Yet Another Comics Blog

New Library Comics: June 2009

2009-07-08T09:43:00.000-04:00

Here are the new comics that we added to the library's collection in June:

Allred, Mike (Mike Dalton) Madman atomic comics vol. 1 / Berkeley, CA : Image Comics, c2008-

Angst : the best of norwegian comics vol. 2 / Oslo, Norway : Jippi Comics : No Comprendo Press, 2007-

Bailey, Neal. Michelle Obama. / [Vancouver, Wash.] : Bluewater Comics, [2009]

Baker, Kyle. Special forces bk. 1. Hot to death / Berkeley, Calif. : Image Comics, 2009-

Brinkley, Nell, 1886-1944. The Brinkley girls : the best of Nell Brinkley's cartoons from 1913-1940 / Seattle, Wash. : Fantagraphics, 2009.

Cauvin, Raoul, 1938- The navy blues / Canterbury, Kent : Cinebook, 2009.

Chuck D, 1960- Public Enemy vol. 1 / Naugatuck, CT : American Mule Entertainment, 2009-

Goodwin, Archie. Blazing combat / Seattle, Wash. : Fantagraphics, 2009.

Goscinny, 1926-1977. Iznogoud and the day of misrule / Canterbury, Kent : Cinebook, 2009.

Gray, Harold, 1894-1968. The complete Little Orphan Annie v. 3. And a blind man shall lead them 1929-1931 / San Diego, Calif. : IDW Pub., 2008-

Guibert, Emmanuel. The photographer / New York : First Second, 2009

Hewlett, Jamie. Tank Girl vols. 1-2 / London : Titan, 2008-

Lee, Stan, 1922- The X-Men omnibus vol. 1 / New York : Marvel, 2009-

Lee, Stan, 1922- The X-Men vol. 1 / New York : Marvel, 2009-

McLain, Karline. India's immortal comic books : gods, kings, and other heroes / Bloomington : Indiana University Press, c2009.

Mizuno, Junko, 1973- Hell babies / Tokyo : Editions Treville for Pan-Exotica, c2001.

O'Malley, Bryan Lee. Scott Pilgrim vs. the world / Portland, OR : Oni Press, 2004-

Schrag, Ariel. Likewise : the high school comic chronicles of Ariel Schrag. / New York : Simon & Schuster, 2009, c1998.

Sendelbach, Brian. Planet of beer : a Smell of Steve treasury / Milwaukie, Or. : Dark Horse, 2009.

Simon, Joe. The best of Simon and Kirby / London : Titan, 2009.

Spain (Cartoonist) Nightmare Alley / Seattle, Wash. : Fantagraphics Books, 2003.

Stanley, John, 1914-1993. Melvin Monster vol. 1 / Montréal, Québec : Drawn and Quarterly, 2009.

This is a souvenir : the songs of Spearmint and Shirley Lee. /Berkeley, Calif. : Image, 2009.

Toth, Alex. Alex Toth in Hollywood. / Brooklyn, NY : Pure Imagination, 2009.

Tyler, Carol. You'll never know : [a graphic memoir] Bk. 1. A good and decent man / Seattle, Wash. : Fantagraphics, 2009-

Urasawa, Naoki, 1960- Pluto : Urasawa x Tezuka vol. 3 / San Francisco, CA : VIZ Media, c2008-

Urosawa, Naoki, 1960- 20th century boys vol. 02 : the prophet / San Francisco, CA : Viz Media, 2009-

Usui, Yoshito, 1958- Crayon Shinchan vol. 8 / La Jolla, CA : CMX, c2008-

Wood, Wallace. Wally Wood : edge of genius. / Brooklyn, NY : Pure Imagination, 2009.

As always, this listing is available as an RSS Feed.

Amazon Top 50

2009-07-03T07:39:00.000-04:00

Here are the Top 50 Graphic Novels on Amazon this morning. All the previous caveats apply.

1 (-). Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw
2 (-). Watchmen
3 (-). Diary of a Wimpy Kid
4 (+2). Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules
5 (-1). Final Crisis
6 (+2). Maximum Ride, Vol. 1 Manga (kindle)
7 (-). Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood
8 (+35). Fruits Basket Volume 23 *
9 (+1). Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
10 (-5). Time of Your Life (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 8, Vol. 4)
11 (+3). The Complete Persepolis
12 (-). Maus I: A Survivor's Tale: My Father Bleeds History
13 (+35). Stephen King's Dark Tower: Treachery
14 (-5). Batman: The Killing Joke
15 (-2). The Photographer: Into war-torn Afghanistan with Doctors Without Borders
16 (+7). Mercy Thompson Homecoming *
17 (+1). Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art
18 (-2). Warriors: Tigerstar and Sasha #3: Return to the Clans
19 (+1). Batman: R.I.P.
20 (+26). V for Vendetta
21 (N). Batman: Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader? Deluxe Edition *
22 (+27). American Born Chinese
23 (+1). Batman: Arkham Asylum (15th Anniversary Edition)
24 (N). Green Lantern: Rage of the Red Lanterns
25 (+9). Naruto, Volume 45 *
26 (-7). Serenity, Vol. 2: Better Days
27 (+6). The Sandman Vol. 1: Preludes and Nocturnes
28 (+11). The Complete Calvin and Hobbes
29 (-1). The Joker
30 (+2). Starman Omnibus Vol. 3
31 (N). Asterios Polyp *
32 (N). Angel: After The Fall Volume 1
33 (N). Green Lantern Corps: Sins of the Star Sapphire
34 (-23). Wolves at the Gate (Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight, Volume 3)
35 (-20). The Long Way Home (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 8, Vol. 1)
36 (N). Negima!: Magister Negi Magi, Vol. 23 *
37 (-4). Halo: Uprising
38 (-4). Maus II: A Survivor's Tale: And Here My Troubles Began
39 (N). Preacher Vol. 1: Gone to Texas
40 (N). Sleeper: Season One
41 (N). Star Trek: Countdown TPB
42 (-7). The Walking Dead Compendium Volume 1
43 (N). Superman: Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow? Deluxe Edition *
44 (N). Achewood Volume 2: Worst Song, Played On Ugliest Guitar
45 (N). Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic
46 (-24). Batman: Year One
47 (N). The Dark-Hunters, Vol. 1 *
48 (-10). Green Lantern: Sinestro Corps War, Vol. 2
49 (N). The Arrival
50 (-19). Empowered, Vol. 5

