The Comics Reporter

May 24, 2012

Go, Look: Kushinagar

posted 6:05 am PST | Permalink

Comics' Giving Heart -- People, Projects In Need Of Funding

* a group is trying to raise a very specific $37,800 to fund a graphic novel project with Spain Rodriguez as its cartooning talent. I am a huge fan of Spain Rodriguez.

* the publication Magic Bullet is looking for an also-specific $700 to fund its fifth issue.

* one of my favorite comics people, Lea Hernandez, is looking for $40K to fund a graphic novel project. She's been working with that material for a while, as I recall. I'm not as familiar with it as I should be, but it looks awfully cute.

posted 6:00 am PST | Permalink

Not Comics: Sarah Glidden's Occupied Angouleme Photo Album

I actually did this post yesterday afternoon, some 20 hours before the New Hampshire "Hitler Mustache" scenario below came to my attention. Go figure. The set in question is Sarah Glidden's discovery of photos detailing the Nazi occupation of the festival city. They are fascinating and distressing.

posted 5:50 am PST | Permalink

No One Cares About Otto Von Bismarck's Mustache

But they sure don't like giving someone "the Hitler," either in real-life, or, as happened in a Mike Marland effort in the Concord Monitor, in cartoon form. I think this editorial gives you just about everything you need to know, including a look at the cartoon itself. I actually think the Hitler example is useful when utilized as an absurd extreme, or at least not worthy of throwing up one's hands and stomping away from the computer, but I can't imagine the point being made of just comparing some political dude to Herr Wolf unless, maybe, some sort of hate-speech was involved. This sounds just like some sort of generic, ill-conceived Hitler-as-generic-free-speech-hating-despot comparison, which makes a straight-up comparison even more problematic. Maybe Hitler's branding needs work; maybe someone needs to step up in the despot ranks in more of a free-speech crushing manner. The intriguing part of the editorial, incidentally, is how the newspaper person talks about their maybe not running the cartoon but then deciding to give the cartoonist the privilege of his platform.

posted 5:45 am PST | Permalink

Go, Look: Tibet's Sacrifice: Exiled Lives

posted 5:40 am PST | Permalink

Go, Look: CNN Profiles Egypt Election Cartoons

The CNN-hosted blog Inside The Middle East has a smattering of cartoons up about the elections in Egypt, certainly worth checking out on day two of that historic event. I have no particular comprehension of what cartooning is like in that country specifically, even though it's my general understanding that there is a significant editorial cartooning presence in the country just as there is throughout the region. There's also a video profile of the Hajjaj brothers, from Jordan.

posted 5:35 am PST | Permalink

Not Comics: More Wally Wood Illustration Work

posted 5:30 am PST | Permalink

The Never-Ending, Four-Color Festival: Cons, Shows, Events

By Tom Spurgeon

* it's a full weekend, although not one based around any big show or grouping of shows -- it's like one of those lunches with a house full of people where everyone is snacking in the kitchen off and on over a two-hour period. You should roll down the page to the "forthcoming" section to see if there's anything near you. It used to be that comics convention clustered around holiday weekends a bit, but that's not the case anymore at all.

* so Comic-Con International announced via e-mail that they're reserving the right to have security check the passes as people enter the hall -- including matching what's on the pass to a photo ID. That sounds like a potential tough move in terms of execution, so let's hope it's not done in an over-the-top way -- there's a good chance this is a "we can do this" legal protection move as opposed to a "we're going to do this" announcement. I can't complain about the convention making such moves given how much I abused the system in the past when these precautions weren't in place. I also have some sympathy for their protecting the validity of their passes given that their commitment to San Diego makes for a situation where there are fewer passes than people that want them, and a lot of people that have them likely want them to be honored and not steal-able.

* here's an event I hadn't heard about at all before getting a physical flyer in the mail this week along with a NoBrow book: the East London Comics and Arts Festival. It's in June, same weekend as the small press event in Chicago. Hey, sounds good to me.

* that good man Bart Beaty wrote in to note that for the very first time in his memory, Angouleme will spill over into February. It will end February 3. January, February, I have got to get over there.

