Comics for Causes - AD: New Orleans After the Deluge

The late summer of 2005 reduced one of the United States' brightest, most colorful cities to bleak, abject horror. People could do little more than try to get out of the way before society, like the levees protecting New Orleans' Ninth Ward, crumbled. Too many couldn't even do that. All have their stories. Some were lucky to have them chronicled by Josh Neufeld and Nick Micciola in AD: New Orleans After the Deluge.

As you may gather from my post on Voices from the Storm, I find the comic book medium not only suitable for this subject matter, but better for maintaining each individual story's narrative cohesion while also showing what happened to everyone day by day. This book illustrates exactly why. Of course, it also helped that it focused on the accounts of fewer people, so it is all the easier to keep track of who was doing what, when, and where.

AD is also in a fairly unique position of being available both in print and as a slightly different web comic. Each comes with some advantages that are not available with the other. The web comic comes with links to a wealth of facts about the storm, helpful tips on disaster preparedness, and unique aspects of local culture with the appropriate panels. For example, the panel of a writer finishing up work on an issue of AntiGravity Magazine includes a link to that publication.

The print edition doesn't come with all the fun and informative links, but it does come with more story, more art, and a different reading experience. There are no ads, no links, nothing to distract the reader, nothing to get in the way as the reader comes face to face with the stark reality and tries to fathom it.

The creators behind AD have used the incredible attention this book has received to provide continuing support to the community even well after Katrina and the BP oil spill. Some of the links in the web comic promote area attractions, helping support the local economy. The release of the print version was accompanied by a fund-raiser for Common Ground Relief. The web site has an entire section of links and resources where readers can learn more about New Orleans, about Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath, and how to help.

And yes, when word got out via AD that Leo McGovern had lost pretty much his entire extensive and expensive comic book collection to Katrina, comic book fans and pros like Darick Robertson mobilized to help him out. This is just one especially unique example of AD inspiring people to lend a hand. Or send a book. There are many, many more.

Read the the book if you haven't already. Prepare to have your guts wrenched by both the subject matter and the moody art. And get ready to be inspired. Help keep up the good work.

Web Comic Wednesday

Well, I ventured into my friendly neighborood comic book retailer today not expecting anything unusual, and sure enough, I got what I didn't expect. Granted, there was nothing new in my pull box, and the one title I wanted to check out that wasn't on my pull list sold out before I got to the store. I kind of expected that. I did have an entertaining conversation with the staff and a couple of the other patrons about Captain America, the DC relaunch, conventions, and RPG's. I definitely expected that. Quality time with fellow fans is most of the fun of visiting the LCS, after all. But I found some unexpected freebies on the counter, including a coupon for a Dark Horse retailer exclusive. I snapped that up, logged in and entered the code, and got a nice look at B.P.R.D. Casualties. I say "nice look," because while I found the art quite dynamic and enthralling, I could kind of get the gist of what took place, and I always love to see what more of what Mike Mignola and company can come up with, I had difficulty actually reading the comic. Apparently figuring out how to toggle and zoom on individual panels in just the right way is a somewhat complicated art. Who knows. Maybe it's just my computer, though.

Now urban fantasy is (my admiration for SpoCon guest Patricia Briggs notwithstanding) a genre that has yet to grow on this more old school horror fan, but Blake Chen's Twilight Lady (which I saw fit to mention here before), may just do it or me. Excellent, engaging characterizations all around, some comic relief always when appropriate, and yes, some very good, strong scares  maintained my interest throughout. Przemyslaw Dedelis and Sean Burres maintain a fairly consistently high quality of art and help maintain that creepy atmosphere I find so appealing and appropriate for the subject matter. The site is also very user-friendly and easy to read, with archived pages and short stories easily accessible to people who would want to read more than just the latest update. And you will very likely want to read more. I sure did.