We had a good run, Blogger and I, but this is the last post on that system for the foreseeable future. Thanks to the Blogger folks for putting together a solid piece of software, but I guess we just outgrew it.
If your site-feed readers don't automatically pick up the new wordpress feed, please head to http://comics212.net to pick it up manually.
So my first piece of advice for 2007? Don't get sick, ever. I'm currently behind on every single project I'm involved in. Some only minimally, some massively, and one in particular I may have completely blown. If you're reading this Anne, I'm sorry...
Things are shaping up for the year though, with lots of freelance in the offing (writing, lettering, whatever) and lots of other big plans. I figured it's been long enough without a post that I better do something, and writing up my schedule for the year will be nice for both of us, dear reader. Maybe you'll learn something about me!
January 29th: New Blog - Keep your eyes peeled Monday, and make sure to update your RSS feeds.
February 20th: Bryan Lee O'Malley at TPL - As part of Toronto's Keep Toronto Reading month, The Toronto Public Library is bringing in library-friendly graphic novelist Bryan Lee O'Malley (Scott Pilgrim) to do an on-stage interview/presentation that I might be co-hosting? It's at 6:30pm at North York Central Library, but I'll be inundating you with reminders about that soon enough... I'm going to see if I can talk him into previewing the first chapter of Scott Pilgrim 4 there, which will make it a can't-miss event. View the schedule of events at http://www.keeptorontoreading.ca/
Self Portrait by Bryan Lee O'Malley
February 22nd-26th: New York Comic Con - I'll be participating at a couple of panels at this year's NYCC and blogging from the floor again. It should be a lot of fun, I think. The only announced panel appearance so far is "The Buyers Panel" retailers-only programming on the 22nd. I think I'll be on a few though, and wandering around for the rest of the time. Oh, and speaking of wandering around, I've got the better-part of a day to kill on Monday, so if anyone wants to hang out lemmie know. http://www.nycomiccon.com
February 27th: COMICS FESTIVAL 2007! Orders due - The last Tuesday in February is the last day that retailers can place their orders for COMICS FESTIVAL 2007, the Free Comic Book Day Offering that I'm co-editing with Chip Zdarsky. Darwyn Cooke, Bryan Lee O'Malley, Hope Larson, and many, many more contributors. Plus the book will be half-colour, and feature one of the coolest things I've ever seen in a FCBD comic, a secret I don't wanna give away just yet. Comics Festival 2007 is going to be the book to get on FCBD, believe-you-me. Please make sure to tell your retailer that you wanna see copies of this one in... Going up against 45 other comics is kind of... completely insane, and not every retailer is going to splurge on every book. Thanks!
May 5th: Free Comic Book Day - We'll be doing another big event at The Beguiling! Plus, hopefully Comics Festival 2007 will be available nationwide!
May 25th-27th: Anime North Toronto - The biggest show that we at The Beguiling do all year. It really is something to see, and I think we're gonna try and do something a little different and a little stupid at AN this year (good-stupid) to up the ante. Last year we brought Ryan North, Bryan Lee O'Malley, and Kean Soo to the event and had a book-launch for Ryan and Mal that weekend. This time out, I'm sure we can come up with something better/crazier and really promote the hell out of TCAF too. http://animenorth.com/
June 8th-10th: Paradise Comics Toronto Comicon - This is the not-evil mainstream comics show in Toronto. Guests include Terry Moore, Matt Wagner, Kaare Andrews, and many more. The Beguiling will be set up as per usual with a good mix of stuff, and a great time is generally had by all attendees at this event. http://www.torontocomicon.com/
June 22nd-24th: MoCCA Art Festival in New York - I never miss a chance to attend MoCCA, as it combines a ton of great comics creators with NEW YORK CITY, and who would want to miss-out on that? Plus, I've got my own Fest to promote two months later. I will say that MoCCA is just an amazing show to attend, busy and fun but also surrounded on all sides by business and fun too (not to mention the food). If you've never been, it's worth going. If you can only go to one east-coast show though, uh, scroll down two-entries. http://www.mocca-ny.org
July 5th: I'm turning 30. I'm hoping to throw a bigger party than we did for the wedding. You? Invited!
July 26th-29th: San Diego Comic Con - It's pretty-much guaranteed that I'll be at San Diego this year, although I felt a bit aimless at last year's without being tethered to a booth. Maybe I just need to psych myself up a little more for this one? 4 days though and I still don't feel like I saw it all... http://www.comic-con.org
August 18th & 19th: The Toronto Comic Arts Festival - Oh, you so totally have to come, it's going to be amazing. We're holding it this time out in a 100 year old University building! Three floors! Hundreds of guests! An amazing kick-off party on Friday night! It's kind of like a non-stop, 3 day party I guess, though I don't unclench until Sunday night at about 9pm. Details at http://www.torontocomics.com/tcaf. Expect the 2007 website to go live soon, with our preliminary guestlist (note: it's pretty darned great if you're a fan of this blog...)
After: It looks like I'm going to Japan in the fall with my hubby for a delayed honeymoon, which will be great. JAPAN. Yay! Also, Christmas, but that one might be just a little too-far-away to think about.
