THE BRADLEYS

Written and drawn by Peter Bagge. Published by Fantagraphics.

One of comics' truly love-to-hate (pardon the soon to be evident pun) characters, Buddy Bradley has fascinated, infuriated and surprised fans from his creation in 1980 up until his last appearance in 2011. 

Most of his life was chronicled in the comic book series Hate, but he was truly introduces to the masses Peter Bagge's Neat Stuff magazine. In Meet the Bradleys, we are introduced to Buddy's dysfunctional family: Pops, Mom, Babs and Butch Bradley. This book collects all of Bagge's early Buddy tales from Neat Stuff. In it we witness him spending time with his friends Tom and Kevin, driving around, stoned, interacting with the rest of his family but the truly priceless moments are Buddy's constant fights with his sister.  There's a rawness to the early work that is extremely appealing for its immediacy.

Peter Bagge was a singular cartoonist voice in the 1980s, able to express the frustration and rage of a generation stuck in an modern society full of ennuis. His output has lessened over the years but each time a new work of his emerges, it is worthy of note

THE RED SNAKE

THE RED SNAKE

Written and drawn by Hideshi Hino

"For as long as I can remember I've always wanted to get away from this house"

A house so big that nobody knows its real dimensions, nor even visited all of its parts, a dilapidated maze encircled by an impenetrable forest: such is the oppressive stage of The Red Snake. The last born of an obviously disturbed family, no doubt from many generations of inbreeding, and obviously the most balanced inhabitants of the manor, this young boy penetrates in the heart of the residence, releasing by accident the demons which lives in it. The tone of the story is announced in its very first page as the boy stares into the immensity of the house. His grandfather has a large growth hanging from his jaw, his grandmother believes she is a chicken and lives in a nest, his father, who raises chickens with sadistic affection, aids her dementia by giving her baskets of eggs that he claims she laid herself, his mother tends to grandfather's boil with far too much tender loving care, and his sister fondles insects with erotic glee. As if the poor kid doesn't have enough to worry about, his grandfather tells him that the large mirror in their house is, in reality, a barrier that blocks the gates to Hell. 

Cartoonist Hideshi Hino presents a gallery of baroque characters all of them disturbing, touched by degradation (physical or mental). Among this ensemble, the principal character feels insulated, a prisoner of the house. The young narrator will soon become witness to the events which he started, and that he is unable to stop. The Red Snake can be seen as an allegory of a person retreating in oneself against an unbearable reality. An illusory refuge, leading quickly to psychosis, finishing in an inextricable loop in time that finds the central character in a mental prison quite as effective as the physical prison that was the house. 

In Hino's world, death is not an escape. Relying heavily on symbolism, The Red Snake is difficult to understand at times, the reader is confronted with the madness of the narrator and wonders where reality really is . Phantasm? Deformed actuality? One closes the book in a state of confusion. One thing is certain, The book is not read, it is experienced. It leaves the reader in shock, appalled at the horror, the strangely erotic danse macabre that the characters play with each other. Hideshi Hino is a terribly effective horror writer & artist. The works is both repugnant and attractive. The faintness which one feels while reading The Red Snake is the best proof of an immense storyteller.

The book is no longer in print but can be found second hand on Amazon or EBay.

BONE

BONE

Written and drawn by Jeff Smith. Published by Cartoon Books.

After being run out of Boneville, the three Bone cousins, are separated and lost in a vast uncharted desert. One by one they find their way into a deep forested valley filled with wonderful, terrifying creatures and people who'll change theirs lives forever.

One of the biggest fantasy sagas ever created in comic book form. 12 years in the making, 55 individual comic book issues. The series rounds out at more than 1300 pages, entirely produced by cartoonist Jeff Smith. 

The great quality of this saga was the consistency that the author demonstrated throughout the project. Of course, like any story, Bone has strong times and more introspective ones. But even in the quiet moments, everything works thanks to its sometime subtle, sometimes grotesque and sometimes delirious humor. The characters, from Fone Bone, The prototype of the nice hero: shy but with a heart of gold. Phoney Bone,  Smith's thinly veiled homage to Carl Bark's Uncle  Scrooge. Grandma Ben and her peculiar sport of racing cows. Each one of the characters is a successful mixture between caricature and realism. Even Smiley Bone, the seemingly simple minded cousin, who just seems to be coasting through life with delirious abandon, is often the one which utters the most judicious words at the right time. 

The art from Smith adapts remarkably well to the various tones and situations of the story. He is able to handle the ridiculous concept of a cow race or portray a battle worthy of The Lord of the rings. One of the most gifted cartoonist the American comics scene has seen in the last 25 years, Jeff Smith's output has been small since the conclusion of Bone, and while some of those other works have been enjoyable, this saga remains his crowning achievement.

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THE HUNTING PARTY

THE HUNTING PARTY 

Writer Pierre Christin and artist Enki Bilal's classic tale of the last days of Soviet Russia is a quiet, subdued masterpiece.

The Hunting party is a graphic novel which attacks the taboos of communist crimes. Christin and Bilal take the subject head on: The purging, the systematic elimination of the opponents to communism, the hunting for the Trotskystes, the Kominform, the Spring of Prague crushed under Russian tanks, the massacre of the peasants' resistance to collectivization... Christin's slow but hypnotic plot is carried over the story's 82 pages by the powerful dialogues. It is with abandon that the author plunge us by flashbacks, in a maze of past repressions, crimes and terror. 

Enki Billal's art is atmospheric. His quiet drawings conveyed the desperateness of the last days of Soviet Russia. It's a style full of decrepitude and it goes well with this nauseating political history. With Bilal, no wall is without cracks, not a street without holes, nor is a face spared the ravages of time and bad decisions. Even the trees seem exhausted. His use of visual metaphor's and allegories to display the emotionally charged scenes, bring resonance to this story of power and control.  Bilal does not use colors to embellish, but to generate emotions. One can only describe The hunting party's visual atmosphere as, unhealthy. 

Reading this graphic novel does require some minimal knowledge of contemporary history, but the true Russian aficionado will be able to seize all the subtleties of the graphic novel, in particular the contents of the propaganda posters. 

The hunting party is not only one of the best political graphic novels in the history of the Ninth Art, but also reveals itself to be a work of conscience and recollections.  Even more, it was a formidable prediction of the explosion of the Eastern bloc.

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THE COWBOY WALLY SHOW

THE COWBOY WALLY SHOW

Cartoonist Kyle baker's first graphic novel, first published in 1988, is a comics masterpiece of satire and social commentary.

Forget Jean Autry and Roy Rogers those Cowboys of your childhood, paragons of virtue and moral fiber, Cowboy Wally took their place today: fat, a cheater, weak, vicious, rough, profit minded and completely stripped of scruples. With such "qualities", one would not be astonished that he made his career in movies and television. The book, cut out in chapters, presented in non-chronological order, resembles a success story in reverse. Wally the cowboy tries it all, cinema, theme parks,TV shows, toys... and fails at it all with equal mediocrity.

This story of a D list TV movie/actor who just lucks into monetary success is a testament to the entertainment industries' valueless regime and the public's lowest values and tastes. Interestingly enough, one gets the sense that Wally knows his shortcomings but also realizes the chance he's been presented to give himself a good life and he exploits that to the last drop. Wally is the every day man, the slob who just has an incredible run of luck.

A sharp script and brilliant comedic timing make this book one of the best modern satires in comics. Kyle Baker's art is clear, sparse but full of expressive bravado. His graphics are classic and modern at the same time, combining clear storytelling and attractive imagery. 

The Cowboy Wally Show is a must in any serious fan of the medium's library. get it here: