Lovely Complex at 15

I finished reading Love Com, Vol. 15 (Love*Com)

I posted a review at the Comic Book Bin.

Fantagraphics Books to Publish New Golden Age Collections

Press release from Fantagraphics Books:

FANTAGRAPHICS & EDITOR GREG SADOWSKI PARTNER ON SEVEN NEW BOOK COLLECTIONS OF CLASSIC COMIC BOOK MATERIAL

Fantagraphics Books is proud to announce that it has struck a deal with comics historian and editor Greg Sadowski to produce seven new collections of classic comic book material for the Seattle publisher. Sadowski is a Harvey and Eisner Award-nominated editor who has previously overseen the publication of the acclaimed collections SUPERMEN: THE FIRST WAVE OF COMIC BOOK HEROES 1936-1941, as well as B. KRIGSTEIN and B. KRIGSTEIN COMICS. He is a former staff editor and designer for Fantagraphics Books and currently works freelance from his home on San Juan Island in Washington State’s Puget Sound.

"Greg has written one of the landmark cartoonist biographies (and only the first half yet!) with B. Krigstein, and the collections of comics from the '40s and '50s that he's edited for us — B. Krigstein Comics and Supermen!, to date— have been meticulously assembled, with an eye toward selection, flow, and accompanying historical text. We're pleased that he's got such an ambitious agenda ahead,” says Fantagraphics Publisher Gary Groth, who acquired the books.

The books will be released one per season, beginning with FOUR COLOR FEAR: FORGOTTEN HORROR COMICS OF THE 1950s in June 2010 and produced in collaboration with comics historian John Benson (SQUA TRONT). The second book, due in Fall 2010, will be a collection of legendary artist Alex Toth’s work for Standard Comics in the 1950s. The remaining five books will be release in subsequent seasons, with exact schedules to be announced. The full list of books follows below.

FOUR COLOR FEAR: Forgotten Horror Comics of the 1950s

RELEASE DATE: June 2010

This full-color 304-page edition collects the finest horror comics of the pre-code era (1950-54). EC is the company that most fans associate with horror, but to the average reader there remain unseen a tremendous volume of genuinely disturbing, compulsive, and imaginative stories from publishers such as Ajax-Farrell, Atlas, Charlton, Fawcett, Quality, Standard and many more. Four Color Fear collects the best, and includes 40 full-sized covers. Featured are comic book legends such as Jack Cole, Steve Ditko, George Evans, Frank Frazetta, Alex Toth, Al Williamson, Basil Wolverton, Wally Wood, L.B.Cole, Matt Fox and many others. “In these types of compilations, I try to provide a service to the reader who has neither the time, inclination, nor bank account to purchase and sift through hundreds of golden age comic books to glean off that precious 10% - the most distinctive and worthwhile examples from a particular genre,” says Sadowski.

SETTING THE STANDARD: Alex Toth at Standard Comics 1952-54

RELEASE DATE: Fall 2010

“It's hard to overstate the influence of Alex Toth on the art of comic books,” says Sadowski. “Toth was from that first generation who grew up reading comic books, and he came to the medium armed with enough discipline, talent, and sheer love and respect for the medium to create a technique free of condescension, artifice, or shortcuts. His work at Standard first established him as the ‘comic book artist's artist.’” Learning his craft at Eastern and DC, Alex Toth arrived at Standard Comics in late 1951 with a fully formed, graphically impeccable technique perfectly suited to the comic book medium – honest, uncompromising, and free of condescension and artifice. Includes a biographical sketch and an essay on Toth’s approach to comic book storytelling, based heavily on his interviews and written correspondence.

THE ROAD TO PLASTIC MAN: The Golden Age Comics of Jack Cole 1937-41

RELEASE DATE: t.b.a.

“From his earliest days in comics, Jack Cole was one intense artist / writer. It just took him a few years to fully incorporate humor into his work, so this book tracks his artistic evolution leading up to Plastic Man,” says Sadowski. Jack Cole’s irreverent yet artistically first-rate approach to comic book art was a refreshing departure for a young industry that tended to take itself a bit too seriously. His work influenced many of his contemporaries, most notably Will Eisner, whose Spirit gradually assumed Cole’s intoxicating mixture of fun and high drama. The book begins with early “big foot” work for Centaur’s Funny Pages, then gives way to raucous adventure and crime stories before honing in on the nefarious Claw, the boy inventor Dickie Dean, and proto-superheroes the Comet, Daredevil, and Silver Streak.

AWAY FROM HOME: EC Artists at Other Companies

RELEASE DATE: t.b.a.

The key ingredient in what made EC the most celebrated comic book company of all time was its remarkable stable of artists: Reed Crandall, Jack Davis, George Evans, Will Elder, Al Feldstein, Jack Kamen, Bernard Krigstein, Harvey Kurtzman, Graham Ingels, Joe Orlando, John Severin, Basil Wolverton, Wallace Wood, and Al Williamson, as well as that of part-timers Frank Frazetta, Roy G. Krenkel, Alex Toth, and Angelo Torres. “This book collects the best non-EC art by the EC stable of artists, in other words, the cream of the 1950s crop. A lot of these guys were pals and they often collaborated, so there will be a healthy sampling of these fraternal efforts,” says Sadowski.

CREEPING DEATH FROM NEPTUNE: Basil Wolverton’s Sci-Fi and Horror Comics 1938-55

RELEASE DATE: t.b.a.

“Many of Wolverton's comics have been reprinted in a number of formats, but for years I've been waiting for a full-color compilation of his serious golden age work. Finally I decided to do it myself. Like the Cole book, this one is a no-brainer,” says Sadowski. Given the media coverage of his recent retrospective at New York’s Barbara Gladstone Gallery, it’s high time for a full-color anthology of Basil Wolverton’s serious comic book work. This edition covers all bases, from his early features, Space Patrol and Meteor Martin, into Spacehawk (“Lone Wolf of the Void”), and ending with the skewed master’s gloriously repugnant horror comics.

