Doonesbury: The War Within - One More Step At A Time
by G.B. Trudeau
Andrews McMeel
$9.95
The initial stages of B.D.'s recovery from losing a leg in Iraq were dramatically portrayed in The Long Road Home: One Step at a Time, but his healing journey was far from over. As this powerful sequel shows, the "war within" can be a long and lonely struggle, hardly the life of a "glamorous amputee" imagined by his daughter's jealous classmate. With his coaching job at Walden re-secured and the marathon PT sessions paying off, B.D.'s return to normalcy seems to be progressing well. But those who love him see alarming signs of trouble, namely anger and alcohol. First there's the punching of an MP. Then there's the daily breakfast of beer, a subject not open for discussion even with a best-intentioned friend like Mike Doonesbury. And "the screaming at night isn't very Christmassy," Boopsie notes. As B.D. admits to his doctor, "I'd rather sleep with my weapon than my wife! How messed up is that?" Messed up enough that our wounded warrior forces himself to begin circling the local Vet Center, where he is gently and skillfully reeled in by a remarkable counselor and fellow Vietnam Vet named Elias. Their sessions together form an extraordinary and moving chronicle of catharsis and coming-to-terms. The words "Welcome home, soldier," are powerful and transformative, and B.D. is fortunate in finally getting to a place where he can hear them. Proceeds from sales of The War Within benefit Fisher House.

"Originally, he was going to kill Ray, but Ray got spared when Trudeau decided that a death would not leave much of a storyline to pursue. So, with a bit of sang-froid, he amputated B.D.'s left leg, on the theory that he'd... think of something. What happened next was unusual, to say the least. Within a day or two of B.D. lying broken on that stretcher, Garry Trudeau, bane of every presidential administration since Nixon's (particularly the current one, which he has absolutely lacerated), got a call from the Pentagon. The brass was offering to help him figure out where to go next."
From a profile of G.B. Trudeau in The Washington Post - Read the full article here.

Making Comics
by Scott McCloud
Harper-Collins
$22.95
Using the same comic-based approach he applied in his previous books Understanding Comics and Reinventing Comics, Scott McCloud deploys all manner of story-telling devices and trickery to explain the process of making comics.

"Making Comics does have a pretty wide footprint, but it actually doesn't talk much about the process we're used to – plotting, laying out, penciling, and inking. It's not so much a book about the step-by-step procedure of constructing a page. It's more about how all comics, regardless of what processes we use to create them, force us to confront a series of choices. And there are really just five of them: choice of moment, choice of frame, choice of image, choice of word, and choice of flow. That is, we need to decide which moments to include and which to leave out of a story. We need to decide from which angle to shoot those moments. Whether to show just a small part of the scene or to zoom back. Whether to shoot from underneath or above. Whether to center one panel and not another. Choice of image deals with a broad range of drawing challenges. Most how-to books about comics deal almost exclusively with choice of image. How do I draw a samurai? How do I draw a Japanese schoolgirl? How do I draw the correct muscles on a superhero? These are the sorts of things that occupy 99% of the shelf in terms of art instruction for comics. But I think that's only part of what people should know, and I approach choice of image primarily from the standpoint of clarity and communication, instead of just creating a pretty picture."
Scott McCloud discuss Making Comics at The Web Comics Examiner.

Popeye Vol 1: I Yam What I Yam
by EC Segar
Fantagraphics Books
$14.95
In the first of six volumes reprinting the complete run of EC Segar's Popeye comic strips from 1928 to 1938, Popeye's initial courtship of Olive Oyl takes centre stage in one of the funniest comic strips of all time.

"The perfect comic strip."
Charles M Schulz, creator of Peanuts.

"Aside from the always-hilarious violence, the characters in Thimble Theater were prone to be cowardly, deceptive, ugly, greedy, and heartless, but in a way that was somehow lovable, and very forgivably human. And somewhere in there lies a quality rare in any age, in any medium: that humanity. When the Sea Hag shows up, mysterious and barely visible in a sea of black ink, she is scary . When Popeye's latest sweetie (he and Olive were constantly switching up) says to him, "I DO NOT LOVE YOU," it hurts . This is not love and sadness, meanness and joy, heroism and hilarity approximated and packaged for you; this is the real thing. These characters' humanity has not been cleaned off of them by editors and PR agencies and focus groups: They are filthy with humanity—it hangs off them like a dirty old snotrag."
Zak Sally discusses Popeye - Read the full City Pages article.

