The Real Thing – ft. Gur Benshemesh (Part 1)

Gur Benshemesh, a native Londoner who now lives in Amsterdam, started his career in screenwriting.  His short screenplay, Morgan Street Watch Company, received critical acclaim and won prizes at several film festivals, including the Colorado Film Awards, the New York Screenplay Contest, and the Oregon Film Festival.  Now he’s venturing into the comic book world.  His first graphic novel, Silence & Co., follows Alexander Marazano, a member of an Italian mobster family, as he makes his name as an internationally renowned hit man.  Along the way, he comes to terms with the nature of his work and his own moral compass.

This interview has been edited and abridged for purposes of length.  Details of Silence & Co. will be discussed during the interview and may spoil parts of the story for those who have not yet read the work.

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Silence & Co. is your first graphic novel, yet you got some pretty big names to collaborate with you on the project.  Ron Randall, who does the art, is a mainstay at both DC and Marvel, and your letterer John Workman and cover artist Steve Lieber have both won Eisner Awards.  How did you get them to work with you?

Funnily enough, these things are sort of one step at a time.  I got talking to a couple of guys who put me in touch with Ron; they thought he’d be a good creative match for the project.  He read the script and reacted very strongly to it; he’s kind of into that action-y, hit man, secret agent type thing.  He did some test pages for us and they just looked fantastic.  Once the art started coming through, Ron, I believe knows John Workman through some other work they did together and he sent him a couple pages and John was really, really excited about the book.  Again, it was just a dream—it worked surprisingly smoothly.  From what I understand, Ron is a studio mate at Periscope Studios with Steve Lieber, so we got him to do the cover, which I think came out fantastically.

Turf #3 – Review

By: Jonathan Ross (creator/writer), Tommy Lee Edwards (creator/art) & John Workman (letters)

The Story: A swirling the pot issue as the intrigue between vampires, mobsters and a shipwrecked alien thickens.

What’s Good: Tommy Lee Edwards has just been great in this series.  Every single page is just beautiful.  Some artists convey absurd levels of detail by just drawing lots of little things, but it is amazing that an artist like Edwards can achieve a similar impression of detail with a completely different style that leaves thick and scratchy strokes all over the page.   Wow….  And, the guy never, ever skips on a background.  You do see artists who do little tricks like placing the perspective down low and looking up so the background is the sky (which is easy to draw)….not Edwards.  It is almost like he enjoys drawing bricks, bars, steps, houses, windows, wall panels, etc.  He really gives this title a period feel.

This is a middle issue, since this series has grown from 4 to 5 issues.  As such, we don’t expect stunning revelations but more of an organization of the furniture for the party that should happen in issues #4 and #5.  Ross does an admirable job of getting the players into position: the vampires now have their new leader, the mob may be in league with an alien and the nosey reporter is helping the deposed vamp leader.  Fun all around and it has been nice to watch Ross grow as a comic writer.  Check out Issue #1 compared to this to see how much he’s cutting down on exposition and sometimes allowing Edwards to do the storytelling.

Another highlight of this issue for the true comic aficionado is that it is hand lettered.  Letterers probably have the least luck with the ladies at comic conventions and we often unfairly dismiss their efforts or fail to even mention them.  But, in this issue we get the treat of seeing a creator (Workman) who still letters by hand and it gives the who issue a warm feel as the text feels alive.

Turf #2 – Review

By: Jonathan Ross (writer & creator), Tommy Lee Edwards (artist & creator) & John Workman (letters)

The Story: As the war between vampires and Prohibition-era NYC mafia families gets hot, the cops and aliens from space enter the fray.

What’s Good: I wish Tommy Lee Edwards did more comic art because I could look at this stuff all day.  His art is a wonderful combination of rough and sketchy where you can see the individual pencil lines in the character’s faces and very intricate and detailed backgrounds.  It’s a great combination for a crime-themed book.  I would also say that this is a great way to do photo reference.  Edwards is clearly using some pictures as a guide here, but it looks good and I didn’t spend the entire issue trying to figure out what B-movie actors he was using.

The story is still ramping up in this second issue (out of five).  The first issue (from what I remember of it, more on that below) had established that the vampires were moving in on the mafia families.  This issue introduces a shipwrecked alien to the story and also some crooked cops.  This would have the makings of a good crime/mafia comic anyway, but adding vampires and aliens just makes it better.  Your results may vary, but I enjoyed it.  The scenes of the mobsters fighting with the vampires were really cool!

Turf #1 – Review

By: Jonathan Ross (writer), Tommy Lee Edwards (illustrator) & John Workman (letters)

The Story: In Prohibition Era New York City, a family of vampires move in on the mafia.  Meanwhile, an alien crashes out near Coney Island.

What’s Good: Let’s start with the art.  This is a good looking comic book!  It’s the kind of thing that makes the rest of the comics in the stack look pretty pedestrian.  Tommy Lee Edwards is a very talented artist and when you put good artists on titles that they own, care about, and have a financial interest in, you almost always get a “best effort.”  Not only is the book beautiful without resorting to splash pages, but it is consistent!  I didn’t see any bad panels where you think, “That guy is kinda funny looking!”

