ZOMBIES ARE SO YESTERDAY!

Welcome to the era of the werewolf!! ( insert wild howlllll here) Well ok maybe not the era, werewolves have never had the kind of limelight vampires have. Even zombies and pirates have seen their 15 minutes extended. What about the wild children of the moon? Swifty Lang and Michael Lapinski unite real life dramatic events from the Mexican-Arizona border along with Werewolves and give you 64 pages of comic. Half in English and half in Spanish- serious! I say it's a risky move that has so many ways it could go wrong, but alas the duo find a way to avoid all the pitfalls that can befall a horror comic especially one that tries to unite both sides of the border. The covers alone are frame-able pieces of art. Comixology describes FEEDING GROUND, "In this factious story, a famine caused by Blackwell Industries drives Diego Busqueda, a noble 'coyote,' to lead a band of Mexican border crossers across the unforgiving Devil's Highway, a desert cursed with blistering days and deadly nights. Back home, Diego's daughter Flaca discovers that something hungrier prowls the factory fields. Stalked and persecuted, can the Busqueda family maintain their dreams of immigration or will the horrors of the desert tear them apart?" If Lang & Lapinski keep it up this could be the next WALKING DEAD! doing for werewolves what they have longed for, a little limelight, some attention. These aren't shirtless brooding teenagers with nothing better to do then fight over goth chicks, this is great storytelling that transcends what you think you know about the genre!

ALL HAIL THE ZOMBRE PART 2

Ansis Purins, art school drop-out, rock singer, human being. Yet what separates Ansis from the run of the mill Bostonian homo sapien rat race is the way he tells a story with his illustrative style that lends itself to early century funny papers. Zombre is far from old school though, we were digging on the first issue of ZOMBRE so much we told everyone we knew how awesome this indie comic was. He recently sent us a preview of what is to be the 2nd issue and not only were we flattered but we were digging on it even more. A departure from the 1st issue and it's silent movie B-Horror film noir quality, this one is campy, tongue in cheek, bitter sweet and ends with a cliff hanger that would fit right in at the end of a LOST episode. Ansis' work reminds me of Kochalka (SUPER-F#$KERS) without being a copy of anything else, it is full of original thought and style and I'm a convert and die hard fan and you will be too.

TAKE NO PRISONERS

"Remember that kid in school? The one with the pen sketchings on the back of his Trapper Keeper full of wicked violence and jagged lines? Ever wonder what happened to him? Well, he's Johnny Ryan and he's all grown up and making some of the most in your face comics today." - Ain't It Cool News

What more can I say that wasn't just mentioned? Prison Pit has been one of my favorite indies the past couple years and the depraved madman behind that is Johnny Ryan, born in Boston, Massachusetts and grew up in Plymouth, just a mile away from the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Plant. He now lives in Los Angeles with his wife creating madness and political incorrectness galore. Robert Crumb thinks he's dumb and infantile.

Prison Pit is his first original graphic novel.It's an over-the-top orgy of escalating ultra-violence and perversity as intergalactic monster criminals battle for supremacy in a barren negative zone! What?!! This has to be too good to be true, right??!!. Be ready to be grossed out and laughing your a$$ off.

NYCC 2010 Day 1

Here it is, Day 1 of Action Chad and Gerald von Stoddard taking on NY at the 2010 New York Comic Con, maybe its not under the radar but it was a blast...stay tuned for the next couple episodes of the next two days of comic madness, as Gerald steals from Rick Remender, Ivan Reis loses his mind and Chad loses to a World Champion Street Fighter player..

MY GRAMPA WILL BEAT UP YOUR GRAMPA

Yea you heard me, because my Grampa is a cutting edge Brazilian juggernaut punching you in the face with awesome! Rafael Grampá first attracted widespread attention in North America in 2007 with his work on the Eisner Award-winning anthology 5, a collaboration with Gabriel Bá, Becky Cloonan, Vasilos Lolos and Fabio Moon. There has been casual references to his work resembling the kinetic line work of Frank Quitely and the dark tones of Frank Miller even one his real life heroes Paul Pope. Though Pope has said he doesnt see it, Grampa takes that a gesture of humility which makes Pope that much cooler in the comics world. This week STRANGE TALES II #1 released with great success and part of that is due to an amazing cover by Senor Grampa himself. The list of talent on this book is phenomenal but it's Grampa's cover art and introdcutory Wolverine story that turned me on, and man did it! Rafael's artwork is unstoppable and ready to explode off the page, theres so much movement and energy in his lines it makes my heart race and my life is now more enriched having experienced his awesomeness. From Daredevil to Madman to his own work, Mesmo Delivery, "a bloody story about two delivery men — Rufo, a brawny ex-boxer, and Sangrecco, an Elvis impersonator who views violence as performance art — who are hired to deliver a mysterious cargo. Everything appears to be going fine, at least until they encounter a group of drunken locals at a rest stop." (ROBOT 6) You can check out more about Rafeal at: http://furrywater.wordpress.com Rafael dances a fine line between creator owned anarachism and mainstream comics and it's in the pages of STRANGE TALES we can see how he orchestrates his own sense of comic independence when dealing with such mythical characters. So while Disney uses Marvel to push the upcoming TRON film with upcoming variant covers, Rafael doesnt seem to notice and gives us pure unadulterated adrenaline all in a 2 dimensional page, mucho gracias Grampa.

WOLVERINES, WENDIGOS AND MAN THINGS ..OH MY!

STRANGE TALES II #1
stories and art by
Rafael Grampa
Nick Bertozzi
Gene Luen Yang
Frank Santoro
Kate Beaton
Jillian Tamaki
Shannon Wheeler
Jeff Lemire
Nicholas Gurewitch

Phew that's a long list of insane talent that you may or may not have heard of, but Marvel is doing an awesome job of letting loose their properties for these mad scientists to do their respective tweeking to. These are tales that you wont find anywhere else. I personally find it genius to take characters firmly embedded into the mainstream comic world and giving them an underground, contemporary non super hero take. This takes peanut butter and jelly and gives you awesome! The cover art is by the indie warrior from Brazil, Rafael Grampa whose artwork is staggering and unforgettable and it probably wont be long until Marvel has him illustrate a full book on one of their beloved super dupes. Jeff Lemire brings his rugged Canadian bad ass self and mixes up a Wendigo slash man thing cross over, chock filled with mounties. Frank Santoro creates an amazing colorful dream like Silver Surfer tale of unrequited love, its heartbreaking and rewarding and beats any recent Silver Surfer material. Just grab a copy today and stop choosing sides at least for one day and walk that neutral line where you dont have to be too cool for school indie and neither super nerdified wolverine obsessed fanboy. Strange Tales gives us what should be a national holiday. Stay tuned for the Hernandez brothers and the Scarlet Witch, come on too good to be true right?

UNDER THE RADAR @ NYCC '10 part2

The pictures are in, the con is over and Maine feels like a reprieve but there's one thing I love about NYCC and that's the wealth of talent of those working hard in the trenches who live just below the mainstream equator but still crank out high quality artwork. I wish I could have had spent more time with these unsung warriors but if you have never been to NYCC then you don't know the maelstrom of sensory overload it is, so I feel lucky to have met the few I did and want to shine a light on their amazing work.

First, let's talk Tofu and let's talk Squirrel together that's TOFUSQUIRREL. This wasn't what I expected it to be. Elizabeth Siegel from Boston,Mass. creates unique, surrealism from Band posters to one of a kind creatures from a universe you've never been to. Hailing from Boston, Siegel is as one one of a kind as the emo squirrels she makes buttons out of. check out her website @: http://tofusquirrel.com

As I continued my travels down the underground path I stumbled upon a familiar print that once adorned Coast City Comics computer screen. Let me introduce, Ulises Farinas A cartoonist/illustrator living in Brooklyn, NY. He draws MOTRO as part of the webcomix collective ACT-I-VATE and is the founder of the Bear Party Collective.His Batman prints were tragically beautiful and his line work is kinetic and brings his work to an electric level. Check out more of Ulises at his website: http://www.ulisesfarinas.com

From the corner of my eye I caught the cover of one my highlights from Indy Comic Book Week last winter, that comic being AMERICAN TERROR published by Alterna Press and created by Jeff McComsey. As part of his participation in a new graphic novel called FUBAR. With artist Steve Becker they were selling stunning zombie prints underneath a recreation of a WWII bunker that they want to bring to the shop this winter and I say hell yea! You can find out more at their website: http://zombiefubar.wordpress.com

And last but not least, our very own Ben Bishop was in attendance peddling his wares but also to announce his involvement with Jim Krueger's re launch of THE STAND-IN on ATLAS books. Stay tuned for UNDER THE RADAR part 3 that I will be dedicating solely to Bishop's NYCC exploits.

NYCC updates

Well folks id love to show you the awesome pictures I've been taking all weekend but I have just learned that the iPad is for playing video games not actually being able to digitally connect with the world around you. Ben Bishop seems stoked to be signing alongside Jim Krueger today at the Atlas booth for the relaunch of the Stand In that Jim has scribed. If you don't know Mr. Krueger he is the man behind JUSTICE, INVADERS and EARTH-X. Met an awesome artist from Boston who creates amazingly fantastical dreamlike creatures in a book called TOFUSQUIRREL. If you were around when we had our Indy Comic Book Week this past winter, you might recall an awesome book called AMERICAN TERROR put out by Alterna Press they have a radical booth made up like an army bunker to pimp their WWII comic about zombies, they want to come up and re create their bunker in the shop in Portland and I say hell yea! Rick Remender is a madman and Chad and I are stalking him, Phillip Tan is going to be the artist on a DC relaunch that some of you might be way into cant say anything he told me or maybe he cant say anything, just think feathers and magic metal, you mean that sounds more kinky then superhero fare? Just stay tuned. Jeff Lemire is the man and I caught him hanging out at theTop Shelf booth and got to just chat casually about how great Sweet Tooth continues to be and his excitement for the upcoming SUPERBOY title he will be penning. Day 2 of NY Comic-Con and Chad and I aren't even close to being done. Grant Morrisons documentary debuts in the city tonight and if we can survive anime weirdness and 12 foot swords we just might make it. I will be doing a recap blog post WITH pictures once I figure out how to find the 13th adapter that lets you hook up your digital camera to this glorified itouch. Oh and if anyone wants a leather jacket with the giant word EXCELSIOR emblazoned on it, their here!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

BISHOP TO KRUEGER'S CASTLE

Ok Ok that was a very desperate attempt at witty humor for a title that I stared at for over an hour. But there it is and I'm done apologizing when there's so much exciting stuff to share. Portland's own, Ben Bishop has recently shared some exciting news with all of us.

If you find yourself at the NY Comic-Con, go find Bishop who will be joining Jim Krueger ( writer of Earth-X, JUSTICE, AVENGERS/INVADERS) to pimp The Stand-In, a title introduced with a #0 issue at New York Comic Con 2009 in February of that year and first announced in November 2008, that will debut as an ongoing in 2011. The series, from Krueger and artist Ben Bishop, depicts an actor who survives an assassination attempt while hired to stand in for a senator. Krueger comments, “I think people are going to be amazed at the way Ben Bishop tells a story. He's going to be such a superstar, I just know he'll never work with me again.”

Bishop counters, “I feel very lucky that the guys over at Ardden and Jim Krueger, one of the best writers out there, have given me this opportunity. The story is great, it's going to be a lot of fun, and I think everyone is going to love it.

The great news is that I will be on hand to document Bishop's exciting new adventure. Everyone at Coast City wishes Ben the best and will share with you all the cool stuff from NY Comic-Con. Stay tuned....

KING OF THE KUPERS

Kupers are not the race of turtle-like creatures that co-exist with the toads that inhabit the Mushroom Kingdom, that would be the Koopas. But if there were a race of east coast hyper intelligent, political minded illustrators, then Peter Kuper would be King.

My Nostalgia September continues with one of my all time favorites, Peter Kuper! It was The System that I first found of his that fit in with my young, anarchistic minded restlessness that needed someone like Peter to put pictures to the thoughts in my head. If you're a fan of WW2 propaganda art then you'll love Kuper's dreamy, angular stoicism that resonates a hyper sense of reality though this isn't propaganda to keep you locked in this is art to set you free. The System was a mind blowing find in my twilight teenage years, the catalyst for a revolution I wanted desperately. This book contains all stencil art, a menagerie of the downtrodden and super rich fat cats, drug smugglers, the energy and class warfare of the big city all done without words. The kinetic flow of the System still holds up today against comics too wordy for their own good. I highly doubt you'll find Princess Peach in his clutches but Peter Kuper is still king in my book!

To find out more about Peter Kuper check out his website:
http://www.peterkuper.com/index.htm

LIVING LA VIDA LOCAS

No I'm not the worlds worst speller. LOCAS is the ongoing serial narrative which follows the tangled lives of Margarita Luisa "Maggie" Chascarrillo and Esperanza Leticia "Hopey" Glass, whose on-again, off-again, open romance takes center stage in a mostly Latino community during California's punk days.
Locas is Jaime Hernandez's main contribution to this week's indie spotlight- LOVE & ROCKETS. As part of My Nostalgia September, no one can deny the generation spanning influence of the Hernandez Brothers who picked up where Crumb, Pekar, Shelton and Griffith left off. I hadn't been hip enough to catch the first release of their self published debut in 1981, I was 6 years old for god's sake reading Sad Sack & Richie Rich. In 1982 Fantagraphics picked up Love & Rockets and unlike some publishing companies, they let Los Hernandez Bros. do what they do best. Taking real life settings and putting in fictional characters that grow up with us, that mix sci-fi, sex, aging, community, love, break ups and let us in fully so that what was started as fiction becomes seemingly real, Like milestones in our own post adolescence. I didn't grow up in Oxnard California during the early days of punk but when I found Love & Rockets during the 90's in Santa Cruz, California Its fantastical realism had the same effect on me that it did when it was first hitting the scene. I had already been deep into my new found love of Adrian Tomine & Daniel Clowes so it was only natural to get to the root of the matter and see who started this whole thing. Los Hernandez Bros. like Love & Rockets are timeless so whether its early 80's Oxnard, Mid 90's Santa Cruz or 21st century Portland, Maine catch on now before Maggie & Hopey break a hip and pass into the great void to become legendary mirrors to our own human-ness.

BEHIND THE EIGHTBALL

Daniel Clowes needs no real introduction does he? Well In case you're too busy still wondering who the Red Hulk is let me fill you in on one of the most prolific comic creators of my generation. As part of My Nostalgia September I couldn't leave Clowes out in the cold. From EIGHTBALL, (the first dozen or so issues containing a number of short comedic stories featuring absurd characters such as Shamrock Squid and Grip Glutz and introduced us to Art School Confidential and Ghost World) to WILSON to ICE HAVEN. Clowes is regularly compared to David Lynch, mixing macabre surrealism with intelligent satire mixed with a modernist style.
LIKE A VELVET GLOVE CAST IN IRON, which was a storyline in EIGHTBALL, became an obsession of mine so much that my band ELKBLOOD has used it regularly for inspiration in both lyrics and the imagery. To know Clowes characters is maybe to know a little about the man himself.
You might find some familiar pessimism of Pekar in characters like WILSON but with Clowes you get a unhealthy dose of dark humor that might make you uncomfortable to the point where you'll either love it or hate it. Call me sick but I get it and praise Clowes for giving me something to identify with, I find it cathartic, comforting even. I relate reading a Clowes comic to falling asleep in a thunderstorm while listening to Metallica's Master of Puppets without a sleeping bag buried in the dirt, right? If you're a fan of ADRIAN TOMINE CRAIG THOMPSON, TOM NEELY or even JOHNNY RYAN then you owe it to yourself and your neighbors to check out Daniel Clowes in case you haven't. If you dont, DAVID BORING might be knocking on your door soon dont say we didn't warn you!

