Adventure Time

In an ideal world, all comic book editor-in-chiefs should experience working at a comic book store. Such is the case with current BOOM! Studios EIC Matt Gagnon, who spent a spell as buyer and purchasing manager for Hollywood’s Meltdown Comics. Gagnon recently took some time to discuss BOOM!’s transition away from the Disney properties and toward KaBOOM! books like Peanuts and Adventure Time, as well as creator-owned works such as Roger Langridge’s Snarked. The bulk of this interview took place well before Newsarama’s report that Mark Waid’s Irredeemable and Incorruptible were both drawing to a close this May, but Gagnon and I spoke of it briefly after the news broke. I will be curious to see what big news BOOM! will have in a couple of weeks. In the meantime, enjoy this interview. Me? I wish I was a young writer, so that I could get Gagnon to send me a Mark Waid script.

Tim O’Shea: What were your priorities when you took over the EIC role, and how successfully did you achieve what you set out to accomplish with the BOOM! line?

Matt Gagnon: I was—and continue to be—focused on maintaining the level of execution that the fans expect of us and we expect of ourselves. Before I became EIC I had already spent two years as Managing Editor, building a style and a system of how we make comics and fulfill the promises of what we solicit. Not to oversimplify our principals, but at its core we’re all about publishing great comics and shipping them on time. This July will be my 2 year anniversary as EIC and I feel like we’ve only been getting better and better.

Back in 2008 when I came to the company, one of my first goals was to make sure the trains were running on time. We’ve been very consistent since then and I’m extremely proud of the reputation we’ve garnered. It’s a testament to the insanely talented team we have here at BOOM! and the dedicated network of talent we have involved in our comics. We’ve been recognized by Diamond and our retail partners for two years in a row with the Best Publisher Award (under 4%).

Anybody who knows me knows that I have high expectations of myself and my team. I want to maximize every opportunity that we have. I don’t just want to do Planet of the Apes comics; I want to do the best Planet of the Apes comics, you know? The same goes for Hellraiser, 28 Days Later, Adventure Time, or anything else that we publish.

Creatively, I’ve always had a vision for our line and I’m proud of all that we’re accomplishing. We continue to achieve our goals every day, every time we send another issue to print that we’re proud of. But there’s always more to be done and bigger goals that we’re working toward. You can never rest on your laurels.

O’Shea: The KaBOOM! line made a rather pivotal transition in the past year, as the Disney licenses expired and the new licenses and creator-owned projects were gained. Are you pleased with where KaBOOM! now finds itself positioned?

Gagnon: I couldn’t be happier with the progression of the KaBOOM! imprint. The Disney licenses were obviously very important to us, and we were fortunate to publish Pixar, Muppets, Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, et al, at such a formative point in the company’s development. We had a lot of success with those titles and continue to be thankful for the opportunity to be a part of that legacy.

When I look at the KaBOOM! imprint now I see a much more diverse line of comics. Whether it’s the iconic characters of Peanuts or creating brand new characters like Roger Langridge’s Snarked or a modern hit like Adventure Time, it’s a phenomenal line-up. Publishing all-ages comics is incredibly difficult in the direct market. When the Disney license was up we were hearing a lot of consternation about what our position would be in the market with all-ages material moving forward. I think we’re showing with our new line-up that we’re more committed than ever to all-ages comics.

And things should only get more exciting this year. We’ll make a big announcement in a couple weeks that will only bolster the imprint.

O’Shea: It’s safe to assume you learned a great deal about the EIC position while Mark Waid was still a full-time co-worker, but who else would you say you learned from the most in order to be best equipped for the job?

Gagnon: Oh yeah, Mark is a giant. I’ll always be thankful that I got my start working with him. I mean, c’mon, he’s one of the all-time greats. To this day I still send young writers I’m working with a Mark Waid script to study. He can get whatever he wants out of 22 pages; it’s amazing.

I learned a ton from Ross [Richie, Founder & CEO of BOOM!] and we continue to have a great working relationship. There’s an awesome team over here filled with smart people that all have something to offer.

O’Shea: There are few people in the comics editorial side of things that have a background such as yours in retail. How did your retail experience help you to understand the priorities of how to best position the BOOM! line in a struggling (and quickly changing) economy?

Gagnon: I’ve said this in interviews before, but it’s one of the best pieces of experience that I have. I spent years “behind the counter.” I’ve seen the industry from all angles: fan, professional, retailer, publisher. It’s something I’m very thankful for and I think it gives me a unique perspective into what’s important to readers and retailers. It’s certainly helped me make adjustments and continue to be successful as the economy—and the industry—have changed over the years.

The only thing I haven’t done is work at Diamond. I should go shadow my Diamond rep for a few days [laughs].

O’Shea: This question is rooted in ignorance. Was the Stan Lee line always intended to be one year, or was there an option to go past the one year?

Gagnon: We launched the Stan Lee line as an ongoing series, but most of the story development was only planned out through the first year. It’s not really uncommon when launching a new series. You have to wait and see how the market responds to what you’re doing in serialized entertainment.

There was some terrific fan support for the line, and the books were generally well reviewed throughout the run. We all still love those stories. The creative teams were amazing and their work was exceptional. At the end of the day the sales just didn’t enable us to continue past the first year. That’s the long and the short of it.

O’Shea: What’s been some of the larger challenges in trying to maintain a proper foothold in the print side of comics, while bolstering your presence on the digital distribution landscape?

Gagnon: Well, it’s no secret that comic sales as a whole have been struggling. Launching anything new is a delicate and challenging task. There’re titles we launched last year that I think would have succeeded in, say,’09 but under-performed for us. Thankfully, we’ve also had a lot of success. You have to keep hammering away and putting out comics that you believe in. Some of them will find an audience, some of them won’t (despite your best efforts). It’s a magical and joyous thing when something pops and it’s a tremendous bummer when they don’t.

We’re consistently working on expanding our presence in the digital landscape, which is important long-term. But our core print business is still very much our bread and butter. I think we’ve done a good job of doing a balancing act between the direct market, the book trade, and digital. The trick is to keep hitting all those targets.

O’Shea: With bookstores such as Borders closing, I am curious how that has impacted BOOM!’s performance on your Mass Market sales. When you were interviewed by Tom Spurgeon in early 2011, you were pleased with the business BOOM! had gained with your distribution deals with Simon & Schuster in America and HarperCollins Canada. Are you still as pleased?

Gagnon: It was sad to see Borders close, but it honestly didn’t have much impact on our Mass Market sales. Simon & Schuster did a terrific job of shielding us from any fallout. We’ve actually been doing better than ever in the book trade. We’re getting to the point as a company where our backlist is robust and S&S and HarperCollins Canada are uniquely positioned to distribute our line.

O’Shea: This year saw you turn the editing responsibilities of Incorruptible fully over to Shannon Watters, while still keeping a role in editing Irredeemable? How hard was it to leave Incorruptible, which you had continued to edit after assuming the EIC role–and why did you decide to continue editing Irredeemable?

Gagnon: The answer is pretty boring: it simply came down to work flow. Shannon had been doing the heavy lifting on Incorruptible for a while as the Assistant Editor. I was there in a supervising capacity as she honed her own (considerable) skills. When I promoted her to Editor it was only natural that she take over the series. As my responsibilities increased she started helping with Irredeemable as well. I’ve been with Irredeemable since day one so it’s a tough series to completely let go of.

That said, both titles are ending in May, so we’re close to the finish line and are focused on sending Irredeemable/Incorruptible off with the ending they deserve. Thankfully, Shannon and I have a time-tested shorthand for doing these books, and she’s very patient with me [laughs].

O’Shea: How do you see the editorial line expanding this year?

Gagnon: You’ll see more in the way of new, original series from us. Creating new stories is something that’s in the DNA of the company. It’s something that’s important to us, and something that I’m a big believer in. As a matter of fact, we’ve been going full speed since the holidays developing a bunch of new originals that will debut this year.

We’ll continue to be aggressive in the realm of licensed comics as well. We have some of the best in the business and will continue to add some key franchises as the year goes on. The overall goal is to have a thoughtful line of comics that we’re passionate about.

If we believe in what we publish—if we care—then I think that translates to the page. There’s no greater ally than the comic book reader. If you put your best foot forward and deliver a great comic, the fan of that title will support the book in ways that are astounding.

That’s the great thing about the comic book reader, if they like what you’re doing, they’ll have your back.

Spawn #26

Legal | Neil Gaiman comments briefly on the settlement agreement that ends his decade-long legal dispute with Todd McFarlane over Medieval Spawn, Angela and Cogliostro, and a handful of derivative characters: “The main thing is, I feel like an awful lot of good things have come out of it. … I think the various decisions, particularly the [Judge] Posner decision, were huge in terms of what the nature of dual copyright in comics is. What is copyrightable in comics is now something that there is a definite legal precedent for. There were a lot of things that were … misty in copyright [law] that are now much clearer. And it’s of benefit to the creator.”

While the details of the settlement are confidential, it’s known that Gaiman and McFarlane now share ownership of Spawn #9 and #26, as well as the first three issues of an Angela spin-off series. [Comic Riffs]

Susie Cagle

Legal | Cartoonist Susie Cagle, who has been covering the Occupy movement, was arrested again over the weekend and subsequently “unarrested” during protests in Oakland, California. Cagle wrote on Twitter that an Oakland police officer “charged and grabbed my arm, threw me so hard it was numb for 5 minutes.” She said she was also told by an officer her release was a “favor.” [The Daily Cartoonist]

Conventions | Comic-Con International has released its complete special guest list for the 2012 convention, which takes place July 12-15 in San Diego. The list includes Mark Waid, John Romita Jr., James Robinson, the Hernandez Bros., Paul Levitz, Erik Larsen, Jim Lee, Nate Powell and Becky Cloonan, among others. [Comic-Con]

Creators | Writer Jim Zubkavich says that in its first week as a webcomic, Skullkickers had more unique visits “than all three printings of Skullkickers #1 combined.” He says he hopes that “a combination of web page view ad payouts, print comic sales, digital comic sales, trade sales and convention sales will work together to keep the series running strong so I can tell the entire story I have planned.” [Fleen]

A.D.D.

Creators | New-media expert Douglas Rushkoff discusses his graphic novel A.D.D., a cautionary tale about the importance of media literacy: “The whole trick in turning something from non-fiction to fiction seems to be less about predicting imaginary scenarios than it is about making the unseen reality visible. So really, what you need to do is come up with visual, identifiable characters and circumstances that depict what’s actually going on in a way that we can see it.” [The Huffington Post]

Creators | Girls co-creator Joshua Luna discusses his new comic, Whispers. [Biff Bam Pop]

Creators | Peter Milligan talks about Red Lanterns and the introduction of a human character to their ranks: “He’s an important new character shot through with pathos, one whose vestigial humanity — and unusual powers — will be key when Atrocitus is trying to save the Red Lantern Corps from destruction.” [USA Today]

Scam #1

Creators | Joe Mulvey talks about his new comic Scam, the trials of being a solo creator, and promoting an indy title. [Graphicly]

Creators | Although there is no official word on the topic, speculation is running wild in New Jersey that 19th-century cartoonist Thomas Nast has been denied admission to the New Jersey Hall of Fame for the third year in a row due to objections to his anti-Catholic cartoons and crude caricatures of Irish immigrants. [NJ.com]

Review | Ron Richards takes an advance look at Saga by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples. [iFanboy]

Review | Rob McMonigal gives us the birds-eye lowdown on The Show Must Go On, a collection of Roger Langridge’s pre-Muppets work. [Panel Patter]

Manga | While a manga’s popularity on 4chan might not be a selling point in the United States, a Japanese author is touting her manga (which is scanlated over here) as “a smash hit on the overseas version of 2chan!!” [Kotaku]

There are few more blatant scams than the computer-generated “books” that infest Amazon.com. Basically, these are overpriced printouts of Wikipedia articles, something that no one in their right mind would pay any money at all for, yet there are companies that specialize in “publishing” them and apparently make a profit, presumably from people who are too embarrassed to ask for their money back once they realize they have been taken.

So kudos to Roger Langridge for standing up to them. Langridge, the writer of the Muppet Show comics, Snarked, and the recently announced Popeye series, has posted a one-star review at the listing for a “book” about him, warning off potential buyers. “I would just like to point out that I am Roger Langridge and I have never heard of this book,” he begins, and he accuses the publisher of cutting and pasting content from his website. “BEWARE BEWARE BEWARE,” he concludes. “I will look into the appropriate channels to make a formal complaint. That is all.” Good for him, and I wish more creators and publishers would do this. In fact, I would suggest any comics creator or editor who is reading this should do some quick searches on your own name and properties in the Amazon search engine; you may be unpleasantly surprised by what pops up.

Meanwhile, Strip Magazine, a monthly comic dedicated to serialized action tales, has released its second issue. Unlike The Phoenix, Strip is available digitally as an iPad app, which means we Yanks can read it, too. (I think the high point of my year was learning that The Beano and The Dandy are now available as iPad apps.)

If you’re not quite ready to let go of Christmas yet (hey, it’s supposed to be 12 days!), check out the classic British Christmas comics that Lew Stringer (another talented artist) has posted at his blog. It’s a fascinating look back in time. Dandy artist Andy Fanton posts a more modern Christmas comic (very much in the Dandy style) at his blog.

And finally, we had the U.S. release last week of Nelson, the collaborative graphic novel by 54 creators, each of whom contributed a chapter about one day in the life of a young woman. The contributors include Roger Langridge, Duncan Fegredo, Warren Pleece, Posy Simmonds and Darryl Cunningham, and publisher Blank Slate is donating the proceeds from the sale of the book to the homelessness charity Shelter.

Wet Moon

Hello and welcome to a special holiday edition of What Are You Reading? Actually it’s just a normal edition of What Are You Reading?, because changing the font color to red and green, and adding twinkling lights around the border just made it harder to read.

Our special guest this week is Andy Khouri, associate editor over at ComicsAlliance, where he drops comic news and commentary on a daily basis.

To see what Andy and the Robot 6 crew have been reading, click below.

Tim O’Shea

Batgirl #4

Batgirl #4: While I’ve been generally pleased with the new Batgirl by writer Gail Simone, it has not impressed me to the degree of say Mark Waid’s Daredevil…until this issue. And oddly it was a simple line of dialogue that caused me to pause and stop to stare at the page. Batgirl had just saved a couple and when he checked on the victims, the man said: “Because of you, we get to see our kids again. Thank you.” Rarely in a comic these days do the folks that the heroes rescue get any lines. The fact that Simone devotes story space to a small moment like that speaks volumes to how great a writer she is. And then the end of this issue has a reveal that’s a doozy.

Avengers Academy #23: For the past half year or so, series writer Christos Gage has shown that no such thing as the status quo in terms of the Avengers Academy cast or infrastructure. This latest arc involves time travel and it is interesting to see snippets of Gage’s larger view of the Academy-verse. Added bonus? Gage taps into the old Rom series to use a character in the present Marvel universe.

The Shade #3: This is the last issue with Cully Hamner on art. I am so bummed, but wait-who is on the deck for next issue? Darwyn Cooke and J. Bone, wow. Nice consolation prize, I’ll admit. Robinson’s penchant for shifting from historical period bits to present day is in full effect (and to my enjoyment). The art of conversation is something that made the original Starman series so delightful, and that art is alive in The Shade. Another bonus that might entice longtime Starman fans that have not picked up this series yet? This month’s cover is by Tony Harris. Still not moved? Next month’s issue involves two words: Times Past.

The Ray #1

The Ray #1: This comic held me in its sway until the last panel, which had a blip of violence I just do not need to see in a non-mature readers comic. I say this as a warning, it’s likely that folks who play a lot of video games or have a penchant for horror films will not be shocked. But when the villain from this issue puts his fist through a human head and you get to see it from a side angle, it’s just too sickening for my tastes. It’s visceral and likely the exact impact the creative team wanted. Do not get me wrong, it’s one misstep in an overall strong first issue, I just do not wish anyone to be surprised. I am a huge fan of artist Jamal Igle (and an equally supporter for writing team of Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray). I am 99 percent positive on this book, however, particularly the impressive manner that Palmiotti and Gray establish a unique supporting cast with a few scenes.

Marvel Adventures #21: I really do not know the rhyme or reason of this current all ages book, a few recent issues were reprints, but best I can tell this installment has two new stories, one written by J.M. DeMatteis and the other by Jen Van Meter. Van Meter’s Hulk story very much had the Bill Bixby TV show vibe to it (which works in the limited space she had and for the all ages audience). As much as I enjoyed it, I found myself shocked at how great the Dr. Strange/Captain America team-up was. I never thought that patriotism and mysticism could be mixed in a story, but DeMatteis proved me very wrong. I really hope the Strange/Cap artist Wellington Alves has more assignments down the road for Marvel, particularly given his strong eye for layout.

Batman: The Brave & the Bold #14

Batman: The Brave & the Bold #14: I really appreciate when DC or Marvel does a story like this in the holidays. Rather than going with the Christian-themed tale (which as a Catholic, of course I dig), this Sholly Fisch/Rick Burchett tale partially focuses on the story of Chanukah and has the fate of a neighborhood shul (synagogue) as the center of the story. For parents, aunts and uncles looking for a small holiday gift that might interest a kid in comics—please snag this.

Resurrection Man #4: For Christmas, Santa, I would like this Dan Abnett/Andy Lanning-written comic series to have a nice long run. The fight scenes in this comic are intense, but not in a disturbing sense—and I just love how Fernando Dagnino utilizes distinct panel choices—as well as his approach to the book’s lead character, Mitch Shelley.

Black Panther #526: This book may be cancelled, but it is still entertaining the hell out of me. Last issue I complained about the murky qualities of the coloring obscuring Shawn Martinbrough’s art. I am happy to say this issue’s coloring of Martinbrough by Felix Serrano is much more complimentary. And writer David Liss is really hitting his stride pitting Panther against the Kingpin, which makes for great storytelling.

Brigid Alverson

Level Up

This is a rarity for a First Second book, but Level Up has a terrible cover. I know it relates to the subject matter, gaming, but it’s drab and plain, while the story itself is quite imaginative. Written by Gene Luen Yang and illustrated by Thien Pham, it’s a twist on the Asian-American stereotype of the pushy parents who only want their kid to go to medical school. The hero, Dennis Ouyang, just wants to play video games, but his parents don’t get it at all, and he never has a quarter to play Pac-Man, let alone the bucks to buy a Nintendo system. On the day of his father’s funeral, as Dennis is about to graduate high school, he buys a game system and becomes completely absorbed in gaming. What happens next made me think he was having a psychotic break, but it’s really a fantasy tale–a group of angelic creatures emerges from a card his father had sent him years ago and nudges him toward medical school. Yang and Pham do a nice job of teasing out the nuances of Dennis’s dilemmas, his changing friendships, and his slow realization of the right path–and how his past has unexpectedly prepared him for it. It’s a quick read and a good one.

It would be easy to miss the fact that Jim Henson’s The Storyteller, a new anthology from Archaia, is based on the television show of the same name. If, like me, you weren’t watching a lot of TV in the 1980s and never saw the show, you could read the whole book and not realize it. It’s true, one of the stories is based on an unproduced Storyteller script, but aside from that, there doesn’t seem to be any mention of the show, which is odd–I would at least expect to see an introduction explaining the genesis of the book. Never mind, though, because this is a great little anthology of folk tales adapted and illustrated by some of the most talented comics creators around: Roger Langridge, Colleen Coover, Jeff Parker, Marjorie Liu, among others. This being an Archaia book, the design and production values are superb, and while it’s an all-ages book, there’s a lot here for older readers to appreciate.

Andy Khouri

Wet Moon by Ross Campbell

Wet Moon

I’m a little ashamed to admit that I didn’t even know this existed before all five volumes showed up in the mail recently, but Ross Campbell’s Wet Moon became over the course of one rainy night one of my favorite comics series. There is no high concept hook to this story of variously gothic and geeky and gay girls (and some boys) attending art college in the American south, it’s just completely based on the fairly large cast and their complex relationships with each other. Light on melodrama but heavy on emotion, humor and character development, I’d say Wet Moon is a soap opera but in the best possible sense of that term. Campbell makes each individual truly that – an individual, and I found that as soon as I’d completed one volume (digest-sized paperbacks from Oni Press) I had to immediately start on the next one to see what happens next–not in the sense of a plot or cliffhanger, but just because I came to really enjoy hanging out with his characters. I read five books in just a couple of nights.

But what impressed me most about Wet Moon–and the sort of thing that I find myself caring more about with comics and film–is how Campbell created such an immersive world. From page one, you’re taken in. The uniqueness of the character designs, the details in the locations, the style of dialogue–everything about Wet Moon pulls you in, as opposed to being the sort of narrative you sort of observe and contemplate on some intellectual level. As much as I wanted to keep reading the narrative, I think I liked just sort of living in the world of Wet Moon even more. I can’t wait for the next book.

FreakAngels by Warren Ellis and Paul Duffield

FreakAngels

You’ve got 12 kids all born on the same day and all possessing increasingly amazing powers like telepathy and telekinesis and teleportation and so on, and they operate as a gang in a post-apocalyptic London. Each character as a specific talent–agriculture, mechanics, security, etc.–and they work together to protect the citizens of their neighborhood from marauders and other threats from around the city while insulting each other in the best Ellisian tradition.

FreakAngels is remarkable in part for Duffield’s great artwork, particularly his often gorgeous background renderings and ability to make you understand how something like a bicycle-pedal-based flying machine might work. Indeed, FreakAngels spends quite a lot of time exploring the notion of getting on with life in a post-apocalyptic society, where cleverness and innovation would be crucial to survival when there’s no electricity or other resources upon which the world has become dependent. Duffield is amazing at depicting these kinds of lever-and-pulley kinds of things in a way that’s easy to understand and actually quite nice to look at.

Like Campbell with Wet Moon, Duffield makes FreakAngels into a time and place that is utterly specific to itself, and I found myself getting a visceral thrill from visiting that world (the book’s leisurely, perhaps manga-like pace helps immerse you in it in a very cool way). But what keeps you there are the FreakAngels themselves, who’re among the most vivid characters Ellis has ever created, and of course the mystery at the heart of the series: who are the FreakAngels and what did they do?

FreakAngels has been completed and is available in six trade paperbacks or hardcovers.

Snarked!

Welcome to the turkey hangover edition of What Are You Reading?, your weekly look into the reading lists of the Robot 6 crew. Our special guest today is Andy Hirsch, creator of Varmints and artist of The Royal Historian of Oz.

To see what Andy and the Robot 6 crew have been reading lately, click below.

*****

Tom Bondurant

Daredevil #3

I have never been a big Daredevil fan, but so many people have been saying such good things about Mark Waid, Paolo Rivera, and Marcos Martin’s work that this week I grabbed all five issues of the latest series. Overall I thought it was very good. Certainly it’s been put together well, especially the layouts designed to show DD’s point of view. The lawyer in me is still trying to process the ethical implications of Matt and Foggy’s new business (and also the practical considerations which drove them to it). I’m not sure it’s won me over to Daredevil for good, but I’ll probably follow the series as long as Waid’s on it.

Yesterday I was happy to see our library had a copy of Deadly Storm, the graphic-novel adaptation of Richard Castle’s first book featuring hard-luck investigator Derrick Storm. Being familiar with Castle primarily through his work with the New York City police department, unfortunately I hadn’t read the original Deadly Storm, but I suspect it had more room to flesh out its characters. This graphic novel was a quick read, propelled by Storm’s narration and various action sequences. It features a few reversals and red herrings, but on the whole it’s a pretty straightforward story of a rumpled gumshoe getting caught up in something much bigger than what he’s used to. I thought the script (by Brian Michael Bendis and Kelly Sue DeConnick) was talky without being wordy, capturing the feel of Castle’s prose pretty well. The art (breakdowns by Lan Medina with Tom Raney, finishes by Scott Hanna with Dan Green) was a little less successful. It told the story competently, but its characters’ features were often angular in an off-putting way, and there was at least one too many brunette femmes fatales. I take it from the credits that Medina was one of Howard Chaykin’s assistants, so some panels had that certain Chaykin flair, but the art tended to take me out of the story. As a Castle fan, I found Deadly Storm a pleasant enough diversion, but not quite essential reading. Maybe Marvel should have adapted one of the Nikki Heat books instead …

Brigid Alverson

Stargazing Dog

I finally got around to reading Stargazing Dog, the new single-volume manga released earlier this year by NBM, and honestly, I found it disappointing. Partly that was because the basics weren’t in place: The drawing was crude in places, the characters had a limited range of facial expressions (which robbed the book of much-needed nuance), and the book was poorly produced, with typos and backward text. I don’t usually mind flipped manga, but this was done without any attention to detail, so, for instance, all the numbers on a speedometer appeared backwards. Beyond that, the story itself was unconvincing‹the characters were simply flat, acting in stereotyped ways without much reflection. Basically, it’s the story of a guy who, without much explanation, loses his job and his family and travels around in his car with his dog until he dies (of a heart condition, but really of sheer inertia). The one part I liked a lot was the extra story at the end, about a social worker who goes to fetch the man’s body and attempt to return it to his family. The social worker had a lot of personality and a real back story, and I wish the rest of the book could have had that kind of depth.

The first volume of Only Serious About You was much more enjoyable, with characters who at least talk to one another and express emotion. It’s the story of a single dad who works as a cook in a restaurant and takes care of his five-year-old daughter; a customer at the restaurant makes a play for him, but the dad is straight. Then his daughter gets sick, and the customer gets to play Good Samaritan. It’s actually more complex than that, and it’s a good soap opera with an attractive male cast. My one complaint is that the ex-wife is such a flat character–more a story device than a real person, in fact. She leaves her husband and child for the vaguest of reasons and then abruptly demands the child back. This is a yaoi manga, so the focus is on male relationships, and the story is not really all that plausible, but the charming characters and straightforward art make it readable even for those of us who are not yaoi fans.