"On top of the strip's overall awesomeness, Popeye is the third greatest character of all time and Wimpy is the greatest, although I'm not sure Wimpy shows up early enough to make this book. Thimble Theatre is such a great strip that after reading it you'll distrust all other art forms for hours after you close the book, because surely they cannot be as absorbing and funny and weird and great as Thimble Theatre."
Tom Spurgeon at The Comics Reporter

"Comic strips are at heart a narrative medium, and nobody told stories like EC Segar. With a fantastic ensemble cast of characters, Segar fulfilled the self-imposed dual responsibility of delivering a daily laugh while furthering an ongoing continuity that would run for months. He made it look effortless. Segar spun wonderful yarns while cracking his readers up every step of the way. This outwardly farcical gaggle of vaudevillianesque antiheroes, bumbling about on picaresque chases (usually for riches more than fame) was actually one of the most intrinsically sophisticated comic strips in history... Segar's humor raised the spirits of a generation of depression survivors, but has obviously faded from the collective consciousness of today. It's a shame, because Segar stands among Crumb and Kurtzman as the best cartoonists of their generation and set a standard for greatness that led to the success of Al Capp and countless others."
The Top 100 Comics, The Comics Journal #210, 1999

An Anthology of Graphic Fiction, Cartoons & True Stories HC
edited by Ivan Brunetti
Yale University Press
$28.00
Comic artist Ivan Brunetti, the creator of Schizo, offers a best-of anthology of contemporary art comics, along with some classic comic strips and other historical materials that have retained a modern sensibility. As with Chris Ware's selections for his best-selling McSweeney's anthology, Brunetti's choices make for a highly personal book that serves as a broad historical overview of the medium and a round-up of some of today's best and most interesting North American comic artists. Included here are works from such well-known artists as Robert Crumb, Kim Deitch, Art Spiegelman, Chris Ware, Ben Katchor, Charles Burns, Gary Panter, Seth, Phoebe Gloeckner, Daniel Clowes, Lynda Barry, Joe Sacco, and Jaime and Gilbert Hernandez, as well as many other pioneers whose names may be less familiar. Brunetti offers selections from the works of more than seventy-five avant-garde comic artists.  His selections are arranged by genre and grouped thematically.

"...my criteria were simple: these are comics that I savor and often revisit."
Ivan Brunetti

"Brunetti's specific interests in the classic gag cartoon and the artists included here expand the dialogue started in Chris Ware's anthology in fruitful ways."
Art Spiegelman

Don't Go Where I Can't Follow
by Anders Nilsen
Drawn & Quarterly
$14.95
In November 2005, artist Cheryl Weaver, girlfriend and partner of Anders Nilsen, died. Don't Go Where I Cannot Follow is a collection of travel stories and minor disasters, of dealing with illness, and of a farewell.

"This story is, obviously, very personal, but ultimately I think it isn't exclusive. It feels incredibly particular to me, still, but it's just love and loss. And everyone, for better or worse, can relate to that."
Anders Nilsen, form the afterword.

"Cheryl, my girlfriend and partner of the last five and a half years (we'd planned to get married in September, but put it off due to her condition) was ill all last year with hodgkins lymphoma, a cancer of the lymph system. Her prognosis was good at the start, but she didn't respond to treatment as expected. She died on November 13. Her absence is very palpable for me and probably will be for a long time. I can't talk about much without it coloring the conversation... Cheryl was an artist, very prolific, brilliant, but not very good about getting her work into the world. I would press her to let me take her work to small press shows and it would sell out instantly, but she would still resist, sure it was a fluke, or that no one would appreciate it."
Anders Nilsen, from an interview at Contemporary Literature.

"Artist statement: I know this boy named Anders. He makes my heart ache and stomach flutter."
Cheryl Weaver, September 2000

Shenzhen: A Travelogue From China
by Guy Delisle
Drawn & Quarterly
$19.95
Shenzhen is entertainingly compact, with Guy Delisle's observations of life in a cold urban city in southern China that is sealed off from the rest of the country by electric fences and armed guards. With a dry wit and a clean line, Delisle makes the most of his time spent in Asia overseeing outsourced production for a French animation company. By translating his fish-out-of-water experiences into accessible graphic novels, Delisle is quick to find the humor and point out the differences between Western and Eastern cultures. Yet he never forgets to relay his compassion for the simple freedoms that escape his colleagues by virtue of living in a Communist state.

