Luna-tics?

Newsarama have an interview with Nunzio DeFilippis and Christina Weir regarding their new manga-esque series from Seven Seas, Amazing Agent Luna.

I reviewed Amazing Agent Luna earlier this week, and found it to be quite enjoyable. I suspect that it may be a tough sell to people though, as manga fans will consider anything produced domestically to be 'not real manga', and super-hero fans won't go near it because it looks too much like manga (art comix fans, of course, would never even deign to go near it...) But I do wish that people would give this all-ages book a try; it's some of the best work I've read from DeFilippis & Weir (much better than their New X-Men - Academy X) and the art by Carmela "Shiei" Doneza is very good too. You can read a preview at the Seven Seas Website. I encourage you to give it a try and see if it's to your liking.

Monkey Covers

Sunday is Monkey Covers day here at YACB. Because there's nothing better than a comic with a monkey on the cover.

Finishing off our salute to National Library Week, we have what is perhaps the greatest comic book cover ever. From 1956, Gil Kane & Bernard Sachs draw the cover for Otto Binder's story "Secret of the Man-Ape" in Strange Adventures #75. Who is this ape? Why does he need those three books? And doesn't he know that the reference librarian will help him fulfill his information needs without having to brandish a gun?

In fact, this cover is so great that it was recreated by Nick Cardy in 1973 for the cover of From Beyond the Unknown #23, wherein the story was reprinted.

(standard disclaimer about apes not really being monkeys applies)

Image is courtesy of the GCD. Click on the image for a larger version.

YAFL: Week 11 Results

Here are the results from week 11 of Yet Another Fantasy League:



Inferior 5 plus 6 60
Kickers Inc. 61

Nine Pound Hammers 69
The Inferior Five 65

Danger Limited 52
www.rickgebhardt.net 64

Secret Six 72
Moon Knights 80

The Maxx Squad 70
B.P.R.D. 67

Tomorrow Syndicate 80
Power Pack 65


Current Standings:

Team                 W-L-T  Pct   Pts  Streak
-------------------  -----  ----  ---  ------
*1.B.P.R.D.             8-3-0  .727  729  L-1
*2.Power Pack           8-3-0  .727  702  L-1
3.Kickers Inc.         7-4-0  .636  653  W-1
4.Nine Pound Hammers   7-4-0  .636  642  W-3
5.Inferior 5 plus 6    6-5-0  .545  715  L-5
6.www.rickgebhardt.net 6-5-0  .545  543  W-4
7.Secret Six           5-6-0  .455  715  L-2
8.Tomorrow Syndicate   5-6-0  .455  681  W-1
9.Danger Limited       4-7-0  .364  670  L-1
10.The Maxx Squad       4-7-0  .364  588  W-2
11.The Inferior Five    3-8-0  .273  556  L-3
12.Moon Knights         3-8-0  .273  552  W-1

Week 12 Games:
(Remember: games start on Thursday this week!)

The Inferior Five (3-8-0)
vs.
Kickers Inc. (7-4-0)

Nine Pound Hammers (7-4-0)
vs.
www.rickgebhardt.net (6-5-0)

Danger Limited (4-7-0)
vs.
Moon Knights (3-8-0)

Secret Six (5-6-0)
vs.
B.P.R.D. (8-3-0)

The Maxx Squad (4-7-0)
vs.
Power Pack (8-3-0)

Inferior 5 plus 6 (6-5-0)
vs.
Tomorrow Syndicate (5-6-0)


Good luck to all!


In my other Fantasy Leagues, I lost--again, no big suprise--64-36 in my friends & family league (3-8-1, still seventh place); scored a solid 63-42 win in my public league (6-5-0, moved up to sixth place); and scored a sad 239.95 points in my Pass & Kick league, which dropped me to fifth place (I was winning this league at one time...) In Fantasy Basketball I went 3-3-2 and stayed in seventh place (9-13-2 overall).

Monkey Covers

Sunday is Monkey Covers day here at YACB. Because there's nothing better than a comic with a monkey on the cover.

