Congrats to ADDTF for one solid year of reading comics naked.

Also, welcome back ADD and In Sequence.

Did I miss anyone?

 
For those about to Rock, we salute you!

A few of you may remember my failed attempt at creating a 24-Hour comic. I blame those Two-Bite Brownies for my downfall. Anyway, due to other more pressing matters I am unable to take part in this year's festivities, for which I was going to once again blog my progress. However, Brad Hawkins is blogging his stab at the project. Good luck to all!

Master, Master, where’s the dreams that I’ve been after?

A very belated congratulations to David Fiore for becoming a Master of Literature. Rock!

I! Am! Iron Man!

Further proof that Mike Sterling and I were separated at birth. I, too, am a little intimidated by the opportunity to review AiT/PLanetlar comics, especially following up so many other class acts who have already submitted their reviews. Time to suck it up.

Only the Good die young. All the Evil seem to live forever!

Speaking of which, also slightly similar to Mike, I've been blogging everyday for nearly four months now, so no worries on tiring me out, Mr. Young. I'm from Welland, man. Heart of Coal, Cock of Steel.

It's a nice day for a white wedding.

From the Beguiling mailing list.

"Just as a reminder, our Grant Morrison event for this May is in fact cancelled. Grant and his fiancé's schedules were just too hectic to make a May event work, and so we';ve tentatively rescheduled for later this summer. We wish Grant and Kristan the best on a long and happy marriage."

It's about time Kristan made an honest man out of that Morrison character. Congratulations to the both of you!
posted by Steven at 4:48 PM

 
Free Comic Thursday on Friday - The Hembeck Files

Apologies to Jim Salicrup.

One of the complaints leveled at the current comic book market is that, with decompressed storylines designed to be compiled into trades at a later date, the single issue comics no longer have as much value for their price. I'd hypothesize that one of the factors that contribute to this sense of diminishing returns is that, in comparison to comics from even a decade or two ago, there's less ancillary material. Letters pages have disappeared from most comics, as have bulletin pages. When this material does occassionaly reappear, it's on an irregular basis and is usually less dense and time-diverting. Now, I'd be the last person to say that buying a comic that reads quickly is a rip-off. Some of my favourite comics have barely any words and simplified artwork but can take repeat readings easily. However, back in the day, when you finished a comic in the back seat of the car on the way to the cottage and were stuck for reading material, you could count on letters praising or damning stories you hadn't read yet, alliterative announcements arguably arousing amateur artists' ardour, and if you were lucky, a whole seperate comic.

As a child of the late 70s and early 80's, I enjoyed many trips to the barbershop reading the last gasp of diverse genre titles from DC Comics, with titles like Weird War Tales, Sgt. Rock and Jonah Hex, to name a few favourites. And a staple of those comics, along with The Answer Man, was The Hembeck Files.

Once again, you can get quite an education from both the strips and the commentary by proprieter Neil Polowin. Each entry has a small essay attached that gives a little bit of background on the characters being satirized, especially helpful with targets like Mon-El, Eclipso, Gravedigger, Vigilante and other heroes who never quite became household names. There are nearly 80 entries on the site, more than enough to satisfy any nostalgic craving I... er, you might might have. Until DC decides to make an Archive edition of this material this is the place to go.
posted by Steven at 2:25 PM

 
Free Comic Thursday - Fred Hembeck



I know of at least one visitor who isn't going to be pleased with this week's selection, considering he's already read most of this material. Fred Hembeck linked to me over on his blog, pointing out the Free Comic Thursday feature specifically. Not only is it a thrill to find out one of the cartoonists whose work you grew up appreciating takes time out to read your ramblings, but it's especially nice that someone has expressed an interest in this weekly sampling of comic history. I had absolutely no idea whether anyone even tried out any of the comics I've linked to or not. Thanks, Fred.

If you grew up on Marvel Age and the Daily Planet back pages like me, you're probably very familiar with Hembeck's distinctive style and strange obsession with Brother Voodoo. And if you aren't, here's your chance to catch up on what the rest of us turned to when coming down from a particulary harrowing Sgt. Rock. Packed to the rafters with "comic" goodness worthy of the title, his site promises even more to come in just about every section. With introductory essays and annotations accompanying most of his strips, this is easily one of the best organized and comprehensive comic artist sites you'll find. It would be foolish of me to list off even the smallest amount of classic material found within.

The Best of Dateline @!!?* is fab if you're into obscure comic history like yours truly. With nearly 50 strips, Hembeck walks you through a freakshow of near-forgotten oddities that you wish could've survived, and a handful of those you hope will fade away but know in your heart they never will. A few standouts include Marvel's very first, incredibly awesome crossover, freakin' Prez, not one, but two many faces of Jimmy Olsen pages, and a visit with EC's shrink. Nova, the Human--Dancing Machine is worth the price of admittance alone.

