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Saturday, June 19, 2004
coming attractions: fantagraphics in october
it's that time of the month again...
Hanging Out With the Dream King:
Interviews with Neil Gaiman and His Collaborators
Edited by Joe McCabe, Introduction by Neil Gaiman
"The most intimate look yet into the life and mind of the bestselling author and creator of The Sandman. He is an award-winning comic book writer (Sandman), novelist (American Gods), children's book author (The Wolves in the Walls), and television screenwriter (Neverwhere). Hanging Out With the Dream King presents a thorough look at Gaiman's work not only through his eyes, but through the eyes of his many collaborators. Artists, writers, editors, musicians - over two-dozen creators share their thoughts on working with Gaiman and present a unique mosaic portrait of the writer whose name has become synonymous with modern fantasy." (280pp, SC, $17.95)
The Pin-Up Art of Dan DeCarlo
Edited by Alex Chun
"A handsome collection of rare pin-ups from the late cartoonist who defined Betty & Veronica's look. For nearly half a century, Dan DeCarlo was the Archie comic book artist and defined the look of every adolescent boy's wet dreams, Betty and Veronica, with their trademark upturned noses, tight sweaters, and barely-there mini-skirts. From 1956 to 1963, DeCarlo also produced hundreds of pin-up cartoons for the Humorama line of girlie digests, where his line drawings and exquisite ink-wash paintings shared the pages with Jack Cole, Bill Ward, and Bill Wenzel, and photos featuring Bettie Page." (280pp, SC, $18.95)
Zippy: From Here To Absurdity
by Bill Griffith
"This new Zippy collection features approximately a year's worth of strips, from November 2003 through November 2004, including full-color Sundays. Follow Zippy as he weaves in and out of 'Bushmiller Country' (the land formerly inhabited by Ernie Bushmiller's classic Nancy comic strip) and - as if things weren't strange enough - he suddenly begins spouting Japanese, French, Russian, Farsi, Hungarian, Greek, Finnish and Latin! Zippy meets aliens, revisits Levittown (his birthplace) with Griffy, confronts the evil 'Ziggy' and frolics with advertising icons like Reddy Kilowatt, Mr. Bubble, Colonel Sanders and the long-forgotten Unifax Astroboy." (128pp, SC, $19.95)
Justine & Juliette
by Raulo
"From the creator of Elizabeth Bathory comes this thick graphic novel based on two different books written by the Marquis De Sade. Raulo's intensely graphic art complements the provocative tales of Justine, a virtuous woman who encountered nothing by despair and abuse, and her sister Juliette, an amoral nymphomaniac who murders her way to continuous pleasure. If you enjoyed the Elizabeth Bathory series, you are going to love Justine & Juliette." (Eros, 140pp, SC, $19.95)
Plus: The Comics Journal #263 featuring a new revamped format; Luba #9 by Gilbert Hernandez; and a fistful of Eros smut including Deanna of the Dead by Bill Skaar, Erike the Teleketika #2 by Ismael Ferrer, Blowjob #11, Head #9, and Sex Warrior Isane XXX #1 by Okawari (with "XXX" added to the name just in case "Sex Warrior" wasn't explicit enough).
 
more at fantagraphics.com
posted by peter! 8:40 PM EST permalink
coming attractions: top shelf in august
Grampa & Julie: Shark Hunters
by Jef Czekaj
"Equal parts Tin Tin and The Simpsons, this full-color graphic novel -- suitable for children and adults of all ages -- collects Jef Czekaj's endearing and delightful tale from the pages of Nickelodeon Magazine (which reaches over 1 million kids and parents each month). Join Julie and her world-famous Grampa in endless zany adventures as they search the high seas for Stephen, the largest shark in the world." (128pp, SC, $14.95)
The Legend of Wild Man Fischer
by Dennis P. Eichhorn & J. R. Williams
"A mind-bending package of madcap hi-jinx following the exploits of one of America's underground superstars, Wild Man Fischer. First serialized in Dennis P. Eichhorn's Real Stuff in the early '90s, this collection, written by Eichhorn and rendered by artist J.R. Williams, also contains an all-new episode illustrated by Holly K. Tuttle, as well as essays by Williams and outsider-music maven, Irwin Chusid, and over a dozen previously unpublished photos of Mr. Fischer." (64pp, SC, $7.95)
more at topshelfcomix.com
posted by peter! 8:27 PM EST permalink
Friday, June 18, 2004
a temporary preview: damun hurd and rick smith have posted a preview of their new ongoing book temporary, which'll be debuting as a preview mini-comic at the mocca festival on june 26th from origin comics.
