Other Comics News Parade-O-Links 10282012

(Ashley Holt HalloWeirdo art stolen from Wide Awake Press.  Surely I don't have to tell you people to go look at the HalloWeirdos every day right?  You have been doing that right?)

Here are some things I found interesting in the world of minicomics, comic books, graphic novels, small press, self publishing, zines, webcomics, cartoons, digital comics, other, etc. during the week ending 10282012:

“It’s one of the most evil things I’ve ever done,” he told Kimmel. “We have these Halloween parties, and I decided, let’s have a Halloween tree. So we did the tree and put out presents, families come with their little kids, and the little kids stand there and I go ‘Oh, you don’t have a Halloween tree?’ and they go ‘Nooooo,’ and I’d give them a present. And then their parents would call me for about three months, ‘You son of a…’”  -W. Axel Rose on Halloween.

• I don't know about you but I spent most of my remarkably small free time this past week re-reading and writing about Grant Morrison's comic book series The Invisibles. I invite you to read along.  I call it Into the Supercontext.  It is also worth noting that I am transcribing much of the Invisible Ink letters pages.  I do not think that they have been collected anywhere before.  (Please let me know if I'm wrong because I could much rather copy and paste.)  Here is what we have so far: 

Doom Patrol 54

The Invisibles Vol. 1 No. 1

The Invisibles Vol. 1 No. 2

The Invisibles Vol. 1 No. 3

The Invisibles Vol. 1. No. 4

That gets us through the first arc of the series.  The next arc is Arcadia and it is hard core.  Hard.  Core.  I hope to get up to speed on that right away so you just sit there and keep hitting the refresh button on your screen until you see it update.    

• There was a lot of stink this week about how facebook does not show people all the posts and junk from the fan and community pages they like.  Sort of a big deal to cartoonists and creative types that try to drive their audience through facebook.  But don't worry, I solved all of that for you.
•  So 24 Hour Comics Day happened again.  
•  Comic artists do indeed direct the flow of viewer attention.  Well duh. 
•  The great and terrible Ashley Holt has a new book.  This one collects most of his ranting from his online journal The Symptoms.  I've read a lot of that stuff and it is great.  

• This Jack Davis will be on hand to sign his new book at the Georgia Museum of art on Nov. 4.  An exhibition starts on the 3rd and is curated by Patrick Dean.  If you have the ability to attend that and chose not to then there is no amount of prayers I can say to fix whatever is wrong with you.  
• Matt Bors told us something we did not know. 
• Batman, Johnny Ryan and Michael Deforge are burning in hell.  
• Tom Spurgeon interviewed Julia Wertz about her new book and stuff. 
• I could sit and listen to The Comics Reporter talk about visiting comic book shops all day long.  
• The Spurge also took on digital comics in what appears to be a new regular column.  Making sense of digital comics is a daunting task but if anyone can do it, the Spurge will be the first to link to them.  

  HYPERMETAL WING from Eric Canete on Vimeo.

• A really nice piece at The Beat about the late Peter McFarland.
• Jacob Canfield at The Hooded Utilitarian racism, satire and lazy critics.  
• LOVE this Wonder Woman.
• Robert Newsome talked about wrasslin' on a podcast.  That ain't got nothing to do with comics but I liked it.  
• And he also made another one of his regular podcasts.  This time he played a song from the horror movie Trick or Treat.  Yeah, I probably watched that movie ten times when I was a kid.  It starred Skippy from Family Ties. 

• Wouldja go look at that fine White Denim poster Josh Latta made. 
• David Brothers at Comics Alliance took a look at Brendan McCarthy's Zaucer of Zilk.  It looks amazing.  Just look at those colors. 
• The Comics Reporter has your The Projects link round up. 
• Jack Kirby and Joe Simon remember the Alamo.  
• I could look at this helicopter nose art all day long. (Again, stolen from The Comics Reporter.) 
• The wall in the great Bill Mantlo's hospital room and his smiling face.  

