Wednesday, April 8, 2020

Speed Guru vs Plastic Crimewave book and comic set

(2013, Prophase) Plastic Crimewave has improved his portraiture, design,  and drawing markedly over the years of doing his Secret History comics, but because his narrative(ish) comics were frequently psychedelic non-linear underground comix tributes he has proven himself more as an illustrator than a comics maker. But this high concept (as in, you had to be high for a long time to fully execute this concept) project proves his merits as a member of the Kirby-tribe. Recreating a 1970s Power Record (the lavish comic book and read-along 45-single sets put out by the usually chintzy children's record label Peter Pan) this houses a psyche freakout EP by Plastic Criwewave, Speed Guru (of Acid Mother's Temple) and co-conspirators from the AMT/Mainliner/Moonrises camps.  The full length comic (complete with 70s-style ads for actual labels and record stores) features a tribute to Ditko's Dr. Strange (with Neal Adams' Batman thrown in) in which cartoonist PCW, afflicted with damaged hands and desperate for a cure beyond science's capabilities, travels to a treacherous mountaintop to meet an ancient guru (played by Japanese psyche-godfather Asahito Nanjo) who trains him in mystic rock arts, earning him the ire of fellow trainee Speed Guru. What follows is are competing inter-dimensional rock band tours leading to an ultimate conflict...or is it the ultimate conflict? Unlike Power's original records, there are no beeps or literal readings of the text (with  a couple of dramatic exceptions) but some Senseis might offer that in a true psychedelic cacophony all words and beeps can be heard if you listen with your third ear.

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