Amazon Top 50

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


1 (-). Diary of a Wimpy Kid 5: The Ugly Truth
2 (+7). Daytripper
3 (-1). Diary of a Wimpy Kid Do-It-Yourself Book
4 (-1). Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days
5 (+1). Dork Diaries (Kindle edition)
6 (+15). Serenity: The Shepherd's Tale
7 (-2). Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne
8 (+4). Batman: Year One
9 (+4). Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
10 (+2). Dork Diaries 2 (Kindle edition)
11 (+4). The Walking Dead Compendium Volume 1
12 (-1). Walking Dead Volume 13
13 (R). All Star Superman, Vol. 2
14 (+23). Scott Pilgrim Volume 6: Scott Pilgrim's Finest Hour
15 (-5). Diary of a Wimpy Kid Box of Books
16 (+8). Maus I: A Survivor's Tale: My Father Bleeds History
17 (+1). Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 2: Scott Pilgrim Versus The World
18 (R). All Star Superman, Vol. 1
19 (+1). Superman: Earth One
20 (+22). Scott Pilgrim Volume 5: Scott Pilgrim vs The Universe
21 (+15). Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 3: Scott Pilgrim & the Infinite Sadness
22 (+13). Dork Diaries 2: Tales from a Not-So-Popular Party Girl
23 (+2). Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 1: Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life
24 (-8). The Flash, Vol. 1: The Dastardly Death of the Rogues
25 (+1). The Walking Dead, Book 6
26 (-19). Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Boxset
27 (R). Serenity, Vol. 2: Better Days
28 (+20). Scott Pilgrim, Vol 4: Scott Pilgrim Gets It Together
29 (+4). V for Vendetta
30 (-2). Watchmen
31 (-12). Walking Dead Volume 12
32 (N). Scalped Vol. 7: Rez Blues *
33 (R). Dilbert 2.0: 20 Years of Dilbert
34 (+15). Fables Vol. 15: Rose Red *
35 (-21). Big Nate: From the Top
36 (+9). Odd Is on Our Side
37 (R). Blackest Night
38 (N). Bleach, Vol. 34 *
39 (-17). The Walking Dead Volume 11: Fear The Hunters
40 (+4). Dork Diaries: Tales from a Not-So-Fabulous Life
41 (R). Batman: The Long Halloween
42 (R). Serenity, Vol. 1: Those Left Behind
43 (-11). The Walking Dead, Book 5
44 (R). Batman: Arkham Asylum (15th Anniversary Edition)
45 (R). Irredeemable Vol 5
46 (-23). The Walking Dead, Vol. 10: What We Become
47 (-30). Nemesis
48 (-10). Fables Vol. 14: Witches
49 (+1). The Walking Dead, Book 1
50 (-23). The Walking Dead, Vol. 9: Here We Remain


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:

* Daytripper moves up into the #2 slot, and is #81 on the overall chart. DC/Vertigo must be very pleased with this book's performance in the bookstore market. (It trails only the 5th Wimpy kid volume, which is #61 on the overall chart, so not by much.)

* DC have plenty more to be pleased about: The release of the All-Star Superman animated direct-to-video movie has a halo effect, bringing the two collections back to the chart; and there are three Batman collections the top ten (I suspect that it is casting time for the new Dark Knight movie.)

* Meanwhile, Marvel place just one book this week, Nemesis, which sees a sizable drop to boot.

* Also seeing a surge this week are Dark Horse's Serenity comics, likely due to the Help Nathan Buy Firefly campaign on the Internet.

* No sooner do I declare that sales for Scott Pilgrim have moved away from the individual volume to the box set than the box set takes a plunge on the chart while the individual volumes surge.

* Debuting this week are pre-orders for the latest volumes of Scalped and Bleach.

* Dead Watch: Nine Walking Dead collections on the chart this week, same as last week though many of those take sizable drops. Vol 9, at #50 on the comics charts, is #2,674 overall.

When Superman Met Pac-Man

My birthday gift to myself was this piece of original art, purchased off of the eBay:

Yes, it's Superman & Pac-Man. Markings on the reverse indicate it was likely drawn by Ernie Colon, ca. 1982 for DC Comics. Yet it is lettered in Japanese, which would imply that it was done for the market in Japan. There are erased correction instructions in the margins, some in English and some in Japanese. I know nothing else about it; at some point I'll try to get the text translated which may give a clue as to its origin (or not...)

(Big thanks to Mike Sterling for pointing out the auction for this on his blog!)

Happy Birthday To Me!

The awesome Adam Buttrick drew me this picture for my birthday:

Thanks Adam!

Monkey Covers

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

Klyde rules over the dinosaurs on Bud Root's cover for Cavewoman #4 (1994).

(Standard disclaimer about time-lost gorillas not really being monkeys applies.)

