A Sunday Review

TV this week: Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives: "Neighborhood Joints" (some of these folks have really long weeks), Robin Hood: "A Good Day to Die" (wow, intense talking scenes, and the most that Little John has ever said), Robin Hood: "We Are Robin Hood!" (I really really didn't expect the ending, and I'm glad I managed to avoid spoilers about it), Ghost Hunters: "Ghostly Bounty Hunter" (nothing in this one but good tales that turned out to be false, and a bat), Destination Truth: "Flying Dinosaur; Sloth Monster" (way more bats than Ghost Hunters had), I also saw ads for Sarah Jane Adventures during both Ghost Hunters and Destination Truth, Supernanny: "Addis Family" (dinnertime problems brought back really bad memories for me), Ace of Cakes: "Duff's Birthday" (meatball cake for the goofball), Torchwood: "Exit Wounds" (whoa. intense. too bad I had one of the major plot points spoiled), and Doctor Who: "Partners in Crime" (I prefer my weight loss program).

Comics this week: Countdown 4 shows me that I clearly missed out on a lot of Mary Marvel storyline, since I haven't got a clue what the deal is with Darkseid. Detective #843 is as good as all the rest of Dini's issues, but there's a bit of continuity I'm not familiar with in this issue that made it a strange read. I also read Action #863, which was a suitable finish to the Legion tale. I found the two-page house ad for Final Crisis at the end of the book to be strange and slightly disappointing.

Justice League Unlimited #44 was a little depressing in the way it humanized another villain, something this series has done before. It's a shame this series is ending. It's probably the best Justice League series ever. I'm not sure what to make of Jonah Hex #30. It was a story told from the wrong angle. I think I liked it. And lastly for this week, PS238 #30 was excellent as usual! The Las Vegas saga gets nicely wrapped up and Tyler starts a new adventure. I love this book.

I also got Holmes from AiT/Planet Lar as a review copy. I think the description on the website says all that really needs to be said, "Omaha Perez' vicious skewering of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's classic..." I will confess that I've never been a big fan of Sherlock Holmes. In fact, I consider him an unsufferable twit. I adored a Doctor Who novel (All-Consuming Fire) that took Holmes into a fantastical setting in which Watson could cope but Holmes could not. This graphic novel goes quite a bit further, making both Watson and Holmes out to be insane drug-addicts. It's very strange, very raunchy, and a bit over the top in places. I can't really recommend it to most folks, but if you dislike Holmes already or like re-imaginings of classic characters, this is one you should check out.

While on the trip to Portland last week, we listened to Doctor Who: Spare Parts from Big Finish productions. This was an intense audio story about the origin of the Cybermen. The story is about the need to survive and the lengths to which people will go simply to continue existing. The story is chilling from start to finish in more than one way. I've listened to a few of the Big Finish audios, and I think this is one of the best.

This week's library movie was Surf's Up. As I somehow collect penguins (or do they collect me?) I tend to like the idea of another penguin movie. The style is very clever, as a documentary about Cody, a penguin surfer wannabe. The story is a bit like Karate Kid with surfing. I would not have enjoyed this movie if it were just a standard surfer movie: the penguins pretty much made it watchable. I really liked the Pen Gu-ins that Chicken Joe befriends. It's a fun little romp.

My library book this week was Dragon Harper by Todd and Anne McCaffrey. I have been a fan of Pern since I was a pre-teen. I've read all the Pern books I could lay hands on, and loved them dearly. Well, most of them. The collaborations between Todd and his mother on Pern have been... not quite a strong. The writing is less finished, like it needs about three more drafts. The action sometimes just jumps, leaving out key moments or transitions. I actually found typos in this one, which doesn't generally happen to me. While I'm certainly interested in this history of Pern, I don't find it nearly as satisfying as the original Pern novels. I'll keep reading these, but Pern is no longer on my "must buy in hardcover!" list.

