Summer Wars: Not really all that seasonal

Links: I'm kind of late linking to this, seeing as it has already met its goal, but I wanted to point out this Kickstarter campaign by Joshua Hagler, whose comic The Boy Who Made Silence I really loved.  This one is for a 3-D animation project, but he's a pretty great artist, so I'm excited to see anything he does.

I enjoyed Think of the Children, a webcomic which imagines that Fredric Wertham and pals were actually fighting against a demonically possessed William B. Gaines during that whole Seduction of the Innocent affair that comics people are so obsessed with.

The first issue of Double Feature Comics is up, featuring stories by Tim Seely & Ross Campbell and Dennis Hopeless & Mike Norton.  Only 99 cents for either Ipad or PDF formats.  Get it while it's hot!

You could also check out this comic from LA Times Magazine by Don Winslow and Sean Phillips.  Nice.

And here's a free download of an uncompleted graphic novel by Vasilis Lolos, if you're wondering where he's been lately.

On a more timely note, I won't be at the MOCCA fest this weekend, but if you're going, you might want to check out The Tavern of Ill Repute, an event at the I Made an Art gallery, taking place on Saturday, April 9, and including work by artists (names like Danny Hellman and R. Sikoryak, as well as several others), new animation, performers, live music and a clown (?). Sounds like it could be fun.

Okay, I'm behind on comics reviews, but here's something else:

Summer Wars
Directed by Mamoru Hosada

Japan, 2010

How is it possible that a cartoon can feel so much more personal and full of life than most live-action movies? As an anime produced by a leading Japanese studio (Madhouse), Summer Wars must have taken tons of people and money to produce, but compared to any number of blockbusters, this one feels like something inspired by life, as if somebody worked to project their own family history onto the screen. It’s an effect that works to give the crazy plot about the end of the world via virtual reality internet hacking an emotional impact, something that sticks in the heart rather than just dazzling the eyes.

That plot? After establishing a future world in which the internet has been taken over by an especially Japanese version of Second Life called OZ, in which everyone has a cutesy avatar and interacts via a shiny, candy-colored virtual space, we are introduced to a student named Kenji, who is quickly dragged over his head into two different situations at once, in the on- and offline worlds. A fellow student named Natsuki pays him to come along with her to a big family get-together for her great-grandmother’s ninetieth birthday, waiting until it is too late for him to back out to reveal that she is passing him off as her boyfriend. He gets thrown into the chaotic interactions of all the family members, as they gossip, eat together, argue, play, and act like a group who are intimately familiar with each other.  Meanwhile, Kenji receives an anonymous midnight email containing a string of coded numbers, and being a math whiz, he cracks them, then wakes up to discover that he seemingly enabled a hacker to take over any and every account in OZ, completely disrupting not only the online world, but any offline services he wishes, including traffic signals, power grids, trains, and emergency services, with little in the way of reason beyond a trickster-like delight in widespread mayhem.

The interesting thing is where Kenji’s two worlds collide, as Natsuki’s family alternately rejects and accepts him, teaming up with him to fight the online threat or viewing him as an interloper. There are subplots about a family black sheep who is involved with the ensuing chaos, a younger cousin whose online avatar, a rabbit wearing a Marty McFly jacket, is a martial arts champion that becomes a defender against the all-consuming cyber-monster, and Granny’s matriarchal leadership, not only of the family, but of various powerful acquaintances who she encourages to pull together in the time of chaos, seeming to single-handedly hold the country together.  There’s a foreseeable family tragedy, leading to scenes of devastatingly relatable emotion, and a pulling together of forces, as multiple generations marshal their resources in a ragtag effort to stand against what ends up being a world-threatening villain.

Somehow, this all ends up being an enormously satisfying conflict, perhaps due to the realistic family dynamics of Natsuki’s clan, combined with the over-the-top unreality of OZ, which is presented as a virtual reality playland full of cartoony avatars and ever-expanding physical space, even though the characters themselves only seem to experience it through tiny browser windows and cell phone screens.  The scale of the conflict keeps expanding, as the hacker turns from a creepy Shiva-like monster into a gigantic, roiling mass of Facebook profiles, eventually facing off against Natsuki in an inscrutable Japanese card game for all the world’s marbles, a kind of silly yet effectively tense battle which includes what must be the most dramatic winning throw of a card in history.

That this all works so well is a testament to the good writing, the creation of characters that interact believably. Their shared sadness and joy, fear and triumph are palpable, even in the face of just-beyond-believable events, and the reactions of the observers are what sell the real stakes of the battle even beyond the real-world consequences that we see, making the furious staring at screens and pounding on keyboards, or Kenji’s deciphering of 2048-bit encryption in his head, compelling and tense.  This is one hell of an entertaining movie, goofy and strange and sad and happy all at once, a cyber-thriller that manages to hit the viewer right in the emotional soft spot, and stay there after the brightness of the visuals fade.  That’s something special.

Rip-Off Theatre presents: Things that would belong on Tumblr, if I knew what Tumblr was supposed to be for: Space-wasting memes, they are a diversion

This comes courtesy of the great Shaenon Garrity, with the following instructions:

All the animated movies in the world, sort of

- X what you saw
- O what you haven't finished/seen or saw sizable portions
- Bold what you loved
- Italicize what you disliked/hated
- Leave unchanged if neutral

CLASSIC DISNEY
-------------------------------
[X] 101 Dalmatians (1961):  I always liked this one, and as a kid, I though "Crazy woman driver!" was an absolutely hilarious line.  I hope I've become less sexist since then...
[X] Alice in Wonderland (1951)
[X] Bambi (1942)
[X] Cinderella (1950)
[X] Dumbo (1941)
[X] Fantasia (1940)
[X] Lady and the Tramp (1955)
[X] Mary Poppins (1964)
[X] Peter Pan (1953):  I loved this one as a kid, and there are parts I still get delighted when I watch (most stuff with Captain Hook), but damn, those Indians are fucking racist, aren't they?
[X] Pinocchio (1940)
[X] Sleeping Beauty (1959)
[X] Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)
[ ] Song of the South (1946):  This one is so notorious, I just want to see it out of curiosity someday.

DISNEY'S DARK AGE
-------------------------------
[O] The Aristocats (1970)
[ ] The Black Cauldron (1985)
[X] The Fox and the Hound (1981): I remember kind of liking this as a kid, maybe? The farmer's pants fall down when he shoots, that's funny.  Plus, bear fight!
[X] The Great Mouse Detective (1986)
[X] The Jungle Book (1967)
[O] The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1977): I have no idea if I've seen all of this.
[X] Oliver and Company (1986): Saw this in the theater (I would have been 7), don't think I've seen it since.
[X] Pete's Dragon (1977): I'm sure I saw this as a kid, but I barely remember any of it.
[X] The Rescuers (1977)
[X] Robin Hood (1973): Another one I used to love as a kid, but isn't actually all that good.
[X] The Sword In The Stone (1963): This one isn't bad at all, from what I remember.

THE DISNEY RENAISSANCE
-------------------------------
[X] Aladdin (1992): I was the right age when this came out/was on video to really like it and not quite be too old.  Man, I thought the action was awesome, Robin Williams was hilarious, and the music was good.  Not so much now, but it's still all right.
[X] Beauty and the Beast (1991)
[X] A Goofy Movie (1995)
[O] Hercules (1997)
[X] The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996): What a crazy, doomed-to-failure idea for a kids' movie. I should watch this again and see what it's like with the space of years.
[X] The Lion King (1994): Everybody loves this one, right? Maybe I saw it too much as a kid, but I'm thinking it was kind of boring.  It's probably on the other side of that "too old" line.
[X] The Little Mermaid (1989): I gotta say, I studied the scene where Ariel gets legs and swims bottomless up to the surface very intently as a young'un.
[O] Mulan (1998): Is this the first Obnoxious Eddie Murphy Sidekick Animal role?  That's most of what I remember about this one.
[X] Pocahontas (1995)
[X] The Rescuers Down Under (1990): I loved this one as a kid, for some reason.
[O] Tarzan (1999): The thing I remember most about what I've seen of this is the gruesome death-by-hanging of the bad guy. Tough stuff for a kids' joint.

