Category: Comics

By various (Fantagraphics Books)
ISBN: 978-1-60699-147-3

Although it feels like it has always been part of our lives The Comics Journal only began business in 1976, interviewing creators, reporting on trends and events and generally assuming the critical role of critique-ing: a self-aware gadfly within and without our industry: celebrating the history and innovation of all aspects of cartooning and graphic narrative, keeping the balance between sales and artistic integrity firmly tipped on the side of the latter. It has for so, so long been the only place Americans hear of what the rest of the world of comics is doing.

Don’t panic! This isn’t a eulogy, but notice that the venerable organ has reached issue 300 and is celebrating with a fascinating collection of creator-chats as industry tyros and giants come together to interview, share, bitch and generally shoot the breeze about graphic narrative: a tactic that makes this the most compelling read of the year for anyone truly interested in what we all do and why.

After the always informative and breathtaking news sections Blood & Thunder and Journal Datebook – which include the results of 2009’s Eisner Awards – and a cartoon interview with supreme Editor Gary Groth (conducted and rendered by Noah van Scriver) the back and forth banter begins with the legendary Art Spiegelman and young cartoonist Kevin Huizenga – moderated by Groth and liberally illustrated – as are all the co-interviews – with work from both parties in case you’re unfamiliar with their oeuvre.

In short order Jean-Christophe Menu (iconoclastic European publisher and creator) interacts with Sammy (Kramer’s Ergot) Harkham, British invaders Dave Gibbons and Frank Quitely share opinions (and probably tea and biscuits), Dave (Daredevil, Batman: Year One, Rubber Blanket, Asterios Polyp) Mazzucchelli meets Dash (Bottomless Belly Button) Shaw, Alison Bechdel swaps views with Danica Novgorodoff, Howard Chaykin with Ho Che Anderson, Jaime Hernandez with Zak Sally and Ted Rall with Matt Bors.

Great care has been taken to match overlapping areas of shared experience, such as scripters Denny O’Neil with Matt Fraction, political cartoonists Jim Borgman and Keith Knight and historical fictioneers Stan Sakai with Chris (Crogan’s Vengeance) Schweizer with the result that the compelling overview provided of the industry and the art-form in both historical and practical terms is utterly mesmerising.

Topping out the issue are reviews of Acme Novelty Library #19, and the aforementioned Asterios Polyp: a critical overview of the history of comics journalism /criticism from Rich Kreiner entitled ‘The Firing Line Forms Here’ more of the same from R. Fiore in Funnybook Roulette: The Experience of Comics, an examination of Moebius – ‘The Constant Garage’ – from Continental Drift columnist Matthias Wivel, and the celebrations conclude with another superb R.C. Harvey Comicopia feature, an examination of manga’s recent decline (Bring the Noise by Bill Randall) and an examination of Alan Moore’s retreat from comics and the disappointments of movie adaptations from Tom Crippen (Post-Human Reviews: Age of Geeks).

This is a superb magazine for comics lovers: it won’t ever tell you where and when to buy but it will make you wonder why you do or don’t…
© 2009 Fantagraphics Books, Inc. All images/photos/text © their respective copyright holders.

By various (Fantagraphics Books)
ISBN: 978-1-60699-147-3

As I reviewed the last Comics Journal and nobody complained I think I’ll do it again.

The Journal is the foremost English-language publication dedicated to the Art of graphic narrative, covering comics and related events domestic and global, interviewing creators, disseminating the facts and even advertising the best and most challenging product. They’ve done it competently, passionately and proudly for decades. You may not always agree with the opinions expressed – editorial or from the many insiders who have been featured – but you’d be an idiot to ignore or dismiss them if you care at all about the industry or the medium.

This latest offering, another substantial square-bound format, black and white with lots of colour where necessary (and not just as a glossy, shiny lure for the easily distracted) features a short cartooned interview (this time with John “King-Cat” Porcellino) rendered in cartoon form by Noah Van Sciver, lots of industry information on events and publications and some genuinely heartbreaking obituaries including unsung giants Frank Springer, Ric Estrada and our own Adrian Kermode.

