Ich Liebe Comics !

Naughty And Nice; Bruce Timm

2012-01-24T15:40:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow there's a lot of great comics coming out, such as Justice League, Flash, Aquaman, Bulletproof Coffin, Walking Dead, Fantastic Four, and Unwritten, being that it'll be New Comic Wednesday, but for sheer (pun intended - grin!) eye candy wonderment, all of them will pale when stacked alongside Bruce Timm's new art book, Naughty And Nice!

Bruce Timm first made his name known to comic book art lovers everywhere as the visual creator of Harley Quinn and for his work on the Batman Animated series of the 1990s.

Naughty And Nice, The Good Girl Art Of Bruce Timm (actually all of the gals within probably aren't that good, if you know what I mean, nudge, nudge, wink, wink!) is $50.00, but it's also 300 pages of glorious full color over-sized Bruce Timm illustrations that you won't see collected anywhere else and really, if you have any idea of how much Timm's original art sells for, well this is the bargain of the day!

Whispers; Joshua Luna

2012-01-13T16:20:00.000-08:00

Have you read Ultra, Girls, or Sword by the Luna brothers? If you have, you already know that any new comic book project by the Luna brothers will surely be good and different. This week the first issue of Whispers came out from Image, written and drawn by Joshua Luna, the first time either of them has worked alone (to my knowledge), and I'm going to call it easily the best new series of this young year (Brubaker and Phillip's Fatal, also published by Image and released last week, is also great)!

All of the Luna brothers' comic book projects are vastly different from the one they'd mostly recently finished, and Joshua Luna's Whispers, is no exception. The central character, Sam, has been having dreams, which he thinks aren't really dreams and also starts being able to sort of astrally project himself to different places and people (and being invisible at the same time). With the way this first issue unravels, I can't imagine anyone not picking up following issues, seriously this gets going right away! And this may be the first comic book featuring a main character who has OCD (and this is a big part of the first issue)!

Daredevil #7; Mark Waid & Paolo Rivera

2011-12-22T09:59:00.000-08:00

This week, another great issue of the new Daredevil arrived and like the previous six issues of the relaunch, it's FANTASTIC! After two great long runs by Bendis and Bubaker, they were followed by writer, Andy Diggle, for a run that didn't leave much of an impression on too many people. Now we have a Daredevil comic that is lighter in tone (Daredevil works really well with a grittier, dark tone, but it's been time for a change for a long time) written by Mark Waid and drawn by Paola Rivera (with some alternating issues by the also excellent Marcus Martin - actually his last issue was #6 as he's going to be doing a creator-owned title with Brian Vaughn next year) and is one of the best reviewed comics of the past year.

If you haven't read this new Daredevil series yet, the first collection comes out in late January (and here at Alternate Reality Comics, I have most of the issues in stock), but this latest issue, is a great stand alone story that a person could read without having read the preceding issues. Daredevil #7 is also a wonderful story that is perfect for the holiday season and works as a great chaser after reading Jason Aaron and Steve Dillon's dark, demented, Punishermax (which is also fantastic, the best Punisher ever, in my book!)! Waid & Rivera's Daredevil will most certainly receive multiple nominations from the Eisner Awards next year!

Miracleman #9; Alan Moore & Rick Veitch

2011-12-10T18:30:00.000-08:00

Sorry to be continuing to tease people (well those of you who haven't / aren't able to read Moore's seminal superhero epic Marvelman / Miracleman) - see entry below for an earlier tease - but I just reread Miracleman #9 (that fell off the back of a truck - grin!) and I wanted to share some thoughts upon having done so. And before I go on, I'm not going to get into the long sordid reasons of why Marvelman / Miracleman is not in print (please go over to Wikipedia for some details) and no, I don't have the whole run to sell here unfortunately.

Miracleman #9 is the issue in which Michael Moran's (Miracleman) wife has their baby and in only sixteen pages, Alan Moore and artist Rick Veitch really toke the sequential art medium to a new level of greatness, beauty, and maturity. Consider the following descriptive prose by Alan Moore of Mike Moran delivering his baby:

"The moment swells, an organ chord, deep and prolonged, adrenaline sharpens my perceptions until each instant glitters like a diamond."

Another thing I'd like to share from Miracleman #9 is the inside front cover publisher editorial page called The Penumbra, written by Catherine Yronwode (similar to Marvel's old Bullpen Bulletins page), in which one of the items was about Alan Moore: "This popular writer, once known among long-suffering editors for his ultra messy manuscripts, has bought a new typewriter!" - This comic came out in 1986, so obviously this was before computers (and even before word processors) replaced typewriters as that upon which practically everyone uses, but reading an item like that really reminds one of how much has changed in just 25 years! For you kids reading this, who don't know what a typewriter is (grin), you can look that up on Wikipedia also!

The Silence of Our Friends; advance tease, no spoilers

2011-12-10T17:06:00.000-08:00

Today I got an advance copy of The Silence of Our Friends, a new graphic novel about the civil rights struggles of the 1960s, written by Mark Long and Jim Demonakos and drawn by Nate Powell, published by the fine folks at First Second. The Silence of Our Friends doesn't come out until the end of January, but having read it just now, I want to strongly suggest that you look for this graphic novel, based on true events, when it hits finer comic book stores next year.

While I'm being a graphic novel tease, I also want to put out a little advance tease for some exciting changes that will be happening on my Alternate Reality Comics website and Ich Liebe Comics! blog by early January 2012. I haven't been posting here as much as I'd like and I really do appreciate all of my Ich Liebe Comics! readers and would like to apologize for my lackluster posting here of late. Having said this, my Alternate Reality Comics website, which will be newly designed by my artist friend, Ron Horsley, will definitely turn this all around in a positive way (actually I'm happy with the way my website and blog look presently, but the new versions will be less static) so I hope you all are looking forward to these changes as much as I am to share them with you!

Mi Barrio; Robert Renteria & Shane Clester

2011-11-29T10:25:00.000-08:00

Mi Barrio is a new graphic novelette (it's only 55 pages in length and I think only works greater than 100 pages should be called a novel or graphic novel) written by Robert Renteria and illustrated by Shane Clester from Renteria's novel, From the Barrio to the Board Room. Mi Barrio is about Robert Renteria's growing up in one of the poorest areas of Los Angeles and how he was able to transcend his environment and not repeat the cycle that so many of those in his situation succumb to.

While Mi Barrio isn't very long it still is a good, inspiring story of what is possible through hard work and determination.

Alternate Reality Comics' Black Friday Sale!!

2011-11-23T17:24:00.000-08:00

Alternate Reality Comics will be opening this Friday, November 25th (Black Friday), at 8am to get our Black Friday sales going! We'll also have FREE vegan donuts from Ronalds and FREE beverages on hand as part of our appreciation for Alternate Reality Comics' patrons / friends!

Here's the lowdown on Alternate Reality Comics' Black Friday sales! (going on from 8am until 7pm)!:

All graphic novels / trade paperbacks / hardcovers, will be on sale for 25% off the entire day!

A special display within the store will be devoted to graphic novels / hardcovers that are on sale for only ten dollars (this section isn't part of the 25% off graphic novel sale because of this sections already low price)! Buy two of the ten dollar graphic novels / hardcovers and receive a third one for FREE!!

ALL action figures will be on sale for $14.99! Buy any four (any combination of figures) for only $54.99!!

Our variants editions are normally low priced, but on Black Friday they'll be on sale for 50% off the marked price!!

I hope everyone has a fantastic Thanksgiving Day and I hope to see you for our biggest Black Friday sale to date! A great selection of comics and graphic novels, along with free donuts and beverages, is there a better way to get in the mood this gift-giving season (and I like to think you'll also find some great priced items for your own gratification!)!?

Photos from Warren Ellis Documentary screening & Nathan Edmondson signing!

2011-11-22T17:51:00.000-08:00

This past Friday, here at Alternate Reality Comics, we had our first screening, the Vegas premiere of Warren Ellis: Captured Ghosts, directed by Patrick Meaney (who has also directed a Grant Morrison documentary). This Warren Ellis documentary really enhanced my already high opinion of the mind and writing of Warren Ellis and I now SOOOO want to find a block of time to re-read his excellent Transmetropolitan (collected in ten volumes).

Everyone who came had a great time and I'd like to thank those who were able to make it as this was a lot of fun experiencing with people who truly appreciate the high octane weirdness of Warren Ellis. Part of me laments that more people who were planning to make it, didn't, but I also realize that often life gets in the way, and I am more a quality of group person, rather than a quantity of group person. I'd also like to thank my friends, Jim and Lora, for their projector use and set up), the trailers they made before the feature (and all of their other nuts and bolts help), as well as them making the popcorn happen (tip of the hat also to Drew for his loan of the popcorn machine). Thanks to Suzanne also from the Clark County Library, for the use of chairs. And HUGE thanks to director, Patrick Meaney, for including my store in his Warren Ellis: Captured Ghosts documentary screening! I highly recommend both his Warren Ellis and Grant Morrison documentaries as great explorations of these two giant minds of the modern comic book era. Check out http://www.respectfilms.com/ for some looks at these films and other works Patrick Meaney is involved with.

This past Saturday, along with Comic Oasis, I hosted writer, Nathan Edmondson, and a good time was had. Here in the photo from left to right is Nathan Edmondson, Derrick, the grandmaster of Comic Oasis, and Pierce (holding a sketch that Scott Clark did for him - the sketch Nathan is holding is one he did of Warblade, from Derrick's description!). Nathan Edmondson (Who Is Jake Ellis?, Olympus, The Light, and Grifter) is definitely a new voice in comics that is going to be getting a lot of attention with all of the projects he's got on tap for next year (actually starting with the release of The Activity from Image December 21st)!

The lovely lass seen here, is Electra, talking to Nathan and artist Scott Clark (who will be drawing the next two issues of Nathan Edmondson's Grifter).

The young lad on the right here is Andy Alvarez, a huge Nathan Edmondson fan! No, they didn't call each other about what shirts they should wear that evening (grin)!

Who is Jake Ellis? & Nathan Edmondson signing!

2011-11-18T09:27:00.000-08:00

This week the trade paperback collection of Nathan Edmondson and Tonci Zonjic's Who Is Jake Ellis? was released and a mighty fine production it is for a mere $16.99! Who Is Jake Ellis? is an espionage / thriller story and really that's all you need to know, other than that the mystery that unravels is done in a masterly fashion by writer Nathan Edmondson and artist Tonci Zonjic that if one didn't know that these were two fairly new comic book creators, you'd think this was a work of seasoned cartoonists. Who Is Jake Ellis? wouldn't be the page-turner that it is without the fantastic minimalist art of Tonci Zonjic that evokes Alex Toth, Cliff Chiang and Marcos Martin, with some really FANTASTIC coloring also done by Zonjic!

This Saturday, November 19th, here at Alternate Reality Comics, we're hosting writer, Nathan Edmondson, for a signing from 5-7pm, followed by a meet and greet at Freakin Frog (4700 S. Maryland Pkwy., just a half mile from my store) at 7pm, where we'll also hook up with people from Comic Oasis (who are hosting Nathan Edmondson earlier tomorrow from 2-4pm)! We hope that a lot of Ich Liebe Comics! followers will join us for the signing at one or both stores and at the Freakin Frog at 7pm!

For those of you wondering what else Nathan Edmondson has written, presently he's writing Grifter as part of DC's new 52 title launch (three issues out to date), and he's got two collections out of previous mini series from Image called The Light and Olympus. In December Nathan Edmondson has a new super hero title coming out from Image called The Activity, drawn by Mitch Gerads, and I'm thinking this is going to be one of the sleeper hits of the year (so come out to the singings / Freakin Frog meet up and try to get info from Nathan about this series!)!

The Fracture of the Universal Boy

2011-11-17T17:04:00.000-08:00

So what is The Fracture of the Universal Boy? Well it's a new gorgeously drawn over-sized graphic novel by Michael Zulli, that has some of the best lettering I've seen outside of Todd Klein, has a title that suggests a big story, and production values that most graphic novels would be highly jealous of. What is lacking from Zulli's The Fracture of the Universal Boy is anything resembling a coherent story, unless you like narratives that resemble dreams in "structure". I think a story can be interesting even if it has a a dreamlike structure, but with Universal Boy, it seemed to me that there were several good ideas that were struggling to actually become well developed, but even though this clocks in at almost 200 pages, never really amounts to anything.

I don't normally feature negative reviews here on Ich Liebe Comics! because there really is a lot of comics and graphic novels I could comment upon in the positive column and "one person's trash is another person's treasure" (as horribly
neutral as that adage can be, it's also true), but with The Fracture of the Universal Boy, I had such high expectations and the art really is that beautiful. Anyone who has seen Michael Zulli's Sandman arc, The Wake, and his Puma Blues, knows what I'm talking about. Maybe he shouldn't be writing (sorry that sounds so harsh), actually Michel Zulli pretty much says the same thing in his afterward of this book that he had worked on for six years. Seriously though, if you just want to see some lush sequential art that evokes Barry Windsor Smith at his artistic height, then you need look no further than Michael Zulli's The Fracture of the Universal Boy.

MetaMaus

2011-11-15T11:36:00.000-08:00

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the release of Art Spiegelman's Maus, his Pulitzer prize-winning Holocaust memoir of his father, and Pantheon recently released a new edition (there's no new content, this just being a really nice hardcover edition with a new cover and no annoying dust jacket). Maus, is not only an account of how Vladek, Art Spiegelman's father, survived the Holocaust, it's also a look into a father and a son, who couldn't come from two more distant worlds and how they relate (or don't) to each other.

Maus, like no other account of what the Holocaust was that I'd been introduced to in school or in other media (and before the early 1980s, there was very little out there that was shared), opened my eyes and mind to the horror that people are capable of towards other people. And Maus could have just been a sentimental, very horrifying, and sad account of this part of the world's history, but Art Spiegleman, in Maus, redefined what autobiographical / biographical graphic novels could be, hence his winning the Pulitzer prize, which no other sequential art creation has been awarded. Maus is every much as important (and not in the it's a chore to read sense) graphic novel as it was when it first debuted and I firmly believe that if you only read one graphic novel ever, Maus should be that book (and it's an excellent introductory graphic novel to share with your loved ones).

Also recently released by Pantheon is MetaMaus, Art Spieglman's incredibly dense hardcover archive of what went into his creation of Maus. MetaMaus also comes with a DVD that includes some of his interviews with his father, drawings, photos, and other essays). I'm only on page 75 of this book (300 pages with lots of preliminary art and photos, with color throughout) and haven't gotten to experience the DVD yet, but this is obviously as entirely engaging as anyone who has read Maus would imagine it to be and is also a MUST read for people who want to learn more about the Holocaust and the creative process itself.

Veteran's Day remembrance sale & my top 11 war graphic novels!

2011-11-11T10:32:00.000-08:00

Today is Veteran's day, a day in which we give thanks to men and women who have served in the military. Today is also 11/11/11, so I'd like to list my top eleven graphic novels that have war as their theme:

1. Alan's War (WWII), 2. Two Generals (WWII) 3. Code Name Geronimo (Navy Seals Bin Laden mission) 4. Dong Xoai (Vietnam War) 5. The Nam (three volumes, fiction, but still realistic) 6. You'll Never Know (WWII) 7. War Stories (two volumes of realistic fiction, each with four stories about separate aspects of WWII) 8. Dear Billy (fiction WWII revenge story) 9. Enemy Ace (WWI fiction) 10. 303 (Afghanistan) 11. SGT. Rock (WWII fiction)

And all of these and every comic and war graphic novel will be on special for 20% off cover price today at Alternate Reality Comics, so if you haven't read this and or if you'd like to gift one of these to someone you know who has served, here you go!

Vegas Valley Comic Book Fest 2011 was wonderful all around!

2011-11-07T16:12:00.000-08:00

Previous years of the Vegas Valley Comic Book Festival have been great, but this year was miles above the previous ones in being the best all around show, in respect to diversity of programming, guests, volunteers, and the great flow of attendees throughout the day! Even V showed up in honor of the festival being on Guy Fawkes Day this year, and he's got the lovely Mary Jane Watson (Brieanna Brock Randall, Vegas' cosplay model supreme!) along for the party that it was!

The FABULOUS Very Awesome Girls Into Awesome Activities were also on hand to help make the day run as smooth as it did, seen here in their fantastic outfits!

Two of this years very special guests were they dynamic duo of Colleen Coover and her hubby, Paul Tobin. Earlier this year they released their first graphic novel together, Gingerbread Girl, and it is wonderful! I bought a nice small color Clea sketch at the show from Colleen because I LOVE her artwork (in a perfect world, Marvel would let her do a Clea mini series!)!

Returning musical guests this year (seen here in this photo) are the two guys that make up Kirby Krackle, the finest in nerd rock! Most of their songs are about superheroes and other popular culture targets, but a person doesn't have to know what they're singing about to enjoy their music - of which Alternate Reality Comics now stocks all three of their albums!

I want to throw out some thank yous to the many people who made the Fourth Annual Vegas Valley Comic Book Festival SUCH a great time!: The biggest thanks goes out to EVERYONE who showed up to have a fun time and share their love of comics, thanks to Suzanne Scott, the special events manager at the Clark County Library who spearheaded this entire show, Steven and Ashley and the VAGINA gals and all of the other volunteers, all of the local comic stores that came out and showed the Vegas comic community how awesome we all are (because we have such awesome patrons / friends), Katherine Keller (my lovely wife, naturally) for holding down the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund table (and explaining to newbies what that is and taking donations), the lads who made this years comic book anthology, Tales From Fremont Street (now available at Alternate Reality Comics!), and all of the guests and vendors that came out to show Vegas comic book lovers a fun time! If I've forgotten anyone, I'd like to apologize in advance!

See you next year on the first Saturday of November next year for the Fifth Annual Vegas Valley Comic book Festival, which really has a lot of pressure on it to top this years funfest!

Tales From Fremont Street & Comicfest tomorow!

2011-11-04T17:25:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow, Saturday, November 5th, from 10-4pm, the fourth annual Vegas Valley Comic Book Festival will be happening and it won't be as fun if you're not there! At tomorrow's Vegas Comicsfest, you'll get the chance to be the first on your block to purchase Tales From Fremont Street, a new anthology crime fiction comic that takes place here in Las Vegas and is created by Vegas comic book creators! All of the writers and all of the artists, except for Eric Dent (who moved to New Mexico), will be on hand to happily sign your book (only five dollars), the proceeds from which go to benefit the library and this event.

At the Barrick Museum on the UNLV campus, adjacent to the UNLV Library, there's an excellent exhibit of the original art from Tales From Fremont Street and I'm here to tell you that this is one of the BEST presentations of original comic book art that I've seen! Here in this first photo on either side of Kate, are the Fillbach Brothers, who illustrate the first story. The first story was superbly written by Ed Hawkins, who also outlined the framework of this entire comic.

Closing this anthology (with not a dud in the bunch!), we have artist Warren Wucinich, who illustrates Pj Perez' story, Coda, which wonderfully brings together all of the stories within Tales From Fremont Street!

And here's artist F. Andrew Taylor, who also wrote the fourth story, The Clerk. This is my favorite sequential art piece that I've seen by F. Andrew Taylor!

Did I mention that all of the artists who contributed to this anthology really turned up their game!? Well nowhere is this more true than the art pages that artist Deryl Skelton contributed in the third story, The Fallen Countenance, also written by Jarret Keen (I think that's what Deryl told me, even though Jarret isn't in the credits for this story)!

