Find out more about Global Freezing here on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays or at ComicsByEgg.com.

There’s a new regular feature at Blog@, and it’s literally all about the fans. Fan Fandom will highlight particularly great-looking or well-written fan sites from across the span of comics (and one degree out, as we like to say). It’s a truth of this medium that it owes its lifeblood to the readers. After all, they’re the ones that turn out in droves for conventions, films, and even the comic shops. Fandom itself is nothing new, unless you’ve already forgotten the late, great Jerry Bails or Forrest J. Ackerman. However, as fansites have gotten more sophisticated and intricate over the last decade, it’s high time that we give some a little recognition.

The first candidate? Gotham Knights Online. GKO distinguishes itself in a number of ways. It’s visually appealing, it covers a variety of Batman-related material, and it has a podcast that’s landed guest appearances by the likes of Greg Rucka and Mike Marts. In addition to discussing and reviewing new issues of the comics, a premium is also placed on covering “Batman: The Brave and The Bold” and items like the forthcoming “Batman: Reborn” figures from DC Direct.

Bob Tilley, Cory Lewellen, and Gary Allegra have done a solid job in getting this one together. One of my favorite pieces has been an interview with the composers for “B:TB&TB”, complete with clips that complement the conversation. So hey, do some fellow fans a solid and drop by. And don’t be afraid to post some of your other favorite, let me emphasize this, FAN sites below; they may very well pop up in a future Fan Fandom.

Find out more about Global Freezing here on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays or at ComicsByEgg.com.

“Kenneth Branagh? A comic-book superhero movie? Are things really that tough? And not even an A-list Marvel hero—but Thor?”: Paid professional, film critic, author and apparent grown-up man Marshall Fine is shocked, shocked, shocked that talented directors and actors might make Hollywood superhero movies or voice cartoon animals. Marshall Fine hasn’t seen a single movie in the last ten years.

“It‘s a physics question…If she‘s falling, say, 100 metres, how fast is she going?”: Here’s a nice Chronicle Journal feature profiling comics fan and physics teacher James Kakalio, author of The Physics of Superheroes. The “she” doing the falling is, of course, Gwen Stacy, just a few seconds before physics murders her.

“I generally think in pretty visual terms when I’m writing…And so, this felt kind of natural in that way, and, of course, easier for me because I can, instead of really struggling over those descriptions, I can just say, here, you do this, you know?”: That’s prose writer-turned-graphic novel writer Kevin Baker on NPR’s Talk of the Nation, talking about Luna Park, his collaboration with artist Danijel Zezelj (and talking specifically about one of the benefits of the medium for someone used to doing all the describing himself). You can listen to it here (or just look at the pretty pictures) or read a transcript here.

Dammit. I shouldn’t have waited so long to write about Spandex: Martin Eden sent me a copy of his book about an all-gay superhero team to review, and I put it on my “to-review” stack and just haven’t gotten there yet. Now I’m missing the press roll-out! The Sun had a short piece on Spandex here, Digital Spy has another short piece here, and I suppose I should also mention that Rich Johnston has a piece over on his website, because if I don’t he’ll just show up in the comments section and let us all know anyway. You can learn more about the book here. (My three-word review of Spandex? Pretty good stuff.)

The biggest news a Moomin/Bjork fan could ever hope to hear: “Bjork Writes New Song for Freaky Finnish Childrens Movie” (Via The Beat)

“The Winter Men” is a patchwork quilt of observations and red herrings that takes the spy thriller to new heights of eccentric fun. It’s one of those stories that starts out about being one thing and ends up embracing everything. Meet Kris Kalenov, the main character in “The Winter Men,” he is your guide into the underworld and beyond. It’s a new world order since the collapse of the Soviet Union and Kalenov is no longer a star player in a Soviet secret weapons program. He has become a Moscow cop, usually full of vodka and, at the start of this tale, is keeled over drunk on a sidewalk covered in snow.

I did not discover “The Winter Men” when it was a comic book but, considering it’s production delays, including its switchover from Vertigo to Wildstorm, it’s understandable that it  somehow slipped by me. Luckily, I did not have to experience any long waits between issues and got to read this new collected trade in one sitting. This is a good read anytime and anywhere but I also see it as perfect inflight reading. Aren’t spy thrillers very popular in airport bookstores? I believe this to be so. It’s because you’re out of your element and open to adventure.

