Now Comics Are For Girls, Too!

DC recently announced it will be creating a new imprint for graphic novels targeting teenage girls, overseen by Vertigo editors Karen Berger and Shelly Bond. If it was anybody but Vertigo, I'd be worried (and I'm still a little) that they'd be throwing out trash that was too obviously trying to be girly. But they've already seen a good deal of success with the ladies with series like Sandman, Fables and Y, so hopefully they'll take a lesson from that and not make 10 different graphic novels about lippy, strong headed, independent girls who stumble into adventures and find love along the way. I just think it might be a bad idea to announce 'Hey girls we made these comics just for you!" Do teenage girls want to read comics for teenage girls? I have no idea.

They look to be taking it really seriously though. They've got 6 graphic novels slated for 2007, which they're backing up by enlisting Allied Media to help in a $250,000 year-long marketing campaign that aims to break out of the bubble of typical comic direct advertising.

Although, they're looking for female creators, its not a prerequisite. The first book to be out will be "P.L.A.I.N. Janes" written by Cecil Castellucci and drawn by Street Angel's Jim Rugg. Andi Watson and Mike Carey will also be writing stories.

-Nick

Goku the Monkey King?

I have to admit right now that I am not the biggest fan of manga or anime. Besides considering AKIRA one of the greatest graphic novels of all time, and having a growing interest in series like Lone Wolf and Cub, Battle Royale and Blade of the Immortal, I’m certainly not the most knowledgeable employee on the huge selection of manga we carry in the store (for manga questions your best bet is to talk to A.J.). However, recently I found out about the Chinese folk legend of Sun Wukong, which has been commonly adapted into many notable anime and manga series, and I thought it would be fun to share this with the blog readers.

Sun Wukong, or the Monkey King, is a main character in the Chinese novel Journey to the West dating back to the 1590’s. The novel tells the story of how Sun Wukong, a shape shifting monkey, accompanies monks into India to retrieve Buddhist sutras. This story has remained so popular throughout Asia over the centuries that it has been ingrained into many aspects of Asian pop culture, most significantly the Japanese anime series Dragon Ball. The series main character Son Goku, who has many monkey features, is directly based on Sun Wukong, and the premise of collecting the Dragon
Balls resembles the quest to collect the Buddhist sutras.

Other manga series that reference the legendary Sun Wukong include Naruto, Demons of Shanghai and Gensomaden Saiyuki. Even the American Vertigo series Lucifer retells the Sun Wukong story in the final issue. So if you thought there was nothing you could learn from those crazy Japanese comics and cartoons you were dead wrong. For more information on Sun Wukong and its relationship to manga click here and here.

This blog was inspired by a conversation I had with customer Bruce Wulff.
Thanks Bruce!

-Jon

I'm Siiiiinging in the rain...

Last night was an intersting night at Star Clipper. It's not often it rains *inside* the shop - but rain it did. Turns out some tenant in one of the floors above managed to leave a faucet running full blast while she ran some errands. The drain couldn't keep up and by the time maintenence was able to get into the apartment, 2 inches of water covered the entire floor.

And of course, water + gravity = a big freakin' mess at Star Clipper.

By the time it was over, I'd have to say 50 gallons of water had made its way through our ceiling, and parts of the ceiling had collapsed onto the floor. Luckily Dan acted fast and only 3 copies of Uncle Sam & the Freedom Fighters had to make the 'ultimate sacrifice.'

Hopefully by the time you read this, all will have been cleaned up and moved back to its usual place. I'm sure it will be some time before the ceiling looks normal again. My favorite part of the whole night: watching water pour through one of the chandeliers. That was a blast. We should have water pour through those bad boys 24/7!

But not to worry intrepid shoppers! We will be open to satisfy all your buying needs!

-ben

The Fountain

I saw the new Darren Aronofsky movie, The Fountain last night. I think it's probably the hardest movie of all time to review, but I'll try anyway. From reviews I've seen online, its certainly a love-it-or-hate-it kind of film. Personally, I loved it. It was beautiful to look at, emotionally moving, and made a strange kind of sense.

Aronofsky is known mainly for his films Pi and Requiem for a Dream. Like Requiem, The Fountain is very much a melodrama, with over-the-top acting and imagery. It works though, and makes the story deeply affecting. Hugh Jackman's performance is the best I've seen him give, and Rachel Weisz does an admirable job in two very different roles.

The film follows the two main characters Izzy (Rachel Weisz) and Tom (Hugh Jackman) through 3 plots and possibly 1000 years. It seems left open whether all 3 stories truly happen in chronological order, or if they are somehow happening simultaneously. However, understanding this is almost inconsequential to the film; its emotional and visual impact transcend the plot. I left feeling no less satisfied than I would have had I known what the heck was happening.

