A to Z Reflections, 2013

May is here and so, A-Z is over.  As always, the opportunity to make new friends and enjoy their alphabetical explorations has been wonderful.  A big thank you to all on the A-Z team for another fine year.

Some final comic book thoughts: given how little advance planning went into selecting my scavenger hunt comics, I've been both surprised and delighted by a few exceptional finds.  I felt all five of the following were strong enough to inspire further exploration of their series:

Atlas
Louis Riel
Next Men
Pathfinder
Yummy Fur

Less surprising, at least to me, is that three of the titles are published by Drawn & Quarterly, a Montreal-based outfit which specializes in offbeat comics and graphic novels.  They also operate a bookstore in Montreal which has become our family favorite.

As much fun as the challenge provided, it's also nice to get back to regular programming.  I hope you'll all come back to visit for Family Movie Night and Baseball Tunes next week.  Also, I've started a bloggers' book club which is holding its first "meeting" on Friday, May 31st.  See details here.

Be sure to check out the A-Z reflections of other participants. You'll find the bloghop list here.

See you 'round the 'sphere!

A Comic Book Scavenger Hunt, A-Z: Zombie Tales 2061

Title: Zombie Tales 2061
Issue: #1
Release: July 2009
Writer: Kim Krizan
Artist: Jon Reed
Store: Earth Prime Comics (Burlington, Vermont)

Image via comicsplus

Well, of course Z was going to mean zombies!   ZT 2061 takes the idea a bit past the point of apocalypse.  The zombies have established a society in which humans exist only for food and amusement.  Some have even developed sympathy for the subjugated species.  A plan is hatched by an underground human rebellion to rid the planet of zombies forever - with a clever twist at the end.

Any interest in joining a bloggers' book club?  Please visit my link here.

So ends my A-Z challenge for 2013.  My scavenger hunt was pretty straight-forward: find comic books off the rack with titles starting from A-Z.  Go check out the rest of the participants in this year's A-Z challenge.  The official site is here.

A Comic Book Scavenger Hunt, A-Z: Yummy Fur

Title: Yummy Fur
Issue: #27
Release: January 1992
Writer and Artist: Chester Brown
Store: Drawn and Quarterly (Montreal)

Image via Comic Vine

Issues #26-30 of Yummy Fur were eventually collected in graphic novel form under the title I Never Liked You. The story is autobiographical, chronicling Brown's teenage experiences in suburban Montreal.  There's nothing particularly scandalous here as his parents were quite strict, forbidding him ever to swear - even away from the house (thus the story's original F-bomb title).  There is a bit of nudity so the book does fall short of child friendly.

Starting with what is essentially the second chapter of the story, I missed out on some of the details regarding individual characters.  Gordon is his brother but they play with three other kids - Connie, Carrie and Grant - who are...neighbors?  I'll need to go back to the beginning to clear all of this up.  There is clearly a mutual love interest between Chester and Carrie but one wonders how far his shyness will allow that to develop.

So, that's four Chester Brown titles for me so far.  He's batting .500, 2 for 4, with me.

Any interest in joining a bloggers' book club?  Please visit my link here.

My scavenger hunt was pretty straight-forward: find comic books off the rack with titles starting from A-Z.  Go check out the rest of the participants in this year's A-Z challenge.  The official site is here.

A Comic Book Scavenger Hunt, A-Z: X-O Manowar

Title: X-O Manowar
Issue: #1
Release: May 2012
Writer: Robert Venditti
Artist: Cary Nord
Store: Earth Prime Comics (Burlington, Vermont)

Image via Fancore Pirate Radio

X-O Manowar is set in 402 A.D., the story following the Visigoths in their struggles against the Roman Empire.  The inside cover offers loads of historical and demographic data regarding the two cultures at the time.  I'm a total sucker for that sort of thing.  As such, I had high hopes for this one.

But wait, that guy on the cover doesn't look much like a Visigoth warrior, does he?  Several times over the course of A-Z, I have complained about the fusion trend in the current comics industry.  In short, I want to be allowed to live in such a realm as 5th century Europe without getting pulled back to the usual comic book terra firma.  In this case, the Visigoths are under alien invasion - and I don't mean the Romans.  So, X-O Manowar had me at the beginning, but it lost me by the end.

Any interest in joining a bloggers' book club?  Please visit my link here.

My scavenger hunt was pretty straight-forward: find comic books off the rack with titles starting from A-Z.  Go check out the rest of the participants in this year's A-Z challenge.  The official site is here.

A Comic Book Scavenger Hunt, A-Z: The Waking

Title: The Waking
Issue: #1
Release: February 2010
Writer: Raven Gregory
Artist: Vic Drujinio
Store: Earth Prime Comics (Burlington, Vermont)

Image via ComicImpact

If it's not vampires these days, it's zombies.  The Waking is published by Zenescope, a company which seems to specialize in what my new friend Tony Lamplume describes as cheesecakey comics.  Issue #1 actually doesn't include much in the way of zombies but sets up the back story for the apocalypse to come.  Four police detectives investigate two separate murders.  The issue's final panel suggests that the real trouble is only just beginning.

Any interest in joining a bloggers' book club?  Please visit my link here.

My scavenger hunt was pretty straight-forward: find comic books off the rack with titles starting from A-Z.  Go check out the rest of the participants in this year's A-Z challenge.  The official site is here.

A Comic Book Scavenger Hunt, A-Z: Vampire Huntress

Title: Vampire Huntress: The Hidden Darkness
Issue: #1
Release: August 2010
Writers: L.A. Banks and Jess Ruffner
Artist: Brett Booth
Store: Earth Prime Comics (Burlington, Vermont)

Image via Girls Gone Geek

If it's not zombies these days, it's vampires.  The Vampire Huntress Legend Series is a twelve-book novel series written by Banks, who passed away from adrenal cancer in 2011 at age 51.  The comic book series is intended to pick up where the novels left off.  Damali Richards, the title character, must help her followers piece life back together after the Armageddon battle which concluded the last novel.

Any interest in joining a bloggers' book club?  Please visit my link here.

My scavenger hunt was pretty straight-forward: find comic books off the rack with titles starting from A-Z.  Go check out the rest of the participants in this year's A-Z challenge.  The official site is here.

A Comic Book Scavenger Hunt, A-Z: Underwater

Title: Underwater
Issue: #2
Release: December 1994
Writer and Artist: Chester Brown
Store: Drawn and Quarterly (Montreal)

Image via Atomic Books

The idea for this book is clever.  The story is told from the perspective of two baby twin girls.  The language they hear from their parents is, for the most part, gibberish.  Occasionally, though, recognizable English words creep in to reflect their increasing comprehension. 

Particularly for a story of young life, the atmosphere is quite dark.  Brown's minimalist style and dark backgrounds provide a different world from the idealized view we usually see of parenting and childhood.  Of course, this is not a book for children.  While the joys of parenthood are numerous, those of us who have been through the wars know that there can be long stretches of loneliness, tedium and frustration.  Rarely do stories portray the very real struggles to communicate with a non-verbal entity.

In the end, one book is enough for me.  Apparently, other readers felt the same way.  Brown abandoned the project unfinished after the eleventh issue in 1997.

Image via The Adventures of Mr. Phil

Flip the book over and a second story is offered from the back cover, upside-down: a comic interpretation of the Book of Matthew, verses 12:46-13:58.  A biblical scholar, I am not.  Also, I generally prefer to avoid religious and political topics on my blog but this is too fascinating an idea to ignore.  From an artistic perspective, there's not much here to either inspire or offend.  The material is presented without embellishment.  With the comic's discontinuation, so ended the adaptation of Matthew.  Issue #11 carried the gospel through 20:29.

Any interest in joining a bloggers' book club?  Please visit my link here.

My scavenger hunt was pretty straight-forward: find single-issue comic books off the rack with titles starting from A-Z.  Go check out the rest of the participants in this year's A-Z challenge.  The official site is here.

A Comic Book Scavenger Hunt, A-Z: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Title: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Secret History of the Foot Clan
Issue: #1
Release: December 2012
Writers: Mateus Santolouco & Erik Burnham
Artist: Mateus Santolouco
Store: Earth Prime Comics (Burlington, Vermont)

Image via Flickering Myth

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are well-entrenched in pop culture at this point.  Mainstream popularity was first attained with a television cartoon in the late '80s but I would imagine few of that show's devotees knew the characters originated in an indy comic book.  I remember a junior high friend of mine completely absorbed in one of the comics over lunch, unperturbed by his snickering pals at the table.  Little did any of us know how big they were about to become!

The Turtles, I must confess, never held much interest for me personally.  I wasn't into comics at that age and the TV show came out when I was 14 - a bit older than the target demographic.  This issue was my first time delving into the comics myself.

