Comics on the Rack, Quick Picks for Comics Due 07-21-10

 

COMICS ON THE RACK

Quick Picks for Comics Due 07-21-10

By John Judy

 

ALAN MOORE NEONOMICON #1 of 4 by Moore and Jacen Burrows. Moore's sequel to THE COURTYARD in which two FBI agents get mixed up in some Lovecraftian badness. It is fortunate that Moore has overcome his disdain for creators building on the works of others. Fortunate indeed…. Gotta look.

 

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #638 by Joe Quesada and Marcos Martin.  In which Joe Q tries to square the circle between pre-Mephisto/Marriage Spidey and post-Mephisto/Brand New Day Spidey.  Heads will explode tonight!

 

AVENGERS #3 by Brian Michael Bendis and John Romita Jr.  The Avengers go back to the future to see what shenanigans their kids have been up to.  But will they all fit in the DeLorean?!  Doc!!!

 

BRIGHTEST DAY #6 by Geoff Johns and Friends.  The truth of the White Lantern revealed!

 

CBGB #1 of 4 by Kieron Gillen, Sam Humphries, Marc Ellerby and Rob G.  A mini-series built around the legendary "Country/Blue-Grass/Blues" music club in New York that is sadly now a high-end men's clothing store.

 

DC UNIVERSE LEGACIES #3 of 10 by Len Wein and Many Awesome Artists. The dawn of the Silver Age of Heroes. Cool.

 

GARTH ENNIS BATTLEFIELDS #8 of 9 by Ennis, Russ Braun and Garry Leach.  In the midst of bloody WW2 aerial combat, love takes flight among the commies.  Recommended.

 

HELLBLAZER #269 by Peter Milligan and Giuseppe Camuncoli. Desperate to keep his sanity John Constantine summons Shade the Changing Man for help.  Because none of his ex-girlfriends or demons from hell were available.

 

JANET EVANOVICH TOUBLEMAKER, BOOK ONE HC by Janet and Alex Evanovich and Joelle Jones.  Crime-fightin' NASCAR sweethearts in Florida!  It's a movie!

 

JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA #41 by James Robinson and Mark Bagley.  It's a JLA/JSA cross-over as the source of the original Green Lantern's power comes back for him and his kids.  Oy!

 

KEVIN SMITH'S GREEN HORNET #6 by Smith and Jonathan Lau.  The son of the dead Green Hornet gets up to speed under the watchful tutelage of Mr. Miyagi.. I mean Mister Han… sorry, this "Kevin Smith comics coming out on schedule" thing is disorienting…

 

MARVELMAN CLASSIC PRIMER #1 by Many People.  Everything you ever wanted to know about Marvelman/Miracleman but were afraid to ask.  Please don't screw this up, Marvel…

 

NEW AVENGERS #2 by Brian Michael Bendis and Stuart Immonen. The gang mixes it up with a magical menace!

 

OVERSTREET COMIC BOOK PRICE GUIDE, VOL. 40 HC & SC by Team Overstreet.  The Bible of what your stuff is worth, featuring variant Batman and Captain America covers.  Educational.

 

RASL POCKET EDITION, VOL. 1 SC written and drawn by Jeff Smith.  Collecting the first seven issues in a handy 6.5 x 9 inch format.  Recommended for travel and/or staying home.

 

SCOTT PILGRIM, VOL. 6: FINEST HOUR GN written and drawn by Bryan Lee O'Malley.  At last!  The final Evil Ex-Boyfriend arrives!  It's clobberin' time!  (Sorry.  Wrong book.  Sorry…)

 

THUNDERBOLTS #146 by Jeff Parker and Kev Walker.  Luke Cage and his new T-Bolts must clean up a mess from the previous administration.  Lotta that going around…

 

TIME MASTERS: VANISHING POINT #1 of 6 written and drawn by Dan Jurgens.  The search for Batman brings in the bigwigs of DCU time travel, including Rip Hunter!

 

TRUE BLOOD #1 by Alan Ball, David Tischman, Mariah Huehner and David Messina.  A little something from the world of HBO's hit vampire soap that's been called "Twilight for people with pubic hair."

 

ULTIMATE COMICS AVENGERS 2 #5 of 6 by Mark Millar and Leinil Francis Yu.  Ya ever notice how some titles just trip off your tongue?  Like music really…  Anyway, they're still fighting Ultimate Ghost Rider for the life of the Vice-President. Honest.