Items with asterisks (*) are pre-order items.

Commentary:

* Many of the titles which saw enormously large gains last week (e.g. Buffy titles) see large fall backs this week, and vice versa (e.g. Dark Tower). I wonder if there was some sort of anomaly last week and now we're seeing a correction? But then other titles didn't see any large shifts either week, so who knows?

* Huge gain on the pre-order for the new Fruits Basket, outpacing Naruto & Negima by a good clip.

* Highest debut is Gaiman's Batman: Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader?, and it even brings along the re-re-issue of Alan Moore's Superman: Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow? Both writers are faves of the Amazon Top 50, so look for those two titles to stick around for a while on the charts.

* Last week's big debut, The Art of Harvey Kurtzman, is nowhere to be seen this week.

* The recent interest in Green Lantern collections is likely due to the forthcoming Blackest Night series, showing that DM-aimed events can affect the mainstream sales charts.

Monkey Covers

2009-06-28T08:25:00.002-04:00

Sunday is Monkey Covers day here at YACB. Because there's nothing better than a comic with a monkey on the cover!

Bigby Wolf has been turned into a chimpanzee on Brian Bolland's cover to Jack of Fables #34 (2009).

(Standard disclaimer about how wolves who have been turned into chimps aren't really monkeys applies.)

Image courtesy of the GCD. Click on the image for a larger version.

Amazon Top 50

2009-06-26T12:05:00.003-04:00

Here are the Top 50 Graphic Novels on Amazon this afternoon. All the previous caveats apply.

1 (-). Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw
2 (+1). Watchmen
3 (+1). Diary of a Wimpy Kid
4 (-2). Final Crisis
5 (+1). Time of Your Life (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 8, Vol. 4)
6 (-1). Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules
7 (+2). Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood
8 (+13). Maximum Ride, Vol. 1 Manga (kindle)
9 (+4). Batman: The Killing Joke
10 (+1). Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
11 (+18). Wolves at the Gate (Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight, Volume 3)
12 (+6). Maus I: A Survivor's Tale: My Father Bleeds History
13 (-6). The Photographer: Into war-torn Afghanistan with Doctors Without Borders
14 (+3). The Complete Persepolis
15 (+25). The Long Way Home (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 8, Vol. 1)
16 (+6). Warriors: Tigerstar and Sasha #3: Return to the Clans
17 (N). No Future For You (Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight, Volume 2)
18 (+2). Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art
19 (+17). Serenity, Vol. 2: Better Days
20 (+15). Batman: R.I.P.
21 (N). The Art of Harvey Kurtzman: The Mad Genius of Comics
22 (+1). Batman: Year One
23 (-15). Mercy Thompson Homecoming *
24 (-5). Batman: Arkham Asylum (15th Anniversary Edition)
25 (-15). The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Vol. 3: Century, No. 1: 1910
26 (N). Star Wars: Vector Volume 2 - Chapters 3 & 4
27 (N). Predators and Prey (Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight, Vol. 5) *
28 (+9). The Joker
29 (+19). Serenity, Vol. 1: Those Left Behind
30 (-). The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Vol. 1
31 (N). Empowered, Vol. 5
32 (+2). Starman Omnibus Vol. 3
33 (+5). Halo: Uprising
34 (N). Naruto, Volume 45 *
35 (+4). Bone: One Volume Edition
33 (-8). The Sandman Vol. 1: Preludes and Nocturnes
34 (+11). Maus II: A Survivor's Tale: And Here My Troubles Began
35 (+7). The Walking Dead Compendium Volume 1
36 (N). The Complete Peanuts 1971-1974 Box Set *
37 (N). Unmanned (Y: The Last Man, Vol. 1)
38 (N). Green Lantern: Sinestro Corps War, Vol. 2
39 (-7). The Complete Calvin and Hobbes
40 (-9). The Sandman Vol. 3: Dream Country
41 (+3). Batman: The Long Halloween
42 (N). The Ultimates Omnibus *
43 (N). Fruits Basket Volume 23 *
44 (N). Blueberry Girl
45 (-2). The Book of Genesis Illustrated by R. Crumb *
46 (-30). V for Vendetta
47 (N). Punisher Max, Vol. 5
48 (-34). Stephen King's Dark Tower: Treachery
49 (-23). American Born Chinese
50 (N). Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Movie Prequel - Alliance

Items with asterisks (*) are pre-order items.

Commentary:

* Earlier in the Week Final Crisis was at #1, but it has since fallen a bit though it still remains at #4.

* Huge surge for Buffy titles this week, with vol. 4 moving ahead of a Wimpy Kid volume, and others taking huge leaps up the chart.

