Tiger Rag by Nicholas Christopher
For a musician whose entire recording career consists of one take of one song—most likely, a single, rumored phonograph cylinder—turn-of-the-20th-century New Orleans cornet player Charles “Buddy” Bolden looms extraordinarily large in musical fact and fiction. read more
Prosperous Friends by Christine Schutt
Midway through The Seagull’s 1896 premiere, author Anton Chekhov famously fled backstage amid a barrage of whistles and jeers. read more
New Thomas Pynchon Book on the Way
Novelist Thomas Pynchon is set to release a new novel, according to tweets from Ron Charles, the fiction editor at The Washington Post. The announcement was also reported by The New York Times, which cited a confirmation from Pynchon’s long-time publisher, Penguin Press. There are few details besides the book title, The Bleeding Edge, and there’s no current date for publication. The book will follow up 2009’s Inherent Vice, which was released in 2009 to lukewarm reviews. The writer is now 75.... read more
Barrel of Monkeys
Writers/Artists: Florent Ruppert and Jérôme Mulot Publisher: Rebus Books Release Date: January 23, 2013... read more
Three Rock Bios Worth Reading
It's been a good year for rock bios. George Howard shares his favorites. read more
Comic Relief with Hellboy Creator Mike Mignola
In Comic Relief, Paste chats with some of the most influential writers and artists in comics about their work and the comics that inspired them. Introduced in 1993, hulking paranormal investigator Hellboy spent the majority of his life battling mythological monsters and his looming destiny as the Beast of Revelations, created to lead the armies of the abyss. Writer and artist Mike Mignola crafted a post-modern treasury of folklore, myth, and religion, illustrated in angular panels dripping with atmosphere and action. The comic ushered decades of gothic and pulp influences into a streamlined narrative that reintroduced the macabre to a... read more
Conversations with Mani Ratnam by Baradwaj Rangan
I’m at the laptop writing this review, and I’m trying to remember what I liked about Rangan’s Conversations with Mani Ratnam, a book I read many weeks ago. read more
Amazing Spider-Man #700
Writers: Dan Slott, J.M. DeMatteis, and Jen Van Meter Artists: Humberto Ramos, Giuseppe Camuncoli, and Stephanie Buscema Publisher: Marvel Release Date: December 26, 2012 Epic Spoiler Alert... read more
Sculpting in Time by Andrey Tarkovsky
The Great Russian filmmaker Andrey Tarkovsky (1932-1986) died in exile in Paris at age 54. In this memoir, published the year of his death, Tarkovsky breaks down cinema through the prism of his perception. read more
Comic Relief: Paste's Favorite Writers & Artists Pick their Favorite Comics of 2012
Paste's Comics Team asked our favorite writers and artists to write about the comics that they liked the most this year. read more
X-O Manowar Volume 1: By The Sword
Writer: Robert Venditti Artists: Cary Nord and Stefano Gaudiano Publisher: Valiant Comics 2012 The first collection of the new X-O Manowar series focuses almost entirely on the character’s origin, which might make it feel a little too geared toward new readers. I should know: I am one of them. I didn’t read the original Manowar twenty years ago. I’ve never read the second series from Acclaim. I haven’t even played the videogame with Iron Man (is that the only cross-company comic book crossover to exist in videogame form?). I’m the ideal reader for this latest version of the comic: I’m... read more
The Holy Or The Broken by Alan Light
The Holy Or The Broken traces the history of a single song—“Hallelujah,” written by Leonard Cohen and originally recorded in 1984, with a chorus that invokes the Messiah and the holiday season and verses about struggles with more worldly desires. read more
The Wayside by Julie Morstad
Writer/Artist: Julie Morstad Publisher: Drawn + Quarterly 2012 Somewhere between Emily Winfield Martin’s sweet vintage illustrations for The Black Apple and Hideo Nakata’s visions of avenging nature spirits lies Julie Morstad’s work, which has the genuine creepiness of non-bowdlerized fairytales. The Wayside is more a collection of drawings than a comic proper, but it does have moments of sequential storytelling, mostly in its first few pages. Whether there’s an overarching narrative hidden throughout the book is indeterminate, especially without words to help, but it seems likely that any links among the individual vignettes are more thematic than plot-based. Morstad’s... read more
After Karen Berger's Exit, Vertigo Comics Announces Editorial Promotions
Shelly Bond is replacing Karen Berger as the new Executive Editor of the Vertigo imprint for DC Entertainment, joining Will Dennis (Group Editor) and Mark Doyle (Editor). “I’ve been incredibly lucky to have worked for many years with these three smart and talented editors. Shelly has been by my side since the beginning of Vertigo, so I couldn’t be happier about passing the baton to her,” Berger said in a statement. “She brings so much creativity, passion and professionalism to everything she edits with special note to the wildly successful Fables, which she launched and has overseen for over 10... read more
Django Unchained #1
Writer: Quentin Tarantino Artists: R.M. Guera and Jason Latour Publisher: Vertigo 2012... read more
Les Miserables by Victor Hugo
Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables debuted 150 years ago in 1862 and now has become the literal definition of The Big Book. read more
Hopeless, Maine Volume 1: Personal Demons
Writers: Tom and Nimue Brown Artist: Tom Brown Publisher: Archaia 2012 What hath Neil Gaiman wrought? It’s not that there wasn’t a space for Goth on the mainstream edge before his resounding success, but there’s no question that that fantasy icon broadened its place at the table. Married couple Tom and Nimue Brown clearly take inspiration from Gaiman, but don’t quite reach the level of of the dream king’s storytelling, even with its weaknesses (a tendency to work with corny artists, a questionable taste level, the idealization of young women as saviors).... read more
Carnival by Rawi Hage
With Carnival, his third novel, Montreal-based author Rawi Hage once again takes facts from his own life, blends them with the carnivalesque (quite literally in this case) and pushes things to the border of the fantastic. read more
The Hero with the Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell & New Villager
On a cool night in early June, a handful of Brooklynites stand on the corner of Driggs and North 10th in Williamsburg, about to set out on a pilgrimage. read more
360 Sound: The Columbia Records Story by Sean Wilentz
Sean Wilentz, a history professor at Princeton University, writes on prominent American figures, including Ronald Reagan and Andrew Jackson. read more
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