Chicago-based miscellany

Links: For some reason, I had assumed Dustin Harbin was just a blogger/internet commenter (he wrote some comments here and there that kind of annoyed me, so that's probably why I never paid too much attention to him), but he's apparently also a cartoonist, and a good one at that.  Check his stuff out here.

The newest installment of Next Door Neighbor is up, and it's by Alexis Sottile and Joe Infurnari.  Looks good.

Here's a comic called Spacegirl, by Travis Charest.  Cool?

Might as well mention Kevin Church's new webcomic, Waimea, while I'm at it.  It's more of a serialized graphic novel than his other, more gag-based strip, The Rack, and it sports some nice color art by Mike Dake.  

And finally, the reason for this content-lite post:  I'm planning on going to the Kramers Ergot 7 release party at Chicago Comics this Saturday evening, so watch out for me if you're going to be there.  Several creators will be there, so I'll get to hobnob with the likes of Ivan Brunetti, Sammy Harkham, Kevin Huizenga, Anders Nilsen, and Chris Ware.  I bet it'll be fun.

Fear, My Dear: That sounds like a bizarre Dr. Seuss rhyme

Full disclosure: this review might have some mercenary motives.

Fear, My Dear

By Dean Haspiel

The second part of Dean Haspiel's Billy Dogma trilogy is complete (you can read it here), and it continues the story begun in Immortal (which was serialized in the miniseries Brawl, as well as online), and it's just as enjoyably bizarre and surreal.  This is the kind of comic where I don't really have any idea what's going on, but I still really dig it anyway.  That's probably because Haspiel is an excellent cartoonist, infusing his imagery with energy and expressiveness, and coming up with some truly unique imagery.

The story here, such as it is, involves Billy Dogma, Haspiel's superpowered, philosophical muscleman, embarking on a quest into the desert to confront his inner demons.  After being reunited with his girlfriend, Jane (who also has superpowers), they explore a giant maze, fall into an underground cavern, confront Billy's childhood hero (or is it his father?  Or both?), and end up embarking on a mystical quest to transform a raygun into a weapon of life, rather than death.  It's bizarre as all get-out, and like I said, I don't know if I was able to follow it very well at all, but Haspiel's technique is so arresting and fun to experience, that the strangeness of it all doesn't matter so much.  It helps that he grounds the characters of Billy and Jane through their love for each other, and the wild sex scene (which we read about in narration as they take a journey in the mouth of a whale) that results from their physical lust makes for a nice interlude.

Really, Haspiel seems to be painting straight from his subconscious here, using dream logic to express emotions that are difficult to verbalize.  If I was more educated in philosophy, I might be able to label it as Jungian or something, but I can only say that it seems to draw upon subliminal cues that maybe only Haspiel understands, if anybody does.  

But even if I don't understand much of it, it's a great read, and tons of fun, due to Haspiel's brilliant energy.  Using a yellow and orange color pallette, the images seem to crackle with brightness, as if they are on fire.  And his thick-lined, Kirby-esque dynamism keeps everything moving, using techniques like extreme facial close-ups:

Or bright bursts of action:

It's a blast to read, never allowing the reader to catch their breath and constantly upping the ante with more weirdness.  I feel like my mind struggles to grasp it, but it's some fascinating stuff; I can't look away.  Give it a read, if you dare.

Acme Novelty Library: The annual mind-blowing reaches to multiple planets

Hey, that review of Punisher War Zone #1 I mentioned yesterday?  Here it is.  Ennis and Dillon go!

