Awakening Comics #1

From the Random Stack of Unread Comics.

Title: Awakening Comics
Issue: 1
Date: Summer, 1997
Publisher: Awakening Comics
Writer: Steve Peters
Artist: Steve Peters, Doug Sheaff, Dave Sim, Paul Pope, Mark Oakley, Matt Feazell, Scott Roberts, Steve Remen, Greg Hyland, Joe Chiappetta, Rick Veitch, James Kochalka, Sam Henderson, Oscar Stern, Rob Walton, Jimmy Gownley, David Nowell

This is an anthology comic that is mostly Steve Peters' solo work, but also includes a jam scection featuring a big cast of guest artists.

The stories cover a range of mystical and surreal topics, including a dreamer visiting an island and joining a battle against invading lobsters, a Hindu afterlife tale that takes a turn in the Norse direction, and a discussion of a long-abandoned roleplaying game campaign.

There is also an alternate dimension of super-powered kids, and a man trapped in a Circus of Heaven.

These were all prtetty interesting, and I especially enjoyed the discussion of what happens to the gaming worlds we invent after we stop playing.

The jam segment in Circus of Heaven was a bit choppy, but that is the nature of jams, and it featured a pretty stellar list of contributors.

Rating: 8.5/10

Amelia Rules #1

From the random stack of unread comics. I've been a fan of this title for a while, but I've read the trade paperbacks more than the individual issues. Not sure where I picked this up, but it's nice to have it in my collection.

Title: Amelia Rules!
Issue: 1
Publisher: Renaissance Press
Date: 2001
Writer: Jimmy Gownley
Artist: Jimmy Gownley
Editor: Michael Cohen

This is the first issue of the story of Amelia, a young girl whose parents recently divorced. She and her mom have moved to a new town to live with her mom's sister.

Amelia quickly acquires a band of misfit friends (and sometimes enemies), and the proceed to have adventures involving freeze-tag, superheroics, neighborhood bullies, sneeze-barfs, and Saturday morning TV shows.

This stayed mostly in silly territory before getting more serious in the last segment with Amelia's aunt comforting Amelia while Amelia's parents argue on the phone.

The humorous portions were fast-paced and fun. Writer/artist Jimmy Gownley employs excellent comedic timing, and gets in plenty of laughs in each segment. The superhero jokes play nicely to the geeky audience.

The serious moments are tender and feel genuine.

Rating: 8/10

Amelia Rules: When The Past Is A Present

Title: Amelia Rules! When The Past Is A Present
Date: 2010
Publisher: Atheneum
Writer: Jimmy Gownley
Art: Jimmy Gownley
Cover Design: Sonia Chaghatzbanian

This volume collects issues #16-20 (plus a preview from the next collection) of Jimmy Gownley's Amelia Rules comic book.

Amelia McBride is a 5th-grader from New York City who is living in a small town with her mom following her parents' divorce. Her mother's musician sister lives in the same town and Amelia has become friends with a band of nerds, superheroes, ninjas, and misfits. That's the basic scenario. It's handled beautifully, with witty geeky dialogue, fast-paced jokes, and a kind of tenderness that is rare in comics. The opening story "Funny Story" has Amelia's mom going on a date, much to the horror of Amelia, who had plans to watch The Princess Bride with her mom. It doesn't help that the only babysitter available on short notice is, well, delusional. The resulting mayhem is clever and hilarious, and it gives a good taste of what Gownley can accomplish with his cast of characters.

Gownley's work is even stronger on "The Things I Cannot Change", the third chapter in this volume, which tells the story of one of Amelia's friends coping with her father's impending deployment overseas with the Army. "The Things I Cannot Change" is one of the best stories about war that I've ever read in comics, and it's written without a single battle scene.

Amelia Rules has some of the best storytelling in comics these days.

Rating: 9.5/10

I picked this up today at Ocean State Job Lot for $3. Best comic bargain I've gotten in quite a while. I know the purpose of this project is to read the comics I have, not to buy more, but this was too good to pass up!