Warren Peace Sings the Blues

You'll Never Know: Hey, maybe I will

2009-12-26T22:26:00.000-06:00

Elsewhere: I reviewed Punisher #12 at Comics Bulletin. That's part two of the "Franken-Castle" story, if you didn't know.

Links: The second "season" of Dean Haspiel's Zuda series Street Code has started; the new content starts on page 61, if you've already read the first part.

And for today's Japanese bizarreness, Rich Johnston has posted a couple pages from an Alan Moore themed fan-comic, which reimagines the Magus as a Japanese schoolgirl. Japan.

I missed this when it started, but Oni Press has been running a prequel short story (read it here in reverse chronological order) to Cullen Bunn and Brian Hurtt's upcoming fantasy Western series The Sixth Gun. It's prose, with illustrations, and two bookend comics pages, and now I'm excited about the series all over again.

Hmm, Christmas apparently isn't conducive to a regular posting schedule. Let's see if I can get caught up:

You'll Never Know, book one: A Good and Decent Man
By Carol Tyler

The list of excellent graphic novels released in 2009 seems to grow with every other book read, and this particular entry is one that stands out even in its crowded field. Carol Tyler really makes a name for herself with this "graphic memoir", as the cover calls it, demonstrating an incredible grasp of storytelling structure and a layering of personal and historical incident into a complex, cohesive whole that illuminates her own life along with her subject's. It's an impressive achievement, and as the first volume of a projected trilogy, it's indicative of the quality to come.

As for that subject, it's a fascinating one, an intimate, warts-and-all portrait of Tyler's father, one Sgt. Chuck Tyler, who served in the Army in World War II. As with so many of the "greatest generation", it's essential to record their stories while they are still with us, and Tyler does a wonderful job of it, weaving her own history into the tale, along with some contemplation on how her father's history and their relationship affected her own life, especially her relationship with her husband, who had separated with her during the creation of the volume, causing her to be especially reflective on the subject.

This makes the book a sort of rambling, nonchronological discourse on her father, jumping around to different points in his life, with regular breaks for Tyler to relate what is going on with her and her teenage daughter and detail how her father came to tell her the story in the first place, which is important, since she tells how he was reticent to even talk about his wartime experiences at all for as long as she could remember. The whole thing (or this first third of it, anyway), ends up having the quality of a tale told by a master storyteller, who makes the telling of the story and the circumstances surrounding it as important as the story itself.

That might be because the meat of Sgt. Tyler's war experiences are yet to come; as of the end of this volume, he still hadn't seen much action, spending most of the story talking about being stationed on a base in the U.S., courting his future wife, and working as a plumber in North Africa; he eventually went into Italy and Germany, and apparently had some difficult experiences that affected him for the rest of his life, but we'll have to wait to hear about that. Instead, we learn about his time growing up, the beautiful love story between him and Tyler's mother, and many of Tyler's memories of him as a father. It's a wonderful portrait of a complex human being, and after reading just this one volume, readers will feel like they know him, no matter what the title says.

All this would be quite nice on its own, but Tyler's gorgeous artwork really completes the package, bringing an aura of sensuality to every scene, whether it's an aside about the layout of her house or a detail from her parents' memory. The way she conveys movement is amazing, with images flowing across the page and directing the eye through the panels even when they're full of captioned text, and really capturing emotions at the same time, as in this scene in which she recalls her father taking her to a school dance:

She packs the panels with information, often pointing out details with labels and arrows or adding swirls of colors to represent emotion. She makes use of the entire page, with artwork extending outside of the panel borders and stretching across the gulf between pages. This story doesn't sit still; it keeps moving, one scene flowing into another and one memory evoking certain emotions and vice versa. The sections in which she attempts to create a sort of scrapbook retelling of his history might be the most restrained portions of the book, but they're fascinating nonetheless, with the description of how her parents fell in love possibly being the most arresting part of the story:

The whole thing is beautiful and gripping, and it's obvious that Tyler cares for her father and wants to capture the full extent of her emotions concerning him. That seems like a tall order, but she manages to do a remarkably real-seeming interpretation of her thoughts and feelings, whether in the awed reverence of everything he's seen in his lifetime:

Or the remembrance of what an accomplished man he was, especially in how technically capable he was with carpentry and plumbing:

Tyler never stops laying on the detail, but she doesn't overwhelm the reader either. She has a perfect control of pacing and structure, and the book holds together as a pretty amazing whole, full of personal reminiscence, diaristic self-examination, and attempts to capture a history that doesn't just seem like a random accumulation of memories, but a full portrait of a person and his life. That's a pretty great accomplishment, and if Tyler wasn't on readers' radar before, she definitely should have everyone's attention now, since she's got talent to spare. The next two installments of the story can't arrive fast enough.

This week, I'm early on the resolutions

2009-12-21T12:00:00.150-06:00

I'm considering revamping what I do with these weekly preview posts, although that might be a strong word to use. I feel like they're getting kind of long, with too much "Maybe I'll read this someday" commentary, so I'm going to try to only mention the stuff that I plan to buy or find especially notable. Or if I think of a funny joke about something; I can rarely pass those up. We'll see how it goes.

New comics this week (Wednesday, 12/23/09):

Beasts of Burden #4

Is it here already? This is the end of the excellent miniseries by Evan Dorkin and Jill Thompson, although I'm fervently hoping that it's not the last we'll see of the characters. The series has seemed to be leading to bigger, scarier plots, but they're waiting ominously in the future rather than actually playing out yet. From what I've heard, sales haven't been especially good, but hopefully the eventual collection will reverse that trend. If you haven't been reading this, do so! It is really, really good.

Chew #7

Having recently read (and written about) the first collection of this series, I've become a fan; it's fun, unique, and bizarre, and what I found notable is that each issue of the first five stood alone as its own story but fitting into a larger narrative, while still explaining its concept without expository. One could conceivably pick up any installment and not feel left behind; if you haven't tried it out, I recommend grabbing an issue and giving it a read; it's easy to see why it's been a hit.

Chimichanga #1

Eric Powell! He seems to be taking a break from The Goon for a little bit in order to do this miniseries, which he is self-publishing through his Albatross Exploding Funny Books label. I think it's about some circus sideshow freaks, including the mustachoied little girl of the title. I bet it will be raucous, goofy fun, and feature some really nice art. Don't let me down, Powell!

Criminal: The Sinners #3

This series has been consistently good throughout its history, and this latest story is no exception. Ed Brubaker is laying out the mystery methodically, but as always, I expect it will really start moving and the shit will hit the fan in later installments. Pacing! Gotta love it.

Crossed #8

I think this is the final issue in Garth Ennis and Jacen Burrows' zombie-ish series, which, from what I hear has been pretty goddamn depraved. I might check it out at some point, if I feel especially misanthropic.

Garth Ennis Battlefields Happy Valley #1

And speaking of Ennis, here's the latest miniseries in his line of war comics for Dynamite. All of the previous stories have been quite good, so I expect this will be no different. Art here is provided by PJ Holden, and the story involves an Australian commander leading a crew of Englishmen in a bombing squadron over 1942 Germany. I expect many amusing accents.

Hellboy Bride of Hell One-Shot

The latest in Dark Horse's "single issue story" initiative, it's another Hellboy story written by Mike Mignola with art by Richard Corben. I've dug their previous collaborations on the character, so I expect this will also be good. Yea, verily, it shall rock. Here's a four-page preview.

Last Days of American Crime #1

Rick Remender is writing this miniseries from Radical, with art by Greg Tocchini, and it seems like it might be interesting. It involves a sort of sci-fi concept in which the US government is going to broadcast a signal that will inhibit anybody from committing crimes (which doesn't necessarily make sense without some explanation, but it might work as a storytelling conceit), but some guys got wind of it and are planning to carry out a heist just before the broadcast goes into effect. Judging by the preview art, it looks to be a pretty nihilistic affair, full of sex and violence. Could be a decent crime book; we'll see.

Punisher #12

Part two of the "Franken-Castle" storyline, by Remender again, with some really nice art by Tony Moore. I only mention this because I should have a review up at Comics Bulletin tomorrow. Find out whether I like it then!

Agents of Atlas Dark Reign TPB

The subtitle here might be a dissuading factor for some, if you're not interested in the tiresome over-plot that's been running at Marvel for the last year, but if you like Jeff Parker, I would still give this one a recommendation. He does have his characters deal with Norman Osborn and company, along with the Avengers ("New" version), but he uses them well, and he's still advancing his own plots and telling good, fun, action-packed stories. The art varies, but whenever Gabriel Hardman takes over, it looks great. This collection also includes some short stories from various event tie-ins, and the issue of Marvel Adventures Avengers in which the Agents guest-starred. Good times, at least in terms of mainstream Marvel superhero comics.

Alec The Years Have Pants Life Size Omnibus

Ah, finally! The huge (640 pages!) collection of Eddie Campbell's autobiographical comics finally comes out, just in time to fit onto lists of the best comics of 2009 (and also the decade, natch). Thanks, Eddie, like I wasn't already far enough behind. I'm really looking forward to diving into this one, since I love his work. It puts the various books in chronological order, includes some stuff that was either never printed or was previously only available in hard-to-find places, and features a new story that sort of brings things up to date. So: awesome. I expect greatness: don't let me down, Eddie! Here, have a preview.

Atomic Robo Vol 3 TPB

Ah, I do love me some Atomic Robo. This third volume of the series began with a story in which the character fought a giant supernatural creature that emerged from H.P. Lovecraft's head (literally), but who knows where it went from there, since I didn't read the later issues. I may just have to just buy this to remedy that. Also available this week: a new printing of the first volume, which I highly recommend if you haven't read the series yet. It's full of funny dialogue and rousing action that spans the 20th century; don't miss out.

Dark Reign Sinister Spider-Man TPB

Another example of halfway-decent comics that tie in to Marvel's big, tiresome event. This one follows Venom as he eats people, antagonizes J. Jonah Jameson, and starts a gang war. Mostly lighthearted, at least as far as violent nihilism goes. Chris Bachalo does some of the art, but not all of it; even so, it looks pretty nice. I don't know if I would really recommend it, but if you want to sample some of the better stuff from Marvel these days, this is one to consider.

Fantastic Four TP Master of Doom

This is the end of the much-vaunted Mark Millar/Bryan Hitch run on the FF, and it kind of finished with a whimper, with neither creator fully involved in the final issue. I wouldn't actually call it good, but it does feature some interesting ideas, and Hitch delivers some pretty nice imagery. Worth a look for the curious, but don't expect to get a great value for your money.

Footnotes in Gaza HC

The other major release that's squeaking in under the wire at the end of the year, this is the new book by Joe Sacco, sure to be another great example of his journalistic comics. This one looks at the the past 50 years of war and violence town of Rafah in the Gaza Strip. Sure to be on a lot of lists of the best comics of the year, since Sacco is really fucking good at what he does. I know I'll be reading it as soon as I can.

The Mighty Vol 1 TPB

So, this series from DC (which isn't part of the "DC Universe", or Wildstorm, or Vertigo, but stands on its own) is rumored to be pretty good, but maybe that's just grading on the curve compared to Outsiders and Titans. I think it follows a superhero who is mostly a tool of the government/corporations, and maybe he's also somewhat mentally disabled or something? Whatever the case, it's destined to only be a twelve-issue series, since it has been cancelled, meaning that this is the first half of the story. I'll have to pay attention to reviews and whatnot to see if it's something worth seeking out.

The More Than Complete Action Philosophers TP

I certainly enjoyed this series quite a bit when it was being serialized; it was a funny, educational look at various figures throughout history, with Fred Van Lente explaining their writings in engaging, hilarious manner and some great cartooning by Ryan Dunlavey. This book collects the entire series in one big volume, rearranging them into chronological order so you can see the development of philosophy through the ages. Great stuff; I highly recommend it.

Olympus TP Vol 01

I'm not sure if this is an ongoing series or a miniseries, but here's the first collection, and I haven't heard much about whether the issues included were any good or not. It certainly looked interesting, with some strikingly bright-colored art, and while the story didn't seem all that unique, it could have been decent, something about gods passing as mortals and fighting each other. I guess I'm asking if anybody read it and if it's worth checking out. Well?

Runaways True Believers Prem HC

I haven't been able to keep track of the various hardcover and softcover reprints that Marvel has been doing on this series, but here's the latest release (reprint?), if you're interested. It includes the first story of the second volume, in which the team started fighting crime on their own in LA and ended up going against another team that consisted of former kid heroes who were in a support group to quit superheroing. Enjoyable stuff that's worth reading if you haven't already. I'd wait for a cheaper paperback version though, if I were you.

Sublife GN Vol 02

Fantagraphics has this latest short story collection from John Pham, with some stories following characters introduced in the first volume and others standing alone. Looks like some interesting stuff here, some sci-fi, some post-apocalypse, and some modern urban street-level life. I bet it's good reading, although I still need to check out the first one. Fanta has the usual slideshow/preview.

The Unclothed Man in the 35th Century AD HC

Fantagraphics also has this latest book from Dash Shaw, which ties into (that is, contains storyboards, character designs, and scripts for) the series of short animated films he recently did for IFC.com (which you can watch here) and includes various other short pieces that ran in MOME. That's a kind of odd combination; myself, I'm much more interested in the latter than the former. Shaw is a hell of a talent though, full of ideas and energy; a chance to catch up on those stories that I missed by not reading MOME is one that I'll try to take. Here: slideshow/preview.

Winterworld HC

Finally, here's a book that collects a comic I previously was not aware of: a three-issue miniseries by Chuck Dixon and Jorge Zaffino that was published by Eclipse in 1987. It appears to be a post-apocalyptic story set in a new ice age, and this volume also includes a new sequel called "Wintersea". For anybody who read this when it originally came out (or at some point in the twenty years since then), how is it? Any good? Should I try to give it a read? Not that I want to add to my stack of book to read or anything...

-----

And that appears to be the week, and also the year, at least in terms of stuff that Diamond is shipping to comics shops. I've still got a bunch to read before I can attempt to formulate a Best of 2009 list, but I'm looking forward to doing so, since list-making is one of those activities that is compulsory during this season. Also, I'll do more writing, since that is also expected of me. Yes.

Driven By Lemons: As good of a chauffeur as anything in this book

2009-12-19T19:51:00.000-06:00

Elsewhere: I've tried my hand at some music writing for The Factual Opinion's "best songs of 2009" countdown, which I encourage people to check out if only to follow the links and listen to some of the songs. I'm terribly behind the curve when it comes to music, so listening to the nominees has been an eye-opener for me; there's some great stuff there. I don't really know what I'm doing when writing about it, but it's an interesting exercise. Enjoy, Brady addicts!

Driven By Lemons
By Joshua Cotter

When it comes to some of the more outre indie "artcomix", one complaint against them is that they can be pretty damn inscrutable, little more than a series of images that don't hold together well or add up to much of anything. Of course, that could be a reaction to any sort of modern art, but the fact remains that most people come to comics expecting a story, and experiments with abstraction aside, many of those indie comics are lacking in the area of narrative, or at least taking an approach that can alienate those who aren't accustomed to their strangeness. Luckily, if you're looking to bridge the gap between narrative and abstraction, Joshua Cotter's follow-up to Skyscrapers of the Midwest is here to do so. It is presented as a reproduction of the sketchbook in which it was created, although if it was actually put together page by page in such a manner, that's a pretty impressive feat. It's kind of inscrutable itself, with the opening pages including some dense, seemingly-glossolalic text, blacked-out panels next to ones full of masses of tiny triangles and squares, and captions that seem to describe a fractured mental state, but as one continues to turn the pages, a sort of story makes itself clear, seeing a truck plunge out of the sky over the Chicago skyline, followed by a bunny in a sort of space suit crawling out of the wreckage and having hallucinations in the form of pages and pages of scribbly lines and exploding shapes and colors. Later, that same bunny (or perhaps a different one?) is seen lying in a hospital bed, barely moving, and listening to the sounds around him while having more hallucinations, eventually succumbing to an enveloping scene in which what seem to be different bunny-shaped versions of himself run through an oppressive mental landscape, jostling for superiority until the eventually merge together, then get stuck in some sort of structure while a sort of flaming-headed fox lectures them about emotion and reality, before they undergo another transformation, into a small red twig of a tree, that, after being urinated on by the fox, grows into a thick vine or trunk that plunges up into the atmosphere and seems to obliterate the odd mental machinery of the bunny's mind before withering back into a tiny branch.

Hmm, that description doesn't seem to make very much sense, which sort of ruins the initial argument, but one can only textually paraphrase the images so much; the artwork here really has to be seen to be believed. Cotter pours on the intricate detail, whether in "simple" depictions of clusters of tiny triangles and squares or in the gorgeously textured depictions of the bunny and his "adventures", and especially in the way he seems to devolve into component shapes and scribbles:

And those "scribbles" aren't just random, childlike clusters of lines; they're intricately detailed as well; they might or might not contain any actual information, but reader's can't help but pore over them to try to perceive some sort of pattern:

The scenes of the bunny in his hospital bed are similarly arresting, although somewhat simplified, and enhanced through repetition, with slight changes from panel to panel signifying the passing of time and the bunny's blank mental state:

This simplicity and stillness contrasts with the rich detail of the bunny's hallucinations, along with the fluid sense of motion that they provide:

Not to mention the incredible sense of color that stands out so much from the black and white backgrounds; when the vine (if that's what it is) starts growing and coursing through the sky, it looks like a stream of blood:

So, yes, it's pretty visually amazing, and seems to have some sort of narrative continuity, but, to ask the ever-present question posed to challenging art by minds that are struggling to keep up, what does it all mean? The beauty of abstract-style art is that it can contain any interpretation the viewer/reader wants to pour into it; my take on this would be that it is an attempt at a depiction of mental illness, or possibly a damaged brain (from a car accident?) struggling to recover some semblance of normalcy. The early struggles of the bunny might be an attempt to fight the mental chaos of schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or another affliction, culminating in a suicide attempt, which leads to the hospital scenes and the trip through the mindscape that the fox (doctor?) tries to bring under control. This view is bolstered by the final scene, which sees the bunny out of the hospital and at home, but depicted as damaged almost beyond recognition and still not fully "normal":

The thing about mental illness is that it can seem glorious and amazing to those experiencing it, even while it is incredibly damaging. Hence the incredible sense of detailed beauty in the hallucinatory excursions, contrasted with the crushing banality of "normality" in the hospital. But at the same time, the oppressive chaos, brought to life through the scribbly shapes and what looks like complicated mental machinery, threatens to tear one apart completely, and the rebuilding process is long and hard, with the result being far from optimal. It's a terrible situation to deal with, and Cotter's depiction of it is at turns horrifying, engaging, enthralling, and confusing, making it, even with its near-total removal from reality, just about the most effective depiction of mental illness possible.

But maybe that's not it at all; another reader might come at the book with a completely different, and equally valid interpretation. Cotter's work here is so well done that it can handle different takes, and it can be fascinating to see what different people bring to the work and get out of it. One could even just enjoy the uniquely arresting visuals, which are outstanding and gorgeous on their own, divorced of any attempt at meaning, possibly even just evoking emotion or memory in their visceral engagement with the reader's senses. It's a rich, beautiful work, like nothing else out there, and it shows what an amazing talent Cotter has for comics art. Let's see how he can top this one.

Low Moon: Hey, a Gary Cooper pun, why not?

2009-12-17T22:01:00.001-06:00

Elsewhere: I've got a review of the latest Fringe up at The Factual Opinion, but I apparently missed the deadline getting my Dollhouse review in, so that one won't be up for another day or two, I think. Also, I contributed an entry to a list of the best graphic novels of 2009 to a site called Flashlight Worthy Book Reviews. It's a pretty good list, also including entries from blog luminaries like Jog, Sandy Bilus, Brigid Alverson, Johanna Draper Carlson, and David Welsh, so check it out.

Links, all about Dash Shaw for some reason: Shaw has apparently gotten into the world of animation after his series of shorts on IFC.com, so he's tackling a bigger project, a feature-length animated film called Slobs and Nags, which is being produced by Hedwig and the Angry Inch's John Cameron Mitchell and features the same team of animators and musicians, plus the addition of Frank Santoro. Wow, that's cool. Here's Shaw's announcement, with a link to more information.

And since Shaw is super-prolific at the moment, here's a neat short comic that he did for Vice, called "The Haunted High School." I liked it quite a bit.

Low Moon

By Jason

What's better than a new story by Jason? Why, several in one volume, of course! This book collects the titular serial story that ran in The New York Times Magazine, along with four other stories of a similar length, making for a good deal of great material, equal to two or three of the album-sized volume in which his comics are usually delivered. And all the better, I say; the more of Jason's weird energy and quirky, poignant storytelling that I can consume at one time, the better.

Jason's style of storytelling probably needs no introduction, so suffice to say that I'm always beguiled by the weirdly relatable inexpressiveness of his anthropomorphic animal characters, and the way that he puts them in such fantastical situations yet still makes their emotions and actions seem real and believable. It's kind of a mystery how well he's able to do it, crafting easy-to-follow stories in such a minimalist style, but luckily, they're incredibly enjoyable, so one can easily get lost in them, forgetting questions of craft and technique because those aspects become all but invisible.

The five stories included here all traffic in the same sort of alienation and unhappiness that is his forte, with some of them going off into (or starting from) more surreal directions than others. "Emily Says Hello" sees a hapless assassin picking off a group of men one by one at the behest of the eponymous woman, who rewards him with sexual favors, but never actually emits any warmth toward him or provides an explanation for why she wants them dead. It's pretty dark, but fascinating in the emotions it evokes and the way the story suggests so much happening beyond its panels.

"&" is a similarly downbeat tale, alternating between two men who are similarly pursuing futile goals: one trying to steal some high-priced artwork in order to finance an operation to save his mother's life, and the other trying to get the woman he loves to agree to his proposal of marriage by killing all the other men she chooses over him. The latter storyline is pretty darkly comic, with its hero's quest spiraling more and more out of control with each subsequent murder, and the goal becoming increasingly distant as his object of affection keeps choosing others ahead of him. As a counterpoint, the former story goes in a completely different direction, full of slapstick comedy like something out of a Marx Brothers' movie. Jason switches storylines on each page, so the two moods get intertwined in a fascinating manner, jumping between light and heavy quickly enough to give readers whiplash. And then he brings it all together in a perfect Jason ending, fading out on a lasting image that sticks in the memory hauntingly.

The title story is a bit less dark than those already mentioned, but no less rich in quickly-defined but interesting character interactions. It's a Western, starting with a man returning to a town with an apparent grudge against the sheriff. But, in typically quirky Jason style, it turns out that the dispute between the two of them involved a chess match that the sheriff won, and now the man has come back for a rematch. It's rather goofy, the way the characters all treat the match as seriously as if it were a pistol duel, but the real richness of the story comes through the character turns, the way the sheriff has become a washed-up drunk and has a rocky relationship with the local schoolteacher, the bruised honor of his rival, or the quiet resolve the various deputies have in preparing the sheriff for his rematch. It's fascinating to watch Jason put this all together, creating a sort of melancholy wistfulness and tiredness through the body language and sad inexpressiveness of the characters. He manages to convey so much so simply, whether in a pained back-and-forth:

A surprised reaction:

Or the choreography of a humorous barroom brawl:

It's a darn good entry in the artist's long line of stories that keep the reader coming back to find new layers of the work.