Anyway, thanks for reading this little trip through the future. Here's hoping you'll catch me at one of these events and we can raise a glass or two...!
What if my blog started over from zero? All the archives would be there still, where they are, but...? Bad idea? Wordpress isn't importing "New Blogger" right now and the idea of copying 1000 posts by hand is hilarious.
In his newest Conversational Euro-Comics column at Comics Reporter, Bart Beaty provides an overview of the forthcoming "Angouleme Essential Awards", to be handed out at Festival International de la Bande Dessinee. It's a great article and totally essential reading, so hurry up and go read it. He also name-checks me in the article, when talking about the manga entries on the 50-volume list of books elligible for the top prize:
So I figured, why not? Let's talk about which manga are or are not available in English.
Avant la Prison, by Kazuichi Hanawa. Hanawa's Doing Time is published in English by Fanfare Ponent-Mon, and it's a monotonous, unflinching portrayal of life in a Japanese prison. While it's considered a fairly difficult read, I can definitely recommend it as a unique and engrossing manga. This volume acts as something of a prequel to Doing Time, and we all hope to see it follow Doing Time to the shelves... Eh, Stephen?
Gyo, by Junji Ito. As readers of this blog are aware, Junji Ito's Gyo is published in English by Viz LLC, and books 1 & 2 were released in the 6x9 format in 2003 and 2004. Generally considered inferior to his Uzumaki series, Gyo has an aborted finish, but does deliver some truly terrifying visuals and moments (Sharks... WITH LEGS!). Also available from Junji Ito are Museum Of Terror Volumes 1-3 published by Dark Horse.
In the Clothes Named Fat, by Moyoco Anno. Despite an English title, this single-volume manga by Moyoco Anno is not available in English. It seems like a book worth translating though, as it deals with a woman who tries to lose weight to interest a man, and the body-image-related downward spiral she enters. Luckily for you reader, Moyoco Anno has been published in English before. A lot, actually: Happy Mania from Tokyopop features a desperate 20-something woman looking to settle down and find the right man, but Mr. Right-now will do; Flowers & Bees from Viz actually deals with body-image issues amongst men in a humourous way; Sugar Sugar Rune from Del Rey Publishing is an all-ages affair that has young witches breaking boys' hearts for power; Anno even has a cute short-story in Japan: As Viewed By 17 Creators published by Fanfare Ponent-Mon.
Jacaranda, by Kotobuki Shiriagari. Totally and completely unavailable in English, and probably pretty unlikely to become so. This single volume appears to be a meditation on the human condition as viewed through the lense of the apocalypse--a giant plant grows up in Tokyo overnight oblitterating the city--but actually might just be a comedy, pages and pages of death and destruction included. I hope we order a copy of this into my store to look at, hint hint.
Ki-Itchi, Hideki Arai. Man, this is so unlikely to come out in English. Evar. Volume 1 is about a hyper-violent three year old boy who doesn't show any emotions and is constantly lashing out at the world. It's sort of a more-realisitically drawn Dark Crayon Shin-chan you know? Then, at the beginning of the second volume his parents are killed by a mugger and he's left with no family and no understanding of what happened. Fierce socio-political commentary. I would totally, totally buy this if it were in English.
Non Non Ba, by Shigeru Mizuki. Oh wow. So I didn't recognize the name, but following a viewing of the Takeshi Miike movie "The Great Yokai War" I did a little bit of digging on "yokai", the various Japanese forest spirits and demons that make up Japanese mythology. It turns out that Shigeru Mizuki is probably the best-known manga-ka of yokai stories, and his 'Ge Ge Ge no Kitaro' is considered a shonen horror classic. NonNonbâ appears to be Mizuki's newest manga, another yokai tale about a boy who befriends a yokai and the problems it causes to his day-to-day life. Sounds really neat, actually, and seeing as we got some of Kazuo Umezu's excellent classic horror manga this year with Drifting Classroom from Viz, I think some Mizuki would go down nicely...!
Sorcieres, by Daisuke Igarashi. This would be known as "Witch" in English (making it, what, property #4 with that title?), but isn't currently known as anything because it ain't in English. We just got a copy of this book in this week at The Beguiling, because it was actually recommended by Black & White creator Taiyo Matsumoto in the back of the sixth French edition of his No. 5 series. Confluence! The plot seems a bit... magical such and such quest for grown-ups, but the art is lovely. It's like a sketchy euro-Otomo, where every drawing looks absolutely effortless and dashed-off, until you realise that a) they're beautiful, and b) he is not drawing easy-to-draw things. Absolutely beautiful, and I could totally see Dark Horse picking this up and fitting it seemlessly into their current slate of releases. YOU HEAR ME, CARL? :)
Zipang, by Kaiji Kawaguchi. You're totally unlikely to see this this in English, as Kawaguchi's previous English-language manga, the excellent socio-political drama Eagle from Viz, did not do well. This series, about a navy battleship from the Japanese Self-Defence Forces transported back to WWII, sounds like a gripping, mature story of tough choices and tougher consquences. So, TS, buy more Naruto.