* The good news for Marvel is that a couple of their super-hero books chart this week. The bad news is that their Dark Tower book falls precipitously.

* The Kindle edition of the Maximum Ride manga is very popular. Why that format for that title?

* A new Naruto volume shows up for preorder. Expect it to rise up the charts until it's release in a few weeks.

Captain EO

2009-06-26T08:10:00.003-04:00

That's right: Directed by Francis Ford Coppola.

(image courtesy of the Comic Book Database)

How Publishers Discourage You From Buying Single Issues of Their Comics

2009-06-24T10:49:00.000-04:00

Exhibit #1: Boom! Studio's Irredeemable: Volume 1 collects issues #1-4 of the series.
* Cost to buy the individual issues (at $3.99 each): $15.96.
* Cost to buy the collection: $9.95
* Your penalty for buying the individual issues: $6.01

Exhibit #2: DC/Vertigo's Madame Xanadu Vol. 1: Disenchanted collects issues #1-10 of the series.
* Cost to buy the individual issues (at $2.99 each): $29.90
* Cost to buy the collection: $12.99
* Your penalty for buying the individual issues: $16.91
(plus there are no ads in the collection!)

When readers know there's going to be a cheaper collection soon after the issues in it are published, why should they shell out the $$$$ for the individual issues?

Monkey Covers

2009-06-21T19:46:00.002-04:00

Sunday is Monkey Covers day here at YACB. Because there's nothing better than a comic with a monkey on the cover!

Monkey reaches the mountain peak way ahead of Bear on Howie Post's cover for The Monkey and the Bear #3 (1954).

(Standard disclaimer about how monkeys shouldn't smoke cigars applies.)

Image courtesy of the GCD. Click on the image for a larger version.

Amazon Top 50

2009-06-19T12:48:00.000-04:00

Here are the Top 50 Graphic Novels on Amazon this afternoon. All the previous caveats apply.

1 (-). Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw
2 (+3). Final Crisis
3 (+1). Watchmen
4 (-1). Diary of a Wimpy Kid
5 (-3). Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules
6 (-). Time of Your Life (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 8, Vol. 4)
7 (+17). The Photographer: Into war-torn Afghanistan with Doctors Without Borders
8 (+4). Mercy Thompson Homecoming *
9 (+1). Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood
10 (-3). The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Vol. 3: Century, No. 1: 1910
11 (+3). Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
12 (N). Star Trek: Countdown TPB
13 (-4). Batman: The Killing Joke
14 (-1). Stephen King's Dark Tower: Treachery
15 (N). The Adventures of Johnny Bunko (kindle)
16 (+3). V for Vendetta
17 (+10). The Complete Persepolis
18 (-7). Maus I: A Survivor's Tale: My Father Bleeds History
19 (+3). Batman: Arkham Asylum (15th Anniversary Edition)
20 (+24). Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art
21 (N). Maximum Ride, Vol. 1 Manga (kindle)
22 (-14). Warriors: Tigerstar and Sasha #3: Return to the Clans
23 (+20). Batman: Year One
24 (N). The Arrival
25 (+1). The Sandman Vol. 1: Preludes and Nocturnes
26 (N). American Born Chinese
27 (N). Final Crisis Companion
28 (+7). The Sandman Vol. 2: The Doll's House
29 (-). Wolves at the Gate (Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight, Volume 3)
30 (+11). The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Vol. 1
31 (N). The Sandman Vol. 3: Dream Country
32 (-11). The Complete Calvin and Hobbes
33 (-16). Wrapped-Up FoxTrot: A Treasury with the Final Daily Strips
34 (N). Starman Omnibus Vol. 3 *
35 (-10). Batman: R.I.P.
36 (-20). Serenity, Vol. 2: Better Days
37 (N). The Joker
38 (-15). Halo: Uprising
39 (-21). Bone: One Volume Edition
40 (-2). The Long Way Home (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 8, Vol. 1)
41 (+9). Green Lantern Corps: Sins of the Star Sapphire
42 (-9). The Walking Dead Compendium Volume 1
43 (-30). The Book of Genesis Illustrated by R. Crumb *
44 (N). Batman: The Long Halloween
45 (+2). Maus II: A Survivor's Tale: And Here My Troubles Began
46 (N). The Perry Bible Fellowship Almanack
47 (-11). The Adventures of Tintin: Tintin in America / Cigars of the Pharaoh / The Blue Lotus
48 (+1). Serenity, Vol. 1: Those Left Behind
49 (N). The Gunslinger Born (The Dark Tower Graphic Novels, Book 1)
50 (N). Wallace & Gromit: Catch of the Day

Items with asterisks (*) are pre-order items.

Commentary:

* Surprisingly, Final Crisis moves ahead of Watchmen and up into the #2 slot (still can't beat the power of The Wimpy Kid!)

* Last week's biggest gainer, Crumb's Genesis, is this week's biggest loser, as it falls back 30 places. Conversely, The Photographer, which dropped 17 places last week, is up 17 places this week to return to the top ten.

* Star Trek: Countdown, mysteriously absent last week, comes popping back in at #12.

* The highest debut on the list is the kindle edition of Maximum Ride, Vol. 1 Manga. The only 'true' manga on the list this week is also a kindle edition, The Adventures of Johnny Bunko.

