In those halcyon days of the early ’90s, in Brooklyn’s hipsterdom of Williamsburg, amid the Doctor Seuss hats and pierced nipples, there once stood a towering figure of a man ever ready for a stiff drink and a chance to see his art take yet undreamt of form. In that era, Millionaire came across as one of those guys with a streak of mad genius who could draw you anything for a little beer money. I knew a guy like that. You did too. But these guys never saw their ships come in. Millionaire did. And, no, he wasn’t just a lucky bastard. He made his ship come in by creating it himself, drawing every intricate detail of that vessel from stem to stern. And it would be populated by the most glorious creatures: Uncle Gabby, a deranged ape patterned after a dear alcoholic genius; the navy of alligators, suggested by a violent friend in New Orleans; and Drinky Crow, standing in for all of humanity, drunkard or otherwise.

“The Art of Tony Millionaire,” published by Dark Horse, is a serious, yet irreverent, mid-career retrospective of one of the best known and beloved cartoonists around. Read his comic strip, “Maakies,” in your local alt weekly and feel the rush of anarchy take hold. Read this book, full of honest recollections from the artist, and feel like you know the man. “Maakies,” by the way, goes back to when Millionaire drew a comic strip called, “Batty,” for a sports zine. The guy who put it together, Spike Vrusho, loved to yell out, “Maakies!” whenever he caught sight of the tugboats with the big M’s on their stacks coming into New York harbor.

Like any good coffee table book, along with a marvelous selection of comics and illustrations, this book is full of wonderful anecdotes you can enjoy flipping to in order or at random. There’s stories, for instance, about bumming around Europe as a young man. In Rome, he created one really good drawing of the Roman Forum, made a hundred prints, and proceeded to sell each of them to tourists who thought they’d just caught him as he was drawing the original. For good measure, full of youthful rage, he pissed in every famous Roman fountain he could find. With security tight for the two Vatican fountains, he had to piss in a cup and discretely pour it in during the day. Then there’s Berlin, where he may have stirred an international incident.

Before any of this, there was Gloucester, Massachusetts. Unsuited for college, and even less for a job as a dishwasher, young Tony hit upon selling drawings of his rich neighbor’s houses. “I always knew it was my bread and butter,” he writes. We can imagine him reassuring himself of this with each sale. “I always knew it was my bread and butter.” He also had his family for moral support. His father was an illustrator and his mother and grandparents were painters. When you learn that, to round out his income, he would go down to the wharves to draw schooners just as beautiful as the ones his grandfather drew, it might bring a tear to your eye.

It is the curse and blessing of the young turk to push and pull against society and hope to live to see another day. That was the Millionaire way of life. By the time he was forty, he decided it was time to cut back a bit on the rage. A bunch of his friends had hailed a cab. There were five of them and the driver would only take four. Tony crawled on the top of the cab, screaming through the windshield. The cab took off with him on top and he was forced to jump. Luckily, there were no broken bones. He could afford to bring things down a notch. He was now a featured artist in the “New York Press” and his life as an artist was tangible. He could probably sense the upswing in his life. “I always knew it was my bread and butter.”

The success that followed would flow from “Maakies” and evolve to full length works of exquisite complexity like “Sock Monkey” and “Billy Hazelnuts.” Like Crumb, he followed his own muse from a bygone era and imbued his art with a timeless grace.

You can’t rush anything worthwhile. That certainly holds true for comics. You can’t rush creating anything of lasting value and you can’t rush reading it either. That’s the tradition comics come from. It is what makes “Maakies” so darn good. The eye is teased to linger on some nautical detail or some arcane turn of phrase or some unusual use of body parts. It is a modern day miracle of comics is what it is.

“The Art Of Tony Millionaire,” 200 pages, hardcover, 9″x12″, $39.95, published by Dark Horse Comics

Since 1997, Lark Pien has built up a reputation within the small press comics community and has now made the jump to her first children’s book based on her most popular character, Long Tail Kitty. Having studied architecture and pursued work in the architectural industry, Pien gradually made the transition over to comics and becoming a full-time artist. With a number of projects in the works, this is a good time to check in on her.

Blog@Newsarama: Tell us about Long Tail Kitty, the character. How far back does it go and is it a guiding force in your comics?

Lark Pien: Long Tail Kitty - Heaven was a story for my rabbit who died while i was traveling abroad in 1999-2000. LTK was almost a side character but he was well-received, and I met many people in comics after this story.

I don’t think Long Tail Kitty is a guiding force, but he’s been fun to draw, and his easy way helps me not to be so serious all the time.

Blog@: You loved comics as a kid, you became an architectural designer and then you returned to comics. What was it like starting out in comics?

LP: It was very humble and private, but I met many cartoonists early on. They were supportive and gave advice freely. Sometimes I would get a postcard in the mail from a cartoonist. My little world became a little bit bigger that way.

There weren’t many girl cartoonists. I remember meeting Andrice Arp at an Alternative Press Expo. I bought her comic and she gave me a sticker of a giant angry duck and I got it in my head that I wanted us to be friends. This wasn’t grade school but it might as well have been! Somehow it happened, we became good friends.

Blog@: Please describe for us your working methods. How do you develop your work?

LP: I write and draw in my sketchbook. I’ll draw even when I don’t have ideas. Most times I know the beginning and the end of a story, but not the middle.

I have to really work to make the beginning and the ending meet. It’s good if i can build a structure to support my story, then let it take the shape that it wants to be.

A lot of people ask about creating characters, how I come up with them. Usually I’m thinking about what the character is doing or where it is in the world, and the story comes from that. The personality and how the character looks develops along the way, and usually reveals itself later on in the process for me.

Blog@: Can you share with us how you’ve managed to turn your comics and art into a career?

LP: This is a very hard question! I’m not sure i can answer it correctly. Do we talk about money? My view on money is general rather than specific. I tend to overlook trend type offers due to a muted interest in the short term.  I group projects by seasons (commissions for example, are winter/spring; conventions are summer/fall). I like to think ahead, but not plan a whole lot.

I think about political/cultural landscapes changing - and what will i be like when i’m seventy, ninety? Also there are all sorts of inventions I hope to see before I die. This is unprofessional to say, but I think my career is a semblance of self-certitude and the possibilities in the world surrounding.

Blog@: What would you like to tell us about your new children’s book, Long Tail Kitty?

LP: My publisher, Blue Apple Books, has been very generous! BAB has given me a lot of freedom in writing the stories I wanted to tell and drawing the art the way I wanted to do it. They made the book design very special (embossed die-cut cover, cloth binding, an activities foldout page, and a draw LTK bonus section!), and to see the artwork in full-color is a treat (my minis are usually in b/w). though catagorized for younger audiences the new stories in this book retain the qualities that are in my mini comics, so i hope older readers give it a chance too!

Blog@: Can you tell us something about your role as a colorist for Gene Yang’s American Born Chinese?

LP: Chinkee was a challenge to color - he was in a different style (more cartoony) than the rest of the characters, but still placed in a real setting. How yellow is too yellow? He’s supposed to be too yellow. It was hard to make those kinds of decisions. Sometimes I wanted Gene to say “Whoa! Change that color!” but he was very easy-going.

Blog@: Are there any comics that you follow? Or can you tell us about some of your favorite comics?

LP: I like Hicksville (Dylan Horrocks), Black and White (Matsumoto Taiyo) and Notes For A War Story (Gipi). They are my favorites.

Black and White I first read in the 90’s, when VIZ was in SoMA. I was given an oversized  two-volume set - which I foolishly lent out and never got back (see these glittering tears? Falling like rain.) It’s out of print now, that edition, but I’ve another reading set which I don’t mind lending out still.

I just read a ton of Vagabond (Takehiko Inoue) and cartoonists who I’ve recently stalked online are Lille Carré, Eleanor Davis, Laura Park and Anke Feuchtenberger. Girls win this round!

Blog@:  Any upcoming projects that you’d like to tell us about or any thoughts on what lies ahead for you?