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

Amazon Top 50

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


1 (-). Diary of a Wimpy Kid 5: The Ugly Truth
2 (N). Diary of a Wimpy Kid Do-It-Yourself Book
3 (-). Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days
4 (-). Odd Is on Our Side (Kindle edition)
5 (-3). Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne
6 (+2). Dork Diaries (Kindle edition)
7 (-2). Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Boxset
8 (+1). Dork Diaries 2 (Kindle edition)
9 (-2). Daytripper
10 (-). Diary of a Wimpy Kid Box of Books
11 (-). Walking Dead Volume 13
12 (+3). Batman: Year One
13 (+1). Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
14 (+3). Big Nate: From the Top
15 (-9). The Walking Dead Compendium Volume 1
16 (+28). The Flash, Vol. 1: The Dastardly Death of the Rogues
17 (+1). Nemesis *
18 (+23). Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 2: Scott Pilgrim Versus The World
19 (+2). Walking Dead Volume 12
20 (-7). Superman: Earth One
21 (-9). Serenity: The Shepherd's Tale
22 (+1). The Walking Dead Volume 11: Fear The Hunters
23 (+13). The Walking Dead, Vol. 10: What We Become
24 (-8). Maus I: A Survivor's Tale: My Father Bleeds History
25 (+11). Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 1: Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life
26 (-7). The Walking Dead, Book 6
27 (+7). The Walking Dead, Vol. 9: Here We Remain
28 (-1). Watchmen
29 (N). Invincible Iron Man Vol. 6: Stark Resilient, Book 2
30 (R). Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight Volume 7: Twilight
31 (+18). Scenes from an Impending Marriage
32 (-6). The Walking Dead, Book 5
33 (+6). V for Vendetta
34 (R) Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight Volume 8: Last Gleaming *
35 (-). Dork Diaries 2: Tales from a Not-So-Popular Party Girl
36 (R). Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 3: Scott Pilgrim & the Infinite Sadness
37 (R). Scott Pilgrim Volume 6: Scott Pilgrim's Finest Hour
38 (-16). Fables Vol. 14: Witches
39 (+3). Batman: The Killing Joke
40 (+5). Batman: Hush
41 (-9). The Walking Dead, Book 2
42 (R). Scott Pilgrim Volume 5: Scott Pilgrim vs The Universe
43 (R). The Long Way Home (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 8, Vol. 1)
44 (-15). Dork Diaries: Tales from a Not-So-Fabulous Life
45 (-21). Odd Is on Our Side
46 (R). Batman and Robin, Vol. 2: Batman vs. Robin
47 (-16). Maus II: A Survivor's Tale: And Here My Troubles Began
48 (R). Scott Pilgrim, Vol 4: Scott Pilgrim Gets It Together
49 (+1). Fables Vol. 15: Rose Red *
50 (R). The Walking Dead, Book 1


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:

* A new Wimpy Kid item debuts at #2 on the list (and #160 overall). Expect to see it in the top 5 for a long time (or until Amazon decides to reclassify it, as it is sometimes wont to do...). Volume 5 remains at the top of the comics list and is #69 overall.

* The only other debut this week is the latest Invincible Iron Man collection.

* A bit of a resurgence for individual Scott Pilgrim volumes this week. A new trend, or just one of those things?

* I hadn't even noticed last week that there had been no Buffy titles in the top 50. Not to worry, as three volume make their way back on this week.

* Dead Watch: Nine Walking Dead collected volumes make the list this week. Book 1, at #50 on the comics charts, is #2,836 overall.

NEW BLOG SITE

I've moved this blog to a new site: http://www.bizarrocomics.com/

It's got the entire archive and all my new posts will be there with the same smooth, chocolately goodness. Please have a visit, sign up, click the RSS for it, or whatever it is you do when you do that thing.

Thanks, see you there!
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4 for Fun

Bizarro is brought to you today by Walking Dead.

There is a change coming to this semi-daily blog, but it will be a change for the better and faithful readers will not be inconvenienced. I'm moving it over to Wordpress to be part of a corral of King Features blogs or something like that. I'm not sure why, really, but my buddies at KF convinced me to do it so it's moving soon. You'll be able to find it easily and I'll leave a link to it here, so don't worry about it. More later.

This first cartoon threw some readers for a loop, as my mother often says. "That really threw me for a loop!" she'd say about this thing or that. Lots of things threw mom for a loop over the years, but she's none the worse for wear, thanks for asking. The thing about this cartoon, of course, is that your brain sees what it expects to see instead of what's really there. The fun part is looking carefully, discovering the joke, then laughing at the trick your brain played on you. Proofreaders and editors will get this joke immediately and that's just one of the many reasons that people in those professions do not have as much fun as the rest of us. Don't hate them, pity them.

Spell "pharmacy" wrong and it conjures up a whole humorous picture. Writing cartoons is just that simple. Try it yourself, but until you're feeling comfortable with it, wear a helmet and protective padding. Can't be too careful these days what with the health care crisis in America.

I'm not a senior citizen yet, I think you have to be 65 or something, so I'm wondering if I'm a sophomore or a junior. What are the age limits? Are people in their twenties Freshman? If so, what are children? Besides a noisy nuisance that are lucky they're cute.

Everyone has had the "Would-you-like-me-to-take-that-for-you-so-you-can-be-in-it?" experience. Here's a true story that happened to me: A group of about six friends and I went to a restaurant for lunch one day to celebrate a birthday. Upon exiting, one of us said, "let's take a picture." So we lined up in front of the restaurant and were about to shoot when another person came out of the restaurant and said, "Would you like me to take that for you so you can be in it?" The photographer agreed, gave him the camera and joined the rest of us. As he was about to shoot, a woman came out of the restaurant and said to him, "Would you like me to take that for you so you can be in it?" He shrugged, agreed, handed her the camera and promptly walked off down the street.

The humor was in the look on the second Good Samaritan's face.

If you'd like to view any of these cartoons on groovy products, click the names below:
Prefectionist
Farmacy
Senior Center
Painting
Burqa Photo
Senior Moment

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Astronaut

I laughed.

New Library Comics: January 2011

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




Alanguilan, Gerry. Elmer / San Jose, CA : SLG Pub.; London : Diamond [distributor], 2010.

Archer, Dan. Archcomix no. 3 / [S.l.] : archcomix.com, c2009-

Archie firsts. / Milwaukie, Or. : Dark Horse ; London : Diamond [distributor], 2010

Axe, David. War is boring : bored stiff, scared to death in the world's worst war zones / New York : New American Library, 2010.

