Review: In approaching a comic that admits to offering a reflection on the events of September 11, 2001, a reader could be excused for groaning audibly. There is an endless supply of preaching one may offer to the choir, consisting of the same conspiracy theories, political rhetoric, and issues regarding American foreign policy. I’m pleased to report that Spy Guy: Minis very gracefully avoids this trap. While much of the information that was being released as this comic was created is (as of 2008) quite vintage, there is almost an element of nostalgia. I was reminded of the naivete displayed on both ends of the political spectrum, the conclusions we all managed to reach which later seemed so far-fetched, and the slight chill the odd news update would induce.

For all of that, this comic manages to capture that atmosphere without becoming OF it. The characters alone do an excellent job of encompassing elements of stereotypical reactions of the time without coming across as heavy-handed or overwrought. They manage to walk that tight-rope between fluff and harsh without falling into either extreme. The thoughts are voiced without judgment or editorializing - they are simply stated. Like a good Eddie Izzard piece, you are simply presented with the idea in context and left to draw your own conclusion.

While there are likely to be those who would question the worth of a comic dealing with events nearly a decade old (frighteningly enough), it is refreshing to see something that can approach the time immediately post-9/11 and add both character humor and a bit of wit and grace to an incredibly scary and trying time. Well done.

Overall: 5 stars.

Alex Haas

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My review of Alex’s review: I’ve gotta admit, after reading the first sentence, I was bracing myself (despite having seen the 5 star rating). But by the third sentence, there was an overwhelming “phew” relief as the tone shifted from ominous sense of foreboding negativity to an upbeat swing of praise. It’s interesting to hear, because those things you mentioned were exactly what I was going for, and that was exactly what I was concerned wouldn’t work: The intent with SPY GUY has always been about offering commentary on what is happening in the NOW. Many artists will shy away from this approach, thinking that their work will become dated, however by taking the time capsule approach, there IS a very real sense of nostalgia in reading an old comic. It’s that same excitement as seeing Star Wars and Sea monkey adverts in comics from the late 70’s. You can’t beat it.

As for the second paragraph: This is what I was referring to on the inside cover editorial with the quote by Chuck Palahniuk. I had no idea how far was too far. It really felt like walking a tight-rope while making these comics. In the end it became a leap of faith, where my actions were guided by the thoughts “don’t get too preachy” and “just be honest”. So far that strategy seems to have worked. I had to use Google video to get the “Eddie Izzard” reference (his comedy is hilarious, and his wardrobe is terrible - but that’s another review).

In the end, I’m just glad you liked this comic.

It was interesting to check out your other reviews on ICR, and seeing so many of the books I was able to trade with other artists at the 2007 SPX. Talk about nostalgia! Good times.

I’ll have to get you an issue of SPY GUY #1 once I finally get around to finishing it.

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While there have been quite a few good comics done over the past few months, none have excited me as much as these ones.

Thieves & Kings: Apprentices part one, by Mark Oakley.  After years of hiatus, we finally get the follow up to issue 48 of the old comic series, and it hasn’t lost any of it’s magic.  Thieves & Kings has consistently been among the most captivating and well written comic books out there.  Available for $15.00 from I Box Publishing.

Lethargic Lad 2007, by Greg Hyland.  This is the book I’ve been waiting for since Lethargic Lad went online back in (what was it?) 1999.  Nice big reprints in FULL COLOUR!  By my reckoning, now we need to see the remaining 8 years published as well.  The best laughs and best parodies in comics today!  Check it out for $20 from Lethargic Comics International.

Kiskaloo, by Chris Sanders.  From the man who brought you Lilo & Stitch comes an all new comic strip series staring Ogo and Sesi.  Reminds me of Calvin & Hobbes, only it’s slightly less whimsical, and the imaginary sequences are real.  Published by Sanders, you can get this one for $20 from Bud Plant.

Interesting to note that none of these are traditional saddle stitched comics, all of them are repackaged collections, and all of them are self-published.

Hopefully these will give you something enjoyable to read while you wait for the imminent release of SPY GUY #1.
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“Stop trying to hit me, and hit me!” *

Read as:

“Stop trying to make a comic, and make a comic!”

