2dcloud is an indie publisher located not too far from me--they're in Chicago. They specialize in comics, graphic novels, interesting artistic projects with a comic bent, and so forth. I had some familiarity with their works having read other reviews of projects they released or checking some titles out in the past at comic shops that had a good indie section. Therefore, I leaped at the chance when they reached out and offered me a list of titles I could select to review if I were interested. Three specific comics that were all quite different caught my eye and I am now pleased to offer my thoughts on all of them in this publisher spotlight on 2dcloud and their great output.
"Nuie," by nuie
This comic is the smallest and shortest of the three. A wordless piece it is an incredibly minimalist and impressionistic work. "Nuie," features a male and female in a boxing match. The paintwork is gorgeous and at times you can tell what is happening to a pretty good degree and other times there is a lot of abstraction--leaving much of the book open to interpretation.
There is a lush beauty to, "Nuie," that I adored. As someone stares at the pages one's mind can begin to fill in the blank spaces, with nuie's work encouraging a reader's imagination to run wild with the careful brushstrokes, blending what is actually there with what we readers feel is there. It's a superb work and I eagerly rate, "Nuie," 5 out of 5 stars.
"East District," by Ash H.G.
This graphic novel is beautiful but the story's intentionally disjointed and at times confusing narrative had me struggling to keep up at times. We witness little vignettes in a World that seems a bit irregular. A weirdly detached reality that is a bit postapocalyptic but yet with a sense of off-kilter normalcy. Something bad happened at some point. There are people who have something quite wrong with them and they need to be fought off or killed (not zombies though, that would be a bit cliche). Otherwise life just kind of goes on as regularly as it can even though everyone feels a "Wrongness," of sorts with the World.
Ash H.G. provides some spectacular and moody artwork. Even when I was finding myself a bit confused or disoriented by the plot (or purposeful lack thereof), I continued to have a fantastic time looking at, "East District," and its masterful use of black-and-white to create an intriguing mix of bright and ominous dark throughout the pages. Even if the storytelling is intentionally obtuse (and I struggled with that at times) I was able to make enough sense of the plotting to understand I liked what I was reading and--as mentioned--the illustrations set the tone perfectly--and looked great. I'd give, "East District," a rating of 4.5 out of 5 Stars.
"EGIRL Magazine," by Katherine Dee (with various illustrators)
This isn't exactly a comic so much as an artistic zine in the tradition of that long-lived and beloved format. Katherine Dee starts with a timeline set decades in the past and then we move further along towards the present, highlighting interesting moments in the development of the internet and social media that led to the creation of the EGIRL/E-Girl. An E-Girl is basically any woman online, as a woman online is bound to be treated to a certain degree as a sexualized object. Whether such an idea is leaned into or fought against depends on the woman herself and how she responds to our culture at large.
Illustrations of various notable internet celebrities accompany the text along with more interpretive art pieces by talents such as Kristina Tzekova, Blaise Larmee, Bubbles, and Raighne. We all have noticed how something made to link us together (the internet) has resulted in even more division and the mix of love or hatred for the E-girl is heavily interrogated. Do we lust for the lady online who makes silly faces and flashes her body upon command (with a healthy monetary tip thrown in) or do we scorn the, "Fake gamer girl," we angrily call a slut for refusing to accept our digital advances? If you've been on the internet you know the answer is, "Basically, both," and this comic-magazine does a stellar job delving into it. This is envisioned as the first entry in a series about internet culture and I would eagerly read any future issues. I'd give, "EGIRL Magazine," 5 out of 5 stars.
No comments:
Post a Comment