Comics on the Rack, 01-20-10

 

COMICS ON THE RACK

(Quick Picks for Comics Due 01-20-10)

by John Judy

 

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #618 by Dan Slott and Marcos Martin.  "Mysterio: Un-dead and loving it!"

 

AVENGERS VS AGENTS OF ATLAS #1 by Jeff Parker and Gabriel Hardman.  A bit of space-time screwiness results in the Atlas gang duking it out with Captain America and the original Avengers!  Retro-lovers must look!

 

BLACKEST NIGHT: THE FLASH #2 of 3 by Geoff Johns and Scott Kolins.  Dead rogues versus live ones, Black Lantern-style!  Also the Flash(es)!

 

BRAVE AND BOLD #31 by J. Michael Straczynski and Jesus Saiz.  The Atom versus the Joker!  Yeah, you read it right…

 

CAPTAIN AMERICA #602 by Ed Brubaker and Luke Ross.  The drug-addled, paranoid, racist Captain America from the 1950s is back!  But what's he been up to since resigning as Rush Limbaugh's life-coach?  Recommended.

 

DARK AVENGERS #13 by Brian Michael Bendis and Mike Deodato.  The secrets of the Sentry are finally revealed!  No not those secrets!  The other ones!  No, those were last issue's secrets!  These are the real secrets, the double super-secret secrets!  You ain't never heard secrets like these, pal, believe you me!  This is actually a very fun comic which you should read.  Honest.

 

GARTH ENNIS BATTLEFIELDS: HAPPY VALLEY #2 of 9 by Garth and Carlos Ezquerra.  The crew prepares for their final bombing run against the German industrial heartland, but the krauts are preparing too.  Recommended.

 

HULK #19 by Jeph Loeb and Ed McGuinness.  Red Hulk smash Thing!

 

INCORRUPTIBLE #2 by Mark Waid and Neil Edwards.  Ex-bad guy Max Damage is on the road to redemption, but can even he bring down the rogue Plutonian?  Recommended.

 

INCREDIBLE HULK #606 by Greg Pak and Paul Pelletier.  It's smashings a–plenty as "Fall of the Hulks" continues.

 

JOE THE BARBARIAN #1 of 8 by Grant Morrison and Sean Murphy.  A mature readers series about a young Type-1 diabetic who may or may not be a fantasy adventure hero in a land full of toys.  It's Morrison so a look is required.

 

JOHN STANLEY LIBRARY: THIRTEEN GOING ON EIGHTEEN HC written and drawn by John Stanley.  Collecting the sixties comics series about two teens, Val and Judy, and all their cruel intentioned hijinks.  From Drawn & Quarterly and Seth.

 

MIGHTY AVENGERS #33 by Dan Slott and Khoi Pham.  The Mighty Avengers meet the Dark Avengers and things get mighty dark.  I mean, obviously…

 

PHANTOM STRANGER #42 by Peter J. Tomasi and Ardian Syaf.  Three words: Black.  Lantern. Spectre.  Reserve your copy now!

 

RASL #6 written and drawn by Jeff Smith.  Rasl gets serious about taking the lizard-faced killer out of the picture, but first he needs to swipe few more goodies.  Weird science!  Highly recommended!

 

SOLOMON KANE: DEATH'S BLACK RIDERS #1 of 4 by Scott Allie and Mario Guevara.  When Robert E. Howard's puritan Terminator goes questing through Germany's Black Forest you are permitted to feel pity for any bandit or demon who gets in his way.

 

SPIDER-WOMAN #5 by Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev.  Spider-Woman! Skrulls!  And… wait, is it 2008 again?

 

STARMAN #81 by James Robinson, Fernando Dagnino and Bill Sienkiewicz.  The Shade versus a Black Lantern Starman.  Good times!

 

SUPERBOY: THE GREATEST TEAM-UPS EVER TOLD SC by Many Legendary Creators.  Collected here: Key issues of ADVENTURE, SUPERBOY and NEW ADVENTURES OF SUPERBOY featuring the boy of steel and his amazing friends!

 

T-MINUS: RACE TO THE MOON GN by Jim Ottaviani, Zander Cannon and Kevin Cannon.  Bringing the space race between America and the USSR into glorious graphic novel form!  Recommended!

 

THUNDERBOLTS #140 by Jeff Parker and Miguel Angel Sepulveda.  When they're not fighting the original Avengers and/or each other the Atlas kids like to wail on the criminals masquerading as heroes a bit.  Let's look, shall we?

 

UNCANNY X-MEN #520 by Matt Fraction and Greg Land.  There appear to be three separate storylines in this comic so odds are you'll like at least one of them.

 

WOLVERINE: WEAPON X #9 by Jason Aaron and Yanick Paquette.  Wolvie's pals show up to bust him out of the nuthouse!  Let's hope they brought a lot of Bactine!  Recommended.

 

www.johnjudy.net

Another Pekar interview to print and stuff into 'Conversations'

My Harvey Pekar: Conversations is getting more dated:

Harvey Pekar On "The Pekar Project"
by Alex Dueben
Thu, January 14th, 2010

Cartooning trick in Nate Beeler's Haiti cartoon

Nate's cartoon today, Helping Hand in Haiti, represents an interesting thing one can do with comic art. Nate made one large drawing, but then put the idea of time into the drawing by adding in the rectangle on the one side. our familiarity with the mechanics of comics means this functions as a brake on the reader's eye, so that the illusion of the passage of time is created even in one continuous drawing.

Jan 17: Kal and Danziger in Georgetown

On Jan 17, editorial cartoonists Kal and Jeff Danziger will be in Georgetown at Hudson on 2030 M St at 7 pm for "Obama's Portfolio". This sounds great - unfortunately I can't make it.

From the press release:

With a touch of art, style and humor Art Soiree celebrates one year of Obama’s presidency by presenting a one of a kind exhibition.

Join us Sunday, January 17th at 7pm for the most unique and controversial event in the country.

Obama’s Portfolio: Humorous highlights of the first year in office.

For ages graphic satire has been a significant journalistic medium and a catalyst for political debate. This exclusive ONE NIGHT ONLY exhibition will feature the most renowned editorial and political cartoonists from world’s top newspapers and magazines. Their works have been published in the Economist, NYTimes, Huffington Post and many other well known publications. Come and judge for yourself whether their graphic satire represents your, the citizen’s, perspective of the political life. The exhibition will provide a full analysis on Obama’s administration through political cartoons published in 2009.

All of this and more will take place this Sunday at Hudson Restaurant and Lounge – a great spot for socializing with friends over distinctively creative cocktails and great food in a warm and elegant atmosphere.

As always, Art Soiree promises to draw area’s most celebrated figures in both social and political arenas, may be even the president himself!!!

Disney plays workshop at Glen Echo's Adventure Theatre this summer

Here's the PR:

 

Adventure Theatre Announces the Summer Musical Theatre Workshop Productions

Adventure Theatre, the longest-running children's theatre in the Washington, D.C., area is kicking-off its 31st Annual Summer Musical Theatre Workshop for children ages 6-15 with an exciting line-up of children's productions including Disney's Aladdin Jr., Disney's 101 Dalmatians Kids, The Magical Land of Oz and Fee-Fi-Fo-Fum*, each facilitated by professionally trained Directors, Choreographers, and Musical Directors.

The Summer Musical Theatre Workshop is a daytime workshop in which children audition for one of four age-appropriate productions, and will then participate in two full weeks of show rehearsals, music and dancing which culminate in a full-scale production of each show on the Adventure Theatre stage. Students will also attend Adventure Theatre's main stage performance If You Give a Pig a Pancake, ride Glen Echo Park's carousel, participate in a talent show, receive a commemorative t-shirt and enjoy a cast party. Adventure Theatre's Summer Musical Theatre Workshop has proven to be one of the most rewarding, challenging and confidence-boosting summer experiences for kids.

"We are increasing the value of the workshops by staffing them with instructors and counselors who can accommodate children with musical-theater aspirations, while keeping the same atmosphere of relaxed fun for those who don't," says Kathryn Hnatio, Education Director and acting Summer Musical Theatre Workshop Artistic Director.

Michael Bobbitt, Adventure Theatre's Producing Artistic Director and Summer Musical Theatre Workshop Choreographer continues, "Adventure Theatre's Summer Musical Theatre session is a highly interactive and educational workshop that focuses on fun, teamwork, self-esteem, a sense of ownership, presentation skills and bringing out the best performance from each of its students."

Summer Musical Theatre Workshop parents agree: "Our daughters had a wonderful experience and continue to sing the songs all day," says one 2009 parent.

Adventure Theatre's Summer Musical Theatre Workshops run Monday-Friday from 9am-4pm, June 14th to August 27th. Before and aftercare options are available.

Session 1 (mini session)- June 14 – 18

Session 2 – June 21 - July 2

Session 3 – July 5- July 16

Session 4 – July 19 - July 30

Session 5 – August 2 - August 13

Session 6 - August 16 - August 27

For more information or to inquire about tuition prices, please contact Adventure Theatre's Summer Musical Theatre Workshop Program Coordinator Selena Anguiano at 301-634-2275 or sanguiano@adventuretheatre.org.  Also, visit www.adventuretheatre.org for more information on the Summer Musical Theatre Workshop and other educational programs at Adventure Theatre.

 

Marc Singer teaches comics course at Howard, and incidentally, resurrects his blog

Marc's announcement of his course on comics is here, and and he also announces a book he co-edited on detective fiction here. I'm glad to see that he resurrected his I am NOT the Beastmaster blog as I enjoy his writing. Take note of his Final Crisis writing on Grant Morrison that was singled out by a TCJ.com critic as one of the best online pieces last year.

