Thanks to everyone who linked to and wrote in after my Best Comics of 2005 list went live; I appreciate your thoughts and hits ;).
Maybe it's a little 'up your own ass' to link to your own comments section, but there was some decent discussion going on in there and it felt a shame to hide it all a click away (and in a tiny type face). I'm pretty proud of my best-of list, I gotta say, and so I'm happy to discuss it and give the folks who put thought into their responses some 'screen time', so to speak. So without further ado, here's Tim O'Neil:
"Thank you for writing this list. Although I don't agree with everything on it, there are a few things on here that had somehow managed to escape my attention but which I believe I shall check out.
That said: Black Hole and We3? I still don't get it. Is there Kool-Ade I can drink that will make these books somehow less manipulative, predictable and mediocre? :D" - Tim O'Neil | Homepage
To be honest a big part of why I did this at all was to bring attention to the books I like. Hell, it's why I ever did PopImage or PreviewsReview. I'm glad it's inspired you to go check out a few. Let me know if I got it as wrong on my other suggestions as I did with Black Hole and WE3. I think it's interesting that WE3 is so polarizing myself, it remains our best-selling Morrison graphic novel of the past few years and a perfect entry-point into his comics. The storytelling in the book has the honours of being both revolutionary and a refinement of art-comix and low-art revoluton at different points. As for the story? It isn't reiventing the wheel, that's for sure, but it doesn't seek to. It's incredibly accomplished on it's aims, and I don't think "manipulative" is necessarily a bad word either. I think, in this context, it's just a synonym for "effective.
On the Black Hole front, all I've got for you is "Diff'rent strokes for diff'rent folks". ;)
"Great, thanks, now the cat will go hungry yet another month. If he takes it badly it's all on you ;-)
"@Tim I fully agree on Black Hole, but I think I can explain We3. - Visuals: the hail of bullets from #1, the minipanels in the fight scenes, the page flippin gover along with the wall in the final issue: all very well done, well used and impressive. - Story: it's a fascinating blend of the classic stray-story with the use of animals for military purposes that manages to work on both levels (one or the other wouldn't be impressive) - Dialogue: again this strikes a mostly sucessful midpoint between classic talking animals and well, regular animals.
"I think Morrison and Quitely struck a sweet spot between furries and children's tales of talking animals and managed to tell an action packed yet moving story. A bit like the "Once and future king" of comics." - markus
Sorry about your cat, I guess? Interesting literary allusion on WE3. I kind of expected that the scattershot nature of the list would end up with a few disagreements, but I never thought the same person would argue against both We3 and Black Hole...!
" Well my requests at the library have increased thanks to this list. I'm grateful for the delay in getting this out since it shows me a few things I missed and should give a read to during a time of the year it's generally unlikely (unless of course one were to read the Eisner nominees).
"WE3 had some great ideas and I agree about the whole pop-comic turned to 11, but for some reason I wasn't completely sold on it. I enjoyed it and the ideas are strong enough to keep me thinking but I didn't love it when I was reading it. I sort of feel it's like early nineties Saturday Night Live - it was always better in the retelling of it and thinking about it." -joncormier | Homepage
RE: A not that busy time of the year. I'd say you better hurry up because San Diego was a full-on preview of the amazing graphic novels that are going to start dropping at the end of August. Between Fantagraphics, Top Shelf, Drawn & Quarterly, Buenaventura, and First Second, there were probably 15 books at $400+ (total) that are on my must-buy list, and getting comped really only takes you so far. Also, with few exceptions the Eisner nominees are, in my opinion, interesting but unessential.
I wonder, did you read We3 collected or in single issues? I think it works really fantastically as a three-issue mini-series (the way I read it), which gives you time to really think about the book between chapters (as you mention) but also leaves you anxious and excited for the next one, which does the same again. After some distance, coming to the trade paperback was like discovering the series a fourth time, each reading having the enjoyment of the previous compounded into the overall experience. It's not exactly like my favourite Morrison work, The Invisibles, but having just re-read that series again the paralells are certainly there.
"For the record, I really really liked Blue, and I'm a straight male! Its only major failing was how hard it was keeping track of who was talking in any given panel; though it wasn't TOO hard to work out in context none of the characters really had their own distinctive voice. It was great anyway.
"I was also pleasently surprised to find Kiriko Nananan in "Secret Comics Japan" when I acquired that a few months ago (I mainly got it for Junko Mizuno)! I was not expecting this."- peter s
Actually, thanks to Jog (I believe) I went and tracked down a copy of Fantagraphics' underground-manga compilation Sake Jock from a long time ago, which also has a Kiriko Nananan story included. Good stuff there too. RE: Blue I actually didn't have that problem, identifying who was speaking, though my boss at The Beguiling did. I approached Blue as a more lyrical work than most, and I think that helped it. It's almost like listening to a song with a strong narrative, you enjoy certain lines or phrases and it's hearing the song as a whole through the conclusion that puts it all together and into context. Obviously it's a bit different with an extended narrative, but I still thought it came together wonderfully.
"Probobaly the "Best of 05" list I agree with most. Everything on it I read is brilliant, and I'll be sure to check out the few things I missed (Ordinary Voices, Killoffer, Or Else).
"And for the record, I also am a straight male and I loved Blue. I can understand why alot of people wouldn't get it, as I know a few of them, but it just stunned me. Shit, I remember DREAMING of the characters after I read it; how often does THAT happen?" - Huff
What's with all of these straight people reading my blog...? Kidding! Kidding... I love all of my readers equally. It's funny, two of the books you mention, 676 Apparitions of Killoffer and Ordinary Victories are French works, translated from their original language. I'm kind of shocked and saddened to see so many of the best of French comics getting spotty distribution here in North America. On the one hand, Killoffer is a huge, oversized book with a price-tag to match (Jeff Lester at Savage Critics was particularly... savage... in his... criticism) from a new publisher, so I can see how it might have a rough go of things. On the other, Ordinary Victories is a multiple award-winner published in an affordable format from NBM, it should've been a front-and-centre recommendation in every store worth its salt!
Also, I dream of comics all the time. Sometimes I dream in comics.
"Interesting Steamboy Ani-Manga made your sub-honorable-mentions list! I've been trying to get people to bite on my suggestion that that was the best book Viz put out last year and that Ani-Manga are a legitimate art form unto themselves, not just derivative cash-ins, but so far no luck...But this is an encouraging sign!" - Alvin Lu
I think that's going to continue being an uphill battle. If you look at comics and graphic novels, even adaptations of other works into comics, regardless of the author's pedigree, generally aren't awarded the same recognition as original works. Adaptations, at least in my experience, are generally regarded as inferior copies of another work, whether that desctiption is merited or not. In the case of Steamboy and other animanga/cinemanga/Film Comics, it's even tougher because it really is a compromise between two different artistic mediums rather than even an adaptation. Compromise is not often a word one wants to hear in reference to their art. I'm not above it either; as much fun as I found the Steamboy Ani-Manga I'd have traded both 200+ pages books for a 20 page original story by Otomo. Hell, I still go back and forth on whether or not to buy the Steamboy Ltd. Edition DVD Box Set that comes with the untranslated manga, just because it looked so great. I think the Ani-manga are solid products, but I'm not quite convinced of their legitimate artistic value. I'd love for you to expand on this though.
"Yeah great list. So much good stuff came out last year. One thing that I really dug last year was the second issue of Malinky Robot. Sonny Liew is a god in my eyes."- Jeremy Jackson
I totally forgot to include that on my list! Totally my bad there, as I did enjoy that one a lot and was happy to get to meet him at San Diego this year on his first trip to North America. To anyone reading: Mentally include Malinky Robot #2 on my list of other great comics that came out last year. It's available from Slave labor for about three bucks.
"I love WE3 to pieces, but I'm a cold unfeeling formalist bastard."- Leigh Walton | Homepage
Nice try, but we all know formalists don't know what love is.
The next comment I'm going to answer in parts because it's a long one:
"As for PYONGYANG, his at times arrogant attitude to the north-koreans struck me as odd. Still, it might be argued, intentional or not, that it´s just a very honest portrayal of western arrogance, by someone who is in the lucky position to never habe been subjected to such a dreadful situation." - myk | Homepage
I think the problem for some readers might be that I'm not sure if Delisle ever recognizes his arrogance, or would ever recognize it. It's an honest memoir but I doubt reading it would make someone face up to their behaviour as his attitude is never really portrayed as anything other than normal. That said, I thought it was good he stayed away from negative stereotyping through treating every character with dialogue as an indvidual. I also thought it was just really compellingly put together. I've read his English-language follow-up, an earlier graphic novel named Shen-Zhen which will be out this fall, and you can see how much more accomplished and engaged with the subject matter Delisle is in Pyong Yang. I think it's noteworthy because of that.
"With the rest, I´m pretty much with you. Except for some of the manga, that I haven´t read. Manga is pretty much responsible for me getting back into comics big time, as I had fizzled out of the medium after quitting the comics-shop a few years back.
"I have been hearing good things about PLANETES. Is it more character-centered? Is it totally worth it??
"My list (which doesn´t exist, coz my bookshelf is a mess and I can´t remember which came out when) would of course include MONSTER and 20TH CENTURY BOYS, but I gues those haven´t been published in english in 2005, so that´s ok." - myk | Homepage
I'm currently reading and enjoying the English-language edition of Monster a great deal. I've got scans of 20THCB but the idea of reading that many volumes of manga on a computer is a bit daunting. Same goes for the apparently-excellent Pluto series, which The Comics Journal recommended in their Best of 2005 article. Planetes is all about the characters for the first two and a half volumes, and the over-arching plot which dominates the last two and a half volumes springs entirely out of the characters in the first. I'd say you'd probably really like it if that's what you're after.
Oh, and don't miss Love Roma, it's really awesome.
"The only two I disagree on are:
"1) WE3 - which I found to be incredibly hollow. Like it was written by a thirteen-year old. A thirteen-year old with no talent. All spectacle but nothing lasting more than five minutes after the book is over. And, mind you, I´m also at times prone to hollow spectacle but this... I guess I´m just not a Grant Morrison type of guy.
"Maybe it´s still in its caterpillar-stage and in 2012 it will be a really cool comic.
"(And, I mean, he killed the rabbit. How could he kill the rabbit. The rabbit was the best.)
"2) BLACK HOLE - which also left me totally cold. Granted, Burns is a spectacular artist, even if I don´t like his style 100%, but the whole story was just... bland. Exposition, heaped upon exposition. Too much words, not enough happening. And normally I´m totally a words person. EPILEPTIC for instance, I breezed through that.
"BLACK HOLE felt like just a bunch of empty symbolism, and even if it IS meant as empty symbolism to unmask the use of empty symbolism... maybe it reads better spread out over the 10 years it took to actually create it, I dunno.
"I do actually think that it is very important that this book exists, I just don´t wanna have to read it. Formally I like it.
"And with these thoughts it´s your blog again."- myk | Homepage
It seems like you've used different language to accuse these two books of being the same thing: a bit hollow. I think that's the nature of art though, which is a dangerous subject because this can slide into "everything is meaningful!" very quickly. But really, I think that both works gain a lot by what you bring to them as a reader, as they both depend a lot on your own feelings and experiences. Up top, Tim cited We3 as being "manipulative", which I think is completely at odds with your description. That you both didn't like it is, to me, not as important as that you disliked it for reasons that contradict one another. I liked it specifically because I really did feel for all of the characters (including one-or-two of the humans), and because I found it very rich storytelling-wise. Certainly not empty spectacle :). As for Black Hole, I'm closer to your vein of thinking here but again there are parts in the book which really, really work. They come across for me with a sense of immediacy, which is important. My friend, Jason, who loves this book more than... I dunno, pancakes? Anyway, he loves it a lot, he's a few years closer to the author's age and so the points of reference for him are more immediate still, and he draws more out of the symbolism, storytelling, and characterization.
I think that your attitude, of recognizing it's accomplishment but not really enjoying it, is valid. But I don't think that all art, or even the best art, is necessarily universal.
"Having read Black Hole in serialized form and in collected form, I have to say that the single sitting experience was a revelation. I knew it was good, but I had no idea how confident and masterful a storyteller Burns was until the whole thing unpacked itself in one read."- ADD | Homepage
Yeah, I did enjoy sitting down to read the whole thing in a sitting. The patchy, out-of-order reading I had given it over the many years it was serialized was a strange experience, but reading it all at once you do appreciate it in a different way.
"I guess this is possibly an anal and useless comment, but there are a few mis-spelled titles in the final list of things you read and liked ("TALES DESIED TO THRIZZLE #1"), and I think that you might have mis-labelled the creators involved in the two issues of Solo you list."- Blair Corbett | Homepage
Not too anal at all, Blair! That last bit was added after my proof-reader had gone over it, so no blame should go his way. I'll go edit the entry post-hate.
Thanks to everyone for taking the time to write in, and for giving me the opportunity to add to what I'd written. If everyone goes out and buys more good comics then I'll be a happy guy. :)
BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR It would be nice if this stuff were spaced out just a bit.
Next week there are 61 manga shipping, including "Global Manga". Depending on what we count as a 'comic book' and what we count as a 'graphic novel', at The Beguiling it looks like we're only getting 58 'comic books'. So, more manga this week than single-issue comics.
Huh.
Just for the record, those titles are:
MAY063481 ABSOLUTE BOYFRIEND VOL 2 GN (C: 1-0-0) 8.99 MAY063389 AFTERLIFE VOL 1 GN (OF 3) (MR) 9.99 MAY063482 AISHITERUZE BABY VOL 3 TP (C: 1-0-0) 8.99 MAY063434 AVATAR CINEMANGA VOL 3 GN 7.99 MAY063484 BEAUTY IS THE BEAST VOL 4 TP (C: 1-0-0) 8.99 MAY063390 BECAUSE IM THE GODDESS VOL 1 GN (OF 3) (MR) 9.99 MAY063391 BIRD KISS VOL 1 GN (OF 2) 9.99 MAY063399 BLAME VOL 5 GN (OF 10) (MR) 9.99 MAY063459 BLEACH VOL 14 TP (C: 1-0-0) 7.95 MAY063400 BOYS BE VOL 10 GN (OF 20) (MR) 9.99 JUN063173 BRING IT ON VOL 3 GN 10.95 MAY063123 BUILDING OPPOSITE GN (C: 4) 21.99 MAY063464 BUSO RENKIN VOL 1 TP (C: 1-0-0) 7.99 MAY063401 CHIBI VAMPIRE VOL 2 GN (OF 7) (MR) 9.99 JUN063176 CHOCOLAT VOL 3 GN 10.95 MAY063460 CLAYMORE VOL 3 TP (C: 1-0-0) 7.99 MAY063483 CRIMSON HERO VOL 3 TP (C: 1-0-0) 8.99 JUN063179 CYNICAL ORANGE VOL 2 GN (RES) (C: 0-1-2) 10.95 MAY063465 D GRAY MAN VOL 2 GN (C: 1-0-0) 7.99 MAY063402 DEVIL MAY CRY 3 VOL 2 GN (OF 2) (MR) 9.99 MAY063403 DRAGON KNIGHTS VOL 23 GN (OF 24) 9.99 MAY063432 EARTHIAN VOL 4 GN (OF 4) (MR) 14.99 MAY063466 EYESHIELD 21 VOL 9 TP (C: 1-0-0) 7.99 MAY063404 FRUITS BASKET VOL 14 GN (OF 19) 9.99 MAY063392 GENJU NO SEIZA VOL 1 GN (OF 13) (MR) 9.99 MAY063061 GENSHIKEN VOL 6 GN (MR) 10.95 MAY063405 GET BACKERS VOL 15 GN (MR) 9.99 MAY063393 GO WITH GRACE GN 9.99 MAY063485 GODCHILD VOL 2 TP (C: 1-0-0) 8.99 MAY063388 GRENADIER VOL 1 GN (OF 7) 9.99 MAY063062 GURU GURU PON CHAN VOL 5 GN 10.95 MAY063406 ID ENTITY VOL 7 GN (OF 13) 9.99 MAY063407 INITIAL D VOL 23 GN (OF 32) 9.99 MAY063408 KARE KANO VOL 20 GN (OF 21) 9.99 MAY063409 LIFE VOL 2 GN (OF 9) (MR) 9.99 MAY063410 LOVE HINA VOL 2 NOVEL (MR) 7.99 MAY063425 MAGICAL X MIRACLE VOL 2 GN (OF 5) 9.99 MAY063394 MITSUKAZU MIHARA SHIGESHOSHI VOL 1 GN (OF 3) (MR) 9.99 MAY063063 NODAME CANTIABILE VOL 6 GN (MR) 10.95 MAY063395 PEACH GIRL SAES STORY VOL 1 GN (OF 2) (MR) 9.99 MAY063064 PICHI PICHI PITCH VOL 2 GN 10.95 MAY063426 PRESIDENT DAD VOL 6 GN (OF 7) 9.99 MAY063427 PRICELESS VOL 2 GN (OF 3) 9.99 MAY063066 Q-KO-CHAN VOL 1 EARTH INVADER GIRL GN 10.95 MAY063386 REPLAY VOL 1 GN (OF 3) 9.99 MAY063387 RETURN TO LABYRINTH VOL 1 GN (OF 3) 9.99 MAY063428 SAMURAI DEEPER KYO VOL 19 GN (OF 31) (MR) 9.99 MAY063396 SAVER VOL 1 GN (OF 7) 9.99 MAY063433 SHOUT OUT LOUD VOL 2 GN (OF 5) (MR) 9.99 MAY063429 SOUL TO SEOUL VOL 4 GN (OF 4) 9.99 MAR063179 STRAY LITTLE DEVIL VOL 1 GN 9.95 MAY063065 SUGAR SUGAR RUNE VOL 3 GN 10.95 MAY060214 TOWER OF THE FUTURE VOL 4 (C: 1-0-0) 9.99 MAY063067 TSUBASA VOL 10 GN (OF 10) 10.95 MAY063397 VOICES OF A DISTANT STAR (HOSHI NO KOE) GN 9.99 MAY063430 XKAI VOL 2 GN (OF 2) (MR) 9.99 MAY063461 YU GI OH DUELIST VOL 16 TP (C: 1-0-0) 7.95 MAY063462 YU GI OH MILLENNIUM WORLD VOL 4 TP (C: 1-0-0) 7.95 MAY063463 YU YU HAKUSHO VOL 10 TP (C: 1-0-0) 7.95 MAY063431 YUBISAKI MILK TEA VOL 2 GN (OF 6) (MR) 9.99 MAY063398 ZYWORD GN 9.99
My 2006 San Diego Comic Con Report Edited for clarity.
