Posted by John Mueller, on January 15th, 2012
As we enter mid-January and 2011 becomes more and more of a memory, I’d like to close out my look at the most notable releases of the past year so that those who may have missed the following can seek them out, or those who have read these be reminded that they are very worthy of a second (or third) read. So, without further ado let’s begin with…
Mark Schultz: Various Drawings Volume 5 / Flesk Publications
Finding inspiration from the great illustrators and comic artists of the past like Dean Cornwell, Franklin...
Posted by John Mueller, on January 1st, 2012
As 2011 comes to a close, I can say with a bit of relief that the amount of quality content being published within the world of comics continues to increase steadily. The interest in recent years in high-end, lavish, oversized archival editions and spiffy comic related art books signifies that people are not just reading comics for their obvious entertainment value, but also seeing the medium more and more as the valid literary and artistic arena it’s been since day one. As such I’ve assembled a list of 2011’s...
Posted by John Mueller, on December 4th, 2011
We live in a society where mass consumerism has reached a terminal world-wide breaking point. We pretend to be aware of the negative effects of over consumption, both to our personal well being and to the planet we call home, but we continue on, completely unabated in our gluttonous self-indulgence. If art is a reflection of the times we live in, I can think of no better contemporary artist to put up the mirror to our less than responsible ways than Ron English.
A leading figure of the Pop Surrealism art movement, English’s...
Posted by John Mueller, on November 6th, 2011
The Halloween weekend saw the appearance of the third annual Long Beach Comic Con (or as it is now known the “Long Beach Comic and Horror Con”), and I am extremely happy to report that it was the best year yet. What clearly sets the LBCC shows apart from its Southern California con counterparts is an actual emphasis on comics themselves, the writers and artists who produce them, and the greater illustrative art world that exists comfortably alongside the sequential medium itself.
This is a very welcome and continued...
Posted by John Mueller, on October 16th, 2011
Welcome back to this continuing look at highly noteworthy releases from Archaia, a company whose dedication to compelling storytelling, beautiful artwork, and top-tier book design has earned them a reputation as one of the best independent comics publishers in the industry. Though Archaia releases cover a wide spectrum of genres, they are best known for their fantasy titles, largely due to the success of their flagship series, David Petersen’s Mouse Guard.
Wraparound cover from Mouse Guard: Legends of the Guard, the 2011...
Posted by John Mueller, on September 18th, 2011
It’s interesting to note the amount of conflict and turmoil “the big two” comic publishers are willing to inflict on their faithful and loyal readers, readers that without whom they wouldn’t exist. Relaunching, rebooting, renumbering, and the killing off of time-tested characters are some of the ways the majors shake beloved, long established universes up. There are two goals that can be achieved by doing this, and they rarely go hand in hand:
1. Drive up sales.
2. Produce good comics.
Whether such books...
Posted by John Mueller, on August 14th, 2011
Tales of dystopian societies and their corrupted and controlled cityscapes have a long and rich history across multiple areas of media, tracing back at least to the time of H.G. Wells. Still, it is within the last few decades that the frequency of these stories, in print and film, have increased exponentially.
On a daily basis we see a continued mistrust in governments and their leaders, spiritual malaise, heightened sensationalism in entertainment, far-too-rapidly advancing technology, and an ever widening gap between the rich...
Posted by John Mueller, on June 19th, 2011
War, murder, corpse dismemberment, drug abuse, human immolation and religious fanaticism are, quite understandably, things not normally attributed to the beloved Carlo Collodi fairy tale Pinocchio. However, the traditional telling of the wooden boy who wishes to be a real flesh-and-blood child is far from what you’ll find in the astonishing 192 page oversized hardcover Pinocchio by Winshluss, translated from the original French edition and available now from Last Gasp.
Winshluss is the pen name of acclaimed cartoonist...
Posted by John Mueller, on May 29th, 2011
There are many books and comics that tempt the reader with the promise to go inside the mind of a murderer, but none in recent memory do so in such an alarming and realistic way as The Killer, a superb French comic series by Matz and Luc Jacamon. This multiple Eisner Award nominated title, translated in three hardcover volumes to date from Archaia, displays to the fullest possible extent the vicious ice-cold cool that nearly all modern day noir aspires to.
As the story opens our nameless main character, a highly paid Parisian...
Posted by John Mueller, on May 16th, 2011
There is very little else from the landscape of American popular culture that serves as a direct emotional bridge to my childhood like Charles Schulz’s eternally beloved comic strip Peanuts and the classic animated specials inspired by it. As such, you can imagine my feeling as I turned onto West Steele Lane in picturesque Santa Rosa, California (an hour north of San Francisco) after a road trip of nearly 450 miles, to see the image of a contentedly skating Snoopy telling me I’ve arrived at the amazing Charles...
Posted by John Mueller, on April 24th, 2011
As almost everyone reading this knows, Saturday, May 7, is Free Comic Book Day at participating shops across North America. With over 35 free titles vying for the attention of avid comic fans, I’d like to make a special note of the exemplary offering from publisher Archaia — Mouse Guard, The Dark Crystal, and Season of the Dapper Men, plus a sneak peek at the highly anticipated graphic novel A Tale of Sand all under the cover of one flip book. I was lucky enough to receive an advance copy of this release and my already...
Posted by John Mueller, on April 11th, 2011
2011 marks the 25th anniversary of San Francisco’s WonderCon and the convention’s growth, particularly within the last few years, has been remarkable to say the least. When I first began attending in the late 90’s the convention was held across the Bay in Oakland (then its home since its inception in 1987) and was still a moderately low-key affair. With its move to the Moscone Center in 2003, attendance has grown steadily with every passing year. Most astounding is the jump from last year’s head count...
Posted by John Mueller, on March 27th, 2011
“There are few artists working in the realm of popular entertainment who deserve to be called Renaissance Men. Ladies and gentleman, I give you Mark Nelson“. These words, written by Mark (Xenozoic Tales) Schultz, begin the introduction to the jaw-dropping book From Pencils To Inks: The Art of Mark A. Nelson.
In observing the astounding pen and brush work in this volume, it is clear why the multi-talented Nelson embodies the term “Renaissance Man” so well: he consistently and seemingly effortlessly creates...
Posted by John Mueller, on March 6th, 2011
Welcome back for this, the third and final article on the three issue indie/mainstream mash up Strange Tales II. To me the most unique aspect of this mini-series is in seeing alternative creators working with characters and situations completely opposite from what we have come to expect from them. The cover of ST II #3 is a supreme example of this in which Schizo creator Ivan Brunetti presents us with an adorable look at a superhero-centric health club, complete with aerobicizing X-Men and a pool-diving Daredevil.
Strange Tales...
Posted by John Mueller, on February 14th, 2011
What happens when alternative comics superstars meets the world of capes and cowls? The second issue of Marvel’s Strange Tales II that’s what! Things begin incredibly strong right out of the gate courtesy of a cover by Love & Rockets co-creator Jaime Hernandez. Long known for his ability to draw gorgeous women via his beautifully clean line work, it’s great to see him portray some of the ladies of the Marvel universe in his trademark style.
Gilbert Hernandez, Jaime’s brother and fellow Love &...
Posted by John Mueller, on January 30th, 2011
When Marvel’s 2009 indie-comics superstars meets time-tested superheroes mini-series Strange Tales was released it seemed almost too good to be true. This highly unique assemblage of oddities was so pleasingly originally and off the typical spandex path that a follow up seemed implausible at best. Happily, fans of the publisher didn’t mind seeing their favorite heroes taking a good natured (and overdue) ribbing and the series was a surprise hit. Now we have the three issue mini-series Strange Tales II and the hit versus miss...
Posted by John Mueller, on January 17th, 2011
Welcome back for the second and final installment of my look at some of the best of last year’s releases. Let’s not mince words and get right to it, shall we?
Xenozoic by Mark Schultz (Flesk Publications)
The most astounding collection of comic tales in 2010 was, hands down, Xenozoic by five time Harvey award winner and two time Eisner winner Mark Schultz.
Collecting all 14 issues of his acclaimed and much loved Xenozoic Tales (as well as the first published story from Death Rattle #8), this 350 page book contains...
Posted by John Mueller, on January 10th, 2011
A year ago this week, I was having a tough time of compiling a scaled down “Best of the Year” list due to the unexpected flurry of note-worthy material released during 2009. Now I find the task even harder considering the avalanche of great releases that saw print in 2010. A chief reason for this is the recent explosion of exceptional archival comic strip collections, lavish artist career overviews, and beautifully produced art books by publishers like Fantagraphics, IDW, and Flesk Publications. Add to this numerous...
Posted by John Mueller, on December 27th, 2010
Welcome to Part 2 of Sequential Sunday’s look at the highly varied and completely mind-blowing work of 3-D processing master Ray Zone! In part 1 we saw numerous examples of depth-defying art from early issues of Zone’s self-published title The 3-D Zone. Though this series constitutes a sizable chunk of his 1980’s output, Zone applied his skills to the comics of numerous other publishers from the decade of the independent publishing boom as well, including Eclipse Comics.
In addition to working with Eclipse characters...
Posted by John Mueller, on December 13th, 2010
Christmas is just around the corner and as such the colors red and green are everywhere. Yet, instead of Santa’s suit and elves’ uniforms, my thoughts are drawn to the signature dual colors of incredible 3-D comics, and the work of third dimension master Ray Zone!
I’ve been looking back upon Zone’s work quite a bit recently in light of viewing the 3-D Thomas Jane and Timothy Bradstreet film Dark Country at the 2010 Long Beach Comic Con. Zone worked as the 3-D consultant on the highly entertaining supernatural...
Posted by John Mueller, on November 28th, 2010
For fans of the legendary alternative cartoonist Charles Burns patience is a virtue. His meticulously produced work within the comics world has become less frequent through the years (Burns is always in demand for his high profile illustration work) with his last major book being the publication of the collected edition of his mood-drenched masterpiece Black Hole in 2005. However, his admirers now have their patience rewarded in full with the recent release of X’ed Out, a beautiful, full-color, oversized, 56 page hardcover...
Posted by John Mueller, on November 22nd, 2010
When writing about a site of recent historical significance, recent enough that those who were present as witnesses or participants to important events held there are likely still alive, you are not going to be able to please everyone. The beyond legendary New York music club CBGB is one such locale whose cultural impact on the musical spectrum of the last 35 years is so great it could never be given due justice in print or on film no matter how good the effort may be.
This brings us to the newly collected four-issue CBGB comic...
Posted by John Mueller, on November 8th, 2010
The second annual Long Beach Comic Con has now come and gone and it is with a huge measure of relief that I can say that it has not merely bested last year’s event, but gave me every reason to believe it will continue to move in a positive direction as well. And, as strange as it sounds, I’d say it topped last year’s inaugural LBCC just by simultaneously growing larger yet staying essentially the same: by keeping the focus on sequential art, the people who make it, and the fans who love it.
The comic book Gods...
Posted by John Mueller, on October 10th, 2010
With the Long Beach Comic Con 2010 (Oct. 29-31) fast approaching I would like to bring attention to some of the great guests appearing from the world of independent art and publishing.
There are a lot of big mainstream names (J. Scott Campbell, Jimmy Palmiotti, and Amanda Conner amongst others) and established comic book icons (Bernie Wrightson, Howard Chaykin, and Mike Mignola) set to appear. These are can’t miss talents to be sure, but please make time to visit the following folks as well and get to know their work (if...
Posted by John Mueller, on October 4th, 2010
Without question Tim Lane is one of the most insightful, reflective, and sharpest artistic talents in the alternative comics scene today. In Lane’s book, Abandoned Cars, the term “graphic novel” feels much more apt and appropriate than any other release in the comics world within the last several years. This exceptional work, first released in 2008 by Fantagraphics and now available in a softcover edition with 2 different covers to choose from, has more in common with prose authors of a grand, yet lonely, American...
Posted by John Mueller, on September 27th, 2010
Holidays are usually steeped in tradition and a huge favorite holiday of mine, Halloween, is just around the corner. As such I’d like to share some thoughts on what has become my own little comic book Halloween tradition, picking up the release of the year’s special The Simpson’s Treehouse of Horror issue from Bongo Comics. It’s incredible to think that this issue marks the 16th year that TOH has been published.
My fascination with the regular monthly Simpson’s comic (which first appeared in late...
Posted by John Mueller, on September 12th, 2010
As someone who feels that being “weird” is one of the best attributes a comic book can have I am naturally going to gravitate to a book which purports to list the world’s most wigged out sequential shenanigans. The potential problem with such a book is, with countless thousands of great and not-so-great bizarre comics to choose from, would the choices for inclusion all be worthy of mention? And, maybe more importantly, what should have made it into the book and was instead left out?
Lucky for the reader, most...
Posted by John Mueller, on September 5th, 2010
One does not necessarily have to be a cat person to agree with the statement that cats are little fluffy weirdos. This is a good thing, of course, and for many people (myself included) it is a big part of their appeal. The strange behavior they exhibit on a daily basis is an almost non-stop form of entertainment, one well-worth the price of having to clean out their litter box (the only unpleasant duty regarding an otherwise hassle free animal). To take true note of such oddness one only needs a keen sense of observation, and...
Posted by John Mueller, on August 29th, 2010
Pixar Animation Studios has always had a keen eye for finding truly unique and individualistic artistic talents to create visually stunning ways to drive their stories forward. In the highly stylized opening title sequence for their fourth film, Monsters Inc., the notable influence of 1950’s animation began to appear. Of the many talented artists working at the studio, four names are most commonly associated with pushing this distinctive look forward: Lou Romano, Don Shank, Nate Wragg and, last but certainly not least, Scott...
Posted by John Mueller, on August 26th, 2010
For those of us living in the L.A. area there is a sensational art/signing event at Gallery Nucleus this Saturday evening, August 28th, from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m.
Firstly, the brilliant illustrator William Stout will be on hand to sign copies of his new fantasy art collection Hallucinations as well as his 2011 Zombies wall calendar (for more on his work that has shown at Gallery Nucleus see here and here.) Stout is a living legend having worked on comic books, album covers, as a production designer on films like Conan and Pan’s...
Posted by John Mueller, on August 2nd, 2010
To see the name of Italian sequential art master Milo Manara attached to a graphic novel is an absolute guarantee that within the pages of said book you will find one thing: beautiful women. Of course, these women are more than beautiful. They are also strong, confident, and very often fully aware of their own sexuality and the heights of ecstasy it can take them to.
Click (1983) in which a handheld device renders women helpless to their own libido's.
Though breathtakingly gorgeous (and perfectly drawn) women and sex are...
Posted by John Mueller, on July 18th, 2010
When the first issue of Mouse Guard by David Petersen was published in February 2006 it was clear to see that this was the start of something special, a very singular creation that would find an audience amongst fantasy fans and comic art aficionados. In a post-Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings media world heavily saturated with images of high fantasy, even the most vibrant of magical imagery seems commonplace. This is why a comic series that depicts colonies of intelligent mice struggling to survive in their dark (and often...
Posted by John Mueller, on July 4th, 2010
Multi Eisner and Harvey Award nominee Ted McKeever is one of a select few comic artists whose talents, though perfectly suited for the sequential art form, are evocative enough of the “fine art” world to guarantee that he could find success and acclaim there as well. He, along with contemporaries like Kent Williams, George Pratt, Bill Sienkiewicz and John J. Muth have the creative flexibility and artistic chops to produce works for multiple outlets of the larger art world. As such, their comic work, particularly titles...
Posted by John Mueller, on June 28th, 2010
In last week’s installment of Sequential Sunday we took a look at the work of the great Al Williamson who passed away on June 12. As an addendum to that article I’d like to give some suggestions to those who’d like to explore the work of this comic art master via some of the books currently in print as well as those that are soon to be released.
Al Williamson’s Flash Gordon: A Lifelong Vision of the Heroic by Mark Schultz (Flesk Publications)
One of Williamson’s greatest influences was Flash Gordon,...
Posted by John Mueller, on June 20th, 2010
In a career that spanned more than five decades, Al Williamson (1931-2010) earned a reputation for being a genre-defining science fiction artist, constant encourager of up and coming comics artists, and an all around wonderful human being who enriched the lives of others through his loyalty and friendship.
Since his recent passing after a long battle with Alzheimer’s disease, there have been many warm tributes written of the man and his outstanding work. To get a better understanding of how one person can affect so many...
Posted by Rob Andrews, on June 16th, 2010
We love Matt Fraction’s ‘Casanova‘ series here at Comic Impact. We picked the first collected volume titled ‘Luxuria’ as one of our Book Of The Month’s a while back (if you do not know what the story is, just download the podcast in the link), and recommended that those of you who had not read it should make it a top priority to check out. Well, if you never got the chance to read it first time around, then this is your second chance! No excuses this time folks!
ICON publishings are re-releasing...
Posted by John Mueller, on June 13th, 2010
This will not be the first time I’ve written about (and sung the praises of) Michael Kupperman’s brilliantly surreal comic Tales Designed To Thrizzle from Fantagraphics. Well, now there is occasion to sing to the absurdist comedy heavens on high once again due to the recent release of Thrizzle #6! And as an added bonus, for (almost) the first time it comes “now with too much color!”
Speaking of the aforementioned color usage (previously only utilized in the Thrizzle collected edition) the monochromatic...
Posted by John Mueller, on June 6th, 2010
One of the great things for a comic book fan is finding that weird, rare, unusual item from a favorite creator, a release so obscure one may not have even heard of it before. This happened to me recently when I was perusing the used magazine boxes at Amoeba Music in Hollywood recently. In between heavily worn early issues of Rolling Stone and dog-eared guitar tablature books I found this:
This is a promotional comic from 1999 titled The Story of Buckethead. It contains a full 14 page story from the brilliant Dave McKean who...
