STAR WARS THE CLASSIC NEWSPAPER COMICS Volume 1

STAR WARS THE CLASSIC NEWSPAPER COMICS, VOL. 1
IDW PUBLISHING/The Library of American Comics – @IDWPublishing

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

WRITERS: Russ Manning; Steve Gerber; Russ Helm; Don Christensen
ARTISTS: Russ Manning; Mike Royer; Rick Hoberg; Dave Stevens
EDITOR/DESIGNER: Dean Mullaney
ISBN: 978-1-63140-872-4; Over-sized 11” x 8.5” hardcover-with-dust jacket (May 9, 2017)
264pp, Color and B&W, $49.99 U.S., $65.99 CAN

Introductions by Rich Handley and Henry G. Franke III.

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away... there was a Star Wars newspaper comic strip, which included a daily strip in black and white and a full-color Sunday episode.  From 1979 to 1984, a group of dedicated writers and artists “brought us all the action of the movie [Star Wars] in a daily adventure comic strip!”

Now for the first time, courtesy of IDW Publishing and its imprint, The Library of American Comics, the classic Star Wars newspaper strip is being reprinted in its entirety and in its complete format.  That includes each Sunday title header and the “bonus” panels in their restored original color.  Star Wars The Classic Newspaper Comics, Volume 1 was published in May and contains 575 sequential comic strips from the Star Wars comic strip’s premiere on March 11, 1979 to October 5, 1980.

This collection covers ten story arcs, beginning with the first three, which were written and drawn by the legendary newspaper comics and comic book artist, Russ Manning.  The next six story lines were drawn by Manning with the help of several artists, among them Rick Hoberg and Dave Stevens, and written by Russ Helm, Don Christensen, and Steve Gerber.  This book's final story arc is drawn entirely by legendary Filipino comic book artist, Alfredo Alcala, and written by Helm.

The Star Wars newspaper strip features the classic characters from the classic original film, Star Wars (1977).  Luke, Leia, Han Solo, Chewbacca, C-3PO, R2-D2, and, of course, Darth Vader, spar for the fate of the galaxy.  In “Gambler's World,” Luke and Leia travel to Vorzyd 5, a world that is one planet-wide casino, and our heroes must shut down this gambling operation that funds the Galactic Empire's military efforts.  Han Solo and Chewbacca race “The Second Kessel Run” to stop a ship that can use a planet's weather and climate to destroy that world.  In “Bring Me the Children,” the entire Star Wars gang leads a ragtag band of pilots, who are also friends of Han Solo, to save a group of children from the murderous clutches of the Empire.

Once upon a time, the Star Wars franchise consisted of a few novels, a few dozen comic books, and assorted odds and ends.  In this fledgling universe, the Star Wars newspaper comics were born.  Because there was only a single movie upon which the creators of the strip could draw (and not a big expanded universe), the Star Wars newspaper comics came about as close to the tone and spirit of the original film as any official Star Wars spin-off ever got, perhaps even closer than Marvel Comics first run of Star Wars comic books.

I think what makes that possible is that the beginning of the Star Wars newspaper comics was guided by Russ Manning.  Manning's career as an illustrator and as a comic book artist began with his childhood love of pulp magazines and of science fiction in the 1930s and 40s.  As a young professional artist, he worked on the kind of material that entertained and influenced a young George Lucas, the creator of Star Wars.  In fact, Manning's best known work, the comic book, Magnus, Robot Righter, which he created, made him the ideal choice to be the writer-artist to bring Star Wars to the newspaper comics pages.  Manning gives the early story arcs a tone and a spirit that recalls space opera and space jockey adventurers like Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon, as well as the B-movie serials of the 1930s and 40s and 1950s sci-fi films – all Star Wars influences or antecedents to one extent or another.

What really shows is Manning's great talent for character design and creature creation and for his ability to fabricate exotic locales and environments.  Characters like “Black Hole” (a Darth Vader agent, lackey, and spy) and the wookies of Chewbacca's home planet (to say nothing of the fauna and foliage) are inventive and striking.

I do not want to downplay the contributions of the other writers and artists who worked on the first two years of this newspaper comic, but Manning sets the tone.  Manning was captivated by the original Star Wars and described it as incredible to the Los Angeles Times.  His love and admiration shows in the narrative and in the graphically striking art Manning produced for the strip, and that carries on through the stories reprinted in Star Wars The Classic Newspaper Comics, Volume 1.

For Star Wars fans who read this in a newspaper back when it was originally published, these comics are probably as entertaining now as they were then.  For someone who is just reading them now, like me, well, these newspaper comics, feel, read, and look like old-timey, original Star Wars.  IDW and The Library of American Comics do it again!  No fan of Star Wars comic books can go without reading Star Wars The Classic Newspaper Comics, Volume 1.

A
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 site or blog for syndication rights and fees.

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Review: BLOOM COUNTY: Brandy Spanking New Day

BLOOM COUNTY: BRAND SPANKING NEW DAY
IDW PUBLISHING – @IDWPublishing

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

CARTOONIST: Berkeley Breathed
EDITOR: Scott Dunbier
ISBN: 978-1-68405-097-0; paperback – 9.5” x 11.5” (September 26, 2017)
144pp, B&W and color, $19.99 U.S., $25.99 CAN

Bloom County was an American newspaper comic strip which ran from December 8, 1980 until August 6, 1989.  Created by Berkeley Breathed, Bloom County commented upon, examined, and satirized the events in politics, culture, and pop culture that occurred during its run on newspaper comics pages.  For his work on Bloom County, Breathed won the 1987 Pulitzer Price in editorial cartooning.  He also went on to create two Bloom County follow-up newspaper comic strips, Outland and then Opus.

In July 2015, Breathed revived Bloom County and posted new episodes on his Facebook page.  In September 2016, IDW Publishing released the first print collection of the Bloom County revival, Bloom County Episode XI: A New Hope.  This week sees the release of the second collection, Bloom County: Brand Spanking New Day.  This color paperback (9.5” x 11.5”) collects strips #180 to #386 (if my count is not off).  IDW provided me with a copy of Brand Spanking New Day for review.

Milo Bloom, Michael Binkley, Opus, Bill the Cat, Steve Dallas, Cutter John, Oliver Wendell Jones, and Tom Binkley are back for a second helping of the Bloom County revival.  New characters like Abby, Sam the Lion (a child suffering from leukemia), and Sue (Sam's mother), join the familiar Bloom County characters to take on Donald Trump, biker chicks, sticky buns, penguin-killing animals, Star Wars, phoning and Segway-ing; and an ugly dog.  Plus, it's the return of Billy and the Boingers.

One wag/reviewer/critic said that the return of Bloom County was like the return of a Ronald Reagan-hair band.  The truth is that there was nothing remotely like Bloom County when it debuted in 1980 and there was still nothing like it when Breathed discontinued the strip in 1989.  A little over a quarter-century later when Breathed revived the strip there is still nothing like it.  That is saying a lot because it seemed as if quite a few popular newspaper comic strips and webcomics (web-based comic strips) that debuted in the decade or so after Bloom County's conclusion were heavily influenced by Breathed's strip.

Bloom County remains whimsical, its satire pointed, but sometimes indirect.  It has soul and imagination, and is subject to flights of fancy.  Breathed is often sublime when it would be easier to be clever, and where so many struggle to find a balance between droll and snarky, Breathed is simply philosophical about our and his characters' messy natures.

So Bloom County is not a retro tour; it is most certainly a revival.  Brand Spanking New Day is not all classic material, although some come close, and Breathed's illustrations remain things of beauty.  Unlike some revivals, Bloom Country remains stubbornly iconoclastic.  There is nothing like Bloom County, and it often confounds – its readers and and it characters.  Fans of Bloom County and of exceptional comic strips will want Bloom County: Brand Spanking New Day.

A
8.5 out of 10

https://www.facebook.com/berkeleybreathed/
https://www.berkeleybreathed.com/

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.

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Review: BLOOM COUNTY LIBRARY Volume 1: 1980-82

THE BLOOM COUNTY LIBRARY VOL. 1: 1980-82
IDW – @IDWPublishing

[A version of this review was originally posted at the ComicBookBin in 2009.]

WRITERS: Berkeley Breathed, Scott Dunbier
CARTOONIST: Berkeley Breathed
ISBN: 978-1600105319; hardcover (October 2009)
288pp, B&W and color, $39.99 U.S.

