expatNERD

Author: Franka

  • Ms. Tree

    Interestingly, I’ve been reading a lot of independent comics from the 80’s. I’m not sure why but I saw a few in a dollar bin and I had no idea what they were. It’s mainly stuff from Eclipse and one of the series that grabbed me was Ms. Tree, or rather Ms. Tree’s Thrilling Detective Adventures from Max Collins and Terry Beatty.

    Ms. Tree is beautiful comic book storytelling. The stories and art are not simple by any means although when you first look at it you might think that way. But then you get into it and you realize damn…this is why the comic book medium can be so powerful.

    Ms. Tree starts off with a bang and we join her after her husband was recently murdered. She’s a private eye and has to take up the effort and run the business while also figure out who was responsible for his murder. That is the basic premise and of course things become complicated and very shocking.

    I don’t want to say it’s a slow burn, because each issue does have a purpose and it helps move the overall story-arc along. What really makes the book stand out is not only Beatty’s beautiful artwork, but also Max Collins’ storytelling. Collins created some really interesting and intriguing supporting characters and the world feels real. What’s also great about this series is you can easily find them and they will not burn a hole in your wallet. Plus, right in the beginning the issues moved to a deluxe format and they preserved quite well.

    I do want to say Ms. Tree is probably one of my favorite characters. Not just because she is a strong female lead, navigating very much a man’s world in the 1980’s, but also because she is just so damn interesting and vulnerable. This forces you to be firmly on her side and you don’t want to see any harm done to her. So when it happens or is about to happen, you literally gasp.

    Here’s some Ms. Tree fan-art. I can’t help but wonder if she actually looks like me!

    Bis bald,

    -Franka

  • The Thrill-Cast

    The Thrill-Cast

    With all this Garth Ennis, Steve Dillon, and PJ Holden love, particularly with their 2000ad work, I couldn’t help but revisit all my acquired 2000ad collections, old progs, and hardbacks that I collected over the years. I love 2000ad and because it has been going on since the late 70’s, the body of work is staggering. And it has a lot of range.

    I was racking my brain on what I would recommend this week. I know we’ve talked about Rogue Trooper before and of course Judge Dredd gets mentioned quite a bit. I mean, with the amount of content out there, where do you start?

    Then the answer hit me like the fist of Dredd. Which also means this recommendation will be something different. It’s not a comic recommendation but actually a podcast recommendation.

    One of the scary things about 2000ad is where do you actually jump on and how can you get an understanding of its universe? That’s where the 2000ad Thrill-Cast comes in! It’s a podcast updated on a weekly basis that will also include deep dives into the characters within 2000ad as well as spotlights on the creators.

    The weekly Wednesday episode will generally focus on a topic and how 2000ad influenced or perhaps was influenced by that topic. It’s wonderfully hosted by Michael Molcher, the 2000AD Brand Manager and Chloe Maveal. The pair are really great together and the way they play off each other can be either comical or tragic. So there’s a lot of fun there.

    Molcher will then interview a creator, be it writer, artists, editor, etc and these are called the Creator Tapes. What I found interesting right from the start is that there is no issue referring or even discussing the creator’s work with other companies. Molcher has great knowledge of 2000ad, is a fan, and he has a nice interview style that obviously helps the creators feel at ease. He did a wonderful two-part interview with the legend Simon Bisley that is an incredible watch.

    Then Steve takes it over (or rather ST33-V) and will have a co-host, which seems to usually be an American, to discuss a character or some other aspect. It’s very informative.

    The point is, with these three concepts, you can quickly gain an understanding of this universe and with recommendations plugged throughout, you can figure out what may or may not appeal to you. And like I said, with the range of stories being so immense, chances are you will find something that is in your wheelhouse.

    Or you could simply start with Shako, a bear that ate some top secret CIA trash and ends up going on a rampage, killing everything in sight as the CIA try to retrieve his meal. Below I did a quick sketch of Shako about to eat Curt. I think that’s appropriate.

    That’s it for this week’s recommendation and hope someone learned something today. Because always remember…

    Man lernt nie aus!

    Bis bald,

    Franka