THE BEST SINGLE PRINT COMIC I READ LAST WEEK

(Image stolen from ComicVine.)

...was Savage Dragon 182 by Erik Larsen and some other guys.  I was a Savage Dragon fan from the start but my move to rural America cut me off from the comic.  I have tweeted at and emailed Mr. Larsen several times to say that if he would point me in the direction of a way to subscribe to the comic I would.  No response.  But finally, the first ever comic book shop (actually a video game store)  in the county where I live and work got me a copy.  And I liked it a lot.  I don't have a clue what is going on.  Dragon is gone and his son is the Savage Dragon now?  I need to read more and get caught up but the comic is a lot of fun all on it's own.  Drama, splosions, punching, teen angst, death, punching, high school, religion, politics, punching and punching.  The production level on this thing is ridiculous.  Comics do not need to look this good.  We don't need paper this good.  Larsen's art is always entertaining.  Nikos Kovtsis colors are impressive.  The pallet is a bit brown for my tastes but I was still impressed with it.  This comic has a letters page.  I love letters pages.  And a Vanguard back up.  A very solid comic for $3.50 and it was packed with enough goodness to get me through waiting on the service center to plug two flat tires and change my oil.  Can't ask for much more than that out of a comic book.

• And finally... maybe tonight you'll be gone.  (Have a fun and safe Halloween everybody!)

 Oh, and one more last thing!  Did you know you can leave comments on these posts here at file under other?  It's true!  And, I'll probably respond.  Twitter and facebook killed the message boards but that's no reason why you can't argue with me, praise me or leave me recipes.  It's your intronet.  Have fun!

And that's just a taste of some of the interesting things going out there in the wonderful world of comics and things. I can't keep up with it all but I do keep up with a lot of it on twitter and I try to re-tweet the good stuff. You should probably follow me there. If you did something to make comics better this week then high-five!

Your best pal ever,

Shannon Smith

p.s. Say you want a leader but you can't seem to make up your mind. I think you'd better close it and let me guide you to my twitter feed.

p.p.s. Let's pretend we went to high school together on facebook.

p.p.p.s. Google + is another place you can read the same thing I posted here.

p.p.p.p.s. I'll tumblr for ya.

Other Comics News Parade-O-Links 09162012

(Super fantastical Eric Canete art stolen from Eric Canete.)

Here are some things I found interesting in the world of minicomics, comic books, graphic novels, small press, self publishing, zines, webcomics, cartoons, digital comics, other, etc. during the week ending 09192012:

"While everyone at DC is excited by the advent of the newer, slicker Standard Format, we share mixed feelings over this change as we end our weekly association with World Color Press.  To our friends in Sparta, thank you for 37 years of loyal reliable service.  The "death" of the letterpress also marks the end of an era in comic books.  After all, those of us who grew up during comics' Silver Age will miss newsprint."  - Michael Eury, "Inside DC" editorial column from most DC Comics with a cover date of April 1992.

(Brad McGinty and Josh Latta at SPX, Saturday Sept. 15, 2012.  Provided by Erin Demetria Cassavaugh.)

• Jay-Z Christmas what a week amIright?!  If no one tried to burn you down or blow you up then I guess you had a pretty good week right?  High five for staying alive. 
• As you read this on Sunday or later on in the future,  SPX, the Small Press Expo is at least half way over or already gone.  Many of North America's finest and best smelling cartoonists have gathered, sold comics, shared laughs, given awards, accepted awards, turned in tickets for beers, consumed beers and headed back home born again full of all the magical thoughts that have never been thunked before that they will ponder and day dream about at their jobs in North America's finer coffee shops and pizza joints as they pour another cup and cut another slice for you dear reader.  For America!  Unfortunately, the dark one does rule this world and I was unable to attend this year's SPX.  But fear not!  My man, your man, our man, Henry Eudy is on the job.  As I type this, Agent Eudy is embedded in SPX zone.  He is in the heart of SPX.  In the very body of comics if you will.  He is on the floor, in the aisles, behind the tables, in the restroom with its terrifying hotel art, in the restaurants, in the bars, in the hotel rooms working his way through the world of small press comics like a human colonoscopy.  He fears nothing and he sees all.  He's taking names and burning off polyps with his lazer eyes.  And when he emerges from the bowels of comics, from comics' very sphincter, you dear reader of words and thinker of thoughts will be the first to see what he has to say.  Well, actually, I'll probably read it first and then post it.  But you will be second.  And second is pretty good.  Pretty good.