Bloom County was an American newspaper comic strip created by Berkeley Breathed.  It ran from December 8, 1980 until August 6, 1989.  Bloom County commented upon, examined, and satirized the events in politics, culture, and pop culture that occurred during its run on newspaper comics pages.  Breathed would go on to win the 1987 Pulitzer Price in editorial cartooning for his work on Bloom County, and after ending Bloom County, he would create two follow-up strips, Outland and Opus.

Readers can return to the pastoral world of that fanciful small town called Bloom County in The Bloom County Library Volume 1: 1980-82.  This is the first of a five-volume project that reprinted the entire run of Bloom County for the first time.  Breathed and series editor, Scott Dunbier, offer commentary, printed in the margins of the pages, that illuminate Bloom County’s numerous references to real-life personalities and events.

Bloom County was born out of The Academia Waltz, the comic strip Breathed produced for the University of Texas’ student newspaper, The Daily Texan.  In The Academia Waltz (13 episodes of which are included in this book), Breathed’s irreverent attitude about American life comes through in episodes about the politics of dating and of interpersonal relationships in general.  By the time Bloom County debuted on December 8th, 1980, Breathed was ready to take on what was then the current state of America.

However, Breathed was not merely poking fun at the usual suspects in politics (corrupt politicians), family relationships (old-fashioned, chauvinistic husbands), and business (fast food restaurants).  In Bloom County, Breathed was a slayer of all sacred cows, and in order to do this the best, Breathed apparently understood that what Americans were doing and how they were living at the time was also rooted in the past.  Breathed’s work recognized the dynamic of the past, present, and future.  In individual episodes and in story arcs, he found humor in current events, but told them in a way that was timeless.  In a narrow sense, he gave us comedy, but in a broader sense, he made observations and told truths that reached beyond the moment.  An example of this is Breathed’s depiction of the real-life Moral Majority.

The character, Otis Oracle, was the leader of Bloom County’s local branch of the Moral Majority.  The Moral Majority was founded in 1979 by arch-segregationist and Teletubby hater, the late Jerry Faldwell, who was an evangelical Christian pastor and televangelist.  Like Faldwell’s group, Otis Oracle’s ideas and notions about what America should be were rooted in the belief that the United States had lost its “moral compass” (probably in the 1960s).

Oracle, whom Breathed made an older man (perhaps, late middle ages) whose life was clearly shaped in a time long since past.  In various episodes, Oracles battles were against the Moral Majority’s demons of the 1980s: rock music, sexual freedom, women’s liberation (especially wives who wouldn’t submit to their husbands’ authority).  However, Oracle was more than just a one note joke about conservative and religious values.  Rather than being a mere punch line, he was just another hapless guy, confused by change.  We recognize Oracle’s basic struggles – to make sense of a world that no longer made sense and to have a measure of control in an out of control world – because they are timeless universal struggles.

In these first two years of the strip presented in The Bloom County Library Volume 1: 1980-82 are the seeds of what would make Bloom County arguably the definitive comic strip of the 1980s.  Readers unfamiliar with Bloom County and those born after the strip’s run should not assume that Bloom County is dated.  An American cartoonist examining and poking America is a time-honored tradition.  Bloom County worked so well and was so popular because readers back then recognized their nation and their people in this strip.  As this collection reveals, readers will still recognize their county, and they’re still going to be laughing.

A
9 out of 10

https://www.facebook.com/berkeleybreathed/
https://www.berkeleybreathed.com/

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.

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IDW Publishing from Diamond Distributors for May 10, 2017

IDW PUBLISHING

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2017 Eisner Award Nominations Announced - Complete List of Nominees

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 will be announced Friday, July 21, 2017 at a gala ceremony held during Comic-Con International 2017.

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

2017 Eisner Award Nominees:

Best Short Story

•    “The Comics Wedding of the Century,” by Simon Hanselmann, in We Told You So: Comics as Art (Fantagraphics)
•     “The Dark Nothing,” by Jordan Crane, in Uptight #5 (Fantagraphics)
•     “Good Boy,” by Tom King and David Finch, in Batman Annual #1 (DC)
•     “Monday,” by W. Maxwell Prince and John Amor, in One Week in the Library (Image) 
•     “Mostly Saturn,” by Michael DeForge, in Island Magazine #8 (Image)
•     “Shrine of the Monkey God!” by Kim Deitch, in Kramers Ergot 9 (Fantagraphics)

Best Single Issue/One-Shot

•     Babybel Wax Bodysuit, by Eric Kostiuk Williams (Retrofit/Big Planet)
•     Beasts of Burden: What the Cat Dragged In, by Evan Dorkin, Sarah Dyer, and Jill Thompson (Dark Horse)
•     Blammo #9, by Noah Van Sciver (Kilgore Books)
•     Criminal 10th Anniversary Special, by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips (Image)
•     Sir Alfred #3, by Tim Hensley (Pigeon Press)
•     Your Black Friend, by Ben Passmore (Silver Sprocket)

Best Continuing Series

•     Astro City, by Kurt Busiek and Brent Anderson (Vertigo/DC)
•     Kill or Be Killed, by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips (Image)
•     The Mighty Thor, by Jason Aaron and Russell Dauterman (Marvel)
•     Paper Girls, by Brian K. Vaughan and Cliff Chiang (Image)
•     Saga, by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples (Image)

Best Limited Series

•     Archangel, by William Gibson, Michael St. John Smith, Butch Guice, and Tom Palmer (IDW)
•     Briggs Land, by Brian Wood and Mack Chater (Dark Horse)
•     Han Solo, by Marjorie Liu and Mark Brooks (Marvel)
•     Kim and Kim, by Magdalene Visaggio and Eva Cabrera (Black Mask)
•     The Vision, by Tom King and Gabriel Walta (Marvel)

Best New Series

•     Black Hammer, by Jeff Lemire and Dean Ormston (Dark Horse)
•     Clean Room, by Gail Simone and Jon Davis-Hunt (Vertigo/DC)
•     Deathstroke: Rebirth, by Christopher Priest, Carlo Pagulayan, et al. (DC)
•     Faith, by Jody Houser, Pere Pérez, and Marguerite Sauvage (Valiant)
•     Mockingbird, by Chelsea Cain and Kate Niemczyk (Marvel)

Best Publication for Early Readers (up to age 8)

•     Ape and Armadillo Take Over the World, by James Sturm (Toon)
•     Burt’s Way Home, by John Martz (Koyama)
•     The Creeps, Book 2: The Trolls Will Feast! by Chris Schweizer (Abrams)
•     I’m Grumpy (My First Comics), by Jennifer L. Holm and Matthew Holm (Random
•     House Books for Young Readers)
•     Narwhal: Unicorn of the Sea, by Ben Clanton (Tundra)

Best Publication for Kids (ages 9-12)

•     The Drawing Lesson, by Mark Crilley (Watson-Guptill)
•     Ghosts, by Raina Telgemeier (Scholastic)
•     Hilda and the Stone Forest, by Luke Pearson (Flying Eye Books)
•     Rikki, adapted by Norm Harper and Matthew Foltz-Gray (Karate Petshop)
•     Science Comics: Dinosaurs, by MK Reed and Joe Flood (First Second)

Best Publication for Teens (ages 13-17)

•     Bad Machinery, vol. 5: The Case of the Fire Inside, by John Allison (Oni)
•     Batgirl, by Hope Larson and Rafael Albuquerque (DC)
•     Jughead, by Chip Zdarsky, Ryan North, Erica Henderson, and Derek Charm (Archie)
•     Monstress, by Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda (Image)
•     Trish Trash: Roller Girl of Mars, by Jessica Abel (Papercutz/Super Genius)
•     The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, by Ryan North and Erica Henderson (Marvel)

Best Humor Publication

•     The Further Fattening Adventures of Pudge, Girl Blimp, by Lee Marrs (Marrs Books)
•     Hot Dog Taste Test, by Lisa Hanawalt (Drawn & Quarterly)
•     Jughead, by Chip Zdarsky, Ryan North, Erica Henderson, and Derek Charm (Archie)
•     Man, I Hate Cursive, by Jim Benton (Andrews McMeel)
•     Yuge! 30 Years of Doonesbury on Trump, by G. B. Trudeau (Andrews McMeel)

