Evan Dorkin (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} evandorkin) wrote,@ 2005-10-01 02:04:00 |
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A few nice things nice people have sent me...
Flytrap
Episode one: Juggling Act (Cold Water Press)
Via Steve Lieber, who drew this comic, written by Sara Ryan. You may have seen their earlier collaboration, the Eisner-nominated short story Me and Edith Head First, you may know the very talented Mr. Lieber's work from Whiteout, or Gatman, or a host of other things. I believe they collaborated on a very nifty Hellboy" Weird Tales entry< I know Steve drew it but I can't remember if they both wrote it or not. Back on track: This is the first chapter in a story involving Maddy, who is fired from a PR agency after a very bad day at work, and becomes the road manager for the Flytrap Circus (a small, indy outfit that includes an ape in a dress). As a pilot espidoe everything is set up nicely, things read well, look swell, I like circus stuff, road stories, apes in dresses, sideshow and carny stories, and I look forward to seeing how this fleshes out. I got mine for free because I am so great. You can find out more about this comic by going to www.stevelieber.com and going clickety click click. Or hunting Steve's table down at one of the many conventions he somehow finds the time to do while drawing lots of stuff.
Colin Upton sent me a bunch of his latest comics from the wilds of Canada a while ago, I finally got around to them, and I enjoyed them. Colin has done a ton of minis over the years (and Fantagrpahics published his Big Thing series for a num,ber of issues), autobiographical comics, satirical comics, historical comics, political comics, observational, confessional, sometimes a little bit of everything rolled up. His art isn't the slickest, but the chunky, stark linework does it's job and his writing is often funny, often angry, and always heartfelt. The titles he sent along included Colin's Comics vol 1(A $4 collection of strips from various sources), vol 2 (a $3.50 follow-up of same), The Walking Man mini-comic, Confessions of a Tabletop general (about his penchant for historical wargaming), and several minis dealing with 9-11. I enjoy Colin's comics, they have a zine-quality to them, which I mean in the best way, open, rambling, honest, like spending time with someone interesting, in a way that fanzines allow and websites still don't, even with the pictures and photographs and all.
This info should all still be valid for finding out more about Colin's comics:
http://www.stinz.com/cupton
#223 440 e 5th B.C. Canada V5T-1N5
Nostalgia Digest Magazine
Autumn 2005
Funny Valentine Press
Via editor Steve Darnall (who some may remember from the Vertigo Uncle Sam project ne did with Alex Ross and the Empty Love Stories anthology published by SLG: A very enjoyable 64 page digest-sized b&w quarterly publication with short, breezy articles about old time radio, tv, movies, shows, theater, music, remembrances, etc. This issue features an article on Frank Sinatra written by Elvis Costello, and features on the Christmas-themed episodes of the Suspense radio program, memories of Chicago's Uptown Theater, the 75th anniversary of the WB animation studio, the Monitor radio show, Dorothy Lamour, a short bit on Bob Newhart's short radio career, the Shadow, the Metropolitan Opera's radio broadcast history and two personal essays looking back on a USO dance and a childhood home in Chicago. Each issue also contains a program guide to an old-time radio show called Those Were The Days which runs (I assume in Chicago) on WDCB on Saturday afternoons from 1-5 p.m. They play a terrific variety of programs, comedies, dramas, msyteries, specials, a lot of known quantities as well as rarities and obscure stuff. The programs are also available on-line (go to www.wdcb.org or www.nostalgiadigest.com). They're going to run mystery and horror shows on October 29th for Halloween, and for the holiday season they'll ne airing the famous (in OTR cicles, anyway) Cinnamon Bear, a very Baum/Oz-like kid's show which Sarah and I really enjoyed (even though it kind of runs out of steam by the end and has a somewhat irritating final episode). The show is 13 minutes long, runs 26 episodes, and was made to be broadcast once a day counting down to christmas. There's also a Cinnamon Bear preview being aired on November 5th, a promotional recording made to get sponsors and stations to support the show. Anyway, this is a nifty little magazine. Visit www.funnyvalentinepress.com for more info, and if you're curious about Old Time Radio, check out the shows on the web and see if you get a kick out this old stuff I've been listening to while screwing up Dork #11 and other slow-going projects.