Posted by Rob Andrews, on June 2nd, 2010
I understand that a lot of you will be used to refering to this book as ‘Fall’, and not ‘Autumn’. It’s just that here in Britain, it is published as the later. I thought I should mention that straight off the bat for the sake of clarity, incase some poor soul had no idea that we Brits do not (usually) refer to the Autumn period as ‘Fall’.
Mouse Guard Autumn 1152 is the first in the ongoing ‘Mouse Guard‘ series of books, drawn and written collectively by it’s creator,...
Posted by John Mueller, on May 30th, 2010
Independent publisher IDW is currently celebrating its 10th anniversary and their current slate of releases says much about how far they’ve come as a company in terms of scope and overall variety. The steadily churned out comics based on licensed properties such as Transformers and G.I. Joe has been (and likely still is) their bread and butter. Yet in the last few years their titles have started to also include top-notch horror and sci-fi (The Ghoul and Starstruck), classic comic strip reprints (Little Orphan Annie and...
Posted by Rob Andrews, on May 28th, 2010
I love the universe that Mike Mignola created to play host to the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defence (B.P.R.D), and Hellboy. I love it so, because the stories which it unfolds are mostly based on historical truths (such as WWII, The Nazis and various other figures and events of historic significance), but with a paranormal twist. The paranormal twists it gives them though, are done in an entirely believable way. This may sound odd, but they are indeed believable stories. Why are they so appealing though?
We crave to learn...
Posted by John Mueller, on May 23rd, 2010
Creating characters who willingly alienate themselves from the rest of a society viewed as boorish, irritating, tasteless, or just hopelessly uncool is familiar territory for cartoonist Daniel Clowes. In celebrated books such as Ice Haven, David Boring, and the highly successful Ghost World, Clowes has given us characters who barely tolerate the majority of the populace to which they unwillingly have to interact with.
Daniel Clowes (self portrait)
Still, even considering Enid Coleslaw (the cynical, disaffected, teenage heroine...
Posted by John Mueller, on May 17th, 2010
The man who has been called the “Michaelangelo of fantasy” has passed away. Frank Frazetta, the undisputed grand master of fantastic art died this past Monday from complications of a stroke at the age of 82 .
Frazetta was one of the rarest kinds of artist, one whose work was so far reaching and groundbreaking that its influence on other artists, not only of his generation, but those who came after, was so great it could not even begin to be measured.
Of all the great fantasy artists of the last century I can liken...
Posted by John Mueller, on May 9th, 2010
It’s Mother’s Day (Hi Mom!) and as such I thought I’d profile the gold standard for motherhood (in popularity anyway) from the world of top-tier alternative comics, Ms. Lisa Leavenworth Bradley. Lisa is the key female character of Peter Bagge’s hilarious, hits-way-to-close-to-home Hate comics.
The original, Generation X defining Hate series ended in 1998 with issue 30. Still, the adventures of Lisa and her hubby Buddy (a formerly grunged-out Seattle slacker turned responsible father to their son Harold)...
Posted by Rob Andrews, on May 9th, 2010
Dark Horse Comics had a special release this past week, with their ‘Hellboy In Mexico’ one shot. Dark Horse don’t put out Hellboy one shots all that often, if anything I’d say they put them out every 2 months at least, so whenever one gets published, I see it as a little gem that is there for the taking. I am personally a huge fan of quite literally everything to do with Hellboy and the BPRD universe created by Mike Mignola. As the proud owner of every Hellboy trade to date, I feel if anything, that it...
Posted by John Mueller, on May 2nd, 2010
Although independent Irish comic company Berserker has been publishing for less than two years and has but a small handful of titles to their name, they are producing some of the highest quality horror releases of today. With a talent pool that includes some of the top names in comics such as Alan Grant, Simon Bisley, and Glenn Fabry, this is one small company that has more than hit the ground running. I suspect that one reason these heavy-hitters from across the pond are telling their stories at Berserker is that they are just...
Posted by John Mueller, on April 25th, 2010
Last weekend gave us the inaugural edition of the Wizard World Anaheim Comic Con and although I had fun I have mixed feelings about the event to say the least. I do have a bit of a rant concerning the event (and others like it) to get up on the soapbox about, but I’d like to save that for the end of this report and spend some time first spotlighting some of the cool comics creators, dedicated cosplayers, and eminently fun pop culture ephemera to be found at the event.
Some of the biggest attention getters on a con floor...
Posted by John Mueller, on April 11th, 2010
The 2010 Eisner Wards have recently been announced and my favorite publisher, Fantagraphics, has been honored with a record 18 nominations. Of these I would like to draw attention to one particular nominee that I feel deserves special recognition: You’ll Never Know Book One: A Good and Decent Man by Carol Tyler.
Included in the Eisner category “Best Painter/Multi-Media Artist” You’ll Never Know is Tyler’s auto-biographical graphic novel (the first of a proposed trilogy) detailing her attempt to...
Posted by John Mueller, on April 4th, 2010
When The Marat/Sade Journals, Barron Storey’s astounding first published foray into the sequential art medium, was released in 1993 he had already earned much success and acclaim in the worlds of illustration and fine art. Recipient of the Society of Illustrators’ Gold Medal award in 1976 for his portrait of German songstress Lotte Lenya, Storey also has ten works (completed as Time magazine covers) in the permanent collection of the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery. Of these the most famous is perhaps...
Posted by John Mueller, on March 28th, 2010
For this week’s column I’ve decided to go against my own grain and instead of reviewing an independent comic or spotlighting a certain creator or gallery show I’d like to profile a website that every sequential art fan should know about, but many currently may not: www.comicartfans.com.
It’s a pretty safe bet that anyone reading this collects comics. And while I agree that having a first print of a notable issue or that hard-to-find variant cover is awfully keen, there is nothing cooler within the hobby...
