"I Am a Quantum Copy of You"

Rockstar Scientists #1 (Angry Fruit Salad): Writer Kenny Jeffery was kind enough to send me a PDF review copy of the first issue, and it was pretty fun! The series is planned for 5 issues, will be available at Graphicly.com, and postulates a world where scientists became adored by the masses like rock stars. There are stand-ins for Elvis and a Beetle-esque group, building a world that makes connections between the 1950's and 60's cultural touchstones of war, music, space, and civil rights. My favorite part, though, was definitely the art of George Zapata. It demands your attention with a garish pop color sensation that suits the tone of the rolicking story very well. The aesthetic reminds me of something in between Nathan Fox and Mike Allred, with the thick wisps of ink that someone like Guy Davis puts on the page to provide a sense of movement to static objects. The back-up story, with art by Jordan Cutler, isn't quite as strong, but still offers some interesting visuals. It's apropos that it feels like a Grade B to the Grade A work of the first piece, since it's overtly structured as a b-side cut from an album. The only small criticisms I have are that at times the narrative was a tiny bit unclear, but that was a result of the writer avoiding exposition and letting the art shine, and was quickly cleared up by a second read-through of one sequence. It also feels a bit like a sampler package; the bad part of that is that it seems incomplete, but the good part is that it makes me want to read the forthcoming issues. It would be fun to see a print version of this someday, complete with a more polished cover including creator info and price point, and all of the little accoutrements that print offers. The contents are certainly strong enough to carry such a package. Grade A-.