SHOC: Hoiman & Douglas Aircraft

Warren Bernard contributes a Secret History of Comics bit to start off the new year right:

The first scan shows the cover of the book called "Hoiman", below it is the paper wrap around that was fortunately intact. This is because nowhere in the book itself is there any reference to where this stuff was published, which the wraparound says was for the Douglas Aircraft Plant in Chicago, IL.

Douglas Aircraft at this time had its main plants out in California, some others in Oklahoma, there were 7 total Douglas plants in operation during World War II. Now the question is, were these cartoons just done for only the in house mag for the Chicago plant? Did the other plants also use "Hoiman"? If not, what cartoons did they use? And who is Phil Brown? What else did he do? Where there other "Hoiman" books? How long did "Hoiman" run? Was "Hoiman just for Douglas Aircraft, or did other manufacturers also use the cartoons?

The Secret History of Comics does not give its secrets up easily...

Comics journalist Scott Rosenberg heading to NYC

Scott who has written many a comics story for the Examiner and then the Express reports, "I’m leaving for New York to become an assistant editor for amNew York, the largest circulated newspaper in Manhattan. It’s a free daily commuter, just like Express. The circulation is more than 300,000. But my byline will still be showing up in Express as a freelancer, hopefully covering comics still, but definitely still writing."

Best of luck in the New Year, Scott, although I'll miss running into you at Big Planet.

more Red Meat in DC

Apparently the Red Meat strip by Max Cannon will also be carried in the Onion starting this week. Or only in the Onion, if the City Paper really dropped its strips.

More bad news from City Paper?

The December 28th issue doesn't have any comics in it, except for local cartoonist Ben Classen's Dirt Farm. Unfortunately, I'm afraid this will carry into the new year as a cost-cutting measure. The Blade seems to be having similar issues, and certainly hasn't realized that Bechdel's gone back to bi-monthly for Dykes to Watch Out For, if they're even still running it.

On the positive side, they did hire Harvey Pekar-collaborator and nice guy Ed Piskor to do an illustration.

So the new year may bring far less reason to pick up two of the local free papers...

Local comic book contender John Reed

photo by Darrow Montgomery for the City Paper.

Catching up on some reading before the new year, I see John Reed of Alexandria was featured in "Shock and Draw: Jon Reed is suddenly a rising star in the world of superhero comics," by Josh Eiserike, Washington City Paper December 21, 2007. Reed is competeting in a Comic Book Idol contest.

Something to do on Jan 1

At the Renwick Gallery near the White House, the exhibit "Going West! Quilts and Community" has a Comics Quilt, circa 1935, with a bunch of comics characters sewn into it. It's on loan from the Stuhr Museum of the Prairie Pioneer.

Another option would be the Uncle Scrooge and Carl Barks show that opened right before Christmas at Geppi's Entertainment Museum. I plan on seeing that in January myself.

Jan 1: Big Planet's New Year's Day sale

Bethesda's Joel P reports: Tuesday, January 1st, from 12-5. Everything in the store 20% OFF!

Jan 19: 3rd annual D.C. Counter Culture Festival

Cartoonist Matt Dembicki writes, The D.C. Conspiracy will hold its third annual D.C. Counter Culture Festival at Dr. Dremo's on Sat., Jan. 19. It'll be especially meaningful because Dremo's will close the following week. (I've been fillin' my pint glass there since it opened in 1993. It's a local institution.) For a list of vendors (comics, crafts, wares, etc.), bands and other entertainment (tribal bellydancers, freak show, etc.), visit www.dcconspiracy.com. There's no admission fee.

I'm going to try to make it this year!

Richard Thompson covers Post Magazine

See his blog for the story. I'm behind on reading the paper again which is why this post is a day late, but I'm looking forward to seeing this.

Comics Research Bibliography updated

My co-author John Bullough updated our Comics Research Bibliography over the holidays. We went from 18,500 citations to 23, 880 in our neverending battle to aid research on comic art. I don't check the email account listed on the site anymore due to literally thousands of pieces of spam, but feel free to post comments and suggestions here.