The final two stories, "Proto Film Noir" and "You Are Here", aren't quite as good as the others, and they suffer a bit for coming at the end after the highs of the first two thirds of the book, but they're still quite interesting and full of the same surreality. The former sees a caveman wander into a domestic scene and begin an affair with the wife, then kill the husband, but every morning, the victim shows up at the front door, ready to eat breakfast. No matter how many times or how gruesomely he is murdered, he wanders in with a "Good morning!" and a resolve to do some gardening. What does it all mean? Who knows, but it gives Jason a chance to come up with more darkly comic violence.

As for "You Are Here", it sees a bickering couple argue via blacked-out word balloons, followed by the wife being abducted by a big, green alien. The husband then spends the next several decades building a rocket which he can use to find her, while his son grows up, builds a family of his own, and then repeats his father's mistakes (signified by the reappearance of black word balloons), ending up splitting with his wife and joining his father in the search for his mother in the finally-completed rocket. It's a strange story, seemingly metaphorical for the way a broken marriage might seem inexplicable to a child, but not really holding together as well as most of these.

But even lesser Jason stories are still like nothing else in comics, and considering the quality of the book as a whole, there's little to complain about here. It's another great example of the strange alchemy that Jason has mastered, drawing readers in to compelling tales of people caught up in oddly familiar situations, even when they're dealing with something that's off-kilter from reality as we know it. That's the Jason touch, and long may it continue to grace our pages.

Collection catchup: waiting for a few months can make for a good payoff

2009-12-15T13:45:00.000-06:00

Ongoing series aren't always best when read in chunks rather than issue by issue, but that seems to be the case more often than not these days, so here are a few that I've gotten up to date on recently:

The Umbrella Academy, volume 2: Dallas

Written by Gerard Way

Art by Gabriel Ba

Wowee, there's definitely no sophomore slump here. The first volume of The Umbrella Academy was a pleasant surprise, a smart, fun take on superhero, sci-fi, and dysfunctional family tropes, something nobody was expecting from a writer known more for being an emo rock star than, well, a writer. But while that story was a good introduction, this follow-up might be even better, deepening the various relationships between the characters, explaining more of the complex backstory, and throwing one crazily awesome idea after another onto the page, never stopping to allow the reader to catch their breath. Plus, while the series is being presented in standalone storylines, it's become obvious that long-term plotting is in effect; scenes that weren't fully explained last volume lead to the plot here, while other bits are obviously setting up more stories in the future. It's put together beautifully, and it's tons of fun to read.

The plot here, indicated by the subtitle, manages to involve the assassination of JFK, along with the real reason for Number Five's reappearance in little-boy form; two psychotic, cute-mask-wearing, time-travelling assassins; a possible end to the Vietnam War that involves a giant mummy; the afterlife; and the world blowing up. It all happens at the series' signature frenetic pace, and Way seems to toss several ideas onto the page for every one he uses. At one point, three characters travel backward in time to stop JFK's killing, but the next time we see them, it turns out that they went back too far, and ended up spending three years fighting in the jungles of Vietnam, which in any other comic could have made for several issues of adventures. It's the kind of thing that could be filled in later, but will more likely be left up to the imagination of readers, which makes for a surprisingly satisfying read. Way trusts us to keep up, so he doesn't hold our hands and over-explain every little thing. For all its super-cool trappings and reveling in violence and gore, it's really a very mature bit of storytelling.

And it's incredibly fun to read as well, with funny, incisive dialogue, exciting action, and something incredible to look at on every page. Gabriel Ba outdoes himself here, filling the world with details like characters who happen to be monkeys, crazy futuristic technology, cool supernatural effects, Viet Cong vampires, and tons of grotesque killings. His depiction of life after death is especially striking, and the subtlety of emotion that he manages in his simple depictions of characters is pretty incredible. And the action! Just check out how well it works just in this one panel of a fight between Number Five and about a hundred guys from the future:

Just look at how well all the motion makes sense there, as we can follow the hopping child and see where he is shooting and how he is taking on all his attackers. It's gorgeous, and every panel of the book works this well, presenting clear action, dynamic motion, and images and colors that pop off the page. I love this comic, and I can't wait to see what Way and Ba have coming next.

Bonus: Check out Ba's homage to his collaborator Rafael Grampa's cover to their comic 5! Awesome!

-----

The Boys, volume 5: Herogasm

Written by Garth Ennis

Art by John McCrea and Keith Burns

Well, this comic is just plain dirty. It might be the closest thing to superhero porn you're going to find in "mainstream" comics, but while Garth Ennis does seem to be trying to provoke and offend, it's not really all that shocking if you've read most anything else he's written. He does seem to be having fun coming up with goofy sex acts and just general depravity though; this sort of thing is kind of right up his alley. The miniseries might have seemed like a sort of step away from the ongoing series for what passes for an "event" in the world of this series, but it actually ends up being pretty important, eventually dropping the sexy shenanigans and focusing on the concerns of the greater plot. This might be a case in which waiting for the collection wasn't the optimal reading experience, since, from what I understand, it functioned in effect as a way to make the series biweekly for six months, alternating with issues of the regular series that took place after the events seen here but with the two storylines playing off each other. A scene in which the superhero group Payback (a riff on the Avengers) are tasked with doing something about the Boys particularly seems like one that pays off later, but while trade-waiters like me won't get to see the results until the next volume, readers of the monthly issues saw that happen within a few weeks. It should still work though, just not at the optimum level. It's hard to figure out the best way to read these things these days, isn't it?

Anyway, the general air of superhero satire continues here, with the series still functioning as a savage, disgusted take on the whole idea of the genre. Ennis seems to be looking at this as what superheroes would be like if they really existed, an idea that's been done before over and over, but comes from a cynical modern viewpoint that sees nothing positive in the enterprise. We wouldn't have benevolent do-gooders, but celebrities and brands wholly owned by corporations and governments, doing the bidding of the rich and powerful and caring not one iota for the little people. It turns into a scary concept, and Ennis is really selling that here by showing how the superheroes are starting to feel that they don't have to been held back by the dictates of human morality and law. Which is where the real message of the series comes in: it's not just about the comics industry, but society itself, in which rich individuals and companies hold all the power, considering themselves above everyone else and free to do whatever they want, no matter whose lives are destroyed in the process.

This consideration of real-world power is emphasized by the continued looks at back-room politics of Halliburton-esque corporations who are making inroads into control of the United States government, and interestingly, Ennis includes the actual Halliburton in the comic. It seems like an odd choice, to plug a real-life entity like that into a fictional story, but it startles one back into reality, reminding us that the inhumane actions being depicted here are representative of things that are actually happening. The use of the events of September 11 functions in the same way, putting real-life blood on the hands of these fictional representations of those who wontonly murder innocents.

One could probably talk about other aspects of the story as well, like the art or character developments, but while those work well enough (although I thought it was funny that John McCrea seemed reluctant to show much male nudity, while fill-in artist Keith Burns draws dongs-a-plenty), that metaphorical aspect is what I think is most important, giving the series its real satirical bite. You can come for the jokes and the dirtiness, but hopefully you'll leave with a consideration of how your life is affected by this type of activity. And I don't mean the sullying of your precious superheroes, either.

-----

Chew, volume 1: Taster's Choice

Written by John Layman

Art by Rob Guillory

This series has sort of been the comics success story of the year, at least in terms of mainstream, direct market, non-big-two comics, and reading it, it's easy to see why: it's entertaining, accessible, and really nice-looking, along with being pretty unique. And that accessibility might be its strongest point, considering how unique it is; it's about a cop (and later federal agent) who gets psychic impressions from whatever he eats, which leads him toward some cannibalistic tendencies in the name of pursuing justice. And that's only one of the odd ideas that writer John Layman tosses out here; there's also a backstory involving the FDA becoming the leading anti-crime organization in the United States following an outbreak of bird flu the leads to the outlawing of poultry, a love interest who has found great success as a food critic due to her ability to describe tastes so well that people actually experience them when reading her reviews, and also aliens, apparently. There's action and banter aplenty, mysteries to solve, secrets, reversals, betrayals, and conspiracies, but it's never complex or hard to follow. In fact, the five issues collected here are all stand-alone stories, easy to pick up and read without feeling lost. It's a surprisingly approachable book, and a hell of an entertaining one to boot.

Layman does a lot of the work here, establishing characters' personalities through dialogue and (aside from brief introductory captions in each issue along the lines of "Meet Tony Chu...Tony Chu is cibopathic", and so on) delivering exposition organically rather than forcing readers to hear somebody explain the whole bird flu situation for their benefit. But artist Rob Guillory really fleshes out that structure and creates the oddball world of the comic, from the dirty back alleys where gangsters smuggle bootleg chicken to the paperwork-littered offices and gross evidence rooms of the FDA. He's got a style that resembles a more clean-lined and brightly-colored Ben Templesmith, which means that the characters aren't especially attractive, but they've got personality to spare. He comes up with some good effects for Tony's psychic impressions and stages some great action scenes too, perfectly balancing seriousness and comedy. It's a great book all around, and at a bargain price, hopefully it will get plenty of people on board for the series, since Layman obviously has plans for a long, involved story. I know I certainly want to see where it goes next.

-----

That's it for the moment, but it looks like there will be more coming soon. Comics!

This week, only Jim Rugg excites me at all

2009-12-14T12:00:00.002-06:00

Link: Kurutta has another Taiyo Matsumoto short up, called "Universe". Nice.

New comics this week (Wednesday, 12/16/09):

Astonishing X-Men #33

I'm not sure what's going on in the current arc of Warren Ellis' corner of X-land, but I think it has something to do with the Brood and sentinels made of meat. Or something? Weird shit, kinda gross, but possibly actually interesting, which is a standard the X-line often fails to meet. Whee!

Authority The Lost Year #4

Hey, how is this going? Keith Giffen and company continue Grant Morrison's run, and it probably continues to fail to impress. Wake me up when it's over.

Captain America Reborn #5

I guess this is late, which probably can go without saying when Bryan Hitch is doing the art on a comic. But however Captain America gets reborn, he's already showing up in other comics, so there's not a whole lot of tension as to whether the Red Skull is actually going to take over his body and do evil Nazi stuff with it. Enjoy, detail fetishists!

Champion One Shot

What's with the meme lately of superheroes getting sick of helping everybody and turning evil? You've got Boom!'s Irredeemable, and The Boys sort of hits on the theme, and now this one from Arcana Studios. Maybe it's a sign that people are sick of superheroes, which would sure be nice, since I know I am, and I require the rest of the world to fall in line with my tastes. Anyway, this comic looks to fall into that subgenre, and who knows? Maybe it won't suck.

Complete Alice in Wonderland #1

Leah Moore and John Reppion seem to be establishing a cottage industry of adapting classics to comics, what with Dracula, Sherlock Holmes, and now this, which purports to be the first time that Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Through the Looking-Glass, and a "lost chapter" called "The Wasp in a Wig" are all adapted into one complete story. And they're going to manage to do that all in four issues, somehow. Enjoy, classic literature lovers who don't want to read the actual books!

Ex Machina #47

Almost to the end; how will Mayor Hundred meet his unfortunate downfall (which we know is coming ever since the first issue)? Hopefully it's not a Spitzer-style sex scandal, but you never know. I need to read that most recent collection...

Fables #91

The magical fairy tale stuff keeps on coming. New collection, please.

Forgetless #1

This is a new (mini-?)series from Image, about some girls at a nightclub who are assassins trying to kill some guy, or something like that. It seems like it might be interesting, and kind of stylish, with pseudo-manga art and nice colors. Maybe worth a look? Here's an interview with a few pages of preview art.

Godland #30

Edging closer to the finale. I'll miss it when it's gone; hey, how about another collection sometime soon?

Incorruptible #1

Speaking of Irredeemable (which I did, above), is it really time for a spinoff already? Mark Waid and Boom! seem to think so, with this new series that takes place in the same universe and features an opposite narrative arc: villain decides to become a hero. That's even less original than the main story; maybe Waid has a plan to do something interesting (which he's kind of doing with the other book, even if he's not setting the shelves on fire with awesomeness or anything), but it all seems kind of unnecessary to me. Not that any of what I talk about is ever really necessary...

Next Issue Project #2: Silver Streak Comics #24

Wow, this took its sweet time coming out, didn't it? This "Next Issue Project" seemed like a cool idea when it was announced, what, two years ago or so? But then after the first issue showed up, nothing, and considering the talent involved with this second issue, maybe most of the players lost interest. While the first installment featured creators like Ashley Wood, Mike Allred, and Jim Rugg, this one has Erik Larsen and Paul Grist as the "name" talent, along with Steve Horton, Alan Weiss, and Michael T. Gilbert, whoever they are. And while the whole idea is kind of fun, considering the only so-so results last time around, I think I can safely skip this one. Here's a preview, if you're still interested.

Nomad Girl Without a World #4

Sean McKeever is still telling tales of teenaged angst and mind control, sort of tying into Captain America and Marvel comics in general. Not terrible so far; yet another great recommendation from yours truly!

Spider-Man 1602 #3

Backhanded recommendation number two: as lame as the whole "Elizabethan Marvel Universe" idea is, Jeff Parker does his best to make it enjoyable. Maybe there will be some swashbuckling or something in here, to satisfy people who must have Spider-Man in every type of story they read.

Ultimate Comics Armor Wars #3

Warren Ellis keeps going with the robots fighting each other all over the world; it's pretty good stuff, full of cool technological ideas and nice action. If Ellis has to write superhero comics, this is probably the ideal way to do so.

Underground #4

Jeff Parker and Steve Lieber keep plunging their characters deeper and deeper into trouble (ha ha, get it?); this series has been very good, with the rock-climbing knife fight of last issue being very intense. See, this is what Parker should be doing, not wasting his creativity doing lame Marvel superhero nonsense. I'm sure he'll drop the good-paying gigs for more work like this now, because I requested it.

Art Of Ditko HC

Ditko is really hot right now, isn't he? IDW has this big hardcover collection of some of his lesser-known comics and art, edited by Craig Yoe and featuring essays from the likes of P. Craig Russell and John Romita, Sr. Looks like a good coffee table book, and hopefully quite illuminating on the man himself and his work. I really need to read more Ditko, so maybe I'll look for this someday.

Best Of Battle TP

Titan Books has this collection of a bunch of classic British war comics, featuring some titles and characters that sound pretty awesome, like D-Day Dawson, the Bootneck Boy, Major Eazy, Hold Hill 109, Darkie's Mob, Panzer G-Man, Joe Two Beans, Hellmann of Hammer Force, Fighting Mann, and Death Squad. Those names alone are good reading; I'd love to check this out. Also included is Charley's War, which I've heard is a great series from writer Pat Mills. Yep, another one of those reprints that would be good to have. Someday? Someday.

Black Jesus GN

This graphic novel from Arcana Studios is apparently based on an upcoming movie about a kid with special powers that gets hailed as a Messiah or something. Huh. That's about all I can tell about what it's about; maybe it's interesting? Here's a short preview, and you can also watch a trailer on Arcana's site which contains live-action footage that might or might not be from the movie. Yes, this exists; I don't know if I have anything else to say about it.

Boys HC LTD ED Vol 03 Good for the Soul
Boys HC LTD ED Vol 04 We Gotta Go Now

If you want to spend more money, here are the more expensive versions of these volumes of the series. I'm fine with softcovers, but some people apparently have to have those limited editions of their satirical superhero decadence.

Complete Little Orphan Annie HC Vol 4

I still haven't read any of this series, but I always hear it's good. Maybe I'll get to it someday. Here's another volume to add to the pile.

Connie Vol 1 Captives Of The Space Pirates TP

Connie Vol 2 Battle For Titan TP

I had never heard of this, but it's apparently a sci-fi newspaper comic strip from 1939 by Harold and Frank Godwin, following a sexy lady adventurer (you can see a couple example strips on Wikipedia). Two complete stories in each volume; probably some interesting reading. Your golden age of reprints continues!

Crypt Of Horror #7

I guess this is an ongoing series of reprints of classic horror comics? I don't know if I've ever heard of it before, but publisher AC Comics appears to have a bunch of stuff along these lines. This one is a thick collection, with work by Jack Kirby, Dick Ayers, Bob Powell, and others. Neat?

Dead Run Vol 1 TP

Did anybody read this post-apocalyptic/zombie series from Boom!? I didn't. Is it any good? If I do end up checking it out, I guess I'll let you know. Somebody has to, right?

Drawing Down the Moon Art of Charles Vess HC

Dark Horse has this artbook about the fantasy illustrator who has worked on a bunch of good stuff, like Sandman and the Bone prequel Rose. I bet it's pretty. Not really something that I can afford, but I would pick it up and look at the pictures if I saw it on a shelf.

Engineer HC

I'm not sure if this is a collection of the previous issues of this series that came out or something new, but it garners some interest for featuring the work of Brian Churilla, who has gone on to do comics like We Kill Monsters and The Anchor. He's got a cool style, and the concept of this book, about a guy who fights other-dimensional monsters who eat spacetime with his cosmic pipe organ, is pretty awesome. This hardcover is only 10 dollars, so I'll probably buy it if I see it.

Gahan Wilson 50 Years Of Playboy Cartoons HC

Just what the title says. Here's the usual Fantagraphics slideshow/preview, if you need more info.

Giant Monster HC

I think AiT/PlanetLar originally published this Steve Niles/Nat Jones series/GN, but Boom! has it now, and I think this is their second edition. I still haven't read the thing, but it looked enjoyable enough, so maybe I'll finally give it a look.

Gravel Vol 02 The Major Seven

Warren Ellis and Mike Wolfer are still plugging away at this series about their long-running William Gravel character, and I have yet to read any of this iteration of his adventures (which are apparently less strange than they used to be). Maybe I'll get to it someday, but I'll probably start with the first volume rather than this one.

Life And Times Of Savior 28 TP

Hey, here's another example of the "superhero turns bad" genre I was talking about up top. Maybe he doesn't go evil, but he suffers a disgrace or something, right? Or maybe I'm wrong; I haven't read it. I suppose I could give it a try someday, if only because I like the talent involved, J.M. DeMatteis and Mike Cavallaro. But I'm less and less interested in superheroes these days, so I would appreciate somebody who actually read it telling me what they thought. Is that too much to ask?

Nightmare World Vol 1 Thirteen Tales Of Terror TP

This is apparently a webcomic, along the lines of The Twilight Zone or Tales from the Crypt, written by Dirk Manning and illustrated by various artists.. This volume would be the first print collection, although as I always say when it comes to webcomics, you can read it for free online. I don't know if it's any good, but there you go.

One Model Nation GN

New Jim Rugg! He's an illustrator I'm always excited to see new comics from, and this new graphic novel, written by Courtney Taylor of The Dandy Warhols, looks pretty interesting, about a musical/political revolution in 1977 Germany. Cool. Here's an interview/preview, to whet the appetite.

Punisher Frank Castle Max Welcome To The Bayou TPB

Up until the current Jason Aaron/Steve Dillon series, I haven't followed much of the Punisher MAX comic after Garth Ennis' departure, but I think this story might be the best-regarded of the lackluster bunch, having to do with redneck cannibal types in Louisiana, or something like that. I bet having Goran Parlov on art helps. Maybe it's worth reading, maybe not. Or maybe I should get around to reading that Ennis run already...

Rocketeer Complete Collection HC Vol 1

I don't know if this counts as Golden Age of Reprints material, but IDW is collecting Dave Stevens' comic, with new coloring by Laura Martin. Maybe I'll finally get around to reading it now. Or maybe not; whatever, man.

Secret Warriors Vol 1 Nick Fury Agent Of Nothing TPB

I've read some of this Jonathan Hickman-written series here and there, and it's all right, I guess, but not really anything exceptional. Fairly standard Nick Fury spy stuff, with attempts at conspiracy and "everything you know is wrong". I was hoping Hickman would bring some cool, crazy ideas to Marvel, but he seems to just be doing standard superhero stuff. Now I'm hoping he gets back to his creator-owned work as soon as possible.

Thor Ages of Thunder TPB

This Matt Fraction-written series of comics were pretty good, retelling some of the classic mythology surrounding Thor and acting as a kind of origin for his Marvel adventures. Decent stuff, pretty good art, not terrible. There I go again with the backhanded recommendations. Enjoy, people who can't bear to read anything not published by Marvel or DC!

-----

And with that note of derision, we finish the look at another week. Let's see if I manage to get some writing done this time around...

Why I Killed Peter: If only another violent act here had also been metaphorical

2009-12-13T17:20:00.000-06:00

Elsewhere: I reviewed Greg Houston's graphic novel Vatican Hustle over at Comics Bulletin. Man, that is one crazy book; I really dug it. Also, I did my usual blah-blah about Fringe and Dollhouse for The Factual Opinion. No Venture Brothers though, because I managed to miss last week's episode; I'll have to try to find it before the season finale this Sunday...

Why I Killed Peter

Written by Olivier Ka

Art by Alfred

Wow, this has to be one of the most disturbing comics I've ever read. Other comics might feature plenty of shocking material, whether it's gore, death, the supernatural, or any number of other horror tropes, but something like this, with a true story of just about the most awful thing that can happen in real life, is the stuff of nightmares, haunting the thoughts of readers who can't shake the understanding that this isn't some far-fetched attempt to scare, but a bit of all-too-real horror that continues to affect people every day. That terrible act: child molestation, which isn't a subject anybody wants to dwell on, but is one that we must realize harms those affected in life-long ways, as demonstrated by this autobiographical graphic novel written by French author Olivier Ka and illustrated by the singly-named Alfred. It's a striking bit of therapy on Ka's part, relating the childhood experiences that affected his life, especially one terrible incident in particular, and then moving on to show how damaged he was for decades afterward, until he eventually manages to get some closure through the act of putting it all down on paper.

Ka revisits several periods in his life, heading each section with "I killed Peter because I'm [age] years old", and relating a memory from that time. His parents were kind of hippie-ish, open to free love and extra-marital affairs, but he also spent some time with his grandparents who were strictly Catholic, filling his head with visions of hell if he commits any sin, including playing with his "peepee". As with any child, he's still forming ideas of sex and intimacy as he gets closer to adolescence. And then Peter enters their lives; he's a priest, but not a cold, strict, uptight one. Rather, he's joyful and prone to laughter, playing the guitar and spending time with the family without trying to convert them to his religion. He seems like a good friend of the family, and young Ollie spends his summers at Peter's summer camp, Happy River. It seems like a fun, carefree time, but there are ominous intimations even early on, at least in Alfred's art. The placid serenity of the woods is depicted with harsh swipes of black ink, as if danger is lurking in the shadows:

And Peter's scary dog looks like a ferocious beast:

Tellingly, the dog becomes something of a bond between Ollie and Peter, as the latter allows the former to walk it, something he does for nobody else. It's something scary that is shared between them and encouraged to keep separate from others, just one way in which Peter's relationship with Ollie gets creepy and weird in ways that a child can't quite understand.