 

ULTIMATE COMICS NEW ULTIMATES #3 of 5 by Jeph Loeb and Frank Cho. This comic was drawn by Frank Cho.

 

WALKING DEAD #75 by Robert Kirkman and Charlie Adlard.  You knew the peaceful life was too good to last, right?  You knew that weasel preacher shoulda been fed to the biters early on, right?  Here's where it all comes down.  Plus a color back-up story drawn by Ryan Ottley.  Highly recommended. Not for kids.

 

WALKING DEAD, VOL. 12: LIFE AMONG THEM SC by Kirkman and Adlard.  Collecting issues #67-72, in which the gang finds The Community.

 

WELCOME TO TRANQUILITY: ONE FOOT IN THE GRAVE #1 of 6 by Gail Simone and Horacio Domingues.  The retirement village for super-folk is back! As are several colorful characters with scores to settle, whether this mutant Mayberry is ready or not!  Recommended!

 

X-FACTOR #207 by Peter David and Sebastian Fiumara. Is a shock ending still a shock ending when they tell you ahead of time it's gonna be a shock ending?  Head hurts…

 

ZATANNA #3 by Paul Dini and Stephane Roux. "Dab yug Rehtorb Thgin skool ekil eht Rekoj no htem!  Sekiy!"

 

Wishing everyone a happy Comic-Con (except the Westboro Baptist Church)!

 

www.johnjudy.net

Truitt on Spider-Man and Revolver

'One Moment in Time' revisits a controversial Spider-Man story line
By Brian Truitt, USA TODAY
http://www.usatoday.com/life/comics/2010-07-16-asm638_ST_N.htm

'Revolver' spins a tale of two realities
By Brian Truitt, USA TODAY
http://www.usatoday.com/life/comics/2010-07-15-revolver15-ST_N.htm

Truitt in today's USA Weekend on San Diego Comic-Con

Let us tweet you to comics' nuttiest event, By BRIAN TRUITT, USA Weekend July 18, 2010 is also in the print edition, distributed with the Washington Examiner, on page 13.

America's Next Great Cartoonist's contestant Dan Boris

An Interview with Dan Boris, Cartoonist of Hoxwinder Hall.
by Erik Weems
July 11? 2010

Intervention webcomic con update

A few weeks ago, we posted some PR for the webcomics con Intervention, that's arriving in DC in September. One of the organizers wrote to me this week with additional news, "Hugo Award-winning Sci fi author Ben Bova has chosen our event to debut his new webcomic. We have also just signed Molly Crabapple to bring Dr. Sketchy's Anti Art School to the con." 

Kathleen Parker continues to editorialize on Islam and cartoons

Americans must not be cowed by Muslim objections to cartoons
By Kathleen Parker
Washington Post Sunday, July 18, 2010; A19

Truitt on Walking Dead, again

'The Walking Dead' shambles into Comic-Con, courtesy of Robert Kirkman
 Brian Truitt
July 16th, 2010
http://whosnews.usaweekend.com/2010/07/the-walking-dead-shambles-into-comic-con-courtesy-of-robert-kirkman/

Newport News Daily Press on Olivia Walch

William and Mary student doodles her way into the Washington Post
Olivia Walch beat out 500 people to win newspaper contest that will allow her to have a comic strip in the paper.
By Tyra M. Vaughn
Newport News Daily Press July 16, 2010

Conductor's obituary mentions Hungarian comic strip

Maverick Australian conductor Charles Mackerras dies at 84
By Anne Midgette
Washington Post July 16, 2010; B07

The article notes that Leos Janacek's music which Mackerras championed, "includ[ed] one adaptation of a newspaper comic strip, "The Cunning Little Vixen"".

Jeff Smith, Brad Meltzer and Jules Feiffer at National Book Festival

NEWS FROM THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
101 INDEPENDENCE AVE. S.E.
WASHINGTON, DC  20540

July 15, 2010

10th Annual National Book Festival to Headline Follett, Glass, Kostova / The President and Mrs. Obama Will Serve as Honorary Chairs