"Named for the economic region of China in which the action unfolds, Delisle's autobiographical tale is one of the most gripping stories of cultural alienation yet produced in the comics form. In 1997, Delisle worked in mainland China as a supervisor at an animation firm. This comic is a lengthy diary recounting his experiences from that period, as a solitary Canadian lost and alone in a world that is largely alien to him. Delisle's careful manipulation of the comics medium allows him to switch modes neatly from the distanced and observational to the subjective and neurotic. His images, awash in grey tones that tend to downplay the "exotic" aspect of his life but underscore some of its dreariness, are a wonderful balance of cartoony and realist styles. In 2003 Delisle released a sequel of sorts to this book, Pyongyang, this time detailing his work in the even more closed society of North Korea. Can a book set in Vietnam be far behind?"
The Twenty Best Eurpean Graphic Novels You Haven't Read, Indy Magazine

Chicken With Plums HC
by Marjane Satrapi
Pantheon
$16.95
Angouleme Award Winner
Set in pre-revolutionary Iran, Chicken With Plums tells the story of Nasser Ali Khan, a famous musician who sets out to die after losing his ability to take pleasure in life. Family and friends try to dissuade him, but Khan's mind is made up: why live when even his favorite dish, chicken with prunes, has lost its flavor?

"For Satrapi, who was born in Rasht, Iran, and grew up in the last years of pre-revolution Tehran, this is a deeply personal fable. Nasser Ali Khan was Satrapi's real-life great uncle and, one suspects, she might have shared his artistic repression had she not divorced her Iranian husband and fled the Ayatollah Khomeini's fundamentalist police for Paris - as described in Persepolis 2. Thus, Nasser Ali Khan's longing for a more open Iran is especially heartbreaking, as readers of Satrapi's other work know that even the limited freedoms he enjoys will disappear in the wake of revolution."
The Virginia Quarterly Review - Read the full review and extract here.

Girl Stories
by Lauren Weinstein
Henry Holt
$16.95
"Her book takes us into the highs and lows of contemporary Jewish-American girlhood from eighth grade through to freshman year of high school: the crushes, food fads, first kisses, raging hormones, inflamed pierced belly-button, exam hell and dysfunctional Thanksgiving. She created these 240 colourful pages over a period of seven years... changing her media and materials as she went. You might have also come across her Xeric Grant-awarded adult collection Inside Vineyland. Here her expressive voice proves that she deserves to join that fine American tradition of women's self-deprecating cartoon confessionals pioneered by Aline Kominsky-Crumb and Lynda Barry."
Paul Gravett - More articles and reading recommendations at PaulGravett.com

Klezmer: Tales Of The Wild East
by Joann Sfar
First Second
$25.00
Klezmer tells a wild tale of love, friendship, survival, and the joy of making music in pre-World War II Eastern Europe. The Baron of My Backside is perfectly content as the leader of a traveling klezmer band, until his bandmates are brutally murdered. He sets out for Odessa alone, inconsolable even after he is joined by Chava, a beautiful girl with a voice like an angel. Meanwhile, Yaacov is expelled from his yeshiva for stealing; he too makes his way to Odessa along with Vincenzo, a violinist, and Tshokola, a gypsy entertainer. When these five misfits finally come together, they must set aside their differences and learn to work together (and rock a crowd) through their music. Tragic, humorous, violent, and tender, Klezmer's rich watercolor art and simple but moving story-telling draws you into the lives of these fascinating characters.

American Born Chinese
by Gene Yang
First Second
$25.00
In American Born Chinese three apparently unrelated tales come together with an unexpected twist.
• All Jin Wang wants is to fit in. When his family moves to a new neighborhood, he suddenly finds that he's the only Chinese-American student at his school. Jocks and bullies pick on him constantly, and he has hardly any friends. Then, to make matters worse, he falls in love with an all-American girl.
• Born to rule over all the monkeys in the world, the story of the Monkey King is one of the oldest and greatest Chinese fables. Adored by his subjects, master of the arts of kung-fu, he is the most powerful monkey on earth. But the Monkey King doesn't want to be a monkey. He wants to be hailed as a god...
• Chin-Kee is the ultimate negative Chinese stereotype, and he's ruining his cousin Danny's life. Danny's a basketball player, a popular kid at school, but every year Chin-Kee comes to visit, and every year Danny has to transfer to a new school to escape the shame. This year, though, things quickly go from bad to worse...

Pride of Baghdad (HC)
by Brian K. Vaughan & Niko Henrichon
DC/Vertigo
$19.99
Pride Of Baghdad is a look at life on the streets of Baghdad during the Iraq War inspired by true events. In the spring of 2003, a pride of lions escaped from the Baghdad Zoo during an American bombing raid. Lost and confused, hungry but finally free, the four lions roamed the decimated streets of Baghdad in a desperate struggle for their lives. In documenting the plight of the lions, Pride of Baghdad raises questions about the true meaning of liberation - can it be given, or is it earned only through self-determination and sacrifice? And in the end, is it truly better to die free than to live life in captivity?

