Authors: Erik Lopez
Review: Black Test Car
Black Test Car Yasuzo Masumura Fantoma Street: 05.22 The Fast and the Furious, Red Line, Days of Thunder… all these movies deal in one form or another with cars and racing them. Most of the time, these movies involve babes with tons of cleavage, outrageous, impossible cars and the people who drive them. Interestingly, Black
Review: Percy Gloom
Percy Gloom Cathy Malkasian Fantagraphics Books Street: 06.21 Percy Gloom was written by Cathy Malkasian whose previous work as an animator includes the shows Rugrats and The Wild Thornberrys Movie. Her leap from animation to the graphic novel form (especially from those quirky kids’ shows) is not a far cry from her previous work. Percy
Review: House
House Josh Simmons Fantagraphics Books Street: 03.07 House eerily recalls Mark Z. Danielewski’s House of Leaves, not so much in its complex storytelling but in its scary incompleteness. House leaves more questions open then it answers. The story is about a mansion three kids find in the woods that they decide to go exploring in.
Review: MOME
MOME Various Artists Fantagraphics Books Street: 05.22 MOME follows in the fine footsteps of other anthologies and quarterlies of this century (ex. McSweeney’s) by showcasing first-rate up-and-coming artists, writers, etc. The comics represented here range from self-conscious absurd dream narratives to the surreal pop panel to an extended meditation on depression and comic book creators.
Review: Hollywood After Dark
Hollywood After Dark The Film Crew Shout! Factory Street: 07.10 For those who were saddened by the demise (yes, demise) of Mystery Science Theatre 3000 and hoped that its off-kilter brand of DVD commentary would roam the earth again, hope some more. The Film Crew (what happened to a clever title?) is nothing more than
Review: Things Just Get Away From You
Things Just Get Away From You Walt Holcombe Fantagraphics Books Street: 06.15 In Things Just Get Away From You, Holcombe expresses his exotic stories in a simple and direct manner filling each panel with a visual style that is fluid and exaggerated. Like a dream, it equally draws from his time as an animator as
Review: King-Cat Classix
King-Cat Classix John Porcellino Drawn & Quarterly Street: 05.01 King-Cat Classix is John Porcellino’s memoirs as told in REAL-TIME (even though you are reading past recollections, he turns moments into instants). Caught somewhere between biography and journal (a la American Elf), King-Cat Classix is something like this with wirey panel drawings and an honesty you
Review: The Story of Cruel & Unusual
The Story of Cruel & Unusual Colin Dayan Boston Review/MIT Press Street: 04.30 The story of the eighth amendment prohibits cruel and unusual punishment and is taken from the English Bill of Rights. While seemingly straightforward in its lay representation (not excessive punishment in light of the crime), Colin Dayan in her concise, erudite and
Review: Space: 1999, the Complete Series – 30th Anniversary Edition
Space: 1999, the Complete Series – 30th Anniversary Edition Gerry Anderson A&E Television Street: 07.31 Following on the footsteps of demise of the original Star Trek, Anderson hoped to produce a television show that would fill the void of “deep space” that Star Trek‘s conclusion left. Space: 1999 tries to tell the story of a
Review: Mudman: The Odyssey of Kim Jones
Mudman: The Odyssey of Kim Jones Sandra Q. Firmin and Julie Joyce, Editors MIT Press Street: 04.01 Mudman is the typical excursion into art history. Frimin and Joyce collect four essays that try to penetrate and understand the varied and vast artwork of Kim Jones. Each essay focuses on a different aspect of the dually