Ahh, you can't go home again - but you can vicariously enjoy the thrill of Caroline Small's discovery of Swamp Thing via the good offices of her buddy Chris (who's leading her down the comics primrose path - it's no longer "I'm just here to see Craig Yoe to keep Chris company..."). Read their dialogue at Muck-Encrusted Mockery of a Roundtable: Liberty, Fecundity, Perversity
Showing posts with label Alan Moore. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Alan Moore. Show all posts
Monday, April 19, 2010
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Politics and Prose book group reads Alan Moore
Wednesday, February 24, 7:30 p.m.
Graphic Novel Bookgroup
Top 10: The Forty-Niners, by Alan Moore
Graphic Novel Bookgroup
Top 10: The Forty-Niners, by Alan Moore
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
NPR's Weldon on Alan Moore's Superman story
In "Sleep Well, Superman: A Classic Reissued," by Glen Weldon, National Public Radio's Books We Like (July 28, 2009), he reviews Alan Moore and Curt Swan's Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow? which was one of the best Superman stories ever written, largely because Moore and Swan obviously loved and respected the previous 50 years of stories and Superman's iconic status. As Weldon notes, "Moore penned a sweeping, surprisingly tender elegy to Superman's rich, primary-colored history, superdog and all. The character had died previously (and since, famously, in 1992), but the superhero comic is a land of dream sequences, clones and regeneration where death is not so much an ending as a plot point. Moore's story, in contrast, is a culmination; even 23 years later, it stands as a moving farewell to the Superman most of us grew up with."
Moore's throw-away story of Superman meeting Swamp Thing from DC Comics Presents is included, and along with the Mongul story, present three excellent interpretations of the Superman mythos.
It took another 22 years, and another writer from Great Britain, Grant (All-Star Superman) Morrison, to even come close to the tenor of Moore's work.
Moore's throw-away story of Superman meeting Swamp Thing from DC Comics Presents is included, and along with the Mongul story, present three excellent interpretations of the Superman mythos.
It took another 22 years, and another writer from Great Britain, Grant (All-Star Superman) Morrison, to even come close to the tenor of Moore's work.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Times reviews League of Extraordinary Gentlemen vol. 3
"Heroes, villans and patriotism," Ron Capshaw, Washington Times Sunday, June 21, 2009 is a positive review of
THE LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN, VOL. 3: CENTURY NO. 1: 1910
By Alan Moore, Kevin O'Neill
Top Shelf Productions, $7.95, 80 pages
THE LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN, VOL. 3: CENTURY NO. 1: 1910
By Alan Moore, Kevin O'Neill
Top Shelf Productions, $7.95, 80 pages
Sunday, May 24, 2009
4 things I enjoyed reading yesterday
Dungeon The Early Years Vol. 1: The Night Shift by Blain, Sfar and Trondheim.
This is a shared universe by a bunch of French creators. Some time ago, Bart Beaty attempted to explain how it all worked in the Comics Journal, but since most of the comics hadn't been published in English yet that was tough reading. Suffice to say that a castle with a dungeon is built in this book, and in later books it becomes the center of magical adventures, although eventually one of the workers in it takes over the world as a dark ruler. These are all fun, mostly oddly-drawn (to American eyes) and well worth checking out.
Mustard #4.
There's an excellent interview with Alan Moore in this small UK magazine, and online you can get 2 paper doll cutouts of Moore. The mailing cost to the US was reasonable and the whole package cost about $6 through Paypal.
Illustration 26.
I get this regularly at Big Planet, but this issue had a Shadow pulp cover by Graves Gladney which made it a guaranteed sale. As a youngster, I was fascinated by pulp heroes who clearly were the forerunners of superheroes, and the Shadow was my favorite. In addition to the article about Gladney, who painted over 250 of the Shadow pulp covers, there are pieces on the American Academy of Art (which had cartooning classes) and Nan Pollard (a children's book illustrator who did licensed cartoon material such as Disney and Harvey Comics). The writing is slightly amateurish, but the other production values are first-rate.
Johnny Hiro by Fred Chao, Adhouse Books.
I've gotten to know Chris Pitzer, publisher of Adhouse, slightly over the years at SPX and have come to appreciate the quality of his books and now I just buy them automatically. Johnny Hiro is an amusing collection of short stories, set in Manhattan. Hiro is forced by circumstances to live up to his name, and Chao puts him in odd, manga-influenced difficulties. In the first story, a Godzilla-like monster attempts to take revenge on his Japanese-born girlfriend. In later stories, Hiro's work at a Japanese seafood restaurant puts cleaver-wielding chefs on his trail as he attempts to lose them on a drive through Manhattan. The art is good, Chao breaks the 4th wall when necessary, and I'm looking forward to more of his work.
