Websites
Other Nexus Graphica Columns
For more information, you can try the following:
STAPLE!
You Chose Right The First Time
Friends of Lulu
"The Right Thing To Do" My Geeks With Books column about my experiences at the Armadillocon Writer's Workshop
Nerdboy Comics
Denise Guinn
Seraphemera Books
Top Shelf Productions
Jeffrey Brown
Swallow Me Whole
Los Angeles Times Book Prize
Veeps:Profiles in Insignificance
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Century: 1910
Marshal Law
Sam Hurt
Lone Star Press
Alan J. Porter
Kenneth Huey
John Lucas
Austin Books
The League of Extremely Ordinary Gentleman
Politically Inqueerect
Dave Sherrill
Rebecca Hicks
James Bond: The History of the Illustrated 007
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Recent Books of Interest
STAPLE! The Independent Media Expo Official Program March 7, 2009
Handed out to each attendee, this 32-page, staple-bound program book
offers far more than just a schedule of events and map of the exhibitor
hall. Uncle Staple and his crew wisely included 21 pages of fresh alternative
comics. Highlights include Dylan Edwards' Politically Inqueerect,
the uncredited "Mr. Hell's Guide To Proper Manners," Dave Sherrill's "Science and
Religion in Old Timers," and Rebecca Hicks' "Little Vampires vs. the Stapler." Like
the show itself, the STAPLE! The Independent Media Expo Official Program
showcases a diverse cross-section of the cartooning world.
James Bond: The History of the Illustrated 007 by Alan J. Porter (Hermes Press)
Lavishly illustrated with rare and vintage Bond images, Porter's fascinating book
reveals the little-known history of James Bond in comics. From the first British comic
strips to foreign language renditions, Porter exhaustively reviews each incarnation,
concurrently tracking the graphic development of the world's most famous spy alongside
the novel and film iterations. Throw-in interviews with many of the Bond creators
and James Bond: The History of the Illustrated 007 becomes required reading for
Bond enthusiasts.
Zombie Cow: Night of the Living Dairy by Sarah Arnold (story/inks) and Denise Guinn (pencils) (Nerdboy Comics)
Available in Lubbock-area shops and at STAPLE!, the print edition of the first
twelve pages of the webcomic focuses on the origins of the zombie cows and the strip's
protagonists. After the initial four page sequence, Arnold and Guinn clearly grow more
comfortable with the subject and each other as both the scripting and art improve
dramatically. The teaser succeeds and left me hungry for more Zombie Cow. Sadly, the
print edition is not for sale online.
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Century: 1910 by Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill (Top Shelf)
The first installment of the eagerly anticipated League of Extraordinary
Gentlemen Century introduces the new team of Mina Harker, Alan Quatermain,
Orlando, Thomas Carnacki, and Anthony Ruggles. This group, while not as engaging as
the previous incarnation, entertains and thrills in their encounters with Alastair
Crowley, Mack the Knife, and Pirate Jenny. A far more linear and cohesive story than
Black Dossier (required reading for understanding many elements in
Century), Moore intelligently uses operatic tropes and incorporates countless
aspects of history and pop culture into the League mythos for this rollicking good adventure
tale. This 96-page graphic novel relates a complete adventure but leaves enough dangling
threads for the follow-up: The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Century: 1968.
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STAPLE!
For a comic book-centric town, Austin1 has historically
lacked significant events for fans of comics. The city's long running and influential
speculative fiction literary convention Armadillocon only recently opened its doors to
comic book creators, but remains primarily a prose affair. Throughout the 80s
and 90s, several small one-day comic book conventions popped up and failed -- the most
famous an affair in an abandoned McDonalds in the basement of a University of Texas
dorm. All that has changed with the arrival of STAPLE!
Subtitled "the independent media expo," STAPLE! began in March, 2005 after
Chris "Uncle Staple" Nicholas, co-creator of You Chose Right The First Time,
realized that the Austin area offered enough talent "to put on a pretty good indie
comics show" but none in the region.2 By combining a
focus on independent, alternative, and small press media with independent-friendly comic
book shop sponsorship and an affordable entrance fee, STAPLE! succeeded like none
before. Each successive show, while staying true to Uncle Staple's vision, has
attracted more fans and required a larger venue.