(Image stolen from Henry Eudy.) 

• Speaking of comic book shows that I did not go to, Josh Latta went to the Baltimore Comic-Con and it looked a lot like this. 
• Writing and drawing comics is easy.  Especially when someone already wrote and drew it for you. 
• Robot 6 has an interview with Eric Canete.  I think the most important goal comics as a whole should currently have is to steal back Eric Canete from animation. 
• Super pal Robert Newsome made a podcast.  I'm about 20 minutes into it as I type this and I'm enjoying it.  Speaking of Robert, how many copies of The Atomic Elbow Issue Three have you bought?  Despite what John Lennon told you, just wanting it may not be enough to end war but $5 will get you a copy of The Atomic Elbow. 

• Did I already tell you folks about this crazy a$$ art Josh Simmons did for a Reebok ad in Italy?  Reebok everybody.  Italy.  Life is strange people.  Life is strange. 
• Why is Beyonce emailing me?  Doesn't she know I only read Michelle Obama's emails?

• Professor X is a jerk.  And also, dead.  Again.  At what point do Heaven and/or hell just say 'oh F it not his bald cry baby again'?
• Wobama!
• Derik Badman and some other fine people are in Frank Santoro's New Talent Showcase. 
• Speaking of Derik Badman, how is it possible that I own Sectaurs comics but I don't own that Dragonlance comic?  I have failed you Nerderica. 
• Happy birthday (earlier this week) to Ben Towle.  Go read Oyster War. 
• Speaking of Mr. Towle, check out this review he did of the new Jessica Abel and Matt Madden Mastering Comics book. 
• Again with the Ben Towle: dig this amazing process gif he put together. 
• Everyone is talking about this young Brad McGinty kid.  Here and here  and here and here and here and here and everywhere and in some foreign language that uses letters my keyboard does not include!  This kid is bigger than Carly Rae Jepsen!  People are even doing Brad McGinty cosplay!  We here at file under other have never heard of the guy and have never posted anything about him but he seems to be a pretty good cartoonist/animator/print maker/t-shirt maker/hair model and people are going bat poo crazy over his prints and t-shirts.  He even makes real fake toys!  Who can stop him?!

(Image of some one who may not be Brad McGinty stolen from Shawn Daughhetee's facebook page.)

• The Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum has announced The Dylan Williams Collection.  It sounds pretty great. 
• Matt Seneca will not stop until everyone believes that Brendan McCarthy created everything you love.  He may be right. 
• Geoff Johns is burning in hell. "The box is you Dustin!"
• Remember how I've told you like a half dozen or so times to check out the excerpt Julia Wertz had been posting from her upcoming book?  (Which I think debuted at SPX.)  Well, she's posted the last page of it so you can go read the whole excerpt now.  I liked it. 
• They sho is a lot of great stuff you can buy real cheap at Top Shelf right now. 
• People, I'm not afraid to say that I kinda love Dale Earnhardt Jr.  "You shouldn't waste the years in between."  I've watched that video three times.    
• I'm all but certain that Chris Sims has kidnapped Tom Batiuk and is forcing him to create Funky Winkerbean strips solely to satisfy his own twisted imagination.  It is quite possible that Sims himself is not aware that this is happening.   
• Perhaps uncle Perry can explain it for us. 

