Month: August 2011

The Kindness of Strangers

A bunch of very kind reviews…first off its Felicity Gustafson over at Comics Bulletin…

Who writes that Malinky Robot is “…quite possibly the most charming set of comics that I have ever read…a fantastic combination of urban fantasy and childlike wonder packed in a box of adventure …Atari and Oliver are fantastically written, lovable kids [and the] artwork was just astounding.” (5/5)

http://www.comicsbulletin.com/reviews/131421245118060.htm

Over at Newsarama‘s Best Shot Extra, Wendy Holler says that “Malinky Robot is the real deal, the kind of book that should go not just on the must-buy list, but on the must-buy-for-friends list…[it] reads like something you’ve known all your life and also are seeing for the first time… a story of gentle tragedy, a near-future sci-fi comic with heart, a buddy story with an impressive supporting cast. The design is brilliant, and the storytelling is resonant in all the best ways.” (9/10)

http://www.newsarama.com/comics/best-shots-extra-110824.html

Thom Atkinson of The Skinny Blog adds that “Malinky Robot: Collected Stories & Other Bits is an indie delight… Whimsical yet infused with failed futurism, this title is a truly unique read.”

http://www.theskinny.co.uk/blog/2-the-skinny-blog/593-hot-off-the-comics-press-graphic-novels

And at Dave’s Comic Blog, Malinky Robot is “ buzz worthy ” and “…Liew has a lovely delicate style to his art so that what could look quite bleak instead feels more playful. And that’s the point it seems: in times of hardship you have to go looking for your own merriment. ”

http://davescomicsuk.blogspot.com/2011/08/weekly-treats-malinky-robot-and-more.html

Thanks to all for the positive words, really does mean a lot 🙂

Face Booking

The Facebook story as conceived by Aaron Sorkin isn’t a pretty one, but it’s an unstoppable thing at the moment, so here’s Malinky Robot hopping on the bandwagon :p

http://facebook.com/malinkyrobot

News, reviews, photos etc , please do post your own thoughts on the new book there as well! 🙂

And this hypnotic Arnie Schwarzenegger is the best thing on the internet I’ve seen for a while :p

The Beguiling and Paul Gravett Recommend!

Christopher Butcher at the Beguiling and Comics212 recommends Malinky Robot in his August 24 List 🙂

“I totally dig Malinky Robot, and some great comics creators clearly feel the same! Creator Sonny Liew has made appearances in the FLIGHT and LIQUID CITY anthologies, won the Xeric grant, a bunch of awards, and now all of his gorgeous, detailed, dirty and dense and wonderful city comics are available in one full-colour collection… Basically, buy this, it’s great.”

The Beguiling (“Showcasing the largest selection of alternative, underground and avant-garde graphic story telling in [Canada]… Among the many accolades afforded the store, the most prestigious was the first-ever Will Eisner Spirit of Retailing Award for excellence in retailing”) looks like a totally awesome comics store, though no idea if I’ll ever get a chance to visit it :p

 

Paul Gravett (author of “Graphic Novels: Everything you Need to Know“) says in his August previews:

“I’ve been warming to the work of Singapore-based comics creator Sonny Liew for a while now. He has worked with some pretty big-name writers like Mark Hempel, Mike Carey… but on the basis of his contributions of the anthologies Flight and Liquid City(the latter edited by him), I think he’s possibly at his best when crafting quirky characters and worlds of his own, where he can really pour his storytelling imagination out onto the page. This book of Malinky Robot has been out now for a while in French and I think other languages, but now the wait is over and the English edition of this compilation of his solo strips is almost with us. ”

 

 

Five Blams!

Malinky Robot gets a 5 out of 5 Blam Rating from Eric Whitman at The Daily Blam!

Eric’s Image Comics Reviews: Malinky Robot, Deadlands: Death was Silent, Samurai’s Blood #3, & All Nighter #3

“Malinky Robot is a thing of beauty that may go under-appreciated due to its lack of a cohesive narrative between its four parts, which in turn is also the only criticism that can be levied at this otherwise excellent work. It is still an excellent example of what gives comics relevance as a one-of-a -kind artform.”

And over at Comicattack.net, Drew McCabe says that the book ” is wonderful to look at and is graphically detailed in its dirty yet dream-like reality, but the more impressive parts are the moments of heart he brings to his stories, and the innocence these two street kids have against the backdrop of this city. ”

From Friendly Ghosts To Gamma Rays: Gil Jordan, Monster, Malinky Robot and Iron Man!

Malinky Robot arrives in stores on Aug 24! 🙂

Visit the FB page meanwhile! http://facebook.com/malinky robot

 

Singapore Toy Games and Comic Con 2011

Last year’s STGCC was a transitional one ; Reed Exhibition (who also run the New York Comic Con)  took over the event from Play Imaginative, and, as had been planned since STGCC’s inception, there was a move towards charging for entry for the first time. It turned out to be a deterrent for some/many, and attendance seemed to plummet, especially on Sunday – the feel of a ghost town at times.  So there were all sorts of qualms when STGCC 2011 started rolling around.

The event had been shifted from December (in 2010) back to August, and a lot of local creators were caught off guard, with their new titles not ready for that date. Coupled with other concerns (a shortened event, for example, down from three to two days), it meant many did not opt for a booth at this year’s event.Would everyone get drowned out by the Computer Games Booth again? Were ticket prices going to be re-adjusted?

So worries all round; but Reed proved ready and willing to listen to feedback from all concerned – fans, creators, retailers – to try and figure out how to make STGCC work. Some things were doable (making the Artist Alley and Alley again, rather than the initially planned laid out, best described as an Artist Circumference), others not (getting Hong Kong and Taiwanese Guests in); but overrall it was clear that Peter Tatara, Hui Leng and others at Reed were trying their damnest.

There’ll still be gripes I guess, but STGCC 2011 felt  like it was starting to take shape. It’s a convention still trying to find its voice, balancing out toys/games/comics, catering to Western comics and Mange/Anime fans, and  sheer distance and costs means  its always going to be tricky getting too many US based creators; but they’re giving it a go, and I think 2012 will see better things yet 🙂

Thanks anyway to all those who came to the show, those who bought some Malinky Robot comics; sorry if mostly only remember faces and hardly ever names :p

Some pictures from the event below:

STGCC 2011 PICS

Though the truth, I guess, is: its always a transition, one thing to another; that’s how it is, with this mortal coil.

Storytelling Part 2

A couple of contrasting reviews to Malinky Robot, at least with the storytelling. Over at CBR’s Pipeline, Augie De Blieck appreciated the art (“I could stare at it all day. The inks, the colors, the panel compositions, the cityscapes, the facial expressions, the meticulous backgrounds… Beautiful stuff. Everything is well designed, pieces that belong to a whole but look unique and interesting on their own…..There’s an atmosphere to this book that is hard to capture in many other comics.”), but categorizes it as an “Art Driven” Comic, meaning one where the story is perfunctory, or in his words, “forgettable and occasionally nonsensical”.

Over at the Westword Blog, Thorin Klosowski also likes the art (“…some of the best you’ll ever see”), but thinks that the stories “are so filled with nuance and subtlety, you’ll need to read them a few times before it all really sets in.”

And a while back Brian Cronin at Comics Should Be Good (also from CBR) thought it was a “powerful work and well worth you picking up”, with”Karakuri” described as an “extremely well-crafted tale”

So: differing reactions, and that divide is a  question I’ve mulled over for the longest time, ever since The Comics Journal ran a review on “Stinky Fish Blues” way back when, lumping that story together with Farel Dalrymple‘s  Pop Gun War as “shallow” ones that ” create…barriers between the reader and the beautiful drawings” .

There was a discussion on a blog post a few years back, over the nature of good storytelling:

What is Storytelling?

No real conclusion then, not sure what the conclusion would be now.

What makes a good story? The kind Pixar movies tend to tell? What about your art house stuff, someone like, say, Tsai Ming Liang or Hou Hsiao Hsien?

Those who do end up reading the new Malinky Robot collection, do let me know your thoughts, good or bad 🙂