Comic Book Review

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CHAMPS

By Mike Whybark November 28, 2001

Fantagraphics Books presents Steven Weissman's CHAMPS.
© 2001 Fantagraphics Books

The summer narrative of a bunch of kids from a small town called Milltown. Set in the mythic small-town past of television sitcoms and Ketcham's DENNIS THE MENACE, CHAMPS is populated with children who are also, interestingly, depicted with the conventions we associate with superheroes. Each child has an expressive and explanatory nickname, dresses the part, and may be the being the name indicates. "Li'l Bloody", for example, is drawn with fangs and a widow's peak, and wears a cape; at a juncture of particular tension in the story, he leaps onto the neck of another child, apparently biting him and drawing blood.

The story opens at the Milltown Big Wheel Track; in fast and furious racing action, Li'l Bloody wins a race against local talent. News spreads, however, that an upcoming race could lead to a touring contract in the pro circuit for the lucky winner. The kids get worked up about this who wouldn't? and begin training with great intensity. A stranger blows in to town; he's the current Big Wheel champion and trains with the crew for a few days. He and Li'l Bloody get into a fight and the band of children divides. As the race nears, it becomes apparent that the newcomer's single-minded focus on racing predominates beyond his social skills, and on the day of the race, matters come to a head.

Weissman's drawing and design are beautiful. He uses a brush, most closely reminiscent of Beto Hernandez' work, but where Hernandez' panels are full of detail, Weissman's big-head kids float in isolation against rectangles of icy pale blue and white. The chilly quality of the design of the book is reflected in the coolness of the plotting; I never developed a strong sense of emotional involvement with the characters. Nonetheless, I enjoyed the book and look forward to encountering more work by this artist.

The conception of creating a hybrid genre from old-school superhero comics and the Whitman and Archer children's titles of the sixties and seventies is an interesting one that might well bear fruitful exploration. LITTLE LULU, RICHIE RICH, and CASPER all feature elements of the fantastic as we know it from superhero titles. Kiddie strips in the daily newspaper often eschew the fantastic, as in the silent and apparently mouthless Henry or the consistently sedate and therefore peculiar, nearly Zen world of NANCY. If the setting and characters sometimes are granted adventures, it's often through the agency of others, as in ANNIE or DONDI.

Weissman appears to be working toward a conception of the kiddie strip in which the children have the fantastic adventures that all children have. By depicting them as superheroes, he's letting us know that they are independent creatures with their own strange agenda, which reliably leads them into experiences of wonder, danger, and discovery...much like every kid you have ever known.