Apologies to any of you who check Blog@Newsarama ever Saturday morning just to read my linkblogging. I usually try to have this up first thing in the morning (my version of first thing in the morning, anyway), but I stayed up to the wee hours of the night finishing the second season of Primeval on DVD last night and thus sleeping in obscenely late on this Fourth of July holiday. Wait a minute, Primeval’s a British series! Aaaa! I’ve betrayed my country!

Anyway, here are some links to things dealing with comics that I took note of since Wednesday morning…

“Luke did an amazing job of making the Mouse Guard RPG more than jut a typical RPG where you happen to be mice, but where being mice is the RPG”: That’s Mouse Guard creator David Petersen talking about Luke Crane and his work on the Mouse Guard role-playing game, which recently won the Origins Award for Best Roleplaying Game of 2008.

“As far as I can tell, gods and other deities don’t have trademarks that are jealously guarded by lawyers for entertainment corporations”: Paul Constant reviews Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow and Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader for The Stranger, focusing on the superheroes-as-modern myth theme in a lot of comics criticism and commentary. The results are pretty entertaining.

This is at least part of the reason I can’t read X-Men comics: Wired’s Geek Dad columnist recently re-experienced the confusing world of the X-Men via the Wolverine and the X-Men cartoon, and in a column on the subject he linked to this completely insane relationship chart at io9. Did you know that Wolverine slept with every single member of every X-Men team ever? It’s true! (It’s not). That’s why he’s on so many teams, has so many books and is the most popular X-person. Dude totally slept his way to the top.

“Although sometimes inaccurately called a graphic novelist, Sacco is a journalist who draws”: The Toronto Star includes Joe Sacco’s upcoming work of comics fiction, Footnotes in Gaza: A Graphic Novel, in a round-up of book releases to watch for this fall.

I’m honestly not sure if having every character in a JLA comic shout “Justice!” at the end of their scene is awesome or stupid: James Robinson and Mauro Cascioli’s Justice League: Cry For Justice must be a really special comic book. Retailer Brian Hibbs’ daring highly trained special mission force of critics has been taking it kind of slow on Savagecritic.com this summer, but a half dirty-dozen of ‘em showed up to review JL:CFJ, on the week of the Fourth of July holiday. The comic doesn’t fare too well, but it was honestly pretty fascinating to see the various strategies employed to criticize it. Douglas Wolk was first out the gate with an elegant single doctored-image allusion review (sinle allusion reviews really aren’t something you see every day), Graeme McMillan noticed some Jeph Loebishness and some Brian Michael Bendisocity in the script, Hibbs himself questions the font of the subtitle and the use of the word “Justice,” Tucker Stone calls it “hardcore pornography for train-wreck enthusiasts” while determining that it is “excellent crap” and David Uzumeri offers a pretty straightforward dismantling of the issue while holding out the not-unreasonable hope that it might get better. I’m crossing my fingers that Abhay Khosla will show up before the end of the weekend to deliver a 5,000 word essay full of sex jokes about it.

Speaking of that Justice League comic…: Many of the negative reviews I’ve read of it so far have focused on Robinson’s script while generally praising Cascioli’s art. Let me help balance that out a bit. Yeah, Cascioli’s panels all generally look like nice images in isolation. His figure work is just fine, and he adds some appropriate melodrama here and there. But on a purely technical, below-the-paints-and-pencil level? It’s pretty weak work that fails at some of the most basic stuff. I’m not talking about the fact that 22 entire pages of nothing but talking occurs and yet no one except Congorilla ever actually opens their mouth—although “draw the character talking with their mouth open” is Comics Art 101, isn’t it—but the staging.

What is up with that first six pages or so, where Hal Jordan gets all teenager-y with the rest of the Justice League? The whole scene looks like a dream, with characters appearing and disappearing at random and dramatically shifting positions between panels.

This is my favorite page, as it makes it look like the table dramatically shrinks between panels, or that Wonder Woman and Roy Harper ran all the way around the table super-fast and knocked some chairs out of the way just to get all up in Hal’s face, while he tosses his head dramatically back and forth, so that different people are to the left of him:

Okay, well that’s probably enough complaining about sub-par super-comics for me today. I’m going to kick off my celebration of the Fourth of July in the traditional way, by watching the symbol of our nation punch a filthy communist across the room:

The library is a great place for readers to discover comics, and it’s a great place for comics readers to check out things that they want to try without spending their hard-earned cash. I’m looking at comics that I find in the New York Public Library system.