DISNEY'S MODERN AGE
-------------------------------
[X] Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001)
[X] Bolt (2008)
[ ] Brother Bear (2003)
[ ] Chicken Little (2005): I hated this without even seeing it.
[X] Dinosaur (2000)
[ ] The Emperor's New Groove (2000): I've seen episodes of the spin-off TV show...
[X] Fantasia 2000 (2000)
[ ] Home on the Range (2004)
[X] Lilo & Stitch (2002): This one is pretty great, isn't it?
[X] Meet the Robinsons (2007):  I actually thought this was quite good.
[X] Treasure Planet (2002):  This, on the other hand, was kind of awful.

PIXAR
-------------------------------
[X] A Bug's Life (1998): So is this or Cars the accepted "worst" Pixar movie? It's still pretty good.
[X] Cars (2006)
[O] Finding Nemo (2003): This one's pretty good, and some people like it best, but I don't think I've ever seen it all the way through, and I don't feel the need to do so.  Weird.
[X] The Incredibles (2004)
[X] Monsters Inc. (2001)
[X] Ratatouille (2007)
[X] Toy Story (1995):  It might be nostalgia, what with seeing this at a time when I was outgrowing toys but still fondly remembering them, but I still think of this as one of my favorite movies of all time.
[X] Toy Story 2 (1999): I don't hate this movie, but I don't think I hold it in the esteem that a lot of people seem to.  It's a pretty good sequel, but not much more.  We'll see what I think when I get around to the third one...
[ ] Toy Story 3 (2010)
[X] Wall-E (2008) 
[X] Up (2009): This was great, but those first 15 minutes are what really stick.  Man, was there anybody who didn't readily admit to crying at that scene?

DON BLUTH
-------------------------------
[] All Dogs Go to Heaven (1989)
[X] An American Tail (1986)
[X] An American Tail: Fieval Goes West (1991)
[O] Anastasia (1997)
[X] The Land Before Time (1988)
[ ] The Pebble and the Penguin (1995)
[ ] Rock-a-Doodle (1991)
[X] The Secret of NIMH (1982): I remember liking this well enough, but when I read the book, I was pissed that they added a bunch of magic and shit.  Was this my first experience with a disappointing adaptation?
[ ] Thumbelina (1994)
[X] Titan AE (2000)
[X] A Troll in Central Park (1994): I saw this many more times than I should have, due to my little brother being obsessed with it, as young kids are wont to do.  It's kind of awful.

CLAYMATION
-------------------------------
[O] The Adventures of Mark Twain (1986)
[X] Chicken Run (2000)
[X] Corpse Bride (2005)
[ ] James and the Giant Peach (1996)
[X] The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
[X] Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005)
[X] Coraline (2009): And here's an adaptation that might even improve on the original.

CGI GLUT
-------------------------------
[X] Antz (1998)

[X] Bee Movie (2007)
[X] Happy Feet (2006)

[X] Ice Age (2002)

[X] Ice Age: The Meltdown (2006)

[ ] Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (2009)[X] Kung Fu Panda (2008):  Not bad; there's some cool artistic stuff going on in this one.
[X] Madagascar (2005)

[ ] Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (2008)
[ ] Monster House (2006)
[ ] Over the Hedge (2006)
[X] The Polar Express (2004): Wow, this was awful. A true adaptation would have lasted maybe 15 minutes, if you stretched it out, so they added a bunch of noisy, stupid nonsense. Painful to sit through.

[X] Robots (2005)
[X] A Shark's Tale (2004)

[X] Shrek (2001): People sure loved this when it came out, didn't they, like it was some sort of amazing combination of adult and kid humor, but it was actually rudimentarily-animated kiddie shit with a few slightly-dirty jokes and cultural references thrown in, back when CGI was new enough to seem fancy.  I don't hate it, but goddamn was it overrated, and each sequel just got more tiresome.
[X] Shrek 2 (2004)
[X] Shrek The Third (2007)

[ ] Shrek Forever After (2010)
[X] Monsters vs. Aliens (2009): This wasn't half bad, mostly by not being flat out terrible.

IMPORTS
-------------------------------
[ ] Arabian Knight (aka The Thief and the Cobbler) (1995): I'd really like to see this, any version.
[ ] The Last Unicorn (1982)
[ ] Light Years (1988)
[X] The Triplets of Belleville (2003): Goddamn, this is a really fucking good movie.
[X] Persepolis (2007)
[X] Waltz With Bashir (2008): I liked this one a lot; good, serious animation for adults.  It's like them comical books I always talk about.
[ ] Watership Down (1978)
[ ] When the Wind Blows (1988)

[X] Wonderful Days (2003): Korean anime-style sci-fi; I remember it being decent.
[X] Yellow Submarine (1968)

STUDIO GHIBLI/MIYAZAKI
-------------------------------

[X] The Cat Returns (2002): Pretty cute and fun.  Cats!
[X] Grave of the Fireflies (1988): Devastating.
[X] Howl's Moving Castle (2004): As good as most of these.
[X] Kiki's Delivery Service (1989): Gotta love the girly stuff.
[X] Laputa: Castle in the Sky (1986): Fun adventure, with a surprising amount of violence.
[X] Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro (1979): Not a bad beginning.
[ ] My Neighbors The Yamadas (1999)
[X] My Neighbor Totoro (1993): I love the gentle atmosphere here.
[X] Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984): An even better start.
[X] Only Yesterday (1991): I think I've seen this; it's not very memorable, unfortunately.
[X] Pom Poko (Tanuki War) (1994): Raccoon testicles!
[X] Porco Rosso (1992): Flying pig!
[X] Princess Mononoke (1999): Damn good, if you don't watch the dubbed version, which was full of horribly miscast celebrity voices.
[X] Spirited Away (2002): I think this is my favorite, but only barely ahead of all the others.
[X] Whisper of the Heart (1995): So, so sweet.
[X] Ponyo (2009): Nice, if simplistic.

SATOSHI KON
-------------------------------
[X] Millennium Actress (2001)
[X] Paprika (2006): Satoshi Kon will be sorely missed.  Damn, this was such a good movie.
[X] Perfect Blue (1999)
[X] Tokyo Godfathers (2003)

SHINKAI MAKOTO
-------------------------------
[ ] She and Her Cat (1999)
[ ] Voices of a Distant Star (2001)
[ ] The Place Promised in Our Early Days (2004)
[ ] 5 Centimeters per Second (2007): I really ought to see one or more of these at some point.

OTHER ANIME FILMS
-------------------------------
[X] Akira (1989): I've only seen this once, and I didn't understand it very well.  I should watch it again sometime, and read the manga.

[O] Angel's Egg (1985): Early Mamoru Oshii; I should watch it again and try to understand it.
[ ] Appleseed (2004)
[ ] Appleseed: Ex Machina (2007)
[ ] Arcadia of My Youth (U.S. Title - Vengeance of the Space Pirate) (1982)
[X] Cowboy Bebop: The Movie (2003): A pretty darn good long episode of the series, although not reaching the heights of the best ones.
[ ] The Dagger of Kamui (U.S. Title - Revenge of the Ninja Warrior) (1985)
[ ] Dirty Pair: Project Eden (1987)
[X] End of Evangelion (1997): Ditto what I said for Akira (except the part about reading the manga).
[X] Evangelion 1.0: You Are (Not) Alone (2007)

[X] Evangelion 2.0: You Can (Not) Advance (2009)

[ ] Fist of the North Star (1986)
[ ] Galaxy Express 999 (1979)
[X] Ghost in the Shell (1996): This movie is awesome, full of cool ideas and great action.  I try to rewatch it every so often.

[O] Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence (2004): I think I had trouble staying awake for this one; I should try again...
[X] The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (2006): This was recommended, but I didn't think it was all that good.  Kind of a low-rent Miyazaki, without a compelling hook and a boring character arc.
[ ] Lensman (1984)
[ ] Macross: Do You Remember Love (U.S. Title - Clash of the Bionoids) (1984)

[X] Memories (1995): A cool sci-fi anthology, with the highlight being Satoshi Kon's "Magnetic Rose".  The other parts are decent though.
[X] Metropolis (2001): I think this might have been my introduction to Tezuka; it helped me learn to love Mr. Mustachio.