This year's San Diego Comic Convention was probably the most rewarding and enjoyable iteration of the big show that I've had the pleasure to attend. It was good meeting people (Jan, one of my Australian internet friends and a former PopImage writer in particular), it was good to be recognized and appreciated, and it was great to hear how excited everyone was about TCAF.
Also, Kean Soo and Derek Kirk Kim are, according to them, "My Asian Ho's".
In reality though, they are merely rubbing my tummy for luck.
So yeah, things were great. I don't really have much more to say than that. Sorry to mislead you. :)
- Chris PS: Photo by Azad Injejikian, whose story in Flight 3 is heart-breaking and great.
(These were announced in the August Previews Catalogue which arrived in stores yesterday. I would assume you're not all first-thing-Wednesday-morning comics folks, so I hope these are still of interest to you. Hell, the solicitation text for Acme Novely Library #17 is worth posting all on it's own.)
Moomin: The Complete Tove Jannson Comic Strip, Book One Tove Jannson HARDCOVER book, 96 pages, 8.5 x 12 inches, b/w. $ 19.95 USD UPC Code: 1-894937-80-5
The enchanting comic strip that introduced adult readers to the wonderful world of Moomin. Tove Jansson is revered around the world as one of the foremost children’s authors of the twentieth century for her illustrated chapter books regarding the magical worlds of her creations, the Moomins. The Moomins saw life in many forms but debuted to their biggest audience ever on the pages of world’s largest newspaper the London Evening News, in 1954. The strip was syndicated in newspapers around the world with millions of readers in 40 countries. Moomin: book one is the first volume of Drawn & Quarterly’s publishing plan to reprint the entire strip drawn by Jansson before she handed over the reins to her brother Lars in 1960. This is the first time the strip will be published in any form in North America and will deservedly place Jansson among the international cartooning greats of the last century.
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Acme Novelty Library #17 Chris Ware HARDCOVER book, 96 pages, 9.25 x 7 inches, full-color. $ 16.95 USD UPC Code: 1-897299-02-8
Undaunted by lukewarm internet and blogospheric opinion (“flat,” “slow,” and “always dreary”) of his meretricious return last year to the tradition of the American comic book with the 16th issue of his ACME Novelty Library, cartoonist and professional sentimentalist Chris Ware returns with the 17th issue of this same title, and it is almost certain not to change general public opinion. Continuing with the second half of the introduction to his shamelessly meandering graphic novel “Rusty Brown” (which began last issue at a private school in the 1970s midwest) the six-sided crystal suggested by the exegisis of the first installment is slowly turned and examined in mid-morning winter sunlight sometime between the bell of first period and the conclusion of lunch for the first through the fourth grades. Also included are more thorough examinations of many of the main characters’ cloudy motivations, personal habits, and favorite restaurants, to say nothing of the small dust mote around which they have coalesced and the complications in its life due to the acquisition of superpowers sometime the night before. Like the irritating distant family member you only have to see once a year, The ACME Novelty Library #17 will, as was its predecessor, be made published by the author in a single, limited edition only, never to be reprinted until collected as a single volume, though it may be promptly remaindered and/or discarded.
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Big Questions #9 Anders Nilsen Comic book, 48 pages, 7 x 8.5 inches, color and b/w. $ 5.95 USD
Big Questions #9 continues the story of our heroic birds struggling to (mis)interpret the explosion and plane crash that have turned their world upside down. In this issue, the idiot and pilot meet--to mixed results, Betty battles a small flock of crows and Algernon is momentarily reunited with his lost love, Thelma. The Grandmother also makes a brief, but dramatic reappearance, as tension mounts.
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Acme Novelty Datebook Chris Ware HARDCOVER book, 208 pages, 9.25 x 7 inches, full-color. $ 39.95 USD 1-896597-66-1 Offered Again
An excellent companion to the new ACME Novelty Library #17. Acclaimed cartoonist Chris Ware reveals the outtakes of his genius in these intimate, imaginative, and whimsical sketches collected from the years during which he completed his award-winning graphic novel Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth (Pantheon). His novel not only won the Manchester Guardian First Novel prize in 2001 but it has sold over 100,000 copies. This book is as much a companion volume to Jimmy Corrigan --one of the great crossover success stories-- as a tremendous art collection from of one of America’s most interesting and popular graphic artist.
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As always, click on the images for larger versions.
I've fallen a week and a half behind on e-mail since SDCC. There, I said it. I'm not happy about it but it's the truth. As soon as I got back I slept, then I did the Previews order (biggest month ever), then I couldn't sleep and posted the best of article. Oh, thanks to Mal for editing it befor it went live. Anyway tomorrow is exactly 7 days since I went to San Diego and the to-do list is piling up because I wasn't really that on-the-ball in the time leading up to the show anyway. If you're waiting on me or expecting me to do something I'm sorry just give me until the weekend I promise...
Best Comics Of 2005 I completely forget to mention ACHEWOOD. What was I thinking? http://www.achewood.com
Hello, and welcome to the Comics.212.net BEST COMICS OF 2005 list! I’m your host, Christopher Butcher. The opinions and ideas expressed in the following best-of list are mine, and though they’ve been indubitably influenced by some of the finest minds working in and around the comics industry, you should direct all cheers and jeers my way (mostly because no one else deserves your jeers).
I’ve been looking over the here-to-fore released best-of lists, and thinking about the soon-to-be-released lists of nominations for the Harveys, the Eisners, and the slew of other comics industry awards [Editor's Note: I wrote this in February of 2006]. My main criticism of all of them is their focus. Which is an odd thing to say, I guess, but it’s hard to really look seriously at a list of ‘the best books’ in a medium when the lists come from people or committees who are wholly involved in art-comix, or superheroes, or manga, or the new mainstream (or the old mainstream, for that matter). Or worse yet, to find recommendations so rigidly categorized or measured as to make comparison between comics from different countries or in different formats impossible. I thought it would be… interesting… to try to read the best of everything offered this year, from euro comics to art comix to supers and manga, to compare and contrast them.
It was not easy.
How do you compare a short-story collection to the first chunk of an ongoing narrative to a complete narrative in one book, while taking into consideration cultural and historical context? Luckily, the answer came from my boyfriend, who told me to get my head out of my ass and just do it. So, the books that topped the list for me are the ones that were: enjoyable; accomplished on their own merits and as compared to similarly aimed books; published in English; published in 2005.
(Of course, it goes without saying that this list is purely my opinion, but should still be treated with the utmost awe and deference, my choices superseding the results of any awards organization that has been or may yet still be established until the end of time.)
Best of the Year: Ordinary Victories
ORDINARY VICTORIES GN By Manu Larcenet $15.95, Softcover, Published by NBM
Ordinary Victories is, like many contemporary art-comix, about a young guy trying to figure his shit out. I think I described the book as being “like a young Seth” last year, and that’s still accurate to a point. It’s like a French Seth though, full of drinking and dancing and abandon, vitality and yes, placidity and reflection too. Our protagonist shuffles and scrimps his way through his life, getting laid and betrayed, finding love and losing it, and trying to escape the mundane to create art, only to be dragged back again and finding revelations. It’s a profound work, but fun and absorbing, engaging throughout. Ordinary Victories is set to become the one work I will unhesitatingly foist on those curious about graphic novels, or solid contemporary fiction. For now though, I just enjoy re-reading it for myself.
The Best of 2005 The following 20 books are the best examples of comics published last year, in alphabetical order:
100 PERCENT By Paul Pope $19.95, Trade Paperback, Published by DC Comics
100% ended up being the graphic novel I pined all year for, for years. I loved this series as it dribbled out (many parts were fairly late), and the final issue was an intensely rewarding catharsis. What the story lacks in narrative innovation (boy meets girl, boy gets/loses girl), it more than makes up for in style and storytelling. An ultra-contemporary romance that teaches us an important lesson: Don’t wait for the trade on Paul Pope projects, it may never come and if it does it takes forever.
676 APPARITIONS OF KILLOFFER By Killoffer $25.95, Softcover (oversized), Published by Typocrat Press
The French edition of this work has been a stock item at the store I work for, The Beguiling, for years now. It's crisply drawn and arrived at a massive 10" x 15". The deeply-disturbing imagery takes on an entirely different feeling when you can’t understand what the characters are saying. But believe me when I tell you that it’s more provocative still when you can understand the narrated introduction.
ACME NOVELTY LIBRARY #16 By Chris Ware $15.95, Hardcover, Self-Published (Distributed by Fantagraphics Books)
An edited, reworked, and re-imagined version of the life story of Rusty Brown, the kid you love to hate. Creator Chris Ware imprints a filmic take on this fresh hell; “dolly”-shots and moment-to-moment transitions; simultaneous intertwining narratives; a rich, saturated palette; the first installment of Rusty Brown feels as though Ware is putting everything he knows onto the page. The collection of Building Stories strips is a welcome bit of added value, though they detract almost as much as they add thanks to the small size and double-page reprinting. Still, ACME shows us that Ware’s reputation is well-earned and well-deserved.
BLACK HOLE By Charles Burns $24.95, Hardcover, Published by Pantheon Books
A graphic novel 10 years in the making, just flipping through this book makes you realize that Charles Burns doesn’t need comics so much as comics needs him. It is precise, flawless really, all of the rough edges smoothed into an unsettlingly slick and organic set of visuals, which match the narrative perfectly. While I felt that this take on horror/teen ‘morality’ movies could have used a stronger narrative conclusion (as befitting its source material), it’s also pretty clear that was never the intent. An amazing experience.
BLUE GN By Kiriko Nananan $23.99, Softcover, Published by Fanfare/Ponent-Mon
The depth and purity of emotion in Kiriko Nananan’s Blue, the longing, the uncertainty, it puts to shame pretty much every shoujo manga I’ve read. I think books like this talk to a different part of the brain – many people I respect found the book interesting but unremarkable (but they were all boys). There’s something to this work that absolutely floors me, and Kiriko Nananan has been a favourite ever since two of her short stories appeared in Secret Comics Japan years ago.
BLUE SPRING VOL 1 GN By Taiyo Matsumoto $9.99, Softcover (Digest), Published by Viz Media LLC.
This also made my 2004 list, but since it received scattershot distribution throughout the last week of 2004 and the first week of 2005, I’ll make a political statement here and include it again. In short, Taiyo Matsumoto is probably the most interesting contemporary manga-ka, effortlessly bouncing all over the field of shonen manga. Blue Spring, a collection of vaguely autobiographical short stories from his sketchy youth in Japan, is essential reading for anyone who might have ever lost their way. It’s also formally brilliant, with a unique visual style and a narrative sequence that uses repetition to create a feeling of dizzying sickness. In short, it’s ten bucks well spent.
EPILEPTIC HC By David B. $24.95, Hardcover, Published by Pantheon Books
I have to admit to not having finished Epileptic. I devoured the first three chapters upon their release from Fantagraphics several years ago, and I’m through the first four chapters on my read through this new collected edition. It’s tough going, due I think entirely to the subject matter and the power of the work. Just writing this makes me want to get back on the horse and finish it, but despite not finishing it I won’t hesitate for a second to both recommend and cite it here.
LOVE ROMA VOL 1 GN By Minoru Toyoda $10.95, Softcover (Digest), Published by Del Rey Manga
Love Roma succeeds because of its directness. Its art, dialogue, and short stories function because they are so forward, so forthright. In fact you almost begin to wonder if the creator is perhaps developmentally challenged in some way, so consistent is his vision and intention. But no, it’s really just that good, the work of an idiot savant rather than an idiot. The secondary characters and their knowing sarcasm, the tertiary characters breaking the fourth wall, it adds a refreshing bitterness to a comic that is so powerfully sweet and direct it might otherwise be indigestible. Immensely enjoyable.
NIGHT FISHER GN By R. Kikuo Johnson $12.95, Softcover, Published by Fantagraphics Books
Of all of the debuts on this list, Night Fisher is undeniably the strongest. A cohesive, thoughtful blend of Toth and Tomine and the whole history of comics and art, Night Fisher is a beautifully drawn short graphic novel about letting go of the last vestiges of childhood and irresponsibility.
OR ELSE #2 By Kevin Huizenga $5.95, Softcover (Digest), Published by Drawn & Quarterly
Kevin Huizenga’s work in Drawn & Quarterly Showcase Volume 1 floored me. The three short, inter-related stories of his protagonist Glenn Ganges contained there were, I thought, phenomenal comics. I was corrected, being told that as much as I liked those, Huizenga’s “Gloriana” story which would be reprinted in Or Else #2 is better; transcendent. So, it turns out that they were right. A phenomenal mediation on time, space, and comics, using time, space, and comics in truly innovative ways.
PUSH MAN & OTHER STORIES HC By Yoshihiro Tatsumi $19.95, Hardcover, Published by Drawn & Quarterly
Both a chronicle of the work of a profoundly influential comics creator in Japan as well as a new graphic novel destined to influence English-language creators, Push Man is... profound. It is incredibly rich despite being sparsely dialogued – Tatsumi is a creator who is unafraid to let the art tell the story, particularly when it comes to his largely mute lead characters, and let you interpret what you will. A work that is unabashedly reflective of its times and author, but with a number of important things to say to today’s audiences.
PYONG YANG: A Journey to North Korea By Guy Delisle $19.95, Hardcover, Published by Drawn & Quarterly
A somewhat controversial title that I was going back and forth on. I’m not Asian and I’m not going to pretend I understand ‘the Asian experience’, so when folks of Asian descent tell me they found the graphic novel either vaguely or directly offensive due to it’s portrayal of North Koreans, I’m not going to argue it. I will say that, for good or ill, the book left me with very strong impressions of North Korea and the current, quiet crisis they find themselves in. From the poverty to the orphanages to the museum-as-bomb-shelter, the book was an unflinching memoir from a gifted comics creator who spent too short a time behind the iron curtain.
THE RABBI’S CAT By Joann Sfar $21.95, Hardcover, Published by Pantheon Books
I had the pleasure of meeting Joann Sfar this year here in Toronto, and he’s a warm, funny, engaging man who speaks passionately about comics. On my first read-through, I only really got through the first installment of the three French albums collected here. I enjoyed it, but not enough. After speaking to him and hearing him talk about the book, about using it to foster understanding between French Jews and French Arabs, discussing it with a number of Rabbis who all loved it, even just talking about the creative process, I returned to the book and blew through it, soaking it all up (before reading the last chapter a second time). While it dovetails into a wonderful conclusion, I was happy to hear that there are more tales of the Rabbi’s Cat on the way: get on board now.
SALAMANDER DREAM By Hope Larson $15.00, Softcover (Digest), Published by Adhouse Books
Salamander Dream almost didn’t make this list, and not because of any failing in the book. It’s a wonderful tale about imaginary friends, and what we need from them at different points throughout our lives. It’s touching and poignant and will be a lifetime favourite of many girls and women. It almost didn’t make the list here because, as good as it is, you can feel reading it that whatever Larson does next is going to be better still. As will the next project after that, and after that again. She’s enormously talented, and Salamander Dream reads like the first chapter in a long, varied, and acclaimed career. Ultimately though, I think it’s important to read the first chapter here and not just skip ahead.
Caveat: I was the best man at Hope Larson’s wedding, feel free to take this with as many grains of salt as necessary. It's still a great book though!
SCOTT PILGRIM VOL 2: SCOTT PILGRIM VS THE WORLD By Bryan Lee O’Malley $11.95, Softcover (Digest), Published by Oni Press
It’s at least the best comic released in 2005 to feature me as a character.
I don’t really know what to say here. It’s just really good. I feel like all I should be saying is “What do you mean you haven’t read it yet!?” but that’s not very helpful. Um, how about: It’s not as good as you’ve heard: it’s better!
Just read it, alright?
SEXY VOICE AND ROBO By Iou Kuroda $19.99, Softcover, Published by Viz Media LLC
I wrote a very long and detailed review of this series earlier this year, at:
But to recap: Sexy Voice and Robo is the characterization, thoughtfulness, and James Kochalka-esque 'play' of art-comix put in the service of action-movie tropes, to create a unique reading experience. Every reading leaves me more impressed – and satisfied – with this book, and more eager to recommend it to folks everywhere.
STREET ANGEL By Brian Maruca and Jim Rugg $14.95, Trade Paperback, Published by Slave Labor Graphics
Like Scott Pilgrim, I’ve written so much about Street Angel over the past few years that I’m almost at a loss. It’s just that Street Angel #1 hit me like a baseball bat. How does something this accomplished, intelligent, complete, just pop up out of thin air? It is so absolutely comic book in every way, from Tick-like ninjas to Madman-style antics to Kirbyesque ass-kicking. The contrast between the protagonist’s do-no-wrong abilities and the reality of her situation is the icing on the cake. That the trade paperback includes every issue and a ton of bonus material besides makes it ideal.
TOP TEN THE FORTY NINERS By Alan Moore and Gene Ha $24.99, Hardcover, Published by DC Comics/America’s Best Comics
Thoroughly fulfilling, entertaining, and beautiful. In context: Top Ten: The 49ers is a better, more human, and gayer period piece about being gay (for straight people by straight people) than ‘Brokeback Mountain’, and that isn’t even the main thrust of the story. A smart story about change set in a fantastical idea of what post-war society could have been.
WE 3 By Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely $12.99, Trade Paperback, Published by DC Comics/Vertigo
There have been a great deal of brilliant, insightful reviews of Morrison and Quitely’s WE3 around the ‘net, and I don’t have anything to add to them but my own recommendation: WE3 is the perfect pop comic, a short intense burst of emotion and action, wrapped in one of the most formally innovative comics of the year (and I have to say, Or Else #2 and WE3 certainly give each other a run for their money). It’s comics cranked up to 12, and a career high point for both creators.
Honourable Mentions
Classic Collections: It’s always hard to judge a collection of classic works on the same grounds as a graphic novel. While Eddie Campbell can argue that Chris Ware has infused the classic Gasoline Alley with the spirit of the graphic novel to create Walt & Skeezix Vol 1, I don’t think that they equate (or hold up). Contextually though, these are brilliant works and I wanted to make a note of mentioning them. With even the slightest change in criteria they could’ve made the top 20:
Little Nemo In Slumberland (Best of) 1905-1910, by Winsor McCay This independently produced and published, massively oversized reprint project is, simply, awe-inspiring. What an outstanding treatment of this material (with high-quality reproduction to boot!).
Bone Volume 1 (Scholastic Edition), By Jeff Smith Chip Kidd Book One, By Chip Kidd The Complete Calvin & Hobbes, by Bill Waterson The Complete Peanuts Volume 4, 1957-1958, by Charles Schulz Krazy & Ignatz 1935-1936 (Colour Sundays), by George Herriman Walt & Skeezix Volume 1, by Frank King (with Chris Ware)
Breakout New Talent: As with my discussion of Salamander Dream up top, it’s always hard to recognize these works because you know that they’re excellent, but you also know that this is only the beginning of a promising career. These are creators and series to watch in the coming year(s). Also recognized are serials that started this year, where I feel their best material is still to come.
Sharknife Volume 1 and PENG!, by Corey Lewis 2005 saw a creator Corey Lewis’ debut graphic novel Sharknife followed by his second release only months later. PENG! showed Lewis taking everything he’d done to date to the next level. Sharknife was a doodly ADD video-game inspired smack-down that saw the young creator throwing everything into it except for the kitchen sink. Release a few months later, PENG! is smarter, tighter, and better-drawn, making for a more satisfying reading experience. I can’t wait to see what’s next.
Bambi & Her Pink Gun Volume 1, by Atsushi Kaneko Beck Volume 1-2, by Harold Sakuichi Local #1-2, by Brian Wood and Ryan Kelly Secret Voice #1, by Zack Soto Spiral Bound, by Aaron Renier Ultimate Wolverine vs. Hulk, by Damon Lindelof and Leinil Francis Yu X-Factor #1, by Peter David and Ryan Sook
Anthologies: It’s not fair that anthologies are judged by their weakest contributions, but I guess that’s life. Still, I absolutely love anthologies and there were a number of incredibly strong projects that deserve some attention:
Drawn & Quarterly Showcase Volume 3, by Various Sammy Harkham’s story in this volume, ‘Somersaulting’, is easily one of the best stories of the year. It’s a part of this anthology though, and while the anthology on the whole is quite strong (it’s actually book #22 out of the 21 that made my list) with a beautiful story by Genevieve Castree and an interesting-enough short by Matt Broersma, it just barely didn’t make the cut. Still, ‘Somersaulting’ will almost-certainly contribute to any future collection of Harkham’s short works earning acclaim across the comics industry.
Flight Volume 2, by Various (Published by Image) Project: Superior Volume 1, by Various (Published by Adhouse Books) Robot Volume 1, by Various (Published by Digital Manga Publishing) Shojo Beat, by Various (Published by Viz Media, LLC)
To All The Girls I’ve Loved, Before: Just a shout-out to some great series that I really enjoyed during their respective runs that all ended this year:
GTO, by Fujisawa Tooru: Although it went on too long, it was still consistently funny with a good heart. Planetes, by Makoto Yukimura: A contender for the top of the list, no doubt, but I have to admit that I haven’t finished it yet! Sorry! ^____^;; Promethea, by Alan Moore, JH Williams, Mick Gray, and Jose Villarrubia: A pretty awe-inspiring ending, I gotta say. Way to go out with a bang!
Very Small Type, Everything Else: And just because I’d feel bad if I didn’t, here’s pretty much everything else I read and enjoyed this year:
99 WAYS TO TELL A STORY TP, ACME NOVELTY LIBRARY HC, ACHEWOOD (ONLINE), ALL STAR SUPERMAN, ANTIQUE BAKERY, ANYWHERE BUT HERE, BARON THE CAT RETURNS, BIRTH OF A NATION A COMIC NOVEL, BIZARRO WORLD, BLAME, BLUESMAN VOLUME 1, BONE SHARPS COWBOYS & THUNDER LIZARDS, BOTH, CANTARELLA, CLOUDS ABOVE, COMICS JOURNAL #269, CROMARTIE HIGH SCHOOL, DC THE NEW FRONTIER, DEATH NOTE, DRAMACON, EDEN VOLUME 1, EX MACHINA: THE FIRST HUNDRED DAYS, FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST, GENSHIKEN, I CANT BELIEVE ITS NOT THE JUSTICE LEAGUE, ICE HAVEN, INVINCIBLE ULTIMATE COLLECTION VOLUME 1, LEGEND, LIVEWIRES, ME WRITE BOOK: IT BIGFOOT MEMOIR, MNEMOVORE, NIL, NODAME CANTIABILE, NORTHWEST PASSAGE, OPTIC NERVE #10, OR ELSE #3, PAUL MOVES OUT, PENNY ARCADE (ONLINE), POLLY & THE PIRATES #1-2, POOR SAILOR, PROCESS RECESS ART OF JAMES JEAN, THE QUESTION, RECIDIVIST, RUNAWAYS, SEAGUY, SEVEN SOLDIERS, SKAGGY THE LOST, SOLO: DARWYN COOKE, SOLO: PAUL POPE, STEAMBOY ANI MANGA, SUPER FUCKERS #1-2, TALES DESIGNED TO THRIZZLE #1, TIMES OF BOTCHAN , TOKYO TRIBES VOL 3, and WIMBLEDON GREEN: THE GREATEST COMIC BOOK COLLECTOR IN THE WORLD
-- Feel free to tell me how wrong I am or make fun of me for what I've missed in the comments. - Christopher
So, The Eisner's Huh? Presenting an alternative of sorts
So back on February 17th I finished my "BEST COMICS OF 2005" list. I didn't run it because it was one of several articles that I wrote to 'store up' for the new site. The new site that has, as of yet, not actually happened. So with the Eisner awards announced this past weekend I figure I'm just about out of time to post my picks for 2005. To duplicate the Eisner experience, I will be inserting heckles from an aged drunk man after every award (just kidding).
Just when you think you've had enough of comics, there's a whole new week of them. A big week too, from the looks of things. Considering the number of books debuting at San Diego (note: lots) I imagine the next 4-6 weeks will be filled with super high-profile releases, and at the very least a lot of books I really like...
First up, your Civil War watch:
MAY061942 AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #534 CW 2.99 MAY061955 BLACK PANTHER #18 CW 3.99 MAY061956 BLACK PANTHER TURNER VAR #18 PI MAY061961 CIVIL WAR FRONT LINE #4 (OF 10) 2.99 MAY061963 CIVIL WAR YOUNG AVENGERS & RUNAWAYS #1 (OF 4) 2.99 MAY061994 NEW AVENGERS #22 CW 2.99 MAY062005 WOLVERINE #44 CW 2.99
Civil War fans can look forward to no fewer than 6 crossover books this week! I've been reading more-or-less all of the crossover books and tie-ins (it helps me to be a better salesperson) and the one thing I've noted is how truly inessential most of them are. CIVIL WAR #1-7 is the big event here, and as interesting as Wolverine or Spider-Man or whatever are, does anyone thing for a moment that the big moments, the big 'reveals' are NOT going to happen in the main book? Spider-Man didn't unmask in Amazing Spider-Man #532, he did it in CIVIL WAR #2. Likewise, while Wolverine may be on a quest to hunt down "Nitro" it's pretty obvious that he's going to 'catch' Nitro in the main book, for the simple reason that the collected CIVIL WAR trade paperback limited edition hard cover isn't going to make much sense if he doesn't. That said, I think that both YOUNG AVENGERS and RUNAWAYS are really good series, and I'm genuinely curious to see how the new crossover between the two works out. Hopefully not as 'fluffy' as some of the other titles.
Now, here's the rest of the industry:
MAY063225 30 DAYS OF NIGHT THREE TALES TP 19.99 MAY060155 52 WEEK #12 2.50 MAY060145 ACTION COMICS #841 2.99
MAY061718 AFTERWORKS VOL 2 GN 24.99 The second anthology collection from the artists and animators who comprise E-Ville press. The first volume had a lot of solid, pretty contributions and this is more-or-less guaranteed to continue the trend. I find it really interesting to see artists from other media engage comics as a form. Even if the results aren't always great comics, they usually bring something unique to the table which is valuable. Anthologies like this are the perfect way to sample these talents. Make sure to check this out.
MAY063060 AIR GEAR VOL 1 GN (MR) 10.95 Finally, a book for everyone! If by everyone, I meant underage porn fans. You see, Air Gear is the newest series by manga creator Oh! Great. O!G has done lots and lots of porn, which is readily available here in North America from the fine folks at Eros, but you've gotta be 18 to buy those. Two years ago there WAS a ray of hope for those who appreciated O!Gs remarkable ability to draw voluptuous camel toe when his series Tenjo Tenge was released by DC's CMX imprint. We all know how well THAT worked out. Heavily, heavily censored by DC, art conneseurs had nowhere to go. Thankfully, the fine folks at Del Rey heard fandom's collective prayers and have begun to release Air Gear, which is about sexy babes and this kid who can fight real well vs. gangsters. Raise a glass, to art!
MAY061952 ALL NEW OFF HANDBOOK MARVEL UNIVERSE A TO Z #7 3.99 MAY060216 AMERICAN WAY #6 (OF 8) 2.99 MAY063216 ANGEL SCRIPTBOOK #5 3.99 MAY063214 ANGEL SPOTLIGHT DOYLE ONE SHOT 3.99 MAY061948 ANNIHILATION RONAN #4 (OF 4) 2.99 MAR063124 ARMY OF DARKNESS #9 2.99
APR060270 ASTRO CITY SAMARITAN SPECIAL 3.99 Well, I'm glad this is coming out. Intended as a one-shot to fill the (surprisingly long) gap between the first and second installments of the Astro City: The Dark Ages storyline (the first part of which I quite enjoyed). Here's hoping it lives up to that first, excellent issue of Astro City featuring the same character.
MAY060130 BATMAN #655 2.99 MAY060131 BATMAN VAR EDITION #655 2.99 It's such a fanboy week for me. Grant Morisson's BATMAN. Life is good!
MAR061845 BATTLE POPE COLOR #9 (RES) (MR) 3.50 MAY062967 BIG BANG PRESENTS #1 PROTOPLASMAN 2.95 MAY060157 BIRDS OF PREY #96 2.99 FEB062979 BLACK HARVEST #6 (OF 6) 3.25 APR063023 BLACK PLAGUE ONE SHOT 3.99 MAY060159 BLUE BEETLE #5 2.99
MAY063306 BLUESMAN VOL 3 GN 8.95 Ah, crap. I still haven't read the second volume of this excellent graphic novella series by Rob Vollmar and Pablo G. Callejo. You might remember it from Alan David Doane raving about it, but even if you don't care for Alan's opinions on most things listen to him here. This is a smart, well-illustrated story told about an aspect of American history that's not really a part of the public consciousness. Particularly if you're a music buff as well. I really enjoyed the first part and with part three finishing up the whole thing, I think I'm going to really enjoy sitting and reading this from start to finish.
MAR063202 BUT I LIKE IT HC 24.95 Christ, I never write this much before I even get to "C" do I? But this book in particular desrves your attention; it's the collection of Joe Sacco's art and comic strips on the subject of music (and Rock 'n Roll in particular). A new Joe Sacco collection is worth noting on it's own merits, but I got a chance to see this one at Fantagraphics' booth at the San Diego Comic Con and it's really outstanding. Comprised mostly out of work never before published in English, the reproduction of the stories and their quality are both phenomenal. Also included are tons of Sacco's rock show posters, also little-seen, with commentary on each by the artist. Oh, and there's a CD included too. It's a tough, tough week to pick favourites but this is definitely near the top of the list. At the very least, it's going home with me on Wednesday and if your comic shop was smart enough to order it, make sure it goes home with you too! MAY061965 CAPTAIN AMERICA #20 2.99 MAY062034 CAPTAIN AMERICA RED MENACE VOL 1 TP 11.99 MAY060197 CARTOON NETWORK BLOCK PARTY #23 2.25
MAY061731 CASANOVA #2 (MR) 1.99 So we all kinda thought Matt Fraction and Gabriel Ba's Casanova #2 was arriving last week, and then it turns out it wasn't. And then it turns out, it did. We didn't get our initial order of Casanova #2 last week, but our reorders DID show up. See, after we sold out of the first issue (don't worry, I got some more) I made sure to bump up our order on the second. THOSE copies showed up on Wednesday, and so several of our luckier customers got treated to a bit of a sneak-peek. I'd normally be annoyed at the whole thing, but the book really is excellent and considering how many titles had to get jammed through the printer last week to make it out for Comic-Con a little delay is more than acceptable. This week though, you've got no excuse. Drop the two bucks on a fun, fun series. Particularly recommended for fans of Grant Morrison.
MAY063127 CASTLE WAITING VOL II #1 5.95 If you haven't had a chance to read Linda Medley's Castle Waiting collection yet, then I heartily recommend you do so before picking up the first 64 page issue of her new ongoing series from Fantagraphic. If you have though, I'd recommend maybe not waiting another 10 years for a hardcover and checking out this book which features three whole chapters of the story in one! It's a good price and a really, really great series. I'm kind of shocked that the collection sold so well at Comic-Con though; the book has been getting raves since it was released two months ago. Is it just really poorly stocked in comic stores or something?
MAY063126 CHEWING GUM IN CHURCH A YIKES COLLECTION SC (MR) 14.95 New Steve Weissman!
JUN063158 CLASH VOL 1 TP (C: 0-1-2) 20.95 JUN063722 CLERKS II THE SCREENPLAY TP 12.95 MAY062809 CORPORATE NINJA #3 2.95 MAY060150 CRISIS AFTERMATH THE SPECTRE #3 (OF 3) 2.99 MAY062774 CROMARTIE HIGH SCHOOL MANGA VOL 7 TP 10.95 MAY061968 DAREDEVIL #87 2.99
JUN063296 DEAR JOHN ALEX TOTH DOODLEBOOK TP 19.95 Jeff Parker, who won my heart with The Interman but is probably better-known as the writer of various Marvel Age all-ages books and the upcoming Agents of Atlas mini-series, has compiled a pretty amazing sketchbook collection of Alex Toth art here and released it under his own 'Octopus' imprint. The first posthumous release of Toth material, this is a huge collection of doodles, roughs, behind-the-scenes commentary and actual correspondence between the industry legend and comics retailer John Hitchcock (the 'Dear John' of the title). It's a pretty amazing tribute to Toth, and I think Jeff has done an amazing thing in publishing it. Kudos, sir!
AUG052946 EC PICTO FICTION LIBRARY COMPLETE SET (C: 0-1-2) 150.00 How's that for late? Originally due months before last Christmas, the loooooong-awaited collection of EC's rare Picto-Fiction comics has finally arrived! If I understand my comics history correctly, these comics are a blend of traditional comic art and narrated storyboards (maybe along the lines of what Kyle Baker does with much of his recent work) and published oversized in black-and-white to escape the confines of the Comics Code. They sold terribly at the time and were prematurely cancelled, but this box set includes every issue ever published and another 18 stories that never saw the light of day. I figure anyone interested in this material already knows this collection is due out tomorrow (making this all a waste of typing?) but I still think it's a pretty amazing achievement, and a victory in the fight of trying to preserve comics history.
JUN063301 EVERLASTING NOVEL (MR) 19.95 MAY062001 EXILES #84 2.99 JUN063467 FAMOUS MONSTER MOVIE ART OF BASIL GOGOS HC NEW PTG 39.95 JUN063466 FAMOUS MONSTER MOVIE ART OF BASIL GOGOS SC NEW PTG 24.95 MAY062022 FANTASTIC FOUR BOOKS OF DOOM PREMIERE HC 19.99 APR061786 FEAR AGENT #6 (RES) 2.99 JUN062918 FEVRE DREAM PREVIEW (MR) 0.99 MAY062971 FUTURAMA COMICS #26 2.99 MAY063129 FUZZ & PLUCK IN SPLITSVILLE #4 (OF 5) (MR) 4.95
APR061765 GODLAND #12 2.99 Final senses-shattering issue! I kind of regret not doing a better job promoting the hell out of this series; I think there's definitely a market for this material that it just didn't reach and I hope the creators try for another go-round.
MAY061938 HALO GRAPHIC NOVEL HC (MR) 24.99 We're getting the rest of our Halo Graphic Novels this week... Hmm...