         The stellar lineup for the 10th annual National Book Festival, organized and sponsored by the Library of Congress, will include international best-selling author Ken Follett; Rae Armantrout, winner of this year's Pulitzer Prize for poetry; National Book Award winner Julia Glass; Pat Mora, one of the nation's most beloved writers for children; and Elizabeth Kostova, author of the worldwide sensations "The Historian" and "The Swan Thieves." They will be among more than 70 authors now slated to appear at the event on Saturday, Sept. 25, 2010.  The event, free and open to the public, will run from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. between 3rd and 7th streets on the National Mall.
         President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama, the First Lady, will be honorary chairs of the event.
In observance of its 10th anniversary – "A Decade of Words and Wonder" – the festival will feature several special events during the week preceding the festival day.
         The 2010 National Book Festival poster, by renowned illustrator Peter Ferguson, can be downloaded from the festival website at www.loc.gov/bookfest.
         Authors and illustrators scheduled to participate in the National Book Festival will make their presentations in the Children, Teens & Children, Fiction & Mystery, Poetry & Prose, History & Biography and Contemporary Life pavilions.
•       Children: Mary Brigid Barrett, Timothy Basil Ering, Jules Feiffer, Mem Fox, Margaret Peterson Haddix, Norton Juster, Pat Mora, Marilyn Nelson, Linda Sue Park, Jerry Pinkney, James Ransome, Judith Viorst and Rosemary Wells
•       Teens & Children: M.T. Anderson, Michael Buckley, Suzanne Collins, Margarita Engle, Peter Ferguson, Phillip M. Hoose, Brad Meltzer, Katherine Paterson, Jane Smiley, Jeff Smith and Rebecca Stead
•       Fiction & Mystery: Isabel Allende, Ken Follett, Diana Gabaldon, Julia Glass, Martha Grimes, Elizabeth Kostova, Anchee Min, Karin Slaughter, Scott Spencer, Peter Straub and Scott Turow
•       Poetry & Prose: Elizabeth Alexander, Rae Armantrout, Jonathan Franzen, Gail Godwin, Allegra Goodman, Chang-rae Lee, Thomas Mallon, Orhan Pamuk, Jane Smiley and Natasha Trethewey
•       History & Biography: Adele Logan Alexander, Timothy Egan, Jules Feiffer, Wil Haygood, David E. Hoffman, Richard Holmes, James McGrath Morris, Nell Irvin Painter, David Remnick, Steven V. Roberts, Stacy Schiff, Evan Thomas and Gordon S. Wood
•       Contemporary Life: Lidia Matticchio Bastianich, Gurcharan Das, Ree Drummond, Bruce Feiler, Jonathan Safran Foer, Spike Mendelsohn, Michele Norris, Richard Rhodes, Henry Petroski, Craig Robinson, Anita Silvey, Harold Varmus and Edward O. Wilson.

         Festival-goers can meet and hear firsthand from their favorite authors, get books signed, have photos taken with PBS storybook characters and participate in a variety of learning activities.
         The 2010 National Book Festival is made possible through the generous support of Co-Chairman, National Book Festival Board David M. Rubenstein; Charter Sponsors Target and The Washington Post; Patrons, AT&T, Institute of Museum and Library Services, The James Madison Council, the National Endowment for the Arts and PBS KIDS Raising Readers; Contributors, Borders, Digital Bookmobile powered by OverDrive, Penguin Group (USA), ReadAloud.org, Scholastic Inc., and the Library of Congress Federal Credit Union; and Friends The Hay-Adams and National Endowment for the Humanities.  Thanks also to C-SPAN2's Book TV and The Junior League of Washington.
         The Library of Congress, the nation's oldest federal cultural institution, is the world's preeminent reservoir of knowledge, providing unparalleled collections and integrated resources to Congress and the American people. Many of the Library's rich resources and treasures may be accessed through the Library's website, www.loc.gov, and via interactive exhibitions on myLOC.gov.

PR 10-162
07/15/10
ISSN 0731-3527

Post reviews Fringe's Superheroes Who Are Super

At Fort Fringe, X-Men mark the spot for 'Superheroes Who Are Super'
By Fiona Zublin
Washington Post July 15, 2010

G. Willow Wilson on Draw Muhammad Day at Post blog

A Muslim cartoonist on "Draw Muhammad Day"
by G. Willow Wilson
Washington Post's On Faith blog July 15, 2010.

Haven't read it yet, myself.