[ ] Neo-Tokyo (1986)

[ ] Night on the Galactic Railroad (1985)
[X] Ninja Scroll (1993)
[ ] Patlabor the Movie (1989)
[ ] The Professional: Golgo 13 (1983)
[X] Project A-ko (1986)
[ ] Robot Carnival (1987)
[ ] Robotech: The Shadow Chronicle (2006)
[ ] Silent Möbius (1991)

[X] The Sky Crawlers (2008): Mamoru Oshii's latest, and it's kind of a snoozefest.
[ ] Space Adventure Cobra (1982)
[X] Steamboy (2004): Late-period Otomo; it's no Akira, but it's fun.
[ ] Sword of the Stranger (2007)
[ ] Unico and the Island of Magic (1983):  Tezuka! I really want to see this one.
[ ] Urotsukidoji: The Movie (1987):  The tentacle-rape classic; I wouldn't mind seeing it out of curiosity.

[ ] Urusei Yatsura: Beautiful Dreamer (1984): Mamoru Oshii adapting Rumiko Takahashi; I should try to get my hands on this one.

[ ] Urusei Yatsura: Only You (1982)
[ ] Vampire Hunter D (1985)
[ ] Vampire Hunter D Bloodlust (2000)
[O] Wings of Honneamise: Royal Space Force (1987):  This is supposed to be good, but I fell asleep watching it, so I wouldn't know.

CARTOONS FOR GROWN-UPS
-------------------------------
[ ] American Pop (1981)
[X] The Animatrix (2003): I think Shinichiro Watanabe's "Detective Story" was my favorite part, but there were some other really cool bits too.

[ ] Beavis & Butthead Do America (1996).
[ ] Cool World (1992)
[X] Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within (2001): This was supposed to be a revolution in computer animation, but it ended up being a leap forward in boringness.
[X] Final Fantasy: Advent Children (2005): This was better, if only for superfans of Final Fantasy 7.
[ ] Fire & Ice (1983)
[ ] Fritz the Cat (1972)

[ ] Halo Legends (2009)
[X] Heavy Metal (1981): Stupid, but amusing in parts.
[ ] Heavy Metal 2000 (2000): This is supposed to be awful, but I'm curious about it, possibly just because of the original.
[ ] Hey Good Lookin' (1982)
[ ] Lady Death (2004)
[X] A Scanner Darkly (2006): Probably the best Philip K. Dick movie adaptation, with animation being the only medium to make the Scramble Suit believable.  

[ ] Sita Sings the Blues
[X] South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut (1999)
[ ] Street Fight (Coonskin) (1975)
[X] Waking Life (2001): I fucking loved this when it came out, but I don't know if I would think it was as deep if I watched it again.  I'll probably still like the animation.

OTHER ANIMATED MOVIES

-------------------------------
[ ] The Adventures of Prince Achmed (1926)
[ ] Animal Farm (1954)
[ ] Animalympics (1980)
[X] Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon The Movie (2007)
[X] Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker (2000): As a former regular reader of Ain't It Cool News, I remember there being a big uproar about this being censored because it was too disturbing for kids or something.  With a decade's perspective, it sure seems like a weird thing to get worked up about.

[X] Batman: Gotham Knight (2008)

[ ] Batman: Under the Red Hood (2010)
[ ] The Brave Little Toaster (1988)
[ ] Bravestarr: The Movie (1988)
[ ] Cats Don't Dance (1997)
[O] Care Bears: The Movie (1985)

[X] Charlotte's Web (1973)
[ ] Fern Gully (1992)
[ ] G.I. Joe: The Movie (1987)
[ ] Gobots: Battle of the Rock Lords (1986)

[ ] Green Lantern: First Flight (2009)
[ ] He-Man & She-Ra: The Secret of the Sword (1985)
[X] The Hobbit (1977)
[X] The Iron Giant (1999)
[ ] Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths (2010)

[O] Justice League: The New Frontier (2008)
[O] Lord of the Rings (1978)
[ ] Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland (1992)
[ ] My Little Pony: The Movie (1986)
[ ] Pink Floyd's The Wall (1982)
[O] The Prince of Egypt (1998)
[ ] Powerpuff Girls: The Movie (2002)
[ ] Quest For Camelot (1999)
[ ] Ringing Bell (1978)
[ ] The Road to El Dorado (2000)

[ ] Shinbone Alley (1971)
[X] Space Jam (1996): Not even Bill Murray could save this one.
[ ] Starchaser: The Legend of Orin (1985)

[ ] Superman/Batman: Public Enemies (2009)

[ ] Superman/Batman: Apocalypse (2010)
[ ] Superman: Doomsday (2007)
[O] The Swan Princess (1994)
[X] Transformers: The Movie (1986)
[ ] Wizards (1977)
[X] Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)
[ ] Wonder Woman (2009)
[ ] Balto (1995)
[X] Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron (2002)

Conclusion: I've seen lots of Disney, CGI crap, and well-regarded anime, but there's always more to watch.  Must...consume...more...media...

Far Arden: Not too far, thankfully

Elsewhere: I reviewed The Marvels Project #1 at Comics Bulletin. Ed Brubaker! Nostalgia? Decent comics?

Links: I might have to go to this horror-themed gallery show the next time I'm in Portland. Tom Neely (recreating classic horror comics covers) and Hellen Jo (drawing freaky Asian ghosts and monsters) have some images of their included works.

David Brothers posted the anime version of Osamu Tezuka's "The Greatest Robot in the World", the story that Naoki Urasawa's Pluto is based on. I still haven't read the original manga story, but this looks like a good, free alternative.

I was going to talk about stuff I got at Wizard Chicago, but this has to go back to the library, so I gotta write about it:

Far Arden

By Kevin Cannon

Wow, now this was a treat. With this thick little brick of a book, Kevin Cannon has seemingly come out of nowhere and leapt into the ranks of young creators to keep an eye on. Sure, he was around already, collaborating with his not-brother Zander and Jim Ottaviani on various educational comics, but here he steps out on his own, and does it assuredly, demonstrating a great grasp of character and a talent for fast-moving, exciting, funny storytelling. Who knew he had it in him?

In Far Arden (which originally started as a dare, with Cannon attempting to complete one 24-hour comic chapter each month for a year, but that only lasted for four chapters), Cannon builds a wonderfully-detailed world in the North Canadian Arctic, populating it with explorers and fishermen, not to mention a traveling circus and a university. Our hero, the grizzled old sailor Army Shanks, gets drawn into a crazy adventure when he attempts to steal back his ship, the Areopagitica, from some enemies, and use it to finally set out to reach the fabled lost island of the title, which is supposed to be a tropical paradise heated by volcanic vents. Along the way, he ends up taking on an orphan sidekick, reuniting with an old flame, recalling friendships that had fallen by the wayside, getting involved in politics, and both alienating allies and finally attaining long-held goals. That might seem like a lot to fit into one book, but it's all in there and more, and it's a delight to be along for the ride.

As with so many enjoyable works of fiction, the real power here is not in the wild action or goofy jokes, but the characterization. A deep cast of characters (just look at that packed cover!) springs up around Army pretty quickly, including an orphan who seems to randomly stumble into the story early on but turns out to be connected to several others, a couple of college students who might or might not have devious motives for tagging along, and a fractured group of Army's old pals, all of whom have some motive for finding Far Arden. They all get their moments to shine in the story, and we learn about their various backstories and connections, really bringing the fantastical world to life.

And that helps, because it's a pretty silly, unbelievable setting, with everything taking place far north of any realistically habitable land, plenty of silly feats of action, and a cartoony art style that exaggerates movements, giving characters elongated limbs and wacky, funny movements:

And hilariously descriptive sound effects:

Not to mention things like the way Army's pipe seems to float next to his head while he's smoking, or the manga-style streams of tears that often flow down characters' faces. It all makes for a rollicking good time, and Cannon's funny dialogue and great sense of timing turns it all into a great ride. And the art style, which has a good, textured use of dense cross-hatched shading, works wonderfully to bring the barren land- and seascape to life, often leading to some nicely wistful images:

But the fascinating thing is the way the goofy adventure gradually morphs into something more serious, a meditation on friendships that grow apart and turn against each other as time goes on, on the way that people can drift apart and end up at odds with those they once cared about, on how romantic relationships can cause other relationships to suffer. Distant, probably hopeless dreams can provide sustenance for a time, but when one becomes obsessive, it can lead to tragedy and alienation, turning the pursuit of happiness into something that obliterates the happiness that already exists. Heavy stuff? Probably more so than is in the actual book, but it's fascinating the way that Cannon takes what starts out as a goofy romp and weaves serious threads in until he gets to a devastatingly emotional conclusion.

And that's what makes this book so special. Cannon gives us an enjoyable good time, but sneaks in some weighty content in a way that readers don't see it coming. It's effective stuff, and an announcement of an exciting talent to the comics scene. It's enough to make one giddy at the prospects of what might come next, although as we've learned from Shanks, it's best to temper expectations and be happy what we have. And when what we have is this good, we shouldn't complain.

The Astonishing Work of Tezuka Osamu: Yeah, that's an apt title

The Astonishing Work of Tezuka Osamu

This new DVD collection of Osamu Tezuka's short animated films from Kino Video certainly lives up to its title; it turns out that Tezuka's endless creativity and drive to keep creating stretched well beyond the world of comics. His crazy energy is quite apparent in these shorts, which range from a few minutes to over half an hour, sometimes spotlighting a small bit of action or a goofy joke, and other times delivering epic stories of human nature, man vs. the environment, and war. Yes, it always comes back to war; World War II definitely had an impact on Tezuka's work.

The shorts here are full of experimental ideas and unique bits of animation, and they're all fun and fascinating, often mixing beautiful background drawings and bits of surrealistic expressionism with Tezuka's signature cartoony figures and silly jokes. Of the included cartoons, three of them are pretty lengthy, with the others seeming like smaller one-offs rather than extended meditations on a theme. The first one, "Tales of a Street Corner", made in 1962, depicts moments in the life of the denizens of its eponymous location, including a little girl, a little mouse, a moth, a streetlamp, a tree, and a series of advertising posters. The latter provide some of the most interesting parts, as the characters on the posters all move in choppy animation limited to just two or three frames and dance together. It's highly enjoyable, and there's even a sort of story in which a violinist is in love with a piano player, raising the ire of a sexy model. We also see the tree try to find purchase for its seeds, the little girl get upset because she dropped her teddy bear out of her window onto the roof of her building, and the mouse run around causing trouble with his siblings. It's mostly a series of scenes about these various characters, until the poster all get ripped down and replaced with a bunch of images of a Mussolini-esque military leader, and war comes to tear apart everything. It's pretty horrific to see all these innocent characters get mowed down by bombs, and one amazing, heartbreaking bit sees the violinist and pianist's posters both get blown around above the flames as if they are dancing, eventually burning up together. At the end, the little girl survives and wanders off through the wreckage, and the tree's seeds find purchase, sprouting to begin live anew in the rubble. Striking stuff, and it's all scored to some excellent classical music that I would probably recognize if I was more artistically literate.

The next long bit is "Pictures at an Exhibition" from 1966, and it's actually more of a series of shorts linked by a framing sequence that sees the camera pan across a gallery of paintings before zooming in on one or the other for a short sequence, each in a different style. Most of them are pretty goofy, including one about a cosmetic surgeon that's a series of Tezuka gags done in a scribbly, child's-drawing style and a scene of a starlet who gets fawned over by fans, directors, makeup artists, costumers, and the like before shooting what turns out to be a foot medicine commercial. But then things get serious for a short about soldiers, which tries to capture the experience of war in a burst of abstract images like splotches of color and swooping shapes that zoom around the screen to pounding, intense music, seeming to take the shape of tanks, planes, bullets, explosions, and the like. Things get more representational for a bit, with limited-animation pencil drawings of soldiers getting in a fight over a wounded girl in the midst of a jungle setting (Vietnam was in full swing) before getting bombed and turning back into abstract chaos. It's amazing. And then the final bit sees an arch carved with Greek-style images of godly beings, under which all the characters from the previous shorts pass and enter some heavenly gates. The carved musclemen holding up the arch start to wander after the characters, but the arch starts to collapse, so they have to rush back and hold it up again. It's like Tezuka is urging viewers not to pay too much attention to his silliness and neglect the work that keeps the world running, a feeling emphasized by a final scene of an orchestra of doofuses playing the final bits of music as their instruments all explode or fall apart. Don't say he wasn't self-deprecating.

The final long piece is "Legend of the Forest", which was apparently only the first part of a story that Tezuka never finished. It came out in 1987, and Tezuka died in 1989. It's the tale of a peaceful wood that gets disrupted by man, who comes to cut down the trees. Yes, it's a fairly obnoxious environmental story, but it's worth watching for the exquisite animation, which starts as a series of still images featuring realistic-yet-cartoony scenes of a squirrel father rushing to save his tiny children from perishing in a tree that is being chopped down. He drops one, and the animation switches to a sort of white-on-black vector graphics style, before becoming more of a simple, stark line, focusing on the lost squirrel child. As he grows up and learns to glide (he's a flying squirrel), he gets in fights with birds and becomes a troublemaker, transitioning to a very Disney-esque style of animation. Then he decides to make war on the lumberjack and gains a girlfriend, which leads to a more realistic style while still retaining some cartoony expressiveness in the characters. And it all ends in fighting and destruction, of course, leading to a second piece about mystical woodland creatures trying to make peace with construction workers who want to level the forest. This second part isn't as effective as the first, but it's interesting to see a group of dwarves who seem stolen from a more famous movie, all the fairies and nymphs that Tezuka can dream up, and a very Hitler-esque foreman who rejects the offer of peace. It's a strange film, and not entirely successful, but it's still pretty fascinating.

The shorter films aren't all as interesting or gripping as the long ones, but some of them are very effective in what the do, especially 1984's "Jumping", which gives viewers a first-person experience of a character doing exactly what the title says. We start out hopping down a neighborhood street, but the jumps get bigger and bigger, as we spring across forests and rivers and eventually into a city, over skyscrapers, and across oceans, eventually ending up in a war zone and jumping into an atomic explosion. There's that war theme again; Tezuka couldn't get away from it. The thing about this one is the way Tezuka and his animators put the viewer right into the action, adding a real sense of height and movement, and even inducing vertigo in one bit that sees us rise high above a city and perform a triple somersault. A bit in which a bird starts attacking leads to real irritation; it's amazing how well the viewer is put right into the mind of the jumper, even though we know nothing about them. That's what Tezuka did so well, always coming up with new ways to tell a story, never sitting back, always moving forward.

"Broken Down Film" (1985) is another great bit of goofy experimentation, seeming like a degraded bit of old-timey film that's covered with scratches and constantly slipping out of frame. Our cowboy hero, who looks like one of the characters in one of those old cartoons from the early 20th century, is constantly getting rattled by the jerkiness of the film and sneezing from all the dust and scratches on the print. He ends up rescuing a girl who is tied to railroad tracks by grabbing her "HELP!" word balloon and throwing it at the train, then he fights the burly bad guy by climbing in and out of the frame. It's tons of fun, similar to the fourth-wall-breaking antics of many of Tezuka's comics.

Finally (out of the ones I'll mention) is "Muramasa", from 1987, a samurai story about a man who discovers a sword, imagines the awesomeness of killing, practices on straw dummies, then goes crazy, seeing everybody as dummies and slaughtering anyone who comes across his path. It's not quite the same war theme, but it's still about violence and death, so it certainly fits into Tezuka's obsessions. The animation is fairly limited, although the backgrounds are gorgeous tableaux of green bamboo, and everything is propelled along by some incredible music in the old Japanese style. Really cool.

So yeah, it's a pretty amazing collection, and a must-watch for Tezuka fans. There's also a fairly lengthy interview with the man himself, mostly about "Jumping", so don't miss out on the chance to hear the master speak. I'm very glad I got to watch this artifact of artistic excellence that spotlighted a side of Tezuka's career that I hadn't considered before. If you're interested, you can watch some of the included shorts online, including "Jumping", "Broken Down Film", "Memory", "The Drop", "Mermaid", "Push", "Self-portrait" (I didn't mention those last five, but they're worth watching), and a short portion of "Legend of the Forest" (UPDATE: there's also this kind of annoying videoblog review of the collection, with clips from every short). Good stuff; Tezuka is awesome, isn't he?

More comics of the mini- persuasion

Elsewhere: I reviewed Immortal Weapons #1 at Comics Bulletin. That was a fun comic.

