INVINCIBLE... a true sales success rarity. But why does it read so much better in collected form than in floppies? Today at the main site, a look at INVINCIBLE: ULTIMATE COLLECTION VOL.2!
/Mason
Friday, August 04, 2006
Thursday, August 03, 2006
It's the return of "Should It Be A Movie?" at the main site! Today, a look at THE EXPENDABLE ONE, the story of a man who cannot die who decides to use his power to be a hero... with some disastrous and hilarious results!
/Mason
/Mason
Wednesday, August 02, 2006
Why does a good book miss greatness? Today, Marc checks out WAR-FIX at the main site and addresses that very phenomenon...
/Mason
/Mason
Tuesday, August 01, 2006
Alt-comix powerhouse Jordan Crane returns to the printed page with his new series UPTIGHT. Learn all about it today at the main site...
/Mason
/Mason
Monday, July 31, 2006
Sunday, July 30, 2006
CWR WEEKEND BLOG EXTRA
I’ll tell you all a little secret: I kinda miss doing a regular column. With the format I’ve set up for the new site, I’m keeping things pretty separated. Reviews go up individually on the appropriate publisher page, and that’s it. Plus, I feel obligated to write longer pieces. Quick and dirty don’t rule the day. But that changes today, because they’re at least going to rule this weekend.
Today’s topic: a full suite of books from Ross Richie’s Boom Studios. Boom has become quite the overnight success story, going from fledgling indy to mover/shaker in less than a year. By publishing work by top-notch creators with high-quality production values, they’ve become hard to ignore. I have five new Boom efforts sitting here in my hands; let’s take a look and see how they’re doing.
JEREMIAH HARM #4 (written by Keith Giffen and Alan Grant, drawn by Rafael Albuquerque) is the penultimate chapter to this “space bounty hunters on steroids” saga. When last we left Harm, he had defeated one of the three baddies intent on destroying the universe itself, and had the other two in his sights. Giffen and Grant waste no time getting to the next ridiculous, over-the-top fight as the book opens, throwing as much action at the reader as possible. If you stopped to think about the logistics of the plot or the motivations of the villains, HARM would be in danger of collapsing on itself, but for pure shut off your brain entertainment, it’s hard to beat this book.
Last issue, SECOND WAVE took a bad tumble, losing some of the goodwill the book had built up from the beginning. Issue five (written by Michael Alan Nelson and drawn by Chee) spends the first two-thirds of the story mired in the trouble spot where it left off. Nelson is trying to demonstrate how quickly society has fallen apart because of the Martian attack, but it all feels too familiar. However, the final third of this issue sees the book begin to regain its composure. One good thing: the return of the Martians to the scene; their absence being part of the book’s stumble. Extra points for the creative murder of a crooked sheriff’s deputy.
Milo and Captain Valor head to therapy in HERO SQUARED #2 (written by Keith Giffen and J.M. DeMatteis and drawn by Joe Abraham), and it’s easily my favorite issue of the series to date. The writers have become somewhat known for being experts and producing “talking heads” comics, and this book cements that rep. However, unlike the excesses that have marked some writers’ efforts over the past couple of years (*cough* Bendis), this never stops being a terrific, riveting piece of entertainment. By the end you realize the true theme of this book: the nature of self-loathing. Milo and Valor are the same guy, genetically, but each other’s version does nothing but remind them of what they hate most about themselves. Great work.
Never a fan of writer Joe Casey’s work, I was hesitant about THE BLACK PLAGUE #1 (drawn by Julia Bax). However, this was pretty decent. We open with a retired superhero and his retired former arch-nemesis playing a lovely game of chess in the park, but soon enough, we discover that there’s a lot more going on in this town that anyone would suspect. And that perhaps the old villain has a lot more up his sleeve than anyone could guess. BLACK PLAGUE’S strongest moments come from Bax’s art; it’s very clean and has a simple look, but conveys action and body language very well. There’s a BLACK PLAGUE mini-series coming down the road to clear up these mysteries, and despite my feelings about Casey, I think that’s a good thing.
