Aaaaaand, I finally managed to get my library account up and running again. The local branch is being renovated, I moved and met various other life goals in the last few months – so comic books have gone waaaaaaaay down the priority list. Writing about them is slightly in front of getting poisoned in my list of things to do.
Anyway, I got Volume 20 of Ultimate Spider-Man and pretty much forgot the entire plot of what happened before this volume. I know I enjoyed them, the proof is throughout the archives here. But this time, I got to say that I found it a lot less enjoyable. I still think that it’s a well constructed comic. I think the dialogue is fine, I think the action could be a little more exciting though, but all in all, it’s a decent distraction.
I think what’s happening is that this is just more of the same. It’s starting to get a bit less distinguishable from anything else that I could read and with so much great stuff out there I wonder why I’m reading something that’s merely good. Okay, damning with very faint praise I know. It is good, but I just feel like I can’t relate to this anymore or don’t particularly want to. I’ve realized that I’m glad high school is long behind me and I don’t particularly need to revisit any of it in my entertainment choices anymore.
I think this will be the last volume I check out of the library. I’m going to try some manga instead as my next long-term library reading series. Thankfully Chris Butcher has given a bit of guidance, although I’ll likely be checking out a few other things that catch my eye rather than just go through his best of the decade stuff. Or, most important of the decade as I guess he’s calling his series.
So yeah, this just felt more teen drama than teen drama superhero comic.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
The Batman Bible
Okay, while that might be a decent idea for a single issue comic this isn't about any type of Batman based religion. Someone has posted a pdf of the writer's bible for Bruce Timm's animated Batman series.
As I've said many times before, this is probably one of, if not my all time, favourite incarnation of the character. What I particularly like about this document is that it says what all Batman and superhero fans think - there is no real need to re-tell his origin. Yes, it plays a big part in the very nature of the character, but there's no need to get caught up in the details of retelling it. It is basically common knowledge, so move past it and just start to use the format to tell stories.
For the most part the information here was seen throughout the series, except for the origin of Mr. Freeze. The eventual show about him was much better than the original idea. It's probably one of the best reworkings of a Batman villain that this series offers, although I'm quite partial to the Clayface two-parter.
I always find it interesting to see the nuances that are created by this type of document. How the show's creators work out the subtle relationships between the characters while in and out of the costume. I think the end result was a series that approached Batman as a millieu through which they could tell fantastic crime stories - from mysteries, to scary stories, to riddles, to death traps and global spanning espionage intrigues. In short this is the idea of Batman distilled to its essence all while keeping the sense of wonder and fun that is at the core of anything animated or comic book based. When you're just making shit up, you don't need to worry about the budget, so go nuts as long as it makes sense to the story.
As I've said many times before, this is probably one of, if not my all time, favourite incarnation of the character. What I particularly like about this document is that it says what all Batman and superhero fans think - there is no real need to re-tell his origin. Yes, it plays a big part in the very nature of the character, but there's no need to get caught up in the details of retelling it. It is basically common knowledge, so move past it and just start to use the format to tell stories.
For the most part the information here was seen throughout the series, except for the origin of Mr. Freeze. The eventual show about him was much better than the original idea. It's probably one of the best reworkings of a Batman villain that this series offers, although I'm quite partial to the Clayface two-parter.
I always find it interesting to see the nuances that are created by this type of document. How the show's creators work out the subtle relationships between the characters while in and out of the costume. I think the end result was a series that approached Batman as a millieu through which they could tell fantastic crime stories - from mysteries, to scary stories, to riddles, to death traps and global spanning espionage intrigues. In short this is the idea of Batman distilled to its essence all while keeping the sense of wonder and fun that is at the core of anything animated or comic book based. When you're just making shit up, you don't need to worry about the budget, so go nuts as long as it makes sense to the story.
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Neat-o - Girl Comics
Heidi at The Beat, has this wonderful new announcement from Marvel. What a great idea. I'll be going to pick up an issue when it's out to support this type of creative effort by any company. Funny how it's the exact contrast from the last post here...
I really hope it's as good as we all want it to be. Well, all of us except the guaranteed jerks who'll start asking for Boys Comics. Sheesh.
I really hope it's as good as we all want it to be. Well, all of us except the guaranteed jerks who'll start asking for Boys Comics. Sheesh.
Tuesday, December 08, 2009
Y the Last Man, Women In Marvel and DC Earth One: All-in-One!
I was gathering my thoughts on the last two volumes of Y the Last Man that I’ve just recently finished when there are suddenly two comic book internet stories that peaked my interest. I think they both relate to what I was going to say. Firstly there was Abhay Khosla's story about the role of women in the recent Marvel mega-crossovers. Then there’s DC’s announcement of the new Batman and Superman original graphic novel series.
Yeesh, where to start? I’ll do the quick hits first I suppose. Y the Last Man’s narrative continues to move along crisply as Yorick arrives on the shores down under to discover his quest has been extended as Beth has moved on to Paris. The main action then gears towards Japan as the misfit group goes to find his monkey who is likely the key to the whole gendercide. Hijinks ensue and this continues to be one of my favourite series. There are more flashbacks giving the reader greater insight into Agent 355’s past as well as Dr. Mann’s. I think I’ve kind of figured out what it is that I like about this series. It just presents its ideas to the reader as fact. Australia is dealing with a major heroine problem (good pun by the way). Yorick is a talented escape artist. 355 is a bad-ass. Japan has sexbots and a Canadian pop star managed to take over the Yakuza. Things just come and go and while you never get the whole story, the narrative is stronger because of it. There is just enough plot and information provided to keep things moving. A lot happens and people continue to all focus on their own agenda as they try to survive.
