Gobbledygook by Coulter

As part of the Secret History of Comics (SHoC), I present the book, Gobbledygook Has Got To Go, published by those wild humorists in the Bureau of Land Management, circa 1970. They credited the writer, John O'Hayre, but not the cartoonist who signed some of the following drawings as 'Coulter.' Anyone know who that is? There's a William Coulter (b. 1946) listed in one National Cartoonists Society album.

I didn't have access to a scanner today, so these are shot with a camera - the quality of the originals is much better.















I'm not quite sure why the Bureau of Land Management ends their booklet with a picture of an astronaut.

Cartoons Magazine from 1918 online

This is not the REAL SHoC (Secret History of Comics) promised yesterday, but it's a pretty good one. It's a scan on Google Books of Cartoons Magazine from 1918 - actually it's over 500 pages long so it must be most of the year's issues! Hoo-hah!

These are pretty well-known to hardcore collectors, but out of the price range of ordinary guys like me. Let's give a moment to appreciate the bequest of John Amory Lowell.

Now... to print or not to print...

Here's a 1920 Keeping Up with the Joneses from Pop Momand...

...Winsor McCay's Dreams of the Rarebit Fiend...

...Thomas Masson's 1922 Our American Humorists has a chapter on comics artists - with few kind words...

...and a microfiche version of The Good Things of Life, Sixth Series, which is early gag cartooning.

QUICK REVIEWS FOR COMICS DUE 11-29-07

QUICK REVIEWS FOR COMICS DUE 11-29-07
By John Judy, WGA-Wanabee

(NOTE: This week comics are shipping one day later than usual due to that thing with the turkeys and the people who buckled their hats. Look for ‘em Thursday, not Wednesday.)

ALL-STAR BATMAN AND ROBIN THE BOY WONDER #8 by Frank Miller and Jim Lee. Which iconic DC heroine will be rendered as an unstable slut this issue? The latest milestone in Frank Miller’s ongoing mental collapse! Ho-ho-ho!

AVENGERS INITIATIVE: BASIC TRAINING VOL. 1 PREMIERE HC by Dan Slott and Stefano Caselli. Collecting the first six issues of this smart, funny adventure series. Recommended.

BATMAN #671 by Grant Morrison and Tony Daniel. Bats versus Sensei versus Ras al Ghul. Could be a short resurrection for The Ras.

BLACK PANTHER #32 by Reginald Hudlin and Francis Portela. Fun and games on the Skrull Gangsta Planet. Also featuring a nefarious frog. Oddly recommended.

CRIME BIBLE: THE FIVE LESSONS OF BLOOD #2 of 5 by Greg Rucka and Jose Saiz. Featuring “The Lesson of Lust.” This Religion of Crime is sounding better and better…

DAN DARE #1 of 7 by Garth Ennis and Gary Erskine. A classic British science-hero as written by Garth Ennis. To be read with tongs and blast goggles. Thank-you, Virgin Comics.

DAREDEVIL #102 by Ed Brubaker and Michael Lark. Mister Fear is having way too much fun making DD’s life difficult. It’s good to be Mister Fear. Recommended.

ESSENTIAL X-MEN VOL.8 SC by Chris Claremont, Marc Silvestri, and Rick Leonardi. Collecting a buncha stuff from Claremont’s 100-year run on the Uncanny X-books. Issues #229-243, plus Annual #12 and some X-FACTOR to boot.

IT ATE BILLY ON CHRISTMAS HC by Roman Dirge and Steven Daily. From the creator of LENORE, a little seasonal fun in the vein of “Little Shop of Horrors meets all those Rankin-Bass Christmas specials of days gone by.” Gotta look!

MARVEL ZOMBIES 2 #2 of 5 by Robert Kirkman and Sean Phillips. Forty years after the zombie plague turned Earth’s mightiest heroes into glowing-eyed ghouls with no lips, strange alliances are forming. Recommended. Absolutely not for kids.

SENSATIONAL SPIDER-MAN #41 by J. Michael Straczynski and Joe Quesada. “One More Day” part 3 of 4, in which Aunt May takes her shot at the Lingering World’s Record. What is it with Aunt May? She’s had more heart attacks than Cheney, been shot by a sniper and pumped full of radioactive Spidey-blood, but she still won’t die! What is she, some kind of passive-aggressive Wolverine? Does her healing power only get her well enough to be a 1000-pound guilt-anchor on her nephew? Die or get off the pot, Aunt May! And get me some wheat cakes!

SHAZAM ACTION FIGURES featuring Cap, Billy, Junior, Mary, Sivana, Mr. Mind, and Hoppy the Marvel Bunny! You want these. Don’t pretend you don’t.

SUB-MARINER #6 of 6 by Matt Cherniss, Peter Johnson, and Phil Briones. Namor makes some cold, hard decisions and renews an old business relationship. Not bad.

SUPERMAN ANNUAL #13 by Kurt Busiek and Carlos Pacheco. The long-awaited conclusion to “Camelot Falls” in which Supes and Arion duke it out. Recommended.

WARREN ELLIS BLACK GAS SC by Internet Jesus and Max Fiumara. If the holidays make you want to eat people until civilization falls to ruin this is the book for you.

WORLD WAR HULK FRONT LINE #6 of 6 by Paul Jenkins and Ramon Bachs. Answering the musical question “After the Hulk and the Sentry turn New York into New Orleans what’s a drunk reporter to do?” Better than it sounds.

X-MEN #205 by Mike Carey and Chris Bachalo. “Mutant Killer Jesus-Baby” Part 5 of 13. Big fights.

X-MEN FIRST CLASS #6 by Jeff Parker and Roger Cruz. A story that appears to be about the early X-Men losing their powers because of something from space. The preview copy looked like a lot of pages were printed out of order. Maybe the X-books are all mangas now?

Plus, PREVIEWS from Diamond and Marvel!

www.johnjudy.net

Metalocalypse in Express, Homer Simpson in Post

An extended version of Christopher Porter's interview with animation writer Brendon Small "Brutally Hilarious: 'Metalocalypse' is a double-devil-horns delight on Adult Swim," Express (November 26): 20, is online as "Brutally Funny: 'Metalocalypse'"

Also, in yesterday's paper, Christopher Healy reviews YouTube parodies of Homer Simpson wrestling matches in "Taekwond'oh!," Washington Post Sunday, November 25, 2007; Page N04.

Danny Helman seems to have gotten a gig illustrating The Three Wise Guys column for the Post's Source section on Sunday - he's been in there for two consecutive weeks. The Post doesn't seem to have bought online repro rights though.

