I Reads You Juniors June 2017 - Update #30

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Welcome to the I Reads You blog.  It's May 2017.  This post and its updates will offer news and blurb reviews.

From BleedingCool:  More information on "Marvel Legacy" and the "Generations" one-shots.

From GoFundMe:  Veteran comic book writer-artist and WWII veteran, Sam Glanzman, needs the help of his fans and admirers as he goes through hospice.

From BleedingCool:  At this year's San Diego Comic-Con International, IDW will use a multi-media display to showcase 1300 pages of Jack Kirby's artwork.  This year is the 100th anniversary of his birth (August 28, 1917).

From ComicBookBin:  Johnny Bullet Episode #123 in English.

From ComicBookBin:  Johnny Bullet Episode #123 in French.

From BleedingCool:  Fandemic Tour is a new brand of comic conventions created by John Macaluso, ex-CEO of Wizard World.

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BLURB REVIEW:

Generation X #1 (Marvel Comics – July 2017) by Christina Strain and Amilcar Pinna with Felipe Sobreiro

Why is Marvel Comics reviving the mid-1990s X-Men title, Generation X (1994 to 2001; 75 issues)?  Well, it's a title/trademark they own, and since they are in the middle of the latest X-Men reboot/revival (called “ResurrXion”), and they need new X-titles, why not?

This new series focuses on a “newer” generation of mutants, with Jubilee being the only original member to belong to this new iteration.  I read the original Generation X for a number of years, mainly because of Chris Bachalo's incredible detailed and textured art.  Current series artist Amilcar Pinna does nothing for me, and writer Christina Strain's script does not inspire me to keep reading.  I am not interested in the characters, and the name, term, or phrase, “Generation X,” simply does not have the power or draw it once did.


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From BleedingCool:  A look at the Marvel "Legacy" covers.

From SideshowToys:  See an older Jack Burton in the upcoming "Big Trouble in Little China" comic book series, "Old Man Jack."

From BleedingCool:  Longtime comic book artist, Rich Buckler, died of cancer in May of this year at the age of 68.  The Marvel Comics' shipping today, June 21st, will have feature a memorial page to him.

From CBB:  Deejay Dayton's "DC Comics History" looks at "Mademmoiselle Marie," from the "Star Spangled War Stories" comic book series.

From CBR:  Mark Millar and Dave Gibbons' "The Secret Service" comic book (which became the film, "Kingsman: The Secret Service") has a sequel, which will be written by Rob Williams and drawn by Simon Fraser.

From BleedingCool:  Enrico Marini is creating a Batman graphic novel, exclusively for French publisher, Dargaud.  The book will be published in two volumes - one this year and the second volume next year.

From BleedingCool:  Dynamite Entertainment is publishing a comic book series that will offer the origins of the character "John Wick" from the popular film franchise.  Greg Pak is writing and Giovanni Valletta.

From CBB:  Johnny Bullet Episode #122 in English
From CBB:  Johnny Bullet Episode #122 in French.

From BusinessWire:  20th Century Fox Film buys a "significant minority stake" in indie comics publisher, BOOM! Studios, according to this press release.

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BLURB REVIEW:

Reborn #6 (Image Comics – June 2017) by Mark Millar and Greg Capullo with Jonathan Glapion

Mark Millar's latest comic book-as-Hollywood pitch, Reborn, ends with a sixth issue.  Meh.  It has it moments, some of them quite evocative, but Reborn seems like something in which the best is yet to come, or at least the actual story is yet to come.  Apparently, there are plans for several more volumes of Reborn.  I liked Greg Capullo's imaginative character and creature designs and sets; in fact, there are three pages of Capullo's concept sketches at the end of this issue.

Also, is it just me or does much of Reborn seem to be inspired by Ridley Scott's ambitious, but troubled fantasy film, Legend (1985)?

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From BleedingCool:  DC Comics may be publishing a series of comic books from horror novelists for Halloween.

From BleedingCool:   IDW Publishing is beginning is new Hasbro crossover event (G.I. Joe, Transformers, Micronauts, Rom, etc.) with "First Strike #0," a free comic book - in print and online.

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BLURB REVIEW:

Jean Grey #1 (Marvel Comics – July 2017) by Dennis Hopeless and Victor Ibanez with Jay David Ramos

I think that this is the first solo Jean Grey comic book title in the 50+ years of X-Men comic books.  Maybe, Marvel had to take its time to get it right, because this Jean Grey comic book is right.  Writer Dennis Hopeless makes Jean Grey's powers seem fun with an imaginative display of tossing villains and juggling objects.  I like Victor Ibanez's interior art, but not as much as I like that of series cover artist, David Yardin.  Still, there is something fresh and sparkling about Ibánez's art, which is enhanced by Jay David Ramos' shimmering colors.  I can't wait to read more, especially because of the teaser the last page offers.

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From CBR:  There might have been a Frank Miller/Bill Sienkiewicz Wonder Woman bondage comic book.

From BleedingCool:  Marvel will ship preview copies of "Legacy #1" to retailers in September.

From ICv2:  Hasbro is throwing its own convention, Hascon, on September 8-10, 2017.  Stan Lee will be a guest.

From TheBeat:  Marvel month-to-month sales chart March 2017 to April 2017.

From CBB:  Leroy reviews "Everyone's Getting Married Vol. 5."

From BleedingCool:  Jimmie Robinson ("Bomb Queen," "The Empty")  talks about not drawing for a year.

From CBB:  Johnny Bullet #120 in English.

From CBB:  Johnny Bullet #120 in French.

From WomenWriteAboutComics:  Yeah, why is Marvel Comics' "Generation X" back?

From BleedingCool:  See Spider-Man's Mary Jane Watson as several Avengers, courtesy of artist J. Scott Campbell.

From BleedingCool:  Fantagraphics Books announces a new anthology, "Now," to be edited by Associate Publisher Eric Reynolds.

