Where was I?
Oh, yeah, Kitchen Sink...
Kings in Disguise is a work of art, pure and simple. It began life as a play, called On the Ropes, by James Vance, who had been involved in theater. The play featured young Freddie Bloch, who tours the country in a WPA (Works progress Administration) circus. The play was performed in various regional theaters. Vance conceived of a prequel, Kings in Disguise, which tells of Freddie's earlier life, amongst hobos, which was mostly set in a boxcar. Vance was encouraged to adapt it into a comic book script and Dan Burr (who did Alien Fire at KS, as well as illustrations for the children's magazine Odyssey) The series tells the story of Freddie, a young boy in the Great Depression, in California. Freddie and his friends enjoy going to Saturday matinees and watching the pictures. To do so, they have to scrounge up a dime. Freddie does so by selling empty bottles, at a penny per bottle. The bottles come from his alcoholic father. Freddie's older brother Al works as a fruit picker to support the family, as Fredie's father has been long out of work and out of hope. After a vicious fight, the father leaves the boys behind, to look for work. Freddie adores adventure stories; but, every day, he sees more of the harsh reality of life in 1932. Al's wages are cut by his employer, who is using migrant workers. Freddie starts noticing that Al is acting more like their father. Freddie finds Al buying liquor and then attempt to rob the bootlegger. The bootlegger gets the better of him and Freddy shouts for help, scaring off the bootlegger. Al tells Freddie to run and hide, as the police will take him off to an orphanage. Freddie runs off and ends up near a railroad track, where hobos have gathered. One of them, Joker, takes a liking to him and makes a deal, though when he hand is on Freddy's rear, we know what the price is. Joker has a woman, who also wants in on the deal. Another hobo intercedes and is attacked by Joker, who has a knife. The woman holds Freddie until he stomps her instep to get away. This startles Joker, allowing the other hobo to get away. They hop a passing freight, only to have Joker latch onto the hobo. Freddy kicks Joker in the face and he falls off the train. Freddie believes he has killed the man. The hobo thanks him and tells him he is King Sammy of Spain. Together they ride the rails, supposedly heading for Detroit, for Freddy to find his father, who has gone to see an uncle about work. Along the way, we see life in the Depression, from hobos to the hard luck. We see missions and soup kitchens, with towns telling travellers to move on. Sam has a bad cough, gained while working in a mine. He also ran out on someone and carries her picture in a locket. In Detroit, they find the uncle gone and people demonstrating outside the Ford plant for their jobs. The demonstration is broken up by police and Ford security. A manhunt goes on for "communists," including the organizers of the demonstration. Sammy and Freddie eventually come to a town where a group buys a farm at auction, after intimidating the rival bidder. The farm belonged to the winning bidder's grandfather and they are preventing the townspeople from exploiting it. The build a communal settlement, working together to build a new life. They are still at odds with the townspeople and violence occurs. Sammy and Freddie move on and Sam is reunited with the woman in his locket, while Freddy moves on to his own destiny.
The series is a look into one of the worst economic periods of the country, through the eyes of Freddie. It's a wonderful piece of historical fiction, as it centers everything around the reality of the Depression. These are the early days and people are splintering, shunning outsiders and those in need, for fear of their own needs. Through it all, Freddie sees predators, liars, corrupt police, union organizers, families in trouble, farmers without money for seed, and characters. More than any history book, Kings in Disguise makes the Depression personal, much as John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath. Like Steinbeck, Vance and Burr show that hope lay in pulling together, via communal effort. Steinbeck's book was banned in areas as being communist propaganda and it is popular belief that Henry Fonda did not win the Oscar for the movie due to the politics (conservative actor Jimmy Stewart won for The Philadelphia Story). Vance and Burr were working in a period with more vigorous protection of the First Amendment, though in a time of conservative government and growth of the Neo-Con movement and their historical revisionism. It is clear where Vance's sympathies lie, in the political ideology of the period. Regardless of politics, the work is an amazing piece of drama and it won the Harvey Award and two Eisner Awards. Its praises were sung in the fan press and by pros such as Alan Moore and Art Spiegelman.
Vance would come back to Freddie and adapt On the Ropes. Sadly, Vance pasted away last month. He had also been married to Kate Worley, of Omaha the Cat Dancer, until her death from cancer. He helped Reed Waller complete the series. Which segues into my next subject.