LP: I just finished the artwork for Mr. Elephanter - a children’s book with Candlewick Press, based on my mini-comic, Brave Mr. Elephanter (2007). The graphic novel project, Stories from the Ward, is with First Second, but completion won’t be for a little while yet. FS has been very patient and supportive. There are two other comic projects with publishers, but we haven’t set a release date yet. Artwise, I’ve been developing a new series of abstracts. I’d like to squeeze in a collaborative project and/or installation project sometime this year. That’d be fun.

Keep up with Lark Pien at her blog and check out more of her work here. Long Tail Kitty is published by Blue Apple Books.

When a knock down fight between Wonder Woman and Giganta suddenly shifts into a pair of women engaged in girl talk about dating and having brunch, that tends to put a smile on your face and makes you want to read more. That’s what Gail Simone’s writing will do to you. She is one of those special writers, like Grant Morrison, who, at their best, take super-heroes as the jumping off point for something unexpected and fun. If only Megan Fox were to read what’s going on with Wonder Woman lately, she might not think she’s so lame.

Let’s take a look at a true flash point in comics: Gail Simone taking over the writing helm of Wonder Woman. It has been and remains an excellent run. This is a particularly good time to start reading Wonder Woman during Simone’s historic take on the mighty Amazon. I jumped into the last story arc, “The War Killers,” and it took a little adjusting to all the Greek mythos but thanks to Simone’s pacing and the eye-popping art of Aaron Lopresti and Matt Ryan, I got hooked. Given that Simone has been writing this title since 2007, I was impressed with how the story still feels fresh. And then to go back and read the opening arc, “The Circle,” I was pleased to find the starting points of an epic saga.

I think that’s the best way to put it: a sweeping epic saga. When Simone took over as writer at Issue Fourteen, people took notice, including The New York Times. The hook may have been that we were finally getting an ongoing woman writer for Wonder Woman but it was also simply the fact that is was Gail Simone. Like, say, Joss Whedon, fans could rely on Simone for distinctive character-driven stories. It’s interesting to note the struggle that Whedon had in attempting to script a viable Wonder Woman movie. It seemed to him that there simply wasn’t much there to work with. Apparently, Simone found what worked but then went about forging new ground.

Simone was willing to get her hands dirty and till the very soil of Diana’s origins which had been left undeveloped. Since all the Amazon women on Paradise Island have foresaken men, they have also foresaken ever experiencing the birth of new Amazons from within their own ranks. They all feel a maternal instinct but resist it. Until, one day, the queen, Hippolyta, creates a child, Diana, from clay and magic. Allowing this “dragon” to trespass this Garden of Eden, sets off a fanatical backlash putting the lives of Hippolyta and Diana in danger. But, most importantly, for the long term, it anchors Diana’s indentity and gives readers and future writers more to work with.

Wonder Woman is a woman to be reckoned with. Mercedes Lackey expresses that eloquently in her introduction to Wonder Woman: The Circle. She points out that, since the Greeks, there’s always been a fascination and fear of the Powerful Woman. That goes a long way in explaining why writers have steadily marginalized Wonder Woman over the last sixty years. I think it’s safe to say that Wonder Woman, as powerful and iconic a figure as Batman and Superman, had not been working up to her potential. Much like Spider-Man, even more so, Wonder Woman was in bad need of a relaunch. That effort was underway starting with the question, “Who is Wonder Woman?” and ended with a botched attempt to answer it. And along came Gail Simone and she has been making things so much better, probably paving the way for an awesome Wonder Woman movie someday.

Wonder Woman is a case of Simone pumping fresh blood into characters and stories just like she’s done with Birds of Prey and Secret Six. If Wonder Woman is capable of taking down whole armies, then Simone figures she can handle the complexities of a sexual relationship. Wonder Woman can also reason as well as she can fight and turn a whole pack of raging gorillas into her own personal entourage. And, with the lasso of truth, she can turn the most evil Nazi into a crying child.

When the time comes, if the rumors of his taking over are true, Grant Morrison will be inheriting a revitalized and relevant Wonder Woman. It looks like that will be happening once Wonder Woman gets renumbered to #600 and a new kick off is set in motion. For now, enjoy what remains of Simone’s run. Wonder Woman #40 starts a new arc, “The Crows,” and comes out January 27. And if you need a pitch for Wonder Woman, then these now famous lines by Gail Simone will serve that purpose: “When you need to stop an asteroid, you get Superman. When you need to solve a mystery, you call Batman. But when you need to end a war, you get Wonder Woman.”

It’s a common enough story: Company A makes the best darn little widgets and builds up a reputation. Along comes Company B who buys out Company A and sucks the soul out of what it bought. That is a fate that Top Shelf Productions, a leading publisher of indepenent graphic novels and comics, has avoided. So, it’s wonderful news from Top Shelf that they have entered into a deal with genuine kindred spirits that they’re excited about that should actually enhance the company. The deal is with new media entrepreneur John S. Johnson and independent film producer Anthony Bregman’s company, Likely Story. They have bought a 33 % interest in Top Shelf Productions.

The deal seems as fair as one could hope for. Co-founders Chris Staros and Brett Warnock  get to keep a controlling interest and Johnson and Bergman provide their substantial resources to take things to the next level. What makes things appear promising is the impressive line up of movies that Bergman has produced over his career which include Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Lovely & Amazing and Sense & Sensibility. Currently, his production company, Likely Story, have two films premiering at Sundance: Please Give, starring Catherine Keener and The Extra Man, starring Kevin Kline.

Johnson and Bergman will have a first-look option on all new Top Shelf publications for possible film and TV development. Could this inhibit seeking out more experimental comics that may not transfer all that well to other media? And what are the particulars of the first-look option?

The first Top Shelf book to benefit from this new arrangement is Too Cool To Be Forgotten by Alex Robinson which is considered to be his best work yet. About a dad who must come to terms with his bad habits, namely smoking, the story transports him back in time as a teenager with a unique chance to get things right. As for Top Shelf, it looks like they have the most unique chance of all to continue to get things right.

You can read the full press release over at the Top Shelf Productions Web site.

Rotten #6

Created by Mark Rahner

Written by Mark Rahner & Robert Horton

Art by Dan Dougherty

Lettering by Sean Konot

Published by Moonstone Books

In Stores: January 6

Welcome to another installment of agent William Wade and J.J. Flynn, zombie hunters under secret orders from Pres. Rutherford B. Hayes. Wade and Flynn have taken command of a fort and are just a step ahead of their men in attempting to control the latest infestation of the undead. A sudden break in the desperate surroundings at the fort, in the last issue, came about by an unexpected visit by an industrialist and his wife.

This latest issue concludes the story, “Frostbite,” which centers the action at Fort Valhalla, an all but forgotten army outpost. It is 1877 in the Wild West, and folks tend to make up their own rules. A bunch of thugs among the enlisted men have ganged up on Emma Benge, the attractive young wife of Herbert J. Benge, of Hep Industries, a Halliburton-like war profiteer. Just as the men close in on Emma, Wade emerges to restore order. The men are sequestered and we move on to the next scene.

In the last issue, Flynn had decided to investigate a nearby cave and Benge invited himself along. There, they found a ghastly pile of corpses. In this issue, thanks to Benge’s meddling that leads to heating up the cave, those corpses come to life! This issue deals with the bloody consequences as this latest batch of zombies make their way back to the fort and it’s up to Wade and Flynn to engage in their fiercest battle yet with the ghouls.

It seems to me that we coast down to a fairly satisfying conclusion to this story arc. Maybe things are beginning to lose just a little bit of steam. I sense that things got rushed and it led to a few static moments. Other than that, I can’t find too much fault. This is a unique concept that I remain curious about. I can’t say that I ever got totally caught up in the zombie soap opera that is The Walking Dead. A comic that, for me, is mostly about setting up as realistic a zombie story as possible is not enough. I don’t get that from Rotten. A get a bit of a steampunk kick from it. I also appreciate the subtext of political and social commentary. And I feel that the chemistry between the two agents, Wade and Flynn, is strong.

Where Rotten goes after this issue looks interesting. After a zombie massacre, we are down to a small core group: the Benges, Wade and Flynn, and two trusty soldiers. They are all walking into the sunset and it’s anybody’s guess as to what happens next. It might be great to see everything converge on a resolution sooner than later. Or, depending on the strength of the characters and the story, to settle into something episodic and compelling like Jonah Hex. I have no idea where all this is leading but, like I say, I remain curious.

