Four Realities

Jerry Robinson, R.I.P.

2011-12-08T19:22:00.000-05:00

Sorry to hear about the passing of Jerry Robinson. I enjoyed meeting him at a local convention four years ago, and got to thank him for his book COMICS: AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF COMIC STRIP ART, which I used to take out of the library all the time back in the 1970s, as well as the early Batman comics with Bill Finger and Bob Kane, including a role in the creation of such essential early concepts as Robin and the Joker.

I also always enjoyed this rather oddball pin-up he did for SUPERMAN #400 [1984].

Sugar&Spike - Photo Finish

2011-09-14T07:01:00.000-04:00

The Chronicles of Sheldon Mayer's Sugar & Spike

Photo Finish
Sugar & Spike #2 [1956]
6 pages
Reprints: Sugar & Spike #96 [1971], The Best of DC #47 [1984], The Sugar And Spike Archives #1 [2011]

Yes, that's right, the long-awaited reprint of Sheldon Mayer's classic should be in comic stores today, and no doubt shipping from other sources soon after. If requesting it from a comic store that doesn't have it in stock, tell them to use order code JAN110334, use ISBN-10 1401231128 or ISBN-13 978-1401231125 for other sources.

Among many highlights of the book will be this story from the second issue, where Sugar's mother hires a photographer to get a decent photograph of her alone and not crying. You see, a traumatic early incident with a joke camera has left Sugar with a fear of cameras, which is only abated by the presence of Spike making funny faces. Spike hears the fuss and comes to Sugar's rescue, and various misunderstandings occur until the photographer finally manages to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

A great little story, one of the best of the over 400 Sugar & Spike stories Mayer wrote and drew (and may we one day have a whole shelf with books collecting every single one of them). Mayer was especially on his game with the body language in this story, in that page above I especially like Sugar lecturing the photographer for daring to pull a camera on her, her affection towards the photos of Spike and her excitement at him coming to the rescue.

Characters: Sugar, Spike, Mrs. Plumm, A. Shutter, cousin Alvin (flashback)
Damage: various photography equipment, Mr. Shutter's nerves
Sugar's treatment of Spike: Extremely affectionate, for once

IZNOGOUD par Goscinny et Tabary

2011-09-13T22:27:00.002-04:00

IZNOGOUD is a long-running comedy series created by René Goscinny and Jean Tabary, published in France beginning in the 1960s, continued by them until Goscinny's death in 1977 and then handled by Tabary solo. I'd heard about it some twenty years ago, and being a fan of Goscinny through ASTERIX (avec Uderzo) and LE PETIT NICHOLAS (avec Sempé) I was curious, but apparently at that point there was nothing readily available in English. It was only after Tabary's recent passing that I found out British publisher Cinebook had been publishing English editions of IZNOGOUD since 2008, with eight books in print. I decided to try the first three, despite the fact that I wasn't that impressed with my most recent foray into reading old Goscinny as an adult, a few volumes of LUCKY LUKE (avec Morris). I ended up liking this a lot more. It's no ASTERIX, but then asking anything to be as good as a series I fell in love with over 30 years ago is a tall order.

Iznogoud is the star of the series, the evil Grand Vizier of Baghdad in some vague non-historical "Arabian Nights" period (and all the cliches that entails, including genies and flying carpets), serving a good-hearted Caliph. Apparently the series actually began starring the Caliph, but soon after Iznogoud emerged as the star with his schemes of taking power, or as he constantly says "I want to be the Caliph instead of the Caliph". The only other regular character so far is Iznogoud's aide Wa'at Alahf, who often tries to talk Iznogoud out of his schemes, but reluctantly goes along, usually hindering as much as helping.

Unlike ASTERIX and LUCKY LUKE, each book contains several short stories, most of them 8-10 pages, with one 20-page epic in the third book (apparently in the post-Goscinny period there were longer stories). All of them involve Iznogoud coming up with some elaborate scheme to take power (up to and including plots to assassinate the Caliph), with everything constantly backfiring on him, despite the fact that he has the Caliph's full trust (as apparently the only person in Baghdad who doesn't know about Iznogoud's desire to be Caliph). I suppose the repetition could get tiresome after a while, but it's still fresh after these fourteen stories (which aren't published in any particular order, and range from at least 1963 to 1972 based on the signatures), with endless variations on the theme, including time machines, magic frogs, election fraud and trips to the desert, the beach and the ocean. I especially like the plan to leave the Caliph to die of thirst in the desert in the first book, which has a lot of unexpected turns, and the story in the third book where Iznogoud finds an obscure law which allows anyone to challenge the Caliph to a fight, which has a great twist.

The books aren't perfect, of course, especially if you aren't that fond of puns, and of course the unfortunate bits of racism you see in a lot of old comics (seriously, some of that stuff was acceptable even into the early 1970s?). But there's a lot to recommend them, and Tabary's art is especially good, coming pretty close to matching Uderzo in his prime. I think I'll probably get at least a few more of the books.

Sugar&Spike - Horse Sense

2011-09-11T22:58:00.000-04:00

The Chronicles of Sheldon Mayer's Sugar & Spike

Horse Sense
Sugar & Spike #9 [1957]
4 pages
Reprints: Coming soon...
Dedication: Dana Brown (age 9), Idaho

The Wilsons take the kids to an amusement park, even though Mrs. Wilson isn't sure they're old enough even for the "kiddy section". Of course the kids manage to get loose, and soon find a baby pony. Of course, it being a baby means they can talk to it, since baby-talk is the same for all species, and the three of them go off on a little adventure around the park, which ends up being quite costly for the Wilsons. That'll teach 'em to pay more attention when taking care of the kids.

Cute little story, I especially liked the presence of a lot of one-shot people (and animals), which gave Mayer a chance to show off some of his other cartooning skills.

Characters: Sugar, Spike, Mr. Wilson, Mrs. Wilson, a pony, various park employees and visitors

"Boy! I wish my mommy was a baby pony! She doesn't understand a word I say!"

FEYNMAN by Ottaviani&Myrick

2011-09-06T18:55:00.000-04:00

FEYNMAN
Jim Ottaviani & Leland Myrick

Jim Ottaviani has been doing comics about science and scientists for over a decade now, with various artists and mostly published through his own GT Labs imprint. I've been reading them for almost as long as he's been publishing them, and they've been consistently entertaining and educational. And none more for me than the sections in TWO-FISTED SCIENCE [1997] that dealt with physicist Richard Feynman. Those stories led me to read several of Feynman's own books, which were a delight and which I've gone back to many times over the years.

So I was more than a little excited to learn, at the 2010 Toronto Comic Arts Festival, that he was working on a new full length comic book biography of Feynman with artist Leland Myrick, to be published as a full-colour hardcover by First Second. The pages I saw at the time looked really good, and when the book was formally announced it was right up there on my list of most anticipated books of 2011. Fortunately I ended up waiting significantly less time for it than I expected, as Ottaviani had advance copies at the 2011 TCAF a few months ago, and I was fortunate enough to win one. The book is now in general release, and I highly recommend it, both to those new to Feynman and those who are already familiar with his history.

For those who are new to him, Richard Feynman (1918-1988) was a physicist who worked on the atomic bomb in the 1940s, won a Nobel Prize in the 1960s and played a key role in the investigation of the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster in the 1980s. He also led a colourful life outside of those highlights, and was able to tell his stories in an engaging irreverent and eccentric style. Ottaviani adapted several of the stories, mostly dealing with the 1940s, in TWO-FISTED SCIENCE. This longer work allows him to expand on those stories and add a lot more, building up a fuller picture of Feynman's life.

Even with 272 pages, Feynman's adventures were numerous and varied enough that Ottaviani can only hit the highlights, but he does a good job of picking the stories, giving enough of the context and letting Feynman's own words tell the story with the artwork. In addition to the science, there are stories of Feynman growing up, falling in love, losing his first wife, his friendships, the politics of the various situations he found himself in (from the secrecy of the atom bomb research days to his life in academia to the Space Shuttle investigation). For those who never heard these stories before, there's enough to be satisfying and extensive notes pointing out where you can find out more, and for those who have heard them before it's a nice refresher to see them in a new context. In particular the stories really come to life with Myrick's artwork, which is expressive and gives a nice feeling of the various times and locations.

I will admit that, twenty years removed from my last math/physics classes (and having used very little of that stuff in the interim), I found the brief parts of the books that deal with the actual details of Feynman's research a bit rough going, especially the first time through the book. However, the book answers that problem through some advice that Feynman gave to his younger sister.

And indeed I picked up a bit more the second time through, and maybe someday I'll understand it all. Anyway, you don't need to have any aptitude for the physics to appreciate the bulk of the book, and even those brief bits where you do there's some visually interesting stuff to pick up each time through.

The publisher has a long excerpt of the book and more information over here.

Sugar&Spike - Thumbs Up!

2011-09-05T22:23:00.000-04:00

The Chronicles of Sheldon Mayer's Sugar & Spike

Thumbs Up!
Sugar & Spike #1 [1956]
2 pages
Reprints: Sugar & Spike No. 1 Replica Edition [2002], upcoming Archive

A little taste of what you'll see in the upcoming SUGAR AND SPIKE ARCHIVES, the second story from the first issue. Kind of an interesting look at Mayer's technique, as the basic gag of this story is the same as that used in the cover to this issue. With three times as much room to play with it, Mayer adds some nice visual bits, including the kids playing in the trashcan in the park, and also makes a lot more hay out of Spike's incredulity that Sugar was able to find a new and painless way of scamming some candy from her mother.

Characters: Sugar, Spike, Mrs. Plumm, Mrs. Wilson, Mr. Wilson
Damage: Not much, maybe Spike's pride and his faith in the power of books...

"They kept pulling my thumb outa my mouth, so naturally, I kept putting it back in!"
"Naturally!"

Sugar&Spike - Speech Lessons

2011-09-04T18:17:00.000-04:00

The Chronicles of Sheldon Mayer's Sugar & Spike

Speech Lessons
Sugar & Spike #8 [1957]
6 pages
Reprints: None (yet)
Dedication: Wayne Posz (age 8), Indiana

A classic look at the eternal failure to communicate theme that the series featured, this time the kids put some clues together and realize that their parents don't actually understand their baby-talk. Naturally their solution is to try to teach them, starting with the easiest word they know, "GLX", meaning "Hello". When that doesn't have the result they expect, they attempt to reconcile the various reactions they get to the word to figure out what it means in grown-up talk, but their perfectly logical conclusions only get them in more hot water.

Lurvly story, especially the baby logic, and some wonderful expressions on the kids. This also features one of my favourite S&S scenes ever, a bit where Spike helps Sugar escape from her playpen "prison", only to wind up in it himself, with the final reveal that they can just lift it up and get out anytime. Throwaway bit that isn't even referred to in the dialogue, just a cute visual to enjoy on a second level to the main plot.

Characters: Sugar, Spike, Mrs. Wilson, brush salesman, various neighbours
Damage: Many, many dishes, a fruit bowl and a plant
Punishment: a sentence in the "pokey" (a playpen) and various trips to the corner

"I think that when we're talking good, clear baby-talk to them, they think we're just making silly noises that don't mean anything!"

Sugar&Spike - Archive imminent

2011-09-03T18:12:00.001-04:00

Just a quick reminder that Sheldon Mayer's SUGAR AND SPIKE ARCHIVES Vol. 1 is on the way from DC, probably with a cover looking like the one to the right. September 14 is the currently advertised date for it to be available in comic stores, which can probably still order a copy for you using order code JAN110334. Other retailers should have it around then as well, use ISBN-10 1401231128 or ISBN-13 978-1401231125.

You can find a listing of previous posts about the series over here, in particular these entries on stories which will be in the upcoming book:

Sugar & Spike #1 [1956] - Busy Corners
Sugar & Spike #6 [1957] - Winter Sunday
Sugar & Spike #6 [1957] - Cats? Meowch!
Sugar & Spike #8 [1957] - Trip to the Zoo
Sugar & Spike #9 [1957] - The Fix-It Machine
Sugar & Spike #10 [1957] - The Big Word Mystery
Sugar & Spike #10 [1957] - Beach Nuts

GNATRAT LIVES [2011] by Mark Martin

2011-08-30T20:54:00.002-04:00

You kids might not remember, but back in the mid-to-late 1980s there was a boom in the direct sales comic book market of black and white parody books, mostly attributable to the phenomenal success of the Laird and Eastman's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. As you'd expect, the boom quickly led to a glut, with a lot of books of at best marginal quality crowding out anything with merit, and that led to a bust.

I missed seeing most of that first-hand, only getting back into comics around the time of the bust. But I heard the tales, and in those tales one of the things you would hear is that among the books of the boom times one that did have merit was Mark Martin's Gnatrat. Certainly Martin's other work made that easy to believe, so eventually I tracked down:

GNATRAT - THE DARK GNAT RETURNS [1986]
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, GNATRAT [1986]
DARERAT [1987]
THE ULTIMATE GNATRAT [1990] (collecting the above three with a lot of new pages, including the ending and a comic explaining the boom/glut/bust from Martin's perspective)
GNATRAT - THE MOVIE [1990]

Five publications from five different publishers. As you can tell by the covers, the series is largely a Batman parody, with particular emphasis on Frank Miller's work, especially in the first book, and some of Miller's Daredevil/Elektra later, and the first Tim Burton directed Batman movie in the final comic.

Anyway, all that is prelude to mentioning that, after two decades, Mark Martin returns ~~from his Nascar career~~ to his roots with the self-published Kickstarter supported one-shot GNATRAT LIVES (available now directly from Martin). This is a full-sized 48-page comic which includes the 24-page "Gnatrat Lives" story and the 24-page "Buddy Cop Comix", which is Martin's variation on a 24-hour comic (in this case 24 1-hour pages done over a few days). With the covers that comes to 51-pages of Mark Martin in all.

The Gnatrat story picks up directly from the ending that appeared in THE ULTIMATE GNATRAT book, and is an enjoyable romp in the classic Gnatrat vein, with Martin's detailed artwork (which can probably be described as Walt Kelly crossed with Harvey Kurtzman, with a big injection of Ed "Big Daddy" Roth). In a clever move, the Kickstarter supporters of the book are listed in a four page sequence where each gets a minor character, each with a unique Mark Martin design, named after them, which really shows off Martin's skills.

The "Buddy Cop Comix" story has a much looser version of Martin's style, as you'd expect from a 24-hour comic, but it's also a fun little story, playing off all sorts of variations of the "buddy cop" formula, including parodies of MEN IN BLACK, X-FILES, ROBOCOP, TURNER AND HOOTCH, THE ODD COUPLE (via one of the TV leads other roles) and others. Also very enjoyable, with a lot of quick twists and clever connections and callbacks.

So two very fun full-length stories, well worth picking up a copy here.

[update, since I wrote this review Martin has announced publishing plans for the remainder of the story and other new material, plus another chance to be a character in the story. See the link for details]

Upcoming Comics - BROOKLYN DREAMS by DeMatteis&Barr

2011-08-28T01:39:00.000-04:00

Despite the fact that I already own the book in its two prior formats, the original 4-volume serialization from 1995 and single volume 2003 softcover both from DC's Paradox Press in their digest format, I'm very tempted by the upcoming hardcover edition of BROOKLYN DREAMS by J.M. DeMatteis and Glenn Barr coming out from IDW in a few months. It's an enormously entertaining book that definitely stands up to and rewards multiple readings, and I'm sure I'll want to revisit it many times in the next few decades, so the more durable binding will be nice. And if that 6.625” x 10.187” trim size is correct, this will be considerably larger than the extant editions, which will make it much easier to read the tiny lettering and appreciate Barr's artwork.

Brooklyn Dreams HC
J.M. DeMatteis & Glenn Barr

The complete critically acclaimed saga is re-collected in hardcover for this collection of J.M. DeMatteis and Glenn Barr's Brooklyn Dreams. Celebrated by fans and critics alike, and long out of print, don't miss this chance to own a book that many say will change your life.
$39.99 384 pages 6.625” x 10.187”

EC - Pirate Gold (Kurtzman)

2011-08-07T22:15:00.001-04:00

Back when I used to post more frequently on this weblog, a regular feature was a series of posts about the EC comics of the 1950s. A listing of those posts is over here (though it looks like some of the image links are broken). Anyway, with the recent news that we're finally going to get a series of EC reprints I can really get behind, creator/genre themed rather than full issue reprints, I thought I might restart them, and see how far I can get before the new reprints start.

Pirate Gold
by Harvey Kurtzman
Two-Fisted Tales #20[#3] (1951)

The first book that the new reprint series will be rolling out will be devoted to Harvey Kurtzman's stories for TWO-FISTED TALES and FRONTLINE COMBAT, specifically those he wrote and drew himself and those drawn artists other than his regulars like Jack Davis, Wallace Wood and John Severin (usually with Will Elder), who will get their own books. That includes this Kurtzman solo story, "Pirate Gold", an historical adventure set around 1800 about a man found drifting at sea, with only vague memories of who is. Eventually, with great anger and violence he puts it all together and jogs his memory, and heads out in search of vengeance and treasure.

Still very early Kurtzman, I'd say he hadn't quite found his voice yet (and in TWO-FISTED would really find it when doing war stories rather than adventure yarns like this). His art has advanced beyond his writing at this point, especially the layouts which have a few clever bits.

In retrospect, maybe not funny in quite the way it was intended...

2011-08-04T18:44:00.002-04:00

Recently been taking advantage of the high Canadian dollar and some sales to try to pick up most of the back-issues I'm interested in. Among other things, I've managed to finish my run of the Giffen, DeMatteis & Co. Justice League run from 1987 to 1992 (with returns in 1998, 2003 and 2005, and one more later this month), including all the side-bits (Annuals, the Quarterly series, etc.). Comes to about 120 comics in all (plus I tossed in a few things like INVASION, some SECRET ORIGINS stuff and more). About a third of this stuff is new to me in my current (re-)reading, and I'm mostly enjoying it, at about the half-way mark now.

One new bit to me which reads kind of odd in retrospect, this bit from JUSTICE LEAGUE AMERICA #35.

Boy, that Beetle sure was a lousy judge of character...

(spoiler alert)

Upcoming Comics - Barks Duck comics

2011-08-01T21:00:00.002-04:00

The latest iteration of the Carl Barks created Duck comics for Disney is in a line of hardcovers that are going to be published by Fantagraphics. Looks pretty good, I look forward to checking them out.

(update: and look here for an updated cover design and some sample pages to see what the colouring will look like).

Walt Disney's Donald Duck Vol. 01: Lost in the Andes HC
by Carl Barks

The first volume in a series of affordable, full-color hardcovers collecting the complete works of 'the Good Duck Artist'! Carl Barks' Donald Duck and Uncle Scrooge comics are considered among the greatest and most timeless artistic and storytelling achievements in the history of the medium. Yet until now, his works have only been reprinted in random comic book iterations or high-end collectors' editions. For the first time, read the complete works of one of the medium's greatest artists in affordably priced hardcover volumes perfect for parents and children alike, meticulously restored and recolored to ensure the very best reproduction Barks' work has ever received. Barks began drawing the comic book adventures of Donald Duck in 1942, and he continued for the next 30 years, creating some of the most memorable comics and characters ever put to page. This first volume contains over 200 pages of vintage Barks from 1948-1950, including the title story Lost in the Andes, Barks' personal favorite, wherein Doanld and his nephews embark on a Peruvian expedition to solve the mystery of where square eggs come from. Also featured are the Golden Christmas Tree, Race to the South Seas, and Voodoo Hoodoo, as well as over a dozen other strips and stories. Lost in the Andes also features an introduction by noted Barks scholar Donald Ault, and detailed commentary/annotations for each story at the end of the book, written by the foremost Barks authorities in the world.

Upcoming Comics - Tezuka's PRINCESS KNIGHT

2011-07-31T22:46:00.000-04:00

Another Osamu Tezuka book on the schedule from Vertical in October, this time the very attractive 1950s work PRINCESS KNIGHT. Should be a quite a contrast with some of the bizarre 1970s material they've been publishing, like the imminent BOOK OF HUMAN INSECTS. Second volume follows quickly in December.

TEZUKA'S PRINCESS KNIGHT VOLUME 1 GN
by Osamu Tezuka
Set in a medieval fairy-tale backdrop, Princess Knight is the tale of a young princess named Sapphire who must pretend to be a male prince so she can inherit the throne. Women have long been prevented from taking the throne, but Sapphire is not discouraged and instead she fully accepts the role, becoming a dashing hero(ine) that the populous is proud of. The playful cartooning style is comparable to that of Disney, à la Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Considered by many as one of the first major shojo works, and one from the godfather of manga, Princess Knight has been long considered one of Tezuka's most popular works worldwide.
Softcover, 5x8, 384pgs, B&W $13.95

On the legal news of the day...

2011-07-29T20:28:00.002-04:00

And you can't find it either in the no-talent fools
That run around gallant
And make all rules for the ones that got talent
And it ain't in the ones that ain't got any talent but think they do
And think they're foolin' you

Bob Dylan, Last Thoughts On Woody Guthrie, 1963

Well, not good news on the legal front, as a judge handed down a summary ruling siding against the Jack Kirby heirs in their attempt to terminate the transfer of copyright on the characters Kirby created between 1958 and 1963 that were published by Marvel, including The Fantastic Four, Thor and Hulk. I don't have any legal expertise, so I don't pretend to understand all the legal issues involved, and my bias on the case is probably obvious. I imagine there'll be some type of appeal, which may reverse the whole thing, or at least let it get a full hearing in front of a jury. Despite what some people may say about judges dealing in facts, they very much do deal in opinion, they just happen to be opinions backed by the force of law. And as successful appeals and split Supreme Court verdicts repeatedly demonstrate, judges given the exact same evidence can come up with polar opposite decisions.

But there's no question that the latest decision, like many prior ones for similar cases, raises the hurdle for the side I favour in this case, and it may well be that the law as written isn't on the side of creator rights (from what I've read in the decision, this judge seems to think that, absent any supporting written contracts from the period, the onus should be on the Kirby estate to prove that the work was not work-for-hire as then defined, not on Marvel to prove that it was). Sometimes, as a Mr. Dickens once wrote, "the law is a ass". And as young Mr. Dylan observed almost fifty years ago, at the tail end of the period in question, it's the no-talent fools who make rules for the ones that got talent. And as for "ones that ain't got any talent but think they do", well, 'nuff said.

Upcoming Comics - Dorkin's MILK & CHEESE

2011-07-28T17:46:00.002-04:00

Pleasant surprise that Evan Dorkin is coming out with a comprehensive 240-page hardcover collection of his MILK & CHEESE series late this year from Dark Horse. A great comic, one of my favourites of the 1990s, and it would be up there in the top 10 list of reprints for this already crowded with quality year, even before you get to all the great extras (see below) and the bargain $20 price. Ordering code through comic stores is AUG110049.

Dorkin has some notes on what's going to be included over here. Key bits:

- The book will feature over 80 pages of comics that have not been collected before.
- There will be a 24-pg color section featuring all the color M&C strips, a cover gallery, pin-ups, merchandise art, trading cards, etc.
- There will also be a 24-pg B&W supplemental section featuring pin-ups, t-shirt designs, and other art, etc.
- The book will include the rare 1997 M&C Special Edition 16-pg mini-comic featuring the expanded "Darth Vader Overdrive" strip and extras.

Upcoming Comics - Creator-themed EC collections

2011-07-28T14:51:00.001-04:00

One of the best major publishing announcements in a while, Fantagraphics has announced that beginning next year they'll be publishing collections of the classic 1950s EC comics, with black and white hardcover collections with stories selected based on the creators, and then further subdivided by genre. The usual collection strategy for EC up to now has been to reprint the books by title, and for me this is a welcome change. This is as close to my ideal EC reprint line as I could realistically expect.

The first four books announced are collections of Kurtzman written war stories (those he drew himself and a few drawn by non-regular EC artists like Gene Colan, Joe Kubert, Russ Heath, Alex Toth and Ric Estrada), Wallace Wood's suspense stories, Jack Davis's horror stories and Al Williamson's science fiction and fantasy stories. A great mix, with four great creators (plus a sampling of some other big names in the Kurtzman book) and hitting all the major genres as well. I'll definitely get all of those, and look forward to the future books (especially the Graham Ingels books). At the size these books are, there's enough material for about 40 to 50 volumes, a good solid decade of publishing.

TEEN ANGELS & NEW MUTANTS by Stephen R. Bissette

2011-07-26T21:41:00.005-04:00

TEEN ANGELS & NEW MUTANTS is a recently published book by Stephen R. Bissette which examines in depth (as in 400 pages in depth) the early 1990s series BRAT PACK by Rick Veitch and later related works in Veitch's "King Hell Heroica" (which I discussed briefly over here after re-reading a few months ago prior to reading TEEN ANGELS). The book began as a supplemental essay to appear in a planned but unrealized deluxe edition of BRAT PACK, but grew far beyond that as an independent publication.

Bissette places BRAT PACK in the middle of a web of historical contexts, tracing the strands further back than you'd expect, into some dark recesses of pop culture and history, and also tracing them forward into the present day and the types of work that have followed, either directly or as independent spawns of the zeitgeist it reflected. Bissette is probably uniquely qualified to author such a study, with an encyclopaedic knowledge of the key aspects of pop culture threads (in particular exploitation cinema and comic book history) and a first-hand knowledge of the personal threads, thanks to his long personal and professional connections with Veitch. That connection comes in especially useful in the most interesting aspect of the book to me, the long gestation and evolution period for the book, in particular a look at the initial proposals for the series and negotiations for it to be published by DC.

Overall it's a very enjoyable book for anyone interested in comics history, whether they've read BRAT PACK or not (though you definitely should). It's a fascinating read which will add dozens of movies and books to your list of what to watch and read and might make you look at some old favourites in a different light.

(for those who haven't read BRAT PACK, or need a refresher, an appendix helpfully supplies a synopsis of it and the rest of the Heroica, including notes on changes made between the original serialization and the subsequent collections. You can also download a free PDF of the first issue here)

As you'd expect if you've read BRAT PACK, one of the major strands to trace involves comic book history, in particular the history of the teen side-kick in comics. Bissette goes into that in depth, including several characters even I've never heard of before (some of whom, fortunately, are in the public domain so I should be able to check out a sample of their adventures when I have the time). The other major aspect of comic book history that Bissette explores is the controversy in 1950s comics embodied by Fredric Wertham and leading the the self-censoring of the industry via the Comics Code. Bissette looks at the full range of Wertham's writing, both before and after his most famous work SEDUCTION OF THE INNOCENT, and presents an even-handed assessment of the Wertham's methodology, aims and conclusions that you don't always get from a more casual look at comics history.

In addition to comics history, the book also looks at the wider evolution of the teenager in pop culture iconography in the 20th century, with an emphasis on cinema. As you'd expect if you're familiar with Bissette's film writing, he doesn't restrict himself to the Hollywood mainstream (although that's all thoroughly covered), but includes key examples from international and underground works as well, examining key breakthroughs in those areas and how they paved the way for later mainstream exploitation of the same themes. There are also similar examinations of key works in prose, and most surprisingly to me were the extensive notes on the pop music industry and how the use and exploitation of teen and younger celebrities in that field echo the aspects of comic book culture that Veitch was parodying in BRAT PACK.

To me, the most fascinating thread that Bissette follows is the personal one, tracing Veitch's own journey in comics and how it informed the eventual creation of the "Heroica". As Bissette explains, Veitch has had a unique career trajectory which has very much made him a nexus of many of the key events in comic book history for the last few decades, with work in the undergrounds, breaking into the mainstream while one of the students in the first class of Joe Kubert's school, working on some of the first fully creator-owned books published by Marvel, then as one of the key creators in the innovative DC books of the 1980s which led to the creation of Vertigo, and then in the 1990s having a variety of roles in things like Tundra, the self-publishing movement and more. Bissette was, of course, alongside Veitch for many of these events, either as an active participant or an observer, so he can speak about them as an insider, adding a lot of colour and detail to the events. Especially interesting is the look at the evolution of BRAT PACK, thanks to Bissette's examination of some early proposals and documents in the negotiations which almost led to it being published by DC's Piranha Press imprint. Of course Veitch's later problems with DC made that arrangement impossible, and very much informed how the series changed from those proposals.

Bissette absolutely makes the case for BRAT PACK as a major (and unfortunately under-rated) work, and uses it as a hook to examine many other interesting aspects of pop culture. Hopefully this will be only the first of many books of comic book history and criticism that he publishes.

(Bissette also has a helpful page of supplemental information, ordering info, reviews and comments on the book over here)

Upcoming Comics - Zulli's FRACTURE

2011-06-24T15:55:00.002-04:00

Hopefully this time for sure, Michael Zulli's THE FRACTURE OF THE UNIVERSAL BOY is set to come out from Eidolon Fine Arts. From the sounds of it this edition will be quite a step up in production quality from the previously solicited version, well worth the modest increase in price. Been looking forward to this one for a long time. First I've heard it's part of a trilogy...

If ordering from a comic shop, the Diamond order code is JUL111105. The ISBN is 9780983513803, though it doesn't seem to show up on the listings of the major booksellers yet, but should soon.

THE FRACTURE OF THE UNIVERSAL BOY

After twenty odd years making art and comics, Zulli believes that there are universal truths to be found amid the struggle and calling to make art, and indeed, to life itself. Often brutal, sometimes a bit funny, and always surreal as it examines life from a different perspective, The Fracture of the Universal Boy is Zulli's personal reflection on love, life and art; and both the damage done and the possibility of transcending even the most dire and difficult of times. Part one of a three graphic novel set called The Dream Suite, Zulli's The Fracture of the Universal Boy is the beginning of a journey we all take in one way or another."

Gene Colan, R.I.P.

2011-06-24T02:53:00.000-04:00

Comic book artist Gene Colan has passed away. Mark Evanier has some initial thoughts here.

I probably saw a handful of Colan stories in the 1970s, but being more of a DC reader at the time it was really when he switched over to DC in 1981 that I really noticed him, with some great work in BATMAN, the PHANTOM ZONE mini-series he did with Steve Gerber and then the new creation NIGHT FORCE that he did with Marv Wolfman. Later I would go back and find his earlier work, especially with some of those same writers, in HOWARD THE DUCK with Gerber and TOMB OF DRACULA with Wolfman. And that's just scratching the surface, of course. He did some extraordinary work over the years, in war comics, horror comics and many other super-hero features including Daredevil and Iron Man.

So, a few more images from his career, in the solid black&white as they always look best, regardless of how they were first published.

Lew Sayre Schwartz, R.I.P.

2011-06-20T18:28:00.004-04:00

Mark Evanier reports the passing of artist Lew Sayre Schwartz.

Schwartz was one of the primary ghost artists drawing Batman comics for Bob Kane for several years in the golden age. That work was all anonymous at the time, but fortunately in more recent years his work in those stories has been recognized both in the credits of reprints from DC (with varying amounts of accuracy) and in the fan press, most notably with interviews in EDDIE CAMPBELL'S EGOMANIA #1 [2002] (more by Campbell on Schwartz over here) and ALTER EGO #51 [2005].

Schwartz panel from DETECTIVE #193, drawing himself on the right of the panel, as identified and printed in EGOMANIA #1

1993 recreation of BATMAN #75 by Schwartz, as published on the cover of ALTER EGO #51

Linkses, and a few words of mostly disinterest in the DC shuffle

2011-06-16T01:04:00.002-04:00

Jim Lawson is posting his dinosaur comic PALEO: LONER (a continuation of the 8-issue series he previously published).

Speaking of thunder lizards, a Tyrant illustration used as a beer label by Steve Bissette.

Evan Dorkin draws J. Jonah Jameson in the original Spider-Slayer robot.

Tell Donna Barr how you're going to die, and she'll draw it for you.

Comic book sales for May 2011, not too surprisingly, down. Seems like a good time for a reboot. As you've probably read everywhere else by now, DC is releasing 52 first issues in September. The only one of the books I'd consider getting in the serialized version, if I was going to a comic shop on any regular basis, is the new Superman series written by George Perez, mostly from a two-decade old affection for his work on Wonder Woman, and my interest is tempered down more than slightly by the costume redesign, which seems very inelegant compared to the classic version. I suppose if I hear really good things I might pick up a collection down the line. A few of the other books I might check out if my local library gets copies of the collections, but many of them I don't know if I'd read even if they're free.

A lot has been made about the almost complete lack of any female creators in the line, which is definitely a problem. One other thing that sticks out, as far as I can tell only one of the 52 books is being written or drawn by anyone who had a hand in creating the character or concept (RESURRECTION MAN written by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning, who I believe co-created the character, and not counting the occasional member of a team book who may have been created by the current writer or artist). Obviously for most of the classic characters the creators are deceased or retired, but there are a few more modern characters whose creators are still active, and I guess it just seems a bit sad that in 52 books they didn't find room for at least one brand new concept. I guess such a thing would be a hard sell in the current market, and almost sure to be among the group of the titles to open with weak sales and swift cancellation.

More importantly, though, SHOWCASE PRESENTS GHOSTS VOLUME 1!

Upcoming Comics - The Bible by Mayer&Co

2011-06-13T19:04:00.001-04:00

I should get around to posting about stuff that actually came out that I've read someday. There's some good stuff. Until then...

Here's something I wasn't expecting. A hardcover reprint of the 1975 book of Old Testament stories by Sheldon Mayer, Nester Redondo and Joe Kubert, published by DC in their old tabloid format. I wonder if someone saw the sales on Robert Crumb's GENESIS and figured if they could get even a fraction of that it would be worthwhile. Anyway, enjoyable comic, definitely worth a look. Wonder if we'll ever see the material prepared for unpublished follow-up volumes. Mayer and Redondo did at least some work on a New Testament book. And despite the cover, the published book didn't get as far as Moses, although I don't know if any work was done on continuing the Old Testament story.

THE BIBLE
Written by SHELDON MAYER • Art by JOE KUBERT and NESTOR REDONDO • Cover by JOE KUBERT

For the first time ever, DC reprints the 1975 comics adaptation of the Bible, featuring the earliest chapters of the book of Genesis, including the stories of The Garden of Eden, the Flood, and Sodom and Gomorrah! Don't miss this once in a lifetime hardcover edition!

64pg.Color Hardcover $29.99
On Sale February 29, 2012

Upcoming Comics - Amelia Rules v7 by Gownley

2011-06-04T01:18:00.000-04:00

Good to see that the new format for Jimmy Gownley's AMELIA RULES series is continuing at a steady pace (plus new printings of all the books with a new consistent trade dress). The seventh book, a 160-page original volume, comes out in September.

Amelia Rules Vol. 07: The Meaning of Life... And Other Stuff
by Jimmy Gownley

Some things in life seem so broken, they can't possibly be fixed, and just about everything is falling apart for Amelia. Aunt Tanner is away on tour; Amelia's spending more time in the principal's office; Joan's dad is injured just before he is supposed to come home; and Amelia's friends all seem to be moving in different directions. Amelia thinks G.A.S.P.'s clubhouse is beyond repair, but Turnip Brain says that when that happens, you need to pick up the pieces and make something new. Soon, Amelia sees the wisdom in Turnip Brain's words and realizes that things are not always as they seem and that the glue that allows us to make new things out of the old is love.

Upcoming Comics - Severin Fraggle Rock reprint

2011-05-27T04:54:00.000-04:00

Pleasant surprise, Archaia is reprinting the Fraggle Rock comics done by Marie Severin and Stan Kay for Marvel in the 1980s, and at a very reasonable $10 for four issues. I wrote about one of the included issues here long ago, and as you can see there Severin really did a bang-up job on the artwork, which will be good to see with better printing than 80s Marvel offered. Hopefully there'll be a second volume soon (which would wrap up the 8 issue series), as those later issues are significantly harder to find and pricey.

Fraggle Rock Classics Vol. 01 SC
(Writer) Stan Kay (Artist) Marie Severin
Archaia Entertainment and The Jim Henson Company are proud to present a new reprinting of the original Fraggle Rock comic book series, which first debuted in 1985. Look back into the history of your favorite Fraggles with stories such as The Magic Time Machine, The Trouble With Being #1, The Monster That Could Be Anything and The Doozer Who Wanted to Be a Fraggle. Digitally remastered and beautifully bound in softcover for a new generation of Fraggle Rock fans, this series will make you want to dance your cares away-80s style!

Imagine how depressing it is now...

2011-05-24T00:01:00.000-04:00

Seventy years old now. Happy Birthday, Mr. Dylan.

Cartoon by Charles Schulz from forty years ago, of course.

I shall become a bat...

2011-05-17T00:07:00.000-04:00

I'm not one for buying comic book based statuary, but I have to say that I'm tempted by this item coming out early next year. Not $90 tempted, but close...

There's something to strike fear in the hearts of the superstitious and cowardly. That's a statue of the Bill Finger and Bob Kane creation Batman based on the work of Sergio Aragones, for those not familiar with the character or the artist.

This ain't too bad, neither:

Again, not $75 of interest, but not a bad rendition of the Len Wein / Bernie Wrightson creation Swamp Thing, based on the artwork of Gary Frank, who I don't think has any history with the character yet (but with recent publishing news that might change), but is a solid artist. I sometimes regret not getting the earlier Swamp Thing statue based on Michael Zulli's painting of the character.

A reminder from a possum

2011-05-02T11:03:00.000-04:00

A timely reminder to any fellow Canadians who may be reading this, Election Day is today. Unfortunately no Pogo on the ballot, and though I'm not sure I can entirely agree with the sentiment of the poster if you're planning to vote Conservative or some fool thing, high turnout is always good.

POGO © OGPI

Happy Easter and some links

2011-04-24T10:48:00.001-04:00

Still surprises me that the Milton Caniff's work is so popular that there's a whole day set aside to celebrate Steve Canyon's sidekick, Happy Easter.

Meanwhile, all Steve gets is a big hole in Arizona named after him.

Ty Templeton makes sure we don't forget the true meaning of Easter, violence and rabbits.

A Walt Kelly Easter cover.

A little seen Swamp Thing cameo by George Perez. Hey, Swamp Thing was there at the first Easter. Sort of...

Beanworld fan The Naimis presents Beanworld Easter Eggs created with something called an Egg-Bot.

Rick Veitch draws Doctor Strange. That has nothing to do with Easter. Well, Veitch did write a story about Swamp Thing at the first Easter. Sort of...

Upcoming Comics - Sergio Aragones Funnies

2011-04-15T00:20:00.002-04:00

Hm, I don't buy a lot of on-going comics, but here's one coming up from Bongo that I'm really tempted by...

SERGIO ARAGONES FUNNIES #1
By Sergio Aragones
Matt Groening proudly presents an all-new monthly series by the world's most famous and most honored cartoonist, Sergio Aragonés! Each issue offers an assortment of autobiographical anecdotes, perplexing puzzles, slap-happy short stories, as well as Sergio's unique and hilarious pantomimes and gags. With this new series, the world's most beloved cartoonist continues to prove that humor is truly a universal language!

King Hell Heroica by Rick Veitch

2011-04-06T01:23:00.003-04:00

The "King Hell Heroica" is the collective name for an unfinished series of inter-connected super-hero comics created and published by Rick Veitch, starting with BRAT PACK in 1990 (retroactively Book Four) and continuing through THE MAXIMORTAL (Book One) before ending, for now, with two issues of the BRAT PACK / MAXIMORTAL SUPER SPECIAL in 1996/1997. The specials outline the projected full Heroica at the time, including two more books set between the existing books (BOY MAXIMORTAL (Book Two) and TRUE-MAN, THE MAXIMORTAL (Book Three)) and several more specials providing a meta-textual bridging structure and final conclusion to be collected as Book Five of the Heroica.

I read BRAT PACK as is came out and got the collected edition of THE MAXIMORTAL several years ago, but somehow missed the two Specials and didn't have too much luck finding them. The recent publication of TEEN ANGELS & NEW MUTANTS, Steve Bissette's book-length treatise on BRAT PACK, gave me the impetus to finally pick up the collected edition of BRAT PACK (which is heavily revised from the original serialized version I'd read) and as fortune would have it I was able to find the Specials as well. So, before getting to TEEN ANGELS I decided to (re-)read the published Heroica.

I guess there are multiple choices of where to start. I chose to go with the published order, and start with BRAT PACK. Originally a five-issue series, the collected edition makes several changes (dating back to the original collection in 1992, and which I see are helpfully outlined in an Appendix to TEEN ANGELS). The major changes are some new scenes between each of the chapters, and a complete overhaul of the final chapter, with a new script and many art changes. It's very odd reading the new stuff after living with the original through two decades and several re-readings. I can see why Veitch made the changes, and I never was that happy with the original ending, always feeling that Veitch uncharacteristically pulled his punch at the last minute. Plus the new ending makes the whole story fit better in the larger structure of the Heroica, if it's ever completed. It's going to take me a while to digest the changes, but I think they're an improvement overall.

Anyway, I'm sure most people reading this far already know the general concept of BRAT PACK. It's a cynical look at teen super-hero sidekicks, with ersatz versions of all the common archetypes that have populated American comics since the 1940s. That's a rich field to plant a cynical take in, starting with the whole idea of adult heroes taking underage children out to fight crime, moving through the homoerotic overtones that many have found in the Batman/Robin relationship and culminating in the ultimate expression of cynicism, the "vote to kill Robin" gimmick published by DC not long before the original publication of BRAT PACK.

It's a variation of that last bit that Veitch opens with, a radio show in the city of Slumburg where the teen heroes of the city are mocked and vilified, leading to their death at the hands of Doctor Blasphemy. The series then follows the recruitment and training of the inevitable replacements at the hands of the adult partners. A very dark and funny take on decades of super-hero cliche, even with the original ending it's always been among my favourite of Veitch's works. And as cynical as it seemed then, I think the path that super-hero comics have taken in the last two decades have pretty much vindicated Veitch's cynicism, to the point that parts of it no longer even feel like parody. Fortunately in the revised version, that final punch is no longer pulled, making it still vital and biting in this more cynical world.

It's not all about the parody, of course. Veitch creates some strong characters in his variations on the archetypes, with some really strong designs and artwork, and as he often is in his work he uses page design and structure to good effect, in this case often dividing two-page spreads into four half-pages, one for each sidekick, using the parallel structures to compare and contrast their stories.

THE MAXIMORTAL was originally serialized in seven issues, which I didn't read (partly because I'd heard of the major revisions made to BRAT PACK in the collection). I don't think there were any similar changes made in this series, except that the originals were in colour, while the collection is in black and white. I'm sure the colour was well done, but I don't miss it, and this fits in better with the rest of the Heroica.

The Maximortal of the title is True-Man, the Superman analog of this universe, who plays a minor but key role in BRAT PACK (moreso in the revised version). His story winds up being intertwined with many aspects of the 20th century history, from an explosion in remote Russia to the development of the atom bomb, plus stories based on the history of super-hero comics, with fictionalized versions of the creators of Superman, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster (hopefully Veitch has fixed the spelling of "Shuster" in his closing essay in later printings).

I always thought MAXIMORTAL was a more uneven work than BRAT PACK. It definitely has moments of brilliance, and gets points for never giving you what you expect, but overall it never felt like a cohesive work. I suppose part of that might be that it's not, with those two book in the series left to do. Still, there are some great parts, and I like the book overall.

And that brings us to the stories that are completely new to me, the two Super Specials. These stories add an additional meta-textual level to the whole series, while also serving as bridging material between the books. The first one expands on the ending of BRAT PACK, in particular the villain Doctor Blasphemy, while also looping around to provide the introduction to THE MAXIMORTAL, and the second bridges the gap between the end of that book and the beginning of the as-yet-unpublished BOY MAXIMORTAL. Again, I have to commend Veitch for never doing what you'd expect, but have to withhold judgment on whether all of it works since, even more than THE MAXIMORTAL these are bits of an unfinished whole. I am glad I finally tracked them down, though.

Well, those are some quick initial thoughts. Look for more in a week or so after I finish TEEN ANGELS.

[took a bit longer than expected, but here's the TEEN ANGELS review. Makes me want to re-read the entire Veitch catalog leading up to the Heroica before my next re-reading, after which I may get to that follow-up post]

Happy Sheldon Mayer Day

2011-04-01T11:57:00.001-04:00

94 years ago today, Sheldon Mayer was born. How do Sugar and Spike feel about that?

It's always about the cake with kids, isn't it? This year, of course, in addition to the cake his virtual kids can join us in celebrating the upcoming release of SUGAR & SPIKE ARCHIVES v1. Just don't let the kids get too close to the book unattended, they'll probably try to eat it...