Yotsuba&! Design Awesomeness

2009-06-17T11:01:00.001-04:00

Imagine my surprise this morning when I'm walking past the new unbound journal racks in the library and I see this staring back at me from the bottom shelf:

It's the latest issue (#334, May 2009) of the Japanese journal Idea: International Graphic Art and Typography. This special issue is almost entirely devoted to "Designs for Manga, Anime & Light Novels," nearly 200 pages worth. The first 24-page section is entirely devoted to one of my all-time favorite manga, Yotsuba&!, with design examples of tankōbon, calendars, CDs, toys, and promotional materials. Here's a sample page:

The text is almost entirely in Japanese so I can't read any of the commentary, but I could easily spend hours just looking at the pictures.

As a bonus, this issue comes with a 28-page mini-comic full of experimental manga bizarreness. Here's a sample 2-page spread:

(I apologize for the quality of the scans; the scanner I had access to in the library wasn't the greatest. The color in the originals is much more vibrant.)

New Library Comics: May 2009

2009-06-17T10:41:00.001-04:00

And here are the new comics that we added to the library's collection in May:

Allred, Mike (Mike Dalton) Madman atomic comics vol. 2 / Berkeley, CA : Image Comics, c2008-

Avery, Chayne. Boy meets hero / Berlin : Gmünder, c2008.

Bell, Gabrielle. Cecil & Jordan in New York : stories / Montreal, Quebec : Drawn & Quarterly ; New York, NY : Distributed in the USA and abroad by Farrar, Straus and Giroux, c2009.

Brainard, Joe, 1942-1994. The Nancy book / Los Angeles : Siglio Press, 2008.

Claremont, Chris, 1950- New Mutants classic vol. 4 / New York : Marvel, 2006.

Del Carmen, Ronnie. And there you are / [Emeryville, Calif.] : Paper Biscuit Industries, 2009.

Di Liddo, Annalisa, 1977- Alan Moore : comics as performance, fiction as scalpel / Jackson : University Press of Mississippi, c2009.

Eerie. Eerie archives vol. 1 / Milwaukie, Or. : Dark Horse, 2009.

Ellis, Warren. Transmetropolitan 1. Back on the street / New York : DC Comics, c2009-

Erotic comics. 2 . A graphic history from the liberated ’70’s to the internet / New York, NY : Abrams, 2009

Folman, Ari. Waltz with Bashir : a Lebanon war story / New York : Metropolitan Books, 2009.

Geary, Rick. The adventures of Blanche / Milwaukie, Or. : Dark Horse, 2009.

Hornschemeier, Paul, 1977- Mother come home / Seattle, Wash. : Fantagraphics, 2009.

Humbug / Seattle, Wash. : Fantagraphics, 2009.

Kirby, Jack. Jack Kirby's The losers / New York : DC Comics, 2009.

Kovac, Tommy. Stitch / San Jose, Calif. : SLG, 2009.

Kubert, Joe, 1926- Tor : a prehistoric odyssey / New York, NY : DC Comics, c2009.

Laird, Roland Owen. Still I rise : a graphic history of African Americans / New York : Sterling Pub. Co., 2009.

Lee, Stan. The Fantastic Four vol. 1 / New York : Marvel, 2009-

Mack, David. Kabuki v. 7. The alchemy / Fullerton, CA : Image Comics, c1997-

Marder, Larry. Beanworld bk. 1. Wahoolazuma! / Milwaukie, OR : Dark Horse Books, 2009-

McKeever, Ted. Metropol / Berkeley, Calif. : Image ; London : Diamond [distributor], 2009.

Messner-Loebs, William. Journey : the adventures of Wolverine MacAlistaire vol. 1 / San Diego, Calif. : IDW Publishing, 2008-2009.

Millionaire, Tony. Drinky Crow's Maakies treasury / Seattle, Wash. : Fantagraphics, c2009.

Mome. vol. 14 Spring 2009. / Seattle, Wash. : Fantagraphics, 2005-

Mori, Kaoru, 1978- Emma vol. 8 / La Jolla, CA : WildStorm Productions, 2006-

Naifeh, Ted. Courtney Crumrin's monstrous holiday / Portland, OR : Oni Press, Inc., 2009.

Nakazawa, Keiji. Barefoot Gen : a cartoon story of Hiroshima v.7. Bones into dust / San Francisco, Calif. : Last Gasp of San Francisco, 2004-

Nakazawa, Keiji. Barefoot Gen : a cartoon story of Hiroshima v.8. Merchants of death / San Francisco, Calif. : Last Gasp of San Francisco, 2004-

O'Malley, Bryan Lee. Scott Pilgrim v. 3. Scott Pilgrim & the infinite sadness / Portland, OR : Oni Press, 2004-

O'Malley, Bryan Lee. Scott Pilgrim v. 4. Scott Pilgrim gets it together / Portland, OR : Oni Press, 2004-

O'Malley, Bryan Lee. Scott Pilgrim v. 5. Scott Pilgrim vs. the universe / Portland, OR : Oni Press, 2004-

Pekar, Harvey. The beats : a graphic history / New York : Hill and Wang, 2009.

Popgun vol. 3 / Berkeley, Calif. : Image Comics, 2007-

Regnaud, Jean. My mommy is in America and she met Buffalo Bill / [Spain] : Ponent Mon ; [England] : Fanfare, c2007.

Rogers, Boody Gordon. Boody : the bizarre comics of Boody Rogers / Seattle, Wash. : Fantagraphics, 2009.

Schulz, Charles M. (Charles Monroe), 1922-2000. The complete Peanuts [v. 11] 1971-1972 / Seattle, WA : Fantagraphics Books, c2004-

Soule, Charles. Strongman / San Jose, CA : SLG Publishing, 2009.

Supermen! : the first wave of comic-book heroes 1936-1941 / Seattle, Wash. : Fantagraphics, 2009.