* since a few of you have asked: I look at events like this forthcoming Grant Morrison-oriented con the same way I look on people paying $1500 for special access Madonna concert tickets. It's so far removed from what I like about such things that I can't imagine spending my money in that direction, but I get it for certain people, and if I had a money tree in my backyard I'm sure I'd sort of enjoy the experience.

* there's a mainstream-oriented show in Houston this weekend I hadn't heard about at all, so I'll mention it here. I have no sense of the Texas comics culture, although that's a traditionally strong one.

* the Heroes Con guest list is rounding into shape. The Immonens are going to be there; they're great guests. My all-time favorite comics-maker Jaime Hernandez will be in attendance. Dave Cooper, Roger Langridge, Evan Dorkin, Stan Lee, Sergio Aragones, a ton more; that's a loaded show.

* the Kids Read Comics show will have a selection of free comics.

* I am of the counter-to-conventional-wisdom belief that Chicago is our best eating city, based on its strength with cheap eats. Sarah Becan points out some favorites for potential visitors to CAKE. I imagine the comments section on that one will be worth reading, too.

* finally, it's more than likely that 25 years from now the time someone brought a giant barbecue grill to Comic-Con International will be some middle-aged person's quaint memory of how things used to be.

posted 5:00 am PST | Permalink

If I Were In London, I'd Go To This

posted 4:30 am PST | Permalink

If I Were In Portland, I'd Go To This

posted 4:30 am PST | Permalink

If I Were In Phoenix, I'd Go To This

posted 4:30 am PST | Permalink

Forthcoming Comics-Related Events, This Month And Next

Not Comics: Some Frank Kelly Freas Illustration Work

posted 3:00 am PST | Permalink

Random Comics News Story Round-Up

* it's not exactly a genius move on my part to say this of the reigning Herblock Prize winner and a recent Pulitzer finalist, but Matt Bors is in a good creative place right now.

* did you know there was a Jack Davis Foundation? Did you know they had a call out for entries into a juried show they're running named after Mr. Davis? I'd be interested in that news aside from the opportunity it gives this site to run some beautiful Davis art in this post.

* well, of course Colleen Coover is going to draw Marshal Law -- an illustration of the character, anyway. (I saw that during one of my periodical forays into checking to see if that Nick and Nora Charles drawing she did is a on a t-shirt yet; nope, not yet.)

* that's a lot of young talent sitting around wherever Lewis Trondheim took this picture; young enough I did double-check to make sure I'm not older than both of them combined (not even close, thank goodness; still: young and talented).

* Matt Seneca on the Greatest Comic Of All Time. Scott Cederlund on Daredevil Vol. 1 and the Scott Snyder-written Batman. Hannah Means-Shannon on The Birth Caul.

* Nat Gertler sent along this link to new work from Men In Black's Lowell Cunningham. That we routinely have to look up Lowell Cunningham and Sandy Carruthers just to recall their names -- well, at least I do -- indicates that the proper respect afforded comics creators whose work goes on to fuel massive entertainment properties isn't just some issue about creators from 50 years ago.

* comics-makers, Wil Wheaton is proud to be in your fraternity. Remember that until he has a trade out he has to do push-ups whenever you tell him to, and get you beers.

* Robin McConnell talks to Zak Sally. Some nice person at A Moment Of Cerebus talks to Eric Hoffman.

* I greatly enjoyed seeing this Jay Lynch cartoon from 1971 featuring Chicago's then brand-new McCormick Place. I remember the building of that thing being a pretty big deal for the city.

* here's a preview of a forthcoming Jim Rugg show that instead of blacking out the naughty parts is pretty much all naughty parts.

* what if tens of thousands of people came to see your party but only 23 people chipped in for beer?

* Lucy Tobin muses on one university's establishment of a degree in comics.

