Tagged: Book

REVIEW: “Dark Victory” (Lady Lazurus #2)

What began as intimate, largely internal, spiritual conflict in Michele Lang’s historical urban romantic dark fantasy series with Lady Lazarus explodes onto the mind’s screen with the second installment, Dark Victory (Tor, Jan. ’12, hardcover $25.99, Kindle $9.99, release party at Book Review in Huntington, Jan. 22nd 4-6 p.m.), with new spiritual-ethical dilemmas of how far is too far to go to save a soul, a person, a whole people?—to make your head spin as only Lang knows how.

It picks up where we left off: August 30th, 1939 on the almost-eve of Hilter’s invasion of Poland. Magda is back in Hungary and has captured the dark angel Asmodel, demon-brother of her beloved and once-archangel Raziel (he gave up his immortality to join her fight against the Nazis and make a difference, instead of being a spectator…shades of the Watchmen ethical dilemma of To Do or Not To Do?) She’s pulling out all the stops so that everyone can join forces and maybe, just maybe, thwart her powerful-but-fragile sister Gisele’s dire prophecy of blood and doom for her Jewish people and certain, final death for all, including herself (able to return from the dead, but at terrible cost and with severe limitations). Whatever happens, Magda has to try to protect her precious friends and all she loves, even if it means her own, ultimate damnation (shades of Bleach’s Ichigo, and you can also hear Scarlett O’Hara saying, “I don’t care what it takes…if I have to lie, cheat, steal, or even murder…as God is my witness…”)

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Bone: The Quest for the Spark Continues in Volume Two

Since the color editions of Bone began appearing nearly a decade ago, Jeff Smith’s delightful series has become synonymous with Scholastic’s Graphix imprint. In 2009, Scholastic concluded a deal that allows them to publish expansion material set in the Bone universe such as the Tall Tales collection that came out a while back.

Last year, a new series, Quest for the Spark, began but what made this unique was that these books would be illustrated prose works. Tom Sniegoski, who collaborated on Tall Tales, has been penning the stories while Smith (with colorist Steve Hamaker) has provided the covers and spot illustrations. Volume two is due out momentarily with volume three coming this summer.

When this was first announced, Smith noted on his website, “I was a bit unsure about this project when Tom first suggested it, but when I read the first book I laughed so hard, I agreed to do it. Scholastic was so blown away by it, that they decided to make it available in hardcover and wanted the illustrations, of which I think I’m going to do about twenty, full bleed and in color.”

The reality is the second book as 12 full page pieces along with spot art but it’s all nicely spaced out. So, what are the books about? Well, first of all, these are considered Bone: Legacy even though you the reader will call them Quest for the Spark. They include characters from the original series including the Two Stupid Rat Creatures and Roderick the Raccoon, Master of the Eastern Border, Thorn Harvestar, and Rose (Gran’ma Ben) Harvestar.  While mentioned, the Bone cousins will not be seen nor are active participants. (more…)

Review: The Simon and Kirby Superheroes

Review: The Simon and Kirby Superheroes

Pound for pound, you’re unlikely to find a better
superhero collection than Titan Books’ The Simon and Kirby Superheroes
. It weighs in at 4.2 pounds and, at
Amazon.com’s $32.97, that means you are paying fifty cents an ounce for the
stuff that made Joe Simon and Jack Kirby legends.

You might not have heard of some of these characters –
Stuntman, Fighting American, Vagabond Prince, Captain 3-D (in 2-D, but now in
color),[[[Private Strong]]] (the Shield #2), and [[[The Fly]]]. Over the decades many have
been reprinted; this book also includes a number of stories that had never been
published. All are gems. Every one of them. All 480 pages of them.

Of course, Simon and Kirby are better known for their
Marvel and DC creations: [[[Boy Commandos]]], [[[The Guardian]]] and [[[the Newsboy Legion]]],and – most prominently – [[[Captain America]]]. All of these stories have been collected in hardcover in recent years, along with their work on DC’s Sandman
series. OK, for the nit-pickers in the audience, the Boy Commandos volume ships from DC at the end of November.

As fond as I am of these creations – and Captain America
is as iconic a costumed hero as they come – I have always been more
enthusiastic about the characters represented in this mammoth tome. The action leaps off the page, the stories
border on the outrageous and the concepts are pure unbridled fun. Their own
company published some, others were published by Archie Comics or Harvey
Comics. I gather their editors simply gave them more latitude; certainly, the
corporate structures were obviously more willing to bend to Simon and Kirby’s
strengths than the uptights at Marvel (Timely) and DC.

In other words, when it comes to Simon and Kirby
superheroes, this is the real stuff.

Kudos to editor Steve Saffel, who has spent at least four
years working on this series of books along with Joe Simon (age 97) and his son
Jim. It’s the second volume of the Simon and Kirby Library, but this book is
wisely unnumbered. It started with The Best of Simon and Kirby
, an overview that included reprints of DC and
Marvel stories; it will continue with separate volumes devoted, respectively,
to their crime, horror and romance comics. For the uninformed, Simon and Kirby invented the romance comics genre.

Neil Gaiman contributed the introductory essay, and it
comes off as a labor of love. I can relate to that. Joe Simon and Jack Kirby
gave the American comic book genre its heart and its soul. They brought emotion
and energy to the four-color page, and [[[ The
Simon and Kirby Superheroes]]]
is an educational experience illuminating the
power of the comic book story in its most formative days.

If you’re reading this review, you should be reading The Simon
and Kirby Superheroes.
You need to.

Photo
IDs: top – Simon, Kirby; bottom – Saffel, Book

In stores today: ‘The Original Johnson: Book 1’

In stores today: ‘The Original Johnson: Book 1’

One hundred and one years ago this Saturday, a black man shook the world and did what many believed to be impossible.

Today, his story is available in finer comic book retailers across America.

The Original Johnson, Book 1 is Trevor Von Eeden’s personal and heartfelt graphic
novel biography of Jack Johnson, the first African-American heavyweight
champion of the world, international celebrity, and the most
controversial American of his time. This is the artistic achievement of
Trevor’s career,
more than four years in the making and worth every moment. We are proud to be able to make this book available to you.

For those of you who have been following it online, the printed edition is actually ahead of where the online edition is, so there’s additional incentive for you.

And yes, this makes an excellent gift for Christmas, Boxing Day (sorry) or the second day of Kwanzaa– because if there was ever a black man who embodied the principles of self-determination, it was John Arthur Johnson.

CBLDF looking for summer interns

CBLDF looking for summer interns

The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund is looking for interns to help with summer operations.
Duties include assisting office and inventory organization, updating
the inventory, and assisting membership and premium fulfillment.

Requirements:

  • At least 17 years of age
  • Good organizational skills
  • Office experience preferred
  • Proficiency in QuickBooks, Excel, and MSWord
  • A familiarity with the comic book industry and current trends
  • Book retail experience helpful
  • Able to lift 50lbs

If you meet these requirements, please send your resume to fundmgr@cbldf.org. And tell them ComicMix sent you.

ComicMix Quick Picks – April 6, 2009

ComicMix Quick Picks – April 6, 2009

A round-up of items from the last few days…

Anything else? Consider this an open thread.

First Look: ‘Knowing’

First Look: ‘Knowing’

Nicolas Cage (National Treasure: Book of Secrets) stars in Knowing, a gripping action-thriller of global proportions about a professor who stumbles on terrifying predictions about the future—and sets out to prevent them from coming true.

In 1958, as part of the dedication ceremony for a new elementary school, a group of students is asked to draw pictures to be stored in a time capsule. But one mysterious girl fills her sheet of paper with rows of apparently random numbers instead.

Fifty years later, a new generation of students examines the capsule’s contents and the girl’s cryptic message ends up in the hands of young Caleb Koestler. But it is Caleb’s father, professor John Koestler (Nicolas Cage), who makes the startling discovery that the encoded message predicts with pinpoint accuracy the dates, death tolls and coordinates of every major disaster of the past 50 years. As Ted further unravels the document’s chilling secrets, he realizes the document foretells three additional events—the last of which hints at destruction on a global scale and seems to somehow involve Ted and his son. When Ted’s attempts to alert the authorities fall on deaf ears, he takes it upon himself to try to prevent more destruction from taking place.