SHOC: cartoonist Larry Wright

Larry Wright, Detroit editorial cartoonist and creator of the strip Wright Angles, was recently profiled on The Comics Journal's site:

Millikin, Eric.  2010.
Talking lifestyles of the semi-retired editorial cartoonist with Larry Wright.
TCJ.com (January 13): http://www.tcj.com/?p=2969

 

By coincidence, I had unwrapped some old records at work and found this illustration for an Erma Bombeck column from the May 27, 1966 Detroit Free Press.

I can't imagine this has been seen anywhere since it first appeared.

Anyone want to set up a Terry Pratchett con?

This rolled in today...  personally, I'd go. I love his books. 2 British comic adaptions have been combined into one large book last year that's a pretty good read.

Greetings, all Discworld fans and convention-goers! As most of you are probably already aware, the first ever North American Discworld Convention took place in Tempe, Arizona from September 4 - 7, 2009, and was deemed a big success by guests and attendees alike!  Once again, I and the entire 2009 committee would like to thank all of our amazing guests, participants, committee, staff, volunteers, and attendees for helping to make the con the wonderful experience that it was.  Thank you!  I have linked many photos, videos, and accounts of the convention on the convention website, so if you haven't yet seen that, please feel free to head over there and take a look: http://www.nadwcon.org.

The 2009 committee was delighted to hear that everyone had such a great time, and honored to learn that, due to the convention's success, many are clamoring for another one!  Our Guest of Honor, Sir Terry Pratchett himself, has said that he is definitely willing to appear again as Guest of Honor (health and circumstances permitting) should there be another NADWCon.

The committee has been approached by representatives of several cities interested in hosting the next North American Discworld Convention, and thus, after consulting with Sir Terry Pratchett, a North American Discworld Convention Steering Committee (to be known hereafter as "The Guild of Chelonavigators") has been formed from among several folks intimately involved in the successful organization and presentation of NADWCon 2009. The purpose of this oversight committee is to: 1) determine the next convention location and organizing group; 2) offer guidance and information to the next convention committee as it prepares for NADWCon 2011; 3) maintain a consistent archive of information and data related to past NADWCons; and 4) manage any con-related funds or properties during transition periods between cons.  The members of The Guild are as follows:

Voting Officers:

- Emily S. Whitten, Esq. (Chair)
- Denise Connell
- Margaret Grady
- Patrick Harkin Sr.
- Jean Tillson

Chelonavigational Consultant:

- Anna M. Caggiano

Regarding the decision as to where NADWCon 2011 will be held, it has been decided to ask for bid proposals from any fan organization interested in hosting the next con.  These will be carefully considered by The Guild before a decision is made and a group chosen, after which The Guild and the 2009 committee will pass the torch of our responsibility and experience as the organizers of this unique Discworldian event to the chosen group, but will remain available for consultation as a source of information, guidance, and resources.

If you love the idea of having an NADWCon in your city, and are considering proposing your local group and city as the best host for the next NADWCon, please first carefully consider both the goals and responsibilities of this convention, some of the main ones being:

-       To provide a well planned, smooth and well organized, exciting and uniquely fun Discworld experience for new and old Discworld fans of all ages, as well as for our guests;
-       To make the convention easily accessible and reasonably affordable for fans to attend;
-       To meet or exceed the level of programming and fun experiences provided by the first NADWCon, including such staples as a charity auction, gala banquet, and Discworld Maskerade;
-       To retain the Discworld flavor and culture of a Pratchett-centric convention;
-       To keep proper records and responsible accountings of the planning and management of the NADWCon, and to preserve these for future archiving with The Guild of Chelonavigators.

Please also be aware that planning a convention of this magnitude requires the dedication, determination, and cooperation of a number of experienced organizers with excellent planning, teamwork, organizational and communication skills.  Planning and running a convention can be an amazing experience, but please remember that it requires a lot of time and hard work, as well as a willingness to put the good of the convention first.  Any group that bids for the next NADWCon should have a number of willing and experienced volunteers local to the convention location to form the backbone of their potential convention committee.

And now, for those who are interested, onward to the bid proposal process!

Bid Proposal Process

Please include all information requested below on your bid submission, which should be emailed to nadwconbids2011@nadwcon.org.  Please be as detailed as possible when appropriate, and feel free to include any additional information that might help in the decision as to why your city and organization would be the best host for NADWCon2011.

Bid submissions should consist of:


1)      Name and contact information (address, email, and phone) of submitting person or organization;

2)      Location (i.e. city) and range of proposed possible dates for the 2011 con;

3)      Possible hotel(s) to host the con, with as much detail as possible regarding what arrangements could be agreed upon with the hotel; a Letter of Intent from the proposed hotel is recommended.  Please also include information on methods, costs, and ease of travel to and from the hotel(s) proposed;

4)      Names and contact information for proposed key committee members, with summaries of their past experiences in fandom and convention organizing.

a.      Please list potential committee members for as many of these committee positions as possible, and any others which you expect to fill:

i.      Chair; Vice Chair; Treasurer; Hotel Liaison; Guest Liaison; Programming Director; Volunteer Coordinator; Convention Operations; Logistics Coordinator; Technology Coordinator; Security Coordinator; Dealers Room Coordinator; Information and Publicity Coordinator (including maintenance of website, email listserv, and news updates); Registration Coordinator; Maskerade Director; Banquet Director; Charity Auction Director; Program Book Director; Art Show Director; Ambience Director; Hospitality Coordinator.

b.      Please include one or more references who can speak to the individual's relevant experience and qualifications; a personal statement from the individual is also welcome.

5)      Estimated convention budget with breakdown of expected expenses, along with information on any start-up funds that may be available to the committee;

6)      Any other information you feel would be pertinent or helpful.


The deadline for bid proposals is midnight, March 15, 2010.  Once the deadline has closed, proposals will be carefully reviewed by The Guild, and a decision will be made and announced to bid applicants by approximately April 15, 2010.

Once a decision has been made, a representative of The Guild will contact the prevailing 2011 organization in order to facilitate the sharing of useful information and resources.  AFTER such contact, The Guild will publicly announce the winning bid, and the 2011 committee may then move forward in planning the 2011 NADWCon.

Please let me know via the email address provided above if you have any questions on the bid proposal process. Good luck, and I hope to hear from you soon!

Sincerely,

Emily S. Whitten

Vice Chair and Webmaster, NADWCon2009
Chair, The Guild of Chelonavigators

Jan 16: DC anime club's manga workshop

Free MANGA DRAWING WORKSHOP, Saturday, Jan16th from 3 to 5 at Martin
Luther King Jr. Memorial Library, 901 G St. NW.

Telnaes' year in review

I'm a little slow to get to this, largely because I still believe newspapers are for reading, not viewing, but here's Ann Telnaes' excellent year in review animation. All the cartoons she's done for the Post since 2007 are available which I think is damn nice of the Post.

Now with a corrected link!

Betty Boop music boxes popular in DC

It's hard to believe, but Betty Boop music boxes were among the most popular at the longtime, but now closing, Music Box Center according to a photo caption in today's paper. The image isn't online. Boop was created in 1930, and has not appeared in entertainment media since the 1980s, but like Hello Kitty still seems to be able to move merchandise. Including music boxes.

Weingarten on Arnold comic strip

In his January 5th Chatalogical Humor chat, Gene Weingarten polled his readers on the Arnold comic strip by Kevin McCormick.

The responses to the Arnold strip were:

Richmond, Va.: When I was looking at the first Arnold strip, my eyes accidentally leaped to the last panel where I saw the balloon "I consumed white death!" It made me smile, and I went back to read the whole thing. Er...mayonnaise is the white death? Er...okay. The only way I could think there's a joke in there is if it is a running gag - he hates mayo and the lunch ladies tricked him into eating it with the tuna salad. Anyway, it was kind of deflating that such a cool punchline had such a bad setup. I may use that line, though.

Gene Weingarten: Yes, his hatred of mayo was a running gag -- as was his war with the cafeteria ladies. But I contend this was all implicit in the strip you read.

----

And lastly, I put Arnold in there because it was a near-great strip. Arnold never succeeded because Arnold was, at its wicked little heart, really mean-spirited. It scared newspaper editors who (incorrectly) believed that the comics pages were the province of children. Arnold was really daring, and different -- it featured a child who had no innocence whatsoever.

When Arnold failed the cartoonist gave it all up and became (I kid you not) a minister. That's what he's doing now.

_______________________

Lansing, Mich.: Hey, Gene! I was talking about "Arnold" with someone at Jef's book-release party last month (I wish I could remember who -- he specifically cited the "white death" strip you ran as one of his favorites.)

I had a (possibly unreasonably) strong devotion to "Arnold" when I was in college and find in reading it now that I'm still rather fond of it, although I have a little tougher time with the quality of the art these days.

I gave it a "pretty good".

Gene Weingarten: I asked a comics editor about this recently, and she, too, had some problems with the art; I don't see it, but you and Jef and she are pros, so I bow.

I love his nasty spirit.

Big Planet Comics founder's autobiography online

Joel Pollack mentioned this week that he's been writing his autobiography and putting it on the store's website. Joel's been a part of the comics scene for a long time and I hope he keeps fleshing this out.

Looking for Calvin and Hobbes slapped around on TCJ.com

A Narrator in Search of a Protagonist: Looking for Calvin and Hobbes, Posted by Kristian Williams on January 13th, 2010.

Harsh review. I think the book does function as a biography, and I enjoyed reading it.

Another Batchelor anti-VD cartoon

Here's another CD Batchelor cartoon from World War 2 on the dangers of venereal disease from the collection of the National Museum of Health and Medicine. You can see earlier posts on Batchelor here and here.

This photo of a poster is by Lynn Brudon also from World War 2. I don't know anything else about him or the poster.

Archer cartoon reviewed in Post

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/13/AR2010011304277.html

 

FX's raunchy cartoon 'Archer' has retro style but few contemporaneous laughs

By Hank Stuever
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, January 14, 2010; C06

Archer animation review in today's Express

Here's the citation -

 

McDonough, Kevin / United Features Syndicate.  2010.

