In her new mini-comic, “Debbie’s Inferno,” Anne Emond takes us deep into the nightmares and misgivings of a young woman and all we have to do is sit back and be amused. There’s plenty to be amused about since Emond is a crackerjack cartoonist in the vein of Lynda Barry. With a spare line and a whimsical touch, she distills angst down to wise and funny bits.
“Rachel and Penny” is spot on good stuff. Webcomics are a tricky thing. It is basically a character-driven endeavor. It can be a wacky sense of humor thing and nothing more. But, if you’re a talented creator who believes in good storytelling, believes in good characters, then so much the better. This is exactly what Lauren Zuke has accomplished.
LUMBERJANES looks like an all-out joy ride of comics fun. This new comics series joins THE MIDAS FLESH under BOOM! Studios newest imprint, BOOM! Box. It is written by Noelle Stevenson who you may know from her webcomic, NIMONA. LUMBERJANES #1 arrives in comic shops on April 9th. Visit our friends at BOOM! Studios to pre-order here.
Press release follows:
Filed under Boom! Studios, Comics, Comics News, Illustration, Noelle Stevenson, Webcomics
Millions of people visit xkcd.com each week to read Randall Munroe’s iconic webcomic. Today, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt announces it will publish Munroe’s new book “WHAT IF?: Serious Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions” on September 2, 2014. Based on the wildly popular blog of the same name, WHAT IF?, the book, will feature new hypothetical questions and answers illustrated by infographics, lists and, of course, Randall’s signature stick figure drawings. We’ll also revisit some of his favorite questions from the blog. It’s the perfect book for anyone who has ever wondered how fast you can hit a speed bump while driving and live, or what would happen if a Richter 15 earthquake hit New York City.
Starting today you can pre-order it from your favorite bookseller (Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Indie Bound). There are also foreign editions, including a UK and Commonwealth edition and a German edition.
Filed under Books, Comics, Comics News, Webcomics, xkcd
Into the night, we pressed on in search of the heart and soul of Ballard.
Portraits of Jennifer at Ballard Inn.
She and I had ventured onto an interesting journey.
Sights. Sounds. History. Ghosts. Maybe some answers.
Filed under Ballard, Ballard Comics, Comics, Seattle, Webcomics
Editor’s Note: Percy’s & Co. is a shining example of how old and new can come together. Percy’s & Co. is not some cute name that a marketing team came up with. It refers to Percy Sankey who built the building in 1893 to house his dry goods business. The Sankey building has mostly housed liquor purveyors of one form or another. Even when it was a dry goods business, there was a speakeasy in the back room.
Percy’s & Co. might be mistaken by tourists as a business going back over a hundred years. It’s actually brand new but it’s not brash. Just some local kids providing unique cocktails and working with local growers. Percy’s & Co. offers apothecary inspired cocktails. As its website states, these drinks feature “infused spirits, fresh purees, and beneficial tinctures.”
Thankfully, here’s a place that looks like it has a bright future because it bothered to take a careful look at the past. Visit Percy’s & Co. here.
Filed under Ballard, Ballard Comics, Comics, Seattle, Webcomics
Ellen Lindner has a wonderful way with prose and composition. Her intricate artwork and distinctive voice give life to her latest creation, “The Black Feather Falls.” This is a webcomic told in four parts, which you can view at ACT-I-VATE here. The first part is now collected and will be published by Soaring Penguin Press.
The beauty of Lindner’s work is on many levels, not the least of which is her dynamic composition. We begin with the main character, Tina Swift, juxtaposed by her striking view of two pyramids that act as visual and symbolic thrust. They lead us to more energetic play with geometry of body language and setting.
Take a closer look at Tina Swift. On Page 2, we see her face is a crisp collection of lines and angles with a few accenting curves. We take in the rest of the page: in the first panel, we see a typewriter rendered to the last detail acting as a still life accompanied by Tina’s sharply rendered hands. The last panel caps off with another view of those pyramids. In the span of time that we’ve read the first two pages, we already know a mighty adventure is about to be retold.
And, by Page 3, we have entered a new world. Tina is an American abroad. She’s in 1920s London. As engaging as Lindner’s artwork, her prose charms you and immerses you in the customs and logic of another time. Lindner was an American abroad herself and you sense a loving attention to her past home byway of this murder mystery. It’s as if Lindner travelled back in time and is reporting to us her observations with a fresh vitality. She provides a somewhat similar treatment of Brooklyn in the early 1960s for her work, “Undertow.” The writing for this story is quite fun and feels in step with such British writers of the time as Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers, and the Mitford sisters.
