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Review: Occupy Comics #2, 12 Reasons to Die #2 and Ballistic #1

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Occupy Comics #2

occThe Kickstarter phenomenon is in it’s second issue and it shows no sign of diminishing in quality. Occupy Comics #2 continues the thought provoking anthology with more strips, prose and in general contributions that actually makes you think. The second issue continues to show that comics and politics do mix. The comics boast an impressive line-up of creators like Alan Moore, David Lloyd, Charlie Adlard, Art Spiegelman, Molly Crabapple, Matt Bors, Mike Allred, Ben Templesmith, J.M. DeMatteis, Tyler Crook, Joshua Hale Fialkov, Joe Infurnari, Ales Kot, Dean Haspiel, Joshua Dysart and Matt Pizzolo.

This issue continues to impress with thought-provoking contributions. Again, it’s pretty non-partisan and numerous entries border on graphic journalism, and might be creating a whole new genre of graphic social commentary. This is a perfect marriage of comics and politics, of course I dug it. Continue to ignore that word “occupy” and don’t let it taint your willingness to give this series a chance. You’ll be surprised, though shouldn’t be considering the talent behind it.

But on top of the political message and commentary, the series continues to be entertaining. The stories contained within are smartly written and beautifully illustrated, making this a package that has depth in message as well as presentation, an awesome combination. It’s a perfect connection between emotion, facts and art. The stories have depth and are well thought out, their intelligence shows.

Despite some pretty heavy hitter names, Matt Miner’s contribution about his experience with Occupy Sandy during Hurricane Sandy is especially emotional. It really opens up your eyes as to what occurred during that storm and clean up after and the travesty that was relief efforts by the government.

I’m a political nerd. I’m a comic geek. Lets occupy some comics!

Story and art: Alan Moore, David Lloyd, Charlie Adlard, Art Spiegelman, Molly Crabapple, Matt Bors, Mike Allred, Ben Templesmith, J.M. DeMatteis, Tyler Crook, Joshua Hale Fialkov, Joe Infurnari, Ales Kot, Dean Haspiel, Joshua Dysart and Matt Pizzolo
Story: 8.5 Art: 8.5 Overall: 8.5 Recommendation: Buy

12 Reasons to Die #2

APR130921_mThis horror-crime hybrid is the latest comic book from the legendary Wu-Tang Clan’s RZA and Ghostface Killah. A brutal tale of gangsters, betrayal, and one vengeful soul hunting the 12 most powerful crimelords in the world.

Two issues in and I’m still pretty entertained by the series which mixes horror and crime. Overall though, this second issue isn’t quite as polished as the first and I wonder if the limited series might be better read in one sitting or as a trade paperback.

Again the comic comes off as disjointed stories, with an attempt to weave them together. That weaving isn’t quite as tight as the first one, and that might be where my issue comes into this. The stories don’t fit as quite nicely together as that first issue, jumping around in the subjects and characters and the art at times differing either too much or not much causing delineation between the chapters to be more difficult.

And that’s where I struggle with the comic. Take each of the stories by themselves and they’d be great. But, together there’s an issue for me and the flow between them is part of it. Breaking each section up, even with a page that just says “chapter 1,” etc. might have helped. It could also be the fact I’m reading it digitally, which makes that more difficult.

I’m also at the point I’d like more information about these records and the bigger picture around them. If they’re just a story device, that’s fine, but I’d like that a bit more clearer.

The series is an example of a multi-platform, transmedia concept project with a storyline that spans from the comic book to the new Ghostface Killah album released simultaneously by RZA’s Soul Temple Records. So, you have a soundtrack to check out while reading the comic.

Overall, this is an entertaining example of cross-media entertainment, but the series needs to pick up a bit for me.

Story: Adrian Younge, Ce Garcia, Matthew Rosenberg, Patrick Kindlon Art: Breno Tamura, Gus Storms, Tim Seeley, Nate Powell, Brian Level, Dave Murdoch
Story: 7 Art: 7 Overall: 7 Recommendation: Read

Ballistic #1

Ballistic-001_600pxWelcome to Repo City State, where everyone’s an asshole… even the air conditioners.