Best Anthology

•     Baltic Comics Anthology š! #26: dADa, edited by David Schilter and Sanita Muizniece (kuš!)
•     Island Magazine, edited by Brandon Graham and Emma Rios (Image)
•     Kramers Ergot 9, edited by Sammy Harkham (Fantagraphics)
•     Love Is Love, edited by Sarah Gaydos and Jamie S. Rich (IDW/DC)
•     Spanish Fever: Stories by the New Spanish Cartoonists, edited by Santiago Garcia (Fantagraphics)

Best Reality-Based Work

•     Dark Night: A True Batman Story, by Paul Dini and Eduardo Risso (Vertigo/DC)
•     Glenn Gould: A Life Off Tempo, by Sandrine Revel (NBM)
•     March (Book Three), by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell (Top Shelf)
•     Rosalie Lightning: A Graphic Memoir, by Tom Hart (St. Martin’s)
•     Tetris: The Games People Play, by Box Brown (First Second)

Best Graphic Album—New

•     The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye, by Sonny Liew (Pantheon)
•     Black Dog: The Dreams of Paul Nash, by Dave McKean (Dark Horse)
•     Exits, by Daryl Seitchik (Koyama)
•     Mooncop, by Tom Gauld (Drawn & Quarterly)
•     Patience, by Daniel Clowes (Fantagraphics)
•     Wonder Woman: The True Amazon by Jill Thompson (DC Comics)

Best Graphic Album—Reprint

•     Demon, by Jason Shiga (First Second)
•     Incomplete Works, by Dylan Horrocks (Alternative)
•     Last Look, by Charles Burns (Pantheon)
•     Meat Cake Bible, by Dame Darcy (Fantagraphics)
•     Megg and Mog in Amsterdam and Other Stories, by Simon Hanselmann (Fantagraphics)
•     She’s Not into Poetry, by Tom Hart (Alternative)

Best U.S. Edition of International Material

•     Equinoxes, by Cyril Pedrosa, translated by Joe Johnson (NBM)
•     Irmina, by Barbara Yelin, translated by Michael Waaler (SelfMadeHero)
•     Love: The Lion, by Frédéric Brémaud and Federico Bertolucci (Magnetic)
•     Moebius Library: The World of Edena, by Jean “Moebius” Giraud et al. (Dark Horse)
•     Wrinkles, by Paco Roca, translated by Erica Mena (Fantagraphics)

Best U.S. Edition of International Material—Asia

•     The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye, by Sonny Liew (Pantheon)
•     Goodnight Punpun, vols. 1–4, by Inio Asano, translated by JN PRoductions (VIZ Media)
•     orange: The Complete Collection, vols. 1–2, by Ichigo Takano, translated by Amber Tamosaitis, adaptation by Shannon Fay (Seven Seas)
•     The Osamu Tezuka Story: A Life in Manga and Anime, by Toshio Ban and Tezuka Productions, translated by Frederik L. Schodt (Stone Bridge Press)
•     Princess Jellyfish, vols. 1–3 by Akiko Higashimura, translated by Sarah Alys Lindholm (Kodansha)
•     Wandering Island, vol. 1, by Kenji Tsuruta, translated by Dana Lewis (Dark Horse)

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

•     Almost Completely Baxter: New and Selected Blurtings, by Glen Baxter (NYR Comics)
•     Barnaby, vol. 3, by Crockett Johnson, edited by Philip Nel and Eric Reynolds (Fantagraphics)
•     Chester Gould’s Dick Tracy, Colorful Cases of the 1930s, edited by Peter Maresca (Sunday Press)
•     The Realist Cartoons, edited by Paul Krassner and Ethan Persoff (Fantagraphics)
•     Walt & Skeezix 1931–1932, by Frank King, edited by Jeet Heer and Chris Ware (Drawn & Quarterly)

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

•     The Complete Neat Stuff, by Peter Bagge, edited by Eric Reynolds (Fantagraphics)
•     The Complete Wimmen’s Comix, edited by Trina Robbins (Fantagraphics)
•     Fables and Funnies, by Walt Kelly, compiled by David W. Tosh (Dark Horse)
•     Trump: The Complete Collection, by Harvey Kurtzman et al., edited by Denis Kitchen and John Lind (Dark Horse)
•     U.S.S. Stevens: The Collected Stories, by Sam Glanzman, edited by Drew Ford (Dover)

Best Writer

•     Ed Brubaker, Criminal 10th Anniversary Special, Kill or Be Killed, Velvet (Image)
•     Kurt Busiek, Astro City (Vertigo/DC)
•     Chelsea Cain, Mockingbird (Marvel)
•     Max Landis, Green Valley (Image/Skybound), Superman: American Alien (DC)
•     Jeff Lemire, Black Hammer (Dark Horse); Descender, Plutona (Image); Bloodshot Reborn (Valiant)
•     Brian K. Vaughan, Paper Girls, Saga (Image)

Best Writer/Artist

•     Jessica Abel, Trish Trash: Roller Girl of Mars (Papercutz/Super Genius)
•     Box Brown, Tetris: The Games People Play (First Second)
•     Tom Gauld, Mooncop (Drawn & Quarterly)
•     Tom Hart, Rosalie Lightning: A Graphic Memoir (St. Martin’s)
•     Sonny Liew, The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye (Pantheon)

Best Penciller/Inker or Penciller/Inker Team

•     Mark Brooks, Han Solo (Marvel)
•     Dan Mora, Klaus (BOOM!)
•     Greg Ruth, Indeh (Grand Central Publishing)
•     Francois Schuiten, The Theory of the Grain of Sand (IDW)
•     Fiona Staples, Saga (Image)
•     Brian Stelfreeze, Black Panther (Marvel)

Best Painter/Multimedia Artist (interior art)

•     Federico Bertolucci, Love: The Lion (Magnetic)
•     Brecht Evens, Panther (Drawn & Quarterly)
•     Manuele Fior, 5,000 km per Second (Fantagraphics)
•     Dave McKean, Black Dog (Dark Horse)
•     Sana Takeda, Monstress (Image)
•     Jill Thompson, Wonder Woman: The True Amazon (DC); Beasts of Burden: What the Cat Dragged In (Dark Horse)

Best Cover Artist (for multiple covers)

•     Mike Del Mundo, Avengers, Carnage, Mosaic, The Vision (Marvel)
•     David Mack, Abe Sapien, BPRD Hell on Earth, Fight Club 2, Hellboy and the BPRD 1953 (Dark Horse)
•     Sean Phillips, Criminal 10th Anniversary Special, Kill or Be Killed (Image)
•     Fiona Staples, Saga (Image)
•     Sana Takeda, Monstress (Image)

Best Coloring

•     Jean-Francois Beaulieu, Green Valley (Image/Skybound)
•     Elizabeth Breitweiser, Criminal 10th Anniversary Special, Kill or Be Killed, Velvet (Image); Outcast by Kirkman & Azaceta (Image/Skybound)
•     Sonny Liew, The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye (Pantheon)
•     Laura Martin, Wonder Woman (DC); Ragnorak (IDW); Black Panther (Marvel)
•     Matt Wilson, Cry Havoc, Paper Girls, The Wicked + The Divine (Image); Black Widow, The Mighty Thor, Star-Lord (Marvel)

Best Lettering

•     Dan Clowes, Patience (Fantagraphics)
•     Brecht Evens, Panther (Drawn & Quarterly)
•     Tom Gauld, Mooncop (Drawn & Quarterly)
•     Nick Hayes, Woody Guthrie (Abrams)
•     Todd Klein, Clean Room, Dark Night, Lucifer (Vertigo/DC); Black Hammer (Dark Horse)
•     Sonny Liew, The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye (Pantheon)

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
•     Comic Riffs blog, by Michael Cavna and David Betancourt, www.washingtonpost.com/new/comic-riffs/
•     Critical Chips, edited by Zainab Akhtar (Comics & Cola)
•     PanelPatter.com, edited by Rob McMonigal
•     WomenWriteAboutComics.com, edited by Megan Purdy and Claire Napier

Best Comics-Related Book

•     blanc et noir: takeshi obata illustrations, by Takeshi Obata (VIZ Media)
•     Ditko Unleashed: An American Hero, by Florentino Flórez and Frédéric Manzano (IDW/Editions Déesse)
•     Krazy: George Herriman, A Life in Black and White, by Michael Tisserand (Harper)
•     The Life and Legend of Wallace Wood, vol. 1, edited by Bhob Stewart and J. Michael Catron (Fantagraphics)
•     More Heroes of the Comics, by Drew Friedman (Fantagraphics)

