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January 31, 2006
Subway Reading: JLA CLasssified
JLA Classified #16 - Legendary penciller Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez returns to the Justice League in this issue and the results, inked by Klaus Janson, are nothing short of spectacular. The page layouts are some of the most dynamic and inventive that I've seen in a corporate superhero book in a long time. Garcia-Lopez shows complete disregard for the sanctity of his panel borders; on the rare occasions when the borders appear, characters break through them. Despite this chaos, the storytelling flows like gravy. At one point, a figure rises out of his spot in the bottom panel, overlapping not just the panel above but the panel above that. Thanks to strategically-placed lettering and expert page design, though, there's no question as to where the reader's eye should go when. Meanwhile, Klaus Janson proves for the umpteenth time that he's the most distinctive inker in the biz. I defy you to name 3 other finishers whose styles are as readily identifiable as Janson's loose, expressive, angular inks. Each panel is a primer in the power of line weight variation. Gail Simone's script is solid if unspectacular, touching on that old chestnut of what if the JLA started getting involved in global politics, but the real star here is the visual work by Garcia-Lopez and Janson.
Posted by jdonelson_nyc at 10:32 AM
January 27, 2006
Let me break it down for you like this
Always Remember...
(To the 90% of you who have no idea what this is about, I'm sorry. To those of you that do... I'm still sorry.)
Posted by jdonelson_nyc at 03:46 PM | Comments (4)
January 24, 2006
Internal Life
Saturday I attended the Seth and Jaime Hernandez interview at Pratt's Manhattan Gallery. [You can see an extremely crummy photo below, taken with my cell phone camera.] The two cartoonists spoke at length about their work, discussing their approaches to telling stories, their drawing techniques, and more. One of the more interesting exchanges, at least one that stuck with me the most, was their discussion about character acting. Hernandez explained that he tries not to pose his characters; he wants them to look like they don't know there's a camera in the room. Seth added to the idea by explaining that he tries not to think of a camera at all. Instead, he imagines that the scene is being observed by a ghost floating through the scene.
Another topic that Seth spoke about at length was the idea of internal vs. external stories. He is fascinated by the idea that everybody has their own internal life, made up of their thoughts, their emotions, the dreams they have at night, etc. That's what he tries to explore in his comics, and that's why he doesn't concern himself very much with plot. That's an approach that I've seen more than one cartoonist take, but with varying degrees of success. This morning I read a comic book that blew me away, one that was focused almost entirely on the internal life of its main character: Ganges #1 by Kevin Huizenga.
Huizenga tells the story of a relatively mundane day in the life of Glenn Ganges. Glenn goes to the library to pick up some books and CDs, which he brings home and enjoys while his wife Wendy does some animation work on her computer. That doesn't sound like much of a story, and if I were to add that Ganges accompanies his humdrum activities with ruminations on the nature of time, life, and love, you might be inclined to tune me out even further. I know I would flip through a book like that and put it back on the shelf; I've done just that, in fact, with Huizenga's Or Else any number of times. I see now why that was such a big mistake. It's not just because Huizenga's insights are engaging and interesting, it's because he is such a gifted cartoonist that he can weave them into an utterly enthralling narrative that wouldn't work in any other medium.
Along with his economical, engaging cartoony drawing and his knack for beat-perfect storytelling, Huizenga engages in a fair bit of formal experimentation in this book. In the first "chapter," for example, Glenn walks to the library, pondering the passage of time. Huizenga goes crazy with the interplay of panel borders, thought balloons, and narrative captions in this sequence. It isn't always intuitive to read, but it definitely forces the reader to consider the relation of the past to the present and the way that sequential comics represent these concepts. Another notable sequence comes at the end of the book, when a caffeinated Glenn lies in bed watching his wife sleep. He considers the billions of people throughout history who have done the exact same thing, thinking the exact same thoughts. In a quiet, beautiful sequence on a black background, Huizenga lays out a series of panels showing various people (including characters from earlier passages in the book, such as Native Americans and elderly Glenn and Wendy), silently admiring their sleeping lovers. It's not showy or saccharin-sweet; it's understated and sublime.
I'm not afraid to eat crow, and it's a good thing, because I have a steaming plateful in front of me. Consider me converted. Kevin Huizenga is one of the best cartoonists working today. Ganges #1 will be in stores tomorrow; fans of the comic medium would do themselves a major disservice by overlooking it.
