I reviewed this: The Manara Library Volume Two

A few weeks ago I was fortunate to receive, in a box from Dark Horse Comics, a copy of Volume Two of their Manara Library editions. The publisher is collecting most if not all of the Italian comics artist’s works in nine books; the second (above) came out earlier this year, and the first in the fall of 2011. Volume Three, featuring Milo Manara‘s collaborations with filmmaker Federico Fellini, will be published in August.

Manara is best known for drawing naked girls, to put it bluntly. (He’s also crossed over into the North American mainstream with a Sandman story that appeared in an anthology and an X-Men comic (featuring the women of the X-Men) for Marvel.) But, while Volume Two‘s first story “El Gaucho” certainly features some typically gorgeous Manara females in lewd dishabille, it’s also a ripping good historical tale (written by cartoonist Hugo Pratt) about the early 1800s British invasion of Argentina. And the second half of the book isn’t dirty at all; it’s a series of eight brief stories that attempts to look at both sides of cases against historical figures such as Helen of Troy, Attila the Hun and Robert Oppenheimer. Though a little on the didactic side, these “Trial by Jury” stories are surprisingly readable and informative. And, of course, impeccably drawn by the master, even though they’re from early in his career.

My full review is on The Snipe News: http://www.thesnipenews.com/books-comics/manara-library-volume-two-review/

I love Taschen

Went to Oscar’s Books on Broadway, finally, to pick up a datebook for 2012 (not that I have anything important to write down, but you know). At first all I saw were Martha Stewart datebooks but then I saw this one, and a pretty nice Roy Lichtenstein.

In the end, it was no contest.

Tales from the Wedding Present

When The Wedding Present came through here over a week ago, I was lucky enough to snag a copy of Tales from the Wedding Present. (When I interviewed singer David Gedge at the beginning of the band’s tour in Austin, I asked if he could set one aside for me. And he only charged me $5, half-price. Rock Journalism does have its perks.)

It’s a comic book featuring stories by former bassist Terry de Castro about life on the road with the band. The black-and-white art is by Lee Thacker, who’s got a nice, clear line that complements the direct, Harvey Pekar-esque slices-of-life. Thacker also did the art for Snapshots, a 2011 anthology of stories based on Wedding Present song titles. The book features a number of (British) writers while Thacker tries out an impressive array of styles, paying homage to Chris Ware and Charles Burns, among others.

The collection is surprisingly strong; you don’t need to be a Wedding Present fan to enjoy the Twilight Zone-ish “I’m Not Always So Stupid” (text with photos) and the romantic doubledealing of “This Isn’t What it Looks Like”. Recommended (you can order it here).

Wally Wood’s EC Stories Artists Edition

I really love this book, although I think boomers who grew up on EC Comics might appreciate it a little more… plus they might be able to afford it, not to mention have the shelf space! It’s huge, 15″ x 22″, and packs a punch to your wallet (I paid $160, including shipping and handling, to have it sent from Winnipeg to Vancouver when I couldn’t find a copy locally). The first run is sold out, but publisher IDW says they’re going to do a second print run later this spring.

Anyway, you can read my full review here.

La Rotunda del Mar (The Rotunda of the Sea) by Alejandro Colunga

Rotunda of the Sea by Alejandro Colunga. Puerto Vallarta March 26 2012. Shawn Conner photo

On our trip into the town of Puerto Vallarta a week-and-a-half ago, we came across this fabulous and fantastic display of street, or rather in this instance boardwalk, art.

“La Rotunda del Mar” (“The Rotunda of the Sea”) is a 1997 piece by Guadalajaran painter/sculptor Alejandro Colunga. PVPulse.com describes it thus: “The Rotunda of the Sea consists of a number of high-backed bronze chairs that mix fantastic human features and nautical imagery – one chair is topped with an octopus, others are humans with an old diving helmet and what looks to be a periscope. Facing all of the chairs is a bench with two giant human ears.”

It’s a fascinating set of sculptures that look like something out of a nautical themed version of Neil Gaiman‘s Sandman comics or Mike Mignola‘s B.P.R.D. books (specifically, his character Abe Sapien). I particularly loved the attention to detail, like the many and varied types of feet. There are so many different facets and angles to take photos from that I couldn’t stop taking pictures. These are a few of my faves.

