Alas, no Free Comic Book Day for Me

It looks like I won't be visiting any stores on Free Comic Book Day this year :(

Usually I visit one or more of the local stores, pick up a few free comics and purchase some stuff as well. ('Cause I think it's weaselly for someone like me to go to a store on FCBD just for the freebies.)

Like last year, FCBD is the same day as commencement here at U-M. Last year I ventured into town to visit Vault of Midnight; it was very crowded, traffic was slow, etc., what with students and their families roaming around for one last trip around tree town.

This year, not only is it the same day as graduation, but Obama will be in town. Which means even more people milling about. Plus Secret Service. So I think I'll pass.

Thankfully this year DCBS allowed its customers to pick up to five FCBD offerings. So I won't miss out on important things like the new issue of Love & Capes.

Also, May 1 will be the start of the Sixth Annual YACB Free Comic Book Month! Look for details later this week (probably Thursday) on how to enter to win Free Comics!

Holiday Hell

Bizarro is brought to you today by Paradise Pie.

So much for my intentions to blog daily while away from home. There is just too much to do in Hawaii to make myself sit in front of a computer. Typically, we get up early and hit the beaches – snorkeling, sun bathing, napping. It's a tight schedule and by the time we get home, we're exhausted and barely have the energy to clean up and go to bed. Holidays can be hell.

More later, lots of stupid pictures to share.

New Library Comics: March 2010

Here's a list of the comics we added to our library collection in March:

Asamiya, Kia, 1963- Gunhed nos. 1-3 / San Francisco, CA : Viz Comics, c1990-

Assouline, Pierre. Hergé : the man who created Tintin / Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press, 2009

Barou-Crossman, Benjamin. Remember / Los Angeles : Tokyopop, 2010, c2009.

Byrne, Bob. Mister Amperduke : a story in pictures / [Dublin?] : Clamnut Comix, c2007.

Ellis, Warren. Nextwave, agents of H.A.T.E. : ultimate collection / New York, NY : Marvel, 2010.

Ennis, Garth, 1970- Preacher. Book one. Gone to Texas. / New York : Vertigo/DCComics, c2009.

Evanier, Mark. Born orphans / Thousand Oaks, CA : About Comics, 2004.

Frank, Robert. Robert Frank : seven stories / Göttingen : Steidl ; D.A.P., 2009.

Gabilliet, Jean-Paul. Of comics and men : a cultural history of American comic books / Jackson : University Press of Mississippi, c2010.

Gil Kane : art and interviews / Neshannock, Pa. : Hermes Press, 2002.

Gorey, Edward, 1925-2000. The glorious nosebleed : fifth alphabet / London : Bloomsbury, 2009.

Gorey, Edward, 1925-2000. The west wing / London : Bloomsbury, 2009.

Grampá, Rafael. Mesmo delivery / Milwaukie, Ore. : Dark Horse Comics, 2010.

Gross, Milt, 1895-1953. Is diss a system? : a Milt Gross comic reader / New York : New York University Press, c2010.

Hasen, Irwin, 1918- Irwin Hasen's loverboy : a graphic novella / Lakewood, N.J. : Vanguard Productions, 2009.

Horrocks, Dylan. Hicksville : a comic book / Montréal, Quebec : Drawn & Quarterly ; Enfield : Publishers Group UK [distributor], 2010.

Hotwire comix. no. 3 / Seattle, Wash. : Fantagraphics, c2006-

Jacobson, Sidney. Che : a graphic biography / New York : Hill and Wang, 2009

Jason, 1965- Almost silent / Seattle, WA : Fantagraphics Books, 2009.

Kazumi, Yuana. Haru Hana : the complete collection / Los Angeles, CA : Tokyopop, 2010-

Kent, Jack, 1920-1985. King Aroo v. 1. Complete comics 1950-1952 / San Diego, Calif. : IDW Pub., 2010-

Kitoh, Mohiro. Bokurano ours. 1 / San Francisco, CA : Viz Media, 2010.

Klein, Grady. The cartoon introduction to economics v. 1. Microeconomics / New York : Hill and Wang, 2010-

Krahulik, Michael. The splendid magic of Penny Arcade / New York : Del Rey/Ballantine Books, c2010.

