The creators behind Fade from Blue offer up an unusual contribution to Free Comic Book Day. While spotlighting their acclaimed small-press title, they address the potential audience directly, and they do so with a wonderfully humorous tone. They tap into the frustration comic fans feel regarding the low-class status of their favored storytelling medium, but at the same time, they acknowledge the justifiable stereotypes that serve to identify the industry and fandom. Given that this FCBD title is from a small publisher, I expect it won't be easy to come by on May 3. If you're lucky enough to see a copy, grab it up. And then, be sure to share it with others.
Comic-book fan Christa Shermot is sick and tired of comics being snubbed by non-comics readers, and she's got some strong opinions to share with them. She's even tailor-made arguments for different segments of the public. She's got rants ready for: (1) young girls who have never read a comic in their lives, (2) young guys who think they're too cool for comics, (3) old guys who feel they've outgrown comics, (4) and adult women who are completely unfamiliar with the medium. And to show off the versatility of the medium, Christa and her sister Elisa share from scenes from their own comic book, Fade from Blue.
Wisely, the sequences in which Christa and Elisa address the reader directly are devoid of backgrounds, panel layouts and gutters. It's a smart move because those are remarkably wordy scenes, and the word balloons would obscure any other art anyway. I rather enjoyed the blank look of those scenes, though, as they stand apart from the Fade from Blue excerpts that more accurately represent comics storytelling. Dalrymple's artwork is definitely better suited to the lighter moments in the book. When he exaggerates for the sake of the humor, there's more energy to his figures.
Murphy treats the FFB characters as actors here, having them note that they're getting into a role for the sake of the reader. It's a nice trick, getting the potential new reader into a TV/movie mindset, giving them a familiar footing. And despite the abundance of word balloons, the script flows incredibly well.
On the surface, the creators are trying to sell and entire medium to the audience, but in a clever move, they also spotlight how Fade from Blue defies genre labelling. Murphy tells the reader that not only do comics have a lot of offer, but his title in particular does a fine job of doing so all on its own. This book will be of interest to longtime comics readers as well as the uninitiated, and in the back, a handy list of comics and corresponding comparisons to film and TV equivalents is provided.
Christa Shermot's How-To Manual was a pleasant surprise, celebrating the medium, spotlighting the industry's diversity and promoting its creators' efforts with an interesting degree of subtlety.
