Are You My Mother?

With 2012 still fresh and new, it seems like as good a time as any to look at various publishing companies’ plans for the year ahead and pick out what looks good, or at least interesting. Because the year looks to be filled with so many delights, I decided to double down and offer not just six but 12 comics I’m really looking forward to reading. Obviously this list is reflective of my own, indie-slanted interests, so feel free in the comments section to tell me what a dope I am for forgetting about Book X by Artist Y.

1. Are You My Mother? by Alison Bechdel (Houghton Mifflin). With a planned initial print run of 100,000 copies, there’s little doubt that Houghton Mifflin is expecting big things from Bechdel’s follow-up to her hugely acclaimed graphic novel Fun Home. Whereas that book dealt mainly with Bechdel’s relationship with her dad, this one focuses on her mom (in case you didn’t grab that from the title). A touchy subject, to be sure, but Bechdel’s proven she can handle such difficult, personal material with considerable aplomb.

Mastering Comics

2. Mastering Comics by Jessica Abel and Matt Madden (First Second). Abel and Madden’s Drawing Words and Writing Pictures was one of the best “how-to” guides comics has ever seen. I’m anxious to see what they’ll do for an encore.

3. Sammy the Mouse Vol. 2 by Zak Sally (La Mano). Volume One of Sally’s surreal, anthropomorphic saga just came out, collecting the first three issues of the Ignatz series. As good news as this is, what I’m excited about is Sally’s plans to have Volume 2, featuring all-new material, out by the end of the year. Sammy was one of the best books in the Ignatz line, and I’m eager to see the story continue.

4. Best of Enemies: A History of the Middle East Relations, Part One by Jean-Pierre Filiu and David B (Abrams). Funny the things you find out when you start strolling through a company’s online catalog. Did you know that Abrams is kickstarting another graphic novel imprint this year? With a heavy focus on Eurocomics? I sure as hell didn’t. One of the more notable releases is an English edition of the award-winning Kiki de Montparnasse. What I’m really curious about, however, is this historical project by the always interesting David B. and friend on the history of the Middle East.

5. Ed the Happy Clown by Chester Brown (Drawn and Quarterly). How long has it been since a collected version of Ed has been available? It’s been a long time. Long enough for me to note that it’s one of the few books by Brown that I haven’t read (other than pieces here and there — it’s shameful, I know). This is definitely going to be one of the big reprint projects of the year.

6. The Strange Tale of Paranorma Island by Suehiro Maruo (Last Gasp). This was initially promised to come out last year but apparently got delayed. Let’s hope we’re able to see a release in 2012. Maruo’s work is rarely for the squeamish or easily offended, but his comics have a haunting, lush quality that makes them worth checking out.

7. Barnaby Vol. 1 by Crockett Johnson (Fantagraphics). Here’s the other big reprint project of the year. Johnson’s wonderful, vastly underrated comic strip about a little boy and his underperforming fairy godfather is finally, finally being collected. Can’t wait.

8. Rohan at the Louvre by Hirohiko Araki (NBM). OK, so NBM has been publishing these graphic novels about the Louvre museum in Paris, and for the most part they’ve all been pretty good. This one, however, looks really interesting as it’s by the creator of the manga series Jo Jo’s Bizarre Adventures and stars one of the characters from that series. Chris Butcher talks a bit about it and offers up a preview over at his site.

9. Skippy Vol. 1 by Percy Crosby (IDW). OK, this is the other other big reprint project of the year. Even more than Barnaby, Skippy has largely been forgotten by a lot of comic readers, even though it heavily influenced works like Peanuts. But it’s a thoroughly charming, thoughtful strip that I expect will find a new appreciation with the release of this book.

The Lovely, Horrible Stuff

10. The Lovely Horrible Stuff by Eddie Campbell (Top Shelf). A new book from Eddie Campbell is always cause for celebration. This one deals with money and mankind’s general relationship toward it, with lots of personal anecdotes provided by the author, no doubt.

11. Lose #4 by Michael DeForge (Koyama Press). Oh, yeah, boy, more DeForge. What’s not to like?

12. Spirit World by Jack Kirby (DC). I didn’t even know this work existed until DC announced the collection earlier this year — that’s how poor a Kirby scholar I am. Still, it’s nice to see DC make a concerted effort to get as much of the King’s work out there as possible and I’m excited to see what this collection — mainly collecting horror/supernatural-style magazine stories if I’m correct — holds.

