Hello friends,
I bring this post tonight to you from the sweatlodge that is my domicile. Look I know it's summer and I live in a desert, but man some of us don't have air conditioning. Please weather gods lighten up a bit. Also at the moment I'm doing some California Dreamin' as Comic-Con begins. Someday I'll convince the library I work for to front the money so I can go. Of course it'll be for "research". Yeah researching kick ass comics baby! Well every girl has her little dream.
Well Onward we go!
Reviews
BPRD: Plague of Frogs, BPRD: The Dead
If you want to know how I feel about this series, well check out last week's review here. In it's further volumes the story begins to open up as we meet new characters. We also learn more about Abe Sapien and Roger in a very unique style. This series doesn't settle for simple exposition, they do a great job of using sequential art to get us info. The personal dynamics between different characters are wonderful. It actually reminds me of the wonderful humor for League of Extraordinary Gentleman. I love it how these characters react to each other and to the crazy events around them. Great series.
The Reading List
Books
Citizen Vince
BPRD: The Black Flame
Magazines
Four Four Two
Comics
Blackest Night #1
Check Out Count: Improving.
Comic Pull List: Amazing Spider-Man #600, Dark Wolverine #76, Gotham City Sirens #2, Green Lantern #44, Outsiders #20, Runaways 3 #12, Wednesday Comics #3
Have a great week! Book Slave.
2009-07-21
2009-07-14
A Serious Obsession
Hello Literary cyber-world,
How are you all? Good I hope. I've been having a great summer lately. Have you ever all of a sudden become obsessed by a certain series? This weekend I did. All of a sudden I had to read every volume I could get. I usually have more self control, but every once and awhile...Well I'm sure you can see below what I'm talking about. Luckily I have a public library at my disposal. Otherwise I'd be poor.
I also feel compelled to put out a real full hearted cheer to the literary internet community. I love to read books, talk books, and push books onto others. I always worried that reading blogs would be just too voyeuristic and banal for me to deal with. It turns out to be completely opposite. There are book blogs out there that are interesting and generate stimulating talk. Want examples? Check out these posts and realize that these blogs are so much better than mine.
*Question of the Week: Which Books Would You De-Canonize?
*Olive Kitteridge
*Dickens for dyslexics
* Don Draper = America
Also to be completely random: I just re-watched my favorite original Star Trek episode "City on the Edge of Forever." I don't know why but I had forgotten that this ep was written by Harlan Ellison. It is so effing good! Also watching it in comparison to other Star Trek eps it was so well-plotted with a distinct character arc for Kirk. Makes me think that maybe I should give Ellison a try.
Well enough prattling on. Onward!
Reviews
Escapist Vol. 1
I picked this up due to it's high acclaim. I've always wanted to get into the literary work of Michael Chabon. Of course The Adventures of Kavalier and Clay sits on my shelf. So I picked up the Escapist and while I somewhat enjoyed it I think that it only works as a supplement to Kavalier and Clay. Having not read that book I was lost on the majority of the material. I did enjoy the experimentation with multiple comic styles such as Golden Age, manga, and Modern Age. My fave stories involved the character of The Escapist himself. The last story involving the Escapist and his possible female soulmate blew me away. I think I'll revisit this again after reading Kavalier & Clay. Unfortunately this book doesn't stand on it's own.
BPRD: Soul of Venice, BPRD: Hollow Men, BPRD: 1946
As stated above I became obsessed this weekend with the series BPRD. I just needed to consume every volume. BPRD stands for the Bureau of Paranormal Research Department and is a spinoff from Mignola's Hellboy. Funded by the government, this group of homegrown agents are sent to investigate when crazy shit goes down. Each volume contains a self contained 5 issue story arc so you don't have to worry about reading it in order or facing continuity issues. This is the ideal format for this series. Writer/Artist Mike Mignola has created a dark/gothic/steampunkish world that is so immersive. Reading it I can feel the same thrill that I had watching X-Files or Lost. Anything is possible. Vampire soldiers created by Nazis, Demon living underneath Venice that can take your soul, A Bad Ass named Lobster Johnson. Yes, yes, yes. I also enjoyed the character dynamics between the different characters. There's a level of comfort between these characters because they have worked together so long. Thrown into the mix is "the new guy" who of course gets teased by the veterans. It's fun see the origins of this team in the prequel book 1946 which takes us back to the beginning. It would be so easy to just make the Nazis the villian, but in the world of Mike Mignola we get cyborg gorillas & mechanical spiders with human heads. It's wonderful fun original work. I can't stop reading it.
