drupal stats

Weekend Reading-- Elephantmen

Here's a series I've been meaning to revisit for a while now-- Richard Starking's Elephantmen.  I'm actually working up my notes for a review of the latest issue, #23, but this entire series about genetically mutated animals, made to be the perfect soldiers, and then liberated and set free, has been such a wonderful blend of mystery, noir, war and talking animal stories.  Starkings has taken his time to tell a story, building up the characters and their environments carefully.  There's about 3 or 4 different but linked stories going on here.

Also, these books feature some terrific art by guys that just aren't talked about that often like Moritat and Boo Cook.  Moritat is on an upcoming Spirit title from DC so hopefully that'll get him some more notice but these guys have taken the original designs of Ladronn and been faithful to them while making the book something different.  And I think that one of Starkings' strengths has been gathering a group of artists together who all have different but complimentary styles.  Elephantmen isn't reliant on one consistent artist working on the book but yet there's been a strong continuity for the most part in the general art style that's been maintained during this run.

(download)

Random Quote-- Gillen on the high price of making comics

This Kieron Gillen interview at Comics Alliance just makes me sad:

"We've done this wonderful thing we're crazy-proud about. But if the whole economic system was just a couple of degrees to the left, everything would have been different. I mean, just to give you an idea about narrow the margins are between what we are and what we could be, if we were selling 6K instead of 4K, we could have done those 44 issues. The difference between breaking even and actually being able to do it in comics is insane. It's like being kept under ice, clawing. I feel like a bonsai plant."

But then we get this from the same author:

"Was "Phonogram" a mistake? Yeah, probably. But it was a glorious mistake and I'm lucky to be able to have been able to do it. I often think of people who've been working in comics for a lifetime and have never done something as warped and personal as "Phonogram." We're lucky. Despite what I said earlier, I know that totally. I managed to do something I wanted to do, just because it was right, just because I thought some other people would feel likewise. And -- f--king hell -- they did. How awesome is that?"

And finally this:

"The price of doing "Phonogram" is the price of doing "Phonogram." We were always willing to pay it."

If there's one title I look back on over the last 10 years that has really surprised me, it's been Phonogram.  The first series was really good but the second series, The Singles Club, was something special, an experience where you really saw two creators really step up their game and create something fantastic.

singlesclubtradeforpreviews.jpg
Phonogram: The Singles Club should be available soon from Amazon.

The Graveyard Book in Japan

I picked up the American edition of Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book a couple of weeks ago, at a Q&A session in Naperville, Il.  Honestly, I haven't been able to get through too many of Gaiman's novels.  American Gods is a fantastic book but I've struggled a bit with his other novels.  But after hearing him read passages of Stardust and Anansi Boys there, I need to dig out those books and reread them.

Catching up on my RSS feeds today, I found this blog post from Gaiman that has just a lovely piece of artwork in it:

The_graveyard_book_cover_2


My initial reaction of it was that the design and color of it is just so much more dramatic than the American edition.

Thegraveyardbook_librarybindin

Then I noticed the lovely use of negative space used in both covers, the way that the the face just appears out of nowhere.  I still kind of prefer the Japanese edition because of the flow and design of the whole cover, the way it just leads your eye diagonally over the whole image, like watching liquid being poured out of a container.

Weekend Reading-- 1985 and Ignition City

198501.jpg3215920204_39d210aeeb.jpg

At a local comic shop today, I was essentially able to buy one trade and get another one for $15 off.  I went with the fanboyish idea that I was going to pick up both X-Men Forever trades, a series that I want to really, really read even as I know that I'll feel dirty for it.  Surprisingly and probably all for the better, the shop didn't have either of them in stock so I started roaming the aisles to figure out how else to use my coupon.  I was eyeing Millar's Kick Ass but, right now, that book is more of an investment that I want to make.  Maybe when the softcover comes out.  Instead, I picked up his and Tommy Lee Edward's 1985, what looks to be a gorgeous book.  Millar is a very hot/cold writer to me; some of his stuff I love (Superman: Red Son may still be the best Superman story of the last 20 years) and some stuff leaves me scratching my head, such as that thing with the talking birds at Avatar.  I've always heard good stuff about 1985 so now I can read it.

Another writer that's been running hot and cold with me has been Warren Ellis.  After No Heroes, I was ready to walk away but the concept of Ignition City sounds fantastic, a cross between his Ministry of Space, Orbital and Quit City.  That's the Ellis that I love so I'm hoping that I love Ignition City as well.

Weekly Comic Shopping List 3/3/10

16553.jpg14414_400x600.jpg69302comic_storystory_full-1086399..jpg


A blessedly small week, finally. 