Omaha was conceived by Reed Waller, who put out a comic, called Vootie, with funny animal strips. When a discussion about the lack of sex in the genre started up, Waller got the idea for Omaha, also drawing inspiration from Robert Crumb's Fritz the Cat. Omaha debuted in Vootie, then Kitchen Sink's Bizarre Sex #9. A series followed, with Kate Worley joining Waller to help write the series. The series features aspiring model Susie Jensen, who comes to Mipple City, MN. She ends up working in a strip club, The Kitty cat Club. There, she meets Shelly Hine, another dancer, and Chuck Katt, an aspiring artist who falls in love with her. The club is closed down by newly invoked blue laws. Chuck is forced to go back to work for a media mogul and Susie, whose stage name is Omaha, ends up dancing in a secret underground club, which is raided. The couple end up on the run, headed for San Francisco.
The series was noted for its complex characters and the gentle art, as well as its integration of sex into the strip as a natural course of life, rather than for the sake of having sex in the book. Sexual experimentation does occur within, including a threesome, though it is never the central component. As such, Omaha was far more mature than most "adult" comics. There was less of the repressed shock value and more of the healthy adult sex life. That factor would lead to much trouble. In 1988, Friendly Frank's, a Chicago comic store was raided by police and charged with selling oscenity. One of the books seized was Omaha The Cat Dancer. Denis Kitchen helped organize fundraisers for the shop's legal costs and the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund was born. Omaha would run into further trouble when in 1990, new Zealand authorities seized issues (a tribunal ruled that it was not obscene) and Toronto police seized copies, claiming it depicted bestiality. Fears of the 50s witchhunts led to strong support for the CLDF and the ACLU also aided in these cases. Other publisher rights groups got involved, as several of these cases emerged in the 1990s, motivated by politically hungry prosecutors (predominantly conservative, in heavily conservative states).
Wallers sensitive art wonderfully illustrates the stories, which was another element that elevated it from other adult material.
He has a tremendous grasp of human body language and it accentuates the writing, something many comic artists fail to achieve. Kate Worley added a lot of depth to the characters, especially the women. When she was hit with cancer, a fundraising effort, Images of Omaha, was put together, field with work from across the comics industry. Her passing was greatly mourned by friends and fans alike.
Illegal Alien is an early work by James Robinson, with Phil Elliott on art. The story is set in England, during the Mod 60s. An alien crash lands on Earth and is taken in by the US Government. He escapes and ends up taking over the body of a mafia hitman, travelling to the UK. There, he gets involved in the London underworld, including the Kray Brothers. The story is filled with pop culture references to the era, with talk of the Beatles, the Krays and more. This was one of the works that helped get Robinson noted, ultimately leading to Starman. It's a terrific tale, though Elliott's art is a bit lightly sketched. There is plenty of detail and good storytelling. However, if you are thinking Tony Harris, you better think again. Elliott is less detailed on his figures, in more of the simplified European tradition. There are some interesting points of view throughout the story. It's not for everyone; but, if you'd like to see Robinson in his hungrier and fertile days, as well as enjoy more mature work and period detail, this is probably up your alley.
Kitchen Sink also began the publishing of Charles Burns' masterpiece Black Hole, about a sexually transmitted disease that turns people into grotesque monsters. There are shifting points of view and we see how the mutations turn the teenagers into outcasts. All kinds of metaphors have been ascribed to the series, from adolescent awakening to the AIDS epidemic. Burns won multiple Harvey Awards for the series and the Pantheon collected edition won as best reprint. Black Hole is one of the graphic novel works that was heavily marketed in bookstores, along with the likes of Chris Ware's Jimmy Corrigan, Art Spiegelman's Maus, Craig Thompson's Blankets, and Los Bros. Hernandez's Love & Rockets omnibus collections (Palomar and Locas).
Burns' work was also seen in RAW and his Dog Boy was adapted for MTV's Liquid Television animation showcase series, in the second season. Burns would later create El Borbah, Big Baby and Skin Deep. His work has a grotesque quality, not unlike Basil Wolverton, yet is filled with humor and terrific storytelling. Horror oftens filters through, while his characters are well rounded and complex. I'm not a huge Underground/alternative connoisseur; but, I have always enjoyed Burns' work.