Comics arrive on Thursday this week

According to Joel Pollack of Big Planet Comics who notes these will be what arrives:

SPECIAL NOTE: Due to the Thanksgiving holiday, new comics will be delayed 24-hours, and will be on sale THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 29th this week. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

New comics arriving this THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 29TH

DC COMICS
52 AFTERMATH #4
ALL STAR BATMAN #8
AMERICAN VIRGIN #21
AUTHORITY: PRIME #2
BATMAN #671
BATMAN AND THE OUTSIDERS #2
BLUE BEETLE #21
COUNTDOWN: LORD HAVOK AND THE EXTREMISTS #2
COUNTDOWN TO ADVENTURE #4
COUNTDOWN TO FINAL CRISIS 22
CRIME BIBLE #2
CROSSING MIDNIGHT #13
DEATHBLOW #8
DEATH OF THE NEW GODS #3
FAKER #5
FREDDY VS. JASON VS. ASH #2
GEN13 ARMAGEDDON #1
GOTHAM UNDERGROUND #2
GREEN LANTERN CORPS #18
HAWKGIRL: HAWKMAN RETURNS TP
JACK OF FABLES #17
JLA CLASSIFIED #47
JSA CLASSIFIED #32
MIDNIGHTER VOL. 1: KILLING MACHINE TP
SHOWCASE PRESENTS: SUPERGIRL VOL. 1 TP
SUPERGIRL AND THE LSH #36
SUPERMAN ANNUAL #13
SUPERMAN BATMAN #43
UNCLE SAM AND THE FREEDOM FIGHTERS #3
TEEN TITANS #53
TEEN TITANS GO #49
TESTAMENT VOL 3 BABEL TP
TRIALS OF SHAZAM #10

MARVEL COMICS
BLACK PANTHER #32
CABLE DEADPOOL #47
DAREDEVIL #102
ESSENTIAL X-MEN VOL 8 TP
FOOLKILLER #2
MAGICIAN APPRENTICE #11
MARVEL ADVENTURES: IRON MAN #7
MARVEL ATLAS #1
MARVEL ZOMBIES 2 #2
MOON KNIGHT ANNUAL #1
SENSATIONAL SPIDER-MAN #41
SPIDER-MAN: FAIRY TALES TP
SUB-MARINER #6
ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #116
WORLD WAR HULK: FRONT LINE #6
X-MEN #205
X-MEN: FIRST CLASS VOL. 2 #6
ZOMBIE: SIMON GARTH #1

SIGNIFICANT OTHERS
AGE OF BRONZE VOL. 3 TP
ARCHIE #580
ARCHIE DOUBLE DIGEST #184
CASANOVA #11
DAN DARE #1
DOC FRANKENSTEIN #6
FIRST BORN #3
FRANK FRAZETTA’S DEATH DEALER #5
FUTURAMA COMICS #34
GARGOYLES: BAD GUYS #1
IT ATE BILLY ON CHRISTMAS HC
MADMAN ATOMIC COMICS #5
PREVIEWS VOL XVII #12
SIMPSONS WINTER WINGDING #2
SPEAK O/T DEVIL #3
STAR WARS: KOTOR #23
TRANSFORMERS: DEVASTATION #3
USAGI YOJIMBO #107
WARREN ELLIS’ BLACK GAS TP

PLANET PICKS
AGE OF BRONZE VOL. 3 TP
ALL STAR BATMAN #8
BATMAN #671
DAN DARE #1
DAREDEVIL #102
DEATH OF THE NEW GODS #3
MARVEL ZOMBIES 2 #2
SENSATIONAL SPIDER-MAN #41
SIMPSONS WINTER WINGDING #2
SUPERMAN ANNUAL #13

Color Cul de Sac two-fer

The Post had two magazines this week, one a special for Thanksgiving, and they both had Richard Thompson's Cul de Sac in them. The Thanksgiving one, which can be seen on Richard's blog, probably wasn't syndicated so it's a Washington special. Except that it's on the web so everyone can enjoy it. Kind of takes the fun out, doesn't it?

This barely qualifies as Secret History of Comics except when Fantagraphics tries to put together the complete CdS in 2072...

...tune in tomorrow for a REAL SHoC (hmmm, not a half-bad acronym).

Zadzooks comic book reviews

Joseph Szadkowski reviews a few comic book titles this week in "Silly space adventures with alien odd couple," Washington Times November 24, 2007

Matt Dembicki and Mr. Big profiled in today's Examiner

Chris Klimek has an article on northern Virginia's Matt Dembicki and his comic book, Mr. Big. It's not online, but it's "Serious Talk with Local Comics' 'Mr. Big'" Washington Examiner (November 24-25, 2007). Steal a copy off your neighbor's lawn, or look for the red boxes.

DC's homegrown real superheroes

The Post had this bit about people that dress up as superheroes to distribute food. In the end, I'm still not quite sure what the costumes add to the experience on either side, but more power to them. See "Public Service With a Side of Spandex," by Delphine Schrank, Washington Post Staff Writer, Friday, November 23, 2007; B03.

OT: Posy Simmonds interview in the new Comics Journal

Posy Simmonds is one of my favorite cartoonists who should be better known in the States (along with Raymond Briggs). My friend Paul Gravett has an excellent interview with her in the new Comics Journal.

Buy it today, and then order Gemma Bovary and preorder Tamara Drewe.

Blake Gopnik on Beowulf

I can't really decide if motion capture computer animation is really animation or not, so I'm not really posting about it or tracking it for the Comics Research Bibliography (link found to the right). However, in this article 'Beowulf' Movie Magic Can't Conjure The Poem's Bare-Bones Enchantment" by Blake Gopnik, Washington Post Staff Writer, Thursday, November 22, 2007; C01, Gopnik, one of the Post's best art critics also confesses his love for the Spider-Man movies and X-Men III. So I'll put the link up here and you can make up your own mind.

Animation leads Bomani Armah to fame and infamy

This article, "His Punch Line Smarts: Hip-Hop Parodist Bomani Armah Juggles Sense of Humor and Identity," by Kevin Merida, Washington Post Staff Writer, Thursday, November 22, 2007; C01, is about a DC man who wrote Read a Book, a satirical hip-hop song, but when it was animated and put out in the big world via BET, he got a lot of grief. It's an interesting article - it reads here like some of the choices made by the animators compounded the mixing of his message.

Post on Enchanted

In a move not seen in quite a while - Roger Rabbit, I'd guess, and before that the currently-supressed Song of the South - Disney's mixed live-action with animation, to generally excellent reviews. For the Post's take, see "Princess Power: In Charming 'Enchanted,' Once Upon A Time Is Right Now" By Ann Hornaday, Washington Post Staff Writer, Wednesday, November 21, 2007; Page C01

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.

A couple of sites for local creators

Randy T sent these in and will hopefully return to give more framing info:

Pop Mhan's website

Jo Chen's blog

Von Allan to be published by webcomics site Girlamatic.com

off-topic, but VA was one of our first readers - and look at those pseudonymous intials! Congratulations Von!

Von Allan to be published by webcomics site Girlamatic.com

Ottawa, Ontario, Canada (November 19, 2007) – Webcomics have, over the past ten years, become a phenomenon and are read by people of all ages. This popularity has greatly increased both the diversity and sheer amount of high quality comics that might not have been able to find an audience in a traditional print format. Coinciding with this growth has been the development of a number of webcomic publishing sites that collect similarly themed webcomics under one roof. One of the most notable is GirlAMatic.com, primarily due to its focus on comics that would appeal to female readers both young and old. Canadian graphic novelist Von Allan’s original graphic novel the road to god knows… has recently been accepted into GirlAMatic.com and will launch as a webcomic on December 3rd, 2007. The story will update four times per week (Monday through Thursday).

“Comics are a wonderful and diverse medium that can showcase stories from any particular genre. This is often forgotten due to the overwhelming market presence of both Marvel and DC’s superhero comics in print format. As a result of this, comics have traditionally been considered a ‘boys club’,” says Allan. “Most comics, especially in North America, tended to exclude women and girls by creating characters and stories that few female readers would ever identify with. Which, of course, is an odd thing to say but it can still occur even in this day and age. GirlAMatic has tried very hard to change this by creating a home for stories that, while running the gamut in terms of genre, can all be considered female friendly. Webcomics have managed to become a great leveler when it comes to genre and it’s fascinating to see how many readers of webcomics are female. When one combines that with the phenomenal growth of manga, driven primarily by female readers, comics of all forms are seeing a remarkable equalization in readership that they’ve never experienced before. And I’m pleased as punch to be a part of that.”