"The futility of their struggle and the contridiction of their freedom rings tragically true."
Tim O'Neil in The Comics Journal #280

The Mother's Mouth
by Dash Shaw
Alternative Comics
$12.95
In a pre-Katrina New Orleans, a woman starts dating a younger man who reminds her of her deceased ex-boyfriend. They begin re-enacting scenes from her previous relationship as a psychodrama to correct her haunting past. Replete with Pac-Man ghost spirits, Michael Jackson, children's drawings and deathtrap sandboxes, The Mother's Mouth is by the author of 2005's Goddess Head.

"I like how Dash Shaw has developed as an artist. A few years back when he made his debut, he seemed like one of those virtuoso wunderkind who would apply his art to a series of less deserving projects culminating in a Vertigo assignment with an inker who really didn't suit him. Instead, Shaw seems to plunged head first into an overt interest in comics as a formal language, producing an entire book of comics that depend on very considered effects. Shaw's facility makes a huge difference in how effective these stories turn out; Shaw's skill means he can invest the stranger moments with an illustrative authority that obliterates any notion that any narrative jiggering is stuntwork."
Tom Spurgeon reviews Goddess Head at The Comics Reporter

Johnny Repeat Vol 1
by Jason James & Others
Citizen Press
$12.95
A sprawling mystery woven into an intense human drama packaged into a non-linear narrative, Johnny Repeat is a story of second chances that debates the eternal question: If you woke up one day in your past remembering everything leading up to the present, would you make a new future? Fumbling for enlightenment and redemption in the damnedest of places, this clue-riddled scavenger hunt features an ensemble of broken souls led by Johnny Repeat, a mysterious could-be prophet harboring a dark secret, an overflow of strange knowledge, and a mind blowing agenda. His associates include a sexaholic with a grudge, an immortal femme fatale, and a cowardly bum who may have played a game of Dungeons & Dragons too many.

"The first of a seven-book epic, Johnny Repeat is a sprawling puzzle of strange characters, non-linear narratives, and intertwining destinies and ideas all wrapped into one book. Clocking in at 104 pages, it's like Lost, Dune, and 100 Bullets had a lovechild with Sergio Leone all signed up to be the godfather. It's what I'm calling 'cosmic noir'. And things are never what they seem. "
Jason James discusses Johnny Repeat at Newsarama

The Dark Horse Book Of Monsters
by Mike Mignola, Gary Gianni, Evan Dorkin, Jill Thompson, Kurt Busiek & others
Dark Horse
$15.95
Mike Mignola takes Hellboy on a monster-crunching mission and Gary Gianni provides illustrations for a classic tale of South Seas horror by William Hope Hodgson in this fourth addition to Dark Horse's Eisner-nominated books of Hauntings, Witchcraft, and The Dead. Along with Mignola and Gianni, Evan Dorkin and Jill Thompson unveil a new painted story starring everyone's favorite evil-fighting strays.

Desolation Jones Vol 1
by Warren Ellis & JH Williams III
DC/Wildstorm
$14.99
Collecting the first six issues of the Eisner-nominated series by Warren Ellis and J.H. Williams III... Michael Jones was a British spy who'd seen better days - but things took a turn for the worse once he fell into the Desolation Project's hands. Now he's the preeminent detective for an elite clientele - the underground community of ex-spooks in gritty L.A.

American Virgin: Head
by Steven T Seagle, Becky Cloonan & Jim Rugg
DC/Vertigo
$9.99
Collecting the first four issues of the Vertigo monthly series in a 112-page trade paperback with a Steven T. Seagle interview and sketch material from Becky Cloonan... Adam Chamberlain is a 20-year-old youth minister, a best-selling author, and most important, the head of a rabid national virginity movement. But practicing virgin or not, Adam is about to lose it when his girlfriend is killed.