Finally, we have THE 2006 DAVE JOHNSON FULL-COLOR SKETCHBOOK, a bookshelf-format edition presenting a wide variety of the artist’s work. Containing everything from odd doodles to designs for 100 BULLETS and CAPTAIN AMERICA, this potpourri of work is a must if you’re a fan of Johnson’s. There’s still worth to be found here if you aren’t, and even with the $10 price tag, that’s still better than laying out a ten-spot for a convention sketchbook that was printed by an artist at Kinko’s the night before the show. If Vertigo ever produces a coffee-table book of his 100 BULLETS covers, this has convinced me I’d have to buy it.
That’s it for the CWR Weekend Blog Extra. Tune in to the main site through the week for new stuff!
/Mason
I’ll tell you all a little secret: I kinda miss doing a regular column. With the format I’ve set up for the new site, I’m keeping things pretty separated. Reviews go up individually on the appropriate publisher page, and that’s it. Plus, I feel obligated to write longer pieces. Quick and dirty don’t rule the day. But that changes today, because they’re at least going to rule this weekend.
Today’s topic: a full suite of books from Ross Richie’s Boom Studios. Boom has become quite the overnight success story, going from fledgling indy to mover/shaker in less than a year. By publishing work by top-notch creators with high-quality production values, they’ve become hard to ignore. I have five new Boom efforts sitting here in my hands; let’s take a look and see how they’re doing.
JEREMIAH HARM #4 (written by Keith Giffen and Alan Grant, drawn by Rafael Albuquerque) is the penultimate chapter to this “space bounty hunters on steroids” saga. When last we left Harm, he had defeated one of the three baddies intent on destroying the universe itself, and had the other two in his sights. Giffen and Grant waste no time getting to the next ridiculous, over-the-top fight as the book opens, throwing as much action at the reader as possible. If you stopped to think about the logistics of the plot or the motivations of the villains, HARM would be in danger of collapsing on itself, but for pure shut off your brain entertainment, it’s hard to beat this book.
Last issue, SECOND WAVE took a bad tumble, losing some of the goodwill the book had built up from the beginning. Issue five (written by Michael Alan Nelson and drawn by Chee) spends the first two-thirds of the story mired in the trouble spot where it left off. Nelson is trying to demonstrate how quickly society has fallen apart because of the Martian attack, but it all feels too familiar. However, the final third of this issue sees the book begin to regain its composure. One good thing: the return of the Martians to the scene; their absence being part of the book’s stumble. Extra points for the creative murder of a crooked sheriff’s deputy.
Milo and Captain Valor head to therapy in HERO SQUARED #2 (written by Keith Giffen and J.M. DeMatteis and drawn by Joe Abraham), and it’s easily my favorite issue of the series to date. The writers have become somewhat known for being experts and producing “talking heads” comics, and this book cements that rep. However, unlike the excesses that have marked some writers’ efforts over the past couple of years (*cough* Bendis), this never stops being a terrific, riveting piece of entertainment. By the end you realize the true theme of this book: the nature of self-loathing. Milo and Valor are the same guy, genetically, but each other’s version does nothing but remind them of what they hate most about themselves. Great work.
Never a fan of writer Joe Casey’s work, I was hesitant about THE BLACK PLAGUE #1 (drawn by Julia Bax). However, this was pretty decent. We open with a retired superhero and his retired former arch-nemesis playing a lovely game of chess in the park, but soon enough, we discover that there’s a lot more going on in this town that anyone would suspect. And that perhaps the old villain has a lot more up his sleeve than anyone could guess. BLACK PLAGUE’S strongest moments come from Bax’s art; it’s very clean and has a simple look, but conveys action and body language very well. There’s a BLACK PLAGUE mini-series coming down the road to clear up these mysteries, and despite my feelings about Casey, I think that’s a good thing.
Finally, we have THE 2006 DAVE JOHNSON FULL-COLOR SKETCHBOOK, a bookshelf-format edition presenting a wide variety of the artist’s work. Containing everything from odd doodles to designs for 100 BULLETS and CAPTAIN AMERICA, this potpourri of work is a must if you’re a fan of Johnson’s. There’s still worth to be found here if you aren’t, and even with the $10 price tag, that’s still better than laying out a ten-spot for a convention sketchbook that was printed by an artist at Kinko’s the night before the show. If Vertigo ever produces a coffee-table book of his 100 BULLETS covers, this has convinced me I’d have to buy it.