Artist Victor Moya, who illustrated the second story, Pleasurezone, written by Jarret Keene. Victor, like all of the artists in Tales From Fremont Street, really turned up his art quite a few notches!

Hope to see all of my Ich Liebe Comics! readers at the Vegas Valley Comicsfest tomorrow, just remember to wear a sweater or jacket!

2011 Vegas Valley Comic Festival in 4 days!

2011-11-01T07:21:00.000-07:00

This Saturday, from 10am-4pm, at the Clark County Library (1401 E. Flamingo Rd., right behind Alternate Reality Comics!), the annual Vegas Valley Comic book Festival will be happening! Amongst the guests will be the Fillback Brothers, digital color artists Brian & Kristy Miller, Katie Cook, who will be hosting a how to draw Star Wars panel, geek musicians Kirby Krackle (if you missed them last year, you HAVE to treat yourself this year!), and Paul Tobin and Colleen Coover, creators of the graphic novel, Gingerbread Girl! There'll also be portfolio reviews, panels throughout the day, food trucks, a courtyard marketplace featuring many Vegas comic book stores and the debut of Tales From Fremont Street, a new comic book anthology written and drawn by local writers and cartoonists (you could also see the original art from this comic at the Barrick Museum, at 6pm Wednesday, right next to the UNLV library)!

This years Vegas Valley Comic Book Festival is happening on November 5th, which is of course Guy Fawkes Day, so they'll be showing V For Vendetta (FREE!) in their theater! This event is a fun way to celebrate comics and pop culture, so make sure you bring your friends and neighbors so they can see why we love being the geeks / nerds that we are so much!

The Book of Human Insects

2011-10-31T15:26:00.001-07:00

The Book of Human Insects is the newest hardcover graphic novel manga thriller by Osama Tezuka, recently released by Vertical. This was originally serialized in Japan in 1970 / 1971, but like Tezuka's MW, and Apollo's Song, The Book of Human Insects is in not dated in any respect, instead it is one of the many graphic novels that Tezuka has done that shows why he's so highly regarded both in Japan and here in the U.S.

The central character of The Book of Human Insects is Toshiko Tomura, and this graphic novel traces her journey as she wrecks the lives of the rich and famous through her conniving, grifting persona that is horrific and exciting to watch unravel. The Book of Human Insects is a very rich graphic novel in terms of length (364 pages) and being ahead of its time and I rank it amongst the very best of Tezuka's large body of work.

FreakAngels V.6 & Neonomicon!

2011-10-30T12:39:00.001-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, Avatar released two great graphic novels, FreakAngels and Neonomicon, of which I'd like to write a few words upon. No Spoilers following!

FreakAngels Volume 6 is the concluding volume of Warren Ellis and Paul Duffield's online comic they started back in February, 2008. For those of you who haven't read the previous volumes, FreakAngels takes place in England, where twelve young people (the FreakAngels), who were born at exactly the same time 23 years ago, are the frontline defense for their country. Yes, these twelve FreakAngels have powers, but they don't don costumes and they don't all have the best interests of the survival of their country in mind. The final volume of FreakAngels, like the previous volumes, is excellent, and greatly brings the various plot lines together into a totally gratifying conclusion. And anyone who has seen Paul Duffield's amazing artwork, already knows what a visual delight his art is and it'll be exciting to see what he does next!

Long time Alternate Reality Comics visitors may remember when we had Warren Ellis at our store as part of his 1997 October Revolution Tour, well we're not going to have another in person visit from Mr. Ellis in the near future, but we've got something happening Friday, November 18th that should make Warren Ellis fans VERY happy (more details next week)!

The other great Avatar graphic novel release from a couple of weeks ago is Neonomicon, which collects the Alan Moore & Jacen Burrows four issue mini series along with The Courtyard, which was a prequel to Neonomicon. Neonomicon is one third Silence of the Lambs, and three quarters HP Lovecraft, equaling 100% weirdness and VERY adult subject matter that will have you on the edge of your seat, wondering how this ends (and there is an ending / closure, but if Moore and Burrows wanted to, they could definitely go forward - and I hope they do)!

Seth's new graphic novel...

2011-10-25T16:47:00.000-07:00

Seth (cartoonist of the excellent graphic novels, It's A Good Life If You Don't Weaken and George Sprott), just released a new graphic novel through Drawn and Quarterly, titled The G.N.B. Double C The Great Northern Brotherhood of Canadian Cartoonists, which actually makes for a fine companion piece to his Wimbledon Green graphic novel. Like Wimbledom Green, The G.N.B. Double C is not one of Seth's more formal narratives, rather it's a cartooning work he took on to give himself a break between finishing Clyde Fans (which still seems as if it will be a long time before we see a new chapter), and it's in the same small hardcover format with a nine panel grid per page.

Even though this isn't one of Seth's weighter comic book narratives, even a "lesser" work by Seth is still a happy day for those who appreciate something different in their sequential art entertainments. The G.N.B. Double C is narrated by one of the members of this Canadian cartoonist enclave and exists as a kind of mediation on cartooning / cartoonists / people who like this medium. Another excellent graphic novel that mines this theme is Dylan Horrocks, Hicksville, but the tone of The G.N.B. Double C is entirely different (and in his introduction, Seth, admits to being a huge fan of Hicksville, but hadn't thought of that graphic novel when working on his graphic novel). Definitely a big thumbs up for people who enjoy alternative comic books and or for people who like to think about the comic book / comic strip medium beyond just their escapist qualities!

Batman Year One animated, GREAT!

2011-10-20T10:40:00.000-07:00

Last night I watched the recently released Batman Year One animated DVD feature and it was every bit as good as I'd hoped it would be! This is as good as adapted comics to film / animation get, with a great story, animation, and great voice work and this Batman Year One animated feature ranks at the very top of the many excellent animated features DC animation has done (especially New Frontier and Batman Under the Red Hood). This is a straight / faithful adaptation, so it is a great way to revisit this seminal story and share it with others.

Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli wrote and drew Batman Year One right after Frank Miller's Batman The Dark Knight Returns (Batman Year One being, of course, about when Baman first came onto the scene and Batman Dark Knight Returns taking place when Batman comes out of retirement) back in the mid 1980's, but it is still one of the best Batman stories ever. Actually in a lot of ways, Batman Year One (both the comic and the animated feature) is more about James Gordon rising to become police captain of Gotham and is more of a crime fiction story than it is a story about the fantastical villains Batman usually encounters and even though this was written and drawn back in the 1980's, Batman Year One is not dated in any respect and is HIGHLY recommended by Ich Liebe Comics! and Alternate Reality Comics (same thing - grin)!

Death-Ray; Daniel Clowes

2011-10-17T17:45:00.000-07:00

The newest graphic novelette hardcover, published by Drawn & Quarterly, by Daniel Clowes (most people will know him from his Ghost World graphic novel which was also made into a good movie) is titled Death-Ray and is an over-sized hardcover representation of Eightball #23, published by Fantagraphic Books in 2004.

Death-Ray features more of Clowes' trademark nihilistic world view, this time filtered through wish fulfillment lenses. A quote from Time Magazine on the back of Death-Ray, sums up this graphic novelette better than I can: "Like Holden Caulfield with his phaser set on kill - phonies beware." If you haven't already read this, Death-Ray is a great addition to one's Daniel Clowes library and if you have, it's great to read and see this in this nice over-sized hardcover edition!

Saturday Boys & Girls Club benefit / artist event!

2011-10-13T12:32:00.000-07:00

This Saturday, October, 15th from 11am - 5pm, Alternate Reality Comics will be hosting an artist / cosplay event benefiting The Boys & Girls Club of Las Vegas! Visiting artists from Arizona include Andy Bohn (creator, writer, artist of The Elvatron Chronicles) and Michael Stewart (who has penciled Magdalena for Top Cow), who will be joining local artist, Brice Gielgens, in sketching as well as having exclusive prints for sale! For eye candy in fabulous copsplay costumes, local favorite and Zenescope Girl of the Year, Brieanna Brock, will be joined by Agelica Virgie and Anna Von Winter!

There'll be a raffle for original art and other fabulous prizes (including gift certificates) and a HUGE .25 back issue sale, with the money raised from the raffle (raffle tickets only $1.00 each) and the back issue sale being donated to The Boys and Girls Club of Las Vegas to raise money for their art program.

We'll also be providing free snacks and beverages, so we hope to see a lot of our friends (and your friends and neighbors!) this Saturday, October, 15th from 11am-5pm for a fun time with some great up and coming artists and cosplay performers, raffles, and a back issue sale benefiting a great local organization, The Boys and Girls Club of Las Vegas!

And if you want to kick off the fun that Saturday will be, tonight (Thursday) over at Buffalo Wild Wings (190 West Craig Road, close to Craig and Commerce) from 8:30pm until whenever, there will be a drink and draw with the whole gang! You can come to drink, draw, and or just socialize!

Stargazing Dog; Takashi Murakami

2011-10-10T17:55:00.001-07:00

Looking for a good sad story? Well you need look no further than a new graphic novel release from NBM, called Stargazing Dog, written and drawn by Takashi Murakami.
Stargazing Dog is a guy and his dog story and what happens to them that causes them to embark on a road trip and the extra sadness of the tale in this graphic novel is that it is mostly narrated by Happie, the dog. While Stargazing Dog is sad, it's not overwhelmingly depressing and has many layers of beauty within its tale (no pun intended).

Habibi by Craig Thompson, a masterpiece!

2011-10-06T10:11:00.000-07:00

NO Spoilers following:

Habibi is the new graphic novel opus by Craig Thompson and it is very much worth the long wait in every respect! Published by Pantheon, this is one of the most BEAUTIFULLY designed graphic novels I've seen in some time (and there has been quite a few really nice ones the last couple of years) and at 660 pages, its price of $35.00 (hardcover with no annoying dust jacket) is something you won't flinch at when you see its grandeur!

When you see a physical copy of Habibi, I'm pretty sure that like myself, you'll not want to know much about what it's about, rather letting its magic unfold as you read it, but here's my little sound bite for those of you who don't already know that a new graphic novel by Craig Thompson (Blankets, Good-Bye Chunky Rice, Carnet de Voyage) is to be celebrated from rooftops everywhere!:

Habibi is, at its core, a graphic novel about two slaves / orphans, about love and horror, and about Islam. Habibi is one of those graphic novels that will be read, shared, and studied for years and it is very much a high water mark of the graphic novel / sequential art medium. There's no way that Habibi isn't going to win the Eisner next year for best original graphic novel!

Uber artist JH Williams III Batwoman signing FUN, FUN, FUN!

2011-10-02T13:29:00.000-07:00

From left to right: Michelle Irish, Alternate Reality Comics' resident artist and great friend, Wendy and JH Williams III, me (Ralph), and Paul, another of my great friends and a big part of what makes Alternate Reality Comics so great (Paul primarily works on Sundays so stop by and say hi to him)! Behind us is of course amazing original art from Promethea and the ENTIRE first issue of Batwoman #1 by JH Williams III! This exhibit will be in our Artist Spotlight section of Alternate Reality Comics through October, so if you didn't make our JH signing / reception this past Saturday, you still have almost a whole month to see this in person (and as fantastic as it looks in color, the black and whites and gray washes HAVE to be seen in all of their large 11x17 and double page spread glory!)! This will be the last chance for anyone to see all of the original art of Batwoman #1 in one place because JH and Wendy will be selling these pages in November (thanks to my friend, Jim McKenzie, for suggesting I ask JH to send an entire issue and for JH for allowing my store to have this honor).

As many of my Ich Liebe Comics! readers already know, this past Saturday, Alternate Reality Comics once again was honored to host JH Williams III for a signing, celebrating the debut of Batwoman #1. Actually this was a joint venture with Comic Oasis, who hosted JH and his wife, Wendy, earlier in the day (Derrick, owner of Comic Oasis, and myself do this together because we're both huge JH fans and we wanted to give more people in Vegas a chance to come out to either of our stores depending on their schedules to meet JH and see his original art).

This cake, with an edible JH Williams III Batwoman image upon it, was made by Bakery Magic, a new bakery just down the sidewalk from my store. Everyone who had a piece said it was great and this almost tempted me to stray from my vegan diet!

We've had many many great signings at Alternate Reality Comics over our 17 years and especially this past year at our new bigger space, but I'd have to say that this JH Williams III signing / original art reception surely ranks at the top (we do love all of or signings though and shouldn't pick our favorite kid - grin!)! The entire three hour event had a great flow of people getting JH William III illustrated comics and graphic novels signed, people chatting with JH about his art process and what's coming up with Batwoman, and basically people just showing up to give this great artist some much deserved ego strokes! My only lament about the store being so busy with so many people, was that I myself barely had a chance to look at all of the original art that JH and Wendy brought (but I did see some of the art for upcoming issues of Batwoman and I'm here to tell you that you've only just begun to see what an amazing artist JH is!).

This is Derrick Taylor, owner of Comic Oasis, with his cohort, Holly. Derrick told me that the first part of the JH Williams III signing at his store earlier in the day also was really busy so he wasn't able to make his Bloody Marys at his store. When I heard that he'd be coming over to my store to continue to visit with JH and Wendy, I told him to bring his stuff over to liquor up my customers / friends! I had forgotten that Derrick was a bartender in one of his former lives and had no idea that he'd have the serious set up / ingredients that he had! He made me a Greyhound (grapefruit juice with vodka) and while it was great, to my light-weight ass, it seemed to be three drinks in one! The Bloody Marys Derrick made looked like a meal in a cup, with bacon and celery as just two of the foodstuffs they contained! Thanks Derrick (and Holly), for making my JH Williams III event that was already buzzing, REALLY buzz!

Seriously, my biggest thanks is going to go to all of my fabulous friends / customers for coming to this event and sharing the love with JH Williams III and his wife, Wendy (artists really do appreciate the support and feedback), AND to JH and Wendy for being such a FANTASTIC ARTIST and such wonderful people! More photos from this event can be seen at my store facebook page, just do a facebook search on Alternate Reality Comics, Las Vegas!

To further celebrate being able to display JH's Batwoman #1 art, Alternate Reality Comics is going to extend our 20% off sale on all JH Williams III graphic novels through the end of October, so treat yourself and that special someone in your life to some great sequential art! I want to close by reminding people that they can buy the original art from Batwoman #0 and #1 beginning in November by heading over to JH Williams III's website: http://www.jhwilliams3.com/ and clicking on "store" where you'll also find some of his other original art that is ready for loving homes!

Tonight from 6-9pm at the Barrick Museum at UNLV!

2011-09-30T07:08:00.000-07:00

The Vegas Valley Comic Book Festival is producing two art exhibits this Fall in conjunction with UNLV’s Marjorie Barrick Museum to raise awareness of both sequential art and the museum itself. The first of these exhibits, “Seduction of the Innocent,” will feature a visual history of comic book censorship throughout the decades in honor of Banned Books Week, but we’re not just opening it with some boring wine-and-cheese reception. No, the Comic Book Festival and the Barrick Museum have partnered with Yelp to present a fun-filled event capping that website’s “Yelp Geeks Out” month on Friday, Sept. 30 from 6 to 9 p.m.

In addition to guided tours of the exhibit itself, guests can peruse comics and related merchandise at one of several retailer booths, taste delicious food cooked up by local restaurants, enjoy libations of both the adult and all-ages varieties, and even have their caricatures drawn. It’s the perfect opportunity to explore all that the Barrick Museum has to offer, meet local comic book creators and experts, and pick up a copy of Yelp’s Geek Guide, a handy digest to help you find all the raddest places to geek out on games, toys, comics and more in Las Vegas.

Admission to the event is free and open to the public, but we ask that you please RSVP on Yelp (bit.ly/BanComics) as space is limited, and you don’t want to miss out on this first satellite event leading up to the 2011 Vegas Valley Comic Book Festival!

Hope everyone is able to attend this event which will launch a month of comic book events, continuing with JH Williams III, Saturday, Oct. 1st (4-7pm), at Alternate Reality Comics, two other October artists event signings also done jointly by Alternate Reality Comics and Comic Oasis, and ending on Guy Fawkes Day (Saturday, Nov. 5th), at the Clark County Library for the Vegas Valley Comicfest!

This Saturday, J.H. Williams III!!

2011-09-27T19:10:00.001-07:00

Alternate Reality Comics is ecstatic to host BATWOMAN artist and co-writer JH Williams III for our second Artist Spotlight!! Among the original pieces we will also be exhibiting DC's Batwoman #1 in its ENTIRETY (all 22 pages hand drawn/painted)!!!

JH Williams III is the Eisner Award winning artist of Promethea, Desolation Jones, Batman: Black Glove, Chase, and MANY others; his most recent and high-profile work is as artist and co-writer of DC's new award winning series Batwoman.

In conjunction to being our second featured artist JH will be signing books and receiving ego strokes from 4pm to 7pm!

As well as getting to have a meet & greet with this remarkable artist you will also be able to pick up ANY of his graphic novels for 20% off!! This includes Promethea, Desolation Jones, Batman: Black Glove, Batwoman... Elegy, and of course the NEW Batwoman #1!!!

Along with the festivities we will be raffling off some wonderful JH-centric prizes!

**JH will have pieces for purchase!!!

Gonna be a blast, tell your friends, loved ones (and not so loved ones), and neighbors!

Americus

2011-09-21T18:30:00.001-07:00

Americus is a new graphic novel from publisher First Second, written by MK Reed and drawn by Jonathan Hill, about a small town (Americus), in which a group of people are trying to get a series of fantasy books banned because they think that they promote witchcraft and cause young people to make bad life choices.

The only thing I didn't like about Americus, is its cover, because while I think it is an image that will stand out on shelves, I don't think it is an image that will have many people wanting to check it out.

Americus has great characters and really nice art and is perfect for all ages as a celebration of reading and the turbulent time that is high school. While Americus is a work of fiction, sadly its theme of banned books still happens across America and Americus being released towards the end of September is fitting as this coincides with Banned Book Week, a week in which libraries across the U.S. spotlight books that have been on banned book lists over the years. At the Barrick Museum on the UNLV campus, next week, starting on Friday night, September 30th, there will be an exhibit of banned comic books and banned comic book art.

Optic Nerve #12!!

2011-09-19T17:58:00.000-07:00

Last week writer / artist Adrian Tomine released a new issue of Optic Nerve, the first new issue in years. Optic Nerve never really came out with any regularity or great frequency, but it was always a special treat when a new issue would arrive and Optic Nerve #12 is no exception, other than in my opinion, it may be Tomine's best Optic Nerve ever. Tomine is most know for slice of life people stories such as his Summer Blonde and Shortcomings (both of which were serialized over several years in Optic Nerve).

Optic Nerve #12 contains two complete Adrian Tomine stories, Hortisculpture and Amber Sweet, has two pages of letters, and an autobiographical two-pager by Tomine, in which he talks about why he has released another issue of Optic Nerve instead of just releasing these stories as graphic novels. Optic Nerve #12 is 41 pages in length, but with the number of panels per page, this issue's stories will get a nice hardcover graphic novel treatment and no one who buys the stories in a hardcover presentation will feel that they've not gotten their bang for their dollars. I want to salute Adrian Tomine for going against the alternative comics grain and first making his two new stories available for only $5.99 - this is definitely the deal of the day!

