Stuff of Interest - May 2006 - Scooby-Doo #108

SCOOBY-DOO #108
Written by Darryl Kravitz, Scott Peterson and Scott Cunningham
Art by Scott Neely and Vince Deporter
Cover by Robert Pope & Scott McRae
While on the trail of the mysterious Science Ghoul, Scooby-Doo is accidentally duplicated, and joins the team! But just who -— or what -— is Scooby-Two? Plus, the gang investigates a haunted clubhouse, and comes face-to-face with a ghost coach on the baseball field!
32 pg, Full Colour, $2.25 US

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This is one of those things I'm really only listing because I really like the cover. Very simple, effective even at a small size, makes you wonder about the story. I'm actually not a huge fan of any incarnation of the Scooby-Doo cartoon, but I pick this up every few months when I see an issue and enjoy it. The character designs are nicer than the limited animation and annoying voices of the cartoon, and the stories are sometimes fun, with several complete stories in every issue.

He's not in this issue, but I especially like Joe Staton's occasional work for the title (see some other recent issues). Also pretty impressive that it's still going strong after 108 issues. LOONEY TUNES is also going strong at #138, but oddly though I like those cartoons I haven't liked the comic as much when I've sampled it.

Stuff of Interest - May 2006 - Deogratias: A Tale of Rwanda

DEOGRATIAS: A TALE OF RWANDA
by J. P. Stassen

The 2000 winner of the Goscinny Prize for outstanding graphic novel script, this is the harrowing tale of the Tutsi genocide in Rwanda, as seen through the eyes of a boy named Deogratias. He is an ordinary teenager, in love with a girl named Bénigne, but Deogratias is a Hutu and Bénigne is a Tutsi who dies in the genocide, and Deogratias himself plays a part in her death. As the story circles around but never depicts the terror and brutality of an entire country descending into violence, we watch Deogratias in his pursuit of Bénigne, and we see his grief and descent into madness following her death, as he comes to believe he is a dog.

Told with great artistry and intelligence, this book offers a window into a dark chapter of recent human history and exposes the West's role in the tragedy. Stassen's interweaving of the aftermath of the genocide and the events leading up to it heightens the impact of the horror, giving powerful expression to the unspeakable, indescribable experience of ordinary Hutus caught up in the violence. Difficult, beautiful, honest, and heartbreaking, this is a major work by a masterful artist.

Softcover, 6x9, 96pgs, Full Colour $16.95
MAR063221 First Second

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Hadn't heard about this one before, but any publisher that's going to be doing a new Eddie Campbell book in the near future (and hey, has just announced another Campbell book for 2007, The Black Diamond Detective Agency) automatically gets some attention for their other releases, and this seems like it'll be an interesting book. There are several preview pages up right now, and the art looks really strong, and it's good to see some acclaimed international comics get wide release in North America.

Wasteland #11 [1988] (Random Comics Theatre)

Random Comics Theatre

New occasional feature here, I'm going to let my computer randomly pick a comic from my collection for me to re-read when I can't think of anything else to talk about or just want to add some variety to my reading list and the weblog. Well, semi-randomly, if it's something I've read recently, or that belong on another weblog or series of posts (so no Kirby, Ditko or EC) or something I'm too embarrassed to admit I own (so no, um, I guess I can't say) then I'll pick something else.

First spin of the wheel:

Wasteland #11 [1988]

Wasteland was an odd horror anthology title, with all the stories written by John Ostrander and/or Del Close, illustrated by several regular artists and the occasional guest artist. I'm always kind of surprised it lasted as long as it did, 18 issues, as it had a lot of uncommonly sick stuff and dark humour that you don't normally expect from a DC comic, especially way back then.

David Lloyd, a regular for the first year of the book, draws the first story this issue, "Embryo". His work in general is among my favourite in the series, especially since I don't think there's nearly enough David Lloyd work out there. He also tended to get the more depressing, completely lacking in humour stories in the book, which suits his style. This one has a son contemplating his relationship with his rather monstrous father on the father's deathbed, so that's quite a downer. Despite the nice art, I thought this story was just a little too bleak to really work.

"Revenge of the Swamp Creature" is the second story, part of a series of supposedly true (but take that with a grain of salt) stories from the life of Del Close, this one on the set of THE BLOB (and including a mention of his role in the SABLE TV show, which I didn't even know existed). Not a bad little story, although I got the idea that I was missing something at the end. Don Simpson, another regular, does the artwork for this one.

"Dissecting Mister Fleming" has art by Ty Templeton, I think his only story in the series. It's a pretty gory story that starts with a kid watching his father dissect a teacher alive on the gym floor, and goes down from there, so as you'd expect there's a lot of playing off the dichotomy of Templeton's open, cartoony art style and the subject matter. Definitely my favourite story in this issue, although you really need a strong stomach for it.

Another main series artist, William Messner-Loebs, wraps up the whole thing in a cover, not really one of his best, but okay.

Stuff of Interest - May 2006 - Fun Home

FUN HOME Graphic Novel
by Alison Bechdel

This breakout book by Alison Bechdel takes its place alongside the unnerving, memorable, darkly funny family memoirs of Augusten Burroughs and Mary Karr. It's a father-daughter tale pitch-perfectly illustrated with Bechdel's sweetly gothic drawings and—like Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis—a story exhilaratingly suited to the graphic memoir form.

Meet Alison's father, a historic preservation expert and obsessive restorer of the family's Victorian house, a third-generation funeral home director, a high school English teacher, an icily distant parent, and a closeted homosexual who, as it turns out, is involved with male students and a family babysitter. Through narrative that is alternately heartbreaking and fiercely funny, we are drawn into a daughter's complex yearning for her father. And yet, apart from assigned stints dusting caskets at the family-owned "fun home," as Alison and her brothers call it, the relationship achieves its most intimate expression through the shared code of books. When Alison comes out as homosexual herself in late adolescence, the denouement is swift... graphic... and redemptive.

Hardcover, 6x9, 236pgs, B&W $19.95
MAR063248 Houghton Mifflin

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I've enjoyed some of Bechdel's work (her Dykes to Watch Out For strip), so it's good to see her doing a longer form work from a mainstream publisher. The more recent Dykes strips I've read seemed to be more constrained by both the format and the history, so she should do well with a long work starting from scratch.

My Collection - THE INCREDIBLE HULK [1968 Series]

The Incredible Hulk [1968 series]
36 issues [1976 - 1997]
196, 214, 235, 247, 249, 347, 368, 377, 393, 397, 400 - 401, 403, 405 - 425, 450 - 451

This HULK series took over the numbering from TALES TO ASTONISH, of course, and continued until 1999 when someone thought a new #1 was a good idea. I remember reading it a few times as a kid, but don't have those anymore. Most of the run I own is from Peter David's long run as writer. I tried it a few times early on, as the Hulk kept changing colours and personalities, and liked aspects of it, but it didn't really click for me until Gary Frank came aboard as the artist, with the Hulk green and intelligent, and it lost me again almost right away after Frank left (I used to have several other issues from before and after Frank's run, but they were pretty easy to get rid of).

Only picked up a few back issues over the years, a few because they had Steve Ditko artwork and a few other random ones which were okay, but not enough to make me search out more.

A few noteworthy issues among those I have:

#368 is a really good one-shot with Sam Kieth on guest-art and a good sample of Peter David's take on the character at the time.

#413 - #416 is a good sampler of the Gary Frank era, with an entertaining story of the Hulk in space, using the supporting cast of the time and various other Marvel Universe concepts.

Stuff of Interest - May 2006 - Castle Waiting hardcover

CASTLE WAITING Hardcover
by Linda Medley
This long-awaited hardcover edition collects the beginning chapters of Linda Medley's original graphic novel series, including all the stories from THE CURSE OF BRAMBLY HEDGE through SOLICITINE. The series garnered considerable critical acclaim, a number of industry awards, and inclusion in the YALSA Recommended Reading List.

CASTLE WAITING tells the story of an isolated, abandoned castle, and the eccentric inhabitants who bring it back to life. A fable for modern times, CASTLE WAITING is a fairy tale that's not about rescuing the princess, saving the kingdom, or fighting the ultimate war between Good and Evil--it's about being a hero in your own home.

Featuring an introduction by Jane Yolen.
Hardcover, 6.5x8, 448pgs, B&W $29.95
MAR063205 Fantagraphics

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It's good to see CASTLE WAITING finally making its way back, and hopefully this format (and it is a handsome looking book) will get it some attention and get some new stories published (check Medley's site for the first few pages of what would be the as-yet-unscheduled next issue, plus several other stories including the full original first issue of the on-going series. I'm assuming that Medley's site is correct that it'll run up to "Solicitine", not including the "Interiors" story that began in the last two issues of the prior series, contrary to what the Fantagraphics site says). Anyway, I really enjoyed the original graphic novel and first series, it's some great light fantasy with a good mix of character bits, funny bits and clever bits. I managed to miss most of "Solicitine" when it first came out, so most of that will be new to me.

Update: Medley just posted that the on-going series will indeed return this summer, and has more preview pages of the new work.

Stuff of Interest - May 2006 - Path of the Assassin v1

PATH OF THE ASSASSIN VOLUME 1 TPB
KAZUO KOIKE (Writer) and GOSEKI KOJIMA (Artist)

Path of the Assassin, called Hanzo no Mon in Japan, is the story of Hattori Hanzo, the fabled master ninja whose duty it was to protect Tokugawa Ieyasu. Ieyasu was the
shogun who would unite Japan into one great nation. But before he could do that, he had to grow up and learn how to love the ladies!
As the secret caretaker of such an influential future leader, not only does Hanzo use vast and varied ninja talents, but in living closely with Ieyasu, he forms a close friendship with the young shogun.
- Published in original Japanese format and unretouched which keeps the art intact.
- This is a fifteen-volume story starring the legendary ninja and Kill Bill reference Hattori Hanzo.
On sale June 28, Softcover, 320pg, b&w, 4" x 6", $9.95
MAR060017 Dark Horse

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Wow, didn't know the LONE WOLF guys did yet another long series. What is that, something over 50 volumes of 300+ pages each? I know Koike wrote some other stuff, but did Kojima ever do anything that wasn't in the whole samurai genre? I'll have to try a volume or two of this at some point. I enjoy their work, but it does get a bit too repetitious to read 4000+ pages about the same character, much of it in swordfights. This one seems like it might have some character bits worth reading a few books.

Interesting that unlike LONE WOLF and SAMURAI EXECUTIONER Dark Horse isn't flipping this one left-to-right (I assume that's what they mean by "original Japanese format"). You'd think they'd want to keep it consistent within three closely related books.

"Kill Bill reference Hattori Hanzo", I don't know if I should be amused or sad...