Raised By Squirrels is published by Panel Press.
1.31.2010
1.28.2010
Just so happens, the past week has been a flurry of activity with convention info and preparations. We're getting pretty well set for the year, and here's where we'll be representing 7000 BC:
7000 BC will be at the ABQ Collectors Con on Sunday, February 28 — we're going to have to miss that one, but the group will be there with all sorts of comics.
- STAPLE! in Austin, Texas on Saturday, March 6, 11:00-7:00
- ComicFest in Denver, Colorado, April 16- April 18
- Phoenix Comicon at the new venue at the Phoenix Convention Center in Phoenix, Arizona, May 27-30 (Memorial Day weekend)
- Bubonicon 42 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, August 27-29
7000 BC will be at the ABQ Collectors Con on Sunday, February 28 — we're going to have to miss that one, but the group will be there with all sorts of comics.
1.27.2010
Always a treat to see something from Molly Lawless, especially since it's so infrequent — though she's promising regular posting for a week. She's got another illustration from her graphic novel on Ray Chapman and Carl Mays (yeah, I had to go to Wikipedia, too). She did a mini a while back about baseball, and I'm just hoping to see this one soon.
1.24.2010
Sigh. There are very few times I miss Washington, but here's a good example: Darwyn Cooke speaking at the Smithsonian American Art Museum next Saturday. Again, sigh.
1.20.2010
Via Raph, who keeps track of the weirdest these things: Jack Kirby's costume designs for Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. Be sure to scroll to the bottom for a couple photos.
1.18.2010
A few little updates on the site here today:
- The Mountain, Part 2, the latest installment of Raised By Squirrels, is posted over there to the left under "Download individual issues;"
- if you're new to the site, you may not know Panel Press is the imprint for RBS and a few other projects — now you can click on the logo above to visit the Panel Press site and check out Death, Cold As Steel and The Darkness From Warsaw;
- and if you're a retailer looking to order books, you now have two options: Tony Shenton and Haven Distributors.
1.17.2010
First heard about at the Temple of the Seven Golden Camels, a new book by Robert Edsel on the MFAA that I just picked up yesterday. The Monuments Men figure into the backstory of The Darkness From Warsaw and I've been mulling over a comic on them for a while, doing bits of research here and there. This'll either be great, 'cause it'll give me background I need — or a disaster, 'cause it'll be redundant now that he's told the good stories.
We have an earlier book by the author on the same subject, but more a collection of photos with essays. And, for our DC-area friends, it looks like he's speaking this afternoon. Like, in minutes.
We have an earlier book by the author on the same subject, but more a collection of photos with essays. And, for our DC-area friends, it looks like he's speaking this afternoon. Like, in minutes.
1.13.2010
Noted unacceptably late as probably the Best Comic Book Cover of 2009 (possibly NSFW). Lauren's doing a wonderful autobiographical thing — and despite being female and in New York, oddly reminiscent of our friend, the wildly talented Sykryk.
My Best Of was counted in I Love Rob Liefeld's Best Comics of 2009 Meta-List, an insightful (and labor-intensive) view of the hive mind's favorite books.
As noted, I've since picked up Asterios Polyp. And — d'oh — forgot about 1910 … but, well, it wasn't that good … I mean, by itself … it's a frustrating part of a whole. But probably should've gotten a mention.
1.12.2010
A denverpost.com column on science fiction features Robert Stikmanz and David Lee Summers, some of our friends from Bubonicon.
