Banana Sunday

Banana Sunday #3 by Root Nibot and Colleen Coover (Oni Press)

This is my favorite issue so far. Mostly because it focuses mostly on the romance between Kirby and Martin. They are such a sweet couple that you're really rooting for them as they go on their first date. But as soon as you see that Nickels and the monkeys are tagging along, you know the night is doomed. I really like how Martin stands up for Kirby in the face of some pretty harsh school bullying and the way he talks about Kirby making him feel "stupid" had me swooning. Next issue is the last of the series and I'm really hoping it ends with a kiss.

I'm less interested in the mystery of the talking monkeys but I'd love to see Go-Go, the banana loving ape, go nuts and take out all the mean girls in Kirby's class. I'm actually a little afraid for Nickels at the end of this issue. Nickels, come on, don't make Go-Go mad!

Powers: Legends

Powers: Legends by Brian Michael Bendis And Michael Avon Oeming (Icon/Marvel)

Whenever people start bashing Brian Bendis for his work on Spiderman or the Advengers or some big Marvel crossover event, I just remember that he also write the best superhero comic in the world, Powers. I'm a total "wait for trade" guy when it comes to this title but every book blows away. This issue is about pilgrim's return to the force after the events of "The Sell-Outs". With the secret origin book, "Forever", in between that book and this one, I have to admit I was a little bit lost as to what was going on. This story is definitely deep in Powers continuity with lots of references to the first book which I probably read four years ago. I have no memory of who the Bug is or Calista for that matter. But the book dazzled me in every chapter with it's soapy, trashy, pulpy, superheroy goodness. And a great cliffhanger to boot.

RoadStripes

RoadStrips. Edited by Pete Friedrich (Chronicle Books).

The subtitle for this book is "A Graphic Journey Across America" and features a vw minivan driving down the road on the cover. Now, doesn't that make you think that this going to be a book about traveling? Well, that's what I thought. But I'll buy anything with John Porcellino or Megan Kelso in it. The book is actually a collection of autobiographical stories about what it means to be an American. A compelling theme for sure. And besides the Keith Knight story, a reprint and misplaced in the east coast section when it clearly takes place in San Francisco, the collection is really impressive. I'm surprised there isn't more buzz (any?) about it. After reading the whole thing, I had a great feeling about my fellow Americans. It seems that being disgusted with your countries actions and embarrassed by your countrymen's boorish behavior is what being a patriot is all about.

Also it's neat to see so much work from older cartoonists. I wasn't expecting stories about the JFK assassination or hippie protests. It was a nice mix with the younger artist and gave the book a sort or, "America through the Ages" feeling.

My favorites were Martin Cendreda's story about the tv movie, "The Day After" and his various plans for life after the nuclear holocaust. I also really liked Mary Fleener's story about the pledge of allegiance.

Stuff I checked out of the library today.

Couriers 03 by Brian Wood and Rob G.
Channel Zero: Jennie One by Brian Wood and Becky Cloonan.
Batman: War Games part one.

What I Bought

What I bought today at the comic book shop.

• Teen Titans Go! # 23
• Manhunter #15
• Banana Sunday #3
• Opposite Forces #2

I seem to be on an all-ages kick these days. They do seem to be the last refuge for fun in comics. Oh well, good comics are good comics.

We Have The Deathray

We Have the Deathray #2 by Skidge.

What starts as your typical punk travelogue through California, takes a unexpected turn when Skidge dyes his hair and has an allergic reaction. Soon his head is covered with huge puss oozing sores. Sounds gross? It is! And they don't go away, they just spreads on to his hands and face and even on to his girlfriend. Several time during reading this I started to gag from the vileness of it all. It's also pretty funny (in a, we can laugh about it now, sort of way.) Skidge is also Canadian and his baffling attempts to get medical help should shame our whole nation.
Good zine, check it out!

The Quitter

The Quittter by Harvey Pekar and Dean Haspiel (Vertigo/DC Comics)
First off, Dean Haspiel's art is great in this book. I've had trouble getting into some of Harvey Pekar's work before because the art was so hard of the eyes. But Haspiel's stuff is clear, sharp and full of a type of swagger that fits the story perfectly. My one complaint that I really wish it was in color. Haspiel's art looks great in color and a hardcover book like this in black and white feels, dare I say, cheap.