QUICK REVIEWS FOR COMICS DUE FRIDAY 01-04-08

QUICK REVIEWS FOR COMICS DUE FRIDAY 01-04-08
By John Judy

(NOTE: Comics are once again delayed two days because of the holidays. Happy New Year!)

30 DAYS OF NIGHT, VOL. 8: RED SNOW written and drawn by Ben Templesmith. Y’know, at first I was going to snark about how the vampires’ current prey seems to be dead horses, but then I noticed this was by the guy who drew the first “30 Days” series. This one’s set in Russia circa 1941 and looks very much worth a read. Recommended.

BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER #10 by Joss Whedon and Georges Jeanty. Willow and the Buffster meet a demon while Dawn confides to Xander how she “filled out” and then some. Recommended.

DOCTOR SOLAR MAN OF THE ATOM VOL. 4 HC by Various Creators. This volume collects issues #23-32 of the original series, plus a guest-shot in “Occult Files of Dr. Spektor #14”, thus completing the entire Silver-Age run of this early Gold Key/Wilson hero.

DOKTOR SLEEPLESS #4 by Warren Ellis and Ivan Rodriguez. It was solicited for October of last year and sucks a lot less than the Avatar Press website which sucks quite a bit. Featuring a variant wrap-around cover and a 1-in-15 variant cover, which is the sure sign of a great (and highly collectable!) comic.

END LEAGUE #1 by Rick Remender and Mat Broome. From the creator of “Fear Agent” comes this new series about the last superheroes on earth and their quest for the hammer of Thor. Good thing mythological figures are public domain, eh? This one has a preview up on YouTube. Worth a look.

ESSENTIAL POWER MAN AND IRON FIST VOL. 1 SC by Lotsa People including Chris Claremont and John Byrne. “It’s so dark… I can barely make it out… is it…the Bottom of the Barrel?! What’s it doing up there?”

GRAVEL #0 by Warren Ellis & Mike Wolfer and Raulo Caceres. Okay, it’s “co-written” by Ellis which historically means the soggy cocktail napkin was handed to the interns to decipher and a room full of lemurs to type up. That said, it has a rave from Garth Ennis in which he says “It’s like someone made a comic just for me.” That and the art by “Crecy” co-creator Raulo Caceres elevate this to a must-read for the week. Recommended.

NORTHLANDERS #2 by Brian Wood and Davide Gianfelice. Prince Sven the Viking is back home and looking to square accounts with the uncle who’s taken all his stuff. It’s like “Hamlet” if Hamlet had less depression, more A.D.D., and no mommy issues. Recommended, but not for kids.

OMEGA THE UNKNOWN #4 of 10 by Jonathan Lethem and Farel Dalrymple. An interesting series featuring a new take on the classic Steve Gerber cult hero. Possibly it will read more smoothly in trade but for now it’s a good read for those who like a slow build.

PATH OF THE ASSASSIN VOL. 8: SHINOBI WITH EXTENDING FISTS SC by Kazuo Koike and Goseki Kojima. From the guys who gave us “Lone Wolf and Cub”, it’s more stuff like that! For ages 18 and over!

POWERS VOL. 11: SECRET IDENTITY SC by Brian Michael Bendis and Mike Avon Oeming. Collecting issues #19-24 featuring the adventures of two homicide cops in a world of super-heroes and trademark Bendis patter.

PRIDE OF BAGHDAD SC by Brian K. Vaughan and Niko Henrichon. Finally in soft-cover for all us cheapskates out here in Comicsville! From the gifted creator of “Ex Machina”, “Y the Last Man”, and “Runaways” this is the story of four lions who escape from the Baghdad Zoo after a 2003 bombing raid. Highly recommended unless you live in San Francisco. (Too soon?)

TEEN TITANS: YEAR ONE #1 of 6 by Amy Wolfram and Karl Kerschl. Pretty much what it says, notable for the vaguely manga look to the art and the scripting being done by the writer of the animated Titans series. Worth a look.

THUNDERBOLTS #118 by Warren Ellis and Mike Deodato. Dark Speedball beats up his shrink. Super-heroes are about the wish-fulfillment, kids…

ULTIMATE HUMAN #1 of 4 by Warren Ellis and Cary Nord. Finally a comic book about Chuck Norris! From now on there are no comic shops. There are only Chuck Norris shops! (Actually it’s about Iron Man fighting the Hulk. Don’t tell Chuck.)

UNCANNY X-MEN #494 by Ed Brubaker and Billy Tan. Hockey goalies dream of being padded like this latest X-crossover. Just remember: It’s this comic that helps make “Criminal” possible. (C’mon, you bought all the others….)

www.johnjudy.net

Zadzooks on Satchel Paige

A review of James Sturm's new book, among others at "Double Paige narrative looks at baseball, racism," By Joseph Szadkowski, Washington Times, December 29, 2007. He also looks at a Daredevil collection and JG Jones' 52 covers.

Persepolis snubbing DC?

Anyone have any idea if we're going to get this? It opened in a lot of the rest of the country on Christmas day, but I've seen nothing about it being in DC.

Bits from the Examiner

Today's paper has The Best of Beeler 2007 in it, 5 cartoons. I don't think I agree w/ the editor's choices, but check it out and see what you think.

Also, Sam and Max was a comic book back in the day, and it was selected as the year's #1 videogame on page 21.

Dec 28: Big Planet Vienna CBLDF fundraising party

Randy T sends along this missive

Just a reminder we are closed on Christmas, and will be getting new books on FRIDAY this week because of the holiday. So we’ll be open 11-7 Wed and Thurs, but 11-8 on Friday when the new comics come in.

PLUS: We will also be hosting a special party Friday from 5 to 8 pm for the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund. The Fund is a non-profit that supports the First Amendment and raises money and legal assistance for comic book creators and retailers who are unfairly targeted by people who often think that “comics are just for kids.”

Their website is http://www.cbldf.org if you want to read more about some of the outrageous cases they’ve had to fight against.

CBLDF members will get an additional 10% off anything they buy during the party, and the first 50 members will also get a free gift bag with lots of limited stuff, and Big Planet will donate 10% of the proceeds during that time to the fund. (You can also sign up to be a member during the party - a yearly membership is only $25.) Plus, the party will be hosted by former Big Planet Vienna manager, and now CBLDF Fundraising Manager, Elizabeth Schreck!


Have a good break, and see you all later this week!

Jared Smith

bigplanetvienna@verizon.net

Big Planet Comics - Vienna

http://www.bigplanetcomics.com

Zadzooks last minute gift ideas

See "Superheroes on alert to rescue procrastinators," By Joseph Szadkowski, Washington Times December 22, 2007

Comics bits in Sunday's Post

The undersung greeting card cartoonist gets a piece in the Jobs section - see
"They Wish You a Merry Christmas Card: Writers and Artists by The Thousands Craft Holiday Greetings," By Vickie Elmer, The Washington Post, Sunday, December 23, 2007; K01

and it turns out there really is something in Cinderella's castle in Disney World. See "At Disney World, a Real Cinderella Story," by Eve Zibart, Washington Post Sunday, December 23, 2007; Page P05

Weingarten on Post's comics shenanigans

In his December 18th Chatalogical Humor chat, Gene Weingarten said,

"Yes, I hate the new Sunday comics squeeze, too. It's bad and I hate it. And I hate that Weekend is losing Tom The Dancing Bug, one of the few remaining strips with a brain.

Hate, hate, hate."

with reader responses of an outpouring of love for Tom the Dancing Bug, and:

Hate, Hate, Hate: Opus has been shrunk to one quarter of its original size. Need reading glasses......

Get down to comics and smack the individual responsible!