From BleedingCool:  There will be more from the world of Mark Millar's comic, "The Secret Service," which became the movie, "Kingsman: The Secret Service."

From BleedingCool:  In "Wildstorm: A Celebration Of 25 Years," fans will see the uncensored versions of Mark Millar and Frank Quitely's "The Authority" #13 to 14.

From ComicBookBin:  Today's lesson in "DC Comics History" is "The Wyoming Kid" (1960 to 1964) by Deejay Dayton.

Review: HIP HOP FAMILY TREE #1

HIP HOP FAMILY TREE No. 1
FANTAGRAPHICS BOOKS – @fantagraphics

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

CARTOONIST: Ed Piskor
EDITOR: Eric Reynolds
32pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (August 2015)

“Birth of a New Culture!!”

Cartoonist Ed Piskor combined his two great loves, comic books and Hip Hop, and began chronicling the history of Hip Hop culture and rap music.  This was done in the form of a webcomic, Hip Hop Family Tree, which he as been serializing in weekly installments at the website, Boing Boing (boingboing.net) since January 2012.  This is the history of Hip Hop as told through comics – the who, what, when, and where of a culture and music that, from the beginning, refused to be marginalized and relegated to the ash bin of history by its haters.

Fantagraphics Books first collected Hip Hop Family Tree in print in a graphic novel format with Hip Hop Family Tree Vol. 1: 1970s-1981 (December 2013), the first of three volumes, with a fourth nearly published (to date).  In the summer of 2015, Fantagraphics began reprinting the contents of the graphic novels as a monthly comic book series (the first monthly comic book in the company's four-decade history).

Hip Hop Family Tree #1 (“Birth of a New Culture!!”) reprints contents published in Hip Hop Family Tree Vol. 1: 1970s-1981.  Welcome to the very beginnings of Hip-Hop.  See the DJs, starting with DJ Kool Herc, who gave birth to a new music and culture in the tenement recreational rooms of the south Bronx in the 1970s.

A Bronx-based party DJ, Herc discovers that during his show, the audience really likes the instrumental “breaks” in the records.  An experimenter, Herc uses loops and mixing to extend the breaks and soon a talented core of other DJs begin to build upon the foundation that Herc develops.  Soon, emcees (or MCs) are “rapping” over the breaks and a new culture is born.  Also, pioneers Grandmaster Flash and Afrika Bambaataa appear and see the man who invented the term, “hip-hop.”

I first heard about Hip Hop Family Tree in a press release I received from Fantagraphics Books.  I immediately knew that I wold be interested in reading it.  Hip Hop Family Tree is an excellent example of the comics medium as journalism, biography, and history  Hip Hop Family Tree as a comic book is a marriage made in heaven because both comics culture and Hip Hop culture are born of outside art forms.

Creator Ed Piskor’s vintage graphic design style, compositions, and graphical storytelling (complete with Zip-A-Tone and brown paper texture), gives Hip Hop Family Tree that distinctive 1970s comic book look.  His work has a dated feel, which is not a bad thing.  This striking visual and graphic aesthetic makes Hip Hop Family Tree look like a vintage, low-wattage documentary from the 1970s, while giving it the timeless sparkle and sense of fun that comic books (even old comics) have.

Hip Hop Family Tree #1 often reads like a college freshmen history essay written the night before its due.  It is all over the place and jumps from one historical figure and/or place to the next, but this is right process for the subject.  The history of Hip Hop is fast and furious; who did what and when is not always clear and agreed upon.  This is a story, and the story of Hip Hop is like a comic book story – brash and bold and against all the other proper and serious storytelling mediums (like novels, stage drama, poetry, etc.).  Do your thing and break the rules.  The fathers and mothers of Hip Hop did it their way and so does Hip Hop Family Tree.

Hip Hop Family Tree the monthly comic book offers new covers and splash pages drawn especially for the series.  Ed Piskor also presents a “director's commentary” that sights sources for the history of Hip Hop and also gives details on his motivations and processes and also on the research involved in creating each page.

A

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


The text is copyright © 2016 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Review: LOVE AND ROCKETS Vol. 4 #1

LOVE AND ROCKETS VOL. IV No. 1
FANTAGRAPHICS BOOKS – @fantagraphics

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

WRITERS: Gilbert Hernandez; Jaime Hernandez – @BetomessGilbert @xaimeh
ARTISTS: Gilbert Hernandez; Jaime Hernandez
EDITOR: Eric Reynolds – @earinc
COVER: Jaime Hernandez
BACK COVER: Gilbert Hernandez
VARIANT COVERS: Gilbert Hernandez and Jaime Hernandez with Paul Baresh; Jacob Covey; Rico Renzi
36pp, B&W, $4.99 U.S. (October 2016)

The seminal alternative comic book, Love and Rockets, produced by brothers Gilbert Hernandez and Jaime Hernandez (“Los Bros”), has been published since 1982 by Fantagraphics Books.  It started as a magazine-sized comic book that ran for 50 issues (1983 to 1996) and later returned for a 20-issue run as a standard-sized comic book, (Vol II, 2001-2007).  Then, it became an annual graphic novel series which ran for eight volumes, Love and Rockets: New Stories (Vol. III, 2008-2016).  [It is important to note that Gilbert and Jaime do not collaborate, and that each brother had his own characters and stories.]

Late last year, Love and Rockets Vol. IV returned the series to its comic magazine format that fans of the original series fell in love with and probably still love and prefer.  Actually, I am one of those fans who prefers the original format, but I understand that for various reasons the creators and publishers felt the need to initiate format changes at different times.

Under a front cover by Jaime, Love and Rockets Vol. IV #1 offers four stories, three by Jaime and one by Gilbert (Beto).  In Gilbert's story, which is this issue's centerpiece, Baby Fritz, daughter of Rosalba  “Fritz” Martinez (actress, dancer, film producer), is plumbing the secrets and secret history of her mother's life.  Meanwhile, Fritz's wife, Pipo Jimenez, is demanding a divorce, which Fritz is reluctant to grant.  However, the bigger bombshell is a secret child.

