Nice overview! You're absolutely right on the Pulp Fiction influences, I took a lot of that away from the first handful of issues. The subsequent sequel series, like Killers and Sunshine and Roses, were okay. But to me Lapham hit his prime with these early issues; he was just breaking free out of Shooter's guidance through Valiant and Defiant and struck out on his own while retaining some of Shooter's strong storytelling techniques and really ramping up his creative ideas that he must have kept tucked away as evidenced by his work through the Valiant years when compared to the other artists. You're not going to find these wonderful compositions he created on the first issue of Stray Bullets on Harbinger or Warriors of Plasm. Although, I think he did great work on Harbinger writing and penciling (Mayo's early inks really changed his pencils), he definitely outdid himself with this series.
It's funny, there are some things that are just very clearly 1995- Pulp Fiction, Alanis Morisette, Usual Suspects, Age of Apocalypse, Gangsta’s Paradise & Stray Bullets. Has its own feel. I know I had no idea Lapham had this in him when he started it, I’m sure I wasn’t the only one who felt that way; to me he was the guy who was the most solidest of the Valiant crew, who already were, at best, “the guys who were solid”. To just manifest Mazzuchelli like that with no prior hint is very impressive. I did take a look at some of his later stuff, where he eases up considerably on the rendering and has a cartoonier line- I gotta say that’s not where I would have hoped he would go, but I still would like to check out those later issues some day.
I remember when I first got it it was interesting, but I had no idea where ot was going. And waiting a month between installments, still not seeing the purpose, eventually got to me. Might have been better off revisiting it as a collected volume. Gorgeous looking stuff, though.
Yes, please. I'm pretty much interested in getting reviews of more issues. You know whst else I'm interested in? Knowing what the heck did David Lapham do at the age of 11 to manage to get his mugshot taken.
Great vid! I was a bit worried when I saw the thumbnail, but this comic looks very nice on the interiors. If I can handle multiple issues of Cerebus, I can handle more of this, haha.
Oh shit, that reminds me! We haven't done Cerebus in a while! Thanks for the reminder, bud, we mighta gone another month before I remembered to make the next installment.
Nice overview! You're absolutely right on the Pulp Fiction influences, I took a lot of that away from the first handful of issues. The subsequent sequel series, like Killers and Sunshine and Roses, were okay. But to me Lapham hit his prime with these early issues; he was just breaking free out of Shooter's guidance through Valiant and Defiant and struck out on his own while retaining some of Shooter's strong storytelling techniques and really ramping up his creative ideas that he must have kept tucked away as evidenced by his work through the Valiant years when compared to the other artists. You're not going to find these wonderful compositions he created on the first issue of Stray Bullets on Harbinger or Warriors of Plasm. Although, I think he did great work on Harbinger writing and penciling (Mayo's early inks really changed his pencils), he definitely outdid himself with this series.
It's funny, there are some things that are just very clearly 1995- Pulp Fiction, Alanis Morisette, Usual Suspects, Age of Apocalypse, Gangsta’s Paradise & Stray Bullets. Has its own feel. I know I had no idea Lapham had this in him when he started it, I’m sure I wasn’t the only one who felt that way; to me he was the guy who was the most solidest of the Valiant crew, who already were, at best, “the guys who were solid”. To just manifest Mazzuchelli like that with no prior hint is very impressive. I did take a look at some of his later stuff, where he eases up considerably on the rendering and has a cartoonier line- I gotta say that’s not where I would have hoped he would go, but I still would like to check out those later issues some day.
This series is in my top 5. I have the giant volume collecting the first 40 issues, couldn't put it down my first read through.
I remember when I first got it it was interesting, but I had no idea where ot was going. And waiting a month between installments, still not seeing the purpose, eventually got to me. Might have been better off revisiting it as a collected volume. Gorgeous looking stuff, though.
Yes, please. I'm pretty much interested in getting reviews of more issues. You know whst else I'm interested in? Knowing what the heck did David Lapham do at the age of 11 to manage to get his mugshot taken.
It'd be good if he let us know what that was about in the final issue, y'know? Like it'd be anticlimactic probably... probably.
Great vid! I was a bit worried when I saw the thumbnail, but this comic looks very nice on the interiors. If I can handle multiple issues of Cerebus, I can handle more of this, haha.
Oh shit, that reminds me! We haven't done Cerebus in a while! Thanks for the reminder, bud, we mighta gone another month before I remembered to make the next installment.
Better hurry, I might loose interest, haha