tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-77157733151551380022024-03-21T16:56:55.529-07:00Dick Hyacinth's One-stop Hyphen ShopDick Hyacinth's Ghosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11199236541341734429noreply@blogger.comBlogger268125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7715773315155138002.post-81035874941929926932009-03-13T18:25:00.001-07:002009-03-13T22:01:58.111-07:00KE7 table of contentsI promised to post this a few months ago, but it took my reviewing the book to actually do it. Here's the table of contents for Kramers Ergot 7. Those who own the book will find this especially useful, given that the contents page (which is actually a very cool two-page spread by Shoboshobo) greatly favors form over function.<br /><br />The review is forthcoming, like later tonight (UPDATE: <a href="http://savagecritic.com/2009/03/kramers-ergot-7.html">here it is</a>).<br /><br />Cover: Sammy Harkham<br />Back cover: Shary Boyle<br />Endpapers: Shoboshobo<br />i.: Martin Cendreda<br />Title page: Walt Holcombe<br />Credits: Shoboshobo<br /><br />4-5: Shary Boyle<br />6: Jerry Moriarity<br />7: Aapo Rapi<br />8: Ted May<br />9-12: Tom Gauld<br />13: Geoff McFetridge<br />14-15: Chris Cilla<br />16: Tim Hensley<br />17: Daniel Clowes<br />18: J. Bradley Johnson<br />19: James McShane<br />20-21: CF<br />22-24: Kim Deitch<br />25: Walt Holcombe<br />26-27: Chris Ware<br />28: Jacob Ciocci<br />29: John Brodowski<br />30: Jaime Hernandez<br />31: Matt Furie<br />32-34: Anders Nilsen<br />35: Ivan Brunetti<br />36: C. Tyler<br />37-39: David Heatley<br />40-41: Dan Zettwoch<br />42: Johnny Ryan<br />43: Mat Brinkman<br />44-45: Eric Haven<br />46-47: Conrad Botes<br />48-50: Josh Simmons<br />51: Richard Sala<br />52: Jesse McManus<br />53: Rick Altergott<br />54-55: Matthew Thurber<br />56-58: John Hankiewicz<br />59: Ben Katchor<br />60-61: Frank Santoro<br />62-63: Seth<br />64: Leif Goldberg<br />65: Blanquet<br />66-68: Blex Bolex<br />69: Sammy Harkham<br />70-71: Will Sweeny<br />72: Ben Katchor<br />73: Kevin Huizenga<br />74-75: Adrian Tomine<br />76-77: Florent Ruppert & Jerome Mulot<br />78-79: Anna Sommer<br />80: Ben Jones & Pshaw<br />81: Jonathan Bennett<br />82-83: Helge Reumann<br />84: John Pham<br />85: Matt Groening<br />86-87: Xavier Robel<br />88: Souther Salazar<br />89-90: Jerry Moriarity<br />91: Joe Daly<br />92-95: Ron Regé Jr.<br />96: Gabrielle Bell<br />97: Conrad BotesDick Hyacinth's Ghosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11199236541341734429noreply@blogger.com53tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7715773315155138002.post-2434968439042060552009-03-11T01:24:00.000-07:002009-03-11T01:41:46.860-07:00Now in poll formHaven't done one of these in a while:<br /><br /><!-- Altering or removing this link is a breach of the Vizu Terms and Conditions --><div style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:9px;height:20px;text-align:center;width:250px;margin:0;padding:0;letter-spacing:-.5px"><a href="http://www.vizu.com" target="_blank"><span style="color:#999;text-decoration:underline;font-size:9px;">Online Surveys</span></a><span style="color:#999;"> & </span><a href="http://answers.vizu.com/market-research.htm" target="_blank"><span style="color:#999;text-decoration:underline;font-size:9px;">Market Research</span></a></div><embed src="http://wp.vizu.com/vizu_poll.swf" quality="high" scale="noscale" wmode="transparent" bgcolor="#ffffff" width="250" height="294" name="vizu_poll" align="middle" allowScriptAccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" FlashVars="js=false&pid=152052&ad=false&vizu=true&links=true&mainBG=663333&questionText=ffff99&answerZoneBG=cccc66&answerItemBG=ffffcc&answerText=663333&voteBG=cccc66&voteText=000000"></embed><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">The case for <span style="font-style:italic;">Watchmen</span></span>: If you're reading this, you know all about <span style="font-style:italic;">Watchmen</span>.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />The case for "Two Minutes to Midnight"</span>: Has a pretty catchy chorus. Guitar solo is a little disappointing. Here's the video for those unfamiliar with the song:<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/cE4FHolkO94&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/cE4FHolkO94&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br />It's very important that you remember that you're voting for the song, not the video. We want to keep these things as scientific as possible.<br /><br />(Yes, there will be more of these things--they just won't involve Alan Moore comics. For the record, I voted for <span style="font-style:italic;">Watchmen</span>.)Dick Hyacinth's Ghosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11199236541341734429noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7715773315155138002.post-16649237624690757632009-03-09T15:28:00.000-07:002009-03-09T15:32:00.450-07:00Generally short items<span style="font-weight: bold;">Check out Sean Collins and yours truly going back and forth on Black Hole:</span><br /><a href="http://savagecritic.com/2009/03/dick-hyacinth-here.html">Here</a>. We've talked about doing it again later this year--maybe for <span style="font-style: italic;">Epileptic</span>.<br /><br />Still planning on looking at Kramers Ergot 7 for my next SC post.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Question #1:</span><br />Is there any comics art style more unambiguously dated than the Bruce Timm/animation-influenced style? When you see contemporary comics drawn in a 1970s Sal Buscema style, or a primitive Golden Age style, you immediately process this as a deliberate choice, intended to convey quaintness or to establish a time period, or something like that. The Image style isn't quite to that point--nothing ironic about Ian Churchill or Ed Benes--but it's coming soon. You'll see Jim Lee go from slow-but-extremely-popular to slow-but-kitschy. I'm not sure if All-Star Batman is slowing or accelerating this process; I'm guessing it's the latter.<br /><br />But that Timm-influenced style, it keeps plugging along, sending me back to the mid-to-late 90s every time I see it.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Injury to stop publication</span>:<br /><a href="http://usscatastrophe.com/itlives/current/index.html">FUUUCCCCKKKKK</a>. (Via <a href="http://www.comicsreporter.com/index.php/index/injury_latest_victim_of_dcd_minimums/">Spurgeon</a>.) Look, I'm going to miss <span style="font-style: italic;">Crickets</span> and <span style="font-style: italic;">Or Else</span> as much as anyone, but taking away <span style="font-style: italic;">Injury</span> is like a kick to the shin. Now are we justified in cheering for Diamond's collapse?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Question #2:</span><br />Does reading DC/Vertigo comics cause brain damage? Is there something toxic in the ink? Should I be wearing latex gloves and a respirator next time I'm stuck in a situation where I feel the need to read one of those books?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">The great thing about the Scans Daily debate, besides Christopher Bird's </span><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://mightygodking.com/index.php/2009/03/02/the-internet-is-like-a-stone-rolling-downhill-sometimes/">post</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> (also </span><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://mightygodking.com/index.php/2009/03/01/and-i-shall-call-it-dumbassopalooza-scans_daily-and-peter-david/">this one</a><span style="font-weight: bold;">, but kind of to a lesser extent)?</span><br />Now you have a better idea of what I mean when I talk about blogs which I can no longer stand to read. (HINT: I'm not talking about Scans Daily, which I've never read without following a link from Dirk Deppey or someone else.)<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Question #3:</span><br />Which is better: <span style="font-style: italic;">Watchmen</span> or "Two Minutes to Midnight"? I think I like Alan Moore and Iron Maiden about equally, but <span style="font-style: italic;">Watchmen</span> is a bigger component of Moore's oeuvre than "Two Minutes" is for Iron Maiden's. It's close, though.Dick Hyacinth's Ghosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11199236541341734429noreply@blogger.com26tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7715773315155138002.post-21787453794176441862009-03-02T12:30:00.000-08:002009-03-02T12:36:18.249-08:00Interview: Paul Maybury<a href="http://www.deliciousbrains.com/">Paul Maybury</a> came to my attention with <span style="font-style: italic;">Aqua Leung</span>, but those more plugged into the world of webcomics probably first encountered him through <a href="http://act-i-vate.com/34.comic">Party Bear</a>, his contribution to the ACT-I-VATE collective. After putting the strip on hiatus to finish Aqua Leung, Paul is now returning to <span style="font-style: italic;">Party Bear</span>. We discussed the difficulties of writing a comic with an African American-majority cast, Paul's creative process, and his plans beyond <span style="font-style: italic;">Party Bear</span>. <span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br />I've got a new theory that there are two types of people: those who find primates (gorillas, chimpanzees, monkeys, etc.) funny, and those who find bears funny. I know I'm definitely in the latter camp. Do you consider yourself a bear person?</span><br /><br />I think bears have a certain charm to them. It's an animal who's identified with terror, as well as a term of endearment by many couples. Which works well as a character in a story I must say. I also think that monkeys are in the same category as pirates, ninjas robots and zombies. I need a break.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">I think a lot of people agree with you about that.</span> <span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br />That's interesting that you bring up the cute/scary dichotomy with bears, since it seems like those are the two qualities a child might want from a father: a tough exterior, but cuddly and loving to the family. It's the "Party" in Party Bear that adds an extra degree of weirdness. Is that mostly a joke, or will you be explaining it later on?</span><br /><br />The whole idea stems from a drawing I did in 2004 titled "Dealing with Esteban". I just liked the way it looked, and it sort of had a fairy tale element to it. I won't really explain why he's a Party Bear in the story, as I feel it's more fun just guessing what he's all about, and adds to his magical mystique.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.deliciousbrains.com/cms/documents/e68a5d23458034a8baa59a04e6c42c94.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 282px; height: 358px;" src="http://www.deliciousbrains.com/cms/documents/e68a5d23458034a8baa59a04e6c42c94.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">What led you to the story, characters, and settings of Party Bear? Do they reflect your own experiences, people you knew, etc?</span><br /><br />Well, a few years ago I was approached by ACT-I-VATE early on to do a webcomic under the group name. So I just sort of dug up this image that I really liked, and I started to craft a story that was a tribute to a lot of early 90's urban drama movies, like Colors and Fresh. It's also set somewhere in my memories of Boston and my own personal middle and high school years. I grew up in Jamaica Plain, but because of busing I was sent to The Lewis Middle School, which is in Roxbury. This had quite a profound impact on my life. All of the characters in the book are loosely based on friends with the exception of Officer MacMurphy and Esteban, who are inspired by the movies I mentioned. The story itself has evolved as I've worked on it, and I've gone so far as to rewrite and redraw various scenes throughout the book if early readers were paying attention.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Many characters in Party Bear seem to be in somewhat difficult circumstances (I'm thinking about the Doritos that Seal's mother forces on him for breakfast), but it's a funny comic. Do you think there's some special opportunity for humor to be wrung out of the gritty, urban milieu? Does your experience as an outsider thrust into that world give you some extra insight into what makes the inner city an interesting venue for a comic like Party Bear?</span><br /><br />I think that it lets me dance around the culture in my writing without feeling like I'm faking it. I'm also a few steps back enough to find humor in those kinds of small moments. I think humor is something that I really wanted to stress, especially with the back and forth between the characters and the constant ragging on each other that I remember. I also feel fortunate enough to be mixed racially, as I don't feel committed to strengthening any culture's point of view, but rather just observe and display it as honestly as I can.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">It seems somewhat underrepresented in long-form comics. Comic strips like <span style="font-style: italic;">The Boondocks</span> or <span style="font-style: italic;">Curtis </span>have a predominately African-American cast and take place in cities, but there aren't many graphic novels like that. Do you hope to have <span style="font-style: italic;">Party Bear</span> published in a collected form once you've finished it?</span><br /><br />It's true, there just aren't many that aren't leaning towards an overly positive or negative representation of the culture. And when I say culture, I'm not necessarily just talking about African-Americans. I'm speaking of the smaller melting pot cities like Boston, that are overpopulated with poor people that are sort of just stuck in neighborhoods that are full of dead ends. I feel it's also difficult to present these issues in comics because there's tension that comes from fear of exploiting characters who happen to be black. I would love to publish the book with the right publisher, but because of the subject matter it's been an uphill battle for sure. This sort of saddens me.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.act-i-vate.com/uploads/005/22_959195bbf75b142829f577c0a3193563.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 402px; height: 609px;" src="http://www.act-i-vate.com/uploads/005/22_959195bbf75b142829f577c0a3193563.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Have you received any interesting and/or useful feedback from readers or colleagues regarding these issues?</span><br /><br />Yeah, some have been very useful. I've definitely tweaked the story to be less abrasive, and as I answer these questions, I'm rewriting and redrawing the first 3 pages to make it an easier pill to swallow. I'm actually pretty grateful that I started this project as a web-comic. I've had a lot of time to grow up with the project and rethink my directions. It's definitely going in a more serious and deeper direction in the end from what I had originally written in the beginning. I think I figured if it was going to be this hard to publish already, I'll take it as an opportunity to throw in some subjects that I wanted to talk about anyways. Such as the failure of the Boston public schools, contrast in parenting directions and reverse racism, all which weren't present in the original story line. I guess I'm only concerning myself with doing the story the way I want to see, and trying to present it in a way that's easily accessible. Maybe those two things don't mix well, and could be the reason it's taken this long to find a middle ground that I'm happy with.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">When was it that you started Party Bear? What do you think are the most important ways you've changed your approach to cartooning since then?</span><br /><br />September 2006. Which is interesting because I was just really getting underway with Aqua Leung at the time. I took a long break from it to finish Aqua and get some personal life things taken care of. I didn't really do new pages until around page 23, including a bunch of redrawn stuff from early on. A strange thing sort of took place in that long gap. I have progressive palmoplantar hyperhidrosis, which basically means the nerves in my hands are all screwed up. It causes sort of an electric painful tingly feeling through my hands and feet, and makes them shake and sweat randomly, but is brought out more when I'm around people or stressed out. The problem is the progressive part, as I started having the problem when I was around 12, but it didn't make my hands shake much until my mid twenties. That being said, I could no longer control my brush in a finer manner, even though technique wise I was getting there in skill. This has drastically changed my approach and style. And looking at that particular page when I got back really defines that moment for me. I would like to add, this should serve as an explanation as to why I hardly shake hands at conventions.<div><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh66GL6sQyxyVtL4h9GkPnixM_JzwJYwh3B40lXGdxZ8tw3TKA3IDQw0-Z4SgPqWpl7hl5ADVLjgVTjTaLIF31m_nhOe8BDysihqfvkpCjFNM7TorT-GvExC0hd0P4cWHChN1pKgwAiK6gg/s1600-h/00_partybear_23.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 263px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh66GL6sQyxyVtL4h9GkPnixM_JzwJYwh3B40lXGdxZ8tw3TKA3IDQw0-Z4SgPqWpl7hl5ADVLjgVTjTaLIF31m_nhOe8BDysihqfvkpCjFNM7TorT-GvExC0hd0P4cWHChN1pKgwAiK6gg/s400/00_partybear_23.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5307616550573737890" border="0" /></a>On another note, I've grown as an artist, and strive to focus on being a story teller over being some sort of master inker, or writer, or penciller etc. Another reason why I'm handling pretty much every task myself with this book with the exception of <a href="http://korintic.deviantart.com/">Olli</a>, who came on recently to do flats.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">How about coloring? You were obviously trying to establish a different atmosphere in Aqua Leung; how is your approach different for Party Bear? Is there any change in technique?</span><br /><br />I want Party Bear to feel cold, in a way. Since I moved to Texas, it's something I've missed color wise in my surroundings. It's always sunny, and vibrant. I kind of miss the gray mute colors of a cold rainy day up north. There are a lot more flat colors at work this time around too. I make use of gradients and a "cuts" style like in Aqua Leung here and there still, but it just depends on the scene. Either way I'm trying to be very reserved in my approach. I think coloring is one of my favorite parts of working on my own comics. It's so easy to wreck a scene with crazy colors, or bad lighting, and I think it's one of the most underrated aspects of comics aside from lettering, which is something I'm having a bit of fun doing myself as well.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">That's actually something I noticed looking over Party Bear again: there's a lot of variety in the lettering, and it's all generally pretty expressive.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Could you talk us through your process for creating a page of art for Party Bear?</span><br /><br />I write/draw everything first in piccadilly notebooks in coffee shops. I like to sort of draw my way through a scene emotionally, then refine the dialog later after writing some brief stand in dialog. It helps me work the page around in a composition that I like as I write too, and I can tell what's too much and too little from page to page as I go.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZcGCMsHWOXgN2UTlOSst1UoeTuKQpogT0FQwLux0hI0pD28GrSdLwTYEWGF__ECm0L79AjszqYTqRjfZhq9EUDvpAl2G7WM0QgKImh6fkNfGHhm8AJDNlsLsGqcp6MoCNRKcAY3LUYME7/s1600-h/notebooks.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZcGCMsHWOXgN2UTlOSst1UoeTuKQpogT0FQwLux0hI0pD28GrSdLwTYEWGF__ECm0L79AjszqYTqRjfZhq9EUDvpAl2G7WM0QgKImh6fkNfGHhm8AJDNlsLsGqcp6MoCNRKcAY3LUYME7/s320/notebooks.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5308676792252945858" border="0" /></a><br /><div><br /></div><div>After that's all set I usually use Eon boards, or Canson (they donated a bunch to me).</div><div>I take a look at my notebook, and play Tetris with the panels and find good positions for them on the page if I haven't already in my notes. I'll then lay down the borders in a clumsy fashion with my ruler in blue mechanical pencil.</div><div><br /></div><div>Then I clench my black mechanical pencil like some kind of an ape and try to lightly pencil the page. I've yet to master the art of erasing, so I try to make it as painless as possible for me later.</div><div><br /></div><div>After that I do all the lettering, which is a weird mixture of my own handwriting fused with Wholefoods Market sign maker font. I worked there while drawing Aqua Leung, and had to change my handwriting to their house style, and I've never been able to really get back to my own fully. The lettering is done with a Micron 08 and sometimes a faber Castell cheapo brush pen for larger lettering. After the lettering is dry, I lay down the word balloons with the same brush pen. After those dry (I'm afraid of smudging) I free hand the panel borders.</div><div><br /></div><div>I'm usually doing this to 5 pages at a time in a factory method. That way I'm not just staring at the wall while everything dries. I've recently been inking with a Scharff 3000 size 2, although I jump back to my Winsor Newton sable brush from time to time. Working on 5 pages at the same time helps me make expressive lines while the brush is working for me without having to stop. I usually wrap them all up by the end of the week, then repeat.</div><div><br /></div><div>I then scan them, clean them up, format them for print then send them off to my flatter Olli, who is a life saver. Once I get them back I work my magic and you have a finished Party Bear page!</div><div><br /></div><span style="font-weight: bold;">How long do you expect Party Bear to end up being?</span><br /><br />I would like to shoot for 120 pages (half way there),but might fill out to 150. I'm working off a loose evolving script, so you never know. I've been joking with my girlfriend that 27 seems to be a popular year to die as an artist, so I better hurry up in case that's how I'm going out.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Any update on </span><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://zudacomics.com/node/205">The Adventures of Maxy J. Millionaire</a><span style="font-weight: bold;">?</span><br /><br />Maxy J. is trucking along. I've got maybe 30 pages of the script left to write and it's ready to venture out into the world and make some deals. It's an all ages book that I've put a tremendous amount of thought and care into, and I guarantee it's not going to be another cheap kids book cash in, and should be something that I hope will be something everyone can get into and have fun with, and will be a great learning tool.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">I assume, then, that you've reworked the original concept quite a bit, since the original 8-page Zuda strip had some adult elements. And there's going to be an educational component, too?</span><br /><br />Yeah, the entire thing from Zuda is pretty much scrapped. Other than the boyfriend moving in on his girl Roxanne and them "breaking up". It's going to teach kids about cooking, trying new foods, diversity, manners etc. There's a lot in there, but I've gone to great lengths to not come off as preachy or obvious. I'm extremely excited to start it as soon as I put Party Bear to bed. I need to do something my Grandma can read and then I can look her in the eye afterwords.Dick Hyacinth's Ghosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11199236541341734429noreply@blogger.com58tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7715773315155138002.post-81896021158619896192009-02-25T02:00:00.000-08:002009-02-26T11:28:24.615-08:00Real short items<span style="font-weight: bold;">My first piece for The Savage Critics:</span><br />A review of Black Hole, it's <a href="http://savagecritic.com/2009/02/best-of-00s-black-hole.html">here</a>. Sean Collins did indeed write <a href="http://savagecritic.com/2009/02/favorites-black-hole.html">a review</a> earlier this week as well--your memory isn't playing tricks on you. Later in the week we'll have a final post reacting to each other's review, and maybe reacting to each other's reactions as well. Mark your calendars, fans of reactions.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">My next review there:</span><br />Probably Kramers Ergot 7. Hopefully that's not what Sean had planned.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Why I will see the Watchmen movie:</span><br />I imagine that it will eventually be on basic cable (or satellite, in my case). I still haven't seen The Dark Knight; I'm starting to question if I'll ever bother.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Note #1 about recent Bookscan conversations</span>:<br />I think the current debates reveal more about the rivalries and relationships between prominent comics bloggers than anything useful about the numbers themselves. This probably would have amused me more a few years ago.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Note #2 about recent Bookscan conversations:</span><br />As weary as I am of the phenomenon mentioned above, I'm always more annoyed by the interjections from the peanut gallery. Can anyone point out any instance where Alan Coil has ever added anything of value to any conversation whatsoever?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Note #3 about recent Bookscan conversations:</span><br />This is the sad, serious part. Last year <a href="http://dickhatesyourblog.blogspot.com/2008/03/interview-andy-graves-owner-of-happy.html">I interviewed</a> Andy Graves, the owner of an independent bookstore in Columbia, SC that stocked a lot of art/literary comics. It was the kind of store which I think accounts for some of the discrepancies in the Bookscan numbers. Unfortunately, the Happy Bookseller <a href="http://www.free-times.com/index.php?cat=1992912064227409&ShowArticle_ID=11011510080606791">closed late last year</a>. It's hardly a unique story, which makes it all the more tragic that the popularization of the graphic novel coincided with the steep decline of the independent bookstore. It could have been a vital symbiotic relationship. I mean, I guess it still is for those big, bad independents that are still going strong, but it would have been nice to know that you could go into any medium-sized town in the US, found the local independent bookstore, and known that you could find something like Love and Rockets on the shelf.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">This year marks the <s>150th</s> uh, 200th anniversary of the births of Charles Darwin and Abraham Lincoln:</span><br />In fact, the day passed a couple of weeks ago. You may have heard scintillating debate over which man was more important to history. This brings to mind other classic "which was more important to history" debates: Millard Fillmore or Ed Sullivan? Blackbeard or Henry Ford? Jesus Christ or the cultivation of rice? The debates rage.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">If you didn't know that mixed martial arts had started to resemble Tekken, here is your visual evidence: </span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://cdn3.sbnation.com/imported_assets/111112/marquardt_27s_20spectactular_20finish_medium.gif"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 225px; height: 138px;" src="http://cdn3.sbnation.com/imported_assets/111112/marquardt_27s_20spectactular_20finish_medium.gif" alt="" border="0" /></a>That's Nate Marquardt finishing Wilson Gouveia at last weekend's UFC 95. The amazing thing is that nobody had previously considered Marquardt even one of the top 10 strikers in his division, but now he's pulling off the kind of chain attacks that would be considered too unrealistic for Virtua Fighter.Dick Hyacinth's Ghosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11199236541341734429noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7715773315155138002.post-17543147950133580752009-02-18T10:45:00.000-08:002009-02-18T20:00:50.469-08:00Was thinking this post would no longer be timely, then Diamond bails me out(This post is NSFW. It's not pornographic or anything, but I wanted to warn you that there are drawings of bare-chested ladies on down the line.)<br /><br />So it's come to my attention that Diamond <a href="http://www.diamondcomics.com/public/default.asp?t=1&m=1&c=3&s=5&ai=79699">has named</a> Brian Azzarello and Lee Bermejo's <span style="font-style: italic;">Joker</span> the OGN of the year. For those curious, <strong style="font-weight: normal;">something called <span style="font-weight: bold;">Dark Knight: The Joker </span></strong><strong style="font-weight: bold;">1:6 Scale Collector Figure</strong> won "Toy Product of the Year," (great year for cash-ins on Heath Ledger's likeness!) and <strong style="font-weight: bold;">Marvel Masterpieces </strong><strong style="font-weight: bold;">Set 2 Trading Cards</strong> won Non-Sports Card Product of the Year. I'm glad to see that Collectable [sic] Statue of the Year was a separate category from Mini Bust of the Year; I'd hate to live in a world where <strong>Batman: Black & White</strong> <strong>Frank Miller Statue</strong> and <strong>Women of the DCU Series 2</strong> <strong>Wonder Woman Bust</strong> wouldn't both receive some kind of award.<br /><br />Even though there can be no doubting the immense prestige of the Diamond Gem awards (just re-read that first paragraph if you have any doubt), I probably wouldn't have made a mental note of any of this had there not been a post on a prominent blog about a month ago suggesting that <span style="font-style: italic;">Joker</span> was the graphic novel of the year, and implying that anyone who doubted this was a stupid elitist who wanted to wrest the term "graphic novel" from the righteous grip of the masses. I had planned to write some kind of snide response, but then it dawned on me that I had not actually read <span style="font-style: italic;">Joker</span>, nor even flipped through its pages. How could I write something suggesting that another writer was painfully ignorant and unfit to make such statements if I myself had not read the book in question? I mean, what if <span style="font-style: italic;">Joker</span> made <span style="font-style: italic;">Maus</span> look like, I don't know, <span style="font-weight: bold;">Women of the DCU Series 2 Phantom Lady Bust</span>? Who would look silly then?<br /><br />So I went to Borders to find out for certain and, well, it's absolutely, positively not even close to being one of the best things I've read this year. Remember <a href="http://dickhatesyourblog.blogspot.com/2008/12/final-best-of-2008-workbookchecklist.html">that list</a> I made of all the stuff I would consider (or would like to consider) for a year's best list? Every single thing I've read on it is better than <span style="font-style: italic;">Joker</span>, and not by just a little. I don't like Lee Bermejo's art at all, and I guess I'm immune to the charms of Brian Azzarello's writing (especially his dialogue, which I take to be one of his strengths according to his admirers). The whole thing felt like a gritty crime caper squeezed into a pair of ill-fitting spandex tights. That scene with the newsie? The one holding up a newspaper with a headline about the Joker's latest shenanigans, so as to inform the reader that <span style="font-style: italic;">Joker is back and Gotham is terrified</span>? That's just schlocky. Terrible.<br /><br />I mean, I understand the purpose of <span style="font-style: italic;">Joker</span> is to exploit the most recent Batman movie, to attract consumers who liked Heath Ledger's portrayal of the Joker. (I would think the cover does it a disservice in that it's not clear this is the "movie" Joker, but the thing <a href="http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=19505">seems to have sold well enough</a>, so what do I know?) Personally, I found it distracting, a constant reminder that this was a cash grab on DC's part. I mean, it's a smart move, and I don't blame them or anything; this is exactly the sort of thing bloggers rightfully complain about when some company (cough, MARVEL) fails to have a palatable tie-in for the quasi-interested moviegoer. But really, now: does Lee Bermejo have to "cast" Johnny Depp as the Riddler? I'm not sure if Bermejo drew this before or after <a href="http://splashpage.mtv.com/2008/09/08/dark-knight-exclusive-michael-caine-says-johnny-depp-is-the-riddler-philip-seymour-hoffman-is-the-penguin/">Michael Caine claimed</a> Depp would be in the next movie; either way, it's just as lame here as when Salvador Larocca or Bryan Hitch do it.<br /><br />So no, I cannot fathom how anyone could proclaim <span style="font-style: italic;">Joker</span> to be the best graphic novel of the year. It speaks to one of the following: (1) woeful unfamiliarity with the wide, wide array of comics with greater ambitions, and more successful realizations of their ambitions, that were published in 2008; (2) taste so far removed from my understanding of what constitutes worthwhile comics that I question my own grasp of reality; (3) a weird definition of "graphic novel" that excludes every halfway decent comic book-like thing which came out in 2008; or (4) a premium on appreciation for what shoveled the most money into a distributor's coffers in 2008.<br /><br />As long as I was in my local Borders (which, BTW, looks about as sad as you'd expect given the chain's current woes--those manga shelves are anemic, they're literally <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0yIqeURE2o">debacled</a>; on the other hand, you can't sneeze without tripping over a Watchmen display, or something like that), I figured I might as well check out a few other books which I had heretofore ignored when considering the best of 2008. In a couple of cases, I read copies from the local public library. Briefly:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Too Cool to Be Forgotten</span><br />I never cared for Alex Robinson's art. In fact I hated it with a burning passion that has only faded in recent years as I've realized that it's not 1998 anymore, and that Robinson has probably learned a few things over the last decade-and-change. This is, of course, absolutely true; he's actually turned into a good cartoonist. I still don't find his style all that appealing, but he's a confident storyteller and character designer. It's a little annoying when you get the sense that Robinson is holding back a little--there's a sequence on page 94 that suggests that he's capable of more interesting linework than what fills most of <span style="font-style: italic;">Too Cool to Be Forgotten</span>. But he's got a leg up on most working cartoonists.<br /><br />Overall, I thought it was a pretty okay book until the end, which is about the schmaltziest thing I've read in ages (or it would be if I hadn't read (<a href="http://savagecritic.com/2009/02/man-thats-your-instrument.html">and reviewed</a>) <span style="font-style: italic;">Never Land</span> recently). It's a really hackneyed sort of ending, though I could see it really speaking to those with raw wounds similar to the protagonist's. But I still found it simplistic, implying that healing psychological wounds is kind of like solving a jigsaw puzzle. <span style="font-style: italic;">Too Cool to Be Forgotten</span> is worth reading, and has as nicely designed a cover as I can remember seeing in 2008, but it's not one of the best comics of the year.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Alcoholic</span><br />First the cover: I hate photo covers on graphic novels. It makes sense for prose novels because there aren't any pictures inside, so it doesn't really matter what's on the cover as long as it's aesthetically pleasing and encourages purchases. Those are also the goal of most comics covers as well, but the difference is comics do have interior art. Having an interest in what's actually inside a graphic novel or comic, I expect the imagery on the front cover to bear some resemblance to the interior art. There are, of course, exceptions; I wouldn't dare complain about those great Carmine Infantino and Neal Adams covers in the 1960s, for instance. But that's partly because I think they're engaging in a type of visual narrative themselves, which, as Eddie Campbell has argued, is a sort of cousin to comics, and worth our time in and of themselves. (At least I think that's what Campbell has argued, but for the love of god don't go by my memory/interpretation of his words.) The cover of <span style="font-style: italic;">The Alcoholic</span>, however, conveys the impression that the book is ashamed by its guts, almost like it's trying to lure in the fabled casual reader by intimating that it's not really a <span style="font-style: italic;">comic book</span>. It's just like a regular book, see?<br /><br />At least that's what I think whenever I see a cover like this one. This is at least a shade better than Vertigo's other major OGN for 2008, <span style="font-style: italic;">Incognegro</span>, in that interior artist Dean Haspiel drew the napkin doodle on the cover. On the inside, I thought Haspiel's art was a bit less sharp than I remembered. There are some pages which do shine, like a scene towards the end of the book depicting the narrator (a basically non-veiled stand-in for writer Jonathan Ames) trying heroin for the first time. It's effective for a few reasons--the way the Jonathan's legs form panel gutters for instance--but it's also noteworthy that it's one of the few panels in which Haspiel's Jack Kirby influence is prominent. And that's really Haspiel's strong suit, those sorts of powerful images.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2cZgiAFBY6ie9i2vk026bECRfNdXoXR1h7A0w_fDKqSDTlQFb1_gUYy3DiojEYvMUezjnAH64yt9VOriMTugoSthyphenhyphenbo6y2lNNLZn7uKj7j35PwYxFJvv-qjVLRo-kkFtOW43KyMLZ8tOZ/s1600-h/alcoholic.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 290px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2cZgiAFBY6ie9i2vk026bECRfNdXoXR1h7A0w_fDKqSDTlQFb1_gUYy3DiojEYvMUezjnAH64yt9VOriMTugoSthyphenhyphenbo6y2lNNLZn7uKj7j35PwYxFJvv-qjVLRo-kkFtOW43KyMLZ8tOZ/s400/alcoholic.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5303971940421277570" border="0" /></a><br />Unfortunately, part of what bugs me about this book is my doubt that Haspiel is the right artist for it. I think he's a fine artist, and his work with Harvey Pekar indicates that he can succeed in a collaborative effort, but I don't think he sounds the right tone here. No matter how mundane his material, Pekar's work is always very much steeped in the traditions of the traditional North American comic book, making Haspiel a good collaborator. Here, though, I think Haspiel's storytelling and cartooning is actually too big, too comic book-y. There's a lot of crying and sadness in this book, the depictions of which almost always involve mouths and eyes agape, actual rivers of tears flowing. Like, you could go white water rafting down those cheeks.<br /><br />Part of this is Ames' fault as well, as he veers toward the melodramatic. When bad news is delivered over the phone (and it frequently is), characters stare directly into the reader's eyes, shouting NO NO NO in big bold letters. There's certainly a place for melodrama in comics, no question, but Ames and Haspiel seem to lose sight of what kind of book they're making. This is a <span style="font-style: italic;">cancer comic</span>. I don't use that term in an entirely pejorative sense, since there have been many good tragedy-laden memoirs published in the last 10 years--the best probably being Alison Bechdel's <span style="font-style: italic;">Fun Home</span>. But a cancer comic calls for at least some degree of subtlety, as seen in Bechdel's work, or in that of Emmanuel Guibert. (<span style="font-style: italic;">Alan's War</span> isn't really a cancer comic, given the tone and content, but it's a cousin.) The approach here is more like the kind of made-for-TV movie I saw during my childhood. (Not-so-fun fact: CBS aired one such movie about a classmate of mine who shot and killed two guys who were apparently trying to rob his home.)<br /><br />There are other problems, like my feeling that I didn't really learn much about the roots of Jonathan A.'s problems. Ames seems a little reluctant to discuss the possible influence of his parents and his upbringing, but it's probably hard to get out of your own skin when writing a memoir like this. <span style="font-style: italic;">The Alcoholic</span> isn't a bad comic. It's certainly better than <span style="font-style: italic;">Joker</span> (high praise indeed!) but probably not as good as <span style="font-style: italic;">Too Cool to Be Forgotten</span>. I liked the ending, which actually makes the execution a bit more frustrating--this might have been pretty good if handled differently. Still, it's almost certainly going to be somewhere in the top 10 on the 2008 meta-list, so kudos for DC/Vertigo's publicity department's work in getting this into the right hands.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Northlanders</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1ILlGH18hCqGBooHvpV4cFRUpRw8bE98g1FXjpez6glvnSWOYcOp4muESB6sg9QychT7pUWM74y0TRPh-e1pIgrfcpZH7q9VBM25PkyHDLjmTdqWDRCmYtawxSD2-Qitpoa4vAH0V-hLS/s1600-h/Groening+Vikings.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 386px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1ILlGH18hCqGBooHvpV4cFRUpRw8bE98g1FXjpez6glvnSWOYcOp4muESB6sg9QychT7pUWM74y0TRPh-e1pIgrfcpZH7q9VBM25PkyHDLjmTdqWDRCmYtawxSD2-Qitpoa4vAH0V-hLS/s400/Groening+Vikings.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5303971493705911426" border="0" /></a><br />This comic is seriously okay. If graphic novels were widely available in airport newsstands, the homes of relatives hosting family gatherings, or the waiting rooms of dentists, tire stores, etc., then I would strongly recommend checking out the first volume of <span style="font-style: italic;">Northlanders</span>. It captures the feeling of reading an issue of <span style="font-style: italic;">Quasar</span> or <span style="font-style: italic;">Kull the Conqueror</span> on a long drive with one's parents. I liked it better than <span style="font-style: italic;">Local</span> or <span style="font-style: italic;">Demo</span>.<br /><br />You'll find the art by Davide Gianfelice and (particularly) colorist Dave McCraig quite good, at least at first. McCraig's rich colors gives it the appearance of stained glass at times, sort of an ironic (but not unpleasant) effect for a comic about Vikings. It also reminds me of Ernie Colon's art in his 1988 OGN <span style="font-style: italic;">Ax</span> (which is pretty interesting, if you ever get the chance to flip through it). As the series wears on, Gianfelice's line art looks more rushed, the lines heavier and less expressive, almost bordering on latter-day Scott McDaniel territory. Brian Wood's writing provides occasional excitement, and lots of colorful language.<br /><br />It is by no means one of the best comics or graphic novels of 2008, at least based on the first collection of issues. Maybe the single issues published last year improve dramatically; maybe I'll check out the second volume when it comes out later this year to see for sure.Dick Hyacinth's Ghosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11199236541341734429noreply@blogger.com36tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7715773315155138002.post-64428962045453775212009-02-16T09:00:00.000-08:002009-02-16T09:00:02.830-08:00I swear I'm going to run this every year until someone admits it's funny<span style="font-style: italic;">I have to admit, this makes even less sense the further we get from those halcyon days of furious reactions to </span>Civil War<span style="font-style: italic;"> (responses to </span>Final Crisis<span style="font-style: italic;"> are positively panegyrical in comparison), perhaps best exemplified by those ubiquitous/fatuous "Cap was right" banners. </span><span style="font-style: italic;">Also noteworthy (sort of): I do not have a stepfather; my parents are actually still married. </span><span style="font-style: italic;">And man, I really liked exclamation points back then. <br /><br />I added in an entry for President Obama and edited some stuff that seemed excessively dumb in retrospect (obviously that's really saying something). Otherwise, this is the same shit I've run the last two President's Days. Get used to it!</span><br /><br />You know, we don't do enough to celebrate President's Day in the DC/Marvelogosphere, which is a terrible shame. So we asked our crack research team, who we guarantee know more about history than you, to rectify this situation. What they came up with is a list of which president best corresponds to which corporate intellectual property. Hope you enjoy!<br /><br />-<strong>Abraham Lincoln</strong>: Known as the father of our country, old Honest Abe only needed one nickname: the Rail Splitter. Now we've never been much for physical labor. I mean, occasionally our stepfather would force us to pick weeds on a Saturday afternoon, even though we told him that we were allergic to dirt. God, I HATE HIM SO MUCH....Anyway, we speculate that rail-splitting might have been something like swinging a hammer. So the obvious answer here is <strong>THOR</strong>.<br /><br />-<strong>George Washington</strong>: Known as the father of our country, old Honest George was known for chopping down cherry trees just to prove how honest he is. Well, no superhero says "chop" quite like <strong>KARATE KID</strong>.<br /><br />-<strong>Andrew Jackson</strong>: Waged war on the Indians, killed a man in a duel...sounds like <strong>JONAH HEX</strong> to us. Plus they kind of looked similar.<br /><br />-<strong>Andrew Hamilton</strong>: This president is best known for appearing on a ten dollar bill, being secretary of the treasury, calling for the expansion of the federal government, and being killed by Aaron Burr. We're going to say <strong>IRON MAN</strong>.<br /><br />-<strong>Aaron Burr</strong>: We'll continue our earlier line of thought and say <strong>CAPTAIN AMERICA</strong>. We guess we'll see this Wednesday--we can't wait!!!!!!!!<br /><br />-<strong>Ronald Reagan</strong>: We always associate Reagan with our stupid stepfather, who made us wear a stupid Reagan/Bush '84 button to class. All the cool first graders called me us a nazi and made us eat dirt, which made our allergies act up. Our stupid stepfather had a stupid mustache like <strong>DOCTOR STRANGE</strong>, so let's go with him.<br /><br />-<strong>Franklin Roosevelt</strong>: Well, Roger Stern says <strong>CAPTAIN AMERICA</strong>, so who are we to disa--wait, we already did Captain America. Uh, let's say <strong>USAGENT</strong>.<br /><br />-<strong>George W. Bush</strong>: We hear he doesn't care about black people, and neither did <strong>GREEN LANTERN, HAL JORDAN VERSION</strong>. Bring back the other guy! [<em>In all fairness to Hal Jordan and his gruesome legion of fans, I hear that he did care about the "purple skins." -DH</em>]<br /><br />-<strong>George HW Bush</strong>: Obviously must be <strong>GREEN LANTERN, ALAN SCOTT VERSION</strong>.<br /><br />-<strong>John F Kennedy</strong>: Taken from us too soon. <strong>GWEN STACEY.</strong><br /><br />-<strong>Bill Clinton</strong>: The greatest player in the history of the presidents, the ultimate large-testicled sex machine. Clearly you have to go with that stud <strong>NIGHTWING.</strong> We bet they've even had sex with some of the same women! In the DCU, we mean. We know Nightwing doesn't really exist...<em>yet</em>!<br /><br />-<strong>Warren G Harding</strong>: Known as the most handsome president, so we guess he'd be <strong>BATMAN</strong>. Well, we hear women think Batman is handsome. We can't tell, being totally heterosexual-type guys.<br /><br />-<strong>Dwight D Eisenhower</strong>: We think he looks like <strong>METAMORPHO</strong>. Runner up: <strong>DON RICKLES</strong>.<br /><br />-<strong>Grover Cleveland</strong>: Our greatest president, the man who freed the slaves, proponent of free silver. Clearly the best choice is <strong>SILVER SURFER</strong>.<br /><br />-<span style="font-weight: bold;">Barack Hussein Obama</span>: Call me old fashioned, but I'm going to say <span style="font-weight: bold;">GREEN LANTERN, JOHN STEWART VERSION</span>. I've always thought Denny O'Neill's depiction of a proud, angry black hero was directly responsible for the passage of the Voting Rights Act. The Civil Rights Act probably had more to do with Lt. Flap from Beetle Bailey, though. I guess that would have been a good choice had this been an article comparing presidents to minor comic strip characters. Maybe next year. [<span style="font-style: italic;">Ha ha. -DH</span>]<br /><br />And there you have it, every president ever, compared to a superhero. Happy Presidents' Day!!!! !!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Dick Hyacinth's Ghosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11199236541341734429noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7715773315155138002.post-38188772536031604872009-02-15T17:20:00.000-08:002009-02-15T20:08:21.779-08:00That announcementIn case you've missed it during this wild Valentine's Day weekend, I'm now writing for <a href="http://savagecritic.com/">The Savage Critic</a>, along with fellow new recruits Tucker Stone, Sean Collins, David Uzumeri, and Chris Eckert. I even have a neat little icon designed by Kate McMillan, a test tube to represent Chemical King. I had no idea until I joined that all the Savage Critics' icons represented Legion of Superhero characters (with the exceptions of those prima donnas Tucker and Douglas, who apparently prefer Popeye and Krazy Kat, respectively, to the genius of teenage Jim Shooter; also, maybe (MAYBE) I'm dense, but I'm not entirely sure if Chris and David's icons represent Legionnaires or not). I guess that explains Jeff Lester's tooth, which had previously always baffled me. Anyway, my first post is <a href="http://savagecritic.com/2009/02/man-thats-your-instrument.html">here</a>. (EDIT: And you know, it now occurs to me that Sean Collins' lightning bolt probably has more to do with David Bowie than Lightning Lad, which probably explains why it's purple and red instead of yellow. Plus, I guess my icon is more accurately described as a beaker, rather than a test tube--and a beaker makes for a better visual anyway. Sigh. One day I'll figure shit out, I swear.)<br /><br />I'll mostly be working on a project I was going to announce whenever I finished my best of 2008 list (STILL IN THE WORKS, I promise you): an ongoing diary of my attempt to put together a best of the 00s list. I, of course, encourage each and every one of you to consider making a similar list at the end of this year. And we can also think about which comics we would consider for such a list, whether or not to include reprints and translations of work from before this decade, etc. I'm not going to try to make an exhaustive list right now (that's what the comments section is for), but we can start with a list of what I suspect are the consensus choices, or at least the closest approximation to such a thing that I can think of off the top of my head:<br /><br />Things originally published in this decade:<br /><br />Blankets<br />Fun Home<br />Bottomless Belly Button<br />All Star Superman<br />Exit Wounds<br />What It Is<br />Scott Pilgrim series<br />Acme Novelty Library<br />Safe Area Gorazde<br />American Born Chinese<br />Shortcomings<br />Y the Last Man<br /><br />Things spanning multiple decades, or originally published in the 90s and collected in the 00s:<br /><br />Black Hole<br />David Boring<br />Jimmy Corrigan<br />Louis Riel<br />any of the thousands of Love and Rockets reprints<br /><br />Reprints would include:<br /><br />Complete Peanuts<br />Popeye<br />Krazy Kat<br />Art Out of Time<br /><br />Translations would include:<br /><br />Persepolis (I think it qualifies for the 00s anyway)<br />D&Q's Tatsumi reprints<br />Epileptic<br />various Tezuka reprints<br /><br />Anthologies would include:<br /><br />Mome<br />Kramers Ergot<br />McSweeney's #13<br /><br />None of that is an endorsement of these selections (particularly Y the Last Man), but it's a starting point for a starting point. Now to narrow it down further: what book should I read to start this series? I'm kind of leaning towards Black Hole.Dick Hyacinth's Ghosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11199236541341734429noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7715773315155138002.post-89039341844891200122009-02-05T16:10:00.000-08:002009-02-05T16:13:55.052-08:00Also: have been playing too much Persona 4I was going to write something about Final Crisis #7, since what the world really needs right now is yet another post about that subject. But what I'd have to say is largely solipistic, I'm so sick of superheroes stuff, plus a little about how I can't take Morrison's grand themes seriously because I look at Superman and see a mascot used to sell peanut butter, and not a serious socio-religious figure. I would like to echo the comments from <a href="http://www.alltooflat.com/about/personal/sean/2009/01/carnival_of_crisis.html">Sean Collins</a> (who, just to be clear, is one of the greatest advocates of Final Crisis #7 on my RSS feed) and others that Grant Morrison might consider actually reading some comics by people who are actually doing the revolutionary storytelling he thinks he's doing. Morrison is much, much closer to Geoff Johns or Brian Bendis than Kevin Huizenga or Yuichi Yokoyama, or even NYT Funny Pages mainstays like Jaime Hernandez or Dan Clowes. Given what I think of contemporary superhero comics, I consider Morrison kind of irrelevant to any discussions of what constitutes truly great comics. But then again, I thought All Star Superman was more "nice" than "mind-blowing," so what do I know?<br /><br />In any event, I'm off to the land of dial-up at my parents' house for about a week so that I can attend my brother's wedding. So no posts for a while (I've been working on something about books I hadn't considered for the best of 2008 list--which, yes, I will eventually post someday--so expect that once I've returned and had a chance to read <span style="font-style: italic;">The Alcoholic</span>). I'll still be checking email and stuff like that, though. Meta-list will be up whenever the year-in-review issue of TCJ is out and I manage to get a copy. And there should be some other Hyacinth-related news out next week, too. Excitement~!Dick Hyacinth's Ghosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11199236541341734429noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7715773315155138002.post-58167356592515318362009-01-22T22:44:00.000-08:002009-01-23T11:55:00.340-08:00Fifth roundup of best comics and graphic novels of 2008 listsI strongly suspect that this is just about it. There are undoubtedly a few lists yet to come--like mine!--and I'll publish a final list of sources when the final meta-list is tallied. But I'm guessing that's fewer than 10 lists we're talking about.<br /><br />Remember, if you know of a list not included below, please email me or leave a comment pointing me in the right direction. And please, don't rush getting your lists in on my account. I wouldn't want anyone to do this in this in the first place, but it's totally unnecessary besides. The Comics Journal won't publish their best of 2008 issue until February (I think), and I won't be doing one anytime soon either. I've got about 8-10 books I want to consider that haven't come in the mail yet. Among them: Kramers Ergot 7. Anyone know what's going on with Amazon's distribution of this book?<br /><br />Criteria for inclusion in the Meta-List:<br /><br />-list must contain no fewer than five items and no more than fifty<br />-list must be a general best-of list, not a series of categorical awards like "best superhero book," "best children's book," etc.<br />-list must not be limited to superhero comics, manga, major publishers, etc.<br />-I don't include votes for things like "everything Warren Ellis wrote in 2008"<br />-when a list includes a vote for a title which came out in a year prior to 2008, I usually tally everything like I normally would; it's rare that there are enough votes for an out-of-date item for it to crack the top 100<br />-no overt sleaziness (like voting for your own work; will be determined on a case-by-case basis)<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">New lists are in </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;">green</span><span style="font-weight: bold;">.</span></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><br />GENERAL INTEREST LISTS</span>:</span><br /><br /><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?ie=UTF8&plgroup=1&ref_=amb_link_7803252_7&docId=1000298631">Amazon</a><br /><br /><a style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.insidebayarea.com/entertainment/ci_11289978">Contra Costa Times/Inside Bay Area</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.dailyvanguard.com/top_10_graphic_novels_and_comics_of_2008">Daily Vanguard</a> (Portland State University)<br /><br /><a href="http://nymag.com/arts/cultureawards/2008/52771/">New York Magazine</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.ocweekly.com/2009-01-01/culture/the-years-best-graphic-books-and-novels">OC Weekly</a> (<span style="font-style: italic;">OC Weekly is not the periodical for me</span>--anyone other than my brother likely to get that joke?)<br /><br /><span>Oklahoman</span><span style="font-weight: bold;">: </span><a href="http://blog.newsok.com/nerdage/2008/12/26/2008s-best-graphic-novels/">Part 1 (graphic novels)</a><span>; </span><a href="http://newsok.com/best-comic-books-of-2008-were-super/article/3334428">Part 2 (periodicals)</a><br /><br /><a style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);" href="http://blog.oregonlive.com/steveduin/2008/12/the_best_of_2008.html"> <span style="font-weight: bold;">Oregonian</span></a><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></span><br /><br /><a href="http://www.pennlive.com/columns/patriotnews/mautner/index.ssf?/base/columnists/123014670828900.xml&coll=1">Patriot News/Chris Mautner</a> (As per Chris' request, I'm using this instead of his Robot 6 list.)<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;">Playback STL:</span> <a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 153, 0);" href="http://www.playbackstl.com/content/view/8401/311/">Part 1 (graphic novels)</a>; <a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 153, 0);" href="http://www.playbackstl.com/content/view/8400/311/">Part 2 (periodicals)</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6610357.html">Publishers Weekly</a><br /><br /><a href="http://blogs.usatoday.com/popcandy/2008/12/what-were-the-y.html?csp=34">USA Today</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.villagevoice.com/2008-12-17/art/2008-s-best-comics-clip-art-and-pedophilia/">Village Voice</a> (RC Baker)<br /><a href="http://blogs.villagevoice.com/music/archives/2008/12/pulp_fictions_t_1.php"><br />Village Voice</a> (a different list, this one by Richard Gehr; notable for stretching the definition of "comics" to include an animated film)<br /><br /><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/04/AR2008120403137_pf.html"><span>Washington Post</span></a><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size:130%;">COMICS-FOCUSED LISTS</span>:</span><br /><br /><a href="http://johnnybacardi.blogspot.com/2008/12/johnny-bacardi-show-2008-personal-10.html">Bacardi, Johnny</a><br /><br /><a href="http://madinkbeard.com/blog/archives/best-comics-of-2008">Badman, Derik</a><br /><br /><a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 153, 0);" href="http://iloverobliefeld.blogspot.com/2009/01/best-comics-of-2008.html">Bilus, Sandy</a><br /><br /><a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 153, 0);" href="http://www.theculturalgutter.com/comics/10_comics_i_liked_in_2008.html">Borden, Carol</a><br /><br /><a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 153, 0);" href="http://warren-peace.blogspot.com/2009/01/best-of-2008-comics-comics-comics.html">Brady, Matthew</a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 153, 0);">Callahan, Timothy: </span><a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 153, 0);" href="http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=19108">Part one (collected editions)</a><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 153, 0);">; </span><a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 153, 0);" href="http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=19203">Part two (original material 11-20)</a><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 153, 0);">; </span><a href="http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=19287"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 153, 0);">Part three (original material 1-10)</span><br /></a><a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 153, 0);" href="http://wednesdayshaul.com/wordpress/2008/12/22/the-wednesdays-haul-best-comics-of-2008-blowout/"><br />Cederlund, Scott</a><br /><br /><a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 153, 0);" href="http://kitchentabledreams.blogspot.com/2009/01/theyre-all-just-comix-to-me-january.html">Cass, Evan Harrison</a><br /><a style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.alltooflat.com/about/personal/sean/2009/01/its_a_fine_day_to_list_my_best.html"><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);">Collins, Sean</span></a><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><a style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);" href="http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2008/12/17/my-top-ten-comics-of-2008/"><br />Cronin, Brian</a><br /></span><br /></span><a href="http://www.comicbookgalaxy.com/blog/2008/12/add-blogs-best-of-2008-2008-was-lousy.html">Doane, Alan David</a><br /><br /><a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 153, 0);" href="http://forbiddenplanet.co.uk/blog/?p=10976">Gordon, Joe</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.graphicnovelreporter.com/content/find-out-what-we-picked-best-list">Graphic Novel Reporter</a><br /><br /><a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 153, 0);" href="http://www.paulgravett.com/articles/pgtips_22/22_pgtips.htm">Gravett, Paul</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.dharbin.com/blog/2008/12/best-comics-of-2008-in-case-youre-asking/">Harbin, Dustin</a><br /><br /><a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 153, 0);" href="http://sanseverything.wordpress.com/2009/01/14/best-comics-of-2008/">Heer, Jeet</a><br /><br /><a href="http://andrewhickey.info/2008/12/05/best-of-the-year-post/">Hickey, Andrew</a><br /><br /><a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 153, 0);" href="http://forbiddenplanet.co.uk/blog/?p=11132">Horsten, Toon</a><br /><br /><a href="http://joglikescomics.blogspot.com/2009/01/its-start-of-january-let-nostalgia.html">Jog</a><br /><a style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.largeheartedboy.com/blog/archive/2009/01/favorite_graphi.html"><br />Largehearted Boy</a> (not sure if he always goes by Guided By Voices song titles, or if there's a more conventional name I could put in this place)<br /><br /><a href="http://forbiddenplanet.co.uk/blog/?p=10721">Lockefeer, Wim</a><br /><br /><a href="http://blog.newsarama.com/2009/01/03/top-eleven-best-of-2008/">Lorah, Michael</a><br /><br /><a href="http://going2nm.blogspot.com/2008/12/top-ten-comics-of-2008.html">Meehan, Bram</a><br /><a href="http://everydayislikewednesday.blogspot.com/2008/12/best-comics-of-2008.html"><br />Mozzocco, J. Caleb</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.chapelhillcomics.com/content/?p=367">Neal, Andrew</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.comicsreporter.com/index.php/index/ben_ostranders_top_books_of_2008/">Ostrander, Ben</a><br /><br /><a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 153, 0);" href="http://indiejones.wizarduniverse.com/2009/01/20/better-late-than-never-best-of-2008/">Paggi, David</a><br /><br /><a href="http://robot6.comicbookresources.com/2009/01/our-favorite-comics-of-2008/">Robot 6 folks</a> (Not all will count; see criteria above. BTW, since I haven't said it yet, welcome back, dudes.<br /><br /><a href="http://unattendedbaggage.blogspot.com/2008/12/top-10-comics-of-2008.html">Sobel, Marc</a><br /><br /><a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 153, 0);" href="http://aronnelssteinke.blogspot.com/2009/01/my-top-ten.html">Steinke, Aron Nels</a><br /><br />Stone, Tucker: <a href="http://www.comixology.com/articles/168/The-Best-Comics-of-2008-Part-1-of-2">Part 1</a>; <a href="http://www.comixology.com/articles/170/The-Top-Ten-Comics-of-2008">Part 2</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.bookspotcentral.com/2008/12/top-10-comics-and-graphic-novels-2008/">Tomio, Jay</a><br /><br /><a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 153, 0);" href="http://www.lacunae.com/archives/2009/01/my_favorite_booklength_comics.html">Wolk, Douglas</a> (cross-reference with his list of single issues <a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 153, 0);" href="http://thedailycrosshatch.com/2008/12/22/the-best-damned-comics-of-2008-chosen-by-the-artists/#more-2050">here</a>)<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">COMICS PROFESSIONALS:</span></span><br /><a href="http://www.fantagraphics.com/index.php?option=com_myblog&show=My-Best-of-2008.html&Itemid=113"><br /></a><a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 153, 0);" href="http://www.transatlantis.net/blog/archives/2009/01/looking_backwar.html">Kaczynski, Tom</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.fantagraphics.com/index.php?option=com_myblog&show=My-Best-of-2008.html&Itemid=113">Reynolds, Eric</a><br /><a style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;" href="http://graphicnovelsgraphicnovels.blogspot.com/2009/01/top-9-0f-08-for-publishers-weekly.html"><br />Santoro, Frank</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.boneville.com/2008/12/15/my-favorite-comics-of-2008/">Smith, Jeff</a><br /><br /><a style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;" href="http://studygroup12.com/2009/01/my-2008-in-comics.html">Soto, Zack</a><br /><br /><a href="http://thedailycrosshatch.com/2008/12/22/the-best-damned-comics-of-2008-chosen-by-the-artists/#more-2050">Various</a> (not all will be used, as some fail to meet the standards enumerated above; also, this includes what seems like the 217th Dan Goldman list I've seen, and, if my memory is holding up, there's less overlap than you might expect among the lists)<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size:130%;">QUESTIONABLE/INCOMPLETE</span>:</span><br /><br /><a href="http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2008-12-04/amazon.co.jp-posts-2008-top-comics-light-novels">Amazon.jp</a> (The Japanese branch of Amazon's best comics and "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Light_novels">light novels</a>." Interesting, but I'm not sure what to do with it since much (most?) of this is not available in English yet, and the light novels are definitely not comics. On the other hand, those aren't necessarily good reasons to exclude this list. Any thoughts?)<br /><br /><a href="http://robertwboyd.blogspot.com/2008/12/best-comics-of-2008.html"><span>Boyd, Robert</span></a> (Boyd admits this is a "best of things I read this year, but which were not necessarily published in 2008." But most of this list does consist of 2008 releases, so I'll almost certainly count it when the time comes. <span style="font-weight: bold;">UPDATED</span>: I've included it.)<br /><br /><a href="http://drawn.ca/2008/12/11/favourite-comics-and-art-books-of-2008-part-1-matts-picks/"><span>Drawn!, part one</span></a> (Matt Forsythe) (This contains one comic which is definitely not 2008 (<span style="font-style: italic;">Tekkon Kinkreet</span>) and one which is either a 2007 entry if you consider it a book or a 2008 entry if you consider it a webcomic (<span style="font-style: italic;">Fart Party</span>). My Brain is Hanging Upside Down and Cul de Sac are definite 2008 comic releases. I'm not sure what you would consider the Nicholas series. The rest are things which not everyone would agree are comics. My inclination is to count this list anyway, since (a) the non-comics stuff won't accumulate enough other votes to place, and (b) I'll disqualify any non-2008 titles when I finalize the meta-list. Do note that I'm not trying to denigrate the list because it doesn't fit into this project; I like seeing unconventional lists, and it's not like Drawn! is a comics-only blog. <span style="font-weight: bold;">UPDATE</span>: I have included this list.)<br /><br /><a href="http://drawn.ca/2008/12/11/favourite-comics-and-art-books-of-2008-part-2-johns-picks/">Drawn, part two</a> (John Martz) (See comments above, except that this list a greater number of 2008 titles that most would classify as unambiguously comics. <span style="font-weight: bold;">UPDATE</span>: I have included this list.)<br /><br /><a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/features/graphic-novels-turn-it-up-to-11-1052037.html">The Independent</a> (Seems to have an awful lot of books from before 2008--<span style="font-style: italic;">Sleepwalk</span>? <span style="font-style: italic;">Embroideries</span>?--which might reflect new British editions, but I'm skeptical. <span style="font-style: italic;">Comics and Sequential Art</span> seriously never came out in the UK before 2008? Just seems like a lazy list.)<br /><a style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.amazon.com/Favourite-comics-2008/lm/R2W7T31EHTRLGO"><br /></a><a href="http://briannicholson.blogspot.com/">Nicholson, Brian</a> (I don't have any problem with it, but Brian suggests he doesn't "read enough to be considered a serious critic." I'm inclined to include it, unless Brian asks me not to.)<br /><br /><a href="http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/entertainment/stories.nsf/books/story/4BCDE71C4C6E4F41862575160076E6AE?OpenDocument">St. Louis Today</a> (Includes one from 2007, which reduces the list down to a total of four, below the minimum threshold. I'll probably include it in the final tally, and ignore the votes for <span style="font-style: italic;">Laika</span>. <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">UPDATE</span>: I've included it.)<br /><br /><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/07/books/review/Wolk-t.html?pagewanted=1&_r=2&sq=douglas%20wolk&st=cse&scp=1">Douglas Wolk</a> (It's a gift guide, not a best-of list)<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size:130%;">WILL NOT USE</span>:</span><br /><br /><a href="http://highlowcomics.blogspot.com/2009/01/my-top-50-comics-of-year.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Clough, Rob</span></a> (Too many entries--lumping Huizenga's work together pushes it over 50. Sorry, Rob. Good list, though.)<br /><br /><a href="http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=19367">Comic Book Resources</a> (too many entries; on a qualitative level, I do share <a href="http://comiksdebris.blogspot.com/2008/12/odds-and-sods.html">Marc-Oliver Frisch's</a> bemusement over the whole thing, but I certainly would have counted it, had it been slightly less gargantuan)<br /><br /><a href="http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2008/12/10/best-manga-of-2008-readers-choice/">Comics Should Be Good/Danielle Leigh Readers' Choice</a> (too short, categorical, and delimited to manga)<br /><br /><a href="http://thedailyblog.dcbservice.com/?p=128">DCBS blog</a> (self-described as "a semi-random list")<br /><br /><a href="http://comics-and-more.blogspot.com/2008/12/best-superhero-comics-of-2008.html"> Ferraro, Dave</a> (Delimited to superheroes; Ferraro plans to make an overall best-of list which will include some of these titles. Didn't know that <span style="font-style: italic;">Echo </span>was a sci-fi/fantasy comic.)<br /><br /><a href="http://kethylia.livejournal.com/709759.html">Kethylia</a> (delimited to manga)<br /><br /><span>NPR</span>: <a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=97636274&sc=emaf">Part one (graphic novels)</a> and <a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=98081187">Part two (superhero books)</a> (<span style="font-weight: bold;">UPDATED</span>: I decided not to use it after all. It's unclear if the superhero books are equal to the non-superhero books as some kind of separate but equal thing, or if this is just laziness (ie, not taking the time to determine if the best superhero books of 2008 do, in fact, stand up to the best non-superhero books), or pandering. If the graphic novel list was 10 items long, would any of the superhero books appear on it? I don't know, so I'm not counting this.)<br /><br /><a href="http://www.popcultureshock.com/manga/index.php/features/our-favorite-manga-of-2008/">Pop Culture Shock</a> (delimited to manga)<br /><br /><a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 153, 0);" href="http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6626499.html">Publishers Weekly</a> (Kai Ming Cha) (delimited to manga)<br /><br /><a href="http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/blog/540000654/post/710038071.html?nid=4691">School Library Journal</a> (I think this is limited to comics for kids. If that isn't the case, please let me know and I'll include it in the project.)<br /><br /><a href="http://www.sequentialtart.com/article.php?id=1193">Sequential Tart</a> (Two lists, but neither meets the minimum number of entries for inclusion.)<br /><br /><a href="http://fileunderother.blogspot.com/2008/12/my-favorite-minicomics-and-webcomics-of.html">Smith, Shannon</a> (specifically delimited to mini-comics and web comics; well worth your time, though)<br /><br /><a href="http://forbiddenplanet.co.uk/blog/?cat=29">Various cartoonists at Forbidden Planet</a> (Forbidden Planet is conducting a series of interviews with cartoonists, asking for a top three list from each. This is below the minimum threshold for this project, but you should check out this link, which should take you to all of the interviews conducted so far. Bryan Talbot is the most prominent interviewee to date.)<br /><br /><a href="http://herospy.com/2008/wizards-best-in-comics-of-2008/">Wizard</a> (Not the official list, at least not yet. This is a categorical awards list, and thus ineligible. What a strange list--a bunch of superhero comics, plus Kramers Ergot 7.)Dick Hyacinth's Ghosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11199236541341734429noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7715773315155138002.post-24356113044653518742009-01-20T12:00:00.000-08:002009-01-20T12:03:57.145-08:00Marvel: the penis outside your windowAMAZING SPIDER-MAN: Everyone's favorite penis that can't catch a break is really in for it now: a date with Mary Jane, a battle with the Vulture, and Aunt May on her deathbed in the hospital. Will Peter Parker's penis make a stunning decision? Spider-Man's penis no more! Note to retailers: this issue will ship with a special 1 in 10 variant cover depicting the historic meeting between Spider-Man's penis and Barack Obama's penis.<br /><br />IRON MAN: Part one of the yearlong epic PENIS WARS. It's Tony Stark's darkest secret: when those Red Chinese shot him full of shrapnel, they took out his penis in the process. For years, Stark has pleasured a wide array of beautiful women with a realistic prosthetic, code-named Iron Penis. But now Iron Penis has maybe fallen into potentially wrong hands, and could theoretically be used for evil. The Penis Wars have begun! Guest starring the ghost of Captain America.<br /><br />THOR: Tricked by Loki, Thor is forced to sacrifice his testicles to save Midgard. Faced with this empty scrotum, Lady Sif weeps for days. Nourished by her tears, two enchanted holly berries grow in the place of the missing testicles. Tragically, Baldur has no choice but to eat these poisonous berries (long story), and his death signals the beginning of Ragnarok. Lo, what hath thou wrought, Thor's penis?<br /><br />SILVER SURFER: For the past 20 years, the greatest mystery of the Marvel Universe has been: where does the Silver Surfer keep his penis? He used to wear silver underwear, but now he apparently doesn't. Why? To find the answer, the Silver Surfer take his penis to the far ends of the universe to convene with the Elder Phalli of the Marvel Universe. Does Norrin Radd dare gaze upon the fearsome penis of the mighty Galactus?<br /><br />THE THING: For generations, fans have wondered about the Thing's penis. Is it orange? Is it made out of rocks? What they've never considered, however, is that the Thing is, you know, Jewish. You know. What happens when Ben Grimm decides he wants to <a href="http://www.cirp.org/pages/restore.html">restore his foreskin</a>? And what key does Paste Pot Pete hold to this phallolithic foreskin reclamation process?<br /><br />THE VISION: Why do female robots (to the extent that such a term is meaningful for artificial life) always have breasts, but male robots only rarely have penises? The Vision wants to know, and he's going to kill as many Hydra agents as it takes until he gets some answers. But he won't know the real truth until he gets a look at Wonder-Man's penis, which is being held hostage by Baron von Strucker himself. Can these two "brothers" put aside their differences long enough to rescue the kidnapped genitalia?<br /><br />WOLVERINE: Now that his memory is back, Wolverine is finally starting to remember all the unconventional places his penis has been. But one memory still haunts him: that magical winter he spent with a Sasquatch during the Klondike gold rush. Logan never would have left that musky cave had he not sworn a blood oath of loyalty to Grover Cleveland. Now Wolverine has heard rumors that he left that Sasquatch with more than just memories. And if that mutant-Sasquatch hybrid can't be convinced to use his powers for good, what hope does mankind have?<br /><br />THE HULK: You've probably always assumed the Hulk's penis was green (or gray or red, as the case may be). You were wrong, and you'll be shocked to learn why the color of the Hulk's penis will determine the fate of Atlantis! Can the fury of the Hulk's penis stand up to the graceful power of Namor's penis, which can breathe underwater and has little wings attached to it?Dick Hyacinth's Ghosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11199236541341734429noreply@blogger.com179tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7715773315155138002.post-74914521271332091662009-01-19T00:26:00.000-08:002009-01-19T00:28:32.802-08:00Re: This weekend's sports eventsNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO<br /><br />Also, what's up with Shogun Rua? Is it inadequate recovery from injuries, American drug testing, a bad camp, poor work ethic, or what?Dick Hyacinth's Ghosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11199236541341734429noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7715773315155138002.post-48800946497528847532009-01-13T22:00:00.000-08:002009-01-13T22:37:49.153-08:00At last, MMA comicsIt's taken a while, but finally the two of the great concerns of this blog (and blogger) have come together: MMA and comics. Yes, there is that <a href="http://pwbeat.publishersweekly.com/blog/2007/05/15/pride-vs-ufc-manga/">MMA manga</a> you occasionally see posted on blogs or message boards, but that's not available in North America, plus it appears to be kind of outdated (been a long time since Mirko Cro Cop was a serious heavyweight threat) and maybe not-good. What I've really been wanting is fictional (or quasi-fictional) MMA comics. I got two of them in 2008.<br /><br />The most MMA-centric of the two is the second issue of Jeffrey Brown's <span style="font-style: italic;">Sulk</span> (preview <a href="http://www.topshelfcomix.com/preview.php?preview=sulk2&page=1">here</a>). <span style="font-style: italic;">Sulk</span> is, as I understand it, sort of like Brown's catch-all title for his non-autobiographical work, or at least the stuff which is a bit more genre-ish. Top Shelf's website describes it as "<span class="catalog-desc">a showcase for a variety of Jeffrey Brown's all-new experimental comics," but the first two issues aren't exactly what I picture when I think "avant garde comics." The first issue (<a href="http://www.topshelfcomix.com/preview.php?preview=sulk1&page=1">preview</a>) marks the return of Brown's Bighead character, a kind of gentle superhero parody. It's some of my favorite work by Brown to date, charming, funny, and surprisingly inventive. It's also a good showcase for Brown's sketchy line and rubbery figures, highlighting the silliness of superheroes like Cyclotopus and the Brit. <br /><br />It's a very cute comic, which is not usually my thing, and I have to say that I've read enough superhero parodies for multiple lifetimes. But Brown is never cloyingly cute; the humor always comes first. More importantly, he's well-attuned to the conventions and rhythms of superhero comics, and thus better equipped to exploit them. His gags are frequently surprising and successful. Bighead encounters "The Author" in one story, much in same way that Animal Man met Grant Morrison. Rather than lecturing him on the nature of fiction and creation, however, the Author's instead torments Bighead by summoning an army of 7-year-olds to follow him around and ask him to save the world. In another story, Bighead fights a clone (?) of himself, summoned by the police angry with Bighead for breaking up an undercover operation to arrest drug addicts (you know, rather than drug dealers). The fight ends with a caption declaring Bighead the winner, but not specifying which Bighead won.<br /><br />Sulk #1 is a comic with potentially very wide appeal. It's certainly better than most superhero parodies, partly because Brown sends up the tropes of superhero comics/cartoons/etc. rather than specific characters or stories. In other words, there's no Batman analogue here. However, there is a story about Bighead's heroic death and subsequent resurrection. It's not absolutely essential stuff, but it's the sort of thing that many current and former superhero readers will enjoy.<br /><br />I'm a little less certain what Brown's goals are in the second issue, devoted entirety to depicting a fight between two mixed martial artists. There are a lot of jokes that only mixed martial arts fans will get. Sulk #2 is loaded with thinly disguised references to real-life MMA personalities. "Jesse Rouge" seems like a pretty clear reference to UFC color commentator Joe Rogan. Even more obvious is his partner "Rass Buten," whose name inverts the consonants in Bas Rutten's name (and otherwise bears little resemblance to the Dutch fighter/broadcaster). One of the two fighters is named (Haruki) Rakasabu, an anagram for legendary Japanese fighter (Kazushi) Sakuraba. The other fighter, Eldark Garprub, is the hardest to place. I'm assuming Brown is nodding toward Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, based on the cadential and alphabetical similarities of the names (assuming you remove the "Quinton" and concentrate on "Rampage" and "Jackson"). <br /><br />The other tip-off of</span><span class="catalog-desc"> Garprub's identity is his frequent invocations of God. The real-life Quinton Jackson underwent a spiritual rebirth a few years ago (one which may have contributed to his reckless driving arrest last year--he was fasting at the time).</span><span class="catalog-desc"> </span><span class="catalog-desc">As for Raksabu, his feud with Garprub originates from a vicious KO of the latter's training partner. This could be an allusion to Tito Ortiz' feud with Ken Shamrock and the Lion's Den, but it's probably more like a reference to Sakuraba's string of victories against members of the Gracie family (earning him the nickname "The Gracie Hunter"). </span><br /><span class="catalog-desc"><br />Can you enjoy Sulk #2 without getting these references? Absolutely. Besides, I think the names are less important as references to specific fighters and more important as signifiers of different approaches to MMA. Rakasabu seems to represent a more traditional MMA approach to fighting, relying on technique and determination rather than size and athleticism (Rakasabu is outweighed by about 20 pounds, a huge disadvantage in modern MMA). Eldark Garprub seems to represent the opposite approach. <br /><br />Moreover, there are cultural associations with each approach that you could reductively assign to Japan and the United States, respectively. If you were to try to determine the essence of American MMA (not that I'd recommend such a thing, but just play along for a moment), you'd probably look towards amateur wrestling. Technique is obviously important in wrestling, but raw athleticism is also crucial, and can easily overwhelm experience and skills. What's more, amateur wrestlers tend to cut weight in order to press size advantages. (For those unfamiliar with weight cutting, it goes something like this: (1) dehydrate in a sauna or rubber suit, possibly while exercising; (2) sweat off a few pounds; (3) weigh in; (4) rehydrate and gain back the weight over the next day or two; (5) come in to fight up to 20 pounds heavier than you were at the weigh-in.) Japanese fighters have a reputation for being reluctant to cut weight or even diet down to a more advantageous weight class. As a result, they have tended to be a fair bit smaller than opponents from other countries, particularly the United States. Sakuraba, for instance, basically ruined his career by fighting and losing badly to men much larger than him. Not that it was entirely his idea, but that's another story.<br /><br />The size differential question also has a historical component. In the earliest MMA competitions, there were no weight classes; Royce Gracie frequently fought men who substantially outweighed him. Again, this is tied into the idea of traditional martial arts, which stipulates that a fighter with superior skill should be able to beat a less skilled, bigger man. In Sulk #2, Rakasabu has almost twice as many fights as Garprub, and he's nine years older. So in addition to a cultural clash, Brown seems to be establishing a generational clash.<br /><br />Unlike the references to the specific careers of Quinton Jackson and Kazushi Sakuraba, you probably do need to figure out at least some of this stuff. Fortunately, Brown makes this easy enough that anyone can make out the broad strokes. The weight difference is one clue. The tale of the tape provides another: among his "likes," Rakasabu lists "mind games" and "subtlety." Garprub cites "power (and displays of power)." It's pretty clear that the story of the fight will be wily old technician vs. young powerhouse.<br /><br />Having said that, Brown complicates this story in his depiction of the actual fight. Brown takes us inside the head of each fighter, revealing their thought process as they plan their actions. Rather than blindly rushing in, hoping to overwhelm Rakasabu with his power, Garprub considers the situation and looks for openings. He's as strategic a fighter as Rakasabu, who, for his part, has to rely on both power and strategy in order to survive against his much larger opponent. <br /><br />In a sense, then, Brown is offering an alternative to the rather tired trope of the brainless big lug vs. the crafty, smaller man. That makes the comic more realistic, certainly, and it also does quite a bit to promote the sport of mixed martial arts as more than mere brutality. Which is good, but something I kind of take for granted as a fan of MMA; I know that elite fighters have to be able to make lightning quick decisions, and that one misstep can end a fight suddenly. I know that the mythical "cage fighter" (who looks a lot like <a href="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2059/2196891767_1f2e6bff1a.jpg">this</a>) can't come in swinging wildly and expect to last more than a minute against a skilled opponent. I know these aren't bar fights. But other people don't know this, and Sulk #2 might educate them on these points.<br /><br />I do appreciate the subtle way that Brown undermines the brains vs. brawn argument. And the art is very nice, marked by dynamic compositions and moody shading. I do think it falls a bit short of epic, though; one doesn't feel that Rakasabu is in danger of anything more than losing the fight. Compare this to an extended fight scene from your favorite boys' manga. Or hell, not even necessarily a fight scene--any competition will do, whether it involves cooking or chess or whatever. Brown never really establishes a "oh, shit, what next?" factor. To be fair, he probably would have needed double the pages to do that. Brown does build up tension and releases it with depictions of violence, but he doesn't do it on a scale which would make this fight truly memorable.