There was an old
fanzine in the eighties called Arkensword, and on a trip back to
Liverpool I entered a comic shop and picked up a copy. I was 15 and
it had an Alan Moore interview inside, as well as a Brian Bolland Judge Dredd on the
cover flanked by two ladies in suspenders. How could I resist? To be
fair it turned out to be the most significant purchase I have ever
made when it comes to comics. Not only did it have a very in depth
and fascinating interview with the aforementioned Mr. Moore, it also
had an interview with Howard Chaykin about something called American
Flagg, an article on V for Vendetta (which also started with a Joy
Division quote and thus sparked another passion) and interviews with
Phil Elliot and Glen Dakin, and some stuff about an associated artist
called Eddie Campbell. All of this served to open up the wide world
of comics beyond the traditional British kids' stuff and the American
super-hero stuff. After reading I later returned to that shop to grab
a copy of Swamp Thing (issue 50 – the penultimate American Gothic
story) and American Flagg. The Fast Fiction guys were nowhere to be
seen though. In fact it would be another seven years before I managed
to get hold of anything by them, when Dark Horse released their
collection of The Eyeball Kid, which is featured in this collection.
The Eyeball Kid!
This excited me, intrigued me and confused me. At once familiar in
its tropes but strangely different I didn't fully understand it, but
it was enough to make me fall want to seek out more. Coming back to
it now, in the context of the stories that came before and with a
greater appreciation of the comic tropes it parodies, it comes alive
as the gem of work it truly is. We'll come back to The Kid, but the
book this collection really pivots on, the point at which the artist
seems to take a leap forward, is Book 3, “Doing the Islands with
Bacchus”.
“Doing the Islands
with Bacchus” is Eddie Campbell presenting the Greek myths in a
modern vernacular, making the classics accessible to a more general
audience. The fact that he seems to get to the core of the myths and
communicate them so effectively is a testament to his understanding
of them. There's a passion behind Doing the Islands… that speaks to
the artist's enthusiasm for the subject, which if Alec is accurate he
read whilst employed as a sheet metal worker. It seems wonderfully
applicable that whilst smashing the stereotype of the typical manual
worker he is also smashing the stereotypes of how the Greek myths are
normally presented. As Bacchus says, “It makes me laugh the way
you people picture the god Hermes...racing across the sky on his
winged tippy-toes with a great poncey buncha flowers in his mitt.”
all the while in a pose that would make Morrissey green with envy.
Doing the Islands…
seems to be the point where this book really comes alive. Throughout
the volume Campbell's art is strong, but from hereon in, where it is
Eddie Campbell providing the art rather than Ed Hillyer (also good
but slightly different) it seems to take on a more confidence.
Layouts are clearer and the whole comic transforms into a superior
experience. Not that the first two books are poor. Far from it, both
Immortality Isn't Forever and The Gods of Business are better than
the normal comic books, but they do take a leap forward. In Eddie
Campbell though, we have an artist who clearly loves drawing, and not
just comic book drawing. I would call his drawing style robust and it
is that of somebody who loves art outside of the comic world. There
is no copying of the way Jack Kirby or Jon Buscema drew, and I can't
imagine he ever owned a copy of “How to Draw Comics the Marvel
Way”. Where the Kirby influence is used it's normally an obvious
parody, something to subvert the whole action comics form.
“I wanted to
mock the improbability of a big sprawling adventure while still
having one.” - Eddie Campbell
(introduction to Immortality Isn't Forever).
With
The Eyeball Kid we get back to the action comics parody. However this
time, as we are told in the introduction, Campbell allowed Ed Hillyer
to do his own layouts, and this freedom produces some magnificent
work. From the first splash page showing a close up of the Kid,
through Hermes spotting the Kid from the air (upside down in a pose
anybody who has read super-hero comics would recognise) and
Hermes Big Glove, it's a magnificent parody cum tribute. Of course a
huge factor in this, and one not to be understated, is the
contribution Woodrow Phoenix makes with his lettering. The letters
really captures the feel of those old super-hero comics, with enough
of a contemporary spin (witness the titles for “Seeing Straight”
and “High Noon”).
The
volume finishes with “Earth, Water, Air, Fire”
with Eddie Campbell back doing the art, and it's a fantastically
solid showing. The action comics storyline comes to its end with all
the lose ends wrapped up. There's the seamless mixture of
photographs and line art to enjoy, and a suitable Greek tragedy for
Joe Theseus. It provides a sense of closure to finish this first
volume.
All
in all, this is not a book you read quickly, waiting for the next
thrill. The best approach is to open a bottle of wine, pour yourself
a glass and completely immerse yourself in it over a period of time.
Maybe follow the suggested wine pairings for each book. It's a
wonderful world in which to journey for a while, and Mr. Campbell
(along with Messrs Hillyer and Phoenix) make it easy to escape to.
Hopefully the next collection will not be too far off.
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