Take a Survey, Win Free GNs!

Pal Jim O., proprietor, publisher and head writer at GT Labs, is running a demographic survey in conjunction with a group of MBA students at the University of Michigan.

In exchange for taking the survey, you will (if you provide an email address) be entered into a drawing for a chance to win one of 10 books from GT Labs. (Don't worry, your email will be separated from your responses.)

The survey is at http://www.zoomerang.com/survey.zgi?p=WEB22564HFU73W

New Library Comics: Week of March 27, 2006

Here are the comics we got in for our library collection last week:


Aragones, Sergio. Sergio Aragones actions speak. /Milwaukie, OR : Black Horse/Maverick, 2002.

Baker, Kyle. Kyle Baker : cartoonist. /New York : K. Baker, 2004.

Blegvad, Peter. The book of Leviathan /Woodstock, NY : Overlook Press, 2001.

The Bush junta : cartoonists on the Mayberry Machiavelli and the abuse of power /Seattle, Wash. : Fantagraphics Books : Distributed in the USA by WW Norton, 2004.

Campbell, Eddie, 1955- Alec : how to be an artist /Paddington Q, Australia : Eddie Campbell Comics ; Marietta, GA : Available in the US from Chris Staros, Top Shelf Productions, 2001.

Capp, Al, 1909- Fearless Fosdick : the hole story /Princeton, Wis. : Kitchen Sink Press, c1992.

Chesneaux, Jean. comp. The people's comic book; Red women's detachment, Hot on the trail and other Chinese comics. /Garden City, N.Y., Anchor Press, 1973.

Eisner, Will. The best of the Spirit /New York : DC Comics, c2005.

Gonick, Larry. The cartoon guide to chemistry /New York : HarperResource, c2005.

Gonick, Larry. The cartoon guide to sex /New York : HarperPerennial, c1999.

Gonick, Larry. The cartoon guide to the environment /New York : HarperCollins Publishers, c1996.

Hyde, Maggie, 1952- Introducing Jung /Cambridge : Icon Books ; [New York] : Totem Books ; Lanham, Md. : distributed to the trade by National Book Network, 1999.

Jacobs, Will. The comic book heroes : from the silver age to the present /New York : Crown Publishers, c1985.

Katchor, Ben. The Jew of New York /New York : Pantheon Books, 1998.

Langridge, Roger. Fantagraphics Books and Roger B. Langridge present Fred the clown. /Seattle, Wash. : Fantagraphics Books, 2004.

Mack, David. Kabuki : circle of blood /Fullerton, CA : Image Comics, c1997.

The Mad archives. /New York : DC Comics, 2002- v. 1

March, Joseph Moncure. The wild party : the lost classic /New York : Pantheon Books, c1994.

McEvoy, J. P. (Joseph P.) Introducing Stephen Hawking /Duxford, Cambridge : Icon Books ; New York : Totem Books, 1999.

Morrison, Grant. The filth. /New York : DC Comics, c2004.

Motter, Dean. Mister X : the definitive collection /New York : Ibooks : Distributed by Simon & Schuster, c2004-

Myrick, Leland. Bright elegy /Pasadena, Calif. : Adept Books, c2004.

Porcellino, John. Diary of a mosquito abatement man /Minneapolis, MN : La Mano, 2005.

Savage, William W. Comic books and America, 1945-1954 /Norman : University of Oklahoma Press, c1990.

Shanower, Eric. Age of bronze /Orange, CA : Image, c2001- v.1-2

Veitch, Rick. Rabid eye : the collected rare bit fiends /West Townshend, VT : King Hell Press, c1995.

Winick, Judd. The adventures of Barry Ween, boy genius /Portland, OR : ONI Press, 1999.

Winick, Judd. The adventures of Barry Ween, boy genius 2.0 /Portland, OR : ONI Press, 2000.

Winick, Judd. The adventures of Barry Ween, boy genius. 3: monkey tales /Portland, OR : ONI Press, 2001.

Winick, Judd. The adventures of Barry Ween, boy genius. Gorilla warfare. 4 /Portland, OR : ONI Press, 2002.

Monkey Covers

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

Today we have the 1977 cover to 2000 A.D. #5, which features Judge Dredd taking on a giant cyborg gorilla. Giant Cyborg Gorilla. I love comic books!

(Standard disclaimer about giant cyborg gorillas not really being monkeys applies.)

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

Friday Meme

Via Sara, a Google Game:

"Dave needs to..."

Dave needs to be kept abreast.

Dave needs to start paying more attention to what Judi does around here.

Dave needs to learn how to interact with people like a human.

Dave needs to have that mole looked at, man.

Dave needs to come back home.

Dave needs to finish the login page.

Dave needs to inject some major caffeine into his team.

Dave needs to walk around a bit.

Dave needs to know what kind of information on phosphorus should be included.

Dave needs to take a nutrient-rich carbohydrate.

Dave needs to realize that money will not solve his problems.

Dave needs to straighten himself out, find the bullseye, and hit it.

