Usagi Yojimbo Vol.33

Was told by the guy at my comic store that this was going to be the last Usagi Yojimbo for DARK HORSE comics and that Stan Sakai was moving his Usagi  series over to IDW publishing. And while Usagi has always been done in the traditional black and white style, apparently the new series will be full color! Something to look forward to. 

As for this last Dark Horse graphic novel, "The Hidden", the clerk also mentioned 'Stan went really hard inthe paint wiht the Christianity angle in thsi one". I remembered he'd done a story based on Christianity before, but this one was an entire story arc, this time instead of a crucifix, tracking down a Japanese-translated Bible.

Harrow County Vol.6-7

Usagi Yojimbo Vol. 32

And it's time for the latest graphic novel collection of Stan Sakai's Usagi Yojimbo!

After reading this month's skull-bustingly complex issue of The Wicked+ The Divine, it's nice to have a low-key "just for fun" series to read, and Usagi fits the bill nicely!

Hellboy Omnibus, Volume 1

This was a bit of fortuitous timing!!! I was JUST telling Gerg the other month that I wanted to start reading Hellboy, and wanted to know which books to start from. Going online, I was THRILLED to find that they were gonna release an OMNIBUS of Hellboy's entire run in a few months time!!!

As soon as I saw this baby on the shelves at Gecko's I grabbed it up and blew through it in record time! Now time to wait for the future Omnibuses to follow!!!

Harrow County Vol.5: Abandoned

Usagi Yojimbo Vol.9-17

Why am I reading these backwards????? I fucked up when i decided to read randomly from Volume 18. Then I jumped ahead, and now jumping back. Really bad planning. Shoulda just started from the beginning!

Usagi Yojimbo Vol.21-30

Usagi Yojimbo Vol.18-20

Just decided to dive in randomly in the Usagi series, this arc with Usagi travelling with his son Jotaro is becoming one of my big favorites.

Harrow County Vol.3 "Snake Doctor"

Usagi Yojimbo, Vol.30: Thieves and Spies

Just finished reading the 30th trade paperback in the LONG running Stan Sakai series of the lone wandering Rabbit Bodyguard Ronin Usagi Yojimbo. Like the others before these books are great to read on a relaxing afternoon. Can't believe I've been reading Usagi for well over 20 years now, and still going strong!

Beasts of Burden: What The Cat Dragged In

Just finished re-reading the awesome "Beasts of Burden by Evan Dorkin and Jill Thompson and my friend informed me that a new Beats of Burden special had just come out! What timing!

Beasts Of Burden: Animal Rites

Ahhhh, just finished re-reading the AWESOME Evan Dorkin/Jill Thompson Graphic Novel BEASTS OF BURDEN: ANIMAL RITES, oh how I love this series!!!! Was even better the second time around as I now know and love all of the characters and could take the time to examine all the little things Thompson draws in her pictures that make the comic such a joy to look at!

Harrow County, Vol.2: Twice Told

Continuing on with Cullen Bunn and Tyler Crooks' wonderfully spooky and mesmerizing comic HARROW COUNTY. Seems like these books come out a lot faster and more frequent than others, and that's a good thing!

Harrow County Vol.4: Family Tree

Harrow County, Vol.1: Countless Haints

Usually my friend Gerg is the one recommending titles to me, but this time it was my friend Jas who told me about this terrific title his co-workers were praising, and, knowing my love for books like Sandman and the like, thought I might want to check it out.
 When i got to the comic store to check it out, though, I'd FORGOTTEN what the title of the comic was! the two salesguys said "Can you remember anything about the title?" and I stuttered, " the title sounded like "Hallowed Ground" or something?" but they came up blank.
As I was walking out, I looked on the "new release shelf and yelped out "Oh! Here it is...it's called Harrow County!" One of the guys rolled his eyes saying "Hallowed Ground?" but HEY, I think the words sound close enough that me saying "a new release that came out this week with a title like Hallowed Ground" should have at least gave thema HINT as to what i was talking about, right?
Oh well. At least i managed to get the bnook and YEAH, it rocked! Just like Jas assumed, the pure halloweeney vibe of a peculiar girl who is friends with the "countless haints" in her forest totally enthralled me!!!

More Comic Deja Vu!

More Comic Double Takes: The dramatic openings to Jim Starlin’s Warlock story in Strange Tales #178 and Stan Sakai’s Usagi Yojimbo #9 bear striking similarities!

STRANGE TALES #178:

USAGI YOJIMBO #9:

The Tale Of One Bad Rat #1-4

I originally picked up the series THE TALE OF ONE BAD RAT on a trip to Maui and I remember just reading the entire four issue miniseries of a young English Beatrix Potter-loving girl who flees her home to escape from a sexually abusive household, in the motel room one afternoon, just being blown away by the powerful story and incredible art.
At the time my friend had recommended it to me because Bryan Talbot had drawn stuff for Sandman, but from that moment on, Talbot would always be on my radar ass the person who created this wonderful strip.

John Byrne's Next Men #0-44

John Byrne's next men sure had its ups an downs but I read it religiously from its initial 30+0 issues with Dark Horse and through its new IDW series in 2010 and concluding series Next-Men: Aftermath (retroactively numbered as 31-44), 

While it didn't end on a very strong note (quite frankly, more of a whimper) it still is a series with characters I really, really love and care about and I will always take Next Men out and read again from time to time.

Beasts Of Burden: Animal Rites

I've loved artist Jill Thompson ever since her stint in my still favorite Sandman arc BRIEF LIVES and so when my friend told me about a new series she was illustrating featuring a team of sleuthing dogs (the titulars 'beasts") of a rustic town (Burden Hill) how could I refuse? And as written by Evan Dorkin, this series was as fun and imaginative as I'd hoped!

The Sexy As Hell Jessica Alba.

Just spent an evening re-watching the classic Robert Rodriguez/ Frank Miller movie SIN CITY again. It’d been quite a while since I’d last seen it, and my GOSH, I’d forgotten how goddamn GORGEOUS Jessica Alba is in this movie, she is just this sultry, SMOKING HOT bundle of SEX!

You know, all you ever see of Jessica Alba in the last three or four years is paparazzi shots of her being pregnant with her first child (and now her second), so it was a nice reminder of how DEVASTATINGLY BEAUTIFUL she can be when she wants to!