Secret Agent Misogynist: 'Archer' is a crass cartoon spy with serious girl issues.

Express (January 14): 27

Washington City Paper comic strip has cartoonist faceoff

Ben Claassen III's Dirtfarm, the only comic strip still in the City Paper (sigh), has "Versus! Cartoonist Battle! Single Life vs. Married Life. Ben Claassen vs. Luster Kaboom". One can vote on which strip is the best at Dirtfarm's site.

 

Claassen is still doing regular illos for the Express' advice column as well.

Weldon on Langridge's Muppets

Nice review here. I bought the individual issues and the collection because 1. Roger's a buddy of mine, and 2. he's good. I also buy original art from him whenever he's in the States.

Weldon, Glen. 2010.
How Good Is The New 'Muppet Show' Comic, On a Scale of Swit to Moreno?
National Public Radio's Monkey See blog (January 13): http://www.npr.org/blogs/monkeysee/2010/01/how_good_is_the_new_muppet_sho.html

SPX 2010 is...

September 11-12th.

Caricature in Post article

The print version of Better never than late has interesting caricatures of Jay Leno and Conan O'Brien by Joe Fournier, whose work I'm not otherwise familiar with.

Luna Park reviewed in Post

A tale of lowlifes in love, told graphically, By Dan Kois, Washington Post January 13, 2010; C04 reviews LUNA PARK, By Kevin Baker and Danijel Zezelj , Vertigo. 158 pp. $24.99.

Homer Simpson used as political whipping boy

See "Harry Reid is the Senate's Homer Simpson," By: Jay Ambrose, Washington Examiner Columnist January 13, 2010.

Palm restaurant caricature pictures incidentally in Post

Palm restaurant caricature pictures appeared incidentally in Post today, in an article on waiters who remember orders as opposed to writing them down. The article, oddly enough, appeared above the fold on the front page so one could seen Brant Parker's Wizard of Id in the background by the waiter's head.

Mark Alan Stamaty video interview

Robert Wright has an excellent interview on Bloggingheads.tv with Mark Alan Stamaty, who was regularly seen in the Post with Washingtoons years ago. Stamaty talks about his Washington Post experience at 17:35. Wow, it ran for 12 years in the Post!

Cavna on Gigacon

In Art Institute of Washington holds first Gigacon, an animation convention, By Michael Cavna, Washington Post Staff Writer, Monday, January 11, 2010; C01, there's a line that makes me think I'm missing a big part of the local scene:

Unlike many major cities, including Baltimore, Washington lacks a true comics convention (the closest thing perhaps being the annual Small Press Expo in Rockville). Tillman, who last year hosted a panel at the granddaddy animation event, San Diego Comic-Con, thinks the time is ripe for Washington. "We've got so many animators and so many other artists and so much talent in the area, there's no reason Washington shouldn't have its own big convention."

I have heard that we lack a local comics con partly due to the lack of affordable reasonably-sized spaces which is why SPX is now in Rockville, Gaithersburg or North Bethesda. Still, let's here from our "so many animators".

OT: Comics Journal interview with David Astor

Our old friend is interviewed - Talking future of newspaper comics with former E&P editor Dave Astor, by Eric Millikin on January 11th, 2010. I really miss his Syndicate column.

Zadzooks still at Washington Times?

The Washington Times has laid off lots of editorial staff - apparently up to 60% - but it looks like Zadzooks might still be there as he had a game columnthis past week.

UPDATED: Yes, Joe Szadkowski has emailed me that he's still at the Times, so I'll continue to look for his column each week.

COMICS ON THE RACK (Quick Picks for Comics Due 01-13-10)

COMICS ON THE RACK

(Quick Picks for Comics Due 01-13-10)

by John Judy

 

ADVENTURE COMICS #6 by Geoff Johns and Francis Manapul.  Superboy is determined to do something nice for Lex Luthor.  Y'know, to bring out the good in him.  This should be awesome!  Recommended.

 

ALAN MOORE NEONOMICON HORNBOOK by Moore and Jacen Burrows.  Prepping you for the sequel to Moore's THE COURTYARD, a modern take on the H.P. Lovecraft mythos.  Sure to be demented in all the right ways.  Crazy or not, Alan Moore is always a "gotta look!"

 

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #617 by Joe Kelly and Max Fiumara.  The Rhino is back and he really wants to kill… the Rhino?!  But what will the Rhino have to say about this?

 

BATMAN: WIDENING GYRE #4 of 6 by Kevin Smith and Walter Flanagan.  After a month off (which is really not bad for a Kevin Smith book) BWG is back as Batman tries to turn a bit more of the crime-fighting workload over to his new admirer.  Silly Batman!  Don't you know what happens when you trust someone in Gotham City?

 

BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER #31 by Joss Whedon and Georges Jeanty.  Buffy flies.  Willow glows.  Oz says just the right thing.  Of course he does!  Whedon's writing!  Recommended.

 

CREEPY ARCHIVES, VOL. 5 HC by Various Creators including Steve Ditko, Reed Crandell, Angelo Torres and Alex Toth.  Yeah, you know you want it!  Classic horror for the post-holidays!  Recommended!

 

DAYTRIPPER #2 of 10 by Gabriel Ba and Fabio Moon.  OK, after last issue I'm not sure how this is possible, but this issue Bras and his best friend go on a nature hike and find more than they bargained for.  Recommended.

 

GHOUL #2 by Steve Niles and Bernie Wrightson.  An old-school LA detective noir starring an unkillable giant drawn by Wrightson.  Who could ask for more?

 

INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #22 by Matt Fraction and Salvador Larroca.  Can Tony Stark's pals re-boot his brains before the Ghost blows them out?  Guest-starring Doctor Strange!

 

MARVELS PROJECT #5 of 8 by Ed Brubaker and Steve Epting.  Steve Rogers puts on the red, white and blue and the Sub-Mariner comes up for a look.  Recommended!

 

NO HERO SC by Warren Ellis and Juan Jose Ryp.  Collecting the full run of the adventures of one of Ellis's less fortunate super-wannabes.  And that's saying something.

 

POWER OF SHAZAM #48 by Eric Wallace and Don Kramer.  Osiris is back from the dead as a Black Lantern.  And weren't we all secretly longing for that to happen?  And what does a zombie who's half-alligator poop look like?  Gotta look!

 

PUNISHERMAX #3 by Jason Aaron and Steve Dillon.  One of the best Punisher stories in quite a while has Wilson Fisk clawing his way to Kingpin-dom and trying not to get killed doing it.  Oh, and the Punisher's in it, too!  Highly recommended.  Not for kids.

 

SECRET SIX #17 by John Ostrander, Gail Simone and J. Calafiore.  Part two of the Secret Six/Suicide Squad team-up finds the Six needing to rescue Deadshot from the Squad.  Maybe certain parties need this "team-up" concept explained a little more carefully…

 

STRANGE #3 of 4 by Mark Waid and Emma Rios.  The ex-Sorcerer Supreme and his newest apprentice go road-tripping in the American South.  And you thought you'd seen Mindless Ones before!  Recommended.

 

STUFFED GN by Glen Eichler and Nick Bertozzi.  From a writer of "The Colbert Report" and the creator of "Daria" comes this multiple-categoried concoction about a couple who inherit a Museum of Curiosities and discover that sometimes names don't quite cover it.  Recommended.

 

TROUBLEMAKERS HC written and drawn by Gilbert Hernandez.  Drugs, greedy-low-lifes, fires, beheadings and gunplay!  It don't get pulpier than this!  Not for kids!

 

UNWRITTEN #9 by Mike Carey and Peter Gross.  This issue: "Tommy Taylor and the Prison Riot!"  Recommended.

 

www.johnjudy.net

Boy, that Herblock was clever

Actually, this is a nice appreciation of the new Herblock book - Iconography • When Newspapers Were Newspapers, Robert Birnbaum, Our Man in Boston: A Book Blog January 7, 2010.

The Post had a national edition?

Ed Hall inks final issue for Washington Post
Mark Pettus
Ponae Vedra Recorder January 8, 2010

Post on Simpson's anniversary

Fox anniversary special salutes 20 years of 'The Simpsons'
By Jen Chaney
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, January 10, 2010; E04

Jan 30: Darwyn Cooke at American Art

Here's a reminder post, based on the DC Examiner mentioning it today.

Saturday January 30, 2010
The Hunter with Darwyn Cooke Lectures & Seminars
4:00 PM
McEvoy Auditorium, Lower Level
American Art Museum
Eisner Award–winning writer and artist Darwyn Cooke will discuss his evocative graphic novel, The Hunter, based on the 1962 crime classic by Donald E. Westlake (writing under the name Richard Stark). This best seller has been critically acclaimed in The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, and The Washington Post for breathing new life into one of the classic characters of crime fiction. With a visual style that both pays homage to and plays with ‘60s retro style, The Hunter vividly depicts the film noir genre.
Limited free tickets (two per person), G Street Lobby, one hour prior. Book signing follows.
McEvoy Auditorium, Lower Level

Herblock award to accept animated editorial cartoons

Alan Gardener has the story on how the Herblock award committee is willing to look at animated editorial cartoons.

Gigacon schedule and bios

Here's the schedule and here's the biographies of the speakers.

Jan 8-9: Gigacon at National Building Museum

The Art Institute of Washington has Gigacon, a media arts convention going on today an dtomorrow at the National Building Museum. Animators from Adult Swim and other places are attending as is David Silva, a sculptor for McFarlane Toys. Cost is $10, and it runs from 10 am-5 pm. Here's a pdf poster with more information.

ToonSeum Press Release: January Cartoon Arts Lecture Series

The ToonSeum's in Pittsburgh, but DC's Nevin Martell is speaking there...

The ToonSeum January Lecture Series
The ToonSeum announces the line up for it's January Saturday Lecture Series.
The series features artists and authors discussing various aspects of the cartoon arts and its history.
The ToonSeum is Pittsburgh's Museum of Cartoon Art. Located in downtown Pittsburgh's cultural district. It is one of only three museums dedicated to comics and cartoons in the nation.


