Image Comics from Diamond Distributors for August 20, 2014

IMAGE COMICS

JUN140537     ARTIFACTS #38     $3.99
JUN140545     DARK ENGINE #2 (MR)     $3.50
JUN140463     FADE OUT #1 (MR)     $3.50
JUN140480     GENIUS #3 (MR)     $3.99
JUN140556     MANIFEST DESTINY #9     $2.99
MAR140586     PETER PANZERFAUST #20     $3.50
JUN140564     PROTECTORS INC #8 (MR)     $2.99
MAR140593     SAVAGE DRAGON #197 (MR)     $3.99
FEB140627     SAVIORS #5 (MR)     $2.99
JUN148174     SOUTHERN BASTARDS #1 3RD PTG (MR)     $3.50
JUN140580     STRAY BULLETS THE KILLERS #6 (MR)     $3.50
JUN140581     SUPREME BLUE ROSE #2 (MR)     $2.99
JUN140584     TREES #4 (MR)     $2.99
JUN140585     UMBRAL #8 (MR)     $3.50
JUN140587     WICKED & DIVINE #3 (MR)     $3.50
JUN148168     WICKED & DIVINE #3 HANS CVR B (MR)     $3.50

Comics, Magazines and Books from Diamond Distributors for August 20, 2014

COMICS & GRAPHIC NOVELS

APR141328     ACG COLL WORKS ADV INTO UNKNOWN SLIPCASE ED VOL 08     $64.99
APR141327     ACG COLL WORKS FORBIDDEN WORLDS HC VOL 07     $47.99
MAY141547     ACG COLL WORKS FORBIDDEN WORLDS SLIPCASE ED VOL 07     $64.99
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JUN140983     ADVENTURE TIME #31     $3.99
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JUN141308     HEROIC LEGEND OF ARSLAN GN VOL 01     $10.99
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JUN141557     IKIGAMI ULTIMATE LIMIT GN VOL 10 (MR)     $12.99
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JUL141402     LOVECRAFT ANTHOLOGY TP VOL 02     $19.95
FEB142547     MINECRAFT OFFICIAL MOJANG COMBAT HANDBOOK HC     $7.99
MAY141469     MISSIONS OF LOVE GN VOL 08     $10.99
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JUL141214     PEANUTS WAITING FOR GREAT PUMPKIN HC     $9.99
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JUN141515     SHADOWMAN END TIMES TP     $14.99
JUN141448     SHARK KING TP     $4.99
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JAN140881     SONIC THE HEDGEHOG ARCHIVES TP VOL 23     $7.99
JUN140955     SONS OF ANARCHY #12 (MR)     $3.99
JUL141695     STAR WARS BOX SET JEDI PATH BOOK OF SITH SLIPCASE ED     $45.00
JUN141040     STEAMPUNK BSG 1880 #1     $3.99
MAY141578     STRIKE WITCHES TP VOL 01 1937 FUSO SEA INCIDENT     $12.99
JUN140958     SUICIDE RISK TP VOL 03     $14.99
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JUN141367     WWE SLAM CITY GN VOL 01 FINISHED     $7.99
MAY141480     ZAYA HC (MR)     $29.99

MAGAZINES
MAY141889     ALTER EGO #128     $8.95
MAY141890     BACK ISSUE #75     $8.95
MAY141859     COMIC HEROES MAGAZINE #24     $20.00
JUN141698     COMIC SHOP NEWS #1418     PI
MAY141866     DOCTOR WHO MAGAZINE #476     $9.99
JAN141549     FANGORIA #335     $10.99
JUN141711     LOCUS #643     $7.50
JAN141536     MARVEL FACT FILES #23 REED RICHARDS COVER     $6.00
JAN141537     MARVEL FACT FILES #24 AVENGERS IRON MAN COVER     $6.00
FEB141641     MARVEL FACT FILES #25 MOON KNIGHT COVER     $6.00
FEB141642     MARVEL FACT FILES #26 LADY SIF COVER     $6.00
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APR141652     MARVEL FACT FILES #36 PLANET HULK COVER     $6.00
MAR141620     MEGAMI JUN 2014     PI
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MAY141876     SCREAM MAGAZINE #25 (MR)     $8.99