Like A Sniper Lining Up His Shot

2011-09-19T16:46:00.000-07:00

Like A Sniper Lining Up His Shot is an EXCELLENT new hardcover graphic novel written by crime fiction novelist Jean-Patrick Manchette and illustrated by one of the masters of sequential art illustration, Jacques Tardi. The central character of Like A Sniper... is a mercenary turned contract killer, named Martin Terrier, who is forced out of retirement, and the way his return to his line of work unfolds ranks at the top with any hard-boiled crime fiction I've ever read. Anyone who had enjoyed Tardi's adaptation of Manchette's West Coast Blues will definitely love Like A Sniper... and if this is your introduction to Tardi and Manchette, you're in for a treat!

Batwoman #1 & J.H. Williams III upcoming signing!!

2011-09-16T17:46:00.001-07:00

This week another thirteen titles of DC Comics new 52 titles arrived and amongst them was one of the most anticipated - Batwoman #1, beautifully drawn by Eisner Award winning artist, J.H. Williams III, and co-written by J.H. and W. Haden Blackman! This new DC company wide relaunch has exceeded expectations and all of the titles are flying off of shelves everywhere, with all of the titles going to a second print! Batwoman #1 is no exception and even though I ordered at really high levels I'm very close to being sold out (this fact isn't helped by my store getting shorted one third of my order with no replacement copies at the distributor level - arrrgghh!). I do have a line on some more from other stores that should be arriving next week (Alternate Reality Comics club members who haven't picked up their reservations yet, fear not, they're tucked away for you!). Seriously, I had what I thought was at least a two month supply of this first issue, but the new DC is really bringing in new faces in droves!

So is Batwoman #1 any good? No ------- it's GREAT! Seriously, it's illustrated by J.H. Williams III, so of course it's the top of the top of the greatest in sequential art! For a lot of people, Batwoman #1 will be their first exposure to J.H.'s writing, but I already knew it would be good because he has written with collaborators before. The first issue starts off with Batwoman already having had some adventures, as this isn't her first appearance, but newbies who haven't read Batwoman Elegy (the graphic novel by J.H. Williams III and writer, Greg Rucka, collecting their run with this character from Detective Comics) may be a little confused, but they won't be bored as they read how J.H. and W. Haden Blackman re-introduce Batwoman into the DC universe! And there's some special guest new supporting characters that have joined the party!

As many of you who have been at Alternate Reality Comics these past two months and have seen the announcements, we are ecstatic to bring back J.H. Williams III for another signing (his first time at my store's new location)! Mark your calendars for Saturday, October, 1st from 4-7pm as Alternate Reality Comics and our beloved patrons / friends show J.H. how much we love the art magic he does! Earlier that same day (Saturday, October 1st), my great friend, Derrick, will be hosting J.H. Williams III at his store, Comic Oasis (in the Northwest side of town), from 11am-2pm! Anyone who has already been to Comic Oasis already know it's one of Vegas' finest, but if you haven't been there yet, here's your chance to check out Derrick's shop and meet J.H. Williams III (and then head over to my shop a couple of hours later and meet him again - grin!)! Here at Alternate Reality Comics, we'll have a big sale on J.H. Williams III graphic novels such as Batwoman Elegy, Batman Black Glove, Promethea (!!), and Desolation Jones, so if you don't already have these gems, this will be a great time to get them (Saturday, October 1st from 4-7pm)!! And just wait until you see the special raffle prizes we've got lined up for the signing!

In addition to J.H. Williams III coming to Alternate Reality Comics and Comic Oasis on Saturday, October 1st, here at Alternate Reality Comics, we'll be having a big selection of original art on display from J.H. that will be up from September 23rd through the end of October at our Artist Spotlight original art gallery section of our store! J.H. Williams III will be selling original art also, so this will be a great chance for you to purchase objects of beauty that will greatly enhance your abode and be the envy of all of your friends!

Saturday, October 1st at Alternate Reality Comics and Comic Oasis with artist / writer, J. H. Williams III is guaranteed to be the best way you can kick start the fabulous month of October!

Swampy Munny, by Michelle Irish!

2011-09-15T17:59:00.000-07:00

My friend and Alternate Reality Comics artist, Michelle Irish, recently did her first Munny (well kind of her first, but that's a long story for another day - grin!) and I think it's a beauty! This is of course the DC character Swamp Thing that was just reintroduced into the DC universe again last wek with a new first issue, written by Scott Snyder and drawn by Yanick Paquette (the other Swamp Thing book here in this photo is one of the hardcover collections of the excellent Alan Moore run). The new Swamp Thing series is great, but I won't go on about that anymore here until I get copies of the second print in (the new DC is REALLY taking off!).
Michelle with Swampy (me and Alec Holland, aka Swamp Thing go back a long way, so he's okay with me calling him Swampy)! Yay! Michelle will be doing more Munnys and for anyone who wants to try their hand at arting up one of these figures, we have them at Alternate Reality Comics for a mere $9.99! And anyone who would like to create their Munnys with their art supplies in my store would be welcome to do so, cause I like to see art being made (and I think others would as well)!

Damaged; high calibur crime fiction from Radical Comics!

2011-09-14T18:01:00.001-07:00

A few weeks ago, Radical Comics released another top notch title in their small line of quality titles, Damaged, written by David Lapham, illustrated with the hard boiled / horror edge that Leonardo Manco excels at, and beautifully colored by Kinsun Loh, Jerry Cho, and Sansan Saw. Anyone who has read a Radical Comics title, such as Driver of the Dead, Abattoir, Time Bomb, Earp, or Legends, already know that they are going to get a comic / graphic novel with top notch production values. Radical Comics aren't just all style though, their titles also has great story content and I believe their high success rate of quality titles, such as Damaged, is due to their commitment to not just produce numerous titles to carve out a market share, rather focusing on quality over quantity.

Damaged is a hard boiled crime fiction comic (a six issue mini series) set primarily in San Francisco, involving vigilante justice and the outcome of diverging path of life choices that were made between two brothers (one of them, is a police officer). Anyone who has read Damaged writer, David Lapham's Stray Bullets, knows that he can write a crime fiction comic with the best of them and I look forward to seeing how Damaged unfolds and I think many other Ich Liebe Comics! readers will also! Check out Damaged the next time you visit Alternate Reality Comics!

Kiss & Tell; MariNaomi

2011-09-12T17:39:00.000-07:00

This past week saw the arrival of a new graphic novel published by Harper Perennial called Kiss & Tell, written and drawn by MariNaomi. Basically Kiss & Tell is exactly what the title says it is, additionally explained by the subtitle, A Romantic Resume Ages 0 to 22, about the cartoonist and her early adventures into sexual discovery.
The art in Kiss & Tell, by MariNaomi, isn't Daniel Clowes or Adrian Tomine good, but it's got a unique flavor of its own and perfectly illustrates MariNaomi's sexual awakenings / encounters. I enjoyed Kiss & Tell on a voyeuristic level (and jealous that my youth wasn't as colored with similar sexual adventures - I know, TOO much information and I'm sure that I'm romanticizing her experiences in the grass is always greener on the other side perspective), but I wish there was a little more self insight other than what almost amounts to a listing of encounters she had during this period of her life, but this is MariNaomi's story and not mine, so of course she can tell / not tell the things she wants to. And although it may sound like I am lukewarm on Kiss & Tell, it's actually a really solid 330 page autobiographic graphic novel for people who like this genre.

Heaven Can Wait Benefit / Anniversary Party!

2011-09-11T11:50:00.000-07:00

This past Saturday, Alternate Reality Comics and five other Vegas comic book stores hosted the Very Awesome Girls Into Nerdy Activities bake and craft sale to benefit Heaven Can Wait, a local no kill animal shelter. To say it was a resounding success would seriously be an understatement! The turnout was soooo tremendous all day at Alternate Reality Comics and I want to sincerely thank everyone who came out and supported this animal shelter at my store and stores around the valley. Because of your contributions, many animals will now have an easier time.

These cool Princess Leia cupcakes were made by Sewit Mesfen, one of the V.A.G.I.N.A. gals that was at my store and they were very popular! Actually there was a really varied selection of baked goods that the VAGINA gals made as well as some cool craft items that went fast like Yajaira Vasquez' superhero coasters and Maria Bement's kool-aid coin purses! I want to give huge hugs and kisses to all of the Very Awesome Girls Into Nerdy Activities for doing this benefit, but especially to Sewit Mesfen, Maria Bement, Yajaira Vasquez, and Erin Hemmeter for being at my store almost the entire day on Saturday helping out and to uber cool head / founder of V.A.G.I.N.A., Stephanie Payne, for all she does in uniting the Vegas comics community to help the community at large and have FUN at the same time!

Just some of the people who came out for the Heaven Can Wait benefit / store anniversary party! I was really quite moved with the turnout in support because I know there are many worthy charitable organizations here in Las Vegas, and I'm elated that people think Heaven Can Wait is among those worthy charitable organizations. Individual people don't have to donate a large sum to any individual charity, all it takes is a good number of people donating a small amount to equal a large amount, and that was illustrated very strongly this past Saturday!

Besides the very healthy monetary amount raised for Heaven Can Wait, people also brought a lot of pet food and bedding for animals in need here in Las Vegas!

This is my friend Kim, who is hammering another of my friends, Ethan, with the Thor action figure she won in one of the several raffles (which helped inspire people to make more donations) we had in celebration of Alternate Reality Comics' 17th year anniversary (one year at the store's new location)! We also had a back issue sale,
of which all of the sales went to Heaven Can Wait and that also raised a great amount!

Such a great day, Saturday was! Thanks to Michelle, Jim, and Paul, my very very great friends and great help in making everything run so smoothly at Alternate Reality Comics! I can never say the following enough: Thank you, thank you, dear beloved friends / patrons of Alternate Reality Comics for your tremendous part in making my store the wonderful place it's been for comic book wonderment these 17 amazing years! And there's lots more photos of the fun this past Saturday on my personal facebook page, Ralph Mathieu, so please friend me if you haven't already!

Green River Killer graphic novel

2011-09-05T14:27:00.001-07:00

Last week, Dark Horse Books released an excellent true crime graphic novel called Green River Killer A True Detective Story, in a really nice hardcover package (and it doesn't have an annoying dust jacket), 234 pages, at $24.99, and although that's pricey, it's worth every penny!

Green River Killer, is of course about the serial killing of women that took place up in Seattle that Detective Tom Jensen investigated for twenty years. Written by Jeff Jensen (senior editor of Entertainment Weekly) and starkly illustrated by Jonathan Case, Green River Killer is as engaging as the best crime fiction novel graphic novel, but all the more fascinating because it's a true story, with an added element of interest being the fact that Jeff Jensen is writing about a case his father worked on while he (Jeff) was growing up. To my knowledge, this is Jeff Jensen's first foray into writing a graphic novel, but he and artist Jonathan Case, have come out of the gate very strongly and Green River Killer gets my and Kate's highest recommendation!

Tuesday's midnight Justice League #1 release!

2011-09-01T19:02:00.000-07:00

As many of you probably already know, this week DC Comics started the relaunch of their superhero universe with the release of Justice League #1 by Geoff Johns and Jim Lee! Comics stores were allowed to have a Tuesday midnight release of JL #1 and the final issue of Flashpoint (which sets up the new DC universe in a really dramatic story). Here in this photo are some of my friends who helped out with the celebration: Warren, Kit (she does the best Harley Quinn I've ever seen!), Brice, Jason, Brieanna, and Heath (Michelle, why aren't you in this photo!?)!

Just some of the MANY people who stayed up past my bedtime to celebrate this historic moment for comics, specifically for DC Comics! Totally worth me getting just three hours of sleep! I'm pretty confident that a big majority of the people who read Justice League #1 will be back for the next issue and this comic will also be a great gateway comic for future fans. JL #1 is a great start to the new DC, which really kicks into full gear next Wednesday, September 7th with Action Comics #1 (by Grant Morrison), Batgirl #1(written by Gail Simone), and Swamp Thing #1 (written by Scott Snyder, one of my new favorite writers), and 10 other new first issues, so I really believe there's going to be a new DC title that will push just about every comic book lover's buttons! I believe I've ordered pretty strongly on all of these debuts, but I'd like to encourage everyone to come by Alternate Reality Comics and ask me how our reserve club subscription service works.

This is Stephanie Payne, head of Very Awesome Girls Into Nerdy Activities with her uber cool drawing of her papa, Magneto, drawn by local artist (and good friend), Warren Wucinich! Warren was joined by Brice Gielgens, another great local artist, who drew a lot of cool illos (sadly I didn't get a chance to get a photo of any of the sketches he did) for people that came out for our midnight Justice League #1 / Flashpoint #5 release celebration. I saw SO many friends and patrons (same difference) of Alternate Reality Comics along with a number of newbies, so I think the future of DC Comics looks very bright! For new Ich Liebe Comics! readers, I also have a store facebook page, Alternate Reality Comics, Las Vegas!, just do a search with that title as I have many more photos there!

The EPIC that is James Robinson's Starman & the eve of DCnU!

2011-08-29T17:15:00.000-07:00

The past few months, when I wasn't keeping up with reading new comics and graphic novels that arrive every week, I've been revisiting James Robinson's Starman, which spanned 80 issues, numerous annuals, specials, and mini series (so Starman was really a 100 issue comic series), that DC Comics has collected in six massive hardcover omnibuses.

Well, I've been meaning to write this entry for a few weeks now, but alas it just hasn't happened. I thought that I HAD to write this entry here on the eve of DC Comics as this week sees the debut of their first new title (Justice League #1 by Geoff Johns and Jim Lee). What do thoughts upon finishing reading Robinson's Starman have to do with DCnU (that's what the kids are calling the DC relaunch - gin)? Well dear Ich Liebe Comics! readers, read on...!

James Robinson's Starman is his magnum opus comic book saga that is definitely on par with Alan Moore's epic Swamp Thing and Neil Gaiman's Sandman. There hae been many incarnations of the Starman character at DC Comics since the 1940s and what Robinson does with his Starman (Jack Knight, the son of the original Starman, Ted Knight) is tap into DC's huge, rich catalog of characters, incorporating all of the previous Starmans into a story that is equally enjoyable to people who were familiar with earlier Starmans and people that haven't read any of the previous Starmans. James Robinson's Starman isn't just a superhero slugfest book, as Robinson wrote all kinds of stories within his Starman (crime fiction, space opera, super heroes, etc.) with characters that had actual progressions (such as characters having babies, getting older, and even dieing). Starman is often called the best example of DC's legacy characters, meaning those characters such as Flash and Blue Beetle who have had different characters wearing said character's costumes, a passing of the torch as it were.

So Ralph, what does a book like yesteryears Starman have to do with DCnU, which looks like it's not going to acknowledge DC's rich history? It has been said by DC that with them relaunching all of their superhero titles with a new number one issue, their characters are going to be younger, not having been on the scene much longer then five years. Basically what DC is doing is trying to get back lapsed readers and create a better jumping on point for new people to follow their characters. They've said that all of previous continuity isn't being erased, they're just going to pick and choose what is still a part of the new DC. I knew that DC wouldn't wait too long to bring back some of their older characters such as the Justice Society of America and concepts such as Earth 2 and just this past weekend at a convention up in Canada they announced that James Robinson and Nicola Scott would be doing a new JSA title. No details have been revealed yet as to when this will be released or how this will tie in to the new DC universe, but I think this will be part of the excitement of DCnU as we see how they re-intergrate their legacy characters with the new interpretations of the other DC characters. At the end of the day, any comic company that has fifty plus years of history, with characters that don't really age, is going to have to do something similar to what DC is doing and I do believe with some of the creative talent they have in place, there'll be more hits than misses. I also liken what DC is doing to when DC, back in the 1950s re-imagined their characters (a period called the Silver Age) and although I'm sure there were people back then that liked the previous versions, the Silver Age versions of the DC characters is fondly remembered and DC has a chance to reintroduce their characters to a whole new generation (or recharge some of the characters by getting to the core of what made those characters exciting in the first place).

Here's a great quote by Douglas Wolk from this week's Time Magazine book review of The Arcades Project that definitely applies to Starman and DCnU:

"Old art, whether magnificent or wretched, is always the raw material of new art. The artist's job, though, is to build on it or transform it, not just to offer up comforting familiarity as a talisman against the void."

And as I've said in an earlier Ich Liebe Comics! entry while I was in the middle of Starman, even if Robinson's Starman doesn't become part of DCnU, this doesn't diminish those stories and one can just dig out their Starman individual comics or Starman collections and they'll still be EPIC! And we have James Robinson getting ready to release his Shade (a great villainous character from Starman) maxi series which will have different issues done by a stellar line up of artists such as Darwyne Cooke and Jill Thompson!

So if you haven't already read James Robinson's Starman, they're collected in six massive 400 plus page omnibuses, which Alternate Reality Comics has on sale ALL the time for 25% off cover price - because I really think everyone would love these books, whether you're a fan of the super hero genre or not!

First Artist Spotlight opening reception!

2011-08-28T11:32:00.001-07:00

This past Friday night Alternate Reality Comics had our first Artist Spotlight reception and it was a GRAND time with a GREAT turnout! The Artist Spotlight section of the store will be mostly feature local artists, but from time to time we'll have visiting comic book artists display their art in this section of the store. We had planned to have this be a part of the store since we moved to our new location a year ago, from an idea that was first introduced to me by my friend, Paul Tompkins (who also takes care of Alternate Reality Comics on Sundays). With the additional artistry of my friend Michelle Irish and Jim McKenzie helping me fine tune this area, the space was all ready for the big show this past Friday!

Michelle recently introduced me to Keri Schroeder and her amazing artistic prowess, so I was very happy to have Keri as one of our two debut artists. Keri Schroeder's art will be on display through the end of September and if you weren't able to make it to the reception, I urge you to come by to see her work in person. Her original pieces on display are for sale and she also has prints on sale at my store which makes for great inexpensive decor for yourself or work fantastically as gifts.

Anyone who has been an enthusiast of the best in alternative comics already knows that Love and Rockets has been a sequential art leader for almost 30 (!!) years now and that Gilbert Hernandez, one half of the creative dynamo that is Los Bros. Hernandez, is a master artist and storyteller! A lot of people don't know that the artistic treasure that is Gilbert Hernandez (and his family) has called Las Vegas home for almost a decade now. And being as I've been a HUGE fan of his since he first came on the scene, I was elated when he agreed to be one of the debut artists of my Artist Spotlight here at Alternate Reality Comics! Several original pages from Gilbert Hernandez' acclaimed Love and Rockets are on display awaiting more adulation from those who appreciate the finest in black and white sequential illustration! Here in this photo is Gilbert's wife, Carol, and their daughter, Natalia (who has several issues of her own mini comic, The Adventures of Crystal Girl).

At our opening reception, Michelle recruited her friend and local musician, Zack Fountain, who plays a variety of instruments under his alias, Rushmore Beekeepers (he also sometimes has band mates) and his tunes delighted the ears of everyone who came out for this event. Zack has been creating music since the 1990s and has about seven albums out (he once recorded a song a week for a year!). Check out http://rushmorebeekeepers.com/ to see and hear for yourself the musicianship, insight, and wit of Zack Fountain and his Rushmore Beekeepers!

One of my very best friends, Harry Fagel. Harry graciously read several of his poems at my opening reception on Friday and I was more than happy to introduce his very dramatic reading style to more people. I know that some people (including myself, once upon a time) have some preconceptions that poetry is often flowery (not that that's a bad thing - grin!) and incomprehensible, but I'm here to tell you that if you are someone who thinks poetry is boring, well you haven't had the pleasure of reading / hearing Harry Fagel's poetry, which can be alternately disturbing (as a lot of it deals with what he experiences having been a police officer for almost twenty years) and humorous. Check out http://www.fagelman.com/.

