©2009 Evan Dorkin. From Dork #5 & Dork Volume 1: Who’s Laughing Now?. 76
This is the second Achewood Christmas strip, from December 24th 2002. Ray and Roast Beef have gone on a road-trip to a scuzzy titty bar, and Ray, drunk (and drinking) on a toilet, remembers that it is Christmas Eve and he has not gotten a gift for his best friend. He tries to do so via the gift-options available to him in a strip-club restroom. He passes out on the toilet without flushing. This, unfortunately, becomes a plot-point in following strips.
- Christopher
Begun in October 2001, Chris Onstad’s ACHEWOOD quickly became my favourite online comic strip. I was reading this stuff since before the cats. In fact I did not like how cat-centric the strip became, at first, missing the absurdity of “Phillipe is standing on it,” and Teodor dressed up as Archie. That’s how O.G. I am.
But enough preening. I present to you the first Achewood “Christmas” strip, which arrived on the day after Christmas 2001, with a message of anti-cheer. On actual-Christmas, Onstad posted a photo of the roof of his house, the gutter of which had sprung a leak, presumably on Christmas Eve. What I’m saying is that, like all of us, Chris Onstad has a complicated relationship with Christmas that he shares with you through his characters. Join him and them and us, all this week.
- Christopher
My Christmas spirit is now in full-cheer, and so I’m about-ready to dig into these fascinating new graphic novel adaptations of classic Christmas tales, published by the good folks at Harper Collins. While they aren’t actually part of a branded ‘line’ of books, Lilli Carre’s adaptation of Hans Christian Anderson’s The Fir Tree, Joel Priddy’s adaptation of O. Henry’s The Gift of the Magi, and Alex Robinson’s adaptation of L. Frank Baum’s A Kidnapped Santa Claus all share a handsome and complimentary hardcover design, lovely art, and perfect timing for holiday reading.
As I mentioned I haven’t had a chance to read these ones yet… I have bought them and flipped through them though! I guess I’m just waiting for tonight’s first snowfall, a warm cup of cocoa, and maybe a Christmas special on the TV in the background. If you want to take a peek, I’ve got a gallery of images from the book below, and you can find reviews/discussions of the work at CBR and Rob Clough’s High-Low.
All three books are available now for US$14.99 each.
- Chris
©2009 Evan Dorkin. From Dork #5 & Dork Volume 1: Who’s Laughing Now?. 75
If you followed the second part of Liveblogging the November 2009 Previews you saw mention of the new Mega Man manga being published by UDON. I should point out that I’m friends with the UDON guys so, grain of salt and all that, but I am pretty excited about the new manga, because I like the games and everything I’d heard pointed to this series being a strong adaptation of the original games. Did I ever tell you I made a Mega Man tabletop RPG when I was in grade 7? No? Well you learn something new every day.
All of that said, my friend Derek Haliday is so much more excited about this manga than I am. His appreciation of the character and the upcoming series mentions the Astro Boy-ish origins of the character, amongst other things. Go read it, it’s enthusiastic. :)
Related: Udon released a preview of the first volume coming this January/February: http://www.udonentertainment.com/blog/?p=1375
- Chris
©2009 Evan Dorkin. From Dork #5 & Dork Volume 1: Who’s Laughing Now?. 74
Todays Christmas Comic comes to us from… Geoff Spear and Chip Kidd’s The Golden Age of DC Comics: 365 Days. Released a few years back, it was a meaty slab of beautifully photographed excerpts from Golden Age DCU Cover-art, with each of the images corresponding to a day of the year. This image is from the cover of Action Comics #105 (1947) and corresponded to Christmas Eve. I have to admit that I don’t know who drew the original… perhaps someone in the comments can add to this posting? According to CBDB, the issue features a 14 page Siegel/Shuster story called “The Man Who Hated Christmas”, which was reprinted in the 80s I think, possibly in one of the treasury books. Anyway, it’s not easy to find, that’s for sure (and it doesn’t look like Shuster drew the cover to my eyes…).
I believe this book (the Spear/Kidd) is technically out of print, but it’s certainly not too hard to find at all… Though it’s original price of $40 might have been a bit off-putting, it’s a great discount-bin find just for the fun finds like Superman’s unique way of helping Santa down the chimney.
As for Action Comics #105, the copy pictured would probably set you back a few grand. So maybe settle for the lovely cover-art here. :)
- Christopher
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