Review: BLUBBER #4

BLUBBER No. 4
FANTAGRAPHICS BOOKS – @fantagraphics

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

CARTOONIST: Gilbert Hernandez
EDITOR: Eric Reynolds
COVER: Gilbert Hernandez with Paul Baresh
24pp, B&W, $3.99 U.S. (January 2017)

Gilbert “'Beto” Hernandez is the cartoonist, comic book creator, and graphic novelist best known for being one-half of the duo known as “Los Bros.” Gilbert and his brother, Jaime Hernandez, are Eisner Award (Will Eisner Comics Industry Awards) winners, and they have produced the seminal, alternative comic book series, Love and Rockets (Fantagraphics Books), for the better part of four decades.

As a “solo act,” Gilbert (a.k.a. “Beto”) has also produced numerous original graphic novels and several comic book miniseries for publishers like Dark Horse Comics, DC Comics, and Drawn & Quarterly, as well as for his original publisher Fantagraphics.  In 2015, Fantagraphics launched Beto's most recent solo offering, Blubber.

This black and white comic book series offers short stories and vignettes featuring a cast of misfits, monsters, and anthropomorphic types.  Beto also presents his usual mix of bizarre characters, strange stories, and outlandish sex and sexual acts, all hallmarks of his comix going back to the beginning of his public work.

Blubber #4 (which was released earlier this year) opens with the one-page comix about semen and barbecue, “Shit for Fuck,” starring X-25.  Then, in the “Tower of the Sindog” a mother and son each find their pleasure, but there is violence in that mummified love.  Then, you will never believe the adventures of “Red Tempest XXX.”

I gave rave reviews to Blubber issues #1 and #2, but I did not rave about Blubber #3, although I did enjoy it.  I won't rave about Blubber #4, although it is rave-worthy.  After reading this fourth issue, I am simply flustered by Gilbert's imagination because I am starting to believe that he owns some bottomless well of ideas.  From this well, he draws forth inventiveness that seems to spill over the rim of a metaphorical bucket.  Every time I think that Gilbert cannot top himself, I find another story and another – graphically graphic and visually splendid.

Blubber is a true Underground Comix; it is not just in that tradition of... It is the real thing.  Like classic Underground Comix, Blubber is a true comic book, as fun and fanciful as those old-timey comic books I read as a child... without the nose-dicks and the sucking of yard-long cocks.

Well, I have said this before:  Gilbert Hernandez is the best comic book writer in North America.  Well, he is also a pretty, damn good cartoonist, and Blubber needs to go above ground – perhaps riding high on a cock rocket like Slim Pickens' “Kong” in Dr. Strangelove.

9 out of 10

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


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

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

Review: ASSASSINISTAS #1

ASSASSINISTAS No. 1
IDW PUBLISHING/Black Crown – @IDWPublishing @blackcrownhq

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: Tini Howard – @TiniHoward
ART: Gilbert Hernandez – @BetomessGilbert
COLORS: Rob Davis
LETTERS: Aditya Bidikar
COVER: Gilbert Hernandez
VARIANT COVERS: Sanford Greene (Cover B and Retailer Incentive)
28pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (December 20, 2017)
DIAMOND CODE: OCT170405

Dominic Price and the Semester Abroad – Part 1 of 6

Assassinistas is a new comic book from writer Tini Howard (The Skeptics; Power Rangers: Pink) and artist Gilbert Hernandez (Love and Rockets).  The series focuses on a gay college student, his mother who is a mercenary, and his boyfriend who joins them on a mission.

Assassinistas #1 introduces Octavia “Red October” Price, Charlotte “Scarlet” La Costa, and Rosalyn “Blood” Diamond.  Once upon a time, they were assassins who were like three badass action movie chicks.  Now, Octavia has a college-age son, Dominic Price, and she needs to pay his tuition.  A reunion with one of her former colleagues, however, messes up her plans.  Now, she needs Dominic to help her, but she does not know that his boyfriend, Taylor, wants in on the action-movie fun.

Anyone who has read enough of my reviews or have read them long enough knows that I am a huge fan of the long-running alternative comic book series, Love and Rockets, and that I frequently praise its  creators, brothers Gilbert and Jaime Hernandez, as if they were my own children.  So I have to be honest and let you know, dear readers, that I rarely dislike comics produced by the the brothers, also known as Los Bros.

Well, I was not that crazy about the four-issue miniseries, The Twilight Children (DC Comics/Vertigo), that Gilbert wrote and the late Darwyn Cooke drew .  I am more excited about Assassinistas after reading the first issue than I was about The Twilight Children after reading its first issue.  The Twilight Children seemed like the work of two great comic book creators whose separate visions do not quite meld into a singular artistic vision.

Assassinistas #1 seems like the work of a singular vision.  Hernandez has produced droll and bizarre takes on violent sub-genres (monster movies, crime fiction, lurid romances) that are unique, but that are also infectious reads.  Whereas Darwyn Cooke produced highly-polished comics that were neo-classical takes on venerable genres and styles, Tini Howard seems to have an off-beat sensibility, engaging storytelling genres in observance of modern dilemmas.  Gilbert also has an off-beat sensibility, and his approach to storytelling often feels timeless, regardless of genre.

That is close enough.  Howard and Hernandez seem like a perfect team, and Assassinistas, over its run, may prove that its first issue was indeed a hint of good things to come.

8 out of 10

https://www.patreon.com/tinihoward
http://gilbertbetohernandez.blogspot.com/

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


The text is copyright © 2018 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for syndication rights and fees.

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

IDW Publishing from Diamond Distributors for August 1, 2018

IDW PUBLISHING

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Review: BLUBBER #3

BLUBBER No. 3
FANTAGRAPHICS BOOKS – @fantagraphics

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

CARTOONIST: Gilbert Hernandez
EDITOR: Eric Reynolds
COVER: Gilbert Hernandez with Paul Baresh
24pp, B&W, $3.99 U.S. (July 2016)

He is the cartoonist, comic book creator, and graphic novelist best known for being one-half of the duo known as “Los Bros.” Gilbert Hernandez and his brother, Jaime Hernandez, form the Eisner Award (Will Eisner Comics Industry Awards) winning team that has produced the seminal, alternative comic book series, Love and Rockets (Fantagraphics Books), for 35 years.

As a “solo act,” Gilbert (a.k.a. “Beto”) has also produced numerous original graphic novels and several comic book miniseries for publishers like Dark Horse Comics, DC Comics, and Drawn & Quarterly, as well as for his original publisher Fantagraphics.  In 2015, Fantagraphics launched Beto's latest solo offering, entitled Blubber.

This black and white comic book series offers short stories and vignettes featuring a cast of misfits, monsters, and anthropomorphic types.  Beto also presents his usual mix of bizarre characters, strange stories, and outlandish sex and sexual acts, all hallmarks of his comix going back to the beginning of his public work.

Blubber #3 (which debuted in the summer of 2016) opens with Mr. Elvis on the inside front cover.  Other incarnations of the masturbating satyr appear throughout this issue.  Last issue's inside front cover star, “XXX Superstar Pupusi,” also returns.    The “Janx” take center stage in all their cock-sucking and orifice-penetrating glory.  Meanwhile, Max and his long dong try to show the defecating Snowman the spiritual side.

I gave a rave reviews to Blubber issues #1 and #2.  Unfortunately, Blubber #3 does not live up to its predecessors.  It does have its moments, such as the “Blubberoo” story and the strange goings-on at the “Blubber Club.”  However, the Janx story, “Circle of Life,” meanders rather than flow freely.  It has a dream like quality, but parts of it don't seem to belong, as if Beto took sections from four other stories and sewed them together for “Circle of Life.”

The “Root 66” strip is a gag, cute in its juvenile nature.  The Pupusi one-pager is like a nice after-dinner chocolate.  I may be a little down on Blubber #3, but there is enough good raunch and depravity to get me ready for #4

7.5 out of 10

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


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

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

IDW Publishing from Diamond Distributors for July 4, 2018

IDW PUBLISHING

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IDW Publishing from Diamond Distributors for May 16, 2018

IDW PUBLISHING

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IDW Publishing from Diamond Distributors for April 18, 2018

IDW PUBLISHING

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Review: BLUBBER #2

BLUBBER No. 2
FANTAGRAPHICS BOOKS – @fantagraphics

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

CARTOONIST: Gilbert Hernandez
EDITOR: Eric Reynolds
COVER: Gilbert Hernandez with Paul Baresh
24pp, B&W, $3.99 U.S. (January 2016)

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.

In 2015, Fantagraphics launched Beto's latest solo offering, entitled Blubber.  This black and white comic book series offers short stories and vignettes featuring a cast of misfits, monsters, and anthropomorphic types.  Beto also presents his usual mix of bizarre characters and strange stories, a hallmark of his comix going back to the beginning of his public work.

