Comics and Magazines from Diamond Distributors for February 16 2011

COMICS

OCT100837 10TH MUSE VS LEGEND OF ISIS #1 (OF 2) $3.99

DEC100804 28 DAYS LATER #20 $3.99

NOV108215 ALEX TOTH ADVENTURES JON FURY IN JAPAN SPECIAL ED $11.00

DEC100739 ARCHIE & FRIENDS #152 $2.99

NOV100730 ARCHIE NEW LOOK SERIES TP VOL 05 GOODBYE FOREVER $10.95

DEC100742 BETTY & VERONICA DOUBLE DIGEST #188 $3.99

DEC100869 BOYS #51 (MR) $3.99

DEC090806 BUCK ROGERS HC VOL 01 FUTURE SHOCK BEATTY SGN ED $39.99

DEC100715 CAVEWOMAN HUNT #2 (MR) PI

SEP101220 CHARMED #6 A CVR SEIDMAN $3.50

SEP101221 CHARMED #6 B CVR PHOTO $3.50

DEC100734 CYCLOPS #4 (MR) $3.95

DEC100832 DARKWING DUCK #9 $3.99

NOV100849 DEVILS TRAIL #1 (OF 4) (MR) $3.99

DEC101016 DISNEY FAIRIES GN VOL 01 PRILLAS TALENT (O/A) $7.99

DEC100834 DONALD DUCK #363 $3.99

DEC100930 DORK TOWER COLL TP 04 LIVIN LA VIDA DORKA (NEW PTG) $15.95

DEC100932 DR BLINK SUPERHERO SHRINK TP VOL 01 (NEW PTG) (O/A) $14.99

OCT100841 FAME DANICA PATRICK $3.99

MAR100721 FATHOM BLUE DESCENT #2 CVR A SCOTT CLARK $2.99

OCT100842 FEMALE FORCE SARAH PALIN PT 2 $3.99

DEC100864 GARTH ENNIS JENNIFER BLOOD #1 (MR) $3.99

DEC101113 GFT PRESENTS NEVERLAND #7 (OF 7) A CVR QUALANO (RES) $2.99

DEC101114 GFT PRESENTS NEVERLAND #7 (OF 7) B CVR CUMMINGS (RES) $2.99

SEP100943 GREEN HORNET YEAR ONE #8 $3.99

SEP101212 GRIMM FAIRY TALES #55 A CVR EBAS $2.99

SEP101213 GRIMM FAIRY TALES #55 B CVR QUALANO $2.99

NOV101094 GRIMM FAIRY TALES BLOOD BATH COLL $3.99

DEC100836 INCREDIBLES TP VOL 05 TRUTH & CONSEQUENCES $9.99

NOV101001 JOE KUBERT READER TP $25.00

NOV101023 JOHNNY RED HC VOL 01 FALCONS FIRST FLIGHT (RES) $19.95

NOV101100 LAON GN VOL 04 $11.99

DEC100841 MICKEY MOUSE #305 $3.99

AUG100839 NANNY & HANK #3 $3.99

SEP100855 NANNY & HANK #4 $3.99

OCT100811 NIGHT O/T LIVING DEAD #3 (OF 5) (MR) $3.99

OCT100812 NIGHT O/T LIVING DEAD #3 (OF 5) GORE CVR (MR) $3.99

OCT100813 NIGHT O/T LIVING DEAD #3 (OF 5) WRAP CVR (MR) $3.99

NOV100850 PHINEAS & FERB EARLY COMIC READER #4 ITS ABOUT TIME $4.99

SEP100857 POLITICAL POWER BILL O REILLY $3.99

OCT100970 ROBERT JORDAN WHEEL OF TIME EYE O/T WORLD #8 $3.99

OCT100848 ROGER CORMAN PRESENTS DEATHSPORT #2 $3.99

AUG100783 SCOURGE #3 CVR A ERIC BATTLE $2.99

AUG100784 SCOURGE #3 CVR B NICK BRADSHAW $2.99

DEC100983 SEEKERS KALLIKS ADVENTURE GN VOL 01 $6.99

NOV101068 SHONEN JUMP MARCH 2011 $4.99

DEC100800 SIMPSONS COMICS #175 $2.99

DEC100750 SONIC UNIVERSE #25 $2.99

DEC100824 STAN LEE SOLDIER ZERO #5 $3.99

NOV101020 TANK GIRL BAD WIND RISING #2 (OF 4) $3.99

SEP101026 TWILIGHT O/T A-HOLES GN $28.99

DEC100965 UPTIGHT #4 (RES) $3.95

NOV100855 VAMPIRELLA #3 $3.99

OCT100850 VINCENT PRICE PRESENTS #25 (MR) $3.99

MAGAZINES
OCT101253 GOTHIC & LOLITA BIBLE #36 (NOTE PRICE) $33.00
OCT101254 HOBBY JAPAN JAN 2011 (NOTE PRICE) PI
DEC101130 JUXTAPOZ #122 MAR 2011 $5.99
NOV101152 SCI FI & FANTASY MODELLER VOL 20 $26.95
NOV101165 SFX #205 $9.99
DEC101195 STAR TREK MAGAZINE #32 SPECIAL NEWSSTAND ED $9.99
DEC101196 STAR TREK MAGAZINE #32 SPECIAL PX ED $9.99
NOV101153 STEAMPUNK MODELLER VOL 01 $28.95

Leroy Douresseaux on Andy Diggle's RAT CATCHER

RAT CATCHER

DC COMICS/VERTIGO

WRITER: Andy Diggle

ARTIST: Victor Ibañez
LETTERS: Jared K. Fletcher
COVER: Lee Bermejo
ISBN: 978-1-4012-1158-5; hardcover
184pp, B&W, $19.99 U.S., $22.99 CAN

