Monkey Covers

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

We kick off monkey covers for 2007 with a monkey reading ghost stories on the cover of Monkeyshines Comics #8 from 1945.

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

YAFQ: How Do You Read YACB?

The return of Yet Another Friday Question:

How do you read Yet Another Comics Blog? Do you have it bookmarked? Do you follow a link on your or someone else's blog? Do you use a feed reader?

I'm just curious...

Comic Book Movies in 2006

From Box Office Mojo, here's the list of 2006 movies based on comics and how they performed in domestic release:

Rank  Title                            Domestic Gross
----  -----                            --------------
   3  X-Men: The Last Stand            $234,362,462 
   5  Superman Returns                 $200,081,192 
   9  Over the Hedge                   $155,019,340 
  33  V for Vendetta                    $70,511,035
  94  Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties   $28,426,747

New This Week: January 4, 2007

Based on the NCRL list for this week's comics shipping from Diamond, here are a few things to look for at the local comic shop later today:


The Pick of the Week is, of course, All Star Superman #6 by Grant Morrison & Frank Quitely. Sure it only comes out once in a blue moon, but when it does it's always a treat. Sure to be your best reading for your hard-earned $2.99 this week.


In other comics:

Antarctic debut Dinowars: Jurassic War of the Worlds, and have a new issue of Gold Digger (#80).

Boom! have the fourth issue of X-Isle.

DC have a second collection of Manhunter; and new issues of 52 (week 35), All New Atom (#7), Jonah Hex (#15), Justice League Unlimited (#29), Manhunter (#27), Midnighter (#3), Superman (#658), and Superman Confidential (#3).

Fantagraphics have the latest issue of The Comics Journal (#280).

Image go all Paul Grist with collections of Jack Staff (vol. 3) and Kane (vol. 6); plus new issues of A Distant Soil (#38) and Fear Agent (#10). Plus there's finally the hardcover of the Hellshock Definitive Edition (any idea when the paperback is due out?)

Larry Gonick's Cartoon History of the Modern World hits comics shops (though it was in bookstores last week).

Marvel have Civil War #6 (if you're not on the West Coast...); and new issues of Civil War Front Line (#10), Irredeemable Ant-Man (#4), newuniversal (#2), Powers (#22), Punisher War Journal (#2), and Spider-Man and Power Pack (#3).


That should be enough comics to kick off your new year right!

The Best of 2006 (That I Haven't Read Yet...)

With the old year behind us and the new one just begun, it's time to look back at 2006 and pick the year's best.

But...

I find that this past year there were many heralded GNs that I didn't get around to reading. Such as:

Fun Home. I'm actually two chapters into this, having started it over the weekend. I really like it so far, but it is an exhausting read (in a good way).

Scott Pilgrim and the Infinite Sadness. Also started this over the past weekend; halfway through.

Curses. Forgot to order from DCBS; but I got Amazon gift script for Christmas so it's been ordered!

Chicken with Plums. Checked out from the library to read over break but didn't get to it.

Lost Girls. Have it, but haven't been in the right mood yet to read it.

Ode to Kirohito. On order for the library.

Cancer Vixen. Reviews have been mixed; I suspect perhaps I am the wrong age/gender/whatever to appreciate it.

The Drifting Classroom. Escaped my notice when it first came out, but a lot of people are raving about it. Is it true?

American Born Chinese. Library copy is at the bindery.

Abandon the Old in Tokyo. Just haven't got around to it yet.

Finder: Five Crazy Women. Gah! I'm behind on my Finder reading.

Ghost of Hoppers. Ditto for Love & Rockets.

Making Comics. Own it; I've read maybe a quarter of it so far.

Cartoon History of the Modern World. Just got it this past week.


Anything in there that I should defintely read before too long?

New Library Comics: Week of December 18, 2006

Here are the comics we added to our library collection last week:


Crumb, R. Pioneers of country music /Amherst, Mass. : Denis Kitchen, 2005, c1985.

De Haven, Tom. Green candles /New York (1700 Broadway, New York 10019) : Paradox Press, c1995. vols. 1-2

Disney comics : the classics collection. /New York : Disney Editions, c2006.

Herriman, George, 1880-1944. Krazy & Ignatz : "there is a heppy land, fur, fur awa-a-ay" : comprising the complete full-page comic strips, 1925-26 /Seattle : Fantagraphics Books, c2002.

Kressbach, Karl. Stop /Grand Rapids, Mich. : Mental Note Press, c2005- no. 1

Minicomics Monday

Two minis by artist Shelli Paroline are both quick but fun reads.

The Solar Event (co-written with Chris Knowles) is a six-page wordless story about a group of elementary kids who go out to view a solar eclipse along with their teacher. Of course, it's no fun to not be able to directly look at the sun!

Pirate Shorts is a collection of short stories, all with a (sometimes loose) pirate theme. The centerpiece of the comic, a retelling of "The Tortoise and the Hare" where the race is between pirate ships, utilizes a four-page fold-out; and the mini is wrapped in a one-third height blue plastic second cover simulating water.

Paroline's art is cute and fun, and she knows how to use the comics form to tell her stories with little or no dialogue.

These comics and others can be had via her Website Fool Proof Art.