The road to god knows... is the story of Marie, a young teenage girl coming to grips with her Mom’s schizophrenia. As a result, she’s struggling to grow up fast; wrestling with poverty, loneliness, and her Mom’s illness every step of the way. Betty, Marie’s Mom, can’t help; she’s living with an illness that’s slowly getting worse and increasingly frightening. With her Mom absorbed in her own problems,
Marie is essentially alone while she learns to deal with the chaos in her young life.

The road to god knows… is expected to be printed in 2008 and has an ISBN of 978-0-9781237-0-3.

About Von Allan: Von Allan was born red-headed and freckled in Arnprior, Ontario, just in time for Star Wars: A New Hope. The single child of two loving but troubled parents, Von split most of his childhood between their two homes and, consequently, spent a lot of time in the worlds of comics and wrestling. He managed Perfect Books, an independent bookstore in Ottawa, for many years while working on story ideas in his spare time; eventually, he decided to make the leap to a creative life, and
the road to god knows… was the result. Additional information about the graphic novel can be found at www.vonallan.com.

About GirlAMatic: Launched on March 31st 2003, GirlAMatic.com has become the home for a variety of female-friendly webcomics. Perhaps more importantly, the site has been the home for multiple award winning comics creators, including Leigh Dragoon and Raina Telgemeier (Kim Yale Award Winner for Best New Female Talent 2006 and 2003 respectively), Hope Larson (Ignatz Award Winner 2006), and Donna Barr (Xeric Winner 2002).

Contact:

Von Allan
P.O. Box 20520, 390 Rideau Street,
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. K1N 1A3
Email: von@vonallan.com
Phone: 613-236-9957

Girlamatic.com
Editor-in-Chief: Lisa R. Jonté
Email: gam.editor@gmail.com

NEXT Sun, Dec 2 - CapiCons.com Comic & Pop Culture Show

Randy T. forwarded this Con announcement.

This show features a special guest appearance by John K. Snyder, III, courtesy of www.HeroInitiative.org. John K. Snyder, III, is a writer/illustrator whose work has been published by D.C. Comics (The Green Lantern, Dr. Mid-nite and an upcoming Batman mini-series) and many independent comic book publishers (The Duckberg Times).

- If you receive a postcard in the mail before the show, PLEASE BRING POSTCARD TO THE SHOW.

*******************************************************************
Our next Tysons Corner Monthly Comic & Pop Culture Show will be on Sun, December 2, 2007 at the Dunn Loring Volunteer Fire Department. The show is open to the public from 10 am - 3 pm.

Buy, sell and trade: gold, silver age and new comics; Magic and other gaming cards; non sport cards; videos and DVDs; anime; Horror; Sci-Fi; figures, toys; Star Wars and Star Trek memorabilia; original artwork, posters, T-shirts and various other comic related items.

Vendors confirmed for this show include:
All-American Comics
Cards Comics & Collectibles
Doug Cheshire
Michael Creager
Everyday Comics
FANDATA
Jerry Flynn
Gold Coast Collectibles
HeroInitiative.org
Damion Hill
Koop's Comics
Jim Montgomery
Outpost Station
Silver Fox Comics
TNT Comics
Tomorrow's Treasures
Steven Wagner
Brian Weinshenker
Welcome Back Comics
Zeno's Books
and more!

The Dunn Loring Volunteer Fire Department (directions - please see below) has a 70-space parking lot. Plus, there is a school behind the fire department with hundreds of parking spaces that are rarely used on the weekends.

To get to the Dunn Loring Volunteer Fire Department (located about 20 minutes west of Washington, D.C.). Take I-495 (DC/Capital Beltway) to Exit 47A (Rt 7 West). Go 1/2 mile, Take a Left on Gallows Rd and proceed 1 mile to 2148 Gallows Rd.

Or visit our website for detailed directions and Mapquest directions:
http://www.capicons.com/directions_dlvfd.htm

Venue Address:
Dunn Loring Volunteer Fire Department
2148 Gallows Road
Dunn Loring, VA 22027

We no longer require the Door Prize winner to be present to claim their prize. The door prize winner will be drawn after the show and the prize will be sent to the winner and announced in the next show's email.

Also, if you receive a postcard reminder for the event, PLEASE BRING THE POSTCARD TO THE SHOW. This will allow you to enter the door prize drawing without taking the time to fill out a new form.

If you do not receive a postcard before the show and would like this reminder, please visit our website and sign up for our mailing list:
http://www.capicons.com/contact_customer.htm

Or print out the following form, complete it and bring it to the next show:
http://www.capicons.com/door_prize_entry_form.htm

If you have any other questions, please visit our website:
http://www.CapiCons.com

Or send us an e-mail at:
info@capicons.com

Hope to see you soon.
Jeff
http://www.CapiCons.com
info@capicons.com

===================
*Capital Associates does not guarantee the arrival, arrival time or
departure time of the artist(s)/writer(s)/other guest(s) attending our
shows or attending on behalf of another group.
===================

Nov 28: Shrek the Halls?

During the Peanuts' Thanksgiving show, we just saw an ad for what appears to be a made-for-tv movie, Shrek the Halls. I'm sure this has potential - remember the Star Wars Ewok holiday special?

Nate Beeler congratulated by Examinerr

The Examiner ran this thingie (I'm sure it has a technical name) congratulating Nate for getting syndicated today.

Dec 12-13: South African artist William Kentridge

South African artist William Kentridge's animated "9 Drawings for Projection" at the Kennedy Center Terrace Theater, 202-467-4600, with original music by Philip Miller. 7:30 pm for $38.

Nov 20: Peanuts cartoons on tv

Peanuts cartoons are on tv at 8 pm. A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving is followed by He's A Bully, Charlie Brown. Writer's strike? What writer's strike?

Nov 21: Ben 10 movie on Cartoon Network

AT 8 pm, Cartoon Network's Ben 10 animated series converts to a live action movie in Ben 10: Race Against Time.

Zapp! Comic Books and the Arts exhibit, Jerry Robinson and Lee Marrs photos

Jerry Robinson and me; photo by Bruce Guthrie

Bruce Guthrie was up at the VisArts at Rockville building this weekend and took some shots of the Zapp! Comic Books and the Arts exhibit that was closing on November 18th, as well as pictures of Jerry Robinson and Lee Marrs in the convention space. Ms. Marrs gave a talk on webcomics and Bruce got pictures of that as well. I did too, and I'll try to post mine soon.

Zadzooks mostly on Dr. Who, but also Spider-Man hi-def dvds

See Joseph Szadkowski's "Doctor Who treats fans to more sci-fi humor," Washington Times November 17, 2007

Dove McHargue of SCAD's class in Arlington

On Friday night, my daughter and I got over to the Arlington Art Center about an hour after Dove McHargue started his class, Black and White Sequential Art -- The placement of compositional blacks. I had just planned to introduce myself and leave, but the class was well underway with about 10 students, including one dad who was there with his son. Dove was under the weather with a cold, but struggling through it as he showed several powerpoints on using inking to accent art. A lot of examples came from DC's Batman: Black and White books so I picked up volume 2 at a con yesterday. I think I had v.1 already. Dove gave the kids, who were all in high school, (and two dads) four pages from a Disney coloring book and suggested highlighting an element of each of the artwork. This was a very simple exercise to give out, but one that really made the kids (and me) think. There were a bunch of different solutions and Dove pointed out what worked and what didn't, talked about lighting, and was really very instructive. I personally found this absolutely fascinating and I have no desire at all to be a cartoonist. His explanation of how things work on the page was just really interesting. As the kids were working on their pages, he showed one of his black and white comic strips projected, and then how to color it with Photoshop - light dawned for me. If you have a chance, sit in on one of his sessions.

