Archive for December, 2008

ReadComics Podcast #025 – Book Club #6 – Scott Pilgrim

December 31st, 2008 by Martin

Tonight Jason, Mike, Susie, Florence and Marty talk about Scott Pilgrim, our comic book Book Club selection of the month(s). We briefly touch on MANY other topics, from libraries to a pregnant Mystique.

Apologies in advance about the volume. I realized about 2/3rds of the way through that the input was turned way down, so you may have to turn your volume up to hear us. Sorry about that!

Listen to ReadComics.org Podcast Episode #025 (25.5 MB, 55 minutes)

Splash Page – Comic Book Movie News

December 30th, 2008 by Martin

My co-worker Sheldon sent me a link to Splash Page, a blog about comic book movies. They’ve got a lot of great stuff on there, and (presumably because they’re owned/operated by MTV) updates are quite frequent, with some of them even featuring real reporting. (As in, original stories, or real interviews, that sort of thing.) Here’s what it says in their sidebar:

You’ve turned the page to the place where panels and popcorn meet. From coverage of comic-inspired flicks to that buzzed-about graphic novel that’s being primed for the big-screen, you’ll find it all here at MTV’s Splash Page. Check throughout the day for breaking news, exclusive chats with Hollywood stars and comic legends, and first looks at the blockbusters of tomorrow.

Thomas Scioli (of Godland fame) did their header and logo and background graphic (pictured above). As you may have noticed, I’ve added the link to our sidebar.

Is Neil Gaiman a Firefly Fan?

December 30th, 2008 by Susie

I was reading the Graveyard Book last night (and boy is it good), and I also noticed that the names of a pair of police men were Simon and Tam.  Which just happens to be the name of Firefly’s handsome and proper/desperate fugitive doctor.  So that got me wondering if it is an intentional reference.  And if it is, that is cool! Which got me to thinking if he is a fan of Firefly, perhaps he is a fan of Joss.  Since I can’t imagine anything making me happier than Neil Gaiman working on a Joss Whedon project.  So on the theory that if you shout something loudly enough into the Internet it will actually happen, and so this post can actually be about comics. I am hereby announcing NEIL GAIMAN WILL BE WRITING AN ARC OF BUFFY SEASON EIGHT!  Right, I hope that was loud enough.  Let the completely untrue rumors soar!  You can’t take the lie from me.

Comics’ little joys

December 28th, 2008 by jason

It’s little things like this that just make me grin when I read comics:

In The Punisher presents: Barracuda #2 (written by Garth Ennis, drawn by Goran Parlov), there’s a throwaway line when Barracuda sees a former fellow inmate on a first class flight to a banana republic.  Digby, the former inmate who is shaking in his boots at seeing Barracuda confesses that he now works for Hart Consolidated, who sent him on the trip to look into someone’s financials.  Barracuda says that Hart’s one of the biggest outfits in the country, why would they hire a fraud like Digby?

Anyone know what Hart Consolidated is a reference to?  And the name Digby?

I Luv Halloween

December 24th, 2008 by jason

Keith Giffen is a truly disturbed individual.  This is not news.  He’s the guy who created Lobo, Ambush Bug, and reinvented the Justice League, putting Blue Beetle and Booster Gold together.  Bwah Ha Ha and all that.  In more recent years, he headed up the Annihilation series for Marvel.

What shows Giffen to completely off his rocker is a series for TokyoPop called I Luv Halloween, with art by Benjamin Roman.  All three volumes of this series have been put together in a nice hardcover called the Ultimate Twisted Edition.  Which is an apt description.  This is one of the most twisted comics I’ve ever read.  The comics are about four friends who go out trick or treating, each volume starting out the same way.  Finch, our hero, puts on his mask and prepares to leave.  You can see that Finch is the kind of boy who likes to take apart things.  Toys.  Small animals.  But compared to his little sister, he’s the tame one.  Your first image of Moochie is of her dressed as the tooth fairy, pulling out the tooth of a corpse seated at the dinner table.  One can only assume that this corpse is that of their mother.  This is quite possibly the least macabre thing that Moochie does for the rest of the 496 pages.  I Luv Halloween is the cartoon version of a Rob Zombie movie.  Moochie would smile up at Leatherface with her angelic blond face, and then slice his kneecaps off.  She would convince Jason Voorhees and Michael Myers to hitchhike to Canada to escape her, only to find her waiting at the border, where she’d cheerfully stab them in the eyeholes of their respective masks.  This kid would turn Hannibal Lector into a vegetarian, and give Freddy his own worst nightmares.  In fact, I’d like to see a Moochie vs everybody comic.

I Luv Halloween is full of murder, mayhem, and will quite probably cause mental instability in anyone who reads it.  In short, I loved it.  The writing is hysterical, in both definitions of the word.  Even though this is put out by TokyoPop, the art is not in the manga style.  It is very cartoon-like, which works well for this series.

