Saturday, April 03, 2004

Last week's sketch by Jeff Johnson was six years old, but this one is brand new. When I got permission to post Jeff's sketch from 1998 here on my blog, I also asked if Jeff would be willing to do another sketch for me. He did so, and is the first artist to have two Aquaman sketches in my collection. Hopefully, he won't be the last. The story of the con I got this sketch at is my Emerald City Comicon 2004 Report.

AQUAMAN
by Jeff Johnson
29 February 2004
(permission to post given 29 February 2004 in person)
Jeff Johnson Artwork

As a reminder: Almost every sketch in my sketchbook was non-commissioned and done on the floor of a con. These are not the best works of the artists. These are only representative of what the artist can do under pressure in a loud, crowded, and often stressed-out environment. Most of them were done as quickly as possible, to prevent huge lines from forming. Don't judge any of these artists negatively by the artwork you see, instead be as impressed as I am by what they accomplished in far-from-ideal conditions.

To see all the sketches I have permission to post so far, check out my Sketchbook Page. If you have any contact information for any of the other artists I'm trying to contact, please e-mail me. Click for a random Aquaman sketch.

The Saturday Sketch ™ is brought to you by the letters "A", "Q" and the number "27", and also courtesy the fine artists who pour their lives into producing wonderful comic books, then come to conventions only to get asked by geeky fangirls for a sketch of Aquaman. Support an artist, buy a comic book.

by Tegan at 8:50 PM Seattle time

Here's one for Elayne: SkyHigh Airlines, the "other" airline that Alaska Airlines compares themselves to. Try booking a flight on SkyHigh. Hubby says it's funalicious.

Here's a question about RSS feeds. To those of you who use them, do you prefer a feed that shows the whole post, or one that just shows the first bit of the post and makes you visit the blog for the rest? I personally tend to prefer seeing the whole thing at once, and it doesn't stop me from visiting the blog. But I want to know what you think.

If you like themed merchandise, and you read Lois Bujold's Vorkosigan books, you'd be happy to see Pegasus Publishing's Vorkosigan Aisle. I think I want the "Aren't You A Little Short To Be An Imperial Auditor" shirt. If that weren't enough, they've also got a selection of Honor Harrington items.

Speaking of T-Shirts and other merchandise, I've just discovered the joys of Zazzle.com. Yes, their options are limited. It's nothing as cool as CafePress can manage, but it's easy for someone like me to design stuff on it. I'm using public domain images and quotes from the Oz books to make neat stuff for Oz fans. I'm also going to make myself a T-Shirt that says "I'm blogging this" and has my blog address on it. But mostly I wanted to make a poster out of one of the color plates in "The Patchwork Girl of Oz"... one particular image that always reminds me of a wonderful friend of mine from college. Maurine, this one is for you:

Tonight, the first Major League Baseball game is going to be played in the San Diego Padres new park. If everything goes according to plan, the game will be played under American League rules instead of National League rules in order to give Edgar Martinez, Designated Hitter for the Mariners (the visiting team) a chance to practice hitting at night. This game is a exhibition game, but an important one for the M's nonetheless... I may watch it. But in order to keep my marriage intact, I plan on not watching a lot of Mariners games this year.

Bad news in Marysville. The contract still hasn't been settled, and the S-word has come up again. More details in The Seattle Times. It may not actually have much of an impact on hubby-Eric and I, as hubby has already been told he won't be back at the Junior High next year (no money for him) and so we're looking at other local districts.

No, I didn't listen to Air America, the new liberal radio show, at all. I'm not terribly interested in radio shows, and despite my liberal leanings, I'm not terribly liberal either. I want Bush out because he's a liar who has sent our people to die while ignoring the real threats to peace, but I'm not too keen on Mr Kerry taking his place. I remember saying once, a long time ago, that I wish there were alternatives to the main guys available... but no third party has become truly viable.

Computer wish list... Now that I have a laptop (and let me tell you, it's made life much happier!) I've been trying to figure out what computer item I want next. After all, life is no fun if you don't have something to wish for. So I think there are two items I want most. One would be a digital camera. I want it for a variety of reasons, but mostly so I can take plain old point and shoot images. The other would be a new scanner. If we got a USB scanner, both of us could use it with our respective computers. The old SCSI scanner I currently have is getting very close to giving up the ghost, and if my desktop finally dies, then I couldn't use it either. I can't decide which one would be a higher priority, though. Kind of pointless as Eric and I are completely broke and struggling to make it through each month, but fun nonetheless.

And lastly, a "Thank you" to Larry for correcting my name.

by Tegan at 3:07 PM Seattle time

It's very rare for anyone to get my last name correct yet manage to still misspell my name. Fortunately for Larry Young at AIT/Planet Lar, it doesn't bother me at all (witness the fact that I usually don't correct people). In any case, I apparently won an "unofficial blogger's contest" by mentioning the Demo comics that he sent me first. I'm a little surprised to be referred to as an "industry-opinion leaders", and flattered by the implication that somebody out there thought to recommend me. However, all I did was mention the comics... don't you think it's time I start to review them?

