The first day of spring has arrived, and we wish all of Paneldom a joyous Vernal Equinox, the annual event commemorating the latest DC Universe reboot.
Maybe this will be the rebirth of Panel Patter: The Newsletter. Admittedly, things have been pretty hectic around Newsletter HQ, and we’ve morphed from a weekly newsletter to a bi-weekly one to maybe now, jeez, a monthly publication schedule. Regardless, thanks for sticking with us.
Recent Patterings
Cells at Work: Baby! Volume 1
We’re so thrilled to Rachel aboard because she brings a very eclectic taste to Paneldom. Check out her review of the latest spinoff from the core Cells at Work series.
The art by Yasuhiro Fukuda is similar enough to the flagship line while also being distinct. The cells here are cuter, the violence that can get quite gory in the other series has been toned down, and the body seems appropriately smaller and less complex compared to the adult bodies that are the settings for Cells at Work! and Cells at Work: Code Black!
A Compassionate Time of Mourning in Jiro Taniguchi's A Journal of My Father
Scott enters into the emotional storytelling of A Journal of My Father and finds both specificity and universality.
For many of us, this story covers family events from nearly 70 years ago and on the other side of the world. Based on that alone, this should feel like a very foreign story. Exploring the pain of lost time, Taniguchi forms this image of a world that doesn’t look all that different than what we know. While he’s very specific in setting the scene of this family’s mourning, he wisely focuses in on the human impact of everything that happened. Setting and tradition may be strange but the way that these people react feels very familiar and natural. This story could as easily be set in St. Paul, Minnesota instead of Tottori, Japan. Sure some of the details would shift but the emotions that Yoichi and his father have to deal with would be the same.
True War Stories: Interview with Alex de Campi & Khai Krumbhaar
Sean interviewed Panel Pal Alex de Campi and her artistic collaborator, Khai Krumbhaar about their outstanding war anthology. It’s a great read about both the process and product.
Alex: The book took forever to make! I mean, that was probably 2015 or 2016 when we met in San Diego. It was a really slow process, mostly because we were absolutely determined that both the writers and the artists would get paid a decent rate for their work, which a lot of publishers weren’t willing to do. All the book’s profits go to veterans’ charities, but that doesn’t mean the people working on the book should work for free. The contributors needed to be treated with respect.
Check This Out: 2021 Publications from Birdcage Bottom Books Kickstarter
Our man Sean is back again, this time profiling the 2021 slate from our friends at Birdcage Bottom.
The comics this year from Birdcage include a punk rock anthology, the initial volume of an unlikely superhero, and a handful of mini-comics that’ve come to be what we expect from the folks at Birdcage Bottom Books.
The Wonder Women of Future State
Beth dives into the world of Future State and weighs in on the new iteration of Wonder Woman, Yara Flor, and the greater mythos that surrounds Diana and the Amazons.
Overall, these books make me feel optimistic for the next incarnation of the DC Universe, which isn’t always something I’ve felt able to write in the last few years. And that — pun intended — is a wonder-ful thing
Quick Hit: Dungeons and Dragons: Infernal Tides from Zub and Dunbar
Earlier, we mentioned Rachel’s eclectic taste, and that wasn’t just a tagline. Here she jumps into the first issue of Panel Pal Jim Zub’s latest D&D series from IDW.
The art by Max Dunbar with colors by Sebastian Cheng and additional colors by David Garcia Cruz is really great and the characters, creatures, and landscapes are appropriately fantastical. Places like Avernus, a plane in Hell, are drawn with more gloomy, intense shades and you can practically feel the heat coming off the page.
Panel Patter Celebrates Black History Month - 2021
We’re a bit late in newsletter land to commemorate Black History Month, but we’d be remiss if we didn’t highlight Sean’s excellent compilation of some of our favorite Black comic creators. Consider this a great resource for some of the best writers and artists working today. Some are quickly becoming household names, and others are creators you need to know as their stock rises. All are excellent creators who bring us some remarkable comics.
The Carelessness of Desire- a look at K. Woodman-Maynard's The Great Gatsby
Scott dusts off his Engish degree and evaluates Woodman-Maynard’s adaptation of the perennial junior year required reading and perpetual candidate for “Great American Novel,” The Great Gatsby. For a novel that lends itself to over-analysis, how will a graphic representation reckon with its symbolism? Scott reads (and writes) with this lens in mind.