Blubber #2 (which debuted in late 2015) opens with an inside front cover comic, “XXX Superstar Pupusi and Her Pals!” which is sprinkled with masturbation, fellatio, cock-sucking, and anal penetration.  The opening story is “T.A.C. Man vs The Pollum.”  T.A.C. (Tactical Advanced Commando) Man wears pro wrestling briefs and is kind of like the T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents' Dynamo.  T.A.C. Man's boss, Mr. Hippy, orders him to fight “The Pollum,” a yeti/Bigfoot-type creature.  T.A.C.'s rival, Marshman, however, has his own plans versus the Pollum.  Penises and the various uses of them take center stage.

Also, it's the Froat versus the Loo in “Who Fears the Froat?”  Centurions (each one having what is essentially a micro-penis) arrive in a strange locale and use the local fauna to help them climax in “Sweet.”  Temperamental “Tamper” fights the Skrull-like “Junipero Molestat” in the story, “TAMPERRRRRR.”  In “Padre Puto,” the Padre and a few of his pals learn the dangers of using zombies for sexual pleasure.  And in “The Marsh Man's Folly,” T.A.C. Man and Marshman engage in a strenuous contest.

I gave a rave review to Blubber #1 about two years ago.  I wrote that it fascinated me and how I re-read much of it and that the one issue was not enough for me.  I even wrote that Blubber #1 reminded me of the ethereal and beautiful explorations contained in Moebius' Une jeunesse heureuse (released as a small leather-bound notebook, published in the 1990s).

I don't feel like raving about Blubber #2, but not because it isn't good.  I love it, but I might lose control and end up writing a piece that is the review equivalent of “spewing my goo.”  This is a fantastic comic book, a true heir to the freedom and ballsy attitude cartoonists and comix creators displayed in the classic Underground Comix of the 1960s and 1970s.

I often praise the stellar art of Beto's brother, Jaime Hernandez, but Beto is also a master cartoonist.  The figure drawing of Padre in “Padre Puto” suggests some incredibly precise inking, especially in the depictions of Padre's face, head, and hands.  Also, Beto can draw a pretty stout and firm erect penis, to boot, and his T.A.C. Man and Marshman battles are presented with excellence.

Yeah, I have the two issues of Blubber published since the second issue, and I am sure I will have something to say about them.  As I wrote of the first issue:  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 a.k.a. "I Reads You'


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

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

IDW Publishing from Diamond Distributors for March 7, 2018

IDW PUBLISHING

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DEC170482    X-FILES ORIGINS TP VOL 02 DOG DAYS OF SUMMER    $15.99

IDW Publishing from Diamond Distributors for January 17, 2018

IDW PUBLISHING

NOV170530    ASSASSINISTAS #2 CVR A HERNANDEZ (MR)    $3.99
NOV170531    ASSASSINISTAS #2 CVR B MCGEE (MR)    $3.99
AUG170508    DIABLO HOUSE #3 CVR A SANTIPEREZ    $3.99
AUG170509    DIABLO HOUSE #3 CVR B DICKINSON    $3.99
AUG170533    DIRK GENTLY EVERYTHING IS CONNECTED GAME    $29.99
OCT170530    FOUR WOMEN TP    $17.99
AUG170497    GENE COLAN TOMB OF DRACULA ARTIST ED HC    $125.00
SEP170598    JUNGLE JOUST GAME    $29.99
SEP170482    LIGHTS OF THE AMALOU TP    $39.99
DEC150527    MAXX MAXXIMIZED LTD ED HC VOL 02    $PI
NOV170502    OPTIMUS PRIME #15 CVR A ZAMA    $3.99
NOV170503    OPTIMUS PRIME #15 CVR B COLLER    $3.99
OCT170504    SKYLANDERS SPYRO & FRIENDS HC    $12.99
NOV170413    STAR WARS ADV FORCES OF DESTINY HERA CVR A    $3.99
NOV170414    STAR WARS ADV FORCES OF DESTINY HERA CVR B    $3.99
NOV170422    STAR WARS ADVENTURES #6 CVR A CHARM    $3.99
NOV170423    STAR WARS ADVENTURES #6 CVR B LEVINS    $3.99
OCT170524    TALES FROM THE AGE OF COBRA TP    $24.99
SEP170483    THREE ROOMS IN VALERIES HEAD TP    $19.99
NOV170511    TRANSFORMERS WINDBLADE LAST CITY TP    $24.99
NOV170568    WEIRD LOVE #22    $4.99