Breathe Deeply is a medical drama that weaves questions of ethics and philosophy into a romantic soap opera about a dying girl. The girl actually dies in chapter one, of a heart condition, but her memory haunts the two boys who loved her. Both boys grow up to be heart researchers, but with totally different approaches–one wants to use embryonic stem cells to grow new tissue, the other tries to engineer an artificial heart. The story is surprisingly nuanced, both in its consideration of the ethical issues involved and in its depiction of the romantic triangle. There’s also some good beaker-tipping lab intrigue to keep the plot moving. It’s a dense manga, filled with detail and plot twists, but it’s also complete in one volume, which makes for a very satisfying read.

Andy Hirsch

Bear Quest

Bear Quest, Zach Taylor’s surreal interpretation of 8-bit action platforming starring a cyclopean blue bear, reads like the fevered field notes of a six-year old watching his older brother play Nintendo. Yes, it is as cool and crazy as it sounds, and Taylor demonstrates a storytelling technique that I don’t think I’ve ever seen before.

Y’see, Bear Quest exists as two simultaneous comics on a single page. Your classic sprite aesthetic runs along the bottom third as a series of screens, but above is a fully rendered version of “what’s really happening.” The plot is as absurd as any game of the 8-bit era, and flipping the book sideways for the amazing finishing move LINEAGE BURN makes for one of my new favorite pages.

Pirates of Mars, by JJ Kahrs and Veronica Fish, is a snappy pulp adventure about exactly what it says. Kahr writes a crew of believable, lovable misfits (yes, complete with meatbag-hating emancipated robot), and Fish knocks it out of the park with some gorgeous black and white brush work. Less immediately apparent but so very, very admirable is the efficiency of the whole project. There’s nothing self-indulgent or unnecessary holding it down; not a single wasted page. On the blog, Kahr rightly explains that a pulp adventure has to “sing for its supper,” and that it does. The whole first volume is up online, but the physical book is a newsprint comic, and you’d better believe I’m a sucker for that. Seriously, pick this up. Don’t you all like Firefly and swords?

Gastrophobia

David McGuire’s Gastrophobia chronicles the 100 percent historically accurate adventures of an exiled Amazonian, her son and their Pomeranian in Ancient Greece, and it’s got to be the webcomic I miss most between updates. McGuire has an outrageously charming and expressive style that’s just fun no matter what the particular tale is about. Go ahead and read the most recent storyline before coming back.

Yup… that’s some good Care Bears versus My Little Pony fan-fiction.

The day a new issue of Roger Langridge’s Snarked! comes out continues to be the day I head over to the comic shop. Honestly, Langridge is a fellow that knows what he’s doing, and what he’s doing is having an adventure that really earns the label “rollicking”. Every bit of it is so well-crafted, even outside the confines of the story pages. Reluctant protagonist Wilburforce J. Walrus (of The Walrus and the Carpenter) helms the (hilarious) recap page and letters section, and the zero issue included an honest-to-gosh activity section. An activity section!

Also, Daredevil, but at this point that ought to be a given.

Check out Diamond’s release list or ComicList, and tell us what you’re getting in our comments field.

Graeme McMillan

It’s a slow week, this week; if I had $15, I’d use it to catch up on some recent enjoyments like Action Comics #3 (DC, $3.99) and OMAC #3 (DC, $2.99), two of my favorite titles from the New 52 relaunch–OMAC in particular has been a really weird and wonderful joy–as well as the final issue of Marvel’s great and sadly underrated Mystic revival (#4, $2.99). I’d also see if the parody-tastic Shame Itself #1 (Marvel, $3.99) lives up to its potential, because “Wyatt Cenac + Colleen Coover” sounds pretty promising to these ears.

That said, if I had $30, I’d put Shame Itself back on the shelf and pick up Tharg’s Terror Tales: Necronauts & A Love Like Blood (Rebellion, $19.99) instead, a collection of two 2000AD horror serials illustrated by Frazer Irving (One of which is written by John Smith, a favorite writer of mine from the days when I was reading 2000AD regularly). It’s early work from the artist, but what little I’ve seen of both makes it look well worth buying.

When it comes to splurging, I have to admit that the Joe The Barbarian Deluxe Hardcover (DC, $29.99), but I think if I had extra money, I’d just pick up some more individual issues: BOOM!’s Peanuts #0 ($1) and Betrayal of The Planet of The Apes #1 ($3.99) and Marvel’s Uncanny X-Men #1 ($3.99) and Villains For Hire #0.1($2.99), amongst others.

Brigid Alverson

No Longer Human

If I had $15: For the second week in a row, Vertical gets first dibs on my money; last week it was Drops of God, and this time I’m lured by the first volume of Usamaru Furuya’s No Longer Human. This book is a personal favorite of Vertical marketing director (and former blogger) Ed Chavez, and Ed’s picks are always stunning. Based on a semi-autobiographical novel, No Longer Human is the story of a young man who cannot shake his own alienation from the rest of the world. It’s supposedly a great work but also depressing, so to shake off the blues, I’ll spend my last $3.99 on issue #2 of Roger Langridge’s Snarked. His charming rascals-and-the-princess story is sure to bring a smile back to my face.

If I had $30: I’d go for a little more silliness with James Kochalka’s Dragon Puncher #2 ($9.95), the followup to his eminently silly Dragon Puncher #1. Kochalka does silly with an edge of surreal that makes it absolutely delightful. I’ll cut that up with American Vampire #20 ($2.99), and wind up with the first issue of the Peanuts ongoing comic, which is priced at a recession-friendly $1.

Splurge: There are a lot of temptations on this week’s list, but I’m leaning heavily toward Abrams, which has some interesting collections out this week. Government Issue: Comics for the People 1940-2000s is a collection of government-issued comics by the great (Will Eisner, Walt Kelly) and the obscure. It looks like a steal at $29.95. Somewhat pricier at $55 is The Someday Funnies, a collection of the Rolling Stone’s comics section that features a different set of iconic creators–Art Spiegelman, R. Crumb, Harvey Kurtzman. Also a must have for me. And finally, I’ll stagger over to the Dark Horse section and grab the original graphic novel Hellboy: House of the Living Dead ($14.95), which sends our eponymous hero south of the border for a fight with a Frankenstein monster–a perfect post-Halloween treat.

Chris Mautner

Ganges

If I had $15: I managed to pick up a copy ahead of time, but Ganges #4 seems to me to be the obvious choice for the $15 and under crowd, continuing everyman Glenn Ganges’ attempts to get some shuteye. This time he attempts to find a really dull book and the results are hugely entertaining.

I’d also at least peruse through John Marz’s Heaven All Day, about a lonely factory worker and an abandoned robot whose lives intertwine, which looks interesting.

If I had $30: I’d get Usumaru Furuya’s No Longer Human, for all the reasons Brigid mentioned. I’m really happy to see Furuya get some love on these shores, as I’ve admired his work since the Secret Comics Japan anthology came out from Blast Books all those years ago.

Splurge: That Joe the Barbarian anthology is certainly on my Amazon wish list, and that Abrams anthology of government-issue comics looks intriguing as well, but my splurge money this week would have to be spent on Color Engineering, Yuichi Yokoyama’s neon-pop colored collection of short comic adventures, and Someday Funnies, a mind-boggling anthology, literally decades in the making, featuring contributions from just about every major cartoonist of the 1970s, like Harvey Kurtzman, Jack Kirby, Moebius, Rene Goscinny, and on and on and on and on. This could well be the great lost treasure of the ages. Or not. I can’t wait to find out, though.

Michael May

Betrayal of the Planet of the Apes #1

If I had $15, I’d go back for a couple of series I’m enjoying and try three new ones. Action Comics continues to exceed my expectations (especially in comparison to the gloominess of Superman), so #3 ($3.99) is an easy decision in spite of the price. I’m also enjoying Avengers 1959, a series that Howard Chaykin is especially perfect for, to I’ll grab the third issue ($2.99) of that as well. I guess I missed the first issue of Fear Itself: The Fearless so I’ll need to find some money for that, but #2 ($2.99) is definitely going home with me this week. I didn’t read Fear Itself, but I’m fond enough of some of the characters in The Fearless that I’m going to want to at least check this out. Finally a couple of new titles from BOOM! have caught my eye. I love their Planet of the Apes ongoing, so I’m eager to see if they can nail it again with Betrayal of the Planet of the Apes #1 ($3.99). And having just watched It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown on Monday, I’m also excited about Peanuts #0 ($1). A big part of me just wants to read the Fantagraphics collection again, but for a buck I’m happy to see what cartoonists Ron Zorman and Vicki Scott have in mind.

With $30, I’d add another new BOOM! series (they’ve got a lot of cool stuff this week), 7 Warriors #1 ($3.99) because I love comics about ass-kicking women. IDW’s Jack Avarice is the Courier #1 ($3.99) kicks off what sounds like a fun, weekly comic for the month of November, so that’s mine too. Then I’d top off the pile with a couple of X-Men books because X-Men: Regenesis reminded me that I’ve been wanting to learn more about the Dani Moonstar character. She’s in New Mutants #33 ($3.99) and–according to Regenesis–will also be on Cyclops’ team in Uncanny X-Men #1 ($3.99).

There’s a lot to splurge on this week. Dragon Puncher, Volume 2 ($9.95) sounds fun (and inexpensive). 30 Days of Night: Night Again ($17.99) pairs Joe Lansdale with Sam Keith on a horror comic and that’s a combination I’d want to read with or without a recognizable brand in the title. Nordguard, Volume 1 ($19.95) is about a team of anthropomorphic sled dogs, and that also sounds cool. My top pick though is influenced by my recent mainlining of the last three BPRD books. I’m all about the Mignolaverse right now, so the Hellboy vs Frankenstein’s Monster story in Hellboy: House of the Living Dead ($14.99) is what I’m craving.

Chris Arrant

Fear Agent #32

If I had $15, I’d spend the first little bit on the bittersweet finale of Fear Agent, #32 (Dark Horse, $3.50). This long-running series was made longer by the delays in the final arc as the creators were pulled away for work at Marvel, so I’m glad this Wednesday to finally get it all. I’m just as excited to find out the ending as I am to have a complete collection to re-read over the weekend. Next up would be another creator-owned book, Robert Kirkman and Ryan Ottley’s Invincible #84 (Image, $2.99); I’m still not sure about the Viltrumite-living-on-Earth vibe (I never liked Alien Nation), but I’m willing to give this duo the benefit of the doubt for a while longer. Finally would be a double-shot of DC’s New 52, Action Comics #3 (DC, $3.99) and Animal Man #3 (DC, $2.99).

If I had $30, I’d snag a third DC book–Swamp Thing #3 (DC, $2.99)–before buying the auspicious new #1 of Uncanny X-Men (Marvel, $3.99). Count me in the camp as one who things the renumbering is ill-advised, and factor than in with the nonplussed nature of Greg Land’s current work and yet I’m still buying this just to see what Kieron does with it. His finale of Uncanny X-Men caught me off-guard with how good it was, so he’s got my money here. Last up would be Kevin Huzienga’s Gagnes #4 (Fantagraphics, $7.95). I’ve been waiting for this one awhile, and glad to see it. $7.95 might seem like a lot for a 32 page book, but Huzienga’s craft really makes it worth it. It’d also be an ideal palette cleanser in case I read some unexpectedly bad books.

If I had the cash to splurge, I’d go for DC’s Joe The Barbarian Deluxe Edition(DC/Vertigo, $29.99). Yes I have it in singles, but I’m the type that’d re-buy things like this in a more lasting edition because it looks good and so I have an excuse to give away my singles to someone who might dig the series.

JK Parkin

Six Guns #1

If I had $15, Ganges #4 ($7.95) would be at the top of my stack. I think the third issue of Kevin Huizenga’s series was either at the top of my list of favorite comics of last year, or at least very near the top, so this is one of my most anticipated releases not just for this week, but probably this year. I’d also get Andy Diggle and Davide Gianfelice Six Guns #1 (Marvel, $2.99); the Daredevil: Reborn team reimagines several of marvel’s Western heroes in a modern setting, and based on their track record I’m looking forward to it. I’d round it out with Animal Man #3 (DC Comics, $2.99).

If I had $30,. I’d add a bunch of my regular ongoing favorites: Swamp Thing #3 ($2.99), Boys #60 ($3.99) and New Mutants #33 ($2.99), and would then add the Our Love Is Real one-shot ($3.99) if I didn’t already have it in digital form. But what the hell, we’re assuming I live in a hypothetical world where I can only spend $30 on comics anyway, so let’s pretend I didn’t have the money to download it previously. Can we also pretend I’m a viking?

Splurgewise, my peers have mentioned a lot of nice stuff, so I’ll just point out the second volume of Super Pro K.O. ($11.99), the follow-up to what proved to be a fun first volume by Jarrett Williams.

A Nelson sampler

I happened across this because Roger Langridge was showing off a bit of art from it: Nelson is a collaborative graphic novel with an impressive lineup of 54 contributors, including Jamie Smart, Sarah McIntyre, Darryl Cunningham, Posy Simmonds, Duncan Fegredo, Warren Pleece, Andi Watson, Garen Ewing — a veritable who’s who of U.K. comics creators, representing children’s comics (including several members of the kids-comics collaborative The DFC), newspaper strips, even 2000AD.