IJOCA's editorial

Some changes need to be made in IJOCA's distribution thanks to the Post Office's new rates for magazines. Here's what editor-in-chief Lent had to say. Write to him at john.lent at gmail.com if you have an opinion, especially on the overseas issues. Click on the page to make them larger and legible.

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.

Vip, Bok, Ware and Fish N Chips

A few new acquisitions can also make points about the Secret History of Comics.

The first is a set of three in-house books by CACI, a defense contractor. While these types of companies aren't usually known for their sense of humor, CACI's had the good sense to have their books initially illustrated by 'Vip' aka Virgil Partch. He was followed by gag and Playboy cartoonist John Dempsey and then most recently by editorial cartoonist Chip Bok.

Front cover to one of the three books with art by Vip.

Vip interior art.

John Dempsey cartoon.

Chip Bok cartoon.

Back cover of boxed set with art by Bok.

All three of these are major cartoonists, but I don't think their work here would be easily found.

The next item is the interior cover page of Chris Ware's Quimby the Mouse.

This is actually what a book signed by Chris Ware looks like - it's so subtle it's not something you'd really notice if you were in a hurry. Chris signed this for me at PENFaulkner, so I guarantee this is what you should be looking for.

Finally, at the Small Press Expo, I picked up Fish N Chips by Steve Hamaker. This book's apparently available now since I bought it two months ago, so one could ask 'what's it doing in a secret history post?' Steve's book, nominally from Vigil Press, is apparently self-published and there's no info in the book on how to order it. These days, Google tosses up his website with more information on the book, but parts of it appear to be last updated in 2005 and there's no guarantee that he'll keep the site up and a library or collector of the future might be confused by the lack of information in the book. Buy a copy from him to help comic scholars of the future and because he's a nice guy who did a fun fish sketch for me. BTW, he's coloring Bone for Jeff Smith.

KISS and Superman in Post

For Gene Simmons' take on Superman, see Sridhar Pappu's interview "I was immediately drawn to the idea of the cape and fancy outfit."; Kiss Man Gene Simmons Comes Out of the Phone Booth, Washington Post Sunday, November 18, 2007; M02.

QUICK REVIEWS FOR COMICS DUE 11-21-07

QUICK REVIEWS FOR COMICS DUE 11-21-07
By John Judy
(Support striking writers! Buy ‘em turkey AND comics, especially “Scalped” from Vertigo!)

52 VOL. 4 SC by Johns, Morrison, Rucka, Waid, and Friends. Concluding the epic weekly series in trade format. If you’ve forgotten how impressive this was try reading COUNTDOWN. On second thought, don’t.

ANGEL AFTER THE FALL #1 by Brian Lynch, and Franco Urru. Angel Season Six anyone? Ya gotta look! Whedon-approved and recommended!

ACTION COMICS #859 by Geoff Johns and Gary Frank. Supes and the Legion in a time-twisting adventure that promises lots of non-suckiness!

BOYS #12 by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson. Something about sending The Boys into the mob-ruled kleptocracy of modern Russia just feels… right. Recommended. Absolutely NOT for kids.

BRAVE AND BOLD #8 by Mark Waid and George Perez. The Doom Patrol and the Flash. Between this and the creative team, who could ask for more?

CAPTAIN AMERICA #32 by Ed Brubaker and Steve Epting. Picking up where there are so many hangers one can hardly see the cliff. Recommended.

CAPTAIN AMERICA VOL. 1 DEATH OF CAPTAIN AMERICA PREMIERE HC by Ed Brubaker and Steve Epting. Collecting issues 25-30 of the story so well told it’s hard to remember it’s the cheapest ploy in the super-hero comics bag-o-tricks. “Death.” Feh…

DETECTIVE COMICS #838 by Paul Dini and Ryan Benjamin. Batman and…. I-Ching. He’s a guy named… “I-Ching”… Look it’s a long story, it goes back to the 70s when everyone was doing a lot of… Hey, it’s part of the Ras al-Ghul story, okay?!

EX MACHINA #32 by Brian K. Vaughan and Tony Harris. The super-hero Mayor of New York meets the Pope. No rabbis, dogs, or bars involved. And they don’t go golfing. Honest.

GOON: CHINATOWN AND THE MYSTERY OF MR. WICKER HC written and drawn by Eric Powell. Powell’s first original graphic novel providing 128 uninterrupted pages of the Goon’s formative years. A must-have for all fans.

GRENDEL: BEHOLD THE DEVIL #1 of 8 written and drawn by Matt Wagner. An untold tale of novelist/assassin Hunter Rose in his prime. You need this.

HELLBLAZER #238 by Andy Diggle and Danijel Zezelj. Imagine a London where every urban legend is real and (GASP!) smoking is outlawed in pubs!!! It cannot be emphasized enough how much this title doesn’t suck anymore. Highly recommended.

JACK KIRBY’S FOURTH WORLD OMNIBUS VOL.3 HC by “The King.” Third of four volumes, kids! Featuring more re-drawn faces than Carmine Infantino ever thought we’d notice.

MAD ARCHIVES VOL.2 HC by Harvey Kurtzman and Artists Whose Names I Am Unworthy to Type. Collecting issues #7-12. You must own this or be forever diminished as a human being. Highly recommended.

SHE-HULK #23 by Peter David and Shawn Moll. Shulkie takes on Titania (the Marvel one) and the Absorbing Man, despite being at least partly…dead?

SPIRIT #11 written and drawn by Darwyn Cooke. Featuring Denny Colt’s continuing battle with “El Morte!” Awesome cover by Cooke. Highly recommended.

UMBRELLA ACADEMY APOCALYPSE SUITE #3 of 6 by Gerard Way Gabriel Ba. Featuring robot crime-sprees, dead musicians, and the apocalypse! Big fun from that guy in My Chemical Romance!

WALKING DEAD #44 by Robert Kirkman and Charlie Adlard. The Governor is just gonna kill all kinds of people now. The most suspenseful title on the market today. Never for kids. Always recommended.

PS – Buy SCALPED by Jason Aaron and R.M. Guera every month or you’ll go blind and sterile. It’s noir on an Indian reservation and that’s just for starters. Not for kids or the delicate of spleen. It even comes with this money-back guarantee from the creators:

Guéra and I really want you to read SCALPED. We want you to have no excuse for not trying SCALPED. To that end, we're now offering a money-back guarantee on the first trade paperback collection, "Indian Country." If you buy a copy and don't like it, just mail it back to us and we'll refund the price, plus the cost of your shipping. It's as easy as that. Here are the details:

http://www.scalped.info/

Tell your friends.

Listen to Garth Ennis: The best new series in years. Spread the word. Tell your friends. Talk about it. Blog about it.

