Read This in Moderation:Ten Booze-Infused Graphic Novels

Featuring Jonathan Ames, Oishinbo & Munden's Bar

By Martha Cornog -- Library Journal, 12/17/2009

It’s the time of year to make merry, so we thought it fitting to present ten graphic novels (and one anime) tapping that eons-old social lubricant for merry-making: alcohol. Our selections range across genres—fantasy through sci-fi; crime through slice of life—and include the downside of the bottle, too. We will wander into some curious watering holes. Indeed, many other comics include notable bars in their plots. What would Goats be without Pub Stub, Battle Angel Alita without Kansas, Polly and the Pirates without the Queen Meg, or Wormwood, Gentlemen Corpse without the Dark Alley? Pour yourself a drink, and belly up to the page!

For more bar lore in prose, even enough to see you into that New Year’s Day hangover, check out Modern Drunkard Magazine. A few comics, too.

Ames, Jonathan. The Alcoholic. Vertigo. 2008. 136p. ISBN 978-1-4012-1056-4. $19.99. AUTOBIOG
Fictionalizing one’s excesses can render them more colorful, even picaresque, but here writer Ames (Wake Up, Sir!) omits none of the seedy mornings-after or waking up god-knows-where on the down side of a good thing gone bad. Neither hero nor put-upon victim, Ames amply demonstrates that no answers to pain come easy before he finally accepts that nobody gets everything they want in life. Haspiel’s effectively angular black-and-white art more than does his subject justice. For adult collections.

Azuma, Hideo. Disappearance Diary. Fanfare Ponent Mon. 2008. 198p. tr. from Japanese by Kumar Sivasubramanian & Elizabeth Tiernan. ISBN 978-84-96427-42-6. pap. $22.99. AUTOBIOG
Azuma dropped out of his manga career twice, bivouacking in the open, scavenging cigarette butts, and subsisting on restaurant garbage and odd substances like cooking oil and fish heads. Booze lubricated both disappearances and later became his constant companion until his wife had him committed to a detox facility. Perhaps Azuma’s award-winning story is unusual for a manga artist, but what’s most unusual for American readers is the hypercute art—hypothermia, suicide attempts, blobby DT critters, and all. As he remarked, "This manga has a positive outlook on life, and so it has been made with as much realism removed as possible." But not quite true, since he doesn’t omit the grotty aspects or make it seem romantic. Sometimes funny, sometimes tedious, and often disturbing. Older teens and up.

Ishikawa, Masayuki. Moyasimon: Tales of Agriculture. Vol. 1. Del Rey. 2009. 240p. tr. from Japanese by Stephen Paul. ISBN 978-0-345-51472-1. pap. $10.99. F
Tadayasu can see and talk to microbes, a plus for his student life at the agricultural university. But now everyone wants his help, from two impoverished sophomores bootlegging sake to Professor Itsuki seeking help with his terraforming research. Who knew that bacteria, molds, and fungi were so important to the food and drink industries? Tadayasu sees the microbes as cute, tiny plushies, so this manga’s solid scientific content goes down way more easily than Itsuki’s yucky experiments with fermentation. Ages 16 and up. (See LJ's original review.)

Kariya, Tetsu (text) & Akira Hanasaki (illus.). Oishinbo: Sake. Viz Media. 2009. 272p. tr. from Japanese by Tetsuichiro Miyaki. ISBN 978-1-4215-2139-8. pap. $12.99. F/COOKING
Journalist and cynical foodie Yamaoka Shirô is tasked with creating an "Ultimate Menu" for the Tôzai News for its 100th anniversary celebration. But a rival newspaper has in mind a “Supreme Menu” and retains Shirô’s arrogant gastronome father to design it. Father-son rivalry and techniques relating to Japanese cuisine intermingle in this fictional manga with nonfictional intent: to give cooking buffs and armchair culinary anthropologists both enjoyment and insight re: Japanese food and—in this volume—drink. Sake, suggests Kariya, goes better with all seafood than any wine. Good sake, that is, since many brands rely on questionable manufacturing methods that change the beverage significantly. Could the small companies save the sake tradition? (See LJ's original review.)

Murphy, Mark. Tiki Joe Mysteries. Vol. 1: The High-Stakes Patsy. Slave Labor Graphics. 2008. 96p. ISBN 978-1-59362-124-7. pap. F
In a goofy, retro take on the "masked man" cliché, bar owner Joe and his house band buddies, all seasoned World War II vets, don tiki masks to fight crime incognito. They first foil a shakedown from the local thugs and then recapture the Astor diamond, stolen by a performing team of high-wire motorcyclistas. Joe’s tiki bar provides the setting for this soft-noir thriller, and Murphy’s classic high-contrast black and white art captures a 1950s feel. Written for adults but perfectly fine for teens as well. (See LJ's original review.)

