Monkey Covers

Sunday is Monkey Covers day here at YACB. Because there's nothing better than a comic with a monkey on the cover.

From 1962, Jack Kirby & Dick Ayers give us "I Am the Gorilla-Man" on the cover of Tales to Astonish #28.

(standard disclaimer about gorillas not really being monkeys applies)

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

Comic Strip April Foolery

At least three syndicated comics strips, Foxtrot, Pearls Before Swine, and Get Fuzzy, are engaging in a little April Foolery today by running what is essentially the same joke (involving a Ouija board). Has anyone stumbled across any others?

Best of March

In this post I'm reprinting reviews of items for which I gave a rating of 4 or better in the month of March:

Concrete: The Human Dilema #2
by Paul Chadwick
While the first issue of this new Concrete was a welcome return to the series, this second issue is a welcome move forward. Chadwick crafts an emotional look at life, death, sex and desire in compelling and thought-provoking ways. While Larry and Astra discuss find that they may not be on the same page when it comes to a future life together, a traumatic event provokes Maurene and Concrete to attempt to move their relationship forward. The real kicker comes near the end, as Concrete's sublimation of the pleasures of the flesh find him tempted by the pleasures of the mind. Chadwick's art matches his story perfectly, full of detail, emotion and desire. This, kids, is how you do comics.
Rating: 4 (of 5)


Street Angel #5
by Jim Rugg & Brian Maruca
In this final (for now) issue of Street Angel, Jesse finds herself teamed up with one-time superhero Afrodisiac, under siege from an army of gun-toting thugs intent on killing them. As our hero's situation grows grim, we learn Afrodisiac's backstory in grey-toned comic panels made to appear as though they are from the 70s and 80s. This issue brims with innovating storytelling, including a dense, frenetic two-page spread near the end where Jesse brutally takes out the thug army. Every issue of Street Angel was different from the others, but it maintained a unique vision throughout and each issue wa a treat. Though the series is done for now, I hope that Street Angel is able to return soon.
Rating: 4 (of 5)


Gotham Central #29
by Greg Rucka, Stefano Gaudiano & Kano
With Promethea officially over, Gotham Central now stands alone as my favorite ongoing title from DC. After the devastating events of last issue resulted in a cop falling prey to an old trap set by Flash foe Dr. Alchemy, Detectives Montoya and Allen travel to Keystone City to see if they can bargain with the incarcerated Alchemy to save the officer's life. Supporting characters from The Flash make an appearance, allowing a compare-and-contrast between the police departments of two cities plagued by very different types of costumed villains. There's genuine drama in Rucka's story: will the detectives be able to save the officer, and in so doing will Montoya regain the respect of the cops in the GCPD? Kano steps in to provide inks over Gaudiano's pencils, smoothing out some of the rougher edges and making for a very attractive book. I still miss Michael Lark, but with Kano tapped to become the new regular artist I think this book will continue to be an excellent marriage of story and art. Now if only sales were better...
Rating: 4 (of 5)

Contest Linkage

Over on Spatula Forum, Nik Dirga, winner of our Spider-Girl contest from earlier this month, is paying it forward with a contest of his own. Nik is running a Jay's Days contest, giving away three prize packages of Jason Marcy's comix. All you have to do is relate your most embarassing moment; that's worth it for free comics, right?

(There's still a couple of days left in Trade Whore's 100% Mix Contest too...)

(Edit: Guy LeCharles Gonzalez chimes in down in the comments to let us know that he is running a contest to give away copies of Elk's Run #1.)

Quick Super-Hero Reviews

Flash #220
by Geoff Johns, Howard Porter & Livesay
It may be fair to accuse Johns of 'darkening' super-hero comics, but it cannot be argued that he doesn't know how to construct a story. The first chapter of "Rogue War" sets up the explosion of the long-brewing conflict between the Flashes' reformed enemies and those who are still criminals. Johns jams in action, exposition and plot into 22-pages of comics, and although it's the first chapter of a longer story, it never once feels decompressed (although the digression about a recent visit from detectives from Gotham Central, while a nice nod to continuity, was unnecessary). Porter's art is clear and attractive, a real improvement over his JLA days, and James Sinclair's colors pop off the page, making this look like a real super-hero comic. This is a good solid super-hero affair with an epic and so-far old school feel, in a good way.
Rating: 3 (of 5)


Legion of Super-Heroes #4
by Mark Waid & Barry Kitson, Leonard Kirk & Mick Gray, Dave Gibbons & Drew Geraci
I had a feeling that Kitson wouldn't be able to keep up a monthly pace on an oversized book, and it turns out I was right, as this issue breaks into a lead story/back-up story mode and brings in two sets of fill-in artists. Still, when one of those fill-ins is Dave Gibbons, it's hard to complain too much! Kitson provides co-plot on the lead story, one that focuses on Lyle Norg, the Invisible Kid. We learn that Lyle is a shy genius (not exactly an original characterization for someone with that power), Cosmic Boy is a bit of an ass (not a characterization I'm fond of at this point), and that Sun Boy's parents are wannabe teens. We also get some time with Colossal Boy (aka Micro Lad), one of my favorite of the new Legion, and a big fight scene in which we get to see how the Legionaires use their powers. Kirk & Gray's art is decent, but at times it seems like they're trying too hard to look like Kitson rather than their own style. In the back-up, Waid provides an interesting twist to Phantom Girl, but it's one that falls apart logically if you stop to think about it at all. We also learn about the Karate Kid's background, and get to gaze on some fine Dave Gibbons art. This is probably the weakest issue of LoSH so far, but that just means that it's good, rather than very good.
Rating: 3 (of 5)


Fantastic Four #524
by Mark Waid, Mike Wieringo & Karl Kesel
This is Waid & Wieringo's last issue, and it's probably just the right time for them to leave. The FF scour Manhattan to reclaim their lost powers which are hopping around from civilian to civilian, and run into that same Reed's-guilt-about-Ben issue that frankly has been done to death. It ends ona high note though, affirming the FF's status as family, heroes and adventurers. Instead of belaboring their run on the title (e.g. JMS on ASM), W&W are leaving at a good point, having said and done what they needed to. In a few months they'll be taking on a Spider-Man title, and I'll be following them over there to see how they approach that other Marvel icon.
Rating: 3 (of 5)

ALA/CBLDF/NCAC survey

This came via a post on the GNLIB email list. If you're a librarian whose library has a graphic novel collection, you may wish to consider responding (at the email address given); if you're a patron whose library has a GN collection, you may wish to bring this to the attention of your friendly librarian:

*******************************************************
Dear all,

The American Library Association, National Coalition Against Censorship, and Comic Book Legal Defense Fund are developing a librarian's guide to graphic novels and would like your input. The guide will focus on graphic novels for adults, but we welcome information on any experience you've had with graphic novels for any audience. Please take a few minutes to share your experience with us. Please respond to bbecker (at) ala.org by Monday, April 11. Thank you!

1) What type of library do you work in?

2) Do you include graphic novels in your collection?

3) If so, how are they catalogued and shelved? For example, are all graphic novels together, or are they organized by content/age group? If your graphic novels are not shelved together, in which categories are they shelved?

4) Have you experienced any problems with or challenges to the graphic novels in your collection?

5) Do you have any success stories to share?

6) Do you have any tips you think we should include, or is there any specific information you would like included in our guide to graphic novels?
***********************************************************

New This Week: March 30, 2005

Based on the NCRL list for this week's comics shipping from Diamond, here are a few things to look for at the local comic shop tomorrow:

The Pick of the Week is the third paperback collection of Warren Ellis & John Cassaday's Planetary: Leaving the 20th Century. It includes issue #16, in which Cassaday impressively succeeded in representing a martial-arts movie combat scene in static, sequential form.


In other comics:

Aeon has the fourth issue of Matt Howarth's Bugtown.

Dark Horse has the final issue of BPRD: The Dead (#5), along with new issues of Concrete: Human Dilema (#4) and The Goon (#11).

