In the mid-90's, when I started to fully engage the world of alt-comics, some of the first artists I encountered were the KEYHOLE duo of Dean Haspiel & Josh Neufeld. Shortly thereafter, I discovered the comics of Nick Bertozzi, whose development as an artist was rapid and remarkable in how quickly he matured from work to work. In the mid-90's, Haspiel created a livejournal group called ACT-I-VATE, designed to bring together a group of artists serializing their comics on the web. There are now 28 different series on the site in various stages of completion. Some have seen publication in print, and others will even likely get published by a major house. They are certainly an interesting alternative to the sort of thing I'm used to on the web: variations on comics about video games, role-playing games, derivative sci-fi, manga rip-offs, etc. I realize that there are obviously plenty of intelligent strips online, but on first perusal it's like walking into a comics store that is almost entirely mainstream-oriented. I am not interested in reading strips like PvP or Penny Arcade, and I am especially not interested in reading knock-offs of those strips. Having an alternative like ACT-I-VATE (and sites like serializer.net) has been important for both fans of alt-comics and webcomics readers alike.
After a couple of successful years as a livejournal presence, the group now has its own dedicated website. Since the site has expanded so much, with a roster of 24 artists, I'll be taking a periodic look at the site, exploring the work of three artists at a time. I'll start with comics by Haspiel, Neufeld and Bertozzi, those three artists whose work I've been following for a decade.
Let's start with Josh Neufeld's THE VAGABONDS. Using the same title as his occasional series from Alternative Comics, Neufeld spins the same sort of stories we're used to from him: travelogues, meditations on war, disaster and art, and a touch of the absurd. The advantage of seeing his work online is that he gets to use color. Like most of his work, his use of color is subtle--the use of blue & orange for his funny riff on steroids & baseball (imagining the Mets' mascot as a rage-fueled abuser), washed-out greens for a story about Neufeld reacting to seeing a film about Viet Nam, a light & friendly green for a little "travel tips" bit. My favorite of his strips here is "Post-Traumatic Skyscraper Anxiety", a triumph of design and tension. Embodying many New Yorkers' fear of buildings coming down post-9/11, Neufeld cleverly creates a linear narrative with his captions and contrasts that with panel design that is at once meant to be read as a gestalt and as individual panels. It's not a profound or revolutionary observation, but it's heartfelt and well-crafted. Neufeld is mostly working on his A.D.: AFTER THE DELUGE strip at the moment (to be reviewed in a later column), but his contributions here made a great place to start.
Dean Haspiel is serializing a couple of Billy Dogma stories here. IMMORTAL is finished, while FEAR, MY DEAR is still in progress. IMMORTAL is probably the strongest work overall I've seen from him in his long career. Billy is "the last romantic anti-hero" and these comics have always been a blend of superheroics, romance and Haspiel's own eccentricities and beliefs. Billy is Dean's own stand-in, and so these stories have elements of autobiography to them, at least on an emotional & philosophical level. Everything about his work, from dialogue to art, is about as stylized as one can get. The one problem I've always had with his art is that he makes it too slick, too much like a typical mainstream superhero comic. That's especially evident when one compares his rough pencils to final product--it's obvious that the energy and power of those initial sketches doesn't always translate into a final product, robbing it of the visceral quality that is so clearly his aim.
With IMMORTAL, Haspiel let go of that need to over-render and provides a story that still has all of the warmth and oddball humor of a typical Billy Dogma tale but that also packs a punch and a crunch to the reader. The platform for reading it works quite well, providing a single panel at a time but allowing the reader to quickly page through. Haspiel immediately sets the tone with a stark red-and-black palette, extensive use of shadow and silhouette, and a grittiness reminiscent of Will Eisner or Frank Miller (only with much different goals). The story concerns the tumultuous love affair between Billy and his girl Jane Legit and how it awakens an immortal god from outer space. One can see all of Haspiel's many influences at work here (Kirby, Chaykin, Simonson), synthesized to provide an experience that has echoes of each of them yet is straight out of Haspiel's id.
The follow-up series, FEAR, MY DEAR, is just about a third of the way through, so one can't offer a full judgment of it. The story concerns Billy learning that the eighth deadly sin is love and confronting his own past, in what can be called a slam-bang allegory. It lacks the same kind of punch as IMMORTAL and is a bit murkier and talkier. As a reader, I can say that IMMORTAL had me frantically clicking ahead to the next frame but FEAR, MY DEAR feels like a bit more of a slog. There are still plenty of striking visuals and there's still that rawness to his art that was so appealing in IMMORTAL. We'll see how this one develops.
Nick Bertozzi offers up three features, each of which is completely unlike the other. EARNEST SHACKLETON, a story about Antarctic explorers trying to survive a desperate sea voyage, was later printed in the third volume of the anthology SYNCOPATED. This is a fairly naturalistic story that has a certain breathless quality, as Bertozzi adapts a real-life event into comics form.
From a naturalistic style and thrilling adventure, Bertozzi switches over to a highly-mannered, warped tale about anthropomorphic sweets called PECAN SHANDY. The title character is a dreadful, self-centered fop whose font is an affected cursive script. He winds up in a series of misadventures that are mostly caused by his own selfishness, and while he winds up paying a heavy price, he enacts a humorous form of revenge in the end. I don't associate Bertozzi with straight-out humor, but this was a very funny strip, mostly because of his extreme stylization in his art and his use of fairy tale-style pastels.
