Or, as I call it, the book with the longest title I’ve ever reviewed! Anyway, for being such a lover of comics and the Portland comic scene in particular, I have no idea why I never read Erika’s work until the 2009 Stumptown Comics Fest. Just file it under crap I’ve massively failed at; and that is one hell of a file. None of that matters now, for I’ve read DAR: A Super Girly Top Secret Comic Diary and am in full on fanboy love with Erika Moen and her completely shameless style and humor. Picking up her book at the Lady Parts Show at Sequential Art Gallery last week, I’ve read DAR 4 times cover-to-cover and each time it makes me chortle. Yes, chortle. The kind of laugh that only happens when you’re both shocked and amused at what just jumped from the page. Somehow, Erika takes what some might consider “locker room” or “potty” jokes and makes them both relatable and kinda’, well, sweet. Yup, DAR is filled with the sweetest and smartest fart, boob, penis, and vagina jokes you’ll ever read.

But don’t for once think that is all that’s going on in DAR.

There are some serious emotional and social issues happening between page 1 and page 104. Grasping with her own sexual identity as a “lesbian that happens to love one boy” and how others may or may not view her life choices, Erika never once holds back. (Sometimes to the chagrin of her past and current partners). But even with those issues, DAR faces them with a wink and a smile. To quote the book, “Whatever. We’re getting laid”! Really, who can argue with that logic?  No one. (Well, maybe the Oregon City Dairy Queen, as their wee-brained manager felt the book shouldn’t be read in their establishment). Why? Well, the book is packed with boobies, wieners, and who-haws. The poor children of Oregon City must be protected!

Well, I couldn’t disagree more. Would I let some little kid read DAR? Well, no. Would I let someone in their early teens pick it up? Hell yes I would. Never once are Erika’s depictions of the human form salacious or graphic. Just the opposite in fact. The naughty bits are just kinda’ there, you know, like in real life and shit. Indeed, the humor Erika uses to grasp her own emotions and conflicts would be a boon to many a teen. Hell, a book like DAR would have been a great help for me back in the day. Would it have made everything better? Naw, cause been a teen sucks ass. Would it have made me laugh knowing this crap happens to everyone? Hell yes!

As one that can’t draw to save his life I always feel odd commenting on the art. Still, I know clean lines and expression when I see them. Erika’s work in DAR has it! In fact, it is interesting to watch her grow as an artist throughout the book as it covers almost three years of her life. Her simple-looking lines are extremely expressive and even without words, you know what Erika is saying. As Scott McCould states on the cover of  DAR: A Super Girly Top Secret Comic Diary, “Erika Moen’s comics make me feel like dancing!” I’m willing to bet they will do the same to you, because her work has that kind of effect on you. Now go out and find her work at www.darcomic.org, buy her book, and get to chortling!

Written, Penciled, Colored, & Lettered by Jimmy Gownley
Published by Renaissance Press

A few things occurred to me this past week or so. One, a large number of the comics I read lately have been pretty dang heavy. Even my “escapist” superhero books are getting all kinds of serious. Hell, my childhood hero is “dead”, bad guys run the Marvel Universe (the “616” one, the “Ultimate” one is getting blasted to kingdom come). I mean, it says a lot about capes and cowl comics when my most jovial read comes from The Secret Six, a book about villains! Two, for a column known as “Four-Color Spotlight”, every entry has been about Black & White books, not that I care, but I should at least get some color into my life. Finally, while on the subject of color, I’ve been slammed with less than good news fairly regularly this past week or so. Now, I’m not looking for sympathy, but I am looking to bring a little joy into my life. Well, $4.99 later I have it. Joy brought on by a one Jimmy Gownley and his bright-eyed creation, Amelia Rules!.

Amelia Rules! reminded me why I fell in love with comics and superheroes in the first place.

Because they’re fun. Yes, comics can and do tell serious stories about serious topics, but dang it, they can also make you grin in childlike glee. Amelia Rules! does this in spades. Young Amelia is a city girl now living in a small town after her parents get a divorce. Once surrounded by the never-ending vibrancy of New York, she now lives with her mom and the perennially “cool Aunt”. At first resistant, Amelia learns she’s going to be in this town for a good long while and she better make the best of it. Enter her new friends, the founding members of G.A.S.P. ( Gathering of Awesome Super Pals). Each kid in G.A.S.P. filling their role in the superhero pantheon. They have the brains, the courage, the power, and the awesomeness to tackle any issue thrown at them. Be it a sneeze of such epic proportions it threatens to engulf the world in mutant mucus, or atomic wedgie wielding bullies from a higher grade. Therein lies the charm of Amelia Rules!. The more trivial the issue; the greater the threat to the globe. Yet, the more adult the event or situation, the easier Amelia and her friends can solve the problem (and are utterly stunned that we grown-ups can’t figure it out).

Amelia Rules! Was the perfect book at the perfect time.

Jimmy’s art is clean and crisp, with the strong simplicity of the best Sunday Funnies. However, when he needs to turn on the detail to illustrate Amelia’s imagination, his skills truly shine. He isn’t afraid to break out of the traditional panel-to-panel format of most comics, his main character is an imaginative child and the book layout reflects that. Finally, as much as I am loathe to compare one artists work to another, I feel it is unavoidable this time out. If you find yourself missing the distilled youthful exuberance of Calvin and Hobbes, then you owe it to yourself to pick up a copy of Amelia Rules!. Good for the young, good for the old, and everyone else in between, Amelia Rules! perked this Geek back up when he needed it the most. She’ll do it for you too!

In Portland, you can find Amelia Rules! At Cosmic Monkey Comics. Live outside the City of Roses? Check out www.ameliarules.com.