I have a big stack of books sitting by my computer and had been planning to write brief reviews of them all, but the stack is ever-growing and I doubt I’ll get the time. So here’s a summary:
No More Shaves by David Greenberger – This is a compilation of material from Greenberger’s comics series Duplex Planet, in which his interviews with elderly nursing home residents are illustrated by various cartoonists. The quality of the stories varies quite a bit. Standouts are by Dan Clowes, Rick Altergot, Dame Darcy, Ron Rege and Dean Roher–but many of the other artists are mediocre.
Scurvy Dogs by Andrew Boyd & Ryan Yount – It’s true what they say: Pirates really are the new monkeys! Monkeys are always funny…and so are pirates now. This is a hilarious book about a group of pirates out of place in the modern world. The artwork starts out pretty rough but gradually improves, and the stories are generally so hilarious that it really doesn’t matter.
Shrimpy & Paul by Marc Bell – I really wanted to like this book, but it was often so stream-of-consciousness that it was hard to get through. To a certain extent, when pretty much anything can happen, you cease to really care what does happen. There is a sort of bizarre charm to the book though, and the artwork has a beautiful, hallucinatory ’30s animation feel to it that’s enjoyable even on a purely aesthetic level.
Fred the Clown by Roger Langridge – This is a brilliant book from start to finish. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Langridge is one of the most underrated cartoonists working today. The fact that this book didn’t receive an Eisner nomination this year is embarrassing.
Catwoman: The Dark End of the Street by Ed Brubaker, Darwyn Cooke and Mike Alred – I don’t read a whole lot of super-hero stuff these days, but I had heard such good stuff about this book that I had to pick it up. The artwork is its most notable attribute—it’s perhaps the culmination of a new mainstream sub-school of super-hero artwork that stresses solid block colors, thick clunky inkwork and a slightly retro feel. It’s definitely easier on the eyes than the downright offensive Marvel “house style” that’s in vogue these days, and the stories are generally engaging, although the later story arc, which culminates in a fairly standard fight scene, is less interesting than the initial arc which is more from the “hard boiled mystery” school of writing.
Buddy Does Seattle by Peter Bagge – This is a digest-sized compilation of the first 15 issues of Bagge’s 90s series
Hate. This is one of my all-time favorite comics series and I’ve re-read it many times. I’m surprised by how good this series is, even after multiple readings. Although it’s firmly grounded in Seattle of the ’90s it avoids being dated because of the strength of the characterizations and the universal nature of their petty personal conflicts. And to boot, it’s one of the funniest comics ever done.
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