Darick Robertson and Adam Egypt Mortimer’s madcap, psychedelic, transreal, utterly-wacko buddy adventure about Butch and his best friend Gun, a drug-addicted, genetically-modified, foul-mouthed firearm, as they attempt to elevate Butch from air conditioner repairman to master criminal in the twisted, post-eco-apocalyptic Repo City State, a reclaimed trash island built entirely from DNA-based, living technology with bad attitudes.

Ballistic marks Darick Robertson’s return to the hard sci-fi worldbuilding of his classic Transmetropolitan but mixed with The Boys’ ultra-violence and the lunacy of Happy. Mortimer’s mix of speculative science, pulpy noire, and drug-addled adventure cooks up a strange brew of Lethal Weapon by way of Cronenberg meets Dr. Who if written by Odd Future.

If you’re a fan of 80s British comics, then you need to do yourself a favor and pick up this debut issue of a series that I’m sure will be making “best of” lists at the end of the year. The story is a mad rush full of adrenaline in a world so far out there and crazy, it’s hard not to be entertained.

Though it might have that “80s British” vibe, the story also feels fresh and innovative. That package also has a main character that has the snappy banter of coolness of Ash from Army of Darkness. You can take your pick as to which character I’m referring to with that one.

On top of the fun story, there’s visuals that’ll blow you away. The world can’t be described, it can only be seen and you’ll find yourself lingering on pages to catch everything and coming back to do that some more once you’re done reading.

The comic lives up to it’s name and blew me away. This one might be a sleeper, but do yourself a favor and go grab a copy!

Story: Adam Egypt Mortimer Art: Darick Robertson
Story: 8.5 Art: 8.5 Overall: 8.5 Recommendation: Buy

Black Mask Studios provided Graphic Policy with FREE copies for review

Review: Occupy Comics #1 and 12 Reasons to Die #1

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Occupy Comics #1

OccupyComics-coverA_600pxStarted off in what seems forever ago, Occupy Comics initially started off as a Kickstarter project, it is now seeing print thanks to Black Mask Studios. An anthology, the comic was as political as they come and channeled the dissatisfaction with the status-quo represented by the Occupy Movement. The comics boast an impressive line-up of creators like Alan Moore, David Lloyd, Charlie Adlard, Art Spiegelman, Molly Crabapple, Matt Bors, Mike Allred, Ben Templesmith, J.M. DeMatteis, Tyler Crook, Joshua Hale Fialkov, Joe Infurnari, Ales Kot, Dean Haspiel, Joshua Dysart and Matt Pizzolo.

Each contribution is thought-provoking and entertaining and shockingly non-partisan. This is a perfect marriage of comics and politics. While many will see that word “occupy” how the stories presented are pretty non-partisan, reflecting the realistic economic times and the political world in which we live.

But on top of that political message, the comic is also entertaining. The stories contained within are smartly written and beautifully illustrated, making this a package that has depth in message as well as presentation, an awesome combination. It’s a perfect connection between emotion, facts and art.

The stories within vary too. They’re not all straight comics, and some mix it up with different forms of storytelling. This is an anthology with a theme first and foremost, not necessarily a “comic.” But it’s all golden. Everything I read had depth and was intelligent. It just grabbed me and I wanted to read more. It made we want more of this type of voice in the more mainstream comics many of these folks write.

On top of the solid stories and art, all revenue received by organizers/creators (past hard costs) will be donated to various Occupy-related initiatives.

This is a perfect example of the marriage of comics and politics. An awesome comic that I can’t wait to see more of.

Story and art: Alan Moore, David Lloyd, Charlie Adlard, Art Spiegelman, Molly Crabapple, Matt Bors, Mike Allred, Ben Templesmith, J.M. DeMatteis, Tyler Crook, Joshua Hale Fialkov, Joe Infurnari, Ales Kot, Dean Haspiel, Joshua Dysart and Matt Pizzolo
Story: 8.5 Art: 8.5 Overall: 8.5 Recommendation: Buy

12 Reasons to Die #1

12ReasonsToDie_issue1coverB_ChristopherMittenThis horror-crime hybrid is the latest comic book from the legendary Wu-Tang Clan’s RZA and Ghostface Killah.

A brutal tale of gangsters, betrayal, and one vengeful soul hunting the 12 most powerful crimelords in the world.

