{"id":3982,"date":"2010-07-12T22:00:45","date_gmt":"2010-07-13T02:00:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/comicscomicsmag.com\/?p=3982"},"modified":"2010-07-12T22:00:45","modified_gmt":"2010-07-13T02:00:45","slug":"this-week-in-comics-71410-one-lie-about-david-copperfield","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/comicscomicsmag.com\/?p=3982","title":{"rendered":"THIS WEEK IN COMICS! (7\/14\/10 – One Lie About David Copperfield)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Nothing beats a good ol’ local comics convention, so my Sunday morning was fucking invincible. It was one of those longboxes-atop-longboxes things, held in a local campus gymnasium so remote on school property a cosplayer took it upon himself to direct eager patrons in. The basketball hoops were still hanging; it was hot. To your left is my prime find, probably not the kind of revelatory funnybook (re)discovery that might open your eyes, heart, etc., but still: Fantagor<\/em> #1, first Last Gasp edition, 1971, $5.00.<\/p>\n

It’s Richard Corben, of course; I’ve been in the mood since reading an appreciation<\/a> by critic David Brothers (very much worth reading for a perspective premised largely on Corben’s recent, front-of-Previews comic book work) and then belatedly discovering that the artist has returned to comic book self-publishing via Odds and Ends<\/a>, a 32-page b&w compilation of assorted items, paramount among them a 20-page sequel to 1994’s color Corben release From the Pit<\/em>. We can certainly draw a line straight back to Fantagor<\/em>, the artist’s original (initially self-published) showcase series, although writer Starr Armitage and artist Herb Arnold also appear, foreshadowing the anthology format in which Corben would plant himself for many years – the seductive quality of narrating a comics artist’s path across the development of the form ensures that the younger Corben is typically identified as an ‘underground’ cartoonist, which is accurate, but it’s also true that his Warren magazines debut came in 1970 (Creepy<\/em> #36), the same year as his initial contributions to Last Gasp’s Skull Comics<\/em> and Slow Death<\/em>, and only two years after his earliest fanzine appearances in Voice of Comicdom<\/a>. In this way Corben bridges the gap between the EC (or thereabouts) horror-influenced faction of the undergrounds and the arguably more direct continuation of the aesthetic via Warren, while indeed anticipating the shift of the Warren magazines toward a less traditional ‘horror’ focus as the ’70s continued.<\/p>\n

Five bucks was a popular price at the basketball con (as I have renamed it); I also picked up that enormous Treasury edition of Jack Kirby’s 2001: A Space Odyssey<\/em> and Dave Sim’s Collected Letters 2<\/em>, because you know entertainment’s right around the corner when the first two words in a book of correspondence are “Gary Groth.” I felt so great I almost did a victory layup. Although, actually, I ran cross country in high school; I don’t really know what a layup is. And I can’t even jump these days without my ankles shattering. My presence on the internet may be diminishing, but make no mistake: I’m rapidly expanding in other ways.<\/p>\n

A note on new comics methodology: I’m writing all this on Sunday night, because it turns out I won’t have online access until Friday. As such, this week’s selections are based on Midtown Comics’ list of 7\/14 releases to Midtown Comics locations, which may differ in certain ways from Diamond’s own list of releases (updated Mondays), although neither list is foolproof, or a guarantee that your shop ordered anything besides X-Force diorama statues. But anyway:<\/p>\n

The Playwright<\/strong>: Certainly my pick of the week, this is the Top Shelf\/Knockabout hardcover completion of a serial by writer Daren White and artist Eddie Campbell, begun in the anthology DeeVee<\/em> in 2001. You probably<\/a> already know that it’s “a dark comedy about the sex life of a celibate middle-aged man,” but it also makes for fascinating contrast with an earlier book of this year – Dan Clowes’ much-discussed Wilson<\/em>. Both works hone in on troubled men, followed across a hop-skipping stretch of their lives prone to stretching out certain periods then whisking past others.<\/p>\n

But while Clowes relentlessly and explicitly forces the question of observational subjectivity as to his braying title character, drawn differently on every page and forced into the distancing structure of the gag strip, White & Campbell situate their uneasy artist so that no dialogue floats from his or anyone’s lips; he instead is observed calmly, if often in discomforting, tight close-up, a running omniscient narration accompanying him across a single line of panels, left-to-right, from the start of this landscape-format book to the end, fluttering in and out of fantasies and flashbacks but ultimately firm like the passage of time. Incontrovertible. Certainly there are none of the extraterritorial digressions of Campbell’s & Dan Best’s 2008 The Amazing Remarkable Monsieur Leotard<\/em>, although some readers may note a kinship with Campbell’s O. Henry ending to 2006’s The Fate of the Artist<\/em>; we are witness to\u00a0 serenity and creative evocation failing to line up, like how Campbell’s illustrations and White’s narration sometimes fall out of pace with one another, to gently draw the reader yet closer, as the Playwright ages yet still. Intuitive, intimate work, this.\u00a0 Preview<\/a>; $14.95.<\/p>\n

