Being an artist is hard. Being a comic artist is even harder. Everyone who has tried their hand at creating a comic knows the hard work, heartbreak, rejection and endless bottles of booze associated with the trade. Who better to know how that than comic writers Margaret Atwood and Ken Steacy in their newest series “Warbears†and it hit will hit home for many.
In 1943, Alain Zurakowski is a struggling comic book artist who finally lands a job at “Canoodle Comics.†It is here that his boss notices his drawing of Oursonette and that’s where his troubles start with the publisher.
If you’re any kind of artist, especially a comic book artist, you know that the business is a huge battlefield and getting your art to even be looked at by an editor is a miracle. In fact, even if you work for a comic company, the chances of them even looking at your original work is slim to none. This comic reaches out to those artists who go through this kind of thing daily. You get hired by a company and they tell you your job is to draw speech bubbles.
Of course, for those who aren’t artists will find an OK story. It’s mostly about a weird guy living with his parents landing his dream job and suffering the realities of it. Not much to it, but it is effective in making the reader identify with Alain.
Steacy’s art looks exactly like the artwork that was common back in the forties. Seeing as how this comic takes place during that decade and that the story is about the comics industry of the time it makes this even better. On top of that, Steacy even throws in the sound effect styles that were used in that decade which is a nice touch.
While the first issue of “Warbears†may come off as generic for some, comic artists will love it since it basically tells their story with art that perfectly copies the comic style of the 1940s. A must read for any comic artist.
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