DC has a little-noticed book called DC Countdown to Infinite Crisis, but given that there's been almost no press coverage on this I doubt that any retailers bothered to order any copies, so you might want to make sure to get to your LCS early to get a copy befor ethey sell out of the one or two shelf copies they ordered. They also have the first issue of Phil Jimenez's Otherworld, and new issues of Legion of Super-Heroes (#4) and Ocean (#5).

Del Rey has new volumes of Negima (vol. 5), Othello (vol. 3), and Wallflower (vol. 3).

Drawn & Quarterly has the second issue of Kevin Huizenga's Or Else.

Fantagraphics has a re-issue of Roegr Langridge's Zoot Suite.

IDW has the third issue of the very enjoyable Grimjack: Killer Instinct.

Marvel has the delayed Astonishing X-Men #9, a third Spider-Girl digest, and Waid & Wieringo's final issue of Fantastic Four (#524).

NBM has their first Nancy Drew OGN.

Origin Comics has the second issue of Temporary: The Real Me.


And finally, Dark Horse has the trade collection of the Star Wars - Episode III movie adaptation, just in case you'd rather experience the movie on a flat comics page rather than on a big screen with all of the special effects (which, let's face it, is really the main reason why people go to the Star Wars movies).

Be a Military Contractor!

Are you a comic creator? Have you always wanted to be a military contractor? Well now you can be both!

The U.S. Special Operations Command out of Fort Bragg is looking for a comic book series (to be published in Arabic) "based on the security forces, military and police, in the near future in the Middle East in cooperation with the Ministries of Interior of some of those countries."

The solicitation continues: "In order to achieve long-term peace and stability in the Middle East, the youth need to be reached. One effective means of influencing youth is through the use of comic books. A series of comic books provides the opportunity for youth to learn lessons, develop role models and improve their education."

If you don't know Arabic, the military will happily provide a translator for you.

See Solicitation Number H92239-05-T-0026 for all of the details.

(this was brought to my attention by a posting on the Comix Scholars list)

Big ol' Book Meme

Via Mike Sterling, The Book Meme to End All Book Memes.

Reviews: Real Kids Comics

Disney Adventures Comic Zone Winter 2005
$3.95 Disney Publishing Worldwide

Nick Mag Presents: The Best of Nickelodeon Magazine Special All-Comics Issue Spring 2005
$4.95 Viacom International, Inc.

Kids and comics. They go together like peanut butter and jelly, peanut butter and chocolate, peanut butter and marshmallow; well, you get the idea. But it seems that kids just don't read comics these days. Or do they?

According to Disney & Nickelodeon, kids love the comics that show up in their magazines, Disney Adventures and Nickelodeon Magazine; and to prove it, they've both released special all-comics editions.

Both collection are remarkably similar in many aspects, featuring comics based on their various media properties and throwing in a few original comics creations as well. Disney Adventures is mostly Disney-related properties like Mickey Mouse, W.I.T.C.H., Lilo & Stitch, Kim Possible, The Incredibles, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Aladdin. Nickelodean features SpongeBob SquarePants, Jimmy Neutron, Hey Arnold!, Rugrats, and As Told by Ginger, but they also have a number of non-Nick properties represented as well.

Both magazines also surprise on occasion, including work by comic creators usually associated with indy comics; Nickelodeon has a "Patty Cake" story from Scott Roberts, a how-to-create-your-own-comics feature from Scott McCloud, a couple of comics from Craig Thompson, "Amanda & Her Panda" by Andi Watson, and "Fiona of the Felines" from Terry LaBan. Disney throws in a couple of Mickey & Goofy comics from Glenn McCoy, "Gorilla Gorilla" from Art Baltazar, and an absolutely hysterical two-page comic from Matt Feazell.

Of the two, the Nickelodeon fares better as a whole, due to its greater amount of non-Nick content. Disney Adventures is longer (100 pages vs. 60) and less expensive, though digest-sized and printed on cheaper paper (Nickelodeon Magazine is regular magazine-sized). Disney is all original material, while Nickelodeon is all reprints. Both contain a good deal of advertising, mostly for video games and corporate media properties.

