The idea of comics being similar to music is something I’ve always kind of had trouble with. Comics as music. I probably heard it first from Warren Ellis. But there have been a lot of people who have made the same argument – Grant Morrison of course, Brendan McCarthy, Matt Fraction, Gerard Way, the Phonogram guys, Hewlett.

But to make a distinction, let’s talk about music IN comics and music AND comics. Because it doesn’t really make sense. Not in any direct way. There’s no sound in comics, there’s no possibility of diagesis, like in film. Sure, you can write the music in as background coming from a specific source (like that issue of the Bendis/Maleev Daredevil with the Beastie Boys blaring on the streetcorner). But that doesn’t really work except as incidental background. You can’t really pull off the amazing effects of diagetic music on The Wire. There’s no real opportunity in comics to have a song come from inside the scene, no chance to see Deniro kick a guy to death with Donovan playing on the jukebox.

You can’t really approach music the way you would with film. No proper scoring. No profound resonance to simple images by the addition of the right Scott Walker cut. No scene where Curtis Mayfield comes and plays a set and sings about dead drug dealers.

There are ways around it – playlists, which Paul Pope and Rob Schrab used to put in their books back in the 90s. Which works ok, I guess. Scene-by-scene it always seems to be overextending, generally because you can read the comic cover to cover before the third song ever begins. The other way, which works better for process freaks, is for the creators to list the music they listened to while working. Which, in certain books is a really effective tool. Getting into the headspace as the creator is a good way to read through a comic.

But with the exception of Paul Pope mentioning he wrote last year’s THB special to Motorhead, this doesn’t really add to the experience. And in attempting to integrate a playlist into the comic itself doesn’t work either. Issue #14 of Casanova tries to combine a playlist with with silver age style chapter titles, and the entire issue suffers. The playlist thing, in all it’s variations, never seems to quite work.

Going back to diagesis, there’s some interesting things you can do there – Kabuki singing along with the jukebox in Circle of Blood for example, the huge chunks of lyrics on the opening page of Casanova #2 (which is a movie quote from Liquid Swords, but it works). There’s also a lot of comics about musicians. Awesome comics like Scott Pilgrim and the Apocalipstix. But it’s a weird kind of trick – I know what Sex Bob-omb sound like in my head (THUNDER LIGHTNING STRIKE-era Go! Team but more twangy), but I doubt they sound like that to anyone else. But then again, everyone would probably agree that the Apocalipstix sound exactly like a punked-out Josie and the Pussycats. Then again those are rare cases – the band in the first arc of Promethea always bothered me, and Red Rocket 7 is more effective when it talks about the rock mythology rather than actual scenes of bands playing. I still haven’t been able to track down that Jim Mahfood Paul’s Boutique comic…

But beyond that explicit diagesis, comics about bands, the best comics have always had a love affair with music – Moore heavily quoting Dylan in Watchmen, Gulacy basing Sabre on Jim Hendrix, the opening paen to the Beatles in the Invisibles, pre-fame Tori Amos references showing up in Sandman. Occasionally there’s a real synthesis – usually the creators who are music obsessed just have it leak into their work. Some writers  title almost everything after a song, and have often spoken about their work in musical terms. Spider Jerusalem punctuates speeches with Pixies quotes, and there’s been a current trend of using lyrics for dialog, and sometimes plot points (Casanova, Godland, and The Filth to just think of few).

But yeah comics AS music. Thats the thing. Phonogram is very much about music, but never really makes the move to fully attempt anything “musical”. It’s more about music and it’s effect on people – music an object and force. For all it’s good points, the book never takes the dive and tries to make a comic musical. And that’s probably the right move on Gillen and McKelvie’s part.

There are comics that actually beg the comparison, but it’s not really narrative-focused – it’s always the more surreal and lyrical stuff. Jim Woodring’s Frank comics, Ashley Wood’s profoundly awesome and tripped out Popbot, the last issue of Brian Wood and Becky Cloonan’s Demo, maybe Morrison’s Doom Patrol, definitely everything Brendan McCarthy and Simon Bisley ever did.

I understand the idea behind saying comics are closely related to music – anything to make sure comics are living under the shadow of film. But the real reason it’s such a difficult comparison is narrative. And really, the way you tell a story in comics and in a song is so radically different that it’s hard to see the connection. It does make sense I think, if music is scene as a tonal influence. Comics more concerned with getting the mood right, speaking directly to the reader the way a good song can. Comics and music work best when it’s a tool of the creators and not something that can distance the reader. Its a sad thing, but comics can’t ever do what a Wes Anderson film can, can’t ever enhance the story with layers and layers of sound the way that Cowboy Bebop did. But a comic can hit you like a great song, and stick with you for years.

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Still no computer, I’m past being understanding about it. I didn’t call Best Buy because I’m quite sure that if I talk to someone, I will say something that will make them screw with my machine when it gets there. Like start a sentence with “You fucking cunts…”

Anne Hathaway dressed as Mary Poppins… is it like, profoundly fucked up that turns me on?

I did finally get my comics. Ooh, there was some good shit that came out last week.

I wrote this up while I was trying to do schoolwork. Who the fuck cares about field ecology, anyway?

I’m becoming obsessed with Goldfrapp lately. Mercury Rev too, but mostly Goldfrapp. I love how you can trace her albums as she moves from scifi female Scott Walker to facist disco icon to electro T. Rex dominatrix to forest elemental like Kate Bush but less shit.

Here’s the dominatrix variation: