Category: A&R
A&R2008: Glamourpuss
(May 27, 2024)Glamourpuss (2008) #1-26 by Dave Sim So what is this, then? Sim’s first new series after Cerebus (well, he’d done the Judenhass book, but that was a one-off), and it seems like it’s a parody of fashion magazines or something? Did anybody have that as their “Next Dave Sim Thing” bet? (This is going to … Continue reading A&R2008: Glamourpuss
A&R2009: Cerebus Archive
(April 23, 2024)Cerebus Archive (2009) #1-18 by Dave Sim This is the next-to-last post in this blog series, but the final post will have to wait a couple weeks while I wait for some missing issues to arrive… Not that this (re-)reading is complete: I apparently forgot to buy issues #4-6 while the series was new, and … Continue reading A&R2009: Cerebus Archive
A&R2016: Cerebus in Hell?
(April 22, 2024)Cerebus in Hell? (2016) by Dave Sim and others I was going to do Glamourpuss today, but then it turned out that I’m missing issues #2-7… so I’ve ordered those, because after re-reading #1, I’m kinda interested in seeing how those early issues developed. So you’re getting a brief post about Cerebus in Hell? instead… … Continue reading A&R2016: Cerebus in Hell?
A&R2004: Following Cerebus
(April 21, 2024)Following Cerebus (2004) #1-11 edited by Craig Miller, John Thorne and Dave Sim What’s this then? Isn’t this a blog series about Renegade Press and Aardvark-Vanaheim, and isn’t this series published by Win-Mill Productions? Well, yes and yes, but: It’s presented as being “co-produced” by Aardvark-Vanaheim, and it’s basically another venue for Sim to spout … Continue reading A&R2004: Following Cerebus
A&R1995: Cerebus World Tour Book
(April 19, 2024)Cerebus Would Tour Book (1995) by Dave Sim and others OK, just (I think) three more posts to go, and we can put this Renegade Press/Aardvark-Vanaheim blog post series to bed (again). Cerebus is saying what we’re all thinking. This book is a sort of promotional tool for the self-publishers tour Sim was arranging around … Continue reading A&R1995: Cerebus World Tour Book
A&R1990: Cerebus: High Society
(April 8, 2024)Cerebus: High Society (1990) #1-25 by Dave Sim As with Cerebus Bi-Weekly, I found my copies dirt cheap at a sale, and I don’t have a complete set. But let’s have a quick look at them anyway. The design on these books is a lot more considered than on Cerebus Bi-Weekly — it looks more … Continue reading A&R1990: Cerebus: High Society
A&R1988: Cerebus Bi-Weekly
(April 7, 2024)Cerebus Bi-Weekly (1988) #1-26 by Dave Sim I had already read the Swords of Cerebus reprint volumes, so I didn’t intend to buy this reprint series. But I happened upon them on sale a couple years after they were published for almost nothing, and I picked them up. It’s not a complete run or anything, … Continue reading A&R1988: Cerebus Bi-Weekly
A&R1981: Swords of Cerebus
(April 6, 2024)Swords of Cerebus (1981) #1-6, Swords of Cerebus Supplement to Swords of Cerebus Vol. 6 (1984) by Dave Sim and others I hadn’t originally planned on covering Swords of Cerebus since I’ve already done Cerebus #1-25, and Swords of Cerebus reprints those. But what the hey — these are somewhat interesting in themselves. Sim doesn’t … Continue reading A&R1981: Swords of Cerebus
A&R2010: Cerebus Guide to Self Publishing
(April 4, 2024)Cerebus Guide to Self Publishing (2010) by Dave Sim So what’s this then? It was originally published in 1997, when self publishing was had stopped being a “movement” in comics, but I guess it made sense to collect all the essays on publishing that Sim had written (and published in Cerebus) over the years. And … Continue reading A&R2010: Cerebus Guide to Self Publishing
A&R2008: Judenhass
(April 3, 2024)Judenhass (2008) by Dave Sim You thought the nightmare of this blog series was over after Cerebus #300! Dunn dunn dunn… you’re wrong! I’ve got the post Cerebus Aardvark-Vanaheim books to go, and then some mop up of things I forgot to do the first time around. Sorry! Gotta be complete. Anyway. This was Sim’s … Continue reading A&R2008: Judenhass