And then the incident happens, with Peter proposing that he and Ollie sleep next to each other and rub each other's bellies, a disturbing idea that only becomes more so when we see it happen. Alfred's depiction of Peter's proposal is scary, with his juxtaposition of the massive older man against the frail child emphasizing the priest's disgustingly predatory actions, and the bright, sunny atmosphere of the scene acting as an ironic commentary on the darkness of the scene:

But that's nothing compared to the literal darkness of the actual molestation. It's a scene that is just awful and horrible, making the reader want to look away from the page, even though we don't actually see anything that happens; our view is limited to dark, shadowy images and Ka's narration:

It's ugly and terrible, and it stretches on for page after page, forcing us to wallow in the terrible event. While we'll never have it burned into the very core of our being like Ka, it's an approximation of his experience, a never-ending horror that not only seems to last forever, but lingers unforgettably in the memory.

After this, Ollie moves on with his life, but never really recovers from the deep emotional wounds of the experience. His parents split up, he drops out of school and has personal problems, but he eventually gets his life together, falling in love and forming a family of his own. But the scars are still there, as can be seen in incidents like a heated argument with friends who decide to have their child baptized, or a panic attack that comes over him when he enters the church at a friend's wedding. He starts to sink into a depression, experiencing nightmares that demonstrate the extent of his inner pain:

As with so much of this book, that sequence is incredibly effective, showing all the different ways in which Peter hurt him. This was a trusted family friend, and the way he used him in a perversion of an act of love and then cast him aside like garbage, it's no surprise that Ka was still reeling more than twenty years later.

Eventually, Ka decided that he needed to write down the experience, doing what he could to exorcise it from his system. This led to the book being made after he began working with Alfred, a friend and colleague, but the two of them decided to return to Happy River and try to get some closure. Little did they know that Ka would end up confronting Peter himself and forcing him to face the extent of his actions, but that's exactly what happened. It's a harrowing scene, with Ka placing us in his head as he faces the cause of his emotional turmoil, and rather than try to approximate it with linework, Alfred actually switches to photos, depicting the several pages of the confrontation as pictures that have been altered with moody colors to reflect the emotion of the scene:

That's how the book ends, with the note of, well, not triumph, but at least satisfaction that Ka was able to recover from his trauma and make the person who hurt him face what he did. Would that be enough for Ka to regain some semblance of sanity and continue with his life? Who can say, but what he has done here is a powerful work, exposing the extent of the damage that one person can inflict on another, and the total horror of somebody abusing their power on an innocent child. It's a scary book, but eventually a life-affirming one that shows how people can survive, even when subjected to the worst crimes imaginable. Ka has a strong voice, sure of his words, and he found a perfect collaborator here in Alfred, who brings a sort of European clear-line style to the characters, but also fills pages with gorgeous colors and emotional artistic effects without overtaking the story with his style. It's a great package, and if you can stomach its awful contents, it's one that shouldn't be missed.

Photographer follow-up: length-based art appreciation

2009-12-09T00:17:00.006-06:00

In yesterday's review of The Photographer, I noted a sequence that played out over several pages that featured a continuing background, but I was only able to post a portion of the whole scene. However, I did figure out how to post the entire thing elsewhere and link to it, so you can see the full extent of Emmanuel Guibert's work (click to enlarge and see non-distorted):

This is actually nearly four pages of comics, with two panels per tier, but I separated them and laid them out horizontally to demonstrate the way Guibert makes the whole thing work as one long walk through a detailed landscape. It's pretty gorgeous, like one of those scenes in a Woody Allen movie in which two characters have a conversation while walking down a Manhattan sidewalk and the camera just follows them, never looking away. But what struck me was how well the changing landscape matches the mood of the scene; at the beginning, when the conversation between Didier Lefevre, the photographer of the title, and Juliette, the leader of the humanitarian mission to Afghanistan, is limited to a fairly benign subject, they are crossing smooth ground:

As they move into trickier cultural and religious matters, the terrain gets a bit more uneven:

But when Didier springs his news that he's going to leave the party and travel back to Pakistan on his own, the path gets especially rocky, befitting the change in mood to one of conflict and argumentation:

Note also how Guibert moves the characters up to the foreground at the most important moment, and how Juliette is cut off by the edge of the panel, caught completely by surprise:

We don't even get to see her reaction; she's so taken aback that she stops in her tracks. See how in the next panel, Didier has turned back to talk to her as she remains in place. Then they continue walking, but it seems less of an amiable chat than before, judging by the less-casual body language and changing positions of the characters. The pacing also works to convey the tension, with a big rock blocking our view for a moment, making it seem as though Juliette has paused to consider before making her decision:

She accepts that she can't control Didier, and he's going to have to manage on his own, as rash as his decision might be. At that point, the ground smooths out again, and it also works as a sort of fade-out, as they walk off into the distance and end the scene:

It's a great example of Guibert's command of the comics form; all this technique is subtle, not even noticeable unless you choose to look more closely and examine the workings of the art. This is just one scene in the book; the rest of it is full of stuff like this that demonstrates Guibert's storytelling mastery. He's certainly one of the current greats on the global scene. I can't wait to see what he'll do next.

The Photographer: Human tragedy is awful, if occasionally self-inflicted

2009-12-08T22:25:00.005-06:00

Elsewhere: I've got a review of SWORD #2 up at Comics Bulletin. Enjoy.

One link: Dash Shaw's online animated series The Unclothed Man in the 35th Century A.D. is now online at IFC.com. I haven't watched it yet, but I'm looking forward to it.

The Photographer

Written by Didier Lefevre and Emmanuel Guibert

Art by Emmanuel Guibert

Photos by Didier Lefevre

While fiction can be a great source of ideas and characters and plots, there's a reason real-life stories are so compelling. The accumulation of un-fakable details, relatable emotions, and plain old truth is something that hits readers close to the heart, pulling us in in a way that a fabrication can't accomplish without a lot of work. That doesn't necessarily mean that everyone has an important story that the world needs to hear (hence the perpetual backlash against "indie autobio comics"), but when a creator can educate on an important subject and inform readers about lesser-known areas of the human experience, the reality of what they experienced has undeniable power.

And that's exactly the case with Didier Lefevre, the photographer of the title who participated in a mission to Afghanistan with Doctors Without Borders in 1986, during the decade-long invasion of the country by the Soviet Union. As one would expect, it's a fascinating tale, full of detail about every step of the journey, dropping readers right into his shoes as he experiences severe culture shock, watches heroic people work themselves to the breaking point to help their fellow man, and comes terrifyingly close to not surviving the journey. The story has especial significance in current times, but even without the weight of modern world affairs, it's an unforgettable glimpse into a part of the world that most of us will never see.

While this is Lefevre's story, told directly from his perspective and making heavy use of his memories and accompanied by hundreds of the photographs that he took, French cartoonist Emmanuel Guibert is the one that really brings it to life in comics form, capturing the likenesses of everyone Lefevre encountered and making the landscapes and villages seem like real, lived-in locales. The photos are interspersed throughout the pages, such that they often seem like comics panels among the rest of the illustrations, but Guibert fills everything out, making the characters seem to move and live in the way that static photography can't. But he does this without being showy, sticking to muted colors and subtle figure work. It's only when you look closer that you realize the great work he does, capturing realistic gestures, movements, and facial expressions, and putting just the right amount of detail into the folds of clothing and the objects in the backgrounds, such that the artwork doesn't stand out from the photos, but also emphasizes the way they can more fully capture reality. It's all perfectly paced and put together for the best flow, propelling the eye across the page without calling attention to itself.

The photos themselves are pretty great as well, filling pages with images of beautiful landscapes and fascinating people; it's easy to see why the organization wanted Lefevre along to document what they did and the experiences of the people they were helping. Nearly every page has examples of this imagery, but while most of the book contains diary-style narrative captions, they occasionally drop away and let the photos tell the story by themselves, working as comics on their own without Guibert's assistance:

Other times, Guibert takes over, especially in the character-focused scenes, which sometimes drop the backgrounds altogether to focus on the people and their conversations:

He doesn't always do this though; one key scene in particular sees Lefevre talking to the team leader as the two of them walk along a mountain path, and not only does Guibert show them moving across a detailed, non-repeating landscape, he moves in and out, making sure to bring them to the forefront at a key moment. But the fascinating thing is, while the sequence plays out over several pages, the panels fit together when placed end to end to create one long background, showing the level of dedication that he brought to the scene (click to enlarge):

Other times, he uses the simplicity of scenes' visuals to come up with something striking, like a scene in which the team must cross the Pakistan-Afghanistan border in the middle of the night, in pitch blackness:

And one other technique that pops up here and there sees Guibert providing more sketchy illustrations in the midst of long narrative captions, breaking up the long stream of text:

As one would expect from a figure like Guibert, it's masterful work. But what of the story itself? As moving and striking as it is, one complaint that could be brought against it is that it focuses too much on Lefevre himself, emphasizing his experiences and perspective over everything else. That's not entirely fair, since this is a diaristic account of his every moment during the trip, and the sheer volume of detail about everything he sees is fascinating, but the most interesting portions of the story involve the people living in the war zone and the particulars of the medicine practiced in such difficult conditions. Of the three sections of the book (which were originally published between 2003 and 2006 in separate albums), only the middle one focuses on this aspect of the journey, with the first covering the journey there and the third the trip home. As interesting as the trips over mountain passes are, the real meat of the book is in that selfless work that the medical personnel did, with an especially striking section seeing the aftermath of a bombing and putting a heartbreakingly sad human face on the collateral damage that is so easily ignored on the evening news.

The third book especially suffers after the moving portions of the middle of the story, as does the reader's probable estimation of Lefevre's character. After learning about a week-long detour on the planned trip back to Pakistan, he foolishly decided to make the journey on his own (with a guide), even though he didn't speak the language and wouldn't have the experience of the other members of the team or the safety of numbers. It's enough to call into question the emotional damage or post-traumatic stress the experience must have caused him, and the rash decision nearly costs him his life. But while he has a thrilling adventure, it can only diminish him in the eyes of the reader; after seeing the horror that some people have to live through, one would have thought he would put more value on human life and not throw his own away so casually. He certainly doesn't act very well on his journey either, coming across as irritated with the people tasked to assist him when they don't live up to his expectations, acting like the caricature of the foreigner who believes himself to be more important than those poorer than him. Guibert does get at least one great sequence out of it though, in a scene that sees Lefevre lost in a snowstorm, descending into an angry fugue and taking out his emotions on his poor horse:

The story being related so many years later, Lefevre must have had some conception of the way his actions would be viewed, and this being a matter-of-fact chronicle of his experience, he and Guibert seem to leave it up to the reader to decide what to think. Is it intended to be a depiction of the depths to which man can sink when he feels he's lost everything? Are we supposed to be excited for Lefevre as he sets out on his own, as if he's doing something brave and self-actualizing? Whatever the case, it might be interesting, but it suffers when juxtaposed with the real horrors of innocent people trying to survive in an awful environment, and it's an unfortunate ending to a remarkable story.

But really, while Lefevre's trials and tribulations take over in the final third, the book as a whole does an incredible job of bringing the time and place to life, plopping the reader down in an unimaginably foreign land and describing what we're looking at, nearly overwhelming the mind with the details of the people's lives. It's wonderful to have a human face on the stories that come to us from the other side of the world, something that can tether abstract ideas of government, economics, and war to reality. Guibert and Lefevre have put together something amazing here, a great bit of comics journalism and autobiography, and it should definitely not be missed.

This week, the manga will crush us all

2009-12-07T12:00:00.005-06:00

Obnoxious satisfaction dept.: I was hoping if I whined enough, people would finally respond to my call for contest entries, so I was excited to get the following image from Mr. Tim Callahan:

Hell yeah! Steve McQueen! It was all worth it just for that.

Links: The latest Myspace Dark Horse Presents is up, and the highlight this month is "Duke Armstrong, the World's Mightiest Golfer", by Jim Rugg and Brian Maruca. It's awesome. There's also a cute two-pager by Damon Gentry and Aaron Conley (of Invade My Privacy), and a well-illustrated, if fairly dumb, horror thing by Cody Goodfellow and Jeff Wamester. Check them out, says I.

Kurutta, a blog which often highlights strange Japanese ephemera, posted two really cool Taiyo Matsumoto short comics (in color!) last week, "Off TV" and "Moment". They're pretty great; now I really can't wait to read GoGo Monster.

New comics this week (Wednesday, 12/9/09):

Amber Hagerman Deserves Justice A Night Owl Story One Shot

What better way to kick off the usually snide and jokey weekly round-up than with a self-published comic written by a 14-year-old about the murder of the 9-year-old girl who inspired the AMBER Alert system? You can't criticize something like that! This sort of thing is not usually an indicator of high quality, but you never know, and at the very least, it means well. You can learn more about it here.

Anchor #3

Okay, this is more like it. Badass monster-punching, demon-scheming, and amnesia-fighting, with some nice art and plenty of weird and interesting shit. I've been digging this thing, so give it a look if you haven't already.

Anywhere #1

And now comes the snark. This one is an ostensible comedy, even written by a Comedy Central producer (which could mean anything from The Daily Show to Li'l Bush), about two slacker guys who have the power to go anywhere they want, but "are more interested in unlocking the nude code in Tomb Raider than saving the day". Ooh, topical! What other references straight out of 1997 will be included? Maybe they'll kidnap Leonardo Dicaprio from the premiere of Titanic! Or dance to the song "Barbie Girl"! Yeah, this is most likely pretty awful; if you want to know more, here's an interview with some art samples.

Citizen Rex #6

Gilbert (and Mario) Hernandez's latest series finishes, just in time for me not to read it before compiling a "best of 2009" list. I'm looking forward to getting the collection though, so hopefully it won't take too long to come out.

Days Missing #5

I've found this series about some powerful alien dude with the ability to alter time and space sporadically interesting, but ultimately not all that good. However, this issue, which I believe is the final one of the miniseries, sees the return of the first issue's creative team, Phil Hester and Frazier Irving, and it seems like they might end up revealing some secrets or something, so maybe it will wrap things up satisfyingly? Considering the nature of the comic, it probably won't be either creator's best work, but it might be worth a read. Yes, I'm as backhanded as ever with my recommendations.

Daytripper #1

Ooh, here's a really good-looking release. This new Vertigo series (or miniseries, rather, scheduled for ten issues) by Fabio Moon and Gabriel Ba looks gorgeous and fascinating. I love pretty much everything those guys have done, and they just keep getting better. This appears to be about a writer living in their home city of São Paulo, Brazil, although there are probably going to be magical-realist touches and whatnot; I'm trying not to learn too much about it before reading. I'm sort of planning to wait for the collection, but I might not be able to; I expect I'll at least pick up the first issue. Anyway, here's a preview.

DCU Holiday Special 2009 #1

I really don't plan to buy or read this, since these things are generally pretty awful with maybe one or two decent stories among several, but this one is at least worth mentioning because Jeff Lemire has a story in it. I doubt his style will go over very well with regular superhero fans, but you never know, maybe it will spark a revolution in mainstream artistic technique, and soon he'll be illustrating Wonder Woman or something. We can all hope.

Deathlok #2

Some people seemed to like the first issue of this weird-ass series, but I found it just bizarre and mostly incomprehensible. I guess the idea of corporations in the future fighting wars that are televised and treated like sports is kind of funny and satirical, but I found it just sort of ugly and gross. Maybe I'll like the second issue better? I'd recommend un-bleeping the naughty words though; we all know what they're saying.

DMZ #48

Your Brian Wood for the week, with more from the New York war zone. Now this is satire I can get behind, if you can call it that. I'm waiting for the next collection, as always.

God Complex #1

Here's the latest series from Michael Avon Oeming, co-written by Daniel Berman and illustrated by John Broglia, about Apollo wanting to be a human and having to fight the other gods to do so. This seems to be a popular sort of comics plot lately, doesn't it; maybe mythology is in right now for some reason. Anyway, here's an interview/preview, if you want to see what it looks like (which is Broglia imitating Oeming, apparently).

Groo Hogs of Horder #2

Groo! I always get excited about him. It's the second part of the latest miniseries, as our mendicant "hero" continues to deal with analogues for the financial crisis. Don't tell me nobody's going to be able to afford cheese dip anymore!

Incarnate #3

It's the final issue (for now?) of Nick Simmons' manga-ish vampire/monster/whatever series. This thing took a surprising turn in the second installment, morphing into a sort of school comedy or something, although it did contain plenty of action and violence. What a weird comic. I'll try to do a sort of wrap-up of the series if I end up getting a review copy.

Invincible Iron Man #21

Tony Stark continues to have coma-tastic adventures, which always makes for excitement. Actually, I don't know what's going on in this issue, but Matt Fraction has definitely brought the series in an interesting direction. Hopefully it will be good; he's managed to build up some good will after the last arc.

Muppet Show Vol 2 #0

Roger Langridge's Muppet comic is dispatching with the "series of miniseries" format and becoming a monthly ongoing, starting with this issue, which, in a surprising and hopefully temporary turn, is only written by Langridge, and illustrated by Shelli Paroline. I'm sure it will still be funny, but hopefully Langridge will be back on art duties soon. The story involves the making of a "Pigs in Space" movie. Fun?

Punishermax #2

Jason Aaron and Steve Dillon keep their awkwardly-titled run going, doing more stuff with the MAX versions of Kingpin and Bullseye, one expects. Probably enjoyable, and as good as we're likely to get without Garth Ennis.

Spider-Man and the Secret Wars #1

I have no idea what's going on with Spider-Man lately, but Marvel seems to be intent on retelling various stories from his past for some reason, possibly for the purpose of ironing out continuity issues caused by deals with the devil. Only in comics do we get stuff like this, where somebody has to write a story for the sole purpose of explaining what happened in a past story after later writers changed that story in order to make their later story make sense. Why should anybody care about this? It's completely ridiculous. It's written by Paul Tobin, who might be able to make it interesting and make some sort of sense, but really, he should be ashamed that he even has to bother, as should anybody who reads the damn thing. There's plenty of fiction and entertainment out there that isn't just different versions of things you've already read. Expand your horizons, people!

SWORD #2

I enjoyed the first issue of this series about the guys who defend the Earth against aliens, so hopefully this one will also be good. Find out more tomorrow, when I write about it for Comics Bulletin. Don't let me down, Kieron Gillen!

Wolverine Under the Boardwalk

I guess Wolverine isn't content to do his normal thing (at which he is the best, although said thing is purported to not be pleasant), so now he's crooning old pop songs about making love while people are walking above. Stuart Moore and Tomm Coker tell us all about it; way to bring the romance back into Marvel comics, guys!

3-2-3 Detective Agency in The Disappearance of Dave Warthog TP

Well, this certainly seems like a cute bit of kids' comics, about a bunch of animals who all meet on a train and form a team of detectives. That'll cleanse your palate after the inevitable blood and violence of Wolverine massacreing a bunch of Atlantic City vacationers. You can see some samples of the art here, along with a description of the cover design process. Cute?

Batman The Cult TPB New Printing

I've never read this Jim Starlin/Berni Wrightson story, but from what I've heard, it's pretty damn crazy, about Batman fighting a crazy religious leader who organized an army of Gotham City's homeless. I'll have to check it out if I get the chance.

Boys Definitive ED HC VOL 2 W/Slipcover

For those who have lots of money, here's the second half of the fancy presentation of most of the series to date, taking you up to issue #30 with extras and whatnot. If you can afford it, I won't try to dissuade you, but think of all the other good Garth Ennis comics that could be bought with that money. Also, the children, why doesn't anyone ever think of them?

Crossing the Empty Quarter & Other Stories HC

Dark Horse is publishing this collection of various short comics stories by Carol Swain, including two brand-new ones. I don't know that I've ever read anything of hers, but this looks quite nice; it might be one to check out. You can see a short preview here, and a longer one in "flip book" format here.

Dark Reign Underside TPB

I really dug the Joe Casey/Nathan Fox Dark Reign: Zodiac miniseries that came out earlier this year; it actually did something interesting with the concept, and was full of crazy energy, shocking violence, and awesome art. If you missed out on the single issues, here's the collected format, but unfortunately you have to pay for Dark Reign: Mr. Negative and Dark Reign: Lethal Legion as well. Those might not be bad (I didn't read them), but considering the general level of quality at Marvel these days, I wouldn't expect too much. Still, that Casey/Fox joint was pretty fucking awesome, so maybe it'll lift the others up to the level of "tolerable" simply through proximity.

Ex Machina Vol 8 Dirty Tricks TPB

My must-buy trade collection of the week, containing the most recent storyline and a Halloween special. I think this is the one where Brian K. Vaughan and Tony Harris make an in-story appearance as comics biographers of Mitchell Hundred? That's cool. This series has kind of lost its luster for me now that I'm not reading it each month (or whenever it comes out), but I'm still looking forward to catching up, and I hope it all ends well. Don't let me down, BKV!

Kindling James Jean Poster Book

Twelve 12" x 16" posters for 30 bucks, so if you want to festoon your walls with some gorgeous work, here you go. See samples here. I sure do like me some James Jean.

Love Buzz GN

A new graphic novel from Oni Press, written by Len Wallace and illustrated by Michelle Silva and Dave Tuney. It's apparently about a couple's relationship struggles, which get turned into fodder for the comics that one of them makes. When it comes to romance-type stories, I do prefer ones that are about a couple learning to live with each other rather than a will-they-or-won't-they retread about falling in love. This one might be worth a look. You can read a 22-page preview here.

MMW Golden Age Sub-Mariner HC Vol 3

Another volume of pricey reprints of old comics. Probably some good stuff here by Bill Everett, and some backup stories by Basil Wolverton. Too expensive for me though. Library?

Portable Grindhouse Lost Art Of VHS Box Vol 1 TP

Fantagraphics' latest non-comics book, collecting a whole bunch of covers for exploitation movies from the 70s and 80s. Sounds cool, if you like that sort of thing. Here's their usual slideshow/preview.

Return Of King Doug HC

Another Oni Press graphic novel, this one appears to be about a kid who got transported to your standard fantasy kingdom and tasked with saving it from evil or something, but instead of rising to the occasion, he fled. 25 years later, as an adult, he has to finish the job; maybe it's all a metaphor for facing your fears or something? The book was optioned for a movie adaptation by Ben Stiller, which, depending on your tolerance of him, might or might not be a sign of quality. It might be all right; Katherine Dacey has a review here.

