FLOG! Entries tagged 'Fredrik Stromberg'

New Comics Day July 11, 18 & 25, 2012

mike

While we were at Comic-Con and then I was on vacation a gazillion of our books came out in comic shops because of course they did!

Read on to see what comics-blog commentators are saying these latest releases about (more to be added as they appear), check out our previews at the links, and contact your local shop to confirm availability.

The Adventures of Venus
by Gilbert Hernandez

96-page 7.75" x 7.75" black & white hardcover • $9.99
ISBN: 978-1-60699-540-2

"I think children's comics benefit from stand-alone collection more than most because it enables you to get on the wavelength being offered a bit more fully than in a serial comic book. So while I'll miss this Gilbert Hernandez work appearing next to back-up shorts featuring slightly inappropriate Rick Altergott comics, I think this book works super-well. I forgot how charming those comics are. This is also a good one to buy in anticipation of his forthcoming autobiographically-oriented work. Price point kills, too. Yeah, buy that one." – Tom Spurgeon, The Comics Reporter

"...my first grab would be The Adventures of Venus, a collection of all-ages comics starring Luba’s young, American niece, Venus. Originally serialized in Gilbert’s short-lived kids anthology Marbles, these are really charming stories about everyday kid activities like reading comic books, playing soccer, getting sick and just generally having an active imagination." – Chris Mautner, Robot 6

"Gilbert Hernandez’s completely delightful kids’ comics from the pages of Measles are collected in The Adventures of Venus..., along with a new piece..." – Joe McCulloch, The Comics Journal

Dungeon Quest Book 3
by Joe Daly

288-page black & white 6" x 8.25" softcover • $19.99
ISBN: 978-1-60699-544-0

"...an enormous 288-page return to Joe Daly’s humorous fantasy quest narrative/gaming spoof..." – Joe McCulloch, The Comics Journal

God and Science: Return of the Ti-Girls
by Jaime Hernandez

136-page black & white/color 8.75" x 11.25" hardcover • $19.99
ISBN: 978-1-60699-539-6

"If I was looking to splurge, I’d add Jaime Hernandez’ God and Science: Return of The Ti-Girls collection (Fantagraphics, $19.99) to my take-home stash, because … well, it’s Jaime and it’s glorious. I’ve already read it in the Love and Rockets serialization, but $19.99 for a collected hardcover? I am splurging, after all!" – Graeme McMillan, Robot 6

"Even though I read the story when it was serialized in Love and Rockets New Stories, I’m tempted to pick up God and Science: Return of the Ti-Girls by Jaime Hernandez, as it’s got a new coda and because, hey, new Jaime Hernandez book." – Chris Mautner, Robot 6

"...the new Jaime Hernandez release God and Science: Return of the Ti-Girls, a 136-page hardcover collection/expansion of his superhero serial from the newest incarnation of Love and Rockets..." – Joe McCulloch, The Comics Journal

Jack Davis: Drawing American Pop Culture - A Career Retrospective (2nd Printing)
by Jack Davis

208-page full-color 10.25" x 13.25" hardcover • $49.99
ISBN: 978-1-60699-447-4

Busted! "Mike Baehr said in casual conversation -- which I think means, 'Oh yeah, use this on the site as if I gave you an actual quote' -- that this book did extremely well for Fantagraphics at SDCC. Really handsomely mounted book featuring a great cartoonist." – Tom Spurgeon, The Comics Reporter

"I was a big Mad Magazine junkie in my youth, so I’d likely go for Jack Davis: Drawing American Pop Culture, a coffee-table sized retrospective honoring the master cartoonist behind so many great EC stories and Mad parodies, not to mention album covers, movie posters, magazine illustrations, etc." – Chris Mautner, Robot 6

"...Jack Davis: Drawing American Pop Culture provides 208 pages of stuff from the humorist, illustrator and Mad contributor..." – Joe McCulloch, The Comics Journal

Jewish Images in the Comics
by Fredrik Strömberg

424-page black & white 6" x 6" hardcover • $26.99
ISBN: 978-1-60699-528-0

"...the latest (424-page!) Fredrik Strömberg sampler of annotated iconographies..." – Joe McCulloch, The Comics Journal

