Von Bach is the story of a movie monster’s battle for his dignity. Playwright Owen Hammer works with artist Marianno Navarro and colorist Hernan Cabrera to bring his play to life. All while poking fun at the notion of adaptations and giving Hollywood business satire. Unlike the efforts of the creative team who put all the passions and risk into a Kickstarter.
Von Bach Says: Stop Speaking For Me!
Owen Hammer as a playwright has plenty of commentary about show business, especially the heavily commercialization of mainstream entertainment.
Von Bach takes place in modern day Hollywood where the title character has become a cultural icon. Fictional depictions of him are so common most of them are more like parodies. So what happens when a new big budget movie about Von Bach more true to the novel by a lover of his wants to come out? There are no supernatural curses but there are a lot of expectations, especially when a money hungry producer gets involved; copyrights when it comes to likeness, budgetary star power, creative liberties, and crunches all go through the ringer. At the end of the day, one really has to ask what would happen if the person(s) in question would actually say about all of this. I mean Sir Elton John served as executive producer for Rocketman to keep the biopic authentic through his and husband’s company.
The Character of Von Bach
The title character goes out of his way to disprove whatever implication surrounds him, good or bad. He’s far from the mad scientist looking to fill an emotional void in solitude; one of his first appearances is disproving the lone genius stereotype by demonstrating a functioning doorbell. Heinrich Von Bach is purely a scholar who wants to share his exploits with the world. To that end, he rejects grand ambitions and vanity projects, which brings the reader to the main conflict of the series. Which considering how he joins a pharmaceutical company right off the bat, it gives off the impression something bigger happened.
Von Bach’s motivations have a bit more nuance to them when it comes to his depictions. He is naturally less than enthused about his likeness being used in nonsensical ways. Who wouldn’t be upset with people making profit off of them in ways that don’t reflect their real selves? Just look at how The Social Network took its creative liberties with making Mark Zuckerburg more petty. But later in the storyline, the reader finds that Heinrich would rather keep the moral high ground than disclose personal authenticity. He’s one of those people who prefer to let the good that comes out of his actions trump his self-consciousness.
Unlike his closest analogy Frankenstein, Von Bach shows a tragic buildup caused by the traumas he endured. It shows him as someone very human in wanting to keep his dignity. While he wants a better image, Heinrich is stuck in a love triangle between his wants that people will exploit and his needs.
Standards In Doubling
The bigger conflicts don’t even seem to come from lawsuits but how the screenwriter Minna Tseng interacts with the people around her. When looking at her interactions with the producers like Hilary and Krupa they seem supportive; but the reader feels the air of exploitation from them. Then there’s Heinrich himself who initially wants nothing to do with any depictions of him. He even rejects a bout of friendship from Minna because she knows nothing about him. Yet she wants to, having figured out that how some fiction fudges crucial characteristics.
When distilling the story elements, it becomes apparent that Von Bach is a romantic comedy; wouldn’t you know it, there’s a couple of love triangles. Not the kind of cheesy love stories but exploring the boundaries in what you love and desire. Minna is extremely passionate about anything relating to the title character but she also knows when boundaries need to be set up.
Blink And You’ll Miss Subtleties In Design
Readers familiar with my review on Big Blue will likely recognize the art styles of Navarro and Cabrera; the main characters of that mini-series even make a cameo in issue 4. Navarro presents plenty of emotive expressions throughout Von Bach to display characters intent and dedication. Any task at hand gives appropriate use of both body and facial language. This works twice as well in the use of the decompression technique for both dramatic and comedic effects. The above mention of the doorbell and its continual usage isn’t just a character moment for the title character, it’s meta-satire on critics. The sarcastic tone it casts isn’t shaming acts for its own sake, it’s making the most out of one moment.
Cabrera serves the dual role as colorist and letterer. In scenes like the creation of a CGI body double, Cabrera goes to the lengths of adding as much detail as possible. The net paneling alone is extremely notable in capturing the efforts of real time artists. His lettering certainly wastes no time in guiding the reader through panels efficiently. Rather than focus on one little scene like it’s some great art project, this method makes things move as if in real time. The technique makes the presentation look more like a movie which fits rather well into the setting.
Von Bach Is Immortal
The artwork enhances the comedy to such a degree the covers are highly subtle meta-commentary. There’s an angry mob carrying picket signs that say things more like texts and tweets like “Starbucks Got Your Order Wrong”. The main story deals more with absurdity surrounding movie productions including a lot of morally gray areas people like to exploit. Readers feel the absurd indifference showbiz has when giving Minna a crunch and trying to get under legal radars. It’s this balance between traditional romance (chivalry) and modern comedy that readers experience Development Hell.
The only problem comes from how much a slowburn process this all is. Here’s part of the tagline: the real VON BACH returns to life in Hollywood and he is going to teach them the true meaning of “Development Hell.” But the title character doesn’t appear to do this until the fourth issue. Since the art and lettering is so smooth and to the point, it feels like readers have to wait until the plot actually begins. In essence this series probably works better as a graphic novel instead of issues breaking things up. Granted that was the desired outcome, the current form is for budgetary reasons complete with a cover parodying the situation.
So for its use of a complex title character, satire on show business, and art structure that wastes nothing the Von Bach get 8.5/10.