The Fountain was originally supposed to star Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett, but the project was cancelled, and the project was deemed "impossible to film". Aronofsky then turned to another medium; if it was impossible to film he would have it made into a book-- a graphic novel, in fact.

Eventually, the script was completely re-worked and became the movie in theaters now. But the graphic novel is the film we won't see. It's very different than the movie, and includes lots of plot points, back story, and explanation that was worked out of the original "unfilmable" script.

This is not to say it's better than the movie (though many would disagree with me). I think they're very different works and achieve different goals in the mind of the audience. But if you see the movie and absolutely hate the ambiguity of the plot, the novel may clear up some points for you.

-Elizabeth

New Spidey Threads?

I think I might have mentioned that the other day I was looking through the new solicitaions for February, but there was something else that caught my eye. It looks like Peter Parker is ditching his Iron Spidey look. Now I can understand this given what happened in the newest issue of Civil War, but what I don't understand is why he isn't going back to the blue and red costume. Because, yes, he is going back to the black Venom costume. I don't get it, is this supposed to be some sort of "stealth Spidey"? "I know, they won't recognize me if I wear one of my old costumes, they'll be looking for some guy in red and blue pajamas! Hah ha!" Watch out for that shark Spidey, I don't care how well you can jump, one of these days he's gonna get you.

-Dan

Buffy Returns

Joss Whedon recently let some more details slip in an interview about the upcoming Buffy the Vampire Slayer ongoing comics series to be published by Dark Horse. It will take place after the series finale, and is being referred to by some as Buffy's "Season 8".

Whedon himself plans to write the first four issues, and apparently has over 20 issues outlined. He will oversee the writing, and although no announcements have been made regarding who will write after Joss, Jeph Loeb is rumored to be among the future writers. Georges Jeanty (Weapon X) will be penciling the series.

So how cool is that? All of the fans who were (and in some cases still are) in mourning for the Buffy TV series can have more Buffy! And more Scooby Gang! And more killing of bad guys! Sadly, IDW owns comics rights to our favorite vampires, Angel and Spike, so they won't be visiting very much.

As a huge fan of Joss Whedon and an owner of both the complete Buffy the Vampire Slayer TV series on DVD and the complete original Dark Horse comics series, I cannot wait until March, when this series is slated to launch.

-Elizabeth

Marvel's Partisan War

Now that Marvel's Civil War crossover series is roughly halfway finished I thought it would be a good idea to review it at the midway point, so for those of you who are not caught up THIS IS A SPOILER ALERT. DO NOT READ ANY FURTHER!

There have been some pretty huge events that have taken place in Civil War. So far, Iron Man beats up Captain America, the ressurrected clone Thor kills Goliath, the Fantastic Four break up, and biggest of all, Spider-man reveals his secret identity. However,for all it's interesting plot developments, Marvel is ultimately failing in the overall premise of the Civil War.

My problem is that writer Mark Miller has made one side clearly wrong (Iron Man) and one side clearly right (Captain America). This is a major mistake. The Super Hero Registration Act is more interesting and complex than to simply say there is a right & wrong. Miller is not completely guilty of failing to look at the registration act as a two sided issue, but only pays lip service to the supporting side in passing (apparently the American public is behind Iron Man). Yet, overall the message has been the registration act is wrong.

If you don't believe me, lets review the facts:

1. Iron Man's side kills goliath.
2. Iron Man's side inlist supervillians to hunt down the opposition.
3. Iron Man's side just lost and nearly killed Spider-man, their most popular supporter.

Now Iron Man's side is left with some dreadfully lame characters like Mr. Fantastic and She-Hulk, while all the best characters are on the other side. So you have to ask yourself, Why would any comic reader want to support Iron Man at this point?

This is really unfortunate because both sides have relevent points that could make some awesome new innovations to the marvel universe. What is even more worrysome is that there is rumor that Marvel might even back out on some of the major changes that have already taken place, primarily Spider-Man revealing he is Peter Parker. If Marvel wasn't willing to make any real changes they have a series to do that in, its called What If Spider-Man reveals his identity?

To clarify, I'm not saying Civil War isn't good, in fact it has been an awesome read, it just not living up to its potnetial. If Marvel and Miller would take the risk of not writing right & wrong it would even have lasting potential, like Alan Moore's Watchmen. Yet, there are still 3 issues left for the main series and Marvel is promising a huge change in direction for the next issue, so we will see what happens. But if Civil War keeps reflecting the partisan political climate of the day the series will remained closed minded to a two sided issue, and what message does that send?

-Jon

Jeff Smith Returns to Comics

I was reading the DC solicitations for this coming February, and lo and behold, what did I see but Jeff Smith's name! The long awaited Smith series promised us several years ago is finally coming out, and it looks pretty good!