Past Sunday Reviews -- Comics at Amazon.com -- Previews

Wednesday Links and Ranting

Comic Book Urban Legends Revealed #147: Daredevil Cartoon, Azrael, and Sgt. Rock.

It's no secret that I've lost 110 pounds by counting calories in the last couple of years. Which means I really want nutrition data to be available at restaurants for the rare times I get to go out. However, I've never been keen on King County's Plan, which requires that data to be put on the freakin' MENU. I want the data available, either on a website or a booklet I can take home. I don't want it on the menu.

The Gruesome Origins of 5 Popular Fairy Tales.

Happy Anniversary (belated) to Larry Young's AiT/Planet Lar.

More belated: The Uncanny X-Peeps.

Wait, Firefox 3 is NOT bloatware?!? Someone is actually listening to users? NO WAY!

Garrett links to stabilized footage of that near airplane crash.

Hmm. I tend to think that parents who reject vaccines ought to have that right... but we ought to have the right to completely quarantine their children away from properly vaccinated children. Those kids should have "I AM NOT VACCINATED" in big letters on all their clothing. If any parent complains that such a child is in their properly vaccinated child's class, the non-vaccinated kid should be rejected and forced to find a new class. Then those rare cases of people for whom the vaccine fails won't be put at risk by people for whom intelligence has failed.

Oooh, awesome 1934 Popular Science report about a planned Soviet amphibious monorail. Cool.

Clean up an environmental threat and make clean energy at the same time. That's the goal of converting algae blooms to biofuel.

The X Prize offers $10 Million for 100-mpg vehicle. I hope someone claims it soon.

Chocolate may save forests (Video Link).

LOL graphic: The Wizard of Oz from recent Doctor Who.

Arty pug helps kid to read. And these pugs don't look happy.

Linky Thoughts

Congrats to Larry. Oh, and the little guy, too.

Only the Shadow knows... and anyone else who compares Batman to the old pulps, of course.

Comic Book Urban Legends Revealed #109, Comic Book Urban Legends Revealed #110, Comic Book Urban Legends Revealed #111, and Comic Book Urban Legends Revealed #112.

Lea Hernandez made Boing Boing.

WHAM!

It Happened at the World's Fair.

Ghost Ducks. I want one. I don't know why, but I want one.

A Survival Guide for People with Asperger Syndrome.

What Happened Before the Big Bang?

LOLCats in the Seattle Times (AP).

Newly declassified window film could protect your network from war drivers.

It Feels Like...

...Summer. I've got all the doors and windows open to warm up the house. It's nearly 80F out there, and is supposed to be hotter tomorrow. I generally wear a blanket around the house even in the most extreme of summer, but I've been able to go without most of today. There's a relatively small band of temperature at which I'm comfortable. This house rarely gets up high enough to hit that band.

I've been trying to piece together a linkblog, but having trouble focusing my mind enough to do it. I'm in a fog today, and when I get like this it's rare for me to be able to string together sentences. I won't tell you how long it's taken to write this much. I'm personally appalled.

Awhile back, Larry Young sent me a great book that I mean to do a proper review for someday, but I want to mention it now. It's called The Last Sane Cowboy & Other Stories and it's by Daniel Merlin Goodbrey. The problem with it is that it blew my mind. The book connected to me on a fundamental level with the very first story, "I Bleed Scorpions". And while none of the other stories hit me as hard, they all hit me. So if you've got a chance to check it out, please do. Maybe it'll blow your mind too.

I really haven't got anything to say on all the latest comic book news. Whatever I had to say has been said better by someone else. If I ever get that linkblog done, I'll link to some of those better statements.

This Saturday's Doctor Who, "Human Nature", was excellent. I screencapped a page of John Smith's book. I wish we could see the whole book in detail.

There's a good breeze outside. I can see the cottonwood seeds drifting like snow around the neighborhood. There's a distant siren, ambulance or fire, and the rev of someone's car engine down the block. I can hear children playing somewhere nearby. And the birds in our trees are making their usual lovely racket. I wish I could focus. I can't help but feel disabled when I'm like this. How can a person spend two hours writing and still say nothing?

