Comics readers will find several things to be thankful for this week, including the debut of the new Umbrella Academy miniseries, the end of the “R.I.P” storyline in Batman, and the long-awaited Body Bags one-shot.
(Yes, I know Thursday is Thanksgiving only in the United States, but you can still be thankful for something — like, say, the arrival of Mesmo Delivery in comics shops.)
If you’re looking for more books to keep you entertained between parade viewings, food courses and football games, Wednesday also sees an American Elf collection, another Captain America Premiere Hardcover, Scott Morse’s Tiger Tiger Tiger, and … Tijuana Bibles.
To see what other titles Chris Mautner and I think are worth mentioning, just keep reading. As always, let us know your choices in the comments below.
Chris’ pick of the week: Tezuka’s Black Jack, Vol. 2
Word on the street is that this series isn’t selling so well at the moment. Allow me to make the smallest effort in rectifying that by saying this is a fantastic series by one of the most important cartoonists in the world.
Not good enough? OK, how’s this: It’s about a renegade, scarred doctor, fond of wearing black capes, who just happens to be the finest surgeon ever. Thus, he frequently performs elaborate and impossible operations at hefty prices. At one point he even operates on himself while savage dingos surround him. Dingos! Oh, and did I mention his assistant is a young woman trapped in the prosthetic body of a five-year-old who constantly refers to herself as his wife? She has a cute lisp, too. Previews can be found here.
Kevin’s pick of the week: Mesmo Delivery, Vol. 1
Some outlets have had Rafael Grampá’s Mesmo Delivery for ages, but it finally — finally! — hits comics shops this week. You may be familiar with the work of the Brazilian cartoonist from his contribution to the Eisner Award-winning anthology 5, with Gabriel Bá, Becky Cloonan, Vasilis Lolos and Fábio Moon. If you’re not, you’re in for a treat. Grampá’s hyper-detailed, and occasionally almost grotesque, art is fluid and mesmerizing (he’s sometimes compared to Geof Darrow). And his sense of design is jaw-dropping. A treat, I tell you!
The 56-page Mesmo Delivery centers on a pair of truck drivers who must deliver their cargo without ever looking at what they’re hauling. As you might guess, things don’t go quite as planned. You can see a preview at the AdHouse Books website.
The Umbrella Academy: Apocalypse Suite Limited Edition Hardcover
The Umbrella Academy: Dallas #1 (of 6)
Kevin: I’ve written frequently here about my fondness for Gerard Way and Gabriel Ba’s offbeat superhero miniseries The Umbrella Academy: Apocalypse Suite — I like it so much I bought the individual issues and the trade paperback — so, there’s not much more left for me to say.
Still, I don’t know that I’m so married to it that I’d plunk down $75.95 for the limited-edition hardcover. Oh, it sounds lovely, with its slipcase, autographed tip-in sheet, sketches, character designs and the like. But I just can’t bring myself to part with the money right now. I wouldn’t object if it were to appear under the Christmas tree, though.
Luckily for me and my Scrooge-ish ways, this week also sees the debut of the next Umbrella Academy miniseries, Dallas, which features, among other things, JFK, a fire-breathing Lincoln Memorial, and an animated statue of John Wilkes Booth. You can see a little preview here.
Batman #681
Chris: The almighty conclusion to Grant Morrison’s big, inclusive Caped Crusader saga arrives, and I find myself overwhelmed with feelings of indifference. More than anything, this run proves to me that Morrison needs to be paired with the right artist to make the work sing, and Tony Daniel, I hate to say, just isn’t pulling his weight here. The result is a flabby, convoluted mess with spots of brilliance.
DMZ #36
Kevin: This wraps up the two-parter that reteams writer Brian Wood with Supermarket collaborator Kristian Donaldson. Plus, there’s another lovely cover by John Paul Leon.
Justice Society of America Kingdom Come Special: The Kingdom #1
Kevin: For those who revere Kingdom Come, and Geoff Johns-brand superheroes, here’s yet another one-shot spinning out of the latest Justice Society of America storylines. Is it kind of weird that DC is addressing questions, and tying up plot threads, from the “Thy Kingdom Come” and “One World, Under Gog” storylines in JSA in separate one-shots? I guess it’s a sure sign that something is an “event” when it spawns ancillary titles.
Body Bags (one-shot)
Kevin: Jason Pearson finally returns with the much-anticipated one-shot that I believe originally was set for release in 2006. It’s billed as “the most exciting Body Bags story ever,” so maybe it’ll be worth the wait.
Captain America: The Death of Captain America, Vol. 3 — The Man Who Bought America Premiere Hardcover
Kevin: Ed Brubaker and Steve Epting’s gripping superhero-espionage saga continues in this latest Premiere Hardcover, which collects Issues 37-42.
Thor: Man of War
Kevin: Matt Fraction and Patrick Zircher continue their series on Thor one-shots with this 48-page issue that pits the god of thunder against All-Father Odin.
American Elf, Vol. 3: The Collected Sketchbook Diaries of James Kochalka
Chris: Four panels doesn’t seem like enough space to relate the profundities of life, much less the banalities, but James Kochalka has been doing a good job at both for about 10 years now. This newest volume collects the years 2006-07.
Comics Are For Idiots! Blecky Yuckerella, Vol. 3
Chris: Just in case you were going through fart-joke withdrawal, Johnny Ryan’s here to fill your prescription. There are shit, piss and snot jokes, too.
Fight Or Run #1
Chris: Cartoonists such as James Kochalka and Bryan Lee O’Malley have incorporated various video-game idioms and icons into their comics, but none of them, to my way of thinking, has gone as far as Kevin Huizenga, who, in this $4 comic from Buenaventura Press, turns the average fighting game into some sort of epic abstract experiment. It’s a wondrous thing that ought to thrill formalists and classic Street Fighter fans alike.
