Zot! by Scott McCloud

Zot! by Scott McCloud is a comic book created by Scott McCloud in 1984 and published by Eclipse Comicsuntil 1990 as a lighthearted alternative to the darker and more violent comics that predominated the industry during that period. There were a total of 36 issues, with the first ten in color and the remainder in black and white. McCloud credited Astro Boy creatorOsamu Tezuka as a major influence on the book, making it one of the first manga-inspired American comic books. [ Courtesy of Wiki ] 

If you have some money laying around and I realize it has become more and more difficult to find such things, this is definitely worth investing in.

Scott McCloud is known in the comic/graphic novel industry for his seminal graphic novel on the process and art of graphic novels in his two works: Understanding Comics & Making Comics. McCloud was the principal author of the Creator’s Bill of Rights, a 1988 document with the stated aim of protecting the rights of comic book creators and help aid against the exploitation of comics artists and writers by corporate work-for-hire practices.

Zot! centers around a young teenage girl, Jenny Weaver and her friends who befriend Zot!, a cross between 1950’s Superman & Shazaam. Just think good looking, fast-talking, boy-scout with a sense of humor and an astro-boy like array of powers. Jenny & Zot! travel back and forth between two different worlds, Jenny’s world which is our own and Zot’s, a hyperbolic fantastical mirror of Jenny’s. Super-villains travel in and out of both worlds complicating the lives of Zot and Jenny’s friends. What makes this series stand out for me is the way that McCloud manages to keep a fair bit of reality in the types of teenager-like problems that Jenny faces [ sex, drugs, violence, growth, etc.. ], yet throughout these various issues that are brought up in the backdrop of Zot and his various adventures, there is just enough fantasy and escapism. 

I think this is definitely worth picking up and I plan on re-reading mine soon. Cheers. 

Oh and if you have twitter, Scott McCloud is listed and worth checking out, some amazing insight into the writing process of comics if that is where your interest rests. Enjoy.

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Guy Delisle’s Graphic (Travel-Narrative) Comic

Guy Delisle is a Québécois animator and  has documented in spare, whimsical black-and-white line drawings his visits to North Korea and China. See example below.

I find that the graphic novel is a very interesting form for Mr. Delisle to make use of. Delisle from the two prior graphic novels I’ve read, visits places that are considered by most countries in the world to be unstable and politically dangerous: North Korea, China, and his latest collection, chronicles Burma (Myanmanr). Delisle is fair and balanced in his critique of how these nations operate.  Considering the fact that I am a poor university student and lack the funds to visit many of these places, this is a wonderful way to view these nations. I would reccomend these books to anyone who is interested in foreign countries and anyone who wants an inside look at a different way of living in political states that by western democratic standards are cruel or harsh and uncivil. Worth the time and the money.

Jeff Smith:

For those who are not aware of the comic genius that is Jeff Smith and his epic series BONE, for shame!

BONE:

“The series centers around the Bone Family, white, bald cartoon caricatures with big noses who seldom wear much clothing. In the opening pages the three Bone cousins—avaricious Phoncible P. “Phoney” Bone, goofy cigar-smoking Smiley Bone, and everyman character Fone Bone—are run out of their hometown of Boneville after Phoney decides to run for mayor with disastrous results.”- Wiki –

BONE is a series that is part fantasy/adventure/slapstick humor.  It is written for both children and adults and can be read on a number of levels. Well worth checking out. The entire series is out in one massive anthology or you can purchase the individual trade paperbacks in colour if you like as well. Worth your cash.

The reason I am blogging today is that I just picked up the first volume trade paperback of RASL, his newest comic series. I won’t say more than the following: “RASL, a dimension jumping art thief with a tattoo of a woman’s name (Maya) on his left arm, is wandering in a desert battered and bloody.”

If that has not interested you, I don’t know what will. How about a really kickass image! The series is still ongoing and more trade paperbacks will come but you should hit up your local bookstore and pick up both of these series, worth the dough. Cheers.

Kafka Dreams by Bill Waterson

Merry Christmas from Lio

Lio by Mark Tatulli is a strip that brings me joy. It closely resembles Calvin from Watterson’s Calvin & Hobbes, but Lio is more demented. While it is sure that Calvin has his moments of grossness and vulgarity, Lio is someone who revels in the macabre 24/7. The strip is also amazing in that it largely works through the visual as opposed to the textual. Gags frequently involve the supernatural/occult, alien invasion, or mass destruction of many sorts, creating a surreal, disturbing atmosphere in the comics.

Some of the strip’s recurring themes involve Liō getting even with grade-school bullies, helping animals (most of which are non-anthropomorphic but display obvious intelligence) defend themselves against humans or their predators, and performing mad scientist style experiments. He is often seen using robots that he constructs himself for causing mischief.

So enjoy some holiday cheer courtesy of Lio.