The Reading List
Books
BPRD: Plague of Frogs
BPRD: The Dead
(see a pattern? I need serious help. I can't stop!)
Magazines
Vanity Fair
Comics
Action Comics Annual
Comic Pull List:Action Comics #879, Blackest Night #1, Captain America #601, Deadpool #12, Fables #86, Incognito #5, Rasl #5, Wednesday Comics #2
Check Out Count: Geez.
Have a great week! Book Slave.
How are you all? Good I hope. I've been having a great summer lately. Have you ever all of a sudden become obsessed by a certain series? This weekend I did. All of a sudden I had to read every volume I could get. I usually have more self control, but every once and awhile...Well I'm sure you can see below what I'm talking about. Luckily I have a public library at my disposal. Otherwise I'd be poor.
I also feel compelled to put out a real full hearted cheer to the literary internet community. I love to read books, talk books, and push books onto others. I always worried that reading blogs would be just too voyeuristic and banal for me to deal with. It turns out to be completely opposite. There are book blogs out there that are interesting and generate stimulating talk. Want examples? Check out these posts and realize that these blogs are so much better than mine.
*Question of the Week: Which Books Would You De-Canonize?
*Olive Kitteridge
*Dickens for dyslexics
* Don Draper = America
Also to be completely random: I just re-watched my favorite original Star Trek episode "City on the Edge of Forever." I don't know why but I had forgotten that this ep was written by Harlan Ellison. It is so effing good! Also watching it in comparison to other Star Trek eps it was so well-plotted with a distinct character arc for Kirk. Makes me think that maybe I should give Ellison a try.
Well enough prattling on. Onward!
Reviews
Escapist Vol. 1
I picked this up due to it's high acclaim. I've always wanted to get into the literary work of Michael Chabon. Of course The Adventures of Kavalier and Clay sits on my shelf. So I picked up the Escapist and while I somewhat enjoyed it I think that it only works as a supplement to Kavalier and Clay. Having not read that book I was lost on the majority of the material. I did enjoy the experimentation with multiple comic styles such as Golden Age, manga, and Modern Age. My fave stories involved the character of The Escapist himself. The last story involving the Escapist and his possible female soulmate blew me away. I think I'll revisit this again after reading Kavalier & Clay. Unfortunately this book doesn't stand on it's own.
BPRD: Soul of Venice, BPRD: Hollow Men, BPRD: 1946
As stated above I became obsessed this weekend with the series BPRD. I just needed to consume every volume. BPRD stands for the Bureau of Paranormal Research Department and is a spinoff from Mignola's Hellboy. Funded by the government, this group of homegrown agents are sent to investigate when crazy shit goes down. Each volume contains a self contained 5 issue story arc so you don't have to worry about reading it in order or facing continuity issues. This is the ideal format for this series. Writer/Artist Mike Mignola has created a dark/gothic/steampunkish world that is so immersive. Reading it I can feel the same thrill that I had watching X-Files or Lost. Anything is possible. Vampire soldiers created by Nazis, Demon living underneath Venice that can take your soul, A Bad Ass named Lobster Johnson. Yes, yes, yes. I also enjoyed the character dynamics between the different characters. There's a level of comfort between these characters because they have worked together so long. Thrown into the mix is "the new guy" who of course gets teased by the veterans. It's fun see the origins of this team in the prequel book 1946 which takes us back to the beginning. It would be so easy to just make the Nazis the villian, but in the world of Mike Mignola we get cyborg gorillas & mechanical spiders with human heads. It's wonderful fun original work. I can't stop reading it.
The Reading List
Books
BPRD: Plague of Frogs
BPRD: The Dead
(see a pattern? I need serious help. I can't stop!)
Magazines
Vanity Fair
Comics
Action Comics Annual
Comic Pull List:Action Comics #879, Blackest Night #1, Captain America #601, Deadpool #12, Fables #86, Incognito #5, Rasl #5, Wednesday Comics #2
Check Out Count: Geez.
Have a great week! Book Slave.
2009-07-09
Take it Easy
Hello,
I hope you all had an excellent holiday weekend here in the states. I did. Good times, bbq, and family, were all available to be had. In the whereabouts that I reside it has become a sweat lodge and I've received my first major sunburn. Must remember to find the shady tree to read under.