* finally, the good folks at DanielClowes.com note the ebay-ing of a beautiful portrait of Enid Coleslaw.

posted 2:00 am PST | Permalink

Happy 87th Birthday, Carmine Infantino!

posted 1:00 am PST | Permalink

Happy 64th Birthday, Alan Zelenetz!

posted 1:00 am PST | Permalink

Happy 52nd Birthday, Wimbledon Green!

posted 1:00 am PST | Permalink

Manifesto Alert: Mark Andrew Smith

I love a good manifesto, but I prefer to read them with homemade pizza and locally brewed beer, so it may be a couple of days -- no reason you should have to wait

posted 12:00 am PST | Permalink

May 23, 2012

Not Comics: Gene Deitch On Working With Maurice Sendak

posted 7:05 am PST | Permalink

Go, Read: Scott Kurtz And Christopher Bird On Jack Kirby

Reliably outspoken cartoonist Scott Kurtz first; Christopher Bird in response.

I appreciate that Kurtz wrote on these issues even though I don't think I agree with a single thing he says. I appreciate that Bird responded, as I think he wrote everything I could have written much more effectively than I could have written it.

posted 7:00 am PST | Permalink

Time To Check Back In On Cartoon Utopia

posted 1:40 am PST | Permalink

This Isn't A Library: Notable Releases To The Comics Direct Market

Here are the books that make an impression on me staring at this week's no-doubt largely accurate list of books shipping from Diamond Comic Distributors, Inc. to comic book and hobby shops across North America.

I might not buy all of the works listed here. I might not buy any. You never know. I'd sure look at the following, though.

*****

MAR120026 DARK HORSE PRESENTS #12 KIETH CVR $7.99
MAR120027 DARK HORSE PRESENTS #12 MOTTER VAR CVR $7.99
I imagine that there's going to be a lot of commentary out there about the fact that this publication is dominated by 1980s-era superstars, including the return of the Baron/Rude Nexus serial. I don't think there's anything wrong with that at all, and in fact I think it's a strength of comics. I would of course love for comics-makers to find multiple, fruitful projects over the course of their careers, but mostly I want to be entertained by the comics that entertain me. I sure didn't think about the age of the cartoonists with most of the comics I enjoyed as a kid.

MAR120368 COMIC BOOK HISTORY OF COMICS GN $21.99I enjoyed this book, kind of a slightly snotty, anecdotal history of the comics industry told with a lot of energy. I think I wrote the introduction.

MAR120020 RESIDENT ALIEN #1 $3.50
MAR120149 BATMAN INCORPORATED #1 $2.99
MAR120364 GODZILLA ONGOING #1 $3.99
FEB120370 HERO COMICS 2012 $3.99
MAR120497 PROPHET #25 $2.99
MAR128165 SAGA #1 4TH PTG (MR) $2.99
MAR120623 ASTONISHING X-MEN #50 $3.99
MAR120584 CAPTAIN AMERICA #12 $3.99
MAR120597 FANTASTIC FOUR #606 $2.99
This is an extremely long list of mainstream and independent comics that I'd pick up and check out, doubly so consider I'm not hot after any of them. The Resident Alien seems to be part of a renwed Dark Horse effort to find some space for original content creation via serialized comics -- something I'd welcome if it locks into place. The Godzilla book makes me laugh by actually being called Godzilla Ongoing, and is sure to feature pretty monster art. The Hero Comics effort is a book for charity, and is bound to feature one or two jaw-droppers from a mature cartoonist not quite to the point of being a likely target for that charitable effort. The next two books are from the Image line, which is already doing what I think Dark Horse would like to see happen. The X-Men book features the wedding proposal of recent PR-driven industry story idiocy. The Captain America and Fantastic Four are core Marvel books by core Marvel writers.

FEB120054 ADVENTURES INTO THE UNKNOWN ARCHIVES HC VOL 01 $49.99
DEC110710 MMW ATLAS ERA JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY HC VOL 04 $64.99
DEC110711 MMW ATLAS ERA JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY HC VOL 04 DM VAR ED 180 $64.99
SEP110209 MAD ARCHIVES HC VOL 03 $59.99
NOV110991 STEVE DITKO ARCHIVES HC VOL 03 MYSTERIOUS TRAVELER $39.99
This week's books for people with far more spending money that I'll ever have. The belle of the ball is the last one -- concentrated, early, yet by this volume prime-time Steve Ditko. I know nothing about the MAD material, but it's MAD, so it gets a look. The first books is part of Dark Horse's pre-Code efforts and the second/third is from Marvel's ongoing efforts to reproduce 1950s material. I'd love to see it all, not sure anything other than the Steve Ditko would ever take up precious real estate on my bookshelves.

