A belated happy holidays, happy New Year, etc. to everyone out there. I spent the jolly season in my native western Nebraska, blissfully out of cell phone coverage and away from the Internet.
On my end, here’s some news for 2009: I’ll be taking on a slightly more official role with Top Shelf Productions. I’ve been I guess you could say a friend of Top Shelf for a while, helping them out when I can. But I’ll be working for them more continuously now, which, for me, is pretty much the coolest thing ever.
Way back when, my first story on comic books at the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette newspaper was an interview with Alex Robinson, who of course is one of Top Shelf’s star guys. Their books had a huge influence on me, and I kept discovering more amazing material from Matt Kindt, James Kochalka, Jeff Lemire and so many more.
Like I said, just about the coolest thing ever.
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On a not-entirely-unrelated note, why in the hell are so many reviewers/bloggers/etc. leaving Swallow Me Whole off of their best of 2008 lists?
Yes, it’s published by Top Shelf, but I’m the same guy who regularly disparages Alan Moore, so I say with as little bias as possible that Nate Powell’s graphic novel is easily one of the best of the year, and one of the best comics ever to soberly handle mental health.
There were plenty of strong books this year (count me out of the “2008 was awful” camp), and Swallow Me Whole deserves prominent mention on any list.