Best Academic/Scholarly Work

•     Brighter Than You Think: Ten Short Works by Alan Moore, with essays by Marc Sobel (Uncivilized)
•     Forging the Past: Set and the Art of Memory, by Daniel Marrone (University Press of Mississippi)
•     Frank Miller’s Daredevil and the Ends of Heroism, by Paul Young (Rutgers University Press)
•     Pioneering Cartoonists of Color, by Tim Jackson (University Press of Mississippi)
•     Superwomen: Gender, Power, and Representation, by Carolyn Cocca (Bloomsbury)

Best Publication Design

•     The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye, designed by Sonny Liew (Pantheon)
•     The Complete Wimmen’s Comix, designed by Keeli McCarthy (Fantagraphics)
•     Frank in the Third Dimension, designed by Jacob Covey, 3D conversions by Charles Barnard (Fantagraphics)
•     The Realist Cartoons, designed by Jacob Covey (Fantagraphics)
•     Si Lewen’s Parade: An Artist’s Odyssey, designed by Art Spiegelman (Abrams)

Best Webcomic

•     Bird Boy, by Anne Szabla, http://bird-boy.com
•     Deja Brew, by Taneka Stotts and Sara DuVall (Stela.com)
•     Jaeger, by Ibrahim Moustafa (Stela.com)
•     The Middle Age, by Steve Conley, steveconley.com/the-middle-age
•     On Beauty, by Christina Tran,  sodelightful.com/comics/beauty/

Best Digital Comic

•     Bandette, by Paul Tobin and Colleen Coover (Monkeybrain/comiXology)
•     Edison Rex, by Chris Roberson and Dennis Culver (Monkeybrain/comiXology)
•     Helm, by Jehanzeb Hasan and Mauricio Caballero, www.crookshaw.com/helm/
•     On a Sunbeam, by Tillie Walden, www.onasunbeam.com
•     Universe!, by Albert Monteys (Panel Syndicate)

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

Judges Select Gross, Peter, Prohias, and Seda for Eisner Hall of Fame

Voters Will Select 4 More Inductees

Comic-Con International has announced that the Eisner Awards judges have selected four individuals to automatically be inducted into the Will Eisner Comic Awards Hall of Fame for 2017. These inductees are Milt Gross (early newspaper cartoonist known for such strips as Count Screwloose of Tooloose, Nize Baby, and That's My Pop!), H. G. Peter (original Wonder Woman artist), Antonio Prohias (creator of MAD’s “Spy vs. Spy”), and Dori Seda (pioneering autobiographical underground cartoonist). In most years, the judges select only two automatic inductees, but an exception was made this year as part of the Will Eisner centennial celebration (Eisner would have turned 100 on March 6).

The judges have also chosen 17 nominees from which voters will select 4 to be inducted in the Hall of Fame this summer. These nominees are Peter Bagge, Howard Cruse, Steve Englehart, Justin Green, Roberta Gregory, Bill Griffith, Gilbert and Jaime Hernandez, Francoise Mouly, Jackie Ormes, George Pérez, P. Craig Russell, Posy Simmonds, Walt Simonson, Jim Starlin, Rumiko Takahashi, and Garry Trudeau.

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

2014 Harvey Awards Nominations - Complete Nominees List

2014 Harvey Awards Nominees Announced

Visit www.harveyawards.org for Ballots & Submission Details

The 2014 Harvey Awards Nominees have been announced with the release of the final ballot, presented by the Executive Committees of the Harvey Awards and the Baltimore Comic-Con. Named in honor of the late Harvey Kurtzman, one of the industry's most innovative talents, the Harvey Awards recognize outstanding work in comics and sequential art. They will be presented September 6, 2014 in Baltimore, MD, in conjunction with the Baltimore Comic-Con.

Nominations for the Harvey Awards are selected exclusively by creators - those who write, draw, ink, letter, color, design, edit, or are otherwise involved in a creative capacity in the comics field. They are the only industry awards both nominated and selected by the full body of comic book professionals. Thank you to all that have already participated by submitting a nomination ballot.

Final ballots are due to the Harvey Awards by Monday, August 18, 2014. Full submission instructions can be found on the final ballot.  Voting is open to anyone professionally involved in a creative capacity within the comics field.  Final ballots are available at www.harveyawards.org. Those who prefer paper ballots may e-mail harveys@baltimorecomiccon.com.

This will be the ninth year for the Harvey Awards in Baltimore, MD.  Look for more details soon as to how you can attend the Harvey Awards dinner.

This year's Baltimore Comic-Con will be held September 5-7, 2014.  The ceremony and banquet for the 2014 Harvey Awards will be held Saturday night, September 6th.

Without further delay, the 2014 Harvey Award Nominees:

BEST LETTERER

____   Deron Bennett, CYBORG 009, Archaia
____   Dave Lanphear, QUANTUM AND WOODY, Valiant Entertainment
____   Terry Moore, RACHEL RISING, Abstract Studio
____   Steve Wands, ADVENTURE TIME, kaBOOM!
____   Britt Wilson, ADVENTURE TIME WITH FIONNA AND CAKE, kaBOOM!

BEST COLORIST

____   Jordan Bellaire, PRETTY DEADLY, Image Comics
____   Marte Gracia, ALL NEW X-MEN, Marvel Comics
____   Matt Hollingsworth, HAWKEYE, Marvel Comics
____   Brian Reber, UNITY, Valiant Entertainment
____   Dave Stewart, HELLBOY: THE MIDNIGHT CIRCUS, Dark Horse Comics

BEST SYNDICATED STRIP or PANEL

____   DICK TRACY, Joe Staton and Mike Curtis, Tribune Media Services
____   FOX TROT, Bill Amend, Universal Uclick
____   GET FUZZY, Darby Conley, Universal Uclick
____   MUTTS, Patrick McDonnell, King Features Syndicate
____   THE PHANTOM, Tony DePaul and Paul Ryan, King Features Syndicate

BEST ONLINE COMICS WORK

____   BATTLEPUG, Mike Norton, battlepug.com
____   THE DREAMER, Lora Innes, thedreamercomic.com
____   GUNNERKRIGG COURT, Tom Siddell, gunnerkrigg.com
____   JL8, Yale Stewart, jl8comic.tumblr.com
____   TABLE TITANS, Scott Kurtz, Steve Hamaker, and Brian Hurtt, tabletitans.com

BEST AMERICAN EDITION of FOREIGN MATERIAL

____   ATTACK ON TITAN, Kodansha
____   THE KILLER, VOLUME 4, BOOM! Studios/Archaia
____   SHOWA: A HISTORY OF JAPAN 1926-1939, Drawn and Quarterly
____   SUNNY, Viz Signature
____   TODAY IS THE LAST DAY OF THE REST OF YOUR LIFE, Fantagraphics

BEST INKER

____   Vanesa R. Del Rey, HIT, BOOM! Studios
____   Stefano Gaudiano, THE WALKING DEAD, Image Comics
____   Danny Miki, BATMAN, DC Comics
____   Brian Stelfreeze, DAY MEN, BOOM! Studios
____   Wade Von Grawbadger, ALL NEW X-MEN, Marvel Comics

BEST NEW SERIES

____   AFTERLIFE WITH ARCHIE, Archie Comics
____   QUANTUM AND WOODY, Valiant Entertainment
____   SEX CRIMINALS, Image
____   SIX GUN GORILLA, BOOM! Studios
____   SUICIDE RISK, BOOM! Studios

MOST PROMISING NEW TALENT

____   James Asmus, QUANTUM AND WOODY, Valiant Entertainment
____   Pere Perez, ARCHER AND ARMSTRONG, HARBINGER WARS, Valiant Entertainment
____   Victor Santos, POLAR: CAME FROM THE COLD, DARK HORSE PRESENTS, Dark Horse Comics
____   Jeff Stokely, SIX GUN GORILLA, BOOM! Studios
____   Chip Zdarsky, SEX CRIMINALS, Image Comics

SPECIAL AWARD FOR HUMOR IN COMICS

____   James Asmus, QUANTUM AND WOODY, Valiant Entertainment
____   Ryan North, ADVENTURE TIME, KaBOOM!
____   Dan Parent, KEVIN KELLER, Archie Comics
____   Fred Van Lente, ARCHER AND ARMSTRONG, Valiant Entertainment
____   Jim Zub, SKULLKICKERS, Image Comics