MAY060168 HAWKGIRL #54 2.99
APR060290 HELLBLAZER ALL HIS ENGINES SC (MR) 14.99 To whomever asked last week about DC original hard covers not available in soft, I think I was thinking of both this and the now-out-of-print The Fountain hard cover. I just heard that DC are soliciting a Fountain softcover for this September, though at that point the book will have been out of print for something like 8-10 months? Anyway. I was also thinking about the long, long, long drag between ABC hard covers and soft covers... But I guess with the Promethea 5 trade arriving... eventually... this month, that'll take care of that. MAY063024 HIGHLANDER #0 0.25 FEB063450 HORRORSHOW MAGAZINE #3 (C: 0-1-2) 9.00 NOV053454 HTDM ULTIMATE MANGA LESSONS #5 13.99 DEC053555 HTDM ULTIMATE MANGA LESSONS (C: 0-1-2) 13.99 FEB062799 HYPERACTIVES #3 (OF 5) (NOTE PRICE) 3.50
MAY060227 JACK OF FABLES #1 (MR) 2.99 It's the FABLES spin-off book! I was powerfully, powerfully turned-off by Fables at the outset of the series, but I found myself reading the recent issue #50 and really enjoying it. I'll have to go back and see if the series got better when I wasn't reading or if #50 was just a fluke issue. Anyway, I'll definitely give the first issue of this new series a go. MAY062978 JEREMIAH HARM #4 3.99 MAY060171 JLA CLASSIFIED #25 2.99 MAY062905 JORDI BERNETS THE BEST OF CLARA HC (MR) (C: 0-1-2) 24.95 MAY060175 JSA CLASSIFIED #14 2.99 MAY062881 JUGHEAD #175 2.25 MAY063514 JUXTAPOZ AUG 2006 VOL 14 #8 (C: 0-1-2) 4.99 APR060263 KAMIKAZE KAITO JEANNE VOL 4 (C: 1-0-0) 9.99 APR063100 KILLER 7 CVR A #4 (MR) 2.95
APR063365 KINGDOM HEARTS VOL 4 GN (OF 4) 5.99 This has been our best-selling manga of the year. I imagine it will only sell better with time, too.
JUN062777 LITTLE SNOW FAIRY SUGAR MANGA VOL 1 TP 9.99
MAR063341 LOVE AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE OMNIBUS VOL 1 TP (MR) 11.95 Collecting the first three sold-out Love as a Foreign Language stories in one volume. MAY060238 LOVELESS #9 (MR) 2.99 APR060293 LUCIFER VOL 10 MORNINGSTAR TP (MR) 14.99 APR063277 LUCIFERS GARDEN OF VERSES VOL 4 THE DEVIL & MILES 15.95 APR062865 LULLABY #4 (RES) 3.50 MAY062018 MARVEL MASTERWORKS CAPTAIN AMERICA VOL 3 NEW ED HC 49.99 MAY061987 MARVEL SPOTLIGHT ROBERT KIRKMAN GREG LAND 2.99 APR063155 MEAT CAKE #15 (MR) 3.95
APR060056 MUSEUM OF TERROR VOL 1 TP (MR) 13.95 Replacing the old ComicsOne editions of mangaka Junji Ito's horror classics. First up, it's TOMIE VOLUME 1. Here's hoping the extra four bucks on the price tag means a considerably better job done on the printing than the ComicsOne edition... Though I do have hope because the cover is already much better. APR063306 NANCY DREW VOL 6 MR CHEETERS IS MISSING GN 7.95 APR063307 NANCY DREW VOL 6 MR CHEETERS IS MISSING HC 12.95 Oh noes!
MAR060391 NEIL GAIMANS NEVERWHERE #8 (OF 9) (MR) 2.99 MAY062027 NEW EXCALIBUR VOL 1 DEFENDERS OF THE REALM TP 17.99 MAY063517 NEWTYPE ENG ED W/ DVD AUG 2006 #104 12.98 JUN062783 NGE ANGELIC DAYS MANGA VOL 2 TP 9.99 MAY060136 NIGHTWING #122 2.99 MAY063572 ONE MANDY MORNING SC (MR) (C: 0-1-1) 15.00 MAY060018 PATHFINDER TP (C: 0-1-2) 19.95
MAY063338 POLLY & PIRATES VOL 1 TP (MR) 11.95 Oo! Buy this. A young girl becomes the dastardliest Pirate you ever saw. Ted Naifeh has taken elements of his fantastic kid-goth title Courtney Crumrin and set them to sea with excellent results. Strong, determined heroines and stories that don't pull punches are the hallmarks of Naifeh's creator-owned work, and I love them for it. Collects the six-issue mini-series. FEB062066 POWERS #19 (MR) 2.95 JUN060001 PREVIEWS VOL XVI #8 (NET) 4.50 MAY063586 PRIVATE WARS A QUEEN & COUNTRY MMPB (C: 0-1-2) 6.99 MAY063097 PS238 #17 2.99 APR063067 RED SONJA #12 2.99 JUN061749 REVVED #1 2.99 MAY063200 ROAD TO HELL #1 (OF 3) 3.99 MAY061743 ROCKETO #10 3.99 APR063497 ROUGH STUFF #1 6.95
JUN061682 SAVAGE DRAGON #0 1.95 The secret origin of Savage Dragon! It turns out he's kind of a dick!
JUN063365 SHARK-MAN #1 3.99 DEC041542 SHE DRAGON #1 5.99 MAY061741 SIDEKICK #2 (OF 5) 3.50 MAY063235 SILENT HILL DEAD/ALIVE TP 19.99 MAY062973 SIMPSONS CLASSICS #9 3.99 MAY062885 SONIC X #11 2.25 MAR061864 SPAWN #158 2.95 MAY061946 SPIDER-MAN LOVES MARY JANE #8 2.99 MAY063218 SPIKE TP 19.99 MAR063274 SPIKE VS DRACULA #4 (OF 5) 3.99 APR060062 STAR WARS CLONE WARS VOL 9 TP (C: 1-1-2) 17.95 MAY060043 STAR WARS KNIGHTS OF THE OLD REPUBLIC #7 (C: 1-0-0 2.99 MAY062004 STORM #6 (OF 6) 2.99 APR062827 STRANGERS IN PARADISE #83 2.95 APR060026 SUDDEN GRAVITY TP (JAN068145) (C: 0-1-2) 10.95 MAY060146 SUPERGIRL #8 (RES) 2.99 APR063018 TALES OF BLOODY MARY #8 (OF 8) 2.95 MAY063289 TALES OF LEONARDO BLIND SIGHT #2 (OF 4) 3.25 MAY062984 TAROT WITCH OF THE BLACK ROSE #39 (MR) 2.95 MAY060195 TEEN TITANS GO #33 2.25 APR060238 TEEN TITANS VOL 5 LIFE AND DEATH TP 14.99 APR060269 TENRYU THE DRAGON CYCLE VOL 6 (C: 1-0-0) 9.99
APR060296 TESTAMENT AKEDAH TP (MR) 9.99 The trade paperback collection of Douglas Rushkoff's controversial series for Vertigo. Cheap, too.
APR063746 THE ART OF YOSHIAKA AMANO ONMYOJI 59.99 MAY063208 TRANSFORMERS GENERATIONS (IDW) #5 2.49 FEB060083 TRIGUN MAXIMUM VOL 9 TP (C: 1-1-2) 9.95 MAY063155 UNCLE SCROOGE #356 6.95 MAY063159 WALT DISNEY TREASURES VOL 1 75 YEARS OF DISNEY COM 12.99 MAY063156 WALT DISNEYS COMICS & STORIES #671 6.95 MAY060185 WARLORD #6 2.99 JUN062750 WIZARD COMICS MAGAZINE FANTASTIC FOUR 2 CVR #179 ( 5.99 JUN062751 WIZARD COMICS MAGAZINE SPIDER-MAN EXPOSED CIVIL WA 5.99
APR060241 WONDER WOMAN MISSIONS END TP 19.99 Speaking of which, there's no issue of Wonder Woman scheduled for this month. According to the DC website, the second issue has been pushed back to August. Then they've scheduled two issues two weeks apart in September and October, which I don't think is going to work either. I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for an 'official' announcement from DC that the Wonder Woman comic has gone bi-monthly (have they said anything at all about All Star Batman?) but I also wouldn't count on a schedule any tighter than that, particularly as the new series writer let it slip that her arc would be starting in March... giving 8 months for 4-5 issues to ship. Here's hoping that was a flub too, eh?
MAY063032 XENA #1 3.50 MAY063033 XENA TAN SKETCH CVR #1 3.50 Hah! Holy shit, I forgot all about this. At least we'll have something to fill the WW gap, huh? :) MAY062011 X-MEN #189 2.99
Just saw this PR and it's due out in this Wednesday's PREVIEWS catalogue but I figured I'd give it a bit of a boost. The first two books in this series, Project: Telstar and Project: Superior were both very good indeed, so this one seems like a no-brainer. Lots of links about this project after the PR:
Project: Romantic An Anthology dedicated to love and love stuff by various published by AdHouse Books
The trilogy is complete. With Project: Romantic, AdHouse Books follows up their smash hits of Superior and Telstar with a book about love... and love stuff. Including work from new-comers and seasoned pros, Romantic is a cornucopia of technique, philosophy and love. A partial list of contributors include: Big Time Attic, Randall Christopher, Joshua Cotter, Nick Craine, Brian Flynn, Doug Fraser, Jose Garibaldi, Debbie Huey, Damien Jay, Hope Larson, Mike Laughead, Adam McGovern/Paolo Leandri, Junko Mizuno, Scott Morse, Roger Peterson, Chris Pitzer, Joel Priddy, Paul Rivoche, Jim Rugg, Alberto Ruiz, Maris Wicks and many MORE!
Project: Romantic 2C wrap-around cover by Maris Wicks 256 4C pages 6" x 9" softcover $19.95 US funds ISBN 0-9770304-2-3 Shipping the fall of 2006 Diamond order #: AUG06 2903
Also, look for the hard cover edition with a wrap-around cover by Jim Rugg (shown, left) which retails for $60.
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For more on this great project check out these links:
Saturday Night's all right It's 5am in my native time zone
So today at the show they ran out of badges, according to one source inside the CCI organization, at around noon. When this happened, there was a line stretched alllll the way around the side of the building itself, which I imagine resulted in some very angry people. That said, there was none of the widespread confusion and screaming that marked the New York Comic Con this past February, and speaking as a 'furrin-r' I can't tell if it's because everyone is just nicer in California.
I spent much of the day in a spectacularly good mood.
I got to meet Yoshihiro Tatsumi, author of The Push Man and Abandon The Old In Tokyo today. I also got to meet Yoshitaka Amano of... projects too numerous to mention. We exchanged business cards, it was great. It was one of those 'never in my lifetime' moments that was actually fulfilled, and so I walked the convention centre with a smile on my face and a skip in my step that was probably annoying after a point. :) I also got to meet-and-greet with Gene Yang of American Born Chinese and tossed back drinks with R. Stevens, Jeff Rowland, and the rest of the Dumbrella crew (including a guest appearance by Tycho who, I'm sorry to say, is much nicer than you might expect). It was a great day.
I'm kind of sad that tomorrow is the last day; I think there's still a lot I'd like to accomplish. Of course, I set out on the show not knowing what I was supposed to accomplish so I'd have to say it's going really well, on the whole.
I will say this though: TCAF is going to be AWESOME next year...
- I think the blogging panel went well, sort of. We all talked a lot anyway and everyone laughed at all of my jokes which is all I really want out of any public speaking engagement. I think that everyone thinks I'm crazy.
- I feel pretty good in general, and am smiling and not manic or crazy like usual at this show. I'm usually selling things to people non-stop for five days. Many San Diego-goers, people I even know online, only know me from trying to sell them stuff. I ran into Abhay today and in the context of a discussion about this, he mentioned that he has what he calls "The Chris Butcher Memorial Shelf", full of books that I made him buy when he walked within 5 feet of the Drawn & QUarterly booth a few times over the years. Now? I just wander around and shake hands. It's a nice change. Though I did end up selling about $60 worth of books at the D&Q booth and another $50 or so at the First Second booth while I was standing around talking to people... Maybe I should go buy NBM tomorrow and see how many copies of Ordinary Victories I can move in an hour.
- At this moment though, I don't feel well. I just got back from The Big Gay Dinner and the food and company were excellent. The resaurant had the music cranked up to 11 though, and I think it made me ill. My head and stomach kind of hurt from loud music, which I guess makes me old but I still say I shouldn't need to shout across the dinner table, old or not. Still, the marinated chicken shish kabob is to die for.
- There's no buzz at the convention. That part of it is a little wierd, and it's sending every comics journalist running around frantically, trying to figure out what the 'big news' is. I submitted to Ian Brill that there's no 'big story', and rather than try to sum the whole thing up, journalists oughtta do what the con is doing and compartmentalize their coverage, talking about the relatively big announcements in each category and just doing good stories Without worrying about the big picture. Either that or hold out for a huge catastrophe tomorrow...
- I'm still not feeling well so I think I'm going to stay in for the evening, skip the Hyatt bar and risk pissing everyone off whom I said that I would meet there. Off to curl up with the day's purchases...
...oh, and if you're reading this before coming to the show, you need to pick up Kramer's Ergot 6, the new issue of Comic Art magazine, D&Q Showcase 4, Tatsumi's new book at D&Q (and get it signed!!!!!), and take advantage of the amazing deal over at First Second. It's pretty amazing.
Over at the Prism Comics website they've put up the signing schedule for the Prism Comics Booth at the San Diego Comic Con. The big highlight of focussed booths like this is that you get to meet with creators who don't have a 'table' at the show. Sure, Chip Kiddand Jose Vilarrubia are attending professionals, but where else are you going to get a chance to have a conversation with them (actually Jose usually hangs out with the Top Shelf folks...).
The Beguiling will be selling Original Art at Comic-Con Yeah, this is a little last-minute but then there you go... http://www.beguiling.com
Looking for original art at Comic-Con in San Diego? The Beguiling Books & Art, Canada’s finest comics and graphic novel retailer will be attending the San Diego Comic Con this week, representing the original art sales of over two dozen of the best art-comix and alternative cartoonists. Operating from the Drawn & Quarterly booth, booth #1529 in Hall C, The Beguiling will have a massive selection of comic art and illustration on-hand from comics luminaries including Seth, Paul Pope, Kevin Huizenga, Chester Brown, Anders Nilsen, Jessica Abel, Jason, David Heatley, Farel Dalrymple, Kim Deitch, Becky Cloonan, and many more!
If you've ever wanted to purchase art from The Beguiling but wanted to save the shipping charges, now's your chance to do it! But if you're not going to be in San Diego and want to purchase fantastic art 24/7, visit our online art store at http://www.beguiling.com/artstore1a.asp.
Hope to see you at The Drawn & Quarterly booth, #1529, in Hall C this weekend!
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The complete list of artists represented by The Beguiling at San Diego Comic Con International is:
Jessica Abel, Ho Che Anderson, Chester Brown, Jeffrey Brown, Jeffrey Brown & James Kochalka, Genevieve Castree, Scott Chantler, Becky Cloonan, Dave Cooper, Farel Dalrymple, Kim Deitch, Julie Doucet, Phoebe Gloeckner, Tomer Hanuka, Sammy Harkham, David Heatley, Paul Hornschemeier, Kevin Huizenga, Christopher Hutsul, Jason, Jason Lutes, Matt Madden, Kagan McLeod, Anders Nilsen, Paul Pope, Brian Ralph, Ron Rege Jr., Graham Roumieu, Sean Scoffield, Jay Stephens, James Sturm, Peter Thompson, Maurice Vellekoop, and Chip Zdarsky.
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So, yeah. That's along the lines of what I'll be doing at the show, and where it will be easiest to find me. Please feel free to spread this PR far-and-wide...!
I've updated my 'what's gay about comic-con' blog post with a ton of new information and links to two important documents; Prism Comics' official plans for Comic-Con and The Gay Agenda. Go check it out.
In other San Diego news, Tom's last SDCC link-list update features a blissfully-happy picture of my boss Peter Birkemoe , me (eyes downcast), and Scholastic's Scott Robins. I think that was on day five from last year or two years ago, and we're all giddy with exhaustion. Still, what a lovely picture.
It's the shipping list! How about that? It looks to be a big one this week, with Civil War #3, Eternals #2, the HALO graphic novel, JLA #0, a bunch of tie-ins and the last mad-dash for new books to arrive in comic shops on or around the same time they debut in San Diego. I hope you've got deep, deep pockets.
Speaking of which, I will be in San Diego for the big show from Thursday to Sunday, and on the blogging panel on Friday. In previous years when people 'recognized' me from the blog it kind of freaked me out. I've gotten much better at being internet-famous though, so if you see me please feel free to say hi.
Now, comics!
MAY061717 24 SEVEN GN 24.99 For reinvigorating the concept of comics anthologoies books like 24 Seven and Afterworks (also shipping this week) owe the Flight crew a huge debt of gratitude. You didn't really see anthologies like this 3 or 4 years ago. Full colour, loosely-themed, drawing on not only comics creators but also creative people working in and around film and animation to tell their own stories. With contributions from some of my favourite artists including Becky Cloonan, Farel Dalrymple, and Jim Rugg (among many others!), and a concept of "robots doing robot things", I'm pretty-much sold on this one.
MAY060154 52 WEEK #11 2.50 MAY061719 AFTERWORKS VOL 1 GN 17.99 FEB068060 AFTERWORKS VOL 1 GN (PP #710) 17.99 MAY063124 ALPHABETICAL BALLAD OF CARNALITY A BLAB STORYBOOK 14.95 MAY061951 ANNIHILATION NOVA #4 (OF 4) 2.99 MAY061729 ANT #7 (RES) 2.99 MAR063246 ANTHEM #3 3.25 APR060205 AQUAMAN SWORD OF ATLANTIS #43 2.99 MAY062875 ARCHIE & FRIENDS #102 2.25
JUL053054 ATOMIKA VOL 1 TP 19.99 Huh. July '05.