B., David, 1959- The littlest pirate king / Seattle, Wash. : Fantagraphics ; London : Turnaround [distributor], 2010.

Baker, Kevin, 1958- Luna Park / New York : Vertigo/DC Comics, 2009.

Bendis, Brian Michael. Dark Avengers. [Vol. 1], Assemble / New York : Marvel Publishing Inc., 2009

The best American comics. 2010 / Boston : Houghton Mifflin Co., 2006-

Blanquet. Toys in the basement / Seattle, Wash. : Fantagraphics ; London : Turnaround [distributor], 2010

Bryant, Robert L. The thin black line : perspectives on Vince Colletta, comic's most controversial inker / Raleigh, N.C. : TwoMorrows Pub., 2010.

Butler, Nancy, 1951- Sense & sensibility / New York : Marvel Worldwide, c2010

The CBLDF presents : Liberty annual. 2010 / Berkeley, CA : Image Comics, c2010-

Chute, Hillary L. Graphic women : life narrative and contemporary comics / New York : Columbia University Press, c2010.

Clamp. Rayearth. Volume 1, Magic knight / Los Angeles : Mixx Manga, 1998

Comics and the city : urban space in print, picture and sequence / New York : Continuum, 2010

Cornell, Paul. Dark X-men / New York : Marvel, 2010.

Crumb, Sophie. Sophie Crumb : evolution of a crazy artist / New York : W.W. Norton & Co., c2011

David Anthony Kraft's comics interview : the complete collection v. 1 / [Philadelphia] : CO2 Comics, c2010-

East, Oliver. Berlin and that / London : Blank Slate Books, 2010

Eisner, Will. Will Eisner shop. Chapter 2, Uncle Sam. / NYC : Pure Imagination, [20--?]

Eto, Hiroyuki. Gadget. Volume 1 / Houston, Tex. : ADV Manga, c2004

Farmer, Joyce, 1938- Special exits : [a graphic memoir] / Seattle, Wash. : Fantagraphics ; London : Turnaround [distributor], c2010

Frankenstein réassemblé / Montréal : 400 coups, c2010.

Fujishima, Kōsuke. You're under arrest!. Lights and siren / Milwaukie, OR : Dark Horse Comics, 1999

Fujishima, Kōsuke. You're under arrest!. The wild ones / Milwaukie, OR : Dark Horse Comics, 1997.

Gilson, Che. Dark moon diary vol. 1 / Hamburg : Los Angeles : Tokyopop, c2007-

Goldberg, Stan. Archie : the best of Stan Goldberg / San Diego, Calif. : IDW ; London : Diamond [distributor], 2010.

Graven images : religion in comic books and graphic novels / New York : Continuum, 2010

The great treasury of Christmas comic book stories / San Diego, CA : Yoe Books/IDW Pub. ; London : Diamond [distributor], 2010.

Greenfield, Gary. Idiotz. Vol. 1, [The monster moles] / Hamburg ; Los Angeles, Calif. : Tokyopop, c2006

Hernandez, Jaime. The art of Jaime Hernandez : the secrets of life and death / New York : Abrams ComicArts, 2010.

Howlett, Mike. The weird world of Eerie Publications : comic gore that warped millions of young minds! / Port Townsend, WA : Feral House, c2010.

Im, Tar-yŏng. Zero : the beginning of the coffin vols. 1-3 / Richmond, Calif. : Infinity Studios, 2006-

JTK. Madtown hospital. Vol. 1. / Jersey City, NJ : Netcomics, 2006.

Jurevicius, Nathan. Scarygirl / San Francisco, Calif. : Last Gasp, 2010

Kidd, Chip. Shazam! : the golden age of the world's mightiest mortal / New York : Abrams ComicArts, 2010

Lapp, Dave, 1965- Children of the atom / Greenwich, NS : conundrum press, c2010

Lee, Stan, 1922- Marvel masterworks presents Doctor Strange : Master of the mystic arts! vol. 1 / New York, NY : Marvel Worldwide, Inc., 2010

Levitz, Paul. 75 years of DC comics : the art of modern mythmaking / Köln : Taschen, c2010

Lomax, Don Vietnam Journal : Book five : TET '68. / Charleston, SC : Transfuzion Publishing, 2010

Mad about the sixties / New York : Quality Paperback Book Club, 1996, c1995.

Medley, Linda. Castle waiting. Volume 2 / Seattle, Wash. : Fantagraphics ; London : Turnaround [distributor], 2010.

Metaphrog. Louis : night salad / Glasgow : Metaphrog, c2010

Mhan, Pop. Blank vol. 1 / Hamburg ; Los Angeles : Tokyopop, 2006-

Millar, Mark. Wolverine. Old Man Logan / New York : Marvel Publishing Inc., 2009

Millionaire, Tony. Little Maakies on the prairie / Seattle, Wash. : Fantagraphics ; London : Turnaround [distributor], 2010.

Moore, Terry, 1954- Echo v. 5 : Black hole / Houston, Tex. : Abstract Studio, c2008-

Mouse Guard. 1, Legends of the guard / Los Angeles : Archaia Entertainment, 2010.

Nakahira, Masahiko. Super Street Fighter II : Cammy / San Francisco, CA : Viz Communications, 1997, c1994.