I thought I’d share with you some of my thoughts on comics that intrigued me in 2009. I tip my hat to my colleagues, Caleb and Mike, who have compiled similar thoughts. Comics entertain, fascinate and inform us. So, here’s to all our friends who share a love for this unique medium. Please read on:

Mysterius the Unfathomable (WildStorm): This title appeals to me the most for 2009. And, believe me, I go through a lot of comics. You really should find this limited series to be all-around good fun. The story of a bumbling, yet dapper, magician/detective and his trusty assistant set the gold standard with the awesome talent of Jeff Parker and Tom Fowler. The trade comes out March 17! (Read my reviews here and here).

Red Herring (WildStorm): Another winner much in the same vein as Mysterius: the energy and tension generated between a man and a woman, in over their heads, having to depend on each other to survive. Wry humor, plot twists, colorful characters, it’s all here. This limited run by David Tishman, Phillip Bond and David Hahn, is winding up January 13 and the trade will be available before you known it. (review).

The Squirrel Machine (Fantagraphics): Yeah, baby, this is what I debuted with for my Comics Grinder column and for good reason. If you want to know what appeals to me, this is as good as it gets. Aside from the most celebrated titles, it is books like this that truly bring home the level to which the comics medium can take, especially on a regular basis by its creator. Hans Rickheit has been producing work like this for years and he has perfected a certain haunted and exquisite comics style. Take it from me, this story of two very strange brothers is the real deal. (review).

Swallow Me Whole (Top Shelf Productions): What a banner year for Top Shelf with the likes of Far Arden and Essex County. Well, for me, the one that won my heart is Swallow Me Whole. Nate Powell’s  art and story about two kids who keep floating in and out of reality will have you hooked. Something like this could be taken for granted but, trust me, it’s hard work. To reach the level of skill of Craig Thompson and also retain your own distinct style and voice is remarkable. (review).

The Winter Men (WildStorm): Comics is a serious business and, while everyone is welcome to try to create something, only a few works stick around. This is one of the most offbeat works you’re likely to encounter but because Brett Lewis and John Paul Leon are serious players, you get one of the most memorable comics: a multi-layered crime/anti-superhero tale that is breathetaking. (review).

Rotten (Moonstone Books): You won’t know until you try but Rotten is the comic that does the zombie genre right in more ways than one. Given that a really good zombie story is in some way commenting on our own society, Rotten does this in a variety of interesting ways. Packed with political, pop culture and movie references, and set in the Wild West, it’s definitely something different. By Mark Rahner, Robert Horton and Dan Dougherty. (review).

Spider-Man: The Short Halloween (Marvel Comics): Don’t you love the unexpected one-shot? I want it known that I really appreciate this sort of thing and this one is probably the best of its kind for 2009. Not only is it a welcome concept but it works. Bringing on board the SNL writing talents of Seth Myers and Bill Hader, along with art by Kevin Maguire, we get a wild romp involving mistaken identity and a healthy dose of solid comics references. It’s very good to mix things up like this and I look forward to seeing more of it. (review).

Pope Hats (Ethan Rilly): Coming from the small press as I do, I totally love to see exceptional work that is self-published. From my review: “Who is Frances Scarland? We know she’s what keeps Vickie together. We know she’s loyal to her job, she’s pretty mild-mannered, and she talks to a ghost. Maybe that’s more than enough for a girl of 23 or so. Maybe it’s a perfect picture of someone young who is trying to cope with an uncertain future, just a few steps away from the nearest Zoloft.” (full review).

Nine Gallons (Susie Cagle): Speaking of indie comics, it doesn’t get much more underground than this brilliant comic. From my review: “We roll into the holiday season and more thought is given to those among us who are in need. Whether or not it’s the holidays or The Great Recession, there will always be those of us less fortunate. Susie Cagle’s mini-comic, Nine Gallons, invites those of us more fortunate to take a step into the world of the homeless and consider helping out.” (full review).

The Deformitory (Sophia Wiedeman): And one more small press wonder to consider: a very unusual little fairy tale. From my review: “The book revolves around Delores, a Kafka-like city dweller stuck in the rut of working in an office. Instead of turning into a cockroach, her hands, overworked from typing, turn into claws, each literally with a mind of its own. These claws have faces and they can talk. With cute little eyes, they could pass for muppets.” (full review).

What else would I add to this list? Well, no doubt, there’s plenty more. We here at Newsarama often need to pick up the pace as we bring you reviews as soon as titles are available. And, at other times, we can reflect back on titles and provide even more insight. I plan to come back to titles, keep tracking the latest stuff and provide whatever extra features I can for you. In general, I will follow my heart and do my best to share more thoughts with you in 2010.

Sherlock Holmes continues to do extremely well and deservedly so. I was pleased with the movie. I even got over my annoyance at the very long line I had to wait in. And the lines, they just keep forming. It’s good, even inspiring, to see how people are attracted to this latest incarnation of the famously neurotic detective. Any doubt over the quality of the movie just evaporated for me and there are a number of reasons for this.

A good performance, even a great performance, can be overlooked or taken for granted. That has happened to Robert Downey Jr. over his career but certainly not since Iron Man. People love the guy. He has the star power to carry Sherlock Holmes and he does it with the grace of a great actor. No one has ever gone to see a James Bond movie just for the plot. People want a thrill ride from this kind of movie and that’s what they get with Downey Jr. And, as much as this movie is full of action, it is nice to see that Downey Jr. commands the screen with a number of quiet and quirky moments. He inhabits Holmes completely in much the same manner as he did with Charlie Chaplin.

Since, at its core, a movie like Sherlock Holmes is aiming to be a crowd pleaser, I think it’s more than okay not to hold the story to too high a standard. As far as action flicks go, this story works. Even as a mystery, it’s fine. For my taste, however, mysteries tend to be tedious in general. I am not against a really good one but I’m not terribly disappointed if it turns out the most interestng things lie somewhere beyond solving a riddle as in the characters themselves. I came to see a buddy picture and that’s mostly what I get from this movie.

There’s a funny scene where Jude Law’s Dr. Watson foils the latest Holmes experiment. Exasperated with Holmes as he’s attempting to hypnotize flies while playing the violin, Watson simply raises the glass covering the flies and then asks Holmes if it isn’t possible that the glass cover had anything to do with controlling the flies. This is a hilarious send-up to The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes with Basil Rathbone as Holmes and Nigel Bruce as Dr. Watson. In that creaky 1939 classic, Dr. Watson is a bumbling fool and Holmes is left to experiment with flies up to the very end of the movie. Those guys were not buddies, more like master and servant. In this latest Holmes, you have two equals and so you get something more like the chemistry between Paul Newman and Robert Redford in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.

Even more on the same vibe with Sherlock Holmes is The Front Page about two newspapermen in the 1920s who have worked together longer than they’ve done anything else. Of the film adaptations of the stage play, my favorite is the 1974 remake, directed by Billy Wilder. In that movie, Jack Lemmon is a lifelong reporter on his last story before moving away with his fiancée. Walter Matthau is his lifelong editor who is none too pleased to have his pal leave and is more than willing to sabotage his friend’s departure with the woman he loves. We see Holmes do his best to undermine the credibility of Watson’s fiancée early on in the movie which ignites the real tension behind the movie.

As it is, the story in Sherlock Holmes gets pretty close to The Front Page without losing its way. If the writers were solely interested in making an artful film, they certainly could have concentrated even more on the dynamics of Holmes and Watson splitting up. Perhaps the most artful film version of Holmes is Billy Wilder’s The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes from 1970. In that film, we get to dig deep into the characters, get a curiously satisfying mystery and even get Christopher Lee as Sherlock’s wiser and older brother, Mycroft. We see Holmes struggle with his cocaine addiction. And we get to explore his sexuality which remains ambiguous up to the very end of the movie. Watson is somewhat his equal but they’re just too different to be real pals. There’s a very moving scene where Watson finally asks Holmes if he’s ever been with a woman to which he gets the most vague reply. This latest Holmes is not so daring in that regard but it leans towards being a quality film. It certainly shares the lush look of Wilder’s film which he acheived without any CGI wizardry.