I recently read my first Vertigo Crime graphic novel. Released a few weeks ago, it is entitled Rat Catcher. It’s a graphic novel from writer Andy Diggle (The Losers, Hellblazer) and Spanish artist Victor Ibañez, with black and white art. If my count is right, this is the sixth graphic novel released under the “Vertigo Crime” umbrella – the crime graphic fiction shingle of Vertigo, an imprint of DC Comics.

Rat Catcher is the first Vertigo Crime comic book that I’ve read, so I can’t say how much it is like the earlier releases. What I can say is that Rat Catcher isn’t crime fiction in that Donald Westlake/Jim Thompson way or even in that Raymond Chandler/Dashiell Hammett way. Rat Catcher is a crime thriller, or more specifically an FBI thriller.

Rat Catcher largely takes place in West Texas, the “badlands of West Texas,” as the story and advertising for the book emphasize. A white supremacist, drug lord named Earl Rawlins rules supreme. Rawlins has just had an informant in his drug distribution system killed, and that killer is someone known as the “Rat Catcher.” The Rat Catcher is sort of like a boogeyman story for FBI agents, a mysterious figure who kills people about to enter the Witness Protection Program after informing on Rawlins.

The chase begins in a burning Federal safe house with a pile of burning bodies inside. Soon two FBI Special Agents, William Lynch and Moses Burdon, are separately on a race to discover the truth. All the players in this game carry secrets, one more deadly than the others.

In a quote for Rat Catcher, Ian Rankin, a novelist who wrote the Vertigo Crime graphic novel, Dark Entries, says that “Moral ambiguities abound.” Not really. In Rat Catcher, murder comes in two flavors: those who got it coming and those who are merely victims. This fast paced narrative focuses on shocking twists and turns and the sudden impact of a bullet, so it doesn’t have time for ambiguity.

Rat Catcher feels like an action movie more than it does crime fiction of the prose or comic book variety. This is not a criticism. Diggle drops his readers into a clever ruse, and then, delivers the action movie thrills better than some action movies do. Although his storytelling is good, artist Victor Ibañez seems almost hard-pressed to keep up with Diggle’s blood-fueled death race with his chunky graphic style. I do feel a bit shitty about saying this: Ibañez isn’t a perfect fit for this story.

I don’t know what other Vertigo Crime comic books are like, but I wonder if they raise hell like Rat Catcher.

B+

Minck Oosterveer Joins Eva Ink Artist Group

Award-Winning "Zombie" Artist, Minck Oosterveer, Signs with Eva Ink Artist Group

New York, NY-- Okay, to say that Minck Oosterveer is a "zombie" aritst is true enough....BUT far from describing this wonderful talent. We just wanted to get your attention. :-)

In fact, the award-winning artist is known world wide for a plethora of comic strips, movie work, and sequential art. Most notably here in the United States for such books as "Zombie Tales" and "The Unknown" with writer Mark Waid!

Throughout his career, Minck pursued an education to become a master of the arts, and has certainly succeeded.

Although he grew up in The Netherlands (Holland) with European comics, he was soon more interested in American comics, especially the newspaper comics of the 1930s-50s. It was the pulp-ish, direct style and the usage of black and white in realistic artwork that attracted him the most. Film Noir as it were.