Tatsumi, Yoshihiro, 1935- A drifting life / Montréal, Quebec : Drawn and Quarterly, 2009.

Tezuka, Osamu, 1928-1989. Black Jack vol. 3 / New York : Vertical, c2008-

Tezuka, Osamu, 1928-1989. Black Jack vol. 4 / New York : Vertical, c2008-

Tobe, Keiko. With the light : raising an autistic child vol. 4 / New York : Yen Press, 2007-

Trondheim, Lewis. Little nothings 2. The prisoner syndrome / New York : NBM, 2008-

Urasawa, Naoki, 1960- Pluto : Urasawa x Tezuka vol. 2 / San Francisco, CA : VIZ Media, c2008-

Usui, Yoshito, 1958- Crayon Shinchan vol. 7 / La Jolla, CA : CMX, c2008-

Vähämäki, Amanda. The bun field / Montréal : Drawn &Quarterly, 2009.

Walker, Mort. Sam's strip : the comic about comics / Seattle, Wash. : Fantagraphics, 2009.

Watchmen and philosophy : a Rorschach test / Hoboken, N.J. : John Wiley & Sons, c2009.

Wolverton, Basil, d. 1978. The Wolverton bible : the Old Testament & Book of Revelation through the pen of Basil Wolverton / Seattle, Wash. : Fantagraphics ; New York : Distributed in the U.S. by W.W. Norton, c2009.

World war three illustrated. no. 39 / N.Y.C. : S. Tobocman, P. Kuper, C. Kohlhofer, 1980-

Yuri monogatari vol. 6 / [United States] : ALC, c2004-

As always, this listing is available as an RSS Feed.

New Library Comics: April 2009

2009-06-16T10:28:00.003-04:00

Realized that with all the hubbub kicking off Free Comic Book Month in May, I forgot to post April's new library comics list. So here it is, better late than never!:

Bastion comix. Especial otoño 2004 / Buenos Aires : Gargola Ediciones, c2004-c200

Baumann, Suzanne. Baumann's marginalia. / Hamtramck, MI : Suzanne E. Baumann, c1995

Baumann, Suzanne. Serious workout / Hamtramck, Mich. : Suzanne Baumann, c[20]02

Brothers in arms : Hell's highway. no. 1 / San Francisco, CA : Ubisoft, Inc./Gearbox Software, c2008.

Brunetti, Ivan. Ho! : the morally questionable cartoons of Ivan Brunetti. / Seattle, Wash. : Fantagraphics, 2009

Crabb, Cindy. Doris : an anthology of Doris zines from 1991-2001 / Portland, Ore. : Microcosm Pub., 2005.

Echolot / Berlin : Reprodukt, 2001.

Gray, Harold, 1894-1968. The complete Little Orphan Annie vol. 1 / San Diego, Calif. : IDW Pub., 2008-

Haas, Luke. Comics in, aus und über Luxemburg : leicht erweitert auf Illus und Cartoons / Esch-sur-Alzette : Schortgen, 2007

Hale, Shannon. Rapunzel's revenge / New York, N.Y. : Bloomsbury, 2008.

Hommer, Sascha. Im Museum : die Treppe zum Himmel / Berlin : Reprodukt, 2008.

K., Ulf. Der Exlibris / Berlin : Reprodukt, 2000.

Kleist, Reinhard, 1970- Cash : I see a darkness / Hamburg : Carlsen, 2006.

König, Ralf. aut Prototyp / Reinbek bei Hamburg : Rowohlt, 2008.

Mawil. Action Sorgenkind / Berlin : Reprodukt, 2007.

Pryzm. Chapter one, The dark unicorn / Calabasas, CA : Mediactive, c2002

Sasakura, Kou. Castlevania : curse of darkness vol. 1 / Los Angeles, CA : Tokyopop, 2008-

Scheel, Ulrich. Die sechs Schüsse von Philadelphia / Berlin : Avant-Verlag, 2008.

Stories of our people = Lii zistwayr di la naasyoon di Michif : a Métis graphic novel anthology / Saskatoon : Gabriel Dumont Institute, c2008

Sturm, James, 1965- Adventures in cartooning / New York : First Second, 2009.

Warcraft : Legends vol. 1 / Los Angeles, CA : Tokyopop, c2008-

As always, this listing is available as an RSS Feed.

Amazon Top 50

2009-06-12T12:43:00.000-04:00

Here are the Top 50 Graphic Novels on Amazon this afternoon. All the previous caveats apply.