A&R2003: Cerebus #289-300
(April 1, 2024)Cerebus (2003) #289-300 by Dave Sim & Gerhard Heh heh. Anyway, this blog post covers the final Cerebus collection: The Last Day. It starts with a double sized/double numbered issue, #189/#190. And… it’s all Bibley stuff. Cerebus is dreaming throughout the issue while God is apparently telling him how it really goes. I’m not sure … Continue reading A&R2003: Cerebus #289-300
A&R2001: Cerebus #266-288
(March 31, 2024)Cerebus (2001) #266-288 by Dave Sim & Gerhard OK, we’re finally getting towards the end of this blog series. Well, OK, after we finish with Cerebus, we still have some Aardvard-Vanaheim books to go — Judenhass, Cerebus Archives (oops) and Glamourpuss… er… OK, there may be like ten more posts because I forgot to do … Continue reading A&R2001: Cerebus #266-288
A&R2000: Cerebus #251-265
(March 26, 2024)Cerebus (2000) #251-265 by Dave Sim & Gerhard My incredible math skills tells me that I’ve got 15 issues to read today — the longest “book” since, I guess, Jaka’s Story or something? And I’m not looking forward to this one, which is “Form & Void”, which is the third book of Going Home. Amusingly, … Continue reading A&R2000: Cerebus #251-265
A&R1999: Cerebus #240-250
(March 25, 2024)Cerebus (1999) #240-250 by Dave Sim & Gerhard This blog post is about Going Home book two: “Fall and the River”, and I have to admit to being pretty fed up with doing these posts (yet again). I should probably take a break, but at this point I’d rather power through. But you’ve been warned! … Continue reading A&R1999: Cerebus #240-250
A&R1998: Cerebus #232-239
(March 24, 2024)Cerebus (1998) #232-239 by Dave Sim & Gerhard What’s this then? Only eight issues covered in this blog post? Isn’t Going Home a longer epic? Yes, indeed, as you can see from the inside front cover down here. But the first eight issues are the first book, “Sudden Moves”. And! When doing the collections, the … Continue reading A&R1998: Cerebus #232-239
A&R1997: Cerebus #220-231
(March 23, 2024)Cerebus (1997) #220-231 by Dave Sim & Gerhard OK, Rick’s Story. Guys ended with Rick (Jaka’s ex husband) showing up randomly at Cerebus’ tavern, and Rick’s Story continues on from that. And yes, Rick’s appearance there seems to be “at random”, i.e., guided by god, as is usually the case in Cerebus. Sim’s not very … Continue reading A&R1997: Cerebus #220-231
A&R1995: Cerebus #201-219
(March 22, 2024)Cerebus (1995) #201-219 by Dave Sim & Gerhard In this blog series, we’ve kinda sorta reached new territory for me. As a teenager, I read the first 50 issues many times — let’s say er seven times. And then I read the issues up to about #80 a handful of times. And now I’ve read … Continue reading A&R1995: Cerebus #201-219
A&R1994: Cerebus #187-200
(March 21, 2024)Cerebus (1994) #187-200 by Dave Sim & Gerhard In today’s sermon, we’re doing the final book of Mothers & Daughters — “Minds”. And at 14 issues, it’s the longest book, but oddly enough, the most focused one. Is that Sim? Or perhaps Astoria? Nah, she has a stronger jaw line, and she’d never wear that … Continue reading A&R1994: Cerebus #187-200
A&R1993: Cerebus #175-186
(March 20, 2024)Cerebus (1993) #175-186 by Dave Sim & Gerhard This blog post covers the third Mothers & Daughters book — “Reads”. The first issue here says that it’s going to run for 14 issues, but that’s revised down. I’m not sure whether it’s just a typo here, or whether Sim changed his mind. “Reads” is a … Continue reading A&R1993: Cerebus #175-186
A&R1993: Cerebus Number Zero
(March 19, 2024)Cerebus Number Zero (1993) by Dave Sim & Gerhard This was originally meant to be published in a poly-bagged, foil inked version with a holographic card (as a kind of comment/parody of what other publishers were doing around this time), but Sim decided that that would be too expensive a joke, so instead it’s came … Continue reading A&R1993: Cerebus Number Zero