The most ambitious of Bertozzi's three strips is PERSIMMON CUP, a sci-fi/fantasy/world-building exercise that follows the quest of a creature named Garo and the female creature he loves, named Persimmon. It's a twisted world of pirates who live in rivers, stone monoliths that offer wisdom, traveling inside of other creatures and other assorted oddness. I'm not sure that the web is the best place for this strip, I think that it will flow a bit better on the printed page. I do like Bertozzi's total commitment to his world in his strip, leaving out or muddying exposition and forcing the reader to figure out what's going on. Bertozzi's use of color here is a key element to his story, something that's been true of his work since he had the opportunity to start using color. In my next look at ACT-I-VATE, I'll take a different path and examine the work of three cartoonists I've never read before.
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Sequart Reprints: Arf
This is a golden age for publications about comics and their history. There are more reprints of classic comics (and in better formats) than ever before. There's a broad range of books and magazines focusing on specific creators, the creative process, and the greater historical context surrounding their work. Beyond long-running publications such as The Comics Journal and Hogan's Alley, the more recent Comic Art takes the production values and painstaking research of this practice to another level. In the same vein, Craig Yoe's ARF books provide a stunning array of articles focusing on unusual features from familiar artists, eye-popping work from obscure or long-forgotten artists, clever collections of comics on particular themes, and primary materials that link the fine art world to the comics world. The slickness of the format suggests a stodgy coffee-table book, but the light and irreverent touch of Yoe makes this book a comics joyride instead of just a history lesson.
There are some repeating motifs in the first two volumes of ARF. One of them is how cartoonists portray fine art. One issue had a series of strips on artists and their models, while a second one took on trips to the art museums. This section serves as an appetizer of sorts for the reader, easing them into the book with a series of gags. The range of artists includes famous 19th century illustrator George Cruikshank, Dan DeCarlo (later of ARCHIE fame, but then known for his pin-ups), Wally Wood, R.Crumb, Hugh Hefner, Chester "Dick Tracy" Gould, Charles Addams and Pablo Picasso (!). Yoe makes it a point to discuss Picasso's links to comics in particular elsewhere.
Another motif is Yoe unearthing some visually arresting work by an artist likely to be unknown to a modern audience. In MODERN ARF, he introduces us to Hy Mayer, a cartoonist known for doing "worm's eye views" of events like weddings, skating rinks and theatres. It literally looked like the floor was transparent and he was sketching what he saw from below. InARF MUSEUM, we meet Charles Bennett. He drew these astonishing "Origin of the Species" cartoons which show humans evolving into and out of animals' shapes, all done in a circular form not unlike MC Escher. The effect is eye-popping and well served by the book's slick format.
Yet another theme is Yoe taking some subject he finds interesting and displaying multiple variations of it throughout history. In MODERN ARF, he looks at the origins of the MAD icon and figurehead Alfred E. Newman, whose image preceded its use in MAD by decades. In ARF MUSEUM, Yoe did a feature on the giant ape with woman archetype, which may have been inspired by a famous French sculpture. There was also another bit on cartoonists' take on tattoos. These features were amusing but somewhat ephemeral; they don't invite multiple perusals by the reader.
More interesting to me was his discovery of magazine articles by two of my favorite classic cartoonists: Milt Gross and Rube Goldberg. In MODERN ARF, there's a story by Gross about modernist furniture design and a vicious feud between two rivals. Gross is a master humorist and the article is sprinkled with all sorts of wacky illustrations. In ARF MUSEUM, Goldberg penned an article about wanting to own a piece of furniture that was out of the ordinary and even depraved. So he had the Goldberg Electrolier (a sort of odd chandelier) created, only to find that every expert and aficionado of art mistook it for some sort of piece relevant to their field of expertise. Once again, the supporting illustrations here were simply marvelous.
I adored the concept and presentation of the continuing series, "Cartoonists Go To Hell". Jimmy Hatlo is profiled in MODERN ARF and Art Young is showcased in ARF MUSEUM, but what's interesting is that they used similar concepts in their strips. That concept was depicting the well-deserved punishment in hell for the annoying people in life: the man who invented the corset gets eternally constricted; annoying neighbors who mow their lawn at 6am get awakened every hour by a lawnmower on their heads, etc. It's interesting that both artists considered their own version of hell having to look at their own work for eternity. With the dark-red background befitting hellfire, this fun feature speaks to the pulp and lurid aspects of comics that make them so appealing.
Of course, the book's hook is "the unholy marriage of art + comics". So it's no surprise that two of the biggest features in the book centered on two of the most famous artists of the 20th century: Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dali. For the latter, we saw a comic strip he drew for his sister when he was 12, and the storyboard for a film that he never made. The strips made by the former were of greater interest. Picasso did a lot of numbered, sequential panels that were remarkable. Even if they looked quickly sketched out, the composition and fluidity of each panel just goes to show how versatile an artist he was. Many consider Picasso to be the greatest artist of the 20th century, and it's obvious that he could have been its greatest cartoonist if he had felt like it.
Both features are followed by the influence of the fine artists on comics: Dali's visual tricks were much parodied and copied in comics, with Steranko in particular using both Daliesque imagery and the 60's op-art that was also inspired by the Surrealists. Picasso's cubist revolution had a strong influence on Art Spiegelman's early career, as evidenced by a couple of strips collected in BREAKDOWNS. Even stranger was "Touchdown For Picasso!", a public service strip drawn by Shelly Moldoff that encouraged jocks to enjoy culture.