Neal, Nate. The sanctuary / Seattle, Wash. : Fantagraphics ; London : Turnaround [distributor], 2010

Negative burn : the best from 1993-1998 / Norcross, GA : Desperado Publishing, c2005

O'Neil, Dennis, 1939- Superman vs. Muhammad Ali / New York : DC Comics, 2010

Oshima, Towa. High school girls vol. 1 / Fremont, CA : ComicsOne Corp., 2004-

Pak, Greg. The incredible Hulk. Planet Hulk / New York : Marvel ; London : Diamond [distributor], 2007

Pak, Greg. X-Men : Phoenix : endsong / New York, NY : Marvel Comics, c2005

Petrucha, Stefan. Writ in stone / New York : Papercutz, c2005

Peyo. The Smurf King : a Smurfs graphic novel / New York : Papercutz, c2010

Pratchett, Rhianna. Mirror's edge / La Jolla, Calif. : Wildstorm, c2010

Riley, Andy. The book of bunny suicides / New York : Plume, c2003.

Rourke, James. The comic book curriculum : using comics to enhance learning and life / Santa Barbara, Calif. : Libraries Unlimited, c2010.

Sanderson, Peter. The Marvel Comics guide to New York City / New York : Pocket Books, 2007

Sandfort, Sandy. Escape from terra. Volume 1 / Round Rock, Tex. : Big Head Press, c2010

Schigiel, Gregg. X-babies : stars reborn / New York : Marvel, 2010

Schultz, Mark, 1955- Xenozoic / Santa Cruz, CA : Flesk, 2010

Schulz, Charles M. (Charles Monroe), 1922-2000. The joy of a Peanuts Christmas / [Kansas City, Mo.] : Hallmark Books, c2000.

Schumacher, Michael. Will Eisner : a dreamer's life in comics / New York : Bloomsbury, 2010

Seo, Kouji. Suzuka. 1 / New York : Ballantine Books, c2006.

Sfar, Joann. The little prince / Boston : Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2010

Shelton, Daniel. Ben : le repos du guerrier / Montréal : 400 coups, c2010.

Shinonome, Tarō. Kimi kiss vols. 3-5 / Los Angeles, CA : Tokyopop, 2009-

Shitou, Kyoko. Blue inferior. [Vol.] 1 / Houston : ADV Manga, c2004.

Siu-Chong, Ken. Darkstalkers. Vol. 1, The rise of the dark ones / Richmond Hill, Ont. : Udon Entertainment Corp., c2009

Sonoda, Ken'ichi, 1962- Gunsmith cats. Kidnapped / Milwaukie, OR : Dark Horse Comics, c2001

Takaya, Natsuki. Fruits basket. vol. 1 / Los Angeles : Tokyopop, 2004

Talbot, Bryan. Grandville mon amour / Milwaukie, Or. : Dark Horse ; London : Diamond [distributor], 2010

Tardi, Jacques. Pterror over Paris ; and, The Eiffel Tower demon / Seattle, WA : Fantagraphics Books, 2010

Tezuka, Osamu, 1928-1989. Ayako / New York : Vertical, 2010

Tira linea nos. 6-10, 12-14./ [Lima] : Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, Departamento Académico de Comunicaciones.

Toriyama, Akira, 1955- Dr. Slump vol. 3 / San Francisco : Viz, 2005-

Toriyama, Akira, 1955- Dragon ball. Vol. 1, DB-- 1 of 42 / San Francisco, CA : Viz Communications, 2001.

Tory, Peter. Giles : a life in cartoons : the authorised biography of Britain's leading cartoonist / London : Headline, 1992

Vertigo resurrected. no. 1 / New York, NY : DC Comics, c2010-

Walker, George A. (George Alexander), 1960- Book of hours : a wordless novel told in 99 wood engravings / Erin, Ont. : Porcupine's Quill, c2010.

Walters, Mac. Mass effect : redemption / Milwaukie, OR : Dark Horse Comics, 2010

Ware, Chris, 1967- The ACME novelty library. 20 / Montréal : Drawn & Quarterly, c2010.

White, Darren. The playwright / Marietta, Ga. : Top Shelf ; London : Diamond [distributor], 2010

Wilson, Gahan. The devil's dictionary and other works / New York : Papercutz ; Godalming : Melia [distributor], 2010.

Yagami, Chitose. Fall in love like a comic, Vol. 1 / San Francisco : Viz Media, 2008, c2003

Yaginuma, Kō, 1973- Twin spica vol. 4 / New York : Vertical, Inc., c2010-


As always, this listing is available as an RSS Feed.

Comedy Show!

Once again, you in the San Francisco Bay Area have a chance to see a comedy genius at work and help him pay his February rent!

Will Franken Announces:
"The Grand Opening Of A New Baby" (new one-man show)
Saturday, February 19th,
9pm
The Purple Onion
140 Columbus Avenue, SF
$20

Tix available here: https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/154473

Be there or live a life without joy!
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Valentine's Ten of a Kind: Have a Heart

The sequel to last year (and of course with apologies to Bully!)

 

Betty & Veronica Spectacular #7
Binky's Guide to Love
Katy Keene Special #4
Little Lulu: The Valentine
Looney Tunes #28
Love Fights vol. 1
New Kids on the Block: Valentine Girl
P.S. Magazine #52
Sugar and Spike #33
The New Adventures of Felix the Cat #4

Monkey Covers

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

Gorillas like kitty cats, as can be seen on the cover of Looney Tunes #15 (1995).

(Standard disclaimer about gorillas in makeshift cages not really being monkeys applies.)

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

Read This Book

I read a new novel recently that I highly recommend. It's the first novel by the most exciting writer I've read in a long while, Benjamin Hale. I happened to meet him at a literary event in NYC recently and he was kind enough to give me an advance copy of his first novel, the cover of which is pictured above. I won't say much about it other than that I was blown away, couldn't put it down, didn't want it to end, can't wait for his next book, and I wanted to have his children. That last impulse has subsided some but I'm still looking forward to his next book.