That’s it for the CWR Weekend Blog Extra. Tune in to the main site through the week for new stuff!
/Mason
Friday, July 28, 2006
Heading into the weekend... a big, tasty slice of cheesecake, as SHE-DRAGON finally arrives from Image! Check it out over at the main site!
Plus: check back here this weekend for a CWR Weekend Blog Extra featuring the latest releases from Boom Studios!
/Mason
Plus: check back here this weekend for a CWR Weekend Blog Extra featuring the latest releases from Boom Studios!
/Mason
Thursday, July 27, 2006
Back in business... back from San Diego! Today at the main site, you'll find reviews of Joe Lansdale and Tim Truman's CONAN AND THE SONGS OF THE DEAD, and first-time novelist Evam Kuhlman's WOLF BOY, which incorporates some intriguing graphic novel elements...
/Mason
/Mason
Sunday, July 23, 2006
THE ESCALATOR-BATOR, or WHO SUBSCRIBES TO ‘HORSEFISTING ILLUSTRATED?’
This is kind of a Saturday/Sunday combo post. I woke up late this morning and decided to go finish the con instead of writing first. Turned out to be the right idea, as I was three hours and out at the show today.
Yesterday was a monster. First, at some point midday, they stopped selling new badges. To my knowledge, that’s a first. Attendance records have been obliterated, I’d think. Every day was packed beyond belief. I did only two panels, surprisingly; the “Adapting comics to the screen” screenwriters panel, and the “Hack/Slash” becoming a movie panel. My favorite con moment of the day, though, came after those, however. John Ridley was signing free copies of his novel THOSE WHO WALK IN DARKNESS. I’m a huge fan, so this was going to be a treat.
Then he ran late.
So late, in fact, that I decided to wander off and come back later. So I get a few aisles over and what do I see? Ridley at a different publisher’s booth, asking if they know where Warner Books is located. So I stepped in and played tour guide, delivering him to a grateful Warner’s staff. Fun.
The evening was again spent with friends, all but one of who was leaving today. I made some new friends this year that made this an amazing show, and I’m very grateful. Brandon, Jess, Lee… safe travels. Along with old friends Joe and Chris, we made Saturday one for the books. Not going to over-detail, but Joe helped get a guy arrested; Chris broke a waiter’s fragile heart; we marveled at a young boy who was riding the Hyatt escalators barefoot and in the wrong direction (running up the ‘down’, etc.) while playing with himself through his pockets; decisions were made about what horses drawn by Rob Liefeld would look like (no visible hooves, star-shaped tattoos over their eyes, and twenty-eight hands tall if you include their shoulder-mounted guns); and we created a trade magazine for people who artificially inseminate mares.
It went downhill from there. :-)
Today is my traditional shopping day. I focused heavily on minis, though the number of interesting efforts was way down this year. Still, I picked up new efforts from Paul Horn, Raina Telgemeier, Dave Roman, and Marion Vitus among others, so I left as a happy consumer.
As usual, with the show over, I’m wishing I were flying out tonight. I miss my house and bed. But thinking about it, I know I’ll miss my friends (those named above, plus Matt, Kevin, Steven and everyone else even more. See you next time gang…
/Mason
Saturday, July 22, 2006
STICK A FORK IN ME…
Ugh.
I’ve tired of wandering around to promote myself and the site. I know it must be done; I need content; content brings readers, readers will bring advertisers when the time comes. But after a while, even someone with an ego the size of mine tires of talking about themselves. Hell, even typing this makes me want to smack myself.
Four panels yesterday. The blogger panel, which was fun. Spurge and Heidi are such wildly different people and are a combustible combo when in each other’s proximity. Next was IDW, supporting friends. Ryall is doing great there as EIC, and buddy John Layman had his SCARFACE mini announced. I’ve known about that one for a while, and it should be great.
Later in the day, it was BET’s animation panel. Reggie Hudlin is pushing hard to change the channel’s rep, and this was positive stuff. The highlight was a short piece called “Bid ‘em in” that dramatized a slave auction. It was a powerful punch to the gut. If the majority of their material is half as good, BET will be a huge force in animation for years to come.
The last panel stop for me was the art of Dan DeCarlo, put on by Bill Morrison, who did the book. Fantastic slides and stories, good fun.
Night saw dinner and drinking with friends, the way it should be. Back to the show…
/Mason
Friday, July 21, 2006
IT ALL LEADS TO FELLATIO RATHER QUICKLY…
Today’s quote comes from the genius of Brandon Jerwa. Funny guy, that Brandon. Good writer, too.
Thursday was Friday. That was the general consensus of the folks I polled. We had a Friday level of traffic, a Friday-sized crowd, and the Hyatt bar was at Friday fervor. The weekend may be fearsome.
Hit three panels. Del Rey manga, which was fun. Their e-i-c, Dallas Middaugh, has exactly the right attitude towards some of the mangas’ crazier plots. Sat in on Jimmy Palmiotti’s panel late afternoon. Jimmy remains one of my favorite folks in comics; good guy, works hard, and really cares. I’ll be doing a new interview with Jimmy this fall. Those are always fun.
Last panel was Random House’s graphic novel panel. More of Dallas, plus the discovery that Kazu Kibuishi’s name is pronounced “Kazoo”. I felt a twinge of sympathy for him at that moment. The FLINTSTONES must have made his life Hell.
Did a lot of catching up with publishers I know. One told me something very surprising; he said that last year was very “producer heavy” and lighter on the fan end. However, so far in the show, they weren’t as besieged by Hollywood as expected, but were surprisingly customer heavy. I liked hearing that.
Pressed the flesh with publishers I don’t know as well, trying to spread word about the new site. I’ve put in some good work so far. Ended the night with dinner and drinks with friends, the way you should here. Back to work now…
/Mason
Thursday, July 20, 2006
GRANT MORRISON HAS A FIRM PIMP HAND...
...and other Preview Night notes.
S ix-year old children will go insane when "Hell's Bells" plays. I began my day at Petco Park, watching baseball. The Padres took a lead into the ninth, meaning Trevor Hoffman was brought in to get the save. The park goes insane when the song plays, including young kids. What a great Pavlovian response!
Registration this year was incredibly smooth. And if you had the barcode letter, you were gold. I was done in under five minutes, and I even needed a change in my info. Great job by the con folks.
Saw some familiar faces early. Laurenn McCubbin, Stephen Buell, Jeff Davidson, Rob Osborne, Ryan Yount, to name a few. But con is about seeing old friends, so the highlights involved John Layman and the genius of Matt Maxwell (who coined this post's title after I explained why I lack a firm pimp hand myself).
I think Top Shelf and Boom have good chances to make a splash. LOST GIRLS is now here and in print, and the package is incredible. Plus, Melinda Gebbie is here to sign them. Amano's HERO arrived at the Boom booth last night while I was visiting, and it looks gorgeous. Decent price point, too.
Off to the show!
...and other Preview Night notes.
S ix-year old children will go insane when "Hell's Bells" plays. I began my day at Petco Park, watching baseball. The Padres took a lead into the ninth, meaning Trevor Hoffman was brought in to get the save. The park goes insane when the song plays, including young kids. What a great Pavlovian response!
Registration this year was incredibly smooth. And if you had the barcode letter, you were gold. I was done in under five minutes, and I even needed a change in my info. Great job by the con folks.
Saw some familiar faces early. Laurenn McCubbin, Stephen Buell, Jeff Davidson, Rob Osborne, Ryan Yount, to name a few. But con is about seeing old friends, so the highlights involved John Layman and the genius of Matt Maxwell (who coined this post's title after I explained why I lack a firm pimp hand myself).
I think Top Shelf and Boom have good chances to make a splash. LOST GIRLS is now here and in print, and the package is incredible. Plus, Melinda Gebbie is here to sign them. Amano's HERO arrived at the Boom booth last night while I was visiting, and it looks gorgeous. Decent price point, too.