1 (-). Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw
2 (-). Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules
3 (-). Diary of a Wimpy Kid
4 (-). Watchmen
5 (+3). Final Crisis *
6 (-1). Time of Your Life (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 8, Vol. 4)
7 (-1). The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Vol. 3: Century, No. 1: 1910
8 (+7). Warriors: Tigerstar and Sasha #3: Return to the Clans
9 (+2). Batman: The Killing Joke
10 (+22). Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood
11 (+2). Maus I: A Survivor's Tale: My Father Bleeds History
12 (-2). Mercy Thompson Homecoming *
13 (+23). The Book of Genesis Illustrated by R. Crumb *
14 (-2). Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
15 (+2). Stephen King's Dark Tower: Treachery
16 (+3). Serenity, Vol. 2: Better Days
17 (+16). Wrapped-Up FoxTrot: A Treasury with the Final Daily Strips
18 (+4). Bone: One Volume Edition
19 (+4). V for Vendetta
20 (+17). Nevermore *
21 (+13). The Complete Calvin and Hobbes
22 (+13). Batman: Arkham Asylum (15th Anniversary Edition)
23 (N). Halo: Uprising *
24 (-17). The Photographer: Into war-torn Afghanistan with Doctors Without Borders
25 (N). Batman: R.I.P.
26 (-). The Sandman Vol. 1: Preludes and Nocturnes
27 (+12). The Complete Persepolis
28 (-3). Predators and Prey (Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight, Vol. 5) *
29 (-15). Wolves at the Gate (Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight, Volume 3)
30 (-1). Star Wars: Vector Volume 2 - Chapters 3 & 4 *
31 (N). The Walking Dead, Vol. 9: Here We Remain
32 (N). Y: The Last Man Vol. 8: Kimono Dragons
33 (N). The Walking Dead Compendium Volume 1
34 (-3). Angel: After the Fall, Vol. 3
35 (N). The Sandman Vol. 2: The Doll's House
36 (N). The Adventures of Tintin: Tintin in America / Cigars of the Pharaoh / The Blue Lotus
37 (N). You'll Never Know Book One "A Good and Decent Man"
38 (-20). The Long Way Home (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 8, Vol. 1)
39 (-11). Berserk Volume 29
40 (N). Y: The Last Man Vol. 7: Paper Dolls
41 (+3). The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Vol. 1
42 (N). I Did It His Way: A Collection of Classic B.C. Religious Comic Strips
43 (-19). Batman: Year One
44 (N). Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art
45 (-18). Blueberry Girl
46 (N). The Complete Maus: A Survivor's Tale
47 (N). Maus II: A Survivor's Tale: And Here My Troubles Began
48 (-1). The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Vol. 2
49 (N). Serenity, Vol. 1: Those Left Behind
50 (N). Green Lantern Corps: Sins of the Star Sapphire

Items with asterisks (*) are pre-order items.

Commentary:

* Not a whole lot of excitement on the list this week; a large majority of the 'new' titles to the list are actually perennials returning up on the list, which tends to happen when there's not a lot of 'hot' stuff to be had.

* The biggest gainer is R. Crumb's The Book of Genesis Illustrated. Persepolis books also leap up, while Buffy books fall back to their regular levels after last week's spike.

* Only one manga title this week (Berserk) and just two Marvel titles, the bookstore-friendly Dark Tower & Halo.

* I had previously thought that The Photographer might show some legs, but it dropped rather precipitously this week.

Shameless Friend Promotion: Lieber's Going Underground

2009-06-11T08:21:00.004-04:00

Pal and artist-extraordinaire Steve Lieber is teaming up with writer-of-awesome Jeff Parker to produce Underground, coming in September from Image (two weeks after Whiteout hits theaters). It's an adventure mini-series about caving, and of course looks like it'll be a darn good read.

Amazon Top 50

2009-06-05T12:59:00.000-04:00

Here are the Top 50 Graphic Novels on Amazon this afternoon. All the previous caveats apply.

1 (-). Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw
2 (-). Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules
3 (-). Diary of a Wimpy Kid
4 (-). Watchmen
5 (-). Time of Your Life (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 8, Vol. 4)
6 (+2). The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Vol. 3: Century, No. 1: 1910
7 (-1). The Photographer: Into war-torn Afghanistan with Doctors Without Borders
8 (+6). Final Crisis *
9 (-2). Star Trek: Countdown TPB
10 (-1). Mercy Thompson Homecoming *
11 (+6). Batman: The Killing Joke
12 (+9). Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
13 (-3). Maus I: A Survivor's Tale: My Father Bleeds History
14 (+10). Wolves at the Gate (Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight, Volume 3)
15 (-2). Warriors: Tigerstar and Sasha #3: Return to the Clans *
16 (+10). No Future For You (Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight, Volume 2)
17 (-5). Stephen King's Dark Tower: Treachery
18 (-2). The Long Way Home (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 8, Vol. 1)
19 (-8). Serenity, Vol. 2: Better Days
20 (N). The Complete Peanuts 1971-1972
21 (+9). Thor, Vol. 2 *
22 (-3). Bone: One Volume Edition
23 (-5). V for Vendetta
24 (N). Batman: Year One
25 (N). Predators and Prey (Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight, Vol. 5) *
26 (+22). The Sandman Vol. 1: Preludes and Nocturnes
27 (+2). Blueberry Girl
28 (N). Berserk Volume 29
29 (N). Star Wars: Vector Volume 2 - Chapters 3 & 4 *
30 (N). Trinity Vol. 1
31 (-). Angel: After the Fall, Vol. 3
32 (-9). Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood
33 (N). Wrapped-Up FoxTrot: A Treasury with the Final Daily Strips
34 (-1). The Complete Calvin and Hobbes
35 (N). Batman: Arkham Asylum (15th Anniversary Edition)
36 (N). The Book of Genesis Illustrated by R. Crumb *
37 (N). Nevermore *
38 (-18). Bleach, Vol. 27
39 (+1). The Complete Persepolis
40 (N). The Dark-Hunters, Vol. 1 *
41 (N). American Born Chinese
42 (N). Pokémon Diamond and Pearl Adventure!, Volume 4
43 (N). Buffy The Vampire Slayer Omnibus Volume 7 *
44 (N). The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Vol. 1
45 (N). Escape from the Forest (Warriors: Tigerstar and Sasha, No. 2)
46 (N). X-Force Vol. 2: Old Ghosts *
47 (N). The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Vol. 2
48 (-20). The Joker
49 (N). Complete Chester Gould's Dick Tracy Volume 7
50 (N). Ouran High School Host Club, Volume 12

Items with asterisks (*) are pre-order items.

