Completely Creative Comic: Cardboard!

     Doesn't the title of this post sound like an overly literal translation of a Japanese TV show title? As I said last week, my summer tends to be insanely busy, so the only fiction I really get to consume with any consistency is the kind with pictures. namely, Comic books. So this summer, I'm going to try to review a different comic or graphic novel every week. This week: Doug TenNapel's Cardboard.

My history with Doug TenNapel's work is interesting, as, though I've been aware of his work for awhile... I never knew it was him who was behind it. Let's backtrack, you aware of this little video game called Earthworm Jim? I was. While my experience was limited, and I never got very far in any of the two games I played. (oddly enough, I only have the vaguest recollections of playing the original, while I played the N64 one quite a few times. I never made it past the first world)Jim's crazy (and bizarrely Cow obsessed) world stuck with me well enough, that when I discovered TenNapel's other works and philosophical writings, I was ecstatic to find out that this fascinatingly outspoken Christian comic artist was also the guy who made Earthworm Jim.

One of the first comics of his that I read was this one, Cardboard, and while I still haven't read all of them, Cardboard is my favorite of the bunch, easily. (My library is rather spotty when it comes to comics. They have some new stuff, which is great, but everything else is hit or miss. You want famous Batman arcs like Knightfall? Nope. You want Batman Vs. Predator? Gotcha covered. Like... that's cool and all, but... what?) What makes Cardboard stand out from other comics? Well, let's see

1. Properly balanced weirdness
     I say this with all due respect and admiration, Mr. Tennapel is a WEIRD guy, even by my rather generous standards. Go play Earthworm Jim or go read one of his comics like Gear and see what I mean. Sometimes, it's too weird for me, but not Cardboard. Cardboard is the best kind of weird, where crazy things happen featuring crazy creatures, but it's balanced with a good heart and sense of humor, and the weirdness is never too over the top.

2. All ages, ALL OF THEM
    I really despise the lack of quality all ages comics. Even if you try to find a decent PG-rated comic with minor swearing and violence, your pickings are slim. And odds are also that they won't be very entertaining to anyone over the ages of six through ten, but Cardboard is a thoroughly entertaining comic book that can be enjoyed by any age. That's right, ANY AGE. Even Babies, because the colorful pictures are mesmerizing.

3. Heart and Art
     The story of Cardboard mostly revolves around a Dad who's down on his luck and is determined to take care of his son, even without a steady job and still in shambles from the loss of his wife, and therefore unable to appreciate the affections of his lovely and attentive neighbor. The stuff with him feels emotionally true, and so does the stuff featuring the obnoxious neighbor rich kid, Marcus, who acts out and treats people like dirt because he honestly doesn't believe that he can even begin to compare with his successful father, he might actually be the real star here. Even Bill, the sentient cardboard boxer deals with the fact that he is INDEED sentient. All of these arcs have some solid emotional weight behind them. The artwork of this book is also fantastic. Doug TenNapel has a signature style, and it really works well in this kinda realistic, kinda fantastic world of living cardboard and average Joes. (Both Bill and Marcus are particularly evident displays of Mr. TenNapel's handy-work)

4. It's funny
     Seriously, several gags in here are laugh out loud hilarious, and several are the kind of subtle humor I get a kick out of. I won't say much more, as not to ruin the fun, but the origin of the cardboard's strange powers has got to be one of my favorite explanations for anything ever.

But I do have two minor nitpicks I must, in the interest of balance, point out. One happens early in the book, the other is a major spoiler though, and I'll put it after the summary below, alright?

-1. Breaking Da Rules
Towards the beginning of the story, when the Dad receives the cardboard, he is given two rules. The first is that he may not ask for any more cardboard, and the second, is that he return any unused cardboard back to the salesmen. These rules are both broken (of course, otherwise where's the danger?) and the dad is hammered with his rule breaking when Bill (the cardboard boxer) is injured and he comes to ask for more cardboard. The thing that bugs me about this scenario is... What exactly was he supposed to do? Looking at the time table here, I get no indication that it's been more than a day or so since Bill came to life (I was actually originally under the impression that it was within the same 24 hour time period, but after checking, I can see how it's possible it's been a bit longer) So was the dad supposed to, as soon as they finished with their project (Bill) turn around and drop off the scraps right then? Were they supposed to just let Bill die there on the spot? I get that the best magic in fairytales come with rules and laws. And I like that, but this seems like a case requiring further deliberation. But again, this is me being nitpicky.

This book, in short, is something I plan to get a copy of for my very own at some point soon. It's an easy read, packed well with heart and humor and great artwork. I HIGHLY recommend it to anyone even moderately interested in it.

















Okay, now I'll briefly discuss a problem I had with
THE VERY END OF THE BOOK,
LIKE, 
MAJORLY SPOILERIFIC, 
LITERALLY THE SECOND TO LAST SCENE (AND WOULD ACTUALLY BE THE VERY LAST IF IT WEREN'T FOR A TWO PANEL FINAL IMAGE WE GET AT THE VERY, VERY END)
KINDA MAJORLY SPOILERLY SPOILED McSPOILTON SPOILERS! 
we clear?

-2. Bill's Reappearance
     So, towards the end of the book, Bill comes to terms with his own mortality and sacrifices himself to save the boy, Cam, his Dad, and even Marcus, the neighbor kid who kinda made an evil cardboard army that just tried to murder them all. This is strong stuff here, but the part that weirds me out, is during the epilogue of the book, Cam and his father, along with a newly reformed Marcus, are all working on rebuilding Marcus's house when an new workman shows up asking for a job working construction. Aaaaaand here's where it gets weird. We're basically left the impression that this is actually Bill, reincarnated as a human being. (His name is William, he has a scar "from a fight last night" that matches one Bill got during the massive cardboard monster battle, and he demonstrates his skills by PUNCHING a nail into some wood instead of using a hammer) While this is all happy ending warm fuzzy stuff, which I love, so I'm down with the idea, this comes outta nowhere. And he makes no indication that he and the cardboard guy they saw die less than a day ago are one in the same. Heck, he doesn't even say a word to Cam who he was sworn to protect. He just sorta shows up and the reader is left with a puzzled feeling, rather than a satisfying one. Still a great book, though.