• Jumpin' jimminy Christmas sticks.  Look at this Chris Weston art for an Akira movie that is apparently never to be. 
• Hey, let's go ahead and ignore the fact that this column is wayyyy too long and add a new ongoing feature that I may or may not ever remember to do again next week in the Parade-O-Links.  Let's call it....

THE BEST SINGLE PRINT COMIC I READ LAST WEEK

(Image stolen from comicbook.com)

The best comic I read last week might have been Action Comics #0 but that pencil-no-ink-kinda-painterly-style of art they used in that thing makes my stomach hurt.  Hate that style.  So, we'll say the best print comic I read last week was Animal Man #0 by Jeff Lemire, Steve Pugh and a whole bunch of other people.  There is no reason for this comic to exist other than to get Animal Man readers to spend another $2.99.  It does not add anything to anything or give you anything you need.  If you are me, and I know you are, then you have read Animal Man's origin several times and all the new information has already been alluded to in the current Animal Man series.  What you get here is it just being acted out.  But it is good.  There are a few clever twists on the Animal Man origin story that had not yet been fully played out in the New 52 version of the character.  But who cares?  All that really matters is that when you match up Jeff Lemire's imagination with Steve Pugh's art the result is gross and creepy in the best way.  It's fun.  I like it.  And, most of the other comics I read this week were Batman comics from the 90s.  And they were mostly awful. 

• Well, I guess that's about enough of all that.  Let's wrap this column up shall we.  Oh, what?  You say you need some link haiku?  You say you can't make it through one week to the next without some link haiku?  Oh, alright.  I feel ya bro.  I feel ya.  

Silent on taxes

Pootie done did it again

To protect my stacks

• And finally... Well, it turns out that ambulance doesn't have breaks on the mother...

Oh, and one more last thing!  Did you know you can leave comments on these posts here at file under other?  It's true!  And, I'll probably respond.  Twitter and facebook killed the message boards but that's no reason why you can't argue with me, praise me or leave me recipes.  It's your intronet.  Have fun!

And that's just a taste of some of the interesting things going out there in the wonderful world of comics and things. I can't keep up with it all but I do keep up with a lot of it on twitter and I try to re-tweet the good stuff. You should probably follow me there. If you did something to make comics better this week then high-five!

Your best pal ever,

Shannon Smith

p.s. Say you want a leader but you can't seem to make up your mind. I think you'd better close it and let me guide you to my twitter feed.

p.p.s. Let's pretend we went to high school together on facebook.

p.p.p.s. Google + is another place you can read the same thing I posted here.

p.p.p.p.s. I'll tumblr for ya.

Other Comics News Parade-O-Links 06102012

(A Dakota North paper doll by Tony Salmons stolen from The Factual Opinion.)

Just because file under other does not currently have a lot of time to talk about all the wonderful things that should be filed under other it does not mean that wonderful things are not happening. Here are some things I found interesting in the world of minicomics, small press, self publishing, zines, webcomics etc. during the week ending 06102012: 

