Hidden Gems: Daybreak, Episode One

What's this? A truly independent comic book review? Yes, while most book's I've reviewed are from actual independent publishers, this time around I've decided to review something that's more in the underground comic realm, and being that it's from 2006, places it in the Hidden Gems category.

Originally published online on Bodega Distribution's blog, Daybreak is Brain Ralph's third published comic book, although I haven't actually read the previous ones, I have browsed his first, Cave-In. And, going by the title of this article, you should know that Daybreak is (currently) a 3-part series, with each book spanning about 50 pages and going for $10 each.

Story
The story of Daybreak, at least within the first book (since I haven't read the follow ups yet) is an interesting one. And by interesting I mean that I don't know exactly, as the book never really explains what is going on.

What I could gather however is that the reader is a character within the world, which has been destroyed by some unknown, beast-like creatures. And essentially, you are guided by an unnamed, one-armed young man who is helping you survive.

Writing
Because of Daybreak's quite different way of treating the reader like a character, I have to say, it is unlike any other book or comic book I've ever read. And for better or worse, the lack of explanation adds a lot more mystery to the series.

But at the same time I see that as a weakness, because by not explaining anything, even by the time you get to the end of the book, it really feels like it's alienating the reader, even when it's actually including you. Regardless, the writing works for the book, and there's a nice touch of humor for the post-apocalyptic world.

Artwork
What caught my attention of Daybreak when I was browsing the underground comics shelf was it's artwork. Brian Ralph's style is very much that modern, minimalistic cartoon look that's been gaining in popularity these days in both comics and animation. Not that I have anything against it, in fact I find that style really appealing.

What's even nicer is the paper the artwork is printed on. You obviously can't really feel it from the computer screen, but it's got this recycled paper feeling that just works so well with the look of the artwork, which is all printed in one tone of brown. It's much different looking than anything else I've ever pulled off a bookshelf, and I think that's something to be appreciated.

Overall
Daybreak is certainly one of the more visually appealing, and visually distinct books I've read recently. And it's really nice to see something published with that minimalist cartoon style, in a finely printed book at that. But at the same time the artwork can't make up for the writing, which isn't bad, but it's just ... in a sense annoying. Why? Because you're not given any explanations for the setting despite being an included character, and by the end of the book you still don't know.

I mean, I understand the point of getting the reader to buy the following book, but when I'm not sure what's even going on, I'm even more unsure if I'd want to spend another $10 to just be left without answers again. But in its defense, you could get a book like Star Trek: Countdown, which has less pages, and unappealing artwork for about $20; in that situation, Daybreak looks a bit better.

Overall Score: 8/10

If you can't find Daybreak at your local comic shop, Amazon.com thankfully carries the first two books, but it doesn't look like they carry the third yet.

For more on Brian Ralph, visit his website, BRalph.com

Hidden Gems: Lost At Sea

Talk about catching up... Bryan Lee O'Malley's first book, Lost At Sea, pre-dates his popular Scott Pilgrim series, having originally been released in 2003 (making it just about as old as VFH!). But despite that fact, I didn't manage to read Lost At Sea until now, which makes it a pretty interesting book after having read the five Scott Pilgrim books.


Story
Lost At Sea follows Raleigh, and 18 year old girl who has been on a road trip with three fellow high school classmates whom she barely even knows. She is a quiet girl, with thoughts she rather keep to herself. Like how she believes she has no soul, and if she does, then it's inside a cat somewhere. What's she doing here?

When you get down to it, Lost At Sea is a purely existential story. You have you mysterious lead character, the character's sense of (lacking actually) purpose, and supporting characters who are just as mysterious because the lead has no clue of who they are. In short, if you've read an existential novel, there is really anything new here. But those, like myself, looking for more Scott Pilgrim-type wackiness, won't find it here.

Writing
Unlike the Scott Pilgrim books that O'Malley would write after this, Lost At Sea is its own self-contained book; though it is in the same manga size that O'Malley continues to work with. With this, it should be noted that Lost At Sea also doesn't have any chapter breaks, so it really ends up being a book that's best left to read in one sitting.

Personally, I wasn't a huge fan of Lost At Sea's writing. Not that it's bad, but the whole 'existential 18 year old girl' isn't exactly as relatable a topic as say, Scott Pilgrim's nerd-centric humor/action/love story. But what I can appreciate is Bryan Lee O'Malley's writing range, because when you read Lost At Sea and Scott Pilgrim, in either order, it's as if two completely different people wrote the books, which is a nice quality I think, as it certainly shows development.

