While "researching" a recent Nexus Graphica, I had reason to look through my collection of Comics Of Unusual Size. This set of the big and small and odd of comicdom offers many gems. Deciding that I really should share some of these largely forgotten and sometime rare pieces, I’m taking you through a tour of the more interesting selections.

Legend states that sometime in 1970s cartoonist Michael T. Gilbert ran across an old, coverless comic book featuring Mr. Monster. Unable to find anything about the obscure character, Gilbert decided to modernize the monster-hunter feature for Vanguard Illustrated #7 (Pacific Comics, 1984). Throughout the next two decades, the often-humorous and always interesting Mr. Monster stories appeared in various publications from Eclipse, Dark Horse, Atomeka, Fantagraphics, Caliber, Image, and Tundra.

While with Tundra, Gilbert planned for three Mr. Monster titles that employed the talents of George Freeman, Scott Deschaine, and Tom Buss and others: Mr. Monster Monster Attacks(1992), Mr Monster Presents Crack-a-boom! (published by Caliber, 1997), and Mr. Monster’s Gal… Friday (published by Image, 2000). As with most things Tundra, the company went under before the latter two could be published.

For the 1994 San Diego Comic Con, Gilbert produced a b&w ashcan promoting all three titles with teasers from several stories. The Mr. Monster Ashcan Comix No. 1 was signed and limited to 200 copies.

Back cover by Buss

Layout by Gilbert Art by Buss

Layouts by Deschaine Art by Gilbert

Layouts by Gilbert Art by Freeman

While "researching" a recent Nexus Graphica, I had reason to look through my collection of Comics Of Unusual Size. This set of the big and small and odd of comicdom offers many gems. Deciding that I really should share some of these largely forgotten and sometime rare pieces, I’m taking you through a tour of the more interesting selections.

Published sometime during the late 90s in Bastrop, TX, the mini-comic Jumbo Shrimp #1 was apparently meant to be a companion piece to the full sized comic Jumbo comics short stories(sic) #5. Since I don’t have the big Jumbo, I don’t know if this mini was an excerpt from the main book or additional stories.

Typical of most small press anthology titles, this small comic offers some slice-of-life, gratuitous sex and violence, and just some odd stories. None of it produced particularly well. Contributors include Rick Howe, Timothy Markin, Mark L. Stinson, Bobby Tran Dale, and Jim Conatser. The whole shebang appears to be edited by painter Liam Brooks (I can only assume the cover was painted by him. No credit is give).

Timothy Markin & Mark L. Stinson

Bobby Tran Dale

Jim Conatser

While "researching" a recent Nexus Graphica, I had reason to look through my collection of Comics Of Unusual Size. This set of the big and small and odd of comicdom offers many gems. Deciding that I really should share some of these largely forgotten and sometime rare pieces, I’m taking you through a tour of the more interesting selections.

Over a three year period in the 1990s, artist Chris Cilla and writer Greg Petix (of the Weird Lovemakers) produced the daily strip "Swonk" for The Arizona Daily Wildcat. The cartoons were initially collected in The Pocket Swonk and the Howling Swonk.

But what is a swonk? The duo attempts an explanation.

Um.. ok…

Like many college strips, the subjects range from college life to politics to life observations.

And like most strips, the humor is hit and miss.

As with many of us raised in the seventies and eighties, their works were heavily influenced by Marvel comics of the era, as evident by the back covers of each volume.

Eventually, the duo compiled a third collection "A Moon, A Girl… Swonk."

Let’s take a quick look to see what’s arrived in the mail here at the Geek Compound.

Jack Kirby’s The Demon Written by Jack Kirby; Art and cover by Jack Kirby and Mike Royer

Promo copy:

One of Jack "King" Kirby’s most memorable creations returns in this title collecting the entire, original 16-issue series from the early 1970s! Part man, part elemental fury, Etrigan the Demon was bound to Jason Blood by Merlin to defend Camelot, only to become a demonologist in the modern-day DC Universe.

I’m a huge Kirby fan, owning more collections of his work than any other individual artist. The quirky, supernatural tales of Etrigan are among my absolute favorites.

Much like the excellent Fourth World reprints, DC wisely chose a non-glossy paper stock to emulate the originals paper quality. What DC did not do wisely was promote the fact that previously unpublished pages of Demon art are included in this package. I’ll let Mark Evanier explain from his introduction.

