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Post by Deleted on Dec 8, 2022 17:21:22 GMT -5
Another one of those it's getting literary buzz books I decided to check out via hoopla-It's Lonely at the Center of the Earth by Zoe Thorogood, it's a autobiographical comic about a 6 month period of Zoe's life struggling with depression and suicidal tendencies. Another tough book to read, not because of it's quality (it's quite good) but because of its subject matter. It's published by Image Comics.  -M |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 9, 2022 8:15:07 GMT -5
Hey Slam_Bradley I know you are a big Mark Russell fan, not sure if you had seen this or had a chance to read it yet... I read the first non-Jodo expansion of the Incal universe-The Incal Psychoverse by Mark Russell and Yanick Paquette last night...  I had read a sample of it in the FCBD offering from Humanoids and liked what I saw, so grabbed the OGN when it came out. Jodo is 93 and has given his blessing for others to do their interpretations of the Incal universe from Wahiti in film to several folks in comics. This was the first of these offerings, a prequel to the Incal by Russell and Paquette. In terms of tone and plot, it matches up well with the original Incal (I am less certain how it fits with the stuff in Before the Incal as its been a long time since I last read that, and I've read Incal 5-6 times as opposed to only twice for Before the Incal, so the original is clearer in my memory). This book essentially tells story of the pursuit of the Incal from the time it first appeared in the material universe up to the start of the Jodo/Moebius tale that unfolds in the Incal, and features John DiFool, the Metabaron and other familiar characters from the Incal. It's good. I might be inclined to say that Russell does too much to fit Jodo's style at the expense of his own voice, yet I would also say that if there was a modern writer who thematically was in synch with what Jodo does, it would be Russell, so that synchronicity could just be Russell's voice just naturally fitting in to the Jodoverse's thematic underpinnings. And PAquette's art is simply gorgeous here, matching the look and feel of the Jodovers as defined by Moebius, Charest, Ladronn, Gimemez and others while retaining his own style and showcasing his amazing visual storytelling skills. All in all, it was quite a satisfactory debut for this expanded Jodoverse initiative, I just hope the forthcoming volumes can live up to the standard Russell and Paquette set. -M |
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Dec 9, 2022 10:33:37 GMT -5
Hey Slam_Bradley I know you are a big Mark Russell fan, not sure if you had seen this or had a chance to read it yet... I read the first non-Jodo expansion of the Incal universe-The Incal Psychoverse by Mark Russell and Yanick Paquette last night... I had read a sample of it in the FCBD offering from Humanoids and liked what I saw, so grabbed the OGN when it came out. Jodo is 93 and has given his blessing for others to do their interpretations of the Incal universe from Wahiti in film to several folks in comics. This was the first of these offerings, a prequel to the Incal by Russell and Paquette. In terms of tone and plot, it matches up well with the original Incal (I am less certain how it fits with the stuff in Before the Incal as its been a long time since I last read that, and I've read Incal 5-6 times as opposed to only twice for Before the Incal, so the original is clearer in my memory). This book essentially tells story of the pursuit of the Incal from the time it first appeared in the material universe up to the start of the Jodo/Moebius tale that unfolds in the Incal, and features John DiFool, the Metabaron and other familiar characters from the Incal. It's good. I might be inclined to say that Russell does too much to fit Jodo's style at the expense of his own voice, yet I would also say that if there was a modern writer who thematically was in synch with what Jodo does, it would be Russell, so that synchronicity could just be Russell's voice just naturally fitting in to the Jodoverse's thematic underpinnings. And PAquette's art is simply gorgeous here, matching the look and feel of the Jodovers as defined by Moebius, Charest, Ladronn, Gimemez and others while retaining his own style and showcasing his amazing visual storytelling skills. All in all, it was quite a satisfactory debut for this expanded Jodoverse initiative, I just hope the forthcoming volumes can live up to the standard Russell and Paquette set. -M I had not seen that. I've never gotten around to reading The Incal, so at this point I'll likely pass. |
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Dec 9, 2022 12:40:05 GMT -5
I've read the first 1 1/2 trades of Something is Killing the Children. So far a pretty compelling read. We shall see if it continues. Little bit of Stranger Things. Little bit of Buffy. Little bit its own thing. Pretty fun so far.  |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 9, 2022 13:21:16 GMT -5
I've read the first 1 1/2 trades of Something is Killing the Children. So far a pretty compelling read. We shall see if it continues. Little bit of Stranger Things. Little bit of Buffy. Little bit its own thing. Pretty fun so far. I'm current with the trades (not the single issues though), and it's one of my favorite current series. The spin off, House of Slaughter, was good as well, but the original is better. -M |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 11, 2022 0:32:04 GMT -5
This book has been on my radar since it came out and I finally tracked down a copy via ILL to read... Chasin' the Bird: Charlie Parker in California by Dave Chisholm  This examines Parker's years in California, exploring the legend and the history through a series of chapters told from the POV of various people who interacted with The Bird during that time, from Dizzy and Coltrane to Zorthian and others. It's a fascinating read. I was/am familiar with Parker and his music, but not steeped in his history or oeuvre, but I am not inclined to do a deeper dive into both. Chisholm acknowledges where he played fast and loose with things in his notes, and gives a pretty in depth list of sources he drew from, so there is a lot of fodder for exploration here. I really dig Chisholm's art style too, very impressionistic with shades of folks like Toth, Oeming, Cook, Hester and others, and each chapter alters its style and palette a bit to fit the mood and tone of the material within. -M |
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Post by wildfire2099 on Dec 13, 2022 12:32:21 GMT -5
I definitely have to track that down at some point... my LCS tried and failed to order it for me.