This is a bit of an experiment, so please suffer with me, if you have the patience:

Acme Novelty Library #19

By Chris Ware

I find it hard to talk about Chris Ware's comics, since I feel intimidated by the talent on display; I don't feel like I'm able to verbalize what it is that he does so well, and any arguments I might make would seem weak and poorly-justified.  But never let it be said that I back down from a challenge; here's a sort of stream-of-consciousness look at the latest chapter in the ongoing "Rusty Brown" opus:

The opening section of this story is a fascinating science fiction story about life on Mars.  For somebody who seems to disdain genre entertainment (unless that attitude is limited to superheroes, due to their dominance of the comics medium), Ware has put together an excellent bit of sci-fi.  Or maybe it's just a good delivery mechanism for a bit of dark psychological exploration.  Whatever the case, it's a perfectly-paced bit of revelation, full of mundane details about life on another planet and the loneliness that results from complete isolation from the rest of the human race.  The protagonist and narrator of the tale is one of two couples sent to colonize Mars, and when things don't go perfectly, he starts to lose his grip on reality, turning into a murderous maniac.  But since he's the one telling the story, this isn't apparent from the start; it's a slow, subtle reveal, and Ware captures the transition perfectly.  At first, his actions seem fairly reasonable given the circumstances, but we gradually see how far gone he is as his actions become nastier and more obsessive.  It's harrowing stuff, only exacerbated by the tone almost unvarying dryness of the narration, focused on the mundanity of life.  And Ware nails the details, from the simple aspects of daily life to the goofy, not-exactly-realistic 50s-era science, to the awful actions of his character.  It's a totally believable story, at least from a character standpoint.  And the art works perfectly to relate the story, conveying those little details in the small panels that Ware does so well and regularly opening up to reveal the emptiness of the Martian landscape:

And then, we get the reveal the this has all been a story called "The Seeing-Eye Dogs of Mars", written by Rusty Brown's father.  He's doing some reminiscing, looking back at the magazines and anthologies that published his stories, and this leads us to the real meat of the volume, as he flashes back to his post-collegiate youth and his first love.  But if you expected this to be a happy tale of youthful romance, you don't know Chris Ware.  Yep, Woody (as he was nicknamed at that time, after brand name of his electric typewriter) is a typical Ware character, barely able to muster the courage to speak in public, full of twisted emotions and crippling neuroses.  But he does manage to score with a secretary at the newspaper where he works writing obituaries, mostly because she decides to deflower him on a lark.  And of course, he falls deeply in love, even though it's completely obvious that she is not serious about him in the slightest.  Cue lots of scenes of Woody obsessing over her, planning to get married and live happily ever after, even though she will barely give him the time of day.  Except for when she shows up to screw him again.  It's painful to watch, but while Woody is plenty pathetic, Ware doesn't make him a hateful, simpering doofus; instead, he humanizes him, to the point that we feel sorry for him and maybe even empathize with his plight.  Maybe it's the wonder and confusion he seems to feel at first-time sexual intimacy, narrating lines like "It was weird...she'd always seemed so feminine before...but now she was weighty, solid...hairy...I mean, did all women look like this?"  While he doesn't seem like a well-rounded individual, he has realistic emotions and reactions to his experiences, and we can see how they affected his entire life.  In fact, we even get a flashback within this flashback to his childhood, in one sequence that sees him take drastic action to confess his love to her, he races up the stairs to her apartment and thinks back on everything that got him to that point, everything that he wants to tell her.  As is probably obvious, she rejects him, and he spirals into a pit of despair, getting even more pathetic, masturbating to the smell of a science fiction magazine of his that she once touched.  And just when he seems to be getting over her and doing some writing of his own, she shows up again, starting the cycle all over.  It kicks off a horrible cycle that Ware illustrates by cramming a page full of about as many tiny (about one square centimeter) panels as he can, as if he's zooming out from what had previously been a close-up on the details of Woody's life and taking the long view as everything continues to fall apart.  Just when everything is at its worst, he gets "rescued" by the woman who he ends up marrying, and we see that he settles for a life with her, forever pining for the woman he loved who didn't really love him back.

It's a bleak portrait (which really isn't too much a surprise with Ware), but a fascinating, compelling one, due to the masterful presentation.  Ware knows all the right moments to show, how to vary the size of the panels and how to convey the perfect (repressed) emotions through seemingly simple character art.  It's beautiful, and amazing to watch as it plays out.  And while the entire book is narrated, either by the protagonist of the sci-fi story or by Woody himself, so much more is visible in the artistic details.  We see how various elements in Woody's life integrate themselves into his story, from the blind dog he had as a boy to the color of his characters' wife's hair (the text states that it is red, like Woody's wife's, but the images show it as brown, like his lover's).  And one detail that I liked is that Chalky White's sister, who Woody seemed to be obsessed with in previous volumes, is not a virginal beauty that awakens new life in him, a la American Beauty, but simply reminds him of his lost love, right down to her similar disdain for science fiction.  

