It's Wednesday, and that means a new FULL BLEED has leaked from the mind of Matt Maxwell. And if that wasn't enough for you, an all-new AISLE SEAT, taking a look at the COMIC BOOK CREATOR and MANGA CREATOR softwares.

Get greedy and go read!

/Mason

It's been a LONG time in the making, but Jess has arrived! JESS KNOWS BEST is the first advice column dedicated to the geek set. Questions about life, love, and all that good stuff? Ask Jess!

What are you waiting for? Go check it out!

/Mason

Manga Monday! Starting off the week, an updated look at last year's "Essential Manga", NODAME CANTABILE.

Can it maintain its momentum?

Tomorrow: a day I've been waiting for, for a very long time!

/Mason

WEEKEND BLOG EXTRA

Welcome, and thanks for dropping in for a new Blog Extra. This weekend, a look at two new books from a new indy publisher: Pit Bros. Productions.


THE LEGEND OF JOE MOON #0 was written by Gonzalo Ventura and drawn by Manuel and Leonardo Silva. MOON focuses on the adventures of a bounty hunter in the old west who’s a bit different than most: he’s also a werewolf. This introductory issue finds him on the trail of two brothers who are raping and murdering their way across the desert, and vile fiends they are, indeed. In fact, the story goes to great lengths to show you how awful they are, and it makes the book feel more distasteful than necessary. The continued rape of their female hostage goes on over the space of three of the sixteen pages. This was a time that subtlety would have been well called for. The creative team also runs out of room and winds up using exposition to explain an off-camera incident at the end of the tale, so the pacing could have been a bit better as well. However, the art shows great promise; the Silvas deliver some lovely black and white pages here, and demonstrate that they could have a very strong future ahead of them. Good concept, but better execution will ultimately be needed to make this one a winner.

HENRY AND BUTCHER #1 is written by Gonzalo Ventura and drawn by Martin Blanco. Ventura’s other book is a different animal altogether. Henry is a boxer-turned-leg breaker leading a reasonably normal suburban existence (as much as his job would allow, anyway). He’s got a wife and a kid, and he’s pretty happy with his life. But one day and automobile accident turns it all upside down. He goes home and a different family is living in his house. His car isn’t where he had the wreck. And his favorite bar no longer exists. However, a chance meeting on the street is what really makes it all crazy; his dog, Butcher, remembers him just fine. Oh, and by the way, the dog speaks English and tells Henry that he knows how to get him back to his real life. Now Henry’s in the loony bin, looking to get out… and find Butcher. Assuming he isn’t crazy. The plot idea has been done innumerable times, but the dog angle is a fresh one and sets this apart. Throw in some nice, noir-ish artwork from Blacno, and this is a solidly entertaining effort.

Join us here through the week for regular site updates, and friend us on MySpace. And please be back here next weekend for an all-new Blog Extra!

/Mason

Finishing off the week... Phil Yeh's DINOSAURS ACROSS AMERICA is a delightful way to teach your kids about the states and their capitals. Presented for the first time in hardcover, color glory.

Enjoy your weekend!

/Mason

Two for Thursday! First up is a new Omnium Gatherum, as Vince takes a look at some indy comics from black creators, featuring black characters. Then, a review of the magazine guaranteed to bring some peace and silence into every parent's life: AVATAR: THE LAST AIR BENDER, the beloved show of the 'tween set.

Go read!

/Mason

Wednesday brings some new goodness from Matt Maxwell, as the latest installment of FULL BLEED takes a look at what gateways there are to bring readers to comics.

It's great stuff. As usual.

/Mason

Tuesday brings a look at the very fanservice-heavy JUNGLE GIRL...

It has talking breasts. Sort of.

Really.

/Mason

Manga Monday! Catching up on the back volumes of HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS, one of our faves...

Should be an interesting week, yes?

/Mason

WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?

Welcome back to the Weekend Blog Extra. This week: easily the strangest thing I’ve read in quite some time.

PUNKS: THE COMIC is written by Joshua Hale Fialkov and drawn by Kody Chamberlain. A risen from the dead Abe Lincoln is joined by a man whose head is a skull, a man whose head is a fist, and a man with the head of a dog, to battle an alien invasion and cover up the death of a prostitute.

Yes, yes… read it again. I’m not making that up.

Really, there is no actual story. PUNKS is mostly an exercise in absurdity, and while it annoys in the first few pages, eventually you just sort of begin to go along with it. A big part of that is the wicked sense of humor the gags are built upon. In one sharp scene, Lincoln complains about how hard it is to get an apartment, seeing as how he lacks a drivers’ license and social security number, and that he’s been on disability since 1865. In another, a father exasperated with his children laments at their lack of appreciation that he’s taken them out to rain death on mankind from above and that next year he’ll just stick with Epcot. Sharp, witty stuff, and it takes some of the edge off of the stuff that really doesn’t work.

