Month: May 2011

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Super Dinosaur #1-2

Written by Robert Kirkman
Art by Jason Howard
32 pages, color
Published by Image Comics

These days, Robert Kirkman is certainly best known for his comics The Walking Dead and Invincible. They’re both aimed squarely at teenagers and older, though, so it’s nice to see that his new comic Super Dinosaur is meant to be read by all ages. And trust me when I say this in the most positive way possible: reading the first two issues of Super Dinosaur makes me wonder when the action figures and play sets are going to be available.

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Spontaneous #1

Written by Joe Harris
Art by Brett Weldele
24 pages, color
Published by Oni Press

In May 2010 for Free Comic Book Day, Oni Press released the first issue of their new series The Sixth Gun, letting people get a good look at an ongoing series with a no-risk guarantee that they didn’t pay too much for it. (Second printings, released later, were normally priced.) It makes sense, then, to follow suit this year with Joe Harris and Brett Weldele’s new series Spontaneous. And while it doesn’t have quite the same bang to it that The Sixth Gun‘s opening issue did, it’s still strong enough to hopefully lure prospective new readers on board.

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Patrick in A Teddy Bear’s Picnic and Other Stories

By Geoffrey Hayes
32 pages, color
Published by Toon Books

I am a big fan of Geoffrey Hayes’ Benny and Penny series of comics for younger readers. Sure, they’re meant for first and second graders, but even as an adult I’ve found a lot to love about the books; the graceful storytelling, the beautiful art, the funny jokes. While I knew that Hayes has quite a few other books under his belt, I hadn’t heard of his Patrick series before now. Fortunately, with his new Patrick in A Teddy Bear’s Picnic and Other Stories, that problem has been fixed.

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Bunny Drop Vol. 3

By Yumi Unita
224 pages, black and white
Published by Yen Press

It’s always sad to see a book store closing, but sometimes it ends up steering me toward books I might not have otherwise read. For example, I’d heard good things about Yumi Unita’s Bunny Drop, but with so many other series fighting for my money, hadn’t gotten around to reading it. Then a store going out of business had the first two offered at 50% off, and the next thing I knew? Well, not only had I bought and read them, but I just bought and read the recently-released third volume at my regular store. For a book with such a relatively simple concept, it’s a surprisingly rich book.

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An Elegy for Amelia Johnson

Written by Andrew Rostan
Art by Dave Valeza and Kate Kasenow
120 pages, black and white
Published by Archaia

It’s hard, sometimes, to not feel a tiny bit cynical about a graphic novel, in a time where so many are secretly (or not-so-secretly) doubling as movie pitches. In the case of An Elegy for Amelia Johnson, writer Andrew Rostan confuses the issue a bit, giving that feel perhaps because so much of the book is about making a movie. It is apt to feel that way, though, because just like many a movie, An Elegy for Amelia Johnson is the sort of book that is all right on your first exposure, but just falls apart the more you look at it.

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Superman #711

Written by J. Michael Straczynski and Chris Roberson
Penciled by Eddy Barrows
Inked by J.P. Mayer
32 pages, color
Published by DC Comics

Chris Roberson has gone off the marked path, so to speak. Several months ago, he came on board Superman as a co-writer, to finish up J. Michael Straczynski’s "Grounded" storyline off of an outline, while Straczynski departed the title (as well as Wonder Woman) to spend more time working on a sequel graphic novel to Superman: Earth One. And while I’ve been having a sneaking suspicion that "Grounded" has gone in a rather different direction than originally planned with the arrival of Roberson, this latest installment is in many ways the ultimate example of the new direction.

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