Quote from: Colin_YNWA on 24 August, 2015, 09:19:41 PM
Hip Hop Family Tree 1 is equally frustrating. There's a lot of history to get in here but if it was told in a less literal way there could be a cracking comics here. There were so many things reduced to either a page, or even a panel I'd have like to have seen given more space and time. Still its a fascinating read, if it could be so much more and so deserves more time.
Haven't read this myself yet but it was a series I wanted to get into, even though I know nothing about hip hop and have hardly listened to any, because of Piskor's brilliant artwork and the amazing style he presents the comic in. Well, first of all: yay, footnotes. Doubt it'll help me understand who everyone is that much but it adds a lot of context to the various scenes, which looks quite interesting (and by the way, although I get your complaint of the little time being spent in various places, it's worth keeping in mind that the series was released into at least one book first before Piskor started releasing short instalments of the strip on BoingBoing and as he's pointed out, there's so much to cover and he intends to take the series as far as he possibly can), and I can appreciate that. Secondly, yep, it looks seriously amazing. Not just because it draws influence for its look from comics Piskor read as a kid - he's just a great artist. I quite enjoy following him on Twitter because he's always posting sketches for pages he's working on, the pencilled work and finally the inked page.
Thirdly - and this was the first thing I noticed when I went to skim through my copy - I recall a specific feature video on the series where Piskor guided the cameraman through where he grew up, the places he hangs out as he's doing his work, etc. or another one like that. Anyway, at one point, talking briefly about the presentation of the book, how it's emulating comics from the time the series is set in, he jokes that the only thing the books are missing is the smell of old newsprint. So imagine my surprise when I get this comic in my hands and find that Fantagraphics are so nuts that that the comic - I presume the books don't - actually does smell! Hah! Gotta say, I loved that.