A&R1993: Cerebus #163-174
(March 18, 2024)Cerebus (1977) #163-174 by Dave Sim & Gerhard This blog post covers the second of the four Mothers & Daughters books: “Women”. The main structuring device this time around are competing quotes from Astoria’s and Cirin’s books. If you’ve ever wondered what the difference between Kevillism and Cirinism is, you’re in luck! Other than that, … Continue reading A&R1993: Cerebus #163-174
A&R1992: Free Cerebus
(March 17, 2024)Free Cerebus (1992) by Dave Sim & Gerhard This book was published (in 60K copies, according to Sim, making it the Cerebus thing with the highest print run) to have something that shops could give to punters attending the Cerebus US Tour ’92. Makes sense to me. But what do you put into an introductory … Continue reading A&R1992: Free Cerebus
A&R1991: Cerebus #151-162
(March 17, 2024)Cerebus (1991) #151-162 by Dave Sim and Gerhard What? Another blog post in the Renegades and Aardvarks series? But that one ended two years ago? Yes, indeed. I stopped that series after the Renegade portion was complete, because after that I only had Cerebus to write about, and I didn’t feel I had more to … Continue reading A&R1991: Cerebus #151-162
Renegades & Aardvarks Redux
(May 6, 2021)Let’s start off with a list of all the comics, and then there’s a summary after that. Cerebus (1977) #1-25 Cerebus (1981) #26-50 Swords of Cerebus (1981) #1-6
A&R1990: Cerebus #139-150
(May 5, 2021)Cerebus (1990) #139-150 by Dave Sim and Gerhard So, Renegade Press is now a thing of the past, so all I have to do in this blog series is about 150 issues of Cerebus, and then Cerebus Archives and Glamourpuss, and… Let’s get to it. Sim starts off with a jibe at people who didn’t … Continue reading A&R1990: Cerebus #139-150
A&R1988: Spiral Cage
(May 4, 2021)Spiral Cage (1988) by Al Davison Here we are — the final Renegade Press comic. (It’s possible that other comics trickled out after this, but it’s the last #1, though.) And it’s a total outlier in the Renegade library: For one, it’s not a newsprint pamphlet — instead it’s a squarebound book with white paper: … Continue reading A&R1988: Spiral Cage
A&R1988: Starbikers
(May 3, 2021)Starbikers (1988) #1 by Ronn Sutton Sutton writes an introduction and explains what this comic is: It’s a reprint of Starbikers stories that had appeared in the Vortex and Black Zeppelin anthologies. The reason for this reprint is that they were launching a new ongoing title — T-Minus-1 — that had Starbikers as the lead … Continue reading A&R1988: Starbikers
A&R1988: T-Minus 1
(May 2, 2021)T-Minus 1 (1988) #1 by David Day, Ronn Sutton, Gene Day and Dan Day So this is basically yet another Day Brothers anthology (and Renegade had published more than a handful of thse)… but teaming up with Ronn Sutton this time around. We lead off with a Starbikers story (David Day inking Sutton), and … … Continue reading A&R1988: T-Minus 1
A&R1988: Tony Bravado, Trouble-Shooter
(May 1, 2021)Tony Bravado, Trouble-Shooter (1988) #1 by Dave Darrigo, Steve LeBlanc and Louis Paradis You may remember Dave Darrigo from Wordsmith… or not. So here’s him with a couple of newcomers to comics. Let’s read the first three pages. Well… ouch? The artwork is very variable — Tony’s chin grows and shrinks in every panel. And… … Continue reading A&R1988: Tony Bravado, Trouble-Shooter
A&R1988: Suburban Nightmares
(April 30, 2021)Suburban Nightmares (1988) #1-4 by Larry Hancock, Michael Cherkas and John van Bruggen One of the more successful (both commercially and critically) comics at Renegade was The Silent Invasion — so this is a spin-off off of that, sort of. That is, it’s the same creators, working in much the same milieu. And this was … Continue reading A&R1988: Suburban Nightmares
A&R1988: Trypto the Acid Dog
