J.D. Salinger may be dead, but similarly revered, similarly reclusive author Bill Watterson is not. The Cleveland Plain Dealer got an interview (via email, of course) with the Calvin & Hobbes cartoonist—the first he’s granted in over 20 years—in connection with an upcoming book about the strip. “Leave me alone!” Nothing that revelatory here, but […]
Comic Books
Posted inComic Books
Drawings of Joe Sacco’s Face
Powell’s top floor was standing room only last night by the time I showed up for war reporting cartoonist Joe Sacco‘s appearance. Sacco’s newest book, Footnotes in Gaza, has blitzed the media from here to New York to the UK but I was still surprised to see such a packed house for in his hometown. […]
Posted inMovies & TV
Dear Hollywood: STOP REBOOTING THINGS.
The news that Sony is rebooting Spider-Man (don’t let the door hit your asses on the way out, Sam Raimi and Tobey Maguire! Hope you weren’t counting on that paycheck, John Malkovich!) is, I don’t know, frustrating. On one hand, I won’t have to look at Kirsten Dunst’s face for three more movies, so that’s […]
Posted inComic Books
Why Joe Sacco Lives in Portland
Joe Sacco This week I had the incredible opportunity to interview one of my top five heroes, Portland-based comics journalist Joe Sacco. After creating groundbreaking comic books detailing the lives of Bosnianas, Palestinians and punk rock musicians, his new book Footnotes in Gaza tries to unravel violent incidents that occurred in the occupied territory 50 […]
Posted inMovies & TV
Holy Shit! It’s Scott Pilgrim! And He’s Got a Sword!
We’ve been teased with glimpses before, but here’s our first honest-to-goodness look at a still from Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Edgar Wright’s upcoming adaptation of Bryan Lee O’Malley’s amazing and fantastic and must-read Scott Pilgrim comics. Goddamn! And no, I’m not going to explain what’s going on in that image, because if you can’t […]
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A Q&A with The Unwritten‘s Mike Carey
Vertigo’s The Unwritten, by Mike Carey and Peter Gross, is currently my favorite ongoing comic: It’s smart, unabashedly literary in its influences, and pretty damn original when it comes to synthesizing those influences. An author writes a series of beloved children’s books about a boy wizard named Tommy Taylor (a boy with two best friends […]
Posted inComic Books
Indie Comic Book Week… Is Here!
Remember when we blogged about Indie Comic Book week—a week during which, because Diamond Distributors won’t be shipping any new comics, participating retailers will dedicate their new-release shelves to showcasing independent creators? Well… it’s now! Until 7 pm today at Things from Another World‘s Hollywood store (4133 NE Sandy), meet indie comics creators Paul Guinan […]
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Face Front, True Believer!
Stan Lee turns 87 today. I learned how to read on my older brother’s comic books and Peanuts collections when I was three. About a year later, I think that Stan Lee might have been the first writer who I was ever able to recognize based on his style alone. A Stan Lee sentence—throbbing with […]
Posted inBooks
Best Books of 2009.
Oh yes. We’re doing this. Some of the books I most enjoyed this year, in no particular order. Love in Infant Monkeys by Lydia Millet—Madonna kills a pheasant; Nicholas Tesla falls in love with a pigeon; I renew my devotion to Lydia Millet. Chronic City by Jonathan Lethem—After a regrettable detour to Los Angeles, Lethem […]
Posted inMovies & TV
New Kick-Ass Red-Band Trailer.
When studios refused to fund Matthew Vaughn’s adaptation of Mark Millar and John Romita, Jr.’s comic Kick-Ass, Vaughn figured out how to independently finance the thing himself. And as soon as Vaughn was finished shooting it, and soon as everyone realized that it looked fucking awesome, studios like Lionsgate and Universal jumped at the chance […]
Posted inMovies & TV
Edgar Wright’s Movie Playlist
Here’s director Edgar Wright on the BBC, playing records and explaining “how certain music comes to be used in certain parts of films.” And talking, a bit about the upcoming Scott Pilgrim movie (squeal!)—he plays tracks from Metric and Broken Social Scene, both of whom have songs on that soundtrack. “Broken Social Scene is one […]
Posted inComic Books
12 Days of Christmas, Comics-Style
Comics Alliance is posting comics interpretations of the 12 days of Christmas—as illustrated by members of Portland’s Periscope Studio. (Why the local angle? Comics Alliance editor Laura Hudson lives in town). Today’s offering: “Five Golden Rings,” courtesy of Jeff Parker. If you like this Comics + Christmas thing, consider checking out Cosmic Monkey‘s Creative Creatures […]