Demo is written by Brian Wood with artwork by Becky Cloonan.

Demo #1: Oh. Wow. Hmmm. I wasn't sure what to expect, and I sure wasn't expecting this. Having heard good reviews of the book already, I wasn't too worried about its quality, but I couldn't be sure I would enjoy it. I'm beating around the bush a bit here, because I'm having a seriously difficult time coming up with something to say. This is a remarkably well-crafted story. The bits fit together, and on re-reading they just get better and have deeper meaning. The art fits the story like a time-worn glove. It's comfortable... so comfortable that at times I almost forgot I was reading a comic book and felt like I was looking at a show. The whole thing just works. If I have any nit to pick, it's that the first three pages seemed to not fit with the rest of the story. Part of me thinks they would have been better at the end, while the other part thinks they worked fine where they are. In any case, reading the first issue made me very eager to read the rest, but I'm determined to write up my review of each book before I tackle the next, so what I see as I move on won't influence my initial opinions. That's why these are "rapid reviews" and not real reviews, after all.

Demo #2: Is it me, or is it beautifully ironic that a story about a girl who dare not talk is told almost completely in images? This is great. I had to look at the artist's name again, Becky Cloonan, to make absolutely sure she's the same artist as the first issue. The style is so different, and yet again, it's perfectly suited to the story. Now I think I appreciate the first three pages of issue one more... in this issue I really want to know what happened to Emmy after the events in this book. She's smart, knows what she has to do, but emotional and young. Her story could be truly fascinating, if Brian Wood ever felt the need to revisit her. I also wish I knew what she'd said to her mother. Again, a very strong issue. Had Larry Young just sent these two, I'd be ordering the rest already.

Demo #3: The first two issues let the reader in on the character's powers right off the bat. You knew what made them different, and the differences in them drove the story forward. This story comes at it from a different angle, giving us the characters, and developing them nicely, then throwing the reader a serious curveball. Again, the art style has changed. It's still Becky Cloonan, but it's a different inking style. The blacks are much deeper, which fits a story about a funeral. And, again, the story is very well-crafted. I feel like each issue of this series so far is a chocolate in one of those really expensive boxes you can get at upscale chocolatiers. Each one is delightful in its own way, and you really wish you could make each one last a bit longer. That's why I'm stopping my reviews here, and holding off on reading the next two. I want to make these last longer.

Still to review: Demo #4 and Demo #5. And the rest. These are going on the pull list. And I'm going to make hubby-Eric read them, too.

by Tegan at 12:22 AM Seattle time

Friday, April 02, 2004

Here's some possibly good news... James Sime reports on The International Comic Arts Association (website extremely limited at this writing) which has some lofty goals, including launching an ad campaign to promote comic books. Will it work? The Comic Pimp is optimistic. Thanks to Fanboy Rampage for the heads up.

Shane's Latest Blue Beetle Sketch. This time, I have an Aquaman sketch by the same artist.

Newsarama talks to writer Dan Jolley about Bloodhound, a new book about a hunter of metahumans in the DCU, with art by Leonard Kirk and Robin Riggs. I'm going to have to give it a try. Via Elayne and Fanboy Rampage.

Thought Balloons has a perspective I hadn't yet seen on the recent decision of Scholastic Inc to drop Shonen Jump from book fairs. I have to admit, this news actually makes me a little curious to check out Shonen Jump.

Yes, I have every intention of getting this. I just don't know when. Since these are the original WWII Wonder Woman episodes, these are the ones I really want. Link courtesy of Four Color Meat and Fish.

by Tegan at 5:49 PM Seattle time

JLA #95: Ug. Vampires, "mystery group", and stilted plot. I spoke too soon, can we go back to Joe Kelly's stuff?

Green Lantern #175: Yet more cosmic stuff, but at least the ending is somewhat promising.

Avengers/JLA #4: It's been so long since the last issue that I forgot that Aquaman showed up two-handed... so for a short time I was thinking that Perez had made a mistake. In any case, this was one very long fight. I enjoyed Aquaman's parts in it, especially the sudden appearance of the current Aquaman, who is a future Aquaman to this plotline. But for the most part, it was just battle after battle, and not that interesting. As a whole, the series was fun. Perhaps even better than expected. Yeah, I'm happy with it.

Arrowsmith #6: I can't believe it's over. I'll be looking for the next series impatiently. I can't say a lot about this issue, there was too much in it for a short review, and I don't have the strength to write a long review at the moment, not without getting into politics and what's happening in Iraq. So I'll leave you with this thought: If you didn't buy this in individual issues, I recommend the collection (APR04 0352 - $14.95 - out in June). This is at least as good as Astro City, and maybe even better.