<br /><br />This is not to say that such an approach is the only way to portray a fight, but Brown doesn't leave himself a lot of alternatives. He shows us almost nothing about these characters other than their fighting styles, so it's not like we have any emotional investment in who wins or loses the fight. It's a good, realistic (definitely photo referenced, and I mean that as a compliment), depiction of MMA, probably not any less dramatic than a real-life fight. But as a work of fiction, Brown seems to be working in almost a minor key.<br /><br />Sulk #2 is a good book, certainly entertaining and worthy of your time. It's probably best for those interested in MMA, but not especially well-versed in its intricacies. I know some hardcore fans of both MMA and comics who would be delighted in seeing their favorite sport translated to comics, and others who would question its value when real fights with real people are easily available. I'm not sure how those with no interest in MMA would judge Sulk #2. It doesn't really succeed as a snapshot of a foreign world, because its scope is limited to the fight itself. Aside from a very brief epilogue, it's exactly like watching a fight on TV, right down to the segment where fighters talk trash at each other. You can almost hear the operatic gladiator music.<br /><br />In a totally different style is Yusaku Hanakuma's <span style="font-style: italic;">Tokyo Zombie</span>, which begins with factory employees grappling at work. Mitsuo is instructing protagonist Fujio on how to break a body triangle when a co-worker intrudes into their makeshift ring without taking his shoes off. Then he suggests that rolling around on the floor together might indicate something about the pair's sexual orientation (an insinuation MMA fans have heard time and time again, even from <a href="http://www.mmaforums.net/professional-fighters/1474-chael-sonnen-idiot.html">some fighters</a>). Fujio responds by killing the naysayer with a baseball bat to the back of the head. The pair then drive to Dark Fuji, a mountain made of garbage where quite a few corpses have been dumped. Having done their work ("Our code says we gotta bury him with his toupee on"), they drive away, unaware that all the corpses have mysteriously returned to life. Fujio's old gym teacher, on hand to bury a student who he punished too vigorously, finds out the hard way (PUN INTENDED!) not to accept oral sex from zombies.<br /><br /></span><span class="catalog-desc">As they become aware that zombies have overwhelmed the town, Fujio and Mitsuo try to escape. Mitsuo seemingly dies in the process, his final words an instruction to Fujio to seek out further training in Russia (presumably with Fedor Emilianenko--Yusaka Hanuakuma is clearly a serious MMA fan). </span><span class="catalog-desc">Believe it or not, it's only at this point where I feel comfortable saying "now the book gets weird." We jump five years into the future, where wealthy survivors have created a walled city to protect themselves from the zombies. The poor work as slaves; dissidents are forced outside the walls to fend for themselves. The pastime of choice for the wealthy is watching fights between humans and zombies. Fujio, as you may have guessed, has taken up work as a professional zombie fighter.<br /><br />Okay, so far so good; the in-jokes about MMA aside, this is the sort of thing anyone can enjoy. But at this point, Hanakuma turns <span style="font-style: italic;">Tokyo Zombi</span>e into a commentary upon the Japanese fight industry. Seriously, you will not fully appreciate everything which happens from this point forward if you don't have some knowledge of Japanese MMA--not just MMA in general, but MMA <span style="font-style: italic;">as it is in Japan</span>. Fujio is shocked to learn that the most popular fighter of zombies (Gaira) only fights in <span style="font-style: italic;">works</span>, not <span style="font-style: italic;">shoots</span>; in other words, he's more pro wrestler than mixed martial artist. The pits regular humans dress as zombies against Gaira, who, assured of victory, seeks to entertain rather than survive. When Fujio expresses dismay at this, the promoter chides him: "You need to stop and think about what the goddamn point of zombie fight really is."<br /><br />The crowd loves Gaira because he's a charismatic entertainer, and they hate Fujio because he's a no-nonsense technician. (BTW, this kind of underscores Mitsuo's "go to Russia" comment. The average Japanese fan is not especially interested in Fedor Emilianenko; they prefer cartoonish characters like Bob Sapp (or at least they did, back when MMA was at the peak of its popularity in Japan). Mitsuo, however, knows what's really up and tells Fujio to seek out the best training possible.) HOWEVER, pure professional wrestling is not enough: the crowd demands bloody spectacle as well. The promoter mixes in real fights with the fake, sending actual zombies in to square off against occasionally unsuspecting human fighters.<br /><br />What you may not realize is that, in Japan, professional wrestling and MMA are inextricable. Remember Sakuraba from the discussion of Sulk #2 above? His background is not in judo, muay thai, or any traditional martial art; he's a pro wrestler by training. In Japan, professional wrestlers were taught legitimate holds, making them tough enough to survive (and often win) fights against experts in more traditional disciplines. The most accomplished of these pro wrestlers was Kazushi Sakuraba, who almost single-handedly built the Japanese MMA industry by beating all those Gracie brothers (and the occasional cousin) in the early 00s.<br /><br />Unfortunately for Japanese professional wrestling promotions, the public now wanted all pro wrestlers to prove their toughness against "real" fighters. The results were disastrous, the worst probably being the destruction of pro wrestler Yuji Nagata by Croatian kickboxer Mirko Cro Cop. On the other hand, legitimate mixed martial artists like Kaz Fujita were promoted heavily, in hopes of adding (restoring?) legitimacy to their promotions.* In other cases, pro wrestlers like Yoshihiro Takayama advanced their career by participating in fights of dubious legitimacy in MMA. Most confusing of all was Naoya Ogawa, a legitimate judo gold medalist who parlayed his success into pro wrestling work, which he backed up with fake MMA fights. Yeah, it's all kind of confusing.<br /><br />Hanakuma seems to hold pro wrestling in some degree of contempt. Gaira, a pudgy dude with long hair, meets a grisly end (both as human and zombie). And when the promoter unveils the most dangerous zombie of all time, the crowd unleashes a maelstrom of boos, denouncing the fight as fake. (There might be a subtle class inversion thing going on here--pro wrestling crowds are traditionally working class, and the stereotype is that they can't tell real from fake. Here it's the wealthy who can't tell the difference. But then again, I'm not sure if these stereotypes apply to Japan, so take my theory with a grain of salt.) Resolution comes in the form of an army of real fighters. And, uh, pigs.<br /><br />It's that second thing--an army of pigs!--and things like it which makes <span style="font-style: italic;">Tokyo Zombie</span> appealing for reasons beyond its commentary on Japanese fighting. Don't get me wrong: I really loved all the MMA stuff. For everyone else: this is not a typical zombie comic. I mean, the climactic scene involves an audience of wealthy slave owners booing a fight between a martial artist and his zombified instructor because it's too technical. And then the pigs. <br /><br />I know this sounds like the WACKY SHIT kind of comic which we all should strive to avoid, but it's actually funny. It's not like Hanakuma wrote a bunch of words like "ninjas," "robots," "surfing," "grocery store," and "roller coaster" on slips of paper, put them in a hat, drew at random, and came up with Tokyo Zombie. And it's not like it's carefully calculated to merge the zombie demographic with the MMA and pig army demographics either. This is actually a pretty sophisticated satire--rather than facing the horrible reality of the zombie apocalypse, the wealthy turn to fake fights between pro wrestlers and mute slaves disguised as zombies. Or rather, mute slaves disguised as zombies wearing animal masks.<br /><br />That's what separates Tokyo Zombie from the pack: it doesn't really pull any punches. There is violence and cruelty. The fake zombies are legitimately disturbing. The walled city is both ridiculous and appalling. Hanakuma's rather primitive cartooning adds to this effect, by forcing the reader to remain in the moment. Rather than allowing the reader to escape into beautifully drawn panels, the simple figures and austere backgrounds keep the event at the forefront. So when you see the pig army charging into the arena, it's not like the gorgeous mayhem of the Great Cow Race; it's ugly little pigs chasing ugly little people. It's hilarious and horrifying at the same time.<br /><br />Honestly, I was initially so distracted by all the MMA stuff that I wasn't sure if Tokyo Zombie was actually as good as it seemed, or if it appealed to me in a special, particular way. Upon re-reading it, I'm confident that this is a very good comic, one which I would enthusiastically recommend.<br /><br /></span><span class="catalog-desc">* Yes, I know Cro Cop KOed Fujita before he fought Nagata; I also know that this is what catapulted Cro Cop to fame in Japan. I just don't want to get too bogged down in the history of all that here. Partly because I don't want to have to research it.</span>Dick Hyacinth's Ghosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11199236541341734429noreply@blogger.com40tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7715773315155138002.post-53840047189022358392009-01-06T12:50:00.000-08:002009-01-08T16:21:50.352-08:00Fourth roundup of best comics and graphic novels of 2008 listsThis is a long time coming; sorry for the delay. I had planned to publish this roundup shortly before Christmas, but things just kind of got away from me. So instead, we have an extra-long list with entries from a variety of well-respected comics folk. This is strictly from my RSS feed; I'll be doing a Google search sometime soon to see what else I can turn up for the fifth roundup. And there are still a few notable internet-based lists outstanding, plus the Comics Journal's year in review. So there's plenty of time to get your lists in before I publish the final meta-list.<br /><br />Of note this time: I've changed around the "will not use" list, in that I'm not cataloging every unusable list anymore. It just sort of seems pointless, and maybe a bit petulant, to catalogue lists merely for the sake of saying I won't include them. I'll continue to provide links to lists which I think are worth your time, even though I don't feel like I can use them for the meta-list project. Yes, that includes Wizard's list. It's not an endorsement so much as an acknowledgment of their place in comics discourse. Er, maybe their historical place in comics discourse, given the way things are going there.<br /><br />Also: at the request of Marc-Oliver Frisch, I now have labeled every post related to the meta-list project. (Actually, I had already labeled these posts, but hadn't figured out how to get labels back on the posts after I apparently removed them at some point. Don't ask me, I just type here.) There's a link on the sidebar for this year's project, as well as last year's. And I've also included my own best of 2007 list and my ongoing 2008 workbook posts.<br /><br />Observation: is Kevin Huizenga the new Chris Ware, ie, the alt/whatever cartoonist most likely to show up on lists otherwise exclusively concerned with assembly line comics? If so, will he be facing a backlash similar to the one currently afflicting (if that's the right word) Chris Ware? I'm guessing that the less morose tone of his books will guard against such a reaction, but I'm keeping my eyes open for it in 2009. Not that it really matters on anything beyond a discursive level, but many of you know how I feel about discourse by now.<br /><br />Remember, if you know of a list not included below, please email me or leave a comment pointing me in the right direction. And please, don't rush getting your lists in on my account. I wouldn't want anyone to do this in this in the first place, but it's totally unnecessary besides. The Comics Journal won't publish their best of 2008 issue until February (I think), and I won't be doing one anytime soon either. I've got about 8-10 books I want to consider that haven't come in the mail yet. Among them: Kramers Ergot 7. Anyone know what's going on with Amazon's distribution of this book?<br /><br />Criteria for inclusion in the Meta-List:<br /><br />-list must contain no fewer than five items and no more than fifty<br />-list must be a general best-of list, not a series of categorical awards like "best superhero book," "best children's book," etc.<br />-list must not be limited to superhero comics, manga, major publishers, etc.<br />-I don't include votes for things like "everything Warren Ellis wrote in 2008"<br />-when a list includes a vote for a title which came out in a year prior to 2008, I usually tally everything like I normally would; it's rare that there are enough votes for an out-of-date item for it to crack the top 100<br />-no overt sleaziness (like voting for your own work; will be determined on a case-by-case basis)<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">New lists are in </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;">green</span><span style="font-weight: bold;">.</span></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><br />GENERAL INTEREST LISTS</span>:</span><br /><br /><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?ie=UTF8&plgroup=1&ref_=amb_link_7803252_7&docId=1000298631">Amazon</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.dailyvanguard.com/top_10_graphic_novels_and_comics_of_2008">Daily Vanguard</a> (Portland State University)<br /><br /><a href="http://nymag.com/arts/cultureawards/2008/52771/">New York Magazine</a><br /><br /><a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 153, 0);" href="http://www.ocweekly.com/2009-01-01/culture/the-years-best-graphic-books-and-novels">OC Weekly</a> (<span style="font-style: italic;">OC Weekly is not the periodical for me</span>--anyone other than my brother likely to get that joke?)<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 153, 0);">Oklahoman: </span><a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 153, 0);" href="http://blog.newsok.com/nerdage/2008/12/26/2008s-best-graphic-novels/">Part 1 (graphic novels)</a><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 153, 0);">; </span><a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 153, 0);" href="http://newsok.com/best-comic-books-of-2008-were-super/article/3334428">Part 2 (periodicals)</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6610357.html">Publishers Weekly</a><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;"></span><br /><br /><a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 153, 0);" href="http://blogs.usatoday.com/popcandy/2008/12/what-were-the-y.html?csp=34">USA Today</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.villagevoice.com/2008-12-17/art/2008-s-best-comics-clip-art-and-pedophilia/">Village Voice</a> (RC Baker)<br /><a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 153, 0);" href="http://blogs.villagevoice.com/music/archives/2008/12/pulp_fictions_t_1.php"><br />Village Voice</a> (a different list, this one by Richard Gehr; notable for stretching the definition of "comics" to include an animated film)<br /><br /><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/04/AR2008120403137_pf.html"><span>Washington Post</span></a><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size:130%;">COMICS-FOCUSED LISTS</span>:</span><br /><br /><a href="http://johnnybacardi.blogspot.com/2008/12/johnny-bacardi-show-2008-personal-10.html">Bacardi, Johnny</a><br /><br /><a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 153, 0);" href="http://madinkbeard.com/blog/archives/best-comics-of-2008">Badman, Derik</a><br /><a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 153, 0);" href="http://www.chapelhillcomics.com/content/?p=367"><br /></a><a style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.chapelhillcomics.com/content/?p=367"> </a><a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 153, 0);" href="http://www.chapelhillcomics.com/content/?p=367">Andrew Neal</a> (Thanks, Leigh!)<br /><a style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);" href="http://highlowcomics.blogspot.com/2009/01/my-top-50-comics-of-year.html"><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Clough, Rob</span></a><br /><br /><a style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);" href="http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2008/12/17/my-top-ten-comics-of-2008/"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Cronin, Brian</span></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.comicbookgalaxy.com/blog/2008/12/add-blogs-best-of-2008-2008-was-lousy.html">Doane, Alan David</a><br /><br /><a style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);" href="http://www.graphicnovelreporter.com/content/find-out-what-we-picked-best-list"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Graphic Novel Reporter</span></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.dharbin.com/blog/2008/12/best-comics-of-2008-in-case-youre-asking/">Harbin, Dustin</a><br /><br /><a href="http://andrewhickey.info/2008/12/05/best-of-the-year-post/">Hickey, Andrew</a><br /><br /><a href="http://hipsterdad.livejournal.com/538774.html">Hipster Dad</a><br /><br /><a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 153, 0);" href="http://joglikescomics.blogspot.com/2009/01/its-start-of-january-let-nostalgia.html">Jog</a><br /><br /><a href="http://forbiddenplanet.co.uk/blog/?p=10721">Lockefeer, Wim</a><br /><br /><a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 153, 0);" href="http://blog.newsarama.com/2009/01/03/top-eleven-best-of-2008/">Lorah, Michael</a><br /><br /><a href="http://going2nm.blogspot.com/2008/12/top-ten-comics-of-2008.html"><span style="text-decoration: underline; color: rgb(0, 153, 0);"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Meehan, Bram</span></span></a><br /><a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 153, 0);" href="http://everydayislikewednesday.blogspot.com/2008/12/best-comics-of-2008.html"><br />Mozzocco, J. Caleb</a> (Unless Caleb specifically asks me not to, I'm going to use his top 20 only, since that's what he posted at Blogorama. However, I'm linking to his more exhaustive post because, well, it's more exhaustive.)<br /><br /><a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 153, 0);" href="http://www.comicsreporter.com/index.php/index/ben_ostranders_top_books_of_2008/">Ostrander, Ben</a><br /><br /><a style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);" href="http://robot6.comicbookresources.com/2009/01/our-favorite-comics-of-2008/"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Robot 6 folks</span></a> (Not all will count; see criteria above. BTW, since I haven't said it yet, welcome back, dudes.<br /><br /><a style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);" href="http://unattendedbaggage.blogspot.com/2008/12/top-10-comics-of-2008.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Sobel, Marc</span></a><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;">Stone, Tucker: </span><a style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.comixology.com/articles/168/The-Best-Comics-of-2008-Part-1-of-2">Part 1</a><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;">; </span><a style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.comixology.com/articles/170/The-Top-Ten-Comics-of-2008">Part 2</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.bookspotcentral.com/2008/12/top-10-comics-and-graphic-novels-2008/">Tomio, Jay</a><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">COMICS PROFESSIONALS:</span></span><br /><a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 153, 0);" href="http://www.fantagraphics.com/index.php?option=com_myblog&show=My-Best-of-2008.html&Itemid=113"><br />Reynolds, Eric</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.boneville.com/2008/12/15/my-favorite-comics-of-2008/">Smith, Jeff</a><br /><br /><a style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;" href="http://thedailycrosshatch.com/2008/12/22/the-best-damned-comics-of-2008-chosen-by-the-artists/#more-2050">Various</a> (not all will be used, as some fail to meet the standards enumerated above; also, this includes what seems like the 217th Dan Goldman list I've seen, and, if my memory is holding up, there's less overlap than you might expect among the lists)<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size:130%;">QUESTIONABLE/INCOMPLETE</span>:</span><br /><br /><a href="http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2008-12-04/amazon.co.jp-posts-2008-top-comics-light-novels">Amazon.jp</a> (The Japanese branch of Amazon's best comics and "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Light_novels">light novels</a>." Interesting, but I'm not sure what to do with it since much (most?) of this is not available in English yet, and the light novels are definitely not comics. On the other hand, those aren't necessarily good reasons to exclude this list. Any thoughts?)<br /><br /><a href="http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1247764/the_best_and_worst_comics_of_2008.html?cat=38">Associated Content</a> (Written by Russell Burlingame of the new Blogorama crew. Framed as "the best and worst of 2008," I took this to be more of a year in review kind of list. Plus it might be too narrow (Echo is the only not-at-the-front-of-Diamond title listed). We'll see if Burlingame posts a best of 2008 list at Blogorama.)<br /><br /><a href="http://robertwboyd.blogspot.com/2008/12/best-comics-of-2008.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Boyd, Robert</span></a> (Boyd admits this is a "best of things I read this year, but which were not necessarily published in 2008." But most of this list does consist of 2008 releases, so I'll almost certainly count it when the time comes. <span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 153, 0);">UPDATED</span>: I've included it.)<br /><br /><a href="http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=19108">Callahan, Timothy</a> (It's a list of the top 20 collected editions of 2008. Callahan has promised a separate list of the top 10 original comics of 2008, and I'll combine and tally the two lists once he publishes that list.)<br /><br /><a href="http://drawn.ca/2008/12/11/favourite-comics-and-art-books-of-2008-part-1-matts-picks/"><span>Drawn!, part one</span></a> (Matt Forsythe) (This contains one comic which is definitely not 2008 (<span style="font-style: italic;">Tekkon Kinkreet</span>) and one which is either a 2007 entry if you consider it a book or a 2008 entry if you consider it a webcomic (<span style="font-style: italic;">Fart Party</span>). My Brain is Hanging Upside Down and Cul de Sac are definite 2008 comic releases. I'm not sure what you would consider the Nicholas series. The rest are things which not everyone would agree are comics. My inclination is to count this list anyway, since (a) the non-comics stuff won't accumulate enough other votes to place, and (b) I'll disqualify any non-2008 titles when I finalize the meta-list. Do note that I'm not trying to denigrate the list because it doesn't fit into this project; I like seeing unconventional lists, and it's not like Drawn! is a comics-only blog. <span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">UPDATE</span>: I have included this list.)<br /><br /><a href="http://drawn.ca/2008/12/11/favourite-comics-and-art-books-of-2008-part-2-johns-picks/">Drawn, part two</a> (John Martz) (See comments above, except that this list a greater number of 2008 titles that most would classify as unambiguously comics. <span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">UPDATE</span>: I have included this list.)<br /><br /><a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/features/graphic-novels-turn-it-up-to-11-1052037.html">The Independent</a> (Seems to have an awful lot of books from before 2008--<span style="font-style: italic;">Sleepwalk</span>? <span style="font-style: italic;">Embroideries</span>?--which might reflect new British editions, but I'm skeptical. <span style="font-style: italic;">Comics and Sequential Art</span> seriously never came out in the UK before 2008? Just seems like a lazy list.)<br /><a style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.amazon.com/Favourite-comics-2008/lm/R2W7T31EHTRLGO"><br /></a><a href="http://briannicholson.blogspot.com/">Nicholson, Brian</a> (I don't have any problem with it, but Brian suggests he doesn't "read enough to be considered a serious critic." I'm inclined to include it, unless Brian asks me not to.)<br /><a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=98081187"><br /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">NPR</span> (<span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 153, 0);">UPDATED</span>: They've made two lists so far: <a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=97636274&sc=emaf">one</a> for "graphic novels" and <a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=98081187">one</a> for superhero books. I'm not sure if there are any further lists coming or not; I'm holding off on distributing this vote until I'm reasonably sure there are no more lists forthcoming For now, I've removed all the points distributed for the original graphic novels list.)<br /><br /><a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 153, 0);" href="http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2008/12/18/the-five-best-single-issues-of-2008/">Reed, Brian</a> (Delimited to single issues; he says other categories will be coming later)<br /><br /><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Favourite-comics-2008/lm/R2W7T31EHTRLGO">Some dude on Amazon</a> (Do I really want to include Amazon lists? I mean, it's not a bad list, aside from being a little long, but really...)<br /><br /><a href="http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/entertainment/stories.nsf/books/story/4BCDE71C4C6E4F41862575160076E6AE?OpenDocument">St. Louis Today</a> (Includes one from 2007, which reduces the list down to a total of four, below the minimum threshold. I'll probably include it in the final tally, and ignore the votes for <span style="font-style: italic;">Laika</span>. <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">UPDATE</span>: I've included it.)<br /><br /><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/07/books/review/Wolk-t.html?pagewanted=1&_r=2&sq=douglas%20wolk&st=cse&scp=1">Douglas Wolk</a> (I think this is a gift guide, not a best-of list?)<br /><br /><a href="http://hellblazer.ipbhost.com/index.php?s=8b5b058018fc07bf9988583cf08304f6&showtopic=7555&pid=285639&st=0&#entry285639">Various message board posters</a> (Most of these fail to meet my minimal criteria (ie, they're all Marvel, DC, Dark Horse, and Image). And I haven't decided whether or not to include a bunch of hastily compiled message board lists. I mean, if this were Abhay Khosla or something, I would reconsider, but these are a bunch of basically anonymous dudes on a Hellblazer forum.)<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size:130%;">WILL NOT USE</span>:</span><br /><br /><a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 153, 0);" href="http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=19367">Comic Book Resources</a> (too many entries; on a qualitative level, I do share <a href="http://comiksdebris.blogspot.com/2008/12/odds-and-sods.html">Marc-Oliver Frisch's</a> bemusement over the whole thing, but I certainly would have counted it, had it been slightly less gargantuan)<br /><br /><a href="http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2008/12/10/best-manga-of-2008-readers-choice/">Comics Should Be Good/Danielle Leigh Readers' Choice</a> (too short, categorical, and delimited to manga)<br /><br /><a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 153, 0);" href="http://thedailyblog.dcbservice.com/?p=128">DCBS blog</a> (self-described as "a semi-random list")<br /><br /><a style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);" href="http://comics-and-more.blogspot.com/2008/12/best-superhero-comics-of-2008.html"> <span style="font-weight: bold;">Ferraro, Dave</span></a> (Delimited to superheroes; Ferraro plans to make an overall best-of list which will include some of these titles. Didn't know that <span style="font-style: italic;">Echo </span>was a sci-fi/fantasy comic.)<br /><br /><a href="http://kethylia.livejournal.com/709759.html">Kethylia</a> (delimited to manga)<br /><br /><a style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.pennlive.com/columns/patriotnews/mautner/index.ssf?/base/columnists/123014670828900.xml&coll=1">Patriot News/Chris Mautner</a> (this is a an awards list, plus it's just easier to use Chris' list from Robot 6 (see above); I will change this, of course, at Chris' request)<br /><br /><a href="http://www.popcultureshock.com/manga/index.php/features/our-favorite-manga-of-2008/">Pop Culture Shock</a> (delimited to manga)<br /><br /><a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 153, 0);" href="http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/blog/540000654/post/710038071.html?nid=4691">School Library Journal</a> (I think this is limited to comics for kids. If that isn't the case, please let me know and I'll include it in the project.)<br /><br /><a href="http://www.sequentialtart.com/article.php?id=1193">Sequential Tart</a> (Two lists, but neither meets the minimum number of entries for inclusion.)