Sullivan's Sluggers
By Mark Andrew Smith and James Stokoe (sullivanssluggers.bigcartel.com)
It's sad when a great project is tainted by an unfortunate series of events. Much like the plot line of Mark Andrew Smith's and James Stokoe's Sullivan's Sluggers, the Kickstarter debacle that's followed has been like watching a slaughter in slow motion. However, when setting aside the politics and rumor mill surrounding Sullivan's Sluggers (check the link in the previous sentence if you want the details--we won't be covering them here), it is still at its core an amazing and interesting book.
Physically, the book is a goliath. It's rare to see a 120 plus-page, hardcover, full color comic book that includes a set of collectable character-based trading cards, a print, and a triple size fold-out insert. After reading and rereading Sullivan's Sluggers, the $60 price tag actually seems reasonable for a book as beautiful and ambitious as it is. Part of what makes this book great is how creative and innovative some of the features are. It's weird even talking about a book having features, but the terrain of Sullivan's Sluggers is as important as the story itself. It's truly a collectible work of art worth spending some time with, and not simply pounding through on a rainy afternoon in between episodes of Archer.
James Stokoe's art in many ways carries this book. After his huge success with Orc Stain, Stokoe's name has been popping up on more and more projects. His art is amazing detailed, unique and dripping with personal style. Think Barf Callahan meets Paul Pope. There's almost no way to describe his illustration beyond calling it rich, cartoony, and stunning. In many cases, the sheer breadth and range of his talent is enough to stop readers in their tracks, and Stokoe's work nearly mandates that any reader turn the pages once for plot, and once for picture. My interest in Stokoe's art was definitely the driving force behind committing to a book with such a hefty price tag.
Rich in humor, Smith's writing draws the reader in, and makes them feel at home with the large and sometimes confusing cast of characters. The storyline is something nearly all readers are familiar with. It begins with a group of minor-league baseball players traveling from game to game. As the ragtag band of heroes reach the next game, they encounter a tree filled with hanging bodies, and from there, things only get worse. What follows is a gore-spattered town-wide battle in which Sullivan's Sluggers engage in guerilla warfare with an interesting and beautifully illustrated host of demons.
At points however, the sheer number of people dying is confusing and hard to keep up with. The story stabs into the meat of the plot rather quickly, leaving the reader limited time to connect with and care about the characters they are watching die. Beyond this confusion however, the story flows seamlessly and is entertaining enough to warrant reading the entire book in one sitting. Sullivan's Sluggers is definitely not an episodic trade, but more a borderline epic, meant to wash over the reader in wave after wave of green toothy demons. The climax left my palms sweaty despite being a pretty typical showdown scenario. As well, the twisting and unique take on the Evil Dead scenario was satisfying enough that the read felt complex and entertaining, drawing me in page by page.
Despite Smith's regrettable actions on Kickstarter, Sullivan's Sluggers is a book worth checking out. It's the epitome of what makes comics so important to literature. The fact that artists like James Stokoe are willing to push the boundaries of conventional design and produce books that are special, and that continue to make print storytelling important, even if they are just replaying a tried and true plot line.