Kibbles ‘n’ Bits, 9/30

Shaw went on to describe his experiences as a student in Japan, the ways in which manga influenced his storytelling choices in BOTTOMLESS BELLY BUTTON, and how he views autobiographical comics as a genre like any other. Panter said that Shaw was an easy student to work with because of his work ethic, and Shaw thought that many of his classmates at the School of Visual Arts were lazy. Panter bemoaned the fact that many of his students couldn’t even produce a page a week, blaming it in part on distractions like video games and the internet. Shaw gently chided him for that comment, saying “You’re such a dad!”, but Panter was adamant about this point, as well as his view that artists didn’t take advantage of libraries as a set of visual resources and inspirations.

I was cleaning my office over the weekend, trying once again to organize my mess of a comic collection. I definitely need new bookcases to arrange all of my graphic novels, but for now I shoved most of my manga into old diaper boxes just to clear out some of the clutter. I filled five “long boxes” with manga I didn’t think I was likely to reread any time soon and then reorganized the “keeper” manga on my bookshelf. Sifting through my collection like this made me reflect once again on the “re-readability” of various series. Here are several of the manga series I keep coming back to with some comments on what gives each series such ongoing appeal.

9. A Suite of Modern Literary Graphic Novels Who doesn’t have this? I mean, who doesn’t have this and is still reading, rather than dismissing the whole endeavor as pointless, so long as Crisis on Infinite Earths isn’t specified as a must-have?

It’s the last one that really baffles. Don’t get me wrong. I’ve got nothing against sparkly-eyed, orphan faerie princess. But to suggest that shojo manga doesn’t feature contemporary young women in realistic settings dealing with relatable issues is to willfully ignore a good half of what’s currently available in English from the category.

Newsarama: Warren, as always it’s good to speak with you. The first book’s worth of FreakAngels episodes have finished and a print edition is on its way and you’ve recently started Book 2. How’s the ride so far?

Warren Ellis: Well, now I understand why all the British comics writers from the 70s and 80s who worked exclusively in weekly comics had those deep lines all over their faces and those eyes that pleaded silently for death.

• DC will continue to publish Final Crisis as a mini-series—the recently published third issue will be followed by a fourth.
• The Final Crisis: Rogues’ Revenge mini-series will also be having future issues.
• These will be joined by two new one-shots: Final Crisis: Submit and Final Crisis: Resist.
While this information isn’t exactly surprising or new, it was met with a pretty excited response that was completely out of proportion with the fact that the comics were vaguely referred to as existing in the near future, which everyone knew before they sat down.