§ Kristy Valenti on Dario Argento’s horror comics anthology. Argento is the Italian maker of some extremely violent horror films, so we’re guessing this anthology did not really resemble Boris Karloff Tales of Mystery.
§ The folks at The Hooded Utilitarian cast an impartial eye on The Sandman. Ng Suat Tong:
The most surprising thing about my current reappraisal of The Sandman is how little my impression of these initials issues has changed. I’ve been impressed by the extensive planning involved from the very first issues, now confirmed by a review of Gaiman’s initial Sandman proposal at the back of The Absolute Sandman Vol. 1. He has a good feel for the material and has the right ear for the kind of dialogue required by his characters. These comics are clearly the receptacle into which Gaiman poured a multitude of his ideas. His script for the aforementioned Shakespearean story is precise and well planned, meeting its equal in his collaborator, Charles Vess.
Aside from the inconsistencies in the art, though, the real problem is that my former enthusiasm for Gaiman’s writing has dimmed a lot. I can still appreciate his cleverness and the care of construction…but after a while, both of those virtues are pushed so enthusiastically and unilaterally that they start to feel oppressive. After a while you start to almost want to plead — please, somebody, anybody, could you just once say something that doesn’t come back a panel, or a page, or several issues down the road with an ironically profound or profoundly ironic twist? Could we have a story end without a smug little O’Henry meets dumbed-down Borges twist? Could everybody just for a fucking second stop talking?
Also: Vom Marlowe and Tom Crippen.
§ Pitchfork presents a video of Art Brut’s Trip Around DC Comics, a tour which greatly excited frontman Eddie Argos:
I dont actually remember saying any of that. I remember giving a guided tour ending in The Bat cave. There really is a Bat cave at DC Comics and a Bat signal. It is someones job everyday to come into work and turn on that Bat signal. Thats when I really started rocking out. I just couldn’t help myself.
§ Speaking of Argos, we just found this old link to his review of SCOTT PILGRIM.
§ It’s time for Nick Bertozzi to get the Graphic NYC treatment
“Jason was originally going to draw Houdini until he realized how many crowd scenes he’d drawn in his layouts. So the publisher called me and said: ‘Nick, we want to pay you X amount of dollars to draw this from Jason’s layouts.’ I said ‘You’re going to pay me that much to learn at the knee of one of the greatest American cartoonists, and it’s going to be edited by my favorite American cartoonist, James Sturm? No problem, sign me up.’ Maybe I should have thought twice before signing since I had to draw so many crowds of people wearing bowler hats.”
§ When her identity is revealed to anyone who has studied her work, the usual comment is “Impossible. A girl couldn’t draw, convincingly, about boys and dogs.”
§ Brian K. Vaughan talks about the last six issues of EX MACHINA and hints at his new comics project.
Wow!! Those pitchfork people got a LOT of swag just for visiting the DC offices!!! :)