With the reluctant help of Diana Wayland (Rose Byrne) and Abby Wayland, the daughter and granddaughter of the now-deceased author of the prophecies, Ted’s increasingly desperate efforts take him on a heart-pounding race against time until he finds himself facing the ultimate disaster—and the ultimate sacrifice.

Summit Entertainment, the people behind Twilight, has set a release date of March 20, 2009.

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Faith-Based Entertainment, by Elayne Riggs

Faith-Based Entertainment, by Elayne Riggs

White rabbits, and L’shana tova! My favorite season has finally arrived, and October is probably the best month in that season. There’s a delicious chill in the air, the leaves are already starting to turn, the Yanks have faded and the Mets have blown it (albeit on the last day this year, instead of crashing in the spectacular fashion of ’07), and I don’t much care because the new TV season is in full swing.

Not that I’m watching it much, mind you. I’ve become a not-ready-for-prime-time viewer. I spend about an hour to 90 minutes each weekday evening watching MSNBC (specifically Keith Olbermann then Rachel Maddow) on DVR delay, and the rest of the time trying in vain to catch up on my other DVR’ed programs. Between the food-themed reality shows, a few sci-fi trinkets, a smattering of sitcoms and the obligatory Stewart/Colbert one-two punch, when I finally do get up to date it’s already the weekend. I don’t even seem to have that much time any more for comics reading, considering I’ve been using my public transit commute more for light dozing than for funnybook perusal.

None of this is a complaint, it’s just an observation that, if there are any specific trends afoot, I may be slow to recognize them. But Robin thinks he’s spotted one that has me wondering if it’s not a part of a bigger shift in thinking about our entertainment.

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Dr. Phil and Me, by Dennis O’Neil

Dr. Phil and Me, by Dennis O’Neil

After two 30 minute office visits and a little homework, we listened to the therapist tell us, matter-of-factly and unequivocally, that our relationship was somewhere south of hopeless, we had nothing for each other, the sooner we went back to being merely colleagues, the better for all concerned. I wasn’t surprised, and I don’t think she was either. But I guess I didn’t expect the final pronouncement to come so quickly and definitively.

The therapist was the late Dr. Albert Ellis, developer of Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy, and boy! he didn’t believe in mincing words, nor, I’d say, in ignoring he obvious. I remembered him and this pretty inconsequential bit of autobiography when I was paging through a Book of the Month Club mailing the other day and found that BOMC was offering Real Life, by the gent who bylines himself Dr. Phil McGraw.

Soon after I stopped spending my weekdays in a Manhattan office building and became a lazy slug who could, and sometimes did, watch television at three in the afternoon, I sampled Dr. Phil’s daily offering on Channel 2 and was mildly impressed. Like Ellis, he seemed to be interested in solutions, said what he meant. And although “common sense” is overrated – common sense tells us that the world is flat – it does have its uses and Dr. Phil seemed to be using it well. The approaches of both McGraw, as exhibited in those early broadcasts, and Ellis remind me of Morita therapy, a Japanese treatment championed in this country by David Reynolds. Morita therapy says – my interpretation – that, look, we could talk for years and maybe never find out what damaged you, or when, and if we did, we might not be able to do a repair job. But we can deal with the ways the damage is making your life unmanageable, so let’s do that.

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‘Schlock Mercenary: The Teraport Wars’ Coming in October

Schlock Mercenary: The Teraport Wars is now available for pre-order. The Teraport Wars is the fourth collection of Schlock Mercenary strips to make it into publication; in true George Lucas style, Book 3 and Book 4 were released first. This book fits between The Tub of Happiness and Under New Management, and with it the first 1000 strips are available four hard-copy volumes.

This 228-page volume is in full color on glossy paper, and contains all the strips and footnotes from November 12th of 2001 through March 8th of 2003. It also features some new footnotes, commentary, guest art, concept art, deck plans for the Post-Dated Check Loan, eleven pages of all-new bonus story, and an introduction by Brandon Sanderson. The book is expected to ship October 9.

Schlock Mercenary is a webcomic by Howard Tayler that follows the adventures of a mercenary company aboard a starship in a 31st-century space opera setting. Schlock Mercenary updates daily at http://www.schlockmercenary.com/, and has been doing so continuously since June of 2000, a near-unheard-of feat in webcomics. Schlock Mercenary was previously featured on Keenspot, and is now a member of the Blank Label Comics consortium.