Review Copy Reviews

Once again, AiT/Planet Lar has come through for me, sending me a book to review just when life was getting me down. Between Larry and Illusive Arts I never seem to get too far down before someone sends me something. More on Illusive in a bit, for the moment I want to focus on:

Giant Robot Warriors by Stuart Moore and Ryan Kelly.

Before I really get into the meat of the book, let me just say that a comic book with a dust jacket is pretty cool, especially when the dust jacket has a different cover image. As with so many of AiT/Planet Lar's books, there's a short text piece at the end which explains when this book was written (in the year after 9/11) and how the feelings of the writer have changed since then. It's not strictly necessary for the enjoyment of the book, but it added one heckuva layer to my own reading of it, which I appreciated.

As for the meat of the story... well, there is a main storyline that works really well as a plain ol' over-the-top adventure with Giant Robot Warriors (and I feel like I should be putting an exclamation point after that). It really is hard to not chuckle at the concept of GRWs being a part of modern warfare. The set-up and execution of that side of the story is absolutely perfect, from the charmingly annoying main scientist to his grumpy boss and the wacky assistants. It's all familiar and yet new, and it all works. The subtext of that main plot is the political arena in which the GRWs operate, and that's where the tale starts to sink its mechanical digits into your brain. There's a lot going on there, some hinted at and some stated outright, and it's all powerful if you look beyond just the fun and games.

Part of that subtext is revealed in the wonderful mysterious sideplot, which comes to fruition at just the wrong moment for our hero. Indeed, it's hard to call it subtext once it hits the open near the end of the book. Still, there is a deep subtlety here you just don't expect from a book called Giant Robot Warriors. Ultimately, the book pulls through on the combined strength of the silliness of the main concept with some political subtext and a dash of believable characters mixed in.

This is a fun book, and definitely worth a look from anyone who wants to read something light, but really tasty.

Review Copy Review

First Moon: I got another review copy from Larry, who always sends something fascinating about the time I'm feeling forgotten. This book has taken me awhile to get back to because before I reviewed it I wanted to read it a second time. Mostly because I found a strange dissonance in the way I saw the art. I wanted to make sure it was my perception of the art making the weirdness, not the art itself. I think it is.

This is a complicated story that's actually very simple at its core. It has to do with the Roanoke Colony and werewolves. I loved the Roanoke part of the story, but the modern bits turned me off on the first reading. It wasn't until I finished the book and everything came together that I started to enjoy it as a whole.

The artwork is strange and in a style that I'm not fond of, for the most part. I thought it worked extremely well in some places of the Roanoke story, but there were often bits where the faces were far too exaggerated, and I wasn't sure if there was a story reason for it or if that was just the artist's style. The fight scenes made no sense to me on the first read, only on the second read did I understand what was happening in them. In any case, after my first read-through I thought the Roanoke parts were well-drawn while the rest of the book was not. On my second read-through I dismissed that as being a trick of my perception: I wanted to enjoy the Roanoke part of the story more, so I did. The art is not as uneven as I first thought.

Once I got past my issues with the artwork, (which are entirely a matter of my tastes, I think, and not the skill of the artist) the story is pretty darn good. It's a bit of a horror story about the original Roanoke colonists and the terror they provoked, seen through the lens of a modern descendent of ... but that would be telling. It's a good read, and I enjoyed it greatly on my second pass. As we've seen before with AiT/Planet Lar, there are text pages in the back of the book with more information. This time a wonderful summary of the history of Roanoke Colony and its fate. All told, this is an excellent package, worth checking out.