BEST ORIGINAL GRAPHIC PUBLICATION  FOR YOUNGER READERS

____   ADVENTURE TIME, KaBOOM!
____   BATTLING BOY, First Second
____   G-MAN: COMING HOME, Image Comics
____   MONSTER ON THE HILL, Top Shelf Productions
____   ONLY LIVING BOY, Bottled Lightning

BEST GRAPHIC ALBUM PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED

____   HARBINGER VOLUME 1: OMEGA RISING, Valiant Entertainment
____   THE KILLER OMNIBUS VOLUME 1, Archaia
____   MOUSE GUARD VOL. 3: THE BLACK AXE, BOOM! Studios/Archaia
____   POLARITY, BOOM! Studios
____   RAINBOW IN THE DARK: THE COMPLETE SAGA, Comfort Love and Adam Withers

BEST ANTHOLOGY

____   DARK HORSE PRESENTS, Dark Horse Comics
____   MOUSE GUARD: LEGENDS OF THE GUARD VOLUME 2, BOOM! Studios/Archaia
____   OUTLAW TERRITORY 3, Image Comics
____   SPERA, VOLUME 3, BOOM! Studios/Archaia
____   THRILLING ADVENTURE HOUR, BOOM! Studios/Archaia

BEST DOMESTIC REPRINT PROJECT

____   BARNABY VOLUME 1, Fantagraphics
____   BEST OF COMIX BOOK: WHEN MARVEL COMICS WENT UNDERGROUND, Kitchen Sink Books/Dark Horse
____   FRAGGLE ROCK CLASSICS VOLUME 2, BOOM! Studios/Archaia
____   VALIANT MASTERS: NINJAK VOLUME 1 - BLACK WATER, Valiant Entertainment
____   VALIANT MASTERS: SHADOWMAN VOLUME 1 - SPIRITS WITHIN, Valiant Entertainment

BEST COVER ARTIST

____   Goni Montes, CLIVE BARKER'S NEXT TESTAMENT,
____   Andrew Robinson, QUANTUM AND WOODY, Valiant Entertainment
____   Chris Samnee, DAREDEVIL, Marvel Comics
____   Fiona Staples, SAGA, Image Comics
____   Brian Stelfreeze, DAY MEN, BOOM! Studios

BEST BIOGRAPHICAL, HISTORICAL, or JOURNALISTIC PRESENTATION

____   AL CAPP: A LIFE TO THE CONTRARY, Denis Kitchen, Bloomsbury
____   AMERICAN COMIC BOOK CHRONICLES: THE 1950S, TwoMorrows Publishing
____   ART OF RUBE GOLDBERG, Jennifer George, Abrams ComicArts
____   CO-MIX: A RETROSPECTIVE OF COMICS, GRAPHICS, AND SCRAPS, Art Spiegelman, Drawn and Quarterly
____   THE FIFTH BEATLE: THE BRIAN EPSTEIN STORY, by Vivek J. Tiwary, Andrew C. Robinson, and Kyle Baker,
          Dark Horse
____   MARCH: BOOK ONE, John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell, Top Shelf Productions

SPECIAL AWARD for EXCELLENCE IN PRESENTATION

____   BEST OF COMIX BOOK: WHEN MARVEL COMICS WENT UNDERGROUND, John Lind,
          Kitchen Sink Books/Dark Horse Comics
____   CYBORG 009, Stephen Christy, Archaia
____   HARBINGER WARS, Josh Johns and Warren Simons, Valiant Entertainment
____   THRILLING ADVENTURE HOUR, Joe LeFavi, BOOM! Studios/Archaia
____   UNITY, Alejandro Arbona, Josh Johns, and Warren Simons, Valiant Entertainment

BEST GRAPHIC ALBUM ORIGINAL

____   BATTLING BOY, First Second
____   CYBORG 009, Archaia
____   THE FIFTH BEATLE: THE BRIAN EPSTEIN STORY, Dark Horse Comics
____   MARCH: BOOK ONE, Top Shelf Productions
____   THE REASON FOR DRAGONS, BOOM! Studios/Archaia

BEST CONTINUING OR LIMITED SERIES

____   ARCHER AND ARMSTRONG, Valiant Entertainment
____   DAREDEVIL, Marvel Comics
____   HAWKEYE, Marvel Comics
____   HIT, BOOM! Studios
____   MOUSE GUARD: LEGENDS OF THE GUARD VOL. 2, Archaia
____   SAGA, Image Comics

BEST WRITER

____   James Asmus, QUANTUM AND WOODY, Valiant Entertainment
____   Matt Fraction, HAWKEYE, Marvel Comics
____   Matt Kindt, MIND MGMT, Dark Horse Comics
____   Brian K. Vaughan, SAGA, Image Comics
____   Mark Waid, DAREDEVIL, Marvel Comics

BEST ARTIST

____   David Aja, HAWKEYE, Marvel Comics
____   Dan Parent, KEVIN KELLER, Archie Comics
____   Nate Powell, MARCH: BOOK ONE, Top Shelf Productions
____   Chris Samnee, DAREDEVIL, Marvel Comics
____   Fiona Staples, SAGA, Image Comics
____   Jeff Stokely, SIX GUN GORILLA, BOOM! Studios

BEST CARTOONIST

____   Matt Kindt, MIND MGMT, Dark Horse Comics
____   Comfort Love and Adam Withers, RAINBOW IN THE DARK, uniquescomic.com
____   Terry Moore, RACHEL RISING, Abstract Studios
____   Dan Parent, KEVIN KELLER, Archie Comics
____   David Petersen, MOUSE GUARD: THE BLACK AXE, BOOM! Studios/Archaia
____   Paul Pope, BATTLING BOY, First Second

BEST SINGLE ISSUE OR STORY

____   ADVENTURE TIME ANNUAL #1, kaBOOM!
____   DEMETER, self-published, Becky Cloonan
____   "A Kiss ISN'T Just A Kiss!", KEVIN KELLER #10, Archie Comics
____   "Now and Then", DARK HORSE PRESENTS #30, Dark Horse Comics
____   "Pizza is My Business', HAWKEYE #11, Marvel Comics
____   SUICIDE RISK #5, BOOM! Studios
____   UNITY #1, Valiant Entertainment


Congratulations to all of the nominees!  The Havey Committe ask that if you know a nominee, please pass on the good news using email,  Facebook, and Twitter.

Please submit any corrections to harveys@baltimorecomiccon.com.  The Harvey Committee tries its best to list nominees correctly, and want to know if there is an error.

The Harvey Committee and the Baltimore Comic-Con will make every effort to contact all nominees. If you are a nominee and you do not hear from them by July 25, please contact us at harveys@baltimorecomiccon.com. They would love to discuss your involvement in the ceremony and the Baltimore Comic-Con.

For additional information about Harvey Kurtzman and the Harvey Awards, visit www.harveyawards.org or http://www.facebook.com/theharveyawards.

The Baltimore Comic-Con is celebrating its 15th year of bringing the comic book industry to the Baltimore and Washington D.C. area. With a guest list unequaled in the industry, the Baltimore Comic-Con will be held September 5-7, 2014. For more information, please visit the website, Twitter, or Facebook pages.

Book Review: NYC BASIC TIPS AND ETIQUETTE

NYC BASIC TIPS AND ETIQUETTE
WILLIAM MORROW/HarperCollins – @WmMorrowBks and @HarperCollins

AUTHOR: Nathan W. Pyle – @nathanwpyle
ISBN: 978-0-06-230311-0; paperback (April 15, 2014)
144pp, B&W, $10.00 U.S.

One of the recent books that I have found myself thoroughly enjoying and even rereading is NYC Basic Tips and Etiquette.  What is the book about?

If you find yourself needing a guide to the hidden secrets and unwritten rules of New York City (NYC), you have one.  It is a small paperback book entitled NYC Basic Tips and Etiquette and is written and drawn by Nathan W. Pyle.  It is an illustrated guide for residents and visitors alike about navigating New York City.

Nathan Pyle lives and works in Manhattan and is a producer of nonfiction television shows for MSNBC and The Weather Channel (among others).  Although he lives in New York City (NYC), he is originally from Ohio.  He apparently loves living in the big city, but apparently had to learn by trial and error how to navigate life in NYC.

