Zadzooks was on a videogame last week so I'm not linking to it, but here's 2 of Greg's recommendations:
Bennett's Best for the week of December 21
Zadzooks Blog
January 02 2009 7:39 PM BY JOE SZADKOWSKI
Back to the 80s when the world was young, and so were Greg and I as he selects Mister X and American Flagg!
Bennett's Best for the week of December 28
Zadzooks Blog
January 02 2009 7:55 PM BY JOE SZADKOWSKI
Shanower's return to Oz and 30 Days of Night here.
Sunday, January 04, 2009
Cul de Sac picked up in Knoxville
See "Four new strips replace low finishers in News Sentinel cartoon lineup," By Susan Alexander, Knoxville News Sentinel Sunday, January 4, 2009.
OT: Dilbert interview
Since most of the comics news blogs are on holiday hiatus, I'll link to something that has nothing to do with our stated purpose - here's an interesting interview by my friend Chris Mautner, "'Dilbert' creator reflects on 20 years of cube life," Patriot-News January 2 2009.
QUICK REVIEWS OF COMICS DUE WEDNESDAY 01-07-09
QUICK REVIEWS OF COMICS DUE WEDNESDAY 01-07-09
By John Judy
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #582 by Dan Slott and Mike McKone. Spidey’s gotta settle the Molten Man’s hash and save Harry Osborn. Because that’s his job. Very specialized. Not just any insect-themed jamoke can do it. This is a Dan Slott story so it’s a cut above the rest. Read and see.
BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER #21 by Jane Espenson and Georges Jeanty. Harmony the vampire attacks Andy Dick! The contest for Best Comic of 2009 is now officially over! Written by Mutant Enemy stalwart and “Battlestar: Galactica” scribe Jane Espenson! Recommended!
DC UNIVERSE ILLUSTRATED BY NEAL ADAMS by Neal Adams and Others. If you’re looking for any Adams DC material not already collected in Batman, Deadman or Green Lantern/Green Arrow trades it is probably in this book. Beautiful stuff. Recommended.
FACES OF EVIL: GRUNDY #1 by Scott Kolins and Geoff Johns. A one-shot exploring the story of DC’s indestructable swamp-monster Solomon Grundy. Everything you ever wanted to know and more! Gotta look!
HAUNTED TANK #2 of 5 by Frank Marraffino and Henry Flint. The comic that dares to ask “Can a black tank commander and his undead Confederate Army Great-great-great Grandfather put their differences aside if it means killing lots of non-Americans?” This should be Eddie Murphy’s next movie.
INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #9 by Matt Fraction and Salvador Larroca. Tony Stark has pretty much screwed up the entire world. Captain America is dead, SHIELD is defunct and we just got reamed by a bunch of green alien shape-shifters. Now Tony is persona non grata everywhere. He’s sort of like George Bush in a suit of armor, but more sympathetic. Anyway this issue has Tony trying to escape Everyone.
NO HERO #3 of 7 by Warren Ellis and Juan Jose Ryp. There’s a new superhuman in town and he’s looking…. Well, pretty darn strange actually. Having your mind cracked like an egg will do that to a person, even more so if it’s Warren Ellis making the omelet.
SANDMAN DREAM HUNTERS #3 of 4 by Neil Gaiman and P. Craig Russell. It’s the monk’s turn to plead with the Dream King for the life of the fox. Problem is, that Dream King? Real jerk sometimes…
SECRET SIX #5 by Gail Simone and Nicola Scott. Okay, it’s gonna be a trick bouncing back after most of the team was poisoned last issue and that freaky serial killer “Junior” begins closing in, but these crazy kids have moxie and that counts for a lot!
WALKING DEAD #57 by Robert Kirkman and Charles Adlard. The zombie killers continue their trek to Washington D.C. Seems to be the thing to do this January. Also the 9th WALKING DEAD trade paperback HERE WE REMAIN comes out, collecting issues 49-54. Weeks like this make a person glad to be alive and not eating human flesh! Not for kids.
X-MEN: NOIR #2 of 4 by Fred Van Lente and Dennis Calero. This series has me hooked like an adamantium claw with its crazy alternate universe X-folk spouting pulp tough-guy dialogue and acting like the “Gangs of New York” with super powers. Highly recommended!
www.johnjudy.net
By John Judy
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #582 by Dan Slott and Mike McKone. Spidey’s gotta settle the Molten Man’s hash and save Harry Osborn. Because that’s his job. Very specialized. Not just any insect-themed jamoke can do it. This is a Dan Slott story so it’s a cut above the rest. Read and see.
BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER #21 by Jane Espenson and Georges Jeanty. Harmony the vampire attacks Andy Dick! The contest for Best Comic of 2009 is now officially over! Written by Mutant Enemy stalwart and “Battlestar: Galactica” scribe Jane Espenson! Recommended!
DC UNIVERSE ILLUSTRATED BY NEAL ADAMS by Neal Adams and Others. If you’re looking for any Adams DC material not already collected in Batman, Deadman or Green Lantern/Green Arrow trades it is probably in this book. Beautiful stuff. Recommended.
FACES OF EVIL: GRUNDY #1 by Scott Kolins and Geoff Johns. A one-shot exploring the story of DC’s indestructable swamp-monster Solomon Grundy. Everything you ever wanted to know and more! Gotta look!
HAUNTED TANK #2 of 5 by Frank Marraffino and Henry Flint. The comic that dares to ask “Can a black tank commander and his undead Confederate Army Great-great-great Grandfather put their differences aside if it means killing lots of non-Americans?” This should be Eddie Murphy’s next movie.
INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #9 by Matt Fraction and Salvador Larroca. Tony Stark has pretty much screwed up the entire world. Captain America is dead, SHIELD is defunct and we just got reamed by a bunch of green alien shape-shifters. Now Tony is persona non grata everywhere. He’s sort of like George Bush in a suit of armor, but more sympathetic. Anyway this issue has Tony trying to escape Everyone.
NO HERO #3 of 7 by Warren Ellis and Juan Jose Ryp. There’s a new superhuman in town and he’s looking…. Well, pretty darn strange actually. Having your mind cracked like an egg will do that to a person, even more so if it’s Warren Ellis making the omelet.
SANDMAN DREAM HUNTERS #3 of 4 by Neil Gaiman and P. Craig Russell. It’s the monk’s turn to plead with the Dream King for the life of the fox. Problem is, that Dream King? Real jerk sometimes…
SECRET SIX #5 by Gail Simone and Nicola Scott. Okay, it’s gonna be a trick bouncing back after most of the team was poisoned last issue and that freaky serial killer “Junior” begins closing in, but these crazy kids have moxie and that counts for a lot!
WALKING DEAD #57 by Robert Kirkman and Charles Adlard. The zombie killers continue their trek to Washington D.C. Seems to be the thing to do this January. Also the 9th WALKING DEAD trade paperback HERE WE REMAIN comes out, collecting issues 49-54. Weeks like this make a person glad to be alive and not eating human flesh! Not for kids.
X-MEN: NOIR #2 of 4 by Fred Van Lente and Dennis Calero. This series has me hooked like an adamantium claw with its crazy alternate universe X-folk spouting pulp tough-guy dialogue and acting like the “Gangs of New York” with super powers. Highly recommended!
www.johnjudy.net
Beeler cartoon picked in Time's top 10
Scott R wrote in noting that one of Nate Beeler's editorial cartoon also made Time's Top 10 List. Good work, Nate.
Saturday, January 03, 2009
Beeler cartoon picked in Wired blog's top 12
Nate Beeler's cartoon is number 12 here: "Our 12 (Or So) Favorite Techy Cartoons of 2008," By Jose Fermoso, Wired's Gadget Lab blog January 03, 2009.
Telnaes, Pett's USA Today cartoon on Slate's top 50
At least according to "On the Slate: The Best Editorial Cartoons of '08," By E&P Staff December 30, 2008. I gave up clicking through the one cartoon per page that Slate offered up.
Reason's website review of The Ten Cent Plague
See "Friday Mini Book Review: The Ten Cent Plague," Brian Doherty, Reason.com January 2, 2009. Reason's based in DC, just north of Dupont Circle on Connecticut Ave for those of you who were wondering.
2008 COMICS IN THE REARVIEW (aka Quick Reviews)
2008 COMICS IN THE REARVIEW
by John Judy
This past year saw no shortage of excellent comics work in spite of a dry-spell of inverse-proportion in quality movie adaptations. (I’m looking at you, “The Spirit” and “Punisher War Zone.”)
“The Dark Knight” and “Iron Man” may have brought a few curious citizens through the doors of our nation’s comic shops, but if they came back for more it’s likely due to some of these titles being on the shelves:
AFTER 9-11: AMERICA’S WAR ON TERROR HC & SC by Sid Jacobson and Ernie Colon. The team behind the excellent 9-11 REPORT graphic adaptation now presents us with its tragic sequel. While the creators strive to be fair to all concerned the Bushies come off almost as badly as they deserve. Hey, misleading a nation into a bankrupting, unnecessary war will do that sometimes! Highly recommended for 4,149 reasons as of this writing.
AL JAFFE TALL TALES HC by Al Jaffe. Collecting 120 installments of the world’s first and last vertical newspaper comic-strip from the veteran MAD artist who gave us “Snappy Answers to Stupid Questions” and the folding back-cover gags of about a million issues of MAD. Very cool stuff.
ALL WE EVER DO IS TALK ABOUT WOOD GN written and illustrated by Tom Horacek. A collection of Horacek’s morbidly funny single panel cartoons. Definitely for fans of Charles Addams, Edward Gorey, and Ivan Brunetti.
AMERICAN FLAGG: DEFINITIVE COLLECTION VOL. 1 HC and SC written and illustrated by Howard Chaykin. Collecting the legendary first 14 issues of the series that put Howard Chaykin on the map. Twenty-five years in the making this one’s finally coming out from Image.
AMERICAN WIDOW HC by Alissa Torres and Sungyoon Choi. A powerful, autobiographical account of Torres, a woman who lost her husband and the father of her unborn son in the attacks of 9-11. About as far from escapist fantasy as you’re going to get. Recommended but too intense for younger readers.
APOCALYPSE NERD SC written and drawn by Peter Bagge. Kim Jong Il has nuked Seattle (just go with it) and now software engineer Perry and his friend Gordo struggle to survive in the aftermath. Dark humor and adventure from the creator of HATE and THE BRADLEYS.
ASTRO CITY: THE DARK AGE BOOK 1 HC by Kurt Busiek and Brent Anderson. Collecting the first eight issues of “The Dark Age”, the story of Astro City in the seventies when the Silver Agent got whacked. Great stuff, too infrequently seen on the weekly racks.
AVENGERS: THE INITIATIVE by Dan Slott and Stefano Caselli. Imagine a darker version of the Disney movie “Sky High” and that’s what you’ll find in this on-going title about young heroes being registered and drafted into their nation’s service, mental and moral fitness aside. Early issues are now available in trade paperback.
THE BAKERS: BABIES AND KITTENS HC written and illustrated by Kyle Baker, the Greatest Cartoonist of All Time. Two cats are adopted into Kyle’s home against his wishes. Hijinks ensue. Beautifully drawn hijinks. Recommended especially if you have kids who like bedtime stories of hapless daddies.
THE BOYS by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson. This notorious series continues chugging along just fine since DC Comics dumped it for being a little too close to home in the superheroes it skewers. Anyway, it’s Garth Ennis and if you enjoyed his PREACHER series back in the day you’ll enjoy this as well.
CAPTAIN AMERICA by Ed Brubaker and Steve Epting. Technically this title hasn’t featured the real Cap since Brubaker “killed” him in March 2007, but Bucky the long-lost boy sidekick and his amazing friends have been providing very respectable entertainment since then, a feat I wouldn’t have thought possible but for the talents of the creative team. Good stuff for teens and up.
CLOUDS ABOVE SC written and illustrated by Jordan Crane. A book-length, all-ages adventure of a boy and his cat. Originally a HC release in 2005 this paperback edition contains five pages of new material. Very cool with appealing qualities for young and old alike.
COMIC BOOK COMICS by Fred Van Lente and Ryan Dunlavey. A bit of hyper-stylized graphic non-fiction from the geniuses who gave us ACTION PHILOSOPHERS! This time their target is the History of Comic Book Publishing in America! So far in 2008 we’ve enjoyed #1, “The Pulps” and #2, “Our Artists at War” featuring the early WWII adventures of Siegel and Shuster, Simon and Kirby, Stan Lee and Walt Disney! Previews can be found on the company website www.eviltwincomics.com if you need more proof of this title’s wonderfulness. Look for the next two issues in early 2009!
THE CREEPY ARCHIVES, VOL. 1 and 2 HCs from Dark Horse Comics. Collecting the first ten issues of this classic horror anthology magazine. At eight stories per issue you’re looking at some quantity here in addition to the quality one associates with such creators as Archie Goodwin, Gray Morrow, Alex Toth and others of that era. A pair of Must-Haves for those of us who love this stuff.
CRIMINAL by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips. Brubaker’s passion for noir culture in all its forms is infectious. This series traces the paths of multiple generations of dangerous losers in a city that breeds them. There are currently three trade collections out: LAWLESS, COWARD and THE DEAD AND THE DYING. All are recommended but be advised they do not contain any of the back-up text pieces featured in each of the individual comics. For those ya gotta buy the funny books. Fortunately they can be found at comic shops near you for a reasonable few bits.
THE DANGEROUS ALPHABET HC by Neil Gaiman and Gris Grimly. A dark romp through the alphabet with pirates, sewer-monsters, and organs in jars! Highly recommended for fans of Gahan Wilson and the like. Great for kids who need literacy and a good scare!
DAREDEVIL by Ed Brubaker and Michael Lark. Brubaker continues putting the blind lawyer of Hell’s Kitchen through his paces since taking over from Brian Michael Bendis in 2006. This title is about as noir as a comic about a guy in red tights can get, but it’s interesting to see how many twists the creative team can put on a character whose challenges have for some time been more psychological than physical. Smart super-heroics need not be an oxymoron as this comic continues to demonstrate.