Commentary:

* While the top of the list remains relatively stable, the bottom shows a lot of debuts this week.

* Kind of surprised to see pre-orders for Final Crisis moving up into the top 10. Also surprised to see Trinity showing up on the list. I suspect that these are just regular super-hero readers grabbing up Amazon-level discounts.

* Upward movement with Buffy titles, no doubt due to the 5th volume becoming pre-orderable.

* I'm always surprised when backlist titles such as Batman: Year One and American Born Chinese suddenly pop up on the list for no discernible reason.

* Looks as though The Photographer may have some legs after all. We'll see if it holds up over the next few weeks.

FCBM5 Day 31

2009-05-31T10:45:00.003-04:00

It's the final day of the Fifth Annual YACB Free Comic Book Month!

Our final entry is from Steve Myers. The five comics that Steve listed are:

1. Captain America
2. Usagi Yojimbo
3. Incredible Hercules
4. GI Joe: Cobra
5. Agents of Atlas

And his other thing of interest is Spy Shows on tv.

For Steve I have all four issues of the first Middleman mini-series by Javier Grillo-Marxuach & Les McClaine.

For Steve's bonus comic, I'm sending him the Peanuts Halloween comic.

Steve's comics should be in the mail within a week. Enjoy!

That wraps it up for this year's Free Comic Book Month. Thanks to everyone who entered!

Current FCBM Statistics:
31 entries
76 free comics sent so far
0 days remaining -- we're done!

FCBM5 Day 30

2009-05-30T06:25:00.000-04:00

It's day thirty of the Fifth Annual YACB Free Comic Book Month!

Our next selected entry is from Paul Abbamondi. The five comics that Paul listed are:

1. Scott Pilgrim
2. Dork Tower
3. Bone
4. Watchmen
5. Uncanny X-Men

And his other thing of interest is the tv series Lost.

For Paul I have X-Men: First Class #13-14 by Jeff Parker & Roger Cruz (with back-up art by Colleen Coover!)

For Paul's bonus comic, I'm sending him the Donald Duck Halloween comic.

Paul's comics should be in the mail within a week. Enjoy!

Current FCBM Statistics:
31 entries
71 free comics sent so far
1 day remaining

Amazon Top 50

2009-05-29T12:49:00.000-04:00

Here are the Top 50 Graphic Novels on Amazon this afternoon. All the previous caveats apply.

1 (-). Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw
2 (-). Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules
3 (-). Diary of a Wimpy Kid
4 (-). Watchmen
5 (-). Time of Your Life (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 8, Vol. 4)
6 (N). The Photographer: Into war-torn Afghanistan with Doctors Without Borders
7 (-1). Star Trek: Countdown TPB
8 (-1). The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Vol. 3: Century, No. 1: 1910
9 (-). Mercy Thompson Homecoming *
10 (+22). Maus I: A Survivor's Tale: My Father Bleeds History
11 (+1). Serenity, Vol. 2: Better Days
12 (-2). Stephen King's Dark Tower: Treachery
13 (N). Warriors: Tigerstar and Sasha #3: Return to the Clans *
14 (N). Final Crisis *
15 (N). Rising Stars Compendium
16 (+4). The Long Way Home (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 8, Vol. 1)
17 (+4). Batman: The Killing Joke
18 (-4). V for Vendetta
19 (+10). Y: The Last Man, Vol. 2 (Deluxe Edition)
20 (N). Bleach, Vol. 27 *
21 (-10). Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
22 (N). Alan's War: The Memories of G.I. Alan Cope
23 (+1). Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood
24 (-9). Wolves at the Gate (Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight, Volume 3)
25 (-9). Bone: One Volume Edition
26 (+5). No Future For You (Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight, Volume 2)
27 (+18). Angel: After The Fall Volume 1
28 (+19). The Joker
29 (-4). Blueberry Girl
30 (N). Thor, Vol. 2 *
31 (N). Angel: After the Fall, Vol. 3
32 (N). Rosario+Vampire, Volume 7 *
33 (-12). The Complete Calvin and Hobbes
34 (N). Maus II: A Survivor's Tale: And Here My Troubles Began
35 (N). The Gunslinger Born (The Dark Tower Graphic Novels, Book 1)
36 (N). Fables Vol. 1: Legends in Exile
37 (N). Batman: Mad Love and Other Stories HC
38 (N). The Adventures of Tintin: Tintin in America / Cigars of the Pharaoh / The Blue Lotus
39 (-16). Negima!: Magister Negi Magi, Vol. 22
40 (+1). The Complete Persepolis
41 (N). The Walking Dead, Vol. 9: Here We Remain
42 (-24). Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art
43 (N). The Marvel Encyclopedia
44 (-8). The Arrival
45 (N). Dark Tower: The Long Road Home (Exclusive Amazon.com Cover)
46 (N). Fables Vol. 2: Animal Farm
47 (+1). Bone Volume 4: The Dragonslayer
48 (-20). The Sandman Vol. 1: Preludes and Nocturnes
49 (N). The Dresden Files: Welcome to the Jungle
50 (N). The Complete Peanuts 1971-1974 Box Set *

* The Photographer: Into war-torn Afghanistan with Doctors Without Borders was featured in the New York Times Book Review, and thus dutifully leaps up into the top 10.

* Another debut, Alan's War: The Memories of G.I. Alan Cope, earlier in the week was way up in the top 5, but I cannot figure out why it had such a strong burst.

* I likewise have no clue as to why the Rising Stars Compendium suddenly charts up.

