Independent Opinions, News, and Reviews of Graphic Novels, Manga, and Comic Books
Review by KC Carlson In comic shops this week, the latest and maybe the most fascinating volume yet in the Simon & Kirby Library series. The Simon & Kirby Library: Science Fiction was slightly delayed due to the passing of Joe Simon in late 2011. Simon was very involved in the production of these wonderful volumes, and it can’t have been an easy time for editor Steve Saffel and the rest of the crew at Titan Books. Nonetheless, this volume […]
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Reading the entire volume of You’re All Just Jealous of My Jetpack at one sitting is like ingesting a mind-altering substance. It contains such a coherent and yet completely strange worldview that it will reset your perceptions. Tom Gauld‘s cartoons, one per page, cover history, literature, and technology, in the same way Kate Beaton’s do. The best way to recommend this volume is to simply send you to read his cartoons. If you see one that tickles you, you’ll likely […]
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This science biography about three anthropologists who lived with primates is astounding. I’ve heard of Jane Goodall and Dian Fossey before, but I didn’t realize just what they accomplished. Primates brings their discoveries to life. In 1960, Goodall lived in Africa for a long-term observation of chimpanzees. It’s a good thing that she didn’t mind spending a lot of time alone, doing nothing but watching animals, because she discovered them using tools. That was a revelation, since until that time, […]
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I previously reviewed this book of illustrated essays by Darryl Cunningham when it was published in the UK and called Science Tales: Lies, Hoaxes, and Scams. For the US release of How to Fake a Moon Landing: Exposing the Myths of Science Denial, due in April, the chapter on “Electroconvulsive Therapy” (which tied nicely into Cunningham’s previous book, Psychiatric Tales) has been replaced by one on “Fracking”. Also, “The Facts in the Case of Dr. Andrew Wakefield” has been retitled […]
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It’s been an astounding year for non-fiction comics, with such exceptional works as Economix, Science Tales, and Dirt Candy (also drawn by Dunlavey) released — and I haven’t even mentioned memoir! Probably the most fun of any such book — as well as the most self-referential in subject matter — is The Comic Book History of Comics by Fred Van Lente and Ryan Dunlavey. It’s an incredibly dense book, with packed panels and wide-ranging coverage. It begins with the credited […]
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Darryl Cunningham previously wrote Psychiatric Tales, stories of his time working with mental patients. Now, he turns his graphic journalism to bigger topics with Science Tales: Lies, Hoaxes, and Scams. As in his previous book, the chapters take distinct points of view. These are essays, meant to convince, not just reporting. Topics covered include current hot buttons — climate change, evolution, denial of the facts discovered by the scientific method — as well as older areas of debate, including chiropractic, […]
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Vertigo recently announced Vertigo Resurrected, a 96-page $8 special due in October that promises to finally print “Shoot”, a story by Warren Ellis and Phil Jimenez that was intended to be Hellblazer #141 but was banned by Paul Levitz in the aftermath of the Columbine shootings. Backing it up will be “rarely seen tales exploring the disturbing depths of horror, war, romance, and science fiction by Brian Azzarello, Grant Morrison, Garth Ennis and artists Jim Lee, Phil Jimenez, Bernie Wrightson, […]
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America’s Teenager Preaches for Spire Comics (This article originally appeared in Hogan’s Alley #16, March 2009.) Most of the larger American comic publishers are willing to create licensed publications for various organizations that aren’t sold through the usual markets. DC Comics, for example, has done free Superman giveaways for the United Nations, warning children in war areas of the dangers of land mines, and for the Doris Day Animal Foundation, telling kids not to torture pets. Marvel Comics created a […]
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