Showing posts with label Charles Burns. Show all posts

Monday, November 27, 2017

BEST COMICS: 2014

M I R A C L E M A N,
The Only Band That Matters

Shortcut links:
> Best Graphic Novel
> Best Comics
> Best Graphic Novels
> Best Collections/ Reissues
> > "MIRACLEMAN"
> Best Movies And TV
> Best Webcomics

> Rest In Power

B E S T
G R A P H I C
N O V E L :

-STRONG FEMALE PROTAGONIST, by Brennan Lee Mulligan and Molly Ostertag ⇧

An indie triumph, challenging the conventions of superhero comics, gender perceptions, and social constrictions with impish humor and wry insight.

Read the continuing webcomic!

B E S T
C O M I C S :

I M A G E

-SAGA, by Fiona Staples and Brian K. Vaughan ⇧

The smartest and most sophisticated Space Fantasy being made.

-ROCKET GIRL, by Amy Reeder and Brandon Montclare _______
Her flights are rare but always a fine trip.

-BLACK SCIENCE, by Rick Remender and Matteo Scalera _______
Cross-dimensional realignment.

-SHUTTER, by Joe Keatinge, Leila del Duca, and Owen Gieni _______
Script-flip adventuring.

-GENESIS, by Nathan Edmondson and Alison Sampson _______
First thought, next chaos.

-PRETTY DEADLY, by Kelly Sue DeConnick and Emma Rios _______
Spaghetti western gothic.

-FATALE, by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips _______
Hardboiled horror.

-SATELLITE SAM, by Matt Fraction and Howard Chaykin _______
Erotic mystery.

M A R V E L

-MIRACLEMAN #1-13,
by Alan Moore, with Garry Leach, Alan Davis, Chuck Beckum, Rick Veitch, and John Totleben ⇧

After impossible and treacherous delays,

the series that solely created
the postmodern adult superhero

returns to print, remastered for a new audience to catch up on

where absolutely everything important
since 1982 came directly from.

-MIRACLEMAN Annual #1, by Grant Morrison and Joe Quesada; Peter Milligan and Mike Allred

Plus you get an all-new Annual by star creators!

_______________

-THOR, by Jason Aaron and Russell Dauterman, + ⇧ _______
She is Thor, and she will stomp all.

-SHE-HULK, by Charles Soule and Javier Pulido _______
Acerbic fun.

-MS. MARVEL, by G. Willow Wilson, Adrian Alphona, and Jake Wyatt ⇧ _______
The most charming new hero continues her winning streak.

-CAPTAIN MARVEL, by Kelly Sue Deconnick and David Lopez _______
One of comics' best new writers, Deconnick brings Carol Danvers to the forefront with full force.

-BLACK WIDOW, by Nathan Edmondson and Phil Noto _______
Solid spy intrigue with sharp graphics.

-SILVER SURFER, by Dan Slott, Michael Allred, and Laura Allred _______
With the Allreds involved, you'll always find the Mod fun in the modernism.

D C

-WONDER WOMAN, by Brian Azzarello and Cliff Chiang _______
The duo finish their three-year run redefining the Amazon in fine stead, with tricky plots, bold graphics, and a solid ensemble cast.

-TINY TITANS: Return To The Treehouse, by Art Baltazar _______
ART BALTAZAR puts all the fun back into comics that we first loved them for in the first place.

V E R T I G O

Cover art by Yuko Shimizu
-THE UNWRITTEN Apocalypse, by Mike Carey and Peter Gross ⇧ _______
A finale miniseries to cap off the magic boy's story.

-ASTRO CITY, by Kurt Busiek and Brent Anderson, + Alex Ross _______
Quietly and steadily, the series has reinvented the Golden and Silver Age forms just as smartly and powerfully as affirmed classics like WATCHMEN, MARVELS, and KINGDOM COME.

B O O M

-LUMBERJANES, by Noelle Stevenson,Grace Ellis, and Brooke Allen _______
This contemporary retake on scout troops is always a fun blast from the word go.

S E L F -
P U B L I S H E D

-THE HANGING TOWER, by Sam Bosma _______
An historical fantasy one-shot by the creator of FANTASY BASKETBALL.

B E S T
G R A P H I C
N O V E L S :

-SUGAR SKULL, by Charles Burns ⇧ _______
The third chapter of the X'ED OUT trilogy, Burns' punk reconstruction of the conventions of Tintin.