Olivia Walch's paper on her win

Student wins Washington Post comic contest
By Ian Brickey
College of William and Mary's The Flat Hat July 15, 2010

America's Next Great Cartoonist winner profiled in Post

This article talks about the contest, and the other local contestants, including Joe Sutliff who's been noticed by the Washington Post's syndicate editor-

Va. student Olivia Walch named 'America's Next Great Cartoonist' in Post contest
By Michael Cavna
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, July 15, 2010; 1:51 PM
published as And the winner is... Young Va. woman tops comic contest with triumphant 'Quest' July 16, 2010

This article is a profile of Olivia Walch -

Young 'America's Next Great Cartoonist' winner honed craft at Va. college paper
By Michael Cavna
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, July 15, 2010; 1:15 PM
in print as And the winner is... Science major delights in rendering a most rewarding sideline, July 16, 2010

And this is a video 'chat' with her in an annoying format -
Live video discussion with Olivia Walch, the winner of the Post's 'America's Next Great Cartoonist' contest

Zadzooks reviews comics

Zadzooks: Superman, Wonder Woman and Wolverine
By Joseph Szadkowski
Washington Times July 15, 2010

PR: Wash Post Announces Winner of Cartoonist Contest!

After some 500 entries and 4,000 first-round votes, The Washington Post today announces the winner of America's Next Great Cartoonist Contest.

Olivia Walch, 20, of Fairfax Station, Va. is the contest winner, impressing the judges with her "Imogen Quest" cartoon and winning over readers. She emerges as America's Next Great Cartoonist after our panelists picked 10 finalists, celebrity judges critiqued entries, then thousands of readers voted in two rounds of challenges to choose the winner. As winner, Walch receives $1,000 and a shot at syndication.

Of Walch's work, Judge Jerry Scott said, "Olivia's panel is really current and smart. Her ideas are fresh and funny, and the drawings are consistent and likable." Gene Weingarten was impressed with her jokes. Richard Thompson also reviewed her work and wrote, "This Sunday is ingenious and funny, and pushes metahumor about as far as it can go."

Walch is studying math and biophysics at The College of William and Mary and is a cartoonist for the student newspaper, 'The Flat Hat.' To  read more about the winner, go here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/15/AR2010071502123.html

To check out her work for the contest: http://views.washingtonpost.com/cartoonist/contestants/OliviaW/2010/07/imogen_quest_winner.html

 

For more about The Washington Post's contest: http://views.washingtonpost.com/cartoonist/

 

 

Kal, speaking in Baltimore July 15, and his new exhibits

Kal writes in, and note that he's speaking in Baltimore TOMORROW,

Friends and colleagues

I wanted to share some recent news that I hope you will find of interest.

A large exhibition of KAL cartoons and animation is currently set to be on display in Seoul, South Korea at SICAF (Seoul International Cartoon and Animation Festival) July 21-25. The festival is very well attended with over 300,000 cartoon enthusiasts expected to visit over the 5 day event. Photos from the exhibit will be available later this month at www.Kaltoons.com.

Another exhibition of my cartoons is set to open this Fall at the Center for The Arts, Jackson Hole, Wyoming. "Drawn From The Economist: The editorial art of KAL" will run from September 10 to October 24. The show will include more than 40 cartoons, covers and illustrations from my 33 year career with The Economist.

This Thursday, July 15, I will a featured speaker at the opening of "Betascape", Baltimore's newest showcase of technology and Art. This inaugural event will take place at the WindUp Space, 12 West North Avenue, Baltimore. It starts at 7PM and admission is free. For more info go to: http://betascape.org/

Best

Kal

Kevin Kallaugher

kal@kaltoons.com

www.Kaltoons.com

The KAL iPhone App is now available at the iTunes store.

Trickster reviewed by Good Comics for Kids blog

Review: Trickster
by Katherine Dacey
School Library Journal's Good Comics for Kids July 14th, 2010

America's Next Great Cartoonist local paper feature

Zachary Snyder is featured here -

Willowbrook cartoonist needs your vote
Staten Island Advance July 13, 2010

Harvey Pekar on Australian radio

I actually got a phone call from Australia last night - and I'm old enough to find that technologically marvelous and cool - for quotes for this story:

American Splendour's Harvey Pekar dies
Thea Dikeos reported this story on Wednesday, July 14, 2010
ABC News' PM
http://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2010/s2953704.htm
http://mpegmedia.abc.net.au/news/audio/pm/201007/20100714-pm11-splendour.mp3

I'm going to keep mulling over that spontaneous Steinbeck comparison as I think there's something to it. When I mentioned Hemingway and Steinbeck, I initially meant Pekar was a quintessentially American writer, but I think he might have some real thematic links to Steinbeck.