Haven’t got mine yet - delayed shipping because of Memorial Day.
Stupid Memorial Day.
In the Shadow of No Towers Art Spiegelman of Maus fame describes and discusses his reaction to the events and aftermath of September 11. In lesser hands this would be an exercise in navel-gazing, but it turns out to work beautifully. Between some unsual storytelling techniques - the book looks nothing like “Maus” - and visceral first person account of the effects on New Yorkers in the area, the work is beautiful and affecting. His viewpoint is very liberal, so it’s perhaps not a book to hand to a Republican friend. Then again, maybe it is. Some readers may be annoyed that a fairly substantial chunk of the book consists of an essay and reprints about golden age cartoon strips. That section, I’ll admit, doesn’t fit terribly well with the rest of the book, despite the author’s efforts to tie the two sections together.
For anyone who may have wondered why this book carries a hefty pricetag for a relatively small page count - the book is probably 11"x17" in size and printed on cardboard rather than anything like conventional paperstock.
Yets! (Bocianowski). An absolutely delightful all-ages book about the adventures of a series of anthropomorphic animals, dragons, and other fantasy creatures. Fans of books like Owly, Bone, and Leave It to Chance should strongly consider checking this one out by clicking the link above; it’s one of those unexpected indie gems that make conventiongoing worthwhile.
Astonishing X-men: Gifted (Whedon/Cassaday) Very well-executed traditional spandex fare. Cassaday’s art has never looked better.
Bighead: (Brown) Superhero parody and homage in an underground style. Surprisingly fun and energetic.
Teenagers from Mars: (Rick Spears/Rob G.) Slice of life book about teenagers growing up in a small suburb. This book is one of those acclaimed indie darlings I’ve heard nothing but raves about for a while, and only just now got around to trying. It’s so far from my tastes that it’s hard to fairly evaluate it. If you loved The Waiting Place, try it. Otherwise, proceed at your own risk.
It’s a beautiful day out here, so I went from the comic shop to a park and enjoyed this week’s selections with a chili dog.
Good times.
Zatanna #2: Not bad. I like all the tie-ins to other Seven Soldiers stuff, and that Zee is still competent despite losing her powers and being rather neurotic. However, there’s a bit too much name dropping of weird mystic stuff. Still fun. I like Misty. Poor Phantom Stranger. Can’t be in JLU for reasons even he probably doesn’t understand, turned into a mouse in DoV, and now doing a comic turn. Oh well.
Superman/Batman #20: I admit it. It took me way too long to get the joke (I was thinking Authority, and got hung up on “Soldier’s” similaritry to the Ultramarine’s Warmaker One). And thinking about the “Maximums” I just got the other joke, Jeeze. Me understand perfectly Bizarro/Batzarro part, but me no like it. A set-up issue, but still an enjoyable one.
Y the Last Man #34: They adressed my concern from last month about the heroin supply but… I’m still not sure I buy it. I also don’t buy 355 and Mann’s outrage over the drug trade while Yorick just shrugs it off. Too much of a reversal.
Aquaman #31: A nifty little detective story starring teh Fishy king. And he does boss around some fish this issue.
Villains United #2: A wonderful adventure with great characterizations, marred slightly by teh art. Jeeze, Floyd, I know you’re the best with firearms but i didn’t know you had such big GUNS!
I only got Villains United #2, but I really dug it. Liked the kitchen bonding between Deadshot and Catman, and Catman’s noble stand against the army of villains to help the others escape. I didn’t read the Green Arrow story where he was portrayed as a fat, washed-up loser, but I like seeing any character, good or bad, reinvent himself as a better person. And this guy seems to have a real sense of honor and heroism, even if he is a super-villain. Of course I’m a Deadshot fan too, and I was also surprised the artist drew him so pumped-up. I’m sure Floyd is in good shape, but I never thought of him as musclebound–perhaps more slim and wiry, considering he’s a bit older (at least well into his 30s) and relies on guns more than hand-to-hand combat. Still, a great issue with a creepy cliffhanger.
Yes. Hell, in his recent mini, he scoffs at the idea of taking a bouncer job since he’s “no Bruce Lee”. Here’s his Character Design for the Justice League cartoon. See the note there about how he’s not bulky.
