The ADD Blog at Comic Book Galaxy - Pushing Comix Forward

2009-07-01T13:40:00.002-04:00

Hey, Look: Spurge Calls for an End to the Harvey Awards -- In one of the most unusual and compelling pieces of writing he's done, Tom Spurgeon calmly, rationally and convincingly calls for an end to the Harvey Awards. I especially agree that there's a need to pay better tribute to Harvey Kurtzman's legacy than the diminishing returns the awards that bear his name have delivered in recent years.

This is important stuff to anyone interested in the bigger picture of the comics industry. Go look.

2009-06-22T23:53:00.003-04:00

Whatever Happened to The Comic Book Message Board of Tomorrow? -- This report card on a number of currently active message boards pertaining to comics is a good, funny and mostly accurate summing-up of the state of the, uh, art.

It does leave out my favourite comics forum, but that's okay, they wrote their own entry.

2009-06-21T18:42:00.001-04:00

Five Fondly Remembered Convention Experiences -- That was Tom Spurgeon's most recent Five for Friday topic, and you can find mine in there somewhere.

2009-06-12T09:59:00.022-04:00

Summer Fundraising Sale: UPDATED! -- Ye Olde Economic Crunch has settled in at my house, and I'm forced to liquidate part of my collection in order to make ends meet.

Here's a list of all my current auctions on eBay.

If you make a winning bid, mention you read The ADD Blog at checkout and I will throw some freebies in as a thank you.

2009-06-10T06:54:00.003-04:00

New Comics Day -- It's Wednesday, the day new comics come out in comic book stores. There, title justified, I can move on to things I am interested in.

* Tom Spurgeon's Melvin Monster review is really good, and really lays out why these comics are of interest all these years later. I agree with pretty much every point Tom makes, although I did say to myself all the way through the book, "Why aren't the covers included?" The thing I loved most about the design is the same thing I loved about the Free Comic Book Day version, which is the vintage look to the paper, as if you are actually reading the old comics. Which is funny, because I actually hate actual old comics that have browned with age. I think the difference is that new books that utilize this as a design element (see also that Image Next Issue Project) don't have the texture of cornflakes and the smell of Grandpa's underwear.

* Tom also had some good comments on the end of Z-Cult FM, which in its heyday was the place to download pirated comics scans. There are plenty of better and more reliable places extant right now, but like Fight Club and Judy in Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me, we're not gonna talk about that.

* If you ever doubt that Sean T. Collins is sharp as a tack, check out the first two points he makes in this edition of Carnival of Souls. Ouch.

* The general buzz seems to be that this year's MoCCA was too hot and not as well-organized as previous years. I've never been, although I would love to go some year, but "too hot" and "me" really do not mix well and I am quite glad I missed out this time around. Note to all convention organizers, everywhere: If you can't keep the air conditioning at a constant 65 degrees, don't bother. Sweat and comics fans are a lethal, disgusting combination.

* Man, I wish I had one more point so I could go out on a more positive note than that. Sorry.

2009-05-26T09:07:00.002-04:00

I'm Not Going to Comicon -- But you might be, so make sure you check out the always-entertaining convention tips from Tom Spurgeon (entertaining both because they're well-written and because a lot of them are applicable to going to any comics convention, not just the San Diego mega-version).

2009-05-26T05:15:00.004-04:00

The Monday Briefing on Tuesday -- It was a busier than expected holiday weekend for me, ending yesterday with a backyard barbecue at our house attended by some family and good friends and held in about the best weather you could hope for in late May. The sun was shining, but the humidity was low and the bugs were almost non-existent. Ate too much, talked too much, and slept like a log last night, which I almost never do.

Recently read and really enjoyed: Why I Killed Peter from NBM (startlingly good autobio that veers from Michel Michel Rabagliati-like whimsy to head-crushing reality) and The Photographer from First Second (non-fiction as well, an amazing account of one photographer's journey through Afghanistan and the life-altering experiences he had there).

Recently pissed me off: The cancellation of Life on NBC and The Sarah Conner Chronicles on Fox. Both were well-done series that I looked forward to every week, and I'm sorry they didn't get another chance to find an audience. I'm glad Dollhouse was renewed, but I hope it starts to feel more like a real Joss Whedon series and less like the network suits are going over every script with a red pencil and an X-Acto knife.

Decided not to bother: The new Terminator movie was always a "maybe" for me, but the cancellation of the TV series and the uninviting trailers combined to keep me away from the theater this past weekend. Plus, I am still riding the buzz from seeing the new Star Trek movie and I feel like seeing something so obviously inferior would spoil that. If that makes sense.

Can't believe the weekend went by so quickly. Today it's back to work, for a thankfully short work-week. Off to the salt mines.

