Comics may be late this week, but we deliver the good right on time! The latest strip is at the bottom of the main BOOM! Studios page. This time, it’s War Of The Worlds mayhem with some tasty, tasty art by my collaborator, Benjamin Birdie.
Also: Haiku Contest! There’s another hour left, people! Send your entries (as many as you want) to nitroglyceringeniuses@gmail.com!
Before I do this rundown, I wanna give a big shout out to the large, annoying group of polyamorous folks that fill up the greatest coffee shop in the world every Tuesday night. Thank you for choosing to procreate with other ugly, misanthropic folks so those of us that are merely average looking at best get ticked upward a notch. I hoist my iced Americano at you, creepy wavy gray-haired dude with a purple streak and you, woman who looks much fatter than she is because she’s clad in something that would make Caligula blush. Thanks to you, a tubby comics nerd typing away on his Palm pilot looks like James Bond and Bruce Wayne’s love child.
A private note to the girl in the orange pop-art dress and the Chynna Clugston-Major haircut: get out of that group. Now. I’m sure Kristin wouldn’t mind if you slept on our couch or something.
The comics? Yes.
DC ComicsMAR060312 52 WEEK #4 $2.50
Assume I’m getting this until I say otherwise, ok? OK. I said that last week. Ignore the doddering elderly crank, ok?
FEB060291 SEVEN SOLDIERS OF VICTORY VOL 3 TP $14.99
Like I wasn’t going to go ahead and pay DC twice for the pleasure of reading this material. Still no sign of Seven Soldiers #1 though, huh?
FEB060275 SHOWCASE PRESENTS HAUNTED TANK VOL 1 TP $16.99
I love you, Haunted Tank. I love you so very much. I hope that you do a crossover with Space Cabby one day and fight Gorilla Grodd so I can have the Ultimate DC Fetish Comic Written For Kevin Church.
Image
MAR061824 FIVE FISTS OF SCIENCE GN (RES) $12.99
Yesssssssssssssss.
MAR061851 GODLAND #11 $2.99
See above. Goddamn, it’s a good time for smart, funny comics.
Do you know what’s a really, really good song? “Marching Bands Of Manhattan” by Death Cab For Cutie. It’s got this really great, simple bassline that just underpins that vocal melody so fucking well. The song right after it, “Soul Meets Body?” Almost twice as good.
Marvel
MAR062158 ESSENTIAL OFF HANDBOOK MARVEL UNIVERSE DELUXE ED VOL 2 TP $16.99
I’m going to tell you guys a story I may well have told before. Indulge an old man, OK? When I got the Essential volume collecting the original OHOTMU, I immediately pointed out Swarm to Kristin.
Without missing a beat, she asked what would happen if our patron saint of Insectified Nazis fought the Red Bee, since the Golden Age DC hero has proven that he can bend a bee to his will.
It was one of those moments where choirs are heard, church bells ring, and angels get their wings. I do so like that woman.
MAR062135 PUNISHER THE TYGER (RES) (MR) $4.99
Garth Ennis + John Severin = Crazy Delicious.
This moment of past-its-sell-by-date humor brought to you by a ten hour day at the office. You can find out how to get your own ten-hour day at the office by calling our 800 number right now.
MAR062058 ULTIMATE EXTINCTION #5 (OF 5) $2.99
Shame the scheduling for this went off the rails a bit, because I was really into this. I’m sure it’ll be fine as a trade, just like the first two parts of the Ultimate Disco Horde of Galactus saga.
Other Companies
MAR063117 BATTLESTAR GALACTICA #0 $0.25
Dynamite, I’ll take this bauble you offer, but I am warning you right now that I will only buy one copy of each issue, despite your attempts to seduce me with…Michael Turner?BwahahahAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHahahah!!!!
APR062878 EMO BOY #7 $2.95
I understand, Emo Boy. I really do.
JAN062924 HERO SQUARED ONGOING #1 $3.99
JAN062925 HERO SQUARED VOL 1 TP $14.99
As I am employed by BOOM!, I shouldn’t comment on these books. I will, however, say that my friend loves this Giffen-DeMatteis stuff to tiny pieces because it’s funny and oddly heartwarming and features some nice art by Joe Abraham, who came back from a nasty hand injury and managed to get even better in the process.
FEB063204 LOCAL #5 (OF 12) (MR) $2.99
I certainly hope our protagonist has gotten smarter in the year that passed since her last issue.
