Jodorowsky’s Dune finally came to Seattle this weekend, and I was painfully inspired by this doc. You basically get an animated Moebius film, in between beautiful H.G. Giger art, and topped with an amazing soundtrack that really feels essentially Dune. I can’t say enough good things about this film. For sci-fi, comic, film fans alike.
I followed the painful inspiration with a weekend of day drinking, nail painting, and reading. My magnum opus won’t be built in a day.
Adventure Time Annual 2014– The thing I love about annuals is that they come out once a year. They’re also bigger. They feature a new creative team. And sometimes they’re Adventure Time. Lucky for us, this one hits all those sweet spots. Joining the already extra special AT Team is husband-wife comic duo, Becky and Frank! They write and draw the super adorable webcomic, Tiny Kitten Teeth (that is hand painted, I might add). If you have diabetes you might want to keep a candy bar on hand for this one, because it not only features the sugary cuteness of their typical art style, but the story follows little Fionna and BABY CAKE! The sweetness is in the name! Just thinking about it gets me a little light headed. The two get into all sorts of magical trouble, but who could ever stay mad at a baby Fionna and Cake?!
Continuing the Buddy Bradley series from the collected books of Buddy Does Jersey, and Buddy Does Seattle, comes the first collection we’ve seen from Peter Bagge’s iconic Hate Annual series in seven years! But this newest collected version will also feature new pages created by Bagge; a major contribution to the renaissance Seattle is having right now of its alternative comics scene. Life for the junky, 1990’s famous anti-hero, Buddy Bradley has changed significantly. We find him now in his 30’s, with a wife, son, owning a junkyard, and wearing an eye patch. Pretty normal for Buddy I’d say. This conclusion to his most recent arc will be marked by the 25th anniversary of Hate Comix in 2015. I’d say that time has flown by, and something nostalgic like “I remember when these comics blah blah blah”, but I’ll be honest, Hate came out the year I was born. So I’ve had A LOT of catching up to do.(If you’re interested in the current work of underground Seattle cartoonists, look up the work of Ben Horak, Gnartoons, and Tom Van Deusen in their monthly publication, The Intruder)
Unlovable Vol 3 HC– Grotesquely hilarious, in only the way an illustrated journal of a teenage girl from 1989 can be. Unlovable, by Esther Pearl Watson, is what all of us were at some point in our adolescence, but wishing we never were. Summer is here for Tammy Pierce, and she’s ready to party, flirt with all the boys, and wear waaaaay too much mascara. This is a must read for all Tina Belcher fans. This is also a must read for anyone who likes fun!
Southern Bastards #1– Jason Aaron just made the South real dirty. Dirty with rednecks, piss, and dogs. Craw County is home to all of the above; it’s also home to the meanest sheriff the town has ever seen, and his brutality is the stuff of legend. But it’s very real to his son who has come back to town for the first time in years. His dad is dead, but his brutality lives on in the town, through a new boss who has this football town in his fist, and people running from his terror. While this may not be a welcome home for Earl Tugg, for fans of Aaron’s work on books like Scalped, this feels like we’ve been greeted with open arms. Originally from Alabama himself, this feels really down home Southern. Artist and co-creator, Jason Latour also hails from North Carolina, and these two don’t miss a beat when it comes to creating an atmosphere that’s soiled with too many memories, and too much power.
Judge Dredd Mega-City Two #4– When you combine the most serious man in crime fighting, with two cute animal tour guides to Crimeland that sing rhyming tunes, you get only a piece of the wacky ride that is Judge Dredd Mega City Two. Dredd takes care of some old fashioned boss’s in the amusement park that caters to showing old-fashioned street crime! Sounds like a good time for Dredd and his film crew, until they run into a rogue Judge who turns their world upside down by giving up the law…to help the people. The art is out of control on this issue, and the contrast between the hyper detail of the city and landscape, combined with the cartoonish auxiliary characters gives this book a distinguishing flavor from anything that’s on the shelves today. And this issue definitely satisfies my need for some form of musical theatre.
Pretty Deadly Vol 1 TPB– Prolific author Gabriel Garcia Marquez may have left us, but this world is no less full of magical realism as long as Pretty Deadly is still around. DeConnick and Rios have left a sizeable dent in the comics’ world, following the release of their spaghetti western meets kung-fu epic. If you’re one of the poor souls wandering this wasteland of a planet lost and alone because you haven’t picked this book up yet, now is your chance to feel the swift righteous blade of death’s daughter, Ginny. Her origin is the stuff of legend; a tale that bards sing around a fire. But the wronged always know where to find her.