check out this great article with Daniel found at L'autre bande dessinée
http://www.du9.org/Daniel-Clowes,1109
and here's a preview of WILSON in case you haven't checked this out yet http://www.drawnandquarterly.com/imagesPreview/a4b4b5cebd9151.pdf

HITTING AN OPTIC NERVE

Art school...(yea yea yea so I'm getting nostalgic today so what!) You remember, standing in a circle smoking hand rolled cigarettes, acting out scenes from My Own Private Idaho as if Gus van Sant might be around the corner rolling film. It was the 90's, manic panic, grunge making way to British invasion part 2 and the return of how cool vinyl is. It was during this adolescent maelstrom of intellectualism and pretending I understood Sartre that I found myself moving away from just comic book mutants and space aliens into a whole new world of visual storytelling in comics. As I was discovering Hal Hartley and hanging out on the Santa Cruz cliffs I feverishly read everything I could find on Adrian Tomine, mainly all the OPTIC NERVE'S my young sad bastard heart could stand!

It was in 32 Stories:The Complete OPTIC NERVE mini comics that I drowned myself in. Tomine's work showed me a whole new world of self reflection using comics as part journal, part surreal commentary with humor and a literalness that defied what I thought comics could be. It was a time of great exploration and breaking barriers and what may seem commonplace now was a brave new world to me. I wasn't hip to Clowes and the Hernandez Brothers, It was Tomine that broke my indie comic cherry and I'm forever grateful. It only fueled my desire to know something you didn't but alas those days are over and I want you to know ADRIAN TOMINE the way that I know Tomine. Check out his website at: http://www.adrian-tomine.com

BOUND & GAGGED

Just wanted to repost a link to Tom Neely's blog to announce a new book he's involved with. In case you dont know who Tom Neely is visit his website for more info. I WILL DESTROY YOU He's an amazing artist out of Los Angeles and one of our favorites here at Coast City Comics, check it out:

http://iwilldestroyyounews.blogspot.com/2010/08/bound-gagged.html

IN A BROWN COLORED WORLD

It was a late summer day and as I worked behind the counter of the comic shop when a certain young lady with a desperate look in her eye asked me for Jeffrey Brown's newest book- moment of panic-desperate look transferred to my eyes as I googled at the speed of light-
"Who the HELL is Jeffrey Brown!!?? "
Yes it's true I hadn't heard of him and I vowed to put an end to that asap! In the light of never wanting to look stupid again I ended up finding a new favorite in introspective, personal comic storytelling such as I had found with the likes of Liz Prince and Craig Thompson. So are you now asking who the hell is Jeffrey Brown?? good because you should. His latest book is titled
CATS ARE WEIRD I hate to admit I'm a crazy cat person who shows off his pictures of his cat on my phone to anyone who will humor me, I stand up to dirty looks and half smiles because until I have real children these furry freaks will do. After reading this sweet sentimental look inside the feline mind I can tell Mr. Brown is one of those crazy cat people as well and now I don't feel as alone.

If you like comics straight up that just reflect the absurdity and frustrations of daily life without over saturated negativity then Brown might just be what you are looking for. It's as if I'm looking into a mirror in his work from FUNNY MISSHAPEN BODY- (* side note*if you have been to art school you'll love it!) So thank you desperate girl who didn't find then what we now cannot live without and thank you Jeffrey Brown for letting us in and making this guy feel not so alone and not so crazy!