--
There you go Bart, et al. I hope you enjoy this little run down of great manga that I cannot read as much as I enjoyed researching it all, only to find out after-the-fact that there's an English-language description of most of these books in a Festival Program (right click save as) and that David Welsh covered some of this in his column 4 weeks ago. Le Sigh.
I've got selfish reasons for appreciating the Toronto media's fascination with comics, obvious ones. For one, it makes my job easier when The Toronto Star, Globe and Mail, National Post, or even The New York Times recommends a comic ('graphic novel'), because I know what will be the easy sell for the next few weeks. You just make a little display of the featured, positively-reviewed book, situate 4 or 5 similar or related books around it, and the sales take care of themselves (particularly if you've actually read the books in question).
So today's review of Moomin: The Complete Tove Jansson Comic Strip in The Star was lovely to see and, since I've finally read it for myself, dead-on accurate. Better still, where was the book reviewed you ask? Why, in the "small print" or Children's Books section of the paper, which is again, dead-on acurate.
One of the reasons I started this blog a thousand posts ago, aside from ripping on Stupid Marvel Tricks, is because I always wanted to see this day. Comics reviewed alongside other literature without the klarion-call in the headline or first paragraph that warned you about the strange format. A review that was utterly unnoteworthy, aside from it highlighting a great book and giving it an enthusiastic recommendation. While this sort of thing has been happening for a while, it was a wonderful thing to wake up to this morning and I thought it made for a lovely 1000th post. I hope you agree.
The Most Retarded Marvel Spoiler Ever? Note: 'retarded' used like the other half of the internet uses 'gay' and I don't say anything about it http://tinyurl.com/34p673
Uh, you really should stop reading right now if you ever loved Marvel comics? Or if you're reading Civil War? Or any Marvel Comic? Because SPOILERS?
CUSTOMER REVIEW: This book reveals the secret history of Iron Man. I cant reveal how I got it because it may cost me my job (and no, I dont work for Marvel)
SPoilers ahead
We learn that Tony stark was never in the iron man suit!! From the beginning Steve Rogers was Iron MAN and Stark was just the public image/persona. Rogers was never frozen after WW2, It turns out that was his clone, part of the super soldier program (I guess they had cloning tech back in the 40's).
I'm guessing Stark and the Real Steve rogers will reveal this to the cloned Rogers at the end of CW.
Whoever OKed this stupid retconn should be fired. The art was pretty good though, Zircher does classic superheroes right.
--
There's your Civil War Ending. Bahaha. I only hope it turns out to be true.
The following is a list of books scheduled to ship to The Beguiling Books & Art in Toronto next week. This doesn't mean they're shipping to every store, but it's probably at least worth asking about if these books don't show up in your local shoppe.
...so, it's always a bad sign when I replace one shipping list with another shipping list. In my defense I was powerfully sick for the last few days, and still am not really 'over' it right now. One more night of rest should probably do it, but until then I'm going to refrain from posting anything too 'opinionated' just in case it's more the fever talking than me. I will say that you shouldn't leave your comic store this week without a copy of the excellent short-fiction collection TANPENSHU under your arm. Paid for, hopefully.
Now, on to the list!
NOV060290 100 BULLETS #80 (MR) 2.99 NOV060200 52 WEEK #38 2.50 NOV062286 ALL NEW OFF HB MARVEL UNIV A Z UPDATE #1 (OF 4) 3.99 SEP060020 ARCHENEMIES SINNERS & SAINTS VOL 1 TP (C: 0-1-2) 12.95 NOV062288 AVENGERS NEXT #5 (OF 5) 2.99 DEC064011 BACK ISSUE #13 5.95 NOV063296 BETTY #162 2.25 DEC063560 BLECKY YUCKERELLA VOL 2 BACK IN BLECK GN (MR) 11.95 SEP060026 BLESSED THISTLE GN (C: 0-1-2) 9.95 NOV060209 CHECKMATE #10 2.99 OCT060014 CHRONICLES OF CONAN VOL 11 DANCE O/T SKULL TP (C: 16.95
NOV062268 CIVIL WAR THE RETURN 2.99 NOV068140 CIVIL WAR THE RETURN MCGUINNESS VAR 2.99 Because no one at Marvel is going to admit how badly they handled (read: fucked up) Civil War until years and years from now, I will note that the need to create a bunch of one-shots needed to understand the story (but that won't be collected in the trade paperback) sort of says it all for them, doesn't it? It's Secret Wars ][ all over again.
NOV063686 CLIVE BARKERS GREAT & SECRET SHOW #9 (OF 12) (MR) 3.99 NOV063816 COLD HEAT #2 (OF 12) (MR) 5.00 SEP063530 COMPLETE NEMESIS THE WARLOCK BK 1 (C: 0-1-2) 28.99 NOV060218 CONNOR HAWKE DRAGONS BLOOD #3 (OF 6) 2.99
NOV062344 CRIMINAL #4 (MR) 2.99 I'm really enjoying this, which is usually the kiss-of-death for Marvel and DC series. Here's hoping the ICON logo shields some of that bad luck. Oh, and on the "my store is the best store because" tip, "My store is the best store because weve got all three issues in stock as I'm writing this." If any of my customers happen to be reading, make a point of checking this noirish crime series out, you won't regret it.