News/press release regurgitation: Viz informs me that the anime adaptations of two of my favorite manga series, Nana and Honey and Clover, are available to watch on Hulu (links: here and here). That's pretty cool. I haven't watched any Nana, but I'm curious to do so just to see how they handle the music; will it live up to what I hear in my imagination when reading the comic? As for H&C, I watched some of that series on fansub back before the manga was ever translated, and I loved it. It's a great adaptation, really funny stuff with some nice animation, good voice acting, and lots of funny comedy. At least, that's what I remember; it's been a few years. If you're curious about either of the series, I recommend giving them a watch. Can't hurt, right?

And now for some reviews of comics which were recently sent to me:

Brian John Mitchell of Silber Media was kind enough to send along five comics that definitely live up to the "mini-" prefix; they're each about 1.5 x 1.75 inches, and something like 40 pages long, which makes for a good little package. Here's what I thought of them, ranking them from worst to best in my estimation:

Lost Kisses #9-10

By Brian John Mitchell (?)

I think Mitchell was the creative force behind these, although there are no writer or artist credits on either of them. But he wrote all the others, so I think I can safely assume he wrote these two, and also did the art, which is limited to stick figures. Unfortunately, the writing matches the crudity of the artwork, being a series of self-involved diary-style musings on life and relationships. None of it is really all that compelling; Mitchell comes off as full of himself and kind of a jerk. Maybe it's supposed to be a bit transgressive and confessional, but it's mostly just uninteresting, and not all that easy to read to boot, since it can be hard to tell whether you're supposed to read the word balloons or the captions first on each page:

I hate to start out on a negative note, but I thought these were pretty poor, more appropriate for a blog or something, with the images being pretty much unnecessary. I wouldn't bother complaining about them, but the differential in quality between these and the other minis is pretty notable. I figure it's best to save the positive stuff for later, and luckily, all the others minis are quite a bit more interesting:

XO #5

Written by Brian John Mitchell

Art by Melissa Spence Gardner

This series is apparently about a young hitman, but this issue seems to function as the first part of a sort of origin story, in which he discovers his capacity for murder while simply trying to maintain his drug-dealing career. It's fairly effective, although the character is sort of a cipher, seeming to move through his life without emotion (although his internal monologue tries to argue otherwise). Maybe it's the art, which is occasionally effective in its cartoony figure work and features some nice toned shading rather than crude, simple linework, but can also be a bit stiff:

It's a decent little slice of a story, but not as compelling as it could be; I don't feel like I need to find out what happens next (or before). And the caption-based narration gets a bit grating, but maybe that's just reading a repetition of Mitchell's tics all in a row. He does better:

Worms #4

Written by Brian John Mitchell

Art by Kimberlee Traub

The Silber website describes this series as "surrealistic horror/sci-fi", and that's pretty appropriate. Even though this is the fourth issue, it's pretty easy to follow, with a one-sentence recap on the first page introducing us to the main character's plight, in which she is trapped in some sort of asylum and being experimented on. It's weird, but pretty effective, with strange details blending with crude, abstracted art to make for a compelling narrative that pulls the reader right into the tale:

It's a quick taste of the story, but it's enough to get the reader on board with its disturbing milieu, making us wonder what's going on and what will happen next. This is one that I'll have to try to keep up with.

Just a Man (#1?)

Written by Brian John Mitchell

Art by Andrew White

This western story is the gem of the bunch, telling a simple, effective story of violence and revenge; it seems like a Clint Eastwood movie along the lines of Unforgiven. The main character is a simple farmer who is quick to respond when his family is harmed, but it's an ambiguous ending; was the right man brought to justice (if you can call it that)? Or did he make a hasty decision based on rage and despair? Although it's not indicated on the comic itself, this is apparently the first issue, so we'll probably find out the answers, but it would be perfectly fine if the story ended here, leaving the reader wondering as to what really happened.

Andrew White's art is probably the element that really brings the story to life here, giving a scratchy, dirty feel to the setting, as if dust and sweat are covering everything we see:

It's definitely the best-looking of these books; I'm interested in another issue, but I'd be even more interested in seeing mitchell and White continuing on to a different story, just to see what else they can do.

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Lost Kisses aside, these are some pretty good little comics, a nice use of the small space they've set out. If you're interested, you can purchase them at the Silber Media link above, and you can also view or download electronic versions of some of them as well. Give them a try and encourage a developing talent!

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The Colorblind Art Teacher #2

By Mark Teel

I don't know if Mark Teel lives up to the title of his minicomic series, but if he's an art teacher, his work is pretty crude. I kid! As the husband of an art teacher, I know that you don't have to be a great drawer to teach people about art, and it's obvious that Teel knows how to tell a story. In this issue, he uses his simplistic figures to relate the tale of taking his young daughter (two years old is my guess) to swimming lessons and getting frustrated at her refusal to participate very much because she is scared. But this also brings up the memory of his own childhood, and the way his own father basically bullied him into jumping off the diving board. It's an amusing juxtaposition, although it ends kind of abruptly, and Teel does seem a bit harsh, but that is certainly a believable reaction to obstinate children and the frustration they can cause.

As mentioned, Teel's art is somewhat crude, with characters kind of being more-detailed stick figures (or, since that's kind of unfair, low-detail cartoons), but he gets a good bit of expression out of them, slumping postures and frantic motion combining with big heads and easily-read facial features:

It's a pretty nice little read; I'm curious to check out Teel's other work. If you're interested, you can see more of his work and order issues of the series at his blog.

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By the way, if you're interested in having your minicomics (or regular-style comics, or graphic novels, or whatever) reviewed here, feel free to email me at the address on the sidebar.

Detroit Metal City: Doesn't everybody prefer demon blood to cheese tarts?

Linkages: I'm sure plenty of people have linked to this Art Spiegelman piece about old editorial cartoons dealing with a ship full of Jewish refugees from 1939, and how that relates to the way cartoonists deal with issues today, but I wanted to make sure I pointed it out, since I found it quite interesting.

In other news, Fantagraphics is putting together a couple of collections of some of Jason's books, which is nice. First is Almost Silent, which will include You Can't Get There From Here, Tell Me Something, Meow, Baby!, and The Living and the Dead. The second, which is tentatively titled What I Did, contains The Iron Wagon, Sshhhh!, and Hey, Wait. I'll probably pick up the second one, but I already own most of the first volume, so I'll pass on that one. Still, good values, good production, great comics, don't miss out if you haven't read them. Jason is awesome.

I'm sure people have been talking about this, but I found it interesting and worth mentioning: Longbox, a digital comics platform that seems based on iTunes. I don't know if it will take off, but it seems like a good, multi-company solution for digital distribution, finally making online comics sales something that makes sense. I'll be watching and seeing how it plays out.

I don't know if this is new or not, but you can read Agents of Atlas #0 for free at Marvel's digital comics site; it's a nice prequel to the series that's currently running, filling in the gaps between the miniseries and the ongoing. Go Jeff Parker!

Also not all that new: the official American trailer for Hayao Miyazaki's Ponyo! I can't wait to see this.

And while I'm linking to videos, here's the latest episode of my main man Tucker Stone's show Advanced Common Sense. I saw some of the rough footage from this shoot when I was in New York, and it was quite hilarious. I encourage everyone to email Tucker and demand a release of the deleted scene in which he makes out with a fish.

Also, I reviewed Dark Reign: Zodiac #1 over at Comics Bulletin earlier in the week. That was a pretty good comic; Joe Casey and Nathan Fox!

Okay, actual content:

Detroit Metal City, volume 1

By Kiminori Wakasugi

Ah, the rape joke. Such a classic form of comedy. Why, I remember the nights I would sit around the campfire with my family, aunts and uncles, grandparents and cousins, all relating our favorite rape jokes and laughing uproariously. Such grand times.

Wait, I'm mistaken. I've been informed that rape is a subject never to be broached in comis, much less in jest! How could anyone take it lightly? Only emotionless monsters would ever consider such an outrage!

Well, obviously the truth is somewhere between those extremes, but Detroit Metal City definitely skews toward the former, seeking to make comedy out of its outrageousness. It certainly does contain more uses of the word "rape" than I can ever remember seeing between two covers, but the key thing to note is that makes it really funny. It's got that Japanese style of humor, getting a lot of mileage out of awkward situations and over-the-top silliness. And while the art isn't anything to write home about, its bare-bones stiffness manages to make the goofy antics that much more strange and humorous.