To find out more about Jeffrey Brown's work visit his website at: http://www.jeffreybrowncomics.com/
or visit his blog at:
http://jeffreybrowncomics.blogspot.com

A PRINCE AMONG MEN

Comics aren't just for boys, just ask Liz Prince who is all woman and she's not afraid to show you how true that is. From her auto bio comic WILL YOU STILL LOVE ME IF I WET THE BED to DELAYED REPLAYS, she's telling it like it is and carrying no shame along the way. It's not easy to hold a window to ones personal life and shine a light on it for others to see especially those moments we usually take for granted but PRINCE shines a very bright light and gives us a glimpse into her nerdy, quirky life that is both sweet and touching as well as uncomfortable and edgy. There's something very engrossing about PRINCE'S artwork that is cuddly and itchy at the same time switching gears without a moment's notice turning ugly into beautiful and funny into sad. The comics are a roller coaster through a very real persons eyes without a whole lot of fluff and I for one enjoy the down to earth sincerity of it all. I recently read WILL YOU STILL LOVE ME... in bed with my wife and it began to seem as if we were looking into a mirror, we laughed and at times looked at each other through the corner of our eyes quizzically and perhaps with a trepidation to see each other's warts and all but if LIZ PRINCE can do it then dammit so can we! You can see more of Liz prince @ her website : http://lizprincepower.com/

THE FICKLE WORLD OF HAM!

It's been too long since Ive traveled out in search of something indie/local to catch my fancy but this week i could no longer avoid the Fickle world of Torrey Ham. He is as local as it gets and I doubt he even cares if you read his web comic or not. FICKLE PICNIC is the title of Mr. Ham's mental escapades in singular vector glory. It's clear there's nothing pretentious here just the truth as Torrey sees it, funny , sad or just painfully true. The chalkboard like drawings and the subtle t shirt references make this a fun read. I love hitting the random button as if there was any sequence to Torrey's views on IKEA, FACEBOOK and ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT. FICKLE PICNIC is a simple yet witty romp through modern culture with a tongue in cheek sense of humor. Thank you Mr. Ham for the smile you've put on my face! Check it out for yourself: http://www.ficklepicnic.com/

ARTHUR DE LA CRUZ IS NOT EMPTY!

I love Tuesday's because that's when I get to scour the Internet for underground comics that I have yet to read. Its digital spelunking for pure illustrative gold and the payoff is ever so sweet. This week's lode of comic gold is a web comic by Arthur De La Cruz entitled, "KISSING CHAOS" and if you're fans of David Mack, Brian Wood, Becky Cloonan and Dave McKean then you are going to love this black and white comic that states, "You're too young to be this empty!"

Nothing says the history better then what I found on his website;
Kissing Chaos first saw the light of day in 2001 as an 8 issue mini series published by Oni Press. In 2002 Arthur De La Cruz was nominated for an Eisner award for KISSING CHAOS, and was listed as one of the Top Ten Comics of the year from Ain't It Cool News. Kissing Chaos: Nonstop Beauty, was a 4 issue follow up series, featuring an all new cast. This story shed more light on the ominous conclusion to the first. Arthur De La Cruz plans to continue pumping out the KC via this website http://kissingchaos.com/, continuing the series with a story arc titled KISSING CHAOS: 'TIL I DIE. As well, he plans to unveil a top secret animated story arc sometime this year. stay tuned.

To see how beautiful these illustrations are and to see why this is my underground pick of the week follow this link: http://kissingchaos.com/tx/?p=153 Arthur states the hiatus is over for more KISSING CHAOS, I do hope so. I missed it the first time around and don't want that to happen again.

THATS CHECK-EYE NOT SAJAK!