As if all 16 issues in one hardcover wasn’t enough! At $50, this tome is a steal. Beat up copies of any of the original issues for a minimum of $2. In this kind of immaculate condition, you’re talking at least $5 an issue. You do the math.

Starfist: Wings of Hell by David Sherman and Dan Cragg

Promo copy:

No one captures the action and sacrifice of war better than real combat vets David Sherman and Dan Cragg. Now their blazing space epic Starfist continues as Marines of the Confederation’s Thirty-fourth Fleet Initial Strike Team (FIST) go head-to-head against the deadly Skinks. Of course, Company L’s third platoon has fought these aliens before, but never before in these numbers. . . .

Planet Haulover has been invaded by Skinks. Until now the aliens’ existence has been kept confidential. But Force Recon’s shocking report leaves the Confederation no choice but to mount a military campaign and reveal to the public its biggest secret: the threat of fierce alien predators bent on human destruction. What’s no secret is that the four army divisions and two Marine FISTs sent to Haulover aren’t nearly enough to defeat the well-entrenched aliens, who have a tunnel system second to none.

Back home, the Confederation’s president is being denounced as a warmonger bent on exterminating “harmless” aliens. And if she loses the upcoming elections, the Confederation will have a lot more Skinks than those on Haulover to worry about.

Newly promoted Lieutenant Charlie Bass and his third platoon have more pressing concerns, such as staying alive. But what would be a suicidal mission for most–whether it’s raiding a well-defended Skinks base or destroying the enemy’s most lethal weapons during a desperate firefight–is for them just another job.

Dr. Grave: The Unholy Twelve by Ed Clayton

Promo copy:

Collecting issues #1-4 of the original comic series, DR. GRAVE: THE UNHOLY TWELVE contains an illustrated cover by Guy Davis and an introduction by fellow comic creator Rob Schrab. Grave fights to prevent the Unholy Twelve from unleashing his greatest nemesis, Satan. No matter the amount (or quality) of booze he imbibes, women he seduces, or indignities his manservant Shandar suffers, Dr. Grave will stop at nothing to save us all!

Let’s take a quick look to see what’s arrived in the mail here at the Geek Compound.

Dexter – The First Season

Promo copy:

Dexter is based on the compelling novel "Darkly Dreaming Dexter" by Jeff Lindsay. Orphaned at the age of four and harboring a traumatic secret, Dexter Morgan (Dexter Morgan (Emmy- and Golden Globe- nominated actor Michael C. Hall from "Six Feet Under") is adopted by a police officer who recognizes Dexter’s homicidal tendencies and guides his son to channel his gruesome passion for human vivisection in a constructive way – by killing those heinous perpetrators that are above the law or who have slipped through the cracks of justice. A respected member of the police force, a perfect gentleman and a man with a soft spot for children, it’s hard not to like Dexter. Although his drive to kill is unflinching, he struggles to emulate normal emotions he doesn’t feel, and to keep up his appearance as a caring, socially responsible human being.

Yeah, I know this isn’t exactly new, but I just got it. I saw these discs several years ago, but never owned them. I reviewed the Season Two set a few months back, where I made comments about the first season.

(For those with Blu-ray, watch for Jan. 6 release of that format’s Dexter Season One.)

Traitor

Promo copy:

Academy Award® nominee Don Cheadle (Hotel Rwanda, Crash) and Guy Pearce (Memento, L.A. Confidential) star in Traitor, a taut international thriller set against a puzzle of covert counter-espionage operations. When straight-arrow FBI agent Roy Clayton (Pearce) investigates a dangerous international conspiracy responsible for a prison break in Yemen, a bombing in Nice and a raid in London, all clues seem to lead back to former U.S. Special Operations officer, Samir Horn(Cheadle). But a tangle of contradictory evidence emerges, forcing Clayton to question whether his suspect is a disaffected former military operative—or something far more complicated.

Obsessed with discovering the truth, Clayton tracks Horn across the globe as the elusive ex-soldier burrows deeper and deeper into a world of shadows and intrigue. Traitor is written and directed by Jeffrey Nachmanoff (screenwriter of The Day After Tomorrow).

