Random Comics News Story Round-Up

* as long as they're not from 23-year-olds trying to impersonate Hunter Thompson, my favorite con reports are personal meditations on the whole experience with a heavy dose of alienation mixed in for good measure. Ladies and gentlemen: Mathew Maxwell -- 1, 2, 3.

* here's a link to all the various videos and trailers like the Mattotti one yesterday; I knew it was some sort of movie project and that it had been around a lot of places, I just couldn't remember what it was or where it was.

* the release of RASL, Jeff Smith's self-publishing follow-up to his mega-successful Bone series, has brought with it a battery of interviews and press coverage. One of the more high-profile pieces is this New York interview, which is accompanied by this exclusive preview. We're also starting to see reviews of the first issue: Jog, Don MacPherson and Sean Kleefeld. One thing that I think worth noting: Jeff Smith isn't debuting a graphic novel but a comic book, and to have press focus on that kind of release is becoming a rarer and rarer thing.

* it's sort of surprising that a lot more people haven't done this kind of thing: David P. Welsh describes how he buys his comics in terms of what he buys where. Given the multiple options available to comics readers these days, I think that's a very important thing to discuss. I know that my own comics buying changed forever for the good when about 18 years ago I stopped buying at the comics shop every week, cut the amount I spent every week in half, began depositing that amount in a no-cost checking account, took six weeks off, and then started buying from multiple sources. I recommend that strategy to everyone. I saved money and had more comics I liked and wanted to keep. There's an argument to be made that one thing that's kept a number of people from becoming lifelong comics readers is that the mode of purchase which they're most encouraged to pursue by several agencies may lead in many cases to dissatisfaction and burnout.

* the letterer Todd Klein has announced a sales date for the second printing of the Alphabets of Desire print.

* the critic Don MacPherson writes about the newer Brian Bendis comics as compared to the old one. I'm not as up on the later comics as I am on the earlier ones, but MacPherson's assessment suggests that Bendis may be making certain stylistic choices that stand in opposition to some of the comics by which he made his name. I find that kind of thing fascinating, actually, and I don't think I've ever seen a writer with Bendis' skill set completely seize on how to do "big screen" fight-scene driven comics of the kind that Marvel used to surge into its market lead the 25 years ago.

* just about the only thing missing from the various reminiscences of Steve Gerber was one from someone who knew him growing up. This fine, slightly mournful piece that ran on STLtoday.com fills that void.

* I enjoyed this appearance by David Lasky in a brochure (PDF) about Seattle artists and how awesome Seattle is for artists.

* here's what looks like this year's essential piece of comics criticism.

* the writer Chris Butcher ends his long series of photo-stuffed travel posts on a 2007 trip to Japan. Butcher has a great eye for comics retail, so there's a bunch of material in the series showing how various retail establishment rack and display their comics. Here's a link to the whole series.

* another article on the cartoons a man has claimed were done by Adolf Hitler. The problem with the story, to my eyes, is that Hitler wasn't a skilled enough artist to do the cartoons claimed for him. Most of his work was really crude; these look like a professional animator did them.

* Anime News Network confirms the cancellation of the anthology Dengeki Comic Gao!. The magazine ran for 15 years.

* here's a follow-up interview to that story that PWCW ran about Diamond's move into the remaindered books business.

* mediabistro.com blogger Ron Hogan shares a brutally negative assessment from a literary agent/reader of his blog concerning the importance of the various on-line initiatives of the Reed Business Information properties that as a group are up for sale.

* this New York Times article has an interesting perspective on the use of a comic book as a textbook to teach German kids about the Holocaust. Instead of the initial articles about objections that concentrated on comics' suitability to convey the amount of information necessary to grapple with the subject matter, and the potential vulgarization of the topic, this piece talks about the comic as an aid for students to talk about that historical event in light of years of what sound like dysfunctional talks and lectures in German schools.

* finally, if you're already signed up with the Fantagraphics web site or can be persuaded to do so, you should check out this preview of Jessica Farm, Vol. 1. The self-published version of Josh Simmons' comic was extremely affecting.
 
posted 8:30 am PST | Permalink
 

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