1.11.2010
1.10.2010
1.09.2010
Addenda to Top Ten of 2009 below (and here):
Been re- and re-reading Detective Comics Batwoman, loving it more. If there's a Favorite of the Best Of, that's probably it; and
Asterios Polyp has been topping other folks' lists. I had been intimidated, but just picked it up today …
1.01.2010
TOP TEN COMICS OF 2009
Looking at this year's list, it's got a fair number of big names and big companies (who'd ever guess that I'd have three DC titles?) — to my chagrin. I think most of my choices are based mostly on the skill of the storytelling, since that's where my interest lies these days, and this is where I found it — but I'm going to make a concerted effort in '10 to seek out some more obscure stuff. Even more than last year, I'm cheating a bit in my definition of comics …
1. Batman and Robin by Grant Morrison and various artists — I'll bet that real followers of these characters will confirm that something about them is off, that everybody's taken on an outlook and speech common to Morrison's comics. But it's a fresh take on the Bat-world, delivering, as he promised, Lynchian weirdness mixed with '60s camp in a fast-paced page-turner that brings new characters into an established world to carve out a distinct identity for a new Batman and Robin. Frank Quitely's turn on the art in the first arc was a real treat, his character design and style really building the tone, his incorporation of sound effects into the art especially welcome.
2. Chew by John Layman and Rob Guillory — A high concept: a character who can tell the history of anything he eats and is an agent of the FDA in a world where chicken is outlawed. But what sets this series apart is the craftsmanship. The art's all indie, but it's skillful storytelling; there's repeated panels, and there's wordy panels of voiceover, and they serve the tale perfectly; the tone is generally wacky, but shifts ably; and the bare minimum is presented, letting you fill in the details you're supposed to. These guys know how to put together a story in comic form, and have found and awfully fun one to tell.
3. Detective Comics Batwoman by Greg Rucka and JH Williams — Rucka's one of my favorite writers, but I never took to his superhero stuff, so I came to Batwoman with really no knowledge of the character and only the barest awareness of the 52 adventures that introduced her. Which doesn't matter, and may be a bonus — the way he's unspooling this story, intertwining past and present, is so inventive and the characters and little corner of the DC universe are so engaging. Williams' layouts are pushing even more boundaries, and the overall look and feel contribute so much to the tone. And when he switched styles for the flashbacks, I thought it was a different, equally talented artist. The last panel of this month's issue contained a surprise we all saw coming, but was so well staged and paced, I swear I heard the character's gasp for air.
4. Incognito by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips — the team behind Sleeper (one of my all-time top ten) and Criminal together in a series that totally plays to their strengths as storytellers. The pacing was a little odd, it may hold together better in trade, but kept confounding expectations and bending genres, combining crime and noir and superhero with an unexpected and important pulp component. I believe that these two creators are at their best when they work together, their talents playing off each other.
5. The Middleman Season 1 DVD — Not a comic, but based on a comic, this now-canceled TV show is pop-culture savvy, wryly self-aware, and a real guilty pleasure. It takes on of the tone of the comic (which I've read a bit of) and translates it ably to the screen for a story that's lighthearted but still smart; as an ABC Family production, I figure it had to offer something for both the kids and the parents, and it definitely skews to the latter.
6. Richard Stark's Parker: The Hunter by Darwyn Cooke — Pretty much destined for this list (and everybody else's) from the get-go, with one of the best writer/artists taking on a tale that suits him perfectly set in an era he's helped define for modern comics. The art style, the design, even the lettering, flawless. His real skills are demonstrated in how he adapts the prose, combining wordless passages, dialog, and extended captions into a mix that creates something new out of the material while honoring the source. I expect I'll appreciate it even more once I read the novel, currently sitting on my nightstand.
7. Sugarshock by Joss Whedon and Fabio Moon — Easily the most fun 24 pages of the year. Showcasing Whedon's skill for character and plot development through dialog, full of smartass one-liners that have become catchphrases in our household, this galaxies-spanning rock epic delivers at least one solid laugh a page. And, of course, looks beautiful with Moon's lovely brushwork defining the characters and their world with stylized flair.
8. Wednesday Comics by various writers and artists — It was uneven, and the unevenness showed more and more as this twelve-week series continued. But as we're all figuring out our digital future, it was an unabashed love letter to print, giving giant pages of comics every week, most of which made inventive use of the format. From the classic to the experimental, this delivered a visual, tactile, and — perhaps, most notably, for good or bad — nostalgic pleasure every week.