Posted by John Mueller, on March 21st, 2010
It is always exhilarating to discover an artist whose output is such a visceral rush that viewing their work is like going from 0 to 60 in two seconds. This is just the rush I felt recently when, in my favorite comic shop, I opened Mesmo Delivery to a random page and this is (not kidding) the first image I see:
Now, that single image above is a perfect indicator as to whether or not one will buy the book and love it, or just put it down and try to forget they ever saw it. As for me, my mind was already made up: this one’s...
Posted by John Mueller, on March 14th, 2010
It’s safe to say that lately I have had zombies on the brain. From reading over 1,500 pages of The Walking Dead in a week to the recent spectacular art show Zombies In Love there has been no shortage of the shambling dead in my thoughts. Given this it was without hesitation that I picked up the recently released first issue of the new IDW series We Will Bury You written by brother and sister writing duo Brea & Zane Austin Grant with art supplied by Kyle Strahm.
We Will Bury You #1 - Cover By Ben Templesmith
The year...
Posted by Rob Andrews, on March 13th, 2010
Many of you probably are not aware of this, but I am infact a fan of Tim Seeley’s ‘Hack/Slash’ series. It’s a great little series, that I’ve not been reading lately for various reasons, but I own the omnibus’ and have enjoyed reading the stories I have in single issues.
This came as a surprise to me, when I heard news that at the Emerald City Comic-Con, Tim Seeley announced that he would be moving his creation to a new home at Image Comics. Hack/Slash was (and has been since the start) published...
Posted by John Mueller, on March 7th, 2010
The content of alternative comics anthologies in the last ten years seems to be veering away from their (potentially offensive) underground roots. Instead, these collections seem to be reaching more towards the art gallery-centric world of the Pop Surrealism movement. For example, Blab! once regularly spotlighted cartoonists like Kaz, Daniel Clowes and Richard Sala. But now it reserves the most space for top names in the alternative art world like Gary Baseman, Mark Ryden and Camille Rose Garcia. All of these creators are equally...
Posted by John Mueller, on February 28th, 2010
It comes as little surprise that some of the best loved and oft re-visited works of literature are solidly based in the realms of fantasy. From A Midsummer’s Night Dream to Lord of the Rings there is something hugely appealing about taking our imaginations into the lands of vibrant, idyllic, fantasias.
In this genre there is perhaps no creation as well known or as frequently re-interpreted as Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland.
Alice's Adventures In Wonderland (1898 edition)
First published...
Posted by John Mueller, on February 21st, 2010
The mixing up of genres can be a tricky thing. If a creator is not extremely well-versed in what makes the cross-pollinating genres work (as well as what is cliche and makes them fail), things simply will not gel. Thankfully, first-time comics writer Matt Maxwell knows how to fuse these things properly, making his hybrid western / horror graphic novel Strangeways: Murder Moon the very entertaining read that it is.
In Murder Moon, (self-published by Maxwell via Highway 62 press), ex-Civil War soldier Seth Collins is the survivor...
Posted by John Mueller, on February 14th, 2010
Artist Dave McKean has found tremendous success and acclaim in a wide variety of mediums including painting, sculpture, book illustration, photography, filmmaking, music, and, of course, comics. Legendary amongst sequential art enthusiasts, his singular and recognizable style is found in many of the most highly acclaimed titles of the last 20 years including Violent Cases, Mr. Punch, Arkham Asylum, and The Sandman, as well as his own creation Cages.
I had the pleasure of attending the opening reception for McKean’s newest...
Posted by John Mueller, on February 8th, 2010
Alhambra, California. Located not far from Downtown Los Angeles and Pasadena, Alhambra is a small, but thriving city proud of its large Asian and Hispanic population. Main Street here has seen a true rebirth in recent years as a wealth of new businesses, restaurants, and entertainment venues has turned a once neglected stretch of road into one that teems with life on any given evening. Yes, Alhambra is a city on the rise. Or at least it was, until the tragic events of Saturday, February 6, 2010 when it found itself victim to...
Posted by John Mueller, on January 31st, 2010
Shitty jobs: almost all of us have had to put up with them at one point in our lives. Much more often than not working for an awful boss and/or company becomes a test of one’s endurance, where you ask yourself on a daily basis, “How much of a beating can my pride withstand before I just can’t take it anymore?” If this is the kind of situation you find yourself presently in, it may be of some comfort to know that you are not alone in your frustration and you’ll certainly realize this in reading Carol...
Posted by John Mueller, on January 17th, 2010
Here at Sequential Sunday, the work discussed can sometimes be, well… a little dour. This realization came to me when I was deciding what book to discuss this week and noticed that they either revolved around alcoholism, an insane asylum, or The Holocaust. In light of this, I decided to make this week’s article a little more fun and breezy, while still showcasing a lot of great work and drawing upon sophisticated source material. With that I give you: Watchmen-themed cutesy crafts. You see, there is very little in...
Posted by Rob Andrews, on January 14th, 2010
I’m back this week, after last weeks unusual absence, which came around through no fault of my own I assure you. The snow here has been horrific, and it stopped me from getting into the city to pick up my comics, so I had nothing to work with for 2 weeks. Sucks right? Yeah, well you know how things go, but finally, these past few days the snow has been clearing, and I was able to catch up on all my comics and whatnot. As well as managing to get a cool new comic to cover for today’s Tea Time Thursday blog.
This week...
Posted by John Mueller, on January 10th, 2010
Now that 2010 is in full swing I’d like to wish all of our Comic Impact readers all the best in the new year and charge right back into my Best of 2009 list. Up, up and away we go….
Criminal The Deluxe Edition by Ed Brubaker, Sean Phillips and Val Staples (Marvel/Icon)
It comes as no surprise that Ed Brubaker can write a great crime comic. What does come as a surprise is that any wirier, even one as talented as Brubaker, can take the crime/noir genre and make it feel so fresh and invigorating that it’s almost...
Posted by Rob Andrews, on January 8th, 2010
Here at ComicImpact, we were lucky enough to get a sneak peak look at a hot new graphic novel that is set to be released next week on the 13th of Janurary through Oni Press publishings. I’m Rob, and I’m going to run you through what I thought of this brand spanking new book, and tell you why this is something to check out when new releases hit the stores next week.
‘Lola: A Ghost Story’ is a chunky 112 page, hardcover graphic novel, written by J. Torres, and with artwork given to us by Elbert Or....
Posted by John Mueller, on January 3rd, 2010
I initially thought the task of compiling a list of the best in comics and related art books released in 2009 would be relatively easy. Boy was I wrong. We saw a wealth of amazing output from the indie press, mainstream publishers and collected works of illustrative artists of the past and present. 2009 has been a fantastic year overall for sequential art, the best of the last several, with my only real problem being finding the time (and money) to take them all in.
So without further ado here is Part I in my two-part series...
Posted by Rob Andrews, on December 24th, 2009
Hey folks, welcome back to Tea Time Thursday, and its Christmas Eve as you know, unless you are a mole and weren’t aware. I guess this is therefore the Tea Time Thursday ‘Christmas Special’! So yes, as I’ve promised this interview for a long time, I won’t ramble for too long. I hope you enjoy this interview I got with Time Bomb Comics founder and writer, Steve Tanner, when I caught up with him at the Leeds Thought Bubble convention earlier this November.
[Assume that there were formalities,...
Posted by John Mueller, on December 20th, 2009
Nobody likes being the last person to show up at a party, and boy do I feel like I’m the last person to show up at this one. I consider myself an avid fan of all things horror since childhood, but I have to admit that until now I have not read the incredible Image comic The Walking Dead. But like a straggler at a blowout drinking fast to be on everyone else’s fuzzy wavelength, I am attempting to make up for lost time. In the last week or so I have read all ten of the currently available trade paperback collections of The...
Posted by Rob Andrews, on December 18th, 2009
When I go to pick up my comics next week on Christmas Eve, I can tell you that out of the reasonably meaty list of comics I’ll be getting, the one I will be most looking forward to reading is a brand new one shot from Dark Horse Comics, called ‘Hellboy: The Bride of Hell’.
As a particular fan of Mike Mignola’s fantastic Hellboy Universe, I always look forward to most books published that tell tales from within his universe, be it B.P.R.D, Lobster Johnson or Hellboy himself. The previous Hellboy one shot...
Posted by Rob Andrews, on December 10th, 2009
Here at Comic Impact, I myself want to give you all a very warm welcome to the start of the festive season. A time when we celebrate, and enjoy low prices on quality goods, when we all eat double our weight in fine bird and get drunk, as that’s what Christmas is all about, am I right? Well that’s about as far as my Christmas holiday goes, but regardless, for those of you all celebrating in style, and those who arnt, I send out my regards! Now, forget that, because who needs Christmas when you’ve got a...
Posted by John Mueller, on December 6th, 2009
Founded in 2002, Flesk Publications is still a relatively young company with less than twenty releases under its belt. But the astonishing work contained in these books display such an incredible degree of talent and wealth of beautiful artwork that they are, without a doubt, amongst the very top-tier of publishers of illustrative and fantasy art in this country. With a focus on some of the best American illustrators of the past and present, Flesk gives the heavily detailed art found in their collections the beautiful reproductions...
Posted by John Mueller, on December 3rd, 2009
Author Patrick Wensink has just released a new collection of highly bizarre (and extremely funny) short stories titled Sex Dungeon For Sale!
To mark the occasion he is holding a coloring contest in which the winner will get a set of autographed books including the brilliantly absurd Tales Designed To Thrizzle hardcover collection from Fantagraphics signed by Michael Kupperman!
The contest is simple: visit Patrick’s website, download one of the illustrations created for Sex Dungeon For Sale! and bust out some crayons!...
Posted by Rob Andrews, on December 3rd, 2009
Welcome back to another Tea Time Thursday, where each week I do an article where I cover purely British comics, created and published within the United Kingdom, a country I can so ‘luckily’ can call home. Cast your minds back to the last week when I gave an overview on the annual Leeds Thought Bubble comic convention, you’ll perhaps remember me saying that next week (which is this week) I would put up an interview I did with Steve Tanner. I’m afraid you will have to forgive me, if you were expecting...
Posted by John Mueller, on November 29th, 2009
When one thinks of important American epicenters for the development and cultivation of comic art, there are a couple that will always spring to mind first. New York is one, of course, as New York City is the undisputed publishing capitol of the country and home to industry giants Marvel and DC. California is certainly another as San Francisco was ground zero for the counterculture movement of the 1960’s and the explosive, unapologetic underground comics that emerged from those politically charged and artistically liberating...
Posted by Rob Andrews, on November 26th, 2009
So last Saturday I went to the annual ‘Thought Bubble’ comic convention in Leeds closeby to where I live. This year’s event was the third since it started. I went last year, so this was the second time I’d been to this specific convention, and I’m going to give the lowdown on what happened, and my experiences from the day. It was a long day, let me tell you that!
So the convention opened at 10am, but I did not arrive until bang on midday, as last year I got there at 10 and had seen everything by...
Posted by John Mueller, on November 22nd, 2009
Many of the best creative endeavors are bound to be short lived. An artist will usually know when he’s said all he has to say before running the risk of going stale or to simply move on to the next phase of his artistic career. This certainly happens in the world of comics and seems to now apply to the brilliant strip The Perry Bible Fellowship by Nicholas Gurewitch.
Describing The Perry Bible Fellowship (which premiered in 2001 and is named after an actual church in Maine) to someone who has not seen it is near impossible...
Posted by Rob Andrews, on November 19th, 2009
Goodness me, guess what I’m going to talk to you about this week for Tea Time Thursday? A comic convention that Im going to be attending, and what Im expecting from it compared to my opinions from last years event. Well truthfully, most of you won’t have heard of the UK’s, Thought Bubble comic convention held in Leeds that is opening tomorrow (Saturday 21st).