There are plenty of other nice artistic techniques as well, including a recurring "fuzzy" image that is the result of Woody breaking his glasses:

And that tendency to place large panels on the page to cause a sort of pause that demonstrates the character's loneliness continues in the main story, showing Woody as lost in the newsroom where he works as his protagonist is on Mars:

Ware keeps this sort of rhythm going for most of the book, with a large panel taking up about one fourth of the space on each page, to the point that it becomes noticeable whenever he eliminates it, usually to speed up the narrative during especially quick-moving sections.  It's such assured work that these choices don't even seem to be choices; they're just the natural flow of the story.

It's amazing, all around.  As a chapter in the "Rusty Brown" serial, it does a great job of filling in the background of one of the characters, but it works so well as a stand-alone story that it doesn't need any other material to prop it up.  I can't wait to see how it will factor into the rest of Rusty's story; will he make the same mistakes his dad did? Having seen some glimpses of Rusty's future in the big Acme Novelty Library book from a few years ago, the outlook is not positive.  But I'll still be there to watch as Ware breaks hearts and blows minds.  

This week is almost not worth mentioning

Yeah, this list is sparse.

New comics this week (Wednesday, 12/10/08):

100 Bullets #98

Getting closer to the end!  Must...resist...reading any spoilers!

Astonishing X-Men Ghost Boxes #2

I read the first issue of this miniseries (or whatever it is), and it was interesting, kind of a series of alternate-universe versions of Warren Ellis's current storyline.  One of them was a steampunk thing that was pretty cool.  Dunno what's going on in this issue, but one story is illustrated by Kaare Andrews (neat!) and one by Clayton Crain (ugh!).

Challenger Deep #4

The final issue of Boom!'s underwater thing.  I really need to read these, so I can tell whether I should write something about it.

Crossed #2

More Ennis nastiness.  Maybe I'll check this series out when it's collected, if my stomach is feeling strong.

DMZ #37

New storyline.  Let's hope that means another collection will appear soon.

House of Mystery #8

I wish I didn't have to stop getting this series; I enjoyed it.  Uh, I guess this continues a story about exploring the house's basement, and the backup this issue is illustrated by Henry Flint.

Marvels Eye of the Camera #1 black & white

Yeah, this is necessary.  Oy.

Punisher War Zone #1

Hey, an actual interesting release!  This is the weekly miniseries by Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon that supposedly ties into the movie of the same name, but is really just an excuse for them to do more of the "humorous" style of Punisher stories, continuing the motif of the Marvel Knights version of the character.  Features the return of Ma Gnucci, a villain that was pretty obviously killed in the climax of the "Welcome Back, Frank" storyline.  I'm sure she'll be fodder for more disfigurement.  I should have a review of this up at Comics Bulletin on Tuesday, so find out exactly what I think then.

Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane Season 2 #5

It's the finale of this miniseries version of the series.  I haven't really been a fan, but I guess that doesn't matter, since it's over anyway.  I'm still holding out for a "season 3" by Paul Tobin and Colleen Coover.  That would be awesome.

Time Management for Anarchists #1

This comic is apparently based on a seminar by Jim Munroe (a sci-fi author and writer of the excellent graphic novel Therefore Repent!).  It stars Emma Goldman and Mikhail Bakunin in some sort of steampunk world, giving "productivity tips for creative malcontents".  Weird.  The comic is also available as a free download at Munroe's site.  Sorry, moneymakers!

Wonderful Wizard of Oz #1

This is one of Marvel's line of comics adaptations of public domain works, which wouldn't normally be notable, except this is written by Eric Shanower, with very nice-looking art by Skottie Young.  I wouldn't mind taking a look, even if I'm really not that interested in reading it.

