The Incendiary Adventures of the SuperFisters (Prologue)
It was a day like any other, we recall, when Isotope Comics suddenly fell into our lap -- and then, in a blur of capes and shotguns, we were off on the wildest adventure of our lives. Isotope's a swanky/friendly joint at 326 Fell (that's Hayes-Valley-ish), where comix from mainstream to obscure mingle amongst cozy chairs, original art framed by toilet seats, and strange creatures suspended in jars of fluid. It's the kind of place where you could get utterly lost in stories and never, ever be seen again. And now, thanks to the support of the Isotopians, SFist is pleased to inaugurate a brand new weekly feature, in which we'll be bringing you news of the novelly graphic in the bay area.
Blipping on our fist-dar this week are Hench, illustrated by local Manny Bello and written by LA-based Adam Breechan, as well as Smoke and Guns, written by local Kirsten Baldock, and illustrated by Brazillian-based Fabio Moon, who also did art for the anthology Gunned Down in which SFist_Jeremy's story "The New Freedom" appears.
After the jump: henchmen! Screaming brains! Death's kid! And, for traditionalists, the man in blue tights. And stay tuned for further installments of this brand new feature, as it moves to its regular timeslot on Fridays.
As a former cigarette girl herself, Kirsten Baldock had plenty of material to mine for Smoke and Guns, a Sin-Cityish shoot-em-up about warring gangs of sexy cigarette girls -- one of whom is seemingly invincible and may be called upon to lead her clan to victory. Quoth SFist_Jeremy: "The best thing about Smoke and Guns is it's just plain fun. A little silly, yeah -- but if you can suspend your disbelief and delve into a world where competing gangs of cigarette girls rule the streets, you'll have a really enjoyable read. The art is a little exaggerated and comical, which really lends itself to this aspect, yet still sets a sometimes-grim atmosphere--ideal for this sort of tale."
In Hench, an injured football player makes ends meet by taking on freelance work as a sidekick to long-suffering supervillains. It's a cute idea, tempered by Mike's somber, memoirish reflection on the inevitable triumphs of good over his employers -- defeats which keep him from being able to provide for his family. There's a lot of buzz over Hench these days, including some attention being payed by big-time Hollywood-types. (We can only hope that Jimmy Fallon, fresh off the success of his recent fat-suit comedy smash hit Just Friends, will be involved.)
We're also electrified by The Man With the Screaming Brain, a comicalization of the film by Bruce Campbell, which we reviewed a few weeks ago when it played at Yet Another Hole in the Head. It's the completely ludicrous story of a man with two competing brains, each intending to employ very different tactics to find a woman who killed their original bodies. Mr. Campbell is purported to prefer the comic over the movie, as the studio didn't give him as much creative control as he'd have liked. Just like Orson Welles! Artists/co-authors Rick Remender and Hilary Bartha are both San Franciscans.
Also exciting: Local, by Brain Wood (who used to live in SF) and Ryan Kelly (who did not), a road-trip with reluctant superpowers. Malsaine, a British tale about a reluctant kid and his jazzy new friend who seems poised on the brink of danger; Death Jr, in which Death's son must take over the family business; Josh Howard's long-awaited Black Harvest, a dark mystery that's only released its first issue, but is already burning with so much energy it's like when Scooby and Shaggy are just preparing to speed off and they're floating in the air with their legs spinning wildly. The popular heros are up to good stuff too, with a new Fantastic Four by indie-styled Seth Fisher, and a Superman by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely, about which one Isotope patron commented, "I haven't bought a Superman in years ... but I just bought this."