DEC111184 JUDGE DREDD CRUSADE TP $16.99
I have yet to take the plunge on the collections of 2000AD material, although I'm deeply grateful that stuff is out there and like everyone else I hope for the development of a North American market where this stuff could play a more vital role. This material always seems thwarted by size-of-audience and infrastructure issues far more than some kind of inability of British adventure comics to appeal to enough readers.

JAN121192 DUNGEON ZENITH SET VOL 1-3 $39.99
I really enjoy the Dungeon books NBM has been doing, although I wasn't aware they cost this much.

JAN121110 INTERIORAE TP $19.99
If you go to comics shops looking for unique voices doing beautifully-presented work, this is the one for you today.

MAR120665 MIGHTY THOR BY MATT FRACTION PREM HC VOL 02 $24.99
MAR120679 MIGHTY THOR BY MATT FRACTION TP VOL 01 $19.99
I put this down because I would take a look at it in the store as I've heard absolutely nothing about writer Matt Fraction's work with this character and he seems like a pretty reliable maker of this stuff, at least to me. I'd then buy the individual issues in dollar bins -- the old-time comics way of buying from Amazon.

DEC111299 LEAPING TALL BUILDINGS HC $35.00
The second of the two non-conventional wisdom comics histories this week, this one gets at the foundation of American comic books through profiles and photos of the perpetrators/survivors. I'm looking forward to seeing the final result.

*****

The full list of this week's releases, including some titles with multiple cover variations and a long, impressive list of toys and other stuff that isn't comics, can be found here. Despite this official list there's no guarantee a comic will show up in the stores as promised, or in all of the stores as opposed to just a few. Also, stores choose what they carry and don't carry so your shop may not carry a specific publication. There are a lot of comics out there.

To find your local comic book store, check this list; and for one I can personally recommend because I've shopped there, albeit a while back, try this.

The above titles are listed with their Diamond order code in the first field, which may assist you in finding comics at your shop or having them order something for you they don't have in-stock. Ordering through a direct market shop can be a frustrating experience, so if you have a direct line to something -- you know another shop has it, you know a bookstore has it -- I'd urge you to consider all of your options.

If I failed to list your comic, that's on me. I apologize.

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posted 1:35 am PST | Permalink

Go, Bookmark: AlphaBooks

posted 1:30 am PST | Permalink

Ernie Chan, RIP

Commentary and reaction around the Internet to the passing of the comics illustrator Ernie Chan (1940-2012).

*****

Institutional
* Entry At The Philippine Comics Art Museum
* Lambiek Entry
* Wikipedia Entry

Past Interviews, Profiles And Articles Of Interest

Audio
* The Comic Books 01
* The Comic Books 02

Blog Entries
* AIM Comics
* Black Gate
* Es La Hora De La Tortas
* Internet 451
* Invest Comics
* Mimi Cortazar
* My Comic Board Manners
* Ratchet's Hulk Collection
* Rip Jagger's Dojo
* Sean Taylor
* Steve Miller Reviews
* The Fellowship Of The Geeks
* The Incredible Hulk: Engine Of Destruction
* Ultimate Conan Fan
* Welcome To The Marvel 1980s

Message Boards
* Outcast Studios

Miscellaneous

News Stories and Columns
* Bleeding Cool
* Comics Should Be Good
* Komikero Dot Com

Photos
* Toronto Cartoonists Workshop Gallery

Twitter
* Search On Terms Ernie Chan

Video

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posted 1:25 am PST | Permalink

If I Were In Toronto, I'd Go To This

posted 1:20 am PST | Permalink

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