Some quick comic links

2011-03-10T01:37:00.000-05:00

Stan Sakai interviews Usagi Yojimbo

Steve Bissette has a sample of his new book TEEN ANGELS about Rick Veitch's BRAT PACK

Roger Langridge has some pages from his canceled Muppet Show comic

Some unpublished early Hulk pages by Jack Kirby and the story of how Larry Lieber got them

A lengthy profile/interview with Dwayne McDuffie done shortly before his recent passing

Analysis of recent comic book direct market sales figures from John Jackson Miller

BONE: THE ADVENTURE BEGINS by Jeff Smith

2011-03-08T16:22:00.001-05:00

BONE: THE ADVENTURE BEGINS is the latest available format for Jeff Smith's epic fantasy comic first serialized from 1991 to 2004. It's a lot less ambitious than the just announced upcoming colour One Volume hardcover editions (ranging from $150 to $1000), but that also makes it much more affordable. This version, which appears to only have been released by the Canadian branch of Scholastic so far, is the first of three volumes and gathers the first three Bone books (OUT FROM BONEVILLE, THE GREAT COW RACE and EYES OF THE STORM, collectively known as "The Valley, or Vernal Equinox" in the One Volume edition) in colour and in hardcover, slightly larger than the previous Scholastic releases (almost but not quite back to the page size of the original comics).

I was pretty happy with the black and white One Volume Edition of Bone, that'll still always be my favourite way to see the artwork, though I was quite happy that the work was getting wider exposure in the colour books and thought the colouring by Steve Hamaker was very well done. When I saw that this version of it was a ridiculously cheap $16 I decided to check it out. At worst it would make a good gift for a kid at some point. Well, it looks like I'll have to pick up another copy if I want to give it as a gift, because this is definitely the most satisfying format I've seen to actually read the book. Much more comfortable to hold than the One Volume edition, and the larger image size is definitely a plus.

Hopefully they won't take too long to release the subsequent books, and after that I'd definitely be in the market for the various spin-off books in a matching format. This is also the format I'd most recommend to anyone curious about trying the series, with the best balance of price and quality. I don't know if the other branches of Scholastic are planning to release the series in this format, but they should.

(note the cover has a red foil Bone logo, which doesn't come through in the scan)

Upcoming Comics - Michael Zulli's FRACTURE

2011-02-24T22:00:00.000-05:00

Update on one of the books on my 11 anticipated comics of 2011 post, Michael Zulli's FRACTURE OF THE UNIVERSAL BOY. The softcover edition solicited to comic shops through Olympian Publishing was canceled, if you ordered that. There will be a hardcover edition from Eidolon Fine Arts. Right now you can order a signed copy with a signed print for $45 from the book's Kickstarter page (which has already reached its funding goal), along with getting your name in the book, with other editions and premiums for higher prices. I assume ordering information for an unsigned edition without the print will be announced soon.

Several pages of art from the book at the Kickstarter page. Still really looking forward to this, glad it's managed to come back from whatever setbacks there were. Steve Bissette and Neil Gaiman both report having read advance copies from Zulli and speaking highly of it.

Upcoming Comics - Joe Simon autobiography

2011-02-24T21:40:00.000-05:00

Upcoming from Titan, who have been publishing some great golden age S&K reprints authorized by Joe Simon and the Jack Kirby Estate, Simon has a 256-page hardcover autobiography coming out.

Joe Simon: The Man Behind the Comics

In his own words, this is the life of Joe Simon, one of the most important figures in comics history and half of the famous creative team Simon and Kirby. Joe Simon co-created Captain America, star of this summer’s anticipated movie blockbuster, and was the first Editor-in-Chief of Marvel Comics (then known as Timely, where he hired Stan Lee for his first job in comics). He recounts the near-death of comics, the Congressional witch-hunts of the 1950s, and the scramble for creators to survive. In the process he reveals what it was like to bring comics out of their infancy, as they became an American art form.

Dwayne McDuffie, R.I.P.

2011-02-22T23:31:00.003-05:00

Just heard that writer Dwayne McDuffie passed away. I first heard about it from J.M. Dematteis's post, and it's confirmed just about everywhere else.

While I read a few earlier things from him, the first time I really noticed McDuffie's writing was on the 1993 launch of the Milestone comics line, where he was one of the co-creators, co-owners and head writer of the launch books (writing ICON and HARDWARE solo and co-writing the first few issues of STATIC and BLOOD SYNDICATE). That was a great launch, with all four of the books being very good, with frequent moments of excellence throughout their runs.

McDuffie was also one of the earliest comic professionals to be active in the first on-line communities that I participated in, and I was always impressed by his frequent candor and quick wit.

On the strength of the Milestone work I picked up some of his earlier work. I especially enjoyed the three DAMAGE CONTROL series he created at Marvel with artist Ernie Colon, a clever concept (a company that specializes in handling repairs after super-hero battles) well realized and integrated into the Marvel Universe, showing a real understanding of the characters while writing them in a sharply different context and style.

He was also one of the writers on a new version of the character Deathlok, co-writing a mini-series and writing about half of the first two years of an on-going series. There were some uneven bits, but there were also a lot of clever ideas and real heart in the series, and you can see the seeds of some of the ideas that would later be more fully realized in the Milestone work.

He also did an amusing 4-issue storyline in DC's THE DEMON in 1992, playing off the presidential election that year, and with some really good scenes with Superman.

A lot of McDuffie's work in the last decade has been in animation, probably most notably various incarnations of the Justice League cartoon, but for me most importantly four seasons of the STATIC SHOCK cartoon, bringing the character from the Milestone comics to the screen. I really liked the show whenever I saw it (unfortunately for some reason it only showed sporadically up in Canada), and there were several great episodes, including the McDuffie scripted "Static In Africa", which featured the debut of a new hero named Anansi. Let's roll the clip:

To close, a bit more on one of the Milestone books, the one I pulled out to read when I heard the news. ICON #42 [1997] is the last issue of the series, and has always been one of the most remarkably beautiful super-hero comics that I've ever read, and has only grown moreso with time, it's able to bring a tear to my eye even on a good day, and re-reading it today I had to stop a few times to keep it together. It features Raquel Ervin, the super-hero Rocket and partner of the title character, having to deal with the death of her grandmother (and is dedicated to who I assume is McDuffie's own grandmother, who passed away shortly before it was published). As much as I loved it when it first came out, I don't think I really understood it until my grandfather passed away two years ago and it was one of the first things I read after that. McDuffie manages to weave together elements that are heartbreaking with elements that are funny, and most of all elements that are real, into a perfect package. And then, in the middle, he puts in something that shouldn't work, a bit that strikes right at the heart of the super-hero genre that this story is almost entirely outside of, and he makes it work. I can't really describe it in a way that does it justice, but read it if you get a chance.

The issue closes with her great-aunt remarking on how much Raquel looks like her grandmother at that age, and saying "She ain't all of her gone, neither". So looking at the wealth of comics and cartoons with McDuffie's name on them, I'll just echo that.

He ain't all of him gone, neither.

Sugar&Spike - Valentine Cards 1967

2011-02-14T07:45:00.013-05:00

Valentine Card feature page from SUGAR AND SPIKE #69 [1967], by Sheldon Mayer.

Sugar&Spike - Busy Corners

2011-01-31T22:02:00.000-05:00

The Chronicles of Sheldon Mayer's Sugar & Spike

Busy Corners
Sugar & Spike #1 [1956]
6 pages
Reprints: The Best of DC #47 [1984], Sugar & Spike No. 1 Replica Edition [2002]
Dedication: None

One of my favourite Sugar & Spike stories is from the very first issue, this story that introduces Sugar's Uncle Charley, her mother's younger brother, a traffic cop who frequently visits to play with his niece, who adores him because "he's only grown up where it shows". Spike is initially jealous, but is quickly won over by Charley's charm.

This story sets the pattern for most of the future Uncle Charley stories, where his ideas of how to handle children infuriate Sugar's mother, then seem to work, and then ultimately backfire because for all his trying, the children don't really understand what he's saying, but love him anyway.

Among other things, this story has the first appearance of one of my favourite lines, one Mayer liked enough to use a few times over the years. "If people don't want their things busted, they shouldn't leave 'em lying around on the ceiling!"

Characters: Sugar, Spike, Mrs. Plumm, Uncle Charley
Damage: one new chandelier and everything on the living room table
Punishment: Two trips into an increasingly crowded corner

"What's he talking about?"
"I don't know, but pay attention or you'll hurt his feelings!"

Sugar&Spike - Little Giants

2011-01-29T22:21:00.001-05:00

The Chronicles of Sheldon Mayer's Sugar & Spike

Little Giants
Sugar & Spike #27 [1960]
6 pages
Reprints: The Best of DC #47 [1984]
Dedication: Mrs. Marjorie Lane (age 21 plus), California

Spike is a bit of a pest while his mother tries to talk to Sugar's mother. Sugar's mother suggests something that she learned from the baby-book that works for Sugar, letting the kids play as giants in a miniature world. They decide to let Spike try it, and then Sugar explains her interpretation of the toys, and how she feels about their mothers ignoring them. All of this serves to dissipate the anger the kids have, though perhaps not for the reason the adults think.

This was among the earliest Sugar&Spike stories I read, through the 1980s digest reprint, and not really one of my favourites back then. Not sure why, but I do like it a bit better now, especially some of Sugar's dialogue when explaining things to Spike. There are also some clever bits in the art which are much easier to appreciate at full size.

Characters: Sugar, Spike, Mrs. Plumm, Mrs. Wilson
Damage: Hopefully the dolls are waterproof
Punishment: The dolls get treated harshly
Sugar's treatment of Spike: He gets a doll smacked out of his hand and yelled at a bit, but suffers much more from the coffee dumped on his head

"Whenever I'm in the mood to play with it, I make a real pest of myself until she gets it out"

Sugar&Spike - FLRJ!

2011-01-27T21:35:00.001-05:00

Oh sure, I like the "GLX", and always get a chuckle out of "SPTZL", and don't mind "GLAAH" one bit. Even the lesser known "SHMZL" and "GLBSH" I have affection for. But my favourite bit of Sheldon Mayer created baby-talk, by a long shot? No competition, it's:

In case you have trouble with Spike's accent, here it is from Sugar:

Ah, FLRJ! I don't know what it means, but it's a word the kids usually use when they're upset and arguing. Whatever it means, I suspect when they say FLRJ that's one of the rare times they're lucky their parents don't understand the baby-talk, because that would be a one-way trip into the corner.

Sugar&Spike - Unused 1971 book proposal

2011-01-26T18:35:00.000-05:00

Back in 1971, Mayer did some material as a proposal for a book collection of comics as THE POCKET-SIZE TREASURY OF SUGAR AND SPIKE STORIES.

It didn't come out, of course. Too early, I guess. Just had to wait another 40 years. Still, a nice cover. This copy of it is from COMIC BOOK ARTIST #11 [2001] from TwoMorrows, a flip-book issue with one side devoted to Sheldon Mayer and the other to Alex Toth (an artist who Mayer hired back in the 1940s). You should try to find a copy if you're interested in Mayer's work (TwoMorrows is sold out, unfortunately).

Sugar&Spike - Little Arthur Becomes a Mad Professor!

2011-01-25T21:23:00.001-05:00

The Chronicles of Sheldon Mayer's Sugar & Spike

Little Arthur Becomes a Mad Professor!
Sugar & Spike #42 [1962]
6 pages
Reprints: None
Dedication: Carol Chernoff (age 12), Illinois

One of the major recurring characters in the series is Little Arthur, a slightly older boy whose mother Myrna often brings him over. Arthur first appears in #17, returns in #22 and then shows up every few issues for the rest of the series, including the new material drawn in the 1980s. Arthur is quite a terror, so the kids learn to dread his visits, which usually consist of Arthur pulling Sugar's ponytail, which leads to Spike biting him. Arthur is old enough that he speaks grown-up talk rather than baby-talk, so he lie about what happened, getting the kids punished (as Sugar once says, he doesn't so much speak in grown-up talk as he fibs in it). Of course, his plans always backfire (I don't think the Comics Code allowed them to show success through lying).

In this variation, Arthur has a new interest in medicine, and pretty much ignores Sugar and Spike as he works on his plans for a self-propelled stretcher. The kids figure he must be sick, and are quite happy with that, until Arthur tries to put his ideas into practice, converting a coffee table to a stretcher and trying to use them as test patients.

Characters: Sugar, Spike, Mrs. Wilson, Mrs. Plumm, Little Arthur, Myrna
Damage: That coffee table is history, all Arthur's fault. The lamp, that was all Spike

"He should be sick more often! It improves him!"

Sugar&Spike - The New Vase

2011-01-24T12:57:00.000-05:00

The Chronicles of Sheldon Mayer's Sugar & Spike

The New Vase
Unpublished
1 page
Reprints: None

Most of the unpublished Sugar & Spike stories are those that Mayer drew in the 1980s. However, there are occasional bits like "The New Vase", a 1-page story that seems to date from fairly early in the run of the series (maybe 1960 or earlier), but which wasn't used for whatever reason. It's a cute enough gag, nothing special, notable for being one of only a handful of stories to only feature one of the kids. Pretty unusual, since a lot of the charm of the series is how the kids interact with each other.

I did want to point out the alphabet building blocks that Spike is playing with. They were a common prop in the stories, being a ubiquitous toddler toy and endlessly useful for comedy purposes. What I always like about them is how they frequently spelled out the common baby-talk words that Mayer used when presenting the speech untranslated, GLX, SPTZL, GLAAH and the rest. Nice touch, I thought.

Characters: Spike, Mrs. Wilson

Sugar&Spike - One Good Deed

2011-01-23T20:01:00.000-05:00

The Chronicles of Sheldon Mayer's Sugar & Spike

One Good Deed
Sugar & Spike #87 [1969]
1 page
Reprints: None

Cute little single page story about how the kids react to the doorbell. I like the logic of Sugar describing ringing the bell as punching the door in the face, and the action that results from that interpretation is both sensible and silly, and the proud expressions on their faces for thinking of it are adorable.

Characters: Sugar, Spike, Mrs. Plumm, Mrs. Wilson

"It was my mommy who punched its nose!"

Upcoming Comics - Staton on Anthem

2011-01-23T13:00:00.002-05:00

Hey, if I told you that a prolific 1970s Charlton artist was doing a comic book adaptation of an Ayn Rand novel, who do you think it would be?

Right, Joe Staton, co-creator of E-Man and many other comics in the last four decades. I usually enjoy his stuff (especially when he inks his own work), though I haven't seen too much of it in a while. I noticed he was drawing a lot of Scooby-Doo comics in the last few years, which fit his style well, and he's just been announced as the new artist on the Dick Tracy comic strip.

Anyway, Staton is the artist on an upcoming 144-page comic book adaptation of ANTHEM, Rand's short novel from the 1930s, with writer Charles Santino (who did some enjoyable work on AESOP'S FABLES [1991]). Should be an interesting read. The story is short enough that not much, if anything, will have to be cut out to fit the 144-page adaption.

Sugar&Spike - Strip Proposal 1980s

2011-01-21T18:54:00.001-05:00

In the 1980s, Mayer did another proposal for a Sugar & Spike comic strip. There are around seven weeks worth of daily strips, and possibly one Sunday strip, for this proposal, in various stages of completion. Most of them are fully inked, with the lettering still in pencils. Others are in rougher stages, and sometimes there are multiple versions of the the same strip, which are a nice look at the creative process.

In this strip, for example, Mayer tried the joke two ways, one with most of the baby-talk dialogue translated, and then revised to leave it as baby-talk. I think he made the right choice. You can also see some other changes, like in panel three where it was changed to Sugar climbing up on books to reach the sharpener. I can't make out all the notes, but it looks like there's one sketch where Mayer's trying to work out the expression of Spike's face in the last panel. I also find it interesting that often when Mayer does strips with the baby-talk untranslated he'll note what they're saying in the margins. I guess that was for his own benefit, to more easily make sure the expressions and body language match what they're saying.

Sugar&Spike - Feature Pages - Cards

2011-01-20T18:08:00.000-05:00

In addition to the Write Your Own Comics and Pint-Size Pin-Ups features that ran in the majority of issues of SUGAR AND SPIKE, Sheldon Mayer ran cards featuring the characters for Valentine's Day and Christmas in the appropriate issues from 1960 to 1967. Yet another excuse for kids to cut up their comics and vex future collectors...

This is one of the four Valentine's Day cards from Sugar and Spike #27 [1960].

Sugar&Spike - Strip proposal c1960

2011-01-19T09:06:00.007-05:00

The Chronicles of Sheldon Mayer's Sugar & Spike

Around 1960 Sheldon Mayer prepared a two week sample of a strip proposal for Sugar and Spike. Above is the first strip, which begins a brief storyline of the kids and their parents meeting for the first time, which is a bit different in comic strip continuity from how it was shown in the comics. The end result is the same, though, the beginning of a beautiful friendship. After the introductory storyline (including one that adapts the gag on the cover of #11), the dailies then go on to begin a story based on "Lobsters Away" from #3. There's also a page out there that may be a sample Sunday page from that proposal, which is based on a story from #4 ("One Sunday Afternoon"), along with some paper-dolls that appeared in #21.

Sugar&Spike - New Method

2011-01-18T09:05:00.013-05:00

The Chronicles of Sheldon Mayer's Sugar & Spike

New Method
Sugar & Spike #11 [1957]
1 page
Reprints: None

Well, you know this isn't going to end well for Spike's dad, sleeping on the beach with his bare feet sticking out when his son finds a crab.

Nice quick little story, something to look forward to is the upcoming reprint is followed by a second volume.

And Spike's dad even brings his pipe to the beach...

Characters: Sugar, Spike, Mr. Wilson
Damage: That toe's going to be sore for a while

"It's good for waking up sleeping daddies"

Upcoming Comics - Bissette on sidekicks

2011-01-17T21:51:00.000-05:00

Steve Bissette has a massive book coming out from Black Coat Press, TEEN ANGELS & NEW MUTANTS, about superhero sidekicks, in particular Rick Veitch's BRAT PACK.

TEEN ANGELS & NEW MUTANTS
Rick Veitch's Brat Pack® and the Art, Karma, and Commerce of Killing Sidekicks
by Stephen R. Bissette
Introduction by Charles Hatfield

Writer/artist Rick Veitch's career bridges the underground comix of the 1970s, mainstream DC and Vertigo Comics, and the self-publishing revolution of the 1980s and 1990s. In that extraordinary body of work, Brat Pack® remains a landmark, and Teen Angels & New Mutants is the first book-length, in-depth study of a creator and graphic novel worthy of the autopsy. En route, Teen Angels offers a crash-course on teen pop culture and superhero sidekick history, fresh analysis of Dr. Fredric Wertham's seminal books, ponders real-world "new mutants" like Michael Jackson, The Olsen Twins, and Jason Bieber, and charts the 1980s comicbook explosion and 1990s implosion--and more.

Sugar&Spike - The Fix-It Machine

2011-01-17T09:05:00.000-05:00

A reminder, if you're planning to get the upcoming SUGAR AND SPIKE ARCHIVES VOL. 1 from a comic book store, right now is the best time to let them know of your interest. Order code JAN110334, page 115 of January 2011 Diamond Previews. They'll probably still be able to order it later (the book isn't due out until August/September), but the initial numbers they order in the next few weeks probably count for a lot, and early interest may encourage them to order shelf copies in addition to special orders. You can also order it from other sources, like Amazon, not sure if early orders on places like that have any effect, but the price they have now is pretty good, so good idea to lock it in now.

The Chronicles of Sheldon Mayer's Sugar & Spike

The Fix-It Machine
Sugar & Spike #9 [1957]
6 pages
Reprints: None [yet]
Dedication: Linda Mayer, Washington DC

Hm, no idea if that dedication is related to Sheldon Mayer...

Anyway, Spike gets a new scooter, and plays with it by sitting on it upsidedown and rolling the wheels with his hands. Sugar realizes this is wrong, and correctly surmises that it's a "bump toy", which is exactly what it sounds like. The scooter doesn't last long under that abuse, which leads to Sugar teaching Spike about how to use his father as a fix-it-machine. Things escalate from there, to an entertaining finish.

Clever little story, especially the looks of pure joy as the kids think they're finally starting to learn about how the world works, contrasted with exactly how far off they are.

Characters: Sugar, Spike, Mr. Wilson, Mrs. Wilson
Damage: The scooter, multiple times and Spike's clothes

Sugar's treatment of Spike: Very rough, dragging him around, standing on him, although oddly the most damage is done when she's trying to keep him from hurting himself

"Are you sure you're playing with it right?"

Upcoming Comics - Alter Ego Centennial

2011-01-16T19:31:00.000-05:00

Congratulations to Roy Thomas for making it to #100 with this iteration of his magazine devoted to classic comics. I was a regular reader of it for years, been a bit more selective about picking it up since #50 a few years ago, but I always enjoy it, and will definitely be picking up this issue.

ALTER EGO #100: CENTENNIAL SC
Alter Ego: Centennial is a celebration of 100 issues, and 50 years, of Alter Ego, Roy Thomas’ legendary super-hero fanzine. It’s a double-size triple-threat book, with twice as many pages as the regular magazine, plus special features just for this anniversary edition! Behind a Rich Buckler/Jerry Ordway JSA cover, Alter Ego celebrates its dual anniversaries as Roy Thomas is interviewed about the 1990s at DC and several independents! Plus, special anniversary editions of Alter Ego staples Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt, Fawcett Collectors of America (FCA), and Alex Wright's amazing color collection of 1940s DC pinup babes!
Softcover, 8x11, 160pgs, $19.95

Sugar&Spike - The Covers

2011-01-16T08:06:00.000-05:00

The Chronicles of Sheldon Mayer's Sugar & Spike

The Covers of Sheldon Mayer

Sheldon Mayer's SUGAR & SPIKE covers are among my favourite covers ever, always sure to bring a smile or chuckle

(for a full gallery of SUGAR & SPIKE covers, you can go here, or here, or here)

The early covers were all self-contained and didn't refer to any of the interior short stories (except to the extent that there would be seasonal issues for things like Christmas or Halloween and both the cover and an interior story would play off that theme in different ways). One of the many delightful things about them, and about Mayer's work in general, is the way he can put a perfect facial expression on Sugar and Spike for any situation. When you see them, there's no question about whether Mayer meant for them to be happy or confused or angry or surprised. All the expressions are clear, all of them are funny and all of them remind me of faces I've seen real babies make in similar circumstances.