Jaime's entries begin with “I Come from Above to Avoid a Double Chin,” the continuation of his recent “punk-reunion concert” story arc.  Maggie discovers that some of her old friends don't want to be punk anymore, and that some don't want to hate on Julie Wree anymore, either.  And there is a fight and minor bloodshed.  Next, Tonta Agajanian is attending a mini-comix show to sell her comix, but her half-sister, Vivian “Frogmouth” Solis wants to steal the show.  Plus, the adventure of Anima and Lumina continue with long-dong Katak.

I knew that I would like the return of Love and Rockets to a magazine-sized publication.  For me, there was something magical about that comic book at that size when I picked up my first issue all the way back in 1985 (probably Love and Rockets #11 – cover dated April 1985).

I think that when I read a Los Bros. comic book in a larger size, preferably magazine-sized, I undergo a sensory experience that goes beyond just reading a normal comic book.  I feel a sense of mystery in the black and white comix of Jaime, his pages filled with solid blocks of black to contrast the perfect cool white spaces.  That graphical style defined Jaime's early B-movie sci-fi, monster, and wrestling stories and made me feel as if the magical mystery tour had dropped me in a fictional world that was wild, weird, and wonderful.  I couldn't get enough.

In Gilbert's comix, the size did matter.  The drama of Palomar was big without being melodramatic, although I assume melodrama and soap opera influenced Gilbert's comix.  That dramatic heft made even Beto's weird fiction comics seem solid, as real as they were surreal and fantastical.  Thus, the violence in a story of aliens, superheroes, and other unreal beings was sudden and shocking as the violence that took place in stories starring Luba or Fritz.

For me, the bigger Love and Rockets Vol. IV #1 is a return of the real, unreal, and surreal.  It's bigger drama and the return of the mystery in live – in Locas, in Mechanics, and in outer space.

A

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


The text is copyright © 2017 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Review: LOVE AND ROCKETS: New Stories #8

LOVE AND ROCKETS: NEW STORIES No. 8
FANTAGRAPHICS BOOKS – @fantagraphics

[This review was originally published on Patreon.]

WRITERS: Gilbert Hernandez, Jaime Hernandez – @BetomessGilbert @xaimeh
ARTISTS: Gilbert Hernandez, Jaime Hernandez
EDITOR: Eric Reynolds – @earinc
COVER: Gilbert Hernandez
ISBN: 978-1-60699-865-6; paperback (January 2016)
100pp, B&W, $14.99 U.S.

A new volume of Love and Rockets: New Stories arrived in book shops and select comic book stores just about two months ago.  Created by brothers, Gilbert Hernandez and Jaime Hernandez (a.k.a. Los Bros.), Love and Rockets began as a self-published zine before becoming a magazine-sized comic book.  Now, Love and Rockets is an annual publication in a format that resembles a blend of the literary journal, the European graphic album, and the comic book trade paperback

Love and Rockets: New Stories #8 sports a striking cover illustration drawn by Gilbert.  The cover features the predominant subject matter of Gilbert's contributions to New Stories #8, the numerous crazy women who want to look like busty Fritz, the sister of Gilbert's signature character, Luba.

First, Gilbert concludes his movie-within-a comic, “The Magic Voyage of Aladdin.”  This B-movie trash/fantasia pits Morgan Le Fey (as played by Fritz) and Aladdin against two evil (b)witches, Circe and Jasmin, who are trying to obtain Aladdin's magic lamp.  The role of Circe is played by Mila, a young woman who does indeed resemble Fritz.  Mila becomes Fritz, Jr. and begins to believe that Fritz is trying to sabotage her.  To complicate matters, another ambitious (or crazy) young woman becomes Baby Fritz.  Thus begins a struggle for identity and control that includes fetish and porn film directors, drugs, snitching, a man with two cocks, and more Fritz imitators.

In New Stories #7, Jaime began his latest “Locas” epic by taking his signature characters, Maggie and Hopey, life-long friends and former lovers, on a road trip to Huerta for a “punk rock reunion.”  In this volume, the second chapter, “I Guess I Forgot to Stand Pigeon-Toed,” finds Maggie meeting longtime pal, Daffy, for the actual concert.  Old friends and old enemies make appearances; new disaffected youth slash young punks take in show.  But will Hopey actually show up?

“Locas” isn't the only Jaime in New Stories #8.  He gives us two more chapters of “Princess Animus,” a comix serial that recalls Los Bros.' classic sci-fi/monster, B.E.M. comics of the early days of Love and Rockets.  Also, Tonta Agajanian returns – in time to move in with her new guardian.  Plus, Jaime takes us to “Isla Guerra,” for a strange tale of nautical tragedy.

Normally, I find the “Fritz-capades” of Gilbert's New Stories shocking, but his contributions to this edition of L&R seem tame to me post-Blubber #1.  Yeah, last year, I read the first issue of Gilbert's new solo comic book series, Blubber, and it was one of the best comic books that I have read over the last few years.  It is not as if this latest Fritz epic is of poor quality.  Quite the contrary, this tale of people who obsess instead of love deftly defines fandom as something akin to possession.  Here, fetish is an appetite for destruction, both of self and others.

I know this sounds crazy, but it seems as if Gilbert plays it safe here in New Stories.  Meanwhile, in Blubber, he has unleashed his imagination.  As he unleashes his imagination in Blubber, he is evolving as a comics creator.  He is like the late French comics master, Moebius, tackling the philosophical, the religious, the spiritual, the profane, and the absurd.  New Stories is Gilbert merely tracking through the work that made his famous.