BOOKS
JUL141638     AGES OF X-MEN ESSAYS ON CHILDREN OF ATOM IN CHANGING TIMES     $40.00
JUN141631     AMAZING ADV OF SUPERMAN YR PB ALIEN SUPERMAN     $3.95
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JUL141675     AMERICA TOONS IN HIST OF TELEVISION ANIMATION SC     $55.00
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JUN141376     BRAVEST WARRIORS PRESENTS CATBUGS TREASURE BOOK HC     $12.99
JUN141375     BRAVEST WARRIORS SEARCH FOR CATBUG HC     $14.99
JUL141637     COLLECTING MONSTER TOYS SC     $29.95
JUN141653     DISNEY PRINCESS ENCHANTED CHARACTER GUIDE HC     $16.99
JUL141651     HORROR COMICS IN BLACK & WHITE HIST & CATALOG 1964-2004 SC     $55.00
JUN141664     LEGO LEGENDS OF CHIMA CHARACTER ENCYCLOPEDIA HC     $18.99
MAY141818     SCI-FI & FANTASY OIL PAINTING TECHNIQUES SC     $24.95
JUN141622     SKETCHBOOK LIMAN (MR)     $30.00
JUN141676     STAR WARS IN 100 SCENES HC     $18.99
MAY142822     WARHAMMER 40K WARRIORS OF THE IMPERIUM OMNIBUS SC     $17.50

I Reads You Review: GROO VS. CONAN #1

GROO VS. CONAN #1 (OF 4)
DARK HORSE COMICS – @DarkHorseComics

STORY: Sergio Aragonés and Mark Evanier
ART:  Sergio Aragonés and Thomas Yeates
COLORS: Tom Luth
LETTERS: Richard Starkings and Comicraft
28pp, Color, $3.50 U.S. (July 2014)

I don't remember when or where I first encountered Groo the Wanderer, the classic 1980s independent comics character created by cartoonist Sergio Aragonés.  Groo first appeared in Destroyer Duck #1 in 1982 (which I believe I owned at one time).  I really got into the character during the long-running comic book series,  Groo the Wanderer, which was published by Marvel Comics' imprint, Epic, for 10 years from 1985 to 1994.   Aragonés plotted and drew Groo comic books and co-conspirator, Mark Evanier, provided the characters' dialogue.

Groo apparently began as a parody of the Conan the Barbarian comic books that Marvel Comics began publishing in the early 1970s.  Groo lives in a world that resembles Medieval Europe (with some anachronisms), although he has traveled to lands that resemble Africa, the Middle East, and the Far East, among others.  Groo is a large-nosed buffoon/oafish type; is probably the most stupid person of his time; and is clueless about his environment and surroundings.  However, this accident-prone fool is an almost supernaturally-skilled swordsman, which is why he tries to work as a mercenary, among other jobs.  He has a pet dog, Rufferto, that accompanies him.

I stopped reading Groo comic books sometime around the turn of the century (still sounds weird to me to say that).  However, when I discovered that the long-planned, crossover comic book featuring Groo and Conan the Barbarian was finally about to be published, I knew that it was time to return to Groo.

Groo vs. Conan #1 opens with Conan the Cimmerian in battle against a typical all-powerful and evil wizard.  Conan's appearance is no coincidence, because the story switches to the “real world” (or a cartoon version of it); there Sergio Aragonés and Mark Evanier are talking about bringing Groo and Conan together.  Sergio is not crazy about the idea; then, fate changes things.  And a king known as Murcia is about to give Conan a reason to join the story.

I started off excited to read Groo vs. Conan #1.  Then, I began to be annoyed by its meta-fiction quality and comic-within-a-comic story structure.  Then, I started to understand where the story was going (or where I thought it was going), and I enjoyed it, feeling disappointed when I came to the last page.  I must say that I like having Thomas Yeates drawing the Conan segments of the story and Sergio drawing the Groo parts of the story, as well as the scenes featuring himself and Mark Evanier.

Groo vs. Conan #1 promises that this four-issue issue miniseries will be unique both in terms of graphics and art and also in terms of the plot and narrative.  Unique is good, and if the creative team can come close to their best work, Groo vs. Conan will also be a great read.