Significant Objects
edited by Joshua Glenn & Rob Walker

242-page full-color 6" x 8.25" flexibound softcover • $24.99
ISBN: 978-1-60699-525-9

"Significant Objects is not a comic — not an awful lot of comics this week caught my eye — but a potentially interesting prose compilation culling the ‘best of’ Joshua Glenn’s and Rob Walker’s online effort at selling knickknacks through eBay by commissioning writers to create short stories for the item descriptions, with comics folk Gary Panter, Ben Katchor and Ann(ie) Nocente (along with frequent writer-on-comics Douglas Wolk) joining the likes of William Gibson(!), Jonathan Lethem and Neil LaBute as contributors; $24.99." – Joe McCulloch, The Comics Journal

"Not comics: a book featuring the essay/object pairings organized by Joshua Glenn and Rob Walker, which you can read about here." – Tom Spurgeon, The Comics Reporter

Tales Designed to Thrizzle #8
by Michael Kupperman

32-page full-color 6.75" x 9.5" comic book • $4.95

"I can't imagine there's a better single-issue buy out there; Michael Kupperman is one of comics' funniest people, and probably its most consistent right now." – Tom Spurgeon, The Comics Reporter

"...my first pick would easily be the latest issue of Michael Kupperman’s Tales Designed to Thrizzle, featuring a thrilling moon caper, a Murder, She Wrote parody and a truly strange coloring book about trains. If you’ve a yen for idiosyncratic, absurdist humor — and who doesn’t? — this is your meal ticket right here." – Chris Mautner, Robot 6

"...the final issue of Michael Kupperman’s hugely-admired comedy showcase..." – Joe McCulloch, The Comics Journal

Walt Disney's Uncle Scrooge: Only a Poor Old Man
by Carl Barks

248-page full-color 7.5" x 10.25" hardcover • $28.99
ISBN: 978-1-60699-535-8

"Fantagraphics continues to be the gold standard for reprinting old comics material. This collection of Carl Barks' splendid Scrooge stories continues the formula of the Donald Duck volume from a few months ago: four long stories (including 'Back to the Klondike'!), then a handful of shorter stories and one-page gags." – Douglas Wolk, ComicsAlliance

"My big splurge purchase this week is Only a Poor Old Man, the second volume in Fantagraphics ongoing Carl Barks collection. I’m so happy that an affordable version of Barks’ duck stories is finally available, I can’t resist snatching it up." – Chris Mautner, Robot 6

"...another 248 pages of re-colored vintage Carl Barks... Just collect the change from between your couch cushions and go to town, little angels. " – Joe McCulloch, The Comics Journal

Wandering Son Vol. 3
by Shimura Takako

224-page black & white/color 7" x 9.5" hardcover • $19.99
ISBN: 978-1-60699-533-4

"...[A] solid manga offering..." – Tom Spurgeon, The Comics Reporter

"Shimura Takako’s soft ‘n delicate story of transgender sexual identity among adolescents continues..." – Joe McCulloch, The Comics Journal

Jewish Images in the Comics by Fredrik Str�mberg - Now in Stock

mike

Just arrived and now shipping from our mail-order department:

Jewish Images in the Comics
by Fredrik Strömberg

424-page black & white 6" x 6" hardcover • $26.99
ISBN: 978-1-60699-528-0

See Previews / Order Now

Jewish Images in the Comics showcases more than 150 comic strips, comic books and graphic novels from all over the world, stretching over the last five centuries and featuring Jewish characters and Jewish themes.

The book is divided into chapters on Anti-Semitism, the Old Testament, the Holocaust, Israel, the Golem and much more, featuring everything from well-known comics like Art Spiegelman’s Maus and the work of Will Eisner to much more obscure (and in some cases far less savory) but no less culturally and historically interesting examples of how Jewish culture has been depicted in comics.

As with Strömberg’s previous two books for Fantagraphics, each strip, comic, or graphic novel is spotlighted via a short but informative 200-word essay and a representative illustration. The book is augmented by a context-setting introduction as well as an extensive source list and bibliography.