The story is a pip. Lots of fighting. Harvey was a real tough cat back in the day. And seeing him transform from a lost soul who quits everything he starts to a respect jazz critic is really heartwarming. Everyone struggles to find their calling in life and after so many false starts, I was cheering when Harvey finally finds his voice and his place in the world.

I rarely think about movie adaptations when I'm reading a book but the whole time I was reading this I kept thing what a great movie it would make. Lots of brutal fight scenes tempered with a really touching coming of age story. From street fighter to bohemian intellectual. That a great arch.

www.deanhaspiel.com

Wizard #169

Everyone makes fun of Wizard because it's such a shameless hype machine and, well, kind of dumb. But I like it. I get every issue and read it cover to cover. There are too few comic magazines and most of the ones we have are super negative. After I finish reading the Comics Journal, I usually want to slit my wrists. Meanwhile, Wizard is constantly upbeat. They're reading comics, going to movies, ogling girls and having a great time. I don't read 90 percent of the stuff they write about but it's fun to go along for the ride. And sometime there are real gems inside. I really liked the Peter David interview and the story about spending a day with Harvey Pekar was a hoot.

What I Checked Out from the Library Today.

• The Encyclopedia of the DC Universe (because I want to know who everyone is in Infinite Crisis.)
• Sebastian O by Grant Morrison

PENG

Peng by Corey Lewis

I dub Peng to be the anti-Infinite Crisis. In many ways, these comics are the same. See in Peng, characters from all over Lewis's universe (Sharknife, Apollonia No, Appleton, Scott Pilgrim, etc) converge for one world changing event. But instead of it being some incomprehensible mess of whinny superhero and continuity hogwash, they play kickball! How much better would Infinite Crisis be if it featured a kickball game as it's central conflict? Tons!

Peng was a real surprise. I didn't really like Sharknife all that much but this was a blast. Corey Lewis is one weird kid. I'm sure I couldn't hang with him but I love his energy, style and sense of fun. Another great thing about this comic, there are no bad guys. Everyone is cool. The harshest it gets is some heckling and the dude even feels bad about that.

Also, Peng introduces America's next big catch phrase: "Victory Puke!"
www.onipress.com
reyyy.com

Infinite Crisis #1

Infinite Crisis #1 by Geoff Johns and Phil Jimenez.
The fact that you're seeing this reviewed here mean only one thing, I'm a sucker for hype. I knew KNEW that I wasn't going to like this but still I rushed right out and bought it. I went to the comic shop just to get it. I couldn't wait!

I was like 13 when Crisis of Infinite Earths came out. I had only been reading comics for about a year then and had no idea what was going on. Since then I've a deep hatred for all thing multi-dimensional (and time travel too.) Well, this has all that in spades. What a mess! It's like they said to themselves, "20 years ago, Crisis of Infinite Earths fix the DCU, now where going to break it again." Geoff Johns is the great undoer. First he brought back Hal Jordan, ugh, now he's undoing the Crisis.

But you know what's really sad? I'll probably still end up buying issue #2.

Things I Bought

Things I bought yesterday at the comic shop.

Wizard Magazine #169
Villians United #6
Infinite Crisis #1
Super-Crazy TNT Blast! #1
yes, I bought that one because of the title.

Rotten Eggs

Rotten Eggs by Jeremy Tinder

I need to start looking harder at the items I buy. This thing is only four pages long. Why didn't I notice that when I was picking out? Oh well, it's not like it would have stopped me or anything. I'm a sucker for beautiful art and personal stories. Rotten Eggs is the true story of a group of bored suburban kids who start a gang war against the kids down the block. The touches of pointless cruelty give the story an uneasy authenticity. And I love how he draws trees. I look forward to reading longer works by Mr. Tinder.

Stuff I Checked Out

Here's what I got from the library today.

