FLOG! Entries for Mike Baehr - April 2011

Things to See: Percy Gloom's Dinky Theatre #1

mike

A delightful new animatic by Cathy Malkasian, who, you may recall, is a BAFTA-nominated animator in addition to being an Eisner-winning graphic novelist. The "#1" in the title makes us hopeful for more episodes!

Things to See: Alan Moore by Gilbert Hernandez

mike

The A Moment of Moore tumblog recently posted this scan of Gilbert Hernandez's hilariously awesome illustration of Alan Moore from a 1988 issue of Comics Interview. Love that caption.

Daily OCD: 4/29/11

mike

Today's Online Commentary & Diversions:

• Interview: The L.A. Times Hero Complex blog's Noelene Clark talks to Carol Tyler about her L.A. Times Book Prize-nominated You'll Never Know, Book 2: Collateral Damage: "I had to read a lot of war books and Army accounts and talk to veterans and talk to Marines and everybody about what this thing is. Because it’s kind of aside from our culture. It’s not the dominant thing in our culture, so unless you know somebody in the Army that’s been there, it’s not something you’re going to come across. It’s a very nuanced, very difficult thing. It’s often stereotyped. So I was surprised to find the great humanity, the great story inside war service, whether you’re a World War II veteran or any other wars."

• Interview: At the L.A. Times Hero Complex blog, Noelene Clark also talks to Dash Shaw: "I started making comics really early. My dad had comics lying around the house. I’ve always made comics. I feel like I know a lot about comic history because it’s been my primary interest my whole life, from Marvel and superhero comics to Japanese comics to Franco-Belgian comics. I kind of have this psycho interest in comics from all over, so I feel very much like a cartooonist, and I feel really proud to be on the same shelf as all of that other stuff…."

Get Super Lit at PEN festival tomorrow

mike

R. Sikoryak presents a supercharged version of his Carousel comics performance series tomorrow at noon at Cooper Union with readings by Kate Beaton, Nick Bertozzi, Kevin Colden, Mike Dawson, Ludovic Debeurme, Dean Haspiel, Michael Kupperman, Benjamin Marra, R. Sikoryak, Jeff Newelt, and Harvey Pekar (RIP) as part of the PEN World Voices literary festival in NYC — details and discount code here, tickets here.

Weekend Webcomics for 4/29/11: Kupperman, Weissman & more

mike

Our weekly strips from Kupperman & Weissman, plus links to other strips from around the web:

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Up All Night by Michael Kupperman (view at original size):

Barack Hussein Obama by Steven Weissman (view at original size):

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And elsewhere:

Belligerent Piano by Tim Lane:

Ectiopiary by Hans Rickheit:

Maakies by Tony Millionaire:

Mugwhump the Great by Roger Langridge (at Act-i-vate):

Smashing Crayons by Steve Brodner at SlateV:

Truth Serum by Jon Adams:

Lil Wayne Takes Punk to the Masses

mike

I've watched it a few times now, and I can still scarcely fathom it. Legendary music interviewer Nardwuar presents rap superstar Lil Wayne with some gifts of the Northwest, including Taking Punk to the Masses: From Nowhere to Nevermind. Quoth an appreciative Mr. Carter: "I collect these type of things, so this is a good thing right here." The whole thing's worth watching, but jump ahead to 2:20 for the Taking Punk stuff. (YouTube link.)

Daily OCD: 4/28/11

mike

Today's Online Commentary & Diversions:

• Interview: The L.A. Times Hero Complex blog's Noelene Clark talks to Jim Woodring about his L.A. Times Book Prize-nominated Weathercraft: "Art is always so reductive, and what I have going on in my comics is so simple and relatively easy to understand compared to real life, which is infinitely complex. So it might relate to real life in the same way that a chessboard would relate to a chessboard with an infinite number of squares on it. It’s sort of similar in some ways, but it’s much, much, much, much, much simpler and reductive and easier to understand."

• Review: "The strips themselves are great. In fact, it’s a crime these aren’t more well known. These daily strips are part of why Mickey Mouse became a popular character and world famous icon. The serialized adventures are exciting and fun, establishing a real personality for Mickey beyond what was possible in the animated shorts. The book has lovingly restored these strips from the original negatives and proof sheets – each one crystal clear and absolutely beautiful. If that were all there was to this book, I’d recommend it highly. But that’s not all. Co-Editor David Gerstein has... loaded this book with over 60 pages of supplementary articles and features that are a MUST for all Disney history buffs. [...] I cannot praise this volume highly enough." – Jerry Beck, Cartoon Brew

• Review: "I had high expectations for Castle Waiting, given that the first volume was outstanding, and I wasn’t disappointed. I found Volume 2 so strong, in fact, that it was my best graphic novel of 2010. [...] I normally am not a big fan of fantasy, but here, the characters are so strong in personality, so interesting and likable, that I want to spend more time with them. [...] The true strength of Castle Waiting, though, is Medley’s gorgeous art. The characters are perfect, distinctive and expressive, and the storytelling so strong you don’t even notice it. Instead, you’re visiting with this self-created family for a while — and it’s never long enough. When I close the cover, it’s always a melancholy action, because I want more time with these people, more adventures, more humor and good-heartedness." – Johanna Draper Carlson, Comics Worth Reading

• Review: "Mome 21 bats a good average, with many stories hitting their mark and a few clearing the fences. [...] Mome plays a unique role in the world of North American alternative comics. It’s one of the only long-form, regularly published comics anthologies out there, providing a vision of novelty and variety for the future of literary comics. When the series concludes later this year, a chapter in comics history will have closed." – Ao Meng, The Daily Texan

• Plug: Gillian G. Gaar works a nice mention of Taking Punk to the Masses: From Nowhere to Nevermind into her article on Nirvana history and mythology for Blurt

Clowes Stinckers redux

mike

Aha! An image of an uncut sheet of Daniel Clowes "Stinckers" stickers available at Meltdown Comics in L.A. and more info about 'em at the Stinckers blog!

UPDATE: How to buy an uncut sheet!

Things to See: Kupperman tweets peek of Twain book

mike

Michael Kupperman tweeted this pic , saying "Almost done with my Twain book. Here he and Einstein join Oscar and Felix to become 'The Awkward Quartet.'" Mark Twain's Autobiography 1910-2010 comes out this Fall!

Daily OCD Extra: Peter Bagge video interview

mike

Peter Bagge is the guest on the latest episode of The Dusty Wright Show video podcast, filmed back on April 10 at Scott Eder Gallery in Brooklyn the day after Pete's exhibit opening there. It's a funny and opinionated chat — classic Pete! Check it out embedded above or on the Culture Catch website.

Daily OCD: 4/27/11

mike

Today's Online Commentary & Diversions:

• Review: "Clemente blazed trails and provided a role model to millions who needed one. Santiago's work here manages to capture the magic and mystery of that position by putting Clemente on something of a pedestal, but it all hangs together very well. It's exciting and incredibly easy to read. Santiago's art is fantastic. [...] Santiago's 21 is a treat. Its 200 pages fly by, the visuals are great, and the dialogue dead-on. The last few pages are heartbreaking and effective." – David Brothers, Comics Alliance

• Review: "Unlovable by Esther Pearl Watson has to be the best contemporary comic strip. [...] One would think the story of some suburban high school girl in the eighties has been done before. And, yes, it has been done before time and time again. Yet, what Watson does is somehow find a strange world that has yet to be traversed, regardless of time period: it crosses the lines Ghost World drew and that Freaks & Geeks clarified, but it views it through the eyes of a more confident Anaïs from Fat Girl. The result is a brilliant and 'Ain’t Too Proud To Beg' account from a high school wannabe who thought she was — and wanted to be — it all. It’s brilliant: the comic anthology is the best piece of literature that I have read since the last time I read any sort of book in its entirety..." – Kyle Fitzpatrick, The Fox Is Black

• Follow-up: "Well, I just finished that biography of legendary rock critic Paul Nelson [1936 -- 2006] that I raved about in medias res yesterday and it's actually an even better book than I let on." – Steve Simels, PowerPop

• Interview: The subject of Richard Gehr's latest "Know Your New Yorker Cartoonists" column for The Comics Journal is Gahan Wilson: "But the outfit I fit in with instantly, was National Lampoon. That was a remarkable assemblage of brilliant sons of bitches. Its spirit was insidious. It was like being part of a pirate crew. We were like some kind of religious sect. We were out to show the bastards, by God, and we did, very effectively. I just wish something like that would happen again. But there’s no sign of it whatsoever, even though things are much worse now than they were then."