Runaways Good Die Young TPB

This is Marvel's latest reprint of the third collection of the first volume of the series, which finished up the initial "kids vs. parents" storyline in an exciting manner. It was pretty damn good stuff, from what I recall. If you haven't read it before in some form or other, this is as good as any.

Sky Doll TP Vol 01

And here's another collection from Marvel, showing how weirdly-priced their translations of the French Soleil books are. The three individual issues of this series were six dollars each, and this softcover collection of said issues is 20 bucks. That's just a bad deal in every format. I did like the first issue when I read it, but I just can't justify spending that much, even though I'm certainly interested in the book. Maybe I can get it at the library; I'm sure they jumped at the chance to have this sort of cartoony sexiness on their shelves.

Tale Of Despereaux Movie The Graphic Novel HC

It's a sign of the times: comics are popular these days, so animated kids' movies get graphic novel adaptations. Is it any good? I dunno, was the movie any good? It looked kind of cute, so the book probably is too? Backhanded recommendations? Yes!

Vietnam Journal Vol 1 Indian Country TPB

This was apparently an acclaimed series from the late 80s about, well, what the title says, the creator's experiences in the Vietnam War. Now it's getting a collected version, so the rest of us can find out if it deserves the praise. You can read the first issue for free here.

Azumanga Daioh Collected Edition TP

There's quite an onslaught of manga coming this week, especially from Yen Press and Viz. The former has another version of this four-panel series from Hideo Azuma, creator of Yotsuba&!, which is supposed to be good, or so I hear. I've never read it, but it seems to get a new edition every year or so. Maybe I'll get to it one of these days.

Cirque Du Freak Vol 3 Tunnels Of Blood GN

Yen also has this volume of the multimedia series about a vampire circus or something. I've been curious about it, but still haven't read it, or watched the movie. Isn't John C. Reilly in that one as a vampire? Crazy.

Detroit Metal City Vol 3 TP

Oh man, I'm behind on this series already; I still haven't read volume 2. I thought the first one was pretty hilarious, so I imagine this one continues the trend. Rape me with your music, Lord Krauser!

Dogs Bullets & Carnage Vol 2 GN

I also liked the first (zeroth?) volume of this series, and thus am behind on it as well. I'm not as frantic to catch up on it, but maybe someday. Guns and genetic mutations: that's fun, right?

GoGo Monster HC

Taiyo Matsumoto! I'm very excited to read this new (to Westerners) book of his, about a kid who imagines himself into some sort of magical fantasy world. That might sound like a tired concept, but Matsumoto should be able to make it sing. The book is kind of expensive at $28, but it's a hardcover with a slipcase, so it's sort of worth it, probably. I hope.

Naoki Urasawa's 20th Century Boys Vol 6 TP

And here's another one I'm behind on. I'm all caught up with Pluto though, so that's something. This series is pretty epic though; it should be awesome to see what Urasawa does over the course of twenty-some volumes. I'll be there to the end, man.

Ooku The Inner Chambers Vol 2 GN

More old-Japanese gender-swapped political intrigue. I haven't read the first volume, but it's one I'd like to get to at some point. Oh, someday, always someday with these books...

Pandora Hearts Vol 1 GN

This seems to be another example of the Japanese interest in Alice in Wonderland, and also maybe The Wizard of Oz. You've got a kid named Oz, who gets saved from assassination by a black rabbit named Alice. I can't tell if it's a magical sort of fantasy thing, or a modern espionage thriller. Or if I should care, but I'm at least intrigued by the description. It's a maybe.

Raiders Vol 1 GN

This one (which, judging by the name of the creator, appears to be manhwa rather than manga) looks like it's going for an Indiana Jones vibe, with a teenage girl archaeologist gaining immortality by finding the Holy Grail and drinking the blood of Christ. And then she fights monsters or something. Fun?

Sarasah Vol 1 GN
Sarasah Vol 2 GN

Another manhwa, this time featuring a goofy time travel premise, something having to do with a girl being sent to the past to try to make sure she falls in love with the boy she likes, or something like that. Sounds like a goofy shojo soap opera twist on Back to the Future or something. Huh.

Time And Again Vol 1 GN

Horror manhwa, with a collection of ghost stories following the adventures of an exorcist. Could be decent.

Yotsuba Vol 7 GN

And for your final Yen offering, it's the latest volume in everybody's favorite comic about a cute little girl and all the wacky stuff that happens around her. I should try to catch up on this series at some point; as everybody on earth seems to attest, it's charming as hell. I think this one catches us up to the Japanese releases, so it might be a while before the next volume shows. Fans have been shown to be patient though, what with the drought between volumes; they'll be waiting for the next time a little green-haired girl comes knocking at their door.

-----

Whew, that's a lot of stuff. Comics, always comics, they never stop coming. I'm working on getting caught up on reading 2009 releases, so hopefully I'll keep writing about them. Watch this space.

We have a winner! And a bunch of losers

2009-12-05T21:31:00.005-06:00

I'm pleased to announce that the winner of the Warren Peace Sings the Blues Third Blogiversary Giveaway is Alex Hoffman, the proprietor of Manga Widget, who sent in the following badass image:

He knows I loves me some Kirby. So that means he wins my extra copy of Moyasimon, so everybody give him a round of applause.

However, I'm less pleased to note that while his entry is awesome, it wins by default, since nobody else sent me anything. So I suppose I'll take the following quotes from the comments section of the post in which I announced the contest, and declare them runners up:

"It's...a pleasure reading [his] thoughtful reviews[!]" - Sandy Bilus, I Love Rob Liefeld

"Who'd have guessed...that [this] would be the Matt Brady with staying power!" - Alan David Doane, Comic Book Galaxy

"...one of the greats[!]" - Sean Witzke, Supervillain

Really, I was hoping I would get more entries, so I could give away more of the books I've got lying around. So, I guess I'll go ahead and extend the call for entries through the end of December. The "guidelines" are "specified" in the post linked above, but I'm just asking for something I can use, whether it's a neat image, a banner logo, a pull quote, or whatever. And in case you're worried that I'm just going to send you some random comics that I've got stuffed under my mattress, here's what I've got to give away (much of which I've written about at some point, if you want to know if it's any good):

Wonton Soup, volume 2, by James Stokoe

Remake, by Lamar Abrams

The Damned: Three Days Dead, by Cullen Bunn and Brian Hurtt

Razorjack, by John Higgins

~~Krash Bastards~~~~, volume 1, by Joe Casey and Axel#13~~ (taken!)

Goats: The Corndog Imperative, by Jonathan Rosenberg

All You Need Is Kill, by Hiroshi Sakurazaka

Nylon Road, by Parsua Bashi

The Arcade of Cruelty, by Joseph Patrick Larkin

Superheroes and Beyond (How to Draw), by Christopher Hart

The Official xxxHolic Guide, by CLAMP

Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle Character Guide 2, by CLAMP

Random volumes of many, many manga series, including Naruto, Black Lagoon, Gimmick, Rosario + Vampire, We Were There, High School Debut, Nightmare Inspector, Record of a Fallen Vampire, and Fullmetal Alchemist.

And plenty of other stuff, if I want to dig in my closet, but considering the level of interest so far, I doubt I'll get beyond what's listed here. If people don't enter, I'll probably end up donating most of it to the local library, so get it while it's available! Or don't, see if I care.

Essex County: I'm late to the party, but I'll still wear a lampshade on my head

2009-12-03T22:40:00.000-06:00

Elsewhere: I reviewed Strange #2 at Comics Bulletin. No TV reviews this week, since neither show I write about had a new episode. Sorry, Brady-addicts.

Links: One Patrick Wensink informs me that he is having a coloring contest using images from his book, Sex Dungeon For Sale!, and one of the prizes is an autographed copy of Michael Kupperman's Tales Designed to Thrizzle collection. So go enter!

Check out the awesome Paul Pope illustrations for a GQ article about Japanese concept cars. Hey, wasn't Battling Boy supposed to come out this year?

I really liked this fumetti piece starring Harvey Pekar at the Graphic NYC blog. Good stuff.

Okay:

Essex County

By Jeff Lemire

Jeff Lemire has been getting a lot of acclaim over the past few years, and with this brick of a collection of his breakout series, it's easy to see why. Some (your not-necessarily-humble critic, for one) might have balked at his work, unsure about the odd artistic style, but once you dive into the stories here, it's easy to get lost in Lemire's world of placid settings and crushing loneliness. And while his intimate storytelling style might have gripped readers and plunged them into the lives of his characters in the single volumes, having them all smashed together really brings out the intricacies of the interconnected relationships and long-term plotting; it all ends up seeming like more than the sum of its parts, which, considering the affect those parts have had on readers, is really saying something.

Lemire starts out small with the first third of his trilogy, Tales from the Farm. It follows a young, orphaned boy who is struggling to deal with the death of his mother and the lack of a father figure throughout his life. He chafes against the unsure guidance of the uncle in whose care he was left, gravitating instead toward the hulking neighborhood gas station attendant, another lonely soul who once had a chance at glory as a pro hockey player before an injury sidelined him permanently. He's not helped either by a superhero comics obsession that leads him to wear a mask and cape everywhere he goes, but this does allow some escape through flights of fantasy.

The second book, Ghost Stories, sees a pair of hockey-playing brothers leave the rural county of the title in order to play in the minor leagues in Toronto, briefly finding a bit of athletic glory before managing to alienate each other and remain apart for most of the rest of their lives. The story is told in flashback, narrated by the lonelier of the brothers as he struggles to understand his surroundings when dementia sets in, causing him to confuse everything he sees with some moment from his past, adding an additional layer of poignance to the already-sad story of a lifetime of regret.

Finally, the third volume, The Country Nurse, ties everything together, revealing the deep connections between the first two sets of characters and allowing for a bit of closure, if not exactly a resolution. Lemire gives us two storylines here, with one in the present following the title character as she makes her rounds, inserting herself into others' lives and meddlesomely trying to help with their emotional issues, while still dealing with her own, which involve a dead husband and a rebellious son. This is intercut with a flashback to nearly a century before, as a nun who oversees a remote orphanage must lead her young charges through the snowy wilderness after a tragic fire; could they end up being the ancestors of all our present-day heroes? This wraps everything up in a possibly too-perfect bundle, but it does point out that there's no need for the loneliness and isolation these characters all force themselves into; they've got something in common, as does everybody on earth if you go back far enough.

The whole, huge tapestry ends up being a sad ensemble piece, with the first book setting the tone for the series early, and the rest of the stories continuing in a similar vein. Lemire catalogues myriad variations of poignant isolation, usually self-inflicted. But this is no simplistic, surface-only wallow in various bits of sadness; Lemire manages to make all the characters feel achingly real, through glimpses of their thoughts, examples of the way they go about their lives, flashbacks to revelatory moments, and interactions with each other that demonstrate their halting desire for connection. It's a very impressive example of character architecture, with the reader immersed in these people's lives and feeling transported to a very specific setting and emotional state.

That artwork, which is certainly uniquely idiosyncratic with its square noses and spindly, elongated limbs, ends up working wonderfully to define the setting and characters, and brings a surprising specificity of emotion to life along with wide-open landscapes that match the emptiness that everyone seems to feel. It might look somewhat crude at first glance, but the sketchy raggedness of the lines hides a firm grasp of technique that eventually leads to some astonishingly effective moments.

The second volume, especially, sees some wonderful, powerful scenes in which emotion is laid bare on characters' faces and Lemire comes up with beautiful artistic techniques to convey memory. The elderly Lou watching a key moment from his past play out as if he's just another observer in the room is heartbreaking:

And a bit of tearful recall at a moment of childhood happiness is equally sad:

Lemire returns to bravura artistic moments like these several times throughout the series, but he's even more effective at simple conversations, in which inner pain simmers behind his characters' eyes:

I've only scratched the surface here; there is much emotional richness to be encountered within these covers. Lemire has his own style of art and storytelling, but it's a pretty incredible one, able to work wonders to bring people to life, making us care about them and want happiness, forgetting that they're simple lines on paper. That's the mark of a great storyteller, and it's obvious that Lemire should have a long, fruitful artistic career ahead of him.

This week, I realize how many 2009 books I still have left to read

2009-11-30T12:00:00.001-06:00

I don't believe I have anything new to say, so let's get to it:

New comics this week (THURSDAY, 11/3/09):

Boys #37

The problem with listing these alphabetically is that this title always ends up at the top, and I never have anything to say other than that I look forward to reading it when it's collected. Garth Ennis, Darick Robertson, superhero decadence of the quality sort. I still need to read Herogasm...

Cinderella from Fabletown with Love #2

One of your Fables-related titles for the week, which I'll end up reading once it's collected. Hmm, that probably gets pretty tiresome when I say that about multiple comics every week. Sorry, tiny readership! Anyway, if you want to read what I thought was a good review, check out Nina Stone's take on the first issue, and then read the comments for some superhero-fan whining. Gotta love the internet.

Dingo #1

It seems like Boom! Studios is constantly releasing these little miniseries, many of them written by Michael Alan Nelson. This one is "a supernatural crime story in the vein of 100 Bullets" (which wasn't supernatural), something about a dude who wants a box and probably kills people to get it. If Nelson learned anything from Quentin Tarantino, we'll probably never find out what was in the box, but who knows. It might be interesting to read, maybe some good action? I can never tell if these are just a bunch of rejected film scripts that Nelson has lying around or something. That doesn't mean they aren't good, but it's weird that Boom! makes so many of them.

Empowered One-Shot

Aw, yeah, a dose of Adam Warren before the year ends. This is part of Dark Horse's current "one-shot" initiative that sees single-issue releases related to several of the series they publish. That means a standalone Empowered story, although it's in black and white rather than the color that I would hope for in a pamphlet-style release like this. Still, I'll take anything by Warren that I can get. Here, have a preview.

Fall of the Hulks Alpha

I really shouldn't care about whatever sort of event/crossover is going on in the Hulk line of books, but since Jeff Parker is involved, I guess I'm obligated, since I do tend to worship at his feet. I don't know how the rest of the story will go, but this first part, in which Parker tells the secret history of yet another shadowy group of major players in the Marvel Universe, this one consisting of super-smart villains the Leader, the Mad Thinker, the Wizard, Egghead, and the Red Ghost. It's retcon-tastic blah-de-blah, Parker-style! If that sounds like fun to you, well, you're probably not reading stuff like Underground, where Parker is actually telling stories rather than carrying out editorial diktat. You're missing out. Enjoy your multicolored smashing, nerds.

Glamourpuss #10

Dave Sim, still carrying on with the history lessons and weird humor that only he really gets. This issue features a look at Gene Colan, which will probably be neat and informative, if you are one of the few who bother to read it.

Iron Man Requiem

Here's another weird Marvel thing: their current penchant for recoloring their old comics. I guess people like the shiny layers of digital paint slapped on top of 40-year-old linework? That's what we get here, with reprints of the first Iron Man story from Tales of Suspense #39 and the story about how Tony Stark met James Rhodes from Iron Man #144, along with a framing story by Matt Fraction and Kano that metafictionally points out the discrepancy between the original Vietnam War setting of the origin and the current version, which took place in Afghanistan. Good god, comics don't make much sense these days, do they? Fraction even makes fun of Stan Lee's goofy writing, possibly as an expression of annoyance because he's also chafing under editorial constraints. Hey, Matt, Iron Man is fun and all, but you should get back to writing Casanova! That's what you're really good at!

Jack of Fables #40

Another Fables-related comic, another obligatory mention from me. I need to read that most recent collection sometime before the next volume of the main book comes out...

King City #3

Brandon Graham, baby! I'm loving this reprint series, even though I already read the book. It looks great, it's cool, people are reading it. Don't stop anytime soon, please!

Secret History Book 7

I haven't read any of this European series that Archaia has been sporadically publishing, but I've heard it's good. Something about an alternate history and World War I? I dunno, it seems cool. Someday, maybe.

Starr the Slayer #4

Daniel Way and Richard Corben keep up the lowbrow comedy and violence here, I expect, and probably some other metafictional stuff. It's the finale, and I bet Starr wins. It's been an enjoyable little series, especially for Corben fans. Now let's have him do Ultimate Spider-Man or something; that would be interesting.

Starstruck #4

I don't think I've seen this revived fantasy series in stores, but it's one that I would definitely like to check out. Let's hope a collection comes out soon.

Strange #2

I liked the first, baseball-themed issue of this new series about ex-Dr. Strange (except he should still be a doctor, right? Eh, whatever), so we'll see how it goes as it continues. It looks like this issue focuses on the girl he helped out last time, who is probably going to be his new apprentice. I hope it's good; I should have a review up at Comics Bulletin tomorrow.

Sweet Tooth #4

I finally got around to reading Essex County recently (review coming soon, if it's not up already), and man, now I'm aboard the Jeff Lemire love train. Damn, that guy is good. So, yeah, I'll have to get around to reading this post-apocalyptic Vertigo series that he's doing. Let's have a collection soon, please.

Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #5

Ultimate Spidey fights Mysterio, which should be fun, with lots of cool David LaFuente art, even if Tucker Stone disapproves. Hey, I like it.

365 Samurai & Few Bowls of Rice SC

Dark Horse has this digest-sized volume from European creator J.P. Kalonji, and it looks pretty cool, an art-focused action story about a wandering swordsman that's told in full-page panels. Kalonji looks like a creator to watch out for. Here's a fairly lengthy preview that really gets across what a nice-looking book this is.

Batman The Cat And The Bat TPB

This is the collection of that one Batman Confidential story where Batgirl and Catwoman fight naked. I might have to buy it and then white out all the nipple-obstructing objects and draw them in myself, because that would be so hot.

Larry Marder's Beanworld Vol 3 Remember Here When You Are There HC

This might have come out already, or maybe not; I dunno. I might read it sometime, but I really need to check out the first two volumes. I've never been able to get into this series, but I think I just need to jump in and read it, just immerse myself until it makes sense. Dancing beans in a weird two-dimensional landscape! Yeah, that's the ticket! Comics will drive me insane yet!

Binky Brown Meets The Holy Virgin Mary GN

I don't know if there's a new version of this book or something, but it's on my local shop's list of stuff coming out this week. I've never read it, but it's apparently a groundbreaking bit of autobiographical cartooning from way back in 1972, about author Justin Green's struggles with obsessive-compulsive disorder and Catholicism. So, yeah, I should definitely give it a read if I ever get the chance. Someday? That's what I always say, isn't it?

Dead She Said TP

IDW has this collection of the miniseries by Steve Niles and Berni Wrightson, some sort of ghost detective story. I heard it wasn't all that good, but I suppose I would look inside if I saw it on a shelf. Recommendations! That's what I do!

Doctor Grordbort Presents Victory HC

I think it's weird that Dark Horse publishes comics/books based on a line of replica rayguns produced by Weta, the special effects guys who worked on the Lord of the Rings movies, but here it is anyway. I guess this details a sort of alternate history full of retro-futuristic goofiness; maybe it's kind of fun? It's a bit pricey at $20 for a 64-page hardcover though. Here's a preview.

Electropolis TP

I think this collects a miniseries from a while back by Dean Motter, but it doesn't appear to be directly tied into his Mister X series, like so much of his other stuff. This one is about a robot detective in a futuristic city, and it does seem kind of cool. Maybe I might read it even, who knows? Here's a preview.

Ex Machina Deluxe Edition HC Vol 2

Just what the title says; it's the fancy hardcover version of the third and fourth volumes of the series. I like it just fine in paperback, or even single issues, but this is good too. It used to be one of my favorite series, but it seems pretty sporadic these days, even as it's nearing a conclusion. Absence doesn't always make the heart grow fonder.

Myspace Dark Horse Presents TP Vol 4

Wow, four volumes of this anthology already. How about that. And you can still read all of it online for free. This volume includes stories by Kate Beaton, Chris Onstad, David Malki, and plenty of others. Spend your money on it if you want, rich guy.

North World Vol 3 GN

I should probably try to read the second volume of this webcomics-to-print series, since I liked the first one. It's an odd sort of fantasy/modern hybrid that deals with relationships and whatnot in between the monster-slaying. I guess this one follows some supporting characters, rather than the main hero of the series. Maybe I'll catch up someday.

Nuns Without Guns GN

A weird title, a high concept, a probable lack of substance: yes, this is a Jason M. Burns graphic novel. I haven't been too impressed with what he's written in the past (The Expendable One, Curse of the Were-Woman, etc.), but man, that guy is prolific. This one involves nuns that fight demons, presumably hand-to-hand. Who knows, maybe he's turned a corner and doesn't suck as much now?

Popeye HC Vol 4 Plunder Island

I know this latest collection of the classic E.C. Segar strip is out in some places, because I saw it on the shelf at Quimby's a couple weeks ago. But here it is on the shipping list, so check it out if you haven't seen it yet. Popeye! Cool! I think this is an epic storyline from the good old days. Me, I still need to get through the first volume, but maybe I'll get caught up at some point. It's good stuff. Here, Fantagraphics has the usual slideshow/preview.

Stinky SC

It's the softcover version of Eleanor Davis' entry in the Toon Books line, about a monster who lives in a swamp and his boy pal. I hear it's good. Only five bucks! I can't pass that up if I see it.

Transmetropolitan Vol 5 Lonely City New Ed TPB

The next volume in the new edition of the Transmet reprints; I should really try to catch up on these. I think this is the first one after the election storyline? I dunno.

Unthinkable TP

Here's the collection of Boom!'s miniseries about a think tank that tried to come up with terrorist attacks in order to be prepared to fight them, but then the attacks start happening for real. It looked good, but I never did read it. Maybe I can remedy that now. Mark Sable writes, Julian Totino Tedesco draws, the TSA provides extra security screenings. Enjoy, paranoiacs!

Butterflies Flowers Vol 1 GN

This is the latest shojo/josei manga that Viz is pushing, and it looks like a good one, about a woman from a rich background who has to work in an office after her family goes bankrupt, and her boss is mean, which probably means he has a crush on her. Workplace romance manga? Yeah, that's the good stuff. Hopefully, people will buy it.

Emma Vol 10 TP

The final volume in the popular Victorian romance series. I really need to read this.

Honey And Clover Vol 8 GN

All right, it's a new volume of one of my favorite Shojo Beat titles! I can finally get caught up with my pretend art school pals! This is the first volume that contains new material that wasn't serialized in the magazine, so I'll be reading the hell out of it. Don't let me down, Chica Umino!

Moyasimon Vol 1 GN

I guess the release of this volume was delayed, possibly due to translation revisions? It's good stuff, about a college kid who can see bacteria, which causes him to get into wacky situations. I liked it. And hey, the contest in which I'm giving away copies of this volume is still open, so you might not even have to buy it!

One Piece East Blue 1-2-3 TP

I guess this is the omnibus edition of the first three volumes of the series, a pretty good deal at $15. I still haven't read hardly any of it at all, but I do plan to at some point. If you're like me and want to get into it, here's your chance.

Red Snow HC

Here's the artsy manga release of the week, from Drawn and Quarterly. It's about life in the Japanese countryside in the early 20th century, with some fantastical trappings and an emphasis on angst and loneliness, from what I understand. By Susumu Katsumata. It's always good to get this sort of classic stuff translated into English; I'll have to try to read it.

Sayonara Zetsubou-Sensei The Power Of Negative Thinking Vol 4 GN

It's also good to get weird, silly comedy series like this, which, from what I understand, is full of untranslatable in-jokes, references, and puns, but remains funny even for Westerners who don't understand any of that stuff. I do want to check it out. Someday, someday.

Slam Dunk Vol 7 GN

Aagh, I'm behind on this series! I really need to catch up, because I love it; it's one of the funniest manga I've ever read, and it's got some pretty exciting sports action too. I hope somebody gives me a bookstore gift card for Christmas, with all this stuff I'm going to need to buy...

Yokaiden Vol 2 GN

Finally, here's a non-manga manga pick, originating in the United States from creator Nina Matsumoto, but being all about supernatural Japanese creatures and whatnot. I actually received a review copy of this one, so I'll have to give it a read, even though I haven't read the first volume. I've heard it's good though, and I like Matsumoto's art. Let's hope it doesn't disappoint.

-----

Okay, enough blathering. I've got more comics to read and write about.

Plan B: Samuel Providence and the Nefarious Doctor Foil: I wish people referred to me as "nefarious"

2009-11-28T22:30:00.003-06:00

Hmm, apparently I don't do much blogging over a holiday week. However, I reviewed Immortal Weapons #5 for Comics Bulletin, and they also finally posted the review of Nylon Road that I wrote a couple weeks ago. For those who don't know, that's a Persepolis-ish memoir by a woman who grew up in Iran, and it's interesting; it was an interesting review to write. And, I wrote about The Venture Brothers and Fringe for The Factual Opinion; I especially like that Fringe write-up.

Webcomics-related links: Chris Grine is serializing the third volume of Chickenhare online, and it's in full color. I haven't read the first two, but it looks pretty good; I'll be following this one.

Seth Kushner and Kevin Colden are starting serialization of a graphic novel called Schmuck at Act-I-Vate, and it looks quite good. Kushner has a post all about it here.

And speaking of which, Newsarama has Kushner's documentary The Act-I-Vate Experience, watchable in several parts here. I talked about it recently, and it's good watching, something to get you excited to go to the site and read some comics. If you don't want to watch it split up into sections, I think it will soon be available elsewhere as well, but Newsarama has an exclusive for now.

This Top Shelf 2.0 entry by Ben Hutchings is pretty hilarious.

By the way, the artificially-imposed deadline for my Moyasimon giveaway contest is coming up, and I've only received one entry, unless I yank some pull quotes from the comments left on that post or something. Come on, people, send me something, even if it's a line like "Matthew J. Brady is clearly the best Matthew Brady of all the Matthew Bradys, even if he didn't win an Eisner for sucking up to Joe Quesada and his photography skills would have made people remember Abraham Lincoln much more poorly!" I might extend the deadline if necessary, or I might just select the one winner and be done with it. I was really hoping to give away some of the stuff I've got laying around though, so please, send me something. Anything!

And now:

Plan B, book 2: Samuel Providence and the Nefarious Doctor Foil

Written by Josh Jenkins

Art by Karl Slominski

It's certainly nice to see artistic growth happen right before your eyes, isn't it? The first volume of Plan B, Josh Jenkins and Karl Slominski's mad-scientist-related series was enjoyable, but had a lot of flaws, better in promise and potential than execution. Happily, this second book, while still not perfect, raises the bar quite a bit, holding together better as a story rather than a gag delivery mechanism, adding a bit of horror to the background of the series, and retroactively informing the events of the first book in an effective manner. That's some pretty good progress for a self-published work that followed so quickly on the heels of its predecessor.

The plot this time around centers on the evil-seeming Doctor Foil of the title, who appears to have ties to Samuel Providence, one of the scientists at Plan B, the World War II-era facility that was tasked with developing "alternative" weapons using mad science. The book alternates between scenes in 1945 in the Plan B compound and flashbacks to bits of Foil's history in the early twentieth century as he picks up a young apprentice named Thomas and visits several different experimental subjects that have super-sensory capabilities like enhanced smell or taste, usually with the intent of killing them. Thomas himself has eidetic memory, which Foil uses as an information repository, and we see his continued corruption and descent into murderous madness over the years, making for some effective bits of horror as we wonder what exactly Foil is up to.

Meanwhile, in 1945, the Plan B gang learns that Foil has plans to break into the compound and appropriate their research for nefarious reasons, or so it seems. They find out via Tumbler, the insane masked escape artist who lives there for some reason, as he approaches Providence and utters the cryptic remark "The occupant must awaken." It seems that he was brainwashed into helping Foil, although it's hard to tell, since he's kind of crazy. Compared to the flashbacks, these bits provide some welcome comedy as he thwarts any of their attempts to find out what he knows, and the whole thing eventually culminates in a ridiculous puppet show that is apparently supposed to explain a creation myth that Foil learned as a child from Tasmanian aborigines but mostly just seems to add to the insanity.

It's enjoyable and interesting stuff, ending up being a much more effective use of the mysteries and unanswered questions that Jenkins filled the first volume with. Here, he shows that he has a plan, an entire history full of events and relationships between his characters, and while plenty is left unexplained, this time around things seem to be tantalizingly vague rather than just incomplete.

Slominsky's art also continues to be unique and interesting, full of jagged edges and angular anatomy, but he throws in a few other stylistic techniques in the various flashbacks, memories, and dream sequences, often switching from his stark black and white to effectively scratchy gray pencils:

The art can still be a bit difficult to follow sometimes; there are a lot of close-up views of faces or hands, and the person talking or movement of characters aren't always clear. But it's not impossible to figure out, and it's improved over the first volume. Better yet, the shift in mood works really well depending on the type of scene being shown; the dark shadows of the flashbacks emphasize the horror and creepiness of Foil's actions, while the white backgrounds of the 1945 scenes make the comedy more light and airy and define the empty cleanliness of the facility. The character art is nice as well; I especially like the flyaway nature of Thomas' hair:

So, no, the comic is still not perfect, but it's great to see the creators improving and developing their styles while still pushing themselves to try new ideas, artistic techniques, and storytelling styles. At this rate, they'll really have something special in future volumes. I know I'll be paying attention and hoping for the best.

As with the first volume, this book can be purchased from the official website.

This week, I'm thankful for Ennis, Powell, BruPhil, Thompkin (DorkThom?), hell, even Millar

2009-11-23T12:00:00.004-06:00

Elsewhere: I'm late linking to these, but I reviewed the latest episodes of Fringe and The Venture Brothers for The Factual Opinion, and Days Missing #2 and 3 for Comics Bulletin.

Links: Speaking of TFO, Tucker's latest episode of Advanced Common Sense is up, and it's as hilarious as always, all positive reviews of comics that really don't deserve it. At least one bit makes me want to start calling Tucker the new Miss South Carolina.

Online comics links: Joshua Hagler is going to be posting the issues of The Boy Who Made Silence on his blog in anticipation of the upcoming collection of the first volume of the series, so if you haven't read it, I highly recommend you go check it out. I raved about it here, if you want to know more of what I thought.

Colleen Frakes, whose Tragic Relief I just wrote about the other day (I liked it), is participating in that National Novel Writing Month thing that people do in November, except she's doing a graphic novel, and posting it on her blog as she goes. I'm liking it quite a bit so far; you can also read the whole thing on Flickr.

Viz's latest addition to their SIGIKKI site is the series Bob and His Funky Crew, which is a baseball comedy that's sort of similar to Cromartie High School, if a bit less absurd, at least so far. I liked the first chapter; give it a read.

New comics this week (Wednesday, 11/25/09):

Beasts of Burden #3

Have I mentioned that I'm loving this series? It's been really, exceptionally good so far, with the second issue especially standing out. Evan Dorkin, Jill Thompson, cute animals, beautiful art, really horrifying shit, what's not to love?

Creepy Vol. 3 #2

I don't think I ever even saw the first issue of this relaunched horror anthology on the shelves, but here's another one. I might check it out, who knows. This issue features the second part of a Joe R. Lansdale-written story, stuff by Dan Braun, Greg Ruth, Jason Shawn Alexander, and maybe some others? (ETA: "others" includes one Nathan Fox, so plan accordingly). Here's a preview.

Criminal Sinners #2

Ah, it's good to have this series back. I'm digging the current story arc so far, and I can't wait to see where Brubaker goes with it. And also how awesomely Phillips draws it. Yes, it should be good; I will try to control my salivary glands while I wait.

Fantastic Four #573

Jonathan Hickman's run on the title continues, with what appears to be a one-off adventure on Mark Millar's Nu-World with Ben, Johnny, Franklin, and Valeria. The fill-in artist is Niel Edwards, and he appears to be working in a Bryan Hitch mode, which makes for some excitement. Seems decent enough.

Ganges #3

I thought this newest issue of Kevin Huizenga's Ignatz series had come out a while ago, but maybe this is when it's hitting the direct market. Whatever; I haven't read it, since I'm not all that interested in comics about insomnia. Ha ha! No, I just haven't gotten to it; maybe one of these days.

The Goon #33

It's the latest issue of Eric Powell's signature series, although it apparently fits into Dark Horse's current series of one-shot comics, featuring a sure-to-be-funny self-contained tale that probably involves grotesquery and punching.

Immortal Weapons #5

Here's the final issue of this Iron Fist spinoff series, with a story about Prince of Orphans by David Lapham and Arturo Lozzi that also sees an appearance by Iron Fist himself, along with Luke Cage and a giant dragon. Looks pretty cool; I should have a review up at Comics Bulletin tomorrow.

Invincible Iron Man #20

This is the first part of Matt Fraction's latest Iron Man arc, called "Stark: Disassembled". I expect Tony is going to come back from his coma or whatever pretty soon, but it should be interesting to see how Fraction is going to dig his way out of the hole he's put himself in. He's got a plan, man!

Northlanders #22

More Brian Wood Viking stories, with what I think is the second part of the current storyline, "The Plague Widow". I'll read it eventually.

Powers Vol. 3 #1

Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Avon Oeming relaunch what's probably their best series, and it's supposedly going to be monthly, at least for a while. We'll see how long that lasts, but hopefully it will be a good read. I'll wait for the collection; don't let me down, Christian Walker!

Tick Vol. 2 #1

I rarely read any Tick comics (although I've enjoyed his stories in other media), but the creative team on this relaunch looks interesting: Hector Plasm's Benito Cereno and The Middleman's Les McClaine. Those guys make it at least worth a look, I think.

Ultimate Comics Avengers #4

Mark Millar, still writing his league of assholes. More big action this issue, with Captain America fighting the new team and being a general badass. Millar can sure be fun when he just does action, and well, has his characters be dicks. Enjoy, misanthropes.

Unknown Soldier #14

Another Vertigo series that I read in collections. I'll get to it eventually, but I'll be waiting expectantly until I do.

Astonishing X-Men Vol 5 Ghost Box TPB

The first arc of Warren Ellis' run on Astonishing, with Simone Bianchi on art, and some kinda blah storytelling. I think I read this whole thing, but I don't even remember what it was about. Something about interdimensional mutants threatening to invade, and Forge turning out to be the bad guy. Really, Bianchi's art is probably the most interesting thing about it, what with the crazy layouts that he does, but it's still not all that good. We'll see if the current arc with Phil Jimenez is any better, but I kinda doubt it. Oh, if only Ellis could go back to Nextwave...

Boys Vol 5 Herogasm TPB

The porny miniseries that is apparently just another story arc in the main series gets collected, so I can finally find out what I was missing. I hear it's nasty, so don't let me down, Ennis!

Chew vol 1: Taster's Choice TPB

The indie (if Image counts) success story of the year gets its first collection, at the bargain price of ten bucks. I think I might have to buy it and see what all the fuss was about. I do like what I've seen of the series, and it's good to see something non-superhero get this much recognition in the "mainstream", so now let's see how it all works as a comic. Ah yes, that's what this blog is supposed to be about, isn't it? Comics! Don't let me down, hype!

Dark Reign Elektra TPB

I really don't have much interest in all this Dim Kingdom hoo har, so usually something like this would be pretty ignorable. And maybe it should be, but David Brothers piqued my interest with this excerpt, which features some pretty sweet action. That's something, I guess. But yeah, I probably still won't read it.

The Dead: Kingdom Of Flies TP

It looks like zombies will never get old, doesn't it? Here's yet another comic about them, but it's notable because it's by Alan Grant and Simon Bisley. Whoa, that's a team worth taking note of. If you're interested, the official site has some sample artwork, including a PDF of the whole first issue. Neato.

The Devil's Handshake

Archaia has this new graphic novel/prestige format one-shot about an Indiana Jones-style adventurer, and it looks interesting enough. It's written by Larry Hama, from a concept by Ryan Schifrin, with art by Adam Archer. Maybe interesting? Here's a preview.

A Distant Neighborhood Vol 2 GN

The second half of Jiro Taniguchi's latest thing that everybody is raving about. I never read the first one (or anything else by Taniguchi for that matter, which is a shame), but I might catch up to it at some point. My list of "read this someday" comics grows ever longer.

Doris Danger Giant Monster Adventures TP

Slave Labor is publishing this collection of Chris Wisnia's comics about giant, Kirby-style monsters, and it looks pretty cool. I met Wisnia at Wizard World Chicago a few years ago, and he was a cool guy, so I'll go ahead and recommend this even though I haven't read it. But if you want a sample, here are a few stories that you can read on the official site. Enjoy, freeloaders!

Eagle Annual Best of the 1960s Comic HC

It's a collection of the classic British boys' comics, featuring stuff like Dan Dare and PC 49: Extra Special Agent Harris Tweed (I love the British-ness of that name; couldn't they have worked tea and crumpets in there somewhere?). Neat stuff, it seems; gotta love the historical reprints, even if you never read them.

From The Pages Of Bram Stokers Dracula Harker GN

Okay, so this is "the first graphical sequel to Dracula ever to be endorsed by the Bram Stoker estate", which is one hell of a dubious distinction if you ask me. I suppose that's a mark of honor or something, but do you really need to get Stoker's descendants' stamp of approval to just write a damn sequel to Dracula? I'm sure it's been done plenty of times, and while this might be decent (or even really good, who knows), it seems like a cheap stab at relevance and attention. Anyway, it's by Tony Lee and Neil Van Antwerpen, and it involves Dracula's last bride trying to steal Mina Harker's unborn baby, or something like that. Enjoy, vampire fetishists!

Harpe: America's First Serial Killers GN

This appears to be a small, possibly self-published graphic novel about, well, what the title says, a frontier-era bit of history about some brothers who did some killin'. It might well be an interesting book; the official site is here, and it links to a bunch of reviews, and Newsarama has a preview. Yeah, I could give it a read if I ever got the chance.

Immortal Iron Fist TPB Vol 5 Escape From the Eighth City

I mentioned Iron Fist above, and here's what is likely the final volume of the main series, seeing Danny and his pals trapped in a mystical prison dimension and finding out deadly secrets and whatnot. Good stuff, although I remember being a bit disappointed by the ending. Still, it's cool, and shows that Duane Swierczynski had some good ideas and might have done some interesting stuff if he had been able to continue to the series. Ah well, such is life.

Incognito TPB

This bit of superhero/villain/pulp by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips was a decent enough diversion from Criminal, but I'm glad it's over and they're back doing the good stuff. If you've gotta have spandex in your crime comics though, you could certainly do worse.

Powers HC Vol 3 Definitive Collection

And just in time for a new volume of this series, here's the completion of the big hardcover collections from two volumes ago. Timing! This actually collects the "Sellouts" and "Forever" arcs from the end of the original series, which contain some of the series' strongest storytelling (although that might not stand up with a reread, which I should probably do someday). If you still need to catch up, or if you want the fancy-pants expensive version of the comics, here you go.

Proper Go Well High: A Trains Are Mint Book GN

Oliver East continues his travelogue series, and although I've never read the first one, this looks pretty nice, so I wouldn't mind checking it out. You can see some sample artwork at the official site.

Saga of the Swamp Thing HC Book 02

DC/Vertigo continues to collect Alan Moore's run on Swampy, so maybe I'll get to read more of it. I did get the first volume at the library, and really enjoyed it, so here's my chance for more. Gotta love catching up on the classics.

SHADE the Changing Man TP Vol 01 American Scream
SHADE the Changing Man TP Vol 02 Edge of Vision TP

Here's the other big Vertigo collection, the first two volumes of Peter Milligan and Chris Bachalo's revamp of an old Steve Ditko character, with some totally crazy/awesome ideas just sprayed all over the pages. Some really dark stuff in here; I like it a hell of a lot. The first volume was previously collected several years ago, but this is the first time any more of it has been collected, so don't let it go by the wayside. It's a weird, hard-to-follow series, but it's from Milligan's prime, fitting in alongside stuff he did in books like Enigma, or, I dunno, whatever other crazy shit was coming out from Vertigo at the time (and yes, I know, the series was originally pre-Vertigo, but it became part of the imprint at its beginning and kept up with the other stuff that was going on, so it counts). Good stuff, don't miss out.

Simon Bisley Illustration From The Bible TPB

I bet this will be more interesting than the Crumb version. Actually, this might not be a new release at all, but it's on the list of stuff that will show up at my local store this week, so we'll see if it makes it there. I expect weirdness and depravity; don't let me down, Bisley!

Sparky O Hare Master Electrician GN

I'm not sure if this is easily available outside of England, but it's a collection of strips by German cartoonist Mawil about a cute lil' rabbit who does wiring and stuff. Here's a review with some sample strips. Awwww.

Winter Men TPB

Ooh, another big release. Jog and some others have been talking this series up since it first started, and though it's been plagued by long, long delays, it finally finished up this year, and here's a collection of the whole thing. Now I can finally find out what the fuss is. I hope it doesn't disappoint. Brett Lewis, John Paul Leon, hidden secrets from the Cold War coming back to bite the world on the ass, et cetera. Rock.

Years Of The Elephant GN

Finally, Fanfare/Ponent Mon has this release of a graphic novel from Belgian cartoonist Willy Linthout, apparently the autobiographical story of Linthout trying to cope with the suicide of his son. Sounds like some nice, bright, cheery material there. Good holiday reading. Probably very moving and emotional and all that, if you can stand it. If I ever get my hands on it, I'll see how much I can take.

-----

Kinda slow week? Maybe? Eh, everybody (in the U.S., anyway) is getting ready to stuff themselves and watch football in a brazen display of excess; comics are a secondary concern. Not for me though! I'll be here on the front lines, keeping everyone informed on my own sequential art consumption. I do it for you, so now you can be thankful as well.

"Save that mumbo-jumbo for 'superstition freaks!' It means nothing to me!"

2009-11-20T18:00:00.000-06:00

I love the splash page that opens Mister Miracle #14 so much, I'm going to go ahead and name it today's Fourth World Panel:

Man, what a great non sequitur (if you can call it that, since there's not really anything that comes before it); you just open the book, and BAM, there's a goofy-looking monster running and shouting for help. That's how you get people into a story! The plot itself is all right, although Apokolips/New Genesis/the Fourth World continue to be absent; instead, Scott and Oberon see that goblin get taken away by some other monsters, and they follow them to a haunted house to investigate some sort of cult that call themselves the Satan Club. I believe this predated the 70s occult craze, so there aren't any pentagrams or even much in the way of goat heads or devil horns; instead it's just weird-looking monsters, and a bunch of death traps:

Oh, and a leader named Madam Evil-Eyes, who has an awesomely crazed expression and a crazy beehive (or whatever you call it) of a hairdo:

It doesn't really matter though, because other than the crazy lady (who Oberon speculates is "one of those rare birds!--A true mutation!") they turn out to be regular old arms dealers (possibly affiliated with the Scavengers?) who dressed up their lair all spooky-like to scare people off. I guess this is what would happen if Kirby did Scooby-Doo. They sure are dedicated to their theme though, with neat interior decorations and instruments like this snake statue/closed circuit camera monitor:

There's a nice showdown too, as Madame Evil-Eyes freaks out about losing her money and tries to burn the hell out of our heroes:

I love those panels, from the clutching desperation, to the flaming eyeball closeup, to the way they grow to these giant burning orbs. Damn, that's some good stuff.

I'm still wondering about the direction the series has taken though; this is the third issue in a row that has dealt with some sort of mind control, with no mention at all of the Anti-Life equation. I would hope that Kirby is subtly building to some sort of Darkseid-related reveal, but I kind of doubt it. Man, if only he could have completed this series like he originally envisioned; that's one that we'll always be wondering about.

Next: "The Real Big Barda", whatever that means.

Pamphleteering: (Mostly) Limited Distribution Edition

2009-11-18T21:00:00.006-06:00

Elsewhere: I reviewed Spider-Man 1602 #2 at Comics Bulletin, for some reason. Actually, it was an excuse to rant about pointless alternate versions of established characters, so there you go.

Here are some reviews of various minicomics, with one or two other pamphlet-style things mixed in:

Pinstriped Bloodbath: An Anthology of Gangland Violence by Chicago Cartoonists

By Bernie McGovern, Neil Brideau, Nate Beaty, Ricky Gonzales, Neil Fitzpatrick, Sam Sharpe, Jeff Zwirek, and Jeremy Tinder

It's interesting to see a small, self-published, pamphlet-format anthology like this one, especially one that's so well designed. The cover mimics a double-breasted suit jacket, with the back cover wrapping around the front like an actual coat, a strip of paper sporting an Ivan Brunetti illustration wrapped around to hold it together, and what appear to be hand-made blood splatters (it also comes in a splatter-free variant, for collectors). That's a great package, and if the contents inside don't quite live up to its promise, it's not for lack of trying. The creators involved mostly tell stories based in historical fact, although they use a variety of different styles to do so. Bernie McGovern's "Baby Face" depicts the last stand of Babyface Nelson, with a near-wordless bit of action and violence that uses some nice panel arrangement to convey information about the shootout. Neil Fitzpatrick uses a cutesy cartoon style to depict the death of Samuel "Nails" Morton, who was kicked in the head by a horse, prompting his fellow gangsters to take revenge on the animal. It's ends up being a jokey goof on a funny real-life story; cute. Jeff Zwirek's "The Chicago Typewriter" tells the history of the Thompson submachine gun in organized crime, using a highly deformed, cartoony style that gives the characters tiny bodies with huge heads and big eyes. It's interesting, but reliant on almost a quarter-page of endnotes to make sense of what's being depicted, with the action alternating between random gangland shootings, John Thompson alternately despairing of selling his huge stock of guns and declaring that they are only used for lawful purposes, and speculative expansions of historical events involving the gun. It ends up being interesting, but it possibly could have been put together a bit better.

