Best Comics of 2011 no. 4: Kevin Keller/ The Simpsons

Intending to quickly finish these, since circumstances have made me postpone them for more than two weeks.
Next up is a doubleheader.
First, an Archie treat: Veronica Presents Kevin Keller.

I've been doing a lot of research and academic writing on Archie Comics lately. Coupled with current events in the company, this has renewed my interest in the formerly tame comics.
What current events?
There's been a fair amount of talk about Archie comics of late, largely due to the dueling lawsuits of the company and its former CEO, Nancy Seiberkleit.
Whether any of these suits have merit or not, it does need to be said that within the rather rigid confines of the Archie brand, Nancy took some big chances that paid off very well. The stories got more interesting, despite the lack of tension required in the plucky Horation Alger meets Henry Aldrich world of Riverdale.
To that end, we had the two Archie Marries storylines, the Day in the Comics Shop mini that paid homage to the company's history in a rather fun way, and the current Archie Meets KISS mini.
Oh, and Kevin Keller.
As gay characters go, Kevin is rather innocuous, but makes up for it in two ways.

First, he's supposedly named after a gay porn star, according to a friend who is, ahem, an occasional consumer of same.
Second, he's got guts.

And style.

 The storylines have addressed significant issues, including politics and marriage, in a slightly watered down Archie fashion. And I find it both laudable and amusing that there's a gay character getting his own book from Archie Comics, the company that championed the Comics Code Authority to the end.
Dovetailing on this is The Simpsons No. 183.

This is a swipe at numerous Archie conventions accumulated over seven decades of stories, beginning with Archie no. 1.

This fun Simpsons issue includes swipes at The Archies, Sabrina, Captain Pureheart, and so many more staples from Archie's history. While Simpsons parodies sometimes feel forced, this one works. Random pages on point posted below.

While Archie is usually rather mundane, the line has evolved a substantial history and has taken a lot of chances (relative to their wholesome mission statement) in recent years. These issues are worth your time.
Next: Best of 2011 No. 3, a blessing and a curse from Allah

Best comics of 2010: No. 1( tie) : Comic Book Guy, the Comic Book

Best. Miniseries. Ever.
This isn't just another Simpsons comic. Those can be fun, even if there's a sameness to them after a while and the art sometimes drifts off-model a bit (I should talk, right?), especially in some of the otherwise delightful Treehouse of Horror annuals. This Jamie Hernandez page is a case in point.

Comic Book Guy, the Comic Book is a miniseries that reflects the love of comics and comic geekdom shown in other Bongo titles, including Simpsons Superhero Spectacular and the brilliant Radioactive Man series. I wish there were a proper affordable TPB of the RM books- it would be a perfect comics history text!
But comic book guy is us. Everyone who's been to more than three comic book stores has met someone, usually a store owner, who shares traits with Comic Book Guy (proper name: Jeffrey "Jeff" Albertson, Master's Degree in Comparative Mythology).

This mini touches all the right buttons. It's like listening to PDQ Bach- it's fun enough in its own right, but the more you know about music, the funnier it is.


So it is with this mini and comic fans.Beginning with Issue one's four alternate covers, all presented on the same issue (thank you! No need to buy multiple copies!), there are in-jokes aplenty.
The covers for issue 1 parody, in order:

Fantastic Four No. 1

Death of Superman (Superman No. 75)

Avengers No. 56

Crisis on Infinite Earths No. 7
Three of the four are death covers, and the Crisis is a Pieta cover. More on Pieta covers another day.
This silly story integrates elements of fandom geekery with self-parody. We laugh at Comic Book Guy's overblown language and his fanatic love of mass market adventure because we see it in ourselves.
And there's a comfort in that.  It's not simply all right that we revere these things, but as The Android's Dungeon decays into shallow, simpering cuteness under Marge's post-mortem management, it becomes clear that the passion for solid story and adventure is what sustains the store, and by extension, the stories and their readers.
While Comic Book Guy is a joke, he's our joke.
It's like Robert McKee explained in his book STORY.
A sympathetic character = likeable.
An empathetic character = like me.
We resonate better with empathetic characters.
There are so many other aspects to this. Subtle and not so subtle jabs at industry trends and societal mores.
When Comic Book Guy passed on, all sarcasm vanished from the Internet, TV and daily conversation. This resulted in the Internet becoming a haven for the free exchange of ideas, causing in turn the government shutdown of the Internet.
A bit of a reach in the real world, but hey, we don't have bright yellow skin, round eyeballs and four fingers either.
The point is that this delightful story reminds us of who we are, and who we can be. Behind all his cynicism, posturing and self-pity, there's something noble about Comic Book Guy- excuse me, Jeff Albertson, M.A.
Fan on, Comic Book Guy!

Tomorrow, we return to Original Art Sundays, after a (embarrassed glance down) three week hiatus!