On the other hand, Jaime is finding fresh, fertile soil in all his old landscapes.  One might argue that Locas has had some unpretty arcs (as some have indeed argued).  However, Maggie and Hopey and everyone that has been part of their world:  directly, indirectly, and sometimes both have moved forward and even evolved over time.  In ways subtle and obvious, Jaime's pen shows that the characters have aged, but most shockingly, that they are aging.

Before he expired and accepted his promised dukedom in Perdition, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia said that the U.S. Constitution was not a living document, but that it was dead.  So many long comic books are at least dead-like; the intellectual property owners just keep changing the mummified corpse's rags.  However, Jaime's Love and Rockets comics comprise a living document, changing with the times and not trying to hold back the years.  Thank you, sir.

A

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


The text is copyright © 2016 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Comics Review: BLUBBER #1

BLUBBER #1
FANTAGRAPHICS BOOKS – @fantagraphics

[This review first appeared on Patreon.]

CARTOONIST: Gilbert Hernandez
EDITOR: Eric Reynolds
COVER: Gilbert Hernandez with Paul Baresh
24pp, B&W, $3.99 U.S.

Gilbert Hernandez is the cartoonist, comic book creator, and graphic novelist best known for being one-half of the duo known as “Los Bros.” along with his brother, Jaime Hernandez.  Together, the two Eisner Award (Will Eisner Comics Industry Awards) winners have produced the seminal, alternative comic book series, Love and Rockets, for more than 30 years.  As a “solo act,” Gilbert (a.k.a. “Beto”) has also produced numerous original graphic novels and several comic book miniseries for publishers Dark Horse Comics, DC Comics, and Drawn & Quarterly, as well as for his original publisher Fantagraphics Books.

Fantagraphics recently published Blubber #1, what will hopefully be the start of a new series from Gilbert.  This black and white comic books contains a series of short stories and vignettes featuring a cast of misfits, monsters, and anthropomorphs.  These types of surreal and strange characters and stories have been a hallmark of Gibert's comix going back to the beginning of his public work.

In “Eyes of the Mau Guag,” readers get a look at a docile, dog-like creature whose like is marked by masturbation and victimization.  Penetration and eye-ball trauma mark the existence of the furry-type “Doogs.”  Also, see a different kind of hangover in “Las Vegas Lace.”

On first glance, Blubber #1 looks ridiculous.  It is like flipping through a self-published vanity comic book full of weirdness.  Reading it, however, gives a far different impression and experience.  Not far into reading it for the first time, I found myself fascinated.  I had to re-read some segments of this comic book because I could not get enough of it.  Even 26 pages of what could be described as Beto's kooky version of the “Wild Kingdom” was not enough for me.

Blubber #1 recalls the ethereal and beautiful explorations contained in Moebius' Une jeunesse heureuse (released as a small leather-bound notebook).  It also has a passing resemblance to the surreal pantomime comix of Jason (who is also published by Fantagraphics in America).  The phallus... ahem... comes in many shapes and sizes, generally as a saggy meat hose or as a gradually swelling tuber.  It's penetrative explorations can be creative or pleasurable, but are consistently dangerous slash destructive.  I'll say no more because you, dear reader, should pay to discover this comic book's wonders.

I hope that more of Beto's id explodes onto enough pages for there to be a second issue of Blubber.  This crazy little comic book proves once again that not only is Gilbert Hernandez the best American comic book writer of the last four decades; he is also one of its essential visionaries.

A+

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


The text is copyright © 2015 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for syndication rights and fees.

Review: LOVE AND ROCKETS: New Stories #7

LOVE AND ROCKETS: NEW STORIES #7
FANTAGRAPHICS BOOKS – @fantagraphics

[This review first appeared on Patreon.]

WRITERS: Gilbert Hernandez, Jaime Hernandez – @BetomessGilbert @xaimeh
ARTISTS: Gilbert Hernandez, Jaime Hernandez
EDITOR: Eric Reynolds – @earinc
COVER: Jaime Hernandez
ISBN: 978-1-60699-679-9; paperback (January 2015)
100pp, B&W, $14.99 U.S.

We last saw a new volume of the annual Love and Rockets: New Stories (#6) in the fall of 2013.  Since then, creators and brothers, Gilbert Hernandez and Jaime Hernandez (a.k.a. Los Bros.), each finally won his first Eisner Award (Will Eisner Comics Industry Awards).

Love and Rockets: New Stories #7 was published in March, I think (although the publishing date inside the book is listed as January 2015).  The latest volume contains 14 stories, 6 six by Gilbert and 8 by Jaime.  Among Gilbert's (Beto) offerings is a story that runs slightly longer than a single-issue comic book.  Entitled “The Magic Voyage of Aladdin,” it pits Morgan Le Fey (as played by Fritz) and Aladdin against two evil bitches, Circe and Jasmin, who are trying to obtain Aladdin's magic lamp.  “Daughters and Mothers and Daughters” is a flashback story about Maria, the mother of Luba (one of Beto's central L&R characters).  “Killer in Palomar” finds Dora “Killer” Rivera in Palomar, and Fritz and Fritz-wannabes compete in a few shorter stories.

Jaime (Xaime) puts the focus squarely on his signature characters, Maggie and Hopey.  The life-long friends and former lovers take a road trip to Huerta for a “punk rock reunion.”  However, their proximity to each other reveals that their humdrum domestic lives have not quite tamed the passion nor has it severed the romantic connection between them.  Plus, the comic book-length “Princess Animus!” plays out the classic bad movie that Maggie and Hopey watch at the old “Vogue Theater” while in Huerta.  In  “if it ain't fixed, don't break it!”a tawdry true-crime television show brings up the nutty and perhaps murderous secrets of Tonta Agajanian's nutty family.

I am not one of those Love and Rockets admirers who have bought into the idea of high and low periods in the quality of Los Bros.' output.  For me, all their comics have been at least great comics or hugely intriguing, with the best of it being high-comics art.  Since I first discovered their work 30 years ago, I have been fascinated by everything that the brothers have done in L&R.