<br /><br /><a href="http://fileunderother.blogspot.com/2008/12/my-favorite-minicomics-and-webcomics-of.html">Smith, Shannon</a> (specifically delimited to mini-comics and web comics; well worth your time, though)<br /><br /><a href="http://forbiddenplanet.co.uk/blog/?cat=29">Various cartoonists at Forbidden Planet</a> (Forbidden Planet is conducting a series of interviews with cartoonists, asking for a top three list from each. This is below the minimum threshold for this project, but you should check out this link, which should take you to all of the interviews conducted so far. Bryan Talbot is the most prominent interviewee to date.)<br /><br /><a href="http://herospy.com/2008/wizards-best-in-comics-of-2008/">Wizard</a> (Not the official list, at least not yet. This is a categorical awards list, and thus ineligible. What a strange list--a bunch of superhero comics, plus Kramers Ergot 7.)Dick Hyacinth's Ghosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11199236541341734429noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7715773315155138002.post-91828710407524898642008-12-31T12:30:00.001-08:002008-12-31T16:54:13.942-08:00It came in an enormous box-Sorry about the delay in posting--I haven't been away from home, but I was distracted by various Christmas-related things. Also MMA and football, but I'll spare you any thoughts on those subjects other than officially noting my glee at the Eagles' demolition of Dallas on Sunday afternoon. I never thought I would say it, but I was actually feeling kind of sorry for Tony Romo by the end of all that.<br /><br />Anyway, I haven't updated my year's best database in about a week. I'll might publish the current list later today, and an updated one tomorrow. I'm guessing there weren't too many new lists added in the last week, though.<br /><br />-At this point, I'm only awaiting my December shipment from DCBS to finish the acquisition portion of compiling my own best of 2008 list. Kramers Ergot 7 finally shipped from Amazon (anyone else have their shipment delayed?), and it arrived yesterday. I haven't read too much yet, but I have flipped through every page. Really, anyone complaining about the format (and accompanying price) needs to sit down with it. At a table--you don't want to try to read this in an armchair. You could also put it on an ottoman or a low couch and kneel before it, as if you were praying to it. <br /><br />Anyway, I can't remember flipping through an anthology and saying "whoa" so many times. Upon first glance, the most impressive pages are the ones which really assault your senses. Those huges pages are absolutely stunning, especially as you move from one vista of color to another. I'm a little annoyed with the table of contents--I know that previous volumes of KE and many other anthologies have favored form over function in this regard, but it's very difficult to navigate when you're turning pages as long as your arm.* I'm planning to write out my own table of contents to keep alongside the book. I'll probably post it here when I'm done, in case anyone else is similarly inconvenienced.<br /><br />This is, of course, a very minor complaint; overall, I'm as impressed with KE7 as I expected. I'm always leery of year's best lists which include titles which the list-maker has only a passing familiarity with, but I can understand the impulse to include this on early lists. Even a short time with KE7 will leave a strong impression.<br /><br />*Not my arm, which is actually kind of long, but your arm. Assuming you're several inches shorter than me.<br /><br />-Whenever I take a break from checking my RSS feeds (500+ posts to read!), there are always a few interesting comment threads waiting for me. Sometimes I mean "interesting" in a pejorative sense. In this case I don't: <a href="http://www.alltooflat.com/about/personal/sean/2008/12/i_got_dem_ol_konfuzin_eventkom.html">Sean Collins vs. Tom Spurgeon and Tucker Stone and Tim O'Neil</a> (plus some other people) on ways to approach superhero comics in reviews.<br /><br />I can't speak to who is making a better case, but I know that when I write about comics, I tend to navigate towards Sean's approach: when actually reviewing a Marvel/DC comic, write only about what I get out of a book, not what a hypothetical audience would think. Not that the other approach isn't valid, it's just that I can't fathom what the average superhero reader (or the potential superhero reader) wants from <span style="font-style: italic;">Final Crisis</span> or whatever. Maybe this is a form of critical solipsism, but I just can't put myself in a mindset which acknowledges Geoff Johns' Green Lantern (or the Byrne/Claremont X-Men, for the hypothetical reader argument) as something that one would actually read for pleasure.<br /><br />I've <a href="http://dickhatesyourblog.blogspot.com/2007/11/does-geoff-johns-still-suck.html">tried recently</a> to read and review some comics which I knew I probably wouldn't like, but I found it impossible to get beyond my own revulsion at the dour meditations on super heroism I encountered. As I've said before (sort of), I found reading <span style="font-style: italic;">Secret Invasion</span> akin to trying to decipher instructions on how to put together an obscure piece of furniture which were written in an extraterrestrial language. Plus every third page is missing. I don't merely lack understanding of who likes this stuff, or even who pays money for it--I don't understand the mentality which allows one to volunatarily read these comics instead of doing something more productive/entertaining, like cleaning toilets or alphebetizing cookbooks.<br /><br />That doesn't stop me from writing about these comics from a business perspective; it's just that I don't really feel that it's necessary to read the comics in question. In fact, it's probably more productive if I don't. The popularity of the Sinestro Corps storyline in Green Lantern is undeniable; it was a great success in a year of dismal failures for DC. I didn't, however, read the story. I didn't have to; you can look at sales charts, or read the reactions of fans to whom this kind of thing appeals. I strongly suspect that, if I had bothered to read <span style="font-style: italic;">Sinestro Corps War</span>, it would have warped my perception of it as a sales success and creative success <span style="font-style: italic;">on its own terms</span>. That seems to be the case with <span style="font-style: italic;">Secret Invasion</span>; it was so bad, so impossibly, incomprehensibly bad, that I have a hard time imagining that it didn't poison the waters for Marvel in 2009 and beyond.<br /><br />Realistically, that's probably not the case (partly because, as I've lamented before, aesthetic quaity seems to have limited bearing on the success of modern DC/Marvel comics). In fact, this confation of personal reaction and general audience reaction is one of the foundational problems with internet comics discourse. There are a lot of people who can't fathom that something they like (say, Blue Beetle) has failed to attract an audience; likewise, they can't understand that Mark Millar is one of the most popular writers in comics, despite their eternal, burning hatred for him and all he stands for. This isn't a problem limited to comics fans, of course, but comics are such a small pond that you have people who can't accept the non-correlation of popularity and quality becoming semi-prominent, semi-respected bloggers or columnists or whatever. Just look at who freaked out over the (relatively) low sales of the first issue of Final Crisis. <br /><br />Having said all that, I don't think Tucker or Tom or Tim's approaches are inherently bad or anything like that. Just as I can't merge commerce and aesthetics easily, some can't separate the two very easily, or they might find it to be the most valuable approach. I enjoy reading this type of analysis/review, even though I would never try to replicate it. This may be due, in part, to greater cynicism on my part re: the quality of Marvel/DC comics, or it might be that I have a more piecemiel approach to evaluating superhero comics. I tend to prefer an otherwise terrible comic with one great panel or sequence over an unremarkable-yet-competent comic. That tendency towards compartmentalization might lead me towards Sean's approach.<br /><br />-The other "interesting" comments thread (this time in a pejorative sense) is the <a href="http://pwbeat.publishersweekly.com/blog/2008/12/29/lionsgates-spirit-gamble-fails/">controversy over online reactions</a> to Frank Miller's Spirit movie tanking. A few thoughts:<br /><br />1. Online fans of EVERYTHING overreact and wish ill on people for a variety of poorly conceived reasons all the time. This doesn't seem much different to me; when one of Mark Millar's intellectual properties eventually (inevitably) tanks in the box office, people will say the same things about him. The thing is, Miller and Millar both are successful, relatively wealthy dudes who probably shouldn't care what a bunch of idiots on Newsarama think. I'm not sure Frank Miller needs Peter David to defend him. This doesn't excuse any excessive comments (which I assume there were--I didn't read the Newsarama thread because, well, I'd rather be cleaning toilets), but I don't see how this is an exceptional or distictively tragic case. Frank Miller hasn't received a fraction of the venom that even the most respected professional athletes deal with on a regular basis. It doesn't make it right, but that's just kind of the peril of reading shit the internet. Particularly comments threads where you know idiots abound.<br /><br />2. If I'm going to agree with anyone hating on Frank Miller, it's <a href="http://pwbeat.publishersweekly.com/blog/2008/12/29/lionsgates-spirit-gamble-fails/#comment-2790283">Devlin Thompson</a>. Actually, I'll state for the record that I agree with him on every point. Frank Miller is the closest thing comics advocates have to a Long Duk Dong (though if he reaches a comparable level of fame, Mark Millar will be about a million billion times worse).<br /><br />3. Mostly I just don't want to have to think about Frank Miller anymore, at least not until people freak out over the next issue of All Star Batman or something.Dick Hyacinth's Ghosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11199236541341734429noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7715773315155138002.post-65687423941419248482008-12-16T23:23:00.000-08:002008-12-16T23:33:05.146-08:00Third roundup of best of 2008 listsLots of new stuff this time. A conundrum as well: NPR has now made a separate list for the <a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=98081187">best superhero comics</a> of 2008. Huh? Is there a reason this wasn't integrated into the <a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=97636274">best graphic novels</a> of 2008 list? This isn't affirmative action for superhero comics--it's separate-but-equal. Look, I can understand multiple lists in different categories, and I usually included lists like that last year if I could discern some sense of logic in them. For instance: <a href="http://warren-peace.blogspot.com/2008/01/2007-year-of-comics-goodness.html">Matthew Brady</a> made different lists based on method of delivery; it's not a distinction I would make, but I can understand the reasoning. A bit closer to the NPR situation was Sean Collins, who made two lists broadly defined as "artsy" and "genre-ish." But the latter wasn't just superhero comics; in fact, it included <span style="font-style: italic;">Daybreak</span> by Brian Ralph, a cartoonist usually lumped in with the "artsy" crowd.<br /><br />Maybe I'm wrong; maybe there's not such a big difference between Sean's lists and this one. I guess I'm willing to give Sean the benefit of the doubt because I read his blog, and I know that he has his own approach to appreciating genre works and more literary/artistic/whatever works. I don't think I've quite figured out his tastes yet (I don't think I'll ever understand the appeal of Green Lantern), but I respect where he's coming from. This NPR thing, though, it's weird. Is the implication that superhero comics can't compare to the serious stuff, but somehow deserves mention for unclear reasons (maybe the popularity of the Batman and Iron Man movies)? Was there a limit of five titles per list imposed from above, thus tying Laurel Maury's hands and somehow necessitating a second list? Is there another list to come, maybe one that will consider manga or webcomics? If not, do I include the superhero list, ignore it, or do I just disqualify Maury's vote altogether?<br /><br />I'm not just asking rhetorical questions here; I really would appreciate some feedback. For now, I'm not including the superhero list, and I'm not removing the points for the graphic novels list.<br /><br />All right, what else do we have? There's a really solid new list from the Village Voice, one of the best one I've read from a general interest source this year (the Daily Vanguard list is also very much to my tastes). Jeff Smith (perhaps you've heard of him?) checks in with the first list from a comics professional which meets the minimum length requirements. The venerable Johnny Bacardi has posted his list. There's also a list from the equally venerable Robert Boyd. Plus lots of other lists worth your time.<br /><br />Remember, if you know of a list not included below, please email me or leave a comment pointing me in the right direction. And please, don't rush getting your lists in on my account. I wouldn't want anyone to do this in this in the first place, but it's totally unneccesary besides. The Comics Journal won't publish their best of 2008 issue until February (I think), and I won't be doing one anytime soon either. I've got about 8-10 books I want to consider that haven't come in the mail yet. Among them: Kramers Ergot 7. Anyone know what's going on with Amazon's distribution of this book?<br /><br />Criteria for inclusion in the Meta-List:<br /><br />-list must contain no fewer than five items and no more than fifty<br />-list must be a general best-of list, not a series of categorical awards like "best superhero book," "best children's book," etc.<br />-list must not be limited to superhero comics, manga, major publishers, etc.<br />-I don't include votes for things like "everything Warren Ellis wrote in 2008"<br />-when a list includes a vote for a title which came out in a year prior to 2008, I usually tally everything like I normally would; it's rare that there are enough votes for an out-of-date item for it to crack the top 100<br />-no overt sleaziness (like voting for your own work; will be determined on a case-by-case basis)<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">New lists are in </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;">green</span><span style="font-weight: bold;">.</span></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><br />GENERAL INTEREST LISTS</span>:</span><br /><br /><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?ie=UTF8&plgroup=1&ref_=amb_link_7803252_7&docId=1000298631">Amazon</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.dailyvanguard.com/top_10_graphic_novels_and_comics_of_2008">Daily Vanguard</a> (Portland State University)<br /><br /><a href="http://nymag.com/arts/cultureawards/2008/52771/">New York Magazine</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=97636274&sc=emaf">NPR</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6610357.html">Publishers Weekly</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.villagevoice.com/2008-12-17/art/2008-s-best-comics-clip-art-and-pedophilia/"><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;">Village Voice</span></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/04/AR2008120403137_pf.html"><span>Washington Post</span></a><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size:130%;">COMICS-FOCUSED LISTS</span>:</span><br /><br /><a style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;" href="http://johnnybacardi.blogspot.com/2008/12/johnny-bacardi-show-2008-personal-10.html">Bacardi, Johnny</a><br /><br /><a style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);" href="http://drawn.ca/2008/12/11/favourite-comics-and-art-books-of-2008-part-1-matts-picks/"> </a><a href="http://www.comicbookgalaxy.com/blog/2008/12/add-blogs-best-of-2008-2008-was-lousy.html">Doane, Alan David</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.dharbin.com/blog/2008/12/best-comics-of-2008-in-case-youre-asking/">Harbin, Dustin</a><br /><br /><a href="http://andrewhickey.info/2008/12/05/best-of-the-year-post/">Hickey, Andrew</a><br /><br /><a href="http://hipsterdad.livejournal.com/538774.html">Hipster Dad</a><br /><br /><a style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;" href="http://forbiddenplanet.co.uk/blog/?p=10721">Lockefeer, Wim</a><br /><br /><a style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.bookspotcentral.com/2008/12/top-10-comics-and-graphic-novels-2008/">Tomio, Jay</a><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">COMICS PROFESSIONALS:</span></span><br /><br /><a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 153, 0);" href="http://www.boneville.com/2008/12/15/my-favorite-comics-of-2008/">Smith, Jeff</a><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size:130%;">QUESTIONABLE</span>:</span><br /><br /><a href="http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2008-12-04/amazon.co.jp-posts-2008-top-comics-light-novels">Amazon.jp</a> (The Japanese branch of Amazon's best comics and "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Light_novels">light novels</a>." Interesting, but I'm not sure what to do with it since much (most?) of this is not available in English yet, and the light novels are definitely not comics. On the other hand, those aren't necessarily good reasons to exclude this list. Any thoughts?)<br /><br /><a href="http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1247764/the_best_and_worst_comics_of_2008.html?cat=38">Associated Content</a> (Written by Russell Burlingame of the new Blogorama crew. Framed as "the best and worst of 2008," I took this to be more of a year in review kind of list. Plus it might be too narrow (Echo is the only not-at-the-front-of-Diamond title listed). We'll see if Burlingame posts a best of 2008 list at Blogorama.)<br /><br /><a style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);" href="http://robertwboyd.blogspot.com/2008/12/best-comics-of-2008.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Boyd, Robert</span></a> (Boyd admits this is a "best of things I read this year, but which were not necessarily published in 2008." But most of this list does consist of 2008 releases, so I'll almost certainly count it when the time comes.)<br /><br /><a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 153, 0);" href="http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=19108">Callahan, Timothy</a> (It's a list of the top 20 collected editions of 2008. Callahan has promised a separate list of the top 10 original comics of 2008, and I'll combine and tally the two lists once he publishes that list.)<br /><br /><a href="http://drawn.ca/2008/12/11/favourite-comics-and-art-books-of-2008-part-1-matts-picks/"><span>Drawn!, part one</span></a> (Matt Forsythe) (This contains one comic which is definitely not 2008 (<span style="font-style: italic;">Tekkon Kinkreet</span>) and one which is either a 2007 entry if you consider it a book or a 2008 entry if you consider it a webcomic (<span style="font-style: italic;">Fart Party</span>). My Brain is Hanging Upside Down and Cul de Sac are definite 2008 comic releases. I'm not sure what you would consider the Nicholas series. The rest are things which not everyone would agree are comics. My inclination is to count this list anyway, since (a) the non-comics stuff won't accumulate enough other votes to place, and (b) I'll disqualify any non-2008 titles when I finalize the meta-list. Do note that I'm not trying to denigrate the list because it doesn't fit into this project; I like seeing unconventional lists, and it's not like Drawn! is a comics-only blog. <span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 153, 0);">UPDATE</span>: I have included this list.)<br /><br /><a href="http://drawn.ca/2008/12/11/favourite-comics-and-art-books-of-2008-part-2-johns-picks/">Drawn, part two</a> (John Martz) (See comments above, except that this list a greater number of 2008 titles that most would classify as unambiguously comics. <span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 153, 0);">UPDATE</span>: I have included this list.)<br /><br /><a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/features/graphic-novels-turn-it-up-to-11-1052037.html">The Independent</a> (Seems to have an awful lot of books from before 2008--<span style="font-style: italic;">Sleepwalk</span>? <span style="font-style: italic;">Embroideries</span>?--which might reflect new British editions, but I'm skeptical. <span style="font-style: italic;">Comics and Sequential Art</span> seriously never came out in the UK before 2008? Just seems like a lazy list.)<br /><a style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.amazon.com/Favourite-comics-2008/lm/R2W7T31EHTRLGO"><br /></a><a style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;" href="http://briannicholson.blogspot.com/">Nicholson, Brian</a> (I don't have any problem with it, but Brian suggests he doesn't "read enough to be considered a serious critic." I'm inclined to include it, unless Brian asks me not to.)<br /><a style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);" href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=98081187"><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">NPR</span></a> (Their all-superhero list. See above.)<br /><br /><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Favourite-comics-2008/lm/R2W7T31EHTRLGO">Some dude on Amazon</a> (Do I really want to include Amazon lists? I mean, it's not a bad list, aside from being a little long, but really...)<br /><br /><a href="http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/entertainment/stories.nsf/books/story/4BCDE71C4C6E4F41862575160076E6AE?OpenDocument">St. Louis Today</a> (Includes one from 2007, which reduces the list down to a total of four, below the minimum threshold. I'll probably include it in the final tally, and ignore the votes for <span style="font-style: italic;">Laika</span>. <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">UPDATE</span>: I've included it.)<br /><br /><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/07/books/review/Wolk-t.html?pagewanted=1&_r=2&sq=douglas%20wolk&st=cse&scp=1">Douglas Wolk</a> (I think this is a gift guide, not a best-of list?)<br /><br /><a href="http://hellblazer.ipbhost.com/index.php?s=8b5b058018fc07bf9988583cf08304f6&showtopic=7555&pid=285639&st=0&#entry285639">Various message board posters</a> (Most of these fail to meet my minimal criteria (ie, they're all Marvel, DC, Dark Horse, and Image). And I haven't decided whether or not to include a bunch of hastily compiled message board lists. I mean, if this were Abhay Khosla or something, I would reconsider, but these are a bunch of basically anonymous dudes on a Hellblazer forum.)<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size:130%;">WILL NOT USE</span>:</span><br /><a style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);" href="http://blog.newsarama.com/2008/12/15/non-jaded-comics-fan-2-superhero-comics/"><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 153, 0);">Brownfield, Troy and Lucas Siegel</span></a> (Delimited to superhero comics)<br /><br /><span><a href="http://jhuniverse.blogspot.com/2008/12/calebs-top-5-comics-of-2008.html"><span>Caleb Monroe</span></a></span> (<span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;">UPDATED</span>: I had this among the regular comics-focused lists until I realized that its author had voted for a book he co-wrote, thus prompting the newest criterion for inclusion listed above.)<br /><br /><a href="http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2008/12/10/best-manga-of-2008-readers-choice/">Comics Should Be Good/Danielle Leigh Readers' Choice</a> (too short, categorical, and delimited to manga)<br /><br /><a style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);" href="http://bestof.ign.com/2008/comics/"><span style="font-weight: bold;">IGN</span></a> (Categorical awards. If you think Wizard's gotten too snooty, this is the list for you.)<br /><br /><a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 153, 0);" href="http://kethylia.livejournal.com/709759.html">Kethylia</a> (delimited to manga)<br /><br /><a style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);" href="http://www.comicswaitingroom.com/fullbleed32.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Maxwell, Matt</span></a> (Doesn't include the minimum number of comics, mostly because apparently Maxwell agrees with Steven Grant re: the quality of comics in 2008. Much pontification along those lines, if you're looking for more of that.)<br /><br /><a style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.popcultureshock.com/manga/index.php/features/our-favorite-manga-of-2008/">Pop Culture Shock</a> (delimited to manga)<br /><br /><a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 153, 0);" href="http://www.sequentialtart.com/article.php?id=1193">Sequential Tart</a> (Two lists, but neither meets the minimum number of entries for inclusion.)<br /><br /><a href="http://fileunderother.blogspot.com/2008/12/my-favorite-minicomics-and-webcomics-of.html">Smith, Shannon</a> (specifically delimited to mini-comics and web comics; well worth your time, though)<br /><br /><a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 153, 0);" href="http://forbiddenplanet.co.uk/blog/?cat=29">Various cartoonists at Forbidden Planet</a> (Forbidden Planet is conducting a series of interviews with cartoonists, asking for a top three list from each. This is below the minimum threshold for this project, but you should check out this link, which should take you to all of the interviews conducted so far. Bryan Talbot is the most prominent interviewee to date.)<br /><br /><a href="http://herospy.com/2008/wizards-best-in-comics-of-2008/">Wizard</a> (Not the official list, at least not yet. This is a categorical awards list, and thus ineligible. What a strange list--a bunch of superhero comics, plus Kramers Ergot 7.)Dick Hyacinth's Ghosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11199236541341734429noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7715773315155138002.post-5900751702502967542008-12-12T12:15:00.000-08:002008-12-18T22:13:02.973-08:00Second roundup of best of 2008 listsA few Google search results in this one, plus a few that I've seen linked to around the internet and one which was sent via email. If you're aware of a list (yours or someone else's) which isn't included here, please leave a link or description in the comments field.<br /><br />Once again, my criteria for inclusion in the Meta-List:<br /><br />-list must contain no fewer than five items and no more than fifty<br />-list must be a general best-of list, not a series of categorical awards like "best superhero book," "best children's book," etc.<br />-list must not be limited to superhero comics, manga, major publishers, etc.<br />-I don't include votes for things like "everything Warren Ellis wrote in 2008"<br />-when a list includes a vote for a title which came out in a year prior to 2008, I usually tally everything like I normally would; it's rare that there are enough votes for an out-of-date item for it to crack the top 100<br /><br />New additions are in <span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 153, 0);">green</span>. <span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">GENERAL INTEREST LISTS</span>:</span><br /><br /><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?ie=UTF8&plgroup=1&ref_=amb_link_7803252_7&docId=1000298631">Amazon</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.dailyvanguard.com/top_10_graphic_novels_and_comics_of_2008">Daily Vanguard</a> (Portland State University)<br /><br /><a href="http://nymag.com/arts/cultureawards/2008/52771/">New York Magazine</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=97636274&sc=emaf">NPR</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6610357.html">Publishers Weekly</a><br /><br /><a style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);" href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/04/AR2008120403137_pf.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Washington Post</span></a><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size:130%;">COMICS-FOCUSED LISTS</span>:</span><br /><br /><a style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);" href="http://jhuniverse.blogspot.com/2008/12/calebs-top-5-comics-of-2008.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Caleb (last name unknown) at Jim Hanley's Universe</span></a><br /><br /><a style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);" href="http://drawn.ca/2008/12/11/favourite-comics-and-art-books-of-2008-part-1-matts-picks/"> <span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></a><a href="http://www.comicbookgalaxy.com/blog/2008/12/add-blogs-best-of-2008-2008-was-lousy.html">Doane, Alan David</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.dharbin.com/blog/2008/12/best-comics-of-2008-in-case-youre-asking/">Harbin, Dustin</a><br /><br /><a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 153, 0);" href="http://andrewhickey.info/2008/12/05/best-of-the-year-post/">Hickey, Andrew</a><br /><br /><a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 153, 0);" href="http://hipsterdad.livejournal.com/538774.html">Hipster Dad</a><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /><br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size:130%;">QUESTIONABLE</span>:</span><br /><br /><a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 153, 0);" href="http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2008-12-04/amazon.co.jp-posts-2008-top-comics-light-novels">Amazon.jp</a> (The Japanese branch of Amazon's best comics and "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Light_novels">light novels</a>." Interesting, but I'm not sure what to do with it since much (most?) of this is not available in English yet, and the light novels are definitely not comics. On the other hand, those aren't necessarily good reasons to exclude this list. Any thoughts?