[...] That’s one less comic I will be buying later this year… I will not buy Harlan Ellison’s Dream Corridor 2, as I had planned, because the toad groped Connie Willis on stage at the Hugos (via). [...]

[...] I left Sidescrollers (Oni Press, JUL06 3349, $11.95) out of my July Previews writeup because it was labeled a “prose novel”. This online preview shows otherwise; it’s a graphic novel by Matthew Loux, who previously illustrated F-Stop. [...]

James, Earthlight is the Tokyopop OEL written by Stuart Moore, right? I just wasn’t sure enough about it to order it, and I haven’t seen any preview material anywhere.

DC seems to be trying more licensed prose paperbacks, but they all don’t end up coming out.

I’ll look for Dream Corridors, and thanks for the heads up on the MccLoud book too. I’ll have to see if DCBS or Amazon will have the better deal on it.

Anyone know anything about:

KINO NO TABI BOOK ONE O/T BEAUTIFUL WORLD VOL 1

or

EARTHLIGHT VOL 1 GN?

They are really cheap on DCBS, and the premises at least sound kind of neat.

Oh and I the only one that finds it odd to see a novelization of Infinite Crisis?

I think what I really admire about Popeye, besides the fact that I find it funny, is Segar’s inventive dialogue. It’s far from naturalistic, but it really sticks with you. Besides the famous “Ja think I’m a cowboy?”, and J. Wellington Wimpy’s signature “I’ll gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today” it’s chock full of gems like “I thrill at your proximity” (Wimpy to any woman he is wooing), “Pooey to you from me” (pretty much anyone), “My name is Jones…I’m one of the Jones boys” (starting with Wimpy, but later anyone denying their identity) and “Oh, you big fathead me!” (Toar, brutish servant of the Sea-Hag who eventually reforms).

Lyle, good way to put it. Once you get past the key premise, the other situations are also resolved in predictable ways.

James, the Dream Corridor books would be my recommendation.

And I agree with you about the Image I. That’s the flip side of the diversity they’re aiming for, that their brand no longer has as strong an impact.

Ray, thanks for adding some items! I’m looking forward to browsing that Nilsen book, since I haven’t read any of his other works. I was disappointed by Desolation Jones, though; after a strong start, it fell apart, I thought.

Don’t Go Where I can’t Follow, Drawn & Quarterly-
by Anders Nilsen. In early 2005, Cheryl Weaver, girlfriend and partner of cartoonist Anders Nilsen (Big Questions, Dogs and Water, Monologues for the Coming Plague) was diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma (cancer of the lymph system). Despite an initially positive outlook, the illness failed to respond to chemotherapy, and in November, Cheryl died. Don`t Go Where I Can`t Follow is a collection of travel stories and minor disasters, of grappling with illness, and of a farewell. It is told in a rich combination of writing, comics, a photojournal, postcards, and drawings, most of which are artifacts from the history of the relationship, in which both partners were artists and storytellers.

Diane DiMassa of Hothead Paisan has a new book out with Daphne Gottileb: Jokes and the Unconscious. It’s a bout a 19-year old working in the hospital where her father worked before he died. It’s from Clies Press.

IDW’s putting out a Chicanos collection of Eduardo Russo’s work- the 100 Bullets artist teams with Carlos Trillo to tell the story of a Mexican woman who longs to be a PI in the States.

Marvel’s got a collection of FF stories with some great Karl Kesel one-shots (FF: The Life Fantastic). DC’s putting out another Teen Titans archive (pricey but beautiful), the first Desolation Jones TP (which might be his best work since Transmetropolitan and Orbiter), and the third League of Extraordinary Gentlemen book, The Black Dossier.

Almost forgot- Kim Deitch has a new book at Fantagraphics- Shadowland.

I don’t think the Image I really means as much as it once did. The various studios are more important than the I these days. When I look at books like Witchblade or Cyberforce I think Top Cow, Spawn I think McFarlane and Savage Dragon I think Larson. The I just lacks the impact.

I’ve never read any comics by ellison. What’s worth tracking down in particular?

I’m with you on the Eyebeam! I don’t have much hope, though. Not enough people know about it to drive the demand.

I read Jeff’s complete set when I first moved back to Philly, and they’re just fantastic and hilarious comics story-telling. Now if Eyebeam comes back into print, I’d be all set….