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Last Sunday was the annual Word On The Street festival in Toronto, and despite calls for rain, the day ended up being warm and sunny. Once again Ultraist Studios was in attendance with Possum Press, and this year we debuted the SPY GUY and The POSSUM Superhero Movie cut-out stand-ups for the first time ever, which got a lot of attention (and photos).

An interesting side note:  I noticed all day that I was drawing a disproportionately large number of sketches with children robbing banks.  Must be a sign of our times.

Click to enlarge.

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Hey, this is neat: G. Edward Griffin gave SPUD & HARRY a plug in this weeks edition of Unfiltered News!

To anyone from Freedom Force International that has clicked on over, I’d like to take this moment to say “hi”.

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SPY GUY: Minis showed up in Geeking Out Comic Peek O’ The Week 9/12/07
I just found out now. Click here for the full video.

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The next time life gives you a beat down, repeat the above as a mantra. See if it puts your mind in a better place to deal with things. It worked for me.

FanExpo ‘08 Report

Blair tells me that the FanExpo this year was another success! Even with only one man holding the booth, he managed to sell enough comics to cover all expenses, which is always the goal with these things. He even reported that there were some SPY GUY fans that came looking to complete their collections! Which is exactly the sort of thing any comic creator likes to hear. It somehow makes it all worth while.

Con Sketch by Blair Kitchen

Favicon

Hey, I finally figured out how to get a transparency channel in the Ultraist Studios favicon.ico by using this plug-in for photoshop. Neat! Been wanting to do that for ages.

Art vs. Politics

In other web browsing, I saw this variant cover over at Newsarama. Click on over and check out the comments below the main article. They’re interesting, and reveal a lot about the general populace opinion on art vs. politics. Especially interesting as comics originated primarily as political satire. Personally? I think all art should be used as a means of expression. As a matter of fact, it was the Savage Dragon vs. George W. Bush that got me reading The Savage Dragon again. So if The Savage Dragon endorses Obama for President, then all the power to Erik Larsen for putting that on the cover. As you can see below, SPY GUY does NOT.

We at Ultraist Studios do not fall for the false left-right paradigm.

Mark Oakley explained it well over at I Box Publishing.

Letter from M’Oak

Speaking of Mark Oakley, he wrote me this a few weeks back:

“Hey, Mike!

I can’t remember if I thanked you or not for those great comics you sent last year. Just in case I didn’t, Thank-You! They got handed around a fair bit amongst my comics-savvy friends. Your work totally rocks!”

Which is about the nicest thing one artist could say to another. I was going to save this for a future letters column, but since SPY GUY #1 isn’t going to have one… well… there you go. And who knows, maybe I’ll still find a place for it in SPY GUY #2.

The Esoteric Agenda

Mark also posted a link to Zeitgeist The Movie; the same film that Matt Campbell recommended I watch a few months back. Thought the film was well done enough to purchase a copy from the film maker, however I just finished watching The Esoteric Agenda, and I think this film tops it. It’s a great 101 crash course in all the things I’ve been studying over the past few years, and even includes some new thinking I haven’t even encountered before in the final segment. Well worth a watch.

Spy Guy

Was hoping to get more pencils done on page 14 of Spy Guy #1. That didn’t happen. However I did manage to pencil some thumbnails for page 9 of Spy Guy #3. Man, I am just bursting at the seams with anticipation to get this next comic done. Hopefully life will start to calm down enough soon to give me some room to ink.

This Blog Journal entry was brought to you today by the Ultraist Studios Portable Workstation and GO Transit.

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ULTRAIST STUDIOS will be unavailable to attend this event.
However you can still find POSSUM PRESS at booth A39.
Drop by and say “hi”.

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“The reason you’re not very good at drawing… is that they say the brain will pick up from where you last left it in terms of that skill, so if you haven’t really drawn, tried to teach yourself drawing since you were in the fifth grade, it doesn’t matter that you are now 35 years old, your brain has only got caught up to a grade 5 level, and it never got any better than that. So you miraculously don’t go ‘oh you know what, I’ll stop now that I’m 10, I’ll not do this thing called art for 25 years, and now I can paint like Michelangelo’… it doesn’t work that way. It will then say; what was the last thing you remember, it goes backwards in time and it says; oh okay now, you have to then start applying yourself to catch up to basically your age at this point.” *

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