FEB063370 MIDDLEMAN VOL 2 #4 $2.95
I think the scripts for this could consist of whale songs and dolphin whistles as long as Les McClaine drew the affair. Thankfully, the writing is much, much better than that.
APR062928 MOUSE GUARD #3 (OF 6) $3.50
It’s good, you know.
MAR063201 NOTES FROM A DEFEATIST GN (O/A) (MR) $19.95
Sacco! I’m not his biggest fan, but I love that he’s out there, doing his thing. This volume’s a little lean for the buckage, but the bonus CD will probably make up for that. There is no bonus CD. I am goddamn retarded.
MAR063342 QUEEN & COUNTRY #30 (MR) $2.99
I do not believe this exists until I hold it in my paws. I refuse to have my hopes dashed against the rocks again.
APR062840 SKYSCRAPERS OF THE MIDWEST #3 (MR) $5.00
AdHouse makes some lovely books, and Joshua Cotter’s endearing-yet-creepy modern rural fiction is one of my favorites. It’s always worth the wait.
APR062943 SONIC SUPER SPECIAL #6 (O/A) $2.25
APR062944 SONIC SUPER SPECIAL #7 (O/A) $2.25
APR062945 SONIC SUPER SPECIAL #8 (O/A) $2.25
MAR062969 SONIC X #9 $2.25
There’s this creep that comes into the comics shop I frequent. He’s probably 19 or 20. He comes in, stands at the register and says “Sonic comics” the same way that Peter Stormare says “Pancakes house” in Fargo. If you do not have the new Sonic comic, he walks out after making a dismissive sound indicating that you, as a human being, have failed by not having the comics that were not actually coming out this week.
To this dude, I say this: screw you for being a rude fucker. Stay home and fuck the Fleshlight you stuffed into the Sonic 10th Anniversary Puppet.
My opinions do not reflect those of the local shop’s staff They have the patience of a saint, as their continued association with me has proven.
JAN062890 WARREN ELLIS BLACK GAS #3 $3.99
Ellis, Zombies, shotguns, etc, etc.
That’s it for me. What’re you getting? Any of you that say Sonic will find themselves banned from further commenting.
I am dead fucking serious with that, by the way.
And yes, I�m including Tails in that ban. And Dr. Robotnik.
Blood red. That should have been my first hint. Maroon is not a color I associate with the last son of Krypton, and the cover of the first hardcover of Superman: For Tomorrow looked like it had just been dropped off from Mars. It’s a striking design, with Superman’s symbol in reflective ink, and the entire package is wrapped up very attractively, but unfortunately the story presented by Brian Azzarello and Jim Lee fails to do anything more than provide just that: an attractive box with very, very little inside.
The core of For Tomorrow is a very interesting conceit: a year ago, a million people disappeared from the face of the earth simultaneously, including Lois Lane. Superman investigates the disappearance and discovers how brutal mankind can be against itself and that no matter how much he tries to tell himself, he’s always going to be an alien on Earth. While on the trail, Superman battles the Elemental Giants, a genetically crafted supersoldier, and Wonder Woman and the Justice League in a desperate effort to bring back the lost and be reunited with Lois. Unfortunately, Azzarello’s simultaneously bloated and meager script turns an ideal six-issue series into twelve chapters with a highly unpleasant version of Kal-El in the middle of it all.
Azzarello, most famous for the crime epic 100 Bullets was chosen by artist Lee and while it’s obvious that he has a knack for multi-layered dialogue, his inability to write anything that doesn’t feaure a morally gray worldview hinders this story greatly. The churlish Superman that inhabits these pages fails to get any sympathy from me, and I’m the sort of person that spends a truly unhealthy portion of Superman: The Movie keeping tears at bay. Whether the script was written under a mandate to play to extremes in order to facilitate Infinite Crisis is unclear to me, but the truly unpleasant nature of the Superman in For Tomorrow is brought home in one bit of dialogue:
Batman: What’s this all about, Clark?
Superman: Kal. My name is Kal-El. And this is about some things I need get off my chest
Batman: Why don’t you start with the “S.”
Superman: I prefer to start with the man. I admire you. Through sheer, determined will you’ve made yourself the best you can be. You’re my friend…but I don’t like you.
