Friday, February 4, 2011

Fantagraphics Bookstore and Bureau of Drawers Present "Lovesick"


Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery, in association with the Bureau of Drawers, hosts “LOVESICK” Comix Exhibition Opening February 12.

Aaron Renier and Jason Shiga appear on Wednesday, February 23.

Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery loves local comix! Saturday, February 12 features the opening of “Lovesick,” an exhibition of emerging and established artists from the Bureau of Drawers cartoonist collective. The show includes original art, handmade books and prints by 16 Seattle comix artists and illustrators. Exhibiting artists will be present for a festive reception at Fantagraphics Bookstore on Saturday, February 12 from 6:00 to 9:00 PM – just in time for Valentine’s.

The Bureau of Drawers formed in 2010 as an alliance of independent local alternative cartoonists. They meet weekly for an informal salon at Café Racer in Ravenna and have participated in high profile events at the Seattle Art Museum, Bumbershoot, and Urban Light Studios. The group includes accomplished cartoonists like David Lasky, Tom Dougherty and Scott Faulkner as well as promising young talent like Nikki Burch and Marc Palm. Other participating artists include Breanne Boland, Billis Helg, Tyler Hill, Calamity Jon Morris, Sean Robinson, Mark Stockbridge, Ed Trumbule, Adam Watson, Dalton Webb, and Stevie VanBronkhorst Expect an eclectic mix of topical works on the loose theme of unrequited love.

This event coincides with the 3rd anniversary edition of the colorful Georgetown Second Saturday Art Attack featuring adventurous – and amorous – visual and performing arts events throughout the historic neighborhood. For more information and a participant map visit: www.georgetownartattack.com. Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery is located at 1201 S. Vale St. (at Airport Way S.) just minutes south of downtown Seattle. Open daily 11:30 to 8:00 PM, Sundays until 5:00 PM. Phone 206.658.0110.

On Wednesday, February 23 at 6:30 PM, Fantagraphics Bookstore is pleased to present Aaron Renier in conversation with Jason Shiga. Renier will present his new graphic novel, The Unsinkable Walker Bean, on the acclaimed First Second imprint. Renier’s previous book, Spiral Bound (Top Shelf, 2005), was widely heralded as a book that appealed to sophisticated readers of all ages. Jason Shiga’s award-winning books also attract an all ages readership. In addition to self-published comics, his work has appeared in McSweeney’s Quarterly. His next effort, Empire State, is due later this year from Abrams. Renier and Shiga will discuss their unique approach to creating comics, followed by a signing and reception. This event marks the first in a series of “Comics Talks” at Fantagraphics Bookstore featuring discussions with writers, artists, and editors of diverse comics from the Northwest and beyond.

Listing Information:
Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery and Bureau of Drawers Present

LOVESICK
Illustration and comix art by: Breanne Boland, Nikki Burch, Tom Dougherty, Scott Faulkner, Billis Helg, Tyler Hill, David Lasky, Calamity Jon Morris, Marc Palm, Sean Robinson, Mark Stockbridge, Ed Trumbule, Adam Watson, Dalton Webb, Stevie VanBronkhorst

Opening reception Saturday, February 12, 6:00 - 9:00 PM

Exhibition continues through March 9, 2011

Fantagraphics Book Club Presents the first in a series of “Comix Talks”

Aaron Renier in conversation with Jason Shiga

Wednesday, February 23, 6:30 PM

Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery
1201 S. Vale St. (at Airport Way S.)
Seattle, WA 98108 206.658.0110
Open daily 11:30 – 8:00 PM, Sundays until 5:00 PM
http://www.fantagraphics.com/

Thursday, February 3, 2011

Leroy Douresseaux on "Batman vs. The Undead"



BATMAN VS. THE UNDEAD
DC COMICS
 
WRITER: Kevin VanHook
ARTIST: Tom Mandrake
COLORS: David Baron
LETTERS: Steve Wands
ISBN: 978-1-4012-3035-7; paperback
128 Color, $14.99 U.S., $16.99 CAN

I still find comic book back issues in which the credits list the comic book artist as an illustrator. I don’t know if the term illustrator is appropriate because comic book penciller or artist does not provide illustrations for a comic book story. Rather he tells a story using graphics and drawings.

Certainly, some comic book artists employ the techniques of illustrators because they are the best way to tell a comic book story. A recent example would be Tom Mandrake whose pen and ink style art makes the new trade paperback, Batman vs. The Undead a thrilling superhero comic book, but also a throwback to weird pulp tales.

Batman vs. The Undead collects the storyline originally serialized in Batman Confidential #44-48. This story arc finds Bruce Wayne in New Orleans to contribute money for the post-Hurricane Katrina rebuilding effort. Batman, on the other hand, is in the Big Easy on the trail of madman, Professor Herbert Combs. Combs was released from Arkham Asylum and is in New Orleans seeking to further his knowledge of the dark art of voodoo.

Batman isn’t the only one tracking Combs, so is the vampire Marius Dimeter and the Polish werewolf, Janko, both victims of Combs’ dark magic. Now, Combs has joined forces with another powerful voodoo practitioner, Mama Ezili, in a plot to raise the zombie army to beat all armies. The task to stop Combs is so big that Batman will not only need the help of Dimeter and Janko, but also the help of Superman.

Ten years from now, readers may not remember Batman vs. The Undead the way they remembered Batman: The Dark Knight Returns a decade after it was first published. Hopefully, new readers will continually discover this Batman Confidential storyline and many of them will remember it as one of the better Batman horror stories. Kevin VanHook and Tom Mandrake are in near-perfect dark harmony in creating this riveting mixture of Batman detective story and weird fiction.

Only a diseased mind or an imaginative comic book scribe could use rotting corpses, plastinated bodies, and moldy mummies as seed to grow one of the Dark Knight’s most challenging cases. Which is Kevin VanHook? I’ll let you decide, dear reader. Seriously, VanHook blends pulpy Robert E. Howard/H.P. Lovecraft horror and Denny O’Neil-style Caped Crusader into a gruesome stew that simmers like a summer potboiler.

Borrowing only a tiny bit from recent Batman artists like Jim Lee and Andy Kubert, Tom Mandrake creates graphics that recall the Batman comic book art of Berni Wrightson and Jim Aparo. When Mandrake weaves ghastly pages of undead action, dank swamps, and creepy graveyards, he conjures, in a way, early 20th century pen and ink illustrators (like Joseph Clement Coll). In the zombie and voodoo pages, Mandrake does award-worthy work that is as good as the best recent horror comic book art.

Batman vs. The Undead is a delight to read, like a good scary movie is to watch. The last chapter sort of stumbles in the last act, but overall, this is fun. I hope VanHook and Mandrake plan on giving us more such dark delights.

