Strip Club: Lust & Marriage

Opening Lines, Pinky Probes, and L-Bombs: The Girls & Sports Dating and Relationship Playbook By Justin Borus and Andrew Feinstein (Santa Monica Press, 2006; $14.95) While I was vaugely familiar with the Girls & Sports comic strip from the Daily News, thanks to the main crossword puzzle appearing in the comics section, it was never one of the handful of strips I typically seek out for a chuckle to brighten my bleary-eyed morning commute. (Those would currently be Dilbert, Rose is Rose, Mutts, One Big Happy and, periodically, Doonesbury.) As such, I'd most likely have never thought to pick up…

Continue ReadingStrip Club: Lust & Marriage

On the Shelves: 2/7/07

Reading is fundamental. Don’t waste your time reading bad comics out of habit!

My weekly look at select comic books being released Wednesday, 2/7/07. The full shipping list, as always, is available at ComicList.

[NOTE: Not all of these titles will actually arrive in all stores. If your LCBS offers a pre-ordering service, be sure to take advantage of it. If not, find another one; or try Khepri.com or MidtownComics.com]

PICK OF THE WEEK

The American WayBOOM! STUDIOS
Cthulhu Tales Rising One Shot, $6.99
Tag Cursed #1 (Of 5), $3.99

I’m not a Cthulu fan, but Boom!’s previous effort seems to have worked for those who are, and it’s nice to see them sticking with the anthology format. *** The first Tag mini-series ended rather abruptly but set up an interesting enough premise that I’ll probably check out the sequel if I don’t gag on the too-steep $3.99 cover price.

DC COMICS
American Way TPB, $19.99
Batman Year One Deluxe SC, $14.99
Detective Comics #828, $2.99
Helmet Of Fate Sargon The Sorcerer #1, $2.99
Jonah Hex #16, $2.99
Shazam The Monster Society Of Evil #1 (Of 4), $5.99

American Way narrowly missed making my Best of 2006 list, but it was an excellent read and one of the most underrated titles of the year. Hopefully more people check it out in TPB form. *** I’m up to the 5th volume of Jeff Smith’s colorized Bone series from Scholastic and am completely and utterly hooked. As a result, I’m curious to check out his take on the Big Red Cheese.

DEVILS DUE PUBLISHING
GI Joe Americas Elite #20, $3.50

When did the cover price go up?!?! [checks…] Ah, as of this issue, the conclusion of two-issue transitional arc. Not cool! $3 is my tipping point for comics, when I think a little bit harder about whether or not I really need to buy a particular title. I’ve been enjoying this latest version of G.I. Joe, but with a new creative team coming onboard, a price increase is like a “Jump-off Point” neon sign.

(more…)

Continue ReadingOn the Shelves: 2/7/07

Make the F***ing Comics

Cheryl Lynn of Digital Femme, frustrated by the state of the comics union, nails the solution: "I can see that I am going to have to make the fucking comics. ...right now I'm doing the second easiest thing. And that is to not-so-politely bitch. Because I suppose I'm still hoping that someone else will make the fucking comics. Because there are a ton of people out there with infinitely more talent and monetary resources than I possess. People who already have an established reputation and a publishing house that adores them. And I don't. But they don't give a damn.…

Continue ReadingMake the F***ing Comics

Marketing Monday: A Simple Plan, Part I

Before I go any further with this, I want to establish the three basic principles that will represent the foundation for the Marketing Monday series of columns: 1) Publishing comics is a business, not a hobby; 2) Proftability within 3-5 years, if not sooner, is the goal. 3) The ultimate goal of marketing is to match a company's products and services to the people who need and want them, thereby [ensuring] profitability. (Investopedia) Last week, I referenced Kevin Stirtz' "Smart Marketing System", a simple, 5-step blueprint for building and implementing a successful marketing plan, and posited it as a good…

Continue ReadingMarketing Monday: A Simple Plan, Part I

Blogaround Challenge 2007 "Winners"

Well, damn! Who knew giving away FREE comics would be harder than selling gas-guzzling SUVs when gas prices are $2/gallon and rising?!?!I was corresponding with a fellow blogger recently, one who's been around since the Usenet days, and she noted how the Comics Blog Boom of the past couple of years seems to have faded a bit. It used to annoy me when I'd read self-proclaimed 1.0 bloggers reminiscing about the "good old days" when, as I understand it, Journalista! and the Warren Ellis Forum were the focal point that ultimately birthed the Blogiverse.Since I started blogging about comics back…

Continue ReadingBlogaround Challenge 2007 "Winners"

Tidbits: Movies, Retail and Writing Aspirations

ITEM UPDATE: Wonder Woman Spec Script Review Latino Review's El Mayimbe has a preview/review of the Wonder Woman spec script that seemingly helped get Joss Whedon axed from the movie. Overall, a very great read. The writers did their homework. As a comic book character origin movie - it is just as good as Batman Begins. I can see why Silver supposedly took it off the spec market. If I was a betting man, I figure this is the origin story that Warners might stick with. My note to the studio is to not touch the script, leave it intact,…

Continue ReadingTidbits: Movies, Retail and Writing Aspirations

Graphic Poetry: The Poem as Comic Strip

Talk about when two worlds collide?!! (via The Comics Reporter)The Poem as Comic StripGraphic novelists let loose in our archive.Heightened language--one possible or partial definition of poetry--isn't the first thing one associates with comics. Yet comic book artists take into account the way words appear on the page to a degree poets will find familiar. How many lines should accompany each image? How high should the dialogue balloon float? The ratio of printed words to blank space plays a role in whether a poem or strip succeeds. The best of the daily humor strips (think Peanuts) have produced thousands of…

Continue ReadingGraphic Poetry: The Poem as Comic Strip

No more posts to load