Usagi Yojimbo #74: Contrasting Usagi's nature with Jotaro's is a neat device, considering that Jotaro is very much like young Usagi was in all those flashback stories. And isn't it funny that even with Katsuichi around, Usagi just can't stay out of trouble? I'm also excited about the announcement in the letter column that Usagi and Gen will be showing up on the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series, as well as the fact that they are already preparing extras for the DVD release! In any case, another good issue of a consistently wonderful book.

That's all that I got for this week (the late books showed up yesterday and I went down to the store to grab 'em). However! There are more books for me to review. In my last Flipping Through Previews post, I mentioned that I wanted to read Demo. To my surprise, I got an e-mail from Larry Young at AIT/Planet Lar offering to send me "some copies" as long as I review them on my blog. Hey, free comics! I figured that a couple of issues would give me a good feel for the series and wild horses couldn't keep me from reviewing them, so I eagerly accepted the offer and sent him my mailing address. Yesterday I received a thick envelope from him... with the first FIVE issues of Demo, and a Demo patch to boot. FIVE issues, folks. I would've been delighted with just one or two. And a patch. And the turnaround was only four days... I'm impressed. Go buy Colonia from them. And within the next couple of days I'll let you all know what I think of Demo, too.

by Tegan at 1:51 PM Seattle time

I apologize to all the April Fool jokes I missed yesterday. Some I didn't recognize as jokes, and some I just plain missed completely. Sorry.

Everyone else has linked to Ian Edginton on CrossGen in Richard Johnston's Waiting for Tommy, but I guess I'll link to it too. It makes me even less happy about buying anything from CrossGen. Whoa, and there's more at Newsarama.

An excellent generic blog post. via Elayne.

by Tegan at 1:01 PM Seattle time

Thursday, April 01, 2004

Final post for the day... here's what Persistent Illusions has to say about my Angel review... according to Google translator.

ON TO FISHING ROD MOBILE

In the rapidly Reviews of bloggity blog blog blog the first fishing rod episode is rezensiert. To read, reminds me of the good old times, when fishing rod ran also still now and then on pro filters. Unfortunately the responsible persons regarded it there as a good idea to stop in the middle in the third relay to send fishing rod. If one considers the fact that the series is stopped in the meantime also in the USA is probably still dark the chances for a radiant emittance in this country. The DVDs is nevertheless continued to produce and if I accumulated sufficient money, I can regard the fourth relay genuesslich on English and pro filters am enough myself for nose to turn. (case she me someone to give would like - only too!) Hieran again once the bitter reality shows up that one can lure with an intelligent and well-thought-out Show such as fishing rod obviously clearly less spectator before the television than with 5. (fourth? sixth? sieved?) Big bread ago relay. A sad world.

Posted by kreetrapper

My thanks to kreetrapper for the mention... and could anybody give me a good translation? I think I got the gist of what's there...

by Tegan at 8:51 PM Seattle time

Here's what I've seen so far:

Steve Lieber's Mercury Fundraiser Post.

Various posts by Bizarro Franklin over at Franklin's Findings.

Google has a good one.

Grotesque Anatomy goes gorgeous.

Good one on BoingBoing about the Electronic Frontier Foundation acquiring the Department of Justice.

Panda's Thumb has a list of anti-evolutionist April Fool's jokes.

Nothing overwhelmingly good, but lots of fun bits. Real blogging will return tomorrow, by the way. Today is for fools only.

Update: This one got me. I thought my brain had gone haywire for a moment:

by Tegan at 10:30 AM Seattle time

I've already been hit by one (and it almost got me, as I'd forgotten the date due to my rude awakening this morning, more on that in a moment) and there's sure to be more. Unlike last year, we're close to a Full Moon this time, and my theory is that the jokes will be better. Witness the fact that I've decided not to pull any today - that automatically brings up today's average. In any case, for the rest of the year, you shouldn't believe 99% of what you read on the internet. For today only, that goes up to 100%. You don't even have to believe my anecdote about how I woke up this morning if you don't want to.

So, on to rude awakenings. I dreamed I heard a "thup-thup-thup!" coming from the bathroom. A loud chugging sound. Only a moment later I realized it wasn't a dream and sprang from bed to find out what new horror Frankenhaus had unleashed on me. I ran into the bathroom expecting to see the toilet overflowing onto the floor... but it looked fine, it was just yelling "thup! thup! thup!" at me. I lifted the lid, and there was no water in the bowl. I could hear water somewhere down the line, but there was none in the bowl. I closed the lid in case the toilet decided to throw up when/if the water returned, and ran to the other bathroom to see if it was having the same adventure. Yup. And I could hear it in the kitchen sink, too. Crud. What's happening!? I looked at the clock, 8 am. Then I heard it just under the noise of the pipes similtaneous chugging: there was a truck outside. I found a window to look from, and saw that it was a city truck. After a few moments I realized they were doing something with the drains outside our house. Huh. After a few minutes of torturing me, they stopped and moved on. The chugging stopped. I slowly ceased to panic. I checked the toilet bowls... both have water, but well below their normal levels. No bathroom geyser today, thank goodness. I must say, that worked better than the alarm clock I forgot to set last night...

