Broken Frontier

What would it be like if your television could talk to you and give you interesting shows that are funny and inventive? It would look something like this.

The Godfather of Soul acting as a disciple of Jesus, a couple meeting for a date, a humorous look at an African American Dracula, and a Kato Kaitlan entertainment news show interview. At first glance these items do not seem as if they could be related in any way, let alone show up in an anthology book together. But here in the wonderful world of television, where there are hundreds of channels, you can easily switch from topic to topic by pushing the channel up button (or in this case flipping the page). The book is designed with that in mind, using both short one page stories and longer multi-page ones in order to give it the feel that sometimes you want to flip around and others you get something interesting that deserves your complete attention, whether because it’s awesome or such a train wreck you can’t look away.

It would take a skilled writer to not only put together these individual stories but also to keep them all together and make it work in a book. And thankfully, Ryan Alexander Tanner is such a writer. He deftly blends humor into the tales, writing some with slapstick and others with tongue planted firmly in cheek. His Life of James Brown one pagers are hysterical at their transporting the Godfather of Soul into ancient times and having him interact with Jesus. The Kato Kaitlan interview is hysterical as it looks at the nature of celebrity in today’s world. And the best of all, "That Song From the 60’s" is an incredibly inventive look at two people getting together. The only misstep seems to be "The Spectacula Dracula" which feels as if it has been done before to better effect (although, I would be lying if I said it didn’t make me laugh a bit).

In terms of artistic design, Tanner isn’t going to break new ground here. But then again, he doesn’t have to. He uses a straight cartoonist style and tends to keep close to a 6 panel grid for all the stories. And thankfully, this works to proper effect in the book. The idea that all these stories are coming through the same television set is only enhanced by the multitude of stories being told in similar visual storytelling styles. Sometimes, simple is the most effective way to tell a story (or stories) and Tanner understands this and never tries to do too much. Everything is clear and precise, the linework is never overdone and it all goes together perfectly to tell the tale.

Ryan Alexander Tanner is one new talent that should not be missed. He won’t reach everyone in a world still dominated by capes and four colors, but those who do read him will be impressed and left wanting more.

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More information on Ryan Alexander Tanner and Television #1 can be found at www.ohyesverynice.com