Listen to Ed Brubaker: Read SCALPED and love it, or your money back! Jason Aaron is going a different route to try to get more readers for his excellent Vertigo book - SCALPED. This is one of my very favorite comics right now, and I highly recommend you all take him up on his offer. Please give a great book a chance. Drop some superhero book (not one of mine, of course) that you've been buying out of habit and not enjoying and try something new.

www.johnjudy.net

ICAF and OSU's Festival - another blog

My buddy Charles Hatfield stayed with me for ICAF and then we drove to Ohio for OSU's event. If you click those preceeding sentence's links, you'll see he's put up blog entries on the two with many more links than I ever bother with. He did note that OSU's put up highlight photos so I'll steal that link from him.

Nov 16-17: Jerry Robinson, Lee Marrs in Rockville

Late-breaking news - Jerry Robinson's in town. Saturday Lee Marrs speaks at 4 pm. No time to link but here's Marrs' website - http://www.leemarrs.com/ I'm going to try to make it up there for Marrs talk.

This is their event description:

Comic-con
Come see our new building, and this Comic Book exhibition and convention, and our inaugural exhibit, Zapp! Comic Books and the Arts. Fun for the whole family begins with a free talk Friday night from 7 to 8 by authority Jerry Robinson, who wikipedia notes began work on Batman and Joker beginning in 1939! Activities continue through the weekend with guest artists, special costume events, prizes, commemorative t-shirts, dealers and collectors. Saturday, 10 to 5, and Sunday 11 to 4. For more information, call 301-315-8200.
Nov. 16-18 - VisArts at Rockville, 155 Gibbs St., Rockville, Md. 20850

Bush Leaguers editorial cartoon exhibit review

Here's the review I wrote for the exhibit, from the new issue of IJOCA.

Nov 16: Fantom Comics grand opening ad

Scanned from the paper, since they don't send me press releases.

Latest Marvel comic for the military

I was able to pick up a copy of this at work. I find these all mawkish, rather than inspiring. And silly. The plot to this makes no sense at all. AIM devotes millions of dollars to keeping a brother and sister in the military from communicating with each other?

new International Journal of Comic Art's Table of Contents

We're still having website problems, but here's scans of the table of contents for the new issue. You can order a copy by clicking on the link in the column on the right and sending a check to John Lent at the address on the website. Note there's articles on Spiegelman's 9-11 comic book, Egyptian comics, Art Gallery comics, Brazilian comics, French prints, World War I cartoons... and all for $15!

Paul Hornschemeier has a band? Who knew?

Scott Rosenberg had an article on the cartoonist's band in November 12th's Express: "Paradox Rocks: Arks."

Washington Post on Marvel's digital comics subscription

See "Superheroes on Demand: Marvel Goes After New Fans With Subscription Site," by Mike Musgrove, Washington Post Staff Writer, Wednesday, November 14, 2007; Page D01.

Most of this article comes out of Marvel's press release from yesterday, but author Mike Musgrove did get a comment from Joel Pollack - "Some of my fellow retailers are kind of upset, but I think you can't turn back the hands of time and it's inevitable," he said. "If it hurts the sale of Marvel Comics, it's more self-destructive of Marvel . . . than anything else. . . . I don't know if it's going to have any impact on my business or not."

This isn't going to hurt anyone because Marvel is charging $10 a month for six-month-old comics that you can't download and take with you, but only read on their website. Why would anyone pay them for this? Nobody else has been able to make this model work - not the New York Times, nobody. And most publishers don't have scanners making the material available almost immediately (which I'm not condoning, just noting. I prefer my comics as paper). And none of their comics are hard to find - certainly not the ones they listed as being available online - unless you live in Nepal maybe, and then you're going to have internet connectivity issues anyway.

Also note that Fantom Comics is opening in Union Station - I wish them the best, but I think that's a high-risk move unless they're getting a super deal in rent.

new International Journal of Comic Art is out!

Details to follow, but it's 643 pages for $15.00 - click on the right for more information.

Nov 16: SCAD program on doing comics at Arlington Arts Center

Jeffry Cudlin of the Arlington Arts Center wrote in to tell us about a program on Friday night. I'm not sure if I can make it, but it sounds like it'll be interesting.

TWO FREE WORKSHOPS AT AAC!
By faculty members of the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD)

Sculpture Body Casting
Thursday, November 15 from 5 to 7 pm

Black and White Sequential Art —The placement of compositional black
Friday, November 16 from 5 to 7 pm

For mature high school students and adults.
Registration required: call 703.248.6800

Susan Krause, chair of sculpture at SCAD-Atlanta, will direct a hands-on workshop called Sculpture Body Casting on Thursday, November 15 from 5 to 7 pm. Participants will pair up to create casts of each other.

Have you ever wanted to try your hand at designing your own comic strip? Then sign up for Black and White Sequential Art—The placement of compositional blacks on Friday, November 16 from 5 to 7 pm. Taught by Dove McHargue, professor of Sequential Art and Animation at SCAD, this workshop will include a discussion about the sequential art major offered at SCAD and careers available in this field.

All levels of experience are welcome at both workshops, but class size is limited, so registration is required. To register click here, www.arlingtonartscenter.org/classes/FALL%202007%20REGISTRATION%20FORM.pdf for a print out of our registration form, or call 703.248.6800.

ABOUT SCAD
Savannah College of Art and Design was recently named one of Kaplan’s “25 cutting-edge schools with an eye toward the future.” It prepares talented students for professional careers, emphasizing learning through individual attention in a positively oriented university environment. The goal of the college is to nurture and cultivate the unique qualities of each student through an interesting curriculum, in an inspiring environment, under the leadership of involved professors. SCAD features locations in Atlanta and Savannah GA and in Lacoste, France, and also offers undergraduate and graduate degree programs online through SCAD-eLearning. http://www.scad.edu/admission/yourarea/index.cfm

ABOUT THE WORKSHOP TEACHERS
Originally from Canada, Susan Krause has been with SCAD since 2000 and is chair of sculpture at SCAD-Atlanta. She received her MFA from Yale University in 1989 and has exhibited nationally and internationally for 15 years. Her work is in the form of installation art relating to aspects of the human condition, authenticity and commonality. Dove McHargue teaches sequential art and animation at SCAD. He earned his MFA in Sequential Art from SCAD in 2005 and joined the faculty shortly thereafter.

Founded in 1974, the AAC is dedicated to presenting and supporting new work of contemporary artists in the Mid-Atlantic States. Located in the historic Maury School building, it holds exhibitions, rents studio spaces, and conducts educational programs for all ages. Normal public hours are Tuesday through Saturday from 11 am to 5 pm. For more information, call 703.248.6800 or visit www.arlingtonartscenter.org. The AAC is located at 3550 Wilson Boulevard in Arlington VA, just one block off the Virginia Square-GMU Metro stop on the Orange Line.

Arlington Arts Center programs are made possible through the generous support of the Virginia Commission for the Arts/NEA, the Arlington Commission for the Arts, Arlington County Division of Cultural Affairs, the Eugene and Agnes E. Meyer Foundation, Strategic Analysis, BB&T Bank, the Arlington Community Foundation, Arlington Catering, and our members.

Arlington Arts Center
3550 Wilson Blvd Arlington VA 22201
Metro: Orange Line: Virginia Square
703.248.6800
www.arlingtonartscenter.org

It's done!

And this isn't the cover! Although the photo by Gary Dumm may end up being the cover - that's the idea at the moment. But I sent the manuscript of Harvey Pekar: Conversations in to the University Press of Mississippi today and sometime in about a year (slightly longer than human gestation apparently) a book should pop out.

