by Randy Lander

THE COMPLETE COPYBOOK TALES TP Highly Recommended (10/10) Marvel Comics Writer: J. Torres Artist: Tim Levins Additional Inks: Jeff Wasson Editor: James Lucas Jones Price: $19.95 US I've been reviewing a while now, and I've gotten a bit used to tilting at windmills, telling people month after month how good a book is, only to find it cancelled somewhere down the road. But the first book I can remember following that depressing pattern is The Copybook Tales, and while co-creators J. Torres and Tim Levins have since gained some pretty respectable gigs in comics, I never felt that The Copybook Tales got its due, as one of their strongest (and yet earliest) works. Obviously, Oni Press felt the same way, and they've rectified the manner with this trade, which contains every Copybook Tales story I've ever read and some that I haven't... and I consider myself something of a completist when it comes to the book. This is a good, solid read, and some of the best slice-of-life stuff ever committed to paper in the comics medium. Though 80s nostalgia is all the rage now, Torres and Levins were doing it before it was the hip thing to do. They were doing it because they lived through the 80s, and their memories and lives had been shaped by it. The Copybook Tales name-checks, among other 80s cultural touchstones: Rubik's Cubes, MTV, some of the best mainstream comics in a long time, breakdancing and of course the final movie in the Star Wars Trilogy. And it does so in a way that isn't nakedly manipulative (as in That 80s Show or other properties so determined to cash in on a nostalgia boom) or omnipresent. The 80s sensibility is there honestly, coming from the creators themselves. Of course, while the flashbacks and nostalgia the characters have in the Copybook Tales are based in the 80s, the book has a lot more to offer than simply that. Torres is a remarkably funny writer, and he clearly had some good material to work with in the supporting characters of the cast, particularly the confusingly (but amusingly) named three Mikes. The awkwardness of growing up, and the ridiculous and often embarrassing things your friends would say or do to you, comes through quite clearly and honestly in The Copybook Tales. While there's a lot of funny moments in The Copybook Tales, especially in the short stories, there are more serious elements as well. Jamie's feeling of being "in between" adulthood and childhood is something that I found fairly easy to empathize with. When the book first came out, I was right in that spot, just out of college, the whole world of possibilities in front of me, with no freakin' idea what I was going to do. It's simultaneously liberating and terrifying, and Torres really captures those feelings. He also has some nice stories to tell about romance, jobs and trying to fulfill dreams despite the hardships. Tim Levins gets the short end of the stick on this complete collection, quite honestly, because it really is a "warts and all" collection that lets us see everything, from his early work to his latest, most polished style. What's interesting is that early on, in the mini-comics, Levins had already developed the basic storytelling skills that have served him so well; it's mostly the definition of the characters that gets stronger throughout, until the art reaches the familiar "animated but distinctive" style he has used to such good effect on Batman: Gotham Adventures. His ability to shift between the older and younger Jamie grows with each story, and becomes an essential part of the storytelling, as the stories demonstrate that old or young, some experiences tend to repeat themselves, and it's just our reactions to them that may change. Levins also deserves some credit for great letters, logo and cover design and title designs. This is a great looking package, with a distinctive visual style that sets it apart as much as the writing style does. This is an Oni book, so of course the production values are top-notch. The cover says everything a reader needs to know about the themes and content of the book, and the book is divided up into sections of reprinted issues, short stories from a variety of sources and the mini-comics that started it all. Personally, I would have started off with the mini-comics, but I can understand why they went the other way. I was amazed at how much there was to read here, as I'd always thought of The Copybook Tales as a series that didn't amount to that many pages, all told. However, with all the short stories, all the issues (regular and mini) ever published and a new story that puts a nice cap on the tales, this can truly claim the title of "The Complete Copybook Tales." Though I'm sad that we probably won't ever see new issues of the series, I'm glad that this excellent collection has been produced so that new readers can discover what a few of us knew all along: The Copybook Tales rocked. Email Randy Lander comments about this review, or discuss it on the Fourth Rail message board.