A-

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


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

2014 Eisner Award Winners - Complete List

[Yep, late with this, too.  Xaime and 'Beto won, Yea!]

2014 Will Eisner Comic Industry Award Winners List

Best Short Story: “Untitled,” by Gilbert Hernandez, in Love and Rockets: New Stories #6 (Fantagraphics)

Best Single Issue: Hawkeye #11: “Pizza Is My Business,” by Matt Fraction and David Aja (Marvel)

Best Continuing Series: Saga, by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples (Image)

Best Limited Series: The Wake, by Scott Snyder and Sean Murphy (Vertigo/DC)

Best New Series: Sex Criminals, by Matt Fraction and Chip Zdarsky (Image)

Best Publication for Early Readers (up to age 7): Itty Bitty Hellboy, by Art Baltazar and Franco (Dark Horse)

Best Publication for Kids (ages 8–12): The Adventures of Superhero Girl, by Faith Erin Hicks (Dark Horse)

Best Publication for Teens (ages 13–17): Battling Boy, by Paul Pope (First Second)

Best Humor Publication: Vader’s Little Princess, by Jeffrey Brown (Chronicle)

Best Anthology: Dark Horse Presents, edited by Mike Richardson (Dark Horse)

Best Digital/Webcomic: The Oatmeal by Matthew Inman, http://theoatmeal.com

Best Reality-Based Work: The Fifth Beatle: The Brian Epstein Story, by Vivek J. Tiwary, Andrew C. Robinson, and Kyle Baker (M Press/Dark Horse)

Best Graphic Album—New: The Property, by Rutu Modan (Drawn & Quarterly)

Best Adaptation from Another Medium: Richard Stark’s Parker: Slayground, by Donald Westlake, adapted by Darwyn Cooke (IDW)

Best Graphic Album—Reprint: RASL, by Jeff Smith (Cartoon Books)

Best Archival Collection/Project—Strips: Tarzan: The Complete Russ Manning Newspaper Strips, vol. 1, edited by Dean Mullaney (LOAC/IDW)

Best Archival Collection/Project—Comic Books: Will Eisner’s The Spirit Artist’s Edition, edited by Scott Dunbier (IDW)

Best U.S. Edition of International Material: Goddam This War! by Jacques Tardi and Jean-Pierre Verney (Fantagraphics)

Best U.S. Edition of International Material—Asia: The Mysterious Underground Men, by Osamu Tezuka (PictureBox)

Best Writer: Brian K. Vaughan, Saga (Image)

Best Writer/Artist: Jaime Hernandez, Love and Rockets New Stories #6 (Fantagraphics)

Best Penciller/Inker or Penciller/Inker Team: Sean Murphy, The Wake (DC/Vertigo)

Best Painter/Multimedia Artist: Fiona Staples, Saga (Image)

Best Cover Artist: David Aja, Hawkeye (Marvel)

Best Coloring: Jordie Bellaire, The Manhattan Projects, Nowhere Men, Pretty Deadly, Zero (Image); The Massive (Dark Horse); Tom Strong (DC); X-Files Season 10 (IDW); Captain Marvel, Journey into Mystery (Marvel); Numbercruncher (Titan); Quantum and Woody (Valiant)

Best Lettering: Darwyn Cooke, Richard Stark’s Parker: Slayground (IDW)

Best Comics-Related Periodical/Journalism: Comic Book Resources, produced by Jonah Weiland, www.comicbookresources.com

Best Comics-Related Book: Genius, Illustrated: The Life and Art of Alex Toth, by Dean Mullaney and Bruce Canwell (LOAC/IDW)

Best Scholarly/Academic Work: Black Comics: Politics of Race and Representation, edited by Sheena C. Howard and Ronald L. Jackson II (Bloomsbury)

Best Publication Design: Genius, Illustrated: The Life and Art of Alex Toth, designed by Dean Mullaney (LOAC/IDW)