by Tegan at 8:49 AM Seattle time

Wednesday, March 31, 2004

Our comic shop got seriously shorted today, leaving half the books on a dock somewhere in UPS land... so reviews will be slightly delayed. One book did come, though, that I couldn't wait to review. So here it is:

Aquaman's Guide to the Oceans by Jackie Gaff, DK Readers Level 4, Hardcover (a softcover version is also available): I expect quality out of DK (Dorling Kindersley), and I was not disappointed. I haven't read every section of this book yet, but I'll be reading it more carefully later. This book has a wonderful dual nature. The sidebars introduce Aquaman and his fictional world, while the main text carefully describes reality. The text is rich and detailed, despite being written for children who have just learned to read, and there is a lot of extra information in both the main text and in captions for the many non-comic book images. The Aquaman characters and story generally tie-in somehow with the main text, and there are several "guest" appearances of non-Aquaman characters like Batman, Plastic Man, and the Penguin. Aquaman's history goes back into the Peter David days, includes bits of Larsen's awful run, and continues up into the current series. All the artwork appears to be from various DC Comics, mostly from the Aquaman title, and the artists are listed (in tiny print) on the title page. There's a glossary and index in the back. The book itself is a bit smaller than a comic book in size, and thicker than your average prestige comic. After reading this, I definitely want to get the other books in the series: "Batman's Guide to Crime and Detection", "Superman's Guide to the Universe", and "Wonder Woman's Book of Myths". Yeah, they are for kids. But they're still fun.

Still to review: Avengers/JLA, Green Lantern... and if the rest of the books come: Arrowsmith, Usagi Yojimbo, and JLA.

by Tegan at 3:31 PM Seattle time

So I went. I got checked up and X-rayed and examined. I feared the worst, as it's been over three years since I visited a dentist. But whatever pains I have, they aren't coming from my teeth. My mouth is in fine shape, says the dentist. Two of my fillings need repair, but I could live without the fixes. The insurance will cover it, so I'm going to let him repair them. I'm in need of a cleaning, of course. But no new cavities, surprise surprise!

This dentist was recommended to me because he listens, and he did. He was very surprised that I'd done a Google search on him and knew that his son was in dental school. But he paid attention when I explained that I was terrified to be there, and his staff did an amazing job keeping me relaxed. In short, I think I've found me a good dentist. And within walking distance, too. Huzzah!

by Tegan at 10:23 AM Seattle time

Tuesday, March 30, 2004

The Plague and I by Betty MacDonald: I reviewed Betty MacDonald's first autobiographical book back in January. This one left me sad, despite it's billing as "The sprightliest book about tuberculosis you are ever going to read!" I agree that it is quite funny, and amazingly down-to-earth considering what these people had to endure. And that's what made me depressed. Reading about the "cure" for TB back in those days is enough to depress anyone. Complete bedrest... and I do mean complete... for months at a time. The idea was to keep the lungs from moving too much so they could heal. But they also made sure the patients had fresh air... by never closing the windows. In the Seattle area. In winter. And since TB is contagious, contact with loved ones was strictly limited, especially children. Betty only saw her children for ten minutes a month during her time at "The Pines". It's a powerful story... tragic and sweet by turns. I only wonder whatever happened to Kimi.

by Tegan at 10:02 PM Seattle time

I hate going to the dentist. It was always mildly uncomfortable, but at some point something happened with the vacuum that dentists use, and ever since then I've hate entering a dentist office and hearing the noise of it. When they are working on me, it doesn't bother me nearly as much... but the sound of the vacuum sends the oddest chills up and down my spine, and makes me feel absolutely horrible. I have, in the past, begged the hygienist to turn the thing off if they aren't using it, but most of them seem utterly oblivious to my discomfort. My last dentist was like that. One of the hygienists understood, but the rest just left it running, right near my ears, driving me slowly insane.

It's been awhile since I've seen a dentist. I probably desperately need to go, but I've been avoiding it. But I can't avoid it forever. So I asked around, and found a very local dentist, just down the street, and I'm going to go in for a preliminary visit tomorrow morning. Tomorrow morning. At nine am. This, for a person who usually gets up at eight. I hope I'm not late.

And I hope they listen to me.

by Tegan at 2:01 PM Seattle time

And a happy birthday goes out to my nephew Joshua! With luck I'll even see him tonight.

by Tegan at 9:43 AM Seattle time

Monday, March 29, 2004

I haven't seen a new Amy Unbounded mini-comic in a long, long time, so I wrote to Rachel Hartman to see if everything is ok. I was afraid that money problems or something had forced her to abandon Amy, but it was something much more pleasant: "...I had a baby last summer and we moved to Vancouver last fall." Well! That definitely puts a different spin on things!

So, congrats to Rachel on her baby boy, and on the move to one of the nicest places on earth.

