Welcome to this week’s edition of Panel Patter: The Newsletter. The holiday season is upon us, and we would like to wish all of Paneldom a Happy Hanukkah as we enter the midpoint of the Festival of Lights. Before we proceed with the newsletter, we’d also like to extend our condolences to the family, friends, and fans of Richard Corben. This loss has hit us hard, with Scott remarking that Dona Corben’s announcement knocked the wind out of him. Below are a few obituaries and tributes, including one from Heavy Metal, a publication whose aesthetic he helped define for decades.
Heavy Metal
Newsarama
SyFy Wire
Neotext (Chloe Maveal)
Rest in peace, Richard. Thank you for all your contributions to the art form, and your unending dedication to independent publications.
Recent Patterings
The Life Lessons of Steve Gerber, Mary Skrenes, and Brian Hurtt's Hard Time
Scott was happy to catch up with a series he missed the first time it came around via this new Black Label collected edition. Scott particularly connected with the multi-faceted narrative, and appreciated how it could be many things without sacrificing it’s ultimate ambition.
Hard Time, in its weird own way, is a high school book. Or more exactly, it’s a coming of age story. Ethan exchanges one kind of school for another. The types of lessons may be different but they are each there to provide life lessons. It’s just unfortunate that Ethan has to give up one for the other but in prison, he actually finds many things that he didn’t have in high school, mostly more friends and mentors that protect and nurture him.
Re-Calibrate the Ghosts with Home Sick Pilots 1
Mike returned to the youth crew scene of his high school days with the debut issue of Home Sick Pilots, a that drew him in because of the shared background, but that hooked him with strong character development and
Caspar Wijngaard, who both draws and colors Home Sick Pilots, appropriately channels McKelvie, Chiang, and Wilson by using a style that feels very fluid in its construction. His lines are clean and his panels are uncluttered, but his color work blends and bleeds for some beautiful contrasts. He captures the style of mid-90s punk fashion by sticking to the basics.
"You can't just read a god's thoughts and not expect consequences." Some Thoughts on Giga # 2
Mike returned to another White Noise book with an examination of the second issue of Giga. He explores the worldbuilding of Paknadel and the philosophy behind the series, including what it has to say about hierarchy, mythology, and disability.
It’s the distinction here that makes Giga unique, and Paknadel deliberately taps into the “high tech/low culture” motif that defines cyberpunk. (Obviously, “neuromancy” is also a window into the genre). The paradox of Giga is that the disconnect between tech and culture is such a wide chasm that the Giga themselves take on a divine supernatural status. Thus, when a god dies, it shakes the whole community.
The Sleep Stories Vol.1 Kickstarter Campaign
During Halloween Horror, Sean profiled Michael Walsh’s Sleep Stories. Walsh just launched a Kickstarter campaign, and Sean offers some great insight into why you should consider backing it.
If this is a nightmare then I've got a great idea for my next comic review cuz I just found a Kickstarter campaign for something that felt a lot like what this is.
Catch It at the Comic Shop December 9th, 2020
13 comics. One triple-pick. See why Catch It is our most popular column.
From the Archives
2010 Favorites Part 1: 10 Favorites from 2010
Jump back a decade to see what Rob loved in 2010, including some book called Smile? Well, I guess they can’t all be hits . . .
On the Information Superhighway
Stay right, except to pass.
As Real As It Gets: Ryan Carey Reviews BREAKWATER By Katriona Chapman
From Solrad, Ryan Carey gets into the excellent Breakwater from Chapman by way of Avery Hill publishing. Check out why Carey calls her work some of the best cartooning of the generation.
Grant Morrison teams up with Donny Cates for Atomahawk origin story
Over at Newsarama, an announcement for a Morrison entry into Cates’ world - it’s always interesting to see when an inspiration works with a disciple, and this could be quite an issue.
Rob Kirby Reviews Paul at Home
Former Patterer, Rob Kirby reviews Michael Rabagliati’s latest over at The Comics Journal.
Genius Animals? – Vali Chandrasekaran and Jun-Pierre Shiozawa’s Web-Based Collaboration Feels Both Fresh and Classic
Mike had the chance to interview Vali and Jun earlier this year. Take a look at this great review over at Broken Frontier.
Extra Pattering
What did you read this week?
Neil
Decided to give Marvels from Busiek and Ross another read which made me want more stories written from that kind of perspective. Seeing all the action or lack of through a non-Supers eyes is still refreshing over 25 years later. Do I pick up Marvels X....
Sean
Believe it or not, I started reading Empyre. If you are familiar with my reading habits at all you know that I get intimidated fairly easily with large story formats. After reading Meet the Skrulls a few months ago, I decided to give it a go and this week I read Road to Empyre: the Kree/Skrull War & the started Incoming! #1. So. Much. Fun. I’m having a blast reading this! What’s on your reading pile?
Rob
Still looking at 2020 books I haven't touched yet and going back over a few others. I usually cut my reading off around this time.
Mike
I finally read Brubaker and Phillips Pulp, and I enjoyed it. I also read Ancco’s Nineteen and re-read the first trade of Bitter Root so I can jump into volume two.
What’s on your reading pile?
Neil
Decided to go fully collected/trade from this day forward. I've tried this idea before and failed miserably but I will stick to it this time. It allows me to get fully invested within one story at a time. The coming weeks plan of attack is: Black Stars Above, X-Men: Grand Design, and Hellboy Omnibus Vol 1 - 4
Sean
More Empyre stuff. Whatever the MU app tells me is next is where I’ll end up going.
Rob
2020. 2020. 2020
Mike
The second collection of Bitter Root, and two books I put down for no particular reason - Ghostwriter and Titan.
What’s one thing in comics that surprised you this year?
Sean
Probably the most shocking thing this year was the amount of success that the Kickstarter comics had. Even if you remove that one Keanu book from the outlet, it still did phenomenal!
Rob
Quite frankly? That we haven't seen more small publishers fold. I'm glad for that, but it surprises me a lot. I hope 2021 is just as non-shocking.
Mike
DC’s set of graphic novels for kids and young adults have been incredible. What began in 2019 has reached another level in 2020. For all the times DC drives us devoted fans up a wall, it’s easy to forget what they do when they innovate.
That does it for this week’s newsletter. Be on the lookout for the start of our year end favorites lists, Sean’s interview with Matt Lesniewski, his review of the second season of Second Coming, James’ analysis of Junji Ito’s Remina, and of course, Catch it at the Comic Shop.