Other stories take a bit more of a speculative look at gang violence. Rickey Gonzales' "Blood Red & Baby Blue" apparently sees the death of John Dillinger outside a movie theater, then backs up to look at the perspective of a couple other participants in the killing. Or is it Dillinger at all? The final page seems to indicate that the police might have shot the wrong man. It's kind of confusing, and the art is a bit awkward; this might be the least accomplished story in the comic. Neil Brideau's "Cracking" sees the first meeting of two famous gangsters, Charles Dean O'Banion and Charles "The Ox" Reiser, during a safecracking job. It's an interesting bit of character work, as O'Banion is shown to have a penchant for sadistic violence while Reiser is a professional old player. The art is a bit simplistically cartoony, but it works for the simple little tale. Nate Beaty's "Keepsake" is a quick, wordless bit of moody violence and its aftermath, as a gangster (Al Capone?) is gunned down in a barber shop and a woman stops to grab a souvenir. The art is well done, with inky, scratchy shadows and densely-patterned rainfall; it's one of the best looking parts of the book. Jeremy Tinder's two-page entry (which is apparently untitled) is a silly-looking bit of instruction in how to make bathtub gin, with a punchline befitting the violent nature of the rest of the book.

And then there's Sam Sharpe's "Change Your Name", which doesn't fit in with the rest of the stories at all. It's an apparently-autobiographical story in which he meets up with his mother, who seems a bit mentally unstable. She claims that he was abducted as a child by the Sharpe crime family, and she's offended that he still uses their name. Other than this reference to (imagined/delusional) crime, nothing here falls under the theme of Chicago gangsters, so why it's included is beyond me. It is a decent little story though, with some nice art that sees Sharpe depict the characters as anthropomorphic dogs.

Overall, it's a pretty nice package, and a good collection of comics from Chicago creators about their city. As with any anthology, it has its ups and downs, but for a minicomic-style pamphlet, it's a good deal. If the subject matter interests you, give it a look.

-----

Tales of Good Ol' Snoop Doggy Dogg

By J.T. Yost

Minicomics are a good format for creators to tell personal stories about whatever they feel like, and that's exactly what J.T. Yost does here, first depicting three dreams he had that featured the rapper of the title, and then detailing why such an odd fellow might be on his mind with the story of how he first experienced his music at a party before getting beat up. It's funny and interesting, especially in the artistic decisions Yost makes. For instance, he depicts the dreams fairly realistically (if still in a sort of cartoony style), highlighting their surreality, and then in the true-life story, he switches to a less realistic style and soft-edged round panels, making the memory seem hazy and unreal, almost more dreamlike than the dreams themselves. It's a short little comic, but one that amuses and provokes thought; what else could you ask for?

The minicomic is available for purchase here.

-----

Tragic Relief

By Colleen Frakes

While it started out as a minicomic, this version of Colleen Frakes' Xeric-winning Tragic Relief is more of a graphic novel, squarebound and spanning about 70 pages. And while it's a quick read, it's very well done, affecting and full of really nice art. The story is a fable of sorts, following a hapless man who falls in love with a series of women/mystical creatures, only to have them all accidentally(?) killed by his mother. He finally ends up with a normal human woman, who seems to immediately take the old woman's place. That's the simple description, but watching Frakes play the story out through a series of beautiful, dialogue-free images is wonderful; she has a real flair for pantomime, and the way she plays the images across the page without any panel borders fits the story's atmosphere perfectly:

In the end, it seems to be symbolic of the way people can be dominated by their parents, and even when they manage to escape that influence, they seek out somebody who is exactly the same. It's a fairly simple idea, but a pleasure to see what Frakes does with it.

The book is available to purchase on Frakes' blog.

-----

I Want You #1

By Lisa Hanawalt

Lisa Hanawalt has one hell of a weird sense of humor, but since she can also draw really well, that means she's able to come up with books like this, which feature humanoid animals and their strange attempts at romance, little bugs that live in a computer keyboard and constantly have sex, car accidents all caused by an obsession with horses, animals wearing bizarre hats, "common dirty talk and the questions it raises", and, most amusingly, "menstrual terminology". That last one is my favorite, since it's the kind of girl humor about something they have to deal with regularly, and the final punchline is that guys are terribly grossed out by it. It's a good collection of the kind of stuff that Hanawalt apparently obsesses about, and the art is pretty incredible, full of tons and tons of detail, interesting patterns, and lots of weirdness. It would be interesting to see her work on some longer-form comics, but if all she wants to do is this sort of quick, jokey stuff that empties the stranger contents of her brain onto the page, at least we'll get to see more of her incredibly unique sensibilities.

The comic is available to purchase from Buenaventura Press.

-----

Uptight #3

By Jordan Crane

Jordan Crane is a pretty incredible cartoonist, and this issue of his anthology series demonstrates that wonderfully, with two stories that are different enough that it's impressive that they came from the same creator, but both beautifully drawn and well-told. The first is "Vicissitude", the first chapter of a story about a mechanic and his wife, who is cheating on him. It's a realistic portrait of an unhappy couple, and while it seems like it might lead to a confrontation and explosion of drama, it's not a typical story that you might see in a movie or TV show, and explanations quickly gloss over the conflict and leave it simmering, to be picked up later. The deep shadows and heavy use of grays and blacks make it seem like a gloomy, sad tale, and the expressive character work makes these people come to life. Future chapters probably won't be very happy, but they should continue to make for a good story.

The second half of the issue completely shifts gears, following characters from Crane's graphic novel The Clouds Above, which appears to be a children's story about a boy and his talking cat having adventures. If this short piece is anything like the longer book, it should definitely be one to check out; this is a cute, fun romp following the boy, his cat, and a friend as they get in trouble at school and help a maintenance man figure out what is wrong with the cafeteria freezer, ending up causing even more trouble. The art is pleasing, with expressively cartoony kids and tons of detail as the kids explore the intricate machinery and piles of boxes of food, and encounter the surprising reason for the malfunction. It ends abruptly, obviously meant to continue into a longer story, but just this portion is enough to get one excited about what Crane has planned for the story. Hopefully he'll be able to continue it soon, but whatever he works on, it will be worth reading, since he's a pretty amazing comics talent.

The comic is available to purchase from Fantagraphics.

-----

Cowboy Ninja Viking #1-2

Written by A.J. Lieberman

Art by Riley Rossmo

The title of this series seems to indicate one of those oft-tiresome mashups that show up in nerd circles as they become infatuated with one "cool" character type after another, like "pirates vs. robots" or "vampires vs. werewolves". But while that aspect might have informed this comic, it's got something different going on, telling a story of globe-trotting action, espionage, and assassination. Or something like that; it's slightly hard to follow, as writer A.J. Lieberman jumps around to different locales, skips back and forth in time, and fills pages with lots of witty banter that distracts from the main plot, which takes one full issue to really get started with an introduction and then just sort of jumps past further explanations to a second issue where the real conflict is underway. That plot can be pretty interesting though, following a man named Duncan who suffered from multiple personality disorder and underwent training and conditioning by the government to turn his personalities into, well, you've already read the title. He's not exactly a competent killer easily making use of his personalities' skills though; he's crazy and unsure of anything, with the personas arguing amongst themselves and fighting for control. He would be happy to stay living in a mental hospital, but he gets dragged out and put to work by a rich, powerful man and his vaguely-defined organization, and it turns out that he's going to be fighting others like him who have undergone similar treatment. So maybe this is a genre mashup after all, but it's one that throws everything at the wall and doesn't stop; the first foe is a gladiator/pirate/deep sea diver, and it should be interesting to see what other silliness Lieberman comes up with in the future.

The art, by Proof's Riley Rossmo, is pretty nice, full of scratchy expression and neat scribbly effects, not to mention occasional well-rendered gore. He uses a nice two-color scheme, with the first issue bathing everything in a cool blue, but the second switching to a bright pink to emphasize the kick-started action, which ends up being well-choreographed and fun. It's kind of crazy and frenetic, and it fits the mood of the story really well. One especially effective touch is the word balloons which include the shape of a gun, a sword, or an axe to indicate which of Duncan's personalities is speaking; that's a neat idea.

Overall, it's kind of silly, but it takes itself just seriously enough to make the idea effective, and there's plenty of funny dialogue and crazy little tangents to keep things enjoyable and interesting. It should be fun to see where Lieberman and Rossmo are going with this thing.

The Act-I-Vate Primer: Initial layer of paint or explosive charge?

2009-11-16T23:00:00.004-06:00

One link: This series of Jack Kirby-style comic book covers based on Inglourious Basterds is awesome.

The Act-I-Vate Primer

By Nick Bertozzi, Pedro Camargo, Mike Cavallaro, Molly Crabapple & John Leavitt, Mike Dawson, Jim Dougan & Hyeondo Park, Ulises Farinas, Michel Fiffe, Maurice Fontenot, Simon Fraser, Tim Hamilton, Dean Haspiel, Jennifer Hayden, Joe Infurnari, Roger Langridge, and Leland Purvis

When it comes to webcomics, Act-I-Vate.com has a lineup of creators and stories that can't be beat, but it can be a bit intimidating to look at the front page of the site and try to figure out where to start reading. Luckily, the forward-looking minds behind the site/artist collective/happening have a solution in this print volume that offers samples of several of the comics that can be found, but in a way that's self-contained, introductory, and encouraging of further exploration, rather than just excerpting what's already available. These stories are all exclusive to the print volume, but they all give enough of a taste of what can be found in the online tales that readers will want to rush to the site to see what other wonders are there to behold.

As with any anthology, it's a bit of a mixed bag, with some series and creators offering stories that might or might not interest certain people. But even if they aren't to everyone's taste, they all demonstrate a high quality of storytelling and great, often innovative use of the comics form. The lower end of the spectrum here is represented by Maurice Fontenot's Ghost Pimp story "All Men Are Whores", which, while being well-drawn in a cute, cartoony style and featuring some amusing sex jokes, is little more than a sitcom-style goof about the war between the sexes. Jennifer Hayden's "Rat-Chicken", from her series Underwire, is another one that seems a bit on the lesser side, but that's mostly due to the somewhat crude, simplistic artwork, which masks a rich bit of autobiography that seems to be similar to the work of Jeffrey Brown. The story sees an elderly stranger visit Hayden's family's house, where he used to visit friends when he was a kid. The visit sparks some memories in Hayden, and she and her family are fascinated by the man's stories, making for a short but engaging story, something that makes the idea of reading Hayden's similar online work quite appealing.

Other stories seem strikingly personal, such as Dean Haspiel's "Bring Me the Heart of Billy Dogma", which, as with his other stories featuring the character, like "Immortal" (which was serialized in the Image-published miniseries Brawl) and "Fear, My Dear" (which I reviewed here, if you're interested), sees the character's relationship with his girlfriend Jane Legit shaking the foundations of their world. It's as good as always, with Haspiel baring his emotions and feelings about love and the way it can seem world-alteringly powerful. There's the usual idiosyncratic dialogue, bombastic Kirby-esque artwork, symbolic hearts, and graphic nudity and sex. It's great stuff, a small sample of what's in store for readers if they choose to read more online; hopefully they won't be scared off by the intensity.

Michel Fiffe's "Cactus", from his series Zegas, is another one that explores interesting and seemingly personal emotional themes, combining them with his signature experimental artwork. The story sees siblings Boston and Emily search for a new cactus after she steps on and destroys his, which is a precious memory of a previous relationship. They end up coming into possession of a weird pink plant, given to them by an old homeless man, and after showing it some love, it falls apart and releases a spirit which flies up into the cosmos to reunite with its lover, allowing Boston to finally feel a sense of closure. It's a beautiful little tale, really brought to life by Fiffe's art, which sees some excellent character work and description-defying effects in the ghostly sequences:

Fiffe is an amazing emerging talent, and this glimpse is enough to make any reader want to see what else he can do. The same is true of Jim Dougan and Hyeondo Park's Sam & Lilah, which sees a couple have a fight just before going to sleep, with their feelings about each other reflected in their dreams. The story isn't especially deep, but the gorgeous artwork is amazing and innovative, with images continuing across the gutters between panels and morphing into something else, and a telling divide between the two dreamers being crossed by physical emotions:

It's beautifully detailed, intricate work, with bright, engaging colors and some incredibly evocative imagery. Hopefully the stories in the series are a bit longer and more complex, but this taste is enough to not only make the reader rush online to see more, but to wonder why Park especially hasn't been snapped up by a somebody to illustrate a high-profile title yet.

Ulises Farinas' Motro is another series that seems somewhat personal, telling the tale of a chubby little boy in an apocalyptic, barbarian-populated wasteland who doesn't quite seem ready to live up to his father's expectations. They go on a sort of vision quest in which he is supposed to acquire a name that will define his future, but he's not ready to grow up and take that responsibility. It's an interesting little tale, with some really nice art that strands its rounded, almost cute characters in a windswept landscape and features some gorgeously moody shadowy coloring in the scenes that take place at night, along with some weird, spookily detailed visions. Whether or not the kid is meant to be Farinas himself remains to be seen, but it should be interesting to find out.

Some of the other stories seem a bit experimental, but more in terms of storytelling and ideas than in the use of comics techniques, with Nick Bertozzi's Persimmon Cup being especially noteworthy. It's a fascinating bit of sci-fi worldbuilding, with the title character being a sort of scribe in a society that seems plant-based, or at least uses some sort of alien biology that's barely comprehensible in human terms. In this story, she is tasked with discovering the truth about the destruction of a village, leading to a sad tale about the way lies and greed can ruin societies. It's a great showcase for Bertozzi's imagination, as well as his skill at depicting ideas that seem just beyond the realm of our ability to grasp them, like this being that appears to be higher-dimensional:

And then there's something like Leland Purvis' Vulcan & Vishnu, which is experimental in its simplicity rather than in bringing new complexities to the table. It's a story about a couple of guys who apparently wander the land having adventures, and other than an introductory caption, it's completely wordless, with the characters speaking in pictographic form:

It's not really a new or groundbreaking idea, but it works wonderfully here, especially in the way the stark, bold-lined images in the word balloons contrast with the beautiful watercolors of the landscapes and characters. Purvis tells the story perfectly using his easy-to-follow images, and even ends things with a great punchline; it's a really nice little short story, and one that makes him a talent to pay much closer attention to.

And then there are the stories that simply seem to be good yarns, chances for their characters to build interesting worlds, draw exciting images, and develop characters to bounce off each other. Simon Fraser's Lilly MacKenzie, represented here in a sort of origin story called "When Lilly Met Cosmo", looks to be a fun sci-fi story about the spacefaring title character and her little person sidekick, with them meeting for the first time here, as the story's title indicates. The events seem like they might make a bit more sense after reading the rest of the story, but it's more of an interesting tease than an impenetrable bit of inside information, and the real pleasure is seeing Fraser detail life aboard a space station, and the weird characters that live there. The art is really nicely-detailed too, and Lilly herself seems realistically beautiful; I especially like the way the whiteness of her shirt is left as just the blank color of the page itself showing through the artwork, almost giving her a radiant glow:

Not to sound like a broken record, but this is another series that should be great follow online, and this taste certainly pushes one in that direction.

The same can be said for Mike Cavallaro's Loviathan, which also appears to have an origin-style story here called "Veils". Cavallaro is a fine cartoonist, possibly most famous for Parade (With Fireworks) (which I reviewed here), his series about a story from his family's history in fascist Italy. Loviathan, however, is completely different, a fantasy story that takes place in undersea Atlantis, featuring heroes, villains, political intrigue, magic, monsters, and interdimensional travel of some sort, and it's pretty amazing to behold, full of crazy detail and gorgeous coloring, and plenty of hints of the wonders and excitements that take place in the online series. It seems like a chance for Cavallaro to unleash his talent, filling pages with as much awesomeness as he can muster. This is the kind of thing that must make the other creators strive to keep up.

The rest of the book is filled with excellence as well. Roger Langridge contributes what appears to be another origin-style story in his Mugwhump the Great entry, "The Boy who Came to Stay", which sees a ventriloquist dummy boy enter the life of the title juggler and immediately cause funny complications. Tim Hamilton's "The Tale of the Elephant Cowboy", from Tales of the Floating Elephant, is a nice little story of brotherhood, honor, despair, and luck about a struggling gimmick cowboy, with some wonderfully scratchy artwork. Joe Infurnari's ULTRA-Lad! story "Memoirs of the 'Kid Immortal'" seems like it might fill in some backstory for the series, but works very well on its own, telling the tale of a wrestler who gains power by making a mystic pact and becoming a sort of youth-powered superhero and featuring some great examples of Infurnari's smudgy, detailed, faux-aged artwork. Molly Crabapple and John Leavitt's "Slow News Day" serves as a good introduction to their Backstage strip, showing the operations of a gossip rag that covers the 1940s New York theater scene and displaying some nice character interplay between the leads. Mike Dawson's "Goodnight Max" is another origin tale with a twist, showing the first fight between the superpowered brothers of his Jack & Max series, and appropriating the imagery (if not the language) of the classic children's book Goodnight Moon. And finally, Pedro Camargo's "Esqueleto" tells the backstory of what I assume is one of the characters in his series Glam, making for a nicely weird story of jealousy among circus acts and grievous payback for misdeeds, using some expressive black and white artwork to realize the grim tale.

Overall, the volume is an onslaught of artistic wonderment, something to get readers excited about the creators and what they're doing in their various comics, and a better advertisement for the site couldn't be had. Unless it was free, of course, but nobody should complain about paying for such a nice-looking volume filled with great examples of what comics can do. It may only be a sample of the available riches, but it's the kind of first taste that dealers must dream of, sure to transform those exposed to it into addicts for life. Even if you don't feel the need to hold these comics in your hands, don't miss out on them; they're some of the best the medium currently has to offer.

-----

Bonus: The sketch Dean Haspiel drew in my copy:

This week, no catchy post titles come to mind

2009-11-16T12:00:00.001-06:00

One link: This may have been up for a while already, but the latest "issue" of MySpace Dark Horse Presents contains a Groo story that's a preface to the latest miniseries, The Hogs of Horder; "Blighter", an enjoyable story about an alien bounty hunter by Jeff Parker and Ben Dewey that's hopefully not just a one-off, and a couple of Conan/Solomon Kane tales by the usual suspects (Guy Davis!). Good stuff, as usual.

New comics this week (Wednesday, 11/18/09):

Authority The Lost Year #3

Right on the heels of last week's reprint of the Grant Morrison/Gene Ha issues of this series, the continuation by Keith Giffen and Darick Robertson shows up. Will it be worth reading, or at least interesting? Maybe!

Big Questions #13

I thought this issue of Anders Nilsen's series about birds investigating an airplane crash (I think that's what it's about, at least) had already come out, but who knows. I really want to read this sometime, but I'm waiting for a collection. Nilsen is one hell of a great artist though; I can't wait.

Cowboy Ninja Viking #2

Here's the second issue of A.J. Lieberman and Riley Rossmo's odd espionage via multiple-personality craziness comic. Lieberman sent me the first two issues, so hopefully I'll have something about it up soon; suffice to say, it's pretty unique and strange, and not just the mashup of various "cool" genres that the title suggests.

Deadlocke #1

This one-shot from Dark Horse by Arvid Nelson (Rex Mundi) and Nick Stakal (Criminal Macabre) is apparently based on a young adult novel called Venomous by Christopher Krovatin, but since I've never heard of it, it's new material to me. From the description, it sounds like a riff on Fight Club, with rich teens engaging in debauched parties that involve bare-knuckled fighting, and a main character named Locke who is trying to suppress a personality that he created for a comic that shares the title of this book. That does sound kind of interesting, and while I haven't read much of Nelson's work, I do like Stakal's art, so this might be something to check out. Here, have a preview.

Dr. Horrible #1

And here's another Dark Horse one-shot, with a story about the origins of Joss Whedon's musical villain by Zack Whedon and Joelle Jones. The lesser-known Whedon has written a few Dr. Horrible-related stories for MySpace Dark Horse Presents, but this appears to be all-new material, so if you need to read more spinoffs of your popular online videos, here's your chance. Here's a preview.

Dominic Fortune #4

Howard Chaykin's Marvel MAX miniseries ends here, with an apparent trip to the 1936 Berlin Olympics (or maybe that was last issue) and an action-packed gunfight against Nazi spies. What I've read of this series has been pretty enjoyable, full of swearing, nudity, sexual references, violence, and all the stuff that Chaykin likes. Good times, don't let it pass you by just because it's published by Marvel.

Drone #1

This new series from Red 5 sounds kind of like that movie Gamer, with robots at war remote-controlled by hackers who use them for their own enjoyment. Not a bad premise, and depending on the art, it could be a pretty cool action comic, and who knows, maybe there's some satire/political commentary mixed in as well. One to check out, maybe?

Kookaburra K #1

It's Marvel's latest translation of a comic by French publisher Soleil, although this one features an artist recognizable to Western readers in Humberto Ramos. It sounds like a post-apocalyptic space fantasy of sorts, with a small ship carrying some survivors (one of whom is a wizard) escaping from a destroyed Earth and having intergalactic adventures. Maybe fun? I haven't been very into Ramos' art in the last few years, but you never know, this sort of thing might be tailored to his sensibilities and give him an outlet for his wilder extravagances. If I ever read it, I guess I'll see.

Legion Prophets #1

IDW has this new miniseries that functions as a prequel to the movie Legion, which comes out in January (a release date that's always a sign of quality). It's apparently about demons and angels fighting, which could be cool, depending on how explodey it is rather than religious. So if you can't wait for the film, here's your fix. Enjoy, sacrilegious jerks!

Luke McBain #1

Now this just looks hilarious. It's a vanity comic from country singer Trace Adkins, starring his likeness in a story "inspired by" (or ripped off from, if you're being unkind) the movie Walking Tall. Just look at the cover; I don't know what that is he's holding, but it's obviously his version of Joe Don Baker's two-by-four. But as that review states, it might not be all that terrible, especially considering the talent involved: writer David Tischman (Vertigo's Bite Club) and Kody Chamberlain (Punks, Pretty Baby Machine). Not that I'm planning to buy it or anything, but if silly projects like this have to be made, the least they could do is be readable.

Nola #1

This new series from Boom! Studios looks interesting, a sort of crime/revenge story set in the post-Katrina ruins of New Orleans. Naming the heroine of the book (her name is the title) after the city is a bit on the nose though, isn't it? Still, it's one I'm interested in, so if I read it and find it worth talking about, I'll let you know.

Nomad Girl Without a World #3

More of Sean McKeever's stories about an otherworldly girl Bucky who just wants to meet Captain America, or something. So far, it hasn't been bad; hopefully it will continue to be one of those little gems in Marvel's vast line of tiresomeness.

Powers Encyclopedia Vol 01

Since Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Avon Oeming are relaunching Powers as a (supposed) monthly comic, they've got this promotional "official handbook"-style thing to either try to gain new readers or help people remember what the hell the comic is about anyway. I actually like the series quite a bit, even if I was getting a bit tired of it by the end of the last volume, but while I'm interested in the relaunch, I have little to no interest in this sort of thing. Powers isn't the sort of series that's all about power levels and intricate character histories, at least not for me. Maybe that's interesting to some, but I'd prefer to just read the stories that Bendis tells, especially focusing on the street-level crime and the two main characters and their foibles. When that sort of thing starts again, I'll be interested, but this seems like little more than a cash grab, or at least a bit of creator self-indulgence.