Disaster and Resistance is important comics. I enjoy a fun, escapist adventure as much as anybody, but I also feel that as a human being, it’s my responsibility to pay attention to what’s going on in the world. Given my general lack of interest in most typical political discourse, smartly written and well drawn comics are a welcome option. Disaster and Resistance collect comics created by Seth Tobocman over the past several years, with a particular focus on the plight of the disenfranchised “slum” denizens in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. He also visits Israel to gain firsthand knowledge of the living conditions faced by Palestinians and

Tobocman’s a good reporter, often illustrating people he’s met in headline-grabbing locales, and using their own words to explore the problems that they face from their own perspectives. If he has a failing, it’s what I think of as Michael Moore-ism. Even when you agree with Tobocman, he sometimes paints those he disagrees with (the Right, Corporations) as cartoonishly nasty caricatures, dismissing others’ perspectives as maliciously evil rather than looking into some of the greyer nuances between two polar positions. He spends a great deal of time examining perspectives of former New Orleans slum residents, however, exhibiting a far greater deal of care.

A powerful illustrator, Tobocman uses black & white, woodcut-style pages for many stories, but also mixes in full-color painted sequences. Each style suits the mood and temperament of the narrative unfolding, and his ability to capture abstract ideas in physical form is admirable.

A great looking comic that’s smart and examines the causes of disenfranchised and lost citizens of the world, Disaster and Resistance is a comic that we should all read. Even when you disagree with him, Seth Tobocman makes some great point and he’s trying to let you know about important people who are facing terrible circumstances. It’s good to know that we have cartoonists like this out there, alerting us to what’s going on, and that we can find their work in the local library.

Jeff Lemire’s Question: I’ve got a question about Jeff Lemire—how is it that he draws this well when he’s just warming up? Jeez.

“Even when the rest of the comics industry was struggling to survive, the X-Men always sold…People bought the comics no matter what”: Comics blogger Tim O’Neil has been thinking about the X-Men in preparation for what will likely turn out to be a couple of think-piece posts on the franchise, focusing on the fact that for years and years it was the top of the comics heap, and seems to be in sharp decline now (Marvel’s own Avengers franchise now ranks higher than their X-books). What’s going on with the X-books, and why are they no longer as popular as they once were? O’Neil ponders, and his readers offer some input. Few (if any) comics bloggers no more about the X-Men than Paul O’Brien, and he speaks to some of the X-books’ existential problems in this review of X-Men Legacy #225.

I would buy both the Wolverine comic and the Man-Thing one: Speaking of think pieces, retailer, blogger and Sluggo enthusiast Mike Sterling has been wondering “What if the characters/teams from Marvel and DC were allowed one starring title, and that’s it?” and how that might impact the market and industry, as unlikely as it is that either publisher would ever embrace and enforce that rule. Here’s Sterling’s original post on the subject, and here’s his follow-up. They’re both well worth a read and a think, and even if Marvel’s unlikely to ever  cancel Wolverine: Origins, Wolverine: Weapon X, Wolverine: First Class and the weekly miniseries and/or one-shots starring Wolvie to concentrate on making Wolverine the greatest Wolverine comic imaginable and maybe encouraging fans to try new and different books, it’s not like they couldn’t start leaning in that direction.

“The Craziest Costume Changes in Comics”: You can probably guess what most of these are by the headline, but this Comics Alliance post is well worth checking out just for the visual gag that accompanies the last person on that list.

“No superhero or super villain name is too great or too dorky, and no costume is too skimpy, provided its legal”: If you live in or around Reno, Nevada and enjoy playing dress up and/or adult beverages, there’s an upcoming superhero-themed pub crawl there. While pub crawling doesn’t sound like a terribly superheroic activity (unless you’re this guy), proceeds go to the Washoe County School District Canine Drug Task Force, and keeping kids off drugs does seem like something superheroes would be into. Here’s the event’s official website.

I guess that’s sort of me telling you what to read. I will have a review of Gotham City Sirens #1 later this week when I can think straight, but the new Vertigo series that I’m almost as stoked on as I was on Unwritten hits this Wednesday. So. Read it with me.

There is also The Boys, and Bang! Tango (which appears to be the last one) and…well, that looks like it for my list. Still, Greek Street should be worth it, with a mix of gritty street violence with classic myths, unless the stellar combination of Peter Milligan and Davide Gianfelice somehow doesn’t mix, oil-and-water style. I’m betting on them, though, and at $1, why not?

(This post in no way paid for by Vertigo comics, Peter Milligan, or Davide Gianfelice. Sometimes I am just a fangirl like anyone else who reads comics.)

If the goings-on at your average Big Two comics publisher sometimes look chaotic from this side of the comic book, just imagine how crazy they must be behind the scenes. Justice League: Cry For Justice is a good example of a book that makes one wonder about the process of comics publishing.

