To be fair, Bordell also incorporates a vintage charm into many of his books, adroitly mixing humor with a monster-genre ambiance -- like seeing one of Boris Karloff's campier B-movies in retrospect, or watching the Munsters on ice.
That said, the University of Montana graduate doesn't shy away from the grave seriousness of war, conflict or politics, and even his lighter stories are peppered with subtle references to history and culture.
Although Bordell completed his degree in archaeology in 1991, he ultimately heeded his peers' unwitting advice, much to the chagrin of his parents, and has been living, writing and creating comic book art in Missoula ever since.
While Missoula isn't necessarily a haven for comic book artists, Bordell has enjoyed a prolific freelance career. His skill at telling stories through sequential art has attracted the attention of numerous comic book publishers, including Malibu Comics, Alpha Productions, Silverline Comics and Caliber Comics.
In 2001, Caliber's Tome Press published "Witness to War," a historical account about the Battle of the Bulge, relating the epic battle through the experiences of a fictional young war correspondent named
Anna Krieg.
"The whole damn war was a ridiculous waste of life and effort and I couldn't stand another second of it," Krieg laments. "At 20 years old I'd learned, like the young men I wrote about, that war burns a person down to their bare essence, scorching their sole with memory."
Bordell said he wrote "Witness to War" after becoming frustrated with so-called historians who deny the Holocaust took place. He decided to create a book about the role of female correspondents in World War II, which is rarely mentioned in history books.
"I wanted to bring that to light," he said.
But there's also all manner of ghosties and ghoulies and long-leggedy beasties that fill the pages of Bordell's work, particularly in "Lunatic Fringe," Bordell's trade paperback published this year by
01 Comics, and which the author calls a "paranormal romance mystery comic."
In "Lunatic Fringe," Bordell introduces the country's leading paranormal investigators to Johnny Bristol, who is regarded by the research team as a "supernatural black hole" because he inadvertently attracts weirdness - "the living embodiment of Murphy's Law."
Clad in Iron Maiden and KISS T-shirts, Bristol drinks Whiz beer and carries a can of Freak-B-Gone pepperspray while the researchers, under the guidance of Dr. Bertram Cavendish, rely on his paranormal vortex to attract beings from other creepy dimensions. Meanwhile, Bristol tries to manages his life, which is constantly thrown off balance by outlandish circumstances.
Although the plot sounds like an offshoot of "The Outer Limits or "The Twilight Zone," Bordell's obsession with classic horror and science fiction stories blends seamlessly with his firm grasp on history and culture.
Readers might spot an allusion to Vincent Price's classic film "House on Haunted Hill" in one scene, detect a sarcastic jab at the Ghostbusters movies in another, then stumble over some out-of-the-way praise for Austrian symbolist painter Gustav Klimt.
In this respect, Bordell elevates his characters without seeming disingenuous.
Take for instance Bristol, whose keen knowledge of Vienna Art Nouveau doesn't mean he'll shy away from an occasional dick joke.
"I didn't want to do super heroes, or anything else mainstream that has been done to death," said Bordell, who works a maintenance job at UM in addition to his freelance gigs.
And aside for a few brushes with major recognition and success, Bordell has mostly avoided mainstream audiences, though not necessarily by his own intentions.
While publishers accept enough of Bordell's art work for him to live in fat city some months, at other times his budget can get lean.
"Of course, when you're eating Ramen noodles all of the time it sounds very appealing to make it big," he said. "But getting to write and illustrate whatever I want is critical for me, rather than having people edit my dialogue and remove scenes. It's also better than being rejected by the big companies eight or nine thousand times. There are only so many jobs to go around."
Currently, Bordell is peddling a book called "Mean Street," which he's finished writing and penciling, but must finish inking before submitting a completed form to publishers.
To encourage other aspiring artists, Bordell has taught free classes at Missoula's Muse Comics.
In his comic book “Lunatic Fringe” Bordell introduces a character Johnny Bristol, who inadvertently attracts weirdness.
"We've invited Chuck to talk about storytelling techniques and other aspects of comics that artists need to emphasize," said Amanda Fisher, who owns both Muse stores in town and is familiar with Missoula's caste of writers, artists and fans.
"It's harder to get into comics," Fisher said. "Missoula is full of creative people, but you have to adopt a particular style of art and narrative to succeed in comics."
Not that she doesn't encourage anyone who's interested to give comics a shot.
"We tell anybody who puts out their own mini-comic that we'll carry it at the store," Fisher said.
For Bordell, who's constantly working on new projects, creating comic books has become a lifestyle.
After returning to his apartment from work around
3 a.m., Bordell and his cat sit amid stacks of comic books and walls covered with art work and action figures.
"I've done art since I was
4 years old," he said. "Most countries in the world consider comics a form of art, but in America it's just something you pick up at the corner store and throw in the trash when you're done."
But Bordell, who admits that he hates modern art, can't imagine life in Missoula without comics.
Reporter Tristan Scott can be reached at 523-5264 or at tscott@missoulian.com.
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