2009-05-09T05:14:00.006-04:00

Star Trek -- For a long time it seemed we had lost Star Trek in a slow leaching off of what made the original 1966 series special. From the high points of its second life (Wrath of Khan; the TNG episodes Best of Both Worlds Parts One and Two) it was all an agonizingly slow downward spiral. The series finale of TNG was a great, emotionally satisfying tribute to the unlikely success of the first sequel series, but instead of leading into a brilliant new movie era featuring Picard and company, it was the last real gasp of creative honesty in the 1990s for "the franchise."

Generations had an awesome opening 15 minutes followed by tedium, bad writing and the worst mistake in Trek history, the ham-fisted death of James T. Kirk. Not that Kirk necessarily shouldn't have died on-screen, but the unconscionably bad writing of his death scene (and the even worse writing of the earlier draft, available for viewing on the Generations DVD) should have been a signal to all involved that they had traveled far down the wrong road and needed to rethink the entire journey.

Despite that, director Jonathan Frakes managed to make the next cinematic outing, First Contact, into a fun adventure movie that demonstrated moments of genuine wit and human insight (mostly in the Cochrane storyline; the Picard-as-Ahab metaphor is as heavy-handed and tedious as any Roddenberry conceit one could name). The less said about Insurrection and especially Nemesis, the better. The latter was literally the worst Star Trek entertainment ever produced, with less creative spark and more embarrassing moments than the worst of the Gold Key comic book series. And like Generations, it goes not boldly but wrong-headedly down the same stupid path of creative immolation by killing off Data, probably Roddenberry's last great contribution to Star Trek entire.

And oh, the other sequel series; Deep Space Nine, Voyager and Enterprise all have something to offer despite their enormous flaws (Colm Meaney's acting, the Holographic Doctor and all of Season Four, respectively), but compared to the '66 and '87 iterations of Trek, they demonstrate the slow death of an idea. In 1964, when Roddenberry conceived the series that would be refined and redefined by the other writers brought in (Fontana, Ellison, and dozens more), the series was about exploring both space and what it means to be human and alive. By the time Voyager launched, Star Trek had literally become a series about Star Trek. Enterprise grew a pair in its final season, but by then the fact that the franchise had been in the wrong hands for many years was crystal clear. Berman, Pillar, and the rest were the bad guys as far as I was concerned. They had taken away Star Trek and replaced it with a very poor substitute.

And now J.J. Abrams and company have given it back.

I don't remember how Roger Ebert justified his 2.5 star review, and I don't care enough to go look and grab a link. You're good with the Google and I trust you to know if you need to see for yourself. But for me, the new Star Trek is 3.5 to 4 stars of greatness from beginning to end. It has everything I love about the '66 series, from laughs and melodrama to the costumes and pageantry of Starfleet as a vision of the best humanity (and other races) have to offer.

Is it perfect? No. The performances of the actors playing Sulu, Chekov and (yes) Scotty all wander over territory ranging from cipher to parody, even if their individual charms still won me over. Does the plot make sense? Is the science sound? Probably not. Is that really Spock, though, being played by Zachary Quinto? Is Chris Pine really Kirk? Hell, is Bruce Greenwood really Captain Christopher Pike? Yes, yes, and much to my amazement, yes.

Is it too shiny? Yes, the lens flares are a distraction and will look as goofy in ten years as the ones in Ellis and Hitch's Authority comics do now. But the passion with which this story is told, and the little character moments that pepper it throughout, feel more true to the essence of what the original series accomplished than any moment of Trek since The Wrath of Khan first reminded us that Star Trek was fucking loaded with the potential for great storytelling, hammy actors and bad special effects be damned.

Leonard Nimoy's first scene as Spock is astonishingly well-acted, drawing upon the actor's 45 years of experience playing the character. Quinto makes Spock his own, but at no time does the new version feel discordant with Nimoy's lifetime of contributions to the canon. The moment when Spock materializes on the transporter pad and realizes what he has lost on Vulcan is one of the most powerful in the character's history, twisting some of the most beloved moments of the original series into a new form and setting the character on a new path. And it never feels like anything other than honestly-won drama that works on every level.

Chris Pine completely inhabits the ideal of Kirk as a character and as a legend-in-training. He doesn't feel like a Luke Skywalker-type Hero with One of a Thousand Faces, but rather he comes across powerfully as a new, divergent path for the character Shatner portrayed for decades, struggling to get where we know he belongs, on the bridge of that ship. And Pike is a special case for me: I have been obsessed with the original pilot's captain (and actor Jeffrey Hunter's performance) for over thirty years. The first time I saw The Menagerie (the episode that wove footage from the original, Kirkless pilot with a new Kirk/Spock story), I was fascinated by the idea that the ship had had another captain before Kirk, and even more riveted by the question of what the series could have been like with Pike, not Kirk, at the helm. Bruce Greenwood does an amazing job of making Pike his own, and having a new story on film involving this great, semi-lost Trek character feels to me something very much like a gift.