At it’s core, this is a book that continues to show the petty nature of people as everyone continues to have their own personal goals and objectives and that is their focus whether it benefits others or not. All of the loftier goals are merely a side product of the personal quests for each of the characters and that is what makes the quest continue to be interesting. We, as readers, are experiencing the plot through these characters so having them each bring something relatable to the narrative is key to keeping us engaged. Sure we can also see the bigger narrative which makes all their petty nature seem even more frustrating. In the end though, these are characters that just seem human. There aren’t a lot of people who are altruistic – most of us would spend all our time pining over lost loves or trying to make ourselves more comfortable. It’s all very human in all its frustrating glory.
Then I read The Savage Critic post about the women of Marvel and I’m stuck with a terrible thought that the only way I can read a superhero comic where the women are presented as characters is only when all the male characters are killed off. I know that Y isn’t a superhero comic and that equating the two is apples and oranges but I think it’s a decent thought experiment. I wonder what would happen if a similar gendercide took place in the Marvel U. The cynic in me thinks that we’d end up with the flip side to Y the Last Man where all the same criticisms and failings of people are reduced to the criticisms and failings of women. I don’t think Y strays from critically examining certain behaviours, and it really shouldn’t – I mean how could it? This is a world populated by women, struggling to survive gender roles are explored but not in a hamfisted way. Yes, there’s subtext that reaches into the real world and by not ignoring that, the creators of Y the Last Man have created a stronger narrative in my opinion. It works because it is aware of what it is saying beyond the page.
I shudder to think what a Marvel cross-over that involved all the male heroes dying would entail. I just think it would involve too much of a cultural shift at the company to manage anything other than more male power fantasies and stories that more or less continue to entrench perceived gender roles rather than explore, critique or comment upon them. It could all very well be coincidence what Abhay points out, after all, but there is still a trend that he easily identifies and to not be aware of that is in itself a problem. Sort of like the racist stereotypes in the last Transformers movie - you see it and wonder how the heck that could happen, then you think of all the people disinterested, unconcerned or simply too busy to provide positive oversight. In the end, I’m just glad I continue to buy the comics I buy and that I’m not limiting myself to reading superhero stuff.
Then there’s the DC announcement that’s been making the rounds on all the other comic blogs and retailer blogs that you already read, right? I want to be optimistic about this, and I’m going to be until there is a reason I shouldn’t be. I like what they’re trying to do, and I wish them all the best in their efforts. I agree with pretty much everything I’ve read about yet another origin story. These origin stories are pretty much in the realm of public domain. Ask anyone on the street, at random, to give you the origin of Batman or Superman and they can do it. Then ask them if they read comics, or have ever read comics and you’ll see that it doesn’t matter. Sure, an updated origin can help set the context for the narrative but change it too much and you don’t have the characters anymore.
I’m no retailer or marketer so I won’t presume to tell anyone how to market and sell their books, but I do know what I’m looking for when I buy something. If this series takes the same old approach to continuity as all other comic book series then it won’t be on my list of items to buy. Yes, if the stories are strong enough and the creators are creating something fantastic I’ll buy, however, I don’t just want more stories where I need to read everything in the series to understand it. If they take a “monster of the week” approach rather than a “to be continued” approach, then I’d be more likely to be interested. I hope the creators just come to this project from a place where they assume you already know the basics so they just explore the story and the characters revealing the new world through the plot and narrative presented rather than “oh but this Alfred is Scottish SAS and he has a goatee! And Robin is an interdimensional robot!” Actually, that robot thing would be kind of cool. What I’d like is a series of GNs that could be read in any order. That would be groundbreaking. It worked for Grant Morrison’s Seven Soldiers, and it worked for superheroes when they started. It can work again with this undertaking.
I guess I can’t help but be cynical about something marketed directly at a core demographic in the core demographic’s terminology with a smattering of “new reader friendly.” I don’t think that’s a concern for new readers. They just want Batman and Superman stories that they can pick up and enjoy without being required to read x, y or z to understand what’s going on. Heck, I want that and I’m not a new reader.
Yeesh, where to start? I’ll do the quick hits first I suppose. Y the Last Man’s narrative continues to move along crisply as Yorick arrives on the shores down under to discover his quest has been extended as Beth has moved on to Paris. The main action then gears towards Japan as the misfit group goes to find his monkey who is likely the key to the whole gendercide. Hijinks ensue and this continues to be one of my favourite series. There are more flashbacks giving the reader greater insight into Agent 355’s past as well as Dr. Mann’s. I think I’ve kind of figured out what it is that I like about this series. It just presents its ideas to the reader as fact. Australia is dealing with a major heroine problem (good pun by the way). Yorick is a talented escape artist. 355 is a bad-ass. Japan has sexbots and a Canadian pop star managed to take over the Yakuza. Things just come and go and while you never get the whole story, the narrative is stronger because of it. There is just enough plot and information provided to keep things moving. A lot happens and people continue to all focus on their own agenda as they try to survive.
At it’s core, this is a book that continues to show the petty nature of people as everyone continues to have their own personal goals and objectives and that is their focus whether it benefits others or not. All of the loftier goals are merely a side product of the personal quests for each of the characters and that is what makes the quest continue to be interesting. We, as readers, are experiencing the plot through these characters so having them each bring something relatable to the narrative is key to keeping us engaged. Sure we can also see the bigger narrative which makes all their petty nature seem even more frustrating. In the end though, these are characters that just seem human. There aren’t a lot of people who are altruistic – most of us would spend all our time pining over lost loves or trying to make ourselves more comfortable. It’s all very human in all its frustrating glory.
