Comics on the Rack, Quick Picks for Comics Due 04-28-10

COMICS ON THE RACK

Quick Picks for Comics Due 04-28-10

By John Judy

 

(Note: Don't forget to celebrate Free Comic Book Day 2010 at your local shop this Saturday, May 1^st!  Excelsior!)

 

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #629 by Roger Stern and Lee Weeks.  Captain Universe, Juggernaut and Spidey!  All fightin'!

 

BLAZING COMBAT SC by Archie Goodwin and Other Legends of the Medium.  Collecting all four issues of the war comic so good it got banished from the PXs in 1965.  Finally in paperback!  Highly recommended.

 

CAPTAIN AMERICA #605 by Ed Brubaker and Like Ross.  Bucky America versus Teabagger Cap!  The final round!

 

FALL OF THE HULKS: RED HULK #4 of 4 by Jeff Parker and Carlos Rodriguez.  I'd tell you we learn who the Red Hulk is but I hate to lie.

 

FANTASTIC FOUR #578 by Jonathan Hickman and Dale Eaglesham.    Annihilus and the Cult of the Negative Zone!  No, it's not a band!

 

FLASH: REBIRTH HC by Geoff Johns and Ethan Van Sciver.  Collecting the true return of Barry Allen!  Recommended.

 

GARRISON #1 of 6 by Jeff Marriotte and Francesco Francavilla.  In the future everyone is on the grid, except Garrison.  And that makes him dangerous.  The adventures of the last guy on Earth without a Facebook page.

 

INCORRUPTIBLE #5 by Mark Waid and Jean Diaz.  The origin of Jailbait!  It ain't what you think!  Recommended!

 

INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #25 by Matt Fraction and Salvador Larroca.  Double sized with new armor, oh, and did we mention a certain MOVIE coming out next week?!?  Yes!

 

JUSTICE LEAGUE: THE RISE OF ARSENAL #2 of 4 by J.T. Krul and Geraldo Borges.  Cheshire, the villainess who keeps having babies with super-types and then watching them die at the hands of other super-types, is back in Arsenal's life.  And you thought your crazy ex was bad…

 

JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA #38 by Bill Willingham and Jesus Merino.  JSA's fightin' the Nazis!  Never gets old!

 

KEVIN SMITH'S GREEN HORNET #3 by Smith and Jonathan Lau.  The real reason for all the volcanoes and earthquakes?  A Kevin Smith book coming out on schedule.  Total sign of The End.

 

MARVEL ZOMBIES 5 #2 of 5 by Fred Van Lente and Kano.  Okay, Van Lente's making it work.  Lotsa universe hoping and brain eating.  It's a ride.

 

MIGHTY AVENGERS #36 by Dan Slott and Khoi Pham.  The comic that dares to ask the question "What would Janet Van Dyne do?"  Recommended.

 

NEIL GAIMAN INSTRUCTIONS HC by Neil and Charles Vess.  How to get along if you find yourself in a fairytale world, as told in illustrated verse by Mssrs. Gaiman and Vess.  Highly recommended.

 

NEW AVENGERS #64 by Brian Michael Bendis and Mike McKone.  Asgard?  Still under siege. Sentry?  Still nuts.  Mockingbird?  Still dead?  Again?  Gotta look.

 

NORTHLANDERS #27 by Brian Wood and Leandro Fernandez.  How far will Hilda go to keep her daughter alive as her Viking village starts eating its own tail?

 

PREVIEWS by Diamond and Marvel Comics.  Someday it will be interwebs-only but not today.

 

SCALPED #37 by Jason Aaron and Davide Furno.  Okay, few things could top last issue's shocking revelation about Red Crow's royal executioner Shunka, but if anyone can do it it's Jason Aaron.  If you're not reading this book you're insane.  Highly recommended.

 

STUMPTOWN #3 by Greg Rucka and Matthew Southworth.  Noir set in the City of Roses, Portland Oregon.  Real purty art and writings.  Recommended.

 

SUPERMAN #699 by James Robinson and Bernard Chang.  Brainiac is due for his latest super ass-kicking!

 

SUPERMAN: LAST STAND ON NEW KRYPTON #3 of 3 by James Robinson, Sterling Gates and Pete Woods. Brainiac is due for his latest super ass-kicking!

 

THOR #609 Kieron Gillen and Billy Tan.  Thor fights his evil cyborg-clone double.  Well, somebody has to!

 

THUNDERBOLTS #143 by Jeff Parker and Miguel Angel Sepulveda.  The kids get smacked around real good by the Avengers.

 

ULTIMATE COMICS AVENGERS 2 #1 by Mark Millar and Leinil Francis Yu.  Ultimate Punisher joins the team.  Because the book was too wussy before.

 

VICTORIAN UNDEAD #6 of 6 by Ian Edginton and Davide Fabri.  At last, Sherlock Holmes and zombie Moriarty throw down!  See who has the most "braaaaiiiiinnnnsss!"

 

WALKING DEAD #61 by Robert Kirkman and Charles Adlard.  The zombie-free, traffic-free DC suburbs are way too good to be true.  Highly recommended.  Not for kids.