The movie throbs. It shines and sparkles and shakes with energy and movement. It propels you through its story and leaves you so, so ready for more Star Trek. Personally, I want to see more of the world Nimoy's Spock comes to this movie from (see the IDW comic book prequel Countdown for a hint), but if all we ever get is more of this new type of Star Trek, I'll be very happy. It's a brave new canvas Abrams and company have created, and Trek hasn't felt so filled with potential since Spock's coffin landed on the Genesis Planet all those years ago. For the first time in a long time I am asking the essential storytelling question, what happens next?

I can't wait to find out.

2009-05-08T06:12:00.002-04:00

The Current Discussion About the Direct Market -- Reading various comments about how to fix the direct market, it occurs to me that it's largely a semantic problem. 90 percent of the stores within the DM are, proudly, superhero stores, not comic book stores. I think it was Sean Collins that quoted Spurgeon saying "comic shops are the places you can find comics," or words to that effect, and we should insist that be true. Superhero shops can be the place you can find superheroes (including comics, Heroes DVDs, whatever floats their boat), and the 10 percent of DM stores that actually embrace all of comics and all the people who want to read them (including women and children) can then rightfully be called comic shops and carry Manga and Tintin and all the stuff that is comics that superhero fans (including the ones that own superhero convenience stores) spit on, hate and fear.

Just a thought.

2009-05-08T05:59:00.002-04:00

This is Post #1701 -- Well, no, it's actually #1508, but that's my fault due to failure to plan ahead.

The new Star Trek is out in theaters and I plan to see it tonight. I've been waiting for this day with an insane level of enthusiasm from the moment word first got out that the movie was in the works. I am so excited to see the movie that I don't even care that Roger Ebert only gave it two and a half stars.

Presumably in the next day or two I'll post my thoughts about the film. I've got my fingers crossed that it will be every bit as good as every trailer and behind the scenes clip I've seen indicates.

If not, there will always be the original 79 episodes, right?

2009-05-05T10:16:00.002-04:00

Sneakers O'Toole Fan-Fiction -- With apologies to Seth MacFarlane and Sneakers O'Toole.

In The Room - Hard-Boiled Detective Fiction by Alan David Doane

�I�m not taking my sneakers off,� he said, as he sat down across the table from me. I asked him �What�s your name,� and opened my pad to start taking notes. �I am Sneakers O�Toole,� he said.

This was going to be a tough one. Legally I had no probable cause to force this asshole to take off his sneakers, but without seeing what was going on under them, I had no case, either. �Let�s make this easy on both of us,� I began, trying to seem as reasonable as possible. �If you take those sneakers off, O�Toole, I promise you it�s going to go a lot easier on you.�

�I�m not taking my sneakers off,� he said again. �What part of �I am Sneakers O�Toole� don�t you understand?� Now he was getting hostile. Good. It was time to turn up the heat a little.

�Look, O�Toole,� I said, and he held up his hand as if to cut me off. �Call me �Sneakers,�� he said. �I don�t want to call you �Sneakers,�� I told him. �I just want to get to the bottom of this.� �Well,� he returned, �How will you find out what you want to know if we can�t be friends? My name is Sneakers O�Toole, Detective, what�s yours?�

Somehow I had lost control of this entire interview. I don�t know if it was his charm, or just the deafening clang of his brass balls there in the confined space of the interrogation room, but I let him lead. �My name is Crocker, Detective Bill Crocker.� He smiled at me across the old, scarred table. �Please to meet you, Bill. I am Sneakers O�Toole. You can call me Sneakers.�

�All right, Sneakers,� I replied. �Is there any chance I could ask you to take your sneakers off?�

He looked up at the ceiling thoughtfully, before slowly returning his stone-cold gaze to mine.

�Not a chance in hell.�

TO BE CONTINUED

2009-05-04T10:51:00.004-04:00

A Couple of FCBD 2009 Pix -- Here are a couple of pictures from the Team Doane excursion to Earthworld Comics this past Saturday, Free Comic Book Day.

My college buddy Jay, Arisia and myself.

Katma Tui, my daughter Kira and Arisia again.

Thanks to JC, Jesse, Tom and everyone at Earthworld for making it another great Free Comic Book Day (as always!).

