Category: News

Of course, we all know that comics can be for adults now…but
they don’t have to be. Some of the best books
out there now were made for kids – which is just the way it was fifty years
ago, come to think of it. Now, I’m not claiming that these three books are the
best out there – my reading has been slipshod and random this year – but they’re
all worth reading for the right audience:

Tiny Tyrant: Volume One: The Ethelbertosaurus
By Lewis Trondheim and Fabrice
Parme
First Second, May 2009, $9.95

Trondheim is a prolific French cartoonist for both younger
readers and adults, with books like Kaput and Zosky and A.L.I.E.E.E.N. for the rugrats, the Dungeon series (with Joann Sfar and others) for various
audiences, and books like his diary comics (Little Nothings) for adults. Tiny Tyrant sees Trondheim in full kid-pleasing mode, with pint-size
King Ethelbert of Porto Cristo running amok and terrorizing all the adults
around him (with the possible exception of the nearly unflappable Miss Prime
Minister).

This volume collects six stories of King Ethelbert, as he
discovers dinosaur bones, avoids assassination, engages in an
all-crowned-head-of-state motor race, meets Santa Claus, chases his favorite
author, and replaces all children in his domains with robot duplicates of
himself. Nothing ever turns out as he hopes, of course, but the stories have massive
amounts of verve and energy along the way, propelled by Parme’s stylish and
classy art (reminiscent of the UPA style).

Ethelbert is the kind of fictional character we’re all
deeply happy is purely fictional – he’d be a massive pain in person, but he’s
utterly funny and lovable when contained between the pages of a book.

(One note to consumers: this volume contains
exactly half of the stories published in 2007 in the book just titled Tiny
Tyrant. In publishing as in
business, the name of the game is putting together things that were originally
separate, and then separating things that were together. Repeat every few years
until interest runs out.) (more…)

It’s been twelve years after Robin Hood saved Marian and Sherwood and
restored Richard to the throne. Is he living happily ever after? Of
course not… Robin is a drunk. He hasn’t seen Marian since he saved
her. He hasn’t seen the merry men, either. And now comes word that
Marian has been jailed as a witch by the Inquisitor from Rome…

Written by Robert Tinnell
(EZ Street, Feast of the Seven Fishes) and painted by Bo Hampton
(Viking Glory, Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Batman, Moon Knight), Demons of Sherwood is a new and inspirational look at a famous legend. Buy your copy today at your local comic shop or order it online!

To those who know me, my love for the [[[Guitar Hero]]] series is <a href=”

target=”_blank”>no secret.  Music rhythm games have come a long way since the series began on Playstation 2 five years ago.  And while this may be the fifth numerical title in as many years, the series has actually spawned 12 titles (with the 13th, [[[Guitar Hero: Van Halen]]] out this December), and because of this, has faltered in quality over the past few iterations. 

However, Guitar Hero 5 aims to change all that, with new modes, new features, and the richest and most diverse track list the series has seen yet.  Is this a bold new jump in the franchises direction, or is it too little too late?

(more…)

We haven’t done one of these in a while, and heaven knows I have enough open windows:

• Eight Films in Black and Red. Simple graphic storytelling at its best.
• Viggo Mortensen discussing his new movie, The Road, the feel-good picture of the season.
• Why vampire movies always break all the vampire rules.

• Joshua Jackson will star in UFO, the feature film version of the British TV series by Gerry Anderson.
• God help us, even Rainbow Brite is being revamped and relaunched.
• No, it’s even worse than that– John Carter and A Princess Of Mars starring Antonio Sabato Jr. and Traci Lords. Here’s the trailer:

Oh dear.