OCT061856 OFFICIAL HANDBOOK O/T INVINCIBLE UNIVERSE #2 (OF 2 4.99 OCT060053 ONE MISSED CALL 1 PLUS 2 TP (C: 1-1-2) 14.95 NOV063523 OUR KINGDOM VOL 5 GN (MR) 12.95 NOV060021 OUTER ORBIT #2 (OF 4) 2.99 NOV063818 PAPER RAD BJ & DA DOGS GN (MR) 29.95 JUN060044 PENNY ARCADE VOL 3 WARSUN PROPHECIES TP (C: 0-1-2) 12.95 JUN063269 PHANTOM MAN EATERS GN 12.95 DEC060003 PREVIEWS VOL XVII #2 (NET) 4.50 NOV062312 PUNISHER WAR JOURNAL #3 CW 2.99 AUG061775 PVP #30 2.99 NOV063929 RAMAYAN 3392 AD #5 2.99 OCT060275 RED SONJA CLAW DEVILS HANDS TP 12.99 NOV063522 RIN VOL 2 GN (MR) (C: 1-0-0) 12.95 NOV060176 ROBIN #158 2.99
OCT064017 ROBOT VOL 6 (C: 1-1-3) 45.99 Just a reminder, this is the Japanese version.
OCT060025 SAMURAI HEAVEN & EARTH VOL 2 #2 (OF 5) 2.99 AUG063137 SAVAGE BROTHERS #3 (OF 3) 3.99 AUG063689 SE7EN GREED #2 (OF 7) (MR) 3.99 NOV063521 SEVEN GN (MR) (C: 1-0-0) 12.95 OCT060228 SHOWCASE PRESENTS BRAVE & BOLD BATMAN TEAMUPS VOL 16.99 NOV062316 SILENT WAR #1 (OF 6) 2.99 NOV063395 SIMPSONS CLASSICS #11 3.99 NOV063305 SONIC THE HEDGEHOG #171 2.25 NOV062279 SPIDER-MAN LOVES MARY JANE #14 2.99 SEP060040 STAR WARS DARK TIMES #2 (OF 5) (C: 1-0-0) 2.99 NOV060241 SUPERGIRL AND THE LEGION OF SUPER HEROES #26 2.99 JUL062993 TAG #3 (OF 3) 3.99
OCT060056 TANPENSHU VOL 1 TP (MR) (C: 1-1-2) 12.95 Holy shit! Three kinds of awesome! TANPENSHU is a short-story collection featuring the work of Hiroki Endo, creator of EDEN (also from Dark Horse). I've read a couple of these stories in scanlation previously, but being able to get them all in print (along with a bunch of stuff I've never read) really seals the deal, in my humble opinion.
Hiroki Endo's short stories are just excellent, short literary fiction in comics form. They're 'very Japanese' in their pacing and style, of course, but Endo's use of silence and no-way-out situations creates some really brilliant and affecting pieces. I've been hoping for this release since they first announced EDEN a year-or-two back, and by God am I going to do everything in my power to sell it. DO NOT LEAVE YOUR STORE WITHOUT IT, you won't regret it.
NOV060250 TEEN TITANS GO #39 2.25 OCT064019 TOGIHIMEZOHUSHI NO 2 MASAMUNE SHIRO FOLDING ARTBK 31.99 NOV063654 TRANSFORMERS ESCALATION #3 3.99 OCT061884 TRUE STORY SWEAR TO GOD IMAGE ED #3 2.99 NOV063183 TWISTED TOYFARE THEATRE VOL 8 TP (C: 0-1-2) 12.99 NOV062360 ULTIMATE ANNUALS VOL 2 TP 13.99 NOV063937 WALK-IN #2 2.99 NOV060276 WETWORKS #5 2.99 AUG061800 WITCHBLADE LINSNER CVR #103 2.99 AUG061801 WITCHBLADE TURNER CVR #103 2.99 NOV062327 WOLVERINE #50 3.99 NOV062328 WOLVERINE BLACK AND WHITE VAR #50 3.99 NOV062356 WOLVERINE & BLACK CAT CLAWS HC 17.99 OCT060032 WORLD BELOW TP (C: 0-1-2) 12.95 NOV062331 X-FACTOR #15 2.99 NOV062355 X-FACTOR LIFE AND DEATH MATTERS PREMIERE HC 19.99 NOV063986 ZESTY VOL 1 GN 12.95 NOV063690 ZOMBIES ECLIPSE OF THE UNDEAD #3 (MR) 3.99 NOV063692 ZOMBIES VOL 1 TP FEAST 19.99
Here's what's in stores this week. Looks like a big week for floppies and trades, with The Spirit #2 and Ultimate Spider-Man #104, and the long-awaited BATMAN: YEAR 100 trade paperback... Plus, new Bone! But more on that on Wednesday...