IDW Publishing from Diamond Distributors for December 20, 2017

IDW PUBLISHING

OCT170473    24 LEGACY RULES OF ENGAGEMENT TP    $17.99
OCT170412    30 DAYS OF NIGHT #1 (OF 6) CVR A TEMPLESMITH    $3.99
OCT170413    30 DAYS OF NIGHT #1 (OF 6) CVR B KOWALSKI & FOLNY    $3.99
OCT170405    ASSASSINISTAS #1 CVR A HERNANDEZ (MR)    $3.99
OCT170406    ASSASSINISTAS #1 CVR B GREENE (MR)    $3.99
OCT170548    COMIC BOOK HISTORY OF COMICS COMICS FOR ALL #1 CVR A    $3.99
OCT170549    COMIC BOOK HISTORY OF COMICS COMICS FOR ALL #1 CVR B    $3.99
SEP170479    COSMIC SCOUNDRELS TP    $19.99
SEP170539    DONALD & MICKEY TREASURE ARCHIPELAGO CVR A SCHROEDER & JIPPE    $5.99
SEP170540    DONALD & MICKEY TREASURE ARCHIPELAGO CVR B COPPOLA    $5.99
OCT170521    HAUNTED HORROR #31    $4.99
OCT170474    JUDGE DREDD CLASSICS DARK JUDGES TP    $19.99
SEP170519    MY LITTLE PONY CUTIE MAP TP    $7.99
OCT170434    OPTIMUS PRIME #14 CVR A ZAMA    $3.99
OCT170435    OPTIMUS PRIME #14 CVR B COLLER    $3.99
OCT170436    OPTIMUS PRIME #14 CVR C ARTIST ED GRIFFITH    $3.99
JUN170610    ORPHAN BLACK DEVIATIONS #6 (OF 6) CVR A STAGGS    $3.99
JUN170611    ORPHAN BLACK DEVIATIONS #6 (OF 6) CVR B OSSIO    $3.99
OCT170482    POWERPUFF GIRLS BUREAU OF BAD #2 (OF 3) CVR A MURPHY    $3.99
OCT170483    POWERPUFF GIRLS BUREAU OF BAD #2 (OF 3) CVR B CARROW    $3.99
OCT170424    ROM & THE MICRONAUTS #1 (OF 5) CVR A WENTWORTH    $3.99
OCT170425    ROM & THE MICRONAUTS #1 (OF 5) CVR B CALTSOUDAS    $3.99
OCT170469    STAR TREK NEW VISIONS THE HUNGER    $7.99
OCT170453    TMNT UNIVERSE #17 CVR A WILLIAMS II    $4.99
OCT170454    TMNT UNIVERSE #17 CVR B ARTIST ED MILONOGIANNIS    $4.99
OCT170432    TRANSFORMERS TILL ALL ARE ONE ANNUAL 2017 CVR A PITRE-DUROCH    $7.99
OCT170433    TRANSFORMERS TILL ALL ARE ONE ANNUAL 2017 CVR B WIEDLE    $7.99
OCT170527    WORMWOOD GENTLEMAN CORPSE CHRISTMAS SPEC CVR A TEMPLESMITH    $3.99
OCT170528    WORMWOOD GENTLEMAN CORPSE CHRISTMAS SPEC CVR B TEMPLESMITH    $3.99

2017 Eisner Award Winners Announced (Complete List) - "Saga" Leads with Four Awards

The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, also simply know as the “Eisner Awards,” are awards annually given for creative achievement in American comic books. The awards are named for pioneering comic book writer, artist, and publisher, Will Eisner. Some consider the Eisner Awards to be the preeminent awards that honor American comic books, even referring to the awards as “the Oscars of comic books” (which is so obviously ridiculous).

The Eisner Awards also include the Comic Industry's Hall of Fame. The Eisner Awards are associated with the annual Comic-Con International convention held in San Diego, California, in July. The Eisner Awards have been given annually since 1988, with the exception of 1990.

The 2017 Eisner Award nominations were announced Tuesday, May 2, 2017. The winners were announced Friday, July 21, 2017 at a gala ceremony held during San Diego Comic-Con International 2017.

The 2017 Eisner Awards judging panel consisted of Alan Campbell, Rob Clough, Jamie Newbold, Robert Moses Peaslee, Dawn Rutherford, and Martha Thomases.

Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards Winners 2017:

Best Short Story

“Good Boy,” by Tom King and David Finch, in Batman Annual #1 (DC)

Best Single Issue/One-Shot

Beasts of Burden: What the Cat Dragged In, by Evan Dorkin, Sarah Dyer, and Jill Thompson (Dark Horse)

Best Continuing Series

Saga, by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples (Image)

Best Limited Series

The Vision, by Tom King and Gabriel Walta (Marvel)

Best New Series

Black Hammer, by Jeff Lemire and Dean Ormston (Dark Horse)

Best Publication for Early Readers (up to age 8)

Narwhal: Unicorn of the Sea, by Ben Clanton (Tundra)

Best Publication for Kids (ages 9-12)

Ghosts, by Raina Telgemeier (Scholastic)

Best Publication for Teens (ages 13-17)

The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, by Ryan North and Erica Henderson (Marvel)

Best Humor Publication

Jughead, by Chip Zdarsky, Ryan North, Erica Henderson, and Derek Charm (Archie)

Best Anthology

Love Is Love, edited by Sarah Gaydos and Jamie S. Rich (IDW/DC)

Best Reality-Based Work

March (Book Three), by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell (Top Shelf)

Best Graphic Album—New

Wonder Woman: The True Amazon by Jill Thompson (DC Comics)

Best Graphic Album—Reprint

Demon, by Jason Shiga (First Second)

Best U.S. Edition of International Material

Moebius Library: The World of Edena, by Jean “Moebius” Giraud et al. (Dark Horse)

Best U.S. Edition of International Material—Asia

The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye, by Sonny Liew (Pantheon)

Best Archival Collection/Project—Strips (at least 20 years old)

Chester Gould’s Dick Tracy, Colorful Cases of the 1930s, edited by Peter Maresca (Sunday Press)

Best Archival Collection/Project—Comic Books (at least 20 Years Old)

The Complete Wimmen’s Comix, edited by Trina Robbins, Gary Groth, and J. Michael Catron (Fantagraphics)

Best Writer

Brian K. Vaughan, Paper Girls, Saga (Image)

Best Writer/Artist

Sonny Liew, The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye (Pantheon)

Best Penciller/Inker or Penciller/Inker Team

Fiona Staples, Saga (Image)

Best Painter/Multimedia Artist (interior art)

Jill Thompson, Wonder Woman: The True Amazon (DC); Beasts of Burden: What the Cat Dragged In (Dark Horse)

Best Cover Artist (for multiple covers)

Fiona Staples, Saga (Image)

Best Coloring

Matt Wilson, Cry Havoc, Paper Girls, The Wicked + The Divine (Image); Black Widow, The Mighty Thor, Star-Lord (Marvel)

Best Lettering

Todd Klein, Clean Room, Dark Night, Lucifer (Vertigo/DC); Black Hammer (Dark Horse)

Best Comics-Related Periodical/Journalism

The A.V. Club comics coverage, including Comics Panel, Back Issues, and Big Issues, by Oliver Sava et al., www.avclub.com

Best Comics-Related Book

Krazy: George Herriman, A Life in Black and White, by Michael Tisserand (Harper)

Best Academic/Scholarly Work

Superwomen: Gender, Power, and Representation, by Carolyn Cocca (Bloomsbury)

Best Publication Design

The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye, designed by Sonny Liew (Pantheon)

Best Webcomic

Bird Boy, by Anne Szabla

Best Digital Comic

Bandette, by Paul Tobin and Colleen Coover (Monkeybrain/comiXology)

Hall of Fame:

Judges’ Choices:

Milt Gross

H. G. Peter

Antonio Prohias

Dori Seda

Inductees:

Gilbert Hernandez

Jaime Hernandez

George Pérez

Walt Simonson

Jim Starlin

Russ Manning Promising Newcomer Award:

Anne Szabla

Bill Finger Award for Excellence in Comic Book Writing:

Jack Kirby, William Messner-Loebs

Bob Clampett Humanitarian Award:

Mark Andreyko, Joe Ferrara

Will Eisner Spirit of Comics Retailer Award:

Comicazi: Robert Howard, David Lockwood, Michael Burke, Somerville, MA

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

Review: All Time Comics: BULLWHIP #1

ALL TIME COMICS: BULLWHIP No. 1
FANTAGRAPHICS BOOKS/ALL TIME COMICS – @fantagraphics @alltimecomics

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: Josh Bayer and Benjamin Marra
SCRIPT: Josh Bayer
PENCILS: Benjamin Marra
INKS: Al Milgrom
LETTERS: Rick Parker
COLORS: Matt Rota
MISC. ART: Jason T. Miles and Ken Landgraf; Eric Haven
COVERS: Das Pastoras; Gilbert Hernandez; Tony Millionaire
24pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (April 2017)

“Web of Oblivion!”

Alternative comix mainstay, Fantagraphics Books, is currently publishing comic books set in a new shared superhero universe.  Entitled “All Time Comics,” this imprint/universe will see the release of six comic books, each a stand-alone story featuring a particular superhero or set of superheroes.

