Rust-Cover

 

Welcome to Nerdspan’s third edition of our Graphic Novel Roundtable. This month’s selection is Royden Lepp’s Rust Vol. 1: Visitor in the Field. Have you read it? Tell us your thoughts in the comments! Either way, read on for our (somewhat spoiler-filled) thoughts on Lepp’s all-ages  book!

 

MMorse:

I’ll start us out by saying that I dig the partially veiled back story that serves as the foundation for Lepp’s tale of a farmer, his family, and the mysterious boy(?) who shows up one morning wearing a jetpack and battling a robot. There’s a nice sense of storytelling confidence to the way that Lepp parcels out information on the war that both opens his story and influences it throughout. I like that we’re left with questions about the origin(s) of that war, about Jet Jones’s place in it, and about the larger world (is this an alternate earth? Another planet? What’s the rest of it like?).

That said I found the first volume a little frustrating in terms of its pacing and tone. The war scenes that open the book and the fight between Jet Jones, farmer Roman Taylor, and a big ol’ robot read as unnecessarily overlong. While I enjoyed both sequences when I began them, in both cases I found myself wondering when they were going to end before they ended. I also had little emotional investment in what was happening since we don’t really know any of the characters well in those sequences. Lepp’s art has a certain lo-fi charm, but it’s not distinct or detailed enough to carry those sequences by itself and to some extent they wind up feeling like extended storyboards.

This is Lepp’s first book as far as I know, and he’s figuring out his voice as he goes. Lots of creators spend a first season/novel/film working out kinks and recognizing their strengths and so I don’t want to be too negative about these aspects of the book while also recognizing that they hampered my desire to buy more volumes.

I’d like to hear your thoughts and reactions. What did you think about Rust Vol. 1? And do you agree or disagree with what I’ve said?

 

Leo:

As a whole, I was bit let down by the book, as it didn’t really feel like it told enough of a story. We essentially get through one letter of Roman’s to his unknown father, and that’s it. We know nothing of Roman, his family, Jet, the war, or absolutely anything at all. Despite that, I really enjoyed the opening war scene of the book. Just a handful of words were uttered in the first 30 pages, and I think that worked for it. The story that was actually told was good and the fact that so much was left out will either intrigue or frustrate.

The fight between Jet and the robot seemed a bit drawn out, and possibly something that would work better as animation. In fact, I constantly got the feeling that the entire comic would work better as an animated short of some sort. Lepp’s art style was very simple and his robots looks quite cool, but it still felt just a bit drab.

Despite the feeling that it lacked a significant story, the potential for a great story and the overall quality for what is a first book would lead me to get the second volume, as I’m a sucker for sci-fi and alternate history, which this has the definite makings of.

 

Keith:

Though starting in the middle has become the go to move in launching a new comic these days, Lepp’s choices are more epic.  He gives us a taste of the bigger picture with his prologue and then starts at the beginning through the device of Roman’s letter to his father.  While there are many prose novels written as epistolary fiction, it isn’t common in sequential art and is a bold move that pays off, I think, as it serves to advance the story very quickly.

The setting is a rustic tableau that seems part Midwest and part Old Europe feel, despite no clear indication that this agricultural world is our Earth.  I like the setting in the rough like this, because you get the idea that this is as much of the world as each character knows.  The world that the characters live in is sharply defined in terms of that limited point of view of house, barn, neighbors, road.  Closing in the point of view allows us to focus on the characters and their relationships.  Volume One does move a little slower than Volume Two (which I reviewed for Nerdspan), but I feel that this is the right decision, as it establishes the idyllic mood and the slower rural setting.  When the Megatron sized robot steps from behind the barn, and when Jet propels Roman’s bike across the fields, these actions seem all the more larger than life.

The art is perfect.  I generally prefer art that tends toward cartoon styles, like Schulz, Barks, Ditko, Kirby, or Tezuka, but some of my favorite artists, like Infantino, Rosa, Swan, and Romita Jr. are a fusion between cartoony and illustrative styles,  Lepp is in this subset of artists.  His canvas is the mind and our time is not wasted by overworked and unnecessary anatomical detail.  Art is prepared by technique, but received as effect.

Does anyone else feel the influence of Osamu Tezuka’s Astro Boy, or is it only me?  I am also reminded a little of the film Iron Giant, although the 50s setting in that picture is less pastoral than the setting in Rust.

