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Norm Magazine #1

By Michael Jantze
48 pages, black and white
Published by TheNorm.com Publishing

I don’t think it’s any small coincidence that more and more comic strip artists are using the comic book market to collect their strips. There’s a real crossover in terms of audiences these days, and self-publishing isn’t the anathema in comics that it is in the book industry. More importantly, it gives the creator a real freedom they might not get with other companies, making sure it’s presented however they want it. That’s definitely the case with Michael Jantze’s The Norm, which he’s managed to make even funnier the second time through… without changing a thing.

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Giant THB 1.v.2

By Paul Pope
96 pages, black and white
Published by Horse Press

There are some things that only happen once every couple of years. Cicadas burrow out from under the ground. An ex-roommate of mine willingly decides to wash the dishes. The United States has a presidential election. And, most happily of all, Paul Pope releases a new issue of THB. And unlike the cicadas, some things are actually worth the wait.

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Union Station

Written by Ande Parks
Art by Eduardo Barreto
120 pages, black and white
Published by Oni Press

The phrase “graphic novel” is one that’s thrown around comics a lot these days. Anyone and everyone is trying to produce graphic novels—but so often the end result feels like little more than a padded-out 32-page comic that the creators or publishers merely wanted to have a spine and ISBN number. I think that’s why I instantly appreciated Ande Parks’s and Eduardo Barreto’s Union Station so much, because it never lost sight of its goal to be an actual novel.

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21 Down: The Conduit

Written by Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray
Penciled by Jesus Saiz
Inked by Jimmy Palmiotti
176 pages, color
Published by WildStorm/DC Comics

It’s interesting to see how comics have shifted in the past decade. Ten years ago, comics seemed to strive to emulate Chris Claremont’s X-Men, where rambling storylines threatened to stretch into eternity with no resolutions or major developments in sight, sort of like many popular sitcoms. Now, the reverse seems to be true. We’re seeing more and more comics focusing on tighter story arcs, with small “seasons” of issues where conclusions are reached even as seeds are laid for future outings, not that unlike shows on cable networks like HBO. 21 Down from WildStorm definitely went for the latter approach, and to continue the television analogy, hopefully this is the DVD release that will help ratings for its second season.

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Caper #1

Written by Judd Winick
Art by Farel Dalrymple
32 pages, color
Published by DC Comics

Sometimes it’s nice to have a common point of reference. When you find people that are like you—especially when there aren’t necessarily tons of others around you that fall into the same category as yourself—it’s nice to be able to surround yourself with those similar. I’m not advocating segregation, or saying that a ghetto is a positive thing, but none the less, sometimes it’s nice to have a common point of reference. So when I heard about Judd Winick’s new 12-issue limited-series Caper and how the first of its three crime adventure stories (all connected through a family line) was about a Jewish-run organized crime group, my immediate thought was, “That makes sense to me.”

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Daily Delirium

By Miguelanxo Prado
192 pages, color
Published by NBM

When Neil Gaiman’s Sandman: Endless Nights graphic novel hit stores earlier this year, there were a lot readers who were unfamiliar with some of the artists that Gaiman chose to illustrate his stories. I remember hearing one person say, “Who’s this Miguelanxo Prado guy?” and have someone else tell him in confidence, “A new artist, but he’s really good.” Well, he might not be new, but he definitely is good—as his screwball Daily Delirium certainly illustrates.

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Planetes Vol. 1

By Makoto Yukimura
244 pages, black and white
Published by TokyoPop

Most comics about outer space focus on the big concepts; gigantic space ships zooming through the void, or alien invasions of Earth. Maybe that’s why Makoto Yukimura’s Planetes is so instantly appealing. It’s science-fiction, yes, and it’s very much about outer space… but Planetes‘s focus on quieter, character-based storylines makes it instantly stand out as something much more interesting.

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Iron Wok Jan! Vol. 6

By Shinji Saijyo
208 pages, black and white
Published by ComicsOne

When I reviewed the first volume of Iron Wok Jan! back in January, I enjoyed the book a great deal. There’s nothing worse than a series you loved going horribly wrong, though, so I figured that it was time to make sure that all my readers knew that in fact, Iron Wok Jan! has not gone horribly wrong. In fact, it’s even better than ever.

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Little Vampire Does Kung Fu!

By Joann Sfar
32 pages, color
Published by Simon & Schuster

It wasn’t until I read NBM’s publishing of Dungeon that I first encountered Joann Sfar’s creativity. Sfar was working together with Lewis Trondheim on the project, though, so I really hadn’t seem a solo work by Sfar at all. Thankfully, someone at Simon & Schuster seems to have discovered Sfar since we’re now getting his Petit Vampire series brought into English in the form of Little Vampire. This is one bloodsucker you’ll want in your home.

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