Wasted Potential

Wasted opportunities

The worst I can say about the Yeah Dude Comics 2014 Subscription is that it's inconsistent. Some titles were fantastic (Find Me, Look for Me, New Physics), some were not so fantastic (Stoner Alien) and some were starting to show greatness (Iron Skull). This new release is unfortunately in the bottom tier. It's a real shame that it coincides with the release of Box Brown's New Physics (the 5th Yeah Dude Comics this year). New Physics is so vastly superior, it doesn't even seem to play in the same league. Let's take a look at Josh Burggraf & Victor Kerlow's Future Masterpiece. 

Where do I even begin with the story? The 15 year-old girl from The Jetsons is dating Bullwinkle. She is pregnant and they have a baby together. It turns out that the baby is none other than Stoner Alien and this is supposed to act as an origin story of sorts. He basically comes out of the womb and starts smoking cosmic pot. Oh, and a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle shows up to say `Cowabunga`. That's pretty much it. 

I guess it is the second part of a Stoner Alien Saga. It unfortunately exploits the same joke as the previous installment with diminishing returns. Using the joke "Wait...what?" to represent the alien's marijuana-filled baby`s brain unable to comprehend what is happening was fun when used in the previous issue, but here it is used so clumsily, it is embarrassing. I wonder what the goal of this exercise was. It feels like a lot of effort for what seems like a joke a couple of drunken (or stoned) guys made one night. 

The art is raw, even rough in places. The artists are trying to emulate the classic Hanna-Barbera style (flat characters, thick outlines). They are unfortunately having a really hard time maintaining consistency. Mainly, the horns of Bullwinkle and how they are connected to his head changes in almost every panel. 

As I said when I talked about Stoner Alien, maybe the Stoner Alien concept has a deeper meaning for those involved, but as a reader, I felt excluded from the jokes. The story is too thin, it feels like a writer's ego trip and the only jokes are references (and they only reference themselves). Better luck next time.

Yeah Dude Comics 2014 Subscription #3 Laura Knetzger's Find Me, Look For Me: Deep Psychological Troubles Camouflaged as Cute Aliens

Cutesy Melancholy

The third issue of the 2014 Yeah Dude Comics is absolutely stunning. A phenomenal foray into depression and despair camouflaged as an adorable alien story.

Laura Knetzger's Find me, Look for me, is the story of a young woman who finds a strange little alien in her backyard after a meteorite crashes nearby. She doesn't know where he comes from, but he looks pretty cute and defenseless. He looks a bit troubled and in need of support. She decides to adopt him and nurture him. She feeds him, teaches him and cares for him like you would a child or a pet. Although she sometimes wishes to leave everything behind and go away, she likes having this little alien around and will care for him for as long as it takes. This is the clear and obvious story, but there is also a terrible sub-text of loss, loneliness and quiet desperation. 

Distracted from her loneliness and desperation by the appearance of an adorable alien

The main character lives alone in the mountains. She has lost her brother at some point in the past and is now not only lonely, but deeply troubled. This loss has made life unbearable. She also doesn't feel the house is hers anymore, yet she can't bring herself to leave. Adopting the alien and caring for him fills a void and brings her some sort of redemption. We never know what happened to her brother, nor is it necessary to understand the trauma she has experienced. What we see is the agony and sorrow of this woman. Depression and sadness run deep underneath the cloak of cutesy alien.

The use of colour also emphasizes this dual notion of despair and adorableness. Grey and Blue are the only colours used in the book. The protagonists has "the blues". Blue signifies depression, tranquility, peace, calm and ice. She is frozen in those feelings, unable to escape them and come to accept those feelings as her existence. 

This book is short, but is dense and deep. At first glance, one could quickly dismiss it, but it would be a grave mistake. Laura Knetzger created an insightful voyage into depression within a really short page count. It is a creative look at sadness and despair. A brilliant short story that haunts this reader, in particular. 

Yeah Dude Comics 2014 Subscription #2: Skuds McKinley's Iron Skull: Effort Matters

Attempting Style

Here is the second review of the Yeah Dude Comics 2014 Subscription. This time, we have Iron Skull by Skuds McKinley.