The Big Lie

Less than a month ago (and just before the 10th anniversary of 9/11), Rick Veitch‘s latest project (published by Image), The Big Lie, was released. While the one-shot has already been released, it’s clear that Veitch hopes the comic can foster discussion. As a storyteller who began pursuit of his craft in the early 1970s, Veitch has a perspective and creative voice shaped by a wealth of experience that few active current creators possess. In that spirit, I interviewed Veitch via email about his latest collaboration with artist Gary Erskine. While it was a one-shot so far, Veitch clearly intends to do more with The Big Lie platform. Here’s Image’s official description of the story: “A lab tech travels back in time on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001 to try and get her husband out of the world trade center before it falls, but will the facts convince him before it’s too late?” For additional context on The Big Lie, be sure to also read CBR’s August interview with Veitch as well the preview we ran in late July.

Tim O’Shea: Do you bristle at the characterization by some that this is a Truther comic?

Rick Veitch: Only in the sense that the “Truther” name lumps together everyone who doubts the government’s version of what happened. I think there’s a huge difference between the architects and engineers who’ve put their professional careers on the line by speaking out and those who are claiming space aliens were responsible.

O’Shea: In Chad Nevett’s CBR review of The Big Lie, he wrote: “Obviously meant to present as convincing an argument as possible by giving voice to counterarguments, the contrast of Sandra’s emotional hysterics and the men’s cold logic turns it all into a farce, a comedy skit. It’s very reminiscent of a Jack Chick comic in the way that it tries to be so serious on its subject and winds up producing laughs as a result. Various running jokes, including one about the iPad, don’t help in that regard.” How much did you strive to try to keep the book from being preachy (and avoid Jack Chick comparisons) while still tackling the concerns you felt needed to be addressed in the story?

Veitch: I don’t share Jack Chick’s religious beliefs, but I find his comics irresistible. The Big Lie uses the same narrative device of embedding a propaganda message within a drama (although I prefer to think of our book as an act of anti-propaganda).

What’s different is we’ve strived to humanize our characters a bit more than Jack used to. Sandra looks like a 45 year old lady. None of the men have chiseled physiques. No one is a paragon of virtue or evil incarnate. They’re just people going about their daily lives. I can’t think of a better way to honor the victims of the 9/11 attacks.

O’Shea: Was there any hesitation in releasing the book so close to the 10th anniversary, for fear of it being perceived as exploitative with its timing?

Veitch: Thomas Yeates and I had been discussing this project for about five years. The oncoming anniversary did help us move from talking to doing. But this isn’t a money making project. It’s an act of political theater, if you will. And in this day and age, whatever you do and whenever you do it is going to inspire some yahoo on the internet to call you exploitive.

O’Shea: In tackling such a politically charged topic (albeit through the lens of time travel/Twilight Zone vibe, as you liken it in this CBR interview)–did you fear alienating some of your readership for future stories? Or do you trust that your long-standing track record of respected and engaging creative work speaks for itself?

Veitch: I do a lousy John Wayne imitation but here goes: “Sometimes a man’s gotta’ do what a man’s gotta’ do”.

I suspect my longtime readers know my history as an underground cartoonist. My first printed comic, Two-Fisted Zombies, was published by Last Gasp in 1972. The Big Lie might seem a little strange to today’s comic book fan subsisting on empty-calorie superheroes, but there’s a long proud history of counterculture cartoonists speaking out about politics and repression.

O’Shea: You clearly don’t bristle at criticism of the work, as evidenced by the fact you yourself linked to this Wired review (and the discussion that ensued)? Would you say one of your main goals was to get people talking?

Veitch: After the release of Can’t Get No, as a perverse exercise, I posted all the reviews, good bad and indifferent.

I think it cured me of having my feelings either pumped or deflated by reviews. I usually find something useful or interesting in all of them. And in a way its an honor when someone reads my work and is prompted to respond, you know?

O’Shea: What’s on the horizon for future tales in The Big Lie?

Veitch: The first issue was a sort of basic overview of the big unanswered questions surrounding the attacks. What we’re discussing is focusing in on certain important aspects of 9/11 like the money trail and the Patriot Act.

O’Shea: Clearly the work generated a great deal of reaction, was there any reaction that surprised/pleased you more than others?

Veitch: I got contacted by someone asking if I’d based one of my characters on a real person who died that day. That set me back a bit. But I think the best reaction was the mainstream news coverage the book received. One of the things that has been frustrating those who are asking for a new independent investigation is that the there has been a virtual media blackout on the valid questions being raised. Somehow our comic seemed to open the door to discussions and reporting on these questions. In that sense it has fulfilled one of its most important goals.

O’Shea: What were some of the biggest challenges in terms of trying to tackle the scope of your story in this first issue, without running our of pages to tell the tale?