Posted by jdonelson_nyc at 01:23 PM | Comments (2)
January 19, 2006
I Got Nothing
Last week I had not one but TWO sightings of fellow subway comic readers. One evening I spotted a guy reading V For Vendetta. I was especially proud of my powers of observation because I was able to correctly identify the book without seeing the cover. That's always a fun little game to play; the challenge is to stare intently at somebody without the person noticing. A couple days later, not only did I spy with my little eye somebody reading Seven Soldiers: Bulleteer #2, but when the guy saw me reading Ultimate Extinction, he walked right over and struck up a conversation about comics! Wha...? Didn't this guy ever learn about talking to strangers on the subway? Lucky for him I'm not an ax murderer, or even worse, a Grant Morrison hater!
Is there a better comic reviewer out there than Jog? I may have enjoyed his review of All-Star Superman #1 even more than the book itself.
Yet another chance for you to sit in the same room as The Pickytarian: I plan to attend the "informal talk" with Seth and Jaime Hernandez at the Pratt Gallery this Saturday afternoon. They will be appearing as part of Pratt's "Speak: Nine Cartoonists" exhibit, which is opening tonight. The press release on Pratt's site contains more information.
Posted by jdonelson_nyc at 03:44 PM
January 18, 2006
Crazy in the Head
With the success of recent comic strip reprint packages like Calvin & Hobbes, Peanuts, and Dennis The Menace, etc, one has to imagine that similar collections will be forthcoming. I would like to submit my requests for Ernie Bushmiller's Nancy and E.C. Segar's Popeye. Nancy's surreal formal experiments and clean, geometric art was like Chris Ware without the existential angst. Popeye was much more straightforward, but the character design, both visual and conceptual, was spot-on perfect and infinitely satisfying. I would buy those books in a second. Get on that, somebody, would you? I demand entertainment!
Mark your calendars for two New York-area comic events this February. On Friday, February 3, Michael Kupperman, creator of the ridiculously funny Tales Designed to Thrizzle will be signing books at Rocketship. At the end of the month, of course, is the big NY Comic-Con. Guy and Buzzscope are throwing an after-party on Saturday, February 25, with special guests Andy MacDonald and Ivan Brandon, creators of NYC Mech. Don't miss these very special opportunities to party with The Pickytarian!
All Star Superman #2 - That whole "I'm the G-D Superman" stuff? Man, I HATED that. What's Morrison doing, phoning this one in? Or having a big joke on the fanboys?
Ex Machina #17 - Something about that last two-issue story about Hundred's mother left me kind of cold. Let's hope Vaughan & Harris get back on track with this issue.
Infinite Crisis #4 - Speaking of being left cold, if anybody can explain what the heck was gong on with the multiple Lex Luthors in issue #3, I would be much obliged. The fact that Luthor was wearing the purple bandolier costume UNDER the big green armor costume cracked me up, but not because I understood the ramifications of it. I just found it funny that a character was wearing one super-costume under another one. Frankly, I just wish they would get on with the Superman vs. Superman fight. Why do I have a nagging feeling that the fight isn't going to happen at all?
Losers #31 - For all my talk about how much I love this title, I have no memory of reading the last issue. Did I miss it completely? Duh... how's that for insightful commentary?
Planetary #24 - Must... wait... for trade....
Seven Soldiers Mister Miracle #3 - I've been thoroughly underimpressed with this series so far. This issue brings us the 3rd artist in 3 issues, and to these bitter, jaded eyes, they're 0-for-2 so far. Shining Knight and The Manhattan Guardian didn't really pick up until the halfway point, though. Let's hope the same thing happens here.
Sgt. Rock: The Prophecy #1 - Somebody's doing something right when I can buy monthly comics written and drawn by a comic legend like Joe Kubert. Buzzscope has a 6-page preview.
Testament #2 - A little birdie recommended this Vertigo series to me last week, and I liked it enough to stick with it. There's something creepy about the super-young looking mother of the teenage boy and the "I'll be 18 in one month.. tee hee" sex-bomb girl, but that might be an integral part of the story. If not... yikes.
Punisher vs Bullseye #3 - Is this too much of a Garth Ennis rip-off? It's hard to judge that objectively with the Steve Dillon artwork. Either way, I'm getting a kick out of it. The final sequence in #2 was classic.
Conan #24 - It's old news at this point, but color me extremely sad that Kurt Busiek is leaving this book. The silver lining is that Mike Mignola will be scripting a couple of issues after he leaves.
