On this batch of books that I can't be bothered to categorize by genre we have a surreal satire series from Steve Aylett, an unearthed cache of mid-Victorian graphic humor, a sourcebook for the Black comic book community, a historical study of the photorealist style of comic-strip art, and a taught psychological thriller about locking yourself out of (and your child inside) a futuristic car.
HYPERTHICK #1
(W) Steve Aylett (A) Steve Aylett
Dead inside? Hair on the blink? House tornado liquidizing the furniture? Here's a fab new rectangle from Steve Aylett. You'll have a field day with this shredding medley of smashed treasure and murky diatribes. Eternity, My favorite!
APR211711
Why this caught my eye:
I'm late to the show with this one but wanted to spotlight it as #2 has been offered as well. It's tough to ignore this book with an amazing cover like that, but then there's also this quote that kinda sells the whole package:
"Aylett has blundered like a confused and angry bear into a new dimension of poetic genius." —Alan Moore
REBIRTH OF ENGLISH COMIC STRIP KALEIDOSCOPE 1847-1870
(W) David Kunzle
Rebirth of the English Comic Strip: A Kaleidoscope, 1847-1870 enters deep into an era of comic history that has been entirely neglected. This buried cache of mid-Victorian graphic humor is marvelously rich in pictorial narratives of all kinds. Author David Kunzle calls this period a "rebirth" because of the preceding long hiatus in use of the new genre, since the Great Age of Caricature (c. 1780-c. 1820) when the comic strip was practiced as a sideline. Numerous comic strips and picture stories appeared in periodicals other than Punch by artists who were likewise largely ignored. Like the Punch luminaries, they adopt in semirealistic style sociopolitical subject matter easily accessible to their (lower-)middle-class readership.
APR212011
Why this caught my eye:
I'm always fascinated when a chunk of comic history and art is unearthed and reprinted like this. The $90 price tag is a bit hefty, but it is 472 pages and I image pretty dense in content.
ACCESS GUIDE BLACK COMIC BOOK COMMUNITY 2020-21 SC
(W) George Carmona, Joseph Illidge, Dimitrios Fragiskatos (A) George Carmona (CA) ChrisCross
The Access Guide to the Black Comic Book Community is a new sourcebook to provide answers for comic book fans, old and new. This handy reference guide is more than a directory of Black comic book creators and the stories they produce. It is a road map for the uninitiated and the veteran comic book reader alike, to find the publishers, stores and conventions that provide kinship, safe spaces, and promote an imaginative variety of experiences through comic books!
MAY211133
Why this caught my eye:
I appreciate that this takes the initiative to go the extra step past just being a directory as it sounds a bit more expansive in its goal. More books like this please, for all sorts of different representation.
STRANGE DEATH OF ALEX RAYMOND HC
(W) Dave Sim, Carson Grubaugh (A) Carson Grubaugh (A/CA) Dave Sim
Legendary creator Dave Sim is renowned world-wide for his groundbreaking Cerebus the Aardvark. Now, in The Strange Death of Alex Raymond, Sim brings to life the history of comics' greatest creators, using their own techniques. Equal parts Understanding Comics and From Hell, Strange Death is a head-on collision of ink drawing and spiritual intrigue, pulp comics and movies, history and fiction. The story traces the lives and techniques of Alex Raymond (Flash Gordon, Rip Kirby), Stan Drake (Juliet Jones), Hal Foster (Prince Valiant), and more, dissecting their techniques through recreations of their artwork, and highlighting the metatextual resonances that bind them together.
"Comics' answer to Finnegan's Wake, an inspired work of obsessive genius that will take a long time to untangle." - Rob Salkowitz, Senior Contributor, FORBES
"A must-read for anyone interested in the history and craft of comics" - Brandon Graham, King City, Multiple Warheads, Prophet
MAY211557
Why this caught my eye:
I don't care for Dave Sim, but the subject matter is interesting and I did like what parts were previously published in Glamourpuss.
MONOLITH HC
(W) Roberto Recchioni, Mauro Uzzeo (A/CA) LRNZ
Sandra and her 2yr old son are driving the safest car ever built, the Monolith. When they are forced to stop in the middle of the empty desert, Sandra accidentally gets locked out of the car. Now, isolated from civilization, she must save her son from a car designed to be an indestructible vault on wheels. The sun is rising, heating the car's sheet metal, and time is running out!
A taught psychological thriller written by famed Italian screenwriter Roberto Recchioni (ORPHANS) and beautifully painted by artist LRNZ (GOLEM). With a wide range of visual styles mirroring the changing psyche of the main character as she deals with her looming dilemma, this book is a cinematic feast for the eyes.
MAY211565
Why this caught my eye:
I suppose I could have put this under crime as it's a suspense thriller, but I never thought I would read a comic about someone locking themselves out of their car so it gets points for just being unique. I also love LRNZ's art, and it sounds like it will be interesting as they alter their style throughout the book.
That's it for this batch, next up we'll hit all-ages books!