Ostrander, John & various. Munden’s Bar. IDW. 2008. 120p. ISBN 978-1-60010-130-4. pap. $19.99. F
If the booze at Munden’s doesn’t give you the DTs, the customers will—three of the regulars are DTs themselves, stranded there when their host passed out forever. These stand-alone stories originally appeared as filler in First Comics’ GrimJack issues, with art and sometimes stories guested out to vary the weirdness. Munden’s exists within the multidimensional world of Cynosure and overflows with bizarre characters and sight gags (the face on the barroom floor is not a figure of speech). As for the sometimes-hilarious, sometimes-dark plots, think Cheers on drugs. Older teens and up. See below for more Munden’s.

Ostrander, John & various. We’re Going Back to Munden’s Bar. IDW. Mar. 2010. 104p. ISBN 978-160010-627-9. pap. $17.99. F
Another round of Munden’s is on the presses, including a fine story about Jesus learning to forgive himself. These stories have been running on the web and can be previewed at www.comicmix.com.

Sturges, Matthew & Bill Willingham (text) & Luca Rossi (illus.). House of Mystery. Vol. 1: Room & Boredom. Vertigo/DC Comics. 2008. 128p. ISBN 978-1-4012-2079-2. pap. $9.99.
Sturges, Matthew & Bill Willingham (text) & Luca Rossi (illus.). House of Mystery. Vol. 2: Love Stories for Dead People. 2009. 127p. ISBN 978-1-4012-2276-5. pap. $14.99. F
The first drink is on the House—the House of Mystery, located at an intersection of realities. But you can’t leave, so you’ll be paying for quite a long time by telling stories, the going currency. This twist on the Sartrean No Exit concept plays these brief tales (guested by various creators) against an overarching plot arc about the bar’s regulars and newbie Bethany "Fig" Keele, why they’re there, and what might happen next. While wryly funny as might be expected from the writers of Fables, the intent is more occult horror. It’s too soon to gauge how well crafted the saga is, but meanwhile readers can enjoy a creepy ride through some entertaining nightmares. Older teens and up.

Taylor, Dan (text) & Chris Fason (illus.). Hero Happy Hour: Heroic Edition. GeekPunk. 2009. 150p. ISBN 978-0-557-18579-5. pap. $15.00. (order from www.Lulu.com)
Taylor, Dan, Chris Fason & various. Hero Happy Hour: Super Special Flashback. GeekPunk. 2007. 70p. ISBN NA. pap. $7.49. HUMOR (order from www.indyplanet.com)
The hardest part about being a superhero, grumps the Guardian, may be having to tinkle in tights. Take one bartender, a group of superheroes, a disgruntled sidekick, a bunch of supervillains, and assorted other characters. Combine in a comfortable bar, shake vigorously, and enjoy the fun. The Hideout Bar & Grill caters to the superheroes of First City, so it’s all shoptalk, gossip, and the occasional dust-up. Fason’s blocky, minimalist black-and-white art in Heroic Edition is not fancy but effective. Flashback features stories and art from a number of industry folks, many well known. Recommended for older teens and up in libraries where superheroes are popular.

Young, Larry (text) & Charlie Adlard (illus.). Astronauts in Trouble: One Shot, One Beer. AiT/Planet Lar. 2000. 72p. ISBN 978-0-9676847-5-8. pap. $7.95. F
Cool Ed’s is the only bar on the moon and the only Guinness on tap for 240,000 miles. So you can’t be too particular about your drinking companions or the stories they tell. Naturally, the bartender is a robot, probably the only being that could put up with the lunar clientele of pioneers, claim jumpers, ice rustlers, and mine workers. Tall tales about Mount Everest, moon landings, Korean kings, and erratic toilets in classic black and white. Older teens and up.

Anime

Bartender. color. 11 episodes. 275 min. Sasaki Watanabe (director). Palm Studio. 2006. ASIN B000KCI8FC. DVD. price varies. F
At Eden Hall, the bartender knows just what drink you want—but what’s better, he knows what drink you need to heal your psyche. Curiously, you can only find that bar when you need it.... This low-key, slice-of life anime follows customers as they stumble into Eden Hall and come under the spell of master bartender Ryu Sasakura. Each episode contains a stand-alone story about a particular customer in relation to a specific drink made by Ryu. After his ministrations, complete with close-ups of drink preparation and the recipe, each customer returns refreshed with new purpose to the world outside. Not available from a U.S. distributor, so purchase with caution. Copies may be subtitled but are not dubbed and may be bootleg.