Jewish Images in the Comics is the third book in a series in which Strömberg examines different phenomena in our society, as mirrored in comics. Black Images in the Comics examines the way Black people have been portrayed in comics and The Comics Go to Hell looks at how the Devil has been used as a comics character.

Jewish Images in the Comics by Fredrik Str�mberg - Previews, Pre-Order

mike

Jewish Images in the Comics
by Fredrik Strömberg

424-page black & white 6" x 6" hardcover • $26.99
ISBN: 978-1-60699-528-0

Ships in: June 2012 (subject to change) — Pre-Order Now

33-page excerpt (download 1.5 MB PDF):

Video & Photo Slideshow Preview (view in new window):

New Comics Day 6/6/12: Angelman, Black Images, Squa Tront; Castle Waiting, L&R Locas reprints

mike

This week's comic shop shipment is slated to include the following new titles. Read on to see what comics-blog commentators and web-savvy comic shops are saying about them (more to be added as they appear), check out our previews at the links, and contact your local shop to confirm availability.

For a change of pace let's kick things off with...

"CONFLICT OF INTEREST RESERVOIR: Nicolas Mahler parodies the superhero comics industry in his characteristic style with Angelman, a 96-page color hardcover; $18.99. A new softcover edition of Fredrik Strömberg’s Black Images in the Comics (I’ve read and enjoyed the 2003 edition) offers valuable insights on a large collection of depictions; $19.99. And editor John Benson presents Squa Tront #13, an all-new 48-page fanzine on things EC and related; $9.99." – Joe McCulloch, The Comics Journal

Angelman
by Nicolas Mahler

96-page full-color 7" x 9.75" hardcover • $18.99
ISBN: 978-1-60699-534-1

"A really weird, somewhat adorable little book by the Austrian artist Nicolas Mahler that I am happy to suspect is as close as Fantagraphics is ever going to come to publishing superhero comics. It's a minimalist reaction against, and parody of, mainstream comics' conventions of character, storytelling, drawing, design, financial structure, interaction with their readers... it's attractively executed for sure, and pretty funny..." – Douglas Wolk, ComicsAlliance

"Lotsa good, splurge-worthy stuff this week, including... Angelman, a rather cutting (if you look at the cover you’ll see I’m making a pun here) superhero parody from Austrian cartoonist Nicolas Mahler..." – Chris Mautner, Robot 6

"For my splurge item, I’m going to take Mautner’s recommendation and grab Nicolas Mahler’s Angelman. I can use some cutting superhero parody this week." – Michael May, Robot 6

"A funny and biting take on superhero comics — or as I often like to spell them, 'sooperhero comics.' Angelman has powers like empathy and enemies like Gender-Bender (a plastic surgeon). A minimal yet endearing art style — and a biting look at superhero comics, fans and the business behind them." – Benn Ray (Atomic Books), Largehearted Boy

"I did not expect to see a nice-looking Fantagraphics hardcover featuring Nicolas Mahler's work, so this was a pleasant surprise." – Tom Spurgeon, The Comics Reporter

Black Images in the Comics (Softcover Ed.)
by Fredrik Strömberg

304-page black & white 6" x 6" softcover • $19.99
ISBN: 978-1-60699-562-4

"...I’m definitely curious enough about Fredrik Stromberg’s Black Images in the Comics (Fantagraphics, $19.99) to pick it up; comics’ early racism is often ignored, so I’m looking forward to learning more, and then getting depressed about it." – Graeme McMillan, Robot 6

"A fascinating survey of... comics from the past 100 years from all over the world all featuring black characters. Each entry includes an accompanying essay. Overall, a compelling look at the changing role of race in comics and therefore culture. – Benn Ray (Atomic Books), Largehearted Boy

Squa Tront #13
edited by John Benson

48-page black & white/color 8.5" x 11" softcover • $9.99
ISBN: 978-1-60699-571-6

"...Fantagraphics has the latest issue of Squa Tront, the longest-running EC-focused crit/fan mag evar. At $10, that’s certainly at least worth a flip-through." – Chris Mautner, Robot 6