Smith will be redoing the origin of Captain Marvel in Shazam: The Monster Society of Evil, a four issue prestige format comic. Kind of a "Year One" thing. I have been waiting for while to see what Smith would be doing next, and truth be told, I had completely forgotten he was supposed to be doing this. Bone is still one of my all time favorite comic series, certainly in the top five, and I hope he brings his keen sense of timing and humor to the book. That's not to say that I didn't like the end of the Bone series, there are just lots more parts from the start that stick in my mind. Seriously, the arrival of winter at the end of the first issue, the first time he meets Rose, the Red Dragon saying "Never play an ace if a two will do", and scene by the waterfall with the two rat creatures and Fone Bone on the branch are among the best scenes ever put to paper. It's like George Carlin's "7 words you can't say on TV" act, or the scene from, well, actually any scene from "Blazing Saddles" "S'cuse me while I whip this out!" God, that's funny just thinking about it. And it's the same way for many of the scenes from Bone, you don't even have to actually be reading it, just thinking about it is enough.

So I hope he brings some of his great comedy to Captain Marvel, but what ever he does, expect to hear me talking about it in the store this coming February.

The WorldStorm Cometh

I wanted to make sure you guys were clear on something, because I just only figured it out myself. You might have seen something in their solicitations about it, but the so-called Worldstorm is NOT a crossover. Many of the new Wildstorm issues have been listed as "Part Two of WorldStorm", or something close. But it turns out this is just the name they are giving to several of the series' first arcs. So you'll have Wildcats Vol 1: WorldStorm, and Gen13 Vol 1: WorldStorm and so forth. But they are not crossing over. Which is good, because I couldn't believe it when I first saw them myself, I thought "have these guys gone nuts all over again? Do they seriously think we'll go nuts over this and buy every series a month after they come out? They're killing it before it even has a chance to really get going." So there you go, no crossover, just the same volume title for most of the first volumes. Happy reading!

-Dan

My Best Books!

Ok, so I have been running this Best Books contest for a couple of weeks, and so far I haven't gotten that much of a response. You'd think I was pulling teeth, not giving away $10 gift certificates. I want to thank Jared and Jaryd for their lists, I got a lot out of them, and I hope you guys did too. Now I don't want you think that I am stopping the contest, not that there has been more then one entry at a time, but I gotta put something up there, so it's back to doing it myself. So the contest goes on, but from now on you won't just win because you were the only entry, it's got to be worthy of winning too.

On that note, I want to tell you about the display that I have up there right now. It's actually about getting back to the roots of the idea. When I first started the display there were a ton of new comics coming out all the time. I was putting things like DMZ, Jonah Hex, and Green Lantern Corps ReCharge up for your enjoyment. And that was the point, to give you good comics that were just starting out, things that you could jump in on the ground floor of. Now I get to do it again. This time I was able to find a ton of good comics that are within their first few issues that many of you still have not gotten around to looking at. The list is as follows:

Nightwing 125 & 126 - The first two issues of the new Marv Wolfman run. This is supposed to be a huge event in the DCU, and something you do not want to miss. This is where they turn Nightwing in to the new leader of the DCU, at least that's what I inferred from all those Dan Dido DC columns.

Criminal 1 & 2 - I already said my piece on this one.

Bullet Points #1 - A Straczynski "What If...", what more NEEDS to be said?

Perhapanauts #1 - The FF meet BPRD. Come on, doesn't that sound awesome to you?

Authority #1 & WildCats #1 - Ok, these were just kind of space fillers, but I know there's one or two of you who haven't read these Grant Morrison jems yet. Get on it!

Phonogram #1, 2, and 3 - Neither Nick or I can say enough good things about this series. Check out Nick's blog on it if you aren't convinced.

John Woo's 7 Brothers - Now I know many of you have not picked up many of the Virgin comics line, but believe me, this is one you really want to. One of the characters in here, the female lead, has the coolest super power I have ever seen in comics. And I'm still not sure what it is exactly! By the way, I do predict, one day, Virgin Comics will be one of the biggest publishers out there. Just you wait and see, it'll be the big three, not two. Unless they put somebody out of business and then buy the rights to all of their characters. I could see them doing that. Yeah, I could see them doing that no problem.

So there you go, the Best Books You Haven't Read Yet. Get to it!

-Dan

P.S. And for those of you who keep promising me you are going to send me a list, well, I just don't believe you anymore.

Snail Mail With Style

When was the last time you sent someone a letter? Not an email or a text message, but an actual letter on paper written with your own hands? Chances are, it's been a while. Maybe it's time for a change; I'm sure your friends and relatives would be thrilled to receive a letter, note, or just a postcard once in a while. In this crazy digital-driven world, snail mail seems that much more special.

Luckily, Star Clipper has tons of different postcards and stationery sets that really make a statement. Sets with paper, envelopes, and stickers come from such artists as Pete Fowler, Mizna Wada, Gary Baseman, Roman Dirge, and many more.