 

WONDER WOMAN #43 by Gail Simone and Nicola Scott.  Boy, after all the planetary invasions Diana has turned back you'd think word would get around.  Oh well.  Big fight!

 

www.johnjudy.net

My Life with Charlie Brown review

My friend Tom's new book is reviewed

Book review: "My Life with Charlie Brown," by Charles Schulz

By James Rosen
Washington Post Sunday, April 25, 2010; B07

MY LIFE WITH CHARLIE BROWN
By Charles M. Schulz
Edited by M. Thomas Inge
Univ. of Mississippi. 193 pp. $25

PR: Fantom's Free Comic Book Day

I'm not familiar with Jeff Howe, and haven't mentioned him here yet, so if anyone could pick up a comic of his comic for me, it would be appreciated.

FREE COMIC BOOK DAY REMINDER Just a note before we get into the April Previews that Free Comic Book Day is next Saturday! Both Fantom Comics stores will be carrying the full run of free comics, but our flagship FCBD store will be at our Pentagon City Mall location. Please check our website for more details, which will be forthcoming over the next few days. But here's a brief summary of what's going on:   -Free comics! -Tons of $1 comics (almost literally true) -Local creator Jeff Howe signing and giving away the first issue of his to-be-released comic: Polis -Around a dozen Star Wars characters courtesy of the 501st Legion and the Rebel Legion (with a photo op mid-day) -Prize wheel running at least once an hour, from 11-8 -2 classes on making your own comic book (including actually making one on the spot) by Marvel editor and sequential art guru Mike O'Sullivan   See you there! Pentagon City Mall - 1100 South Hayes Street | Arlington, VA 22202 | 703-415-2094 Union Station - 50 Massachusetts Avenue NE | Washington, DC 20002 | 202-216-9478 www.fantomcomics.com

Dave the Wank's O'Shell strip

Dave (who presumably has a name other than 'the Wank') has written in to highlight his comic blog where he post strips bi-weekly. He wrote, "I am a comic artist living in DC. ...A short story comic of mine will appear in Grimalkin 4 this summer." Dave particularly highlighted the beginnings of a memoir - 'O'Shell'

PR: Free Comic Book Day at Cards, Comics and Collectibles!

Press Release For Immediate Release Free Comic Book Day at Cards, Comics and Collectibles   From the Store that Brings You the Baltimore Comic-Con...   REISTERSTOWN, MD - April 22, 2010 - In honor of 2010's Free Comic Book Day promotion, Cards, Comics and Collectibles of Reisterstown, MD will be celebrating along with the rest of the nation on May 1, 2009.  Come and meet artists JG Jones (cover artist of DC Comics' Superman Free Comic Book Day giveaway!), Frank Cho (Ultimate Comics New Ultimates) from 2pm-3pm, Steve Conley (Star Trek), and John Gallagher (Buzzboy)!   FCBD Special -- modern back-issues are only one dollar!  Oh yeah, and we're also giving away free comics while they last!  Our hours for Free Comic Book Day are 11am-7pm.   We'll see you there!   Our address:  100 A Chartley Dr., Reisterstown, MD  21136 For more information, call Cards Comics and Collectibles: 410-526-7410

Archie's new gay character featured in Post

Kevin Keller debuts as first openly gay character in Archie's Veronica Comics
By Michael Cavna
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, April 23, 2010; C03

More local reviews of The Losers

Doesn't like it at all - The Losers - A monumentally terrible film based, loosely, on the comic book, By Tricia Olszewski, Washington City Paper April 23, 2010.

Sees a sense of humor in it - Humor salvages a would-be dud, By Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post Friday, April 23, 2010.

Examiner reviews The Losers, based on a Vertigo comic

'The Losers' is an aptly titled action flick, By: Sally Kline, Washington Examiner Movie Critic, April 23, 2010

Examiner article on Nate Beeler's award

Examiner's Nate Beeler wins international cartooning awardAlana Goodman
Washington Examiner 04/23/2010

April 28: Joe Sacco to speak to Prof Wenthe's class at AU

Professor Michael Wenthe writes in to tell us

Next Wednesday, April 28, at 2:10 P.M. in the atrium of the Battelle-Tompkins building here at American University, Joe Sacco will give a presentation and discussion of his work (notably _Footnotes in Gaza_) as the final event in my section of LIT 215: Writers in Print / in Person. Strictly speaking, this event will constitute the last class session for the course, so pride of place for the attendees will be my eighteen students (who discussed Sacco's work this past week), but we're holding it as an open, public event in in conjunction with the Middle East Studies Program here at AU and it will be generally advertised on campus.

Personally I've never heard Sacco speak, but I like his work. I'm sorry to miss this, but work is precluding my attendance.

Bill Day wins 2010 RFK cartooning award.

Boy, I'm a judge for the thing, and I still get scooped by Cavna. Anyway, congratulations to Bill Day for winning this year's RFK Journalism award for cartooning. Bill's work calling attention to the health problems of poor children was quite striking.

