In Alphabet of the Arcane, Justin Maudslien, aka Sub-Human’s Mr. M., explores weird and little known factoids and shares his skewed observations about the world of comics, cartoons and sequential art.
I bring greetings from the Old World, o’ faithful reader, where “E” stands not for ecstasy but for Europe. Gather round the campfire and let Mr. M tell you a tale of a fanboy walking the Earth, much like Kane from Kung Fu. Allow me to relate my travels around… The European Eunion… er, I mean Union!
Autobots…Roll Out!
Now, this particular fanboy starts getting the shakes two days before new comic book day, or what you mortals might call Wednesday. Heaven help those who have to tolerate me during the holidays when new comic day is moved to Thursday. My greatest challenge on this trip would not be the cultural barriers, but CWS (Comic Withdrawal Syndrome.) After a little internet searching, my fears had been confirmed, comic shops were few and far between and comic conventions were mere whispers on the wind. Still, my childhood heroes faced Dr. Doom, the Joker and even MODOK every month, surely I could muster the bravery to explore the origins of western culture in a far off land, even if comics were not readily available.
My friend Mike and I set off to explore the hostels of Europe with nothing but a large backpack and a thirst for culture. Mike came up with the idea that our futuristic backpacks made us space marines with the ability to transform. Once we dropped off our large backpacks (which were worn in “assault mode”) we could wear the smaller packs (known as “recon mode.”)
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