I recently attended the fifth STAPLE!, my first show. Unlike my
previous comic convention, this experience buoyed my spirits. More than sixty exhibitor
tables showcased a multiplicity of works in both content and medium. The creators and fans
present varied in age, race, and gender. In an unusual and welcome change, young adult women
represented a large percentage of the attendees. Long seen as a key to the industry's
survival, the need for inclusion of women in the field as both creators and fans led to
the 1997 creation of the Friends of Lulu, whose "purpose is to promote and encourage female
readership and participation in the comic book industry." From where I stood, the group
has made serious inroads over the past twelve years.
I first met Sarah Arnold some six years ago while teaching the annual ArmadilloCon
Writer's Workshop. The then-teenage Sarah impressed me with her writing savvy. I followed
her progress, but eventually lost contact. Sarah recently reconnected with her own
burgeoning digital publishing empire, Nerdboy Comics, which she proudly promoted at
STAPLE! Remaining in Lubbock after graduating from Texas Tech, Sarah recruited other
frustrated geeks (not many creative outlets in Lubbock) and produced the first Nerdboy
digital comic Zombie Cow. With scripts and inks by Sarah and pencils by
Denise Guinn, new segments premiere every Friday. Recently, Nerdboy expand their line
with their first offerings scripted by others: Someone Else's Problem
(written by John Shields and pencils by Derek Anderson) and cartoonist Brady
Price's Real Life History Lessons.
The self-described "gothique BOOtique publisher" Seraphemera Books really caught
my attention. This multiple personality disorder house produces some fairly standard
goth-type comic books alongside gorgeous handmade chapbooks. While they do not feature
any well known authors, these signed, limited editions rank among the finest I have
encountered. Seraphemera Books hearkens back to an earlier era when books were often
seen as objects d'art.
Another producer of beautiful books, Top Shelf Productions, and their head
honcho/guiding force Chris Staros also attended STAPLE! After introducing me to Jeffrey
Brown, a Top Shelf books headliner and one of the con's featured guests, Staros showed
off some of his recent publications such as the Los Angeles Times Book
Prize-nominated Swallow Me Whole and the humorous romp through vice-presidential
history Veeps:Profiles in Insignificance. Staros discussed the incredible
response to the impending The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Century:
1910. While he anticipated high interest in the latest Alan Moore-Kevin O'Neill
opus, the amount of feedback has exceeded all of his expectations. Staros also
tantalized me me some teasers regarding the forthcoming 512-page, full-color,
oversized hardcover Marshal Law collection. More about that as the November
publication date nears.
Other STAPLE! sightings included Eyebeam creator Sam Hurt, Lone
Star Press publisher Bill Williams, pop culture historian and comic book writer
Alan J. Porter, Church of the Subgenius and Commies From Mars artist
Kenneth Huey, DC/Marvel/Dark Horse illustrator John Lucas, Austin Books proprietor
Brad Bankston, The League of Extremely Ordinary Gentleman podcast
co-hosts Cyrus and Leon, and my former Mojo Press cohort publisher Ben
Ostrander. I look forward enthusiastically to next year's event.
1
Jack "Jaxon" Jackson, Gilbert Shelton, Shannon Wheeler, Bill Willingham, and even Robert Crumb have all lived in Austin.
2
"Uncle Staple" Chris Nicholas and STAPLE!-Texas Indie Comic Show http://www.comicsbulletin.com/features/113952594121349.htm
Copyright © 2009 Rick Klaw
Rick Klaw produced four years of the popular monthly SF Site column "Geeks With Books", and supplied
countless reviews, essays, and fiction for a variety of publications including
The San Antonio Current,
The Austin Chronicle,
The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Science Fiction and Fantasy, Moving Pictures
RevolutionSF, Conversations
With Texas Writers, Electric Velocipede, Cross Plains
Universe, and Steampunk. MonkeyBrain Books published the collection of his essays, reviews,
and other things Klaw, Geek
Confidential: Echoes From the 21st Century.
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