If you want to order her mini-comics, you'd best e-mail her (the address is on the website) and get her new mailing address. Either that, or order the trade from Amazon.com.

So, in case you didn't read the comments on this note, Rachel has a wonderful parent blog: Milkbreath and Me. It's mostly about raising a baby, but it's a fun read. And hey, gotta have something to fill the time while waiting for the next Amy Unbounded mini-comic, might as well be stuff from the creator of Amy, eh? Thank you, Rose, for the hot tip.

by Tegan at 6:05 PM Seattle time

Ah... I opened all the doors and windows, turned off the air purifier, and am letting the air outside heat up the house. It's considerably warmer outside than in... I'd say it's about 50 °F inside, and it's topping 75 °F outside. We've got a genuine Seattle heat wave on!

I went down to the comic shop and contributed $20 for Free Comic Book Day. From looking at the retailer order form, I think that is enough to cover any free comics I get (I hope to get all the Gold and Silver sponsored comics) with a bit extra to support the store. The comics cost the retailer anything from 12 cents for the cheapest to one that was 79 cents per issue. If I understood the form correctly (and I admit I may not have) retailers must order $5 worth of each Gold Sponsor book they order, but can order the Silver Sponsor books in any quantities. They get Bronze Sponsor books in relation to how many Gold Sponsor books they order.

Elayne points us to this great error page that you admittedly have to sit and watch for a bit, but I think it's worth it. A lot of fun. Also via Elayne comes the news that Leah Adezio's son has been accepted into a prestigious engineering program! Congrats to both Leah and Stephen!

Here's a good summary of the current CrossGen situation. I know that Robin still hasn't been paid, nor has CrossGen apologized to him for their slander/libel against him. Yes, I still buy CrossGen... but I haven't forgotten what they did to Robin. Not for an instant. Lately I've wanted CrossGen to recover more so they can pay off the people they owe than for any other reason. As nice as it would be to have a viable comic book company that focuses on non-superhero books, I would prefer an honest company to one that lies about its freelancers. And we're down to only two CrossGen books. If Steve Epting leaves El Cazador, I'm inclined to drop it (and yes, I've heard the rumor)... and Abadazad is more of a hubby book than mine. Via John Jakala.

Shane at Near Mint Heroes is posting his collection of Blue Beetle sketches.

If you like Jerry Seinfeld, here's some more Superman commercials featuring him. Er, American Express commercials... with Superman. You know what I mean.

Look out Aquaman: Sea 'dead zones' threaten fish. Basically, there are areas in the oceans that have been deprived of oxygen due to algae growth caused by human activity. Fish can't live in those areas. And the areas are growing. Ironically, many of the dead zones are caused by fertilizer being washed into the ocean... fertilizer that is desperately needed to grow food in other parts of the world. This is a problem that can only be solved with a lot of cooperation, which probably means it's not going to be solved.

The mystery of the baby dragon in a jar has been revealed as publicity for a book.

From the New York Times, Hans Blix on Bush and Cheney: What was Bush like? "He made on me a boyish impression. He was agile, moving, moving in the chair, especially compared to Cheney." Who, I suppose, seems more wooden. "Yes, the rumors that Cheney is alive are somewhat exaggerated. It's Mark Twain in reverse." BWAH-HA-HA-HA-HA!!!

Read this article on e-voting, then make sure you request a paper ballot instead of trusting your vote to an easily changed computer. If there is no paper trail for a recount, it's a fraud, not an election. Period.

Check out BlackBoxVoting and Verified Voting to see evidence of voting fraud being committed by companies selling voting machines, and to get active and prevent corporations from taking away your right to vote.

by Tegan at 12:48 PM Seattle time

Little sister has loaned me her newly purchased DVDs of Angel: Season One, since nobody felt the urge to buy them for me off my wishlist (no surprise there). As promised, I'll be reviewing them. If anyone wants me to review Buffy... the DVDs are still on my wishlist (heh).

Angel: City Of: I jumped into this show in the middle of the fifth season, so I expected to be surprised by some of what I saw. I was more surprised than I expected. The only two characters I really recognized were Angel... and Lindsey. If that was supposed to be Lindsey. I recognized Cordelia from "You're Welcome", but obviously an awful lot happened between this appearance and her appearance in season five. As for Doyle, I knew a bit about him, but I didn't know who he was. Quite a difference. Anyway, as to the show itself... if I had caught this when it first aired (5 October 1999) I probably would have tried to keep watching. The pace is fast, the characters are engaging, and Angel himself is a hunk. I loved the joke about "have you looked at youself in a mirror lately?" from Doyle, as well as his quick correction. I think the thing that impressed me most was the well-done explanations for everything that was happening, from Doyle's overview of Angel's life to the sample "burn" of Angel so we weren't surprised when Russell later flames on. I also loved Cordelia's knowledge about vampires coming out at the worst possible moment. Looking at it from the perspective of someone who has seen where the show went a few seasons later, I also like the nods to Wolfram & Hart and Lindsey's prophetic statement about Angel. In short, pretty darn good TV, and when it finished I sat back and said, "oh wow."

