Comic Strips

We continue our series on cheap, obsolete media formats by showcasing a technology little improved in two thousand years. In an age when technology gets tossed aside in favor of the Latest Thing Next Year, is it any wonder that books are finally becoming quaint antiques, reminiscent of an earlier, less complicated age? But don't worry, bibliophiles! Just as there are still markets for mangles and typewriters, so too will a market for books exist in less developed cultures! As the book market in the U. S. slowly shrinks and shrivels, numerous bargains will appear, like the ones below!

I'm home for the holidays, and spending some time digging around my parent's basement, delving into my assorted and sordid collection of ephemera. The above scan is from a photocopy of a bound volume of...

If you are grieving for the loss of Brenda Starr with the previous story, fear not, Hermes Press is launching a reprint series of the strip from the beginning with the first two storylines in full color. The first book comes out in June 2011. We'll be making some room on the shelf.

Another classic comic strip just ran out of panels: Brenda Starr is ending its run on January 2. Writer Mary Schmich and artist June Brigman have decided to end their run on the strip, and the syndicate decided to end the strip with them. The death of Schmich's mother is said to have been the turning point in deciding to move on.

While the news that Fantagraphics is to publish Barnaby might have seemingly exhausted the archives of cult favorite comic strips that need to be reprinted, it is definitely not so. Percy Crosby's Skippy is another much-admired comic strip getting a reprint...but this one has a hell of a backstory.

The much-beloved cult strip Barnaby by Crockett Johnson is getting a quality reprint, courtesy of Fantagraphics, The Comics Reporter reports. Eric Reynolds will edit while Dan Clowes supplies the art direction. First volume is due in April 2012. Spurge has all the history and details:

While comics fans were celebrating comics and other delights at New York Comic Con, publishers and fans in Europe were congregating in Frankfurt, Germany, for the annual Frankfurter Buchmesse.  Held almost annually since Gutenberg...

The final strong>Cathy comic strip ran today, and it's a sweet, classy goodbye, with a nod to the generation the strip came from and a look forward with Cathy announcing her pregnancy. We get a little sentimental about this kind of ending -- one that hints at the unfolding of a whole new story, but one that will only ever be written in our own imaginations.

By Torsten Adair The following is a selection of new comics titles due to be published in October 2010. This list is not comprehensive, as there are over 275 books scheduled. These are just the titles which caught my eye. If you would like to browse forthcoming comic strip books at your leisure, click here. Instead, I have selected titles which caught my interest. These are not necessarily titles I will purchase, but which I will definitely look at once they arrive at my local comics shop or bookstore.

By Torsten Adair --

The following is a selection of new comic strip titles due to be published this Fall 2010. This list is not comprehensive, as there are over 200 books about comic strips scheduled from September to December. These are just the titles which caught my eye. Although you are welcome to debate the definition of "comic strip" in the comments, for my purposes I'm including single-panel cartoons as well as books about comic strips in this list.

The following is a selection of new titles due to be published in September 2010.

There is no particular order to the titles presented below.

This list is not comprehensive, as there are over 275 graphic novel titles scheduled for this month. If you would like to browse them at your leisure, click here. Instead, I have selected titles which caught my interest. These are not necessarily titles I will purchase, but which I will definitely look at once they arrive at my local comics shop or bookstore. Please be advised that publication dates are not set in stone. Also, your local comics shop might receive copies before your local neighborhood website or library. Links connected to publishers will link to the publisher's website, sometimes to the exact title. Links for the ISBN-13 (also known as the Bookland EAN) will take you to the title as featured on BarnesAndNoble.com . I consider my tastes to be rather eclectic. If you feel I've neglected or slighted a title, publisher, or creator, please feel free to mention it in the comments below.

Monthly lists such as this will be posted at the end of the previous month. I will also be posting specific subject lists (comic strips, comics history and surveys, superheroes...) for each season, but these will not have a set schedule.

Acclaimed animator/cartoonist Nina Paley has sent around word of hew new webcomic, Mimi and Eunice, and by sheer coincidence, the topic is the matter which we've been much discussing of late. Paley is best known for her handmade animated film, SITA SINGS THE BLUES, which was made for next to nothing, hailed as a triumph everywhere, but held up from commercial distribution because of copyright issues in the music Paley used for the film. And as Paley writes on the website for the film: