Gon Gone No More?

One of my all-time favorite manga series is Masashi Tanaka's Gon, a wonderful comic about a take-no-duff little dinosaur living in the present natural world. Tanaka is a fantastic draftsman and storyteller; there's no dialog or sound effects in Gon, just expertly crafted drawings of animals and their surroundings. The way that Tanaka is able to get emotion out of his realistic animal characters is astounding. Oh, and it's really funny too.

Gon was the first manga series published by DC, pre-CMX (under the Paradox Press imprint). Five volumes came out, that was a while ago and they're out of print. But potential good news: in an interview with Newsarama, Gail Simone lets slip that DC/CMX is likely bring back Gon, bringing the old volumes back in print and bringing out new volume too!

New Library Comics: Week of February 5, 2007

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


Assorted meats : preview book. /Ann Arbor, Mich : Biohazard Publishing, 1997.

Constantini, Gianluca. El Indio. /Italy : Centro Fumetto, 2004.

Deitch, Kim, 1944- Shadowland /Seattle, Wash. : Fantagraphics, 2006.

Fillion, Patrick, 1973- Guardians of the cube /[S.l.] : Class Comics, [2004?-] no. 1

Grennan, Simon. Ghost on the stair & other stories : astonishing stories of post-industrial epiphanies /Seattle, WA : Fantagraphics, 1998.

Hanabusa, Yoko. Idol dreams /Milwaukie, OR : Dark Horse Manga, 2006.

Hashimoto, Takako. Response /Milwaukie, OR : Dark Horse Manga, 2005.

Heartbreakers superdigest /Fullerton, Calif. : Image Comics, 1998- vol. 2

Hoshiai, Misao. Holding on to Alex /Milwaukie, OR : Dark Horse Manga, 2006.

Hudlin, Reginald. Black Panther /New York : Marvel, 2005.

Itoh, Kako. A girl in a million /Milwaukie, OR : Dark Horse Manga, 2005.

Kitoh, Mohiro. Shadow star /Milwaukee, OR : Dark Horse Comics, c2001- vols. 1-2

Lee, Stan. Marvel masterworks presents here comes Daredevil, the man without fear! /New York : Marvel Comics, c2003- vol. 1

Lee, Stan. Marvel masterworks presents the Silver Surfer /New York, N.Y. : Marvel Comics, 2003. vol. 1

Mack, David. Kabuki /Fullerton, CA : Image Comics, c1997- vols. 2, 3, 5

Marti. Taxista : obra completa /Barcelona : Glénat, c2004.

Martín, Miguel Angel. Brian the brain : un technomelodrama del siglo XXI /Barcelona : Ediciones la Cúpula, c2005.

Mitsuba, Takanashi. Crimson hero /[S.l.] : Viz Media, 2005- vol. 1

Page, Tyler, 1976- Stylish vittles /Minneapolis, Minn. : Demention Comics, c2002- vols. 1-2

Prado, Miguelanxo. Trazo de tiza /Barcelona : Norma Editorial, c2003.

Sanford, Jay Allen. Triple-x-cinema : a cartoon history /San Diego, Calif. : Re-Visionary Press, [1998?]

Seto, Andy, 1969- Shaolin soccer /Fremont, CA : ComicsOne Corp., c2003- vols. 1-2

Shibata, Masahiro. Sarai /Femont, Calif. : Comics One, 2002- vol. 1

Smith, Rick. Baraka and black magic in Morocco : a graphic travelogue /Gainesville, FL : Alternative Comics, c2003.

Stevenson, Robert Louis, 1850-1894. Graphic classics : Robert Louis Stevenson /Mount Horeb, Wis. : Eureka Productions, c2004.

Tatsumi, Yoshihiro, 1935- Abandon the old in Tokyo /Montreal : Drawn & Quarterly, 2006.

Tommaso, Rich. Clover honey /Seattle, WA : Fantagraphics Books, c1995.

Weird science /Timonium, Md. : Gemstone Publishing, c2006- vol. 1

Whats up. /[United States?] : [s.n.], [200-?]

Wood, Wallace. Sally Forth /Seattle, WA : Eros Comix, 1993-1995. nos. 1, 6

Monkey Covers

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

It's giant ape vs. T-Rex on Brian Buniak's 1990 cover to Dark Horse Presents #47!

