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RVA Comics X-Change: Issue 34

Ash Griffith | December 31, 2019

Topics: 2019 in review, Alpha Comics and Games, Bad Weekend, Canto, comics, Comics X-Change, Criminal, Fearless, Josh Wright, RVA Comics X-Change, Snotgirl, Something is Killing the Children

Happiest of holidays, comic fans! Welcome to this week’s issue of your RVA Comics X-Change, and the final issue of 2019, featuring our End of the Year review, where we take a quick snapshot of the year in comics that was 2019.

For today’s issue, we decided to reach out to some of our friends in comics who were kind enough to help us out with recommendations throughout this year. These are some of their favorite reads from the year that was 2019, and what we were digging as we trudged along.

Our friends at Alpha Comics and Games in Willow Lawn have been there with us since the start, and have recommended quite a few of our own personal favorites. Not only do they themselves have great taste, but they always know just what to recommend you, even when you can’t tell what you’re in the mood for. 

Something is Killing the Children, by James Tynion IV and Werther Dell’edera

“It reminds me a little of some storylines in Hellboy, so it’s definitely a good read while you wait for The Return of Effie Kolb,” said Co-Owner Alex Smith. “It’s really really hard to sum up the ‘book of the year’ when there are always so many awesome things out, but Something Is Killing The Children was one of the few releases this year that actively caters to things I like.”

Canto, by David M. Booher and Drew Zucker

Smith also passed along a recommendation from her partner in Alpha Comics, Co-Owner Brianna Beebe. “Brianna’s comic of the year would be the delightful fantasy comic Canto,” Smith said. “While it has lots of references to existing fantasy works like The Wizard of Oz, it takes them and builds them into a fascinating and rich world completely of it’s own. The story is emotionally resonant, if a little sad at times — but the whole experience of the comic is wonderful.”

Josh Wright has been another recurring face with us this year, helping us find the balance between indie comics and tried and true mainstream. When Josh hasn’t been researching the next comic to talk about with us, he can be seen doing improv comedy with his two-person team, Sweet Sweet Angel Babies, or slinging some solid jams with his band, Lovely Dove (also a duo, because Wright is nothing if not consistent). 

Sentient, by Jeff Lemire and Gabriel Walta

“The humanity Lemire brings to his sci fi books is always a joy!” said Wright. “The oversized format from TKO really showcases Walta’s artwork. Can a spaceship’s A.I. take care of children who suddenly find themselves all alone? If you love The Vision or Descender, check out Sentient.”

Our own Editor-In-Chief, Marilyn Drew Necci, also helped us out this year by taking the time to give us the low down on her favorites as well. When she isn’t reminding me I need to read Paper Girls, she is also telling you the best shows you need to keep on your radar every week in her weekly show column.

Bad Weekend, by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips

“It’s a dark crime story that takes place at and around a comic book convention, featuring main characters who are washed-up, struggling industry vets trying to survive any way they can,” said Necci. “It’s not only a great crime story but a great look at the darker side of the comics world, where work-for-hire policies continue to rip off many of our best creators. ”

I decided to break my own rules and offer two favorites for the year instead of just one (it’s so hard to narrow it down!). However, I went against the very foundation of my comics fandom in my recommendations – neither are pop culture-based or remotely related to Betty or her frenemy for life, Veronica.

Fearless, by Seanan McGuire, Kelly Thompson, and Leah Williams

I will go anywhere and do anything for the women of Marvel’s Avengers. When I found out that there was an anthology series coming out this year that not only featured them, but less-covered characters like Jessica Jones? I couldn’t have been more excited – except then I discovered that it is also incredible. This four-part series is out now, with a trade paperback collection more than likely to be released sometime in 2020. 

Snotgirl, by Bryan Lee O’Malley & Leslie Hung

This series is so divisive, and I get it, but it still bums me out. A lot of people criticize O’Malley’s approach to twenty-something women as being similarly empty as that of YA Author John Green’s approach to teenage girls, which is a shame. I of course disagree, and I think that this is honestly some of O’Malley’s best writing to date. Some of the later issues of this series are stronger and more thought-out than his iconic Scott Pilgrim series, which only goes to show that when he takes more time to go above and beyond vapid slacker humor, he really hits the mark. 

Thank you again for getting us through yet another year, comic fans. With so much going on both in print and on the film side of things, such as the release of a little-known film called Avengers: Endgame, it’s been a pretty big year. What have your favorites been? What are you looking forward to in 2020?

As always, until next time, comic fans.

Top Image via Superman’s Christmas Adventure, Vol. 2, #1 (1944)

RVA Comics X-Change: Issue 20

Ash Griffith | May 28, 2019

Topics: Archie Comics, Brenna Thummler, comics, Comics X-Change, Jughead: the Hunger, Junji Ito, Love & Rockets, MAD Magazine, Maneaters, Sara M. Lyons, Sheets, Smashed, Snotgirl, Spice & Wolf, Vampironica, Whatever Forever

Happy Tuesday, comic fans! Welcome back to not just another issue of our RVA comic exchange, but the big issue number two-oh. That’s right, we’re back in trade paperback format!

This week we’re hanging out on the west coast as we talk to California based web illustrator and Archie aficionado Sara M. Lyons, who is giving us some of her current favorites that she is loving. After that, I have some manga and graphic novels to keep you busy wherever the air conditioning is on those balmy ninety degree days. Oh, summertime.