<br /><br /><a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 153, 0);" href="http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1247764/the_best_and_worst_comics_of_2008.html?cat=38">Associated Content</a> (Written by Russell Burlingame of the new Blogorama crew. Framed as "the best and worst of 2008," I took this to be more of a year in review kind of list. Plus it might be too narrow (Echo is the only not-at-the-front-of-Diamond title listed). We'll see if Burlingame posts a best of 2008 list at Blogorama.)<br /><br /><a style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);" href="http://drawn.ca/2008/12/11/favourite-comics-and-art-books-of-2008-part-1-matts-picks/"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Drawn!, part one</span></a> (Matt Forsythe) (This contains one comic which is definitely not 2008 (<span style="font-style: italic;">Tekkon Kinkreet</span>) and one which is either a 2007 entry if you consider it a book or a 2008 entry if you consider it a webcomic (<span style="font-style: italic;">Fart Party</span>). My Brain is Hanging Upside Down and Cul de Sac are definite 2008 comic releases. I'm not sure what you would consider the Nicholas series. The rest are things which not everyone would agree are comics. My inclination is to count this list anyway, since (a) the non-comics stuff won't accumulate enough other votes to place, and (b) I'll disqualify any non-2008 titles when I finalize the meta-list. Do note that I'm not trying to denigrate the list because it doesn't fit into this project; I like seeing unconventional lists, and it's not like Drawn! is a comics-only blog.)<br /><br /><a style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;" href="http://drawn.ca/2008/12/11/favourite-comics-and-art-books-of-2008-part-2-johns-picks/">Drawn, part two</a> (John Martz) (See comments above, except that this list a greater number of 2008 titles that most would classify as unambiguously comics.)<br /><br /><a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/features/graphic-novels-turn-it-up-to-11-1052037.html">The Independent</a> (Seems to have an awful lot of books from before 2008--<span style="font-style: italic;">Sleepwalk</span>? <span style="font-style: italic;">Embroideries</span>?--which might reflect new British editions, but I'm skeptical. <span style="font-style: italic;">Comics and Sequential Art</span> seriously never came out in the UK before 2008? Just seems like a lazy list.)<br /><a style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.amazon.com/Favourite-comics-2008/lm/R2W7T31EHTRLGO"><br />Some dude on Amazon</a> (Do I really want to include Amazon lists? I mean, it's not a bad list, aside from being a little long, but really...)<br /><br /><a href="http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/entertainment/stories.nsf/books/story/4BCDE71C4C6E4F41862575160076E6AE?OpenDocument">St. Louis Today</a> (Includes one from 2007, which reduces the list down to a total of four, below the minimum threshold. I'll probably include it in the final tally, and ignore the votes for <span style="font-style: italic;">Laika</span>. <span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 153, 0);">UPDATE</span>: I've included it.)<br /><br /><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/07/books/review/Wolk-t.html?pagewanted=1&_r=2&sq=douglas%20wolk&st=cse&scp=1">Douglas Wolk</a> (I think this is a gift guide, not a best-of list?)<br /><a style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;" href="http://hellblazer.ipbhost.com/index.php?s=8b5b058018fc07bf9988583cf08304f6&showtopic=7555&pid=285639&st=0&#entry285639"><br />Various message board posters</a> (Most of these fail to meet my minimal criteria (ie, they're all Marvel, DC, Dark Horse, and Image). And I haven't decided whether or not to include a bunch of hastily compiled message board lists. I mean, if this were Abhay Khosla or something, I would reconsider, but these are a bunch of basically anonymous dudes on a Hellblazer forum.)<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size:130%;">WILL NOT USE</span>:</span><br /><br /><a style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;" href="http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2008/12/10/best-manga-of-2008-readers-choice/">Comics Should Be Good/Danielle Leigh Readers' Choice</a> (too short, categorical, and delimited to manga)<br /><br /><a style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;" href="http://fileunderother.blogspot.com/2008/12/my-favorite-minicomics-and-webcomics-of.html">Smith, Shannon</a> (specifically delimited to mini-comics and web comics; well worth your time, though)<br /><br /><a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/%7Er/CrBriefings/%7E3/479606826/">Talbot, Bryan</a> (too short, includes stuff from 2007)<br /><br /><a href="http://herospy.com/2008/wizards-best-in-comics-of-2008/"> <span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;">Wizard</span></a> (Not the official list, at least not yet. This is a categorical awards list, and thus ineligible. What a strange list--a bunch of superhero comics, plus Kramers Ergot 7.)Dick Hyacinth's Ghosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11199236541341734429noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7715773315155138002.post-19239923483755373992008-12-11T18:25:00.000-08:002008-12-11T22:00:35.942-08:00What I'm looking for is a list from an omniscient robot-Found a bunch of links to best of 2008 lists today. I'll post an updated master list tomorrow. The most interesting new ones definitely those from <a href="http://drawn.ca/">Drawn</a>, but they're really unusual lists. And kind of problematic for my project (more on that tomorrow). But they're still really good lists, especially for people whose interests in comics are broad enough to include things that technically might not be comics. If you know what I mean.<br /><br />As for the others.... Look, the lists you've all seen by now are, generally speaking, the best lists out there at the moment. With maybe one or two exceptions, these new lists fall into one of two categories: lists from well-known sources which kind of suck, or lists from basically unknown sources that don't suck. Okay, there are also a few unknown/suck combinations as well. The biggest gap between name value and quality of thought comes from <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/04/AR2008120403137_pf.html">the Washington Post</a> (scroll down). Their list from <a href="http://jasoneaaron.blogspot.com/2007/12/washington-posts-best-of-2007.html">last year</a> sucked as well. I'm willing to bet that their lists are comprised entirely of whatever they're sent, and that 90% of what they're sent comes from Dark Horse and DC. Either that or this list is farted out by someone who doesn't have the time/energy/expertise to put into such things. But based on some of the strange choices in 2007, I'd guess the former.<br /><br />Plus: the first appearance of Buffy on one of these things! Shit, I thought all that was over by now. I suppose this will pop up on a few other lists, especially if Entertainment Weekly bothers to make one this year.<br /><br />-A few people have shared some thoughts about the process of making lists in the past couple of days, and I agree with very little of what I've read. Undoubtedly the least valuable of these posts comes from <a href="http://blog.newsarama.com/2008/12/10/my-opinion-is-right-pretentious-comic-readers/">Lucas Siege</a>l of the new Blog@Newsarama. I feel sort of responsible for the shit storm that follows in the comics, given that I mockingly linked to the article yesterday (Heidi MacDonald even repeats my description of Siegel's position as "affirmative action for superhero comics"). Really, I'm not sure it merits this much attention <span style="font-style: italic;">in and of itself</span> (as an expression of a larger sentiment, perhaps it does; more on this later). <a href="http://www.comicsreporter.com/index.php/index/random_comics_news_story_round_up121108/">Tom Spurgeon</a> pretty much captures its spirit perfectly in describing it as something "from a Usenet Group in 1996."<br /><br />But this isn't the first instance of anti-best of list backlash from the new Blog@Newsarama crew. Getting much less attention is <a href="http://blog.newsarama.com/2008/12/09/new-york-magazines-top-ten/">this post</a> from Sarah Jaffe, taking the <a href="http://nymag.com/arts/cultureawards/2008/52771/">New York Magazine top 10 (or 12) list</a> to task for not including the collected <span style="font-style: italic;">Local</span>. If that's going to be her standard for excellence in these lists, she's going to be sorely disappointed; in my experience compiling these things, very few books show up in more than a small fraction of lists. And from what I've seen so far, the collected <span style="font-style: italic;">Local</span> isn't going to be one of them this year. Why? For one thing, it's a collection of comics previously published from 2005 to 2008. Bloggers and writers for comics-oriented publications tend to ignore these sorts of collections, making them particularly dependent on lists coming from general interest publications. Of the six lists like this I've compiled so far, only <a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=97636274&sc=emaf">NPR</a> includes the collected Local. No comics-focused sources have ranked it yet.<br /><br />Still, I take Jaffe's comment to be more boosterism than complaint; I think she's more interested in drumming up her readers' interest in the book than anything. I was more disappointed in the comments her post elicited, especially this one by Ryan Higgins:<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">It’s depressing sometimes that these lists always consist of books that I can’t sell to save my life. Outside of Fables, I stocked a few of these, and not a single one has sold.</span><br /><br />I'm not sure what Higgins' point is. If he's bemoaning his inability to sell quality works to his customers, I would think this would be more of a self-deprecating statement. You know, "what does it say about me as a salesman that I can't sell comics which the critical consensus rates as the best of the year." Or maybe, "Boy, our customers suck." That kind of thing. Instead, this seems more in line with Lucas Siegel's position that there are too many "pretentious" choices on these lists, that critics don't have their finger on the pulse of what the comics industry is really about, etc., etc.<br /><br />This isn't anything new, of course. We've seen countless examples of superhero fan rage at the alleged snobbery of the art/literary comics contingent. I'm finding the superhero people a little touchier lately, though. It used to take statements of outright derision to set them off, but I'm seeing increasingly volcanic reactions to the omission of superhero comics from discussions of what constitutes the "best" in comics. I first noticed this during the Best American Comics 2007 fiasco from last year; it looks like we're seeing it again now.<br /><br />I can't attribute this trend (assuming it's actually a trend and not a figment of my imagination) to anything with absolute certainty, but I've got some ideas. We see many superhero partisans (perhaps most notably Paul O'Brien) cite the popularity of superhero movies as evidence that superhero comics better reflect mainstream tastes than something like Acme Novelty Library. Somehow this leads to the conclusion that anything purporting to list the "best" comics is somehow flawed if it fails to include superhero comics.<br /><br />The problem here how you get from the factual statement that the general public likes superhero movies to the questionable conclusion that best of lists/anthologies must include superhero comics. There are at least three assertions one must accept to get from (a) to (b):<br /><br />1. There are superhero comics <span style="font-style: italic;">from the period in question</span> which are worthy of inclusion in best of lists/anthologies.<br /><br />2. The aforementioned superhero comics will appeal to the segment of the general public which enjoys superhero movies.<br /><br />3. Best of lists/anthologies must reflect popular tastes in order to be considered legitimate.<br /><br />Clearly there are problems with all three assertions. In clarifying his original post, Siegel suggests that most shonen manga somehow qualify as superhero comics. I think this greatly stretches the definition of "superhero" as a genre, but we'll leave that aside. By including things like, presumably, <span style="font-style: italic;">Naruto</span> or <span style="font-style: italic;">Bleach</span>, you can beef up assertion #2: these comics are popular, and they're popular for the same reason movies like <span style="font-style: italic;">Iron Man</span> and <span style="font-style: italic;">The Dark Knight</span> are popular. Again, I've got my doubts about this, but let's put that aside. Does the popularity of these comics necessitate their inclusion in a best of list or anthology?<br /><br />I don't see how this follows. There are a <a href="http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=19124">number</a> of <a href="http://kleefeldoncomics.blogspot.com/2008/12/bollocks-to-best-of.html">commenters</a> who distrust the idea of best of lists because they overvalue the concepts of objectivity and expertise. In other words, you can't trust most lists because (a) they reflect the list-maker's subjective tastes and (b) it's extremely unlikely that the list-maker will have read every single comic of any merit in any given year. Thus, once can view the inclusion of a couple of superhero comics as evidence that neither of these problems afflict a given list. If a list full of artsy fartsy comics includes one or two Marvel or DC titles, it can provide the illusion that the list-maker has expertise in/appreciation of all areas of comics, even if the only superhero comics (s)he has read all year long were written by Grant Morrison.*<br /><br />There are, naturally, going to be some people who include <span style="font-style: italic;">Captain America</span> alongside <span style="font-style: italic;">Alan's War</span> in their lists not out of tokenism, but out of a genuine respect and admiration for each work. But no one should get upset when mainstream publications ignore Marvel and DC, and possibly Dark Horse and Image as well. Ask yourself: do you really think that the average person sitting down to write one of these lists for Time or The Onion or whatever is going to hold <span style="font-style: italic;">Rage of the Red Lanterns</span> and <span style="font-style: italic;">Bottomless Belly Button </span>in equal regard? Can you not see the difference in appeal among the types of people who make these sorts of lists? Sure, <span style="font-style: italic;">Rage of the Red Lanterns</span> will outsell <span style="font-style: italic;">Bottomless Belly Button</span> in the short run**, but does that obligate those of us who actually take the time to make these lists to include something by Geoff Johns on our lists?<br /><br />Are we even obligated to read Geoff Johns' output when making our lists? I would argue pretty strenuously that we aren't, that most of us who think enough about comics to assemble a best of 2008 list probably know by now whether or not we like Geoff Johns' work. To some, this might diminish our expertise, or reveal our subjectivity. This concern is misguided. Certainly, I would not value a list written by someone with a very narrow range of interests, or a very limited familiarity with comics released in 2008. That's why I have <a href="http://dickhatesyourblog.blogspot.com/2008/12/first-roundup-of-best-of-2008-lists.html">criteria</a> for inclusion on the meta-list; I'm not going to take a top 10 list which includes eight superhero comics, Penny Arcade, and something by Jonathan Hickman very seriously.<br /><br />But we should be realistic. Does everybody who makes a list share your interests and prejudices? You'd have to be very, very naive to expect every list to cater to your tastes. Does every list reflect the same level of expertise? Of course not. Not everyone making a list will be able to afford to buy every comic of interest to them, and they probably won't be able to find every one of these books in the library or a bookstore which permits reading in the cafe. Most of us won't recieve complimentary copies of Kramers Ergot 7, and lots of those folks might not put it on their best of 2008 list because they can't afford to buy a copy for themselves.<br /><br />I really don't have a problem with that, though. There are a lot of lists to choose from out there. It's only December 11, and I've already found at least a dozen worthy of consideration. And hey, I'm going to do a lot of the work for you by compiling all these lists into one meta-list reflecting scores of different perspectives. The final top 10 probably won't be entirely to your liking, but what's stopping you from making your own top 10? You could make it nothing but superhero comics if you want. I mean, I won't take it seriously, but other people might. It might bother you that your list won't have the same reach as those from major media sources; if so, I guess you'll just have to get over it. Sorry, but that's life.<br /><br />*Of course, you'd have some people who would consider the inclusion of a Grant Morrison comic as prima facie evidence of pretentiousness. We can probalby dismiss these people as the types who would rank <span style="font-style: italic;">Essential Power Pack</span> as the number one comic of the year, thus establishing that they're not quite ready to sit at the grown-ups' table yet.<br /><br />**I'm guessing. In the long run, I expect that people will still be reading <span style="font-style: italic;">Bottomless Belly Button</span> years and years after all but the most ardent fanboys have forgotten what a Red Lantern is.<br /><br />-BONUS TERRIBLE GROSS OUT COVERAGE: For the vast, vast majority of you, <a href="http://www.mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/templates/dailynews.asp?articleid=7762&zoneid=13">this</a> will be the worst thing you see all day. Do you dare click on the link? Please note: I'm not kidding. This is terrible, and you might regret looking at it.<br /><br />-EXTRA BONUS LINK UPDATE: Right after posting this, I read Tom Spurgeon's <a href="http://www.comicsreporter.com/index.php/index/cr_review121108/">review</a> of some undoubtedly terrible comic by some D-list celebrity. I don't know how Tom's going to feel about me saying this, but that's one of the best reviews I've read in months; insightful and very funny. Just wanted to point out my appreciation for it, since Tom doesn't have comments and probably wouldn't publish correspondence saying nothing more than "That was awesome, dude."Dick Hyacinth's Ghosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11199236541341734429noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7715773315155138002.post-78556519014421410722008-12-10T11:31:00.001-08:002008-12-10T11:47:04.331-08:00First roundup of best of 2008 listsGreat thanks to those who have been sending me links to best of 2008 lists. As we move deeper into December, we'll certainly start to see more and more of these things. I've determined that the most effective way for me to compile these lists is to post periodic updates to my list database. This should serve a few functions. First, it will allow anyone who wonders if I've missed a recent list the opportunity to see what I've compiled so far; plus, you can leave links to missing lists in the comments. Second, it allows me to discuss in a public forum the process of determining which lists will and won't be used in the final meta-list tally. Finally, those looking for a clearinghouse of year in review-type lists can find them here.<br /><br />I'll be updating this list at least once a week, probably more often as we start seeing a deluge of new lists after Christmas. I'll put new lists in bold as I add them to the database.<br /><br />And, as a reminder, here are my criteria for being included in this project:<br /><br />-list must contain no fewer than five items and no more than fifty<br />-list must be a general best-of list, not a series of categorical awards like "best superhero book," "best children's book," etc.<br />-list must not be limited to superhero comics, manga, major publishers, etc.<br />-I don't include votes for things like "everything Warren Ellis wrote in 2008"<br />-when a list includes a vote for a title which came out in a year prior to 2008, I usually tally everything like I normally would; it's rare that there are enough votes for an out-of-date item for it to crack the top 100<br /><br />If you dislike these criteria, you may find some comfort in <a href="http://blog.newsarama.com/2008/12/10/my-opinion-is-right-pretentious-comic-readers/">this call</a> for affirmative action for superhero books in best of lists. Does the last issue of Love and Rockets count?<br /><br />Here are the lists so far:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">GENERAL INTEREST LISTS (lists from newspapers, websites, or other media outlets which cover a wide range of subjects beyond comics):</span><br /><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?ie=UTF8&plgroup=1&ref_=amb_link_7803252_7&docId=1000298631">Amazon</a><br /><a href="http://www.dailyvanguard.com/top_10_graphic_novels_and_comics_of_2008">Daily Vanguard</a> (Portland State University)<br /><a href="http://nymag.com/arts/cultureawards/2008/52771/">New York Magazine</a><br /><a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=97636274&sc=emaf">NPR</a><br /><a href="http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6610357.html">Publishers Weekly</a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">COMICS-FOCUSED LISTS (lists from blogs, websites, or publications devoted to comics):</span><br /><a href="http://www.comicbookgalaxy.com/blog/2008/12/add-blogs-best-of-2008-2008-was-lousy.html">Doane, Alan David</a> (kind of an unclear format for ranking, but Alan and I have talked and he's instructed me in how he wants his vote tallied)<br /><br /><a href="http://www.dharbin.com/blog/2008/12/best-comics-of-2008-in-case-youre-asking/">Harbin, Dustin</a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">QUESTIONABLE:</span><br /><a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/features/graphic-novels-turn-it-up-to-11-1052037.html">The Independent</a> (Seems to have an awful lot of books from before 2008--<span style="font-style: italic;">Sleepwalk</span>? <span style="font-style: italic;">Embroideries</span>?--which might reflect new British editions, but I'm skeptical. <span style="font-style: italic;">Comics and Sequential Art</span> seriously never came out in the UK before 2008? Just seems like a lazy list.)<br /><br /><a href="http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/entertainment/stories.nsf/books/story/4BCDE71C4C6E4F41862575160076E6AE?OpenDocument">St. Louis Today</a> (Includes one from 2007, which reduces the list down to a total of four, below the minimum threshold. I'll probably include it in the final tally, and ignore the votes for <span style="font-style: italic;">Laika</span>.)<br /><br /><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/07/books/review/Wolk-t.html?pagewanted=1&_r=2&sq=douglas%20wolk&st=cse&scp=1">Douglas Wolk</a> (I think this is a gift guide, not a best-of list?)<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">WILL NOT USE:</span><br /><a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/%7Er/CrBriefings/%7E3/479606826/">Talbot, Bryan</a> (too short, includes stuff from 2007)Dick Hyacinth's Ghosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11199236541341734429noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7715773315155138002.post-63186909027888399972008-12-08T21:45:00.002-08:002008-12-08T23:49:28.576-08:00Final best of 2008 workbook/checklistOkay, here's an alphabetical list of all the comics I can think of that I will seriously consider when I get around to making my best of 2008 list in a few weeks. It's a pretty big list, but it's been a pretty good year for comics: beautiful archival reprints of important works; reprints celebrating lesser-known cartoonists; incredible anthologies; stunning debuts; great pamphlet series; tremendously diverse manga; more great European comics; and continued excellence from established creators. <br /><br />Since this is such a long list, I guess it can also serve as sort of a holiday shopping list, if you're in the market for yet another one, and the person you're shopping for has very similar tastes to my own, yet has not managed to acquire any of the major comics works of the last 12 months. Or you can consider it a checklist for 2008 reading, though again it's a checklist from my perspective. For instance, Skyscrapers of the Midwest isn't on here because I bought it in pamphlets, and thus consider it more of a 2005-07 title. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Abandoned Cars by Tim Lane</span>: Haven't read, but my copy should arrive before the end of the year.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Achewood by Chris Onstad</span>: I think the latest storyline with Cornelius' May-November relationship with Polly (rhymes with "Molly"...hmm...) has injected some life into the strip, which I thought was kind of sagging after the exhausting marriage storyline. Also: have not so much as looked at a copy of <span style="font-style: italic;">The Great Outdoor Fight</span>. Haven't seen a copy on any store shelves, even at Powell's a couple of weeks ago. Probably just missed it, but still: you couldn't escape that Perry Bible Fellowship collection last year. Or even today. Could very well just be chance that I'm not encountering it in my trips to bookstores.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Acme Novelty Library #19 by Chris Ware</span>: Another one I'll be getting by the time I make my list. Honestly, I've been very skeptical of the whole Rusty Brown thing from the beginning. I hated the early Rusty Brown strips; I thought they were totally cynical in going after such an easy target, with the added bonus of some queasy self-flagellation from Ware, since he self-identifies as a collector. And I don't even have much sympathy with the obsessive fanboy type or anything. But what I've read of Ware's NYT work (mostly limited to flipping through Acme Novelty Library #18) seemed much more promising. And I'm sure that what Ware has done since then has transcended the weak initial premise of Rusty Brown, as Jog's <a href="http://joglikescomics.blogspot.com/2008/11/once-per-year-jetting-forward-and-back.html">review</a> suggests.<br /><br />All that aside: I've read a few comments suggesting that any list failing to include Acme Novelty Library #19 are substantially flawed in some way. Aside from aggravating my deep-seated sense of cultural relativism (I don't think I'd say something like that about <span style="font-style: italic;">anything</span> I've ever read), I think this also misses another point. A lot of these lists are made by non-obsessive types. This particular issue of Acme Novelty Library is a single chapter of a longer, ongoing story. I think it's entirely reasonable that some reviewers would hesitate to include on their list a fragment of a larger work, even if the fragment stands reasonably well on its own. This is not a universal approach to list-making, of course; my own top-rated comic from last year was Sammy the Mouse #1, the first chapter of a longer, still-incomplete work. But I think there is a substantial portion of the list-making public which does think that way.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Alan's War by Emmanuel Guibert</span>: Should be reading it in the next couple of weeks.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Amazing Remarkable Monsieur Leotard by Eddie Campbell and Dan Best</span>: Another one I'll be getting soon. I know it sounds like I'm woefully behind on my reading for 2008, but there's a disproportionate number of books beginning with "A" that I haven't read for some reason.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Aqua Leung by Mark Andrew Smith and Paul Maybury</span>: I think this comic would have worked better after future volumes fleshed out the story, but unfortunately that's not going to happen. Because of its incompleteness, I think this mostly stands as a showcase for Paul Maybury's art.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Aya of Yop City by Marguerite Abouet and Clement Oubrerie</span>: Wow, this is in full-out soap opera mode now, huh? I guess that makes it the most lushly produced soap opera on the stands--like the first Aya volume, this is a beautifully-produced hardcover. And Oubrerie's colors are even better here. Where one would normally expect delicate watercolors for this style of art, Oubrerie works in intensely vibrant opaques. And if you're going to read a soap opera, it might as well be a well-written one that will teach you about an unfamiliar place and time. What would we be saying about the Minx line if DC had managed to acquire the Aya series? We'd probably still be talking about its demise, but undoubtedly with a great deal more regret.