by Jeff Ayers
Umbrella Academy vol 02: Dallas TP- A fractured team gets thrust into new adventure involving a plot to kill JFK. An FP bestseller, The Umbrella Academy Dallas maintains the vibrant cool of volume one with Dallas well. Written by Gerard Way (lead singer of My Chemical Romance and a former guest of FP and an overall swell fella) with glorious art by Gabriel Ba (Casanova), who never disappoints.
Prison Pit- Yaaaaaaaaaay! New Johnny Ryan comics! This time we’re served an original graphic novel from the Angry Youth Comix maestro, a hyper violent and darkly comical tale of intergalactic bloodbath as protagonist CF is thrust into the Prison Pit. Powered by Johnny’s brilliant sense of humor (more heaping handfuls of gross blech than you can imagine, more offensive imagery than socially acceptable), this book is billed as a mishmash of influences- WWE, video games, Gary Panter’s Jimbo, and the Berserk manga. I like to think of it as R. Crumb draws Tim Vigil’s Faust, minus the draftsmanship. Recommended.
Buffy Season 8 Volume 5– So I guess I’ll be seeing legions upon legions of Buffy fans this week in Forbidden Planet. Okay then. See ya then.
25,000 Years of Erotic Art– Alan Moore, he of Lost Girls fame, contributes to this book examining centuries of smut, pornography, and filth. Terrific. While definitely not for all tastes, nor ages for that matter, the book posits that “the success and vibrancy of a society relates to its permissiveness in sexual matters,”and examines human history in that context. Says Moore, “Sexually progressive cultures gave us literature, philosophy, civilization and the rest, while sexually restrictive cultures gave us the Dark Ages and the Holocaust.” It’s a pretty interesting tome, Especially if you like da nasty.
Die Hard #1- What? Come on, okay? Die Hard’s my favorite Christmas movie and even I, on occasion, should be allowed to let go of snobbery and pretension long enough to enjoy big dumb fun. Which brings us to this here comic book, chronicling John McClane’s rookie tour with the NYPD in 1976. Written by Howard Chaykin, a veteran of tough, grizzled action/crime stories, with art by Stephen Thopmson (Moonstone’s Buckaroo Banzai, Presidential Material: John McCain).
Sleeper Season Two TP- Stop reading if you’ve heard my spiel about Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips’ masterpiece. Okay, now that they’re gone, you simply MUST read Sleeper. It contains zero moral value, and that’s fantastic. Secret agent Holden Carver is under deep, deep cover in THE underground criminal organization what’s got their hands in everything with seemingly no way out. Why would he want to get out anyway, when evil’s so damn sexy? It’s an amazingly well-executed story and if you have enjoyed these creators’ other series Criminal and Incognito you’ll more than dig this.
Absolute Promethea Vol. 01- One of our favorite Alan Moore books gets the gussied-up Absolute treatment from DC/Wildstorm. There are precious few other things you can drop a hundred bucks on. Anyone got a hundred bucks I can borrow?
Bad Dog #3- You may want to wait for the trade on this title due to its erratic schedule, but if you’re stalwart enough to jump on board or you’ve been following it all along you’ll know that Joe Kelly’s romp is one irreverent delight after another. Best comic featuring a Werewolf bounty hunter ever.
And that’s just the tip of the bookshelf. Have a good Wednesday, folks.
