New This Week in Brief: July 18, 2007

Going 'in brief' last time worked well, so here's another quick look at what should be good on the shelf tomorrow:


Two non-fiction graphic 'novellas' from my pal Jim Ottaviani: Levitation: The Physics Psychology Service of Deception with art by Janine Johnston; and Wire Mothers: Harry Harlow & the Science of Love with art by Dylan Meconis. You should buy and read both; you'll be both entertained and a little smarter when you're done.

Eric Powell's The Goon returns with issue #19.

Two of Boom!'s best series have new issues: Cover Girl #3 and Fall of Cthulhu #4.

A couple of once-in-a-blue-moon comics hit the shelves this week: Licensable Bear #4 and Lenore #13.

The final issue of Jeff Smith's delightful Shazam!: The Monster Society of Evil comes in from DC.

Random House releases the fourth installment of the super-popular Flight anthology.

If you've got some serious coin weighing down your pocket, you may want to take a gander at Mike Allred's Madman Gargantua hardcover, presenting every Madman story to date (prior to the recent Image series, that is).

And for maximum destructive fun, Marvel has the second issue of World War Hulk.

I know, I know, I said 'in brief'. There's even a heck of a lot more waiting for you tomorrow at your FLCS!

Monkey Covers

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

Giant gorillas know how to cool off on those hot midsummer days, as per the cover of Mad House Comics #122.

(Standard disclaimer about giant ice cream eating gorillas not really being monkeys applies.)

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

YAFQ: This Year's "Wow" Comic?

It's the return (for one week at least) of Yet Another Friday Question! This week's question is:

Has there been a "WOW" comic yet in 2007?

We're already more that halfway through the year. Has a comic come out that's really made you stand up and take notice? That you can't stop telling people about?

For me, not really. Don't get me wrong, there have been some very good comics: Jeff Lemire's Tales from the Farm; a new volume of Yotsuba&!; a couple of issues of All-Star Superman; Marvel Adventures: The Avengers #12.

But nothing that's really Wowed me. Nothing on the order of Fun Home or We3 or Ganges yet.

Of course there's still 5 and a half months left in the year. And with all the comics coming out these days, I'm sure to have missed something really good.

So tell me: Has a comic come out this year that's Wowed you?

New Library Comics: Week of July 2, 2007

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


Chadwick, Paul (Paul H.) World below /Milwaukie, Or. : Dark Horse ; Enfield : Publishers Group UK [distributor], c2006.

Goff, Cindy. Tales from the heart /Brooklyn Center, Minn. : Entropy Enterprises, 1987- no. 1

Hurd, Damon. Temporary /Newburgh, N.Y. : Origin Comics, 2004- no. 1

Kochalka, James. Super f*ckers /Marietta, GA : Top Shelf, 2005- nos. 271, 277

Kouno, Fumiyo. Town of evening calm, country of cherry blossoms /San Francisco, Calif. : Last Gasp, 2006.

Kraatz, Rebecca. House of sugar /[Canada] : Tulip Tree Press, 2006.

Kupperman, Michael, 1966- Tales designed to thrizzle /Seattle, Wash. : Fantagraphics, 2005- no. 1

Lasko-Gross, Miss. Escape from "special" /Seattle : Fantagraphics, 2006.

Moebs, Chris. Taters and gators /Taylor, Mich. : Lefty Comics, 2004- no. 1

Richie Rich & Casper. /New York, N.Y. : Harvey Publications, 1974- nos. 9, 17

Roberts, Scott. Patty Cake & friends /San Jose, Calif. : SLG ; 2006.

Ryan, Johnny. Back in Bleck /Seattle, Wash. : Fantagraphics ; London : Turnaround [distributor], 2007.

Sandlin, David, 1956- Swamp preacher /Seattle, Wash. : Fantagraphics Books, 2006. no. 1

Spain (Cartoonist) Subvert comics /San Francisco, Calif. : Rip Off Press, c1970- no. 1

Suburban high life. /San Jose, Ca. : Slave Labor Graphics no. 2

Superior showcase. /Richmond, Va. : AdHouse Books, 2006- no. 1

Takashige, Hiroshi. Striker : the armored warrior /San Francisco, Calif. : Viz Communications, c1992. nos. 1-4

Tales from the crypt (Prescott, Ariz.) Tales from the crypt. /Prescott, AZ : Gladstone Pub., c1990-1991. no. 1

Tales of the closet. /New York, NY : Hetrick-Martin Institute, 1987- nos. 7-8

Tomine, Adrian, 1974- Optic nerve. /Montreal, Que. : Drawn & Quarterly Publications, 1995- no. 11

Tytler, Cassandra. Relax baby /[Melbourne, Vic. : s.n., 199-?- ] nos. 1-2, 7

Quick Boom! Reviews

Two recent comics from Boom! Studios showcase the worst and best that the publisher has to offer.

Unfortunately, Warhammer: Forge of War #1 is a muddled mess. The story by Dan Abnett & Ian Edginton would appear to be about some sort of fantasy-era battle, flashing back to the minutes of preparation before the battle. But as a reader I could neither follow said battle nor did I care one whit about who the participants were. The art by Rahsan Ekedal is on the surface competent but lacking in any sort of fluidity or dynanism required of an issue-long battle scene. Perhaps this comic will make sense to a die-hard Warhammer fan, but I suspect that even they will find a better use of their $2.99.


On the other hand, Cover Girl #2 is a joy to read, even better than the first issue. Last time we were introduced to up-and-coming leading man Alex Martin, an actor who witnesses something he shouldn't and whose live is placed in jeopardy because of it. This time out we and Alex meet Rachel, Alex's new no-nonsense bodyguard, along with Rachel's partner Dwight. The story by Andrew Crosby and Kevin Church moves along at quick pace, the dialog crackles, and there's plenty of action, plot, and character to go around. The art by Mateus Santolouco and R. M. Yankowicz fits the script wonderfully, clear and dynamic with just the right touch of cartoonishness when needed. Here's a comic that not only gets the big things right but also the little things, such as introducing the characters by name within the first couple of pages and providing a recap of the previous issue that fits organically with the story in just a third of a page. And there's plenty of story here to make it $3.99 well spent.


Ratings:
Warhammer: Forge of War: 1.5 (of 5)
Cover Girl: 4 (of 5)

(copies of the above comics were provided by the publisher for review)

New This Week in Brief: July 11, 2007

Pressed for time, so here's a shorter look at what's good on the comic shelves today:

Librarian comic book fans get a one-two punch of Showcase Presents Batgirl vol. 1—500+ pages of the original kick-ass comics librarian—and the first collected edition of Rex Libris—the latest kick-ass comics librarian—with more library-funny per page than any other publication ever.

Frank Miller & Dave Gibbons provide the long-awaited end to the Martha Washington saga with the Martha Washington Dies one-shot.

Samurai Commando Mission 1549 from DC/CMX looks interesting and I think it's only two volumes long. Bu tthen again it's seinen and nobody reads that, right?

Nexus returns after a long absence with issue #99.

The second NextWave hardcover comes out, just in case you're one of those who weren't buying it in floppy.

Lettering Flashback

Letterer extraordinaire Todd Klein has a basic how-to guide on his Website, and he talks about using an Ames Letter Guide:



Which caused me to flashback to high school drafting & architecture classes, where I made use of just such a guide extensivey. Although admitedly lettering was the weakest part of my drafting, I did have a legible print style, which 20 years later has atrophied into chicken scratch.

(link via Dirk)