(April 29, 2021)Trypto the Acid Dog (1988) #1 by Bill Mumy, Miguel Ferrer and Steve Leialoha Max Allan Collins (of Ms. Tree fame) writes the introduction here — which is very usual for Renegade. The vast majority of the books have little or no contextualisation… which I kinda like. So let’s skip the introduction and just start … Continue reading A&R1988: Trypto the Acid Dog
A&R1988: Cerebus #112-138
(April 28, 2021)Cerebus (1988) #112-138 by Dave Sim & Gerhard Hey, it’s been a while since this blog series covered a block of Cerebus issues, and that’s because the bulk of the Renegade publications happened while Church & State (vol 2) was rolling. (And there’s only a handful more Renegade series to do after this post.) But … Continue reading A&R1988: Cerebus #112-138
A&R1987: Kilgore
(April 27, 2021)Kilgore (1987) #1-4 by Brian B. Chin and Jesse Jarvis When I’m typing these blog posts (I wouldn’t call it “writing”), I generally do so after I’ve read the entire series I’m er typing about, but I do so as if I was typing in real time while reading? (Rare peek behind the scenes! Secrets … Continue reading A&R1987: Kilgore
A&R1987: Agent Unknown
(April 26, 2021)Agent Unknown (1987) #1-3 by Robert Sodero, Dell Barras and others Man, that’s an amateurish-looking logo. But let’s read the first three pages. As usual in a Renegade series, there’s no contextualisation as to what we’re reading — my immediate thought upon seeing these pages was that this had to be a reprint of a … Continue reading A&R1987: Agent Unknown
A&R1987: Roscoe! The Dawg, Ace Detective
(April 25, 2021)Roscoe! The Dawg, Ace Detective (1987) #1-4 by Martin Trengove and others Roscoe! The Dawg had appeared in various issues of Fox — the Australian anthology, but this is his first solo series. Let’s have a look at the first three pages: Yes, indeed, we’re in zany noir pastiche territory. I assumed that this was … Continue reading A&R1987: Roscoe! The Dawg, Ace Detective
A&R1987: Mechthings
(April 24, 2021)Mechthings (1987) #1-4 by Brad W. Foster Oh, I remember him — Foster used to pop up in various small press anthologies all the time, and I like his artwork and zany humour. Well, the artwork is like I remembered it — it’s kinda… uhm… it reminds me of Howard Cruse (the stippling and the … Continue reading A&R1987: Mechthings
A&R1987: Ms. Tree’s 1950’s Three-Dimensional Crime
(April 23, 2021)Ms. Tree’s 1950’s Three-Dimensional Crime (1987) #1 by Nick Alascia, Pete Morisi, Ray Zone and others OK, I’m up for some 3D Ms. Tree stories… sure… Oops. That didn’t turn out so good. But instead of that, Max Allan Collins and Terry Beatty explain that they just don’t have the time to do a special, … Continue reading A&R1987: Ms. Tree’s 1950’s Three-Dimensional Crime
A&R1987: Robot Comics
(April 22, 2021)Robot Comics (1987) #0 by Bob Burden Burden is, of course, most famous for the Flaming Carrot series, also published by Renegade. This is apparently a reprinting of a comic Burden had done in 1981. “Elecra-Fiction” is the name of the genre. Let’s read the opening spread: OK, so it’s prime Burden lunacy. The entire … Continue reading A&R1987: Robot Comics
A&R1987: Renegade Romance
(April 21, 2021)Renegade Romance (1987) #1-2 edited by Deni Loubert with Trina Robbins Ah, these are comics I remember fondly from when I was a teenager, but I haven’t read them since then. That’s a nice pair of covers from the Hernandez brothers, isn’t it? As usual, I’m bewildered at how little hard selling is going on … Continue reading A&R1987: Renegade Romance
A&R1987: Shadows from the Grave
(April 20, 2021)Shadows from the Grave (1987) #1-2 by Kevin McConnell, David Day and Dan Day I had the second issue of this as a teenager, but I never bothered getting the first one at the time, so I’ve got a bad feeling about this… Well, OK, the artwork by the Day Brothers is pretty nicely rendered … Continue reading A&R1987: Shadows from the Grave
A&R1987: Jacques Boivin’s Love Fantasy