Watchmen #1 New Printing

I'm sure this is also needed, right?  That trade paperback is flying off the shelves, so people will surely want to buy a reprint of the first chapter.  Yeah, I imagine they'll jump right on that.

X-Men Noir #1

I guess this is the Marvel version of an Elseworlds, with the characters taking part in a sort of Raymond Chandler mystery.  It's written by Fred Van Lente, with art by Dennis Calero.  This first issue isn't bad, I guess, but it seems kind of weird; I'm not sure what the point is, other than trying to recognize who each character is and how they fit into the criminal underworld of the book.  I dunno.  There's a Spider-Man version coming out soon too; I wouldn't expect that to be much better.

Asterix Omnibus Vol 2 Books 4 5 & 6 HC

I really should read these sometime.  They're classics.

Camelot 3000 Deluxe Edition HC

Hey, it's the other big DC maxiseries of the 80s.  I've never read it, but it certainly doesn't have the reputation of Watchmen.  In fact, I think the only thing notable about it is the art by Brian Bolland.  But now you can pay extra for that in this "deluxe" edition!

Courtney Crumrin And The Prince Of Nowhere

It's another short book by Ted Naifeh, along the lines of the recent Courtney Crumrin and the Fire Thief's Tale.  I still have yet to read any of this series, but I really like Ted Naifeh's art, so I will get to them one day.  I swear it!

Daredevil Man Without Fear Prem HC

Man, everything gets a deluxe hardcover these days, doesn't it?  I've never read this miniseries by Frank Miller and John Romita, Jr., but I don't think it's considered Miller's best work on the character.  I suppose I could check it out if I got the chance, but I'm not interested in paying a bunch to own a fancy version.  Of course, that applies to a lot of comics...

Complete Green Lama Featuring Art of Mac Raboy HC

Golden age comics.  Might be an interesting read.  I don't know if I would bother pointing this out regularly, but as I said, it's a slow week.

Jack of Fables Vol 4 Americana TPB

I think I stopped getting this book soon after this arc, so I might need to try to get the next one.  I remember being a bit disappointed by this one; it started good, but I didn't really get the ending.  Still, it's a fun series, taking a more humorous approach to its stories than its parent series, Fables.  I generally dig it.

Nicolas GN

From Drawn and Quarterly, this short book by Quebecois artist Pascal Girard is an autobiographical series of stories about the death of his brother at a young age.  Interesting, if a bit pricey (64  5x8 pages for $10).

Nick Cardy Behind The Art HC

I just wanted to mention this so as to bring it to Noah Berlatsky's attention.

PX Book 2 In The Service Of The Queen GN

Whoa, I had no idea this was coming out.  I really liked the first volume of Eric A. Anderson and Manny Trembley's web-to-print comic about a girl with a robotic panda bodyguard, so I'm all over this one.  Don't let me down, fellas!

Reading Comics TP

Douglas Wolk's book gets a paperback version.  Unless it had one already and this is just a new printing or something.  I should probably check it out sometime.

Sulk Vol 2 Deadly Awesome GN

Jeffrey Brown's new collection of stories.  I don't usually go for his stuff, but this could be interesting.  For instance, there's apparently an 80-page mixed martial arts fight scene (you can see a nine-page preview here).  That's pretty cool.

Blade Of The Immortal Vol 20 Demons Lair TP

Wow, this is still coming out.  I've read a couple volumes of this series, and it's pretty enjoyable, with lots of blood and vengeance and whatnot.  Maybe I'll try to read more of it someday.

Black Lagoon Vol 3 TP

I wasn't too keen on the first volume of this series, but maybe it gets better.  I do have the next two on my review pile, so I'll probably get to them sometime soon.  We'll see!

Gimmick Vol 4 GN

Speaking of manga that I didn't think was great, here's another one (my review is here), and another volume that I might review.  Just to keep you in suspense.

One-Pound Gospel Vol 4 TP

This series is up to volume four already?  Damn.  I dug the first volume, and it's one I definitely want to read more of.  Once again, I'll get to it someday.

Sgt Frog Vol 16 GN

Here's another series that's apparently still coming out.  I quit reading after volume 12, I think, but I could try to catch up at some point, since it's still enjoyable.  I don't feel the loss too intensely though.

-----

Looks like that's everything.  Until I saw PX!, I thought there would be nothing for me this week.  Ah well, there's always money to spend.

Diary of the Dead: If I'm sick of zombies, why did I watch this?

Hey, anyone who likes to complain about/defend/contemplate the writing of Mark Millar might be interested in this post on A Trout in the Milk.  It's long and meandering, as Plok(or Pillock, if that's what he's calling himself these days)'s writing often is, but it's really a pretty fascinating look at what makes Millar's work so compelling.  I would say that when Millar is good, he writes really, really enjoyable comics, but he can also make some pretty terrible ones, and the post examines why that is.  Interesting stuff.

And what the hell, how about a short movie review:

Diary of the Dead

Directed by George Romero

2008, United States

So why did I watch this again?  I don't hate the zombie genre, but with the proliferation of poor-quality zombie movies (I see tons of terrible-looking straight-to-DVD pictures on the shelves at Blockbuster), comics (can Marvel Zombies just disappear already?), books (I do want to read World War Z though), and whatnot (like this ugly bit of business) out there, I'm kind of sick of the whole thing.  But while I did hear that this movie was not very good, I still want to give George Romero a chance, since he started the whole thing.  And while it mostly lived up to its reputation, there were definitely some good moments that made it worth watching, even if it's definitely the worst of Romero's zombie pictures.

The thing with this one is that rather than making the social commentary understated, as in his previous films, this one puts it front and center, not only having characters obviously discuss the themes of a media-saturated culture and the distancing effect of being behind a camera or staring at a TV or computer monitor, but even calling extra attention to itself by having an obnoxious voiceover explain those themes to us again repeatedly throughout the film.  The conceit here, taking a page from movies like The Blair Witch Project or Cloverfield, is that some film school students are shooting a movie during the outbreak of the zombie apocalypse, and the director decides that it's important to keep filming and documenting everything that is happening, so what we see throughout the movie is everything that was recorded by the cameras.  His girlfriend is the one who ends up putting the whole thing together at the end (as she informs us at the beginning), so she's the one responsible for the egregious voiceover ranting and tiresome montages editing together scenes of real-life violence that show us how desensitized we are to everything around us because we're so steeped in media.  Or something like that; it gets so tiresome, by the end of the movie I was kind of tuning out whenever she started talking.

But the thing is, as stupid as this is, it kind of works as a parody of pretentious student films, and the way college-age kids think their philosophizing is so important, man.  It even works in the context of the film; when the students argue about the camera being on and how fucked up everything is, it sounds like the real conversations that kind of people would have.  Even their professor who tags along fits the bill; he's used to students listening attentively as he natters on about dumb academic subjects.  It would work better if these people were better actors, but it's still not a bad inherent concept.  The problem is that it gets deathly boring; if it seemed a bit more knowing about its own pretentiousness, I might be more inclined to give it a pass, but as it is, the film seems to take itself at face value, making for a blurry-eyed night after all the eye-rolling that takes place.

Still, there are some nice Romero moments, like when the kids encounter an Amish deaf man who blows up some zombies with a stick of dynamite and stands there holding a sign that says "I'm Samuel, hello" while body parts rain down on him.  Or a gruesome death involving hydrochloric acid; that was pretty cool.  I could have done without the meta-commentary about how zombies should move slow though; that sort of thing should really stay on message boards.

So, yeah, if you've heard that the movie isn't very good, you heard right.  But if you like Romero, it's worth checking out with the knowledge that there are some good moments sprinkled in here and there amidst the pretentiousness.  Just don't expect another Dawn of the Dead, and you'll be all right.

Magic Trixie Sleeps Over: In my heart!

I think I used up all my queued linkages in the post I did earlier today, so on with the real content!