Check it out here.

Cat Diary

(Click the word "click" for a larger image!)

Bizarro is brought to you today by Valentine Wishes.

I don't often do sequential jokes but here is one now. Just look a couple of inches above where you are looking now. I don't have a lot to say about it, so let's talk about something else.

Did you ever get one of those emails that has been going around for ten years or so about the cat and dog diary? I've gotten it many times over the years, it's one of those email jokes that just goes around and around. Well, the fun thing is that it started with one of my cartoons.

I wrote "Finding the Cat's Diary" in 1995 and sometime shortly after, people began altering and adding to it to create the email joke. It's now become something of a meme, which I must admit I think is kind of cool. It doesn't mean fame or fortune – I don't get royalties on its use or even credited for the original idea – it just means that I created something that got into people's heads enough that it was passed virally to enough folks that it became generally well known. Creative people like that kind of thing.

If you Google "pet diary" or "cat diary," you'll come across dozens of sites that post variations of this theme, featuring diaries by a cat and a dog, most of which start with a few lines from this cartoon. A guy named Allen Roland even took credit for writing it on a Salon.com blog. Kind of lame. It has ended up on some products, too, for which I could likely sue. Hmmm.

I'm also proud of it because I think it's a particularly good cartoon. Hope you like it, too. If you don't, just keep it to yourself. Like most people outside of politics, I'm capable of both pride and hurt feelings.

Get groovy schwag with these cartoons on them here:
Cat Diary
Remote Control

Lustige Zeichnung

Bizarro is brought to you today by Inspirational Art.

If you're as big a fan of ruthless dictator emoticons as I am, you'll love this cartoon. It features a Hitler emoticon. Actually, I've never seen a Hitler emoticon before my friend and partner, Wayno, sent this gag idea to me. To hear him tell it, his wife thought up the emoticon and he figured out a way to make a joke out of it. Then I drew it. I'm the blue-collar in this equation. Here's Wayno's story about it, which, if it differs from mine at all is just him lying again.

Speaking of attempted genocide, let's take a cartoon visit to The South. Somebody wrote to me and said that in Mississippi, people don't say "y'all." I admit I've never been to Mississippi, but I was raised in The South and have traveled a bit there and have never come across a state where they didn't say it, so I'm going with my original premise. If you've ever lived in Mississippi, let me know the truth. History demands it.

I'm off to wrestle with the tedious details of my job as the greatest cartoonist currently living in my building. Aufwiedersehen, y'all.

Want these cartoons on fine products of a wide assortment? Click below...
Hitler Emoticon
Y'all Turn

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Amazon Top 50

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


1 (-). Diary of a Wimpy Kid 5: The Ugly Truth
2 (+2). Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne
3 (-1). Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days
4 (-1). Odd Is on Our Side (Kindle edition)
5 (-). Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Boxset
6 (+5). The Walking Dead Compendium Volume 1
7 (N). Daytripper
8 (-2). Dork Diaries (Kindle edition)
9 (-2). Dork Diaries 2 (Kindle edition)
10 (+6). Diary of a Wimpy Kid Box of Books
11 (-3). Walking Dead Volume 13
12 (+1). Serenity: The Shepherd's Tale
13 (+9). Superman: Earth One
14 (-2). Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
15 (-2). Batman: Year One
16 (-7). Maus I: A Survivor's Tale: My Father Bleeds History
17 (-2). Big Nate: From the Top
18 (N). Nemesis
19 (+8). The Walking Dead, Book 6
20 (+1). Batman: The Killing Joke
21 (+2). Walking Dead Volume 12
22 (+12). Fables Vol. 14: Witches
23 (+10). The Walking Dead Volume 11: Fear The Hunters
24 (R). Odd Is on Our Side
25 (R). Batman: The Long Halloween
26 (+12). The Walking Dead, Book 5
27 (-9). Watchmen
28 (-9). Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art
29 (+15). Dork Diaries: Tales from a Not-So-Fabulous Life
30 (-16). Naruto, Vol. 50
31 (-2). Maus II: A Survivor's Tale: And Here My Troubles Began
32 (R). The Walking Dead, Book 2
33 (+3). Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 1: Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life
34 (-4). The Walking Dead, Vol. 9: Here We Remain
35 (-15). Dork Diaries 2: Tales from a Not-So-Popular Party Girl
36 (+7). The Walking Dead, Vol. 10: What We Become
37 (-13). Irredeemable Vol. 5
38 (-28). Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood
39 (-13). V for Vendetta
40 (-). Batman: Arkham Asylum (15th Anniversary Edition)
41 (+8). Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 2: Scott Pilgrim Versus The World
42 (R). Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic
43 (R). Dilbert: 2011 Day-to-Day Calendar
44 (N). The Flash, Vol. 1: The Dastardly Death of the Rogues *
45 (-4). Batman: Hush
46 (R). The Walking Dead Volume 3: Safety Behind Bars
47 (-8). Blackest Night
48 (R). The Walking Dead, Book 3
49 (-24). Scenes from an Impending Marriage
50 (N). Fables Vol. 15: Rose Red *


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:

* The Wimpy Kid stays on the top once again, and rises a bit to #64 on the overall chart.

* For the second week in a row, DC debuts a book in the top ten. This week it is Daytripper at #7. I figure there must have been some mainstream media attention for the book?

