Quick Reviews for Comics Due 12-09-09

QUICK REVIEWS FOR COMICS DUE 12-09-09

By John Judy

 

ADVENTURE COMICS #5 by Geoff Johns, Jerry Ordway and Francis Manapul.  Superboy-Prime versus the Black Lanterns!  Boy, who do you root for there?

 

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #614 by Mark Waid and Paul Azaceta.  Spidey and J. Jonah Jameson must work together to stop Electro!  This would be a great time to be Electro.  Recommended.

 

DARK X-MEN #2 of 5 by Paul Cornell and Leonard Kirk.  Nate Grey, X-Man, is back and Norman Osborn's Dark X-Men are nervous.  As well they ought!

 

DAYTRIPPER #1 of 10 by Gabriel Ba and Fabio Moon.  A couple of Eisner winners tackle the meaning of life in graphic form.  Gotta look!  Oh, and it's about a Brazilian obituary writer with a famous dad and how can you screw that up?  And it's named after a Beatles song and features an amazing cover!  Recommended.

 

DOOM PATROL #5 by Keith Giffen and Other People Who Are Not Keith Giffen.  The Doom Patrol versus their dead teammates.  One group outnumbers the other.

 

EX MACHINA, VOL. 8: DIRTY TRICKS SC by Brian K. Vaughan, Tony Harris and Others.  Collecting issues 35-39 and the Halloween Special, this one features a terrific arc about a masked woman who wants to disrupt the 2004 GOP National Convention in New York.  (And then four years later they ran her for Vice-President!  Pow!)  Highly recommended.

 

GOD COMPLEX #1 by Michael Avon Oeming and John Broglia.  Greek god Apollo is living on the down-low among mortals, much to the chagrin of Big Daddy Zeus who would rather see him dead than slumming.  A book about families with issues, just in time for the holidays!  Awesome!

 

GOGO MONSTER GN written and drawn by Taiyo Matsumoto.  A little something from VIZ, a story of a boy who lives in two worlds; one where he's a ridiculed loner with an overactive imagination, another in which he's the only one who can see monsters vying for control of his school.  OK, that sounds like one world to me…

 

INCREDIBLE HULK #605 by Fred Van Lente and Ariel Olivetti.  Next on the bout card: Tyrannus and the moloids!  Hey, it can't be all A-listers all the time.  Hulk Junior needs to ease his way up with a few palookas now and then.  And let's not even discuss the Thundra-Shulk back-up feature.  Just like anything with Jar-Jar Binks, this never happened…

 

INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #21 by Matt Fraction and Salvador Larocca.  Tony Stark's friends must bring him back from his brain-dead, vegetative state.  Can they pry the copy of "Going Rogue" from his fingers?  Can they twist the tea-bag hat off his head?  Switching the TV from Glenn Beck to Cartoon Network is only the first step back from the abyss!  Recommended!

 

NATION X #1 of 4 by Various People.  There's X-Men in this!

 

NEW AVENGERS ANNUAL #3 by Brian Michael Bendis and Mike Mayhew.  The ladies of the Avengers have to bust Hawkeye out of jail.  I guess that would make them the Lady Liberators or something.  Superchicks + Jailbreak = WIN!

 

PUNISHERMAX #2 by Jason Aaron and Steve Dillon.  After sparing the Punisher's life last issue Wilson Fisk continues engineering the rise of the (til now) mythological Kingpin of Crime.  If you liked Garth Ennis writing PUNISHER you'll love this.  Highly recommended.  Not for kids.

 

SECRET SIX #16 by Gail Simone and Peter Nguyen.  Black Alice, the super-powerful goth chick who can do pretty much anything except make goth cool again, wants to join the Six.  Sadly, the math requires her to knock it down to Five first.  Great cover.  Recommended.

 

UNWRITTEN #8 by Mike Carey and Peter Gross.  Tommy Taylor's still in prison, which is a tough row to hoe if you're a guy who might really be a whimsical storybook character.  Recommended.

 

WALKING DEAD #68 by Robert Kirkman and Charles Adlard.  Rick and his crew meet another survivor on the way to DC.  Why does he look so cheerful?  Cue violins… Highly recommended.  Not for kids.