(April 19, 2021)Jacques Boivin’s Love Fantasy (1987) #1 by Jacques Boivin and others This comic has three short stories, all with artwork by Boivin, but with different writers, which is a somewhat unusual approach. The first one is written by Mike Baron (of Nexus fame, presumably). It’s a vignette about a guy without any particular qualities (except … Continue reading A&R1987: Jacques Boivin’s Love Fantasy
A&R1987: Friends
(April 18, 2021)Friends (1987) #1-3 by Bill Dinardo When I was considering doing a blog series about Renegade, the first thing that popped into my mind was “Yeah! Friends! I get to read Friends again!” Which is pretty odd, since I could just re-read it anyway, but… I remember Friends well from when I was a teenager. … Continue reading A&R1987: Friends
A&R1987: Wimmen’s Comix
(April 17, 2021)Wimmen’s Comix (1987) #11-13 The first ten issues of Wimmen’s Comix were published by Last Gasp. I’ve got them here in some shortbox somewhere, but since this is a blog series about Renegade, I’m gonna skip re-reading them now. Besides, I re-read it all somewhat recently when I got the box set collecting the entire … Continue reading A&R1987: Wimmen’s Comix
A&R1987: Kafka
(April 16, 2021)Kafka (1987) #1-6 by Steven T. Seagle & Stefano Gaudiano (I will be discussing the plot of this 35 year old comic here (which I usually don’t much), so if you don’t want spoilers, skip this one.) This was a series I had when I was a teenager — and I remember really liking it, … Continue reading A&R1987: Kafka
A&R1987: Holiday Out
(April 15, 2021)Holiday Out (1987) #1-3 by Michael Vance and an unknown number of other people Content Warning: I’ve tried to keep this blog series polite, because 1) shouting at forty year old comics isn’t cute, and 2) I chose to read these comics of my own volition, and 3) there should probably be a 3). So, … Continue reading A&R1987: Holiday Out
A&R1987: French Ice
(April 14, 2021)French Ice (1987) #1-13 by Lelong, Binet and others You can’t really say that the end is within reach for this blog series, but we are kinda starting to see Renegade winding down: This is the final series they published that reached double digits. But we’re in February 1987, and the black and white boom … Continue reading A&R1987: French Ice
A&R1986: Open Season
(April 13, 2021)Open Season (1986) #1-6, Open Season (1989) #7 by Jim Bricker Hey! I remember this series from when I was a teenager… well… OK, you got me: I just remember having about half of the issues, but I don’t remember anything about the contents. Except it being kinda… like… sitcom-ish? Or was it more drama-ish? … Continue reading A&R1986: Open Season
A&R1986: Revolver Annual
(April 12, 2021)Revolver Annual (1986) #1 edited by Robin Snyder Robin Snyder’s Revolver anthology had been coming out at a steady clip at Renegade — under various names, but with basically the same kind of content: Some Ditko material as the meat of the issue, and then some Henry Boltinoff, and then whatever people had lying around, … Continue reading A&R1986: Revolver Annual
A&R1986: Eternity Smith
(April 10, 2021)Eternity Smith (1986) #1-5 by Dennis Malonee, Rick Hoberg and others This is Renegade’s first (and I think only) colour book. And it’s a kinda-sorta super-hero book (well, it’s got a guy running around in leotards who has (augmented) powers, so I think it counts). Both are unusual things for Renegade to be publishing… and … Continue reading A&R1986: Eternity Smith
A&R1986: Murder
(April 9, 2021)Murder (1986) #1-3 edited by Robin Snyder Another three months, another anthology from Robin Snyder. The first ones were centred on various Ditko bits that he apparently had lying around, but this one doesn’t mention Ditko at all on the cover. Let’s have a look at how the first issue starts: Well, OK, there’s more … Continue reading A&R1986: Murder
A&R1986: Ms. Tree Summer Special
