Monday, September 17, 2012

I Reads You Review: BAD MEDICINE #3

BAD MEDICINE #3
ONI PRESS

WRITERS: Nunzio DeFilippis and Christina Weir
ART: Christopher Mitten
COLORS: Bill Crabtree
LETTERS: Douglas E. Sherwood
28pp, Color, $3.99 U.S.

Bad Medicine is a new comic book series from the husband and wife writing team of Nunzio DeFilippis and Christina Weir and artist Christopher Mitten (Wasteland). Weir described Bad Medicine (which is published by Oni Press) as “a sci-fi/horror medical procedural” that focuses on a team put together by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to “investigate strange diseases and outbreaks that science can't explain.”

Bad Medicine #3 (“Killing Moon” Part 1 of 3) opens after the first strange case, and Dr. Randal Horne gets his next one. Apparently, a police officer shot a rampaging werewolf-like creature in Portland, Maine. NYPD Detective Joely Huffman, glad to get away from the drama at work, tags along with Horne’s team. At the Portland Police Department, they find Officer Wilensky, who shot the werewolf, in distress over the shooting and the subsequent investigation. The team also discovers that the other possible eyewitness to the attack is uncooperative. The investigation takes the team to Deer Falls, a nearby small town where the citizens seem to love the place too much to ever leave.

I can happily say that the first story arc (the two-part “Unseen”) of Bad Medicine was not a fluke, and it seems that the series can remain consistent with the beginning of a second intriguing arc. Bad Medicine reads like a blending of elements of The X-Files, “Fringe,” and “CSI,” but the strongest element about the series is the cast.

However, with this third issue, I find myself having a problem with the series. Most of the first chapter of “Killing Moon” is a set up for the rest of the story. The real meat of this werewolf story comes later, so $3.99 (before tax) is simply too much to pay for the 22-pages of the set-up of a story. Of course, I realize that this is an industry-wide problem. Perhaps, the publisher wants Bad Medicine to be a monthly, but maybe publishing the story arcs as a series of one-shots would give better value for the readers’ money.

B+

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux

Sunday, September 16, 2012

Saturday, September 15, 2012

Happy Birthday, Scott Dunbier

He's the Special Projects Editor at IDW Publishing, in case you didn't know (and a former Wildstorm editor).

Happy Big-5-0!

Bleach: End of the Chrysalis Age

I read Bleach, Vol. 47

I posted a review at ComicBookBin (which is has free comics).




Friday, September 14, 2012

Review: Steven Heller's COMICS SKETCHBOOKS

COMICS SKETCHBOOKS: The Private Worlds of Today’s Most Creative Talents
THAMES & HUDSON, INC. – @thamesandhudson

AUTHOR: Steven Heller
DESIGNER: Ashley Olsson
ISBN: 978-0-500-28994-5; paperback
352pp, Color and Black and White; $44.95 U.S., $47.50 CAN

Steven Heller is co-chair of the MFA/Designer as Author + Entrepreneur program at New York’s School of Visual Arts. He is the author, editor, and co-editor of over one hundred books on design and popular culture. His works include Handwritten: Expressive Lettering in the Digital Age (with Mirko Ilic) and New Modernist Type (with Gail Anderson).

His latest book is Comics Sketchbooks: The Private Worlds of Today’s Most Creative Talents. A massive book (365 pages, 8.65 x 11.5), Comics Sketchbooks contains sketches, doodles, drawings, roughs, thumbnails, and even comics from some of the world’s most cutting edge and innovative artists and also some emerging talents. Over 80 artists open up their private sketchbooks and notebooks, from which Heller culled the hundreds drawings and samples that fill this fat (and phat) book. Even some artists who do not keep sketchbooks provided roughs and studies for this book.

Readers get a chance to see the thinking and planning and the experimentation, practice, and play behind the work and style of such artists as Charles Burns, Lilli Carré, Drew Friedman, David Mazzucchelli, Gary Panter, and Carol Tyler, to name a few. Readers can see into the sketchbooks of such legends as R. Crumb, Bill Griffith, Victor Moscoso, Bill Plympton, and Arnold Roth. Not every artist in this collection is specifically a comics artists, but according to Heller (in his introduction), all of them make comics as either their primary occupation or as part of their larger body of work.

Admirers, fans, and students of alternative comics and cartoonists will like Comics Sketchbooks. Still, some, like myself, may find this book missing things they wanted, which is a bit ungrateful. Why do I want more?

Obviously, Heller could not get every drawing that he wanted included in this book, for various reasons. One of the reasons is that some artists are self-conscious about opening their sketchbooks. Another reason is that some artists only actively sketch to prepare for upcoming projects, and may, in fact, discard such preliminary drawings and preparatory material once projects are completed.

So, the two pages of David Mazzucchelli just don’t seem like enough, although the sample of his typographical skills almost makes up for that. There are four pages of R. Crumb, but since Crumb has been publishing his sketchbooks and sketchbook material for four decades, the illustrations here won’t seem like anything new.