After watching the episode, I went back and watched it with the commentary by Joss Whedon and David Greenwalt. It was quite fun. They explained what the theme song is supposed to represent, complained about the time the elevator took to move, and talked about blowing things up. One comment they made is that they try to undercut the expectations of the genre. So Angel looks like a wonderful Batman character, but he makes silly mistakes like jumping into the wrong car, or more serious mistakes like not saving the girl. It's where a lot of the humor in the show comes from, as well as a lot of the drama, and it seems to be what makes Angel different from your average TV show. I usually don't watch commentaries on DVD, but this one kept my attention quite nicely. I also tried the Spanish and French tracks, but only for parts of a scene. I'm afraid it gets old pretty quickly when you can't understand what people are saying. I watched those mostly to check out the voices for the actors in other languages, and what little I saw seemed to fit ok. Not a lot of extras, but enough to make this package nice anyway.

by Tegan at 11:22 AM Seattle time

Sunday, March 28, 2004

There was, about a decade ago now, an animated TV show in Japan based on L Frank Baum's "The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus". Hubby-Eric has been looking for copies of this 24 episode series ever since he first learned about it. Unfortunately, it looks like it was never released on video, and it's mostly ignored by anime fans so we've never even managed to find images from the show.

Now that this blog actually has a couple of readers, I thought I'd put out the word. If you know an anime fan who might be able to help us, we're looking for this show: Shounen Santa no Daibouken or Shonen Santa no Daibouken (depending on who you ask). It translates to "The Great Adventures of Young Santa" or "The Adventures of Young Santa Claus". It was shown April 6, 1995-September 21, 1996 on the Tokyo Broadcast System.

We'd like just about any information about the show, and would particularly pleased to see screen caps or video. Ideally, someone can find copies of the show for us (and we don't care if it's only in the original Japanese), but that seems pretty unlikely. If you can help, please either leave a comment with more information, or drop me an e-mail.

by Tegan at 12:58 PM Seattle time

NOTE: If you aren't interested in my Previews overview (I know it's very long), you can skip to my Saturday Sketch ™.

Yes, it's that time again... time for "Things in Previews That Look Interesting But I Can't Afford To Get (with a list of things I am getting just for contrast)". I'm going to start with the bulk of the book, and then come back and cover the "big four" at the end. Please remember, I'm listing what looks interesting. My actual purchase list is going to be much smaller. The numbers after each title are usually the page number in Previews Magazine, so you can follow along at home.

Let's start with the covers. The main cover is of DC's Identity Crisis, featuring a number of DC heroes with a casket. Art by Michael Turner. Who's the guy on the far left, Elongated Man? The others I recognize: Black Canary, Green Arrow, Wonder Woman, Superman at center, Batman, Flash, Hawkman, and Zatanna. I like Superman's spit curl. The other cover is of Samurai Executioner from the same creators of Lone Wolf & Cub (I have all 28 volumes of LW&C). This will be a ten volume series, and I hope hubby-Eric lets me get the whole set. Very, very cool.

Moving on, let's hit the Splash Page (8-9). A lot of what's listed here is interesting, but the highlights are The Grey Area from Image by the former Amazing Spider-Man artist John Romita Jr. This is a creator-owned project about a bad cop die and go... good? Looks like a fun ride, and at only three issues worth checking out. Identity Crisis is also highlighted. Like we haven't already heard about this one before. The only other thing I'm going to mention is Walt Disney's Vacation Parade #1, with a restored cover from an old Disney book. This looks amazing.

Jumping past the big four into the main section, starting with Wizard, we see a full page ad with Identity Crisis artwork. Um. Ok, looks like this is going to be difficult to get away from.

Wow. Nothing of interest from About Comics for me this month.

Next up would be AIT/Planet Lar (214). Yup, it's another issue of Demo. I will read some of those someday, somehow.

Amaze Ink/Slave Labor has a strange-looking title called Emily and the Intergalactic Lemonade Stand (216). Full-color, digest size... this could be a good one for kids? Also listed is Street Angel #2 (219). Is this the book that the comics blogosphere recently went bananas for?

Amazing Moon Factory has Amazing Adventures From Zoom's Academy TP (220). Is this a collection of the comic, or is this something new? Both hubby and I are mildly interested in it. There's apparently a movie and a series of novels coming out related to this one, too.

Angry Dog Press has another issue of their anthology that supports the CBLDF coming out: Potlatch #3 (224).

As usual, Antarctic Press has some books worth mentioning. First up is the collection of Assembly (224). This was a decent mini, with a Manga feel to it. Nice artwork, very odd at times. If you are curious, you can buy the collection now. Since I mentioned the first two, I'll mention Dictators: Hitler #3 which visits "The Party Leader". And if you are interested in Rod Espinosa's Neotopia, there are two pocket Manga size volumes to get now to give it a tryout (225).