In fact, Oosterveer's work is strongly influenced by Milton Caniff, Alex Raymond, and Will Eisner. After working for a studio on productions like 'Tom & Jerry', 'Sesame Street', 'Paddington', 'Ovide' and 'Spider-Man', Minck Oosterveer moved more in the direction of another stylistic forte, working with Willem Ritstier on the series "Claudia Brücken" for the Franco-Belgian publishing-house 'les editons Lombard' and Tintin-Magazine .

The collaboration with Ritstier resulted in a daily newspaper comic in an American style, "Jack Pott", published in the Dutch newspaper "Algemeen Dagblad."

Since 1996 Oosterveer worked again with Willem Ritstier on the newspaper comic "Zodiak" for De Telegraaf, and series "Rick Rolluik" for Suske en Wiske-magazine, and "Arachna" for ComicWatch-magazine. He did the art and story for the comic "Excalibur", published by Enigma and artwork for a successful animated movie, '"Mario A".

In 2002, Oosterveer and Ritstier started a new daily comic strip in De Telegraaf, called "Nicky Saxx", one of their most successful comic-series. This was followed by a comic-series entitled "Trunk" (2006), which debuted to critical acclaim. Next they teamed up (2007) as writer (Ritstier) and penciller (Oosterveer) for "Storm", a successful European comic series created by Englishman Don Lawrence, and started a new western-comic, called "Ronson inc." for the legendary Dutch comic-magazine "Eppo"

Minck Oosterveer debuted in US-comics with the aforementioned "Zombie Tales/ Zaambi" written by Cris Morgan and published by BOOM!-studios. Early 2009 until 2010 he collaborated with American writer Mark Waid to draw the mini-series "The Unknown" and "The Unknown: The Devil made flesh" which where published by BOOM!-studios as well.

"From the moment Michael Golden and myself met Minck Oosterveer at a festival in Lille, France, we were struck by his witty sense of humor and his ease as a gentleman. After seeing his portfolio some time later, I also became aware of what an incredibly talented and versatile artist he truly is," commented Renee Witterstaetter of Eva Ink Artist Group. "Minck has that rare ability to find strengths in many art styles-- from Film Noir to cartoon, to American and European sequential styles. The one thing that is never lacking is good storytelling. Is is obvious to me that he is indeed a student of the masters such as Will Eisner and Alex Raymond in that regard. As with any exceptionally good artist, even his covers tell a story. To top that, not only is Minck a consummate professional dealing with deadlines and clients, but he is also the creator of his own intellectual properties.

"All of the above made Minck a more than welcome addition to our company, Eva Ink Artist Group," Renee concluded. "I try to only work with the best, and to me, Mr. Oosterveer is certainly that. My congratulations to him on this much deserved award."

Currently, Minck Oosterveer is scheduled for several European and US shows in 2011, with more to follow.

Look for him at:
De Stripdagen Gorinchem, The Netherlands, March 12-13

Wizard World Philly, June 17-19th

Albuquerque Comic Con, June 24th-26th

FACTS Convention Ghent Belgium, October 22-23rd

For more information on Minck, his commissions, and appearances contact Renee at evaink@aol.com

20th Century Boys Beginning of the End

I read Naoki Urasawa's 20th Century Boys, Vol. 13

I posted a review at the Comic Book Bin (which has FREE smart phone apps).

Ballots for 2011 Harvey Awards Now Available

2011 HARVEY NOMINATION BALLOTS AVAILABLE!

SCOTT KURTZ TO HOST HARVEY AWARDS!

BALTIMORE, MD (February 3, 2011) -- The Executive Committees of the Harvey Awards and the Baltimore Comic-Con are proud to present the official Nomination Ballot for this year's Harvey Awards. 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.

Ballots can be downloaded from HarveyAwards.org and completed forms can be e-mailed to harveyballots@hotmail.com. Ballots are due for submission by Monday, March 28, 2011. In addition to being available on the website, ballots will be sent to all major publishers and distributed at comic conventions. We look forward to your participation and input in this process, and we look forward to seeing you at the Baltimore Comic-Con and the Harvey Awards.

Returning for his third consecutive Harvey Awards, Scott Kurtz will be the Master of Ceremonies for the awards banquet, to be held Saturday, August 20, 2011 as part of the Baltimore Comic-Con. "We are thrilled that Scott agreed to come back to Baltimore and help to make the Harvey Awards ceremony as fun and exciting as the last few years have been!" said Marc Nathan, promoter of the Baltimore Comic-Con.