2009-05-04T04:19:00.005-04:00

My Custom Shatnerverse Kirk 4.5" Action Figure -- In the ten Shatnerverse novels by William Shatner with Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens, Captain Kirk is alive and well in the current Star Trek timeline, having been resurrected after the events of Star Trek Generations. After meeting the true love of his life and having all sorts of adventures, the last few books in the series detail Kirk's current gig as Captain of the Starfleet Q-Ship Belle Reve under the supervision of Admiral Kathryn Janeway.

I've recently been rebuilding my collection of Star Trek Playmates 4.5" action figures, and having collected all the extant Kirks, it was really annoying me that I didn't have him in his most recent incarnation, especially since Playmates did produce the other members of the Belle Reve crew, Admiral McCoy, Ambassador Spock and Captain Scott (all in the versions seen on Star Trek: The Next Generation).

Reading up on customizing techniques and having doubles of both figures needed to create my Shatnerverse Kirk (a Generations Kirk and the mail-away exclusive Captain MacKenzie Calhoun figure), I got to work last night, and much to my amazement, I think it worked. Here are the pictures to prove it.

I recommend the Shatnerverse series of novels, by the way, to anyone who was disappointed with where Trek went after First Contact, because Shatner and Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens really capture the characters voices and personalities, and it's a gas to be able to experience so many stories about Kirk tooling around the galaxy with Picard, Janeway, and the holographic Doctor from Voyager, not to mention his only friends from the early days of his career to survive into the 24th century, Spock, Bones and Scotty.

Can you tell I am excited to see the new movie coming out this Friday?

2009-05-03T06:37:00.004-04:00

Free Comic Book Day -- The only comic from this year's batch that really struck me was Drawn and Quarterly's Nancy/Melvin flip book, which caught my eye with its design (by Seth) and won me over with its charming stories printed on paper made to look like a vintage comic book. An excellent package.

Did not see the Love and Rockets comic, although after all these years it's safe to say it was probably wonderful. Comics Festival disappointed me by seeming pretty scattershot, like pictures of people having fun from a party I wasn't invited to. One or two of the strips amused, but the overall package didn't knock my socks off like the 2007 edition did.

Everything else I picked up was crap of varying degrees. I guess the days of publishers putting their best foot forward for FCBD are pretty far gone unless you're a boutique artcomix publisher.

2009-04-30T16:21:00.001-04:00

Hot for Cold Heat -- Tucker Stone's look at Frank Santoro and Ben Jones's Cold Heat is one of the best damned articles about a comic book I have ever read. That it's about one of the best damned comics around is a bonus.

2009-04-20T11:20:00.004-04:00

Downtime -- I stand accused of infrequent posting last week, and have to plead guilty. Likely to continue at least the first part of this week. Just spending some time with my kids on their spring break, and dealing with some minor real-life stuff. Apologies all around, and thanks for your patience.

2009-04-08T18:56:00.001-04:00

Post #1501 -- Hey, damn, I missed commenting on my 1500th post. Ah, well. Anyway, just wanted to link to Timothy Callahan's outstanding rundown of this past Sunday's Albany Comicon, over at CBR.

2009-04-08T06:04:00.003-04:00

My Eisner Picks -- Tom Spurgeon posted the list of 2009 Eisner Award nominees yesterday, my picks are in bold. No choice in a category means either I haven't read any of the nominated works or have no preference in that category.

Best Short Story
* Actual Size, by Chris Ware, in Kramers Ergot 7 (Buenaventura Press)
* Chechen War, Chechen Women, by Joe Sacco, in I Live Here (Pantheon)
* Freaks, by Laura Park, in Superior Showcase #3 (AdHouse) [my review]
* Glenn Ganges in Pulverize, by Kevin Huizenga, in Ganges #2 (Fantagraphics)
* Murder He Wrote, by Ian Boothby, Nina Matsumoto, and Andrew Pepoy, in The Simpsons' Treehouse of Horror #14 (Bongo)

Best Continuing Series
* All Star Superman, by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely (DC)
* Fables, by Bill Willingham, Mark Buckingham, Steve Leialoha, Niko Henrichon, Andrew Pepoy, and Peter Gross (Vertigo/DC)
* Naoki Urasawa's Monster, by Naoki Urasawa (Viz)
* Thor, by J. Michael Straczynski, Olivier Coipel, Mark Morales, and various (Marvel)
* Usagi Yojimbo, by Stan Sakai (Dark Horse)

Best Limited Series
* Groo: Hell on Earth, by Sergio Aragones and Mark Evanier (Dark Horse)
* Hellboy: The Crooked Man, by Mike Mignola and Richard Corben (Dark Horse)
* Locke & Key, by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez (IDW)
* Omega the Unknown, by Jonathan Lethem, Karl Rusnak, and Farel Dalrymple (Marvel)
* The Twelve, by J. Michael Straczynski and Chris Weston (Marvel)

