TwoMorrows publishes expanded, hardcover edition of "The Complete Jack Kirby Checklist"

You can order it here.

Jack Kirby Checklist: Centennial Edition
Limited Edition Hardcover (only 1000 copies)
 

Now 270 pages (more than DOUBLE the size of the 2008 Gold Edition shown with it here). We originally planned for 256 pages, but simply couldn't fit it all in, so we sprang for those extra pages at no extra cost to you. 

This is truly definitive: fully updated through Jack's 100th birthday in August 2017, with detailed listings of all of Kirby’s published work, reprints, magazines, books, foreign editions, newspaper strips, fine art and collages, fanzines, essays, interviews, portfolios, posters, radio and TV appearances, and even Jack’s unpublished work! 




Time Capsule: Cream live in Detroit


Vintage Fu Manchu paperbacks













Review: "Isle of Dogs"



Wes Anderson's films are so singular in their stylistic obsessions and quirks that it's amazing he's attained the large-ish following he enjoys today.

The key to his films' appeal, I think,  is their quirkiness but also Anderson's humor and his well-defined, oddball-but-engaging characters. Weird as they are, you like these people.

"Isle of Dogs," however, is the first of Anderson's films I can recall where the characters don't draw me in. It's not that they aren't appealing, but I didn't get to like them as much as, say, those in "Moonrise Kingdom," "The Life Aquatic of Steve Zissou" or "Rushmore."

Part of the challenge is that this new film is a blend of stop-motion and traditional animation. Yet Anderson's "Fantastic Mr. Fox," also animated, had no trouble making it's characters instantly engaging and likable.

"Isle of Dogs" looks great. I was attracted to its weird mix of 1950s-60s design and modern tech and the use of what look like vintage 1960s Japanese action figure/dollls as the film's human characters. The lead human character, Atari, a boy pilot dressed in a shiny, G.I.-style astronaut outfit, looks supercool.

And I love dogs, of which there are many in this movie. They all look cute and have endearing, quirky personalities (along with voices supplied by Bryan Cranston, Bill Murray, Jeff Goldblum, Scarlett Johansson and others), yet none of them, or Atari or any of the other humans, seemed entirely real to me.

Anderson doesn't quite breathe life into his creations here and, as a result, I became fixated on the film's incredible craft. As in all his films, the director's crazy attention to detail, the trademark symmetry of his staging and camera work and the overall lovely design of everything on screen came to the fore. The story and action, however, seemed remote, like watching an extremely witty and imaginative child playing with toys. Ultimately, it's a film I appreciated more than enjoyed.

Best comics covers of the week






New on Video April 17, 2017: The Awful Truth Criterion Edition; The Post; Doris Day: A Sentimental Journey

The Awful Truth  Criterion Edition

Doris Day: A Sentimental Journey

The Post

Out June 8: "Paris in the Spring" compiles 60s and 70s sounds from France


Details:

The events of May '68 are seen as a turning point in France's social history - pictures of the barricades are still potent images. Lines were drawn politically, culturally, socially, and pop music was not exempt. 'Paris In The Spring' is a collection of the new music, put together by Saint Etienne's Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs, that emerged from France between 1968 and the mid-70s, an extraordinary blend of several previously independent strains - French chanson and y-y, American jazz and funk, British chamber pop - shot through with the era's underlying mixture of optimism, uncertainty and darkness. This is the first collection of its kind, released on the 50th anniversary of the Paris uprising.

Tracks:

1. La Victime - Karl Heinz Schäfer
2. Hélicoptère - Mireille Darc
3. Les Aventures Extraordinaires D'un Billet de Banque - Bernard Lavilliers
4. Roses and Revolvers - Janko Nilovic
5. L'elu - Ilous & Decuyper
6. La Metaphore - Jacques Dutronc
7. Dommage Que Tu Sois Mort - Brigitte Fontaine
8. Les Garde Violent Au Secours Du Roi - Jean-Claude Vannier
9. Looking for You - Nino Ferrer
10. Chanson D'un Jour D'hiver - Cortex
11. Viens - Françoise Hardy
12. Couleurs - Léonie
13. Leslie Simone - William Sheller
14. Litanies - Triangle
15. Baleines - François de Roubaix
16. Encore Lui - Jane Birkin
17. Evelyne - Serge Gainsbourg
18. Le Bal Des Lazes - Michel Polnareff
19. Lileth - Léonie
20. Ystor - Ys
21. Chanson Pour Que Tu M'aimes Un Peu - France Gall
22. La Victime - Karl Heinz Schäfer
23. La Chanson D'hélène - Romy Schneider & Michel Piccoli

Video Find: "Kerb Drill with Batman" - rare 1960s British road safety film starring Adam West


New Music Friday April 13, 2018: Bowie; Glen Campbell; The Damned; Louis Armstrong

Click the links to order items from Amazon.




