2010: THE YEAR IN LOVE
January 2nd, 2011 By Jared GardnerAs we prepare to move our operations to the Panelists, which opens for business tomorrow, we wanted to say goodbye to 2010 and to guttergeek on a happy note, focusing on the comics that made our year (several of which we have high hopes will continue to do so in 2011). In no particular order, these are our 22 favorites of the last year (not counting the reprint volumes we covered earlier): the comics that keep us returning to our shelves for a second look or looking forward to Wednesday for the next chapter.
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FUTURE PAST: THE YEAR IN REPRINTS
December 24th, 2010 By Jared Gardner
Perhaps the best thing about comics this year was the celebration of its past. Until quite recently, immersing oneself in the early history of sequential comics was a specialized and often rarified affair, involving compulsive (and often brutally expensive) collecting and storage or trips to one of a handful of academic libraries that specialize in preserving the history for future generations. Attempts in the past to democratize access to the history of early newspaper comic strips had so often petered out after a few short years that it was hard not continued...
LINT (ACME NOVELTY LIBRARY #20)
December 14th, 2010 By Jared GardnerChris Ware, Acme Novelty Library #20 (Drawn & Quarterly, 2010). $23.95, hardcover.
It is funny but perhaps not surprising that after five years with guttergeek, we have not reviewed a single thing by Chris Ware. Not surprising in part because when we first started we had this whole hot-headed manifesto that suggested the seemingly sacriligeous proposition that not everything Ware did was necessarily or automatically “brilliant” or “art.” Well, it seemed a bold, sacriligious thing to say in 2005: after all, Yale University Press had just published the first continued...
MISS DON’T TOUCH ME
December 2nd, 2010 By Jared GardnerHubert & Kerascoet, Miss Don’t Touch Me, Vol. 2 (NBM, 2010). $14.99, paperback.
Among the many reasons for comics fans to be happy in 2010 has been the increase in translations from the French comics scene. The first volume of Miss Don’t Touch Me from NBM in late 2008 was a gothic noir delight, following the adventures of our heroine, Blanche, as she takes on a position as a virgin dominatrix in a highclass brothel in her attempts to bring her sister’s killers to justice. The volume was received enthusiastically, continued...
Guttergeek, the Farewell Tour (Long Live The Panelists!)
December 1st, 2010 By Jared GardnerAfter 5 years with guttergeek–first at guttergeek.com and then, beginning late last year, here at tcj–guttergeek will be ending operations at the end of 2010, to be reborn (once our lawyers have cleared all the mergers-and-acquisitions paperwork and addressed any anti-trust concerns). Alex and I are very excited for the opportunity to join forces in 2011 with Derik Badman (madinkbeard), Isaac Cates (satisfactorycomics), and Craig Fischer & Charles Hatfield (both of thoughtballoonists) in launching The Panelists as a new sister-blog here at tcj.com. In addition to this core team, we will see regular contributions from guttergeek fave Chris Reilly and continued...