Amazon Top 50

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


1 (+1). Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days
2 (-1). Kick-Ass
3 (+3). Twilight: The Graphic Novel, Volume 1
4 (+9). Wilson
5 (+18). Instructions *
6 (+1). Diary of a Wimpy Kid 5 *
7 (N). Invincible: The Ultimate Collection Volume 5
8 (+1). Batman and Robin, Vol. 1: Batman Reborn
9 (-1). The Losers: Book One (Vols. 1 & 2)
10 (+7). Scott Pilgrim Volume 6: Scott Pilgrim's Finest Hour *
11 (+4). The Book of Genesis Illustrated by R. Crumb
12 (-). Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 2: Scott Pilgrim Versus The World
13 (-3). Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 1: Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life
14 (-3). Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight Volume 6: Retreat
15 (+11). Y: The Last Man, Vol. 3 (Deluxe Edition) *
16 (-2). Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 3: Scott Pilgrim & the Infinite Sadness
17 (+2). Scott Pilgrim, Vol 4: Scott Pilgrim Gets It Together
18 (+18). Bloom County: The Complete Library, Vol. 2: 1982-1984 *
19 (+3). Scott Pilgrim Volume 5: Scott Pilgrim vs The Universe
20 (+15). The Boys Volume 6 SC
21 (+18). Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
22 (+23). Asterios Polyp
23 (-3). Watchmen
24 (+10). The Complete Peanuts 1975-1976 (Vol. 13)
25 (+12). The Walking Dead Compendium Volume 1
26 (N). Power Girl: A New Beginning
27 (-11). Batman: The Killing Joke
28 (+3). The Walking Dead Volume 11: Fear The Hunters
29 (N). Absolute Green Lantern: Rebirth
30 (-5). Rough Justice: The DC Comics Sketches of Alex Ross
31 (+17). V for Vendetta
32 (N). Realm of Kings *
33 (-). The Complete Calvin and Hobbes
34 (R). Planetary Vol. 4: Spacetime Archaeology
35 (-8). The Exile: An Outlander Graphic Novel *
36 (N). The Flash: Rebirth *
37 (N). Tsubasa 26
38 (+4). Fables Vol. 13: The Great Fables Crossover
39 (+10). Batman: Arkham Asylum (15th Anniversary Edition)
40 (R). Incognito
41 (-3). Batman: Year One
42 (R). Irredeemable Vol 2
43 (N). Green Lantern: Blackest Night *
44 (-16). Serenity, Vol. 2: Better Days
45 (R). The Complete Far Side 1980-1994 (2 vol set)
46 (N). Black Bird, Vol. 4 *
47 (-26). Yotsuba&!, Vol. 8
48 (R). The Long Way Home (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 8, Vol. 1)
49 (-31). Dark Tower: The Fall of Gilead
50 (R). Mercy Thompson: Homecoming




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 have no idea what happened to the first three Wimpy Kid volumes, which have mysteriously disappeared from the graphic novel bestsellers list. We'll see next week if it's a temporary glitch or what...

* The latest Invincible Ultimate Collection debuts way up in the top ten. It's a big week for super-hero debuts, with Power Girl, Absolute Green Lantern: Rebirth, Realm of Kings (benefit of a minor pricing glitch earlier in the week), The Flash: Rebirth, and Green Lantern: Blackest Night all making debuts this week. The latest volumes in the manga series Tsubasa & Black Bird also debut.

* Incognito hops back up onto the list, probably due to its being optioned for a film a couple of days ago.

* Remember the comparisons to last week are for a Saturday, so take them with a larger grain of salt than usual.

The Sixth Annual YACB Free Comic Book Month!

May is rapidly approaching, so it's time for the Sixth Annual Free Comic Book Month!

May 1 is Free Comic Book Day, but here at YACB one day isn't good enough. For the sixth straight year, we'll be giving away free comics every day of May!

That's right, free comics! Each day of May I'll pick someone to receive a free comic, taken from my personal collection: duplicates, things I have in trades, and other stuff. My goal is to match up people with a comic that they haven't read but that they may like. My tastes are wide and varied, so chances are I have a comic for you.

And by free I mean free. Really. No cost, no shipping & handling, all free.

Here's what you need to do to enter:

By email (superman@umich.edu), send me the following:

* Your name
* Your postal address
* Titles of five comics that you like
* One other thing that you like (a book, a movie, an activity, etc.)
* Please include 'FCBM' in the subject line

That's it! For every day of May I'll choose at least one entry and try to match up that person with a comic, then I'll mail the comic to him or her. It's easy, and it's free!

(Note that once again this year I'm adding one more piece of entry data: something other than a comic that you like. I hope that this will make things a bit more interesting and help me better in fitting you with a comic.)

Last year I gave away 76 comics to 31 different people!

Of course, there are a few restrictions:

* You must be 18 or older (by entering you assert this to be true)
* You must live in the United States
* You may enter at any point during May, but only one entry per person.

And a little bit of fine print:

* Persons receiving comics are chosen by me, based on whether I feel I can provide a comic to you
* Even if you've entered in previous years, you're welcome to enter again
* I'll try my best, but there's no guarantee you'll actually like the comic I send
* All winners will be announced here on Yet Another Comics Blog (please let me know if you don't want your real name used)
* At least one winner will be selected each day, but it may take me a few days to get to the post office, so please be patient
* I will not use your address to spam you, nor sell or give your information to others

But wait, there's more!

Each person who has a free comic chosen for him/her will also receive a copy of the 2009 Halloween ashcan edition of either Popeye or Casper/Little Lulu or Star Wars. (Let me know if you have a preference, though no guarantees; and if I go overboard again his year and run out I may substitute something else.)

That's right, two free comics! How could you ask for anything more?

So what are you waiting for? Send in your entry today!

Watercolor Wednesdays

A new strip is coming soon...

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)

Super-Hero Costume Critiques with Tim Gunn

Fashion maven Tim Gunn (who himself has been a comic book super-hero) critiques super-hero costumes:



(via NPR's Monkey See blog)

Watercolor Wednesdays

Why not? When I'm not digitally coloring my MYTHFITS strip, it's fun to play with paint.

This is a MYTHFITS-inspired self portrait for the San Francisco gallery, Kokoro Studio. My friend, Keiko, is organizing a fabulous group show featuring multiple artist "visages" looking out at the viewer. I couldn't resist featuring Robot & Unicorn and friends in mine.

Another MYTHFITS comic is coming soon, so please stay tuned! And if it's not a hassle, vote in the poll on the right. Serious research is being conducted...

Monkey Covers

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

Puny handcuffs made for men cannot hold a Gorilla on Murphy Anderson's cover to Strange Adventures #55 (1955).

(Standard disclaimer about world-challenging gorillas not really being monkeys applies.)

Bonus! James Clark covers this monkey cover over on Covered!

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

Tube View

Bizarro is brought to you today by the Death Star.

I've always wanted to visit on of those huge mountaintop observatories like the one badly depicted in this cartoon. I think it would be cool. I have a small telescope that I used to like to use but here in NYC, there is too much ambient light to see much so I don't bother. You can barely even see the credits, much less read them.

I'm off in a few hours for a vacation, but I'll be posting here almost as regularly as I usually do. I likely won't post again until Tuesday or Wednesday of this next week, but after that, it will be fairly consistent. I've been working 12 and 14 hour days for a few weeks now trying to get ahead on Bizarro so I won't have to work while I'm gone. Hope it doesn't take me too long to relax and enjoy myself. For the first few days I'll likely be haunted by the feeling that I should be working on something other than a tan.

For those of you in Hawaii, I'll be speaking in Honolulu on Tuesday, April 20 and on Maui on Thursday, April 22. Both talks are sponsored by the Hawaiian Vegetarian Society, so look up the details on their website and come see me. I'm friendly and it's FREE!

EEEEEEEEK!

Destroying the Lives of Children

Bizarro is brought to you today by Animal Husbandry.

Last week my cartoon was drawing attacks from all quarters. Yesterday's post was a bout a plagiarism accusation, today's is about my mistreatment of preschool icons. Below is the email I received, in its entirety:

I usually do not take the time to write someone about a comic strip. But this time I could not just ignore it.

I take EXTREME OFFENSE at your comic today. I am surprised Sesame Street hasn't talked to you yet. (How does she know they haven't?)
The Birds (Capitalized?) in the your comic strip today are very obviously Big Bird and Foghorn Leghorn.

You are making these characters out to be bullies. That is NOT what these characters stand for.
They are good characters, and I feel you are beating up on their images by using them.

I have two younger children that love to read the comics everyday with me (age 7 & 10).
When they saw what you had drawn, I'm not sure they will never want to see your comic strip again.
They were both extremely offended (as was I) and at the ages they are they knew that Big Bird would
NEVER do anything like that!!!!!! (Then what is the problem?)

It is NOT FUNNY to bully someone's image like that, to infer that they would do anything like that.
(I believe she means "insinuate." "Inferring" is what she's doing.)

To pick on an image that has been out in this world doing nothing but good for over 40 years is SHAMEFUL!!!
You should be ashamed of yourself for picking on something as PURE as Big Bird!

Sincerely,
Name withheld because I'm embarrassed for her.

I responded politely to her note, as I invariably do, and told her that everyone knows that Big Bird would never act this way and that is what makes it funny. I suggested that if she explained that to her children they would no longer be upset by the cartoon and learn a little something about the way humor works, too. I got no response.

Oh, the tremendous weight of social responsibility that a cartoonist bears.

Amazon Top 50

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


1 (+4). Kick-Ass
2 (-). Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw
3 (-2). Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days
4 (-1). Diary of a Wimpy Kid
5 (-1). Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules
6 (-). Twilight: The Graphic Novel, Volume 1
7 (+4). Batman and Robin, Vol. 1: Batman Reborn *
8 (-). Diary of a Wimpy Kid 5 *
9 (+1). Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 1: Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life
10 (-3). Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight Volume 6: Retreat
11 (+8). The Losers: Book One (Vols. 1 & 2)
12 (+16). Scott Pilgrim Volume 5: Scott Pilgrim vs The Universe
13 (+1). The Boys Volume 6 SC
14 (+3). Yotsuba&!, Vol. 8 *
15 (-3). Scott Pilgrim Volume 6: Scott Pilgrim's Finest Hour *
16 (-1). The Walking Dead Volume 11: Fear The Hunters
17 (+4). Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 2: Scott Pilgrim Versus The World
18 (-2). The Book of Genesis Illustrated by R. Crumb
19 (+5). Scott Pilgrim, Vol 4: Scott Pilgrim Gets It Together
20 (+14). Instructions *
21 (+9). Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 3: Scott Pilgrim & the Infinite Sadness
22 (+18). Hellboy Volume 9: The Wild Hunt
23 (-1). Dark Tower: The Fall of Gilead
24 (+13). Irredeemable Vol 2
25 (-). Watchmen
26 (+18). The Exile: An Outlander Graphic Novel *
27 (-14). 50,000,000 Pearls Fans Can't Be Wrong: A Pearls Before Swine Collection
28 (-2). The Walking Dead Compendium Volume 1
29 (+12). Batman: The Killing Joke
30 (+19). Batman: Year One
31 (N). Wilson *
32 (-23). The Complete Peanuts 1975-1976 (Vol. 13) *
33 (+6). Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
34 (+4). Captain America: Reborn *
35 (R). Marvel Encyclopedia
36 (R). Meanwhile: Pick Any Path. 3,856 Story Possibilities
37 (+10). V for Vendetta
38 (+4). The Complete Calvin and Hobbes
39 (+11). Predators and Prey (Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight, Vol. 5)
40 (-8). Rough Justice: The DC Comics Sketches of Alex Ross
41 (-18). Warriors: Ravenpaw's Path #2: A Clan in Need
42 (-11). Asterios Polyp
43 (R). FoxTrot Sundaes: A FoxTrot Collection
44 (R). Wanted
45 (R). Serenity, Vol. 2: Better Days
46 (R). Wolverine: Old Man Logan
47 (N). Witchfinder: In the Service of Angels *
48 (R). Blankets
49 (R). Mercy Thompson: Homecoming
50 (-32). Fables Vol. 13: The Great Fables Crossover



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:

* And there you have it: On the day of the movie release, Kick-Ass hits #1 on the comics charts (and #54 overall). Amazon has it as 'shipping in 2 to 4 weeks,' which means they've sold out of their on-hand stock at this point. Hopefully Marvel are printing more copies so that Diamond can get a few more bucks off the property before they lose their Marvel bookstore distribution.

