Project Tracker #1

Project Tracker #1
Written by Chuck Gower
Pencils and Inks by Mike Jackson
Lettering by Robert Jackson

If you know a comic book fan, ask them if they remember the first issue they ever read. They will. Their eyes will gloss over in a nostalgic haze and they'll recall, with astounding detail, how the experience made them feel. It's really something, I think, that can only be truly understood by other comic book fans. I'm not going to tell you about my first comic book experience, at least not this time. Instead, I would like to tell you about the first small press comic I ever read, because that's who this blog is about, the little guys, the underdogs.

It was the early 90's and the comic book industry was restructuring. In a move that echoed the formation of United Artists over eighty years before, top industry talent were turning their backs on major publishers in order to pursue their own interests and publish their own independent comics. It was an exciting time to be a fan. In the wake of this event, small press creators were empowered to dream of telling their own stories. After all, if going independent was good enough for Todd McFarlane and Jim Lee, it should damn well be good enough for everyone else.

Now, don't misunderstand me; I recognize that independent and underground comics had been around for years and some creators, such as Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird, had gone on to overwhelming success. But from my perspective, the formation of Image brought greater attention to independent comics than they had ever seen before and I intend to stand by this opinion... until someone pokes a hole in it.

It was during this supposed independent comic revolution that I received news of a locally produced, small press comic book, called Project: Tracker. While I had already picked up several titles from Image, I would say this was the first truly independent comic book I ever read.

It was terrible. The panel work was stiff, background art was largely absent and the narration was full of exposition. The quality was so poor, I felt robbed of my precious $2.00 and swore to never buy another issue (I don't think there were any). In the years that followed, I have attacked this book relentlessly; it has been the butt of countless jokes amongst my friends for over twenty years now.

Earlier this year I posted on Twitter and Facebook, asking if anyone knew where I could find a copy. A good friend, Andy Borders, just happened to have a copy and dropped it by our booth at Cape Comic Con. When I made it home, I sat down, cracked open and beer and, for the first time in twenty years, I read Project: Tracker #1.

It is with great humility that I tell you, it's better than Helock Comics #1. It's better than Helock Comics #2. Hell, it's better than Wexler's Follies: Domestic Goddess, which I am incredibly proud of. All of my earlier criticisms are true, the panels are stiff, the background art is largely absent and the narrative is exposition heavy, but there is an understanding of comics that we at Helock did not possess for nearly three years. For all the disdain and mockery I shoveled on this book and it's creators, I can honestly say, it's not that bad. Hell, I wish they had kept going. I enjoyed reading it.

My point, and the moral of this little exercise, is an old one, to paraphrase: don't judge an independent comic until you've tried to make one yourself. For every snot-nosed brat like me that scoffed at Project: Tracker #1 there are likely an equivalent number of Helock haters. I accept this as a given , but for myself, I am ashamed to have held such a negative opinion. There are far worse books out there and I'm responsible for some of them. So, with that humbling thought in mind, I'm dedicating this new blog to the small press comic creators, the little guys, the underdogs.

Every comic book fan remembers their first book, most probably remember the first independent comic book they read. But all of that pales in comparison to asking a creator about the first book they made, because that's not nostalgia talking, it's love.