Captain Sternn is Bernie Wrightson's delightfully amoral "hero," as seen in the pages of Heavy Metal (as well as prominently featured in the movie). Running Out of Time finds him (and Hannover Fist) dumped back in prehistoric times, as part of a grand scheme. It's all anarchic fun, with Wrightson employing a more cartoony style, compared to his horror work. Sternn is part Han Solo and part James Garner, which makes for a winning combination, while looking more than a little like Superman. Wrightson didn't do much Sternn material, which is a shame, because it is glorious. Definitely check this out.
Cherry Poptart is an adult comic from Larry Welz, which was originally published by Last Gasp, before coming to Kitchen Sink (who reprinted the Last Gasp material). Welz eventually published it on his own. At its hart, it's an Underground erotic parody of Archie, heavy on sex and T&A, though it is filled with real humor and political satire. The latter elements help it rise above mere porn, though not much in the eyes of people like Robert Crumb (who disparages it in a scene in Terry Zwiggof's Crumb documentary). There are far worse erotic books out there and many better; but, not many with as healthy a dose of humor.
Kitchen Sink also published the American edition of John Wagner and Arthur Ranson's The Button Man (Book I, The Killing Game), about a professional killer that is part of an underground game between wealthy individuals. The Button Men are paid to stalk one another for the amusement of their patrons, taking the first two joints of a finger as a trophy. Loss of three fingers is grounds for execution. Killing a target is acceptable but the sign of a lesser hunter. The hero is Harry Exton, an ex-soldier who misses the thrill of combat. He has grown tired of the game and hunts down his anonymous patron to be free of the game. The material was originally published in 2000 AD and was nominated for an Eagle Award. It was optioned for a film by DreamWorks, who have yet to produce a film.
The premise is an old one, going back to The Most Dangerous Game, as well as ancient gladiatorial combat, and films like The Tenth Victim and Hard Target. However, it throws in the element of the trauma of a soldier that has come home from war and can't integrate into society. Ranson's art is spectacular and Wagner's script is its usual quality work.
Lastly, we have Tim Eldred's Grease Monkey. Kirby, I love this comic! It features the tale of young space cadet mechanic Robin Plotnik, who is off to his first assignment, aboard the flagship
Fist of Earth There, he is assigned to work with 800 pound gorilla terror Mac Gimbensky, chief mechanic for Barbarian Squadron. Robin proves to be an able mechanic and earns Mac's respect, something he doesn't dole out lightly. Together, they form an entertaining friendship.
The Earth is at war with an alien species that decimated the planet and much of the human population. A galactic alliance comes to Earth to help it. To do so, they advance the evolution of intelligent species. The dolphins want nothing to do with war; but, the gorillas are up for the challenge and become key figures in the military. The ship is commanded by one such Gorilla, Admiral Stettler, who is the object of Mac's affection (and vice versa). The Barbarians are an all-female squadron of fighter pilots, whose ships are maintained by Robin and Mac. The war is just background detail, as what the book really is is an all-ages sci-fi adventure, in a military setting. It is really about the relationship between Robin and Mac, as well as their friends and loves. It is generally light-hearted and filled with wonderful character-driven comedy. The series started at Kitchen Sink, then was picked up by Image, thanks to Larry Marder and Jim Valentino's work to expand Image beyond the confines of the core group and their material. Alas, even a more high profile publisher didn't help. Eldred was eventually able to complete the work and publish it via Tor Books, as a graphic novel. It was also optioned for a film and/or animation, though the project was never finished.
This is a truly fun series that is suitable for everyone and there is something there for everyone, from romantic humor, to friendship, to lessons in ecology, to pranks and proving oneself at something you love. I loved showing this to customers, as a bookseller; and, unlike many modern comics, I could show it to parents without reservation. Many was the time I had to show parents what was inside the comics their kids asked for, after seeing the movie. Some were not a problem, others were major problems. It's hard to tell a parent that many modern comics were not written for younger children, despite featuring characters that were marketed to kids in other media. Grease Monkey is exactly what it appears: adventure, humor and friendship in a delightful story. If only more modern comics would learn that comics can have a happy middle ground between simplistic stories for the very young and violent tales for older adolescents and adults (or arrested adolescent adults, in some cases). They can be fun, poignant, complex, lively, and funny, all at the same time. They can be something you can share with the very young and the very old, male or female. That is a rare comic indeed and Eldred created one.
Next time, a look at Kitchen Sink's reprints of classic comic strips and adaptations of the songs of the Grateful Dead.