TOMORROW STORIES #11

By: Tony Whitt
Date: Monday, September 17, 2001

Whew. To say I was unprepared for TOMORROW STORIES #11 is an understatement. I like humor in comics. I like a degree of perversity in comics. I even like Alan Moore. I'm not sure I like it when all three are combined.

There's some fun to be had in the Splash Brannigan story, in which our inky hero decides that the science-hero business isn't nearly as interesting as becoming a singing sensation. He changes musical genres a few times, ending up as a filmmaker as of course so many rock stars do, you know but finally decides to return to Daisy. Hilary Barta's artwork makes this story succeed as much as, if not more than, Moore's script, using a style that combines the styles of early MAD MAGAZINE and late '60s underground comics. It's not surprising, really, since the entirety of TOMORROW STORIES is in the vein of both, a heady combination of satire and perversity that sometimes works and other times...well. It's actually not a bad little romp, this one.

The Greyshirt story, drawn by Rick Veitch, adds a bit of social commentary as Hitler and his evil minions are reincarnated as roaches in Mrs. Herschell's kitchen. Fitting, really, though roaches have a tad more purpose in this world than Nazis. Anyway, the resolution to this one is every bit as satisfying as you'd want you wouldn't allow roaches to live, so why allows Nazi roaches to live, for heaven's sake? But the way they're exterminated, and the implications of such, are just a tad too chilling. Can you say "bad taste," boys and girls? I knew you could.


Speaking of bad taste, there's this month's appearance by The First American and U.S. Angel, drawn by Jim Baikie in which Angel finds a trapdoor that leads into F.A.'s brain. After getting over the initial revulsion of being in the psyche of the most revolting man alive, she decides to profit by the experience but eventually gets her comeuppance. Oh, the hilarity.

And speaking of comeuppance, the final story is the latest installment in the adventures of the lesbian superheroine duo, the Cobweb and Clarice. Yes, really. I'm sure the grade for this comic just went up to "A" in certain fanboys' books, and don't worry, there's absolutely nothing wrong with that - you'll be suitably entertained. Certainly someone should be. I will say that Joyce Chin is without a doubt the most accomplished artist here, and that I'd love to see her work tied to a story that didn't make me want to go shower afterwards.

Come to think of it, the whole book makes me want to do that. The question TOMORROW STORIES leaves me asking is this - is something truly tasteless if the author and his artists are fully aware that they're being tasteless? I compared this to MAD MAGAZINE, which has been known to push the envelope a bit more than most satire magazines could we call an issue of that magazine that went too far "in bad taste" when by definition the whole thing might be intended to be in bad taste?

Dunno about MAD, but I know the answer for TOMORROW STORIES: Oh, hell, yes.

TOMORROW STORIES

Grade: D

Issue: No. 11

Author(s): Alan Moore, Hilary Barta, Rick Veitch, Joyce Chin, Jim Baikie

Publisher: America's Best Comics

Price: $2.95