One big thing about “The Winter Men” is that it gets you way out of your element. It’s like “Goodfellas,” one of the best movies about gang life, all about wiseguys and getting whacked. “The Winter Men,” is all about Russia’s new Mafiya and its biznessmen and getting under the right roof. There’s also something akin to “Watchmen” going on in the background, a uber-man that was once the pride of Mother Russia, but it’s Kalenov and his rough and shady bunch, that will have you delight over this convoluted plot as you would in, say, an Elmore Leonard novel.

“The Winter Men” has a real attitude about it too. It promises the world, heroically keeps up with its ambition and, if it falters, shrugs like a good world-weary Russian. Kalenov, our drunk Moscow cop who once was so much more, would prefer to just live quietly and make do with his less than perfect marriage. But too much has happened in the past and it can’t be ignored. “We once filled the sky with heroes…but now they’ve fallen to earth…” That is an intriguing refrain that is looped throughout the book. Within the span of the first few pages: hints of the Soviet super-hero program, a woman is shot, a child is kidnapped and Kalenov is picked up from the snow and enlisted to solve the crime of the century, although he doesn’t know that yet.

All this reminds me of any number of very good television series that, from the narrative, the characters and the production value, are clearly a cut above. And these shows usually make big promises and it’s okay if they don’t deliver on all of them since it’s the world that the characters inhabit that’s most rewarding. I think of shows like, “Life on Mars,” at least the American version, or “Life” or “Dollhouse.” In fact, it’s interesting to consider if these shows would have done better in finding an audience if they were less about process and more about results but, then again, these shows are primarily about attitude. The promises they make, real or not, can be legitimate fuel for the story’s engine.

Another connection to “Watchmen,” I think, is the group of heroes that Kalenov originally belonged to. Somewhat tongue-in-cheek, the line-up is recalled by Kalenov in a regular loop throughout the book: Drost, the soldier; Nikki, the gangster; Nina, the bodyguard; Kalenov, the poet; for a total of four, or five, if you include The Siberian. There’s even a sepia toned photograph of the gang in much happier times: Nikki has just told a joke and it has The Siberian in stitches. Along with the irony, it’s those details, the atmosphere and texture that this book thrives on.

There are a couple of scenes that come to mind. And, like everything else here, the writer and artist team of Brett Lewis and John Paul Leon tackle it with gusto. One has Kalenov and Nikki creating a disturbance in a McDonald’s so that they can unbolt from the floor a plastic table and chairs console to take home. The employee desperately tries to convince an irate Kalenov that the mayonnaise does adhere to city regulations with “well above the forty percent fat requirement.” Another good one has Nikki in the middle of a full-on turf war with other soft drink vendors. Informing the mayhem and murder are quotes from a self-help best-seller like, “Lose Control to the Maximum.”

Perhaps your reading of “The Winter Men” will find it keeping to all its promises and even holding the answer to the meaning to life. God knows, it is certainly within its reach. If you find fault, some blame, maybe a good bit of it, can go to the fact the series was cut from a promised eight issues down to six. There are parts to the story that do appear truncated. And the ending does seem to come all too quickly. However, the fact remains that this comic is really about the quirk and it’s all there for you to enjoy.

“The Winter Men” collected trade releases on November 25.

Hope you enjoyed this installment of Comics Grinder and I welcome you back for more. You can always check in too at the Comics Grinder site.

I haven’t read Superman/Batman in a while, but then, they haven’t eschewed the World’s Finest team and instead used Bizarro and Man-Bat instead yet. They’ll give it a try in tomorrow’s Superman/Batman #66, in which the two characters will contend with Black Lantern Solomon Grundy. It’s going to be written and drawn by Scott Kolins, who recently completed a little-read Solomon Grundy miniseries. I hope it’s good. What else is there to hope for this week? Let’s find out below, after the jump!

(more…)

Princess Diana comic book under attack in Britain: The Los Angeles Times’ Geoff Boucher defends Bluewater Productions’ Female Force: Princess Diana comic from its critic Diana Funnell of the Diana Circle UK. Now I really, really wish Marvel would have let Peter Milligan write that X-Statix story where Princess Diana comes back from the dead as a mutant and joins the team, if only to have been able to see the reaction.