Batman:I guess you do have something to get off your chest…
Superman goes on to make some very vague allusions to Batman keeping his chin up before flying off, but the entire scene rings false, mostly because Batman comes off being much more sympathetic than Superman. I can certainly see Azzarello’s desire with dialogue like this: he’s getting a chance to do something different with a character like Superman, a nearly seventy-year icon, but that’s exactly the problem, isn’t it? Where Miller played the Superman-Batman dichotomy for grim laughs in The Dark Knight Returns, Azzarello doesn’t lay the groundwork to lead to a scene like this – the turgid dialogue just chops wood randomly without anything more than allowing Batman to realize that Superman’s going to do something rash to bring back the lost by the next page. Yes, Superman has been confronted with a very dark part of humanity and his wife has been stolen from him but I can’t see the character not taking a final chance to make amends with Batman in a very, very different way.
Azzarello clearly revels in the characters he’s created for this story: the cancer-striken priest that Superman confides in and the mercenary Orr both shine brighter than the main character, and that’s the problem: they’re human and while both are essential to the story presented, they shouldn’t steal the spotlight from the main character as consistently as they manage to do for the entire twelve-issue story. When this is combined with the underwhelming nature of the “big” reveal and the by-the-books threadweaving at the climax, we get a Superman story that fails to excite – a cardinal sin.
Jim Lee struggles mightily to make this interesting. I’ve come around on his art, which I used to hold no small amount of disdain for, but there are some inventive layouts and while some of the dynamic poses that may break anatomy a bit, I didn’t mind. His male characters are all well-realized and he succeeds at making sure that his Superman isn’t just the Hush Batman without a mask, despite the whole “six foot two, black hair, eyes of blue” thing. Maybe there’s a little too much Photoshopping in some scenes – lens blur and flare are abused, certainly, but with the exception of Wonder Woman looking like she’s half-lizard and Lois Lane being generic in prettiness, it’s obvious that Lee has learned a lot about how to draw humans. Equus, however, is an unmitigated failure. Basically Seth from Millar’s run on The Authority, no amount of “clever” dialogue can make him anything more than highly derivative and dull as dishwater.
With Superman Returns coming to theaters, comics fans may want to check out what’s been up with the hero that started it all, but this is certainly not the book to do it with. When it comes to twelve-part storylines featuring a well-regarded writer and an inventive artist, I’d recommend the cheaper and much more enjoyable Birthright, where Superman’s origin gets retold for the umpteenth time to surprisingly pleasant effect by Mark Waid and Leneil Yu.
That’s all that needs to be said.
Innit nice?
Anyway:
Right click here to download Spring Into Summer, a 51-minute, 72mb group of MP3s conveniently placed together into a running order that is nice. If you want to know what you’re getting into, here’s a convenient tracklist:
Produced by Frankie Goes To Hollywood auteur Trevor Horn, Fundamental displays the intelligence, wit, and worldliness that have consistently placed the Pet Shop Boys high in my heart. The record opens with the minimal, elegiac “Psychological,” a track that debuted as an instrumental white label late last year and now featuring Tennant’s observations of the listener’s fashion, political, and clinical paranoia in the new England that Tony Blair is behind. This menacing, subdued opening is followed with “It’s a sin”’s bigger, beefier brother, “The Sodom and Gomorrah Show.” Full of arpeggios, giant chords, and a veritable choir of riffing electric guitars, this is the album’s first peak. Chris Lowe is on full display in this piece with a driving melody that snatches what it wants from Broadway, Queen, and disco. Tennant’s arched eyebrow is, if you couldn’t tell by the title, also in full force – there’s irony and blissful hedonism in his matter-of-fact delivery over Trevor Horn’s extravagant sound.
The third track, “I made my excuses and left,” does a fine, fine job of making sure that you’re as uncomfortable as the situation that Tennant describes as he was. Told anecdotally with very little in the way of “proper” pop songwriting, this slower piece seems oddly placed after the sophomore track’s excess, but it’s a very nice track on its own and manages to lead into future single “Minimal” very nicely. “Minimal” serves as the second standout moment on this excellent record, and not just for the use of spelling, a technique that I’ve repeatedly stated my love of. It’s got a dancefloor friendly beat, wry observations, and itchy analog synth noises that demand your full attention, along with a bassline that sounds suspiciously like it belongs on a really, really good New Order record.