-NEMO: The Roses of Berlin, by Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill _______
The second book in a trilogy focusing on Janni Dakkar, the daughter of Nemo from THE LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN.

-BEAUTIFUL DARKNESS, by Fabien Vehlmann ⇧ _______
Fairy tales get turned inside out with this deceptively gorgeous warning allegory.

-THIS ONE SUMMER, by Mariko Tamaki and Jilllian Tamaki _______
Two friends at the beach on the cusp of growing up.

-SECONDS, by Bryan Lee O'Malley _______
Following SCOTT PILGRIM, O'Malley goes for bold color and emotional depth.

-HIPHOP FAMILY TREE 1981-83, by Ed Piskor ⇧ _______
"...and you don't stop!"

-THE LATE CHILD And Other Animals, by Marguerite Van Cook and James Romberger _______
A deeply personal generational saga of surviving war, bureaucracy, and time's challenges.

-SERENITY: Leaves On The Wind, by Zack Whedon, Georges Jeanty, and Karl Story _______
With this volume, the SERENITY sequel comic finally recaptures the ensemble chemistry and dialogue of the FIREFLY TV series along with its frontier adventurism.

-TOMBOY, by Liz Prince _______
You are who you say, not who they say.

-HILDA AND THE BLACK HOUND, by Luke Pearson ⇧ _______
The beloved and smart HILDA series continues to bound full apace.

-BLACKSAD Amarillo, by Juan Diaz Canales and Juanjo Guarnido _______
Hardboiled detective yarns in a talking animal universe, with excellent art.

-THE SHADOW HERO, by Gene Luen Yang _______
A thoughtful and hilarious rethinking of what may have been the first Asian superhero of the Golden Age.

LITTLE NEMO, by Yuko Shimizu
-LITTLE NEMO: Dream Another Dream, by Various Artists (Locust Moon Press) ⇧ _______
An all-star cast of creators pays tribute to the wild dreamscapes of Winsor McCay's eternal comic strip masterpiece.

B E S T
C O L L E C T I O N S /
R E I S S U E S:

-MIRACLEMAN, Book 1: A Dream Of Flying, by Alan Moore, Garry Leach, and Alan Davis (Marvel) ⇧

-MIRACLEMAN, Book 2: The Red King Syndrome, by Alan Moore, Alan Davis, John Ridgeway, Chuck Beckum, and Rick Veitch (Marvel)

M I R A C L E M A N

In 1982 a new writer named Alan Moore entered British comics and immediately began revolutionizing and advancing the entire industry.

Just as Punk was driving Do-It-Yourself indie bands and labels to upend the music industry, indie creators and start-up publishers likewise expanded the horizons of the graphic storytelling medium. For the iconoclastic Warrior magazine Moore co-created V FOR VENDETTA with artist David Lloyd, challenging the repressive Thatcher regime with an anti-dystopian allegory for the ages. But also, he resurrected a Captain Marvel knock-off from the '50s called Marvelman.

Rather than the light kids fare of yore, in one genius stroke Moore reimagined the hero from the perspective of modern maturity, grounding the series with unparalleled realism, psychology, and social comment. O'Neill and Adams had first ushered the dawn of 'The New Relevancy' in comics with the political realism of their 1971 Green Lantern/ Green Arrow stories, and now Moore illuminated the next level. With the taut and detailed art of Garry Leach and then Alan Davis, Moore brought a new depth and breadth of sophistication in craft and subject matter to comics with this stealth series. This only increased exponentially with time across three arcs (Book 1, 2, and 3), where he deconstructed, reconstructed, challenged, and expanded the entire potential of superheroes specifically and the comics medium by extension.

All 'postmodern', 'deconstructed', and Mature comics since 1982 ripple directly off of the big bang of those Marvelman stories. No matter how removed you may feel from it, it is the star-stuff that composes nearly everything you have read and are now reading.

Moore was so successful so fast that DC Comics poached him in 1984, where his new masterpieces -SWAMP THING and WATCHMEN- changed everything universally. Many have heard of V FOR VENDETTA because DC kept it in print. But Marvelman -rechristened MIRACLEMAN in the United States- was out-of-print for decades because of greedy legals. (Looking at you, Todd.) Now, Marvel Comics has rectified this, with remastered art, new color, and the deluxe treatment it deserves.

That's your cue. Quality is timeless... it's time to catch up.

__________

-TREASURY OF AMERICAN PEN & INK ILLUSTRATION 1881-1938, by Various Artists (Dover) _______
The Golden Age of Illustration is the wellspring of all comics creators.