One of my favorites is the Gama-Go postcard collection, which feature lots of cool Gama-Go art in postable form. I also love the Spider-Man note card set, because Spider-Man is the coolest and because these small blank cards and envelopes (with a few assorted Spider-Man illustrations) are perfect for thank-you notes.

Hold on, was that a collective groan coming from the blogosphere? Thank-you cards are awesome! Especially ones with Spider-Man on them. I know its sounds like a drag, but your Mom was right when she said that your relatives really appreciate them after the gift-giving season is over.

And hey, these sets make great gifts themselves! We also have journals for the introspective person on your holiday shopping list. Come on, everybody, put down those keyboards and bring snail mail back into vogue!

-Elizabeth

Need A Buddy?

I know I have told you about the cool things on the DC home page before, but this week they have something so cool I just had to write about it. You know all those buddy icons that you see on internet forums? Well DC has had pictures that you could download for just such a purpose for a while now. There have been some cool ones in past, including a close-up of the spider tattoo on Spider Jerusalem's head. But this week they went over the top. They added around thirty new icons, and they are all heads from DC Direct action figures! How cool is that! They're mostly new ones, figures about to come out and such, but there are also a few older ones, and some statues thrown in as well. Simply go to the DC homepage, and click on the Downloads tab. If you scroll down past the free comics you will see them, about halfway down the page. Now those are only the ones from this week, so be sure to check out their full selection. You could also pick up some nice wallpapers while you're there. Or do what I did, download the desktop wallpapers all to the same folder, and then set your screen saver to look in that folder for pictures. It's pretty cool. In conclusion, here are a few of my favorite icons they made available this week.

Peepshow

Joe Matt's Peepshow returned with the 14th issue of self loathing disgust this past week. Most of us had counted Joe out, with good reason, since its been nearly 5 years since issue 13 came out in 2002. He's making Marvel look punctual.

His embarrassingly tell-all autobiographical comics have been the inspiration for hundreds of other younger artists to write about their own adventures in masturbation but rarely with his success. Its just that no one's quite as seedy as him, or if they are, they're not as talented. One particularly classic moment comes to mind in which he broke up with his girlfriend and drove straight to New York for a Porn theater experience with a prostitute that he didn't even have the money to pay for. When he took her outside, and got a good look at her...that drawing. wow.

So, what's he been up to the past 5 years? The new issue has Matt breaking records on the first page. Plus there's him, sitting around reading his own comics, peeing in jars, and talking to his publisher. All of this excitement without leaving his house. Or changing out of his bathrobe. Or changing at all really.

Welcome back Joe Matt.

Chris Grine & Chickenhare

So we have had a ton of signings lately! And we're still not done yet! Next week, on Saturday November 25th we are proud to present Chris Grine, author and illustrator of Chickenhare House of Klaus. We got the book in a week or two back, so I've had the chance to read it, and boy is it good! It starts out with the lead character, Chickenhare of course, and his best friend Abe being taken to the crazy taxidermist Klaus. See, Kraus has issues, he used to beat his pet goat Mr Buttons so much the goat ran away. Not being sane in the first place, this kind of drove him over the edge. Now he collects and stuffs rare and exotic pets from all over the world so that none of them can ever leave him again. I really did like this book, and it reminded me a lot of the early volumes of Bone, when it was much more light hearted and funny. And while Chickenhare never quite reaches the pure manic thrill of the Great Cow Race, there are some really funny one liners and scenes. In particular, one of my favorites is when Abe, the bearded turtle, and several of the others are being held captive by the King of the Stromph. The King, who plans on eating them, tells Abe he has ten words to explain why they should be spared. The scene goes like this:

King: I will allow you ten words.
Abe: Only ten?
King: Only eight remain
Abe: You can't count those!
King: Down to four.
Abe: Um...
King: Three left.
Abe: "Um" counts?
King: You have but one word left in which to save you and your delicious-looking friends. Choose wisely.

Anyway, I'll leave it up to you find out what happens next. So come meet Chris Grimes between 1 and 4 pm on the 25th of November and pick up a copy of Chickenhare, and I won't have to have your head stuffed and mounted over my fireplace! Cheers!

Semi-Annual Clowes Update

When it comes to Daniel Clowes you can expect a new Eightball comic to come out about once ever year, if your lucky. Now that he is focusing on getting nearly every story he ever wrote adapted into a major motion picture this average is
likely to drop even lower. However, as long as these films turn out as great as the "Ghost World" adaptaion, and as little like the sub-par "Art School Confidential," I'm OK with his continued foray into film. So last weekend when we
had his main collaborator in film, director Terry Zwigoff, in the store, I made sure to take this splendid opportunity to personally get the inside scope on their next collaboration.

