2008-04-29

Seventh Five of 2008
(comix/frenchspinsters)

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In this last couple days, this set of five unexpectedly filled up with comix -- and not highbrow stuff either; DC, Marvel and daily strips. But you know what? I enjoyed it all. And a heckuvalot more than the crap Colette book I read, I'll tell you that much.

035) The Complete Peanuts 1965 - 1966 by Charles M. Schulz, finished April 29
    It's hard to express exactly how much I love these books. This one had the beginning of Snoopy's writing career (he began as a success!!!), the first appearance of Peppermint Patty, and the horrifying burning down of Snoopy's house (he lost his Van Gogh!). Schulz deserves all the accolades. Peanuts is better than Krazy Kat or Calvin & Hobbes. It's simply the best strip that ever there was. Time to buy the next box set! month and a half



034 Nextwave: Agents Of H.A.T.E Volume 1: This Is What They Want by Warren Ellis et Stuart Immonen et al, finished April 29
    I don't really know what possessed me to check this book out from the library. Nothing about it looked good. But sometimes just being on the New shelf is enough. I'm glad I did. It was a riot. Here's some clips: nextwave, hate, etc nextwave, hate, etc nextwave, hate, etc nextwave, hate, etc nextwave, hate, etc afternoon to evening



HUSH

033) Batman: Hush, Vol. 2 by Jeph Loeb et al, finished April 29
    So volume one was underwhelming. Volume two was more intriguing but not that impressive till I was slapped with the biggest twist I can remember in a superhero comic. I don't read a lot of superhero comics -- especially now that I don't have a Master Fob around to lend me any -- but they're a genre with potential occasionally tapped. I can't say this was great literature, but it was definitely entertaining. I'm glad I had enough background knowledge to appreciate it as I did(can you identify all three Robins?), and I'm glad I'm not fifteen anymore. Jim Lee's women are really hard to manage when your blood is 25% testosterone. (Although the sexiest Harley is still the animated one. And the funny thing is, her anatomy might even be possible.) Anyway, I wish I had more to say about such a heralded title. The cover design is terrific. The story is enjoyable. The twists were surprising. It avoided most of my complaints about flagship titles. I'm glad a student lent it to me. That's about it. one day of testing



032) Batman: Hush, Vol. 1 by Jeph Loeb et al, finished April 28
    Jury's out till I finish the second volume. Though my biggest impressions so far are these: Catwoman is hot; that flying dog is the most ridiculous thing ever. a bart ride



031) Chéri by Colette, finished April 17
    The first few pages of this book were confusing. A man and woman getting out of bed in the morning and arguing over pearls. Seemingly. I was perplexed until I figured out that Chéri, the title character, was a man. I guess, in retrospect, the lack of a terminal e should have made that plain, but highschool French was a long time ago. Also, I thought the title character would be the woman on the cover: Chéri by Colette Anyway, I hated the book. The two main characters have no virtues other than their physical beauty and they live completely immoral lives. There was not a character in the book I could care about. That said, I should say that the last five pages of the book almost redeemed the 135 that preceded it. Almost. But still, I hated this book. It is not of good report, not from me. A "small masterpiece" the cover claims. Perhaps. It does show the wages of sin fairly accurately I would say. four days




Previously:

7 comments:

  1. 34. Thank you. I have put vols. 1 and 2 on hold.

    33-32. I remember enjoying that but being disappointed because it wasn't quite as cool as I wanted it to be and because Hush's identity was way too obvious and because so much of the story depended on other stories for its emotional impact--more so than the average comic book story being set in a continuing fictional universe, but several times the impact of an AH HA! moment relied on the reader knowing who, say, Jason Todd or even worse, Harold, is. I'm very familiar with all that history, of course, so I appreciated the AH HA! moments, but I like my stories to be a bit more self-contained in the sense that the writer has set things up and given the reader all the necessary information ahead of time. If that makes any sense. I've made you read Long Halloween and Dark Victory, haven't I? Those are much better Jeph Loeb Batman stories in my opinion.

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  2. .

    I did really like Long Halloween, but I can't remember if I've read Dark Victory or not.

    And you're absolutely right about Hush. Once the Jason Todd shocker was past, it turned to the obvious pretty quickly. And: there was stuff I didn't know well enough to fully appreciate. And what I did know (that the Riddler's a dope, for instance) wasn't necessarily engraved upon my mind deeply enough to appreciate things as they happen.

    All that said, Jim Lee still draws a mean Catwoman.

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  3. .

    Oh! And what's the deal with Superdog? Not knowing about that critter and having him appear out of nowhere really smashed up my willing suspension.

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  4. He does draw a mean Catwoman. And I like his redesign of the Huntress, but I liked it even better once they modified it to cover her body.

    Krypto is the El family dog from Krypton, I believe. So naturally he has superpowers. Be thankful that in this current incarnation he doesn't think in word balloons.

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  5. .

    I will be thankful, I assure you.

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  6. The comics sound amazing. I got 1001 Nights of Snowfall after your recommendation and wasn't disappointed.

    I guess I'll have to skip Cheri. Where did you find it anyway?

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