So after last week's review-extravaganza today we are taking it easy. Recently I was captured by Newsweek's What To Read Now issue. I like to think of myself as a well-read individual but I was woefully humbled. I'll definitely be taking a look at some of these titles in the upcoming months. There's also some other cool essays and articles. I particularly enjoy the essays by Jon Meacham and David Gates where they extol the virtues of re-reading.
I wish I could re-read more often. It's great to be able to look at text from a new point of view based on life experience. I had this happen when I re-read My Antonia a while ago. As a highschooler I was caught up in the will-they or won't they romance between the lead characters. However 10 years later when I opened it again I was struck by how this story is more about the strong immigrant women who built their lives from nothing. I wonder what I will see in the text a few years from now, most likely something new. Gotta love a rich text. So it's definitely worth checking out the July 13 issue of Newsweek. Good job again editor Jon Meacham.
Well onward!
Review
Batman Private Casebook
This was a collection of issues from the latest run of Paul Dini's work on Batman Detective. This was a re-read for me because I had read the issues as they came out. I came back to it because lately I've been obsessed with Batman's female characters such as Cat Woman, Zatanna, and the Birds of Prey. These issues are so good, Dini is the best at writing stories that contrasts the differences between Bruce Wayne as a human vs. Bruce Wayne as Batman. In his interactions with Cat Woman and Zatanna as a reader Dini explores the loneliness of being Batman. Other than Alfred and Tim, Bruce is unable to lead a normal life due to his commitment to protect Gotham. Even when he's out "being Bruce Wayne" at a society party he is kidnapped. It is like the evil of Gotham is drawn to him no matter what. Dini gets that. Also want to throw some props out to artist Dustin Nguyen who is an incredible artist. I love his work on the Batman series.
The Reading List
Pride and Prejudice and the Zombies
Escapist
Magazine
Four Four Two
Comics
Wednesday Comics #1
Comic Pull List: Batman #688, Bprd 1947 #1, Green Arrow Black Canary #22, Green Lantern #43, Red Robin #2, Stand American Nightmares #4, Superman World Of New Krypton #5, Wednesday Comics #1
Check out count: Eh?
Have a great week! Bookslave.
I hope you all had an excellent holiday weekend here in the states. I did. Good times, bbq, and family, were all available to be had. In the whereabouts that I reside it has become a sweat lodge and I've received my first major sunburn. Must remember to find the shady tree to read under.
So after last week's review-extravaganza today we are taking it easy. Recently I was captured by Newsweek's What To Read Now issue. I like to think of myself as a well-read individual but I was woefully humbled. I'll definitely be taking a look at some of these titles in the upcoming months. There's also some other cool essays and articles. I particularly enjoy the essays by Jon Meacham and David Gates where they extol the virtues of re-reading.
I wish I could re-read more often. It's great to be able to look at text from a new point of view based on life experience. I had this happen when I re-read My Antonia a while ago. As a highschooler I was caught up in the will-they or won't they romance between the lead characters. However 10 years later when I opened it again I was struck by how this story is more about the strong immigrant women who built their lives from nothing. I wonder what I will see in the text a few years from now, most likely something new. Gotta love a rich text. So it's definitely worth checking out the July 13 issue of Newsweek. Good job again editor Jon Meacham.
Well onward!
Review
Batman Private Casebook
This was a collection of issues from the latest run of Paul Dini's work on Batman Detective. This was a re-read for me because I had read the issues as they came out. I came back to it because lately I've been obsessed with Batman's female characters such as Cat Woman, Zatanna, and the Birds of Prey. These issues are so good, Dini is the best at writing stories that contrasts the differences between Bruce Wayne as a human vs. Bruce Wayne as Batman. In his interactions with Cat Woman and Zatanna as a reader Dini explores the loneliness of being Batman. Other than Alfred and Tim, Bruce is unable to lead a normal life due to his commitment to protect Gotham. Even when he's out "being Bruce Wayne" at a society party he is kidnapped. It is like the evil of Gotham is drawn to him no matter what. Dini gets that. Also want to throw some props out to artist Dustin Nguyen who is an incredible artist. I love his work on the Batman series.
The Reading List
Pride and Prejudice and the Zombies
Escapist
Magazine
Four Four Two
Comics
Wednesday Comics #1
Comic Pull List: Batman #688, Bprd 1947 #1, Green Arrow Black Canary #22, Green Lantern #43, Red Robin #2, Stand American Nightmares #4, Superman World Of New Krypton #5, Wednesday Comics #1
Check out count: Eh?
Have a great week! Bookslave.
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