4:01pm: The most depressing part of breaking up this review of the Previews is that part 2 invariably starts with WIZARD every time, and it’s always such a crap-fest. This month their advertisement is possibly the worst ever, with a bad airbrush delete tool used to clip a wearwolf photograph, a blurry cosplay photo mocking the poor woman posing (wonder if they got a signed release on that shot…?), and a full page illustration of the Buffy cast that says “EXCLUSIVE COVER BY J. SCOTT CAMPBELL” over a piece of art clearly by Jo Chen, that they don’t credit. And they put the “EXCLUSIVE COVER BY…” blurb right over her signature.
Honestly. Fucking amateur hour.
4:06pm: Oh, good. Toyfare’s gay-baiting on the next page.
4:07pm: Page 185 features an advertisement by The Xeric Foundation (ad space donated by Diamond Comics) promoting their May 2009 grant recipients, including Canadian auto-bio author Adam Bourret. This is a very good thing that they do, thanks Xeric Foundation… and sorry to Peter Laird whom I gravely (but accidentally) insulted last week.
4:13pm: On page 188 we have “Dread & Superficiality: Woody Allen As Comic Strip” I shit you not. Apparently there was a Woody Allen comic strip tht ran for EIGHT YEARS in newspapers. That… that is shocking to me. Written and illustrated by Stuart Hample, this Abrams Comicarts collection collects 220 best-of strips, and retails for $35.00 in HC.
4:21pm: Oh, also on page 188, Terry Moore’s got a third trade paperback collection of ECHO, which has continued to pick up readers in both formats. $15.95, 104 page, from Abstract Studios.
4:21pm: SLG Publishing (still listed as “Slave Labor Graphics” in the catalogue) has a trio of interesting releases in October. The second issue of CAPTAIN BLOOD drops, and I actually really dug the first one. Nice art, pirate story (a plus), based on a real story. I know “action adventure comic book” isn’t the first thing that comes to mind from SLG, but I dug it. WINCHESTER #1 is a spooky story set in the Winchester House, which I’d never heard of before they started promoing this book but is pretty fascinating. And Jamaica Dyer’s WEIRD FISHES is about weird kids and growing up, and collects her webcomic (available here).
4:36pm: The always entertaining Antarctic Press section on pages 194-195. So, it looks like it’s sliiiiightly better than usual, with some actual effort put into making these pages less hideous. For example, they’re putting the the cover of the book and the text describing the book on the same colour background, for readability! That’s pretty bold considering their last few months of solicitations. Granted, they still don’t seem to know how gutters or margins work, and the page still has a slap-dash feeling that would make a real designer vomit in his mouth a little, but: Definite improvement, Antarctic Press! Keep up the… work!
5:14pm: I had no idea a second collection of HATTER M: LOOKING GLASS WARS was on its way. Adapted from the popular novel series and now with art from a fella named Sami Makkonen. That’ll sell well I think, the first one certainly did and it wasn’t all just Templesmith fans (the artist on the first volume). Page 208 from Automatic Pictures Publishing, $14.95 for the 200 page SC and $24.99 for the HC.
Also on page 208, the Xeric winning anthology GHOST COMICS from Bare Bones Studios, featuring stories by Jeffrey Brown, Zack Sally, and Lucy Knisely. $10, 176 pages. Oh, and the interesting-looking ODUSSEUS THE REBEL by Steven Grant and Scott Bieser. An adaptation of the Odysseus myth, it certainly looks more interesting than Marvel’s recent attempt, and hey, the whole thing actually ran online at the Big Head Press website. Who doesn’t like Greek myth? Let’s give it a go. 184 pages, $12.95.
I’ve got an earlier collection of that Woody Allen strip, it’s pretty bang on, and looks much like the animated stuff in Annie Hall. Of course, I like Woody’s stuff so I’m biased.
Has anyone bought Dread & Superficiality? I have been looking for a specific Woody Allen cartoon for ages and would like to know if it is in this book. It’s a cartoon with Woody Allen and his nephew playing chess. It ends with Woody Allen kicking the chess board and the nephew saying “Life if madness” (or something like that).