Lee, Stan, 1922- Captain America. v. 1 : collecting Tales of Suspense nos. 59-81 / New York : Marvel, 2010.

Lockhart, Amy, 1975- Dirty dishes / Montreal : Drawn & Quarterly, 2009

Millar, Mark. Kick-ass. / New York, NY : Marvel Pub., c2010.

Morrison, Grant. All-star Superman v. 2 / New York, N.Y. : DC Comics, c2007-

Nakazawa, Keiji. Barefoot Gen : a cartoon story of Hiroshima vols. 9-10 / San Francisco, Calif. : Last Gasp of San Francisco, 2004-

Newave! : the underground mini comix of the 1980's / Seattle, WA : Fantagraphics Books, 2010.

Ono, Natsume, 1977- Not simple / San Francisco, Ca. : Viz Media LLC, 2010, c2006.

Pekar, Harvey. Students for a democratic society / New York : Hill and Wang ; Godalming : Melia [distributor], 2009, c2008.

Pepoy, Andrew. The adventures of Simone & Ajax / San Diego, Calif. : IDW ; London : Diamond [distributor], 2010.

Popgun v. 4 / Berkeley, Calif. : Image Comics, 2007-

Prism Comics : your LGBT guide to comics. 2009-2010 / Atlanta, GA : Prism Comics, 2003-

Sakuishi, Harorudo. Beck : Mongolian chop squad vols. 1-8 / Hamburg, Germany ; Los Angeles : Tokyopop, 2005-

Schulz, Charles M. (Charles Monroe), 1922-2000. You've come a long way, Charlie Brown : a new Peanuts book / New York : Holt, Rinehart and Winston, [1971]

Shiga, Jason. Meanwhile / New York, NY : Amulet Books, c2010.

Sohmer, Ryan. Least I could do. Vol. 3, My eyes are up here / Montreal : Blind Ferret Entertainment, c2009.

Stanley, John, 1914-1993. Thirteen "going on eighteen." / Montréal : Drawn & Quarterly, c2009.

Takahashi, Rumiko, 1957- InuYasha v. 45 / San Francisco, CA : Viz, LLC, c2003-

Taylor, Sarah Stewart. Amelia Earhart : this broad ocean / New York : Disney/Hyperion Books, c2010.

Tezuka, Osamu, 1928-1989. Black Jack vols. 8-9 / New York : Vertical, c2008-

Trondheim, Lewis. Little nothings v. 3 Uneasy happiness / New York : NBM, 2008-

Urasawa, Naoki, 1960- Pluto : Urasawa x Tezuka v. 7 / San Francisco, CA : VIZ Media, c2008-

Walt Disney's Valentine's classics / Los Angeles, CA : Boom! Kids, 2010.

Weissman, Steven. Chocolate cheeks / Seattle, Wash. : Fantagraphics, 2010.

World war three illustrated. no. 40 / N.Y.C. : S. Tobocman, P. Kuper, C. Kohlhofer, 1980-

Yoshinaga, Fumi, 1971- All my darling daughters / San Francisco, CA : VIZ Media, 2010.

Poo Renewed

Amazon Top 50

Here are the Top 50 Graphic Novels on Amazon this morning. All the previous caveats apply.


