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Friday, December 18th, 2009
(2 comments | comment on this) Thursday, December 17th, 2009
calamityjon
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8:40a
#20-21, Best Comics of the Decade...
Chicken with Plums
Pantheon Books (Marjane Satrapi) 2006
Wikipedia Article
I know, you’re probably asking “If you're going to pick a Marjane Satrapi book, why not pick Persepolis?” Well, I enjoyed Persepolis, and I think it’s a very important work, but I frankly found this relatively unacknowledged work (although it has a film version in the works, evidently) of artistry, love, loss and depression to be the tighter narrative and the more emotionally evocative. Mind you, I don't want to take anything away from Persepolis - or really any of Satrapi's work, which may vary in affect and quality but which is uniformly worth reading - but I also felt that it was very dependent on lessons learned from David B, where Chicken with Plums possesses much more of the independent voice of the author.
Chicken With Plums
Isaac The Pirate
Comics Lit (Christophe Blain) 2003-present
The very little-known French import has collected the first four chapters of Blain's piracy picaresque, a darkly funny and tumultuous story where the menace both to the deceptively eponymous Isaac is both ominously real in terms physical and moral. It's the illustrations which are the primary strength of the series, expressive chiaroscuro expanses where buildings seem to loom heavy with cat-scratch shadows and figures come up drenched from pools of darkness. The conclusion is still forthcoming, but so far it's one of the most impressive books I've come across this decade.
Isaac the Pirate: To Exotic Lands
Isaac the Pirate: The Capital
So, my list was, in no particular order:
- All-Star Superman
- Asterios Polyp
- American Virgin
- The Book of Genesis
- The Complete Peanuts
- Daredevil Vol 2
- Lone Wolf and Cub
- The Will Eisner Omnibus
- Homunculus
- Hellboy
- Epileptic
- The Golem's Mighty Swing
- Blankets
- David Boring
- Army@Love
- Plastic Man
- Popeye
- Scott Pilgrim
- Black Hole
- Chicken With Plums
- Isaac the Pirate
I had to leave out at least a half-dozen books I'd have loved to included, but nonetheless, there's my list. You may now proceed to yell at me for having dumb choices...
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(5 comments | comment on this)
manningkrull
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3:44p
La Neige!
It snowed in Paris this morning! That doesn't happen very often at all, and when it does, it's usually just flurries that barely dust the ground for a couple hours and then they're gone. The fact that we actually got two inches or so is pretty remarkable! So I took some pictures after walking Marjorie to work.
( More! )
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(10 comments | comment on this) Tuesday, December 15th, 2009
calamityjon
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8:20a
#17 - #19
Popeye
Fantagraphics (E.C.Segar) 2006
Wikipedia Article
Of the classic comic strip reprint editions which were spurred by Fantagraphics’ lovely Complete Peanuts set, there’s probably none so welcome nor needed as much as the titanic Popeye volumes (of which four of the planned six have so far been released, meaning that lining them up allows the spines to spell “POPE” across your bookshelf). Picking up in the thick of Elzie Segar’s Thimble Theater strip, the series starts with Popeye’s debut and subsequent explosive popularity.
Popeye – who’s only enjoyed a handful of increasingly scarce and incomplete reprints in the past – represents a kind of comic strip which doesn’t really exist in America any more, but which still enjoys popularity around the world; the comic adventure. Absurd and cartoonish, the threats were still dire and the villains still ominous, and the action was brutal even if the outcome was all but predecided – while European comics and manga still produce copious volumes in the genre, America has really been without any highly visible, mainstream character of this type since Richie Rich ceased regular publication, and since Donald Duck went into permanent reprint. Having the Popeye volumes available are more than just great comics, it’s tangible American pop history.
