Comic Books 101

Comic Books 101 from Impact Books
by Chris Ryall and Scott Tipton

I started reading mysteries (adult mysteries) when I was around 8 or 9. Since then I have discovered this whole community of likeminded fans. Well I was reading comics since I was about 5 and I know for a fact that comics fans abound in huge numbers. Recently there seems to be this feeling that comics are cool. Let me tell you, comics have always been cool. With this rise in acceptability there are a lot of new readers picking up comics. It feels on the surface that this is who this book is aimed at, but let me tell you as a long time fanboy my own self, this book is for the fans who know it all or the newcomers who want to learn it. Comic Books 101 is just what it sounds like. It starts with the strips back in the 30’s and comes right up to the Dark Knight returns. It covers the big name creators, the independent companies, the strange boom and fall of the late eighties and all points between.
I really enjoyed all the character studies and the illustrations through out were terrific.
What strikes me more than anything else about this book is the fact that both Chris Ryall and Scott Tipton obviously love comics and it show on every page.

Perfect for librarians who want a single reference book to consult or fans who remember when Flash was Jay Garrick only. A book that should be on the shelf of everyone who has ever read a comic and enjoyed it.

You need to buy Comic Books 101: The History, Methods and Madness

Clive Barker scares Craig Ferguson

I love Craig and I love Clive. Cool clip

Craig Ferguson: A Wee Bit o' Revolution on DVD

Some of Clive barker's great books linking to Amazon

The Great and Secret Show
The Damnation Game

Everville

The Thief of Always

Craig Ferguson - "Istanbul" - 06/03/09

THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS!!!!

The Blurb I didn't write

So I read the latest Gregg Hurwitz book a while back. Ruth reviewed it. We both loved it.
Since I didn't review it I didn't get a chance to say what I really thought.

So here we go:

"From the opening page of TRUST NO ONE it was like the story grabbed my nads with a vise grips and dared me not to keep up."


So yeah, I really liked this book.
It comes out on the 23rd, preoerder now!
Get Trust No One

SCALPED: THE GRAVEL IN YOUR GUTS

SCALPED: THE GRAVEL IN YOUR GUTS

Jason Aaron

2009

Vertigo

Crime fiction in comics has come a long way since the days of the procedurals of the fifties. One of the best of this new generation that is embracing crime fiction in the graphic form is Jason Aaron. While Jason writes a number of different titles my favorite work of his is hands down SCALPED.

This latest collection (Volume 4 collecting issues 19-24) THE GRAVEL IN YOUR GUTS sees the main character, Dash Bad Horse, felling deeper into the world of the reservation’s underbelly. The man he is supposed to be after for the FBI, Chief Red Crow has warned him away from his only daughter. But Dash can’t keep away from Carol, and her bad habits start to have a bit too much influence on Dash.

Following the murder of Dash’s mother Gina, Red Crow is in a different place than he was, conflicted by a spiritual side too long ignored and plagued by his silent partners he needs to make some decisions. The consequences are violent and lasting. And some of them surprising while other feel inevitable.

Aaron just will not let up, there is no such thing as an issue off where we get a breather from the story. He just keeps pushing and pushing until as a reader you have no choice but to give yourself over completely and let him take you where he wants you to go. In a series where no character is without flaws or secrets, Scalped is without a doubt one of the best crime fiction comics being done today. And while I am fascinated and absorbed by the book to the point of obsession when I finish reading I have an urge to scrub with boiling water, only you can’t scrub your brain can you? I sometimes wish Mr. Aaron would just give us a break for one issue, but I am grateful he doesn’t.

GRAVEL IN YOUR GUTS is another perfect chapter in this ongoing tale.

Jon Jordan

Crimespree Magazine