While you were out…
I know, gone waaay too long. What was originally supposed to be a short break to catch my breath late last year turned into a five month sabbatical from this blog. But trust me when I say that I wasn’t just lying around and doing nothing. I’ve actually been quite busy, working on a number of projects, both large and small, a few of which I can finally talk about now.
But first, I’d like to let everyone interested know that I will be attending the New York Comic Con – http://www.newyorkcomiccon.com/ – later this month, the 17th through the 20th of April, at the Jacob Javits Center in New York, New York. As usual, I’ll be wandering around the floor of the Javitts, but you can buy copies of my books from my good friend and book designer of choice, Paul Michael Kane, at the PMK’s Imagination booth throughout the show. I’ll be periodically checking in with Paul and company, so if you need to contact me during the show, just leave a message and business card with him and I’ll do my best to meet you there.
I’m really excited about attending this con, as it’s been both a fun and worthwhile show to attend since it was first established two years ago. Aside from the fact that New York is one of my favorite cities to visit and explore, it also gives me a chance to meet and greet a ton of the industry’s best and brightest, and my numerous friends and allies in the biz, meet with my editors, make new contacts, etc.
However, I am a bit sad to note that this is the only show I plan to attend in 2008. As will become evident a little farther down in this entry, I’m going to be very, very busy writing and working on projects this year, and something had to give. And, since I don’t plan on abandoning any of the great projects I’ve got lined up, staying in the office was the obvious solution. Hopefully next year will allow for more conventions.
Second, for those who might have missed it, Nexus # 100, which contains my “A Short History of Nexus” article detailing the long and winding publishing road that the nigh-legendary sci-fi comic series has followed over the past few decades, came out at the end of February, 2008, after some extended delays. Aside from being happy to see that issue hit the stands after such an [unexpected and] extended absence after it resumed publishing under the Rude Dude imprint, it was also a landmark that both Mike Barron and Steve “Dude” Rude can be justly proud of reaching. And to say that I’m still beaming and aglow from being asked to be part of that celebration would be more than a small understatement.
If you’ve not gotten a copy of this fine book yet, please consider checking with your local comic shop or head on over to the publisher’s website – http://www.rudedudeproductions.com/ – and grab yourself a copy of this massive special edition. It’s one for the ages, fer sure.
And one of the most fun, and personally important, projects I’ve been involved with came out late last year. Dondi volume 1 was released by Classic Comics Press in November, and featured not only my interview with one of that waif’s co-creators, “Irwin Hasen: The Making of An American Icon,” but also an introduction by none other than Jules Feiffer! If you’ve never had the chance to enjoy this truly great comic strip, head on over to http://www.classiccomicspress.com/ and grab a copy now.
Seriously, this is one of the finest family friendly comic strips ever produced, and I’m incredibly honored to have been able to be part of this project by talking on the record with Irwin. However you consider it, he’s truly one of the giants of the field.
[And for those who might be wondering, sure, you can consider that a small pun. But it’s also the Lord’s own truth, regardless of Irwin’s physical stature.]
Also, I’ve decided to offer a few signed sets of the Talking with Graphic Novelists interview books published late last year by Rosen Publishing. These are beautiful hardcover editions volumes which feature my extended, in depth conversations with Neil Gaiman, Mike Oeming, George Perez and Alan Moore. Save for the Moore book, which reprints the basically sold-out Alan Moore Spells It Out, these are the first appearance of these interviews in book format.
If you’re interested in picking up a set of these, head over to http://www.pmkane.com/moore for the details. They cost $ 100.00 per set, which might seem high until you consider that each volume will set you back $ 30.00, so this represents a savings of $20.00 off list price. [And just in case you were wondering, no, I won’t be offering single volumes for sale separately. Sorry about that.]
And don’t forget, you can still get a signed set of the two books featuring my interviews with Alan Moore in soft cover at http://www.pmkane.com/moore/moore.htm.
On the “still to come” front, I completed and submitted another short article, “The Essential Sequential Steampunk,” for inclusion in the Steampunk anthology of [duh!] Steampunk science fiction tales by a who’s who of the field. I’m particularly excited about being part of this project because, unlike a majority of my recent journalistic and other work, this article’s part of a prose anthology and intended for sale in a market I’ve had no previous exposure to, namely, the book store market. I’m still a bit flabbergasted that I was asked to contribute to this collection by the collection’s editors, Jeff and Ann VanderMeer, and am quite indebted to them for that kindness.
Steampunk will be published by Tachyon – http://www.tachyonpress.com/ – sometime in the next few months. You can learn more about the collection by visiting http://www.tachyonpublications.com/book/Steampunk.html?Session_ID=new&Reference_Page=/booksComingsoon.html. I’ll surely announce that release when the time comes.
I’d hoped I could also talk about a rather big and important project that I’ve been asked to write, but recent developments make that difficult at this time. Yes, it’s something I’ve been dying to do for several years now. Yes, it has been officially announced by the publisher, although most news sites seem to have completely overlooked it. And, finally, and yes, it will still happen. I just can’t talk about it right now, but rest assured that, as soon as everything’s finalized and set in stone, I will talk about here.
And last of all for today, I’d like to announce that I’m officially going into the publishing end of the business. The company’s called Bill Baker Presents Press, LLC, or BBP Press for short, and was created primarily to publish the series of interview books begun with the Alan Moore Spells It Out and Alan Moore’s Exit Interviews volumes. But that doesn’t rule out the possibility that I’ll begin issuing graphic novels or collections of comics, etc. in the future.
Diamond has already examined and approved the first book, and it will be in their Previews catalogue later this summer. Look for an official announcement on that front here and elsewhere soon. And while the imprint has no official website yet, there will be one set up and running soon. Look for those details here in the future, as well.
Anyone interested in talking with me about the new publishing venture, any of the other projects I’ve mentioned above, or even about possible future projects, just drop me an email. I’ll be more than happy to hear from you, and talk about anything I’ve got going.
And that’s it, for now. There are a lot of other things that are still developing, but nothing solid enough to talk about at this juncture. But check back here in the near future for updates. I’ll be back here again in a week or so, serving up another pile of news and announcements. Except for the occasional short delay [which might occur while I’m traveling to and from the NYC Con later this month], I expect to be doing a lot more frequent updates here from here on out.
But, in the meantime, I’d say it’s long past due for the latest installment of…
What’s Bill Been Reading? [for the period of 3-1-08 to3-31-08]
Flight Explorer volume 1
Matthew Armstrong, Steve Hamaker, Kazu Kibuishi, Jake Parker, Kean Soo, and others; edited by Kazu Kibuishi
Villiard Books
http://www.atrandom.com/
This all ages spin-off from the incredibly popular Flight anthologies offers readers ten slices of full color comics genius. Whether you’re new to the worlds of these storytellers, or solid fans of Fish N Chips, Copper, Jellaby, or the other characters presented here, you’ll find a wealth of great comics entertainment between the covers of this book. Perfect for those looking to discover the joys of the medium of any age, and highly recommended to those who would like to sharpen their own skills, this is a volume which will reward your first, or twenty-first, reading.
Sam and Max: Surfin’ the Highway
Steve Purcell
Telltale Games
http://www.telltalegames.com/
For the past twenty years, Purcell’s off-kilter heroes--a naked, decidedly deranged rabbit and hound dog draped in a trench coat and hat--have ravaged reader’s funny bones while ransacking the odder corners of our collective cultural memories. And we’re all the better, and our culture’s all the richer, for it.
This collection contains all of the comics, shorts, strips, pin ups and a Brand! New! Tale! And it’s overflowing with enough humor, gooey goodness and sheer lunacy that you’ll find yourself not only going back for seconds and thirds, but also quoting some of your favorite bits to bemused and befuddled friends, colleagues and total strangers.
But don’t let the hilarity distract you from the plain truth presented in black and white and even glorious color before you: Steve Purcell is a master craftsman, who makes silliness and even surrealism look simple and easy to pull off. And if you can dry the tears of joy from your eyes long enough, you’ll also see that there’s ample visual evidence that he’s one of the most under rated draftsmen putting pen and ink to page these days, as well as an accomplished cartoonist of the highest caliber.
If there’s one book on this entire list you buy, make it this one. Sam and Max: Surfin’the Highway is a masterpiece of the medium. It should be on every reader’s shelf, and studied long and hard by everyone who wants to make their own comics, regardless of the genre they wish to work in. And that ain’t no joke or overstatement, folks.
It’s the simple truth.
The Virgin Project: Real People Share Real Stories
K.D. Boze and Stasia Kato
Girlie Press
http://www.artofkdboze.com/
It’s quite likely you’ve not heard of this collection of true-to-life tales of “losin’ it” yet. But you will, sooner or later. That’s because, while this self-published volume hasn’t been offered by many comic shops, or even appeared in Diamond’s Previews catalogue, this anthology with a twist will surely begin to be noticed on a wide scale soon.
The concept behind its simple: Real people share their personal stories of how they lost their virginity. Sounds like it’d make a great “stroke” book, right? Well, perhaps. But, as with so much else we find in what’s been called “The Human Comedy,” appearances and first impressions can be deceiving.
The truth of the matter is that sex, like life itself, is much more complex, strange, terrifying and wonderful. And so are the stories in this book.
Rendered in a sure-handed, cartoony style by Boze and Kato, these confessions come to life in a totally natural way on the page. Sure, there’s a fair share of over the top escapades related here—from sex in your parent’s car with a twist, to a different view of familial love. But there are also tales that will break warm or tear at your heart, as well as a few which might make you see sex—and perhaps even life—in a new light. And there’s at least one story which will freeze your blood with its implications, offering as it does the depth of a parent’s love and the lengths they might go to in an effort to make things right for their child.
Like the subject matter itself, this is a book which shouldn’t be approached with our eyes [much less your mind] closed, or with preconceptions. And like that transformational moment, it has the power to change you in ways small and large, if you allow it.
The Virgin Project is something worth reading, especially if you’re interested in exploring what real sex is, and can be.
Shooting War
Anthony Lappe and Dan Goldman
Grand Central
http://www.hatchetbookgroupusa.com/
Shooting War is one part scathing media satire, one part sci-fi socio-political thriller, and a wholly engrossing read. Set in a near future where the War on Terror has lead to an increasingly unstable and chaotic situation in Iraq, and economic and social malaise on American shores, a young amateur journalist named Jimmy Burns is practicing his own brand of anti-establishment guerilla live online reporting when the war hits home with a vengeance. In seconds, Burns is catapulted onto the center ring of the media circus and becomes world famous for his coverage of a suicide bombers attack on a Starbucks. In short order he finds himself hired by one of the very corporate interests he was denouncing, and dropped into the modern heart of darkness that is post 9-11 Baghdad. What follows is by turns thrilling, heartbreaking, and hilarious, as Burns tries to get the real story, but finds himself increasingly the very target of that truth through circumstance and the machinations of forces beyond his control. Throughout, Lappe’s script and gift for dialogue creates a believable, if sometimes over cynical and studied, sense of otherworldly realism akin to Apocalypse Now, while Goldman’s art helps ground the proceedings as it simultaneously drives the characters and reader through the increasingly surreal situations and encounters.
Well paced, overflowing with smart yet believable dialogue and shot through with a humor as black as the center of a neutron star, Shooting War is a warning of what might come to pass if we as a nation continue on our current path, politically, socially and, perhaps most importantly, personally.
Billy Clikk: Rogmasher Rampage
Mark Crilley
Delacorte Press
www.RandomHouse.com/kids
What do you do after writing and providing spot illustrations for a series of successful Young Adult books featuring your own character? Well, in Crilley’s case, he created an entirely new series featuring the adventures of a ‘Tween who has recently begun training in the family business of monster hunting. This, the second book in the Billy Clikk tales, features the titular character’s first semi-solo mission, one which takes him and a female counterpart to China to investigate a series of unusual Rogmasher incursions into human territory. Filled with Crilley’s typical spot-on characterizations, humor and silly-sounding-but-dangerous creatures, Rogmasher Rampage will likely appeal to fans of his previous work [both the graphic and prose novel-versions of Akiko] as well as his newer Miki Falls manga.
Showcase Presents: The War that Time Forgot
Robert Kanigher, Ross Andru and Mike Esposito, with Joe Kubert, Gene Colan, Russ Heath and others
DC Comics
http://www.dccomics.com/
In case it’s not obvious by now, I’m a huge fan of Silver Age comics in general, and particularly of the various modern collections which represent them in various formats. I am especially fond of the still relatively new big, thick black and white Showcase Presents “phone book” format that DC has adopted in recent years. Yeah, I really love [and will miss terribly] their full color, high end hard cover Archives books, but I’m also quite happy to see their more affordable cousins gracing the racks of comic shops and book stores across the country. This allows hard-core Silver Age junkies like me easy access to series that, while we might consider buying them in more upscale versions, will snap up these cheaper representations of that same material in an instant.
And this one’s a great case. Yeah, I enjoyed these tales as a kid, but I’m not a die-hard fan who has to have these fine, but extremely strange [and, yeah, often formulaic] tales in full color, much less represented between hard covers. But offer me over 500 pages of beautifully reproduced GI Joes versus dinosaurs for under twenty bucks, and I’m on it in an instant. Really fun stuff, and basically intended for all ages, these tales require the reader to suspend his belief in extremis, but it’s really worth it for the sheer fun and B-movie style thrills offered. And, for those students of the medium who might be looking to study masters of the art at work and so improve their own visual storytelling, well, there’s plenty of fodder herein.
Cairo
G. Willow Wilson and M.K. Perker
Vertigo
http://www.vertigocomics.com/
This seems to be part of a new effort from Vertigo to release a series of original graphic novels in black and white, an initiative that includes Mat Johnson and Warren Pleece’s very fine Incognegro. Cairo, like Incognegro, straddles several genres, and seems to be complete unto itself. Unlike its stable mate, Cairo, embraces not just another culture, but also the supernatural.
Wilson’s tale, which mixes an insider’s street view of daily life in the titular city with the complexities of Arab-Israeli interactions, politics and a seemingly haphazard struggle to secure the services of a powerful Jinn whose current home is a hookah, provides an entertaining ride. Perker proves to be a solid pen and ink artist, and capable of capturing some of the more subtle emotions of the characters through both their body language and faces. The result is a quick read, and a nice diversion, but one which offers but a few glimpses of the richer possibilities inherent to the material and subject.
Marvel Masterworks volume 91: Tales to Astonish [volume 2 regular edition]
Stan Lee, Larry Lieber, Dick Ayers, Don Heck, Carl Burgos, Bob Powell, et. al.
Marvel Comics
http://www.marvelcomics.com/
Another collection of Silver Age material, this time from the House of Ideas, in their high end full color Masterworks series of hard covers. These tales, gathered from issues 53 through 69 of Tales to Astonish, represent the final phase of the early career of Henry “Hank” Pym, scientist turned superhero. Whether he was operating as Ant-Man or his larger counterpart, Giant-Man, Pym was one of those characters who never really seemed to find his footing or ideal arena, which perhaps helps to explain why the character struggles so often with his own sense of worth, and to prove himself worthy of the title “Hero.” As a theme, it’s obvious fodder for much of the early Marvel tales which featured so many misfits, heroic and otherwise. But here it’s almost endemic, and that deep-seated lack of self-worth eventually became part and parcel, or even the calling card, of this bedeviled character in later years.
However, it’s not all doom and gloom. There’s a real sense of audacity, and of adventure, of striving to do the best with one’s life at the root of all these tales. And although this character has never really grown out of his second [or perhaps even third] tier status in many ways, and was saddled with some of the more strange villains in the Marvel universe, this volume offers some real old-fashioned entertainment to those seeking such rarities today.