• Frank Santorm posted a New Talent Showcase. I've been a fan of Ed Choy for a while and that new James Joyce book featured there looks really great. 
• Girls Read Comics Too has a nice reader spotlight interview with Heather Peagler. I know Heather and her husband Seth mainly through HeroesCon. Heather's "comics story" is interesting in that she came to comics as an adult and it was a non-super-hero comic that lured her in. Oh, and she's a lady. That mythical new reader that can be brought in by new quality material that allegedly does not exist? Well, there she is. Heather is also a big supporter of small press, indie, creator owned comics and minicomics. If we had a few thousand more Heather's we'd be doing pretty well. Heather and Seth blog about comics and comics events at Exile On Plain Street. Now is a good time to go ahead and book mark their page or add it to your blog reader as they are ramping up for Heroes Con. (Just two weeks away!) (p.s. Heather also posts convention sketches of Pinky and the Brain on Tumblr. One of which is drawn by me.) 
• Speaking of HeroesCon, the show is in just a few weeks in Charlotte NC. I hope to be there on Indie Island. They are going to have a Fun Run for the Hairy Cell Leukemia Research Foundation. Eric Canete, who happens to be one of my absolute favorite artists, is doing a t-shirt for the run and is offering portfolio reviews for participating artists. Details about the fun run here. Details about the portfolio reviews here. If you don't know Eric Canete's work you need to go look at his mind blowing sketches here right now. 
• The first great big full color collection of Josh Latta's Rashy Rabbit comics is on sale now. 
• A few days ago if you had mentioned the name Tony Salmons I would not have had a clue who you were talking about. But if you showed me images of the comics he worked on I would say, hey that's a lot of my favorite stuff. Michel Fiffe has a fascinating three part interview with Salmons over at The Factual Opinion. If you don't have time to read it you should at least check it out to treat yourself to some of the amazing art that has been posted. 
• This week Darwyn Cooke reminded us that your heroes will always let you down. (Unless they have the decency to die first.)
• Shawn and Adam talked a little bit about just what exactly a McGintyfest is over at The Dollar Bin. They also talked about Chris Schweizer's Crogan books. But I can't think too much about that because when I think of Chris Schweizer I think of a shot of a thing called The Kraken that nearly killed me. In a another episode of The Dollar Bin from a few weeks ago but I just listened to this week they have an interesting interview with X-O Manowar's Robert Venditti.  Oh, and then they talk about McGintyfest some more here.  And dang, that Adam guy sure does hate that Torrance character Kirstan Dunst played in Bring it On.  She's just a fictional cheerleader Adam!  Get over it. 
• Also in podcast land this week- Inkstuds had a comics critic roundtable with Tom Spurgeon, Paul Gravett and Joe McCulloch while Tell Me Something I Don't Know interviewed Teenager X and Comic Books continue To Burn in Hell. 
• Laura Hudson is stepping down from the Editor-in-Chief role at Comics Alliance.  It has been really impressive what she has done there in a short time.  I have a lot of respect for how Comics Alliance has handled a lot of the stickier issues over past few years.  But Hudson is also a very solid writer so if stepping down means more writing then that ain't bad.
• Have you read Howard Chaykin's American Flagg?  It's just about the best think ever by one of my all time favorite cartoonists.  You should probably read it.  My own collection is woefully spotty.  So, for me, the series being released digitally is kind of a big deal.  Now, I may or may not start buying digital copies of personally.  Digital comics just don't smell as good to me.  But, it's great to know it's there.  If I can find the time to dig out the issues I do have and try to put together a read through then maybe Comixology will get some of my money.  You can catch a preview of it here.  Digital actually seems to serve Chaykin's over the top colors very well.  Quick, somebody loan me the money to buy all the digital issues.  And a cell pad pod phone.  (I'll never pay you back.)  
• And speaking of over the top colors.  I talked a little bit last week about Matt Seneca's piece on Paradax.  Well, I also went blabbing about it on twitter and I was all "wah wah wah all that cool stuff came out before I ever knew comic book shops were a thing".  Sam Henderson saw my tears flooding the streets of twitter and decided to save the Earth by sending me a package of old Eclipse and Pacific Comics plus one of his own books.  And for this, Sam Henderson is currently the greatest human on Earth.  Bow before his glory. 
• Also this week had my wife's birthday.  She's pretty rad.  I kinda lover her and stuff. 

And that's just a taste of some of the interesting things going out there in the wonderful world of comics and things. I can't keep up with it all but I do keep up with a lot of it on twitter and I try to re-tweet the good stuff. You should probably follow me there. If you did something to make comics better this week then high-five!

Your best pal ever,

Shannon Smith

p.s. Say you want a leader but you can't seem to make up your mind. I think you'd better close it and let me guide you to my twitter feed.

p.p.s. Let's pretend we went to high school together on facebook.

p.p.p.s. Google + is another place you can read the same thing I posted here.

p.p.p.p.s. I'll tumblr for ya.