Hall of Fame:
Judges’ Choices: Orrin C. Evans, Irwin Hasen, Sheldon Moldoff

Recipients: Hayao Miyazaki, Alan Moore, Dennis O’Neil, Bernie Wrightson

Russ Manning Promising Newcomer Award: Aaron Conley

Bob Clampett Humanitarian Award: Joe Field

Bill Finger Award for Excellence in Comics Writing: Robert Kanigher, Bill Mantlo, Jack Mendelsohn

Will Eisner Spirit of Comics Retailer Award: Legend Comics & Coffee (Omaha, Nebraska), and All Star Comics (Melbourne, Australia)

"Love and Rockets" Creators Finally Among Eisner Award Winners; Image and IDW Also Win Big

[Yeah, I'm late.  Forgot to post this after losing track of time... - Editor/Leroy]

Saga, IDW Publishing Are Top Winners at 2014 Eisner Awards

Shorter Ceremony a Big Hit with Attendees

The big winners at the 2014 Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, held Friday, July 25, 2014 at the Bayfront San Diego Hilton and sponsored by SHOWTIME, were Image Comics’ Saga—which received the awards for Best Continuing Series, Best Painter (Fiona Staples), and Best Writer (Brian K. Vaughan)—and publisher IDW, which took home six awards, including three for editor/designer Dean Mullaney (Genius, Illustrated: The Life and Art of Alex Toth, Tarzan: The Complete Russ Manning Newspaper Strips) and two for Darwyn Cooke’s Richard Stark’s Parker: Slayground.

Other projects receiving multiple awards were DC/Vertigo’s The Wake (Best Limited Series, Best Penciler/Inker for Sean Murphy), Marvel’s Hawkeye (Best Single Issue, Best Cover Artist for David Aja), and Fantagraphics’ Love and Rockets New Stories #6, which brought home first-time wins for brothers Jaime and Gilbert Hernandez. Matt Fraction was on the stage multiple to times to accept for Hawkeye as well as for Sex Criminals (with Chip Zdarsky) for Best New Series.

Besides IDW, other publishers with multiple wins included Dark Horse and Image with four, Fantagraphics with three, and both DC and Marvel with two. Many of these publishers also shared in the win for Jordie Bellaire as Best Colorist.

The coveted Best Graphic Album—New Award went to Rutu Modan’s The Property, published by Drawn & Quarterly, while Best Reality-Based Work was awarded to the five-years-in the-making The Fifth Beatle: The Brian Epstein Story by Vivek J. Tiwary, Andrew C. Robinson, and Kyle Baker (published by Dark Horse).

The audience at the awards was entertained by presenters who included actor/comedian Orlando Jones (Sleepy Hollow, MADtv), actress Kelly Hu ((Arrow, Warehouse 13), actor/screenwriter/comedian Thomas Lennon (Reno 911, Balls of Fury), nominee Reginald Hudlin (writer, Black Panther; producer, Django Unchained), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles co-creator Kevin Eastman, Belgian graphic novelists Benoît Peeters and François Schuiten (Obscure Cities series), writer nominees Matt Fraction (Hawkeye, Sex Criminals) and Kelly Sue DeConnick (Pretty Deadly, Captain Marvel), Hall of Fame cartoonist Sergio Aragonés (Groo, MAD), writer/artist nominee Terry Moore (Rachel Rising, Strangers in Paradise), writer/artist Bill Morrison (Bongo Comics), voice actors Phil LaMarr (Samurai Jack, Justice League Unlimited, MADtv) and Vanessa Marshall (Young Justice, Spectacular Spider-Man), and British talk show host/comics writer Jonathan Ross, who was assisted onstage by Comic-Con special guest Batton Lash (cartoonist of Supernatural Law).

Sergio Aragonés presented the Hall of Fame Awards. The seven inductees were black comics pioneer Orrin C. Evans (All-Negro Comics), cartoonist Irwin Hasen (Wild Cat, Green Lantern, Dondi), Golden Age artist Sheldon Moldoff (Batman), manga giant Hayao Miyazaki (Nausicäa), writer Alan Moore (Watchmen, V for Vendetta, League of Extraordinary Gentlemen), DC comics writer/editor Dennis O’Neil (Batman, Green Lantern/Green Arrow), and legendary comics artist Bernie Wrightson (Swamp Thing, Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein).