Still, even L&R fanboy that I have am, I must admit that Love and Rockets: New Stories has seen Los Bros. soar to new heights of comics art excellence, beginning with New Stories #3, in particular.  In New Stories #7, both brothers revisit old haunts and familiar characters.

“Daughters and Mothers and Daughters,” Gilbert uses Maria to reveal how the ugly secrets of the past continue to affect a family long past the origin of the secrets.  The fanciful derring-do of “The Magic Voyage of Aladdin” recalls Beto's wild and wholly early comics, with their mixture of B-movie plots, weird fiction, and lowbrow comic book sci-fi.  While Jaime has found fresh potting soil for his stories in Tonta, he has kept his eyes on the magnetic attraction between Maggie and Hopey.  Time is neutral, and the notion of “what is past” is an illusion, especially when it comes to these two classic comix characters.  Recalling the best of the brothers' BEM stories (big-eyed monsters), “Princess Animus!” is a joy to read at 18 pages, and I could have read another 18 pages of it.

So with the final panel of Fritz, we have to wait another year for “the most important and enduring alternative comics series in the history of the medium.”  Hopefully, some graphic novel collections (God and Science and The Love Bunglers) will hold me until then.

A

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


The text is copyright © 2015 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

I Reads You Review: DKW: Ditko Kirby Wood

DKW: Ditko Kirby Wood
FANTAGRAPHICS BOOKS – @fantagraphics

CARTOONIST: Sergio Ponchione
TRANSLATION: Diego Ceresa with Sergio Ponchione, Eric Reynolds, and Kristy Valenti
EDITOR: Eric Reynolds
32pp, 2-Color, $4.99 U.S. (July 2014)

Originally published in Italy, DKW: Ditko Kirby Wood is a one-shot comic book from cartoonist and comic book creator, Sergio Ponchione.  DKW is a tribute to three of the most acclaimed comic book artists of all time:  Steve Ditko, Jack Kirby and Wallace (Wally) Wood.  Fantagraphics Books recently published an English-language edition of DKW as as single-issue comic book.

Ponchione presents these three artists as a “holy trinity,” showcasing each the artist in a story that pays homage to his work, philosophy (especially in the case of Ditko), style, and creations.  One could certainly argue that Kirby and Ditko created the visual and graphical language of modern comic books, and I consider Wally Wood to be the greatest comic book artist of all time.

Ponchione dedicates one chapter to each of the three artists, with a framing sequence before and between each chapter to explain what is coming.  First, “The Mysterious Steve” (inspired by Reed Tucker's 2012 New York Post article) attempts to explain Steve Ditko's insistence that his work speaks for him and his resistance to giving interviews about himself and his work.

Next, “Planet Kirby” presents Jack Kirby and his workspace as a space ship from which he produces a never-ending stream of fantastic creations.  Finally, “Wood & Me” (based on information based on Steve Starger and J. David Spurlock's Wally's World) is an illustrated essay about Wally Wood, whose creativity, imagination, and output burned so brightly that they eventually consumed him.

I agree with what fantastic comics biographer Blake Bell says in his introduction to DKW.  Ponchione's imbues his work:  layouts, compositions, and graphic design with inspiration.  His book respects Ditko, Kirby, and Wood without imitating or, even worse, stealing their work.  Thor knows that five decades of Marvel Comics writers, artists, and editors  have remade, reinvented, re-imagined Ditko and Kirby's work to death (to say nothing of those making movies based on Marvel's comic books).

Sergio Ponchione honors Ditko, Kirby, and Wood by capturing the ideological, spiritual, philosophical, and intellectual aspects of their work.  He does not have to copy or steal.  Read this comic book, and you will realize that Ponchione understands this “Holy Trinity” beyond a superficial notion of “styles” and past what is seen on the surface, at first glance and without examination.  That shows in how his graphical storytelling captures the essence of these three masters.

Best of all, DKW: Ditko Kirby Wood is just a fun comic book to read.  Once upon a time, Ditko, Kirby, and Wood produced that kind of comic book.  I remember the first time I read Mr. A and Doctor Strange.  Wow!  I remember the first time I followed the X-Men to the Savage Land (X-Men #10 – cover dated: March 1965), and watches as Kirby's pencil pitted the Angel against a pterodactyl in an awesome aerial duel.  When I discover Wally Wood comics that I have not seen before, my respect and love for him grows.

It's early, but I think DKW: Ditko Kirby Wood should get an Eisner nod in the category of “Best U.S. Edition of International Material” next year.  It is one of the best comic books of the year, and it makes me want to seek out more comics from Sergio Ponchione.  He is clearly quite good at this comic book thing.

A+

www.fantagraphics.com

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


The text is copyright © 2014 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for syndication rights and fees.

Comics Review: THE AMATEURS

THE AMATEURS
FANTAGRAPHICS BOOKS – @fantagraphics

CARTOONIST: Conor Stechschulte
EDITOR: Eric Reynolds
ISBN: 978-1-60699-734-5; paperback (June 2014)
64pp, B&W. $14.99 U.S.

Conor Stechschulte is a Baltimore-based comic book artist and a painter.  Fantagraphics Books recently published his graphic novella debut.  Entitled The Amateurs, it is the story of two amnesiac butchers who find their shop without meat and their heads with any memory of how to do their jobs.

The Amateurs opens with an entry from the diary of Anne M. Nemeth, a student at Lyre School for Girls.  On the morning of September 3rd of an unknown year, Anne and fellow student, Bethany, discover a severed human head that still seems to be talking.

The story then introduces (via flashback?) a pair of butchers named Jim and Winston.  They arrive for work at their butcher shop (of which Winston may be the owner) one morning only to discover that there is no meat in the shop.  Still more shocking, the two men also realize that they have completely forgotten how to do their jobs.  With the arrival of Martha and Shelly, two customers, Jim and Winston become fearful for their livelihood, too afraid to admit their dilemma.  This leads to a series of increasingly disastrous events.  The questions remains, what has caused their strange amnesia?

