Hecter the Collecter
By Leslie Bloomfield and Adele Dresner-Moss

HAHAHAHA. I'm laughing. In a good, good way.

I was going to read all three of these first, but I'm laughing my ass off. It's a little overwhelming, so I think I'll just comment as I go along.

Of the first people to make it to our table at APE were two somewhat young girls with their comics in a box, carrying them cigarette girl style. For this alone, I was intringued and, after a quick glance at the covers, I knew I had to get all three issues of "Hecter the Collecter."

Leslie Bloomfield and Adele Dresner-Moss (the first two issues are credited to Leslo and Delly—at the show, they asked to be called Les and Del—their identity shifts are fairly reflective of the artistic development taking place here) have brought Hecter the Collecter into the world with Hecter the Collecter and the Silent Moon Fang Goddess (#1: "The Story Behind It All!" or, alternately, "The Amazing Beginning th the Whole Ugliness That Started It All!" Imagine the DC golden age, silver age, Chris Claremont at his most outrageous and the unfettered imagination of youth carbonated, shaken up in a coke bottlle and finally dropped onto the page, exploding as the plastic ruptures. That's Hecter the Collecter.

There's a website listed in the first two issues, but it doesn't appear to be active anymore, and a quick google search only nets the Shel Silverstein poem, "Hector the Collector"—a different beast altogether.

Hecter is a half-man/half giraffe raised by giant slugs and adopted into the human world where he has dedicated his life to fighting crimes and collecting things (from "mutated pretzels to hot lunch remnants"). He's not that smart (except when he is) but, thankfully, he has friends like the Moon Fang Goddess (less silent than the title suggests) and her pet "magic radar bat." We're promised Harold the mechanic at the begining, but he fails to make an appearance.

There's some unintentional humor in the first 5.5x7.5 cream-colored landscaped pages and some very intentional humor. Part of me wishes that the spelling had been proofread, but I'd hate to think what an editor's input would have had on the comics. It's best to see this sort of thing in all it's unencumbered beauty. Some of the unintentional humor also comes from my gutter mind, and I'm trying to keep that to myself. Mostly, though, this is fun and funny of the most intentional kind.

Part of me wants to know how young people still know about Pac-Man, and part of me wants to know where the idea of combining Pac-Man ghosts with hemlock into a great monster design came from.

The plot is this: Hecter's evil cousin has accelerated global warming—the tv reporter is priceless, I really wish the news were delivered that way—and is blackmailing the White House (how long before these girls realise that the White House couldn't care less about global warming?). Hecter, the Moon Goddess and the Bat try to stop him, ending in a cliffhanger. But the plot isn't nearly as important as the execution. I'm reminded of the comics and movies my friends and I made in Junior High and Highschool (okay, okay: and college and adult life), but this is more than a reflection of my own past, it's an amplification.

Packlocks!

Part two is printed on grey paper, and it's a grey day indeed for Hecter. On the cover, he lies broken and bleeding to death at the hands of The Stupid Cyclops (an assasin for Hecter's cousin, Spike)

All three issues begin with A "Meet the Actors" page, introducing the characters and, by the second one, the girl's developing sophistication is apparent. while the personalized captions are all but missing (save Hecter's), the composition is stronger and there's an understanding of space in the captions that's probably one of the hardest lessons for an artist to learn. We're also given Weapon X, a character that is designed ten times better than any Marvel character with that name.

Two months in the Danger Dungeon! Wow. It's like an enjoyable version of Tolkein.

They know exactly how I'd react to eternity.

Improbable tv crews and well-delineated mystical visions on the first page. Some of this writing would have worked perfectly on Buffy or Angel, by the way.

"I will record this and play it over and over so that it stings their minds." I love this.

Spike's plan (he's also called Zamolia—don't ask, just strap yourself in and enjoy the ride) is genious. Best evil plan/delivery ever.

Great brick background. The upside down panels are wonderful. A maze! Iwas just trying to make a maze two weeks ago! This one is much, much better. And the facial expressions are a leap above the previos issue's. There's more personality in Fang's face than there is in a lot of "professional's" work.

In the middle of book two, things get really wierd. Are Hecter and Moon Fang BOTH giraffes or is this a "killer fairy" vision? And some perfectly chosen clip art for the characters dreams. And a bomb for all the anarchy.

The last page of the first issue is a great (litteral) cliffhanger. A perfect composition.

Issue three: "Entrance of the Octopi." Unlike the geniouses behind "Countdown to Infinite Crisis," Bloomfield and Dresner-Moss seem to actually understand what what a plural word looks like. Kudos!

The first two issues had colored cardstock covers with matching interiors. #3 has glossy white cardstock cover with purple interiors. It's worth noting as sign of an increasing awareness of design; the white, black and purple fitting the somewhat 'gothy' subject matter well (although 'gothy' is a terrible adjective for two people having this much fun).

The book opens up to a simply beautiful abstract design. Inky and evocative, it's the sort of thing that should be pursued further. Then there's another "Meet the Actors" page, this time on a stage. I imagine that issue four will keep taking this idea further. After a recap page, we head right into "Hector Origins: The Meeting" (of Hector and Fang). This is an almost ridiculously complex layout, a maze of sorts, of abstract shapes defining panels and a series of arrows that guide the reader through it all. I'm not sure what the intent is, but it continues the maze motif from issue two and acts as a commentary on both Chris Ware's work and comic reading in general (If the author's haven't read Ware's work, it still functions as a sort of primitivist understanding of the same formal wrestling found in the Acme Novelty Library). The circles that form the basis for the bulk of the panels are linked by a romantic theme, circles long being connected to romance, fidelity and marriage. It is in the surrounding panels where the characters seem most distant, separated or alone. Combined with the 60s-style design on the recap page, the entire spread is quite striking. I might be reading more into this than was intended, but, even so, this is a very positive sign of artistic maturation.

It's actually easier to follow than some of Chris Ware's work.

Some harsh language, a Batman joke, an attempted suicide(!) and a Kubrick joke turned on its head, then—ok. We've got an interesting commentary on Barbie dolls, an appreciation of footwear and references to Tintin, Watchmen, the Hulk, Jimmy Corrigan, Tank Girl, Quimby the Mouse, Persopolis and X-Men—all in one panel, mind you. Bloomfield and Dresner-Moss have betrayed themselves a bit. Or at least confounded me. Were they nearly as young as I first thought? Maybe I'm so old that everybody looks like a kid these days. Or, maybe, in the process of actually going out and making comics and going to conventions, they've actually been buying some of the good stuff and it's influence has begun to permeate their works. In which case these two have a very bright future ahead of them as they continue to work at this.

The suicide attempt and its conclusion is funny, nicely presented in a minimalist way and a Freudian nuclear bomb. Hector climbs out of the falling rocket along a pole leading right into the lap of Fang, caught in a net. Psych 101 students, open your textbooks to chapter three. Humorologists, open yours to chapter sixteen.

The story ends in a flurry of events that would seem a lot more rushed if the humor wasn't topnotch. The final page is nice looking and finally brings the two heroes together. There's even a cicle in the tree the characters return to. And the back cover is a crazy psychadelic extravaganza, just in case your head needed a little more twisting.

The website appears to be innactive, but there's an email address that I can use. If you are interested, email us at clifffacecomics@hotmail.com, and I'll pass the information along.

—Justin J. Fox