NOV060199 52 WEEK #37 2.50 OCT063591 AEGIS VOL 3 GN (MR) 9.99 SEP063481 ALMOST HIGHLY CLASSIFIED VOL 1 GN (OF 3) 17.99 NOV063208 ANGEL DUST NEO MANGA ONE SHOT TP 10.95 OCT061852 ANGRY CHRIST COMIX TP (MR) (C: 0-1-2) 16.99 NOV060205 AQUAMAN SWORD OF ATLANTIS #48 (RES) 2.99 NOV063293 ARCHIE #572 2.25 NOV062357 AVENGERS ASSEMBLE VOL 4 HC 34.99 NOV062284 AVENGERS EARTHS MIGHTIEST HEROES II #5 (OF 8) 3.99 NOV063993 BACK ISSUE #20 (C: 0-1-2) 6.95 OCT060164 BATMAN YEAR ONE HUNDRED TP 19.99 SEP063225 BATTLESTAR GALACTICA #5 2.99 AUG063192 BATTLESTAR GALACTICA FOIL CVR #4 (NET) PI SEP063226 BATTLESTAR GALACTICA RAYNOR SKETCH CVR INCV #5 2.99 NOV060207 BIRDS OF PREY #102 2.99 SEP060035 BLADE O/T IMMORTAL SHORTCUT VOL 16 TP (MR) (C: 1-1 16.95 NOV063423 BONE VOL 5 ROCK JAW MASTER OF EASTERN BORDER COLOR HC 18.99 NOV063422 BONE VOL 5 ROCK JAW MASTER OF EASTERN BORDER COLOR SC 9.99 NOV062322 CABLE DEADPOOL #36 2.99 OCT063592 CANT LOSE YOU VOL 4 GN (OF 6) 9.99 OCT063403 CASTLE WAITING VOL II #4 3.95 NOV060183 CATWOMAN #63 2.99 SEP063235 CLASSIC BATTLESTAR GALACTICA #3 3.50 NOV064010 COMICS BUYERS GUIDE APR 2007 #1627 (C: 0-1-2) 5.99 OCT063822 COMICS REVUE #249 (C: 0-1-2) 6.95 NOV060013 CONAN #36 (MR) 2.99 NOV060012 CONAN & THE MIDNIGHT GOD #1 (OF 5) 2.99 NOV062267 DAILY BUGLE FEBRUARY NEWSPAPER (BUNDLE OF 50) (NET PI OCT061900 DARKNESS VOL 5 DEMON INSIDE TP 19.99 OCT063258 DAVE JOHNSON FC SKETCHBOOK 2006 (JUN062970) 9.99 NOV063493 DEMONWARS THE DEMON AWAKENS SEELEY CVR A #1 (OF 3) 4.99 NOV063663 DESPERADOES BUFFALO DREAMS #1 (OF 4) 3.99 OCT063594 DOKEBI BRIDE VOL 4 GN 9.99 NOV062376 ESSENTIAL X-FACTOR VOL 2 TP 16.99 NOV062323 EXILES #90 2.99 AUG062045 FANTASTIC FOUR #542 CW 2.99 SEP062992 FIRST MOON GN 12.95 NOV060040 GHOST IN THE SHELL 1.5 HUMAN ERROR PROCESSOR #4 (O 2.99 NOV062295 GHOST RIDER #7 2.99 NOV061871 GIRLS #21 (MR) 2.99 OCT063593 GREAT CATSBY VOL 4 GN (OF 6) (MR) 19.99 OCT060197 GREEN LANTERN #16 (RES) 2.99 SEP060227 GREEN LANTERN ARCHIVES VOL 6 HC 49.99 NOV060203 HELMET OF FATE DETECTIVE CHIMP #1 2.99 OCT063334 HIGHLANDER #3 2.99 OCT063335 HIGHLANDER HARRIS SKETCH CVR INCV #3 2.99 NOV061860 IRON GHOST GEIST REICH TP 15.99 MAR060041 JACK HIGHTOWER TP (RES) (C: 0-1-2) 14.95 NOV060222 JLA CLASSIFIED #32 3.99 OCT060248 KIKAIDER CODE 02 VOL 6 (MR) (C: 1-0-0) 9.99 OCT061860 LIBERTY MEADOWS VOL 4 COLD COLD HEART TP (C: 0-1-2 14.99 SEP063625 LOST BOOKS OF EVE #1 3.25 FEB063205 LOVE AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE #6 (MR) 5.95 NOV060258 MAD MAGAZINE #474 3.99 NOV062305 MARVEL ADVENTURES AVENGERS #9 2.99 NOV062304 MARVEL ADVENTURES FANTASTIC FOUR #20 2.99 NOV062358 MARVEL ADVENTURES SPIDER-MAN VOL 5 DIGEST TP 6.99 NOV062383 MARVEL TALES FLIP MAGAZINE #20 4.99 OCT062210 MARVEL VISIONARIES JOHN BUSCEMA HC 34.99 OCT061851 MIKE CAREYS ONE SIDED BARGAINS (ONE SHOT) (MR) 5.99 AUG063630 NEW ONIMUSHA NIGHT OF GENESIS VOL 2 GN 12.95 NOV068018 NEWUNIVERSAL 2ND PTG RIBIC VAR #1 (PP #747) 2.99 SEP063100 NIGHT O/T LIVING DEAD BEGINNING #2 (OF 3) (MR) 3.99 SEP063101 NIGHT O/T LIVING DEAD BEGINNING PAINTED CVR #2 (MR 3.99 SEP063102 NIGHT O/T