* DC also debut new Flash and Fables volumes in pre-order near the bottom of the list. The other debut this week is a pre-order for Nemesis, which is also Marvel's only entry this week in the top 50.

* Last week's big debut, Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne, rises up to #2 on the comics chart and #181 overall.

* At this point, sales of the Scott Pilgrim box set have pretty much supplanted sales of the individual volumes. The Precious Little Box Set remains at #5, while only two of the individual volumes even chart this week.

* Dead Watch: Ten Walking Dead collections chart this week, including the compendium which moves back up into the top 10.

* The bottom of the list is #2,400 overall this week.

Awesome Comics You Shoud Read

These are the notes for my Ignite Ann Arbor 5 talk, "Awesome Comics You Should Read." (When the video becomes available I'll link to it...)

Banana Sunday by Paul Tobin & Colleen Coover is the story of Kirby, the new girl in school with three talking primates in tow. There's a little mystery, a little drama, and a lot of funny. It's a high school comedy with Coover's fantastic art. And monkeys. It's available in a collected edition. Tobin & Coover's latest graphic novel, Gingerbread Girl,  is currently being serialized online.
Available: UM

Star Drop by Mark Oakley is about Ashelle, a warrior princess from an interstellar empire who is tired of all the fighting so runs away to Earth. A Canadian suburb, in fact. The story, currently being serialized online, bounces between Ashelle trying to fit in on Earth and rebuffing attempts by her father's forces to bring her back home. There is a collection of the early installments available in print.

Beanworld by Larry Marder defies a simple summary. Fans of world-building will find a truly unique alternate world inhabited by anthropomorphic beans. It's about ecology (but not in a simplistic way) and the role of the individual within society. First published in the late 80s & early 90s, the original comics have been collected into hardcover editions, and a third volume of all-new material was published in 2009.
Available: UM, AADL (old edition)

The Muppet Show Comic Book by Roger Langridge pulls off the seemingly impossible by capturing the essencse of the original Muppet Show television series and putting it on paper as a highly successful and amusing comic book. All of your favorites sketches return, like Pigs in Space and Veterinarian Hospital; the backstage antics; even Statler & Waldorf. Usually licensed comics are pale imitations of the source material, but this one nails it. There are several trade collections available.
Available: UM, AADL

Bookhunter by Jason Shiga is a hardboiled detective mystery set in the Oakland Public Library ca. 1973. Shiga brings out the humor by having the characters play the situation—a priceless book is stolen from a locked room, and the library police are called in to investigate —absolutely straight. It's full of interrogations, library in-jokes and minutiae, and plenty of action, like a book cart chase through the card catalog room. It is alas out of print, but Shiga has put the entire work online for free reading.

The Marvel Adventures series of comics is Marvel's "All Ages" set of comics, which many interpret as meaning 'kiddie.' But the various comics that fall under that banner have often had some of the most fun super-hero comics of the past several years. The issue highlighted in my talk is Marvel Adventures The Avengers #12 by Jeff Parker & Juan Satacruz, featuring the story "Ego, the Loving Planet," in which the sentient planetoid Ego falls in unrequited love with The Earth. The Avengers have to figure out a way to convince Ego to leave Earth alone. Imagine Ego being voiced by Billy Dee Williams, and you'll get the picture. It's included in the third digest collection of Marvel Adventures Avengers, Bizarre Adventures, which also has the comic in which The Avengers are transformed into M.O.D.O.C. versions of themselves. (Also recommended are the recent Marvel Adventures Spider-Man comics written by the aforementioned Paul Tobin.)

Captain Britain and MI:13 by Paul Cornell & Leonard Kirk featured the classic super-hero leading a team that protected the British Isles from various threats. It was way too short lived, but it ended on a bang with its final storyline in which Dracula launched an attack on Europe from his BASE ON THE MOON! Firing VAMPIRES AT THE EARTH via MAGIC CANONS! That, my friends, is pure awesome.

All-Star Superman by Grant Morrison & Frank Quitely is easily the best super-hero story of the past decade, and possibly the best ever. The creators accomplish the seemingly impossible task of creating an ode to the silver age of the classic super-hero while at the same time being incredibly modern. It is an examination of the myth of Superman and how it can still be relevant to us nearly 75 years after his creation. Issue ten may be my favorite: it hops around in time, Superman fights a giant robot, and there's one scene that causes me to well up with tears every time I read it (in a manly end-of-Toy-Story-3 way). I could easily do an hour on the awesomeness of All-Star Superman. It was collected into two volumes, and there's also an oversized deluxe Absolute single volume edition.
Available: UM, AADL

Xenozoic Tales by Mark Schultz takes place in a far future post-collapse world in which dinosaurs once again roam the Earth. Schultz channels the classic adventure comic strips of the past, bringing us manly men, strong & beautiful women, classic cars, and fearsome dinosaurs. It was recently collected into a single volume edition.
Available: UM

Gon by Masashi Tanaka is a wordless manga series about a small but tough Tyranosaur that someone survives extintiction and exists in the current epoch. He interacts with modern fauna with a keen sense of justice, protecting the meek and dishing it out against predators. There are seven volumes of his collected adventures available in the tankōbon format.
Available: UM

The Middleman by Javier Grillo-Marxuach & Les McClaine is about two operatives of a secret organization that protects the Earth from aliens, Lovecraftian horrors, man-sharks, evil monkeys, evil ninjas, evil robots, etc. It began life as an unproduced television pilot, which Grillo-Marxuach turned into a comic book, which was then subsequently picked up as a short-lived but also awesome televsion series. It was equal doses of action and humor, with a touch of pathos thrown in. There is an omnibus edition of the three comic series available.
Available: AADL

Zombies Calling by Faith Erin Hicks is a zombie story in which the characters have actually seen zombie movies. The main protagonist Joss is a big horror movie fan, and when a zombie outbreak hits her Canadian college campus she uses her knowledge (and suddenly-developing zombie-ass-kicking ninja skills) to survive. It was released as an original graphic novel.



