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Wednesday, November 10, 2004
so long, and thanks for all the fish...
three years.
not a bad run.
when we started the site, the comics internet was a much different place. here we were, with all these fascinating movements upon us -- from a resurgence in self and independent comics publishing to an explosion in manga and european comics, through the emergence of the booktrade and the mainstream acceptance of the "graphic novel" format -- yet very few people were actually talking about them.
and fewer were talking about the books themselves.
most of the real conversation was happening in forums and newsgroups and the such, off the beaten track from the mainstream comics websites of the time. but there was an awfully lot of good books being created that seemed to be going by the wayside.
so we decided to write about them.
and here we are, five hundred reviews later.
if i had my way, i'd keep artbomb running forever. unfortunately, unrelated personal circumstances have made that difficult for now. perhaps we'll come back to it in one form or another some day. i'd hate to say never again, so i won't. in the meantime, we'll be leaving the site up as an archive in its present form.
but i have faith that the mission will continue. there's so many quality websites and blogs being created everyday that are furthering the cause for good and innovative comics that i'm confidant that the conversation has shifted in the right direction.
and i look forward to reading as many of them as i can.
many, many thanks to warren, matt and kelly sue for making it all possible -- they have been dear friends through it all. thanks to brian for designing the damn thing. thanks to adi, tom, jamie, chris, gail, charlie, sam, dan, ian and janet for breathing new life into it. thanks to jessica, colleen, laurenn, andi, matt, and susannah for creating some brilliant web comics. thanks to neil for assisting us in the site launch. thanks to grace for putting up with the late nights. thanks to all the creators, publishers and educators who helped us along the way.
and special thanks to all of the readers who have visited and supported us over the years.
it was a lot of fun.
peter.
posted by peter! 1:54 AM EST permalink
Tuesday, November 09, 2004
artbomb: the final countdown continues...
...with one last "pimp the comics" post for good times sake.
graham annable's "grickle" was one of my favorite humor books from the past few years, and i'm definitely looking forward to "stickleback", which should be hitting stores anyday now (i hope). from the publisher:
"This funny, quirky sketch of friendship, confrontation, and the desire to be left alone, comes from the award-winning creator of the Grickle graphic novels, Graham Annable. An eccentric George Stickleback spends life in his apartment with his cat Patty surrounded by meticulously arranged men of toilet paper. A mission from the outside world to console a friend imposes an unwelcome break in Mr. Stickleback's routine."
"Resurrected from the dead! He is the Messiah of Science who has returned to save our world from the monsters currently running it!"
the wachowski brothers have started a comics company named burlyman and are launching a bi-monthly series called "doc frankenstein" with art by steve skroce. they were generous enough to send me an advance look and it's exactly what you'd expect: high octane, good old-fashioned shit-kicking fun. check it out for yourself at their website.
welcome back to comics, guys.
josh neufeld sent me a sneak peak of his new book a few weeks ago as well and it's a strong work that no doubt would have ended up on the site. from the publisher:
"In A Few Perfect Hours (and Other Stories from Southeast Asia and Central Europe), autobiographical cartoonist Josh Neufeld takes us on a dramatic tour of places as exotic and different as Thailand, Singapore, and the former Yugoslavia. Highlights include Neufeld and traveling companion Sari Wilson's stint as extras in a Chinese-language Singaporean soap opera, a train trip through war-torn Serbia, and a near-disastrous cave adventure in Thailand.
"With gentle humor and a keen eye for the revelatory detail, Neufeld explores religion and spirituality, politics and personalities, and the mysteries of everyday life. His stories reflect the backpacker's conflicted feelings: a yearning for adventure mixed with homesickness and a sense of disconnection, trapped in a reality constantly in flux."
last but not least, my pal paul harmon who i blogged about a few weeks back, was recently featured on cbr.com:
"Visually I wanted a Fellini and Maurice Noble thing going on if that makes any sense. I wanted very dense and ornate imagery. I also was looking at a lot of stylish Japanese films of the sixties like 'Tokyo Drifter.' And the witches themselves are heavily influenced by Haute Couture fashion. I've always looked at fashion and that eccentric look and attitude of Haute Couture was exactly the spirit and look for my witches."
check it out when it appears next february from image comics if you get the chance.
posted by peter! 1:33 AM EST permalink
Monday, November 08, 2004
artbomb: the final countdown begins...
but, first, a new review:
shrimpy and paul and friends
by marc bell
"It's not very cool to like artists that favor style over content. Cartoonists like Vaughn Bode and Henriette Valium assault the senses in a way that goes beyond serving a narrative, but their works are invariably criticized as empty or trivial. Marc Bell will probably get the same arrows shot his way, and he won't deserve a one. His SHRIMPY AND PAUL has all the wonderful qualities of a work in which one loses itself -- unique figure design, well-paced movement, and a subconscious reference to the over-ripe animations of the 1920s and 1930s. It has the added benefit of being a fascinating read.
"Shrimpy is small and mean; Paul is larger and gentle. They make their home in a world that percolates with life in the freaked out manner of an old Warner Brothers cartoon. Little men zip by in cars on the sidewalk, tiny aliens do battle near a picnic site, and the method of getting into a house involves interfacing with an organic watchdog..."
(more from tom spurgeon)
posted by peter! 1:50 AM EST permalink
Wednesday, November 03, 2004
only totoro can save us now:
more on the upcoming My Neighbor Totoro release from viz comics...
[yes, i want a catbus.]
