Comics Grinder

April 30, 2014 · 10:06 pm

Review: ‘Weapons of Mass Diplomacy’ by Abel Lanzac and Christophe Blain

Speaking truth to power. That’s a good thing. Needless to say, it gets rather complicated when it is in the form of an official statement or formal speech. In fact, speaking truth to power is not something you expect to hear at the highest levels of government. However, from time to time, there are those in power who actually do try to make a difference. In “Weapons of Mass Diplomacy,” we have a graphic novel that is a hilarious political satire and gives us the heroic story of the French Foreign Minister attempting to prove the pen to be mightier than the sword.

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Filed under Comics, European Comics, France, French Comics, Geopolitics, Graphic Novel Reviews, graphic novels

Tagged as Books, Comedy, comics, Commentary, Debate, Diplomacy, Diplomats, Entertainment, Europe, France, French, Geopolitics, George W. Bush, graphic novels, Humor, Intellectual, Iraq War, Journalism, Media, Middle East, Neocons, Peace, Politcs, Pop Culture, Publishing, Right Wing, Satire, War

April 30, 2014 · 3:37 am

Furor Over Basic Comics Criticism: Janelle Asselin and the Attack on Women

As many of you can imagine, there is a lot of cheesecake that makes its way into comics. As a critic, this is a can of worms that you open when you’re ready for the shit storm that follows when daring to criticize a major comics title. This is what just happened to Janelle Asselin, a seasoned professional in the comics industry after she dared to criticize the above cover for “Teen Titans #1,” published by DC Comics, home to Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman. Can you guess what Ms. Asselin may have taken issue with?

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Filed under Comics, Essays, Janelle Asselin, Sexism, Women, Wonder Woman

Tagged as comics, Commentary, DC Comics, Entertainment, Essay, Gender, graphic novels, Hate, Media, Pop Culture, Publishing, Rape, Sexism, society, Women

April 26, 2014 · 2:24 pm

Is There an Ontologist in the House? A Review of ‘The Book of Trees’ by Manuel Lima

“Tree of Consanguinity,” 1471, by Loyset Liedet (1420-79)

Roy came in late to the Comics Grinder offices and dropped off his latest offering. He smiled his wry little smile and said, “You and your ontology issues!”

What about my ontology issues? When did I tell him?

Issues about ontology don’t get discussed much outside of certain circles. Stray away from these rarefied circles that are invested in such discussion and you could go years, maybe a whole lifetime, without ever needing to concern yourself ever again with that tiresome chit chat often foisted upon someone who enjoys reading by someone who fancies themselves no mere book lover but someone superior, someone who regularly uses the word, ontology!

This type most likely wears a beret, or perhaps a cloak, maybe nurtures an odd facial expression, or sports a baffling attempt at an English accent. Where are the true believers, sans the affectation, that make me want to go back to thoughts of ontology? Well, how about Manuel Lima? Yeah, how about Manuel Lima!

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Filed under Art, Art books, Book Reviews, Books, Data, Design, Infographics, Information

Tagged as Art, arts, Book Reviews, Books, charts, Communication, Data, Data Visualization, Edward Tufte, Essays, Geeks, Graphics, graphs, Hipsters, History, Humor, Infographics, Information, Intellectual, Literary Arts, Manuel Lima, Nerds, Ontology, Pop Culture, Reviews

April 25, 2014 · 6:20 am

Review: THE DOLRIDGE SACRAMENT #3 (of 4)

“The Dolridge Sacrament” is a strange enough sounding title for a comic book. It is at once a little spooky and a little nerdy. That’s worked out pretty great for Stephen King, right? The more I looked, the more I wanted to look further. Alterna Comics has a decidedly offbeat vision and this comic fits right in.

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Filed under Alterna Comics, Comics, Comics Reviews

Tagged as comics, Comics Reviews, Demons, Entertainment, graphic novels, Horror, Pop Culture, Stanley Kubrik, Stephen King, The Devil, The Shining

April 24, 2014 · 4:33 am

Graphic Novel Review: THE CHAIR

“The Chair” is described on the back of the book as a “psychological thriller” and that’s exactly what it is. It’s pretty grim but it does not run off the rails into torture porn which it easily could have done so. All the elements are there: a creepy prison we always see in shadows, a series of disturbing events, a main character brought to the brink of insanity. But there is always more going on in this story than mere prison tropes. It’s an ambitious thing to attempt with such dark material but this story keeps us wondering all the way to the end.

