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Hey all you hoodrats and hepcats. I’ve been busy doing bookwork for the new books (so close to almost getting near finishing it). So I’m going to move these back to once a week. Today’s book is, “Ghostopolis” by Doug TenNapel
I’ve been a fan of Doug TenNapel since I started reading his online comic Ratfist. I learned when it came out that he was the creator of Earthworm Jim, one of those sugary sweet sources that corrupted my ability to write jokes.
The story is about a boy who’s dying of a rare disease who accidentally gets zapped into the land of the undead. It gets much more complicated, and the physics of the world are astounding. There are some religious overtones, but I expect that with TenNapel after reading Ratfist.
The art is stellar. He has a real knack for creating unique characters and having them do the most death defying things. You can tell he has a lot of animation experience, because everything is ready to jump off the page. I also love the way he draws hands. If you know anything about the trials of cartooning. Hands are the one thing we hate drawing the most. They are the most complicated machines and it’s obvious when someone doesn’t know how to draw hands at all. Doug can express more in one pair of hands, than most cartoonists can in entire books.
If you haven’t been reading anything by this guy by now, you better start and get caught up like I’m trying to do!
Hey all you hoodrats and hepcats today’s book is, “Usagi Yojimbo Book 5” by Stan Sakai
A few weeks ago I finally found some Usagi Yojimbo books at my local library and I’ve been becoming obsessed with them. I’ve always been obsessed with Samurai, and Samurai stories and this is some of the best writing on the theme. I won’t bore you with the story of this, but this is definitely worth reading.
I’ve read three books so far, and I’ll be looking for more in the future. These books have about 6 issues worth of stories in them, mostly about Usagi Yojimbo wandering upon some people who need help and he lends his sword and his kindness for honor. There are some awesome sword fights, duels, and crazy action. There is also some beautiful scenery and such delightful storytelling that it’s hard not to get lost in this world
The art ranges from deceptively simple to unbelievably complex. The Kimonos and Robes have intricate details and each character has their own personalities. For a land full of anthropormorphic animals you have a hard time confusing two characters because there is enough depth and details to separate people.
If anyone really loves me they will buy me the series so I can read these all day during my bubblebaths.
Hey all you Hoodrats and Hepcats, today’s book is really special to me. I’ve been a fan of this author for many years and I really admire everything he does so I was glad to finally read one of his most famous comics. Today’s book is, “Monkey Vs Robot” By James Kochalka Superstar.
James Kochalka is a cartoonist from Vermont who spends his days writing children’s books, illustratiting his life at americanelf.com and creating tons of songs and performing. Truly admirable.
This book is very cute and is designed for children but I enjoyed it nonetheless. Obviously the story is about monkeys fighting robots. There isn’t much to it.
The beauty of this comic is how simple it is. I’m not sure how Kochalka does it, I believe he uses a brush. He has wonderful thick lines and such a naive quality that I just can’t get enough of. Most of the story is told without words, but the story progresses beautifully with lots of variety and humor.
It shows the bare minimum of what a good story can be. It doesn’t have to be flashy, it just has to be well done.
Hey all you Hoodrats and Hepcats! Today’s book is, “Too Cool to be Forgotten” By Alex Robinson
I’ve heard tons of great things about this book and all of them are true. It’s a great story about a man who gets hypnotized so he can quit smoking and ends up reliving his teen years and has to prevent himself from enjoying his first cigarette. It really stretches the medium of what a comic can accomplish without being too daunting for non-readers.
The comic is great hand drawn Black and White with excellent art and original characters. It really feels like high school without having to suffer yourself. The story gets complicated but it’s engaging and even tear jerking at times.
I found the book in the Teen section of the library and I think this book might have been a little more adult. It has a lot of swearing and references to sex, which I could be showing my age I think should be directed toward later teen years or young adulthood. I could be mistaken but when I see the teen section of the library I picture it being the 13-16 crowd and not the 18 up crowd. I could be mistaken, after all I’m just an old fart.
The book is really good though and I highly recommend it.
Hello all you Hoodrats and Hepcats, today’s book is, “The Middleman by Javier Grillo-marxuach and Les McClane.
Back when I had a loving girlfriend who enjoyed comic books as much as I did, we fell in love with this when the tv show came out. It was clever, funny, unique and underappreciated. The story is based on a new sidekick for a character called The Middleman. Their job is to defend the universe from the forces of evil. It had a Get Smart meets Men in Black story which was executed perfectly by the cast and the writing. The book is just as good if not better than the series. It tells the story of avant garde artist Wendy Watson who gets picked to be the next Middleman, the current Middleman is a former Navy Seal who refuses to swear and refuses to not have the job done right. Of course hilarity ensues during their crazy adventures.
The dialogue is quick and dense, vociferous dialogue only adds to the story. It helps develop the characters and even though it seems like really weird speech it fits well between Wendy and the Middleman.
The art is clean, and done with gray scale and tons of toning and gives homage to comics of the 50s without looking simple or dated. The stories get complex and filled with such absurd villains and ideas that somehow fit in the story perfectly.
Ninjas, genetically engineered monkeys, luchadores, mutant sharks, aliens, it all blends in seemlessly with the retro styled art and well written stories.
I dare you not to chuckle during this book, if not fall in love with it.