Magic Trixie Sleeps Over

By Jill Thompson

There's one word to describe Jill Thompson's Magic series of kids' books about a young witch, and that is adorable. Actually, there are plenty of other good descriptors, most of which will probably come up below, but that one is first and foremost. It fits everything about the book, from the rambunctious central character and everyone surrounding her; to the bright, colorful, exciting setting; to the organic lesson-teaching of the stories. Sure, it's meant for younger readers, but I find myself inexorably drawn into its maw of cuteness.

Last time, Magic Trixie realized how neat it is to have a younger sibling, and this installment sees her learn a similar lesson when she gets sick of her bedtime routine of bath-taking and tooth-brushing and decides to sleep over at each of her friends' houses. But having monstrous natures themselves, their own nighttime activities confound Magic Trixie, and she soon learns that maybe her own life isn't so bad after all.

The fun here is in the details; each of the friends have their own quirks and weirdnesses, and they rarely suit Magic Trixie's tastes. Her werewolf friend Loupie likes to tear around playing catch, run with her family (or "the pack"), and howl at the moon. Mummy princess Nefi sleeps in a crypt. Frankensteinian boy Stitch disassembles his body and sleeps in formaldehyde-filled jars. And so on; none of this compares to a warm bed and a story read by parents. It all seems so obvious, but kids gotta learn somehow.

And of course, the art is what really sells it; Thompson's detail-filled drawings and rich, lush watercolors give a gorgeous life to Magic Trixie's wacky world, whether in the beautiful landscapes:

Or the manic scenes of our heroine's witchity antics:

I love the sense of movement that she brings to the page, whether characters are rushing around with streaky speed lines behind them or simply suggesting a bunch of chaotic motion, as in the image above. And Trixie herself is a wonder to behold, like a little ball of energy, usually sporting wide eyes and a big, gap-toothed grin, and always surrounded by her mane of curly, orange-pink hair. I love the way her limbs bend like strands of spaghetti, but not unnaturally, but rather in a way that emphasizes her childlike nature:

And rather than always wearing the exact same witch costume, she has a variety of unique ensembles that all still manage to capture the spooky-cute nature of her character. It's a great design, and along with everything else in the book, it makes for enormously fun reading.

So, this probably isn't a surprise, but I highly recommend this book, at least as much as the first volume. Thompson is an incredible artist, and she has put together a great bit of kids' comics the imparts the obligatory lesson in a fun, engaging manner and is a blast to read. I hope the series continues into perpetuity.

Ping Pong: More Matsumoto manga must, um, migrate

A movie review!  But first some links; god knows I love my links:

This manga story in which the author (a sort of right-wing Japanese political commentator) defends whaling is crazy and hilarious.  My favorite part was when he told the story about being kept up all night by a humping dog.  I have no idea what that was all about.

Dean Haspiel's "Fear, My Dear", the second part of his "Billy Dogma" trilogy, is complete and up for reading at Act-I-Vate.  I'll have to try to read and review it when I get the chance, since I loved the first part, "Immortal".

I'll recommend most anything by Jack Kirby, so be sure to check out this awesome-looking story at Fortress of Fortitude.  It's called "Toxl the World-Killer", from (I believe) an early-70s issue of Weird Mystery. 

And finally, Pappy's Golden Age Comics Blogzine has a sweet "The Spirit in Space" story by Wally Wood (and also a Spanish translation of an Eisner Spirit story).  Kick ass. 

Ping Pong

Directed by Fumihiko Sori

Japan, 2002

I can definitely say, seeing this movie really makes me want to read the Taiyo Matsumoto manga series upon which it was based.  I can just see his version of the story in my mind, full of elongated limbs swinging paddles and faces contorted in the agonizing bliss of athletic combat.  God, I bet it's a great read.  Somebody publish it in the U.S., please.  But in the meantime, this live-action version is a decent substitute, filling the screen with entertaining drama and fun sports action.  I dug it.