"It's never a typical day at the office for Envy Saint-Claire. Working for the AllTrades temp agency, every day she's someone else - sitting at someone else's desk, drinking someone else's coffee, talking to someone else's friends, doing someone else's job, living someone else's life. But only for a day. Everything in Envy's life is temporary, and that's just how she likes it.
"Meet Envy this December as she clocks into the Calvin C. Nelson HMO - the corporation where the inmates are literally running the asylum. 'Cubes and Ladders' is the first issue in the new series, Temporary, by the Eisner-nominated writer of My Uncle Jeff and A Sort of Homecoming, Damon Hurd, and the Ignatz-nominated creator of Shuck and Baraka and Black Magic in Morocco, Rick Smith."
Preview pages at everythingistemporary.com.
posted by peter! 11:07 AM EST permalink
"give up your staples": straight.com takes a look at alt-comix, drippytown and the vancouver comics scene. "[Artist Ted] Dave recounts a trip to Seattle in 1991 for a show entitled Misfit Lit that gathered such stars of the alternative-comics scene as Robert Crumb, the Hernandez Brothers, Peter Bagge, and Jim Woodring. 'At some point someone asked about movies and animation, and Crumb was saying, 'Can't we just do this? We like doing this. This is why you like us in the first place. Stop telling me to draw it a hundred times. I just want to draw one little panel. I like the staples.''"
posted by peter! 11:00 AM EST permalink
fuckin' comics: the viet nam news reports on the country's growing concern over violent entertainment. "Despite Vietnamese publishers printing more children’s books than ever, educators and parents are worried that many of the most-popular books, especially translated versions from overseas, are unsuitable. More than 600,000 comic books are printed in HCM City each week, 80 per cent of these are foreign comics, many of which depict violent stories with rampant killing..."
posted by peter! 10:53 AM EST permalink
why not: got this in email a few days back. over at futurius entertainment, daniel lundie is experimenting with producing his new ongoing series robin node as a series of comic posters, which sounds like an interesting idea to me:
"THE FORMAT: 16.5 inches by 23.3 inches, full colour one-sided glossy posters with between 23-30 panels of comic story each 'episode', a new episode out every second month. Self-contained stories within a larger ongoing story arc."
More about the project at futurious.com.
posted by peter! 10:43 AM EST permalink
on the road again: here are the stops and dates for craig thompson and james kochalka's promotional tour for their new book conversation.
Wednesday, July 14th, 5:00 - 8:00 PM
Jim Hanley's Universe
4 West 33rd, New York, NY 10001
(212) 268-7088
Friday, July 16th, 8:00 - 10:00 PM
Chicago Comics
3244 N. Clark St
Chicago, IL 60657
(773) 528-1983
Sunday, July 18th, 6:00 - 9:00 PM
Reading Frenzy
921 SW Oak St
Portland, OR 97205
(503) 274-1449
Tuesday, July 20th, 5:00 - 7:00 PM
Samurai Comics
5024 N. 7th Street
Phoenix, AZ 85014
(602) 265-8886
July 21-25
San Diego Comic-Con
(the Top Shelf booth)
San Diego Convention Center
posted by peter! 10:39 AM EST permalink
Thursday, June 17, 2004
rall responds: here's two pieces concerning ted rall's response to the latest shitstorm over his recent ronald reagan cartoon.
from truthnews.com: "Political cartoonist Ted Rall's comment that the late President Ronald Reagan is 'turning crispy brown right about now' provoked a reaction that crashed his Web site for at least 24 hours after the remark was posted on the Drudge Report. 'I think most people view the president as a fair target,' Rall said yesterday in an interview. 'Reagan was a public figure, and he was an idiot. And if he were around and lucid, he would probably say that it comes with the territory.'"
from editor & publisher: "An editorial cartoonist has taken the highly unusual step of criticizing another editorial cartoonist in a drawing... Rall response to the cartoon? He told E&P: 'It's a free country. Unlike Mr. Koterba, I believe that the First Amendment affords cartoonists -- not just apologists for the Bush and Reagan administrations -- the right to comment on any topic they like. I do, however, find it odd that he chose to criticize a fellow cartoonist in a cartoon. Not wrong, but odd. Almost as odd as his punchline, considering how dull and unoriginal his work is day after day.'"