I don’t think PUNKS is for everyone; not even close. But if you like the surreal, and you can appreciate a truly interesting experiment by Kody Chamberlain, then it might be for you.

See you here through the week for site updates. You can also friend us on MySpace for updates as well.

/Mason

Closing out the week... Vince, too, is late, but he arrives to rebut his fangirl critics in the latest edition of OMNIUM GATHERUM. Plus: a look at THE SURREAL ADVENTURES OF EDGAR ALLAN POO, wherein the writer shits out his imagination and the turd takes on a life of its own.

I'm not making that up. Honest.

/Mason

A day late, but not a dollar short, Matt Maxwell's FULL BLEED returns to ask "Where do comics fans come from?"

Nothing to do with the birds and the bees, I'm afraid...

/Mason

Wednesday... FULL BLEED has been delayed this week due to illness, so it's role today will be played by a review of VAMPIRELLA QUARTERLY: SUMMER 2007.

Maybe tomorrow, maybe next week. Send Matt your positive energy, won't you?

/Mason

Tuesday is a good day for mythology, as we take a look at DEVI from Virgin Comics.

Best book from them yet. Honest.

/Mason

Manga Monday! LE CHEVALIER D'EON is quite a nifty little police procedural/occult thriller about a boy whose dead sister inhabits his body in order to wreak vengeance on evildoers.

How can you pass up that description?

/Mason

A QUICK BIT OF COOL


Top Shelf is celebrating its ten-year anniversary this year, and in response they’ve created a nifty little marketing tool. THE TOP SHELF SEASON SAMPLER is available through their website or at conventions, and like love, it don’t cost a thang.

Contained within is a number of previews of this year’s releases, including a number of books I’ve reviewed (LONE RACER, TALES FROM THE FARM, KORGI, FOX BUNNY FUNNY, DEATH BY CHOCOLATE, SUPER SPY), The entries include a summary and some art, along with the occasional pull quote. However, they don’t just restrict themselves to this year’s releases. The sampler also includes previews of the company’s perennial sellers like FROM HELL, LOST GIRLS, TRICKED, BOX OFFICE POISON, BLANKETS and others. Then they throw in some promotion for stuff coming next year, including the third volume of Alan Moore’s LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN and Alex Robinson’s next book, TOO COOL TO BE FORGOTTEN. (Can’t tell you just how much I’m looking forward to that one.)

If you’re stuck with a comics shop that doesn’t order from the back of the catalog, or have just been curious about breaking away from the superhero grind, Top Shelf has a healthy amount of material that should appeal to you. Getting your hands on a copy of this sampler could lead you to something interesting and maybe change your reading habits.

/Mason

CWR WEEKEND BLOG EXTRA

And I mean seriously extra. Because this book is still wayyyyy off in the distance, but you’re getting your first look Right. Fucking. Here.


The book in question? HAZED, written by Mark Sable and drawn by Robbi Rodriguez, and published by Image Comics: the real San Francisco treat.

HAZED is the story of Ileana, a college freshman who winds up going to a “second choice” college and nearly immediately regrets it. She’s got a vapid roommate named James (who is a woman, despite her name), a reasonably healthy sense of self and a decent body image, and enough smarts to fill multiple backpacks. But we find out early on that it all went by the wayside and she’s headed for a life of eating disorders and binge drinking. The question then becomes, as Sable begins building his parody: how did it all go wrong?

Honestly, taking shots at college culture is pretty much like shooting fish in a barrel, and being a college librarian, trust me: I know. To make it work, you have to do two things: have at least one good character to get behind, and some new, clever ways to deliver the snark. Sable’s best: the sluttiest sorority on campus is Sigma Tau Delta… the STDs. Funny stuff.

In the rougher spots where the story isn’t quite flowing, Sable has the best backup possible in the form of Rodriguez. As he’s proven on MAINTENANCE, he has a gift for drawing projects with a warped sense of humor, and he really delivers some terrific stuff here.

Nothing about HAZED screams “genius!” or “Eisner!”, but the first chunk I’ve read here does do a solid job of entertaining and putting a smile on your face. Can’t ask for much more than that.

Be back here through the week for site updates and/or friend us on MySpace. See you next weekend for the next edition of the Blog Extra!

/Mason

Ending the week with greatness... Gipi's NOTES FOR A WAR STORY arrives on our shores, and it's one of the best books of the year, period.

Read all about it.

/Mason

Thursday... Vince Moore goes on the attack against When Fangirls Attack in the latest edition of OMNIUM GATHERUM! Plus: Marc reviews the hardcover collection of Frank Beddor's HATTER M.

What else do you want?

/Mason

Wednesday shifts up a gear, as Matt Maxwell's FULL BLEED dives into superhero hate and asks the question "Where has the imagination gone?"

It's a good one, gang.

/Mason