Monkey Covers

I'm organizing my collection of monkey cover scans with the intention of bringing back the Monkey Covers feature in 2009. But as this particular cover is rather timely, Monkey Covers are back today for a sneak peek!

It's Magilla Gorilla vs. Yogi Bear in the race for the White House on the cover of 1964's Magilla Gorilla #3.

(Standard disclaimer about presidential candidate cartoon gorillas not really being monkeys applies.)

Don't forget to vote on Tuesday!

Image courtesy of the GCD. Click on the image for a larger version.

Friday Night Fights: Wonder Woman vs. Captain Nazi

From Wonder Woman #15 (2008). Story by Gail Simone. Art by Terry & Rachel Dodson. Click pic for larger.

Can this really be the final bell?

Happy Halloween

(cover from Bugs Bunny's Halloween Parade #2, 1954)

Shameless Friend Promotion: G.T. Labs Blog

Pal & creator Jim Ottaviani has finally dove into the deep end and started a blog over at the G.T. Labs Website. It's a combination professional & personal blog, with some posts are about his comics work, while others are about other aspects of his life.

Four to Read for Tuesday, October 28

* Culture 11: Capes, Tights, and Kids (via Dirk)

* I Am NOT the Beastmaster: All Stars (also via Dirk)

* BeaucoupKevin: Morrison, Mamet, and storytelling in superhero comics.

* Dr. K's 100-Page Super Spectacular: Ask Dr. K (Superman & Spider-Man) (via Mike)

New This Week: October 22, 2008

Been a while since I've done one of these...

If I'm recalling correctly, this is the first time that Secret Invasion and Final Crisis have gone head-to-head, coming out on the same day. But for real fun super-hero comic excitement, I'd put my money on Marvel Adventures Super Heroes #4 by Paul Tobin & Alvin Lee--check out the preview here.

Your other best bet this week is the fifth issue of Kevin Huizenga's Or Else, because by my measure Huizenga's combination of innovation and entertainment places him near the top of today's cartoonists.

Other comics of interest this week include:

The latest in Warren Ellis's Apparat line, Aetheric Mechanics.

The re-issued trade collection of Bryan Talbot's The Adventures of Luther Arkwright.

The seventh issue of Terry Moore's Echo, which I'm enjoying despite its often leisurely pace.


As usual, the full listing of what's due in stores tomorrow can be found on the Comic List Website.

Fantasy and Science Fiction/Theory Reading Group

Last night was the annual book selection meeting for the Fantasy and Science Fiction/Theory Reading Group to which I belong. Once a year we meet to decide what the books will be for the coming year; basically everyone brings a few recommendations, makes pitches, and then we vote. It's kind of like a cage match; no one can leave until we've selected the books for the year.

It's become a tradition to use one selection for a graphic novel; four years ago we did The Dark Knight Returns; three years ago we did Seaguy & We3; two years ago we read Charles Burns's Black Hole; and this past year we read Bone.

Our graphic novel selection for next year was my recommendation, Zot!: The Complete Black and White Collection: 1987-1991.

I also got two of my prose recommendations on the slate: Guards! Guards! by Terry Pratchett; and The San Veneficio Canon by Michael Cisco.

Our other prose selections are: The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell; Sharp Teeth by Toby Barlow; The Invention of Morel by Adolfo Bioy Casares; The Norse Myths by Kevin Crossley-Holland; The End of Mr. Y by Scarlett Thomas; The True Meaning of Smekday by Adam Rex; and The Book Thief by Markus Zusak.


Our other book club, the Graphic Narrative Discussion Group, continues to meet as well. Tomorrow we meet to discuss Joe Sacco's Palestine. The selection meeting for that group will be in January.

Friday Night Fights: Lady Blackhawk vs. Drunken Sailors

From Birds of Prey #112 (2008). Story by Tony Bedard. Art by David Cole & Doug Hazlewood. (click pic for larger)

Ladies night? Hawkaaaa!!!

Pay no attention to the fidgety guy in the green shirt

Apparently the Ann Arbor Book Festival has posted video of the first ten minutes of the interview I did with Paul Hornschemeier back in May. (Thanks to Dirk for pointing this out.)