Marvel Masterworks volume 90: The X-Men and The Uncanny X-Men [volume 6 regular edition]
Chris Claremont, John Byrne, Dave Cockrum, Terry Austin, et. al.
Marvel Comics
http://www.marvelcomics.com/
One of my early reintroductions to comics came while I was pursuing my Masters Degree at Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti, during the early 80s. A few of the guys I met in class and used to hang out with kept talking about the then “brand new” series called The X-Men. Of course, having encountered those worthies in my own youth, and having been a hard-core fan of Marvel’s Merry Mutants, I asked them to tell me more. Well, in a move that might sound truly strange in these days of slabbing comics, they did me one better: They simply brought over a stack of their well-read, but loving treated, issues so I could discover this new delight for myself.
Among those books were almost all of the issues leading up to, as well as the very same stories reprinted in this hard cover collection. I’ve got to say, while I wasn’t hooked, I was duly impressed with what I saw the medium becoming. And, although I didn’t really begin to actively pursue renewing my steady comics habit, this experience certainly set the hook.
Some of my favorite issues from this important, and now seminal, era of the X-Men are in this volume, which gathers #s 141 to 150 together in one glorious collection. Perhaps the crown jewel in this particular batch is the “Days of Future Past” two-parter, which has become the jumping off point for so many stories for so many creative teams of the X-books since that it’s almost a cliché today. However, the original still proves to be both an engrossing and powerful, if sometimes stiff, read. And that’s not to pay short shrift to the other tales represented in these pages by any stretch.
For sheer entertainment, you really can’t go wrong with this or the earlier volumes of the series. And if you want to know the how and why superhero comics have become what they are today, and what lead to the fusion of the soap opera and super powered team concepts in the minds of so many aficionados, editors and culture vultures, this series will provide you with some of the best examples of the refinement of that approach.
Two-Handed Engine: The Selected Stories of Henry Kuttner and C.L. Moore
Centipede Press
http://www.sfbc.com/
This nearly-900 page collection represents some of the most endearing, enduring and—dare I say it?—Fun Science Fiction tales written by the husband-wife team who all but dominated the short story market during the 40s and 50s. Woefully forgotten and long out of print, here you’ll find some of the most important tales from two masterful storytellers whose influence, albeit often subliminal and unrecognized, can still be felt today.
Whether it’s the heart breaking triumph of “No Woman Born,” the sheer lunacy of “The Proud Robot,” or the terrifying sense of alienation and loss powering the tales “Absalom” or “Mimsy Were the Borogoves,” these are stories which, save for certain word choices, could have been written last week. Or even next.
Apparently only available via the Science Fiction Book Club at present, this is a collection that deserves to be on the shelf of anyone with even a passing interest in science fiction, and should be read and reread by those looking to master both the genre and their own craft as authors.
The Anubis Tapestry volume 1: Between Twilights
Bruce Zick
Actionopolis and Komikwerks, LLC
http://www.actionopolis.com/
This is the first in a projected series of Young Adult prose books written, and featuring spot illustrations, by Bruce Zick featuring teen Chance Henry. Chance is the son of an Egyptologist and museum curator who is the victim of an unfortunate body theft perpetrated by Sehti, a mummy driven mad and bad by the intervening centuries between his internment and his release into the modern world. Having lost his father to this creature now inhabiting his father’s flesh, Chance is given an opportunity to save his father’s Ka [soul essence] from an eternity in the Underworld through the intervention of another mummy, one who teaches the boy the arcane magic of ancient Egypt.
Zick is a fine writer, able to tell an engaging tale that provides enough character and environmental details without slowing the action. And, as fans of his comics work as well as the spot illustrations he’s provided for this book will attest, he’s a truly gifted artist with an original, appealing sense of design and style. Unfortunately, to my knowledge, this is the only volume of the series which was ever released before the publisher, Actionopolis, disappeared. Hopefully Zick will one day get the opportunity to tell the rest of this tale, either in prose or a graphic novel. It’d make a great addition to the burgeoning YA comics scene.
[What follows is a fairly complete listing of what I’ve read since my last entry, posted in early November 2007. I’ll be going back and writing short reviews of many, if not all, of these books in the future, and include them at the end of that post’s reading list.]
What’s Bill Been Reading? [for the period of 1-1-08 to2-29-08]
JANUARY ‘08
Tales from the Crypt #1: Ghouls Gone Wild!
Rob Vollmar, Neil Kleid, Don McGregor, Sho Murase, Rick Parker, and others
Papercutz
http://www.papercutz.com/
The Guin Saga Manga volumes 2 and 3: The Seven Magi
Kaoru Kurimoto and Kazuaki Yanagisawa
Vertical, Inc.
http://www.vertical-inc.com/
Essex County volume 1: Tales From the Farm
Jeff Lemire
Top Shelf
http://www.topshelfcomix.com/
Michael Moorcock’s Elric: The Making of a Sorcerer
Michael Moorcock, Walt Simonson, Steve Oliff, et. al.
DC Comics
http://www.dccomics.com/
DC Comics Rarities Archives volume 1
Various creators
DC Comics
http://www.dccomics.com/
Mouse Guard: Fall 1152
David Petersen
Archaia Studios Press
http://www.aspcomics.com/
Marvel Masterworks volume 87: Rawhide Kid [or volume 2 regular edition]
Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Jack Davis, et. al.
Marvel Comics
http://www.marvel.com/
This volume collects Rawhide Kid #s 26 to 35 in their entirety. And while there aren’t as many Kirby-drawn tales herein as one might want, it does have some of his best Western work committed to paper from this period of his career.
Marvel Masterworks volume 85: The Amazing Spider-Man [or volume 9 regular edition]
Stan Lee, John Romita, et. al.
Marvel Comics
http://www.marvel.com/
This volume reprints issues 78 through 87 of Amazing Spider-Man, simply some of the best superhero tales of that period…and possibly any other era.
Popgun volume one
Featuring various creators, edited by Mark Andrew Smith and Joe Keatinge
Image Comics
http://www.imagecomics.com/
The Museum Vaults: Excerpts from the Journal of an Expert
Marc-Antoine Mathieu
NBM/ComicsLit
http://www.nbmpublishing.com/
Schulz’s Youth
Charles M. Schulz
About Comics
http://www.aboutcomics.com/
Appleseed: Hypernotes
Shirow Masamune
Dark Horse Manga
http://www.darkhorse.com/
The Wind in the Willows
Kenneth Grahame, Michel Plessix
Papercutz
http://www.papercutz.com/
Incognegro
Mat Johnson and Warren Pleece
Vertigo
http://www.vertigocomics.com/
Scalped volume 2: Casino Boogie
Jason Aaron, R.M. Guera, et. al.
Vertigo
http://www.vertigocomics.com/
Marvel Masterworks Golden Age volume 89: Daring Mystery Comics [or volume 1 regular edition]
Joe Simon, Maurice, Gutwirth, Larry Antonette, Jack Binder, and various
Marvel Comics
http://www.marvel.com/
Reprinting Daring Marvel Mystery Comics numbers 1 through 4 in all their stunted glory
The Golden Age Doctor Fate Archives volume 1
Gardner Fox, Howard Sherman, Stan Aschmeier, Jon Chester Kozlak, et. al.
DC Comics
http://www.dccomics.com/
This big, thick volume reprints all of the solo stories featuring the two versions of Doctor Fate from the Golden Age mainstay, More Fun Comics #s 55 through 98.
Maakies with the Wrinkled Knees
Tony Millionaire
Fantagraphics Books
http://www.fantagraphics.com/
Absolute Batman: Hush
Jeph Loeb, Jim Lee, Scott Williams, Alex Sinclair, et. al.