“He said that the audience to him tended to look like a ‘blur of pink unicorns’ to him”: I know what causes people to see pink elephants, but what causes them to see pink unicorns? You’ll have to ask Tony Lee, but from the lead of this short feature on his visit to Calcutta, it sounds like it might have had something to do with the length of the flight.

Wow, remember when Batgirl comics used to be awesome?: The gang at 4th Letter does.

Okay, I guess I’m not sick of Obama comics after all: Check out Steven Weissman’s strip. And then explain it to me. Wait, don’t explain it—I think I like it just the way it is.

Find out more about Global Freezing here on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays or at ComicsByEgg.com.

“Anyone with half a brain who had a love for Diana will hate it”: That’s Margaret Funnell, co-founder of the Diana Circle UK, lashing out against Bluewater Productions’ Female Force biographical comic book about Princess Diana. From the looks of the samples shown, and the looks of the other Female Force bio-comics, Funnell seems right on, although I don’t know whether or not loving Diana will necessarily have much to do with hating the comic. Funnell seems far more upset about the existance of the book than the quality of it, however, as she also says “Comic means something to laugh at. I don’t find it at all comical and I wish they hadn’t done it.” I thought everyone in the country that gave us 2000 AD and so many of our best comics writers of the last 20 years was pretty enlightened about comics. Bluewater publisher Darren Davis talks with Coventry Telegraph blogger David Bentley about the criticism, and defends the books portrayal of Diana and her life. Check it out here.

And on the subject of Bluewater’s Female Force bio-sploitation books…: Chris Sims reviews the latest, Female Force: Stephenie Meyer, and he does not much care for it. From the quality of the art he scanned and posted, it’s easy to see why—it’s pretty horrible stuff. It is intriguing that the creators decided to have the bio narrated by a Dracula to either fill space or make it more exciting than the bio on the jacket of Meyer’s own books. See, Margaret Funnell, the Princess Diana book could have been much more tasteless…it could have had an undead horror host narrator in it.

“If I’m to read that right, she’s a MacGuffin in a loincloth. Is this really the kind of nostalgia DC should be reaching for”: Racialicious has some concerns about how DC’s upcoming 2010 First Wave series will treat Rima the Jungle Girl, based on the little character sketch/proposal that writer Brian Azzarello had in the back of this week’s Batman/Doc Savage one-shot. Having just read Green Mansions for the first time this summer, it doesn’t sound a whole hell of a lot like the character in the book. Green Mansions isn’t exactly a terribly enlightened book when it comes to race in the first place, though. (Note: I do hope we get a Rima trade collection out of this First Wave business, though. Those Joe Kubert covers sure look great).

Next for Nancy: Drawn and Quarterly has a neat little preview of the next volume of Nancy from their John Stanley Library series.

“Will Kick-Ass be a 21st Century superhero?”: So asks The Guardian’s film blog. I’m going to say yes, unless they push the release date back about 91 years.

An important reminder from Don MacPherson: DC and Marvel aren’t the only superhero publishers with super-icky comics.

The other fantastic four: Check out PopMatters on Beatles comic books. Here’s my favorite Beatles appearance in a comic book recently, as the mentors attending Blue Beetle’s parent/teacher conference in Tiny Titans:

Find out more about Global Freezing here on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays or at ComicsByEgg.com.

League of Extraordinarily Unprofessional Librarians: Amy Wilson of the Lexington Herald-Leader provides more context into the story of a pair of public library employees losing their jobs for refusing to check out The League of Extraordinary Gentleman: The Black Dossier to a patron as per their employer’s policy. I feel even less sympathy for Sharon Cook then I did before, given that it seems not to have been a case of misunderstanding or disagreeing with the policy. Apparently she thought the book unsuitable for patrons, and thus checked it out herself and kept it checked out indefinitely in the hopes of preventing anyone else from ever reading it. Whatever you do, don’t read the comments section attached to the Herald-Leader story; it will only cost you brain cells. If you must read a comments section on the issue, check out the lively one attached to The Beat’s link to the article.