Sherlock Holmes also achieves its best moments without any special effects. If the plot to this movie ever gets heavy for you, all you need to do is wait for any number of funny and captivating moments between Holmes and Watson. Everyone provides a fine performance in this movie but, without that chemistry between Downey Jr. and Law, of course, there is no picture. Sherlock Holmes, at its core, is a great buddy picture. If the stories should improve on this budding franchise, so much the better. Whatever evolution it should take, that buddy dynamic is the engine that will keep Sherlock Holmes full steam ahead.

In the spirit of Newsarama’s own Readers’ Favorites of 2009 Tourney, I thought I’d get a view from my local comics shop and see what my friend in comics, Chris Ureta Casos, the long-time buyer for Comics Dungeon, here in Seattle, had to say about comics in 2009 and much more.

Blog@Newsarama: Chris, with Newsarama’s Readers’ Favorites of 2009 Tourney in mind, tell us your thoughts on what tops your lists of favorites in comics this year.

Chris Ureta Casos: I have a lot of trouble really picking out top favorites for any categories, simply because different creators and titles appeal to me at different times and for numerous reasons. If I had pick on the spot though, my breakdowns would be:

Ongoing Titles: The Boys, the Green Lantern titles

Mini-series: Beasts of Burden, Atomic Robo

Writers: Geoff Johns, Garth Ennis, Peter Tomasi, Gail SImone really shines for her work on Secret Six And Wonder Woman

Artists: Marcos Martin, Darwyn Cooke, Patrick Gleason, Amanda Conner

Covers: Pretty much all the covers Marcos Martin has been cranking out this year. The Cooke covers (regular & variant) for Jonah Hex #50 really stood out for me this month as well.

And just as a general thing I’ve been loving all the great work being put into reprints from Fantagraphics, IDW, and a few others. The newly colored Prince Valiant book was a thing of beauty, as well as the Complete Rocketeer that just came out this month.

Blog@: Moving right along, tell us any thoughts that come to mind regarding trends you’ve observed in 2009.

Chris: Well, the “event” trend along with the nostalgia crawl have been fairly strong for the year. Some events fell on there faces while others actually spiked sales very well and generated a lot of new interest. Then it felt like since we managed to work our way through the bulk of the 80’s nostalgia we for some reason had to immerse ourselves with the ’90’s again which is honestly more than a little bit painful.

Of the more positive trends I would have to go back to the healthy amount of reprinting we’ve seen. Marvel’s finally released the soft cover version of the Marvel Masterworks, which are great if not a few years too late. DC’s Kirby Omnibus collections as well as the Showcase editions and other special hard covers have been fantastic. Then you have Fantagraphics offering such things as Blazing Combat and the Strange Suspense to name a few. Top that off with Dark Horse and IDW really coming up to bat and putting out some impressive collections and it’s just been a dream year for nicely packaged reprint material.

There were plenty of trends I wish we could have avoided. The price bumps, the over saturation of variant covers, and the odd marketing and packaging choices we’ve been seeing from the larger publishers. As a whole, I would think the worse trend is the widening of the gap of communication between consumers, retailers, distributors, and publishers.

Blog@: What can you tell us about your favorite comics from this last decade?

Chris: This is where I really just freeze up because there are just too many things to go on about. I think one of the greatest new titles we’ve seen from the past decade was Atomic Robo, not only for just the actual content (which is amazing) for the actual work ethic of the creators. Joss Whedon’s work on X-Men and his launch of Buffy Season 8 were great in and of themselves but when you factor in the amount of new readership and interest they brought in then you can’t ignore their value.

Geoff Johns has helped to not only resurrect interest in Green Lantern but to push the entire mythology of the creator into being one of the most successful, easily accessible, and expansive properties in the industry.

Pretty much everything Dark Horse has been doing over the past few years has been making me happy, from their production values to their overall content, and they always strike me as one of the if not the most solid publishers.

I don’t think I’ve read a Garth Ennis story I’ve never liked. So, from him launching Battlefields, to returning to Hitman for a few issues, to pinpointing exactly what a Punisher story should be, and to launching The Boys I’ve been a pretty happy camper.

There’s the obvious stuff like All Star Superman, Wednesday Comics, and Scott Pilgrim, which all deserve plenty of praise and attention.

Gail Simone emerging as one of the best writers in mainstream comics has been pleasant to watch. I’m disappointed she doesn’t seem to be doing too strongly on the Newsarama polls.

I was actually one of the minority it seems that really enjoyed Final Crisis and Batman RIP, but hell I thought they were just a lot of fun as experiments.

I feel like I’m neglecting a ton of things….

Blog@: What would you like to share with us about an all-time favorite comic?

Chris: There are two all time favorite books I think need mentioning. First is Mother, Come Home by Paul Hornschemeir. If you want an example of how much emotion can be put into a comic with a very minimal yet expressive style then you need to check this out. This is the only comic I’ve ever written a letter to when it was being published as single issues, and I was incredibly grateful for the reply I got back from the creator. It’s an incredibly sad story, so if you’re a fan of Chris Ware or Craig Thompson you should love it.

The second is Blacksad by Juan Diaz Canales and Juanjo Guarndio. Pretty much every time I read I realize that this is pretty much the perfect example of the heights the medium can achieve in storytelling and that more people need to know this work so they can understand how high the bar has really been set. The good news is that Dark Horse will be releasing a new compete collection in 2010.

Blog@: How would you describe the experience of reading comics?

Chris: Reading comics for me can range from incredibly transcendent to horribly enraging. I was taught how to read with comics and fortunately (or unfortunately) they’ve stuck with me for the long run, so visual narratives have been engrained into me and I often can get a little too engrossed in what I’m reading.

Blog@: Any quick and easy comment for someone walking in and wanting to read something that will blow their mind?

Chris: I need to talk with the person first and see what type of taste they have. It’s not that easy for me to assume they will like what I think is cool. Considering how excited I get when Starro the Conqueror shows up or Atomic Robo beats up a giant mutant ant with a Buick I think it’s a safe bet not everyone likes the same thing. It’s a little bit more interesting to gauge what a person’s taste is and see if you can find just the right thing for them, which means actually taking the time to expose yourself to different material constantly.

Blog@: What do you see ahead in comics in the new year, or in the future in general?

Chris: This is a hard one, simply because the future of comics really depends on how the economy holds up and how the publishers react. If we continue to see the trend of prices rising and a harder push to online comics, then we may see some really negative and possibly cataclysmic changes to the industry. There are a few things that could really help such as dropping the cost of production and material, but the main concern is that it feels like consumers are being drained of their blood at times and we are in a recession. I have customers who would love to buy more comics, but they can’t even afford 5-10 comics a week.

I was talking with a customer not to long ago, and we were asking the same question about Hollywood and other mainstream outlets and what trends might pop up over the next year. We decided that unless the powers-that-be were complete idiots, they would realize the potential with the increasing amounts of female genre fans with the popularity of Twilight and Firefly. Comics saw substantial new interest from female fans when Buffy Season 8 came out, and there were so many great books coming out at the time to cross-sell such as Runaways, Fables, and Y The Last Man.

Beyond that, I’m personally hoping that the next trend will be a competition between publishers to see who can publish the best reprint material. We’ve already seen both IDW and Fantagraphics release Ditko books of fantastic quality. I see Marvel is finally reprinting the Geoff Johns Avengers run, which, seriously, what’s been the hold up with that? Ideally, DC will now reprint the entire Abnett/Lanning run of Legion as a rebuttal. There are tons and tons of books actually worth reprinting (and no, I’m not talking about the Spider-Clone Saga and X-Men 2099). Books like the Peyer/Morales Hourman, the Jurgens/Epting Aquaman, the Waid/Kubert Ka-Zar, the original Busiek/Bagley Thunderbolts, and much much more. But please please please don’t make them deluxe hard covers. Just make something reasonable so we can easily recommend them to people without forcing them to sell blood to afford them.

Be sure to check out the Comics Dungeon Web site and, for further thoughts from Chris Ureta Casos, read his reviews at the Trusty Henchmen Web site.

We have an appropriate comic to consider this holiday season, a story involving a toy maker. But this story is not as sweet as it may seem, as often is the case with the good stuff.