His name is JEF, that's right one "F" and his last name is CZEKAJ-that's pronounced CHECK-EYE he states and most people say it like SAJAK you know like PAT from Wheel of Fortune-wrong. Jef lives and works in Somerville, MA. and is a cartoonist, children's book author and illustrator, and musician. His comic, Grampa and Julie: Shark Hunters, ran in Nickelodeon Magazine for more than 10 years. A collection of the first three years of the comic was published with the help of a Xeric Foundation Grant and distributed by Top Shelf. Im still having a blast on JEF'S website which is a very fun interactive adventure-JEF opens up the labyrinth of his mind and shares it in virtual form and I'm still spraying graffiti all over a giant rock via a small bumble bee while listening to hip hop, yea that's right you heard me! HIP & HOP AND YOU DON'T STOP is a creation of JEF'S and features the creatures of SLOWJAMZ SWAMP and BREAKBEAT MEADOW. It's a modern re telling of the Tortoise and the Hare this time its taken to the streets of free style jams and hip hop warfare. What happens next could change OLDSKOOL COUNTY forever! It's an all ages book that deserves your attention and respect as the rap off of the year gets underway. And don't forget to check out Grampa and Julie: Shark Hunters, R2D2 is an Indie Rocker later retitled Hypertruck and the Circulatory Story.
You can read a great interview with Jef at this link
http://reglarwiglar.com/RWone_two/jefczekaj.html
or visit his website at : http://www.czekaj.com/index.html

DRAWING CURES CANCER!

Well I'm not sure if drawing really does cure cancer but looking at Ryan LaMunyon's drawings cure me of my ills as I'm transported away into the frenetic, amped up world of Ryan's twisted imagination. Ryan is in the process of his first comic which I have included an image. Be at Coast City Comics on June 19th where I hear he might be debuting this amazing new body of work! I first met Ryan over coffee a year ago and was blown away by his electrifying style that feels like the page is plugged into an amp and cranked up to 11. All of his sketches have a reverence to European classical styling but given a modern make-over, infused with a introspective humor that will make you want to take it in over and over again!

I wish there were shelves full of Ryan's artwork in graphic novel form but we can only wait patiently until that day arrives and it may not too far away! In the meantime check out Ryan's blog and his website where you can see the variety of illustrations he's been working on for the last few years!

http://www.ryanlamunyon.com
http://ryanlamunyon.blogspot.com/

TOM NEELY WILL DESTROY YOU

When I first saw the Blot I knew I had to have a copy. Even without knowing the story I could see from the sample pages online this wasn't just your run of the mill indie comic. In fact I was right and the Blot is something special. Tom Neely, a painter and cartoonist living in Los Angeles, is the creator of this graphic novel. The Blot was featured in our shop as part of Indy Comic Book Week and was the first to sell out and there's so many reasons why. The art inside this book is astounding. Its black and white with clean lines but starts to be taken over by an inkblot that changes shape and Neely uses a variety of techniques within the panels that keep you glued to each one. Its the contrast of the Blot and the stark clean pages that create a fantastic world of metamorphosis and struggle. Its like a vintage comic strip come to life in the now, blending tongue in cheek humor and cartoonish sentiment. Even after having read this book a dozen times I'm ready to read it a dozen more, if you haven't seen this book yet come by the shop. We just ordered a bunch more for you all. You can also visit Tom at his website: http://www.iwilldestroyyou.com

ALL HAIL THE ZOMBRE!

Sick of zombies are you? Well "ZOMBRE" the mini comic by Ansis Purins will slap you out of your zombie overdose and give new life to the overkill of the undead in comics today. This one features ZOMBRE VS. SLAPPY-MEGATHUNDER SHOWDOWN!-I mean come on if that name doesn't get you jazzed to the gills to tear into this comic then you should check your pulse to make sure you're still alive.
Besides this book being a fun read, the art is unreal. Its cartoonish but smart, I wish I could see it in full size, every page is a work of art to me with minimal words but the illustrations convey the story fully and I only wish there was more. On Ansis' website he describes ZOMBRE as; "ZOMBRE faces some tough choices. Is the cool new guy who eats your pets really your friend? Will the forest ranger go bonkers or stay "groovy"?" That's it, enough said right? Check out Ansis website at http://ansis.tv/comics.html

