Has it really been more than 35 years since the debut of Omaha, the Cat Dancer? That’s why it says in the introduction to Volume 8, the last of the collected series, just published by Amerotica, an imprint of NBM. Way, way back in those pre-Internet days we found our comics by happenstance. I was…
[[[Salvatore Vol. 1: Transports of Love]]] By Nicolas De Crécy NBM, 104 pages, $14.99 The French artist Nicolas De Crécy has been working in the field for some two decades and has been slowing gaining a following in the United States. His 2005 series, Salvatore, is finally translated for American readers courtesy of NBM and…
[[[Miss Don’t Touch Me Volume 2]]] By Hubert and Kerascoet NBM/ComicsLit, 96 pages, $14.95 Its always a challenge when reading the second part of anything without knowledge of the first. Its also a good test of the creators to see if they’ve done their job of informing readers, new and old, of their characters and…
A Home for Mr. Easter By Brooke A. Allen NBM, 197 pages, $13.99 What’s nice about the graphic novel format is that is can take great children’s book ideas and let them breathe rather than truncate them to fit the slimmer requirements of the genre. Brooke A. Allen is a SCAD student making a splash…
On the Odd Hours (Louvre Collection) By Eric Liberge NBM Comics Lit, 72 pages, $14.95 Art is in the eye of the beholder, we’ve been taught. But it’s also a matter of the soul so some works move people while others are bored silly by the same piece. Apparently, there’s far more to the paintings…
Graylight By Naomi Nowak NBM ComicsLit, 144 pages, $12.95 [[[Graylight]]] is a wispy story surrounded with lovely, ethereal artwork, but utterly fails to create characters or situations with enough clarity to maintain your interest. The attractive Swedish artist hails from Sweden and developed her style as she discovered comics and began producing graphic novels, influenced…
The Year of Loving Dangerously By Ted Rall and Pablo G. CallejoComicsLit, 128 pages, $18.95 Ted Rall is a talented, controversial opinion-maker through his columns and his cartoonists. His somewhat jaundiced look at life has been shaped by many factors, chief among them, 1984, the year referred to in the title of this courageous memoir…
Just prior to Comic-Con International, NBM’s David Seidman sent out a note suggesting to reviewers that their just-released [[[Happy Hooligan]]] comic strip collection had been overlooked. [[[Gadzooks]]], I thought, he’s right and had them rush a copy over to be read. Having just finished the 112-page volume, I can say this early example of popular…
In May 2009, NBM Publishing brings back one of the 20th century’s great comic strips. George McManus’ Bringing Up Father is the third and latest in NBM’s Forever Nuts series of classic screwball strips. In 1913, McManus started a comic strip about Jiggs and Maggie, a lower-class couple who came into money. “While the snobbish…
NBM Publishing has just launched a blog by many of its star cartoonists. The bloggers will include Rick Geary, Rall, Neil Kleid (Brownsville), Dirk Schwieger (Moresukine), Naomi Nowak (Unholy Kinship), Jesse Lonergan (Flower and Fade), and David Axe (War Fix). The blog contains fresh comics and commentary from the artists. In addition, the blog will…
NBM reminds readers what the First Time was like, in an erotic hardcover anthology that will feature the works of Dave McKean. The collection of ten tales comes from writer Sybilline, a French woman with decidedly spicy ideas. The art is handled by a variety of talents including McKean, Cyril Pedrosa (Three Shadows), and Olivier…
Bluesman By Rob Vollmar and Pablo G. Callejo NBM, August 2008, $24.95 [[[Bluesman]]] was published once before, as three album-sized collections, but this is the first time the entire story has been collected between two covers. It’s a moody tale, told in black and white – but mostly in grays, from the background to the…