LIVING DEAD BEGINNING ROTTING CVR #2 (MR 3.99 NOV060235 OMEGA MEN #4 (OF 6) 2.99 OCT060250 RECIPE FOR GERTRUDE VOL 3 (C: 1-0-0) 9.99 NOV060283 RED MENACE #3 (OF 6) 2.99 OCT063321 RED SONJA SDWAS ANNUAL B&W CVR INCV #1 3.50 OCT063320 RED SONJA SHE DEVIL WITH A SWORD ANNUAL #1 3.50 SEP063163 ROACH #2 (RES) 2.95 NOV060305 SANDMAN MYSTERY THEATRE SLEEP OF REASON #2 (OF 5) 2.99 NOV060257 SCOOBY DOO #116 2.25 NOV062276 SENSATIONAL SPIDER-MAN #34 2.99 NOV060236 SHADOWPACT #9 2.99 JUL060047 SHAMAN WARRIOR VOL 1 TP (C: 0-1-2) 12.95 NOV062315 SHE-HULK 2 #15 2.99 OCT063747 SHOJO BEAT FEB 07 VOL 3 #2 (C: 1-0-0) 5.99 NOV061861 SILENCERS TP 14.99 AUG063442 SILENT GHOST #2 3.50 NOV063394 SIMPSONS COMICS #126 2.99 NOV060285 SKYE RUNNER #6 2.99 NOV062281 SPIDER-MAN REIGN #2 (OF 4) 3.99 OCT068239 SPIDER-MAN REIGN 2ND PTG ANDREWS VAR #1 (OF 4) 3.99 NOV060234 SPIRIT #2 2.99 NOV063645 STAR TREK NEXT GENERATION THE SPACE BETWEEN #1 (OF 3.99 SEP063170 STARDUST KID #5 (OF 5) 3.50 NOV062351 STORM PREMIERE HC 19.99 NOV062352 STORM PREMIERE HC VAR ED 19.99 OCT060174 SUPERMAN EMPEROR JOKER TP 14.99 NOV063755 TALES OF TMNT COLL BOOKS VOL 2 LEONARDO TP 12.00 NOV060307 TESTAMENT #14 (MR) 2.99 OCT060296 TESTAMENT VOL 2 WEST OF EDEN TP (MR) 12.99 NOV060287 TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE #3 (MR) 2.99 NOV063920 TEZUKAS BUDDHA VOL 5 DEER PARK SC (C: 0-1-2) 14.95 NOV063656 TRANSFORMERS SPOTLIGHT ULTRA MAGNUS 3.99 JUL060046 TRIGUN MAXIMUM VOL 11 TP (C: 1-1-2) 9.95 OCT063086 TRON #3 3.50 NOV062271 ULTIMATE POWER #1 DIRECTORS CUT 3.99 NOV062272 ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #104 3.99 OCT068143 ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN 1 FOR 100 WHITE VAR #104 (PP # PI OCT068109 ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN BAGLEY 1 FOR 50 VAR #104 (PP#7 PI NOV062274 ULTIMATE X-MEN #78 2.99 OCT063736 VILLAINS VOL 1 THICK AS THIEVES TP 12.95 NOV063665 WAR OF THE UNDEAD #1 (OF 3) (MR) 3.99 NOV063403 WHAT WERE THEY THINKING SOME PEOPLE NEVER LEARN ON 3.99 OCT062196 WISDOM #2 (OF 6) (MR) 3.99 NOV063182 WIZARD ANIME INSIDER TRINITY BLOOD #41(NOTE PRICE) 4.99 SEP063238 XENA STRANGE VISITOR ONE SHOT 4.95 SEP063239 XENA STRANGE VISITOR ONE SHOT VIRGIN INCV CVR 4.95 NOV062334 X-MEN FIRST CLASS #5 (OF 8) 2.99 NOV060308 Y THE LAST MAN #53 (MR) 2.99 OCT063595 YOUR LOVER VOL 2 GN (OF 4) 9.99 OCT063518 ZOMBIES VS ROBOTS #2 (OF 2) 3.99
Hey, Flash Gordon fans, I gotta question. When you hear Queen's theme song to the film version of the Flash Gordon movie, you know:
Flash - a-ah - saviour of the universe! Flash - a-ah - he'll save everyone of us! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha Flash - a-ah - he's a miracle! Flash - a-ah - king of the impossible!
So, when you hear that, is it sort of like when die-hard Batman fans hear the wacky Adam West-version opening song and they wince in pain because that's not the REAL Batman? Or like, the cheesy/excellent Spider-Man cartoon theme from back in the day, that has absolutely no place near the sophisticated new motion pictures and feels like needles in Sam Raimi's skin?
