Found Magazine 10th Anniversary Holocene, 1001 SE Morrison, Tues Oct 9, 8:30 pm, $10, holocene.org
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My Heart Is an Idiot by Davy Rothbart (Farrar, Straus, and Giroux)
Reading at Powell’s City of Books, 1005 W Burnside, Mon Oct 8, 7:30 pm
COMIC BOOK REVIEW
Bucko by Jeff Parker & Erika Moen (Dark Horse)
Reading at Powell’s Books on Hawthorne, 3723 SE Hawthorne, Thurs Oct 4, 7:30 pm; release party at Bridge City Comics, 3725 N Mississippi, Fri Oct 5, 6 pm
REALLY WANTED to love My Heart Is an Idiot, the new collection of memoir essays from Found magazine creator Davy Rothbart. I’ve been a fan of Found for several years, have enjoyed Rothbart on This American Life, and had high hopes for his book. But while a few of the essays are excellent, the collection as a whole is a bit meandering. As one would expect from the title, most of My Heart Is an Idiot focuses on Rothbart’s fumbling attempts at love and lust with various women. These encounters convey desire, awkwardness, and heartbreak in a way that’s highly relatable—sometimes too relatable. The overall impression is of sitting in a bar with Rothbart while drinking cheap beer and talking about girls. It’s a pleasant enough experience, but I kept waiting for the book to have a bit more kick. Rothbart is very good, though, when he’s not talking about his love life. An essay about a fraudulent literary competition and another featuring the discovery of a corpse are both very
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LOVE A GOOD comedic duo—and writer Jeff Parker and artist Erika Moen are as classic a laugh ’n’ chuckle team as you could dream up in old Sogtown. Their collaboration, the Portlandbased murder-mystery comic Bucko, originated as a web comic in the winter of 2011, and now Dark Horse has collected the story in a handsome hardcover filled with extra tidbits (ignore the jabberjawing footnotes from Parker and Moen and you won’t be worse for wear). While technically a murder mystery, Bucko is straight-up comedy, sprinkled with saucy characters and more Portland situations than you can shake a kombucha mother at. Rich “Bucko” Richardson is an effeminate Portland slacker who wakes from a drunken stupor—where he slept through a threeway opportunity!—to be epically late for a much-needed job interview. Dressed in a borrowed blouse, his bowels rebel mid-interview and as he frantically tries to make it to the toilet, he discovers a murdered body on the bathroom floor. It’s up to his love interest Gyp, a spunky octopus-lovin’ Etsy icon, and her team of bike-riding misfits to get Bucko off the hook. And if the gang sounds a wee bit too whimsical for your tastes, I beg
good. By far the strongest essay in the collection is an account of Byron Case, a teenager who was sentenced to life in prison for a 1997 murder he almost certainly did not commit. The essay comes as something of a wild left turn—it’s toward the end of the book, and up to that point Rothbart’s accounts featured fairly low stakes. For one essay, though, the casual atmosphere melts away, and Rothbart creates a sense of drama, dread, fear, and outrage concerning his subject. It’s a stark and jarring departure from the rest of the book, and is easily the best 40 pages between the covers. There was also an essay on 9/11 to which my main response was “Jesus Christ, not another fucking thing about 9/11,” because I am apparently an awful human being. Rothbart’s at Holocene on Tuesday, October 9, to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Found and debut a new issue of the magazine. The gathering will focus on what Rothbart does best, which is… well, find things. He shines as a scrounger, a scavenger, and an investigator, making art out of happenstance. I’d definitely read another collection of his, but hopefully one more investigative than introspective. JOE STRECKERT to differ. The lactating SuicideGirl, Gyp’s bull dyke roommate, and a frenemy Juggalette are all solid gold. As are the steampunk layabouts, the track-standing Pixies cover band (the Fixies, natch!), and the loveable-yet-gassy homeless miscreant the Fartmonger. Parker and Moen excel at putting their motley crew through the Scooby-Doo rigmarole. Bucko disappears halfway through the story, and that’s when Gyp & Co.’s story starts to shine. Particularly when Moen, creator of the funniest depiction of a Juggalette I’ve seen, unleashes her Faygo swiller. Parker, who’s known for his writing on Marvel superhero comics, is also pretty damned funny. Take this call to arms for a host of hobo Juggalos: “Methy Joe! Alamo! Gooch! Puzzlenutz!” Now that’s a word poem! Parker’s writing is sharp, while Moen’s clever drawings are a pleasure to behold. They seem to bring out the best in each other—it just so happens that their best involves tripping balls on absinthe, pitchperfect Insane Clown Posse parlance, loads of sperm, and a hobo shanty village that puts the wharf-town of Robert Altman’s Popeye to shame. I consider that last bit pretty high praise. COURTNEY FERGUSON
ARTCHART OUR PICKS OF THE WEEK
EVERYTHING IN THIS STORY HAS A STORY MARK WARREN JACQUES
MELISSA DOW
BOOK REVIEW
BREEZE BLOCK • 323 NW 6TH • OPENS OCT 4
Arj Barker—Stand-up from a man deemed funny enough to appear multiple times on Late Night with Conan O’Brien and The Late Show with David Letterman. Helium Comedy Club, 1510 SE 9th, Thurs Oct 4, 8 pm, Fri Oct 5-Sat Oct 6, 7:30 & 10 pm, $22-27, heliumcomedy.com
Literary Mixtape—Applying the science of the perfectly crafted mixtape (Rob Gordon would approve) to the literary world, and inviting authors Chloe Caldwell, Peyton Marshall, and Michael Heald to share excerpts from their favorite books. Literary Arts, 925 SW Washington, Thurs Oct 4, 7:30 pm, free
Comics Quitting—Portland stand-ups telling tales on how to quit something with style, with performances from Nathan Brannon, Belinda Carroll, and plenty more. Mt. Tabor Theater, 4811 SE Hawthorne, Fri Oct 5, 10:30 pm, $5
The Cody Rivers Show—The funniest sketch comedy duo… EVER? Also see My, What a Busy Week!, pg. 22. Curious Comedy Theater, 5225 NE MLK, Fri Oct 5-Sat Oct 6, 9:30 pm, $10-12, curiouscomedy.org
Prophet—An exhibition of original artwork from the latest issue of Prophet, a sci-fi comic series written by Brandon Graham, featuring artwork by artists including Simon Roy, Farel Dalrymple, and Graham himself. Floating World Comics, 400 NW Couch, opening party Thurs Oct 5, through Oct 31, floatingworldcomics.com
PO RTLAN D M E RCU RY.CO M HAS A COMPLETE CALENDAR OF ARTS EVENTS
Jeff is back at the Sea Tramp! 503.231.9784
October 4, 2012 Portland Mercury 41