The Conversations books are collections of interviews over the career of cartoonists. You've got a couple of days left to get other books in the Conversations series in this website sale.

I've got almost all of the comics and cartoon books listed on the site.

Nov 14-17 manga play in Georgetown

Phil Troutman sends in a reminder of this:

"Trees and Ghosts," Adapted and Directed by Natsu Onoda, from the Graphic Novels of Osamu Tezuka.

WORLD PREMIERE! Nov. 14 - 17 (remaining performances) at 8 pm, Gonda Theatre, Davis Performing Arts Center, Georgetown University.

Advance tickets required, $7 student - $15 general admission: phone 202-687-6933 or http://performingarts.georgetown.edu/THEATER/2007-2008/2007-2008Season.html

From their website: "A new multimedia production adapted from three short graphic novels by a Japanese cartoonist Osamu Tezuka, who is considered the inventor of manga (contemporary Japanese comics). Spirits, elements of nature and memories of World War II haunt each of the stories that make up this highly visual production which employs interactive video, live on-stage drawing, and live taiko drums."

Reviewed in The Washington Post, Tu 13 Nov, page C2.

Which would be here -
"Trees and Ghosts': Manga's Magical Touch" by Nelson Pressley, Washington Post, Tuesday, November 13, 2007; Page C02

Simpson's mag in stores

In the new acquisitions pile is this Simpson's cover for E, the Environmental Magazine (November / December 2007), that I picked up at Busboys and Poets before the PEN/Faulkner event. Interestingly, although 'signed' by Matt Groening, the art is credited inside to Julius Preite. (The fish, blinded by the flash, has three eyes, by the way).

CFP: GRAVEN IMAGES: RELIGION IN COMIC BOOKS & GRAPHIC NOVELS

Posted for former DC-area comics type A. David Lewis...

GRAVEN IMAGES: RELIGION IN COMIC BOOKS & GRAPHIC NOVELS
April 11-13, 2008

Presented by the Luce Program in Scripture and Literary Arts
and the New England-Maritimes American Academy of Religion
Boston University Department of Religion

Keynote Speaker:
James Sturm
The Golem’s Mighty Swing
and James Sturm’s America: God, Gold, and Golems

THE GOLEM'S MIGHTY SWING Cover“Graven Images” will explore the roles of religion in comic books and graphic novels. This conference is open to all interpretations of “religious comics”; in fact, we welcome debate as to what that term might mean. >From the performance of religion in comics, to religious or mythic traditions among the elements of various works, to the use of comics by religious practitioners themselves, the relationship between comics and religion is dynamic and evolving. Given the increasing seriousness with which the public has come to view comics as an art form as well as Americans’ fraught but passionate relationship with religion, “Graven Images” provides an opportunity for discussion of cutting-edge artistic and social issues.

Examples of religion in comics abound. Preacher is the tale of a lapsed Texan clergyman armed with the literal Word of God in order to track down the Creator Himself. The Golem’s Mighty Swing features a group of Jewish ballplayers in the 1920s who invoke a biblical force amidst competition and prejudice. Cerebus, the world’s first and only 6,000-page graphic novel, resolves around the creation of a new religion, its sacred text, the author’s own account of Genesis, and a final accounting with God. Kingdom Come presents a “twilight of the superheroes,” set against the backdrops of both Nordic Ragnarok and Christian Revelation and seen through the eyes of a faith-weary minister and a divine Spirit of Vengeance. Although there is no shortage of religious material in comic books and graphic novels, there is a dearth of formal, academic discussion on the topic. “Graven Images” aims to begin a conversation that will rectify this lack.

The focus will be primarily English-language works produced over the last 60 years for the American market, though special exceptions will be made for particularly strong abstracts. We are particularly interested in the following works and topics, though others will be considered:

Age of Bronze, Binky Brown Meets the Holy Virgin Mary, Blankets, Buddha, Castle Waiting, Cairo, Contract with God, From Hell, Finder, Hellboy, Hey Mister: The Trouble with Jesus, Invisibles, Jew of New York, King David, Lucifer, Marked!, MAUS, Megillat Esther, Persepolis, Promethea, Sandman, Testament, and the Virgin Comics line.

· Pagan Missionaries: the works of Moore, Gaiman, and Morrison as mouthpieces for New Religious MovementsGraven Images icon
· Christian Comic Books and the Evangelicals
· The Market for Religious Comics
· Daniel: Prophet of Dreams, Samson: Judge of Israel, The Lone and Level Sands, Marked!, and other depictions of the Hebrew Bible or New Testament
· Using Comics to Teach Religion
· Non-Western Religious Traditions in Western Comic Books
· Ritual Wednesdays at the Comic Shop: Comic Book Culture and its Elements of Faith
· What does a Messiah look like? Chosen, Battle Pope, and The New Adventures of Jesus
· Binky Brown and other Irreverent Portraits of Religion: The Role of Humor

500-word abstracts should be sent to the attention of A. David Lewis either through e-mail at ADL@bu.edu or by mail to
“Graven Images” Conference, Department of Religion, Boston University, 145 Bay State Road, Boston MA 02215.

ABSTRACTS MUST BE RECEIVED BY JANUARY 31, 2008.

Charlotteville's Sorenson in top 10

Daryl Cagle reported on the top ten cartoonists on his syndicate's site, and Jen Sorenson was on the list:

MORE INTERESTING STATS

We have a great new system that allows our readers to subscribe to any cartoonist on the site and receive an e-mail with that cartoonist's most recent cartoon, whenever we post a new cartoon from each cartoonist. It has been running for about three months now. Take a look, it is pretty cool. Subscribe to as many as you want, it is FREE.

I just got stats on the individual artist newsletters for the first time and I was a bit surprised to see who the most popular cartoonists are with our reader/subscribers. Here is the top ten list, with the most popular first (I blush, but my name is plastered on everything so I don't know that my being on the list means much):

1. Daryl Cagle
2. Pat Bagley
3. Eric Allie
4. Monte Wolverton
5. Matt Bors
6. Andy Singer
7. Brian Fairrington
8. Shannon Wheeler
9. Clay Bennett
10. Jen Sorensen

Mark Wheatley's new webcomic project again

Here's an interview: "INSIGHT & NASCAR'S MIGHTY-MOTOR SAPIENS" by Jennifer M. Contino,
Comicon's The Pulse 11-09-2007. Mark lives somewhere between DC and Baltimore, I think.

Bush Leaguers redux

Actually, I knew this, because I bought a copy at OSU, but forgot to mention it. Luckily Dave Astor caught it. "New Catalog of Cartoons From 'Bush Leaguers' Exhibit", E&P Online November 12, 2007. This was the show at American University this summer - it was excellent. My review appears in the new issue of the International J of Comic Art which is wending its way through the postal system now.

Post squishes SpongeBob

See "'SquarePantis': Squeezing The Life Out of SpongeBob" by Tom Shales, Washington Post Staff Writer, Monday, November 12, 2007; Page C01.

And just to put an aposite image in your head, yesterday I missed this Persepolis review: "Artful Women" by Nora Krug, Washington Post Book World Sunday, November 11, 2007; Page BW11

Tom Toles taken to task

The letter:

Caricature Run Amok, Washington Post November 10, 2007

While I have found Tom Toles's cartoons often trivial and sometimes annoying, the Nov. 7 submission left me infuriated. To suggest that Vice President Cheney supports or dreams of taking dictatorial actions of the type in Pakistan indicated in the cartoon is disgusting and beneath The Post's standards of fairness.

There are legitimate arguments about the president's wartime powers, but our basic freedoms remain intact, as evidenced by the ability of Toles and all journalists and citizens to freely express their views, however repugnant, without fear of governmental retribution.

-- Lawrence L. Thompson
Washington

and the cartoon:

Late-breakinging SPX con report

Well, it's not like I've written mine yet, but see "SPX 2007: Life at a Small Press Gathering," By Lee Atchison, Sequential Tart November 5, 2007

Post reviews Michaelis' Schulz biography tomorrow

See "It's Your Life, Charlie Brown! A portrait of the anxious artist who taught Snoopy how to dance," reviewed by Julie Phillips, Washington Post Book World Sunday, November 11, 2007; Page BW04.

Writings on comics by American U professor

I was introduced to American U professor Erik Dussere last night at the PEN/Faulkner talk. He's written a couple of articles on comics:

"Subversion in the Swamp: Pogo and the Folk in the McCarthy Era," Journal of American Culture 26 (1; March 2003): 134-141

"The queer world of the X-Men; OK, Wolverine never built a shrine to Judy Garland, but 'the strangest teens' were obviously homo superior -- emphasis on the homo," Salon (July 12, 2000)

Today's Richard's Poor Almanack

Isn't online yet, but it's another finger puppet. Whoo-hoo! In the meantime, enjoy last week's Peanuts parody.

Tomorrow's Washington Post bit on Caniff's Terry and the Pirates

See "Terry and the Pirates" by Dennis Drabelle, Washington Post Book World Sunday, November 11, 2007; Page BW04.

Zadzooks on Spidey game

See "Unlikely collaborators help Spidey in mission" by Joseph Szadkowski, Washington Times November 10, 2007.

Another DC-area blogger spotlight

Michael Wenthe - mentioned earlier today - shares a blog with Isaac Cates. Both teach about comics, and together they make minicomics. I hadn't realized they had a blog until Isaac mentioned it in passing today - check out Satisfactory Comics. Right now, it appears that their latest mini-comic is an intellectual exercise of the type that Matt Madden is the best promoter of - if you haven't bought his 99 Ways to Tell A Story, you should and you should shelve it next to McCloud, Eisner and Buscema.

A link to Satisfactory Comics will be up on the right for future visits.

Speaking of comics in the classroom

...Geppi's Museum curator Arnold Blumberg writes about teaching Watchmen at the University of Maryland.

Comics and Graphic Novels in the Classroom panel report

Literature professors Marc Singer (Howard U) and Michael Wenthe (American U) and I did a short panel at Busboys and Poets on 14th St at the request of PENFaulkner. Lynda Barry, Alison Bechdel and Chris Ware were in the audience and hopefully got some of the buffet supper. My friend, and potential breakout cartoonist for Cul de Sac, Richard Thompson accompanied me and didn't look too glazed over when the talk went academic at times.

I recorded 99% of the panel  - I missed my first question as moderator "Why have comics in the classroom, and how do you do it" was roughly the question. Marc Singer begins replying and the beginning of his reply is cut off too.

After the event, I was able to talk briefly with Lynda Barry who has some very interesting working methods. For her 100 Demons book, which I recommend, she has words written on cards that she pulls at random out of a bag. She then takes the word she's selected and writes other words that it reminds her of. When she has an idea for the strip, she starts writing and drawing it. As she said, 'The first draft is the only draft.' She also talked to Michael and I about her novel Cruddy, saying that she had been trying to write it for nine years on a computer. When she switched to writing with her brush and ink, it was done in under a year, so she feels that for cartoonists the link between moving your hand and thinking is wired into one's brain. Also for Cruddy, the illustrations are finger-painted, using ink, I think.

Lynda was absolutely great to talk to and very encouraging to anyone (including Chris Ware as he related the next night) who approached her. Alison and Chris are fun to talk to as well, and I'd like to spend more time talking comics with Dan Raeburn who's done three booklets and one big book on them. He moderated the talk by the cartoonists on the following night and I'll post on that separately.

Lynda's strips are now being posted on the Drawn & Quarterly blog.

QUICK REVIEWS OF COMICS DUE 11-14-07

QUICK REVIEWS OF COMICS DUE 11-14-07
Support striking Writers Guild members! Buy them comics!
By John Judy

ALL-STAR SUPERMAN #9 by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely. It’s the DC “All-Star” series where they HAVEN’T turned Black Canary into an Irish whore! Recommended!

AVENGERS INITIATIVE #7 by Dan Slott and Stefano Caselli. It’s Scarlet Spiders versus Vulturians but it’s written by Dan Slott, the man who can take even the lamest characters and make you love them. Highly recommended.

BATMAN AND THE OUTSIDERS #1 by Chuck Dixon and Julian Lopez. The dark-night detective teams up with a S.E. Hinton’s loveable band of scamps and…. Ah, heck, it’s time to refresh the trademark, guys. You know how it is.

BLACK ADAM THE DARK AGE #4 of 8 by Peter J. Tomasi and Doug Mahnke. This amazingly grim series is still holding up quite well in spite of being way too dark for the traditional Captain Marvel/Shazam audience. Half-way home. Not too late to jump on, readers.

BOOSTER GOLD #4 by Geoff Johns and Jeff Katz. It’s time-travel stories that not only don’t suck, but actually entertain and surprise! It’s a holiday miracle! Plus it has Flashes! Barry Allen even! Check it out!

CAPTAIN MARVEL #1 of 5 by Brian Reed and Lee Weeks. The blonde, disco-era Protector of the Universe is back from the dead, checking out paintings and punching robots! A decent start even if you think Marv shoulda stayed dead.

EX MACHINA VOL. 6: POWER DOWN SC by Brian K. Vaughan and Tony Harris. Collecting what Vaughan has called his favorite run on the book so far, issues #26-29, exploring what a power outage means to a guy who talks to machines. Recommended.

HOUSE OF M: AVENGERS #1 of 5 by Christos Gage and Mike Perkins. A well-drawn romp through a universe that sorta doesn’t exist anymore. Maybe it’s one of DC’s 52?

KIMMIE66 GN written and drawn by Aaron Alexovich. So what are awkward teen girls doing on the internet 200 years from now? Same as today only more so and with vampires. Take a gander.

LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN: THE BLACK DOSSIER HC by Alan Moore and Kevin O’Neill. Okay, Moore has gone seriously nuts over the years, but whether a guy believes in ”magick” or not, if that same guy authored “Watchmen”, “Miracleman”, and the other “LoEG” books, you still have to sit up and take notice. This one has a lot of extras and will still be fascinating even if you end up hating it. (Yeah, I read “Lost Girls” and all the Lovecraft craziness. It’s like Frank Miller. You have to look to see if he’s recovering yet.) And Kevin O’Neill always rocks.

NEW AVENGERS #36 by Brian Michael Bendis and Lieinil Francis Yu. New York City’s been “Venom-ized” and The Hood is basking in his victory over Tigra the Were-Woman. Yeah, he hasn’t figured out that Tigra isn’t exactly A-list. Did I mention Wolverine is on the cover? Some people think he’s a Skrull because it’s the only way to account for him being in every single comic Marvel puts out each month, including the Classics Illustrated things they’re doing. I love this theory because it explains how Wolverine killed Moby Dick.

PUNISHER #52 by Garth Ennis and Goran Parlov Frank has to save the little girl and kill the Barracuda. One of the most intense Punisher stories in years. And then there’s…

PUNISHER WAR JOURNAL #13 by Matt Fraction and Cory Walker. Kraven the Hunter Junior, I swear to …. For the Punisher completists out there.