Neverwhere
by Neil Gaiman & Glenn Fabry
DC/Vertigo
$19.99
The comics adaptation of Neil Gaiman's novel collects together all nine issues of the Vertigo maxiseries, and follows the adventures of an ordinary Londoner who stops to help an enigmatic girl and is drawn into a battle to save the strange underworld kingdom of London Below from destruction

Other Books Out This Month:

Independents:
Dream Corridor Vol 2 by Harlan Ellison & Others (Dark Horse, $19.95)
Rex Mundi Vol 1 by Arvid Nelson & Eric J (Dark Horse, $16.95)
Star Wars: Knights Of The Old Republic by Miller, Ching & Foreman (Dark Horse, $18.95)
Star Wars: Tag & Bink Were Here by Kevin Rubio & Lucas Marangon (Dark Horse, $14.95)
MOME Vol 5 by various (Fantagraphics, $14.95)
Shadowland by Kim Deitch (Fantagraphics, $18.95)
Swamp Preacher by David Sadlin (Fantagraphics, $5.95)
Bosnian Flat Dog by Max Andersson & Lars Sjunneson (Fantagraphics, $13.95)
Terr'ble Thompson by Gene Deitch (Fantagraphics, $18.95)
The 9/11 Report by Sid Jacobson & Ernie Colon (Hill & Wang, $16.00)
Spike vs Dracula by various (IDW, $19.99)
Chicanos Vol 1 by Carlos Trillo & Eduardo Risso (IDW, $19.99)
Jon Sable Freelance Vol 5 by Mike Grell (IDW, $19.99)
Masters Of Horror by various (IDW, $17.99)
Battle Pope Vol 2 by various (Image, $12.99)
Captain Amazing by Scott Kurtz (Image, $8.99)
Deadworld: Dead-Killer by Gary Reed & Ron McCain (Image, $14.99)
Doll & Creature Vol 1 by Rick Remender, John Heebink & Mike Manley (Image, $12.99)
Invincible Vol 7 by Robert Kirkman, Ryan Ottley & Bill Crabtree (Image, $14.99)
Spawn Manga Collection by Juzo Tokoro (Image, $17.99)
Untouchables by Joe Pruett & John Kissee (Image, $16.99)
Unholy Kinship by Naomi Nowak (NBM, $9.95)
New York: Life In The Big City HC by Will Eisner (WW Norton, $29.95)
Side Scrollers by Matthew Loux (Oni Press, $11.95)
Pirate Club Vol 2 by Derek Hunter (SLG, $12.95)

DC:
Batman: Gotham County Line by Steve Niles & Scott Hamton (DC, $17.99)
Superman Returns: The Prequels by various (DC, $12.99)
Infinite Crisis Companion by various (DC, $14.99)
Birds Of Prey: The Battle Within by various (DC, $17.99)
Archives: New Teen Titans Vol 3 HC by Wolfman, Perez & others (DC, $49.99)
Showcase: The Phantom Stranger Vol 1 by various (DC, $16.99)
Supergirl & Legion Of Super-Heroes: Strange Visitor by various (DC, $14.99)

Marvel:
Masterworks: The Human Torch Vol 1 HC by Kirby, Lee & others (Marvel, $54.99)
Masterworks: Golden Age All-Winners Vol 2 HC by various (Marvel, $49.99)
New Avengers Vol 4 HC by Bendis, McNiven & Deodato (Marvel, $19.99)
Ms Marvel Vol 1 HC by Reed & De La Torre (Marvel, $19.99)
Haunt Of Horror: Edgar Allan Poe HC by Corben & Margoppoulos (Marvel, $19.99)
Daredevil Vol 6 HC by Bendis, Maleev & Mack (Marvel, $29.99)
Adventures: Spider-Man Vol 4 by Wells & Scherberger (Marvel, $6.99)
Fantastic Five by DeFalco & Ryan (Marvel, $7.99)
Ultimate Iron Man Vol 1 by Card, Kubert & Bagley (Marvel, $14.99)
Ultimate Marvel Team-Up Ultimate Collection by various (Marvel, $29.99)
New Avengers Vol 3 by Bendis, Finch, Cho & Mays (Marvel, $14.99)
Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man Vol 1 by David, Wieringo & Cruz (Marvel, $14.99)
Daughters Of The Dragon: Samurai Bullets by Gray, Palmiotti & Evans (Marvel, $15.99)
Fantastic Four: The Life Fantastic by various (Marvel, $16.99)
Visionaries: Fantastic Four - John Byrne by Byrne & others (Marvel, $24.99)
Uncanny X-Men: The New Age Vol 5 by various (Marvel, $11.99)
X-Men: The End Vol 3 by Clarmont & Chen (Marvel, $14.99)
X-Men: Apocalypse/Dracula by Tieri & Henry (Marvel, $10.99)
Wolverine Classic Vol 4 by Goodwin & Byrne (Marvel, $14.99)
Thor: Eternals Saga Vol 1 by Thomas, Simonson & others (Marvel, $24.99)
Essential: Thor Vol 3 by Kirby & Lee (Marvel, $16.99)
Essential: Tales Of The Zombie Vol 1 by various (Marvel, $16.99)

The Sweeter Side Of R Crumb HC
by Robert Crumb
MQ Publishing
$30.00
The Sweeter Side of R. Crumb is an exclusive collection of drawings that reveal the tender side of R. Crumb. Evocative haunting images of people and places such as Aline, his daughter Sophie, scenes from the village and region he lives in the South of France, Jesse Crumb, his first wife Dana and their son Jesse and of course the Blues musicians he treasures from his 78rpm record collection.

