Links
I’m going this route rather than the standard blogroll because, if this blog goes according to plan, there isn’t going to be one set focus, so organizing links by category and with descriptions seems like the best way to go. If the list feels a little comics heavy–and it should, as it is–that can be attributed to the fact that comics and comics blogging has very much been my focus for the past five years or so. Admittedly, I’m not reading these every day, as I suddenly find myself beyond busy with real-life concerns, but these are the things that I check out when I have a moment to spare.
Book, Film, and Music Blogs and Sites
• Armagideon Time: Andrew Weiss’s MP3 blog. More often than not, I’ve never heard the songs he posts, so it always seems fresh.
• The Backbeat: The blog of Lyman Medeiros, Steve Tyrell’s touring bassist and head of his own project, Lyman Medeiros and the Lower Level (their first album, The Funky Supervillain, is available for online purchase, and a preview can be heard at the group’s MySpace page).
• Better Late: My friend Matt is undertaking a worthwile task–catching up on all the good things he’s missed–movies, books, life experiences, etc. I think this will be an interesting experiment to watch.
• Bookslut: One of my all-time favorite sites of any type, Bookslut covers all aspects of the book world (including comics) really well. They also have the stellar Blog of a Bookslut, which is required daily reading.
• Cinecultist: Nice group blog on cinema.
• Classic Movies: Wonderful resource for all things surrounding classic film–not very well designed, but the sheer amount of content makes the unprettiness forgiveable.
• Classically Speaking: The tagline reads “promoting classic movies in a jaded world.”
• Dave Ex Machina: Dave Lartigue writes about comics and other things, but I wouldn’t consider it a comics blog, per se–the mix is much more diverse than that.
• Film and Reviews: Updates irregularly like me, so I feel like less of a slacker.
• Greenbriar Picture Shows: Another classic film blog–worth it for the sheer amount of old Hollywood images.
• Language Log: There should be more blogs that focus on linguistics, dammit, but this one could very well make the others redundant. It’s that good.
• Lurking Rhythmically: I recently stumbled across this blog, and a lot of the culture stuff doesn’t quite appeal to me, but Erin’s a heck of a writer, and sometimes she talks poetry and language things that hit me square in my little lit-nerd heart.
• Nah Right: A hiphop blog that sometimes offers links to downloadable tracks.
• NelsonGeorge.com: Site of one of my favorite music writers.
• Piddleville: Reviews and commentary on classic and contemporary film.
• Possum Stew: I don’t know what this will be but, knowing the girl behind it, it should be awesome.
• Project: Rungay: I don’t even watch Project: Runway, and I love these guys.
• The Rap Up: A hiphop roundup blog with a punny title. In other words, a blog after my own heart.
• Self-Styled Siren: More classic movie discussion, written in a way that reminds me of the best, most opinionated comics bloggers.
• Thrilling Days of Yesteryear: Like the title suggests, this is a celebration of nostalgia–old movies, television shows, and old-time radio.
• Toure.com: The site of another essayist/author I dig.
• Turner Classic Movies: The homepage of one of my two favorite television channels (the other being HGTV), with detailed viewing guides, a message board, and an internet store.
• World of Awesome: A blog where I, Joe Rice, Alex Cox, and a guy named AWOL talk about all things awesome. We’re perfect, objective arbiters of what is and what isn’t awesome, so.
• World Wide Words: Language geek paradise–believe that. All sorts of crazy trivia on words, phrases, etymology, and usage.
Comic Book Blogs and Sites
• The ADD Blog: Alan David Doane of Comic Book Galaxy is blogging again, and blogging a lot. I don’t know where he gets these bursts of blogging energy, but I want some.
• Bahlactus: Bahlactus is a strange cat, but charmingly so. I dig his “Milestone Mondays” feature. I miss Milestone.
• The Beat: Heidi MacDonald’s comics-oriented blog at Publishers Weekly.