* The highest debut this week belongs to the pre-order for Daniel Clowes new GN, Wilson.

* Once again the only manga this week is Yotsuba&!, which moves up three more notches.

* Scott Pilgrim volumes rebound a bit, exhibiting staying power that should stick around until the movie opens in August.

* A lot of large swings on the chart this week, both up and down, and many returning volumes on the chart as well.

Thieves, Cowards and Clones

Today's Bizarro is brought to you by Amateur Crime Fighters.

After this cartoon appeared in the paper last week, I received two emails. One was from a polite person wondering if I had seen a Far Side cartoon from the late 20th century with a similar joke, and one from an impolite person accusing me outright of stealing the old Far Side cartoon and thinking no one would notice.

As I politely explained to both, widely-read cartoonists like me don't steal from even more widely-read cartoonists like Larson. Why? Because I have an I.Q. above that of a houseplant. You could never hope to get away with it, and what is more embarrassing that being caught stealing?

In truth, this kind of thing happens to professional cartoonists all of the time. There are hundreds or thousands of us searching our brains every single day for jokes, a twist on fairy tales or popular culture or recent movies, a way to turn a common phrase into an unexpected meaning. It is only natural that more than one person comes up with the same idea from time to time. The cartoon above is not all that unique, really. You take the common phrase, "let sleeping dogs lie" and think of a new way to illustrate it, this is pretty much what you get. The sort of things a dog might lie about are even likely to be similar. It's just the way the human mind works.

Professional cartoonists will pretty much all concur on this. We've all unintentionally published gags similar to our colleagues, and all had others publish ones very similar to ours. It just goes with the job, none of us waste much time pointing fingers because it's only a matter of time before we are the seemingly guilty party.

As a person who has judged caption contests before, I can tell you from experience that this happens to non-cartoonists, as well. If you publish a given picture and ask people to caption it, no matter how many entries you get, around three quarters will be in the same couple of veins of thought. None of us is as unique as we'd like to think.

My apologies for not having memorized more Far Side cartoons back in the last century. If I had, I would not have published this one. But as far as I can tell, no harm was done. I appreciate the two readers who wrote to call this to my attention, although I appreciate the polite reader far more. One of the downsides of the Internet is that its anonymity often fills the cowardly with false courage and incivility. (Hence the need to moderate comments.)

Toddler Shock Collars

Bizarro is brought to you today by Future Families of the Past.

I used to have children a long time ago (now I have adults), before it became socially acceptable to put them on a leash. As weird as it looks, I could have used this device and would have in a heartbeat.

Toddlers are energetic drunks with no sense of their own mortality, so if you don't have them tethered, there is nothing to keep them from darting out into traffic after a shiny object. I tried tying a water ski rope around mine's waist but this raised too many eyebrows and questions from mall security guards. I moved to ankle weights, just to slow them down, but that only developed their leg muscles, making them even faster when the weights were removed. Drugging them seemed harsh, braiding their hair and hanging onto the end of it seemed cruel, as did a shock collar. There was just no good answer in those days.

But modern science has brought us toddler leashes and all is well. Now if we could just get parents to carry pooper scoopers and clean up after their kids, we'd have a truly civilized society.

Brain Goo

Bizarro is brought to you today by Dubious Parades.

I remember visiting a museum years ago – can't remember which one or where, which is one of the problems of traveling a lot – wherein there was a display describing prehistoric surgery. For reals.