Best New Series
* Air, by G. Willow Wilson and M. K. Perker (Vertigo/DC)
* Echo, by Terry Moore (Abstract Studio)
* Invincible Iron Man, by Matt Fraction and Salvador Larocca (Marvel)
* Madame Xanadu, by Matt Wagner, Amy Reeder Hadley, and Richard Friend (Vertigo/DC)
* Unknown Soldier, by Joshua Dysart and Alberto Ponticelli (Vertigo/DC)

Best Publication for Kids
* Amulet, Book 1: The Stonekeeper, by Kazu Kabuishi (Scholastic Graphix)
* Cowa!, by Akira Toriyama (Viz)
* Princess at Midnight, by Andi Watson (Image)
* Stinky, by Eleanor Davis (RAW Junior)
* Tiny Titans, by Art Baltazar and Franco (DC)

Best Publication for Teens/Tweens
* Coraline, by Neil Gaiman, adapted by P. Craig Russell (HarperCollins Children's Books)
* Crogan's Vengeance, by Chris Schweizer (Oni)
* The Good Neighbors, Book 1: Kin, by Holly Black and Ted Naifeh (Scholastic Graphix)
* Rapunzel's Revenge, by Shannon and Dean Hale and Nathan Hale (Bloomsbury Children's Books)
* Skim, by Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki (Groundwood Books)

Best Humor Publication
* Arsenic Lullaby Pulp Edition No. Zero, by Douglas Paszkiewicz (Arsenic Lullaby)
* Chumble Spuzz, by Ethan Nicolle (SLG)
* Herbie Archives, by "Sean O'Shea" (Richard E. Hughes) and Ogden Whitney (Dark Horse)
* Petey and Pussy, by John Kerschbaum (Fantagraphics)
* Wondermark: Beards of Our Forefathers, by David Malki (Dark Horse)

Best Anthology
* An Anthology of Graphic Fiction, Cartoons, and True Stories, Vol. 2, edited by Ivan Brunetti (Yale University Press)
* Best American Comics 2008, edited by Lynda Barry (Houghton Mifflin)
* Comic Book Tattoo: Narrative Art Inspired by the Lyrics and Music of Tori Amos, edited by Rantz Hoseley (Image)
* Kramers Ergot 7, edited by Sammy Harkham (Buenaventura Press)
* MySpace Dark Horse Presents, edited by Scott Allie and Sierra Hahn (Dark Horse)

Best Digital Comic
* Bodyworld, by Dash Shaw
* Finder, by Carla Speed McNeil
* The Lady's Murder, by Eliza Frye
* Speak No Evil: Melancholy of a Space Mexican, by Elan Trinidad
* Vs., by Alexis Sottile & Joe Infurnari

Best Reality-Based Work
* Alan's War, by Emmanuel Guibert (First Second)
* Blue Pills: A Positive Love Story, by Frederik Peeters (Houghton Mifflin)
* Fishtown, by Kevin Colden (IDW)
* A Treasury of XXth Century Murder: The Lindbergh Child, by Rick Geary (NBM)
* What It Is, by Lynda Barry (Drawn & Quarterly)

Best Graphic Album -- New
* Alan's War, by Emmanuel Guibert (First Second)
* Paul Goes Fishing, by Michel Rabagliati (Drawn & Quarterly)
* Skim, by Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki (Groundwood Books)
* Swallow Me Whole, by Nate Powell (Top Shelf)
* Three Shadows, by Cyril Pedrosa (First Second)

Best Graphic Album -- Reprint
* Berlin Book 2: City of Smoke, by Jason Lutes (Drawn & Quarterly)
* Hellboy Library Edition, Vols. 1-2, by Mike Mignola (Dark Horse)
* Sam & Max Surfin' the Highway Anniversary Edition HC, by Steve Purcell (Telltale Games)
* Skyscrapers of the Midwest, by Joshua W. Cotter (AdHouse)
* The Umbrella Academy, Vol. 1: Apocalypse Suite, deluxe edition, by Gerard Way and Gabriel Ba (Dark Horse)

Best Archival Collection/Project -- Strips
* The Complete Little Orphan Annie, by Harold Gray (IDW)
* Explainers, by Jules Feiffer (Fantagraphics)
* Little Nemo in Slumberland, Many More Splendid Sundays, by Winsor McCay (Sunday Press Books)
* Scorchy Smith and the Art of Noel Sickles (IDW)
* Willie & Joe, by Bill Mauldin (Fantagraphics)

Best Archival Collection/Project -- Comic Books
* Breakdowns: Portrait of the Artist as a Young %@&*!, by Art Spiegelman (Pantheon)
* Creepy Archives, by Various (Dark Horse)
* Elektra Omnibus, by Frank Miller and Bill Sienkiewicz (Marvel)
* Good-Bye, by Yoshihiro Tatsumi (Drawn & Quarterly) [my review]
* Herbie Archives, by "Sean O'Shea" (Richard E. Hughes) and Ogden Whitney (Dark Horse)

Best U.S. Edition of International Material
* Alan's War, by Emmanuel Guibert (First Second)
* Gus and His Gang, by Chris Blain (First Second)
* The Last Musketeer, by Jason (Fantagraphics)
* The Rabbi's Cat 2, by Joann Sfar (Pantheon)
* Tamara Drewe, by Posy Simmonds (Mariner/Houghton Mifflin)

Best U.S. Edition of International Material -- Japan
* Cat Eyed Boy, by Kazuo Umezu (Viz)
* Dororo, by Osamu Tezuka (Vertical)
* Naoki Urasawa's Monster, by Naoki Urasawa (Viz)
* The Quest for the Missing Girl, by Jiro Taniguchi (Fanfare/Ponent Mon)
* Solanin, by Inio Asano (Viz) [my review]

Best Writer
* Joe Hill, Lock & Key (IDW)
* J. Michael Straczynski, Thor, The Twelve (Marvel)
* Mariko Tamaki, Skim (Groundwood Books)
* Matt Wagner, Zorro (Dynamite); Madame Xanadu (Vertigo/DC)
* Bill Willingham, Fables, House of Mystery (Vertigo/DC)

Best Writer/Artist
* Rick Geary, A Treasury of XXth Century Murder: The Lindbergh Child (NBM); J. Edgar Hoover (Hill & Wang)
* Emmanuel Guibert, Alan's War (First Second)
* Jason Lutes, Berlin (Drawn & Quarterly)
* Cyril Pedrosa, Three Shadows (First Second)
* Nate Powell, Swallow Me Whole (Top Shelf)
* Chris Ware, Acme Novelty Library (Acme)

Best Penciller/Inker or Penciller/Inker Team
* Gabriel Ba, The Umbrella Academy (Dark Horse)
* Mark Buckingham/Steve Leialoha, Fables (Vertigo/DC)
* Olivier Coipel/Mark Morales, Thor (Marvel)
* Guy Davis, BPRD (Dark Horse)
* Amy Reeder Hadley/Richard Friend, Madame Xanadu (Vertigo/DC)
* Jillian Tamaki, Skim (Groundwood Books)

Best Painter/Multimedia Artist
* Lynda Barry, What It Is (Drawn & Quarterly)
* Eddie Campbell, The Amazing Remarkable Monsieur Leotard (First Second)
* Enrico Casarosa, The Venice Chronicles (Atelier Fio/AdHouse)
* Scott Morse, Tiger! Tiger! Tiger! (Red Window)
* Jill Thompson, Magic Trixie, Magic Trixie Sleeps Over (HarperCollins Children's Books)

Best Cover Artist
* Gabriel Ba, Casanova (Image); The Umbrella Academy (Dark Horse)
* Jo Chen, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Serenity (Dark Horse); Runaways (Marvel)
* Amy Reeder Hadley, Madame Xanadu (Vertigo/DC)
* James Jean, Fables (Vertigo/DC); The Umbrella Academy (Dark Horse)
* Matt Wagner, Zorro (Dynamite); Grendel: Behold the Devil (Dark Horse)

Best Coloring
* Steve Hamaker, Bone: Ghost Circles, Bone: Treasure Hunters (Scholastic Graphix)
* Trish Mulvihill, Joker (DC), 100 Bullets (Vertigo/DC)
* Val Staples, Criminal, Incognito (Marvel Icon)
* Dave Stewart, Abe Sapien: The Drowning, BPRD, The Goon, Hellboy, Solomon Kane, The Umbrella Academy (Dark Horse); Body Bags (Image); Captain America: White (Marvel)
* Chris Ware, Acme Novelty Library #19 (Acme)

Best Lettering
* Faryl Dalrymple, Omega: The Unknown (Marvel)
* Jimmy Gownley, Amelia Rules! (Renaissance)
* Scott Morse, Tiger! Tiger! Tiger! (Red Window)
* Nate Powell, Swallow Me Whole (Top Shelf)
* Chris Ware, Acme Novelty Library #19 (Acme)

Best Comics-Related Periodical/Journalism
* Comic Book Resources, produced by Jonah Weiland
* The Comics Journal, edited by Gary Groth, Michael Dean, and Kristy Valenti (Fantagraphics)
* The Comics Reporter, produced by Tom Spurgeon and Jordan Raphael
* Comics Comics, edited by Timothy Hodler and Dan Nadel (PictureBox)