The series was first announced in March of 2008 at the Wizard World LA convention as a second ongoing Justice League title. A year or so later, it was down-graded to a six-issue miniseries. Then just a few weeks ago Cry For Justice writer James Robinson was named the new Justice League of America writer, so it seems as if his Justice League plans may be back to being an ongoing after all, just in the original JLA book, not a second one.

The timing seems awfully wonky too, as the events of Cry supposedly spin directly out of the events of Final Crisis, which wrapped up (late) back in January, and the events of the main JLoA title since March’s JLoA #31 have apparently occurred after the events of this book, which is just now starting, and won’t wrap up until the end of the year, if it stays on schedule.

None of that is terribly important though. Nor are the details of the book, like the fact that it’s painted by Mauro Cascioli, or that it’s $3.99 for 30 pages, or that the story “pushes our heroes to the brink and beyond as evil can no longer be tolerated to win.”

No, all anyone really needs to know is that this comic features the triumphant return of Congorilla, the giant golden gorilla who switches minds with great white hunter Congo Bill via magic ring. Buy two copies of each issue, and maybe we’ll get a Showcase Presents: Congrorilla out of it!

After the jump, the week’s Congorilla-free books!

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Written by Sal “The Bagman” Cipriano

After a frustrating loss to the Wall Street Journal a couple of weeks ago, the DC Bullets were anxious to get back on the field and redeem themselves. Unfortunately, the next week and a half turned into a scene from Blade Runner as rain constantly poured down on NYC, consequently canceling the next three games. Hurt and deflated, the Bullets could only wait for the weather to provide any sort of opening. Finally, after even more rain made a mess of their home field earlier that morning, the DC team were back to New York Media League action this past Thursday; this time against a vaunted, talented High Times team. Considered one of league’s two best teams (along with BusinessWeek) the Bullets were wary, but came in ready for the challenge. And a challenge it would be, too, as they were missing two of their power bats: Third Baseman Mike Lorah and rookie DH LP Vollano. They also started the game with 9 players instead of the required 10, and by the time the second inning was over the sweet leaf-loving Bonghitters were up by three runs.

The Bullets got it going in the bottom of the second, though, as Left Fielder Andrew “The Armadilla” Arnold (1-3, Run) and Second Baseman Christine “CNAP” Napolitano (1-2) got on with one-out base hits. Arnold then scored on a single to centerfield by Catcher Sal “Bagman” Cipriano (2-2, RBI, BB).

The Bullets were on the board, and now had a full complement of players, which allowed their defense to close up tightly. From the third inning on, DC’s favorite sons and daughters did not commit an error, a frequent thorn in their sides, with Team Captain Adam Schlagman (3-3, 2 runs, triple) leading the way with one spectacular play after another at short! The third inning ended with two crazy plays as Right Fielder Rickey Purdin (1-2, double) snagged a sun drenched ball at the last second, followed by a sliding catch from the Bagman on a foul pop by the Times’ best hitter!

Those outs seemed to fire DC up as the Bullets loaded up for their biggest offensive inning of the evening. The Captain started it off with a single, and immediately scored on Left Fielder Vince Letterio’s (1-3, run, RBI) hard hit triple over the opposing left fielder’s head! Right Fielder Pat “Two Scoops” Brosseau’s (1-2, 2 RBI, sac fly) RBI grounder scored Letterio, and a third run was added by Third Baseman Joel “The” Press “Man” (1-3, RBI) scoring Rover Dougie Harrison (1-1, run). The Bullets led after that third inning, 4-3.

Both teams put up goose eggs in the 4^th, but in the top of the fifth, a Bonghitter smoked a solo home run, tying the game. Ace Bullets Pitcher Larry Ganem (1-3) shook it off though, and retired the next batters. The bottom of the fifth showed off the Bullets resilience with Schlagman lacing a triple, and scoring one out later on Brosseau’s sac fly.

The Bullets again led by one going into the sixth, but the two teams traded off zeroes for a third time in the game. The pressure was now on as Ganem took the mound in the top of the seventh, 3 outs away from DC’s biggest win in the last couple of years. The first out came easy, but the second required Captain Schlagman to make the web gem play of the game with a diving stop of a smashed grounder that was destined for center field, but instead found itself in his glove and consequently into First Baseman Laura Demoreuille’s (0-1) sure handed mitt! One out away, but the Bonghitters seemed determined to do what they do best, no not that, win! The next two men got on second and third, but they were going no where else as a fly ball fell into Center Fielder Neil Hiremath’s (0-2) glove! Put it in the books, the Bullets win!

Final score:

5-4 for the DC Bullets over the High Times Bonghitters. A hard earned victory for a gritty, gutty team that’s gelling well under pressure, and truly beginning to put a disappointing 2008 season behind them. The Bullets pull up at .500 (4-4, 2-2 in league games) and will look to improve that further in their next game.