First, I have to give it up to Mr. Zwigoff, he was incredibly cordial and wasn't shy to discuss his work, though sometimes he did give some pretty sterotypical director answers (working with Thora Birch, Scarlett Johansson and Steve Buscemi was just like working with a wonderful family, ughh!). Besides not revealing any juicy celebrity gossip, he did reveal that his next possible project with Clowes is to adapt the awesome stand-alone Eightball #23, and I couldn't be any more excited if it actually comes together. Eightball #23 is the "Death Ray" issue (I have an affinity for rayguns) and tells the story of a teenage superhero. Yes, even Daniel Clowes wrote a super hero comic, and you should definetly pick this issue up while it last.

More interesting, however, is Zwigoff was also interested in directing Eightball #22, which became the collection "Ice Haven," but Clowes wants to direct this film himself. Apprently, of all his graphic novels Clowes is particuarly found of this one and wants to be in charge of this adaptation. Who knows if this will actually happen but it would be interesting if it did.

What is definitly confrimed is that Clowes is writing the screenplay for "Master of Space and Time" a novel by Rudy Rucker, and it's to be directed by Michel Gondry no less. Now if we can just petion David Lynch to make "Like A Velvet Glove Cast In Iron" all Clowes' best works will be covered.

Anyways, it could be a long while before another Issue of Eightball arrives in the store but I will make sure to keep you informed in my next semi-annual Clowes update. For now remember you heard it hear first!

-Jon

What a Relief...

Originally, I wasn't going to post this crap blog from Dan, but since I got nothing else...y'know, beggars can't be choosers and all that.

So you might have noticed that I have not been around for a little while. Well the truth is I took a vacation. Actually not a vacation per se, but a week off. To be a vacation you have to go somewhere. And the farthest I went was my couch. Yes, truth be told, I spent the entire week doing nothing but playing video games. Game actually, Phantasy Star Universe. Man, I put nearly 80 hours on that thing in one week. Its one of those MMO games, kind of hack and slash, 3rd person shooter if that makes sense. But that's about it. Got to watch Heroes on TV rather then on my computer, so that was cool. So there you go, that's what I did on my vacation. How did you spend last week?


- Dan

200th Blog Post

Holy Bloggage Folks! Today is the 200th blog post on the Star Clipper Blog, meaning we're either really enjoying this blog thing or just really wasting our time! It's great fun to read the blog stats and watch the steady increase in readership. We're gratified that so many folks take the time to read our humble words and hope that we'll be interesting enough to keep you coming back for more!

In order to celebrate the auspiciousness of this post, we're going to have a little promotion today just for our blog readers:

Come in today - Tuesday, November 14, 2006 and mention you read this blog and get 20% off all our purchases! Yes, you read that right - 20% off all your purchases today when you mention reading this blog. Oh yeah, it's not combinable with any other offer, and you can't use this for candy and soda purchases etc., etc. But 20% off? Get a head start on your holiday purchases because (and this is just between me and you, gentle blog reader) we won't be having another sale this year.

-Ben

What a Ham!

What's pink and spins webs? That's right, True Believer! It's Spider-Ham! Peter Porker's back in Marvel's Ultimate Civil War: Spider-Ham #1, expected out at the end of January 2007. Written by J Michael Straczynski (I kid you not!) and with stories drawn by varying artists (Mike Allred among them), this comic will really bring home the bacon. OK, I'm sorry about that last one.

The comic will guest-star such heroes as Wolver-Ham, Hambit, Hamneto, Iron Ham... the list goes on and on. The story will take place in the aftermath of Civil War, and we'll see how the web-slinging swine handles the changes.

Confused? Spider-Ham is a parody of Spider-Man, first seen in Marvel Tails Starring Peter Porker the Spectacular Spider-Ham in 1983 (also featured were Captain Americat and Goose Rider). Peter the spider was bitten by a porcine mad scientist named May Porker, became a half-spider, half-pig superhero, and the rest is history.

If you love anthropomorphic super-animals and cheesy humor, Spider-Ham is DEFINITELY for you.

-Elizabeth

St. Louis International FIlm Festival

Thanks to everyone who showed up to meet Terry Zwigoff (Crumb, Ghost World, Art School Confidential Bad Santa), Tommy Yune (Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles), Monte Beauchamp (Blab!), Dan Zettwoch (Drawn & Quarterly, Kramer's Ergot) and Tom Huck (artist) last night. We had a terrific turnout and fun was had by all!

Lots of folks hung around to meet the creative team of Stagger Lee, an extremely good book about early St. Louis history from Image Comics. We've got a few left and plan to keep it in stock indefinitely.

The St. Louis International Film Festival is really just kicking off, so get over there and check out some great movies you won't have a chance to see any where else!

-Ben

Costume Contest Winners

Costume Contest Winners!

As you probably know, we had a Halloween Costume Contest here at Star Clipper on the 31st. The votes are all in, and here are the fabulous winners!

First Prize of $25 Gift Certificate: Kevin Wolf as Rorschach!

Second Prize of $15 Gift Certificate: Keith Parsons as Golden Age Green Lantern!