DC Comics
http://www.dccomics.com/
Mythology: The DC Comics Art of Alex Ross
Chip Kidd with Geoff Spear
Pantheon Books
http://www.pantheonbooks.com/
What’s Bill Been Reading? [for the period of 11-6-07 through 12-31-07]
NOVEMBER 2007:
The Lost Colony
Book 1: The Snodgrass Conspiracy
By Grady Klein
First Second
http://www.firstsecondbooks.com/
House of Clay
Naomi Nowak
NBM/ComicsLit
http://www.nbmpublishing.com/
Tom Strong Book Five
Mark Schultz, Pascal Ferry, Steve Aylett, Shawn McManus, Brian K. Vaughan, Peter Snejbjerg, Ed Brubaker, Duncan Fegredo, et. Al.
America’s Best Comics
http://www.wildstorm.com/
Iron West
Doug TenNapel
Image
http://www.imagecomics.com/ and http://www.tennapel.com/
The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck Companion
Don Rosa
Gemstone Publishing
http://www.gemstonepub.com/
The Adventures of Luther Arkwright
Bryan Talbot
Dark Horse Comics
http://www.darkhorse.com/
Scarlet Traces
Ian Edginton and D’Israeli
Dark Horse Comics
http://www.darkhorse.com/
Scarlet Traces: The Great Game
Ian Edginton and D’Israeli
Dark Horse Comics
http://www.darkhorse.com/
Will Eisner’s The Spirit Book One
Darwyn Cooke with J. Bone and Dave Stewart
DC Comics
http://www.dccomics.com/
Night Work
Steve Hamilton
Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martin’s Minotaur
http://www.minotaurbooks.com/
The Five Fists of Science
Matt Fraction and Steven Sanders
Image Comics
http://www.image.com/
The Incredible Hulk: Future Imperfect
Peter David, George Perez, et. al.
Marvel Comics
http://www.marvel.com/
The Spirit Archives volume 18
Will Eisner et. al.
DC Comics
http://www.dccomics.com/
covering 1/49 to 6/49
Godland: Celestial Edition One
Joe Casey, Tom Scioli, et. al.
Image Comics
http://www.image.com/
Little Lulu volume 16: A Handy Kid
John Stanley and Irving Tripp
Dark Horse Comics
http://www.darkhorse.com/
Amazing Fantasy Omnibus
Stan Lee, Steve Ditko, Jack Kirby, et. al.
Marvel Comics
http://www.marvel.com/
Collects Amazing Adventures/Amazing Adult Fantasy/Amazing Fantasy #s 1 through 15, including the first appearance of some long-forgotten character called Spider-Man.
Heroes volume one
By various
DC Comics
http://www.dccomics.com/
Jack Kirby’s Fourth World Omnibus volume three
Jack Kirby, Mike Royer, et. al.
DC Comics
http://www.dccomics.com/
Marvel Masterworks volume 84: The Avengers [or volume 7, regular edition]
Roy Thomas, John Buscema, Gene Colan, Barry Windsor-Smith, et. al.
Marvel Comics
http://www.marvel.com/
collecting issue #s 59 through 68
Marvel Masterworks volume 83: Strange Tales featuring Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. [or volume 1, regular edition]
Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Don Heck, Jim Steranko and others
Marvel Comics
http://www.marvel.com/
collects Strange Tales #s 135 to 153
EC Archives: The Vault of Horror volume one
Al Feldstein, William Gaines, Johnny Craig, Wally Wood, Graham Ingels, Harvey Kurtzman, Jack Kamen, Jack Davis, et. al.
Gemstone Publishing
http://www.gemstonepub.com/
collecting the first six issues of this seminal magazine
The Comics of Fletcher Hanks: I Shall Destroy All the Civilized Planets!
By Fletcher Hanks, et. al., edited by Paul Karasik
Fantagrahics Books
http://www.fantagraphics.com/
DECEMBER 2007
Alan Moore: Wild Worlds
Alan Moore with Jim Bailie, Travis Charest, Scott Clark, Al Rio, et. al.
WildStorm Productions
http://www.wildstorm.com/
Collects the Spawn/ WildC.A.T.S.: Devil’s Day, Deathblow by Blow, and VooDoo: Dancing in the Dark mini-series with the Majestic: The Big Chill story from WildStorm Spotlight # 1 and the short tale, “Reincarnation,” from WildC.A.T.S. # 50
Alan moore’s Complete WildC.A.T.S.
Alan Moore, Travis Charest, et. al.
WildStorm Productions
http://www.wildstorm.com/
collects WildC.A.T.S. #s 21 through 34, and a short tale from issue # 50 of that same series.
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Black Dossier
Alan Moore and Kevin O’Neill, et. al.
America’s Best Comics
http://www.wildstorm.com/
Shazam: The Monster Society of Evil
Jeff Smith with Steve Hamaker
DC Comics
http://www.dccomics.com/
Marvel Masterworks volume 85: Atlas Era Strange Tales [or volume 1 of regular edition]
Joe Maneely, John Romita, Gene Colan, Joe Sinnott, Bill Everett, Russ Heath, Dick Ayers, Bernie Krigstein, et. al.
Marvel Comics
http://www.marvel.com/
collecting the first ten issues of the “Atomic Age” Strange Tales series
the Spirit Archives volume 19
Will Eisner, et. al.
DC Comics
http://www.dccomics.com/
representing the run from 7/49 through 12/49 of Eisner’s seminal strip
Nextwave: Agents of H.A.T.E. volumes 1 & 2
Warren Ellis and Stuart Immonen, et. al.
Marvel Comics
http://www.marvel.com/
The entire twelve issue run of Ellis and Immonen’s truly sick and twisted series collected as two slim but beautifully designed hardcovers as part of Marvel’s “Premiere Edition” series of books.
Ultimate Fantastic Four volume 4
Mike Carey with Mark Brooks, Pasqual Ferry, Stuart Immonen, Frazier Irving and Leinil Yu, et. al.
Marvel Comics
http://www.marvel.com/
Collects issues 33-41 and the second annual of the Ultimate Fantastic Four, along with the Ultimate Fantastic Four/X-Men and Ultimate X-Men/Fantastic Four miniseries.
Cry Yourself to Sleep
Jeremy Tinder
Top Shelf Productions
http://www.topshelfcomix.com/
Tinder’s debut
Black Ghost Apple Factory
Jeremy Tinder
Top Shelf Productions
http://www.topshelfcomix.com/
The Bakers: Babies and Kittens
Kyle Baker
Image Comics
http://www.imagecomics.com/
The Guin Saga Manga volume 1: The Seven Magi
Kaoru Kurimoto and Kazuaki Yanagishawa
Vertical, Inc.
http://www.vertical-inc.com/
Impact Parameter and Other Quantum Realities
Geoffrey A. Landis
Golden Gryphon
[no website?]
Little Lulu volume 17: The Valentine
John Stanley and Irving Tripp
Dark Horse Comics
http://www.darkhorse.com/
The Art of Bryan Talbot
Bryan Talbot
NBM
http://www.nbmpublishing.com/
Skull Kill Krew
Grant Morrison, Mark Millar and Steve Yeowell, et. al.
Marvel Comics
http://www.marvel.com/
collects the five issue Skull Kill Krew miniseries
Rocketo: Journey to the Hidden Sea
Frank Espinosa with Marie Taylor
Image Comics
http://www.image.com/
The second volume concludes the first epic adventure featuring the Rocketo Garrison and his companions.
Earthboy Jacobus
Doug TenNapel
Image Comics
http://www.image.com/
Batman: Detective
Paul Dini with Royal McGraw, Don Kramer, J.H. Williams, Joe Benitez, Marcos Marz and others
DC Comics
http://www.dccomics.com/
Flink
Doug TenNapel
Image Comics
http://www.image.com/ and http://www.tennapel.com/
I know, gone waaay too long. What was originally supposed to be a short break to catch my breath late last year turned into a five month sabbatical from this blog. But trust me when I say that I wasn’t just lying around and doing nothing. I’ve actually been quite busy, working on a number of projects, both large and small, a few of which I can finally talk about now.
