The Red and Black (Athens, Ga.) 1893-current, May 01, 2009, Image 6

Georgia Historic Newspapers

The Red and Black, May 01, 2009, Page 6, Image 6

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Newspaper Page TextFriday, May i, 2009 | The Red & Black [ Finals Edition 6 Graphic shorts ‘quite lovely’ fiction stories Koren Shadmi’s “In the Flesh” is a dark, sometimes brilliant collec tion of comics about relationships that don’t quite work, including a boy trying to have a relationship with a headless girl and a woman fix ated on a children’s TV personality. The wonderful thing about these graphic shorts is the characters’ sense of wonder at why things go wrong, from mismatched intentions to financial issues. Shadmi’s art is powerfully expressive. His rough pencils and bleak palette illicit a grim tone of both the characters and the world in which they live. But Shadmi’s visual storytelling is lacking. He doesn’t employ tech niques unique to graphic novels there’s rarely a juxtaposition of words only possible in comics. The text is almost entirely driven by word balloons from characters in that panel. It almost reads like a film. I would have liked to see more experimentation with the strengths of the medium. The dialogue is strong. Even in the bizarre personal situations, Shadmi consistently creates r£al conversation that resonates well with the characters and their envi ronment. The “schtickiness” of the stories may irk readers. Though they all have a unique take on relationships, they follow a very distinct formula: “normal” people finds themselves with someone they’re into, but due "to a very unusual complication, it NO WHERE BAR Evary Monday Night $2 fill Regular Domestic Bottles Every Tuesday $1 off all Draft Pitchers 1 Every Day $2.75 24 oz. Cans iii)iiiiiiiiiiiHMiHiiiiiiiiiiii|iiiHuiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiMiiiiiiiiHiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiMiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii^^miiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiMiiiiiiiiiiiiiimmiiiiiMiimiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiim BE ENTERED TO WIN THE ULTIMATE LIFESTYLE PACKAGE: A YEAR OF FREE RENT AT THE ATHENS AMERICAN CAMPUS COMMINITY PROPERTY OF YOUR CHOICE, SIOOO BOOK SCHOLARSHIP TO EAST CAMPUS BOOKSTORE & A SCOOTER PROVIDED BY TOP GEAR MOTORS IN THE FLESH Verdict: Darkly funny, emotionally powerful and visually impressive, but guilty occasion ally of repeating itself. cannot work out. Each story works well on its own, but near the end I wanted to say, “Alright, I get it.” Ultimately, I found “In the Flesh” quite lovely. It’s not perfect, or a landmark in graphic novels, but it’s different and demonstrates the growth of the medium. I’d recom mend it for any fan of surreal fiction and anyone who’s on the fence about comics as literature. Christopher Taylor is a senior majoring in newspapers RIVER CLUB Will RIVER WALK A P A R I M I N I S “l~L=r I O W N II O M 1; S 1005 MACON HWY • 706 543.4400 400 TIMOTHY RD • 706.548.0600 RIVFRCLUBAPARTMENTS.COM RIVERWALKTOWNHOMES.COM TEXT CLUB TO 47464 TEXT WALK TO 47464 <iwm l> Allli l‘l,< il I V.H.jUAI I V f-lAflA<.l.l, 11/ 1 ]'] ■M I V |( A !•! IA,M |’ I .f ( l MT.ttfVjl Ii I fe) May we suggest a graduation gift? (Hint: Pass this ad along to your parents) 1 I | peachmac ./ macs • ipods • software • service 1850 Epps Bridge Pkwy • 706-208-9990 • peachmac.com • also in Augusta The amazing new Macßooks at Peach Mac. VARIETY Mercy Suite low-key, inoffensive’ The performance following Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Yusef Komunyakaa’s poetry reading at the University Performing Arts Center in early April was probably more improvisational than intended. One of the musi cians couldn’t make it at the last minute. The group was set to per form a few tracks off the recently released “The Mercy Suite” co-written by Komunyakaa and performed by The Shapeshifter Ensemble. The album is informed by Komunyakaa’s maturation in New Orleans and his own experiences as a Vietnam War veteran (see: his most famous poem “Facing It” and tracks four and nine). Of the 10 compositions with vocals, co-writer Tomas Doncker sings lead on five of them. Doncker’s smooth tones resonate with a var nished, pitch-perfect or Auto-Tune pitch-perfected resin. On some songs it works, on others not so much: Doncker’s voice may be a little too unsullied and clean to sing about heavy material such as the atroci ties of war. Most of the songs are influenced by the gospel impulse, marked by rollicking organ and a confessional intensity that is sometimes surprising, though the album THE MERCY SUITE Verdict: A rather bland explora tion of unspecific themes that fades into the background rather than taking center stage. is more spiritual than reli gion-specific. “Have Mercy, Mr. Percy” is the only instrumental track and serves as an upbeat interlude from the album’s more serious matters. The song is curiously followed by an acoustic reprise of an ear lier track, “Rumors of War.” The song’s reappearance could imply that “The Mercy Suite” ran out of ideas. The acoustic version’s vocal-cen tricism and simpler arrange ment, however, make it an infinitely better song than the overproduced and cli ched original that helps open the album. New York-based vocalist Morley has the strongest voice of the ensemble, and her blue-eyed soul runs appearing on two songs. Her voice is sonically closest to a less fragile, more self-assured Beth Gibbons. Morley can appropriately tone it down, too. Her spiritual slowly floats by in a dandelion breeze as she sings, “Let my voice ride the wind” in the closing track. Instrumentally, Booker King and Meshell Ndegeocello’s electric bass parts steal the show. In con trast, the drumming is just adequate. Besides the omni present kick drum in most of the songs, the same drum effect could be replicated effectively on an old drum machine. “The Mercy Suite” is a competent album best suited for nightcaps with S2O sauvi gnon blanc. The record’s big gest offense may just be its inoffensiveness it digests with a little cheese, even a bit of lime zest for flavor, but mostly with a smooth, easy listening, low-key quiet. If the album were a color, it would be a pastel. If it were a painting, it would be achieved in broad strokes, engaging mostly unspecific themes like love, war and the circle of learning. If it were a party, it would be a dinner party of middle-aged liberals or maybe black conservative Christians. To wit, my grand parents love this album. Christopher Benton is a variety staff writer.