Apparently, somebody (anthropologists? archeologists? utility workers?) found ancient skeletons from cave man times that have pretty clear evidence that their skull had been cut into then sealed again while they were alive. I suppose scientific curiosity is a possible motive but that aside, I have to wonder what they were trying to cure. How aberrant can a caveman's behavior be that his friends decide they might be able to fix it by digging around in his head? If he was killing people for no reason, seems more logical that they'd just kill him. If he was hallucinating, they'd likely chalk it up to a spiritual experience. Same with epilepsy or whatever. Maybe he was the first person to start talking and they thought he was crazy. It's interesting that they even suspected that fiddling with the goo inside your head might change something about your life.

If anyone knows more about this, let me know. I don't have time to research it this week, I'm trying to get ahead on deadlines so I can take a little vacation. Even if you just have a theory, leave it in the comments. I find this kind of thing pretty fascinating.

Adult Humor

(Click it now. See it bigger.)

Bizarro is brought to you today by Inflatable Baby.

Finding someone to take your kids off your hands even for just a few hours is always difficult. Rick has found a simple and creative solution that rids him of the little tykes for good. And he's made some lovely lady very happy, to boot. The children are a little bewildered at the moment, but kids adjust and it is easy to imagine that life anywhere would be better than it had been with Rick.

Another cartoon with a happy ending for everyone. You're welcome.

*All of today's links came from awkwardfamilyphotos.com, one of the best sites in the world.

Monkey Covers

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

Is there anything more awesome than a monkey fighting a robot?

Obviously James Kochalka's answer would be 'No,' as evidenced by his cover to Monkey vs. Robot (2000).

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

Fear of Facsimile

Bizarro is brought to you today by More Cloning Horrors.

When this cartoon appeared in newspapers last week, the bottom caption title box dealy said "Downside of Cloning." But as I was reformatting it this morning for this post, I changed it to this one, which I like better.

A lot of objections have been raised about human cloning but none of the worst-case scenarios I've heard are as bad as being able to see myself the way others do. Terrifying. It's all I can do to escape suicide when I stay at a hotel with full-length mirrors in the bathroom, I can only imagine how depressing it would be to see and hear myself in widescreen, 3D, high definition. Forget about it.

Amazon Top 50

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


1 (+1). Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days
2 (+2). Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw
3 (-). Diary of a Wimpy Kid
4 (+1). Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules
5 (+1). Kick-Ass
6 (-5). Twilight: The Graphic Novel, Volume 1
7 (+1). Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight Volume 6: Retreat
8 (+8). Diary of a Wimpy Kid 5 *
9 (+9). The Complete Peanuts 1975-1976 (Vol. 13)
10 (-3). Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 1: Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life
11 (+20). Batman and Robin, Vol. 1: Batman Reborn *
12 (+7). Scott Pilgrim Volume 6: Scott Pilgrim's Finest Hour *
13 (+17). 50,000,000 Pearls Fans Can't Be Wrong: A Pearls Before Swine Collection *
14 (-1). The Boys Volume 6 SC
15 (+10). The Walking Dead Volume 11: Fear The Hunters
16 (-5). The Book of Genesis Illustrated by R. Crumb
17 (N). Yotsuba&!, Vol. 8 *
18 (+2). Fables Vol. 13: The Great Fables Crossover
19 (+20). The Losers: Book One (Vols. 1 & 2)
20 (+23). The Complete Persepolis
21 (-12). Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 2: Scott Pilgrim Versus The World
22 (-5). Dark Tower: The Fall of Gilead
23 (+1). Warriors: Ravenpaw's Path #2: A Clan in Need
24 (-12). Scott Pilgrim, Vol 4: Scott Pilgrim Gets It Together
25 (+1). Watchmen
26 (+3). The Walking Dead Compendium Volume 1
27 (R). Logicomix: An Epic Search for Truth
28 (-14). Scott Pilgrim Volume 5: Scott Pilgrim vs The Universe
29 (+20). Maus I: A Survivor's Tale: My Father Bleeds History
30 (-20). Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 3: Scott Pilgrim & the Infinite Sadness
31 (+1). Asterios Polyp
32 (-17). Rough Justice: The DC Comics Sketches of Alex Ross
33 (+4). Tales from the Crypt #8: Diary of a Stinky Dead Kid
34 (N). Instructions *
35 (-2). Planetary Vol. 4: Spacetime Archaeology
36 (R). Irredeemable: Volume 1
37 (-9). Irredeemable Vol 2
38 (-16). Captain America: Reborn *
39 (+2). Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
40 (-17). Hellboy Volume 9: The Wild Hunt
41 (R). Batman: The Killing Joke
42 (-7). The Complete Calvin and Hobbes
43 (R). Batman: The Long Halloween
44 (N). The Exile: An Outlander Graphic Novel *
45 (R). Halo: Helljumper
46 (R). Wolves at the Gate (Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight, Volume 3)
47 (-9). V for Vendetta
48 (R). Astonishing X-Men Omnibus
49 (-1). Batman: Year One
50 (-). Predators and Prey (Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight, Vol. 5)