Perhaps my favorite strip in either book was a reprint of an obscure Jack Kirby strip titled "The Fourth Dimension is a Many Splattered Thing". Three pages into the strip, the hero goes to a strange dimension and the world turns into a warped, cubist-inspired nightmare. On the flip side, Yoe makes the connection that since Kirby was the co-creator of the modern romance comic, his images directly informed the work of Roy Lichtenstein.
There's yet more to see in the pages of ARF: never-before printed covers of Yellow Kid comics, unpublished strips by Patrick (Mutts) McDonnell, a feature on Italian artist Antonio Rubino, and a bit of Yoe's own art. The key to making the books work is Yoe's design sense. The fonts, the iconography and the art Yoe commissioned for each artist he profiles all create an environment that allows the art to speak for itself. One does not read ARF for a detailed textual analysis or critical assessment of each work presented. Like Comic Art or Comic Book Artist, each work is presented with a great deal of enthusiasm, and it's left for the reader to decide how significant it is. Yoe's widespread embracing of comics & illustration in all their forms throughout its history is what sets ARF apart, and one can't help but to get swept up in his zeal. You can catch more ARF-related materials at Yoe's blog: http://www.arflovers.com/
There are some repeating motifs in the first two volumes of ARF. One of them is how cartoonists portray fine art. One issue had a series of strips on artists and their models, while a second one took on trips to the art museums. This section serves as an appetizer of sorts for the reader, easing them into the book with a series of gags. The range of artists includes famous 19th century illustrator George Cruikshank, Dan DeCarlo (later of ARCHIE fame, but then known for his pin-ups), Wally Wood, R.Crumb, Hugh Hefner, Chester "Dick Tracy" Gould, Charles Addams and Pablo Picasso (!). Yoe makes it a point to discuss Picasso's links to comics in particular elsewhere.
Another motif is Yoe unearthing some visually arresting work by an artist likely to be unknown to a modern audience. In MODERN ARF, he introduces us to Hy Mayer, a cartoonist known for doing "worm's eye views" of events like weddings, skating rinks and theatres. It literally looked like the floor was transparent and he was sketching what he saw from below. InARF MUSEUM, we meet Charles Bennett. He drew these astonishing "Origin of the Species" cartoons which show humans evolving into and out of animals' shapes, all done in a circular form not unlike MC Escher. The effect is eye-popping and well served by the book's slick format.
Yet another theme is Yoe taking some subject he finds interesting and displaying multiple variations of it throughout history. In MODERN ARF, he looks at the origins of the MAD icon and figurehead Alfred E. Newman, whose image preceded its use in MAD by decades. In ARF MUSEUM, Yoe did a feature on the giant ape with woman archetype, which may have been inspired by a famous French sculpture. There was also another bit on cartoonists' take on tattoos. These features were amusing but somewhat ephemeral; they don't invite multiple perusals by the reader.
More interesting to me was his discovery of magazine articles by two of my favorite classic cartoonists: Milt Gross and Rube Goldberg. In MODERN ARF, there's a story by Gross about modernist furniture design and a vicious feud between two rivals. Gross is a master humorist and the article is sprinkled with all sorts of wacky illustrations. In ARF MUSEUM, Goldberg penned an article about wanting to own a piece of furniture that was out of the ordinary and even depraved. So he had the Goldberg Electrolier (a sort of odd chandelier) created, only to find that every expert and aficionado of art mistook it for some sort of piece relevant to their field of expertise. Once again, the supporting illustrations here were simply marvelous.
I adored the concept and presentation of the continuing series, "Cartoonists Go To Hell". Jimmy Hatlo is profiled in MODERN ARF and Art Young is showcased in ARF MUSEUM, but what's interesting is that they used similar concepts in their strips. That concept was depicting the well-deserved punishment in hell for the annoying people in life: the man who invented the corset gets eternally constricted; annoying neighbors who mow their lawn at 6am get awakened every hour by a lawnmower on their heads, etc. It's interesting that both artists considered their own version of hell having to look at their own work for eternity. With the dark-red background befitting hellfire, this fun feature speaks to the pulp and lurid aspects of comics that make them so appealing.
Of course, the book's hook is "the unholy marriage of art + comics". So it's no surprise that two of the biggest features in the book centered on two of the most famous artists of the 20th century: Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dali. For the latter, we saw a comic strip he drew for his sister when he was 12, and the storyboard for a film that he never made. The strips made by the former were of greater interest. Picasso did a lot of numbered, sequential panels that were remarkable. Even if they looked quickly sketched out, the composition and fluidity of each panel just goes to show how versatile an artist he was. Many consider Picasso to be the greatest artist of the 20th century, and it's obvious that he could have been its greatest cartoonist if he had felt like it.
Both features are followed by the influence of the fine artists on comics: Dali's visual tricks were much parodied and copied in comics, with Steranko in particular using both Daliesque imagery and the 60's op-art that was also inspired by the Surrealists. Picasso's cubist revolution had a strong influence on Art Spiegelman's early career, as evidenced by a couple of strips collected in BREAKDOWNS. Even stranger was "Touchdown For Picasso!", a public service strip drawn by Shelly Moldoff that encouraged jocks to enjoy culture.