-THE ART OF THE SIMON AND KIRBY STUDIO, by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby (Abrams) _______
Simon and Kirby are the original power team of the Golden Age, inventing Captain America, Green Arrow, dynamic action, double-page spreads, Romance comics, and many more of the basics of the comics vocabulary.

-CREEPING DEATH FROM NEPTUNE: The Life and Comics of Basil Wolverton, Vol. 1, by Basil Wolverton (Fantagraphics) ⇧ _______
Similar to Fletcher Hanks, Wolverton was a touched genius no one knew how to use (until MAD magazine later channeled his brilliance).
These early stories are Exhibit A.

-The Complete ZAP COMIX, by Various Artists (Fantagraphics) _______
The epicenter of the Underground Comix quake, all here in your shaking hands.

-THE COLLECTOR, by Sergio Toppi (Archaia) _______
Every page by Toppi is a master class.

-TARZAN: Burne Hogarth's Lord of the Jungle, by Burne Hogarth (Dark Horse) _______
Generations of artists learned anatomy from Hogarth's figure drawing books. Here's why.

-THE INCAL, by Alejandro Jodorowsky and Moebius (Humanoids) _______
The entire series, which spanned the '80s, is compiled in this fine volume.
Jodorowsky. Moebius. Nuff said.

-ALIAS Omnibus, by Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Gaydos (Marvel) _______
The entirety of where Jessica Jones began.

THE COLLECTOR, by Sergio Toppi

-ZENITH: Phase 1; and Phase 2, by Grant Morrison and Steve Yeowell (2000 AD) _______
A young Scottish upstart named Grant Morrison got his start, and DC's attention, here.
His metatextual mindtrip through multiversity began here, too, and he's been rewriting it ever better ever since.

-THE WALKING MAN, by Jiro Taniguchi (Ponent Mon Ltd) _______
Taniguchi's meditative stroll through the quiet joys and surprises of suburban Japanese neighborhoods.

-GUARDIANS OF THE LOUVRE, by Jiro Taniguchi (NBM) ⇧ _______
Beautiful watercolors and draftship.

_______________

WHERE WE COME FROM, Dept.
Explore the past to map the future.
Get with, get going.

-AMERICAN COMIC BOOK CHRONICLES: The 1970s, by Jason Sacks (TwoMorrows)
An ongoing series detailing each decade of hte comics revolution/re-evolution.

B E S T
M O V I E S
a n d
T V:

I write and illustrate reviews of all comics-sourced films at the Four Color Films site.

Graphic art by Tym Stevens

-CAPTAIN AMERICA: The Winter Soldier
> Four Color Films review

-X-MEN: Days of Future Past
> Four Color Films review

-AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2
> Four Color Films review

-SNOWPIERCER
> Four Color Films review

-GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY
> Four Color Films review

-THE FLASH, season 1

-CONSTANTINE, season 1

See also:
> BEST MOVIES & TV: 2014

B E S T
W E B C O M I C S :

- Strong Female Protagonist ⇧
Strength of character.

- The Nib
Fight The Power with laughter.

- Oh Joy Sex Toy
Catch the vibe.

R E S T
I N
P O W E R

"Judgment Day",
by Al Feldstein and Joe Orlando,
WEIRD FANTASY #8 (1953)

Al Feldstein

From you, we exist.
Because of you, we persist.

Nuff said, pilgrim. Excelsior!

© Tym Stevens

Monday, January 28, 2013

BEST COMICS: 2012

S A G A,
by Vaughan and Staples

Shortcut links:
• Best Graphic Novel
• Best Comics
•• Worst Comics
• Graphic Novels
• Best Collections/ Reissues
• Movies And TV
•• "V For Vindication"
• Best Media Sites

• Rest In Power

B E S T
G R A P H I C
N O V E L :
2 0 1 2

• STARSTRUCK Deluxe Edition, by Elaine Lee, Michael Wm. Kaluta, and Lee Moyer ⇧
(softcover)

"I was, and am, a huge fan of STARSTRUCK, which I think was one of the most brave and elegant experiments in comic book story-telling."
-CLIVE BARKER

"Favorite comic of all time: STARSTRUCK, by Lee and Kaluta."
-MIKE CAREY

"Pick up this book, because not having read it is sort of like not having read POGO, or listened to "Trout Mask Replica", or seen a Hayao Miyazaki film."
-John Hilgart, THE COMICS JOURNAL

"STARSTRUCK could be both silly and smart, was progressive but unpretentious, and clever but not so impressed with itself that it ever forgot to entertain. IDW’s reprint of the series is a service to fans of science fiction, aficionados of comics as an art form, and anyone who loves a good story."
-W. Andrew Shephard, THE NEW INQUIRY

Buy from IDW

➤ STARSTRUCK Strikes Back!
➤ The Roots And Branches Of STARSTRUCK

B E S T
C O M I C S :
2 0 1 2

- - - - I N D I E S - - - -

• LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN: 2009,
by Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill (Top Shelf)

It was always about the extraordinary woman.