Popeye Vol.1
Popeye Vol.2
Popeye Vol.3
Popeye Vol.4
Scott Pilgrim
Oni Press (Bryan Lee O'Malley) 2004-ongoing
Wikipedia Article
Bryan Lee O’Malley’s action-adventure romance benefits greatly from its manga influences, but melds them seamlessly with a contemporary, regional wit in a fast-paced and heart-filled story. Picking this as one of the best books of the last ten years is a tricky thing to defend, since – on the face of it, with video game style battles capping each issue – it’s a fairly frivolous story. O’Malley has his bonafides, though, and there’s no arguing that his characters suffer, cheer, laugh, love and weep with great conviction.
He has his fans, but more than that he earned his fans, and while that may sound like an argument along the lines that, owing to its popularity, Harry Potter ought to be considered one of the best books of the last decade, it is reasonable to suggest that something which so rapidly approaches the iconic is at least given due consideration. The highest acclaim you can give Scott Pilgrim is that it’s fun, touching and strikes chords immediately with its audience, and that’s very high praise.
Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life
Scott Pilgrim vs The World
Scott Pilgrim and the Infinite Sadness
Scott Pilgrim Gets It Together
Scott Pilgrim vs The Universe
Black Hole
Pantheon (Charles Burns) 2005
Wikipedia Article
Charles Burns’ ominous and oppressively dark tale of isolation and longing took ten years to finish, and the conclusion was well worth the wait. The tale of disassociated teens striving to stake their own claims to encroaching adulthood, love and lust, masked under a body-bending STD colloquially called “The Bug”, is captivating on every level. Possibly moreso than the story, in fact, the lush, thickly inked artwork is engrossing, and practically hypnotic, and exercises an inexorable pull on the reader. Incredibly satisfying and serious story which pushes comics further into the realm of serious literature.
Black Hole
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(6 comments | comment on this) Monday, December 14th, 2009
manningkrull
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9:48p
The Dead Sexy Inc. — The Simple Things
Hey hey, check out my cameo in the new video by The Dead Sexy Inc — The Simple Things!
I linked up this video on Facebook the other day when it was posted there, but I had to wait 'til it appeared on YouTube to be able to embed it here on LiveJournal. Complicated! Anyway, I'd mentioned here back in June that my friend Alexis (Dead Sexy's drummer) had asked me to appear briefly in a new video, and this is it! For those of you who're new to my blog, I used to live with Alexis and his girlfriend Lada in my previous apartment in Paris.
The video was shot in three different cities: Alexis' scenes are in Paris, Emmanuel's scenes are in Berlin (where he lives now), and Stephane's scenes were shot in Tokyo, where Dead Sexy have played a few times and where they apparently have a bit of a following.
My cameo is about half a second long, and it's at 1:40 if you're impatient. Since June, I've been crossing my fingers that my amazing shoes would be visible! They are not.
There's also a surprise cameo by Lada from 2:34 to 2:40!
And here's a fun piece of trivia: When the whole group is suddenly playing together at 3:06, they're rocking in the same Paris parking garage where I played Père Noël in Toxic Zonic's video for Can't Stand Christmas last year.
One last thing, I just helped Dead Sexy set up a new online store, so if you like their music, get yourself a cd or something! Kamikaze is a fantastic album and totally great for the gym, I've found.
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(8 comments | comment on this) Saturday, December 12th, 2009
(7 comments | comment on this)
manningkrull
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1:46p
More recent work
On top of the Nerdy Mind t-shirt design I posted about yesterday, here are a couple other little freelance things I've been working on recently...
A cover illustration for The Cooperator, a magazine in New York:
Click for bigger!
An interactive map of the US for Environment California:
Click to see it in action!
... And a zillion website and blog designs that are in the works. I've got tons of projects going on, but I'd love to have some more! Please contact me (manning@manningkrull.com) with any inquiries, and pass my info along to anyone you know who needs a website or blog designed! I got some really good responses to my recent entry about my Wordpress design/development services, so please, feel free to send that link to anybody who needs web help. And of course, I'm still available for traditional websites, as well as illustration, graphic design, Flash, pixel art, etc. Thanks very much!
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(3 comments | comment on this) Friday, December 11th, 2009
manningkrull
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6:24p
I've Got a Nerdy Mind...
