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Friday, March 19, 2004
all work and no play makes artblog a dull boy: been totally bloody swamped -- haven't read email in the last two days -- but will catch-up this weekend. in the meantime, enjoy some free web comics:
piercing by david gaddis (thanks susie)
swingers of the world unite by peter bagge (thanks adi)
posted by peter! 11:13 AM EST permalink
Wednesday, March 17, 2004
blueberry: the german website mysan.de caught up with jean giraud/moebius to chat about the new french film adaptation of his classic western comic series, blueberry: "Me and Jean-Michel Charlier thought about doing it as soon as the cartoon strip starting being a success. Personally, I wanted this adaptation to be a French production. In my opinion westerns aren't typically American, they belong to everyone. The Italians have proved this perfectly well, so why can't we? Jean-Michel Charlier didn't agree with me on this. He preferred leaving the cartoon strip's adaptation to the Americans and when we got in touch with the film world it was his point of view which counted. Unfortunately all our approaches ended in disappointment. Negotiations with Walter Hill recently went really far but the project finally foundered. It was then that I went back to my original idea of making the film in France."
posted by peter! 3:01 AM EST permalink
the passion, the passion: jack chick, the guy who makes those freaky ass religious comic books, apparently has made a movie called the light of the world. the ny press is on the case: "The movie is creepy and obviously aimed at elementary school children; imagine Mr. Rogers reading Slayer lyrics. The first chapter is a goofy retelling of Genesis. Adam is nondescript; Eve is an idealized 50s housewife, all round, rosy-cheeked and pleasantly vacant. Satan is a rainbow-colored snakeman who could work nights as a comic book villain. Eve gets Vampirella’s eyebrows after she eats the plum-tomato-like fruit of evil. After that, Satan controls the world..."
posted by peter! 2:54 AM EST permalink
new review: the castaways by rob vollmar and pablo callejo
"Comics creators have a free rein to delve into the past, as they have no concerns for budget, no limits outside of their own imaginations. No one needs to hire construction workers to build a set or seamstresses to sew period costumes. So, it's a simple task for writer Rob Vollmar to take us back to 1932 for his graphic novel THE CASTAWAYS. He has access to the train yards and the small towns where men who were down on their luck elected to keep themselves warm, and he can present them to a reader without fear that modern concerns will horn their way in."
(more from jamie s. rich)
posted by peter! 2:50 AM EST permalink
a blackshirt among us: looks like our own adi tantimedh has a new graphic novel coming out this july, courtesy of moonstone books: "The Blackshirt of old: First printed in 1925 (created by Bruce Graeme), Blackshirt was a gentleman safe-cracker, who did as much solving of crimes as he did committing them... OUR Blackshirt: In the here and now, OUR Blackshirt used to be a soldier. Not just any soldier. He was a member of Britain's Special Air Service, the Elite Corps that took on the jobs no one else would, and few knew about... Blackshirt, an original tradepaperback is slated to ship in July from Moonstone, and is written by Adi (JLA: Age of Wonder) Tantimedh, with art by Spanish artist Diego Olmos." preview at newsarama.
posted by peter! 2:48 AM EST permalink
good seed: got a copy of the first issue of the new swamp thing series from vertigo comics in the mail last week that i finally had a chance to read today and i must say, it's really not bad at all. now, it's an impossible job to follow in in the steps of alan moore (whose run warren touched upon last year right here), but andy diggle has scripted a decent read that attempts to both restore the series to its original horror roots, while at the same time sort through the continuity mess that has been swamp thing for the better half of the last decade. i figure it'll take a few issues before it evolves into diggle's baby, but this is probably the best relaunch post-moore and the art by enrique breccia might be the best since wrightson. worth checking out if you get the chance.
posted by peter! 2:38 AM EST permalink
from the NY Times:
The comic book industry has a new writer, and his name is Michael Chabon.
Dark Horse Comics published 'Michael Chabon Presents: The Amazing Adventures of the Escapist' last month. That quarterly anthology features the hero from Mr. Chabon's novel 'The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay,' which won the Pulitzer Prize in 2001. In writing the lead story in the first issue, Mr. Chabon has leaped from the comics imagined in his novel to producing the real thing.