"The critically acclaimed, MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO, is a story about childhood innocence, friendship and the belief that magic is all around us. Volume 1 of TOTORO opens with eleven-year-old Satsuki and her sassy little sister Mei, who are both excited about moving into a historic country house with their dad. But the girls don't realize what a delightful adventure that awaits them there. While exploring their sprawling new home and the beautiful rural area that surrounds it, Satsuki and Mei meet Granny, a sweet old woman, and her timid grandson Kanta. They also experience first hand the magic of the Soot Sprites, mysterious creatures that live in the walls, and discover a huge camphor tree that just might be enchanted. The scene is set for the sisters to meet Totoro, a gentile tree guardian, and an amazing cast of fabulous characters that inhabit the woods as a wonderful adventure begins.
"Hayao Miyazaki is regarded as the most beloved animator in Japanese history and his well developed and imaginative stories feature compelling characters and original plots that have found mass appeal with both children and adults. He won the first Academy Award for an anime film in 2002 for Spirited Away, for which VIZ also publishes the Ani-Manga: MIYAZAKI'S SPIRITED AWAY, THE ART of MIYAZAKI'S Spirited Away and Miyazaki's Spirited Away Picture Book. Readers of all ages will discover breathtaking artwork and fantastic adventures in this latest Studio Ghibli Library Ani-Manga from VIZ. VIZ also publishes Miyazaki's NAUSICAA OF THE VALLEY OF THE WIND and the Ani-Manga for CASTLE IN THE SKY. Disney will offer the DVD of NAUSICCA OF THE VALLEY OF THE WIND and PORCO ROSSO in February 2005.
"VIZ, LLC, one of the leading publishers and distributors of manga and anime for North American audiences, has announced the release on November 8 of the Ani-Manga for Hayao Miyazaki's MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO. The four-volume full color series is rated A, appropriate for any age group, and will have an MSRP of $9.99."
posted by peter! 8:02 AM EST permalink
Tuesday, November 02, 2004
in need of comic relief:
join warren ellis for a benefit signing at comic relief on thursday. from his bad signal mailing list:
"Last minute thing: excellent Berkeley store Comic Relief are getting evicted from their premises. I'll be signing there Thursday, 5-7pm, to say goodbye to the current location and to support the moving process. Come by and buy a comic. More details on DPH, comicrelief.net. SPREAD THE WORD."
Comic Relief
2138 University Ave.
Berkeley, CA 94704
(510) 843-5002
comicrelief.net
posted by peter! 1:42 AM EST permalink
Monday, November 01, 2004
artbomb review:
doom patrol: crawling from the wreckage
by grant morrison, richard case and friends
"The individual stories that DOOM PATROL: CRAWLING FROM THE WRECKAGE contain were so utterly unlike anything on the stands at the time they were published that it's hard to communicate what coming across them the first time was like. And, thank christ, it remains difficult fourteen years later.
"I mean, it's about a brain housed inside of a robot body, a spirit-haunted hermaphrodite wrapped in bandages, and a schizophrenic with 64 differently-powered personalities that come together under a weirdo in a wheelchair to fight the strange and bizarre threats that others ignore. It's all infused with an artifice of surrealism and the half-learned skimming of a dozen liberal arts classes -- the genius of this book comes from smashing that stuff together with the big time fun inherent in the comic book paradigm of storytelling. What if the X-Men fought Maya Deren? What if Bill Burroughs wrote the Justice League? Jacques Derrida: Challenger of the Unknown! What more do you want from a comic?"
(more from matt fraction)
posted by peter! 8:22 AM EST permalink
Sunday, October 31, 2004
apocalypse now:
"Indy Magazine, the online quarterly about the comics medium, returns in time for the U.S. Presidential election to examine the intersection of comics and politics.
"Features include Ephemera vs. the Apocalypse by Art Spiegelman, illustrated with sketches from In the Shadow of No Towers. Says Spiegelman: 'Everything I know I learned from comic books, and I wasn't surprised that aliens had taken over our government...'"
http://www.indyworld.com/indy
posted by peter! 11:05 PM EST permalink
archives:
11/30/2003 - 12/06/2003
12/07/2003 - 12/13/2003
12/14/2003 - 12/20/2003
12/21/2003 - 12/27/2003
12/28/2003 - 01/03/2004
01/04/2004 - 01/10/2004
01/11/2004 - 01/17/2004
01/18/2004 - 01/24/2004
01/25/2004 - 01/31/2004
02/01/2004 - 02/07/2004
02/08/2004 - 02/14/2004
02/15/2004 - 02/21/2004
02/22/2004 - 02/28/2004
02/29/2004 - 03/06/2004
03/07/2004 - 03/13/2004
03/14/2004 - 03/20/2004
03/21/2004 - 03/27/2004
03/28/2004 - 04/03/2004
04/04/2004 - 04/10/2004
04/11/2004 - 04/17/2004
04/18/2004 - 04/24/2004
04/25/2004 - 05/01/2004
05/02/2004 - 05/08/2004
05/09/2004 - 05/15/2004
05/16/2004 - 05/22/2004
05/23/2004 - 05/29/2004
05/30/2004 - 06/05/2004
06/06/2004 - 06/12/2004
06/13/2004 - 06/19/2004
06/20/2004 - 06/26/2004
06/27/2004 - 07/03/2004
07/04/2004 - 07/10/2004
07/11/2004 - 07/17/2004
07/18/2004 - 07/24/2004
07/25/2004 - 07/31/2004
08/01/2004 - 08/07/2004
08/08/2004 - 08/14/2004
08/15/2004 - 08/21/2004
08/22/2004 - 08/28/2004
08/29/2004 - 09/04/2004
09/05/2004 - 09/11/2004
09/12/2004 - 09/18/2004
09/19/2004 - 09/25/2004
09/26/2004 - 10/02/2004
10/03/2004 - 10/09/2004
10/10/2004 - 10/16/2004
10/17/2004 - 10/23/2004
10/24/2004 - 10/30/2004
10/31/2004 - 11/06/2004
11/07/2004 - 11/13/2004
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