Wales, Andrew – Eclectic Comics #1

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Eclectic Comics #1

This may be the first family comic I’ve seen.  I don’t mean “family friendly”, as there are plenty of comics out there that fit that description (this one included), I mean something where a whole bunch of family members play a creative role.  Andrew’s son helped with the colors and formatting some files, his daughter contributed a few strips she did for her college newspaper, and various family members pop up in the stories.  So what’s this issue about?  It seems to be at times a creative exercise, as a number of these are in response to various challenges, such as drawing a 20 panel page, illustrating song lyrics (something regular readers of this site know isn’t high up there on my list), illustrating three examples of the Sneeze Theory (preparation, action, recovery), draw a biography (Monet, in probably the strongest piece in the book), working backwards without a script, taking every object from a pictionary card for a comic, and drawing an instructional comic.  The way you can tell he succeeded in most of these things is that they read just fine as regular old comics, not as obvious intellectual exercises.  Stories in here include Andrew’s “origin” as a superhero, giving his daughter a smock, the very early years of Monet (to be continued after he leaves his teenage years), the man-purse, Andrew’s induction into a new team of heroes, and a cute strip of Andrew drawing with his little boy.  I could have done without the song adaptations, as always (“Taking Care of Business”, in particular, never needed to be illustrated), but even me and my cynical heart were charmed by the bulk of this comic.  Granted, the art looked rushed at times and his backgrounds are generally either nonexistent or hastily sketched, but this first issue has a few genuinely funny moments and serious potential, which is enough for it to get by.  There’s a second issue here too, and when I get to that we’ll see where I land.  $3