THE COMIC BOOK FRANKENSTEIN: The Monster According to Dick Briefer

RELEASE DATE: t.b.a.

“Dick Briefer had been involved in comic books since its earliest days. He was one of the first to work at Will Eisner and Jerry Iger's comic book studio in the mid-1930s. Like Eisner, Cole, and Wolverton, Briefer was responsible for the complete package: writing, layouts, pencils and inks, and often the lettering. He did his best work on FRANKENSTEIN, and this compilation should restore his status as one of the form's major pioneers,” says Sadowski. Briefer’s Frankenstein made its debut in 1940 in Prize Comics. He continually ramped up the monster’s humorous aspect, which in turn increased its popularity, and Frankenstein was rewarded with its own title in 1945. Then, with the horror craze in full swing in 1951, Briefer responded by reverting the character back to its frightening origins. This book will travel through Briefer’s complete Frankenstein series and shed light on one of comic books’ most gifted creators. [END]

Death Note Novel Now on Shelves

Press release from VIZ Media:

PLUNGE INTO THE FATAL LAST CASE OF LEGENDARY CRIME DETECTIVE IN NEW NOVEL DEATH NOTE: L, change the WorLd

L Has Twenty-Three Days To Live, And Twenty-Two Days to Save The World

VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), one of the entertainment industry's most innovative and comprehensive publishing, animation and licensing companies, expands the thrilling psychological suspense of DEATH NOTE with the release of DEATH NOTE: L, change the WorLd, a new novel featuring the master detective from the hit animated and manga series. DEATH NOTE: L, change the WorLd is available now from SHONEN JUMP Fiction and carries an MSRP of $17.99 U.S. / $24.00 CAN.

In an alternative continuity in the DEATH NOTE setting, ace detective L's name has been placed in a Death Note. He has twenty-three days to bring a terrorist group to justice, or they will use a deadly new virus to change the world...by killing off most of humanity.

“DEATH NOTE: L, change the WorLd offers a fitting finale to the DEATH NOTE saga and contains many events that did not take place in the film,” says Gonzalo Ferreyra, Vice President, Sales & marketing, VIZ Media. “The author, who adopts the nom de plume ‘M’ in tribute to the eccentric detective, creates an intriguing alternate continuity that will intrigue fans of the anime and manga series as well as new readers. Any thoughts of a quiet hospice vanish as L sacrifices his life to save humanity. Edge of your seat suspense awaits readers in this gripping new novel!”

DEATH NOTE: L, change the WorLd features the same format as the original Japanese printing with a hardcover and clear acetate jacket with metallic ink. The cover art is by Takeshi Obata, the artists fo the DEATH NOTE manga series. DEATH NOTE is one of VIZ Media’s top 5 bestselling properties, with over 1 million copies of the manga sold in the U.S. The character of L is extremely popular with fans and has inspired various products such as apparel and stationery as well as spinoff novels and three live action DEATH NOTE films (available from VIZ Pictures).

For more information on DEATH NOTE, please visit Deathnote.viz.com.

Gunslinger Hime

I finished reading Kurohime, Vol. 14

I posted a review at the Comic Book Bin. Only half of this volume is devoted to the main narrative. The other half is a bonus story.

Al Gore and Nancy Pelosi Get Bio Comic Books

Press release from Bluewater Productions:

GORE, PELOSI STEP INTO THE SPOTLIGHT IN TWO NEW COMIC BOOK BIOGRAPHY

Former Vice President Al Gore and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, two of the more polarizing figures on the modern political stage, will be the featured subjects of a pair of upcoming issues of Bluewater Productions’ biography comic series.

Political Power: Al Gore and Female Force: Nancy Pelosi, both scheduled for release in January, highlight the careers of two influential political figures that are shaping the debate on some of the most important issues of the day.
Gore’s story follows his rise as a privileged Senator’s son to his failed bid for the White House to his ascendancy as a prime mover in the climate change and global warming debate.

“What is fascinating about Al Gore is he is a contrast of opposites,” noted the issue’s author Scott Davis, “He’s a cagey politician, but given to sophomoric exaggerations. He’s the embodiment of Big Government and the idealistic conscience of the country.”

Similarly, Rep. Nancy Pelosi, according to writer Dan Rafter, evokes a “love her or hate her” reaction. “She is arguably the most powerful woman in government.”

Like Gore, Pelosi, who represents California’s 8th district (San Francisco), comes from a political family, which includes two mayors of Baltimore. However, forging her own political fortunes, she has risen through the ranks of the Democratic Party to become the first woman in American history to lead a major party in the U.S. Congress.

"What I find most intriguing about her, though, is the amount of anger she seems to inspire from her critics. In this biography, I was hoping to figure out, at least somewhat, why so many people delight in hating Nancy Pelosi." Said Rafter.

The issues are illustrated by Aldo Giordanelli Corbellini (Gore) Andrew Yerrakadu (Pelosi) and cover art is provided by Patricio Carbajal and Jim McDermott.

Both the Female Force and Political Power biography comic book series strive to present even-handed stories of prominent individuals responsible for shaping the political and cultural landscape. Both series launched in 2009.

What a Wonderful World if You Don't Week

I finished reading What a Wonderful World!, Vol. 2

I posted a review at the Comic Book Bin. I think this volume is much better than the first.

Goodwill Honey Hunting

I finished reading Honey Hunt, Vol. 3

I posted a review at the Comic Book Bin. This is probably my favorite shojo title, at the moment.