And Third Prize of $10 Gift Certificate: Jamie Ellis as Lulu from Final Fantasy X!

Best Zombie is awarded to Stephanie Richardson as Zombie Roller Derby Referee! She will recieve a copy of World War Z!

Thanks so much to everyone who came out and participated! We had a lot of fun, and we hope you did, too!

-Star Clipper

Not so confused anymore (Kinda)

I think I've got the new Wildstorm universe all figured out now. Maybe. I should have payed more attention to the Captain Atom series that came out earlier this year. It's not a relaunch, and it's not a restart. It's both. They literally got to pick and choose the history they wanted to keep and what they didn't. WorldStorm, aka Crisis on Yet Another Earth.

I read the new Stormwatch PHD, which I liked quite a bit, but it looks like they have thrown out a large chunk of what Ellis wrote, and then kept some of his concepts. Some good characters that he killed, like Winter and Farenheit, are alive again, and bad characters like Blademaster that he got rid of are back. They have lost their orbital headquarters, but they don't say how. Jackson King is alive and well again, apparently no worse for wear for having been killed in The Monarchy. The origin for the The Authority will have to be rewritten now though, as Jenny Sparks formed them because Stormwatch was disbanded. I hope Morrison has taken that into account.

WildCats seems to have kept much of the Joe Casey run, expanding on it even. I understand Maxine Manchester is coming back, though. That should be interesting. I also have to wonder about Zealot and Majestic, does the Mr. Majestic series from last year get counted in, our is that out on it's ear as well? The Majestic that we have seen so far is much more like the Alan Moore version. Which brings up another interesting point, is the war still on? It certainly seemed so.

The Midnighter book was decent as well, but it looks like it's going to take a couple of issues to really get going. I have faith in Ennis, but with him channeling so much genius into The Boys, how much is going to be left?

Alrighty, that's it for today. Tune in next time to find out all about my week off.


-Dan

The Simpsons Forever!?!

Last Sunday Fox aired The Simpsons’ 17th “Treehouse of Horror.” Though this episode will likely be the funniest of the 18th season, as all the Halloween specials usually end up being the best episode for their respective season, it didn’t have the same charm of many of the older Halloween shows. With this being said, I would even argue that each new season is losing the magic that made The Simpsons so great in the first place. The show has essentially done everything in it’s over 300 episodes. Yet, with creator Matt Groening having no plans of stopping the show anytime soon, and a Simpsons' movie being released in July of 2007(The first preview of the movie will run during the show on Sunday 11/12), I’m ready to ask what’s the point of The Simpsons anymore?

First, let me backtrack to this years “Treehouse of Horror.” This was a good episode of The Simpsons regardless of my criticism of the show. In particular, the “War of the Worlds” spoof was well-crafted and contained some crushing political satire on the war in Iraq, something that few other television show besides The Simpsons are willing to risk these days. Yet, for all its satirical accolades, the episode lacked the timeless quality previous Halloween shows are noted for having. For instance, this year there was not one line as funny as "NO TV AND NO BEER MAKE HOMER GO CRAZY" from the 5th "Treehouse of Horror." Some of the Halloween episodes are even so well-renowned and popular that particular scenes have been made into specialty models, one of which, taken from the 4th "Treehouse of Horror," is called "Homer's Ironic Punishment" and we carry it here at Star Clipper. Check it out for yourself!

Back to my main point, The Simpsons’ real decline in quality is not in the Halloween specials but the regular season. Personally, I feel The Simpsons have been going down hill since the 10th season and are long overdue for retirement. The show was once known for some very touching character-driven plots, just as likely to make you cry as they were to make you laugh. Now the show tends to favor the non sequitur humor and over-the-top zaniness of lesser shows such as Family Guy, and its hard to believe that The Simpsons are so tired that they have to imitate their much worse imitators.

Yet, this criticism is likely generational. Since I started watching the show way back when it first started in 1989, its change in tone over the next decade prompted me to shout Judas. Still, for younger generations, the increasingly stupid Homer is quite possibly their first introduction to the show, and the older episodes may seem too slow paced. I stand by my criticism however, and believe that if the show would have ended after a reasonable ten seasons it would have preserved its integrity. When Homer’s shortcomings used to be made out of his best intent, now he just seems like a hedonistic moron, or as Lisa once called him a “Baboon.” And now that Homer is being adapted to the silver screen, with the way the show is going, he is going to be the biggest baboon ever.

But what do you, the blog readers, think? Is their something about the longevity of the show that I’m just not getting? Let me know, and maybe I’ll come to the conclusion that The Simpsons should go on forever.

-Jon

Death Note Vol. 8

I remember the halcyon days of manga, with Tokyopop sitting firmly on the throne of manga hegemony. Tokyopop used to spill out literally dozens of titles a month that we could count on being able to sell in the double digits. That day has long passed, and it's lucky if we can sell 2 or 3 of each of the titles Tokyopop keeps churning out of it's publishing houses.