For the rest of the interview (over an hour long!) I posted the audio of the entire thing w while back: Paul Hornschemeier Interview - Audio

End of Minx All Nighter bummer

For me, the biggest bummer of the end of Minx is that David Hahn's All Nighter won't make it out the door before Minx folds. I've been a fan of Hahn since his Private Beach days, so I was really looking forward to this. Hahn says that he's unsure whether it will show up under a different DC imprint, or revert back to him.

I think it would be quite funny if All Nighter ends up being published somewhere else (HarperCollins? Slave Labor?) and outsells the other Minx titles as a result!

Friday Night Fights: Triplicate Girl vs. Lucifer Seven

From Secrets of the Legion of Super-Heroes #1 (1981). Written by E. Nelson Bridwell & Paul Kupperberg, drawn by Jim Janes & Frank Chiaramonte.

Ladies Night? OOOFF!

Shameless Friend Promotion: Better Zombies Through Physics

The secret is secret no longer: pal Jim Ottaviani & his pal Sean Bieri have a Webcomic on Tor.com: "Better Zombies Through Physics."

While Jim is best known for his non-Fiction comics about science & scientists, this is I believe his first comic fiction.

"Join us for chills, thrills, and pulse-pounding scientific breakthroughs as we embark on a tour of the Quantum Zombie, Inc. facility, courtesy of a guy who bears a striking resemblance to famed scientist and cat-lover Erwin Schrödinger. Hijinks, hilarity, and an abundance of felines await you in Tor.com’s newest comic strip."

Shameless Friend Promotion: Redacted???

EDIT:

Sources at G.T. Labs and Tor have alerted us to the fact that the project previously described in this post is at this point in time neither confirmed nor denied. Thank you for your attention
-- Management Services

Manga Mental Meltdown

An amusing anecdote:

The other day I grabbed a volume of Lone Wolf & Cub off the shelf, went to the bookmark I had placed in to save my place several weeks ago, and started reading.

As I read, I had two thoughts: 1) It wasn't making much sense; and 2) it all seemed vaguely familiar.

I was over twenty page into the story before I realized that I was reading it backwards! Recall that Dark Horse published Lone Wolf & Cub in flipped (left-to-right) format, instead of the typical right-to-left format that's used for most translated manga these days!

It made much more sense when I started reading it in the correct direction.

(Well, it was amusing to me...)

Three to Read for Wednesday, September 17

* KC: LOC

* Comics Oughta Be Fun: Can You Guess What's In This Mysterious Mailing Tube?

* CR Sunday Interview: Scott McCloud

New Library Comics: Week of September 8, 2008

Here's a list of the comics we added to our library collection last week:


Abel, Jessica. Life sucks / New York : First Second, 2008.

The best of the golden age Sheena / Chicago, Ill. : Devil's Due, 2008-

Castellanos Jiménez, Israel. La marcha invasora de Camilo y Che / La Habana : Pablo de la Torriente Editorial, 2007.

Comic arf / Seattle, Wash. : Fantagraphics, 2008.

Cotter, Joshua W. Skyscrapers of the midwest / Richmond, VA : Adhouse Books, c2008.

Dahl, Ken. Welcome to the Dahl house, or, Alienation, incarceration & inebriation in the new American Rome : a jolly rumpustime diversion for every ailing tot and mentally deficient adult / Bloomington, Ind. : Microcosm Publishing, 2008.

Dawson, Mike, 1975- Freddie & me : a coming-of-age (Bohemian) rhapsody / New York : Bloomsbury, c2008.

Follet, René. The fascinating Madame Tussaud / Canterbury : Cinebook, 2007.

Foo, Swee Chin. MuZz vol. 1 / San Jose, Calif. : SLG, 2008-

Gaiman, Neil. The facts in the case of the departure of Miss Finch / Milwaukie, Or. : Dark Horse, 2008.

Georges, Nicole J. Invincible summer : an anthology vol. 2 / Bloomington, Indiana : Microcosm Publishing, 2007-

Hernandez, Gilbert. Amor y Cohetes : a love and rockets book / Los Bros Hernandex [i.e., Jamie Hernandez, Gilbert Hernandez, and Mario Hernandez]. Seattle, Wash. : Fantagraphics Books, c2008.

Kochalka, James. Johnny Boo : the best little ghost in the world / Marietta, Ga. : Top Shelf, 2008.

