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Friday, September 3, 2010
Proof of Concept
Review by Tim Murr
Written by Larry Young
Illustrated by Damian Couceiro, Steven Sanders, Paul Tucker, Jeff Johns, John Flynn, John Heebink, Kieron Dwyer
Published by AIT/PlanetLar
$12.95
Larry Young is a freakin' genius. And I'm not just kissing his ass because my cruel and terrible masters at Comic World News gave him a column. I carry a copy of his book True Facts in my bag at all times. I'm not kidding. I'd pull it out on the subway, when I lived in Boston. I'd read it in my office, when I moved down here to Chapel Hill. It's sitting on my desk right now. I'll probably thumb through it before I go to bed. I've read this damn thing so many times. It keeps me enthusiastic about making comics. Oh, yea, and he's got some series of graphic novels about Astronauts and they're in some kind of Trouble… He's a wonderful writer with impeccable taste as a publisher. So of course when a comp copy of Proof of Concept came available I fired off an email to my stern editor, Michael May, saying "GIMME GIMME GIMME!!!" And he was like "Jeez, don't have a heart attack, I'm sending it. You freak. And by the way you've missed like five deadlines." Ok, so trying to catch up with five missed deadlines, here's a review of Proof of Concept! Your dear friends at Comic World News gave your Wild Uncle Lar a column, in which he placed five twelve-page scripts, not exactly short stories, but possible graphic novels. He asked for artists to illustrate these pages. He picked his faves and had Kieron Dwyer illustrate framing sequences to connect the stories. The book opens with Larry in his office talking to his agent about some possible properties to move and then proceeds to work through his pitches with the glee of a child with a dirty joke to tell. First Pitch!… a freaking vampire story. There's nothing I hate more than vampires. (And don't listen to my wife, I hate Angel too! Really.) But there is no denying Damian Couceiro draws a mean vampire. And Lar doesn't disappoint with another boring retread of these most lame of monsters. The last vampire versus two crusty old vampire hunters who've been itching for one last dance? Huh? Huh? Not bad. Next up… "Zombie Dinosaur!" ‘Tha fuck…? Well, alright. It's a story about soldiers fighting a zombie dinosaur. ‘Nuff said. Then there's "The Camera," which I just don't get. Don't like it. Have no idea what's going on. The much more enjoyable (and my vote for a full-on graphic novel) is "For the Time Being." The crew of the timeship H.G. Wells hits a little snag, itself actually, and loses it's Captain somewhere in time. He returns, god-like and pissed off at his old crew. Can they stop him from wrecking the universe? "Emancipating Lincoln." A world of Lincoln clones. One of them finds a five dollar bill. (that's the one with Lincoln on the front.) He brings it to a private investigator to find out what it all means. Put that one in the maybe pile. In "The Bod," a beautiful young lady goes to Hollywood to become a star, which she does after a freak accident makes her invisible. Then we watch her rise and fall, along the way appearing on Judge Judy and Jerry Springer, before heading home. My assessment, some pitches are better than others, but in this context all are cool. I love the book as a whole. It's a really fun read and Lar's enthusiasm drips off every page. I can't think of anyone else in comics who've stuck their necks out and did something fun like this. But what else would you expect from Mr. Young? Proof of Concept is available to purchase online at www.amazon.com.
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April 22, 2008:
February 4, 2008:
November 20, 2006:
A Comic-Con without the Captain