An illustrator, Pyle created 12 simple panel drawings/cartoons about living in NYC.  Last year, Pyle posted on his blog the following, “‘NYC Basic Tips and Etiquette’ is a new series I'm starting, as a guide for newcomers.  I've lived in the city for 4 1/2 years now, and I've decided to start writing down some of the things I've learned in my time here.”

Last year, Pyle posted “NYC Basic Tips and Etiquette” as a series of animated GIF, single-panel comics.  They became a viral Internet phenomenon.  Within the first week of their debut, these 12 comics were featured on sites like Buzzfeed, Huffington Post, and Reddit, among others.

Pyle created more of these comics and now 136 of them are presented in the new paperback book, NYC Basic Tips and Etiquette (published by William Morrow, a HarperCollins imprint).  For those who like the comics in their original animated GIF form, NYC Basic Tips and Etiquette is also available in an animated e-book version.

I have never been to New York City, but, of course, I know people who live and have visited or have lived there.  I thoroughly enjoyed this book because it reminds me of things I have been told about the city and even things that I have read about or seen on television and film about the Big Apple.  I like that some of the comics in NYC Basic Tips and Etiquette applies to other cities, even smaller ones.

Simply put, I think that anyone who picks up this book, even if they don’t care for NYC, will like it.  It’s just plain funny and, at times, it seems like a book of pop wisdom.  And yeah, when I finally visit NYC, I will use NYC Basic Tips and Etiquette as a guide to navigating and visiting that city.  People looking for a unique and useful book about New York City must have NYC Basic Tips and Etiquette – simple as that.

A

http://www.nathanwpyle.com/
https://www.facebook.com/NYCBASICTIPSANDETIQUETTE
https://twitter.com/nathanwpyle

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 Nominees - Complete List

The 2014 Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards will be given out in a gala ceremony on Friday, July 25, 2014 during Comic-Con International: San Diego.  Nominations were announced Tuesday, April 15, 2014.

Will Eisner Comic Industry Award Nominees 2014:

Best Short Story
• “Go Owls,” by Adrian Tomine, in Optic Nerve #13 (Drawn & Quarterly)
• “Mars to Stay,” by Brett Lewis and Cliff Chiang, in Witching Hour (DC)
• “Seaside Home,” by Josh Simmons, in Habit #1 (Oily)
• “Untitled,” by Gilbert Hernandez, in Love and Rockets: New Stories #6 (Fantagraphics)
• “When Your House Is Burning Down, You Should Brush Your Teeth,” by Matthew Inman, theoatmeal.com/comics/house

Best Single Issue (or One-Shot)
• Demeter, by Becky Cloonan (self-published)
• Hawkeye #11: “Pizza Is My Business,” by Matt Fraction and David Aja (Marvel)
• Love and Rockets: New Stories #6, by Gilbert Hernandez and Jaime Hernandez (Fantagraphics)
• Viewotron #2, by Sam Sharpe (self-published)
• Watson and Holmes #6, by Brandon Easton, and N. Steven Harris (New Paradigm Studios)

Best Continuing Series
• East of West, by Jonathan Hickman and Nick Dragotta (Image)
• Hawkeye, by Matt Fraction and David Aja (Marvel)
• Nowhere Men, by Eric Stephenson and Nate Bellegarde (Image)
• Saga, by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples (Image)
• Sex Criminals, by Matt Fraction and Chip Zdarsky (Image)

Best Limited Series
• The Black Beetle: No Way Out, by Francesco Francavilla (Dark Horse)
• Colder, by Paul Tobin and Juan Ferreyra (Dark Horse)
• 47 Ronin, by Mike Richardson and Stan Sakai (Dark Horse)
• Trillium, by Jeff Lemire (Vertigo/DC)
• The Wake, by Scott Snyder and Sean Murphy (Vertigo/DC)

Best New Series
• High Crimes, by Christopher Sebela and Ibrahim Moustafa (Monkeybrain)
• Lazarus, by Greg Rucka and Michael Lark (Image)
• Rat Queens, by Kurtis J. Wiebe and Roc Upchurch (Image/Shadowline)
• Sex Criminals, by Matt Fraction and Chip Zdarsky (Image)
• Watson and Holmes, by Karl Bollers, Rick Leonardi, Paul Mendoza et al. (New Paradigm Studios)

Best Publication for Early Readers (up to age 7)
• Benjamin Bear in Bright Ideas, by Philippe Coudray (TOON Books)
• The Big Wet Balloon, by Liniers (TOON Books)
• Itsy Bitsy Hellboy, by Art Baltazar and Franco (Dark Horse)
• Odd Duck, by Cecil Castellucci and Sara Varon  (First Second)
• Otto’s Backwards Day, by Frank Cammuso (with Jay Lynch) (TOON Books)

Best Publication for Kids (ages 8-12)
• The Adventures of Superhero Girl, by Faith Erin Hicks (Dark Horse)
• Hilda and the Bird Parade, by Luke Pearson (Nobrow)
• Jane, the Fox, and Me, by Fanny Britt and Isabelle Arsenault (Groundwood)
• The Lost Boy, by Greg Ruth (Graphix/Scholastic)
• Mouse Guard: Legends of the Guard, vol. 2, edited by David Petersen, Paul Morrissey, and Rebecca Taylor (Archaia/BOOM!)
• Star Wars: Jedi Academy, by Jeffrey Brown (Scholastic)

Best Publication for Teens (ages 13-17)
• Battling Boy, by Paul Pope (First Second)
• Bluffton: My Summers with Buster, by Matt Phelan (Candlewick)
• Boxers and Saints, by Gene Luen Yang (First Second)
• Dogs of War, by Sheila Keenan and Nathan Fox (Graphix/Scholastic)
• March (Book One), by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell (Top Shelf)
• Templar, by Jordan Mechner, LeUyen Pham, and Alex Puviland (First Second)

Best Humor Publication
• The Adventures of Superhero Girl, by Faith Erin Hicks (Dark Horse)
• The Complete Don Quixote, by Miguel de Cervantes and Rob Davis (SelfMadeHero)
• The (True!) History of Art, by Sylvain Coissard and Alexis Lemoine (SelfMadeHero)
• Vader’s Little Princess, by Jeffrey Brown (Chronicle)
• You’re All Just Jealous of My Jetpack, by Tom Gauld (Drawn & Quarterly)

Best Anthology
• Dark Horse Presents, edited by Mike Richardson (Dark Horse)
• Nobrow #8: Hysteria, edited by Sam Arthur and Alex Spiro (Nobrow)
• Outlaw Territory, edited by Michael Woods (Image)
• Smoke Signal, edited by Gabe Fowler (Desert Island)
• Thrilling Adventure Hour, by Ben Acker, Ben Blacker et al. (Archaia/BOOM!)

Best Digital/Webcomic
• As the Crow Flies, by Melanie Gillman, www.melaniegillman.com
• Failing Sky, by Dax Tran-Caffee, failingsky.com
• High Crimes, by Christopher Sebela and Ibrahim Moustafa (Monkeybrain), www.monkeybraincomics.com/titles/high-crimes/
• The Last Mechanical Monster, by Brian Fies, lastmechanicalmonster.blogspot.com
• The Oatmeal by Matthew Inman, theoatmeal.com

Best Reality-Based Work
• A Bag of Marbles, by Joseph Joffo, Kris, and Vincent Bailly (Graphic Universe/Lerner)
• The Fifth Beatle: The Brian Epstein Story, by Vivek J. Tiwary, Andrew C. Robinson, and Kyle Baker (M Press/Dark Horse)
• Hip Hop Family Tree, vol. 1, by Ed Piskor (Fantagraphics)
• March (Book One), by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell (Top Shelf)
• Today Is the Last Day of the Rest of Your Life, by Ulli Lust (Fantagraphics)
• Woman Rebel: The Margaret Sanger Story, by Peter Bagge (Drawn & Quarterly)

Best Graphic Album—New
• Bluffton: My Summers with Buster, by Matt Phelan (Candlewick)
• The Encyclopedia of Early Earth, by Isabel Greenberg (Little, Brown)
• Good Dog, by Graham Chaffee (Fantagraphics)
• Homesick by Jason Walz (Tinto Press)
• The Property, by Rutu Modan (Drawn & Quarterly)
• War Brothers, by Sharon McKay and Daniel LaFrance (Annick Press)