Over 5 miniature pages, Skuds McKinley tries to emulate the feeling of a Paul Pope book. The book itself is quite short and I didn't find it very interesting. His futuristic style didn't really do anything for me. I found the most interesting part of the book was the short descriptive essay on the process he used for the final pages. It proved key to understanding both his style and approach to his art. He mentions "I've been doing comics for four years now, and the hardest thing I've had to battle is Paul Pope". Skuds seems to channel all of his efforts at recreating Pope's aesthetic rather than developing his own style. However, one can see in his brush strokes the quiet emergence of his own style. There isn't much to go on, but you can see it start to develop slowly. The way he draws movement in the punk rocker character and in the way he draws buildings. You can see an artist emerging into his own.

Unfortunately, there is too much emphasis on the style of the book. Translucent paper may be interesting, but it is not used in a clever way apart from being there. Empty pages are also scattered throughout to little effect. In spite of those issues, what shows clearly throughout is his skill as a storyteller. The story of the punk rocker is phenomenal; he remembers the album that changed his life and channels this energy into his own music. It is only one page and yet it is engaging and entirely too short. I didn't find it to be very interesting or meaningful, but I can recognize the talent of this artist. You can also see an artist coming to terms with his own limitations and trying to move past them. Skuds seems interested in developing his skills at improv comics and seems to be looking to define his own style, through a process of absorbing his icons`styles and throwing them back on the page with a touch of personal flair. It is very interesting to see. His efforts are earnest and I look forward to his other books.

Yeah Dude Comics 2014 Subscription: #1, Pat Aulisio's Stoner Alein: One-note, One-joke

It is what it is

A few months ago, I helped to kickstart Pat Aulisio's project on Kickstarter to fund the 2014 project for his "Yeah Dude Comics(YDC)" anthology. I took a six issue subscription and I intend to review the books as they come in until the end of the subscription. Each book is created by a different artist. I have also received 3 other comics from them that are not part of the subscription, but from previous YDC efforts that I will also review once I have some time on my hands. Let's take a look at the first issue by Pat Aulisio.

Aulisio's Stoner Alien is as blunt as its title suggests. It's about an alien (the little green men kind) and his buddy, a teenage mutant ninja turtle. They basically just hang out together smoking and getting stoned. They both have a mundane existence working in a grocery store. The story here is irrelevant; it is coherent in the sense that we see one day in the life of those `dudes`, but it isn`t the point of the issue. It is a cipher for a comedy and a way to make stoner jokes. One of the jokes happens to strike a cord, but the other just fall flat. I guess comedy is subjective and a matter of opinion in the end... Maybe some of you will find it hilarious, though I doubt it. The book itself is short and spends 4 of it's 16 pages on the actual consumption of drugs and not exploring the more comedic aspects of it, as one would expect.

I did some research and discovered that this happened to be an old internet meme that you can find on tumblr. Poorly drawn and coloured, its filled with jokes; some great, some not so much. The big punchline being mostly"Wait...What?", representing a marijuana-filled brain unable to comprehend complex events. I think it's a bit lacklustre in effort and just doesn't translate well here. I don't know, maybe the concept had some kind of deeper meaning for Pat Aulisio. He certainly seems to excel in stoner comedy. His entire concept behind Bowman and it's sequels (Bowman 2016 and Bowman Earthbound) are stoner comedies. Bowman, however, is excellent. Aulisio channels Stanley Kubrick by way of Jack Kirby and throws in a smattering of Cheech and Chong. There are clever page designs, introspection and character development. It's amazing. In comparison, Stoner Alien has one joke about gravity being light. This series is nowhere near as interesting as Aulisio`s other comics and it's a damn shame. 

The Hijman body? Wait...What?

I'll also nitpick on this one panel where no one bothered to correct the lettering. It just seems unfinished. A work in progress. I expected more from Pat Aulisio. Meant to whet my appetite for more, this first glimpse of YDC just leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. I am still looking forward to the other books of the subscription. In the meantime, I'll go read Xeno Kaiju and remenisce on how good Bowman was.