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:

* Twilight slips back this week, not only behind the Wimpy Kid volumes, but also Kick-Ass as well.

* Also losing some steam this week are the Scott Pilgrim volumes. Presumably the high from the trailer has worn off, but while they will drop for a while I suspect that a new trailer will perk them back up again, and that we'll see increasing interest as the film approaches in August.

* The highest debut belongs to a new volume of Yotsuba&!, which is also the only manga on the list this week.

* Peeking in down near the bottom of the list is a preorder for The Exile, a new graphic novel based on an apparently very popular series of historical time-travel fantasy romances by Diana Gabaldon. This one could be a sleeper hit...

A Happy Ending for Unicorn & Robot

A big thanks to all you who voted in the first Mythfits poll. According to the results, Mythfits is a comic about love (33 votes), poo (30 votes), imagination (25 votes), and lastly, gender (10 votes). The people have spoken!


Robot & Unicorn have been reunited. So love struck is our main couple as they walk into the sunset, they fail to notice something left behind...

Hanging Wif My Homey

And now this bit of odd: I was interviewed this week by a puppet.



To enjoy more from the amusing mind of my buddy, Matt Sky, go to Mattsky.com.

Sexy Beast

Bizarro is brought to you today by Second Amendment Mailboxes.

Here's an example of a cartoon I wasn't sure all of the editors of my client newspapers would tolerate, but I got no complaints so that is good. Not 15 years ago, the term "gay" was not allowed on most funny pages, so perhaps the country has evolved. That tends to happen as older editors are replaced by younger, hipper ones.

There is no deeper meaning or grand statement made here, I just thought that a gay Chewbacca was funny. I originally conceived of the joke as a gay Bigfoot, but couldn't find the right caption for it. Having him head out to a comics convention seemed a good vehicle, so I changed him.

I submitted this cartoon almost two months ago, but just last week I saw a hilarious sketch on "Important Things with Demetri Martin" about a gay Bigfoot. Hitting upon the same idea is something that happens frequently to cartoonists and humor writers of all kinds. One of my cartoons that ran in the paper this week was apparently very close to a very old "Far Side" cartoon and a couple of people wrote to me about it. I'll talk more about that when I post the cartoon next week.

Prehistoric Diplomacy

Bizarro is brought to you today by Prehistory.

I'm happy to say that this was a very popular cartoon, judging by the mail I received. I thought of it as a purely visual gag but as it developed, it became a nice statement about the way different people think. Some of us try to solve problems with cooperation, logic, shared information and common interests, others want to use a hammer. I'll let you draw your own conclusions from there, political and otherwise. One could easily see this as a cartoon about foreign policy, of course.

Cutting it short today, it's 80 degrees and sunny in Brooklyn and CHNW and I are hopping on the motorbike and heading to Coney Island. Not for the roller coaster or freakshows, but the ride out and back will be grand. Hope things are sunny and freaky where you are.

Stupidly Suspenseful

Bizarro is brought to you today by Therapy.

For readers familiar with the TV show "24," this cartoon is self explanatory. If you're not, Jack Bauer is the preposterous, soap-opera-style hero of the fictional Counter Terrorist Unit of the U.S. government. He is a combination of James Bond and Batman, all wrapped up in the 5', 4", elfen body of Kiefer Sutherland. Bauer gets what he wants by threatening and torturing people, not unlike a Jack Russell Terrier.

