STAFF PICKS :: DAL TOKYO HC :: SEPTEMBER 05, 2012
SETH’S PICK :: DAL TOKYO: If you’ve heard the name Gary Panter before, you’ve probably heard it mentioned in association with abstract comics. He’s got a long track record of producing unique works that stretches all the way back to RAW magazine. Panter’s punk aesthetic suggests a do-it-yourself mentality, but there’s also a poetic element to his writing. His cartooning is on full display in Dal Tokyo, Fantagraphics’ 200 plus page collection of Panter’s strip originally published in America in the eighties, and later picked up for Japanese publication. It is an abstract work, and one not easily digested as a straight ahead narrative. That said, it’s an interesting piece of cartooning and will entertain and confound you in alternating waves.
RICO’S PICK :: PRINCE OF CATS: Montagues and the Capulets. Samurai swords. Brooklyn. Ron Wimberly draws the hell out of this re-imagining of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet with Tybalt as the lead character. I’ve been looking forward to this book for along time!
ANDY’S PICK :: COMICS REVUE PRESENTS AUG 2012: For any of you who have considered delving into the treasure trove of comic strip reprints, Comics Revue is the absolute perfect place to start. Since 1984, Revue has been publishing healthy chunks of some of the greatest comic strips to ever grace the newspaper comic section. Currently, the all-star line-up includes: Flash Gordon from the 1960s written by the late great Harry Harrison! Modesty Blaise! Dick Moore’s run on Gasoline Alley! Tarzan Sunday pages by Russ Manning! Milt Caniff’s Steve Canyon, Alley Oop from the ’40s, Roy Crane’s Buz Sawyer from the early 60s! (it’s still awesome!) Krazy Kat dailies from the 30s, Secret Agent Corrigan by Williamson and Goodwin and tons more–The Phantom, Latigo, Tarzan dailies, Mandrake the Magician, Rick O’Shea and a one of the great under- appreciated humor strips, Sir Bagby!
This week marks the debut of Phantom Lady #1, the first in a four-part mini-series featuring the Lady herself and her crime-fighting partner Doll Man. Amanda Conner lends her talents to the cover art for this issue, with interiors by the lovely Cat Staggs. I’m excited to see where writers Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti take this beloved Freedom Fighter and pulp heroine, and though her costume doesn’t look nearly as pin-up as her past incarnations, I’m sure this bombshell won’t disappoint! 
Is Peanuts the greatest comic strip of all time? It is hard to say for certain since there have been so many classics that have run throughout our lifetimes and and the lifetimes of our parents (and grandparents) before us. Calvin and Hobbes, Pogo, Popeye and Wash Tubbs/Captain Easy immediately come to mind. They are all masterpieces of the comic strip form–timeless, inspiring and entertaining…but do any of these (along with dozens I neglected to mention) have the true emotional pull and the personal connection we have all felt at one time with Charles Schulz masterpiece featuring Charlie Brown and the gang? Is there any visual ICON from the past 50 years more universally familiar than Snoopy?
RICO’S PICK :: ALL ACTION CLASSICS NO. 4 :: THE WIZARD OF OZ: L. Frank Baum’s Classic a seen through the lens of brilliant cartoonist Ben Caldwell. Man! That guy is good!
KARLA’S PICK :: PHANTOM LADY #1: This week marks the debut of Phantom Lady #1, the first in a four-part mini-series featuring the Lady herself and her crime-fighting partner Doll Man. Amanda Conner lends her talents to the cover art for this issue, with interiors by the lovely Cat Staggs. I’m excited to see where writers Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti take this beloved Freedom Fighter and pulp heroine, and though her costume doesn’t look nearly as pin-up as her past incarnations, I’m sure this bombshell won’t disappoint!
HEATHER’S PICK :: WOLVERINE and the X-MEN #15: There’s so much to love about this book: Wolverine dealing with a bunch of teenagers, bamfs running amuck through the Jean Grey School and stealing Wolverine’s whiskey all brought to us by Jason Aaron’s excellent sense of humor. Now we add to that an unlikely friendship between one of my favorite, Broo and Tony Stark. I’m also excited to see new students are joining the school and looking forward to the resolution of the AVS storylines. As always, do not feed the bamfs.
What makes a good comic book is up for debate. Content-wise, there is no real consensus to be polled. But if the prevailing business model at the Big Two is any indication, good comic books come from the Big Event. There’s a definite thrill to seeing our humble little industry mentioned in grown up newspapers when editors pull stunts like guest-starring the President, but the constant barrage of reboot and crossover can also grow tiresome and desensitizing. It can leave an audience a little cold, especially after the initial buzz of the press release.