Fall Out Toy Works is an unusual comic. If you follow Comics Grinder, you know I’m a huge fan of Brett Lewis, the very talented writer of the cult classic, The Winter Men. Well, he’s shifted gears here from his gritty crime fiction but not completely. This time, instead of the Russian mob, you’ll find guys in suits beating up a little boy bear and a tiny bumble bee cell phone. And when a toy maker comes to defend them, one of the thugs looks up and says, “We’re lawyers from Los Angeles…We do whatever we want!” Very strange but very cool.

The story is not only inspired by Fall Out Boy but the band’s front man, Pete Wentz, is credited among the creators. He seems to share some of Gerard Way’s vision for The Umbrella Academy. And that works well with the stylish artwork to this comic that also fits in with the ethereal quality of Phongram, anime and manga. There’s also a tip of the hat to Joss Whedon’s Dollhouse and Barbucci & Canepa’s Sky Doll. Lots brewing here for this comic but done with its own distinct flavor.

As you can see from the above samples, artist Sami Basri has a remarkable feel for characters. He loves them as much as Brett Lewis and together they hook the reader into something special. The story itself, involving a toy maker and his creation may not be exactly new, but the way it’s handled here is unique with one hook after another connecting the reader. One scene, for instance, does well in laying out the premise. The Toy Maker is speaking with a cyborg geisha and he’s discussing the notion of fabricating emotions. He wonders if it can really be done and concludes it will be difficult. She says, no, it will be painful.

In these last two issues, we’ve seen the Toy Maker become consumed by the process of manufacturing love, as it were, the perfect mate for a strange and powerful man who leaves very little reason, if any, to be trusted. Bit by bit, Tiffany is created. The Toy Maker even calls in his childhood mentor, the Rabbi, to help him. And it is the Rabbi who supplies the missing piece to the puzzle, a perfect heart-shaped blue diamond. It is only through this diamond that all the emotional information can be properly stored and used. The diamond must be blue, of course, since it’s boron gas that’s needed for conductivity. And so on. In the meantime, Tiffany has come into her own and has snuck out to explore life after dark. She goes to a club. A man asks her to dance. She says she’s not ready. By the end of this second issue, the Baron arrives to snatch up Tiffany along with the blueprints to make more ideal women. She was supposed to be one of a kind and the blueprints were supposed to stay with the Toy Maker. The  Baron had promised! The Toy Maker is enraged.

What is cool about The Umbrella Academy is that, despite all the naysayers who said Gerard Way had no business in comics, it comes across as being something with its own reason to be. Same with Fall Out Toy Works. The comic has a similar love for speaking poetically about love and existence. The name of the band may be attached directly to this comic but the ideas are expressed with care and subtlety. The Fall Out Boy song, “Tiffany Blews,” is echoed in the comic but only in the most indirect way. Whatever the creative process was behind its conception, the end result is that Fall Out Toy Works has taken on a life of its own.

Visit Image Comics, the awesome publisher of Fall Out Toy Works and then go see the official Fall Out Toy Works Web site and always check in with the Comics Grinder Web site just to see what’s up. Here is wishing all of you a peaceful, productive and purposeful new year.

In America, now suffering for its excess with the Great Recession, you never know who might look down upon you if you don’t own a house, or a car, or the latest gadget. Western society tends to have a problem with identity and status and capitalism and commercialism are always there to provide a quick fix. Maybe these times are converting more people to cherish a more simple life and appreciate what they already have. That back-to-basics lifestyle is what is at the core of what is one of the most significant do-it-yourself enterprises out there, a self-published zine called, “King-Cat Comics & Stories” by John Porcellino who has grown into a significant artist in his own right.

The current issue of “King-Cat Comics & Stories” marks the 20th anniversary of the little zine that has influenced a generation in comics and much more. John Porcellino’s last visit with Newsarama was a few months ago. With the current leg of his book tour completed, here’s a chance to catch up a bit more with the man called the heart and soul of the small press. Here is further insight into his latest collected work, “Map of My Heart” and “Thoreau at Walden.”

Blog@Newsarama: “Map of My Heart” covers six years, 1996 thru 2002, in your life and “King-Cat.” At the start of this period, you were just beginning to study Zen Buddhism. How would you describe that journey and how it has influenced your comics?

John Porcellino: I always say that when I first discovered Zen, it was like finding an old pair of shoes in your closet, that you’d forgotten you had.  You put them on and they’re worn-in and comfortable.

Zen practice is the practice of everyday life, so eventually it connects to all aspects of your life.  In that way, for me, it connected to comics.  Comics became part of my practice.

In a way, meditation probably helped me to slow down a bit and have the patience to really look into small moments, which was something I was always interested in doing with my comics.

Blog@: You make such wonderful observations about nature. And, often, it’s about little creatures that must coexist with us humans and our suburban sprawl. You find the poetry in that. Tell us more about this.

JP: In one of his writings, Thoreau talked about appreciating more the natural environment in which humans have made an impact.  I feel the same way.  Pure wilderness is amazing, but I was always more attracted to the pastoral, where the fingerprint of human activity is on the land, but it’s not obtrusive, it’s a part of the environment.  So I’ve been interested in the way Nature adapts to humans and vice versa.

I think it’s beautiful, and inspiring, that humans are so self-centered, stomping around blindly on the planet, yet Nature rolls on all around us.

Blog@: I love all your top forty lists. Among movies, I see that the Marx Brothers are all-time favorites. Those guys loved to perform and loved people. What do you think of Charlie Chaplin? I think he shares a quality you have of wanting to give back.

JP: I’ve only seen two Chaplin films, “The Gold Rush”– while in high school, and “Modern Times,” last week…  so I don’t feel knowledgable enough to comment on Chaplin.  As far as giving back, yes, I feel like part of a community, and that we’re all here for each other.

Blog@: What can you tell us about your influences in your work? I’m guessing that James Thurber is one of them.

JP: I’ve read Thurber for years, and I definitely love his work, but I wouldn’t call him an influence.  If he was it was very subconscious.  My main influences I would say were Matt Groening, Lynda Barry, the Chicago Imagists, Kerouac, Thoreau, John Rooney (college painting teacher), Warhol, punk rock, Jenny Zervakis, Jeff Zenick, and various Buddhist poets and writers.

Blog@: “King-Cat” began in 1989 and is unique in having developed this world-wide grass roots following. Can you speak to that?

JP: I don’t know what to say about that.  I appreciate it…  it’s humbling, and motivating.

Blog@: Please tell us about a project I am sure is dear to you, “Thoreau at Walden.” I see that you visited Walden. That cabin is pretty small!

JP: One day Jame Sturm emailed me and asked if I would be interested in doing a book on Thoreau…  as soon as he mentioned it, I thought “Wow–  what a perfect idea!”  Thoreau has been a huge influence on me, perhaps the biggest influence on me as an artist, and it was a real honor to work with his writings in that way.

While on tour I finally got to go to Walden Pond.  It was a clear, cold morning at the beginning of October, so there were very few people around.  It was a joy to walk on those paths.  It felt like American holy ground.

Blog@: What would you like to tell us about your book tour? You’ve completed the East Coast leg and there’s still more to come, right? Any stories come to mind?

JP: I toured the Northeast and Midwest in September/October, and hope to make it out to the Southeast and West Coast next spring/summer.  The tour was great, but exhausting!  I got to see so many new places, and meet so many people, old friends and new.  It was inspiring.  My life isn’t very dramatic, so I don’t know how many interesting stories I have to tell.  It was fun learning how to sleep sitting up in a freezing cold car.

Blog@: Share with us a bit about your own reading of comics. What comics are you currently into? Any thoughts on DC, Marvel, whatever comes to mind.

JP: I’ve been reading mostly some of the great reprints that are coming out nowadays, Little Orphan Annie, Peanuts, Popeye, Walt and Skeezix.  I picked up about two boxes full of books and zines while on tour, so I’m set for a long time as far as reading goes.  Been learning a bit about the alternative Manga artists, and that’s pretty exciting, it’s a whole new world to explore.

Of contemporary cartoonists, I really love Kelly Froh and Max Clotfelter, Jason Martin, Gabrielle Bell, and all the other usual suspects.

