TWO NEW SIMILARLY TITLED graphic novels have come out, both are travelogues and both are by artists from the animation field. Yet the two hardcover books couldn't be more different.
Veteran cartoonist Guy Delisle created a new graphic novel, "Burma Chronicles" (Drawn & Quarterly), while Enrico Casarosa released his debut comic, "The Venice Chronicles" (AdHouse).
Delisle has made a career out of visiting unfriendly places and creating fascinating graphic novel travelogues about them. His first two, "Shenzhen: A Travelogue From China" and "Pyongyang: A Journey in North Korea," offered in-depth views of these Communist countries from the perspective of a long-term visitor.
Continue Reading "Around the World: Graphic Novel Travelogues" »
BRIAN WOOD HAS told wonderful tales about Vikings, superheroes and future worlds.
But his slice-of-life stories in comics like "Demo" (AIT/Planet Lar) and "Local" (Oni Press) are where he really seems to shine.
The 12-issue miniseries "Local," illustrated by Ryan Kelly, which was recently collected in a massive, gorgeously designed graphic novel might be his magnum opus.
CARTOONIST ART SPIEGELMAN HAS ACCOMPLISHED a lot in his career. He won a Pulitzer Prize for his stunning graphic novel, "Maus," about his parents' lives during the Holocaust, and he's achieved critical acclaim for his work with the New Yorker, the Raw comics anthology magazine and his 9/11 book, "In the Shadow of No Towers."
But when he talks about the highlight of his career, he's not talking about one of those things. He's talking about his appearance on "The Simpsons" last year, where fellow comic book creators Alan Moore and Daniel Clowes joined him.
"I know it's a great achievement — just ask my son," Spiegelman says, laughing. "I loved doing it. I love 'The Simpsons,' always have. I thought it was a great honor to say, 'A "Maus" is in the house.'"
Spiegelman, who is in town signing at Politics & Prose on Friday, has two new books out. One is an expanded reprint ofhis 1978 book, "Breakdowns," which is expanded with an introductory comic to provide context for the reprint and an essay explaining the introduction.
Continue Reading "Secret Identity: Art Spiegelman's Life Work" »
MAD MAGAZINE, WHICH has been at the forefront of biting, satirical humor since its inception in 1952, tackles the political season with its election issue and a new pop-up book that features some of the publication's best work.
Perhaps no magazine is better suited to take on what has been a divisive campaign, with Barack Obama and John McCain trading barbs at every opportunity. It's enough to make anybody say, "What, me worry?"
John Ficarra has been an editor at Mad since 1984, and in the election issue he — along with the usual gang of idiots — tackles the war on terror, TV punditry on shows like "Countdown with Keith Olbermann," John McCain's historical career and Sarah Palin, as well as looking at what high school elections would be like if they were treated like the presidential ones.
Ficarra also headed up a pop-up book, "Mad About Politics" and a poster book, "The Mad Magazine Poster Book: 15 Stupidly Big Prints!"
Express spoke to Ficarra, who gave some snappy answers to stupid questions.
Continue Reading "Comedy Before Country: Mad Magazine on Politics" »
LYNDA BARRY is that rare thing: a woman who's managed to make it in the world of comics. It's hard enough to come up against the comedy glass ceiling, but comic books are even more of a boys club than the Straight Talk Express. (Zing! Score one for Maureen Dowd and all women everywhere.)
Anyway, Lynda Barry has written "What It Is," a book about creativity that seeks to offer the average book reading American citizen a gateway to artistic and literary creativity. The book includes exercises, a "method" to reach your inner creative self and of course cartoons. lf Barry herself weren't so awesome, this kind of thing would be insipid.
Express contributor spoke to Barry; read it here.
» Politics and Prose, 5015 Connecticut Ave. NW; Fri., Oct. 3, 7 p.m., free; 202-364-1919. (Van Ness)
Photo courtesy Politics and Prose
The Small Press Expo runs Saturday and Sunday, and Scott A. Rosenberg has compiled a quick guide to recommended books that are really new or debuting at the show, as well as some top picks among the panel discussions and a hat tip to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund.