It's a more Japanese take on the sports genre than you usually see in sports movies, focusing on elements like honor and friendship.  It helps that the sport is an individual one rather than team-based; this removes those elements of working together and maintaining team spirit and whatnot, allowing the characters to internalize their conflicts before exploding with action at the ping pong table.  You've got two main characters: Smile (so named because he never does), who is serious and nonconfrontational, often losing on purpose so as to not humiliate his opponents; and Peco, his opposite, who is loud and obnoxious, prone to trash-talking and constant self-aggrandizement.  They've been friends every since the latter kept the former from being bullied as a child and then taught him about the pinging and the ponging.  But now that they're both in high school, they're members of the Ping Pong Club and often at odds with each other, their coach, their fellow members, and their opponents.  It's an endearing mix of characters, and it makes for some fun, dramatic storytelling.

Of course, this being of Japanese origin, the drama gets cranked up to maximum, with characters giving up the game, returning dramatically, making life-altering decisions, having angsty confrontations, musing on ping-pong-based life philosophies, and just generally making everything entertaining for the audience.  It's a damn good two hours, especially with the stylish depictions of the sport itself.

So yeah, I give it a recommendation, but what I really want is to read the source material.  With more space to flesh out the characters and their dramatic relationships, not to mention what I expect are some beautifully kinetic depictions of the games, it's gotta be excellent.  Somebody get right on that for me, okay?

This week begins lateness season

Not that I really care, but last week's holiday apparently delayed the new comics releases until Thursday (that's why I'm not posting this until Tuesday, of course). Take that, addicts!

Oh, and check out my review of Criminal #7 over at Comics Bulletin. I love that series.

New comics this week (THURSDAY, 12/4/08):

Army@Love Art of War #5

I believe this is the final issue of Rick Veitch's sequel miniseries. Hopefully it will sell well enough to spawn more. I know I'll be picking up the collection.

Boys #25

Superhero decadence! X-Men spoofery! Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson! I wish I didn't have to wait to read this!

Charlatan Ball #5

Joe Casey continues his Kirby-inspired magic-based weirdness, with Andy Suriano illustrating. I dig this series quite a bit.

Criminal Vol 2 #7

The final issue of the current storyline, and the last one we'll see until Brubaker and Phillips return from doing Incognito, a supervillain-based series that debuts next month. I'll miss it; this is great comics. See the link above for my review.

Fight Or Run #1

People have been talking about this goofy video game-ish thing from Kevin Huizenga; I'll have to check it out if I see it. I kind of like Huizenga, but I certainly don't worship at his feet like most people seem to these days. This does seem like fun though.

Haunted Tank #1

A new Vertigo take on the longtime DC war comics property. This one sees some soldiers in Iraq get advice from the ghost of the Confederate general. Does hilarity ensue, or poignant violence? I dunno; it could go either way. There does seem to be an interesting racial theme, from the descriptions I've read. Frank Marraffino (who?) writes, and Henry Flint draws.

Hellboy The Wild Hunt #1

A new eight-issue miniseries from Mike Mignola and Duncan Fegredo. Will it be comprehensible? Or will it just look pretty? I'll find out when it's collected, I guess.

Marvels Eye of the Camera #1

Oh boy, it's a sequel to Marvels. Why? Only God and Joe Quesada know, I suppose. I've read this first issue, and man oh man am I not interested in this sort of thing. I was never that big of a fan of the original series, but I don't remember it being this tiresomely reverent toward all things superheroic. Or maybe that was why I didn't like it in the first place; I really don't care for that sort of over-serious examination of what it would be like to be a man on the street during the Silver Age. Can't we tell some real stories here, rather than constant rehashes of 40-year-old stuff written for kids? Ugh. Anyway, this seems to be less of a sequel than a story that takes place within the original series, examining the dawn of the Silver Age and what it was like to see the Fantastic Four and other superheroes first appear. Kurt Busiek writes, and Jay Anacleto tries to imitate Alex Ross. Enjoy, if you like that sort of thing, but really, isn't this the reason people call comics fans "babymen"?

Punisher Max X-Mas Special

It seems like there always has to be a Punisher Christmas special, for some reason. I guess people think it's hilarious to contrast the happy holiday with violence and gore. This one is written by Jason Aaron, with art by Roland Boschi (cover by Chris Bachalo!). Whee!

Sandman Dream Hunters #2

I still say the original illustrated story was fine, but I'll have to check this out at some point, simply because I dig P. Craig Russell. That's all.