Artwork
This part of the book was the most interesting aspect for me, because particularly, like the writing, it shows a lot of improvement and development when you look back at it. As noted in my reviews of the Scott Pilgrim series, O'Malley's style in those books never leaps in terms of style from one book to the next; for the most part, the artwork is pretty consistent.

But when you look back at Lost At Sea, you really get a feeling for where O'Malley started and where he is now. In terms of style, Lost At Sea clearly looks like O'Malley's work, but at the same time it's not quite at the big-eyed, poppy style that the Scott Pilgrim series is known for, further distinguishing the books, which is a good thing.

Overall
If you couldn't tell by my writing, I'll just tell you now, if it wasn't for enjoying Scott Pilgrim, I probably would have never even though to pick up Lost At Sea. So if it seems like you're seeing "Scott Pilgrim" more than "Lost At Sea," there's a reason for that. But overall, I'm pretty please with Lost At Sea, and I'm glad I read it, because I feel that it's good to know where an artist (whether it be comics/film/music/etc) comes from in terms of development. And I think that alone is what makes Lost At Sea such an interesting book, even if it doesn't live up to O'Malley's most recent work.

Overall Score: 7.8/10

For more on Bryan Lee O'Malley visit: radiomaru.com

Hidden Gems: Foxboro Hot Tubs - Stop Drop and Roll!!!

With the upcoming release of Green Day's latest album, 21st Century Breakdown, I thought I should take the time to tell you about a Green Day project you may missed out on, for one reason or another.


This is the first review under the Hidden Gems banner, which as you may remember is a way for us to review older, lesser known titles, while still making them relevant. Interestingly enough, despite being a Green Day side project (though not originally revealed to be the band, much like their previous side project, The Network), Foxboro Hot Tubs didn't really generate that much buzz when the album released almost one year ago. And it's shame too, because in my opinion, Stop Drop and Roll!!! is a much more appealing album then 2004's American Idiot, which turned Green Day into a political band instead of just having fun.

Which brings me into my first point about the album; as a long time fan of Green Day, I was personally disappointed with American Idiot's overly political tone, which greatly departed from Green Day's pop-punk sound. Oh, and they started wearing eye shadow too, what's with that? None the less, Foxboro Hot Tubs' sound is different than both Green Day's pop-punk sound and their broody political work, instead opting for a very garage rock sound, making them sound more like a late 1950s band.

That's what I really like about the album though, is that it offers a side of the band we've never really heard before; and instead of changing the sound again and calling it Green Day, they took the smart decision and made it into something else completely. With that change though, comes the adaptation of that 1950s garage rock style, which not only affects the sound of the album but the physical release as well. The album itself comes in a CD sized cardboard sleeve, with another paper sleeve inside, giving it the feel of a tiny vinyl record; the album itself is even printed to look like a vinyl record, though doesn't go the extra step of having black plastic (like Weep's album). Sure, it may be novelty, but the authenticity is appreciated.

In terms of sound, Stop Drop and Roll!!! is full of intentionally low-quality, but catchy tunes, and really sounds great when listened to as a whole. But if I were to pick and choose, I definitely suggest you check out the titular track, "Stop Drop and Roll!!!", "Mother Mary", "Sally", "The Pedestrian", and "27th Ave Shuffle", but the rest of the album is still good. And really, the only thing that would stop me from believing that this was actually a late Fifties garage band, other than my preexisting knowledge of Green Day and Billie Joe Armstrong's voice, is some of the lyrics and choice language. Otherwise the sound of the album overall is pretty authentic, and that's just a cool factor.

Overall, Stop Drop and Roll!!! is a great start if Green Day ever plans to continue with the Foxboro Hot Tubs project, though that seems unlikely at this point, with a full tour planned to promote 21st Century Breakdown. But as stated before, if you're like me, and were a little disappointed by Green Day's change in tone, Foxboro Hot Tubs offers the feeling that the band you used to like still exists somewhere, and that's always nice to know.

Overall Score: 9/10

Hidden Gems

In accordance with this month's poll, which will judge the fate on how longer we have to review things, we've decided to start a new feature early. This feature, which I think will agree with the polls so far, is called Hidden Gems, and will allow us to review older items you may have missed.

So, basically, this isn't going to be a feature for us to finally review an older title like Zelda: Twilight Princess, because let's be honest, who cares about our opinion on a three year old game you already know plenty about. Instead, this feature gives us the chance to tell you about games, movies, and albums you may not of heard of at the time of their release. At the same time, we will try to make these reviews feel new by relating them to more relevant news and happenings. We hope you'll enjoy this new feature, as it will allow us to further expand the View From Heaven.

As an added note, titles reviewed under the Hidden Gems banner will be ineligible from receiving the VFH Seal of Approval due to their age.