Bloggity-Blog-Blog-Blog's Best Comics of 2006

Usually this time of year I do a long and complicated retrospective of the comics I read over the last year, giving my readers a list of my favorites from the past year. Now... I'm not sure that anyone gives a flying fish about what I think anyway... and add in that I'm tired and not in the mood to write about good comics, and I begin to wonder if the end-of-the-year wrap up is worth doing. Still, tradition is tradition. I just won't make it as complicated as in the past. I'm going to flip through a list of comic books that came out in 2006 and come up with some that I remember well enough and enjoyed. I don't think I actually did this last year, so there may be a bit of crossing back into 2005, but I'll try to keep it mostly 2006.

• The "Most Ambitious Project" award I'm giving to 52, which somehow managed to stay on time for 34 weeks, and managed to be fairly entertaining as well.
• The "Best Book I Almost Missed" award goes to DMZ. I bought the first issue, but somehow missed future issues... until Brian Wood sent me the first collection and several of the single issues after it. I read the books, enjoyed them, and it's now on my pull list.
• "Favorite Manga" award goes to Hikaru No Go. This storyline is the only reason I subscribed to Shonen Jump, and I'm also buying the collections as they come out. There is nothing at all like this story in American comics, and there really ought to be!
• "Best Collection" hands down goes to the Castle Waiting Hardcover, which was beautiful, comprehensive, and upgradable. Anyone who hasn't tried this series should pick up this hardcover for a reasonably priced introduction to a book with great art and a lovely meandering story.
• Honorable Mention: Adventures In Oz. If I was as big an Oz fan as I am a Castle Waiting fan, this might have gone the other way around.
• "Best Superhero Team" goes to the Justice Society... but only because they brought back Ma Hunkel. And the book rocks as long as she's there. Period.
• The "I Wish I Was Still On Their Comp List" goes to Boom Studios! who probably took me off the list due to my slowness in posting reviews. However, all their zombie books were surprisingly good, as was Hero Squared, Planetary Brigrade, and, yes, even Jeremiah Harm. If you haven't checked out their books, give 'em a shot. I'm partial to the superhero books, but the whole line I sampled was excellent.
• The "Delays Just About Killed Me" award goes to Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis, which was an excellent revamp that had me incredibly excited... but then the delays started and my heart just about broke with each new delay announcement. To finish the job was the announcement that Kurt was leaving the book after only a scant handful of issues. Although he's leaving the book in Tad Williams' capable hands, it still made for a bittersweet year of Aquaman.
• "Best New Character" introduced in a superhero book this year would be Soranik Natu, the unwilling Green Lantern from Korugar. Ok, so she technically first appeared last year, but I didn't do any awards last year and she hadn't developed into such a cool character yet.
• The "I Really Wish It Came Out More Often" is a tie between Dorothy and Age of Bronze. Both are excellent books put out by people who care deeply about the subject matter. Both books show the love, sheer joy, and heart the creators put into them. And both are worth reading just for that. And both books I wish could come out more often, but I do understand why they don't.
• "Strongest Rebirth" award goes to Abadazad, which returned in a partly prose form that works really well for the series. I can honestly say I'm very much looking forward to future volumes.
• The "Still Going Strong" award goes to AiT/Planet Lar, who put out a number of great books this year, including Shatter, Continuity, Rock Bottom, and my personal favorite of the bunch, Seven Sons.
• The "It Will Be Missed" award is owned by Solo, which was a great idea that I thought was well executed and definitely well received... but apparently the sales couldn't justify it and it was canceled.

Other books that deserve mention but may not get individual awards include Justice League Unlimited, Birds of Prey, Noble Causes, PS238, Usagi Yojimbo, Local, Powers, Nodwick, Justice, True Story Swear to God, Mouse Guard, Action Philosophers, and Tony Loco.

Next up, later tonight: The year's best book. I'll post it after I've had dinner but before the New Year hits Seattle.

Thursday Links

Heidi writes an open letter to Diamond after they fail to deliver comics to her local shop for the third time in four weeks. And then she got a response. Sort of.

Mimi responds to my Seven Sons review, with some kind words and a bit of dismay. Hey, I always give free stuff a chance. And if I hadn't, I wouldn't have read this one, and I would still be bothered by it. So it's a good thing.