As for DC and Marvel, this year I started reading a bunch of the Jack Kirby reprint series, and it’s no exagerration to say that they’ve totally changed my thinking about comics.  They kind of re-inspired me after a long period of self-doubt.  But I’m otherwise unfamiliar with anything those companies have put out since the mid-80’s.

Blog@: You’ve written about how suburban life can be comforting. Do you think that’s sort of a human’s natural habitat?

JP: No, I think suburban life is unnatural.  It’s comfortable in some ways, if you have a car, and don’t expect to have a community experience.  I spent my adolescence in the suburbs, so I have an affinity to them, and a nostalgic kind of longing for them, but in general I think they’re unhealthy and unsustainable.  I appreciate more cities and towns.  I suppose the most natural environment for humans would be a town large enough to have a cultural scene, but small enough to feel human scaled.  By that I would include city neighborhoods.  But there should be access to Nature.  I don’t know!

Blog@: I love the notes you include in the back of “Map of My Heart.” You provide the initial thoughts that led to some of your comics. In “Psalm,” I thought you stayed out of the house to let your cat, Maisie Kukoc, sleep but you say it was the stars that kept you outside, which makes perfect sense. Could you really hear the living ground?

JP: Yes.

Blog@: You’ve had your share of illness and, in the end, you say it has strengthened you. You speak about not fearing death but, at the same time, loving being alive. Would you say that is the theme to “King-Cat”?

JP: Yeah, in a way it is.  Maybe the theme to “King-Cat” is “This is your life, and it’s your job to live it.  No one else can do it for you.”  Find the sanctity in that.

Blog@: You started “King-Cat” as a youth full of dreams and you’ve kept on with it and seen it mature and prosper. Would you say that “King-Cat” is fullfilling your dreams?

JP: I wouldn’t really think of them as “dreams.”  I had something I wanted to pursue, and a way I wanted to pursue it.  To have been able to do that to the extent I have has been gratifying.

I always wanted to be an artist, I wanted to be able to communicate to people through my art.  At some point that became a reality, to one degree or another.  In that way it’s been successful.  It feels good to go on.

“Map of My Heart” is 360 pages and priced at $24.95

Vist the publisher of “Map of My Heart”, Drawn & Quarterly.

Keep up with John Porcellino at the King-Cat Web site.

This is Hit Girl, played by 12-year-old Chloe Moretz. IGN debuted this latest character poster for the much anticipated movie, Kick-Ass, based on the comic book by Mark Millar and John Romita Jr. and published by Marvel Comics under its Icon imprint. Kick-Ass opens in theaters on April 16, 2010 and, wait for it, it’s going to kick your ass.

The new trailer really packs a punch. Mickey is looking mighty fierce. Robert is ultracool. Nice to see Garry Shandling in there too. The movie is set six months after the events in the last one after Tony Stark reveals his identity to the world. Looks like some fun, right? Robert said that Marvel gave him a Bentley as a thank you after the first two weeks of proceeds from Iron Man. Wonder how they’ll top that. Iron Man 2 is in theaters on May 7, 2010. You can see the new trailer here.

Warner Home Video spoke with rising anime director, Toshiyuki Kanno, about “The Babysitter” episode within Halo Legends. This is an all-new anthology of seven stories that expands the universe of Halo, one of the world’s most popular video games. Halo Legends will be available on February 16, 2010 on DVD and Blu-Ray as well as On Demand and Digital Download.

Kanno provided insight into the production of “The Babysitter” in this following interview with Warner Home Video:

Question: How does Halo lend itself to anime/animation?

Kanno: Halo is a property filled with so many exciting characters and detailed story settings with a very vast/huge background and I believe that the property has a lot of room to create episodes. Thus, I think that various ways in anime development can suit the property in whatever style the creators employ.

Question: What was the inspiration for your artistic vision in your episode of Halo Legends?

Kanno: What inspired me the most are the “ruins of an unconfirmed space alien.” Of course, we had a premise that the ruins are Forerunners, and Microsoft/343 Industries provided us with a good deal of leeway to create new elements. We have tried to incorporate a Japanese taste as much as possible to the buildings, costumes and other visual things to try to add greater depth and expand the Halo realm.

Question: Were there any particular images within the Halo realm that helped shape or drive your creative vision?

Kanno: We found inspiration in all of the art books provided by Microsoft, especially the beauty of the nature shown in the image boards as well as in the game itself. I tried to incorporate a similar beauty in my episode. In addition, the costume and the weapons of various characters such as the Brutes, Elites and Prophet provided me with inspirations in creating the characteristics of this episode.

Question: Why were you the right person to direct/design/write this episode?

Kanno: The original script describing a story relating to the relationship between Spartans and ODST was provided by Mr. Frank O’Connor. I discussed with Ms. Tanaka, the producer of the episode, that we needed to brush up the story to make it more understandable and impressive, and proposed the new scrip to Microsoft. I believe that the script has become better suited to animation.

We had a very strong design and animation team. I was in charge of character designs and focused on creating designs to easily express emotions of each of them. I employed Mr. Hayashi and Mr. Suzuki to design mechas, such as those involving the Spartan, ODSTs and Covenant. They have been very good in creating mechas that are simple but very cool designs.

Mr. Sasaki was in charge of background designs, and his ideas helped realize a very distinguished world of “The Babysitter” - giving our anime sensibility, but retaining the Halo taste. He has created an origina UNSC spaceship and the design seemed to please the Microsoft staff.

Both Ms. Miyuki, who was in charge of coloring, and Mr. Watanabe, who headed the CGI as well as the screen plan, focused on keeping a balance throughout the entire episode. I believe that they contributed a lot in accomplishing a profound screenplay.

Question: What did you set out to accomplish in this episode, and why do you think you achieved or exceeded your goals?

Kanno: The most distinguished characteristic of this episode is that this is the only episode in Halo Legends where ODST characters appear. During the production of this episode, a new Halo game, “Halo 3: ODST,” featuring ODST characters, was released - and our episode has some common characters with the game. Thus, we felt an intense pressure to make the episode very enjoyable to the newcomers to the Halo world and, more over, to ensure that the episode would not betray the trust of the game fans.

I, myself, was quite a newcomer to Halo at the beginning of this project, and it was a very hard process to understand the vast realm of Halo and to create new things out of it. Consequently, I have found out that the episode has become very exciting and much better than I had originally expected. I believe that this result comes from the efforts of each and every member of our production staffs. This was a very collaborative effort.

Question: How important was having Halo gaming experience to bringing the world to life in anime?

Kanno: I am not at all good at playing video games, and I have not played that much. But my staff played a great deal, and both myself and my staff spent a lot of time viewing the long-playing movie many times to ensure we understood the Halo realm as well as the details of its settings.

Question: Are there any hidden images or behind-the-scenes “Easter eggs” - special little things you included for the devout Halo fans - that appear within your episode?

Kanno: It was simply tough enough for me to understand the Halo universe during such a short period of time, so I did not have time or room to created such “hidden images” etc. However, I strongly believe that every viewer will feel the enthusiasm of all our creative staffs in the episode.

How many of you are excited about the Robert Downey Jr. “Sherlock Holmes” movie? I am. I think it will have a lot of style and wit. I’ve read a few Holmes comics this year and I’ve brushed up on my Basil Rathbone too. Among all the Holmes stuff out there, I was intrigued by the mystery of there being a graphic novel that this movie is based on. It turned out that the artist John Watkiss created illustrations based on a producer’s script to sell the movie to studios. The obscure quality to all this is appealing to me and led to me finding an actual graphic novel illustrated by John Watkiss. “Ring of Roses” is quite a curious book and was created at one of the brightest and hardest times to attempt such a thing.

“Ring of Roses” came out into the world as a limited series by Dark Horse in the early ’90s, just after the first big wave of “graphic novels” had hit: “Maus,” “The Dark Knight Returns” and “Watchmen.” The call to greatness had been sounded but few were ready to answer the call. It must have been pretty exciting for John Watkiss to team up with writer Das Petrou, designer Trevor Goring and fellow illustrator Mike McLester to create their answer to the graphic novel. The scope of the story is ambitious. The art is heroic and daring. And, as stories about alternate realities go, this one reads well. For me, looking at it today, it satisfies a desire to read something cool that is under the radar.

