Jan 27: Politics & Prose book group

Graphic Novel Bookgroup
Wednesday, January 27, 7:30 p.m.
Stitches, by David Small

One of these days, I may actually make it to this. But notwithstanding that, Stitches is a very good book - one of the best graphic books to come out last year. It's a nonfiction account of Small's childhood and the medical problem he labored under.

Tom the Dancing Bug cartoonist raises money for Haiti

Tom the Dancing Bug cartoonist Ruben Bolling is raising money for Haiti - he's set up a donation page and the two highest donors will get an original drawing from him. Check it out now. [Those of us with longish memories still miss Tom from the Post's Weekend section].

Ok, I just checked it out after putting up this post - I'm the first donor. Hah! Beat that! I'll bet you can.

Toles quotes Dr. Seuss

Tom Toles' cartoon today uses Dr. Seuss' Horton to make his point.

Weldon on floppies vs. trades

Weldon, Glen. 2010.
How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Wait For The Trade Collection.
National Public Radio's Monkey See blog (January 20).

Like Glen, I'm of two minds about this. I usually buy the individual issues to make sure the series survives and then buy the collection if I think I want to read it again.

OT: Animators Bill Plympton and Patrick Smith have started a blog

Animators Bill Plympton and Patrick Smith have started a blog - Scribble Junkies. I'm a big fan of Plympton's work - he comes through town about every other year and I'd recommend meeting him, seeing his animation and buying his cartoon books.

Darwyn Cooke's appearance at American Art PR

Darwyn Cooke's appearance at American Art on January 30th has PR hitting the comics sites now. Except for mine. IDW doesn't love me.

Nevin Martell talking about Calvin and Hobbes in Pittsburgh

See Author goes in search of 'Calvin and Hobbes', By Maria Sciullo, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Wednesday, January 20, 2010.

2nd Washington City Paper post is up

What’s So Special about Wednesday? which is kind of an oxymoronic question for anyone in the US likely to be reading this blog.

Lise Myhre video interview

Lise Myhre, the Norwegian cartoonist behind Nemi, is in a video interview here.

Why is ComicsDC linking to this? Well, she's a friend of Greg Bennett of Big Planet who helps her on the translations into English. And Titan's sent me a review copy of the current collection which I still need to post on here.

Singer on McCloud's Making Comics

Marc Singer reprints his review of Scott McCloud's Making Comics that originally ran in the International Journal of Comic Art.

Jan 20, OT: Gaiman chat at New Yorker

Ask the Author Live: Dana Goodyear with Neil Gaiman
Posted by The New Yorker

This week in the magazine, Dana Goodyear writes about Neil Gaiman. On Wednesday, January 20th, at 3 P.M. E.T., Gaiman will be joining Goodyear for a live chat with readers. Submit advance questions for Gaiman and Goodyear, sign up for an e-mail reminder below, and come back Wednesday to join the discussion.

There's a long article about Gaiman in the magazine and online too. For some obligatory DC content, Gaiman's read at Politics & Prose and the National Book Festival.

My first Washington City Paper blog post

My first Washington City Paper blog post is online now. Nothing special, just introducing myself. I'm going to try to get the first content post written tonight though, and over to my editor. Heh. I like having an editor.

9 Chickweed Lane continues to push the envelope

Last year, I blogged about 9 Chickweed Lane's virginity losing strips. Apparently that storyline was a success for creator Brooke McEldowney because he's now got Grandma reminiscing about her first boyfriends (two and a time! warring countries!) and 'feeling a salute,' if you know what he means...

Chickweed makes reading the comics feel like watching modern tv, not Ozzie and Harriet!

More ComicsDC than ever before!

I've been asked by the Washington City Paper to freelance for them so I'll be writing longer pieces on comic art, most often for their blog I'd guess. I've submitted an introduction tonight and hope to have a piece about Wednesday and comic books up later this week. I will of course link from here to anything I write for them.

Richard Thompson on his watercolor technique

Tom Spurgeon picked this up first, but my excuse is that I was driving from NJ and I'm sticking with it. Here's Richard on his watercolor technique.

Herblock Christmas cards auctioned for Haiti

Rob Stoltzer's offering two Herblock Christmas cards from 1930-1931 on ebay for Doctors without Border's efforts in Haiti.

Flugennock on Obama

I haven't checked on Mike Flugennock's site for a while, but here's an Obama caricature that Google tossed up to me.

Zadzooks reviews animation and comics

Zadzooks: Robot Chicken: Season 4, Family Guy: Something, Something, Something Dark Side and Witchblade: The Complete Series, Joseph Szadkowski, Washington Times January 14, 2010

Comics on the Rack, 01-20-10

 

COMICS ON THE RACK

(Quick Picks for Comics Due 01-20-10)

by John Judy

 

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #618 by Dan Slott and Marcos Martin.  "Mysterio: Un-dead and loving it!"