(April 8, 2021)Ms. Tree Summer Special (1986) #1 by Max Allan Collins, Terry Beatty and Gary Kato I covered the main run of Ms. Tree here, but there’s a couple of specials to mop up. This is the first one: The Rock’n’Roll Summer Special. We’re into the days of the Black and White Boom, and Deni Loubert … Continue reading A&R1986: Ms. Tree Summer Special
A&R1986: The Puma Blues
(April 7, 2021)The Puma Blues (1986) #1-23 by Stephen Murphy and Michael Zulli Oh! This is a series I remember well from when I was a teenager. That is, I don’t remember much of the specifics, but I remember the pensive atmosphere and the sight of those manta rays floating in the sky. It used to be … Continue reading A&R1986: The Puma Blues
A&R1986: Cases of Sherlock Holmes
(April 6, 2021)Cases of Sherlock Holmes (1986) #1-15 by Dan Day and Arthur Conan Doyle We’re in May 1986, a low point in American comics publishing: These are the hectic days of the dreaded Black and White Boom, when dozens and dozens of fly-by-night publishers would get their cousins to draw up something, anything that could be … Continue reading A&R1986: Cases of Sherlock Holmes
A&R1986: Terry Beatty’s The Phony Pages
(March 28, 2021)Terry Beatty’s The Phony Pages (1986) #1-2 by Terry Beatty This is a collection of stuff Beatty had previously published here and there, mainly in the Buyers Guide for Comics Fandom, so I didn’t have high hopes for this mini-series: Especially since it’s from the height of the black and white boom. But let’s look … Continue reading A&R1986: Terry Beatty’s The Phony Pages
A&R1986: Cecil Kunkle
(March 27, 2021)Cecil Kunkle (1986) #1-3 by Charles A. Wagner I had the first issue of this series as a teenager, but never read it for some reason or other. But some trepidation, let’s read the first three pages together: *gulp* The early desktop publishing lettering (I think that’s what it is? Did that exist in 1985?) … Continue reading A&R1986: Cecil Kunkle
A&R1986: Ditko’s World featuring Static
(March 26, 2021)Ditko’s World featuring Static (1986) #1-3 by Steve Ditko This series is sometimes referred to as Revolver #7-9 — Robin Snyder was putting together a monthly series of Ditko stuff at Renegade, but varying the title. And here they’ve kinda-sorta ditched the “Revolver” title, which is probably a good idea, since anthologies don’t sell. Let’s … Continue reading A&R1986: Ditko’s World featuring Static
A&R1986: The Silent Invasion
(March 22, 2021)The Silent Invasion (1986) #1-12 by Larry Hancock, Michael Cherkas and others I do remember Silent Invasion from when I was a teenager. However, I wasn’t really a fan — that is, I bought the first couple of issues, and then I dropped it. But I have no idea why… I can’t recall what I … Continue reading A&R1986: The Silent Invasion
A&R1986: Howard Cruse’s Barefootz
(March 21, 2021)Howard Cruse’s Barefootz The Comix Book Stories (1986) #1 by Howard Cruse Cruse had published a three issue Barefootz series at Kitchen Sink in the 70s, but had also used the character in the short-lived Marvel “underground” magazine Comix Book. This book reprints these strips. I really like Cruse’s comics — they’ve got a lighthearted … Continue reading A&R1986: Howard Cruse’s Barefootz
A&R1986: Amusing Stories
(March 20, 2021)Amusing Stories (1986) #1 by Scott Shaw and Don Dougherty This was solicited as a continuing series, but only a single issue was published. Half the issue is Dougherty’s Blast — I did a quick Google, and this seems to be the only appearance of these characters. It’s a zany space action comedy thing, and … Continue reading A&R1986: Amusing Stories
A&R1986: Maxwell Mouse Follies
(March 19, 2021)Maxwell Mouse Follies (1986) #1-6 by Joe Sinardi We’re now in the Black and White boom period of the US comics market — patient zero, Adolescent Radioactive Black Belt Hamsters #1, had been released and had shown that people desperate for the next Teenage Mutant etc Turtles would snap up any #1, as long as … Continue reading A&R1986: Maxwell Mouse Follies
