Tag Archives: Entertainment

Ed Piskor, A Rememberance

A love of Hip Hop expressed in Piskor’s beloved comics medium.

I recognized many years back, from it being serialized on Boing Boing, that Hip Hop Family Tree was something very significant. And, the more I loosely followed Ed Piskor’s career, I recognized the deep dive passion he had for certain subjects, most importantly, classic comic book figures. In time, Piskor would team up with Marvel Comics, along with Jim Rugg and Tom Scioli, to each create their own takes on Marvel legends with the Grand Design series. Piskor did his take on X-Men; Rugg did his take on The Hulk; Scioli did his take on The Fantastic Four. Quite honestly, the whole Grand Design series came out during one of my draw downs on superheros. It’s only now, in retrospect, that I can turn to these titles with the best sense of appreciation. And so that brings me back to Hip Hop Family Tree. At a time when the comics community is in tumult over the death of Ed Piskor, it’s with a heavy heart that a reader can go back and experience what is, undoubtedly, Piskor’s highest achievement.

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Filed under Comics, Obituaries

Zack Quaintance’s Death of Comics Bookcase Kickstarter

A page from Death of Comics Bookcase.

Comics Bookcase was a blog, in a similar spirit to Comics Grinder, and then it left the scene. But now it’s back, at least, in the form of a comic book. I find it very inspiring and leads me to think that perhaps Comics Grinder needs its own comic book. Ah, but there is! More on that later. What’s important now is what Zack Quaintance is up to with his 48-page Death of Comics Bookcase comic book. It’s impressive. I can’t wait to check it out. But, first, we all can support the Kickstarter campaign, thru May 1st, and secure that this project becomes a reality. There’s a significant amount of overlap between what Zack does and what I do that I can’t help but sincerely wish Death of Comics Bookcase great success. For more details, an excerpt from the press release follows:

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Filed under Comics, Kickstarter

Urban Nerd Con in Atlanta, April 26-28, 2024

The Urban Nerd Con is something new and exciting for pop culture fans, with a focus on diversity. If you are in the Atlanta area later this month, check out this event: April 26-28 at the Courtland Grand Hotel, located at 165 Courtland St. NE, Atlanta, GA 30303. More details and press release follows:

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Filed under Comics, Comics News

POWER KNIGHTS: BLADES OF LIBERTY #1 comics review

POWER KNIGHTS: BLADES OF LIBERTY #1. KID Comics. 2022. (Writer/Creator) Keithan Jones, (W) Noble Ward (Color) Salif Thompson. 28pp. $8 USD (Includes 11×17 Poster).

Imagine a precocious 10-year-old who pulls a Jack Kirby move and creates his own world of superheroes. And then life happens, time passes, and that kid is now an adult who has held onto that dream. That’s what this comic book is all about. In fact, Keithan Jones decided to carve out a little space for himself in the comics world and launch KID Comics, a place for comics packed with youthful energy and harkening back to the golden age spirit of comics meant for kids to enjoy.

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Filed under Comics, Comics Reviews

CRASHDOWN (#1-2) comics review

Otherworldly indeed!

CRASHDOWN. Massive. 2024. (W) Tom Garcia, Ryan Sargeant (A/CA) Ben Templesmith. $3.99 USD.

This comic book owes much to the great Ben Templesmith, the series artist and cover artist, known for his work with IDW, Image, Oni Press, Dark Horse, and, well, I could go on: Star Wars, Doctor Who, GI Joe, Army of Darkness, Silent Hill, Buffy: The Vampire Slayer and much more (30 Days of Night!), so I’ve made my point. Then you add the writing from a couple of comic book experts, Tom Garcia and Ryan Sargeant, the hosts of the Comic Tom 101 YouTube Channel (over 12 million views) and, having checked out their show from time to time, that got my curiosity. The promotional material promises an apocalyptic tale with a healthy dose of Lovecraft and the right touches of Lost and Alien. I’m going all in here with a look at the first couple of issues to a mini-series that only goes up to four issues.

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Filed under Comics, Comics Reviews

Leela Corman: On Comics and VICTORY PARADE

Leela Corman is a painter, comics maker, and educator. She teaches at the Rhode Island School of Design and the Sequential Artist Workshop. She is the creator of numerous works of autobiographical and fictional comics, including Victory Parade (Schocken-Pantheon, 2024), You Are Not A Guest (Fieldmouse Press, 2023), Unterzakhn (Schocken-Pantheon, 2012) and We All Wish For Deadly Force (Retrofit/Big Planet, 2016).

It is a distinct honor to get to chat with Leela Corman. I admire her work and respect her uncompromising vision. If you want to focus on one contemporary artist-cartoonist, then Leela Corman is a primary choice. Keep in mind that this is the category of comics that concerns itself with creating works of art, serious works within the comics medium.

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Filed under Comics, graphic novels, Holocaust, Interviews, Leela Corman

The Werewolf at Dusk by David Small book review

The Werewolf at Dusk and Other Stories. David Small. Liveright. New York. 2024. 175pp. $25

One great way to approach David Small’s delightful new “graphic novel” is as a collection of bedtime fairy tales for discerning adults. And, no, I am not inferring that this is a book to keep away from the youngest readers. There is nothing explicit to be found here. What I mean is that this is a delicious book for world-weary folks who want to be entranced by a dance made up of words and pictures. There’s nothing pretentious to be found here either. Just a very smart, whimsical foray, beginning with the titular tale involving a werewolf who has somehow outlived its purpose, just too long in the tooth.

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Filed under Comics, Graphic Novel Reviews

Comics: Henry Meets Griffy, ongoing process

Just a barefoot artist in search of the meaning of life.

Here is a follow-up on a 5-page comic that will appear in the first full-length issue of Pop Culture Super-Sleuth, which will debut at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con. I will post more as time allows and when it makes sense. In fact, I really should do more of these work-in-progress posts.

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Filed under Bill Griffith, Comics, Henry Chamberlain, Zippy the Pinhead

Comics, Books and Art

Run, Artist, Run!

I have been having various conversations on the state of comics. At the end of the day, comics are a lot of things but, essentially, it is a sequential art form. Or you can say it’s primarily that since work that falls within the comics radar could possibly not be sequential! I think part of the problem is a human need to categorize and organize things: attempting to combine every kind of work of comics and illustration, as well as any work that includes or references “comics” under one leaky umbrella. We can’t seem to leave well enough alone. And then there is another human need to create some sort of turf war: this work is more worthy than that work; my work is prestigious and rises to the level of art while your work does not.

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Filed under Comics, Essays

THE RED HOOK x DEAN HASPIEL Kickstarter

Dean Haspiel is one of the best cartoonists working today. Get his latest comic via the Kickstarter campaign going on now thru March 28th! This new comic has Dean deep within one of the most fascinating aspects of comics, the creator within his own work. This new project merges the two genres Dean Haspiel is best known for, superhero and memoir.

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Filed under Comics, Comics News, Kickstarter