"I've read this and it was as surprise for me. I generally adore Squa Tront, and magazines that use a specific focus to build a perspective on comics more generally. I thought this a strong issue just for the presentation of Jack Davis war-era cartooning. This is the kind of thing I want to do with my own relationship to comics when I grow up." – Tom Spurgeon, The Comics Reporter

Maggie the Mechanic (Love and Rockets Library — Locas Book 1)
by Jaime Hernandez

272-page black & white 7.5" x 9.25" softcover • $14.95
ISBN: 978-1-56097-784-1

The Girl from H.O.P.P.E.R.S. (Love and Rockets Library — Locas Book 2)
by Jaime Hernandez

272-page black & white 7.5" x 9.25" softcover • $14.95
ISBN: 978-1-56097-851-0

"So you hear people talking all the time about Jaime Hernandez and how he's one of the most amazing cartoonists working in the English language and all that, and there are so many Love and Rockets collections in so many formats, and where do you start? If you're one of the people who prefers to start at the beginning, there is a new printing of this stout little paperback [Maggie the Mechanic] out this week, which collects his earliest, sci-fi/punk-type 'Locas' and 'Mechanics' stories, as well as a new printing of the second volume, The Girl From H.O.P.P.E.R.S., in which he hits the groove in which he's stayed most of the time since then. I never get tired of re-reading these." – Douglas Wolk, ComicsAlliance

"I will... buy everything Jaime Hernandez does just short of new printings. I'd sure check my damn bookshelves to make sure I had one, though. This early material reads quite well in those paperbacks, I think." – Tom Spurgeon, The Comics Reporter

Castle Waiting Vol. 1
by Linda Medley

456-page black & white 5.5" x 8" hardcover • $29.95
ISBN: 978-1-56097-747-6

Black Images in the Comics (Softcover Ed.) by Fredrik Str�mberg - Now in Stock

mike

Just arrived in our warehouse and ready to ship to our mail-order customers:

Black Images in the Comics (Softcover Ed.)
by Fredrik Strömberg

304-page black & white 6" x 6" softcover • $19.99
ISBN: 978-1-60699-562-4

See Previews / Order Now

This book spotlights over 100 comic strips, comic books, and graphic novels to feature black characters from all over the world over the last century, and the result is a fascinating journey to, if not enlightenment, then at least away from the horrendous caricatures of yore.

The book begins with the habitually appalling images of blacks as ignorant “coons” in the earliest syndicated strips (Happy Hooligan, Moon Mullins, and The Katzenjammer Kids); continues with the almost-quaint colonialist images of the often-suppressed Tintin album Tintin in the Congo and such ambiguous figures as Mandrake the Magician’s “noble savage” assistant Lothar in the ’30s (not to mention Torchy Brown, the first syndicated black character), moving on to such oddities as the offensive Ebony character in Will Eisner’s otherwise classic The Spirit from the ’40s and ’50s.

We then continue into the often earnest attempts at ’60s integration in such strips as Peanuts (and comic books such as the Fantastic Four), as well as the first wave of “black strips” like Wee Pals, juxtaposed with the shocking satire of underground comics such as R. Crumb’s incendiary Angefood McSpade. Also investigated is the increased use of blacks in super-hero comic books as well as syndicated strips. Black Images in the Comics wraps up from the ’80s to now, with the increased visibility of blacks, often in works actually produced by blacks, all the way to the South African strip Madam & Eve, Aaron McGruder’s pointed daily The Boondocks, and more — including over a dozen new entries added to the out-of-print hardcover edition.

Each strip, comic, or graphic novel is spotlighted via a compact but instructive 200-word essay and a representative illustration. The book is augmented by a context-setting introduction, an extensive source list and bibliography, and a foreword by Charles R. Johnson, the recipient of a MacArthur Foundation fellowship and winner of the National Book Award for his 1990 novel Middle Passage.

Daily OCD: 5/25-5/28/12

mike

The latest Online Commentary & Diversions:

• Feature: At Print magazine, Michael Dooley spotlights the new 13th issue of Squa Tront — "...Squa Tront has set itself out to explore every facet of EC's history, through stimulating, in-depth journalism, scholarly analyses, critiques, bios, interviews, and, of course, illustrations. Under the supervision of its current editor, John Benson, it has established a high standard for fanzine professionalism, in both literary content and production values." — with a generous sampling of images and an interview with Benson: "But really, as far as Squa Tront goes, what sustains my interest most is probably my love of print media and the pleasure of creating a physical package."