I’m a fan of crime comics. The idea of gangsters and crimelords is just entertaining to me. I tend to gravitate to those stories so this comic was right up my way. But what makes this comic and this “gangster” tale stand out is the horror part of it all. It’s a nice change to the straight up gangster story I was expecting and the type of story I was expecting when I saw that RZA and Ghostface Killah were involved.

There’s a lot going on in the comic, making it not the straightforward crime comic you’d expect. There’s different perspectives and intertwining storylines that’ll be interesting to see how they come together. This is a mystery/horror story with a gangster veneer and the first issue teases that mystery just enough to get me to want to come back and check out more.

You can tell this is a story being told the way they want to be told. It’s a high concept blending story, art and music together. Each section of the first issues is paired with the talents of an artist who does it justice and enhances the story.

What’s even cooler is this is an example of a multi-platform, transmedia concept project with a storyline that spans from the comic book to the new Ghostface Killah album released simultaneously by RZA’s Soul Temple Records. So, you have a soundtrack to check out while reading the comic.

Overall, this is an entertaining example of

Story: Adrian Younge, Ce Garcia, Matthew Rosenberg, Patrick Kindlon Art: Breno Tamura, Gus Storms, Kyle Strahm, Joe Infurnari
Story: 8 Art: 8 Overall: 8 Recommendation: Buy

Black Mask Studios provided Graphic Policy with FREE copies for review

Films at SPX 2012 include Spotlight on Old Cartoonists and the Center for Cartoon Studies

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Small Press ExpoThe Small Press Expo (SPX), the preeminent showcase for the exhibition of independent comics, graphic novels, and alternative political cartoons, is pleased to offer a small film festival at this years show.

Mark Newgarden will show a series of shorts from the 1920’s to 1960’s about the old time comic strips and their cartoonist creators. You’ll be able to see rare film footage from Newgarden’s personal collection with Rube Goldberg, Otto Soglow, Al Capp and Fontaine Fox and others, as well as cartoons based on the comics strips Nancy, Krazy Kat and Popeye. This will be a once in a lifetime chance to see this series of extraordinary films that are not otherwise available, with half the shorts to be shown Saturday September 15, and the other half Sunday September 16.

Cartoon College is a documentary by Tara Wray and Josh Melrod about a dozen students working their way through the MFA program at the Center for Cartoon Studies, one of the top schools in the country focusing on creating comics and cartoons. Besides following the students through their academic paces, the film features cameos by such comic creator luminaries as Lynda Barry, Art Spiegelman, Chris Ware, Jules Feiffer and Charles Burns. The film will be shown once on Saturday, September 15.

For details about showtimes and additional information, go to the SPX 2012 Programming page at http://www.spxpo.com/programming.

SDCC 2012 – D+Q to Publish Spiegelman & Deforge

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Drawn & Quarterly has acquired North American and UK rights to CO-MIX: A Retrospective of Comics, Graphics, and Scraps, by legendary, Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Art Spiegelman. To be released in Spring 2013, this expanded English version of the Flammarion bilingual edition will feature full-page reproductions of Spiegelman’s artwork, comics, and preliminary sketches. Spiegelman has been a leader of, and an inspiration for, alternative comics artists throughout the past three decades, and in CO-MIX: A Retrospective of Comics, Graphics, and Scraps, readers will be able to trace the evolution of this multifaceted artist throughout his storied career.

CO-MIX began as a museum retrospective detailing Spiegelman’s lifelong involvement with comics. The exhibit was in conjunction with his Angouleme Presidency and later traveled to Centre Pompidou in Paris. In late September the show will open in the Ludwig museum in Cologne, Germany, and 2013 the show will go to the Vancouver Art Gallery and then travel to the Jewish Museum in New York City. CO-MIX will be distributed in the U.S. by Farrar, Straus & Giroux, in Canada by Raincoast Books, and in the UK by PGUK. Matthew Bloomgarden of the Wylie Agency represented Spiegelman in negotiations in coordination with Flammarion.

Born in Stockholm in 1948, Art Spiegelman was the first comics artist to win the Pulitzer Prize, which he received for his ground-breaking bestseller, Maus. He co-edited Raw and his comics have appeared in the New Yorker, New York Times, Playboy, and Harper’s. He has been named one of the 100 Most Influential People by Time Magazine, elected to the Art Director Club’s Hall of Fame, made a Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et Lettres in 2005 (promoted to Officier in 2012), and played himself on The Simpsons. In 2011, Spiegelman was elected President of the Angouleme International Comics Festival and awarded the Grand Prix of the Festival. He lives in New York City.