On to the comics!

Sara M. Lyons (via Tumblr)

I promise you that you have seen Lyons’ work, because you are reading this right now on the internet. Touting herself as a professional weirdo, Lyons’ work is based on cute, kitschy illustrations with a slight retro flair to them. Her work is all over the internet in every way, and if nothing else — if you have seen a cutely drawn set of hands doing the “whatever” symbol ala Amber from Clueless above a banner proclaiming, “Whatever Forever”? That is hers.

Lyons has collaborated with various brands such as Urban Decay and Urban Outfitters, and most recently the top dog of them all — she had a collection with the classic comic brand, Archie, as part of the Betty and Veronica line of merchandise. Unsurprisingly, she has an Archie favorite to recommend, among some others.

Maneaters, by Chelsea Cain and Kate Niemczyk

“One of my favorite new comics – unabashedly feminist, incredibly earnest, really smart, and surprisingly scary,” said Lyons. “I love the vision of a dystopian near-future where a mutation of toxoplasmosis means that mere menstruation can turn girls and women into ferocious big cats hellbent on violent destruction. Any comic with a tween/teen girl as the main character has my attention, and the tongue-in-cheek take on toxic masculinity here is so clever.”

Snotgirl, by Bryan Lee O’Malley and Leslie Hung

“I like that this comic turns old-school Katy Keene-style “glamour model” comics on their head,” said Lyons. “On the surface, it’s a story about a painfully hip LA influencer and her squad of fashion blogger frenemies, so of course it’s loaded full of gorgeously drawn female characters and great outfits, but the creepy mystery at the core of the story makes it so much more than just a shallow comic about hottie Insta-babes. Leslie Hung’s drawings of women are so beautiful and expressive – I love the way she draws hands.”

Love & Rockets Vol. IV, by Jaime and Gilbert Hernandez

“Few comics have been as influential on me as Love & Rockets – I discovered it during the initial run of Vol. II back in 2001 and I’ve been hooked ever since,” said Lyons. “Los Bros Hernandez are true living legends, and the Vol. IV stories have been everything I could have wanted and more. This incredibly fleshed-out universe has been a part of my comics life for so long that I feel like I’m part of the family. I hope they never stop.”

Jughead: The Hunger Vs. Vampironica, by Frank Tieri, Pat and Tim Kennedy

“Anyone who knows anything about me knows I’m an Archie Comics diehard, and the Archie Horror imprint has never disappointed me once,” said Lyons. “Jughead: The Hunger and Vampironica have both been doing a great job continuing Archie Horror’s legacy of juxtaposing surprisingly scary, dark horror tinged with that campy, old-school Archie wit, and this new miniseries that will pit vampire Ronnie against werewolf Juggie is sooo promising. There wasn’t enough Jughead in #1 for my taste, but I’m awaiting #2 with bated breath!”

MAD Magazine

“MAD was my introduction into the world of comics outside Archie as a young kid, and I started subscribing again for the first time since the late ’90s when I heard about the revamp starting with the new issue #1 last summer,” said Lyons. “I love the new roster of artists (like my buddy Luke McGarry!) who’ve been added to the old guard of MAD icons (like absolute legend Sergio Aragones). MAD is still so damn good. Better than ever. Absolutely brutal. I can’t believe my parents let me read it when I was a little kid. I hope little kids all over the country are reading it now. ”

I like the summer and all that it brings – warm weather, good food, and good shows (check out our weekly show column for more on that). However, when it gets upward of the 90s, as Virginia is wont to do, I find myself scrambling to sit by the oscillating fan with a good graphic novel or manga. Here are a few that I have on my list of interest this week.

Smashed, by Junji Ito

I’m very choosy with my horror in films (I tend to watch dark comedies like the Scream franchise if that tells you anything), but in graphic novels? Bring it on.

What originally drew me to Ito’s Smashed was two things. One: the cover immediately made me think of the Parasyte manga of my nineties youth by Hitoshi Iwaaki. Two: Junji Ito is one of those authors right now who can’t touch anything without it turning to gold, so it must be good. Smashed is a collection of short stories by Ito that truly show off his work, and is perfect if you are trying to get your feet wet in horror manga.

Spice & Wolf, by Isuna Hasekura and Keito Koume

I love a good travelling-through-the-woods story, and if it’s light and quick? Excellent. While a story about a merchant hanging out in the woods trying to sell some furs does not sound the most enticing, it’s how each of Kraft Lawerence’s transactions play out, and the adventures in between, that make this story. It’s a lengthy enough series, but each of the volumes has enough closure that if you only wanted to invest in one or two, then you’ve hit the jackpot.

Sheets, by Brenna Thummler

Sheets is debatably the most kid-friendly thing I will ever recommend to you, but hear me out. It is also the most adorable, and one of the most interesting. Marjorie finds herself handling her family’s laundry business, only for (naturally) ghosts to appear. But are they there to scare the shit out of her? Not really – she’s pretty low on their list. They’re there for therapy, to process how they died.

As we sweat it all away this summer, trust and believe I will keep you covered with the best stories to read while you blast that AC bill and invest in the best that paper fans have to offer. And let me know: what is your go-to beach or river read? What keeps you occupied while you get that tan?

‘Till next time, comic fans!

Top Image: Sara M. Lyons (via Facebook)

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