The feature article relates the incredible story of one of those all-too-frequent, tragically missed moments that could have re-shaped our industry. Canadian Michel Choquette is a brilliant man and has always been fascinated by the creative arts – all of them. Among his many achievements: he was a key part in the birth of the incredibly influential National Lampoon. He had this idea in 1971 to produce the greatest comic in the world.

Just how close he got to putting Harvey Kurtzman, Jack Kirby, Federico Fellini, Art Spiegelman, Wally Wood, Abbie Hoffman, Neal Adams, the Buscemas, Gene Colan, William Burroughs, Ralph Steadman, Gahan Wilson, Moebius, Barry Windsor-Smith, Will Eisner, Archie Goodwin, Goscinny and Uderzo, Gray Morrow, CC Beck, Frank Zappa, Salvador Dali and many more between four-colour covers and how it all fell apart makes for incredible reading…

But wait: there’s more! Following a fabulous Josh (Skyscrapers of the Midwest) Cotter interview, there’s hordes of scintillating reviews for such disparate gems as Kramers Ergot #7, American Flagg!: the Definitive Collection, Diana Prince: Wonder Woman Volumes 1-4, Jockie Ormes: The First African-American Woman Cartoonist and many more. There’s an extended look at Jiro Taniguchi and Natsuo Sekikawa’s astounding manga series ‘The Times of Botchan’ and a superb retrospective on animator Myron Waldman and his truly unique creation Eve, (running to 41 glorious picture-packed pages) and challenging articles on Gender and Comics in Chicago and comics dealing with Autism (Circling Autism by Kevin Greenlee) plus regular columnist RC Harvey contributes another unmissable piece with his appraisal of cartoonist Kirk Anderson in The Banana Republic in the Mirror.

French Comics festival Angoulême stars in the Continental Drift section ‘Hicksville 2009′, whilst Donald Phelps analyses the Prophetic Romances of MP Shiel in Cosmic Vagrant and Kenneth Smith continues his New Logic of the Psyche with part 3: The Secret Language of the Ineffable Self.

Content this intriguing and challenging can only whet the appetite for the great big celebratory issue #300 looming on the horizon. I can’t wait…
www.tcj.com
© 2009 Fantagraphics Books, Inc. All images/photos/text © their respective copyright holders.

By various (Fantagraphics Books)
ISBN: 978-1-60699-146-6

This is a bit of a departure for me as I’m usually banging on about all aspects of sequential and graphic narrative in assorted book forms, and tend to shy away from actual periodicals, but this just arrived and on the principle that if it looks like a book (quacks like a book, floats like a book…?)

The Comics Journal is without doubt the foremost English-language publication dedicated to the capital A art of comics; highlighting events domestic and global, interviewing creators, disseminating facts and even advertising product. They’ve done it competently, passionately and proudly for decades. You may not always agree with the opinions expressed – editorial or from the many insiders who have been featured – but you’d be an idiot to ignore or dismiss them if you care at all about the industry or the medium.

This latest offering, in a comfortingly substantial square-bound format, black and white with lots of colour (where necessary and not just as a glossy, shiny lure for the easily distracted) features a short chat with Peter Bagge delivered in cartoon form by Noah Van Sciver, and an extensive interview (wrangled by Diego Assis) with Fábio Moon and Gabriel Bá; Brazilian artists most notable here thus far for the superbly innovative The Umbrella Academy.

Web-comics maestro Nicholas Gurewitch talks at length to Shaenon Garrity about his life and astonishingly impressive body of work whilst Michel Fiffe lets the hugely underrated Trevor Von Eeden tell his story his way as he describes where he’s been and what he’s now up to (and very tempting it looks, too), whilst Bill Randall previews Jiro Taniguchi’s upcoming manga A Distant Neighborhood (including a beautiful 12 page translated extract.

