Grimm News: The Ten Best Death Cartoons of Mike Peters
Posted by Michael Pinto on Oct 9, 2009 in Comic Books
Mike Peters
Salt Water Taffy: A Tasty Black and White Treat
Posted by Michael Pinto on Oct 8, 2009 in Comic Books
Part of what I like about reading a good manga is that the artist is able to engage you with the simple power of a well inked black and white drawing. When an artist does this there’s no place to hide on the page, no Photoshop filters to cover up a multiple of sins — just you and the power of the inkers line. However the Japanese don’t own the market on this, so it was very pleasant for me to come across Salt Water Taffy Vol. 3: The Truth About Dr. True by Matthew Loux which is published by Oni Press. Read more…
Twitter Invades Comic Books!
Posted by Michael Pinto on Oct 7, 2009 in Comic Books, Tech
Eventually life imitates art, or is it the other way around? The first issue of Forgetless by Image Comics features Twitter tweets on the first page intermixed with the rest of the action. This ties into the story which starts out at a nightclub in New York City and features a struggling model turned professional killer (although that sounds more like the type of stalker you’d meet on MySpace). Here’s the page from the issue: Read more…
X-Babies: Marvel is at Their Best When They Have a Sense of Humor
Posted by Michael Pinto on Oct 4, 2009 in Comic Books
X-Babies #1 just came out this week and the minute that I spotted the cover by Skottie Young I knew I was in for a treat! The interiors by Jacb Chabot are almost worthy of the golden age of Mad magazine. Marvel is claiming that this title is aimed at kids but I think slightly older fanboys (and fangurls) of all ages will get a kick out of it: Read more…
The Bad Girls of Comics: Sex, Violence and Objectification
Posted by Michael Pinto on Oct 3, 2009 in Comic Books
ForaTV has a great show out on Comic Book Heroines: Sex, Violence and Objectification which features Supergirls author Mike Madrid. What i find amazing about this segment is that he explores how during the 90s adult entertainment merged with mainstream media and then crept into comic books.
So Why Does a Badass Like Black Jack Look so Damn Cartoony?
Posted by Michael Pinto on Oct 2, 2009 in Animation, Comic Books
Not so long ago I had a friend who’s a modern anime fan hunker down with a copy of the now vintage manga Black Jack, and to make a long story short he couldn’t quite grok the cartoony style of early 70s Tezuka. In fact to him the cartoony style look dated which spilled over into a twitter debate with Ed Chavez of Vertical which re-published the manga. As I have an art school background I’d thought I’d try to explain this via a little art history lesson so that we can put Black Jack (which got started in 1973) into perspective: Read more…
Strange Tales: Worth the Trip
Posted by Michael Pinto on Oct 2, 2009 in Comic Books
Strange Tales #2 hits the streets next week and I’m surprised that I missed the first issue. Marvel is at their very best when they don’t takes themselves so seriously and this little gem is proof of this: You’ve got some very talented artists going to town with the Marvel characters and having a ball with them. The cover above by Peter Bagge made me smile, but the Iron man story below by Tony Millionaire had me laughing with joy: Read more…
Sky Pirates: Camilla D’errico Will Capture Your Heart
Posted by Michael Pinto on Sep 30, 2009 in Comic Books
You’d think that Sky Pirates of Neo Terra #1 would be terrible as it has every reason to fail: You’ve got a comic book based on a Nintendo DS game and then you add a Canadian trying to draw in a Japanese manga style. However the talented Camilla D’Errico is up to the task and does an amazing job: Her draftsmanship is deliciously detailed and her layouts are powerful. The coloring job by Simon Bork adds a nice vivid quality to the story by Josh Wagner. Looking at the first pages of this book reminds me a bit of the original Appleseed manga (アップルシ-ド) by Masamune Shirow, yet Camilla has her own unique look which is well worth checking out: Read more…
Spock Reflects: Is This the Worst Comic Book of 2009?