Perhaps my favorite strip in either book was a reprint of an obscure Jack Kirby strip titled "The Fourth Dimension is a Many Splattered Thing". Three pages into the strip, the hero goes to a strange dimension and the world turns into a warped, cubist-inspired nightmare. On the flip side, Yoe makes the connection that since Kirby was the co-creator of the modern romance comic, his images directly informed the work of Roy Lichtenstein.
There's yet more to see in the pages of ARF: never-before printed covers of Yellow Kid comics, unpublished strips by Patrick (Mutts) McDonnell, a feature on Italian artist Antonio Rubino, and a bit of Yoe's own art. The key to making the books work is Yoe's design sense. The fonts, the iconography and the art Yoe commissioned for each artist he profiles all create an environment that allows the art to speak for itself. One does not read ARF for a detailed textual analysis or critical assessment of each work presented. Like Comic Art or Comic Book Artist, each work is presented with a great deal of enthusiasm, and it's left for the reader to decide how significant it is. Yoe's widespread embracing of comics & illustration in all their forms throughout its history is what sets ARF apart, and one can't help but to get swept up in his zeal. You can catch more ARF-related materials at Yoe's blog: http://www.arflovers.com/
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
November's Posts From TCJ
Here are the links to my November columns and reviews from TCJ.com:
The conclusion of my month-long focus on the comics of the Center For Cartoon Studies
The latest batch of comics from Silber Media.
Several side projects from Tom Neely.
The third issue of Robin Enrico's minicomics series Life of Vice.
Some observations about Sam Henderson's new minis.
Two minis from Gabrielle Nowicki
Sarah Glidden's How To Understand Israel In Sixty Days Or Less
Fear of Failure, by Thom Ferrier.
Trigger #1 and You Can't Be Here, by Mike Bertino and Nicholas Breutzman, respectively.
Al Burian Goes To Hell, by Al Burian.
Obligatory Artifact and RDCD Fist, by Jason Overby and Justin Skarhus, respectively.
The anthology Make, edited by Robyn Chapman.
Make Me A Woman, by Vanessa Davis.
Quick comments on comics by Katie Skelly, Anders Nilsen, Richard Moore, and the participants in the latest Shiot Crock.
Dungeon Monstres Volume 3, by Lewis Trondheim, Joann Sfar, Carlos Nine and Patrice Killoffer.
An interview with cartoonist Dina Kelberman: Part One and Part Two.
The conclusion of my month-long focus on the comics of the Center For Cartoon Studies
The latest batch of comics from Silber Media.
Several side projects from Tom Neely.
The third issue of Robin Enrico's minicomics series Life of Vice.
Some observations about Sam Henderson's new minis.
Two minis from Gabrielle Nowicki
Sarah Glidden's How To Understand Israel In Sixty Days Or Less
Fear of Failure, by Thom Ferrier.
Trigger #1 and You Can't Be Here, by Mike Bertino and Nicholas Breutzman, respectively.
Al Burian Goes To Hell, by Al Burian.
Obligatory Artifact and RDCD Fist, by Jason Overby and Justin Skarhus, respectively.
The anthology Make, edited by Robyn Chapman.
Make Me A Woman, by Vanessa Davis.
Quick comments on comics by Katie Skelly, Anders Nilsen, Richard Moore, and the participants in the latest Shiot Crock.
Dungeon Monstres Volume 3, by Lewis Trondheim, Joann Sfar, Carlos Nine and Patrice Killoffer.
An interview with cartoonist Dina Kelberman: Part One and Part Two.
Monday, November 29, 2010
Another Worthy Kickstarter Project
Anyone who's read the various iterations of my column over the years knows how much I admire the work of Steve Lafler. As such, I wanted to let folks know that he's started a Kickstarter fund to offset the costs of printing. For larger donations, one can get a Lafler original painting, which is a great inducement considering how fun his paintings are. Here's a link to my review of the book.
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
TCJ Entries For October
Here are links to my TCJ output in October:
Solipsistic Pop, volume 2, edited by Tom Humberstone.
Three, edited by Robert Kirby.
A minicomics roundup featuring Mike Dawson, Emi Gennis & Jonathan Baylis (& collaborators).
Memory Foam, by Toby Jones.
Mome, Volume 19, edited by Eric Reynolds.
New issues of Tragic Relief, by Colleen Frakes.
Minis from Holly Foltz & Lena Chandhok.
The CCS anthology Future, edited by Emily Wieja.
Minis from Aaron Cockle, Pat Barrett and Paul Swartz
Minis from Max de Radigues & Tim Stout
Abortion Andy: Baby Steps, by G.P. Bonesteel
Comics by Katherine Roy & Ross Wood Studlar.
The CCS anthology Tales From San Papel, edited by Nomi Kane.
Comics from Matt Aucoin & Betsey Swardlick
The minicomics of JP Coovert
Solipsistic Pop, volume 2, edited by Tom Humberstone.
Three, edited by Robert Kirby.
A minicomics roundup featuring Mike Dawson, Emi Gennis & Jonathan Baylis (& collaborators).
Memory Foam, by Toby Jones.
Mome, Volume 19, edited by Eric Reynolds.
New issues of Tragic Relief, by Colleen Frakes.
Minis from Holly Foltz & Lena Chandhok.
The CCS anthology Future, edited by Emily Wieja.
Minis from Aaron Cockle, Pat Barrett and Paul Swartz
Minis from Max de Radigues & Tim Stout
Abortion Andy: Baby Steps, by G.P. Bonesteel
Comics by Katherine Roy & Ross Wood Studlar.