Game notes:

The pitching and defense in this is game were stellar. Captain Schlagman continues to show the way in the field playing a superb short stop. The tandem of Ganem pitching to Cipriano has also meshed well over the last year, and this year they’ve really shown it holding the Daily Beast to 5 runs, and High Times to 4. If the team can continue this way, they can easily make it to the playoffs.

This Thursday, July 2^nd, DC are home against the Seamless Web. Can the Bullets break through their web? Come find out at Central Park’s North Meadow, field 2, at 5:30PM!

Interview conducted by CB and Tony D, two comic book outlaws in their own right.

1. Michael, congrats on Outlaw Territory Volume 1 out in stores now from Image Comics. We hear reviews are great, particularly for the “Ahiga” short story. What gave you the idea for the book?

Michael Woods: Thank you very much.  With Outlaw, I wanted to do something that was a polar opposite of the previous anthology (Low Orbit) and a western theme seemed to just fall into my lap.

2. How hard was it to handle Christian Beranek as a creator? We’ve heard he can be quite difficult.

Michael Woods: I have booze and pictures he’d rather not get out.

3. At anytime did Christian Beranek go renegade on you? Did he ask you to meet him in that dive bar he likes to frequent in Silverlake? The one where those people were murdered?

Michael Woods: People were murdered there?  I thought we were just going for drinks.

4. What are the plans for future editions of Outlaw Territory? Any creator names you can mention?

Michael Woods: There will be a volume two, which is almost finished.  Creators include Stuart Immonen, Sean Phillips, Greg Pak, Joshua Dysart, Paul Azaceta, Jeff Lemire, Francesco Francavilla, Rafael Albuquerque, Dustin Weaver, Tom Fowler and many more.

Oh, and that Christian Beranek guy is back again.  I mentioned about the pictures and the booze, right?

5. What is your craziest convention experience?

Michael Woods: My lawyers have advised me against telling that story.

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This week’s cartoontroversy?: Well, it’s only Monday as you read this, so maybe something bigger will come up later. Anyway, political cartoonists seemingly had a blast drawing goodbye cartoons featuring a long-time favorite subject of theirs, Michael Jackson, most choosing either a bland “Hey, he’s dead now” sort of acknowledgement cartoon, others making jokes about his physical appearance or legal troubles concerning his alleged sexual interest in young boys. One of the more…potent cartoons was that of Mike Luckovich, featuring Heaven and Hell flipping a coin (above). Here’s a brief story in which Luckovich talks a bit about the cartoon, which proved controversial among readers, and here’s Washington Post comics blogger Michael Cavna asking readers if they think it went too far.

“You’ll be in awe of how perfect it is and certainly envious of it if you are a writer”: This guy really, really, really liked David Mazzuchelli’s eagerly anticipated Asterios Polyp.

“These two comics, for all their surface similarities, serve as almost perfect examples of How To Do It and How Not To Do It”: That’s Andrew Hickey on last Wednesday’s issues of TEC and Gotham City Sirens. Can you guess which one is which? His post reviewing the two issues is entitled “Comics Review (Guaranteed 100% Michael Jackson Free).” But that guarantee makes reference to Michael Jackson! So it’s actually just 99% Michael Jackson-free.

I’d read a comic book about a comics fan with a time machine who goes back in time and tries to deliver these messages: Comics Reporter Tom Spurgeon had his readers “Name Five Decisions You’d Like To Talk The Comics-Related Person Who Made Them Out Of Doing.” Check out their responses here.  And while I’m linking to Spurgeon, this week’s Sunday interview was with cartoonist Trina Robbins, regarding her recent Nell Brinkley book.

I would also read a Marvel comic in which Ben Grimm replaced Steve Rogers as Captain America, but only if it was entitled Cap-Ben Grimm-erica: Bully the Little Stuffed Bull likes Ben Grimm a whole lot, so much so that he’s devoting a full 365 days to spending time with the big lug, but he has found one way in which it is possible to improve upon Aunt Petunia’s favorite nephew. Click here to find out how!

In your face Dr. Wertham! Batman was never really gay after all: It was just a phase he was going through, and he tried to keep it up for Robin’s sake, but his heart just wasn’t in it.  At least, that’s what I gather from Robin’s thoughts in yesterday’s Daily Batman, which has since changed, as it’s a new day, and a new day means it’s time for a new Batman. Anyway, The Daily Batman. Some day I might stop linking to it, but not today.

“As a novice cartoonist, his salary ran from $6,000 to $20,000 a year”: Wednesday’s Chicago Tribune had a brief profile of Tiny Titans writer/artist Art Baltazar, with a local-cartoonist-makes-good sort of angle.