Much of the story for this issue takes place in feudal Japan.  When the story reverts to modern day, the Turtles and their teen-speak seem misplaced. I would have been happier if the tale had remind there without the Turtles involvement at all - another instance of the annoying fusion tendency I've found to be prevalent in the current comics industry. 

Any interest in joining a bloggers' book club?  Please visit my link here.

My scavenger hunt was pretty straight-forward: find comic books off the rack with titles starting from A-Z.  Go check out the rest of the participants in this year's A-Z challenge.  The official site is here.

A Comic Book Scavenger Hunt, A-Z: Sof' Boy

Title: Sof' Boy and Friends
Issue: #3
Release: May 2004
Writer and Artist: Archer Prewitt
Store: Drawn & Quarterly (Montreal, Quebec)

Image via Amazon

Sof' Boy is a doughy, happy-go-lucky, Shmoo-esque character who wanders his neighborhood making friends and happening upon adventures.  In this issue, Sof' Boy and his cat friend Herbie find a bag of money.  Generous soul that he is, Sof' Boy spreads the wealth, handing thick stacks of bills to people who appear in need.  Of course, not everyone is as generous as he is and all soon goes awry.

Prewitt is also a professional musician, proficient on multiple instruments.  While not working on solo projects, he plays with the band Sea and Cake.  Previously, he was a founding member of the band The Coctails.  The Sea and Cake song "Weekend":



My scavenger hunt was pretty straight-forward: find single-issue comic books off the rack with titles starting from A-Z.  Go check out the rest of the participants in this year's A-Z challenge.  The official site is here.

A Comic Book Scavenger Hunt, A-Z: Ragemoor

Title: Ragemoor
Issue: #1
Release: March 2012
Writer: Jan Strnad
Artist: Richard Corben
Store: Earth Prime Comics (Burlington, Vermont)

Image via Amazon

The premise for Ragemoor is wonderful: a living castle which builds new rooms within its walls and devours unsuspecting guest.  The real star here is Corben, an accomplished illustrator who built his reputation with Heavy Metal magazine.  His best-known work, however, is the album cover for Meat Loaf's Bat Out of Hell:

Image via Wikipedia

My scavenger hunt was pretty straight-forward: find single-issue comic books off the rack with titles starting from A-Z.  Go check out the rest of the participants in this year's A-Z challenge.  The official site is here.

A Comic Book Scavenger Hunt, A-Z: Queen Sonja

Title: Queen Sonja
Issue: #2
Release: November 2009
Writer: Joshua Ortega
Artist: Mel Rubi
Store: Earth Prime Comics (Burlington, Vermont)

Image via The Nemedian Chronicles

Queen Sonja showcases Red Sonja, another member of the Conan universe.  The character is loosely based on Red Sonya of Rogatino in Robert E. Howard's short story "The Shadow of the Vulture," first published in 1934.  The character made her comic book debut in 1973, Conan the Barbarian #23.  She has become a prototype for the muscle-bound, scantily-clad fantasy heroine.  Comic Buyers Guide named her the sexiest woman in comics.  The publisher has rated this series T+ - for older teens.

If you like Red Sonja, you should go visit my new friend Timothy Brannan at Red Sonja: She Devil with a Sword.

Any interest in joining a bloggers' book club?  Please visit my link here.

My scavenger hunt was pretty straight-forward: find comic books off the rack with titles starting from A-Z.  Go check out the rest of the participants in this year's A-Z challenge.  The official site is here.

A Comic Book Scavenger Hunt, A-Z: Pathfinder

Title: Pathfinder
Issue: #1
Release: August 2012
Writer: Jim Zub
Artist: Andrew Huerta
Store: Earth Prime Comics (Burlington, Vermont)

Image via Newsarama.com

For me, Pathfinder provides a strong nostalgic tug.  Based on a roleplaying game of the same name, the story has all the trappings of Dungeons & Dragons games of my youth: a medieval setting, characters of varying, quantifiable skills and characteristics, fighting, magic, adventure, gruesome creatures, etc. This series definitely sparks my curiosity, though I must admit that I feel more inspired to seek out D&D comics.  The publisher has given Pathfinder a T+ rating - for older teens.

My scavenger hunt was pretty straight-forward: find single-issue comic books off the rack with titles starting from A-Z.  Go check out the rest of the participants in this year's A-Z challenge.  The official site is here.