Structurally, these covers can be divided into three major groups, the comic strip, the single image verbal gag and the single image sight gag.

The comic strip types are usually four panels, and have the same rhythm as the classic humour strips like PEANUTS. Mayer used that type of cover on the first three issues, and again on #14 and #18. #11 is also a variation on this, being a two panel gag, with the panels being two tall ones (essential to the construction of the particular gag). These covers really make me wish that a SUGAR & SPIKE comic strip had come to pass (it was apparently seriously discussed at various times, with a proposal and some finished samples from around 1960 and an an unfinished six-week proposal from the early 1980s, including some recycled gags from these covers and other places, but it wasn't to be). Mayer is clearly worked on a level that only a handful of daily comic strip artists managed, and comic books didn't really seem to give him the audience he deserved. On the other hand, I like his longer stories even more than the four panel gags, and he had a certain flexibility in story construction there that comic strips didn't offer, so it's a trade-off.

Most of the covers are single images, though. Of those, most use both words and pictures to tell their joke, often playing off the idea of how the point of view of a baby is so completely different from that of adults. Their reaction to a lifeguard is to marvel at the size of his "highchair" but wonder how his mommy will feed him. Their reaction to a tree growing in the living room is to run before they get blamed. This kind of thing is a constant theme in almost all the SUGAR & SPIKE stories, but here on the covers it's distilled into its purest form.

Some of the verbal gags deal with just the general mischief and mayhem that the kids cause. This is seen even better in the third group of covers, the pure sight gags with no (or very little) dialogue. Here Mayer presents exactly what you would see, leaving it to your imagination to wonder exactly how that situation came about, what the kids are thinking and what the consequences will be. Of the 6 such covers in the run (#12, #15, #21, #21, #23 #44) I think #23 is the best, and may be the best SUGAR & SPIKE cover of all. It features Sugar and Spike in a movie theatre, and while the visual gimmick means we see less of their wonderful facial expressions than normal it's more than made up for in the rest of the cover.

In later issues Mayer started to do more full-length stories, and for a time the covers were mostly of a fourth kind, more of a teaser for what was inside (with a lot of blurbs and stuff) than a stand-alone entity. The first of these was #40, and then starting with #58 that becomes the norm, with about half the run after that composed of those types of covers, especially the stories with long Bernie the Brain featured stories. While those were still funny, they lacked a certain amount of the charm and completeness of the early covers.

Upcoming Comics - Nick Cardy wartime art

2011-01-15T23:15:00.000-05:00

Probably too rich for my blood, but I always love Nick Cardy's work, so I'll definitely take a look if I happen to see a copy of this upcoming book, and if there's ever a more affordable softcover unsigned edition (with or without the DVD), I'll definitely be interested.

NICK CARDY: THE ARTIST AT WAR Hardcover
by Nick Cardy

Renowned cover artist and illustrator from DC Comics' golden years, Nick Cardy, now in his 80's, has been drawing his whole life. Before beginning his career in comics post-World War II, Nick was one of the Greatest Generation, shipped overseas to take part in the war. Without benefit of a camera, Nick did what he did best — carrying a sketchbook and documenting his time from beginning to end, both the humor and the horror. What we have is a chronicle, one man's journey, that speaks for millions, and each sketch and painting accompanied by Nick Cardy's own commentary. Each volume also includes a 30-minute DVD of Cardy discussing his experiences as an artist at war. Available in both Signed and Sketch editions.

SIGNED EDITION—Hardcover, 6x9, 126pgs, $39.99
SKETCH EDITION—Hardcover, 6x9, 126pgs, $150.00

Sugar&Spike - Winter Sunday

2011-01-15T18:30:00.002-05:00

The Chronicles of Sheldon Mayer's Sugar & Spike

Winter Sunday
Sugar & Spike #6 [1957]
4 pages
Reprints: None [yet]

Given what I just had to spend the last hour doing, this is an appropriate tale.

Spike is underfoot while his mother tries to clean, so his father takes him outside to help clear the snow. Anyone who has ever tried to get an infant to "help" in any task knows how that'll go, doubly so when Sugar shows up. Mr. Wilson manages to distract them with some tiny snow-men, which works for a while, but he doesn't consider their infant reaction to the ephemeral nature of snow.

Very cute body language for the kids in this one, as they're range from quite proud to confused to happy to angry. I especially like those panels of Spike imitating his father when they first go outside.

I also get a kick out of the stereotypical 1950s dad pipe that Mr. Wilson smokes, even when shoveling snow.

Characters: Sugar, Spike, Mrs. Wilson, Mr. Wilson
Damage: A bit of a mess at the beginning and end, but nothing permanent

"Just nod your head and look bright!"

Sugar&Spike - A Study in Science Friction

2011-01-14T09:09:00.005-05:00

The Chronicles of Sheldon Mayer's Sugar & Spike

A Study in Science Friction
The Best of DC #41 [1983]
8 pages
Reprints: None

Following the 1971 conclusion of SUGAR AND SPIKE's impressive 98 issue run Mayer's main work for a few years was writing for DC's mystery books, including the creation of the Black Orchid and several great stories with Alex Toth. After his recovery from his 1973 eye operations, he also drew some stuff, including some Rudolph the Reindeer stories for DC's tabloid line, and worked on a Bible adaptation. The original Sugar & Spike stories were also published in other languages ("Sal y Pimienta" in Spanish, "Bib et Zette" in French, "Tutuca e Teleco-Teco" in Portuguese), and in the early 1980s Mayer began writing and drawing new stories to appear in those publications. Eventually some of those stories, along with classic reprints, would appear in DC's digest comics, although there are still a lot of stories that have never been published in English.

Most of the new stories that were published appeared in this issue of BEST OF DC. In this one, Spike is confused by his inability, as a little kid, to fit in his mother's big-person shoe, when the rules he learned from Sugar suggest he should be able to (since "little stuff always gozinta big stuff"). Bernie tries in vain to explain the logic to Spike, and then briefly thinks that Sugar understands him (which requires a bit of a strained bit of dialogue) before learning, as always, that life is never easy for an infant genius.

While the new material Mayer did in the 1980s isn't quite as good as the original series, there are a lot of fun stories, and I'd certainly like to see the published material re-published in a larger-than-digest size and the remainder published for the first time in English a few years down the line, after several books of the 1950s and 1960s stories come out.

Characters: Spike, Bernie the Brain, Sugar, Mrs. Wilson
Sugar's treatment of Spike: It's actually Bernie who faces the usual wrath of Sugar, pushed over and stood on

"You may be the infant genius around here, but I know a thing or two myself!"

Sugar&Spike - A Tale of Two Sugars

2011-01-13T09:08:00.004-05:00

The Chronicles of Sheldon Mayer's Sugar & Spike

A Tale of Two Sugars
Sugar & Spike #87 [1969]
17 pages
Reprints: None
Dedication: Cindy Davidson (age 12), New York and Ronnie Zowadsky (age ?), Rhode Island

The second half of Mayer's original run on SUGAR AND SPIKE generally featured longer stories and more fanciful adventures. In this story, the fathers are charged with taking care of the kids for a day, and are unable to outsmart the kids so one of them can sneak off, which the kids interpret as an elaborate hiding game. So they take the kids to a used car lot, which happens to be targeted for theft by master of disguise Marvin the Midget. Despite misinterpreting everything going on around them, the kids manage to completely confound Marvin's plans, which leads to Marvin disguising himself as Sugar.

While my preference will always be for the shorter more true-to-life Sugar&Spike stories, there is a lot of great slapstick in these longer stories. This one is pretty good, since it uses the same general theme of many of the earlier stories, the kids misinterpreting adult actions, and turns that concept up to eleven.

Characters:Sugar, Spike, Mr. Plumm, Mr. Wilson, Mrs. Plumm, Mrs. Wilson, Marvin the Midget and his gang, car lot staff and police
Sugar's treatment of Spike: Pushes him over and stands on him

"I haven't had so much fun since we put the eggs inna washing machine!"

Sugar&Spike - The Doggie That Wasn't

2011-01-12T09:10:00.002-05:00

The Chronicles of Sheldon Mayer's Sugar & Spike

The Doggie That Wasn't!
Sugar & Spike #48 [1963]
4 pages
Reprints: None
Dedication: Lisa Ray (age 6 months), Vancouver, via her Aunt Rayline

Spike gets agitated when another baby won't let Spike play with his imaginary dog. This time it's Sugar's turn to try to be the reasonable one. That trick never works, so she changes tactics to try to get the other kid to admit there's no dog, and failing that, chases the imaginary dog away to solve the problem. Positively King Solomon in her wisdom. Unfortunately, Solomon didn't have to deal with baby logic, which in this case just creates an imaginary giraffe.

Great little story, demonstrating one of the common dynamics of the series, Spike being the more naive, gullible and imaginative one, and Sugar being the realist who finds herself with the job, if not the right temperament, of his protector.

Characters: Sugar, Spike, unnamed small baby
Property damage: Spike's suspenders
Sugar's treatment of Spike: overall protective, in her own way, but she does drag him around by said suspenders until they snap

"There's only one way to end this nonsense!"

Sugar&Spike - Sugar and Spike Tackle Halloween

2011-01-11T09:06:00.000-05:00

The Chronicles of Sheldon Mayer's Sugar & Spike

Sugar and Spike Tackle Halloween
Sugar & Spike #31 [1960]
6 pages
Reprints: None
Dedication: Jean Meyer, Minnesota

Through the magic of non-continuity, Sugar and Spike got to experience events like Halloween and Christmas for the first time a half-dozen times or more. Mayer came up with some great variations on the themes every year.

In this year, the parents obviously decided the kids were too young for Halloween, and put them to bed early. Of course, they can't sleep with all the commotion, so they sneak out to see what's happening (I should add a "bad parenting" section to these write-ups). Understandably excited at witnessing candy being given away, they decide to get in on the action, but run afoul of a rather mean neighbour who didn't buy any candy for the kids. He gets his after Sugar and Spike disguise themselves in a pair of longjohns.

Characters: Sugar, Spike, unnamed 12-year-old trick-or-treaters, unnamed neighbours, Mrs. Plumm, Mrs. Wilson
Property damage: the neighbour took a flip on a banana peel

"This is the greatest game since 'Sneeze-the-Pablum'!"
"--And more profitable, too!"

Sugar&Spike - Better Late Than Never!

2011-01-10T09:07:00.000-05:00

The Chronicles of Sheldon Mayer's Sugar & Spike

Better Late Than Never!
Sugar & Spike #54 [1964]
1 page
Reprints: None

Ah, poor old "No-Feets", long suffering pet fish who manages to narrowly avoid catastrophe at the hands of Sugar and Spike time and time again. You'd think parents with such active kids around would think twice about having a fish in a glass bowl precariously balanced on top of a pole.

I guess he belongs to the Plumms, based on this story, but I'm not sure if that's consistent. I think he shows up wherever it's most convenient for the joke of the moment.

Anyway, a nice little story in just six panels. I especially liked the attention paid to the face of No-Feets, going from suspicious to resigned to scowling.

Characters: Sugar, Spike, No-Feets, Mrs. Plumm (hands only)
Property Damage: No-Feets came out unscathed, but that toothpaste tube is a goner

"I must say, your mother is broadminded! Mine frowns on this sort of thing!"

Sugar&Spike - Trip to the Zoo

2011-01-09T09:09:00.000-05:00

The Chronicles of Sheldon Mayer's Sugar & Spike

Trip to the Zoo
Sugar & Spike #8 [1957]
6 pages
Reprints: None [yet]
Dedication: Mr. and Mrs. Rube Grossman (age 21 plus), New York

Rube Grossman was one of the other prolific artists on DC's humour books of the era, among other things drawing Mayer's other creation, the Three Mouseketeers, after Mayer went on S&S full-time. He's possibly best known as the artist of the annual RUDOLPH specials DC would publish (which Mayer would take over for the tabloid books in the 1970s).

To see if the kids are ready for the zoo, Sugar's dad shows them a film that his pal Rube Grossman made. The kids seem uninterested at first, fighting and talking. Then they start laughing when the camel comes on. We also get an appearance by Rube hisownself, standing next to the camel, eating a hot-dog, imitating the camel chewing its cud.

The next day at the zoo, the kids aren't very interested. In one scene, they figure out that the grown-ups will be disappointed if they don't act excited, so they both give a half-hearted "Wheeee". You have to see this panel to believe it. It perfectly captures the faces I've seen on infants when you try to get them interested in a new toy more exciting to you than to them (they're usually happy to play with the wrapping paper). Anyway, they fool around at the zoo for awhile, uninterested in the animals, but suddenly start crying when they leave. Sugar's dad can't understand. Talking amongst themselves, the kids reveal that the only thing they wanted to see was the funny man with the hot-dog.

I absolutely adore this story, one of my favourites of the whole series. Mayer captured the body language and facial quirks of kids so well in it, and the theme of the contrast between what adults think kids are interested in and what they're really interested in was fertile ground for the series. And a cameo by a fellow cartoonist tops it off.

Characters: Sugar, Spike, Mr. Plumm, Mrs. Plumm, Rube Grossman (film)
Property Damage: minimal, one lost balloon, film and projector are briefly threatened by Sugar's interest
Sugar's treatment of Spike: swings him around by his legs, but he did ask for that by whacking her with a toy elephant. She also pushes him over and sits on him.

"All the interesting toys, with parts to pull off, are always theirs! And don't they hate sharing!"

Smurfing incredible

2011-01-08T23:51:00.000-05:00

I had my doubts, but suddenly I'm looking forward to the SMURFS film...

Sugar&Spike - Feature Pages - Write Your Own

2011-01-08T09:27:00.052-05:00

In addition to the comics, SUGAR AND SPIKE was known for the many interactive feature pages, which were also done by Sheldon Mayer. Always fun, although responsible for many of the back issues you find being in less than stellar condition. The "Write Your Own Comic Page" started with the very first issue, and continued right to the end, missing only a few issues (and with a few variations, like scrambled panels). For most of the run it featured two unnamed boys seen above, a few years older than the toddler stars of the series, having various slapstick adventures that don't really need words to understand, but provide ample opportunity for gags. There is one episode which features Sugar interacting with the boys, so it looks like they are in the same neighbourhood. Towards the end of the series, the pages would sometimes feature Sugar and Spike, or their supporting characters Bernie the Brain and Little Arthur, instead of our regular stars.

Not sure if the upcoming reprint will include the various feature pages like these, it would be nice if they are in there, as they add a lot to the experience. Although I picture someone buying a hardcover years from now and finding the paper-dolls cut out, and the "Write Your Own" comic page filled in...

This page appeared in SUGAR AND SPIKE ##32 [1961].

Sugar&Spike - Cats? Meowch!

2011-01-07T11:02:00.004-05:00

The Chronicles of Sheldon Mayer's Sugar & Spike

Cats? Meowch!
Sugar & Spike #6 [1957]
1 page
Reprints: None [yet]

Spike's dad comes home to find the kids sitting in the corner, apparently for finger-painting. He can't understand that, until he finds out what they were painting with, and the feline invasion that resulted.

A very cute example of the singe page stories that Mayer excelled in. The cats in this one are especially adorable.

A few issues later in the letter column there was a note from a reader who didn't quite understand the punchline to this story. Oddly I read the issue with the letter long before I read this issue, so I was wondering what the letter-writer meant. It's unfortunate that the upcoming reprint probably won't include letter columns, as they're a delight.

Characters: Sugar, Spike, Mr. Wilson, Mrs. Wilson, dozens of cats
Damage: The walls can be cleaned, I guess. That furniture might never be the same
Punishment: In the corner, twice

"I wish they'd make up their minds!"

Sugar&Spike - Glx Sptzl Glaah #1 [1977]

2011-01-06T06:56:00.003-05:00

I've been waiting for a decent Sugar & Spike reprint since the mid-1980s. That makes me a late-coming band-wagon jumper compared to the guys who put together GLX SPTZL GLAAH #1 back in 1977. I believe it was the only issue of this fanzine devoted to all the works of Sheldon Mayer, with special emphasis on Sugar & Spike.

That cover up above is, of course, by Mark Evanier, who I assume most people reading this are familiar with, though you might not have seen his artwork before. He also writes a 2-page article about Sugar & Spike, in particular the story "Who's Sorry Now?" from #4, which will be included in the upcoming reprint.

A lot of other contributors to the 28-page fanzine.

Well, editor Ken Gale has a site with an article about Mayer over here, and archives of his comic book radio show 'Nuff Said. Rich Morrissey is sadly no longer with us, I exchanged a few e-mails with him back in the 1990s, nice guy. Ron Goulart is a shockingly prolific author. Harry Broertjes is a name associated closely with Legion of Super-Heroes fandom. Mike Gold's edited a lot of comics over the years, and writes for ComicMix now. A few of the other names sound familiar, but I'm not sure if they're the same people I'm thinking of.

Anyway, fun little magazine, with articles about Scribbly, Black Orchid and the Three Mouseketeers, lots of fan art (including paper dolls for the kids in Legion of Super-Hero costumes), a few samples of Mayer's art (including a short note on an illustrated form letter he sent to a fan) and more.

Sugar&Spike - Sugar, the Sweet Little Mommie

2011-01-05T09:11:00.000-05:00

The Chronicles of Sugar & Spike

Sugar, the Sweet Little Mommie
Sugar & Spike #95 [1971]
1 page
Reprints: None

Sheldon Mayer did some great single-page (sometimes half-page) stories throughout the run of the series. That's a form he was used to from his early days, working for newspaper syndicates and doing single page stories for the early comic books that imitated the format of the comic strip reprints that made up the bulk of the content in those days. He also, on at least two occasions, prepared some proposal material for an S&S comic strip.

This is typical of the single-page strips, just the two kids interacting in a high-energy way with a quick punchline. In this case, Sugar gets frustrated with the lack of cooperation from her dolly, while Spike tries to reason with her, a folly to be sure, until he realizes it's better for him to just play along. From the prism of the 21st century you might worry about the roots of Sugar's aggression, and wonder if she'll need some anger management help in later years, but ignoring that it's a nice look at how seriously kids can take their make-believe, and how the relationship between Sugar and Spike works.

By the way, the story code (461) on this page suggests it was drawn some years earlier, around #70 in 1967, but it wasn't used at the time. This was possibly because the book went to full-issue stories around that time (there's a twenty issue stretch with only two single-page stories).

Characters: Sugar, Spike
Damage: the doll looks pretty sturdy, probably came through okay.
Sugar's treatment of Spike: I'm more worried about damage to Spike. Sugar knocks him over and shakes him pretty roughly

"Tsk! Tsk! How silly can you get?"

My Collection - SUGAR & SPIKE [1956 Series]

2011-01-04T10:19:00.001-05:00

[For the unofficial "Sugar & Spike Awareness Month", a repeat and updating of an old post]

Sugar & Spike [1956 series]
65 issues [1957 - 1971]
6 - 11, 19, 25 - 27, 29, 31 - 32, 37, 41 - 42, 44, 48 - 61, 65 - 98

Boy, this is some book. 98 total issues published, all written and drawn by Sheldon Mayer, over 15 years. The last of those came out when I was about Spike's age and probably getting up to similar antics. This is one of my favourite comics of all time, by one of my favourite cartoonists.

I first encountered the characters in a mid-1980s reprint digest, sometime after it was published. Don't even recall where or why I got it, but I do know that I liked it a lot. A few years later I happened upon a comic shop that had all its back-issues at half-price, and looked through for anything interesting (I recall getting my first taste of Kirby's JIMMY OLSEN at the same time), and they had some beat-up later issues of SUGAR & SPIKE for a few bucks each. Even better than the digest. Been picking it up ever since, getting a pretty decent collection in widely varied conditions (a few with pages missing or with the Write-Your-Own pages written or coloured on). Keeping all of these at least until the unlikely day that they're reprinted, and probably a lot longer. Didn't get any issues for a while, but now thanks to the internets (invented by Bernie the Brain, no doubt) I've got some more, and might actually one day track down the 33 I'm missing

It's hard to explain exactly why I love this even more than the work of other contemporary humour cartoonists like Barks or Kelly or Schulz or whoever. I guess everyone has a few cartoonists who just manage to speak to a part of their brain, depending on exactly when they first encountered them and any other variables. For lack of a better term, cartoonists who feel like home. I'd say three reach that level for me, and Mayer is one of them (one of the others should be obvious, the other, well, is still a few dozen entries down on this set of posts, but there's a clue in the name of the weblog).

For me just about everything just works in Mayer's work. The basic concept of S&S is brilliant in its simplicity. Babies who can talk to each other but not to adults. But far beyond the concept, Mayer's execution was sheer genius. He's one of those cartoonists who can draw everything funny, so the facial expressions, the body language, all the background bits, the character designs, everything on the page contributes to the humour. The writing easily matches that, with lots of explorations of the life of a baby, both logical and fanciful as the story calls for. I especially like how effortlessly Mayer seems to clearly define and constantly reinforce the differences between Sugar and Spike without needing to say it explicitly. A lot comes out just in how they talk and act towards each other.

In the later issues Mayer started doing longer stories and then injecting fantasy elements in the stories (most notably in regular character Bernie the Brain introduced in #72 and soon a de facto third star of the book, getting cover billing for a while). That stuff still works for me, and indeed many of my early favourites are among those stories since that was the first stuff I read, but I'm glad that later Mayer backed off a bit from the fantasy elements, and did a healthy mix for stories in the last dozen issues (plus the later new stories he did for foreign markets).

Okay, I'll shut up now. Just wanted to write enough to justify the number of scans I wanted to include. All complete stories, click on them and check them out.

Notable issues:

Eh, all of them.

Sugar&Spike - Uncle Charley Returns

2011-01-03T09:04:00.000-05:00

The Chronicles of Sheldon Mayer's Sugar & Spike

Uncle Charley Returns!
Sugar & Spike #61 [1965]
4 pages
Reprints: None
Dedication: Lisa, Jimmy and Andrea Thomson (ages 3, 1 1/2 and 2 months) and their Aunt Rayline, New Westminster, Canada

Sugar's Uncle Charley (her mother's younger brother) is one of the best recurring characters in the series. He first shows up in "Busy Corners", the best story in the first issue of the series, which establishes that he's the one adult who truly understands what kids like, toys that make loud ka-bom noises (usually as part of his tests on his own theories of child rearing), and appears on a regular basis thereafter to play out variations on that theme, usually ending with him sharing the punishment of sitting in the corner. Charley is a traffic cop, and the kids always instantly know he's arrived from his put-put (motorcycle) out front.