Then I read The Savage Critic post about the women of Marvel and I’m stuck with a terrible thought that the only way I can read a superhero comic where the women are presented as characters is only when all the male characters are killed off. I know that Y isn’t a superhero comic and that equating the two is apples and oranges but I think it’s a decent thought experiment. I wonder what would happen if a similar gendercide took place in the Marvel U. The cynic in me thinks that we’d end up with the flip side to Y the Last Man where all the same criticisms and failings of people are reduced to the criticisms and failings of women. I don’t think Y strays from critically examining certain behaviours, and it really shouldn’t – I mean how could it? This is a world populated by women, struggling to survive gender roles are explored but not in a hamfisted way. Yes, there’s subtext that reaches into the real world and by not ignoring that, the creators of Y the Last Man have created a stronger narrative in my opinion. It works because it is aware of what it is saying beyond the page.
I shudder to think what a Marvel cross-over that involved all the male heroes dying would entail. I just think it would involve too much of a cultural shift at the company to manage anything other than more male power fantasies and stories that more or less continue to entrench perceived gender roles rather than explore, critique or comment upon them. It could all very well be coincidence what Abhay points out, after all, but there is still a trend that he easily identifies and to not be aware of that is in itself a problem. Sort of like the racist stereotypes in the last Transformers movie - you see it and wonder how the heck that could happen, then you think of all the people disinterested, unconcerned or simply too busy to provide positive oversight. In the end, I’m just glad I continue to buy the comics I buy and that I’m not limiting myself to reading superhero stuff.
Then there’s the DC announcement that’s been making the rounds on all the other comic blogs and retailer blogs that you already read, right? I want to be optimistic about this, and I’m going to be until there is a reason I shouldn’t be. I like what they’re trying to do, and I wish them all the best in their efforts. I agree with pretty much everything I’ve read about yet another origin story. These origin stories are pretty much in the realm of public domain. Ask anyone on the street, at random, to give you the origin of Batman or Superman and they can do it. Then ask them if they read comics, or have ever read comics and you’ll see that it doesn’t matter. Sure, an updated origin can help set the context for the narrative but change it too much and you don’t have the characters anymore.
I’m no retailer or marketer so I won’t presume to tell anyone how to market and sell their books, but I do know what I’m looking for when I buy something. If this series takes the same old approach to continuity as all other comic book series then it won’t be on my list of items to buy. Yes, if the stories are strong enough and the creators are creating something fantastic I’ll buy, however, I don’t just want more stories where I need to read everything in the series to understand it. If they take a “monster of the week” approach rather than a “to be continued” approach, then I’d be more likely to be interested. I hope the creators just come to this project from a place where they assume you already know the basics so they just explore the story and the characters revealing the new world through the plot and narrative presented rather than “oh but this Alfred is Scottish SAS and he has a goatee! And Robin is an interdimensional robot!” Actually, that robot thing would be kind of cool. What I’d like is a series of GNs that could be read in any order. That would be groundbreaking. It worked for Grant Morrison’s Seven Soldiers, and it worked for superheroes when they started. It can work again with this undertaking.
I guess I can’t help but be cynical about something marketed directly at a core demographic in the core demographic’s terminology with a smattering of “new reader friendly.” I don’t think that’s a concern for new readers. They just want Batman and Superman stories that they can pick up and enjoy without being required to read x, y or z to understand what’s going on. Heck, I want that and I’m not a new reader.
Thursday, November 05, 2009
Scott Pilgrim: +5 Critical Hit
In my continuing quest to only review comics that everyone has already read, I finally get to Scott Pilgrim vs. The Universe.
I find myself running into the same problem as most reviewers at this point in the series. We all know it’s a solid series and this volume is no different in that regard. This volume doesn’t play up Scott’s battles as the focus of the plot. The focus tends to be on the characters around him reacting to the constant battles; in this case, a bunch of hi-tech battle-bots.
Having the main narrative focus switch from Scott to Ramona (and to a lesser extent Kim Pine) was quite a brave move here. I mean, Scott’s name is on the title of the book but he’s certainly not the main focus. Rather we’re given more of a story about the supporting women in the larger plot. It works out well because by this point, five volumes in, the audience “gets it.”
The refocusing onto these characters allows the reader to get a better connection to the world. It helps us understand why they are important to Scott and why he’s important to them. That even though he’s generally self-focused their friendship for him is stronger. Although, to be honest, I was getting a bit tired of it in this volume. While he’s certainly a charming character I was starting to wonder why everyone was being so patient with him all the time. It certainly feels real for the time of life these characters are in, but for me I kind of moved beyond spending too much energy on selfish louts.
Weird, I didn’t think I felt like that about this book. I generally liked it and it has me anxiously awaiting the final volume and the movie version, but I found myself beginning to lose patience with the main character. I still love the ideas behind this series and I love the characters but I was also happy to have something of a refocusing onto characters I wanted to know more about. While it would be fantastic, part of me hopes we don’t get a Ramona Flowers Adventures type of follow up. I like her mystery and to see where her story goes. I have a feeling it’ll lose that beguiling nature if it’s explored.
I find myself running into the same problem as most reviewers at this point in the series. We all know it’s a solid series and this volume is no different in that regard. This volume doesn’t play up Scott’s battles as the focus of the plot. The focus tends to be on the characters around him reacting to the constant battles; in this case, a bunch of hi-tech battle-bots.