•
Greg Rucka and Brad Meltzer are also spoken to about the leap from novels to comics. Worth a read.
posted by Matt 12:49 AM EST permalink
Tuesday, March 16, 2004
so long and thanks for all the fish: went to a comics shop for the first time in six weeks to pick-up the 300th (!) and final issue of cerebus by dave sim and gerhard. it's hard to put into context the achievement of publishing an independent monthly comic for twenty-five years given the tumultuous
economic climate of the comic book industry, but sim hung in there -- despite losing his mind at times -- and fulfilled a promise he made years ago. i think long-time readers and on-again-off-again readers like myself will be satisfied with the ending. the most interesting part to me, though, was how sim plans to put the entire run of cerebus into the public domain following the death of himself and his artistic partner, gerhard. 6000 pages -- that's pretty damn impressive.
posted by peter! 10:39 AM EST permalink
i have such a crush on colleen coover: five questions with colleen coover, courtesy of addblog: "Small Favors came about at a time when I was ready to start working on comics seriously. I looked around and saw that there were damn few adult comics for women to enjoy. I prefer all-girl action in my porno, but with very few exceptions Sapphic sex is generally treated as voyeuristic entertainment for men. The whole 'looking through the keyhole' thing. So I would often find myself, a woman watching or reading girl/girl porn, being addressed by the director or creator as though I were a man. I felt I could make a book that women like me would like, without alienating a male readership."
addblog also put out this call for help yesterday as well.
posted by peter! 1:15 AM EST permalink
lawyer by day, comics peddler by night: publisher's weekly is spotlighting jeff mason and alternative comics in this week's edition: "A criminal defense lawyer by day, Jeff Mason has an alter ego as the publisher of the independent graphic novel imprint Alternative Comics. He founded the company in Gainesville, Fla., in 1993 to publish Indy magazine, a publication about comics that was revived early this year. In 1996, he started publishing comics, too—the company's first graphic novel was James Kochalka's Quit Your Job, released in 1998. Kochalka has become one of the flagship creators of the company: his new children's title, Peanutbutter & Jeremy's Best Book Ever!, is 'selling like crazy,' Mason reported, and his not-at-all-for-children (but extremely goofy) book Fancy Froglin's Sexy Forest, published last summer, has sold 1,500 copies in the bookstore market." more in the above link (subscribers only, bleh).
posted by peter! 1:04 AM EST permalink
no longer raijin': anime news network is reporting that raijin comics will be put on hold this june, per this letter being mailed out to subscribers: "Thank you for your enthusiastic support of RAIJIN COMICS. Over the past 18 months, we have tested the market to see how well a weekly and monthly manga magazine would fare with an American audience. Based on our research with readers, retailers and distributors, we have come to a conclusion – our publications, though appreciated by hard-core manga fans, are not penetrating a larger market."
(this'll no doubt please some of the manga haters out there, but it's important to note that pulp, the adult manga magazine from viz, also met a similar fate some years ago. adult comics anthologies -- actually, pretty much all anthologies except for shonen jump -- have had a tough time finding a foothold in today's market.)
posted by peter! 12:55 AM EST permalink
creator update: steve lafler dropped by to say hello, update his artbomb bio and tell us about his upcoming book, scalawag, coming soon from top shelf. i can't get enough of these bughouse books myself:
"Steve's alleged cartoon career got rolling with a seventeen issue run of his high octane, largely improvised Dog Boy series in the Eighties. He served as co-publisher and contributing artist for a twenty issue run of the Buzzard comics anthology in the Nineties, while simultaneously dabbling with a strip about musically inclined insect men, entitled Bughouse..."
(click here for more)
steve's also posted a preview of scalawag on his website at:
http://www.stevelafler.net/preview.htm
posted by peter! 12:44 AM EST permalink
Monday, March 15, 2004
vertical: the nytimes ran this expose today on vertical inc., the new publisher of literary japanese graphic novels and prose fiction, including the recently released buddha by osamu tezuka that we have been so negligent in reviewing, thank you very much: "In his small office on Park Avenue South, Ioannis Mentzas is surrounded by more than 1,000 books, nearly all in Japanese. Most, he said, aren't worth translating for an American audience. It is his task -- his obligation, his burden -- to pick the few that are. Mr. Mentzas said that as editorial director of Vertical Inc., a tiny publishing house dedicated to translating contemporary Japanese fiction into English, he tried to find novels that 'should appeal to readers who are not necessarily interested in Japan.' "
posted by peter! 10:30 AM EST permalink
stripdagen: lewis trondheim (mister o), juanjo guarnido (blacksad), and joann sfar (the rabbi's cat), have been nominated for this years grand prix at stripdagen haarlem 2004, a bi-yearly comics festival in the netherlands that draws 20,000 visitors. they've also announced that gerolf van de perre will be awarded the 2004 debut prize for his work on the graphic novel, stone dust, a portrait of post-communist beijing. the event will be held on june 5th and 6th in haarlem. more info on their website.
