The Auteur #1

The Auteur #1
Writer: Rick Spears
Artist: James Callahan
Colours: Luigi Anderson
Letters: Sick Rears
March 2014
Oni Press


Quite the antithesis to what Bitch Planet is doing, The Auteur is a series that is hellbent on being as politically incorrect and unethical as possible. But that's the point. In a world over-saturated with superhero comics, many of which feature offensive material ranging from mild racism to blatant sexism, as well as recycled narrative tropes and an endless onslaught of genre conventions, comes The Auteur. Editor Charlie Chu describes the comic in his afterward as "...hysterical, profane, and more than likely to get us all in trouble for publishing it."

Just look at the cover. The blood for one thing hints at the level of gore you'll find inside the book. And the bulging eyeball from protagonist's (if that's even a viable label for the main character...) head. Not to mention the eyeball-mouth replicating his smile, along with a tiny mustache to match. The cover is a clear indicator of the irreverent style and direction The Auteur is headed in and it definitely isn't for everyone.

This book is loud. Obnoxious. Offensive. It's so over the top and ridiculous that it seems strange that anyone could think it was being serious.

Interior page

The titular Auteur is Nathan T. Rex: multi-millionaire producer of such fare as Death Fist, The Ten Commandments 2, and Zombie High. Rex is a rising star in Hollywood and usually makes studios big bucks. But his latest feature Cosmos, the first in a simultaneously shot space-opera trilogy (the second titled Revenge of the Oppressor and the third The Space Blade Rallys... I'll let you figure out the reference), has flopped at the box office and both the media and studio executives are worried about Rex's future in filmmaking. 

The story begins with Rex falling into a hallucinatory pool which he refers to as "Idea space." Rex sifts through a plethora of generic ideas and character archetypes in the shallow waters of his mind, but quickly descends further into the depths of his unconscious. Besides being an amusing jab at the commodity of ideas present within much of mainstream media, this opening sequence is a fun and self-reflexive venture that sets the tone for the series quickly and accurately. Nathan T. Rex is on adventure in bad taste to find the redeeming idea for his next project. Spoiler alert: he finds it on the second page.

Determined to create his magnum opus, Nathan T. Rex takes a well known historical figure and puts an absurd spin on him. Sort of anyway. Currently working as the producer of the horror-thriller President's Day, T. Rex assumes the director's chair, shunning the actual director, and insists that the crew deviate from the generic script and instead go in an equally generic new direction. T. Rex is certain that his revisions will garner him the artistic credibility he feels he deserves, as well as make the studio millions of revenue. A win-win, right? All while exploiting exploitation horror cinema in the process.

Nathan T. Rex plummeting further into the cesspool of his imagination.

James Callahan's art is impeccable. It compliments writer Rick Spears' zany and vile script nicely, bringing a crisp and high-definition quality to every panel. Callahan's precise pencils showcase the mundane to the grotesque: from brains-splattering beyond the reaches of the page to mere conversations between T. Rex and his boss, every shot looks deliberately rendered and carefully crafted.

Luigi Anderson's colours can't go without mentioning. The Auteur is vibrant and luscious, often evoking some of the radical colouring of both 1980s cinema and comics. Unlike some comics which focus on using a limited colour palette, Anderson uses virtually every colour in the spectrum. Each scene is lit in its own distinct way which seamlessly transitions from one to the next. In some cases the colour is indicative of what kind of emotion or general feeling the scene evokes (red during a strip club visit, darker neutral tones during nighttime, and a scattershot amalgamation of colours during Rex's concluding epiphany).

And Sick Rears' lettering... Oooooh, I see what you did there.

An advertisement for the first issue that appeared in Oni Press publications.

Filled with excessive violence, misogyny, rich Hollywood assholes, a shaman named Dr. Love, and numerous film references, The Auteur is a knockout first issue that proves original ideas still exist in the comics industry and that we shouldn't lose hope just yet.