Randy and Don take a break from their 12-step programs to check in on the 1,000 Steps to World Domination.
Randy:
A good number of comics fans have probably never even seen a mini-comic, as it's an artform that doesn't get much distribution, and is a bit of a marginalized format even amongst the niche market of comics. Isotope Lounge owner James Sime is going to bat for the mini-comic, however, with his Isotope Award for Excellence in Mini-Comics. The winner of the first award was 1,000 Steps to World Domination, a mini-comic by Rob Osborne.
Don:
Osborne tells a remarkably personal story here, but it's also quite surreal at times as well. His work is a challenge, but it's an intriguing one. And another treat to be had here is witnessing his development as an artist and storyteller.
1,000 Steps to World Domination
written and illustrated by Rob Osborne
Don:
Rob is a cartoonist who has set a lofty goal for himself: nothing short of world domination. He's supported in that effort by his girlfriend, and plagued by an co-operative and occasionally violent monkey. As he slowly works his way toward conquering the world via cartooning, he explores the perceptions people have of the comics industry and fans, and the real source of power in the world.
Randy:
I have only a few mini-comics in my collection, as I have trouble with distribution (I can't find them, aside from at Cons), space (I am rapidly running out of room for comics in my house) and money (I don't have any). However, there are exceptions, such as Amy Unbounded or Jim Mahfood's 40 oz. comics, and I could easily see Osborne's creation becoming another one of them. 1,000 Steps to World Domination is a strange cross between James Kochalka, Evan Dorkin and Tom Beland, a mixture of autobiography and sketch comedy that is knowingly weird and esoteric and delightfully charming.
Don:
I love your comparison of some of this material to sketch comedy; it's a fitting one. But I see different influences and artistic comparisons than you do, Randy. Osborne's premises and approach here reminded me of David Rees's Get Your War On, Ken Knudtsen's My Monkey's Name Is Jennifer and Damon Hurd's personal stories. Visually, his work here put me in mind of Knudtsen's art and that of Charlie (Codeflesh, White Death) Adlard.
Randy:
Osborne's stories are centered around the loose theme of using comics to conquer the world. Of course, this is a ridiculous proposition, but while Osborne the creator may know it, Osborne the character is firmly convinced that it's possible. The stories alternate between autobiographical bits of lunacy between Osborne and his significant other and characters that Osborne has introduced, including a monkey (of course), God (in a supporting role) and, in the third issue, a General in the R. Lee Ermey mode. Then there are the little side jaunts, which fit the tone of the book but not the loose plot, instead focusing on a quirky take on the old tale of the Tortoise and Hare or on a pair of aliens who view their abduction and anal probery as just another job.
So you might be getting the idea that 1,000 Steps is a little weird. Brother, you don't know the half of it. Osborne's characters and situations are out there, the sort of borderline delusion and magic realism that makes Kochalka's work so entertaining and charming with the same wild imagination that makes Dorkin one of comics' legitimate geniuses. The Beland influence that I noted is in the openness that Osborne shows in some of his strips, most notably the last strip in issue two that talks about some unfortunate happenings in his family.
Don:
Some of the more surreal strips -- such as "The Turtle and the Rabbit" -- are so offbeat that they're wide open to interpretation. The seemingly non-sequitur qualities of such elements in the book are surprisingly engaging, not off-putting at all. The turtle/rabbit race strips strike me as an attack on cliche. I get the feeling Osborne isn't offering up a parable about perserverance, but rather a critique of self-delusion. Perhaps he is the turtle. His goal is an impossible one, yet he trudges on, trash-talking those around him along the way.
Randy:
The art in 1,000 Steps is deceptively crude and simple. Osborne's work tends to be sparse on the backgrounds and he sticks with a standard four-panel grid for the most part, so it doesn't look all that inventive, and there's some inconsistency in his portrayal of people and faces, especially early on. But the storytelling is strong, and as the issues go on, you can see Osborne's art grow by leaps and bounds. The one-panel pinups of the various "Women of World Domination" are fairly realistic, for example. Osborne's work may not leap off the page like the work of mainstream artists, but it helps give the book its quirky and likable style.
Don:
It's not just Osborne's eye for detail and anatomy that improve over the course of the three issues, but his sense of design, flow and layouts. He breaks out of the four-panel grid by the third issue, and he really grabs the reader's attention with a reflective and dark atmosphere in the first three pages of that third installment.
For more information on 1,000 Steps to World Domination, email Rob Osborne. Or to find out more about Isotope's Award for Excellence in Mini-Comics and submit for the 2004 award, visit