Here's what the Foundation put out:

Cartoon Winner: Series of cartoons, Bill Day, United Feature Syndicate: Cartoonist Bill Day sheds light on the continuing problem of infant mortality in America, especially among minority populations. His unusual special project creates clear and easily-readable cartoons, raising public awareness, partly through a grassroots movement that led to the introduction of legislation and policy improvements.

Nate Beeler wins this year’s Overseas Press Club award.

Nate Beeler has won this year’s Overseas Press Club award, according to this article. (OPC's server seems to have crashed.)

Congratulations, Nate!

Oh, and regarding today's cartoon, I think the tea-partiers are really ANTI-Federalists, since the Federalists including Hamilton, were in favor of more government, not less.

Tom the Dancing Bug, late of Wash Post, joins boing boing

Ruben Bolling sent a note in -

Starting today, the weekly comic strip "Tom the Dancing Bug" by Ruben Bolling will appear on the popular website Boing Boing, at http://boingboing.net/.  

See http://www.boingboing.net/2010/04/21/introducingtom.html#more

Some more details at www.tomthedancingbug.com

Marc Singer on teaching Chris Ware

Marc introduces his class to Jimmy Corrigan.

Finder to Dark Horse - another article

Dark Horse to Publish Carla Speed McNeil's ‘Finder'
The acclaimed self-published series will now be reprinted by Dark Horse
By Calvin Reid and Heidi MacDonald -- Publishers Weekly, 4/20/2010

Festival Imagé updated schedule

Pulled from the Festival Imagé website, here is updated information.

Booksigning tonight!
-Tuesday April 20 at AFDC, 6:30 pm:

Exhibition opening "Les Trois Ombres" by Cyril Pedrosa


Book signing by Antoine Dodé and Cyril Pedrosa

At the Alliance Française. The opening reception and book signing are free but reservations are mandatory. 202 234 79 11



-Wednesday April 21st at MICA, 7 pm:

Presentation: Laurence Arcadias

Short Films from SUPINFOCOM and MICA students



At MICA/ free



-Thursday April 22nd at Letelier Theater, 7 pm

Short Films from SUPINFOCOM and MICA students



At Letelier Theater 3251 Prospect Street, NW, Upper Courtyard, Washington DC/ free for MICA students and AF members - General admission $8



-Friday April 23rd at AFDC, 6:30 pm

Lecture by Pascal Fioretto: "Humor in comics"



At the Alliance Française/ free for MICA students and AF members - General admission $8



-Saturday April 24th at MICA:



-2 p.m., Room 140: MICA illustration faculty member Alain Corbel presents his Sequential Art students’ exhibition

-2 p.m., Room 110: MICA students' animation on display

-3 p.m., Room 140: Workshop with Cyril Pedrosa and MICA students on the narrative process

-4 p.m., Room 140: Professional forum with publishers Yvan Alagbé (Fremok/France), Jérôme Martineau (Carabas Revolution/France) and Calista Brill (First Second Books/US)

-6 p.m., Main Court: Closing party


At MICA/ free




-Sunday, April 25 at MICA
2-5 pm: Room 140: Closing of exhibition by MICA's Sequential Art class

At MICA/ free

Caroline Small reads Moore's Swamp Thing for the 1st time

Ahh, you can't go home again - but you can vicariously enjoy the thrill of Caroline Small's discovery of Swamp Thing via the good offices of her buddy Chris (who's leading her down the comics primrose path - it's no longer "I'm just here to see Craig Yoe to keep Chris company..."). Read their dialogue at Muck-Encrusted Mockery of a Roundtable: Liberty, Fecundity, Perversity

U of MD's Diamondback's editorial cartoon controversy

University of Maryland's Dimaondback's April 13 Editorial cartoon By Jenna Brager

The above cartoon is causing a controversy apparently - at least enough of one that the Diamondback's editor felt compelled to apologize - but with a twist:

What I do apologize for, however, is for failing the cartoonist. If you’ve been around the backlash from the cartoon, odds are you already know that the drawing of the armband made many readers interpret the cartoon as a connection between Israelis and Nazis — the imagery of the Israeli flag armband is often found in highly anti-Semitic propaganda.

She hadn’t meant to make such a connection, and so a tiny part of a drawing sparked a plethora of letters, feedback and more than a hundred comments online. I knew the cartoon would spark debate, but where I failed in my job was not realizing the connotation of the armband. Instead of constructive conversation, all anyone wants to talk about now is how this comparison can be interpreted as hate speech. And so, I failed my cartoonist, who never intended to make that statement.

You can read the rest of his editorial here: From the editor: All apologies By Rob Gindes, April 18, 2010, but this looks like another tiresome tempest in a teapot to me, largely caused by a lack of drawing chops (sorry Ms. Brager).

Jim Dougan interviewed by Mark Ruffin

Washington D.C. comics writer Jim Dougan talks on well-received webcomic
DC Comic Books Examiner Mark Ruffin
April 19,2010

Another positive Kick-Ass review from a local woman critic

Kick-Ass Directed by Matthew Vaughn
A cultish super hero flick about misfits. And ass-kicking.
By Tricia Olszewski
Washington City Paper April 16, 2010