Special Features:
Audio Commentary Featuring Director Jeffrey Nachmanoff and Actor Don Cheadle
Action! The Stunts And Special Effects of Traitor
International Espionage: An In-Depth Look at Traitor’s Exotic Locations

That Was The Year That Was. Part One.

Our final five selections will be announced in the January 1 column.

Let’s take a quick look to see what’s arrived in the mail here at the Geek Compound.

Veeps: Profiles in Insignificance by Bill Kelter (writer) and Wayne Shellabarger (artist)

Promo copy:

It’s a tired but true cliché that every American Vice President is just a heartbeat away from the most powerful job in the world … a job they’ve often never really interviewed for. Who are these people? We all know about the one who shot his hunting partner in the face, but how about the tavern owner who once married one of his slaves and then sold her at auction when she tried to leave him? Or the one whose President went to his death regretting that he hadn’t had his Vice President hanged? Or the one who was too frequently inebriated to serve out the whole of his term? Over more than 200 years, the American voters have sent a platoon of rogues, cowards, drunks, featherweights, doddering geriatrics, bigots, and atrocious spellers to Washington D.C. to sit one bullet, cerebral hemorrhage, or case of pneumonia away from the highest office in the land. VEEPS tells the sordid, head-scratching, perversely-entertaining stories of these men we’ve chosen to ride shotgun in the biggest rig in democracy, without ever seriously considering the possibility that they might have to take the wheel.

With short (3-4 pp), educational, and humorous essays about every Vice-President and notable VP candidates, Veeps makes for the perfect bathroom book. A thoroughly enjoyable romp through the history of the strangely contradictory position: one heartbeat away from the most powerful job in the US and at the same moment wielding absolutely no power.

Starship: Rebel by Mike Resnick

Promo copy:

The date is 1968 of the Galactic Era, almost three thousand years from now. The Republic, dominated by the human race, is in the midst of an all-out war with the Teroni Federation.

Almost a year has passed since the events of Starship: Mercenary. Captain Wilson Cole now commands a fleet of almost fifty ships, and he has become the single greatest military force on the Inner Frontier.

With one exception. The Republic still comes and goes as it pleases, taking what it wants, conscripting men, and extorting taxes, even though the Frontier worlds receive nothing in exchange. And, of course, the government still wants Wilson Cole and the starship Theodore Roosevelt. He has no interest in confronting such an overwhelming force, and constantly steers clear of them.

Then an incident occurs that changes everything, and Cole declares war on the Republic. Outnumbered and always outgunned, his fleet is no match for the Republic’s millions of military vessels, even after he forges alliances with the warlords he previously hunted down.

It’s a hopeless cause…but that’s just what Wilson Cole and the Teddy R. are best at.

[  Mood: Very Sad ]
I just received this note:

I never actually met Bettie. We exchanged a few emails through her agent and her responses were always polite and cordial. She always spoke highly of my family in general and my grandfather in specific. Her legacy to not only my family name but to the world of pop culture is incalculable. She will be missed.

A very sad day indeed.

As if I couldn’t get more excited about the March DVD release of the third season of The Venture Brothers, I saw the sensational Atari 2600 packaging!

Think these boys know their market or what?

(Thanks to Cullen Bunn for the Twitter shout.)

While "researching" the latest Nexus Graphica, I had reason to look through my collection of Comics Of Unusual Size. This set of the big and small and odd of comicdom contains many gems. Deciding that I really should share some of these largely forgotten and sometime rare pieces, I’m taking you through a tour of the more interesting selections.

A wordsmith very familiar to these environs, Mark Finn first plied his trade from within the wilds of the Waco, TX indie comics scene. He along with John Lucas, Micheal Washburn, William Traxtle, Bill Haney, and the other denizens that made up Absolute Comics produced several quirky comics throughout the nineties. Finn and Traxtle co-created Punk, the anarchy-fueled, humor-driven adventures of the title character and cast of quirky characters. Mid-decade, Finn produced a series of "micro-comics" starring the supporting actors. Klops! relates the tale of the Punk’s addled brained one-eyed sidekick and his adventure to find Punk some beer. Hilarity and chaos ensue.

Actual size

Finn supplied the script, letters, and the breakdowns. Washburn finished the art with an ink assist by Traxtle.