CAN'T MISS NEW OR RECENT BOOKS:
» "Essex County Volume 3: The Country Nurse" by Jeff Lemire (Top Shelf)
» "Burma Chronicles" by Guy Delisle (Drawn and Quarterly)
» "Local" by Brian Wood and Ryan Kelly (Oni Press)
» "Crogan's Vengeance" by Chris Schweizer (Oni Press)
» "Sulk Vol. 1: Bighead and Friends" by Jeffrey Brown (Top Shelf)
» "Labor Days" by Phil Gelatt and Rick Lacy (Oni Press)
» "Uncle Slam Fights Back" by TJ Kirsch (Oni Press)
» "Too Cool to be Forgotten" by Alex Robinson (Top Shelf)
» "The Lagoon" by Lille Carre (Fantagraphics)
» "Fuzz & Pluck: Splitsville" by Ted Stearn (Fantagraphics)
» "Man of Rock: A Biography of Joe Kubert" by Bill Schelly (Fantagraphics)
» "Petey & Pussy" by John Kerschbaum (Fantagraphics)
» "American Presidents" by David Levine (Fantagraphics)
» "Popeye Volume 3" by E.C. Segar (Fantagraphics)
» "Godspeed, President Meal Ticket: Some Guy With a Website's Final Chance to Cash In On the Bush Administration" by August J. Pollack (self-published)
» "Lil' Bluey" by Chris Pitzer and Sam Millen (AdHouse Books)
» "Spadefoot" by Matt Dembicki and Andrew Cohen (Three Crows Press)
» "Swallow Me Whole" by Nate Powell (Top Shelf)
» "The Night of Your Life" by Jesse Reklaw (Dark Horse Comics)
» "Against Pain" by Ron Rege Jr. (Drawn and Quarterly)
» "Fight or Run" by Kevin Huizenga (Buenaventura Press)
IT IS A CLICHE, and too often a lie, to say that an artist repays endless contemplation. However, for the work of Lynda Barry, the hoary workhorse is wholly apt. (Barry will join fellow alt-comic star Tom Tomorrow at Politics & Prose on Friday)
Barry has several claims to fame, but is known best as the creator of the newspaper staple "Ernie Pook's Comeek." Her latest book, "What It Is," allows Barry to use a much bigger, more colorful canvas, offering a wealth of subtle visual details a newspaper strip can't match.
"What It Is" is a work of mixed media, fusing painting, portraiture, sketches, collage, text, narrative, comics, humor, creepiness, timeless wisdom and endless questions. The book switches between open-ended ruminations on the nature of creativity and art, and more familiar approximations of comics and graphic novels. As is often the case with Barry's work, her stories may seem highly personal and potentially embarrassing. However, in revealing essential oddness, the author strikes a universal chord.
IT MIGHT BE WRONG to credit Tom Tomorrow with single-handedly creating "This Modern World." He couldn't have done it without a host of venal pols and corrupt tycoons, not to mention a clueless citizenry suckled by a bullying punditocracy that renders cogent debate as likely as a moonbat/wingnut love-in.
"The Future's So Bright, I Can't Bear to Look" collects three years of Tomorrow's strip, preserving the outcry of an exasperated, angry, even baffled voice in times that are absurd beyond imagining.
It's a good read, and it's made of paper, so when the lights finally do go out, it'll burn for a little while.
» EXPRESS: Do current crises pose a unique challenge to the weekly cartoonist?
» TOMORROW: My problem right now is I simply can't keep up. I had a whole cartoon about Sarah Palin's rollout that was ready to go, and by the end of the week the entire financial system had melted down and it felt like a cartoon from three months ago.
WHEN BRYAN LEE O'MALLEY first appeared at the Small Press Expo in Bethesda in 2004, his second graphic novel, "Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life," had just been released and hadn't really taken off.
When O'Malley returns to the convention this weekend, he'll have four books from the ultra-popular "Pilgrim" series completed and there is a film in production (which O'Malley unfortunately is not able to speak about), starring the new it-nerd Michael Cera of "Superbad" and "Juno" fame (and he's returning to theater's this Friday with "Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist"), and "Sean of the Dead" and "Hot Fuzz" director Edgar Wright is at the helm.
Needless to say, when O'Malley makes his way to the Maryland suburb, he'll be one of the favorite creators at the convention, which caters to the more indie-favorite creators of the comic industry.
This year's event features some high profile guests, including Ben Katchor ("Julius Knipl, Real Estate Photographer"), Jason Lutes ("Berlin"), Tom Tomorrow ("This Modern World"), Raina Telgemeier ("The Baby-Sitter Club"), Lauren Weinstein ("Goddess of War"), Keith Knight ("The K Chronicles"), O'Malley's wife, Hope Larson ("Chiggers") and, making an incredibly rare stateside appearance, Dutch cartoonist Joost Swarte, who's work is recognizable from the cover of the New Yorker.
O'Malley spoke with Express about his comics and the convention.
Continue Reading "Pilgrim's Progress: Bryan Lee O'Malley on 'Scott Pilgrim'" »
IF YOU WERE A FAN of some of the biggest blockbusters of the summer — "Iron Man," "Incredible Hulk," "Hellboy 2" and "The Dark Knight" — then there's a good chance that you'd find something that interests you at the Baltimore ComicCon, the D.C. area's answer to San Diego's comic extravaganza.
Besides countless dealers with tons of comics, toys, books and other pop-culture ephemera, some of the greatest names in comics today and some of the top publishers will be signing, sketching and talking about the four-color fiction.
Dan DiDio, senior VP-executive editor of DC Comics, who will be bringing the DC Nation panel roadshow to Baltimore, is especially excited about having a good portion of the creative team of a certain Man of Steel in attendance.
"We got Geoff Johns, James Robinson, Sterling Gates, Jamal Igle," DiDio says. "These are all guys who are really just the driving force behind the Superman stories and everything we got going with that character right now."
Continue Reading "We Need Another Hero or 2: Baltimore ComicCon" »
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