MOME Vol. 19<\/strong>: A new Gilbert Hernandez story is set for this latest edition of Fantagraphics’ house anthology, along with the start of a “satiric psychedelic epic” from writer Shaun Partridge and artist Josh Simmons. Also: Olivier Schrauwen, Tim Lane, T. Edward Bak, more. Samples<\/a>; $14.99.<\/p>\n

Richard Stark’s Parker: The Man With the Getaway Face – A Prelude to the Outfit<\/strong>: The perfect gift for the connoisseur in your life<\/a>. Darwyn Cooke and publisher IDW should have their second Parker-in-comics hardcover ready for later this year, but your appetite could verily be whetted by this 24-page standalone preview — in that it functions as a self-contained story while also serving as the opening pages to the completed book — presented in 8″ x 12″ form; $2.00.<\/p>\n

The Bulletproof Coffin #2 (of 6)<\/strong>: Meanwhile, Frank wrote about issue #1 here<\/a>, and I wrote about issue #1 here<\/a>, and we’re all waiting for this next piece from Shaky Kane & David Hine; $3.99.<\/p>\n

Orc Stain #4<\/strong>: Also from Image, also very good – an ongoing, engorged-in-every-way fantasy series from James Stokoe; $2.99.<\/p>\n

Officer Downe<\/strong>: MORE IMAGE – a fun-looking Joe Casey\/Chris Burnham one-off starring a violent action hero-type cop, perhaps of the sort recently eulogized by Abhay Khosla<\/a>. It brings to my mind the farcically overheated 1986-90 NYC cop manga Mad Bull 34<\/a>, truly the All Star Batman and Robin, the Boy Wonder<\/em> of writer Kazuo Koike’s long career in comics scripting (and with muscular, Image-like art by Noriyoshi Inoue). The cop’s even rocking the ‘stache. Preview<\/a>; $4.99.<\/p>\n

Revolver<\/strong>: A new 192-page Vertigo hardcover original by Matt Kindt, of Super Spy<\/em>, following a man who fluctuates daily between alternate realities of deadening boredom and widespread calamity. Preview<\/a>; $24.99.<\/p>\n

Batman #701<\/strong>: Being writer Grant Morrison’s third<\/em> currently-going Bat-concern, the first of two issues devoted to plugging continuity gaps between the Morrison-written R.I.P.<\/em> storyline from a while back (artist Tony Daniel returns) and the Final Crisis<\/em> mega-crossover, in a manner purportedly meaningful to one’s enjoyment of the also currently-going The Return of Bruce Wayne<\/em>. Morrison will sometimes stick crucial plot content into periphery issues like these — the collected edition made it all better, but I pity anyone who tried to plow through Final Crisis<\/em> as a serial without reading the two Superman Beyond 3D<\/em> tie-ins — so be on Expansive Storyline Alert; $2.99.<\/p>\n

The Viking Prince by Joe Kubert<\/strong>: Continuing DC’s Joe Kubert Library<\/em> line of new and compiled projects, this time packing in 296 pages of viking comics (1955-58) culled from the first 20 issues of The Brave and the Bold<\/em>, back when said virtues where not reserved for Batman and superheroes in his immediate vicinity. The initiating writer was Robert Kanigher, but most scripts from the period were provided by Bob Haney or Bill Finger. Also including a 1966 storyline from Our Army at War<\/em> #162-163, in which Kanigher & Kubert have the character meet Sgt. Rock; $39.99.<\/p>\n

Catalog No. 439: Burlesque Paraphernalia and Side Degree Specialties and Costumes<\/strong>: I think Midtown’s fucking with me? Or, Fantagraphics is releasing a 240-page reproduction of a 1930 catalog from De Moulin Bros. & Co., specializing in dangerous-looking props to use in lodge initiations and such. Featuring a new appreciation by David Copperfield, in his first Fantagraphics appearance since retiring the Anton Drek pseudonym. Introduction by Charles Schneider. Samples<\/a>; $22.99.<\/p>\n

Famous Monsters of Filmland #251<\/strong>: And finally, Mr. Richard Corben provides the cover for this latest print revival of the most venerable Warren magazine, albeit not a comics anthology and not one I’ve ever actually read. Features on Predators and True Blood are promised, plus an interview with Ray Bradbury and a tribute to Forrest J. Ackerman. From IDW, veterans of Doomed<\/em>, an interesting 2005-06 attempt at reviving the b&w horror comics magazine style for 21st century delectation; $12.95.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Nothing beats a good ol’ local comics convention, so my Sunday morning was fucking invincible. It was one of those longboxes-atop-longboxes things, held in a local campus gymnasium so remote on school property a cosplayer took it upon himself to direct eager patrons in. The basketball hoops were still hanging; it was hot. To your left is my prime find, probably not the kind of revelatory funnybook (re)discovery that might […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[1100,1292],"class_list":["post-3982","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog","tag-corben","tag-this-week-in-comics"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/comicscomicsmag.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3982","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/comicscomicsmag.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/comicscomicsmag.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/comicscomicsmag.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/comicscomicsmag.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3982"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/comicscomicsmag.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3982\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/comicscomicsmag.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3982"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/comicscomicsmag.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3982"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/comicscomicsmag.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3982"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}