Off to the show!
Tuesday, July 18, 2006
THE WEATHER IS HERE, WISH YOU WERE LOVELY
San Diego, first full day. Taking my own advice, I arrived last night to stay a full week. Checked in, treated myself to dinner, and got a good night’s sleep.
Woke this morning and had a bagel on the patio of a nearby café. Enjoyed the breeze and the temps. Planning on hitting the Padres game tonight with Chris Allen, before all Hell breaks loose tomorrow.
The rest of the country is suffering stupid heat right now, Al Gore’s inconvenient truth rearing its ugly head. San Diego remains blissfully immune for now… the humidity is high, but that’s a fair trade. Hopefully the con a/c will be in top form, and we’ll shop and network in relative comfort. Won’t hold my breath, though.
Did my Ralph’s shopping today as well. 5 days worth of lunches for $8.65. Hard to beat that…
Sight of the day: a man exiting the Ralph’s garage in a car upon which he had painted/written some sort of manifesto. He was driving like an asshole (surprise,surprise), but I managed to catch something about Jesus being the defense attorney for the chosen somethings or other. Yeesh.
Con reports proper will begin Wednesday night or Thursday morning. Check back then…
Mason
San Diego, first full day. Taking my own advice, I arrived last night to stay a full week. Checked in, treated myself to dinner, and got a good night’s sleep.
Woke this morning and had a bagel on the patio of a nearby café. Enjoyed the breeze and the temps. Planning on hitting the Padres game tonight with Chris Allen, before all Hell breaks loose tomorrow.
The rest of the country is suffering stupid heat right now, Al Gore’s inconvenient truth rearing its ugly head. San Diego remains blissfully immune for now… the humidity is high, but that’s a fair trade. Hopefully the con a/c will be in top form, and we’ll shop and network in relative comfort. Won’t hold my breath, though.
Did my Ralph’s shopping today as well. 5 days worth of lunches for $8.65. Hard to beat that…
Sight of the day: a man exiting the Ralph’s garage in a car upon which he had painted/written some sort of manifesto. He was driving like an asshole (surprise,surprise), but I managed to catch something about Jesus being the defense attorney for the chosen somethings or other. Yeesh.
Con reports proper will begin Wednesday night or Thursday morning. Check back then…
Mason
Monday, July 17, 2006
Today at the main site... PENNY ARCADE makes my acquaintance, and the FRAGILE PROPHET tells my future.
Plus: read below for the CWR WEEKEND BLOG EXTRA!
/Mason
Plus: read below for the CWR WEEKEND BLOG EXTRA!
/Mason
Sunday, July 16, 2006
CWR WEEKEND BLOG EXTRA!
No reason just to use this blog as my news feed, right? Instead, I’ll be putting up new weekend content as often as I can, in this very space. Woo-hoo!
LOVE AND ROCKETS #16
Written and Drawn by Los Bros Hernandez
Published by Fantagraphics
I’ve made no secret out of the fact that I tend to prefer Gilbert Hernandez’ L&R stories over Jamie’s. It’s basically a question of the characters whose lives I find most interesting. However, that doesn’t diminish the respect and admiration I have for Jaime’s work. He’s every bit the amazing, talented genius that Beto is. And the lead story in this issue shows exactly why.
He takes his entire cast and puts them through an evening, viewing it through the eyes of one of the supporting characters. Yet, he manages, through body language and facial expressions, to tell everyone’s story effectively. By using this sort of “dual perspective”, he creates a near-perfect “slice of life night” that would tell even the newest reader who everyone is and why they react as they do.
The rest of the book contains even more fantastic goodies from both brothers, making this your usual excellent effort from the dynamic duo. Extra kudos for an outstanding cover that relates the theme of Jaime’s opening story in wonderful fashion.
DARK HORSE: 20 YEARS
Drawn by Various
Published by Dark Horse
This $.25 book offers up 20 cool pin-up style portraits of the characters that made Dark Horse the company it is today. Hellboy, Groo, Aliens, Grendel, Concrete… they’re all represented in these pages. And on the surface, that would be cool enough to get your two bits.