The CCS anthology Tales From San Papel, edited by Nomi Kane.
Comics from Matt Aucoin & Betsey Swardlick
The minicomics of JP Coovert
Thursday, October 7, 2010
A Worthy Kickstarter Project
I don't usually do this, but I thought I'd pass on a link to a comics-related Kickstarter project that I thought were worth highlighting: an anthology called Gay Genius, edited by Annie Murphy. Murphy is a former Center for Cartoon Studies student who did one of my favorite minis of 2008 with I Still Live.
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
TCJ Entries For September
For those still following my articles through this blog, here are my TCJ reviews and other features for September:
Diario De Oaxaca, by Peter Kuper.
Drinking At The Movies, by Julia Wertz.
Set To Sea, by Drew Weing.
New comics from Colleen Frakes & Alex Kim.
Go For The Gold, a sketchbook from the Meathaus collective.
The comics anthology Nymphomomena.
New volumes of Bone and Amulet, by Jeff Smith and Kazu Kibuishi, respectively.
The fourth volume of Frank King's Walt & Skeezix.
The first three issues of Bob Oxman's minicomics series Smuttynose.
Parts one, two and three of a career-spanning interview with Steve Lafler.
The fourth and fifth issues of Morgan Pielli's Indestructible Universe Quarterly.
The Axe-Man of New Orleans, by Rick Geary.
How I Made It To Eighteen, by Tracy White.
El Vocho, by Steve Lafler.
A minicomics round-up featuring comics by Dina Kelberman, Kyle Baddeley and Desmond Reed.
Diario De Oaxaca, by Peter Kuper.
Drinking At The Movies, by Julia Wertz.
Set To Sea, by Drew Weing.
New comics from Colleen Frakes & Alex Kim.
Go For The Gold, a sketchbook from the Meathaus collective.
The comics anthology Nymphomomena.
New volumes of Bone and Amulet, by Jeff Smith and Kazu Kibuishi, respectively.
The fourth volume of Frank King's Walt & Skeezix.
The first three issues of Bob Oxman's minicomics series Smuttynose.
Parts one, two and three of a career-spanning interview with Steve Lafler.
The fourth and fifth issues of Morgan Pielli's Indestructible Universe Quarterly.
The Axe-Man of New Orleans, by Rick Geary.
How I Made It To Eighteen, by Tracy White.
El Vocho, by Steve Lafler.
A minicomics round-up featuring comics by Dina Kelberman, Kyle Baddeley and Desmond Reed.
Thursday, September 2, 2010
TCJ Entries For August
Here are my latest columns and reviews from The Comics Journal:
The Minicomics of Virginia Paine
Ganges #3, by Kevin Huizenga
Lightning Round: short reviews of comics by Greg Carter & Stephanie O'Donnell; Ibrahim Ineke; Kyle Baddeley; and Rob Jackson.
Nurse Nurse #6 and Troop 142 #4, by Katie Skelly & Mike Dawson, respectively.
The Living Cain, by Lydia Conklin
Revolver, by Matt Kindt
The first two issues of the Supertalk anthology
Wilson, by Daniel Clowes
Melvin Monster Volume 2, by John Stanley
Second Thoughts, by Niklas Asker
Elephant Man #1, by Greg Houston
These Things Happen #3 and #4, by Sam Carbaugh
An Evening at Chapel Hill Comics
Dance After Dark and Rapt Attention, by Laura Terry & Penina Gal, respectively.
The CCS Anthology Werewolf!!
The Complete Peanuts, 1977-1978, by Charles Schulz.
Diario De Oaxaca, by Peter Kuper.
The Minicomics of Virginia Paine
Ganges #3, by Kevin Huizenga
Lightning Round: short reviews of comics by Greg Carter & Stephanie O'Donnell; Ibrahim Ineke; Kyle Baddeley; and Rob Jackson.
Nurse Nurse #6 and Troop 142 #4, by Katie Skelly & Mike Dawson, respectively.
The Living Cain, by Lydia Conklin
Revolver, by Matt Kindt
The first two issues of the Supertalk anthology
Wilson, by Daniel Clowes
Melvin Monster Volume 2, by John Stanley
Second Thoughts, by Niklas Asker
Elephant Man #1, by Greg Houston
These Things Happen #3 and #4, by Sam Carbaugh
An Evening at Chapel Hill Comics
Dance After Dark and Rapt Attention, by Laura Terry & Penina Gal, respectively.
The CCS Anthology Werewolf!!
The Complete Peanuts, 1977-1978, by Charles Schulz.
Diario De Oaxaca, by Peter Kuper.
Saturday, August 21, 2010
A Quick Plea For Poseur Ink
I received this message last night:
"Rachel Dukes from Poseur Ink here. I'm getting in touch with everyone who helped promote our books Side A and Side B to let them know that we've run into a family emergency and need to liquidate our stock of books in order to make room for a family member to move in with us. (And to pay off debts in case further emergencies arise.) If you wouldn't mind, we would be forever grateful if you could make a small blog post and let your readers know that the books are currently 50% off ($5 and $11, respectfully). There's still about 300 copies of each book left, so we have a ways to go; but we need to get these out of our apartment asap.
You can read more in our blog at: https://webmail.duke.edu/classic/horde/services/go.php?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.poseurink.com%2F%3Fp%3D391"
Please consider buying a volume. Here's my review of the Side B anthology.