If you have a six- to ten-year-old in your life that you'd like to get into comics, both of these magazines would be an excellent start. (And if you're a grown-up-comics fan, you may want to take a look at the Nickelodeon Magazine for yourself!) Disney has announced their intentions to make their all-comics Comic Zone editions a quarterly affair; I'm not sure what the intentions of the Nickelodeon folks are, but this current edition should be available on newsstands and in grocery aisles until mid-April.

(Read more about the Disney Adventures Comic Zone in this Newsarama article, and The Best of Nickelodeon Magazine Special All-Comics Issue in Dave Roman's press release, available many places online, including here.)

Ratings: Disney Adventures Comic Zone: 3 (of 5); Nickelodeon Magazine Special All-Comics Issue: 3.5 (of 5)

(a review copy of the Nickelodeon Magazine Special All-Comics Issue was provided by the publisher)

Monkey Covers

Sunday is Monkey Covers day here at YACB. Because there's nothing better than a comic with a monkey on the cover.

From 1976 it's The Great Grape Ape #2 (artist unknown). That's right, a giant purple ape. Goodness but I loved this cartoon when I was a kid.

(standard disclaimer about giant apes not really being monkeys applies)

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

Two Short Things

Thing #1: I think I'm finished with JMS's Amazing Spider-Man. It wasn't the "Sins Past" story that did it to me, but rather the just completed "Skin Deep," which was boring boring boring. I think he's run out of things to say about Spidey. I had already planned on stopping the floppies and moving to trades, so I haven't pre-ordered any further issues, but if I continue at all at this point it'll be because the public library gets a copy of the trade.

Thing #2: Speaking of the public library, I returned the massive tome of American Elf: James Kochalka's Collected Sketchbook Diaries this morning, after having read about 10% of it. On the one hand it's a pretty amazing achievement: five years of daily journal entries in comic strip form. On the other, that's something like 1800 comics about Kochalka's mostly mundane life. I think I got the jist of it from the amount that I read. I can see why many others would like this so much, but it's not for me, and I've got huge stacks of other comics stuff to read.

Prof. Gloeckner Goes to Angoulême

The new issue of Indy Magazine is now available, and among other things it features Phoebe Gloeckner's photocomic-journal/travel report for the trip she took to the Festival International de la Bande Dessinée in Angoulême, France (with Annette, our art & design librarian, in tow). It makes for a good, quick read, and includes Robert Crumb's feet.

Marvel Hinders Chance for 7-11 Success

The ink is barely dry on the announcement that Marvel will be putting comics back into 7-11 stores, and already it looks like they're going to shoot themselves in the foot and blow their chance at success.

As reported in a Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services article (link via Thought Balloons), the Marvel comics that will be available in 7-11s across the country are their Marvel Flip Books.

What are the Marvel Flip Books? They're 64-page comics reprinting relatively recent issues of Marvel comics, for $3.99. They're in the latest Marvel Previews (or see the Marvel June solicitations on Newsarama):

Ultimate Marvel #1 reprints Ultimate Fantastic Four #1 & Ultimate X-Men #1.
Marvel Heroes #1 reprints New Avengers #1 & Captain America #1
Ultimate Tales reprints Ultimate Spider-Man #1
Marvel Tales #1 reprints Amazing Spider-Man #34 & Amazing Fantasy #1
Marvel Adventures #1 reprints Marvel Adventures Spider-Man #1 & Marvel Adventures Fantastic Four #1
Marvel Select #1 reprints Astonishing X-Men #1 & New X-Men: Academy X #1

The problem? Except for Marvel Adventures, these are all comics that reprint the first chapter of story arcs that were constructed for the trade edition. So when Marvel Heroes #3 shows up at the 7-11, it'll presumably contain reprints of the third issues of New Avengers & Captain America, middle chapters of six-part stories. While dedicated comic shop customers may be willing to put up with following long decompressed story arcs, I can't see them appealing to kids wandering into the 7-11. Why are they not focusing exclusively on the Marvel Adventures titles, which are inteneded for kids & newsstand audiences?