Veitch: It’s a hell of a thing to get your head around. The physical evidence points to the distinct possibility that the three towers were brought down by demolitions. The implications of what that might mean if it were proved true are monstrous. I personally think it would behoove the government to convincingly clear the air about this thing. By ignoring the science they are only feeding conspiracy theories.

Asterix

Politics | Ah, comics, the language of diplomacy. During his visit this week to the White House, French President Nicolas Sarkozy gave President Obama an 18th-century document accrediting Benjamin Franklin as ambassador to France and, for his daughters, a collection of Asterix graphic novels. [AFP]

Publishing | Rebellion Publishing, publisher of U.K. comics anthology 2000AD, will begin releasing U.S. editions of new and classic titles in graphic-novel format beginning in June with The Judge Dredd Complete Case Files and The Complete D.R. and Quinch. [PW Comics Week]

Publishing | Two more profiles of Last Gasp Books as the independent publisher celebrates its 40th anniversary. [PW Comics Week, San Francisco Bay Guardian]

Newave!

Publishing | Brian Heater begins a two-part Q&A with Michael Dowers, editor of Fantagraphics Books’ Newave! The Underground Mini Comix of the 1980s collection. [The Daily Cross Hatch]

Publishing | Jim Gibbons, Dark Horse’s publicity coordinator, chats about his history with comics. [Graphic Novel Reporter]

Retailing | Retailer Kendall Swafford and writer Heidi MacDonald report on the annual meeting last week in Memphis, Tennessee, of ComicsPRO, the direct-market trade organization. At the meeting, comiXology announced the launch of Retailer Tools 2.0, which allows direct-market stores to offer the Previews catalog on their websites, host their own blogs and online communities, and improve retailer control over pull lists. [ICv2.com, PW Comics Week]

Creators | Charles Hatfield posts a gallery of covers by artist and editor Dick Giordano, who passed away on Saturday at age 77. Bob Greenberger, KC Carlson and Mark Evanier also post remembrances. [Thought Balloonists]

Grizzly Shark

Creators | Ryan Ottley (Invincible) and Jason Howard (The Astounding Wolf-Man) chat about their upcoming one-shot Sea Bear & Grizzly Shark: They Got Mixed Up! [Big Shiny Robot!]

Creators | Rob Liefeld and pastor Phil Hotsenpiller discuss Armageddon Now, their comic series about the End Times. [Christian Examiner]

Creators | The Comics Journal posts the first part of a 2005 panel discussion at the International Festival of Authors in Toronto featuring Charles Burns, Chip Kidd, Seth and Chris Ware. [TCJ.com]

Creators | Brian Heater wraps up his four-part interview with Graham Annable. [The Daily Cross Hatch]

Light Yagami, from "Death Note"

Manga | A 14-year-old middle-schooler in Owosso, Michigan, has been suspended indefinitely after a classmate found a Death Note-inspired note containing the names of two students and times, and turned it over to a teacher. In Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata’s Death Note, the hit manga turned anime and live-action movie franchise, a high school student sets out to rid the world of evil using a supernatural notebook that kills anyone whose name is written in it.

Although the incident with the Owosso student was turned over to police, who forwarded the case to the prosecutor’s office. Police and school officials say they don’t believe the teen intended to harm anyone, and that no one was in danger.

This is at least the sixth incident in the United States in the past few years in which a student was disciplined for possessing a “death note.” [Argus-Press, Anime News Network]

ComicsPRO

Retailing | At its annual meeting late last week in Memphis, Tennessee, the direct-market trade organization ComicsPRO presented former DC Comics President and Publisher Paul Levitz with its first Industry Appreciation Award. The late Carol Kalish, former direct sales manager at Marvel, was honored with a posthumous Industry Appreciation Award. Matt Price has a roundup of news from the meeting. [Nerdage]

Publishing | Meredith May shines the spotlight on Last Gasp founder Ron Turner as the underground-comics publisher and distributor marks 40 years in business. [San Francisco Chronicle]

Publishing | Archie Comics CEO Jon Goldwater talks about teaming with Stan Lee for Super Seven. [AICN Comics]

Creators | About 50 fans, family and friends of renowned fantasy artist Frank Frazetta gathered Friday near the Frank Frazetta Museum in Marshalls Creek, Pennsylvania, for a candlelight vigil in support of the artist and his son Frank Jr. The Frazetta family is embroiled in bitter feud marked by criminal charges and a lawsuit against Frank Jr., who’s charged in the December break-in at the museum and is accused by his siblings of selling and reproducing their father’s art without permission. [Pocono Record]

Anders Loves Maria

Creators | Cartoonist Rene Engström discusses her recently concluded webcomic Anders Loves Maria. [Sequential Tart]

Creators | Girls With Slingshots creator Danielle Corsetto is the subject of an audio interview from this year’s Emerald City ComiCon. [Stumptown Trade Review]

Creators | Alex Deuben chats with Taki Soma about Rapture, her Dark Horse collaboration with Michael Avon Oeming. [Suicide Girls]

Creators | Brian Heater continues his multi-part interview with Bill Ayers. [The Daily Cross Hatch]

Fandom | Chris McNamara profiles the Chicago Nerd Social Club, a collection of about 750 members that holds events around the city. [Chicago Tribune]

Ooku Vol. 1

Ooku: The Inner Chambers
by Fumi Yoshinaga
Viz, $12.99.