In this short tale, Charley's gift is a record used to teach parakeets to talk, which Charley thinks can do the same for Sugar and Spike. Sugar's mother reluctantly agrees, but then gives up just as the kids figure out what's expected of them. Wanting to make their favourite Uncle happy, they decide to copy the next word he says, which unfortunately for him turns out to be "Baloney". The kids' gleeful repetition of "Bawoney" at the top of their lungs earns all three of them a (completely unjustified, in my opinion) trip to the corner.

Characters: Sugar, Spike, Uncle Charley, Mrs. Plumm
Property Damage: some wet cement gets some footprint action
Sugar's treatment of Spike: drags him around by his feet

"Sure! He's our friend! And he knows he's not smart enough to learn baby-talk!... So he's trying to teach us his language!"

Sugar&Spike - Beach Nuts

2011-01-02T11:58:00.003-05:00

The Chronicles of Sheldon Mayer's Sugar & Spike

Beach Nuts
Sugar & Spike #10 [1957]
6 pages
Reprints: None [yet]
Dedication: Roberta Disano (age 10), NJ

The kids are taken to the beach, which they enjoy, and they aren't at all tired when put down for a nap so they sneak away. When they find a pile of sand with feet sticking out if it, they come to the logical conclusion that the sand from their sandbox walked there, and begin to worry about how its going to get home. Meanwhile, their parents finally notice they're missing, and their fathers show what courage really is.

Interesting lettering error, the man in the sand has babytalk style balloons for his speech, instead of grown-up talk.

Characters: Sugar, Spike, all four parents, unnamed man in sand and other beach-going extras
Damage: minimal, that hat filled with sand might never be the same
Sugar's treatment of Spike: he's grabbed rather harshly and thrown into the face of the man in the sand

"Did you know sand had feet?"

Sugar&Spike - The Big Word Mystery

2011-01-01T12:12:00.004-05:00

The Chronicles of Sugar & Spike

The Big Word Mystery
Sugar & Spike #10 [1957]
6 pages
Reprints: None [yet]
Dedication: Carolyn Ernest (age 8), CA

Spike explores the mystery of why some things don't stay in the air when you let them go, and others do. For some reason this gets him into trouble, but then when he repeats what his mother calls him ("Bah Boy"), she's all happy and calls over Sugar's mom to see Spike's new verbal skills. Sugar, meanwhile, demonstrates her own theories on things staying in the air if they have strings attached, resulting in a wooden duck smashing a window. Fortunately the magic words get them out of that jam, so they go out in the world to try it out some more. Their neighbour is out mowing the lawn, but thinking of skipping it to go fishing, just as the kids walk by and start calling him "Bah Boy", leading him to complain to their parents about them being mind-readers.

An excellent look at two common motifs in the stories, the kids experimenting with their version of science to find out why the world works in counter-intuitive ways and the grown-ups getting excited by the kids exhibiting verbal skills when in fact the kids have no idea what those sounds mean.

Characters: Spike, Mr. Wilson (flashback), Mrs. Wilson, Mrs. Plumm, Sugar, Mr. Blodgett
Damage: baby bottle, water jug, flower vase, window (wooden duck presumed unharmed)
Punishment: slapped wrists, Spike sits in corner
Sugar's treatment of Spike: jumps off table onto his chest

Well, at first I thought it meant, "I hate you, you're a phooey kid!"

11 Highly Anticipated 2011 Comics

2011-01-01T00:01:00.005-05:00

A bunch of books that hopefully will be out within the next year, some new some reprint.

SUGAR AND SPIKE ARCHIVES VOL. 1
You'll be hearing a lot more about this from me in the next few weeks. This is a collection of the first ten issues of the classic Sheldon Mayer series from 1956-1957. It's one of my favourite comics of all-time, and I've been waiting about 20 years for them to finally do a book like this. [Sugar & Spike Awareness Month launches later today]

FRACTURE OF THE UNIVERSAL BOY
A new book from Michael Zulli, writing and drawing. I'm still not sure what it's actually going to be about, but I know the artwork will be grotesque, horrific and beautiful.

POGO: THE COMPLETE DAILY & SUNDAY COMIC STRIPS VOL. 1
Hope springs eternal... This has been promised for a long while. There are a lot of great comic strip reprint projects going on (2011 should see continuing reprints of Peanuts, King Aroo, Gasoline Alley, Popeye, Little Orphan Annie, Captain Easy, Secret Agent Corrigan, Krazy Kat, On Stage, Prince Valiant and others, and first volumes of Buz Sawyer, Mickey Mouse, Brenda Starr and more), but for whatever reason Walt Kelly's classic work remains the biggest gap in that library.

EMPIRE STATE: A LOVE STORY (OR NOT)
A new book by Jason Shiga. I've loved both BOOKHUNTER and MEANWHILE from Shiga, so that puts his next book right up there on my list.This looks to be Shiga's take on the romantic comedy formula, although with his track record I'd expect some twists.

THE STEVE DITKO OMNIBUS VOL. 1
A collection from DC, following up on their CREEPER collection of 2010, this will reprint his work on SHADE and STALKER from the 1970s, as well as his short story work for various DC anthologies from the 1960s to the 1980s. Some great stuff in there.

TALES OF THE UNCANNY
Steve Bissette's revival of his share of the 1963 characters. I enjoyed the preview published last year, and it'll be welcome to see some major Bissette comics again, after a decade of mostly just a few short bits and non-comics illustration.

BOOK OF HUMAN INSECTS (Ningen Konchuki (人間昆虫記))
The next single-volume work from Osamu Tezuka to be published by Vertical, this relatively short book (under 400 pages, for Tezuka that's like a pamphlet) from the early 1970s sounds very strange. Which is just the flavour I love my Tezuka. Here's its page on the official Tezuka site, under the title HUMAN METAMORPHOSIS

A TREASURY OF XXᵗʰ CENTURY MURDER: THE LIVES OF SACCO & VANZETTI
The latest of Rick Geary's long running series of true crime books, the 13th overall (9 Victorian and 4 20th century), I'm really looking forward to this one as it's an especially fascinating case. I love the Woody Guthrie album, if you're curious what side of the issue my sympathies lie.

You souls of Boston, bow your heads
Our two most noble sons are dead;
Sacco and Vanzetti both have died,
And drifted out with the Boston tide.

PS MAGAZINE: THE BEST OF THE PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE MONTHLY
Will Eisner's work for the army from 1951 to 1971, using comics to teach maintenance procedures, is often fascinating and amusing. While scans of the issues are readily available online, a well selected and produced collection of the best of that work will certainly be worth having. And the contribution by Eddie Campbell, based on some of the last postings on his now-defunct blog, I'm sure will be worth having.

FEYNMAN
A big new book Jim Ottaviani and Leland Myrick about Richard Feynman. I loved the Feynman bits of Ottaviani's first book, TWO-FISTED SCIENCE, and it led me to read several books by and about Feynman when it first came out. Saw a few pages of this at Ottaviani's table at TCAF last year, and it looks great. See some of the full colour pages scattered on a table over here.

THE JACK KIRBY OMNIBUS VOL. 1
This is a collection of Jack Kirby's work for DC in the 1950s, with the exception of CHALLENGERS OF THE UNKNOWN (already reprinted in various formats). That means about 67 pages of Green Arrow and over 200 pages of other material, mostly science fiction from the various anthology titles running back then. Over half of this material has never been reprinted before, and what I've seen is definitely prime Kirby.

Well, all that would make for a good year, so let's hope they all manage to make it out. There's a lot more I could have included (and no doubt many more not announced yet), but my sense of balance insisted on 11. Either that or 2011. Wonder if i can find 2000 more books worth listing...

In any case, I'll definitely try to do a better job of writing about the stuff that comes out before the last day of the year.

2010 in comics

2010-12-31T00:48:00.006-05:00

A brief overview of comics in 2010, including the stuff I bought and read, stuff I bought and still have sitting in the metaphorical to-read pile, stuff that came out that I still have to buy (some of it on order and coming in the mail), stuff I borrowed and read in whole or in part and stuff that seemed interesting. The Ditko over here, and the Kirby over here.

SHOWCASE PRESENTS DIAL H FOR HERO
SHOWCASE PRESENTS SECRETS OF SINISTER HOUSE
SHOWCASE PRESENTS SGT. ROCK #3
SHOWCASE PRESENTS THE DOOM PATROL #2
SHOWCASE PRESENTS OUR ARMY AT WAR #1
I do still love DC's Showcase Presents format, big thick books of black and white reprints. The one from the year I'm most happy about is the one I don't have yet, OUR ARMY AT WAR, in my hands this time next week, post office willing. 500 pages of early 1950s war comics. I'm in the middle of reading a whole bunch of them, including those released this year, usually reading a story from each every week. DIAL H is goofy fun, with great Jim Mooney artwork, I'd have loved it at age 10, I still like it a lot at age 40. SINISTER HOUSE is mostly journeyman early 1970s stuff, with occasional artistic standouts including Alex Toth, Alfredo Alcala and Sam Glanzman. The SGT. ROCK book is all Kanigher/Kubert so far, about half new to me, and naturally great. Really looking forward to the Kanigher/Heath stuff coming up towards the end of the book. DOOM PATROL has some quirky stories by Arnold Drake that amuse if I'm in the right mood, but the Bruno Premiani art is the real star. There were also WORLD'S FINEST (Superman/Batman team-up) and LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES volumes out this year, which I'm sure I'll pick up eventually.

AYAKO
The latest single-volume reprint of Osamu Tezuka's work published by Vertical, a thick 700-page hardcover, looks really impressive. Still waiting until I have the time and am in the right mood. Also from Tezuka this year, several volumes of BLACK JACK, which I need to get caught up on, and thinner 2-volume versions of APOLLO'S SONG and ODE TO KIRIHITO. I really need to catch up on all the Tezuka stuff available, and re-read a lot of it. And this BOOK OF HUMAN INSECTS thing coming up looks bizarre.

AMELIA RULES - THE TWEENAGE GUIDE TO NOT BEING UNPOPULAR
AMELIA RULES - TRUE THINGS (ADULTS DON'T WANT KIDS TO KNOW)
Jimmy Gownley returned in a big way in 2010, with two long original books featuring his character Amelia McBride and her friends and family, picking up right where the serialized version (also available in several collections) left off. I write about the first one over here, the second I hope to get around to writing about soon, but it's even better. And another volume due in September 2011.

BLAZING COMBAT
Softcover edition of the previous hardcover reprint of the 4-issue war comics series Archie Goodwin wrote and edited with some great artists back in the 1960s. Still amazing stuff, very well reproduced, I just leave it lying around to flip to stories at random.

TALES OF THE UNCANNY - N-MAN & FRIENDS PREVIEW EDITION #1
A preview of Steve Bissette's upcoming return to his share of the 1963 characters, I wrote about it over here. No word yet on exactly when we'll see the actual book, but it's one of my most anticipated 2011 releases.

BEASTS OF BURDEN - ANIMAL RITES
A very well designed large hardcover of the Evan Dorkin / Jill Thompson series about domestic pets who get involved in the supernatural. The series began with short stories in some anthology comics, which led to a 4-issue series last year. All of that material is collected in this book. Evan Dorkin's stories are very different from the material I know and love from his solo projects, but still very entertaining, a nice mix of humour and horror with some good work distinguishing the characters. Jill Thompson's painted artwork is some of the best of her career.

MAGNUS ROBOT FIGHTER VOL. 1
This just came out from Dark Horse, I should have my copy soon. It's a softcover reprint of the first seven issues of the original series from the 1960s by Russ Manning. Gorgeous work from the samples I've seen of it before, really looking forward to this and hope we get more volumes. I thought the previous hardcover reprints were criminally overpriced, but this format is right up my alley.

BRODY'S GHOST #1
First of six books in a few series by AKIKO creator Mark Crilley. A good start, with a nice fantasy set-up for some ghosts and adventure storytelling with a Japanese flair, really looking forward to the rest.

AGE OF BRONZE #30 - 31
Eric Shanower's ongoing historical fiction about the Trojan War continues at its regular pace. Gorgeous artwork, as always, and I just got a prior issue I had missed so I can read them now, I think it's a good time to go back to the beginning and re-read the whole series.

SALIMBA
Still waiting for my copy of this collection of the 1980s jungle girl adventure series created by Steve Perry and Paul Chadwick. I read the stuff in the original 3-D version years ago, and will appreciate having a clearer 2-D version, along with the new prose story by Perry with illustrations by Steve Bissette.

DONG XOAI, VIETNAM 1965
A new book from Joe Kubert, about a true story early in the Vietnam War. Still sitting in my to-read pile, waiting for the right mood to strike me. I leaf through it every now and then, and it does look gorgeous, but the story-telling style seems a bit odd. More on that when I finally read it and can tell you if it worked.

MEANWHILE
Jason Shiga's wild and crazy experimental choose-your-own-adventure comic, I wrote about how it almost broke my brain (in a good way) back here. Still a delight that I pick up from time to time just to play around with. Shiga's next book is out in a few months and firmly on that most anticipated books of 2011 list coming on January 1.

A DISEASE OF LANGUAGE
From Eddie Campbell and Alan Moore, a softcover edition of the surprisingly difficult to find hardcover collection of a few years back. This collects The Birth Caul and Snake&Ladders, two Campbell adaptations of Moore's "performance art" pieces, along with a great interview of Moore by Campbell that ran in EDDIE CAMPBELL'S EGOMANIA. Handsome looking book, still sitting around waiting for the right mood to re-read all that stuff.

THE TOON TREASURY OF CLASSIC CHILDREN'S COMICS
A spectacular collection of comics from the 1930s to the 1960s selected by Francoise Mouly and Art Spiegelman. The big four that those familiar with comics would expect art well represented, with multiple stories by Carl Barks, Walt Kelly, John Stanley and Sheldon Mayer (an especially welcome inclusion). There's also great stuff by Jack Cole, Harvey Kurtzman, Dick Briefer and a few dozen more, including a few names I'd never heard of before.

JOHN STANLEY LIBRARY THIRTEEN GOING ON EIGHTEEN VOL 1
JOHN STANLEY LIBRARY MELVIN MONSTER VOL 2
JOHN STANLEY LIBRARY NANCY VOL 2
JOHN STANLEY LIBRARY TUBBY VOL 1
A whole lot of reprints of Stanley's comics for Dell. Always enjoyable, I especially enjoyed some of the stories in THIRTEEN as a very entertaining variation on the teem comic format.

FOLLOW YOUR ART
A new collection of autobiographical travel related stories from Roberta Gregory, most never before published, available from her directly. In the to-read pile as I'm waiting to get a few issues of NAUGHTY BITS I need (after filling most of the holes in my collection through Gregory), and will read it after I read all of her older work. Very attractive book, though, and good to see her publishing something new.

BLACKSAD
A collection of the first three volumes of a European funny animal comic about a hard-boiled private eye cat. I thought the art was really good, for the most part, but had a lot of problems with the writing. I'll have to re-read it sometime and see if I like it better or can put my finger on what I didn't like.

AL WILLIAMSON ARCHIVES #1
AL WILLIAMSON'S FLASH GORDON - A LIFELONG VISION OF THE HEROIC
A pair of books published by Flesk, celebrating the work of a great who sadly passed away in 2010. I wrote about the Flash Gordon book here, and it remains one of the best looking books in a year of great looking books. Kind of wish I'd sprung the extra few dollars for the hardcover. The ARCHIVES is a collection of sketches from Williamson, which looks great, but I wish there was some more text to give context to the images.

THE MUPPET SHOW COMIC BOOK - ON THE ROAD
The third collection of Roger Langridge's comics based on the classic Jim Henson series of the 1970s, I wrote about the first two here, pretty much all the same applies to this one. Unfortunately the run of comics has ended or is ending soon, but that still leaves quite a few more for me to read after this one.

THE UNWRITTEN VOL 1 TOMMY TAYLOR AND THE BOGUS IDENTITY
THE UNWRITTEN VOL 2 INSIDE MAN
The first two collections of the on-going fantasy comic by Mike Carey and Peter Gross. I was pleasantly surprised by this, after not thinking much of the premise (and after I stopped reading the previous Carey/Gross collaboration for Vertigo, LUCIFER, about half-way through). For the most part it reads pretty well, and has some clever ideas. Can't say I think too much about some of the digressions between the main story, but maybe they'll turn out to be important later.

THE CBLDF PRESENTS - LIBERTY ANNUAL 2010
The annual anthology to benefit the CBLDF, edited by Larry Marder of Beanworld fame this time around. Sadly 2010 was a mostly fallow year for Beanworld after a good 2009, but there are some beans in Marder's 2-page story in here. In addition to the Marder, some Evan Dorkin (Milk & Cheese return), Don Simpson (Megaton Man returns), Jeff Smith and others under a nice Dave Gibbons cover.

THE CULTURE CORNER
A collection of the half-page humour feature that Basil Wolverton did for Fawcett's WHIZ COMICS from the 1940s and 1950s. Very odd, as you'd expect from Wolverton, with a lot of word-play and sometimes grotesque visuals. This book includes not only all the published pages in colour, but wherever available also includes Wolverton's pencilled layouts which were sent to the editor for approval, printed opposite the published strips. But wait, there's more. There are also dozens of additional layouts that were rejected, either by Wolverton or his editor, which are also included. Plus examples of a few similar features Wolverton did. Very nice comprehensive package.

LUCKY IN LOVE
A new book from Stephen DeStefano, of 'MAZING MAN and HERO HOTLINE fame, along with co-writer George Chieffet. Just read it recently, haven't quite absorbed it yet, it's an interesting contrast of style and content. Unfortunately it's also just the first half of a story which won't be concluded until, it says, 2013. And I've read comics for long enough not to be too optimistic about a promise of a follow-up that far in advance coming out on time. Anyway, interesting book, more when I've had a chance to re-read it.

CASTLE WAITING VOLUME 2
A collection of Linda Medley's excellent comic, still not sure I can recommend it for the reasons mentioned here, but still some great stuff. Hopefully we'll have word on Medley's future plans sooner rather than later.

JONAH HEX - NO WAY BACK
No, you didn't imagine it, there really was a Jonah Hex movie, so there was an original hardcover comic for Hex as well. The story wasn't too good, but it was good to see Hex's co-creator Tony DeZuniga drawing the story.

THE QUESTION - PEACEMAKER
QUESTION NO. 37 [BLACKEST NIGHT]
The first finishes up the collection of the 36-issue Dennis O'Neil / Denys Cowan run from the 1980s. The weakest part of the run, but still some enjoyable comics. A shame DC was so short-sighted in the reprint strategy for the series, not including the annuals and just overly lackluster design. Early this year there was also that "#37", tying in with DC's big crossover. Apparently Vic Sage is dead, someone else is the Question, Vic comes back as a zombie and... Fuck, I can't do it. There are some good moments in the comic, which was co-written by O'Neil and pencilled by Cowan (with inks by Bill Sienkiewicz who inked many of the original covers), but there's just such a tonal conflict between what made the series special and the big crossover of the year.

BLACK BLIZZARD
An early comic from Yoshiro Tatsumi, mostly interesting as a sample of the type of work he was doing during the days he writes about in his very impressive look at the early days of Japanese comics in A DRIFTING LIFE published last year. On its merits not too special, although there are some interesting moments of youthful energy from a young artist figuring things out as he goes.

ROB HANES ADVENTURES VOL. 0
A collection of Randy Reynaldo's stories featuring a modern day soldier-of-fortune, heavily inspired by the classic adventure comics of a half-century ago. This book has the issues published as ADVENTURE STRIP DIGEST in the mid-1990s, bridging the gap between the mini-comic run (reprinted as ROB HANES ARCHIVES) and the currently on-going ROB HANES ADVENTURES, which is up to #12. Very entertaining stuff.

COMPLETE MILT GROSS COMIC BOOK STORIES
Impressive looking big, thick book, I have to get around to reading it.

XENOZOIC
A great new collection of Mark Schultz's XENOZOIC TALES comic of the that ran from 1987 to 1996, featuring just the main stories (not the Steve Stiles illustrated back-ups) from the 14-issue run, almost all of it with film freshly shot from the original art, plus some new illustrations. It's a gorgeous book, definitely the best presentation the work has ever gotten. Fascinating to see Schultz's progression as an artist, from the very gritty EC-inspired early work to the increasingly illustrative later stuff. Not sure how much I believe it, but the ending even promises more Xenozoic tales in the future, which would be nice since it ends just as the story is beginning to come together.

THE VIKING PRINCE
A nice hardcover collection of all the stories drawn by Joe Kubert featuring the character from THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD in the 1950s, as well as a later crossover story with Sgt. Rock, with various writers starting and ending Robert Kanigher. Just got this one, haven't had a chance to read it yet, but I already know from a few prior reprints that I love this stuff. I've also been tempted by the similar reprint of the Broome/Anderson Atomic Knights. And that reprint of the early Superboy stories.

SIEGEL AND SHUSTER'S FUNNYMAN
A book about the short-lived feature that the creators of Superman worked on, both in comic books and comic strips, after they were fired from their more famous creation. Unfortunately the book only includes a handful of stories, following lengthy essays about Jewish humour and the precedents for super-heroes in Jewish culture.

DC UNIVERSE - ORIGINS
Well, it was fairly cheap, so I got this collection of 2-page origin stories of various DC characters, reprinted from a few different sources over the last few years. A lot of different artists, a few quite good, keep it visually interesting. The writing is mostly journeyman stuff, nothing too special, but a few inspired moments brighten it up. Sometimes bizarre to read how different the interpretations of the characters have gotten from what I remember.

THE PLAYWRIGHT
A light but engaging comic by Eddie Campbell and Daren White, definitely needs a re-read before I comment too much on it, but definitely worth reading.