• Plug: "A new issue of Squa Tront is a rare and special event, not to be missed." – Bud Plant

• Review: "Oftentimes the first volume of an archival project gets greeted with a lot of ballyhoo while later volumes fail to get any ink, even though the later books represent the subject in question better than the earlier, more fumbling work. So let this serve as notice that the third volume of the Blake Bell-edited series [The Steve Ditko Archives] is the best one yet, showing Ditko in 1957, about to turn 30 and learning to deploy his distinctive faces and abstract shapes in the service of stories with real flow. ...[T]he nightmarish visions of stories like 'The Man Who Lost His Face' and 'The Last One' are classic Ditko, with off-kilter panel designs and anguished figures conveying a sense of sanity slipping away." – Noel Murray, The A.V. Club

• Review: "...Blood of Palomar is a thrilling book... Hernández’s writing and artwork are excellent. The black-and-white pen work is perfect — there are a vividness and richness to the action, story, and scenes already that would likely be drowned in color. With 34 characters and multiple story threads, a first read can be dizzying, yet all is exquisitely kept in balance. Though certainly most characters are not given much depth, the large cast gives the sense of a real community. The main characters are complex, flawed, and fascinating.... Blood of Palomar haunted my thoughts long after I finished reading." – Michael Stock, The Capeless Crusader

• Plug: "How to best demonstrate the awesome might of Fantagraphics' new Johnny Gruelle collection, Mr. Twee Deedle?... It's more akin to flipping the pages of a wallpaper sampler than a collection of historic comics.... It dominates the largest clear surface in my house — the kitchen island — like a B-52 bomber somehow parked astride an aircraft carrier's deck. And then you open it up. ...[T]he art on the page is massive, but filled with delicate details.... Many of the strips are illustrated from eye-level of small children, and the natural world around the characters seems almost life-sized." – John Mesjak, My 3 Books

• Plug: "Comics have long been home to a variety of races, be it alien or underground or from an alternate dimension. But in the 100-plus year history of comics, one of the toughest for creators to portray accurately is that of black characters. And now Fantagraphics is putting back in print a key work examining that strained relationship, Fredrik Strömberg‘s Eisner-nominated Black Images in the Comics: A Visual History." – Chris Arrant, Robot 6

• Interview (Audio): Pat Thomas was on BBC Radio's Front Row Daily last Friday talking about his book Listen, Whitey! The Sights and Sounds of Black Power 1965-1975 — follow the link and "it's the one that says 'Tracey Emin; news from Cannes' — I'm on for about 10 minutes at the end," instructs Pat

• Commentary: Robot 6's Chris Mautner takes you back to "Comics College" with another of his handy reader's guides, this time to the work of Charles Burns

Black Images in the Comics (Softcover Ed.) by Fredrik Str�mberg - Previews, Pre-Order

mike

Black Images in the Comics (Softcover Ed.)
by Fredrik Strömberg

304-page black & white 6" x 6" softcover • $19.99
ISBN: 978-1-60699-562-4

Ships in: May 2012 (subject to change) — Pre-Order Now

31-page excerpt (download 807 KB PDF):

Video & Photo Slideshow Preview (view in new window):

Fantagraphics at MoCCA 2012 in NYC This Weekend!

janice

Fantagraphics is heading over to the mighty 2012 MoCCA Fest this weekend, with so much awesomeness in store for you all! Visit us this Saturday, April 28th and Sunday, April 29th at the Lexington Avenue Armory in New York City!

First off, take a look at all the debuts we're bringing! Many of these books won't be in stores for several more months, and copies are limited, so make our table your first stop:

• Angelman: Fallen Angel by Nicolas Mahler
• Dungeon Quest 3 by Joe Daly
• The Furry Trap by Josh Simmons

• God and Science: Return of the Ti-Girls by Jaime Hernandez
• Jack Davis: Drawing American Pop Culture (the fancy new printing!) by Jack Davis
• Jewish Images in the Comics by Fredrik Strömberg

• New York Mon Amour by Jacques Tardi, Benjamin Legrand & Dominique Grange
• Out of the Shadows by Mort Meskin; edited and designed by Steven Brower
• Tales Designed to Thrizzle #8 by Michael Kupperman
• Walt Disney's Uncle Scrooge: Only a Poor Old Man by Carl Barks Delayed at the printer, sorry!