Alex Toth Edge of Genius Vol 2

Hey, Alex Toth is pretty great, isn't he? I should read more of his stuff. Here's a collection, to aid in that discovery process.

Astonishing X-Men Vol 2 HC

The second half of the Joss Whedon/John Cassaday run on the series. Pretty good stuff, and it probably reads better collected than it did coming out ever-so-sloooowly. Check it out, especially if you were disappointed with the second storyline; it only gets better from there.

Cleburne GN

A Civil War-era graphic novel written by Justin Murphy, with art by Al Milgrom, involving a Confederate general who recruited slaves to fight for the South. Could be interesting. Here are some preview pages.

Creepy Archives Vol 2 HC

Classic stories from the revered horror anthology. I suppose I should try to read some of these one of these days.

Daredevil Miller Janson Vol 2 TPB

The second collection of Frank Miller's classic run on Daredevil. Pretty good stuff, for superhero adventuring. I guess I would recommend it if you haven't read it before, but I think Miller has done better.

Godland Vol. 4 TPB

Ooh, it's been too long since I've read this crazy Joe Casey/Tom Scioli bit of cosmic Jack Kirby-esque craziness. I think when I left off, the Triad (three aliens named Ed, Eeg-Oh, and Supra) were about to attack Las Vegas, Adam was locked out of Infinity Tower and about to battle a giant wasp monster, and his sister was off in space getting transformed into some kind of wacky energy being. Now I can see what happened next. Sweet!

Invincible Iron Man Vol 1 HC

I kind of liked this Matt Fraction/Salvador Larocca series when it started, but it has faded in my estimation since. I guess it's not awful, but I find myself wishing Fraction could be plying his awesomeness at something like Casanova rather than plugging away at superheroic status quo junk. Still, it's worth reading if you're into that sort of thing.

Spirit Vol 1 TPB

The first collection of Darwyn Cooke's run on the character, now in slightly cheaper softcover (it'll still cost you $20 though). Good stuff here; check it out if you're annoyed by Frank Miller's Sin City-lite movie version of Will Eisner's classic character.

Tale of Despereux Movie GN

I guess this is a new CGI-animated movie, about a big-eared, swashbuckling mouse? And here's the comics adaptation, by Matt Smith and David Tilton. I don't know which would be preferable.

Complete Terry And The Pirates Vol 5 1943-1944 HC

Milton Caniff is pretty awesome. I have the first volume of this series laying around; I should start reading it sometime.

Tiny Life GN

A weird-sounding book about a guy returning to his childhood home to discover himself, by Nick Jones. I could certainly take a look, even if Tim Callahan hated it.

War At Ellsmere TP

Faith Erin Hicks got some acclaim for her recent book Zombies Calling, and here's her follow-up, about mysterious supernatural happenings at a girls' boarding school. I never read the first book, but I wouldn't mind, and this one looks pretty good too. Maybe I'll get to it/them someday.

Wasteland Vol 3 Black Steel In The Hour Of Chaos TPB

Aw, yeah, this series is really good. This volume mostly details the defense of the city of Newbegin against a Sandeater attack; it's pretty well done, with some excellent art by Christopher Mitten and continued good plotting by Antony Johnston. I wouldn't start reading the series here, but I'll definitely recommend it as part of the whole. Come on, post-apocalyptic awesomeness abounds in every issue! Don't miss out!

Aria Vol 4 GN Tokyopop Edition

Not too much on the manga front this week; mostly volumes of stuff that seem notable. For instance, it's another volume in that Martian gondolier series that I want to read someday. Ah, someday; when I get there, all will be well.

Legend Of Zelda Ocarina Of Time Part 2 GN

So how did this series turn out? I dig the Zelda games, so I could see myself reading a manga version of the story. Here's volume 2.

St Dragon Girl Vol 1 TP

I just reviewed this one, about a martial-arts-rocking girl and her magician sort-of-boyfriend. It's not bad.

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And that's pretty much it. More content this week, I assume. If I get to it. Ah, laziness, how I embrace you.