9 / 10. The Invincible Super-Blog by Chris Sims / Midnight Fiction by Richard Krauss — Looking back, these Web sites have had a decent influence on this year's reading. The ISB is a fanboy romp through the best — and often the worst (which makes for some of the best commentary, e.g. The Annotated Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter) — of the mainstream comics out there; several of the titles on this page probably would've been overlooked but for Sims. At the other end of the spectrum, Midnight Fiction — which I have to point out has given good coverage to just about every comic project I'm involved in — concentrates on small press, zines, minis, and webcomics. Krauss is a long-time comix creator and a terrific supporter of independent publishing, sharing his history and reviewing all sorts of self-published works; his coverage of minis has prompted me to purchase a bunch of things I never would've even heard of.
Honorable Mention:
Battlefields by Garth Ennis and various artists — I know that Ennis is over the top, that's kind of his thing; but he shows some restraint this difficult look at various fronts in WWII, making it even more powerful.
Captain Britain and MI13 by Paul Cornell and Leonard Kirk — A clever take on what makes the heroes and legends of Great Britain unique. Not enough Tink, though it did have vampires in space.
Fantastic Four by Mark Millar and Brian Hitch — Brought back the crazy inventiveness of the Lee/Kirby years, or at least Byrne's take on the Lee/Kirby years.
Fables by Bill Willingham and various artists — Now that the whole Homelands plot that's driven the story from the beginning has been wrapped up, it's more clever and solid than ever.
Incredible Hercules by Greg Pak and Fred Van Lente and various artists — Just got loaned the whole run to date, and it's a deft mix of Marvel and classical mythology that takes neither too seriously.
Invincible Iron Man by Matt Fraction and Salvador Larocca — Way too decompressed, but a terrific reinvention of the character.
My Cage by Ed Power and Melissa DeJesus — This daily strip is one of the best out there, but the storyline where Norm gets dumped by his girlfriend really shines.
Mysterius the Unfathomable by Jeff Parker and Tom Fowler— Further demonstrating Parker's range and inventiveness, with an illustration style out of the golden age of Mad Magazine.
Rip Haywire by Dan Thompson — Only really just started following, but the art hooked me immediately.
Still: Cul de Sac by Richard Thompson
Diesel Sweeties by Richard Stevens
Hark A Vagrant by Kate Beaton
Scalped by Jason Aaron and various artists
Umbrella Academy by Gerard Way and Gabriel Bá
Where have you gone?:
Gutsville by Simon Spurrier and Frazer Irving
Guerrillas by Brahm Revel
Infinite Horizon by Gerry Duggan and Phil Noto
Based on the first issue, destined for next year's list:
Daytrippers by Fabio Moon and Gabriel Bá
Stumptown by Greg Rucka and Matthew Southworth
Looking at this year's list, it's got a fair number of big names and big companies (who'd ever guess that I'd have three DC titles?) — to my chagrin. I think most of my choices are based mostly on the skill of the storytelling, since that's where my interest lies these days, and this is where I found it — but I'm going to make a concerted effort in '10 to seek out some more obscure stuff. Even more than last year, I'm cheating a bit in my definition of comics …
1. Batman and Robin by Grant Morrison and various artists — I'll bet that real followers of these characters will confirm that something about them is off, that everybody's taken on an outlook and speech common to Morrison's comics. But it's a fresh take on the Bat-world, delivering, as he promised, Lynchian weirdness mixed with '60s camp in a fast-paced page-turner that brings new characters into an established world to carve out a distinct identity for a new Batman and Robin. Frank Quitely's turn on the art in the first arc was a real treat, his character design and style really building the tone, his incorporation of sound effects into the art especially welcome.