Scott Kurtz has been creating his own comic strips since he got hooked on Garfield in the 4th grade. In 1998, his comic strip, PvP, debuted on the world wide web (pvponline.com) with 700 daily readers. Over the last 10 years, PvP has grown into a genuine Internet phenomenon, growing in readership to an estimated 150,000 readers per day, a monthly title from Image comics, winning a Harvey Award in 2010 for Best Online Comics Work, and winning the Eisner Award for best digital comic in 2006. Scott co-wrote the book "How To Make Webcomics" and co-founded webcomics.com to help assist others in forging their own creative destinies.

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. The Harvey Awards are the only industry awards both nominated and selected by the full body of comic book professionals.

This year's Baltimore Comic-Con will be held August 20-21, 2011. Convention hours are Saturday 10 AM to 6 PM and Sunday 10 AM to 5 PM. The ceremony and banquet for the Harvey Awards will be held Saturday night, August 20. Additional details about the Harvey Awards and the awards ceremony will be released over the next few months.


About The Harvey Awards
The Harvey Awards are one of the comic book industry's oldest and most respected awards. With a history of over 20 years, the last 6 in conjunction with the Baltimore Comic-Con, the Harveys recognize outstanding achievements in over 20 categories. They are the only industry awards nominated and selected by the full body of comic book professionals. For more information, please visit www.harveyawards.org

About The Baltimore Comic-Con
The Baltimore Comic-Con is celebrating its 12th 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 August 20-21, 2011. For more information, please visit www.baltimorecomiccon.com.

Bokurano 4 of Ours Down

I read Bokurano: Ours, Vol. 3

I posted a review at the Comic Book Bin (which has FREE smart phone apps).

I Reads You Review: LIVES, VOL. 1

Creator: Masayuki Taguchi with Bryce P. Coleman (English adaptation) and Monica Seya Chin (translation)

Publishing Information: TOKYOPOP, B&W, paperback, 192 pages, $12.99 (US), $16.99 CAN

Ordering Numbers: ISBN: 978-1-4278-1667-2

 

Action/Fantasy; Rated “M” for “Mature Ages 18+”

 

I enjoy reading manga, and for most of the last eight years, I’ve been exposed to a lot of it. Manga offers high-quality series in so many genres and sub-genres, and there is such diversity that some manga are simply hard to classify. There are also titles that I call “guy comics” because those manga appeal to the action-loving, science fiction/fantasy fan that cannot get enough of kick-ass shonen and seinen manga like Bleach, Naruto, Black Lagoon and Akira. I just discovered a new seinen manga (comics for adult men) that has made me anxious for the next volume.

TOKYOPOP recently published the first volume of their English language release of Lives. Created by Masayuki Taguchi (the artist of the Battle Royale manga), Lives has elements of science fiction, fantasy, horror, and monster comics. It also has a passing resemblance to TOKYOPOP’s World of Warcraft graphic novels.

Lives, Vol. 1 focuses on a group of people who live in the Kanto region of Japan, which is devastated by a freak meteor storm. People caught in the terrific blasts caused by meteors hitting the area are mysteriously transported to a strange world that one of them dubs “Afterworld.” There, the human arrivals transform into monstrous cannibalistic beasts that must fight and sometimes eat each other to survive. Shinma Shingo, a genial martial arts student, leads a small group of survivors. His peaceful and protecting ways, however, are at odds with what seems to be the way to deal with life on Afterworld.

Readers who enjoy battles between behemoths and other super freaks, like those found in teen-oriented, battle manga, will like Lives. The story is a little confusing in places because Taguchi uses a non-linear narrative in which he builds chapters around the back story, arrival, and survival stories of individual characters. Chronologically, Vol. 1’s opening chapter, which his about a girl group singer, actually takes place after the main character’s (Shinma Shingo) story has already taken place. Shingo’s story doesn’t appear until late in the second half of this volume, although it is chronologically the beginning of this story.

Still, Taguchi is very good at telling a story using graphics and the word-and-pictures dynamic of comic books. While his art is beautiful, the beauty is merely an element in what is a spry and expressive visual narrative that is capable of conveying the characters’ thoughts, emotions, and actions. I have to praise Taguchi, though, for his imaginative creature design, which mixes dinosaurs, reptiles, big cats, assorted mammals, and a touch of Cthulhu. Shinma’s beast mode is like a mix of Wolverine and Sabertooth, but with three-foot claws.

If the monsters aren’t enough for potential readers, there is fanservice in the form of crotch shots and tits-and-ass galore. I look forward to more cool monsters.

A-