  • Buffy The Vampire Slayer Season 8 Vol 6 Retreat TP--  I'm hoping this series picks up the pace a bit.  Honestly, I can't remember what's happened in any of the volumes past a giant Dawn rampaging through the streets of Tokyo, which I think was actually in the 4th trade.  What did happen in the fifth trade?  I'd like to know.
  • Sweet Tooth #7-- The last page of Sweet Tooth #6 was absolutely wrenching and it looks like #7 picks up that emotion, capturing the tone that Lemire perfected in his Essex County books.  If you asked me to name my favorite books of the moment, I have the feeling that I would overlook Sweet Tooth but each and every issue is just such a gut punch that I think I want to forget it as much as possible.  But here it is, another Wednesday, and I'm waiting for my gut punch.  Thanks, Lemire.
  • Girl Comics#1-- Anthologies aren't doing much for me right now.  They're filled with some fantastic stories, some crappy stories and some middle of the road stories.  But this one looks like a lot of fun.

Weekend Reading-- Beans and Dreams

15805.jpg1717_400x600.jpg12537_400x600.jpg

Driving in to work this morning, I was listening to Wood and Vince on the 11 O'Clock Comics podcast talk about Beanworld.  This made me both happy and sad.  I was happy to hear them talk about Larry Marder's fantastic comic but sad that I've had Dark Horse's three hardcovers sitting on a shelf and haven't been able to get to read through them yet.  I've read a lot of Beanworld but it's been while since I last dived into the series.  I really want to try and find a chunk of time to sit down and go through all three of the books, immersing myself in Marder's world.

The other night, I got to see Neil Gaiman do a reading out in Naperville.  While there, I picked up a copy of P.Craig Russell's adaptation of The Dream Hunters.  For some reason when it was coming out as a comic, Russell's version of this story, originally a novella illlustrated by Yoshika Amano, just didn't click with me.  But looking through this collection, I'm just completely in awe of Russell's lyrical style.  I just love his artwork and it looks fantastic in this book. 

Weekly Comic Shopping List 2/24/10

14017_400x600.jpg71638comic_storystory_full-5816848..jpg51Au2es2vKL.jpg


  • Blackest Night #7
  • Flash Rebirth #6 -- Two awaited Geoff Johns books this week.  It's been so long, I don't know if I really care to wait to see the end of Flash Rebirth but I've got the first 5 so what's one more?  This relaunch has had some cool moments but feels like it's been a narrative black hole, treading ground until we could get to an actual series, which looks to finally be starting in a month or two.  Blackest Night continues to chug along with this penultimate issue.  Both of these series illustrates the strengths and weaknesses of Johns as a writer-- he comes up with some cool ideas but they often come across as he's playing with his favorite toys.
  • Mighty Avengers Vol 6 Unspoken HC
  • New Avengers Vol 12 Power Loss HC-- After last week's Dark Avengers V2, we're getting three Avengers collections in 2 weeks, which I think pretty much catch us up on the Civil War/Secret Invasion/Seige era Avengers.  I'm working on a Dark Avengers review that begins to draw together some of my thoughts and theories on the last 5 years of Avengers' stories.  That review should be up in the next day or two.  If all goes to plan, I should be reviewing both of these trades next week.
  • Naoki Urasawas 20th Century Boys Vol 7 TP-- Pretty soon, this will be the only Urasawa book we see unless someone has already snapped up the rights to Billy Bat that we don't know about.  I've still got to finish V8, so I think both of them will be next week's "Weekend Reading." 

Weekly Comic Shopping List 2/17/10

  • Star Wars Legacy Vol 8 Tatooine TP--  I think I've come to love the characters in SW Legacy more than any character in the prequel movies and possibly even more than the characters in the original movies.  Ostrander and Duursema have created a whole social and political world that builds on Lucas' foundation but add color and depth that rarely exists on the screen.  For my money, this series is probably better than any sequel trilogy that Lucas could put together.

  • Kobra Resurrection TP-- Finally, the end of Checkmate gets collected, as well as some other Kobra stuff.  The Ivan Brandon Kobra story included is also supposed to be pretty good.

  • Starman Omnibus Vol 4 HC-- The first three volumes of this series have been soooooo nice and I can't wait to have the entire series collected some day-- emphasis on "entire." 

  • Joe The Barbarian #2-- After reading The Filth and Flex Mentallo over the past couple of weeks, I want to see if this is going to go where I think it could and if this turns out to be part of an unofficial Morrison trilogy.  Ever since Animal Man's "I can see you" moment, fiction and reality have collided in Morrison's story and fiction always wins out one way or another as it seeps into Morrison's idea of reality. 

  • Ignition City Vol 1 TP-- No Hero kind of soured me on Warren Ellis, at least for the moment but I want to check this one out and see if it's as wonderful and original as his Freak Angels is.

  • Almost Silent--  Ah, more from Norwegian cartoonist Jason. It'll surely feature crow-like people doing absurd things, all in the name of fortune and art.  And it'll probably be good too.