IF THIS BE MY COMICS SHOP
Been a while, but today (HOT!) we finally got up and (HOT!) about early enough to (HOT!) hit the local (HOT!) farmer's (HOT!) market before (HOT HOT HOT!) retiring to the rather more clement confines of the local coffee shop. Once our internal thermostats had reset, we were able to make our second move, this time to not-quite-so-localtown, where we found spuffyduds a new sports bra and went by to pick up our long-lost bag o'comix. Well, not "lost" so much as "neglected for several months"
It's kind of sad that we've been reduced to reading so few actual monthly comic books; I guess most of the series we like have either been cancelled or have become more enjoyable if we pick them up in collected form. As of today, it appears we're only getting about four:
1) Astonishing X-Men, which has gone from a total Whedon-and-Cassaday-based delight to a murky murk of murkiness involving Wolverine (who must be in EVERY X-title by law) and a variety of poorly-drawn and -characterized mutants trying to fight off mind control in the sewers of NYC in time to make it to Northstar's wedding, which Marvel seems to consider Important only because it's a Big! Gay! Wedding!, and not because anybody is really interested in any of the characters involved.
2 & 3) We're still getting Angel and Faith, about which I'm still uncertain, and Buffy Season 9, about which I'm still uncertain. I guess I'm feeling a certain degree of uncertainty about these books.
4) And of course there's Avengers vs. X-Men, which I should probably consider more interesting than I have so far, but I'm frankly over the whole Major Crossover Event thing. It's sad that I've reached this point, but it's hard enough for me to keep up interest in any mainstream super-hero universe without said universe being continually wracked by huge continuity spasms, with symptoms including renumbering, dead heroes, dead sidekicks, and altered timelines.
Luckily, there are still series that we're reading in collected form:
1) Invincible is still gamely throwing me a pared-down (though not simplistic) universe full of super-heroes whose continuity loads do not rival that of Atlas. (The titan, not the comics company.) It's not perfect, and it can get both extremely bloody and extremely over-wrought at times, but generally, it's good fun.
2) Fables veers wildly from gripping to sweet to annoying to funny to heavy-handed to clever to self-indulgent without any clear certainty from issue to issue, but Mark Buckingham's artwork is a joy to see, and the guest artists are often highly enjoyable as well. I don't always love Willingham's writing, especially since so many of his characters speak and think exactly alike, but he's a clever plotter, and the book's rarely dull.
3) And today, for the first time, I was finally provided an entry into the world of Batwoman, picking up the Greg Rucka-penned/J.H. Williams-drawn collection Elegy, and I've gotta say it's a heck of an entry. I enjoyed Rucka's work on Gotham Central quite a bit (though the artwork often left me deeply puzzled as to who was who), and I was totally dazzled by Williams' stint on Promethea. Here we've got both creators working at the top of their games, and even though there was a fair amount of continunity-based confusion (Uh, are those really were-octopi? Is this a Berni Wrightson issue of Swamp Thing?), I've got to say I found Kate Kane's backstory intriguing enough to want to learn more. likeadeuce has been pushing Batwoman on us for some time, and I'm happy to say she was right to do so.
So: not a bad trip to comicsland. If we can just get the heat index under a bazillion, I'll feel pretty cheery all around.
It's kind of sad that we've been reduced to reading so few actual monthly comic books; I guess most of the series we like have either been cancelled or have become more enjoyable if we pick them up in collected form. As of today, it appears we're only getting about four:
1) Astonishing X-Men, which has gone from a total Whedon-and-Cassaday-based delight to a murky murk of murkiness involving Wolverine (who must be in EVERY X-title by law) and a variety of poorly-drawn and -characterized mutants trying to fight off mind control in the sewers of NYC in time to make it to Northstar's wedding, which Marvel seems to consider Important only because it's a Big! Gay! Wedding!, and not because anybody is really interested in any of the characters involved.
2 & 3) We're still getting Angel and Faith, about which I'm still uncertain, and Buffy Season 9, about which I'm still uncertain. I guess I'm feeling a certain degree of uncertainty about these books.
4) And of course there's Avengers vs. X-Men, which I should probably consider more interesting than I have so far, but I'm frankly over the whole Major Crossover Event thing. It's sad that I've reached this point, but it's hard enough for me to keep up interest in any mainstream super-hero universe without said universe being continually wracked by huge continuity spasms, with symptoms including renumbering, dead heroes, dead sidekicks, and altered timelines.
Luckily, there are still series that we're reading in collected form:
1) Invincible is still gamely throwing me a pared-down (though not simplistic) universe full of super-heroes whose continuity loads do not rival that of Atlas. (The titan, not the comics company.) It's not perfect, and it can get both extremely bloody and extremely over-wrought at times, but generally, it's good fun.
2) Fables veers wildly from gripping to sweet to annoying to funny to heavy-handed to clever to self-indulgent without any clear certainty from issue to issue, but Mark Buckingham's artwork is a joy to see, and the guest artists are often highly enjoyable as well. I don't always love Willingham's writing, especially since so many of his characters speak and think exactly alike, but he's a clever plotter, and the book's rarely dull.
3) And today, for the first time, I was finally provided an entry into the world of Batwoman, picking up the Greg Rucka-penned/J.H. Williams-drawn collection Elegy, and I've gotta say it's a heck of an entry. I enjoyed Rucka's work on Gotham Central quite a bit (though the artwork often left me deeply puzzled as to who was who), and I was totally dazzled by Williams' stint on Promethea. Here we've got both creators working at the top of their games, and even though there was a fair amount of continunity-based confusion (Uh, are those really were-octopi? Is this a Berni Wrightson issue of Swamp Thing?), I've got to say I found Kate Kane's backstory intriguing enough to want to learn more. likeadeuce has been pushing Batwoman on us for some time, and I'm happy to say she was right to do so.
So: not a bad trip to comicsland. If we can just get the heat index under a bazillion, I'll feel pretty cheery all around.