New Beginnings - Letter 44 #1

If you became the President of the United States, what would you seek to change over the four years of your elected term? This was the position that Stephen Blades, President-Elect, was put into after winning the election. How can he live up to his campaign pledges? How can he make the country a better place? All these thoughts racing in his head were dramatically derailed by a single scrappy letter left the Presidential desk. The tradition of the outgoing Commander-In-Chief leaving a message for the incumbent. Simply labelled 44, it will fundamentally change Blades' perception of his predecessor, his own job and the universe as a whole.

Letter 44, written by Charles Soule, is set in an analogous modern day America. Much like our current situation, seemingly ill-conceived war and economic instability have taken their toll on the country - and the choices of the departing President have been heavily frowned upon. The people have chosen a change of direction and control of the White House has shifted across the aisle. In his departing missive, Francis T Carroll reveals that years ago a mining construct was detected in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter and it was clearly of extra terrestrial construction. Whatever it was, he was determined the USA would be prepared, and so his unpopular actions were to ensure his country would be ready for whoever  or whatever would doubtless come. 

Sun Tsu is famously known for saying one should know their enemy, and so the second prong of Carroll’s plan was to send a nine man scientific and military team to find out what was out there. At the point of his inauguration, Blades is hearing of this mission for the first time and learning that they are almost there. It’s only when the crew draw back the metaphorical curtain that Blades sees that things could not be much worse than initially thought. The construction is apparently complete and functional... and does not look at all friendly.

On the surface of it Soule’s story is one of impending doom with an unknown alien adversary but looking beneath this there are a multitude of facets to also take into account. On one level you have the dilemma of whether humanity is better off for not knowing? Should they simply continue in ignorance of the secret team of men and women who have learnt the frightening truth? And if not how do you disseminate that sort of information? Or on the other hand, as President, do you continue the somewhat shady work of your predecessor now you know the truth? Regardless of your choice you still have to consider what to do about the potential threat to your life.

On top of this you have to consider the fate of the unknown crew whose social relationships have evolved during their mission. Lines of etiquette and fraternisation have been crossed and there is a baby on the way...

So do you still want to be President?

Alberto Jimenez Alburquerque has put pencil to paper for this issue and this is the first I’ve seen of his work. I wouldn’t say it is bad or wrong, but for me the incredibly angular noses on all of the characters sticks out a lot which makes it a slightly odd comic to read. That said the final image of the alien craft looked great; a fantastic contradiction to the small, almost insignificant ship that the Earth has made.

All in all I found this an interesting comic as it has a fun if not sinister element to it, whilst also coupled with a large intellectual element. This is a great introduction to Oni Press for new readers if they’ve not knowingly come across them before, and the solicitations for this ongoing title are also promising too.

Matt Puddy thinks Virgin Galactic may be in for a rude awakening...

Five By Five - Comics, week 4: Local

So the boy, in his infinite wisdom, has recently decided that we need to be more organised. For him, our current filing system of sticking paperwork down the side of the computer is lacking a certain level of razor sharp practicality, despite the hours of fun and hilarity when we need to find an important document quickly. And apparently, my adherence to the ‘mental’ shopping list school of thought is not enough to convince him of the inferiority of the paper and pen version.

I’ve been going along with his efficiency drive with a certain degree of reluctance to be honest, being at least a theoretical fan of creative mess, but he knows me well. And he’s found just the tool to drag me over to the administrative dark side.

The hardback graphic novel is a beautiful artefact and a welcome addition to any collection! 

Imagine if you will, a gleaming expanse of white, glistening in the September sunshine like a fresh fall of snow. Affixed to the wall like a window through which you might see pretty much anything, is our brand new whiteboard, complete with pens heady with the tang of planning and schedules and industrial strength solvents.

The thing is, it’s almost impossible to resist the allure of a clean slate. The chance to do things right this time around, mistakes rubbed out, virgin territory to shape after our own perfect visions.

It’s a desire that I can’t help but think Megan McKeenan, anti-heroine of graphic novel Local, might be rather familiar with. The story follows her through twelve years of fresh starts as she flits from city to city trying on identities for herself as often as Kate Moss changes her outfit.

Meet Megan, the perpetual runaway...

Megan is a perpetual runaway. And when the mistakes she makes tangle her current situation too much, she simply bails, ready to start again with a different picture. Each part of her twelve piece story stands in glorious isolation, yet the thread of her own true self ties it all together and anchors the narrative for us. In some pieces, she takes centre stage. In others she is little more than a bit part, peripheral to her own life.

But is it any good?

Well, yes actually.

Megan is an anti-heroine because of her quite startling capacity to fuck things up. She gropes blindly for human connection, sulking like a spurned child in a school playground when her erstwhile room-mate seemingly rejects her overtures of friendship, yet she also goes out of her way to sabotage the relationships that do come her way. Megan lies, bitches and self-obsesses her way through each frame. Yet, and you’re going to have to trust me on this one, she is still somehow likeable.

Trust me, she is still somehow likeable!

Maybe it’s because her mistakes are our mistakes, albeit in microsm. If you’ve ever been uncertain about what you want, treated a lover badly, or let your own problems blind you to other people’s then it’s pretty hard to judge Megan too harshly because she recognizes her shortcomings and keeps trying regardless. One of the most powerful vignettes of the book comes as Megan’s intermittent postcards to her young cousin float voice-over style as we witness his adolescent self-destruction. Her well intentioned advice is rendered meaningless in the face of the harsh realities of life; an uncompromising reminder than you can’t simply phone in love and support.

And as Megan keeps running, she slowly comes to realise that it isn’t just the weather that you take with you everywhere you go. Her problems pursue her, and so ultimately do the people she tries and fails to connect with. Things climax when all of the ghosts from her past catch up with her at once as she finally picks a place in which to stand, fight or fall.

In some pieces, she takes centre stage. In others she is little more than a bit part, peripheral to her own life.

On some levels, Local is a straightforward story about a young woman’s attempts to find her place in the world, but if you like a little more symbolism in your comics you won’t be disappointed. Keys feature heavily; in particular the key that Megan carries around her neck as a reminder of the first home she ever flees and the mother whose dreams she comes to embody. Similarly photographs and other objects of sentimental value occur and recur, the outward detritus of human emotion. In a disturbing segue, Megan strikes up a relationship of sorts with a boy who steals her keys to leave pictures of himself in her apartment, quite literally physically asserting himself within her life.

Visually, Local is stark; gritty even. People matter, with faces in particular vividly drawn though rarely romanticised. The look of it somehow serves to reinforce the feelings of isolation and yearning that Megan experiences. It’s also something that is not quite a love letter to the USA itself… there’s a wary affection for the cities that feature but it’s worth noting that it’s only in rural America that Megan finally finds any kind of peace with herself.

Note the key around her neck, Local is full of symbolism relating to keys...

Ultimately, we all want what Megan wants. To be sure that we are living the life we are supposed to, rather than allowing our mistakes to divert us into boxes that don’t fit. Her wanderings are a metaphorical echo of our own false starts and reinventions. But she has the key to her true home all along. We should all be so lucky.

This week, Kate Townshend is guzzling Pimms while there is still time!