Slide four features comics you likely already know about, but for completeness, they are:

Watchmen by Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons
Promethea by Alan Moore & J. H. Williams III
Swamp Thing by Alan Moore and various artists
Fables by Bill Willingham and various artists
Maus by Art Spiegelman
Asterios Polyp by David Mazzucchelli
Love & Rockets by The Hernandez Bros.
Sandman by Neil Gaiman and various artists
Ex Machina by Brian K. Vaughan & Tony Harris
Calvin & Hobbes by Bill Watterson
Y, the Last Man by Brian K. Vaughan & Pia Guerra
Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud
Persepolis by Mariane Satrapi
Peanuts by Charles Schulz
Naruto by Masashi Kishimoto
Batman: The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller
Jimmy Corrigan by Chris Ware
The Walking Dead by Robert Kirkman & Tony Moore and Charles Adlard

Scott Pilgrim by Bryan Lee O'Malley
Parker: The Hunter by Darwyn Cooke


Slide nineteen features more awesome comics I didn't have time to cover in the five-minute presentation. They are:

The Immortal Iron Fist by Ed Brubaker, Matt Fraction & David Aja
Concrete by Paul Chadwick
2 Sisters by Matt Kindt
Ganges by Kevin Huizenga
Peculia by Richard Sala
Axe Cop by Malachai & Ethan Nicolle
The Umbrella Academy by Gerard Way & Gabriel Bá
Global Frequency by Warren Ellis and various artists
Doom Patrol by Grant Morrison and various artists
Liō by Mark Tatulli
Marvel Adventures Spider-Man by Paul Tobin and various artists
Chew by John Layman & Rob Guillory
Simone & Ajax by Andrew Pepoy
Little White Mouse by Paul Sizer
Love and Capes by Thom Zahler
Cul de Sac by Richard Thompson
Beasts of Burden by Evan Dorkin & Jill Thompson
Age of Reptiles by Ricardo Delgado
Yotsuba&! by Kiyohiko Azuma
A Drunken Dream and Other Stores by Moto Hagio
Tiempos Finales by Sam Hiti
We3 by Grant Morrison & Frank Quitely
Uzumaki by Junji Ito
Keif Llama: Xeno-Tech by Matt Howarth


Slide image credits:


Slide 3:
Sky Ape © Phil Amara, Mike Russo, Richard Jenkins and Tim McCarney
Kobra (Vulcan) © Fleetway Publications


Slide 4:
Watchmen © DC Comics Inc.
Promethea © America's Best Comics
Swamp Thing © DC Comics
Fables © Bill Willingham & DC Comics
Maus © Art Spiegelman
Asterios Polyp © David Mazzucchelli
Love & Rockets © Gilbert, Jamie and Mario Hernandez
Sandman © DC Comics
Ex Machina © Brian K. Vaughan & Tony Harris
Calvin & Hobbes © Bill Watterson
Y, the Last Man © Brian K. Vaughan & Pia Guerra
Understanding Comics © Scott McCloud
Persepolis © Mariane Satrapi
Peanuts © United Feaures Syndicate, Inc.
Naruto © Masashi Kishimoto
Batman: The Dark Knight Returns © DC Comics
Jimmy Corrigan © Chris Ware
The Walking Dead © Robert Kirkman
Scott Pilgrim © Bryan Lee O'Malley
Parker: The Hunter © The Estate of Donald E. Westlake; artwork © Darwyn Cooke


Slide 5:
Banana Sunday © Paul Tobin & Colleen Coover


Slide 6:
Star Drop © Mark Oakley


Slide 7:
Larry Marder's Beanworld © Larry Marder


Slide 8:
The Muppet Show Comic Book © The Muppets Studio, LLC.


Slide 9:
Bookhunter © Jason Shiga


Slide 10:
Strange Adventures © DC Comics


Slide 11:
Marvel Adventures The Avengers © Marvel Characters, Inc


Slide 12:
Captain Britain and MI:13 © Marvel Characters, Inc.


Slide 13:
All-Star Superman © DC Comics


Slide 14:
Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen © DC Comics


Slide 15:
Xenozoic Tales © Mark Schultz


Slide 16:
Gon © Masashi Tanaka


Slide 17:
The Middleman © Javier Grillo-Marxuach & Viper Comics


Slide 18:
Zombies Calling © Faith Erin Hicks


Slide 19:
The Immortal Iron Fist © Marvel Characters, Inc.
Concrete © Paul Chadwick
2 Sisters © Matt Kindt
Ganges © Kevin Huizenga
Peculia © Richard Sala
Axe Cop © Malachai & Ethan Nicolle
The Umbrella Academy © Gerard Way & Dark Horse Books
Global Frequency © Warren Ellis & DC Comics
Doom Patrol © DC Comics
Liō © Mark Tatulli
Marvel Adventures Spider-Man © Marvel Characters, Inc.
Chew © John Layman
Simone & Ajax © Andrew Pepoy
Little White Mouse © Paul S. Sizer
Love and Capes © Thomas F. Zahler
Cul de Sac © Richard Thompson
Beasts of Burden © Evan Dorkin & Jill Thompson
Age of Reptiles © Ricardo Delgado
Yotsuba&! © Kiyohiko Azuma/Yotuba Sutazio
A Drunken Dream and Other Stores © Moto Hagio
Tiempos Finales © Samuel Hiti
We3 © Grant Morrison & Frank Quitely
Uzumaki © Junji Ito/Shogakukan
Keif Llama: Xeno-Tech © Matt Howarth

Cold Enough

Bizarro is brought to you by My Last Stop.

