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Stumptown Comics Fest 2010

Monday, April 26th, 2010

04/26/10 (Portland OR) Andy Grossberg

TRIPWIRE was at both days of Portland’s famous Stumptown Comics Fest possibly the indy comics show of the year. It compares favorably to others such as APE: It brings out some of the bigger guns like Dark Horse and Oni (if for no other reason than that they’re based there) but also dozens of DYI mini comics creators and others were in the room taking part in the photocopier revolution and getting their work seen. There were panels and signings from the likes of Paul Pope and Mike Allred and on Saturday night they gave away the 4th annual Trophy awards.

The crowd seemed bigger this year than last as the show continues to grow every year. A lot of the programming focused on creating comics yourself with panels like An Artist’s Intro to Contracts or Rights and Local Printing & Publishing but there were also spotlight panels with creators like Craig Thompson. There were also terrific offsite events like Dr. Sketchy’s art classes. In all it was a low-key but terrific and exhausting show.

Things really got started the night before though at Guapo Comics, a neat comic shop and cafe that stocks a ton of Portland’s independent comics in the back. The beer was free and I’m told there was free food but we got there too late for that. Judging from the crowd the party was a success. The inside of Guapo Comics

There was so much to see that it took going on both days just to absorb the plethora of diverse books for sale in all shapes and sizes. I’m always hungry for new comics and the inspiration that comes with them so the exhibitor’s room was like food for the starving.

The guys from Sparkplug Comics It was great to see that many of small publishers like Sparkplug Comics have survived the stuttering US economy.

Batton Lash was signing copies of Wolff & Byrd as well as his Archie work.

And of course Richard Starkings was there to promote Elephantmen (see our review from last August of last year).

Fantagraphics booth Fantagraphics made the short drive down from Seattle.

Shawna Gore from Dark Horse reviewing portfolios Dark Horse Comics even had portfolio reviews going on both days!

Overall it was another great show and a triumph for the guys who put it on. I came back with so many new books to read that my head is spinning. Hopefully I’ll have some reviews of stuff I picked up to follow throughout the coming weeks.

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Thicker Than Water

Sunday, September 6th, 2009

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8/30/09 (LONDON) Joel Meadows

NOVEL REVIEW

TITLE: Thicker Than Water
WRITER: Mike Carey
PUBLISHER: Orbit Books

Mike Carey has made a name for himself as an established comic writer on titles like Lucifer, Hellblazer, Crossing Midnight, X-Men and Ultimate Fantastic Four but he has also displayed a deft hand for prose. Thicker Than Water is the fourth book featuring his Felix Castor character, an exorcist in a slightly alternate London who uses a tin whistle to banish ghosts to the netherworld.

This fourth book sees Castor get embroiled in a case that takes him back to his childhood and briefly forces him from London to Liverpool, the place he is from originally. Thicker Than Water, like the previous Castor novels, uses its settings like another character in the proceedings and Carey crafts prose that is dripping in atmosphere and mood, creating a London of tower blocks and belligerent coppers. He continues to merge classic noir or detective tropes and supernatural stylings with ease and proficiency. Carey fills Castor’s world with well-delineated supporting characters like his landlady Pen, former friend Rafi Ditko (possessed by the spirit of a truly evil demon) and succubus Juliet.

When the first book was published, Castor came across like a more serious John Constantine, a character that Carey wrote for a number of years for DC’s Vertigo line. But the differences between the two are more apparent now: Castor is less callous and arrogant than Constantine and less sure of himself. Also, Castor’s world is more low-key and mundane than the world that Constantine inhabits and it makes the horror more hard-hitting.

My only minor quibble with this particular volume is that perhaps it might be a little hard to pick it up if you haven’t read the three predecessors, but that’s a minor criticism. So, once you’ve picked up and digested the first three (The Devil You Know, Vicious Circle and Dead Men’s Boots), then you can grab this one. And not one to rest on his laurels, the fifth Castor book, The Naming of The Beasts, is out as you read this. Felix Castor comes from a long British tradition and is a worthy addition to the canon.

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TRIPWIRE Discovers Rainbow Orchid

Monday, August 17th, 2009

8/15/09 (LONDON) Joel Meadows
Recently TRIPWIRE attended the Rainbow Orchid launch that took place at the world-famous Foyles Bookshop on Charing Cross Road in London.

Rainbow Orchid, created by Garen Ewing, started life as a small press, self-published comic / graphic novel and now years later, it is published by large mainstream illustrated book publisher Egmont, who also publish Tintin amongst many other titles. So to celebrate The Adventures of Julius Chancer: The Rainbow Orchid Volume 1, Egmont took the Gallery upstairs in Foyles and invited people in the comics and publishing field to commemorate its launch.

Among the attendees I saw downthetubes‘ John Freeman, Alex Fitch, from Resonance FM, children’s and comic artist Sarah McIntyre, Rainbow Orchid creator Garen Ewing and Paul Gravett writer about comics and curator of the established London event Comica.

It’s rare that a graphic novel makes the leap from independently published to being part of a mainstream publisher, so it’s very exciting news that Ewing’s title may at last get the sort of exposure it and his work has always deserved.

Photos from the event: