tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-304207832009-05-13T20:23:01.084-05:00Rob Vollmar's blog of comics commentary.Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02294655868660100137noreply@blogger.comBlogger74125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30420783.post-63322480638579787022009-05-13T20:20:00.001-05:002009-05-13T20:23:01.090-05:00

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02294655868660100137noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30420783.post-50251849441791682162009-02-24T23:24:00.002-06:002009-02-24T23:28:50.701-06:00

Pluto Volume 1By Naoki Urasawa adapted from material by Osamu Tezuka and with writing input from the Tezuka estateViz Media200 Pgs, PC, SC, $12.99ISBN# 1421519186By the time that manga pioneer, Osamu Tezuka was beginning to react creatively to the more sophisticated gekiga manga that had developed in the wake of his own influence, he was largely finished with the property that, fairly or unfairly

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02294655868660100137noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30420783.post-44166548154528384852009-02-19T00:04:00.002-06:002009-02-19T00:16:00.745-06:00

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02294655868660100137noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30420783.post-61970241949414814462009-02-18T23:54:00.002-06:002009-02-18T23:58:03.870-06:00

I've just posted a response to Plato's Crito on Liberal Artistry, the collaborative blog I write with my wife dedicated to reading from and responding to the Great Books of the Western World series.Check it ooooooout!

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02294655868660100137noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30420783.post-76313357747435065422009-02-11T00:21:00.004-06:002009-02-11T01:57:44.296-06:00

Phoenix: Karma (Vol. 4)By Osamu Tezuka, trans. Jared Cook, Shinji Sakamoto and Frederik L. SchodtViz Media/Editor’s Choice, edited by Ian Robertson360 pgs, B&W, $15.95ISBN 1591163005The fifth segment of the Phoenix cycle, reprinted in the fourth volume of the Viz English editions, is one of its finest. The scope is narrowed (for the most part) to a single human lifetime. Its themes are (nearly)

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02294655868660100137noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30420783.post-78651331037325467562009-01-29T23:22:00.000-06:002009-01-29T23:27:34.128-06:00

Final Crisis #1-7Written by Grant Morrison, Art by JG Jones, variousDC Comics32 pgs/ea, FC, $3.99/eaFor those looking for evidence that superhero comics have evolved into a fictional pornography informed by abstract allusions that would make a Kabuki dancer seem positively obtuse in her movements, they need search no further than Grant Morrison’s Final Crisis. Billed as the final chapter in the

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02294655868660100137noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30420783.post-9696945784524309442009-01-27T22:36:00.002-06:002009-01-27T22:39:05.155-06:00

Greetings friends,I just wanted to take a moment to let everyone know about the exciting happenings underway at my new collaborative blog with Kendra (my wife), Liberal Artistry. We’ve just completed our introductory essays, taking a look at the Great Books program, the Great Ideas they carry, and the Great Conversation that advances those ideas forward. We’ve also done some linkblogging to

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02294655868660100137noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30420783.post-6085770516070435212009-01-26T16:59:00.001-06:002009-01-26T17:02:11.745-06:00

Buck Rogers in the 25th Century: The Complete Dailies Vol 1: 1929-1930Written by John Dille and Phillip Nowlan, art by Richard CalkinsHermes Press320 pgs+, B&W, HC, $39.99ISBN 1932563199There are a number of critical filters through which one can appraise Buck Rogers in the 25th Century including influence, craft, deviation from contemporary norms in comic strips, deviations from modern cultural

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02294655868660100137noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30420783.post-82942021476027109522009-01-22T23:46:00.002-06:002009-01-22T23:49:24.630-06:00

Turning Points: A House DividedWritten by Marshall Poe, illustrated by Leland PurvisSimon & Schuster/Aladdin Paperbacks120 pgs, B&W, Digest, $8.99Gettysburg: The Graphic NovelBy C.M. ButzerHarper Collins80 pgs, PC, SC, $9.99A House Divided and Gettysburg are two recent graphic novels aimed at the YA market (the bread and butter of library sales) that deal either specifically or peripherally with

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02294655868660100137noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30420783.post-56704312226016399112009-01-20T22:47:00.002-06:002009-01-20T22:49:27.257-06:00

Gankutsuou Volume 1Manga by Mahiro Maeda, Scenario by Yura AriwaraDel Ray Manga220 pgs., B&W, $10.95ISBN 9780345505200 This is the manga adaptation of the hit anime from GONZO studios of the same name. Described most succinctly, Gankutsuou is an adaptation of Alexander Dumas’ Count of Monte Cristo, reimagined through the prism of Japanese anime as a tale of the future involving (wait for it)…

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02294655868660100137noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30420783.post-49583774833659087672009-01-17T20:45:00.004-06:002009-01-19T21:42:45.181-06:00

Anne Steelyard: The Garden of EmptinessWritten by Barbara HamblyArt by Alex Kosakowski, Ron Randall, Mike Garcia (color)Penny Farthing PressFC, SC, 88 pgs, $14.95Anne Steelyard: The Garden of Emptiness is a new historical fiction graphic novel series that chronicles the adventures of a female archaeologist struggling against sexism and racism in her quest to explore Mesopotamia against a backdrop

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02294655868660100137noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30420783.post-88490236589708246532009-01-17T00:12:00.003-06:002009-01-17T17:29:55.275-06:00

Sulk Volume 2By Jeffrey BrownTop Shelf Productions96 pgs, B&W, SC, $10As an advocate of the “write about the things you are passionate about” school, I take special enjoyment from the glee with which Jeffrey Brown uses this issue/volume of Sulk to recreate a mixed martial-arts bout in its entirety. The story, “Deadly Awesome” is as much a pastiche of the shows dedicated to the sport as it is a

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02294655868660100137noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30420783.post-31832858078538850012009-01-16T00:01:00.002-06:002009-01-16T00:02:29.368-06:00

Forever Nuts: Happy Hooliganby Fredrick Burr OpperNBM PublishingEdited by Jeffrey Lindenblatt110 pgs., FC, HC, $24.95[In the interest of full disclosure, NBM has also published two of my graphic novels. I bought this with my own money and stand by that, in these troubled economic times, as evidence of my critical objectivity.]Happy Hooligan is the second book NBM’s Forever Nuts series that

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02294655868660100137noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30420783.post-77406999420934955932008-08-27T23:08:00.001-05:002008-08-27T23:10:44.907-05:00

...and the whole damn thing ended up on the World Literature Today website cleverly disguised as an "interview"Decide for yourself!