However, this is when the fun stops for four minutes and forty-three seconds. Whatever possessed two very, very fine songwriters to ask Dianne Warren, she of “My Heart Will Go On” and the opening theme to Enterprise to write a song for them? The vocal melody of “Numb” is far too sing-songy for Tennant and the frequent use of “wanna” makes me think more of Ashley Simpson an her ilk than, you know, the smartest men in pop. The wasted string section and bargain-basement piano chords don’t help at all. I’m very glad this treacle was not chosen as one of the PopArt singles, as was originally the plan – it would have put a nail in the coffin far, far too early.
The instrumental interlude “God Willing” sets up the second half of Fundamental very nicely, though, feeling like the bridge of a quite good trance track. Another odd programming choice kicks in immediately afterwards, though, with the meditative and observational “Luna Park.” Much like Very’s “The theater” and “The survivors” from the underrated Bilingual, this song’s description of an amusement park serves as metaphor for culture, be it gay or straight, and its need for distraction from the realities of modern England.
Speaking of modern England, “I’m with Stupid,” is the Pet Shop Boys’ strongest single since “Can you forgive her?” Nominally about a man with a much, much less intelligent partner, the song serves as a funny, pointed look at the relationship between Tony Blair and George Bush. This follows up on Release’s “I get along,” based on Peter Mandelson, the Northern Ireland secretary that was forced to resign.
I initially dismissed “Casanova in Hell,” as it sounded a bit duff the first go-round, but by the second listening, the slow, string-laden, sad story of the aged title character’s realizing that he could no longer perform in the manner to which he was accustomed had me grinning. Also: it rhymes “affection” and “erection.” Even more also: they’re not talking about building sites. “Twentieth century” is one of those hopeful, upbeat songs that Pet Shop Boys put on albums to fuel the lazy journalists’ “they’re always completely ironic” argument. Sometimes, the line “let’s stay together” means just that, guys. There’s an unfortunate guitar breakdown that I’m not taken with, but this is a sure to be a grower among the sort of fans that post on message boards and listen exclusively to their favorite band.
Stop looking at me like that.
“Indefinite leave to remain,” has a clever title, clever lyrics, and a clever structure, but fails to hit. There’s something about it – maybe the too-similar-to-”Numb” sound – that just hits me wrong. I do like the idea of the track an awful lot, though. Thankfully, the album ends on a high note – the danceable, intelligent indictment of ID cards, which is a hot-button issue in the UK right now. “Integral,” of course, serves to address the current threat-level obsessed US government as well.
If you’ve done nothing wrong,
you’ve got nothing to fear.
If you’ve something to hide,
you shouldn’t even be here.
You’ve had your chance,
now we’ve got the mandate.
I’ve you’ve changed your mind,
I’m afraid it’s too late.
This is the pop music equivalent of an intelligent blockbuster movie: bombastic, intelligent, and the sort of thing that will have people in the aisles when it’s played as the last song at their live shows.
This is the Pet Shop Boys album that finishes the apology for Release that began with “Miracles” and “Flamboyant” from PopArt – it’s not perfect, but there’s a consistent level of quality that is hard to deny for among us that like their singable dance records to have that something extra. Fundamental also comes available in a special super disco limited edition that features a bonus disc of remixes aimed squarely at clubs.. Fundamentalism, while not a necessity, serves as a better-than-bonus-material extra.
Excluding, of course, that Elton John appearance on the otherwise-spectacular Stuart Crichton remix of “In Private.”
The deadline is 11:59PM on May 31st and you can email your BOOM! Promotional Haiku to nitroglyceringeniuses@gmail.com.
It’s always hard to review or critically look at comics by people you know. Thankfully, Bryan Lee O’Malley makes excellent comics and the poptastic magical realism of Scott Pilgrim And The Infinite Sadness, the third volume chronicling the title character’s fight against Ramona Flowers’s evil ex-boyfriends hits every mark it was expected to while showing off a few new tricks. Sure, this volume’s got the video game references and other cultural touchstones that hit a certain market segment, but O’Malley deftly plays with time here and adds a lot more emotional resonance than I expected to the story of Envy Adams, Scott’s own evil ex-girlfriend.
One of the things that makes the Scott Pilgrim books stand out in the current marketplace is the fact that they’re undiluted, unapologetic fun. Superboy fighting Superman in Infinite Crisis didn’t come close to raising my interestometer one bit, but the battle between Scott and Todd Ingram (Ramona’s ex and Envy’s current boyfriend that he must fight, per the book’s pr�cis) at Honest Ed’s had me positively gleeful. O’Malley has spoken of his rediscovering manga during the creation of the third volume and the way he’s distilled elements from that branch of the genre and incorporated them into third Scott’s adventure is just about perfect.