Posted by Michael Pinto on Sep 23, 2009 in Comic Books, Star Trek
Star Trek: Spock: Reflections #3 looks more like a bad coloring book than a real comic book. Now I’d love to blame the artists, but my bet is that they’re underpaid. I’d love to blame the writers, but my guess is that they’re given too little time and told “what ever”. I’d love to blame the publisher IDW, but then my guess is that they felt like they needed to cut corners because they paid too much for a license that’s seen as a cash cow. The fault that Star Trek: Spock: Reflections #3 looks so bad is because Paramount doesn’t give a damn about Star Trek. Read more…
Dear Marvel Comics: Please Stop It With the Bad Photoshop Filters
Posted by Michael Pinto on Sep 22, 2009 in Comic Books
Photoshop is an amazing tool, but in the wrong hands it can be a disaster! The first beginner mistake that most kids make with Photoshop is to use every damn filter that there is like gleams-and-glows and goofy texture maps of fire effects. This is not too dissimilar to the graphic design mistake of using too many typefaces when just one will do. I’ve got to say the quality of covers for Marvel Comics Entertainment is a pretty mixed bag: Sometimes the cover look great, but other times they cover illustrations look amateurish. And Ultimate Comics Armor Wars #4 is just screaming to me that Brandon Peterson needs to lay off the lens flare just a little bit: Read more…
Damn You Red Baron! It’s Flying Ace Snoopy
Looking back at it I think Snoopy is one of the few places in pop culture where World War I was a regular running theme. Having spent a childhood growing up on World War II films and TV shows it was odd to see Snoopy make reference to the oddly named Sopwith Camel aircraft which was so oddly named that it made me run to the library. Shown above (and in the video below) is a Flying Ace Snoopy USB Hub from Japan which will entertain you with beagle feats of bravery. Read more…
Comic Books are Officially Dead
Posted by Michael Pinto on Sep 10, 2009 in Comic Books
It’s been unofficial for a while, but as of this week I’d say that as of this week the comic book biz is no longer about actually publishing comic books, but in fact about making films that star comic book characters. The take over of Marvel Entertainment by Disney and the reorganization of DC Comics into DC Entertainment is part of a larger picture which includes the death of print as a viable commercial medium. Although to be fair this story has been a long time in the making: In fact the first chapter in this story can be traced to Disney. Read more…
Elephantmen #21: These Pachyderms Pack a Punch
Posted by Michael Pinto on Sep 8, 2009 in Comic Books
With the story by Richard Starkings and the art by Boo Cook I’ve got to say that I’m impressed with the contestant high quality I’ve seen in the Elephantmen series from day one. Firstly the challenge of making cartoon elephants get past their Dumbo heritage and into ass kicking mode is an amazing challenge on its own. And here Boo Cook passes the test with flying colors as elephants are turned into action heroes. Cook does this with a combination of stellar draftsmanship, dramatic layouts and packing the page with loving detail. Issue #21 of Elephantmen is out this Wednesday and looks like it’s worth the price of admission: Read more…
Olympus: Christian Ward’s Polytheism is Bloody Fun
Posted by Michael Pinto on Sep 7, 2009 in Comic Books
Published by Image Comics Olympus #4 comes out this Wednesday and once again I find myself surprised that I’ve overlooked a really good book. Illustrated by Christian Ward Olympus is a boldly modern take on ancient Greek mythology. The art direction of the book vaguely reminds me of Bill Sienkiewicz in terms of layout and color, although his illustrational technique is much more sketchy. And of course the story by Nathan Edmonson is very very violent, which means that this is not a book for the little tykes — although for us adults it’s an intense trip: Read more…
A Fanboy Salute to First Lieutenant Walker on His 86th
Posted by Michael Pinto on Sep 3, 2009 in Comic Books
Born on this day in 1923 Mort Walker was a fanboy of comics in the truest sense; by the ripe old age of 12 years old in 1935 he sold his first cartoon. By 1943 he was drafted into the army for World War II after which he pursued a career in cartooning in New York City. After his first 200 or so cartoons were rejected he found success with Beetle Bailey. Read more…
Beasts of Burden Won’t Weigh Down Your Eyes
Posted by Michael Pinto on Aug 23, 2009 in Comic Books, Horror
Beasts of Burden got started as a collaboration between Evan Dorkin (Milk & Cheese) and Jill Thompson (Scary Godmother) for the anthologies The Dark Horse Book of Hauntings, Witchcraft, the Dead, and Monsters. The result? They won the Eisner Awards for Best Short Story and Best Painter categories. So I’m pleased to see that Dark Horse is working to publish an mini-series based on this initial appearance which is due to debut on September 16, 2009. Read more…
Creepy Cards: A Deck of Horror History
Posted by Michael Pinto on Aug 22, 2009 in Comic Books, Horror
As a magazine publisher Warren Publishing was born out as a result of the infamous comic book code of the 50s which made the genre a bit too family friendly: Along with sister publications like Eerie and Vampirella, Creepy magazine kept alive the tradition of horror comics from 1964 until 1983. Next year on January 27th, 2010 Dark Horse will be publishing a set of trading cards based upon covers of the magazine. Read more…
Meet a Real Life Comic Book Superhero: Marie Severin
Posted by Michael Pinto on Aug 20, 2009 in Comic Books
At the end of the silver age of comic books (which was sometime the early 70s) there was a well known cigarette ad campaign which would proudly proclaim to the ladies “You’ve come a long way, baby.” But sadly while the wider world of publishing started to open up to women, the comic book biz was — and still today largely a boys club. Now I can already hear the indignation from my fellow fanboys, but here’s the evidence: Read more…
The Hernandez Brothers are Still Stuck in the 80s (Thank God!)