Comics

Every morning when I open up my e-mail I’m guarenteed at least two e-mails. These two e-mails are something I’ve grown to love and look forward to every day for the past few years.

gocomics.com & comics.com

I am a large supporter and fan of the comic panel artform. If you have $10 to spend, I urge you to register at one of these sites. Yes, I realize this is a pretty shameless plug, but I cannot help it, I really do enjoy these comics and I feel the need to share this enjoyment with you, my reader. I will paste a few of the comic strips that I enjoy, my favorites. If you’re thinking that $10 is a bit too much, consider the enjoyment of past comics from your childhood: Gary Larson’s The Far Side, Bill Watterson’s Calvin and Hobbes, Jim Davis’s Garf….hahahaha PSYCH!!!! As If I’d support that sell out hack.

If you still are thinking that $10 is a bit much to spend, at the least go to these sites and register for their free service. You will not be able to get all of the comics that you want, but you can pick one single comic and have it delivered to your e-mail each morning, and that’s something to look forward to. Enjoy.

Get Fuzzy by Darby Conley: is a wry portrait of single life, with pets. At the center of this warm and fuzzy romp is Rob Wilco, a single, mild-mannered ad executive and guardian of Bucky and Satchel, anthropomorphic scamps that still live by their animal instincts. Bucky is a temperamental cat (is there any other kind?) who clearly wears the pants in this eccentric household. Satchel is a gentle pooch with a sensitive soul who tries to remain neutral, but frequently ends up on the receiving end of Bucky’s mischief. Together, this unlikely trio endures all the trials and tribulations of a typical family… more or less.

Pearls Before Swine by Stephen Pastis: At its heart, Pearls Before Swine is the comic strip tale of two friends: a megalomaniacal Rat who thinks he knows it all and a slow-witted Pig who doesn’t know any better. Together, this pair offers caustic commentary on humanity’s quest for the unattainable. The title of the strip comes from the New Testament, and is taken from the phrase, “Don’t cast your pearls before swine.” In this case, Rat believes that he is an endless source of wisdom, and that it is wasted upon Pig, who is rather slow. In truth, neither of them is very smart, but while Pig is content with his humble status in life, Rat is always on a futile search for fame, riches and immortality.

Lio by Mark Tatulli: The world of Lio is filled with the extraordinary – monsters under the bed, wild reptile pets, robot inventions, weird science – but it’s all commonplace for this most uncommon first-grader. Mark Tatulli renders this pantomime strip in pen-and-ink style, giving the artwork a dark, spidery feel to match the strip’s dark humor. Lio explores the twisted realm of a kid’s imagination – at once bizarre, creepy and fun.

Ink Pen: Ink Pen: the insider’s look at the seedy underbelly of cartoon character employment. Find out what happened to loveable Bixby the Rat! Witness the struggles of Ham Hock, the talking pig, as he tries to break into a business that sees him as nothing more than a slab of meat. Meet (briefly) the plucky sidekicks, thrust into danger by careless superheroes and the villains they duel.

Dog Eat Doug by Brian Anderson: The “Dog” in the title refers to Sophie, a female chocolate lab; Doug is her owner’s newborn baby. The two share a love-hate relationshipi n their everyday lives and imaginations. Doug’s parents also make appearances in the strip as minor characters, though they are only seen from the neck down.

Richard Thompson’s Cul de Sac, is a comic strip about the life of a pre-school girl named Alice Otterloop. It is a light-hearted comic strip centered around a four-year old girl and her suburban life experiences on a cul-de-sac with her friends Beni and Dill, older brother Petey and her classmates at Blisshaven Academy pre-school. Alice describes her father’s car as a “Honda-Tonka Cuisinart” and talks to the class guinea pig, Mr. Danders. She has the typical older brother who plays jokes on her, and she contemplates ways to keep the scary clown from jumping out of the jack-in-the-box with friends.

I wake up to these strips everyday. I urge you to invest, seriously…think about it. $10 is not too  much to ask for a year’s worth of entertainment as well as knowing that you’re supporting a comic medium that is in vast need of your patronage.

I know I sold out on this post but look at the talent above, it’s worth it. At the least I guess you’ll enjoy the strips that I’ve posted, a few of my favorite single panels from the past few years.

BAILOUT!

I have not posted anything overtly political in quite a while. Partly because of my hectic work/school schedule; the other half being that I’ve been so apathetic as of late that whenever I start to examine the political systems in which I live, both the U.S. & Canada, I become frustrated and angry.

But, seriously 700 BILLION DOLLARS!!

And Wall-street gets a free pass. No government accountability, nothing to be offered up to those at the bottom who have lost jobs while those at the top jump off a burning building with their Golden Parachutes. It’s disgusting when you think about it. And whether we as Canadians want to admit it or not, we are dependant like so many other nations on the U.S. Government Economic system. This is what happens when you have unrestricted free trade.

Ugh, I’m so fucking mad! I’m choking on my own rage!!!!