Gay Penguins a Menace to Society

You can't make this stuff up...

Persecution of the Penguin Book
by Claire Kirch, PW Daily -- 11/21/2006

Movies about penguins might be box-office gold (March of the Penguins; Happy Feet), but controversy has been dogging a picture book about penguins, published in June 2005 by Simon & Schuster.

And Tango Makes Three, written by professor of psychiatry Justin Richardson and playwright Peter Parnell, illustrated by Henry Cole, is the story of two male penguins at the Central Park Zoo, who hatch and raise a penguin chick. The tale is based on an actual event that occurred at that zoo in 1998.

Although Tango has received a string of awards and honors, including an ASPCA Henry Bergh Book Award, and was an ALA Notable, parents in Shiloh, Ill., 20 miles east of St. Louis, recently complained to the school district that the book promotes "the homosexual lifestyle" and is easily accessible to children in the elementary school library. These parents are asking that Tango either be shelved in a restricted area or that children wanting to check out the book obtain parental permission...

[read the entire article here]

Stupid, stupid, stupid...

PS: Considering recent[ish] developments, I wonder if Diamond would accept And Tango Makes Three for distribution?

On The Shelves: 11/22/06

Reading is fundamental. Don't waste your time reading bad comics out of habit!

My weekly sporadic, ill-informed look at select comic books being released Wednesday, 11/22/06 follows. The full shipping is list available at ComicList.

[NOTE: Not all of these titles will actually arrive in all stores. If your LCBS offers a pre-ordering service, be sure to take advantage of it. If not, find another one; or try Khepri.com or MidtownComics.com]

PICK OF THE WEEK


Casanova #6

ADHOUSE BOOKS
Project Romantic HC Sgn, $60.00

Haven't had a chance to read my copy yet, but I did check out Debbie Huey's adorable effort and flipped through the rest and it looks like another winning Project from AdHouse.

ARCANA STUDIO
100 Girls Vol 2 TPB (resolicited), $9.95

Volume 2?!?! Either I'm really out of the loop or this is a typo and it's actually the excellent volume one. Arcana's web site makes no mention of it at all.

DARK HORSE COMICS
Conan #34, $2.99
Perhapanauts Second Chances #2 (Of 4), $2.99
Star Wars Legacy #1 (New Ptg), $2.99

The first volume of Perhapanauts was a bit of a let-down, so I'll wait for the trade on this second effort before checking it out.

DC COMICS
Blue Beetle #9, $2.99
Jack Of Fables #5, $2.99
Uncle Sam And The Freedom Fighters #5 (Of 8), $2.99

After reading this, I was seriously tempted to drop everything DC publishes, but that's the baby with the bathwater approach and I'd have to drop comics completely since we all know DC isn't the only place in the industry this kind of stuff happens. I have dropped almost all of their high-profile titles, though, as the direction the overall DCU has moved over the past couple of years doesn't interest me in the least. Blue Beetle, though, has been a most pleasant surprise, existing far enough on the periphery that it feels almost completely unconnected to everything else, much the same way the grossly underrated Son of Vulcan mini-series was a while back.

HOT MEXICAN LOVE COMICS
Hot Mexican Love Comics 2006, $5.00

Um...what!?!? Oh, ok, that sounds interesting, actually. Suspect I might have to go to Hanley's to get this one.

IMAGE COMICS
Casanova #6, $1.99

Casanova #5 was a great read, and Fraction's text pieces at the end of each issue will make a great standalone book some day. Be interesting to see if he and Ba surpass Ellis and Templesmith's Slimline output by the middle of next year. What was the last issue of Fell, anyway?

MARVEL COMICS
All New Off Handbook Marvel Universe A To Z #11, $3.99
Daredevil #91, $2.99
Heroes For Hire #4, $2.99
X-Factor #13, $2.99

With Palmiotti and Gray signing an exclusive with DC, Zeb Wells will be taking over Heroes for Hire and I suspect I'll be dropping it at that point. No offense to Wells, whose work I've never read, but I'm barely hanging on through P&G's strained Civil War tie-in, and as much as I like the characters, I can no longer justify keeping titles on my pull list "just because".

VIPER COMICS
Dead At 17 Vol 2 #2, $3.25

I wasn't a big fan of this series in the past, but the first issue of this latest volume, now an ongoing series, piqued my interest.

W.W. NORTON
Will Eisners Dropsie Avenue SC, $16.95

The first Eisner graphic novel I ever read and it remains one of my overall favorites.

Random Top 5: Most Anticipated

The reorganizing of the apartment continues, but the comics bookshelf is complete, with every graphic novel and comic book-related book I own now in one place. Some had been stashed away in longboxes, but now that they're all breathing freely, I've noticed there are several I've yet to get around to reading yet.