"Take a look at his sketchbooks and see just how much he's capable of caring about a stack of firewood or the light on his wife's forehead or a corner of his backyard, and if that doesn't make you feel better about the world we live in, then get a friend to try holding a mirror under your nose."
Alan Moore

Pulphope: The Art Of Paul Pope
by Paul Pope
Adhouse Books
$29.95
The first retrospective monograph from the Comic Destroyer, Paul Pope. Containing many unseen pieces of art and comics from the creator who has brought us THB, Heavy Liquid and 100%.

"Pope has a scratchy, dark drawing style that tosses characters and objects together in an impressionistic jumble. His influences seem more Japanese than American, particularly in his use of "speed lines" that turn backgrounds into a blur. Given the heavy amount of black in his work, American film noir seems to also play a significant role in Pope's aesthetic. (Film noir being another genre, besides comics, more highly regarded in Europe.) Particularly representative of his intelligent draftmanship is his use of two colors besides black and white — muted rose and slate blue — to offset highlights and establish changes of location. It's like a world lit by a gigantic, distant neon sign."
Time.comix - Read the full review of Heavy Liquid here.

Other Art & Illustration Titles This Month:

The Popbot Collection by Ashley Wood & Sam Keith (IDW, $45.00)

American Splendor #1 of 4
by Harvey Pekar, Dean Haspiel, Ty Templeton, Hilary Barta, Greg Budgett & Gary Dumm
DC/Vertigo
$2.99
First appearing in 1976, American Splendor rose 'from the streets of Cleveland' to change the way comics readers and creators viewed the potential of their medium. Now, three decades after his self-published debut, Harvey Pekar proves that while his life has changed, his ability to find the exceptional in the everyday has only grown better with time.

"Ordinary life can be pretty complex stuff."
Harvey Pekar

True Story: Swear To God #1
by Tom Beland
Image
$2.99
The Eisner & Ignatz Award nominated series True Story makes its Image debut. Born in Chicago and raised in Napa Valley, California, Tom Beland began his career in graphic arts and cartooning at the Napa Valley Register. After five years with the Register, he moved on to the Vallejo Times Herald where he became the paper's art director, design editor and illustrator. His autobiographical comic strip, True Story Swear to God, made its debut in 1995 and was widely read in the North Bay area. While living in California, Tom freelanced for publications such as the San Francisco Weekly and Restaurant & Wine, among others. His comic strip has evolved into a comic book series by the same name. Now living in Puerto Rico Tom has freelanced as a political cartoonist for Puertorico Club and as an illustrator for publications such as Caribbean Business, De Moda, and Editorial Santillana as illustrator of school texts. His cartoon strip and illustration work can be seen monthly in San Juan City Magazine. Tom also illustrates greeting cards for Creaciones Caribeñas, a division of American Greeting in Puerto Rico.

"I was beginning to experience some burnout, as far as all the business sides of publishing TSSTG and I was curious if [Image] would be interested in publishing the title, so I sent the Erics [Erik Larsen and Eric Stephenson] copies of my work and asked them if they'd like to carry it. It took a bit of time, but then they called and told me they'd like to do so and, well, after I got up off the floor, we began talks."
Tom Beland discusses the move to Image at Newsarama.

The Cross Bronx #1
by Michael Avon Oeming & Ivan Brandon
Image
$2.99
Cross Bronx follows Detective Rapheal Aponte in the Bronx as he investigates a mysterious gang slaying that quickly brings him face to face with the supernatural in the form of a beautiful ghost named Santaria. Taking out her revenge on the city, Santaria challenges Aponte's faith in the law as it clashes with his faith in God - or lack of it.