A&R1986: Strata
(March 18, 2021)Strata (1986) #1-5 by Joe Judt, Ray Murtaugh, Jim Brozman and others Renegade’s publishing profile is pretty odd, to say the least, but most of the series published by Loubert up till now had been by a single creator, or at most a writer/artist pair. This is the first that has a writer/penciller/inker line-up, I … Continue reading A&R1986: Strata
A&R1986: Manimal
(March 17, 2021)Manimal (1986) #1 by Ernie Colón Renegade was a very hands-off company, editorially… but for such a creator-friendly publisher, they sure were vague about credits. Nowhere in this comic does it say explicitly who created it. Even the indicia is vague: It’s “© 1985”, but by whom? (Who? Hoo?) It was “designed & produced” by … Continue reading A&R1986: Manimal
A&R1985: Cerebus #81-111
(March 16, 2021)Cerebus (1985) #81-111 by Dave Sim & Gerhard This batch of Cerebus comics are the issues collected as Church & State II; December 1985 to June 1988. Let’s see how it starts: Ah, yeah: Cerebus is the Eastern Pope, but had been thrown into the Lower City (of Iest) by a Thrunk, a very big … Continue reading A&R1985: Cerebus #81-111
A&R1985: Revolver
(March 9, 2021)Revolver (1985) #1-6 edited by Robin Snyder Deni Loubert says in the introduction to this anthology that she’s not much of a fan of anthologies. Myself, I love anthologies: Every issue is an opportunity to surprise and delight the readers with something new and unexpected. But I understand why many people shy away from anthologies: … Continue reading A&R1985: Revolver
A&R1985: Wordsmith
(March 9, 2021)Wordsmith (1985) #1-12 by Dave Darrigo and Richard G. Taylor I liked Renegade a lot back in the 80s, and comics like this were a major part of that: Comics that just seem… out of whack with what anybody else was publishing. This comic is about a pulp writer… in the mid-to-late 30s… and… that’s … Continue reading A&R1985: Wordsmith
A&R1985: Vicki Valentine
(March 2, 2021)Vicki Valentine (1985) #1-4 by Barbara Rausch and Bill Woggon I definitely had this series as a teenager, but I don’t remember anything about it. Let’s read the first four pages: Oh, this was originally planned as a one-shot? But was expanded into a quarterly series, which I take to mean that the first issue … Continue reading A&R1985: Vicki Valentine
A&R1985: Gene Day’s Black Zeppelin
(March 1, 2021)Gene Day’s Black Zeppelin (1985) #1-5 by Gene Day and others Gene Day died in 1982, but left behind a number of half-finished projects. This series collects these bits and bobs along with other pieces already published in fanzines, as well as new comics from friends of Day. It’s a pretty unique series in that … Continue reading A&R1985: Gene Day’s Black Zeppelin
A&R1985: Valentino
(February 28, 2021)Valentino (1985) #1-3 by Valentino I remember this comic well from when I was a teenager. It seemed fresh and new and original: An autobio comic. Now, this isn’t exactly the first autobio comic ever: I think people usually point to the Binky Brown thing by Justin Green, and there had then been a bunch … Continue reading A&R1985: Valentino
A&R1985: Cerebus Jam
(February 27, 2021)Cerebus Jam (1985) #1 by Dave Sim, Gerhard and others Huh. How did I end up with two copies of this? Anyway, this is the first “new series” published after Deni Loubert left Aardvark-Vanaheim, so Dave Sim does the introduction. Cerebus Jam had previously (much previously) been announced as a bi-monthly title, but I guess … Continue reading A&R1985: Cerebus Jam
A&R1984: Flaming Carrot Comics
(February 26, 2021)Flaming Carrot Comics (1984) #1-4, Flaming Carrot Comics (1985) #5, Flaming Carrot Comics (1985) #6-17 by Bob Burden I think I said in a previous post in this blog series that the only Aardvark-Vanaheim book I didn’t buy as a teenager was normalman? I’d forgotten about Flaming Carrot: I only got a couple of issues … Continue reading A&R1984: Flaming Carrot Comics