How's everyone holding up this winter? In most of the U.S. we're having record cold and snow. Brrrrrr! (That's the sound a human makes when it is cold.) CHNW and I almost moved to Maui last year but decided we were not quite ready to leave NYC. Now we're beginning to question that decision. We both look better in bikinis than in snowsuits.

Speaking of marriage, when CHNW and I announced to her parents we were getting married their response was, "Bad idea. Bad idea." Good thing I didn't ask in the traditional way. In fairness, I should mention that they now think it was a good enough idea.

On this cartoon about 4-D TV, I got a couple of emails from science types explaining to me that smell is not a dimension. Fair enough, but that's why I became a cartoonist instead of a science textbook author. I can just make crap up about anything I want and let the chips fall where they may. And there is quite a trail of misleading chips in my wake, cowboy, let me tell you.

Here's a cartoon about that person (or people) in your family that give you gifts that they think are perfect for you but could not be further off base. I once mentioned to my Aunt Sharon that I liked "kitsch art" and for my next birthday she sent me some ceramic tiles with food printed on them, the sort you're supposed to hang in your kitchen. True story. I wouldn't tell this story if there was any chance of hurting Aunt Sharon's feelings, but she's in solitary confinement now with no access to the Internet, so it's safe.

Hope you're warm and well-gifted today.

For these cartoons on groovy schwag, click below:
Marriage
4-D TV
Bunny

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Bowl Wrapup

(You can find this cartoon on fine products here.)


Bizarro is brought to you today by Just My Luck.

A quick Monday morning update for you before I commence to feverishly inking cartoons in an attempt to reduce the amount of time by which I am late on my deadline this week.

Last night's Super Bowl was a good game and the correct team won. Sorry to all my Pittsburgh readers, I love your city and people (honestly, I've visited many times and say nothing but nice things about PBgh) and I even like Mike Tomlin, the Steeler's coach and Terry Bradshaw, the Steeler's patron saint. But the last thing your current quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger needs is another Super Bowl ring. At least not until he stops abusing women. Some of you might say, "But Dan, Ben was acquitted. What happened to 'innocent until proven guilty?'" to which I would say, "You're thinking of the U.S. justice system. This is my personal blog and I'm pretty convinced Big Ben is scum."

So congratulations to the fine folks of Green Bay Wisconsin for getting to have a big parade for the guys who won the trophy for you even though none of them are from there or would live there if they were not being paid millions of dollars to do so. And congratulations to the fine folks of Pittsburgh for not having to put up with an expensive and messy parade. It really screws with traffic.

I think the halftime show was also worth commenting on. When I heard that something called "The Black Guy Pees" was performing, I feared another "wardrobe malfunction" catastrophe like a few years back. This country is still reeling from the moral consequences of a nipple being shown on television for .5 seconds and I'm not sure we could withstand another one. (If god had meant for people to be showing their filthy parts on television, we would have been born with TV cameras facing our pee pee place.) But as it turned out, this year's show was just four space people singing while quite a lot of batteries danced around the field. If the lights of your home flickered last night, that's likely why.

Even if you didn't watch the game and think football is dumb, I hope you enjoyed this post-game wrap up.
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Super Things

(If you are the person who wants to see this cartoon bigger, click the second cactus from the left. If you want to see the cartoon on fine products of many sorts, click these blue words!)

Bizarro is brought to you today by the Sacred Second Amendment.

Today is the day of The Super Bowl, the most watched TV event in American history, even more than the Civil War. Maybe you have a bulbous I.Q. and are not into sports, but for the rest of us, here is why you should watch it.

1. It's super, it says so right in the name. Our American legal system is the best in the world, even better than the Old Testament's, and we would not let them say "super" if it wasn't true.

2. It has "bowl" in the name, too, and good things come in bowls. Cereal, pudding, jello, chili, soup, cherries, goldfish. You never hear of anything bad coming in a bowl. Yak dung? Wrestler spit? Soiled undergarments? No.

3. Where else can you watch millionaires beat on each other? If you ever hear of a show where CEOs, politicians and stockbrokers are beating the crap out of each other in public, let me know because I'm in! Until then, I'll take the Super Bowl.

4. Ben Roethlisberger is the head guy on one of the teams and has been accused twice in one year of raping young women. Wouldn't it be fun to see him lose?
4.1. If he wins, though, it would be a serious bummer because I really hate him, even though I love the city of Pittsburgh and even the Steelers if he was not on the team.

5. People say the commercials are really great, but I think those people are mostly confusing the term "really great" for "very expensive and intentionally outrageous." Can anything be truly great now that Michael Jackson is dead? Seriously.

That's my TV recommendation for today. Pop back by tomorrow when I'll tell you why you should start watching the game show, "Wipeout".

In closing, here is another installment of Bizarro Readers' Pets. The photos have just been flooding in, if two pictures are a flood. This one features Schultzie, age 14 and was sent in by Cindy. The cartoon is from the mid-eighties, so old that I can't even find it in my archives.

More Snake!

Snakemommy wrote back and provided me with this scintillating video of Louise the Burmese Python jumping through a hoop, just like in the cartoon. If you missed the beginning of this story, check out my previous post! Thanks, Snakemommy!



She also reminded me that this was Louise's second appearance on my blog. Here is the first.