Best Comics-Related Book
* Bill Mauldin: A Life Up Front, by Todd DePastino (Norton)
* Brush with Passion: The Art and Life of Dave Stevens, edited by Arnie and Cathy Fenner (Underwood)
* Drawing Words and Writing Pictures, by Jessica Abel and Matt Madden (First Second)
* Kirby: King of Comics, by Mark Evanier (Abrams) [my review]
* The Ten-Cent Plague: The Great Comic-Book Scare and How It Changed America, by David Hajdu (Picador/Farrar, Straus & Giroux)

Best Publication Design
* Breakdowns: Portrait of the Artist as a Young %@&*! designed by Art Spiegelman (Pantheon)
* Comic Book Tattoo, designed by Tom Muller, art direction by Rantz Hoseley (Image)
* Hellboy Library Editions, designed by Cary Grazzini and Mike Mignola (Dark Horse)
* What It Is, designed by Lynda Barry (Drawn & Quarterly)
* Willie and Joe, designed by Jacob Covey (Fantagraphics)

The Eisners will be awarded during the San Diego Comicon this summer. Note that Fantagraphics Books is celebrating its nominations with a 15%-off sale on nominated works, and Top Shelf is offering a free copy of Nate Powell's excellent comic Please Release with purchase of his nominated graphic novel Swallow Me Whole.

2009-04-06T01:26:00.004-04:00

The Monday Briefing -- Took the family, as expected, to The Albany Comicon yesterday. It seemed more packed than ever with dealers, people looking to buy comics, people dressed in costume (including many Star Wars characters, which blew my son's mind -- I'm the Trekkie of the family, he loves all things Star Wars), and at least one guy who seemed to be taking pictures for (I assume) the local newspaper.

Despite quite a few half-price graphic novel bins, I didn't spend any money at all on comics -- the show is a lot of fun but most of the dealers are dedicated almost exclusively to superheroes and nostalgia (and superhero nostalgia). I was tempted by a leather-bound Complete Frank Miller Batman hardcover that I've always wished I owned (you know the one, purple, collected DKR, Year One and that oddball, early-career Christmas story?), but it was priced at $48.00 and that's too much for me to pay right now for a book that I own 95 percent of the contents already, twice over for Year One.

I did get to talk briefly to former FantaCo guy Rocco Nigro, always great to talk comics with, and Rocco introduced me to writer/blogger Timothy Callahan, who I had no idea lived as close to Albany as he does. It was fun to hang with those guys, however briefly. Missed Roger Green this time out, although a little bird Tweets at me that he was there later in the day. Next time for sure, Rog.

The only money I spent inside the convention was on some Star Trek action figures, a symptom of my growing excitement for the release of the movie, now, hello, one month and two days away. If anyone gets word of the new movie toys being sighted anywhere, do let me know, as I am hoping to score a set of those.

I really liked Tom Spurgeon's newest economy-minded comics-buying recommendations, 10 Avenues for Buying Comics as Used Books. I don't use the word "Avenue" in my post titles nearly enough, I don't think.

Oh, hey, check out my review of Yoshihiro Tatsumi's A Drifting Life, which I posted yesterday.

Over and out.

2009-04-05T05:57:00.009-04:00

A Drifting Life -- I finished Yoshihiro Tatsumi's A Drifting Life yesterday, and have been wrestling with what to say about it.

I really, really enjoyed reading it, but there's almost no extraordinary moments in it at all for me to point to. Virtually the entirety of the narrative is concerned with Tatsumi's transformation from a fan to a professional comics creator and the development of his own offshoot of Manga, a genre he dubbed Gekiga ("dramatic pictures.").

In the few moments where the book is about something else, it is either Tatsumi's sometimes tense and difficult relationship with his brother, or more fascinatingly and frustratingly, a couple of truly weird sequences in which we get a glimpse of the author's awkward sexual awakening. I would have loved to learn whether Tatsumi's timid, shame-faced encounters are culturally based or came out of his own upbringing and point of view. I suspect the former, but we never find out and once the minor thread is dropped, it is never even hinted at again.

A Drifting Life's title really does define what it is about, and I realize that telling you that it's 800 pages of passivity that is really interesting to read seems like a left-handed endorsement, but it's not intended that way at all. Tatsumi has an enormous canvas upon which to paint his life story, and he uses it well. It's broken up into discreet chapters, which makes it easier to tackle from a reader's perspective, but don't come into it expecting shocking moments or artistic revelations. There is an epic feel, but its effect is cumulative rather than something that sweeps you along through the author's personal history.