Having the main narrative focus switch from Scott to Ramona (and to a lesser extent Kim Pine) was quite a brave move here. I mean, Scott’s name is on the title of the book but he’s certainly not the main focus. Rather we’re given more of a story about the supporting women in the larger plot. It works out well because by this point, five volumes in, the audience “gets it.”
The refocusing onto these characters allows the reader to get a better connection to the world. It helps us understand why they are important to Scott and why he’s important to them. That even though he’s generally self-focused their friendship for him is stronger. Although, to be honest, I was getting a bit tired of it in this volume. While he’s certainly a charming character I was starting to wonder why everyone was being so patient with him all the time. It certainly feels real for the time of life these characters are in, but for me I kind of moved beyond spending too much energy on selfish louts.
Weird, I didn’t think I felt like that about this book. I generally liked it and it has me anxiously awaiting the final volume and the movie version, but I found myself beginning to lose patience with the main character. I still love the ideas behind this series and I love the characters but I was also happy to have something of a refocusing onto characters I wanted to know more about. While it would be fantastic, part of me hopes we don’t get a Ramona Flowers Adventures type of follow up. I like her mystery and to see where her story goes. I have a feeling it’ll lose that beguiling nature if it’s explored.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Swamp Thing: A Murder of Crows (or how I learned to stop worrying and start loving crossover events again).
Trying to come up with anything new to say about these Swamp Thing Collections is not the easiest task I’ve ever set for myself. What can I say that is possibly new after all these years of this series sitting on shelves being well known, well read and well respected?
I suppose I can recap how this is a book of two halves – the horror story tropes that make up the first few chapters (the serial killer episode is particularly well done, I’m a sucker for superhero fare where the hero is a background player) and the second half that is Alan Moore involving Swamp Thing into the Crisis of Infinite Earths. It’s kind of weird to be reading something involved in the first major publisher-wide cross-over event when it seems that each time the seasons change we’re given a new one. Each summer we have a corporate cross-over and each winter we’re given a title-wide crossover that might affect other titles if the thing does well or “gets legs.”
The more I read Swamp Thing, the more I kind of want this book to be a primer for anyone thinking of writing mature superheroics. It’s sort of the bible for mature superhero writing – it’s the template that everyone follows but there is a heck of a lot of misinterpretation. It’s not the mature themes that make this a mature book but the construction of the narratives. The crossover chapters don’t simply bring in forgotten characters willy-nilly they bring them in because the characters are relevant to the narrative. Heck, there are characters that are dramatically killed off, but in a manner that actually has relevance to the story other than being merely sensational or as a tableau for some gory artwork. Imagine having everything and everyone there to actually move forward the plot/narrative in your current summer crossover? It’s been done, I’ve read the proof.
I guess what I’m enjoying underneath all the other greatness of the series is that these are stories where the creative team was simply trusted to create good stories, even when they were dragged into larger events. I don’t think I get the feeling from today’s large events, although there are always a few exceptions (heck I have a few that I really liked). This doesn’t mean I dislike today’s event comics; I just like the type of thing on offer here a lot more. This is good writing and art done within the bounds of editorially mandated crossover.
There is a real innocence here as well. Sure, Swamp Thing as a series maintains a connection to the horror comic tropes it was founded upon but it is also thrust directly into the DCU proper. Yes, the wider DCU characters tend to be the ones inhabiting the fringes but it’s kind of fun to see how this is all happening in the same world where Batman can show up and scowl at John Constantine for a bit. I can understand why the Vertigo books are now in their own silo, but there’s just something inherently fun about having the DCU underwear perverts show up in all these early Vertigo books (heck Animal Man was basically mature DCU too). It’s nice to be reminded that even silly superheroes can be done well and with a bit of meaning.
On a completely different note, I’m always shocked at Alan Moore’s knowledge of obscure stuff. I think I’m just too easily amazed at how people knew stuff before Google. I just found out about the Winchester House through the Cracked website. One of the ghost stories in this collection is based on this place. I thought it was a brilliant idea and now I’m a bit more creeped out that it’s based on a real place.
I suppose I can recap how this is a book of two halves – the horror story tropes that make up the first few chapters (the serial killer episode is particularly well done, I’m a sucker for superhero fare where the hero is a background player) and the second half that is Alan Moore involving Swamp Thing into the Crisis of Infinite Earths. It’s kind of weird to be reading something involved in the first major publisher-wide cross-over event when it seems that each time the seasons change we’re given a new one. Each summer we have a corporate cross-over and each winter we’re given a title-wide crossover that might affect other titles if the thing does well or “gets legs.”
The more I read Swamp Thing, the more I kind of want this book to be a primer for anyone thinking of writing mature superheroics. It’s sort of the bible for mature superhero writing – it’s the template that everyone follows but there is a heck of a lot of misinterpretation. It’s not the mature themes that make this a mature book but the construction of the narratives. The crossover chapters don’t simply bring in forgotten characters willy-nilly they bring them in because the characters are relevant to the narrative. Heck, there are characters that are dramatically killed off, but in a manner that actually has relevance to the story other than being merely sensational or as a tableau for some gory artwork. Imagine having everything and everyone there to actually move forward the plot/narrative in your current summer crossover? It’s been done, I’ve read the proof.
I guess what I’m enjoying underneath all the other greatness of the series is that these are stories where the creative team was simply trusted to create good stories, even when they were dragged into larger events. I don’t think I get the feeling from today’s large events, although there are always a few exceptions (heck I have a few that I really liked). This doesn’t mean I dislike today’s event comics; I just like the type of thing on offer here a lot more. This is good writing and art done within the bounds of editorially mandated crossover.