But first, I’d like to let everyone interested know that I will be attending the New York Comic Con – http://www.newyorkcomiccon.com/ – later this month, the 17th through the 20th of April, at the Jacob Javits Center in New York, New York. As usual, I’ll be wandering around the floor of the Javitts, but you can buy copies of my books from my good friend and book designer of choice, Paul Michael Kane, at the PMK’s Imagination booth throughout the show. I’ll be periodically checking in with Paul and company, so if you need to contact me during the show, just leave a message and business card with him and I’ll do my best to meet you there.
I’m really excited about attending this con, as it’s been both a fun and worthwhile show to attend since it was first established two years ago. Aside from the fact that New York is one of my favorite cities to visit and explore, it also gives me a chance to meet and greet a ton of the industry’s best and brightest, and my numerous friends and allies in the biz, meet with my editors, make new contacts, etc.
However, I am a bit sad to note that this is the only show I plan to attend in 2008. As will become evident a little farther down in this entry, I’m going to be very, very busy writing and working on projects this year, and something had to give. And, since I don’t plan on abandoning any of the great projects I’ve got lined up, staying in the office was the obvious solution. Hopefully next year will allow for more conventions.
Second, for those who might have missed it, Nexus # 100, which contains my “A Short History of Nexus” article detailing the long and winding publishing road that the nigh-legendary sci-fi comic series has followed over the past few decades, came out at the end of February, 2008, after some extended delays. Aside from being happy to see that issue hit the stands after such an [unexpected and] extended absence after it resumed publishing under the Rude Dude imprint, it was also a landmark that both Mike Barron and Steve “Dude” Rude can be justly proud of reaching. And to say that I’m still beaming and aglow from being asked to be part of that celebration would be more than a small understatement.
If you’ve not gotten a copy of this fine book yet, please consider checking with your local comic shop or head on over to the publisher’s website – http://www.rudedudeproductions.com/ – and grab yourself a copy of this massive special edition. It’s one for the ages, fer sure.
And one of the most fun, and personally important, projects I’ve been involved with came out late last year. Dondi volume 1 was released by Classic Comics Press in November, and featured not only my interview with one of that waif’s co-creators, “Irwin Hasen: The Making of An American Icon,” but also an introduction by none other than Jules Feiffer! If you’ve never had the chance to enjoy this truly great comic strip, head on over to http://www.classiccomicspress.com/ and grab a copy now.
Seriously, this is one of the finest family friendly comic strips ever produced, and I’m incredibly honored to have been able to be part of this project by talking on the record with Irwin. However you consider it, he’s truly one of the giants of the field.
[And for those who might be wondering, sure, you can consider that a small pun. But it’s also the Lord’s own truth, regardless of Irwin’s physical stature.]
Also, I’ve decided to offer a few signed sets of the Talking with Graphic Novelists interview books published late last year by Rosen Publishing. These are beautiful hardcover editions volumes which feature my extended, in depth conversations with Neil Gaiman, Mike Oeming, George Perez and Alan Moore. Save for the Moore book, which reprints the basically sold-out Alan Moore Spells It Out, these are the first appearance of these interviews in book format.
If you’re interested in picking up a set of these, head over to http://www.pmkane.com/moore for the details. They cost $ 100.00 per set, which might seem high until you consider that each volume will set you back $ 30.00, so this represents a savings of $20.00 off list price. [And just in case you were wondering, no, I won’t be offering single volumes for sale separately. Sorry about that.]
And don’t forget, you can still get a signed set of the two books featuring my interviews with Alan Moore in soft cover at http://www.pmkane.com/moore/moore.htm.
On the “still to come” front, I completed and submitted another short article, “The Essential Sequential Steampunk,” for inclusion in the Steampunk anthology of [duh!] Steampunk science fiction tales by a who’s who of the field. I’m particularly excited about being part of this project because, unlike a majority of my recent journalistic and other work, this article’s part of a prose anthology and intended for sale in a market I’ve had no previous exposure to, namely, the book store market. I’m still a bit flabbergasted that I was asked to contribute to this collection by the collection’s editors, Jeff and Ann VanderMeer, and am quite indebted to them for that kindness.
Steampunk will be published by Tachyon – http://www.tachyonpress.com/ – sometime in the next few months. You can learn more about the collection by visiting http://www.tachyonpublications.com/book/Steampunk.html?Session_ID=new&Reference_Page=/booksComingsoon.html. I’ll surely announce that release when the time comes.
I’d hoped I could also talk about a rather big and important project that I’ve been asked to write, but recent developments make that difficult at this time. Yes, it’s something I’ve been dying to do for several years now. Yes, it has been officially announced by the publisher, although most news sites seem to have completely overlooked it. And, finally, and yes, it will still happen. I just can’t talk about it right now, but rest assured that, as soon as everything’s finalized and set in stone, I will talk about here.
And last of all for today, I’d like to announce that I’m officially going into the publishing end of the business. The company’s called Bill Baker Presents Press, LLC, or BBP Press for short, and was created primarily to publish the series of interview books begun with the Alan Moore Spells It Out and Alan Moore’s Exit Interviews volumes. But that doesn’t rule out the possibility that I’ll begin issuing graphic novels or collections of comics, etc. in the future.
Diamond has already examined and approved the first book, and it will be in their Previews catalogue later this summer. Look for an official announcement on that front here and elsewhere soon. And while the imprint has no official website yet, there will be one set up and running soon. Look for those details here in the future, as well.
Anyone interested in talking with me about the new publishing venture, any of the other projects I’ve mentioned above, or even about possible future projects, just drop me an email. I’ll be more than happy to hear from you, and talk about anything I’ve got going.
And that’s it, for now. There are a lot of other things that are still developing, but nothing solid enough to talk about at this juncture. But check back here in the near future for updates. I’ll be back here again in a week or so, serving up another pile of news and announcements. Except for the occasional short delay [which might occur while I’m traveling to and from the NYC Con later this month], I expect to be doing a lot more frequent updates here from here on out.
But, in the meantime, I’d say it’s long past due for the latest installment of…
What’s Bill Been Reading? [for the period of 3-1-08 to3-31-08]
Flight Explorer volume 1
Matthew Armstrong, Steve Hamaker, Kazu Kibuishi, Jake Parker, Kean Soo, and others; edited by Kazu Kibuishi
Villiard Books
http://www.atrandom.com/
This all ages spin-off from the incredibly popular Flight anthologies offers readers ten slices of full color comics genius. Whether you’re new to the worlds of these storytellers, or solid fans of Fish N Chips, Copper, Jellaby, or the other characters presented here, you’ll find a wealth of great comics entertainment between the covers of this book. Perfect for those looking to discover the joys of the medium of any age, and highly recommended to those who would like to sharpen their own skills, this is a volume which will reward your first, or twenty-first, reading.
Sam and Max: Surfin’ the Highway
Steve Purcell
Telltale Games
http://www.telltalegames.com/
For the past twenty years, Purcell’s off-kilter heroes--a naked, decidedly deranged rabbit and hound dog draped in a trench coat and hat--have ravaged reader’s funny bones while ransacking the odder corners of our collective cultural memories. And we’re all the better, and our culture’s all the richer, for it.
This collection contains all of the comics, shorts, strips, pin ups and a Brand! New! Tale! And it’s overflowing with enough humor, gooey goodness and sheer lunacy that you’ll find yourself not only going back for seconds and thirds, but also quoting some of your favorite bits to bemused and befuddled friends, colleagues and total strangers.
But don’t let the hilarity distract you from the plain truth presented in black and white and even glorious color before you: Steve Purcell is a master craftsman, who makes silliness and even surrealism look simple and easy to pull off. And if you can dry the tears of joy from your eyes long enough, you’ll also see that there’s ample visual evidence that he’s one of the most under rated draftsmen putting pen and ink to page these days, as well as an accomplished cartoonist of the highest caliber.
