The loss of Harvey Pekar in 2010 was an enormous blow to the comic community. Not the mainstream (i.e superhero) community, but the self-publishing and independent scene. Pekar was one of the grandfathers of the self-published, biographical comic industry (and there have been many, many followers in that path) and his loss was profound. Since Pekar never really retired from comics, there were several books in flight when he died. The first posthumous book released was Harvey Pekar’s Cleveland. Part biography, part history Harvey Pekar waxes on about the city he lived in and loved and does it in a way that only Harvey Pekar could have.
Category Archives: Comics
Alan Moore Supreme is back!!!
I know, I’m a week late. But Rob Liefeld has brought back the conclusion of the Alan Moore Supreme storyline. When we last left our writer, he had finished through issue 56 of Supreme. Then the next 6 issues were released as a mini-series: Supreme: The Return. The story wasn’t finished due to Liefeld’s publishing company having a bunch of financial issues.
Well, Liefeld finally got himself together long enough to publish the final Alan Moore Supreme in issue #63 (56+6 issue mini series took us to #62). It’s drawn (rather well) by Erik Larson (instead of Liefeld which is a relief) and Larson will take over the writing as well on issue #64. I don’t think I’m going to continue reading it. But for one brief issue, we got to see Alan Moore doing superheroes again. Liefeld has mentioned that he has some one-off Alan Moore scripts that he plans on releasing as well. So we do have that to look forward to.
Soon I Will Be Invincible by Austin Grossman
Like his twin brother Lev Grossman (author of The Magicians), Austin Grossman is also a novelist. While Lev’s books have gotten a lot more press, I actually like Austin’s one book more than any of Lev’s books. Austin’s sole publication (he does have two forthcoming books) is the superhero adventure Soon I Will Be Invincible. The story is Watchmenesque in that it has a history of multiple superhero teams with handoffs between them and personal issues causing friction between members. And while it is nowhere near as good, it’s still a fun and interesting read. So, let’s check out the story.
Laddertop by Emily Janice Card and Orson Scot Card
If you haven’t guessed by their last names, then you should know that Emily Janice Card is indeed Orson Scott Card’s last name (and follows in the family footsteps of using all three names). This is (I believe) the first time that Card has co-written a book with a family member and it’s not completely clear how much each of the writers did. The book, Laddertop, appears to be a pastiche of Ender’s Game and manga with talented children being taken to an space station and alien technology being used. The book is just volume 1, so there isn’t a lot of story and more questions than answers. Let’s check it out.
Green Lantern movie review
I’m not saying Green Lantern was a horrible movie, but I’m not saying that you should actually watch it either. The movie takes the basic ideas of Green Lantern (Hal Jordan, ring, green and lantern) and mixes them together in a weird way that doesn’t really make a lot of sense. The movie, which should be ripe for special effects with the ring creating all kinds of crazy stuff, gets bogged down in the need to setup the special effects and the story and characters get lost in the shuffle. So, what went wrong?
Free Girl Genius novel
The novelization of Phil and Kaja Foglio’s Girgl Genius book is FREE on Kindle now. The book Agatha H and the Airship City, is the novelization of the first three Girl Genius books. I’ve already read book one and loved it (my review), so this is not to be missed. Grab it now.
H/T: SFSignal
Metamaus by Art Spiegelman
One of my all time favorite comics is Maus(my review). Art Spiegelman recreated his father’s life in simple pictures and evocative words. The book was about the Holocaust, but, in reality, it was about so much more. So, it was with great trepidation that I approached Metamaus. Years before, Spiegelman had given access to all his notes and material he used to create Maus to Hillary Chute. That is really the beginning of Metamaus. But what is Metamaus?
Marvel Graphic Novels available on iBookstore
Any iPhone or iPad can now download Marvel Graphic novels.
Marvel on Tuesday announced that more than 80 of its graphic novels are now available on Apple’s iBookstore.
To get you started, Marvel is giving customers a chapter from New Avengers Vol.1. for free.
Beasts of Burden: Animal Rites by Evan Dorkin and Jill Thompson
I’m a huge Evan Dorkin fan. I’ve collected almost everything he’s done (including his Bill and Ted series). So I’m fairly ashamed to admit that I haven’t read his Beast of Burdens stories (with art by Jill Thompson). To catch up, I grabbed the collected edition: Beasts of Burden: Animal Rites. This collection has the first four short stories and the four issue mini-series. It has painted art by Jill Thompson that works wonderfully with Dorkin’s fun and scary stories. So, who are the Beasts of Burden?
Pogo: The Complete Daily & Sunday Comic Strips, Volume 1 by Walt Kelly
Of all the comic strips that dominated the landscape in the mid century, Pogo stood head and shoulders above them. Not only was it extremely popular, but Walt Kelly’s influence on everything from Doonesbury to Alan Moore (issue #32 of Saga of the Swamp Thing was an amazing homage to Pogo) can not be over emphasized. Kelly was truly a giant on the comics scene with the language, characters and political commentary. So, it is with great excitement that I purchased the Volume 1 of Pogo: The Complete Daily & Sunday Strips. For anyone who loves comic strips, this is easily the book of the year. Let’s check in why.