I ask, because I was just reading at The Forbidden Planet Blog about a new 22-episode, "contemporary retelling of the comic-strip story" from the SciFi network--the people who brought you the ultra-gritty new Battlestar Galactica--and all I can see in my head is the 1980 Flash Gordon movie, which makes the original Battlestar series look like cinema verite by comparisson... All I'm saying is, wouldn't it be awesome if a 'contemporary' retelling of Flash Gordon really did use the Queen soundtrack and all the trappings thereof? All bold pop-art graphics and cgi and design that eschew realism for fantasy and escapism?
I'd be on the couch watching that every week, instead of the miserablists that populate SciFi's current major hit...
So, Friday I missed my first day of blogging for reals. I had meant to post the shipping list (coming up next), but I just plumb ran out of time and energy and so I flubbed my New Year's resolution. C'est la vie, I suppose, and that's no reason not to just get right back up on that horse... Expect lots of posting in the next day or two as this week seems to have a bunch more to talk about.
And speaking of The Beguiling, our nation's capital newspaper, The Ottawa Citizen, interviewed me in my capacity as manager for an article this week. Well, me and Shenzhen and Pyongyang author Guy Delisle, so I'm in good company. I come off really well in the article, and as a primer for comics and graphic novels it's a strong piece, though maybe a little behind the curve. That's Ottawa, I suppose. Also? I'm sure I'm every Ottawa comic book store's friend now, because we spent the article recommending books they don't generally carry, and a guy from Toronto gave all the quotes for the article instead of anyone local. Maybe someone will write an angry letter! Haha...
Oh, and if you check that article out, you'll notice that it has a sneak-peak at the staff of The Beguiling's top ten list for 2006. All of the staff got to pick ten books, and whichever books had the most total votes went on the list. We've got a pretty diverse staff here, and the list is significantly more... balanced... than you might expect. I'll be putting a written/explained list of the top-20 later today, with pictures and things. Actually, I've got a post in me just on best-of lists, particularly after reading that absolutely brutal best of that the dude at "Comics Should Be Good" did this morning. Maybe I'll get that up for tomorrow.
Thanks to everyone who commented on and linked-to the preview of To Terra (post below this one). It is exactly the sort of manga/comic/graphic novel that needs attention and hype, so anything you could do to spread the word would be appreciated. Hopefully I'll be able to get more previews online soon.
To Terra, Volume 1 By Keiko Takemiya 308 Pages, 6"x8", SC, $13.95 Published by Vertical Inc. 978-7-932234-67-1 Coming February 20th, 2007
One of the things I wanted to do this year was start putting more actual comic books up on the blog. Granted, this is often fairly illegal so it's a matter of working with publishers and things, but I feel that actually putting good comics in front of people and letting them participate is the easiest way to convince a reader that a book is worth their money. I hope that this preview manages to convince you.
Our first preview of the 2007 is the result of the last piece of mail I got in 2006; an advance reading copy of Vertical's first non-Tezuka manga, To Terra. It's the kind of over-the-top space-opera and sci-fi exemplified by the work of Leiji Matsumoto; the Galaxy Express and Captain Harlock manga, not to mention the kick-ass anime music videos for Daft Punk's 'Discovery' album ('One! More! Time!). I went on a total 70s sci-fi manga binge last year, buying up whatever I could in Japanese, it's so incredibly bizarre and wonderful. Now, we've got some brand new translated material, and the icing on the cake is that it's by Keiko Takemiya, one of the "Magnificent Forty-Niners" that revolutionized shoujo manga in the 1970s. This series is going to run for three volumes, all at the same page-count and price point, and I think it's really going to surprise people. Anne Ishi and the fine folks at Vertical chose this 16 page sequence as the best introduction to the sprawling sci-fi epic, and falling as it does at the end of the first 'act', I have to agree.
Thanks to Anne Ishi at Vertical for helping me set this up. If you want to find out more about Vertical's line of books, visit their website at http://www.vertical-inc.com. If you're a publisher interested in running a preview here at the site, as always I can be contacted at chris1@1beguiling.com, removing the 1's from the e-mail address of course.
Feel free to tell me what you thought in the comments section...!
Hi there! I'm switching to Wordpress soon, and the site design will be getting a considerable overhaul at the same time. I need your help. Can you point me at some websites that you like? Stuff that features really regular updates, imparts a lot of information, and is clean and well laid-out? I almost don't want any suggestions from comic sites, but if that's what works, then by all means. But I've seen Comicsreporter, and it looks and works great.
Examples: I think BoingBoing meets my criteria, but the entries are generally very, very short and that doesn't really suit my more ranty moods (I also don't like hiding stuff behind a cut, generally). Same thing goes for Drawn, which is functional for small entries but wouldn't work for big ones, imho.
Also, if you know of any storehouses for great 'off-the-shelf' wordpress templates, those links would definitely be appreciated.
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.