Iron Man The Inevitable #2 - Pretty.
X-Statix Presents Dead Girl #1 - This comic is a bittersweet reminder of that all-too-brief, increasingly distant time when Marvel took chances and published some halfway-irreverent takes on their superheroes. The joy of reading it may be outweighed by my longing for those bygone days. That said, we did get Fantastic Four Iron Man: Big in Japan last year, and that book is twelve different kinds of crazy.
Schizo #4 - Read some of Ivan Brunetti's strips and then tell me that you don't want to pay $9.95 for this 11 x 15 collection. The only question for me is where am I going to get a bag and board big enough for it? I ask this question because I am a massive nerd.
Posted by jdonelson_nyc at 09:42 AM | Comments (4)
January 10, 2006
To Buy Or Not To Buy?
I had some unconscious time this morning, which was fun. I went to the doctor, who wanted to give me an injection. With a needle. A big scary needle (OK, not actually that big, probably regular size) that I made the mistake of looking at. Now, you may not realize this, but The Pickytarian has a bit of a reputation of a fainter. As in, a person who faints. I know, it's hard to believe when you consider my manly tough-guy exterior, but when presented with the right stimulus, I faint dead away like a 19th century debutante whose corset has been pulled too tight. Anyway, twenty seconds into my shot, I black out. Next thing I know I'm flat on my back, being shaken awake by the doctor while some mysterious old woman is holding my feet up in the air. Good times, good times!
I bring this up in case my preview of this week's new comics seems a little disjointed. I'm still a little dazed and groggy after all...
DC Universe The Stories Of Alan Moore TP - As far as I understand, this book reprints the entire contents of 2003's Across the Universe: The DC Universe Stories of Alan Moore as well as Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow? and Killing Joke. It's one of those situations where I already have some of the material but not all. Man of Tomorrow and Killing Joke are great stories, though; if you haven't read them, this collection is definitely worth a look.
Desolation Jones #5 - I was utterly convinced that this was a 6-issue miniseries, but it seems that I may have been wrong. Can anybody confirm or deny this for me? Either way it's great stuff. I love the way each issue has its own themes and pace while still advancing the over-arching story.
DMZ #3 - I'm still along for the ride. Writer Brian Wood got some flak from my fellow backseat-writers for the children's hospital scene in the last issue, but there were some clever touches, like the sniper with the long-distance scope and his love affair with the girl in New Jersey.
Seven Soldiers Of Victory Vol 1 TP - I'm thinking that I'm going to wait until the entire crossover is done before buying it in the collected format. I've missed connections left and right this entire time (thank heaven for Jog), so I'd like to re-read it in one monster session of super-hero madness.
Amazing Joy Buzzards Vol 2 #4 - This series has gotten so much more inventive and entertaining than it was in its first incarnation. This is a slow week, so why not try it out?
Small Gods #12 - No, I'm not buying this book. But I AM offering the first trade, free, to anybody who wants it. I will even pay for the shipping (US only). Be the first to send me an email or leave a comment and it's yours.
She-Hulk 2 #4 - Dan Slott's Thing series has been a little underwhelming so far, but this book is somehow becoming more and more perfect. Even Juan Bobillo's art has grown on me.
Ultimate Extinction #1 - I'm going to buy this, aren't I? Like a sucker.
A1 Bojeffries Terror Tomes #1 - Black and white reprints of offbeat horror stories from creators such as Alan Moore, Neil Gaiman, Michael Zulli, David Lloyd, Brian Bolland, Warren Ellis, and Ted McKeever. The extensive preview at Newsarama looks pretty cool, and I've heard good things about the Moore/Parkhouse story.
Bacter-Area GN - Drawn & Quarterly brings you this graphic novel from artist Keith Jones, whose intricate drawings smash complex narratives into claustrophobically flat planes. I hadn't heard of this book before, but a look at some of Jones' art made me very curious about how his aesthetic would translate into sequential work.
Posted by jdonelson_nyc at 01:52 PM | Comments (2)
January 06, 2006
I'm like a sniper, hyper off the ginseng root
Mike Watson, artist of the very funny and all-too-rarely-produced Gabagool!, is posting big chunks of Freddie and Me, his graphic novel about his adolescence as a Queen fan, for free on the internets. Dawson's art is developing beautifully; the shaky, lo-fi charm that he showed in Gabagool! is blossoming into confident line work, idiosyncratic forms, and dynamic compositions that bring to mind a warmer, more personal Joe Sacco. The story is equally endearing. I can't wait to see the completed volume.