Here at the Artist Spotlight section of Alternate Reality Comics, we plan to have our featured artists displays up for a month, with the opening of the next artists debuting on the last Friday of every month. I know that there are many great artists here in Las Vegas and people that live here that love art in its myriad forms, so my vision of this part of the store isn't just "limited' to art that is comic related because art in comic books is varied and covers a multitude of themes. I also hope that people who come out for the local artists featured monthly who haven't seen the different things that the comic book medium does, will be awakened to what we already know.

Huge thanks to my friends, Michelle, Paul, and Jim, who helped make this happen and a HUGE thanks to everyone who came out this past Friday and to all of my Ich Liebe Comics! readers who appreciate great art!

Alternate Reality Comics art gallery!

2011-08-22T16:42:00.001-07:00

Once again, I've been falling behind on posting here at Ich Liebe Comics!, but I thank my blog readers for checking here from time to time. I've been really busy gearing up for the new DC titles which starts with Justice League #1, August 31st (and we'll have a special midnight launch / celebration for this book and the end of Flashpoint on midnight, Tuesday, August 30th, but I'll have have more details on this event in a couple of days). Also upcoming is Alternate Reality Comics' one year anniversary at our new space which is happening September 10th and is going to be tied into a benefit that the Very Awesome Girls Into Nerdy Activities are doing for Heaven Can Wait, an animal sanctuary. There's also something called the Maryland Parkway Music Festival happening on Labor Day weekend that Alternate Reality Comics is going to be part of, but with this entry I want to talk about the big new part of the store that is debuting this week!...

As those of you who've been into my store already know, I've long had a section of my wall devoted to original art done by various artists from various comics that have been published over the years. We have this display to share with people the diversity of styles that comic book art represents. Well since I've moved the store into my new bigger location last year, I've been wanting to expand my original art section of the store to also spotlight local artists (this is from an idea that Paul Tompkins, my Sunday herald gave me a while back). Last week, Michelle Irish, my resident artist (grin), finished fine-tuning this section (note the cool sign!) and we hung up a selection of art by Carla Speed McNeil, writer / artist of the excellent Finder, to give people an idea of what this area will look like. We also wanted to get an idea of how much art this section could spotlight without looking crowded. We've got ten Carla Speed McNeil pieces of art on display here and you can easily see how even more art can be easily displayed (depending on the size of the pieces though)

Two collected Finder graphic novels by Carla Speed McNeil, the artist that I'm testing Alternate Reality Comics' Artist Spotlight with until the debut of our first two local artists...

Keri Schroeder and Gilbert Hernandez! Keri Schroeder is the curator over at Insert Coins and also hangs her hat at the Bellagio Fine arts Gallery when she isn't creating amazing pen and ink and painted works of art (I don't want to show little images of her art because they really need to be seen in person) and Gilbert Hernandez is the creator, writer, artist of Love and Rockets (which he's done for almost 30 years!). We will have an artist reception this Friday, August 26th from 6-9pm with some entertainment provided by local poet, Harry Fagel (if you haven't heard Harry deliver his poetry, you haven't lived!) and the multi-faceted music of Rushmore Beekeepers (the entertainment part of the reception starts at 7:30)!

This is one of my very favorite pieces of art I own, from Carla Speed McNeil's Talisman volume of Finder, a story about the love of reading.

Two more wonderful Carla Speed McNeil art images!

A double page spread by Carla Speed McNeil that has to be seen in person, but it's only up at my store until Thursday, because Friday we will be getting this space ready for Keri Schroeder and Gilbert Hernandez! Their art will be up through the end of September, but I hope to see a lot of my Ich Liebe Comics! followers on debut night, this Friday, August 26th from 6-9pm because I know you all love great art and love to support the local scene (thanks for that!)!

Supergods; Grant Morrison

2011-08-13T18:29:00.001-07:00

Supergods is Grant Morrison's new history of the U.S. superhero comic / autobiography of his evolution as a comic book writer and it is EXCELLENT! I'm going to admit up front that I haven't read all of Supergods 400 pages (yet), but I have read many of the chapters in their entirety and many other passages at length. Time constraints are the only thing that has kept me away from giving Supergods a proper reading, but when I first picked it up to "look through" it, I couldn't stop skipping around.

Anyone who has read a comic book by Grant Morrison will not be surprised that he has written a great novel about the superhero genre, but I was surprised just how good Supergods is in relating how superhero comics and the comic book industry has changed since the late 1930's (and the people writing comic books over these many years) with a perspective and sinsights that I haven't thought of or read previously. Most fascinating to me are the chapters / sections of Supergods in which Grant Morrison talks about the writing and characters of some of my other favorite comic book writers, such as Alan Moore, Mark Millar, and Warren Ellis, as well as his (Morrison's) evolution as a person and writer.

I sometimes think that Grant Morrison's style of writing is one in which he just has too many ideas (not a bad thing) and he'll go off on another fantastic idea before having really done much with the idea he just left behind, but after reading Supergods, I have a new appreciation of why he does this. And I like anyone who reads Supergods, now want to somehow find time to re-read Morrison's Invisibles, Doom Patrol, and The Filth. Supergods is a totally engaging, fascinating book and if any Ich Liebe Comics! readers have a desire to reinvent yourself, Grant Morrison's detailing of how he did this, may just inspire you to do something similar.

Petrograd

2011-08-08T17:11:00.000-07:00

Looking for a great historical crime fiction thriller? Well your search is over! Last week ONI Press released a new hardcover graphic novel called Petrograd, written by Philip Gelatt and drawn by Tyler Crook (and it has beautiful duo tone coloring throughout).

Petrograd is the city that was once called St. Petersburg, and Petrograd the graphic novel is set between the two World Wars, and the central plot revolves around a plot to assassinate Rasputin and revolution. Big thumbs up from Ich Liebe Comics!

The Last Unicorn, Peter S. Beagle, & Burbank

2011-08-08T13:35:00.000-07:00

This past Saturday, Kate and I took a drive out to Burbank to attend a signing by The Last Unicorn creator and novelist, Peter S. Beagle, and afterwards they had a screening of the 1982 animated Last Unicorn movie at the Sunset Screening Room. The last time I was out to the Los Angeles area was back in 2002, when DC flew me out to Burbank so that I could attend the retailer meeting they had that year. The last time I drove out there was waaaay back in 1984 to check out the Violent Femmes play on their second album tour (I was also in LA back in 1995 to see Oingo Boingo, but a friend of mine drove). To say that I don't like driving on the LA freakway is an understatement, but Kate never saw The Last Unicorn on the big screen (neither had I), so we decided to brave those crazy roads for this event.

The Last Unicorn novel was written by Peter S. Beagle and published in 1968. This was one of Kate's favorite books as a wee lass and she only saw the movie when it came out on VHS some time after it was released because the movie never showed up where she lived, in Ridgecrest, California.

Recently, IDW published a GORGEOUS hardcover graphic novel version of The Last Unicorn, collecting their five issue series, beautifully adapted by artists Renae De Liz and Ray Dillon. The Last Unicorn graphic novel is the very definition of how to make a beautiful book that is timeless, ageless, and will be one of the graphic novels you'll want to share with others as an example of what the comic medium can produce when it is a labor of love as The Last Unicorn graphic novel obviously was for its creators.

I watched The Last Unicorn animated movie with Kate a couple of years ago on DVD, but I must have been pretty tired or in an odd funky mood because I don't remember it being as good as it is when we watched it this past Saturday at the Burbank screening / signing! The animation is great, especially considering they didn't have a Disney type budget. I'm sure that a lot of people, when they here or see something called The Last Unicorn, think that it will be primarily a story for little girls (this is what I thought at first also), but if you just brush The Last Unicorn off on this basis, you're going to rob yourself of a great story that really is multi-layered, with great characters and a rich story for girls and boys of all ages! I'd forgotten that one of my great unrequited loves, Mia Farrow, does the voice of the Last Unicorn, and Alan Arkin does the voice of Schmendrick the Jewish magician (he's hilarious!), with some other little know actors (grin) by the names of Christopher Lee, Angela Lansbury, and Jeff Bridges, also doing characters in The Last Unicorn (with music by America) - if this doesn't clue a person in that this is an A rated production, I don't know what will!

After The Last Unicorn screening, Kate and I talked to Connor Cochran, Peter S. Beagles' friend and agent. Right before Kate and I talked to Conner, we overheard another young guy recommending the anime series, Princess Tutu, to Conner. I corroborated to Connor that Princess Tutu is similar to The Last Unicorn in that on a superficial basis (mainly its title) appears to be something that would only appeal to little girls, but actually there's soooo much more going on, that adults and children can both appreciate. Conner also told Kate an myself the amazing story of how he became friends (and the agent of) with Peter S. Beagle, but that's a story best told by Connor.

Seriously, look up the Princess Tutu anime series, check out The Last Unicorn graphic novel and animated 1982 feature and if you're not COMPLETELY satisfied, I'll refund your money from where-ever you bought them!

La Mano del Destino; J. Gonzo

2011-07-29T17:28:00.000-07:00

Wow, what a great week for new comics, with the new LOEG Century: 1969, The Cape #1, Brightest Day Aftermath: The Search For Swamp Thing, Kirby Genesis, and Captain America and Bucky to name just a few new arrivals that are top notch! But my pick of the week goes to a new title called La Mano del Destino, written and drawn by J. Gonzo!

La Mano del Destino is unlike any other comic being published today, and the great writing, art, and characters by newcomer J. Gonzo (well new to me as I've not heard of him before) make me want the next issue right now! What is La Mano del Destino about?: masked warriors in a land called MesoAmerica (Mexico), but really after you read the first issue you'll see that there's more going on than your average slugfest comic. I like this line from the first issue: "Luchador does not don his mask to conceal his identity, but rather, to reveal it."

Here's a link to J. Gonzo's La Mano del Destino, with a cool trailer (with cool musci) that will give you another imprssion of what J. Gonzo is doing: http://www.castleandkeypublications.com/watch.html

I only have a handful of issues left at my store, because I was unfamiliar with J. Gonzo's work so i wanted to sample it first , but I'll be ordering more directly from the cartoonist. You can also read the entire first issue (and all future issues) at the above linked website and I'm sure that you'll enjoy La Mano del Destino so much, you'll want to have the print version (and of course actually buying the comic will help J. Gonzo make more great comics)!

LOEG 1969 has ARRIVED!

2011-07-26T20:17:00.000-07:00

One of the best ways I can think of to close out a long day is to read the newest League of Extraordinary Gentlemen volume, Century: 1969, by Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill. This is going on for sale tomorrow (some of you lucky bastards may have already gotten a copy at last week's San Diego convention).

NO SPOILERS FOLLOWING:

If you haven't ready any of the previous League of Extraordinary volumes, well Century: 1969 isn't going to make a lick of sense to you. LOEG Century: 1969 isn't as easy to get into as the very first two volumes of LOEG and it probably helps if you have knowledge of the occult (which I don't have), as most of the plot and affairs of Century: 1969 revolve around the occult, but the further you read into Century: 1969, you'll come to appreciate what Moore and O'Neill are doing with this volume of LOEG (this actually being the second of three installments, the first being Century: 1910 that came out a couple of years ago and the third to be called Century: 2009, which hopefully won't take two more years to come out, that takes place over the course of a century).

While LOEG Century: 1969 isn't the leisurely read that the first two volumes of LOEG are, this of course doesn't mean that it's not great, instead it's one of those graphic novels that when you revisit after reading previous volumes, you'll pick up on how interconnected everything is in all of the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen stories and if you're like me, you'll have further appreciation for what Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill have conjured with this series.

Captain America movie; one of the best superhero movies ever!

2011-07-24T16:32:00.000-07:00

No spoilers following, just excited impressions after seeing the new Captain America movie this afternoon:

Of all of the summer superhero movies, the one I've been most looking forward to has been Captain America (even though I wanted the Green Lantern movie to do the best in the box office so that DC could go up against Marvel's blockbusters - at least DC does better in the animation department). I loved that the filmmakers set Captain America during World War I because that's pretty important to the characters back story and if done right is a period that should easily have made for a good different kind of superhero movie. After seeing a couple of trailers, I was thinking that they'd have to mess up pretty bad to not live up to those trailers. I'm happy to report that the Captain America movie exceeded my expectations and is easily in my top five of all time superhero movies, if not number one (yes, I think it may be even better than the Christopher Nolan Batman movies).

This Captain America movie has everything, a great story, great characters, great casting, great effects / adventure, and great music. The pacing on the Captain America movie is great, as is the drama and suspense, no character does anything really stupid, there's not any crazy suspension of belief going on, and there are good amounts of humor and eye candy special effects and performances that will surely click with a good cross section of people. I actually wish there was going to be another Captain America movie before the Avengers movie is released next summer to better explore what happens at the end of this movie, but the Avengers movie looks like it'll be fun (it better be, they've teased us that this was upcoming for YEARS). Seriously, this isn't just a perfect superhero movie, it's pretty much a perfect movie.

DC Retroactive 1970s

2011-07-22T10:58:00.000-07:00

DC Comics, through the end of August, are releasing one shot, self-contained comics called DC Retroactive that will feature creators from yesteryear working on characters they've worked on in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s with a representation of a comic from that time period as the second half of the comic. The Batman 1970 that came out this week features a new story by Len Wein and Tom Mandrake and is a perfect example of the kind of Batman stories done during that period. The classic story represented was also written by Len Wein and drawn by John Calnan and Dick Giordano. Solid entertainment!
The Flash 1970 that came out this week is my favorite of the three DC Retroactive released this week and is by Cary Bates, Benito Callego and Sal Buscema. The story is titled "Son of Grodd" and is a fun, smart story about Barry Allen's (The Flash) wife, Iris, having difficulty getting pregnant and what she does to try to solve this. The comic represented from yesteryear that's also included is written by Martin Pasko, with art by J.L. Garcia Lopez and Dan Adkins and is a Flash / Superman against Professor Zoom story - fun stuff!

The Wonder Woman 1970 that came out this week is written by Dennis O'Neil and drawn by J. Bone (in the style of the artist that was working on WW back in the early 1970s) and is good, but odd, which I attribute to them wanting to create a story that could have been an issue released back in 1970 (which is the point, but this was an especially odd time for Wonder Woman). The old story is by Denny O'Neil and Dick Giordano. Not my favorite of the three, but still an interesting curio. All of these DC Retroactive comics are worth checking out and we have three more coming out next week!

I'm a 2011 Eisner Spirit of Comics Retailer finalist!!

2011-07-21T09:54:00.000-07:00

Last night I was tooling around online and saw via The Hollywood Reporter that Alternate Reality Comics had been selected as one of the finalists for this years 2011 Eisner Spirit of Comics Retailing Award! I wasn't sure if their list was the entire list of finalists (as their wording says "amongst the finalists"), but after seeing this list of finalists pop up on the official San Diego Comic-con International site and a couple of other sites, well joy and jubilation!

Every year the comic book industry has their own Oscars / Academy Awards, called The Will Eisner Award, also known as The Eisners, named after legendary cartoonist great Will Eisner, creator of The Spirit, and the graphic novels that include A Contract With God and The Dreamer. The Eisners are awarded to the best comics and graphic novels of the preceding year, with the winners being announced on the Friday of the San Diego Comic-Con (this years ceremony will be tomorrow night, July 22nd).

Since 1993, The Eisners also have a category called The Will Eisner Spirit of Comics Retailing Award, which puts the spotlight on comic book stores by awarding one (there have been years in which there were two stores that won) as the best store in the U.S. / world. The amount of stores that enter and or are nominated varies every year, but based on the stores that I know were nominated (and almost no one knows how many stores are nominated from year to year, except for the judges, who change ever year), this year had an especially high amount of top notch stores and I've heard from several sources that making the selection for the finalists was especially difficult. I've seen a few of the videos (part of the submission packet) that some of the stores posted online in the past week and I'm very SURPRISED at some of the stores not amongst the finalists (including another Vegas store that entered, Maximum Comics), but I think this just illustrates that there are more great comic stores today than ever before and I just got a good roll of the dice.

Being a 2011 Eisner Spirit of Comics Retailing finalist and getting this recognition from my peers is a great milestone in my 17 years (thus far!) of owning Alternate Reality Comics and I really could not have done this without the patronage / friendship of my beloved customers, the creators of the many wonderful comics and graphic novels that exist, and the publishers and distributors who make everything come together. I, like comic book store owners (and employees) everywhere, already am a winner every day we can keep our doors open talking and selling comics regardless as to who the ultimate recipient of the 2011 Eisner Spirit of Comics Retailing Award goes to, but that's not saying that I wouldn't be uber happy to be THE winner this year! Huge thanks most also be given to this years judges for selecting Alternate Reality Comics as one of this years finalists and to Steven Matview, who produced my video for the submission packet when I was deadline crunching and my wife, Kate, Paul, and Ashleigh, who also helped greatly with said video.

Here's a link to my store video for those of you who haven't seen it yet:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7eSjr_-QtU

The Homeland Directive; Venditti & Huddleston

2011-07-18T12:02:00.000-07:00

Last week, Top Shelf released another fine graphic novel, The Homeland Directive, written by Robert Venditti (Surrogates) and drawn by Mike Huddleston (The Coffin and Deep Sleeper). What is The Homeland Directive about?: The central character is Dr. Laura Regan, who works as a researcher / authority on viral and bacteriological study at the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Her research partner is murdered and she gets involved in a governmental conspiracy frame-up. Here's another sound-bite summation of what The Homeland Directive is about (from the inside flap of this graphic novel): "Set in the Orwellian present, The Homeland Directive confronts one of the vital questions of our time: In an era when technology can either doom or save us, is it possible for personal privacy and national security to coexist?" This graphic novel couldn't be more timely and Venditti and Huddleston tell this story with great characters and an intensity that makes The Homeland Directive a great thriller.

Red Wing: Hickman & Pitarra

2011-07-14T10:46:00.001-07:00

Red Wing is a new creator owned comic published by Image, written by Jonathan Hickman (Fantastic Four, SHIELD, Pax Romana) and drawn by Nick Pitarra. Red Wing is about fighting a war across the time stream and anyone who knows me, knows that I usually get a headache when I hear that a story involves time travel. Well because Jonathan Hickman is such a smart writer, the fact that time travel is going on in Red Wing doesn't impare my enjoyment of this book at all. The only "negative" thing I can say about Red Wing is that it's only a four issue mini series, which seems too short for a story of this scope, but I like to think this will get such great word of mouth that it will sell fantastically and there'll be more stories to follow.

Anyone who has read anything by Jonathan Hickman already knows that he's a great thinking outside of the box writer, but I was unsure about the artist for Red Wing as I hadn't seen any of his work until I read this first issue. Well I'm sure I don't have to tell anyone looking at the interior page here, from Red Wing #1, that Nick Pitarra's art will have people talking and companies trying to employ him. So yes, Red Wing #1 is my top pick of the week and that's saying a lot because there was a lot of great comics that came out this week!

Starman: James Robinson

2011-07-11T13:37:00.001-07:00

The past couple of months, when I'm not trying to keep up on reading new comics and graphic novels, I've been re-reading one of the BEST superhero comics ever, James Robinson's Starman, which are now collected in six hardcover omnibuses. Starman ran for 81 issues from 1994 until 2001, but also had many special issues, including annuals and mini-series, so Robinson's Starman really ran for about 100 issues.