APR062849 AYA #2 2.95 MAY063499 BACK ISSUE #17 6.95 MAY061794 BEARERS O/T BLADE SP 2.99 APR060054 BERSERK VOL 12 TP (MR) 13.95 MAY060230 BITE CLUB VAMPIRE CRIME UNIT #4 (OF 5) (MR) 2.99 MAY060036 BLADE OF THE IMMORTAL #115 (MR) (C: 1-0-0) 2.99 MAY062000 CABLE DEADPOOL #30 CW 2.99 MAY063590 CARL BARKS AND THE DISNEY COMIC BOOK SC (C: 0-1-2) 20.00 MAY063151 CARL BARKS GREATEST DUCKTALES STORIES VOL 2 TP 10.95
Casanova #2? This book is in the Image Preview Package from last week, and for whatever reason it's not actually shipping this Wedneday. So, sorry if I got anyone's hopes up!
APR063451 CASE CLOSED VOL 12 GN (C: 1-0-0) 9.95 MAY060134 CATWOMAN #57 2.99 MAY060160 CHECKMATE #4 2.99
MAY068096 AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2ND PTG #532 CW (PP #723) 2.99 MAY061957 CIVIL WAR #3 (OF 7) 2.99 APR068200 CIVIL WAR 1 FOR 75 TURNER SKETCH VAR #3 (OF 7) (NE PI APR068244 CIVIL WAR MCGUINESS VAR LIMIT 25 #3 Of(7) (Net) PI MAY061958 CIVIL WAR TURNER VAR #3 Of(7) PI MAY061962 CIVIL WAR X-MEN #1 (OF 4) 2.99 MAY061959 DAILY BUGLE CIVIL WAR NEWSPAPER SPECIAL CW (NET) PI MAY068089 NEW AVENGERS ILLUMINATI SPECIAL 2ND PTG (PP #723) 3.99 MAY068090 SHE-HULK 2 2ND PTG #8 CW (PP #723) 2.99 MAY068091 THUNDERBOLTS 2ND PTG #103 CW (PP #723) 2.99 MAY068092 WOLVERINE 2ND PTG #42 CW (PP #723) 2.99 MAY062009 X-FACTOR #9 CW 2.99
Civil War! CIVIL WAR! CIVIL WAR!
MAY060218 CLAW THE UNCONQUERED #2 2.99 MAY063509 COMICS BUYERS GUIDE OCT 2006 #1621 5.99 MAY062757 COMICS JAM WAR ONE SHOT 6.99
MAY063128 COMICS JOURNAL #277 (NOTE PRICE) 12.95 It's the 30th anniversary of The Comics Journal, and judging by the description on the website this one looks to really good. An appreciation of Alex Toth by Chaykin, lots of interviews with both creators and editors/publishers, and a history of the direct market. This will make for fine reading on the plane to San Diego.
MAY060014 CONAN #30 (MR) 2.99 MAY060151 CRISIS AFTERMATH THE BATTLE FOR BLUDHAVEN #6 (OF 6 2.99 APR062026 DAUGHTERS OF THE DRAGON #6 (OF 6) 2.99 MAY062810 DEAD EYES OPEN #5 2.95 MAY063152 DONALD DUCK AND FRIENDS #342 2.95 MAY063281 DONE TO DEATH #1 (MR) 3.50 MAY062842 EIKEN VOL 5 GN (MR) 9.99
MAY061710 ELEPHANTMEN #1 2.99 I think I screwed up on ordering this one. Elephantmen features a cover by the amazing Jose Ladronn, and is set in the same universe as the Hip Flask characters. What I didn't seem to notice is that the interior art comes from someone named Moritat. I just checked out the preview over at the Comicraft website and the story actually looks pretty decent. Well-drawn in a Euro-sci-fi sort of a style. But it isn't Ladronn, and it's being released on the same week as all of the biggest-selling books in the comics industry. Any time anyone says a glut of product like this doesn't take its toll on the sales of 'back of the catalogue' books, you kick'em right in the balls for me, okay? Me and Richard Starkings.
MAY061966 ETERNALS #2 (OF 6) 3.99 MAY061967 ETERNALS ROMITA JR VAR #2 Of(6) 3.99 I didn't mind the first issue of this at all. That said, I'm hoping the second issue is much, much stronger. Particularly considering it's only a six-parter, I'd figure a hell of a lot more would have happened. The individual conversations were very strong though, dialogue and character interaction are two of Gaiman's strong suits. For the Sersi scene alone it was worth my time.
MAY062028 EXCALIBUR CLASSIC VOL 2 TWO EDGED SWORD TP 24.99 MAY060161 FLASH THE FASTEST MAN ALIVE #2 2.99 MAY061943 FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD SPIDER-MAN #10 2.99 MAY063077 GI JOE AMERICAS ELITE BLAKE CVR B #13 5.95 MAY061734 GIRLS #15 (MR) 2.99 APR062913 GOLD DIGGER VOL 5 PERFECT MEMORY 4.99
MAR063291 GRANDE FINALE SC 50.00 Man, you know what I would do to make money? I'd release three artbooks by Ashley Wood, and not reprint them when they sold out. They'd be slim, like a 90 pages each, but way more expensive than you'd expect to pay for a 90 page book. Then I'd release a half-size hardcover collecting all three for even more than it would've cost to buy them separately. Then, two years later I'd re-release it, but at full size this time, AND I'd add some more art to it, like 20 pages or so. Then I'd laugh and collect cheques, all the while insisting that I wasn't forcing anybody to buy anything.
MAY063492 GUMBY #1 (C: 0-0-2) 3.99 This, on the other hand, is only $4, is written by The Flaming Carrot's Bob Burden, and comes with a free Gumby toy.
MAY061938 HALO GRAPHIC NOVEL HC (MR) 24.99 So this is out this week, except it's been hit with MASSIVE allocations in North America. What this means is that at our store, we ordered about 25 hard covers and we're getting 16 of them. I'll be honest thought: I over-ordered this one because I figured other stores would under-order it. It's a $25 hard cover and most comic store owners don't play "The Video Games" so I figured it would be easy money. However, under-ordering coupled with a week-of shortage means that almost no one is going to have copies.
Also, and I hate to do this, but there's lots of other issues up in the air with this graphic novel that I, certainly, am not going to discuss in a private forum. But if he updates it, make sure to look for Rich's rumour column at CBR this week to see if he says more than I can. It should be interesting.
Oh, and if you want a HALO graphic novel? It's in your best interests to hit the comic store first thing Wednesday morning.
MAY062013 HAUNT OF HORROR EDGAR ALLAN POE #3 (OF 3) (MR) 3.99 MAY060236 HELLBLAZER #222 (MR) 2.99 APR063422 HOW TO CREATE COMICS FROM SCRIPT TO PRINT TP 13.95
MAY063284 HUNGER VOL 1 TP (RES) (MR) 18.95 Containing the first four issues of the former Speakeasy Comics series, as well as the rest of the series that never saw print. Sort of a kick-in-the-teeth, considering I as a retailer have still got deep quantities of all of the released issues of this series. Probably not as deep as Speakeasy though...
APR063454 INU YASHA VOL 26 TP (C: 1-0-0) 8.95 MAY060169 ION #4 (OF 12) 2.99 MAY062020 IRON MAN EXTREMIS PREMIERE HC 19.99 MAY062015 JACK KIRBYS GALACTIC BOUNTY HUNTERS #1 3.99 APR062851 JALILA #2 2.95 MAY068038 JUSTICE 3RD PTG #5 (OF 12) 3.50
MAY060172 JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #0 2.99 MAY060173 JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA VAR EDITION #0 2.99 You know what I really loved? The last JLA #1. I was never a big DC fan growing up, well not of the actual comics anyway. The concepts always seemed stronger to me and I had fun drawing the characters, but yeah. I don't think I own any DC superhero comics prior to Morrison & Porter's JLA #1. But man did I enjoy that issue, that arc, that whole series. It's a little shocking to me to see what the book turned into after that, both immediately following Morrison on Mark Waid's mis-cast attempt at doing The Authority without the benefit of analogues, and in the long, boring stretches of wrongheadedness that finally, mercifully, killed the book. I don't really believe that this is going to be any good at all, but it would be difficult to imagine it being worse than the last 5 years of the previous run, that's for sure. Still, I'm curious to see how it'll do, whether it'll resonate with the same urgency and life as the last relaunch of this series or... not.
DEC052957 LOST SQUAD #5 (OF 6) 2.95 MAY060201 MAD MAGAZINE #468 3.99 MAY060142 MAN-BAT #4 (OF 5) 2.99 NOV053455 MANGA WITHOUT BORDERS TP (C: 0-1-2) 14.99 MAY060179 MANHUNTER #24 2.99 APR063455 MAR VOL 8 GN (C: 1-0-0) 7.99 MAY061979 MARVEL ADVENTURES AVENGERS #3 2.99 MAY061989 MARVEL WESTERNS WESTERN LEGENDS 3.99 MAY063154 MICKEY MOUSE AND FRIENDS #291 2.95 MAY063444 MODERN MASTERS VOL 8 WALT SIMONSON SC (C: 0-1-2) 14.95 MAY062873 MOUSE GUARD 3RD PRTG #1 (OF 6) 3.50 MAY063272 MUTATION BEAVERS CVR A #1 3.50 MAY063273 MUTATION ESPINOSA CVR B #1 3.50 MAY062002 NEW X-MEN #28 2.99 MAY062812 NEXT EXIT #9 2.95 MAY063274 OF BITTER SOULS BREYFOGLE CVR A #1 3.50 APR063309 OUT OF PICTURE TP (C: 0-1-2) 25.00 MAY061975 PLANET HULK GLADIATOR GUIDEBOOK 3.99 MAY060198 PRINCESS NATASHA #2 (OF 4) 2.25
MAY062831 PUBLIC ENEMY #1 3.99 I'm so happy that this is a comic, you don't even know.
APR062852 RAKAN #2 2.95 MAY063366 RAVENSKULL VOL 1 GN (C: 0-1-2) 10.99 APR063457 READ OR DIE VOL 3 GN (C: 1-0-0) 9.99 APR060260 RECIPE FOR GERTRUDE VOL 1 (C: 1-0-0) 9.99 APR061779 RED DIARIES TP 16.95 JUN062867 RED STAR SWORD OF LIES 4.50
DEC053315 RIVAL SCHOOLS #2 REY COVER A 4.95 DEC053316 RIVAL SCHOOLS #2 SVEN COVER B 4.95 Wow, this is really late! I doubt anyone will care though, as Corey (SHARKNIFE) Lewis has agot a built-in audience with this one, and the release schedule of the Street Fighter books has never been the most... timely... thing. I thought the first issue was a lot of fun though...
MAY060135 ROBIN #152 2.99
MAY061996 RUNAWAYS #18 2.99 Someone totally dies! I hope it's the dinosaur.
JUN060211 RUSH CITY #1 (OF 6) 2.99 If you're buying this, then you're paying someone to advertise at you. This shit should be free. It should be stapled into other comics that you're buying and you should flip past it, annoyed as the advertising interferes with the actual story.
APR060283 SLOTH HC (MR) 19.99 It's worth noting that not all Vertigo/DC hard covers actually make it to softcover, and none of Gilbert Hernandez' other work for Vertigo has seen collection at all.
That said, this sounds like a really interesting book:
"Troubled teenager Miguel Serra becomes a walking urban legend after he wills himself into a coma and wakes up one year later virtually unchanged — except for his sloth-like pace. Discover how a haunted lemon orchard, a mysterious goatman and murder collide as Miguel, his girlfriend Lita and their friend Romeo take on the teenage wasteland of suburbia."
MAY063147 SPRINGHEELED JACK NEW PTG #1 (OF 3) (MR) 3.95 MAY060046 STAR WARS REBELLION #4 (C: 1-0-0) 2.99 MAY063285 STARSHIP TROOPERS BLAZE OF GLORY TP 14.95 MAY062814 STRANGE EGGS PRESENTS BOXING BUCKET 3.95 MAY060183 SUPERGIRL AND THE LEGION OF SUPER HEROES #20 2.99 MAY060148 SUPERMAN BATMAN #28 2.99 APR060192 SUPERMAN BATMAN VOL 4 VENGEANCE HC 19.99 APR060268 SWAN VOL 7 (C: 1-0-0) 9.99 APR060254 TEEN TITANS GO VOL 4 READY FOR ACTION TP 6.99 MAY060241 TESTAMENT #8 (MR) 2.99 MAY063202 TRANSFORMERS STORMBRINGER #1 (OF 4) 2.99 MAY062747 TWISTED TOYFARE THEATRE VOL 7 TP (C: 0-1-2) 12.99 MAY062023 ULTIMATE FANTASTIC FOUR VOL 2 HC 29.99 MAY061941 ULTIMATE X-MEN #72 2.99 MAY062008 UNCANNY X-MEN #476 2.99
MAY060188 UNCLE SAM AND THE FREEDOM FIGHTERS #1 (OF 8) 2.99 Daniel Arcuna is the artist responsbile for many of the slick-looking covers to the various INFINITE CRISIS tie-ins over the past few months. With this series he takes over doing the interiors as well, and I gotta say if you liked his cover art you're going to love this. Beautiful, slick art that raises up ridiculous superheroics in exactly the same way as Alex Ross. Don't miss out.
MAR063168 YOSHITOSHI ABES LAIN GN 24.95 MAR063169 YOSHITOSHI ABES LAIN SP ED SLIPCASE HC (C: 0-1-2) 39.95 I'm a big fan of Yoshitoshi ABe, and this book seems to collect everything from the (very expensive) Japanese 'omnipresence in the wired' LAIN art book, as well as additional art, a how-to-section, and new stuff created for this volume. Probably worth the $25 for anime or illustration fans.
Something to do in Toronto on Saturday Night In case, you know, you had no plans or whatever...
Hi everyone! A friend of mine is having a fundraiser tomorrow, in support of an art exhibition he wants to do in the fall. He's a talented artist though he's got nothing to do with comics -- his party is likely to be attended by attractive arty types of your prefered gender with something to talk about other than comics or publishing. Score!
Funraiser! @ Canadian Corps Association Inc. Headquarters 201 Niagara Street, at King Street Saturday July 15, 2006. Starts at 9pm $5.00 - E-mail unfitsurvival@gmail.com for info.
In one of Heidi MacDonald's more defensive recent posts, she put forth the idea that her employer Publisher's Weekly's PWComics Week publication was treated more harshly than it warranted, and perhaps more so than it deserved. My response was that when you're at the top, people expect more out of you. That seems pretty reasonable, right? Most of the people linking the brouhaha certainly thought so, and I stand by it. In that spirit, I bring you a link.
"As the medium of comics grows both in content and in the marketplace, so does the ideas on what comics can be." - Chris Arrant, Newsarama
With that grammatically incorrect sentence begins a pretty not-great article at Newsarama on the Ignatz publishing line. It's worth noting that I was contacted to participate in this article (and made the final cut) and that Chris Arrant and I have communicated before now. Also? This post I am writing will likely piss him off (not my intent, sorry if that's the case Chris), but equal time for Newsarama here because this was really badly put together.
I think the biggest failing, aside from the numerous typos and grammatically incorrect bits is again, the wasted potential. The article appears to have a new interview with Ignatz publishing head Igort, and yet the questions asked are really basic. Nothing on how artists are chosen to participate in the line, for example, which I think is a pretty major part of an interview that talks about artistic freedom and things like that. Nothing on the sales success of the line, print runs, how the books compare between various countries and publishers, or the previous/other works by any of the artists mentioned (save Gilbert Hernandez). Worse still, more than 10 different Ignatz titles are mentioned, but they don't reference one of the books that they use art from at all (Gipi's The Innocents).
It reads like it hasn't been edited either. Why do I get the feeling that no young web journalists show their work to anyone else before it goes live? Mal was on his deathbed last week and I still made him read my Vampire Loves review before it went live. Anyway, I feel that even the author having read this piece out loud to himself would have resulted in a much stronger piece, if for no other reason than to remove some of the 'clever' writing bits that don't really work and to fix some of the grammar. I hereby volunteer to proofread anything sent to me (unless I don't have time).
Also, my quote at the end just makes no sense in the context of where it's placed, or considering some of the other assertions that the author puts forward. The author writing "The books are available to bookstores if they want them!" and me saying "We have books that bookstores don't have!" is fine if you want to make me look like an asshole (note: Not Hard), but it also makes your piece a little schizophrenic... It's nice to be given the last word, but I didn't really deserve it in this piece as my commentary just isn't that insightful.
The biggest single gaffe? That the writer didn't have any idea the first Ignatz book to be published in North America was from Drawn & Quarterly. Granted, Greg McElhatton is a talented (and handsome) fella, but he shouldn't have to correct you on one of the most basic elements of your story in the Newsarama comments section. Also, that lack of knowledge and hastily-inserted correction leads to the biggest unanswered question of the piece; Why did the line start off at Drawn & Quarterly and move to Fantagraphics? I'd be hard-pressed to read that article and not come away with that question, and not only is it not asked, it's not addressed at all.
The style is also... bad. Picking apart writing style is harder to do (and more personal) than pointing out obvious errors, but this article is not written in the same 'voice' as the rest of the website is, which is a real problem. I think I've talked about the voice of group blogs before, multi-contributor websites (just like magazines, newspapers, etc.) are the same thing. The voice of this article is stiff and awkward, and the information isn't unveiled in a pleasing or natural way. More importantly, Newsarama is fanboy central, and the articles there either take on a by-the-book journalistic style (information rolled out in a most-important/interesting to least-important/interesting manner), or are reworked HYPE where everyone is very excited about the relaunch of Spider-Girl! Is the style of this article really of interest to the typical Newsarama reader?