2. Chew by John Layman and Rob Guillory — A high concept: a character who can tell the history of anything he eats and is an agent of the FDA in a world where chicken is outlawed. But what sets this series apart is the craftsmanship. The art's all indie, but it's skillful storytelling; there's repeated panels, and there's wordy panels of voiceover, and they serve the tale perfectly; the tone is generally wacky, but shifts ably; and the bare minimum is presented, letting you fill in the details you're supposed to. These guys know how to put together a story in comic form, and have found and awfully fun one to tell.
3. Detective Comics Batwoman by Greg Rucka and JH Williams — Rucka's one of my favorite writers, but I never took to his superhero stuff, so I came to Batwoman with really no knowledge of the character and only the barest awareness of the 52 adventures that introduced her. Which doesn't matter, and may be a bonus — the way he's unspooling this story, intertwining past and present, is so inventive and the characters and little corner of the DC universe are so engaging. Williams' layouts are pushing even more boundaries, and the overall look and feel contribute so much to the tone. And when he switched styles for the flashbacks, I thought it was a different, equally talented artist. The last panel of this month's issue contained a surprise we all saw coming, but was so well staged and paced, I swear I heard the character's gasp for air.
4. Incognito by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips — the team behind Sleeper (one of my all-time top ten) and Criminal together in a series that totally plays to their strengths as storytellers. The pacing was a little odd, it may hold together better in trade, but kept confounding expectations and bending genres, combining crime and noir and superhero with an unexpected and important pulp component. I believe that these two creators are at their best when they work together, their talents playing off each other.
5. The Middleman Season 1 DVD — Not a comic, but based on a comic, this now-canceled TV show is pop-culture savvy, wryly self-aware, and a real guilty pleasure. It takes on of the tone of the comic (which I've read a bit of) and translates it ably to the screen for a story that's lighthearted but still smart; as an ABC Family production, I figure it had to offer something for both the kids and the parents, and it definitely skews to the latter.
6. Richard Stark's Parker: The Hunter by Darwyn Cooke — Pretty much destined for this list (and everybody else's) from the get-go, with one of the best writer/artists taking on a tale that suits him perfectly set in an era he's helped define for modern comics. The art style, the design, even the lettering, flawless. His real skills are demonstrated in how he adapts the prose, combining wordless passages, dialog, and extended captions into a mix that creates something new out of the material while honoring the source. I expect I'll appreciate it even more once I read the novel, currently sitting on my nightstand.
7. Sugarshock by Joss Whedon and Fabio Moon — Easily the most fun 24 pages of the year. Showcasing Whedon's skill for character and plot development through dialog, full of smartass one-liners that have become catchphrases in our household, this galaxies-spanning rock epic delivers at least one solid laugh a page. And, of course, looks beautiful with Moon's lovely brushwork defining the characters and their world with stylized flair.
8. Wednesday Comics by various writers and artists — It was uneven, and the unevenness showed more and more as this twelve-week series continued. But as we're all figuring out our digital future, it was an unabashed love letter to print, giving giant pages of comics every week, most of which made inventive use of the format. From the classic to the experimental, this delivered a visual, tactile, and — perhaps, most notably, for good or bad — nostalgic pleasure every week.
9 / 10. The Invincible Super-Blog by Chris Sims / Midnight Fiction by Richard Krauss — Looking back, these Web sites have had a decent influence on this year's reading. The ISB is a fanboy romp through the best — and often the worst (which makes for some of the best commentary, e.g. The Annotated Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter) — of the mainstream comics out there; several of the titles on this page probably would've been overlooked but for Sims. At the other end of the spectrum, Midnight Fiction — which I have to point out has given good coverage to just about every comic project I'm involved in — concentrates on small press, zines, minis, and webcomics. Krauss is a long-time comix creator and a terrific supporter of independent publishing, sharing his history and reviewing all sorts of self-published works; his coverage of minis has prompted me to purchase a bunch of things I never would've even heard of.
Honorable Mention:
Still:
Where have you gone?:
Based on the first issue, destined for next year's list:
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