Best Adaptation from Another Medium
• The Castle, by Franz Kafka, adapted by David Zane Mairowitz and Jaromír 99 (SelfMadeHero)
• The Complete Don Quixote, by Miguel de Cervantes, adapted by by Rob Davis (SelfMadeHero)
• Django Unchained, adapted by Quentin Tarantino, Reginald Hudlin, R. M. Guéra et al. (DC/Vertigo)
• Richard Stark’s Parker: Slayground, by Donald Westlake, adapted by Darwyn Cooke (IDW)
• The Strange Tale of Panorama Island, by Edogawa Rampo, adapted by Suehiro Maruo  (Last Gasp)

Best Graphic Album—Reprint
• The Creep, by John Arcudi and Jonathan Case (Dark Horse)
• Hand-Drying in America and Other Stories, by Ben Katchor (Pantheon)
• Heck, by Zander Cannon (Top Shelf)
• Julio’s Day, by Gilbert Hernandez  (Fantagraphics)
• RASL, by Jeff Smith (Cartoon Books)
• Solo: The Deluxe Edition, edited by Mark Chiarello (DC)

Best Archival Collection/Project—Strips
• Barnaby, vol. 1, by Crockett Johnson, edited by Philip Nel and Eric Reynolds (Fantagraphics)
• Percy Crosby’s Skippy Daily Comics, vol. 2: 1928–1930, edited by Jared Gardner and Dean Mullaney (LOAC/IDW)
• Prince Valiant vols. 6-7, by Hal Foster, edited by Kim Thompson (Fantagraphics)
• Society Is Nix: Gleeful Anarchy at the Dawn of the American Comic Strip, edited by Peter Maresca (Sunday Press)
• Tarzan: The Complete Russ Manning Newspaper Strips, vol. 1, edited by Dean Mullaney (LOAC/IDW)
• VIP: The Mad World of Virgil Partch, edited by Jonathan Barli (Fantagraphics)

Best Archival Collection/Project—Comic Books
• Best of EC Artist’s Edition, edited by Scott Dunbier (IDW)
• Canteen Kate, by Matt Baker (Canton Street Press)
• In the Days of the Mob, by Jack Kirby (DC)
• MAD Artist’s Edition, edited by Scott Dunbier (IDW)
• Will Eisner’s The Spirit Artist’s Edition, edited by Scott Dunbier (IDW)

Best U.S. Edition of International Material
• Adventures of a Japanese Businessman, by Jose Domingo (Nobrow)
• Goddam This War! by Jacques Tardi and Jean-Pierre Verney (Fantagraphics)
• Incidents in the Night, Book One, by David B. (Uncivilized Books)
• Today Is the Last Day of the Rest of Your Life, by Ulli Lust (Fantagraphics)
• When David Lost His Voice, by Judith Vanistendael (SelfMadeHero)

Best U.S. Edition of International Material—Asia
• The Heart of Thomas, by Moto Hagio (Fantagraphics)
• The Mysterious Underground Men, by Osamu Tezuka (PictureBox)
• Showa: A History of Japan, 1926–1939, by Shigeru Mizuki (Drawn & Quarterly)
• Summit of the Gods, vol. 4, by Yemmakura Baku and Jiro Taniguchi (Fanfare/Ponent Mon)
• Utsubora: The Story of a Novelist, by Asumiko Nakamura (Vertical)

Best Writer
• Kelly Sue DeConnick, Pretty Deadly (Image); Captain Marvel (Marvel)
• Matt Fraction, Sex Criminals (Image); Hawkeye, Fantastic Four, FF (Marvel)
• Jonathan Hickman, East of West, The Manhattan Projects (Image); Avengers, Infinity (Marvel)
• Scott Snyder, Batman (DC); American Vampire, The Wake (DC/Vertigo)
• Eric Stephenson, Nowhere Men (Image)
• Brian K. Vaughan, Saga (Image)

Best Writer/Artist
• Isabel Greenberg, The Encyclopedia of Early Earth (Little, Brown)
• Jaime Hernandez, Love and Rockets New Stories #6 (Fantagraphics)
• Terry Moore, Rachel Rising (Abstract Studio)
• Luke Pearson, Hilda and the Bird Parade (Nobrow)
• Matt Phelan, Bluffton: My Summers with Buster (Candlewick)
• Judith Vanistendael, When David Lost His Voice (SelfMadeHero)

Best Penciller/Inker or Penciller/Inker Team
• Nate Bellegarde, Nowhere Men (Image)
• Nick Dragotta, East of West (Image)
• Sean Murphy, The Wake (DC/Vertigo)
• Nate Powell, March (Book One) (Top Shelf)
• Emma Ríos, Pretty Deadly (Image)
• Thomas Yeates, Law of the Desert Born: A Graphic Novel (Bantam)

Best Painter/Multimedia Artist (interior art)
• Andrew C. Robinson, The Fifth Beatle (Dark Horse)
• Sonia Sanchéz, Here I Am (Capstone)
• Fiona Staples, Saga (Image)
• Ive Svorcina, Thor (Marvel)
• Marguerite Van Cook, 7 Miles a Second (Fantagraphics)
• Judith Vanistendael, When David Lost His Voice (SelfMadeHero)

Best Cover Artist
• David Aja, Hawkeye (Marvel)
• Mike Del Mundo, X-Men Legacy (Marvel)
• Sean Murphy/Jordie Belaire, The Wake (DC/Vertigo)
• Emma Ríos, Pretty Deadly (Image)
• Chris Samnee, Daredevil (Marvel)
• Fiona Staples, Saga (Image)

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)
• Steve Hamaker, Mylo Xyloto (Bongo), Strangers in Paradise 20th Anniversary Issue 1 (Abstract Studio), RASL (Cartoon Books)
• Matt Hollingsworth, Hawkeye, Daredevil: End of Days (Marvel); The Wake (DC/Vertigo)
• Frank Martin, East of West (Image)
• Dave Stewart, Abe Sapien, Baltimore: The Infernal Train, BPRD: Hell on Earth, Conan the Barbarian, Hellboy: Hell on Earth, The Massive, The Shaolin Cowboy, Sledgehammer 44 (Dark Horse)

Best Lettering
• Darwyn Cooke, Richard Stark’s Parker: Slayground (IDW)
• Carla Speed McNeil, Bad Houses; “Finder” in Dark Horse Presents (Dark Horse)
• Terry Moore, Rachel Rising (Abstract Studio)
• Ed Piskor, Hip Hop Family Tree (Fantagraphics)
• Britt Wilson, Adventure Time with Fiona and Cake (kaBOOM!)

Best Comics-Related Periodical/Journalism
• Comic Book Resources, produced by Jonah Weiland, www.comicbookresources.com
• The Comics Journal #302, edited by Gary Groth and Kristy Valenti (Fantagraphics)
• Comics and Cola, by Zainab Akhtar, www.comicsandcola.com
• Multiversity Comics, edited by Matthew Meylikhov, www.multiversitycomics.com
• tcj.com, edited by Dan Nadel and Timothy Hodler (Fantagrapahics), www.tcj.com

Best Comics-Related Book
• Al Capp: A Life to the Contrary, by Michael Schumacher and Denis Kitchen (Bloomsbury)
• The Art of Rube Goldberg, selected by Jennifer George (Abrams ComicArts)
• Co-Mix: A Retrospective of Comics, Graphics, and Scraps, by Art Spiegelman (Drawn & Quarterly)
• Genius, Illustrated: The Life and Art of Alex Toth,  by Dean Mullaney and Bruce Canwell (LOAC/IDW)
• The Love and Rockets Companion, edited by Marc Sobel and Kristy Valenti (Fantagraphics)

Best Scholarly/Academic Work
• Anti-Foreign Imagery in American Pulps and Comic Books, 1920–1960, by Nathan Vernon Madison (McFarland)
• Black Comics: Politics of Race and Representation, edited by Sheena C. Howard and Ronald L. Jackson II (Bloomsbury)
• Drawing from Life: Memory and Subjectivity in Comic Art, edited by Jane Tolmie (University Press of Mississippi)
• International Journal of Comic Art, edited by John A. Lent
• The Superhero Reader, edited by Charles Hatfield, Jeet Heer, and Ken Worcester (University Press of Mississippi)

Best Publication Design
• The Art of Rube Goldberg, designed by Chad W. Beckerman (Abrams ComicArts)
• Beta Testing the Apocalypse, designed by Tom Kaczynski (Fantagraphics)
• Genius, Illustrated: The Life and Art of Alex Toth, designed by Dean Mullaney (LOAC/IDW)
• The Great War: July 1, 1916: The First Day of the Battle of the Somme: A Panorama, by Joe Sacco, designed by Chin-Yee Lai (Norton)
• Little Tommy Lost, Book 1, designed by Cole Closser (Koyama)

Review: ZITS: Chillax

ZITS: CHILLAX
HARPERTEEN/HARPERCOLLINS CHILDREN – @HarperCollins and @HarperChildrens

AUTHORS/ILLUSTRATORS: Jerry Scott and Jim Borgman
ISBN: 978-0-06-222851-2; paperback (May 21, 2013)
256pp, B&W, $9.99 U.S.