Lia, Simone. Fluffy / Milwaukie, OR : Dark Horse Books, 2008.

Mckelvie, Jamie. Suburban glamour / Berkeley, Calif. : Image, c2008.

Mome. Summer 2008 / Seattle, Wash. : Fantagraphics, 2005-

Niles, Steve. The lost ones / [Seattle Wash.] : Zune Arts, c2008.

Nolan, Michelle, 1948- Love on the racks : a history of American romance comics / Jefferson, N.C. : McFarland, c2008.

Nolen-Weathington, Eric. Mike Allred / Raleigh, N.C. : TwoMorrows Pub., c2008.

Ott, Thomas, 1966 June 10- 73304-23-4153-6-96-8 / Seattle : Fantagraphics, 2008.

Porcellino, John. Thoreau at Walden / New York : Hyperion, c2008.

Prince, Liz. Delayed replays / Marietta, Ga. : Top Shelf, 2008.

Rhoades, Shirrel. A complete history of American comic books / New York : Peter Lang, c2008.

Robot : super color comic vol. 5 / Carson, CA : Digital Manga Pub., 2005-

Rosenkranz, Patrick. Rebel visions : the underground comix revolution, 1963-1975 / Seattle, Wash. : Fantagraphics, c2008.

Rosenkranz, Patrick. You call this art? : a bigtime retrospective of years of hard work by G. Irons / Seattle, Wash. : Fantagraphics, 2006.

Sex, drugs, and violence in the comics. / New York : Pure Imagination Publishing, c2008.

Sfar, Joann. Little Vampire vol. 1 / New York : First Second, 2008.

Shaw, Dash. The bottomless belly button / Seattle, Wash. : Fantagraphics, 2008.

Sim, Dave, 1956- Judenhass / Kitchner, Ont. : Aardvark Vanaheim, c2008.

Skinn, Dez. Comic art now : the very best in contemporary comic art and illustration / New York, NY : Collins Design : Distributed throughout North America by HarperCollins, 2008.

Takahashi, Rumiko, 1957- InuYasha vol. 33 / San Francisco, CA : Viz, LLC, c2003-

Tamaki, Mariko. Skim / Toronto : Groundwood Books, c2008.

Tanaka, Masashi, 1962- Gon vol. 4 / La Jolla, CA : WildStorm Productions, c2007-

Tanaka, Véronique. Metronome / New York : Comics Lit, 2008.

Trondheim, Lewis. Kaput & Zösky / New York : First Second, 2008.

Usui, Yoshito, 1958- Crayon Shinchan vol. 2 / La Jolla, CA : CMX, c2008

Weiner, Stephen, 1955- Hellboy : the companion / Milwaukie, OR : Dark Horse Comics, 2008.

Žeželj, Danijel. Rex / [Vancouver, B.C.] : Optimum Wound, 2008.


This listing is available as an RSS Feed!

New Library Comics: Week of August 25, 2008

Here's a list of the comics we added to our library collection last week:


Crumb, R. Mystic funnies no. 2 / Seattle, Wash. : Fantagraphics, 1997-

Howlett, David. Supersnipe / [Halifax, N.S.] : Strange Adventures Comic Bookshop, [2002?]

Jason, 1965- The last musketeer / Seattle : Fantagraphics, c2007.

Miller, John Jackson. Knights of the old republic. 0. Crossroads / Milwaukie, Or. : Dark Horse Comics, 2006.

Osborn, O. Matthew. Sky galleons. no. 1 / Grand Rapids, Mich. : O. Osborn : J. Suhr, 1998.

Schwarcz, Lilia Moritz. D. João carioca : a corte portuguesa chega ao Brasil (1808-1821) / São Paulo : Cia. das Letras, c2007


This listing is available as an RSS Feed!

New Beanworld Story!

Seems like it's been forever since the last one; Larry Marder has a brand new Beanworld story over at MySpace Dark Horse Presents: "? and !"

Beanworld is one of the bestest things ever. There are rumors that the old stuff will be coming back into print in the hopefully-not-too-distant future.

(Thanks to Heidi for the pointer!)

The ADD 100 Graphic Novels Meme

From Alan David Doane's list of 100 Must-Read Graphic Novels, here's the meme started by Johnny B, wherein I bold the titles I've read, and italicize the ones I intend to read.