Punisher #11

Here's the beginning of the "Franken-Castle" storyline that's been plastered all over ads in various Marvel comics lately, with the Punisher being revived after having been chopped up into pieces by Dark Wolverine. That's a funny idea, but who knows where it will go or if anything interesting will be done with it. Eh, I'm not really a fan of the Punisher anyway, but people still seem to love him, so enjoy, necrophiliacs!

Robot 13 #2

This is an interesting comic, about some sort of strange, Mignola-esque robot fighting mythological beasties. I kinda liked this issue and the previous one, although I hope some explanation is to be had at some point. Give it a look though; it's good to support these indie-type comics, right?

Spider-Man 1602 #2

More Jeff Parker; that guy is everywhere these days. Does anybody at all care about this alternate Elizabethan-era version of Marvel? I think it's ending soon anyway, but, man, what a weird concept to stick around for this long. I did read this issue though, and it's not bad, but there's little point, other than, as with any alternate-setting/Elseworlds comic, to see what characters pop up and how different-yet-the-same they are. I guess that's fun for some, but really, Parker is talented enough that he shouldn't have to slave away at this sort of nonsense. Come on, Jeff, move on to bigger and better things!

Talisman Road of Trials #1

I read the #0 issue of this Stephen King/Peter Straub comic because Del Rey sent it to me, but I could barely make any sense of it, possibly out of willful ignorance. I think it's based on a novel, so maybe if you're familiar with the source material it is more understandable. From what I could make out, it's about a kid who can travel between "our" world and some sort of magical, fantasy kingdom, an ability he inherited from his father. Now he has adventures and stuff, which really shouldn't be such a confusing concept. Maybe it gets better here in the series proper. Or maybe it's just for King fans. Whatever.

Underground #3

Good god, Jeff Parker, how many comics do you write? This is at least the third one this week (counting Thunderbolts, which I didn't bother mentioning, since even with his contribution, I have no interest), but it's probably the best, what with being creator-owned and all. The first two issues were pretty good, so I'm hoping the quality continues. Nice art by Steve Lieber, a gripping story about hiding in caves and shit; yeah, quality comics. Read it if you haven't been already.

Uptight #3

I'm pretty damn certain that this came out earlier this year, but if it's getting another printing or something, that's cool. For those who don't know, it's Jordan Crane's series, a sort of one-man anthology full of great art and compelling stories. If you missed it the first time around (like I did, although I recently remedied that mistake), give it a look. You won't regret it.

Victorian Undead #1

Here's a new thing from Wildstorm, either jumping on the recent bandwagon of crossing zombies with classic literature or just happening to coincide with it; it's a Sherlock Holmes mystery, but with...well, you know. Written by Ian Edgington, art by Davide Fabbri, cover by Tony Moore. I'm not sure why Holmes would need to be part of a zombie plague story, but maybe Moriarty is behind it all somehow. Eh, it could be fun, or it could be lame. Since I'm sick of zombies, I'll lean toward the latter; this sort of thing has to be good to interest me these days. Make it happen, Wildstorm!

Viking #4

So, has this series gotten any more readable since the first two issues? I want to like it, but it's just been annoyingly hard to follow, when it really shouldn't be. Somebody let me know, and maybe I'll try to catch up. The art's been nice, I'll give it that.

Wolverine Weapon X #7

Should I bother mentioning this? Everybody knows about Wolverine, right? The last issue of this series was interestingly strange, with our hairy hero stuck in an insane asylum and unable to remember who he is or how he got there. Also, there's a guy experimenting on the people there. Kinda silly, kinda creepy, mostly weird. I guess if you have to have a Wolverine comic, letting Jason Aaron do whatever he wants with the character is the way to go.

Alex Raymond's Rip Kirby: The First Modern Detective Vol 1 1946-1947 HC

Your Golden Age of Reprints entry of the week, collecting a bunch of sure-to-be-pretty Alex Raymond art in one of those fancy IDW hardcovers. If I ever read this, I can find out what Dave Sim keeps going on about.

Destroyer Prem HC

Collecting that recent miniseries by Robert Kirkman and Cory Walker in which they revamped a Golden Age Marvel character as an old guy struggling to gorily murder all his villains before he perishes of a bad heart. Mostly fun, and it doesn't take itself too seriously, even though there's stuff about family and responsibility and all that. I'll still bitch about the price though; wait for the softcover collection, I say!

Driven by Lemons HC

I've been seeing reviews of this new Josh Cotter book here and there, and it looks pretty amazing, full of mindbending near-abstract art and a flood of ideas that seemingly poured straight from his cranium onto the page. I'll have to check it out, given the chance. You can download a preview here.

Jane HC Misadventures of Bright Young Thing

I guess this counts as a Golden Age of Reprints entry, although it's more of a curiosity here in the U.S., rather than a historical treasure, as it is in England. It was a popular girlie strip that started in 1932, and while she was often caught nearly naked, during WWII, as a show of support for soldiers (or something like that), she appeared fully nude. Yowza! Hey, I don't mind some good old fashioned cheesecake, so maybe this would be one to read, you know, for historical, educational purposes.

The Nam TP Vol 01

I've never read any of this Marvel series from the 80s, but I often saw it on shelves. Apparently it's a realistic story about the Vietnam War, showing the conflict from the perspective of soldiers on the ground. It's pretty fondly remembered, from what I can tell, and since I do like war comics, maybe I should give it a read sometime.

Pictures that Tick TP

This is a new edition of an out of print book that collected a bunch of short comics and illustrations by Dave McKean. I've never read it, but as everybody knows, he's a pretty damn good artist, so I bet it's worth my time if I ever get the chance.

Runaways Home Schooling Prem HC

Oh crap, it's more of Marvel's rampant overpricing, especially egregious in this case, when the title was stealthily cancelled, yanking the rug from under the new creative team's feet. Kathryn Immonen and Sara Pichelli had just gotten started on a new run that had a lot of promise, and were obviously not at a stopping point, but the series ended after they had only done four issues, and now Marvel is collecting it in an expensive hardcover for $25. For four issues! Come on! I still recommend reading it, at least if you're a fan of the series like me, but it's just not worth that much money for that little amount of pages and an unfinished story. Dumb.

Unknown Vol 1 HC

This collects the first miniseries in this Boom! series by Mark Waid and Minck Oosterveer, about a terminally-ill detective who is searching for answer to the mystery of what happens after death. I've heard it's pretty good, and a follow-up mini has already begun, so I should definitely give this a read and see what I think. Yes, I really should.

Walt Disneys Christmas Classics Vol 1 HC

Boom! also has this collection of a bunch of Christmas-themed Disney comics, with the highlight probably being a bunch of good Donald Duck stories by Carl Barks and his peers, including "Christmas on Bear Mountain", which was the first appearance of Uncle Scrooge. I think Mickey and others also make an appearance, but as is the case with most of the Disney comics, the ducks rule the day. I still think it's early for Christmas stuff, but I guess you gotta get those things on the shelves in time for the holidays...

Wasteland TP Vol 05 Tales of the Uninvited

What? We can't have another collection of this series already; the latest storyline only just started! Okay, this volume is actually a collection of the various one-off stories that came in between storylines of the series, usually featuring guest artists. So that includes Carla Speed McNeil, Joe Infurnari, and Chuck BB, with some art by regular series artist Christopher Mitten, including the double-sized, full color 25th issue. Good stuff, although if you're not a regular reader of the series, this is definitely not the place to start. But if you've only been reading the collections, you'll finally get to see what you've been missing; the McNeil issue in particular adds some background information to the series' second storyline. Yep, I do like this series. That is all.

Battle Royale Novel 2nd Edition

Not a comic! But Viz is putting out this new version of the novel by Koushun Takami, with a new introduction by Max Allan Collins and an interview with the late Kenji Fukasaku, who directed the film adaptation. That movie and its sequel are actually my sole experience with the story, although it has also been adapted into a manga series, and probably a video game or something. I do really like the movie, so it might be interesting to read the book sometime to see how it matches up. Of course, with no Takeshi Kitano in the book, I think it's going to suffer...

Tezukas Black Jack TP Vol 08

Here's the latest volume of the adventures of Osamu Tezuka's badass surgeon. I really need to read these sometime soon...

Oishinbo Vol 06 The Joy of Rice

Viz keeps putting out volumes of the long-running cooking series; I certainly may continue to read them as well. Rice certainly doesn't seem all that joyful, but I'm sure this series will imbue it with amazing flavor, and probably some father/son conflict as well. Good times.

Pluto Urasawa x Tezuka Vol 6 TP

And here's the latest volume of Naoki Urasawa's adaptation of Tezuka's Astro Boy, as awesome as always. I really liked it; surprise, surprise.

-----

And that appears to be all. Kinda slow week, or so it seems. Maybe I'll skip my usual trip to the store, but don't worry, I've got plenty to write about. Stay tuned, as I always say, ignoring the correct technology terminology.

Act-I-Vate will conquer all! Dean Haspiel in Chicago, 11/13/09

2009-11-14T23:45:00.000-06:00

On the night of Friday, November 13, 2009, the city of Chicago was graced with the presence of Dean Haspiel and Tim Hall, there to present a documentary about Act-I-Vate, the webcomics collective to which they both contribute, and also to do some readings of their stories and meet fans. It was an informative, enjoyable event; the documentary, called The Act-I-Vate Experience, is a short affair, less than half an hour, but it quickly and memorably details many of the creators involved with the site, and provides some tantalizing images and interesting commentary from the artists involved, making any viewer who was not previously familiar with the site want to rush online and read some of the works available. The site counts such talents as Haspiel, Michel Fiffe, Simon Fraser, Nick Bertozzi, Kevin Colden, Roger Langridge, Leland Purvis, Mike Cavallaro, Tim Hamilton, Joe Infurnari, Molly Crabapple, and Josh Neufeld among its contributors, and many of them were interviewed for the documentary, talking about the comics they're serializing online, the reasons for doing this, and their take on the philosophy of the site, and webcomics in general.

The excitement and passion for their work is palpable in every creator's case, and it's great to hear them hold forth on how excited they are to be taking part in the site. For many of the creators, it's a way to get their work out in the world, following their passion and making comics that publishers might not have been willing to take a chance on. For some, the current model of comics publishing requires them to seemingly disappear for up to a year to work on a graphic novel, so publishing more personal work in serialized increments gives them a way to stay in the public eye. Others use the platform as a chance to experiment with new ideas and more personal work. As the site has grown, it has shown many of the creators that the web is the future of serialization, the way that they can reach the biggest audience, with some, like Jeff Newelt, even going so far as to say that this might be the savior of print publishing.

Others, like Michel Fiffe, are excited to be a part of such an incredible gathering of talent. Seeing the excellent work that contributors post on the site really encourages him to bring his "A" game, but he's also thrilled by the way everyone involved is equal, with no bosses or editors deciding what is and isn't fit to publish.

Some of the artists share how they're using the online experience in new ways, whether it's in instant reader feedback through comments or, as in the case of Leland Purvis's Vulcan and Vishnu, designing comics that can work on a variety of platforms like cell phones, and even go beyond language barriers to reach international audiences.

One segment discusses The Act-I-Vate Primer, a print anthology recently published by IDW, which functions as a sort of introduction to the comics on the site. Haspiel describes it as the ultimate bridge between print and the web, hopefully encouraging readers to log onto the site and continue reading the series which are in the book. But it's all-new material, so even for longtime fans, it's not just a reprint of something they have already read.

Overall, it's a great watch, full of excitement about the possibilities of comics and enough glimpses of great art to make anyone interested in checking out the huge variety of work on the site, all available to read for free. The documentary should be available to watch online soon, so be sure to watch for it and give it a look.

After the film was over, Haspiel and another Act-I-Vate contributor did some readings of their stories, with the help of some volunteers from the audience. First was "Bring Me the Heart of Billy Dogma", Haspiel's contribution to the Primer, which was full of the usual bombastic emotion and graphic sex of his Billy Dogma series. He followed that up with "Sex Planet", another story which is available online (and whose title, as Haspiel gleefully related, was stolen from an R. Kelly song), and an entry from Street Code, his autobiographical series that he does for DC Comics' Zuda site. They all made for enjoyable little tales, although a dramatic reading of a comic is kind of a novelty; the best experience is almost always reading it on your own.

Haspiel was followed by Tim Hall, another contributor to the site, whose Uplift the Positivicals is more of a text column than comics, although one entry which he read, called "Frisbee with Andrey", is an example of his experiments with vizualizations of text, an attempt to push himself into new areas and be a part of the site's community. It was interesting, and it should be interesting to see what else Hall does as he plays with the interactions of words and pictures.

It was a good evening, and I would encourage anybody who has the chance to see Haspiel speak about webcomics do so; he's an affable, entertaining guy, and the passion he has for his work is obvious. Since he's busy making comics full-time, it looks like we'll be able to enjoy his art and writing for some time to come, and that's a great thing, only one of the wonders of this modern age of sequential art. May it last long.

Warren Peace: Year Four begins with some free shit!

2009-11-13T12:00:00.002-06:00

I'm pleased to say that today marks the third anniversary of me starting this blog, which shows that people haven't gotten too tired of me, and I haven't yet run dry of things to say. That's good; we'll have to see how long that lasts. I will say that I continue to enjoy doing this, and I feel that I've gotten better at it, refining my critical voice and figuring out what works for generating content and how to express my thoughts about comics (and movies, TV, or books, on occasion). And some of the best blogging experiences involve the friendships and acquaintances I've formed with other online personalities, including people I've met in real life, like Tucker and Nina Stone, Noah Berlatsky, Scott Cederlund, and Sandy Bilus; or those who I have yet to glimpse with my own eyes but consider "internet friends" anyway, like Jog, Caleb Mozzocco, David Welsh, David Brothers, Stephen Frug, Jones, Chris Mautner, Geoff Klock, Jason Powell, Tim Callahan, John Jakala, Alan David Doane, and probably many others that I've neglected to mention. You guys make it all worthwhile.

Anyway, enough about my high opinion of myself. As a celebration of my blogiversary (a term I only use ironically, since it is stupid), I'm going to give away some comics. Specifically, I've come into possession of two extra copies of the first volume of Moyasimon (which I reviewed here), and I figure it's better to get them into the hands of someone who might want to read them than languish unread on my shelves.

So, here's the self-serving terms of the contest to win a copy: send me something that I can use on the blog. I'll take anything, whether it's a picture (something you drew (anything Jack Kirby- or Groo-related is always a good choice), or an image from a comic (or elsewhere) that might be something to put on the sidebar), a banner logo (width 800 pixels, height 500 pixels or less), a background image, a joke, a comment about something I've written or something I might like, a pull quote about the blog (even a negative one, so I can manipulate it with ellipses to try to make it sound positive), or even, if you want to really do some work for me, a guest review. Whatever you like, email it to me at mbrady325@gmail.com by, let's say December 1, unless I decide to extend the deadline. We'll see who replies, and if I get more entries than expected I'll add some other prizes, since I've got plenty of other books that I could get rid of.

But even if nobody bothers to enter, I still appreciate everybody who reads my inane ramblings, and even if I don't reply to every comment, I read them all, and thank you for dropping by and letting me know what you think. I enjoy the hell out of blogging, reading and examining comics and talking about them, and especially interacting with others who are as passionate about this little hobby of ours as I am. It's been a great ride so far, and hopefully it will continue for a long time to come.

Pluto: Action and emotion make a good manga combo

2009-11-12T21:20:00.004-06:00

No links today, but come back tomorrow for something...special?

(watch out for SPOILERS below, by the way)

Pluto, volume 6

By Naoki Urasawa

I don't know if there are any great insights to be had in this volume of the series (from me, at least), but it's still a pretty amazing one, seeing the culmination of some long-running plots and at least some partial answers to the mysteries that have been lurking in the background for the entire series. And action! The robotic fight scenes here are some of the lengthiest and most exciting yet, with the fights actually taking place on-panel, demonstrating yet another area in which Naoki Urasawa excels. Just look at the dynamism of this sequence:

This fight, in which Gesicht finally comes face to face with Pluto, gets drawn out across several chapters and intercut with other scenes (including another exciting fight, making for some nice corresponding panel transitions), and it's amazingly tense and nail-biting, both since we've seen the lethal danger of facing Pluto several times already, but also because it's the point where Gesicht really comes into his own, the end of his emotional journey throughout the series, and his internal struggles are just as compelling as the more obvious external ones. As always with Urasawa, it's incredible to watch.

One of the themes of the series seems to be the manipulation of robots (or the less-powerful; that is, those being controlled by those in power) by humans, and their continuing development as they come to understand and learn to deal with their growing emotions and intelligence. Before the big fight, we learn along with Gesicht about Pluto's past, as a peaceful robot named Sahad who studied botany, hoping to learn how to turn the barren deserts of Persia into fields of beautiful flowers. But he was manipulated by his "father" Abullah, the head of Persia's Ministry of Science, into sacrificing his growing humanity and becoming an agent of violent revenge for the destruction of his country and the death of his family. It makes for an achingly sad portrait of a being struggling with anger and hate and trying to understand himself while being goaded into horribly murdering others like him. So when Gesicht finally confronts him and, against his programming and orders, refuses to destroy him, choosing instead to plead with him to recognize his true self, it's one of the most powerful moments in the series so far:

There are plenty of other arresting moments and scenes here, but that's the one that grabs me, and makes me realize the storytelling ability of Tezuka and Urasawa. We've seen how much programming and the "robot laws" mean to these characters, but that manipulation and control can only stand for so long against a being of intelligence and emotion, so when Gesicht refuses to kowtow to his masters' wishes and encourages others like him to do the same, it's enough to make you want to stand up and cheer.

And of course, that's not the only thing of note here. A flashback to a discovery of Sahad's is another fascinating moment that sees Urasawa use some spot color similar to what he's done in previous volumes:

I'm not sure of the meaning of that scene (in which a flower that holds its bloom indefinitely is created, destroying all the surrounding flowers in the process); is it Pluto/Sahad discovering the extent of his powers (i.e. intelligence), along with their destructive capabilities? More might be revealed, or it might be left tantalizingly ambiguous; either way, it's a fascinating sequence.

There's also an incredible bit of emotion in the final chapter, as Gesicht's wife meets Professor Tenma, and is unable to hide her grief at his death (I mentioned spoilers, right?):

As ever, the sadness that shows through on her face is a testament to Urasawa's skill at character art. It's so goddamn believable that you want to cry along with her, and the tenderness of the moment is striking. And interestingly, there's a similar moment earlier in the volume with Abullah himself, as he meets with Epsilon:

Seeing the sadness he experiences over the loss of his family humanizes him, making him more than a simple moustache-twirling villain. It's more great character work on Urasawa's part.

One other aspect in which others have noted Urasawa's excellence is the way he depicts barely-glimpsed horror, and he certainly delivers on that here:

Pluto's hidden form there is terrifying, huge and scary, with shadowy, almost organic parts of his body bulging from the shadows. We still haven't gotten a full view of him, but we know he's incredibly dangerous and deadly, so the idea of what's hiding in that tunnel is as scary as what we actually see, which is just enough to intensify that scariness. But even though this is one area in which Urasawa excels, he can deliver fully-seen, on-panel horror as well:

That's just not right, and the inhuman look of those bald-headed robots only adds to the awfulness of insects pouring out of their mouths. Yikes.

Yes, it's incredible work all around, as always. With each new volume, Urasawa gives us more to look at, process, think about, and discuss; it never gets tiresome to watch him work. He seems to be winding down a bit here; the big confrontation in this volume could well be the climax of the series. But there are still a few revelations yet to be had, along with the inevitable resurrection of Atom (and also Gesicht, one hopes) and the final defeat of the bad guys; I can't wait to experience it.

-----

Bonus: Hyoutan-Tsugi appearance!

Whatever Works: This movie doesn't really, but it's Woody Allen, so whatever

2009-11-11T00:09:00.005-06:00

A movie review!

Whatever Works

2009, Directed by Woody Allen

Oh lord, if you thought it was creepy when Woody Allen romanced Mariel Hemingway in Manhattan, well, it's about 30 years later, and his character (this time played by Larry David, but as we know, it's still Woody) is still going after girls the same age. Yikes. It could be argued that it's not really the same thing; he's not the insatiable sex-hound of his younger days, and she ends up romancing him and acting as more of a caretaker than a sex toy. No, the real offense is the portrayal of the American South as a bunch of backward dummies ready to be imprinted with New York sophistication (not to mention alternative sexuality). Evan Rachel Wood plays a runaway high school dropout that convinces David (playing a failed genius physicist and suicidal misanthrope) to let her stay with him, and she's so fresh-faced and innocent that she believes him when he tells her that she (along with everyone else in the world) is an idiot, God doesn't exist, life is meaningless, and so on. So of course she gets a crush on him and wins him over with her complete, unreserved acceptance of his beliefs, tastes, and daily routines, and they get married. Things get complicated when her mom (played by Patricia Clarkson as a Jesus freak who discovers an artistic side and a penchant for fucking many men) shows up and decides to break them up, but it all works out in the end.

You can't really expect too much from Woody Allen at this point in his career, at least when he's going for this sort of light, New York-based comedy rather than attempting to push himself in new directions, but it is kind of galling to see how out of touch he is with anything outside of New York. Oh, those country bumpkins; if only they could be educated by city slicker cynicism, they would give up their backwardness and become just like us! It's actually pretty hilarious. Larry David plays the role as a mixture of his Curb Your Enthusiasm self and the more misanthropic versions of Woody's character. He's funny, but a pretty bad actor for the most part, especially when he has to freak out about his nightlight being off or being gripped by existential despair (he's kind of an OCD-addled mess). A recurring Woody-style motif has him talking to the camera, but in full view of other characters, who just think he's kind of crazy. Eh, it's really not a very good movie, but it's still enjoyable for Woody fans like me. I can't hate him; he's like my senile old uncle, and there are glimmers of smartness underneath the pretension. Hey, you take what you can get these days.

Goats: If you're going to read webcomics offline, this is a good bet

2009-11-10T20:30:00.000-06:00

Webcomics links: Connor Willumsen has a new comic up called "Frontier Consumption", and it's pretty damn good. I love that guy's art.

I also really like this strip by Lucy Knisley; it gets into stuff about memories that pop up suddenly and shows how good she is with body language in her deceptively simple cartoony style. Good stuff.

And for a whole bunch of decent webcomics, check out this post from Forbidden Planet which links to a bunch of entries in the Observer/Cape Graphic Short Story Prize, some sort of competition sponsored by a British newspaper, I think. It's a nice collection of short comics; my favorites are Andi Watson's "choose your own adventure"-style "Derek's Dreadful Dungeon Diversion", Rob Davis' "How I Built My Father", David O'Connell's "Blip", and Luke Ferenc Pearson's "Some People". Gotta love the wealth of stuff you can find on the internets.