My only complaint about this volume is that the handy chart explaining the complex romantic and relational entanglements of the world O’Malley’s created at the back of the book. However, the fact that the inside front cover serves as Page 1 ameliorates this nicely. Book of the week, and with a Kirby Masterworks coming out at the same time, that’s saying a lot.
Johnny Ryan has created a catchphrase so perfect in Angry Youth Comics #11 that I’m already calling tattoo parlors and asking them how they are with calligraphy.
I don’t ask much from 52, but unless Superboy punching time turned Maggie Sawyer into Ethel Mertz, that hairstyle has got to go. (Except for that, I really quite enjoyed this issue, even if the idea of a new Terra Man is/was silly and Black Adam’s eXXXtreme methodologies are a prelude, very blatantly setting him up for a fall.)
Cynthia Martin’ guest pencils on Blue Beetle #3 sneak in quite nicely, imitating Hamner well enough that I double-checked the credits. I don’t have much to say besides it’s competent, not flash teen superhero material that appeals to me much more than Invincible, the only other book I can think of that’s in a similar space. I do wonder about the disappearing kitchen table on the title page, though.
I got both versions of NextWave: Agents Of Hate #5 and yes, I plan on coloring the alternative one, maybe even with actual crayons just to be that way. There�s some positively hilarious moments in this issue, courtesy of Dirk Anger’s insanity and once the Johnny Ryan catchphrase tattoo heals, there’s an Ellis one waiting to happen:
More of this prattling later, including this week’s Daredevil and Hawkgirl; I have to get to work.
I’m #9 on Google for “sex with animals”.
I am not in the top 200 for “katee sackhoff”.
I do not approve of this.
Hey, kids! There’s a new Nitroglycerin up at the bottom of the main BOOM! Studios webpage.
Ed Cunard’s interviewed Alex of Rocketship over at Graphic Language. I’ve kept kind of quiet about my involvement in this project, which sort of fell into my lap after Ed and Chris Tamarri loaded me with booze, but my interview (which will hopefully be finished this weekend and cleaned up for posting next week) is with someone whose work I admire quite a bit, so I’m pretty excited about it.
That’s why I started this thing with “Contests!”, you know. To announce that I’m going to have one with the aid of my artistic better half, Benjamin Birdie. As I love a good haiku at least as much, if not much more than the common person, I’m going to solicit you all for some. The prize, as it were, is an appearance on a forthcoming Nitroglycerin strip. While the subject of your appearance as a character is subject to, shall we say, the artistic whims of Birdie and myself, know that this will be handled in the best possible taste, as the mandate from On High is that we follow at worst a PG-13 sort of guideline.
(In other words, it’s highly unlikely that you’ll be our Sue Dibny.)
How do you enter the contest?
Ross Richie, genius!
His company strides the earth!
Buy Talent or die!
Please note that we’d need a good picture of you if you are the winner, so bust out your cameras and do the MySpace photo thing.
Alternately, you can check out a preview of Phonogram from my pals Gillen and McKelvie. Looks to be genius to me.
I generally ignore about 85% of it
and bring you, the loyal readers,
the cream of the comics crop.
Diamond Monolithic Indu Previews Publications.
APR060002 MARVEL PREVIEWS JUNE 2006 PI
APR060005 PREVIEWS ADULT VOL XVI #6 PI
APR060001 PREVIEWS VOL XVI #6 PI
APR060003 PREVIEWS VOL XVI CONSUMER ORDER FORM #6 PI
You know the routine – your shop pays to have their distributor’s catalogs shopped to them so you can pay for them to order product. Among leisure products, it seems that only comics does the Neiman-Marcus model of punishing the consumer and vendors.
Dark Horse
FEB060054 CONCRETE VOL 5 THINK LIKE A MOUNTAIN TP $12.95
I’m not sure I like how these things are shipping out of sequence. Still, the latest volume that came out was a remarkably thoughtful piece of fiction examining overpopulation.
DC Comics
MAR060311 52 WEEK #3 $2.50
I am pretty much going to stop listing this unless I hear something reliable concerning, say, ninjas or pirates or monkey ninja pirates or something. Would anyone miss me saying “Yes, I’m buying that weekly DC series?” Is anyone even listening to me?