 

MMorse:

I was absolutely reminded of Astro Boy while reading this – Iron Giant not so much. You make good points about the restriction of the characters’, and our, point of view. The setting is a good one, I just wish there’d been more to it than table-setting, I guess? Leo puts it well I think with “it didn’t really feel like it told enough of a story.” I get that this is a much longer story and that this is effectively the end of part 1, so in large part this maybe isn’t a criticism so much as it’s just revealing of my personal taste. I do like the story as far as we know it so far. I just wish we knew more? Knew these folks a little better?

I’m a huge fan of “cartoony” art myself, and I appreciate that Lepp’s work is in that vein, but I didn’t find it as compelling as you do. It feels here in the first volume as if his style is still asserting itself (in my utterly subjective, humble opinion).  That’s not to say that his stuff is bad – the scenes you cite are keen – just that it’s not something that particularly grabs me yet.
I liked the use of the letters a whole bunch. I wanted more of that, and less robot fights (SACRILEGE!).
Leo:
I can see the Astro Boy influences, definitely. I also read the second volume last night, and it’s much more story-laden. I almost think Lepp was trying to set up this enigmatic tale of a strange boy and this farm family that would lead the overall story of Rust. And it’s with that idea, that I actually appreciate this first volume more.
It’s a strange and mysterious story with the odd boy that is Jet. The farm and its slow way of life are in stark contrast to the battles waged in the often seen war and the battles that Jet must fight. The arrival of Jet and the giant robot upset the balance of life on the farm more than just the destruction of the barn. After Jet, Roman glimpses a tiny bit of hope that he may not have to toil on the farm for the rest of his life. He sounds almost hopeful when he writes to his unseen father, which I get a feeling that Roman is rarely hopeful in his letters.
MMorse:
It’s good to hear that the story gets more involving as it progresses. That’s really what would hold me back from recommending this title to folks. I like the feel of the world that Lepp’s created here, and while I’m not bowled over by his art work it serves the story that he’s telling.

Leo, would you say that you’d recommend this to folks based on having read the second volume? And would you classify RUST as a book for “all ages”? I definitely would – the story is relatively easy to pick up on and there’s not really anything in the first volume that I’d call objectionable. I can see this title going over well with the younger set. Does the second volume have that same vibe?
Mara:
I agree that the opening scene dragged on quite a bit. However, it was primarily wordless, which is a medium I enjoy in graphic novels. Even though it takes more time to convey the story through art only, I find that it’s a great method of showing emotion. I do not think it was employed in the best way in this graphic novel. It comes across as filler, an attempt to get more page stories so the story doesn’t seem fast.

In Rust‘s case, the beginning was a little confusing. I understand that it’s trying to grab our attention by making us wonder what it going on in the story, but I like a little background before diving into a scene. In the context of the entire story, I’m sure it’ll make sense (I haven’t read volume 2, and I’m not completely finished with the first volume).
One thing I really like about this story so far is the artwork’s style. I love the color choices and the simplicity of the pencils. I imagine it’s difficult to draw mechanical characters without overcomplicating the design.
I remember reading in Scott McCloud’s Understanding Comics that the audience can piece together what happens between panels. Not every movement needs to be drawn. I think that’s a major downfall of the art’s storytelling. It’s beautiful, but there’s a lot of it that doesn’t propel the story forward.
I find this whole volume to be somewhat of a cautionary tale about playing god. Creating fighting machines cheapens the impact of war, makes it easier to destroy. Lepp shows us that there is a cost to making these fighting machines – we can’t always control them. The bridge between machine and man is demonstrated through Jet, making it a little more difficult for readers to say machines are absolutely evil. I’d be interested in seeing where this theme goes in the second volume.
Leo:
The second volume makes it a stronger recommendation. It’s a different sort episode to the story than the first volume, as it sheds a lot more light on the past and who/what Jet is, so it’s a different sort of animal in a way.As far as an “all-ages” label, I agree with that. While my nephews are still too young to read, I could see myself sitting down and reading them Rust in a couple of years, once they understand a bit more. The fact that a seemingly important piece of the story is set during a war makes it seem like it wouldn’t be all-ages, but you really never see any real sort of blood and death. Sure, there are dead soldiers in the opening sequence, but they’re merely motionless bodies, rather than mangled corpses. It’s a good choice for Lepp.Mara, I like your idea of the tale as a cautionary one. The robots definitely makes the war seem less dramatic. Nothing really matters when you can send a hundred hunks of metal into the battlefield anytime you want. It’s interesting to see the soldier in the opening sequence who actually seems to care about the robot soldiers more than the human ones, even if it is only for their little hearts/motors.