As story hooks go, Ooku’s got a great one: A strange plague during the Edo period of Japan kills off more than three-quarters of the country’s male population. As a result, the culture and gender relations end up going all topsy-turvy, and succeeding generations find the women ruling the roost and men being protected and prized for their ability to produce offspring. This is especially in the Shogun’s harem, or Inner Chambers, where the story takes place.

It helps that the story is by Fumi Yoshinaga, who, in books like Antique Bakery and Gerald and Jacques, has proven herself to be more interested in gender relations and identity issues than mere yaoi squickiness (although she certainly likes that too. Certainly the fact that Ooku won the Osamu Tezuka Cultural Prize in its home country has led to a certain amount of anticipation among some manga fans.

Unfortunately, while Yoshinaga remains an excellent and expressive artist, the series stumbles out of the gate. One of the main problems is the translator’s decision (no doubt motivated by an attempt to approximate a certain Japanese dialect) to have everyone speak in a formal, Renaissance Faire-like manner, with lots of “thees” and “thous” and “didsts.” It has the unintended effect of coming off as forced, and distancing the reader from the characters and the story.

Beyond that though, Yoshinaga doesn’t really seem to do much with her idea, at least so far. She seems more interested in conveying the various back room politics and romances that take place in the inner chambers than giving thought as to what such a huge change in the population would do to a culture. Would the fashion still be identical to what it was in the real world, with men shaving their heads and women wearing long gowns? Wouldn’t that change somewhat drastically? Would a female shogun really keep a male harem and if so, would it be so identical in structure to what the real Edo shoguns had? This may sound like nit-picking, but makes the story seem more than a bit facile, as though she just swapped everyone’s sex and that alone would be interesting enough. It may well be that I’m not giving Yoshinaga enough credit and that she’s actually considered these issues and will explore them in more depth in future volumes. But so far, I’m not encouraged.

Reviews of Red Snow, Pelu and more after the jump …

Little Fluffy Gigolo Pelu, Vol. 1

Little Fluffy Gigolo Pelu: Vol. 1
by Junko Mizuno
Last Gasp, $17.95.

Mizuno’s style can best be described as “Hello Kitty with fangs,” or, perhaps more accurately, “Hello Kitty disemboweling Keroppi.” Her attractive, super-cute art works at cross purposes with her more savage content, usually involving predatory, mentally disturbed women on the make for husbands, raw meat or babies, or perhaps all three.

Pelu is the start of what looks to be Mizuno’s longest work yet, at least in English. It’s the episodic story of a tiny puffball/ovum (that’s right, I said ovum) who leaves his planet paradise in search of true love and perhaps the chance to procreate. From then on it’s a series of sad/darkly funny adventures as Pelu encounters one dysfunctional woman after another, more interested in abusive boyfriends or unattainable dreams than poor Pelu. A lot of these tales generate a genuine pathos for their characters and there’s a not-so-subtle critique of gender roles going on here, though Mizuno is too good an artist to keep her work from becoming strident or didactic.

Certainly it helps that she’s got a decided appreciation for the grotesque and downright bizarre. How many other comics vomiting a veritable tsunami of stomach acid over a cliff, thereby destroying the much valued poodle ranch next door and bringing misery to all? I would hope the answer to that question is none. Though I haven’t read Gotham Divas lately.

The Color of Heaven

The Color of Water and The Color of Heaven
by Kim Dong Hwa
First Second, $16.95 each.

This is fast shaping up to be the the front-runner in the “most underrated series of 2009″ category in the “Things I Give A Damn About” awards. I can’t say I’m terribly surprised. As I noted in my review of the first volume, Hwa’s tale of a young woman’s sexual and romantic awakening is too risque to appeal to the teen manga-reading audience but too coy and elusive to attract serious adult readers.

