Yesterday, my copy of the first collected edition of Family Man arrived. It is indeed quite good — a look at 18th-century Germany from the perspective of  Luther Levy, a theologian whose life puts him at the intersection of Christianity, Judaism, and atheism. There are also hints through this volume of something older — something ritualistic and pagan — just beneath the veneer of the isolated town in which he finds himself.

Meconis’s artwork has an expressiveness and a flow that reminds me more than a little of Carla Speed McNeil, which is a fine thing. And some of the things that she does with her text can be thrilling –  this sequence in particular. It works well online, but the cumulative effect in print is even more impressive.

Also, Meconis is behind this bit of artwork, which is total genius. (Hint: “They are hot for liberty — and you!”)

For all the bravado and, what you call it, callow youthfulness behind the idea of “Do it yourself!,” at the end of the day, there’s a time in your life when you absolutely can, and there’s a time in your life when you’re married and you have a mortgage and a baby or two babies and you need diapers and food and it’s just like, “I can’t do that, I can’t work for free anymore.” It’s not like anybody’s getting rich. It’s not like “Well, I need a BMW.” No—I need to pay my light bill. That’s the reality of it.

The backmatter this time out — short essays on work that was, in some ways, influential to Casanova — is reminiscent of Fraction’s work as critic and and enthusiast at Artbomb and CBR’s Poplife. Good stuff all around, I’d say.

I have a second copy of the first reissued issue, should anyone want it. Casanova‘s the sort of thing I feel borderline evangelical about; the reissued second issue is out today, and there’s a preview here.

James Hindle, Little Wolves
Cecil Berry, the protagonist of Little Wolves, is a children’s book author in the midst of a creative drought. A thumbnail description of Little Wolves would be to call it his search for inspiration, but that’s a little too neat. Cecil begins the book in a sort of paralysis; from there, the decisions he makes are unwise, and they’re telegraphed as such from a mile off. What we get is a character study of an artist simultaneously trying desperately to evolve and alienating everyone close to him — but the ending, and Hindle’s willingness to present his protagonist’s worst tendencies — make some good points about the gulf between art that inspires and artists whose lives…don’t.

Eric Skillman with Evan Bryce, Ming Doyle, and Victor Kerlow, Egg: Hard-Boiled Stories #2
To borrow a line from classical political theory, these three short pieces could be called nasty, brutish, and short — all good qualities when you’re looking at stories that fall under the “crime fiction” header. “Lost and Found,” illustrated by Ming Doyle, is the best of the three; Doyle’s art is reminiscent of a young Paul Pope, and it fits this story of young, attractive New Yorkers perfectly. “The Platform,” illustrated by Victor Kerlow, has the nastiest narrative sting, but Kerlow’s looser style doesn’t seem as well-matched to the brutality of this story. Overall, though, it’s a fine anthology, and I’m curious to see what Skillman can do at a longer length.

Niklas Asker, Second Thoughts
The cover caught my eye first: half a head, watching over a city at night. Stylistically, that cover reminded me a lot of Farel Dalrymple‘s work — not a bad thing at all, and Asker’s interior work is nicely evocative, and equally suited to sprawling urban canvases and more intimate domestic moments. It’s difficult to discuss Second Thoughts in too much detail without spoiling huge chunks of it. That the graphic novel’s central characters are a writer and a photographer, and the work of each (and its creation) factors significantly into the story being told. Where Second Thoughts stumbled, for me, is in its structure: the way in which Jess (a writer) comes to tell her story is, arguably, more interesting than the actual story that she tells. Beneath the metafictional elements here are an interesting exploration of gender, authorship, and memoir — but those aren’t readily apparent until a second reading, and even then aren’t necessarily in the foreground.

Simon Gärdenfors, The 120 Days of Simon

Mats Jonsson, Hey Princess

Kolbeinn Karlsson, The Troll King

Niklas Asker, Second Thoughts

Hope Larson, Mercury

Alexis Frederick-Frost, La Primavera

James Hindle, Little Wolves

Eric Skillman with Evan Bryce, Ming Doyle, and Victor Kerlow, Egg: Hard-Boiled Stories #2

Thoughts on some/all of these will be forthcoming.

This Faster Times interview is fine stuff, and this piece in particular has me intrigued:

To me, vampires are one of the scariest creations of all time. A classic monster. Like zombies and Frankenstein, werewolves too, which I hope get a good treatment sometime soon. These guys have stuck around because they’re primally frightening monsters.

Snyder’s referred to Near Dark as a favorite horror work of his, and that’s encouraging — it’s significant, I’d think, that one of the most unsettling vampire films is also one of the most understated.

Two: While looking at this article concerning a t-shirt that really shouldn’t be controversial (but was), I was reminded of my own first encounter with the science/religion divide. Which…came in the form of a Christian-themed Archie comic book. Which may explain why I feel very little nostalgia for Archie — while some people think “carefree kid,” I tend to think “redheaded moralizer”. Sad, really.

Two: Also returning: Kat Bakes, with a post about weddings, cakes, and their union.

Three: Shla Scanlon — whose serialized novel I really need to start reading — profiles the Seattle band ULGM for The Rumpus. I’m presently listening to the songs on their myspace page, and I like what I hear so far — notably, how there’s just a slight Dead Kennedys-esque air of menace to the vocals that contrasts nicely with the restraint of the music.

Four: Also being listened to around these parts a lot lately: 24-Carat Black’s Gone: The Promise of Yesterday, “I Want to Make Up” in particular.

…thinking and explaining can be difficult, which is why most proponents of new technologies fall back on two standard lines: (1) Human Nature Has Irreversibly Changed , and (2) Beware Lest the Wheels of History’s Juggernaut Crush You. I swear, these people are going to make technophobes of me yet.

Two: Warren Ellis talks music and comics. Discussed, among others: Paul Pope and Jim Lee.