Hans Rickheit has always been an enigmatic authorial figure for me — I fittingly discovered him at MoCCA a few years ago while he was absent from his table, but whoever was manning it facilitated the sale of a couple volumes of his Chrome Fetus minicomics to me. His new graphic novel from Fantagraphics is … Read more100 Days, 100 Comics #24: ‘The Squirrel Machine’
This is the kind of opening sequence I read B.P.R.D. books for. I mentioned in my Bayou review that Gabriel Bá does some of the most playfully terrifying work in these books that I’ve ever scene, and B.P.R.D.: 1947 #3 is a perfect example of those skills at work. One of the really successful visual … Read more100 Days, 100 Comics #23: ‘B.P.R.D.: 1947’ #3
Here’s a story I began reading more than a year ago and was initially fond of, but as is often the case with ZudaComics.com and my consistently under-performing home Internet speed thanks to AT&T, convenience drove me away until my pal Rickey Purdin dropped me a hard copy. I really love a lot of the … Read more100 Days, 100 Comics #22: ‘Bayou’ Vol. 1
“Are all black holes this condescending?” –Negative Man By the time I picked up the second issue of Keith Giffen and Matthew Clark’s Doom Patrol at the shop, issue #1 was sold out, and I haven’t managed to locate one quite yet. This was obviously a little frustrating, but a few factors warmed me up … Read more100 Days, 100 Comics #21: ‘Doom Patrol’ #2
Here’s a case where I actually psyched myself out too much expecting a disaster and walking of the read pleasantly surprised. Some ominous tweets and blog entries over the last week had me all ready to mourn Grant Morrison’s falloff in Batman and Robin following Phillip Tan’s appearance and Frank Quitely’s temporary exit. Granted, Tan’s … Read more100 Days, 100 Comics #20: ‘Batman and Robin’ #4
The hardcover collection of Matt Fraction and Gabriel Bá’s first Casanova series was a volume that had been sitting on my shelf for long time time since my first go through it. I only picked it up again to re-read this week for an “Adapt This” feature over at MTV’s Splash Page blog. It’s a … Read more100 Days, 100 Comics #19: ‘Casanova: Luxuria’
[¡Spoilers Alert!] Geoff Johns has been serving up K.O. moments since the “Blackest Night” event began, and despite being a longtime Firestorm fan with his original appearances protectively sealed several feet away from me right now, I have to preface this review with the fact that this was the weakest of the first three issues … Read more100 Days, 100 Comics #18: ‘Blackest Night’ #3
This is a minicomic by J.T. Yost that I picked up at Chicago Comics today. Yost has made a named for himself with many by winning a Xeric Award for his comics contained in Old Man Winter & Other Sordid Tales, which I admittedly haven’t read despite my steadfast respect and appreciation for the work … Read more100 Days, 100 Comics #17: ‘Tales of Good Ol’ Snoop Doggy Dogg’
When I get to the end of 2009 and think back to assemble a top ten list of the year’s best individual issues, the only question on my mind right now is how high upon that list Bart Simpson’s Treehouse of Horror #15 will be. Edited by Kramers Ergot maestro Sammy Harkham, this annual event … Read more100 Days, 100 Comics #16: ‘Bart Simpson’s Treehouse of Horror’ #15
I picked this 1989 Fantagraphics translation up out of the bargain bins at Dark Tower over the summer, which can be some very fruitful bargain bins for any of your Chicago North Siders reading this. It was originally French, and pages are album formatted (extra wide). It promises big on the back with jacket copy … Read more100 Days, 100 Comics #15: ‘The Confessions of Julius Antoine — Lea’