Somewhere between David Lynch and The Three Stooges lies the weird horror-comedy that is The Amateurs.  This graphic novel is inscrutable, surreal, and brilliant.  I could have read another 64 pages of it; I wanted to read another 64 pages.  It is a fascinating read, and I found myself reading a few pages at time and going back to re-read those pages.

Stechschulte may not be a draftsman as a comic book artist, but he is able to create evocative graphics separate from the words in balloons and caption boxes.  Those words, however, are also powerful and gripping, making the characters and situations intriguing and fascinating, even if both largely remain a mystery.  Bring words and pictures together, and the result is a robust story of mystery and dark humor.

There is a sad-sack, human quality in Stechschulte’s character art and in his cartooning of the human figure.  Jim and Winston’s nakedness, down to their mundane and feeble genitalia, makes them seem fragile.  That fragility is what keeps Jim and Winston’s dilemmas and struggles tangible and genuine.  That is what makes me care (still) about the two men’s fate long after reading The Amateurs.

The Amateurs could be a criticism of human nature, particularly of the disconnect between people.  I think this fantastic graphic novella reveals that there is a connection, but also that there is a lack of understanding in how to use that connection.  This leads to awkwardness and lots of flailing – hurting in lieu of uniting.  That’s amateurish.

The Amateurs by Conor Stechschulte is an ambition debut.  It is a small, black and white graphic novella with a story that is as explosive and as visceral as any superhero comics spectacular.  Its black comedy is funnier than many straight humor comics.  Readers looking for an ambitious alternative to the status quo will find it in The Amateurs.

A

www.fantagraphics.com

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


The text is copyright © 2014 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for syndication rights and fees.

Review: LOVE AND ROCKETS: New Stories #6

LOVE AND ROCKETS: NEW STORIES #6
FANTAGRAPHICS BOOKS – @fantagraphics

WRITERS: Gilbert Hernandez, Jaime Hernandez
ARTISTS: Gilbert Hernandez, Jaime Hernandez
EDITOR: Eric Reynolds
COVER: Gilbert Hernandez
ISBN: 978-1-60699-679-9; paperback (September 2013)
100pp, B&W, $14.99 U.S.

Fall means a new volume of Love and Rockets: New Stories.  Under a Gilbert Hernandez cover – featuring new player, “Killer,” Love and Rockets: New Stories #6 arrives with new stories featuring new characters.

Love and Rockets: New Stories is the third incarnation of the comic book series, Love and Rockets, rebooted as an annual, graphic novel-length package, resembling both a comic book and a literary magazine.  L&R remains the creation of Los. Bros, the brothers Gilbert Hernandez and Jaime Hernandez (with brother Mario occasionally contributing).  According to the publisher, this publishing format is designed to appeal to the people who decide what will be placed on the shelves in bookstores.

Love and Rockets: New Stories #6 brings Love and Rockets into its fourth decade with a focus on new lead characters.  Dora “Killer” Rivera, Gilbert’s new star is somewhere outside of the United States in the south of the border town of Palomar.  Killer strikes a hammer-wielding pose on New Stories #6’s cover that recalls her grandmother, Luba, Gilbert’s signature character.

Killer (also known as “Sad Girl”) discovers that Maria, her great-grandmother (and Luba’s mother) starred in a 1950s crime movie.  That leads her to begin to delve into the details of her family’s twisted history.  She’ll also discover that not everyone is interested in history, ancient or otherwise, and she is about to get a ghostly visit.

Meanwhile, on the other side of Love and Rockets: New Stories #6, Jaime continues to explore his intriguing new character, Tonta Agajanian.  Things start off innocently enough in “Fuck Summer,” as Tonta tries to get some attention from Eric Lopez of the garage punk band, Ooot.

Trying to get Tonta’s attention is Coach Angel Rivera, the new P.E. teacher at Bradbury’s Girl School.  Coach seems to know a lot about Tonta, but Tonta does not think that she has ever heard of Rivera.  “Tarzana Adventures” with “Pack Mules” will reveal all; keyword is “luchadora.”  It’s not all fun and games.  There is a dark mystery and something sinister going on in Tonta’s immediate and extended family that includes her older and squabbling half-siblings.

Each Hernandez bro approaches the introduction of new characters and storylines differently.  Gilbert depicts Killer as forging her own way by delving into the past.  Jaime has Tonta forging her way, but ensnared by the past.  The high school student is seemingly not interested in her family’s past, nor does she seem particularly interested in her siblings.

Killer loves the intricate connections that extend from Palomar outside to the United States and other places beyond the border of the U.S.  Gilbert, however, relishes muddying the past for his star, and making connections tenuous.  Is memory reliable?  Is history a story or fact?  After awhile, I start to see Satchel Paige’s axiom about not looking back in Killer’s adventures.  Gilbert’s final entry in New Stories #6 enforces that theme, but I know that I wanted Killer to turn around and look.

For Jaime’s Tonta, familial connections are not so much intricate, as they form a net.  Or maybe, they are like those hooked-laden Cenobite chains that snake out from the darkness in Hellraiser movies.  Jaime’s focus on Tonta is divided into 17 short stories in Love and Rockets: New Stories #6 (compared with Gilbert’s 8).  They form one large story through which run three stories or subplots.  Each one of the three recalls classic Jaime themes:  music (punk), wrestling (Mexican), and family.

Unlike Gilbert’s stories, which seem to want to connect Killer to the past, Jaime seems determined to disconnect Tonta from the past, at least by my reading.  The story of Tonta will be about her, not about her in a context of what came before her.  This comes through in Tonta’s visits to the “swimming hole,” as when one character declares that she did not invite Tonta’s companion.

