Comics and More

High School of the Dead (Volume 1) Daisuke Sato & Shouji Sato I'm always up for a good horror story, and while zombies have been done to death, I still have quite a fondness for the shambling dead, which is why I picked up this new manga from Yen Press.  High School of the Dead features a small group of high school students who see a zombie invasion take place while in class.  Very quickly, the school is overrun with zombies, and mayhem ensues, but a few lucky students keep their heads through the bedlam and escape to see what has become of their families and the world at large.  This is a very typical zombie story.  No new ground is being tread here, but this book offers up plenty of fan service with big-breasted women, pantie shots galore and even one ridiculous scene where one girl tears another girl's skirt half off so she can run faster.  Yeah, it's that kind of book.  Along with the prominently featured female assets, there's gore ga...

Here is the book you should be paying attention to, due in comic shops on Wednesday... Stigmata HC - This new graphic novel from Italian creators Lorenzo Mattotti and Claudio Piersanti boasts that wonderful moody swirling artwork that we got a glimpse of with Mattotti's Chimera #1 that was released through Fantagraphic's Ignatz line a few years ago.  Expect this to be one of the year's major releases. Other Noteworthy Releases Age of X: Alpha #1 Angel: The John Byrne Collection HC Artifacts (Volume 1) TP The Art of Red Sonja HC Avengers Academy (Volume 1): Permanent Record HC Avengers by Brian Michael Bendis (Volume 1) HC Blecky Yuckerela (Volume 4): $$$$ You A-Hole GN The Complete Bad Company TP Ice Haven TP Infestation #1 The Killer (Volume 3): Modus Vivendi HC The Last Unicorn HC Magneto #1 New York Five #1 Robert Jordan's New Spring GN Saga of the Swamp Thing (Book 4) HC Shazam #1 Twilight Guardian #1

It's not technically Monday anymore, but better late than never, right? Itsuwaribito (Volume 1) Yuuki Iinuma Utsuho is an itsuwaribito.  Itsuwaribito have a bad reputation as violent thieving liars, like pirate samurai.  But Utsuho isn't your typical itsuwaribito.  He's made it his code to lie in life, like an itsuwaribito, since he believes that the truth only gets people hurt.  When he was a child, his entire household was slaughtered because he was gullible enough to answer the questions of some bandits truthfully.  So despite the monk's rebukes who raises a village full of orphans, Utsuho can't stop lying, and won't.  When the entire village is destroyed by a group of itsuwaribito, however, Utsuho makes it his mission in life to continue helping others, like the monk taught him, but he will do it his way - through lies.  It's an odd idea, but Itsuho thinks that there are good lies and bad lies, and unlike other itsuwaribito, he wants to use go...

Caanan Grall Celadore was the last of the Zuda products from DC to see print before the line was discontinued, but they definitely ended on a high note, as this is a really fun supernatural romp.  Including all sorts of creatures of the night, such as ghosts, frankensteins, elves and genies, the story revolves around a Buffy-like monster hunter whom the vampires fear, wise-cracking all the while, laughing in the face of death.  Unfortunately, the opening scene is the last we see of that Celadore, as she is struck with some mystic mojo that pushes her soul from her body.  But Celadore isn't done yet, as she wakes up to find herself in the body of an eleven-year-old girl.  While not the strikes-fear-into-her-enemies menace that she used to be, she still kicks plenty of undead butt along with a nosy neighbor boy with a knack for finding trouble and a shape-shifting ex-boyfriend, among others.  It's just a lot harder getting into bars to follow mon...

Here is the book you should be paying attention to, in comic shops on Wednesday... Buffy the Vampire Slayer #40 - The very last issue of the eighth season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer . Other Noteworthy Releases Age of Reptiles (Volume 1) TP B.P.R.D.: Plague of Frogs (Volume 1) HC Denis Kitchen's Chipboard Sketchbook HC Fraggle Rock (Volume 2) #1 Jurassic Park: The Devils In the Desert #1 Lovebunny & Mr. Hell (Volume 1) TP Myspace Dark Horse Presents (Volume 6) TP Rat Catcher HC The Smurfs (Volume 4): The Smurfette Wolverine & Jubilee #1