Even Iggy likes Zippy

mike

Yow indeed! Who better embodies "lust for life" than Zippy the Pinhead? Image (and post title) provided by our warehouse manager Nico Vassilakis. This photo is worth a million in prizes! Are we having Fun House yet? Etcetera!

Things to See: Steven Weissman draws Harry Potter

mike

Words cannot describe how much I love this Harry Potter drawing by Steven Weissman. What makes it even better is that it was drawn for a postcard correspondence with a 5th-grade pen pal, who led off with this fantastic opening round:

Things to See: REALLY unseen Peanuts

mike

Dept. of "Whoa": Robot 6 reports on this auction for a piece of never-before-seen artwork by Charles M. Schulz, a "try-out" strip thought to have been done during the transition from Li'l Folks to Peanuts, circa 1949-1950. Click our image above to see it a bit larger (if it looks strangely patched together, that's an artifact of the Flash-based image viewer on the auction page, from which we took screen-grabs).

(Our post title is a reference to Unseen Peanuts, our 2007 Free Comic Book Day offering which we are currently sending out free with orders, with some restrictions, while supplies last — see here for details.)

New Jim Flora print: Rowayton Creature Tableau

mike

This previously unpublished Jim Flora drawing from the 1970s has just been released as a limited-edition print from Jim Flora Art — see it in all its delightful detail and place your order here.

Now in stock: Hate Annual #9 by Peter Bagge

mike

Now available:

Hate Annual #9
by Peter Bagge

32-page full-color comic book • $4.95 — Order Now!

Buddy & Lisa — back to Seattle! In the first full-length Buddy story in ten years (and it's a doozy), just when things are starting to look idyllic for our heroes, a family crisis forces Lisa to re-unite with her Seattle-based parents and brings Buddy and their young son Harold along with her — and Buddy quickly learns why she's been avoiding them for 20-odd years! And Lisa has some other unwelcome surprises in her family tree as well...

Plus, Pete gets political in cartoons from El Rios, High Times and Seattle Weekly. And a couple of ads!

Here's a peek at a few pages. Ooh, indicia:

New Comics Day 4/27/11: Love (from the Shadows) and Hate (Annual)

mike

This week's comic shop shipment is slated to include the following new titles. See more about each book at the links, and contact your local shop to confirm availability.

Hate Annual #9
by Peter Bagge

32-page full-color comic book • $4.95

"It really has been almost exactly a year since #8! Fancy that. Previous Hate Annuals have been a catchall for whatever Peter Bagge's been drawing lately, plus a short check-in with Buddy Bradley as he ages in real time; this time, the Buddy-and-Lisa story is longer than usual. There's something I really admire about Bagge's sticktoitiveness." – Douglas Wolk, Comics Alliance

"...I’m most looking forward to reading the Hate Annual, if only cause we get new Buddy Bradley adventures so infrequently these days." – Chris Mautner, Robot 6

"Pete Bagge’s Hate Annual is on fairly regular scheduling now, by which I mean I think it’s roughly a year since we saw the last one. Top marks, Mr Bagge. Hate Annual #9 includes the first full-length Buddy story in a decade..." – Gosh! Comics

"Each Hate annual is like a weekend visit from a best friend you haven't seen in years. This issue is the first full-length Buddy Bradley story in a decade. Buddy goes along with Lisa as she reunites with her family for the first time in twenty years, and it quickly becomes apparent why she's been avoiding them." – Benn Ray (Atomic Books), Largehearted Boy

"I like how loopy and ridiculous the Buddy Bradley narrative has become in the Hate Annuals." – Tom Spurgeon, The Comics Reporter

