Ballooneering with Shaun Tan
Thought Balloonists, the fancy new comics criticism blog, takes off with a discussion of Shaun Tan’s The Arrival, a heartbreakingly beautiful picture book.
Waiting for the Goddamn Batman to get the Goddamn Joke
Though he’s not much for superhero comics, Marc Sobel gets the joke that inspired so much “righteous, nerd rage”: “Ultimately, the Joker’s rebirth is a physical manifestation of the creative process… accompanied by a profound sense of disillusionment that none of it matters, for the cycle will begin […]
Birth of an Internet Meme
Good old comics controversy: Spider-Man gets rebooted (back to 1971!), and the response: “It’s magic, we don’t have to explain it!” You can already buy the t-shirt.
Repent for Free!
Read 61 pages of post-Rapture Chicago with a Raven and a Mummy from Therefore, Repent!, a graphic novel written by the Gutter’s founding editor and former Evil Overlord, Jim Munroe.
Stardust Returns
“Almost like a crazy person is holding the pencil.” My God, Mike Allred has created a comic featuring Fletcher Hanks’ disturbing and punitive hero Stardust. (Thanks to Again With The Comics)
Mazen Kerbaj
French comics publisher L’Association is showing some of Mazen Kerbaj’s drawings and that’s a good excuse to put up a link for them. Kerbaj’s blog, Kerblog, is here.
The Cultural Gutter 