Starman is one of DC's legacy characters, meaning there's been different versions of this character throughout their companies history and James Robbinson wrote his Starman incorporating the other Starmans as well as the rich history the DC universe has. A person doesn't have to have read any other DC superhero comics to enjoy Robinson's Starman as he thoroughly explores the characters legacy in addition to writing fantastic stories about Jack Knight (his Starman) and his rich supporting cast.

Each volume of the Starman omnibuses have an afterward by James Robinson in which he talks about every issue as well as recounting some personal things he and his artists were going through while they were working on this landmark series. As Robinson relates in one of his afterwards, his Starman is his ode to the great superhero characters in DC's stable as well as being his forum for telling just plain great stories that transcend the slugfest aspects of this genre.

Starman should be sitting on book shelves everywhere right next to Alan Moore's Swamp Thing and Neil Gaiman's Sandman. Seriously, no amount of hype can do justice to what an incredible series James Robinson's Starman is. I read this comic when it came out monthly and have long been meaning to revisit it. I thought it was great then and was one of my favorites, but I didn't remember it being THIS good. Actually, like many long series that have a lot of characters, are telling different kinds of stories within the series, and is highly personal as Starman is, I think reading them in collected form (or digging out all of the individual issues) is the way to go to fully appreciate the scope of what's being done. James Robinson's Starman takes a long time to read (I just finished the fourth of the six omnibuses), but it's in no way a chore to read, rather Robinson just goes into so much depth with every facet of the main character, the supporting characters, and Opal City (which is a BIG part of this series). There are so many seemingly small moments and details in Robinson's Starman, and it is a delight to see how he brings EVERYTHING together.

James Robinson's Starman wouldn't be a tenth of what it is / was if it were not for the huge creative vision and artistic talent of artist Tony Harris, who did most of the first forty five issues. While Tony Harris "just" did half of the art of the whole run of Starman, his style so clearly defined the series that people often forget that many great artists contributed to this series, such as Peter Snejbjerg, Gene Ha, JH Williams III, Steve Yowell, Gary Erskine, Mike Mignola, and many others.

I hope to finish the last two volumes of the Starman Omnibuses in the next two weeks, so I'll have more thoughts when I get done with them. They are pricey at $49.99, but that's because each volume contains over 400 pages (and they're really nice productions). Starting today until these books go out of print (which is hopefully never), here at Alternate Reality Comics, I'm going to have each volume on sale always at 25% off the cover price so that more people can afford the benchmark of great story-telling (and art) that is Starman!

Gingerbread Girl

2011-07-04T14:35:00.001-07:00

Gingerbread Girl is a delightful new graphic novel by writer, Paul Tobin, and artist, Colleen Coover, and published by Top Shelf. Gingerbread Girl is about Annah Billips, who thinks she has a missing sister, but others think that the missing sister or "Gingerbread Girl" as she's referred to, is an imaginary sister that Annah thinks is real.

The mystery of the "Gingerbread Girl" is told by Annah and the other characters in the breaking the fourth wall fashion, which of course means that the characters talk directly to the reader, a story-telling device that many long time readers of Ich Liebe Comics! already know is at the top of my list of ways to tell a story.

Even if the Gingerbread Girl story wasn't fun and engaging (which it is), Collen Coover is one of my favorite artists (if you like the interior page shown here, you're pretty much sold on the book already, I'm thinking). In my perfect world, Colleen Coover would draw every comic at least once - can you imagine how cool it would be to see her draw a Green Lantern or Hulk comic!? And you heard it here first - at this years Vegas Valley Comic Festival (November 5th), Paul Tobin and Colleen Coover will be amongst the guests!

Lucille

2011-06-29T18:51:00.000-07:00

Lucille is a new 500 page graphic novel (well it's new in the United States, recently translated) written and drawn by Ludovic Debeurme and published by Top Shelf. Lucille won the Angouleme Essential Award and it is already being compared to Craig Thompson's Blankets. Largely the comparisons to Blankets are because Lucille is a coming of age / first romance story and it is a very big book.

While Lucille is a coming of age / first romance story, it's a darker version of this type of story as the central character, Lucille, is anorexic, and the other central character, Arthur, comes from a family with a sad history. The art in Lucille isn't the typical style even associated with alternative comics, as there isn't a panel to panel structure and the dialogue isn't circled in dialogue balloons, but the minimalistic style Debeurme works in is very much the equal of this powerful story that you will want to share with others and will certainly be on many top ten best graphic novel lists of 2011.

DC relaunches their line in September; some thoughts...

2011-06-21T18:58:00.001-07:00

It's been about a month or so now since DC Comics announced that they were going to relaunch their entire line (excluding Vertigo and their kids comic line) with 52 new #1's in September. That means that even Action Comics, Detective Comics, Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman, will have new #1's (Action Comics, since 1938, has never had a reboot of its numbering). This is really big news because no comic book company has done anything to their line on the scale EVER. Seriously, the internet is still trying to put itself together with this news. Comic book news sites and message boards haven't seen this level of activity for information and opinions on how this is going to play out since I can't remember when.

Why is DC doing this? The simple answer is they want to shake things up and reach whole new audiences or lapsed audiences. A lot of people are saying that this would be easier to swallow if DC just rolled out a few new rebooted #1's a month, instead of 52 new ones in one month. I agree that 52 new #1's is a lot in one month, but after thinking about it these past few weeks, I think that doing the relaunch / reboot all at once definitely will have more impact and already has gotten more attention than if they just did a gradual roll out (I still think on a big level that this is too much, but we're living in a world of too much everything in terms of entertainment and this genie isn't going back in the bottle).

There is some confusion on what is being rebooted and what will just be continued from the DC universe prior to September. This hasn't been clarified, but they have said that titles and characters like Batman and Green Lantern, which are doing well and on the "right" path, will largely continue as they are presently, but we've heard rumblings that characters like Superman and Firestorm will have significant changes when we see those titles / characters in September. Yes, some of our favorite characters (such as Barbara Gordon as Oracle) will be very different from what we're enjoying now, but whatever happens to these characters, I'd like to suggest / remind people that whatever they don't like about the new DC in September won't negate all the great comics they've already read (such as James Robinson's Starman, Gail Simone's Birds of Prey, Alan Moore's Swamp Thing, Ed Brubaker's Catwoman) and they can be revisited once you unearth them from whichever storage method you use. It's also highly possible that people who were concerned about a new direction for a character they think should be left alone, will really like what the new creative teams have planned. Will there be missteps? Yes there will be, but I'm thinking that DC is thinking that nothing ventured, nothing gained and they won't know what works until they plunge ahead. The people at DC Comics are not going to just disregard their rich history and they are aware that what they are doing could alienate fans that have followed them for many years, but at the same time they need new readers. I also think that DC Comics has plans with how this balancing act they're doing is going to work, but they don't (can't / shouldn't) want to show all of the cards they have up their sleeves at once.

In regards to people that are wondering how their pocket books will absorb all of the new #1's that DC has coming out in September, well I don't have an answer for this (but I used to be on the other side of the register as well and know how hard making choices of what to get and what not to get can be). I want to mention again that I think there's too many new #1's coming out, but as I've also mentioned above, there's too much everything and this too much everything is not going to go away.

At Alternate Reality Comics, I (like many other comic book stores), have a subscription pull and hold service so that people can reserve the issues of titles they don't want to miss an issue of. Within two weeks, I'll have a new club sheet that people can use to sign up for these new DC #1's (and other new series from other companies of course). I know that when my customers see the new sheet they'll be overwhelmed and not sign up for comics that they'll probably pick up when they arrive and I can understand that a person wants to check out something first before committing to a particular title. Ordering DC Comics in September is going to be especially tricky for comic book retailers everywhere because with DC set to launch their biggest advertising campaign in years, the very real reality exists for lots of newbies to flock into comic book stores and quickly absorb what was ordered. I appreciate everyone who shops at Alternate Reality Comics, but I (like comic book stores everywhere), especially appreciate those who sign up with our club service, as this helps us to get a better handle on how we should order a particular title. Just as an individual who comes into a comic book store doesn't have an infinite budget for what they want to get on any given week or month, a comic book store (with the plethora of titles there are from numerous companies) also doesn't have an infinite budget so they can't order hundreds of all titles to see what people will be receptive to.

I'm mostly excited about what DC Comics will be doing in September, but just as comic readers / buyers will have to make hard choices on which DC comics to follow, and DC is risking a lot on how their present fanbase reacts to the 52 new #1's in September, I'm more than a little curious as to how high I should be ordering these new titles (so for those of you filling out the new club sheet for titles in September, thank you in advance for any feedback and commitment you make for DC Comics' upcoming titles). While my excitement also goes hand in hand with a concern with how to order (I've done this comic retailing thing for seventeen years now and wouldn't trade this for anything else), but never has there been a change to a companies publishing policy as DC is undertaking in September. And not to flog a dead horse, while I wish on some level that DC wasn't going to be launching 52 new #1's in one month (or there to be not so much of everything), I do think that what DC Comics is doing is going to make more people look at their titles in ways they wouldn't have if DC just continued on their present course. There will be pros and cons to the new DC come September, but I like to think that the positives will outweigh the negatives. Off the top of my head, I'm most looking forward to J.H. Williams' Batwoman, Johns & Lee's Justice League, Jeff Lemire's Swamp Thing and Animal Man, Morrison & Morales' Action Comics, and SGT. Rock. I'm looking forward to what patrons / friends of Alternate Reality Comics are looking forward to from the NEW DC!

Thanks to everyone who visits and shops at Alternate Reality Comics and reads Ich Liebe Comics!

Keith Knight visits & a cool new t-shirt!

2011-06-21T16:51:00.000-07:00

Today I got a visit from cartoonist Keith Knight (K Chronicles and The Knight Life), who stopped by to check out my new store space (he lives in Los Angeles) and deliver me copies of his new (th)Ink Anthology. The big guy is Keith and the little guy is his son, Jasper. Jasper even knows how to speak German (his mother is from Germany)!
Hot off the presses! Too Small To Fail (the new (th)ink Anthology) - available in Las Vegas only from Alternate Reality Comics! Page after page of great one panel political cartoons!

This t-shirt is not related to Keith Knight, but it is also cool and it's new at Alternate Reality Comics - hopefully people will "get" this t-shirt or I'll have to take out a mortgage on my house!

Welcome to Oddville!

2011-06-16T18:37:00.000-07:00

Jay Stephens comic book work has been amongst my favorites since he first came on the scene in the mid 1990's with his JetCat / Odville and Atomic City Tales comics. Most people who are familiar with Jay Stephens probably know him through the two cartoons he also created, Tutenstein and The Secret Saturdays (which are both great!). This week, a wonderful full colored hardcover arrived, called Welcome to Oddville! (for only $14.95!!)that collects Welcome to Oddville! comic strips that Jay Stephens still does (and can be read over on his website: www.jaystephens.com, nd then you'll want to have this handsome hardcover edition). When I first ordered this book, I thought it was just a back in print color version of previous Jay Stephens JetCat / Odville comics, so I was uber delighted to read new stories! And what a FANTASTIC cover, aye!?

Jay Stephens' Welcome to Odville! are great all ages comics (but like really great children cartoons, they work on an adult level with the odd humor on display) with fun characters and great art. JetCat is the alter-ego of eight year old Melanie McCay and some of the other regular characters are her brother, Tod Johnson, Petty the Snail, Bandage, Mr. Suckley, and Kyle (a black cat) - FUN STUFF!

Some low cost new items...

2011-06-16T10:38:00.000-07:00

On the top shelf of this display are some new plush creations I started carrying this week. They're called Flaky Friends and are all individually made by local artist Sarah Flake (a recent transplant from Los Angeles). The little skeletons rattle when you pick them up, the orange fishes have catnip in them, and over to the left the tan colored circular thangs with glasses are bookworms! Sarah Flake also makes some cloth iron on patches such as colorful aliens and mustaches which will make any of your clothes pop out (and I have them at my shop also). So you can get something cool by a local artist at affordable prices.

I also got in some DC and Marvel key chains and buttons. Here's some of the DC key chains.

And here's some of the Marvel key chains.

A small selection of the new DC and Marvel buttons that arrived (the retro DC ones are amongst my favorites).

As anyone who has ever been to Alternate Reality Comics already knows, comics and graphic novels are ALWAYS going to be the focal / main driving force of the store, but there is a lot of cool other things relating to comics / pop culture that are fun to have to show others where your passions are (like letting your geek flag wave proudly)! I hope I haven't sounded too much like a shameless advertiser with this Ich Liebe Comcis! entry as I just wanted to give a shout out for some cool stuff!

What's happening with DC Comics in September!?

2011-06-10T15:52:00.000-07:00

As many of you already know, DC Comics made an announcement Tuesday, May 31st, that has come as close as any other comic book news since the creation of the internet, to break said internet in half. For Ich Liebe Comics! readers who haven't heard this news, basically this September, DC will be relaunching their WHOLE line (not counting Vertigo) to the tune of 52 (!!) new number one issues that month! This means titles such as Action Comics #1, Batman #1, and Wonder Woman #1! The past ten or so days, they've been rolling out what these 52 titles will be come September and who the creative teams are. As to how much of a reboot this is and or how much of previous continuity will be retained has not been clarified yet (of course they don't want to show all of their cards at once), but September will be an especially interesting time to be a super hero comic book fan!

Here's a listing of the 52 new DC Comics #1's that are coming out in September for those of you who haven't already seen this on the million other comics news sites:

Here's the full list as posted by BLEEDING COOL:

1. JLA#1 by Geoff Johns and Jim Lee

2. Action Comics #1 by Grant Morrison and Rags Morales

3. Superman #1 by George Pérez

4. Superboy #1 by Scott Lobdell and…

5. Batman #1 by Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo.

6. Detective Comics #1 by Tony Daniel

7. Batgirl #1 by Gail Simone, Ardian Syaf and Vicente Cifuentes.

8. Batwoman #1 by J.H. Williams III, Haden Blackman and Amy Reeder

9. Catwoman #1 by Judd Winick and Guillem March

10. Red Hood And The Outlaws #1 by Scott Lobdell and Kenneth Rocafort

11. Batwing #1 by Judd Winick and Ben Oliver

12. Nightwing #1 by Kyle Higgins and Eddy Barrows

13. Batman And Robin #1 by Peter Tomasi and Patrick Gleason

14. Adventure Comics DC Universe Presents #1 by Paul Jenkins and Bernard Chang

15. Green Lantern #1 by Geoff Johns, Doug Mahnke and Christian Alamy

16. Green Lantern Corps #1 by Peter J. Tomasi, Fernando Pasarin and Scott Hanna

17. Green Lanterns: New Guardians #1 by Tony Bedard, Tyler Kirkham and Batt

18. Red Lanterns #1 by Peter Milligan, Ed Benes and Rob Hunter.

19. Animal Man #1 by Jeff Lemire, Travel Foreman and Dan Green

20. Swamp Thing #1 by Scott Snyder and Yanick Paquette

21. Legion Lost #1 by Fabian Nicieza and Chris Batista? Pete Woods

22. Birds Of Prey #1 by Duane Swierczynski and Jesus Saiz

23. Teen Titans #1 by Fabian Nicieza Scott Lobdell, Brett Booth and Norm Rapmund

24. Savage Hawkman #1 by James Robinson Tony Daniel and Philip Tan

25. Blue Beetle #1 by Tony Bedard and Ig Guara

26. Supergirl #1 by Brian Wood Michael Green and Mike Johnson

27. Wonder Woman #1 by Brian Azzarello #1 and Cliff Chiang

28. Fury Of Firestorm #1 by Brian Clevinger Gail Simone, Ethan Van Sciver and Yildiray Cinar.

29. Aquaman #1 by Geoff Johns and Ivan Reis

30. Mr Terrific #1 by Eric Wallace and Roger Robinson

31. Flash #1 by Brian Buccellato and Francis Manapul

32. Green Arrow #1 by JT Krul and Dan Jurgens

33. Justice League International #1 by Dan Jurgens and Aaron Lopresti

34. Captain Atom #1 by JT Krul and Freddie Williams II

35. Grifter #1 by Nathan Edmondson and…

36. Legion of Superheroes by Paul Levitz and Chris Batista? Francis Portela

37. OMAC #1 by Dan DiDio and Keith Giffen

38. Batman: The Dark Knight #1 by David Finch

39. All-Star Western #1 by Jimmy Palmiotti, Justin Grey and Meridat. ( Vigilante #1 by Darwyn Cooke inside?)

40. Justice League Dark #1 by Peter Milligan and Mikel Janin

41. Demon Knights #1 by Paul Cornell, Diogenes Neves and Oclair Albert

42. Frankenstein: Agent Of SHADE #1 by Jeff Lemire and Alberto Ponticelli

43. Resurrection Man #1 by Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning and Fernando Dagnino

44. I, Vampire #1 by Josh Fialkov and Andrea Sorrentino

45. Voodoo #1 by Ron Marz and Sami Basri.

46. Static Shock #1 by Felicia Henderson, John Rozum, Scott McDaniel and Jonathan Glapion.

47. Hawk And Dove #1 by Sterling Gates and Rob Liefeld

48. Sgt Rock And The Men Of War #1 by Ivan Brandon and Tom Derenick.

49. Stormwatch #1 by Paul Cornell and Miguel Sepulveda.

50. Deathstroke #1 by Kyle Higgins, Joe Bennett and Art Thibert.

51. Suicide Squad #1 by Adam Glass and Marco Rudy

52. Blackhawks #1 by Mike Costa and Ken Lashley

Of course the title everyone is most excited about is JH Williams III Batwoman #1, right!?

You're gonna be jealous!...

2011-06-06T12:48:00.000-07:00

Presenting my newly decopatched table at the store done up by Michelle Irish! Click on the photo to enlarge the image and it looks even cooler, but to get the full effect it's even cooler in person! Doing this to the surface of the table was more involved than I thought it would be, especially if one does it with the precision that Michelle employed, but it looks even better than I imagined!

20% off Sale on introductory graphic novels!

2011-06-06T11:40:00.000-07:00

Starting today, Monday, June 6th, here at Alternate Reality Comics, I have a 20% off sale going on covering almost 40 different first volumes of some great graphic novel series! Some of the titles included are: Swamp Thing, Ex Machina, Marvel Zombies, Buffy, Terry Moore's echo, Astonishing x-Men, Star Wars Legacy, Hellboy, Unknown Soldier, Unwritten, FreakAngels, and Jason Aaron & Steve Dillon's crazy good Punisher Kingpin! I'm thinking this is a great way to try a graphic novel series you've always had your eye on but haven't sampled yet, or a great way to turn on a friend and or loved one to one of your favorite graphic novel series!

X-Men First Class - Go see this!

2011-06-05T15:08:00.000-07:00

No spoilers following - just some excited impressions I had after seeing X-Men First Class today:

Kate and I LOVED XFC, we didn't have a problem with anything that was done in this movie! This movie was cool, smart, and very well paced. I really enjoyed the Thor movie, but I liked X-Men First Class even more! I didn't know until the credits rolled that Bryan Singer co-wrote XFC. Had I know this beforehand I would have been concerned because Singer did a horrible job with his Superman movie.