Among the other awards given out over the evening were the Comic-Con’s Clampett and Manning awards. The Bob Clampett Humanitarian Award, presented by Bob’s daughter Ruth, went to retailer Joe Field, for founding Free Comic Book Day. The Russ Manning Promising Newcomer Award went to Aaron Conley (artist of Sabretooth Swordsman, published by Dark Horse) and was presented by past Russ Manning Award winner Jeff Smith.

The tenth annual Bill Finger Award for Excellence in Comic Book Writing was presented by Mark Evanier and Bill Finger’s granddaughter, Athena, to three recipients: Jack Mendelsohn (Panic, Jacky’s Diary); Robert Kanigher (Sgt. Rock, Enemy Ace, Metal Men), accepted by Paul Levitz; and Bill Mantlo (Rocket Raccoon, Micronauts, Rom), accepted by Marv Wolfman. Maggie Thompson (editor of Comics Buyers Guide) introduced the special In Memoriam video salute.

The Will Eisner Spirit of Comics Retailer Award, given to a store that has done an outstanding job of supporting the comics art medium both in the community and within the industry at large, went to Legends Comics & Coffee (Omaha, Nebraska), and All Star Comics (Melbourne, Australia).

The title sponsor for this year’s Eisner Awards was SHOWTIME. The principal sponsors were Gentle Giant and Lebonfon Printing. Supporting sponsors were Alternate Reality Comics of Las Vegas, Atlantis Fantasyworld of Santa Cruz, CA, Diamond Comic Distributors, Flying Colors Comics and Other Cool Stuff of Concord, CA, Strange Adventures of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Warp 1 of  Edmonton, Alberta, and Mel Thompson and Associates.

The Eisner Awards are part of, and underwritten by, Comic-Con International: San Diego, a nonprofit educational organization dedicated to creating awareness of and appreciation for comics and related popular art forms, primarily through the presentation of conventions and events that celebrate the historic and ongoing contributions of comics to art and culture.

I Reads You Review: STORM #1 (2014)

STORM #1
MARVEL COMICS – @Marvel

WRITER: Greg Pak
ART: Victor Ibañez
COLORS: Ruth Redmond
LETTERS: VC’s Cory Petit
COVER: Victor Ibañez
VARIANT COVERS:  Simone Bianchi; Skottie Young
28pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (September 2014)

Rated T+

My favorite member of the X-Men, Storm, has an eponymous new comic book series, launched as part of the All-New Marvel NOW! initiative.  Storm is written by Greg Pak, drawn by Victor Ibañez, colored by Ruth Redmond, and lettered by Cory Petit.  Of course, you know that Storm a/k/a Ororo Munroe is a Marvel Comics super-heroine and longtime member of the X-Men.  She was created by writer Len Wein and artist Dave Cockrum and first appeared in Giant-Size X-Men #1 (cover dated: May 1975).

Storm #1 opens in the country of Santo Marco, where Storm is trying to use her weather-based powers to stop a tsunami, without making the situation worse.  But Suncorp and a local military unit do not want Storm’s help.  Meanwhile, back at the Jean Grey School of Higher Learning, a young mutant girl, Flourish a/k/a Marisol Guerra, has stinging words for Storm and about the school’s mission.

I didn’t expect much from Storm #1, but being that I love, love, love Storm, I was determined to read at least the first issue.  If this first issue is any indication, Storm will finally have the great solo series readers and fans first thought she deserved and should get thirty years ago.

Greg Pak manages to put Storm’s powers on full display, while delving into the human side of her character.  Storm:  the matron, the leader, the mother, the hope, and the salvation, has been as interesting (if not more so) as the superhero side of her.  Pak depicts Storm having to balance her power and her humanity and to find a way to be true to both her principles and to her role as X-Man:  defender and fighter.  Pak does a lot with this character in 20 pages.

Victor Ibañez is a good storyteller, and his warm, vibrant, and earthy style is a good fit for Storm.  Ibañez presents the fight-comics side of the story in a unique way, and his character drama is equally electric.

Dear Greg and Victor, please don’t let Storm #1 be a fluke.

