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Brown, Julian – Power Ballad #3
Power Ballad #3
One of my favorite things about doing this website is finding great new talent. Julian’s last book was great, but there was no contact info and I didn’t hear anything about him for years, and believe me when I say that I looked (online, at least). So when I got this comic in the mail, it was a happy day. That and now this page has actual content info (at the end of the review), so it’s not purely decorative. This comic is different from the last one in that it doesn’t seem to be as blatantly autobiographical, although there seems to be definite elements from his life. In here are stories about traveling, living in his car, random sex at a youth hostel, another roommate, rants about music and the movies, lucid dreaming, the L, an art club, late night at the diner, and protests for the war in Iraq. The last issue is kind of hazy, frankly, because I read it so long ago, but this seems even better than the last one. Here’s hoping that it doesn’t take as many years for #4 to come out. In the meantime, this comic has something for everybody and I could see this guy being famous (at least in the comics world) in a few years if he manages to put a few comics out. Here’s an e-mail address, this is $2!
Brown, Julian – Power Ballad #2
Power Ballad #2
Well, there are the comics that tell a little bit about the creator, and then there are the comics where you get the impression that nothing is too personal. This book is one of those latter cases. It always makes for a fascinating read when the creator just wants to tell things the way they really happened without regard for how anybody ends up looking when it’s all said and done, and that’s what makes this such a unique book. The art looks a tiny bit rushed and sloppy at times, but there’s so much raw emotion here that it’s hard to say a bad thing about it. The bulk of this is about his tumultuous relationship with his girlfriend, with the eventual break-up letter being one of the more honest things I’ve ever seen. If you prefer fiction this probably isn’t for you, but if you’re as fascinated in autobio and as I am you’ll probably love this.