Tatsumi is one hell of a draftsman, and his depictions of life in Japan are amazing to see, and give one a tactile sense of the life he has experienced. So the fact that the book really does drift, that Tatsumi has no grand statement to make (except perhaps at the very end), is not a criticism at all, merely an observation; perhaps a suitably passive one to match the author's viewpoint for much of the story told here.

As a reader born in North America and steeped in its mostly intellectually arrested comics-creating traditions, I guess I am programmed to look for the grand point, the big theme. So I admit that I spent much of my time reading A Drifting Life in perhaps the wrong mindset. Either because of a lack of knowledge of what came after the point the story stops, or maybe even differences in cultural cues I should have picked up on, the book really does feel like it just stops rather than reaching any real kind of climax or conclusion.

There's a moment of, let's say, energy near the end, followed by a strange epilogue and a final panel and statement that were more baffling than anything else. And yet despite that, I am glad I read it and think anyone interested in Manga, Tatsumi or artcomix should read A Drifting Life and will likely find it rewarding and enriching, as I did. It's possible an interview with Tatsumi (as his other works released by Drawn and Quarterly have included) might have provided better context with which to comprehend and absorb what Tatsumi shows us (and for that I highly recommend Jog's review), but you know what? It's his life, and this is how he wanted us to learn about it. It drifts, but it is profoundly worthwhile, and you ought to read it.

Buy A Drifting Life from amazon.com.

2009-04-03T07:45:00.003-04:00

Reminder: Albany Comicon is This Sunday -- I wrote about it here. Hope to see you there.

2009-04-02T06:16:00.000-04:00

The Best Buy That Never Was -- Up now at the deadmalls blog.

2009-04-01T13:37:00.006-04:00

Random Notes -- I miss when Christopher Butcher used to write Previews Review, a monthly tour of the ~~goddamned~~ Diamond Distribution catalog. This week he posted something similar. Part One, Part Two.

When I wrote my somewhat glowing review of the new hardcover Alan Moore Swamp Thing release, I didn't realize how much DC had screwed it up (although I am not surprised at all).

The silver lining has been artist Steve Bissette looking at the project and sharing copious notes about Alan Moore's collaborative process. Part One, Part Two, Part Three. Jesus, what I wouldn't give to have a complete set of the photocopies Bissette says he has of all of Alan Moore's Swamp Thing scripts. (Thanks to Leigh Walton for turning me on to all this discussion, and also in general for being a rockin' comics-type human being. My favourite quote from him on this Swamp Thing cock-up is this, regarding DC Comics: "Is not making your creators hate you really such an impossible task?")

Noteworthy: It only took a decade, but Chris Allen has finally written about something I hate so much I am not reading his comments. No offense, Chris, I just really, really fucking hate American Idol.

I wish I could afford to go to the Toronto Comic Art Festival this (or any) year. If you go, do have fun for me, eh?

I haven't read Sean T. Collins's review of the new David Mazzucchelli graphic novel yet, but once I've read the book, I will. Two things I love are comics by David Mazzucchelli and reviews by Sean T. Collins.

2009-04-01T13:33:00.002-04:00

Fantagraphics Party This Saturday -- From Fantagraphics Minister of PR Eric Reynolds:

Join us at Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery this Saturday evening, April 4, from 6:00 to 9:00 PM for an extraordinary event featuring two titans of alternative comics: Jaime Hernandez and Stan Sakai. We�ll be hosting a reception for an amazing exhibition of original art and book signing with Jaime and Stan, together with special guest Paul Hornschemeier.

It�s impossible to overstate the enduring influence of LOVE & ROCKETS on the comics medium, so we�ll skip the superlatives. Suffice to say that Jaime will be on hand to greet fans and sign books. Stan�s epic USAGI YOJIMBO adventure series has introduced generations of young readers to the world of comics, and his books are more popular than ever. His original drawings and paintings are inspiring. Jaime and Stan will be joined by their young colleague Paul Hornschemeier signing copies of his wonderful new graphic novel MOTHER, COME HOME.

This event serves as the official after-party for this weekend�s Emerald City Comicon in Seattle, so expect to see other comics creators and luminaries. Adult beverages will be provided for grown ups and sodas for the kids.

Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery is located just minutes south of downtown Seattle at 1201 S. Vale Street (at the corner of Airport Way S.) in the colorful Georgetown arts community. Open daily 11:30 to 8:00 PM, Sundays until 5:00 PM. Phone 206.669.9059.

To quote Liz Lemon, "I want to go to there."

2009-03-30T19:24:00.001-04:00

Pain and Drugs -- Anyone who thinks they understand public health policy and the "war on drugs" needs to read this extraordinary essay by former Albany-area news anchor Ed Dague.