SALVATION RUN #1 of 7 by Bill Willingham and Sean Chen. The villains of the DC Universe finally get exiled to a whole ‘nother planet for their crimes! It’s like Australia only with super-powers and no beer!

SCOTT PILGRIM VOL.4 SCOTT PILGRIM GETS IT TOGETHER GN by Bryan Lee O’Malley. Scott plays in a band, dates a girl, and fights her evil ex-boyfriends. How is this not a TV series yet? A new one for all you Oni Press manga-maniacs.

THOR #4 by J. Michael Straczynski and Olivier Copiel. Thor’s looking up old friends. You see this one coming a mile away but it looks like they’re getting past that soon and anyway, it looks nice.

WOLVERINE #59 by Marc Guggenheim and Howard Chaykin. Featuring every version of Wolvie you’ve ever heard of. I smell action figure assortment…

WONDER WOMAN #14 by Gail Simone and Terry & Rachel Dodson. Honest! This time I mean it! Gail’s totally writing this! And WW’s fighting abominable snowmen on the cover! How great is that?!

WORLD OF WARCRAFT #1 by Walt Simonson and Ludo Lullabi. Yes, this is based on the popular on-line game and it is drawn by a guy named “Lullabi.” Lots of swords, armor, and fighting! Best of all, a comic book can’t crash right when you’re really enjoying it!

WORLD WAR HULK #5 of 5 by Greg Pak and John Romita Jr. Smash-smash-smashity-smash-smash!!!! Guest-starring the Sentry.

X-FACTOR #25 by Peter David and Scot Eaton. Rictor goes to church looking for the killer mutant-Jesus. Hijinks ensue.

www.johnjudy.net

Detroit Free Press picks up Cul de Sac

Richard Thompsons's added another paper. See "Quirky new comic has fan in 'Calvin and Hobbes' creator," Detroit Free Press November 5, 2007.

And he's been named by Tom Spurgeon on Comicsreporter.com as the Potential Breakout Cartoonist of 2008.

Richard Thompson's faves

Alan started a neat new feature over at the Daily Cartoonist by asking cartoonists who they like. His first victim was Arlington's own Richard Thompson. See "The Cartoonist’s Cartoonists: Richard Thompson" by Alan Gardner Nov 06, 2007. Personally I wouldn't have guessed Lynda Barry.

Richard tossed a few more names around on his blog.

Meet Lynda Barry, Chris Ware and Alison Bechdel and Richard at Busboy's and Poets on Thursday - click on the Upcoming Events link on the right to see details.

Nate Beeler goes national

Nate's emailed me that he's signed a syndication deal with Darryl Cagle's Cagle Cartoon syndicate and written about it on his blog. Congratulations, Nate. For those who don't pick up the Examiner regularly, Nate's cartoons are one of the best things in it.

Dave Astor adds a bit more to the story. So Nate, are you a right-leaning libertarian?

QUICK REVIEWS FOR COMICS DUE 11-07-07

QUICK REVIEWS FOR COMICS DUE 11-07-07
(Support striking Writers Guild members! Bring ‘em comics!)
By John Judy

ASTONISHING X-MEN #23 by Joss Whedon and John Cassaday. Maybe this book can go monthly now that Joss has all that extra time….

BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER #8 by Brian K. Vaughan and Georges Jeanty. Buffy versus Faith. The cover looks like Faith’s water-boarding The Buffster. Maybe she wants to be our new Attorney-General?

CAIRO HC by G. Willow Wilson and M.K. Perker. An original slam-bang action thriller set in Egypt’s largest city. Contains magic!

COUNTDOWN AND FRIENDS by Whoever Drew the Short Straw. Remember when weekly comics making their ship-dates was a good thing?

CRIMINAL #10 by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips. A big finale in this awesome noir that keeps Daddy from getting a life. Highly recommended.

DARK TOWER GUNSLINGER BORN PREMIERE HC by Peter David and Jae Lee. Marvel heard a rumor that some of you still had money.

FANTASTIC FOUR #551 by Dwayne Mac Duffie and Paul Pelletier. Okay, it’s a time-travel story but it has an awesome last page. Enjoy!

GROO: HELL ON EARTH #1 of 4 by Mark Evanier and Sergio Aragones. The Wanderer battles the ultimate global warning in a humorous, fantastical way. From the guys who brought you MAD Magazine and “Welcome Back Kotter” among other things.

IMMORTAL IRON FIST #10 by Ed Brubaker, Matt Fraction, and David Aja. Like reading a really good kung-fu flick. Recommended.

NEW AVENGERS ILLUMINATI #5 of 5 by Brian Michael Bendis and Jim Cheung. In which we finally learn which one of Our Heroes is not who he appears. “Skrull! Cough! Cough!”

SCALPED #11 by Jason Aaron and R.M. Guera. This noir Western set on an Indian reservation has all the right people raving. Check it out and see why. NOT for kids.

SUPERMAN #670 by Kurt Busiek and Rick Leonardi. It’s the end of “The Third Kryptonian!” Because there’s only FIVE OF THEM on the cover, not including The Character Formerly Known as Superboy-Prime! Sigh…

UNCANNY X-MEN #492 by Ed Brubaker and Billy Tan. Everyone’s looking for the Killer Jesus-Mutant! What a caper! Can a week ever have too much Brubaker? Not in my house, bub!

Y THE LAST MAN #59 by Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra. It’s the next to last issue of this amazing series. If you haven’t read it before now is the time to start plowing through the trades. On a par with Neil Gaiman’s “Sandman” for depth and imagination. Highly recommended.

www.johnjudy.net

KAL exhibit somewhere down south

KAL, from our northern neighbor city Baltimore, has an exhibit of cartoons up at Duke University. See "Work of Editorial Cartoonist Goes on Display at Duke: Decades of contentious political cartoons by Kevin 'KAL' Kallaugher will be displayed at Duke starting Nov. 7," Thursday, November 1, 2007

Articles in today's papers - Bee Movie and Spider-Man game

Two Bee Movie reviews in the Express (an AP one) and the Examiner and Bumbling 'Bee Movie' Needs More of Jerry"

By Desson Thomson
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, November 2, 2007; Page C01
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/01/AR2007110102491.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/01/AR200711
0100906.html
Spider-Man: Both Sides Now
Washington Post Friday, November 2, 2007; Page WE54

Hero novel review in Metro Weekly

Metro Weekly is actually one of the free papers that I don't regularly pick up, mostly because it doesn't run comics, but the new issue has this book review in it - "Heroic Exploits: Delving into the life of a young, gay superhero, Perry Moore's 'Hero' is a wonderful combo of reality and fantasy," by Tim Plant, Metro Weekly November 1, 2007.

Nov 10: Persepolis at AFI Silver

The animated film based on Marjane Satrapi's book at 8 pm in Silver Spring on the 10th. 1 showing! Geez.

Articles in today's papers - Bee Movie and Dethklok

The Post's got "The Bee in His Bonnet: Jerry Seinfeld's New Flick Began as a Joke but Made Him Busy as a . . . You Know," by William Booth, Washington Post Staff Writer, Thursday, November 1, 2007; C01.

Over in the Onion, a Cartoon Network band is profiled in "Brian Posehn Interviews Dethklok" [expanded version online], by Josh Modell, Onion November 1st, 2007.