A

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


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

I Reads You Review: STORM #1 (2006)

STORM #1 (of 6)
MARVEL COMICS – @Marvel

WRITER: Eric Jerome Dickey
PENCILS: David Yardin
INKS: Jay Leisten
COLORS: Matt Milla
LETTERS: VC’s Randy Gentile
COVER: Mike Mayhew
40pp, Color (April 2006)

Rated T+

Storm a/k/a Ororo Munroe is a Marvel Comics super-heroine and longtime member of the X-Men.  She was created by writer Len Wein and artist Dave Cockrum and first appeared in Giant-Size X-Men #1 (cover dated: May 1975).

Storm is also the former queen consort of Wakanda, a title she held when she was married to King T’Challa, better known as the superhero, the Black Panther.  Before the two were married (in Black Panther #18 cover dated: September 2006), Marvel published several stories and comics under the tagline, “Prelude to the Wedding of the Century.”

One of those series was Storm, a 2006 six-issue miniseries, written by Eric Jerome Dickey and drawn by David Yardin.  Dickey (born July 7, 1961) is a New York Times bestselling African-American author, who is best known for his novels about contemporary African-American life.  He has also written crime novels that are international in their casts and settings.  With the Storm miniseries, Dickey re-imagines the first meeting between the younger versions of both Ororo Munroe and T'Challa.

Storm #1 (“Chapter One”) opens in an outdoor market in an unnamed African country.  Ororo Munroe, our future “Storm,” is among a number of street urchins that prowl the market looking for things they can steal from the shoppers and shopkeepers and even from those simply passing through the market.  Goaded by the others, Ororo steals a camera from a white man.  What she does not realize is that this white man is Andreas de Ruyter, a ruthless hunter who is also a racist.  He is determined to track Ororo using any brutal means necessary.  Zenja, a jealous rival of Ororo’s, watches the situation, making plans of her own.

Flashbacks also show Ororo with her parents, her father, David Munroe, and her mother, N'Dare.  With the upheaval of change causing so much turmoil in America, N’Dare wants to return to her home country in Africa.  David does not believe that they will be better off in Africa.  Will their marriage survive this crucial disagreement?

Meanwhile, Ororo’s strange powers began to manifest themselves.  Plus, Teacher arrives to tell Ororo that the lessons in picking pockets and thievery she learned from Achmed El-Gibar are not enough.

I have written, both here and at other places, about Black and African-American writers having more opportunities to write for DC Comics, Marvel Comics, and even the larger independent publishers like Dark Horse Comics, Image Comics, and IDW Publishing.  I think that there should be more Black writers in comics, but not because of race and representation alone.  Black writers also mean different perspectives on storytelling and diverse points-of-view.

In one single issue, Storm #1, Eric Jerome Dickey shows what different perspectives on storytelling and diverse points-of-view can mean to the mythology of one X-Men in particular, Storm, and to the X-Men, in general.  Dickey really puts Ororo through her paces, forcing her to endure many challenges and obstacles if she is to survive her life as a thief and as a denizen of a jungle refuge.

However, Ororo’s life is not just difficult because she is an orphan, but also because she is, in some ways, a stranger in Africa.  Dickey, as a Black man, understands the stress fractures that exist in what it means to be Black and how it relates to heritage.  When Ororo’s fellow thieves insist that she is not one of them, Dickey brings a sense of authenticity and realism to those accusations.  He hits right at the heart of the matter.  Africans may see Ororo as a Black American and not at all as an African, no matter what her mother, N’Dare’s origins are.

This is a different kind of racial, ethnic, and national conflict than what we get in comic books written by white comic book writers trying to depict racial disputes.  An African-American understands the intercene conflicts that sometimes exist between black Africans and the descendants of the Diaspora.  Ororo is caught in the middle between Africa and America, or, perhaps, more accurately, she has a place on both sides.

I enjoyed reading Storm, a comic book made especially rewarding by the unique viewpoint and experience that Eric Jerome Dickey brings to the life of young Ororo Munroe.  The art by David Yardin and Jay Leisten, is not grand from a visual standpoint, something I expect of a Storm comic book.  However, Yardin and Leisten ground the story in reality, and are the right choices to illustrated and visualize both the ideas and pasts that Dickey is exploring.  I look forward to reading more of this miniseries.

A-

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux

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