If there’s one book on this entire list you buy, make it this one. Sam and Max: Surfin’the Highway is a masterpiece of the medium. It should be on every reader’s shelf, and studied long and hard by everyone who wants to make their own comics, regardless of the genre they wish to work in. And that ain’t no joke or overstatement, folks.
It’s the simple truth.
The Virgin Project: Real People Share Real Stories
K.D. Boze and Stasia Kato
Girlie Press
http://www.artofkdboze.com/
It’s quite likely you’ve not heard of this collection of true-to-life tales of “losin’ it” yet. But you will, sooner or later. That’s because, while this self-published volume hasn’t been offered by many comic shops, or even appeared in Diamond’s Previews catalogue, this anthology with a twist will surely begin to be noticed on a wide scale soon.
The concept behind its simple: Real people share their personal stories of how they lost their virginity. Sounds like it’d make a great “stroke” book, right? Well, perhaps. But, as with so much else we find in what’s been called “The Human Comedy,” appearances and first impressions can be deceiving.
The truth of the matter is that sex, like life itself, is much more complex, strange, terrifying and wonderful. And so are the stories in this book.
Rendered in a sure-handed, cartoony style by Boze and Kato, these confessions come to life in a totally natural way on the page. Sure, there’s a fair share of over the top escapades related here—from sex in your parent’s car with a twist, to a different view of familial love. But there are also tales that will break warm or tear at your heart, as well as a few which might make you see sex—and perhaps even life—in a new light. And there’s at least one story which will freeze your blood with its implications, offering as it does the depth of a parent’s love and the lengths they might go to in an effort to make things right for their child.
Like the subject matter itself, this is a book which shouldn’t be approached with our eyes [much less your mind] closed, or with preconceptions. And like that transformational moment, it has the power to change you in ways small and large, if you allow it.
The Virgin Project is something worth reading, especially if you’re interested in exploring what real sex is, and can be.
Shooting War
Anthony Lappe and Dan Goldman
Grand Central
http://www.hatchetbookgroupusa.com/
Shooting War is one part scathing media satire, one part sci-fi socio-political thriller, and a wholly engrossing read. Set in a near future where the War on Terror has lead to an increasingly unstable and chaotic situation in Iraq, and economic and social malaise on American shores, a young amateur journalist named Jimmy Burns is practicing his own brand of anti-establishment guerilla live online reporting when the war hits home with a vengeance. In seconds, Burns is catapulted onto the center ring of the media circus and becomes world famous for his coverage of a suicide bombers attack on a Starbucks. In short order he finds himself hired by one of the very corporate interests he was denouncing, and dropped into the modern heart of darkness that is post 9-11 Baghdad. What follows is by turns thrilling, heartbreaking, and hilarious, as Burns tries to get the real story, but finds himself increasingly the very target of that truth through circumstance and the machinations of forces beyond his control. Throughout, Lappe’s script and gift for dialogue creates a believable, if sometimes over cynical and studied, sense of otherworldly realism akin to Apocalypse Now, while Goldman’s art helps ground the proceedings as it simultaneously drives the characters and reader through the increasingly surreal situations and encounters.
Well paced, overflowing with smart yet believable dialogue and shot through with a humor as black as the center of a neutron star, Shooting War is a warning of what might come to pass if we as a nation continue on our current path, politically, socially and, perhaps most importantly, personally.
Billy Clikk: Rogmasher Rampage
Mark Crilley
Delacorte Press
www.RandomHouse.com/kids
What do you do after writing and providing spot illustrations for a series of successful Young Adult books featuring your own character? Well, in Crilley’s case, he created an entirely new series featuring the adventures of a ‘Tween who has recently begun training in the family business of monster hunting. This, the second book in the Billy Clikk tales, features the titular character’s first semi-solo mission, one which takes him and a female counterpart to China to investigate a series of unusual Rogmasher incursions into human territory. Filled with Crilley’s typical spot-on characterizations, humor and silly-sounding-but-dangerous creatures, Rogmasher Rampage will likely appeal to fans of his previous work [both the graphic and prose novel-versions of Akiko] as well as his newer Miki Falls manga.
Showcase Presents: The War that Time Forgot
Robert Kanigher, Ross Andru and Mike Esposito, with Joe Kubert, Gene Colan, Russ Heath and others
DC Comics
http://www.dccomics.com/
In case it’s not obvious by now, I’m a huge fan of Silver Age comics in general, and particularly of the various modern collections which represent them in various formats. I am especially fond of the still relatively new big, thick black and white Showcase Presents “phone book” format that DC has adopted in recent years. Yeah, I really love [and will miss terribly] their full color, high end hard cover Archives books, but I’m also quite happy to see their more affordable cousins gracing the racks of comic shops and book stores across the country. This allows hard-core Silver Age junkies like me easy access to series that, while we might consider buying them in more upscale versions, will snap up these cheaper representations of that same material in an instant.
And this one’s a great case. Yeah, I enjoyed these tales as a kid, but I’m not a die-hard fan who has to have these fine, but extremely strange [and, yeah, often formulaic] tales in full color, much less represented between hard covers. But offer me over 500 pages of beautifully reproduced GI Joes versus dinosaurs for under twenty bucks, and I’m on it in an instant. Really fun stuff, and basically intended for all ages, these tales require the reader to suspend his belief in extremis, but it’s really worth it for the sheer fun and B-movie style thrills offered. And, for those students of the medium who might be looking to study masters of the art at work and so improve their own visual storytelling, well, there’s plenty of fodder herein.
Cairo
G. Willow Wilson and M.K. Perker
Vertigo
http://www.vertigocomics.com/
This seems to be part of a new effort from Vertigo to release a series of original graphic novels in black and white, an initiative that includes Mat Johnson and Warren Pleece’s very fine Incognegro. Cairo, like Incognegro, straddles several genres, and seems to be complete unto itself. Unlike its stable mate, Cairo, embraces not just another culture, but also the supernatural.
Wilson’s tale, which mixes an insider’s street view of daily life in the titular city with the complexities of Arab-Israeli interactions, politics and a seemingly haphazard struggle to secure the services of a powerful Jinn whose current home is a hookah, provides an entertaining ride. Perker proves to be a solid pen and ink artist, and capable of capturing some of the more subtle emotions of the characters through both their body language and faces. The result is a quick read, and a nice diversion, but one which offers but a few glimpses of the richer possibilities inherent to the material and subject.
Marvel Masterworks volume 91: Tales to Astonish [volume 2 regular edition]
Stan Lee, Larry Lieber, Dick Ayers, Don Heck, Carl Burgos, Bob Powell, et. al.
Marvel Comics
http://www.marvelcomics.com/
Another collection of Silver Age material, this time from the House of Ideas, in their high end full color Masterworks series of hard covers. These tales, gathered from issues 53 through 69 of Tales to Astonish, represent the final phase of the early career of Henry “Hank” Pym, scientist turned superhero. Whether he was operating as Ant-Man or his larger counterpart, Giant-Man, Pym was one of those characters who never really seemed to find his footing or ideal arena, which perhaps helps to explain why the character struggles so often with his own sense of worth, and to prove himself worthy of the title “Hero.” As a theme, it’s obvious fodder for much of the early Marvel tales which featured so many misfits, heroic and otherwise. But here it’s almost endemic, and that deep-seated lack of self-worth eventually became part and parcel, or even the calling card, of this bedeviled character in later years.
However, it’s not all doom and gloom. There’s a real sense of audacity, and of adventure, of striving to do the best with one’s life at the root of all these tales. And although this character has never really grown out of his second [or perhaps even third] tier status in many ways, and was saddled with some of the more strange villains in the Marvel universe, this volume offers some real old-fashioned entertainment to those seeking such rarities today.