In spite of it's myriad inconsistencies, preposterous plots and shameless overacting, or perhaps because of those things, CHNW and I have become avid fans over the run of the show. We never miss an episode, each of which takes several hours to watch as we pause it to laugh at the nonsensical twists.

Bizarro iPhone App Update

I've heard from some users of my Bizarro iPhone app that they've had some problems with it crashing. The gurus have issued an update to fix that, so check your App Update button. Or, if you haven't bought it yet, the new one should be complete with the fix. Thanks!

Baby Bear

(To experience the bear at actual size, click his nose.)

Bizarro would like to wish you a Happy Easter, unless you're against Easter and resent being wished a happy of it. In that case, I wish you a happy, albeit insignificant, day.

Since Easter is full of fairy tale contradictions that don't make any sense together, like a magician who comes back from the dead and a giant bunny hiding decorated chicken eggs, this seems as good a cartoon as any to post today. I like this gag quite a bit, if I may be so immodest. It started with the idea of Goldilocks in her old age, then a reunion with the three bears, which turned into this chance meeting near a dumpster with Baby Bear. It has a certain sense of reality to it that amuses me.

I'm not sure if I've plugged Awkward Family Photos before, but I get a lot of my hotlinks from there and it's one of my favorite sites on the Internet. There are some good Easter pics on there today and they have a new book out, which I highly recommend.

Happy Easter!

Sick and Funny

Bizarro is brought to you today by Showbiz.

Thursday night was the big Comedy for Karma show at Gotham Comedy Club in NYC and it was a big success. According to all reports and reviews, everyone had a great time with the exception of me, and here's why.

A few hours before the show, on Thursday afternoon, I started to come down with a deadly illness of some kind. I felt feverish, nauseous, a little dizzy, achy all over, and weak. Yay! Just how you want to feel when trying to make a roomful of people laugh.

I managed to make it through the show – adrenaline will prop you up on those situations – but by the time I got home that night, I felt like death and passed out like a freshman on Spring Break. About 3 in the morning, the barfing began and I spent the next 24 hours in hell. We all know the feeling. This morning, Saturday, I woke up feeling normal again and I'm keeping my fingers crossed. All in all, about a 40-hour bug.

Here are some shots from the show, my picture from the show is beneath the "Showbiz" link in the first line of this post, and yes, I brought my clothes to the show wadded up in a tiny sack.

Opening the show, Myq Kaplan, a relative newcomer but fast-rising star. Funny, smart, won Best Standup NYC competition last year, has his own Comedy Central special premiering on Apr 30. He's also vegan and has some very smart/funny/not-preachy material about it.

Next, Wyatt Cenac of The Daily Show. Smart, funny, Emmy Award winner, made people laugh openly and without remorse.

Lizz Winstead, creator of The Daily Show and Air America Radio, renowned standup comic, producer, performer extraordinaire. She talked a lot about her dog's habit of eating poop, hilarity ensued.

Gary Gulman, three-time veteran of our show, his Comedy Central special was called "Boyish Man," always a huge hit. Even I was laughing while trying to keep down my lunch.

Dave Atell finished the show in his inimitable, ear-burning style. He's been on every TV network, performed in every comedy club in America, is the quintessential pro, and never has a bad night. Atell killed, as he always does. There were a lot of bodies to clean up, but it was worth it.

Wait a minute! No picture of Louis C.K.? Indeed, he had a business emergency come up and had to cancel at the last minute. Very sad, but I explained to everyone that he's really not very funny and I think that made it better.

NOTE: Many readers have asked that we video tape the show for folks to watch online, but with so many performers, each with their own agents and contractual obligations, it is impossible to get anyone to allow a benefit show like this to be taped, unless it's being broadcast. Except for cartoonists, almost no one will give their work away on a large scale for free. Sorry, gang.

Poor Poo

Watch as Poo ascends to the Pearly Gates of... Heaven?

Thanks to everyone who voted on the right!