"Rachel Dukes from Poseur Ink here. I'm getting in touch with everyone who helped promote our books Side A and Side B to let them know that we've run into a family emergency and need to liquidate our stock of books in order to make room for a family member to move in with us. (And to pay off debts in case further emergencies arise.) If you wouldn't mind, we would be forever grateful if you could make a small blog post and let your readers know that the books are currently 50% off ($5 and $11, respectfully). There's still about 300 copies of each book left, so we have a ways to go; but we need to get these out of our apartment asap.
You can read more in our blog at: https://webmail.duke.edu/classic/horde/services/go.php?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.poseurink.com%2F%3Fp%3D391"
Please consider buying a volume. Here's my review of the Side B anthology.
Monday, August 2, 2010
TCJ (and other) Entries For July
Here's a list of reviews I did in the month of July:
Mome Volume 18.
Hate Annual 8, by Peter Bagge.
Rare Bits Comics Collective: Jen Vaughn, Sam Carbaugh & Jason Week.
The Pterodactyl Hunters In the Gilded City, by Brendan Leach.
Blammo #6 and Blindspot #1, by Joseph Remnant & Noah Van Sciver.
The free Dope Flounder anthology.
Two comics by L. Nichols.
An appreciation of Harvey Pekar.
Newave!, edited by Michael Dowers.
Tales Designed To Thrizzle #6, by Michael Kupperman.
Autobio comics by Ben "Snakepit" White, Jason Young and Robyn Jordan.
Werewolves of Montpellier, by Jason.
James Sturm's Market Day and mental illness.
Death Deals & Quiet Human Contact, by Eamon Espey and various, respectively.
Short takes on comics by Greg Farrell, Dina Kelberman, Sean Andress and volume 10 of Candy Or Medicine.
Tag Team #1, an anthology from various alumni of the Center for Cartoon Studies.
New comics from Jose-Luis Olivares and Joseph Lambert.
Eschew #2, by Robert Sergel.
Whirlwind Wonderland, by Rina Ayuyang.
Mome Volume 18.
Hate Annual 8, by Peter Bagge.
Rare Bits Comics Collective: Jen Vaughn, Sam Carbaugh & Jason Week.
The Pterodactyl Hunters In the Gilded City, by Brendan Leach.
Blammo #6 and Blindspot #1, by Joseph Remnant & Noah Van Sciver.
The free Dope Flounder anthology.
Two comics by L. Nichols.
An appreciation of Harvey Pekar.
Newave!, edited by Michael Dowers.
Tales Designed To Thrizzle #6, by Michael Kupperman.
Autobio comics by Ben "Snakepit" White, Jason Young and Robyn Jordan.
Werewolves of Montpellier, by Jason.
James Sturm's Market Day and mental illness.
Death Deals & Quiet Human Contact, by Eamon Espey and various, respectively.
Short takes on comics by Greg Farrell, Dina Kelberman, Sean Andress and volume 10 of Candy Or Medicine.
Tag Team #1, an anthology from various alumni of the Center for Cartoon Studies.
New comics from Jose-Luis Olivares and Joseph Lambert.
Eschew #2, by Robert Sergel.
Whirlwind Wonderland, by Rina Ayuyang.
Monday, July 5, 2010
TCJ (and other) Entries For June
Here's a rundown of links from my recent work for The Comics Journal and the Poopsheet Foundation:
Flesh and Bone, by Julia Grfrorer.
Minicomics from Dina Kelberman and Derik Badman.
Super Spy: The Lost Dossiers, by Matt Kindt.
Yasha Lizard #1 & #2, by Kristina Stipetic.
New comics from Ed Choy Moorman.
New comics from Tom Neely and Sam Henderson.
Dungeon Quest, by Joe Daly.
Undeleted Scenes, by Jeffrey Brown.
New comics from Melissa Mendes.
Smile, by Raina Telgemeier.
Minicomics by Maggie Morrill.
Minicomics from Jason Viola, Josh Latta and David Z Greene.
The Honduran Coup, by Dan Archer.
Minis from Jon Chad and Sophia Wiedeman.
Minis from Aaron Cockle and JT Yost.
Tranz, by William Cardini.
Reich #7, by Elijah Brubaker.
American, Eh? #1-4, by Heather Bryant.
Flesh and Bone, by Julia Grfrorer.
Minicomics from Dina Kelberman and Derik Badman.
Super Spy: The Lost Dossiers, by Matt Kindt.
Yasha Lizard #1 & #2, by Kristina Stipetic.
New comics from Ed Choy Moorman.
New comics from Tom Neely and Sam Henderson.
Dungeon Quest, by Joe Daly.
Undeleted Scenes, by Jeffrey Brown.
New comics from Melissa Mendes.
Smile, by Raina Telgemeier.
Minicomics by Maggie Morrill.
Minicomics from Jason Viola, Josh Latta and David Z Greene.
The Honduran Coup, by Dan Archer.
Minis from Jon Chad and Sophia Wiedeman.
Minis from Aaron Cockle and JT Yost.
Tranz, by William Cardini.
Reich #7, by Elijah Brubaker.
American, Eh? #1-4, by Heather Bryant.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
TCJ Posts For May
Here are links to articles published at the Comics Journal website in the month of May:
The new edition of Dylan Horrocks' classic Hicksville.
Blaise Larmee's Xeric-funded debut graphic novel Young Lions.
The second issue of the Shitbeams On The Loose anthology, edited by Rusty Jordan and Dave Nuss.