A&R1984: A-V in 3-D
(February 24, 2021)A-V in 3-D (1984) #1 by Lots of People The publisher explains that this comic is a sampler to introduce the new line of Aardvark-Vanaheim comics to the public… but it was published a lot later than planned, so it’s not really that much of an introduction. Hey! This Ms. Tree strip was reprinted in … Continue reading A&R1984: A-V in 3-D
A&R1984: Ms. Tree
(February 22, 2021)Ms. Tree (1984) #10-15, Ms. Tree (1985) #16-18, Ms. Tree (1985) #19-50, Ms. Tree 3-D (1985) #1 by Max Allan Collins and Terry Beatty with Gary Kato I covered the first ~ten issues of Ms. Tree over at the Eclipse Blog, but I didn’t re-read the Aardvark-Vanaheim/Renegade comics at that time. I did mostly have … Continue reading A&R1984: Ms. Tree
A&R1984: normalman
(February 17, 2021)normalman (1984) #1-7, normalman (1985) #8, normalman (1985) #9-12, normalman Annual (1986) #1 by Valentino I bought everything that Aardvark-Vanaheim released as a teenager… except normalman. I think I had one issue? And then decided “nuh-uh”. But teenagers have been wrong before, right? Perhaps this is one of those times? THE TENSION MOUNTS Deni soon-to-be-Loubert-again … Continue reading A&R1984: normalman
A&R1983: Cerebus #51-80
(February 16, 2021)Cerebus (1983) #51-80 by Dave Sim and Gerhard I started reading Cerebus with #49 (when I was 15), so you can imagine how confused I was in the first couple of issues. But then a new story started, and things were a lot easier to make sense of. Well, slightly more. I re-read the High … Continue reading A&R1983: Cerebus #51-80
A&R1983: Journey
(February 14, 2021)Journey (1983) #1-14 by William Messner-Loebs I covered this book when doing Fantagraphics, so I’m not going to write about it again: It’s really tempting to re-read it, though… It’s totally spiffy. This blog post is part of the Renegades and Aardvarks series.
A&R1983: Neil the Horse Comics and Stories
(February 13, 2021)Neil the Horse Comics and Stories (1983) #1-10, Neil The Horse Comics and Stories (1984) #11-15 by Arn Saba with Barbara Rausch, David Roman and others Ah, Neil the Horse. I was (counts on finger) 15 when I read the first issue of Neil the Horse, and I was absolutely enthralled. It was love at … Continue reading A&R1983: Neil the Horse Comics and Stories
A&R1982: Michael T. Gilbert’s Strange Brew
(February 11, 2021)Michael T. Gilbert’s Strange Brew (1982) #1 by Michael T. Gilbert and others This is the first non-Dave Sim comic Aardvark-Vanaheim has published, and it’s in a somewhat strange format: It’s the same height as Cerebus, but a couple of centimetres wider — so the form factor is more like a magazine, but smaller. It’s … Continue reading A&R1982: Michael T. Gilbert’s Strange Brew
A&R1981: Cerebus #26-50
(February 10, 2021)Cerebus (1981) #26-50 by Dave Sim We (that is, I) continue our (that is, my) (re-)reading of Renegade/Aardvark-Vanaheim with the second batch of Cerebus comics — the High Society sequence. (Hopefully with fewer parentheses per paragraph than this one (right).) I started reading Cerebus with issue #49 (when I was 14), which is the 24th … Continue reading A&R1981: Cerebus #26-50
A&R1977: Cerebus #1-25
(February 9, 2021)Cerebus (1977) #1-25 by Dave Sim I started reading Cerebus with issue 49, in 1983, and I was 14, and I read Cerebus until it ended some decades later. At first I thought Sim sounded like a pretty smart cookie, but by the time I was 16, I realised that he was just a bundle … Continue reading A&R1977: Cerebus #1-25
Renegades & Aardvarks
(February 8, 2021)(For a list of all comics in this blog series, click here.) I’ve been doing these blog series for the last few years where I’m re-reading comics from the 80s: First I did Fantagraphics, because I really wanted to re-read Love & Rockets one more time, and then the whole idea of setting up a … Continue reading Renegades & Aardvarks