“Solve the case of the missing couch first. Nobody likes it when detectives case-hop mid issue”: Tucker Stone notes a weird art mistake in the otherwise pretty good Stumptown #1. I’m ashamed to admit I didn’t even notice the disappearing furniture when I read the issue. I’d make a terrible detective.

That sounds reasonable: Peter Bagge’s latest strip for Reason is entitled “Will Everyone Please Stop Freaking Out Over Ayn Rand?!?” It’ s a timely piece, given the American Right’s recent re-embrace of Rand, and a few recent new books about her. (Via Flog!)

“One in 10 Adult Book Buyers Read Comic Books, Simba Study Reveals”: But does that mean that comic books are really popular, or that books are pretty unpopular?

I thought print was dead, why do I keep finding newspaper stories on the Internet?: I got to the third paragraph of this story— “Libraries promote love of reading with graphic novels” from New Jersey’s The Daily Journal—before I was consumed with rage. Here’s the paragraph:

Graphic novels and similar genres like manga, a popular Japanese style of graphic novel that often involves science fiction or fantasy themes, and animé, also heavily Japanese, share a method. They tell stories within the context of cartoon drawings.

I couldn’t bring myself to finish the story.

Find out more about Global Freezing here on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays or at ComicsByEgg.com.

Hans Rickheit’s “The Squirrel Machine,” published by Fantagraphics Books, is a beautiful 179 page hard cover graphic novel. It is an appropriate book to start out this new column since it sets the tone for the type of offbeat work that attracts me and I hope will interest you. The story involves two brothers who desire to build wondrous things but are destined to create monstrous gadgets made from animals.

Rickheit’s world of self-published works, notably the series, “Chrome Fetus Comics,” and the graphic novel, “Chloe,” follow the internal logic of dreams and do well by it. In “The Squirrel Machine,” a magical reality confronting a mundane reality leads to a lot of very real bumps and bruises. Edmund, for instance, may rely on a pair of goggles to filter out the world but does not fully realize how odd he looks to all the other schoolchildren, especially the bullies. It’s the turn of the last century, and while amazing technological advancements lie ahead, Edmund and his brother, William, are doomed to be grotesquely out of step.

The things that seem the most curious and promising may ultimately be the things best left alone. That is a line of reasoning Edmund and William refuse to follow. They are dreamers but do not know they are guided by nightmares. The Squirrel Machine, whatever it is, has its own needs and is certainly not going to tell these boys what’s good for them. Much is left to mystery in this book. We can let Rickheit’s exquisite drawings, with their ornate detail and patterning, speak for themselves. Down to separate panels, the art provides little gems of its own storytelling as in a notable scene of two lovers covered in snails.

“The Squirrel Machine” defies easy categorization, but I’d venture to say, “steampunk surrealism.” This is for mature readers as well as discriminating ones. And it’s also for those who love a good coming-of-age story. Edmund woos the local beauty by the most unconventional of means. William falls madly in love with the Pig Lady. Each will take a turn that will twist the fate of the other. The mundane won’t accept them and yet the magical is no more reliable. Very romantic and strange at the same time, like any good coming-of-age tale. Primarily, this is adult, dark and disturbing work provided to you in healthy doses.

You can purchase “The Squirrel Machine” from Fantagraphics Books and make sure to check out the marvelous Squirrel Machine site. You can find Comics Grinder here every Wednesday. And for further observations, you can always go to the Comics Grinder site.

Tomorrow is the day we’ve all been waiting for ever since Marvel announced that their Punisher series published through their Max imprint would be retitled PunisherMax, all one word. Will they really go through with it? Will it look less stupid running along the top of the actual cover of an actual comic book than it does in writing in, say, a shipping list or solicitation or a blog post? We’ll know soon enough.

Me, I can’t think of anything but the above scene every time I hear “PunisherMax.” Anyway, the latest iteration of the series will be by Jason Aaron and Steve Dillon, so it’s probably not going to be anywhere near as bad a comic as its title might indicate.

What else is coming out this week? And will there be spaces between the words that make up their titles? Find out, after the jump!