The 250-page graphic novel, to be published by Blank Slate next month, follows the life of Nel Baker, born in London in 1968. Each chapter depicts a single day in her life, running from her birth to the present. The idea was cooked up by Rob Davis, who co-edited the book with Woodrow Phoenix. It looks like it will be available in the U.S., because Amazon has a listing, although there is no price yet. UPDATE: Blank Slate publicist Martin Steenton just e-mailed me to say it’s in the current Previews for a December release in the U.S.

B.P.R.D Hell On Earth: Russia #1

Hello and welcome to What Are You Reading? This week our special guest is Dark Horse assistant editor Jim Gibbons, who I spoke to about his new job on Friday.

To see what Jim and the Robot 6 crew have been reading, click below …

*****

Brigid Alverson

Snarked

Top of my stack this week was the first issue of Roger Langridge’s Snarked! His remained Walrus and Carpenter are con men with hearts of gold, and while neither of them is too bright, the Walrus has a certain practical ability to get things done. So when Princess Scarlett and her baby brother, Prince Rusty, are in danger because of scheming by the palace advisers, none other than the Cheshire Cat himself points her toward the rascally pair. It’s good, old-fashioned comedy with a familiar storyline and gentle humor that both children and adults can relate to.

I also enjoyed the second issue of B.P.R.D. Hell on Earth: Russia. I feel like this is a very muscular story that sort of grabs you and drags you in. Kate Corrigan and Johann Strauss are in Russia investigating some sort of icky problem, and the plot moves along briskly in this issue with a bit of exposition and a nasty case of possession. There seem to be several strands to the story, and it will be interesting to see how Mike Mignola and co. tie them all up.

With the third volume of their Archie Archives, Dark Horse has found their formula — minimal front matter (this one features an introduction by Archie Comics president Mike Pellerito but no other historical information) followed by a solid collection of vintage comics. Volume 3 features comics from 1943 and 1944, and in addition to the odd look of the characters — Archie has prominent buck teeth, Jughead looks like one of the Dead End Kids and seldom opens his eyes‹there’s the strangeness of wartime Riverdale, where goats run freely and people worry about ration points. A bit of background on these comics would have been nice; a number were inked by Janice Valleau, whom David Hajdu highlighted in the opening pages of The Ten Cent Plague as an established comics artist who left the field during the dark days of the 1950s.

Tim O’Shea

Sweet Tooth

Sweet Tooth #26: I hate to agree with my pal Dugan Trodglen, but I suspect he is right when he feared writer Jeff Lemire’s involvement in the new DC52 would negatively impact the quality of this book. I am a huge fan of guest artist Matt Kindt, but this first installment of a three-issue arc bored me immensely, no matter how effectively Kindt drew and painted the story, Lemire’s script was heavy on narration and less engaging than what I come to expect on Sweet Tooth.

Huntress #1: Remember the whole new DC52 and how everything is starting from square one (unless you were connected to Batman [and were not Barbara Gordon])? Well Paul Levitz was writing Huntress in the late 1970s (albeit Helena Wayne back then) and Levitz is writing her again more than 30 years later. Way to shake it up, DC. I bought
this book against my better judgment because I have enjoyed artist Marcus To so much in the past. Huntress going against Italian organized crime…again. Yippie. Won’t be back for issue #2.

Action Comics #2: So Rags Morales and Brent Anderson split up art duties on writer Grant Morrison’s second issue. Anderson’s Lois Lane is distinctive (in a good way). Just wondering, am I the only person that tires of Kryptonian dialogue that no one understands? Small quibble, I promise. The book continues to be a fairly interesting read, though clearly rehashing the same Superman ground we’ve seen before. A great deal of the new DC52 smacks of high-end Elseworlds so far, but for now it’s selling quite well of course.

Thunderbolts #164: Modern day pseudo-Thunderbolts trapped in 1943 Austria along with the Invaders provides for some hilarious faux wholesome period dialogue (Boomerang saying “Aw, shucks” for example) from writer Jeff Parker. Artist Kev Walker looks immensely stronger on art (unlike last week’s complaint) when inked by Terry Pallot. Really hoping next week I will not have to stare at another Marvel house ad touting an Avengers Solo book launching October 2010 (really nice attention to detail, gang).

Hulk #42: Wonder what happens when Thunderbolt Ross starts dabbling in foreign policy as the Red Hulk? Nothing that makes Steve Rogers happy, but it does make me content (as well as set up the foundation for some interesting guest stars) in the first installment of the “Hulk of Arabia” arc. With the series increased publishing schedule, there’s no way that artist Gabriel Hardman can draw every issue. So I was pleased to see that Patrick Zircher’s artistic style (while not exactly like Hardman’s) in this issue is not a jarring transition to a style that clashes with Hardman.

JK Parkin

Ready Player One

I was traveling for the past couple weeks, visiting family and friends in Texas, which meant I had some down time to catch up on some reading — mostly on my iPad. Considering it’s setting and subject matter, I think Ernest Cline’s novel Ready Player One was written specifically for me. Dystopian future (check), virtual reality (check), a street-smart teenager (check) and more ’80s references than you could roll a 20-sided dice at (huh?). The story is set in a future where the real world is something everyone wants to escape from, but luckily there’s a virtual reality world, OASIS, that’s filled with various planets, quests and avatars of all kinds for someone like our hero, Wade, to dive into. Wade’s a poor kid in Oklahoma looking for a break, and when the creator of the virtual reality world Wade pretty much lives in dies, the kid goes on a quest to solve the riddle the guy left in his will. Fans of the old Atari game Adventure will remember the three castles you had to find the keys for; James Halliday set up a similar quest in the OASIS, and whoever can find the three keys, open the gates and solve the puzzles within will not only get the guy’s enormous fortune, but also control of the OASIS. Halliday was raised in the ’80s on John Hughes movies, TV sitcoms, video games, comic books, Dungeons & Dragons and Rush songs, and all of that comes into play as Wade tries to solve the puzzle before anyone else — including a shady corporation who wants control of the OASIS. Just following along to see what references Cline would throw in next was fun, but what really made the book was the main character, an underdog you can’t help but cheer for.

On the comic front, I downloaded a few on the road, including the first two chapters of the new Ultimate Spider-Man and the last two chapters of X-Men Schism. I haven’t read any USM since maybe the second or third story arc; I was always good with the first Peter Parker and never felt the need to follow the second, despite the fact that the book was well crafted. But I was curious enough about Miles Morales to see how they’d introduce him, and after reading the first two issues I can say I’m hooked, at least for a few more issues.

As for Schism, while the series read like a prologue to the upcoming X-Men relaunch, i.e. it didn’t feel very self-contained and didn’t introduce a lot of surprises, I dug some of the elements of it. One the new Hellfire Club, and second, Jason Aaron’s Wolverine. I never read his take on the regular Wolverine series, but I think I see some trades in my future. And I’ll at least be checking out the first few issues of Wolverine and the X-Men later this year.

Jim Gibbons

The majority of what I end up reading is directly related to my work as an assistant editor, but here are a few things I’ve been enjoying in my spare time…

The Coffin

Mike Huddleston’s work on Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan’s The Strain has been consistently blowing me away, so I’ve been checking out a bunch of Mike’s other work. I recently read the Phil Hester penned The Coffin after hearing Guillermo del Toro give it a personal recommendation at Comic-Con—that’s a pretty good pedigree as far as I’m concerned. It’s a very enjoyable and really great looking read about keeping souls on earth after death in robot “coffins.” Up next, I’ll be delving into Huddleston’s The Homeland Directive written by Robert Vendetti. I’ve flipped through it and the art looks phenomenal. I’m psyched to jump into that one.

B.P.R.D Hell On Earth: Russia #1 was an amazing first issue. Tyler Crook is really hitting his stride and I’m super excited to see how the Bureau interacts with their Russian counterpart. Given, B.P.R.D. is one of my favorite comic series of all time, so… not a hard sell for me there regardless.

Based on what little I’ve read, Green River Killer is shaping up to be one of the best graphic novels of the year.

In the realm of superheroes, I’ve been enjoying Rick Remender’s Uncanny X-Force. It’s much preferable take on the X-Men’s wetworks team than some comics in recent years, as far as I’m concerned—a lot less angsty and a lot more fun. Plus, the Age of Apocalypse nostalgia they’ve been throwing in there seems directed specifically at readers like me who grew up thinking AoA was one of the best things to ever happen in comics.

I’m always working my way through a few massive archival books. Right now I’ve got bookmarks in Marvel’s gigantic Howard the Duck Omnibus and the Jack Kirby’s Eternals Omnibus. And if I do things right, I’ve always got unread Stan Sakai comics around. Right now, I’m trucking through Space Usagi and starting up Fantagraphics’ beautiful Usagi Yojimbo omnibus. Sakai’s an absolute master, so I always aim to have some of his work on hand.

Animal Man #1

Welcome to another edition of What Are You Reading? Today our special guest is Kevin Colden, whose comic work includes Fishtown, I Rule the Night, Vertigo’s Strange Adventures and Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper, among others. He’s also the drummer for the band Heads Up Display.

To see what Kevin and the Robot 6 crew have been reading lately, click below …

*****

Michael May

Justice League #1

I spent most of my week getting caught up on the New 52. I liked some of Justice League #1, but have many of the same problems others did. I’m primarily interested in Justice League to see what kind of relationships the heroes have with each other in this new version. That’s what I like most about team books anyway, and I did enjoy Green Lantern’s feeling like Batman needed to prove himself and how Batman reacted to that. It was a new take that couldn’t have been done without the reboot. But stretching that out to an entire issue was disappointing and I may wait until Wonder Woman shows up in the series before I buy another issue. I’m very curious to see how Johns’ version compares to the way Azzarello’s going to write her.

Action Comics #1 was a nice surprise though. I love, Love, LOVE the less-powered Superman. I’ve been watching the Fleischer Superman cartoons lately and this reminded me a lot of those. Superman’s incredibly tough and strong, but not invincible and I sincerely hope he stays that way. Even though it reminded me a lot of Batman: Year One and Spider-Man 2, I also liked the Superman vs. the cops scene with the people coming to Superman’s defense. I don’t care that it’s not the first time I’ve ever seen that kind of thing, it’s the first time I’ve seen it with Superman and it was awesome. Lois reminds me of Fleischer’s Lois too: badass and capable, but not immune to getting in over her head and needing some help. There’s so much storytelling potential there that doesn’t have to have her be as goofy and helpless as her Silver Age version. I bought the issue out of curiosity, but I’m very much looking forward to more like it.

Batgirl

Batgirl #1 was another disappointment though. I typically love Gail Simone’s work so much, but I wanted a light-hearted superheroine (like the one on the cover) and didn’t care at all for Batgirl’s dealing with the Post Traumatic Stress of being shot by the Joker. I’m not saying it’s a bad story, it’s just very heavy and not what I’m looking for. I won’t buy the second issue, but may come back to it in the collected version if the buzz is good.

Static Shock #1 – My hopes that this will include more Milestone characters than just Static are encouraged by Hardware’s playing a major role in Virgil Hawkins’ story. I’m hoping for more like that (Blood Syndicate please!), but in the meantime, this was a lot of fun with some great, new villains and I can’t wait for the next issue.

Demon Knights was always going to be a hard sell for me because I’m not a big Demon fan, nor do I generally care for the way Marvel and DC have portrayed medieval times. But Diogenes Neves has some nice designs and halfway through the issue Paul Cornell threw in a romantic triangle that hooked me but good. Then he netted me and put me in the boat with the last page. I not making any long-term commitments, but there are some great elements here and I’m excited to see where it goes.

Brigid Alverson

MetaMaus

I got an advance copy of MetaMaus this week, and when I sat down and started flipping through it I couldn’t put it down. It’s basically a book about Art Spiegelman’s Maus, and the heart of it is a lengthy interview with Spiegelman himself in which he talks about the thought process that went into the book, how the making of Maus affected his relationship with his father and the origins of many of the images in the graphic novel. The book is crammed with visuals, including photos from Spiegelman’s bar mitzvah album and pictures from books about the Holocaust that once belonged to his mother. The result is fascinating, at least for a Spiegelman fan like me. The book comes with a disc that includes Maus in its entirety as well as recordings of Spiegelman’s father. I haven’t cracked that yet, but I know it will add a whole new dimension to the experience.

On a much, much lighter note, I worked my way through the first year of the Life With Archie magazine, with its dual Archie-marries-Veronica and Archie-marries-Betty storylines, this week. I have been picking these up and putting them down all year, but sitting down and reading them all at once makes the stories come into sharper focus. It’s interesting that some events occur in both storylines, while other outcomes are totally different—for instance, Moose becomes mayor of Riverdale in one story and janitor of Riverdale High in another, for reasons that have nothing to do with Archie’s choice of a spouse. Although the multiplicity of characters and subplots makes it a bit confusing to read both at once, it’s hard to put the stories down, as writer Paul Kupperberg keeps the plot twists coming thick and fast. It’s good melodrama, and because the characters are all familiar faces, it’s fun to see what directions they evolve into from their teenage selves.