Various comics by Francesca Cassavetti.
The Louisa May Alcott edition of Graphic Classics.
The minicomics of Caitlin Cass.
A minicomics roundup featuring Jim Rugg, William Cardini & Jim Burggraf, and the CANDY OR MEDICINE crew.
Mineshaft #35, edited by Everett Rand and Gioia Palmieri.
The fourth issue of Matthew Thurber's 1-800-MICE.
Dungeon: Twilight Volume 3, by Lewis Trondheim & Joann Sfar.
Brooke Allen's A Home For Mister Easter.
Eric Liberge's On The Odd Hours.
Salad Days and The Natural World #3, by Minty Lewis and Damien Jay, respectively.
Julia Gfrorer's Flesh and Bone.
The new edition of Dylan Horrocks' classic Hicksville.
Blaise Larmee's Xeric-funded debut graphic novel Young Lions.
The second issue of the Shitbeams On The Loose anthology, edited by Rusty Jordan and Dave Nuss.
Various comics by Francesca Cassavetti.
The Louisa May Alcott edition of Graphic Classics.
The minicomics of Caitlin Cass.
A minicomics roundup featuring Jim Rugg, William Cardini & Jim Burggraf, and the CANDY OR MEDICINE crew.
Mineshaft #35, edited by Everett Rand and Gioia Palmieri.
The fourth issue of Matthew Thurber's 1-800-MICE.
Dungeon: Twilight Volume 3, by Lewis Trondheim & Joann Sfar.
Brooke Allen's A Home For Mister Easter.
Eric Liberge's On The Odd Hours.
Salad Days and The Natural World #3, by Minty Lewis and Damien Jay, respectively.
Julia Gfrorer's Flesh and Bone.
Saturday, May 1, 2010
TCJ (and other) Entries for April
Here's a rundown of links for articles I've written for the Comics Journal for the month of April, plus a couple of other things I wrote.
Three issues of Pat Lewis' Cragmore.
B.Kliban's 1975 classic Cat.
The Rob Jackson-edited anthology Gin Palace.
Jeremiah Piersol's one-man anthology The Rejection Section.
Gene Yang's new book Prime Baby.
The second issue of Robin Enrico's minicomic series Life of Vice.
My MoCCA Festival 2010 report.
The preview of Steve Bissette's upcoming 1963 project.
Four new minis from the great Sam Henderson.
The fifth issue of Sean Ford's series Only Skin.
The first volume of Liz Baillie's Freewheel.
The 12th issue of the Greg Means-edited anthology Papercutter.
The latest volume from the Complete Peanuts, covering 1975-1976.
The second volume of Margaruite Dabaie's The Hookah Girl.
The third issue of Mike Dawson's minicomic series Troop 142.
Sarah Becan's The Complete Ouija Interviews.
Three issues of Pat Lewis' Cragmore.
B.Kliban's 1975 classic Cat.
The Rob Jackson-edited anthology Gin Palace.
Jeremiah Piersol's one-man anthology The Rejection Section.
Gene Yang's new book Prime Baby.
The second issue of Robin Enrico's minicomic series Life of Vice.
My MoCCA Festival 2010 report.
The preview of Steve Bissette's upcoming 1963 project.
Four new minis from the great Sam Henderson.
The fifth issue of Sean Ford's series Only Skin.
The first volume of Liz Baillie's Freewheel.
The 12th issue of the Greg Means-edited anthology Papercutter.
The latest volume from the Complete Peanuts, covering 1975-1976.
The second volume of Margaruite Dabaie's The Hookah Girl.
The third issue of Mike Dawson's minicomic series Troop 142.
Sarah Becan's The Complete Ouija Interviews.
Friday, April 2, 2010
TCJ Entries for March
Here's a set of links to my articles posted at tcj.com for the month of March.
Two minis from Colleen Frakes
Lewis Trondheim's LITTLE NOTHINGS 3
Lewis Trondheim & Fabrice Parme's TINY TYRANT 2
Shane White's THINGS UNDONE.
Various minicomics from Sam Spina.
Naomi Nowak's GRAYLIGHT
Anders Nilsens BIG QUESTIONS #12 and #13.
James Thurber's THE OWL IN THE ATTIC.
Jess Smart Smiley's A MAP IN THE DIRT.
Minis from Dina Kelberman & Lauren Barnett.
Nadja Spiegelman & Trade Loeffler's Toon Book entry, ZIG AND WIKKI.
Iain Laurie's POWWKIPSIE.
Michael Aushenker's CARTOON FLOPHOUSE.
Two minis from Colleen Frakes
Lewis Trondheim's LITTLE NOTHINGS 3
Lewis Trondheim & Fabrice Parme's TINY TYRANT 2
Shane White's THINGS UNDONE.
Various minicomics from Sam Spina.
Naomi Nowak's GRAYLIGHT
Anders Nilsens BIG QUESTIONS #12 and #13.
James Thurber's THE OWL IN THE ATTIC.
Jess Smart Smiley's A MAP IN THE DIRT.
Minis from Dina Kelberman & Lauren Barnett.
Nadja Spiegelman & Trade Loeffler's Toon Book entry, ZIG AND WIKKI.
Iain Laurie's POWWKIPSIE.
Michael Aushenker's CARTOON FLOPHOUSE.