Here are ten books that caught my eye in the latest Previews Catalogue , for books that ship to comic shops in March... Sugar and Spike Archives (Volume 1) HC - It's not the ideal format for this material, but at least it's being reprinted.  Fans have been waiting for years for this to see the light of day, and finally the first ten issues of Sheldon Mayer's classic will be available again. The Comics Journal #301 - It's been awhile, but the new issue of The Comics Journal is coming out with over 600 pages of goodies, including an interview with Joe Sacco and a dissection of Crumb's Genesis . Dan Clowes' Mister Wonderful: A Love Story TP - This is an expanded edition of the story that was serialized in The New York Time Magazine , with forty pages of new material. Sigil #1 (of 4) - The science fiction series originally published by Crossgen is being reimagined with a 16-year-old girl as the protagonist caught in the middle of a war because of the sigil ...

Alright, back to regular posting this week after a little post-holiday read-as-many-comics-by-the-end-of-the-year-for-the-best-of-list respite.  Another light week in comics, but here is the book you should be paying attention to, in comic stores on Wedneday... The Sixth Gun (Volume 1) TP - Cullen Bunn and Brian Hurtt's supernatural western from Oni Press ended up on quite a few best of the year lists.  Issue one was a Free Comic Book Day offering and seems to have garnered some dedicated fans as it's continued.  Now's a perfect time to check out what the hubbub is about. Other Noteworthy Releases Avengers: Coming of the Beast HC BPRD: Hell On Earth - Gods #1 Casanova: Gula #1 Daredevil Reborn #1 Fantastic Four: Resurrection of Galactus HC Spawn #200 Wonder Girl #1

Here's the book you should be paying attention to in comic shops on Wednesday... Batman Beyond #1 - I've heard good things about the recently-concluded, soon-to-be-collected Batman Beyond mini-series from Adam Beechen, Ryan Benjamin and John Stanisci, and obviously sales have warranted an ongoing series, as the first issue offering a glimpse of the future of Gotham City comes out this week. Other Noteworthy Releases Captain America: War & Remembrance HC The Complete Little Orphan Annie (Volume 6) HC Deadworld Omnibus (Volume 1) SC Death Note Black Edition TP Fallen Angel: Return of the Son #1 (of 4) Lady Death #1 The Mighty Thor Omnibus (Volume 1) HC Steel #1 Superman: Nightwing and Flamebird TP Ultimate Comics: Captain America #1 (of 4) The Walking Dead Weekly #1 Weird Worlds #1 (of 6) Women of Marvel: Seven Decades Omnibus HC

Here we are again.  Another year, another best-of list.  These are my favorite comic books from 2010, including manga, superheroes, graphic novels, reprints, etc.  I try to be as true to how I feel about a book as possible when ranking them, which is why it may seem odd for some to see a superhero title hardly anyone read rank over an acclaimed graphic novel.  If I enjoyed my experience of reading it more, it was placed higher on my list.  I hope you enjoy my list of twenty choice books.  I read a lot of great comics this year and certainly encourage you to pick up any of the wonderful graphic novels that made the cut this time around.  Without further adieu, here are my favorite comics of the year... Honorable Mentions A Drunken Dream and Other Stories ( Moto Hagio ) Ooku: The Inner Chambers ( Fumi Yoshinaga ) Set To Sea ( Drew Weing ) Stumptown ( Greg Rucka & Matthew Southworth ) Weathercraft ( Jim Woodring )...

Here is the book you should be paying attention to, in comic shops on Wednesday... Crickets #3 - A good old-fashioned alternative comic book!  At one point announced as being cancelled due to Diamond's new minimum order policy, Sammy Harkham's highly-anticipated third installment of Crickets finally comes to stores this week! Other Noteworthy Releases Batman: The Dark Knight #1 Bigfoot HC Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Tales HC Hellboy: The Sleeping and the Dead #1 (of 2) John Carpenter of Mars: Weird World TP Ka-Zar by Mark Waid & Andy Kubert (Volume 1) TP The Man of Glass GN Red: Eyes Only #1 Tomb of Dracula Omnibus (Volume 3) HC X-Force: Cable & The New Mutants HC

2010 was another great year for manga.  The following are my favorite ten of the year, the best of which will also be ranked on my forthcoming overall best comics of the year. 1. Ayako ( Osamu Tezuka ) - He's the god of manga for a reason.  Ayako was crafted in the early 70's and contains plenty of World War II commentary as Osamu Tezuka beautifully unfolds this story of a family unraveling.  This story has action, murder, intrigue, love, mystery - everything you could ask for in an epic family drama.  Often brutal and dark, this unpredictable story is just another example of clear, compelling storytelling from an immense talent. 2. not simple ( Natsume Ono ) - Natsume Ono has constructed an amazing story here full of turmoil.  Very intense stuff.  She uses simple cartoony lines to illustrate her book, one that looks more alternative than most manga out there, and almost reads more like a graphic novel than what you'd expect picking so...