From 1953, here's Atlas's The Monkey and the Bear #1, with a cover by Howie Post.


Image courtesy of the GCD. Click on the image for a larger version.

SNAP! Day 4: Anthologies

Continuing my long-delayed look at the things I picked up at SNAP! last month. This time out I'm focusing on the various anthologies. Of course, as with many anthologies, there's a wide range of styles and subject matter covered in these, and chances are that not all stories in each of these will be to all tastes. But that's one of the thigns that makes comics so great--the variety. Right?


Turtleneck Boy is the brainchild of mini-comics creator Suzanne Baumann. She created the blank slate character, and invites other creators to contribute stories about him. I picked up #5, which includes a four-page a Pam Bliss story, and a cover by Paul Sizer.


Yes, you're seeing that right, the price on Pop Art Funnies #3 is just 15 cents for a full-sized 32-page comic (black & white with color cover). It's the project of Martin Hirchak, who draws the lead story in each issue (and sometimes other stories too) and then gets area cartoonists (like Sean Bieri & Matt Feazell, among others) to contribute shorter stories to fill out the book. Issue #4 was 25 cents, and issue #5 was 50 cents. But even at that rate of increase it'll still be a bargain for a while.


At $6.95 Potlach Project #4 is more expensive, but it's also 108 black and white pages on sturdy paper stock, so it's a good deal too. It's from Angry Dog Press, a Maryland outfit, so presumably most of the artists here aren't local to Michigan, but there's still some interesting stuff to be found here.


The most interesting anthology has to be Empty Pockets from The Wooden Book Press. All of the contributors to this 250-page black & white anthology were students in Phoebe Gloeckner's narrative art courses from Fall 2004 & Winter 2005. Not only are these stories the first published work for these artists, for many it's the first comic work that they've ever done. Tastes will vary of course, and some stories are stronger than others, but it's on the whole impressive. At $19.95 it's not cheap, but worth it I think for a peek into what just might be the next generation of cartoonists.

Monkey Covers

Sunday is Monkey Covers day here at YACB. Because there's nothing better than a comic with a monkey on the cover.

Tarzan rescues Boy from strange apes in The Caverns of Kor on the 1961 cover of Tarzan #129, painted by George Wilson.

(Standard disclaimer about rock- and club-wielding apes not really being monkeys applies.)

Image courtesy of the GCD. Click on the image for a larger version.

Harbinger #0-41

Harbinger #0-41
CBR/ZIP | English | 42 Issues | 247 MB
Toyo Harada is the first Harbinger, and unlike subsequent Harbingers he was able to make his powers manifest at will, or activate the powers of others. Other Harbingers exhibit powers only rarely and this activation is always brought on by severe stress.

Harada is an Omega Harbinger: he commands the full spectrum of psionic abilities, including telepathy, telekinesis, mind-control, and many other talents. He uses these powers to create a multinational corporation and amass a large fortune. Fearing the world is on a course to destroy itself, he plans to take it over and mold it to his specifications. To this end he creates the Harbinger Foundation, which actively searches for potential Harbingers (whose powers Harada triggers with his psionic abilities).

Pete Stanchek is a normal teenager until he develops Harbinger abilities. After seeing an advertisement he contacts the Harbinger Foundation. Harada is intrigued by Pete, who is the only other Harbinger to have triggered his own powers and who exhibits multiple abilities. Harada is no longer the only Omega Harbinger.

Harada tries to persuade Pete to join the Harbinger Foundation and become Harada's right hand man, but when Pete's best friend, who had been vocal about his distrust for Harada, is murdered by the Foundation Pete realizes the truth.

Pete, along with Kris (a high school cheerleader who, he later realizes, he had been unconsciously mentally controlling so that she would go out with him) become renegades. They decide to recruit Harbinger's themselves, activate their abilities and form an army capable of challenging Harada.

Download MIRROR #1 (0-22) | Download MIRROR #1 (23-41)

Download MIRROR #2 (0-22) | Download MIRROR #2 (23-41)