Tim O’Shea

Frankenstein: Agent of S.H.A.D.E.

Frankenstein: Agent of S.H.A.D.E. #1: When I picked up this week’s comics from the local store, my pal Dugan admitted that this comic reminded him somewhat of Hellboy. After I read it, I had to agree with him to a certain extent. Oddly enough, it also reminded me of another Dark Horse property, The Umbrella Academy. One major thing that annoyed me about Jeff Lemire’s writing (as much as I typically enjoy it) was this issue seemed really too text-intensive–and I hope the S.H.A.D.E.NET narrative. (If I never see another writer use narrative elements like “Data incoming…97% downloaded” I will be happy). But the first issue, despite its hiccups, introduced enough interesting characters (I bailed on Flashpoint after the first issue) to me to want to return for issue #2.

Black Panther: The Man Without Fear #523: This series is at its strongest when writer David Liss is teamed with artist Francesco Francavilla (as with this issue), Since this series began (with the departure of lead character) a major focal point of the series has been the importance of Hell’s Kitchen. T’Challa/Black Panther’s efforts to help Hell’s Kitchen continues to pay off in the neighborhood’s darkest hours. In terms of the supporting cast, I love love love Sofija.

Daredevil #3: I would not be surprised if Marvel is pitching Mark Waid’s Daredevil run as a TV series at some point. The surprise twist involving Matt Murdock and Foggy Nelson’s law firm in this latest issue was really what triggered my theory. While the book is called Daredevil, Waid has devoted a good amount of time to showing Murdoch attempting to rebuild his life and career, which has entertained me to date. This was my favorite read of the week.

Gladstone’s School for World Conquerors #5: I feel for independent creators trying to garner attention for their respective series in a month like this, where the new DCU 52 dominates the news and review cycle. If you have not checked out Mark Andrew Smith and Armand Villavert’s Gladstone’s School for World Conquerors, you are genuinely missing out on a quirky series. In this issue, all the kids get a hold of the comics that the Nefarious Kid has been reading. (The two-page sample of those comics that Villavert offers early in this issue is executed with such great homage-level attention, it actually reminded me of some of the scenes from Jim Rugg’s Afrodisiac). The story really kicks into high gear in this installment and I really love where the creators leave things at the end of this installment (always leave folks wanting more, of course [which surprisingly some creators fail to do]).

Chris Mautner

Prison Pit 3

Prison Pit 3 — I had the opportunity to do a Q&A panel with Johnny Ryan at SPX last weekend. One of the more interesting parts of discussion was when Ryan said how each volume of Prison Pit had to have a different vibe or theme so that the different books didn’t feel interchangable. That’s certainly true in volume three, as we see the inclusion of a new character, who, while just as violent and vicious as CF, is completely different in attitude and demeanor. Plus, he has one of the most amazing (and utterly grotesque) resurrection scenes I’ve ever seen. There’s also a neat little bit toward the end where it seems like Ryan is heavily drawing upon the Fort Thunder crowd, particularly Mat Brinkman. All in all, it’s another excellent volume.

Prince Valiant Vol. 4 — This volume covers the most of the WWII years, 1943-44, when the paper shortage was at its highest. As Brian Kane notes in the introduction, this meant creator Hal Foster had to format the strip so parts could be cut for papers that had been forced to shrink their page count. He did this by adding a bottom strip, The Medieval Castle, which, while certainly informative and amusing, wasn’t necessarily as good as pure, unadulterated Valiant, especially since this new situation meant that Foster was unable to do the big, impressive vistas that had quickly become the strip’s trademark. Still, while no doubt hampered by this new situation, it did nothing to harm his storytelling skills, and Valiant remains a hugely enjoyable action strip, as Valiant battles a variety of ne’r do wells on a quest to find his true love, Aleta.

Mome Vol. 22 — I’ve talked at length before about how good the Mome anthology has been, and while I’m sad to see it come to a close, it’s nice to see it end on such a high note. Seriously, this is the best volume of Mome yet, with standout contributions by Chuck Forsman, Eleanor Davis, Laura Park, Dash Shaw, Jesse Moynihan and Sara Edward-Corbett. But really, there’s not a bad story in this entire book. It might seem weird recommending the last book of a series, but if you gotta only read one of these things, this would be the one.

Kevin Colden

Besides obsessively lurking on my Twitter feed and the typical mind-sucking websites like Damn You Autocorrect my, um… INTELLECTUAL reading time has been chock full of good stuff.

I suppose the elephant in the room would be the DC New 52 books – of which I’ve read about half so far (maybe 13 of the 27 to date). The overall concept of the reboot is solid, though some of the books have nailed it better than others. Animal Man in particular is one of the best new books I’ve read in a long time. I’ve always thought that Jeff Lemire was an interesting, unorthodox choice to write DCU books, and he and Travel Foreman have crafted an eerie, tonal work that recalls Moore and Totleben’s Swamp Thing – and it lives up to its pedigree. I got really excited for this title when I saw a preview of Foreman and inker Dan Green’s artwork for this book – creepy, angular and distorted, with a tasty late-80′s vibe – and it delivers. Colorist Lovern Kindzierski complements their work by smartly keeping it subtle, not eating the ink with rendering and doing some sweet limited-palette work as well. This one is on my regular list now and forever.

Bakuman

Keeping my comic selection broad and stroking my passion for well-crafted manga, a few months back DC Digital super editor and newly-installed Angeleno Kwanza Johnson recommended I read Bakuman by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata. Or maybe he strong-armed me into reading it. I don’t remember. Either way, I loved the creators’ previous work Death Note (which I also highly recommend; I read the first five volumes -about 1000 pages – in one sitting), so I figured this one was a good bet. Bakuman is about two high school-age kids making comics. Yeah. It’s about writing and drawing – possibly the least interesting and least active things in the universe – yet somehow the creators infuse the story with drama, tension and suspense. Besides some inexplicably bizarre behavior by two characters that requires Herculean suspension of disbelief, it’s thoroughly enjoyable and the art is stellar. Interestingly, Viz released volume 4 as a digital day-and-date experiment, and then promptly abandoned that plan with volume 5. Boo.

On my bookshelf, you will find many, many a finely bound graphic novel. You will also find my only two other reading passions – mountain-climbing memoirs and music biographies. I kid you not. I love reading about climbing because I will never be able to do it myself. I like to read about being a touring musician, because I will likewise never be able to do it myself. My current musical selection is See A Little Light: The Trail of Rage and Melody by Bob Mould. It’s a great companion piece to Andrew Earles 2010 Husker Du biography (for which Mould declined to be interviewed, in anticipation of his own book), detailing Mould’s view of the band’s acrimonious history, and moving further into his time with Sugar, his solo career and his life as a gay man. It’s a fascinating, unflinching, sometimes brutal portrait of a self-made artist, and it’s one of the best and most inspiring I’ve read.

Those selections, by the way – all purchased and read digitally. The revolution is here, and it will not be televised. It will be downloaded.

Willworld

Which is not to say I’m all ones and zeroes here – quite the opposite. I’m a biblio-junkie with a bad habit. Two weeks ago, I read WE3 by Morrison and Quitely, Green Lantern Willworld by DeMatteis and the late, great Seth Fisher (buy all of his work – ALL OF IT), and when my wife is done with it, our pal Mike Dawson’s Troop 142 is in the pile. Last weekend, I was at Small Press Expo and went on such an insane buying binge that I’m not even sure what I bought. I know I had Jennifer Hayden sign a copy of her new book Underwire, and I picked up Eddie Campbell’s Alec (both from Top Shelf), got a few Roger Langridge’s books, and went on a blind spree at Fantagraphics with Four Color Fear, an Alex Toth collection, some books by Jordan Crane and an impulsively bought Jacques Tardi book because CBLDF’s Alex Cox told me I needed it. That’s the first bag of three.

What am I reading? Everything, apparently.

SPX, or the Small Press Expo, returns to the Bethesda North Marriott Hotel and Conference Center in Bethesda, Md. this weekend.

The show’s special guests include Roz Chast, Jim Woodring, Diane Noomin, Jim Rugg, Ann Telnaes, Chester Brown, Johnny Ryan, Craig Thompson and Matthew Thurber, and fans who attend will also have the opportunity to meet and/or hear from Kevin Huizenga, Anders Nilsen, Jessica Abel, Sarah Glidden, Alex Robinson, Brian Ralph, Mike Dawson, Meredith Gran, Roger Langridge and Julia Wertz, just to name a few. I would also be remiss if I didn’t point out that our own Chris Mautner will be attending and conducting a Q&A with Johnny Ryan on Saturday, so be sure to tell him hi for us.

In addition to a lot of great talent, SPX also offers a full schedule of programming and the yearly Ignatz Awards. And a whole lot of new books and cool things will be available at the show:

• Drawn + Quarterly will have a ton of new books at the show, as detailed here, like Brain Ralph’s Daybreak collection, the Death-Ray hardcover and Big Questions, among many others.

• As we noted yesterday, AdHouse and Tom Scioli will have an American Barbarian print at the show. They’ll also have guests like Jim Rugg, Lamar Abrams, Ethan Rilly and Sterling Hundley at their table.

• Jennifer Hayden’s Underwire, from Top Shelf, makes its debut:

Underwire

• Roger Langridge’s The Show Must Go On! collection from BOOM! Town will debut there, and Langridge will also have a Snarked! print:

Snarked!

• Kevin Huizenga will have some new stuff at the show, not the least of which is a new Ganges book from Fantagraphics.

• NBM will debut Stargazing Dog and Ernie Colon’s Inner Sanctum at the show.

• The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund will host the first Jeff Alexander Memorial Benefit Auction, named for a cartoonist and an organizer of SPX and the Ignatz Awards. He passed away earlier this year. The auction includes pieces from Alexander ’s collection that he donated to the CBLDF, including original art by Charles Vess and Jeff Smith, Tony Millionaire, and Roger Langridge. The auction also includes contributions from Keith Knight, Raina Telgemeier, Jeffrey Brown and many more.

• A signed and numbered edition of Craig Thompson’s Habibi will be available from the CBLDF during the show. And Sara Varon will be at their table on Saturday signing Bake Sale.

• The SPX has a whole bunch more listed on their site, including Mike Dawson’s Troop 142, Pope Hats #2 by Ethan Rilly, Old-Time Hockey Tales by Robert Ullman and Jeffrey Brown, Monster Isle: Big Monster Stuff by Joey Weiser and more.

Spera, Volume 1

It’s time once again for our monthly trip through Previews looking for cool, new comics. As usual, we’re focusing on graphic novels, collected volumes, and first issues so that I don’t have to come up with a new way to say, “Jeff Lemire’s Frankenstein is still awesome!” every month. And I’ll continue letting Tom and Carla do the heavy lifting in regards to DC and Marvel’s solicitations.

Also, please feel free to play along in the comments. Tell me what I missed that you’re looking forward to or – if you’re a comics creator – mention your own stuff.

Archaia

The Grave Doug Freshley – A lot of publishers are doing Weird Western comics lately and that’s just fine with me.

Spera, Volume 1 – I like the sound of this fairy tale in which a couple of princesses combine efforts to save their kingdoms. It’s not that I’m anti-prince, but that’s a cool, new way to do that story.

Avatar

Captain Swing and the Electrical Pirates of Cindery Island – Warren Ellis doing Steampunk sounds thrilling, but really all they had to say was “pirates.” I bet this is still really good though, even if you’re pickier than I am.

Boom!

Roger Langridge’s Snarked #1 – After a well-loved zero-issue, Langridge’s version of Wonderland gets its real, official start.

The Huntress #1

Dark Horse

Turok, Son of Stone, Volume 1: Aztlan – I never read any of the Valiant stuff, nor the original comics they were based on, but having rediscovered my interest in dinosaurs in the last few years, I gave the first issue of this a shot and enjoyed it.

DC

The Huntress #1 – How’s Levitz doing with his new Legion stuff? Can he still write? DC finally rebooted the Legion enough times to pound the fandom right out of me, so I haven’t been keeping up. I’m always curious about the Huntress though, because she seems like a character with a ton of potential. I’m drowning in the hype in this solicit (“Hot new miniseries!” “Largest price on her head in DC Universe history!” “Jaw-dropping events!” “Defines her life!” “Tie-in to upcoming Birds of Prey!”), but I’d like to read a good Huntress story and am hoping this qualifies.

The Shade #1 – This is probably as close as we’re going to get to a new James Robinson Starman series, but you know what? It’s really damn close. And it’s got some amazing artists scheduled for it like Darwyn Cooke, Javier Pulido, Jill Thompson, Frazer Irving, and Gene Ha.

Jack Kirby’s Fourth World Omnibus, Volume 1 tpb – Hey! Cheapskate edition! I hadn’t even dared to hope.

Showcase Presents: Batman, Volume 5 – I was getting all excited about the Tales of the Batman: Don Newton collection also coming out this month and was about to write something about how much I love Bronze Age Batman. Then I realized that that’s what this collects too, only cheaper and it’s slightly earlier stuff. Still, that Newton volume is in color, so I’ll probably want both books.

