Review: The Clouds Above

The Clouds Above
by Jordan Crane
Fantagraphics, $18.95

Young Simon and his cat (large, talking cat!) Jack are late for school, but when they try to sneak in without being noticed, they instead end up on the school's roof, where they find a wooden spiral staircase leading up into the clouds. Like all sensible kids would, they follow the stairs up and have encounters and adventures in the clouds, making friends with a likable pink rain cloud named Perch and avoiding the clutches of the angry storm clouds.

This OGN is not deep, but it is a good deal of fun. Crane would seem to be intentionally drawing on the children's book genre, both in story and art style; one could easily see Simon & Jack standing alongside Milo from The Phantom Tollbooth.

The book is over 200 pages long, but with just one panel per page it makes for a brisk, enjoyable read.

Rating: 3.5 (of 5)

FCBM2 Day 33

It's day Thirty-three of the second annual YACB Free Comic Book Month!

Today's selected entry comes from Steve Pham. Steve's five comics are:

1. Animal Man
2. Blankets
3. DC The New Frontier
4. Bone
5. Queen & Country

For Steve I have Jon Sable, Freelance: Bloodtrail #1 by Mike Grell.

As a bonus, I'm sending Steve a Gemstone Halloween ashcan Donald Duck comic, featuring the story "Hobblin' Goblins" by Carl Barks.

Steve's comics should be in the mail soon. Enjoy!

Current FCBM Statistics:
62 entries
117 free comics sent so far
?? days remaining

FCBM2 Day 32.5

It's still day Thirty-two of the second annual YACB Free Comic Book Month, and I'm still giving away free comics!

Today's second selected entry comes from Matthew Moore. Matthew's five comics are:

1. Bacchus
2. Ultimates 2
3. Astonishing X-Men
4. Too Much Coffee Man
5. The Shadow

For Matthew I have Flaming Carrot Comics #1 (the recent Image version, i.e. #33) by Bob Burden.

And because I still have a couple left, Matthew will be receiving a special Dark Horse promo-priced comic, in this case The Goon 25¢ Edition by Eric Powell.

Matthew's comics should be in the mail soon. Enjoy!

Current FCBM Statistics:
62 entries
115 free comics sent so far
?? days remaining

Yet Another Music Moment

Dave's Car Mix, May 2006

1 Song With a Mission - The Sounds
2 Gasoline - Enter the Haggis
3 Everybody's Gone to War - Nerina Pallot
4 What's Inside of Me? - Starlight Mints
5 I Wish I Was a Punk Rocker (With Flowers in My Hair) - Sandi Thom
6 Five Degrees of Me - Honeycreeper
7 There Was a Time - Laura Michelle Kelly
8 Again and Again - Jewel
9 Just a Ride - Jem
10 Strangers Like Me - Everlife
11 Rockin' the Suburbs (Remix '06) - Ben Folds
12 Dice - Finley Quaye & William Orbit
13 Beloved (Thievery Corporation Remix) - Anoushka Shankar
14 It's You - Annie Stela
15 Una Dia Otra Noche - Alla
16 A Thousand Times - Klee
17 High Five - Penumbrae
18 Bye Bye - Phil Vassar
19 Star Power - Garrison Starr
20 Who Says You Can't Go Home - Bon Jovi & Jennifer Nettles
21 Should've Been the One - Antigone Rising

If anything strikes your fancy, I've turned this into an iMix.

FCBM2 Day 32

It's day Thirty-two of the second annual YACB Free Comic Book Month!

Today's selected entry comes from Kelly Bedson. Kelly's five comics are:

1. Y, the Last Man
2. Finder
3. Strangers in Paradise
4. Fables
5. Ex Machina

For Kelly I have Fragile Prophet #1 by Jeff Davidson & Stephen R. Buell.

As a bonus, I'm sending Kelly a Gemstone Halloween ashcan Donald Duck comic, featuring the story "Hobblin' Goblins" by Carl Barks.

Kelly's comics should be in the mail soon. Enjoy!

Current FCBM Statistics:
62 entries
113 free comics sent so far
?? days remaining

FCBM2 Update

This is the last day of May, which means the last day of the second annual YACB Free Comic Book Month.

Except, it isn't!

I'm having too much fun giving away free comics, so I'm going to keep doing it a while longer. How long? I'm not sure...

However, I will not be accepting any new entries; only people who have entered up to now will be elligible.

Also, I'm just about out of the Goon/Star Wars comics, so when those are gone I'll have to give out something else as a bonus book.

FCBM2 Day 31.5

It's still day Thirty-one of the second annual YACB Free Comic Book Month!

Today's second selected entry comes from Shawn Kilburn. Shawn listed his five comics as:

1. Inivincible
2. Planetary
3. The Goon
4. From Hell
5. Seaguy

For Shawn I have A Trip to Rundberg, the graphic novel of zombie mayhem by Nate Southard & Shawn Richter.

As a bonus, I'm sending Shawn a Gemstone Halloween ashcan Donald Duck comic, featuring the story "Hobblin' Goblins" by Carl Barks.

Shawn's comics should be in the mail soon. Enjoy!

Current FCBM Statistics:
62 entries
111 free comics sent so far
?? days remaining