Where do I put all this?!

I have a slight problem.

That's my comic book and graphic novel collection RAPIDLY OUTGROWING the space I have (and I've somehow lost the magazine holder labelled Artifacts/Anthologies). I know that the traditional storage solution is to get a bunch of longboxes but I don't know where you buy longboxes from, let alone where I'd put them if I found some!

Any suggestions? Apart from waiting and buying trades of everything... I'm pretty much only managing to do that with Chew and Buffy at the moment and it's soooo haaaard... and now there's a buttload of other trades I want. First world problems, anyone?

Womanthology

I'm feeling so many emotions right now. I'm elated, triumphant, hopeful and awed.

Womanthology is an anthology graphic novel created entirely by women for Charity. The purpose of the book is to showcase the works of female creators of every age and experience levels.

The Graphic Novel will majorly consist of many short stories interpreting our theme for this volume; "Heroic". We'll also have interviews and how-to's with some of the industry's top female pros, as well as talks with young girls who someday want a career in comics. Womanthology is an anthology graphic novel created entirely by women for Charity. The purpose of the book is to showcase the works of female creators of every age and experience levels.

The Graphic Novel will majorly consist of many short stories interpreting our theme for this volume; "Heroic". We'll also have interviews and how-to's with some of the industry's top female pros, as well as talks with young girls who someday want a career in comics.

I can't remember how I stumbled onto this project but I'm SO excited about it. They've gotten on board a bunch of new/indie comic book creators, but they've also had some big names join in. Two that I'm super duper excited about are Gail Simone (famous for a buttload of things but my favourite work of hers is Welcome To Tranquility) and Fiona Staples (who worked on Mystery Society, which I have to review soon because it's a seriously great comic book that ticks nearly all my boxes). I plan to check out the works of the other contributors when I can.  

Not only will this be an amazing book, but it's giving to charity and showcasing the talent of female creators! They've paired some newcomers with the seasoned pros, to give the new ladies some more experience, which will (fingers crossed) lead to more industry opportunities for them.

Their Kickstarter  (a website dedicated to helping fun creative projects) opened yesterday, with the goal of $25,000 for a print run of 1500 books. I logged onto Twitter this morning and a little over 24 hours later... $36,000 has been pledged. This is more than I, and those involved, could ever have hoped for. When I sat down to work out how much I could pledge, I had imagined that in the final days of July, I'd be anxiously watching the numbers crawl up to the final goal.

But it's not over. More money = more books and maybe even a second anthology. Even if you don't care about that, the rewards being offered for pledges are AMAZING and Renee is adding more as more pledges come in. Even if you don't give a shit about women in comic books, the profits are going to charity.

I urge you to check out their website and learn more about this project. If this stirs you, even just a little, go over to the Kickstarter page. Even $5 will help this amazing cause, and if you want a guaranteed copy of the anthology, pledging is the way to do that.

Review: Stargate Vala mal Doran #1

Originally posted July 1, 2010

As an avid SG-1 fan, I was delighted to spot this in my local shop, and I snatched it up immediately. I hadn't heard a single thing about it on official channels, but I'm way out of the loop, so it's totally understandable that I missed out on all the hype. Here is the Gateworld announcement from March this year, and the Comic Book Resources article slash interview.

Vala's a hoot, and I figured that any glimpse at her history would be interesting and funny. I was sort of right. I experieced a bit of disappointment pulling the comic out of the bag to read. The cover art is delightfully video-game reminiscent, and a little dark.

(Image taken from Gateworld, a really informative Stargate news and general info site)
However, the art inside is just traditional, good but unremarkable comic-book-style art.

Vala's character seems pretty true to form; she's witty, devious, unscrupulous and a little bit silly. I didn't recognise the writer's name - Brandon Jerwa - so I did a bit of snooping via Google. Turns out he pretty much specialises in tie-in comics, so I am fairly confident he'll do a good job adding to the Stargate world and accurately portraying the loveable scamp Vala.

The first page provides a bit of info on timelines - this adventure takes place sometime after Vala had been taken over by Qetesh, but before she falls in with the SG-1 crew. We see Val has - as per usual - gotten herself in over her head and is attempting to turn things around through lying her leather-clad butt off. In the interview with CBR, Jerwa says that the SG-1 crew will be appearing later in the series, as the timeline movies into more current territory.

This issue is filled with a very colourful array of aliens, a hearty dash of intergalactic politics, cool gadgets and Vala's signature close escapes. I wouldn't call this a vital piece of the Stargate pie, and of course it'll appeal mostly to the SG-1 fans. From the comments on the Gateworld announcement, I saw a few disparaging remarks directed at the fact no 'official' Stargate writers are affiliated with the project.