"The idea came about in the early days Powers - maybe before that. My wife comes from the Bronx, from this particular area called Castle Hill. You get there by taking the George Washington bridge which is part of rt 95- the highway that runs from Florida up past Boston- part of it runs across the Bronx- thus its called the Cross Bronx. It always hit me as a strong name. Then, on a visit to the Bronx during the early days of Powers, the imagery hit me. I think it had to do with how double sided the Bronx is. Parts of it are really nice inner city living - the area of Castle Hill doesn't look much different then the suburbs I live in now; however other parts are just bad. On the street my in-laws live in, I'm free to wander about and go to stores by myself - unless I need to turn left. Left is bad. Left is bank robberies and gang shootings."
Michael Avon Oeming discusses Cross Bronx at Newsarama.

"It should be clear by now that I'm a little obsessed with the intricacies of the street-level crime world. And Mike's fascination with the city itself, with the tiny details that make up an authentic Bronx environment, have made this a dream project across the board. Visually, this is Mike at his absolute peak. The level of craft he's bringing to this really surpasses any of the work he's done in comics at any point in his career. Every new page is darker and more phenomenal than the last. Writing for him on this could not be more daunting or more fulfilling."
Ivan Brandon

Other First Issues This Month:

Independents:
The Vault Of Michael Allred #1 by Michael Allred & others (AAA Pop, $6.99)
Return Of The Gremlins #1 of 3 by Mike Richardson & Dean Yeagle (Dark Horse, $2.99)
The Goon Noir #1 of 3 by various (Dark Horse, $2.99)
Monster Parade #1 by Ben Catmull (Fantagraphics Books, $3.95)
Giants Of The Earth #1 by Charles Fetherolf (Giant Earth Press, $4.95)
Spike: Asylum #1 by Brian Lynch & Franco Urru (IDW, $3.99)
Transformers: Shockwave #1 by Simon Furman & Nick Roche (IDW, $3.99)
CVO: African Blood #1 by El Torres & Luis Czerniawski (IDW, $3.99)
Sam Noir: Samurai Detective #1 by Eric Anderson & Manny Trembley (Image, $2.99)
Tabula Rasa #1 of 1 by Giffen, Denton & Jacobs (Image, $4.99)
Ramayan Reborn #1 by Shamik Dasgupta & Abhishek Singh (Virgin, $2.99)

DC:
Mystery In Space #1 of 8 by Starlin, Davis, Banning & Milgrom (DC, $3.99)
Wetworks: Worldstorm #1 by Carey, Portacio & Scott (DC/Wildstorm, $2.99)
Snakes On A Plane #1 by Chuck Dixon & Gordon Purcell (DC/Wildstorm, $2.99)
Ninja Scroll #1 by J Torres & Michael Chang (DC/Wildstorm, $2.99)

Marvel:
Blade #1 by Marc Guggenheim & Howard Chaykin (Marvel, $2.99)
1602: Fantastick Four #1 of 5 by Peter David & Pascal Alixe (Marvel, $3.50)
Punisher War Journal #1 by Matt Fraction & Ariel Olivetti (Marvel, $2.99)
Stan Lee Meets Spider-Man by Lee, Whedon, Coipel & Gaydos (Marvel, $3.99)
Stan Lee Meets Dr Strange by Lee, Bendis, Davis & Bagley (Marvel, $3.99)
Union Jack #1 by Christios Gage & Mike Perkins (Marvel, $2.99)
X-Men: First Class by Jeff Parker & Roger Cruz (Marvel, $2.99)
X-Men: Phoenix - Warsong #1 of 5 by Greg Pak & Tyler Kirkham (Marvel, $2.99)
Zombie #1 of 4 by Mike Raicht & Kyle Hotz (Marvel, $3.99)

In The Studio: Visits With Contemporary Cartoonists
by Todd Hignite, featuring Ivan Brunetti, Charles Burns, Dan Clowes, Robert Crumb, Jamie Hernandez, Gary Panter, Seth, Art Spiegelman & Chris Ware
Yale University Press
$29.95
The In The Studio feature from Comic Art magazine is collected in book form together with additional artist visits, featuring some of today's most popular and innovative comic artists who present an unparalleled look at the cutting edge of the comic medium. The artists offer insights into the creative process, their influences and personal sources of inspiration, and the history of comics. The interviews amount to private gallery tours, with the artists commenting, now thoughtfully, now passionately, on their own work as well as the works of others. The book is generously illustrated with full-color reproductions of the artists' works, including some that have been published and others not originally intended for publication, such as sketchbooks and personal projects. Additional illustrations show behind-the-scenes working processes of the cartoonists and particular works by others that have influenced or inspired them. Through the eyes of these artists, we see with a new clarity the achievement of contemporary cartoonists and the extraordinary possibilities of comic art.