100 - Little Nothings: The Curse of the Umbrella by Lewis Trondheim (NBM)

099 - Reid Fleming: Rogue to Riches by David Boswell (Deep Sea Comics)

098 - Real Stuff by Dennis Eichhorn et al (Swifty Morales Press)

097 - The Norm in Color by Michael Jantze (thenorm.com)

096 - Lost at Sea by Bryan Lee O'Malley (Drawn and Quarterly)

095 - Life's a Bitch: The Collected Bitchy Bitch by Roberta Gregory (Fantagraphics)

094 - Swallow Me Whole by Nate Powell (Top Shelf)

093 - Curses by Kevin Huizenga (Drawn and Quarterly)

092 - American Splendor: The Best of American Splendor by Harvey Pekar et al (Ballentine)

091 - War Stories by Garth Ennis et al (two volumes) (DC Comics)

090 - A Treasury of Victorian Murder: Abraham Lincoln by Rick Geary (NBM)

089 - Storeyville by Frank Santoro (Picturebox)

088 - All Star Superman by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely (DC Comics)

087 - Spent by Joe Matt (Drawn and Quarterly)

086 - My War with Brian by Ted Rall (NBM)

085 - Mad Night by Richard Sala (Fantagraphics Books)

084 - Late Bloomer by Carol Tyler (Fantagraphics Books)

083 - The Collected Hutch Owen by Tom Hart (Top Shelf)

082 - God's Bosom and Other Stories by Jack Jackson (Fantagraphics Books)

081 - Fred the Clown by Roger Langridge (Fantagraphics Books)

080 - Amazing Spider-Man Omnibus by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko (Marvel)

079 - Ripple by Dave Cooper (Fantagraphics)

078 - Conan: Born on the Battlefield by Kurt Busiek and Greg Ruth (Dark Horse)

077 - City of Glass by Paul Auster, Paul Karasik and David Mazzucchelli (Harper Perennial)

076 - Bone One Volume Edition by Jeff Smith (Cartoon Books)

075 - Black Hole by Charles Burns (Pantheon)

074 - Daddy's Girl by By Debbie Drechsler (Fantagraphics Books)

073 - The Gypsy Lounge: Lunchtime Variety Criminals by Jasen Lex (Aweful Books)

072 - Marvel Boy by Grant Morrison and JG Jones (Marvel Comics)

071 - The Walking Man by Jiro Tanaguchi (Fanfare/Ponent Mon)

070 - Waterwise by Joel Orff (Alternative Comics)

069 - Red Eye, Black Eye by K. Thor Jensen (Alternative Comics)

068 - Good-Bye by Yosihiro Tatsumi (Drawn and Quarterly)

067 - Abandon the Old in Tokyo by Yoshiro Tatsumi (Drawn and Quarterly)

066 - The Push Man - by Yoshiro Tatsumi (Drawn and Quarterly)

065 - Shuck Unmasked by Rick Simth and Tania Menesse (Top Shelf)

064 - Paul Has A Summer Job by Michel Rabagliati (Drawn and Quarterly)

063 - Monkey vs. Robot by James Kochalka (Top Shelf)

062 - Hellboy by Mike Mignola (six volumes to date) (Dark Horse)

061 - Lost Girls by Alan Moore and Melinda Gebbie (Top Shelf)

060 - McSweeney's Quarterly Concern #13 edited by Chris Ware (McSweeney's)

059 - The Legend of Wild Man Fischer by Dennis Eichhorn and J.R. Williams (Top Shelf)

058 - The Fart Party by Julia Wertz (Atomic Books)

057 - Demo by Brian Wood and Becky Cloonan (DC/Vertigo)

056 - The Silver Surfer by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby (Marvel Comics)

055 - Jack Kirby's Fourth World Omnibus by Jack Kirby (four volumes) (DC Comics)

054 - Pizzeria Kamikaze by Etgar Keret and Asaf Hanuka (Alternative Comics)

053 - James Sturm's America by James Sturm (Drawn and Quarterly)

052 - Palestine by Joe Sacco (Fantagraphics Books)

051 - Strangehaven by Gary Spencer Millidge (three volumes to date) (Abiogenesis Press)