(more…)

“I like to tell the history of Judaism through comics…When I was growing up, I never thought comics were connected to religion and culture”: That’s comics creator J.T. Waldman talking Judaism and comics in this profile in the religion section of the Pennsylvania Patriot News. The focus of the story is Waldman’s presentation on the subject with the clever title of “People of The Comic Book.” I wasn’t overly surprised to see the article spell Spider-Man’s name wrong (as “Spiderman”…come on, let’s get this in the AP Style Guide, already!). I was sort of intrigued when the article mentioned that “Waldman called Spiderman ‘a veiled story of Moses’” (they did mean Superman, with the infant in the rocket ship an analogy to the baby in the basket, right? Or are there parallels to Exodus I never noticed in the Spidey story? Is the radioactive spider analogous to the burning bush, and Uncle Ben is God and the Green Goblin Pharaoh…?). And I was pretty appalled when I saw that they got Waldman’s name wrong, calling him J.P. Waldman. It’s obviously too late to fix the print edition, but I don’t see any reason why the online version of an article has to have a pretty basic, embarrassing mistake like that up a few days after publication.

“I guess it’s truly time for me to forgive South Carolinians for firing on Fort Sumter. I hope, in 100 years or so, South Carolinians will forgive me for my own cheap shot”: Political cartoonist David Horsey talks at some length about the reaction to his cartoon mocking South Carolina.

“Early Buzz: Is Kick-Ass The Best Superhero Movie Ever Made?”: Yes, I’d definitely say that buzz qualifies as “early,” since the first trailer isn’t even due out until mid-month. I’m intensely curious about how they managed to make a whole Kick-Ass movie in the time it’s taken Marvel to publish just seven issues of the series. It’s not like artist John Romita Jr. is known for deadline blowing or drawing slow or anything, and yet Kick-Ass has been coming at about as regularly as Mark Millar’s Ultimates used to.

“Dropping a supernatural enemy into an environment that’s already so alien and strange is overkill, like setting a vampire movie on the moon”: Here’s the New York Times on Matt Phelan’s excellent The Storm in the Barn, which is covered as part of a round-up of various children’s books dealing with the Dust Bowl. Writer Jessica Bruder isn’t overly impressed, but then Bruder doesn’t think a vampire movie on the moon would be totally awesome, so I’m not sure whether I’d trust her opinion on anything else.

Find out more about Global Freezing here on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays or at ComicsByEgg.com.

“Strip away the Hollywood glamour and shows like Comic Book I-Con are what the hobby are all about: Passionate fans and creators talking about the comics they love”: Joe Lawler of the Des Moines Register has a nice little write-up on Comic Book I-Con, which goes down today in Altoona, Iowa.

“What’s the most stupidly ambitious aspect of “XKCD Vol. 0,” the book based on the wildly popular yet still very underground webcomic”…?: Here’s an LA Times blog post profiling the plans for Randall Munroe’s XKCD hardcopy collection.

“These cartoons radicalized me, an impressionable young person, against the idea of conflict and the then-current Vietnam War”: That’s Craig Yoe in a feature story in The Oregonian, talking about the work collected in his new The Great Anti-War Cartoons from Fantagraphics. There are some real jaw-droppers used to illustrate the piece, so be sure to check it out. (A slideshow can also be seen here).

“Batman at 70″: Here’s a neat Toledo Free Press feature on Batman turning 70, and the way the city’s downtown library is marking the occasion.

Seattle vs. South Carolina cartoon battle: Seattle Post-Intelligencerpolitical cartoonist Dave Horsey drew a cartoon that was less-than-flattering in its depiction of South Carolina, and Palmetto Scoop cartoonist Mike Beckom responded with a cartoon making fun of Yankee unions. Alan Gardner will tell you all about it at The Daily Cartoonist.

Find out more about Global Freezing here on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays or at ComicsByEgg.com.

“It’s everything, Evey. The perfect entrance, the grand illusion. It’s everything. And I’m going to bring the house down.” ~ V

Just over twenty years ago, one of Alan Moore’s seminal works finally concluded, starting off in relative obscurity and — aided by the runaway success of Watchmen, completed three years earlier in 1986 — made Moore into a legend. It was subversive. It was brutal. It was a love letter to truth, justice, and the Anarchist way — it was violent and vicarious, volatile and visionary.

It was V. V for Vendetta.

And as his masked terrorist hero proclaimed — “Remember, remember, the 5th of November” — we’re going to Dial V for History and look back on this groundbreaking work, and its effects on Moore and the comic book industry as a whole.

