Comic Book Candy

Just to show how busy I’ve been keeping myself lately, here’s a pictorial demonstration of my recent reading material. Chugging right along in my quest to read everything relevant from ten years ago, I’m thoroughly enjoying Sandman , and I got a healthy dose of “coming of age” while reading Stuck Rubber Baby and Blankets at the same time. Some of you more observant readers out there might notice something missing from my stack…I’ll give you a hint. It starts with M and rhymes with arvel (I don’t think any real words rhyme with Marvel). I guess I’m just hard pressed to think of any Marvel stories I feel compelled to catch up on. Plus my local library is a little Marvel light. I’d love to read the Garth Ennis / Steve Dillon Punisher run, but that’s not in the cards. Here is a link to the Tasmania State Library . If anyone can find me a Marvel book in the library’s catalogue worth reading, I will enthusiastically take up your suggestion!

It is rare, but certain comics can make you feel like you’re reading history in the making. Issues of The Walking Dead can carry that kind of excitement. But will this zombie comic ravenously consume future readers as it does today? With hoards of enthusiastic fans picking it up on a monthly basis, it’s easy to be convinced to read it. Trying to encourage someone to pick up a trade of your favorite finished series is a little trickier. Those comics will never be read or appreciated in the same light as the folks who picked them up issue to issue, and the urgency to read them fades with the years (until a movie or television series goes into production). Elf Quest. Nexus. Grim Jack. Fritz the Cat. Groo. Cerebus. Next Man. Bone. Concrete. “Yeah, I haven’t read it, but I know what it is. Kind of.” These are just a few of the notable independent series that are known mostly by name alone to younger comic book fans. To help encourage new readers to seek out these notorious titles, I’m ...

THE WALKING DEAD #69 story ROBERT KIRKMAN art/cover CHARLIE ADLARD & CLIFF RATHBURN 32 PAGES, 2.99 At long last... they arrive. But will things get better... or WORSE? Coming to a shelf near you January 27th So. Freaking. Excited. On a side note, I saw this book being advertised on a comic book store website ( Third Coast Comics one of the many Chicago stores I have yet to visit...) and thought I'd do a little write up, saying how freaking excited I am for this issue, and I always like to link the images I use to the original publishers website when I can. I naively thought Image Comics' website would come up first; boooooy was I surprised. (Click on above image to see it LARGER) I know how desperate one can be to get a The Walking Dead fix, but damn! This book hasn't even come out yet and there were no less than 10 links from different file sharing website. That's such a friendly term, file sharing. Let's be clear here, unless you are borro...

I haven’t read a “new” comic in about two months now. Don’t think that means I’m not reading – oh contraire! I’m reading more than ever! Just not of the “recently published” variety. I have been doing a wonderful job of rationing the comics I brought with me from the states – namely, I’m so enjoying Blackest Night and all of its space battle-y epicness! I’ve got enough two page spreads to last the blog for a long while (coming in the near future). Though I currently can’t write about enjoying comics from the new release shelves, I can tell you all about what I have been reading, which is a lot of well established series that I should have read by now. Here’s a look at the trade paperbacks I’ve picked up, and a little bit about why you should check them out too, even if you have access to new books: Sandman Volume 1 Publisher: Vertigo (DC) Writer: Neil Gaiman Artist(s): If you like… House of Mystery! Hellblazer! Gothic tales that can sometimes be disturbing, the darker side o...

My efforts to bring you more posts this month are being foiled by the desire to enjoy my recent Christmas and birthday gifts. What better way to yield to these opposing forces than by combining them? Here’s a little snapshot of the nerdiest gifts I received this holiday season: Angel: The Complete Series Having recently begun my new obsession with everything Buffy related, my boyfriend got me the perfect gift – Angel: The Complete Series . Since Angel season 1 starts at the beginning of Buffy season 4 (where we are conveniently up to in Buffy) it’s been great watching the series side by side, as they were originally aired. The crossover action has made this Christmas present the best and most timely gift. Buffy “Feature Length” Episode VHS’s Who else got videos for Christmas…and was happy about it? Technically this was a birthday gift (my 20-something birthday was a few days ago). Check out that sweet videocassette design! Not only was this great because it’s Buffy, but it in...

Publisher: Dark Horse Artists: Eduardo Barreto, Stefano Gaudiano, Rick Geary, Paul Grist, Joelle Jones, Kano, David Lapham, Fabio Moon & Gabriel Ba, Dean Motter, M.K. Perker, Hugo Petrus, and Sean Phillips. Writers: Brian Azzarello, Ed Brubaker, Alex De Campi, Matthew & Sean Fillbach, Jeff Lemire, Ken Lizzi, Chris Offuit, and Gary Phillips. Lettering: Ryan Hill, Tom Orzechowki, and Clem Robins If you like… Criminal, Mister X, 100 Bullets, Stray Bullets, if you take your noir black, no sugar. 2009 was clearly a good year for noir. Enter this black and white compilation of short crime stories  released by Dark Horse back in October. I’ve only recently finished the 13 tales of betrayal, seduction, violence, and of course, crime! Just glancing at a few of the creators involved made me pick this up without hesitation. Here you’ll find noir for every mood: classic, always with a twist ending; stories with confrontational subject matter; morally ambiguous characters galore...