The All-New Batman: The Brave and the Bold #12 – Do you know what I like better than a Batman/Zatanna team-up? I don’t either.

Hark! A Vagrant

The Annotated Sandman, Volume 1 - Dammit, DC. You’re going to make me buy this again, aren’t you?

Drawn and Quarterly

Hark! A Vagrant – If I could only buy one thing this month, Kate Beaton’s collection would be it. I cannot wait to start loaning this out and sharing her stuff with my friends and family who don’t read webcomics.

Dynamite

Warlord of Mars: Dejah Thoris, Volume 1 – Colossus of Mars – Unlike the glut of Green Hornet comics, there seem to be solid reasons for each of Dynamite’s John Carter series to exist side-by-side. I’m eager to hear what Burroughs fans think of this one.

Sherlock Holmes: Year One – Ditto this and Holmes fans. Is it closer in tone to A Study in Scarlet or Young Sherlock Holmes?

First Second

Orcs, Volume 1: Forged for War - Orcs are my least-favorite Tolkien/D&D mythical race, but I trust First Second to change my mind about that. Dwarves better watch their backs if they don’t want to get bumped to the bottom of the list.

Humanoids

The Zombies That Ate the World, Volume 1: Bring Me Back My Head! – My Guy Davis collection is one step closer to being complete.

IDW

Star Trek/Legion of Super-Heroes #1 – In spite of what I said about my Legion fandom earlier, this really does sound cool. Then again, I’m the guy who liked the Star Trek/X-Men crossovers.

Legion of Monsters #1

30 Days of Night #1 – Very excited about a 30 Days of Night ongoing. This means I probably need to catch up on the last couple of mini-series though.

Cold War #1 – Yes, I do believe I could get into a John Byrne spy series.

Bloom County: The Complete Library, Volume 5 – Eep! I’m falling behind!

Kill Shakespeare, Volume 2: The Blast of War - The massive Fables-meets-the-Bard mini-series is all collected finally. Which means I get to read it now.

Marvel

Avengers 1959 #1 and 2 – See what I said about John Byrne’s Cold War, substitute Howard Chaykin for Byrne; add Namora and Kraven the Hunter.

Legion of Monsters #1 – Someone started a meme a while ago about what titles you’d want in a Marvel version of DC’s New 52. I’ve been giving that some thought and a couple of my wishes were a  comic about all of Marvel’s monster characters and another about Elsa Bloodstone. Marvel’s apparently reading my mind.

Moonstone

Return of the Monsters – I’m already pretty interested in Moonstone’s pulp characters: Black Bat, Phantom Detective, Domino Lady, and the Spider. But I’m hooked right through the cheek when they meet Dracula, Frankenstein’s Monster, a mummy, and a werewolf in a series of four, separate comics.

Airboy Presents The Airfighters - I’m a little confused about whether this has already been solicited before, but I guess it doesn’t really matter. I haven’t read it yet and I want to.

Nordguard

NBM

Salvatore, Volume 2: An Eventful Crossfire – I do love a good anthropomorphic animal story. Blame Blacksad.

Scar

Madame Samurai, Volume 2 – The first volume of this was quiet and beautiful. Glad there’s a second.

Sofawolf

Nordguard – The blurb for this reads like a standard Northern adventure story about a team of sled dogs who have to brave a variety of dangers to save some miners. I dig Jack London and all, but I’ve seen that story before, usually on Disney. Then I looked at the cover and realized that the sled dogs are wearing parkas and carrying revolvers.

And that’s it for me. What did I leave out?

Chris Samnee and Roger Langridge’s Thor: The Mighty Avenger was a big hit with everyone except its editors, it seems; the kid-friendly version of Thor was cut down in its prime, canceled after only eight issues, despite getting good reviews.

Langridge has moved on to his creator-owned comic Snarked, a light-hearted caper story about two rascals based on Lewis Carroll’s The Walrus and the Carpenter—it’s not the most likely topic for a comic, but Langridge makes it work quite nicely. With Snarked #0 in shops now and Snarked #1 due out in October (it’s solicited in the August Previews), it’s time for a bit of Snarked hype, and BOOM! Studios delivered the goods directly to my in-box with a rather breathless press release touting the “special 1:10 Thor: The Mighty Avenger homage variant by fan-favorite Chris Samnee.” The homage is rather indirect, of course, because Thor himself (being the property of Marvel) doesn’t appear on the cover, but glance from this to the cover of TMA #4 and you’ll see the resemblance. Anyway, it’s nice to see Samnee and Langridge together again, even if only for a cover.

Langridge’s interlocking variant covers, which are very handsome indeed, are below the cut.

Issue #0 of Roger Langridge’s creator-owned comic Snarked! is out in stores now, and Langridge has launched a blog, Snark Island, that will feature bonus content for the series. His other blog, Hotel Fred, will continue to be the source for news about all his projects.

“SnarkIsland.com is more of a portal to Snarked-specific content, like character descriptions and themed desktops and so forth, as well as a way for people to send mail to the comic,” he explains. “It’s sort of like a complement to the letters page which will appear in the print version.” If you have seen Snarked! #0, you’ll know what he’s talking about. Langridge fills out the back pages with an interesting miscellany—a newspaper, a poster, puzzles, and the full text of Lewis Carroll’s poem “The Walrus and The Carpenter,” on which the comic is based. Hopefully the blog will be a good playground for Langridge to experiment with more side content.

Miles Morales

Comics | In a post subtitled “Why the new biracial Spider-Man matters,” David Betancourt shares his reaction to the news that the new Ultimate Spider-Man is half-black, half-Latino: “The new Ultimate Spider-Man, who will have the almost impossible task of replacing the late Peter Parker (easily one of Marvel Comics most popular characters), took off his mask and revealed himself to be a young, half-black, half-Latino kid by the name of Miles Morales. When I read the news, I was beside myself, as if my brain couldn’t fully process the revelation. My friendly neighborhood Spider-Man was … just like me? This is a moment I never thought I’d see. But the moment has arrived, and I — the son of Puerto Rican man who passed his love of comics to me, and a black woman who once called me just to say she’d met Adam West — will never forget that day.”

The New Yorker, meanwhile, posts the opening on an essay from the year 2120 that looks back at the cultural significance of the new Spider-Man. [Comic Riffs, New Yorker]

Legal | Analysis of the Kirby estate/Marvel case continues, as both Modern Ideas and Copyhype look at the concept of “work for hire” in light of the ruling. [Modern Ideas, Copyhype]

Creators | Roger Langridge talks about his life as a comics creator and reader and his work on the Muppets comics, Thor: The Mighty Avenger, and his new creator-owned work Snarked! [Graphic Eye]

Comics | Responding to the USA Today article on Flashpoint #4, which features a brief appearance by President Obama, Bully looks back at several Obama “guest appearances” in comics from the past few years. [Comics Oughta Be Fun]

Howard the Duck

Creators | Former Marvel Editor-in-Chief Jim Shooter continues his remembrances of writer Steve Gerber, recounting Gerber’s lawsuit against Marvel over ownership of Howard the Duck, and Disney’s legal threats over Howard’s appearance. Shooter shares model sheets of the character that were provided by Disney artists to accentuate the differences between Howard and Donald Duck. [Jim Shooter]

Creators | Ian Burns talks to King City creator Brandon Graham about his early life, his influences and much, much more. [The Comics Journal]

Publishing | Clan Apis creator Jay Hosler notes the book that started as “a floppy comic about bees” is now in its sixth printing. [Drawing Flies]

Publishing | NBM/Papercutz publisher Terry Nantier predicts that preorders for the upcoming Ninjago graphic novel, based on LEGO’s ninja-themed toy line of the same name, could surpass 100,000 copies, putting it into Twilight territory. [ICv2]

Publishing | Noah Berlatsky sees the demise of Borders as presaging a grim future for manga in the United States. [The Washington Times]

Awards | Hereville: How Mirka Got Her Sword by Barry Deutsch has been named an Oregon Spirit Book Award Middle Reader Honor Book by the Oregon Council of Teachers of English. [Abrams, via Comics Reporter]

Manga | Deb Aoki shares the best and worst manga as chosen by the participants on the Best and Worst Manga Panel at San Diego Comic-Con. [About.com]

Tr!ckster

Conventions | Chris Smits writes about his experience of Tr!ckster, the creator-owned comics alternative to SDCC: “So, throughout my time spent in San Diego for the con, Tr!ckster became my travel shampoo: I washed, rinsed, and then repeated. Justice can not be done to how incredible it was to have such a haven across the street from the convention center. Anytime I had an inkling of con fatigue or (more likely) a frustrating build up of rage, the realization that I could just walk over there was amazing.” [Creator-Owned Comics]

Manga | Shaenon Garrity pens an appreciation of her favorite CLAMP manga, Wish, “a breezy four-volume series that features all the things I love most about the team: simultaneously cute and elegant artwork, charming characters, tantalizingly chaste romance, a dash of homoeroticism, and a heaping helping of fangirl nerdiness.” [Anime News Network]

Analysis | In homage to Wally Wood’s “22 panels,” Daniel BT compiles a list of 22 manga panels that always work. [Sunday Comics Debt]

Comics | When Captain Israel met Foreskin Man. [Huffington Post]

The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund is holding an art auction tonight in San Diego to raise money for their various programs, but even if you can’t attend the live auction, you can still bid on some really nice art (like the above Snarked image by Roger Langridge). But you’ll need to hurry — bids will only be accepted until 1 p.m. Pacific today. You can find complete details, including a list of what’s up for auction, on the CBLDF site or after the jump.

*****

CBLDF Benefit Auction at Comic-Con 2011
Hilton Bayfront • Sapphire Ballroom IJ
Saturday, July 23, 2011
7:30 p.m.

Support CBLDF’s important First Amendment work at the CBLDF 25th Anniversary Benefit Auction! Now held at the Hilton Bayfront hotel, the auction is open to the general public and free! Sponsored by TFAW.Com and Comic-Con International, the CBLDF Benefit Auction is the Fund’s biggest auction of the year. Come support the Fund at this terrific event!

Auction Listings

Some items may be added to those listed below. For a full photo gallery, visit www.cbldf.org, or check out our Facebook and Twitter feeds!

1. Snarked Pirate Ship pin-up by Roger Langridge

2. Defenders #2 Cover by Kevin Maguire

3. Submariner interior page dby Chris Burnham

4. Hellfire Club interior page by Cully Hamner

5. Hellfire Club interior page by Cully Hamner

6. Superman/Batman interior page by Rick Leonardi

7. Mice Templar pinup by Victor Santos

8. Web of Spider-Man #65, Page 11, by Alex Saviuk

9. Marvel Zombies Interior Art by Nick Dragotta

10. Omega The Unknown Interior art by Farel Dalrymple

11. Captain America pinup by Tom Scioli

12. Invincible interior page by Ryan Ottley

13. Liberty Annual 2011 Cover by Dave Gibbons

14. Kabuki watercolor painting by David Mack

15. Supermarket interior page by Kristian Donaldson

16. Finder painting by Carla Speed McNeil

17. “Pursuing Liberty” pinup by Terry Moore, from CBLDF Liberty Annual 2011

18. Hawkman pin-up by Bill Sienkiewicz

19. Ray Fawkes vampire pin-up

20. CBLDF Liberty Annual 2011 Variant cover original art by Frank Quitely

21. Underground pin-up by Steve Lieber

22. Catwoman pin-up by Camilla D’Errico

23. Muppet Show #5 cover by Roger Langridge

24. Muppet Show #6 cover by Roger Langridge

25. Harley Quinn pin-up by Paul Maybury

26. Pete & Pete pin-up by Joe Quinones

27. Sweet Tooth painting by Jeff Lemire

28. Landscape painting by Stefano Gaudiano

29. Tigra pin-up by Tim Seeley

30. Hellboy pin-up by Duncan Fregredo

31. Catwoman interior page by Pete Woods

32. Exiles interior page by Zach Howard

33. Incredible Change Bots pin-up by Jeffrey Brown

34. Batman & Robin pinup by Gabriel Hardman

35. Harley Quinn interior page by Terry Dodson

36. Captain America Interior page by Karl Kesel

37. Mini Marvels X-Men interior page by Chris Giarrusso

38. Batman pin-up by Dustin Nguyen

39. Catwoman interior page by Pete Woods

40. American Vampire variant cover by Cliff Chiang

41. Guy Davis, interior art

42. Tyler Crook, Tiger drawing

43. Batman pin-up by Steve Seeley

44. CBLDF Pinup by Farel Dalrymple

45. L’il Depressed Boy pin-up by Sina Grace

46. Too Much Coffee Man pin-up by Shannon Wheeler

47. Tank Girl pin-up by Rufus Dayglo

48. Captain America pin-up by Ron Chan

49. Power Man & Iron Fist pin-up by Rob Guillory

50. Green Wake pin-up by Riley Rossmo

51. Guitar by Renzo Podesta

52. Hallway by Renzo Podesta

53. Faith pin-up by Rebekah Isaacs

54. Punisher Noir pin-up by Patric Reynolds

55. Vampire Slayer pin-up by Michael DeBalfo

56. Beanworld drawing by Larry Marder

57. Thor painting by Jonathan Luna

58. Bomb Queen pin-up by Jimmie Robinson

59. Wonder Woman pin-up by Jenny Frison

60. Jim Silke painting

61. In Reilig Oran original painting by Tony Harris

62. In Reilig Oran pencil study by Tony Harris

63. Pug pin-up by Greg Espinoza

64. Cyclops & Phoenix pin-up by Fabio Moon

65. Weapon X pin-up by Gabriel Ba

66. Monkey Airways drawing by Dave Garcia

67. Reed Gunther drawing by Chris Houghton

68. Cyclops & Phoenix pin-up by Camilla D’Errico

69. Catwoman pin-up by Bill Morrison

70. David Petersen, CBLDF Master Session original drawing

71. Shannon Wheeler, CBLDF Master Session original drawing

72. Jaime Hernandez, CBLDF Master Session original drawing

73. Matthew Holm, CBLDF Master Session original drawing

74. Matt Wagner, CBLDF Master Session original drawing

75. Camilla D’Errico, CBLDF Master Session original drawing

Bidding Rules

At The Show

All bidders will need to have a bidder number, which can be picked up at Booth 1920 at any time during the convention, or at the auction.