Dennis the Menace mashed up with Fight Club, with more here.

Canada changes stance on Lost Girls.

Alan Moore on the Simpsons.

Why do people blog?

MetaFilter finds a complaint about Walmart that actually puts me on Walmart's side.

Puppy Crop Circle.

Review Copy Reviews

Larry sent me two comic books to read and enjoy. The first one I read was Rock Bottom, which I enjoyed. The second one I didn't want to read, for reasons which I'll try to make clear in my review.

Seven Sons by Alexander Grecian and Riley Rossmo: I read the Bishop/Wiese version of this story as a child. That version was written and drawn in 1938, and lacked some cultural sensitivity. I didn't know that as a kid, and as an adult I had fond memories of the book until my boss ordered some copies of it, thinking she was getting an updated version. After looking through it, she eventually decided that she couldn't shelve it despite its history. The stereotypes were too much for her, and she wanted to run a welcoming store.

I disagreed, since I felt that the whole point of the story was that the boys looked identical, but I accepted reality. I should've taken the opportunity to buy myself a copy of the book, but felt oddly bitter about it and disturbed that I couldn't see the levels of racism that other employees could see. I was afraid that my sensitivity was being clouded by pleasant memories of reading the book as a child.

Flash forward a few years to last week, when I opened the unexpected package from Larry and found this book in it. Before I even opened it my mind was writing incredibly negative reviews. I was dead certain I would hate the book. I mean, mixing my pleasant memories with the recent bitterness, and adding a retelling of the tale... not at all promising.

If I hadn't felt obligated to Lar's kindness in sending this to me to at least attempt to read it, I would not have tried. I freely admit that this is my own failing, and baggage that I don't think most people will take into this book. But I do want to make this absolutely clear: I was not inclined to give this book a chance. I started out disliking it and didn't expect that to change at all.

I can't say I was won over immediately, but I think I was caught when the old man asks the vandalist girl if she wants to hear the true story, and offers her tea. Everyone loves a good tale, and one that claims to be true is often better. This sets the tale in a specific time and place, and it didn't take me long to really begin to enjoy it, even while some part of my backbrain was yelling "no, no, you don't want to like this! Stop it!"

Ok. So I enjoyed it. I liked it a lot. It was far from perfect, but it so exceeded my expectations that I was practically blown away by it. The art is a tad too sketchy for my tastes, but manages to be detailed nonetheless. And the twists of the story (which I'm not going to spill here) added so much to the tale that it felt like a completely different story in some ways, while owing a lot to the older versions.

But the absolute BEST thing about this version is the notes in the back. Rivaling the story itself for my attention, the notes explain why Grecian and Rossmo decided to set the story where they did despite the perils involved, and the history of the tale, particularly in print. The notes ended up resolving a lot of the doubts I had about enjoying the tale as a child, and put the whole matter to rest in my mind.

So, my verdict? It was satisfying and surprisingly good. HIGHLY recommended. Especially if you enjoyed the tale in another version as a child.

Note: For some insight into how divided people are about the Bishop/Wiese version of the story, check out the comments on its Amazon.com page.

Review Copy Reviews

Larry was kind enough to send a couple of new books, so I'm going to be kind enough to review them. One today, and the other as soon as I finish it.

Rock Bottom by Joe Casey and Charlie Adlard: I admit that I love going into a new book with no idea what it's about, just a recommendation and a hope. This one I had heard a very tiny bit about, "a man turning to stone," and I was thinking of Concrete. I couldn't have been more wrong. It has its own deep pathos and strength and owes nothing to Chadwick's story.

I couldn't stand the main character when the book started, and I didn't really get to like him much by the end, but I felt for him. And that's the strength of this book. You feel for the character even though he's a jerk. I have to applaud Casey and Adlard for getting me to care so much about their story despite that serious handicap.

This one is definitely Recommended.