• Beaucoupkevin: Kevin Church is a jerk, and I like him anyway. Pop culture blogger, comics creator and, with co-conspirator Benjamin Birdie, a webcomic writer–he’s got a lot on his plate and, fortunately, he has a large appetite. Also, his favorite Spice Girl is “Sporty Spice,” evidently.
• Blog At Newsarama: A great group of guys and gals blogging comics at the most popular comics-related site on the internerd. Seriously, it’s nice having guys I adore like Graeme McMillan and Kevin Melrose under one banner–it’s like one-stop shopping for half of the people that inspired me to blog in the first place.
• Chris’s Invincible Super-Blog: Funny stuff. Chris is also an NPR junkie–he went so far as to make his own NPR trading cards, which is a very nerdy thing to do.
• Comics212.net: Chris Butcher is one of the comics blogosphere’s most insightful, engaging writers, and his tastes are surprisingly catholic for a snob.
• Comics Reporter: If there’s a shortlist of essential comics-related blogs, Tom Spurgeon’s Comics Reporter is pretty much the top of the heat, particularly from a news perspective. Comic strips, comics retailing, corporate comics, manga, alternative comics, art comics, minicomics, comics publishing, editorial cartooning–Spurge has it on lock.
• Comics Should Be Good: Brian Cronin, Joe Rice, Greg Hatcher, and a bunch of other people post to Comic Book Resources’s comics blog. Oddly, though, while the title is “Comics Should Be Good,” they give a lot of favorable attention to really crappy books. Well, not Rice or Hatcher, at least.
• Comics Worth Reading: Johanna Draper Carlson is the first comics reviewer I came across, and she’s still one of my favorites–she cuts right to the essence of the book she’s reviewing, and now that her site is more bloggy, she also writes about comics publishing concerns, gender issues, recipes, and classic movies with the same aplomb found in her comics reviews.
• Dick Hates Your Blog: Dick rubs a lot of people the wrong way, kind of like I used to. It probably goes without saying that I’m a big fan.
• Glyphs: The Language of the Black Comics Community: Rich Watson focuses on a segment of comics fandom and creation that doesn’t get much play on the internerd, much to the internerd’s detriment.
• ImageText: From the English Department at the University of Florida, ImageText “is a peer-reviewed, open access journal dedicated to the interdisciplinary study of comics and related media.” I keep thinking of submitting an article to it, but I fear rejection.
• Indie Spinner Rack: Of all the comics podcasts out there, this is the one I follow with the most regularity–which still isn’t very regular, as I prefer to read things on a screen than burn them to CD for my commutes to and from work and class–as it focuses on the side of comics I’m most interested in.
• Jog – The Blog: Jog’s one of the smartest, most-astute writers on the comics blogosphere, and can form cogent, coherent thoughts about superhero comics (as he does in his recurring column in the Comics Journal.
• Journalista!: Dirk Deppey’s back in the saddle, fresh from his stint as Comics Journal editor. Essential reading.
• Lukewarm Tales: Alex Cox, of Rocketship fame (see below), is now posting short webcomics to a blog. He’s multi-talented.
• Metamorphostuff: Ryan Day is one of the smartest nerds in the comics blogosphere. Seriously, ridiculous smart.
• Metrokitty: Kitty blogs on all sorts of things on an irregular basis. She also does Geraniums and Bacon, which quickly became on of my favorite minicomics of all time (it’s available from her at the link).
• Neilalien: Everyone’s favorite enigmatic palindrome, Neilalien’s got a serious Dr. Strange love, catholic tastes in comics, and crazy common sense. His blog tends to be more content-driven than personality driven, but when he opines, he’s got surgical precision.
• Paul Gravett on Comics & Graphic Novels: If Paul Gravett, rather than Stan Lee or guys dressed up in funny costumes, was the public face of comics, comics would be a lot better off.
• Postmodern Barney: Dorian is smarter than he lets on, and smarter still for not letting that on. A very pragmatic take to the comics industry, and lots of Wildcat beefcake, if that’s your thing–and it’s very clearly Dorian’s.
• Precocious Curmudgeon: David P. Welsh is one of the best people to look to for manga and comics commentary. He’s turned me onto a bunch of good stuff in the past, and he’s even more charming in real-life, if that’s possible.