WEDNESDAY COMICS
Surprisingly, my library got copies of this huge collection of DC's anthology comic of last year. Then it was published as a folding newspaper page, collected it was slightly smaller but much better overall. The comics themselves weren't that great, of course. I don't think any of the fifteen 12-page features were wholly successful, although several of them had good points. Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez's art on Metal Men, with Kevin Nowlan inks, was great in that large size. The Kamandi story, done in a Prince Valiant format by Dave Gibbons and Ryan Sook, was pretty solid. Mike Allred's artwork fit Metamorpho pretty well, and the way he and Neil Gaiman played with the format was amusing at times. Joe Kubert's always nice to see, although I was surprised nothing in his Sgt. Rock story really used the format.

ART IN TIME: UNKNOWN COMIC BOOK ADVENTURES, 1940-1980
A companion book to the earlier ART OUT OF TIME, also edited by Dan Nadel, had some entertaining little seen comics. It's always good to see some of Sam Glanzman's KONA, and some really nice stuff by Pat Boyette, Pete Morisi, Mort Meskin, Bill Everett and others.

USAGI YOJIMBO SPECIAL EDITION #1
USAGI YOJIMBO #126 - 134
Stan Sakai continues with his regular USAGI comic like clockwork, and it's been very enjoyable with some strong short stories. Meanwhile, Fantagraphics finally got out the long-promised deluxe edition of the early years of the series (the first 38-issue series and various short stories). My copy is on the way, I'm really looking forward to it, more when I have it in hand.

GRIMJACK OMNIBUS #1
Nice affordable compact volume of the first 400 or so pages of the John Ostrander / Tim Truman science fiction adventure series from the 1980s. I mostly got it for the early stories that ran as back-ups in STARSLAYER, but it's good to have the rest. A much nicer format than the previous reprints.

SERGIO ARAGONES' GROO - THE HOGS OF HORDER #3 - 4
MAD'S GREATEST ARTISTS - SERGIO ARAGONES
After some small delays the latest Groo series by Aragones and Evanier concluded. Still good stuff. Still no word on the promised Groo/Conan crossover, or the GROO TREASURY reprint of the early years of the comic. But there was a great hardcover collection of just a fraction of Aragones's nearly 50 years of work for MAD. Funny stuff, I keep picking it up and reading a few pages, amazed at how consistent he is and how well he captures each era as he was living it.

Sugar&Spike Christmas Pint-Size Pin-Ups by Sheldon Mayer

2010-12-25T01:24:00.002-05:00

From SUGAR AND SPIKE #26 [Dec. 1959/Jan. 1960], by Sheldon Mayer

Coming in January, Sugar & Spike Awareness Month, to celebrate the scheduling of SUGAR AND SPIKE ARCHIVES VOL. 1, order code JAN110334, page 115 of January 2011 Diamond Previews and ISBN 1401231128, due out August 2011.

While I do like them, the activity pages like this than ran in the series tend to be the bane of my existence, as several of the issues I have of the series have these pages removed, often with story pages on the reverse.

Sugar & Spike reprint in 2011

2010-12-21T21:11:00.003-05:00

Well, it shouldn't come as any surprise to regular readers here, if there are any left with my sporadic posting, that I'm a big fan of Sheldon Mayer in general, and his creation SUGAR & SPIKE in particular. So I'm quite happy about the announcement of this coming from DC in August 2011:

SUGAR AND SPIKE ARCHIVES VOL. 1

Written by SHELDON MAYER; Art and cover by SHELDON MAYER

DC's cult favorite comic about a pair of precocious babies is collected at last in this volume.

Hot-tempered Sugar Plumm and shy Cecil "Spike" Wilson may be toddlers, but they know more about getting into trouble than most grown-ups. And while they can understand each other perfectly, all their parents seem to hear when they speak is "Glx sptzl glaah!"

Now, DC Comics collects their classic series for the first time, starting with issues #1-10, in this hardcover showcasing stories and art by the talented Sheldon Mayer, inspired by the hijinks of his own children.

* Archive Editions * 240pg. * Color * Hardcover * $59.99 US

That's those 10 issues shown in that animated image that should be to the right. For more S&S covers, check the GCD.

And no, not really the format I would have chosen among the many reprint formats that DC has to offer, not to mention the superior formats that other publishers use, and I'm sure I'll have various quibbles when it comes out, but a 240 page collection of some of Mayer's best work is great to see.

Anyway, for some bizarre reason comic shops are expected to order this book due in August with their orders due in late January, so the next few weeks will be the time to make your interest known if you're planning to buy it from a comic shop (order code JAN110334, page 115 of January 2011 Diamond Previews). It's also not too early to place an order with your on-line retailer of choice, like Amazon (disclosure, small commission to me if you use that link). That 37% off they have right now is about as good a discount as you're going to find. Not all the other retailers have it listed yet, but they will soon, search for ISBN 1401231128.

Anyway, look for January to be an unofficial "Sugar & Spike Awareness Month" on this weblog. I'll try to get daily content up

CASTLE WAITING v2 by Linda Medley

2010-11-27T01:56:00.002-05:00

Well, this is kind of an odd thing. On the merits of the work, the newly released CASTLE WAITING VOLUME 2 deserves as high a recommendation as I'm likely to give. I've been a fan of Linda Medley's series since I first encountered it in a short preview in Charles Vess's BALLADS AND SAGAS back in 1997, which insured I picked up the first issue of CASTLE WAITING when I saw it a few weeks later (and went back to pick up the CURSE OF BRAMBLY HEDGE one-shot I'd missed from the previous year). I was thrilled in 2006 when the series returned with a gorgeous hardcover reprinting the completed storylines and a new on-going series reprinting and then continuing the story begun back in 2002. That new series was on of the few serialized comics I continued to buy in the last few years, and came out fairly steadily until early last year, with 15 issues in all. This new book collects all 15 issues of that series, which is quite a bargain at $30, less than half the cover price of those issues.

Unfortunately, right now I can't recommend it, since as you can see it sort of lacks a certain something, that being Linda Medley's name on the cover. In fact, her name only appears in the copyright notice and a sticker on the backcover. The only information I can find on that on-line is here, where the omission is just noted as being at Medley's request. I probably wouldn't have bought it if I had heard about that first, unless Medley said publicly that she was okay with it. Unfortunately, her own website vanished quite a while ago.

The other thing the book lacks is an ending, as the 15 published issues don't complete the story begun in #1. I'd say that it was at least two, maybe more, issues from a conclusion. Hopefully in the near future we'll get some news on when and where Medley will continue the story (presumably not from the same publisher), but I can't really recommend the book if there's the possibility that it'll be re-released in a proper edition with the full story. I mean, I've already bought it all twice (three times in the case of the first two chapters), and I'd probably buy it a fourth if need be, but that's just me.

But as I said, on the merits of the work, this is a great book, as good as comics get. Medley continues her exploration of the denizens of Castle Waiting, characters from fairy tales and folklore living their lives after the famous adventures are over. Medley continues with her rather unique structure, where she has a leisurely pace for the main story but a very dense narrative overall as she explores the pasts of the characters. And of course her art is beautiful, full of great character designs, body language, facial expressions and some of the best renderings of architecture in comics since Gerhard at his peak.

Anyway, a great book despite the misgivings above. Hopefully we'll get some news about the future of the series and I can clarify if I actually recommend the book or not. Until then, see if your local library gets this, and the first book.

Quick bits on recent stuff

2010-11-25T23:28:00.002-05:00

A few quick comments on some stuff I've read or bought or plan to read or buy recently. Look for longer posts on these books and other things in the future. Or, you know, maybe look for another long gap before I post again. You never know.

As Steve Bissette mentions here, the new edition of Steve Perry and Paul Chadwick's SALIMBA is now available. I should have my copy soon, and I'm looking forward to it. I never did find my original copies of the Blackthorne 3-D version, and in fact in looking for it found that there are a number of 1980s 3-D comics I once owned that I can't find. I guess they were stored together at some point and misplaced. Most of them are no great loss, especially since I can't easily read 3-D comics anyway, but Salimba was one I remembered enjoying despite the 3-D, so it'll be good to have a more readable edition of that. This version also includes a new prose short story by Perry, illustrated by Bissette. More when I get my copy.

I also recently read Paul Chadwick's more famous series, CONCRETE, in the seven-volume reprint series that Dark Horse put out a few years ago. I'd read about half the material in those before, but had drifted out after a while and never got back in. Very mixed reaction. Some of it was brilliant, of course, but sometimes Chadwick seemed more interested in playing with some design or with some cause and it didn't work at all. It does end on a fairly strong note, though, and it's good to hear that after several years away Chadwick will be returning to Concrete soon.

Caught up on the last few issues of USAGI YOJIMBO recently, and Stan Sakai's going through a good period. Not that he's been through very many weak ones over the last two decades. The big 1200 page collection of early the Fantagraphics years of the series should be out in the next month, and I'm sorely tempted to get that one, even though I finally did find the last of the original issues I needed a while back.

In a slightly related somewhat less expensive big book, I got a copy of the recent MAD'S GREATEST ARTISTS - SERGIO ARAGONES hardcover, a nice survey of Aragones' work for the magazine from 1963 today. A nice companion piece to my beat-up coverless copy of the 1978 MAD'S SERGIO ARAGONES ON PARADE.

Michael Zulli has a new book coming out early next year, THE FRACTURE OF THE UNIVERSAL BOY. Keep an eye on his site over here for some information about it. I'm still not clear on what the book is about, but his publisher had some spectacular art from the book over here a while back, and 200 pages of artwork of that quality isn't something you see every day.

Mark Crilley's BRODY'S GHOST #1, the first of a six book series to be published by Dark Horse, is a nice start to a light fantasy series. There's a strong influence, acknowledged in the sketch pages in the back, from Takeshi Obata's work on DEATH NOTE, which is a good influence to have.

Speaking of DEATH NOTE, I just noticed that Viz is releasing the series, this time doubling up on the volumes, and it looks like a slightly larger size. I'm glad I put off on buying the box-set of the original volumes (after reading the series in borrowed copies), since these look much more to my liking. Classier covers, too.

For something completely different, I got Jimmy Gownley's AMELIA RULES - TRUE THINGS (ADULTS DON'T WANT KIDS TO KNOW) recently, his latest original book in the adventures of Amelia McBride. Very enjoyable, as always.

Read Eric Shanower and Skottie Young's adaptation of THE WONDERFUL WIZARD OF OZ. It took me a while to get used to Young's design, as I really wanted the book to look like Shanower's old original OZ comics from 20 years ago, but I came to appreciate the merits of Young's approach after a while, and it was a nice version of the original novel, which I haven't read in ages. I'm glad to see the series is continuing (in the middle of the third novel now) and look forward to reading more someday.

Read the first two volume of Mike Carey and Peter Gross's THE UNWRITTEN. So far I liked it, some parts are really clever, though I'm not sure about some aspects and don't know how long it can maintain my interest (I was reading Carey and [mostly] Gross's run on LUCIFER a while back, and after some really good stuff lost all interest just past the half-way point).

I'd read a few bits of it before, but over the two months I got around to reading the complete run of THE WALKING DEAD, up to volume 12 (72 issues). Very mixed feelings on it, which I might get to later. It reads very smoothly, almost too smoothly, as it one of the shallowest comics I can ever recall reading, both in script and art. What's there isn't bad, but it's all on the surface, to the point that the few times it isn't all on the surface I tend to miss it. I also really prefer Tony Moore's art on the first book to Charles Adlard on the subsequent books (though Adlard has his moments, especially in the more recent issues).

I've also been watching the TV show based on the comic. Not hugely impressed, although there is some enjoyable stuff in there. Enough that I'm willing to watch the rest of the short 6-episode season. If it were a full season I'd be seriously thinking of quitting it now.

Some other new stuff sitting around waiting to read. Joe Kubert's latest war comic DONG XOAI, VIETNAM 1965 looks really good. Got the new edition of Mark Schultz's XENOZOIC from Flesk, completely re-shot from the original art whenever available, and looking better than ever. Also from Flesk, AL WILLIAMSON ARCHIVES v1 has some great sketchwork stuff from the classic artist, including an unfinished Xenozoic story, but I would have liked some more notes on the material to give it some context. Still, gorgeous book. Just started the recent SHOWCASE PRESENTS DIAL H FOR HERO reprint of the 1960s Jim Mooney illustrated series, stuff I'd long heard of but never read, and it's nicely wacky, in a way I'd have loved when I was 10.

Remember, Remember...

2010-11-05T00:59:00.000-04:00

Happy Guy Fawkes Day

Seriously, I can't be the only one who would pay good money to see a proper black and white edition of V FOR VENDETTA. Someone get the rights to revert so that Lloyd and Moore can get a proper publisher for it.

(from WARRIOR #1, Art by David Lloyd, script by Alan Moore, lettering by "Zelda Estrella")

And remember, kids, don't try this at home...

Some quick links

2010-10-31T21:26:00.001-04:00

Michael Zulli remembers the PUMA BLUES, and speculates on how it would be now in the unlikely event that he and Steven Murphy re-started the series from scratch today. Look for more about Zulli's major book coming out next year soon.

1977 fan mail response from Charles Schulz.

Mark Evanier has a photo of a Groo-o-lantern, guaranteed to sink Halloween.

Various weird 1960s Archie covers reveal a darker side of Riverdale.

J.M. DeMatteis finds a British edition of his 1980s Star Wars story that doesn't have the editorial changes imposed from above.

A few links

2010-08-15T01:06:00.000-04:00

Rare political cartoon by Lucy van Pelt found.

For the sake of the children, Batman must die!

And meanwhile, Superman vs. Jesus by Ty Templeton.

A look at just a few months of 1950s Prize romance comics with lots of Kirby.

Communist super-villains from Steve Bissette's upcoming return to ~~1963~~ TALES OF THE UNCANNY.

Sluggo and the Cookie Shortage.

I've posted a bunch of 1950s Ditko stories recently, I especially like this one, check it out and if you like follow the links for more, there are some 125 or so full stories available so far, expect about another hundred of them in the next year.

Cathy, 1976-2010

2010-08-12T22:10:00.002-04:00

On the news that "cartoonist" Cathy Guisewite is ending her comic strip, am I the only one who first thought of this:

1994 comic by Evan Dorkin, available in his collection WHO'S LAUGHING NOW? if you want to appreciate him with money.

It took 16 years, but the children will soon be safe.

Strange Schulz...

2010-08-03T23:21:00.000-04:00

One day I'll have to go through the full run on Peanuts and try to identify the dozen strangest images, in or out of context, that Charles Schulz put in there. It's sometimes very jarring, when there's a run of perfectly standard, amusing strips, and then you turn the page and see something like this:

Yes, really.

Early 1967 seems to be an especially good time for some mildly unsettling images.

Harvey Pekar, R.I.P.

2010-07-12T18:33:00.003-04:00

Harvey Pekar passed away today. While I can't say I was the biggest fan of his work, I did enjoy a lot of it and always found it fascinating. I think the first encountered him before I actually read any of his comics when he was occasionally appearing on Letterman in the 1980s, as some goofy comic book guy who would get mad at Letterman. Later I actually read some of his comics. I think the ones I enjoyed the most were the ones dealing with his record collecting:

And in general his work with Robert Crumb was interesting, with both of them really bringing out the best in each other:

Al Williamson, R.I.P.

2010-06-17T08:16:00.017-04:00

Classic comic book artist Al Williamson passed away a few days ago at age 79. You can read a lot more about his life and work from people who met him like John Fleskes, Steve Bissette, Rick Veitch , Ty Templeton, Mark Evanier and many more.

I've posted previously about a few of Williamson's EC stories.
Fired!
Fish Story
The Thing In the 'Glades
Upheaval!

And about some of his Flash Gordon work here and here.

I think the first place I noticed Williamson's work was the adaptation of THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK that he did with Archie Goodwin back in 1980. Even with the less than ideal mass-market paperback format that I had the comic in it was some great stuff, perfectly suited to his style.

(Williamson C3P0 sketch from Vanguard's AL WILLIAMSON SKETCHBOOK [1998], a great little book)

I think the next thing I saw was the "Cliff Hanger" backup he did in the back of SOMERSET HOLMES with Bruce Jones. A great classic adventure story in six parts.

(from the reprint of "Cliff Hanger" in ISG's AL WILLIAMSON ADVENTURES [2003], an excellent collection of Williamson's later work with a variety of writers, with most of his full art jobs from the later years not in the movie adaptation or comic strip vein excellently reproduced in a large size)

I would later discover a lot of his other work, of course. It's gratifying to see the Goodwin/Williamson "The Success Story" from CREEPY #1 singled out so often in writings about Williamson this past week. That was the first story I read when I heard about Williamson's passing, as it was the first one I read when I heard about Archie Goodwin's passing in 1998. A highlight from a pair of creators with careers full of highlights.

(panel from "The Success Story", CREEPY #1 [1964])

And while it was a minor part of his career, I really liked the brief time in the mid-1980s when he inked about a dozen Superman comics over Curt Swan. It was probably the best sustained run of inking that Swan had since Murphy Anderson in the early 1970s.

(Williamson over Swan from DC COMICS PRESENTS #87 [1985])

Williamson spent much of the last two decades of his career inking other artists, and not surprisingly he generally made the work all the better for it. There was some great looking work over Bret Blevins, Lee Weeks and Pat Ollife, and of course a classic Superman/Swamp Thing crossover over Rick Veitch. To close, Al Williamson inking Mark Schultz drawing a dinosaur and a giant penny. With some incidental Batman...

(from BATMAN: LEGENDS OF THE DARK KNIGHT #50 [1993])

Williamson's family requests donations in his memory can be made to

The Joe Kubert School
37 Myrtle Avenue
Dover, NJ 07801
Attn: Al Williamson Scholarship Fund

or

Yesteryears Day Program
2801 Wayne Street
Endwell, NY 13760

A Van Pelt family tradition...

2010-06-13T03:06:00.003-04:00

Been reading some later Peanuts strips recently. I really enjoyed the March 14, 1999 strip, since it's a callback to one of my favourite classic sequences. First, from 1967...

(read the whole week starting here)

And now the callback...

Both by Charles Schulz, of course.

Oh, and since I want to be able to find it quickly later, the Little Red Haired Girl:

THE ART OF DITKO

2010-06-05T09:37:00.000-04:00

THE ART OF DITKO is a large 208-page hardcover published by IDW a few months ago. The bulk of the book is a reprint of 27 ½ short genre stories that Ditko drew for Charlton comics in various stints with the company between 1954 and 1976. All of the stories are reproduced in full colour with the printed comics as the source. Most of the scripts are uncredited, except for one by Nick Cuti. Not mentioned in the book, but Steve Skeates has previously verified that he wrote one of them, and recently Bhob Stewart has written that he and Russ Jones wrote one of the later ones. Several of the others were probably written by Joe Gill.

In addition to the stories, there are 10 covers from Charlton reprinted. The rest of Ditko's career is represented by the reproduction of a dozen pages of original artwork, which includes examples of the Marvel super-heroes, the short "Atlas" fantasy/sci-fi stories that preceded them, two pages from Ditko's brief period drawing for Warren's black and white magazines, a Mr. A page and a few others. There are also a few short essays. Detailed list of the contents and sources over here.

Overall, I'd say this book is an inferior presentation of some superior material. I didn't go into the book with the highest of expectations. I already knew about one major issue, page 3 of this story being missing, replaced with page 3 of this story, which oddly isn't even otherwise included in the book (and why I said it has "27 ½" stories above). Obviously production mistakes happen to the best of publishers, but that one is pretty sloppy. I had some other issues going in as well based on what I heard about the book. Even with those expectations lowered, I found the book to be disappointing.

But before we get to those, I will say that the strength of Ditko's art (and in a few cases the quality of the mostly uncredited writing) probably still makes the book just barely worth picking up, thanks to its relatively low cover price and the generous discount you'd probably buy it at. This book includes about 5% of Ditko's work that would qualify for inclusion (non-super-hero short story work for Charlton), and while it's not the top 5%, I'd say everything included is pretty solidly in the top 23%, and if you like Ditko, that's pretty good. I won't get into details about the individual stories, I have someplace else where I can and will write about that. The only real quibble in story selection is that most of these stories have been reprinted before, some quite recently (and in the case of three of the 1970s stories, in a much superior form (black and white, apparently from original art or quality stats rather than printed comics as the source) in a still-available book co-published by Ditko). Only 4 of the 27 stories have never been reprinted before, and two of those were among the weaker stories in the book (to be fair, the other two were among the best). Obviously if you're going to get a collection with the top 23%, you'll get a few that someone else decided to reprint before, but there are a lot of gems in the 200 or so still never-reprinted Charlton short stories, some 1200 pages, that Ditko drew.

And yes, I like numbers...

Now, other than the missing story page, a big problem was a printing error which may not affect the entire print run (although I did double check with a copy not from the same source I got the one I read, so definitely not a unique error). There's an annoying void in the artwork, about one-inch long, that occurs every 8 pages from page 64 to 160. To wit:

(if the top right panel of page 104 of your copy doesn't look like this, let me know)

When I saw the first one I thought it might have been a scanning thing (there is another scanning issue, a page where it looks like a small piece of paper fell on the scanner beneath the comic), but when I noticed more of them, and that it occurred every 8 pages like clockwork (the size of the signatures of the book), at exactly the same place, figured it must have been a printing issue. If it's just in a very few copies, I guess that's an understandable lapse in quality control. If it's in all of them, that's quite a problem to miss.

I also question the editorial choice to present the material in what appears to be a random order, as you can see from the aforementioned list. There really does seem to be no order in either that stories or in the original art and covers used between stories. I'm not sure why that's considered a good thing. I don't mind reading stories out of order, but I can do that myself, and wouldn't mind having the option to easily read them in some order, maybe at least separating material by decade or something. Strict chronological order would put slightly below-average stories both first and last, but I don't see how that's really an issue.

On the actual reproduction quality, a few months ago I said about another Ditko reprint, "there's a limit to how good a reprint can be if the source material has to be actual printed comics from the 1950s, though what's possible overall has improved tremendously in the last decade. Late in the last century a reprint of this quality probably would have been considered state of the art. In 2010, I'd say it's solidly average, maybe give it a 6 or 7 out of 10". For the most part I'd say the same for this book. It gets a few points more for the larger page size, loses a few for some production issues (other than those mentioned above). I liked the paper a bit more, liked the binding a bit less.