The hook with All Time Comics is that each title is a mash-up of and throwback to classic 1970s comic books, especially those published by Marvel Comics.  The second title is All Time Comics: Bullwhip.  It is plotted by Josh Bayer and Benjamin Marra; scripted by Bayer; drawn by Marra (pencils) and Al Milgrom (inks); colored by Matt Rota; and lettered by Rick Parker.

All Time Comics: Bullwhip #1 (“Web of Oblivion!”) opens in Metro City at a concert venue.  Candy Christilliam and her band “Brain Parasites” were about to jam, but the concert is being held up by a woman-hating villain, “The Mysogynist.”  Lucikly the mysterious crime-fighter, Bullwhip, has sworn to keep Metro City safe from villainy, violence, and sexist pigs.

However, The Mysogynist isn't the only evil-doer plaguing the concert and the city.  The second villain is the “Time Vampire,” a strange figure determined to attack one of the twin Alexi sisters.  The third adversary acts from the shadows; he is Raingod.

Like All Time Comics: Crime Destroyer #1, Bullwhip #1 is a retro comic book, recalling the past, but not as much as the Crime Destroyer.  For me, Bullwhip reads like an almost, but not quite pure comic book.  The difference is that Bullwhip is a female superhero and a rock solid feminist, who kicks ass with all the gusto of the most ballsy male superheroes.  And, well, pure comic books seem to keep women on the side – at least the pure comics of the past.

All Time Comics: Bullwhip #1 feels like a Fantagraphics Books alt-comix title, with the art owing more to Dan Clowes or Peter Bagge than it does to Jack Kirby, Neal Adams, or Gil Kane – three of the most influential graphic artist comic book storytellers in modern superhero comic books.  The story is also retro, part Silver Age Marvel Comics and part Charlton Comics oddball horror / superhero comic book.

In the end, influences and inspiration aside, I had a blast reading this comic book, and dammit, I want more... NOW!  I heartily recommend it.

A

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


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

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

Review: SHADE THE CHANGING GIRL #1

SHADE THE CHANGING GIRL No. 1
DC COMICS/Young Animal – @DCComics

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: Cecil Castellucci
ART: Marley Zarcone
COLORS: Kelly Fitzpatrick
LETTERS: Saida Temofonte
COVER: Becky Cloonan
VARIANT COVERS: Duncan Fegredo; Tula Lotay
32pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (December 2016)

Mature Readers

Shade created by Steve Ditko

“Earth Girl Made Easy” Chapter 1: “Running Off to the Great Blue”

Shade is a weird DC Comics character created by Steve Ditko that first appeared in the comic book, Shade the Changing Man #1 (cover dated:  June 1977).  The series focused on Rac Shade, a secret agent from a world in another dimension who comes to clear his name of a treason charge which carries a death sentence.  Over the decades since the character first appeared, Shade has been reworked and re-imagined by other comics creators.

Now, Shade the Changing Man gets the “Young Animal” treatment and becomes Shade the Changing Girl in a new comic book series from DC Comic's Young Animal imprint.  The comic book is written by novelist Cecil Castellucci; drawn by Marley Zarcone; colored by Kelly Fitzpatrick; and colored by Saida Temofonte.

Shade the Changing Girl #1 (“Running Off to the Great Blue”) opens in the hospital room of Megan Boyer, a brain-dead teenage girl.  However, an alien teen girl, an avian named Loma Shade, decides to take possession of Megan's body.  Not everyone, however, is happy to see the 16-year-old Megan back on her feet.  Meanwhile, on Loma's home world of Meta, someone wants the “Madness Vest” found.

Like Doom Patrol, the first Young Animal title to hit comic book stories, Shade the Changing Girl's inaugural first issue is about introduction, teasing, and some vagueness.  However, writer Cecil Castellucci grounds Shade the Changing Girl #1 with some edgy, background supporting character drama.  Castellucci writes “Young Adult” novels, but she is known in comic books for her superb, two-volume graphic novel series, The P.L.A.I.N. Janes, so she knows her way around the dark side of teen politics and high school society.

Shade the Changing Girl artist Marley Zarcone offers some of the most imaginative comic book art that I have seen in quite awhile in mainstream superhero comic books.  Vivid and trippy, Zarcone's graphical storytelling goes afar, but not so far that the story turns into a shallow mess of surrealism right out of high school poet's notebook.  I look forward to future issues.

---------------
This comic book contains the comics short story, “Cryll's Big Surprise” by Natalia Hernandez and Gilbert Hernandez with Saida Temofonte and Laura Allred.]

