Rag
Anthony Acri

I've been dreading doing this review. Really, I have. Acri was one of the first people to seek me out and request I review his work, and he was the first to actually send me something for that purpose. I told him that I would be fair an honest, but I put off writing the review because it does little service to a creator this inexperienced(?) to write the sort of review I've grown accustomed to doing. I'll try to do my best, though.

Rag #1is a 28-page black-and-white book printed on letter-sized paper folded in half. There's nothing wrong with the presentation, and the bare-bones approach is one I take with my own work. In fact, as a way of stressing the work itself, I find it rewarding and lacking in distraction. Why this book is stapled near the edge rather than at it is one I have to chalk up to Acri not knowing the pleasures of a long-arm stapler yet. I know it isn't an aesthetic choice since it only serves to obscure some of the interiors.

As may be discernable from the cover scan above, one thing that Acri locates as a strength is an idiosyncratic, almost obsessive, attention to texture. There's a real tangible, almost sensual feel to his ballpoint line.

The story, as best as I can tell, revolves around a Superman stand-in, his stand-in (a Mister X) and a Wonder Woman stand-in. It seems that Mister X may have taken Superman's place and made him appear less good. The real Superman and Wonder Woman fight him and put the real Superman back in his rightful place.

I think.

It's all very hard to read. The lettering is near illegible, the panel transitions are random at best, the figures don't appear to exist in any particular place or operate with any particular logic and the spelling resembles text messaging more than writing. There seems to be some ranting about imperialism, capitalism, bosomy women, fags (ahem) and the glory of collecting comics. It all reads like the unrestrained Id of a teenager acting without thought of deed or consequence. And that's fine. It's great to get this sort of thing out and comics is an ideal place to do it.

I don't want to discourage Acri from working more at his chosen craft. I certainly wouldn't want my earliest comics to be scrutinized in any way. I remember the first time I showed my work to a cartoonist I admired, and he quickly showed me how to do what I thought I had done, but clearly hadn't. I'm not going to do that here, but I will say much the same as that cartoonist said to me.

He told me to work hard. Draw every day. Study comics and learn what makes them work. Draw from life. Study the other arts. All of them. Learn what you can from them and never stop learning. Live life. Don't bottle yourself up in your art space as is so easy to do. Study the liberal arts. Study the sciences. Learning will, and should, dominate your life. It's okay to think you have all the answers, from time to time, but keep yourself open to more. Every aspect of life is a chance to learn. If you continue to work at making comics, that experience will pour itself right into your work. Take it from an old man, you will get better, and I hope to see that improvement in the next work.

Acri asks to be mailed at antonius@hotmail.com and he'll send you upcoming books for two dollars or so. It could be interesting to follow his development.

—Justin J. Fox