COMIC REVIEW: The Illustrated Al: The Songs of “Weird Al” Yankovic

When I heard that there was a graphic novel overlaying the works of “Weird Al” Yankovic, I used to be instantly intrigued by the thought. Yankovic is one of my favourite comedians in addition to an excellent musical performer. I grew up together with his work because the starting of his profession, and he’s solely improved as an artist since these days. Weird Al is an artist that deserves to be celebrated in comics type, and I used to be curious to see how Z2 Comics would sort out such a venture.

The solely lingering query is how they may execute such an concept in a means that honors the legacy of Weird Al. In apply, The Illustrated Al makes an attempt to do that by permitting a variety of creators to carry a basic Weird Al track to life on the printed web page. While this isn’t essentially a nasty concept, it has the aspect impact of being a comic book that works higher whilst you’re listening to the precise track. Still, the lyrics are totally written by Yankovic, although it isn’t clear who wrote the script or organized the web page layouts. It’s seemingly that the person creators in all probability wrote their very own layouts for every phase, primarily based on every Weird Al track they tailored. The attention-grabbing aspect of this method is how every group of creators interpreted Yankovic’s songs and what they contribute to the e book on a visible stage.

The track alternatives on this e book signify an affordable cross-section of Weird Al’s work. This consists of many of his basic songs and fan-favorite works, together with quite a few alternatives from Dare to be Stupid and “Weird Al” Yankovic in 3D. Most of the segments come from that interval of Al’s discography. At the identical time, there are alternatives from his later profession which can be represented as nicely, together with “Hardware Store”, “White and Nerdy”, “Amish Paradise”, “Smells Like Nirvana”, and different extra notable songs. It would have been good to see no less than one thing from his most up-to-date album, or perhaps a nod to different songs just like the Hamilton Polka, however the choice positively favors Al’s biggest hits. Likewise, Al’s polka medleys usually are not represented on this quantity both; seemingly this is because of rights points as a result of they embody lyrics not written by Weird Al, nevertheless it’s nonetheless a slight disappointment to see such a significant half of Al’s musical legacy excluded from the e book.

What shouldn’t be a disappointment is the spectacular roster of expertise that Z2 Comics dropped at the venture. While the record of creators is regrettably far too lengthy to correctly credit score in a evaluation like this, I can point out some of the highlights. The e book options well-known names from the comics business and even creators from outdoors it, together with the likes of Hilary Barta, Bill Plympton, Peter Bagge, Craig Rousseau, Ryan Dunlavey, and Mike and Laura Allred, in addition to an introduction by comic Emo Phillips. Bill Plympton is particularly a nice shock to see featured right here, as he’s identified for doing caricatures for main periodicals. To see a reputation of that renown drawing “One More Minute” (simply one of my favorites of Al’s authentic songs) with a excessive diploma of storytelling is well worth the asking worth of the e book by itself. Likewise, Hilary Barta is a reputation I keep in mind primarily for Marvel parody titles, and an excellent match on a comedic anthology e book like this.

Another level on this anthology’s favor is that regardless that every of the inventive groups embraces Al’s fashion of comedy, they embrace completely different influences past the comedic. The “Nature Trail to Hell” phase, as an illustration, attracts noticeably from the visible fashion of EC horror comics whereas additionally poking enjoyable at them. “Your Horoscope For Today” takes an method extra influenced by 80’s fashion tv, utilizing TV screens in place of typical panel layouts. “Mr. Popeil” borrows extra from basic science fiction comics of the 50’s and even some affect from 70’s cosmic titles in its visible method. There are intelligent visible gags that Al in all probability didn’t intend which can be nonetheless humorous; references to a “rabid Wolverine” that includes Logan and sudden cameo references add to the expertise. Other creators take extra of a contemporary fashion totally, whereas holding the tone of the track they’re adapting. Even the one-page gags are intelligent, resembling portraying “Like A Surgeon” within the fashion of hospital paperwork. The result’s a mesh of an eclectic group of voices, every of which provides one thing attention-grabbing to the mix. The particular options are additionally fairly good, together with an alternate cowl by Mike and Laura Allred, in addition to pinups and collector’s card fashion art work that includes songs that weren’t used within the anthology.

If you’re a fan of “Weird Al” Yankovic, The Illustrated Al is an efficient sufficient assortment to fulfill that itch. While Weird Al himself in all probability remained largely fingers off of the e book, the creators concerned do an excellent job of representing his musical library in comedian e book type. While there are choices I’d quibble about, together with the track choice and the obtrusive lack of polka, none of these really represents an issue or prevents me from having fun with the enjoyable content material that’s there. If you’re on the lookout for a Christmas current for that Weird Al fan in your life, this isn’t a nasty assortment to look into.