Rewind to 1981. Alan Moore has yet to strike paydirt with Watchmen, which would go on to be one of the most celebrated and well-known graphic novels of all time. Instead, take a look back to the creation of a black-and-white British anthology that would go on to make history: Warrior. With editor Dez Skinn, Warrior housed many of Moore’s great works, including the subversive superhero epic Marvelman.

But the very first issue of Warrior — headlined by Axel Pressbutton, the Psychotic Cyborg — had a cloaked man with a Guy Fawkes mask along its spine. “V for Vendetta.” It was a short first chapter, but it was effective: Evey, a munitions worker so desperate she’s decided to sell her body on the streets. Unfortunately, her first solicitation happens to be a Fingerman, one of the corrupt policemen in a totalitarian England. She is only rescued from rape and worse by the intervention of V, a masked terrorist whose dispatch of the men is as brutal as it is inventive.

(more…)

Face front, gentle readers! And as always, if you have an event coming up — whether you be creator, publisher, retailer, or reader — email us at Newsaramaevents [AT] gmail [DOT] com.

And now, on with the show:

Portland, OR:

Join creators Greg Rucka and Matthew Southworth for the release of their new comic series STUPMTOWN in the home of the comic’s namesake Portland, Oregon! Greg and Matt will be meeting fans and signing books at Cosmic Monkey Comics from 4-7pm on Wednesday 11/4.

Cosmic Monkey Comics
5335 NE Sandy Blvd
http://www.cosmicmonkeycomics.com
503-517-9050
Wednesday 11/4/2009
4pm - 7pm

New York City:

November 7, 4-7pm
Dr. Sketchy’s Anti-Art School
A Tribute to “Secret Identity: The Fetish Art of Joe Shuster
with the beautiful fetish model Darenzia and Nicholas posing
sponsored by Baby Tattoo Books, Boyd and Blair Vodka, and Squishables
Dr. Sketchy’s is a life drawing class turned cabaret extravaganza. Artists draw glamorous underground performers, compete in contests, and win booze and prizes. From its humble Brooklyn beginnings, it’s spread to 100 cities on five continents- including London, Rome, Tokyo, Paris, Sao Paulo and Melbourne.

On November 7th, Dr. Sketchy’s is teaming up with renowned comics scholar Craig Yoe, to celebrate his new book, “Secret Identity: The Fetish Art of Superman Co-Creator Joe Shuster.” Stunning fetish models will reenact the hidden art of Superman’s creator, and Mr. Yoe will speak about his book and sign copies.

Dr. Sketchy’s takes place on

November 7, 4-7 pm
at the Slipper Room,
167 Orchard St (corner of Stanton).
New York City

Tickets are $10 in advance, or $12 a the door, and can be purchased at www.drsketchy.com or at the door. 21+

Seattle:

Al Columbia is widely regarded among his peers as one of the most accomplished and influential artists working in comics today. On the occasion of the publication of PIM & FRANCIE, his most ambitious work to date, Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery is hosting a rare public appearance by the cartoonist on Saturday, November 7 from 6:00 to 8:00 PM.

PIM & FRANCIE represents a breathtaking vision of contemporary American art.  Collecting over a decade’s worth of artifacts, excavations, comic strips, animation stills, storybook covers, and much more, this broken jigsaw puzzle of a book tells the story of title characters Pim and Francie, a pair of childlike imps whose irresponsible antics get them into horrific, fantastic trouble.

AL COLUMBIA: PIM & FRANCIE
Art exhibition and book signing
Saturday, November 7, 6:00 – 8:00 PM
Exhibition continues through December 9, 2009
Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery
1201 S. Vale Street (at Airport Way S.) Seattle, WA
206.658.0110  www.fantagraphics.com
Open daily 11:30 to 8:00 PM, Sundays until 5:00 PM

Indianapolis:

Indianapolis newest comic book store The Hero House is proud to announce Shawn Crystal (artist on Marvel Comics’ Deadpool series) will make a rare Midwest appearance to sign autographs, and meet with fans on November 6th and 7th.

He will be appearing as part of The Hero House grand opening celebration which will include a storewide sale on all back issues and Graphic novels. The Hero House specializes in Comic Books, Movies, Anime and related merchandise and is located in historic fountain square.