I did notice that there appears to be a picture of Floyd’s daughter on his nightstand, so they aren’t forgetting about that. Good. I was afraid it was too close to Chesire’s motivation to work.
I’ll also present this essay on comics and the film Sin City that comes close to making some point about the treatment of women in comics, but utterly loses it in a stunning flurry of ignorance and ad hominems.
Villians United #2: Is it safe? Good stuff.
JSA: Damn! Now that’s a cliffhanger. Can’t wait for next month!
A few questions:
-Who is the Nazi villian in Villians United?
-Has the Crime Doctor been seen before?
-Did Catman get a Dr. Light treatment?
-What gods power Black Adam? I thought “Shazam” was special to CM because they were the initials of his gods: Solomon Heracles, Atlas, Zeus, Achilles, and Mercury.
Is it just me or does Luthor from Villians United have a lot of Michael Rosembaum in him? Menocchio’s links reminded me of that. Yes, links. Hint, hint.
That guy is Captain Nazi, who I believe was a Golden Age Captain Marvel villain.
D’oh! The cut didn’t take for the second link: http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,14931-1636789,00.html
That should work.
Oh, and the nazi villain is the creatively named Captain Nazi.
Don’t laugh. He crippled Freddy Freeman (Captain Marvel Jr.).
Picked up volume 16 of Will Eisner’s The Spirit Archives.
I fully intend to complete the series.
Relatively light week for me, Sadly. Some potential additions for my DC Comics Deathtoll thread, though. http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=315213 <- Shameless Plug.
Blood of the Demon #4 - Eh, it’s not bad.
Zatanna #2 - better. Though Zee better get her powers back tout de suite. I loathe the cover. Nice to see the Phantom Stranger.
Superman #218 - Pseudo tie-in to OMAC; death of original “Blackrock” - who I’m not familiar with.
Exiles #65 - Resolved a little too easily for my liking.
JSA #74 - Jumpin Jeebers! Great stuff. Poor T-Bolt! At least the Spectre gave him a chance…
Superman/Batman #20 - 3, 3, 3 story threads in one. A nice Ultimates rip-off bit; a brilliant Bizarro world bit - how I’ve missed the Bizarros - and a nice third act that ties into the first arc of this title. The fun Loeb had mocking himself with regard to the oft-maligned “thought captions”, while writing the Bizarro segment - genius.
Villains United #2 - Wow. That team sure didn’t last long. What? Four issues to go…? Very nice. Yes, I think that’s Captain Nazi. And was that Fatality? Hm.
Invincible #23 - The modern classic continues.
Wow. I was jokingly refering to him as Captain Nazi as I read it. That’s his real name? This reminds me of that “Trey Wingo” commerical.
“No, really. What’s your name?”
Wow… a lot of DC fans in here. None of you read House of M?
I picked up the first TPB of Bill Willingham’s Fables earlier this week, and devoured it eagerly. What a fabulous story, and the art is gorgeous! I’m really looking forward to picking up the other TPBs soon.
Good news: the series improves as it goes along.
Intentionally avoiding it. My understanding is that it’s a big detour into alternate-universe-land for the core MU. I’m a man who enjoys What-Ifs, but I don’t like them to trample on my main titles.
Marvel just doesn’t get it, these days. House of M is an intrusive crossover - whereas over at DC, the Crisis stuff is being woven in organically. It also is launched from a wholly unliked Avengers finale. Identity Crisis, on the other hand, for all its faults, was pretty solid up until the mystery fizzled out in the last issue.
Oh well. In five years, Marvel will figure out the writing techniques DC is using now, and they’ll be back on track.
Oh my. Did a comic fan crush the writer’s kitten with a stack of TPBs? What editor approved such an article for publication? There are a host of problems with the industry’s portrayals of women, but this lazily researched and poorly reasoned article doesn’t begin to discuss them intelligently.
Shu, Heru (Horus), Amon, Zehuti (Thoth), Aton, and Mehen. All 6 are Egyptian gods.
I guess I’m even slower to get the joke. So slow, in fact, I didn’t even realize there was a joke. So what is it?
I must be riding the short bus by myself, because this issue didn’t make a lick of sense to me. Disjointed, weird, and impenetrable – could have been written by Grant Morrison. What was with all that Bizarro stuff that didn’t seem to have anything to do with anything? Could someone tell me what the H-E-double-hockey-sticks happened this issue?