“For better or for worse, Tim Burton’s Batman changed the movie business forever”: Scott Mendelson lists the seven ways in which the Burton’s Batman changed filmmaking and moneymaking in the film industry for The Huffington Post. The occasion? The 1989 film is 20 years old this year. In other news, Oh my God I am so old!

“Ironically, this ass-kicking lesbian is a reinvention of a character originally created in the 1950s to reassure a nervous American that Batman wasn’t getting it on with Robin”: New England paper Bay Windows devotes a healthy amount of ink to the debut of Batwoman as the new star of Detective Comics. Dan DiDio is quoted several times throughout, and man, is it nice to see a J.H.Williams spread running alongside a news story about comic books, instead of some goofy drawing of Barack Obama meeting Spider-Man or sword-fignting Sarah Palin. (Not sure about that “Pow! Bang! Dyke!” bit in the caption, though)

“Out,  out! And a gay!”: Alright, I admit it—that made me laugh. Here’s another “Hey, did you know Batwoman is a lesbian?” story, this one from The Dallas Voice. Greg Rucka is interviewed, as is Richard Neal, the owner of Zeus Comics, where Rucka is doing a signing today. Okay, just one more and I’ll quit linking to Batwoman stories: Rucka was also interviewed by The Dallas Morning News, in a meandering Q-and-A that mentioned another Dallas signing he was doing (That one happened last night though).

“Now open your eyes and think about the worst possible Michele Bachmann comic, ever”: Wonkette’s Riley Waggaman did not much care for False Witness: The Michele Bachmann Story, which he felt had too many facts, and was thus more like a “graphic adaptation of the Daily Kos.” I would question his judgment on matters comic book-ical, given that he writes for a politics, gossip and satire site, however, he did wear a tophat while reading it, and I make it a rule never to argue with anyone in a tophat. They obviously know what they’re talking about, or they wouldn’t be wearing a tophat.

Well, let’s see here. I’ve been taking stock of the column, and I’ve come to the realization that we aren’t doing a lot of BRIANSTORMING here! I mean, it’s what this thing is CALLED, for goodness sakes. So, put on your Gallagher ponchos everyone, I’m going to start flinging out some weird stuff just to see it on the internet. And remember, there is no such thing as a bad idea in brainstorming, because if you only have one bad idea, you aren’t doing it right! HA!

BIDDING. Boom. There’s an idea. Any of you in internet land a contractor? See folks, in the construction world ( or military technology world, eep ) contractors bid on projects. The people who can do the best job for the least cash get the gig, or so the theory goes. This principal could apply to professional digital comics. Anyone of the major comic publishing companies could do this. All they need are: some character they aren’t using, and some serious legal work. We’ll use DC as an example (though such a big corporation could be a bad choice), because I see them as being the closest to being able to do something like this (with zudacomics.com). First they’d set up a comic community sight for discussion and networking among amateur talent (something like zeroes2heroes.com). Everyone gets a profile/portfolio page, and starts making nice and getting creative teams together. Then DC would post a job or twelve on the main page like BRIANIAC AND FRIENDS, AQUAMAN YEAR 100, or YOUNG ALL-STARS BACK TO SCHOOL EXTRAVAGANZA. Any property that just couldn’t get a spot on the newsstands, but could still draw an audience.

And then the amateurs just go crazy coming up with pitches and sample pages submitted by internet forms, each team claiming they can do it cheaper than the last. At the end of the day, the poor chumps that have to go through the submissions come up with a couple they like and run them past the higher-ups. A month later, the new creative team on AQUAMAN YEAR 100 is announced and starts cranking out X number of pages Y times a month. They sell the comics over iTunes or their own website for a buck-a-pop for desktops and mobile devices, then collect the successful ones in trade. Boom. Comics become cheap, disposable entertainment again without affecting the print market at all.

Now, I’m not a big-city lawyer, or a media empire big wig. I’m sure there are 17 obvious reasons why the couldn’t work as presented. But hey, it’s an idea, and ideas are currency in the age of information.

OH and don’t forget about the B:DC June Challenge ONLY ONE WEEK LEFT!

Agree, disagree? Questions, comments? Love poems, hate lymerics? Want to congratulate me on a sweet new logo? Email: latino.kyle (at) gmail (dot) com.

-Kyle Latino

The library is a great place for readers to discover comics, and it’s a great place for comics readers to check out things that they want to try without spending their hard-earned cash. I’m looking at comics that I find in the New York Public Library system.

Umbrella Academy: Apocalypse Suite is a collaboration between writer Gerard Way and artist Gabriel Ba. Apparently, it’s a big deal that Way, who has a rock and roll band, has written a comic. I must admit, I’ve heard not even a note of Mr. Way’s band; the praise heaped on his comic, however, did catch my attention and I figured I should check it out.