 

Mike Ploog! and Werewolf by Night

Watched Ralph Bakshi‘s Wizards last night, in anticipation of the 35th anniversary DVD/Blu-Ray re-release tomorrow (March 13). The last time I saw the 1977 animated feature was probably the only time, in theatres around the time of its release. One thing I discovered on watching it again was the awesome art by Ian Miller and Mike Ploog; Miller did backgrounds and Ploog did interstitial art that set up and helped tell the story.

It was good to be reminded of Ploog, who was one of the best of Marvel’s stable of ’70s artists. Check out this cover from Werewolf By Night (and what a title!).

 

Robert McGinnis, ‘You Only Live Twice’

I was originally going to do a post of great James Bond paperback covers when I came across several extraordinary illustrations by American artist Robert McGinnis. Here’s one for You Only Live Twice:

You Only Live Twice - James Bond illustration by Robert McGinnis.

Book cover – Doc Savage, The Spook Legion

The release of John Carter, the new epic blockbuster based on the Mars novels of Edgar Rice Burroughs, has got me fondly remembering some of the other pulp fiction of my youth. For instance, I used to love the Doc Savage books, not least of all for the James Bama covers – like this one, for The Spook Legion.

I think I might’ve even read this one (there were dozens) – darned if I can remember a thing about it.

Wally Wood’s EC Stories: Artist’s Edition quest – update

Wally Wood at the drawing desk (self-portrait).

So yesterday afternoon I posted the cover image of a new book just published by IDW, Wally Wood’s EC Stories: Artist’s Edition.

I think I might have mentioned that I was having difficulty finding the book here in Vancouver. RX Comics said their copies were “already spoken for”, and Lucky’s and The Comic Shop didn’t have it. I even called Oscar’s, thinking I’d be sneaky by calling an art books store rather than a regular comic book store. On Amazon and eBay, it was already – one day after the Feb 22 release date – marked up to $250, twice the retail price; the publisher’s own site says that it’s already sold-out (pre-orders, I guess).

You know how these things go – the more dead-ends I hit, the more I wanted the book. Which maybe I should explain a little more…

Wally Wood is one of the all-time greats of, shall we say, the comics arts; he has a beautiful line and is one of the best inkers to ever dip a quill in the industry. There is a density to his panels that makes almost every one of them worth lingering over – usually there are two or three things going on at once. He is most admired, probably, for his work at EC Comics, the ’50s genre (crime, horror, war, Mad) publisher that was driven out of business by the Comics Code Authority.

But he also worked on comics for Marvel, as well as his own creations, the tough-guy strip Cannon and the innocently erotic nudie comic Sally Forth (in depicting naked breasts, as Wood was wont to do, in black-and-white, the artist’s solution to drawing nipples was a few lines in a circular shape. These are what I would refer to as “Wood nipples”, which don’t exist anywhere other than in Woodland).

Wally Wood’s EC Stories is the fourth in IDW’s Artist’s Edition series, which includes Dave Stevens’ The Rocketeer, Walter Simson’s The Mighty Thor and John Romita’s The Amazing Spider-Man. Instead of the finished pages, the publisher reproduces the original (black-and-white) art in its original size (the Wood book is a whopping 15″ x 22″ tome) and scanned in colour (to capture every gradation, and even the white-out). I’ve seen a few samples from the various books, but only on the Internet, so I can’t say firsthand how great this must look on the page itself, but I’m guessing it’s going to  look like this:

Art from John Romita's The Amazing Spider-Man: Artist's Edition (2011, IDW).

Only Woodier.

I guess I’ll find out – I tracked down a copy today through Comics America, a Winnipeg-based store (formerly Styx Comic Service – the first job I ever had!). CA’s website said they had one in stock, so I promptly ordered it. I’ll share more of my thoughts on the book when it arrives. Hopefully by then I’ll have come up with a way to pay for it, too.

Weird Vancouver – Biltmore bathroom

What goes on in the women's room at the Biltmore Cabaret. Photo by Robyn Hanson (June 18 2011).

Weird Vancouver – “lesbian porn” in the women’s room at the Biltmore Cabaret, June 18 2011

Photog Robyn Hanson snapped this pic of something she found in the women’s room at the Biltmore Cabaret during the Mountain Goats show there June 18 2011.