• SAGA,
by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples (Image)

Space Fantasy gets a challenging and adult rethink.
Excellent.

• FASHION BEAST,
by Alan Moore and Malcolm McClaren with Antony Johnston (Avatar)

In the late-'80s, Alan Moore wrote a script for a Malcolm McLaren film that didn't get made. Now the screenplay has been adapted into a 12-issue maxi-series by Antony Johnston.

• BLACK KISS II,
by Howard Chaykin (Image)

In the late-'80s Chaykin's gothic noir was so raunchy that it was sold sealed in black plastic bags. This new sequel was too much for European distributers, who refused to import it.>

• FRANKENSTEIN ALIVE, ALIVE,
by Steve Niles and Bernie Wrightson (IDW)

Wrightson. Frankenstein.

• STAR TREK,
by Mike Johnson, with Stephen Molnar, etc. (IDW)

J.J. Abrams' STAR TREK films rebooted the original series in a different timeline. Johnson's underrated follow-up comic fills out their 5-year-mission by taking classic episode stories into new directions.

• FATALE,
by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips (Image)

Like a jam session between Chandler and Lovecraft.

W O R S T
C O M I C S

- - - - - ~~D C~~ - - - - -
The modern comics landscape was recreated by Alan Moore.

When corporations betray> great creators>> for a buck>, they don't get my money or support.

- - - - - ~~M A R V E L~~ - - - - -
The vast marvel landscape was blueprinted by Jack Kirby.

When corporations betray> great creators> for a buck>>, they don't get my money or support.

Support creators over corporations.

B E S T
G R A P H I C
N O V E L S :
2 0 1 2

• ARE YOU MY MOTHER?,
by Alison Bechdel (Mariner Books) _______
The companion to the phenomenal FUN HOME (2006), which was TIME's Best Book of the Year.

• THE HIVE,
by Charles Burns (Pantheon) _______
The second book in Burn's trilogy about a postpunk Tintin.

• THE COMIC BOOK HISTORY OF COMICS: Birth Of A Medium,
by Fred Van Lente and Ryan Dunlavey (IDW)
Why not tell the history of comics in its own unique style?

• Harvey Pekar's CLEVELAND,
by Harvey Pekar and Joseph Remnant (Z2 Comics)
Harvey Pekar turned Underground Comix into Indie Comics with his real-life confessionals.

• BABY'S IN BLACK: Astrid Kirchherr, Stuart Sutcliffe, and The Beatles in Hamburg,
by Arne Bellstorf (First Second)
Photographer Astrid Kirchherr and bassist Stuart Sutcliffe, artists and lovers, were a crucial catalyst for the early Beatles.• >

B E S T
C O L L E C T I O N S
+ R E I S S U E S :
2 0 1 2

• Walt Disney’s DONALD DUCK: A Christmas For Shacktown, by Carl Barks (Fantagraphics)
Another master class from the maestro Barks.

• The Complete POGO, volume 2, by Walt Kelly (Fantagraphics)
Kelly's sly slapstick brought critical acclaim and literary validation from the mainstream media for the comic strip medium.

• CRIME DOES NOT PAY, by Various (Dark Horse)
A collection of the notorious anti-Crime comics that right wing zealots misused to maim the comics industry.>

• JACK DAVIS: Drawing American Pop Culture - A Career Retrospective, by Jack Davis (Fantagraphics)
Davis catapulted out of Mad Magazine to become the premiere cartoonist for magazine and album covers.

• OUT OF THE SHADOWS (retrospective of Mort Meskin), by Mort Meskin (Fantagraphics)
The underrated artist's use of light and shadow influenced many of the best creators in comics history.

• SPACEHAWK, by Basil Wolverton (Fantagraphics)
Actual stories by the most belovedly grotesque artist of all.

• CORTO MALTESE: The Ballad of the Salt Sea, by Hugo Pratt (Universe)
Mature adventure tales with cinematic eye and literary tongue.