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02294655868660100137noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30420783.post-71949399551399134722008-04-04T22:47:00.003-05:002008-04-04T22:51:30.405-05:00

Four months ago, I published the first half of this review of Eddie Campbell's BACCHUS cycle of graphic novels with the promise that Part 2 would soon follow. Since this review was published in its entirety in Comics Journal #273, there was no good reason that it took me four months to get around to publishing the second half. Nonetheless, in the interest of being only flaky rather than a bald

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02294655868660100137noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30420783.post-20342019988029125872007-12-31T13:37:00.000-06:002007-12-31T13:47:12.401-06:00

As always, to celebrate the New Year. Best to you all in 2008.The Darkling Thrush by Thomas HardyI leant upon a coppice gate When Frost was spectre-gray,And Winter’s dregs made desolate The weakening eye of day.The tangled bine-stems scored the sky Like strings of broken lyresAnd all mankind that haunted nigh Had sought their household fires.The land’s sharp features seemed to be The

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02294655868660100137noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30420783.post-46451097090238797062007-12-29T01:30:00.001-06:002007-12-29T01:37:00.606-06:00

For the Comics Journal #273, I contributed a review of the ten books of Eddie Campbell's BACCHUS cycle. While I harbor the personal suspicion that this corner of Canpbell's universe has the honor of being the most criminally underread, it is my sincere hope that this review will inspire a few folks to hunt these down. The review, in full, is nearly 3000 words and so I'm presenting it to you here

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02294655868660100137noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30420783.post-52144635956693052007-11-11T16:00:00.000-06:002007-11-11T16:06:07.017-06:00

“Now I am guilty of somethingI hope you never doBecause there is nothingSadder than losing yourself in love…”- Rowland Salley, “Killing the Blues”I returned late last Friday night from a five-day vacation at the Lake of the Ozarks. This was the second year that Kendra and I have been there together in the fall and her third year vacationing there. Before you run screaming from the computer in

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02294655868660100137noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30420783.post-380753021380273922007-10-15T17:11:00.000-05:002007-10-15T17:13:24.918-05:00

Inanna’s Tears #2 hits the stands!Greetings! The second issue of Inanna’s Tears hits the stands this Wednesday. The official solicitation text looked a little something like this…Entika begins her reign over the city, testing the loyalties and counsel of those who might serve her. Outside the city gates, the Lugals consolidate their own standing among the people of the Tents even as Belipotash

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02294655868660100137noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30420783.post-65287914953232783782007-09-18T23:26:00.001-05:002007-09-18T23:27:01.055-05:00

Relax!

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02294655868660100137noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30420783.post-67098079883714255932007-09-18T22:48:00.001-05:002007-09-18T23:03:10.529-05:00

Greetings! The softcover edition of the NBM re-release of CASTAWAYS is up for order this month and so this is my gentle reminder to anyone reading who also enjoys reading my comics that pre-ordering is the nicest thing that you can do short of buying me beer. Here's the official pitch...THE CASTAWAYS SCby Rob Vollmar & Pablo CallejoThe first graphic novel by the best-selling team of “Bluesman.”

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02294655868660100137noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30420783.post-13305823870262380392007-09-03T16:29:00.000-05:002007-09-03T16:40:59.161-05:00

Since I was four years old, I’ve had two dads. My biological parents divorced when I was two. They were both twenty-two at the time and, remembering my own self at twenty-two, it’s been impossible to begrudge them the decision to split up. Hell, I wasn’t stable enough for a serious relationship at that age so the idea of being married and having kids already at that stage just kind of boggles my

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02294655868660100137noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30420783.post-17033998916580851432007-09-01T23:34:00.000-05:002007-09-01T23:49:55.394-05:00

Greetings! Last week went by in a blur as I readied the Norman branch of Atomik Pop! for its anniversary sale this past weekend. After spending the last two weeks completely re-setting the store and sorting merchandise, I'm grateful that fall has finally arrived and we can now get down to the business of getting down to business.I have a few Comics Journal review to complete this week as well as

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02294655868660100137noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30420783.post-74195202775069919372007-08-24T12:37:00.000-05:002007-08-24T12:39:07.279-05:00

All,A Flash trailer for my new comic series, Inanna's Tears is now online and available for your enjoyment at Comics Worth Reading.It is fully scored so don't forget to turn up your speakers!!

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02294655868660100137noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30420783.post-37795841425248129672007-08-20T16:31:00.000-05:002007-08-20T16:42:10.194-05:00

Busy, Busy, Busy.“You can tell by the look on their faceswhen they pass youthat you’ve been dropped offon the Texas highway.I’ve been out here now for so longthat I’m not surehow you wound me so tight.I’m afraidI won’t ever hear that sad song again…”- Spoon, “Advance Cassette”, A Series of SneaksGreetings, friends. August has certainly proven to be a busy month so far! After returning home from

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02294655868660100137noreply@blogger.com0