January 16th, 5:30 PM

Rob Rogers

Rob Rogers will be at the ToonSeum speaking about his 25 years as an editorial cartoonist in Pittsburgh and his new book, "No Cartoon Left Behind."

As a editorial cartoonist for the last 25 years, Rob Rogers' cartoons appear regularly in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Newsweek, and USA Today, among others. His "How the Gingrich Stole Christmas" graced the cover of Newsweek's 1994 year-end issue. He received the 1995 National Headliner Award, the 2000 Overseas Press Club Award and has won seven Golden Quill Awards. In 1999, he was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize.

In his new book, "No Cartoon Left Behind", Rogers recounts his humorous path to cartooning and shares his own personal perspective on the major news stories of the past two and a half decades, covering a diverse range of topics including the Cold War, gun control, smoking, racism, the environment, 9/11 and presidential elections. It is considered as a must-have for political junkies, history buffs, cartoon fans.


January 23rd, 5:30 pm

Finding Calvin and Hobbes with author Nevin Martell

Author Nevin Martell shares his quest to uncover the story behind one of comics most elusive creators, Bill Watterson, creator of Calvin and Hobbes.

For ten years, between 1985 and 1995, Calvin and Hobbes was one the world's most beloved comic strips. And then, on the last day of 1995, the strip ended. Its mercurial and reclusive creator, Bill Watterson, not only finished the strip but withdrew entirely from public life. There is no merchandising associated with Calvin and Hobbes: no movie franchise; no plush toys; no coffee mugs; no t-shirts (except a handful of illegal ones).
There is only the strip itself, and the books in which it has been compiled
- including The Complete Calvin and Hobbes: the heaviest book ever to hit the New York Times bestseller list.

In Looking for Calvin and Hobbes: The Unconventional Story of Bill Watterson and His Revolutionary Comic Strip, writer Nevin Martell traces the life and career of the extraordinary, influential, and intensely private man behind Calvin and Hobbes. With input from a wide range of artists and writers (including Dave Barry, Harvey Pekar, Jonathan Lethem, andBrad Bird) as well as some of Watterson's closest friends and professional colleagues, this is as close as we're ever likely to get to one of America's most ingenious and intriguing figures - and a fascinating detective story, at the same time.

Only 3,160 Calvin and Hobbes strips were ever produced, but Watterson has left behind an impressive legacy. Calvin and Hobbes references litter the pop culture landscape and his fans are as varied as they are numerable.
Looking for Calvin and Hobbes is an affectionate and revealing book about uncovering the story behind this most uncommon trio - a man, a boy, and his tiger.


January 30th, 5:30 pm

Bill Mauldin: A Life Up Front, Author- Todd Depastino

The program will be an illustrated talk on the great World War II cartoonist Bill Mauldin, an army infantry sergeant who rocketed to fame at age twenty-two with his wildly popular feature "Up Front."  Week after week, Mauldin defied army censors, German artillery, and General George Patton's pledge to throw him in jail for insubordination to deliver his grim depictions of war to "Stars and Stripes" and hundreds of homefront newspapers.

There, readers followed the stories of Willie and Joe, two wise-cracking 'dogfaces' whose mud-caked uniforms and pidgin of army slang and slum dialect bore eloquent witness to the world of combat and the men who lived
- and died - in it.  We have never viewed war in the same way since.

The talk is based on Todd's book, BILL MAULDIN: A LIFE UP FRONT (W.W.
Norton, 2008), a winner of the 2009 Anne M. Sperber Prize for biography.
Todd is also editor of acclaimed WILLIE & JOE: THE WWII YEARS (Fantagraphics Books, 2008), the first complete collection of Mauldin's World War II.

His previous books include CITIZEN HOBO: HOW A CENTURY OF HOMELESSNESS SHAPED AMERICA (University of Chicago Press, 2003) which won a National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship. He has a Ph.D. in American History from Yale University and teaches at Waynesburg University.
Currently, he lives in Mt. Lebanon with his wife and two daughters.

Lecture series is included with paid admission to the ToonSeum.

4 dollars for adults

3 dollars for students

www.toonseum.org


For more information visit www.toonseum.org or call 412-232-0199.

Our mailing address is:
The ToonSeum
945 Liberty Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15222
 

Kal on Maryland NPR

From: kevin Kallaugher

I wanted to alert you to an interview that will be airing tomorrow (Friday) at the local NPR station in Baltimore, WYPR 88.1FM. 

It is dedicated to my work with the new 2010 Illustrated Kalendar and The Economist.... it's long (15 minutes) and is the second leg of the hour long show which is called The Signal.  

The show airs Friday at noon and again at 7PM. But they have already released the show on the web. Here's the link to the web audio (my interview starts at the 15:30 mark):  

http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/wypr/arts.artsmain?action=viewArticle&id=1596412&pid=347&sid=14

I hope you enjoy it!

Best

Kal

Kevin Kallaugher

kaltoons@comcast.net

www.Kaltoons.com

Matt Wuerker defends his Cheney record

Here's a letter by him on Poynter.

Beetle Bailey found by DC bloggers on the road

A couple of my friends, well one friend and his girlfriend whom I haven't actually met, drove across country and discovered Beetle Bailey on the road. One senses the possibility of an epic poem here.

Today's Beeler Cartoon hearkens back to x-ray specs ads

 Nate Beeler's Washington Examiner cartoon today hearkens back to the golden days of comic book advertisements, as he shows TSA agents using those x-ray spectacles that would purportedly see through women's clothing.  Ahh, if only everything sold in comic books worked as advertised...

Click the link to see the cartoon - Full-Body Scanning and the TSA

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs DVD

Jen Chaney gives the animated Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs DVD a rave review in today's print Express. I saw this movie recently and thoroughly enjoyed it.

This also appeared in the following day's Washington Post, and online.

Textile Museum's cosplay

Arion Berger at the Express notes in today's print edition that the Textile Museum has a program on 'Harajuku Japanese Street" which probably has some relevance to cosplay.  The event is January 10, 2-4 pm, $20 for non-members.

Dirda on science fiction

Michael Dirda, a Post book critic, isn't afraid to get his mind dirty with genre fiction. He's reviewed longform comics for the Post. Here, courtesy of a link from Politics and Prose, are excerpts from an interview with Locus magazine that focuses on science fiction..

Richmond, VA, February 5th: Jim Rugg and Chris Pitzer @ Velocity Comics

From: Colin S

Jim Rugg and Chris Pitzer hit the road to talk about their latest creation: AFRODISIAC.

http://www.conventionscene.com/2010/01/06/vanc-afrodisiac-tour/

This is a bit too far afield to me, but the book looks pretty amusing.

NPR's Weldon's graphic novel year in review

Glen goes back to the well ...

2009: The Graphic Novels That, Um ... Grabbed?
by Glen Weldon
National Public Radio's Monkey See blog January 6, 2010

OT: Help send Ted Rall to Afghanistan

Ted's an acquaintance of mine, thru SPX and the like, and he's asking to raise $25,000 to go back to Afghanistan to do more cartoon journalism. One can pledge funds here -
Comix Journalism: Send Ted Rall Back to Afghanistan to Get the Real Story or click the Widget below. I just pledged $50 because I think cartoon journalism like Ted and Joe Sacco do is an important emerging media (or genre if you'd like).

Catching up with Cavna

Michael's got a piece on the Post's new Sunday Funnies design. I agree with him that Doonesbury reads horizontally much better. This vertical thing may work fine for native Japanese readers* and people that read a LOT of manga, but for me it's distracting.

Another new post is on animation and the Academy Awards and he's got quotes from the makers of the movies that should be of interest. Of these, I've seen Up, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs and Ponyo, all of which I thought were excellent. Coraline rests on the DVD pile, but I've already read the book and listened to the audiobook so I wasn't in as much of a hurry as I normally would be.

I'm glad that Avatar is not being considered an animated film. I think a line is going to have to be drawn between movies that are intended to look animated and movies that are not, no matter how much computer-animation is backing both types.



*Feel free to insert any other cultural group of your choice.

Post's Blake Gopnik on Daumier

I missed this one due to travelling, but I'm catching up. I don't recall this painting, but one of the best exhibits I've ever seen was on Daumier at the Phillips. Daumier's sculptures of the French Assembly, caricatures in bronze, are in the National Gallery of Art, displayed in the sculpture halls.

 

Setting the stage for the contemplative connoisseur [online as Rediscovering Honoré Daumier in the intimate Phillips Collection]
By Blake Gopnik

Washington Post , December 31, 2009; C10

OT: National Geographic's cover history

My wife helped out with the research for this article and is thanked at the end. Some cartoonists have worked for Geographic over the years, but I don't think they have any there. The children's magazine still has some freelancing for it.
 

Fauquier designer changed National Geographic's look
 

From February 1910 until August 1979, that most collectible of magazines, National Geographic, was recognizable by its yellow cover and its border of clustered oak and laurel leaves. Howard E. Paine of Delaplane removed them gradually, sometimes one at a time. He replaced the border with color...

 

Update - Richard Thompson wrote in to tell me that Paine hired him for jobs and is quite a cartoon fan.

Adult Swim music featured in Express

Animated Mixtapes: Adult Swim
By Christopher Porter

Express (January 5, 2010): 21

http://www.expressnightout.com/content/2010/01/adult-swim-mixtapes.php

Porter links to some free downloads.

Post website reports Graphic.ly e-comics has raised a million bucks

Graphic.ly Raises $1.2M For Comic Publishing
Daniel Brusilovsky
TechCrunch.com
Monday, January 4, 2010

Looks a little too optimistic to me, but what do I know.

