Indie Shortlist: Paul Pope, Part 2

Curious about indie comics, from the big-name/big-reputation titles to obscure ones, but not sure where to start? Interested in digging into the indie titles populating the backlist of a now-popular mainstream creator? Each month, the Indie Shortlist takes a look at four titles from an important indie creator.

This week, we conclude our look at Paul Pope.



escapoEscapo
(Self-published, 1999)

This slim, oversized album contains a set of connected short stories about the titular Escapo, an escape artist who’s a star of a traveling circus. These short stories—the action of which centers around a performance and daring escape—include Escapo’s thrilling, literal bargaining with death, his struggles with his unrequited love for a trapeze artist, and his decision to enjoy life and escapes more than that torturous love. Escapo is a terrific showcase for Pope’s kinetic art and his whimsically outlandish designs for Escapo’s traps and contraptions (most of which are shaped like gigantic animals). Pope’s ability to convey movement and energy and drama are on thrilling display here.


 

 

 

 

 

 

The One Trick Rip-OffThe One Trick Rip-Off
(Dark Horse, 1997)

This graphic novel is one of Pope’s earlier stories, among his first published by an established publisher (it was originally serialized in the first incarnation of Dark Horse Presents). While the art is a bit rough—check out how much better his art was in Escapo, just two years later; what an evolution!—it’s still a lot of fun.

In a futuristic LA, the city is broken into territories controlled by gangs. Tubby, the main character, is a member of one, the One Tricks (so called because they have “one trick.” I won’t spoil what it is, but it’s pretty cool). When Tubby realizes that the leader of the One Tricks has hundreds of thousands of dollars in counterfeit traveler’s checks in his vault, he and his girlfriend Vim cook up a plot to rip off the One Tricks and start a new life for themselves outside of the dangerous city. The problem, of course, is that Tubby and Vim aren’t the only people interested in ripping off the One Tricks.

While it may be rough in places, The One Trick Rip-Off is a really fun comic, in which Pope begins to establish his themes of romance, what we do for love, violence, and a use of genre without being encumbered by it. A new edition of the story, with around 100 pages of his “lost” manga Smoke Navigator, done for a Japanese publisher but never before released, is coming from Legendary Comics in 2012.

Comments

  1. I’ve read both One-Trick Ripoff–if you are a Tarantino fan, this might appeal to you as that’s who it reminded me of a bit, being sort of a heist story. I’d read about this manga endeavor, and have long wanted to check that out, I’m glad it’s getting published in some form. I thought it might have the flavor of THB. I’ve yet to read his Batman novel, though I enjoyed some of his stories in Batman: Black and White, irrc. Everything you’ve mentioned seems worthwhile, as the first thing that attracted to me about Pope was his artwork. I’d really like to hear an interview with him. It’s a bit eccentric art, but I love that kind of stuff. I think some of my favorite stuff by him are those over-size editions of misc. stories, some THB stuff, irrc, etc. (I’d have to get up and dig out my old copies for the exact titles.) At any rate, I just like where he talks about his influences, living in NYC, movies, comic artist, and so forth. That mixture was a treat for me, no less his artwork.

  2. Again, guys, how was Heavy Liquid not included on this list? I’d put that at the top of everything Pope that I’ve read.

    • Hey Jason – I think it’s just a matter of taste. It’s been a little while since I read Heavy Liquid, but I just didn’t like it that much. I wanted to give an overview of Pope’s work–1 thing from DC Universe, 1 from Vertigo, 1 self-published, 1 Dark Horse. Given that it’s not my favorite work by him, Heavy Liquid didn’t fit that. To anyone reading this, though, if you like other Pope books, I’d definitely track it down. I think anything by him is worth a look.

    • I think it is precisely a matter of personal tastes…personally speaking Heavy Liquid is a far superior work to One Trick Rip Off…the art is gorgeous… the color pallete is unique…and story has the right mix of drama, action and wild invention…granted it is far from perfect but for me it is drawing upon a far more eclectic set of inspirations than OTRO… I mean I enjoy One Trick Rip Off’s Tarantinoisms as much or probably more than the next guy…but Heavy Liquid’s resonant echoes of William S Burroughs (the drugs) and William Gibson (the sprawl) makes it my personal favorite…PS a somewhat obscure reference but the method of the drug’s delivery (pouring it down the ear) comes directly from Jodorowsky’s amazing Holy Mountain…

  3. I’ve yet to read Escapo or the One Trick Rip-off. I can’t wait to the new Legendary edition of One Trick drops with its pages and pages of new material. Anyone know if Escapo is included or if we can look forward to a new edition of that? I love Paul Pope but it can be challenging to track down a lot of his work.

  4. Yea I just went to buy Escapo from Amazon however it’s minimum price is currently $89.49. I hate this issue with comics.