The concept: meek, gentle Soichi Negishi wants to live a chic life in the big city (Tokyo), playing indie rock, hanging out in trendy locations, and meeting cute girls, but somehow he ended up as the lead singer of the titular "evil-core" metal band, going by the name of Johannes Krauser II and dressing in a ridiculous getup (my favorite part of the outfit are the oh-so-dainty ruffles on the wrists and neck) while screaming songs about murder, rape, blood, and mayhem. He hates the music that he plays, but he also happens to be really good at it when he gets into character, and his fans can't get enough of his antics. Each chapter sees some sort of conflict between Soichi's on-stage and off-stage lives, usually to incredibly humorous effect. It usually starts small and builds to a goofy climax that has the reader laughing out loud; for instance, one chapter sees him trying to sing his cute indie songs (which are as cheesily nice as DMC's are nasty) on the street, only to be drowned out by a DMC cover band. Annoyed, he decides to show the punks how it's done, getting into his costume and showing them up as Krauser II. But when the police come to break up the disturbance, he's mortified and tries to turn himself in, only to trip and accidentally brain a cop with his guitar, thus maintaining his reputation as a menace to society.

Other stories continue along those lines, with running gags like a girl Soichi has a crush on continually getting humiliated by DMC, or the band's ridiculous manager, a woman who is constantly urging them to make her panties wet with their rock and shouting lines like "I danced till my pants turned into a bowl of clam chowder." It can get a bit repetitious if read in a big bunch, but take a break between chapters and you'll find yourself laughing at the jokes over and over. I know I did.

As I mentioned above, the art is nothing too special, but it's effective for what it is. The characters are often quite stiff, and one might not realize what sort of ridiculous antics the band was up to if fans didn't provide commentary:

As for facial expressions, Soichi-as-Krauser only seems to have one, an open-mouthed maniacal scream. Without the makeup, Soichi has a couple, usually either a placid smile or a Krauser-esque look of shock and dismay:

It works for the story though, kind of putting a minimalist style on things, tending toward something like Cromartie High School, but not quite reaching those levels of abstraction. The low levels of detail work to make the rock and roll scenes more comedic, since the fans are getting all worked up over what doesn't really seem to be that big of a deal. The goofy costumes and lyrics about "raping all women" are pretty stupid, so to hear a fan react to them by saying "It's like I'm being raped by the music!" just makes the whole thing funnier.

And another nice aspect of the comic is that over the course of the volume, Soichi seems to be growing into his Krauser persona, rather than always hating it and wanting to quit. He finds a few good off-stage uses for the character, and he even seems to be enjoying the release that the shows provide. At the same time, he's progressing in his relationship with his would-be girlfriend, which should provide plenty of humor in future stories, since she's sympatico with his metal-hating trendiness.

Even though this is only the first volume, the series is quite hilarious, always upping the ante on what sort of perversity you expect from the band and coming up with funny ways to mix Soichi's disparate worlds. It might be hard to keep raising the stakes; the antics could get predictable and tiresome, but that's certainly not the case here. I expect future volumes to only get funnier.

This week, I'm ahead of schedule

On this post, at least, and that's only because of the holiday.  Anyway, links:

The big news lately is that, hot on the heels of Shojo Beat's cancellation, Viz is launching a new online manga anthology, IKKI, which is based on the Japanese magazine of the same name.  Right now, the only comic they've got running is Daisuke Igarashi's Children of the Sea, but they will add more when the site has its "official" launch later in the year.  Apparently, they're also using it as a measurement of what to realease, with the popular series getting a print version.  Sounds quite interesting, and I'm happy to see more seinen manga being made available in English.  I expect I'll be a regular visitor.

Other neat news includes the upcoming release of Act-I-Vate Primer, a print anthology from the talents who publish webcomics at the Act-I-Vate site.  It will feature exclusive content from artists like Dean Haspiel, Roger Langridge, Nick Bertozzi, Mike Cavallaro, Mike Dawson, Michel Fiffe, Joe Infurnari, Molly Crabapple, and others.  That's a great lineup; I'm all over this one.

Other stuff to see online: art from the Ghibli Museum's display on Hayao Miyazaki's upcoming Ponyo on the Cliff.

You can also read the entire first issue of the second volume of Mouse Guard here.  I do like that series.

And I haven't read it yet, but Kentaro Takekuma, who wrote that interesting article about Miyazaki's Nausicaa a few weeks back, has another piece up, this time about Katsuhiro Otomo.

Okay, let's go:

New comics this week (THURSDAY, 5/28/09):

Back To Brooklyn #5

Has anybody been reading this Garth Ennis/Jimmy Palmiotti gangster series?  I remember reading reviews of the first issue or two, but nothing since then.  So here's the last issue; should I try to read it?  Probably not, is my guess.

Cursed Pirate Girl #1

I've seen the artist of this series, Jeremy Bastian, the last two years at Wizard World Chicago, and it looks like the comic is finally coming out.  It's been one I've been looking forward to, because the art is gorgeous.  You can see some preview images here, along with an interview of Bastian.

Dark Reign The Hood #1

I shouldn't care about this, since it's one of those obnoxious miniseries that tie into Marvel's current big "event", but it's notable due to being written by Jeff Parker, with art by Kyle Hotz (who also drew the original Brian K. Vaughan-written miniseries that introduced the character).  So maybe it will be good, who knows?  I should have a review of this first issue up at Comics Bulletin tomorrow.

Garth Ennis Battlefields Tankies #2

It's a big Garth Ennis week this week, with the second issue of his current war-based miniseries coming out, along with other stuff.  I decided to just buy the issues of these series, since the trades are more expensive than the monthlies (I hate that).  Maybe I'll even write about them sometime.

Glamourpuss #7

Ah, it's more of our regular dose of Dave Sim strangeness.  This issue is apparently about superheroines for some reason, including a Steve Ditko tribute (or something) named Ms. A.  I guess readers will get to vote on which character gets a spinoff miniseries, because lord knows we need some Dave Sim superhero comics.  Also, more art discussion, which is probably as interesting to Sim and five other people as usual.

Godland #28

This series seems to be lurching toward its final issue (which I think is #36, or thereabouts).  I'm currently reading the fourth collection, and it's a blast.  Keep up the Kirby tributes, Joe Casey!

Hero Squared Love and Death #3

I've read some of this Keith Giffen/J.M. DeMatteis series, and it's not bad.  This miniseries is finishing up the story (which, for those who don't know, concerns a regular schlub who gets involved in cosmic craziness when the version of him from another universe turns out to be a superhero), and it's been as funny and fairly enjoyable as ever.  It's another one that I should probably write about someday.

Ignition City #3

Warren Ellis' sci-fi series continues.  Like everything Ellis does, I'll probably get around to reading it at some point.

Immortal Iron Fist #26

It's the final issue of the current storyline, with our heroes escaping their otherdimensional prison and getting into a huge brawl, or something like that.  I've definitely been enjoying this series when I read it, so check it out if you gave up on it after Brubaker and Fraction left.

Last Days of Animal Man #1 (of 6)

I don't know if this will be worth reading (it's written by Gerry Conway, which isn't usually a sign of excellence), but here it is.  I think this is taking some cues from Grant Morrison's run on the character, but maybe it only seems that way because Brian Bolland is doing the covers.  Maybe worth a look?  Eh, probably not.

Literals #2 (of 3)

Part 6 of the Great Fables Crossover.  I don't know how that story will be collected, but I'm excited to read it.

Mouse Guard Winter 1152 #6

Hey, speaking of Mouse Guard (which I did up at the top of the post), here's the final issue of the second miniseries.  I've enjoyed it quite a bit, as always, and it's one that I've actually been readin in single issues, because it comes out so infrequently.  Good times; hopefully volume 3 won't take too long to get here.

Muppet Robin Hood #1

Everybody loves the Roger Langridge Muppet Show book, so here's another one, doing the thing that the Muppets still occasionally do, plugging the characters into a classic story.  No Langridge here though; this is written by Tim Beedle, with art by Armand Villavert, Jr.  Hey, it could still be good.

Northlanders #17

New story arc!  This one sees Vasilis Lolos on art, and it's apparently a detailed examination of a one-on-one Viking fight.  Cool.  I really need to catch up on this series.