Anyway, X-Men First Class is a REALLY good movie and although, yes there are changes in respect to comic book continuity, I actually think all of the changes were good changes and I wish the X-Men comics were as engaging as this movie was. And I was rooting for Erik the whole film.

Criminal The Last of the Innocent

2011-06-04T09:48:00.000-07:00

Anyone who has read any of the collaborations by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips, such as Point Blank, Sleeper, and Incognito, already know that their Criminal series of mini series is great. For those of you unfamiliar with Criminal or the work of Brubaker and Phillips, all you have to know about Criminal is that every mini series / trade paperback (of which there is five volumes) can be read unto themselves and like Sin City or Hellboy, you don't have to read them in any particular order. The only thing necessary before reading Criminal is a desire to read some of the VERY best in noir crime fiction.

The newest Criminal, The Last of the Innocent, of which the first issue just came out this week, is maybe my favorite first issue of a Criminal series yet and that's saying a lot because all of the five previous Criminal mini series are seriously amongst the best of the best of this genre. And artist Sean Phillips, who couldn't be more perfect for noir crime fiction sequential art, is still at top form, with the added treat this time around of a new style he's employing for the flash back sequences.

The Influencing Machine

2011-05-30T16:47:00.000-07:00

A couple of years ago I visited my friends Rick and Zena in Florida and one of the things we did was go to the Miami Book Festival. At this festival one of the cartoonists that was there was Josh Neufeld (writer and artist of the great graphic novel A.D.: New Orleans After The Deluge) and after listening to him on this excellent panel he was part of, while I was getting the aforementioned graphic novel signed by him, I asked him what he was working on next. So he told me about The Influencing Machine and I had been eagerly awaiting it until its arrival last week. The Influencing Machine is one of those graphic novels that shows the endless possibilities of the sequential art medium and is highly entertaining to boot.

The Influencing Machine is subtitled Brooke Gladstone On The Media because it is written by Brooke Gladstone and it is about the media (I love a book that has a cool title and describes what the book is about). I listen to NPR a LOT, but for whatever crazy reason, before reading this graphic novel, I'd never heard of On The Media, an NPR program that Brooke Gladstone is cohost of and managing editor of. Amongst the many hats Gladstone wears at NPR, she also is the senior editor of Weekend Edition and All Things Considered.

As the title of this graphic novel states, The Influencing Machine is about how the media both in the past and present shapes and distorts our understanding of the world around us. Even if you already know some of the honest and dishonest ways in which various medias present news to the end consumers (us), The Influencing Machine outlines the failures and successes of media in a way that will make you even smarter than you previously were and Gladstone and Neufeld's graphic novel is in no way a chore to read, rather it helps process these ideas in a very fluid, entertaining fashion. The Influencing Machine gets the full five Epsteins recommendation (five is the highest)!

For a cool little animated taste of The Influencing Machine check out the following link:
http://graphicladies.tumblr.com/post/5637862471/wgbhlab-i-believe-the-media-are-mirrors-and

Alternate Reality Comics has a resident artist!

2011-05-27T11:16:00.000-07:00

This week, a friend of mine and local artist, Michelle Irish joined Alternate Reality Comics to help steer the store into some new ventures I've got coming up (one of her main projects will be helping my Sunday herald, Paul Tompkins, make a new part of the store happen that Paul first thought of when I was first considering moving the store last year)! Don't worry Ron Horsley, Michelle won't be replacing you as my main artist because you've really been the main driver for the new visual look of Alternate Reality Comics! Michelle joins Paul Tompkins, Jim McKenzie, and Jason Lovin (my sometimes substitute), and myself (Ralph Mathieu, of course) as part of the front lines of Alternate Reality Comics, so say hi to her if you see her on your next visit to Alternate Reality Comics!

The Tattered Man

2011-05-26T10:42:00.000-07:00

This week Image released The Tattered Man by Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray, a graphic novelette (only $4.99) about the Holocaust and a spirit of vengeance.
Even though The Tattered Man has story elements that are set around what happened during World War II, specifically the Holocaust, it is a work of fiction which also has supernatural wish fullfillment aspects (the spirit of vengeance, the Tattered Man). Sadly stories about the Holocaust don't have to have larger than life things happening in the narrative to be powerful stories, but Jimmy Palmiotti and artist Justin Gray have created a work that is really strong and personal and will hopefully inspire readers to seek out other stories (preferably true ones) about the Holocaust.

Rocketeer Adventures #1

2011-05-24T16:21:00.001-07:00

This past week, IDW released the first issue of their Rocketeer Adventures anthology comic and it is FANTASTIC both in story and art! The Rocketeer was created by Dave Stevens, who sadly died last year. Anyone who has ever read and oogled at the art of Dave Steven's Rocketeer, knows that this character and ever page he wrote and drew was a labor of love for him. All of the contributors of the first issue of Rocketeer Adventures carry on Dave Stevens' legacy with equal love and admiration.

Planetary artist John Cassaday, writes and draws the first story, with colors by Laura Martin, and if you don't look at the credits page before reading Cassaday's story, you'll think it was a Dave Steven's story that never saw print. It's pretty eerie how well Cassaday apes Stevens'art style. The second story is by Madman creator Mike Allred, with colors by his wife, Laura Allred, and Allred brings his trademark fun and crisp clean lines to a wonderful story called "Home Again." The third story is my favorite, called "Dear Betty" and is written by Kurt Busiek and illustrated by Mike Kaluta. It's so great to see Mike Kaluta draw sequential art after a long absence (his Madame Xanadu arc for Vertigo was amazing). There's also some great pinups within this first issue and with creators like Darwyn Cooke lined up for future issues, I'm only sad that Dave Stevens isn't around to see the love being brought to his characters for new generations of fans.

Paying For It; Chester Brown

2011-05-17T18:04:00.001-07:00

Paying For It, Chester Brown's new graphic novel about his experiences / thoughts with prostitutes, will be one of the very most controversial books (not just graphic novels, all books) of the year. Whatever your thoughts are about prostitutes and those that frequent them, you won't be able to put Paying For It down once you get started reading it (unless you come into this reading experience looking to get stimulated sexually through another person's sexual exploits).

Paying For It gets my highest possible recommendation, it is engaging, thought provoking, and highly entertaining. I will almost feel guilty asking you to "pay for this book" (grin), but this is a graphic novel you will want to share with others to see what their reactions will be.

Harvey Pekar "On The Fly"

2011-05-17T17:46:00.001-07:00

Harvey Pekar, writer / creator of the American Splendor autobiographical comic (of which there's an excellent movie with the same title) died last year. I, like most people who knew him and his work, were saddened because even though he had a long bout with cancer that it looked like he'd licked, his death was sudden and surprised everyone. Pekar's death was especially sad because he was working on a number of projects and it looked like we wouldn't see any of this new work from him now that he was dead.

I'm happy to report that we will still be seeing new work from Harvey Pekar that he had in various stages of completion, as with the release of last week's collection of short stories called Huntington, West Virginia "On The Fly" and the illustrations by Summer McClinton is some of the best art to grace Harvey Pekar's stories. "On The Fly" features the trademark Pekar look at everyman existence and the grandeur that can be found in every person's life. I especially like the story that featured the owner of Big Fun, a comic toy shop (but that shouldn't surprise anyone - grin). More please.

Tumor; Fialkov & Tuazon

2011-05-16T18:20:00.000-07:00

Tumor is a hardcover crime fiction graphic novel that came out last year (but that I somehow haven't read until today) from Archaia, written by Joshua Hale Fialkov and illustrated by Noel Tuazon. Now I know why I've sold so many copies of this graphic novel the past year (the art style alone and the nice packaging job Archaia always does with their graphic novels had me put this book on my to be read list and I regret not having gotten around to doing so sooner).

Tumor is so titled because the central character, Frank Armstrong, who is a private investigator of sorts, has a tumor, which only serves to be the punctuation to his troubled life. This graphic novel moves along at quite a rapid pace, has great nuanced characters, and an art style that is more than equal the tight, exciting story that unfolds. Tumor is totally deserves its nomination for best graphic novel - reprint (I think it was first done for the Kindle) in this years 2011 Eisner Awards!

Free Comic Book Day 2011 was off the hook with FUN!!

2011-05-15T07:39:00.001-07:00

Sorry I'm just now getting my FCBD 2011 Ich Liebe Comics! entry up, but I've had a crazy busy week with my friend Rick Tucker (who was my first Sunday store herald from 1995-1997, he was visiting from Florida) and doing a cool little remodeling thang here at the store.

I'm still on a super high from how well EVERYTHING came together last Saturday for the first free comic Book Day at Alternate Reality Comics' new location! In this first photo here is a really good friend of mine, Janice Rollins - I'm so glad that she and her boy toys (grin) made it out!

From left to right: local artist Brice Gielens, local artist Warren Wucinich, and as uber cool Harley Quinn, Kit Kendall! Brice and Kit also have a website facebook page on which they have some cool things you should check out (and some you can even buy)! I don't have a photo here of Rick Tucker, but he also drew for the multitudes that showed up. I've got more photos of last Saturday on my store facebook page, Alternate Reality Comics, Las Vegas! (with photos of some of the art done that day), so I hope that those of you who aren't already checking out that page, will do so.
Lucky me, with Stephanie Payne and her V.A.G.I.N.A. gals (Very Awesome Girls Into Nerdy Activities), sporting their new capes which Stephanie made! They also made cupcakes (!!) for the peoples and were a BIG part of the entertainment of the day!

Another good friend of me and Kate (who was going to cosplay as Tank Girl, but she was trying to shake this dumb cold I gave her), who has cosplayed and helped us out at previous FCBDs, this year cosplaying as a Star Trek crew member, with Sewit - seriously, I'm SOOOOO happy that everyone was having such a FUN time!

Local teacher and comic book enthusiast, David Jurvelin, with his lovely daughters who definitely share David's love of all things comic book related!

I want to give a HUGE thank you to everyone who came out to Alternate Reality Comics' 2011 FCBD celebration (and readers of Ich Liebe Comics! who were there in spirit) - this was our biggest FCBD EVER and that's saying a lot, as FCBD has been tremendous every year! I'd also like to thank my heralds, Paul Thompkins, Jim McKenzie, and Jason Lovin, for helping me in many many ways that made everything run as smoothly as it did last Saturday! Thanks to artists Brice Gielgens, Warren Wucinich, and Rick Tucker, for doing your drawing magic for the peoples - lots of people got VERY cool illos and had big smiles on their faces. HUGE thanks also to Kit Kendall, who cosplays the best Harley Quinn I've ever seen, Christy Young, for her awesome Star Trek cosplay, and to the V.A.G.I.N.A. gals for being great eye candy and giving people photo moments they'll treasure for a long time! Thanks also to the Muncheeze food truck who came out!

Of course FCBD wouldn't be possible without Joe Field, of Flying Color Comics, in Concord, California, who invented the day, so a big tip of my hat to Mr. Field! And hugs and love to the comic creators of this years' FCBD selections, Diamond Comics Distribution and the publishers! I really hope I haven't forgotten to thank anyone, but I'm actually still trying to process all of the excitement of that day, so if I did, I'll chalk it up to that! As much fun as everyone who came out for Alternate Reality Comics' 2011 FCBD celebration was looking like they were having, multiple that by 100 for how much fun I was having that day!

Free Comic Book Day - this Saturday!

2011-05-02T14:38:00.000-07:00

The 10th Annual Free Comic Book Day at Alternate Reality Comics (next to Buffalo Exchange at the Maryland & Flamingo intersection) will be THE place to get your Free Comic Book haul, as we have a plethora of things going on: Harley Quinn (Kit Kendell), Tank Girl (Kate), an emissary from Star Trek (Christie), the VAGINA gals (Very AWESOME Girls Into Nerdy Activities - come by and learn how you can join up with them!), three local artists doing sketches (Brice Gilgens, Warren Wucinich, & Victor Moya!), and too much other fun stuff to fit here (and did I mention FREE COMICS!?!)! & the Muncheez food truck will be here also (from 11am-2pm)!

This being the 10th annual Free Comic Book Day and the first one at Alternate Reality Comics' new location, I would like my beloved Ich Liebe Comics! readers to wake your neighbors, bring your kids, your friends and enemies because as those of you who have already been to Alternate Reality Comics know, we have a comic book for whatever your reading tastes are and this Saturday, May 7th, from 10am-7pm, there'll be FREE COMICS for whatever piques your sequential art boat!

Expanded showcase section & new adult section!

2011-04-23T09:51:00.000-07:00

The past few days, with the able assistance of my buddy Jim McKenzie, I've been punching up some sections of Alternate Reality Comics. I've also ordered some other displays that will hopefully arrive in the next two weeks for the front section of the store.

This first photo shows the addition of another showcase display for older titles. The display with the white trim used to be a front window display, but I've got another display that works better there. This white-trimmed display is a display that even predates my ownership of this store (1995) and with Jim having just newly painting it yesterday, I think it makes a nice addition to the back issue section of Alternate Reality Comics.
This bright yellow display (painted by Jim a couple of months ago) now used for my adult titles used to be at the front of my store's new location (not with the adult titles though), but I used this display at the store's old location (it was blue then, for anyone who cares about that side note) and I think this display is really the best display for adult titles (it covers up a lot of the "naughty" parts of the cover - grin!).

I'm also going to be doing a fairly big remodel to a section of the back of my store (hopefully in May or early June) that I think will be an exciting part of Alternate Reality Comics, but I don't want to "spoil" what this will be until it happens. This also applies to the new things I'm doing with the front of the store, so I hope all of you Ich Liebe Comics! readers will look forward to these Alternate Reality Comics changes!

Dark Horse Presents #1 & creator sale!

2011-04-20T06:46:00.000-07:00

Today the fat packed (80 pages!) first issue of Dark Horse Presents comes out. Just look at this line up of creators within: Paul Chadwick, Howard Chaykin, Carla Speed McNeil, Neal Adams, Harlan Ellison, Michael Gilbert, Richard Corben, and Paul Gulacy!

In celebration of the return of Dark Horse Presents, Alternate Reality Comics is having a 20% off sale on all comics and graphic novels by the creators that are in this first issue through the end of April! A perfect opportunity to try Finder and Concrete if you haven't already!

Mister Wonderful; Daniel Clowes

2011-04-19T16:06:00.000-07:00

No spoilers following:

Mister Wonderful is a new graphic novel by Daniel Clowes (Ghost World, Wilson), published by Patheon Books that will be gracing Alternate Reality Comics' shelves tomorrow (Wednesday, of course).

Mister Wonderful is wonderful, but not in a happy fluffy way. Mister Wonderful is subtitled: A Love Story, but while it is of sorts, it is a love story as only Mr. Cynical himself, cartoonist Daniel Clowes, could tell. While Mister Wonderful isn't as negative and nihilistic as Clowes' last graphic novel, Wilson, Mister Wilson's characters have his "trademark" self awareness and not bright outlook on their place in society or the state of the world around them.

Following is an example of Clowes' writing from Mister Wonderful for Ich Liebe Comics! readers who are unfamiliar with his prose (this scene is Mister Wonderful musing on what propelled him to agree to go on the blind date he's waiting for to show up):

"It was sort of like 'Breakfast At Tiffany's' except in this version, Holly Golightly is an unstable, crank - snorting sociopath. It wound up costing me $800, my grandmother's earrings and a laptop, but such is the price of transformative human events, I suppose. To be honest, I wouldn't trade the experience for anything. It's only because of her intervention that I have the strength to be here right now."

As much as I enjoyed Clowes' last graphic novel, Wilson, I thought we weren't going to see any more long narratives from Daniel Clowes (Wilson was a series of one page vignettes that had a punch line of sorts at the end of each page, which did lead up to a greater whole, but it wasn't a conventional story - which doesn't mean it wasn't still highly entertaining). Mister Wonderful is a truly great alternative graphic novel (as well as being darkly humorous) and I'm elated to see that Daniel Clowes voice and cartooning prowess aren't fading with age!

Return of the Dapper Men

2011-04-16T11:55:00.000-07:00

Return of the Dapper Men, a GORGEOUS over-sized hardcover graphic novel written by Jim McCann and illustrated by Janet Lee, published by Archaia, came out towards the end of last year and has gotten several nominations in this years Eisner Awards. Return of the Dapper Men is an all ages graphic novel that like the best in all ages graphic novels, doesn't talk down to younger readers and older readers will be just as mesmerized with its magic. This is a book about loss, innocence, discovery, and every page is filled with wonderments.
Just look at this art! It's so lush and evokes Windsor McCay's Little Nemo, without being derivative in any way. After the story here in Return of the Dapper Men, there's a gallery section in which other fine comic book artists such as Joyce Chin, David Mack, Collen Coover, and Skottie Young display their interpretations of the Dapper Men world. If you'd like an additional example of what Return of the Dapper Men looks like, check out this youtube trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZhD775zNsQ

As a reminder, Return of the Dapper Men is one of the featured titles on Alternate Reality Comics' 2011 Eisner Award nominees display and is on sale for 20% off through April (as are all of this years Eisner nominated titles)!

2011 Eisner nominees sale!

2011-04-09T10:45:00.000-07:00

A couple of days ago, the Will Eisner Award nominees of 2011 were announced, so I was thinking what better way to celebrate some of the very best in sequential art from last year then to have a sale! So through the month of April, Alternate Reality Comics, in fabulous Las Vegas, will have the 2011 Eisner nominees on sale for 20% off!

The Eisner Awards are named after Will Eisner, the creator of The Spirit and many excellent graphic novels such as A Contract With God and Fagin the Jew. Basically they are like the Oscars for the comic book medium. The Eisner Awards are headed by Jackie Estrada and have different judges every year. I had the honorable distinction to have been an Eisner judge a few years back and it has been one of my highlights of my many wonderful years "working" in this industry. This years judges were Ned Cato Jr., Karen Green, Andrew Helfer (who was a long time DC editor and wrote an excellent Shadow comic for them), Rich Johnson (comic news site Bleeding Cool), Chris Powell (the brains behind the Lone Star Comic Book store operation), and John Berry.

I usually have at least one book that I think was overlooked by the judges on any given year, but this year I was on board with just about all of the selections, although I would have included Sarah Glidden's How To Understand Israel In 60 Days Or Less as one of the best reality based graphic novels of last year. The full 2011 Eisner nominations can be seen here: http://www.comic-con.org/cci/cci_eisners_11nom.php

I KNOW that amongst this years Eisner nominees there is a selection or selections that would speak to whatever sparks your comic book reading buttons and probably quite a few that have fallen under most people's radar in the sea of great comics and graphic novels that come out, so remember to check out Alternate Reality Comics' 20% off sale on some of 2010's best through the month of April!

An Elegy for Amelia Johnson

2011-04-06T18:20:00.001-07:00

An Elegy for Amelia Johnson is one of the newest Archaia releases, a nice handsome hardcover (with no annoying dust jacket) written by Andrew Rostan and drawn by Dave Valeza and Kate Kasenow. While Archaia publishes many fine comics and graphic novels such as Fraggle Rock, The Killing, Mouse Guard, and Days Missing, An Elegy for Amelia Johnson is unique to all of the previous books they've done as it is not fantastical in any respect - it's fantastic, but it's a fantastic people story, not a story in which otherworldly things happen.

An Elegy for Amelia Johnson is about Amelia Johnson (sorry for stating the obvious), who is close to death from cancer and wants two of her friends to make a little film about how she's impacted others. This isn't a biographical graphic novel, but it reads as if it could be. It also is more about Amelia's friends then it is about her in a lot of ways. The characters and situations in An Elegy for Amelia Johnson are very captivating and this graphic novel isn't just sad, rather like a good elegy, it is a celebration of a life lived and how that life affects / affected others. I hope these creators work together again.