Marvel Masterworks volume 90: The X-Men and The Uncanny X-Men [volume 6 regular edition]
Chris Claremont, John Byrne, Dave Cockrum, Terry Austin, et. al.
Marvel Comics
http://www.marvelcomics.com/
One of my early reintroductions to comics came while I was pursuing my Masters Degree at Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti, during the early 80s. A few of the guys I met in class and used to hang out with kept talking about the then “brand new” series called The X-Men. Of course, having encountered those worthies in my own youth, and having been a hard-core fan of Marvel’s Merry Mutants, I asked them to tell me more. Well, in a move that might sound truly strange in these days of slabbing comics, they did me one better: They simply brought over a stack of their well-read, but loving treated, issues so I could discover this new delight for myself.
Among those books were almost all of the issues leading up to, as well as the very same stories reprinted in this hard cover collection. I’ve got to say, while I wasn’t hooked, I was duly impressed with what I saw the medium becoming. And, although I didn’t really begin to actively pursue renewing my steady comics habit, this experience certainly set the hook.
Some of my favorite issues from this important, and now seminal, era of the X-Men are in this volume, which gathers #s 141 to 150 together in one glorious collection. Perhaps the crown jewel in this particular batch is the “Days of Future Past” two-parter, which has become the jumping off point for so many stories for so many creative teams of the X-books since that it’s almost a cliché today. However, the original still proves to be both an engrossing and powerful, if sometimes stiff, read. And that’s not to pay short shrift to the other tales represented in these pages by any stretch.
For sheer entertainment, you really can’t go wrong with this or the earlier volumes of the series. And if you want to know the how and why superhero comics have become what they are today, and what lead to the fusion of the soap opera and super powered team concepts in the minds of so many aficionados, editors and culture vultures, this series will provide you with some of the best examples of the refinement of that approach.
Two-Handed Engine: The Selected Stories of Henry Kuttner and C.L. Moore
Centipede Press
http://www.sfbc.com/
This nearly-900 page collection represents some of the most endearing, enduring and—dare I say it?—Fun Science Fiction tales written by the husband-wife team who all but dominated the short story market during the 40s and 50s. Woefully forgotten and long out of print, here you’ll find some of the most important tales from two masterful storytellers whose influence, albeit often subliminal and unrecognized, can still be felt today.
Whether it’s the heart breaking triumph of “No Woman Born,” the sheer lunacy of “The Proud Robot,” or the terrifying sense of alienation and loss powering the tales “Absalom” or “Mimsy Were the Borogoves,” these are stories which, save for certain word choices, could have been written last week. Or even next.
Apparently only available via the Science Fiction Book Club at present, this is a collection that deserves to be on the shelf of anyone with even a passing interest in science fiction, and should be read and reread by those looking to master both the genre and their own craft as authors.
The Anubis Tapestry volume 1: Between Twilights
Bruce Zick
Actionopolis and Komikwerks, LLC
http://www.actionopolis.com/
This is the first in a projected series of Young Adult prose books written, and featuring spot illustrations, by Bruce Zick featuring teen Chance Henry. Chance is the son of an Egyptologist and museum curator who is the victim of an unfortunate body theft perpetrated by Sehti, a mummy driven mad and bad by the intervening centuries between his internment and his release into the modern world. Having lost his father to this creature now inhabiting his father’s flesh, Chance is given an opportunity to save his father’s Ka [soul essence] from an eternity in the Underworld through the intervention of another mummy, one who teaches the boy the arcane magic of ancient Egypt.
Zick is a fine writer, able to tell an engaging tale that provides enough character and environmental details without slowing the action. And, as fans of his comics work as well as the spot illustrations he’s provided for this book will attest, he’s a truly gifted artist with an original, appealing sense of design and style. Unfortunately, to my knowledge, this is the only volume of the series which was ever released before the publisher, Actionopolis, disappeared. Hopefully Zick will one day get the opportunity to tell the rest of this tale, either in prose or a graphic novel. It’d make a great addition to the burgeoning YA comics scene.
[What follows is a fairly complete listing of what I’ve read since my last entry, posted in early November 2007. I’ll be going back and writing short reviews of many, if not all, of these books in the future, and include them at the end of that post’s reading list.]
What’s Bill Been Reading? [for the period of 1-1-08 to2-29-08]
JANUARY ‘08
Tales from the Crypt #1: Ghouls Gone Wild!
Rob Vollmar, Neil Kleid, Don McGregor, Sho Murase, Rick Parker, and others
Papercutz
http://www.papercutz.com/
The Guin Saga Manga volumes 2 and 3: The Seven Magi
Kaoru Kurimoto and Kazuaki Yanagisawa
Vertical, Inc.
http://www.vertical-inc.com/
Essex County volume 1: Tales From the Farm
Jeff Lemire
Top Shelf
http://www.topshelfcomix.com/
Michael Moorcock’s Elric: The Making of a Sorcerer
Michael Moorcock, Walt Simonson, Steve Oliff, et. al.
DC Comics
http://www.dccomics.com/
DC Comics Rarities Archives volume 1
Various creators
DC Comics
http://www.dccomics.com/
Mouse Guard: Fall 1152
David Petersen
Archaia Studios Press
http://www.aspcomics.com/
Marvel Masterworks volume 87: Rawhide Kid [or volume 2 regular edition]
Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Jack Davis, et. al.
Marvel Comics
http://www.marvel.com/
This volume collects Rawhide Kid #s 26 to 35 in their entirety. And while there aren’t as many Kirby-drawn tales herein as one might want, it does have some of his best Western work committed to paper from this period of his career.
Marvel Masterworks volume 85: The Amazing Spider-Man [or volume 9 regular edition]
Stan Lee, John Romita, et. al.
Marvel Comics
http://www.marvel.com/
This volume reprints issues 78 through 87 of Amazing Spider-Man, simply some of the best superhero tales of that period…and possibly any other era.
Popgun volume one
Featuring various creators, edited by Mark Andrew Smith and Joe Keatinge
Image Comics
http://www.imagecomics.com/
The Museum Vaults: Excerpts from the Journal of an Expert
Marc-Antoine Mathieu
NBM/ComicsLit
http://www.nbmpublishing.com/
Schulz’s Youth
Charles M. Schulz
About Comics
http://www.aboutcomics.com/
Appleseed: Hypernotes
Shirow Masamune
Dark Horse Manga
http://www.darkhorse.com/
The Wind in the Willows
Kenneth Grahame, Michel Plessix
Papercutz
http://www.papercutz.com/
Incognegro
Mat Johnson and Warren Pleece
Vertigo
http://www.vertigocomics.com/
Scalped volume 2: Casino Boogie
Jason Aaron, R.M. Guera, et. al.
Vertigo
http://www.vertigocomics.com/
Marvel Masterworks Golden Age volume 89: Daring Mystery Comics [or volume 1 regular edition]
Joe Simon, Maurice, Gutwirth, Larry Antonette, Jack Binder, and various
Marvel Comics
http://www.marvel.com/
Reprinting Daring Marvel Mystery Comics numbers 1 through 4 in all their stunted glory
The Golden Age Doctor Fate Archives volume 1
Gardner Fox, Howard Sherman, Stan Aschmeier, Jon Chester Kozlak, et. al.
DC Comics
http://www.dccomics.com/
This big, thick volume reprints all of the solo stories featuring the two versions of Doctor Fate from the Golden Age mainstay, More Fun Comics #s 55 through 98.
Maakies with the Wrinkled Knees
Tony Millionaire
Fantagraphics Books
http://www.fantagraphics.com/
Absolute Batman: Hush
Jeph Loeb, Jim Lee, Scott Williams, Alex Sinclair, et. al.