Hey folks, I haven't had much time to do any real-life blogging stuff lately, but I wanted to mention this project I just finished with my friend Liz Lent. Liz hired me to do this neat t-shirt illustration, and she's selling the shirts through her blog, the Park Bench.
There are t-shirts, hoodies, mugs, all kinds of stuff. I get a sizable chunk of the sales, so I'll really appreciate your support if you order anything! For Christmas or something! If you want! Thanks!
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(7 comments | comment on this)
calamityjon
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8:53a
#14-#16 ...
 David Boring
Pantheon (Daniel Clowes) 2000
Wikipedia Entry
Clowes produced no less than three great stories in the 2000s, including Ice Haven and the much acclaimed “Death Ray” (in issues #22 and #23 of Eightball, originally). However, the eerily prescient David Boring manages to accurately cast the numb, horrified feeling of America in the days following September 11th – keeping in mind that the concluding chapter of the book and its subsequent collected volume were only released in 2000. Clowes managed to tap into an incubating zeitgeist, a resigned deadpan attitude which cast a pall over every thrill, from luxury to discovery to mere survival. A great cinematic volume…
David Boring
Army@Love
DC/Vertigo (Rick Veitch, Gary Erskine, Jose Villarrubia) 2007-ongoing(?)
Wikipedia Entry
Rick Veitch has always been a satirist of pop culture, but the fetishization of the America’s military might gave him greater fodder than ever. Never shying away from the metaphysical, the psychedelic, the weird-for-weird’s sake and the keenly bittersweet, Veitch also manages to pin down the mad western attitude which has permeated the atmosphere since the invasion of Iraq, placing sympathies among his targets but often making reluctant heroes of the most gleeful shitbags. Points also go to Veitch’s awesomely self-referential sequence in the second “season”, where the author finds himself interrogated by shadowy government agents in regards to the events recounted in the very magazine readers were holding. Best Veitch since Brat Pack, at the very least.
Army@Love Vol 1: The Hot Zone Club
Army@Love Vol 2: Generation Pwned
Plastic Man
DC Comics (Kyle Baker)
What made the original Plastic Man, under creator Jack Cole, so much fun was that the infinitely malleable super-hero was easily the most sane, straight-laced character in his world. Around him, the villains were madcap and his allies were insane, but even when bent and twisted into crazy shapes, he was the picture of cool. Kyle Baker – who has more than a few additionally great books this decade, including the superbly crafted vignette I Die At Midnight and the biography of Nat Turner – seems to know that, but wasn’t satisfied at simply drawing a line between straight man and wacky world; his Plastic Man takes on politics (both office and national) while the hero is put through serious threats and has to deal with an ever-expanding family. It’s high adventure mixed with high comedy in a fashion which has been absent from American comics since the Forties, and even though Baker clearly rushed many of the individual issues (some appear to have been drawn entirely in an afternoon, and frankly may have been) the project as a whole is top-notch.
Plastic Man: On The Lam
Plastic Man: Rubber Bandits
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(10 comments | comment on this) Thursday, December 10th, 2009
calamityjon
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9:24a
#22: Jeremy: Frankenstein Begin Again
 Nope, sorry, this isn't actually part of my "21 Greatest Comics of the 21st Century" doohickie dingus, but it IS a book of the 21st century, so it has that going for it! Some symmetry!
Following a way-too-long delay in getting this out, and with just a smidge enough time left before the holidays, I've collected four old Jeremy minicomic stories into a nicely printed single volume via Lulu, "Frankenstein Begin Again" (features the title story, as well as "Leviathan", "Milk" and "Barry Is A Bad Customer", previously only available as the limited edition minicomic "The Thing With Four Heads").
Plus, SPECIAL HOLIDAY PRICING: The book normally sells for $5.99, but up through midnight December 25th, I'm knocking a whole darn dollar off the price if you buy through Lulu. Five clams, woo!
But wait, there's more! For the holidays, I'm also dropping the price on Jeremy:The Complete Strip Collection five bucks, from $19.99 to $14.99. Have I lost my mind? Very likely so.