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Change of Address
It's come to my attention that some folks have been sending submissions by mail to my old address. If you've sent me something in the last 6-8 months and I have not yet reviewed it, it's likely because I didn't receive it. If you'd care to try again, my new address is:
Rob Clough
507 Dupree Street
Durham, NC 27701
As always, I welcome all submissions for review. Please contact me at tmc (at) duke (dot) edu if you have any questions.
Rob Clough
507 Dupree Street
Durham, NC 27701
As always, I welcome all submissions for review. Please contact me at tmc (at) duke (dot) edu if you have any questions.
Saturday, February 27, 2010
TCJ Post #33: Minis From Silber Media
Rob reviews a variety of comics from Brian John Mitchell's Silber Media over at The Comics Journal.
Review: John Stanley's Thirteen Going On Eighteen
Rob reviews the collection of John Stanley's THIRTEEN GOING ON EIGHTEEN over at The Comics Journal.
TCJ Post #32: Troop 142 #1 & 2
Rob reviews the first two issues of Mike Dawson's new minicomics series, TROOP 142, over at The Comics Journal.
TCJ Post #29: Neighborhood Conversations
Rob reviews German artist Antje Herzog's comic, NEIGHBORHOOD CONVERSATIONS AT FLOWERBEDS AND FIRE HYRDANTS over at The Comics Journal.
TCJ Post #28: The Year of Loving Dangerously
Rob reviews the new book from Ted Rall & Pedro Callejo, THE YEAR OF LOVING DANGEROUSLY, over at The Comics Journal.
Friday, February 12, 2010
My Top 100 Comics of the 00's
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
My Top 50 Comics of 2009
TCJ Post #30: The Wang--Erection Year
Rob reviews Stan Yan's collection of webcomic strips, THE WANG: ERECTION YEAR, over at The Comics Journal.
TCJ Post #29: Wizzywig Volume 3: Fugitive
Rob reviews the third volume of Ed Piskor's hacker saga WIZZYWIG, titled FUGITIVE, over at the Comics Journal.
TCJ Post #28: Katie Skelly & Dina Kelberman
Over at The Comics Journal, Rob reviews NURSE NURSE #5, by Katie Skelly; and THE REGULAR MAN 1-5, by Dina Kelberman.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
TCJ Post #27: Candy Or Medicine #8, Lauren Barnett minis
Rob reviews the latest issue of the Josh Blair-edited CANDY OR MEDICINE #8 as well as a couple of minicomics by Lauren Barnett over at http://www.tcj.com/minicomics/minis-lauren-barnett.
TCJ Post #26: John Stanley's Nancy
Rob reviews the John Stanley-written and designed collection of NANCY stories over at the Comics Journal.
TCJ Post #25: Vatican Hustle
Rob reviews Greg Houston's cathoblaxploitation epic, VATICAN HUSTLE, over at The Comics Journal.
TCJ Post #24: Solipsistic Pop #1
Rob reviews the excellent new anthology of British alt-comics talents, SOLIPSISTIC POP #1, over at The Comics Journal.
TCJ Post #23: The Secret Science Alliance
Rob does a "bulletpoint review" of Eleanor Davis' THE SECRET SCIENCE ALLIANCE over at the Comics Journal.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
TCJ Review: West Coast Blues
Rob reviews Jacques Tardi's adaptation of WEST COAST BLUES over at THE COMICS JOURNAL.
TCJ Post #22: The Book of Genesis Illustrated
Rob does a "bulletpoint review" of R. Crumb's THE BOOK OF GENESIS ILLUSTRATED, over at The Comics Journal.
TCJ Post #21: Footnotes In Gaza
Rob does a "bulletpoint review" of Joe Sacco's FOOTNOTES IN GAZA over at the Comics Journal's website.
TCJ Post #20: Big Plans #4 by Aron Nels Steinke
Aron Nels Steinke's BIG PLANS #4 is the subject of my latest post over at The Comics Journal's website.
TCJ Post #19: Lisa McDonnell
My latest post over at The Comics Journal concerns the minicomics of Lisa McDonnell.
Sunday, January 17, 2010
TCJ Post #18: Ten Thousand Things To Do #6
Rob reviews the last issue of Jesse Reklaw's diary strip series, TEN THOUSAND THINGS TO DO, over at The Comics Journal.
TCJ Post #17: Zack Soto and Rob Jackson
Rob reviews new minicomics from Zack Soto and Rob Jackson over at The Comics Journal.
TCJ Post #16: Daryl Ayo & Aaron Cockle
Rob reviews minicomics by Daryl Ayo & Aaron Cockle over at The Comics Journal.
TCJ Post #15: Comics Youth
Rob reviews the Blaise Larmee-edited comics zine COMICS YOUTH #1 over at The Comics Journal.
Saturday, January 9, 2010
TCJ Post #14: Robin Enrico's Life of Vice #1
Rob reviews the first issue of Robin Enrico's new series, LIFE OF VICE.
Saturday, January 2, 2010
TCJ Post #13: Colleen Frakes & Dennis St. John
My 13th blog post at the Comics Journal concerns new minis by Dennis St. John & Colleen Frakes.
Review: Gilbert Hernandez' THE TROUBLEMAKERS
Here's a review that was just published on the TCJ website on Gilbert Hernandez' book THE TROUBLEMAKERS.
TCJ Post #12: Penina Gal & Alexis Frederick-Frost
My twelfth post on the Comics Journal website concerns minis by Penina Gal & Alexis Frederick-Frost.
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