And it's true, manga has declined somewhat in unit sales - with lots of people complaining that there just aren't as many good titles out there as there used to be. Over the last several years other publishers have put out some pretty great stuff, and we've seem dramatic increases in readership in other genres altogether.

But right now there is a stand-out title. One that actually ships today: Death Note is probably the best manga being translated to english these days. Seriously folks, I look forward to this manga more than just about any other title being published right now. If you haven't read Death Note, you should definitely gived it a shot. In terms of entertainment value, I'd say it surpasses even Lone Wolf & Cub. That's saying something.

-Ben

Comics & Theatre Unite

Has anyone else noticed that a lot of comics people are also theater people? It seems like everywhere you turn there's a reference to dramatic literature in comics these days. Being both a comics reader and theater nerd, I think this is a pretty great trend.

Take, for instance Dark Horse's Star Wars: Tag and Bink Were Here. It collects the adventures of minor Star Wars characters Tag and Bink as they bumble their way through the original trilogy from their point of view. This setup is taken from the Tom Stoppard play Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, in which minor characters from Hamlet narrate a story with less blasters, but considerably more existential crisis. Hey, fun fact: Tom Stoppard apparently worked on the script for Episode 3, too.

Then there's Y the Last Man, which is chock-full of theater fun. I mean, the main character Yorick and his sister Hero were named for lesser-known Shakespeare characters, for Pete's sake. And in the two-part "Comedy & Tragedy" (issues 16 and 17), we're introduced to a post-plague theater troop.

As has been previously mentioned in this blog, Steven T Seagle is a playwright as well as a fantastic comics writer (check out American Virgin vol. 1 if you haven't yet). His play NWC is touring around the country, and I'm sure he has more great work to come.

Hey, and maybe someday I'll tell you about the one-act play I was in a few years ago about what happens when superheroes age. Or you can read about it through the link. Watch out for the name Jason Lauderdale, who wrote that play. He's going to be famous one of these days.

-Elizabeth

The Nightly News

This is a comic thats screaming "love me or hate me" The art style looks like a drum n bass cd from 10 years ago. Or the many ads for computers and cars and McDonald's and everything else that have come out since then. Think flashy vector art with lots of unnecessary circles and stripes. That's where people will be divided. It is a design overload, and my first flip through it had me questioning its readability.

Turned out reading it wasn't difficult at all, and the style OD actually supports the story very well. For one, when they occasionally drop social-political information on you in the form of graphs and charts, they fit right in on the page. These might seem a tad preachy if it weren't for the notes from the author that accompany them, telling you to skip over them and keep reading "if you're like me and only care about your own personal entertainment (certainly not anything like children dying of dysentery in Togo)" Cynicism saves the day again! The other reason the style is appropriate is that the story is concerned with the media itself.

Its about a small group of radicals, lead by a mysterious individual known as "The Voice", who are at war with the News. The first issue has more shots to News anchor's heads than any other comic on the shelves. Its a fact. I counted 6. (7 maybe. one was offscreen) That averages 1 every 3 or 4 pages. And what's more, creator Jonathan Hickman is offering the chance for two lucky readers to get shot in the head in a future issue. You can't beat that.

If you're a fan of The Losers or Brian Wood, you will want to pick this up. It falls right in between.

-Nick

A new web-slinger emergeth

Earlier this week Marvel announced that the new artist on Ultimate Spider-Man(USM) will be Stuart Immomen. I am actually pleasantly surprised by this. Immonen is a superbly talented artist with wide array of styles at his disposal. While many artists work for years to perfect their own style, he appears to adjust his art to the story each time, giving each book it's own distinctive look and feel. Just look at the difference between NextWave and Superman Secret Identity. I bet that he'll use something more similar to Bagley's as not to jar regular USM readers, but I would love to see him take it in a whole new direction artistically.

But Immomen has got to be feeling the pressure too, I'm sure. It's akin to taking over for someone like Kirby or Romita back in the day. Not that I'm comparing Bagley to either of them, but he gave life to this version of Peter. Just as every time I think of Batman I think of the Neal Adams version, I'm sure that from now on every time I think of Ult Spidey I will think of Bagley. But I digress, which I do daily, and I just want to close with saying that while I am upset to be losing Stuart from NextWave, I can not wait to see what he'll be bringing us next summer when he takes over USM.

-Dan

OMG - Pocky Time!

For all of you that have been asking "where's the Pocky?" the answer is here, at Star Clipper! We finally got a new shipment, and it should more than satisfy all of your Japanese candy-related needs. In fact, we have several things we've never carried before.

If you can't get enough Hi-Chew candy (a chewy, fruity Starburst-like treat), you'll love the new Muscat and Blueberry flavors. And of course we have all flavors of gummy candy, including the new Mango.