050 - The Outer Space Spirit by Will Eisner, Jules Feiffer and Wallace Wood (Kitchen Sink)

049 - Top Ten by Alan Moore, Zander Cannon and Gene Ha (two volumes) (America's Best Comics)

048 - The Placebo Man by Tomer Hanuka

047 - We3 by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely (DC/Vertigo)

046 - David Boring by Dan Clowes (Pantheon)

045 - Cages by Dave McKean (NBM)

044 - Bottomless Belly Button by Dash Shaw (Fantagraphics Books)

043 - Crecy by Warren Ellis and Raulo Caceres (Avatar Press)

042 - The Maakies by Tony Millionaire (Fantagraphics Books)

041 - The Book of Leviathan By Peter Blegvad (The Overlook Press)

040 - Fantastic Butterflies by James Kochalka (Alternative Comics)

039 - B. Krigstein Comics by Bernard Krigstein (Fantagraphics Books)

038 - Jay's Days: Rise and Fall of the Pasta Shop Lothario by Jason Marcy (Hairy Bald Guy Books)

037 - Gødland by Joe Casey and Tom Scioli (Image Comics)

036 - Scott Pilgrim by Bryan Lee O'Malley (four volumes to date) (Oni Press)

035 - The Filth by Grant Morrison and Chris Weston (DC/Vertigo)

034 - The Complete Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson (Andrews McMeel)

033 - Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons

032 - Marbles in My Underpants by Renee French (Oni Press)

031 - Catwoman Volumes One through Four by Ed Brubaker, Darwyn Cooke, et al (DC Comics)

030 - Bluesman by Rob Vollmar and Pablo Callejo (NBM)

029 - The Castaways by Rob Vollmar and Pablo Callejo (NBM)

028 - DC: The New Frontier by Darwyn Cooke (DC Comics)

027 - Mad Love by Paul Dini and Bruce Timm (DC Comics)

026 - The Journal Comic by Drew Weing (Self-published)

025 - 32 Stories by Adrian Tomine (Drawn and Quarterly)

024 - The Amazing Remarkable Monsieur Leotard by Eddie Campbell and Dan Best (First Second)

023 - It's A Good Life If You Don't Weaken by Seth (Drawn and Quarterly)

022 - Street Angel by Jim Rugg and Brian Maruca (SLG)

021 - Batman: Year One by Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli (DC Comics)

020 - Daredevil: Born Again by Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli (Marvel Comics)

019 - Criminal by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips (three volumes to date) (Marvel/Icon)

018 - Sleeper by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips (four volumes) (DC/Wildstorm)

017 - Fun Home by Alison Bechdel (Houghton Mifflin)

016 - The Complete Peanuts by Charles Schulz (Fantagraphics Books)

015 - King-Cat Classix by John Porcellino (Drawn and Quarterly)

014 - Locas by Jaime Hernandez (Fantagraphics Books)

013 - The Frank Book by Jim Woodring (Fantagraphics Books)

012 - The Ticking by Renée French (Top Shelf)

011 - Bob and Harv's Comics by Harvey Pekar and R. Crumb (4 Walls 8 Windows)

010 - Palomar by Gilbert Hernandez (Fantagraphics Books)

009 - Alec: How to be an Artist by Eddie Campbell (Top Shelf)

008 - Hey, Wait... by Jason (Fantagraphics Books)

007 - Ghost World by Dan Clowes (Fantagraphics Books)

006 - Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth by Chris Ware (Pantheon)

005 - American Elf: The Collected Sketchbook Diaries of James Kochalka (Top Shelf)

004 - Ice Haven by Dan Clowes (Pantheon)

003 - Louis Riel by Chester Brown (Drawn and Quarterly)

002 - Diary of a Teenage Girl by Phoebe Gloeckner (Frog LTD)

001 - From Hell by Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell (Top Shelf)


(Of course it should go without saying that just because I've read something doesn't mean I liked it, although for most of the items on this list I did enjoy reading them.)

Shameless Friend Promotion

A good pal from my long ago high school days, Todd Adams, is one of the driving forces behind Star Trek: Osiris, a new Trek fan film series debuting later this fall. There's a nice article about their production in yesterday's Detroit News: "Diehard 'Star Trek' fans create their own series for the Web."