This is the archive page for the category [Comics]; below you should see headlines and summaries of all entries found here on the subject. Click the appropriate link at each to read the entire entry.

Jugs & Capes: "A.D.: New Orleans After the Deluge," by Josh Neufeld | October 3, 2011
It feels wrong to criticize such a worthwhile project, and I'm sorry. But while it was a great attempt, and must have taken an insane amount of work to do, it fell far short of its potential. | Read entire entry

Kickstarter Alert: Eddie Wright | September 16, 2011
Today, the start of a new feature at the blog, pointing out Kickstarter campaigns from people who have been featured at the website before. Today features the latest project by Eddie Wright, whose surrealist drama "Broken Bulbs" I declared one of the best experimental books of the year in 2009. | Read entire entry

Jugs & Capes: "Fun Home" by Alison Bechdel | September 1, 2011
Fun Home is absolutely spectacular. It's dense, fraught with meaning, stuffed with beautiful prose and complimented by simple illustrations. And in addition to being incredibly smart, incredibly illuminating, and incredibly inventive, it's also incredibly sexy. | Read entire entry

Jugs & Capes: "Maggie the Mechanic" by Jaime Hernandez | August 17, 2011
These are early, early stories by a writer at the wide-eyed innocent beginning of his illustrious career. He's still finding his footing, he's flailing about a bit; many of the elements of these early stories fell by the wayside as he honed his talents and settled into his stride. Which is all a bit of a relief. I mean, I really enjoyed these stories, but they're for sure a little rough around the edges. | Read entire entry

Jugs & Capes: "Collected Essex County" by Jeff Lemire | July 6, 2011
Today in CCLaP's "Jugs & Capes," Oriana Leckert's monthly series about classic comics from a female perspective: It's the collected "Essex County" stories of Jeff Lemire, hugely popular in Canada and that Oriana found well-written, but way, WAY too bleak for her particular tastes. | Read entire entry

Jugs & Capes: "Blankets" by Craig Thompson | April 27, 2011
Maybe writing a memoir at thirty-five, there really isn't much more that's happened than that one intense romance, the enduring heartache of not having been a good enough big brother, the struggle with one's faith. But much better books were built on much less than that, so I don't think I can let it off the hook that easily. It's not a bad book, certainly, and I'd definitely read more of Craig's stuff later, but this one just didn't dazzle me like I'd hoped it would. | Read entire entry

Jugs & Capes: "Preacher," volumes 1 and 2, by Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon | March 30, 2011
Today's title in Oriana Leckert's CCLaP essay series "Jugs & Capes," her look at classic comics from a woman's perspective: Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon's violent, racist "Preacher," which she did not find very good at all. Click through for a lot more. | Read entire entry

Book review: "Arcade of Cruelty," by Joseph Larkin | August 20, 2009
Today's book: "Arcade of Cruelty," a greatest-hits collection from long-suffering misanthrope and underground comics artist Joseph Larkin. | Read entire entry

Announcing CCLaP's new microblog -- the "CCLAPocracy" | January 6, 2009
Announcing the latest online experiment from the Chicago Center for Literature and Photography: The center's own Twitter-style microblog, in which readers debate recent reviews, announce local artistic events, post goofy personal updates and more. Today, all the details. | Read entire entry

Mini-review: "Black Hole," by Charles Burns | April 9, 2008
Today's review: The 2005 epic graphic-novel "Black Hole," by comics veteran and "Believer" cover artist Charles Burns. | Read entire entry

Personal essay: Regarding the "magic middle" of the independent arts. | March 5, 2008
For those who don't know, creative guru Kevin Kelly published a fascinating article this week, positing that it's easier than ever for independent artists to make a working living. Today, my thoughts on the essay, and what it has to do with Dave Sifry's theory of the blogosphere's "magic middle." | Read entire entry

Personal essay: Where to start when you know no one and nothing. | September 17, 2007
A reader email this weekend gets me thinking on my past; specifically, what advice I have to artists just starting out, and who have just moved to big cities where they know no one and nothing about how that "scene" works. Today, I share that advice. | Read entire entry

CCLaP Podcast 05: Greater Wealth Productions | July 23, 2007
Today: A five and a half minute interview with GW Welsh of the multimedia production company Greater Wealth, shot at a recent fundraiser at Lakeview's Spot6 nightclub. Also includes footage of Chicago writer Kate Cullen, Indiana cartoonist Andrew Dimitt, and Georgia band The North And South, plus the visual artwork of "Corey." | Read entire entry

Obsession of the moment: Player Vs Player | June 29, 2007
Today's obsession: The hilarious online comic strip "Player Vs Player." | Read entire entry

Obsession of the moment: Fart Party | June 15, 2007
Today's obsession: The online comic "Fart Party," by San Francisco twentysomething Julia Wertz. | Read entire entry