Ages 13 and up

Debuting in July 1997, Zits is a comic strip written by cartoonist Jerry Scott and drawn by artist Jim Borgman. The strip is set in a suburban central Ohio area and stars Jeremy Duncan, a 16-year-old high school sophomore. Zits: Chillax is a 2013 teen novel from Scott and Borgman and is set in the world of Zits. Zits: Chillax is also an illustrated novel, featuring more than 300 illustrations.

Just about every page of Zits: Chillax features art. There are spot illustrations throughout the text. Some pages are half-art and half text, and some pages are entirely illustrated, while there are many full and half double-page spreads. If that were not enough to put the “illustrated” in illustrated novel, the authors have also included art that imitates comic strips and comic books.

Zits: Chillax stars Jeremy Duncan, described as a teen slacker. He has a girlfriend (Sara Toomey), a best friend (Hector Garcia), and is the lead guitarist of a four-member garage band called Chickenfist. Now, Jeremy is about to go to his first real rock concert, and it will be a chance for him to see his favorite musical act, the guitar mayhem band, Gingivitis.

However, the only reason Jeremy and Hector got two tickets to the Gingivitis show is because the tickets’ original owner, Tim, their friend and fellow band mate, will be busy donating bone marrow for his cancer-stricken mother. Jeremy’s parents, Connie and Walter (“Walt”) Duncan, and his friends and their parents are doing things to support Tim and his family. However, Jeremy and Hector are going to be at the concert the very night Tim will be in a hospital donating the bone marrow. Jeremy and Hector decide to have a rockin’ good time in support of their pal, and hopefully also score him a supremely cool souvenir. The pursuit of fun and swag leads to a night the two friends will never forget.

The press release that I received with my review copy of Zits: Chillax (from HarperCollins) says that the book “speaks ‘teen’ fluently…” Other than what I hear on television, I don’t know what teenaged vernacular is this year, but Chillax has slang and language that I recognize from pop culture. Actually, I don’t care about what Chillax “speaks,” but I assume that it is important to the publishers.

What I do care about is the quality of Zits: Chillax. It is actually a good read, and I say “actually” because I was mostly bored with this book for the first three chapters. At the end of the third chapter, Tim announces his mother’s cancer. Suddenly, the book changes, and, for me, it really starts to grapple with what it means to be a teenager when “real life,” meaning adult troubles, intrude on the fun time.

I remember, as a child, avoiding anything to do with discussing cancer. Once, my mother took us to visit one of her relatives who had late stage cancer. My mother told me that the relative “looked really bad.” So when we got to the relative’s home, I stayed in the car, because I was so afraid of what she might look like. I remember staring at the house, imagining the sick person behind the front door. I think Stephen King could have transformed my thoughts and feelings at that moment into a story to scare everyone. In reality, there was nothing or no one truly frightening behind that door.

However, Zits: Chillax is not downbeat. It is a gentle, yet lively teen adventure about teenagers being allowed to find their own way to express friendship and solidarity when faced with tough issues like grave and serious illness. Zits: Chillax is funny and has heart, and I am happy that there will be another Zits illustrated teen novel, Zits: Shredded!, which is previewed at the back of this book.

Aimed at teenagers, I think Zits: Chillax is appropriate for and will appeal to late pre-teen readers. Plus, fans of the Zits comic strip – of all ages – should try this book.

A-

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux

Pogo to Help Celebrate Fantagraphics Bookstore Anniversary

Celebrate the 5th Anniversary of Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery!

“Playing Possum: The Pogo Art of Walt Kelly” opens December 10

In 1970, Walt Kelly’s playful possum Pogo looked upon his polluted Okefenokee Swamp and uttered in despair, “We have met the enemy and he is us.” This line quickly became part of our cultural lexicon and cemented Pogo’s place in American popular culture. Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery celebrates the publication of Pogo: Through the Wild Blue Wonder with “Playing Possum: The Pogo Art of Walt Kelly.” This exhibition of original Walt Kelly strips opens Saturday, December 10 from 6:00 to 9:00 PM on the occasion of the bookstore’s 5th anniversary gala.

The long-anticipated Pogo: Through the Wild Blue Wonder, Volume 1 of the Complete Comic Strips collects early Sunday and daily Pogo comics from 1949 – 1950. Kelly introduces his huge cast of irreverent swamp dwellers and their singular dialect known as “swamp talk.” Politics soon became a central topic in the swamp. While Kelly claimed to oppose “the extreme right, the extreme left, and the extreme middle,” political figures cynically cloaking themselves in patriotic garb were clearly disdained. Kelly boldly caricatured red baiting Senator Joseph R. McCarthy as Simple J. Malarkey. An obvious parody of J. Edgar Hoover seemingly drove the FBI director to distraction. He reportedly assigned cryptographers to decipher the secret swamp talk “code.” (A strip from 1971 referencing this will be on display.) Kelly’s characters also embraced the burgeoning environmental movement and other progressive causes. “Playing Possum: The Pogo Art of Walt Kelly” includes 12 memorable dailies and 4 Sunday strips. These original works reveal the artist’s concern for composition, delicate line quality, and detailed dialogue.

The opening on Saturday, December 10 from 6:00 to 9:00 PM promises to be a festive affair. Musical entertainment will be provided by Sawsome, a female saw and banjo duet. The evening commemorates the 5th anniversary of Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery and coincides with the holiday edition of the colorful Georgetown Art Attack featuring art exhibitions, special events and wandering carolers from Choir of the Sound throughout the historic neighborhood.

PLAYING POSSUM: The Pogo Art of Walt Kelly
Opening reception Saturday, December 10, 6:00 – 9:00 PM
5th Anniversary Holiday Gala with musical entertainment by SAWSOME
Exhibition continues through January 4, 2012
www.fantagraphics.com/news/playingpossum

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

Fantagraphics Books Brings Floyd Gottfredson's Mickey Mouse Back to Life

Walt Disney’s Mickey Mouse by Floyd Gottfredson
“Race to Death Valley”
Edited by David Gerstein & Gary Groth

Designed by Jacob Covey
Featuring essays by Warren Spector, Floyd Norman, Thomas Andrae and David Gerstein
FANTAGRAPHICS BOOKS, SEATTLE, WA
$29.99 Hardcover • 260 pages, color and black-and-white • 10 1/2” x 8 1/2” • ISBN 978-1-60699-441-2
HUMOR / Comic Strips • PUBLICATION DATE: Late May 2011

• Produced in full cooperation with The Walt Disney Company
• Great gift idea
• Featuring the #1 character franchise in the world
• Fantagraphics’ most anticipated release since the first volume of The Complete Peanuts, which has sold over 150,000 copies

Today everyone knows Mickey Mouse as the cheerful ambassador of all things Disney, and the #1 character franchise in the world. But back in the 1930s, Mickey gained fame as a rough-and-tumble, two-fisted epic hero — an adventurous, underdog scrapper matching wits with mobsters, kidnappers, spies, and even (gulp!) city slickers! And Mickey’s greatest feats of derring-do took place in his daily comic strip, written and drawn by one of the greatest cartoonists of the 20th century — Floyd Gottfredson.

Gottfredson’s vibrant visual storytelling has never been more beautifully reproduced, with each daily lovingly restored from Disney’s original negatives and proof sheets.

Walt Disney often said that his studio’s success “all started with a Mouse,” and today Mickey is among the world’s most recognizable icons. Now it’s time to rediscover the wild, unforgettable personality behind the icon!

Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse: "Race to Death Valley" (Vol. 1) (Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse)

IDW Publishing from Diamond Distributors for March 2 2011

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