posted by peter! 11:52 AM EST permalink
more mcsweeney's: the minneapolis city pages takes a look at the new mcsweeney's edited by chris ware. "Ware's curatorial tastes are generally quite broad: The issue includes Richard McGuire's 'ctrl,' which has been rendered entirely through flat and spare overhead views; a selection of Mark Beyer's hilariously tormented art brut 'Amy and Jordan' strips; and a suite of concentrated, hyper-stylized pieces from Gilbert and Jaime Hernandez's Love and Rockets series. Even so, you can see his particular selectivity in the McSweeney's picks. Ware prefers minimal, iconic, impressionistic drawing to the more deliberate rendering of the European school ('Blacksad' artist Juanjo Guarnido, say), and his introduction is quick to dismiss the comics aesthetic that's grounded in old superhero comic books..."
posted by peter! 11:43 AM EST permalink
strange bedfellows: earlier in the week, salon.com took an in-depth look at dave sim's cerebus and jeff smith's bone. "But beneath the surface, Bone and Cerebus prove to be so different, they're almost like photographic negatives of each other. Bone celebrates optimism and narrative simplicity, while Cerebus embraces cynicism and experimentation worthy of a mad scientist. Sim and Smith started as comrades in arms, yet their relationship soured into one of the industry's strangest feuds. Bone and Cerebus mark opposite ends of the comic-book spectrum in tone and complexity. Their heroes aren't technically human, but you can place virtually all modern graphic novels somewhere between them."
posted by peter! 11:34 AM EST permalink
"handjobs for all my men": thanks to the success of its recent film franchises, marvel has finally hauled its ass out of debt. from icv2.com: "Marvel has completed the early pay-off of over $150 million in Senior Notes out of cash on hand. The previously announced transaction left Marvel with over $150 million in cash and no debt. Marvel will take a $16 million charge for various forms of interest costs related to the pay-off. The company expects to have over $200 million in cash at the end of the year."
posted by peter! 11:26 AM EST permalink
last exit to brooklyn: this saturday at sputnik
posted by peter! 11:20 AM EST permalink
Wednesday, June 16, 2004
new review: buddha vol. 2: the four encounters by osamu tezuka
our buddha double-header continues...
"Tezuka sets out to create a densely-populated world of people from virtually every walk of the caste system that would, directly or not, come to be affected by Buddha. All of them display contradictions and paradoxes, as well as full emotional lives that prevent us from seeing them in purely black or white terms. Even the most ruthless warlord has a capacity for love and despair, the lowliest slave capable of the grandest deeds or the most tragic failure. And Tezuka renders them all in his deceptively simple cartoon line that makes their emotions instantly recognisable. It looks like a children's storybook, but its depths run deeper than most rivers."
(more from adi tantimedh)
posted by peter! 12:04 PM EST permalink
outside the box: feel good story from the washington post:
"Michael Bitz, a teacher and educational researcher, has long had an interest in comic books -- but not as entertainment. He sees them as the perfect teaching tool. Bitz is the founder of the Comic Book Project, which allows children to use their storytelling skills -- through drawing and writing -- and create comic books based on educational themes. A team of experts picks the most successful ones, and the students' works are published by Dark Horse Comics, one of the country's largest comic-book publishers, whose line includes Shrek and Star Wars. They are distributed free to kids in schools across the country..."
posted by peter! 11:34 AM EST permalink
graphic alternative: the chicago sun times ran a decent introduction to graphic novels earlier this week. "Graphic novels are finally coming into their own. Even though Will Eisner's A Contract with God,published in 1978, was the first to be called a graphic novel, these distinctive, varied works have not until recently reached a mass audience. It wasn't until 1992, when comics artist Art Spiegelman won a Pulitzer Prize for Maus, his book on the Holocaust, that the graphic novel even came into focus... Pantheon, which published Maus, scored last year with Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi's graphic novel about growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution of 1979, and will issue a sequel in August..."
related reviews by warren ellis and kelly sue deconnick:
  
posted by peter! 11:25 AM EST permalink
you can come out of your bedsheets now: according to multnomah county library and the oregonian:
"For generations, the phrase 'comic book' was guaranteed to bring a scowl to any librarian's face. Batman and Wonder Woman were exiled from the public library, and those who loved them had to live furtive double lives. By day, mild-mannered library patrons; by night, reading beneath the covers, held rapt by the exploits of shape-changing kung-fu artists or adolescent mutants.