But for those willing to walk that line between the two extremes, Hwa’s story remains compelling right up to its happy but slightly bittersweet ending. There are moments of real, genuine eroticism here, such as when young Ehwa has a dream of chasing her loved one as his clothes slowly come off, or an even more daring sequence where she learns the joys of masturbation via a friend, But the books never feel smutty or pandering. And if its sexual metaphors seems (a man diving into a cool pond; a hammer striking a bell) seem more than a bit obvious at times, Hwa invests his characters with a good deal of heart and thought, so that the relationship between mother and daughter, as well as between the daughter and her suitor, feel true. For all of it’s flower metaphors and sidelong glances Hwa’s trilogy is as honest a depiction of sex, adolescence, parental relationships and downright longing as I’ve ever come across in comics.

Red Snow
by Susumu Katsumata
Drawn and Quarterly, 248 pages, $24.95

A woman falls in love with the spirit of a chestnut tree only to see it chopped down. A traveling monk becomes the unwanted play thing for a group of lonely house wives. Anothe rmonk dreams of sexual conquest. A battered wife puts up with her husband’s alcoholism and abuse because that’s the only time he can sexually gratify her.

As my poor attempts at encapsulation suggest,, this collection of short stories by the late gekiga artist Katsumata deal with the give and take between the sexes, set against the backdrop of a rural, feudal Japan. Katsumata makes no bones about the second-class status and hardships that women in this particular culture must endure, but has no interest in being one-sided. The women here can be just as abusive and manipulative as the men, they just aren’t always as successful in getting their way, and their fall can be a lot greater.

None of this is overt. Katsumara delivers all his stories in sleight-of-hand style so that the book’s themes only seep into your brain slowly, and with multiple readings. This is a book I’ll be pulling off my shelf and musing over for some time to come.

Kurosagi Delivery Service Vol. 9

Is it Sunday again already? Time for another What Are You Reading then. Our guest this week is blogger and Bleach fanatic John Jakala. Has John been reading Bleach this week? Click on the link to find out. Oh, and don’t forget to tell us what you are reading in the comments section below.

Blackest Night: Tales of the Corps

Tom Bondurant: Boy, that Prince Valiant hardcover looked great, didn’t it?  The color is just stunning.  The stories (what I’ve read so far, at least) are fun as well, with a nice mix of realism and fantasy.  I’m looking forward to future volumes, both to see how Hal Foster’s style and Val’s character develop over the years.

I liked Blackest Night:  Tales of the Corps #1 more than I thought I would.  The lead story (written by Geoff Johns and drawn by Jerry Ordway) was a somewhat odd duck, like “The Twilight Zone” meets the Old Testament.  It’s the origin of Saint Walker, leader of the Blue Lanterns, and I suppose it’s a superhero-ish take on the Book of Job, except without all the smack-talk from God.  The second story is about the early years of today’s Mongul, leader of the Sinestro Corps. (Remember, his dad was the Mongul of “For The Man Who Has Everything,” the Superman-in-space storyline, etc.)  Written by Peter Tomasi and drawn by Chris Samnee, it shows Kid Mongul emulating his dad by making a group of marooned extraterrestrials his conquered subjects.  Dad shows up at the end, leaving Junior with a fairly ironic life lesson. It’s disturbing in a darkly funny way — more EC sci-fi than “Twilight Zone.”  The last story introduces the Indigo Tribe, an inscrutable quasi-Lantern-Corps who speak in an untranslatable language and who do some mysterious things to a mortally wounded Green Lantern and his similarly-situated Sinestro Corpsman foe.  Overall, I thought the issue was entertaining, and it will probably provide some relevant insight into the various rival Corps.  (Well, the Mongul story not so much — I suspect we could have figured that out about him on our own.)

Seems like there must have been some behind-the-scenes shenanigans surrounding Steve Englehart’s departure from the ’70s Doctor Strange, because finishing up Essential Dr. Strange Vol. 3 felt like jumping through a series of corrective hoops.  First Englehart wrote two issues of “The Occult History Of America” before that arc was completed by editor Marv Wolfman.  Wolfman then introduced the Creators and the Quadriverse as another challenge to Strange’s (and the reader’s) understanding of reality.  Then, Jim Starlin came aboard for a few issues, and finally Roger Stern wrapped it all up with the In-Betweener, who apparently was related to Adam Warlock, Thanos, and a recent Avengers storyline.  Thus, over about ten issues, the book went from Englehart’s quirky take to a more mainstream, shared-universe-friendly status quo.  Not that Stern’s story was bad — it seemed more reasonable than both Wolfman’s and Starlin’s take — but it purported to show what was “really” going on.

I’ve started reading the new Madame Xanadu paperback, written by Matt Wagner with art by Amy Reeder Hadley.  After two issues I like it quite a bit, especially Hadley’s art. The cameos from various magical DC characters (and the one artifact) are fun too.  On deck are Showcase Presents Bat Lash and a couple of ’70s Marvel series in Essential form.