There is a real innocence here as well. Sure, Swamp Thing as a series maintains a connection to the horror comic tropes it was founded upon but it is also thrust directly into the DCU proper. Yes, the wider DCU characters tend to be the ones inhabiting the fringes but it’s kind of fun to see how this is all happening in the same world where Batman can show up and scowl at John Constantine for a bit. I can understand why the Vertigo books are now in their own silo, but there’s just something inherently fun about having the DCU underwear perverts show up in all these early Vertigo books (heck Animal Man was basically mature DCU too). It’s nice to be reminded that even silly superheroes can be done well and with a bit of meaning.
On a completely different note, I’m always shocked at Alan Moore’s knowledge of obscure stuff. I think I’m just too easily amazed at how people knew stuff before Google. I just found out about the Winchester House through the Cracked website. One of the ghost stories in this collection is based on this place. I thought it was a brilliant idea and now I’m a bit more creeped out that it’s based on a real place.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Superhero History of World War 2
I read this post on io9 and this one on Comics Alliance and decided to take Agan Harahap's idea and rip it off completely.
I wish I had the brains to come up with these great ideas. In the absense of unique thought, I'll just contribute to online memes - they're quicker and easier.
I wish I had the brains to come up with these great ideas. In the absense of unique thought, I'll just contribute to online memes - they're quicker and easier.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Just in time for Halloween: The Walking Dead Vols 9 & 10
As I was reading the last few volumes of The Walking Dead I had moments where I kind of just felt I had enough and that I got the point of the whole thing. People are pretty shitty and horribly violent to one another in the face of unprecedented fear and that violence begets more violence (and that it is an easy slippery slope to find yourself on once you commit one horrible act).
I found the whole ordeal with the Governor a bit tiring as my taste for the ol’ ultraviolence has tempered as I leave my teens further and further behind. Less of that pent up angst once you own a house I’m guessing. The siege of the prison was appropriately thrilling and the deaths were legitimately shocking to me and when it was all said and done I must say that I was seriously hooked on the whole series again. It managed to pull the rug out from under me by essentially hitting the reboot button.
I read volumes nine and ten in conjunction and in many ways it feels like the series has found its feet again. That wasn’t meant to be a pun on the whole road trip thing that the characters are on, but it works, so self-congratulatory pat on the back for that unintentional pun. Anyway, I enjoyed the slower pace and seeing Rick and Carl meet up with some fellow survivors both new and old. Having the heroes get a purpose again helps feel like the series has a bit of direction again as I always felt that the prison setup was just going to last until Kirkman could figure out how to evict the survivors.
Volume nine focuses more on Carl and what his role as a kid who witnesses tragedy and horror entails. It’s a weird place for a still young child to be, at the age just before really hitting puberty but still capable of being responsible while not quite at the stage of wanting independence. He’s not deluded but he still holds a love for his parents and a fascination with the world he’s still discovering. In some very direct ways he’s dealing with the death of his mother and sister in a more mature way than his father who still requires something physical to hold onto.
Volume ten has the survivors both new and old on the road to Washington. The tension and suspense is ramped up because of the prison siege and there are some great new ideas about zombie herds and how some of these people survived. I find myself being sucked into the double guessing and the suspicion of the new characters – is he really a scientist or just a survivalist trying to be important? Will he be gunned down randomly?
There is the familiar setup of the two alpha males at odds and the long suffering support character ready to abandon hope as well as the elements of tension thrown in like the unsound friend or depressed lover. Having a quest for the hero is always a more appealing story structure for me rather than seeing the details of how the hero lives at home. Sure it’s interesting to wonder what happened after the grand adventure but even the greatest of heroes tend to use that time to try and figure out how to get back on the road, so having Rick, Carl and the other survivors out there amidst the walking undead is something I like in this series – it feels to me to have more purpose, in thought and action.
And yet it’s strange because while the plot feels to be back on track and going somewhere the narrative action remains quite intimate. There is a lot of time spent between father and son, and a new group of survivors slowly sniffing each other out. You feel the tension of all these people having witnessed horrible events, and Kirkman sets up this feeling really well when the groups meet. There doesn’t need to be a longer explanation right away but when it comes, it’s sort of an extra spice to a solidly built meal.
Don’t read this if you’re looking for a happy little read – it’s incredibly depressing but because it’s actually presented really well, not in a “jeez, I guess they’re all getting horribly tortured and killed again” way. Now, lets see the challenges they need to overcome along the way. I’m back on for the ride.
I found the whole ordeal with the Governor a bit tiring as my taste for the ol’ ultraviolence has tempered as I leave my teens further and further behind. Less of that pent up angst once you own a house I’m guessing. The siege of the prison was appropriately thrilling and the deaths were legitimately shocking to me and when it was all said and done I must say that I was seriously hooked on the whole series again. It managed to pull the rug out from under me by essentially hitting the reboot button.
I read volumes nine and ten in conjunction and in many ways it feels like the series has found its feet again. That wasn’t meant to be a pun on the whole road trip thing that the characters are on, but it works, so self-congratulatory pat on the back for that unintentional pun. Anyway, I enjoyed the slower pace and seeing Rick and Carl meet up with some fellow survivors both new and old. Having the heroes get a purpose again helps feel like the series has a bit of direction again as I always felt that the prison setup was just going to last until Kirkman could figure out how to evict the survivors.