Rapture #1 (of 6)

This is a new miniseries from Dark Horse, by Michael Avon Oeming and his wife Taki Soma.  It has something to do with a post-apocalyptic world that has been devastated by super-powered beings, and there are two lovers who have to deal with one of them being turned into some kind of angelic warrior.  Interesting; I definitely wouldn't mind checking it out.

Runaways #10

This appears to be a transitional issue in the gap between creative teams.  Two stories here, one by Chris Yost and Sara Pichelli, and the other by James Asmus and Emma Rios.  Might be okay, but I'm still waiting for Kathryn Immonen to come on board.  This should at least be a good opportunity to see what Pichelli's art is going to be like on the series.  Don't let me down, ladies!

Spider-Man the Short Halloween

This is a one-shot comedy effort from writers Bill Hader and Seth Meyers (both of Saturday Night Live), with art by Kevin Maguire.  Probably enjoyable; I'll have to read it and see what I think.

The Stand American Nightmares #3

I know I've disparaged this book, but I did read the last issue or two, just for kicks, and they weren't bad.  Mike Perkins' art is pretty nice, and while it's pretty narration-heavy, it works well enough.  I guess that might be a sort of a recommendation?

Ultimate Wolverine vs Hulk #6

And it finally ends, long after anybody stopped caring.  I did read this, and the rest of the series, and while it's not bad, there's really nothing much to it other than the title characters fighting a bunch.  I guess there's the creation of Ultimate She-Hulk, if you care about that, but overall, I give it a yawn.  If you dig this sort of thing, you'll probably disagree, but whatever.

Unknown Soldier #8

I finally read an issue of this series, when I picked up a reprint of the first issue on Free Comic Book Day, and I thought it was very good.  Now I just need to read the rest of the issues...

Bayou Vol 1 TP

DC's Zuda online site gets its first print collection, of Jeremy Love's supernatural swamp story.  It was one of the first comics on the site, and I remember reading the initial chapter and thinking it was pretty good, so it seems like something worth getting.  Of course, as with most webcomic collections, you can also read it for free online...

Billboards HC

IDW has this graphic novel by Clifford Meth and Dave Gutierrez, about a future when people get ads tattooed on their bodies, enabling corporations to track them and control what they do.  It's satire! Hey, it might be good, even if I haven't loved everything I've read by Meth.  CBR has a mostly-text preview, if you want to take a look.

Comic Books 101 History & Method & Madness SC

This appears to be a book version of Scott Tipton's columns about comics, with the help of Chris Ryall.  They both write at the Comics 101 site, so good for them, getting their writing in print.

DC Library Roots of the Swamp Thing HC

I expect this will be entry number forty-two in Mike Sterling's collection of these stories; I hope there's more of an audience for books like this than him alone.  It's a fancy, forty-dollar book collecting at least a good portion of that initial run, written by Len Wein with art by Berni Wrightson and Nestor Redondo.  I've read a good deal of these stories, and they're pretty good reading.  Check it out, if you can afford it.

Essential X-Men Vol 9 TP

You can buy this if you want to follow along with Jason Powell's reviews of Chris Claremont's X-Men stories.  I have no idea what was going on in the series at that point, but it might be interesting just to see.  Despite the title, it's probably not essential though.

Galveston TP

It's the collection of that pirate series from Boom! Studios, about Jean Lefitte teaming up with Jim Bowie.  I meant to read this, but never got around to it.  I should try sometime, since it sounds like fun.

Garth Ennis Battlefields TP vol 2 Dear Billy

More Garth Ennis war stories, this being an example of the collection of these miniseries that's more expensive than the monthly issues.  I ended up obtaining these issues, so I should get around to reading them soon.  Man, I love Ennis' war comics.  So good.

Incognegro SC

Here's the paperback version of the Vertigo graphic novel that came out a year or two ago.  I never read it, but I was interested, so maybe this will be my chance to get to it.  For those who don't know, it's about an early-20th-century African-American reporter pretending to be white in the racist South while investigating a murder case involving his brother.  Interesting stuff.  Mat Johnson wrote, Warren Pleece drew.

Jans Atomic Heart

I read Don MacPherson's review of this book a while back, and it sounded quite good.  I'll have to try to procure a copy.  The premise involves a future where people can get mechanical body parts (or replacement bodies), and a recipient of this technology fearing that he's being used as part of a terrorist plot.  Cool.  Here's an interview with creator Simon Roy that includes an extensive preview.

John Stanley Library Vol 1 Melvin Monster HC

Everybody seems excited about this release from Drawn and Quarterly, and I must say I did like the sample in their FCBD book (I didn't think the Nancy comic was as good).  For twenty bucks, you get a big chunk of funny old kids' comics.  Enjoy.

My Inner Bimbo TP

This miniseries took its sweet time coming out, but now it's all collected and ready to read in one shot.  Sam Keith and Joshua Hagler tell a bizarre story about a guy's feminine side comes to life and turns his life upside down.  Yeah, I wouldn't mind reading it.  Here's an interview with Keith that contains a big, long preview.

Neil Gaiman & Dave McKeans Crazy Hair HC

Is this only now coming out, or has it been out for a while?  It's a children's book that's sure to be goofy and enjoyable.  I was at a Neil Gaiman reading something like three years ago, and he read the text of this book, but apparently it's taken Dave McKean a while to finish it.  I expect Caleb Mozzocco will write about it at some point, since he likes to cover the kid books.

Power Up GN

New Doug TenNapel!  This one is about a guy who gets special powers from a video game.  Fun.  I do like TenNapel's cartooning, so I bet it will be a good read.

Special Forces TP Vol 1

And here's another collection of a series that I liked, by Kyle Baker.  I've been meaning to write something about the final issue, and I may still get around to it.  Great stuff, with some smart, angry satire about the war in Iraq, peppered with over-the-top action and sexiness.  Highly recommended.

This Is A Souvenir Songs Of Spearmint & Shirley Lee GN

I guess this is another entry in the "anthology comics about musicians" genre.  It features contributors like Kieron Gillen, Jamie McKelvie, Jamie S. Rich, and Chynna Clugston, but I have never heard of the band, so I doubt I would get much out of it.  We'll see, I guess.  Here's another one of those interviews (with editor Eric Stephenson) that has a couple preview pages.

T-Minus Race To The Moon GN

From writer Jim Ottaviani (who happens to be the subject of this week's Comics Reporter interview), it's another science-y comic about, well, read the title.  Art is by Zander and Kevin Cannon.  Might be good.

MPD-PSYCHO Vol 9 TP

I'm way behind on this series; who knows if or when I'll ever get caught up.  I do have volumes four and five, I think, but I still need to read them.  It's pretty good, if you don't mind lots of goriness and nastiness.  We'll see how it goes.

Mushishi Vol 7 GN

Another series I might try to read more of someday.  I wasn't all that into the first volume, but it's supposed to get better as it goes on, so I'm sure I'll try it again at some point.

Part-Time Pets GN

Finally, here's an odd-sounding title from Aurora, about people owning genetically-engineered human-animal hybrids.  I think it's yaoi, so it will probably eventually involve a dude sleeping with a guy with cat ears.  Weird.

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Okay, I think that's enough.  More content soon, I hope.  

This week, I will be transported 100 years to the past

Too many links:

If you're interested, here's a trailer for the graphic novel Unbeatable, which I reviewed back in 2007.  Apparently, a second volume is imminent.

As a promo for This American Life, here's an animated version of a Quimby the Mouse story by Chris Ware.  Awesome.

This is cool: a Muppets version of Robert Crumb's cover art for Janis Joplin's Cheap Thrills.  Here's the original for comparison.

A fun webcomic: Ada Lovelace - The Origin.  It's a goofy historical strip about the pioneering mathematician who developed the first programming language to work with Charles Babbage's Difference Engine.  It also serves a a sort of opening chapter for a goofy steampunk strip called Lovelace and Babbage.  Fun stuff.

Another webcomic: "Cakewalk", by Nate Powell and Rachel Bormann.

Here's an interesting blurb about an unrealized Hayao Miyazaki/Isao Takahata adaptation of Pippi Longstocking, including some artwork.  That would've been cool.

This looks good: Nick Bertozzi's School of Visual Arts class is publishing an anthology of Iraq War Stories, and Act-I-Vate is going to be serializing it online.  Here's the press release.

Good news!  Brandon Graham's King City has been rescued from limbo, and Image is going to be serializing both the first and second volumes.  Here's the cover art for the first issue.

Previews: Publisher's Weekly has a few pages from some of the stories in Dark Horse's Noir anthology.  That one looks pretty awesome.

Daniel Clowes has a new, as yet untitled, book coming out later this year, and The New Yorker has a short preview.

Whew!  Okay, I think that's enough.  On to business:

New comics this week (Wednesday, 5/13/09):

All-New Savage She-Hulk #2 (of 4)

I read the first issue of this miniseries, and it was pretty entertaining.  It's about a daughter of the Hulk coming back from the future to get something or other, and smashing a bunch of shit in the process.  Written by Fred Van Lente.  Fun stuff; check it out, if you're so inclined.

Astro Boy Movie Prequel Underground #1

I'm not sure if this will be any good, but it's Astro Boy, which is worth a look.  The title says it all, but it's by Scott Tipton (of Comics 101 fame), with art by Diego Jourdan and a variant cover by Ashley Wood.  Maybe worth a look?

Castle Waiting Vol II #15

Every time a new issue of this series comes out, I say that I want to read it.  So here goes: I would like to read this series someday.  I'll have to pick up the hardcover collection of the first volume sometime.  To the library?

Fables #84

The Great Fables Crossover continues!  Collect it soon, fellas!

From the Ashes #1

Bob Fingerman's post-apocalyptic series begins.  I gotta check this out.  I linke to a preview the other day, but here it is again, in case you missed it.

House of Mystery #13

It's a special issue of the series, featuring four stories, with art by Neal Adams, Sergio Aragones, Eric Powell, and Ralph Reese.  Cool.  As always, I do want to catch up on this series someday.  Someday...

Howling Commandos #1

One of them WWII comics, which seems cool enough.  TV writer Jesse Alexander (Heroes, Lost, Alias) writes, and John Paul Leon illustrates.  The catch: it's supposed to be a prequel to Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale's Captain America: White.  Ugh.  It might still be good though...

Incognito Must Have

If you missed out on them, here's a reprint of the first two issues of Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips' supervillain series.  It's pretty good, so check it out if you haven't already.

League of Extraordinary Gentlemen III Century #1 1910

And here's the book of the week, for me at least.  Some people got it last week, those bastards.  Anyway, it's the next volume of Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill's series, and it should be awesome.  I can't wait to read it.  

Lockjaw and the Pet Avengers #1 (of 4)

People seem excited about this, a cute, goofy team of animal superheroes by Chris Eliopolous and Ig Guara.  I expect it to be fun.  I should have a review up at Comics Bulletin today or tomorrow.

Thor Tales of Asgard By Stan Lee and Jack Kirby #1

In the latest reprint thing, here's a series that collects what I think were the backup stories on the original run of Thor back in the 60s.  I've often heard that they were quite good, giving Kirby a chance to unleash some of his bombastic awesomeness, so I'll have to try to check them out.  You can't go wrong with the Kirby.

Umbrella Academy Dallas #6

It's the final issue of the second miniseries, and I can't wait to read it.  Unfortunately, it's not going to be collected until October, so I'll be champing at the bit until then.  Still, awesomeness awaits.

Unknown #1

A new series from Boom! Studios, it's about a female detective along the lines of Sherlock Holmes, which is pretty cool.  It's written by Mark Waid, with art by Minck Oosterveer.  Neato.

Unwritten #1

The latest Vertigo series, this is from Mike Carey and Peter Gross, the team behind Lucifer.  It looks like an interesting concept, following a character whose father wrote a series of Harry Potter-esque books about him as he discovers that he might be a work of fiction brought to life, or something like that.  I always dig stories about metafictional goings-on, so this might be one to check out.  

Applegeeks TP Vol 01 Freshmen Year

It's the latest of Dark Horse's collections of webcomics, this one being a well-regarded nerdy strip with nice artwork.  Like always, you can read it for free online, but sometimes physical books are nice to have.

Codeflesh Definitive Edition HC

I've never read this Joe Casey/Charlie Adlard book about a superhuman bounty hunter, but I've always meant to, especially since I like Casey so much.  Here's a new, fancy, expensive ($40) edition, containing an all-new story.  To the library!

Collected Doug Wright Canadas Master Cartoonist Vol 1 HC

People have been excited about these new collections from Drawn and Quarterly, and after reading the Nancy/Melvin Monster FCBD book, I can understand why.  So here's the first installment, and it looks hella nice.  Check it out, if you can afford it.

Connective Tissue HC

Hey, more Bob Fingerman!  This one is more illustrated prose than comics, but it looks pretty

crazy, about a girl who "plunge[s] down the rabbit hole into a surreal world of throbbing, veinous buildings, compulsory public nudity, weird creatures, and more".  Freaky.  You can download an excerpt and see a preview slideshow at Fantagraphics' site.

Creepy Archives Vol 3

More of the pricey Dark Horse collections of the classic horror series.  These are too expensive for me, but I would certainly love to read them.

I Kill Giants TP

I wasn't all that enamored of the first issue of this Joe Kelly-written series about a girl who claims to have magical powers, but it's received some acclaim, so the collected version might be worth a look.  Here's an interview with Kelly that has some preview art, if you're interested.

Laugh-Out-Loud Cats Sell Out HC

Luba HC

Oh man, I'm torn about whether I should get this huge hardcover collection of Gilbert Hernandez's stories from the second volume of Love and Rockets (along with the upcoming Locas II) or wait for the cheaper paperback versions.  I might have to just go for it.  It's sure to be great reading.  Check out Fanta's site for the usual preview/slideshow.

Potters Field HC

I enjoyed this series from Mark Waid and Paul Azaceta, so here's a collected version that might be worth getting.  It's a bit on the expensive side ($25), but it will surely have nice presentation, and it also contains a "lost" story illustrated by Steve Yeowell.  It's pretty good stuff; I'll give it a recommendation.

Secret Identities TP

This is "the anthology of Asian-American superhero stories", which might be interesting.  All the creators and characters are Asian-American, which is cool, because they're fairly under-represented in the industry (I think).  Here's the book's homepage, where you can find more information and see a preview.

Secret Wars 2 Omnibus HC DM ED

Wow, really?  Was anybody clamoring for a deluxe collection of this oft-derided story?  Ah, the wonders of the modern marketplace, with the superhero side of the medium constantly eating its own tail.  If you want to spend a hundred bucks on a big book of stories that are, by all accounts, pretty terrible, well, you're probably pretty stupid.  Enjoy!

Studs Terkels Working A Graphic Adaptation TP

I did not even know this existed, but it looks pretty neat.  Harvey Pekar adapts the classic book by Studs Terkel to comics form, with art by a number of different artists, including Peter Kuper, Pablo Callejo, Gary Dumm, Pat Moriarty, and others.  Sounds like one I want to read.

Future Diary Vol 1 GN

A new manga from Tokyopop, this sounds pretty interesting, with one of those premises where people can tell the future via magic cell phones and have to kill each other within a certain amount of time.  Brigid Alverson has a good review here.

Gurren Lagann Vol 1 GN

I dug this anime quite a bit (you can see me talk about it here), and here's the manga version of the story.  I don't know if it will be worth reading, but it's now available.

Ikigami The Ultimate Limit Vol 1 TP

A new series from Viz about a world in which the government occasionally selects people to be killed as motivation for...something or other.  I've got a review copy of this sitting at home, so I should hopefully get to it soon and post a review.  Looks interesting.

Manga Shakespeare As You Like It TP
Manga Shakespeare Othello TP

These always crack me up for some reason, but you never know when they might actually be decent, or at least interesting to see how somebody manages to manga-fy the source material.  These are both apparently from a studio of Japanese creators living in London, so they are a bit closer to actual manga than the usual stuff like this, which generally consists of Westerners trying to ape a generic manga style.  You can see previews here and here.

Spider-Man J Vol 2 Japanese Daze TP Digest

And for other manga goofiness, here's the Japanese version of Spidey.  I haven't read much of it, but I do know that John Jakala gives it his recommendation.  

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Is that everything?  I think so.  Sorry about the lack of content lately, but I've been working on a project (I'll give details at some point), so I haven't had much time for blogging.  That means I've got a pile of stuff to catch up on, so expect more posts soon.  Yay?