It’s an annual arts and literature convention, held over 3 days, but on the Saturday of that 3 day period, is when the comic convention is held....
Posted by Rob Andrews, on November 12th, 2009
Tea Time Thursday strikes once again! Following suit from last week’s review of an #1 comic, I’ve got a corker of an indie comic here that rocked my socks off. We’ll be changing the dials this week and I’m setting the tone to ’sci-fi adventure’.
This week, I read Marc Olivent’s (who I hear has done some 2000AD work over the years) first issue of his own comic series; Seven Sentinels. Marc illustrates and writes these comics, and this series went on for a few issues I gather, and truly...
Posted by John Mueller, on November 8th, 2009
For those who read fantasy comics, 2009 is proving itself to truly be a banner year with some of the quality genre material hitting the shops recently. First, there is the amazing continuing series Mouse Guard by David Petersen. Then we saw the phenomenal debut of Cursed Pirate Girl by Jeremy Bastian, which to me still stands as the best, and most beautifully drawn, title of the year. Now there is another comic to add to this imagination abundant list: The Stuff of Legend.
The first issue of The Stuff of Legend (written by...
Posted by Rob Andrews, on November 5th, 2009
According to ComicImpact’s own resident writer, Dana, I should apparantly be watching the EMA’s on MTV I think the station is. Now I probably should be, seen as though Katy Perry (one of my favourite current pop artists!) is hosting, but regardless of whether she is or not, I am here, and I am writing my Tea Time Thursday! Now that is unconditional commitment if you ask me. I joke, of course I’d rather be here writing up a review of a sound comic, than watching some MTV trash, regardless of whether one of my...
Posted by John Mueller, on November 1st, 2009
Playing fast and loose with histories both real and imagined can be fertile ground for dry comedy and offer opportunities for moments of real poignancy as well. Both are found in abundance in the new chapbook by Francois Ayroles titled Key Moments From The History Of Comics. Presented in a series of single panel cartoons, comic creators from the distant past and the contemporary present are shown in small scenes of inspiration and isolation, melancholy and triumph.
Some of the most affecting pieces in the book are ones that...
Posted by Rob Andrews, on October 22nd, 2009
So, my children of the night, you have decided to join me for yet another Tea Time Thursday have you now? Well then, prepare to meet you maker, mwahaha! I really need to stop doing such lame introductions. But regardless, yes, as are more than likely aware, that if you’re reading this, then you are here for a reason, and that is too read my review of Punks In Space #3! If you arn’t here for that, then you are probably on drugs and should go take some more or whatever, as this won’t interest you while you’re...
Posted by John Mueller, on October 18th, 2009
With Halloween right around the corner and all the spooky connotations that come with it hanging in the air it seemed like a good time to scour the shelves of my favorite comic book store for some seasonally appropriate material. The store in question is Comics Factory in Pasadena, CA where, if you’re an indie reader like me, you’re in luck as their selection of independents is so wide it almost rivals all the stock of the Big Two put together. Another huge plus for my ghoulish spree is that there seems to be more horror...
Posted by Rob Andrews, on October 15th, 2009
Hey everyone, I’m going to start this off as if it were a formal letter to a relative (whom you love dearly but do not see all that often) by extending my heartfelt best wishes to you all on this fine, cold, damp October Thursday. Hopefully we’ve all made it to another Thursday in one piece, so here I am, but the real question is, are you here? Yes? Good! Becuse I’m going to be shooting you up with British comic book goodness once again. Whether you like it or not!
Remember a while back when I featured...
Posted by John Mueller, on September 27th, 2009
There’s something fascinating about seeing your favorite hero doing what they do best, but in a radically altered setting or environment. A big favorite of mine as a kid was What If? from Marvel. In (somewhat) more recent years it’s a real kick to see what DC creators do with the various Elseworlds releases. One that always springs to mind is Gotham By Gaslight in which we see what Batman would be like if he lived and operated in the late 1800’s. Pretty far-out to be sure, but how is the reader to react upon seeing the...
Posted by John Mueller, on September 13th, 2009
Putting aside the fact that the comics themselves featured many of the same classic characters we’ve known all our lives, the often-forgettable releases from Marvel in the 1990’s bares little resemblance to the company’s output today. When you factor in the abolishment of the Epic line, bad business practices leading to a glut of material (over 100 titles at one point), and their top name creators jumping ship to launch the instantly successful Image, you get a titan of the industry not exactly in the midst of a new...
Posted by John Mueller, on September 6th, 2009
Like most kids (boys especially) I was drawn to anything that had dinosaurs in it.
Movies like King Kong, The Valley of Gwangi, One Million Years B.C. and The Land That Time Forgot were mandatory viewing when they would pop up on Saturday afternoon television (this was back in the pre-historic days shortly before cable and home video). Comics like Jack Kirby’s Devil Dinosaur and The War That Time Forgot were read and reread endlessly. Even though I loved anything even remotely monster related there was a difference when it...
Posted by Rob Andrews, on August 26th, 2009
It’s cold. It’s dark. You’ve just gotten off the bus after a day’s work. You’ve walked yourself home, and you’re opening the front door. You look forward to stepping in, putting on the heating and getting a good nights sleep. But sadly, you’re also a peadophilic rapist, so instead of dozing off to slumberland, you’re tied to a chair and being interigated.
Welcome to this week’s Tea Time Thursday everyone, and welcome to the first issue of Chris Jones and Gary Bainbridge’s...
Posted by John Mueller, on August 23rd, 2009
Today’s comic book artists working within the mainstream may not always be consciously aware of just how little restrictions are put on their work. When the human body is represented, there isn’t always a whole lot left to the imagination even though the characters are fully clothed. A good example of this is the slick art of Guillem March on the current series Gotham City Sirens. The central characters look less like costumed villanesses and more like nude women whose bodies have been painted. Cartoonists of the past had...