"An essential work for anyone interested in contemporary American art and culture."
John Carlin, author of Masters of American Comics 

Great British Comics: Celebrating a Century of Ripping Yarns and Wizard Wheezes
by Paul Gravett & Peter Stanbury
Aurum Press
$35.00
Great British Comics transports the reader through more than 100 years of Britain's bizarre weekly comics, newspaper strips, magazines and graphic novels, from their secret origins to today's cutting edge. The journey takes in the rural wonderlands of Rupert Bear and the blasted outback of Tank Girl, the glistening spaceships of Dan Dare and the Mega-City mean streets of Judge Dredd, the knobbly knees of Dennis the Menace and the tight black-leather costumes of Modesty Blaise. Divided into chapters by themes such as schooldays, family life, cartoon creatures and science fiction, the book charts the careers of timeless icons including Korky the Cat, Billy Bunter and Fungus the Bogeyman across the decades from the 1920s to the 1990s. The engaging, informative text is richly illustrated with toys, badges, merchandise and other collectables, as well as comic-book panels and covers.

"An unsung hero in the international comics and graphic novel scene is Paul Gravett, whose most recent book Graphic Novels: Stories to Change Your Life (2005, Collins Design) is currently in US bookshops and comic stores -- and is highly recommended. Designed by Paul's long-time partner and Escape co-founder Peter Stanbury, Graphic Novels is the latest extension and incarnation of the now-venerable Escape legacy, and bar none the best current introduction and overview of the graphic novel form. As usual, Paul's writing is informed, insightful and incredibly eye-opening, his net expansive and all-encompassing; the book is essential reading. Paul agreed to answer a few questions about what brought him into the medium and what led to the creation of Escape, which after 20 years remains among my favorite comics zines of all time."
Steve Bissette, Swamp Thing & Tyrant artist - Read the full interview with Paul Gravett here.

Other Books & Magazines About Comics This Month:

Back Issue #18 (TwoMorrows, $6.95)
Comic Buyers Guide #1623 (Kause, $5.99)
Wizard #180 (Wizard Entertainment, $5.99)

Other First Issues This Month:

Disgaea #1 by Arashi Shindo (Broccoli, $9.99)
Roman Album: Samurai Champloo edited by Tokuma Champloo (Dark Horse, $17.95)
Shaman Warrior Vol 1 by Park Joong-Ki (Dark Horse, $12.95)
Densha Otoko #1 by Hitori Nakano & Wataru Watanabe (DC, $9.99)
Penguin Revolution #1 by Sakura Tsukuba (DC, $9.99)
Close The Last Door by Yugi Yamada (DMP, $12.95)
Day Of The Revolution #1 by Mikiyo Tsuda (DMP, $12.95)
After School Nightmare #1 of 5 by Setona Mizushiro (Go! Media, $10.99)
Night Of The Beasts #1 of 6 by Chika Shiomi (Go! Media, $10.99)
Comic #1 by SiHyun Ha (Ice Kunion, $10.95)
Lethe #1 of 1 by Kimjim (Netcomics, $17.99)
Your Lover #1 of 4 by Seungwon Han (Netcomics, $9.99)
Kingdom Hearts: Chain Of Memories Vol 1 of 2 by Shiro Amano (Tokyopop, $9.99)
Snow #1 of 3 by Morgan Luthi (Tokyopop, $9.99)
Daphne In The Brilliant Blue #1 of 1 by Shiki Satoshi (Tokyopop, $9.99)
Earthlite #1 of 3 by Stuart Moore & Christopher Schons (Tokyopop, $9.99)
The Good Witch Of The West #1 of 4 by Ogiwara & Momokawa (Tokyopop, $9.99)
Haunted House #1 of 1 by Mitsukazu Mihara (Tokyopop, $9.99)
Judas #1 of 3 by Suu Minazuki (Tokyopop, $9.99)
Junjo Romantica #1 of 6 by Shungiku Nakamura (Tokyopop, $9.99)
Ra-i #1 of 1 by Sanami Matoh (Tokyopop, $9.99)
Welcome To The NHK #1 of 4 by Kenji Ohiwa & Tatsuhiko Takimoto (Tokyopop, $9.99)
Reborn #1 by Akira Amano (Viz, $7.99)
Cain Saga #1 by Kaori Yuki (Viz, $8.99)
La Corda Doro #1 by Yuki Kure (Viz, $8.99)
Tail Of The Moon #1 by Rinko Ueda (Viz, $8.99)
Train Man Densha Otoko #1 by Hidenori Hara (Viz, $9.99)