Gene Weingarten: They don't listen to me.

and:

Washington, D.C.: Tom the Dancing Bug is going away?! I'd cancel my subscription if I had one. I certainly won't get another subscription now. I had been considering going Friday through Sunday only, but not anymore. What's going in his space? More crap to entertain the dozen kids in the area who don't watch tv nonstop?

Gene Weingarten: I dunno. I am upset.

and:

Bethesda, Md.: Why is Weekend dropping Tom the Dancing Bug? That's the smartest strip around. Can't they move it to Outlook or somewhere else? Should we riot?

Gene Weingarten: I would never personally endorse a riot. In fact, inciting to riot is a crime. So I would never personally endorse RIOTING. But some action is in order short of rioting.

and:

Tom the Dancing Bug:...is available Thursday on Salon.com -- in color no less.

Gene Weingarten: Noted. Boy, I hate posting this. DON'T READ THE POST, READ SALON!

QUICK REVIEWS FOR COMICS DUE FRIDAY 12-28-07

QUICK REVIEWS FOR COMICS DUE FRIDAY 12-28-07
By John Judy

(NOTE: Friday, not Wednesday, this week for comics. L)

ACTION COMICS #860 by Geoff Johns and Gary Frank. There’s mad doings in the future with the Legion of Super-Heroes! Recommended for anyone who needs more time-travel continuity to keep up with! From the powerhouse scribe of the JSA!

AL WILLIAMSON READER VOL. 1 SC by Al Williamson. A great collection of stories and art from a comics and fantasy illustration legend. Recommended.

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #545 by J. Michael Straczynski and Joe Quesada. It’s the final chapter in which Spidey must sell his marriage to the Devil. Note to younger fans: If you see anyone laughing in the comics stores this week it means they are, or have been, married.

AVENGERS INITIATIVE #8 by Dan Slott and Stefano Caselli. The first batch of recruits are about to graduate even as a new bunch is coming in. Humor and adventure mix perfectly in what is probably the best series to come out of Marvel’s “Civil War.” Recommended.

BATMAN #672 by Grant Morrison and Tony Daniel. There’s a Third Batman out there killing cops! Hmmm, maybe he’s tight with the Third Kryptonian over in the Super-books? Nah, not going there. And who’s the second Batman in all this? Gotta look.

BLACK PANTHER #33 by Reginald Hudlin and Francis Portella. Lotsa great fights on the Skrull Gangsta World in which it becomes apparent that Skrulls have almost no imagination. It’s like a world of Rob Liefelds who can shape-shift…

BRAVE AND BOLD #9 by Mark Waid and George Perez. The Book of Destiny has been opened! Looks like someone’s not waiting for the movie! Recommended for everyone who loves the Silver-Age as much as Waid. Try it, whipper-snappers! It’s good for ya! (Cough, wheeze, hack…)

CAPTAIN AMERICA #33 by Ed Brubaker and Steve Epting. Winter Bucky versus Iron Man! With a final panel we all knew had to come. Good stuff!

CAPTAIN MARVEL #2 of 5 by Brian Reed and Lee Weeks. Okay, I’ll admit it: I am completely stumped at what Marv sees in the old painting. Guest-starring Ms. Marvel and an old painting.

CRIME BIBLE: FIVE LESSONS OF BLOOD #3 of 5 by Greg Rucka and Matthew Clark. “The Lesson of Greed” guest-starring Vice-President Cheney and the Haliburton Gang! Buy every copy, because no one else deserves this comic but you! Recommended.

DAN DARE #2 of 7 by Garth Ennis and Gary Erskin. The pilot of the future is back on the job, Ennis-style! Imagine “War Story” set in space. Recommended.

DAREDEVIL #103 by Ed Brubaker and Michael Lark. DD actually stands for “Down and Dirty” as Matt Murdock fights his way to Mr. Fear and the cure to his wife’s madness. Recommended.