Hello?
Are you there, God? It’s me, Batman.
MAR060334 SECRET SIX #1 (OF 6) $2.99
Go, go Gail Simone writing things about bad people doing things of dubious moral value!
OCT050332 SILVER AGE SUPERMAN SERIES 1 INNER CASE PI
OCT050336 SILVER AGE SUPERMAN SERIES 1 JIMMY OLSEN AF PI
OCT050334 SILVER AGE SUPERMAN SERIES 1 LEX LUTHOR AF PI
OCT050335 SILVER AGE SUPERMAN SERIES 1 LOIS LANE AF PI
OCT050331 SILVER AGE SUPERMAN SERIES 1 MASTER CASE PI
OCT050333 SILVER AGE SUPERMAN SERIES 1 SUPERMAN ROBOT AF PI
Look, you tell me where else I can find a Silver Age Jimmy Olsen and Beppo figure and then you can make fun of me. Yes, I know I’m stupid for wanting these so very badly. I don’t really care. These and the upcoming New Frontier toys are the only thing DC Direct has made in the last year or so that I have any interest in.
OCT050344 WHOS WHO MYSTERY BOX SET SERIES 1 PI
These look pretty neat. I dunno about the whole Mystery Box thing, which sounds like a sub-Kirbyism, but I like tiny cheap tchotskes well enough.
Image
MAR061861 ROCKETO JOURNEY TO THE HIDDEN SEA #8 $2.99
Outside of the odd lettering choices made, I have quite literally no complaints with this book of late. If you’ve not, do. That is all.
Marvel
MAR062083 DAREDEVIL #85 $2.99
Everyone’s said everything about this I would say already. Good, solid work that manages to touch on past tropes while doing its own thing. I do wonder when Matt Murdock’s going to have another reason to smile, though.
MAR062141 MARVEL MASTERWORKS FANTASTIC FOUR VOL 10 NEW ED HC $49.99
With this, I will have collected all the Kirby FF material. This makes me happy and sad at the same time. Bittersweet, how nerditry can be.
MAR062109 NEXTWAVE AGENTS OF HATE #5 $2.99
FEB068167 NEXTWAVE AGENTS OF HATE CRAYON BUTCHERY VAR #5 (PP #712 PI
I got last week’s All Star Batman variant because Mike knows I like Frank Miller. I’m sure I’ll get this because Mike knows I’m like a child and I like to make with the coloring.
MAR062133 X-STATIX PRESENTS DEAD GIRL #5 (OF 5) $2.99
Please let there be a follow-up to this series. It’s just so funny and human and pretty and stuff.
Other Companies
APR063148 ANGRY YOUTH COMIX #11 (MR) $3.50
I love how banal and stupid this comic is willing to be for the sake of a laugh. It’s like Humor Porn or something.
FEB063168 BUCKAROO BANZAI #1 (OF 3) $3.50
Every issue of this comic should end with the creative team doing the walk in a drainage area. The end.
MAR063223 CARL BARKS GREATEST DUCKTALES STORIES VOL 1 TP $10.95
This? Essential stuff for anyone who enjoyed last year’s The Life And Times Of Scrooge McDuck
MAR062876 CROMARTIE HIGH SCHOOL MANGA VOL 6 TP $10.95
I have yet to get #5 and here’s #6. Bah. Stupid comics.
OCT053132 SCOTT PILGRIM VOL 3 INFINITE SADNESS GN (MR) $11.95
Mal’s said it’s coming out, Diamond has said it’s coming out, Oni’s said it’s coming out, but part of me refuses to believe in it until it’s in my hands. It’s like Santa Claus’s throat.
JAN063042 SCRUBLANDS GN $16.95
This looks pretty neat: South African cartoonist John Daly gets a spotlight from Fantagraphics. The material I’ve seen looks pretty ginchy, and I look forward to seeing it, even if I’m unsure about my managing to preorder the damned thing.
While I’ve got Fantagraphics on the brain, I should mention that last week’s Hotwire was, by the by, a very well-done slab of funnybookism from a nice crossection of the artier end of things. Seeing Johnny Ryan and R. Siroyak in the same volume is a strange treat, much like following a really gross and somehow satisfying fried chicken meal with some 18-year single malt.