Meanwhile, Gilbert and Natalia Hernandez offer a cute and clever back-up story.  I hope this is not a one-off for this team.

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.

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

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.

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

Comics, Magazines and Books from Diamond Distributors for February 8, 2017

COMICS & GRAPHIC NOVELS

JUL161853    ACG COLL WORKS ADV INTO UNKNOWN HC VOL 11    $59.99
AUG161843    ACG COLL WORKS ADV INTO UNKNOWN SLIPCASE ED VOL 11    $69.99
DEC161291    ALL NEW FATHOM #1 CVR A RENNA    $3.99
DEC161292    ALL NEW FATHOM #1 CVR B KONAT    $3.99
DEC161293    ALL NEW FATHOM #1 CVR C GUNDERSON    $3.99
NOV161078    ALTERS #4 (MR)    $3.99
DEC161816    ANGEL CITY #5 (OF 6) (MR)    $3.99
DEC161540    AOD XENA FOREVER AND A DAY #5 (OF 6) CVR A STRAHM    $3.99
DEC161271    ARCHIE 1000 PAGE COMICS COMPENDIUM TP    $14.99
DEC162081    ASSASSINATION CLASSROOM GN VOL 14    $9.99
DEC161135    ATHENA VOLTAIRE VOLCANO GODDESS TP    $9.99
DEC161545    BATTLESTAR GALACTICA CLASSIC OMNIBUS TP VOL 01    $29.99
DEC161499    BEATLES ALL OUR YESTERDAYS GN    $16.99
NOV161599    BIRD & SQUIRREL GN HC VOL 04 ON FIRE    $18.99
NOV161598    BIRD & SQUIRREL GN VOL 04 ON FIRE    $9.99
OCT161272    BLACK #4 (MR)    $3.99
DEC162080    BLACK CLOVER GN VOL 05    $9.99
DEC162087    BLEACH 3IN1 TP VOL 18    $14.99
SEP161692    BLUBBER #4 (MR)    $3.99
DEC161137    BLUE HOUR #4    $3.99
DEC161546    BRICKLEBERRY TP VOL 01 ARMOOGEDON (MR)    $15.99
DEC161138    BRIGANDS #4 (OF 5) (MR)    $3.99
NOV161600    BUNNY VS MONKEY GN VOL 02    $7.99
DEC161360    DEATH BE DAMNED #1    $3.99
SEP161656    DF ALL STAR BATMAN #1 MIDTOWN EXC KIRKHAM    $29.99
AUG161600    DF BATMAN #1 MIDTOWN EXC B&W DODSON CVR    $27.00
SEP161637    DF BATMAN TMNT #1 BATMAN SKETCH HAESER    $89.99
SEP161638    DF BATMAN TMNT #1 TURTLE SKETCH HAESER    $89.99
OCT161534    DF DARK KNIGHT III MASTER RACE #5 MIDTOWN EXC CAPULLO B&W (C    $29.99
SEP161654    DF HARLEY QUINN #1 MIDTOWN EXC DODSON    $29.99
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Review: THE TWILIGHT CHILDREN #1

THE TWILIGHT CHILDREN No. 1
DC COMICS/Vertigo – @DCComics

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

WRITER: Gilbert Hernandez
ART: Darwyn Cooke
COLORS: Dave Stewart
LETTERS: Darwyn Cooke
COVER: Darwyn Cooke
40pp, Color, $4.99 U.S. (December 2015)

Suggested for mature readers

The Twilight Children created by Gilbert Hernandez and Darwyn Cooke

“Part One”

Gilbert Hernandez is the creator of the long-running comic book, Love and Rockets, with his brother, Jaime Hernandez.  Darwyn Cooke is a fan-favorite for his epic DC Comics miniseries, DC: The New Frontier, but his best works are the Parker graphic novels which adapt the work of famed crime fiction writer, Richard Stark.  Cooke and Hernandez are two of comic books greatest storytellers, and they finally united for a comics project.

Hernandez wrote and Cooke drew the recent four-issue miniseries, The Twilight Children, which was published by DC Comics' Vertigo imprint.  The story is set in a remote village and begins with the sudden arrival of a glowing orb and the mysterious visitor that arrives afterwards.

The Twilight Children #1 opens in a coastal fishing village somewhere in Latin America.  In some ways, it is like other places.  There is a village drunk, Bundo.  There is a town flirt, Tito, who cheats on her husband, Nikolas, with the brawny, Anton.

And then, three children:  Milo, Grover, and Jael spot a mysterious, glowing white orb appears.  It seems as if this isn't the first time this village has experienced such an appearance.  When one of the children touches the white orb, all hell breaks loose.

