There’s only one book this week that I haven’t read that I’d like to, but t
here are a few interesting titles coming out that collect comics I’ve already read.
The Book I Would Like to Buy:
Grandville Mon Amour HC
by Bryan Talbot; Dark Horse, $19.99
I haven’t got the first Grandville book yet, so I’m in no rush to get ahold of this book, but I know that I want to read it eventually.
Bryan Talbot is an amazing writer and artist – read The Tale of One Bad Rat – and this is a mystery series starring steampunk talking animals. How can it be anything but amazing?
Comics I Think You Should Buy:
Forgetless TP
by Nick Spencer, W. Scott Forbes, Jorge Coelho, and Marley Zarcone; Image, $14.99
Writer Nick Spencer is getting a ton of attention all around the internet these days for his series Morning Glories, and for his new titles at DC. This is the first of his comics that I read, and is still my favourite from his oeuvre.
Forgetless is a legendary club night in New York, which is closing down (again). There are about four different stories told in this comic (by three different artists) which revolve around this special night, although in actuality, we see very little of what goes on in the club.
One story is about a pair of models who do some assassin for hire work on the side. Their story is told largely through Twitter tweets, and has some lovely Udon-style artwork. There is also a story about a guy who has become an internet sensation for his willingness to have sex with any number of inanimate objects, like the Empire State Building. The third plot line follows a Letterman-like late night TV host who enjoys having random sexual encounters in a stuffed panda suit with women he meets on Craigslist.
The final story (they are actually concurrent, so it’s not really the last story) is about three teens in Jersey who are determined to make it to Forgetless, despite their lack of money and valid ID. Their story is drawn by the immensely talented Marley Zarcone, which is what made me like it so much.
This book is quirky and original, and I would say it’s still the best thing that Spencer has done. Check it out.
CBGB TP
by various artists; Boom!, $14.99
Quirky might just be the theme for this week, as Boom! collects their strange and unexpected anthology series that was set at CBGB, the legendary music club in New York.
I enjoyed this series, although not all of the stories collected here are equal in their quality. The best of them deal with the influence of music on young souls, and look back on that influence after the passage of many years.
There are some incredible creators attached to this book – Kieron Gillen (how can you have a music comics anthology without him?), Rob G., Chuck BB, Ana Matronic, Toby Cypress, Kelly Sue DeConnick, and more.
I was pleased to see Boom! take a risk on a title like this, and I hope it gets enough attention that they decide to branch out into more projects like this one in the future.
Last Days of American Crime TP
by Rick Remender and Greg Tocchini; Radical, $14.95
Next to Hotwire, this is the best comic that Radical has published. It’s a heist story, set in a near future where the American government is planning on transmitting a signal that will make it impossible for people to commit crimes or break the law. In the days leading up to the first broadcast of this signal, the country goes nuts as people take advantage of their last chances for some mischief.
In the middle of this is an old crook who has designs to pull off one last job – the theft of a machine that will be able to digitally produce funds for whoever owns it. The thing is, he needs help to pull off the job, and ends up working with a couple who are quite nuts. There’s a lot of double-crossing and layers upon layers of planning, and Remender pulls the whole thing off in a way that is pretty satisfying.
I don’t normally get too excited about painted comics, but I enjoyed Tocchini’s work on this title a fair bit. This is one of the best comics Remender’s ever attached his name to.
So, what would you buy Were Money No Object?