Example: The Ignatz line got any attention at all from superhero/pop-culture news sites because Heidi MacDonald was raving about Kevin Huizenga's Ganges on her blog (and The Engine) a few months back, which puts the work in a context that Heidi's readers get. Heidi using excited superlatives to recommend a book in the context of a blog full of excited superlatives=speaking a language those readers understand.
I normally don't care about Newsarama's coverage of anything beyond "I wonder if they posted my PR?", but this is a subject that I have a great deal of interest in, oh, and I participated in the article. Maybe this makes me undesirable as an interview subject, but I kind of want the articles I'm quoted in to be good reads, you know? And I know Chris Arrant wants to be doing good, solid coverage of the kind of books, lines, and creators that Newsarama could normally not give a shit about, and this ain't it.
So, yeah, genuinely disappointing article and a missed opportunity to spark some interest in the line I think.
- Christopher PS: Two or three people have told me today that it's really no big deal, and what do you expect from that site anyway? Which almost convinced me not to post. Almost. But what's the point in whining about standards if they're not going to be evenly applied?
That's a stack of all the new first-issues, one-shots, or 'creative relaunches' that came out this week.
Not including original graphic novels.
Not include trade paperbacks.
Not including manga.
I counted 16 of them on the rack this week, 16 brand new creative teams fighting for the same dollars that pony up to the new comics 'trough' every week. Just for the record, they are:
APR061764 CRYPTICS #1 3.50 MAY060011 ESCAPISTS #1 (OF 6) 1.00 MAR063365 FURRY NINJA HIGH SCHOOL QUAGVILLE ONE SHOT 4.99 MAY061973 GHOST RIDER #1 2.99 MAY061797 INNOCENTS #1 2.99 MAY060219 MAN CALLED KEV #1 (OF 5) (MR) 2.99 MAY060177 NEXT #1 (OF 6) 2.99 MAY063295 NIGHT DRIVER TEASER EDITION 0.99 APR062862 REVERE #1 (OF 4) 3.50 MAY060226 ROKKIN #1 2.99 MAY060022 SCARLET TRACES THE GREAT GAME #1 (OF 4) (RES) 2.99 MAY063455 SNAKEWOMAN #1 2.99 MAY060144 SUPERMAN #654 2.99 MAY061716 TASK FORCE ONE #1 (MR) 3.50 MAY063335 WASTELAND #1 (MR) 2.99 MAY062010 X-MEN #188 2.99
At the top of the heap, the books most likely to be picked up by their intended audiences are X-Men, Superman, Escapists, A Man Called Kev, and Furry Ninja High School (never underestimate the Furry Ninja High School). These are relaunches with established fanbases and a good deal of 'press'. These books are, more or less, safe. Escapists in particular is doing very well, but then Brian K. Vaughn books do well at our store anyway, and it's only a buck.
After that it's the front-of-the-catalogue launches. Ghost Rider from Marvel, because that book is a cancellation magnet and Daniel Way is anything but a safe bet. Image has three new series this week, Steve Niles' Cryptics, and Task Force One and The Innocents. DC has a historically risky pair launches including the Nth generation Conan Xerox Rokkin and a 'wacky superhero comedy book' named Next. Dark Horse even gets in on the action as well with Scarlet Traces.
After all that prime-Previews-real-estate and hype, what's left? A book each from Virgin, Alias, Moonstone, and Oni. Here's hoping their press guys and gals were awake at the helm, eh?
What's the point of all this, you ask?
SIXTEEN NEW COMICS!
SIXTEEN NEW COMICS! on the same week. SIXTEEN NEW COMICS! fighting for your hard-earned-dollars not only against the other 50 comics that came out this week that have the luxury of a familiar creative team and branding, but also against each other! SIXTEEN NEW COMICS! not counting original graphic novels. Not counting trade paperbacks. Not counting manga. (Or movies, DVDs, Video Games, dinner...).
I feel bad for all involved, you know? This is the uphill struggle that new books have to overcome. Do you know what the chances are for their success? Or how about the other new #1s or relaunches that not even we took a chance on (and we'll take chances on some pretty dire stuff!). Imagine if YOUR new book came out this week?
Depressing.
But, to end on a positive note, I read them all. Well, most of them. Some of them were unreadable and one I forgot to bring home from work. I've done the work for you of slugging through these books and tried to give all of these poor bastards a moment in the spotlight, you know? It's the least I can do.
APR061764 CRYPTICS #1 3.50 - Steve Niles and Benjamin Roman are actually kind of funny. A collection of 1 to 7 page gag strips about little kids who are also monster archetypes. Amusing for the good cartooning and the occasional chuckle, though the colouring on a couple of the strips is WAY over the top.
MAY060011 ESCAPISTS #1 (OF 6) 1.00 - I gotta be honest Mr. Chabon, I did not cry tears of joy. Still, I did enjoy this set-up for the new series even though it all seemed a little too 'pat' and the ending felt rushed. Also, I'm hoping the Oscar Wilde quote is foreshadowing. Worth a buck, for sure.
MAR063365 FURRY NINJA HIGH SCHOOL QUAGVILLE ONE SHOT 4.99 - I didn't really need to read this, and so I didn't. For people who like this sort of thing, it's exactly what they'll like.
MAY061973 GHOST RIDER #1 2.99 - Awful. The devil is all like "Gotcha, Sucker!" except it's supposed to be soul-crushing, rather than hilarious. Texeira can't draw anything except Ghost Rider. Also? Hell doesn't have any backgrounds. Awful.
MAY061797 INNOCENTS #1 2.99 - I... think... that this piece of shit is a tie-in to something. It reads like a half-aborted movie script, and the pacing and layout is... amateurish. David Wohl has been with Top Cow for what, 10 years now? When is he going to learn to write? Maybe it's not his fault though. The lead character is, and I'm not making this up here, the lead character is a hot-chick version of POOCHIE. Seriously. She's an extreme-skating/parachuting/motorcycle-riding kung-fu cyber ninja superstar who lives in Japan, probably (there are no establishing shots in the comic). If I can't find a cover image, let me just describe this masterpiece for you: A hawt 6 foot tall white girl is wearing low-rider jeans, a bra with a translucent cut-off top, a motorcycle jacket and a trucker cap, holding a skateboard in one hand and a katana in the other. Also? 2 yin/yang symbols. And an American Flag. Bonus: A woman gets brutally shot in the face on page 3.
MAY060219 MAN CALLED KEV #1 (OF 5) (MR) 2.99 - Don't bother if you haven't read the previous KEV comics. A couple of amusing bits but entirely continuity-driven, and I skipped the last mini-series.
MAY060177 NEXT #1 (OF 6) 2.99 - If I were to say "It's a wacky superhero comedy!" and you took a guess at what this book is like, you'd be right. Incredibly contrived and judging by the 'story' in the first issue, pointless. Nice art though.
MAY063295 NIGHT DRIVER TEASER EDITION 0.99 - A preview for an original graphic novel coming this September. Wheras not only would I not have read the graphic novel before this teaser, I wouldn't even have ordered it, now I'm kinda curious to see where it goes. Driver hits man standing in the middle of the road, man is not dead so driver agrees to take him to hospital, man is crazy, ends on cliffhanger. I dunno if it's worth 99 cents, but I'd give the book a read you know?
APR062862 REVERE #1 (OF 4) 3.50 - I'll say up fron that I'm pretty biased against Alias as a publisher, so take this all with a grain of salt. It's sloppy. The pacing, the art, the lettering, the colours. It's sloppy and it's way too impressed with itself. A particularly mediocre double-page splash inside the book is actually signed by the artist, which is obnoxious at the best of times. I shan't be ordering any more of this one.
MAY060226 ROKKIN #1 2.99 - In a world... ripped off from Conan... where a warrior... finds true happiness... that is taken away from him... to make him... your worst nightmare! Embarassing. Avoid at all costs. (Guess this 'review' isn't getting quoted in DC Direct, huh?)
MAY060022 SCARLET TRACES THE GREAT GAME #1 (OF 4) (RES) 2.99 - Really, really good. Really good. Facist Britain, unjust war, post-steampunk tech, great writing and characterization, and beautiful art and stroytelling from D'Israeli. Makes me want to track down the graphic novel that preceeded it, even though this issue stands entirely on its own. Drawback: The lazy shock killing of an openly gay character. Why does being queer in fiction have to be the equivilent of coughing at the end of the first act, you know? Fuck.
MAY063455 SNAKEWOMAN #1 2.99 - Michael Gaydos, ex-artist of ALIAS draws this one. It looks and reads just like an issue of ALIAS, which really makes me reconsider how much he brought to the series. A good first issue here, tense, revealing a bit of the plot, ends on a cliffhanger. If you've been curious about the Virgin Comics line, this wouldn't be a bad place to start.
MAY060144 SUPERMAN #654 2.99 - What a solid issue. Seriously. I have no idea how it would work for, say, someone coming in after having just seen the movie and not having read a Superman comic for years, but it was a fun issue. Pacheco draws a supremely ugly Man Of Steel more than once though, which distracts from his otherwise lovely art. A pretty ending too. Great creative/franchise relaunch.
MAY061716 TASK FORCE ONE #1 (MR) 3.50 - Unreadable. Seriously, I really tried, but it's just so... garrish? I think that's the right word. It's coloured like a Vertigo book too, and I don't mean that in a good way.
MAY063335 WASTELAND #1 (MR) 2.99 - ...This is the one I forgot at the shop. Seriously, this is the only one I REALLY wanted to read too. I was totally into the preview at Oni's site, and I thought I grabbed it and I didn't and now I have nothing to say. I'll make up for it by linking you to the Oni Press web page for this book: http://www.onipress.com/titles/titles.php?id=WAS. For what it's worth to creators Antony Johnston and Chris Mitten? This is the second-best-selling #1 of the week, following The Escapists (and that's only a buck). Good show, sirs!
MAY062010 X-MEN #188 2.99 - Not good. For a big jumping on point, none of the characters, their situations, or motivations were introduced. A random bunch of mysterious badasses threaten and pose for no reason, then kill some people. No wonder Paul O'Brien's such a crankypants; I'd be mental too if I forced myself to read this shit every week. A complete failure as a first issue or relaunch, and it's not much of a comic book either.
--
So there you go. 16 first issues and by my count four are worth getting, another four are on the fence, and the rest should disappear into the ether as though they'd never been released in the first place. Kind of brutal odds, but better than I expected to be honest. In short? If you're thinking about launching a comic, don't. And if you're convinced that you've got to launch a comic, just remember that this is what you're up against, and you'll likely get trounced into the dirt.
Love,
- Christopher PS: Casanova #1 is really good, and #2 is out next week. Buy them.
I just finished Volume 3 and this is my current favourite manga series. You really oughtta pick it up. I can't say that much more without spoiling it, but it's a real page-turner. Volume 3 marks a turning point.
Just a brief update on a series I mentioned... geez, probably last year now.
Shipping July 12th, 2006 List Courtesy of The Beguiling
Sorry this is so late as to be effectively useless; I'm really doing it more for my benefit at the moment so I can remember what's out when I'm doing the pulls tomorrow. But why let that stop me from talking all about the comics....?
MAY060229 AMERICAN VIRGIN #5 (MR) 2.99 You know, I'm totally on board with Becky Cloonan's art, and the high-concept of the book as described in all of the hype sounded interesting... But man was there a disconnect between what was promised and what we got. A thoroughly unlikeable schmuck on the hunt for his dead girlfriend's severed head? Maybe if it were played for laughs but the deadly earnestness just drained all the fun out of anything. Here's hoping that issue #5 is better.
MAY061950 ANNIHILATION SILVER SURFER #4 (OF 4) 2.99 MAY061949 ANNIHILATION SUPER SKRULL #4 (OF 4) 2.99 MAR063161 ANTIQUE BAKERY VOL 4 GN 12.95 I don't know if what I like about this book translates to me talking about it on the internet, but here goes: It is the most charming book I buy. It makes me smile with every chapter. It's just so thoroughly unpretentious that I find it a pleasure to read. But the mixture of baking secrets, small-business ownership, and lost love is probably an aroma uniquely intoxicating to me... Still, I'm happy to see how it ends tomorrow.
MAY062024 AVENGERS ASSEMBLE VOL 3 HC 34.99 APR063450 BASTARD VOL 12 TP (MR) (C: 1-0-0) 9.99 MAY060139 BATMAN LEGENDS OF THE DARK KNIGHT #208 2.99 MAY060189 BATMAN STRIKES #23 2.25 MAY061724 BOMB QUEEN VOL 1 WOMAN OF MASS DESTRUCTION TP (MR) 12.99 MAR063164 CAFE KICHIJOUJI DE VOL 3 GN 12.95 MAY060196 CARTOON NETWORK ACTION PACK #3 2.25 MAY062808 CEMETERIANS #2 2.95 APR063452 CHEEKY ANGEL VOL 13 GN (C: 1-0-0) 9.99 MAY061964 CIVIL WAR DIRECTORS CUT #1 4.99 MAY061960 CIVIL WAR FRONT LINE #3 (OF 10) 2.99 MAY068054 CIVIL WAR SPIDER-MAN UNMASKED VAR #2 (OF 7) 2.99 APR063232 COBB OFF THE LEASH #2 3.99 MAY061722 COBBLERS MONSTER GN 14.99 APR061764 CRYPTICS #1 3.50 MAY060234 DMZ #9 (MR) 2.99 MAY060203 ELFQUEST THE DISCOVERY #4 (OF 4) 3.99 APR063434 EMILY EDISON GN (C: 0-0-2) 12.95 MAY060011 ESCAPISTS #1 (OF 6) 1.00 Dark Horse's most recent iteration of the Escapist license, this one features a great creative team (Brian K. Vaughn, Phillip Bond, and Eduardo Barreto) and it costs only a buck. And did you see the pull-quote they got from Kavalier and Clay author Michael Chabon?
"[Vaughan] turned in a script that caused grown men, or at least one grown man, to weep for joy. It is a script that well meets, and perhaps even exceeds, the expectations raised by the shadow of the parent novel . . ." - Michael Chabon
How's that for effusive? MAY062958 EUREKA SEVEN VOL 2 GN 9.99 MAY060232 EXTERMINATORS #7 (MR) 2.99 MAY060235 FABLES #51 (MR) 2.99 MAY060162 FIRESTORM THE NUCLEAR MAN #27 2.99 APR063460 FROM FAR AWAY VOL 11 GN 9.99 APR063453 FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST VOL 8 TP (C: 1-0-0) 9.99 MAR063365 FURRY NINJA HIGH SCHOOL QUAGVILLE ONE SHOT 4.99 MAY062972 FUTURAMA VOL 3 TIME BENDER TP 14.95 APR063127 GET A LIFE HC (MR) 19.95 A few years ago I was lucky enough to have met the French graphic novelists Dupuy and Berberian at the San Diego Comic Con. I smiled and shook hands and they were very nice and I'd read almost none of their work. It wasn't until much later that I began to read their Mr. Jean stories, appearing in English in Drawn & Quarterly's various anthologies. Ah, wasted opportunities.
I've already read this book and it's companion, Maybe Later (see below), and it's just outstanding. A collection of, I think, the first three Mr. Jean graphic albums, it is engaging, literate, and gorgeous. I can't recommend this highly enough.
MAY061973 GHOST RIDER #1 2.99 APR068084 GHOST RIDER 1 FOR 15 SILVESTRI VAR #1 2.99 APR068085 GHOST RIDER SILVESTRI SKETCH VAR #1 (Net) PI MAY063075 GI JOE AMERICAS ELITE CASELLI CVR A #13 2.95 MAY063090 GORGEOUS CARAT GALAXY GN 12.95 MAY060163 GREEN ARROW #64 2.99 MAR060317 GREEN LANTERN #12 2.99 MAY060167 GREEN LANTERN CORPS #2 2.99 My, what a Green week. My, Green Lantern is late.
APR063304 HARDY BOYS VOL 6 HYDE & SHREIK GN 7.95 APR063305 HARDY BOYS VOL 6 HYDE & SHREIK HC 12.95 OCT051739 HAWAIIAN DICK THE LAST RESORT #4 (OF 4) (RES) 2.99 Not as late as this though...!
MAR063074 HERO SQUARED ONGOING #2 3.99 APR063114 HOW TO PEN & INK GN 19.95 MAY061797 INNOCENTS #1 2.99 MAY061976 IRON MAN #10 2.99 MAY061723 IRON WEST GN 14.99 This is Doug Tennapel's new graphic novel. I actually kind of like Tennapel's stuff until the Christianity invariably raises its head. Maybe it'll take a vacation this time out?
APR060223 JLA CLASSIFIED #24 2.99 MAY062016 KABUKI REFLECTIONS BOOK #6 (MR) 5.99 APR060262 KIKAIDER CODE 02 VOL 4 (C: 1-0-0) 9.99 APR063240 KNIGHTS OF THE DINNER TABLE #116 4.99 MAY063133 LEFT BANK GANG GN (MR) 12.95 New graphic novel by Jason! This either sounds like the best thing ever to you, or Decidedly Not Your Thing:
F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, Ezra Pound, and James Joyce walk into a Parisian bar… no, it’s not the beginning of a joke, but the premise of Jason’s unique new graphic novel. Set in 1920s Paris, The Left Bank Gang is a deliciously inventive re-imagining of these four literary figures as not only typical Jason anthropomorphics, but…graphic novelists! Yes, in Jason’s warped world, cartooning is the dominant form of fiction, and not only do these four work literary giants work in the comics medium but they get together to discuss pen vs. brush, chat about the latest graphic novels from Dostoevsky (“I can’t tell any of his characters apart!”) to Faulkner (“Hasn’t he heard of white space? His panels are too crowded!”), and bemoan their erratic careers. With guest appearances by Zelda Fitzgerald and Jean-Paul Sartre, and a few remarkable twists and turns along the way, and you’ve got one of the funniest and most playful graphic novels of the year.
APR063297 LOST AT SEA NEW ED GN (DEC042753) (MR) 11.95 MAY060219 MAN CALLED KEV #1 (OF 5) (MR) 2.99 MAY063145 MARK SCHULTZ VARIOUS DRAWINGS VOL 2 SC (C: 0-1-2) 19.95 MAY061978 MARVEL ADVENTURES FANTASTIC FOUR #14 2.99 MAY061981 MARVEL HEROES FLIP MAGAZINE #14 4.99 APR063128 MAYBE LATER HC (MR) 16.95 At the same time the duo of Dupuy and Berberian were preparing some of the material in Get A Life, they were also producing this autobiographical comic about working on the Mr. Jean series. The ultimate behind-the-scenes, both collaborators produce their own inidvidual work here and give us insight into the creative process -- and what it takes to get published. Again, I can't recommend this one highly enough.
APR060228 METAL MEN ARCHIVES VOL 1 HC 49.99 MAY061995 MS MARVEL #5 2.99 MAY062026 NEW AVENGERS VOL 2 SENTRY TP 14.99 MAY060177 NEXT #1 (OF 6) 2.99 MAY063295 NIGHT DRIVER TEASER EDITION 0.99 MAR063471 ODDLY NORMAL VOL 1 TP 11.95 MAY063093 ONLY RING FINGER KNOWS VOL 2 NOVEL (MR) 8.95 APR063461 PLEASE SAVE MY EARTH VOL 17 TP (C: 1-0-0) 9.99 APR063456 PROJECT ARMS VOL 13 TP 9.99 MAY063092 PROJECT X NISSIN CUP NOODLE GN 12.95 The thrilling behind the scenes... of the creation... of INSTANT NOODLES! YES! I am so excited about this one.
MAY062868 RAYMOND CHANDLERS PLAYBACK GN (C: 0-1-2) 19.95 MAY063194 REAL LIES GN (RES) 10.95 APR063462 RED RIVER VOL 13 GN (C: 1-0-0) 9.99 APR062862 REVERE #1 (OF 4) 3.50 MAY060226 ROKKIN #1 2.99 APR062940 SABRINA VOL 2 #77 2.25 MAY060022 SCARLET TRACES THE GREAT GAME #1 (OF 4) (RES) 2.99 MAY061944 SENSATIONAL SPIDER-MAN #28 2.99 MAY062995 SHAOLIN COWBOY DARROW CVR A #6 3.50 MAY062996 SHAOLIN COWBOY NOWLAN CVR B #6 3.50 Yay! I wish they would keep the individual issues in stock at Diamond though, as this series continues to pick up readers... But yeah, super-awesome.
MAY062786 SHATTER TP 14.95 MAR063475 SHOJO BEAT AUG 06 VOL 2 #8 (C: 1-0-0) 5.99 MAY063455 SNAKEWOMAN #1 2.99 APR062942 SONIC THE HEDGEHOG #164 2.25 MAY061947 SPIDER-GIRL #100 3.99 MAY062025 SPIDER-MAN LOVES MARY JANE VOL 1 SUPER CRUSH DIGES 7.99 MAY061998 SQUADRON SUPREME #5 2.99 MAY060045 STAR WARS LEGACY #2 (C: 1-0-0) 2.99 MAR062855 STINZ TRIBALS ONE SHOT 6.95 JAN061823 STRANGE GIRL #9 2.99 JAN063370 STREET FIGHTER II #4 ALVIN LEE CVR A 2.95 JAN063372 STREET FIGHTER II #4 RAW B&W INCV ED (NET) PI JAN063371 STREET FIGHTER II #4 SVEN CVR B 2.95 MAY060144 SUPERMAN #654 2.99 APR060193 SUPERMAN INFINITE CRISIS TP 12.99 MAY061716 TASK FORCE ONE #1 (MR) 3.50 MAY063449 TEZUKAS BUDDHA VOL 2 FOUR ENCOUNTERS SC (RES) (C: 14.95 MAY061999 THUNDERBOLTS #104 CW 2.99 MAY063094 TIME LAG GN 12.95 MAY062745 TOYFARE STAR WARS ANIMATED LEIA CVR #109 (C: 0-1-2 4.99 APR063208 TRANSFORMERS INFILTRATION #6 2.99 APR061999 ULTIMATE FANTASTIC FOUR #31 2.99 APR068086 ULTIMATE FANTASTIC FOUR 1 FOR 15 SUYDAM VAR #31 (P 2.99 MAY061940 ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #97 2.99 MAY062032 UNTOLD TALES OF THE NEW UNIVERSE TP 15.99 APR062947 VERONICA #172 2.25 APR063463 W JULIET VOL 11 GN (C: 1-0-0) 9.99 JAN061824 WALKING DEAD #29 (MR) 2.99 MAY063335 WASTELAND #1 (MR) 2.99 Antony Johnston's new ongoing series for Oni. I just read the preview at http://www.onipress.com/titles/titles.php?id=WAS. I'm curious to see what happens next...!
A little bird dropped the two final covers for Rick Spears and Vaslis Lolos' new Image series Pirates of Coney Island in my mailbox just now. Some in-progress pieces were recently posted at The Engine of the issue 2 covers, but this is the first time these two beauties have seen the light of day. Cover A is by series regular Vasilis Lolos, and Cover B is by Becky Cloonan. Check it:
What's gay about Comic-Con? - Updated July 17th Your developing guide to homo-fun at the big con. http://www.comic-con.org
So Tom is doing a good job of rounding up arts-comics and indy items of note for the San Diego Comic Con, being held July 20th-23rd in sunny San Diego. But what if you're looking for something a little more 'fabulous'? Why, there's a bevvy of programming, exhibitors, and artists to visit with and meet, not to mention a few after-hours events too. Check out the following, and if you're a creator or publisher doing work of interest to a gay readership, by all means e-mail me or post in the comments and I'll make sure to update this page.
Update July 11: There's another queer panel on Thursday that I missed, now added! Also, the location of Brad Rader and Steve MacIsaac's booth. Update July 17: There's a nightclub superhero party going-down on Saturday night! Wear your costume, the less of it there is the better. Donna Barr is holding a pre-convention reading at San Diego State University. Prism comics unveils their plans. The Gay Agenda Is Here! The Gay Agenda Is Here! Update July 19: The Prism Comics signing schedule is now online.
Before you even get to the show... Gay? Bi? Furry? Curious? Make sure to check out and print out the Gay Agenda, Prism Comics' all-in-one handy flyer for things that are gay at the show. It almost makes my blog host here entirely obsolete. But I'm sure you're just reading for my sparkling personality. You can download the Gay Agenda by right clicking on http://www.prismcomics.org/press/gayagenda2006.pdf .
On The Show Floor Prism Comics - Booth 2148: The undisputed centre of gay activity on the con floor is sure to be the Prism Comics booth. Prism Comics is a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting the comics work of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered creators in the comics industry. You probably know them because they put out that nifty handbook every year (right). This year their booth is set to sell tons of gay related comics and ephemera for artists that can't make it out to the show or can't afford a booth of their own. They are looking for volunteers to help staff their booth at the show.
Brad Rader and Steve MacIsaac, P13: Over in the small press area (the back-right of the hall) make sure to check out the booth featuring Brad Rader (Flaming Artist) and Steve MacIsaac (Sticky, Shirtlifter) as they peddle their wares including some brand new books!
Programming: Wednesday (Preview Night) 7:00pm Learn the ins and outs of comics with Donna Barr. OFFSITE! STINZ and DESERT PEACH creator Donna Barr will be speaking at the San Diego State University on Wednesday. She'll be all gay Nazi's and centaurs and that might be the oddest pairing you see all weekend... Check out "Double Visions: Combining Art and Literature as a Single Voice" if the idea of PREVIEW NIGHT just fills you with dread. More at http://infodome.sdsu.edu/about/news_events.shtml#events.
Programming: Thursday 12:00-1:00 Prism Comics: Increasing LGBT Visibility. Room 1B The organizers of Prism Comics get together to talk about what they're doing to promote LGBT work and creators. Sort of an interesting precursor to the Friday panel, where they actually promote LGBT work and creators...!
Participants include Paige Braddock (Jane's World), Colleen Coover (Banana Sunday), Tim Fish (Strugglers), Terrance Griep (Victoria's Secret Service), Patricia Jeres (former director of marketing communications for DC Comics), Andy Mangels (best-selling Star Trek author and DVD producer), Richard Neal (owner, Zeus Comics, Dallas, TX), Joe Phillips (artist, Cali Boys; writer-director, Stonewall and Riot), and José Villarrubia (The Mirror of Love). Programming: Friday 3:00-4:30 Prism Comics: Evaluating LGBT Material: How May We Help You? Room 24A This looks to be an interesting panel, as Prism Comics tries to fulfil its mandate to promote gay comics and creators by working with retailers to actually put books in stores. I'm not going to miss this one.
Panelists include Roger B.A. Klorese, president, Prism Comics and founder of QueerNet; Rory Root, owner and operator of Comic Relief, Berkeley, CA; Chris Powell, general manager of Lone Star Comics, Arlington, TX; José Villarrubia, artist and academician; Paige Braddock, cartoonist, Jane's World; Chris Ryall, publisher/editor-in-chief, IDW; Charles Brownstein, executive director, CBLDF; Brian Chase, Lambda legal attorney, LGBT rights activist; and Roger Fletcher, VP of sales and marketing, Diamond Comic Distributors. Moderated by Patricia Jeres, Prism advisory board member and former director of marketing communications at DC Comics.
6:30-11:00 Attack of The Big Gay Dinner (Year 4!) Offsite It's the biggest, gayest dinner around. Join gay comic creators and their friends for an evening of cocktails, dining and discourse at San Diego ComiCon's most fabulous get-together. Cocktail hour starts at 6:30, dinner starts at 8:30. Please, RSVP if you're going to attend...
It's about a 15 minute walk from the convention centre, and the food and cocktails have never been anything less than outstanding. Not to mention the company. ;) Hosted by the always-fabulous Aman Chaudhary, and you can visit him online at http://aman-about-town.com/.
Programming: Saturday 2:00-3:00 Comic Arts Conference Session #10: Poster Session. Room 7B I almost missed this one. It sounds really interesting to me (I think the academic study of comics is both interesting and sorely lacking) so I'll just cut-and-paste the relevant info from the Comic-Con website:
"Want to go in depth with a comics scholar? The poster session provides that opportunity. On Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, scholars’ PowerPoint presentations will be available to read in printed “poster books,” then the scholars will be present at the poster session to discuss their presentations in small-group and one-on-one discussions. ... Eric Schlegel (Dade County Public Schools) employs queer studies to examine the commonalities of our own mundane world heroics and those spandex and cape crowd via the concepts of the secret identity, gender identity, and outsider status in Superman, Wonder Woman, and Nightcrawler. "
5:30-7:00 Gays in Comics, Year 19: Infinitely Out and Civil Pride. Room 6A The venerable Saturday night Gays in Comics panel returns with a pretty high-profile group of creators. 'Indy' representation is, as usual, fairly limited (pressure's on you Abby!) and even the write-up for Greg Rucka neglected to mention Queen & Country (that's okay I guess, it's been neglecting to come out for a while...). Indy comics faired better than manga or the internet though...! At any rate, the panel is usually a lot of fun both for the 'gaeity' as well as it's overwhelming focus on superhero comics to the exclusion of all else; it gets the blood pumping.
Panelists include Patty Jeres (past DC director of marketing communications, current PRISM board member), Abby Denson (creator of Tough Love: High School Confidential graphic novel), Greg Rucka (writer of Gotham Central, 52, Checkmate), Gail Simone (writer of Secret Six, Birds of Prey), Marc Andreyko (writer of Manhunter), Phil Jimenez (artist/writer of Infinite Crisis, Otherworld), and moderator Andy Mangels (writer of Star Trek novels, director of He-Man and She-Ra DVD documentaries)
7:00-9:30 Gay Comic Fan Mixer/Social. Room 6A After the big gay panel, stick around for an hour-long gay comic fan mixer/social, sponsored by PRISM Comics! They bring in marvelous fruit and veggie trays and the line will probably be shorter to talk to Phil Jiminez here than at any other point during the weekend.
9:00pm-Late DYNAMIC DUOS COMIC-CON PARTY. OFFSITE! It is my sincere belief that even if you go to San Diego just for the comic con, you owe it to yourself and your pseudo-vacation to get more than 20 blocks away from the convention centre, even if it's just once. If you're not a 'zoo' person, why not head over to the Dynamic Duos Comic-Con party at Rich's San Diego in the Hillcrest District? There's a superhero costume contest, raffles, and special guest-stars too. It's a 21+ club with a cover at the door, but that totally shouldn't stop you. Check out http://www.richssandiego.com/richs_schedule.html for more info including location!
Programming: Sunday 11:30-12:30 Digital Manga Publishing.Room 1B Oh look! It's my old friend Rachel Livingston, public relations flack for Digital Manga Publishing and she's got a panel! To be honest, I wouldn't even bother mentioning this (just so as not to seem too catty) but I scoured the programming and this was the ONLY panel that even mentioned yaoi. Even though it didn't, but it did mention the Juné comics line. Is this really the only boy-on-boy manga related programming?
Panelists include Rachel Livingston (public relations), Eric Rosenberger (promotional manager), and Erica Jeng (general manager) will be announcing future releases from DMP and Juné.
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Are you a creator or publisher doing work of interest to a gay readership who will be at Comic Con International? E-mail me or post in the comments and I'll make sure to update this page.
So the current trend in blogging seems to be getting sponsored. I like how that kind of implies that the blogs needed help, and only someone who's been through it can give you the support you need. It's a warm fuzzy mental picture, you know? "My name is Graeme and I used to blog for 10 hours a day... for free!" "Hi, Graeme!" Or maybe it's more like the idea of patronage in ancient Rome? One who practices the blogging arts but cannot find financial compensation seeks the help of a wealthy man to shelter them. That way, they get to put their name on all of your hard work AND sell the ad-space around it; it's win-win!
*cough*
The most recent starving artist to find a new patron is none other than Heidi MacDonald, who like Newsarama before her has left the protective cocoon of Steve Conley and Rick Veitch's Comicon.com. Where's Heidi? Why she's consolodated the majority of her writing into Publisher's Weekly at the new PW: The Beat blog. It's... very much like Heidi's previous blog. Maybe a bit more focussed? Anyway. Congratulations on the move Heidi, I hope that it ends up being a perfect fit for you.
But enough about people other than me. It is still my birthday, sort of, and so here is some ME-related news:
I will be participating in the blogging panel to end all blogging panels at the San Diego Comic Con this year. That's right, it's Heidi, Tom Spurgeon, Ron Hogan, Graeme McMillan, Tom McLean, and me, talking about blogging about comics:
I have no idea what we're up against at the same time, and room 24A does not seem like one of the larger spaces, so please come out and see us all talk. It'll either be a round of cyclical arguing about nothing, or a bunch of peace-and-love-no-really-I-love-what-you-do backpatting. Maybe Abhay will show up to heckle? Wouldn't that be good? Heckling?
Also: The new issue of Comics Foundry magazine is now online. I contributed a few short, bitchy reviews to their Summer Books For Every Vacation feature:
For The Day That Won't Stop Raining: There are what, maybe ten good weekends in the summertime? Five if you live in Canada? Waiting out a thunderstorm on a Saturday afternoon, the last thing you want to do is pick up a book; nothing should distract you from willing the rain to stop. That said, check out Fun Home: A Family Tragi-comedy by Alison Bechdel, published by Houghton-Mifflin. Bechdel's autobiographical graphic novel about her childhood spent in a funeral home under the watchful eye of her tyrannical closeted-gay father is an engrossing book. It's more than good enough to make you forget the weather, or at least put your pathetic little rainy day into some perspective. —Christopher Butcher, Comics.212.net
I thought I was posting in the spirit of the piece, sort of tongue-in-cheek recommendations but still pointing out good books. Most everyone else is so incredibly earnest though... Yeesh. Ah well. Hopefully Tim took the part where I called his readership fat nerds with a grain of salt... Sorry Tim!
I think that's it for now. I'm off to Happy Birthday Karaoke in a few hours. Wish me luck!
Thanks to Mike, Cal, and the boys at Strange Adventures for remembering my birthday in a particularly ostentatious and frankly strange way. I don't think anyone's ever bought me flowers before...?
I did a spectacularly shit job on the shipping list this week! I just got to work and I'm doing the pull files and I just noticed that there are many more good books shipping this week than I noticed.
ITEM: THEY FOUND THE CAR: The second of the Ignatz books by Gipi. Awesome! ITEM: INSOMNIA #2: EDIT: This one is by Matt Broersma, from the Ignatz line. Not Lorenzo Mattoti as I had earlier, erroneously written. ITEM: PUSSEY NEW EDITION: Man, you know what's AWESOME!? Dan Clowes' PUSSEY. Not just a cheap joke I'm making here, it's a legitimately great excoriation of the comics industry at the dawn of the 90s and it holds up and it's been out of print for ever. ITEM: MONOLOGUES FOR THE COMING PLAGUE: Anders Nilsen's minimalist and intense new graphic novel! AWESOME! EDIT: Fanfare/Ponent Mon's A Patch of Dreams by Hideji Oda also hit the shelves yesterday, and I'm looking forward to reading it as well.
--
Okay, I get that this is totally inappropriate for the tone of these books in actually, but I am pretty darned excited about them. I guess the lesson is don't listen to anyone and just go to the comic shop every week; you never know what's really there...