As for the story, I really enjoyed it too.  Mobsters running booze – mixed with vampires – mixed with space aliens: How can you beat that combo?  The story is really a mob tale that centers on one of the families controlling the bootlegging in NYC in early 1929.  I’d probably enjoy this book if it was just a mob story, but when the new “family” that is muscling in on the action is a clan of vampires… Well,I just love me some wacky stuff.  We do get to see the space alien (who is a bootlegger or sorts too), but it is pretty brief.  I guess we’ll have to tune in for issue #2 to see that play out.

Ross also writes really well.  Even though he is a celebrity-type in the UK and is a big comic book fan, I am 99% sure this is his first time serving as a writer and he does a great job.  He also delivers a solid value: 26 pages and probably 100% more writing than is the norm for a $2.99 book.

Marvel 1985 #2 – Review

By Mark Millar (story), Tommy Lee Edwards (art), John Workman (letters)

The Stilt-Man will never, ever, be an A-list villain. Every now and then, some writer tries to “reinvent” him, and it always fails. The Stilt-Man will never be scary. But in the latest issue of 1985, in a simple five-panel sequence, Tommy Lee Edwards shows us how strange and wondrous it might really be to have an 80-foot cyborg stride across a suburban working-class neighborhood, silhouetted against the setting sun. So hats off to Edwards for another beautiful job.

This issue continues the theme set forth in the first: a group of super-villains, and at least one hero, have somehow been transported from the Marvel Universe as it was in 1985 to the “real” world. It’s unclear whether these are the original 616 characters, or doppelgängers created by some mutant power in “this” universe. Judging from the clues Millar keeps dropping, I suspect it’s the latter… and that Toby’s dad, his boyhood friend Clyde, and their monumental comic book collection have something to do with it.

Millar’s writing is spot-on, proving that while he usually goes for bombastic action, he can also do subtle scenes of human interest. My big gripe with the book is the one I often have with stories where kids run into mythical creatures and then try to convince adults to believe them. The scene where Toby tells his dad about the Hulk is frustrating because if my son told me he’d seen the Hulk, and he really believed it, I’d rush him to the hospital and have them check for brain damage, because that’s what a loving parent would do—should do—in the real world. But of course for the purposes of the story, Toby’s dad’s disbelief (or apparent disbelief; he may know more than he’s saying) is only an impediment to the plot. For me, at least, it punctures my suspension of disbelief and reminds me that what I’m reading is only fiction.

Other than that, though, the book is very good. The pace is gaining steam, and the sense of danger slowly ratcheting upward. At the end of the book, Sandman and Electro show up to demonstrate just how terrifying these rather average villains would really be if they were to show up at somebody’s home.

The task of putting supermen in the mundane world is a tricky one; the writer is always balancing on the razor’s edge between the sublime and the ridiculous. Will Millar drop the ball? So far he’s making it work, so I’ll just have to keep buying to find out. (Grade: B+)

– Andrew C. Murphy

Marvel 1985 #1 – Review

By Mark Millar (story), Tommy Lee Edwards (art), John Workman (letters)

On sale 5/29/08

I think Mark Millar has a fetish for boys coming from broken homes. Anyone who’s read Wanted and/or Kick Ass will understand what I’m talking about. With Marvel 1985, we’re put yet again into the shoes of a young boy from a broken home. But unlike the lead characters from the aforementioned series, this kid, Toby, has no desire to get himself killed or become a high-powered super villain. In fact, he’s a very normal kid who happens to be caught between his parents’ divorce. Using what money he has, he buys comics from the local store – using them as a tool to escape.

This book has a lot nostalgic value to it, so you’re going to have to forgive me if I come off a bit biased. You see, 1985 was the year I actually started reading and collecting comics. I remember the sights, the smells, and the bike rides I would take during the summer to get to my local comic store (it was miles away off the Air Force Base I lived on). Millar sets up the story right from the first page, and while I won’t disclose much of the story, I’ll say that this very much feels like a sequel to Secret Wars (the first series). The tempo of the book is paced evenly throughout, and in true Millar fashion we’re treated to a bevy of cultural references (relevant to 1985). I was even creeped out by one scene involving The Red Skull (Tommy Lee Edwards again gets a lot of credit for this striking scene).

Tommy Lee Edwards does an amazing job capturing the look and feel of the era. I can’t begin to tell you how closely I studied each page, enjoying the high level of detail and easter eggs Edwards planted. For those who were reading comics during this time frame, they’ll be instantly transported back. One scene in particular that blew my mind was Toby’s trip to the comic store. The attention to detail is just amazing! Edwards also handles the coloring chores with near perfection. The scene where Toby and his father walk through the woods is completely mood driven and the colors are the key to making this sequence work.

The unsung hero, however, is letterist John Workman who lettered this book completely by hand – a perfect throw back to the time. And while the word balloons in 1985 never looked this sloppy, the imperfections do nothing but add to the book’s character. With most lettering done by computer these days, it’s nice to see a tribute to this lost art.

Marvel 1985 will be fun for just about any fan of Marvel Comics. It’s an revisitation to a familiar time, when things weren’t so gloomy. It’s also a refreshing concept that goes beyond super heroes and villains. It’s like Kurt Busiek’s Marvels in a way, but it’s based in the 80s and seen through more innocent eyes. This kid isn’t witnessing any key events of the past like Busiek’s protagonist – he’s caught right in the middle of it! (Grade: A-)

– J. Montes