Volume nine focuses more on Carl and what his role as a kid who witnesses tragedy and horror entails. It’s a weird place for a still young child to be, at the age just before really hitting puberty but still capable of being responsible while not quite at the stage of wanting independence. He’s not deluded but he still holds a love for his parents and a fascination with the world he’s still discovering. In some very direct ways he’s dealing with the death of his mother and sister in a more mature way than his father who still requires something physical to hold onto.
Volume ten has the survivors both new and old on the road to Washington. The tension and suspense is ramped up because of the prison siege and there are some great new ideas about zombie herds and how some of these people survived. I find myself being sucked into the double guessing and the suspicion of the new characters – is he really a scientist or just a survivalist trying to be important? Will he be gunned down randomly?
There is the familiar setup of the two alpha males at odds and the long suffering support character ready to abandon hope as well as the elements of tension thrown in like the unsound friend or depressed lover. Having a quest for the hero is always a more appealing story structure for me rather than seeing the details of how the hero lives at home. Sure it’s interesting to wonder what happened after the grand adventure but even the greatest of heroes tend to use that time to try and figure out how to get back on the road, so having Rick, Carl and the other survivors out there amidst the walking undead is something I like in this series – it feels to me to have more purpose, in thought and action.
And yet it’s strange because while the plot feels to be back on track and going somewhere the narrative action remains quite intimate. There is a lot of time spent between father and son, and a new group of survivors slowly sniffing each other out. You feel the tension of all these people having witnessed horrible events, and Kirkman sets up this feeling really well when the groups meet. There doesn’t need to be a longer explanation right away but when it comes, it’s sort of an extra spice to a solidly built meal.
Don’t read this if you’re looking for a happy little read – it’s incredibly depressing but because it’s actually presented really well, not in a “jeez, I guess they’re all getting horribly tortured and killed again” way. Now, lets see the challenges they need to overcome along the way. I’m back on for the ride.
Friday, October 16, 2009
New to me Comic Shop: Golden Age Collectibles, Vancouver, BC
Wow, it seems that having a new house, a steady flow of guests and a conference on the other side of the country every two weeks means that posting to an already spotty scheduled blog gets even more random.
What I’ve been enjoying recently though is that I get to see comic shops in other parts of the country. Sure, they’re more or less the same in the most basic sense but after my experience in Victoria I’ve noticed that there’s a huge difference in the spirit of shops. Last night I went to Golden Age Collectibles in Vancouver. I wasn’t as much a fan as I was of Legends, but it’s still a great shop and one I liked more than the local shops in Ottawa. It could just be the novelty but I liked the arrangement by favourite authors and then everything else alphabetically. The staff was nice, they were helpful and knew their stuff and well, they were located by my downtown hotel and open late enough on a weeknight for me to hit the shop after the various events, receptions and cocktail parties I had to attend.
If you’re in Vancouver it’s well worth a stop.
What I’ve been enjoying recently though is that I get to see comic shops in other parts of the country. Sure, they’re more or less the same in the most basic sense but after my experience in Victoria I’ve noticed that there’s a huge difference in the spirit of shops. Last night I went to Golden Age Collectibles in Vancouver. I wasn’t as much a fan as I was of Legends, but it’s still a great shop and one I liked more than the local shops in Ottawa. It could just be the novelty but I liked the arrangement by favourite authors and then everything else alphabetically. The staff was nice, they were helpful and knew their stuff and well, they were located by my downtown hotel and open late enough on a weeknight for me to hit the shop after the various events, receptions and cocktail parties I had to attend.
If you’re in Vancouver it’s well worth a stop.
Tuesday, October 06, 2009
Iron Man vs. Penguin Classics
Via io9.
Wow, these new Rian Hughes/Matt Fraction Invincible Iron Man covers are simply fantastic. They remind me of the old Penguin Classics covers which immediately associates forward thinking and smart in my brain. I like the idea of retro-futurism, the idea of looking forward by mining the best aspects of our past. Go with what works and repurpose it into something new - an idea that sits at the heart of Tony Stark and Iron Man.
Monday, October 05, 2009
So easy and spontaneous: Invited to a Windows 7 Release Party
Okay this is definately not comics, but I've just signed away the rights to my likeness to be used as promotional material for Microsoft because a friend of mine is hosting a Windows 7 Release Party. I'm a bit torn about this because on the one hand, he's a great friend and I really don't have the same hate-on for Microsoft as most people but on the other I really don't want to be used as part of a marketing plan by a major conglomorate and I like the parties I attend to not be sales jobs (not that it'll be a sales pitch in the least - Maritime kitchen party). I suppose I can just look dishevelled and get shitfaced enough so they won't want my likeness anywhere near their product unless they're going for the even beligerent drunks can use this angle. I'm sure my wife would appreciate that approach.
When the promo "how to host a party" videos first went online I was worried about this, but thankfully the remixes show just how much fun one can have with this type of thing. I wonder if I can use this to combine the themes with my next post about the latest couple of Walking Dead collections?
When the promo "how to host a party" videos first went online I was worried about this, but thankfully the remixes show just how much fun one can have with this type of thing. I wonder if I can use this to combine the themes with my next post about the latest couple of Walking Dead collections?
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
New-to-me Comic Shop: Legends
I finally found another example of my ideal comic shop. The only problem—it’s in Victoria BC, which is the other side of the country. Much like The Beguiling, I found myself walking into Legends with a real sense of peace. It was almost like a homecoming.
It’s a small space packed floor to ceiling with comics, many arranged to highlight writers, artists and cartoonists. There’s art books, indie stuff, and the superhero trades with nary a figurine in sight. It felt sort of like walking into the ideal home library, is the best way to put it.
