KUROSAGI CORPSE DELIVERY SERVICE
March 17th, 2010 By Matt DubeEiji Otsuka and Housui Yamazaki, Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service Vol 10 (Dark Horse Comics, 2010) $10.99, softcover.
By Matt Dube
Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service has reached the ten volume mark, which certainly suggests the series has found some sort of commercial and creative foothold. It is not uncommon to see it reviewed on the blogs, and old volumes are reviewed as often as new, which makes it possible the book in first run at least hasn’t yet found its largest possible audience. What is it, then, continued...
MEANWHILE
March 15th, 2010 By Jared GardnerJason Shiga, Meanwhile (Amulet/Abrams, 2010). $15.95, hardcover.
Every now and then, even a true-blue guttergeek starts to think that maybe, just maybe, we are reaching a plateau. Truth be told, despite some high-profile books in the last year, there were very few U.S. comics (mainstream, indie, or otherwise) that have gotten me truly fired up, with the exception of a monumental work from Joe Sacco and a wonderful one-off from David Small (oh yeah, and that little classics illustrated masterpiece by R. Crumb). Not that there hasn’t been a lot to enjoy: in continued...
BOOTH
March 12th, 2010 By Jared GardnerC. C. Colbert & Tanitoc, Booth (First Second, 2010). $19.99, paperback
As our regular readers know, Beth usually handles the historical comics for us here at guttergeek. This one, however, was sent back to me after only a few hours with a brief apology: “I’m sorry, I just can’t bear to look at this one any more.” Having spent a few hours more with the book myself, I now understand her reaction. This is an unpleasant book to read visually: the “evocative” brushwork of the French theorist and artist Tanitoc is often ungainly continued...
WEDNESDAY SHOP TALK
March 11th, 2010 By Alex BoneyThe High Price of Superman
By Alex Boney
I’ve been reading a lot of Golden Age Superman comics the last couple months, so my eyes and ears have become unusually attuned to stories about the character. Over the last few years, I’ve also been paying attention to the slowly unfolding legal proceedings involving DC Comics’ parent company Warner Bros. and the family of Superman creator Jerry Siegel. Last week, as I scanned through the comics news stories, two items in particular jumped out at me: 1) Action Comics #1 sold for $1 continued...
LITTLE NOTHINGS
March 9th, 2010 By Jared GardnerLewis Trondheim, Little Nothings 3: Uneasy Happiness (NBM, 2010). $14.95, paperback.
This is the third installment of Trondheim’s blog-comic, as he continues on his quest to be the most productive retiree in the history of comics. Since announcing his “retirement” in 2004, Trondheim has gone on to win the Grand Prix de la ville d’Angoulême (in French comics, kind of like the Oscars and a Knighthood wrapped up in one), published a dozen or so books (including, with Appollo, the splendid Bourbon Island), and flown restlessly around the world to comics festivals. So continued...