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Bat-Manga by Jiro Kuwata</span>: Review <a href="http://dickhatesyourblog.blogspot.com/2008/11/short-reviews.html">here</a>.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Black Jack vol. 1-2 by Osamu Tezuka:</span> I've only read the first volume so far. Good stuff, as one always expects from Tezuka. I think I liked the darker material towards the end the best. I expect the weirdness quotient to be a bit higher in the second volume, if I understand correctly.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.dashshaw.com/"> </a><span style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://www.dashshaw.com/">Body World</a> by Dash Shaw</span>: I read the first chapter or so, and then started having problems getting the updates on Google Reader. The RSS feed is working for me again, but I haven't managed to catch up yet.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Bottomless Belly Button by Dash Shaw</span>: Short thoughts <a href="http://dickhatesyourblog.blogspot.com/2008/08/i-know-im-in-really-small-minority-here.html">here</a>. Haven't thought too much about this book since then.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Bourbon Island 1730 by Apollo and Lewis Trondheim: </span>Tom Spurgeon's <a href="http://www.comicsreporter.com/index.php/cr_review_bourbon_island_1730/">review</a> was very insightful. Man, there have been a lot of Trondheim comics this year. Anyway, this starts out kind of slow--some of the least inspired-looking Trondheim art I can recall--but picks up steam about 20 or 30 pages in. Definitely turns into something worthwhile by the end, but it doesn't really compare with Trondheim's best work.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />Breakdowns</span>: Long review <a href="http://dickhatesyourblog.blogspot.com/2008/10/breakdowns.html">here</a>.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Core of Caligula #1 by CF</span>: This is a new mini from Picturebox, possibly compiling one-pagers CF did somewhere else? Maybe not? Anyway, I liked it almost as much as Powr Mastrs, which is to say I liked it a whole bunch. And it's really not the same thing as Powr Mastrs at all. Probably not one of the best 10 comics of 2008, but definitely one of the 30 or so best comics.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Cowa! by Akira Toriyama</span>: Review <a href="http://dickhatesyourblog.blogspot.com/2008/09/cats-use-bites-in-lieu-of-words.html">here</a>.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />Criminal by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips</span>: I haven't read the last two issues (vol. 2, #6-7). The first three issues of the current volume were probably the best thing Marvel has published this decade, and probably the best thing Brubaker has ever written. Not as crazy about the current arc, but as I said above, I'm only halfway through it.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Crickets #2 by Sammy Harkham</span>: Almost forgot about this! Major improvement over the first issue, which is really saying something. Sammy Harkham doesn't get nearly the attention he deserves--he's probably equal to or not far behind Kevin Huizenga in terms of talent, but gets only a fraction of the press. Maybe people think of him primarily as an editor?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Deitch's Pictorama by Kim Deitch, Simon Deitch, and Seth Kallen Deitch</span>: Haven't read much about this, perhaps because it falls too much outside the realm of "comics" for some people. (BTW, Kim Deitch's introduction includes a broad definition of "graphic novel" that may or may not induce apoplexy in Eddie Campbell.) As I write this, I've read about 80% of it. Kim's first story is about what you'd expect from him, which is to say very good. I also liked the Seth's "Unlikely Hours," which seemed pretty harmonious with Kim's illustrations. In general, the stories I've liked the best are the ones with copious Kim Deitch illustrations, which is about what I expected going into this. Good stuff, but I'm not sure that it really accomplishes the formal breakthrough Kim seems to be angling for in the introduction. The first story probably would have filled up a 150+ page graphic novel if Deitch had completed it in a more conventional comics style; you kind of wonder if he liked this format because he's got so many ideas for stories and only so much time to complete them. If that's the case, then I'd rather have a bunch of stories in the Pictorama form than a few in a more conventional comics form.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Delphine #3 by Richard Sala</span>: Thoughts <a href="http://dickhatesyourblog.blogspot.com/2008/08/i-know-im-in-really-small-minority-here.html">here</a>.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Disappearance Diary by Hideo Azuma</span>: Review is <a href="http://dickhatesyourblog.blogspot.com/2008/08/i-know-im-in-really-small-minority-here.html">here</a>. I'm looking forward to reading this again. It's been a really good year for art/literary manga.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Fight Or Run #1 by Kevin Huizenga</span>: My favorite of all Huizenga's work this year, and I quite enjoyed Or Else #5 and (to a lesser extent) Ganges #2. Really, highly recommended. You'll probably see this on a lot of best of 2008 lists.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Ganges #2 by Kevin Huizenga</span>: It's funny how I just mentally skipped past all the Fight or Run material in this issue; now it seems likely that it's the best stuff in this issue of Ganges. I really need to re-read this issue, which I never really felt like I entirely got the first time around.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Goddess of War #1 by Lauren Weinstein</span>: This was a lot of fun, but it felt more like an appetizer than the main course, you know? Like, I'm really looking forward to future issues of this series. Slightly more detailed version of these thoughts <a href="http://dickhatesyourblog.blogspot.com/2008/08/i-know-im-in-really-small-minority-here.html">here</a>.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Good-Bye by Yoshihiro Tatsumi</span>: More of the inner turmoil and timeless antisocial behavior we've come to expect from Tatsumi, but this volume seemed a bit more linked to specific historical events (most notably the end of WWII, as seen in a couple of stories). Not really any better or worse than the previous volume in D&Q's reprint series (Abandon the Old in Tokyo), but the subject matter has changed enough to make these stories seem fresh, even though they're working in the same thematic and emotional territory as before. It's also a bit racier than I remember the previous volumes being, which again makes it stand out maybe a bit more. Still bleak as hell, though. That all sounds more negative than I mean to be, so let me make it perfectly clear: this is probably one of the most essential books of 2008.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Grotesque #2 by Sergio Ponchionne</span>: Maybe the most underrated of all the Ignatz books. Brief thoughts <a href="http://dickhatesyourblog.blogspot.com/2008/08/i-know-im-in-really-small-minority-here.html">here</a>.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Gus and His Gang by Christophe Blain: </span>This was on my radar, but not a very high priority until I saw Dustin Harbin's <a href="http://www.dharbin.com/blog/2008/12/best-comics-of-2008-in-case-youre-asking/">best of 2008 list</a>. I like what I've read by Blain (pretty much limited to <span style="font-style: italic;">Isaac the Pirate</span>, though I do have <span style="font-style: italic;">The Speed Abater</span> checked out from the library right now), but this seemed like an "I'll get it eventually" type of book. Don't know if I'll get to read it by the time I make my list, but hopefully I'll at least get to flip through it.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Haunted by Philippe Dupuy</span>: Short review <a href="http://dickhatesyourblog.blogspot.com/2008/05/halfway-point-more-or-less-best-of-2008.html">here</a>. I'm interested in re-reading this, but my memory is that it's a solid step down from the best comics on this list.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Injury #2 by Ted May, Jeff Wilson, and Jason Robards: </span>Probably the biggest gap between amount of buzz and likely popular appeal among all worthwhile comics I've read this year. In other words, you probably want to read this comic if you haven't already. Three major features, all winners: a funny series of gags about Heracles and his clones; a totally awesome series about teenage hessians in the early-mid 80s; and an equally awesome urban SF comedy thing called "Your Bleeding Face." That last one sounds like the sort of strip I'd usually hate, which is really a testament to how good May and Robards are (Wilson collaborates on the 80s metalhead strip). Look: the first pages of "Your Bleeding Face" feature a brother and sister playing a Slade-themed pinball machine that plays "Gudbuy T'Jane" when the player loses a ball. That alone makes this worth your time; fortunately for us, there are many, many other things in this issue also worth your time. Make sure to track down the Injury #1 as well, though, since all three stories are continued from that issue.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Jessica Farm vol. 1 by Josh Simmons</span>: Probably Simmons' most accomplished work to date. I'm really eager to see what he does next (which presumably won't be Jessica Farm vol. 2 in 2016). More thoughts <a href="http://dickhatesyourblog.blogspot.com/2008/05/halfway-point-more-or-less-best-of-2008.html">here</a>.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Kaput and Zosky by Lewis Trondheim with Eric Cartier</span>: These two were never my favorite Lewis Trondheim characters, but this is an amusing enough stuff. Essential for a Trondheim completist* like myself; not so sure about everyone else.<br /><br />*Well, a translated Trondheim completist. And even then, I'm missing some stuff.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Kramers Ergot v. 7 by various</span><span style="font-weight: bold;">; edited by Sammy Harkham</span>: Don't have a copy yet, hopefully getting it for Christmas. I picked up the Gasoline Alley Sunday collection just to get an idea of how this thing is going to feel in my hands. Where am I going to put it when I'm done reading it? Should I screw around with the height of the shelves on my bookcase, or what?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Little Nothings vol. 1 by Lewis Trondheim</span>: Number one on <a href="http://dickhatesyourblog.blogspot.com/2008/05/halfway-point-more-or-less-best-of-2008.html">my mid-year list</a>. You folks know there's a second volume out in January, right?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Little Vampire by Johann Sfar</span>: I really liked these stories, which may have been available in English in a different format prior to this First Second edition. Adults might find it especially bittersweet if read in conjunction with Sfar's <span style="font-style: italic;">Vampire Loves</span>, which follows these characters into adulthood. Sort of. On its own, these are excellent cute-scary stories. If you liked <span style="font-style: italic;">Cowa!</span>, you should definitely read this book (and vice versa, of course).<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Love and Rockets v. 3 #1 by Gilbert, Jaime, and Mario Hernandez</span>: Well, yes, that Jaime story is totally awesome, and pretty much buries any other superhero comic in recent memory. Jaime Hernandez is such an incredible cartoonist that this is liable to be the case whenever he dips into these waters (as he will again for part two of this story next year, presumably). But there are moments while I was reading this where I sat awestruck and realized: <span style="font-style: italic;">Jaime Hernandez would probably be considered the greatest superhero cartoonist of all time if he had chosen to work in that sub-genre full-time.</span> Like, maybe even if he were forced to bend his style to meet the needs of the vile philistines who run Marvel and DC. There are cartoonists whose work I value more than Jaime Hernandez--not many, but a few--and I don't think I could say that about them. He's just so keyed into the visual language of the superhero comic, yet his work is so much better than practically any superhero comic I've ever laid eyes on.<br /><br />And that's not even to mention the work by Gilbert (alone and with brother Mario), which compares very favorably to last year's/early this year's excellent output. Obviously a contender for a best of the year list.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Mome by various; edited by Eric Reynolds</span>: Okay, now we're talking. It's not like Mome hasn't been improving steadily since its launch, but the last couple of volumes (we're talking 11 and 12 here) have upped the ante considerably. Part of my enthusiasm stems from my deep love for European comics, which are a cornerstone of the anthology at this point. Maybe <span style="font-style: italic;">the</span> cornerstone. How can you go wrong with vol. 12, which features excellent work by Killoffer, Oliver Schrauwen, and greatest living cartoonist candidate David B? And the North American contributor list, strong enough already (loved the John Vermilyea story in volume 12), will only get better in 2009. This is no longer I'll-get-around-to-it-when-I-have-the-time/money fare; it's must-read-immediately material.<br /><br /><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.stuartkolakovic.co.uk/neverbeen.htm">Never Been</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> by Stuart Kolakovic</span>: I genuinely hope people seriously consider this web comic when making their best of 2008 lists. I thought this blew away all other web comics I read this year on a number of levels (bearing in mind that I haven't kept up with <span style="font-style: italic;">Body World</span>).<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Nocturnal Conspiracies by David B</span>: Not out yet, I don't think. Hope this makes it to press in the next few weeks!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Or Else #5 by Kevin Huizenga</span>: I liked this issue quite a bit, though not quite as much as Ganges #2 or Fight or Run #1. Huizenga kind of branched out beyond his comfort zone a little this year, didn't he?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Paul Goes Fishing by Michael Rabagliati</span>: Thoughts <a href="http://dickhatesyourblog.blogspot.com/2008/05/halfway-point-more-or-less-best-of-2008.html">here</a>. Gotta say, this the book I'm probably feeling the most doubt about with regards to its ranking on my halfway point best-of list.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Rabbi's Cat vol. 2 by Johann Sfar</span>: A few very brief thoughts <a href="http://dickhatesyourblog.blogspot.com/2008/08/i-know-im-in-really-small-minority-here.html">here</a>. Seems like there was less Sfar out last year after a deluge the last couple of years, but I might be remembering that wrong. What came out this year was very, very, good, though.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Rasl #1-3 by Jeff Smith</span>: Still haven't read the last issue. The one thing that keeps bugging me about this is how weird the protagonist looked--big head and short limbs. I kept expecting him to unzip himself and reveal that he was Fone Bone wearing a human costume. Which isn't to say I didn't like Rasl, but that's the lasting impression from two issues I haven't read in many months.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Real vol. 1-2 by Takehiko Inoue</span>: Still my preferred Inoue basketball manga. Thoughts on volume 1 <a href="http://dickhatesyourblog.blogspot.com/2008/11/short-reviews.html">here</a>. I've since had the chance to read volume 2, which doesn't substantially alter my initial impression of <span style="font-style: italic;">Real</span>. If anything, it deepens my appreciation for what Inoue is doing. I know lots of comics readers break out into a rash whenever they encounter anything related to sports, but give this a try.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Red Colored Elegy by Seiichi Hayashi</span>: Okay, this is the first thing on the list which I own but didn't finish before making this list. I'll try it again soon, but I just didn't have the patience to press onward the other day when I made my first attempt. I'll try to read it again before the list is made. In the meantime, I liked Eddie Campbell's <a href="http://eddiecampbell.blogspot.com/2008/08/r-ed-colored-elegy-hardcover-by-seiichi.html">review</a>.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Sammy the Mouse #2 by Zak Sally</span>: Didn't quite blow me away like the first issue, but that's partly because the novelty wasn't there. That sounds shallow, but bear with me: Sammy the Mouse #1 was fascinating in large part because its uniqueness took my breath away. The second issue was also good, but good in many of the same ways that the first issue was. Also, it's the second chapter in a larger work; not every chapter is going to work equally well as stand-alone books. I'm still convinced that this will end up being a really great and important book when viewed as a whole, and as such I recommend this issue as heartily as the first.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Slam Dunk vol. 1 by Takehiko Inoue</span>: Thoughts <a href="http://dickhatesyourblog.blogspot.com/2008/11/short-reviews.html">here</a>. Really looking forward to the second issue. You have to love Viz' shonen line. At that price (a mere $8 retail!), is there any better entertainment bargain in North American comics?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Sublife vol. 1 by John Pham</span>: I really dug this first issue of what I assume is an ongoing series. This is the sort of one-man anthology Tom Spurgeon frequently bemoans losing due to the ascendence of the graphic novel. Of course, this is packaged as a graphic novel, with square binding and a high page count, so maybe that's the way to bridge the gap for future cartoonists.* As for <span style="font-style: italic;">Sublife </span>itself, it's quite good. Pham's work here reminds me quite a bit of Chris Ware's, except it didn't seem as bleak. That's more of a tonal thing, since Pham's characters are every bit as pitiful as Ware's underdeveloped man-children. There's a sort of timelessness to Ware's work (even the period pieces) which makes his characters' suffering seem more oppressive to me.** This is very much a contemporary book, taking place in a vibrantly urban, multicultural, multiracial setting. So while the Ware influence is clear, Pham is very much doing his own thing with <span style="font-style: italic;">Sublife</span>. Ware's characters are burdened by the mundane horror of their daily lives, while Pham's are struggling tooth and nail to survive.<br /><br />And it's also funny in a completely different way than Acme Novelty Library. I haven't seen a lot of press for this book, which is really a shame because it's <span style="font-style: italic;">very</span> good.<br /><br />*Though it's kind of hard to picture Injury in the same format as Sublife; maybe this is more of an opportunity for the more literary-oriented young cartoonist?<br /><br />**Not a criticism, just an observation/interpretation.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Tales Designed to Thrizzle #4 by Michael Kupperman</span>: I'm really not sure that there's ever been a funnier cartoonist than Michael Kupperman. Maybe Chris Onstad or Matt Groening? Possibly Eiji Nonaka? Bill Watterson? At this point in my life, I'd take Kupperman over all of them. And yet I'm not sure if that puts Tales Designed to Thrizzle #4 on my best of 2008 list or not. Am I just (severely) undervaluing comedy?<br /><br />BONUS PSA: I had no idea, but Snake'n'Bacon's Cartoon Cabaret is apparently <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Snake-n-Bacons-Cartoon-Cabaret/dp/0380807904/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1228804684&sr=8-1">available on Amazon</a>! Holy shit, you have no idea how badly you need this book, unless you already have a copy (in which case you don't really need a copy of this book--paradox~!). Brave soldiers died to bring you the Cartoon Cabaret!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Three Shadows by Cyril Pedrosa</span>: Thoughts <a href="http://dickhatesyourblog.blogspot.com/2008/05/halfway-point-more-or-less-best-of-2008.html">here</a>.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Travel by Yuichi Yokoyama</span>: A few preliminary thoughts <a href="http://dickhatesyourblog.blogspot.com/2008/11/short-reviews.html">here</a>. I liked it better than <span style="font-style: italic;">New Engineering</span>, which I liked a whole lot.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Typhon vol. 1 by various; edited by Danny Hellman</span>: Haven't read it yet (hopefully I'll get a copy before the end of the year), but I did flip through it a couple of weeks ago. Looked very promising. Typhon appears to inhabit ground not covered by Mome or Kramers Ergot, so hopefully we'll see more volumes in the future.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">What It Is by Lynda Barry</span>: Look, guys, I'm sorry, but I still haven't got up the gumption to finish this. My brother and I discussed it, and I think it comes down to this for both of us: we don't like the collages. I know that's a big draw for a lot of people, but for me it's just something I've got to wade through before I get to the comics, the lima beans prelude to a much more appetizing dessert. I'm not sure if this is a general anti-collage sentiment or specific to Barry's work; I've never felt strongly about collage one way or another before now, so it's probably the latter. Again, probably a minority opinion, but that's really the way I feel. I'll finish this book by the time I make my list, collage antipathy be damned.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Where Demented Wented by Rory Hayes</span>: Thoughts <a href="http://dickhatesyourblog.blogspot.com/2008/08/i-know-im-in-really-small-minority-here.html">here</a>.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Various comic strip reprint projects</span>: Haven't read any this year; the only series I'm caught up on is Popeye, which I strongly suspect is the best of them all in terms of both production values (Jacob Covey is a beast-GET IT?) and the quality of the material being reproduced. Yes, I prefer Popeye to Peanuts, Krazy Kat, and Terry and the Pirates. <br /><br />Of the major new projects, I haven't done much besides flip through the Little Orphan Annie series from IDW, but it looks as good as their other reprint series (which is to say, very). I've got a copy of the Scorchy Smith reprint coming my way soon, and I'm very much looking forward to that particular visual feast. Am I missing anything? Why do we have to wait so long for the Pogo reprints, anyway? I WANT THEM NOW.Dick Hyacinth's Ghosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11199236541341734429noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7715773315155138002.post-83146024506040319182008-12-04T20:00:00.002-08:002008-12-04T22:12:48.311-08:00Because Tucker demanded it-You ever have one of those sinus headaches that's so bad that you almost understand those people who drill into their own head to relieve the pressure? That hurt, but it's not as bad as what my father is going through. The day after Thanksgiving he had emergency surgery to remove part of his colon, which had become perforated due to diverticulitis, or something (I'm on the other side of the country, and haven't quite figured it all out yet). Dad's never read this blog, and I think he's only got a vague sense of what it is that I do here (he seems to think there's money to be made in reviewing <s>comics</s> <span style="font-style: italic;">graphic novels</span> on the internet). But I thought I'd wish him well here anyway.<br /><br />-And speaking of family, that new logo was drawn by my brother, who was eager to find a project which would allow him to avoid real, paying work for a couple of hours. Thanks, bro.<br /><br />-The new <a href="http://blog.newsarama.com/">Blogorama</a> has been up for a few days, and the new crew certainly hasn't been shy about posting frequently. The core of the group, as I understand it, comes from the Shotgun Reviews site/Best Shots review feature from the main Newsarama site. There are a bunch of other people writing for the blog as well, including some people from the main Newsarama site and a few complete unknowns (at least to me). Among the main site contributors is Vaneta Rogers, whose interviews I've criticized before. I don't think she's actually contributed anything to the blog yet, though.<br /><br />The main contributors so far are J. Caleb Mozzocco, arguably the most well-established blogger of the group; Michael Lorah, the "indie guy;" Sarah Jaffe, the "Verti-girl;" Troy Brownfield, who is, if I understand all this correctly, the editor of the new Blogorama; and David Pepose, who I had never heard of before.<br /><br />Pepose has turned out to be the main workhorse for the blog, making multiple posts every day. A lot of his posts focus on the Hollywood stuff which I don't have any interest in (I <span style="font-style: italic;">still</span> haven't seen Dark Knight). Brownfield has also written a lot of movie/TV articles, many of which frankly don't seem to have a lot to do with comics. They probably would be of interest to a certain segment of the comics-reading public, admittedly, but I'm not particularly interested in Samuel L. Jackson as a concept at this point in my life. So that's a step in the wrong direction, given my preferences.<br /><br />Pepose is also covering a lot of superhero news, with maybe a slight focus on blog/message board discourse. Burlingame is covering similar ground, like <a href="http://blog.newsarama.com/2008/12/01/canceled-comics-cavalcade/">the recent slate of canceled DC/Marvel comics</a>. He's also prone to editorializing, which I don't mind all that much in theory.<br /><br />Sarah Jaffe's Vertigo-centric articles aren't going to be of much interest to me. I'll probably skip them unless she's writing about canceled titles (and this being Vertigo we're talking about, she probably will be inside of three months).<br /><br />Mozzocco is, for my money, providing the most useful content right now. His link roundups and Wednesday shopping lists are the closest thing to continuity with the old Blogorama. The former have been pretty good, covering a nice swath of comics-related news. The latter...well, I'm not much in the market for Wednesday shopping lists anymore, and even if I was, I'm not sure how much overlap there would be between what Caleb advocates and what I would buy. But I would imagine that it's a feature that other Blogorama readers will be happy to see return.<br /><br />Michael Lorah has a good <a href="http://blog.newsarama.com/2008/12/02/previewed-feb-2009/">Previews shopping list</a> feature--not unlike the one Greg Burgas does at Comics Should Be Good, but I think Lorah's tastes might be in greater alignment to my own. Maybe. I'm not sure how much Lorah is writing this for his audience, and how much it reflects his own tastes. The front-of-the-catalogue stuff actually comes last on his list, which is sort of refreshing. On the other hand, there's an awful lot of attention paid to James Robinson and Warren Ellis, and not much about the non-Fantagraphics art/literary publishers. Granted, D&Q, Picturebox, et. al., might simply not have much in the February Previews, or possibly Lorah isn't interested in what they are soliciting for that month. I haven't seen the February Previews yet; I might not have recommended anything from these publishers either. But all personal bias aside, a Previews rundown seems like a good feature, especially since not many other sites are doing something like that.<br /><br />As for the other contributors, I haven't quite got a handle on what they'll be bringing to the table. Dirk Manning has <a href="http://blog.newsarama.com/2008/12/03/one-more-reason-bruce-lee-is-cooler-than-chuck-norris/">some Bruce Lee related item</a>--again, not sure what it has to do with comics, though many readers will doubtlessly get a kick out of it. Barbara Hallock has a...well, it's not really a review...let's say <a href="http://blog.newsarama.com/2008/12/02/knights-of-the-dinner-table-slays-me/">an endorsement</a> of Knights of the Dinner Table. Lucas Siegel was the first person I read to post the news that Comic Foundry was shutting down, but he also <a href="http://blog.newsarama.com/2008/12/03/horror-of-recession/">links to an article</a> about the downturn in the horror industry (BTW, the "horror industry"? Not the "horror movie industry?" Does the horror industry include manufacturers of fake blood?), but doesn't really try to tie in to, you know, comics. Cory Henson <a href="http://blog.newsarama.com/2008/12/03/rolling-stone-on-watchmen-movie/">gnashes his teeth</a> about the upcoming Watchmen movie (and let me point out once again, Watchmen is absolutely not the greatest graphic novel ever), and also posts <a href="http://blog.newsarama.com/2008/12/03/possible-futures-for-your-favorite-comic-strips/">a satirical piece</a> about how different comic strips will end.<br /><br />I have no idea what any of these people will focus on, because their posts seem to be all over the place. In <a href="http://blog.newsarama.com/2008/12/01/well-ahoy-there/">his introductory post</a>, Siegel claims he will be writing about video games, but that doesn't seem to be what he's posting about yet (with the exception of <a href="http://blog.newsarama.com/2008/12/03/my-opinion-is-right-1-watchdog-groups/">a post</a> criticizing parental watchdog groups). Hallock <a href="http://blog.newsarama.com/2008/12/01/10133/">suggests</a> that her focus might be on "the various roles that women fill in comics." Again, I'm not sure if I'm seeing that yet.