For the devoted cravers of candy-coated biscuit-sticks, there are the usual staples of regular Chocolate Pocky, but now we've also got big boxes of the newest varieties: Cookie Crush and Almond Crush Pocky (7 packets per box) and classy Chocolate Mousse Pocky in Dark, White, and Creamy varieties. We also have 5 Fruit Pocky, though I'm not sure which five fruits are included. Delicious ones, surely!

And yes, Chocolate and Strawberry Koala Yummies are on the shelf once again for your snacking delight. So if your sweet tooth is aching for some Japanese goodness, Star Clipper is once again equipped to ease your troubled tastebuds.

-Elizabeth

Little Nemo

In my first Blog I wrote about the future of the daily comic strip and the important role web-comics have in fostering creativity and giving an independent voice back to the medium (see - Comic Strip Version 2.0). Though I stand by this assessment, it is important to look at this issue in perspective. Newspaper comics were once anything but stagnate and repetitive. In fact, the newspaper form of comic storytelling is in large part responsible for broadening the percpective that comics could be a poignant and valuable form of art. There is no better example for this than the comic strip Little Nemo in Slumberland by Winsor McKay. However, with this strip being over 100 years old, its existence has been lost to most everyone, except for the few memories of it that lie dormant in our grandparents’ dreams. But Little Nemo is not lost to us anymore!

Star Clipper has just started carrying two different collections of Little Nemo in Slumberland, giving you the opportunity to experience Little Nemo first hand, just as our oldest relatives did. First, Little Nemo in Slumberland 1905-1911 collects the entire Nemo series, perfect for those readers concerned about continuity. However, I recommend our other collection So Many Splendid Sundays, a best-of Nemo that reprints each strip in its actually newspaper size. There is only one copy in the store so I urge everyone to definitely check it out before it is gone.

As the story goes, each strip of Little Nemo consist of an individual dream Nemo has about his adventures in Slumberland, with the final panel always showing Nemo abruptly waking up. Though the basic premise for each strip is relatively the same, the inventiveness of creator McKay always proves intriguing. For example, the entire first year of Little Nemo publication depicts Nemo’s futile attempts to simply reach Slumberland. During this year, the majority of Nemo’s dreams turned into nightmares, with Nemo being nearly crushed my giant mushrooms, transformed into a monkey, and ageing to a near death 90-year old man. When Nemo finally reaches Slumberland a year later the real adventures are just about to begin.

Little Nemo can be appreciated on many more levels than just for its story. McKay’s artwork is masterful and glorious, with a keen eye for background detail, and his supporting cast of characters, such as the mischievous outcast Flip and the powerful King Morpheus, creates further depth to the strip. McKay himself is an interesting reason to pick up Little Nemo as he would later become the world’s first renowned animator. Here is a clip of his most famous animation Gertie the Dinosaur.

Like Lewis Carols’ Alice in Wonderland, McKay’s Little Nemo in Slumberland was truly ahead of it’s time, something you would think would have been created in the 1960’s not 1905. So check out what newspaper readers used to have the privilege of reading before Little Nemo falls back into obscurity.

-Jon

The Black Dossier

I'm sure that some of you came in this past Wednesday hoping to pick the new
League of Extraordinary Gentleman book, The Black Dossier.

Unforunately it has been delayed, and now is supposed to ship on January 10, 2007. Quite a delay actually. For those of you not in the know, The Black Dossier is set in the mid-fifties, starring Mina Gorey and and a rejuvenated Allan Quatermain. The League has been disbanded and the two former members are on a hunt for why. The Black Dossier refers to a book of the same name in the story which details the secret history of the League strecting back several centuries. Sounds a bit like Alan Moore's version of Planetary if you ask me. Which is not a bad thing at all, I find myself actually looking forward to it quite a bit. The book is also said to include some spectacular extras as well, including a double page cut-away of the Nautilus, maps, and a 3-D section. Glasses included.

Dan

Battlestar Comics

With the success of Battlestar Galactica, now comes the inevitable onslaught of tie-ins and stories. Webisodes, the new Caprica TV series, books, video games and comics. I havn't too impressed with the first recent foray into comics. In fact, I gave up five pages into it when the little girl told the president that the cylons killed her daddy...and her puppy.

But there's still hope. Last week, Classic Battlestar #1 was the start of a new regular series for fans of the original show. And "Lost" writer Javier Grillo-Marxuach will be coming in for a classic mini-series early next year. Lost meets Battlestar? what more can a fanboy ask for?! How about more than 2 issues, which fellow Lost-ie Damon Lindelof failed to do with Ultimate Hulk vs Wolverine.

And if that's not enough, Eric Nylund, acclaimed author of the Halo novels, will be co-writing a mini-series about the Cylon Wars with Joshua Ortega. Over-exposure? probably. But the Cylon War, at least, deserves a story of its own.


-Nick