• Progressive Ruin: How much can one man love Swamp Thing? Way more than you can imagine. Mike Sterling also linkblogs, talks about life as a comics retailer, and cracks wise.
• Read Yourself Raw: An all-around nice blend of content, reading suggestions, and links. They also have a monthly newsletter.
• Rocketship: Alex Cox and Mary Gibbons own and operate what has quickly become my favorite comics bookstore. Located at 208 Smith Street in Brooklyn, it’s a fabulous place to discover the surprising diversity in the comics medium. There isn’t much commentary at their blog, but it’s the best place to stay up-to-date with the special events they host on a regular basis.
• Savage Critics: More Graeme McMillan goodness (and this time, he reviews things) along with other smart people–Brian Hibbs and Jeff Lester.
• Size Matters: Shawn Hoke writes about the comics few others write about–minicomics. He also writes about them rather well, and finds such wonderful, amazing stuff.
• Sporadic Sequential: John Jakala, who used to share The Low Road with me and was one of the folks who made me start blogging in the first place, is blogging again, and is more amusing now than he’s ever been.
• Tangognat: Tangognat (hooray for palindromic pseudonyms!) is a librarian and fan of manga and comics–that’s worth noting, as libraries are quickly becoming one of the growth sectors in comics reading (and that’s a good thing).
Comic Book Publishers:
• :01 (First Second): First Second is a newish publisher, but it has quickly become one of my favorites. An imprint of Holtzbrink Publisher’s Roaring Book Press, First Second has taken its direction from the world of book publishing rather than the direct market, making it one to watch from a market standpoint as well. Rather than trying to fit one niche audience, they publish works from cartoonists foreign and domestic (including Eddie Campbell, Joann Sfar, J. P. Stassen, Lewis Trondheim and Gene Luen Yang) for audiences young and old. First Second’s site also serves as a blog where Editorial Director Mark Siegel and some of the artists post information, sketches, and review links. Their online catalogue also includes samples of their books.
• Adhouse Books: Fans of design may want to check out Adhouse for the design elements alone–every book they publish looks remarkable from that standpoint. Adhouse serves of an example of what happens when a young comics publisher doesn’t go all crazy by flooding the market in an attempt to increase its market share–the ratio of quality work remains remarkably high. Adhouse publishes work from James Jean, Paul Pope, Hope Larson, Josh Cotter, Scott Mills, Debbie Huey, Scott Morse and Joel Priddy, and published the well-received Project series of anthologies: Project: Telstar (robots!), Project: Superior (superheroes!) and Project: Romantic (romance!).
• Drawn & Quarterly: If there’s a “big two” in superhero comic-book publishing, there’s at least a “big three” in the section of the American comics industry that publishes good comics, and Drawn & Quarterly is one of them. They’ve published things from people like Kevin Huizenga, Adrian Tomine, Gabrielle Bell, David B., Dupuy & Berberian, John Porcellino, Chris Ware, Guy DeLisle, Seth, and many others.
• Evil Twin Comics: Ryan Dunleavy and Fred Van Lente published one of my absolute favorite comics–Action Philosophers. You don’t need a real grasp on philosophers and philosophy to see the humor and charm in the series–it’s intelligent without being pretentious, didactic without being pedantic, funny without being forced, and the art is good, crisp and cartoony stuff that seems to appeal to most people.
• Fantagraphics: A thirty year history is a remarkable thing in comics today–there aren’t many comic book publishers that can claim such longevity. In 2006, Fantagraphics celebrated their thirtieth anniversary, marking three decades of publishing alternative comics, art books, graphic novels, comic strip reprints, anthologies and, through the Eros line, the adult comics that helped keep them afloat through lean times. Fantagraphics catalogue includes work from Jessica Abel, David B., Peter Bagge, Ivan Brunetti, Charles Burns, Dan Clowes, R. Crumb, Jaime and Gilbert Hernandez, Paul Hornschmeier, Jason, R. Kikuo Johnson, Michael Kupperman, Anders Nilsen, Gary Panter, Joe Sacco, Carol Tyler, Chris Ware, Steven Weissman and Jim Woodring, as well as collections of comic strips like Peanuts, Krazy Kat and Dennis the Menace. The publishers and staff run Flog!, a promotional weblog that covers Fantagraphics cartoonists, events and press. Fantagraphics also publishes The Comics Journal, the long-running magazine of comics news, criticism and reviews.