Chimo; David Collier

2011-04-05T15:44:00.000-07:00

Chimo is Inuit for "hello" and is the title of the new graphic novel by David Collier. David Collier has been creating graphic novel biographies for years with an art style very evocative of Robert Crumb. I'm going to say something that some people will think is sacrilegious, but I'm not the biggest fan of Robert Crumb's (or similar styles) artwork. I say this not to be shocking, rather to illustrate that though I'm not a big fan of Collier's art, he's a great storyteller and how one feels about his art, will not get in the way of enjoying Chimo.

In Chimo, David Collier recounts his stint with re-enlisting in the Canadian army at the age of 40 to be a part of the Canadian War Artists Program. This book is fascinating because it shows how Canada actually allows a person that's 40 years old to re-enlist, but they still have to go through basic training. David Collier details how he sustained an injury during one of the training exercises, went through some intensive rehabilitation, and went on to complete his training to serve in the artist program of the Canadian Army. My hat is off to David Collier for re-enlisting in the Canadian Army and showing the kids that a person of the "advanced" age of 40 can still do what it takes (and makes for a highly entertaining graphic novel to boot)!

Ivy; Sarah Oleksyk

2011-04-04T17:42:00.001-07:00

Ivy is a newish hardcover graphic novel from Oni Press that collects the five issues of Sarah Oleksyk's mini comic of the same name. Ivy is about Ivy, and is a coming of age story about teenage girl who aspires to be an artist.

Anyone who remembers high school and wasn't amongst the popular in crowd will relate to Ivy's journey. Though that period in our lives may not have always been what we wanted it to be and can be painful to reflect upon, reading Sarah Oleksyk's Ivy isn't just an angst driven experience and her art (as seen here) is a delight through and through.

Scarlet #5, very disappointing...

2011-03-30T20:25:00.000-07:00

As regular readers of Ich Liebe Comics! already know, I've been a big cheerleader of Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev's Scarlet since it started last year. Scarlet is a creator owned title by Bendis and Maleev in which the title character, Scarlet, witnesses something bad happening to a friend by crooked police officers, so she decides to be proactive and sets upon a course so that this doesn't continue to happen to other people. Scarlet is set in Portland, where Bendis lives and is based on things he's seen happen. What I liked about this title was that it took place in the world we live in, nothing fantastical happens (none of the characters have super powers) and Bendis employs one of my favorite story telling devices, breaking the fourth wall, in which the character (or characters) speak to the reader, in this case Scarlet is trying to engage us to participate in what she's doing, which is to start a revolution.

Up until the newest issue of Scarlet (#5, which came out today), I was totally engrossed with this series, which is unlike anything else being done in comics today. The set up of this series was done really well and we've gotten to know what makes Scarlet tick. Issues #3 and #4 really got turned things up and it looked like issue #5 was going to really advance this narrative, but then....

Issue #5 of Scarlet is basically just a rehash of what happens in issue #4, there's NO advancement of the storyline. Basically, I think that this issue could have been three or four pages tops added upon issue #4 and this issue definitely doesn't work as the end of the first arc (which I didn't know or remember that this issue was going to be the end of the first arc). So while I think that Scarlet is still a well done, different kind of comic book and that it could still become a book that people will talk about as being a pinnacle of this medium, right now we have a book (Scarlet) that is still very stillborn and in my opinion will not work as a first volume, rather it feels like the first half (at most) of a first collected volume.

I'd have to say that it's possible that my expectations for Scarlet were too high and that I wish Scarlet (Bendis) would have by now provided some answers for us, the readers, in how to change the world around us. This is of course an unrealistic expectation, but I really did buy into Bendis' text in the back of Scarlet #1 that this was going to be a really charged narrative that was going to push the boundaries of what is possible if people got involved. I'd also have to admit that my frustration with Scarlet #5 (and I guess Scarlet as a whole thus far) is also similar with my frustration with the current state of affairs in the U.S. and the world.

Call me naive, but I really thought that we would be entering a new world, with new ways of thinking about how to make the U.S. work better for more people with the election of Barack Obama as President of the U.S. While I am still an Obama supporter, and definitely think things would be worse for more people if he wasn't elected, right now I'm discouraged by how much he has to compromise to get anything done and how much shit he had on his plate from the previous administration that is impairing his ability to enact what he would like to do. There's also the discouraging presence of lobbying groups in the U.S. which seem to really drive what gets passed and what doesn't get passed here in the U.S. and the insane amounts it takes to fund political campaigns. I realize that we are living in a world in which change (especially in terms of technology and globalization) are ever increasing and that many countries are going through very volatile political times. I also realize that it's going to take some time before the U.S. and the world adjusts to these changes, but I'm seeing no evidence of new ways of thinking happening that will get us on the path to dealing with these changes. I voted, I take part in protests, I try to dialogue with others about my ideologies, but I'm increasingly feeling like I'm speaking to the wind and wish there was someone or someones who would point me in a direction in which I could better, more constructively contribute to making "things" better.

I thought Brian Michael Bendis with Scarlet was going to be one of these people. I still think he (and Scarlet) may become a guiding light, but with the "end" of book one of Scarlet, I'm beginning to think that Bendis may just be treading his liberal wheels like the rest of us hippies that want a better world, but don't know how to make it happen. On the Scarlet front, we're not going to see another issue until June at the earliest and with Bendis and Maleeve starting a new Moon Knight series in May, I'm going to guess that we'll see less and less issues of Scarlet (and even fear that it will be abandoned altogether). They've said that they're going to do Scarlet and Moon Knight on alternating months, but the cynic in me thinks that that's what they'd like to see happen, but I don't think will happen. As I was so disappointed by Scarlet #5 being a rerun of #4, I'm also thinking that what Bendis is trying to do with this book is too big for him, just as President Obama's tasks are too much for his idealism.

I don't know if others who have read Scarlet #5 feel the same as I do or if I'm just bringing in some crazy expectations of what I'd like Scarlet to be, so I hope others will share with me their take after reading this issue either here or on my personal facebook page (Ralph Mathieu) or my store facebook page (Alternate Reality Comics, Las Vegas).

"21" The Story of Roberto Clemente

2011-03-29T14:27:00.000-07:00

A few months ago I was one of the lucky chosen few who had got to read an advance copy of "21" The Story of Roberto Clemente, a graphic novel about this legendary baseball figure. I'm really not someone who watches sports, so I didn't know who Roberto Clemente was, but as Ich Liebe Comics! blogspot readers know, I love a good graphic novel biography. Well as those of you who are familiar with the great baseball player and humanitarian that Roberto Clemente was already know, it would be hard to tell his story in any media and for that story not to be powerful. Cartoonist Wilfred Santiago's "21" is a great companion graphic novel to another great baseball graphic novel that came out a few years ago, James Sturm and Rich Tommosa's Satchel Paige: Srtiking Out Jim Crow.

Today, the color, hardcover edition of "21" arrived at Alternate Reality Comics and it's a handsome production. The only things I disliked about "21" is that it's one of "those" hardcovers that has a dust jacket and has no page numbers. I don't like dust jackets because they're rarely that attractive and they're hard to keep in good shape. I prefer when the art is placed directly upon the book (like IDW's hardcover Reid Fleming and even Fantagraphics' It Was The War Of The Trenches). Actually, though the cover art is great on the dust jacket, the image under the accursed dust jacket would have also been a good cover image to have gone with. On the subject of "21" not having page numbers, this sadly isn't the only graphic novel that doesn't have page numbers and the lack of page numbers makes referring to a scene or scenes difficult.

Anyway, sorry to have gone on at length with my two pet peeves above, but they did detract from what is an otherwise EXCELLENT graphic novel. To cleanse my rantings from your frontal lobes, please check out this link for a great trailer for Wilfred Santiago's "21": http://www.21comix.com/

The Sky Over The Louvre

2011-03-28T15:57:00.001-07:00

The Sky Over The Louvre is a new over-sized hardcover graphic novel written by Jean-Claud Carriere and BEAUTIFULLY illustrated by Bernar Yslaire.

This graphic novel is actually done in conjunction with the Louvre museum and takes place when the Louvre museum was in its infancy, during the French revolution. The Sky Over The Louvre is also the story of David, the painter who was ordered to do a painting of the Supreme Being (not "God", they were trying to create a new opiate figurehead for the masses) and another painting he was working on at the same time. Although "only" 66 pages in length, The Sky Over The Louvre isn't just a history lesson, as it also contains within its lushly drawn pages, discussions on the nature of art, beauty, and the role of religion in people's lives.

FF #1 & Hellraiser #1 - 2 great new debuts!

2011-03-25T10:16:00.000-07:00

This week FF #1 by Jonathan Hickman and Steve Epting arrived, being the next phase of the Fantastic Four post the death of the Torch. FF stands for First Family and or Future Foundation, which is explained in the first issue as is the costume changes and Spider-Man's addition to the team. A person doesn't have to have read Hickman's Fantastic Four to get into FF, but there are some nice trade paperback collections available and if you've already been reading Hickman's Fantastic Four and S.H.I.E.L.D., you know that Hickman is a writer who has got some big ideas.

The only thing I don't like about this new FF is the title, I wish they would have called it Future Foundation or even First Family. It also is more than a little annoying that they retitled this book when it could have just been the next issue of Fantastic Four and we all know that Marvel isn't going to go much more than a year not having a comic titled Fantastic Four (as this was the title that launched the Marvel Age back in 1961), but it is true that they need to mix things up as they've done here because Fantastic Four has for the longest time not been one of their keystone sales titles. FF is a money back guarantee title from Alternate Reality Comics!

The first issue of Boom! Studios Hellraiser also came out this past Wednesday and if you've ever like anything Clive Barker has written and or the first Hellraiser movie, then you'll totally dig Hellraiser! Plus it has great art by Leonaro Manco (if I was going to quibble about something on this book though, the colors by Charlie Kirchoff are a little to bright, but not enough to take me out of the book). As Matt Gagnon (Boom! Studios' Editor-In-Chief) mentions in his editorial at the end of Hellraiser #1, this is only the third time that Clive Barker has been directly involved in the Hellraiser world he created (he is the co-writer of this comic) so if that's not enough of an endorsement for this comic, I don't know what is!

Drinking At The Movies; Julia Wertz

2011-03-21T12:13:00.001-07:00

I finally got around to reading Julia Wertz's graphic novel Drinking At The Movies, which came out last September. Drinking At The Movies, is an autobiographical graphic novel by Julia Wertz (who has also done a comic called Fart Party, collected in two trades that I haven't read yet) about living in Brooklyn, New York after impulsively deciding to move there from her previous home of San Francisco.

Drinking At The Movies has all of the staples of what people think of when they think of autobio comics, such as starving artists, crappy jobs, crappy relationships, crappy apartments, and the basic just strolling through life seemingly without any real concern about what will happen. But Julia Wertz, in Drinking At The Movies, doesn't allow the tone of her book to be one of pathos, because she realizes that she has made her life choices, so Drinking At The Movies isn't a deep life examination, rather it's an often funny look at the slacker lifestyle. I enjoyed Drinking At The Movies a lot more than I thought I would and I'll have to admit that the only thing that kept me from reading this earlier is the art, which while not horrible, is a little crude, but while reading this graphic novel, found that this style actually moves the narrative along quite nicely.

Xombi #1; John Rozum & Fraser Irving

2011-03-16T09:59:00.001-07:00

Of the comics I've read so far this week, my favorite by a long shot was Xombi by John Rozum and Fraser Irving. Xombi was a DC Milestone comic from years ago that John Rozum also wrote and it was a favorite of mine at the time.

One doesn't have to have read the previous Xombi series to pick up on the new series, basically if you like Fraser Irving's art, wild concepts like a person who has nanomachines within him that allow him to create things that weren't there (my not very good explanation of Xombi's powers), and characters with names like Catholic Girl, Nun Of The Above, and Nun The Less, well you'll enjoy Xombi! I'm a little concerned about Fraser Irving's ability to do more than four issues in a timely manner (but I like to think he really cares about this title and is further ahead then he usually is) and this is such a niche title that will probably be under most people's radar, but I think that if the crazy ideas of issue one can be maintained with the next few issues, Xombi will get a great word of mouth buzz.

Supersized!

2011-03-09T09:51:00.000-08:00

Today sees the release of a new graphic novel from Dark Horse called Supersized Strange Tales from a Fast-Food Culture, which is an extension of Morgan Spurlock's documentary Super Size Me, in which he ate nothing but fast food for a whole month.
Besides revisiting what eating nothing but fast food for a month does to your body, the Supersized graphic novel has many horror stories of what goes on behind the scenes at fast food restaurants and asks:

"We've all become so used to the convenience of fast food that we've lost connection to where our meats come from. How much is that convenience worth though? Is the time and energy you save by idling in the drive-thru worth your health and well-being?"

Yes, Supersize, the graphic novel and documentary tell us things we'd rather just remain ignorant about, but hopefully the more these messages get out there, the more people will make changes in their lives to dial back what these industries are doing to the health of people in the U.S. and around the world.

Takio; Bendis & Oeming

2011-03-08T12:58:00.000-08:00

Last week, the creative team of Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Oeming (Powers) released a new all ages hardcover graphic novel called Takio. Takio is co-written by Bendis' daughter, Olivia, which is fitting as its central characters are two sisters who get super powers in an explosion at their friends house (their friends father is a failed inventor).

I was a little apprehensive about reading Takio because I'd read some snippets of reviews that it was a little too cutesy and that it is really just targeted for young girl readers. Well I thought it had just the right amount of cute and although young girls will get the most enjoyment from Takio, I think that Takio will appeal to a good cross audience as long as you like exciting stories, good characters, and the great dialogue that Brian Michael Bendis is known for. My only criticism of Takio is its title, which is the name that the girls decide to calls their superhero selves (it's a combination of both of their names) as I don't think it rings as a good title or superhero name (if I found out that Bendis' daughter, Olivia, thought up the title, then I would retract my "problem" with the title).

Term Life; AJ Lieberman & Nick Thornborrow

2011-03-01T08:09:00.000-08:00

Term Life is a new crime fiction graphic novel written by AJ Lieberman (Batman Gotham Knight & Cowboy Ninja Viking), drawn by Nick Thornborrow, and published by Image Comics. The central character of Term Life, Nick (yes it's the same first name of the artist, but I think that's the only thing they have in common), is a con man who is suspected of killing a mob bosses' son and stealing his money. Nick has a thirteen year old daughter who he has kept his distance from her whole life so as not to involve him in his chosen "career", but now as he worries that he's not long for the world (as said mob boss is looking to end his life), he takes out a life insurance policy on himself to take care of his daughter upon his life's end. The insurance policy doesn't take effect until a three week background check on Nick's health is completed so Nick has to stay alive for 21 days and then his daughter will be taken care of.

Term Life is a very charged crime fiction graphic novel, with great characters and a great premise from writer, AJ Lieberman, and artist, Nick Thornborrow, will definitely be getting many offers for gigs from his work here in Term Life.

The Plane Story; Kevin Sacco

2011-02-26T11:04:00.000-08:00

The Plane Story is a debut graphic novel by commercial artist (advertising), Kevin Sacco. The Plane Story is dedicated to cartoonist Harvey Kurtzman, who along with cartoonist Will Eisner, are the two artists that Kevin Sacco's cartooning figures and themes in this graphic novel most resemble.

As to why Kevin Smith titled his autobiography The Plane Story, isn't something I got from reading this book, but I did enjoy it, even though it maybe reads faster then a graphic novel about a life lived (and how he got to his present point) should read, in my opinion. As I've stated, I did enjoy The Plane Story and hope that Kevin Sacco does some more comic book narratives, but I just wish this graphic novel had a little more weight than it does.

Sad, sad, sad...

2011-02-22T15:08:00.001-08:00

I just read that comic book and animation writer, Dwayne McDuffie died. From early reports that are coming in, he died yesterday from complications from a surgery he had. Whatever happened (and I don't know what he was getting surgery for), Dwayne McDuffie was only 48 years old and that's waaaay too young to die. The only time I met him was back in November 2008, when he was a guest at the Vegas Valley Comicfest at the Clark County Library (that's where this photo is from). If I remember correctly, it was Derrick, of Comic Oasis, who was instrumental in Dwayne McDuffie actually coming out to Vegas for our Comicsfest that year (Kate and I, being that we've been on the planning committee for the past few years with Derrick, loudly echoed our support that Dwayne McDuffie would be a great guest - and he was).
Just about everyone who reads comics and watches some of the best in animation already know that Dwayne McDuffie had (damn, I'm having a hard time writing about him in the past tense) many credits to his name, including creating Static for DC Comics' Milestone line, writing Damage Control (one of my favorites of his comic books) for Marvel, and writing most of the episodes of the very, very excellent Justice League Unlimited cartoon.

It looks like Dwayne McDuffie's last script writing will be the adaptation he did of All Star Superman that came out today from DC Comics animation. I was really looking forward to watching this tonight, but now it's going to be a sad experience. I'm not a religious person at all, but it's times like this that I hope there is an afterlife so that Dwayne McDuffie can entertain the people there as he has here on this mortal realm for so many years and will continue to for years to come as new generations discover his work. The comics industry and animation have lost a great voice, with the passing of Dwayne McDuffie. Sad.

Friday night's all right for meeting new friends!

2011-02-21T18:24:00.001-08:00

This past Friday, over at Buffalo Wild Wings on the northwest side of town, Brieanna Brock (as seen here in this first photo with her husband Heath, who has a Thor fixation - grin), organized a drink and draw for people to meet some of her artist friends who she brought in for the Maximum Comics / Alternate Reality Comics signing and Nevada Partnership for Homeless Youth benefit this past weekend.
Derrick, who owns Comic Oasis, was at the shindig, with his friends, artist Charles Holbert, and Lauren (here in this second photo with Derrick), who is Charles' art agent and also works with Desert Wind, a local comic grading company. I had never met Lauren previously, but we had a great chat and just further serves to show the quality of people Derrick surrounds himself with.

Derrick, between his Coors Light (haha - sorry to be a beer snob!) chatting with Brieanna.

For those of you who haven't met Charles Holbert at Comic Oasis (he does a lot of art for Derrick's store) or at any other art event around town, in this fourth photo is Charles, with an UBER cool drawing he surprised me with when I got to the Friday thang! It's hanging at my store (Alternate Reality Comics, of course) on the original art wall hall of fame!

A not so great, but kinda funny photo (notice artist Eric Basaldua with his mouth open, full of food!) of some of the people who were at the drink and draw. It was also good to see Jeff (another one of the Comic Oasis lads), Justin (from Battlezone Comics and also grand marshal and founder of the Las Vegas chapter of drink and draw and a damn fine artist as well!), Jason, and a bunch of other people who were there (I didn't write everyone's name down, nor did I get a chance to talk to a lot of people there). Jay, From Maximum Comics intended on coming, but he had another engagement that extended longer than he thought it would, but I heard that his Saturday event with the visiting artists was well attended, a fun time, and raised a good amount of donations for Nevada Partnership for Homeless Youth.

Sunday artist jam & benefit pt.1!

2011-02-21T18:21:00.000-08:00

As I mentioned above in the entry above, this weekend was a visiting Arizona artists signing / artfest / charity benefit that Maximum Comics hosted on Saturday and Alternate Reality Comics hosted on Sunday.