I find that in Love and Rockets: New Stories #6, Gilbert’s holds up his end of the volume better than he did in New Stories #5.  Here, both brothers are like great athletes that use human growth hormone (HGH) to extend their peak performance into middle age.  Los Bros. have found creative and artistic steroids, as they are producing Love and Rockets comics that are as good as they’ve ever been.  Or maybe genius never gets old and keeps producing all-star work.

A

Review by Leroy Douresseaux

The text is copyright © 2013 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for syndication rights and fees.

Richard Sala's "Violenzia" a Digital Exclusive Comic from comiXology

Fantagraphics Books Partners With ComiXology to Debut Violenzia

Fantagraphics Books’ First Digital Exclusive Comic

Fantagraphics Books, publisher of the world’s greatest cartoonists, partners with comiXology, the revolutionary cloud-based digital comics platform, to debut Fantagraphics’ first original, digital exclusive comic book: Violenzia. Written and illustrated by acclaimed creator Richard Sala (Delphine, Cat Burglar Black), Violenzia is an all-new, full-color, $5.99, 50-page one-shot exclusively available today across comiXology’s entire platform including iPhone, iPad, Android, Kindle Fire, Windows 8 and comiXology.com.

"Let there be no mercy or forgiveness for they have shown none." With these words, whispered into the wind, a mysterious young woman leaps into action with wild abandon, twin automatics blazing. Is she a brave and reckless heroine taking on a monstrous evil? Or is she a deranged angel of death? One thing is clear, whether she is dropping from a high window into a crowd of red-robed fanatical cultists, or facing down a horde of psychotic hillbillies, you don't want to get in Violenzia’s way.

"This is a new model for us," said Fantagraphics Associate Publisher Eric Reynolds. "Not a better model, but a different model. Richard Sala is one of our most beloved authors, and recently he has built up a considerable and new following online, via his Tumblr and other social media, so when he proposed Violenzia it seemed like the perfect opportunity to experiment with a digital-only release."

"We’re thrilled that Fantagraphics partnered with us to bring Richard Sala's beautiful and hilarious Violenzia to comiXology and our worldwide audience," said comiXology co-founder and CEO David Steinberger. "Readers and fans will also be treated to experiencing this amazing work in comiXology’s cinematic Guided View reading technology."

A fast moving, self-contained story, Violenzia is a blast of pulpy fun, told in scenes of audacious action and splashes of rich watercolors. With elements of golden age comics and old movies mixed with Sala's trademark humor and sense of the absurd, Violenzia is serious fun, a bloody enigma masked as eye candy, a puzzle box riddled with bullet holes.

Violenzia is the latest story by Sala featuring heroines (or anti-heroines) who are quirky, mysterious and unpredictable — such as Peculia (PECULIA , PECULIA AND THE GROON GROVE VAMPIRES), Judy Drood (MAD NIGHT, THE GRAVE ROBBER'S DAUGHTER), and K Westree (CAT BURGLAR BLACK), and features the same distinctive mixture of mystery, violence and humor as his books THE CHUCKLING WHATSIT, THE HIDDEN and DELPHINE.

Look for Violenzia out today on comiXology: http://www.comixology.com/Violenzia/digital-comic/50915?app=1

About Fantagraphics
Fantagraphics Books has been a leading proponent of comics as a legitimate form of art and literature since it began publishing the critical trade magazine The Comics Journal in 1976. By the early 1980s, Fantagraphics was at the forefront of the burgeoning movement to establish comics as a medium as eloquent and expressive as the more established popular arts of film, literature, poetry, et al. Fantagraphics quickly established a reputation as an advocacy publisher that specialized in seeking out and publishing the kind of innovative work that traditional comics corporations who dealt almost exclusively in super-heroes and fantasy either didn’t know existed or wouldn’t touch: serious, dramatic, historical, journalistic, political, and satirical work by a new generation of alternative cartoonists (including now-legends like Peter Bagge, Daniel Clowes, Gilbert and Jaime Hernandez, Joe Sacco and Jim Woodring) as well as many artists who gained prominence as part of the seminal underground comix movement of the '60s, such as R. Crumb and Kim Deitch. Fantagraphics has since gained an international reputation for its literate and audacious editorial standards in publishing the best cartooning from all eras and regions with exacting production values.

About comiXology
ComiXology has revolutionized the comic book and graphic novel industry by delivering a cloud-based digital comics platform that makes discovering, buying, and reading comics more fun than ever before. ComiXology’s Guided View™ reading technology transforms the comic book medium into an immersive and cinematic experience, helping comiXology become one of iTunes' top 10 grossing iPad apps in both 2011 and 2012. Offering the broadest library of comic book content from the top 75 publishers, and including independent creators as well, comiXology will not stop until everyone on the face of the planet has become a comic book fan. A privately held company, comiXology is based in New York City. For more information visit www.comixology.com.

Kim Thompson's Statement About His Battle with Cancer

I received this message Wednesday night (March 6, 2013): Ed.

Kim Thompson has been my partner at Fantagraphics Books for 35 years. He's contributed vastly and selflessly to this company and to the comics medium and worked closely with countless fine artists over that time. This is a tough announcement to make, but everyone who knows Kim knows he's a fighter and we remain optimistic that he'll get through this and report back to work, where he belongs, doing what he loves.

– Gary Groth

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I'm sure that by now a number of people in the comics field who deal with me on a regular or semi-regular basis have noticed that I've been responding more spottily. This is because of ongoing health issues for the past month, which earlier this week resolved themselves in a diagnosis of lung cancer.

This is still very early in the diagnosis, so I have no way of knowing the severity of my condition. I'm relatively young and (otherwise) in good health, and my hospital is top-flight, so I'm hopeful and confident that we will soon have the specifics narrowed down, set me up with a course of treatment, proceed, and lick this thing.