Joann Sfar & Antione de Saint-Exupery Joann Sfar's The Little Prince graphic novel adapts the classic children's story by Antoine de Saint-Exupery, retaining much of the whimsy and magic of the original story.  I never read the prose version of The Little Prince when I was a child, so perhaps that's why the story never really meant much to me.  It's kind of meandering, following a pilot who's trying to repair his plane in a dessert and meets a small boy who recalls his adventures on his little planet and floating through space meeting strange people.  It's kind of a sad tale, and a little weird for kids, but I can see why a lot of people really enjoy this tale - I just wasn't really struck by it.  This graphic novel by Joann Sfar, however, really does work well with the story by Saint-Exupery, bringing it to life in a cinematic way with his loose, cartoony art that really captures the whimsical tone of the prose story.  Joann Sfar is kind of the per...

The following are my favorite superhero comics published this year, the top titles of which will also fall into my forthcoming best comics of 2010 list. I like to do a separate list for superheroes (and manga) because literary comics tend to overshadow genre works, even though I really, really love superhero books too. I feel I need to highlight the best the year had to offer, so here are my personal favorites... 1. S.W.O.R.D. ( Keiron Gillen & Steve Sanders ) - Spinning out of Joss Whedon and John Cassaday's excellent run on Astonishing X-Men is this short-lived superhero story that takes place on a space station in Earth's orbit, where the very capable Agent Brand protects the planet of extraterrestrial threats.  With a fun crew of characters, including X-Men Beast and Lockheed, this book is one of the funnest comics that I've ever had the pleasure of reading, right out of the gate, with a great balance of action, humor and verbal sparring, and clea...

Here are my favorite albums and singles of 2010.... 10 Best Albums 1. We Are Born by Sia - Playful and wild, you can tell that Sia's having fun with her music.  It's refreshing, emotional and unique to anything that's out there.  Many of her songs are ridiculously contagious, even if it's a little hard to make out what's being said at times.  This is a fantastic, inspired album.  Anyone who hasn't heard this is missing out.  Key Tracks: Clap Your Hands, Bring Night , Hurting Me Now . 2. Hands by Little Boots - One of the most danceable CDs in years, Little Boots brings a retro flavor to great club music, with some interesting sounds and clever little songs (even if the lyrics are a little shallow). There's a consistency across the whole album here that seems unheard of nowadays in music, providing plenty of instant dance classics. Little Boots is a welcome new voice to the dance scene. Key Tracks: Remedy, Ghost , Mathematics . 3. Animal by Ke$ha...

Here is the book you should be paying attention to, in comic shops on Wednesday.... A Single Match HC - From Drawn & Quarterly, this is a 240-page collection of short stories from Oji Suzuki, alternative manga artist whose work has appeared in GARO. Other Noteworthy Selections Black Widow: The Name of the Rose HC Cyclops #1 Mice Templar (Volume 3) #1 Robert E. Howard's Savage Sword #1 Tank Girl: Bad Wind Rising #1 (of 4) Tikitis HC Ultimate Comics: Doom #1 (of 4) Vampirella Archives (Volume 1) HC

Nick Spencer, W. Scott Forbes, Jorge Coelho & Marley Zarcone The trade paperback of Forgetless collects the entire five issue mini-series from Image Comics , as well as the back-up story illustrated by Marley Zarcone.  The main story has art by W. Scott Forbes and Jorge Coelho, with two styles of art very different from one another.  One style is very sleek and a little stiff, with a little Luna Brothers vibe going on, while the other is loose and detailed with more character to it, usually popping up in flashback sequences that go into the history of a character.  Actually, this story jumps back and forth in time a lot, and oftentimes a book can get a little muddled that way, but it works for this story, slowly teasing out mysteries and the how's and why's of the situation.  The book follows the last night of the nightclub Forgetless in New York City, where a newbie assassin has been charged to kill a boy that will be in attendance.  The back-up story, w...