And I’m glad I did; this Way kid has some pretty serious comic book chops. Apocalypse Suite introduces seven children who are born under exceptional circumstances, with unusual powers. A scientist adopts them all and raises them to be the world’s saviors against a threat that he considers imminent. Decades later, the threat has never manifested, “dad”’s passed away, the public seems to dismiss the group, and the “siblings” are fractured and mostly incommunicative.

The character stuff is all pretty obvious if you’ve read a few superhero comics. The bad boy and the square-jaw constantly needle one another, yet learn respect before it’s all done. The one who seems most harmless is, of course, the most dangerous. Umbrella Academy is a heavily plot-driven comic, and fortunately, Way’s dialogue is sharp enough to keep the characters engaging if unsurprising throughout the wild, twisted ride that he’s set them on.

Ba’s strong art carries across all of Way’s great ideas – an orchestra whose oeuvre will destroy the Earth, the hero’s moon base, the outlandish villains, the striking character designs. Each issue is a fast-moving lark, an upbeat, humorous rollercoaster ride of sci-fi dizziness. Way’s not recreating the superhero genre: he’s just having an exceptionally good time with it, and so will you if you come across Umbrella Academy: Apocalypse Suite at your local library.

“It makes me glad to see, and to remember, that comics can also just be for kids”: The Christian Science Monitor has a very sweet story written by Rebekah Denn, a life-long comics reader taking great pleasure in her six-year-old son’s embrace of “the glorious fable of a man who had been exposed to cosmic rays until he could stretch his limbs like rubber, and how that man, ‘Mr. Fantastic,’ battled evil aided by his fiancé, who could turn herself invisible, and her kid brother, a human torch, and their friend Ben Grimm, an orange, rocky ‘Thing.’” Obviously comics can be so much more, but it’s worth remembering that even when all they are a couple of middle-aged-men hastily cranking out disposable trash entertainment for the children of the 1960s, they’re still something pretty special.

My Google News alert-bot must have somehow pulled this article from 1999: The Eagle Tribune reports that its local library in Hampstead, New Hampshire is going to start a collection of these newfangled things that  “if judged strictly by their covers…look like comic books. But they’re not comics.” No? Then what are they? “The books belong to a genre called graphic novels,” the article says. Ugh. I know it’s easy to point and laugh when some poor local reporter has to write some poor article about some dumb thing or another they probably neither know nor care very much about just to fill in all that blank space between ads, but…well, but nothing. I’m just pointing and laughing, I guess.  Meanwhile, here’s a nice, thorough article about Pittsburgh-based cartoonist Ed Piskor and his two volumes of Wizzywig (which I highly recommend, by the way). The article itself is great, but the headline refers to graphic novels as a “genre” (”Ed Piskor’s graphic novel creates sensation among genre’s fans”) and the caption manages to spell the name of Piskor’s book wrong in the very same sentence that it’s also spelled right. So, to sum up: This is why newspapers are currently dying their richly deserved death—they offer the very same quality of writing you find on the Internet, only slower, and not for free.

Oh God, I hope he reads the book himself for the audiobook version!: Based on the interviews he tends to give about the superhero comics he’s writing, Grant Morrison’s upcoming history of the superhero genre, Supergods: Our World in the Age of the Superhero, will probably be a pretty good read.

The Passion of St. Jameson…?: I’ve linked to some of the images of J. Jonah Jameson that comics blogger and writer Kevin Church has commissioned in the past, but I’m going to link to this new one from John Keogh as well because a) it is awesome and b) Church has a link to his whole collection of JJJ art at the bottom of the post. Go check it out, and try to pick a favorite. It ain’t easy.

Are you enjoying Marvel’s universe-wide “Dark Reign” mega-story? If so, you’ll have no shortage of Dark Reign-branded books to choose from this week. Dark Reign: Zodiac and Dark Reign: Lethal Legion are two new three-issue miniseries that are launching tomorrow, Dark Reign: The Sinister Spider-Man kicks off a new four-issue miniseries, and Dark Reign: Elektra and Dark Reign: The Hood each ship new issues. Each book is $3.99. These are only the books that have the actual words “Dark Reign” in their actual titles; there are a couple more tie-ins shipping this week, like Dark Avengers, Dark Wolverine, Avengers: The Initiative, Amazing Spider-Man and Dark Avengers/Uncanny X-Men: Utopia. That’s…that’s an awful lot of comics right there.

And it’s only a drop in the bucket of new book’s shipping this week. As for the rest of the bucket’s contents, join me after after the jump.