My minor quibbles aside, there is some spectacular material in Comics Sketchbooks from some major talents, known and little known. The six pages of sketches by Carol Tyler are a doorway into the wonderland that is the talent of this unheralded artist. The offerings from political cartoonist, Ann Telnaes, include several superb sketches of President Barack Obama caricatures. There is no way to prepare for the six pages of Joseph Lambert, which are crammed with drawings. I couldn’t help but return to his section several times.

It would be impractical for me to try to describe all the drawings in this book, all of it good, some of it even stunning, and even a few pieces that are (dare I say it) great. I will tempt some of you by saying that there are a few sketches in here that were proposals for covers for the magazine, The New Yorker, including one by the always fabulous Drew Friedman. This is a good book. Comics Sketchbooks: The Private Worlds of Today’s Most Creative Talents should be on comics fans’ wish lists. Steven Heller deserves some awards recognition, and certainly, at least, an Eisner nomination next year.

A

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux

www.thamesandhudsonusa.com

The artist and cartoonists included in Comics Sketchbooks: The Private Worlds of Today’s Most Creative Talents:

Sotos Anagnos, Chris Battle, Lou Beach, Kaye Blegvad, Peter Blegvad, Russ Braun, Steve Brodner, Charles Burns, Chris Capuozzo, Lilli Carré, Seymour Chwast, Colonel Moutarde, R. Crumb, John Cuneo, Vanessa Davis, Kim Deitch, Julie Delporte, Eric Drooker, Drew Friedman, Manuel Gomez Burns, Bill Griffith, Robert Grossman, Benoit Guillaume, Cyril Guru, David Heatley, Rian Hughes, Kevin Huizenga, Nathan Jurevicius, Ben Katchor, Denis Kitchen, Jakob Klemencic, Thomas Knowler, Matej Kocjan, Nora Krug, Olivier Kugler, Peter Kuper, Joseph Lambert, Brendan Leach, Etienne Lecroart, Matthias Lehmann, Martin Lemelman, David Libens, Sebastien Lumineau, Patrick McHale, Matt Madden, Javier Mariscal, David Mazzucchelli, Rutu Modan, Saxton Moore, Victor Moscoso, Joanna Neborsky, Josh Neufeld, Mark Newgarden, Vladan Nikolic, Gary Panter, Bill Plympton, Max De Radigues, Laren Redniss, Arnold Roth, Marcel Ruijters, Johnny Ryan, David Sandlin, Seth, Peter De Seve, Robert Sikoryak, Posy Simmonds, Mark Alan Stamaty, Jim Steranko, James Sturm, Joost Swarte, Takeshi Tadatsu, Ann Telnaes, Simon Tofield, Jeremy Traum, Carol Tyler, Andres Vera Martinez, Lauren Weinstein, Tracy White, Signe Wilkinson, Run Wrake, Derek Yaniger, and Danijel Zezelj



Wednesday, September 12, 2012

VIZ Media Debuting 9 Mature Manga Series on VIZManga.com

VIZ MEDIA DEBUTS MATURE MANGA SERIES ON VIZMANGA.COM

BLACK LAGOON, DOGS, NANA, TENJO TENGE And More Launch This Month On North America’s Leading Digital Manga Platform!

San Francisco, CA, September 11, 2012 – VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), the largest publisher, distributor and licensor of manga and anime in North America, tantalizes readers with a digital collection of nine mature manga (graphic novel) series launching this month on VIZManga.com.

From kinetic action and imaginative science fiction to romance and gothic melodrama, these new additions push the boundaries of the manga medium and share an emphasis on creative quality and unique storylines. The newly available manga series, each rated ‘M’ for Mature Readers, include BLACK LAGOON. BUTTERFLIES, FLOWERS, THE CAIN SAGA, DOGS, DOROHEDORO, IKIGAMI: THE ULTIMATE LIMIT, JORMUMGAND, NANA, and TENJO TENGE. Individual volumes start at $4.99 each.

BLACK LAGOON Volume 1 · by Hiroe Rei · Rated ‘M’ for Mature Readers · Available Now!
Lock n' load with the baddest group of mercenaries ever to hit the high seas of Southeast Asia! Aboard their World War II torpedo boat, the Black Lagoon, Dutch the Boss, Benny the Mechanic, Revy Two Hand, and Rock, the salaryman from Japan, deliver anything, anywhere. In the dangerous underworld of the Russian Mafia, Chinese triads, Colombian drug cartels, crazed assassins, and ruthless mercenaries, it's hard to know who to trust. But if you've got a delivery to make, and you don't mind a little property damage along the way, you can count on the crew of the Black Lagoon!

BUTTERFLIES, FLOWERS Volume 1 · by Yuki Yoshihara · Rated ‘M’ for Mature Readers · Available Now!
Choko Kuze is the sensible daughter of a venerable family who went bankrupt. She joins a real estate company as an entry-level office worker, but her eccentric boss is harder on her than anyone else in the company! After hearing him inadvertently call her "milady," she realizes he was the young servant boy she knew as a child. At work he's a tyrant, but after hours he insists on treating her like a lady of the nobility. Is romance even possible for a couple locked in such a crazy role reversal?