 

www.johnjudy.net

Dec 6: Eisner film at AFI in Silver Spring

Dec 6th 12pm AFI Will Eisner: Portrait of a Sequential Artist

thanks to Liz for the tip

R. Fiore declares Cul de Sac "the best contemporary newspaper comic strip'

Comics Journal columnist R. Fiore declares Cul de Sac is "the best contemporary newspaper comic strip,' arguing with Bob Harvey over 9 Chickweed Lane. Heretically, I may agree with Bob, as Chickweed is continuing stories with a bit of spice in them; it really depends what I'm in the mood for though.

ACT-I-VATE Primer in the NY Times 2009 Holiday Gift Guide

From: Jim Dougan (as I was remiss.)

Just a head's up in case you missed it:  the New York Times selected The ACT-I-VATE PRIMER (featuring an exclusive SAM & LILAH story by Hyeondo Park and Yours Truly) for its 2009 Holiday Gift Guide!

 

http://www.nytimes.com/gift-guide/holiday-2009/giftguide-graphicnovels/list.html

 

As you already know (but for the benefit of your readers) the book also features the talents of Nick Bertozzi, Dean Haspiel, Roger Langridge, Simon Fraser, Michel Fiffe, Molly Crabapple, Tim Hamilton, and the list goes on!  It's got a fairly diverse range of material, but isn't really kid-appropriate (as you also already know).

 

I know for a fact that it's in stock at all the local Big Planet and Fantom Comics locations, so if any of your readers are interested they can pick it up there!

 

Thanks,

Jim D.

 

PS Any readers liking what they find in the book can find hundreds more FREE pages of great comics by the same creators at www.activatecomix.com!

Weldon with a couple of more book recommendations

Weldon, Glen.  2009.

The Best Five Books To Share With Your Friends [Asterios Polyp; Supergirls].

NPR.org (December 2): http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=120980848&sc=nl&cc=bn-20091204

 

Pow! Wham! Zap! Glen Weldon hates this attitude

Read him going on about 'geekiness' and 'comic books' being linked together at Geeks, Genre, And Why Fantasy Football Is Just D&D Without Elves, By Glen Weldon, National Public Radio's Monkey See blog December 2, 2009.

(I really don't get fantasy football)

Jurdy can't be too far away

This PR says that cartoonist Jenifer Jurden is from Bishopville, MD - she's got a 410 area code on her website, so we'll count her and her character Jurdy as local.

PR: Kal 2010 Wall calendars now available by telephone orders

Friends and Colleagues

I wanted to alert you that The 2010 Illustrated Wall Kalendar for The Economist can now be ordered via the telephone as well as via the Web. 

In the USA just call 1-800-456-6086. If you are interested in getting Kalendars for gifts, it might be wise to place your order soon to insure holiday delivery. 

International customers and those who prefer to order the Kalendar on line can view samples of the calendar and make web purchases Here:

http://www.kaltoons.com/wordpress/tag/calendar/

Best

Kal

Kevin Kallaugher

kal@kaltoons.com

www.Kaltoons.com

Ullman and Flake in 12/3 City Paper

Emily Flake illustrates an article on Costco, and Rob Ullman's got a full-page ad later in the current issue.

Dog Sees God, not a (wink, wink) Peanuts play in Alexandria

The Little Theatre of Alexandria is running this. If anyone wants to go, slap a note in the comments. I've never seen it. It's also positively reviewed in the Post.

DOG SEES GOD
Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead
November 27 – December, 19, 2009

Directed by: William D. Parker
Produced by: Jennifer Lyman

When CB's dog dies, CB begins to question the existence of an afterlife. A chance meeting sets in motion a friendship that will push teen angst to the very limits. Drugs, suicide, eating disorders, teen violence, and sexual identity collide and careen toward an ending that's both haunting and hopeful.

NOTE:
Please note this is a 10:30PM performance. This show contains references to drug use, sex, and other sensitive topics. It is not recommended for children.

Washington Times laying off 40% of staff - and 100% of comics?

I'm betting the comics aren't coming back, even though they're not mentioned in this article.

This has not been a good year for comic strips and editorial cartoons in the nation's capital. Perhaps I'll do a year-in-review post like everyone else does in December.