The Boys

December 23rd, 2008 by Patrick

So recently, I dropped into Borders’ graphic novel section and did what I always do. grab a book at random, and start reading. Well. I managed to grab the first anthology of Garth Ennis’ The Boys, a graphic novel based on the premise that superheros are to negligent in there work, that they have too high a casualty rate, and now a renegade group of violent rebels is out to stop them. the comics folow both these rebels and the superheros, but larely so that we see that the rebels are justified when they smash the super’s faces in. This is one of the most violent and bloody comics I have ever seen. it also contains a massive quantity of, for lack of a better phrase, “adult content” (though they never actually show anything). All in all, I thought it was a good comic, but definately not for everybody.

A Tale of Two Ozzes

December 15th, 2008 by Michael

This last week saw the release of not one, but two new series based upon L. Frank Baum’s stories about Dorothy, the Scarecrow, Tip, Jack Pumpkinhead, Glinda, and the rest in the land called Oz.

First up is Marvel’s adaptation of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.  Yes, this is the story on which the classic movie was based, but those looking for an adaptation of the movie will be (hopefully pleasantly) surprised.  The first issue of this 8-part series takes Dorothy from Kansas to the fateful meeting of the Scarecrow.  Written by Eric Shanower (no stranger to Oz, having done some graphic novels in the past), the comic faithfully replicates the whimsical, lighthearted, and innocent storytelling found in the original novel.  But the real star of the story is artist Skottie Young, who’s dreamlike drawings suggest a fantastical storybook quality that fits the tale perfectly.  I can’t think of any artist better matched to the story than he is.  I particularly loved his Scarecrow, and Oz in itself breathes deep with life.  Credit must also be given to colorist Jean-Francois Beaulieu, who’s watercolors are bright, vibrant, and breathtaking.  Highly recommended.

This week’s other tale of Oz is The Land of Oz: The Manga – Return to the Emerald City, which covers the second part of Baum’s second Oz book, The Marvelous Land of Oz.  While the manga has different characters, a different tone, and a different feel than Marvel’s adaptation, it is just as successful an adaptation of Baum’s Oz.  The Return to the Emerald City is written and drawn in glorious black and white by David Hutchinson for Antarctic Press, and comparing the two series you can really sense that there is a shared setting – that the stories take place in the same universe.  This story takes place well after the movie, as Tip and his companions Jack Pumpkinhead, Mr. H.M. Woggle-bug, Sawhorse, and Nick Chopper (The Tin Woodman) help the Scarecrow in his struggle against Queen Jinjur and the witch Mombi.  It’s a fun, farcical tale of misfortunes that make a great read.

Between the two I have to give the edge to Marvel’s version simply due to the outstanding art, but both make an excellent diversion to a land that has fascinated us for generations.

ReadComics Podcast #024

December 9th, 2008 by Martin

Jason, Florence and Marty talk about a bunch of stuff this time, including: Buffy: Season 8 #19, comic books at the Library, Umbrella Academy, Astro City, The Authority, the Luna Brothers and Sword, I Hate Gallant Girl, Superman: Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?, superdickery.com, Neil Stephenson and Anathem, The Last Will and Testament, Jason’s new G1 phone purchase, and how sick we all are.

Somewhere in the middle, Jason tunes out and Florence and Marty launch into Married with Comics and talk about this week’s comics (Authority #5, Sword #13 & I Hate Gallant Girl #2).

Listen to ReadComics.org Podcast Episode #024 (23 MB, 51 minutes)

Moist, a Dr. Horrible Comic!

December 7th, 2008 by Martin


Read it now at dark horse presents! (Thanks Susie.)

Comic Book Book Club – Scott Pilgrim

December 6th, 2008 by Martin

For our next book club, we’ll be discussing Scott Pilgrim, a comic by Bryan Lee O’Malley. There are four trade paperbacks out, and some of us will have definitely read all of them (you’ve been warned).

Comic Book Book Club
Scott Pilgrim, by Bryan Lee O’Malley
Tuesday, December 30th 7 PM
Marty and Florence’s apartment

Married With Comics – 11/26/08

December 3rd, 2008 by florence

Florence and Marty are joined by Florence’s sister Susie for a long-ish discussion of the new Buffy: Season 8, issue #19. Then Florence and Marty briefly discuss The Walking Dead #55.

Be warned, the spoilers start right away.

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PS238- To the Cafeteria FOR JUSTICE!

December 2nd, 2008 by florence

Marty was right.

He has been trying to get me to read PS238 for weeks, and now that I finally picked it up, I have to agree that it’s awesome.  I’m already into the fourth volume, and I am glad that I still have a fifth to look forward to on the shelf.

For those of us who don’t recognise the nomenclature, apparently schools in New York use this naming system.  PS238 is just one more school on the surface, but 3 miles underground it is a high tech, high security school catering to kids with special gifts such as flight, super strength, telepathy, communing with the realm of daydreams, etc.  Aaron Williams takes this basic premise and riffs on familiar archetypes while he tells really interesting stories.  He goes beyond the obvious ideas and tells small stories about a range of kids and teachers, then adds in bigger arcs that span more than one trade.  I’ll keep reading and lending these out as long as Aaron keeps writing them.