DC Comics
http://www.dccomics.com/
Mythology: The DC Comics Art of Alex Ross
Chip Kidd with Geoff Spear
Pantheon Books
http://www.pantheonbooks.com/
What’s Bill Been Reading? [for the period of 11-6-07 through 12-31-07]
NOVEMBER 2007:
The Lost Colony
Book 1: The Snodgrass Conspiracy
By Grady Klein
First Second
http://www.firstsecondbooks.com/
House of Clay
Naomi Nowak
NBM/ComicsLit
http://www.nbmpublishing.com/
Tom Strong Book Five
Mark Schultz, Pascal Ferry, Steve Aylett, Shawn McManus, Brian K. Vaughan, Peter Snejbjerg, Ed Brubaker, Duncan Fegredo, et. Al.
America’s Best Comics
http://www.wildstorm.com/
Iron West
Doug TenNapel
Image
http://www.imagecomics.com/ and http://www.tennapel.com/
The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck Companion
Don Rosa
Gemstone Publishing
http://www.gemstonepub.com/
The Adventures of Luther Arkwright
Bryan Talbot
Dark Horse Comics
http://www.darkhorse.com/
Scarlet Traces
Ian Edginton and D’Israeli
Dark Horse Comics
http://www.darkhorse.com/
Scarlet Traces: The Great Game
Ian Edginton and D’Israeli
Dark Horse Comics
http://www.darkhorse.com/
Will Eisner’s The Spirit Book One
Darwyn Cooke with J. Bone and Dave Stewart
DC Comics
http://www.dccomics.com/
Night Work
Steve Hamilton
Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martin’s Minotaur
http://www.minotaurbooks.com/
The Five Fists of Science
Matt Fraction and Steven Sanders
Image Comics
http://www.image.com/
The Incredible Hulk: Future Imperfect
Peter David, George Perez, et. al.
Marvel Comics
http://www.marvel.com/
The Spirit Archives volume 18
Will Eisner et. al.
DC Comics
http://www.dccomics.com/
covering 1/49 to 6/49
Godland: Celestial Edition One
Joe Casey, Tom Scioli, et. al.
Image Comics
http://www.image.com/
Little Lulu volume 16: A Handy Kid
John Stanley and Irving Tripp
Dark Horse Comics
http://www.darkhorse.com/
Amazing Fantasy Omnibus
Stan Lee, Steve Ditko, Jack Kirby, et. al.
Marvel Comics
http://www.marvel.com/
Collects Amazing Adventures/Amazing Adult Fantasy/Amazing Fantasy #s 1 through 15, including the first appearance of some long-forgotten character called Spider-Man.
Heroes volume one
By various
DC Comics
http://www.dccomics.com/
Jack Kirby’s Fourth World Omnibus volume three
Jack Kirby, Mike Royer, et. al.
DC Comics
http://www.dccomics.com/
Marvel Masterworks volume 84: The Avengers [or volume 7, regular edition]
Roy Thomas, John Buscema, Gene Colan, Barry Windsor-Smith, et. al.
Marvel Comics
http://www.marvel.com/
collecting issue #s 59 through 68
Marvel Masterworks volume 83: Strange Tales featuring Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. [or volume 1, regular edition]
Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Don Heck, Jim Steranko and others
Marvel Comics
http://www.marvel.com/
collects Strange Tales #s 135 to 153
EC Archives: The Vault of Horror volume one
Al Feldstein, William Gaines, Johnny Craig, Wally Wood, Graham Ingels, Harvey Kurtzman, Jack Kamen, Jack Davis, et. al.
Gemstone Publishing
http://www.gemstonepub.com/
collecting the first six issues of this seminal magazine
The Comics of Fletcher Hanks: I Shall Destroy All the Civilized Planets!
By Fletcher Hanks, et. al., edited by Paul Karasik
Fantagrahics Books
http://www.fantagraphics.com/
DECEMBER 2007
Alan Moore: Wild Worlds
Alan Moore with Jim Bailie, Travis Charest, Scott Clark, Al Rio, et. al.
WildStorm Productions
http://www.wildstorm.com/
Collects the Spawn/ WildC.A.T.S.: Devil’s Day, Deathblow by Blow, and VooDoo: Dancing in the Dark mini-series with the Majestic: The Big Chill story from WildStorm Spotlight # 1 and the short tale, “Reincarnation,” from WildC.A.T.S. # 50
Alan moore’s Complete WildC.A.T.S.
Alan Moore, Travis Charest, et. al.
WildStorm Productions
http://www.wildstorm.com/
collects WildC.A.T.S. #s 21 through 34, and a short tale from issue # 50 of that same series.
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Black Dossier
Alan Moore and Kevin O’Neill, et. al.
America’s Best Comics
http://www.wildstorm.com/
Shazam: The Monster Society of Evil
Jeff Smith with Steve Hamaker
DC Comics
http://www.dccomics.com/
Marvel Masterworks volume 85: Atlas Era Strange Tales [or volume 1 of regular edition]
Joe Maneely, John Romita, Gene Colan, Joe Sinnott, Bill Everett, Russ Heath, Dick Ayers, Bernie Krigstein, et. al.
Marvel Comics
http://www.marvel.com/
collecting the first ten issues of the “Atomic Age” Strange Tales series
the Spirit Archives volume 19
Will Eisner, et. al.
DC Comics
http://www.dccomics.com/
representing the run from 7/49 through 12/49 of Eisner’s seminal strip
Nextwave: Agents of H.A.T.E. volumes 1 & 2
Warren Ellis and Stuart Immonen, et. al.
Marvel Comics
http://www.marvel.com/
The entire twelve issue run of Ellis and Immonen’s truly sick and twisted series collected as two slim but beautifully designed hardcovers as part of Marvel’s “Premiere Edition” series of books.
Ultimate Fantastic Four volume 4
Mike Carey with Mark Brooks, Pasqual Ferry, Stuart Immonen, Frazier Irving and Leinil Yu, et. al.
Marvel Comics
http://www.marvel.com/
Collects issues 33-41 and the second annual of the Ultimate Fantastic Four, along with the Ultimate Fantastic Four/X-Men and Ultimate X-Men/Fantastic Four miniseries.
Cry Yourself to Sleep
Jeremy Tinder
Top Shelf Productions
http://www.topshelfcomix.com/
Tinder’s debut
Black Ghost Apple Factory
Jeremy Tinder
Top Shelf Productions
http://www.topshelfcomix.com/
The Bakers: Babies and Kittens
Kyle Baker
Image Comics
http://www.imagecomics.com/
The Guin Saga Manga volume 1: The Seven Magi
Kaoru Kurimoto and Kazuaki Yanagishawa
Vertical, Inc.
http://www.vertical-inc.com/
Impact Parameter and Other Quantum Realities
Geoffrey A. Landis
Golden Gryphon
[no website?]
Little Lulu volume 17: The Valentine
John Stanley and Irving Tripp
Dark Horse Comics
http://www.darkhorse.com/
The Art of Bryan Talbot
Bryan Talbot
NBM
http://www.nbmpublishing.com/
Skull Kill Krew
Grant Morrison, Mark Millar and Steve Yeowell, et. al.
Marvel Comics
http://www.marvel.com/
collects the five issue Skull Kill Krew miniseries
Rocketo: Journey to the Hidden Sea
Frank Espinosa with Marie Taylor
Image Comics
http://www.image.com/
The second volume concludes the first epic adventure featuring the Rocketo Garrison and his companions.
Earthboy Jacobus
Doug TenNapel
Image Comics
http://www.image.com/
Batman: Detective
Paul Dini with Royal McGraw, Don Kramer, J.H. Williams, Joe Benitez, Marcos Marz and others
DC Comics
http://www.dccomics.com/
Flink
Doug TenNapel
Image Comics
http://www.image.com/ and http://www.tennapel.com/
Labels: Dondi, Irwin Hasen, Jacob Javits, New York City, New York Comic Con, Nexus, Rosen Publishing, Steampunk, Tachyon, VanderMeer
posted by Bill Baker at 12:12 PM
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