• Perfect Circle by Sean Stewart
• It's a Bird by Steven T. Seagle and Teddy Kristiansen
• Walt and Skeezix by Frank King

I'm excited about reading all of these but I'm a little baffled by the back of the Walt and Skeezix book. By underlining and repeating "very close" are they implying that Walt and Avery are gay lovers? If so, this is the first I've heard of it.

Rain Man

Rain Man by Yolanda Bustos

A tiny, one joke, accordion style minicomic that takes about 30 seconds to read. And it only takes that long because it's written
inth
iswei
rdsty
le.
But the joke is funny, the art is cute and the construction is beautiful. It's fun just to hold it in your hands. If you see it around, check it out.

Family Reunion by Sean Stewart and Steve Lieber

I guess this was meant as some sort of comic preview to Sean Stewart's novel "Perfect Circle." Well, it worked on me. I probably would have never read the novel (I don't read many science fiction novels) before seeing this but now I'm going to get it next time I'm at the library. It reads more like a slice of life story with ghosts that what I usually think of as typical SF. The story is simple, a down on his luck guy attends a family reunion and sees the ghost of his cousin who died in Vietnam. The story is funny and bittersweet and the twist is nice too. And, if you didn't know, Steve Lieber is the master of understated brilliance.
12 pages, Small Bear Press

Ultimates Vol 1 by Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch

Ok, ok I can see what all the fuss is about. It reads like a great summer blockbuster. Big action scenes and all. It's a really fun read. Even for a guy who never reads Marvel stuff. Maybe it's better that I don't read Marvel stuff because I know so little about Captain American, Thor and Giant Man that it was all new to me and I never thought, "Oh, I like the original better." Cause I never read the original.

But the book does have two big problems for me. One, I hate pop culture references and this book has tons of them. The Freddie Prinze thing was funny but five pages of Nick Fury talking about how great an actor Johnny Depp is? LAME!

Second and more disturbing is the treatment of Bruce Banner. The whole time I was reading it I kept thinking of Banner as the smart awkward kid in school and Millar as the meathead jock giving him a wedgie. It almost ruined the book for me. I hope in future issues the Hulk rips all their heads off in revenge.

Stuff I Bought

So I was think if I'm going to track all my reading on this site, I should also list all my comic and zine purchases as well. I'll probably start listing my library check outs as well. It'll fun to see how long it is between purchase and review. I'm guessing a long time.

Bought at the zine shop on Tuesday October 11th.

• Rotten Eggs minicomic by Jeremy Tinder
• 1-Up video game magazine
• In Your Room #11 zine
• Scenery #18 zine by Mike Taylor
• We Have the Deathray #2
• Peng by Corey Lewis (Oni Press)
• Epoxy #1 by John Pham
• Broken Pencil #28

Moxie, My Sweet

Moxie, My Sweet by Mark Campos and the FineComix Collective

There are two types of stories in this 80 page anthology. The simple, sweet, slice of life stories about aimless musicians, card reading lesbians, and lonely guys in the desert. Then there are the crazy, spinning out of control, fairy tale like stories about talking cats, futuristic hamburger stands, and evil house hold items. There is even a trippy one based on Led Zeppelin, Lord of the Rings and pot smoking.

Surprisingly, I liked both types of stories here (I usually hate the fantasy type stuff).

Highlights include Elijah Brubaker's cinderella story that features a house full of cats instead of dwarfs. And Kaz Strzepek's short piece about a man who makes a girlfriend out of paper mache.
www.finecomix.com

Previews October/December 2005

Previews from Diamond Comics for December 2005

Here is a list of comics I'd buy if money, time and space weren't an issue. I'll probably on end up getting a fraction of these and look for the books at the public library. I always lose the Marvel insert which is fine because I rarely read Marvel anyway. So here's the run through from the big book from front to back.

