BUZZSCOPE :: Weekly Review Roundup: December 21, 2005:"ELK’S RUN #4 – BUZZSCORE: A
By Joshua Hale Fialkov, Noel Tuazon and Scott Keating * Speakeasy, $2.99
If there were any reservations about declaring an 8-issue mini-series one of the best of the year based only on its first three chapters, Elk’s Run hits the halfway point with a bang, cementing its status in my mind as THE sleeper hit of the year. After last issue’s shocking turn of events saw two state troopers killed for prying too deeply into town affairs, Fialkov switches perspectives again, showing the immediate aftermath through the eyes of the four teenagers charged with disposing the bodies as they come to grips with what’s happened and debate their escape. “Who knows what else they’ve done…?” Flashing back periodically to a hunting expedition, Fialkov continues to unfold his story of a tightly knit community coming apart at the seams, deftly fleshing out motivations and balancing even the most extreme actions within a very human context. Tuazon and Keating complement the story’s mounting tension with atmospheric visuals that will look great when some smart director brings Elk’s Run to theaters, Sin City-style, in a couple of years. Don’t let the ghost of Christmas past pay you a visit and make you regret missing out on the source material. --Guy LeCharles Gonzalez"
Right here are some mighty kind words from Marc Mason about WToT. To answer his question of "When is there going to be a trade?" We're actually talking to some people right now.
Chris Arundel (publisher and business partner extraordinaire) will read this and then IM me saying "What people?" cause I haven't told him yet.
When something like the Speakeasy situation happens, I usually just sit back and look at what smarter people have to say on the subject. Because really, what I know about the economics of comics publishing and anything resembling high finance could comfortably fit in half of a hollowed-out Skittle, with plenty of room left over. (And to anyone who got a good chuckle out of the use of “comics” and “high finance” in the same sentence, you’re welcome.)
But reading the updates and analysis and noting that the fourth issue of Elk’s Run is due out today, I find myself a little more wistful than I would normally be at yet another industry implosion.
Click Here for the Rest
IGN.com's year end awards are up, and Elk's Run is nominated for Best Indie Book, and H&B is nominated for Best Indie Publisher!
Go team!
Elk’s Run Review is in German! And he likes it! I think. Damn google translator.
Click here for the full review...
I missed out on Elk's Run #1-3 in the original floppy editions published by Hoarse and Buggy in 2004. But, judging by Joshua Fialkov's letter to his readers (printed on the final page of this collection), Elk's Run flew under the radar of most comic book readers, so I'm not alone. But, again like most of those who have finally become aware of the existence of Elk's Run, I'm pleased to have finally discovered it, and dismayed that such a quality piece of work has eluded the attention of so many readers thus far. So far, Elk's Run has delivered the goods - characters to care about, a great story that keeps the pages turning, artwork that draws the reader into that story, and colouring that sets the mood beautifully.
Click Here To Read the Rest
Congratulations. You’ve just won a prize. If you’ve bought previous issues of Elk’s Run, or if you’re thinking about picking up the Bumper Edition (that collects issues #1-3) and/or issue #4, then you’ve already won. You’ve laid down a pittance, only $3 dollars, for the mother of all cupie dolls—something to pat yourself on the back for, because you took the chance; and now you’ve brought home something more valuable than what you put on the line. Your money doesn’t come easy. You worked hard for it. So, congratulate yourself.
And, while you’re at it, congratulate Joshua Hale Fialkov, Noel Tuazon and Scott Keating, for being the barkers of a shell game, where the only slight-of-hand is in the end product, rather than your investment. It’s a no lose situation.
Read it here
"The Elk’s Run Bumper Edition is a collection of the first three issues of Elk’s Run, an independent comic book with too much press and not enough sales. This trade paperback is designed to bring new readers to a sagging miniseries that should be at the top of the independent charts.
Written by Joshua Hale Fialkov and illustrated by Noel Tuazon, Elk’s Run is one of those rare stories that appears every few years that changes how the medium is looked at. It’s not the best book on the market—though it’s pretty close to it—but Elk’s Run is a uniquely told story deserving of every amount of praise it has received."