Real World DC's cartoonist's taste questioned

Amanda Hess has got a couple of stories on The Real World: DC's cartoonist, Andrew at her Washington City Paper blog, The Sexist. The first is an overview "Rape Cartoons by the Real World D.C.’s Andrew Woods" of his work at the Rocky Mountain Collegian while the second is "Sexist Comments of the Week: Real World Rape Cartoons Edition" on the preceeding week's story.

I bow to Amanda's actual reporting as opposed to the "Eh, he was mentioned in this article as a cartoonist" approach that I took. She even tracks him down to being an intern at the Washington Times and getting an editorial cartoon published.

Tom Grindberg grew up in DC suburb

Tom Grindberg grew up in a DC suburb but he doesn't say which one in this interview:

 

Best, Daniel.  2009.

LOOKING BACK WITH TOM GRINDBERG

20th Century Danny Boy blog December 22, 2009

http://ohdannyboy.blogspot.com/2009/12/looking-back-with-tom-grindberg.html

 

Dragon Ball videogame review in today's Examiner

'Dragon Ball: Revenge of King Piccolo' for Wii gets 2 out of 5 stars from Greg Prince in today's Washington Examiner.

Post magazine photo puzzle is comic books

The Second Glance puzzle by Randy Mays is pictures of comic books from David Kennedy.

 

Also, the cartoon journalism of Our Town continues.

Danny Hellman's Typhon anthology deeply reduced

This isn't Washington news, but I'm posting the fact that Danny Hellman's Typhon anthology has a deeply-reduced sale price because it was a book I meant to review, and Danny sent me a pdf, but I still haven't gotten to it. So, out of guilt, I'll tell you all you can get the book for $14.95, $10 off the original price. I just ordered a paper copy that I hope to have more luck in reading than the e-version. I'm old school and much prefer paper.

For a DC connection, Danny's cartoons used to appear regularly in the Post when the Source section existed, and he was often in the City Paper before they were bought out by a company that rapidly went bankrupt.

Post shoehorns Sudoku puzzle into Sunday comics section

Note to Comics readers: Post debuts Sudoku Monster puzzles by David Bodycombe
Washington Post Sunday, January 3, 2010

Make of it what you will - And while all your favorites are still in the section, you'll notice some have swapped places for greater readability. Among others, "Mutts," with its Zenlike simplicity, cedes its front-page space to the wordier "Sherman's Lagoon."

Michigan State U's Comic Art Collection's October additions

October opened with a annoying problem for bibliographers. Some companies, that don't take their product line all that seriously in my opinion, put out different books with exactly the same title. Like these. Note the only way to tell them apart is by the description of the cover art.

Garfield : Jumbo Coloring & Activity Book. -- Ashland, OH :
Bendon Publishing International, 2007. -- 96 p. : ill. ; 27
cm. -- Copyright by Paws Incorporated. -- Includes reprints
of Garfield newspaper comic strips. -- Cover has Odie and
Garfield side by side smiling at the reader. -- Funny
animal genre. -- Call no.: PN6728.G28C6 2007
-----------------------------------------------------
Garfield : Jumbo Coloring & Activity Book. -- Ashland, OH :
Bendon Publishing International, 2007. -- 96 p. : ill. ; 27
cm. -- Copyright by Paws Incorporated. -- Includes reprints
of Garfield newspaper comic strips. -- Cover has Garfield
riding Odie as though he were a horse. -- Funny animal
genre. -- Call no.: PN6728.G28C6 2007c
-----------------------------------------------------
Garfield : Jumbo Coloring & Activity Book. -- Ashland, OH :
Bendon Publishing International, 2007. -- 96 p. : ill. ; 27
cm. -- Copyright by Paws Incorporated. -- Includes reprints
of Garfield newspaper comic strips. -- Cover has Garfield
walking on a wall with suction cups. -- Funny animal genre.
-- Call no.: PN6728.G28C6 2007b
-----------------------------------------------------
Garfield : Jumbo Coloring & Activity Book. -- Ashland, OH :
Bendon Publishing International, 2007. -- 96 p. : ill. ; 27
cm. -- Copyright by Paws Incorporated. -- Includes reprints
of Garfield newspaper comic strips. -- Cover has Garfield
making a face at the reader. -- Funny animal genre. -- Call
no.: PN6728.G28C6 2007d

There's a bunch of 'Africa Comics' titles from Europe, of which this is one:

Africa Comics 2003 : Antologia del Premio Africa e
Mediterraneo = Anthologie du Prix Africa e Mediterraneo. --
Sasso Marconi (Bologna) : Africa e Mediterraneo : Lai-momo,
2004. -- 148 p. : ill. (some col.) ; 28 cm. -- Exhibition
catalogue, Alessandria, Sale Espositive, 2004. -- Edited by
Sandra Federici and Andrea Marchesini Reggiani. --
Introductory text in French and Italian. -- Call no.:
PN6790.A342A35 2004
Marchesini Reggiani, Andrea.

Ooooh, Hunt Emerson!

"Leviticus, Chapter 20" / Alan Moore and Hunt Emerson. p.
17-22 in Outrageous Tales from the Old Testament (London :
Knockabout Publications, 1987). -- Call no.: PN6737 .O8
1987

Rick Detorie cartooned around a bit before making it with the One Big Happy comic strip:

No Good Men : Things Men Do that Make Women Crazy / by
Genevieve Richardson ; illustrated by Rick Detorie. -- New
York : Simon & Schuster, 1983. -- 96 p. : ill. ; 14 x 21
cm. -- "A Wallaby book." -- Call no.: NC1429.D367N62 1983

I think this was Pat Broderick leaving Captain Marvel and striking out on his own:

Tales of the Sun Runners. -- Long Beach, CA : Amazing
Publishing Co., 1986-1987. -- ill. ; 26 cm. -- Published
no. 1 (July 1986) - no. 3 (1987). -- "Amazing Comics" logo
on cover. -- Issues 1-2 in color, 3 in b&w. -- Science
fiction genre. -- LIBRARY HAS: no. 1-3. -- Call no.:
PN6728.55.A47T3

This sounds interesting:

Bande Dessinée Franco-Belge et Imaginaire Colonial : des
Années 1930 aux Années 1980 / Philippe Delisle. -- Paris :
Karthala, 2008. -- 196 p. : ill. ; 22 cm. -- Includes
bibliographical references (p. 177-191) and index. -- Book
about colonies and indigenous peoples as depicted in
Franco-Belgian comics. -- Call no.: PN6745.D45 2008

There are 3! series based on this movie?

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. -- La Jolla, CA : WildStorm
Productions, 2007. -- col. ill. ; 26 cm. -- Complete in 6
nos. -- Horror genre. -- LIBRARY HAS: no. 1. -- Call no.:
PN6728.7.W5T43 2007
-----------------------------------------------------
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre : Cut! -- La Jolla, CA : WildStorm
Productions, 2007. -- 32 p. : col. ill. ; 26 cm. -- "#1,
August 2007." -- Horror genre. -- Call no.: PN6728.7.W5T432
2007
-----------------------------------------------------
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre : Raising Cain. -- La Jolla, CA :
WildStorm Productions, 2008. -- col. ill. ; 26 cm. --
Complete in 3 nos. -- Horror genre. -- LIBRARY HAS: no. 1.
-- Call no.: PN6728.7.W5T434 2008

I don't have a copy of this yet, but I'll probably buy it soon.

1,000 Comic Books You Must Read / Tony Isabella. -- Iola, WI :
Krause Publications, 2009. -- 271 p. : col. ill. ; 29 cm.
-- Includes index. -- Annotated and illustrated
bibliography. -- Call no.: PN6725 .I75 O5 2009

You ain't going to find this just anywhere. Actually, I did, but now MSU has my copy:

$honky Dollars : Basher Cartoons from the South China Morning
Post / by Templar. -- Hong Kong : Beaugard Publications,
1988. -- 1 v. : ill. ; 30 cm. -- Cartoons about Hong Kong
life and politics. -- Call no.: NC1729.T4S47 1988

This might be interesting to have translated into English:

Monsieur Schulz et ses Peanuts / Marion Vidal, avec la
participation de Barbe, Caerali, Greg, Yves Got, Gotlib,
Kerleroux, Kurtzman, Lacroix, Leconte, Loup, Lucques, Jay
Lynch, Mézières, Moebius, Mulatier, Nicoulaud, Perich,
Pétillon, Rampal, Rouzaud, Shelton, Solé, Soulas, Swarte,
Tardi, Vazquez de Sola, Willem et Wolinski. -- Paris :
Albin Michel, 1976. -- 98 p. : ill. ; 25 cm. -- (Graffiti)
-- Bibliography: p. 96. -- Call no.: PN6727.S3 Z5V5 1976

Another one of those freebies, but from DC and not Marvel this time. There are also lots of postcards and posters, but they're not being cataloged here yet.

100 Bullets #1/Crime Line Sampler Flip-Book. -- New York : DC
Comics, 2009. -- 48 p. : col. ill. ; 26 cm. -- (Vertigo)
-- Cover titles: 100 Bullets Special Edition ; Vertigo
Crime Special Edition. -- "Free previews of the new Vertigo
crime graphic novels." -- Detective genre. -- Call no.:
PN6728.7.D3 O55 2009

There's a lot of 'superhero fiction' appearing now.

Captain Freedom : a Superhero's Quest for Truth, Justice, and
the Celebrity he so Richly Deserves / G. Xavier Robillard.
-- New York : Harper, 2009. -- 258 p. ; 21 cm. -- Summary
(from OCLC): The Superhero lifestyle is all Captain Freedom
has ever known, but he couldn't fend off middle management!
With the guidance of a new life coach, can he make peace
with his parents... or commit to a single long-term
archenemy? -- Superhero fiction. -- Call no.: PS3618
.O31758C37 2009

This is done by a DC-area cartoonist.