(Standard disclaimer about dinosaur-wailing giant apes not really being monkeys applies.)

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

Random DC Super-hero Thoughts

* Have you noticed that all of DC's Superman titles are perpetually running late these days? We expect it on All Star Superman, and Superman/Batman & Supergirl have been plagued with lateness from the get-go. But these days Action Comics, Superman, and the new Superman Confidential are suffering from delays. One or two titles once in a while is understandable; but the entire line? I don't recall offhand who the editor of the Superman line is these days, but it sounds like a change is in order...

* Just finished reading Green Lantern Corps #5-6 last night. Golly what a boring title! How can one take the inherently cool concept of an interstellar police force--starring Guy Garder no less--and make it deadly dull is beyond me. Dave Gibbons has many virtues as a comic creator, but writing super-hero comics is not one of them.

* You know who would make the perfect writer for a Supergirl comic? Sean McKeever. He's newly exclusive to DC; coming off Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane, one of Marvel's best titles, this would seem like the perfect fit. Toss in Les McClain as the artist and you'll have one fine comic! (And maybe it'll even come out on time...)

Manga News Sources?

Does anybody have a recommendation for good sources of news on domestic manga (both translated & OEL)? I'm thinking of the kind of coverage that sites like Comic Book Resources & Newsarama provide for the super-hero-ish stuff, but for manga.

Thanks!

Review: Mr. Big

Mr. Big
by Carol & Matt Dembicki
Little Foot Publishing, $9.99

Life in the pond can be cruel. It is home to many creatures: fish, crayfish, frogs, insects, even crows. But it is ruled over by Mr. Big, a giant turtle, who is inscrutable in his actions as he randomly chooses smaller creatures to devour. Some of the swamps denizens have had enough: they want to get rid of Mr. Big to stop his senseless killing; others argue that Mr. Big is part of the swamp itself and should be left alone. A plot is hatched anyway; but as things start to be set in motion, a wildcard in the form of an invasive species arrives in the pond.

Mr. Big is an ecological parable, but not in a preachy manner. The Dembickis' story is produced in a realistic way. Although the animals' thought processes are anthropomorphized, they serve a dual purpose in both representing instinctual motivations and as a mirror to aspects of our own human society. The animals look like real animals, not cutesy cartoons, in art that reminds me of Michael Zulli's early Puma Blues work. There's also a great sense of place in Mr. Big, with art that makes it feel 'swampy.' Different border styles are used to differentiate between action that takes place underwater, on the surface, or in the air--a nice touch.

A true all-ages book, Mr. Big will appeal to anyone with an interest in nature.

Rating: 3.5 (of 5).

New This Week: February 7, 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 Shazam: The Monster Society of Evil #1, Jeff Smith's first comic since concluding Bone. If anyone stands a chance of recapturing the old Captain Marvel aesthetic while bringing it to a 21st century audience, it's Smith.


In other comics:

Antarctic have the 2nd issue of Pirates vs. Ninjas.

Boom! have a new Cthulhu Tales anthology, plus Tag: Cursed #1.

Dark Horse have tons o' manga, including Eden: It's an Endless World vol. 6.

DC have a collection of American Way; a second DMZ collection; plus second volumes of Superman Chronicles and old Justice Society. There are also new issues of 52 (week 40), Action Comics Annual (#10), All New Atom (#8), Astro City: The Dark Age Book Two (#2), Jonah Hex (#16), and Midnighter (#4). Oh, and a new issue of Supergirl (#14), if anyone is interested...

IDW have the second issue of Desperadoes: Buffalo Dreams, the fourth issue of Angel: Auld Lang Syne, and the concluding issue of Spike: Asylum (#5).

Image finally have Fell #7.

Marvel have new issues of Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man (#17), The Irredeemable Ant-Man (#5), newuniversal (#4), The Punisher (#44), and Spider-Man and Power Pack (#4).

Oni have the second issue of Maintenance.

Penny Farthing have a collection of the criminally overlooked Stuart Moore's Para. Do yourself a favor and take a look see.

TokyoPop & Viz both also have tons of manga coming out this week, including new volumes of Banana Fish (vol. 18) and Nana (vol. 5).


Plenty of comics for you this week. Enjoy!