While you may be in full-on holiday panic mode, there's always spring...and Halloween. Next spring's Courtney Crumrin, Volume 1: The Night Things, Special Edition will see the sardonic young monster-hunter in color for the first time. Ted Naifeh's all ages gothic waif is one of the first -- and the best -- of this sub-genre of comics, and it looks great in color by Warren Wucinich.
Continue ReadingPublisher of the Year candidate Drawn & Quarterly has finally broken the seal on literary comics going digital with a two book deal with Kobo Vox which will see Chester Brown's LOUIS RIEL and PAYING FOR IT released. According to associate publisher Peggy Burns, the deal is non-exclusive, and next year will see more titles and platforms for D&Q. Literary comics publishers Fantagraphics and D&Q are along the last holdouts among publishers going digital -- partially due to their authors' ambivalence (or dislike) of the platform -- so even this tiny toe-dipping into the digital world represents a big step forward. In this case, Chester Brown actually encouraged the move -- and it doesn't hurt that Kobo is, like D&Q, a Canadian company.
Continue ReadingMichael G. Wilson is the current producer for the James Bond film franchise. He's a Daniel Craig fan. Most people like Daniel Craig's 007 performances, so that isn't a surprise. According to the Hollywood Reporter, Wilson's been talking about signing Craig to a five-film extension.
Continue ReadingImage Publisher Eric Stephenson gives another one of his candid, informed reviews -- one of the bonuses from Image's solidified spot as the #3 publisher is Stephenson's increased profile. And even though Image is riding the Walking Dead Wave to increased performance all around, there is always room for improvement, he says, with a new issue of CHEW unavailable from Diamond a week after release and limited support for all-ages material:
Continue ReadingWe'll take this occasion of reprinting this year's Center for Cartoon Studies holiday card by Alexis Frederick-Frost to note that thanks to a 12 hour cable outage on my block I've had to repair to the local Not Starbucks for internet. Dear god, this place is a madhouse of men in business suits yapping about plans along with three plucky students from nearby Baruch who looked to have pitched a tent amid empty yogurt containers and one Unabomber type in the back corner typing on a seedy black netbook.
Continue ReadingLooking for a last minute giftable? B&N is selling The Walking Dead Compendium, Volume 1 for $29.99 -- half of the regular $59.99 price -- but only until 2:59 am December 20th, so don't dawdle. At 1088 pages, this collection of the first 48 issues of THE WALKING DEAD have proven a great entry point into the world of Rick Grimes vs the Zombies -- even at that price it's a consistent bestseller.
Continue ReadingIf you are like us, you are still grieving at the loss of Herman Cain from next year's presidential race. From his powerful hats, to his inspiring slogans -- "You need a job, right?" -- to his wondrous waffling that made every scandal a delight, Cain never failed to bring a smile to our lips, even in these grim times. And he justified that faith in his ability to make us laugh at our problems right up until the very end, topping it off with a quote with the Pokémon movie. But Herman is gone. Luckily, a new candidate for the Republican nomination has arisen who may just take his place, Marvin E. Quasniki, a humble turquoise farmer from Tonopah, Nevada who is running on a very catchy campaign motto that will soon be heard all over Fox News: "No more bullshit."
Continue ReadingChris Pitzer looks back on his nine years of publishing at AdHouse Books -- from Pulpatoon Pilgrimage and on through such coveted art books as Pulphope and Process Recess to acclaimed works like Duncan the Wonder Dog and Skyscrapers of the Midwest. With stops for Afrodisiac and PopeHats and more. Even goofy stuff like the Mort Grim, a comic book about cars. Each year's output from AdHouse will only take up a few inches on your bookshelf -- but those are precious inches. What a great line-up of strongly individual visions and wonderful stories, each presented in a well-designed format.
Continue ReadingAmazon has the deets on GET JIRO!, the graphic novel brainstormed by master chef Anthony Bourdain, co-written with Joel Rose and drawn by Langdon Foss. it sounds a little like our dream of an American version of IRON WOK JAN has finally come true.
Continue ReadingApple has posted the official one, so if the above embed doesn't work, go here.
Continue ReadingWith the March (issue 7) solicitations out, we have a little better idea of what the first round of changes for the New 52/DCnU are. Some of these departures are thought to be the writer choosing to leave (Simone, Brandon) and some appear to be the writer getting the quick hook (Cornell, Gates). When these change decisions were made, there has been history of collected edition sale and it may be a little early to judge digital sales. (Do we know what happens to sales when the titles drop to $1.99? This is new enough, you'd really like to see more than 2-3 months of digital sales before trusting it.)
Continue ReadingIs there a new Lichtenstein roaming the forests? Scott Edelman has brought to our attention thr work of Sharon Moody who paints trompe l'oeil paintings of comics by Jack Kirby, Sal Buscema and others -- but Edelman is bothered by the fact that the source artists are not credited anywhere:
Continue ReadingRuss Cochran, a pioneer of deluxe comic reprints through his past efforts reprinting classic comics of the 50s, has just launched a new publication called SUNDAY FUNNIES, which will reprint classic Sunday comic strips in full color:
Continue ReadingIn this as always charming outing for Tablet Magazine, Davis explains the ins and outs of engagement rings.
Continue Reading
RECENT COMMENTS