Studying the artwork, it’s clear to me that Watkiss loves to draw and produces wonderful figurative work, all elongated and elegant. It reminds me, at times, of Giacometti’s sculpture, figures so tall and thin that they teeter under the stress of their fragile frames. The story is very British with a delicious restraint. It’s set in London in an alternate reality. It is the early 1990’s but world events have moved at quite a slower pace: Germany is just now bringing about the first world war. And the papacy has also managed to maintain a hold on something like a Holy Roman Empire with nefarious plans to consolidate power through biological warfare.

To see us through this heavy and intricate plot, we have two main characters afoot in the walled up city of London attempting to make sense of what it going on: a barrister and a working class joe who is perpetually in need of the barrister’s talents to keep him out of prison. So, you’ve got a rather fun plot, parts Alan Moore and Charles Dickens. All in all, a fine story. It is quite gratifying to learn that “Ring of Roses” will soon become a movie. Spice Factory and Persistent Entertainment recently announced that they will be developing an adaptation of the graphic novel.

As a graphic novel, “Ring of Roses” seems to be a product of its time. It does feel like something in answer to the call to greatness rather than a great work in itself. And that’s okay. It’s a fun read to be sure. I don’t think it’s quite up to the standards of what we’d call today a great read but it has most definitely earned its place as a trail blazer and is even historically significant. For one thing, I think there are too many scenes with people talking in close up and that tends to drag the dramatic impact. The writing itself seems rushed at times too as in too many transitions where a word from one sequence is used again differently in the next. While clever, that is distracting. Also, it seems like some chances to add some suspense involving this evil hunchbacked cardinal were missed. Essentially, this is too slick a work and you won’t end up caring all that much about the characters.

So, not all graphic novels need to be great. This one is good and it deserves an audience. Image Comics collected it as a 144 page trade in 2005 so you too can get yours hands on it. And the good news is that, after all these years, it’s going to become a movie. The thing about the Watkiss artwork in this book is that it is exceptionally good but, at least in this case, it works best as layouts for a movie instead of something making full use of the comics medium. That might be a different story if Watkiss ventures into comics again. For now, he has much to celebrate with his artwork for “Sherlock Holmes” and his art in general.

I hope you enjoyed this edition of Comics Grinder. You’re welcome to come back and visit again next time. And, until then, feel free to stop by the Comics Grinder site and see what might be grinding away over there. At the moment, there are some more Watkiss artworks from “Sherlock Holmes” and they require me to cry out the obligatory spoiler alert for those of you with faint hearts.

Dan Dougherty is a good-natured and hardworking cartoonist. He’s living the dream and actually getting somewhere with his comics. It is a pleasure to catch up with him and discuss his work on the ongoing comic book, “Rotten” as well as the new graphic novel, “The Apocalypse Plan” and his comic strip, “Beardo.” To recap for you, “Rotten” is published by Moonstone and is about zombies in the Wild West; “The Apocalypse Plan” is published by Transfuzion and is about what happens when heaven and hell are competing corporations; and “Beardo” is about a guy with a beard who is a barista and an aspiring cartoonist. So, without further ado, Dan Dougherty:

Blog@Newsarma: Dan, guide us through the cartoonist’s life. You have a daily comic strip, “Beardo” and you also draw the ongoing comic book series, “Rotten.” Let’s start with a typical day for you.

Dan Dougherty: Well I’m more of a night-owl, and not much of a morning person. So most of my work gets done during the peak hours of the day for human contact.  There’s no formula to it, it’s really just a matter of working on the project that needs to be done the soonest. With “Rotten” and “Beardo,” and the random project here and there, I always have something to do. If I can get a page drawn and a ”Beardo” strip done, it’s a good day.

I used to hate Chicago winters, but I take comfort in them now because they make it easier to stay indoors. You know, reading that back, it seems like I have an abusive relationship with the weather. I might as well have said Mother Nature is the Chris Brown to my Rihanna. Too soon? (more…)

For the longest time, there was speculation about some secret unpublished graphic novel that the Robert Downey Jr. movie, “Sherlock Holmes” was based upon. Well, as I reported to you in May, the drawings in question are not a graphic novel, although they certainly could be turned into one. The fact is the artist, John Watkiss, was chosen to create graphic novel style artwork that was used in development of the movie. So, now you can see the evidence for yourself. If you’re in LA, here’s your chance to see all 17 of these pieces at Gallery Nucleus. The show includes a painting by Watkiss specifically for the show.

“The Art of the Motion Picture: ‘Sherlock Holmes’ by John Watkiss” runs from December 12, 2009 thru January 18, 2010. The opening reception is Dec 12 from 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM. Check out the Gallery Nucleus site for more details and check out the John Watkiss blog for more on the artist.

Map of My Heart

By John Porcellino

Published by Drawn & Quarterly

It is the simple pleasures of life that John Porcellino celebrates in his beloved and influential zine, “King-Cat Comics & Stories.” Porcellino shares with us the most simple and basic pleasures which ultimately leads to sharing the joy of being alive. There is a life struggle too, and Porcellino shares his with you, his heart being broken, his illnesses, but he keeps coming back to the joie de vivre.

“Map of My Heart” is the latest collection of “King-Cat” and covers 1996 through 2002. These are the years that Generation X comes of age. And while a case can be made that John Porcellino is a voice for his generation, he is actually much more than that. He is himself. He’s what all of us from Generation X were suppose to be: authentic. It helps if you believe in something. John Porcellino finds inspiration in Zen Buddhism and it looks like it helps to inform and guide his comics. He often will draw something from his studies like his references to the Zen-Monk poet, Ryokan. He’ll also find inspiration from the Marx Brothers and the Beach Boys. Whatever it might be, he seems to know how to tap into the good stuff.

For example, “Psalm,” is a magical meditation on being in the moment. Porcellino goes out for a walk at night. He lets his cat, Maisie Kukoc, know he’s leaving. He wanders through the neighborhood. When he returns, he sees Kukoc through the window and she might be asleep. The stars inspire Porcellino to stay outside. On the porch, he can hear the living ground beneath his feet. He tunes in to the sounds of worms, “click, click, click.” And the sounds of bugs, “zha, zha, zha.” All is well and good.

Porcellino has a simple and direct drawing style that fits in so well with his clear-eyed vision. It is just one of those things, along with the letters from readers, his extended written narratives, the top forty lists, the research on bugs and animals, all of this you can’t fake. So, brother and sister, enjoy. You too will be moved by something in this book whether it is a discussion on football plays, pill bugs, root hogs or Bruce Springsteen’s “Born to Run” suddenly tuned in on the car radio.

Something will get to you. Maybe it will be the comics essay, “Forgiveness,” which is about Porcellino as a boy from Chicago visiting his aunt down in Prairie City. He’s out of his element but is anchored by the family dog, Duchie, and a new gift, a slingshot. He promises he won’t get into trouble with the slingshot but how can he predict what may happen? Another intriguing comic is “Suburban Dreams,” which finds a man kneeling in front of a television. On the screen is the image of a beautiful woman who stares back at him and sort of sighs. He dreams. She dreams. They may find themselves together at least in a dream.

Among Porcellino’s many celebrations  of life is quite a list of movies, books, music and special moments. You’ll find Annie Dillard’s “The Writing Life,” Frank Sinatra’s “Ring a Ding Ding” and “Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein.” Here’s one talking about my generation, #9 from Top Forty, Summer 2001:

“Our Band Could Be Your Life” by Michael Azerrad (Little Brown) Yes, it’s a book about Black Flag, Hüsker Dü, Replacements, etc. etc. In other words: my formative years! Worth it for the Minutemen chapter alone. Also: Butthole Surfers, Minor Threat, Sonic Youth, Fugazi, lots more. America’s last great blast of post/pre-corporate rock.

Those top forty lists are about the fun stuff, with a big nod to humanity and authenticity. It is stuff that inspires you to want to share with someone else for whatever reason is peculiar to your own private world view.

So, on one level, John Porcellino is saying he’s just another human being doing his best to live his life. He has his own life struggle, like we all do, and he has his assorted interests and passions, like we all do. He also happens to be someone who does something very special and makes it all look easy. However, much care has gone into it and is not easily emulated.  ”Map of My Heart,” the latest collection of “King-Cat,” from one of the nicest guys you’ll ever know.