They know the audience they’re going for, and I feel like I fit right in. I ended up picking up the last couple of Walking Dead trades and I went back to get a gift for an eight-year-old, and was recommended Amulet (he’s about to finish Bone). All-in-all a great comic buying experience that just had a cool vibe. It could just be the whole West-coast thing since Victoria generally had a more laid back pace to it but I think this shop is something special. It seems like it should be easy to have more places like this but for whatever reason, I haven’t found them.
I really wish there were more shops like this, bookstores specializing in comics (or whatever you feel like calling them). Well worth the visit if you’re in Victoria BC.
It’s a small space packed floor to ceiling with comics, many arranged to highlight writers, artists and cartoonists. There’s art books, indie stuff, and the superhero trades with nary a figurine in sight. It felt sort of like walking into the ideal home library, is the best way to put it.
They know the audience they’re going for, and I feel like I fit right in. I ended up picking up the last couple of Walking Dead trades and I went back to get a gift for an eight-year-old, and was recommended Amulet (he’s about to finish Bone). All-in-all a great comic buying experience that just had a cool vibe. It could just be the whole West-coast thing since Victoria generally had a more laid back pace to it but I think this shop is something special. It seems like it should be easy to have more places like this but for whatever reason, I haven’t found them.
I really wish there were more shops like this, bookstores specializing in comics (or whatever you feel like calling them). Well worth the visit if you’re in Victoria BC.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Not-so-supreme
I was recently at a friend’s place and he recommended that I try reading the first volume of Squadron Supreme by J. Michael Straczynski and Gary Frank. So he lent me the Supreme Power trade and I eventually found the time to give it a whirl. We’d talked about it before and I knew the general idea behind it and in the end all I can really come up to describe it, is that first sentence he used to describe the series. It’s basically a Marvel version of an Elseworlds Justice League story that’s kind of trying to be like Watchmen.
Okay, maybe that is a bit harsh since there really isn’t anything wrong with this comic. The art is good, the characters are well developed and well written. The plot is engaging and the motivations for the characters all make sense. In the end, I sort of felt like this was all very familiar though and that while good it wasn’t the kind of pastiche I usually go for. On paper, it sounds like it should be my kind of thing and I’ve been trying to figure out for a few weeks now just why it wasn’t. I guess it just felt a bit too tied down to the analogous source material in some ways.
I don’t mind the riffs on the Justice League, but this just didn’t go far enough I think. These characters are full of potential, as is the plot, but the setup was just a bit too familiar and it all kind of felt a bit too much like what people who criticize superhero comics complain about. It’s all sort of been done before.
I’ll likely borrow my friend’s copy of the second volume and read a bit more of the plot since I do think it’s a decent conspiracy story and I’d like to see where the characters are going and how they all end up as players in the narrative. I guess I’m just a bit burned out on origin stories or something. I think it works as a more adult version of the Justice League but I kept wondering why I couldn’t just be reading a Justice League story instead. Does that make sense?
Okay, maybe that is a bit harsh since there really isn’t anything wrong with this comic. The art is good, the characters are well developed and well written. The plot is engaging and the motivations for the characters all make sense. In the end, I sort of felt like this was all very familiar though and that while good it wasn’t the kind of pastiche I usually go for. On paper, it sounds like it should be my kind of thing and I’ve been trying to figure out for a few weeks now just why it wasn’t. I guess it just felt a bit too tied down to the analogous source material in some ways.
I don’t mind the riffs on the Justice League, but this just didn’t go far enough I think. These characters are full of potential, as is the plot, but the setup was just a bit too familiar and it all kind of felt a bit too much like what people who criticize superhero comics complain about. It’s all sort of been done before.
I’ll likely borrow my friend’s copy of the second volume and read a bit more of the plot since I do think it’s a decent conspiracy story and I’d like to see where the characters are going and how they all end up as players in the narrative. I guess I’m just a bit burned out on origin stories or something. I think it works as a more adult version of the Justice League but I kept wondering why I couldn’t just be reading a Justice League story instead. Does that make sense?
Wednesday, September 02, 2009
Busy day...
I am making a concerted effort to post more but when I consider how I got the keys to my new house yesterday and am painting the whole thing, today is my birthday, my major work project got sent to the printer, and I'm stuggling to organize my thoughts on Supreme Power, I have to say one of those things has to give.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Disney buys Marvel
Holy moly, true believers! Disney has purchased Marvel for $4-billion. I could try and do this in Stan Lees wonderful purple prose, or I could think of the awesome possibility of Pixar taking on one of Marvel's properties. Pretty much any of them really, although Pixar has already managed quite well with The Incredibles and they've got way to many of their own stories to tell to really get bogged down in licensed properties. But on the flip-side, I kind of worry about a Dark Avengers/Scrooge McDuck cross-over in anything other than, say videogame form like Kingdom Hearts.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
What I like about Hellboy
Well there are many things that I like about the series and the character but when it comes down to it, what I really like about both is just how succinct the whole thing is without feeling rushed or empty.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
MCMX - Back to the posting.
Wow, and out of the blue there was another post.A couple of weeks ago I was waiting for my take-away Pad Thai so I went across the street to see what comics were available at the local library branch. I ended up picking up the latest League of Extraordinary Gentlemen trade Century 1910. It seems I can only really read comics by Alan Moore these days. I don’t know, I think it’s in my contract or something. Actually that’s not so true, I just read another Hellboy trade but how many times can I just write, “Hellboy trades are just so awesome!”?