It is no exaggeration to call Gilbert Hernandez and Darwyn Cooke comics luminaries.  Cooke has had more mainstream success than Hernandez by producing a considerable amount of work for DC Comics.  However, Hernandez laid much of the groundwork for the explosion of indie comics and alt-comix graphic novels and publications that have appeared over the last 30 years.  When comic book creators try to create comics that read like modern fiction or even literary fiction, they are working and winning Eisner and Harvey Awards under the roof of a house that Gilbert and handful of others built, under which they now shelter their creative endeavors.

That said, The Twilight Children, at least the first issue, does not really reflect the best work of neither Hernandez nor Cooke.  It lacks the surrealism or even the anything-goes attributes of much of Hernandez's work.  Some of his work has a sense of menace about it, as if there is always a bit of cruelty or even a cruel fate awaiting the characters.  The white orb is only kinda menacing.

Cooke's art is slick in The Twilight Children #1, but not in that bracing, invigorating way that propels his Parker comics.  This is the kind of slick that is more in line with the dumpster Watchmen comics he produced for DC Comics a few years ago.  Don't get me wrong.  I think the art here is quite pretty in some places, and Dave Stewart's coloring is gorgeous.  The Cooke-Stewart team had me looking through the book even as I wrote this review.

I think the storytelling in this first issue is a little too cool, or maybe this is two giants just feeling each other out.  Anyway, I'm going to read the rest of The Twilight Children.  Besides, even Hernandez and Cooke's not-best is still better than most others' best.

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 or syndication rights and fees.

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Review: GRIP: The Strange World of Men #1

GRIP: THE STRANGE WORLD OF MEN No. 1
DC COMICS – @DCComics

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY/ART: Gilbert Hernandez
COLORS: Pamela Rambo
LETTERS: John Costanza
COVER: Gilbert Hernandez with Lee Loughridge
32pp, Color, $2.50 U.S., $4.25 CAN (January 2002)

Part 1: “Grip of Fear”

Cartoonist and comix creator, Gibert Hernandez, is most famous for being one-half of Los. Bros. with his brother, Jaime Hernandez.  Together, they are the creators of the long-running comic book series, Love and Rockets (with their brother Mario sometimes contributing).

Most of Gilbert's work has been published by alternative comics publisher, Fantagraphics Books, but some of his output has been released by other entities.  One example is the 2002 five issue miniseries, Grip: The Strange World of Men, that was published by DC Comics under its Vertigo imprint.  Gilbert wrote and drew this miniseries with colors by Pamela Rambo and letters by John Costanza.

Grip: The Strange World of Men #1 (“Grip of Fear”) opens in an unnamed city on a busy sidewalk.  We meet a young man of Asian extraction (Chinese-American?) with a lipstick imprint of a kiss on his right cheek.  He does not know who he is, but in the suit he is wearing, he finds the state license of a Black man named “Clarence Gideon.”

The young man discovers that he has a strange aversion to institutions that might be able to help him, but he can visit the home of Clarence Gideon's wife.  Meeting Mrs. Gideon begins the slow process of discovering his past, but a man calling himself “Joe Hook” claims to know all.

I had long forgotten about Grip: The Strange World of Men, but during a recent re-organization and clean-up, I found that I had bought all five issue.  I can't remember why I had never gotten around to reading it (and many other comics books that I had apparently “squirreled” away).  I decided to read at least the first issue and review it... for those that might decide to discover it or rediscover it.  Dark Horse Comics collected Grip in a trade paperback last year.  Grip: The Strange World of Men, unlike many Vertigo, so-called creator-owned series, is entirely owned by Gilbert Hernandez.

Anyway, if Gilbert Hernandez were not credited as the writer-artist of Grip, I would not necessarily associate it with him, although it does resemble some of his other work.  Right now, I'm thinking of Gilbert's contributions to the early incarnation of the 1980s comic book, Mr. X.  Still, this has an odd quality; perhaps, it simply does not resemble Gilbert's recent work and that is what is throwing me off.  Grip is playful, even with the explicit depictions of violence.  It is hugely intriguing and looks like an alt-comix interpretation of one of those Alfred Hitchcock murder-mystery, suspense thrillers.  The difference is that Grip does not seem so intense.

I have long thought of Gilbert as being one of the best comic book writers in North America over the better part of four decades, with him often being the best.  Truthfully, he is a gift to American comic books, a unique voice in the wilderness of corporate products, media tie-ins, and genre dumpster comics.  Grip shows that he can be imaginative even on cruise control.

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: 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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