Made Man / Mark Wheatley. -- San Diego, Calif. : IDW
Publishing, 2009. -- ca. 200 p. : col. ill. ; 26 cm. --
(Frankenstein Mobster ; 1) -- Horror genre, organized crime
setting. -- Call no.: PN6727.W425F7 2009

The month wrapped up with Randy's liking for underground comix books such as

"You're a Hero!" / DARVC. back cover of Weirdom Comix, no. 14
(July 1971). -- A soldier returns home without arms or
legs. -- Call no.: PN6728.45.W4W4no.14

Soon, we'll look at ... November!

Michigan State U's Comic Art Collection's September additions

Let's take a look at MSU's additions to the Comic Art Collection in September...

Heavy Metal cataloguing continued...

"Letters to the Editor" p. 3 in Heavy Metal, v. 25, no. 3
(July 2001). -- Letters from: Dave, Jungpunk, and Enrique.
-- Call no.: PN6728.H43v.25no.3
-----------------------------------------------------
"Justin Sweet" (Gallery) p. 5-8 in Heavy Metal, v. 25, no. 3
(July 2001). -- Contents page title: "Gallery on Justin
Sweet." -- Call no.: PN6728.H43v.25no.3

I can't imagine knowing that there's a letter from David in the July 2001 issue will ever be useful, but... I'm not sure who Justin Sweet is either. I do like Darryll K Sweet's fantasy book covers.

This type of thing seems to be in vogue - there's the Last Kiss webcomic, Marvel's done at least one, there's a mainstream publisher's book, and then there's this. Edition of 100? I wonder how MSU got one?

Love and Marriage / Nava Atlas. -- Poughkeepsie, NY :
Amberwood Press, 2008. -- 28 p. : col. ill. ; 27 cm. --
"Love and Marriage is an altered comic book utilizing art
from the 1950s. The original dialog has been removed,
replaced by dry deadpan banter, between male and female
characters on the mythology of modern marriage, supermoms,
media's obsession with domesticity, over the-top weddings,
and monogamy. Interspersed are ads from the era, whose
absurdity is left intact, in their original, unaltered
state"-- Bookseller's website. -- "The art in this volume
was appropriated from the following sources:" Cover from
Love and marriage (I.W. Enterprises) (no date) ; Too
sentimental from Glamorous Romances (1953) ; When a heart
breaks from Love romances (1957) ; A reason to marry from
Love Romances (1957) ; My wedding day from Secrets of young
brides (1957) ; The boy next door from Love Romances
(1957). -- Edition of 100. -- Romance and parody genres. --
Call no.: PN6726.L6 2008

I'm a big Doc Savage fan - Randy catalogued 1-4 from the 1940s. It would be nice to see a reprint project of the Doc stories from these. Or maybe it wouldn't.

Doc Savage Comics, v. 1, no. 1 (1940)
CONTENTS: "The Land of Terror" (Doc Savage) 8 p. --
"Treasure Island" 7 p. -- "Double-Barreled Magic" (Norgil
the Magician) 6 p. -- "The Gas Neutralizer Plans"* (Cap
Fury) 6 p. -- "Death on the Construction Job" (Danny
Garrett) 4 p. -- "Scarlet Give-Away" 2 p. text -- "First
Days at West Point"* (Mark Mallory at West Point) 7 p. --
"L'Liberator"* (Captain Death) 4 p. -- "Nuggets of Doom"
(Sheriff Pete Rice) 5 p. -- "Murder at the De Gron Estate"*
(The Whisperer) 7 p. -- "A Race for a Life" (Billy the Kid)
4 p. -- Data from Lou Mougin, Gary Watson & Leonard
Wolinsky via Grand Comics Database Project. -- Call no.:
Film 15791r.176

Marvel did a lot of these giveaways this year. I probably sent this one in. At some point, a catalog of comics companies ephemera will be done by somebody, and then we'll see a price guide, and inflation... Perhaps I should sponsor a giveaway to see if anyone's reading. I've got pounds of this stuff.

The Stand Sketchbook / featuring the artwork of Mike Perkins &
Lee Bermejo. -- New York : Marvel Publishing, 2008. -- 16
p. : col. ill. ; 26 cm. -- At head of cover title: Stephen
King. -- Horror genre. -- Call no.: PN6728.7.M3S715 2008

Ooooh, speaking of which I don't have this one:

Work in Progress : "as if Doc Ock, Venom and the Vulture
weren't enough to worry about, now I've got an animated
series, too!" -- New York : Marvel Entertainment Group,
1994. -- 16 p. : col. ill. ; 26 cm. -- Describes the
forthcoming (1994) Spider-Man animation series, with
photographs of 18 creative personnel. -- Call no.:
PN1992.77.S68W6 1994

This sounds interesting. I wonder how common it is:

A Sex by Themselves : a Collection of Cartoons about
Femininity, 1846-1958 / assembled, introduced and commented
upon by Alan Wykes. -- London : Arthur Barker Limited,
1958. -- 104 p. : ill. ; 25 cm. -- Call no.: NC1763.W6W9
1958

I wouldn't mind seeing these, apropos of my real career in an Army museum:

Army humor exhibit card collection. -- Chicago : Ex. Sup. Co.,
1944. -- 60 cards : ill. ; 14 cm. -- Exhibit cards, also
called arcade cards or pin-up cards, were sold in vending
machines at penny arcades. The Exhibit Supply Company of
Chicago was a well-known producer of these items. -- The
MSU collection is from a series of cards with cartoons
about American soldiers during World War II. Most depict
their romantic involvements with women, especially in the
South Pacific; a few address other typical subjects of
military humor such as complaints about food. The artists
are not identified. Some cards have the caption "Copr. 1944
Ex. Sup. Co., Made in U.S.A." while the rest have only
"Made in U.S.A." -- Call no.: NC1284.U6A76 1944
-----------------------------------------------------
Navy humor exhibit card collection. -- Chicago : Ex. Sup. Co.,
1944. -- 64 cards : ill. ; 14 cm. -- Exhibit cards, also
called arcade cards or pin-up cards, were sold in vending
machines at penny arcades. The Exhibit Supply Company of
Chicago was a well-known producer of these items. -- The
MSU collection is from a series of cards with cartoons
about American sailors during World War II, most depicting
their romantic involvements with women in the South Pacific
and naval ports. The artists are not identified. Some cards
have the caption "Copr. 1944 Ex. Sup. Co., Made in U.S.A."
while the rest have only "Made in U.S.A." -- Call no.:
NC1284.U6N38 1944

Just to reassure everyone, the X-Men keep rolling in:

-----------------------------------------------------
World War Hulk : X-Men. -- New York : Marvel Publishing, 2007.
-- col. ill. ; 26 cm. -- (Marvel Limited Series) --
Complete in 3 nos. -- Superhero genre. -- LIBRARY HAS: no.
3. -- Call no.: PN6728.7.M3W7 2007
-----------------------------------------------------
X-Factor : the Quick and the Dead. -- New York : Marvel
Publishing, 2008. -- 32 p. : col. ill. ; 26 cm. -- (Marvel
One-Shot) -- "No. 1, July 2008." -- Superhero genre. --
Call no.: PN6728.7.M3X153 2008
-----------------------------------------------------
X-Men : First Class : Special. -- New York : Marvel
Publishing, 2007. -- 48 p. : col. ill. ; 26 cm. -- "No. 1,
July 2007. Published as a one-shot." -- Superhero genre. --
Call no.: PN6728.7.M3X2453 2007
-----------------------------------------------------
X-Men : Odd Men Out. -- New York : Marvel Publishing, 2008. --
48 p. : col. ill. ; 26 cm. -- (Marvel One-Shot) -- Numbered
"1". -- Superhero genre. -- Call no.: PN6728.7.M3X334 2008
-----------------------------------------------------
X-Men Origins : Sabretooth. -- New York : Marvel Publishing,
2009. -- 40 p. : col. ill. ; 26 cm. -- (Marvel One-Shot) --
"No. 1, April 2009." -- Superhero genre. -- Call no.:
PN6728.7.M3 X335S3 2009

I love the description of this one:

Bad Dog. -- Berkeley, CA : Image Comics, 2009- . -- col. ill.
; 26 cm. -- Began with no. 1 (Feb. 2009). -- About bounty
hunters, one of whom is a werewolf. -- Detective genre. --
LIBRARY HAS: no. 1. -- Call no.: PN6728.7.I5B26

One can tell when Randy's hitting the low-price bins at his local comics store:

Black Terror. -- Runnemede, NJ : Dynamite Entertainment, 2008-
. -- col. ill. ; 26 cm. -- Began with no. 1 (2008), cf.
Grand Comics Database Project. -- Superhero genre. --
LIBRARY HAS: no. 2 (2008). -- Call no.: PN6728.7.D9B55
-----------------------------------------------------
Bomb Queen IV : Suicide Bomber. -- Berkeley, CA : Image
Comics, 2007. -- col. ill. ; 26 cm. -- (Shadowline) --
Complete in 4 nos. -- Science fiction and superheroine
genres. -- LIBRARY HAS: no. 4. -- Call no.: PN6728.7
.I5B624 2007
-----------------------------------------------------
Bomb Queen. v. 5 : the Divine Comedy. -- Berkeley, CA : Image
Comics, 2008-2009. -- col. ill. ; 26 cm. -- (Shadowline) --
Complete in 6 nos. -- Science fiction and superheroine
genres. -- LIBRARY HAS: no. 2. -- Call no.: PN6728.7

This was a good read. The old Ms. Tree team, together again:

Strip for Murder / Max Allan Collins ; illustrations by Terry
Beatty. -- New York : Berkley Prime Crime, 2008. -- 272 p.
: ill. ; 21 cm. -- Mystery set in the 1950s comic strip
industry. -- Call no.: PS3553 .O4753S88 2008

A bunch of Chaykin interviews show up because there's going to be a Conversations book from Mississippi University Press, which I'm looking forward to. Chaykin says what he thinks:

Arken Sword, no. 23 (1988)
CONTENTS: "Speaking in Tongues" (letters) p. 4, 7 --
"Talking in Parallel with Bryan Talbot" (interview) p. 8-14
-- "The Life and Times² of Howard Chaykin!" p. 16-23 --
"News and Reviews from Around the World" p. 25-36 --
"William Simpson" (interview) p. 39-40 -- "Zenith, a
Team-Up Between Grant Morrison and Steve Yeowell"
(interview) p. 42-43 -- "A Chat with Dave McKean" p. 45-50
-- "Bits & Bobs" (miscellanea) p. 52 -- "Alan Davis on
Excalibur & Other Subjects" (interview) p. 53-58 -- Call
no.: PN6735.A66no.23

These two probably aren't pleasant to read. Is that MAD's Dave Berg?

