Review -- SMUTTYNOSE

Smuttynose
Written by Bob Oxman
Pencils by Bob Oxman
Indie
Smuttynose is a comic that is one of those that is rather hard to know just how to review.
To begin with the story is basically a historically true one, so you can’t really argue with what unfolds.
That said, I am not sure why two issues in, creator Bob Oxman chose this particular story to bring to life. Frankly, it’s just not all that compelling.
The story is based on a murder case, but the first two issues focus to much on background, and not enough on the action.
Oxman might have wanted to start with the murder, or trial and then fill in the background as flashbacks or court testimony to punch up the book’s tempo.
For Oxman though the story clearly holds interest.
“The storyline is inspired by three things, the court testimony from the transcript in the Augusta, Maine court records, the news and tabloids published just after the murders, and the subsequent books published since then,” explained the writer artist. “There is also an element of fiction blended into the comic which at times fills in the gaps of what is known/speculation. This is where I have taken the most liberties, but I have tried to remain faithful to the facts for the most part.
Oxman said the murders have held an interest for him since he found out about the case.
“I have been interested in the Smuttynose murders since I stumbled upon to the story when visiting Star Island a few years ago,” he said. “I was visiting with the Star Island Hotel’s museum curator to do research for a comic book about New England ghosts. I went to see Betty Moody’s cave and a few other spots. After that she asked if I wanted to see something really scary. Of course I agreed. She got her assistant to check out a rowboat and we were soon on our way to Smuttynose Island. I videotaped the voyage. I was a bit nervous about sharks as she mentioned there were several seal carcasses washed up on some of the other isles. When we arrived at Smuttynose she walked me to where the old Hontvet house used to sit and told me the tale for the first time. When she was finished I put the ghost stories aside and made the decision to make Smuttynose my senior thesis at The Center for Cartoon Studies where I was about to begin my second year in the MFA program.
“I spent that first year researching, writing, and sketching and in June of 2007 I handed in my completed illustrated script. It was around 100 pages of combined writing and drawings, but it was in order to secure the MFA in Cartoon Studies, I had to go back and complete and self-publish the first issue, Smuttynose Issue #1, as CCS is a Comic Book making school essentially. I have been treating that thesis as a template for the comics I’m making now.
Oxman said research has proved the critical element of the book.
“The website, http://www.seacoastnh.com/Places_&_Events/Smuttynose_Murders/ has been invaluable for me,” he said. “The research is still an ongoing part of the process, and a challenge, but as I said before there is an element of fiction in my work as well as filling in some of the gray areas or gaps where the history, faces, or events are unclear. This combination of sticking to the facts while keeping a touch of creative freedom is what keeps the work interesting, as does when some of my questions get answered by other authors on the subject. The down side is sometimes I feel compelled to go back and make changes to maintain historical accuracy, but I will have ample opportunity to do that when all four mini comics are done and I move on to putting them together in a collected graphic novel format.
As a collected story the book may have more action to carry it, but the individual first issues are lacking in that.
The art too is interesting.
The work is again frankly rather crude, but if you think of it as a period piece, it seems to be a fairly effective tool in terms of setting era. Remember the murder took place in 1873, and the art looks like it might well have originated then.
If it’s done for style it works, although in modern terms the art doesn’t rate.
Oxman said the art is for effect.
“In regards to the aesthetic of the comics, my art style is influenced by a number of sources including the news print illustrations and photos that were printed just after the murder but, I also am very fond of old German wood cut prints which a lot of the art is inspired by and I also like William Blake Prints,” he said. “My only formal training in art was the two years I spent at the Center for Cartoon Studies in White River Junction, VT. Before that I was a Zoo Train Engineer and Creative Literature major at UC Santa Barbara's Center for Creative Studies. I have been sketching comics off and on since I stopped paying attention in high school math class and started making satire panels in the grid books.
“The art classes at Hanover High were nourishing, but I never became particularly proficient drawing in an ultra realistic style.
“While I wish that I could draw like comic book legends/New Yorker cover artists Dan Clowes (Eighball), Adrian Tomine (Optic Nerve), or Mike Magnolia (Hellboy), I realize my limitations and have learned to work out my own "primitive style" to draw my stories in a way that feels authentic and enjoyable to me. I currently work for an art museum so I am constantly finding new inspirations.”
Even Oxman looks at the result of his work as somewhat mixed.
“Sometimes the results are good and sometimes I don't like what ends up on the page, but the most important thing for me right now is to keep at it, stay inspired, and see this project through to the end,” he said.
Oxman said overall he has created something he said he would like as a comic buyer.
“The Smuttynose comics look like the kind of raw mini-comic book I would have wanted to buy when I was collecting and buying comics every week in the 1990's at The Funny Book Factory in Lebanon, NH (formerly know as Club Comics),” he said. “There was this period of time when all the books were just too shiny or over produced at least, in terms of cover-versus-content. There were too few books that I could sink my teeth into in terms of plot and character development. My tastes are eclectic. I read a lot of Heavy Metal magazine for more underground variety, but I also like Sam Keith's and Jim Lee's work in the mainstream press. I wasn't really aware of self-published comics until much later as it seems the distribution networks were undergoing a slow evolution from the 1960's underground comics/hippie shops to today's modern internet distribution networks like the one that carries my book, iknowjoekimpel.com. ”
There is more of the Smuttynose murder to tell too.
“While the first mini-comic book serves as a prequel/origin story to Maren Hontvet and her family,” said Oxman. “The second book serves to bring Louis Wagner into the lives of the Hontvets and Christensens. The third book will be focused on the murders themselves. It will also begin to more fully depict the divergence of perspective of the characters based on the court room testimony.”
Not a book I can highly recommend, but an interesting one for true murder and history buffs to check out.
The book will be available at: http://www.iknowjoekimpel.com/Bob-Oxman.php
-- CALVIN DANIELS

-- Appeared on Yorkton This Week WebXtra