1. I know next to nothing about this one. Here's what I do know: Jimmy Beaulieu is a very well established francophone cartoonist from Canada. The book is coming out from Conundrum Press. And it seems like maybe my shop will put it up on the high shelf. I can't find a preview, so here's the solicit:
During a major power outage in the heat of a Montreal summer, two shy young neighbours finally take the time to slow down, meet, and spend time together. Beaulieau takes a microscope to the lives of a few citizens at a certain time and place and weaves their stories into a romantic tapestry.
2. One of the glorious bits of Marvel's (finally mercifully slowing) avalanche of new titles from the first half of the year was the increase, several fold, of books starring women. Although every single one of them looks good (Ms. Marvel and Elektra seem particularly exciting), I've landed on Black Widow and She-Hulk as regular titles. Phil Noto's art on Romanov's book is astonishing, somehow both sketchy and fully formed, and his page design is unusual without being wacky, which makes the comic maybe the most dynamic looking one I've seen since I started trade waiting Hawkeye, perfect for what is Marvel's premiere book in its premiere genre. Javier Pulido's art makes She-Hulk similarly eye catching, although it features a much more simple and traditional look, and Charles Soule balances the legal drama on the one hand with a similarly old fashioned high superheroics on the other.
3.
Trillum is the latest book both written and drawn by Jeff Lemire, one of indie comics's great recent talents, who has spent most of the last few years working on an exclusive contract from DC. In some ways, Lemire is an industry success story, able to cash in by writing superhero books while also ensuring that he has the time to produce content for which he serves as the sole creator. With his
DC exclusive at an end, it's nice to see him branch out a little bit. I read the first issue of this one (published under DC's languishing Vertigo imprint) which had a flip book gimmick, where each cover sat in front of the starting point of a story, with the two meeting in the middle. It was a neat trick, but I wonder how the content will be presented in the trade paperback format. One of the advantages of the floppies is that you can do things that are unwieldy with larger books; although it would be antithetical to the publishing strategies of the big companies, one wonders if, formally, this book would be better served if it had not been collected.
4. Usagi Yojimbo has been around for so long, and is held in such high esteem, that sometimes it seems insurmountable. One day, I'd like to tackle in from the beginning. For now, Senso, a limited series with some sci-fi elements set in the samurai rabbit's future, seems like a good place to start.