More SHOCs - Batmania and Japanese anime in 1966

I went through a couple more fragments of 1966 Detroit Free Press newspapers today.

One of the big stories was apparently the Batman tv show - this illustrated an article on Batmania:


Things don't appear to have changed much in 40 years, do they? It's by Thurston, who also did one of the Odd 'Change comics in yesterday's post.


I'm guessing that DC wasn't paid for this use...


And this wire photo of a Japanese anime character surprised me. I had to go Wikipedia to find out this was Obake no Qtarō (or Oba-Q as in the caption here). From February 28, 1966.

Nice new Pekar interview online

I'm not trying to keep up with all of Harvey's interviews now that the book is finished, but Irving and Kushner have a nice one up at their Graphic NYC blog. And Jeff Newelt's Pekar Project keeps moving along.

Xavier Xerexes, of Arlington, comic creator interviewer

Xavier and I failed to link up at SPX this year and thus remain unmet, and then I kept forgetting to check the site he writes for, but!! - here's a new interview by him: "An Interview with David LaMason of Unbearable Bears," By Xaviar Xerexes, Comixtalk November 2009. Links to all of his writings are here, and will be added to the list of local contributors on the right side.

Wired's Geek Dad blog on Looking for Calvin and Hobbes

It appears to be Mom writing this review though - Aren’t We All Looking for Calvin and Hobbes? By Jenny Williams, Wired's Geek Dad blog November 30, 2009.

SHOC: Odd 'Change comic panel

In 1966, the Detroit Free Press published some classic comics (Little Orphan Annie, Gasoline Alley, Gil Thorp, Terry and the Pirates, Nancy, Grin and Bear It, On Stage, Brother Juniper, Peanuts, Brenda Starr, Mutt & Jeff, Dick Tracy, BC, Mr. Mum, Peanuts, Judge Parker) and some not-so-classic ones (The Neighborhood, Smidgens, Fan Fare, The Ryatts, Ferdinand), but they also published a comics panel that appears to have been done by their staff artists.

Odd 'Change is a very small panel that appeared in the middle of the stock tables. Here's three examples:

May 6, 1966

March 25, 1966

March 3, 1966

I haven't been able to find any information on this panel, with an admittedly quick search of OSU and MSU's databases. It's not in Allan Holtz's excellent resource The Stripper's Guide either, although this post points out that the Free Press did do its own comic strips. The original clippings are being sent to MSU's Comic Art Collection. Join us again for another entry in... The Secret History of Comics!

Comics Research Bibliography updated!

For the first time in 2 years, we've got an update to the Comics Research Bibliography. We've added 6,000 new citations, searchable by keyword, to bring the total to 29,700 entries. The project was begun in 1996 so we've passed a decade without having a special party.

Dec 5: Book illustrator at Medical Museum

 

 

The Art and Science of "OUTBREAK: Plagues that Changed History" with the artist Bryn Barnard

 

When:

 

Saturday, December 5, 2009, 10:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. (Feel free to drop in; no reservations required.)

 

What:

 

Bryn Barnard, author and artist of "OUTBREAK: Plagues that Changed History," (on exhibit through Jan 22, 2010 at NMHM) will host three exciting programs on Saturday, December 5, 2009, including an illustration workshop and a special session aimed at younger audiences. Free, open to the public, no reservations required.

 

See the schedule online at http://nmhm.washingtondc.museum/events/event_2ed.html for more details. Questions? Call (202) 782-2673 or email nmhminfo@afip.osd.mil.

 

Where:

 

National Museum of Health and Medicine, on the campus at Walter Reed Army Medical Center

6900 Georgia Avenue, NW, Building 54, Washington, D.C. 20307  (Enter at Elder St., NW)

Adults must present photo identification to gain entry to Walter Reed.

 

Contact:

 

(202) 782-2673 or email nmhminfo@afip.osd.mil

 

 

Friends of ComicsDC badge #2

I had so much fun making the first 'official' badge that I thought I'd do another. I finally found the image file that MJ of National Free Press sent in, so we've got a second button available on Zazzle.

Washington Times cuts comics?

A commenter alluded to this on one of my posts last week, and now it's mentioned again in the comments to the Comic Riffs post.

What can one do, but shake one's head and then refuse to buy the paper...