I actually got a little choked up reading Gotham Central #39 on the train this morning. I hadn't realized how invested I had become in the characters, especially Allen and Montoya, over the last few years. It's a testament to the power of strong characterization; when Blue Beetle or Hawkeye bought it, the only emotion I could summon up was snark. If you gave up on this series for any reason, be it the exodus of the original creative team or its shift in a more superhero-focused direction, you're missing the powerful culmination of 3 years of character development and maybe the best arc of the series.
Comic Book Galaxy has a preview of Barry Windsor-Smith's proposed Thing graphic novel. Apparently it's not a sure thing that Marvel will publish the book, which makes it all the stranger to see excerpts on the internet. Click on over there for some outstanding black and white Windsor-Smith goodness.
My man Jason Rodriguez, AKA the busiest man in comics, is putting together a new feature at the DC Conspiracy site. He's looking for brief comic pitches and scripts to which he will lend his prodigious editing talents. It's all going to happen online as a "heavily moderated brainstorming session," with the admirable goal of everybody helping each other make better comics. If you've got a story rattling around in your head that could benefit from some feedback and polish, this sounds like a great opportunity. It's definitely a lot more helpful than Robert Kirkman's latest bit of "advice" on CBR, wherein he dispenses the useful wisdom that you suck and you should give up.
One last link for you: Paul O'Brien's year-end wrap-up of Marvel's entire X-Men line. The guy's obviously a glutton for punishment, but at least we get to enjoy the fruits of his labor. You may want to skip ahead to the end, where O'Brien gets down to the dregs of all the aborted series, one-shots, and other failed cash-in attempts. For a sample, here's his summary of the recent What If? book starring Wolverine:
It's by Daniel Way and it's crap. Basically, it's "What if Wolverine had lived during the Prohibition and had the origin of the Punisher?" The answer is "He would have been the Punisher, only during the Prohibition." Pointless beyond belief.Good! Use your aggressive feelings, boy! Let the hate flow through you!
Posted by jdonelson_nyc at 04:14 PM | Comments (2)
January 05, 2006
Cash Rules Everything Around Me?
Nothing like talking about a book I haven't read. Yesterday it was All-Star Batman and Robin, and today it's going to be Chris Ware's Acme Novelty Library #16. Eric Larsen made some semi-indecipherable comments about the book in his CBR column last week, and he was soon taken to task by the TCJ board and by Chris Butcher on his blog, Comics.212.net. Like I said, I haven't yet bought the book, so I'm not about to comment on its merits. But the reason that I didn't buy it is the topic that I would like to discuss. The book is 64 pages, with a 7 by 9 inch trim size. The cover price is a double-take-inducing $16.95.
I got into a brief exchange in the comments on Butcher's site about judging a book by its cover - or, more specifically, its cover price. Larsen felt "let down" by the story because the price was so high. I didn't even purchase the book (though I expect that I will soon) for the same reason. Break it down and you're looking at roughly 26 cents a page for Ware's book, compared to 13.5 cents a page for your standard 22 page, $3, floppy issue.
If any creator in the world is capable of delivering twice as much satisfaction per page, it's Chris Ware. Density is the perfect word to describe his comics: physical density because of his intricate panel arrangements, and, for lack of a better term, "literary" density because of his complex, multi-layered stories and characters. Nonetheless, if I drop that much cash on a book, I'm going to have high, possibly un-attainable expectations. It's entirely possible, and if I had to bet, I would say it's likely, that Ware's work would live up to those expectations. But this is a conversation that we wouldn't be having, and this is a sale that Ware would already have made, if the book had been priced at, say, $9.95.
I can think of a couple of other recent instances of higher than usual price-to-page count ratios. Alex Di Campi and Igor Kordey's Smoke, published by the always-pricey IDW, clocked in at $24.95 for a 144-page trade, or 17 cents/pg. (The singles were similarly priced at $7.95 for 48 pages, or 18 cents/pg.) A commenter on Comics.212.net brought up Art Spiegelman's In the Shadow of No Towers, $19.95 for 42 pages or a staggering 47.5 cents/page (though it should be noted that the book's trim size was a whopping 14.6 x 9.8 inches). I bought both books and enjoyed them, but I couldn't shake that question of whether they were worth the high price. If they had been priced more in line with the standard costs, would I have enjoyed them more?