DOOM PATROL, VOL. 6: PLANET LOVE SC by Grant Morrison, Richard Case and Friends. The final collection of Morrison’s surreal work on DC’s original misfit super-heroes. From back in the days when Grant was forced to tell stories that could be followed by the nearly sober.
EC ARCHIVES HARDCOVERS by Bill Gaines and Company. These full-color collections from Steve Geppi’s Gemstone Publishing have been a real delight for fans of The Forbidden as well as those merely curious to see what could be so subversive in a comic that it would warrant hearings by the U.S. Congress. This year saw the publication of CRIME SUSPENSTORIES, VOL. 1; WEIRD SCIENCE, VOL.3; and TALES FROM THE CRYPT, VOL. 3. Great stuff.
ESSENTIAL DYKES TO WATCH OUT FOR HC written and drawn by Alison Bechdel. The best strips from the past eleven volumes of DTWOF, plus sixty new ones not previously collected. Twenty-five years worth of funny, opinionated, challenging stuff. Recommended, especially for Mormons and inaugural preachers.
EX MACHINA by Brian K. Vaughan and Tony Harris. We’re currently about 80% through the run on the story of Mitchell Hundred, the fictional Mayor Of New York and ex-superhero. This continues to be extremely smart story-telling for people interested in American politics, New York history and what it would be like to talk to machines. Seven volumes of trade paperbacks currently available at finer comic shops near you.
FELL by Warren Ellis and Ben Templesmith. The stand-alone stories of Detective Richard Fell, a cop banished from his home city for some yet-unknown breach of conduct. The first trade collection FELL, VOL. 1: FERAL CITY is now available. Teens and up.
FREAK BROTHERS OMNIBUS SC by Gilbert Shelton. Just like you remember them! Although if you can remember them you were probably doing something wrong… Wait, what was I saying...? Recommended.
THE GOON written and drawn by Eric Powell. This brutal supernatural comedy adventure draws you in with scraps of dialogue that justify their existence outside of any context whatsoever. It helps to know the backstory of Powell’s violent anti-hero but it’s not essential for enjoying the demented ride of this multiple-Eisner award winning series. Currently available in one hardcover and six softcover collections.
GREEN LANTERN by Geoff Johns, Ivan Reis and Mike McKone. In brightest day, in blackest night, Johns and his rotating crew of artists have completely reinvigorated this character as the lead in a huge sci-fi space opera with a touch of police procedural. Lots of trade collections can help you get up to speed, just be sure they have Geoff Johns’ name in the credits.
HARVEY COMICS CLASSICS VOL. 3: HOT STUFF SC by Various Creators. Collecting over 100 tales of comics’ original Little Devil, the Demon in a Diaper: HOT STUFF! A perfect gateway for all age groups into hardcore Satanism! A great follow-up to the earlier Harvey collections of CASPER THE FRIENDLY GHOST and RICHIE RICH. Appropriate for all ages, but especially five year-old boys who can’t get enough of this stuff before bedtime.
HARVEY PEKAR: CONVERSATIONS edited by Michael G. Rhode. A treasure trove of interviews with the creator of AMERICAN SPLENDOR, spanning the years 1984 through 2007. Full disclosure: I’ve known editor Mike Rhode for a number of years and have written for his excellent website ComicsDC@blogspot.com. That said, I’ve never liked the creep and would not recommend his book if it weren’t a superb bit of scholarship about a significant creator in the American comics scene. Check it out.
HOLMES GN written and illustrated by Omaha Perez. Author Perez explains it best: “What if Sherlock Holmes is constantly out of his head and Watson’s not much better off, the Dr. Gonzo to Holmes’s Raoul Duke?” Teens and up.
HOLY SH*T!: THE WORLD’S WEIRDEST COMIC BOOKS HC by Paul Gravett and Peter Stanbury. What it sounds like: Dozens of examples from all over the globe of the most bizarre, hilarious, disturbing curiosities ever to appear in sequential-graphic form. Sadly such a work can never be a definitive edition because Rob Liefeld and Frank Miller continue to publish new material. Worth having anyway.
HOUDINI: THE HANDCUFF KING SC by Jason Lutes and Nick Bertozzi. An informative episode from the life of the world’s most famous magician/escape artist. (Go away, Blaine, we’re not talking about you. Ever.)
HOW TO DRAW STUPID SC by Kyle Baker. For anybody who ever wondered how Kyle Baker does it “and how you can too!” Sadly there is nothing in here about how to get the next issue of SPECIAL FORCES on the rack. Still recommended because Baker is a gol-darn genius!
HOWARD THE DUCK OMNIBUS HC by Steve Gerber and Many Worthy Collaborators. Like Marvel couldn’t have done this while Gerber (1947-2008) was still alive… Recommended anyway because this is really great stuff. As close to the subversion of the underground comix as mainstream super companies ever got. R.I.P. Mr. Gerber. You are missed.
I SHALL DESTROY ALL CIVILIZED PLANETS: THE COMICS OF FLETCHER HANKS SC by Fletcher Hanks and Paul Karasik. A collection of the weirdly brilliant Golden-Age comics of Hanks, followed by the sad epilogue in which Karasik tracks down the artist’s only surviving relative to learn of his ultimate fate. Disturbing but moving stuff.
IMMORTAL IRON FIST by Ed Brubaker, Matt Fraction, David Aja and Others. Since 2006 the crew on this book has taken a character who was mostly a C-lister and built an extremely credible mythology around him. Danny Rand, the Living Weapon of Kun-Lun and possessor of the Iron Fist, has turned into an interesting guy with a history and legacy going back quite a ways. The occasional peeks into the past and future of individuals entrusted with the Fist don’t always have a direct bearing on the main story, but they add to it in little ways that make the whole saga more enjoyable. We’re now up to three trade paperbacks and the on-going monthly if you’re just joining our program.
INCOGNEGRO HC by Mat Johnson and Warren Pleece. Part-Mystery, Part-History describes this story of a light-skinned Northern black man passing for white (“going incognegro”) to investigate his brother’s arrest in the virulently racist Mississippi of early 20th century America. A great story that oughta be an HBO movie at least.
JLA/AVENGERS SC by Kurt Busiek and George Perez. Finally one of the biggest of Big Fights is collected in affordable, bookshelf-friendly, trade paperback form. From the days when Big Event comics didn’t suck and/or take all year to come out. Recommended for all ages.
JUDENHASS GN by Dave Sim. The creator of CEREBUS takes on the holocaust and its cultural and historical roots. Most interestingly Sim issues a challenge to every creator working in comics today to produce his or her own work on the holocaust as an expression of indebtedness to the American Jews who created the comics industry. It’s a thought-provoking idea, although I’m not sure I’d want Frank Miller in his current state to attempt such a thing. Like Miller, Sim is one of those rare creators whose gifts in one area stand in contrast to a baffling dysfunction in others. Regardless, this work stands on its own as a worthy addition to holocaust literature.
KIRBY: KING OF COMICS HC by Mark Evanier. Years in the making, this is Evanier’s tribute to his former boss and long-time friend, Jack Kirby, the guy who co-created the foundations of the Marvel Universe and a lot more. Already going back to press, this book is a must for all subjects of The King. Highly Recommended.
KYLE BAKER’S NAT TURNER HC & SC by KB. Collecting the complete run of Baker’s wordless comic biography of Turner, the charismatic leader of an early American slave rebellion. Violent in places but okay for teens and up.
LIBERTY COMICS: A CBLDF BENEFIT BOOK by Various Creators including Brubaker, Ennis, Cooke, Evanier, Phillips and Millar. Featuring original stories from the worlds of CRIMINAL and THE BOYS with lots of other goodies from today’s top creators. If you love comics and hate censorship this is your book!
MAMMOTH BOOK OF BEST CRIME COMICS SC edited by Paul Gravett; written and drawn by Many People including Eisner, Moore, Gaiman, Spillane, Chandler, Krigstein and pre-21st Century Frank Miller (before he went insane)! Twenty-five of the best crime comics ever published. Mammoth has also issued collections (by different editors) of Best Horror, War, Zombie and New Manga Comics, but this is the one I personally had to buy.
MAN OF ROCK: A BIOGRAPHY OF JOE KUBERT SC by Bill Schelly. Tracing the life and work of the 82 year-old living legend of comics. Includes interviews with the artist, his family and colleagues going back to 1938 when he got his first job in comics at age twelve.
NEIL GAIMAN’S CORALINE GN by NG and P. Craig Russell. The story of a little girl who goes exploring in the wrong house. It was text with illustrations. Now it’s the opposite. (Also it’s an animated movie with Dakota Fanning.) P. Craig and Neil: Always a winning combination.
NORTHLANDERS by Brian Wood and Davide Gianfelice. This Vertigo title is actually a series of stories about (you guessed it!) Vikings (or Northlanders) and that Special Way they have of interacting with other cultures. The first arc, (“Sven the Returned”) now available in trade, was set a thousand years ago in the bleak world of the Viking village Grimness. Prince Sven, a prodigal son, returns from the Holy Land to claim his inheritance. Hijinks ensue. These bloody, fascinating adventures draw the reader in with their depictions of how desolate and empty the Vikings’ world was back then and how one determined outsider could change the entire order of such a place.
PUNISHER by Garth Ennis and Collaborators. Ennis supposedly wrapped his run on the character this year but has already come back for the six-issue PUNISHER WAR ZONE miniseries. Hopefully there will always be one more twisted Frank Castle anecdote rattling around the Ennis brainpan.
RASL written and drawn by Jeff Smith. The end of 2008 left us three issues into this intriguing sci-fi crime series about a bad scientist who takes up inter-dimensional art theft for fun and profit. Smith is taking his time, doing things his way just as he did with his earlier signature piece BONE. So far RASL is looking like a worthy follow-up.
SATCHEL PAIGE: STRIKING OUT JIM CROW HC & SC by James Sturm and Rich Tommaso. A fictionalized account of the legendary ball-player’s life, from his early days to the peak of his career in the Negro Leagues. Highly recommended, as are all of Mr. Sturm’s other works. A preview is available online at www.cartoonstudies.org
SCALPED by Jason Aaron and R.M. Guera. My favorite comic: The story of F.B.I. Special Agent Dash Bad Horse’s return to the Indian reservation he thought he’d escaped forever. This is a dark crime series that quickly becomes addictive as Bad Horse stares deeper and deeper into his personal abyss. Grown-ups only. Three trades out for those needing to catch up.
SCRAMBLED INK HC by A Bunch of Dreamworks Animators. A collection of stories illustrated by the folks who brought you “Shrek” among other things. There’s a preview over on the Dark Horse website and it looks beautiful.
SKYSCRAPERS OF THE MIDWEST HC written and illustrated by Joshua Cotter. Observations of childhood isolation and existence in the American Midwest. With giant robots. Eisner Award- nominated.
SOLOMON KANE by Scott Allie and Mario Guevara. A five issue series from Dark Horse starring the only Puritan that Ed Brubaker’s ever been a fan of! “Castle of the Devil” is an adaptation of an original tale by CONAN creator Robert E. Howard. The art is reminiscent of Michael Zulli’s colored pencil art on the last SANDMAN collection so that should give older fans an idea of how sharp it looks. This one is off the beaten path but well worth the journey.
THE STAND: CAPTAIN TRIPS by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and Mike Perkins. This five-issue series is the first chapter of Stephen King’s epic end of the world story and the strongest graphic adaptation of King’s work I’ve ever seen. It appears to be the first arc in a series that will complete the entire novel. Hopefully Marvel Comics will be able to keep this creative team all the way through.
STAN’S SOAPBOX: THE COLLECTION SC by Da Man. Collecting every one of Smilin’ Stan Lee’s interstitial manifestos from 1967 to 1980. These were the monthly asides that made a generation of fans feel like Stan Lee was standing right behind us, whispering in our ears even when he usually wasn’t. Best of all, this book has been published to benefit the Hero Initiative (www.heroinitiative.org ), a charity for older comics creators in need. A great work for a great cause and a true geek “Must-Have!”
STREETS OF GLORY by Garth Ennis and Mike Wolfer. A mini-series told in flashback about the closing days of the Wild West. Extreme graphic violence, but good for fans of Garth Ennis and Clint Eastwood. Not for kids.
STUDENTS FOR A DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY SC by Harvey Pekar, Gary Dumm, and historian Paul Buhle. A non-fiction account of the rise and fall of one of the most ambitious and controversial activist groups of the 1960s. For grown-ups and interested parties. A very well-timed publication, although I have to admit it is a bit preachy and all over the place narratively. If nothing else it provides a cautionary tale against the idea that self-righteousness alone will carry the day.
THOR by J. Michael Straczynski and Olivier Coipel. This latest revival of Marvel’s resident Thunder God has been receiving well-deserved praise. Between Straczynski’s steady, deliberate pacing and Coipel’s clean, dynamic art this is the best run of the Odinson’s adventures since Walt Simonson’s. The first six issues are now out in trade.
THOREAU AT WALDEN HC by John Porcellino. A graphic adaptation of Thoreau’s writings by the creator of KING-CAT COMICS AND STORIES, published by the always inspirational Center for Cartoon Studies. This one’s already getting good reviews from Kirkus and School Library Journal. Teens and up.
THUNDERBOLTS by Warren Ellis and Company. For some reason Marvel entrusted one of their titles into the devious care of Warren Ellis with delightfully heinous results. These stories have been collected in two paperback volumes, FAITH IN MONSTERS and CAGED ANGELS.
TOO COOL TO BE FORGOTTEN HC written and drawn by Alex Robinson. A really fun fantasy about a grown man sent back in time via hypnosis to the 1980s to relive high school. Hey, it worked for Batman in the fifties!
TOP TEN SEASON TWO by Zander Canon and Gene Ha. Four more issues of quality time with the good peace officers of Neopolis. Amazingly good stuff even without Alan Moore at the Sergeant’s Desk.
THE TWELVE by J. Michael Straczynski and Chris Weston. What if 12 Golden-Age heroes did the Captain America trick and thawed out of deep-freeze in the modern world? And what if they had all sorts of quirks and character flaws typical of their times? And what if they were beautifully drawn by one of the best artists working in comics today? This 12-issue maxi-series has broad appeal for Golden-Age and Modern Age fans alike.
THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION: A GRAPHIC ADAPTATION by Jonathan Hennessey and Aaron McConnell (with a little help from James Madison). A very well-received and engaging study of a certain document that’s kept our nation up and running (for the most part) for 200-plus years.
UNKNOWN SOLDIER by Joshua Dysart and Alberto Ponticelli. Author Joshua Dysart spent a month in Northern Uganda doing research for this new incarnation of Kanigher and Kubert’s classic war hero. This relatively new series has already made an impression for its unflinching look at the humanitarian disaster in which the action is set. Child soldiers, religious mania and political apathy bring about a Western doctor’s psychotic break and the rise of a new “Immortal G.I.”
WACKY PACKAGES HC by Topps. A tribute to the product parody stickers that outsold baseball cards for a while back in the seventies. Featuring an interview with artist/fan/legend Art Spiegelman.
WALKING DEAD by Robert Kirkman and Charles Adlard. The ongoing saga of the last humans alive after a zombie plague wipes out civilization. Imagine if the Romero movies never ended. Incredible suspense and continuous surprises derived from the systematic breaking of formula. You never know who might die (or worse) next. A guaranteed gut-punch per issue. Too intense for kids, but engrossing for older readers.
X-MEN: MAGNETO TESTAMENT by Greg Pak and Carmine Di Giandomenico. This five-issue series reveals the life of the young Magneto living in pre-WWII Germany before he gained his powers. It’s a somber story, made more so by the absence of the usual superhero tropes and a solid historical setting. Greg Pak sheds light on the Nazi abuses that shaped an innocent kid named Max Eisenhardt into the murderous extremist he became. The creative team deserves credit for elevating what could have been a vulgar trivialization of the holocaust through their dramatic restraint and attention to historic detail. It rises above its spandex origins as only the best superhero books manage, making this very much worth a read.
X-MEN: NOIR by Fred Van Lente and Dennis Calero. Now what if the X-Men had been created and written by pulp crime novelists back in 1930-something? Imagine Mickey Spillane writing Wolverine! This one is a pure guilty pleasure with scenes like Police Chief Magnus pistol-whipping Irish gangster Black Tom Cassidy, chiding him “I have to tell you again, I'm sending you to Irish Hell, Blackie. You won't like Irish Hell, Blackie. There's no whiskey and all the women hit back.” How can anyone resist?
Y THE LAST MAN by Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra. The series ended in January 2008 but is now available start to finish in paperback and hardcover. The saga of the Last Man on Earth excelled past its cheesy sci-fi premise with issue one and never looked back. A real masterpiece worthy of sitting beside WATCHMEN and SANDMAN on bookshelves everywhere. If you like this as much as Everyone did check out Vaughan’s current on-going series EX MACHINA.
www.johnjudy.net
by John Judy
This past year saw no shortage of excellent comics work in spite of a dry-spell of inverse-proportion in quality movie adaptations. (I’m looking at you, “The Spirit” and “Punisher War Zone.”)
“The Dark Knight” and “Iron Man” may have brought a few curious citizens through the doors of our nation’s comic shops, but if they came back for more it’s likely due to some of these titles being on the shelves:
AFTER 9-11: AMERICA’S WAR ON TERROR HC & SC by Sid Jacobson and Ernie Colon. The team behind the excellent 9-11 REPORT graphic adaptation now presents us with its tragic sequel. While the creators strive to be fair to all concerned the Bushies come off almost as badly as they deserve. Hey, misleading a nation into a bankrupting, unnecessary war will do that sometimes! Highly recommended for 4,149 reasons as of this writing.
AL JAFFE TALL TALES HC by Al Jaffe. Collecting 120 installments of the world’s first and last vertical newspaper comic-strip from the veteran MAD artist who gave us “Snappy Answers to Stupid Questions” and the folding back-cover gags of about a million issues of MAD. Very cool stuff.
ALL WE EVER DO IS TALK ABOUT WOOD GN written and illustrated by Tom Horacek. A collection of Horacek’s morbidly funny single panel cartoons. Definitely for fans of Charles Addams, Edward Gorey, and Ivan Brunetti.
AMERICAN FLAGG: DEFINITIVE COLLECTION VOL. 1 HC and SC written and illustrated by Howard Chaykin. Collecting the legendary first 14 issues of the series that put Howard Chaykin on the map. Twenty-five years in the making this one’s finally coming out from Image.
AMERICAN WIDOW HC by Alissa Torres and Sungyoon Choi. A powerful, autobiographical account of Torres, a woman who lost her husband and the father of her unborn son in the attacks of 9-11. About as far from escapist fantasy as you’re going to get. Recommended but too intense for younger readers.
APOCALYPSE NERD SC written and drawn by Peter Bagge. Kim Jong Il has nuked Seattle (just go with it) and now software engineer Perry and his friend Gordo struggle to survive in the aftermath. Dark humor and adventure from the creator of HATE and THE BRADLEYS.
ASTRO CITY: THE DARK AGE BOOK 1 HC by Kurt Busiek and Brent Anderson. Collecting the first eight issues of “The Dark Age”, the story of Astro City in the seventies when the Silver Agent got whacked. Great stuff, too infrequently seen on the weekly racks.
AVENGERS: THE INITIATIVE by Dan Slott and Stefano Caselli. Imagine a darker version of the Disney movie “Sky High” and that’s what you’ll find in this on-going title about young heroes being registered and drafted into their nation’s service, mental and moral fitness aside. Early issues are now available in trade paperback.
THE BAKERS: BABIES AND KITTENS HC written and illustrated by Kyle Baker, the Greatest Cartoonist of All Time. Two cats are adopted into Kyle’s home against his wishes. Hijinks ensue. Beautifully drawn hijinks. Recommended especially if you have kids who like bedtime stories of hapless daddies.
THE BOYS by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson. This notorious series continues chugging along just fine since DC Comics dumped it for being a little too close to home in the superheroes it skewers. Anyway, it’s Garth Ennis and if you enjoyed his PREACHER series back in the day you’ll enjoy this as well.
CAPTAIN AMERICA by Ed Brubaker and Steve Epting. Technically this title hasn’t featured the real Cap since Brubaker “killed” him in March 2007, but Bucky the long-lost boy sidekick and his amazing friends have been providing very respectable entertainment since then, a feat I wouldn’t have thought possible but for the talents of the creative team. Good stuff for teens and up.
CLOUDS ABOVE SC written and illustrated by Jordan Crane. A book-length, all-ages adventure of a boy and his cat. Originally a HC release in 2005 this paperback edition contains five pages of new material. Very cool with appealing qualities for young and old alike.
COMIC BOOK COMICS by Fred Van Lente and Ryan Dunlavey. A bit of hyper-stylized graphic non-fiction from the geniuses who gave us ACTION PHILOSOPHERS! This time their target is the History of Comic Book Publishing in America! So far in 2008 we’ve enjoyed #1, “The Pulps” and #2, “Our Artists at War” featuring the early WWII adventures of Siegel and Shuster, Simon and Kirby, Stan Lee and Walt Disney! Previews can be found on the company website www.eviltwincomics.com if you need more proof of this title’s wonderfulness. Look for the next two issues in early 2009!
THE CREEPY ARCHIVES, VOL. 1 and 2 HCs from Dark Horse Comics. Collecting the first ten issues of this classic horror anthology magazine. At eight stories per issue you’re looking at some quantity here in addition to the quality one associates with such creators as Archie Goodwin, Gray Morrow, Alex Toth and others of that era. A pair of Must-Haves for those of us who love this stuff.
CRIMINAL by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips. Brubaker’s passion for noir culture in all its forms is infectious. This series traces the paths of multiple generations of dangerous losers in a city that breeds them. There are currently three trade collections out: LAWLESS, COWARD and THE DEAD AND THE DYING. All are recommended but be advised they do not contain any of the back-up text pieces featured in each of the individual comics. For those ya gotta buy the funny books. Fortunately they can be found at comic shops near you for a reasonable few bits.
THE DANGEROUS ALPHABET HC by Neil Gaiman and Gris Grimly. A dark romp through the alphabet with pirates, sewer-monsters, and organs in jars! Highly recommended for fans of Gahan Wilson and the like. Great for kids who need literacy and a good scare!
DAREDEVIL by Ed Brubaker and Michael Lark. Brubaker continues putting the blind lawyer of Hell’s Kitchen through his paces since taking over from Brian Michael Bendis in 2006. This title is about as noir as a comic about a guy in red tights can get, but it’s interesting to see how many twists the creative team can put on a character whose challenges have for some time been more psychological than physical. Smart super-heroics need not be an oxymoron as this comic continues to demonstrate.
DOOM PATROL, VOL. 6: PLANET LOVE SC by Grant Morrison, Richard Case and Friends. The final collection of Morrison’s surreal work on DC’s original misfit super-heroes. From back in the days when Grant was forced to tell stories that could be followed by the nearly sober.
EC ARCHIVES HARDCOVERS by Bill Gaines and Company. These full-color collections from Steve Geppi’s Gemstone Publishing have been a real delight for fans of The Forbidden as well as those merely curious to see what could be so subversive in a comic that it would warrant hearings by the U.S. Congress. This year saw the publication of CRIME SUSPENSTORIES, VOL. 1; WEIRD SCIENCE, VOL.3; and TALES FROM THE CRYPT, VOL. 3. Great stuff.
ESSENTIAL DYKES TO WATCH OUT FOR HC written and drawn by Alison Bechdel. The best strips from the past eleven volumes of DTWOF, plus sixty new ones not previously collected. Twenty-five years worth of funny, opinionated, challenging stuff. Recommended, especially for Mormons and inaugural preachers.
EX MACHINA by Brian K. Vaughan and Tony Harris. We’re currently about 80% through the run on the story of Mitchell Hundred, the fictional Mayor Of New York and ex-superhero. This continues to be extremely smart story-telling for people interested in American politics, New York history and what it would be like to talk to machines. Seven volumes of trade paperbacks currently available at finer comic shops near you.
FELL by Warren Ellis and Ben Templesmith. The stand-alone stories of Detective Richard Fell, a cop banished from his home city for some yet-unknown breach of conduct. The first trade collection FELL, VOL. 1: FERAL CITY is now available. Teens and up.
FREAK BROTHERS OMNIBUS SC by Gilbert Shelton. Just like you remember them! Although if you can remember them you were probably doing something wrong… Wait, what was I saying...? Recommended.
THE GOON written and drawn by Eric Powell. This brutal supernatural comedy adventure draws you in with scraps of dialogue that justify their existence outside of any context whatsoever. It helps to know the backstory of Powell’s violent anti-hero but it’s not essential for enjoying the demented ride of this multiple-Eisner award winning series. Currently available in one hardcover and six softcover collections.
GREEN LANTERN by Geoff Johns, Ivan Reis and Mike McKone. In brightest day, in blackest night, Johns and his rotating crew of artists have completely reinvigorated this character as the lead in a huge sci-fi space opera with a touch of police procedural. Lots of trade collections can help you get up to speed, just be sure they have Geoff Johns’ name in the credits.
HARVEY COMICS CLASSICS VOL. 3: HOT STUFF SC by Various Creators. Collecting over 100 tales of comics’ original Little Devil, the Demon in a Diaper: HOT STUFF! A perfect gateway for all age groups into hardcore Satanism! A great follow-up to the earlier Harvey collections of CASPER THE FRIENDLY GHOST and RICHIE RICH. Appropriate for all ages, but especially five year-old boys who can’t get enough of this stuff before bedtime.
HARVEY PEKAR: CONVERSATIONS edited by Michael G. Rhode. A treasure trove of interviews with the creator of AMERICAN SPLENDOR, spanning the years 1984 through 2007. Full disclosure: I’ve known editor Mike Rhode for a number of years and have written for his excellent website ComicsDC@blogspot.com. That said, I’ve never liked the creep and would not recommend his book if it weren’t a superb bit of scholarship about a significant creator in the American comics scene. Check it out.
HOLMES GN written and illustrated by Omaha Perez. Author Perez explains it best: “What if Sherlock Holmes is constantly out of his head and Watson’s not much better off, the Dr. Gonzo to Holmes’s Raoul Duke?” Teens and up.
HOLY SH*T!: THE WORLD’S WEIRDEST COMIC BOOKS HC by Paul Gravett and Peter Stanbury. What it sounds like: Dozens of examples from all over the globe of the most bizarre, hilarious, disturbing curiosities ever to appear in sequential-graphic form. Sadly such a work can never be a definitive edition because Rob Liefeld and Frank Miller continue to publish new material. Worth having anyway.
HOUDINI: THE HANDCUFF KING SC by Jason Lutes and Nick Bertozzi. An informative episode from the life of the world’s most famous magician/escape artist. (Go away, Blaine, we’re not talking about you. Ever.)
HOW TO DRAW STUPID SC by Kyle Baker. For anybody who ever wondered how Kyle Baker does it “and how you can too!” Sadly there is nothing in here about how to get the next issue of SPECIAL FORCES on the rack. Still recommended because Baker is a gol-darn genius!
HOWARD THE DUCK OMNIBUS HC by Steve Gerber and Many Worthy Collaborators. Like Marvel couldn’t have done this while Gerber (1947-2008) was still alive… Recommended anyway because this is really great stuff. As close to the subversion of the underground comix as mainstream super companies ever got. R.I.P. Mr. Gerber. You are missed.
I SHALL DESTROY ALL CIVILIZED PLANETS: THE COMICS OF FLETCHER HANKS SC by Fletcher Hanks and Paul Karasik. A collection of the weirdly brilliant Golden-Age comics of Hanks, followed by the sad epilogue in which Karasik tracks down the artist’s only surviving relative to learn of his ultimate fate. Disturbing but moving stuff.
IMMORTAL IRON FIST by Ed Brubaker, Matt Fraction, David Aja and Others. Since 2006 the crew on this book has taken a character who was mostly a C-lister and built an extremely credible mythology around him. Danny Rand, the Living Weapon of Kun-Lun and possessor of the Iron Fist, has turned into an interesting guy with a history and legacy going back quite a ways. The occasional peeks into the past and future of individuals entrusted with the Fist don’t always have a direct bearing on the main story, but they add to it in little ways that make the whole saga more enjoyable. We’re now up to three trade paperbacks and the on-going monthly if you’re just joining our program.
INCOGNEGRO HC by Mat Johnson and Warren Pleece. Part-Mystery, Part-History describes this story of a light-skinned Northern black man passing for white (“going incognegro”) to investigate his brother’s arrest in the virulently racist Mississippi of early 20th century America. A great story that oughta be an HBO movie at least.
JLA/AVENGERS SC by Kurt Busiek and George Perez. Finally one of the biggest of Big Fights is collected in affordable, bookshelf-friendly, trade paperback form. From the days when Big Event comics didn’t suck and/or take all year to come out. Recommended for all ages.
JUDENHASS GN by Dave Sim. The creator of CEREBUS takes on the holocaust and its cultural and historical roots. Most interestingly Sim issues a challenge to every creator working in comics today to produce his or her own work on the holocaust as an expression of indebtedness to the American Jews who created the comics industry. It’s a thought-provoking idea, although I’m not sure I’d want Frank Miller in his current state to attempt such a thing. Like Miller, Sim is one of those rare creators whose gifts in one area stand in contrast to a baffling dysfunction in others. Regardless, this work stands on its own as a worthy addition to holocaust literature.
KIRBY: KING OF COMICS HC by Mark Evanier. Years in the making, this is Evanier’s tribute to his former boss and long-time friend, Jack Kirby, the guy who co-created the foundations of the Marvel Universe and a lot more. Already going back to press, this book is a must for all subjects of The King. Highly Recommended.
KYLE BAKER’S NAT TURNER HC & SC by KB. Collecting the complete run of Baker’s wordless comic biography of Turner, the charismatic leader of an early American slave rebellion. Violent in places but okay for teens and up.
LIBERTY COMICS: A CBLDF BENEFIT BOOK by Various Creators including Brubaker, Ennis, Cooke, Evanier, Phillips and Millar. Featuring original stories from the worlds of CRIMINAL and THE BOYS with lots of other goodies from today’s top creators. If you love comics and hate censorship this is your book!
MAMMOTH BOOK OF BEST CRIME COMICS SC edited by Paul Gravett; written and drawn by Many People including Eisner, Moore, Gaiman, Spillane, Chandler, Krigstein and pre-21st Century Frank Miller (before he went insane)! Twenty-five of the best crime comics ever published. Mammoth has also issued collections (by different editors) of Best Horror, War, Zombie and New Manga Comics, but this is the one I personally had to buy.
MAN OF ROCK: A BIOGRAPHY OF JOE KUBERT SC by Bill Schelly. Tracing the life and work of the 82 year-old living legend of comics. Includes interviews with the artist, his family and colleagues going back to 1938 when he got his first job in comics at age twelve.
NEIL GAIMAN’S CORALINE GN by NG and P. Craig Russell. The story of a little girl who goes exploring in the wrong house. It was text with illustrations. Now it’s the opposite. (Also it’s an animated movie with Dakota Fanning.) P. Craig and Neil: Always a winning combination.
NORTHLANDERS by Brian Wood and Davide Gianfelice. This Vertigo title is actually a series of stories about (you guessed it!) Vikings (or Northlanders) and that Special Way they have of interacting with other cultures. The first arc, (“Sven the Returned”) now available in trade, was set a thousand years ago in the bleak world of the Viking village Grimness. Prince Sven, a prodigal son, returns from the Holy Land to claim his inheritance. Hijinks ensue. These bloody, fascinating adventures draw the reader in with their depictions of how desolate and empty the Vikings’ world was back then and how one determined outsider could change the entire order of such a place.
PUNISHER by Garth Ennis and Collaborators. Ennis supposedly wrapped his run on the character this year but has already come back for the six-issue PUNISHER WAR ZONE miniseries. Hopefully there will always be one more twisted Frank Castle anecdote rattling around the Ennis brainpan.
RASL written and drawn by Jeff Smith. The end of 2008 left us three issues into this intriguing sci-fi crime series about a bad scientist who takes up inter-dimensional art theft for fun and profit. Smith is taking his time, doing things his way just as he did with his earlier signature piece BONE. So far RASL is looking like a worthy follow-up.
SATCHEL PAIGE: STRIKING OUT JIM CROW HC & SC by James Sturm and Rich Tommaso. A fictionalized account of the legendary ball-player’s life, from his early days to the peak of his career in the Negro Leagues. Highly recommended, as are all of Mr. Sturm’s other works. A preview is available online at www.cartoonstudies.org
SCALPED by Jason Aaron and R.M. Guera. My favorite comic: The story of F.B.I. Special Agent Dash Bad Horse’s return to the Indian reservation he thought he’d escaped forever. This is a dark crime series that quickly becomes addictive as Bad Horse stares deeper and deeper into his personal abyss. Grown-ups only. Three trades out for those needing to catch up.
SCRAMBLED INK HC by A Bunch of Dreamworks Animators. A collection of stories illustrated by the folks who brought you “Shrek” among other things. There’s a preview over on the Dark Horse website and it looks beautiful.
SKYSCRAPERS OF THE MIDWEST HC written and illustrated by Joshua Cotter. Observations of childhood isolation and existence in the American Midwest. With giant robots. Eisner Award- nominated.
SOLOMON KANE by Scott Allie and Mario Guevara. A five issue series from Dark Horse starring the only Puritan that Ed Brubaker’s ever been a fan of! “Castle of the Devil” is an adaptation of an original tale by CONAN creator Robert E. Howard. The art is reminiscent of Michael Zulli’s colored pencil art on the last SANDMAN collection so that should give older fans an idea of how sharp it looks. This one is off the beaten path but well worth the journey.
THE STAND: CAPTAIN TRIPS by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and Mike Perkins. This five-issue series is the first chapter of Stephen King’s epic end of the world story and the strongest graphic adaptation of King’s work I’ve ever seen. It appears to be the first arc in a series that will complete the entire novel. Hopefully Marvel Comics will be able to keep this creative team all the way through.
STAN’S SOAPBOX: THE COLLECTION SC by Da Man. Collecting every one of Smilin’ Stan Lee’s interstitial manifestos from 1967 to 1980. These were the monthly asides that made a generation of fans feel like Stan Lee was standing right behind us, whispering in our ears even when he usually wasn’t. Best of all, this book has been published to benefit the Hero Initiative (www.heroinitiative.org ), a charity for older comics creators in need. A great work for a great cause and a true geek “Must-Have!”
STREETS OF GLORY by Garth Ennis and Mike Wolfer. A mini-series told in flashback about the closing days of the Wild West. Extreme graphic violence, but good for fans of Garth Ennis and Clint Eastwood. Not for kids.
STUDENTS FOR A DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY SC by Harvey Pekar, Gary Dumm, and historian Paul Buhle. A non-fiction account of the rise and fall of one of the most ambitious and controversial activist groups of the 1960s. For grown-ups and interested parties. A very well-timed publication, although I have to admit it is a bit preachy and all over the place narratively. If nothing else it provides a cautionary tale against the idea that self-righteousness alone will carry the day.
THOR by J. Michael Straczynski and Olivier Coipel. This latest revival of Marvel’s resident Thunder God has been receiving well-deserved praise. Between Straczynski’s steady, deliberate pacing and Coipel’s clean, dynamic art this is the best run of the Odinson’s adventures since Walt Simonson’s. The first six issues are now out in trade.
THOREAU AT WALDEN HC by John Porcellino. A graphic adaptation of Thoreau’s writings by the creator of KING-CAT COMICS AND STORIES, published by the always inspirational Center for Cartoon Studies. This one’s already getting good reviews from Kirkus and School Library Journal. Teens and up.
THUNDERBOLTS by Warren Ellis and Company. For some reason Marvel entrusted one of their titles into the devious care of Warren Ellis with delightfully heinous results. These stories have been collected in two paperback volumes, FAITH IN MONSTERS and CAGED ANGELS.
TOO COOL TO BE FORGOTTEN HC written and drawn by Alex Robinson. A really fun fantasy about a grown man sent back in time via hypnosis to the 1980s to relive high school. Hey, it worked for Batman in the fifties!
TOP TEN SEASON TWO by Zander Canon and Gene Ha. Four more issues of quality time with the good peace officers of Neopolis. Amazingly good stuff even without Alan Moore at the Sergeant’s Desk.
THE TWELVE by J. Michael Straczynski and Chris Weston. What if 12 Golden-Age heroes did the Captain America trick and thawed out of deep-freeze in the modern world? And what if they had all sorts of quirks and character flaws typical of their times? And what if they were beautifully drawn by one of the best artists working in comics today? This 12-issue maxi-series has broad appeal for Golden-Age and Modern Age fans alike.
THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION: A GRAPHIC ADAPTATION by Jonathan Hennessey and Aaron McConnell (with a little help from James Madison). A very well-received and engaging study of a certain document that’s kept our nation up and running (for the most part) for 200-plus years.
UNKNOWN SOLDIER by Joshua Dysart and Alberto Ponticelli. Author Joshua Dysart spent a month in Northern Uganda doing research for this new incarnation of Kanigher and Kubert’s classic war hero. This relatively new series has already made an impression for its unflinching look at the humanitarian disaster in which the action is set. Child soldiers, religious mania and political apathy bring about a Western doctor’s psychotic break and the rise of a new “Immortal G.I.”
WACKY PACKAGES HC by Topps. A tribute to the product parody stickers that outsold baseball cards for a while back in the seventies. Featuring an interview with artist/fan/legend Art Spiegelman.
WALKING DEAD by Robert Kirkman and Charles Adlard. The ongoing saga of the last humans alive after a zombie plague wipes out civilization. Imagine if the Romero movies never ended. Incredible suspense and continuous surprises derived from the systematic breaking of formula. You never know who might die (or worse) next. A guaranteed gut-punch per issue. Too intense for kids, but engrossing for older readers.
X-MEN: MAGNETO TESTAMENT by Greg Pak and Carmine Di Giandomenico. This five-issue series reveals the life of the young Magneto living in pre-WWII Germany before he gained his powers. It’s a somber story, made more so by the absence of the usual superhero tropes and a solid historical setting. Greg Pak sheds light on the Nazi abuses that shaped an innocent kid named Max Eisenhardt into the murderous extremist he became. The creative team deserves credit for elevating what could have been a vulgar trivialization of the holocaust through their dramatic restraint and attention to historic detail. It rises above its spandex origins as only the best superhero books manage, making this very much worth a read.
X-MEN: NOIR by Fred Van Lente and Dennis Calero. Now what if the X-Men had been created and written by pulp crime novelists back in 1930-something? Imagine Mickey Spillane writing Wolverine! This one is a pure guilty pleasure with scenes like Police Chief Magnus pistol-whipping Irish gangster Black Tom Cassidy, chiding him “I have to tell you again, I'm sending you to Irish Hell, Blackie. You won't like Irish Hell, Blackie. There's no whiskey and all the women hit back.” How can anyone resist?
Y THE LAST MAN by Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra. The series ended in January 2008 but is now available start to finish in paperback and hardcover. The saga of the Last Man on Earth excelled past its cheesy sci-fi premise with issue one and never looked back. A real masterpiece worthy of sitting beside WATCHMEN and SANDMAN on bookshelves everywhere. If you like this as much as Everyone did check out Vaughan’s current on-going series EX MACHINA.
www.johnjudy.net
Friday, January 02, 2009
David Hagen exhibit coming to Arlington?
David Hagen is reporting that an exhibit of his work is coming to Arlington this spring. I've left a message on his blog asking for details. Good news!
Richmond's Velocity Comics top 10 picks for 2008
"Top 10 Comics of 2008 - Velocity Comics," Brick Weekly January 02, 2009. I haven't been to this store? Anybody have? The list is much lighter on superheroes than I'd expect at a mainstream store.
County fair superhero prizes merchandising
I liked this photo enough to start playing around with it making Zazzle stuff - Available as a postcard - www.zazzle.com/county_fair_heroes_postcard_customized-239...
or a mousepad - www.zazzle.com/county_fair_heroes_mousepad-14400912930608...
or a poster - www.zazzle.com/county_fair_heroes_poster_print-2282261824...
January hardcover sale at Big Planet Comics
All hardcovers will be on sale in Bethesda and Georgetown all month and select ones in the other two stores.
BIG PLANET COMICS
4908 Fairmont Ave.
Bethesda, MD 20814
301-654-6856
BIG PLANET COMICS
3145 Dumbarton St. NW
Washington, DC 20007
202-342-1961
BIG PLANET COMICS
426 Maple Ave. East
Vienna, VA 22180
703-242-9412
BIG PLANET COMICS
7315 Baltimore Ave.
College Park, MD 20740
301-699-0498
Thursday, January 01, 2009
Blogs and websites of my friends part 3
Kathleen's Tiz Herself Flickr photos site - lots of lovely pictures especially of churches and museums.
New Year's Day sale at Big Planet Comics
If you're a Comicsvore* like I am, you didn't get everything comics-related for the holidays that you really, really needed. Big Planet Comics is ready to help. For their January 1 sale, take 20% off everything in the stores. How can you go wrong?
BIG PLANET COMICS
4908 Fairmont Ave.
Bethesda, MD 20814
301-654-6856
BIG PLANET COMICS
3145 Dumbarton St. NW
Washington, DC 20007
202-342-1961
BIG PLANET COMICS
426 Maple Ave. East
Vienna, VA 22180
703-242-9412
BIG PLANET COMICS
7315 Baltimore Ave.
College Park, MD 20740
301-699-0498
*coined to describe me by cartoonist and comics writer Darko Macan
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
2006 Disneyland: The First 50 Years exhibit
A small exhibit was at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American Art in 2006, in conjunction with the donation of some artifacts from the theme park. I'm ambivalent about these exhibits (or postage stamps) that help advertise an ongoing concern, but there's no denying that Disney(land) is part of American popular culture.
Big Monkey Comics breaks street date for comics this week
I got a tip that Big Monkey Comics had a note on their website today that read:
NEW COMICS ARE IN!
In our last post, we told you we weren't expecting our books until Friday 01/02/09. BUT IN FACT, we did get them today, through the blessings of the postal gods. So new comics will be available for you ON WEDNESDAY 12/31/08!.
This is a big no-no in the comics retailing world since it would let retailers steal customers based on how soon they were able to get their comics from Diamond (which is a monopoly so there's no one else to get new comics from), and I'm sure they got called on the carpet for it as the notice later disappeared.
Am I the only one who actually misses comics arriving on Friday? I much preferred that - you could pick them up after work or school and read them as late as you liked.
NEW COMICS ARE IN!
In our last post, we told you we weren't expecting our books until Friday 01/02/09. BUT IN FACT, we did get them today, through the blessings of the postal gods. So new comics will be available for you ON WEDNESDAY 12/31/08!.
This is a big no-no in the comics retailing world since it would let retailers steal customers based on how soon they were able to get their comics from Diamond (which is a monopoly so there's no one else to get new comics from), and I'm sure they got called on the carpet for it as the notice later disappeared.
Am I the only one who actually misses comics arriving on Friday? I much preferred that - you could pick them up after work or school and read them as late as you liked.
Curtis - Kwanzaa or not?
In "Please bring back 'Curtis'" by Brian Steinberg, Comics Examiner December 31, 2008, Steinberg argues that the annual Kwanzaa stories by Ray Billingsley detract from the strip overall. I beg to differ. While I don't celebrate Kwanzaa, I look forward to the strips in the Post, especially in the variety in the art style. In fact, when this year's strips started, I thought to myself that Billingsley should collect the whole run in a book. I think he should have enough by now and print-on-demand is making specialty collections easy and economically feasible.
Book review: Who Can Save Us Now?: Brand-New Superheroes and Their Amazing (Short) Stories
This book came over the transom a few months ago, and I'm just catching up to reviewing it. This review should also appear in print in the International Journal of Comic Art's 11:1 issue in the late Spring.
Owen King and John McNally, editors. Who Can Save Us Now?: Brand-New Superheroes and Their Amazing (Short) Stories. Free Press, 2008. 432 pages. $16.00. ISBN-10: 1416566449; ISBN-13: 978-1416566441.
Superhero novels have been published off and on since George Lowther’s 1942 novel The Adventures of Superman. Most times these books are based directly on existing comic book superheroes, frequently due to a media tie-in, as in the novel and the radio show in which Lowther wrote for both. The 1960s saw Batman novels due to the television show, and Marvel Comics had a series of novels based on their superheroes in the 1970s. In recent years, many of these types of books, frequently labeled ‘media tie-in’ have been produced, but this book hearkens back to a different trend. In the 1970s, some superhero novels such as Robert Mayers’ 1977 Superfolks attempted to be ‘serious fiction.’ This trend continued with infrequent novels such as 1994’s What They Did to Princess Paragon by Robert Rodi until the recent success of Michael Chabon and Jonathan Lethem inspired new attempts.
Of the twenty-two stories in the book, six have previously appeared, and of that six, three of them were in the Virginia Quarterly Review. Although the author notes at the end list each one’s favorite superhero, judging from their answers, it appears that few of them are serious superhero comic book readers and none are comic book writers. This lack of familiarity with the genre can lead to some awkward or uninteresting writing at times.
The book starts off strongly with Stephanie Harrell’s “Girl Reporter,” a strong take on an alternative Superman – Lois Lane type of relationship, told from the reporter’s point of view. “The Quick Stop 5®” by Sam Weller is a good example of a story that would not work well in a comic book, but partly because Weller mocks the genre. The characters gain their powers in a typical freak accident, but the powers are not necessarily ones that would be desired. Prophylactic Girl, with rubber powers, also has a condom tip on her head while Dip is a walking wad of chewing tobacco in the mold of Swamp Thing or Man-Thing. The story is a satire, and is amusing though. John McNally’s “Remains of the Night” is another satire in which the narrator appears to work for a hero named the Silverfish – one can only go in one direction with a premise like that although McNally’s writing is competent. “The Pentecostal Home for Flying Children” by Will Clarke takes the premise of the X-Men, mutant children in a special school, and turns it on its side. Clarke wrote, “Unfortunately, the Redbird didn’t possess the necessary might to be a major-league superhero. In the world of superpowers, flight was pretty much table stakes. … So the Redbird was relegated to working in the superhero farm leagues. … However as the years passed, it became apparent that the Redbird had moved to Shreveport for less-than-savory reasons. Turns out the Redbird came to our town not just for the easy work, but for our chronically bored housewives, our prodigal daughters, and our all-too-easily seduced Baptist Ladies Prayer Circle.” (p. 110) The children of his liaisons end up becoming a problem for the whole town.
Another story that alters a typical superhero tale is “Mr. Big Deal” by Sean Doolittle, in which a police officer’s superpower is that he can disable other peoples powers permanently. His father, a superhero called The Hard Bargain, never felt comfortable around him because his son could take away his powers at any time, but now the father lies in a coma in a hospital bed because “For Four decades, in the service of the common good, he absorbed gunshots, stabbings, conflagrations, falls from great heights, and the kind of damage that would spread a natural over a country mile like so much fertilizer. And then, finally, little by little, my father’s jungle of internal scar tissue began to strangle his won organs, shutting him down one function at a time.” (p. 298) The story ends with a twist that O. Henry might have tried.
Some of the stories, especially the shortest ones do not work quite as well, but the collection as a whole is worth reading especially if you have an interest in the superhero genre. I am not sure if this type of fiction is sustainable in the long run, but one might as well enjoy it while it appears. The book is capably illustrated throughout by Chris Burnham who has worked for Image Comics. The cover photograph and design is well done too.
2006 Smithsonian lunchbox exhibit
In 2006 the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History had an exhibit of lunchboxes, many of which featured comic and cartoon characters, outside of its cafeteria. I've loaded the pictures on my Flickr site, but here's a few to whet your appetite.
Tom Corbett, Space Cadet - a tv show, but soon a Dell comic book too.
How many Peanuts lunchboxes have there been?
It looks like late-period Caniff, but Steve Canyon is still cool.
Walter Lantz's Woody Woodpecker is essentially forgotten now, but was big in its day.
More pics at the flickr link above...
Tom Corbett, Space Cadet - a tv show, but soon a Dell comic book too.
How many Peanuts lunchboxes have there been?
It looks like late-period Caniff, but Steve Canyon is still cool.
Walter Lantz's Woody Woodpecker is essentially forgotten now, but was big in its day.
More pics at the flickr link above...
OT: Spurgeon's Batton Lash interview
I always enjoy the new Supernatural Law comic and Batton is one of the nicest guys you'd want to meet at a con. I usually try to buy anything new he's got at SPX, and this year got a guidebook to Supernatural Law while my daughter got some of the Archie comics he's writing. Here's a new interview with him by Tom Spurgeon:
CR Holiday Interview #9: Batton Lash, Comics Reporter (December 31 2008).
CR Holiday Interview #9: Batton Lash, Comics Reporter (December 31 2008).
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Super-balloons
Hulk, Spider-Man and Superman balloons at the Arlington County Fair, August 2006. I think there's a Jimmy Neutron poking up too. I ran across this photo so I thought I'd put it up. Look for Smithsonian shots of lunch boxes and Disneyland stuff soon.
OT: David Lozell Martin's new book
My friend David Martin has a new book out, and it's reviewed by the New York Times.
LOSING EVERYTHING
By David Lozell Martin
201 pages. Simon & Schuster. $24.
David's a better writer than the Times reviewer credits him as, but I can't imagine this book was easy to write. I've only read his fiction, and I'm both looking forward to, and dreading this autobiography. I'd recommend David's books, especially Crazy Love and Pelikan, and be sure to search by his middle name as you'll get relevant results.
LOSING EVERYTHING
By David Lozell Martin
201 pages. Simon & Schuster. $24.
David's a better writer than the Times reviewer credits him as, but I can't imagine this book was easy to write. I've only read his fiction, and I'm both looking forward to, and dreading this autobiography. I'd recommend David's books, especially Crazy Love and Pelikan, and be sure to search by his middle name as you'll get relevant results.
Comic Riffs on the decimation of editorial cartoonists in 2008
One would think that a presidential election year wouldn't be one in which you'd let your political cartoonist go, but apparently I know nothing about the deep thinking that goes into running a newspaper. Michael Cavna's got a list and comments about the year's shrinkage.
Spiegelman's Breakdowns on sale at Politics and Prose
Minor bit from today's newletter - BREAKDOWNS: Portrait of the Artist as a Young %@&*! by Art Spiegelman, $27.50 now $18.43 - but they might still have signed copies from when he was there.
Politics & Prose Bookstore and Coffeehouse
5015 Connecticut Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20008
(202) 364-1919 or (800) 722-0790
Fax: (202) 966-7532
www.moderntimescoffeehouse.com
www.politics-prose.com
e-mail: books@politics-prose.com
Store Hours:
Monday-Saturday: 9 a.m.-10 p.m
Sunday: 10 a.m.-8 p.m.
Politics & Prose Bookstore and Coffeehouse
5015 Connecticut Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20008
(202) 364-1919 or (800) 722-0790
Fax: (202) 966-7532
www.moderntimescoffeehouse.com
www.politics-prose.com
e-mail: books@politics-prose.com
Store Hours:
Monday-Saturday: 9 a.m.-10 p.m
Sunday: 10 a.m.-8 p.m.
Monday, December 29, 2008
Harvey Pekar: Conversations reviewed a second time
Nice review here:
Harvey Pekar: Mensch
A Review of Harvey Pekar: Conversations by Michael G. Rhode
by Paul Buhle, November 20, 2008
Paul Buhle writes non-fiction comics too.
Harvey Pekar: Mensch
A Review of Harvey Pekar: Conversations by Michael G. Rhode
by Paul Buhle, November 20, 2008
Paul Buhle writes non-fiction comics too.
January '09 BASH Magazine On Stands Now!
I didn't see it at the Vienna Metro Station when I got on the train this morning, but it was staring me in the face when I got off at Gallery Place/Chinatown today!
The latest issue of BASH! Magazine comes complete with a full-color cover (plus some color on the interior as well), with a great looking caricature of Obama by Greg Halbert -- just in time for the inauguration! I expect this'll grab quite a few visitors' eyes when they're in for the event and looking for affordable pieces of collectible history...
The latest issue of BASH! Magazine comes complete with a full-color cover (plus some color on the interior as well), with a great looking caricature of Obama by Greg Halbert -- just in time for the inauguration! I expect this'll grab quite a few visitors' eyes when they're in for the event and looking for affordable pieces of collectible history...
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Kal's Credit Crunch board game, in action
I broke out the Credit Crunch game from the Economist today and got destroyed by my 10-year old daughter. My ex-high school teacher of economics father-in-law didn't do much better than me though.
Kal asked for comments. The using coins to figure out moves is a bit clunky, but I don't have any better ideas. Also when one reaches the end, are you supposed to continue through Start and go around again? If so, do you collect $500 mil again? (We did). We also sold our Financial Risk Cards, or at least bribed each other to influence the results. We only made it around the track once - two of us were bankrupt while Claire made it past the Start line with a few hundred million left. Overall the game was fun. I'd play it again. It's like Life and Monopoly mashed together.
Claire modeling Richard's Poor Almanack t-shirt
100_6708
Originally uploaded by mgrhode1
A entomologist contacted Richard Thompson about making a t-shirt from his Richard's Poor Almanack panel featuring the camel cricket. Richard, being a thoroughly nice guy, said yes and got some of the shirts in return. Modeled by Claire because they're all small.
Good luck in finding one of these collectibles!Thompson illustrates Barry in Post Magazine
Dave Barry's annual Year in Review in the Washington Post magazine is illustrated by Our Man Thompson and the pics are on the Post website.
Richard's got a post up on it too.
QUICK REVIEWS FOR COMICS DUE FRIDAY (Not Wednesday) 01-02-09
QUICK REVIEWS FOR COMICS DUE FRIDAY (Not Wednesday) 01-02-09
By John Judy
(Why kiss a loved one at midnight when you could be reading comics?!)
30 DAYS OF NIGHT: TIL DEATH #2 written and drawn by David Lapham. The creator of STRAY BULLETS is delivering his strongest work (and best 30 DAYS series) in a long time. Definitely worth a look if you think the world post-Barrow has been a bit of a let-down.
AVENGERS INITIATIVE #20 by Dan Slott, Christos Gage and Steve Kurth. Lots of post- Secret Invasion doings as the real Hank Pym returns and Mutant Zero stands revealed.
BATMAN: CACOPHONY #2 of 3 by Kevin Smith and Walt J. Flanagan. The Good News: Kevin Smith managed to hit a deadline on a monthly book. The Bad News: Did you see issue one?
CAPTAIN AMERICA #45 by Ed Brubaker and Luke Ross. Bucky America has to beat the French fiend Batroc the Leaper and find whoever’s left of the Invaders. I recommend shouting in German and checking Facebook.
FANTASTIC FOUR #562 by Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch. The funeral of the Invisible Woman. They say it’s empty casket but how can you tell?
FINAL CRISIS: SECRET FILES #1 by Various Creators. Perhaps this will reveal the secret of why FINAL CRISIS is taking so long to wrap up already.
GOON #31 written and drawn by Eric Powell. “That’s the man who killed Kizzie! And it’s long past time that I dealt with him!” Highly recommended.
GREEN LANTERN #36 by Geoff Johns and Doug Mahnke. Hal and the gang rush to duke it out with the wrathful Red Lanterns while the Controllers seek out the greed-powered Orange Lanterns. So “Orange = Greed.” A subtle swipe at a certain California county? Why not?
INCOGNITO #1 by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips. This new series is why CRIMINAL is going on hiatus so it must, must, must be awesome! Thankfully it looks like it is. The premise: What if you were a super-villain in Federal Witness Protection and you just couldn’t stand it anymore? Highly Recommended.
JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #28 by Dwayne McDuffie and Ed Benes. The JLA versus the Shadow Cabinet. Watch for flying splinters.
JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA #22 by Geoff Johns, Alex Ross and Dale Eaglesham. Gog’s big, fat other shoe has dropped and now it’s time to throw it at him. Big Fight!
KICK-ASS #5 by Mark Millar and John Romita Jr. Remember this series? Issue four came out in August. Look for the trade collection of the first six issues in December of 2008. Oh, wait….
MARVELS: EYE OF THE CAMERA #2 of 6 by Kurt Busiek and Jay Anacieto. Photojournalist Phil Sheldon is still tracking the super goings-on in the Marvel Universe but he’s got troubles of his own. Cancer. An engaging follow-up to the classic MARVELS series.
NORTHLANDERS #13 by Brian Wood and Ryan Kelly. The Irish guerilla and the Viking enforcer finally come face to face and it ain’t gonna be resolved with a drinking contest. Great stuff. Recommended.
PUNISHER WAR ZONE #4 of 6 by Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon. Wow, so it looks like this comic has already outlasted its namesake’s run in theatres. Deservedly so. Anyway, it looks like Frank’s gonna have to take out an army of Ma Gnucci zombie-clones. Seriously. Recommended, but not for kids or people with a low tolerance for the Ennis-style dark, silly humor.
SCALPED #24 by Jason Aaron and R.M. Guera. My favorite comic continues to come out despite the best efforts of the buying public to keep it down on The Rez. Too intense for kids and those with a low tolerance for Total Awesomeness. Highly recommended.
THE STAND: CAPTAIN TRIPS #4 of 5 by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and Mike Perkins. It’s the end of the world as we know it and it looks fine! The best adaptation yet of Stephen King’s epic novel. Recommended!
SUPERMAN #683 by James Robinson, Geoff Johns and Renato Guedes. Imagine if you tried passing discriminatory laws like California’s Prop 8 against 100,000 people, each with the all powers of Superman. An intriguing issue.
ULTIMATE HULK ANNUAL #1 by Jeph Loeb and Marko Djurdjevic. This is quite an accomplishment since Ultimate Hulk never actually had his own series. Anyway, for some reason the mass-murdering Hulk of the Ultimates Universe is teaming up with the mass-murdering Power Princess from the Squadron Supreme Universe. Makes you wonder what these crazy kids will get up to, doesn’t it?
WOLVERINE #70 by Mark Millar and Steve McNiven. The twisted alternate future road-trip continues with blind Hawkeye doing the violence and Old Man Logan not. Impressive they’ve maintained such a status quo all the way through part five of eight of this entertaining story.
WOLVERINE: MANIFEST DESTINY #3 of 4 by Jason Aaron and Stephen Segovia. Wolverine must unite all the kung-fu schools in Chinatown to defeat the Black Dragon Tong. And that, my friends, is a movie! If you enjoy these Jason Aaron Wolverine stories as much as I, do yourself a favor and pick up his other title, SCALPED. You’ll have the rest of your life to thank me.
X-MEN: MAGNETO TESTAMENT #4 of 5 by Greg Pak and Carmine Di Giandomenico. Young Magneto finds himself in Auschwitz. It bears repeating that this is a genuinely powerful series, focusing less on super-heroics and super-villainy than on the horrors of a Jewish boy’s coming of age during the holocaust. Both Pak and Di Giandomenico deserve credit for taking what could have been a hideous trivialization of the 20th century’s darkest moment and making it into something both restrained and moving. Highly recommended.
www.johnjudy.net
By John Judy
(Why kiss a loved one at midnight when you could be reading comics?!)
30 DAYS OF NIGHT: TIL DEATH #2 written and drawn by David Lapham. The creator of STRAY BULLETS is delivering his strongest work (and best 30 DAYS series) in a long time. Definitely worth a look if you think the world post-Barrow has been a bit of a let-down.
AVENGERS INITIATIVE #20 by Dan Slott, Christos Gage and Steve Kurth. Lots of post- Secret Invasion doings as the real Hank Pym returns and Mutant Zero stands revealed.
BATMAN: CACOPHONY #2 of 3 by Kevin Smith and Walt J. Flanagan. The Good News: Kevin Smith managed to hit a deadline on a monthly book. The Bad News: Did you see issue one?
CAPTAIN AMERICA #45 by Ed Brubaker and Luke Ross. Bucky America has to beat the French fiend Batroc the Leaper and find whoever’s left of the Invaders. I recommend shouting in German and checking Facebook.
FANTASTIC FOUR #562 by Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch. The funeral of the Invisible Woman. They say it’s empty casket but how can you tell?
FINAL CRISIS: SECRET FILES #1 by Various Creators. Perhaps this will reveal the secret of why FINAL CRISIS is taking so long to wrap up already.
GOON #31 written and drawn by Eric Powell. “That’s the man who killed Kizzie! And it’s long past time that I dealt with him!” Highly recommended.
GREEN LANTERN #36 by Geoff Johns and Doug Mahnke. Hal and the gang rush to duke it out with the wrathful Red Lanterns while the Controllers seek out the greed-powered Orange Lanterns. So “Orange = Greed.” A subtle swipe at a certain California county? Why not?
INCOGNITO #1 by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips. This new series is why CRIMINAL is going on hiatus so it must, must, must be awesome! Thankfully it looks like it is. The premise: What if you were a super-villain in Federal Witness Protection and you just couldn’t stand it anymore? Highly Recommended.
JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #28 by Dwayne McDuffie and Ed Benes. The JLA versus the Shadow Cabinet. Watch for flying splinters.
JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA #22 by Geoff Johns, Alex Ross and Dale Eaglesham. Gog’s big, fat other shoe has dropped and now it’s time to throw it at him. Big Fight!
KICK-ASS #5 by Mark Millar and John Romita Jr. Remember this series? Issue four came out in August. Look for the trade collection of the first six issues in December of 2008. Oh, wait….
MARVELS: EYE OF THE CAMERA #2 of 6 by Kurt Busiek and Jay Anacieto. Photojournalist Phil Sheldon is still tracking the super goings-on in the Marvel Universe but he’s got troubles of his own. Cancer. An engaging follow-up to the classic MARVELS series.
NORTHLANDERS #13 by Brian Wood and Ryan Kelly. The Irish guerilla and the Viking enforcer finally come face to face and it ain’t gonna be resolved with a drinking contest. Great stuff. Recommended.
PUNISHER WAR ZONE #4 of 6 by Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon. Wow, so it looks like this comic has already outlasted its namesake’s run in theatres. Deservedly so. Anyway, it looks like Frank’s gonna have to take out an army of Ma Gnucci zombie-clones. Seriously. Recommended, but not for kids or people with a low tolerance for the Ennis-style dark, silly humor.
SCALPED #24 by Jason Aaron and R.M. Guera. My favorite comic continues to come out despite the best efforts of the buying public to keep it down on The Rez. Too intense for kids and those with a low tolerance for Total Awesomeness. Highly recommended.
THE STAND: CAPTAIN TRIPS #4 of 5 by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and Mike Perkins. It’s the end of the world as we know it and it looks fine! The best adaptation yet of Stephen King’s epic novel. Recommended!
SUPERMAN #683 by James Robinson, Geoff Johns and Renato Guedes. Imagine if you tried passing discriminatory laws like California’s Prop 8 against 100,000 people, each with the all powers of Superman. An intriguing issue.
ULTIMATE HULK ANNUAL #1 by Jeph Loeb and Marko Djurdjevic. This is quite an accomplishment since Ultimate Hulk never actually had his own series. Anyway, for some reason the mass-murdering Hulk of the Ultimates Universe is teaming up with the mass-murdering Power Princess from the Squadron Supreme Universe. Makes you wonder what these crazy kids will get up to, doesn’t it?
WOLVERINE #70 by Mark Millar and Steve McNiven. The twisted alternate future road-trip continues with blind Hawkeye doing the violence and Old Man Logan not. Impressive they’ve maintained such a status quo all the way through part five of eight of this entertaining story.
WOLVERINE: MANIFEST DESTINY #3 of 4 by Jason Aaron and Stephen Segovia. Wolverine must unite all the kung-fu schools in Chinatown to defeat the Black Dragon Tong. And that, my friends, is a movie! If you enjoy these Jason Aaron Wolverine stories as much as I, do yourself a favor and pick up his other title, SCALPED. You’ll have the rest of your life to thank me.
X-MEN: MAGNETO TESTAMENT #4 of 5 by Greg Pak and Carmine Di Giandomenico. Young Magneto finds himself in Auschwitz. It bears repeating that this is a genuinely powerful series, focusing less on super-heroics and super-villainy than on the horrors of a Jewish boy’s coming of age during the holocaust. Both Pak and Di Giandomenico deserve credit for taking what could have been a hideous trivialization of the 20th century’s darkest moment and making it into something both restrained and moving. Highly recommended.
www.johnjudy.net
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Zadzooks Christmas column
ZADZOOKS: Offbeat holiday offerings
Joseph Szadkowski
Washington Times Thursday, December 25, 2008.
I really like Paul Dini's Jingle Belle.
Joseph Szadkowski
Washington Times Thursday, December 25, 2008.
I really like Paul Dini's Jingle Belle.
Crane and Bell with Comic Riffs anecdotes
"Fave Fan Anecdotes: 'Pickles' & 'Candorville'," By Michael Cavna, December 26, 2008.
New York Times on future of comic strips
This is a pretty good article - "Prototype: The Comics Are Feeling the Pain of Print," By LESLIE BERLIN, New York Times December 28, 2008.
New Yorker cartoon editor Bob Mankoff is quoted in this article about financial humor - "I’m Penniless, but the Laugh’s on Them," By LIZ ALDERMAN, New York Times December 28, 2008.
New Yorker cartoon editor Bob Mankoff is quoted in this article about financial humor - "I’m Penniless, but the Laugh’s on Them," By LIZ ALDERMAN, New York Times December 28, 2008.
Baltimore's Greg LaRocque interview on Newsarama
Baltimore's Greg LaRocque has an interview on Newsarama. LaRocque was one of my favorite DC artists in the late 80s, and I got to meet him and buy some art at one of the Baltimore Comic-Cons. Here's links to his website and Myspace pages.
Blogs and websites of my friends part 2
Cartoonist Darko Macan's blog (in Croatian) and the Ephemerist blog of neat cartoonist bits.
Friday, December 26, 2008
Blogs and websites of my friends
I just stuck a new widget up on the side linking to my friends, on topics that may or may not be comics-related. Check them out. First up is Dean Haspiel, cartoonist and Lisa Cherkasky, food fluffer.
Spirit interview in Post's Weekend section
Eva Mendes, Looking Through The Layers
By Ellen McCarthy
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, December 26, 2008; WE26
By Ellen McCarthy
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, December 26, 2008; WE26
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Comic Riffs anecdotes from Walker and Pastis
Fave Fan Anecdotes: 'Pearls Before Swine' & 'Hi and Lois'
By Michael Cavna | December 25, 2008;
By Michael Cavna | December 25, 2008;
New Year's Day sale at Big Planet Comics
If you're a Comicsvore* like I am, you didn't get everything comics-related for the holidays that you really, really needed. Big Planet Comics is ready to help. For their January 1 sale, take 20% off everything in the stores. How can you go wrong?
BIG PLANET COMICS
4908 Fairmont Ave.
Bethesda, MD 20814
301-654-6856
BIG PLANET COMICS
3145 Dumbarton St. NW
Washington, DC 20007
202-342-1961
BIG PLANET COMICS
426 Maple Ave. East
Vienna, VA 22180
703-242-9412
BIG PLANET COMICS
7315 Baltimore Ave.
College Park, MD 20740
301-699-0498
*coined to describe me by cartoonist and comics writer Darko Macan
Spirit movie reviews, and some other movie bits
People aren't liking it much.
'The Spirit': Enough Ham To Lay a Great Big Egg
By Carina Chocano
Special to The Washington Post
Thursday, December 25, 2008; C05
Returned From the Dead, Ducking Villains and Vixens
By A. O. SCOTT
New York Times December 25, 2008
Movie review: Don't waste money on 'The Spirit'
Peter Hartlaub, Chronicle Pop Culture Critic
Thursday, December 25, 2008
This article appeared on page E - 8 of the San Francisco Chronicle
Except for the Kansas City Star.
‘The Spirit’ review: A dazzling visual style | 3 stars
By JASON HECK
Special to The Kansas City Star December 24 2008
And the Times reported this morning that Watchmen's legal woes continue.
Judge Says Fox Owns Rights to a Warner Movie
By MICHAEL CIEPLY
New York Times December 25, 2008
While the latest Batman movie isn't coming to China.
WB shrouds 'Dark Knight' from Chinese audiences
Associated Press Thu Dec 25, 2008
Can you tell I'm working on the 2008 edition of Film & TV Adaptations of Comics? It should be available in mid-January. Would anyone like to see an expanded bibliography section in the next edition for 2009, one that gives you a lot of citations per film, rather than just one or two key ones? Work on the published edition of the Comics Research Bibliography website should be advanced enough to let me do that, but it'll add dozens of pages and cost more.
'The Spirit': Enough Ham To Lay a Great Big Egg
By Carina Chocano
Special to The Washington Post
Thursday, December 25, 2008; C05
Returned From the Dead, Ducking Villains and Vixens
By A. O. SCOTT
New York Times December 25, 2008
Movie review: Don't waste money on 'The Spirit'
Peter Hartlaub, Chronicle Pop Culture Critic
Thursday, December 25, 2008
This article appeared on page E - 8 of the San Francisco Chronicle
Except for the Kansas City Star.
‘The Spirit’ review: A dazzling visual style | 3 stars
By JASON HECK
Special to The Kansas City Star December 24 2008
And the Times reported this morning that Watchmen's legal woes continue.
Judge Says Fox Owns Rights to a Warner Movie
By MICHAEL CIEPLY
New York Times December 25, 2008
While the latest Batman movie isn't coming to China.
WB shrouds 'Dark Knight' from Chinese audiences
Associated Press Thu Dec 25, 2008
Can you tell I'm working on the 2008 edition of Film & TV Adaptations of Comics? It should be available in mid-January. Would anyone like to see an expanded bibliography section in the next edition for 2009, one that gives you a lot of citations per film, rather than just one or two key ones? Work on the published edition of the Comics Research Bibliography website should be advanced enough to let me do that, but it'll add dozens of pages and cost more.
Another satisfied Cul de Sac reader
Here's my daughter enjoying her Christmas Cul de Sac book.
And here's Richard's drawing in it.
And here's Richard's drawing in it.
Drawn! blogger picks Cul de Sac book
Richard's first Cul de Sac collection was number one for the Drawn! blog this year. Of the rest of the picks, I've only read Sempe's Nicholas which everyone should check out. I mean to buy Heatley's book though, based on his New York Times' strips. In part 2, I match tastes much better, Wacky Packages is a cool book and I have Bat-Manga, Ojingogo (signed at SPX), As I See It, and What It Is.
I need the St. Trinian's and the Guy Delisle books.
Drawn! is a good blog that I don't look at often enough - time to add them to the Google Reader feed.
I need the St. Trinian's and the Guy Delisle books.
Drawn! is a good blog that I don't look at often enough - time to add them to the Google Reader feed.
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Richard Thompson's fanciful progenitor
Check out Richard's blog for a story of Virginia, Santa Claus and possibly how a thread of talent works through generations.
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
New Wuerker book!
Librarian Martha Kennedy reports, "Matt Wuerker and Sara Thaves just published Inks Campaign '08, a book of election cartoons, [with] a selection of cartoons by leading cartoonists including 8 Pulitzer Prize winners. Published by The Cartoonist Group, ISBN 0-9773284-4-9. Looks good!"
So, any more details, Matt?
So, any more details, Matt?
Comic Riffs gets anecdotes from Wilkinson and Johnston
Michael Cavna's got two more today - "Fave Fan Anecdotes: 'For Better or For Worse' & Signe Wilkinson".
Kal's Christmas card and online story
Kal sent this note in today and gave his permission to reproduce his excellent Christmas e-card:
On December 15 The Baltimore based Stoop Storytelling series came to the Meyerhoff Symphony Hall for a Holiday extravaganza. The crowd of 1600 enjoyed an evening of entertaining and compelling stories and music. I was honored to be one of the guest storytellers. I recounted my "Strange and wonderful" relationship with Maryland Governor/Comptroller William Donald Schaefer. You can listen in on the 7 minute story online here: http://www.stoopstorytelling.com/shows/35/storytellers/248
The story is really funny - go listen to it.
On December 15 The Baltimore based Stoop Storytelling series came to the Meyerhoff Symphony Hall for a Holiday extravaganza. The crowd of 1600 enjoyed an evening of entertaining and compelling stories and music. I was honored to be one of the guest storytellers. I recounted my "Strange and wonderful" relationship with Maryland Governor/Comptroller William Donald Schaefer. You can listen in on the 7 minute story online here: http://www.stoopstorytelling.com/shows/35/storytellers/248
The story is really funny - go listen to it.
Comics Articles in Today's Free Papers UPDATED
And there's an online-only Aqua Teen Hunger Force bit at the Express today - "Hunger Forced: 5 Ridiculous Moments From 'Aqua Teen's' Shake."
Porter, Christopher. 2008.
Noisy, brutal genius: The second season of 'Metalocalypse' is a hilarious headbanger.
[Washington Post] Express (December 23): 17
Greenberg, Rudi. 2008.
Just keeps getting quirkier: The sixth volume of 'Aqua Teen' is as whacked as ever.
[Washington Post] Express (December 23): 15
Associated Press. 2008.
Batman and Japan: In a new book, perfect together.
Washington Examiner (December 23); 18
Porter, Christopher. 2008.
Noisy, brutal genius: The second season of 'Metalocalypse' is a hilarious headbanger.
[Washington Post] Express (December 23): 17
Greenberg, Rudi. 2008.
Just keeps getting quirkier: The sixth volume of 'Aqua Teen' is as whacked as ever.
[Washington Post] Express (December 23): 15
Associated Press. 2008.
Batman and Japan: In a new book, perfect together.
Washington Examiner (December 23); 18
Monday, December 22, 2008
20-year-old Thompson illos
I was sorting through some clippings I inherited (so to speak), and ran across these two 1987 Thompson drawings from the August 17th Washington Post Health section on humor and health.
OT: Dan Reynolds writes in (updated)
Dan Reynolds wrote in a few minutes ago to complement me on the site and ask why he's not mentioned here. I think it's because he has nothing to do with DC. But I own at least one of his books, Christmas Meltdown, and think I have his Belt Height book too, so heck that's close enough for now given this economy. Go check out his site at Go Comics for his Reynolds Unwrapped panel. As you can see from this cartoon I grabbed from the site, he's topical (and funny, but we're all about topicality here).
Dan wrote in, "I'm in the snowbound regions of Upstate NY. I'm located in what's called a snowbelt area north of Syracuse, NY. I'm published in almost every issue of the Reader's Digest and have been for years... My main gig is in the greeting card business. You may not realize it, but my cards are everywhere...they've appeared on American Greetings cards, but most prominently on Recycled Paper greetings (for18 years) and Papyrus Greetings (with whom I have my own line.
My work is basically in every city in the country. Next time you go into the store to get a card, one that sells RPG or Papyrus, look and you will find.
Also, EVERY year I can almost guarantee you you receive my work in forwarded email during the Thanksgiving and Xmas season. You know those cartoon emails with 5 or 6 cartoons...at least one of them is mine every time. (True! I have) I even receive these from people who don't know they're my work!
Dan's working it hard with a daily email of current comic panels, "For sign up of 365 REYNOLDS UNWRAPPED cartoons for one year, please send $10 cash, check or money order (or if you REALLY want to support keeping me in black ink instead of red, you can throw in a cartoonist tip) to Dan Reynolds, PO BOX 444, Brewerton, NY 13029
or send at least $11 via pay pal using this info: dan@reynoldsunwrapped.com Your daily REYNOLDS UNWRAPPED will commence as soon as received. My web site is: www.reynoldsunwrapped.com"
So there you have it, information about the sadly underexposed world of greeting card cartoonists, and a look at a new business model for cartoons.
I think we might start calling this "Support Your Local Cartoonist." I imagine at least as many people will get that, as get the "Reynolds Unwrapped" title.
There's a Washington Webtoonists group?
Tom Spurgeon had a link to a Washington Webtoonists group. If you guys are still functional, drop me a line please.
Our Man Thompsons coughs up a cover
John Read's Stay Tooned mag, a good collection of interviews at a reasonable price, will feature Our Man Thompson on the cover says the Daily Cartoonist. It will have as well an interview conducted at a secret secure location at HeroesCon (during which I sat at his table and watched crestfallen faces when I explained that I wasn't Richard Thompson, but was in fact several inches taller, and they could have easily told us apart if I hadn't been sitting down. I also claimed he was a black Jamaican Rastafarian that they should look for in the crowd if someone was particularly persistent).
Comic Riffs interviews cartoonists
Cavna mentions one of his anecdotes about being a sports cartoonist, and then gets stories for "Favorite Fan Anecdotes: 'Speed Bump' and 'Sherman's Lagoon'". This is a nice idea, and I've liked all three stories so far. Be sure to read the first comment too.
Sunday, December 21, 2008
That Darn Toles ... continued
Balancing the Cartoonist
Washington Post Saturday, December 20, 2008; A15
Dec. 13 Free for All writer Jim Welch proposed that The Post use a conservative cartoonist a couple of times a week.
No need to worry; there are already two alternatives: George F. Will and Charles Krauthammer, both of them harsh in their agenda, sufficiently extremist and frequently sketchy enough to provide more than a balance for Toles.
-- James Oglethorpe
Falls Church
·
I'd like to offer an alternative to Jim Welch's suggestion.
I have no problem with Toles's politics, although I don't share them. What I object to is that he, like Herblock before him, is seldom funny.
I'd prefer a cartoonist who shares your editorial page's political views but presents them in an amusing, sophisticated and light-handed way.
-- Myron Ebell
Cheverly
·
Pay no attention to the letter asking that you not run Tom Toles. He is the best part of the editorial page.
-- Gloria Berg
Arlington
Washington Post Saturday, December 20, 2008; A15
Dec. 13 Free for All writer Jim Welch proposed that The Post use a conservative cartoonist a couple of times a week.
No need to worry; there are already two alternatives: George F. Will and Charles Krauthammer, both of them harsh in their agenda, sufficiently extremist and frequently sketchy enough to provide more than a balance for Toles.
-- James Oglethorpe
Falls Church
·
I'd like to offer an alternative to Jim Welch's suggestion.
I have no problem with Toles's politics, although I don't share them. What I object to is that he, like Herblock before him, is seldom funny.
I'd prefer a cartoonist who shares your editorial page's political views but presents them in an amusing, sophisticated and light-handed way.
-- Myron Ebell
Cheverly
·
Pay no attention to the letter asking that you not run Tom Toles. He is the best part of the editorial page.
-- Gloria Berg
Arlington
Cul de Sac book inscriptions
Guess what I'm giving out for Christmas this year.
And here's another satisfied reader - my Dad.
And here's another satisfied reader - my Dad.
OT: Dean Haspiel's NY Times comic about holiday drinking
Dean Haspiel did a cartoon for the New York Times Proof blog - Snow Dope - starring himself. A couple of days ago he wrote an entry for their blog, and then followed that up with a post on his own blog.
Comic Art in today's Washington Post
The Opinion section has what purports to be "The Year in Cartoons." It's not a very good selection.
Steve Brodner illustrates 2009 predictions in the last Sunday Source section, which also presumably means that we won't see Danny Hellman's illustrations in the paper anymore either.
A wire story on Broadway's Shrek musical (sigh) was interesting - "The Star of 'Shrek' Basks in the Green Light," By Kristen A. Lee / Associated Press, Washington Post Sunday, December 21, 2008; M10.
Dave Betancourt's review of "The DC Comics Encyclopedia," Washington Post Sunday, December 21, 2008; Page BW14
Steve Brodner illustrates 2009 predictions in the last Sunday Source section, which also presumably means that we won't see Danny Hellman's illustrations in the paper anymore either.A wire story on Broadway's Shrek musical (sigh) was interesting - "The Star of 'Shrek' Basks in the Green Light," By Kristen A. Lee / Associated Press, Washington Post Sunday, December 21, 2008; M10.
Dave Betancourt's review of "The DC Comics Encyclopedia," Washington Post Sunday, December 21, 2008; Page BW14
QUICK REVIEWS FOR COMICS DUE 12-24-08
QUICK REVIEWS FOR COMICS DUE 12-24-08
By John “Krampus” Judy
(Wishing you and yours a Super Saturnalia and a Sizzlin’ Solstice!)
AMERICAN FLAGG DEFINITIVE COLLECTION, VOL. 1 TP written and drawn by Howard Chaykin. The first seven issues of the Eagle Award-winning sci-fi cop adventure series that put Chaykin on the map!
ASTOUNDING WOLF-MAN #11 by Robert Kirkman and Jason Howard. Guest-starring Invincible, who had better hope he can live up to his name.
BATMAN #683 by Grant Morrison and Lee Garbett. More musings and strung together vignettes from Morrison’s batcave opium dream.
BILLY BATSON AND THE MAGIC OF SHAZAM #3 written and drawn by Mike Kunkel. The continuing saga of Captain Marvel versus Black Adam, told in an all-ages appropriate style. Fun, out of continuity stuff!
DAREDEVIL #114 by Ed Brubaker and Michael Lark. High-kickin’, ninja-killin’, blind as a bat, kung-fu action! Recommended!
HULK #9 by Jeph Loeb, Art Adams and Frank Cho. If you liked last issue you’ll like this one too!
IMMORTAL IRON FIST #21 by Duane Swierczynski and Travel Foreman. The Iron Fist of the future fights a kung-fu robot! Honest!
NEW AVENGERS #48 by Brian Michael Bendis and Billy Tan. There have been a few changes in the line-up since Norman Osborn took over the show from Tony Stark. Hence the “New” in the title.
PREVIEWS by Marvel and Diamond Comics. The Magic Eightball of the comics biz!
PUNISHER WAR ZONE #3 of 6 by Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon. Spare yourself the pain. Skip the movie and buy the comic. Recommended.
THOR #12 by J. Michael Straczynski and Olivier Coipel. Sure, Loki’s schemes are bound to put Asgard in a tizzy right quick, but what’s it all mean to Broxton, Oklahoma? Will the wavin’ wheat still smell sweet? The wheat-watch starts here!
TOP TEN SEASON TWO #3 of 4 by Zander Canon and Gene Ha. More quality time with the good peace officers of Neopolis. Amazingly good stuff even without Alan Moore. Recommended.
ULTIMATUM #2 of 5 by Jeph Loeb and David Finch. Glug, glug, glug, Magneto, glug, glug, glug…
UNKNOWN SOLDIER #3 by Joshua Dysart and Alberto Ponticelli. The Doctor becomes The Soldier in this latest iteration of the classic DC war hero. Recommended.
www.johnjudy.net
By John “Krampus” Judy
(Wishing you and yours a Super Saturnalia and a Sizzlin’ Solstice!)
AMERICAN FLAGG DEFINITIVE COLLECTION, VOL. 1 TP written and drawn by Howard Chaykin. The first seven issues of the Eagle Award-winning sci-fi cop adventure series that put Chaykin on the map!
ASTOUNDING WOLF-MAN #11 by Robert Kirkman and Jason Howard. Guest-starring Invincible, who had better hope he can live up to his name.
BATMAN #683 by Grant Morrison and Lee Garbett. More musings and strung together vignettes from Morrison’s batcave opium dream.
BILLY BATSON AND THE MAGIC OF SHAZAM #3 written and drawn by Mike Kunkel. The continuing saga of Captain Marvel versus Black Adam, told in an all-ages appropriate style. Fun, out of continuity stuff!
DAREDEVIL #114 by Ed Brubaker and Michael Lark. High-kickin’, ninja-killin’, blind as a bat, kung-fu action! Recommended!
HULK #9 by Jeph Loeb, Art Adams and Frank Cho. If you liked last issue you’ll like this one too!