Posted by Michael Pinto on Aug 18, 2009 in Comic Books
I don’t have the slightest clue how Citizen Rex escaped my attention, but now I feel that makes it my job to draw attention to this wonderful sci fi themed comic book mini series. But first we need to go back a few decades in time to the 80s: Back then a bit of a revolution was going on in the comic book field, lead by RAW Magazine some very talented artists shook up the field and decided to show that it could be a real art firm. Out were the typical superhero comics that owned newsstands and in came graphic novels and interesting illustrational techniques. Read more…
The Punisher Goes Retro with a Roaring Twenties Tale
Posted by Michael Pinto on Aug 17, 2009 in Comic Books
I’m so happy to see Marvel taking chances for once! With the first issue of Punisher Noir #1 which hits comic book shops on Wednesday, August 19th we’ll see an entire Punisher series that is set in the 1920’s. The minute I came across the cover for this book (illustrated by Tim Bradstreet and Denis Calero) I liked the little touches like the Flatiron building in the background and the vintage firearms show as decorative graphics. Looking at the inside of the book I like what artist Paul Azaceta and writer Frank Tieri have done with this book: Read more…
One Model Nation: The Revolution Will Be Sketched
Posted by Michael Pinto on Aug 11, 2009 in Comic Books
One Model Nation looks like a captivating graphic novel about a fictional revolution set in 1977 in an alternate reality Germany. What I love about this book from little I’ve seen is that there is no dialog at all, thus giving you a page turning silent movie experience. The story is by Courtney Taylor who is best known for his musical career as Dandy Warhols, normally I’d hold this against an potential author but I like what I see here. And in terms of what you see the book is illustrated by Jim Rugg who has done some amazing work in the past — and he’s done a nice job here: Read more…
Chew #5: Take a Close Look, There’s a Brilliant Inside Joke on This Cover
Posted by Michael Pinto on Aug 10, 2009 in Comic Books
I always get excited when I get to see a preview of a Rob Guillory cover illustration, unlike so many other artists his work always features a wonderful sense of humor (and he’s not afraid to get cartoony). But when I came across the cover of Chew #5 I was a bit let down once I started out of the box: I mean yeah there’s a cannibalism joke, but it’s not that funny and the picture is a bit stark. But then I looked just a tiny bit closer, and what I found made me realize that this was perhaps the best Guillory cover to date: Read more…
The Day That I Killed Superman
Posted by Michael Pinto on Aug 9, 2009 in Comic Books, Tech
I’ve always hated Penn Station in New York City, but one of the few silver linings was a nameless magazine shop located on the LIRR level on the west side of the station. I’ve know this shop since the 80s so it’s fair to say that it is at least 25 years old, although I suspect that it’s much older than that. What made it unique was that it was the largest magazine shop in all of Penn Station. This made it a welcome oasis in the desert wasteland of commuting on the Long Island Rail Road. Read more…
Lafuente Spins a Wonderful Spider-Man
Posted by Michael Pinto on Aug 7, 2009 in Comic Books
Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #1 will be out next Wednesday, August 12th and I don’t think I’ve been this excited about a Spider-Man comic book since my childhood! David Lafuente is a comic book illustrator from Spain and I really love what I’m seeing in this book. First we start with the cover which looks good and is pretty strongly designed (the layout has a nice dramatic effect) but usually at this point I groan about the bait-and-switch where the interior art just doesn’t measure up — well in this case it actually looks better! Not only that but each frame of the comic book feels like your looking at a well composed action film. Lafuente really understands how to make the page look dramaic in a way that reminds me of a Japanese manga. Read more…