nerdtastic

Cosmocopia

Cosmocopia is a surrealist story that takes place in an alternate universe. It relies on the strange environment to do most of the storytelling. This is my first book by Paul Di Fillipo. I found out about the book through Fantagraphics bookstore. While advertising for the limited edition book claims that it is illustrated by Jim Woodring, creator of the Frank comics, this is far from the truth. There are no illustrations in the book. There is a 500 piece puzzle of the box cover art by Woodring. I was seriously dissapointed by the lack of other art, considering the book is described as illustrated. The cover art by Woodring does fit the story quite well, and I enjoyed the story itself.

The story begins with Frank Lazorg, an artist past his prime, receiving a miraculous drug that reinvigorates him for one last masterpiece. He goes overboard and the drug sends him to an alternate universe with bizarre humanoids and creatures.

I noticed many similarities  to Faust: A tragedy involving his lover, his overcoming his conflicts and rivals, and an eventual parody of redemption. Like Faust, who is never satisfied with his life and the amount of knowledge he has, Lazorg is not satisfied with his success and accomplishments as an artist.The drug serves effectively as a devil symbol and as a gateway to youth, knowledge, and success. In this story the tempted is thrown into an alternate universe where he finds his new female companionship and success with art.  The “devil” shows up at the end as well, ironically a sort of bland, detached god of all creation as well as the temptation that led Lazorg astray in the first place.

I enjoyed reading Cosmocopia. It’s pretty far out on the weird scale, but Fillipo writes well, and while the weirdness has more too it than simply shock value, the symbolism does not detract from the science fiction tale at its heart.

The Graveyard Book

Neil Gaiman is satisfying and addicting. Unlike most authors these days he knows how to tell a fantastic story with a deeper meaning below the surface, instead of assorted contrived meanings with a fantastical story thrown in. The Graveyard book is a very entertaining story about a boy who grows up in a graveyard and is raised by ghosts and other supernatural creatures. It also happens to be an homage to The Jungle Book. You can take or leave the comparison and still enjoy the book as a whole. Gaiman is subtle with his references to classic elements such as werewolves, and as a result they feel familiar but not stale. He always puts his own spin on ideas that I think have been written to death.

Bird Master

I have a friend who has learned a little about crows, such as the below video. He also told me about a guy that trained crows to bring spare change to his balcony in exchange for peanuts. So now he goes to the park and is trying to train a crow fleet to do his bidding. I can see him now, exiting the park, birds clinging to his limbs while cawing and attacking nearby pedestrians.