Our team of brash young American, Tina Swift, and young British spinster, Miss McInteer, are delightful as polar opposites that manage to attract. They do have quite a compelling murder mystery to solve that apparently will turn into another cold case if not for them. All the elements are in place for a delicious read.
You can read the latest installments of The Black Feather Falls at ACT-I-VATE here. Be sure to pick up the first collection of The Black Feather Falls from Soaring Penguin Press and look for updates here. And do visit Ellen Lindner at her site here.
Filed under Comics, Comics Reviews, Dean Haspiel, Ellen Lindner, mystery, Webcomics
Editor’s Note: While any place of quality is welcome in the Ballard hub, we have a soft spot for any business that finds a way to authentically integrate itself within the culture. The Noble Fir is a fine example of thinking locally. It is a tavern with an eye, a mind, and a heart, to being part of the community. You’re looking for something unique and refreshing? You want to feel like you’re really still in Ballard? Then visit The Noble Fir.
Maybe a place like The Noble Fir would have seemed just a bit too luxurious in the past. Maybe. But then again, Seattle has maintained a long love affair with microbrewies and can boast at having some of the best in the world.
Why not have that level of excellence, and even elegance, amid the industrial and mechanical fixtures of old Ballard?
What we all wish to avoid is The Planet Hollywood treatment. If a place has no real connection to anywhere, then it contributes to diminishing that place. Not to put down Planet Hollywood but I think you know what I mean. So, yeah, The Noble Fir, and other fine establishments like it, are what we want to see: something that enhances the character of Ballard and actually fits.
These sort of ponderings take time but we have plenty of that. And, once a good mood is set, perhaps with a fine ale, in a good place, we can settle in and find all sorts of stories to tell.
Filed under Ballard, Ballard Comics, Comics, Seattle, Webcomics
“Giant Days #1” is just what the doctor ordered if you’re in need of some rather droll humor. John Allison has been dishing out his humor, dry and stylish, for many years. Fans of Allison’s “Scary Go Round” are fiercely devoted to the misadventures of Shelly Winters, which you can check out here. Allison has gone beyond the youthful misadventures of Scary to the schoolgirl sleuths in “Bad Machinery.” And, in between, he created “Giant Days,” featuring Esther de Groot, just starting university, and always ready to get into trouble.
The characters in Giant Days are all quite young, full of spunk, and part of a way of looking at the world, all deadpan and cute. The quirk factor in Allison’s comics falls right in with comics by Kate Beaton and Bryan Lee O’Malley. All three cartoonists don’t seem to have a mean bone in their bodies. Their characters may say things that are snarky and yet they also come across as quite vulnerable, never much of a threat to anyone. Even when things come down to pounding fists and kicks, the genius to keep to a cartoony distance repels any real harm. That is a big part of the appeal. These characters can say and do anything and remain in a cartoon safe zone. That’s the story of a lot of great comics.
You would think this sort of thing is such a piece of cake. The art appears rather simple, yes? The jokes seem so casual and carefree, yes? But, no, it’s not easy cake. It’s not even easy cupcake. The process can be magical, enjoyable, and may seem easy. But it requires the right type of cartoonist: diligent, brave, and full of wit. So is the case with Allison. In Giant Days, he gives us one Esther de Groot, all cute and idealistic. She loves the cerebral and the misfit. Those are the types she wants to hang out with as she starts her life, away from home. But, given her cuteness, the cool girls want to take her as one of their own. Of course, they never expected Esther to have a mind of her own. Sarcastic remarks are made. Cat fights ensue. All in all, just the sort of comic to enjoy with a nice tea and crumpets.
Visit John Allison’s website here. And check out Giant Days over at ComiXology here.
Filed under Comics, Comics Reviews, Comixology, Comixology Submit, John Allison, Scary Go Round, Webcomics
BALLARD COMICS #6
Editor’s Note: Marshall McLuhan is gaining ground, much like Nikola Tesla, as a hero from the past speaking for today. He would certainly have something to say about the hotspot that is today’s Ballard, a far cry from the sleepy little hamlet that it once was. McLuhan was sensitive to such things as the character and identity of a place.
Has Ballard lost something? Well, it’s always been under development, that’s one way of looking at it. Consider the last panel in this comic. You see what was once a grand old fire station. It was converted into one of Ballard’s leading restaurants, The Hi-Life, long before the arrival of all the other new hotspots that make up the new Ballard. It’s certainly a great place and enhances the whole area. All you have to do is try their famously good fried chicken to know they belong right where they are.
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Filed under 24 Hour Comics, Ballard, Ballard Comics, Comics, Commentary, Edith Macefield, Henry Chamberlain, Humor, pop culture, Satire, Seattle, Webcomics
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