Things I had to get for myself because the world is cruel and doesn't lay free comics at my doorstep like it knows it should:
The Acme Novelty Annual Report to Shareholders (or whatever the fuck it's called)
Pantheon
I think I admire Chris Ware's work more than I take pleasure from it, but jesus christ do I admire it hard. Beautiful-looking stuff, beautifully packaged. And sometimes the writing sparkles, and even the stuff that leaves me cold is still, well, beautiful. Ware makes all us guys who hate our work really hate our work, because when he's down on himself he's so wrong, and when we're down on our stuff we're sadly mosstly correct. I do find the use of the large time-lapse captions in the strips ("Verily", and "But" and "Thus" and "So", et al) repetitive and gimmicky, but maybe that's just me. This is a just such a neat object that it's almost gravy that the cartooning is top-notch. You can find this in any good bookstore or really good comic shop and wonder aloud that human hands made these strips. Is Chris Ware scarier than Charles Burns in his precision? You make the call!
The Pushman and Other Stories by Yoshihiro Tatsumi
D&Q
A very nice-looking hardcover volume (edited and designed by Adrian Tomine) collecting 16 or so short stories from a guy I probably should have heard of before but hadn't. So sue me, I bet you don't know the Melter's real name, do you? Yeah, the Iron Man villain. That's right, I bet you don't. Not without googling it. Well, I do, so there. You can't expect people to know everything about comics just because they make them for a living. I have so few friends left in this business, and they don't tell me anything*.
Anyway, I really liked Tatsumi's direct, straightforward cartooning and storytelling, and I found many of these gritty slice of life stories about the Japanese working class very affecting. And some of it was just plain creepy, a few sequences made me think of a more sober and restrained Hideshi Hino (if he drew better). I guess it was the stuff with the sewers and the dead babies. Or maybe it's just my limited knowledge of manga cartoonists who don't work on robot or samurai comics. Again, sue me. I'm looking forward to seeing more of Tatsumi's work.
Cripes, there really are a lot of solid books coming out these days. Who has the money for all this stuff? Who has the shelf space?
*Bruno Horgan, okay? Happy? Okay, maybe you knew that one. Big deal, it's nothing to be proud of, it's a stupid thing to know, actually. Unlike, say, Stegron the Dinosaur Man's real name.
Flytrap
Episode one: Juggling Act (Cold Water Press)
Via Steve Lieber, who drew this comic, written by Sara Ryan. You may have seen their earlier collaboration, the Eisner-nominated short story Me and Edith Head First, you may know the very talented Mr. Lieber's work from Whiteout, or Gatman, or a host of other things. I believe they collaborated on a very nifty Hellboy" Weird Tales entry< I know Steve drew it but I can't remember if they both wrote it or not. Back on track: This is the first chapter in a story involving Maddy, who is fired from a PR agency after a very bad day at work, and becomes the road manager for the Flytrap Circus (a small, indy outfit that includes an ape in a dress). As a pilot espidoe everything is set up nicely, things read well, look swell, I like circus stuff, road stories, apes in dresses, sideshow and carny stories, and I look forward to seeing how this fleshes out. I got mine for free because I am so great. You can find out more about this comic by going to www.stevelieber.com and going clickety click click. Or hunting Steve's table down at one of the many conventions he somehow finds the time to do while drawing lots of stuff.
Colin Upton sent me a bunch of his latest comics from the wilds of Canada a while ago, I finally got around to them, and I enjoyed them. Colin has done a ton of minis over the years (and Fantagrpahics published his Big Thing series for a num,ber of issues), autobiographical comics, satirical comics, historical comics, political comics, observational, confessional, sometimes a little bit of everything rolled up. His art isn't the slickest, but the chunky, stark linework does it's job and his writing is often funny, often angry, and always heartfelt. The titles he sent along included Colin's Comics vol 1(A $4 collection of strips from various sources), vol 2 (a $3.50 follow-up of same), The Walking Man mini-comic, Confessions of a Tabletop general (about his penchant for historical wargaming), and several minis dealing with 9-11. I enjoy Colin's comics, they have a zine-quality to them, which I mean in the best way, open, rambling, honest, like spending time with someone interesting, in a way that fanzines allow and websites still don't, even with the pictures and photographs and all.
