I made my yearly pilgrimage to San Diego Comicon this past weekend and followed my usual strategy of dodging the mind-numbingly, magnetic pull of the PR machine.  I avoided lines to see movie trailers that I could download online from a more resourceful blogger, lines to snag branded tchotchkes handcrafted in a factory in China, and more lines to see celebrities ala Gerard Way in his Clockwork Orange by way of Hot Topic glory, shine their light on rabid fans.  Instead, I wandered off the beaten path to seek some kind of expression that didn’t involved spandex, tights, martial arts, or a mash-up of movie genres in hopes of a big Hollywood sale.  Thanks to a healthy niche of small print and independent publishers who continue to pursue comics with a curator’s taste and passion, there were some gems to be found.  My top two favorites of the ‘Con are, STOP MAKING CRAP: THERE’S ENOUGH IN THE WORLD ALREADY by Hafjak Diviz and ASTERIOS POLYP by David Mazzucchelli.  

STOP MAKING CRAP is a collection of black and white comic strips that portray the tension between optimism and pessimism in the form of a delusional goose striving to birth his artistic masterpiece and his battles with a nihilistic dwarf who insists he “stop making crap”.  Created by Hafjak Diviz – pseudonym for Ken Hayashi, the book is cynical, funny, and aesthetically beautiful (imagine German expressionist woodblock prints but with a testy dwarf getting the high art treatment).  A good gift for the bitter, blocked artist in your life.  

ASTERIOS POLYP is the latest book by David Mazzucchelli.  As an illustrator and artist, he has straddled between mainstream comics with his work at DC and Marvel (eg: Frank Miller’s BATMAN: YEAR ONE), and literary material with his graphic novelization of Paul Auster’s CITY OF GLASS.  ASTERIOS POLYP was introduced to me by my friend Charlie Chu – well-connected problem solver and sommelier of comics.  He hyped it alright – hot NYT book review this past week, nearly sold out copies at Comicon, a masterpiece, best thing since the soup dumplings at the Taiwan branch of Din Tai Fung…well, perhaps not the soup dumplings, but I digress.  It’s about a “paper architect” – famous for his designs which have never manifested into buildings.  And the fun part is that he’s having a mid-life crisis.  Mazzucchelli doesn’t need my help to hype ASTERIOS POLYP- the raves are catching on like fire.  As for me, I have forced myself to not consume it whole in one sitting.  From the first few pages, this book has grabbed me and is worth savoring.

Where to buy: 

STOP MAKING CRAP http://www.ganerda.com/store.html

ASTERIOS POLYP http://www.amazon.com/Asterios-Polyp-David-Mazzucchelli/dp/0307377326