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THE COMPLETE COPYBOOK TALES trade paperback
Highly Recommended (9/10)
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Oni Press
Writer: J. Torres
Artist: Tim Levins
Additional inks: Jeff Wasson
Collected edition editor: James Lucas Jones
Price: $19.95 US |
"The greatest strength of The Copybook Tales is its honesty. Torres hasn't just crafted characters, but real people... people you know, people you are, people you've been. Along with wonderfully emotive and light art from Levins, it all adds up to one of the best small-press comics I've ever had the pleasure to read."
That's a quote on the back of this book. It sums up the appeal of Torres and Levins's first pro comics work nicely. Man, whoever wrote that quote must be one hell of a smart guy.
Jamie Cruz and his pal Thatcher are hoping to break into the comics industry, but they haven't had much luck pitching their super-hero concept -- Maskman -- to publishers, so Jamie has another idea. He figures adapting some stories from his youth (detailed in his journals, which he calls "copybooks") might make for a good comic book, and the idea gives him pause to reflect on his teenage years.
Those who enjoy Levins's work on Batman: Gotham Adventures will be thrilled to see his more unique style at play in this book. His cartoony style is well suited to the lighter, humorous overall tone of the book, but it's also strong when it comes to capturing the more reflective, subtly emotional moments in the stories. Since I'd seen most of this material before, though, I was more interested in seeing the creator's earlier work, from the Copybook mini-comics. It was a chance to see just how much Levins had developed as an artist. There's greater focus in the later works, and catching a glimpse of that process and progress will appeal to anyone interested in the craft of comics.
That notion of an evolution of skill and storytelling comes into play for Torres as well. The earlier stories, though still resonant for us children of the 1980s, didn't have the same knack for pacing and structure. It allows one to appreciate the strength of the Copybook comics themselves all the more. Torres hit upon some incredibly universal themes, but more importantly, he gets us to care about these characters. As we see the cute Bernie quietly make her way through the background, we want to reach into the page and slap Jamie about head for not clueing in that his soulmate is right under his nose.
I've noted in previous reviews of individual Copybook issues that Torres and Levins could not find a better target audience for this book than me. I grew up in the 1980s. I'm a comic-book fan. I'm a Canadian. And at the time I discovered the book, I had just embarked on a career, with fresh memories of living in Mom and Dad's place and dreaming of being my own man. But one needn't be a Canadian, comics-reading kid of '80s to appreciate this title. There's something in this book for everyone. I can't imagine someone living in Western culture who can't find something of themselves and/or their lives in The Complete Copybook Tales.
Note: This book was not among this week's new releases.
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