IMMORTAL IRON FIST #21 by Duane Swierczynski and Travel Foreman. The Iron Fist of the future fights a kung-fu robot! Honest!
NEW AVENGERS #48 by Brian Michael Bendis and Billy Tan. There have been a few changes in the line-up since Norman Osborn took over the show from Tony Stark. Hence the “New” in the title.
PREVIEWS by Marvel and Diamond Comics. The Magic Eightball of the comics biz!
PUNISHER WAR ZONE #3 of 6 by Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon. Spare yourself the pain. Skip the movie and buy the comic. Recommended.
THOR #12 by J. Michael Straczynski and Olivier Coipel. Sure, Loki’s schemes are bound to put Asgard in a tizzy right quick, but what’s it all mean to Broxton, Oklahoma? Will the wavin’ wheat still smell sweet? The wheat-watch starts here!
TOP TEN SEASON TWO #3 of 4 by Zander Canon and Gene Ha. More quality time with the good peace officers of Neopolis. Amazingly good stuff even without Alan Moore. Recommended.
ULTIMATUM #2 of 5 by Jeph Loeb and David Finch. Glug, glug, glug, Magneto, glug, glug, glug…
UNKNOWN SOLDIER #3 by Joshua Dysart and Alberto Ponticelli. The Doctor becomes The Soldier in this latest iteration of the classic DC war hero. Recommended.
www.johnjudy.net
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Cartoons can put you in jail in America and Australia
People were mocking an Australian judge for declaring that cartoons using the Simpsons children in sexual situations wasn't just bad taste or copyright violations, but rather "Fake Simpsons cartoon 'is porn'" The BBC article by Nick Bryant noted, "An appeal judge in Australia has ruled that an animation depicting well-known cartoon characters engaging in sexual acts is child pornography."
Well, here in America, judges in Richmond (90 miles from DC) just did the same thing - "Child porn cartoon conviction upheld in Va." by LARRY O'DELL, The Associated Press, Friday, December 19, 2008. O'Dell wrote, "Child pornography is illegal even if the pictures are drawn, a federal appeals panel said in affirming the nation's first conviction under a 2003 federal law against such cartoons. ... Judge Paul V. Niemeyer noted in the majority opinion that the statute under which Whorley was convicted, the PROTECT Act of 2003, clearly states that "it is not a required element of any offense under this section that the minor depicted actually exists.""
There's a similar case going on now in now in Iowa that the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund is helping with.
I have a child, and have no interest in this type of thing, but one wonders why the First Amendment only applies once in a while. I don't recall any add-ons that say "except for photographs or artwork that we really don't like."
Well, here in America, judges in Richmond (90 miles from DC) just did the same thing - "Child porn cartoon conviction upheld in Va." by LARRY O'DELL, The Associated Press, Friday, December 19, 2008. O'Dell wrote, "Child pornography is illegal even if the pictures are drawn, a federal appeals panel said in affirming the nation's first conviction under a 2003 federal law against such cartoons. ... Judge Paul V. Niemeyer noted in the majority opinion that the statute under which Whorley was convicted, the PROTECT Act of 2003, clearly states that "it is not a required element of any offense under this section that the minor depicted actually exists.""
There's a similar case going on now in now in Iowa that the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund is helping with.
I have a child, and have no interest in this type of thing, but one wonders why the First Amendment only applies once in a while. I don't recall any add-ons that say "except for photographs or artwork that we really don't like."
Friday, December 19, 2008
The Tale of Despereaux reviews
"The Mouse That Bored: 'Despereaux' Delivers Exquisite Technology -- Storytellers Simply Failed To Affix a Proper Tale," By John Anderson, The Washington Post
Friday, December 19, 2008; C01.
"Killer Soup, and a Mouse to the Rescue," By MANOHLA DARGIS, New York Times December 19, 2008.
Friday, December 19, 2008; C01.
"Killer Soup, and a Mouse to the Rescue," By MANOHLA DARGIS, New York Times December 19, 2008.
Our Man Thompson's Obama-nation
The New Yorker is selling prints of the drawing of Obama as FDR that Richard did for them a few week ago.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Kal designs new board game
The subject line "Kal designs new board game" sucked me right into the email:
If your financial indicators are looking down, there is one way to pick your spirits up. Play "Credit Crunch", the new board game launched in this week's Christmas double edition of The Economist. The game (designed and created by Kal ) is also available to all online. Go to
www.Economist.com/boardgame
to download the board, currency, playing cards, rules, and player icons.
Let me know if you play the game and how it works out. We can tweak the rules with feedback from readers.
Oh, man, I just love this stuff. I'll be assembling one of these babies. There's a hard copy in the December 20th issue, as well as a Tintin article.
A not-quite-ready for Bollywood Superman
This is a fun little story about a quirky small budget Superman movie being made in India, although I'm sure that the Time-Warner lawyers have already descended on them as a result of this article - "Spinning Quirky Yarns: Film Industry in Small Indian Textile Town Makes Low-Budget Parodies Of Bollywood Smash Hits With a Lot of Heart, Local Flavor and Ingenuity," By Rama Lakshmi, Washington Post Foreign Service, Thursday, December 18, 2008; A19.
A couple of Baltimore comics events this weekend
Tom Chalkley, whose work I've seen in the Baltimore City Paper and who spoke at SPX/ICAF years ago has a caricature poster on Baltimore history out now. He'll be signing it this weekend - "Local artist Tom Chalkley will be signing copies of his Ultimate Cartoon Map of Baltimore this Friday at the Women’s Industrial Exchange from noon to 1:30 p.m. and this Sunday at the Red Canoe Bookstore/Café from 1-3 p.m."
Meanwhile the Post reports, "Super Art Fight, which will kick off its third edition Saturday night at Baltimore's Ottobar, pits indie comics artists against one another in head-to-head drawing battles." $10. Doors open at 8 p.m. Saturday. 2549 N. Howard St., Baltimore. 410-662-0069 or http://www.superartfight.com.
Meanwhile the Post reports, "Super Art Fight, which will kick off its third edition Saturday night at Baltimore's Ottobar, pits indie comics artists against one another in head-to-head drawing battles." $10. Doors open at 8 p.m. Saturday. 2549 N. Howard St., Baltimore. 410-662-0069 or http://www.superartfight.com.
Zadzooks holiday gift ideas
"ZADZOOKS: Superhero gift ideas in comics, figures and video games; At play in comics, film worlds," Joseph Szadkowski, Washington Times Thursday, December 18, 2008.
Meanwhile Greg recommends Secret Invasion #8 (eh) and a Spirit collection (yes!) in "Bennett's Best for the week of November 30," By Greg Bennett, Zadzooks Blog December 14 2008.
Meanwhile Greg recommends Secret Invasion #8 (eh) and a Spirit collection (yes!) in "Bennett's Best for the week of November 30," By Greg Bennett, Zadzooks Blog December 14 2008.
Spirit movie advertisements showing up in comic stores
Some of the advertising material for the Spirit movie that was distributed to comic book shops. That's a temporary lipstick tattoo, a set of 4 trading cards of the women in the movie and the box they're in, and a glow-in-the-dark sneaker print sticker. Big Planet Comics Bethesda has a pile of movie posters that they're giving away. I've also seen a keychain with recordings from the movie on it.
Variety didn't like the movie very much (tip from Mr. Media Bob Andelman).
Darrin Bell of Candorville interviewed at Comic Riffs
Yesterday and today - "The Interview: 'Candorville' Cartoonist Darrin Bell" By Michael Cavna | December 17, 2008; "The Interview: 'Candorville' Cartoonist Darrin Bell (Pt. 2)," By Michael Cavna | December 18, 2008.
Bell's been riffing on Congressional hearings for comic book characters all week. It's been fun. As Tom Inge says (and in fact wrote a book about), "Anything can happen in a comic strip."
Bell's been riffing on Congressional hearings for comic book characters all week. It's been fun. As Tom Inge says (and in fact wrote a book about), "Anything can happen in a comic strip."
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
OT: Kirk Anderson's new book of political cartoons
Political cartoonist Kirk Anderson wrote in (and note that Washington Post connection!) so I'll give him some electrons too (and coincidentally, here's an editorial he wrote that I just ran across):
My new book, Banana Republic: Adventures in Amnesia, is a collection of the weekly, quarter-page cartoons of the same name that ran in the Minneapolis Star Tribune for years, a sort of serialized graphic novel in a mainstream family newspaper. The fictional banana republic of Amnesia parodies America's War on Terror. More information is below and at the website. I have been a political cartoonist for 20 years, including eight as the staff editorial cartoonist for the St. Paul Pioneer Press. My work has appeared in the Washington Post, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, The Onion, Newsweek, and hundreds of other trusted publications around the world.
BANANA REPUBLIC
- Adventures in Amnesia -
the small backward Third World nation with hearts of silver and mines of gold
www.MolotovComix.com
BANANA REPUBLIC follows the mischievous death squads and hilarious junta hijinks of Amnesia, a zany Third World dictatorship that is the polar opposite of America! In Amnesia, Generalissimo Wally engages in roughhousing practices we would consider unconstitutional in our own country, such as torture, warrentless surveillance, and imprisonment without charge! Why, even secret prisons are not unheard of! Unlike the advanced American system, the Amnesian regime only serves the wealthy elite, not the peasant classes; in fact, politicians openly take money from wealthy businessmen with direct financial stakes in pending legislation! From the Amnesians' overflowing prisons to their state propaganda, from their crippling foreign debt to their questionable elections, from their privately contracted paramilitaries to their millions without basic health care, you'll be chuckling, "Thank God WE don't live in a banana republic!"
"Kirk Anderson is an outrageously bold and talented cartoonist. [Banana Republic] entertained me hugely... a hilarious education in recent history." – Howard Zinn, historian and author of A People's History of the United States
My new book, Banana Republic: Adventures in Amnesia, is a collection of the weekly, quarter-page cartoons of the same name that ran in the Minneapolis Star Tribune for years, a sort of serialized graphic novel in a mainstream family newspaper. The fictional banana republic of Amnesia parodies America's War on Terror. More information is below and at the website. I have been a political cartoonist for 20 years, including eight as the staff editorial cartoonist for the St. Paul Pioneer Press. My work has appeared in the Washington Post, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, The Onion, Newsweek, and hundreds of other trusted publications around the world.
BANANA REPUBLIC
- Adventures in Amnesia -
the small backward Third World nation with hearts of silver and mines of gold
www.MolotovComix.com
BANANA REPUBLIC follows the mischievous death squads and hilarious junta hijinks of Amnesia, a zany Third World dictatorship that is the polar opposite of America! In Amnesia, Generalissimo Wally engages in roughhousing practices we would consider unconstitutional in our own country, such as torture, warrentless surveillance, and imprisonment without charge! Why, even secret prisons are not unheard of! Unlike the advanced American system, the Amnesian regime only serves the wealthy elite, not the peasant classes; in fact, politicians openly take money from wealthy businessmen with direct financial stakes in pending legislation! From the Amnesians' overflowing prisons to their state propaganda, from their crippling foreign debt to their questionable elections, from their privately contracted paramilitaries to their millions without basic health care, you'll be chuckling, "Thank God WE don't live in a banana republic!"
"Kirk Anderson is an outrageously bold and talented cartoonist. [Banana Republic] entertained me hugely... a hilarious education in recent history." – Howard Zinn, historian and author of A People's History of the United States
OT: Mark Doeffinger cartoon blog
This one came over the transom a few days ago. I don't know Mark, nor where he's based, but with the market for a lot of cartoonists imploding, I figured there's no reason not to use a few electrons to try to help:
I just started a website which is also a blog of my cartoons. I update my cartoons 5 to 6 days per week. The address of my website is: thelitestuffcartoons.com
The cartoons are, I hope, witty and clever. If you like my cartoons, I would appreciate it if you would tell your readers about my website. I have been drawing cartoons for many years.
Many thanks.
Mark Doeffinger
I just started a website which is also a blog of my cartoons. I update my cartoons 5 to 6 days per week. The address of my website is: thelitestuffcartoons.com
The cartoons are, I hope, witty and clever. If you like my cartoons, I would appreciate it if you would tell your readers about my website. I have been drawing cartoons for many years.
Many thanks.
Mark Doeffinger
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
The It's a Small World Department
My correspondence buddy Wim Lockefeer (we trade comics ephemera and stamps) has put up his best of the year list and on it is Chris Grine's Chickenhare: Fire in the Hole. Our Man Thompson sat next to Chris at HeroesCon this year so we talked to him quite a bit. I wholeheartedly agree with Wim's endorsement - I bought both of his books for my daughter.
That darn Oliphant... and the Post too!
Bygod, the Post isn't coordinating its editorial page, its syndicated editorial cartoons and its news reporting! For details, see "Forty miles (and some fuel): Oliphant and Washington Post ignorantly smear GM and plug-in hybrids," by Joseph Romm (Guest Contributor), Grist 15 Dec 2008. Cartoons aren't meant to be funny apparently, but should be educational and truthful without exaggeration. We should call them something else maybe. Any suggestions?
Monday, December 15, 2008
Shrek the Musical reviews
This just seems like a bad idea to me, but then again I didn't like the movies.
"The Belching Green Ogre Has a Song in His Heart," By BEN BRANTLEY, New York Times December 15, 2008
"Here Comes 'Shrek.' Hold Your Nose," By Peter Marks, Washington Post Staff Writer, Monday, December 15, 2008; C01
and here's Bloomberg News just to be different: "Lovable Shrek, Fiona Animate Broadway’s New Cartoon," Review by John Simon.
"The Belching Green Ogre Has a Song in His Heart," By BEN BRANTLEY, New York Times December 15, 2008
"Here Comes 'Shrek.' Hold Your Nose," By Peter Marks, Washington Post Staff Writer, Monday, December 15, 2008; C01
and here's Bloomberg News just to be different: "Lovable Shrek, Fiona Animate Broadway’s New Cartoon," Review by John Simon.
Best Wishes to Greg McElhatton
ComicsDC sends our Best Wishes to Greg McElhatton, who had some surgery today. I usually only run into Greg once a year at SPX which he's worked on. It's amazing how spread out the DC comics community can be.
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