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December 13, 2005
To Buy Or Not To Buy... and Goodbye!
One last post, folks, and then The Picky One is beginning his Holiday Vacation! Yes, it's early, but here at Picky HQ we like to give our employees a nice, long vacation at the end of another long year of snidely savaging the creative efforts of hard-working men and women. We like to think it makes up for our... modest compensation package. Enjoy your holidays, be excellent to each other, and I'll see you in 2006!
Aquaman #37 - What?!? Am I actually buying an issue of Aquaman?!? Well, no. I bring it up to point out that Kurt Busiek and Jackson Guice have been announced as the creative team for the title after the "One Year Later" revamp. Which means that, for the first time in my 20+ year comic collecting career, I might actually buy an issue of Aquaman. Might.
Best Of The Spirit TP - Finally, an affordable reprint of some of Will Eisner's classic Spirit stories. Over time, the stories may have lost a bit of their resonance and the racially-insensitive caricature of Ebony White has come to induce well-deserved cringes. But you can't throw out the baby with the bath water. The fact that this is a cherry-picked "Best Of" collection of means that Eisner's innovations in storytelling and cartooning should be on prominent display.
DMZ #2 - I loved the way Brian Wood avoided the pitfall of advancing a specific political agenda with this book. Now if he could only do something about the punk rock hipster protagonists...
Chicanos #2 - I'd almost rather buy a non-translated version of this book, so that the awkward, utilitarian dialogue doesn't distract me from Eduardo Risso's beautiful art.
Smoke Vol 1 TP - Those of us who were to tight-fisted to lay out the $7 per issue now have a $24.99 trade to deal with. This book got a lot of praise, so I think I'm going to take the plunge. If I don't like it, the comic blogosphere owes me a refund...
Amazing Joy Buzzards Vol 2 #3 - This comic book is good, good fun. So far in Volume 2, we've learned that bass player Stevo, also known as the one who only speaks in picto-grams, is a champion race car driver and half Yeti. What more do you want, people? A free online preview of the first issue? Fine, you've got it. No more excuses!
Bad Planet #1 - Written by Steve Niles and Thomas Jane (is that the same guy who was in the Punisher movie?), this book features some richly detailed, creepy-crawly art from Lewis Larosa & Tim Bradstreet and, as far as I can tell from the preview on Image's web site, a story about horny aliens. I'm not sure what to make of it.
Grounded #4 - I want to like this book, but it has a way of disappointing me with its uneven tone. I can't quite get a handle on whether it has anything fresh to say about superheroes, or even whether I should like or dislike the protagonist. Pretty artwork, though.
Books Of Doom #2 - Issue 1 was inoffensive but not particularly memorable. I'll give Ed Brubaker the benefit of the doubt and hang in there for at least one more issue.
Fantastic Four Iron Man Big In Japan #3 - Did anybody read that Legends of the Dark Knight arc that Seth Fisher drew a few months ago? Was that as crazy-looking as this title? If so, I'm definitely going to have to track it down.
GLA Misassembled TP - This wasn't my favorite Dan Slott story, but it definitely had its moments of hilarity. It boggles my mind why artist Paul Pelletier isn't a fan favorite like Jim Lee. He's definitely from the same over-muscled, over-hatched school of superhero art. Maybe Jim Lee fans are turned off by the fact that Pelletier can create believable three-dimensional spaces and tell a clear, cohesive story. Oh, snap!
GLX-Mas Special - Slott's GLA(X) has the perfect tone for a Holiday Special. That's right, Bill O'Reilly, I said Holiday Special. Go ahead, boycott me!
Omega The Unknown Classic TP - I'm eager to check this out, not only to read some early work by Hard Time writer Steve Gerber, but to prepare for next year's Jonathan Lethem/Farel Dalrymple Omega The Unknown revival. Oh MAN, I can't wait for that one!
X-Factor #1 - Peter David's classic run on X-Factor occurred during my early-90's comic hiatus, so I've never seen any of it. I enjoyed the Madrox limited series, though, and Ryan Sook's art is always a treat. I'll definitely check this one out.
Local #2 - My fears that this would be another Demo were allayed by the first issue's focus on a formal experiment instead of teenage angst. The fact that the main character "ages" a year between each issue should provide an opportunity for some interesting character development.
Posted by jdonelson_nyc at 04:47 PM | Comments (4)
December 09, 2005
Because apparently now all I do is link to other blogs
"Every week, I get another dozen or so comic books, plus a few for my girlfriend." (Sterling's girlfriend, currently "visiting relatives out of the country," was unavailable for comment.) "I enjoy lots of different types of comics, such as 'Eightball' and 'Palookaville' and 'Love & Rockets,'" Sterling states, though the comics he showed this reporter seemed to be primarily about flying men in tights who punch each other and shout a lot.
A belated happy second blogoversary to the grandaddy of 'em all, Mike Sterling!
Posted by jdonelson_nyc at 08:25 AM | Comments (3)
December 08, 2005
I knew there was something else that I wanted to mention
Dave Carter at Yet Another Comics Blog is once again running a matching funds drive for the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund. Membership costs $25. If you join, or even renew your membership, tell Dave. If ten people do so, he will generously match their donations with a $250 whopper of his own!
The CBLDF has a major fight on its hands, the defense of comics retailer Gordon Lee. Here is a quick summary of the case from The Comics Reporter by Tom Spurgeon:
Lee, the proprietor of Legends, in Rome, Georgia, faces multiple charges stemming from an incident whereby a minor participating in a community Halloween celebration inadvertently received as a trick or treat gift the 2004 Free Comic Book Day offering by Alternative Comics (cover pictured below). That comic book featured a selection from the historical drama "The Salon," by Nick Bertozzi. The scene in question showed the first meeting between Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque. Picasso is depicted in the nude on three pages in reflection of historical fact.
4 of the 7 charges were recently dismissed, but that leaves 3 to fight. So far the CBLDF has spent over $40,000 on Lee's defense. Every little bit helps, so please consider making a donation today!
Posted by jdonelson_nyc at 06:41 PM | Comments (1)
Subway Reading: Off Road
Off Road - Published by Oni Press, Off Road is Sean Murphy's first graphic novel. He has apparently done work for DC and Dark Horse in the past, but blissfully ignorant me overlooked him entirely. After reading this book, I'm not going to make that mistake again.
Murphy's art leapt off the page, grabbed me by the throat, and performed all sorts of other metaphoric acts of dynamic violence. Each panel is laid out with impeccably tight design, and they come together to guide the reader's eye on a smooth and easy trip through each page. His stylish drawing style is cartoonily reductive, but his line work is remarkably sensitive and varied. Thick strokes are deployed next to scratchy, dry hatching, and lines sometimes gets so delicate that they fade away to nothing. Pickier critics than me (ha ha, as if!) might complain about the lack of blacks or the occasional hard-to-read panels, but there are way too many visual highs to worry about the rare lows.
The story is a tale of three guys who take their new Jeep on an Off Road adventure, and in the process learn a little bit about themselves. War and Peace it ain't, but it's got enough snappy humor, fully-realized characters, and dramatic progression to consistently entertain. The backup material, including the college-era strips that eventually morphed into this novel, seem to indicate the presence of at least some autobiographical elements. Something about the believable, well-rounded characters led me to the same conclusion.
Don't take my word for the high level of craft and quality in this book; CBR ran a monstrous 50-page preview on their site. You may have overlooked this when it was released a couple of weeks ago. Do yourself a favor and track it down. The story may be a bit slight, but the skillful mastery with which it's presented is easily worth the price of admission.
Is there anything better than Evan Dorkin's blog? I suppose there are a couple of things, like peace on earth and maybe beer, but his too-infrequent updates always crack me up. A new comic book or two from the guy would be nice, but it the meantime at least we have:
Dork #11 should be out at some point in 2006. For good or bad. I am still aiming for at least 200 purported gags. I'm at about 146 right now. Law of averages says some of it will be funny. Might be funny? Will be legible and drawn in ink.
Posted by jdonelson_nyc at 05:03 PM
December 06, 2005
To Buy Or... aaaah, forget it
I got about half way through my weekly list of new releases before I realized that I had nothing enlightening, entertaining, or interesting to say about them. Instead I'm just going to point you towards three titles that may slip under your radar tomorrow...