As soon as I'm finished reading The Prestige, the five I'm most anticipating getting to next are:

5) Black Superheroes, Milestone Comics and Their Fans, by Jeffrey A. Brown
4) Outlaws, Rebels, Freethinkers & Pirates, by Bob Levin
3) Project: Romantic, by Various
2) Goodbye, Chunky Rice, by Craig Thompson
1) Will Eisner's The Spirit Archives: Volume One

What are you most looking forward to reading next?

Belated Halloween Happiness

Bumperboy is one the reasons I could never give up comics completely!
Debbie Huey rocks.

The Prestige, Comics, Life, etc.

** No, I haven't seen Heroes yet, though not for lack of interest. Probably end up getting the Season One DVD and watching it when I retire, along with the many other movies and TV shows I've missed over the past couple of years. I did see The Prestige, though, and loved it. (Bought the novel, which I just started reading, mistakenly thinking it was by the Christopher Priest from comics.) Christopher Nolan is up there with M. Night Shyamalan and David Fincher as one of my favorite directors, and Christian Bale solidified his standing as my favorite Batman/Bruce Wayne. Hugh Jackman's turn as his own double was quite possibly his best acting yet, showing a range I didn't realize he had. Makes me think the Wolverine spinoff might actually have a shot at being good.

** I finally stopped by Midtown Comics last week and picked up six weeks of comics, which was a wallet-bending amount even with my pared-down pull list. Some pleasant surprises in the mix, including ASP's intriguing The Killer #1, a moody take on a philosophical assassin with some exquisite artwork; the delightfully whacked-out Casanova #5, which continues to successfully walk the tightrope between smart and smarmy; and Captain America #23 and Daredevil #90, which continue Ed Brubaker's run as the best writer currently working at the House of Ideas.

** We're in the middle of rearranging our apartment to maximize our use of increasingly limited space, including an additional bookcase so my wife and I can each have our own. I pulled a number of TPBs out of random corners and now have an almost floor-to-ceiling collection of graphic goodness easily at hand! I'm going to have to cull a few marginal titles to make space for future purchases as I'm about halfway to focusing primarily on TPBs.

** Met with Jon and Howard from PopCultureShock for drinks last week and am looking forward to being able to jump back into a regular writing gig by the beginning of the year. Not sure in what capacity yet, or what it will mean for CBC, but I'm hoping to be able to strike a balance between the two, focusing on the resource and opinion aspects of this site, while tackling longer reviews, features and interviews over there. For those of you still checking in here, stay tuned! :-)

On the Shelves: 11/15/06

Reading is fundamental. Don't waste your time reading bad comics out of habit!

My weekly sporadic, ill-informed look at select comic books being released Wednesday, 11/15/06 follows. The full shipping is list available at ComicList.

[NOTE: Not all of these titles will actually arrive in all stores. If your LCBS offers a pre-ordering service, be sure to take advantage of it. If not, find another one; or try Khepri.com or MidtownComics.com]

PICK OF THE WEEK


Moon Knight #6

AMAZE INK (SLAVE LABOR GRAPHICS)
Tron #2, $3.50

It's kind of ridiculous how long ago #1 came out, but it was a good read so I'm still on board.

ARCHAIA STUDIOS PRESS
Mouse Guard 2nd Ptg #3 (Of 6), $3.50

Finally got around to reading #5 and I'm still loving what David Petersen is doing here. ASP publishes quality work, and Mouse Guard is one of their crown jewels.

DARK HORSE COMICS
Sock Monkey The Inches Incident #2 (Of 4), $2.99

The problem with going long stretches without hitting your LCBS and not surfing the comics interweb is that you miss out on stuff you might have been interested in, like this Sock Monkey mini-series I had no idea existed. Might have to TPB it.

DC COMICS
Astro City The Dark Age Book Two #1, $2.99
Green Lantern Corps #6, $2.99
Robin #156, $2.99

I'm honestly surprised by which DC titles I'm still reading, GLC & Robin among them. Astro City, though, may be TPBd.

DEVILS DUE PUBLISHING
GI Joe Dreadnoks Declassified Sauve Cvr A #1 (Of 3), $4.95

I'm a such a sucker for DDP's GI Joe titles, especially these short-run DeClassified spinoffs. I mean, I have no idea who/what Dreadnoks are, but I'll be buying it!

HILL & WANG
Graphic Biography Malcolm X GN, $15.95

I vaguely remember reading about this and will at least give it a flip-through.

MARVEL COMICS
Civil War #5 (Of 7), $2.99
Moon Knight #6, $2.99
Thunderbolts #108, $2.99
White Tiger #1 (Of 6), $2.99

Just say "no" to Civil War. I am. The side stories are much better written, and the "best" of any particular issue on the main story is easily accessible online. (Side note: My dislike for Millar's writing has even made Red Son, which I'd heard such positive things about, absolutely unreadable.)

Magazines
Back Issue #19, $6.95

I think even if I stopped reading comics altogether, I'd still pick up Back Issue for the warm, nostalgic feeling it gives.

Link: Moon Knight on TV??!!?