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I did indeed buy two new books last week that wouldn’t normally have been on my list. Discussions of Streets of Gotham/Manhunter and X-Men Origins: Gambit here and here.

This week, I’m looking at Gotham City Sirens already, as well as my usual Madame Xanadu, Northlanders, Unknown Soldier and Wolverine: Weapon X. Look, kids, I’m turning into a superhero comics reader!

Anything else lurking out there that I’m missing?

Lest anyone think political cartoons have lost their power to stir readers up: Herb Pinder discusses the reactions his paper received after running a controversial syndicated editorial cartoon by Don Wright that they published after doctor George Tiller was killed (above).

The curators couldn’t have been hurting for material to consider…: Tom Richmond brings word that the legendary, prolific cartoonist Sergio Aragonés’s work will be featured in an exhibit at Ojai Valley Museum in Ojai, California. If you’re anywhere near Ojai, you can learn more here.

Be on the look out for some jerk with a couple of laptops, one of ‘em full of awesome art: Paul Tobin has word that his pal comics artist Steve Lieber, who had just embarked on a media blitz to promote his new book Underground, had his laptop stolen. Tobin proceeds to level a series of movie-inspired curses at the computer thief. Now why Tobin would want a werewolf burglar out on the loose, I don’t know…

I bet The Daily Bugle and the papers of the Marvel Universe are full of stuff like this: Sunday’s Boston Globe ran a tongue-in-cheek parenting advice column entitled “What to do if your child has superpowers.” As long as you don’t enroll them in any weird private schools run by a bald guy with funny eyebrows who rides around in a wheel chair, they’ll probably be okay.

“They trap you with the Batman name, and I don’t know what their underlying mission is…I was outraged”: That’s Charlotte, North Carolina mother Yvette Spivock in an article in yesterday’s Charlotte Observer. She had purchased last summer’s Batman Confidential #18, the Batgirl-chases-Catwoman-into-a-nudist-club issue by Fabian Nicieza and Kevin Maguire, at a library for her 12-year-old son, and was less than happy with the content, in which the two female characters are both TV naked (you know they’re not wearing any clothing, but the body parts you can’t show on TV are covered at all times). The reporter apparently spoke to an unnamed representative for the company, who told her Batman Confidential is intended for readers age 16 and up, and that “ the company often places a star on the cover of kid-friendly comics.” That’s news to me, and I read a lot of Johnny DC books, so I wonder if there was some miscommunication there. Looking at the cover for that particular issue, I don’t see a Comics Code Authority seal anywhere, but then, DC applies those seals in a mysterious way I’ve never quite understood (It was on a recent issue of Green Lantern in which some characters were brutally, graphically killed, but was absent from the next issue, in which a character has his hand chopped off). The Spivok parents stressed they weren’t angry with the library, and don’t seem too outraged in general, given the goofy picture they posed for to run with the story.

As it turns out, DC’s “Blackest Night”/rainbow of Lanterns Corps comics make them perfect for Pride events: Boston comics shop Comicopia had a float in this year’s Boston Pride Parade, to both show their support and promote their store. The Bostonist conducted a short interview with Comicopia manager Shannon Outlaw to find out what was up with that group of superheroes marching. Batman, Robin, Batgirl, Wonder Woman and Rainbow-Brite were among those passing out leftover FCBD comics and other goodies along the route.

Oh no, now your copies of Shadowman and Guy Gardner: Warrior or worthless!: Photographer and blogger “Color Me Katie” finds some old comics at a thrift store, and finds the pages make for fun, cheap, colorful wallpaper.

It always freaks me out a little when I see what autobiographical cartoonists look like outside their comics: The San Francisco Examiner profiles Julia Wertz, who has a new collection of her comic strips out. I like the part where she talks about how some people resisted her strip because they don’t like that one word in its title. Me neither! It’s one of the three words I can never bring myself to type or say out loud, under any circumstances. Good comic, though.

Speaking of SF media…: The San Francisco Chronicle has a short piece on Adrian Tomine and Seth, in advance of their speaking engagement at a library there last night.

Wow, I haven’t heard the words “Death Row” in a while…: Billboard reports that the music publisher EverGreen signed a deal with WIDEawake, the company that owns the assets of of the legendary/infamous Death Row record label. Among their plans are “a new brand extension called Hustle City, which will debut first as a graphic novel including a CD insert of music related to the story line.”

“A handful of Australian artists have broken into this very competitive business, but Scott, 37, is probably the most successful so far”: The Sydney Morning Herald has a nice little profile story about Birds of Prey/Secret Six artist Nicola Scott, and her rather unusual career path getting to where she is now.