Moving on to Arcana Studio, I feel my willpower giving in to the desire to read it... yes, I will order Ant #1 - 2nd Printing (226). I cannot fight it any longer!

If anything stands out in the Archie Comics section (228), it's that summer is coming and girls are going to be wearing bikinis.

Avatar Press is putting out the second issue of Rich Johnson's Holed Up (237). I still don't see the appeal of a comic set in Idaho. I've been to Idaho. There is nothing appealing about it.

Beckett Comics (240) is putting out more of Ruule. I didn't like the promotional issue my shop got of the first series, and I don't know that I would enjoy this, but it's worth pointing out that Ruule: Kiss & Tell #1 is only 99 cents. I may not have enjoyed the books, but these folks really know how to promote.

Black Inc! Imprints had a solicitation that caught my eye for Menthu #1 (240): "...a pro football player... learns that his father... is ancient Egypt's god of war." That's very nearly enough to get me to order it. Question is, will there be much football, or will it mostly be about his journey of self-discovery?

If you know about Classics Illustrated, did you know about the effort to reprint many of the books? I saw some in my comic store recently and almost gave in to the desire to pick one or two up. I still may. However, hubby-Eric will definitely be getting Classic Illustrated Jr #535: The Wizard of Oz (247) despite owning the original.

Committed Comics has a hilarious-looking book set in "Neo Seattle, 2073" Man, that's just twistedly wonderful. Check out Java #1 (249) and see what happened when coffee becomes one of the earth's most valuable commodities! *giggle*

We are getting nothing from CrossGen for this month.

Devil's Due is one of those publishers I decided I needed to keep a closer eye on once I discovered they were adapting stories from Legends. This time I have to decide if I will get the Hedge Knight TPB (272/276). I'll be watching for collections of The Seventh Shrine and The Wood Boy (273/276).

Dork Storm Press (278) has a couple of items of interest. First off is Attack of the Political Cartoonists TP, complete with an introduction by John McCain. That's a tempting book. Next up is one I STRONGLY recommend for any reader, young or old or somewhere in between: PS238: Volume 1: With Liberty and Recess For All TP. Get it. It's a collection, yes. I have the individual issues, and I plan on getting it so I can loan it out to people. Go, put it on your list. Now. And if you are bold, you can add PS238 #8 (285) to the list also. It will be on ours. And, as a final note, I was quite amused by the title of Nodwick Chronicles Vol 4: Obligatory Dragon on the Cover TP, complete with a dragon on the cover.

Next up is 88MPH Studios which lists Ghostbusters #1 (294) which is the first issue of a planned monthly ongoing. Your mileage may vary.

Fool's Child Comix is listing Headstatic (298) a 256 page book with over 75 stories about comics. This is a Xeric winner.

Gemstone has the already mentioned Walt Disney's Vacation Parade #1 (298), with three "vintage" Carl Barks stories. I'd be tempted to get it just because it features Donald Duck's grandma.

I noticed CSI: Demon House #5 (308) in IDW Publishing's listings, and thought of my sister, who is a CSI fan. Anyone know if the CSI comics have been collected? ... looks like it, from the website. I suppose I'd better ask Lisa if she's interested.

NBM Publishing (315) is listing yet another collection of P Craig Russell opera adaptations. I WANT THEM ALL! *ahem* Someday.

If I knew more about Ron Fortier and Gary Kato, I might be tempted to try out Days of the Dragon #1 (323) by Rorschach Entertainment. Aha! There's a website with samples: Here. This looks like it might be fun... almost has a Pogo-ish look to it.

Ah! Silent Devil Productions is putting out Silent Forest (325), which I wouldn't have heard about a couple of weeks ago, but Chris "Lefty" Brown got a furry Aquaman sketch from one of the artists, Taki Soma. So it gets a mention.

Sirius is putting out more Akiko Pocket Size trades (325). They are a good idea, and I hope they take off.

TwoMorrows Publishing has Modern Masters Volume One: Alan Freakin' Davis (339). Ok, I admit I added the "Freakin'" in there. Anyway, as John Jakala pointed out, this book has some Aquaman stuff that you can't find elsewhere. So any Aquaman fan ought to get it. Yes, I've already ordered it direct from TwoMorrows.

Whew. Through the main comics section, let's move on into the Magazines and Books.

Big Fun Comics Magazine #1 (357) sounds intriguing. Reprints of 50-year-old adventure strips. Could be fun, but the price is off-putting.

In the Books section, at the end (383), there's an ad for DK's Wonder Woman and Aquaman books. It includes the useful knowledge that the paperback of each book is only $3.99. I think I may get the Wonder Woman book after all.