• NBM: Even if I didn’t adore Neil Kleid, whose books they often publish, I’d still love NBM. They’ve got a wide variety of material and, like :01, operate like a publisher-publisher, not a comics publisher.
• Oni Press: These cats publish some fun comics from people like Chynna Clugston, Christine Norrie, and Bryan Lee O’Malley–accessible, middle-of-the-road comics (and I mean that in the best way possible) that can be a joy to read.
• Picturebox: If you dig art-for-arts-sake, and think you might like art-for-arts-sake comics, Picturebox is worth checking out. I think Brian Chippendale’s Ninja will be my perpetual coffee table book.
• Top Shelf: Comics for a wide variety of ages and tastes, books from Top Shelf are among the ones you’ll find in your local Barnes & Noble. They also seem to be continuing their dedication to all-ages comics that aren’t juvenile with some of their latest releases.
Public Radio
I’m a public radio addict–there’s just something about the format that I really like, particularly when I’m driving. Many of the shows offer podcasts, online listening and other alternate methods of delivery. Some public radio links:
• National Public Radio: Top-level site for NPR programming.
• Public Radio International: Top-level site for PRI programming.
• CBC Radio One: Top-level site for CBC-One programming.
• All Things Considered:NPR’s wonderful afternoon news, interviews, reviews and commentary program.
• As It Happens: CBC One’s evening news and commentary program reminds me a bit of NPR’s All Things Considered, but it’s just a wee bit more funkified.
• Fresh Air: One of my all-time favorite things, in any medium. Some people, when they think of what makes a good interview (and, by proxy, a good interviewer), they think of hard, aggressive questioning and big revelations. Terry Gross, though, goes a different direction when interviewing people from a wide variety of fields. She doesn’t ask easy questions or hard questions; instead, she asks interesting ones, and lets the conversation go from there. The music, book and film reviews also tend to be pretty interesting.
• Jazz Profiles: It’s a radio show on jazz, focusing on the musicians that make this quintessentially American music genre–of course I love it.
• Morning Edition: NPR’s morning news program is a great way to start the day.
• News and Notes: Ok, so I don’t like current host Ed Gordon as much as I liked Tavis Smiley. Still, I like how focused the program is, and by concentrating on issues in the African-American community the show offers a different look at today’s news stories.
• On the Media: I’m kind of obsessed with how the media (any media) conducts itself, so this show fascinates me–instead of just talking about the issues, the show always has insightful discussions on the conversation surrounding the issues.
• Radio Times: Another news discussion show, Radio Times gets carried on Sirius’s NPR stations. While it covers issues of national and international importance, it also focuses on issues specific to Pennsylvania.
• Studio 360: Kurt Anderson’s Studio 360 may be the best arts, culture and entertainment show on radio today.
• This American Life: If you’ve never listend to Ira Glass’s This American Life, think of it this way–it’s radio done as jazz jam. There’s a theme each week, and each segment riffs on the central idea in its own way. Some segments are fiction, some are fact, but they tend to be compelling however they’re created.
• To the Best of Our Knowledge: Another theme-based show, To the Best of Our Knowledge presents the themes more matter-of-factly, and each segment tends to be on average more interview-oriented than the segments in This American Life.
• Wait, Wait… Don’t Tell Me: NPR’s weekend comedy gameshow where contestants answer news-related questions for a chance to win NPR mainstain Carl Kasell’s voice on their home answering machine. Sometimes, it feels like The Daily Show without images, particularly when Mo Rocca is on.
• World Cafe: This program features music and interviews with musicians of all types.