I myself won't be following this series avidly; I'll probably wait a few months and pick up a bunch of issues at once. There is a bit of a rumour going around that Stargate SG-1 will have a season 11 in comics, a la Angel and Buffy. If this goes ahead, my wallet will cry and I will have to sit down and watch seasons 9 and 10 all the way through. After season 8, I sort of got distracted by Firefly.

2011 edit: I really lost interest with this series, but since it only went for 5 issues, I'll probably collect the rest. And the re-watch the end of the TV series. 

Review: The Guild miniseries

Originally posted at my other blog on 21/6/2010

General info
The Guild is an internet webseries written by Felicia Day, who also directs and stars in it. Those of you who've read the archives of this blog would know she is one of my icons. I will attempt to keep the gushing to a minimum - suffice to say that Felicia is extremely talented and I admire her greatly. She is an avid convention attendee, and I have my fingers crossed she'll come to Australia next year (she was supposed to be at Supanova this year, but had to pull out due to starting work on The Guild season 4).

Felicia's work, summed up, would read like this:

• Guest-starred in Buffy the Vampire Slayer as a 'potential' named Vi.
• Has done guest roles on TV shows such as Lie To Me, House, Monk, and of course Dollhouse.
• Pioneered the internet webseries genre by starting The Guild, now in its fourth season, and currently sponsored by Microsoft to preserve its free viewing status.
• Furthered the internet webseries genre by co-starring in Dr. Horrible's Sing-a-long Blog, and appearing in series such as The Legend of Neil and The Jace Hall Show.
• Starring in the upcoming SciFi Channel movie Red.

Actual review!
This three-issue miniseries, written from the point of view of Felicia's character Cyd Sherman, is a prequel to the series. It explains Cyd's background, her plethora of neuroses, and explains how and why she got to be the obsessive, addict-type gamer we get to know and love in the webseries. It follows the format of the series, with Cyd interacting 'with' the reader/audience via a webcam, which she uses like a diary. This sequences tie up the episodes' content and give the reader/audience an insight into Cyd's thoughts and feelings. You don't necessarily have to have watched the series before you read the comics, but it does help, and I'm sure there have been a few 'new' fans since the comics' publication.

Storyline
When the comic starts, Cyd has a boyfriend, a therapist and a job. When the webseries starts, she only has one of these things (which she loses in the first episode). Poor Cyd has a lot of issues, which her faceless therapist (humorously, if a little stereotypically drawn as the back of an enormous leather armchair and a pair of feet) doesn't seem to be helping her through. Cyd's job playing a violin in an orchestra is more or less ok, if a bit dead-end. It's her disgustingly egotistical boyfriend who's causing her the most problems. They met in the orchestra (he plays cello) but he dropped it for a band called 'The Shredders'. Cyd has been conned into writing all the music, taking tickets, putting up fliers, and basically doing all the roadie's jobs, getting zero credit and as much respect from her boyfriend, Trevor. One day, Cyd walks into a gaming shop, entranced by a poster in the window inviting her to "escape into a fantasy". She buys the advertised game, in exchange for being allowed to put up one of the band's fliers. That night, after a gig, her boyfriend abandons her to go out drinking with his bandmates. A dejected Cyd goes home, and loses herself in the game. The comic series trace her progress through the game and the people she meets on it, her rapidly deteriorating relationship with her increasingly manipulative boyfriend, and her own emotional journey as she is tugged between real life and the game world.

Cyd is just as neurotic and down-trodden in the comic as she is in the series. The other in-game characters' somewhat larger-than-life personalities are hinted at in their rather brief appearances. Trevor, Cyd's boyfriend, is also a cartoonish figure - selfish, ungracious, unfaithful and an all-around douchebag. The band-mates have no dialogue at all. In fact, the only other 'new' characters who exceed 1-D status (albeit barely) are the orchestra conductor Gunther and Cyd's fellow violinist Mrs. Bogeman. Their existance is limited entirely to the comics, and Cyd's interpretation of them. Maybe it's because of the short length of the series, or the narrow point of view that first-person affords, but the comic characterisation is a little shallow outside of Cyd herself.


Felicia Day readily admits that she knows the addictive capabilities of gaming firsthand. However, it is not always the negative thing usually portrayed by media. Also, 'nerds' and 'geeks' aren't always the antisocial misfits they're made out to be (Cyd Sherman being a good example of both, notwithstanding). Felicia aimed to show the positive impacts gaming can have on an individual's life, if used in moderation. Cyd demonstrates both the positives and the negatives, in the comics and series. By showing the characters in and out of the games, Felicia establishes and plays with the balance of the two. The comics are about Cyd's world and relationships both in and out of the game, and the firm line between. The series demolishes this line, to hilarious results.