* The Walking Dead Compendium, which had been a top 10 item the past two weeks, mysteriously falls out of the Top 50 this week.

* The pre-order for the Final Crisis hardcover debuts strong, as does the third volume of Warriors.

FCBM5 Day 29

2009-05-29T07:28:00.002-04:00

It's day twenty-nine of the Fifth Annual YACB Free Comic Book Month!

Our next selected entry is from Suzanne Moran. The five comics that Suzanne listed are:

1. Secret Six
2. Green Arrow/Black Canary
3. Fables
4. Birds of Prey
5. Wonder Woman

And her other thing of interest is the tv series 30 Rock.

For Suzanne I have the twelfth issue of Global Frequency by Warren Ellis & Gene Ha.

For Suzanne's bonus comic, I'm sending her the Peanuts Halloween comic.

Suzanne's comics should be in the mail within a week. Enjoy!

There's just a couple of days left to send in your entry for the YACB Free Comic Book Month; details are here.

Current FCBM Statistics:
31 entries
68 free comics sent so far
2 days remaining

FCBM5 Day 28

2009-05-28T07:21:00.003-04:00

It's day twenty-eight of the Fifth Annual YACB Free Comic Book Month!

Our next selected entry is from Tom Bondurant. The five comics that Tom listed are:

1. Dr. 13
2. Secret Six
3. JLA
4. American Flagg!
5. Nexus

And his other thing of interest is the tv series Arrested Development.

For Tom I have the first issue of Alan Davis's recent Clandestine mini-series.

For Tom's bonus comic, I'm sending him the Peanuts Halloween comic.

Tom's comics should be in the mail within a week. Enjoy!

There's still time to send in your entry for the YACB Free Comic Book Month; details are here.

Current FCBM Statistics:
29 entries
66 free comics sent so far
3 days remaining

I Need More Entries for Free Comic Book Month

2009-05-27T15:54:00.004-04:00

The eagle-eyed among you may have noticed that we're now on day twenty-seven of the 5th Annual YACB Free Comic Book Month, and so far I've received twenty-seven entries. Which means that unless I get more entries, there won't be any free comics given out tomorrow :(

So if you haven't entered yet, don't delay! And tell your friends!

Movie Trailers

2009-05-27T07:50:00.000-04:00

Surrogates, based on the comic book:

9:

And now, quite possibly the greatest film of 2009:

FCBM5 Day 27

2009-05-27T06:40:00.000-04:00

It's day twenty-seven of the Fifth Annual YACB Free Comic Book Month!

Our next selected entry is from Ge Oh. The five comics that Ge listed are:

1. Invincible
2. BlokHedz
3. The Walking Dead
4. Ghost Tank
5. Scott Pilgrim

And Ge's other thing of interest is music.

For Ge I have the first issue of Chynna Clugston's latest Blue Monday series, Thieves Like Us.

For Ge's bonus comic, I'm sending the Peanuts Halloween comic.

Ge's comics should be in the mail within a week. Enjoy!

There's still time to send in your entry for the YACB Free Comic Book Month; details are here.

Current FCBM Statistics:
27 entries
64 free comics sent so far
4 days remaining

FCBM5 Day 26

2009-05-26T07:20:00.001-04:00

It's day twenty-six of the Fifth Annual YACB Free Comic Book Month!

Our next selected entry is from William Burns. The five comics that William listed are:

1. League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
2. Captain America
3. Incredible Hercules
4. Daredevil
5. Comic Book Comics

And his other thing of interest is Coen Brothers movies.

For William I have the first two issues of Kevin McShane's comic books-as-Hollywood comic Toupydoops.

For William's bonus comic, I'm sending him the Donald Duck Halloween comic.

William's comics should be in the mail within a week. Enjoy!

There's still time to send in your entry for the YACB Free Comic Book Month; details are here.

Current FCBM Statistics:
27 entries
62 free comics sent so far
5 days remaining

FCBM5 Day 25

2009-05-25T17:42:00.002-04:00

It's day twenty-five of the Fifth Annual YACB Free Comic Book Month!

Our next selected entry is from Francene Lewis. The five comics that Francene listed are:

1. Chiggers
2. Fullmetal Alchemist
3. Castle Waiting
4. Finder
5. La Perdida

And her other thing of interest is Hayao Miyazaki movies.

For Francene I have the first issue of Rod Espinosa's Prince of Heroes.

For Francene's bonus comic, I'm sending her the Donald Duck Halloween comic.

Francene's comics should be in the mail within a week. Enjoy!

There's still time to send in your entry for the YACB Free Comic Book Month; details are here.

Current FCBM Statistics:
27 entries
60 free comics sent so far
6 days remaining

FCBM5 Day 24

2009-05-24T20:48:00.003-04:00

It's day twenty-four of the Fifth Annual YACB Free Comic Book Month!

Our next selected entry is from Kristin Munson. The five comics that Kristin listed are:

1. Castle Waiting
2. Box Office Poison
3. Love & Rockets
4. Rapuzel's Revenge
5. X-Men Classic

And her other thing of interest is "cute, fuzzy animals."

So for Kristin I have the first issue of Banana Sunday, featuring cute monkeys by Paul Tobin & Colleen Coover.

For Kristin's bonus comic, I'm sending her the Peanuts Halloween comic.

Kristin's comics should be in the mail within a week. Enjoy!

There's still time to send in your entry for the YACB Free Comic Book Month; details are here.

Current FCBM Statistics:
27 entries
58 free comics sent so far
7 days remaining