The Real War Goes On! : the Truth About the Arab-Israeli War!
/ by Father David ; editing and art by Hart. -- Oakland,
Calif. : Family of Love, 1978? -- 7 p. : ill. ; 18 cm. --
Illustrated version of the 1973 publication. -- In comics
format. -- Call no.: DS119.7.B4752 1978
Berg, David, 1919-1994.
-----------------------------------------------------
Tales of the Holohoax : a Journal of Satire. -- Hull :
Heretical Press, 2004. -- 15 p. : ill. ; 28 cm. --
Antisemitic holocaust denial comic book. -- Call no.:
D810.J4T32 2004

And this appears to be a real oddity:

Graphic Opinion : newspaper feature. -- 1972. -- 49 leaves :
ill. ; 19 x 26 cm. and smaller. -- A collection of
clippings of political cartoons and strips by seven
different artists: Oscar Berger, Steve Englehart, Ranan
Lurie, Barry Smith, Herb Trimpe, Gary Viskupic, and Ron
Young. Two of the Barry Smith strips are titled only 'Love
is Strange', without the overall 'Graphic opinion' title.
Most are undated, but a few are dated 1972. They appear to
have been clipped from Newsday. -- Political genre. -- Call
no.: PN6728.G67G7 1972
Berger, Oscar, 1901-
Lurie, Ranan R., 1932-

Dark Shadows had a comic strip too? I knew there was a comic book for the tv horror soap opera:

Dark Shadows / K. Bruce. -- 1971. -- 33 leaves : col. ill. ;
17 x 26 cm. -- Clipped Sunday comic strips dated March 14,
1971 to Nov. 7, 1971. -- Horror genre. -- Call no.:
PN6728.D33D3 1971

This was an absolutely lovely comic. You can buy the collected edition now:

The Sandman : the Dream Hunters / original words by Neil
Gaiman ; graphicplay and art by P. Craig Russell. -- New
York : DC Comics, 2009. -- col. ill. ; 26 cm. -- (Vertigo)
-- Complete in 4 nos. -- "Adapted by P. Craig Russell from
the multi-award winning illustrated novella 'The Sandman :
the Dream Hunters' by Neil Gaiman and Yoshitaka Amano." --
Fantasy genre. -- LIBRARY HAS: no. 1. -- Call no.:
PN6728.7.D3S29 2009

This is probably not as marginal a publication as one might think at first glance:

Christian Cartoonist & Illustrator, v. 1, no. 1 (Spring 1984)
CONTENTS: "Welcome" (editorial) p. 3 -- "In Our Mail"
(letters) p. 4 -- "Gift of Laughter" (gag cartoons) p. 5 --
"Captain Marvel" p. 6-7, 18 -- "Writing for a Cartoonist"
p. 8 -- "Kids' Pull-Out Section" p. 9-12 -- "Interview -
Jack T. Chick" p. 13, 15 -- "The Life of Pope John Paul II"
(Review) p. 14 -- "The Story of Tintin" p. 16-17 -- Call
no.: PN6700.C38no.1

That was followed up by a bunch of Chick publications including this one. I'd like to see the documentary on Chick that's out now:

The Big Betrayal. -- Ontario, Calif. : Chick Publications,
1981. -- 64 p. : col. ill. ; 26 cm. -- Earlier printings
are in the "Sword series." -- About Charles Paschal
Telesphore Chiniquy, 1809-1899, and the Catholic Church. --
Religious genre. -- Call no.: PN6728.5.C48B5 1981b

More Doc Savage, more X-men and then Roger Langridge!

Fin Fang Four Return. -- New York : Marvel Publishing, 2009.
-- 48 p. : col. ill. ; 26 cm. -- (Marvel One-Shot) -- "No.
1, July 2009." -- Superhero and funny horror genres. --
Call no.: PN6728.7.M3F5 2009

Speaking of Doc, I need to see this. I'm aging fast.

"The Doc Savage Method of Self Development" 2 p. text in Doc
Savage Comics, v. 1, no. 7 (Mar. 1942). -- Exercises 1-7.
-- "Continued in next issue." -- Call no.: Film 15791r.176

October comes next.

Kal on C-Span then

Matt Dembicki and I both found the show online:

Political Cartooning in 2010
December 7 2009
Economist, The

Kevin "Kal" Kallaugher, political cartoonist for The Economist, talked about the many faces in the field of political cartooning. He drew several faces of current political figures and talked about the changing face of President Obama.

The Economist Calendar that he shows at the end is completely done by him, and you can find it in the big bookstore chains - I just saw it in Books-a-million.

Today! Kal on CSPAN NOW

From: kevin Kallaugher

I have just learned  I will be on C-span at 1PM(est) Today! 


Kal

Kevin Kallaugher

kaltoons@comcast.net

www.Kaltoons.com

Michigan State U's Comic Art Collection's August additions

Let's see what items of interest Michigan State U's Comic Art Collection added to its catalog in August 2009.

August starts off with more titles I've never heard of that presumably didn't last long:

Singapore Sam Adventures. -- Toronto, Ont. : Arteffect
Entertainment Corporation, 1997- . -- col. ill. ; 26 cm. --
Adventure story genre. -- LIBRARY HAS: no. 1. -- Call no.:
PN6734.S52

Sinthia. -- Farmington Hills, MI : Lightning Entertainment,
1997- . -- col. ill. ; 26 cm. -- Began with no. 1 (Oct.
1997). -- Superheroine and horror genres. -- LIBRARY HAS:
no. 1A. -- Call no.: PN6728.6.L47S5

and continues with a graveyard of companies - Eclipse, Armada, Malibu, Acclaim, Topps... all gone:

Sky Wolf : An Air Fighters Mini-Series. -- Forestville, CA :
Eclipse Comics, 1988. -- col. ill. ; 26 cm. -- Indicia
title: Skywolf. -- To be complete in 3 nos. -- War genre.
-- LIBRARY HAS: no. 1-3. -- Call no.: PN6728.5.E25S53 1988
COMPLETE HOLDINGS
-----------------------------------------------------
Sliders Ultimatum. -- New York : Armada, 1996. -- ill. ; 26
cm. -- "Based upon the hit TV series." -- Complete in 2
nos, also called Sliders v. 1 no. 3-4. -- Science fiction
genre. -- LIBRARY HAS: no. 1-2. -- Call no.:
PN6728.6.A24S55 1996
COMPLETE HOLDINGS
-----------------------------------------------------
Sliders Darkest Hour. -- New York : Acclaim Comics, 1996. --
col. ill. ; 26 cm. -- Complete in 3 nos. -- Also numbered
v. 1, no. 5-7. -- Science fiction genre. -- LIBRARY HAS:
no. 3. -- Call no.: PN6728.6.A24S56 1996
-----------------------------------------------------
The Solution. -- Westlake Village, CA : Malibu Comics
Entertainment, 1993- . -- col. ill. ; 26 cm. -- Published
no. 1 (Sept. 1993) - no. 17 (Feb. 1995). -- (Ultraverse) --
An issue #0 (zero) is dated Jan. 1994. -- Superhero genre.
-- LIBRARY HAS: no. 0-17. -- Call no.: PN6728.6.M25S6
COMPLETE HOLDINGS
-----------------------------------------------------
Space : Above and Beyond. -- New York : Topps Comics, 1996. --
col. ill. ; 26 cm. -- Complete in 3 nos. -- Science fiction
genre. -- LIBRARY HAS: no. 1-3. -- Call no.:
PN6728.6.T63S63 1996
COMPLETE HOLDINGS

Star Rangers? Published in Washington, DC? Anyone know anything about this?

Star Rangers. -- Washington, D.C. : Adventure Publications,
1987-1988. -- ill. ; 26 cm. -- Published no. 1 (Oct. 1987)
- no. 4 (Feb. 1988). -- Science fiction genre. -- LIBRARY
HAS: no. 1-4. -- Call no.: PN6728.55.A3S75
COMPLETE HOLDINGS

Some Luann strips that are a direct result of my asking about cancer comics:

"My Body's Fixed, but Now My Heart's Broken"* (Luann, Jan. 8,
1999) / by Greg Evans. -- Summary: Delta talks with Miss
Phelps about Miguel, who has become distant since news of
the cancer being in remission. -- Call no.: PN6726 f.B55
"cancer"

It seems like they should have more of these, doesn't it?