Hard Time Season 2 #1 - Prepare for another 12 months of gushing... Hard Time is coming back and The Pickytarian is psyched! For those freedom-hating communists out there who aren't planning to get in on Season 2, here's a preview from the DC site to change your minds. I can't believe I've lasted this long without a monthly does of Brian Hurtt's art!
Caveman Robot #1 - I can't let a title like that slip by. A little research turned up what looks like a fun book with some outstanding art. Here's a preview from creator Joe Infurnari's site. Looks to be well worth your $2.50, if you can find it.
Surrogates #3 - I was hoping to get a review of issues 1 and 2 up before #3 came along, but it looks like my procrastination has once again gotten the better of me. Please trust me. Read this amazingly well-crafted book. This is the best science fiction I've read in a comic book since... I don't know, I can't even think of a comparison. The premise is that humans interact with the world through "surrogates," replicants that they control from the safety and seclusion of their own home. Writer Robert Venditti explores the ramifications of this development not only on society and culture, but on the psyches of his characters. This is one of the rare comics that will haunt you long after you finish reading it. Here's a much better description, along with a brief history of how the book came to be, from the Top Shelf web site.
Posted by jdonelson_nyc at 01:52 PM | Comments (4)
December 01, 2005
Subway Reading: Chicanos and Perhapanauts
Go figure: Wednesday is always a good day for spotting comic book readers on the subway. Yesterday I spied with my little eye somebody reading that Giant-Size Invaders book. And I forgot to mention that, two weeks on the plane to Vegas, I saw somebody reading The Watchmen.
Chicanos #1 - I was fully prepared to overlook IDW's reprint of this European comic, but then I noticed Eduardo Risso's name on the cover. I picked it up for a flip-through, and sure enough, the 100 Bullets artist handled the visuals for this black and white crime story. I'm a huge fan of Risso's; he never fails to come up with inventive layouts, and his beautiful conflation of the three-dimensional demands of narrative storytelling with the 2-D design aspects of the printed page is without peer. He did not disappoint in this book. In fact, the lack of color brought out subtle variations in his line weight that I either never noticed or that simply aren't there in the colored 100 Bullets. His figures writhe and twist across the page, arranged in a tapestry of flowing forms. Risso pushes the ugliness of his characters' faces almost to the point of grotesquerie, stopping just short enough that their character and personality pop off the page before you read a single line of dialogue.
That strength of Risso's is the saving grace for this book, because the one-dimensional characters and thin story would not hold up without it. Carlos Trillo's script does have high points; the crimelord's incompetent flunkies make for solid comic relief and the unexpectedly offbeat look of the detective protagonist is cleverly used as an important and original plot point. The uneven dialogue, however, is sometimes so awkward and clunky that it becomes a major distraction. I suspect that this shortcoming can be traced back to poor translation, but that fact doesn't improve the reading experience.
Another thing that's not in this book's favor is the $4 cover price for a 24-page black and white comic. Fans of Risso's masterful graphic storytelling will get their money's worth, but the script has room for improvement and the awkward translation doesn't help.
Perhapanauts #1 - My dismissal of this book in last week's preview post was a little too premature. I picked it up on a whim and was pleasantly surprised. Todd Dezago and Craig Rousseau self-published a couple of issues before the series was picked up by Dark Horse, and their comfort and familiarity with these characters is clear from the cast's easy banter and consistent characterization. I unfairly compared the book to Hellboy and B.P.R.D.; while there is some conceptual overlap, the tone of Perhapanauts is considerably more light-hearted. The slapstick elements comfortably co-exist with the action and science fiction, a trick that is not always easy to pull off.
Craig Rousseau's stylized, clean-line art is somewhat reminiscent of Mike Mignola's and Mike Oeming's styles, but it's tempered with an animator's streamlined minimalism. The layouts sometimes err on the side of too conservative, but at least Rousseau recognizes his strengths and capitalizes on them.
I suppose that complaint about the art could be extended to the rest of the book: as tight and smooth as it is, there is a palpable feeling of unachieved potential. I can definitely see this property as an animated cartoon, but that's as much an indictment of its play-it-safe sheen as a compliment for its breezy fun and smooth humor.
Posted by jdonelson_nyc at 01:45 PM | Comments (4)