Thursday, January 30, 2025
Tuesday, January 28, 2025
Recently Read: Naruto, Vol. 29, by Masashi Kishimoto
Creator Masashi Kishimoto rachets up the suspense in Vol. 29. Granny Chiyo (certainly one of the coolest Grandmas in fiction) joins Kakashi's team to rescue Gaara from the evil Akatsuki - not least because her grandson Sasori is one of them. Meanwhile, the Akatsuki are extracting the Biju (tailed beast) from Gaara's body in a bizarre, Lovecraftian ritual. Both Kakashi's team and Might Guy's team are fiercely tested on their way to the Akatsuki by doppelganger-like body doubles utilized to detain the teams (as well as lesson their chakra). It all ends on a terrific cliffhanger. It's also great to see some longstanding characters again, such as Neji and Pakkun, the talking, super-tracking Ninja Hound.
Monday, January 27, 2025
Wednesday, January 22, 2025
Tuesday, January 21, 2025
Monday, January 20, 2025
Friday, January 17, 2025
Monday, January 13, 2025
Friday, January 10, 2025
Recently Read: Apes and Lasers: The Art of Ian Laser Higginbotham
Apes and Lasers, a collection of art pieces drawn from 2019 to 2024, is a remarkable calling card for this animator and cartoonist's talents. 162 pages of full-color cartoony fantasy, the book features a gallery of caricatured, beautifully drawn protagonists. While most are, I suspect, new creations, some wearing Kirby-tech armor, old standbys make appearances, too: Ninja Turtles, Wolverine, Judge Dredd, Dracula, Nosferatu, Ultraman, Tarzan and more.
Being more of a comic book guy than an animation diehard, I can only guess at Ian's inspirations. I see the quick, busy spontaneity of Mort Drucker and the propulsive action and foreshortening emblematic of the best anime (Hayato Date's work for Naruto comes to mind). Higginbotham's a superior colorist, too, with some backgrounds and color schemes reminding me of Genndy Tartakovsky's Samurai Jack. Somewhat contradictorily, these still drawings often have more action and convulsive energy than I see on the screen when watching animation (from any country) and I look forward to some of these creations making their debuts on screens big or small.
The two big takeaways I get from this collection are: extraordinary talent and drawing as fun. As with the best caricaturists, the artist has empathy for these creations in all their splendor - or lack of it - even the villainous-looking and not quite trustworthy among them.
Apes and Lasers and Ian's companion book, F-Yeah Frankenstein, can be purchased at Stuart NG Books: ian higginbotham - Stuart Ng Books
Thursday, January 9, 2025
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