So it is these symbols in the book that we remember because we had to decipher them, make guesses about what they could mean, and then get graded on those guesses. We were asked falsely to put ourselves in Fitzgerald’s position, trying to his intentions behind these symbols and the book’s meaning instead of listening to it, listening to these characters, and trying to hear what they were trying to tell us about love, about desire, and about carelessness.
Catch It at the Comic Shop March 17th, 2021
From superhero, to Kaiju, to Norse Mythology, we have you covered at the shop.
Around the Internets (Ok, basically, what Scott has written for Newsarama)
Best Shots Review - Wonder Woman: Earth One Volume 3 show us that we can't give up trying to be better
Scott breaks down the final chapter in what has been some of the best Wonder Woman work done over the past two decades.
Bests Shots review: X-Men #18 delivers a nearly iconic Wolverine by Asrar
When Panel Patter rules the world as a benevolent yet absolutist cabal, Laura Kinney will be the true Wolverine.
Best Shots review: Generations Forged is a mishmash of bland superheroics
Check out Scott’s analysis of the kickoff for DC’s latest initiative. Is DC trying to do to much, and how will its ambitions play out month to month?
Extra Pattering
What did you read this week?
Sean
I’ve mostly been reading the Secret Warriors series that Hickman did with Bendis.
Rob
Sadly, not much. Busy week. Read some one-shots of wrestlers turned superheroes I picked up at SDCC in 19. Enjoyable but I wish they'd kept them street level.
Neil
Kaiju No.8
Demon Days: X-Men
Scott
The new King Cat Comics and the first Sin City book.
James
Asadora vol. 1 from Naoki Urasawa
Mike
The second volume of Family Tree, and James Stokoe’s debut issue of Orphan and the Five Beasts.
This week, a new Black Hammer issue arrived on stands. What's been your favorite Black Hammer iteration?
Sean
Aside from the flagship series, my most enjoyment from this series has been the Colonel Weird series. Tyler Crook on art was the only right choice for it... and he nailed it!
Rob
Main series.
Scott
The Colonel Weird mini has probably been my favorite thing so far. I love 70’s Starlin and this was such a love letter to that stuff that I couldn’t help but be charmed by it.
James
The main series I think. I’ve loved all of the various versions, but my favorite is still the main series itself as drawn by Dean Ormston. However, that being said, the Colonel Weird series was AMAZING and the Barbalien series has been really moving and poignant.
Mike
I’m most inclined to Sherlock Frankenstein for two reasons. The first is David Rubin’s art. His panel layouts are impressive, and coupled with his bold lettering, the storytelling is engaging and cinematic. Second is the storyline itself - I love how Lemire sends Lucy on a mission to find out the secrets about her father and Sherlock, and how that dovetails into the second part of the Age of Doom series.
Geoff Johns and Scott Kolins spearhead the aforementioned Black Hammer issue, marking a rare occasion for Johns to work outside DC or the Big 2 in general. What's been your favorite Geoff Johns work and why?
Sean
Not sure how to answer this one cuz Geoff Johns isn’t a writer I’m well read on, but I do remember reading Batman: Earth One and enjoying the experience.
James
When he and Gary Frank work together I think it’s fantastic. I’d have to say their Superman stories, starting 10+ years ago back in Action Comics.
Mike
It’s occasionally hard for me to reconcile my appreciation for his Green Lantern run because both of its necessary tethering to a certain artist and also the eventual culmination of the run that left GL in an awkward place and eventually necessitated a kind of soft reboot. But ultimately, what Johns did in rebuilding that mythos is remarkable, and his run is what helped me find the comic shop after a ten year absence.
Who said it?
The Hot Take machine at Panel Patter HQ has be percolating. Pick who uttered this memorable discourse and you can earn yourself a special prize, like a third printing of a Department of Truth issue signed (for no good reason) by Newsletter curator, Mike.1
“I think people want Zack Snyder to be a Bob Haney guy when he’s a Frank Miller/Alan Moore guy all the way. I like Haney and I like Miller and Moore. There’s something to Snyder’s DC work that just fascinates me. It’s like it’s the best Miracleman stuff that we’re going to see on the big screen.”
Was it Beth, James, Scott, or Sean who made this statement? Leave a comment below for your chance to win, or tweet your answer to @panelpatter.
That does it for this week’s Panel Patter: The Newsletter. Check out Panel Patter Dot Com for some great upcoming reviews, essays, and the weekly installment of “Catch it at the Comic Shop”
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