Also included are reviews of Jules Feiffer’s Explainers (and for our take just click here: Explainers), The Umbrella Academy: Apocalypse Suite, Gilbert Hernandez’s Speak of the Devil, Jim Woodring’s The Portable Frank, The United States Constitution: A Graphic Adaptation by Jonathan Hennessey & Aaron McConnell and Ron Regé Jr.’s Against Pain as well as mini-reviews of Seth Tobocman’s Disaster and Resistance: Comics and Landscapes for the 21^st Century and Alex Bones/Chris Bones’ Waldo’s Hawaiian Holiday.

The highlight (at least for this old coot) is Jared Gardner’s retrospective Percy Crosby and Skippy, a copiously illustrated examination of the seminal newspaper cartoonist and illustrator which includes 31 pages of rollicking, rambunctious hi-jinks from the Great Depression era strip itself, although R.C. Harvey’s fascinating exploration of the quandary facing America’s political cartoonists, The Inevitable Racism: Obama and Caricature and Freedom of Speech comes close by confronting an issue that many journalists and commentators seemingly won’t: does the President’s ethnicity buy him an easy time in the press and especially from the politico/satirical media?

With features on foreign publications, cultural overviews, coming comics and the ever-entrancing news section Journal Datebook this is a cracking edition that will inform and enflame every serious devotee.

Heck, even the adverts are entertaining and compellingly readable…
www.tcj.com
© 2009 Fantagraphics Books, Inc. All images/photos/text © their respective copyright holders.

By John Kerschbaum (Fantagraphics Books)
ISBN: 978-1-56097-979-1

Finally generally available in England (as well as from your usual online sources) is this latest compilation from Xeric-Award winning cartoonist (for The Wiggly Reader) John Kerschbaum who regularly dispatches the strangest and most engrossing cartoon treats from his lair in 21^st century Brooklyn.

Petey & Pussy is surreal, rude, crass, crude with studied obnoxiousness, and bitterly, bitingly funny in a perfect post-modern manner. Petey is the foulest of all dogs and he’s got a balding human head on his shoulders. His best pal is a sleek, short-sighted house-cat, afflicted with the same sort of bonce. Both drink, smoke and talk far, far too much. To themselves, each other, all the animals and even humans – especially Joe the Barman who keeps them supplied with booze and smokes…

Blending gross-out comedy, wry observation and sheer manic invention Kerschbaum takes the imagined lives of ordinary urban house-pets – such as Bernie the suicidal yet unkillable caged bird or Hercules, the Boa Constrictor of Death – and mixes them with the tribulations of modern society – senile dementia, thieving relatives, lost eye-glasses, bars where you can’t smoke and the inescapable fact that everybody is a total jerk – to reveal an utterly captivating world of bawdy, grown-up laughs that only the most po-faced conservative could resist.

Adult fun for slacker smart-asses of all ages guaranteed to make your beer spurt out of your nose so read carefully…

For more, check out his website.
© 2008 John Kerschbaum. All Rights Reserved.

 

By James Turner (Soaring Penguin)
ISBN: 0-9552871-0-3

The internet is responsible for many things good and not, and there can be no doubt which category this first compilation of the slick, surreal and strangely amusing (and even award-winning!) webcomic featuring the sleek, not-to-say somewhat malnourished, Beaver and his oddly saurian companion Steve.

Whether travelling in time, looking for love, defeating Ninjas, robots and toasters or merely hiding from the malicious Shoe Goblin, this Thelma and Louise of the Cartoon Age are never short of a solution to any everyday crisis.

Wait! You say there is some doubt?

A Good Thing. This is a good thing! You should buy this book, and when you’ve enjoyed it correctly, you’ll be an expert in everything Good on the Internet. And remember to be good to your shoes.

© 2004-2006 James Turner. All Rights Reserved.