10 THINGS I LIKE ABOUT FEBRUARY 2011 COMICS (AND A COUPLE I’M NOT SO CRAZY ABOUT)


SpongeBob Comics

SpongeBob Comics

KC Carlson talks about some books he’s excited about including United Plankton Pictures’ SpongeBob Comics, IDW’s Art of George Perez, Top Shelf’s Owly & Wormy, and more!

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Roger’s Comic Ramblings: Kids & Comics


The Incredibles

by Roger Ash

If there’s one lament I’ve heard the most over the years I’ve worked in comics, it’s “There aren’t enough comics for kids. Publishers need to provide more for kids to read.” I’m not going to argue about if there are enough comics for kids or not. What I am going to take issue with is the sentiment behind this statement. Nearly everyone I know who’s made this statement seem to believe that if more comics for kids were available, kids would start reading more comics, thus saving the industry. Baloney. (I’d use a stronger word, but that would lose us our PG13 rating.) This isn’t Field of Dreams. Just because we print them, doesn’t mean they’ll come.

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KC Column: Better Place


KC Carlson

by KC Carlson

“There’s a place where I can go…”

These are the opening lyrics to the Beach Boys’ In My Room. Gary Usher wrote those words and Brian Wilson wrote the music in 1963, and it quickly became an anthem for the sensitive and introspective. Brian always claims it was just about the bedroom that he and his brothers shared — and where the Beach Boys’ harmony “sound” was first forged. But raise your hands if you think the song is actually about more than that.

Oddly, a few months before, John Lennon wrote a song called “There’s a Place”, which appeared on the first U.K. Beatles album Please Please Me. On the surface, it appears to be a Motown-influenced song about romance (The Beatles’ stock-in-trade at this point), but as with most things Lennon, if you peel the onion back, you discover that the place the singer (Lennon) wants to go when he feels low and blue is actually in his own mind.

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Roger’s Comic Ramblings: A Difficult Question


100 Bullets Vol. 1

by Roger Ash

So, I’m at a party Friday night at which I don’t know most of the people. I strike up a conversation with a friendly couple and we’re soon joined by another couple and have a fun conversation about TV and movies (apparently I’m missing out by never having seen The Wire. Guess I’ll check that out.). In the course of talking with one of the guys, it comes out that I work for Westfield and he asked me what sounds like a simple question: “Are there any comics you’d recommend?” This, or variations on it, is the most common question I get about comics and it’s a more difficult question than it appears. The quick reaction would be to start listing comics I like, but that’s not necessarily helpful. Let me explain.

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