Brieanna Brock (look her up on facebook), who wears many hats, both figuratively and literally, as she cosplays as many comic characters, including ones from Zenescope, is Rave theater's first Saturday of every month midnight scream queen host (she goes by the name Selena, Mistress of the Ring when she does that), and contributes to www.comicbooked.com, in addition to just being an all around great promoter of artists and all things fandom related, is friends with all of the many artists who came into town this weekend, and she made this whole event possible.

Here in this first photo is Jamie, with a BEAUTIFUL Red Sonja piece of art he commissioned from Eric Basaldua!
Artist Eric Basaldua (has done artwork for Top Cow titles such as Witchblade and Darkness and many covers for Zenescope) with his gal, Amanda Wink (who's cosplayed as Zatanna,of course). Eric is happily showing off the bottle of rum that Jamie brought him (here's a hint on how to get especially great art from Eric - bring RUM!)!
This happy attendee of my first Sunday event EVER at Alternate Reality Comics, got an awesome Wolverine print done by Eric Basaldua!

Pat, checking out some art from the Arizona artists side of the event area (we segregated Eric to a table opposite them as he's from California - grin).

From left to right, artists April Reyna, Jean Arrow, and Andy Bohn. I was amazed at the quality of art that was done by all of the artists, as they were working on very little sleep, from two previous nights of doing the Vegas thang!

Sunday artist jam & benefit pt.2!

2011-02-21T18:15:00.001-08:00

Eric Basaldua with Kate and myself, holding the bottle of rum we got him. Another patron of the arts who isn't in any of my photos here, Gary Rabuzi, also brought Eric a bottle of rum, and as Eric said upon seeing the three bottles "Now I've got my breakfast, lunch, and dinner lined up!" Did I mention that Eric likes rum!?

Andy Bohn did this great piece of art showing some different Robins for Jason!

Just a little shot of some of the people who made it out to Sunday's artfest / signing / benefit. Thanks to everyone who came out and made the day the success it couldn't have been without you! I was a little nervous about what the turnout would be, being that Sundays are amongst the store's slower day, but the artists were happy with the amount of people who came out and a good amount of donations was raised for Nevada Partnership for Homeless Youth (and Maximum Comics, who hosted the artists on Saturday had the same results)! My hat is being tipped to the Las Vegas comic fan community!

This is artist Alfred Truijilo, who's done artwork for Zenescope, holding his FANTASTIC original art donation that was one of the raffles prizes to raise donations for our chosen charity. All of the artists donated pieces to be used as raffle prizes, so I'd like to thank them all for doing that - I know the people who won them on Sunday will give them great homes!
Artist Jean Arrow, who did this awesome piece of art for Jason, who's one of Las Vegas' foremost supporters of the comic book community here (he actually visits all of the valley's comic book stores to make sure none of us step out of line - grin!)!

Sunday art jam & benefit pt.3!

2011-02-21T18:05:00.001-08:00

Brieanna Brock (event organizer), cosplaying as Phoenix from the X-Men (I don't know if she was Phoenix in honor of her Arizona artists friends - I just thought of that, but she was probably waaaay ahead of me), with her friend, Victoria Paege, an actress and model, who also wears many hats at www.comicbooked.com, and lucky old me!

April Reyna did a very fun drawing of Epstein for me that will also be on the original art wall of fame here at Alternate Reality Comics!

As the event ended, I had the idea of getting this group shot in front of my store, but I forgot to tone down the sun, which is was stabbing us in our eyes. I think it's funny that Brieanna / Phoenix seems most bothered by the sun, as you'd think she could have done something about it!
Brieanna holding the Claremont / Byrne X-Men graphic novel in which Phoenix becomes Dark Phoenix, so we've got a before and after thing going on here!

Thank you, Brieanna, Heath, Eric, Amanda, Alfred, April, Jean (and Jean's husband), Andy (and Crista, Andy's girlfriend), and Victoria for coming out to Vegas, for the great art, and for the making the Nevada Partnership for Homeless Youth benefit a big success! Thanks to everyone who showed up at Maximum Comics and Alternate Reality Comics and got some cool art and made the donation amount we collected possible, and everyone who showed up at the drink and draw on Friday! And last, but not least, thanks to Paul Thompkins and Jason Lovin for helping me make the day run as smoothly as it did!

ComicsPRO 2011 pt. 1 of 3!

2011-02-17T17:50:00.001-08:00

ComicsPRO is a comic store retailer exclusive organization that was formed to give a unified voice to concerns that comic book store retailers have with our publishing partners in this industry and to find ways in which we can all make our comic book stores even more fun and efficient. Last week, this year's meeting was held in Dallas and with many more new members and publishers being present than in previous years to communicate how things can be better on both sides of the fence, the future looks really solid from my perspective for the comic book industry.

In this first photo here is Dan Didio, co-publisher of DC Comics, with Jon Cohen, of Beyond Comics in Maryland (or did I get them mixed up - grin!). All of the first day I had wanted to get a photo of the two of them together and I'm thankful that they agreed to doing this photo instead of just slugging me!

I've known Jon for years, from previous retailer get-togethers, but I never really got a chance to speak to Dan Didio on a one to one basis, until the next night when he was sitting amongst myself, Kate, Jud, from Earth-2 Comics, Richard, of Zeus Comics, and Jay, from Maximum Comics during dinner. Dan graciously listened and talked to us during and after dinner for a good lengthy stretch. Before talking to Dan Didio last week at the ComicsPRO meeting, I didn't get much of an impression that he was the best person to be in the position he's in at DC Comics. Well, I'm here to eat my words and state that Dan Didio IS VERY passionate about making DC Comics a big force in this industry. I wish that everyone out there who owns a comic book store, is a comic book creator, or comic fan, could have been listening in to his dialogue with us about where things are within DC and the industry as this would show his naysayers what he's up against.

I'd like to state to any comic store retailers who happened to have stumbled onto my blog here, that aren't already ComicsPRO members, that I've had many such one on one conversations with people in this industry (such as Dan Didio) over the years at ComicsPRO meetings that aren't possible to the same extent in any other setting, convention, or online forum that I've been a part of. The value of these direct conversations with fellow retailers and other industry people can't be stressed enough.

The staff at the Doubletree worked really hard to have vegetarian and vegan food options. Most places have a really hard time making breakfast vegan options, but as long as they have fruit and bagels, I'm happy!

I'm going to admit that when I first heard that Todd McFarlene (creator of Spawn and owner of some very expensive baseballs) was going to be one of the guests at this year's ComicsPRO meeting, I was skeptical of what he could say that would be of any worth to myself and the organization, but as soon as he started speaking I knew he had been around the comic industry block a few years, you could tell that he really had an understanding of the business side of the comic book industry, and had many interesting promotional ideas that comic stores could do. I seriously could have listened to him talk all day!

Another great vegan dinner the Doubletree kitchen crew put together!

Me with my winning CBLDF auction bid on a plexiglass drawing Jeffrey Brown (Clumsy, Unlikely) did of Wolverine. CBLDF stands for Comic Book League Defense Fund and this nonprofit organization exists to defend the first amendment rights of comic book store retailers, comic book creators, and publishers. This unique, fun piece of art will be on display at Alternate Reality Comics in the very near future when I find just the right place for it!

ComicsPRO 2011 pt. 2 of 3!

2011-02-17T17:42:00.000-08:00

Last Saturday night, after the ComicsPRO meetings ended, Chris Powell of Lone Star Comics, organized a tour of four Dallas comic book stores. Here in this self photo taken on the bus as it departed is Kate and myself (from Alternate Reality Comics in Vegas, of course) in the foreground and on the top left is Jay from Maximum Comics (another Vegas store - he's got two actually) and Derrick from Comic Oasis (yet ANOTHER great Vegas store), with Gary Dills of Laughing Ogre Comics trying to muscle in on the Vegas posse (grin!) on the very far right. Derrick and Jay are good friends of Kate and myself and being as we're all busy with or own stores, we don't get to get together with each other as much as we like, so we got some good hanging out time done in Dallas. And we all got to do some good visiting and sharing of ideas with other fellow retailers, even though they weren't from Vegas (double grin)!
The first store we visited was Keith's Comics and here's Keith welcoming us into his store. Keith's Comics is enormous, which you can't tell from the exterior, it's VERY long and a person could get lost looking at all the treasures within.

I apologize for not having better (or more) photos here on this entry that would give you a sense of these stores if you haven't had the pleasure of visiting yourself, but I will have more interior photos on my Alternate Reality Comics, Las Vegas facebook page tomorrow (blogspot doesn't allow for more than five photos per entry, that's why this ComicsPRO report is in three parts).
The second store we visited was Chris and Richard's Zeus Comics and it is a beautiful, fun store. Zeus Comics is a great example of a modern comic book store, whereas Keith's Comics is a great example of an old school comic book store done right.

In this photo above from left to right is: me (Ralph, natch), Chris (Zeus Comics), Kate, and Richard (Zeus Comics)
The third store on the tour was Wayne's Generation X Comics and this was also a VERY large store with gaming being a very big part of their operation (but comic books were well represented). Wayne and his wife made ribs for those of us that weren't vegetarians or vegans and Kate (not being a vegetarian) was very happy.

In this photo above you can see within the window to the meat room at Generation X Comics, Derrick from Comic Oasis on the left and Chris from Lone Star Comics.
The tour ended at Lone Star Comics, which is another LARGE comic book store (well we were in Texas, where they seem to do everything king sized!) and this store also had a big gaming section, but they also have a large, very nicely displayed selection of the diverse cross section of genres comics encompass. I love their graphic novel shelves!

I want to thank everyone at all four of the stores on the tour for being so hospitable to all of us. Please remember to check out the Alternate Reality Comics, Las Vegas facebook page tomorrow for more photos of all four of these fab Dallas stores!

ComicsPRO 2011 pt. 3 0f 3!

2011-02-17T17:35:00.000-08:00

Boom Studios!, brought out an RV that was filled with brews to the ComicsPRO meeting, and although it was parked in the Doubletree parking lot, everyone managed to not spend the entire weekend within said RV (as tempting as that was)! I think Boom Studios! wants retailers to remember the RV experience when placing orders for their titles, which isn't a trick they need as they publish a wide variety of a lot of what's great in comics today!

Here in this first photo is me and Kate on the right, with Chip Mosher from Boom Studios! to my left and his boy wonder at Boom Studios! to his left (sorry I'm a putz and can't remember his name - I blame it on the Blue Moons!) and Jay from Maximum Comics (Vegas & Henderson) in front of all of us in his Hammer Time! shirt!

Another shot from inside the Boom Studios! RV featuring Stuart Shreck (DC Comics sales guru) and Kate.

John Munn of Comic Book Ink, Kate, and Joe Field from Flying Colors Comics (also creator of Free Comic Book Day, of which this Saturday, May 7th will mark the 10th anniversary!, and President of ComicsPRO).

Joe Field (Flying Color Comics in Concord, California) with Barry from Southern Fried Comics in Hattiesburg, Missouri, who will be celebrating his store's one year anniversary in August!

Calum of Strange Adventures in Halifax, Canada (also a ComicsPRO board member), with Amanda Emmert, who owns Muse Comics in Montana and is the engine of ComicsPRO (seriously, she's like the Stan Lee and Jack Kirby of ComicsPRO and all the other board members always say that the organization wouldn't be were it is today without her).

Well that wraps up my ComicsPRO meeting overview, but it doesn't wrap up what I took out of the meetings and I'm anxious to get cracking on the notes I took to power Alternate Reality Comics further into 2011 and beyond for many more years! I want to close by once again suggesting to comic book stores reading this that aren't already members of ComicsPRO to visit www.comicsPRO.org and consider joining because there really is strength in numbers and I'm sure there's things you're doing in your stores and or ideas you have about the industry that we could all benefit from. And I hope I've imparted upon you all what a fun time is had in addition to the valuable meetings.

The Original Johnson v.2; Trevor Von Eeden

2011-02-15T06:37:00.000-08:00

How many ways is there to say how fantastic something is? However many ways there are, they all apply to Trevor Von Eeden's two volume graphic novel biography of Jack Johnson, called The Original Johnson. This was the second great graphic novel that came out last week (the other being Psychiatric Tales that I've got a blog entry below this one) that I read Sunday on the plane back from the Dallas ComicsPRO comic book store retailer meeting this past weekend.

Jack Johnson was the first black heavyweight boxing champion of the whole world and as Trevor Von Eeden shows in The Original Johnson, he wasn't just powerful in the ring. Being that Jack Johnson was a black man living in the late 1800s and early 1900, he lived in a time that was very racist and many didn't like that a black man was the champion of "their" sport.

People sometimes shy away from biographies because they think they're just boring retellings of history, well there seems to have been nothing boring about Jack Johnson's life, rather he seemed like a force of nature, thus The Original Johnson is VERY exciting. Trevor Von Eeden's art is also very raw and primal and is the perfect style for the power that was Jack Johnson.

Mike Gold, in his equally excellent afterward to Trevor Von Eeden's The Original Johnson has this to say about where we are as a nation almost a hundred years later:

"But we really have made some progress. Lynching is way down, and there's a growing and viable black middle class. We even allow black doctors to have white patients, and in some neighborhoods blacks and whites can swim in the same bodies of water. Who knows, maybe in another century we'll even let Americans of African descent join the Tea Bag movement."

The Original Johnson isn't preachy at all in its depiction of racism, instead it shows how farcical and embarrassing racism is and how little people who hold those views are. Did I mention that The Original Johnson is excellent and fantastic!?

Psychiatric Tales; Darryl Cunningham

2011-02-14T17:33:00.000-08:00

On my return flight from the ComicsPRO comic store retailer meeting in Dallas yesterday, I read Psychiatric Tales, one of two excellent graphic novels that came out last week. Psychiatric Tales is written and drawn by Darryl Cunningham and is subtitled Eleven Graphic Stories About Mental Illness, which is exactly what this graphic novel is about, from an insider's perspective, as Cunningham, the cartoonist worked as a health care assistant in a psychiatric ward.

I do enjoy many escapist comic books and graphic novels of the super hero variety, but my very favorite kinds of sequential art productions are in the non fiction, autobiographical vein. So I knew that if Darryl Cunningham handled the subject matter of Psychiatric Tales in a thorough fashion, that this was going to be a book I was going to want to read. I'm happy to say that Psychiatric Tales exceeded my expectations and this will be a graphic novel that I'll be able to easily recommend for years.

Darryl Cunningham writes in his illustrated introduction: "Psychiatric Tales is intended to be a stigma-busting book. This is because fear and ignorance of mental illness remain widespread in society." I strongly believe that anyone who reads Psychiatric Tales will have a new understanding of the various kinds of mental illnesses that people have. I'm sure everyone knows or has known someone with a mental illness and reading Psychiatric Tales will make it easier going forward when this arises again in our lives (and yes, even depression is a mental illness, an ailment that a lot of even "normal" people experience to varying degrees).

Darryl Cunningham's art style as the interior page above shows, is minimalistic, but I think it perfectly communicates the subject matter of Psychiatric Tales. I especially was moved by Darryl Cunningham's last chapter, of which I'm not going to discuss, because I think it's better read not knowing what that last chapter is about, so with this in mind, please don't read the back of Psychiatric Tales when you look at this graphic novel.

Arizona artists visiting Vegas event!

2011-02-08T20:17:00.000-08:00

Time to mark your calendars for what's going to be a fun time at Alternate Reality Comics that could very well redefine what a fun time is! Sunday, February 20th from 12-4pm, I'll be hosting several artists from Arizona, California, and Las Vegas!

Here's the line up: Eric Basaldua (artist on comics from Top Cow and Zenescope), Rob Duenas (Penny For Your Soul), Alfred Trujillo (Zenescope artist), local artists Jean Arrow, Andy Bohn, April Grady Reyna, Tosh Delaney, Shelby Robertson, Brieanna Brock (Zenescope cosplayer and contributor on the website www.comicbooked.com), Victoria Page (contributor on www.comicbooked.com and cosplayer), and Michael Duran (who cosplays as Superman on the Las Vegas Strip)! It's a good thing I moved my store to a bigger space!

This event is your chance to get some uber cool art sketches from some amazing artists, purchase a raffle ticket for your chance to win a piece of art from these artists, and there'll be additional raffle prizes from Alternate Reality Comics, and the much beloved .25 cent back issue sale! All proceeds from the back issue sale and all raffle tickets purchased will be donated to the Nevada Partnership For Homeless Youth (Safe Place), a local charity that assists teens who have become homeless and or are having difficulty in their lives.

This event is the brainchild of Brieanna Brock, who recently moved from Arizona to Vegas. Brieanna is bringing her skills in helping out at Arizona conventions and is looking to make Vegas an even more exiting place for comic book fans than it already is. Not only is this lineup of artists going to be at Alternate Reality Comics on Sunday, Feb. 20th (from 12-4pm), but they'll be at my buddy Jay's, Maximum Comics in Henderson (just down from the Sunset Station) on Saturday, Feb. 19th (12-4pm), and to continue my talking about this whole event in a backwards fashion, they'll be at Buffalo Wild Wings (Craig and Commerce) for a Drink and Draw on Friday, Feb. 18th from 9pm until the alcohol runs out!

So you get not one, not two, but three chances to visit with young up and coming artists, cosplay people, and other lads and lasses who love comic book art and comic book fandom! I hope that everyone who is reading this Ich Liebe Comics! event entry will come to either the Friday Feb.18th night hangout, the Saturday Feb. 19th signing at Maximum Comics, the Sunday Feb. 20th signing at Alternate Reality Comics (my store's first Sunday event!), or better yet - all three meet ups and show Brieanna and these visiting artists that Las Vegas comic fans know how to have a fun time! Tell everyone you know about this Presidents Day weekend Arizona Comic Book Artists Event here in Vegas! Those of you who haven't heard of the Justice League of Las Vegas can ask Brieanna what it is about and how you can be a part of it!

Vietnamerica A Family's Journey; GB Tran

2011-02-07T06:25:00.000-08:00

Vietnamerica is a new 280 page color hardcover graphic novel by Gia-Bao (GB) Tran, published by Villard about his parents, who are from Vietnam, and their journey to America in the 1970s. Vietnamerica is a complex narrative, fitting for a complex country (Vietnam) and America's involvement into that countries war / conflict in the 1960s and 1970s.

I was really looking forward to reading Vietnamerica when I first heard about its release because while I had a historical knowledge of Vietnam, I was hoping that this graphic novel would give me a first hand, personal perspective of what living there was like, especially during the Vietnam War. Vietnamerica did accomplish this to an extent, but ultimately I didn't connect with it as much as I had hoped I would, as it doesn't have the personal, emotional resonances of Maus or Perspepolis. I think that this is partly because GB Tran, the creator of Vietnamerica, was only coming to terms with what living in Vietnam and the Vietnam War (he was born in the U.S. a year after his parents arrived here) was like by the time he gets to the end of his graphic novel and I definitely wish there were at least a couple of chapters more.

I'm sure I'll appreciate Vietnamerica more upon another reading and I definitely believe that GB Tran is a cartoonist to watch in the future. Tran's art is lush and evocative of the best of Craig Thompson, of Blankets fame. I am somewhat concerned that my Ich Liebe Comics! entry here on Vietnamerica reads as a lukewarm review, but I really do think this is a solid autobiographical graphic novel, I just was looking for a little something more and hope that people still take a look / read of Vietnamerica.