Wednesday Comics #1

Tim O’Shea: Last week, I had one minor beef with Wednesday Comics — and that was the Simonson & Stelfreeze credits with the Catwoman/Demon story. Did I mention it was a minor quibble? Well, minor or not, I was pleasantly surprised to get an email from WALT Simonson last weekend — explaining quite simply why the credits are the way they are. “Sorry. Didn’t want to screw up the symmetry of Simonson/Stelfreeze.” Makes sense to me. Thanks for the explanation, Walt.

Now on to this week — and Wednesday Comics again. Karl Kerschl’s framing of two “strips” (Iris West/The Flash) in one with Flash Comics is delightful. It would have been my top story of the Wednesday Comics collection this week, were it not for Kyle Baker. Kyle Baker gave readers a scene with Hawkman, a child and a smile. Four simple panels in the midst of a frenetic adventure that reminds me yet again why Baker is one part artist/one part cinematographer in his storytelling.

Mark Waid finishes up the first major arc with The Incredibles this week. My son is loving the book and so am I, but for different reasons. For me, I’m loving it for the comedic moments that Waid works in, almost as asides it seems (and that’s a compliment). My favorite bit in The Incredibles 4 is the “heights” that Violet’s boyfriend goes to get in a good cell zone to call her.

Any week I get to type the name Gene Colan is good for me. Go get Captain America 601, sure it’s a filler issue to a certain extent, but it’s Gene Colan.

Finally I greatly appreciated Jess Nevins’ analysis of Fu Manchu in the back of Incognito 5. Kudos to Brubaker for working in content like this into his Icon series.

Batman & Robin #2

Matt Maxwell: Light comics week reading this week.  (Mostly books from last week anyways).

WEDNESDAY COMICS #1
There’s some great pieces here, but Ben Caldwell’s WONDER WOMAN is the standout.  Okay, SUPERGIRL is a standout too.  And Risso…well, it’s  Risso. I mean, you can’t pass that up.  Oh, and Garcia-Lopez on METAL MEN. Everything he does is a master class in storytelling.

But Caldwell’s take on WONDER WOMAN is a real gem that actually does something intriguing with the space he’s been given.  Don’t get me  wrong. The others are nicely done.  But they don’t jump out as really exceptional.

I’ll probably buy all of these as they come out, but I would be lying  if I said that I didn’t want to read all the stories collected instead of  anthology style.

BATMAN AND ROBIN #2
Morrison and Quitely make this seem like it’s so easy.  Like it’s a  breezy little jaunt through the back alleys of Gotham City and it all just came off  the tops of their heads.  But it didn’t.  There’s a real weight and substance and insight at play.  Instead of working with the ultra grim “I must become a bat” school, Morrison and Quitely instead play up “I’m an actor playing a role” angle.  And giving the role of Robin to Damian allows him to be a  great foil for Dick Grayson’s Batman.  It’s a far better book than I thought it would be and I figured it’d be pretty good (and I lost interest in Morrison’s run on Batman when it became BATMAN RIP).  But this book is something else entirely.  I don’t want Bruce Wayne back as Batman.  Let him vacation
for awhile.  He’s certainly earned it.

AGENTS OF ATLAS #7
At least I think it’s #7.  I’m not used to keeping track of numbers in the comics I’m reading, since I switched over to mostly trades.  You know why I like this book so much?  Because it’s not about characters that I was reading thirty years ago.  This is uncharted territory in the Marvel U.  And who better to set course for it than Jeff Parker, who has a sense of history, but isn’t enslaved by it (as well as a sense of adventure but isn’t interested in breaking toys just to break them.)

Research reading?  Who has time for that?  I’ve got kids out of school and they need entertainment, dammit!  HERE WE ARE, DAD ENTERTAIN US.

The Ice Wanderer

Brigid Alverson: I always loved classic comic strips as a kid, so I was delighted to see NBM’s collection of Frederick Opper’s Happy Hooligan strips from the early 1900s. The book is beautifully produced, with an essay summarizing Opper’s professional work and very nice reproductions of the strips themselves—not an easy feat when you’re talking about yellowing newspaper comics. They probably look a lot better on these pages than in the original. Every strip turns on the same device: Happy, a well-meaning hobo, tries to help someone, is misunderstood, causes all sorts of chaos, and winds up being hauled off by a truncheon-wielding policeman in the final panel. Opper tells each of these stories in six panels with an ascending degree of mayhem and lots of side comments. The similarity of the storylines make this a book that’s better to dip into than to read cover to cover, but it’s a great summer diversion.

