Random Article


 
Event News
 

COMIC BOOK REVIEW: Punks: The Comic – CBLDF Special

 
Punks_CBLDFSpecial-1
Punks_CBLDFSpecial-1
Punks_CBLDFSpecial-1

 
Overview
 

Story by: Joshua Fialkov
 
Art by: Kody Chamberlain
 
Publisher:
 
FG RATING
 
 
 
 
 
4/ 5


User Rating
2 total ratings

 

Raves


A comic for the GREATER CAUSE; iconoclastic and irreverent at best

Rants


Simply put: SACRILEGIOUS on every socio-cultural institutions; not for everyone’s taste, obviously


To sum it all up..

PUSHING THE LIMITS The Comic Book Legal Defense Foundation (CBLDF) and Image Comics unite and unleash thought provoking and pushing the envelope comics as part of the former’s continuing quest of raising awareness to comic book readers of the organization’s existence that protects and defends them, artists, writers and retailers from any forms of harassment or […]

0
Posted July 3, 2015 by

 
FULL REVIEW
 
 

Punks_CBLDFSpecial-1

PUSHING THE LIMITS

The Comic Book Legal Defense Foundation (CBLDF) and Image Comics unite and unleash thought provoking and pushing the envelope comics as part of the former’s continuing quest of raising awareness to comic book readers of the organization’s existence that protects and defends them, artists, writers and retailers from any forms of harassment or legal suits of prohibiting, banning or persecuting them and the visual literature itself. Citing the First Amendment or the Freedom of Expression Right, CBLDF also pragmatically needs funds and through the partnership with Image Comics, a stand-alone issue is released to fulfill those objectives - Punks: The Comic – CBLDF Special or The Terror of Punks: The Horror Comic  by Joshua Fialkov and Kody Chamberlain. As stated in the cover, 20% of the comic’s overall profit would proceed to the CBLDF while the rest goes to the creators. I say, it’s a fair game for both parties.

Readers of PUNKS expect this issue to be the same irreverent and over-the-top reading that really make them and other new readers laughing out and at the same time, revolting due to the content’s graphic references that the creative team bows to no one, no matter how iconic or sacred the supposed “untouchables” they hold in public consciousness. Here, Fialkov and Chamberlain tackle on the outright ridiculousness of the comic’s greatest “enemy” ever: the CCA or the Comic Code Authority. It was established in 1954 as an establishment for the comics’ “self-regulation”, which was a euphemism of “censorship”. It was a force to be reckoned with, so powerful it almost brought down the horror and crime comic genres, while paving way for more rigid editorial monitoring in the superhero comic genre (while ironically, superhero comics emerged as the mainstream in the 50s that continues up to this day). Furthermore, this comic presents what is inside the “Code”—from the Preamble to the last rule in comic advertising. Indeed, we can see the restrictiveness and the heavy hand of the CCA imposed to several comic book creators, publishers and editors unless they courted disaster/controversy/downfall.  In this spirit, this is what the creative team does: to ridicule almost every rule the Code had to offer. Nudity, sex, religious bashings, crimes, potty words, disturbing imageries and other stuffs that were deemed so indecent, sacrilegious, disgusting and uncomfortable which are just fair game to the PUNK team. Let’s cite some examples here.

First, Abraham Lincoln-images are hilariously mocked all throughout the issue, including his supposed manliness and so-called enlightened thoughts of being the Emancipator. Second, the issue of crime is expertly explored to hilarious heights that show how to do from one bad act to another. The cliché “crime does not pay” is thrown out the window, no more and no less. Third, sex and nudity are graphically illustrated but with obvious representations of fruits and vegetables that clearly can make today’s myopic and fickle-minded readers boil their blood and tear this “filthy” comic to shreds. Fourth, foul and double-meaning words that range from direct, vulgar and innuendos are just as fair as anything goes. Both symbolic and open-ended, it doesn’t need to be smart enough or a genius-level type to grasp what those words suppose to mean, does it? Fifth, the concepts of marriage and religion are taken to absurd levels of hilarity and provocations. Vegetarianism is a “religion” at all? Family is mocked here all the same, as having a same sex relationship (plus, with different skin color or “race”) is highlighted for maximum effects.

Chamberlain’s expertly placed collage and montage are just as wicked, iconoclastic, and surreal as ever, especially the anthropomorphic imageries that symbolized the hypocrisies and contradictions the holies/ moralists represent and their calls of “self-regulations”/“censorships” on the comic medium itself. Quite indeed, this issue really pushes the limits of the acceptable and the unacceptable. But that’s art all about: making us uncomfortable to push the boundaries of art itself. Read this gem at your own risk. HILARITY!

 


Paul Ramos

 


0 Comments



Be the first to comment!


Leave a Response

(required)