The New 80s Revival

I think we're starting to enter a second 80s revival in comics.

The first 80s revival manifested mainly in the proliferation of comics based on 80s comics that were based on toy properties: G.I. Joe, Transformers, Thundercats, Micronauts, etc. That seems to have pretty much run its course, although a couple of those properties are still hanging on.

This second 80s revival is rooted in some of the better, more creative works from that decade. We're seeing the emergence of new comics for Grimjack; Jon Sable, Freelance and Concrete; Frank Miller on Batman; a deluxe hardcover edition of Watchmen; even the dim hope that we'll finally see Miracleman again before the year is out.

(Of course, we're also seeing a new Crisis and a new Secret War...)

I think that this latest revival is better than the first--and I for one am thrilled to be getting new Grimjack and Concrete--but it's still a movement largely based on nostalgia. Now nostalgia has always been a huge motivator in comics, but it's also fickle and a moving target. This too shall pass, and then it's on to the next thing (nostalgia for early 90s Image-style? Shudder!)

Not much of a point to be made here, I guess; just an observation. What do you think?

Pupshaw and The Thing

Jim Woodring fans may enjoy this.

(link via Sara Ryan)

New This Week: March 23, 2005

Based on the NCRL list for this week's comics shipping from Diamond, here are a few things to look for at the local comic shop tomorrow:

The Pick of the Week is Queen & Country, vol. 7: Operation Saddlebags from Oni, the latest installment in Greg Rucka's excellent spy series, with very good art by Mike Norton. (I reviewed the main part of this collection in its original comic form here.


In other comics:

AAA Milwaukee Publishing (getting to the front of Previews with that name!) releases Essential Arsenic Lullaby, vol. 1.

Antarctic has a new issue of Fred Perry's Gold Digger (#62).

Checker has a third collection of the old Gold Key Star Trek comics.

DC starts another of Grant Morrison's Seven Soldiers series, Guardian, with Cameron Stewart on art. Nightwing #106 finishes up "Nightwing: Year One," while JLA: Classified #5 continues "I Can't Believe It's Not the Justice League," where if you wish you can just pretend that the whole IDCrisis thing never even happened. They also have new issues of 100 Bullets (#59), Authority: Revolution (#6), Hellblazer (#206), and Sleeper Season Two (#10).

Drawn & Quarterly starts reprinting Chester Brown's Ed, the Happy Clown in floppy form, instead of doing the sensible thing and releasing a trade collection.

Image has the first issue of B. Clay Moore's Expatriate, and the second issue of Pigtale.

Kenzer & Company releases issue #101 of Knights of the Dinner Table, and I've barely made a dent in reading last month's massive one hundredth issue.

Marvel has an Ultimate Spider-Man collection (volume 12: Superstars), the second issue of the second volume of Runaways, and the debut of Mike Carey's Spellbinders.

TokyoPop has the eighth volume of that Fruits Basket book that some people seem to really like.

Wizard has the first issue of New West, with pretty Phil Noto art.


No smarmy comment at the end this week; I've got to go fill up my $65 Doctor Who Dalek Cookie Jar!

Muppets

TVShowsonDVD.com has extensive information about Disney's plans to release season sets of The Muppet Show, starting with season in late 2005. It looks to be a really good DVD set, with the episodes being uncut and including the UK-only skits (the show was produced in the UK, where there are fewer commercials per half hour than in US syndication). It will also include several historic pilots and specials, and interviews with several muppeteers.

I'm Incredible!

Which Incredibles Character Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

New Library Comics

Now that the Newly Catalog Items feature is working again on the library's Website, I can easily share the list of new comics that the library is getting in for our collection.

Here is the listing of new comics & GNs added to the catalog over the past four weeks.

Assuming there's any interest, I'll probably continue to generate a list either every week or every other week.