JOEL "OF THE MIGHTY" RIVERS

There's nothing better then to turn the corner in your neighborhood and find not just comic book creators in your own backyard but highly talented and not just talented but positive role models with a never say die attitude in a digital age ready to kill the book! Portland is that place where you can find all of the above and one in particular sticks out and that is the artist known as Joel Zain Rivers. Rivers is a Xeric grant awarded self publishing,iPhone illustrating madman. Obion Comics is Joel's creation and a vehicle to get his stories out there without having to wait to be judged by the all mighty publishing companies that say do or die, its great to see people say oh yea? screw you I'll do it myself thank you. Its nothing new, Self published comics have been a staple of the medium for decades, its just a breath of fresh air to see that still alive and well in an age where iPads think they have all the power. Check out my interview with Joel on BlogTalkRadio on the player to the left. I had the chance to catch up with Joel and talk comics, yachts and digital comics. You can see Joel's work at the following links;

http://mecollective.blogspot.com/2009/07/09-working-artists-show-joel-zain.html
http://www.obioncomics.com
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Joel-Zain-Rivers
download Joel's iAllosaur for the iPhone

HERE'S SAND IN YOUR EYE!

So your stuck on an island with perhaps a bad case of amnesia and your only company is a crab named Carl "who sees himself as perhaps the only sane creature on an island full of weirdos. He has little time for leisure activities that don’t include reading the paper or sleeping and Larry a frantic little nervous wreck of a bird. Because of this, he may just be out of his mind." This is how comic creator Matt Forcum describes his side kick characters in his web-comic "ROBOT BEACH" Whose main character is Robot "and all he has ever known is the island on which he lives. He has no idea how he got there, or how long he has been stranded, but he won’t let that get him down."

I came across ROBOT BEACH'S daily strip that was updated this week and knew I had to write about it, three panels and that was all it took I had to know more. On Matt's website he gives new readers this statement, "Most people don’t know this about me, but I am not supposed to be an animator. If you were to hop into a time machine and travel back in time to ask my grade school self what my career is going to be one day I will tell you that I am going to be a jet pilot. That, or a cartoonist.

So Why Robots? Why a Beach? Believe it or not, this web comic started its life as a simple sketch I created two years ago while I was bored and on a lunch break. I sketched out a little robot and for some reason thought that he might look cute with a surfboard and flower print swim trunks. Something about that little sketch felt fresh and interesting. I knew I was on to something special."

And I will have to agree, I think he is onto something very cool especially considering I'm partial to artificial intelligence and cartoons over the realism of pseudo intellectuals overcrowding urban jungles and homogenizing daily culture. I find this robot and his beach with his sense of humor a breath of fresh air. check out Matt's website @: http://www.robotbeach.com

SAY IT AINT SO?

Just when you thought Blackest Night was over, rumor has it Greg Rucka intends to leave DC comics and go back to his Oni published, "Queen and Country" and anything that isn't DC. What this means for Detective Comics, Wonder Woman and everything else he has touched with his wit and genius will be left in the hands of some wannabe and I don't think even the White Lanterns can save the day.


Just in case you live on Mars and you don't get to see all the amazing indie books available, check out R13 by Daniel Bradford and Thomas Hall on their own Blacklist Studios. Coast City Comics is carrying all 3 issues of this groundbreaking all original series. here's a link to a great article about them; http://comicnews.info/?p=9609

MIXED MESSAGES

And last but not least something to brighten your day maybe even your week or hell why not, YOUR WHOLE YEAR!!!!!!!!! KICK-ASS the movie hits screens worldwide APRIL 16th. MATTHEW VAUGHAN looks poised to do what ZACH SNYDER could only dream of doing, and that's making a film based on a comic book that you'll actually be glad you saw. Based on MARK "SHOW ME THE $$" MILLAR'S vicious, real to life comic based on fan boy vigilantes who find out that being a superhero isn't exactly like it is in the comic books. If you haven't seen the trailer, check out this link; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKjycnhKxY4

And that's your 60 seconds of weekly comic news, until next time...

-gerald von stoddard