We're excited to introduce another all-star cast of artists signing at our table:

Saturday, April 28th
12:00 pm-1:00 pm       Josh Simmons / Kim Deitch / Olivier Schrauwen
1:00 pm-2:30 pm         Drew Friedman
1:30 pm-3:00 pm         Nicolas Mahler
3:00 pm-4:00 pm        Michael Kupperman
3:00 pm-4:30 pm        Jason
4:30 pm-5:30 pm        Fredrik Strömberg / Hans Rickheit

Sunday, April 29th
11:30 am-12:30 pm      Fredrik Strömberg / Peter Kielland
12:30 pm-2:30 pm       Jason / Nicolas Mahler
2:30 pm-3:30 pm         Kim Deitch / Michael Kupperman
3:30 pm-4:30 pm         Hans Rickheit / Josh Simmons / Olivier Schrauwen

edit: We're sorry to report that Josh Simmons and Olivier Schrauwen won't be able to make it after all!

Find all of this, and even more, at the Fantagraphics booth, located at our usual spot at #J1, J2, K1, K2:

And hey! Check out these panels!

Saturday, April 28th

12:15 pm // With Nicolas Mahler and Tom Gauld: Brian Heater interviews two artists; Tom Gauld of Scotland, and Nicolas Mahler of Austria. (Room B)

1:15 pm // Checklist for a New Comic: A Guide to Getting Started: In this brief seminar, Jessica Abel and Matt Madden will walk you through the many considerations you should keep in mind when you embark on a new comic of any kind. Abel and Madden will help you strategize and come up with a working plan for your next project, and will cover: creative block and coming up with ideas; choosing a format and platform that makes sense; setting goals and scheduling your time so that you can reach them; finding an audience and looking for collaborators and/or publishers. So bring some paper and be ready to take notes on your next big (or small) project! (Room B)

2:15 pm // Klein Award Ceremony with Gary Panter: Gary Panter receives the 2012 Klein Award! (Room A)

3:15 pm // Hans Rickheit in Conversation: Brian Heater takes on Hans Rickheit -- musician, performance artist, cartoonist. (Room B)

3:15 pm // A Nordic Roundtable with Fredrik Strömberg (SE), Peter Madsen (DK), Kaisa Leka (FI), Bendik Kaltenborn (NO) and Mattias Elftorp: The comics culture of northern Europe is brimming with energy, talent and innovation, among other things visible in the new anthology Kolor Klimax from Fantagraphics. Come and meet some of the Nordic artists present at MoCCA. (Room A)

5:15 pm // Carousel with Michael Kupperman, Domitille Collardey, Shannon Wheeler, Leslie Stein, Lauren Weinstein and R. Sikoryak: Live comics brought to life by cartoonists and a team of talented voice actors. With voices by Julie Klausner, Dave Hill, Scott Adsit. (Room A)

Sunday, April 29th

2:00 pm // A Discussion with Josh Neufeld and Shannon Wheeler: These two creators interview one another about their work in comics, especially as it relates to their approaches to documenting tragedy on the Gulf Coast. (Room B)

Be sure to drop by tables #J1, J2, K1, K2 to say hi to Jacq, Kristy, who is making her MoCCA debut, and Jen, the latest addition to the Fantagraphics Marketing team! See you at MoCCA!

Advancing into Spring

mike

March/April advance shipments bring May/June books... Our shelves are starting to groan with advance copies of upcoming arrivals that have come in over the last couple of weeks. Above, the softcover edition of Stephen Dixon's short story collection What Is All This? (it's prose, folks), the softcover edition of Fredrik Strömberg's Black Images in the Comics, and (also below) Nicolas Mahler's Angelman...

...our biggest trim-size book ever, the hunormous Mr. Twee Deedle – Raggedy Ann's Sprightly Cousin: The Forgotten Fantasy Masterpieces of Johnny Gruelle (big book, big title)...

...the 5th volume of our beautiful, beloved, bestselling hardcover collections of Hal Foster's Prince Valiant...

...and from editor John Benson, to whet your appetite for our upcoming series of EC Comics reprints, a brand new issue of EC fanzine Squa Tront (dig that krazy Kurtzman art on the cover)!

What's in the March 2012 Diamond Previews

mike

This month's Diamond Previews catalog came out yesterday and in it you'll find our usual 2-page spread (download the PDF) with our releases scheduled to arrive in your local comic shop in May 2012 (give or take — some release dates may have changed since the issue went to press). We're pleased to offer additional and updated information about these upcoming releases here on our website, to help shops and customers alike make more informed ordering decisions.

This month's Featured item is our next Carl Barks Library volume, Walt Disney's Uncle Scrooge: Only a Poor Old Man! We've also got the long (long, long) awaited collection of Gary Panter's punk/sci-fi strip Dal Tokyo; Sexytime, the surprising and tantalizing art book of vintage porn movie posters compiled by Portable Grindhouse madman Jacques Boyreau ("Certified Cool"!); the new softcover edition of the out-of-print-for-a-while Black Images in the Comics, a fascinating survey by Fredrik Strömberg; Jack Davis: Drawing American Pop Culture, back for another go-round (yes, we know got some 'splaining to do!); God and Science: Return of the Ti-Girls, collecting Jaime Hernandez's superhero fantasia from Love and Rockets: New Stories #1-2 with 30 new pages (!), a Spotlight item; the eagerly-anticipated 3rd volume of Shimura Takako's wonderful manga series Wandering Son; and The Furry Trap, a collection of Josh Simmons's notoriously disturbing horror comics. It's a big month, man!

See them all here!

Daily OCD: 1/30/12

mike

Today's Online Commentary & Diversions:

• Review: "In addition to undermining the colonialist attitudes of Hergé and classic Disney cartoons with his R. Crumb-ish verve, Swarte also presents a clutch of perfectly packaged riffs on cartoon art. Having a Chris Ware introduction makes sense, given Swarte’s excruciating eye for architectural detail, and could help introduce Swarte to a larger audience, but the book [Is That All There Is?] may not need it — the art doesn’t speak for itself, it shouts." – Publishers Weekly

• Review (Audio): On the latest episode of Boing Boing's "Gweek" podcast, co-host Ruben Bolling discusses Walt Disney's Donald Duck: Lost in the Andes by Carl Barks: "(Spoiler: it's superb.)"

• Plugs: Library Journal's Martha Cornog lists "25 Graphic Novels for African American History Month" including 21: The Story of Roberto Clemente by Wilfred Santiago...

"The Puerto Rican slugger overcame family poverty, racial prejudice, and the language barrier to be voted the National League’s Most Valuable Player for 1966. Puerto Rican-born Santiago (In My Darkest Hour) superbly captures the kinetic excitement of baseball as well as Clemente’s skill and warm humanity on and off the diamond.... Highly recommended; buy several."

...and Black Images in the Comics by Fredrik Strömberg:

"First published by Fantagraphics in 2003 and nominated for an Eisner Award, this history of racial depictions in comics has been updated in both its content and its source list. Over 100 entries, each featuring a representative illustration and an instructive short essay, cover an international range of comics, from Moon Mullins through Tintin, Will Eisner, R. Crumb, Peanuts, Boondocks, and beyond."

• Plug: "The Fantagraphics reprint of the Mickey Mouse comic strip made by Floyd Gottfredson was already a gem in its first edition in two volumes separately, but with this new edition, with two volumes in a box and a lower price, it becomes essential." – CaraB (translated from Spanish)

• Interview (Video/Audio): Get comfy for an hour-long chat with Bill Griffith about Lost and Found: Comics 1969-2003 on Bob Andelman's Mr. Media podcast, presented in video and streaming audio formats: "I’m sure somebody will be offended, which will be nice — to still offend somebody after all these years. People who only know Zippy comics through King Features will probably be surprised to see that Zippy was more adult-oriented."