Which leaves the text essays. The first is by Stan Lee. I'm really not sure why (other than a few of the original art pages he wasn't involved in the contents), but it's typical Lee, whatever that may mean to you, with a few of those Lee-isms that I'm sure some people find charming. The book's editor Craig Yoe writes a few pieces, partly about his own interactions with Ditko (including an entertaining story about introducing him to Jim Henson) and about some of the stories reprinted. Most interesting was a short piece by Jerry Robinson, who taught Ditko in the early 1950s. Not really anything in here that he hasn't talked about in interviews before, but always good to hear from Robinson. John Romita provides some thoughts on following Ditko on Spider-Man, and P. Craig Russell writes a few things on his long time as a fan and brief time as an inker of Ditko. As they say, mostly harmless, although like the rest of the book the text pages could have benefited from another one or two editorial/proofing passes.

So, as I said, worth getting as a relatively inexpensive and easy to obtain sampler of some of the better works of a substantial body of work spanning over 20 years, but disappointing overall for a variety of reasons. An inferior presentation of superior material. Overall I'd give it a 6/10.

Steve Perry, R.I.P.

2010-05-30T08:47:00.006-04:00

Steve Bissette has confirmed that writer Steve Perry has passed away. You can read a lot more about his life and the unfortunate circumstances of his last days in other posts from Bissette.

I wasn't reading comics for most of the time that Perry was active in the 1980s, but I did end up with a good percentage of his non-animation related comics (Thundercats and Silverhawks, for which he wrote both cartoons and comics, were after my time, and I don't ever recall watching the shows, though it seems they do have some dedicated fans). Most recently I picked up an issue of his most significant work, TIMESPIRITS, a few years ago, mostly for the Al Williamson guest art, and liked that enough to get the rest of the series shortly after. That series deserves a more detailed look, which I'll try to get around to when, hopefully in the not-too-distant future, co-creator Tom Yeates is able to arrange a reprint. In the meantime, here's a good discussion of it.

Outside of TIMESPIRITS my favourite Perry story is "The Saurian Remains", drawn by Steve Bissette and published in Marvel's AMAZING HIGH ADVENTURE #4 [1986]. A fictionalized fantasy story based on the "Bone Wars" rivalry among 19th century paleontologists, it's a cleverly done tale which provides a fanciful explanation for an old scientific error while also providing the opportunity for Bissette to draw both the dinosaurs and extreme violence that he excels in.

Perry and Bissette also did the memorable stories "A Frog Is A Frog" and "The Blood Bequest" (with John Totleben) for Marvel's BIZARRE ADVENTURES black and white magazine, as well as some stories in HEAVY METAL and EPIC ILLUSTRATED that I haven't read.

With Rick Veitch, Perry did the short story "Ahhh... Christmas" for Marvel's one-shot AMAZING ADVENTURES #1 [1988]. Not your typical warm holiday story, as you might gather from the line:

And what about the elves? I've always wondered about them. An exploited minority if ever there was one. Picture these undemanding little fellows jailed year round in some Arctic factory enslaved to the eccentricities of one slightly larger than themselves...

Perry wrote several stories for the brief revival of THUNDER AGENTS published by Deluxe Comics in the mid-1980s. In the first issue, he wrote a story drawn by Keith Giffen featuring the new female Menthor, and then he did a 2-part story featuring the robotic NoMan in #3 and #4, with artwork by Steve Ditko and Greg Theakston. This latter story was very entertaining as a modern take on a silver age concept (including a villain with the unlikely name Cyrano de Klopps), with several inventive uses of NoMan's powers. Definitely one of the better non-Ditko-written Ditko stories of the era.

I picked up VANGUARD ILLUSTRATED #7 [1984], one of the last comics published by early independent publisher Pacific Comics, quite a while back for the first Mr. Monster story. The anthology leads off with an entertaining western/horror story "The Ballad of Hardcase Bradley" drawn by George Evans. I didn't remember that it was written by Steve Perry, but I remembered the story right away when Steve Bissette mentioned the title a few days ago.

One of Perry's other major comic book works was a jungle adventure comic called SALIMBA, with art by Paul Chadwick. I remember reading that, but can't seem to find it right now. I'll update this if I do. It was recently announced that About Comics had bought the rights to it, along with a new prose short story of the character, so it might return to print sooner or later.

Perry was helped in his last few months by the Hero Initiative. Consider a donation to them if you can.

Various upcoming comics roundup

2010-05-15T02:24:00.003-04:00

Haven't paid too much attention to the solicitations for upcoming comics, except to note the Kirby and Ditko stuff, for the last few months. Heard about a few things I'd missed recently, so I looked down the full lists, and here are some random things I thought were noteworthy, mostly for my own future reference.

AL WILLIAMSON ARCHIVES VOLUME 1 SC
By Al Williamson
The Al Williamson Archives grants unprecedented access to this master storyteller's unseen work. Culled from his extensive private files, each volume of this series will feature unpublished sketches, preliminary artwork and pieces the artist created for his personal enjoyment. Williamson's fondness for fantasy and SF is showcased in this first volume. It collects work created throughout his career: impeccably rendered dinosaurs, barbarians, spacemen and their craft, even a few sexy maidens. It also features a partially inked Xenozoic tale, previously unpublished newspaper strips, and unused Western comics pages from the '50s.
SC, 8x11, 64pgs, $19.95
[ISBN 1933865296, Flesk Publications, MAY101032]

Always love seeing more Williamson, and the guys at Flesk really do a great job on production. This is a little pricy for the page count, but definitely worth considering.

BRODY’S GHOST BOOK 1
By Mark Crilley
On sale July 7
b&w, 96 pages $6.99
TPB, 5 1/4" x 7 1/2"
Brody hoped it was just a hallucination. But no, the teenaged ghostly girl who’d come face to face with him in the middle of a busy city street was all too real. And now she was back, telling him she needed his help in hunting down a dangerous killer, and that he must undergo training from the spirit of a centuries-old samurai to unlock his hidden supernatural powers. Thirteen-time Eisner nominee Mark Crilley joins Dark Horse to launch his most original and action-packed saga to date in Brody’s Ghost, the first in a six-volume limited series.
[ISBN 1595825215, Dark Horse, MAR100018]

I'm a big fan of Crilley's previous work, from AKIKO to BILLY CLIKK to MIKI FALLS, so good to see a new series from him. The previews on Dark Horse Presents looked interesting, and the format is nice and compact and inexpensive.

WILLIE AND JOE: BACK HOME
By Bill Mauldin
$29.99 / HC / 288 pgs / BW
In 1945, a great tide of battered soldiers began flowing back to the United States. Though victorious, these exhausted men were nevertheless too grief-stricken over the loss of comrades, too guilt-ridden that they had survived, and too numbed by trauma to share in the country’s euphoria. Most never saw a ticker-tape parade, or stole a Times Square kiss. All they wanted was to settle back into quiet workaday lives without fear. How tragic that the forces unleashed by WWII made this simple wish impossible. Bill Mauldin brilliantly chronicles these early postwar years and tells his own story of his journey home to a wife he barely knew and a son he had only seen in pictures.
[ISBN 978160699351, Fantagraphics, MAY101017]

I really enjoyed the big 2-volume set of Mauldin's wartime strips from a few years back, so good to see a collection of the rest of the story.

THE ROYAL HISTORIAN OF OZ #1
By Tommy Kovac and Andy Hirsch
Frank Fizzle wishes his writer father would have just a single original idea, but instead Jasper Fizzle sees himself as the new “Royal Historian of OZ” as he insists on writing new OZ stories. When the failed writer discovers that Oz really exists, he makes an error in judgment that brands him a criminal in two worlds. Can Frank save the day and redeem the Fizzle family name, or will the drizzly ghost of the Wicked Witch of the West destroy them all?
24pgs, B&W $1.00
[Slave Labor, APR100711]

Sounds like an amusing new book, and Kovac's WONDERLAND series from a while back was entertaining, so worth a look.

THE JOHN STANLEY LIBRARY: NANCY VOLUME 2 HC
The second volume of Nancy in D+Q's John Stanley Library, elegantly designed by Seth, stars the beloved Brillo-headed Nancy in her own comic book series written by the greatest children's comics writer of all time, John Stanley. Stanley, the author of Melvin Monster and Little Lulu, puts his own deft sense of humor and superior cartooning on the Ernie Bushmiller creation with spooky Oona Goosepimple, Spike, and Mr.McOnion. Nancy, along with her sidekick, Sluggo, will charm readers young and old with her hilarious, scheming hijinks.
HC, 8x11, 152pgs, FC $29.95
[ISBN 9781897299968, Drawn and Quarterly, MAR100913]

It's always good to see more of Stanley's work, though there does seem to be an overdose after so many years of nothing, it's hard to absorb it all. But that's a good problem to have.

LUCKY IN LOVE: A POOR MAN'S HISTORY
By George Chieffet and Stephen DeStefano
$19.99 / HC / 120 pgs / PC
Elegantly drawn in a supremely confident, lively, cartoony black-and-white style that recalls Milt Gross and classic Disney animation and comics, Lucky in Love is a unique coming-of-age story that follows its lovable hero Lucky Testatuda from his rascally teen years in Hoboken, New Jersey’s Little Italy to his induction into the air force and subsequent wartime experiences. Ultimately the poignant discoveries Lucky makes on his way to adulthood bestow upon him a very different kind of heroism than that of which he had dreamed... The second and concluding volume, Lucky in Love: Lucky for Life will be released in 2013.
[ISBN 9781606993545, Fantagraphics, APR100963]

Pleasant surprise to see DeStefano back in comics with a major work. Of course most people will remember his work from the excellent 'MAZING MAN and less-excellent-but-still-entertaining HERO HOTLINE from DC, and he did some interesting stuff in the INSTANT PIANO anthology in the 1990s and a few other places.

DC UNIVERSE LEGACIES

One of the few regular mainstream super-hero books I'm really interested in, to the point that I'm considering getting the individual issues (but probably won't), is this 10-issue history of the DC Universe by Len Wein and various artists, including Joe Kubert, Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez, Dave Gibbons, George Perez, Jerry Ordway and various others. I'm cynical enough that I'm assuming it'll be out-of-date and contradicted by other books within weeks of the final issue, if not sooner, but I'm not invested enough in a cohesive universe to care as long as there's a good story, which hopefully this will be. And man, is that a nice Gibbons cover.

GLAMOURPUSS #14
By Dave Sim
"glamourpuss reinvents the Universe." Everyone's favourite fashionista decides a lot of things need to change while she's still young enough to enjoy them — starting with the online universe. Are you ready for FACEITBook? In the "History of Photorealism in Comics" section, a continuing examination of the relationship between Rip Kirby's Alex Raymond and Heart Of Juliet Jones' Stan Drake.
24pgs, B&W $3.00
[Aardvark-Vanaheim, MAY100717]

I haven't been following Sim's latest thing, but I kind of like the cover of this one more than previous issues, and something tickles me about the Sim of all people doing satire based on online social networks.

ALTER EGO #95
Who says a comic book has to be good? Not Brand Echh, from 1967-69! Behind a fabulous cover by Marie Severin, we feature a look at Marvel’s madcap parody mag, with rare art and artifacts by Ross Andru, John Buscema, Jack Kirby, Stan Lee, and more! Plus the conclusion of the cataclysmic George Kashdan interview.
Magazine, 84pgs, PC $7.95
[TwoMorrows, MAY101235]

I stopped getting every issue of ALTER EGO a while back, but I'm comforted to know that it still comes out like clockwork and like to check in every now and then. This seems like it might be a good issue to get.

RASL POCKET EDITION VOLUME 1 TP
By Jeff Smith
Collected in this new pocket edition is the hard-boiled, sci-fi tale of Jeff Smith's inter-dimensional art thief known only by the strange four letter word found spray-painted at the scene of a crime: RASL. This 6 1/2" x 9" double edition collects the first seven issues of RASL in one heart-pounding book! A compact, affordable, edition of RASL: a sci-fi/noir tale of violence and corruption where murder and passion mix with folklore and cutting-edge physics.
MATURE THEMES
SC, 6.5x9, 224pgs, B&W $17.95
[Cartoon Books, MAY100912]

Well, I dropped the serialized version of RASL when I saw how good the big collections looked, but now I kind of think I might like this version even more. Maybe I should just wait for the RASL ONE VOLUME edition when the series is done... Anyway, interesting book, very different from BONE, worth checking out in any or all formats.

FROM SHADOW TO LIGHT: THE LIFE & ART OF MORT MESKIN
By Steven Brower
$39.99 / HC / 220 pgs / FC
This lush art book and critical biography compiles for the first time the best art from one of the 20th century’s most influential and overlooked comic book artists: Mort Meskin. His life and work left an indelible impression on many, including: Jack Kirby, Jerry Robinson, Alex Toth, Steve Ditko, Jim Steranko, Stan Lee and many more. Meskin’s contributions to our form reshaped how comics articulated our imaginations, specifically by his sophisticated chiaroscuro technique Meskin defined space within the panel like none who had come before. With this tome Fantagraphics is proud to set the record straight and add his name to the pantheon of comic book artists who helped create this distinctly American art form.
[ISBN 9781606993583, Fantagraphics, MAY101012]

I'm not too familiar with Meskin's art, but I do like what I've seen, and this looks like it'll be a fascinating book.

THE COMPLETE PEANUTS 1977-1978 VOL. 14
By Charles M. Schulz
Introduction by Alec Baldwin
$28.99 / HC / 344 pgs / BW
This new volume of everyone’s favorite classic comic strip establishes the last two recurring characters (Snoopy’s brother Spike and Rerun Van Pelt) and features an amazing profusion of hilariously distinctive new characters who appeared in only one or two strips total! Including: a group of diminutive baseball players, Austin, Ruby, Leland, and Milo. Their coach, good ole Charlie Brown has been found guilty by the EPA of biting the Kite-Eating tree and must go on the lam where he establishes the midget baseball team known as the “Goose Eggs.” All that and more including the usual cast of beloved characters (including the talking schoolhouse and the doghouse-jigsawing cat, who steals Linus’s blanket creating much unrest). Wait! Don’t forget the introduction by Alec Baldwin!
[ISBN 978-1606993750, Fantagraphics, MAY101018]

Spike I'm still not sold on, but I kind of like Rerun. Anyway, these are among the earliest strips I would have read in the newspaper at age 7-8, so there's that. Intro by Alec Baldwin, though? Seriously? You'd think with only 25 of these there would be a lot more prominent people with more bookstore-attractive names lining up to write intros you'd get to before Alec Baldwin. I understood the Kristin Chenoweth thing a few books back since she played cover-featured Sally Brown in a production of the stage play based on Peanuts, is there some Baldwin connection I'm missing? He didn't play Peppermint Patty, did he? Because if he did, I need to see a video of that...

USAGI YOJIMBO ongoing
By Stan Sakai
[Dark Horse]

Just a quick mention of USAGI, still going strong after all these years, up to #130 (around 180 with the previous volumes) and no sign of slowing down, plus more collections of the older stuff (looks like that big Fantagraphics collection of the entire first series is delayed, hopefully we'll see it soon). The Sakai abides. I don't know about you but I take comfort in that. It's good knowin' he's out there.

CAGES TPB
By Dave McKean
On sale Aug 25
FC, 496 pages $29.99
TPB, 8 1/2" x 10 3/16"
Dave McKean’s Cages is finally back in print!
Best known for his collaborations with Neil Gaiman, McKean defied expectations with his stunning debut as writer and artist in Cages, winner of multiple awards for Best Graphic Album.
Filled with complex characters, intriguing flights of fancy, and all the beautiful visuals you’d expect from the director of MirrorMask, Cages is McKean’s magnum opus. It chronicles the intersecting lives of a painter, a writer, and a musician living in the same apartment building, and is a profound rumination on art, God, cats, and the cages we build for ourselves.
Out of print for years, Cages is finally available in an affordable new softcover edition, remastered and newly redesigned, with a brand-new cover by McKean.
• Almost five hundred pages in an affordable softcover!
• Features painstakingly rescanned and remastered art.
[ISBN 9781595823168, Dark Horse, APR100045]

This has been on the schedule a few times, major books like this seem to take Dark Horse a few tries to actually get out. Anyway, I didn't pick up the previous hardcover editions from various publishers, but this one has a nice price and it'll be interesting to see the "remastered" art.

WARLORD OF IO VOLUME 1 TP
by James Turner
A slacker prince inherits a space empire and finds himself responsible for the lives of billions. Emperor Zoz of Io has retired, leaving his slacker son Zing in charge of the Ion Empire. After initiating sweeping social reforms to impress his friend, Moxy Comet, Zing upsets the army by cutting the military budget to pay for them. Can one slacker prince get up off his ass long enough to save the galaxy?
SC, 208pgs, B&W $14.95
[ISBN 1593621957, Slave Labor, MAY100724]

The original one-shot comic was entertaining, as was Turner's REX LIBRIS book, so hopefully it'll find some success in this new hopefully Diamond impervious format.

THOR: THE WARRIORS THREE PREMIERE HC
Written by LEN WEIN & ALAN ZELENETZ
Penciled by JOHN BUSCEMA, JOE SINNOTT & CHARLES VESS
Cover by CHARLES VESS
Fandral the Dashing, Hogun the Grim, Volstagg the Voluminous: They may not have made it into the mythology books, but they're living legends to this day – and some of their solo sagas are collected here for the first time! The Warriors Three tackle organized crime in Manhattan, then embark on an Asgardian quest that takes them deeper than ever before into peril – and into themselves! Featuring stories by Alien Legion co-creator Alan Zelenetz! Collecting MARVEL SPOTLIGHT (1971) #30 and MARVEL FANFARE (1982) #13 & #34-37.
144 PGS. $19.99
[ISBN 9780785144809, Marvel, MAR100643]

I really like the Zelenetz/Vess stuff from Marvel Fanfare, and while I've never read the 1970s issue I'm always interested in some Wein/Buscema/Sinnott. A bit of a shame that, with the book being so slim, they aren't including the RAVEN BANNER graphic novel by Zelenetz and Vess, which could really use an updated printing job, and maybe the other Thor related Vess short story with Loki, which I just found out about recently.

ASTRO CITY: SILVER AGENT #1
On sale JUNE 30 • 1 of 2 • 32 pg, FC, $3.99 US
Written by KURT BUSIEK
Art by BRENT ANDERSON
Cover by ALEX ROSS
At last, the full story of the Silver Agent’s fateful journey through time — including his origin, his greatest battles and his ultimate fate — can be revealed. It’s all right here in a 2-issue miniseries spanning from the late 1950s to the far future. Guest-starring a constellation of Astro City stars and introducing the Silver Centurions, this very personal story will blow readers away on a galactic scale.

ASTRO CITY: SILVER AGENT #2
On sale JULY 28 • 2 of 2 • 32 pg, FC, $3.99 US
Written by KURT BUSIEK
Art by BRENT ANDERSON
Cover by ALEX ROSS
The Silver Agent faces his last battle to save a world he’s already saved. A heroic life comes full circle and a heroic legacy lives on in ways no one – much less the Agent himself – could ever have expected. Say goodbye to one of Astro City’s finest and uncover more of the city’s secrets in this finale to the 2-issue event.

[DC, APR100250, MAY100243]

I've drifted away from ASTRO CITY over the years, but this is one of the stories hinted at in the earliest issues that I was most interested in, so I might pick up the individual issues, and if seems to recapture what I liked about the series early on I might catch up on some of the stuff I missed (probably not that 16-part saga that just ended, though).

FRACTURED FABLES HC
story & art VARIOUS
cover MIKE & LAURA ALLRED
JULY 14
160 pages/FC $29.99
Some of the comic book industries best and brightest use their talents to welcome the next generation of comic book readers with the kid-friendly anthology, FRACTURED FABLES! Features all-new, humorous takes on our most beloved fairy tales with stories by award-winning creators like JILL THOMPSON, BRYAN TALBOT, PETER DAVID, BEN TEMPLESMITH, TERRY MOORE, SCOTT MORSE, DOUG TENNAPEL, TED McKEEVER, BILL MORRISON, LARRY MARDER, JIM VALENTINO, PHIL HESTER, SHANNON WHEELER and many more!
[ISBN 1607062690, Image, MAY100407]

Well, obviously the presence of Larry Marder, even on non-Beanworld stuff, makes this worth a look. Bryan Talbot and some of the others are also names well worth paying attention to.

THE MUPPET SHOW VOLUME 4: FAMILY REUNION
By Roger Langridge and Amy Mebberson
The Muppet Theatre has been repaired, and it's time to once again start the Muppet Show! The search for a new performer leads to an unexpected guest, prompting a family reunion that fans have been asking for, but never expected! This is the one Muppets fans have been demanding, and will be talking about for months to come! Written by the critically acclaimed Roger Langridge with art by Amy Mebberson. SOFTCOVER, 6x9, 128pgs, FC $9.99
[ISBN 9781608865871, Boom, MAY100892]

As I mentioned recently, Langridge's version of the Muppets was surprisingly effective in the first two books, and by the time this comes out I'm sure I'll be ready for more.

Post-TCAF

2010-05-09T23:50:00.001-04:00

As previously mentioned, I went to TCAF on Saturday at the Toronto Reference Library (a really nice place, by the way. I used to go there all the time when I had more occasion to be downtown). A very good show, I highly recommend heading down if you can whenever the next show is.

Met the main five guests who I wanted to see, and enjoyed taking to them all.

It was great to meet Larry Marder, some twenty years after I first discovered his work and became obsessed with the world he created. I participated in the various convention activities he has, including exchanging a fan sketch of one of his characters for one of his, and as the official supplier of Canadian grown lima beans as raw material for the Beanworld Action Figures I was able to get a full set of them. Some photos over here. I also said the magic words "secret sketch" to get a secret sketch in my copy of REMEMBER HERE WHEN YOU ARE THERE, though of course i can't show you that. It's a secret. But trust me, worth it. Also got a chance to see his history of the Beanworld slide show, which was entertaining and taught me a few things, mostly that I'm really anxious for his book SOMETHING MORE to come out.

Jim Ottaviani was a pleasure to spend a few minutes with. He seemed especially tickled that I had the old first printing of his TWO-FISTED SCIENCE, with his late-1990s graphic sensibilities on display, for him to sign. Even better, when I mentioned my favourite bit of one of his old books, and the reading it led me to, he showed me a preview of an upcoming book which greatly expands on that very topic. I can't tell if he's actually announced it yet, but trust me, it looks good and I'll definitely mention it when it's out.

