CC - Suspended Animation

HOME

The most-circulated and longest-running comics review column in America
perhaps the World!

Since 1989, noted Sci-Fi and horror author, Michael Vance has been producing a weekly comics review known as Suspended Animation. Centrally Collected have proudly joined with Michael, along with Mark Allen, to present this review to you here on his own page at CC.

Headstatic.

    Headstatic/256 pages & $12 from Fool's Child Comix/sold at comics shops & www.foolschildcomix.com.

    Headstatic is an art gallery of wildly diverse style and subject heavily influenced by 'fine' art. Comic books and strips, popular culture, and advertising.

    No presentation on these paper walls is less than one or greater than twenty pages in length. Many of these vignettes were probably assignments in college meant to force students to try new styles. Jay A. Hacker III must have embraced each assignment (if, indeed, there were any) with enthusiasm and an inherent and impressive talent.

    This guy is good. Jay A. Hacker III is also a courageous artist. He is so because his 'fine' art pals will likely ignore this collection because of its comics influences, and his comic book buddies will turn up their spandex-clad noses because it is tainted by 'fine' art.

    [Careful readers will notice that the uses of single quotation marks around the word fine indicate the philosophy of this column: there is no fine art; all art is of equal value] Among the cartoonish exploits of "X-Wina" and the realistic anatomy studies of girls that Hacker probably dated or wanted to date, you'll also discover genre flashes of horror and science fiction and adventure.

    What you won't find are well fleshed out characters or plots. There simply isn't room for either in these brief paper dramas. You won't find enough dialog to guess whether Hacker is a master of that technical point in the fine, oops, art of creating comic books and strips either.

    Nor will you care. Why?

    This guy is good. This Hacker guy is really good. The only real criticism is that he needs to lose the III hung on the end of his name. It dredges up visions of Thurston Howell the III and the good ship Minnow.

    Gilligan is bad. But Hacker is goooooooood.

    There is some non-carnal nudity. Nonetheless, Headstatic is recommended.

Review by Michael Vance.

For information, contact us at: [email protected]

Hosted by www.Geocities.ws