As in guillotine...

On the Shelves: 12/20/06

Post author:Guy LeCharles Gonzalez
Post published:December 19, 2006
Post category:Media Pop Culture
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Reading is fundamental. Don't waste your time reading bad comics out of habit! My weekly, semi-informed look at select comic books being released Wednesday, 12/20/06 follows. The full shipping is list 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 Walk In #1APE ENTERTAINMENT Black Coat Call To Arms TPB, $12.95 I met Ben Lichius back in 2005 at Wizard World Philadelphia, where he'd gotten himself…

Crystal Ball: March 2007 Solicitations, Part I

Post author:Guy LeCharles Gonzalez
Post published:December 18, 2006
Post category:Pop Culture Reviews
Post comments:2 Comments

Support GOOD Comics! Pre-order something new EVERY month. My monthly look at select comic books being solicited for release by the major direct market publishers in March 2007. Independent publishers will follow in a separate post. 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 or MidtownComics.com] PICK OF THE…

On The Web: According to JoBlo…

Post author:Guy LeCharles Gonzalez
Post published:December 18, 2006
Post category:Uncategorized
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A few days ago while surfing the web I stopped by JoBlo and found this on the site. Apparently JoBlo is not only a good site for movie news, but a haven for the Moore haters of the world. Everyday his caption changes, but "Alan Moore's work is overrated" will forever live on CBC.

Time’s Person of the Year: Me!

Post author:Guy LeCharles Gonzalez
Post published:December 17, 2006
Post category:Media Personal Pop Culture
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Well, okay, all of us, actually, and I couldn't agree more. The "Great Man" theory of history is usually attributed to the Scottish philosopher Thomas Carlyle, who wrote that "the history of the world is but the biography of great men." He believed that it is the few, the powerful and the famous who shape our collective destiny as a species. That theory took a serious beating this year. ...look at 2006 through a different lens and you'll see another story, one that isn't about conflict or great men. It's a story about community and collaboration on a scale never…

CBC Quickees: Manifest Destiny, Girls and Squirrels

Post author:Guy LeCharles Gonzalez
Post published:December 17, 2006
Post category:Pop Culture Reviews
Post comments:1 Comment

Cowboys & Aliens By Fred Van Lente, Andrew Foley, Dennis Calero, Luciano Lima, Magic Eye Studios, et al (Platinum Studios, 2006; $4.99) What if an alien invasion of North America in 1873 interrupted the European settlers' westward expansion of the United States, forcing them to band together with the native Americans they had ruthlessly displaced for nearly two centuries, and fight for their mutual survival? It's the kind of high concept Hollywood loves, so the only surprise in the comic book version of the story being published by Platinum Studios is that, well, they're actually publishing the comic book version…

Shadowline Slimline Offer Less for More

Post author:Guy LeCharles Gonzalez
Post published:December 14, 2006
Post category:Media Personal
Post comments:4 Comments

With the publication of Fell, Warren Ellis started a mini-trend with what Image has now branded as their Slimline format: 24 pages @ $1.99. Fell has been very good, and a solid success story from a sales perspective, while Casanova has been a critical darling with respectable sales for an Image Central title without a well-known creator attached.Shadowline, Image co-founder Jim Valentino's personal imprint, has recently latched on to the format with their mini-series Sam Noir: Samurai Detective, but has taken a rather odd approach with it by...well, let Shadowline editor Kris Simon explain it:Sam Noir is done in that…

Rocketo Love from Junot Diaz

Post author:Guy LeCharles Gonzalez
Post published:December 13, 2006
Post category:Media Personal Pop Culture
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Today's N.Y. Daily News, in their monthly Viva New York pullout section, included a feature called "Authors Pick Their Favorite Reads of 2006", wherein Junot Diaz (of the critically acclaimed collection of short stories, Drown), gave Rocketo a shout-out:"A comic book of extraordinary power, with a Cuban hero, written by a Cuban writer. I've read nothing like it before and can't imagine anything like it ever being written again."High praise indeed! And with Diaz being one of three featured authors in the article, his selection, the only comic book picked, really stands out. (Drown was an excellent read, highly recommended,…