Morning!
That has been one hell of a week. Comics as far as the eye can see. To make up for the fact that I was missing TCAF (the Toronto Comics Art Festival) I headed to the London Comic Mart and picked up a rucksack full! I also got to catch up with some pals, chatting in that new thing we have experienced briefly in London called sunshine.
I’ve mentioned it a few times on here and on the Blogspot that preceded it but you can’t beat the Mart for value for money! I managed to grab some comics for myself and some presents for US pals I’ll be seeing at the upcoming Heroes Convention in Charlotte.
Meanwhile on the ACP we were lucky to have Jeff Smith of Bone and Rasl fame on for an hour. It’s no understatement to say that he was a joy to chat with. Enthusiasm for comics, encouraging, funny and a real shot in the arm! You can have a listen here. As some research I realised that I hadn’t yet read any Tuki. This is a fun romp through prehistoric times. As usual with Jeff it’s funny, touching, exciting and above all just great comics. Have a look for it.
Meanwhile, over at the NIA podcast I’ll be interviewing Ian Ashcroft and Cliff Cumber tomorrow night as part of the short series where I chat to collaborators and see what makes them tick (and bother to work with me). It’s bound to be a riot. You can catch up on past episodes here.
On to the task at hand. I got to choose from 149 comics that I have read in the last week. Many have been back issues and from collections. A worthy mention was the John Byrne Alpha Flight omnibus that captured a whole evening!
Tops.
I’m boring. I know that. I’m sure you’ll be thinking, ‘Not this again!’ But there is absolutely no doubt that Batman/Dylan Dog is the best comic I have read this week, month and year. It’s also a bunch of people who are not part of the ‘in crowd’ at DC who have produced the best Batman comic book for years!
Written by Roberto Recchioni. Art by Gigi Cavenago and Werther Dell’Edera. Colours by Giovanna Niro and Laura Cion Dolini.
I won’t ruin any of the story as it only came out yesterday. But there is one moment where we hear from Batman about what he thinks he is. What his role is. What his mission is. Simply and pragmatically told by Batman, but done with poignancy and totally in character. When you think about it, what he says is obvious really. It just took some Italian dudes to tell us. No massive gang of Bat-People. No overly complicated events that spread over thirty odd titles. Just a single moment of conversation. Beautiful writing.
Incredible art! It takes the best of what we have seen in the regular Dylan Dog fumettis and adds the colours of an amazing western comic (and some!) I was chatting to Al Henderson last week and he tells me that there isn’t a hardback version planned!!! This is a crime up there with the worst!
Convinced yet?
Bottoms.
It hardly seems fair to sully the above gorgeousness with my least favourite read of the week. But for the sake of balance and to show that nothing is perfect here we go. This is called ‘Tower of Solace’. It has no ‘Tower’ in it and certainly gave me no ‘Solace’.
A three page ‘comic’ I read digitally as part of my Global Comics subscription, so technically it didn’t cost too much. What I show above and below represents two thirds of the content! And, what is going on with that title font? (Don’t tell Vince – he’ll smash something!)
Oh well, not everything can be perfect!
Thanks for reading. Catch you soon!
Never Iron Anything - The Comics Review Website 