Friday, April 30, 2010

Indies Preview Review for June Part 3 of 3


Into the home stretch...


Papercutz
Classics Illustrated Vol. 10: Cyrano De Bergerac HC by (W) Edmond Rostand, Peter David (A) Kyle Baker
Cyrano de Bergerac yearns to confess his love to for his cousin Roxanne; he is a talented poet and musician who should have no trouble doing so. Yet his large nose has him convinced that no woman would ever be interested in him. When Cyrano finds out that Roxanne is enamored with the handsome Christian de Neuville, a tale of romance and heartbreak begins that is wonderfully captured by Peter David and Kyle Baker. $9.99
Lee: Peter David! Kyle Baker! Classic story!!!! I’m sold. I’m never going to read the original so I may as well read the comic book cliff notes. I have many of these books and they are highly, highly recommended.
Jim: I want to read the original. I have been avoiding this stuff, but David and Baker is hard to resist.

Roaring Brook Press
How I Made It to Eighteen GN by (W/A) Tracy White
What happens when a girl hates herself and her life, has a breakdown, admits herself into a mental hospital, realizes she is in trouble, starts talking and stops lying, and then writes an honest and amazing book about her experiences. From the Ignatz-nominated creator of webcomic Traced. $16.99
Lee: Wow! Does this sound like a interesting story. I can’t imagine what this girl went through. But, I’m gonna read and find out.
Jim: Seen this movie before. I don't know why slice of life book "A" appeals to me and book "B" does not, but this feels like book "B", perhaps too self indulgent.

Rebellion
Leviathan GN by (W) Ian Edgington (A) D’Israeli
In 1928, the Leviathan, the largest cruise liner the world had ever seen, was launched, bound for New York, with a crew and passenger complement totalling nearly 30,000 people. It was never seen again. Twenty years later, one of the remaining passengers, Detective Sergeant Lament, begins to investigate the mystery at the liner's heart. What he discovers will change his world forever and might just bring the Leviathan home. $22.00
Lee: This has been around for a long, long time but I’m still interested. It seems to be a rift on the very old ‘ghost ship’ theme but Edgington is a very good writer so I’m willing to give benefit of doubt. Not to mention that I love D’Israeli’s art so I was sold on this as soon as I read it.
Jim: Sign me up on this one too. Good creditors and a cool premise. Often when a book is still hanging around it is because it has merit.

Scar Comics
Madam Samurai GN by (W) Gary Young (A) David Hitchcock This hard-hitting tale of vengeance spans the world, from 19th-century Japan to the crime ridden streets of Victorian London. As a young mute girl searches for the killer of her grandfather and her mentor she finds herself caught in a web of vice and violence. What hope does she have of finding her quarry if she can't even find a bed for the night, and who is the mysterious Jack The Ripper the English police have been hunting? $12.99 Visit the Madam Samurai site here for free previews.
Lee: There seems to be more stories mining the Victorian era than ever these days. There was Helen Killer, Shakespeare, and now this. Yeah, yeah I’m mixing eras but you get my point. For the most part these types of stories have been good so I’m willing to give it a chance.
Jim: I think historical fiction is an area that is ripe for good comic stories and this may be another one, although Jack The Ripper has been overdone.

Scraped Knee
Bridge Project GN by (W/A) Various
San Francisco and Portland have a lot in common - towering bridges, coffee slurpin hipsters, and incredibly talented indie-comic scenes. The Bridge Project anthology teams up some of top cartoonists (David Chelsea, Graham Annable, Scott Campbell, etc.) from each city to collaborate on stories together resulting in touching and fantastical results. $9.95 Visit the site here CLICK the Matt Leunig for art samples and a general idea of what this might be.
Lee: I’m always up for anthology titles. I freely admit that they are always hit or miss but the chance to see new artists is too much for me to pass up. Basically, this looks like fun.
Jim: Coffee slurping hipsters? When was this put together in the seventies or sixties. Right now I'm off anthologies without a connecting theme.

Titan Publishing
Simon & Kirby: Superheroes HC by (W) Joe Simon (A) Jack Kirby
Beginning with Blue Bolt in June 1940, Joe Simon and Jack Kirby set the standard for costumed heroes. Their creation Captain America, remains one of the most famous heroes in comic book history, and their work for Timely and DC Comics raised the bar. This volume introduces some of their most exciting characters: Fighting American, The Fly, Lancelot Strong, and the Hollywood swashbuckler known as Stuntman. Presenting the complete Fighting American, their first collaboration, The Black Owl, and Captain 3-D, lavishly restored and presented in full-color for the first time, this is the only edition authorized by both Joe Simon and the estate of Jack Kirby, gathered from the official Simon and Kirby archives. With an introduction from comics legend Neil Gaiman! $49.95
Lee: I have problems recommending this book. Not because of the material but because I’ve heard that comic shops had trouble stocking this. In fact, my comic shop had problems so I ended up getting it off Amazon. I don't want to advocate Amazon! You should always support the local store… but this book is so much fun that you just need to get it. Think of it as cheating on your diet, sometimes you just need to stray for the sake of a chocolate bar.
Jim: I think I own this book, it is somewhere in my house I know it. Definitely a good book to own.

Lee: Another good month! And no matter how much Jim complains, I'm sure I've cost him money yet again. Hopefully, I've cost you some money too.
Jim: You always cost me money and often my biggest gripe is I should spend more on this and less on the big two because this is often much better.

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