Art
The art in this is brilliant. Jim Rugg certainly showcases his versatility - there are two distinct and very different styles in these comics. One is for 'real life': this has crisp, clean lines and shapes. Shading is minimal, providing depth and dimension only where needed. Otherwise it is comprised of very sharp shapes and colours. This is to contrast with the art 'in-game', which looks like a cross between pencil and watercolour. It's beautiful, with soft lines, rich colours and shading. It is SO different to the 'real life' look, which I appreciate immensely. I like the gritty brashness of the 'real' art, and the 'game' art is really pretty, dreamlike and almost forgiving in comparison. I feel that it really emphasises how Cyd feels about these two areas of her life.

Summary
In retrospect, you're probably better off reading this series after you've watched The Guild, otherwise you miss out on a lot of the revelationary aspects, and the unique tones of the characters. This was Felicia's first comic, and as she said, "limitations on how much dialogue you can put into each panel and the idea of visual storytelling was pretty challenging"*. For a first effort, in a style so very different from screen-writing, she gets a big thumbs up from me. I am also very, very stoked by her choice of artist - Rugg did a fantastic job keeping that more-than-real feel of the series, and contrasting it with the 'otherness' of an MMORPG. I also love-love-love the covers, and if I had mone to spare I'd collect the variants for sure. I actually had a lot of trouble getting ahold of these comics - my local store never managed to order enough, and I always had to wait for the second shipment because I was silly and didn't preorder them. If Felicia ever does some more comic adaptations, I'll know better!

Links
Read a great article on The Guild universe, with quotes from an interview with Felicia here at Comic Book Resources.

A preview interview by MTV here: *quote taken from this interview.

Felicia Day's blog.

The Guild official homepage for general information about the webseries, links to episodes, and a store to buy the DVD versions and merch from.

2011 edit: Felicia's rep sheet is quite a bit longer now - check out her site for all the new stuff!

Review: Kill Shakespeare #1

Originally posted 20/4/2010 on my other blog.

I heard about this new series on Comic Vine and was immediately intriuged. Their summary reads: " This dark take on the Bard pits his greatest heroes (Hamlet, Juliet, Othello Falstaff) against his most menacing villains (Richard III, Lady Macbeth, Iago) in an epic adventure to find and kill a reclusive wizard named William Shakespeare." The English student in me gasped delightedly and I pre-ordered it at my local comic shop.

Issue #1 came out last month, so I am a little late in reviwing it, but I wanted to read it a few times and mull it over before reviewing. Here's a link to the original cover. This isn't the one that I have, which is the variant cover. I think I like mine better, it's a little more relevant for me as it has some of the characters on it, and is more true to the art:

 Image from Kill Shakespeare's website, so all rights belong to them, it's nothing to do with me, etc etc.

Artwork: wow! I haven't read a huge variety of comic books, but I'm pretty confident in saying this is very unique artwork. I really like it. The colors are muted, but not in a dull way. It has a very deep, rich palette. The shapes and lines are really strong and bold. The characters have amazing clothing, quite textured and 'heavy'-looking. So, period-appropriate!

As I said, I haven't got a huge range of other comics to compare this to, but the way the panels are laid out in this issue is really different. The frames are thick and lopsided, not the smooth thin-bordered rectangles in most comics. It's not jarring or intrusive, but it definitely lends flair.

Storyline: Honestly, I was expected a big 'amazing race meets survivor' type deal, with all the villains and all the heroes of Shakespeare running around and fighting on this epic quest. Really, it's a bit more like an MMO. Non-spoilery summary: Hamlet, our main character, is exiled for semi-accidentally killing someone, and then Richard III offers him a deal, which involves Hamlet killing the 'dark wizard-god Shakespeare'. There's also a typed version of the prophecy that the series is based around at the back of the issue.

A little slow as first installations go, nevertheless I'll definitely be following this series to the finish. The concept is just awesome and I really think the artwork A) suits it, and B) is gorgeous. The next issue came out yesterday (May 19th) but being in Australia it'll probably be a week or two til I can get my hands on it. I'll probably review the next issue in a few weeks.

2011 edit:
Having read a lot more comic books since picking up Kill Shakespeare #1 last year, I'm still reading this series, I still love the artwork, and I appreciate the solid character construction more than ever. Next month's issue, #12 will be the last of the series, so if you're not into single-issue format, hang out a while and wait for the trade to come out.