Drawn & Quarterly has also acquired world rights to Ant Colony by Doug Wright Award-winning cartoonist Michael DeForge. Ant Colony has been serialized biweekly since Fall 2011. With his brash, confident, undulating artwork, DeForge’s audacious entry into the North American independent comics scene is like no other cartoonist of his generation.

Ant Colony follows various members of an ant colony – a couple who are unexpectedly given custody of an orphaned baby red ant, a young ant who gains prophetic, apocalyptic visions after ingesting a mystical earthworm and a detective who becomes dissatisfied with his place in the colony. Various tragedies befall the group, including a series of murders, attacks from other insects, conflict with neighboring red ants, and the burning ray of a magnifying glass.

DeForge was born in 1987 and grew up in Ottawa, Ontario. After a few years of experimenting with short strips and zines, he created Lose #1, his first full-length comic, which won in the Best Emerging Talent category at the 2010 Doug Wright Awards. He has since published two more installments of Lose (all published by Koyama Press) and his comics have appeared in The Believer, Maissoneuve, Smoke Signal, Cold Heat and the Adventure Time comic book series. His website is http://kingtrash.com.

Pantheon at SDCC!

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Official Press Release

Pantheon Books will be at this year’s San Diego ComicCon (July 20-24), and we would love to see you there. We will be at Booth #1515.

We have two Pantheon authors joining us at ComicCon this year: Craig Thompson/HABIBI (onsale 9/20) and Chip Kidd/BAT MANGA!. Both will be appearing at our booth and on author panels, and I would love to set up interviews for you with them in advance of or during the event. Thompson is available for on-site interviewson Friday (7/22) and Saturday (7/23), and Kidd will be available for interviews throughout the convention. More information about the artists may be found below.

Also, just a note that this year marks the 25th anniversary of Art Spiegelman’s Pulitzer-Prize winning Maus, and in the fall Pantheon is publishing Spiegelman’s METAMAUS (onsale 10/4), a studied look at the genesis of Maus, accompanied by a DVD with never-before-seen panels, a home movie, and other objects relating to the original publication of Spiegelman’s groundbreaking original comic book. We will have METAMAUS buttons on hand for giveaway throughout the convention.

Finally, next spring, Pantheon’s sister imprint Schocken Books is publishing its first ever graphic novel: UNTERZAKHN (onsale 3/20/2012) by Leela Corman, a mesmerizing, heartbreaking story of immigrant life on New York’s Lower East Side at the turn of the 20th century. In anticipation of this exciting release, we will be giving away women’s panties at the Pantheon booth, since, as some of you may know, the word “unterzakhn” is Yiddish for “underthings.” How’s that for a buzz-worthy giveaway item?

Craig Thompson’s previous graphic novels include Blankets (for which he received three Harvey Awards for Best Artist, Best Graphic Album of Original Work, and Best Cartoonist; and two Eisner Awards for Best Graphic Album and Best Writer/Artist); Goodbye, Chunky Rice; and Carnet de Voyage. He lives in Portland, Oregon. Advance praise for HABIBI: “This is not just an epic that sprawls from desert to harem to modern urban waste…it’s a look at how the first and third worlds are divided, Islam and Christianity united, and humanity too separated from the natural world. Ambitious.” —Library Journal

Chip Kidd is a graphic designer and writer in New York City. His previous books about comics for Pantheon were Bat Manga!, Peanuts: The Art of Charles M. Schulz, and Mythology: The DC Comics Art of Alex Ross. Two won the Eisner Award and were national bestsellers. As an editor, Kidd has most recently overseen the publication of Alex Ross’s Rough Justice (3/30/2010). http://goodisdead.com/

Pantheon Books works with some of the most iconic and innovative graphic novelists on the scene. Charles Burns, Dan Clowes, David Mazzucchelli, Alex Ross, Marjane Satrapi, Art Spiegelman, and Chris Ware are just a few of the many talents we publish, and information about them will be on hand at our booth.

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