Off The Shelf: Take A Joke

Volume #3 of the notorious Angry Youth Comix serves up some of the most pointedly politically incorrect strips from Johnny's Ryan's work - including the infamous "Rape Tank" bit from Angry Youth Comix Vol. 2 #14 plus Loady, Sinus, Waqi Iraqi and the whole demented gang.

Artist Johnny Ryan's Angry Youth Comix was originally self-published and released as a series of ten issues from 1994 to 1999. In 1998, Ryan's work came to the attention of Peter Bagge, creator of Hate comics, who introduced the material to Eric Reynolds of Fantagraphics where the series was picked up and published by Fantagraphics starting in 2001.

This 160 page color and black and white collection also features some of Ryan's more bizarre ventures into talking condiments, sci-fi ass assassination (it exists), time machines and even horror - which for the record has always been a pretty strong component of his work.


References:

• Wikipedia, The Angry Yutes
• Johnny Ryan, Angry Youth Comix
• Hyper Geek, Johnny Ryan's Take A Joke

Off The Shelf: Great

Life's savage turns are chronicled in Ryan Armand's American manga Great.

2007 Eisner Award Nominated artist Ryan Armand's American manga series Great features a 28-year-old man's life comically falling completely apart and eventually re-assembling.

Nibbish yuppie Lyle falls through the basement levels of his life, loses his job, his wife and is robbed repeatedly before finally being rescued from homelessness by a Ramen Noodle restauranteur's daughter. Soon after, he becomes determined to take up the self-help concept of being "Great" in all aspects of his life from creating a furniture based martial art to making soup.

The protagonist establishes a better way of life only after completely abandoning his old one. Lyle becomes a chef and new father while dealing with street crime and fatherhood - a far cry from the shallow, corporate and plastic life he once tried everything to save.

The theme of the graphic novel (available directly from the artist) is finding a sense of purpose and optimism in the face of an incredible amount of crushing defeats. By relentlessly pursuing this concept of dedicated determination, with a healthy does of humor and respect for family included, Armand examines the nature of superficiality, relationships between husbands and wives and personal bravery all while illustrating Lyle's many attempts to be great.


References:

• Kiwis By Beat, Store/Illustrations
• Smack Jeeves, Comic Archive
• Comix Talk, Armand Talks 2007 Eisner Nod

Off The Shelf: Much The Millers Son

Click the image above for a preview of Much The Millers Son: Book II.

After storyboarding for Ed, Ed and Eddy for Cartoon Network from 2005-2008, Vancouver comic artist Steve LeCouilliard is taking on independent comic production. LeCouilliard is currently publishing a comic adventure set in Medival England, Much The Millers Son.

The book is LeCoulliard's own version of PG-13 version of Robin Hood featuring Much an obscure Merry Man in Robin Hood's gang. Much The Millers Son combines aspects of Groo The Wanderer and Sergio Aragones with Mad Magazine's art style and Monty Python's irreverence while nodding his feathered cap, monk's hood or armored helmet in the direction of animator Ralph Bakshi's raunchy and grim themes.



According to the latest from LeCouilliard's web sites Much The Millers Son.com and his blog the book series is currently in production and slated for release in 2010 or 2011.

References:

• Whaddaiwannablogfor, Much The Millers Son
• Much The Millers Son.com, Ye Olde Shoppe
• Cloudscape Comix, Steve LeCouilliard Speaks
• Wikipedia, Much The Millers Son (character)

Off The Shelf: The Rampaging Hulk

The Rampaging Hulk was a comic title in magazine format featuring the Green Goliath released in 1977 by Curtis Publishing (an imprint of Marvel Comics) and ran until 1981.

The Rampaging Hulk was first released with a full-color cover and black-and-white interior in magazine format. It featured full-length stories dealing with a more realistic depiction of violence, death, loss and alienation - subjects intended for a more mature audience. The title veered away from the mindless and sulking "Me Smash" Hulk that ol' green jeans had sadly devolved into since the good old days. The Rampaging Hulk was a return to the darker original character of the Hulk in the tradition of Tales to Astonish - a science fiction anthology that, after the first Hulk book was canceled in 1963, developed the Hulk as a raging, atomic super-mutant. In fact, many of the Rampaging Hulk stories were originally intended for the defunct Tales to Astonish title.

When the whole magazine went full-color the title featured interviews with Bill Bixby and Lou Ferrigno while the Incredible Hulk TV series was in full swing on CBS as well as the art of a young John Romita Jr. at 19 (he later a became a writer and artist on Amazing Spiderman) and his father John Romita Sr. one of the original Marvel Bullpen.



References:

• Wikipedia, The Rampaging Hulk
• Wikipedia, Incredible Hulk TV series
• Comic Covers, The Rampaging Hulk
• Amazon, Essential Rampaging Hulk, Vol. 1

Off The Shelf: Monkey King

Gene Yang is a artist who started self-publishing comics as Humble Comics in 1996 and received a Xeric Grant in 1997.

One of his best books is the Monkey King. In Yang's re-telling of the Chinese folk tale, the Monkey King is a power-hungry and arrogant minor deity. The demi-god threatens, at least in his own mind, the power of the rulers of Heaven. When he is punished for his arrogance, the Monkey King is forced to do penance by helping a pious monk stay alive in ancient China.

Besides making comics and graphic novels, Gene Yang works as a teacher of computer science. He lives and works in Fremont, California with his wife and kids.



References:

• Lambiek, Gene Yang