Actually, I think only certain absolute and omnibus editions really qualify as weapons: “Horn Promotes Use of Graphic Novels as Educational ‘Weapon’”

Hmm…needs more labels: Hopefully pseudonymous blogger “JekylinHyde” takes a look at a week’s worth of political cartoons on dailykos.com in this gigantic post. If nothing else, it’s a nice gathering of a ton of political cartoons in one place at one time.

Speaking of political cartoons…: Tom Spurgeon rounds up some cartoon-related news dealing with the situation in Iran at the moment at The Comics Reporter (and rightly notes that there’s much bigger stuff going on there than anything having to do with comics).

Rick Veitch draws Frank Frazetta…in a Mark Schultz comic…?: I’m  having trouble wrapping my head around it, but I did enjoy laying my eyes on it. Perhaps you will too.

Larry David for The Riddler!: In an interview with the Curb Your Enthusiasm creator, Eric Ditzian suggests to Larry David that he should pursue playing The Riddler in the next Batman movie. I’m all for it, as long as David also gets to write and direct the next Batman movie.

“Nell Brinkley is one of those women I feel like I should have learned about in college”: So says Whitney Matheson and yes, she should have learned about Nell Brinkley in college. We should all learn about Nell Brinkley in college. So if you’re currently in college, go check out The Brinkley Girls already. And if you’re out of college already, well go check it out anyway, because everyone seriously needs to see this book—Brinkley was that good.

“MySpace is not currently in a situation where they feel they can win this social networking battle”: CNN reports on MySpace’s moves to readjust their workforce in an attempt to better suit their existing market. And Marvel EIC Joe Quesada just moved his semi-nomadic “Cup O’ Joe” feature from MySpace to Comic Book Resources. Good timing on Quesada’s part, or did he single-handedly destroy MySpace’s fortunes just as he’s always destroying your childhood?!

The library is a great place for readers to discover comics, and it’s a great place for comics readers to check out things that they want to try without spending their hard-earned cash. I’m looking at comics that I find in the New York Public Library system.

There’s always some creative person whose work you want to experience, a filmmaker, a novelist, or a cartoonist. It’s been on my agenda for a while now, but I finally uncovered a book of Spain Rodriguez’s from the library, and it happens to be a biography of t-shirt icon Ernesto “Che” Guevara.

As a biography, Che isn’t exactly unbiased. Spain’s clear affection for the man and his accomplishments are on the forefront of every single page, with barely even a passing mention of any controversies that Che was embroiled in during his time. Readers coming to it should certainly bear that in mind – Che is a celebration of a man’s accomplishments, not a rounded biography.

In that context, it’s quite effective. Spain’s clearly done his research, and he touches on all of Che’s major life moments, with particular time spent on the Cuban revolution and Che’s time in Africa. Artistically, it’s a very strong piece, with strong likenesses and precise panel-to-panel storytelling. He’s very adept at massaging sequences out to their natural climax, and he explores many facets of Che’s accomplishments in considerable detail.

Spain Rodriguez is one of the classic artists of the comix underground movement, and Che Guevara is one of the most influential counter-culture figures of the past century.  It seems fitting that one chronicle the life of the other, and under Spain’s careful pacing and attention to detail, Che is a worthwhile, if biased, ode from one legend to another, and you can hopefully find it in your local library.

The book I’m most looking forward to this week isn’t a comic book at all, but a comic-like book about comics. Specifically, the Marvel Pets Handbook, which is one of those exhaustively researched reference books that Marvel puts out occasionally, this one apparently focusing on the various pets of the Marvel Universe, like Sentry’s Watchdog, the Runaways’ Old Lace, Thor’s goats and so on.

I assume the impetus for the book Lockjaw and The Pet Avengers, a miniseries about Lockjaw and a pack of Marvel animals questing for the Infinity Gems that I’ve really been digging. If you missed the first issue of that, there’s a second printing of it being released tomorrow.

What else is being released tomorrow?  A whole bunch of stuff. Join me after the jump for some discussion of some of that stuff.

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…there’s always room for a few more comics. This week is Air #10 and Herogasm #2, Hellblazer #256 and Young Liars #16 and of course, Phonogram #2.3.

Because, like many of you, I’m feeling the lousy-economy pinch, I’m going to open this week up with a call for some webcomics recommendations. Who’s doing something new and different with comics online?

Finally, I don’t know if you’ve been watching the (rather lousy) news coverage of the protests following the elections in Iran, or following the (much better) feeds on Twitter and Facebook and YouTube. Either way, today felt like a good day to re-read Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi’s classic tale of growing up in revolutionary Iran. I know this is the space where you get to tell me what to do, but I really can’t recommend Persepolis enough. It’s a view into a country that gets universally bad press, and as we’re watching the people fight oppression, it’s nice to see inside the hearts and minds of people who’ve lived through it.