A Comic Book Scavenger Hunt, A-Z: Orchid

Title: Orchid
Issue: #6
Release: April 2012
Writer: Tom Morello
Artist: Scott Hepburn
Store: Earth Prime Comics (Burlington, Vermont)

Image via Archonia.com
 
Orchid is set in a dystopian future. The title character is a teen prostitute determined to break out of the role society has set for her to build a better life.  #6 begins in a gladiator pit but evolves into an escape narrative - always a compelling choice to my mind.  Blood and violence make this story best suited for teens and up, I'd say.

Tom Morello is more famous as a musician than as a comic book writer.  He is lead guitarist for Rage Against the Machine when they're all playing together and busy with other projects when they're not.  For each issue of Orchid, Morello has composed original music.  A password is included to download the music from his website.  I love this idea!  The music for #6 is awesome, too.

Any interest in joining a bloggers' book club?  Please visit my link here.

My scavenger hunt was pretty straight-forward: find single-issue comic books off the rack with titles starting from A-Z.  Go check out the rest of the participants in this year's A-Z challenge.  The official site is here.

A Comic Book Scavenger Hunt, A-Z: Next Men

Title: John Byrne's Next Men
Issue: #1 (#31)
Release: December 2010
Writer and Artist: John Byrne
Store: Earth Prime Comics (Burlington, Vermont)

Image via The Daily P.O.P.

I was first introduced to John Byrne's work with his series Cold War, an espionage adventure tale. I only made it through two issues of that story.  This one seems a lot more promising to me.  This issue is a continuation of Byrne's series of the same name from the early '90s.  The relaunch explains the double-numbering.  It's the 31st issue overall but just the first of the new era.

The story is, I have to admit, very confusing.  Since I never read the originals, I can already see that I've got some catching up to do.  Often, such a situation might turn me off but there's that certain something here that makes me want to learn more. Reading up a bit on the history, the Next Men are, predictably, a bit of a spoof on the X-Men but with a far more interesting back story.  The first issue of the relaunch begins with a direct play on the X-Men idea but then heads in other directions.  By the end of the issue, the characters are still very confused as to what's happening to them and I'm quite curious myself.  I'm going back to the beginning for this one.

My scavenger hunt was pretty straight-forward: find single-issue comic books off the rack with titles starting from A-Z.  Go check out the rest of the participants in this year's A-Z challenge.  The official site is here.

A Comic Book Scavenger Hunt, A-Z: Monster Party

Title: Monster Party
Issue: one-shot
Release: 2011
Writer and Artist: Chris Eliopoulos
Store: Drawn & Quarterly (Montreal, Quebec)

Image via Atomic Books

Monster Party is built upon a very simple premise.  A boy named Oscar, nagged to do chores by his mother, discovers a gang of mischievous monsters living in the basement.   Oscar is both delighted and horrified, as most eight-year-oldish kids would be.  Naturally, the monsters get him into heaps of trouble as they roam the house.  The story is cute, the potty humor hovering around the Nickelodeon prepubescent level.

Eliopoulos has mostly earned his keep in the industry as a letterer but also has a few critical successes as writer/artist to his name.  He claims the comic strips Bloom County and Calvin and Hobbes as his two main creative influences - definitely a man of my generation.

Any interest in joining a bloggers' book club?  Please visit my link here.

My scavenger hunt was pretty straight-forward: find single-issue comic books off the rack with titles starting from A-Z.  Go check out the rest of the participants in this year's A-Z challenge.  The official site is here.

A Comic Book Scavenger Hunt, A-Z: Louis Riel

Title: Louis Riel
Issue: #4
Release: May 2000
Writer and Artist: Chester Brown
Store: Drawn and Quarterly (Montreal)

Image via Comic Collector Connect

This was the second Chester Brown title I read for my scavenger hunt.  While I was quite disgusted by Ed the Happy Clown, Louis Riel piqued my more positive interest from the first page.   Louis Riel was a rebellious figure in Manitoba in the 19th century.  I knew nothing about him before picking up this book and I will not pretend to know much about Canadian frontier history in general.  However, I have long been drawn to stories of native resistance to oppressive governments so I immediately felt that I should learn more about this man.

Somehow, Brown's minimalist style brings levity to an otherwise serious subject.  Months can pass between panels.  Faces offer little expression.  Dialogue is very dry.  And yet, I am ever eager to see what comes next.

I had fun comparing Brown's renderings to photographs of the historic figures.

Louis Riel:

Photo via Wikipedia

Image via Akimbo

There's something rather Yellow Submarine-ish about that latter image, too.

John A. MacDonald:

Photo via Wikipedia

Image via maybe edmonton

Any interest in joining a bloggers' book club?  Please visit my link here.