This info should all still be valid for finding out more about Colin's comics:
http://www.stinz.com/cupton
#223 440 e 5th B.C. Canada V5T-1N5
Nostalgia Digest Magazine
Autumn 2005
Funny Valentine Press
Via editor Steve Darnall (who some may remember from the Vertigo Uncle Sam project ne did with Alex Ross and the Empty Love Stories anthology published by SLG: A very enjoyable 64 page digest-sized b&w quarterly publication with short, breezy articles about old time radio, tv, movies, shows, theater, music, remembrances, etc. This issue features an article on Frank Sinatra written by Elvis Costello, and features on the Christmas-themed episodes of the Suspense radio program, memories of Chicago's Uptown Theater, the 75th anniversary of the WB animation studio, the Monitor radio show, Dorothy Lamour, a short bit on Bob Newhart's short radio career, the Shadow, the Metropolitan Opera's radio broadcast history and two personal essays looking back on a USO dance and a childhood home in Chicago. Each issue also contains a program guide to an old-time radio show called Those Were The Days which runs (I assume in Chicago) on WDCB on Saturday afternoons from 1-5 p.m. They play a terrific variety of programs, comedies, dramas, msyteries, specials, a lot of known quantities as well as rarities and obscure stuff. The programs are also available on-line (go to www.wdcb.org or www.nostalgiadigest.com). They're going to run mystery and horror shows on October 29th for Halloween, and for the holiday season they'll ne airing the famous (in OTR cicles, anyway) Cinnamon Bear, a very Baum/Oz-like kid's show which Sarah and I really enjoyed (even though it kind of runs out of steam by the end and has a somewhat irritating final episode). The show is 13 minutes long, runs 26 episodes, and was made to be broadcast once a day counting down to christmas. There's also a Cinnamon Bear preview being aired on November 5th, a promotional recording made to get sponsors and stations to support the show. Anyway, this is a nifty little magazine. Visit www.funnyvalentinepress.com for more info, and if you're curious about Old Time Radio, check out the shows on the web and see if you get a kick out this old stuff I've been listening to while screwing up Dork #11 and other slow-going projects.
Things I had to get for myself because the world is cruel and doesn't lay free comics at my doorstep like it knows it should:
The Acme Novelty Annual Report to Shareholders (or whatever the fuck it's called)
Pantheon
I think I admire Chris Ware's work more than I take pleasure from it, but jesus christ do I admire it hard. Beautiful-looking stuff, beautifully packaged. And sometimes the writing sparkles, and even the stuff that leaves me cold is still, well, beautiful. Ware makes all us guys who hate our work really hate our work, because when he's down on himself he's so wrong, and when we're down on our stuff we're sadly mosstly correct. I do find the use of the large time-lapse captions in the strips ("Verily", and "But" and "Thus" and "So", et al) repetitive and gimmicky, but maybe that's just me. This is a just such a neat object that it's almost gravy that the cartooning is top-notch. You can find this in any good bookstore or really good comic shop and wonder aloud that human hands made these strips. Is Chris Ware scarier than Charles Burns in his precision? You make the call!
The Pushman and Other Stories by Yoshihiro Tatsumi
D&Q
A very nice-looking hardcover volume (edited and designed by Adrian Tomine) collecting 16 or so short stories from a guy I probably should have heard of before but hadn't. So sue me, I bet you don't know the Melter's real name, do you? Yeah, the Iron Man villain. That's right, I bet you don't. Not without googling it. Well, I do, so there. You can't expect people to know everything about comics just because they make them for a living. I have so few friends left in this business, and they don't tell me anything*.
Anyway, I really liked Tatsumi's direct, straightforward cartooning and storytelling, and I found many of these gritty slice of life stories about the Japanese working class very affecting. And some of it was just plain creepy, a few sequences made me think of a more sober and restrained Hideshi Hino (if he drew better). I guess it was the stuff with the sewers and the dead babies. Or maybe it's just my limited knowledge of manga cartoonists who don't work on robot or samurai comics. Again, sue me. I'm looking forward to seeing more of Tatsumi's work.
Cripes, there really are a lot of solid books coming out these days. Who has the money for all this stuff? Who has the shelf space?
*Bruno Horgan, okay? Happy? Okay, maybe you knew that one. Big deal, it's nothing to be proud of, it's a stupid thing to know, actually. Unlike, say, Stegron the Dinosaur Man's real name.