"Times have changed, fellow comics fans! Multnomah County Library has an ever-growing collection of graphic novels in diverse genres such as fantasy, science fiction, superhero, Japanese manga, historical fiction, crime, romance and realistic fiction. No more reading under the covers! Whether a longtime fan, or a newcomer interested in finding out more about this exciting medium, comics await at your neighborhood library..."
posted by peter! 11:20 AM EST permalink
"graphic novels are good for you."
posted by peter! 11:17 AM EST permalink
Tuesday, June 15, 2004
manga nation: what else can be said. from the sfgate: "It's an understatement to say the manga industry has come a long way. Long perceived as a humble companion to anime (Japanese animation) over the past few years, manga has come into its own, and, by some measurements, has even exceeded its flashier sibling in mainstream penetration and success... It's been a delightful shock to booksellers as well, who've seen the category go from niche product to revenue driver virtually overnight. 'It's the only part of the book business that's actually growing,' notes TokyoPop's Steve Kleckner."
posted by peter! 11:15 AM EST permalink
farewell, tintin: they're finally sending little snowy to the glue factory. from the washington post: "On his 75th birthday, Tintin, the boy reporter who never grows old, has gotten himself into a bit of a scrape. In 'Tintin and Alph Art,' the series's 24th and last book -- and the first new volume since 1976 -- our hero uncovers a fraudulent art scheme and tracks the perpetrators to the island of Ischia off the coast of Italy, where they have stored counterfeit paintings in a grand hilltop chateau..."
posted by peter! 11:07 AM EST permalink
barefoot in the park: last gasp is (finally) bringing back to print Keiji Nakazawa's Barefoot Gen: A Cartoon Story of Hiroshima, one of the most influential manga series to hit western shores back in the 80's. plans are to re-release the first two volumes with new translations this fall, with the other eight books to follow in the future. i guess they heard about this weird manga thing goin' on. story at icv2.com.
posted by peter! 11:01 AM EST permalink
news flash: californian fourth graders more ambitious then half of comics industry. make more money. from the palisadian-post:
"Canyon School fourth graders Casey Alexander and Anthony Fedorko have turned their love of comics into a thriving business with their comic series 'Boom.' There are six issues so far, focusing on the misadventures of Agent Boom. Casey, the son of Debbie and Scott Alexander, and Anthony, the son of Debbie Zeitman and Yuri Fedorko, said the idea came up in their cartooning class this fall at Brentwood Art Center. Casey was doodling Agent Boom. Anthony looked over his shoulder and said, 'He looks cool.' Casey said, 'You think so?' Anthony offered to help draw and work out storylines. Thus, a comic was born...
"In January, the comic books began selling at HiDeHo in Santa Monica. So far the boys have earned close to $100, which they are putting back into the business to pay for copying costs. According to Casey, they are also thinking of making a 'Boom' movie in their animation class."
posted by peter! 10:55 AM EST permalink
holy baby jebus, batman: my unhealthy curiosity with religious comics continues, courtesy of sojourners magazine: "Now there are many small presses dedicated to the creation of comic books with Christian themes. Some are visual representations of storylines similar to those found in the Christian best-seller This Present Darkness, by Frank Peretti - muscular, sword-wielding angels doing invisible and dramatic battle against hordes of demons who prey on believers and unbelievers alike. Some, like Pakkins' Land: Paul's Adventure, by Gary and Rhoda Shipman, find inspiration in fantasy with a moral context, along the lines of C.S. Lewis's Narnia tales."
posted by peter! 10:47 AM EST permalink
i bet you can see his teetee: here's a small preview of a pinup that carla speed mcneil did for saucy goose press that's going to be auctioned off at some point to raise funds for the comic book legal defense fund (cbldf).
posted by peter! 10:41 AM EST permalink
Monday, June 14, 2004
grumpy: still a bit out-of-sorts, so just this piece from the independent that sees martin rowson shit out the side of his mouth over the recent all-indy comics edition of mcsweeney's:
"Except that comics aren't and shouldn't be respectable. The closest they should come to the adult world is as a kind of foul-mouthed, filthy-minded and grubby adolescence, with adolescents of all ages duly sequestered in that teenage bedroom and, between bouts of what teenagers do, thumbing through thin, flimsy funnies instead of damaging their wrists trying to hold this latest over-weighty, overproduced whinge. Ware, after all, is rich and famous, and thanks to this book will doubtless be mobbed by the thousands and thousands of ageing retards for whom comics still float their boat. Which is fine, but I wish he and the rest of them would accept that, in the ecology of culture, comics flourish where they are for a reason, and so he should stop pushing against an open door into an empty room."
oh, yeah -- have a bizarre, dirty webcomic as well.
(thx laurenn)
posted by peter! 11:07 AM EST permalink
Sunday, June 13, 2004
tragedy:
our regularly scheduled program will resume on monday.
posted by peter! 8:33 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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