It is quite possible that as treatment gets underway I'll be able to come back in and pick up some aspects of my job, maybe even quite soon. However, in the interests of keeping things rolling as smoothly as I can, I've transferred all my ongoing projects onto other members of the Fantagraphics team. So if you're expecting something from me, contact Gary Groth, Eric Reyolds, or Jason Miles and they can hook you up with whoever you need. If there are things that only I know and can deal with, lay it out for them and they'll contact me.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

On behalf of Kim, we would like to encourage anyone who would like to reach out to him to feel free to send mail to him c/o Fantagraphics Books, 7563 Lake City Way NE, Seattle, WA 98115, or email to fbicomix@fantagraphics.com.

Comixology to Distribute Fantagraphics Books Titles

FANTAGRAPHICS and COMIXOLOGY ANNOUNCE DIGITAL DISTRIBUTION AGREEMENT

Love and Rockets: New Stories #1-4 Available Now To Help Celebrate 30 Years Of The Hernandez Brothers’ Groundbreaking World

July 14th, 2012 – San Diego, CA. / New York, NY. — Today in a wide-ranging panel celebrating the 30th anniversary of publishing the Hernandez Brothers’ groundbreaking Love and Rockets series co-publisher Gary Groth, president of the 36 year-old publishing house, announced Fantagraphics Books’ entrance into the digital age through a brand new digital distribution agreement with comiXology, the revolutionary digital comics platform with over 75 million comic downloads to date and a library of more than 25,000 comics and graphic novels.

To mark the occasion, Fantagraphics Books and comiXology have immediately made available the first four issues of the Hernandez Brothers’ phenomenal Love and Rockets: New Stories. Groth also announced that following Comic-Con, comiXology will debut Love and Rockets: New Stories #5 on the same day as the print release is available in comic book stores this September. Subsequently, Fantagraphics will begin to release certain titles from their extensive front list and back catalogue across the entire comiXology platform.

“Fantagraphics Books is one of the longest running, independent comic publishers around with an incredible array of titles. I’ve been chasing them for three years to be a part of our platform and am thrilled not only to bring their books to the digital world, but also to be a part of celebrating the 30th anniversary of Love and Rockets," said comiXology co-founder and CEO David Steinberger. "I’ve long been a fan of Hernandez Brothers’ work, and couldn’t think of a better way to kick off our new relationship with Fantagraphics. There are many happy people in the comiXology offices today.”

"We’ve been exploring our digital options for a few years now, and the more I learned, the more I kept coming back to ComiXology," said Eric Reynolds, Fantagraphics Books Associate Publisher. "Seeing these first four issues of Love and Rockets: New Stories in comiXology’s Guided View is exciting.”

Fantagraphics and comiXology worked closely together to acquire the highest resolution source material to make sure these volumes of Love and Rockets: New Stories look great in comiXology’s new high–definition comic format — CMX-HD — for Love and Rockets fans that are reading on the new iPad.

In early May, comiXology revealed they had crested 65 million comic and graphic novel downloads since the beginning of the platform, with 15 million of those downloads happening in 2012. ComiXology recently unveiled that only one month later in June they had hit 77 million downloads — an addition of 12 million downloads — continuing on a trajectory of record-shattering growth.


About Fantagraphics Books
Fantagraphics Books has been a leading proponent of comics as a legitimate form of art and literature since it began publishing the critical trade magazine The Comics Journal in 1976. By the early 1980s, Fantagraphics found itself at the forefront of the burgeoning movement to establish comics as a medium as eloquent and expressive as the more established popular arts of film, literature, poetry, music et al. Fantagraphics has since gained an international reputation for its audacious editorial standards and its exacting production values and continues to expand the comics medium by releasing the highest quality books.

About comiXology
Founded in 2007 with the mission of bringing comics to people everywhere, comiXology — in just five short years — has revolutionized the comic book and graphic novel world. From creating the industry leading platform for digital comics to tools and services for brick and mortar retailers, comiXology has lead the charge in exposing new audiences to the rich history and culture of comic books. With the development of the Comics by comiXology digital comics platform — — available across iPhone, iPad, Android, Kindle Fire and the Web — comiXology provides the easiest way worldwide for people to enjoy comics at just the click of a button! Regularly ranking as the top grossing iPad app in the entire iTunes App Store, Comics by comiXology was recently chosen as a preloaded app on Amazon’s Kindle Fire. Providing digital comics across multiple platforms, comiXology will not stop until everyone on the face of the earth has been turned into a comic book fan.

"Con Artists" Kicks out the Jam at Emarld City Comic-Con

Fantagraphics & Top Shelf Presents: Con Artists, the Emerald City Comic-Con After-Party

 

Fantagraphics Books Inc. teams up with fellow indie-comic publishers Top Shelf Productions for an Emerald City Comic-Con after-party on Saturday, March 5th at the Jewel Box Theater at the Rendezvous.

Performers include:
Can You Imagine?: featuring Peter Bagge, and legendary local producer/musician Steve Fisk

The Rheas: fronted by Eric Reynolds, Associate Publisher at Fantagraphics

Matthew Southworth: frontman for The Capillaries, and co-creator of the comic Stumptown

DJ'ing between sets will be DJ Janice, aka Janice Headley, Events Coordinator for Fantagraphics (and Programming Assistant at Seattle radio station KEXP).

Con Artists: Emerald City Comic-Con Afterparty
Sponsored by Fantagraphics Books & Top Shelf Productions
Saturday, March 5th, 2011 at 9:00 pm
Jewel Box Theater at The Rendezvous
2322 2nd Avenue in Belltown
Admission $5 (General Public)
FREE with Emerald City Comic-Con badge
21 and over with ID

Emerald City Comic-Con
March 4th - 6th, 2011
Washington State Convention Center
http://www.emeraldcitycomicon.com/
Friday: 2:00pm - 8:00pm
Saturday: 10:00am - 7:00pm
Sunday: 10:00am – 5:00pm

• http://www.fantagraphics.com/
• http://www.fantagraphics.com/peterbagge
• http://www.fantagraphics.com/megankelso
• http://www.fantagraphics.com/portablegrindhouse