Speaking of summer, it’s finally getting hot and sticky here on the East Coast, so I’m escaping with Jiro Taniguchi’s The Ice Wanderer, which comprises six short stories that all share a certain sensibility with the works of Jack London. The first story is a ghost story that is old as the hills, but Taniguchi makes it fresh and ties it so tightly to the place, it’s hard to believe he isn’t from the North himself. His art is crisp and clear, with little of the stylization people usually associate with manga; this is a good example of manga that an indy comics lover can enjoy.

Finally, Alan’s Letters is not a comic but an illustrated nonfiction book, the story of Alan W. Lowell, a World War II soldier who died in combat in 1944. The book, by his niece Nancy Rial, collects his letters starting with basic training and presents them alongside photos of army equipment, vintage postcards and flyers, and modern photos of the sites in France where Alan fought. It all adds up to a very complete and moving picture of army life, as seen through the eyes of an earnest young man.

Crime!

Chris Mautner: I recently finished Darwyn Cooke’s adaptation of The Hunter and will have a full review up next week.

I’m also reading a couple of books for The Comics Journal, including the latest (and presumably final) For Better or for Worse collection, Just a Simple Wedding. I have a love/hate affair with creator Lynn Johnston. I think she’s one of the most talented cartoonists working in newspapers today, but she lays on the sentimentalism with a trowel. And don’t get me started on Anthony.

One book I just started was Larry Gonick’s Cartoon History of the Modern World Part II: From the Bastille to Baghdad. The book’s not out until October, but HarperCollins sent me an advance review copy to read. I’ve been a big fan of this series since it started waaaaaaay back when, and am eager to read this final volume, if a little sad that it’s finally ending.

Bleach Vol. 27

John Jakala: I’m perpetually behind in my comic reading, but this past week I actually managed to read several books that have been sitting near my bedside for weeks.

Bleach 27: The latest installment of one of my favorite shonen manga series. It’s mainly a series of downtime vignettes before the next multi-volume fight scene kicks off, but there are some satisfying moments for long-time Bleach fans. I loved finally seeing Urahara in action, especially when he frustrated his opponent by finishing his sentences. It was great to see Chad and Uryū get some screen time hopefully they’ll be able to pull their weight and not merely serve as punching bags before Ichigo steps in to save the day. And although Orihime’s abduction by the Arrancars reeks of the same damsel-in-distress syndrome that befell Rukia in the never-ending Soul Society arc, I’m hopeful that Orihime will be a more active protagonist than Rukia was because Kubo is upping her powers in interesting ways.

Slam Dunk volumes 3 & 4: I’d already read the material in these volumes back when Gutsoon published the series (first in the Raijin Comics anthology and then in the TPB collections) but I still bought the Viz editions because (1) I want to support the series and (2) I find the differences in translation fascinating.

Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service 9: KCDS is the series that received my vote for best ongoing series of 2009, and this volume is a great example why:  In addition to the usual ghastly and gruesome scenarios the gang finds themselves in, we also learn a bit more about the tragic personal backgrounds of two members of the Delivery Service. Combining pathos with horror makes for a surprisingly rich reading experience.

Pluto 3: There is so much I love about this book. I’ve been enjoying the series, Naoki Urasawa’s reworking of Osamu Tezuka’s classic Astro Boy storyline “The World’s Strongest Robot”, since the beginning, but this volume is where things really started to click for me.  Come the end of 2009, I have a feeling this series is going to be sweeping a lot of critics’ “Best Of” lists.  In fact, this single volume alone could pretty much lock up all the “Best Of” categories as far as I’m concerned:  Best (and Most Adorable) Character:  Uran; Best (and Most Sympathetic) Villain (TIE): Adolf Haas, Pluto; Best Social Commentary; Best Visualizaiton of Futuristic Society; Best World-Building; Best Remix of Older Material; and Best (and Most Surprising) Use of Limited Color
Printing in a B&W Book.  In fact, one of the only awards that Pluto wouldn’t win would be “Best Series Title” because that would go to…

Little Fluffy Gigolo Pelu:  Again, this has got to be one of the best book titles ever.  Coming next month from Last Gasp, Little Fluffy Gigolo Pelu is the latest surreal, psychedleic manga from off-beat artist Junko Mizuno and it details the exploits of Pelu, a strange, cottonball-shaped alien who escapes to Earth in search of a mate so he can fulfill his dream of making a baby.  (Pelu himself is kind of a sentient space sperm ripped from the womb before he could copulate with his egg-like wombmate to produce an alien baby, so he’s feeling a bit lost, alone, and incomplete on Earth.)  The book is filled with bizarre, disturbing, but utterly engaging adventures, like the chapter where Pelu’s friend the Space Hippo arrives on Earth, eats too many unfamiliar foods, and ends up vomitting an acid-like substance all over the town’s local poodle ranch.  The “Vol. 1″ in the title makes me hope we’ll see more imaginative tales featuring Pelu and his quest for love (or at least reproduction) in the near future.

