New Library Comics: Week of June 2, 2008

Here's a list of the comics we added to our library collection last week:


Clement, Mr. The gorgeous habour / Birmingham, West Midlands : Rewind Records ; Hong Kong : Black Dragon [distributer], c2004

Gaiman, Neil. The facts in the case of the departure of Miss Finch / Milwaukie, Or. : Dark Horse, 2008.

Hajdu, David. The ten-cent plague : the great comic-book scare and how it changed America / New York : Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2008.

Lehmann, Matthias. HWY.115 / Seattle, Wash. : Fantagraphics ; London : Turnaround [distributor], 2006.

Mavrides, Paul. Skull farmer : sketchbook excerpts / Northampton, MA : Tundra, c1991.

McCarthy, Tom, 1969 May 22- Tintin and the secret of literature / Berkeley, CA : Counterpoint, c2008.

Pedrosa, Cyril, 1972- Three shadows / New York : First Second, 2008.

Seidman, David, 1959- Samuel Morse and the telegraph / Mankato, Minn. : Capstone Press, c2007

Sheinkin, Steve. Rabbi Harvey rides again : a graphic novel of Jewish folktales let loose in the Wild West / Woodstock, Vt. : Jewish Lights Pub., c2008.


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"Special" Species

Bizarro is brought to you today by the Aberrant Species Corporation. "You ain't seen nuttin' yet!"

I was raised to believe humans are not animals, that we are something different, in our own category, annointed by God, the only creatures with a "soul," more important in every way. I no longer believe any of those things and it isn't just from watching "America's Got Talent."


(click image to enlarge)
This arrogant mindset is what has wedged our collective asses into the environmental crack from which we currently view the world. The idea that nothing matters but you and your kind works only so long as you are not very powerful. Like for two-year-olds. Annoying, but not particularly dangerous.

Once you can destroy your surroundings with the push of a button, the flick of a trigger, or the construction of a factory farm, that arrogance becomes lethal.

There's no debating that if a life form with superior intelligence came to this planet, they would immediately conclude that the only thing standing in the way of Earth's operation as the perfect biological machine that it is, is humans. Of course, if they wished to save it, they wouldn't remove everything else, they'd remove us.

Killer Clowns

Today's Bizarro cartoon is brought to you by Pachyderm Management Tools, Inc.

I was a big fan of the circus as a kid (except for clowns, who terrified me) and brought my own children to B&B Ringling's Circus when they were young (keeping well away from the clowns, who still make me extremely uncomfortable.) After a few of years of this, and my kids learning to beg for it every time they saw the TV commercials, I read an article about the cruelty inflicted on the animals within. It's obvious if you look, but we're raised not to "see", if you know what I mean.

I explained it to my kids and we decided to boycott the circus as a family and started going to Disney On Ice each year instead. (A sacrifice on my part since I loved the circus and could barely tolerate the ice show. But sacrifice is as much a part of parenting as suds are a part of shampoo.)

My kids were cool with it, no child can tolerate the idea of cruelty to an animal. (Well, no girl, anyway, and I have two daughters.) Later, I discovered Cirque du Soleil which blows the old-style circuses away in every category and includes only willing participants.

Bottom line, when I was a kid I dreamed of joining the circus. Now I dream of banning it. (Actually, I only want to ban the use of animals in circuses, other than dogs. I suspect dogs don't mind living in trailers with people of questionable breeding.)

Circus cruelty issues here.

Friday Night Fights: Bean vs. Jim Macks

From Gunsmith Cats vol. IX: Misty's Run (2001). Story & Art by Kenichi Sonoda. (click pic for larger)

A classic? FWHAM!

Poster Passion

As I've said on this blog before, I'm a big Obama fan. And I'm a huge fan of this poster, designed by the graphic geniuses at Obeygiant.com. I wish to no one (atheist invocation) that I'd sought out one of these posters months ago when they first appeared. They're all gone now, no reprints in the offing.

If anybody happens to have one they could part with, I would consider it a HUGE favor. I'll send you a signed book, donate money to Barack's campaign in your name, donate money to you in Barack's name, whatever you think is fair.

Jail

Today's Bizarro is brought to you by Necessary Evils Shower Gel.

Long ago I had to bail a guy I was sort of related to out of jail. From start to finish, the process made me want to take a shower. The phone call from Lockup at 3am made it difficult to get back to sleep. The trip the next morning to a bail bondsman in a nearby Texas town was "skeevy," to say the least. Standing in line at the city jail to get to the bulletproof window to talk to the rude, unhelpful woman to start the bail process was almost life-threatening in and of itself. If I hadn't had plenty of cigarettes to trade to the other folks in line for their protection, I might be typing this now with mangled fingers.

It was an educational experience, to be sure. I learned that day that as far as the people behind the counters and windows in this process are concerned, there is no difference between the folks being bailed and those doing the bailing. I learned that the city jail does not waste money on decor, furniture, or competent cleaning services. I learned that bail bondsmen and jail personnel have no sense of humor when it comes to jokes about their hygiene.

Most importantly, I learned that some relatives cannot be trusted to pay you back when you bail them out and hire them a lawyer. Sometimes they just disappear, never to be heard of again.

Which is payment enough, really.

God Save Our Flag

Bizarro is brought to you today by the Narrow-Minded Nitwits Institute of Misinformation. "We distort, you decide."

The flag pin issue is one of my pet peeves. In fact, anything to do with flags drives me batty.

Every time the self-proclaimed super patriots try to pass the flag desecration amendment, as the did back in the eighties, and again in the nineties, and again in the '00s, I just shake my head and wonder. Confusing the principals this country was founded on for the graphic symbol that symbolizes them is not just idiotic, in my opinion, but dangerous. As soon as you turn the flag into a holy relic, you leave behind the principals it stands for.

Currently, we have a nation full of people who believe that plastering their bodies, cars, and homes with a graphic symbol is the single most important thing they can do to help soldiers being shot at half a world away. Getting them out of the line of fire never occurs to them. Voting for politicians who are willing to say the emperor has no clothes is unthinkable. More flags, we need more flags. God bless our holy design.

Here is a cartoon I did a while ago about the same subject.