Amazon Top 50

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


1 (+2). Twilight: The Graphic Novel, Volume 1
2 (-). Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days
3 (+1). Diary of a Wimpy Kid
4 (-3). Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw
5 (-). Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules
6 (+1). Kick-Ass
7 (-1). Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 1: Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life
8 (+4). Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight Volume 6: Retreat
9 (-1). Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 2: Scott Pilgrim Versus The World
10 (-1). Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 3: Scott Pilgrim & the Infinite Sadness
11 (+2). The Book of Genesis Illustrated by R. Crumb
12 (-2). Scott Pilgrim, Vol 4: Scott Pilgrim Gets It Together
13 (+11). The Boys Volume 6 SC
14 (-3). Scott Pilgrim Volume 5: Scott Pilgrim vs The Universe
15 (N). Rough Justice: The DC Comics Sketches of Alex Ross
16 (-). Diary of a Wimpy Kid 5 *
17 (+23). Dark Tower: The Fall of Gilead
18 (N). The Complete Peanuts 1975-1976 (Vol. 13)
19 (-4). Scott Pilgrim Volume 6: Scott Pilgrim's Finest Hour *
20 (+10). Fables Vol. 13: The Great Fables Crossover
21 (N). Female Force: Ellen DeGeneres
22 (-1). Captain America: Reborn *
23 (-1). Hellboy Volume 9: The Wild Hunt
24 (-10). Warriors: Ravenpaw's Path #2: A Clan in Need
25 (-6). The Walking Dead Volume 11: Fear The Hunters
26 (+5). Watchmen
27 (+17). Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art
28 (-1). Irredeemable Vol 2
29 (R). The Walking Dead Compendium Volume 1
30 (N). 50,000,000 Pearls Fans Can't Be Wrong: A Pearls Before Swine Collection *
31 (-11). Batman and Robin, Vol. 1: Batman Reborn *
32 (R). Asterios Polyp
33 (-16). Planetary Vol. 4: Spacetime Archaeology
34 (N). A Zits Guide to Living With Your Teenager *
35 (+12). The Complete Calvin and Hobbes
36 (R). Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood
37 (-8). Tales from the Crypt #8: Diary of a Stinky Dead Kid
38 (-15). V for Vendetta
39 (+6). The Losers: Book One (Vols. 1 & 2)
40 (-1). The Simpsons Futurama Crossover Crisis
41 (-4). Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
42 (R). The Sandman Vol. 1: Preludes and Nocturnes
43 (-18). The Complete Persepolis
44 (N). Northlanders Vol. 3: Blood in the Snow
45 (N). FoxTrot Sundaes: A FoxTrot Collection *
46 (R). The Long Way Home (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 8, Vol. 1)
47 (-1). Mercy Thompson: Homecoming
48 (+1). Batman: Year One
49 (-31). Maus I: A Survivor's Tale: My Father Bleeds History
50 (-16). Predators and Prey (Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight, Vol. 5)



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:

* After a week in the shadow of the power of the Wimpy Kid movie, Twilight resumes it place at the top of the comics list (#46 overall).

* Scott Pilgrim remains strong for a second week. Can it keep its strength through the movie's opening in August?

* A good week for strip collections; the latest Complete Peanuts debuts at #18, while collections of Pearls Before Swine, FoxTrot, and Zits also debut.

Fly Crimes and Misdemeanors

Bizarro is brought to you today by Olympic Athletes of Other Worlds.

Today's cartoon is a collaboration between my friend, Richard Cabeza and I. We were discussing how short fly's lives are and then came to the idea of appropriate jail terms. We didn't actually bother to look up the lifespan of the common housefly, of course, that would have been too much like work. One of the nice things about being a cartoonist is that nobody can really hold your feet to the flames about inaccuracies. "It's just a cartoon," is a pretty good defense in virtually any situation.

Tonight is the big comedy show in NYC. I'm a little edgy, as I always am before a show, and I can't keep myself from ad libbing punch lines and cracking wise. It's a subconscious thing as my mind prepares itself to think quickly, but it's obnoxious as hell and CHNW does her best to stay away from me and keep conversation down to a minimum until showtime. Hope to see some of you there.

Until tomorrow, be well, my friends, and keep your hands and feet inside the cockpit at all times.