Love from the Shadows
by Gilbert Hernandez

120-page black & white 5.75" x 8.5" hardcover • $19.99
ISBN: 978-1-60699-406-1

"The newest installment of Gilbert Hernandez's series of standalone "adaptations" of nonexistent exploitation movies, and the most screwed-up by far. (That's a good thing.) There are lots of comics that try for a "cinematic" tone, but Gilbert H. is the only cartoonist I can think of who's tried to approximate the weird narrative power of the kinds of flaws you only really find in movies--dodgy special effects and awkward editing become deliberate, controlled dramatic devices here." – Douglas Wolk, Comics Alliance

"Gilbert Hernandez’s latest graphic novel is yet another delightfully loopy and hauntingly surreal entry in his ongoing, loosely-related 'Fritz' series and would be my pick of the week, certainly for any self-respecting Love and Rockets fan." – Chris Mautner, Robot 6

"Love from the Shadows is Gilbert Hernandez’s third original hardcover graphic novel (after Chance in Hell and The Troublemakers) about Love & Rockets’ Fritz as a Z-movie actress. 'Erotic, harrowing, graphically violent, and astonishingly grim, Love from the Shadows sees Hernandez plunging ever further into his own heart of darkness,' writes one reviewer over at TCJ, adding 'Christ, what a f*cking book.'" – Gosh! Comics

"B-movie actress Fritz, from Love & Rockets, stars in this thriller of odd sexual obsession, suicide and more." – Benn Ray (Atomic Books), Largehearted Boy

"Can’t resist splashing some Los Bros art on here for all to enjoy because, well, because it is Gilbert Hernandez and because we can never get enough of Los Bros, they just make our days better..." – Forbidden Planet International

And at TCJ.com it's Joe McCulloch's... "CONFLICT OF INTEREST RESERVOIR: Some shops seem to have gotten it in last Wednesday — I’ve personally seen it sitting around — but Diamond has designated this week as the official release of Hate Annual #9, in which Peter Bagge again visits with Buddy Bradley and family, this time for most of the 32-page issue’s space; $4.95. Also, Gilbert Hernandez brings Love from the Shadows, the latest in his Fritz 'movie' series (this time the character plays various male and female roles), which has already inspired diverse reactions on this very site; $19.99."

Daily OCD: 4/26/11

mike

Today's Online Commentary & Diversions:

• Review: "...Everything is an Afterthought: The Life and Writings of Paul Nelson by Kevin Avery — due out this November from Fantagraphic Books — is an absolutely riveting and (I think) important read. ...I'm only halfway through the book at the moment, but I can tell you that Avery has done an absolutely smashing job of research and that there's a lot to chew on here about all sorts of issues... I'll have more to say about it later in the year, when it's actually in print, but rest assured that this would be an important book if Avery had done nothing more than get some of Nelson's brilliant essays and reviews between hardcovers, where they clearly belong, at last." – Steve Simels, PowerPop

• Review: "Ott’s psychobilly sensibilities litter his narrative world with pimps, thugs and geeks; desperate chancers, deadly beloveds and down and outs on the edge of reality as well as society, so if jaded comics fans might feel they’ve been here before, the wider world are still only curious first-timers into a dismal dimension of vice, spice and bad advice. Graphic, violent funny and unforgettable [R.I.P.: Best of 1985-2004] is a special treat for thrill-starved adults in search of something a little beyond the norm." – Win Wiacek, Now Read This!

• Commentary: "It's fascinating to see the history of comics play out in real time by reading these 30-year-old 'fanzines' (which is what The Comics Journal was called by pretty much everyone who refers to the magazine within its pages, even though it was already much more than that within the first few years of its existence) and reflect on how much the industry has changed and yet how the same questions and concerns from 1980 still pop up in conversations around the comic book water cooler today." – Timothy Callahan, Comic Book Resources

Video message from Dash Shaw

mike

Concerning the progress of Dash's Kickstarter campaign for his film The Ruined Cast.

Things to See: Kirk vs. Picard by Jaime Hernandez

mike

Thomas Rehhoff passes along another fun piece from his collection of original Hernandez Bros. art: this 1994 New Yorker illustration by Jaime illustrating the good ol' Kirk vs. Picard debate, presumably for the magazine's review of Star Trek: Generations — whatta stinker that movie was.