A-

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

DC Comics from Diamond Distributors for February 2 2011

DC COMICS

DEC100208 AZRAEL #17 $2.99

DEC100200 BATMAN BEYOND #2 $2.99

DEC100209 BATMAN CONFIDENTIAL #53 $2.99

OCT100185 BATMAN ODYSSEY #6 $3.99

OCT100262 BATMAN THE RETURN OF BRUCE WAYNE DELUXE ED HC $29.99

DEC100168 BRIGHTEST DAY #19 $2.99

NOV100268 DAYTRIPPER TP (MR) $19.99

DEC100165 DC UNIVERSE ONLINE LEGENDS #1 $2.99

DEC100239 FREEDOM FIGHTERS #6 $2.99

NOV100171 GOTHAM CITY SIRENS #19 $2.99

DEC100297 HOUSE OF MYSTERY #34 (MR) $2.99

DEC100300 IZOMBIE #10 (MR) $2.99

DEC100238 JONAH HEX #64 $2.99

DEC100227 JSA ALL STARS #15 $2.99

DEC100286 KANE AND LYNCH #6 (MR) $2.99

OCT100239 LEGION OF SUPER HEROES ANNUAL #1 $4.99

DEC100276 LOONEY TUNES #195 $2.99

NOV100228 REBELS TP VOL 04 SONS OF BRAINIAC $14.99

DEC100277 SCOOBY DOO WHERE ARE YOU #6 $2.99

DEC100232 SECRET SIX #30 $2.99

NOV100249 SUPER FRIENDS MYSTERY IN SPACE TP $12.99

DEC100216 SUPERBOY #4 $2.99

DEC100215 SUPERMAN 80 PAGE GIANT 2011 #1 $5.99

OCT100275 SUPERMAN WAR OF THE SUPERMEN HC $19.99

DEC100304 SWEET TOOTH #18 (MR) $2.99

OCT100236 TIME MASTERS VANISHING POINT #6 $3.99

DEC100187 WEIRD WORLDS #2 $3.99

DC COMICS/DC DIRECT

JUN100301 AME COMI HEROINE MINI FIGURES SER 1 PI

MAR100344 SUPERGIRL MINI STATU $79.99

JAN100398 SUPERMAN FOREVER #1 MINI STATUE $79.99

Marvel Comics from Diamond Distributors for February 2 2011

MARVEL COMICS

NOV100561 AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #653 BIG $3.99

NOV100643 ANITA BLAKE PREM HC CIRCUS OF DAMNED CHARMER BOOK 01 (MR) $19.99

DEC100584 AVENGERS THOR CAPTAIN AMERICA OFF INDEX MU #10 $3.99

DEC100696 CAPTAIN AMERICA BY RON GARNEY POSTER $8.99

DEC100555 CAPTAIN AMERICA HAIL HYDRA #2 $2.99

DEC100677 CAPTAIN AMERICA PATRIOT TP $16.99

AUG100678 CIVIL WAR X-MEN HC $39.99

NOV100598 DAKEN DARK WOLVERINE #5 $2.99

DEC100609 DEADPOOL AND CABLE #26 $3.99

DEC100603 DOCTOR STRANGE FROM MARVEL VAULT #1 $2.99

DEC100694 ESSENTIAL THOR TP VOL 01 NEW $19.99

NOV100586 HULK #29 $3.99

NOV100641 INCREDIBLE HULKS DARK SON PREM HC $24.99

DEC100562 INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #500.1 $2.99

DEC100566 IRON MAN LEGACY #11 $2.99

NOV100662 IRON MAN NOIR GN TP $14.99

DEC100537 OZMA OF OZ #4 $3.99

DEC100591 SHE-HULKS #4 $2.99

NOV100563 SPIDER-GIRL #3 BIG $2.99

NOV100654 SPIDER-MAN BIG TIME PREM HC $19.99

NOV100521 STAND NO MANS LAND #1 $3.99

DEC100580 SUPER HERO SQUAD SPECTACULAR #1 $3.99

DEC100567 THOR FOR ASGARD #6 $3.99

AUG100694 THOR WORLDENGINE PREM HC $19.99

AUG100695 THOR WORLDENGINE PREM HC DM VAR ED 58 $19.99

SEP100564 ULTIMATE COMICS NEW ULTIMATES #5 $3.99

NOV100528 ULTIMATE COMICS THOR #4 $3.99

OCT100630 WARRIORS THREE #3 $3.99

DEC100615 WOLVERINE BEST THERE IS #3 $3.99

DEC100697 WOLVERINE BY PAOLO RIVERA POSTER $8.99

NOV100673 WOLVERINE RECKONING TP $19.99

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

IDW from Diamond Distributors for February 2 2011

IDW PUBLISHING

DEC100398 DOC MACABRE #3 $3.99

NOV100348 GI JOE #26 $3.99

DEC100351 GI JOE FUTURE NOIR TP VOL 01 $12.99

DEC100410 IRON SIEGE #2 $3.99

DEC100377 JURASSIC PARK DEVILS IN THE DESERT #2 $3.99

DEC100337 TRANSFORMERS INFESTATION #1 $3.99

Dark Horse from Diamond Distributors for February 2 2011

DARK HORSE COMICS

SEP100113 BLADE OF THE IMMORTAL TP VOL 23 SCARLET SWORDS $19.99

NOV100049 GELASKINS IPHONE 4 BTVS BUFFY $14.95

NOV100050 GELASKINS IPHONE 4 HELLBOY ENIGMA $14.95

NOV100052 GELASKINS IPHONE 4 TIM BURTON PIN CUSHION QUEEN $14.95

NOV100053 GELASKINS IPHONE 4 TIM BURTON TOXIC BOY AND STAIN BOY $14.95

NOV100054 GELASKINS IPHONE 4 UMBRELLA ACADEMY VANYA $14.95

SEP100115 GHOST TALKERS DAYDREAM TP VOL 05 (MR) $10.99

DEC100061 HELLBOY SLEEPING & DEAD #2 $3.50

OCT100043 LITTLE LULU TP VOL 26 FEUD & OTHER STORIES $14.99

OCT100026 SAVAGE SWORD OF CONAN TP VOL 09 $19.99

DEC100060 WITCHFINDER LOST & GONE FOREVER #1 JOHN SEVERIN CVR $2.99

DEC100059 WITCHFINDER LOST & GONE FOREVER #1 MIKE MIGNOLA CVR $2.99

Image Comics from Diamond Distributors for February 2 2011

IMAGE COMICS

NOV100456 BOMB QUEEN VI #4 (RES) (MR) $3.50

DEC100427 DAOMU #1 (MR) $2.99

DEC100458 FALL OUT TOY WORKS VOL 01 TIFFANY BLUES TP $16.99

JUL100447 INVINCIBLE #77 (MR) $2.99

NOV100464 MICE TEMPLAR VOL 3 #2 MICHAEL AVON OEMING CVR $2.99

NOV100465 MICE TEMPLAR VOL 3 #2 VICTOR SANTOS CVR $2.99

DEC100450 WALKING DEAD WEEKLY #5 (MR) $2.99

IMAGE COMICS/MCFARLANE TOYS
NOV100416 WALKING DEAD GROUP T/S LG $24.99

NOV100415 WALKING DEAD GROUP T/S M $24.99

NOV100414 WALKING DEAD GROUP T/S SM $24.99

NOV100417 WALKING DEAD GROUP T/S XL $24.99

NOV100418 WALKING DEAD GROUP T/S XXL $27.99

IMAGE COMICS/TOP COW PRODUCTIONS


NOV100502 ARTIFACTS #2 NYCC VAR CVR $3.99

NOV100504 WITCHBLADE #138 NYCC VAR CVR $10.00

AUG100517 WITCHBLADE #142 $2.99