I love Science.

Well, I love the sort of pop culturey science that can be understood by someone who’s last experience in a laboratory was grade ten biology.

Lately I’ve been obsessively listening to every episode of Radio Lab, a science-oriented, This American Life-esque podcast that covers a topics like sleep, zoos, pop music and deception.

Lucky for me, there are also a bunch of great science comics. A writer named Jim Ottaviani has created a really cool niche for himself, and scripted several history of science comic books.

One of my favourites is Dignifying Science, a collection of stories about women scientists and their discoveries.

Ottaviani talks about science from a real social history angle, so we get a glimpse into the lives of these pioneering women, and see a bit of the circumstances that led to their phenomenal discoveries. The other cool thing about this book is that a different female cartoonist draws each story, so there’s a different artistic style to accompany the vastly different stories of these chemist, mathematicians, biologist, etc.
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An old lady with an invisible house. A crust punk who discovers a water nymph. A traveling musician who has to build a magical artifact before he can marry a woman he’s never met. These brilliantly strange and beautiful stories all appear in the new issue of Laura Kenins’s immensely engaging Birch Control #2.

Whether Kenins’s comics are based on a Finnish epic, or they involve teenagers walking around, being snotty, Ghost World-style, they all feel like folk tales. They slip in and out of unreality with ease, and even the most fantastic moments are familiar and honest.
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It’s here! The best holiday of the spring! Easter? Nah! Passover? Fuggedaboudit! It’s Free Comic Book Day! Okay, maybe it’s not an official holiday, but it should be!

Every year, on the first Saturday in May, retailers around the world give away free comic books.

Free Comic Book Day is a great way for new readers to gingerly step into the world of comics, or for comic fans to try something new, with no pressure.

In Halifax, it’s an awesome community event hosted by the shop I work at, Strange Adventures. We have artists doing sketches, Superheros hanging around signing autographs, magic shows and thousands of comics to give away. It’s all FREE FREE FREE.

I interviewed my boss, Calum Johnston, owner of Strange Adventures, about why he thinks Free Comic Book Day is important.

To find a participating retailer in your area, check out the Free Comic Book Day store locater.

So bring along everyone your know, and get yourself something for free, because that ain’t happening anywhere else in THIS ECONOMY. Wackity smackity dooo.

When I opened the new issue of DMZ this week, I was floored by the amazing art by fill-in creator, Nikki Cook.

DMZ is a series set in the near future where a brutal civil war is being waged in the United States. The comic is a critical and complex read, made irresistible by great characters. This issue focuses on Zee, a radical-medic, who is committed and unflappable in an absolutely chaotic environment.

Cook does an amazing job portraying these characters, and giving us insight into their thoughts and feelings through their expressive faces. This issue is rad, thanks in large part to Cook.
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The Color of Earth is the first in a trilogy of manhwa (Korean comics), by renowned creator, Kim Dong Hwa. The books are well known in Korea, but just being released in North America.

It’s a coming of age story that follows Ehwa, a cool little girl who lives with her mom in quiet, pastoral Korea. We watch Ewha from the ages of 5 to 15, as she matures physically and emotionally. She develops crushes on two boys—a young monk and wealthy student—and she gets particularly emo about the monk.

Ehwa’s mom, a widow who runs the town tavern, has a parallel storyline. She is constantly irritated by sexually inappropriate comments from her male patrons and she suffers through the rumours circulated by the townspeople about her single lady lifestyle. She does meet a hot travelling salesman who fulfills her needs, but he doesn’t want to put a ring on it.

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Hooray, I’m finally home after a long tour! One of my favourite things about traveling to lots of different cities is checking out their comic shops, and getting a brief glimpse into another comics community.

As a comic shop employee, seeing the way other shops do it makes me think about what separates welcoming, lady-friendly shops from the creepy, alienating ones. In my experience, it’s mostly the staff. A diverse crew of friendly-as-heck and knowledgeable-but-not-pretentious folks really set the tone for a cool comic shop.

Wired recently posted an article called Secret Lives of Comic Store Employees, showing the folks who sling funny books at their works and in their usually comics-laden homes. I was happy to read that most of them take the stance that I do: comics are for everybody.

When asked about the biggest misconception about comics and their fans, they said things like:

“There are people who say they don’t like comics, and they’re wrong. This is more like saying “I don’t like music” than “I don’t like rock music.” Sequential art is infinitely diverse, and this goes for the fans, too, because for every different type of person there is some form of sequential art that will appeal to them, whether they’ve been exposed to it or not. You can call it the funnies or you can call it a graphic novel, but you like comics. You do.”

You can really get a feel for the kinds of shops these people work in from their answers. The photos are great too. Check it!

Like most Shamelesss readers, I get really excited about a quality magazine. I have been devouring every issue of the stellar comics culture magazine, Comic Foundry. My heart broke when I saw that newest issue is the second-to-last issue.

Comic Foundry is all about balance—it does a great job of covering indie comics, mainstream stuff and web comics. A diverse range of creators are featured, from Marvel and DC heavy hitters, to hot new indie kids. It’s funny, it’s informative, and they clearly know a lot about comics. Mostly importantly, Comic Foundry recognises that—GASP—girls like comics too!

To fully understand why Comic Foundry is such an breath of fresh air in comics culture, you have to be familiar with Wizard Magazine. Yup, the same Wizard that’s being told to “suck it” on that cover. Wizard is THE comics magazine. It’s been around for 18 years, has a huge readership, and is available in most magazine shops, not just comics stores. It’s also really, really awful.
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The cover of Inio Asano’s new manga, Solanin, caught my eye—this band-aid faced, toque wearing, worried looking girl. What’s her deal?

Solanin follows Meiko, a young Tokyo woman who feels like she might not be making the most of her life. Meiko takes a look at her savings account and realises she can survive for a few months without an income. She quits her boring office job without any real plans, just the excitement of knowing she won’t have to work every day.

Meanwhile, her boyfriend Taneda is getting his old band, Ratti, back together, and thinking about quitting his day job too. They live like this for a while—Taneda writing new songs, and recording a demo, and Meiko spending her days in that bored/blissful state of unemployment, mostly playing video games and meeting friends for coffee.

And then, (spoiler alert!) I’m going to tell you what happens because I feel like this is where Solanin gets good.
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Canadian illustrator and comic artist J. Bone does so much adorable, amazing stuff. I love him. Here are some reasons why.

J. Bone drew this picture for Wonder Woman Day.

It’s been the desktop on my computer for a month. How can I grumble about all the work I have to do when I’m looking at that?

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