By the same token, am I more forgiving of a book like Warren Ellis and Ben Templesmith's Fell because it's priced at $1.99? That may actually be a separate discussion, because I also wonder if the strict 9-panel grid layouts of that book are unnecessarily limiting. By the same token, I've paid $1 or less for various mini-comics and enjoyed the heck out of them. I'm not sure I would be that generous if they had cost $3, even if the production quality had been more in line with that price.
I don't know if there's an easy answer to all this. I know how I feel in my penny-pinching heart, but my brain tells me commodifying art to that degree is hurting my enjoyment of otherwise-great comics. So I'd like to solicit your thoughts on the matter. How much do you consider a book's price when evaluating its merits? Is it fair to have higher expectations when a comic book is noticeably more expensive than its competition? What is your experience?
UPDATE: I just picked up ANL #16, and lo and behold, it's a hardcover book. This discovery brought up a wave of shame, as I suddenly decided that maybe it's worth the $16 after all. But should that really make a difference? Will my reading experience be any better or worse because of the package? I suppose it has more value as a pretty thing to own for a longer time than a paperback book. On the other hand, it's that much harder to read on the subway. Expectations are weird. If somebody would just start giving me all the comics that I want for free, life would be so much easier.
Posted by jdonelson_nyc at 11:41 AM | Comments (4)
January 04, 2006
Back on the scene, crispy and clean!
Happy new year and welcome back, loyal Pickytarians! I'm back in New York, where I understand there was some sort of subway-related problem? Man, that must have been tough on everybody. Me, I was chilling next to the pool, reading trade paperbacks: Best of the Spirit, Smax, and Smoke. I don't know for sure, but I suspect that beat the heck out of walking to work over the Brooklyn Bridge in 20 degree weather. Once in a while, in a very long while, the Pickytarian catches a break!
Looks like Brian Wood and Ryan Kelly's Local #6 will be taking place in none other than The Pickytarian's base of operations: Brooklyn's own Park Slope! I hope this doesn't mean that Megan is going to have a baby...
What better way to ring in the new year than by picking up some super-cheap comics? I have some new eBay auctions up for your perusal. Here is a list of the books that I am selling:
SECRET WARS II #1-9 complete (1985)
USAGI YOJIMBO #78-89 - Dark Horse - Stan Sakai
A Sort of Homecoming #1-3 + My Uncle Jeff
Warren Ellis lot: JACK CROSS 1-4, DOWN, SIMON SPECTOR
DETECTIVE COMICS #801-814 CITY OF CRIME complete story
JLA CLASSIFIED #10-15 - Warren Ellis, Butch Guice
DRAX THE DESTROYER #1-4 complete - Keith Giffen
TOP 10 BEYOND THE FARTHEST PRECINCT #1-5 cmplt
While I'm shamelessly plugging, here's something you may not have expected: my dad is now podcasting. What? That's right, you heard me. He is doing serialized readings of his novel Hunting Elf, and distributing the audio via podcast. Swing by his site and check it out!
In case you missed them, there have been some good discussions lately about Frank Miller and Jim Lee's All-Star Batman and Robin on various blogs. Alex Cox and Mike Sterling, two gentlemen whose opinions I very much respect, have wildly divergent takes on the title. The question of what it means to write something "tongue in cheek" is bandied about in the comments, along with the question of whether I am an "angry punker" for disliking Jim Lee's art. All this debate may force me to actually read the book!
Whew! I was going to get into this week's new releases, but all this blogging after my long vacation has worn me out. Suffice to say that I'm most looking forward to Vertigo's Exterminators #1, described as "a smart, scary, darkly comic tale of roaches, rats, raccoons and the men who kill them for a living." Check out the preview on DC's site and judge for yourself.
One more item: Over my break I was fortunate enough to meet a blogger you may have heard of: Jason Rodriguez, writer of The Moose In The Closet and editor of the critically-acclaimed comic Elk's Run. While I am only a Brooklynite in the gentrified neighborhood, Johnny-come-lately sense, Jason was born and bred in the borough of Kings and he has the crazy stories on his blog to prove it. He's going to be joining the staff as a columnist at Buzzscope - that is, PopCultureShock - in the new year, boosting that site's cliam to being the most exciting spot in the Comics InterWub (besides The Pickytarian, of course)!
Posted by jdonelson_nyc at 12:41 PM | Comments (2)