February 20th: Bryan Lee O'Malley at TPL - As part of Toronto's Keep Toronto Reading month, The Toronto Public Library is bringing in library-friendly graphic novelist Bryan Lee O'Malley (Scott Pilgrim) to do an on-stage interview/presentation that I might be co-hosting? It's at 6:30pm at North York Central Library, but I'll be inundating you with reminders about that soon enough... I'm going to see if I can talk him into previewing the first chapter of Scott Pilgrim 4 there, which will make it a can't-miss event. View the schedule of events at 
February 27th: COMICS FESTIVAL 2007! Orders due - The last Tuesday in February is the last day that retailers can place their orders for COMICS FESTIVAL 2007, the Free Comic Book Day Offering that I'm co-editing with Chip Zdarsky. Darwyn Cooke, Bryan Lee O'Malley, Hope Larson, and many, many more contributors. Plus the book will be half-colour, and feature one of the coolest things I've ever seen in a FCBD comic, a secret I don't wanna give away just yet. Comics Festival 2007 is going to be the book to get on FCBD, believe-you-me. Please make sure to tell your retailer that you wanna see copies of this one in... Going up against 45 other comics is kind of... completely insane, and not every retailer is going to splurge on every book. Thanks!
Avant la Prison, by Kazuichi Hanawa. Hanawa's Doing Time is published in English by Fanfare Ponent-Mon, and it's a monotonous, unflinching portrayal of life in a Japanese prison. While it's considered a fairly difficult read, I can definitely recommend it as a unique and engrossing manga. This volume acts as something of a prequel to Doing Time, and we all hope to see it follow Doing Time to the shelves... Eh, Stephen?
Gyo, by Junji Ito. As readers of this blog are aware, Junji Ito's Gyo is published in English by Viz LLC, and books 1 & 2 were released in the 6x9 format in 2003 and 2004. Generally considered inferior to his Uzumaki series, Gyo has an aborted finish, but does deliver some truly terrifying visuals and moments (Sharks... WITH LEGS!). Also available from Junji Ito are Museum Of Terror Volumes 1-3 published by Dark Horse.
In the Clothes Named Fat, by Moyoco Anno. Despite an English title, this single-volume manga by Moyoco Anno is not available in English. It seems like a book worth translating though, as it deals with a woman who tries to lose weight to interest a man, and the body-image-related downward spiral she enters. Luckily for you reader, Moyoco Anno has been published in English before. A lot, actually: Happy Mania from Tokyopop features a desperate 20-something woman looking to settle down and find the right man, but Mr. Right-now will do; Flowers & Bees from Viz actually deals with body-image issues amongst men in a humourous way; Sugar Sugar Rune from Del Rey Publishing is an all-ages affair that has young witches breaking boys' hearts for power; Anno even has a cute short-story in Japan: As Viewed By 17 Creators published by Fanfare Ponent-Mon.
Jacaranda, by Kotobuki Shiriagari. Totally and completely unavailable in English, and probably pretty unlikely to become so. This single volume appears to be a meditation on the human condition as viewed through the lense of the apocalypse--a giant plant grows up in Tokyo overnight oblitterating the city--but actually might just be a comedy, pages and pages of death and destruction included. I hope we order a copy of this into my store to look at, hint hint.
Ki-Itchi, Hideki Arai. Man, this is so unlikely to come out in English. Evar. Volume 1 is about a hyper-violent three year old boy who doesn't show any emotions and is constantly lashing out at the world. It's sort of a more-realisitically drawn Dark Crayon Shin-chan you know? Then, at the beginning of the second volume his parents are killed by a mugger and he's left with no family and no understanding of what happened. Fierce socio-political commentary. I would totally, totally buy this if it were in English.
Non Non Ba, by Shigeru Mizuki. Oh wow. So I didn't recognize the name, but following a viewing of the Takeshi Miike movie "The Great Yokai War" I did a little bit of digging on "yokai", the various Japanese forest spirits and demons that make up Japanese mythology. It turns out that Shigeru Mizuki is probably the best-known manga-ka of yokai stories, and his 'Ge Ge Ge no Kitaro' is considered a shonen horror classic. NonNonbâ appears to be Mizuki's newest manga, another yokai tale about a boy who befriends a yokai and the problems it causes to his day-to-day life. Sounds really neat, actually, and seeing as we got some of Kazuo Umezu's excellent classic horror manga this year with Drifting Classroom from Viz, I think some Mizuki would go down nicely...!
Sorcieres, by Daisuke Igarashi. This would be known as "Witch" in English (making it, what, property #4 with that title?), but isn't currently known as anything because it ain't in English. We just got a copy of this book in this week at The Beguiling, because it was actually recommended by Black & White creator Taiyo Matsumoto in the back of the sixth French edition of his No. 5 series. Confluence! The plot seems a bit... magical such and such quest for grown-ups, but the art is lovely. It's like a sketchy euro-Otomo, where every drawing looks absolutely effortless and dashed-off, until you realise that a) they're beautiful, and b) he is not drawing easy-to-draw things. Absolutely beautiful, and I could totally see Dark Horse picking this up and fitting it seemlessly into their current slate of releases. YOU HEAR ME, CARL? :)
Zipang, by Kaiji Kawaguchi. You're totally unlikely to see this this in English, as Kawaguchi's previous English-language manga, the excellent socio-political drama Eagle from Viz, did not do well. This series, about a navy battleship from the Japanese Self-Defence Forces transported back to WWII, sounds like a gripping, mature story of tough choices and tougher consquences. So, TS, buy more Naruto.
Iron Man: Steve Rogers (Paperback)
To Terra, Volume 1