And here's some longer-form webcomics:

Goats, volume 2: The Corndog Imperative

By Jonathan Rosenberg

There's kind of a formula for a lot of webcomics, especially those that traffic in nerd humor. There's usually a couple of guys who are slackers, but are smart and funny, and sometimes have hot women who inexplicably find them attractive. Maybe some anthropomorphic animals or robots, which are probably violent or evil to give them an "edge". Throw in a bunch of geeky humor about video games or computers, a bunch of swearing, and some ostensibly wacky adventures, and you've got yourself an automatic audience, or so it seems, since this sort of comic abounds online, to the point that it's almost a sort of insular ghetto. Jonathan Rosenberg's Goats certainly seems to fit the mold, but while it features all of the elements mentioned (and probably initiated a lot of them, considering that it's been running since 1997), it's not content to sit on its laurels and run strip after strip of its characters sitting on a couch and cracking wise about whatever the latest internet fad is. No, Rosenberg has much grander ideas; he's interested in exploring the metaphysical nature of the universe and examining the heart of man through the ages. Or, it's possible that he went insane at some point and launched a lengthy, stream-of-consciousness narrative, throwing whatever bizarre ideas emerged from his fevered brain onto the page and trying to tie them all together with silly jokes and nerd humor. Either way, it makes for a pretty funny strip that's enjoyable for never knowing what's going to happen next.

Of course, starting with this book, the second print volume in the "Infinite Pendergast Cycle", might or might not be the ideal way to experience Rosenberg's vision, but it works pretty well, considering. There's an informative recap to start things off, along with a guide to all the relevant characters, and then you just jump into his crazy world, in which a couple of programmers are in the midst of a multiversal adventure involving the death of God, bugs in the programming code of existence, various demonic, religious, and alien factions vying for control of the laws of reality, and the impending apocalypse. There's a lot of wacky hijinks, but Rosenberg never lets things drag, moving at a steady clip from to wackier and sillier settings and shifting between several plotlines at once. There are also a lot of jokes about drunkenness and deviant sex, a farm-based dimension that has turned into a totalitarian religious cult, a fish/chicken duo trapped in a slug-inhabited backwater dimension, an End User License Agreement that forces one to sign one's soul away, reality-rewriting computers made out of cows and turtles, sentient vegetables, and a brief crossover with the strip Diesel Sweeties.

It's pretty weird, yet also quite enjoyable, probably because Rosenberg actually does seem to be trying to do some interesting stuff with sci-fi ideas (albeit fantastical ones with little basis in reality) in the midst of all the zany one-liners and wacky violence. The art works well enough, although it's kind of standard webcomic stuff, with lots of oval eyes and gaping mouths, although a lot of the non-human creatures and color effects look fairly nice (and it's orders of magnitude better than it was when the strip started). There are certainly worse, less imaginative strips out there. If you're on board for non-stop silliness that rarely goes where expected, this might be for you. Although really, it's only for Rosenberg and the demons haunting his mental landscape; everyone else is just along for the ride.

-----

In print, the first volume of this storyline, Infinite Typewriters, might be a better place to start reading than this, but you can also read the whole thing online. The Infinite Pendergast Cycle starts here, but Rosenberg recommends new readers start here. Or you could just choose a random strip and start reading from there. Jumping in at this volume worked well enough for me, so all of those options are probably approximately equal.

This week, I'll revel in comics history, and probably some other crap

2009-11-09T12:00:00.002-06:00

Quick TV/DVD review: Battlestar Galactica: The Plan is sort of a victory lap for the TV show, one last chance to go back and relive the glory, or something like that. The idea is to see the Cylons' point of view of the story (and to explain the "they have a plan" caption from the beginning of each episode, although that plan turns out to be "kill all the surviving humans", which isn't exactly a revelation), although in practice, it ends up being like one of those comics series (Untold Tales of Spider-Man, say) where creators go back and tell what happened in between early issues of the original series. How did Sam form his band of freedom fighters? What exactly was going on with Boomer in the first season when she didn't realize she was a Cylon? You don't have to wonder; now you see every moment that we didn't see originally! There's something to be said for ambiguity, I think, and pretty much all of the "revelations" here were easy enough to figure out just by reading between the lines. We do get to see Dean Stockwell give more of his awesomely sneering, derisive, contemptuous lines though, which is always fun, especially when he's getting more and more frustrated at the failures of the other Cylons, and there's a nice emphasis on the scale of the destruction in the Cylon attack, making sure we realize what a horrible genocide it was. The worst bits probably involve some fairly dumb bits involving a memory-restoring elephant figurine and an abrupt realization of humanity's inherent goodness from a version of Stockwell's character, but those aren't that bad. Really, it's an enjoyable visit to the beloved milieu now that the series has ended, which is nice and all, but the great thing about the show was that it was always moving forward, continuing on to new plots and shifting status quos (status qui? Statuses quo? I don't speak latin), so it's kind of against the whole grain of the series to go back and revisit the past like this. But hey, I watched it, so I imagine plenty of other fans will also jump at the chance.

Back to your regularly-scheduled programming:

New comics this week (Wednesday, 11/11/09):

Anchor #2

As I mentioned the other day, I enjoyed the first issue of this Phil Hester/Brian Churilla series a good deal, and here's the second one already. This time out, our man fights some sort of supernatural huntsman on a horse preserve in England. I bet it will be awesome.

Authority The Lost Year Reader

Grant Morrison's run on The Authority didn't last long, but the story it started is finally going to get completed, although with Keith Giffen writing (from Morrison's plot, presumably) and Darick Robertson illustrating. I don't know how well that will work, but it might be interesting. Anyway, here's a double-issue reprint of those first two Morrison issues, with art by Gene Ha, so you can know what the hell is going on. I remember liking the first one (especially Ha's gorgeous art), but the second being a real letdown. We'll see if anything comes of this, but I kind of doubt it.

Batman and Robin #6

And speaking of Morrison, here's another one he wrote, and the last issue illustrated by Phillip Tan, which should make everyone rejoice, since Cameron Stewart and Frazier Irving will be taking over. Hell, I'll even start reading again at that point. I guess this is the last part of the Red Hood arc, if anybody cares. Enjoy, Bat-addicts.

Batman Doc Savage Special #1

On the other hand, here's the launch of another DC thing, with Batman thrown in to goose interest. Brian Azzarello writes and Phil Noto draws a revival of the old pulp hero, who I think will be joined by characters like The Shadow and The Spirit in the eventual ongoing series. I never know how Azzarello is going to work out on superhero-ish stuff, but if he's going for a pulp/crime feel, it could be good. As for Noto, he seems like an odd fit, since his stuff is usually kind of light and airy, rather than shadowy and grim. We'll see what happens, I guess.

Black Coat Or Give Me Death #1 & #2 Double-Sized

I haven't read any of this series about a masked American Revolution-era spy, but it does seem pretty cool, and the art has been by talents like Gabriel Hardman and Francesco Francavilla. This appears to be either a reprint or a double-issue kickoff of a new miniseries, so maybe it's a jumping-on point? Ben Lichius writes, and Francavilla illustrates the first issue, while Dean Kotz draws the second. Maybe I'll read it someday.

Chronicles of Wormwood Last Battle #2

Garth Ennis' continuing adventures of the Antichrist continue. Violence and profanity abound, I bet.

Citizen Rex #5

One more issue of Gilbert (and Mario) Hernandez's wacky sci-fi series to go after this one, and then I can start whining about a collection. I do so want to read this; don't let me down, Beto!

Comic Book Comics #4

Always the book of the week when this comes out, this comic about the history of comics is consistently awesome, entertaining, and educational. This issue is about the rise of Marvel Comics, along with R. Crumb and the undergrounds and Herge's Tintin. Fred Van Lente, Ryan Dunlavey, hilarity. It will be good, I declare it.

DMZ #47

Wow, almost 50 issues of this series already. I don't know what's going on in this issue, but I'll guess that Matty whines and acts like a dick, while awful shit happens in New York and political forces callously fuck around with people's lives. Good times.

Fables #90

Same here, I don't know what's going on, but I'm always excited to find out. I don't have any predictions though, although I know this current arc is about the various Fabletown witches. It's magical!

Ghoul #1

It's the latest Steve Niles/Berni Wrightson joint, about a supernatural mystery in Los Angeles and the freakish detective of the title who will solve it. I'm never sure about Niles' writing, but Wrightson's art is pretty much always awesome. Maybe worth a look, says I.

Hellboy The Wild Hunt #8

Mignola and Fegredo finally finish the latest Hellboy adventure, and while I don't know if I'll understand it, I do want to read it, so let's have a collection soon, please.

Muppet Show Treasure of Peg Leg Wilson #4

Roger Langridge finishes the latest Muppets miniseries, and I bet it's hilarious and fun and all the usual adjectives people ascribe to it. I still need to finish reading the last miniseries, and then I'll get to this one, and laugh and laugh and marvel at how good it is.

Pope Hats #1

I guess this comic by Ethan Rilly is finally coming out, at least in the direct market, but I read and reviewed it back in June. It's pretty good, one of those quirky comics about single twentysomethings, with some nice cartooning and funny dialogue. I hope the second issue shows up before too long. Read it, if you can tear yourself away from Green Lantern and his worshipful buddies.

Punishermax #1

It's the umpteenth relaunch of the Punisher, or one of his series, with a terrible title and an attempt at replicating Garth Ennis' style, sort of. Jason Aaron writes, and he's introducing mainstream Marvel characters like the Kingpin and Bullseye, but retaining the "adult" feel of the MAX version of the book, with lots of swearing and gory violence, all rendered in gross detail by Steve Dillon, whose art is probably the element most reminiscent of Ennis (even if he hasn't worked on the MAX version of the character before). The first issue isn't bad, although it focuses almost entirely on the bad guys rather than the title character. As can be said of most comics these days, we'll see how it goes.

Richard Moore The Pound

I'm always leery of releases from Antarctic Press, since they all seem like bad manga wannabes, but Richard Moore (of The Boneyard) is a pretty good cartoonist, so this might be one to check out. It's about genetically engineered chimera mercenaries...in spaaace! Neat? Maybe? Or maybe it's just furry porn...

Sky Doll Factory #1

Didn't Marvel already do one of these "behind the scenes" things? Or did I imagine that. Anyway, rather than being the next issue of the series (which isn't even out in Europe yet, as far as I know), this is one of those "artbooks", with lots of design material and background information. I don't know if the series was popular enough to merit something like this, but if you dug the pervy adventures of a space robo-prostitute (I actually did like the first issue), go for it.

Strange #1

Marvel's latest revival of Dr. Strange, although since they've turned him into a depowered loser, it's not really the same; shouldn't he be the awesome multi-dimensional, all-powerful magical hero? Actually, this one isn't bad; the issue sees him play baseball against a team of demons in order to save some souls and whatnot. Enjoyably witty writing by Mark Waid, nice slightly manga-ish art by Emma Rios (kinda like Amy Reeder Hadley's work on Madame Xanadu), a pretty good time to be had. Could be worse.

Supergod #1

It's the latest reimagined superhero thing from Warren Ellis at Avatar, sort of a superhero-as-religion taken to the extreme, with spandex dudes worshiped as deities and taking apocalyptic revenge against humanity, or something. I bet it's entertaining; maybe I'll read it when it's collected. Art is by Garrie Gastony, whom I've never heard of, but probably fits Avatar's house style, if I were to guess. Let's hope this is good; it seems like it's been a while since Ellis did something that blew me away.

SWORD #1

Another interesting Marvel book, this one follows the adventures of the Joss Whedon-created organization that defends Earth from extra-terrestrial threats. You've got Agent Brand, the X-Men's Beast, Lockheed, and others dealing with wacky aliens and Earthbound bureaucracy; it's pretty enjoyable, judging by this first issue. Kieron Gillen writes, with some cute, cartoony art by Steven Sanders (along with a backup story about the fate if Kitty Pryde drawn by Jamie McKelvie), and it looks to be a fast-paced, character-driven take on the wild, intergalactic corner of the Marvel universe. Give it a look, if that sounds like your bag.

Tracker #1

Top Cow is another publisher that I almost automatically avoid, but this series about a werewolf FBI agent doesn't look bad. Maybe they're getting away from the "scantily-clad girls plus demons and tentacles" genre. Anyway, Jonathan Lincoln writes, Francis Tsai draws, Darick Robertson provides a variant cover, and I will probably forget about the book's existence by tomorrow.

Wall-E #0

Here's Boom!'s latest Pixar comic, although it's one that doesn't seem to lend itself to a spin-off very well, if you ask me. We got all the information we needed in the movie, didn't we? This is apparently a prequel, seeing the cute li'l robot's beginnings as a junk compactor/collector on the dead Earth. So, basically an expanded version of the first 10 minutes of the film. Possibly enjoyable, but pretty much the definition of inessential.

We Kill Monsters #5

I mentioned Brian Churilla above, and here's the other comic he works on, about which I've heard good things. I think it's a miniseries that ends with the next issue, so maybe I'll have to watch for a collected version.

Absolute Justice HC

Another week, another gigantic, expensive version of a comic that doesn't merit the presentation. I can still hate on Alex Ross, right? Isn't that still fashionable? I've actually never read this series, and it did look kind of entertaining, in a bombastic, overserious, shiny way, but as I always say, there's no way it's worth $100. No way. So since everybody listens to my advice nobody will buy it and DC can stop doing these things. Problem solved.

A Christmas Carol HC By IDW

And so begins the onslaught of Christmas books (see plenty more below). I can't find much information about this, but it appears to be a comics adaptation of the classic Charles Dickens story, although it's not "by" IDW, they're just publishing it. It's written by Patrice Buendia with art by Jean-Marc Stainer, and it's a 64-page hardcover for $15. Not the best deal, methinks, even for a version of that story. It's probably preferable to the Jim Carrey abomination though.

Beast GN

I thought this had already come out, but maybe not. It's a new graphic novel from Marian Churchland, who is probably best known for illustrating some issues of Elephantmen (she's also Brandon Graham's girlfriend, for those who care), and it's a sort of retelling of "Beauty and the Beast", with a girl who is a sculptor completing a work for a strange, shadowy monster type of fellow. I've read about half of it in PDF form, and I should really finish it, because it's quite good. Hopefully I'll have a review up at Comics Bulletin before too long. Check it out, if you get the chance. Here's a preview.

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep HC Vol 1

It's the first collection of Boom!'s adaptation of Philip K. Dick's novel, with four more to follow, I believe. There's no credited writer (other than Dick), since the full text of the book is being used (which explains the length), but the art is by Tony Parker, and based on the one issue I read, it's decent enough, but nothing revolutionary. I would recommend the novel if you haven't read it before, but it's not a bastardization or anything, so unless you don't want to have it visualized for you (and it's too late for that anyway, what with Blade Runner and all), you might want to give it a look. Maybe. Or don't, I'm not the boss of you.

Escapists TPB

Dark Horse has this new version/printing of the Bryan K. Vaughan/Philip Bond/Steve Rolston/Jason Shawn Alexander/Eduardo Barreto miniseries that spun off from Michael Chabon's The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Klay. It's not bad, although it's not my favorite of Vaughan's works. Give it a read if you missed it, uh huh.

The Fir-Tree GN

More Christmasy stuff, one of a trio of related books from Harper Collins; this is apparently an adaptation of a Hans Christian Andersen story about a tree that dreams of being a Christmas tree. Sounds rather twee, but it's illustrated by Lilli Carre, so that means it's worth a look, at least. I'll try to wait until after Thanksgiving though. Here's a preview.

Gift Of the Magi GN

Harper Collins Christmas book number two: adapting the O. Henry story with art by Joel Priddy. Again, probably worth a look. Preview.

Hot Potatoe HC

From Drawn & Quarterly, it's the new book from Marc Bell, collecting a bunch of his paintings and comics and whatnot. I don't think I've ever actually read any of his comics, but I've seen samples here and there. While it's interesting, and nicely-drawn, I don't know if I like it, since it seems like a bunch of chaotic information without much point. There's no accounting for taste though.

Incredibles Family Matters TP

Collecting the Boom! Studios miniseries that tells the continuing adventures of the superhero family from the movie. I haven't read it, but it looks pretty good. Written by Mark Waid, art by Marcio Takara. It has since been turned into an ongoing series, so good times for all.

Insomnia Cafe HC

So far, M.K. Perker has been the artist for comics written by G. Willow Wilson (Cairo, Air), but he's striking out on his own with this graphic novel from Dark Horse about a rare books expert who discovers an archive of books that are still being written, and a dark conspiracy or something along those lines. Could be good; I'll take a look inside if I see it on shelves.

James Bond Omnibus

This collects a large portion of the newspaper comic strip version of Ian Fleming's superspy, apparently including eleven adventures. It might be worth looking at, but what with 007's adventures being readily available and popular in other media, this might just be a curio for those who used to read the strip or Bond fanatics. Or, you know, people who are excited about this Golden Age of Reprints that we're in.

A Kidnapped Santa Claus GN

Harper Collins Christmas book number three, adapting L. Frank Baum's story. Art by Alex Robinson, which probably makes it a really fun read. Again, here's a preview.

Luna Park HC

The latest entry in the Vertigo Crime line of graphic novels, this one is written by novelist Kevin Baker, with art by Danijel Zezelj that's apparently colored by Dave Stewart (I thought these were all black and white, but who knows). It takes place in early 20th century New York, following a Russian mob enforcer and his prostitute/fortune-teller girlfriend as they try to cheat their employers out of a big haul, or something like that. I don't know about Baker, but Zezelj is a pretty great artist, so I'd love to give this a read sometime, even though I still have yet to read any of these books. Someday, I suppose.

Nylon Road A Graphic Memoir GN

I recently read this book by Iranian ex-pat Parsua Bashi; it's a sort of Persepolis-esque memoir about growing up in Iran, and it's pretty good, if a bit scattered. I'll have a full review up at Comics Bulletin sometime soon, I hope (that is, I've already written it and am just waiting for them to post it. Expect linkage).

Peanuts 60th Anniversary Book

The Schulz love never stops. This "tribute" book will probably contain artwork and reminiscences from various people, and all that jazz. Maybe even actual Peanuts strips; who knows? I'd rather read the actual strip, but this is probably a nice coffee table book, so I can't complain. Why would I? Oh yeah, because I do about everything else.

Pim & Francie In The Golden Bear Days HC

Al Columbia! I don't think I've ever read any of his comics, outside of samples here and there, but I like what I've seen, so here's a chance to get caught up. Lots of freaky-ass disturbing horror and the like, sure to cause nightmares for a long time after reading. Sounds like fun. Here's the usual Fantagraphics slideshow/preview.

Strange Suspense Steve Ditko Arcives HC vol 1

Fanta also has this collection of early Ditko crime and horror comics from 1953-54, before the Comics Code had been established. I bet there's some great stuff in here. You can have a glimpse through another one of those slideshow/previews.

Superman Red Son Deluxe Edition HC

Here's what's often thought to be one of Mark Millar's better works, an Elseworlds story in which Superman landed in Russia and became a Communist enforcer rather than a fighter for truth, justice, and the American Way. It's not bad at all, if you're interested in alternate takes on Superman and that sort of thing. Art's by Dave Johnson and ~~Kieron Dwyer~~ Killian Plunkett, ending by Grant Morrison (as the story goes). $25 is a bit expensive, but that's the way things are these days.

Through The Wire The Words And Lyrics Of Kanye West HC

Looks like the genre of "comics inspired by popular musicians" is going strong, although this is more illustrated text than comics, printing the lyrics of twelve of Kanye's songs with illustrations by famed animator Bill Plympton. Interesting, to say the least. Here's a blog post with one of the illustrations.

Usagi Yojimbo HC Yokai

This is probably already out, but I failed to mention it, so allow me to remedy that. Stan Sakai's first graphic novel in his long-running "rabbit samurai" series, a full-color hardcover from Dark Horse about Usagi running into some ghosts and such. Probably very pretty. Here's a preview.

Wolverine Weapon X Adamantium Men Prem HC Vol 01

If you have to have Wolverine in your comics, this series written by Jason Aaron is probably your best bet, since (so far) it's mostly free of whatever entanglements the larger Marvel universe brings. This first arc saw him fight a bunch of soldiers that had been given healing factors and laser claws and cancer-causing guns. It was pretty fun, if a bit over-serious at some points (Tucker Stone's takedown of the issue in which Wolvie discussed literature with a guy he was trying to kill is pretty funny), with some nice art by Ron Garney. You could certainly do worse when it comes to Marvel superhero comics.

X-Men Wolverine Gambit Prem HC

Like this, for instance. Actually, I've never read it, but it's from the 90s, and it's notable for being an early work from the team of Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale. So it probably looks nice but reads terribly. So, why not package it in an expensive hardcover? Comics fans: willing to shell out lots of money for pure crap every time.

Year Of Loving Dangerously HC

If you think Ted Rall is worth reading but hate the way he draws, here's the book for you, since it's illustrated by Pablo Callejo. Me, I think he's kind of an asshole, so an autobiographical comic about Rall fucking a lot of women and being a general dick doesn't seem like my idea of a good time. He's probably going for the style of one of those addiction memoirs like A Million Little Pieces or Permanent Midnight or The Alcoholic, and who knows, maybe he succeeds, but I don't especially want to read it. But maybe you might, who am I to judge?

Cat Paradise Vol 2 GN

Manga! About cats! Fighting demons! I didn't read volume 1, but maybe I will sometime. And here's volume 2, so I can be behind! Yay!

Ikigami The Ultimate Limit Vol 3 TP

The series about government killing people to motivate them continues. I read and liked the first two, and I've got the third sitting there waiting for me to unwrap the shrink wrap; I imagine it will continue to be pretty good. We'll see, whenever I get around to it.

Inu Yasha VIZBIG Edition Vol 1 TP

I've never read any of this manga, but I have seen an episode of the anime here and there, and it never really did anything for me. But hey, it's Rumiko Takahashi, so it can't be that bad. Like the other books in the VIZBIG line, it's the first three volumes of the series in one, with a larger trim size and color pages and whatnot. I'm not sure if it's still flipped, like I've heard the original localized printing of the series was, or if they've switched to original right-to-left format. If I do get around to reading the series, this is probably the way I'd want to do it.

Jormungand Vol 1 TP

Another release that Viz is trumpeting, this looks to be in the seinen genre, about a team of assassins or mercenaries or something. Hey, I can't complain about cool, violent action comics. I'll read it if I get the chance.

Swans In Space Vol 1 GN

Finally, here's something from the opposite end of the spectrum, a cute kiddie manga published by Udon about girls going to space in a swan-shaped ship to right wrongs and help people out. Sounds super-cute; maybe I'll get it to read to my daughter.

-----

And I think that is everything of note, and probably then some. Blogging shall commence soon enough, I expect. Be there!