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Filed under Alterna Comics, Comics, Graphic Novel Reviews, graphic novels, Horror

Tagged as comics, Comics Reviews, Entertainment, graphic novels, Horror, Pop Culture

April 23, 2014 · 5:42 pm

Review: BILLY THE PYRO #1

There is something likable about Billy, even though he is pretty unlikable. “Billy the Pyro” is a new comic, published by Alterna Comics, that gives us a main character with an uncontrollable hunger for arson. Well, as he puts it, he just needs to see things burn. His psychiatrist can’t seem to break through. His dad would just as soon break his skull. No, it’s not good being Billy.

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Filed under Alterna Comics, Comics, Comics Reviews, Horror

Tagged as Alterna Comics, comics, Comics Reviews, Entertainment, graphic novels, Horror, Pop Culture, superheroes

April 22, 2014 · 7:43 pm

Interview: Jeremiah Greco and the Comin Revolution

If you are a comics creator, whether superhero or mini-comic or whatever, Comin will blow your mind. Create new work or take existing work and turn it into interactive comics. And, for comics readers, this is an exciting new place for comics.

In my interview with Jeremiah Greco, the founder of Comin, we get to talk at length about what comin is all about and what it means to you: very cool comics.

Jeremiah Greco describes how Comin has evolved:”It began as me building apps for indiviual stories. Then I developed it into an app to load any story into and that got people excited. It went on to become a whole platform, a framework for anyone to use. I wanted to make this a new standard for storytelling. That’s how Comin came about, an open standard that anyone can build software for. We have a prototype and another on the way. It’s just a matter of getting it to the finish line.”

Check out the Kickstarter campaign, now thru May 17, here.

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Filed under Comics, Comics News, Comin, Interviews, Technology

Tagged as Applications, Apps, comic books, comics, Comics News, Comin, Crowdfunding, Entertainment, graphic novels, Interviews, Journalism, Kickstarter, Media, Pop Culture, Publishing, Technology

April 21, 2014 · 5:47 pm

COMIN PROJECT (Interactive Comics) Seeks Funds For A Whole New Way to Experience Comics

Kickstarter campaign runs thru May 17, 2014

We love to read comics. How about reading comin? Comin?

Comin means two things: an interactive comic and a brand new open media standard. The talented team at the Comin Project are experts on both comics and comin.

COMIN PROJECT offers a whole new way to experience comics. Now, hold on there, WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? Well, it means a lot. We’re talking about a revolutionary change in how comics are viewed, and created, by making them interactive in a whole new way. Think more of it as two main things: the COMIN READER and the COMIN WRITER. Both readers and creators have something to gain. Support the campaign at Kickstarter right here. Read this straight from the Comin Project team:

The project consists of two apps: the Comin Reader and Comin Writer. The Comin Reader is for readers to download and digest both traditional and interactive comics on their mobile devices or personal computers. The Comin Writer is for both hobbyists and professionals to write, layout, and publish interactive comics or convert and publish traditional comics in a way that is easily viewable within the Comin Reader.

Comin. That’s the name for new comics.

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Filed under Comics, Comin, Interactive Comics, Kickstarter

Tagged as Amazon, Cartoonists, comics, Comin, Crowdfunding, Digital Comics, Entertainment, Gadgets, Geeks, graphic novels, Interactive, Interactive Comics, Kickstarter, Kindle, Kindle Fire, Media, Nerds, Pop Culture, Publishing, Social Media, Technology

April 21, 2014 · 2:21 am

Sci-Fi Thriller ‘Third Contact’ Seeks Funds To Support Movie Tour

“Third Contact” is a dark, mind-bending, surreal sci-fi thriller which has been gathering momentum after selected shows in Europe. For its final cinema event, there will be a film tour of the USA and Canada. Support the Indiegogo campaign here.

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Filed under Crowdfunding, Indiegogo, movies, Sci-Fi, science fiction

Tagged as Crowdfunding, Entertainment, Indiegogo, Movies, Pop Culture, Sci-Fi, Science Fiction, Thrillers

April 20, 2014 · 10:34 pm

Lost Cat: Fremont’s Grey is Missing.

Easter turned out to be a very nice day. I’ve just walked around my Seattle neighborhood of Fremont to surmise the current situation, take the pulse of the zeitgeist, and just get some fresh air. There’s a flyer I’ve seen a number of times and I thought I’d share it with you. Apparently, there’s this neighborhood cat, Grey, who loves to take strolls and just wander about. But he keeps getting picked up by well-intentioned people who turn him in to the local shelter! I had friends who were constantly compelled to pick up neighborhood pets they were certain they were lost only to find out that these pets were simply doing their own thing, not lost at all. Anyhow, as the above flyer makes clear, Grey, and his owner, have been dealing with this for quite some time and so a flyer went up pleading with people to just leave well enough alone. Here his Grey’s message in its entirety:

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