Anyway, I knew this wasn’t the whole Black Dossier, 3D glasses, confuse the bloody bejeesus out of everyone hybrid graphic novel so I gave it a whirl. I really liked the original story, but the second volume left me a bit cool. This one, left me a bit more disconnected from the material. I liked it well enough and thought the caper and characters were all quite well done and interesting. I just didn’t find them as engaging as the characters in the first volume.
There were some great ideas presented – the man trapped in London throughout history, bringing in Virginia Woolf’s Orlando (which really is a great book by the way - Woolf is one of the rare classic authors whose prose I find extremely readable), and well the general intrigue of the times engaged by the occult. But what happened more, for me, was that this was Alan Moore referring to a bunch of things I had no connection to or little understanding of. While it doesn’t completely detract from the enjoyment of the work, it does a bit more than in the original volume or even Watchmen. In those works the deeper understanding reveals hidden layers to the narrative whereas here understanding the narrative almost requires a passing knowledge (or more) of what is being referred to.
Thankfully there are Jess Nevins’ online annotations because it really helps me understand just what the heck is going on. I know nothing about the Threepenny Opera, or Jenny Diver (other than she’s referenced in the song Mac the Knife, which also plays a role here) and well, all the English pulp heroes. I realize that I’m complaining about being a lazy reader here, but honestly, I would rather enjoy the work for what it is rather than as a source for further reading in order to come back and understand it. Although that’s mostly what this work is about for me, and that’s not really a bad thing.
What I think this book is really about is rereading. Read through the text once and while you can get the surface plot elements and whatever references you’re familiar with, the rest of the meaning comes through by actively learning about the elements. Read Jess Nevins’ annotations, find out what the visual metaphors are, use them to read more and discover new works you didn’t know about (populate your own fiction collection the way Alan Moore combines them in his world where all of fiction exists together).
So yeah, it’s good, but at times it feels to be a meaningless read, particularly if you just want a quick yarn about some potential Armageddon starring some literary characters. You do get some of that, but with enough Greek Chorus and sung narration that you kind of realize that your nose is being rubbed into what you might not know or be familiar with.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Story ideas - the next Super-Pro
Okay I seem to be in about a once a month posting schedule now - life happens, don't ya know? - but I came across this story today in the Globe and Mail that is pretty much an origin story for the Canadian version of Super-Pro. Nice American kid comes up north and just starts tackling would be street toughs around Edmonton. The best thing is that he could actually call himself the Edmonton Eskimo even if it's a slightly racist term these days - I'm not entirely sure on the protocol for using Eskimo anymore.
I'd read at least one whole issue of this dude watching street crime and saying , "Well, KJ, you gotta do what you gotta do" before he dives into action. He could fight all your typical Edmonton crime, not just purse snatchings - bars watering down the draft beer, someone not driving a pickup truck, people not voting Conservative, all the classics.
I'd read at least one whole issue of this dude watching street crime and saying , "Well, KJ, you gotta do what you gotta do" before he dives into action. He could fight all your typical Edmonton crime, not just purse snatchings - bars watering down the draft beer, someone not driving a pickup truck, people not voting Conservative, all the classics.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Other people's ideas
Over on the always updated and always enjoyable to read Mike Sterling's Progressive Ruin, he's got a bit of a thought experiment going on about what would happen if the big companies limited their characters to being in one core title only, and one team book. It's a neat little idea, and has given us the concept of Wolverine: The Roaring '20s #1 (guest-starring the Great Gatsby), which sounds like the best idea for a Wolverine comic since the Agent of Shield stuff.
It's got me thinking a little bit about the industry side of comics again, and while I'm not about to make a blanket statement about something I know next to nothing about, I will say that what he's thinking about is kind of how I'm feeling about the whole thing for a while now. I don't buy monthly books anymore, which is just my choice more than anything. Personal finances, not working right next door to a comic shop any longer and well, just wanting to know I'll be getting quality material has lead to this.
I don't want to take a dig at any company but when I'm trying to be better with my finances it just doesn't make sense to have a monthly obligation. There's a lot of good comics out there for good value, the trick is to know what's good. So that means waiting for the new stuff to pass muster from the other reviewers or buying older stuff in collected formats. Sure I think people should collect whatever they like, it's just not really for me, and particularly not at this time. I'm only now reading Alan Moore's Swamp Thing for the first time, which to me feels better than having delayed books on Hero X with too many unknowns about quality. I call it discerning customer taste, you might call it cheap, in the end it's still how I'm reading comics - out of fun and desire to, not out of a sense of obligation.
It's got me thinking a little bit about the industry side of comics again, and while I'm not about to make a blanket statement about something I know next to nothing about, I will say that what he's thinking about is kind of how I'm feeling about the whole thing for a while now. I don't buy monthly books anymore, which is just my choice more than anything. Personal finances, not working right next door to a comic shop any longer and well, just wanting to know I'll be getting quality material has lead to this.
I don't want to take a dig at any company but when I'm trying to be better with my finances it just doesn't make sense to have a monthly obligation. There's a lot of good comics out there for good value, the trick is to know what's good. So that means waiting for the new stuff to pass muster from the other reviewers or buying older stuff in collected formats. Sure I think people should collect whatever they like, it's just not really for me, and particularly not at this time. I'm only now reading Alan Moore's Swamp Thing for the first time, which to me feels better than having delayed books on Hero X with too many unknowns about quality. I call it discerning customer taste, you might call it cheap, in the end it's still how I'm reading comics - out of fun and desire to, not out of a sense of obligation.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Oh for the love...
I just found out that my manager is away on an all day "advance." It's called an advance because some genius didn't want to use the word retreat. If I find out who did this I may not be held responsible for punching them right in the fucking throat.
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