Off-Site Bidding

If you are unable to be at the convention, or unable to attend the auction, bids will be accepted online bids starting Monday, July 19 until Saturday, July 24, 1:00 p.m. Pacific Time. All bids must be emailed to charles.brownstein@cbldf.org with “SDCC AUCTION BID” in the subject line. Be sure when bidding to use the item name as it appears on the website.

This is not a silent auction bidding system. All bids placed online will be used as opening bids during the live auction on Saturday, July 23. In the event there are multiple bids on the same item, the highest bid will be the one accepted.

Bid amounts placed online will not be disclosed before the item is auctioned. Winning bidders will be notified by email the week following the convention. Payment is expected within 7 days from said email

Snarked #0
By Roger Langridge
kaboom!

Roger Langride, writer of the Muppet Show comics and Thor: Mighty Avenger, set the bar pretty high when he decided to use Lewis Carroll’s characters, the Walrus and the Carpenter, in his new comic, Snarked. Carroll is a tough act to follow, and there’s a big risk that the new characters will fall flat compared to the original.

Langridge has succeeded admirably, however, in not only making an enjoyable comic but making one in which his story is both an original creation and true to its roots. Carroll’s walrus and carpenter use witty-sounding conversation as misdirection while they lure unsuspecting oysters to their dinner plates. Langridge’s characters, cast as lovable swindlers in some vague past, fast-talk their way into the palace to steal some food from the king’s kitchen, but unlike in the poem, they wind up with empty stomachs after all.

Snarked #0 is a tease, a one-dollar prequel to the series, which launches with issue #1 in October. This comic features an eight-page story, plus some special bonus content—puzzles, a fake diary and newspaper that relate to the story, and all of Carroll’s poems “The Hunting of the Snark” and “The Walrus and the Carpenter,” with the original illustrations.

The story itself is a bit of fluff, but it introduces the characters and sets up the basics of the story. The Walrus is a con man, of the WC Fields subtype, who talks a good game but is a bit dim under his fine words. The carpenter is his even more dim-witted sidekick. As for the snark, people talk about it a lot but it has yet to show up.

The comic starts with the Walrus learning that the king is out of town and deciding to raid the palace kitchens. He and the Carpenter fast-talk their way past the guards only to run into the young princess and prince. They charm the royal youngsters while filling their sack with goodies, but then they get distracted…

And here, alas, is the story’s one flaw, a narrative hiccup that left me wondering if there was a page missing from my digital review copy. Langridge cuts from the Walrus gazing at a gold statue of the king to the two con men being chased from the palace. What happened? The princess’s diary in the endmatter fills in the gap (they try to steal the statue, which alerts the guards), but the comic itself completely punts on what should be a key scene. That’s a lot of narrative to show by implication only.

That aside, there’s a lot to like about this comic. Langridge’s style is easy on the eyes and he has some cute little bits of business that are straight out of the animator’s handbook, as when the princess flies up in the air rather than taking a step. Colorist Rachelle Rosenberg has developed a nice, lively palette for the book and helps bring the story to life without being intrusive.

Snarked #0 comes out in August, but June 30 is the deadline for ordering it from the June Previews. I’m going to issue a “buy” recommendation on this one, especially as it only costs a dollar. Heck, if you hate it, give it to some lucky kid; you’ll get a dollar’s worth of satisfaction from that alone.

Still not sure? Check out our own Tim O’Shea’s interview with Langridge, which includes a four-page preview of Snarked.

Hello and welcome to another edition of What Are You Reading? Today’s special guest is Shannon Wheeler, New Yorker cartoonist and creator of the Eisner Award-winning comic book Too Much Coffee Man, Oil & Water, the Eisner-nominated I Thought You Would Be Funnier and the upcoming Grandpa Won’t Wake Up.

To see what Shannon and the Robot 6 crew have been reading, click below …

*****

Tom Bondurant

Superman Family #203

Last week my brother-in-law was in a used bookstore — actually, I guess “used-book store” would be more accurate — and called me asking what random old DCs and Marvels I’d like. One of the fruits of his labors was September-October 1980′s Superman Family #203, a decent little anthology inked mostly by Vince Coletta (so they all tended to look the same) and written and penciled by various DC stalwarts. The lead was a Supergirl story, “The Supergirl From Planet Earth,” written by Jack C. Harris and penciled by Win Mortimer. Seems there’s a formerly-comatose blonde teenager in Kara’s old hometown Midvale who suddenly starts manifesting Kryptonian powers and zipping around in a certain blue-skirted super-suit. Moreover, when questioned by Supergirl, the new kid pretty much recites Kara’s first speech to her cousin, about the destruction of Argo City, etc. Naturally I was reminded of Peter David and Ed Benes’ “Many Happy Returns” storyline, but Harris and Mortimer only have 12 pages to introduce another complication and then resolve everything — and resolve it they do, using X-Kryptonite, a medallion made of lead, and some conveniently-placed acid. It’s a neat little story which, although inconsequential in the greater scheme of things, is still entertaining.

Since I’m always interested in how a Lois Lane solo series might work (once more), I read “Lost,” another 12-pager, written by Marv Wolfman and penciled by Bob Oksner. As with the Supergirl story, there’s a lot of plot in these pages: Lois is kidnapped and mind-wiped, escapes, gets picked up by a helpful widower, falls in love with same, and then uses her (unwiped) martial arts skills to fight off the goons who eventually catch up with her. The story ends with an amnesiac Lois wandering off into the woods, Bruce-Banner-style, so I’ll have to seek out #204 to see how it ends. Here, I’m not sure the format does this story many favors (especially with regard to Ted, the widower). It might do better played out over a few issues of that hypothetical solo title. (That would also leave room to cross over and/or be mentioned in the main Superman books, too….)

Finally, “The Critic Killer” (written by E. Nelson Bridwell and penciled by George Tuska) is a tale of the Earth-2 Lois and Clark, set in the early ’50s when the two were newly married — and when TV was still new enough that the Daily Star didn’t have its own critic. Along comes Lana Lang, daughter of a professor Clark knew from Smallville, seeking to carve out some column space for just that purpose. Clark (editor of the Star, like you didn’t know) gives her the job, and she promptly goes all scorched-earth on the new sitcom from a notoriously thin-skinned writer. Lois realizes nothing good can come of Lana’s scathing review, and sure enough, the writer traps Lana and Lois in a specially-modified elevator car. Because Lois — in what strikes me as a bit of Earth-2 Superdickery — is wearing a “mood ring” which telepathically alerts Clark to sudden changes in her emotions, Superman saves them (of course). However, we learn that the writer bought his elevator-trap from Luthor, still in prison but still scheming about taking down Superman. Dun dun dunnnn! Again, it was a clever little tale whose eight pages were more concerned with establishing Lana’s bona fides (this was apparently the retcon introducing Lana to Lois and Clark) and maybe making Lois a little jealous, than with a straightforward adventure/suspense story. Along those lines, it laid the groundwork for future stories involving Lana and/or Luthor, and I’m now curious to see how fleshed-out the “Mr. And Mrs. Superman” stories got.

And speaking of Earth-2, I read Invaders Classic Volume 1, written by Roy Thomas (who else?), penciled mostly by Frank Robbins, and inked by Vince Coletta and Frank Springer. This paperback reprinted the first several issues of The Invaders, plus ancillary issues, and it’s pretty much non-stop action from page one. Essentially, the Invaders — Captain America and Bucky, the Human Torch and Toro, and the Sub-Mariner — fight Nazi super villains, as depicted by Robbins’ hyperkinetic pencils. What I took away from this book, though, was that even though he was working at Marvel, and even though DC was, at the time, doing contemporary Earth-2 stories featuring the Justice Society, Roy Thomas desperately wanted to write a wartime JSA book. I have no idea how much Thomas drew from those old Timely comics to come up with the various Axis bad guys and the heroic Liberty Legion (although reprinted text pages help out in this regard) — but there sure are conspicuous references to moving “faster than a speeding bullet” and being part of “seven soldiers” of something-or-other. Actually, I take part of that back — the first baddies the Invaders face are a trio of faux-Teutonic godlings, and I thought “oh, here’s a riff on Evil Thor.” Still, though, the Liberty Legion contains 1) a speedster, 2) a guy who stretches, 3) a superheroine with black hair and a red-and-blue costume, 4) the Blue Diamond, who kinda looks like Green Lantern if you squint, 5) a flying guy with big bird-wings on his back, 6) Jack Frost, an ice-based hero who looks like he’s got Aquaman-style scales, and 7) the Patriot, another red-and-blue-clad figure who’s the group’s moral center. Maybe it was just me, but I had more fun looking for those kinds of references than I did reading the stories themselves. Lucky for the series, though, the last couple of issues introduce Union Jack and Baron Blood, a British hero and his undead foe, and The Invaders starts to build its own little corner of Marvel history, instead of reminding readers of others’. Lucky for Roy Thomas, too, that it wouldn’t be long before he was writing DC’s All-Star Squadron — otherwise, I suspect his brain might have exploded.

(By the way, I’m not up on Marvel history as much as some — but doesn’t Union Jack’s debut in World War I make him Marvel-Earth’s first costumed hero, preceding the Human Torch by at least 20 years?)

Michael May

Lois Lane and the Resistance

As I said in this week’s Food or Comics, I wasn’t sure if I was going to buy Lois Lane and the Resistance or not. I flipped through it in the store though and decided to get it for its visuals and action sequences. It looked like fun. And there were some exciting parts, but unfortunately, this still isn’t the Lois Lane comic I’m waiting for. Lois spends the entire issue running around doing the bidding of other people. The story opens with Perry White’s sending her on a fluff piece instead of covering the impending war. The Lois Lane I want to read about doesn’t get sent to cover Fashion Week. She doesn’t have to whine and argue that she’s a serious reporter; everyone should know that she is and treat her that way. But this Lois…even when the story gets going she’s still acting as someone else’s agent, and not even a particularly competent one. This isn’t the story of a strong, empowered reporter that I’ve been craving.

I also read Mystery Men #2 and liked it, but it reminded me why I became a trade-waiter. The first issue got me all excited to continue the story, but now I’m growing impatient with its being rationed out in small chunks. Some cool stuff happens this issue — another masked hero joins the investigation and there’s a major revelation about the villain — but it’s hard to say that I enjoyed this particular chunk of the story as its own, self-contained unit.

Finally, I read the first volume of Jason DeAngelis and Aldin Viray’s Captain Nemo, a manga re-telling of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. There are some cool, imaginative things going on in it, like the story’s taking place in an alternate timeline where Napoleon won at Waterloo and has taken over the world. The 19-year-old son of the original Captain Nemo is operating the Nautilus II in rebellion against the French Empire, providing this version with an actual plot (something that Jules Verne’s novel lacks). Viray’s obviously had a great time creating the steampunk world for the story; the environment of the book looks great. And I like how it’s still hitting major beats in Verne’s story, but reworking them enough to keep them exciting and follow DeAngelis’ plot.

But the book falls victim to some standard manga tropes and the characters are boringly familiar. Nemo is the classic manga hero: handsome, but stand-offish, but really very gentle at heart. Camille Pierpont (who stands in for Professor Aronnax, Conseil, and Ned Land by ending up prisoner on the Nautilus II after Nemo saves her from drowning) is the traditional manga heroine: headstrong, judgmental, entitled, but supernaturally gifted with wild animals and really just one good kiss away from calming down into someone likeable. Even the characters’ designs are unimaginative; something that Aldin admits to in the sketchbook section where he says that he gave Nemo “the standard Harlock look” and Camille “the typical female lead character look.” The other crew members of the Nautilus II are just as immediately recognizable: Smart and Cocky Guy With Glasses, Bad Attitude Girl, Plucky Kid, etc.