<br /><br />The result, at least for me, is an absolute cacophony of opinions, newsy tidbits, and review-like articles; it's hard to focus on each individual voice when they all seem to be covering the same thing, or they're covering a bunch of different things. I don't necessarily expect everyone to carve out a niche and never venture beyond it, but it might help in the short term if everyone established their areas of expertise/interest, and then branched out from there. Some of the new posters have done so: I more or less know what Lorah, Pepose, Brownfield, Jaffe, Burlingame, Mozzocco and the returning Jeff Trexler are covering. But the other contributors seem to be drowning each other out. It doesn't help that there are about a dozen people posting right now, with apparently more to come. I'm much more open to reading somebody grouse about whatever the hell people are grousing about at the moment if I know who they are and where they're coming from. Right now, most of the new Blogorama crew have the credibility of a bunch of anonymous message board posters.<br /><br />My other major complaint--and probably the more serious one, in the long run--is how much fucking Hollywood stuff gets covered. The new focus is kind of reminding me of the old Comics Scene magazine of the late 80s/early 90s. Anyone remember it? It was published by Starlog, and the ratio was usually half-comics, half-movies/TV. Lots of articles on Disney animation mixed in with interviews with comics creators. The new Blog@Newsarama is approaching that ratio, with lots of articles on genre movies, or movies related to nerd culture (like <a href="http://blog.newsarama.com/2008/12/01/the-wrestler/">this article</a> about The Wrestler, which sounds like an interesting movie, but only has a tenuous link to comic books).<br /><br />I don't want to read too much into this--the contributors mostly seem to be writing about whatever they want to write about--but one wonders about the ongoing changes to Newsarama since the Imaginova buyout. The focus seems to be widening to include various aspect of nerd culture in general, while retaining a strong comics focus. There's no direct acknowledgment of a change in focus in Troy Brownfield's <a href="http://blog.newsarama.com/2008/12/01/opening-statementnew-day-rising/">mission statement</a>, but my rough estimate is that about 1/3 of the articles published since the relaunch have been about TV shows or movies; take away the various welcomes and introductions, and it's more like 2/5 of the posts.*<br /><br />That's certainly all good and well; blogs and their parent website change, and their readers will just have to deal with it. But really, there's a reason I don't read i09, despite the presence of Graeme McMillan; I don't want to slog through a million billion posts about vampires and Fraggle Rock and whatever the fuck they cover over there to get to one post semi-related to my current comics interests. The new Blogorama is much, much, much, much more focused on comics than i09, so I'm not going to drop the RSS feed or anything.<br /><br />But it's pretty clear that a lot of Newsarama readers haven't been happy since the Imaginova buyout, and there seems to have been some worry that the new Blogorama would become a general nerd culture blog (for multiple expressions of these fears, see the comments thread to JK Parkin's <a href="http://blog.newsarama.com/2008/11/26/some-news-on-the-future-of-blognewsarama/">farewell post</a>). Some similar comments are being made on the new posts, but Matt Brady (Newsarama version) <a href="http://blog.newsarama.com/2008/12/03/heroes-gets-spin-offs/#comment-453741">is out there</a> to defend his new crew. So far it's still a comics blog, and there's some worthwhile content. The blog will inevitably look different six months from now; hopefully it will cohere into a useful source for comics news along the same lines as the old Blogorama. But I wouldn't be all that surprised if some readers' fears of a more generalist Newsarama come to pass, either. Those movie and TV posts seem to be generating a respectable number of comments; maybe that's what the people really want.<br /><br />*And geez, how many of the posts are about Heroes? I thought nobody watched that show anymore or something.Dick Hyacinth's Ghosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11199236541341734429noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7715773315155138002.post-61095982968905968122008-11-26T01:11:00.003-08:002008-11-26T01:31:57.673-08:00Just before going to bed......I see <a href="http://blog.newsarama.com/2008/11/26/some-news-on-the-future-of-blognewsarama/">this</a>. Obviously I don't know who will be running the new Blog@Newsarama, but I have a hard time imagining that the new staff will provide the same breadth of coverage as I've come to expect from the departing Blogarama gang. It should be easy enough to replace some of the content there, particularly the fanboy- and Hollywood-oriented stuff*, but will the new Blog@Newsarama have the equivalent of a Chris Mautner? Hopefully yes, but I'm pretty skeptical. JK Parkin does promise some kind of Blogarama reunion early next year (Great Curve 2.0?), so at least we can look forward to that.<br /><br />Anyway, in news related to this blog, work continues on my deliberations for the best comics of 2008. I've dug out all the books I could possibly consider among the best for this year, and I'll post a list of all the titles sometime in the next few days (possibly after Thanksgiving--another vegetarian starch-fest scheduled for this year!). I'm going to try to re-read as many of them as possible before making my list; I might blog my progress. Yeah, yeah, I know I'm spending about 200x the typical effort put into these things, but I find it a useful framework for making myself think harder about comics. Someone will probably read that last sentence and think, "isn't that antithetical to the whole comics-reading experience, these things are supposed to be fun, not deep, etc." But I say, have always said, and will always say: fuck those people.<br /><br />*Not sure if it needs to be said, but I'm DEFINITELY NOT talking about Tom Bondurant here. I have to admit, though, that I've been skipping past his <span style="font-style: italic;">Trinity </span>annotations because...uh, do I really have to finish that sentence? I'm sure they're good annotations and all but...<span style="font-style: italic;">Trinity</span>, you know?Dick Hyacinth's Ghosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11199236541341734429noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7715773315155138002.post-48656468634791972252008-11-17T14:55:00.002-08:002008-11-17T17:01:15.839-08:00Short reviews<span style="font-weight: bold;">Gyo v. 1-2 (complete) by Junji Ito</span><br /><br />I wanted to read this series when it was out of print, so I'm glad to see this new edition. The first volume is kind of funny, as I had heard would be the case. It's hard not to laugh at a shark scurrying through a house on little mechanical crab legs. But overall, it's a somewhat funny idea stretched to the point of tedium: there's only so many times you rely on an army of walking fish as sufficient spectacle to avoid having anything else happen. Especially since the protagonist's shrieky girlfriend was the only thing punctuating the monotonous fish-walking.<br /><br />The second volume, however, is a lot more interesting, as the disease/parasite/evil spirit moves from fish to human, with absolutely disgusting results. The climax comes with a simultaneously ridiculous and horrifying circus performance. Shortly after this we get probably the most revolting image of the entire series, delivered in such an offhand way that it magnifies what would already be one of the most awful thing I've ever seen in a comic book. (And I mean "awful" in a non-pejorative way.)<br /><br />There's some suggestion that unaffected humans are going to push back against the disease/whatever, and a few suggestions that there's a mystery afoot regarding immunity to the disease. But Ito chooses to end the story shortly after broaching these topics. It's an odd choice, but it's probably better to see him blow all his wild ideas in two volumes rather than try to stretch them out over 1000+ pages. It's kind of like a short Lovecraft story now, except that we're fortunate that Ito's art tells the story rather than Lovecraft's words. If Lovecraft had written <span style="font-style: italic;">Gyo</span>, it would probably read something like this:<br /><br />"The fish walked decayingly across the impractical and ugly bamboo floor. The human male Nipponese, being somewhat more sturdy of mind than his other mongolian cousins, found his mind a-disturbed by the loud spectacle. He put down his opium pipe and spake, 'Ah-so, meester fish. You-a want to wark in my hut? I put-a you in my berry! Wife number one? Bling me empty rice bag so I can catch this fish!' The piscene ambulator, unimpressed by this asiatic claptrap, matriculated along eldritchly."<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Travel by Yuichi Yokoyama</span><br /><br />I'll probably save my more detailed thoughts on this for my best of 2008 list (yes, work has commenced and <span style="font-style: italic;">Travel </span>will be on it). For now, I'd like to point out how intimate this book is, at least when compared to last year's <span style="font-style: italic;">New Engineering</span>. The latter was a surprisingly large book, its big pages filled with scenes of artificial landscape construction and battles between oddly dressed people, using things like books and the contents of a refrigerator as weapons. <span style="font-style: italic;">Travel </span>is in a much smaller format, and its subject matter is totally relatable: a train trip. <a href="http://joglikescomics.blogspot.com/2008/11/further-selections-from-action-comics.html">Jog's review</a> suggests (somewhat facetiously?) that Yokoyama is a crypto-humanist. I actually found a surprising degree of humanity and hope in even <span style="font-style: italic;">New Engineering</span>, and I see it even more clearly in <span style="font-style: italic;">Travel</span>.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Bat-Manga by...uh, let's not get into that, actually</span><br /><br />Finally got a chance to read this, and I have to say: I have no idea who's going to be buying this book for the non-manga stuff. I mean, I have a pretty good idea who Chip Kidd and Pantheon <span style="font-style: italic;">think</span> will be buying this book: people whose domiciles are strewn with Batman: TAS maquettes, lithographs of Harley Quinn drawn by Alex Ross, the Absolute edition of <span style="font-style: italic;">Hush</span>, etc. But here's the thing: obviously I haven't met everyone who fits this target demographic, but those who I do know have little interest in or patience for the 1960s TV Batman. And all the pictures of various Japanese Bat-toys all feature hilariously weird art based on Adam West's version of Batman.<br /><br />Of course, there are undoubtedly completists who have sacrificed heroic portions of their lives and income collecting everything with a bat logo on it. Those people will love the pictures of amusing toy packaging. The problem here, however, is that those people (a) don't comprise a significant portion of the English-speaking populace, or even the potential audience for this book, and (b) probably would have preferred to have more of the toy stuff, possibly with an index/checklist. This is not to say they wouldn't enjoy the manga; it's more to say that they might have preferred two different books, one devoted to Japanese bat-ephemera, and another devoted to the manga by Jiro Kuwata.<br /><br />If they're like me, they might also prefer better treatment for the Kuwata material. Here it's been presented as another type of ephemera, down to the high-resolution photographs of the pages which make the manga look like recently-exhumed papyrus scrolls. I usually like this approach, particularly as seen in the Chip Kidd-designed Jack Cole/Plastic Man book from a few years ago. Here, though, it's strangely fetishistic, as though the manga as an artifact of Japanese bat-mania is more important than the content of the work. But if that really were the case, why did Kidd include so much of it?<br /><br />The obvious answer is that it's very good. It certainly beats the hell out of 99% of the Batman stories I've ever read, possibly because they don't read like typical American Batman stories. Instead, they almost bear a greater resemblance to EC comics, particularly those from the sci-fi and crime lines. Kuwata's Batman is infinitely less compelling than his villains; he mostly lends stability and a narrative framework to all these stories. I can't remember much about Batman from these comics, but Lord Death Man, a mutated governor, and a much creepier version of Clayface linger in my mind. It's an approach which reminds me a little of <span style="font-style: italic;">Fist of the North Star</span>. Each episode of that series was ostensibly about Kenshiro's search for his fiancee or brothers or something, but the focus of any given episode was actually on the villain of the week, whose arms, legs, and/or head will inevitably explode in the big fight at the end of the episode. In between Kenshiro asking about his lost family members and the limb detonation sequence, we get to focus on each villain's baroque approach to evil--vampirism, military-themed torture, whatever. They were always more interesting than Kenshiro, and they all ended up dead or crippled by the end. In other words, they never came back.<br /><br />That doesn't appear to be entirely the case here--Clayface makes two appearances--but, generally speaking, these seem to be one-off villains. It's such a fresh and interesting approach that it makes me wonder if superhero comics in North America would have benefited from a more diversely villain-centric approach. In any event, the manga sections of Bat-Manga are well worth your time, and maybe, hopefully, we'll see an actual archival reproduction of these comics one of these days.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Real v. 1 and Slam Dunk v. 1, both by Takehiko Inoue</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Slam Dunk</span> is kind of like the distillation of everything I loved about anime (didn't read manga at the time) when I was a teenager: angry-yet-romantic high school student struggles in an alien field to impress classmate. Hilarity ensues. This, of course, doesn't give Inoue nearly enough credit. Main character Hanamichi is the best possible shonen hero, a character whose monumental ambition is directly proportionate to his equally monumental delusion; whose interest in the BIG SELF IMPROVEMENT GOAL is predicated on entirely self-serving (and yet kind of mundane) desire; whose solution for every possible problem is violence. And best of all, you don't actually have to like basketball to enjoy <span style="font-style: italic;">Slam Dunk</span>! It's not that I have anything against basketball per se; I'd much rather watch it than a lot of sports (soccer, hockey, and golf spring immediately to mind) or nerdy blogger favorites like Dr. Who or Battlestar Galactica or whatever. But I've never been as interested in basketball as (American) football, baseball, or combat sports. Or even tennis, actually.<br /><br />Which is why it's sort of strange that I actually preferred <span style="font-style: italic;">Real</span>, Inoue's grown-up (big boy format and everything!) series about wheelchair basketball. The protagonists of <span style="font-style: italic;">Real </span>are obsessed with basketball, unwilling or unable to give it up despite their circumstances. This is a book about absolute passion; you have to buy into Nomiya Tomomi and Togawa Kiyoharu's absolute obsession with the sport to appreciate <span style="font-style: italic;">Real</span>. There are other obsessions as well; for instance, Nomiya is plagued by guilt for his role in a traffic accident which left a young woman paralyzed. Nomiya is actually kind of like an inverted Hanamachi Sakuragi from Slam Dunk: while Hanamachi only plays basketball to attract the attention of Haruko, Nomiya's obsession with basketball turns off even his teammates. Even after being expelled from school (thus depriving him of the competition he craves), Nomiya is unable to let go of his passion for basketball. It's this passion that leads him to take an interest in Togawa Kiyohara, an outstanding wheelchair basketball player.<br /><br />This could all be very schmaltzy in the wrong hands, but Inoue has taken several steps to avoid this sort of thing. First, Nomiya is in no position to be a mentor to Togawa; he's about the same age and is too impulsive (and in contrast to Hanamachi, Nomiya loses his fights). As for Togawa and his cohorts, they're not the Mighty Ducks in wheelchairs; if anything, they're mentally tougher than Nomiya. But this isn't a story of Nomiya's self-discovery by way of learning from the disabled, either. Togawa is no magical paraplegic; he has his own problems and negative traits as well. So that seems to be setting us up for some kind of parallel story of growth, each protagonist learning from the other. But at the end of the first volume, Inoue introduces a wild card in the form of Takahashi Hisanobu, a former teammate of Nomiya's who is hit by a truck, thus paralyzing him from the waist down.<br /><br />I haven't read the second volume of <span style="font-style: italic;">Real </span>yet, but it's pretty clear that Takahashi will be somehow involved in wheelchair basketball, either as a teammate of or a rival to Togawa. I'm not sure about Takahashi yet. His character was the most stock of all these--there wasn't much to him besides "asshole jock," making me worry that his journey towards acceptance of his condition/determination to transcend it would be similarly generic. But his final scene in the first volume adds a degree of vulnerability and sadness that strips away the sentimentalism one might normally associate with this sort of character arc. His presence might change the dynamic of the Nomiya-Togawa relationship, and that could be better for <span style="font-style: italic;">Real </span>in the long run.<br /><br />So for right now, I do think <span style="font-style: italic;">Slam Dunk</span> is more entertaining, but <span style="font-style: italic;">Real</span> has more potential. There are a number of scenes where Inoue really seems to be onto something in his mixture of personal tragedy and sports obsession. In particular, a sequence involving a dying teammate of Togawa's is particularly affecting. The young man expresses the comfort he gets by merely holding a basketball, feeling the pebbled texture on his fingers. He thinks to himself that even this pleasure will soon elude him, as he will lose the strength to hold the ball over his head. The scene ends with him regretting his delay in buying a basketball, but resolving to cherish the remaining time he has to feel it in his hands.<br /><br />I found this particularly moving, and it's the sort of thing I hope to see more of in future volumes. Even those with no interest in basketball or sports in general should be able to appreciate the tension between fleeting moments of pleasure and the tragic lurch of the future.Dick Hyacinth's Ghosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11199236541341734429noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7715773315155138002.post-8029309598027105822008-11-13T12:27:00.005-08:002008-11-13T14:32:11.422-08:00Yes, I am planning a trip to Portland next week-Does anyone know if Dark Horse's brick and mortar store (Things From Another World) offers discounts on their own material? I need to catch up on some Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service.<br /><br />-On a similar note, any restaurants in Portland anyone would recommend? Like something near the big Powell's location? A good Indian restaurant would be especially nice.<br /><br />-I don't want to read too much into it, but since Marc-Oliver Frisch <a href="http://comiksdebris.blogspot.com/2008/11/ball-dropped.html">pointed it out</a>, I did think it was kind of strange to see Dan DiDio mention his 2009 budget in <a href="http://www.newsarama.com/comics/110812-Didio2.html">this Newsarama interview</a>. (Which is apparently a new biweekly feature at Newsarama? Amazing what you miss when you don't read the Newsarama main site unless somebody specifically links to one of their articles, as was the case in this instance.) DiDio's talking about cover prices here--sounds like $3.99 is bound to be the going rate by the middle of next year--but it's not the sort of language I'm used to seeing in these hype and gripe sessions. Granted, I haven't read one of these things in a while.<br /><br />I'm not so sure I'd go as far as Marc-Oliver and link budgetary concerns to the frankly baffling decision to have Tony Daniel write what appears to be a pivotal Batman story arc. But there's definitely an unsettling mix of regret and shilling in this interview. And it doesn't do anything to dispel the notion that DC is totally reliant on Geoff Johns and Grant Morrison right now. I would still think that it's in DC's best interest to try to poach one of Marvel's top tier writers--Brubaker, Bendis (probably not very likely), Loeb, or Millar being the top bang-for-your-buck types. I guess Warren Ellis could make a big splash as well, but I'm under the impression that his willingness to write for Marvel's intellectual properties isn't a courtesy he'd extend to DC. Something about a personal fondness for Quesada, maybe? Anyway, of this group one would think Loeb or Millar would be the best bet, except (a) I don't know the status of their contracts, and (b) I'm not so sure Mark Millar's future is in work-for-hire. At one time I would have guessed he would put aside other interestes to write Superman, but I really do think that <span style="font-style: italic;">he </span>thinks he has a shot at writing a Superman screenplay instead.<br /><br />EDIT: Or Jesus, what about Straczynski? Marc-Oliver keeps pointing out how weird it is to assign freaking Brave and the Bold to your highest profile new freelancer in years. Maybe he's too busy to write anything else?<br /><br />-Haven't done predictions for a UFC card in a while. Not so much out of indifference as forgetfulness. But I'm remembering right now, so let's give it a shot:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Randy Couture vs. Brock Lesnar</span><br />A good matchup from a variety of angles: youth vs. experience, athleticism vs. technique, past vs. future, etc. And by "past vs. future," I mostly mean that Couture helped put the "mixed" in "mixed martial arts" by purusing a strategy that blended his strengths into a coherent game plan: use greco-roman base to pin opponent against cage, then use dirty boxing to win on points.*<br /><br />Couture has deviated from this plan when it made sense, most recently in his monumental upset of Tim Sylvia last year. In that fight, Couture used his superior ground skills to keep Sylvia on his back, grinding his way to a comfortable win on the judge's score cards. That's not going to work on Saturday, because there's no way that Couture can keep the much larger and stronger Lesnar on his back. In fact, it's going to be Lesnar who will seek to put the fight on the ground, where he can work his way to a decision or a stoppage via ground-and-pound. Couture surely has the better BJJ, but it's probably not enough to negate Lesnar's advantages on the ground.<br /><br />So: if the fight is primarily contested on the ground, it's Lesnar's win. If they're mostly pushed up against the cage all night, that's probably Couture's win. BUT, what if the fight is mostly standing at a distance? What then? Lesnar surely has more firepower, but Couture surely has the better technique. I'm going to pick Lesnar because I think the weight/strength advantage is too great for Couture to overcome, but I would never bet money against Couture. Actually, I never bet money at all because I'm a chicken.<br /><br />*BTW, I was thinking about this the other night: Lesnar went into professional wrestling out of college because there was no money in MMA at the time. One would be inclined to say he did himself a disservice, since he thus lost his prime years to botched shooting star presses and all the other wackiness that comes with the WWF/E. OTOH, if he had started in MMA in 2000, he surely would have relied on his excellent wrestling to the exclusion of improving his skills in BJJ, boxing, muay thai, etc. That would have worked for a couple of years, but he probably would have been exposed against a Fedor Emilianenko, Josh Barnett, or Antonio Nogueira (he still may yet be exposed against Nogueira!) in fairly short order. So maybe it's better that he got into MMA in 2006, when it was imperative that he train all the other crucial disciplines as well.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Kenny Florian vs. Joe Stevenson</span><br />The only other fight of note on the card. I don't think Florian's fought a mauler like Stevenson since he took on Sean Sherk a few years ago. Florian lost that fight, but he's really improved his game since then. I think Stevenson is an excellent fighter, but he's not as good as Sherk. I like Florian here. Should be a good fight.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Amir Sadollah vs. Nick Catone</span><br />CANCELED! So it's going to be a while longer before we get to see the TUF 8 champion (and surely one of the few dudes from that show you'd want to spend more than 30 seconds talking to) for a while.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Josh Hendricks</span><br />Don't know much about Hendricks (except that he's not Johny Hendricks, a much more interesting 170 lb. prospect with impeccable wrestling credentials). But it's hard to pick a guy who's lost to Travis Wiuff AND Sam Hoger, even if those fights were several years ago. Gotta go with Gonzaga, but it would be nice to find out that Hendricks has massively improved in recent years and is actually a legit HW contender.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Nate Quarry vs. Demian Maia</span><br />I guess I spoke too soon--I'm sort of interested in this fight. Not a big Quarry fan--he seems like a good guy, but I think the ceiling of his potential is Ultimate Fight Night-level gatekeeper. But since everyone in the crowd has also decided he's a good guy, we still see him on PPVs. I don't see how he beats Maia, unless his takedown defense is better than I imagined. Maia hasn't shown much standing, so Quarry could (and should) beat him there. But I'm assuming Maia can manage to get this to the ground. If not, he's not the potential MW contender UFC is dying for.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Dustin Hazelett vs. Tamdan McCrory</span><br />Oh wait, this is a pretty good fight too. And it's going to be on TV, since the Sadollah fight was canceled. Thanks, Amir! Hazelett is one of the fastest-rising talents in the welterweight division, and a personal favorite. McCrory is a good prospect, but probably not ready to beat the BJJ wiz Hazelett yet.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Jorge Gurgel vs. Aaron Riley</span><br />Aaron Riley still fights? Jose Gurgel still fights? Guys, this isn't an Ohio show--why is Gurgel on here? Don't care, no pick.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Jeremy Stephens vs. Rafael dos Anjos</span><br />Dos Anjos is on a nice win streak. Stephens is a guy who can beat someone like Cole Miller, but can't beat someone like Spencer Fisher. In these cases I try to make an optimistic pick, going for the fighter with the biggest upside. I think that's dos Anjos in this case.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Alvin Robinson vs. Mark Bocek</span><br />I like Alvin Robinson, and Bocek still hasn't done much in UFC.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Matt Brown vs. Ryan Thomas</span><br />Don't care, no pickDick Hyacinth's Ghosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11199236541341734429noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7715773315155138002.post-56805175621991525402008-11-07T11:20:00.003-08:002008-11-26T12:33:01.951-08:00I guess it's not too early if you've got connectionsSo as I'm going back through the stuff I've missed in the last couple of weeks, I see that <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?ie=UTF8&plgroup=1&ref_=amb_link_7803252_7&docId=1000298631">Amazon</a> and <a href="http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6610357.html">Publishers Weekly</a> have both published their best-of lists for 2008. Lots of stuff on both lists I haven't read yet, but on first glance the PW list looks more attuned to my tastes. I'm now thinking the best perk about writing for a respected publication/website is the opportunity to read things like KE7 before unconnected people like me. Or did it show up at APE? Haven't worked my way through to the APE reports yet. (And yeah, I broke my plans to attend. Sorry, but you know how things are right now.)<br /><br />Anyway, let me remind everyone once again to send me links to your best of 2008 list(s) so I can start adding and calculating the 2008 meta list. Umbrella Academy is #1 right now, I guess--if this is not to your liking, then make sure to make a list!Dick Hyacinth's Ghosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11199236541341734429noreply@blogger.com2