• MATT BAKER: The Art of Glamour, by Matt Baker (TwoMorrows)
Matt Baker was one of the pioneer African-American artists, who deserves all the spotlight he can get.

• OBSERVED WHILE FALLING: Bill Burroughs, Ah Pook, and Me, by Malcolm McNeill (Fantagraphics)
The story of how author William S. Burroughs and artist Malcolm McNeill attempted to create an avant-garde precursor to graphic novels.

• ALIEN: The Illustrated Story, by Archie Goodwin, Walter Simonson (Titan)
The classic comics adaptation of the 1979 film, at last re-released.

• MICHAEL WM KALUTA Sketchbook, Vol.1, 2, and 3, by Michael Wm Kaluta (IDW)
Collections of the concept sketches of one of the finest and most versatile illustrators.

• ANGEL CLAWS, by Alexandro Jodorowsky and Moebius (Humanoids)
The filmmaker (El Topo, Santa Sangre) and the illustrator (Arzach, Airtight Garage) collude in a portfolio of erotic surrealism.

• The Adventures of ADELE BLANC-SEC: Vol. 2, by Jaques Tardi (Fantagraphics)
The continuing misadventures of the grumpy investigator of the fantastic.

• FLEX MENTALLO: Man of Muscle Mystery, by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely (Vertigo)
The mini-series of The Doom Patrol's most unexpected character, remastered.

• SCOTT PILGRIM Color Edition Vol. 1 & 2, by Bryan Lee O'Malley, with Nathan Fairbairn (Oni)
1-2-3-4 BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZTTT!

• OCCUPY COMICS,
by various creators>
People are citizens, corporations are plagues.

B E S T
M O V I E S
+ T V :
2 0 1 2

I write and illustrate reviews of all comics-sourced films at the Four Color Films site.

• THE AVENGERS
> Four Color Films review

• THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN
> Four Color Films review

• THE DARK KNIGHT RISES
> Four Color Films review

• JOHN CARTER

• SKYFALL

• ALTER EGOS

• CHRONICLE

• COMIC-CON Episode 4: A Fan's Hope

• ARGO
(For the Jack Kirby connection.)

• MISFITS, fourth season

• Better Things: The Life and Decisions of Jeffrey Catherine Jones
A fine documentary about the excellent unsung artist, featuring Gaiman, Moebius, Kaluta, Wrightson, McKean, Pope, Mignola, and Sienkiewicz.

• Sex In The Comix: The History of Erotic Content in Sequential Art
A fun documentary overview of international erotic graphix.

See also:
➤ BEST MOVIES & TV: 2012

V For Vindication, Dept.:

or, "Alan Moore knows the score."

Who cares about Hollywood adaptions when you can make your own films?

Alan Moore has teamed with filmmaker Mitch Jenkins to create a unified continuity of short films about a cabaret purgatory.

UPDATE: The short chapters were collected into a total film under the title SHOW PIECES.
Available here.

BEST MEDIA SITES

• io9
Under the mentorship of famed authors and founders Charlie Jane Anders and Annalee Newitz, this site has continually presented the best genre media analysis around.

• The Mary Sue

• The Afro Futurist Affair

R E S T
I N
P O W E R

M O E B I U S
Our father, whose art is heaven...

• Jean Giraud, a.k.a. Moebius
• John Severin
• Sheldon Moldoff
• Joe Kubert

From you, we exist.
Because of you, we persist.

Monday, November 27, 2017

BEST COMICS: 2014

B E S T G R A P H I C N O V E L :

B E S T C O M I C S :

M A R V E L

D C

V E R T I G O

B O O M

S E L F - P U B L I S H E D

B E S T G R A P H I C N O V E L S :

B E S T C O L L E C T I O N S / R E I S S U E S:

M I R A C L E M A N

B E S T M O V I E S a n d T V:

B E S T W E B C O M I C S :

R E S T I N P O W E R

Monday, January 28, 2013

BEST COMICS: 2012

B E S T G R A P H I C N O V E L : 2 0 1 2

B E S T C O M I C S : 2 0 1 2

- - - - I N D I E S - - - -

W O R S T C O M I C S

B E S T G R A P H I C N O V E L S : 2 0 1 2

B E S T C O L L E C T I O N S + R E I S S U E S : 2 0 1 2

B E S T M O V I E S + T V : 2 0 1 2

V For Vindication, Dept.:

BEST MEDIA SITES

R E S T I N P O W E R

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