No, really!

Marvel Pacts with No Equal for Moon Knight

Marvel Studios, a division of Marvel Entertainment, Inc. and Vancouver based production company, No Equal Entertainment, have entered into an agreement to develop a live-action television series based on Marvel's cult favorite Moon Knight. The announcement was made today by David Maisel of Marvel Entertainment and Larry Sugar of No Equal Entertainment.

...Moon Knight's blend of action, the supernatural, and complex, intriguing characters will serve as the foundation for the live-action series.

"'Moon Knight' has all the elements for an engaging television series. No Equal Entertainment has a real passion for the project and an amazing vision of how to bring the character and storyline to life that will appeal to action and sci-fi enthusiasts," said Mr. Maisel.

I doubt any big names will be involved in the cast, but I'd love to see The Wire's Dominic West as Marc Spector.

On the Shelves: 10/4/06

Reading is fundamental. Don't waste your time reading bad comics out of habit!

I finally stopped by Midtown Comics last night and got caught up on four weeks of comics, including Civil War #4, which pretty much sucked as bad as many people are saying. After a six-week hiatus, my weekly look at select comic books being released Wednesday, 10/4/06, returns. Hopefully I'll start here and ease back into a groove over the next few weeks, at least until NaNoWriMo starts! The full shipping is list available at ComicList.

[NOTE: Not all of these titles will actually arrive in all stores. If your LCBS offers a pre-ordering service, be sure to take advantage of it. If not, find another one; or try Khepri.com or MidtownComics.com]

PICK OF THE WEEK


Strange Girl #11

AK ENTERTAINMENT INC
Aya #5, $2.95
Jalila #5, $2.95
Rakan #5, $2.95
Zein #5, $2.95

The appealing Middle Eastern slant aside, the first issues of all these felt a bit amateurish and I haven't checked them out since. It'll be interesting to see if AK has plans for collecting them as trades and whether or not that raises their profile some.

BOOM! STUDIOS
Savage Brothers #2 (Of 3), $3.99

The first issue of this one was pretty good, but I think my hiatus from the blogiverse might have cost me my spot on Boom!'s comp list, so no advance reviews this week.

DARK HORSE COMICS
Emily The Strange #3, $7.95

My wife picked up the first issue of Emily the Strange one day while accompanying me on an impromptu visit to Gotham City Comics last year, attracted by the artwork, but hated the writing.

DC COMICS
Detective Comics #824, $2.99
Jonah Hex #12, $2.99
Mystery In Space #2 (Of 8), $3.99

One thing about picking up your haul twice over a seven-week span is you end up culling your pull list when faced with the sticker shock that comes from an unhealthy stack of comics. Left a few DC titles at the store last night, but missed out on a few that I'd wanted to check out, like Mystery In Space. Any reviews of the first issue out there?

IDW PUBLISHING
Fallen Angel Idw #9, $3.99

I'm enjoying this series quite a bit. That is all.

IMAGE COMICS
Cross Bronx #2, $2.99
Fear Agent #8, $2.99
Strange Girl #11, $2.99

Picked up Cross Bronx #1 last night but haven't read it yet, but Brandon and Oeming together should be a good mix. If they pull a Fort Apache on the Bronx, though, I'll have to write them off. Fear Agent moving to Dark Horse is great news, and while Remender has said it's not in the works, I'm wouldn't be disappointed at all if Strange Girl made the jump, too. If you're not reading the latter, check out this interview on Newsarama.

MARKOSIA
Done To Death #3, $3.50
Scatterbrain #4, $3.50

Part of me expected to have heard Markosia had gone under by the time I got back around to blogging again, but it's good to see D2D and Scatterbrain hitting the shelves this week.

MARVEL COMICS
Criminal #1, $2.99
Incredible Hulk #99, $2.99

Ed Brubaker is the man, and excepting X-stuff, I'll pick up anything he writes. Planet Hulk continues to satisfy.

VIPER COMICS
Dummys Guide To Danger #2 (Of 4), $3.25
Villains #4 (Of 4), $3.25

Dummy's Guide... #1 was a fun read, and Villains has been one of the more intriguing bad guy-perspective comics in a while.

Books
Writing For Comics With Peter David SC, $19.99

I usually prefer the group perspective for writing books like these (though Stephen King's On Writing is an excellent read), but David's Fallen Angel and X-Factor are so damn good that I just may check this one out.

Me, Interviewed

It's been a while since the tables were turned and someone interviewed me, but Bloggasm's Simon Owens seemed to think I had something to offer, doing a little research beforehand and asking some really interesting questions.

Get to know me a little better: Interview with Guy LeCharles Gonzalez from Comic Book Commentary

In other news, my return to regular blogging is at least a few weeks away, and may be further pre-empted by NaNoWriMo. As it is, I'm still four or five weeks behind on picking up comics and as Fossen mentions, "No comics also makes comic bloggery difficult, and it's not like my mind is here anyways."

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