THE CAIN SAGA Volume 1 · by Kaori Yuki · Rated ‘M’ for Mature Readers · Available Now!
Delve into the tortured past of Earl Cain C. Hargreaves, charismatic heir to a wealthy family full of secrets, lies and unthinkable crimes. The prequel to the Godchild series, The Cain Saga follows the young Cain as he attempts to unravel the secrets of his birth, all the while solving each new mystery that comes his way.

DOGS Volume 0 · by Shirow Miwa · Rated ‘M’ for Mature Readers · Available Now!
Boasting furious action, switchback plotting, magnetic characters and dazzling art, Dogs tells the story of four individuals struggling to survive a dystopian urban future by gun and sword and courage and luck.

DOROHEDORO Volume 1 · by Q Hayashida · Rated ‘M’ for Mature Readers · Available Now!
In a city so dismal it's known only as "the Hole," a clan of Sorcerers has been plucking people off the streets to use as guinea pigs for atrocious "experiments" in the black arts. In a dark alley, Nikaido found Caiman, a man with a reptile head and a bad case of amnesia. To undo the spell, they're hunting and killing the Sorcerers in the Hole, hoping that eventually they'll kill the right one. But when En, the head Sorcerer, gets word of a lizard-man slaughtering his people, he sends a crew of "cleaners" into the Hole, igniting a war between two worlds.

IKIGAMI: THE ULTIMATE LIMIT Volume 1 · by Motoro Mase · Rated ‘M’ for Mature Readers · Available September 25th
Dear Citizen: Thank you for your loyalty. You've no doubt noticed that the world is a troubled place. People are apathetic, lazy, unmotivated. You've probably asked yourself WHY ISN'T ANYTHING BEING DONE TO STOP THIS SYSTEMATIC DECLINE? Rest assured that measures are being taken. Beginning today, we will randomly select a different citizen who will be killed within 24 hours of notification. We believe this will help remind all people how precious life is and how important it is to be a productive, active member of society. Thank you for your continued attention and your cooperation and participation...

JORMUNGAND Volume 1 · by Keitaro Takahashi · Rated ‘M’ for Mature Readers · Available September 18th
Jonah is a child soldier, born amidst the chaotic conflicts that rage across West Asia, his family lost to a war fueled by weapons supplied by the so-called Merchants of Death--international arms dealers. Despite Jonah's hatred of weapons and violence, he employs both extremely well in the service of high-flying arms dealer Koko Hekmatyar and her band of mercenaries. Their journey through the dark underbelly of the world's arms markets may lead only to damnation, but will Jonah one day make his way back to the light? Only one thing is certain: it's going to be a long, hard road out of hell...

NANA Volume 1 · by Ai Yazawa · Rated ‘M’ for Mature Readers · Available Now!
Nana "Hachi" Komatsu hopes that moving to Tokyo will help her make a clean start and leave her capricious love life behind her. Nana Osaki, who arrives in the city at the same time, has plans to score big in the world of rock'n'roll. Although these two young women come from different backgrounds, they quickly become best friends in a whirlwind world of sex, music, fashion, gossip and all-night parties!

TENJO TENGE Volume 1 · by Oh!great · Rated ‘M’ for Mature Readers · Available Now!
Welcome to Todo High, where the only rule is: get strong or get schooled.

Soichiro Nagi and Bob Makihara have always been the meanest street brawlers around. When they enter Todo High they plan on carving out a reputation as the strongest fighters in their new school – easier said than done in a place that's dedicated to training its students in the art of combat! After realizing they're the new fish swimming in a tank full of sharks, Soichiro and Bob enter the Juken fight club as rookie members. However, the Executive Council – the archrival of the Juken Club – soon launches a surprise attack. Soichiro and Bob have a chance to show their stuff, as long as they don't get curb-kicked in the process!

VIZManga.com is the top website for reading manga and features a rapidly growing library of the most popular manga series in the world, with more than 80 series and 700+ volumes are currently available and new ones added regularly. To learn more about VIZ Manga, please visit vizmanga.com.


About VIZ Media, LLC
Headquartered in San Francisco, California, VIZ Media distributes, markets and licenses the best anime and manga titles direct from Japan. Owned by three of Japan's largest manga and animation companies, Shueisha Inc., Shogakukan Inc., and Shogakukan-Shueisha Productions, Co., Ltd., VIZ Media has the most extensive library of anime and manga for English speaking audiences in North America, the United Kingdom, Ireland and South Africa. With its popular digital manga anthology WEEKLY SHONEN JUMP ALPHA and blockbuster properties like NARUTO, BLEACH and INUYASHA, VIZ Media offers cutting-edge action, romance and family friendly properties for anime, manga, science fiction and fantasy fans of all ages. VIZ Media properties are available as graphic novels, DVDs, animated television series, feature films, downloadable and streaming video and a variety of consumer products. Learn more about VIZ Media, anime and manga at www.VIZ.com.