1 (-). Kick-Ass
2 (+1). Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days
3 (-1). Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw
4 (-). Diary of a Wimpy Kid
5 (-). Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules
6 (-). Twilight: The Graphic Novel, Volume 1
7 (+1). Diary of a Wimpy Kid 5 *
8 (+3). The Losers: Book One (Vols. 1 & 2)
9 (-2). Batman and Robin, Vol. 1: Batman Reborn
10 (-1). Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 1: Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life
11 (-1). Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight Volume 6: Retreat
12 (+5). Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 2: Scott Pilgrim Versus The World
13 (+18). Wilson *
14 (+7). Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 3: Scott Pilgrim & the Infinite Sadness
15 (+3). The Book of Genesis Illustrated by R. Crumb
16 (+13). Batman: The Killing Joke
17 (-2). Scott Pilgrim Volume 6: Scott Pilgrim's Finest Hour *
18 (+5). Dark Tower: The Fall of Gilead
19 (-). Scott Pilgrim, Vol 4: Scott Pilgrim Gets It Together
20 (+5). Watchmen
21 (-7). Yotsuba&!, Vol. 8 *
22 (-10). Scott Pilgrim Volume 5: Scott Pilgrim vs The Universe
23 (-3). Instructions *
24 (R). Tales from the Crypt #8: Diary of a Stinky Dead Kid
25 (+15). Rough Justice: The DC Comics Sketches of Alex Ross
26 (N). Y: The Last Man, Vol. 3 (Deluxe Edition) *
27 (-1). The Exile: An Outlander Graphic Novel *
28 (+17). Serenity, Vol. 2: Better Days
29 (+5). Captain America: Reborn
30 (R). Bone: The Complete Cartoon Epic in One Volume
31 (-15). The Walking Dead Volume 11: Fear The Hunters
32 (+7). Predators and Prey (Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight, Vol. 5)
33 (+5). The Complete Calvin and Hobbes
34 (-2). The Complete Peanuts 1975-1976 (Vol. 13)
35 (-22). The Boys Volume 6 SC
36 (R). Bloom County: The Complete Library, Vol. 2: 1982-1984 *
37 (-9). The Walking Dead Compendium Volume 1
38 (-8). Batman: Year One
39 (-6). Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
40 (N). Walking Dead Volume 12 *
41 (R). The Dresden Files: Welcome to the Jungle
42 (+8). Fables Vol. 13: The Great Fables Crossover
43 (R). Maus II: A Survivor's Tale: And Here My Troubles Began
44 (+2). Wolverine: Old Man Logan
45 (-3). Asterios Polyp
46 (N). The Losers (Vol. 4): Close Quarters
47 (R). Invincible Iron Man Omnibus, Vol. 1
48 (-11). V for Vendetta
49 (R). Batman: Arkham Asylum (15th Anniversary Edition)
50 (R). The Complete Persepolis



Items with asterisks (*) are pre-order items.

N = New listing appearing on list for first time
R = Item returning to the list after having been off for 1 or more weeks


Commentary:

* I got too busy yesterday and forgot to compile the list, which means this is for Saturday morning rather than Friday. So take the comparisons with a larger grain of salt than usual.

* Despite luke-warm box office for the movie, the Kick-Ass comic remains popular the week after. How long will it remain above Wimpy Kid?

* The Losers gets a movie boost as well; the volumes 1 & 2 compilation breaks into the top ten, while volume 4 peeks in down near the bottom.

* The Highest debut belongs to the third Y, the Last Man Deluxe hardcover. The pre-order for the next Walking Dead volume also makes a first appearance.

Hawaii? Fine, how are ye?

Bizarro is brought to you today by Hawaii.

Hello, dear reader, it is good to see you. I am back online and blogging again, hopefully daily, after a few days of Internet silence. For the last four days I was in the birthplace of our president, Honolulu, Kenya, (where I did not have easy access to the Internets) and since yesterday have been in Maui. I was brought here by the Hawaiian Vegetarian Society to do a couple of talks – Honolulu on Tuesday night and Maui last night. Great crowds, great folks, a few real freaks (but that's one of the things I love about Maui) and now that the business end of my trip is through, CHNW and I are going to hang out for another week and enjoy the island.

The pic below is our new best friend, having met him in the security line at the airport because he and CHNW are apparently the same sort of people who cannot be near another human without getting to know them. He's around 7 feet tall, is way freakier looking in person than this photo conveys and is quite an amusing character. According to him, he is a Vietnam vet, spends most of his time rumbling around Maui on one of his four Harleys, and his name is Atta(then six or seven more syllables of Hawaiian-sounding stuff that I can't remember.) We hung out with him for a while in the airport, took some pics, and said our goodbyes. Maybe we'll see him around the island.

Until tomorrow, I bid you "Aloha." (Which I think is Hawaiian for "Where da bitches at?" )

Happy Earth Day

Superman and Yet Another Comics Blog invite you to join in celebrating Earth Day.

(Cover to Superman: For Earth by Jerry Ordway - 1991)