Easter Comic Binge, Part 1
To make this livejournal a little more lively, and in order to make myself more disciplined and to practice my writing, I'm going to try really hard to update every day or two, even if it is just a link or a cool photo I've taken (encouragement appreciated).
However ephemeral bollocks cannot sustain a blog alone, so on that note I've decided to write about my lovely, lazy Easter, and more specifically do some quick reviews of the graphic novels I was able to binge on over the break. The Wellington City Library has a great collection, so I was able to grab a bunch. So anyway, here are my general thoughts on these works in the order that I read them:
- 303 by Garth Ennis and Jacen Burrows The first work I read was a real treat. It's Garth Ennis' take on September 11, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and the Bush Administration. Ostensibly the story of a veteran Russian Colonel who, after his unit is wiped out in Afghanistan and he sees the atrocities there, vows to travel to America and to take vengeance on those responsible (i.e. the President), it is vintage Ennis with many of his tropes, such as the camaraderie of soldiers, the inhospitably of the desert and the loss of 'traditional' American values. However where this work differs is in the level of bile and bitterness it possesses, as well as a more sombre side. This is in contrast to Ennis' dark comedy which features in other works. It's strongly political and eye opening, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Lushly illustrated by Burrows, the work is visually stunning, and the pace at which it is written makes it hard to resist. If you like your comics with something more than the usual guff, I strongly recommend it.
- Dead@17: The Complete First Series by Josh Howard On a different note, I next read the complete first series of Dead@17. This recent series details the exploits of the teenager Nara Kilday and her friends from Darlington Hills as they battle zombies, secret societies and other supernatural badness while maintaining their everyday lives. If the plot seems a little familiar, well it's because it is hardly new ground, with it baring more than a passing resemblance to several TV shows. While it is a solid story, and has a few nice moments, it's a little predictable and hardly as earth-shattering as the guy who writes the introduction seems to think. However, I do have to point out that the art work is simply stunning, Howard possessing a smooth, deep style which is very similar to Michael Oeming's style in Powers. It very pretty and for this may be worth the purchase price alone. While it's not anything ground breaking, this isn't a bad little work, so if you're looking for a little escapism, this would do nicely. As an aside, the series may also get better as it goes along, so that could be another reason to check it out.
- Too Much Coffee Man's Amusing Musings by Shannon Wheeler. Shannon Wheeler's Too Much Coffee Man is somewhat of an institution and, as a syndicated strip, it sits in contrast to the rest of what I have been reading lately. This work is a collection of his strips and continues his unique and arguably existential take on American life. This was a great work to flip through as there was no central narrative to follow, and while there was no great belly laughs from me, there were a few wry smiles. This is perhaps not the best TMCM stuff I've read, but isn't bad either, so it would be a fine way to while away a coffee break. Check out the Too Much Coffee Man website for some examples.
- Pyongyang: A Journey in North Korea by Guy Delisle This striking and innovative first work by Guy Delise was one of the best works - comic, novel or essay - that I have read for a long time. A unique insight into the world's most paranoid country, it is a wonderful way to get a feel for a city where the flow of information out is completely restricted. As a combination of journalism and entertainment, this works well with Delisle providing a sometimes horrific, sometime humorous insight into the unusual regime of Kim Il-sung and his family through the eyes of a foreigner. I also enjoyed Delise's drawing style, which while cartoony, seems wholly appropriate for such a surreal place, without trivialising the suffering of the North Koreans. Coming in at 176 pages, this isn't the quickest of reads, but one which I enjoyed deeply, and would recommend to anyone. I think the travel-comic combination is vastly under-used, and this rewarding work makes a welcome change a lot of the paff out there.
