As in guillotine...

Review: Pride of Baghdad

Post author:Guy LeCharles Gonzalez
Post published:December 27, 2006
Post category:Personal Reviews
Post comments:1 Comment

Pride of BaghdadBy Brian K. Vaughan and Niko Henrichon (DC/Vertigo, 2006; $19.99)If judged solely on its artwork, Pride of Baghdad would be deserving of serious consideration as the best graphic novel of the year, so beautifully striking is Niko Henrichon's presentation of a wartorn Baghdad, as seen through the eyes of a trio of lions who've escaped from a safe, if undignified, life in captivity, only to bear witness to the utter brutality of mankind. His animals are amazingly expressive, both in their faces and their body language, as he imbues each one with a distinct personality without humanizing their…

Review: Lucifer’s Garden of Verses: The Devil on Fever Street

Post author:Guy LeCharles Gonzalez
Post published:December 26, 2006
Post category:Reviews
Post comments:0 Comments

Lucifer's Garden of Verses: The Devil on Fever StreetBy Lance Tooks (NBM/ComicsLit, 2004; $8.95)The beauty of graphic novels is that, in the right publisher's hands, they don't suffer from the temporal existence of their periodical counterparts, most of which often come and go, completely unnoticed, in the whirlwind of a particular months' issue of Previews. Lance Tooks' Lucifer's Garden of Verses: Devil of Fever Street, first published in 2004, has been on my want-to-read list for more than a year now, first suggested to me by the invaluable Rich Watson, but I never got around to giving it more than…

Happy Holidays from CBC

Post author:Guy LeCharles Gonzalez
Post published:December 24, 2006
Post category:Uncategorized
Post comments:0 Comments

Best wishes to all for a happy holiday season and a blessed new year. Be sure to take a minute from your own festivities to wish the same for our soldiers abroad...Thanks to Dave Carter of Yet Another Comics Blog for the downbeat but appropriate cover idea, the February 1992 issue of Sgt. Rock, by Joe Kubert, which I believe would have been on the shelves in December of 1991, the end of my first year in the Army.Tuesday begins my intended vacation reviewathon. See you then!

Quesada on DC Becoming Marvel

Post author:Guy LeCharles Gonzalez
Post published:December 23, 2006
Post category:Pop Culture
Post comments:2 Comments

From NEW JOE FRIDAYS WEEK 27:"There's a reason Batman is the greatest DC hero, he's the closest to the Marvel formula, but the rest of the DC universe I feel suffers from the same flaws as Superman. In his time, Superman spoke of the immigrant experience which was very important in America at the time, but he's also a paternal figure where as Spider-Man is us. At his core, Superman is also actually a dishonest character in his make up. He has to create a persona in order to be accepted by the people around him, the same for Batman.…

Crystal Ball: March 2007 Solicitations, Part II

Post author:Guy LeCharles Gonzalez
Post published:December 23, 2006
Post category:Media Pop Culture Reviews
Post comments:0 Comments

Support GOOD Comics! Pre-order something new EVERY month. Part I featured a look at Marvel, DC, Image and Dark Horse's offerings for March 2007, and now Part II casts the spotlight on the most interesting books being solicited by "independent" publishers. Links to full solicitations from almost every publisher can be found at MillarWorld. [NOTE: Not all of these titles will actually arrive in all stores. If your local comic book shop (LCBS) offers a pre-ordering service, download a convenient order form from Diamond and be sure to take advantage of it. If not, find another one; or try Khepri.com…

Two Cents: Lightning Round

Post author:Guy LeCharles Gonzalez
Post published:December 22, 2006
Post category:Media Pop Culture Reviews
Post comments:0 Comments

We're heading down to Virginia for the holidays and I'm planning to post a bunch of TPB reviews throughout next week -- in between catching up on sleep and movies -- including Stagger Lee; American Born Chinese; Opening Lines, Pinky Probes, and L-Bombs, and a few others. Oh, and I haven't forgotten about the holiday giveaway I mentioned a few weeks back; I just haven't had the time to pick and pull the comics in question. Stay tuned and have a great holiday!TWO CENTS*** Archie's Redesign: Not feeling it at all, but then, I'm not the target audience. Considering the…

Indie Bookstores Bailing Out; Bad Sign for Comics?

Post author:Guy LeCharles Gonzalez
Post published:December 20, 2006
Post category:Media Pop Culture
Post comments:1 Comment

[UPDATED: 9:55 pm] PW Daily has a sobering article about several independent bookstores shutting their doors thanks to increased expenses and competition, and I can't help but think about how it parallels the current state of the comic book industry, both on the publishing and retailing side, and how it could potentially affect graphic novel sales, one of the few growth categories in publishing right now. In New York City, after 34 years serving Manhattan's Upper West Side, the independent mystery bookstore Murder Ink will close on December 31. Owner Jay Pearsall also announced that the attached bookstore, Ivy's Books…