posted by peter! 10:12 AM EST permalink
end of an era: the bad news is that the mattfraction forum over at delphi is coming to an end. the good news is that matt's been putting a lot of effort into mattfraction.com and hopefully this'll allow him the time to continue to do so. it was fun while it lasted, my friend.
posted by peter! 10:01 AM EST permalink
Sunday, March 14, 2004
four comic books and four beers: the new york post re-ran this classic column from legendary sports writer jimmy cannon today, which contained the following insight from ex-phillies manager eddie sawyer about spring training in the 1950s: "Leaving the wife home helps a ball player. Some of them started the season $2,500 in the hole, giving the wife a Florida vacation she didn't need in the first place. This isn't a drinking ball club. Couple of beers and a couple of comic books make them happy. You take [Howie] Fox. His idea of a good time is four comic books and four beers. Half of my club never tasted beer. You take Robin Roberts and Richie Ashburn. They don't even drink coffee. Milk."
baseball. gotta love it.
posted by peter! 7:45 PM EST permalink
alternative preview: been meaning to get this out for days, but work, spirits and sleep deprivation have been mighty strong forces to overcome lately. anyway, here's what alternative comics has on the plate for this fall:
september
escalator by brandon graham (120pp): "a collection of Brandon Graham's short comics with a cast of sumo heroes, Graffiti writers, truck drivers from the future and alien pornographers as they try to get through their lives with all the demonic possessions and cannibal school girls that get in the way."
turtle, turtle by jed alexander (96pp): "Just off the coast of an unnamed Mexican town is Porta Tortuga, an Island that no one seems to remember but Cesar, a U.S citizen with a Mexican mother and a Jewish father who spent one unforgettably vivid day at the Island’s Dia de los Phantasmas festival. And just what the Dia de los Phantasmas festival is or where the island can be found no one seems to remember either..."
waterwise by joel orff (128pp): "This is the story of two old friends who are reunited for one night and wander together through a surreal, vaguely apocalyptic landscape, pondering life, griping about their circumstances, and trying to connect. Along the way they explore the nature of dreams, the fragile facade of civilization and the tenderness of a true friendship."
  
october
a few perfect hours by josh neufeld (104pp): "Josh Neufeld takes us on a dramatic tour of such diverse locales as Thailand, the former Yugoslavia and New York City. Highlights include Neufeld and traveling companion Sari Wilson's volunteer expedition to an organic farm in Malaysia, stint as extras in a Chinese-language Singaporean soap opera, train trip through war-torn Serbia, and near-disastrous cave adventure in Thailand."
november
slowpoke: america gone bonkers by jen sorensen (112pp): "This scandalously funny collection gathers the Slowpoke cartoons of the Bush era, chronicling America’s political and cultural buffoonery with Sorensen’s trademark brand of absurdist humor. Packed with gags, Slowpoke skewers media blowhards, corporate scumbags, vapid trends, and the lunacies of the Bush administration with relentless wit and energy."
stickleback by graham annable (48pp): "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..."
 
december
the salon by nick bertozzi (130pp): "While developing the style that would become known as 'Cubism' in 1907 Paris, Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque chase bloodthirsty creatures come to life from famous paintings. Gertrude Stein, Alice B Toklas, Guillaume Apollinare, and Erik Satie join in the hunt for the madman at the center of the mystery: Paul Gaugin."
tune into the alternative comics website for more info.
addendum: alternative has also announced that they will be sub-distributing leslie stein's xeric grant award winning graphic novel, "yeah, it is!", this july as well: "A bold and humorous picaresque featuring an adolescent misfit and the oddball characters she seeks to befriend after losing her best buddy to a distant suburb."
posted by peter! 7:01 PM EST permalink
new review: ian fleming's the man with the golden gun
"In the 1960s, even before the first James Bond movie was made, Ian Fleming's novels were adapted into newspaper comic strips more faithful to the original stories than the movies ever were... The three-panel structure of the daily newspaper strip creates a punchy, staccato rhythm that gives the stories punch and speed. And Yaroslav Horak's sleek, elegant pen-and-ink drawings create the perfect, hard-edged, sexy Pop Art feel of the Bond novels."
(more from adi tantimedh)
posted by peter! 6:53 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
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