So yeah, Jeremy, in splendifirous variety, just in time for Christmas or Hannukah, and well in advance of Easter, and probably released way too early for the turn of the next millennium, though let's let the Morlocks and Eloi be the judge of that.
Jeremy: Frankenstein Begin Again
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(9 comments | comment on this)
(6 comments | comment on this) Wednesday, December 9th, 2009
calamityjon
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8:11a
#8 - #13 ...
In the interest of wrapping this up this week, here's the next six ...
The Will Eisner Omnibus
W.W. Norton & Co. (Will Eisner) 2005-2007
Wikipedia article
Will Eisner's books have been reprinted many times over the last several decades, but W.W.Norton & Co. was the first publisher to reproduce Eisner's best work in library volumes. The six stories collected in The Contract With God Trilogy and Will Eisner's New York Stories are also available as stand-alone volumes, but I prefer the omnibus editions, which sport bold color covers illustrated by Eisner himself. The overall package is handled with a respect for both the artist and the medium, which was Eisner's own goal for the industry. (It's also worth noting that, contained in New York Stories is The Building, the one comic which can actually cause me to tear up)
A Contract With God
New York: Life In The Big City
Life, In Pictures
( The rest behind the cut ... )
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(3 comments | comment on this)
calamityjon
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7:42a
Gallery Show News ...
Hey all, first off, the Friends of the Nib show at Howard House mentioned here has been extended from its original three-day run to the entire month of December. (!!) The opening was an immense success, and the art turned in (around 400 pieces!) was gorgeous. If you're in the Pioneer Square area, please swing on by and give it a look.
Additionally, I'm dropping off some more chipboard pieces tonight for a show at Snowmonkey's House of Monsters on Capitol Hill.
Here's what gallery owner Curt Waller has to say about the events at Snowmonkey this week:
This week Snowmonkey is hosting THREE events in a row, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. PLEASE come and visit us, as the shop has been dismally slow, and we need to do good Holiday sales if we are to stay in business in the new year. And don't forget that Snowmonkey has the BEST STOCKING STUFFERS EVER! Monsters as low as fifty cents each!
THURSDAY night (Dec 10, 6:00- 10:00) is the Capitol Hill Art Walk, and we will be having an "UNDER $50" Art Sale with a variety of our regular artists, including myself, Atticus, Bunny, Jonathan Morris, and Kyle Kesterson.
FRIDAY night (Dec 11, 4:00 - 9:00) we are hosting a special jewelry sale featuring the jewelry of Diane Anderson. who has some consigned work in the shop as well.
Her FB event reads: "Jewelry is handmade by Diane and is hammered fine silver & sterling silver with semi-precious gems. Come say hi & enjoy a glass of wine and celebrate the season!
Check out this super-secret shop location. I will be donating a percentage of profits towards a friend's cancer healthcare. Snowmonkey's is child friendly so bring the whole family."
SATURDAY (Dec 12, 2:00 pm) we are hosting "The Kids are Making it Themselves," presented by Coco Howard. "An exhibition and sale of handmade plush characters from forty or so of Seattle's finest kids." This is a culmination of a creature-making class that Coco has been teaching, and should be super awesome!
Please come check out these events, and don't forget to tell EVERYONE you know about Snowmonkey's!
Snowmonkey's really is great and quirky, and if you're looking for unusual holiday gifts, I'd highly recommend it.
My pieces for the Snowmonkey show:
 
 
 
Howard House: (http://www.howardhouse.net) is located at 604 2nd Ave Seattle, WA 98104; (206) 256-6399.
Snowmonkey's House of Monsters: is located at 1205 E Pike, Ste 1A (enter through bluebird).
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(comment on this) Tuesday, December 8th, 2009
calamityjon
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7:59a
#7 Lone Wolf and Cub
I need to make these shorter, around a hundred words per entry, because it’s just taking too long. I doubt this’ll break any hearts, because I’d be actually a little concerned if anyone out there was hanging on my every word (if you are, though, bring me a Cadillac).
