April 8, 2010 Johanna Comic Book Films Leave a comment

Iron Man 2: Stark Expo

To promote the upcoming Iron Man 2 movie, out May 7, Marvel has created the Stark Expo 2010 site (no longer available). In the world of the film, Tony Stark’s father originally started the Expo as a way to demonstrate “better living through technology”. Now, Tony is relaunching the event to “explore the technological wonders that will enhance lives everywhere.” I like this approach. We’ve lost the magic of world fairs as ways to bring people together, and it’s a […]

April 7, 2010 Johanna Oni Press / Lion Forge Leave a comment

Spell Checkers

What if teen witches acted like real teens, mean and bitchy and selfish? That’s the appeal of Spell Checkers, a black-and-white graphic novel out later this month from Oni Press. It’s written by Jamie S. Rich, illustrated by Nicolas Hitori de, and Joelle Jones contributes additional art. Three girls cast a spell to give them power, vowing to be best friends forever. Now they’re in high school, and the way they rule the school is being questioned. Normally, they send […]

April 7, 2010 Johanna Comic News Leave a comment

The West Coast Era of Comics

I predict that in the future this comic era will be known as the West Coast Era of comics. (Maybe I should better say I nominate this nomenclature for future scholars to understand what drove the comic industry in this era.) For these reasons. 1. Hollywood’s influence. Comic movies are popular and successful, with The Dark Knight and three Spider-Man movies ranking in the top 30 all-time worldwide grosses. But it’s not just superheroes; all kinds of graphic novels get […]

April 6, 2010 Johanna Dark Horse 4 comments

The Guild #1

I heard good things about this comic, I bought it, and I liked it. That doesn’t really happen much anymore for me, in this world of pre-ordering and big-event fascination hypnosis and fractured online communities who already know what they’re buying and what they’ll think about it. Even though this comic is a media tie-in, it entertained me and made me eager for more. Writer Felicia Day is better known as an actress, part of Joss Whedon’s company. She’s the […]

April 6, 2010 Johanna Viz Manga Reviews Leave a comment

Butterflies, Flowers Volume 2

After reading volume 1, I was unclear on what I was supposed to take away from this series by Yuki Yoshihara. The contrast was unusual — I got that the male/female roles were being stereotyped for comedy, but underneath it all, there’s still a romance, and if we’re supposed to root for the central couple to get together, then there’s only so far we can perceive them as ridiculous. The exaggeration is sometimes working at cross purposes to the shojo/josei […]

April 5, 2010 Johanna Other Prose Leave a comment

The Amazing Mackerel Pudding Plan

I stumbled across The Amazing Mackerel Pudding Plan the other day, and I had a blast reading it. (If you’re a fan of books by James Lileks, you will too.) Wendy McClure found a bunch of Weight Watchers diet recipe cards from the 1970s and has republished the pictures, complete with snarky commentary, especially when it comes to the props they surrounded the food with. The book is now out of print, but never fear, you can read the website. […]

April 5, 2010 Johanna DC / Vertigo 3 comments

The Night Owls

The newest Zuda webcomic in print (after last fall’s High Moon) is The Night Owls. Online, this strip was the site’s second Instant Winner, meaning it was picked for a development contract in December 2007 without having to struggle through winning a monthly competition. Installments ran through December 2009, and they’ve all been collected here. As soon as I heard the premise — supernatural detectives in the roaring 20s — I was sold. I fondly remember Jazz Age Chronicles, and […]

April 4, 2010 Johanna Yen Press Manga Reviews 10 comments

Bunny Drop Volume 1

Daikichi finds a surprise at his grandfather’s funeral: The old man had a six-year-old daughter no one knew existed! The rest of the family wants to pack her off and forget her, but Daikichi, out of impulsive, unexpected motivation, since he’s a 30-year-old bachelor, takes his new aunt Rin home to watch over her in Bunny Drop by Yumi Unita. The two form an unusual, heart-warming relationship. There’s humor, of course, as Daikichi realizes how little he knows about children, […]

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