Lots of fun stuff in the Calendar section. I see there's a Hellboy calendar (390), but I don't plan on getting it. I will be getting the Usagi Yojimbo calendar (392), of course. There's a couple of Edward Gorey calendars (393), but I'm not sure I would want them on my wall. There's an Angel calender (396)... my little sister just loaned me the first two DVD of Angel season one. Yes, I plan on reviewing them. But I won't get the calendar. There's a couple of movie calendars of interest, including Harry Potter, Hellboy, and Lord of the Rings (398). There's even a Sea Monkey's calendar (402). I'm mildly interested in the Justice League calendar (402), and more interested in the Mythology: Alex Ross calendar (403). I have doubts that I'll get either.

Moving onward, I like the new Flash: Trio T-Shirt (425), as well as the Sgt Rock T-Shirt. When will Graphitti put out an Aquaman t-shirt?

Very strange logo t-shirts on page 436. Rusting logos for Batman, Green Lantern, and Superman.

Huh. Page 492. Would you want a plush of Bucky Katt?

Upper Deck has a new(?) DC trading card game out (514). Looks like it might be all Batman-related though. Have to wait and see. I hope I can score any Aquaman cards that might be in the set.

Ok, I didn't plan on getting any of the Heroclix from the new Marvel expansion (519), but doesn't Ghost Rider look really cool?

Oooh, two cool Doctor Who stories are coming out on DVD (539), and I want both as soon as possible: The Two Doctors and Curse of Fenric.

Looks like Quantum Leap is finally coming out on DVD (539)... first season will be out in June! And so is The Dukes of Hazard (541). Oh dear. I'm actually mildly tempted. "Marshall, Will and Holly, on a routine expedition..." I don't know, do I want to get the original Land of the Lost (541)???

Ok... I've hit the end of the book and I'm flipping back to the big four sections.

I'll start with Marvel (176) again. I like shaking up the order a little. I was mildly tempted by Powerless and Amazing Fantasy #1, but I'll stick with my usual. That would be Amazing Spider-Man #68 (#509) and Supreme Power #11. I'll be ordering Thor #80 and Thor #81 for my friend, but he might be getting as annoyed as I am by the extra issues.

Going backwards, let's visit Image Comics. I see Common Grounds #6 (165). But, But... Barbarians? (151) looks kind of fun. I'd like to see more of the art before committing to it, though. The Gray Area (141), mentioned way back at the beginning of this post, looks interesting too.

And into DC Comics we go...

In the Direct Currents section, we start off with yet another shot of that same image from Identity Crisis. I think we'll be seeing even more of it before June, don't you? There's a couple of pages of interior artwork on pages 58-59, and it looks pretty good. I'm curious, yes, and we'll be getting it. Flipping to the next page, though, I can honestly admit that I have almost no interest in JLA #100, or in the upcoming Justice League Elite. I'm somewhat interested in Ex Machina #1, but I'm not ready to pick up another on-going without being sure of it. I'll be watching the reviews on this one. Arrowsmith: So Smart In Their Fine Uniforms is a collection of the mini-series. I wouldn't mind getting it to have a more solid book to loan out, but I'll probably pass on it.

Getting into the main listings, here's what will make the list. From the Batman Section: Batman Adventures #15 (99), Batman: Harley & Ivy #3 (100), and Birds of Prey #68. In the Superman section we're getting Superman: Birthright #11 (102). In the regular DCU section, we'll be getting Aquaman #19 (103), Fallen Angel #12 (104), Green Arrow #39 (105), Green Lantern #178, H-E-R-O #17 (106), Identity Crisis #1, JLA #100, Justice League of America: Another Nail #2 (107), JSA #62 (108), Justice League Adventures #32, Outsiders #13 (109), Plastic Man #7, and World's Best Comics: The Silver Age DC Archives Sampler (110). We'll also be getting Sea Guy #2 (116).

And we'll finish off this month's Flipping Through Previews with Dark Horse Comics. To start, I will be getting Samurai Executioner Vol 1 TPB (22). I hope to get them all... and it might get me to reread the Lone Wolf & Cub series, too.

While I haven't been totally drawn into Hellboy yet, not enough to get B.P.R.D. at least, I am more than a little interested in The Goon #7 (31) which features a guest appearance by Hellboy. I've heard good things about The Goon, but have avoided it for fear of addiction. This might be the issue that I can't resist. We'll have to see.

Conan #5 (38) makes the list. It's rip-roaring fun.

And it would hardly be a good order without Usagi Yojimbo #76 (40), now, would it? 20 years strong, and still going. Definitely an impressive series.

And one last note... the "solicits" for Free Comic Book Day are at the front of this Previews mag. I've already posted my thoughts on them, but I'd like to remind you that you can pitch in and support your retailer by paying for some of them so your retailer can give out more free books. Just a thought.

So that's it for this month's "Things in Previews That Look Interesting But I Can't Afford To Get (with a list of things I am getting just for contrast)". Comments? Questions? This time it was a two day effort with hubby-Eric looking over my shoulder for part of the time. Yes, Eric, it's done. Really. I think I added fifteen books to my initial order estimate, but at least it's done.

by Tegan at 10:58 AM Seattle time