Brigid Alverson

Treasury of Victorian Murder

This week was murder, at least in terms of what I have been reading. I got an advance copy of Rick Geary’s latest Treasury of Victorian Murder book, The Lives of Sacco and Vanzetti, which will be debuting at San Diego Comic-Con this year. Like all of Geary’s books, it’s cool, almost clinical, with the timelines and details carefully laid out in a heavy-bordered grid and a narrative voice straight out of a PBS documentary Geary’s objective voice suits the story well, because the guilt or innocence of Sacco and Vanzetti is a matter of some controversy, but it does make the book seem rather dry.

Also on the stack is The Green River Killer, written by Jeff Jensen and illustrated by Jonathan Case. Jensen’s father was a detective on the case, and the story is told from his point of view. The story gets rolling with Gary Ridgeway’s confession and skips back and forth in time as the police bring him to the sites of the murders and then flash back to their first encounters with the same scenes. The art is straightforward and linear, but there are some nice atmospheric moments.

And in the prose realm, I’m reading The Poisoner’s Handbook, which would be more aptly titled “The Toxicologist’s Handbook.” Set in 1920s New York, the book follows the work of pioneering medical examiner Charles Norris and toxicologist Alexander Gettler as they investigate various murders — grouped by the poison involved. Some they solve, some they don’t, and sometimes they are simply frustrated by the difficulty of proving their toxicological case in court. It’s a bit overly dramatic but a good read nonetheless, and I’m learning a bit of chemistry from it too.

Tim O’Shea

IDW’s Rocketeer Adventures #1

Rocketeer Adventures #1 and #2: OK, I have to admit, I completely missed the first issue’s release. So I picked up issue #2 this week, Mark Waid teamed with Chris Weston, Darwyn Cooke, Geof Darrow, Lowell Francis with Gene Ha (all colored by Dave Stewart) and realized: “you were a fool to miss issue #1.” Fortunately I snagged the last copy of issue #1 at my local store. And I am torn which is my favorite from that issue, it’s a close race between John Cassady colored by Laura Martin or Kurt Busiek teamed with legendary Michael Kaluta (honorable mention Mike Allred colored by Laura Allred). But after serious consideration I have decided that Kaluta (inked by Stewart) is my favorite. There’s not a bad story in either issue–and I am looking forward to issue #3.

Thunderbolts #159 is a double-sized issue with multiple creative teams on different tales. But all you need to know is this: Jen Van Meter writes a team-up (of sorts) between Ghost and John Walker. I really hope that Marvel announces some more work for Van Meter at San Diego, because she deserves a monthly assignment.

Captain America: Given Bucky’s current status quo (given the Fear Itself event), I am confused as to why I would care what happened to James in this issue. But all my annoyance washed away when I got to see Chris Samnee draw more Nick Fury in the second half of the issue.

Did you catch my interview with Roger Langridge about the preview of his new Kaboom book, Snarked #0, which will sell for $1 in August? Did I convince you to tell your retailer to get a copy for you? You have until June 30 for the Previews deadline (Diamond Code: JUN110963). I mean it when I commit to this series being destined for my best of 2011 books.

Shannon Wheeler

Paying for It

There’s a narrow road to success if a creator already has a lot of good books. If it’s too different from what came before, I’ll hate it, and if it’s too similar to what came before, then I’ll hate it, too. Chester Brown created my favorite comics: Ed the Happy Clown and The Playboy. So, of course, I was disappointed with Paying for It.

It’s an autobiographical book about Chester Brown’s decision to satisfy his sexual needs by being with prostitutes. The best part of the book is when he details his internal conflict and anxiety when he first hires women to have sex with him. Unfortunately, the book drags as he uses his friends as characters to stage pro and con arguments regarding prostitution. The books drags even more when he reiterates his beliefs for the third… and fourth time. He avoids talking about his final relationship in respect for her desire for privacy. This could have been an emotional resolution in the book — Chester finding a relationship that he’s comfortable with. They are both happy with monogamous, but independent, lives where he continues to pay for sex. Any editor could have trimmed 20 percent of the redundant ranting to make it a smoother read and then pushed for a conclusion with emotional depth and acute observations similar to the book’s beginning. Chester Brown could have had a book that matched or succeeded his earlier work. As it stands, the book is a vaguely interesting read as a political diatribe and an okay read as an emotional journey, but is redundant as one and unresolved as the other. Chester is still a great creator; it’s too bad his editor hasn’t kept pace. It’s a good book that could have been a great book.

Okko

Okko

It’s a solid read that takes place in old Japan with demons, ronins, monks and magic. The book is skillfully put together with natural storytelling, attractive drawings and pretty coloring. It’s not a book you’ll ponder much after putting it down. As a book in the same genre as the great Usagi Yojimbo, it holds up as a solid and entertaining read.

New Yorker: On the Money

I always grab collections of New Yorker cartoons. This one has the strength of being assembled by the New Yorker’s current cartoon editor, Bob Mankoff. By choosing financially themed comics from 1925-2009, Mankoff shows an economic history of our country through humor. It’s telling that the rich-screw-the-poor is a recurrent theme that doesn’t change from the earliest comics to the recent ones. The repetition left me a little cold. Maybe not cold – but depressed. If the economics of this country could change the way families, gender roles and race relations have changed, I might like the book better. But I guess that’s not really the book’s fault.

Cowboy Wally

Always funny. I’m constantly amazed at how well this book has held up. I consider it one of the best comics created.

Underground

I just picked this one up, but the first issue shows potential. I love the art and story. Jeff Parker and Steve Lieber are great comic creators. I’m sure they’ll deliver.

Snarked! #0

Recently I was lucky enough to see a preview of Roger Langridge‘s Snarked! #0, his all ages series for Kaboom where the writer/artist uses Lewis Carroll‘s “Walrus and the Carpenter” poem (from Through the Looking-Glass) as a springboard for his storytelling. For every consumer that railed against the cancellation of Langridge’s Thor: The Mighty Avenger, here’s your chance to support Langridge again. For every pundit and website commenter who opined that Thor would have flourished, had it not been caught in the deluge of Thor titles that dashed any chance of it succeeding, take note.

A quick look at the CBR front page reveals a full court press for every new DC #1 coming our way in September. And we should be covering the DC relaunch, don’ t get me wrong. But I am fearful that some great books coming out around the same time, say this one, for example, are going to get overlooked. Roger Langridge’s Snarked! should not be overlooked. This is the comic that non-comics reading parents are looking for when they wander into a store seeking something to give their kid. This is a fun comic. This is a funny comic. This is an intelligent comic. This is a comic with puzzles, mazes and word searches. This preview issue is only a $1. This is a project that I hope to see on many folks Best of 2011 lists (I know it will be on mine).

Langridge chatted with me briefly in this email interview, and Kaboom was kind enough to give us a preview of Snarked! (provided at the end of our discussion). While the preview is not on sale until August, of course it is in Previews this month, with orders due June 30 [Diamond Code: JUN110963]. I can count on one hand the number of active creators that write and draw as engagingly a story as Langridge. If that does not win you over, the book stars a talking walrus (Wilburforce J. Walrus, as noted by Kaboom: “that’s right, the same Walrus that inspired the Beatles song “I Am the Walrus” is now in Roger Langridge’s merry, mad hands”) for the love of God. Check it out, I think you’ll agree it should be on everyone’s must-read list, no matter your age. To paraphrase Langridge fromthis interview, I hope this project is something that people will want to re-read many times–and if that’s not the definition of a great comic, I don’t know what is.

Tim O’Shea: How long have you been a fan of the work of Lewis Carroll?

Roger Langridge: It’s tempting to say “since I could read”; I’m sure it can’t have been quite that long, but I know I was very, very young when I first read the Alice books. And I’ve gone back and re-read them every couple of years since then, pretty much. They’re that rare thing, books which hit you in one way when you’re a kid, and in a different (yet equally powerful) way when you’re an adult, when you appreciate some of the really black humor and the general pricking of pomposity. They reward repeated re-readings more than most.

O’Shea: I love the look of your characters–when and how did you decide that Clyde McDunk needed an underbite (as opposed to an overbite)–and does he just have two teeth?

Langridge: Thanks! I’m playing fast and loose with the teeth – if a particular expression requires it, he might find himself with a full set for a panel or two – but the underbite was pure instinct, it just felt right. I suppose the Walrus technically has an overbite with those tusks of his, so I didn’t want to flog it to death!

O’Shea: In addition to the core story in the first issue, you include games and puzzles (something lacking in most kids comics). Was that your idea or BOOM!’s?

Langridge: Mine. I grew up on that stuff in my comics – not just in British humor weeklies, which usually had extra features like pull-out booklets or make-it-yourself board games, but also in the DC 100-page Giants of the 1970s. I always liked them, I thought they made the comics I bought seem like I was getting more value for my money because they engaged me for longer, so I thought, heck, SNARKED is my baby – why not? The series proper will probably integrate the activities into the story itself a bit more; but for the preview, a separate and distinct puzzle section seemed entirely right to me.

O’Shea: With Carroll’s Hunting of the Snark, which runs in the back of the first issue, you include Henry Holiday art (commissioned in 1874). Did you track down that art, or how did it come to be in the issue?

Langridge: I have the book in a couple of different editions, both with the original illustrations, so I didn’t have far to look. I thought, if we’re going to be referring to the poem throughout the series, it would be helpful to have a primer for those who aren’t familiar with it. Plus, it’s great!

O’Shea: How happy are you to be swimming in the creator-owned waters?

Langridge: Deliriously so! Of course, I never really left them; even during the time I was working on the Muppet books and Thor: The Mighty Avenger I was still plugging away at my web strip, Mugwhump the Great, on ACT-I-VATE. But it’s very satisfying to actually be earning a living from my own creations, something that I’ve been able to do all too rarely.

O’Shea: I love how you strike a balance of innocent facial reactions mixed with knowing more mature knowing glances in terms of the emotions with the children of the Snarked cast. How hard (or easy) is it for you to draw and emotionally frame the children in your storytelling?

Langridge: Well, I have a couple of kids of my own, so first-hand reference is never far away. And that’s pretty much how they are – one moment giggling and running through the house without any pants on, the next giving you a look that makes you blush. Or laugh out loud!

O’Shea: Thanks to your work in the past few years you have elevated your level of recognition and popularity. So when you decided to do more creator-owned work, I am sure you were courted by many publishers. What prompted you to work with KABOOM!?

Langridge: I hate to break this to you, but I was approached by exactly two publishers, and only one of them was interested in me developing a concept of my own – that was BOOM!. The other one was really only interested in some sort of movie tie-in, and even then I was unable to come up with any pitch that grabbed them enough to take things further. That said, even if I’d been approached by a dozen publishers, BOOM! would have been high on my list, as they’ve been very good to me. I’m delighted that my working relationship with them continues.

O’Shea: I was fortunate enough to see some of your pages in black and white (as well as many in full color). How important was it to you to do this in full color?

Langridge: I’m not someone who thinks of colour as essential to comics, having grown up on black-and-white stuff like 2000AD, as well as Australian B&W reprints of Marvel and DC comics – I consider black-and-white to be “normal”; that’s kind of my default setting. That said, I’m aware that the market seems to favour colour books, so I’m happy for Snarked! to be in colour if that will get more people looking at it – and I’m thrilled with the work being done by Rachelle Rosenberg in that department. Really original and interesting colour choices – I’m confident her work will make the book stand out.

O’Shea: I love looking at the lettering in this preview issue, how did you settle upon what kind of lettering to employ to help set the tone and narrative of Snarked?

Langridge: Thanks! I wanted to do the lettering myself – not because of any dissatisfaction with other letterers I’ve worked with, but just because this thing is my baby. Though I’m a hand-letterer from way back, I decided to go digital, mainly for speed and ease of editing – and my ideal for comic lettering has always been Abe Kanegson’s work on The Spirit. If I could letter like anybody, it would be him. So I thought, why not make a font from his lettering? A few Spirit scans later and some digital jiggery-pokery, and hey presto, Kanegson is back in business! I like the retro quality it has, and the lively, springy feel it brings to the work. I think it’s a good fit – my own lettering tried to imitate Kanegson’s for many years, so now it looks like I always wanted it to.

Freshly returned from Heroes Con, Roger Langridge wants you to know that he has a number of projects that will be bearing fruit later this year.

First up is Snarked! from BOOM! Studios’ all-ages line kaboom, in which Langridge riffs on Lewis Carroll’s characters the Walrus and the Carpenter (from Through the Looking Glass). CBR has a preview so you can get a taste. Langridge has added a few lines to Carroll’s poem and taken the Walrus’s lovable-rascal character to new heights.

Next, Langridge is adapting Edgar Rice Burroughs’s John Carter novels for Marvel, starting with John Carter: A Princess of Mars (which sounds like it’s going to be about a transgender John Carter, although I doubt that’s the case—we’ll have to wait for the manga for that), due out in September.

Finally, a treasure trove for Langridge fans: The Show Must Go On, a 200+ page collection of Langridge’s comics that spans his career, including Mugwhump the Great, which just wrapped up on Act-I-Vate. The collection will be published by Boom Town, BOOM!’s indy comics imprint, and Langridge says it will be ready in time for SPX this fall.