Quickie: Li'l Depressed Boy

A satire that alternately mocks and embraces hipster culture through the tried and true format of "boy-meets-girl".  Cynical, but heartfelt, creator's S. Steven Struble and Sina Grace, show no remorse for the extremely blatant caricature that is the series, even going so far as to name their protagonist LDB, or Li'l Depressed Boy, a literal every man with a blank face and a doll body who is of course chasing his own Manic Pixie Dream Girl (look it up).  Without this wink to the reader, LDB would be cliche, and it is interesting to read a book toeing that thin of a line between sincerity and mockery.  The book is undeniably "hip", drenched in pop culture allusions and self referential humor, in almost a self-hating sort of way.  It even has a scan page in the back with instruction to make a LDB paper doll.  I read the first collected trade, and the comic is still ongoing, so for now, let's just call it an homage.  And speaking of homages, click the jump to see more fabulous LDB art, including shout outs to other tales of this genre.

Review: The Definitive Irredeemable (collected issues 1-12)

Amazing and pitch perfect cover art by John Cassaday

Long time members of Graphic Content (if you can call a little over a year "long time") will no doubt remember Mark Waid's writing from Kingdom Come, one of last year's most popular discussion books.  In yet another examination of the true challenges of super-heroism, Irredeemable takes a look at what happens when the pressures of the career irrevocably destroys a hero, leaving behind...something else.

2012-2013 Book List Finalized

Things have leveled out, and since club attendance has been on the rise and new members have been joining, I was finally able to order the rest of the books for this year of Graphic Content.  Head over to the "Discussion Book 2012-2013" link on the right of the page to check out the full list!

Questions: Barefoot Gen Vol. 1

Boy, as finales go, that one was a doozy, and if you're like me, you're racing for the next volume.  But before  you get started on that, let's see what we've gleaned from Volume 1, shall we?

Review: 100 Bullets Vol. 1

100 Bullets has a deliciously simple but effective premise: take a person who has been drastically wronged, give them a gun, 100 untraceable rounds of ammunition, proof positive of who wronged them, and permission to do as they please.  The results are entertaining, to say the least. 

Extras: The Pitfalls of Comics Anatomy

The infamous Catwoman cover.

Anonymous satire

Parody by the fabulous Kate Beaton.

Over on the Facebook page, we've been having sort of an impromptu link share showing one of comics most well known features: horribly drawn anatomy.  While it is truly sad that talented artists often stoop to reinforcing bizarre body image icons, well, if you can't cry, you might as well laugh.  Warning: Not all links are safe for work.

Series Review: The Sandman

For the last year, I have been devouring Neil Gaiman's epic series, The Sandman.  Not only have I read all 10 of the collected editions of the series, but also 3 spin-off books, 1 collection of short stories, and The Sandman Companion by Hy Bender, which analyzes each book in the series through interviews with Mr. Gaiman himself.  The books revolve around an idea so big, that it encompasses near everything.  And I mean everything.  It's a story about stories.  So for lovers of fantasy, myth, history, and fairy tale, mixed with a fair bit of goth sensibility and family drama, strap in tight, because this is the series for you.