Dark Horse
Concrete: Fragile Creature TPB
Will Eisner: A Spirited Life biography

DC Comics
All Star Batman and Robin #4
Batgirl: Kicking Assassins TPB
Robin #145
i'll buy anything with Blue Devil in it, even if he's colored orange on the cover. ???
All Star Superman #2
Infinite Crisis #3
Hard Times: 50 to Life TPB
Hard Times season two #1
Manhunter #17
Bulleteer #2
Solo #8
Justice League Unlimited #16
Teen Titans #26
Best of The Spirit TPB

Wildstorm
captain Atom: Armageddon #3

Vertigo
DMZ #2
Vimanarama TPB

Image
On Page Filler Man GN
Amazing Joy Buzzards #3
Burglar Bill #6
Jack Staff #11

Adhouse Books
Skyscrapers of the Midwest #1

Ait/PlanetLar
Demo Collection TP
Channel Zero TP

Alternative
Thunderhead Underground Falls GN
Hickee #2

Amaze Ink/Slave Labor
Malinky Robot Bicycle
Paris #2

Bohemain Press
Tales #1

Bongo
Simpson Comics #113

Boom studios
Hero Squared Special #1

Buenaventura Press
Destined for Dizziness
Adrian Tomine: New York Sketches 2004
Spaniel Rage GN

Dimona Comix
Unruly #1

Drawn & Quarterly
Bacter-Area GN
Optic Nerve #10

Fantagraphics
Meow Baby GN
Schizo #4

Graphix
Baby-Sitters Club

Hyperion Books
Fashion Kitty GN

MrClement Com
Gorgeous Harbour GN

NBM
Murder of Abraham Lincoln

Oni Press
Scott Pilgrim and the Infinite Sadness
Local #2

Speakeasy Comics
Super Crazy TNT Blast #4

And that's it. Wow, no wonder I never have any free time. All that reading in one month. I'd have to quit my job to get to it all.

Repeat Until Death

Repeat Until Death: A Life with Leslie by Les McClaine

A collection of daily diary comics from 2002 and 2003. Les works at some Tower Records like store and shares his experiences there dealing with flirty coworkers and jerky customers. All this is pretty funny but the comic gets serious with the recurring thread of Les trying to get over his exgirlfriend. It is truly heartbreaking and later turns terrifying. At first I was pissed at Les for letting this girl cause him so much frustration and depression. Fuck her Les, move on with your life. But later I realized that the exgirlfriend was just a symptom of deeper problems. I'm glad that at the end he writes that he's doing better. I was sincerely worried.
www.evilspacerobot.com

Flytrap

Flytrap by Sara Ryan and Steve Lieber

Episode One: Juggling Act
Maddy life is nonstop drama. Her mother gives her grief, her boyfriend is a leach, her job sucks, her coworkers mock her and her car just got towed. And now, on top of all that, the circus just rolled into town and they want Maddy to join them. Will she leave her hectic modern life behind and run away with circus?
Steve Lieber is one of my favorite crime comics artist (his issues of White-Out and Gotham Central are dynamite) but I'm glad to see him tackling more slice of life stories. I think that's were his talents really lie.
Ryan and Lieber (who are married) make a great team. Their previous work "Me and Edith Head" was a ton of after-school-special fun and I look forward to future issues of Flytrap.
www.stevelieber.com

The Devil's Underpants

Underpanting by Matt Wiegle

The sub-subtitle for this mini is, "A brief catalogue of unfortunates thought the ages who have been seduced by the fickle powers of the Devil's shape-changing undergarments." From the heat of battle to smuggling exotic birds to writing the world's worst novel, the devil's underpants were there. In a series of one panel scenes, Wiegle shows how one pair of polka dotted boxers has changed the course of history. Also a cautionary tale about how protesting in your underwear can be dangerous. Brief (at 16 pages) but beautifully drawn and very fun.
www.partykausa.com

Bad Grades #1 by Carla Marie

What do I care about teenage girls and their fashion choices? Not much. What I do I care about is good writing, characters with personality and fun drawings. This comic has all that and a wicked sense of humor. Bad Grades #1 tells three stories about three friends, Saro, Randy and Krista, as they navigate the treacherous waters of high school fashion. The girls are mean, shallow and vain. They are also funny as hell.
Plus a style section at the end gives an overview of some lesser know fashion icons. On the whole, it's highly recommended for fans of Ghost World and The OC.
www.carlamarie.net