I’m not above promoting myself (any blogger is inherently, perhaps genetically, predisposed to be guilty of that particular offence) and I am proud of what we’ve done since our ‘official’ launch on 1 January (rightly so, IMHO) but I know most of you linking in from some outside site (as always, thanks for linking!) have […]

The weekly columns are fun, and the watch lists are also certainly an important part of our mission here, but I really should be getting back to our bread-and-butter; dare I say, our whole raison d’être: the comic reviews!

Genshiken: the Society for the Study of Modern Visual Culture, vol. 8
Published by: Del […]

Another week where I squeak in at the last minute and let you know what’s on my shopping list.
There’s not much out there today. I’m picking up DMZ and Fables in trades… Image has a couple of perennial favorites:

Elephantmen #8 - I like the stories, and I like the art. This is building to something […]

The first of several columns where we look at just how American anime & manga fandom developed — to the point where today we use the phrase otaku, we know what it means, we know it’s not complimentary, and we still describe ourselves as otaku anyway.
The Ages of Fan I — that guy Tezuka
Of […]

600+ page manga volumes! 72 titles! Avril Lavigne [sort of]! Something called Boffin Boy! (heck, I have no clue… anyone? Bueller… Bueller…)
And Matt recommends something that isn’t Manga! [*shock!*]
If you just have to know what,
read on:
Manga (& Manga-ish) Releases for 25-31 March 2007
1 World Manga, vol. 6 — Viz — $3.99
50 Things We Love […]

UPDATE 23 February 2008:
In the year or so since I last exchanged emails with Hilary and Poe, a few things have changed over at Caffeine Angel Studios. It was a fairly hectic time for those two, and some of the items that came up in our conversation were forward-looking statements about plans they had […]

Errant Story, vol. 1
Published by: Keenspot Entertainment
Writer & Artist: Michael Poe
134 (127) pages.
Original Language: English
Orientation: Left to right
Vintage: June 2004
Rating: 4 out of 5
##
Premise: Swords, sorcery, and sarcasm, with healthy doses of ninja-like assassins, gunplay, and humour, a sprinkling of anachronisms and fourth-wall assaults, and a touch more satire and […]

V for Vendetta
1988
Writer: Alan Moore
Artists: David Lloyd & Tony Weare
Colors: David Lloyd, Siobhan Dodds, & Steve Whitaker
Letters: Jenny O’Connor, Steve Craddock, & Elitta Fell
The reviews on the site will begin to reflect a reduction in the number of single-issues that I’m buying and will start to focus more on graphic novels and collected editions. […]

Japanese comics and cartoons have been around for decades. The occasional anime even found it was to American TV, more than once and at least once a decade, going back to Astro Boy and Kimba in the 60s.
Japanese comics, in recent years, have become just as much an American phenomenon and are slowly transforming the […]

Another week has rolled by, and it looks like I haven’t posted in a week. Let’s just say that after matching Matt post-for-post for six weeks, I’m taking this time to concentrate on searching for gainful employment. As backwards as it seems, I in fact have more time to post when I have […]

It’s a slow week; a breather before the last week of the month, and the corresponding big release dates. Still, we might find a gem or two in this week’s list:
Manga (& Manga-ish) Releases for 18 March to 24 March 2007
Blokhedz, vol. 1 — Simon & Schuster — $12.95
Boy Princess, vol. 6 — Netcomics — […]

Stan Lee’s Amazing Marvel Universe
Published by: Sterling
Writer: Roy Thomas, with audio commentary by Stan Lee
Artist: reproductions of covers and panels by Kirby, Ditko, Romita, and the rest of the Marvel bullpen
200 (189) pages, hardcover.
Vintage: 2006
Rating: 3 out of 5
##
Premise: Excelsior! via 50 “Marvel Moments” (seminal issues, and a few multi-part series) […]

Well, this is part two (apparently). Imagine my surprise as I’m thinking about writing up the watch list, and up it appears on the site before I’ve even written it. Contrast that with my lack of surprise that Matt was mocking me. I mean, I remember to post a link back to […]

Bob seems to be MIA, and while I could just email the guy to ask “’sup?” , it is much more satisfying to make fun of him in a public forum. That, and someone needs to be posting our usual rundown/commentary on the Diamond Comics Shipping List for 14 March 2007.
Say, Bob, I know you […]

The weekly column 5by8 will return next week (Monday 19 March) with its 14th installment, and hopefully by then I will have a topic. [*chuckle*]
We’ve been taking a bit of a break this past week, after the long stretch of reviews, columns, field reports, and other miscellaneous posts over the first two months of 2007, […]