Posted by John Mueller, on August 16th, 2009
There are many comic collections and anthologies that champion comics’ relatively recent acceptance as true and serious art. The only potential problem is that many such volumes invariably become a bit stuffy and academic, forgetting that a primary function of reading comic books is that the experience should also be a fun and entertaining one. One sequential art historian who never lets us forget this point is the incomparable Craig Yoe via his series of eye-popping “Arf” books. To date there are four volumes: “Modern...
Posted by John Mueller, on August 9th, 2009
Existential dread and despair are feelings that are not easily communicated to a reader via text or imagery. That uneasy, creeping sense of malaise that accompanies being emotionally numb in a seemingly unending urban landscape of concrete and refuse is hard to nail down recognizably without seeming overdone or heavy-handed. However, one comics artist that understands these feelings and the environment that conjures them is Mark Beyer, and his favored method of expression are through his two key characters, the queasily comical...
Posted by John Mueller, on August 2nd, 2009
For this week’s installment of “Sequential Sunday” I’ve decided to forgo my usual long-winded appreciation of an indie/alternative/underground artist and instead jump right into some examples of the artist in question: Ivan Brunetti. The work (in this case examples of Brunetti’s very dirty minded gag cartoons) pretty much speaks for itself. An overview more worthy of this particular artist will appear in a future post, but for now here’s some filth to brighten your Sunday afternoon. Also, for those who are underage...
Posted by John Mueller, on July 26th, 2009
I really have no good, justifiable reason why I’ve never attended Comic-Con until this year. Growing up in the mid-west certainly makes the commute difficult, but now that I’ve lived on the west coast for 11 years (and the last 6 of those years in Southern California) it really makes no sense why I’ve waited until now to go. However, all that changed this year and I can now safely say I will never miss one again. What follows is a rundown of just a few of the notable people, places and things at the massive sensory overload...
Posted by John Mueller, on July 12th, 2009
In the publishing world it is extremely rare for a graphic designer to become an art superstar in their own right, but this is exactly what has happened to Chip Kidd.
Beginning his career in the mid-80’s, Chip Kidd has earned a reputation for his highly innovative book covers for authors such as John Updike, Bret Easton Ellis, David Sedaris, Dean Koontz and Cormac McCarthy. So admired is his work that several authors have a clause in their contract stating that only Kidd be allowed to design their covers. His most well known...
Posted by Rob Andrews, on July 2nd, 2009
Goodness gracious me, this week has been an absolute killer for me physically and mentally. I’ve not had enough sleep, I’ve been drunk most of the time, and I’ve been travelling around the country, spending more money than I should have on various bits and bobs from sculpture to tattoos.
So it’s slightly ironic that this week, I would talk about a comic that’s completely crazy in nature and far from the normalities of which we are all accustomed to to live our lives. This week’s UK comic,...
Posted by John Mueller, on June 28th, 2009
Comic anthology books are almost always a mixed bag. Though they often revolve around a certain theme, set of characters, or maintain a consistent tone, one cannot help but be either over or under whelmed by its contents. It is very rare to find an anthology that hits the mark on almost every page but the recent release “Typhon” is just that.
In Greek mythology Typhon was the most fearsome of all creatures, at one time even attempting to destroy Zeus himself. This tale is reflected on the cover of “Typhon” with an incredible...
Posted by Rob Andrews, on June 24th, 2009
After last week’s Tea Time Thursday, in which I reviewed a great (but very serious) comic in the horror genre, this week I wanted to cover something a little more lighthearted!
So I was searching the shelf of British produced comics in my local comic shop this week, for something that looked as if it fitted the ‘little more lighthearted’ criteria of which I had subconsciously devoted myself to, when a comic caught my eye called ‘Ellerbisms’. I gave the description on the inside cover a quick read...
Posted by John Mueller, on June 21st, 2009
An unusual thing began to happen to the underground comics emerging from San Francisco after their initial first wave in the mid-to-late 1960’s. As the dreams of the revolutionary youth counterculture began to fall apart (signs of which were already beginning to show by the end of 1967 — the year of the “Summer Of Love”), the fading hopes of the generation were seeping into the comics of the time in extremely dark ways. Though those initial undergrounds had some nasty elements in them, mainly stemming from the work...
Posted by John Mueller, on June 14th, 2009
This is a great time for those of us who love comics. Almost every genre is hitting creative high points, be it super heroes, horror or alternative humor. Yet even with so many great choices available something can come along so astonishing and unexpected that you can’t help but be in complete awe of it. A comic has done this to me today and that comic is the recently released first issue of “Cursed Pirate Girl” by Jeremy Bastian.
The story is set in 1728 in a Jamacian sea port ruled by the pompous Governer Maygun....
Posted by John Mueller, on May 31st, 2009
very aptly titled...
Let’s consider for a moment the most reviled of all forms of comedy: toilet humor. It’s something we’re all familiar with from an early age. Any child on a school playground is delighted to amuse his pals with a good pee or poop joke, or maybe simply by letting a loud one rip right in the middle of a school assembly. Let’s face it: the human body and its more odorous functions is prime comedy ground. This applies not just to children, but also for those whose sense of humor refuses to grow up (i.e....
Posted by John Mueller, on May 24th, 2009
Faust issue #3
“Not For Children” is the phrase that adorns the cover of several issues of the notorious adults-only comic book “Faust: Love of the Damned,” and I can safely state that a more appropriate warning has never been put on a cover before or since. The hyper-violent reality that the characters of “Faust” live in scales heights of bloodlust and depravity that I can only assume is completely unheard of and unseen by the majority of comic readers. The extreme sex and violence in this book are not mutually...
Posted by John Mueller, on May 17th, 2009
One of the amazing things about how the mind works while reading comics is that we are essentially experiencing what is called a jump-cut between every panel, yet we still have a completely fluid storytelling experience. Our brain automatically fills in that blank space between panels. This is very similar to watching a movie where every edit goes from one image to another in a fraction of a second. It should be jarring, but somehow it isn’t. The difference between comics and movies in this regard is that reading is a much...