Lone Wolf & Cub
Dark Horse (Kazuo Koike, Goseki Kojima)
Wikipedia Article
First Comics made a well-intended inaugural attempt to bring this essential Japanese comic to the States, but its cancellation less than a third of the way through left most American fans pondering the eventual fate of Itto and Daigoro Ogami for more than a dozen years.
Weighing in at 28 volumes and almost 9000 pages, Dark Horse’s reprinting finally brings the conclusion to American shores, and it’s jaw-dropping in its violent elegance. Not every story in the collection is a masterpiece – no shortage of the stories are episodic, in which the overarching storyline is secondary to a separate vignette – but the entire collection is an epic worthy of the title; even the most absurd moments (the installation of a gatling gun into a baby cart comes to mind) are handled with an ominous ceremony which renders them mythic. It’s almost criminal that it took three decades to get this book fully translated for American readers.
There are a whopping 28 volumes of this series, but the first three give you the essentials, plus the conclusion - you can search for other volumes from there.
Lone Wolf and Cub Vol 1
Lone Wolf and Cub Vol 2
Lone Wolf and Cub Vol 3
Lone Wolf and Cub Vol 28
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(4 comments | comment on this) Monday, December 7th, 2009
calamityjon
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7:55a
#6: Daredevil (volume 2 by Brian Michael Bendis)
 Daredevil (vol 2)
Marvel Comics (Brian Michael Bendis, Alex Maleev, et al) 2001-2006
Wikipedia article
I’ve been a Daredevil fan since I was seven years old – the very first comic book I bought with my own allowance money was Daredevil #162, a Roger McKenzie and Frank Miller recap of the eponymous hero’s origin (A story which marked the cusp of an arc where Daredevil began to make a full-fledged swing from swashbuckling superhero to principled and broken anti-hero – a fine moment to jump on, but that’s neither here nor there). I’ve yet to miss a single issue of the book since then, no matter the creative team and no matter the relative quality.
Mind you, I don’t sit happily through the book’s valleys , but I still endure them, because a lifetime of reading Daredevil has taught me this lesson: Sometimes Daredevil is one of the worst comics on the stands, but if you wait long enough – as much as two or three years, sometimes – it will suddenly experience a run where it is the BEST comic on the stands. The best by FAR.
This current volume of Daredevil started off with a rough jolt under the command of Kevin Smith, who – and this might sound like a familiar problem to those of you who’ve seen his movies – populated his run on the series with some good ideas and one or two emotionally resonant scenes, but had no idea how to stitch these together and ended with what is only technically a conclusion because there weren’t any other pages left in the book. The aesthetically accomplished David Mack and Back To The Future scribe Bob Gale tried their luck individually, but nothing clicked with the new Daredevil until (usually alongside artist Alex Maleev) Brian Michael Bendis’ second go, 2001’s Underboss.
Drawing out the action through ten breathless volumes – including the inspired and claustrophobic Decalogue and the heartstopping King of Hell’s Kitchen – Bendis ran lawyer and part-time vigilante Matt Murdock through hell, constructing a very clever cops-and-mobsters superplot over Daredevil’s battle to keep the unraveling thread of his exposed secret identity from coming undone completely. That Bendis took a lead from Frank Miller – arguably the author of Daredevil’s highest peaks as a character – is certain. That he surpassed him in no few fields is even more so.
The series is predicated on the idea that anyone who puts on a costume and fights armored maniacs on a rooftop cannot be completely stable, but the unhealthy decisions made by every cast member is a real, very human kind of emotional failure or conceit. It helps to have a decent knowledge of Marvel’s 1970s street-level third-stringers, yet it’s otherwise a series well worth investigating, one of comicdom’s few long-running, self-contained dramas.
Daredevil Volume 4
Daredevil Volume 5
Daredevil Volume 6
Daredevil Volume 7
Daredevil Volume 9
Daredevil Volume 10
Daredevil Volume 11
Daredevil Volume 12
Daredevil Volume 13
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(1 comment | comment on this)
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