“Grant Bond’s cartooning style has a small bit of promise to it.”

Contact: Susan Koller, Publicity Director
PH: (937) 388-0088
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E-mail: info@checkerbpg.com

The wait is over!
New books being shipped from Checker Book Publishing Group
Dayton, Ohio- Checker Book Publishing Group is excited to announce that some of our great new titles from our highly anticipated fall 2007 lineup began being shipped by Diamond Comic Distributors the week of October15th. The shipment contained of the following titles:

Dream of the Rarebit Fiend: The Saturdays JUN073373
This oversized volume collects in a softcover edition for the first time McCay’s groundbreaking Saturday strips from March 1904-October 1911. These were wild, imaginative fantasy strips, with no recurring characters, which featured the protagonists having a dream caused by eating “rarebit”. Each cartoon is a self-contained and ended as the dreamer awoke from his or her nightmare. Checker’s new softcover edition of Dream of the Rarebit Fiend makes this collection available to the book trade and collectors since the very limited edition hardcover edition was released only to comic book stores, and just as quickly sold out, in 2006.

Dream of the Rarebit Fiend: The Saturdays Winsor McCay, Writer/Illustrator
$19.95, ISBN –10 1-933160-65-9, ISBN-13 978-1-933160-65-8, 200 pages, full color,

Winsor McCay: Early Works Vol. 9 JUL063019
Winsor McCay’s art shouts from rooftops of the great architecture of modernist America. A triple dose of “Dream of the Rarebit Fiend” Saturdays, weekdays, and a color section. .Also more scathing editorial works and extremely rare illustrations from “Temperance- or Prohibition”

Winsor McCay: Early Works Vol. 9 Winsor McCay, Writer/Illustrator
$19.95, ISBN –10 1-933160-07-1 ISBN-13 978-1-933160-07-8, 200 pages

Scion- Volume 6: Royal Wedding: JAN073489
The great war between the Heron Dynasty and the Raven Dynasty is quelled by the marriage of Ylena, daughter of Heron King Dane, and the malevolent Bron of the Raven Dynasty. This edition includes the issues 34-39 of the original series.

Scion- Volume 6: Royal Wedding Writer, Ron Marz; Illustrator, Jimmy Cheung
$17.95, ISBN-10 1-933160-60-8 ISBN-13 978-1-933160-60-3, 172 pages, full color, glossy paper stock and

Way of The Rat, V 3 : Haunted Zhumar FEB073297
Trapped in Old Mother’s house by an army of evil ghosts, things get bad for Boon and Po Po thanks to arrival of Kung Kung Yi. Who is this powerful spirit and why do the undead fear him? This edition collects issues 13-18 of the original series

Way of The Rat, V 3 : Haunted Zhumar Writer ,Chuck Dixon; Illustrator, Jeff Johnson
$17.95, ISBN -10 1-933160-59-4, ISBN-13 978-1-933160-59-7 172 pages, full color, glossy paper stock

Sigil Vol. 5 Death Match MAR073294
The next galactic graphic novel IS HERE! Humanity’s last hope for survival is a grizzled mercenary. To save us all, Samandahl Rey must face the mighty Suarian Weapon master, but what will Sam be forced to unleash to achieve his victory? This edition collects issues 27-32 of the series.

Sigil Vol. 5 Death Match Writer, Chuck Dixon; Illustrator, Scott Eaton
$17.95, ISBN –10 1-933160-58-6, ISBN-13 978-1-933160-58-0, 172 pages, full color, glossy paper stock
Flash Gordon Volume 1 MAR042360
Attention all Flash Gordon and sci-fi fans! This is your lucky day. Checker is printing this book for the third time. This full color first volume of Alex has already sold thousands and thousands of copies. Because of its popularity, it is extremely hard to keep this title in stock. Due to the fact that the new Flash Gordon smash hit television series on the Sci-Fi Channel will create a whole new generation of Flash Gordon fans, Checker has decided to bring the title back. The reprint copies are going fast, so get yours now.

Flash Gordon Vol. 1 Alex Raymond. Writer/Illustrator
$19.95, ISBN10 0-9741664-3-X ISBN-13 978-0-974166-43-8, 96 pages, color pager

Growingold with BC; A 50 Year Celebration JUN073372
This fall Checker Book Publishing marks the upcoming 50th anniversary of an American cartoon icon: B.C. by Johnny Hart!! We will are proud to present the VERY BEST collection of BC, strips chosen by Johnny Hart prior to his death in April 2007, in a collection which celebrates the half- century love affair America has with the introspective caveman community. Featuring rare and never before published concept art for the strip and a compendium of each individual decade, the GrowinGold With BC: A 50 Year Celebration edition collects the Reuben award winning strip more comprehensively than ever before. Thor, Wiley, Ida and of course BC himself are all here in one hilarious birthday party for one of America’s most enduring comic strips. The collection features special artwork drawn by Johnny Hart for this edition prior to his passing.

Growingold with BC A 50 Year Celebration Johnny Hart. Writer/Illustrator
$19.95, ISBN-13: 978-1-933160-68-9 ISBN-10: 1-933160-68-3, 200 pages, black and white

Checker Book Publishing Group was established in 2000 to bring the absolute best of dormant, unpublished, and under-published serial comics and cartooning back to print. A private concern, Checker compiles complete, durable and affordable cartoon trade books for sale to such comic shops, bookstores and libraries as may require them for resale or public archiving. Checker Book Publishing Group is located in Dayton, Ohio.

For more information concerning this and other Checker titles, feel free to drop by our website at: http://www.checkerbpg.com.

As for the quality, this isn’t really a Disney comic. This is Greg Weisman having convinced Disney to let him play with the property on the cheap. I personally don’t mind. Greg is one of my all time favorite comic book writers - the script very much in the style of his run on Captain Atom. And it it’s a little clumsy, I will take that and take seeing this long planned spinoff. (This was the first of many spinoff ideas Greg created, and the one that was closest to fruition in his Disney days.)

I never said “if you didn’t like a comic I liked, it must be because you only read superheroes.” Fabricating a straw man to discredit me says more about you than it does me.

Had I said “the hero” instead of “a superhero”, would you assume that I meant, “if you didn’t like a comic I liked, it must be because you only read heroes”?

No. But that’s not what you said. What you said was “Perhaps if a superhero swooped in to save Santa at the last minute, you would have enjoyed ASC more.”

What I took away from that (quite reasonably, I think) is that you were saying you thought D3’s reason for not liking the book was that there weren’t any superheroes in it. The “he didn’t like this alternative book, he must only read superhero comics” is a common enough swipe on the Internet that I jumped to that conclusion. My apologies.

Your clarification leads me to believe that this was wrong, and that you instead meant something more general about there not being a traditional hero in the story. Of course, you’re still ascribing motives to someone based on uninformed supposition, but clearly it wasn’t meant as the low-blow insult I took it as.

And for the record, I wasn’t trying to “discredit” you. You just happened to hit one of my particular hot buttons by accident, and I responded. As I said, I can’t really respond to your other points… I haven’t read the book. I’m not even jumping in to defend another writer on the site in particular, I was more aiming to make the point that just because someone didn’t like a comic doesn’t mean they only read superheroes.

A point which, clearly, didn’t need to be made. And now I’ve spent three paragraphs explaining a position that is ultimately rendered more or less moot. Moving on, I suppose…

Perhaps it wasn’t really that bad.

Perhaps I don’t have the time, energy, or inclination to get embroiled in an internet argument.

We’ve heard my opinion, and we’ve heard your opinion. Can we move on? Or does this have to go on until somebody “wins” the argument? If so, let me know where I can mail your gold star just so we can be done with this.

Meh, to be perfectly honest, I just don’t care enough to defend my review. I’m glad that you got some enjoyment our of a book that I was unable to enjoy.

It’s odd that you don’t care enough to defend your position that this book is, in your opinion, “one of the worst books from a major publisher that (you’ve) read in some time.”

Perhaps it wasn’t really that bad.

This assumption that “if you didn’t like a comic I liked, it must be because you only read superheroes” is one of the biggest strawmen arguments you can put forth, and kinda kills your own credibility, at least for me.

I never said “if you didn’t like a comic I liked, it must be because you only read superheroes.” Fabricating a straw man to discredit me says more about you than it does me.

Had I said “the hero” instead of “a superhero”, would you assume that I meant, “if you didn’t like a comic I liked, it must be because you only read heroes”?

Arguably, there are no “heroes” in ASC, so while you could have responded that way, my stating “the hero” wouldn’t have made sense.

This still doesn’t discredit the fact that there was a full page foreshadowing (almost telegraphing) the killer’s reveal, or my other comments.

Perhaps if a superhero swooped in to save Santa at the last minute, you would have enjoyed ASC more./

Just so you know, I haven’t read the book, so I can’t argue the specifics, and certainly I don’t have a problem with someone challenging a review, but…

This assumption that “if you didn’t like a comic I liked, it must be because you only read superheroes” is one of the biggest strawmen arguments you can put forth, and kinda kills your own credibility, at least for me.

makes “the identity of the killer come completely out of left field, with no ties to any clues or foreshadowing,” despite the last page putting even that into question. Please explain.

Considering Archibald is threatened with eviction if he doesn’t pay his rent by Christmas Eve, and by signing the contract with the movie studio he can pay his rent, I’d say that saves Christmas “in some fashion” (at least for him).

As for, “the choice to use black and white with splashes of red for blood feels incredibly sensationalist and derivative,” given the dearth of black, white and red comics, aside from a few Sin City and Grendel stories (not bad company), I don’t think this makes a case for calling it “derivative”, especially given Grant Bond’s vastly different, almost 3-dimensional, art style.

In fact, I can’t think of another comic that proves the art in ASC is “derivative” in general. If you can, please do, since I’d probably enjoy that too.

As for ASC being “sensationalist”, what else should a reader expect with a cover showing Santa just before he’s stabbed with a broken liquor bottle? If you said it was exploitive, in the way a grindhouse film is “exploitation cinema”, that would make more sense to me.

Perhaps if a superhero swooped in to save Santa at the last minute, you would have enjoyed ASC more.

For an “alternative point of view”, visit http://kryptographik.ning.com/

“Oh, Otmu…”

Marvel should totally invent a new cosmic character, called “Ohotmu”, who is kind of the cosmic librarian/historian of the universe.

I love that idea. It seems like the sort of thing Dan Slott would come up with.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_films_based_on_English-language_comics

boy this is a super depressing list. I completely understand that you have to react to what is there and that it is important to do so honestly, however including some recommendations as well would be nice.

Sorry, Colin. You know what they say: “Some weeks you get the bear, some weeks the bear gets you.”

And some weeks, the bear is a shit-ton of weak first issues.

I can imagine him getting together for poker nights with the Watcher and the Monitor (the original, not all 52 new ones…).

And did no one mention Sin City in the lists above? Or Constantine? And though I cringe to mention it, what about Howard the Duck?