Vampire Loves By Joann Sfar $16.95, 192 pages Published by First Second Books
Reviewed by Christopher Butcher
You see, what I really want is to help people.
I have a calm, even voice and laugh easily. People like to ask my advice and I'm happy to give it, with plenty of warnings that I may not know what I'm talking about. I'm pretty happy with my 'batting average', the good advice I've dished out and so are my friends. But have you ever known someone who, when confronted with the right answer, with logic or reason or even history, won't take the advice? They won't follow the right road, and they'll rationalize whatever it takes to make their decisions, hell-or-high-water. It's painful to watch, but surprisingly it's a really easy situation to read about; that sort of 'damned-because-I-do' attitude is at the heart of Joann Sfar's wonderful Vampire Loves.
The vampire of the title, Ferdinand, is a decent guy for an unholy monster of the night. He likes old records and knows how to dance, he respects women but doesn't know how to deal with them, and he's straining at the seams under the weight of his conscience. His girlfriend cheated on him with his best friend and he can't manage to stay mad at either of them, and whatever he does to find a new love seems doomed to disaster. Over the course of the four short stories included in Vampire Loves we get a surprisingly contemporary look at love through the eyes of a man who has been dead since the 18th century; I don't think anyone will be surprised at how little has changed.
Multi-talented Sfar populates his world with the wistful and the foolhardy; all wilfully obtuse and just like someone you used to know (whatever happened to them?). Ferdinand's ex-girlfriend Lani is a plant-girl, she leads-on a tree-man (who really oughtta know better after his last divorce), seduces a co-worker with a girlfriend, and ends up with a quite-literal brute (while periodically crying "I'm so unhappy!" and wondering why she's alone). I can't speak for you, dear reader, but man have I been that shoulder to cry on more than once. Sfar's characters are really wonderful, deep and real. Playing with the fantastic elements allows him a sort of a short-hand to their personalities and allows the story to flow very smoothly; the ravenous ladies' man is a real wolf; the strong, silent type that doesn't get the girl is a giant hollow tree; a fleeting romance with a girl met on vacation is all the more insubstantial because she is quite literally a phantom. It's an excellent trick used well here, and it becomes very hard to hate any of the characters for their horrible behaviour or stupid choices when you feel you know them so intimately almost from the word go.
As I noted in my review of Sfar's Sardine (with Emanuel Guibert), his work to me seems to involve a high degree of stream-of-consciousness. While Vampire Loves doesn't have that child-like and then this happened! vibe, the stories do bounce back and forth between quiet romance and over-the-top adventure sequences fairly easily. Within a few pages we get a near-beheading, fond remembrances of loves lost, a mystery – solved!, and the most terrible shock of the story. It's an easy bunch of transitions though, we wander through the stories like Ferdinand does ready for what might be around any corner. The plot of the stories is secondary to the ideas that Sfar expresses through his vampires, wolf-men, and golems; Sfar wants to talk about love in all of it's shades and if he has to drag a pair of robots into it for a couple of pages to make a point? So be it. The book is much better for it.
Also as I noted in my review of Sardine, the art gets much stronger over the course of the book, which is reprinted from four different albums in the original French. While Sfar is no artistic slouch in the first chapter, originally published in 2001, the fourth chapter from 2003 shows an amazing range and depth. Ferdinand's simply outlined form takes on depth and intensity when the situation warrants it in the fourth chapter, Sfar getting much more confident with his pen and draping characters in hatching and stippling to create rich shadows. The buildings seem more detailed and realized as well, and the settings are more varied and unique. I love this kind of thing, exploring the development of an artist and pulling back the curtain, so to speak. Seeing Ferdinand's cat morph from a cartoony interpretation to a drawn-from-life version of Sfar's own cat (incidentally also the model for the cat in The Rabbi's Cat) in just the first few pages alone is only the tip of the iceberg.
Vampire Loves is sad and hopeful and nostalgic and realistic. All of the characters make all of the wrong decisions and say the wrong things and their lives go on and the sun comes up in the morning—just like real life. It all comes together wonderfully (and affordably!) to create a great graphic novel.
I hate giving advice that does go unheeded, even if the sun still rises afterwards, and so I hope you'll listen to me now and run out to get Vampire Loves.
I'm going to follow this up later today with a bit if a wrap-up on all the whole First Second line. I have thoughts on how they're doing things as a line, some of which I've already expressed to the proprietors directly but I think I'll enjoy letting my feelings come together in a more considered way. Anyway. Sorry it took two months to review 6 (5?) books, it's been a hell of a two months.
I've got your Gay Agenda right here. Cocktails at 6:30, Dinner around 9:00... http://at.thevhive.com/
Yes, it's the fourth annual Big Gay Dinner at the San Diego Comic-Con. For those of you who've already seen the Eisner's "at least once in your life" then head on over to Bandar, an awesome indian restaurant that's sure to be full of fun and fabulous people.
Feel free to drop by for drinks from 6:30pm on, and if you want to do dinner as well head over to The Aman About Town Forum to nab an official invite.
Christopher
Butcher: Is 29 years old and lives in Toronto Canada. In addition to the manager of
world-famous comic book store The Beguiling, he is a freelance writer
and comics production artist and the co-founder of the Toronto Comic Arts Festival. He can be contacted at chris at beguiling dot
com , though chances are it will get caught in the spam filter. You're better
off posting in the comments field.
Comics Blogs
I Read & Like: Bags & Boards: Tom McLean's media-focused comics blog. The Beat: Heidi MacDonald, dishing and digging up dirt (now at PW). Beaucoup Kevin: Kevin talks about all of the comic books. Big Sexy Arune: Comic journalist Arune Singh's blog. Brill Building: Ian Brill's blog. The Comics Reporter: Tom Spurgeon's all-in-one website featuring newsblogging, interviews, reviews, and more. A great site. Comics Worth Reading: Johanna Draper-Carlson reviews and recaps with a unique eye for comics. Completely Futile: Excellent commentary on manga. The Cultural Gutter: Toronto blog about video games, comics, and all manner of low-culture. Drawn.ca: Lots of Canadian Illustrators and artists linkblogging the best art of the internet. Neat. Egon: Grand-daddy of art-comix coverage. Forbidden Planet Blog: Brit Comic Retailer Forbidden Planet. Galleycat: About publishing, including comics. Gumpop:
Sophie Yanow runs a very cool blog about comics, that I enjoy reading. Jog The Blog: Like the similarly singley-named Cher, Jog contributes something precious and unique to the world. Johnny Bacardi: Comics coverage, and the promise of alcohol. Journalista!: Dirk Deppey sacrifices martyrs his social life for comics. Bless. Kelly Sue's Pro Blog: Kelly ends up re-writing manga I love. Also, she has a personal blog. Kochalkaholic: Alan David Doane's living tribute to cartoonist James Kochalka. Love Manga: Exceptionally thorough manga blog. The Low Road: My buddies Ed and John talk about comics and stuff. Manga Blog: Accurately named! Considered manga commentary. MangaCast: More manga than you can shake a stick at. Mystifying Oracle: Jeff Parker's very cool blog. NeilAlien Has been blogging longer than I have. Blog @ Newsarama Graeme and Kevin Melrose live here now. Panels and Pixels: Dude, it's comics and video games all in one. I find this excellent. Peiratikos: Rose and Steven's unique, contrary views on comics. Polite Dissent: Unique comics criticism and examination, through the eyes of an MD. Precocious Curmedgeon: Manga, North American Comics, and the industry. A fabulous read. Postmodern Barney: Dorian blogs about comics, homosexuals. Progressive Ruin: Mike Sterling's chronicle of funny superhero nonsense and working in a comic store. Read About Comics: Greg McElhatton's new reviews website. Riot! Blog: Blog for a new indy-friendly comic book store. Rocketship Comics: Blog for an indy-friendly Brooklyn-based comic book store. Royal Academy of Illustration and Design Blog: A fabulously talented studio of comics and illustration peeps. Savage Critics: From sunny California... Splash Panel: Comics reviews and discussion from a talented artist. Sporadic Sequential: Huzzah! It's John Jakala blogging again! When Will the Hurting
Stop: Tim O'Neil, man of action. When Fangirls Attack: A big 'ole round-up of women's issues as they relate to comics. Yet Another Comics Blog: Even with its strange preoccupation with superhero books, I still find myself enjoying this one.
Comics Artists and Friends: Radiomaru: Bryan Lee O'Malley, creator of Scott Pilgrim and etc. HopeLarson.com: Hope Larson, creator of Salamander Dream and Gray Horses. KeanerDotNet: Kean Soo, creator of Jellaby. The Rey: Corey Lewis, creator of Sharknife and etc. Gobukan: J. Bone's G-Rated Illustration Blog. Bone's Men: J. Bone's much naughtier Illustration Blog. Vera's Sketchblog: My friend Vera's awesome sketch blog. Salgood Sam: Sketch blog and work diary. Ink Skratch: Eric Kim, artist of Love as a Foreign Language. lowbright.com: Derek Kirk Kim's site, with lots of great comics. Bolt City: Kazu Kibuishi, creator of Copper and Amulet. NeilComics.com:
Neil B.'s site, with lots of great comics. Matt Forsythe, words and pictures. Mike Weiringo's Sketch Blog: Self-explaintory. FSC Wasteland: Singapore cartoonist FSC, artist on all kinds of things I like. Local: Frequently-updated blog for Oni Press' LOCAL. StreetAngelComics: Jim Rugg's web presence, dedicated to his first great comic. Atomic Toy: The online home of Andy Helms, soon the be known for his awesome graphic novel FEARLESS GRIGGS.
Online Comics: Young
Bottoms in Love: Great gay webcomix archive. Achewood: My favourite webcomic. Penny Arcade: Thrice-weekly comic strip about video game culture. Diesel Sweeties: Pixel-based hipster soap opera, with death robots. Dinosaur Comics! OMGWTF! In a just world, Ryan North would rule us all. Comic Strip: Chip Zdarsky's print/online comic for the National Post. Secret Friend Society: Online comics including Jellaby, Salamander Dream, and more! A Softer World Comics made of photos. Also, check out OverQualified by the same author, which are humourously deranged cover letters for resumes. House of Sugar: Rebecca Kraatz' daily online comic strip. Makeshift Miracle Complete online graphic novel, available via Bitpass. Moresukine Updated weekly from Tokyo, experience Japan through the wonder of comics. Perry Bible Fellowship Very funny short comic strips, very well drawn too. Click on the man with the hat to get to the archives. Rehabilitating Mr. Wiggles Awesome/creepy weekly comic strip. Superslackers Toronto's Steve Manale presents humourous superheroes for children of all ages. The tonic to 'Infinite Crisis'. ButternutSquash Ramon and Rob do an autobiographical comic that people think is farace. It is not. They're just like that. Jay's Days You will not be able to tear yourself away. Serializer.net: Awesome online alternative pay-comics site, worth your support with money. ModernTales.com:
The original, filled to the brim with great comics. PVP: I generally enjoy PVP, but Scott Kurtz is a pretty horrible person.
For more, click
the Resources tab up top.
Non-Comics Blogs: Andrew's Blog: Andrew talks about entertaining things. Andrew's Other Blog: Andrew talks about serious things. David&Kiko.com: My friends in Japan, with a blog. Dahlberg Central: Gus Dahlberg and his adorable family. Booklust: Toronto Illustrator commenting on books and illustration. Interesting stuff. The Torontoist: The Torontoist is a Toronto-culture blog, covering some of the more interesting goings on in the city (and doing it well). Sort of like a freebie-weekly paper, but it pays less and comes out more. Blog T.O.: Another great Toronto-centric blog.
Retired: All Ages: Scott Robins's blog about comics for young readers. A Bear In The City: Gay-comics linkblog, semi-retired. GutterNinja:
Steve Pheley's awesomely-named blog, full of snark.
For corrections or additions to this page, please contact me at cro2 at
212 dot net. All sites linked on this page are the copyright of their
respective owners, and no malice was intended in linking from this page.
Weblog courtesy of Blogger. Hosting
courtesy of 212.net. Comments courtesy
of Haloscan. Christopher Butcher appears courtesy of his parents, and
The Beguiling.
To be honest a big part of why I did this at all was to bring attention to the books I like. Hell, it's why I ever did PopImage or PreviewsReview. I'm glad it's inspired you to go check out a few. Let me know if I got it as wrong on my other suggestions as I did with Black Hole and WE3. I think it's interesting that WE3 is so polarizing myself, it remains our best-selling Morrison graphic novel of the past few years and a perfect entry-point into his comics. The storytelling in the book has the honours of being both revolutionary and a refinement of art-comix and low-art revoluton at different points. As for the story? It isn't reiventing the wheel, that's for sure, but it doesn't seek to. It's incredibly accomplished on it's aims, and I don't think "manipulative" is necessarily a bad word either. I think, in this context, it's just a synonym for "effective.
Actually, thanks to Jog (I believe) I went and tracked down a copy of Fantagraphics' underground-manga compilation Sake Jock from a long time ago, which also has a Kiriko Nananan story included. Good stuff there too. RE: Blue I actually didn't have that problem, identifying who was speaking, though my boss at The Beguiling did. I approached Blue as a more lyrical work than most, and I think that helped it. It's almost like listening to a song with a strong narrative, you enjoy certain lines or phrases and it's hearing the song as a whole through the conclusion that puts it all together and into context. Obviously it's a bit different with an extended narrative, but I still thought it came together wonderfully.
What's with all of these straight people reading my blog...? Kidding! Kidding... I love all of my readers equally. It's funny, two of the books you mention, 676 Apparitions of Killoffer and Ordinary Victories are French works, translated from their original language. I'm kind of shocked and saddened to see so many of the best of French comics getting spotty distribution here in North America. On the one hand, Killoffer is a huge, oversized book with a price-tag to match (Jeff Lester at Savage Critics was particularly... savage... in his... criticism) from a new publisher, so I can see how it might have a rough go of things. On the other, Ordinary Victories is a multiple award-winner published in an affordable format from NBM, it should've been a front-and-centre recommendation in every store worth its salt!
It seems like you've used different language to accuse these two books of being the same thing: a bit hollow. I think that's the nature of art though, which is a dangerous subject because this can slide into "everything is meaningful!" very quickly. But really, I think that both works gain a lot by what you bring to them as a reader, as they both depend a lot on your own feelings and experiences. Up top, Tim cited We3 as being "manipulative", which I think is completely at odds with your description. That you both didn't like it is, to me, not as important as that you disliked it for reasons that contradict one another. I liked it specifically because I really did feel for all of the characters (including one-or-two of the humans), and because I found it very rich storytelling-wise. Certainly not empty spectacle :). As for Black Hole, I'm closer to your vein of thinking here but again there are parts in the book which really, really work. They come across for me with a sense of immediacy, which is important. My friend, Jason, who loves this book more than... I dunno, pancakes? Anyway, he loves it a lot, he's a few years closer to the author's age and so the points of reference for him are more immediate still, and he draws more out of the symbolism, storytelling, and characterization.
100 PERCENT
676 APPARITIONS OF KILLOFFER
ACME NOVELTY LIBRARY #16 
LUE SPRING VOL 1 GN 
EPILEPTIC HC
OVE ROMA VOL 1 GN 
NIGHT FISHER GN
OR ELSE #2 
PUSH MAN & OTHER STORIES HC 
THE RABBI’S CAT 
SALAMANDER DREAM
SCOTT PILGRIM VOL 2: SCOTT PILGRIM VS THE WORLD
SEXY VOICE AND ROBO
STREET ANGEL 
TOP TEN THE FORTY NINERS
Classic Collections
Breakout New Talent: 
Anthologies: 
To All The Girls I’ve Loved, Before: 
Project: Romantic
Project: Romantic
Looking for original art at Comic-Con in San Diego? The Beguiling Books & Art, Canada’s finest comics and graphic novel retailer will be attending the San Diego Comic Con this week, representing the original art sales of over two dozen of the best art-comix and alternative cartoonists. Operating from the Drawn & Quarterly booth, booth #1529 in Hall C, The Beguiling will have a massive selection of comic art and illustration on-hand from comics luminaries including Seth, Paul Pope, Kevin Huizenga, Chester Brown, Anders Nilsen, Jessica Abel, Jason, David Heatley, Farel Dalrymple, Kim Deitch, Becky Cloonan, and many more!
In one of Heidi MacDonald's more defensive recent posts, she put forth the idea that her employer Publisher's Weekly's PWComics Week publication was treated more harshly than it warranted, and perhaps more so than it deserved. My response was that when you're at the top, people expect more out of you. That seems pretty reasonable, right? Most of the people linking the brouhaha certainly thought so, and I stand by it. In that spirit, I bring you a link.
At the top of the heap, the books most likely to be picked up by their intended audiences are 
Dragon Head
So the current trend in blogging seems to be getting sponsored. I like how that kind of implies that the blogs needed help, and only someone who's been through it can give you the support you need. It's a warm fuzzy mental picture, you know? "My name is Graeme and I used to blog for 10 hours a day... for free!" "Hi, Graeme!" Or maybe it's more like the idea of patronage in ancient Rome? One who practices the blogging arts but cannot find financial compensation seeks the help of a wealthy man to shelter them. That way, they get to put their name on all of your hard work AND sell the ad-space around it; it's win-win!
The vampire of the title, Ferdinand, is a decent guy for an unholy monster of the night. He likes old records and knows how to dance, he respects women but doesn't know how to deal with them, and he's straining at the seams under the weight of his conscience. His girlfriend cheated on him with his best friend and he can't manage to stay mad at either of them, and whatever he does to find a new love seems doomed to disaster. Over the course of the four short stories included in Vampire Loves we get a surprisingly contemporary look at love through the eyes of a man who has been dead since the 18th century; I don't think anyone will be surprised at how little has changed.