Pop Culture Roundup: Mad Magazine; Micronauts; Lone Ranger; spinner racks

Seven decades of Mad Magazine will be the focus of an exhibit opening at the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library and Museum at Ohio State University.

"Artistically MAD: Seven Decades of Satire!" features presentations by legendary MAD cartoonist Sergio Aragonés, collectors Glenn Bray and Grant Geissman, exhibit curator Brian Walker, and MAD editor Bill Morrison.



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The Tampa Bay Times spotlights comics artist Pat Broderick, famed for his run on Marvel Comics'  toy-based title, the Micronauts, which is set for a big-screen adaptation soon.

"People do always want to talk Micronauts," said Broderick, 64 and a lifelong Tampa resident. "And I still think of it a lot, too. It’s been 40 years and they are still in my head."

... he penciled Micronauts’ writer Bill Mantlo’s existing characters like Bug — a master thief who looks like a grasshopper and has insect abilities — and helped create new members of the cast, like the butterfly-winged singing sprite Fireflyte.

His stint marked the peak of popularity for Micronauts.

"It was Marvel’s second-best selling comic at the time," Broderick said. "It was a unique universe to imagine. Even though the toys were the creative base we derived the characters from, the Microverse came from the imagination."



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Via Plaid Stallions, more great promotional materials for the early 1980s Lone Ranger figure line from Gabriel Toys.


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There's a Kickstarter afoot to manufacture classic-style comic book spinner racks. Man, I remember buying my comics off of these in the 1970s, flipping through the titles to see if there were any stray DC or Marvels hiding behind all those Archie comics.


Time Capsule: "Hollywood Squares, " April 12, 1968


Vintage movie poster: "Dishonored Lady"



Out June 15: "Gene Clark Sings for You," collection of previously unreleased recordings


Also out June 15 is A Trip Through The Garden a collection of singles by the Rose Garden, a folk-rock championed by Clark.

Details from Omnivore Recordings:


The legendary 1967 Gene Clark recordings. Also includes six additional previously unissued & unknown recordings

Gene Clark’s musical legacy is most certainly assured as a singer, songwriter and member of some xclusive company as an inductee to Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, a founder of The Byrds, and collaborator in groups such as Dillard & Clark, Gene Clark and the Gosdin Brothers, McGuinn Clark & Hillman and later as the duet partner of Carla Olson (The Textones).
His songs have been covered by Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Iain Matthews, Robert Plant & Alison Krauss, The Rose Garden, and Chris & Rich Robinson of The Black Crowes among many others. As well documented as Clark’s career has been, there have been remarkable discoveries over the years (see Omnivore’s Here Tonight: The White Light Demos for example), but now the Holy Grail of Clark’s post-Byrds career is finally about to see the light of day:
“For longtime Gene Clark fans and aficionados, the tracks on this remarkable archival CD are the stuff of legend. Since word first spread in the 1980s about the discovery of these 1967 recordings on a rare acetate in Liberty Records’ vaults, fans have come to regard Gene Clark Sings For You as nothing less than the Holy Grail of the singer/songwriter’s extraordinary body of work. Shrouded in mystery and the subject of much speculation and conjecture, few have ever had the opportunity to hear these forgotten gems from one of Gene Clark’s most prolifically creative periods. Until now.”
—John Einarson

author of Mr. Tambourine Man: The Life And Legacy Of The Byrds’ Gene Clark (Backbeat Books)

In addition to the 8 tracks from the Gene Clark Sings For You acetate, recorded in 1967 after he famously left The Byrds, there are an additional 5 previously unknown tracks from a further 1967 acetate given to the band, The Rose Garden, for recording consideration. This new compilation also includes a previously unissued demo rescued from a tape in the collection of John Noreen, member of The Rose Garden. This demo of the song “Till Today” is Clark running through the song for the band who would cut it on their only album, the 1968 self-titled effort on Atco Records (also being reissued and expanded at the same time as Gene Clark Sings For You).
Released with the full approval and cooperation with both the Estate of Gene Clark and the band, The Rose Garden, Gene Clark Sings For You is produced for release by Grammy-winner, Cheryl Pawelski with restoration and mastering by Grammy-winner, Michael Graves. Liner notes by John Einarson, author of Mr. Tambourine Man: The Life And Legacy Of The Byrds’ Gene Clark(Backbeat Books) and previously unseen photos.
CD / 2-LP / DIGITAL TRACK LIST:

ON HER OWN
PAST TENSE
YESTERDAY, AM I RIGHT
PAST MY DOOR
THAT’S ALIRGHT BY ME
ONE WAY ROAD
DOWN ON THE PIER
7:30 MODE
ON TENTH STREET
UNDERSTAND ME
A LONG TIME
BIG CITY GIRL
DOCTOR DOCTOR
TILL TODAY


The most expansive collection by The Rose Garden ever

“In December 1967, Los Angeles folk-rock quintet The Rose Garden’s debut single ‘Next Plane To London’ rose to #17 on the Billboard Hot 100 national singles chart. A month later the single topped the Canadian RPM chart. Considering the stiff competition at that point, along with the odds stacked against them as an unknown new band, The Rose Garden members can feel justifiably proud of their accomplishment. ‘Whether we’re remembered as a One Hit Wonder or not doesn’t matter,’ insists Rose Garden drummer Bruce Bowdin. ‘We certainly were where the action was and had the time of our lives. I have no regrets or anything to apologize for. Our record is still played on the radio.’”

—from the liner notes by John Einarson, author of Mr. Tambourine Man:
The Life And Legacy Of The Byrds’ Gene Clark (Backbeat Books)

Expanded for the very first time, The Rose Garden’s sole album finally gets the deep-dive examination it deserves with A Trip Through The Garden: The Rose Garden Collection. Beyond the twelve tracks released in 1967 (the original ten-track album and two songs from a post-album single release), this newly restored and remastered CD adds 14 previously unissued tracks. They include five live tracks recorded in August of 1967 at Chaminade High School in Canoga Park plus studio outtakes, acetate tracks, and a special rehearsal.
A special note, being released at the same time is the Gene Clark Holy Grail, Gene Clark Sings For You which serves as a companion to A Trip Through The Garden: The Rose Garden Collection. Clark was involved with The Rose Garden after leaving The Byrds and furnished them with an acetate of songs to choose from for their self-titled album. They chose “Long Time” which appears on Gene Clark Sings For You. They also chose “Till Today” which appears in demo form on Gene Clark Sings For You, and as an acetate version and rehearsal on A Trip Through The Garden: The Rose Garden Collection.
Released with the full approval and cooperation with both the Estate of Gene Clark and The Rose Garden, A Trip Through The Garden: The Rose Garden Collection is produced for release by Grammy-winner, Cheryl Pawelski with restoration and mastering by Grammy-winning engineer, Michael Graves, plus liner notes featuring new interviews with the band by John Einarson, author of Mr. Tambourine Man: The Life And Legacy Of The Byrds’ Gene Clark (Backbeat Books) and previously unseen photos.
CD TRACK LIST:

NEXT PLANE TO LONDON
I’M ONLY SECOND
FEBRUARY SUNSHINE
COINS OF FUN
RIDER
SHE BELONGS TO ME
FLOWER TOWN
TILL TODAY
LOOK WHAT YOU’VE DONE
LONG TIME
IF MY WORLD FALLS THROUGH (Mono Single Version)
HERE’S TODAY (Mono Single Version)
DOWN TO THE WIRE
CHARLIE FER DE LANCE
THE WORLD IS A GREAT BIG PLAYGROUND
HERE’S TODAY (Stereo Mix)
IF MY WORLD FALLS THROUGH (Stereo Mix)
DEAD MEN NEVER DIE (Take 2)
I’M ONLY SECOND (Acetate Version)
TILL TODAY (Rehearsal)
TILL TODAY (Acetate Version)
NEXT PLANE TO LONDON (Live)
SO YOU WANT TO BE A ROCK ‘N’ ROLL STAR (Live)
SHE DON’T CARE ABOUT TIME (Live)
LITTLE THINGS (Live)
YOU DON’T LOVE ME (Live)

Video: Wendy Pini sketches Cutter from Elfquest


New comics collections for June 2018: Spider-Man; Captain America; Fantastic Four; Star Wars; Batman, more

Click the links to pre-order titles from Amazon.