Visit Drawn & Quarterly, the awesome publisher of “Map of My Heart,” and buy yourself a copy today.

One gentle book that you may have missed, but should not, is John Porcellino’s Thoreau at Walden, a beautiful hardcover published by Hyperion. It’s a wonderful introduction to Thoreau for any reader. Thankfully, John Porcellino, in connection with The Center For Cartoon Studies, leads the way. This certainly is not your standard graphic novel meets the classics outing. Instead, it’s a meeting of genuine kindred spirits.

Most people live lives of quiet desperation.

If we don’t keep pace with our companions, perhaps it is because we march to the beat of a different drummer.

These words are ingrained in us and as true today as when they were first presented to the world by Henry David Thoreau in 1849 in the landmark of American literature, Walden.

Never hitting a false note, cartoonist John Porcellino, known for his own landmark in comics, King-Cat Comics and Stories, shares with us his interpretation of what it may have felt like to be in a little log cabin out in the wilderness. This brings to mind the film, Into The Wild, and another young man with the world at his feet with a compulsion to throw himself to the mercy of raw nature. However, this extreme reaction to civilization was never Thoreau’s intention.

Instead, his plan was to live in a cabin, not too far from town, as an experiment in self-reliance. He wasn’t courting anything extreme. His goal was to simply live within his means. He grew his own food and did a few odd jobs. He visited friends and they visited him. The rest of the time, he studied, wrote and communed with nature. All this sounds sort of like a page out of John Porcellino’s life. His drawings clearly resonate with a similar outlook on things. That common desire to come up against the elements is tempered with gentle contemplation, a hallmark of Porcellino’s own observations, and the only constructive way to go when it’s just you and the woods.

If you stay in one place long enough, you will see and be part of everything. Out there in the wild, what matters are the quiet moments like how the sun light plays throughout the day or how the owl reacts to your movements or how the friendly mouse will wiggle its way through your clothes to reach that piece of cheddar you hold out to it. It’s a pleasure to see how Porcellino depicts that play of light, the owl’s reactions and the mouse’s journey.

Porcellino is careful to distill what happened at Walden Pond. In a most natural way, Porcellino becomes Thoreau and Thoreau becomes Porcellino. Both of them come together to invite you to join in: no need to crash into nature; just learn to simplify. Porcellino does a great job of keeping that message clear, simple and accessible. He also does a thorough job of annotating his use of text from Walden which helps to encourage further reading.

This book is a great companion to the more recent book by Porcellino, Map of My Heart, which I will explore with you next time.

Beardo

Written & Drawn by Dan Dougherty

Published by Better On Paper Comics

Comic strips, are a “funny” thing. You know a good one when you read it. I’m just thinking of humor strips but this could apply elsewhere too. The “joke” itself, while important, may not be the most important part. Only one thing can not falter, no matter what, and that is the main character. If he or she or it is not somehow “funny” then the comic strip stinks. Beardo does not stink. No, far from it. This is a comic strip worthy of your attention with a solid track record. The latest batch of Beardo comic strips, in full color, have just been released as a trade and it inspired me to spread the word.

Now, think of Richard Pryor on stage, deep in the comedy zone. He could have said anything and you’d laugh. You know you would. Well, that’s sort of what it’s like with this character, Beardo. He is by no means Richard Pryor. I’m not saying that. I’m basically saying that this is character-driven comedy. Say, like all the oddball stuff that happened between Basil and Manuel in the classic British sitcom, Fawlty Towers. Or, better yet, think of Kevin Smith’s world of Clerks. This comic strip is very much about raging and aging youth stuck working in retail hell. Yeah, that’s more like it.

It’s all about characters and execution. This is a very stylish comic strip. Dougherty provides just the right amount of lines and curves and, bam, you’ve got sharp, distinct characters. Very spare and neat. They just need little circles for eyes ala Little Orphan Annie. And, then, just the right lines to refer to perspective and decor and, bam, you’ve got a lean and clean environment for all the madcap hijinks, or in this case, madap wry humor.

Beardo is a down on his luck barista. He has aspirations of being a successful cartoonist and musician. In his late twenties, he’s starting to wonder where his life is headed. In one scene he has a nightmare where he’s in a boxing ring with a giant cup of coffee. He thinks this will be the last round but the coffee cup thinks he isn’t going to ever leave. If that wasn’t sad enough, Beardo is not exactly having a nightmare but is daydreaming with a cup of coffee in his hand while his coworkers look at him in dismay. It’s a funny scene, not laugh-out-loud funny but character-driven funny which can often be even more satisfying.

For those familiar with Dan Dougherty’s remarkable drawing skills, picking up the just released second collection of Beardo will be a treat. He is the artist for the zombie Western comic book series, Rotten, published by Moonstone. In Rotten, Dougherty can spread his wings and include intricate detail, everything from precise facial expressions to architectural renderings. In Beardo, he needs to condense his art to the needs of a comic strip. And it works quite well. His lean line work shines in both arenas.

What makes one comic strip funny and another one a dud? Some of it is in the eye of the beholder. But most of it depends on the conscientious effort of the creator. Breaking into comics in any big way is highly competitive so that’s one burden. And then the very nature of comics, coming out day after day, means there will be hits and misses. Dan Dougherty is pretty good about maintaining the quality to his comic strip. Some are funnier than others but, through it all, the main character, Beardo, the barsita who dreams of making it as an artist, carries on consistently. No, it’s not an easy task to produce a worthwhile comic strip. Anyone can create something on a daily basis but that doesn’t mean it’s going to be worthwhile. Beardo delivers and that’s saying a lot.

Keep a steady eye on one page or another from Stitches and you can feel the urgency and sincerity. For example: David is six and he is lying on the floor with his paper and crayons before him. He’s in his element, his world. He’s already feeling uncertain about his home life. In that moment, he has his crayons and he knows how to draw better than any other kid on the block.

David Small gathers up critical details along with the lighter ones as he pursues his own Rememberance of Things Past. He is documenting as well as exploring. He is going as deep as he can go for things to make sense to him. In the process, random moments in time find their proper place in the story: his mother’s secret language; his sliding in his socks across a hospital’s slick floor; his Alice in Wonderland make-believe world; his recognition that a mysterious friend of the family brings out something unusual in his mother. In this way of recalling the past, Stitches is most like Maus and Persepolis, the only two graphic novels that most people outside of comics are aware of.

As Small states in an interview with Newsarama, he does not consider himself a writer, at least not a great writer. Well, it’s no easy hat trick to summon up the past and bring it to life in vivid detail. Even when it’s just drawings we see, Small often creates bits of poetry. It’s nice that he does not take himself too seriously. Considering the content, it requires a sure and steady hand not to have it overwhelm the creator. This is a story about how Small discovered, at age eleven, a growth in his throat and his parents, who had the money, chose to wait three years before removing it. The neglect and misjudgment does not stop there. Small gives us a clear picture without his self-pity or any sense of revenge.

It’s hard to come out and call Stitches “groundbreaking” when you consider all the other exemplary works in comics. The last two columns of Comics Grinder alone provide excellent examples: The Squirrel Machine and The Winter Men. But, the fact is that Stitches is an exceptional book and it can be called groundbreaking in certain aspects. Placed alongside Maus and Persepolis, Stitches provides the general reader with a great leap forward in lyrical, expressive and beautiful drawing to be found in a “graphic novel,” something that Maus and Persepolis are not geared toward and is outside the scope of either book’s ambitions. Yes, at the end of the day, drawing counts for quite a lot.

Stitches is on many a critic’s short list for best comics of the year. It also holds the distinction of being only the second graphic novel to be nominated for a National Book Award. The first was in 2006 for Gene Luen Yang’s American Born Chinese. So, it’s good to have Stitches in the spotlight offering a strong story along with strong art and that’s a groundbreaking step for comics in the eyes of a mass readership. And for those of us with more discerning eyes, I still believe that Stitches holds its own among the best books out there.

For more information on David Small and Stitches, visit the David Small Web site. Thanks for reading and I hope to see you again. Until then, stop by Comics Grinder for any other musings.