Dave needs to win and him beating the odds makes him much more of a superstar.

YACB Bulletins

ITEM! Supergirl invents the Internet.

ITEM! Happy First Blogiversary to Dave's Long Box.

ITEM! What if Alan Moore didn't come to DC Comics? Karen Berger might have turned to Russell Simmons... (via Glyphs).

ITEM! Does X-Factor #5 succeed as noir? (via Johanna)

Quick Boom! Reviews

Planetary Brigade #2
by Keith Giffen, J. M. DeMatteis, Fabio Moon, Zid of Ifs, Joe Abraham, Alfa of Ifs

Pretty much more of the same as the first issue. Most of the issue centers around a fight between the dysfunctional team and a batch of Lovecraftian nasties. Even though Giffen & DeMatteis through some character bits in, I still don't have a good feel for the team members, although the woman with the third eye is starting to develop a personality. I couldn't name any of them out of a line-up. The art round-robin continues as well, and even though this time there's a greater degree of consistency, I still think that a regular artist would be a better idea.

Rating: 2.5 (of 5)


Jeremiah Harm #2
by Keith Giffen, Alan Grant, Rael Lyra & Joe Prado

Harm arrives on Earth, hot on the trail of the three escaped mass murderers, and after a stop-off in an inner-city clinic to introduce some secondary characters, much mayhem ensues. If you enjoyed the Lobo-esque violence and mayhem of the first issue, you'll like this too.

Rating: 2.5 (of 5)


Zombie Tales: The Dead #1
by lots of people

A collection of six unrelated short stories about zombies. They're all pretty well done, good examples of how you can tell a decent story--world-building and all--in a short page count. My favorite of the bunch is Johanna Stokes and Cynthia Martin's "Zoombies," which features a monkey leading a group of zoo denizens against a zombie hoard--I would tially read a regular series based on this. This collection is strictly for zombie fans, but if you like zombie comics you'll like this.

Rating: 3 (of 5)


(review copies of these comics were provided by the publisher)

New This Week: March 29, 2006: Best Week Ever!

I am hereby proclaiming this, the final week of March, 2006, the Best Week Ever for new comics!

Normally I point out a Pick of the Week, that one item you really should get. Sometimes the pickings are slim, but I usually manage to come up with one.

This week however, there are just too many damn good comics to choose from.

At the very top of the list is the collection of Root Nibot & Colleen Coover's Banana Sunday, last year's best miniseries. All of you who claimed you were waiting for the trade, now's your chance. If you don't like Banana Sunday, you just don't like comics.

Also in collection is the Alias Omnibus, collecting every issue of Bendis's Marvel/MAX series in one big honking hardcover. Yes, $70 is a bit steep, but to but all 28 issues individually would have cost you $84, so it's a bargain (and if you shop around you can get it for less...). And if that's not enough Bendis for you, Marvel also have the final trade collection of his Daredevil run.

But that's not all! There's also the bargain-priced edition of the Superman Archives, vol. 1. And also Lost in Space: Voyage to the Bottom of the Soul, which finally completes Bill Mumy and Michal Dutkiewicz's story, collecting the first previously published issues with the final six issues that never saw the light of day when Innovation folded.

Manga? Yes, we have that too, with the final volume of Osamu Tezuka's Buddha hitting the stores.

You say you want comics? Those regular old floppies? There's great stuff there as well, starting with the fourth issue of Kevin Huizenga's Or Else, bringing what is sure to be more inspired cartooning from the master craftsman.

Also in comics there's the third issue of Grant Morrison & Frank Quitely's All Star Superman. And a new Star Wars: Tag & Bink comic. And the long-awaited return of Queen & Country to comics (did you read the novels--they're quite good!) And a new issue of Middleman...

And to top it all off, Becky Cloonan steps out on her own with the debut of her TokyoPop OEL title East Coast Rising.


So how's that for a huge bunch of Picks of the Week?


There are other comics of interest too, such as:

Antarctic have a new issue of Gold Digger (#73--#72 just came out last week...)

Dark Horse have a new issue of Usagi Yojimbo (#92).

DC continue the OYL fiesta with Action Comics (#837), Blue Beetle (#1), and Green Lantern (#10); and also have new issues of Lucifer (#72) & JLA Classified (#19); plus a collection of the Lady Constantine mini and a new Will Eisner's The Spirit Archives (vol. 18).

IDW have Peter David-ness with Fallen Angel #4 and Spike vs. Dracula #2.

Image have collections for The Ballad of Sleeping Beauty & Sea of Red (vol. 2); and new issues of Gødland (#9), Invincible (#30), and The Walking Dead (#27).

Marvel have the Captain America 65th Anniversary Special, the third New Avengers handcover, and new issues of Ultimate Spider-Man (#92) & X-Statix Presents Dead Girl (#3).

Top Shelf have the final issue of The Surrogates (#5).


See, what did I tell you? Best Week Ever! Just be sure to bring along your credit card when you visit your FNLCS--you're going to need it!