Also got to meet Evan Dorkin and Sarah Dyer, another pair whose work I've been reading for ages, from MILK&CHEESE to PIRATE CORPS to ACTION GIRL to SUPERMAN ADVENTURES to BIFF BAM POW and beyond). Both were a lot of fun, as was their adorable young daughter, who gave me her business card, with some coaxing. Was able to get one of the few Dorkin books from Slave Labor I was missing, found out about a story he did that I missed and might want to find out (the return of Fight-Man in Agent-X, I'll just note here in case I forget) and it was great to look through some of the original artwork, including a new full colour in-progress Milk&Cheese piece with some topical humour.

There was quite a line-up to see Charles Vess, but it was well worth it. He's another artist I've been a fan of for ages, since I first saw his Warriors Three work for Marvel (which is apparently being reprinted, which I didn't know). I got my copy of the gorgeous BOOK OF BALLADS signed, and talked to him briefly about topics like why the STARDUST movie didn't really use his designs, and how inferior I thought it was because of it, and the life-size statue of his work that he's posted about on his blog. Plus he had a few originals to look at, including some large in-progress pieces, and he's definitely one of those for whom shrinking and printing don't do justice.

And stopped by a lot of other places besides. Got Tara Tallan's GALAXION book collecting the first part of her revised version of the story appearing on the web, which looks good. Talked to Salgood Sam for a few minutes, I somehow forgot to bring my copy of SEA OF RED for him to sign, but he had a more recent book called THEREFORE REPENT which looks interesting and is nicely priced. Got to talk to Roger Langridge for a few minutes to compliment him on how well he did the Muppet Show justice on the page. Met James Turner and found out WARLORD OF IO is coming out as a graphic novel, so there's that to look forward to. Talked to Dan Nadel, who just came in from the incredible Jack Kirby exhibit he co-curated in Switzerland, about various old comics, from Kirby to Ditko to Boyette to Glanzman. Lots of other stuff, too, but it all begins to blur after a while. Definitely a fun show, a very different experience from the usual convention, which locally rarely have more than one or two artists I want to meet, and I usually just spend the day hunting for cheap back issues. As I said, if you get a chance next time, check it out.

Heading down to TCAF

2010-05-06T00:22:00.001-04:00

Preparing to go to the Toronto Comic Arts Festival (TCAF) this weekend. Despite it, obviously, being in Toronto and me, not quite so obviously, also being in Toronto, I haven't attended the show before. Should be interesting. The main reason I'm going, of course, is the attendance of Larry Marder, of Beanworld fame. He's giving a history of the Beanworld show on Saturday afternoon, so I'll definitely be there for that.

Looking down the full guest list, I don't recognize a lot of these names, but I've been kind of out of touch with new independent comics for a while now.

One name that jumps out is Charles Vess, whose work I've been reading for some twenty years or more. Hell, my review of his BOOK OF BALLADS was the second ever post on this weblog, after a short introductory post. I'll have to get that signed. Maybe one of his old TALES OF ASGARD things.

And Evan Dorkin and Sarah Dyer both, that's pretty good. I love all sorts of stuff they've done together and separately, MILK AND CHEESE, PIRATE CORPS, ACTION GIRL, SUPERMAN ADVENTURES. Hm, I was thinking KID BLASTOFF would be a good thing to bring for signing, but it seems to be misfiled...

Good to see Jim Ottaviani on the guest list. I have a bunch of his books about real-life science from GT Labs, starting with TWO-FISTED SCIENCE. Think I might have missed a few of the more recent ones, so maybe I can catch up.

So that's a pretty good list of people to look up. Depending on how long that takes and how long I feel like sticking around, I might also stop by and see a few of the other names I recognize who've done work I enjoyed, like Salgood Sam (SEA OF RED), Jim Rugg (STREET ANGEL), Roger Langridge (FRED THE CLOWN), James Sturm (GOLEM'S MIGHTY SWING), Paul Pope (100%) and some others, and see if I can spot anything unfamiliar which looks interesting.

AMELIA RULES v5 - THE TWEENAGE GUIDE... by Jimmy Gownley

2010-04-27T00:12:00.002-04:00

AMELIA RULES was a series self-published by Jimmy Gownley through Renaissance Press for 20 issues from 2001 to 2008. The contents of those comics have been collected most recently into four books from Simon&Schuster (plus a Christmas book with some of the stories re-formatted into digest size). Now that the reprinting is out of the way, Gownley has just released an original 192-page fifth book in the series, THE TWEENAGE GUIDE TO NOT BEING UNPOPULAR.

To recap, the series features the adventures of young Amelia McBride, following her move with her mother to a new town after her parents divorced. In previous books, we've seen her get to know her somewhat nerdish and often super-hero obsessed friends, do battle with a rival ninja gang from across town, find out about her family (including her Aunt Tanner) and generally struggle through the fourth grade. In this new book, she's now in the fifth grade, and she and her friends are getting more concerned with their social standing, trying to fit in and be popular, or at least, as the title suggests, not be unpopular. It's an uphill battle, of course.

As you can read on the official site, Gownley takes the inspiration for AMELIA RULES from classic comic strips, in particular Charles Schulz' PEANUTS (the more direct visual cues from Schulz have subsided over time, but still pop up every now and then). It's also, he says, not about childhood, but about growing up, so the characters do tend to grow and change.

It's always been a very charming series, with Gownley never being a slave to any conventions and willing to do anything for the joke, starting with breaking the fourth wall, which is a regular feature of the book with Amelia's narration, and moving on from there. In the case of this particular book, that includes a sight gag referencing a classic Wile E. Coyote moment, an extended aside where Amelia talks to Dracula, ~~Frankenstein~~ Frankenstein's Monster and the Wolfman about the nature of evil (which even includes a somewhat obscure but classic Saturday Night Live joke) and a long flashback done in the style of an Archie comic. It all tends to work because in every case Gownley really commits to the gag, making everything look and feel right (in an earlier book, he had the photo albums of the characters take the form of the appropriate period comic strips, which really cracked me up).

Anyway, it's always a pleasure to get any new work from Gownley, and six times as much a pleasure to get it a 192-page chunk instead of just 32-pages. And even more of a pleasure to get it for such a reasonable price (the hardcover is cheaper than 6 issues of the comic would have been, and the softcover is much less than that, so don't believe people when they tell you not serializing comics will lead to higher prices). And even better news, the back of the book lists Volume 6, TRUE THINGS (ADULTS DON'T WANT KIDS TO KNOW), scheduled for October 2010, so no two year gap before the next big chunk of story.

TALES OF THE UNCANNY PREVIEW by Bissette & Co.

2010-04-19T00:04:00.002-04:00

As I mentioned a few days ago, Steve Bissette has just released a new 16-page preview under the TALES OF THE UNCANNY title, reviving the concepts from his share of the long dormant characters from the 1963 series (N-Man, the Hypernaut and the Fury plus associated characters, including what looks like an enlarged role for Sky Solo), in anticipation of a full 200+ page book coming out later this year. Courtesy of Steve, I've got a copy of the preview now (details on ordering a copy of your own over here, and look around the site for a lot more details about the characters).

For the revival, Bissette establishes the fictional publisher Naut Comics, with a history going back back to the pulps and continuing on through comics history, with various incarnations of their key characters. It looks like the upcoming book will present some of the newly created vintage stories, as well as articles about their fictional creation. It's an interesting set-up which is true to the 1963 roots of the characters, and lets Bissette explore multiple styles and genres and also indulge in his interest in comic book history through a fictional lens.

And as you'd expect for a 200+ page book, Bissette isn't alone in this. As Bissette goes through on his site, many of the stories are being done in collaboration with various young artists from the Center for Cartoon Studies where Bissette teaches, several of them with work in the preview showing off a variety of styles, and several other established creators look to be contributing as well (including Fred Hembeck, who has a short Dateline: @!!?# comic strip in the preview).

There are several bits with N-Man in the preview, starting with the cover. It looks like there'll be some good variety with his character, from straight-forward Hulk-like super-hero adventures to much more horror based material and an intriguing looking back-cover look at an adventure that seems to be something like Indiana Jones crossed with Hellboy.

And as Bissette mentioned on his site (and in a note to me) the Hypernaut is going to get quite a lot of attention as well. He intersects with N-Man on the heroics, but leans to a more science fiction side. My second favourite piece of art in the preview (after the front cover) is a great colour portrait of the Hypernaut among some asteroids in deep space, and a preview of a comics page shows him inhabiting a microscopic Nanonaut body to enter N-Man's body.

There are a lot of directions this material could take in the upcoming book, especially with over 200 pages to play with (for more possible hints, check out the pages for N-Man, the Hypernaut and the Fury over on Bissette's site. I'm not sure how much of that stuff is still relevant with the latest work on the characters, but it's fun reading and has some great art, including a screen from the Fury cell phone game). I'll definitely be there to check out the full book.

THE MUPPET SHOW COMIC BOOK by Langridge

2010-04-15T13:30:00.002-04:00

I will confess to being a bit cynical a year back when Boom Studios began publishing comics based on Jim Henson's classic MUPPET SHOW that ran on TV from 1976 to 1981. I'm a big fan of the show, but couldn't really see it translating to comics. However, as I'm currently waiting for the seemingly stalled release of the series on DVD to conclude so that I can get a complete set (and stop watching the two dozen episodes I have on tape from one of the last times it was shown locally), and as I have enjoyed some of writer/artist Roger Langridge's previous work, and as the comic has gotten some good reviews, I decided to check out the first two books, MEET THE MUPPETS and THE TREASURE OF PEG-LEG WILSON, each collecting four issues of the comic.

I was much more impressed than I expected. Langridge clearly knows his stuff, using both major and minor cast members from the show, and both the regular sketches and some more infrequent ones (I mean, Wayne and Wanda and the Talking Houses?), and captures their voices and personalities nicely.

For those unfamiliar, the original MUPPET SHOW was presented as a behind-the-scenes look at a live variety stage show, with a mix of backstage antics leading into and out of on-stage productions (which were often disrupted by the backstage stuff leaking into the show), plus occasionally interactions with the audience (mostly heckling from cynical regulars Statler and Waldorf). Langridge follows a very similar model, with mostly 1 and 2 page scenes alternating between an on-going backstage story and sketches from the actual "stage", with some of the sketches being disrupted. Surprisingly effective, with many of the sketches working well as stand-alone comics.

Even more surprisingly, Langridge decided to maintain the heavily musical nature of many of the sketches despite the lack of sound in the comics, and that works as well. If you're at all familiar with even the basics of musical theater (which you would be if you saw the TV show) it's not hard to pick out an appropriate style from the set-up and first few lines of most of the pieces and set them to a fake melody in your head (or sing them out-loud if you're alone. Or on a crowded subway if you're bold...). Even if you can't, the words and drawings are still funny.

About the only thing that didn't work for me was the occasional use of the Swedish Chef. I found I was working too hard to try to figure out how to translate Langridge's text version of how the Chef talks to how the voice actually sounds, and at the same time trying to figure out what the words actually mean, and that just seemed to fry my brain more than a Muppet Labs experiment. Fortunately the Chef is used sparingly.

There is a measure of diminishing returns on the series. The second isn't nearly as enjoyable as the first, and I'm not sure how much of that has to do with the quality of the material and how much it has to do with the novelty of the concept wearing thin. Certainly I don't think it was that it was a good idea in the second book to extend the two backstage plots (one a treasure hunt in the theater and the other a Muppet Labs experiment that increases Animal's intelligence) across four issues, but the jokes were still pretty funny, and I imagine I'd have liked them a lot better if I'd read the book a few months after the first one, rather than a few days.

So much better than I expected, and a nice little stop-gap measure while waiting for the TV series release to finish. I imagine I'll try future volumes in a few later while still waiting. Certainly the nice affordable $10 books that Boom puts them out in makes for a nice quick read.

A visit back to 1963...

2010-04-13T22:08:00.004-04:00

I should have a copy of Steve Bissette's new TALES OF THE UNCANNY PREVIEW EDITION in my hands soon. That's the first step in his upcoming return to his share of the "1963" characters. While I wait, I pulled out my set of the original comics that it seems will never be reprinted, and re-read the stories that form the basis of this new revival (all of #2 and half of #3 and #4).

For those who are somehow unfamiliar with the background of the series, 1963 was a six issue series published in 1993, introducing a variety of characters created by Alan Moore, Steve Bissette and Rick Veitch that were all to some degree pastiches of the Kirby/Ditko/Lee Marvel comics characters and stories of the 1960s. For various reasons the series never properly finished, and eventually the rights to the characters were split among the creators. While it doesn't look like there are any active plans for the return of the characters now owned by Veitch and Moore, the Bissette side is one we'll be seeing more of soon.

I didn't pick up the series when it was first coming out, despite being a fan of the creators, but did pick it up a few years later. While it's nowhere near close to my favourite work by any of the creators, it has gradually grown on me over the years, and it seems like the concepts have some potential for some good fun. These are good enough creators that even their lesser work tends to be interesting.

Based on the promotional material put on-line so far, it looks like the core of Bissette's revival will be "The Unbelievable N-Man", originally featured in 1963 #4. That makes sense, that's definitely the most visually interesting of the characters that he got, in particular well suited to Bissette's style, far more on the horror/monster side of the super-hero spectrum. An ashcan released before the original series contained some design notes and sketches for the character, where the emphasis was on "He should look good coming through a wall", which is very much satisfied by the design. In Marvel pastiche terms, N-Man obviously fills the Hulk role, the man mutated by radiation into a monstrous powerful hero, including outgrowing all his clothing other than his pants. N-Man's particular mutation takes a more insectoid form, with a hard exo-skeleton. As the 1960s style expository dialogue explains, he's the result of "experiments into making humans as resistant to radiation as beetles". Well, it makes as much sense as anything...

His solo story in the original series (which may or may not have anything to do with the new revived version) was the 12-page "Showdown in the Shimmering Zone", inked by John Totleben, thus briefly re-uniting the classic Moore/Bissette/Totleben Swamp Thing team of the 1980s, and features his battle with another insectoid mutant, his communist counter-part Comrade Cockroach.

Probably my favourite of the 1963 stories was the story Bissette drew in #3, "It Came From... Higher Space" featuring the Hypernaut.

This 12-page story is inked by Chester Brown, probably the oddest artistic combination of the series. In 1960s Marvel terms, the Hypernaut fills the Iron Man role, although only in the most superficial levels. He's the character who deviates the most from the pastiche template. In a lot of ways this feature seems to take as much influence from the DC science-fiction books of the era, with a test pilot being saved from a crash by aliens, who transfer a copy of his brain to a robot body to save him, as one of a cosmic group of Hypernauts. Plus he's got a three-eyed two-mouthed purple monkey named Queep. How DC is that? Anyway, the Hypernaut's battle against a mysterious four-dimensional being that only partially intersects with his 3-D reality (and plays around with the form of the 2-D comic page) is a real delight, visually imaginative and with more ideas on each page than it can contain.

The longest of Bissette's stories for the series was the 24-page "When Wakes the War-Beast" that introduces the Fury in #2, with inks by Dave Gibbons. The Fury's pastiche godfather is Spider-Man, of course, and of the Bissette stories it's the one that sticks closest to its Marvel inspiration (the Veitch stories tended to stick closer to their sources, with something like Horus Lord of Light very much being Thor with Egyptian rather than Norse gods and designs). Of course, the Spider-Man template is probably one of the most interesting of the Marvel originals, and it's not like Marvel's been doing much with it, with some brief exceptions, since Ditko left. And there are some changes, with the Fury being the son of a deceased WWII character named the Fightin' Fury. And while one of his villains, the Voidoid, is very much a clever concept in the Ditko vein, we also get the debut of the War-Beast...

Three-eyed mutant killer dinosuar? That's Bissette through and through. Anyway, a pretty good introduction to the wise-cracking young athletic hero.

Anyway, some interesting stuff, providing a solid base for some future stories, even if the actual stories in these issues won't be reprinted. It'll be fascinating to see if the pastiche element remains a major part of the revival, or takes a backseat in the new version. More on that when I have the preview.

Short notes on some recently consumed old and new stuff

2010-04-12T20:16:00.002-04:00

So, a few things I may or may not get into in more detail later...

The last books of the English version of Keiji Nakazawa's BAREFOOT GEN (HADASHI NO GEN) were published by Last Gasp recently, bringing the whole 10-volume, circa 2500 page story of a survivor of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima into print. The story has its slow points, but it's great overall. The first four volumes are essential reading, especially in this unabridged version. I'm not holding my breath, but it would be nice to see a companion volume of some of Nakazawa's other work. In particular the more strictly autobiographical I SAW IT, plus some other intriguing stuff never published in English.

I read Miss Lasko-Gross' ESCAPE FROM "SPECIAL" recently, and really enjoyed that, the story of Melissa from her earliest memories until just before she starts high school, dealing with special needs education, sometimes odd parenting and general difficulties fitting in, all told in short vignettes. I have the follow-up book, A MESS OF EVERYTHING, sitting here, which follows Melissa into high school, so I have high hopes for that.

As we wait for the Pogo comic strip reprints to finally begin, I decided to attempt to complete my collection of the various classic Pogo books by Walt Kelly, in one form or another. Many of the books were reprinted either in the 1970s or 1990s in either 2-in-1 or 3-in-1 omnibus editions, or in hardcover editions (most of the 1990s hardcovers are still readily available, pick up some FORT MUDGE MOST while you're there), so my collection is a hodge-podge of originals and variously formatted reprints. Obviously great stuff, especially as a few of the books I just picked up are those that I used to read from copies that the library had when I was shorter, so they bring back fond memories.

On a completely different matter, I recently read the complete run of PREACHER by Steve Dillon and Garth Ennis (with various other artists on the spin-off books). It was better than I was expecting, having only read a handful of issues while the book was running, for the most part reads quick and easy, with some amusing bits. On the other hand, there were frequent lulls, I suspect if I was reading it monthly there would have been three points where I likely would have considered dropping the book (as I did the Dillon/Ennis HELLBLAZER run before PREACHER started). But reading it in this format, where the whole series lasts under a week, and the lulls under an hour, that's okay.

Read the first two books collecting Roger Langridge's comic book version of THE MUPPET SHOW, and enjoyed those more than I was expecting. He knows his stuff, capturing the voices of the characters very nicely, and tossing in some of the most obscure characters and sketches from Muppet history, and nicely combines the structure of comics with that of the show. Not great stuff by any means, but solidly entertaining.

Switching to TV, I'm still watching LOST, but mostly just to get to the ending. I'm pretty sure I'd stop now if I didn't know it was the final season, and if it wasn't free. This Earth-2 business just isn't nearly as clever as they seem to think it is.

I enjoy CHUCK a bit more, though honestly I wouldn't be that upset if it doesn't come back for another year. Guess seeing decent shows almost consistently get worse after three or four solid years makes you a cynic after a while. For now the show mostly works, although their insistence on constantly returning to the status quo (with a few minor tweaks) every few episodes after teasing major changes tends to grate after a while, even though that obviously just par for the course on network TV.

I also pretty consistently enjoy COMMUNITY as a nice goofy 22 minute diversion. Not sure if it's the kind of thing that'll hold up for more than two years, but worthwhile for now.

Older stuff, I noticed that my library had many of the BABYLON 5 seasons on DVD. I watched the show somewhat sporadically when it was broadcast, partly because I didn't always like it, partly because it wasn't exactly well scheduled locally (it was frequently shifted around due to some sports broadcasts, as I recall). So far I've watched until almost the end of season 4, with about a third of the episodes new to me. I was going to write some more about it, but looking around it seems that my opinions pretty much match the conventional wisdom. Not very good pilot movie, very uneven first season, with a few good bits and generally getting better, improved and mostly solid second season, very good third season, and the fourth season mostly continuing the quality, but way too rushed and some of the story resolutions being more than a bit anti-climactic (seriously, the lead just told the bad guys to to away, and they meekly said okay, as long as their "dad" went with them?). I haven't decided if I'll watch the last season, which I'd have to watch on-line. I recall it being a big let-down after the two prior years, which again seems to be the conventional wisdom.

A fistful of links

2010-04-07T15:12:00.003-04:00

Steve Bissette returns with his share of the 1963 characters, including N-Man, the Hypernaut and the Fury, with a preview available soon (at MOCCA) and a full book planned for later this year.

Evan Dorkin and Hilary Barta on an old-school MAD style parody of Tarantino.

James Vance finishes script for KINGS IN DISGUISE sequel, ON THE ROPES, now in the hands of artist Dan Burr

Carl Barks draws human beings. They look very pretty and all, but just imagine them with beaks and webbed feet...

Stan Sakai has a convention promo piece featuring art by him and Sergio Aragones of their most famous creations, Spot and Rufferto. Oh, and Usagi and Groo are on there as well.

J.M. DeMatteis has the cover to his upcoming novel IMAGINALIS.

Jack Kirby draws 3-D art for Honeycomb cereal.

Larry Marder has some old Beanworld art on weird clay paper

Opening Day

2010-04-04T16:09:00.000-04:00

From an obscure comic strip by Charles Schulz, April 2, 1963.

Dick Giordano, R.I.P.

2010-03-27T21:30:00.000-04:00

Dick Giordano, artist on one of the best Batman stories ever:

passed away at age 77.

Superman vs. Ali

2010-03-22T17:33:00.003-04:00

First, let me be clear, there is no way I'm buying this, especially at $250.

Still, I can't say I'm not tempted...

Just for fun, here's Joe Kubert's original for the image, adapted by Neal Adams for the published book.

Ali, bomaye! Ali, bomaye!

EC - The Thing In the 'Glades (Williamson)

2010-03-21T22:58:00.000-04:00

The Thing In the 'Glades
art by Al Williamson, story by Al Feldstein
Tales From the Crypt #31[#15] (1952)

This is an early story from Al Williamson for the EC books, featuring drama deep in the everglades. It's his only story for CRYPT, as he was mostly in the sci-fi/fantasy books.

A sheriff investigating some bloody bodies found deep in the woods, obviously not killed by an animal. There are some rumours about the old hermit Ezzard, and some strange noises from his cabin, but no evidence. With another body comes an eyewitness, enough to get Ezzard to admit to the existence of his secret deformed son.

All that leads to a violent chase, ending sadly in quicksand. Kind of a sad story, since the kid really is an innocent victim of some horrid parenting.

Some really gorgeous work by Williamson on this one, with the lush setting, especially in the chase on the last few pages (and as previewed in the splash image).