Author: Van Jensen

Top Shelf’s Eisner Awards Campaign

A small rectangular box, wrapped in brown paper and stamped "Super Spy," appeared in my mail box over the weekend. I opened it to find an Arturo Fuente cigar box.

Inside that, no cigars, but instead a weird little collection of items put together from Top Shelf to celebrate the Eisner Award nominations of two of its books, Matt Kindt’s Super Spy and Jeff Lemire’s Ghost Stories.

There’s a paper gun, a piece of original art signed by Kindt, some "cyanide" tablets, a pictorial treasure hunt, a pack of 1991 hockey cards (gum included) and an Essex County postcard.

What it reminded me of most are the packages sent out by college football teams to promote their players for the Heisman and other awards. The only problem with Top Shelf’s effort is that comics journalists don’t vote on the Eisners. Still, it’s pretty cool stuff.

Review: ‘The Question: Poisoned Ground’

After 20 years, DC is finally collecting Dennis O’Neil and Denys Cowan’s run on The Question, with the second volume, Poisoned Ground ($19.99) out now.

It’s a collection that’s well worth the wait, and I’m not just saying that because the author is one of ComicMix‘s own. While the first collection (Zen and Violence) was good, [[[Poisoned Ground]]] shows the creative team truly finding their voice — think tough and hardscrabble like The Spirit, but with a philosophic bent.

O’Neil explores not just the mind of his hero (who still has plenty of questions for himself), but those of his villains (who are always far more complex than first impressions indicate). The narrative slips between harsh reality and even harsher dreams, a paean to the ugliness of the world.

The book features three standalone stories and one three-issue story, each in turns bizarre, troubling and inspiring. The art is creative, highly detailed and evocative, and O’Neil’s scripts are every bit as inspired and poetic as those of Alan Moore or Neil Gaiman.

Especially now, with Vic Sage having been killed off in the current DCU, these collections are a must-have for fans of The Question, or anyone who likes their comics with plenty of depth.

The Weekly Haul: Reviews for April 3, 2008

Let’s be honest: It was a forgettable week for comics. Both Marvel and DC are still trying to get their summer events off the ground, and the rest of their books seem to be treading water. And while a few decent indies hit the shelves this week, none were exceptional.

So, if that’s not enough to get you excited for a big batch of reviews, I don’t know what is.

Book of the Week: BPRD 1946 #5 — For a series that started out with three and a half low-key books, BPRD 1946 goes out with a frenetic climax, as Bruttenholm and pals do their darndest to prevent a payload of monsters from being launched into America.

There are also monkeys. Lots and lots of monkeys, all captured in crazed fashion by artist Paul Azaceta (read my interview with Paul right here).

This book continues to work well as narrative backfill, showing the Bruttenholm’s transition from fighting Nazis to raising Hellboy. While there are allusions to events to come, the story never obsesses with self reference, as it’s too busy having fun. Sample dialogue from the villain: "You’re in over your head, stranger! You and your popgun army!"

Lots of credit to Mike Mignola and co-writer Joshua Dysart for pumping out yet another Hellboy property while keeping the quality sky-high. (You can also read my interview with Dysart right here.)

Runner Up:

DMZ #31 — This series seems to have finally pulled itself out of a long dry spell of one-and-done books that strayed too far from the central narrative. We’re back to Matty in his role of journalist/angry-young-dude, as he covers the campaign of Parco, a mix of Hugo Chavez and Barack Obama who’s trying to jostle the system. As expected, the system doesn’t like being jostled.

When this series is clicking, Brian Wood does a beautiful job of paralleling real events and politics without straining. The DMZ story works all by itself, but it still offers commentary on things like the current election season and Iraq.

(more…)

Stanford Class Creates Graphic Novel

In what is being billed as the first full graphic novel to be created as a classroom project, a group of Stanford students this past year completed Shake Girl, a fictional story about a Cambodian woman who is attacked with acid as revenge on an affair.

The 224-page book came from a writing class taught by Tom Kealey, and signalled a new step in the advancement of graphic fiction into traditional college campuses. The San Francisco Chronicle has a nice long story on it.

"In a normal writing class, you’d write a poem or finish a chapter and you’d own it," Kealey said. "In this class, we had to collaborate every step of the way, every idea, and make compromises. It was the most difficult and rewarding class I ever taught."

While the study of comics and graphic novels has steadily become an acceptable part of college curricula – "Maus" creator Art Spiegelman taught a course at Columbia University last year – the project-based graphic novel class offered at Stanford appears to be the first of its kind.

In case you’re interested in the project, Stanford has made Shake Girl available online, so click right here and grade it for yourself.

Review: ‘Harbinger: The Beginning’ by Jim Shooter and David Lapham

I had forgotten how much superhero comics had changed in the past 15 years when I picked up Valiant’s new Harbinger: The Beginning collection ($24.95), which revives the book’s first issues from 1992.

It’s impossible to evaluate the stories without looking at the context of their era. True, [[[Harbinger]]] never reached the excessive silliness of Liefeld’s [[[X-Force]]], but it’s populated by edgy characters with dated nicknames like “Torque,” who spout even more dated phrases like “buttlick.”

Since the crash of the ’90s, comics have largely moved toward a more serious and realistic tone, and Harbinger (created by Jim Shooter and David Lapham) stands in stark contrast. All the same, in many ways the book holds up, probably no surprise since it once garnered a great number of fans.

What’s especially appreciable about Harbinger is how it strays from the superhero stereotype, something even today’s books struggle to do. The protagonist, Pete, is not a clear-cut hero; instead he’s an immature and often egotistical teen who doesn’t understand the dangers of his powers. The villain, Harada, is no great man, but his central goal is to protect the world from Pete.

As much as anything, Harbinger is about the folly of youth and the lessons to be learned from those mistakes. It falls into cliché and hollow edginess, but more often jumps in surprising directions and offers a new (again, in context) take on heroes.

Where Are The Superheroine Movies?

Over at Cinematical, Elisabeth Rappe responds to all the acclaim for Iron Man by pointing out a deficiency in the booming business of comics being adapted to film.

Looking around the cinematic landscape, at the likes of Tony Stark, Bruce Banner, Bruce Wayne, Hellboy and the like, Rappe notices something missing: superheroines. And, even worse, Marvel’s recent announcement of more male heroes headed to the screen and ongoing delays in a Wonder Woman project, it looks like no female heroes will be hitting the big screen anytime soon.

It has been eight years since X-Men made comic book movies big business, and we have yet to see a proper superheroine. Ant-Man is on a faster production track than Wonder Woman – and who is more recognizable to the general public? Why is Thor more palatable to the mass audience than Black Widow? I don’t buy that there isn’t a mass appeal for these stories.

It probably doesn’t help the studio perspective that the only two comic heroines allowed to fly solo were disasters. But was there ever a smidgen of care given to either Elektra or Catwoman during the writing or production process? Neither film was entered into with that Iron Man spirit; they were careless and cheap, and turned out predictably awful. It’s no surprise that a movie bombs because it sucks – but surely, the suits are ascribing that largely to heroines being lousy sells. It says volumes that neither are worth the kind of relaunch The Incredible Hulk is getting. Why not bring back Elektra to revise big screen history? I’d pay to see it in a heartbeat.

A lot of food for thought, and plenty to agree or disagree with. Interestingly, Rappe doesn’t place any of the blame on the comic book industry, which has been called out for giving women short shrift plenty of times.

The Weekly Haul: Reviews for May 8, 2008

Simply put, a huge week in comics, with a full load of books even before we get into Skrullapalooza 2008. Though a few decent indies came out, superheroes dominated the shelves, and Marvel’s superheroes especially, including a couple of big debuts.

Book of the Week: Nova #13 — A comic has to be pretty dang good to overcome a cover like the one at right, which seems to show Nova and Silver Surfer en flagrante as Galactus serves as an interstellar peeping tom.

Despite that, Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning’s space book shows no Annihilation hangover, keeping the pedal all the way to the floor. Back to trying to serve as a cop of the cosmos, Nova responds to a world being destroyed by Galactus. In a great catch, Nova realizes the world is already doomed, so he focuses instead on the rescue mission (with nice allusions to FEMA and Hurricane Katrina).

As if that wasn’t enough, the writing crew throws in the complicating villain Harrow, a malevolent and vague force that feeds off suffering — a clever parallel to Galactus’ appetite.

No kidding, this is one of the best superhero comics right now, and easily the most enjoyable space story in recent years.

Runners Up:

The Boys #18 — The comic known for its raunchiness is as bellicose as ever, with a constant peppering of cursing that almost makes Deadwood seem prim and proper. While that’s what the series has come to be known for, this issue surprises in how well it captures interactions among the characters in low-key ways.

Of course, there’s also a lengthy scene of a floating corpse peeing all over…

The All-New Atom #23 — Escalating craziness is the proper description for this series. Ryan is now in some sort of alternate universe, where his friends (thought to have been eaten by last issue’s monster) are fending off bizarre monsters. A classic bad-to-worse issue, with lively art from Pat Olliffe and another great cliffhanger ending.

(more…)

Arrests Made in Shooting of Comic Shop Owner

Arrests Made in Shooting of Comic Shop Owner

Late last month, we heard the sad news that David Pirkola, owner of Apparitions Comics and Books in Kentwood, Mich., had been shot in an apparent robbery. Now, as reported by Kentwood’s NBC affiliate, two men have been arrested in the shooting.

The two suspects have been in custody for about a week, with police holding their identities until now as they tried to track down a third subject, according to the station’s report. I’m not sure that’s right, as police are required to immediately make a public log of every arrest. It could be that the arrestees are juveniles, whose identities can legally be withheld. The article doesn’t list their ages.

James Muriel-Neal Thompson and Marvin Michael-Marquis Jones are accused of shooting David Pirkola at his Kentwood comic book store on April 25. Thompson and Jones were in court more than a week ago, but police did not release their names because they’re looking for a third suspect.

That man, Jevon Sawyer, is still being sought. Pirkola remains in critical condition.

Again, best wishes to Pirkola as he recovers.

Review: ‘Mome’ Vol. 11

The image at right isn’t the cover of the latest MOME ($14.99), Fantagraphics’ collection of vignettes from various cartoonists. That’s because the actual cover features full male nudity and a body gushing blood.

As much as that might create a challenge for the volume’s shelf presence, it sets a fitting tone for the stories within, all beautifully illustrated pieces that are in turn harsh, ugly, violent, depressing and hilarious.

The best of the lot is "Einmal Ist Keinmal," a wordless story from French cartoonist Killoffer (that’s his work at right, though not a page from MOME). His two-tone work, reminiscent of Jaime Hernandez’s art, elegantly portrays the life of a woman living in a world where all men literally look the same, featuring the grim, Cro Magnon-ish visage that Killoffer uses to represent himself. It’s a story that begs for repeated readings to decipher the author’s thoughts on the ugly side of masculinity.

The 20 other pieces are an assortment of new chapters in continuing stories, standalone pieces and a lengthy Gary Groth interview with Ray Fenwick (a must read for those interested in typography). Tom Kaczynski crafts a mournful diatribe against new age businesses and Nate Neal weaves a bizarre tapestry of cartoon oddity, among other highlights.

This is one of the more cohesive and consistent volumes of MOME, with a handful of great pieces and no weak links. Recommended reading, at least for those who like their comics with a nasty edge.

Review: ‘Willie & Joe: The War Years’ by Bill Mauldin

In the new massive two-volume set Willie & Joe: The War Years, Bill Mauldin’s World War II cartoons are given a deluxe treatment, from the Army-green canvas covers to the oversized printing of Mauldin’s voluminous output.

The only thing publisher Fantagraphics couldn’t overcome in producing the book was the rough condition of much of Mauldin’s cartoons depicting the life of soldiers. As much as that might seem a drawback, editor Todd DePastino turns it into one more thing to appreciate about Mauldin: His cartoons often suffered because the young soldier/illustrator created them on the front lines.

It’s a truly beautiful collection, and one befitting the legacy of Mauldin, who died in 2003 (I reviewed DePastino’s biography of Mauldin right here). The first volume picks up with Mauldin’s first cartoons in a school paper (DePastino faced the tough challenge of tracking down all of Mauldin’s published work), then transitions to his time in the Army, first in Oklahoma and then overseas.

Through the cartoons (and DePastino’s well researched notes), we can see Mauldin grow as an artist, a person and a soldier. His first cartoons offered harsh stereotypes of Native Americans, but after Mauldin served with a largely Cherokee unit, his lasting desire for equality began to come to the fore.

(more…)

Categories

Archives

Everything you need to make great comics!

comicmix-pro-300x69-2

Nucleus X

Bookshop Zaks