My scavenger hunt was pretty straight-forward: find single-issue comic books off the rack with titles starting from A-Z.  Go check out the rest of the participants in this year's A-Z challenge.  The official site is here.

A Comic Book Scavenger Hunt, A-Z: King Conan

Title: King Conan
Issue: #2
Release: February 2012
Writer: Timothy Truman
Artist: Tomas Giorello
Store: Earth Prime Comics (Burlington, Vermont)

Image via Comic Book DB
 
I am completely new to the Conan universe.  I never even saw the old Arnold Schwarzenegger films.  The character has been around for quite a long time, first introduced in 1932 by Robert E. Howard in the pulp fiction magazine Weird Tales.  Conan comics were first published in 1970 by Marvel.  The license is now owned by Dark Horse.

This issue is entitled "A Gathering of Vultures," part 2 of 4 in The Phoenix on the Sword.  "The Phoenix on the Sword" was one of the original stories written by Howard back in '32. 

Any interest in joining a bloggers' book club?  Please visit my link here.

My scavenger hunt was pretty straight-forward: find single-issue comic books off the rack with titles starting from A-Z.  Go check out the rest of the participants in this year's A-Z challenge.  The official site is here.

A Comic Book Scavenger Hunt, A-Z: JinnRise

Title: JinnRise
Issue: #1
Release: January 2013
Writer: Sohaib Awan
Artists: Tony Vassallo
Store: Earth Prime Comics (Burlington, Vermont)

Image via Major Spoilers

Fusion is the name of the game in comics these days.  A story about an exchange student in Marakesh isn't interesting enough on its own?  An alien invasion would certainly spice things up.  I don't know, it still needs something more...  Of course, a genie!

I find the fusion tendency tedious, though not because other story genres aren't worth exploring.  Quite the opposite, to my mind.  The problem is that rather than allowing the narrative to live in an usual environment (for comics, anyway) such as ancient Rome, feudal Japan, the French Revolution or whatever, the author seemingly can't resist dragging us back to the more comfortable sci-fi/horror turf which pervades the industry.  Fair warning: this won't be my last time complaining about this!

Any interest in joining a bloggers' book club?  Please visit my link here. 

My scavenger hunt was pretty straight-forward: find single-issue comic books off the rack with titles starting from A-Z.  Go check out the rest of the participants in this year's A-Z challenge.  The official site is here.

A Comic Book Scavenger Hunt, A-Z: I Feel Sick

Title: I Feel Sick
Issue: #1
Release: November 2011
Writer: Jhonen Vasquez
Artists: Rosearik Rikki Simons and Jhonen Vasquez
Store: Earth Prime Comics (Burlington, Vermont)

Image via Comic Vine

Okay, I'll admit upfront that this comic's pretty gross at times.  Also, the language is definitely PG-13.  And yet...

The undead, namely zombies and vampires, are a very big theme in pop culture these days, especially in comics.  I Feel Sick simultaneously embraces and pokes merciless fun at that fad.  Devi is an artist working in, you guessed it, the comic book industry.  She has weird friends and disastrous dates.  She struggles with the same creative blocks we all do.  The narrative is dark but definitely funny.

Any interest in joining a bloggers' book club?  Please visit my link here.

My scavenger hunt was pretty straight-forward: find single-issue comic books off the rack with titles starting from A-Z.  Go check out the rest of the participants in this year's A-Z challenge.  The official site is here. 

A Comic Book Scavenger Hunt, A-Z: Hack/Slash

Title: Hack/Slash: Me Without You
Issue: one-shot
Release: January 2011
Writer: Tim Seeley
Artist: Daniel Leister
Store: Earth Prime Comics (Burlington, Vermont)

Image via Comic MegaStore

There is, as the title suggests, a bit of violence in this one.  However, not as much as you might expect.  Okay, the first page has a picture of a thoroughly mutilated man but it gets better from there.  

Hack/Slash has been ongoing since 2004.  Me Without You provides a bit of an origin story for Vlad, a hulking, disfigured loner who finds himself playing the role of protector for Mari, a beautiful young woman.  Mari is pursued by a mysterious woman in a white jacket.  All of the characters are interconnected in ways neither Vlad nor Mari completely understand.  I don't have much interest in pursuing this story further but it's better than I expected it to be.  Not for kids, obviously!

My scavenger hunt was pretty straight-forward: find single-issue comic books off the rack with titles starting from A-Z.  Go check out the rest of the participants in this year's A-Z challenge.  The official site is here.