Wait, that's not all! Trip back to the Silver Age with Hembeck's semi-autobiographical Little Freddy, browse through the best of his writing on comics, and take a gander at various Hembeckizations of classic comic covers, with commentary. And that's just the educational stuff. Whoever thought learning could be so much fun?

Never mind the long, hard process of destroying a universe, the adventures of a young Petey Parker, one ginormous children's graphic novel and an appearance by Seaguy! Heck, he hasn't even been published yet and already Hembeck is making fun of him!

You could spend days getting lost in there. Be careful.
posted by Steven at 3:47 AM

 
Notes from the "Outer Blogosphere"

Things have been a little hectic around here recently. Between working the midnight shift, getting over a cold, and attending the few classes I'm still required to take, I have to borrow whatever time I can to squeeze out a post every day, let alone take care of life's little details, like eating. Not that I'm complaining. I wouldn't have it any other way. It's just that one of the things that's fallen by the wayside is reading other peoples' blogs. The last two weeks I've been lucky to sneak even the smallest peek at the writing of my peers. The silver lining to all this is that when I do get the time, there's a whole wealth of great stuff waiting for me.

One notable example of this is Rodrigo Baeza's blog. Baeza always seems to find intriguing items from outside the usual realm that the "comics blogosphere" delves into. Most of what he posts is either completely outside my own interests, or is off my radar entirely, but almost without fail turns out to be pure gold. I always learn a few new things about the medium every time I visit his site. Currently, he has posts devoted to web exclusives at Hogan's Alley, Magnus Robot Fighter, more Ricky Carralero chicanery, and an interview with Alberto Breccia. Highly recommended if you'd like to broaden your horizons.

Salgood Sam is once again logging in vast amounts of time on his dual blogging. Sometimes I get so wrapped up in his work on Sequential, which is written as a straight-up, objective Canadian comics news site, that I forget his work journal, which not only covers past and present comic works of his, but also whatever thoughts he has on the business and the medium. It's certainly a fresh perspective, coming from someone who chooses to work in both the mainstream and the small press, and is immersed in a comic scene which is culturally more diverse than what most of us are exposed to. His take on where the mainstream has failed, his work on Saint Sinner and other old material dragged out of storage are currently up and running.

The Great Canadian "Comics Blogosphere" Takeover continues unabated. Yet another Canuck artist, Alan Hunt, has one of the great hidden treasures of the "comics blogosphere". Though he uses it as an all-purpose journal, as a cartoonist he seems to have a hard time keeping away from the topic of comics. Even the entries on his day-to-day life come with lovely little spot illustrations. Notable entries include a strange examination of a bizarre fan letter he received nearly ten years ago for his non-shit-'zine, the New Yorker and Fermi's Question and Jack Kirby's work for Ruby-Spears. My pal K. gave me a set of those Kirby Kards and Hidden Harry stole my heart.
posted by Steven at 7:01 PM

 
Harry Mayerovitch 1910 - 2004



"Here I am doing strips without words. I'm not giving anything away - except that the pictures give me away completely!" - Harry Mayerovitch

It's a testament to the incredibly strong respect for cartooning in Quebec that Harry Mayerovitch, acclaimed architect, author, painter, orator, professor, illustrator and urban planner, continued drawing and publishing comics right to the end.

Born in 1910 in Montreal, Mayerovitch's family spent his early years in Ontario before he moved back to pursue pre-law at McGill. After poking his head into the architecture department and becoming fascinated with drawing, abandoned his current career path and threw himself into art. Both the Depression and a trip to Mexico in the late 1930s fueled Mayerovitch's exploration into the social responsibility of the artist. During World War II, prompted by these newfound emotions, Materovitch contributed numerous propaganda posters for the NFB, a few of which can be seen by scrolling down this page. One of Montreal's most famed architects and fine artists, Mayerovitch still found time to devote his pen to the satirical side with numerous wordless cartoons that reveal the hidden, yet still humourous, side of humanity.



EGON (you may have to scroll down) has links to both the Gazette's obituary and a profile on the artist recently featured on the cover of the Mirror, perhaps the last interview in which Mayerovitch participated. Mayerovitch's book Way To Go, published by Drawn and Quarterly, was released just two weeks ago at the Bleu Metropolis literary festival. Way To Go is a collection of cartoons about death and dying spanning Mayerovitch's career from its beginning right up to the present.

Montreal mourns an icon. May he rest in peace.
posted by Steven at 1:09 PM

 
Chiba, vol. 2

This time, she will Kill Bill (Spoilers).


posted by Steven at 2:34 PM

 
Pete Alvarado 1920-2004

Mark Evanier has posted the news that the incredibly prolific animator and comic artist Pete Alvardo has passed away. Evanier has written a lengthy appreciation which covers what he claims is only a tiny portion of Alvardo's mostly uncredited work.
posted by Steven at 12:25 PM