DAREDEVIL BY FRANK MILLER OMNIBUS COMPANION HC by Frank and Friends. If Miller breathed on it before it hit the newsstands it’s probably in here. From the glory days before Miller went Hollywood/Nuts, back he still recognized the word “No.” Recommended.

GIANT SIZE AVENGERS SPECIAL #1 by Lotsa People. It’s 55 pages, plus re-prints!

GREEN LANTERN #26 by Geoff Johns and Mike McKone. The GL Corps gets a shake-up with the arrival of the Alpha Lanterns. Intriguing….

HELLBLAZER #239 by Andy Diggle and Leonardo Manco. Refugees from Sudan are bearing a package for one known only as “The Laughing Magician.” Wonder who that could be? Leads into a three-parter marking the 20th anniversary of this flagship Vertigo title. Recommended.

LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES #37 by Jim Shooter, Francis Manapul, and John Livesay. Wow, nevermind the story in the book. The real “gotta-look” is Jim Shooter returning to the title he first wrote back in the mid 1960s when he was thirteen years old. Wow.

MARVEL ZOMBIES 2 #3 of 5 by Robert Kirkman and Sean Phillips. It takes a slugger like Kirkman to make good zombies scare you more than bad zombies. Not for kids but otherwise recommended.

MARVEL MASTERWORKS: GOLDEN-AGE HUMAN TORCH VOL. 2 HC by Bill Everett, Carl Burgos, Basil Wolverton, and Mickey-friggin-Spillane! Golden-Age epics from 1941-42, collecting HT #5-8. Torch versus Sub-Mariner versus Hitler and…GAH!! Just read it while your brain pops and sizzles to the classic excellence contained herein! Highly recommended!

MARVEL MASTERWORKS: AMAZING SPIDER-MAN VOL.5 HC by Stan Lee and John Romita Sr. Collecting Spidey #41-50, plus Annual #3. This one has the first appearance of future Mrs. Spidey, Mary-Jane Watson. “Face it, Tiger…”

PUNISHER #53 by Garth Ennis and Goran Parlov. Okay, after the last page of the previous issue you know this one’s gonna be savage, out of control mayhem, right? Not for kids, highly recommended.

SATCHEL PAIGE: STRIKING OUT JIM CROW HC and 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

SHOWCASE PRESENTS: THE BRAVE & THE BOLD: BATMAN TEAM-UPS VOL. 2 SC by Dennis O’Neil, Bob Haney, Neil Adams, Nick Cardy, Jim Aparo, and more. Collecting B&B #88-109. Crack cocaine for Silver-Agers. Fun stuff for all ages. Recommended.

STEVE RUDE: ARTIST IN MOTION HC by Steve Rude and John Fleskes. Limited to 1000 copies this book explores the work and philosophy of a master illustrator who still considers himself an “art student.” If you haven’t treated yourself to anything wonderful lately, now is the time. Highly recommended.

THOR #5 by J. Michael Straczynski and Olivier Coipel. The return of a character who’s been through some changes. If I were Thor I would be having some serious oogies after this issue. Pretty art.

ULTIMATE POWER #9 of 9 by Jeph Loeb and Greg Land. They promise it’s ending this week, hopefully with a big ol’ fight!

ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #117 by Brian Michael Bendis and Stuart Immonen. This is the final battle between Ultimate Spidey and Ultimate Gobby! For now! Honest! I wonder who wins?

X-MEN #206 by Mike Carey and Chris Bachalo. Okay, so now we know the Mutant Killer Jesus Baby is cute and has the super-power to make Cable mute. Also there’s a mutant-eating dog loose who really needs someone to go Old Yelller on him. And could anyone on the X-teams who isn’t a traitor, please raise your hand? Are they only taking the stupid telepaths now?

Plus, PREVIEWS by Diamond and Marvel. The future is now!

www.johnjudy.net

AP article on growing acceptibility of comics in Express

The Express has an AP article on comics courses featuring quotes by Carol Tyler.