This is a shared universe by a bunch of French creators. Some time ago, Bart Beaty attempted to explain how it all worked in the Comics Journal, but since most of the comics hadn't been published in English yet that was tough reading. Suffice to say that a castle with a dungeon is built in this book, and in later books it becomes the center of magical adventures, although eventually one of the workers in it takes over the world as a dark ruler. These are all fun, mostly oddly-drawn (to American eyes) and well worth checking out.
Mustard #4.
There's an excellent interview with Alan Moore in this small UK magazine, and online you can get 2 paper doll cutouts of Moore. The mailing cost to the US was reasonable and the whole package cost about $6 through Paypal.
Illustration 26.
I get this regularly at Big Planet, but this issue had a Shadow pulp cover by Graves Gladney which made it a guaranteed sale. As a youngster, I was fascinated by pulp heroes who clearly were the forerunners of superheroes, and the Shadow was my favorite. In addition to the article about Gladney, who painted over 250 of the Shadow pulp covers, there are pieces on the American Academy of Art (which had cartooning classes) and Nan Pollard (a children's book illustrator who did licensed cartoon material such as Disney and Harvey Comics). The writing is slightly amateurish, but the other production values are first-rate.
Johnny Hiro by Fred Chao, Adhouse Books.
I've gotten to know Chris Pitzer, publisher of Adhouse, slightly over the years at SPX and have come to appreciate the quality of his books and now I just buy them automatically. Johnny Hiro is an amusing collection of short stories, set in Manhattan. Hiro is forced by circumstances to live up to his name, and Chao puts him in odd, manga-influenced difficulties. In the first story, a Godzilla-like monster attempts to take revenge on his Japanese-born girlfriend. In later stories, Hiro's work at a Japanese seafood restaurant puts cleaver-wielding chefs on his trail as he attempts to lose them on a drive through Manhattan. The art is good, Chao breaks the 4th wall when necessary, and I'm looking forward to more of his work.
Thursday, March 05, 2009
Watchmen movie reviews and other bits UPDATED
Gene George Gustines says the NY Times is starting a best-seller list (online only) for graphic novels.
And the City Paper recommends John Malloy's show in Maryland - "Sunday, March 8, at Art Whino," By Mike Riggs, Washington City Paper March 6, 2009: 37.
Now, Watchmen reviews from local papers:
"Men (and Women) in Tights: Watchmen is a slog; Ballerina is a poignant spectacle," By Tricia Olszewski, Washington City Paper March 6, 2009.
"Watching the Watchmen: Movie Review," By Michael O'Connell, Springfield Connection / Connection Newspapers Thursday, March 5, 2009.
"Blight 'Watchmen': Graphic Novel's Edge Is Dulled in Adaptation," By Philip Kennicott, Washington Post Staff Writer, Thursday, March 5, 2009; C01.
Slate intern Katie Rolnick sent me these next two links - thanks Katie!
"The wizard of "Watchmen": Alan Moore talks about his career, his favorite characters and his bad influence on the comics world," By Andrew Firestone, Salon Mar. 05, 2009.
"Alan Moore's environmental monster: The genius behind "Watchmen" redefined both the audience and the narrative possibilities of comic books with his newly reissued "Saga of the Swamp Thing."" By Andrew O'Hehir, Salon Mar. 04, 2009.
and finally I was interviewed at Arlington's Lost Dog Cafe for this article - "Real World in Four Colors: Movie, comic book fans find a world of entertainment in graphic novels," By Michael O'Connell, Springfield Connection / Connection Newspapers Thursday, March 05, 2009. I stand by my conclusions.
Ok, not quite finally - the Onion had 3 comics pieces today:
The movie review - "Watchmen" which got a B from Keith Phipps, Onion March 5, 2009.
A Rorschach interview - "Jackie Earle Haley," by Tasha Robinson, Onion March 5, 2009.
In the physical paper, this is 5 - "In the wake of Watchmen: 24 more graphic novels we'd like to see made into movies," by Chris Mincher, Genevieve Koski, Leonard Pierce, Noel Murray, Steven Hyden, Tasha Robinson, and Zack Handlen, Onion March 2, 2009.