Gankutsuou, Vol. 1
Chris: I’m not sure I really see the need for a sci-fi version of The Count of Monte Cristo set in outer space, but Mahiro Maeda obviously did, since he not only made an anime version of the tale but also wrote and drew this manga adaptation of the anime. Anyway, if you’re at all familiar with the original Dumas tale, then this is basically the same thing, only with spaceships and aliens. Jog has a good review/round-up of the manga’s backstory here.
Glamourpuss #4
Chris: The swimsuit issue! I wonder what delightful fashion-industry satire Dave Sim can work out of that topic? Something subtle and female-empowering, no doubt.
Harvey Pekar: Conversations
Chris: Blogger and comics scholar Michael Rhode compiled this impressive collection of interviews with the famed American Splendor author.
Rocky, Vol. 2: Strictly Business
Chris: I’ve been talking about this series a lot, but only because I really enjoyed the first volume and would like to see it do well enough for Fantagraphics to justify further volumes. It’s a anthropomorphic, slacker slice-of-life sitcom starring a surly but lovable nogoodnik and his circle of friends. It’s a terrific strip, as you can find out for yourself.
Tiger Tiger Tiger
Chris: Scott Morse looks at parenthood and responsibility from the perspective of a father tiger and his son. It’s probably a stand-in for Morse himself, though. From AdHouse.
Tijuana Bibles, Vol. 9
Chris: More continuing adventures of the Fuller Brush Man as he takes advantage of lonely women. Such a saucy lad he is! Plus, your favorite comic characters of 50 years ago, nekkid and having sex!
No previews. Go figure.
The Comics Journal #294
Chris: A big interview with Jason (The Last Musketeer, I Killed Adolph Hitler) is the draw for this issue, though there’s also an interview with comic strip artist Mark Tatulli (Lio) to sweeten the pot. Plus, R. Fiore reviews the Ten Cent Plague, a bit of which you can read here (the review that is, not the book).
The full list of titles shipping this week can be found here.
November 25th, 2008 at 5:00 pm
Chris… Chris… Chris…
OMG… Wonder Woman #26 (the kick off for Rise of the Olympians story-line) comes out this week and doesn’t even rank in your post…
November 25th, 2008 at 5:44 pm
The Gankutsuou anime was fantastic…worked unbelievably well. They make the space aspect work, it actually makes sense when you consider the time and place the story originally existed in, since “foreign lands” seemed much more alien, and much farther away from each other (back then); there was a sense of wonder inside that…this new setting helps recapture that feeling for a modern audience.
And yes, I thought it’d be dumb and all “kewl” as well.
I agree with you on Batman, it makes me bittersweet with each issue that Daniel “fails” to capture any nuance inside Grant’s script; the art is at least competent, and the story is still very good despite it. I think Grant’s words still stand strong.
Still, with each issue read, I know this will be a modern “John” classic that I’ll reread many times in the future, and each time still be upset that DC failed to get the proper artist for this story, that it fell short of its full potential…it’d be like reading Watchmen drawn by Sal Buscema. Solid work that doesn’t quite work.
November 25th, 2008 at 5:46 pm
I really doubt a big storyline in Gail Simone’s Wonder Woman comes close to reaching Chris’s radar.
November 25th, 2008 at 5:55 pm
Oh…and cannot wait to get my hands on Grandpa’s book!
November 25th, 2008 at 6:02 pm
Re:Thor: Man of War
Just loving Fraction’s take on Thor. It’s still a Thor we recognize, but beefed up with the gritty “oaths-n-blood” feel of stuff like Jackson’s Lord of the Rings movies and, of course, the original myths themselves. In fact, I’d be great if Fraction could replace the glacially-paced JMS on the regular Thor title.
November 25th, 2008 at 7:24 pm
Aaron and David — Ha! I actually like what little of Simone’s work I’ve read, but you’re right, I haven’t been following WW. It’s more due to a lack of funds than any disdain for the character though.
ejulp — The little bit of the anime I saw on YouTube did look intriguing. I’m not sure that sense of wonder you talk about carries over into the manga though. Honestly I didn’t care much for Maeda’s sketchy style, which seemed a bit too rough for my tastes. Perhaps I should reread it though.
November 25th, 2008 at 7:35 pm
I never even knew the manga existed before reading this article, maybe I’ll give it a look…the anime itself does a neat little trick with the art, where they sample “real” patterns and run the outlines (as well as solids) of the character cels across them to convey motion, etc.
I’m telling ya, check out an episode, the story begins in the later half of the book, so some of the initial explanation is left to mystery, focusing on the children, and remains relatively faithful to the book. The show is a great fusion of the best of modern Japanese story telling coupled with the best of classic European narrative, really fun experiment.
Sorry to gush, but it left a lasting impression on me (and by that point of watching it, I was already a jaded anime fan).
November 26th, 2008 at 4:28 pm
I pretty much concur with Mark Engblom above, Fraction always knocks Thor out of the park whenever he writes the character. These one-shots have been absolutely terrific.
November 27th, 2008 at 11:18 am
Chris, thanks for the Pekar book mention - I don’t expect to ever make any money on the thing (that’s academic publishing), so hopefully Newsarama readers will take me at my word when I say that if you have an interest in Pekar, you’ll probably enjoy this book. The University Press of Mississippi keeps these reasonably priced too, so you can get it for under $20 on Amazon, iirc. There’s a bunch of other books in the series - Spiegelman and Stan Lee came out last year and both were good.