However, this book takes it one better. The primary creators do not provide the looks at their characters. Instead, there’s been some swapping, both direct and indirect. Stan Sakai draws SIN CITY; Frank Miller draws USAGI YOJIMBO, for instance. Then you get the train: CONAN artist Cary Nord draws ALIENS; CONAN is then drawn by Sergio Aragones; GROO then appears via Paul Chadwick; then we get CONCRETE done by Chris Warner; then Warner’s BLACK CROSS by Killian Plunkett, and so on.
I was a Dark Horse reader pretty much from the company’s inception, so this book is sort of an extra-special treat for me. I was buying DARK HORSE PRESENTS faithfully and marveling to the early appearances of many of these characters, plus many others, like FLAMING CARROT, HEARTBREAKERS, and HOMICIDE. So I tip my cap and send my warm wishes to the folks in Oregon for their first twenty years. Hopefully, the next twenty will be just as interesting.
/Mason
No reason just to use this blog as my news feed, right? Instead, I’ll be putting up new weekend content as often as I can, in this very space. Woo-hoo!
LOVE AND ROCKETS #16
Written and Drawn by Los Bros Hernandez
Published by Fantagraphics
I’ve made no secret out of the fact that I tend to prefer Gilbert Hernandez’ L&R stories over Jamie’s. It’s basically a question of the characters whose lives I find most interesting. However, that doesn’t diminish the respect and admiration I have for Jaime’s work. He’s every bit the amazing, talented genius that Beto is. And the lead story in this issue shows exactly why.
He takes his entire cast and puts them through an evening, viewing it through the eyes of one of the supporting characters. Yet, he manages, through body language and facial expressions, to tell everyone’s story effectively. By using this sort of “dual perspective”, he creates a near-perfect “slice of life night” that would tell even the newest reader who everyone is and why they react as they do.
The rest of the book contains even more fantastic goodies from both brothers, making this your usual excellent effort from the dynamic duo. Extra kudos for an outstanding cover that relates the theme of Jaime’s opening story in wonderful fashion.
DARK HORSE: 20 YEARS
Drawn by Various
Published by Dark Horse
This $.25 book offers up 20 cool pin-up style portraits of the characters that made Dark Horse the company it is today. Hellboy, Groo, Aliens, Grendel, Concrete… they’re all represented in these pages. And on the surface, that would be cool enough to get your two bits.
However, this book takes it one better. The primary creators do not provide the looks at their characters. Instead, there’s been some swapping, both direct and indirect. Stan Sakai draws SIN CITY; Frank Miller draws USAGI YOJIMBO, for instance. Then you get the train: CONAN artist Cary Nord draws ALIENS; CONAN is then drawn by Sergio Aragones; GROO then appears via Paul Chadwick; then we get CONCRETE done by Chris Warner; then Warner’s BLACK CROSS by Killian Plunkett, and so on.
I was a Dark Horse reader pretty much from the company’s inception, so this book is sort of an extra-special treat for me. I was buying DARK HORSE PRESENTS faithfully and marveling to the early appearances of many of these characters, plus many others, like FLAMING CARROT, HEARTBREAKERS, and HOMICIDE. So I tip my cap and send my warm wishes to the folks in Oregon for their first twenty years. Hopefully, the next twenty will be just as interesting.
/Mason
Friday, July 14, 2006
Why THE TOURIST is better than I expected and why FIVE FISTS OF SCIENCE disappoints... today at the main site!
/Mason
/Mason
Thursday, July 13, 2006
Today's new stuff: LUBA #8 from Fantagraphics, and CRYPTOZOO CREW vol.2 from NBM. Check it out!
/Mason
/Mason
Wednesday, July 12, 2006
New today at the Site... 5 Tips for a Better San Diego experience and a review of the manga SCHOOL RUMBLE...
/Mason
/Mason
Tuesday, July 11, 2006
RANDOM ENCOUNTER, from Viper Comics, and THE NIGHTMARIST, from Active Images, get reviewed today over at the Main Site!
/Mason
/Mason
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