Playboy's Party Jokes. -- ill. ; 18 cm. -- Jokes and cartoons
about sex. -- LIBRARY HAS: no. 7 (1975). -- Call no.:
PN6231.S54P53

I pick these books up when I see them and they have an interesting illustrator:

Search for Dinosaurs / David Bischoff ; illustrated by Doug
Henderson and Alex Nino. -- Toronto : Bantam, 1984. -- 120
p. : ill. ; 18 cm. -- (Time Machine ; 2) -- (A Byron Preiss
Book) -- Plot-your-own story. -- Call no.: PS3552 .I759T56
1984

This has got to be pretty obscure:

Mox Nix : Anecdotes About the Life of GI's in Europe / by Jack
Niles ; with stories by Jim Dye. -- Kassel, Germany : The
Transmitter, 1952. -- 80 p. : ill. ; 11 x 16 cm. -- Cover
title: Mox Nix : Cartoons about your Tour in Europe. --
Call no.: NC1429.N5M6 1952

Here's another DC-related book. The author's teaching at Georgetown:

God of Comics : Osamu Tezuka and the Creation of Post-World
War II Manga / Natsu Onoda Power. -- Jackson, Miss. :
University Press of Mississippi, 2009. -- 202 p. : ill. ;
23 cm. -- (Great Comics Artists Series) -- Includes
bibliographical references (p. 175-194) and index. --
Contents: Introduction and some definitions ; Tezuka in
history/History in Tezuka ; Movie in a book ; Stars and
jokes ; Communities and competitions ; Sapphire and other
heroines ; Tormenting affairs with animation ; Low h
umor/high drama, the two faces of adult comics ; God of
comics, master of quotations. -- Call no.: PN6790.J33
T47Z52 2009

Eeeewww on August 7th. Still it's good to have this type of material where it can be studied:

Here Comes Whiteman / art work & story by John Patler. --
Dallas, Tex. : ANP-Dallas, 1965? -- 8 p. : ill. ; 29 cm. --
A white supremacist comic book. -- The author was
associated with the American Nazi Party, founded by George
Lincoln Rockwell. Patler assassinated Rockwell in August of
1967. -- Antisemitism and racism, about Jews and African
Americans. -- Superhero genre. -- Call no.: DS145.A56 1965

1 issue of UK's Valiant? 1! Come on, UK donors, stand up and donate!

Valiant Picture Library. -- London : Fleetway Publications,
1963-1969. -- ill. ; 18 cm. -- Published no. 1 (June 1963)
- no. 144 (May 1969), cf. Gifford, D. The Complete
Catalogue of British Comics Including Price Guide. --
Adventure story genres. -- LIBRARY HAS: no. 3 (1963). --
Call no.: PN6738.V3P5

They've got more of the excellent minicomics of Tom Gauld than they have of Valiant!

Three Very Small Comics. volume II / Tom Gauld. -- London :
Cabanon Press, 2005. -- 3 v. : ill. ; 11 cm. -- Issued in
folder (13 cm.) -- Contents: Invasion ; Our hero battles
twenty-six alphabeticised terrors ; The robots broke out of
the factory and fled as far as their batteries would allow.
-- Alternative genre. -- Call no.: PN6737.G35T4702 2005
-----------------------------------------------------
Three Very Small Comics. volume III / Tom Gauld. -- London :
Cabanon Press, 2007. -- 3 v. : ill. ; 11 cm. -- Issued in
folder (13 cm.) -- Contents: The art of war ; Gardening ;
The Gauld collection. -- Alternative genre. -- Call no.:
PN6737.G35T4703 2007

A rose is a rose is a rose...

The Graphic Novel : Walking the Borderline Between Being a
Type of Comic Books or an Independent Genre / Verfasserin,
Janina Belz. -- 2009. -- 22 leaves : ill. ; 28 cm. -- Paper
for the Englisches Seminar, Philosophische Fakultät,
Universität zu Köln, Wintersemester 08/09. -- Includes
bibliographical references. -- "What makes a graphic novel
a graphic novel? Is it a genre in its own right? In this
paper, I try to find answers to these questions by
examining different definitions of the term graphic novel
and applying them to the example of Alison Bechdel's Fun
home to find out whether it should be categorized as a
comic book or graphic novel." -- Call no.: PN6710.B44 2009

Lots of religious stuff cataloged this month. Here's a typical entry:

Kingdoms : a Biblical Epic. -- Grand Rapids, Mich. :
Zondervan, 2007- . -- ill. ; 18 cm. -- Contents: v. 1: The
coming storm ; v. 2. Scions of Josiah ; v. 3 The prophet's
oracle. -- Credits, v. 1: Story by Ben Avery, art by Mat
Broome. -- Religious genre. -- LIBRARY HAS: v. 1-3. --
Call no.: PN6728.K575 2007
Avery, Ben, 1974-

I missed this one at SPX:

Just So You Know. #1 : Autobiographical Comics / by Joey
Alison Sayers. -- Berkeley, CA : J. Sayers, 2009. -- 36 p.
: ill. ; 22 cm. -- Summary (from OCLC): Comics about a
woman as she transitions from male to female, including
stories about "passing" in society, taking female hormones,
getting a new i.d., and maintaining her relationship with
her girlfriend. -- Contents: Freaking out the parents ;
Hormoning ; Springtime ; ID-entification ; Flab ; The big
question ; Oh, ma'am ; Am I a bitch now? #1 ; Selling
comics at: SPX, the Small Press Expo ; Am I a bitch now? #2
; Double threat ; Am I a bitch now? #3 ; Am I a bitch now?
#4 ; Hey, ladies ; Just so you know. -- Call no.:
PN6727.S246J8 2009

Coming soon - September!

2009 in The Ohio State University Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum

Ohio State's cartoon library 2009 report is online at IJOCA's blog.

Maira Kalman at Mount Vernon

For her last And the Pursuit of Happiness blog post, Maira Kalman visited Mount Vernon, and then the White house - "By George," December 31, 2009.

Disney's Mulan still running

I missed this interview earlier, but the play is still going on.

Actress sees self in Mulan's story, By Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post Staff Writer, Friday, November 20, 2009.

The play's details are Disney's Mulan, Imagination Stage, 4908 Auburn Ave., Bethesda. 301-280-1660. http://www.imaginationstage.org. Wednesday-Jan. 10. $10-$21.

Big Planet January hardcover sale

Comics on the Rack (Quick Picks for Comics Due 01-06-10) by John Judy

The former Quick Reviews with a new name for a new year. Happy 2010!

COMICS ON THE RACK

(Quick Picks for Comics Due 01-06-10)

by John Judy

 

BLACKEST NIGHT: WONDER WOMAN #2 of 3 by Greg Rucka and Nicola Scott.  Diana must battle the Black Lanterns, a hot-tempered fish-woman and Death itself!  Did I mention the hot-tempered fish-woman?

 

BPRD: KING OF FEAR #1 of 5 by Mike Mignola, John Arcudi and Guy Davis.  The BPRD is gonna put the frog menace to rest once and for all!  And that's just for starters!  How can any red-blooded American resist?

 

THE BOYS #38 by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson.  The secret origin of The Female, in the inimitable BOYS fashion.  Recommended.  Not for kids.

 

DOOM PATROL#6 by Keith Giffen and Matthew Clark.  This month features everyone who's ever been wrapped completely in radiation-proof bandages to keep from killing their team-mates.  Plus, the Metal Men.

 

JSA ALL-STARS #2 by Matthew Sturges and Freddie Williams II.  Big fights and loud arguments!  And that's before the bad guys show up!

 

LIFE & TIMES OF SCROOGE McDUCK , VOL. 1 HC written and drawn by Don Rosa.  What it sounds like, kids: The biography of the fowl plutocrat who makes Monty Burns look like a dude wearing a paper hat at the deep fryer.  Great for all ages.  Recommended.

 

MARVEL BOY: THE URANIAN #1 of 3 by Jeff Parker, Marko Djurdjevic and Felix Ruiz.  A little background on your favorite Agent of Atlas: bubble-helmeted saucer jockey, Bob Grayson, the boy who fell to Earth.

 

NATION X: X-FACTOR #1 by Peter David and Valentine DeLandro.  Yeah, so like Cyclops is asking X-Factor to move into Utopia with him?  And it's like, y'know, maybe it's too soon?  Cuz, there are still, like, issues?  And Cyke's a bit of a control freak and X-Factor likes their space.  On the other hand, he would totally pay for utilities!

 

ORC STAIN #1 written and drawn by James Stokoe.  I really just wanted to type the title.  From Image Comics.

 

PREVIEWS by Marvel and Diamond Comics.  "It's 2010.  Do you know what your comics are?"

 

SIEGE #1 by Brian Michael Bendis and Olivier Coipel.  This is the big one:  Norman Osborn versus the World.  Or is it the other way around?

 

STUMPTOWN #2 by Greg Rucka and Matthew Southworth.  Chronic gambler and private investigator Dex must be getting closer to her target because the bullets keep getting closer to her.  Good stuff, set in Portland, Oregon, one of America's great cities.  Recommended.

 

SUICIDE SQUAD: BLACKEST NIGHT #67 by John Ostrander, Gail Simone and J. Calafiore.  A one issue revival of a classic DC title as the Squad goes after the Secret Six, the Black Lanterns and anyone else that happens along.  It's a ruckus!

 

SUPERMAN WORLD OF NEW KRYPTON #11 by Greg Rucka, James Robinson and Pete Woods.  Supes and Adam Strange uncover some shenanigans in their murder investigation on New Krypton.  Super-shenanigans!

 

UNCLOTHED MAN IN THE 35^TH CENTURY AD HC written and drawn by Dash Shaw.  A series of short stories from the creator of the acclaimed BOTTOMLESS BELLY BUTTON, plus some production material from his series airing on IFC.com.  Gotta look.

 

UNWRITTEN, VOL. 1: TOMMY TAYLOR AND THE BOGUS IDENTITY SC by Mike Carey and Peter Gross.  Collecting the first five issues of the breakout hit series that blurs the line where fictional characters end and real people begin.  Clever, scary stuff for mature readers.  Recommended.

 

WALKING DEAD, VOL. 11: FEAR THE HUNTERS SC by Robert Kirkman and Charles Adlard.  Collecting one of the creepiest story arcs yet, in which the flesh-eating threat is no longer coming from the zombies.  Rough stuff, even for this bunch.  Recommended.  Not for kids.

 

WEIRD WESTERN TALES #71 by Dan DiDio and Renato Arlem.  Come on, admit it, you've always wanted to see DC's old Western heroes rise from the dead as evil Black Lanterns!  Y'see where the "Weird" part comes in here?  Eh?  Eh?  Yippee-ki-yay, Black Lanterns!

 

www.johnjudy.net