Otto Porfiri: Drama on the Cliff and Red Moon: These two books were entries in Dark Horse’s short-lived Venture … venture, where DH worked with Strip Art Features to release European GNs in the US several years back. I picked up these two books for 80% off during one of TFAW’s big Nick-and-Dent sales almost a year ago and am just now finally getting around to reading them. These stories of a portly private eye bumbling through one bizarre case after another are short, self-contained, and a little thin, but they’re saved by artist Franco Saudelli’s wonderful art, which alternatively reminds me of the styles of José Luis García-López and Steve Pugh.

Finally, I’ve been slowly picking away at the mammoth Luba for the past couple weeks. I keep feeling like I should go back and re-read Palomar to reacquaint myself with the characters and settings from the Gilbert-o-verse, but I know that if I do that I’ll never get around to actually reading Luba.  It is interesting to go back and see how Gilbert Hernandez’s art style has evolved over the years, though.

Pelu vol. 1

* Warren Ellis hinted at two upcoming comics projects over on his blog: Captain Swing and the Electrical Pirates of Cindary Island, which will be published by Avatar Press with art by Raulo Caseres; and Supergod, about which little is revealed beyond the title.

* The Same Hat guys reveal that Last Gasp will be publishing a new manga by Junko Mizuno this fall, entitled Little Fluffy Gigolo PELU Vol. 1. Adults only kids.

* Johanna Draper Carlson drops the news that the 600th issue of Archie will have him marrying Veronica in one of those “what will the future hold” type dealies. Apparently it’s part one of a six-part story.

* Speaking of big milestones, Evan Dorkin says the 500th issue of Mad Magazine is out on newsstands now, which is kind of amazing — to me at any rate.

* Percy Gloom author Cathy Malkasian will publish her follow-up book, Temperance, through Fantagraphics this fall.

* AdHouse pulls back the curtain on Process Recess 3, the third book of art by James Jean.

* Want to know what the cover to that upcoming collection of John Stanley’s Nancy stories looks like? Click here.

American Surreal

Continuing our publishing preview for the new year, today we’re taking a look at Last Gasp, one of the oldest underground comix publishers around and still distributing and publishing quality material today, a lot of it having to do with Tintin oddly enough.

Anyway, even though there’s only a few comics-related titles in the new catalog, I thought I’d list all of the company’s releases for the first half of the new year anyway, as there are quite a few books that have some potential crossover appeal.

American Surreal: The Art of Todd Schorr. Pop surrealist painter Schorr’s latest works are lovingly displayed in this 100-page volume. $39.95 hardcover, April.

Barefoot Gen, Vol. 8

Barefoot Gen Vo. 7 & 8 by Keiji Nakazawa. Never before published in English, these volumes find Hiroshima survivor Gen entering middle school and attempting to come to terms with the horror he witnessed, while other factions would prefer he remain silent. Both books are expected to hit stores this month, and may in fact be out already. $14.95 each, paperback.

Banksy’s Bristol: Home Sweet Home. A collection of early graffiti art by the popular “subversive” artist, much of which has never been published before. $24.95 hardcover. Already available in stores.

The Late Fauna of Early North America: The Art of Scott Musgrove. More lovely but seriously disturbing pop surrealism, this time focusing on Musgrove’s bizarre creatures. $34.95 hardcover, June.

Best Erotic Comics 2009, edited by Greta Christina. A look back at the past year in smut, featuring work by Alison Bechdel, Rick Altergott, John Cuneo, Gilbert Hernandez, Molly Kiely and more. Junko Mizuno handles the cover. $19.95 paperback, February.

DirtyPilot.com Year 1 Rewind: The Art of Dirty Pilot by Alison Bortman. Another art book, this time celebrating the urban art that dominates this online gallery. $19.95 hardcover, June.

Relationship Report Cards by Aye Jay. Grade the progress your significant other is making — or lack thereof as the case may be — with the handy collection of charts found in this joke gift book. $8.95, paperback, March.

The Band Crime: Punk77 Revisited by James Stark. Stark’s photographs chronicle the rise of one of the earliest punk bands, Crime. No, I hadn’t heard of them either. $14.95 paperback, April.

Hi-Fructose Collected Edition. A compilation of the best work form the first four volumes of the popular underground art and counterculture magazine. $35 hardcover, June.