San Antonio Current | John DeFore

'MAD' Men: 'The Wolverton Bible' and 'Humbug'new

Two new books published by Fantagraphics capture sides of artists that went unexposed under the auspices of Alfred E. Neuman, which makes them all the more appealing.

San Antonio Current | John Defore | 03-18-2009 | Nonfiction

Tags: comics, Humbug, Basil Wolverton, Harvey Kurtzman, The Wolverton Bible

Speechless: 'Many More Splendid Sundays!'new

Many More Splendid Sundays! is the follow-up to a book that only dreamers could have believed wouldn’t be a financial failure: a gargantuan, $125 tome of hundred-year-old Little Nemo strips.

San Antonio Current | John DeFore | 09-17-2008 | Original Work

Tags: comics, Little Nemo, Many More Splendid Sundays!, Winsor McKay

Examining Re-issued Soul From James and Otisnew

I Got the Feelin': James Brown in the 60s gathers three DVDs of live footage from 1968 and is anchored by a documentary about his historic Boston show on the day after Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination -- a concert many credit with helping to keep nationwide riots from taking hold there.

San Antonio Current | John DeFore | 09-10-2008 | Reviews

Tags: soul, James Brown, Otis Redding, I Got the Feelin’: James Brown in the 60s, Neal Hemphill, Wee

'What It Is' Mixes Workbook, Memoir, and Zen Koansnew

Cartoonist Lynda Barry has adapted some of her “Unthinkable” wisdom for a book called What It Is -- and it is an odd little creature.

San Antonio Current | John DeFore | 05-28-2008 | Original Work

Tags: Lynda Barry, cartoonist, Ernie Pook’s Comeek, What It Is

R.E.M. Finds its Religionnew

The band has acknowledged (in interviews and with the record's title) a need to re-focus and adrenalize things after recent efforts that disappointed aesthetically, commercially, or both.

San Antonio Current | John DeFore | 04-09-2008 | Reviews

Tags: rock, Accelerate, r.e.m., college rock, comeback

Staying Awake in Austinnew

You already know which of your favorite new bands are playing South By Southwest, but that leaves about 7,000 others. With that in mind, some stray SXSW thoughts and highlights.

San Antonio Current | John DeFore | 03-12-2008 | Concerts

Tags: concerts

Pre-boxed Giftsnew

It's that time again -- time to hunt through record stores for something nice that the music lover on your list doesn't already own, whether it's unheard sounds or a novel collection of beloved ones. Thank you, box sets.

San Antonio Current | John DeFore | 12-05-2007 | Reviews

Police Statenew

The legendary trio mucks things up at San Antonio show, but also offers hints of old greatness.

San Antonio Current | John DeFore | 11-28-2007 | Concerts

Tags: police, concerts

MAD Magazine Heads to the Librarynew

If only they'd had crystal balls, the juvenile delinquents who read MAD Magazine in the '50s could have blown the ever-lovin' minds of the moms who begged them to stop: "Ma," they'd taunt, "Someday this stuff is gonna be bound up in hardback and shelved in college libraries!"

San Antonio Current | John DeFore | 11-28-2007 | Books