And a podcast - "A.V. Talk: Watchmen" directly here.
And the City Paper recommends John Malloy's show in Maryland - "Sunday, March 8, at Art Whino," By Mike Riggs, Washington City Paper March 6, 2009: 37.
Now, Watchmen reviews from local papers:
"Men (and Women) in Tights: Watchmen is a slog; Ballerina is a poignant spectacle," By Tricia Olszewski, Washington City Paper March 6, 2009.
"Watching the Watchmen: Movie Review," By Michael O'Connell, Springfield Connection / Connection Newspapers Thursday, March 5, 2009.
"Blight 'Watchmen': Graphic Novel's Edge Is Dulled in Adaptation," By Philip Kennicott, Washington Post Staff Writer, Thursday, March 5, 2009; C01.
Slate intern Katie Rolnick sent me these next two links - thanks Katie!
"The wizard of "Watchmen": Alan Moore talks about his career, his favorite characters and his bad influence on the comics world," By Andrew Firestone, Salon Mar. 05, 2009.
"Alan Moore's environmental monster: The genius behind "Watchmen" redefined both the audience and the narrative possibilities of comic books with his newly reissued "Saga of the Swamp Thing."" By Andrew O'Hehir, Salon Mar. 04, 2009.
and finally I was interviewed at Arlington's Lost Dog Cafe for this article - "Real World in Four Colors: Movie, comic book fans find a world of entertainment in graphic novels," By Michael O'Connell, Springfield Connection / Connection Newspapers Thursday, March 05, 2009. I stand by my conclusions.
Ok, not quite finally - the Onion had 3 comics pieces today:
The movie review - "Watchmen" which got a B from Keith Phipps, Onion March 5, 2009.
A Rorschach interview - "Jackie Earle Haley," by Tasha Robinson, Onion March 5, 2009.
In the physical paper, this is 5 - "In the wake of Watchmen: 24 more graphic novels we'd like to see made into movies," by Chris Mincher, Genevieve Koski, Leonard Pierce, Noel Murray, Steven Hyden, Tasha Robinson, and Zack Handlen, Onion March 2, 2009.
And a podcast - "A.V. Talk: Watchmen" directly here.
Friday, February 20, 2009
Montgomery on new Swamp Thing collection
My old comic-collecting buddy Robert chimes in on DC's new Swamp Thing collection, which has Alan Moore's first issue reprinted for the first time: DC is finally reprinting Alan Moore's Swamp Thing run in hardcover. So, of course, having waited for this for some time, I bought the first volume. When it arrived, first thing I noticed is that DC printed it on the same paper used in the trade paperbacks. Was I annoyed. I expected a high-quality product and basically got a trade with a hard cover. What the hell is DC thinking?
After I noticed the paper issue, I checked reviews on Amazon and people had the same reaction. They also complained about the cover being sticky - one person claimed they printed it on the wrong type of paper. The cover on my copy is a little sticky but don't know if I'd noticed it w/o having read the reviews.
After I noticed the paper issue, I checked reviews on Amazon and people had the same reaction. They also complained about the cover being sticky - one person claimed they printed it on the wrong type of paper. The cover on my copy is a little sticky but don't know if I'd noticed it w/o having read the reviews.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Cavna's Wednesday blog, quickly
Celebrates Batman: The Killing Joke, one of my least favorite Alan Moore stories. I left a snarky comment.
Takes a shot at Sally Forth's artwork.
And asks "The E-Mailbag: When to Hold a Feature's Funeral?" Or should a comic strip die with its creator?, which has 43 comments as of this writing.
Takes a shot at Sally Forth's artwork.
And asks "The E-Mailbag: When to Hold a Feature's Funeral?" Or should a comic strip die with its creator?, which has 43 comments as of this writing.
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Marc Singer on Moore's Black Dossier
Marc's one of the keener observers of superhero comics, so his post on Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neil's League of Extraordinary Gentleman: Black Dossier is worth reading.
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Nov 18: Alan Moore, Art Spiegelman and Dan Clowes on Simpsons
I'm not usually a Simpsons viewer (oddly enough - I could never get past a dislike for Life in Hell), but some of the greatest cartoonists will be on it tonight. Alan Moore discusses his appearance here.
And his League of Extraordinary Gentleman's Black Dossier came out this week. This is the real thing, not that Hollywood abomination.
And his League of Extraordinary Gentleman's Black Dossier came out this week. This is the real thing, not that Hollywood abomination.
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