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June 5, 2015
Atomic Books Comics Preview - June 5, 2015
In the weekly Atomic Books Comics Preview, Benn Ray highlights notable new comics and graphic novels.
Benn Ray is the owner of Atomic Books, an independent bookstore in Baltimore. The Mobtown Shank is his blog, and his comic Said What? is syndicated weekly in the Baltimore Sun's B-Paper.
Atomic Books has been named one of BuzzFeed's Great American Bookstores, as well as one of Flavorwire's 10 greatest comic and graphic novel stores in America.
Journal Of Interstitial Cinema #5.5
by Grog Ziklore / RJ Wheatpenny / Po Man
The Journal of Interstitial Cinema is an excellent modern version of the classic film fanzine, complete with a typewriter looking (Courier) font. And the magazine includes a lot of awesomely opinionated takes on movies like Hardbodies, Dennis Hopper's The American Dreamer and Indestructible. But it also contains an impossible to put down article on a cold case file related to the film Dracula Sucks (AKA Lust at First Bite and American Dracula) and the gruesome fate of Executive Producer David E. Emerich and his girlfriend Bonnie Pellicer. It also has a fascinating remembrance of the untimely and tragic demise of Twisted Sex actress Sharon Lewis. And it also contains a pointed essay calling for us to get rid of zombie walks, the use of the word "thinkpiece" and Marvel Comics.
Playing As If The World Mattered: An Illustrated History Of Activism In Sports
by Gabriel Kuhn
It's true that, as Noam Chomsky says, sports reinforce irrational attitudes in submission to authority. It's also true that more people spend their time obsessing over sports instead of focusing on politics - that people seem to care more about the exploits of millionaire athletes instead of the lobbying efforts of billionaires, and that only the latter will have a direct effect on their lives and the former won't. And given the corruption and controversies surrounding major sports organizations (FIFA globally, NFL nationally), sports fans could use a little something to feel good about right now, and Kuhn's colorfully illustrated book does the trick. It compiles instances in which sports organizations, teams and athletes have used sport as a populist and progressive platform (including Jackie Robinson, Roberto Clemente, Muhammad Ali, skateboarding, radical cheerleading, roller derby and much more!).
VHS Video Cover Art: 1980s to Early 1990s
by Thomas Hodge
Nothing will make you lament the demise of the video store more than this collection of vintage, classic and killer VHS box cover art. While it may be little more than a strange cultural curiosity for the young, it's a stroll down memory lane for those of us who spent hours perusing the aisles of video stores (and now must spend the same amount browsing Netflix queues with far less interesting results - let's face it, if Netflix was a video store, it would be the worst video store in town), looking for awesome treasures. This book celebrates the art of those treasures.
Questions, concerns, comments or gripes – e-mail benn@atomicbooks.com. If there’s a comic I should know about, send it my way at Atomic, c/o Atomic Books 3620 Falls Rd., Baltimore, MD 21211.
Atomic Books & Benn Ray links:
Atomic Books website
Atomic Books on Twitter
Atomic Books on Facebook
Benn Ray's blog (The Mobtown Shank)
Benn Ray's comic, Mutant Funnies
also at Largehearted Boy:
other Atomic Books Comics Preview lists (weekly new comics & graphic novel highlights)
Antiheroines (interviews with up and coming female comics artists)
Book Notes (authors create music playlists for their book)
Librairie Drawn & Quarterly Books of the Week (recommended new books, magazines, and comics)
musician/author interviews
Note Books (musicians discuss literature)
Short Cuts (writers pair a song with their short story or essay)
WORD Bookstores Books of the Week (weekly new book highlights)
