Reading: An Anthology of Graphic Fiction, Cartoons, and True Stories, Vol 2
Music: Stephen Lynch
TV/Movie: The Exorcism of Emily Rose
Link o' the Day: The Perry Bible Fellowshow

I'll likely be reviewing An Anthology of Graphic Fiction, Cartoons, and True Stories, Vol 2 edited by Ivan Brunetti more in full either here or at ForcesofGeek.com, but I'll give you some of my first impressions. Some comic book artists should not be allowed to script their own work. Some comic book writers shouldn't draw. Oh...and I don't care of it's "indie" or underground work--quality still counts. I don't blame the artists or writers, but I do kind of question the editor's choices. He's a pretty brilliant comic creator in his own right--and I like his stuff. But jeez.

There is a lot of good stuff there, but a lot of crap to wade through as well. Okay, enough on that. This is just an initial impression based on half the book.

What is interesting, however, is what's going on in my own head about how I define a good comic. And if it's more fair to consider the form as a whole--or divide it into indie, mainstream, superhero, and manga. There is so much crossover to consider. I mean, was The Flaming Carrot indie or superhero? Or The Badger? Was Bone indie or mainstream? What about ones that changed over time. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles used to be very indie...but they're a major commercial property nowadays. Manga is mainstream in Japan (actually, there are subgenres there as well, but I'm focusing on the manga most commonly available commercially in the US), but not entirely mainstream in the US--but that is changing as well. They don't do superheroes the way we do in the US, but have their own brand that cannot really be considered the same.



It gets dizzying, and I doubt I could suss it all out in these virtual pages. And I question my own qualifications to even try.

If I don't try to be consistent, I can probably come up with some still coherent thoughts. If you want consistency, pour yourself a bottle of Heinz ketchup. (or is it catsup?)

More on this than you'd care to read about...sometime in the future.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-

I'm currently working on several books. (What else is new?) The main one right now is Confessions of an Accidental Mouseketeer by Lonnie Burr for Bearmanor Media. Lonnie was one of the original Mouseketeers. Not the little one...that was Cubby. And not the cute one...that was Annette. Lonnie was the older one. While I'm not old enough to have watched the original broadcasts, they were re-run often when I was a kid.



It's fascinating reading, and gives one an interesting peek into the world of Disney at the time. I'll have a cover done up in a few days and I'll post it here.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Thanksgiving vacation is over. It's back to work, so I leave you with today's link: The Perry Bible Fellowshow. It defies simple description, so you might be better off just clicking the link. In short, tho, it's a webcomic that's gotten to see some print. There is no one style that can be used to describe it. It's a hit or miss with me, but I know some folks who are big fans--you might become one too. As of February 2008 it has stopped regularly updating, but you can easily kill a lot of time clicking the RANDOM link.



Enjoy!