 

AVENGERS VS AGENTS OF ATLAS #1 by Jeff Parker and Gabriel Hardman.  A bit of space-time screwiness results in the Atlas gang duking it out with Captain America and the original Avengers!  Retro-lovers must look!

 

BLACKEST NIGHT: THE FLASH #2 of 3 by Geoff Johns and Scott Kolins.  Dead rogues versus live ones, Black Lantern-style!  Also the Flash(es)!

 

BRAVE AND BOLD #31 by J. Michael Straczynski and Jesus Saiz.  The Atom versus the Joker!  Yeah, you read it right…

 

CAPTAIN AMERICA #602 by Ed Brubaker and Luke Ross.  The drug-addled, paranoid, racist Captain America from the 1950s is back!  But what's he been up to since resigning as Rush Limbaugh's life-coach?  Recommended.

 

DARK AVENGERS #13 by Brian Michael Bendis and Mike Deodato.  The secrets of the Sentry are finally revealed!  No not those secrets!  The other ones!  No, those were last issue's secrets!  These are the real secrets, the double super-secret secrets!  You ain't never heard secrets like these, pal, believe you me!  This is actually a very fun comic which you should read.  Honest.

 

GARTH ENNIS BATTLEFIELDS: HAPPY VALLEY #2 of 9 by Garth and Carlos Ezquerra.  The crew prepares for their final bombing run against the German industrial heartland, but the krauts are preparing too.  Recommended.

 

HULK #19 by Jeph Loeb and Ed McGuinness.  Red Hulk smash Thing!

 

INCORRUPTIBLE #2 by Mark Waid and Neil Edwards.  Ex-bad guy Max Damage is on the road to redemption, but can even he bring down the rogue Plutonian?  Recommended.

 

INCREDIBLE HULK #606 by Greg Pak and Paul Pelletier.  It's smashings a–plenty as "Fall of the Hulks" continues.

 

JOE THE BARBARIAN #1 of 8 by Grant Morrison and Sean Murphy.  A mature readers series about a young Type-1 diabetic who may or may not be a fantasy adventure hero in a land full of toys.  It's Morrison so a look is required.

 

JOHN STANLEY LIBRARY: THIRTEEN GOING ON EIGHTEEN HC written and drawn by John Stanley.  Collecting the sixties comics series about two teens, Val and Judy, and all their cruel intentioned hijinks.  From Drawn & Quarterly and Seth.

 

MIGHTY AVENGERS #33 by Dan Slott and Khoi Pham.  The Mighty Avengers meet the Dark Avengers and things get mighty dark.  I mean, obviously…

 

PHANTOM STRANGER #42 by Peter J. Tomasi and Ardian Syaf.  Three words: Black.  Lantern. Spectre.  Reserve your copy now!

 

RASL #6 written and drawn by Jeff Smith.  Rasl gets serious about taking the lizard-faced killer out of the picture, but first he needs to swipe few more goodies.  Weird science!  Highly recommended!

 

SOLOMON KANE: DEATH'S BLACK RIDERS #1 of 4 by Scott Allie and Mario Guevara.  When Robert E. Howard's puritan Terminator goes questing through Germany's Black Forest you are permitted to feel pity for any bandit or demon who gets in his way.

 

SPIDER-WOMAN #5 by Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev.  Spider-Woman! Skrulls!  And… wait, is it 2008 again?

 

STARMAN #81 by James Robinson, Fernando Dagnino and Bill Sienkiewicz.  The Shade versus a Black Lantern Starman.  Good times!

 

SUPERBOY: THE GREATEST TEAM-UPS EVER TOLD SC by Many Legendary Creators.  Collected here: Key issues of ADVENTURE, SUPERBOY and NEW ADVENTURES OF SUPERBOY featuring the boy of steel and his amazing friends!

 

T-MINUS: RACE TO THE MOON GN by Jim Ottaviani, Zander Cannon and Kevin Cannon.  Bringing the space race between America and the USSR into glorious graphic novel form!  Recommended!

 

THUNDERBOLTS #140 by Jeff Parker and Miguel Angel Sepulveda.  When they're not fighting the original Avengers and/or each other the Atlas kids like to wail on the criminals masquerading as heroes a bit.  Let's look, shall we?

 

UNCANNY X-MEN #520 by Matt Fraction and Greg Land.  There appear to be three separate storylines in this comic so odds are you'll like at least one of them.

 

WOLVERINE: WEAPON X #9 by Jason Aaron and Yanick Paquette.  Wolvie's pals show up to bust him out of the nuthouse!  Let's hope they brought a lot of Bactine!  Recommended.

 

www.johnjudy.net

Another Pekar interview to print and stuff into 'Conversations'

My Harvey Pekar: Conversations is getting more dated:

Harvey Pekar On "The Pekar Project"
by Alex Dueben
Thu, January 14th, 2010