July 14, 2014 Johanna Movie Reviews Leave a comment

Stripped — The Comic Strip Documentary

A product of love, and a couple of Kickstarters, Stripped is required viewing for anyone interested in comic strips and/or webcomics, since the makers (Dave Kellett, author of the webcomic Sheldon, and Fred Schroeder) managed to get interviews with many big names. The $19.99 DVD contains an hour-and-a-half documentary. On the traditional newspaper comic side, they talk to Mort Walker (Beetle Bailey), Cathy Guisewite (Cathy), Lynn Johnston (For Better or For Worse), Jim Davis (Garfield), Stephan Pastis (Pearls Before Swine), […]

July 13, 2014 Johanna Image Comics 4 comments

The Fuse: The Russia Shift

What sold me on The Fuse was hearing writer Antony Johnston describe it. “Sci-fi, detective stories, and murder mysteries are three of my favorite things, and The Fuse mashes them all up into something unique,” said writer Johnston. “We’ve been blown away by the response from our readers — especially women, who love Klem and her kick-ass attitude — and we hope this collection will encourage even more people to visit the claustrophobic, corrupt, and violent world of Midway City.” […]

July 13, 2014 Johanna Pantheon 2 comments

Shoplifter

Michael Cho’s Shoplifter is the most modern, of-its-time graphic novel I’ve read in a long while. Illustrated in a style that’s Darwyn Cooke meets Adrian Tomine, it’s the story of Corinna Park, a young woman in a big city who no longer knows what she wants or what to do. I was also reminded of the well-recommended Pope Hats in its style and subject matter. Like so many young people, Corinna has been taught to follow her dreams, which included […]

July 13, 2014 Johanna DC / Vertigo 2 comments

Scooby-Doo Team-Up #5 Featuring Wonder Woman

I’m not going to argue that all superhero comics should be for kids, although I think the majority of them work best if they are all-age-friendly. However, I do think it’s a shame that certain heroes that kids love aren’t able to be read by them in current comics, given the emphasis on violence and blood and depravity. One of the most obvious in that category is Wonder Woman, the superpowered princess from an island of Amazons. Little girls love […]

July 13, 2014 Johanna Other Publishers 4 comments

Dash #1 a Gay Twist on the Classic Private Eye

Dashell “Dash” Malone is your typical 1940s private eye. He never has enough money, he’s got a wise-cracking secretary he couldn’t do without, and his latest case involves a mysterious, well-built woman with a secret she won’t share. Only Dash is gay, and he’s distracted from all of the above by not hearing from Johnny, his former con artist lover, for too long. Of course, there’s a murder, and the mysterious woman, Zita Makara, is likely involved. Writer Dave Ebersole […]

July 9, 2014 Johanna Art Leave a comment

Displaced Persons Preview of Time-Travel Noir

Image Comics has released a substantial preview of Displaced Persons, a noir graphic novel by Derek McCulloch and Anthony Peruzzo. It can be pre-ordered with Diamond code JUN14 0499, and the $17.99 paperback is due in comic book stores August 6, in bookstores August 19. The story is a twisty puzzle that, typical of the genre, explores the darker side of human nature and family interactions. I read it multiple times.

July 7, 2014 Johanna Dark Horse Leave a comment

The Secret Files of Dr. Drew

If you’re interested in retro horror comics, The Secret Files of Dr. Drew is the book for you. The fourteen stories here were originally published by Fiction House from 1949 to 1951 in Rangers Comics #47-60. I’d never heard of the series before, so I appreciated the included background material explaining its history. Michael T. Gilbert’s introduction covers what is known about the series’ origin, rooted in Will Eisner’s Spirit studio, as well as elaborating on the strengths of the […]

July 7, 2014 Johanna First Second Leave a comment

The Zoo Box

First Second reaches out to younger readers with the just-past-a-picture-book The Zoo Box, written by Ariel Cohn. It’s a simple story — Erika and Patrick are left home to tuck themselves into bed, but they wind up opening the zebra-striped zoo box in the attic instead — so the lasting appeal is the simple, charming art of Aron Nels Steinke. The kids love animals, and they’re promised a trip to the zoo tomorrow if they behave. After the events of […]

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