• Feature: Juxtapoz spotlights the artwork of Angoulême honoree Jim Woodring

• Commentary: In an impressive feat of scannery, Mike Lynch compiles all of the "silent penultimate panels" from Peanuts strips from 1969

Daily OCD: 1/20/12

mike

Today's Online Commentary & Diversions:

• Reviews: Robot 6's Chris Mautner looks at our 3 newest Golden Age collections:

"...[W]hile I enjoyed [Action! Mystery!] Thrills[!] (I’m especially grateful for being exposed to the neon-color stylings of L.B. Cole, who seems to prefigure the era of black velvet paintings), it’s definitely the slightest — the most coffee tableish — of Sadowski’s books so far. It feels like a book designed more to flip through than to mull over.... That’s not necessarily a bad thing — there’s certainly pleasures to be had in re-examining these covers..."

"What’s exciting for me about this book is watching Everett develop as an artist and storyteller and figure out the medium in relatively rapid fashion.... The material in Amazing [Mysteries] in no way represents Everett’s strongest work, though they do point to his potential — those thrilling Sub Mariner stories were just around the corner. What you see here are the glimmers of an artist struggling to comprehend the potential of this relatively new medium [and] how he can push it to match his own interests."

"Though modern readers may wince at some of the sexual stereotypes on display, not to mention the occasional forced happy ending, Young Romance underscores Simon and Kirby’s keen storytelling skills. Adhering to a mostly six-panel grid, the duo manage to produce work that is visually arresting and dramatic... It’s also worth mentioning that editor Michel Gagne’s [restoration] work is stellar... For Kirby fans and those who just love to explore comics from generations past, it’s a rather essential read."

• Review: "It’s hard to imagine a comic that’s more ambitious and less pretentious; it’s reader-immersive and reader-friendly. Huizenga’s style recalls the 'big nose' school of cartooning — Glenn Ganges' schnoz is one of the comic’s stars. This unaffected old-timey style lends the narrative a sense of charm and elegance... Perhaps we should judge 2012’s comics according the standard set by Ganges #4." – Ken Parille, The Comics Journal

• Plugs: Martha Cornog of Library Journal Reviews spotlights a few of our upcoming releases in the latest "Graphic Novels Prepub Alert":

Buz Sawyer, Vol. 2: Sultry’s Tiger by Roy Crane: "World War II has ended, and flying ace Buz Sawyer has snagged a civilian job at last: troubleshooter for International Airways, which has him traveling to hotspots all over the world. Of course, he always flies into adventure, here visiting a dangerous woman he first met during the war, taking on the Mad Baron, discovering Mayan treasure, and being kidnapped by mysterious thugs. But whatever the adventure, somehow Buz always gets mixed up with a pretty girl. This volume includes both daily and full-color Sunday strips, originally published between 1945 and 1947, drawn in Crane’s clean, realistic style that in retrospect looks remarkably European."

Kolor Klimax: Nordic Comics Now, ed. by Matthias Wivel: "This lavish sampler of work from Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden offers a wide variety of artistic styles and short plots, some with a more adult focus. See samples here; click 'Expand' for the wonderful cover plus 20 pages. Wivel is a veteran of the Danish comics scene who currently lives in New York."

Black Images in the Comics by Fredrik Strömberg: "First published by Fantagraphics in 2003 and nominated for an Eisner Award, this history of racial depictions in comics has been updated in both its content and its source list. Over 100 entries, each featuring a representative illustration and an instructive short essay, cover an international range of comics, from Moon Mullins through Tintin, Will Eisner, R. Crumb, Peanuts, Boondocks, and beyond. Strömberg is a Swedish comics journalist, editor, and educator who has published numerous books in several languages."

Jewish Images in the Comics by Fredrik Strömberg: "Another of Strömberg’s books, in a similar format: over 150 entries from internationally-originating comic strips, comic books, and graphic novels stretching back 'over the last five centuries' that feature Jewish characters and Jewish themes. The works of Art Spiegelman and Will Eisner are well known to comics aficionados in the United States, but many of the other examples, some 'far less savory,' may not be."