Not sure what week it actually came out, but red Dark Web #1 today. I was mildly intrigued, since I have always kinda liked Inferno. Sadly, this is just really dumb. So apparently, even though she's clearly evil, Magik gave Limbo to Maddie Pryor, and, shockingly, it turned out to be a bad idea. They've shoe horned Ben REilly and Eddie Brock into the story so the name they clearly wanted to use made sense, but really this is Inferno II (pretty sure they actually did another inferno too at some point.. maybe inferno III then).
What really interests me (or maybe doesn't).. are they doing anything with Firestar related to her past? Like did just just randomly break up with Justice? Is he just never been mentioned? Apparently she's fine with her powers now, since she's using them just as a jacket warmer (which makes me think they've scrapped any good characterization of the past.
Anyone have any idea?
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Jan 1, 2023 16:19:29 GMT -5
For Christmas, my beloved significant other got me Émile Bravo's four-book epic Spirou : L'Espoir Malgré Tout.
Holy Ghost of Franquin and Jijé, Batman. This is the best Spirou series I've ever read, and it rivals Maus in its dramatic rendition of life under Nazi occupation.
Although not as well known as his colleagues Tintin and Astérix in the English-speaking world, Spirou is a major character in French-language comics. His adventures span several decades and counted many great creators at the helm of the series.
Something like 20 years ago, attempts were made to rejuvenate the franchise; first by trying to make the main series more serious (that attempt lasted all of one book), then by basically scuttling the main series' continuity and by producing many "what if..?" type stories (usually of pretty high quality).
In this parallel interpretation of the character, Émile Bravo goes back to 1939. The attention to historical and geographical details rivals that of Hergé, and his characters are just brimming with humanity. It takes a skillful storyteller to make us fall in love with characters who are just ordinary people, but Bravo does it again and again.
Each of the four books is remarkably long, which is obviously a good thing; the term "generous" is the only one that comes to mind. This means a lot more work for the creator but gives us the time to really get into the story and appreciate all it has to offer.
It is not a war story. Like the aforementioned Maus, it is a chronicle of what happens to the ordinary folks who get caught in its wake. And who says ordinary folks means that we get the bad alongside the good; we also see how a decent society can quickly turn into a nightmare if its citizens turn their back on injustice. It starts with little things, barely irritations... and within a few months people betray their neighbours to the Nazis. It's quite chilling, even if, as the title says, Hope remains despite everything.
L'Espoir Malgré Tout is a major work, and as soon as shops open I'm going to get Bravo's other Spirou book (which was actually his first).
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Post by Paste Pot Paul on Jan 2, 2023 15:58:04 GMT -5
Have read these recently  Garth Ennis and Steve Epting is instant buy for me so it was no surprise that they delivered. WW2 Russian female sniper with a kill count in the hundreds, very much like the book I finished earlier this year(The Diamond Eye by Kate Quinn) about a woman sniper who ended up touring the USA during the war on a fundraising tour and spent some time with Eleanor Roosevelt. Kali by Daniel Freedman  This was a pleasant surprise, post-apocalyptic hard-ass bitch doing hard-ass bitch stuff, stunningly illustrated.  Plastic Hmm dont read this at work, and definitely dont read as a bedtime book to the littlies, Serial Killer doing his thang in defence of his significant other, who is like inflateable, you know wad i mean. |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 8, 2023 2:09:10 GMT -5
During the 90s I avoided Bone and Jeff Smith as being too silly, until one day about 10 years ago I sat down and read Bone all the way through and was simply gobsmacked. It became one of my all time favorite comic sagas and Jeff Smith leaped towards the top of my personal pantheon of creators. Then I read RASL, and loved it too, and my estimation for Smith grew even more because it was so different in topic and tone than Bone, but still so good. That brings us to my latest read. I backed Smith's Kickstarter for Tuki and got both volumes Fight for Fire and Fight for Family. When the Kickstarter fulfilled I added both to my to read pile but didn't get to them last year. I sat down and read Tuki Vol. 1: Fight for Fire tonight, and once again I loved it and my estimation of Jeff Smith has grown even more.  A "pulpy adventure" story set in and grounded in research of the era roughly 1.8 million years ago when several early species of humanity shared the world. Tuki is a wanderer of the homo erectus species and his travels bring him into encounters with other early human species and threats from a shamanic "Hidden World" making for a fun, entertaining story that scratches that pulp adventure itch but also feels grounded in real world paleoantropolgy and offers a strong feeling of verisimilitude as you read. Highly recommended, and I can't wait to dive into volume two very soon. -M |
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Post by Dizzy D on Jan 8, 2023 14:11:32 GMT -5
For Christmas, my beloved significant other got me Émile Bravo's four-book epic Spirou : L'Espoir Malgré Tout.
Holy Ghost of Franquin and Jijé, Batman. This is the best Spirou series I've ever read, and it rivals Maus in its dramatic rendition of life under Nazi occupation.
Although not as well known as his colleagues Tintin and Astérix in the English-speaking world, Spirou is a major character in French-language comics. His adventures span several decades and counted many great creators at the helm of the series.
Something like 20 years ago, attempts were made to rejuvenate the franchise; first by trying to make the main series more serious (that attempt lasted all of one book), then by basically scuttling the main series' continuity and by producing many "what if..?" type stories (usually of pretty high quality).
In this parallel interpretation of the character, Émile Bravo goes back to 1939. The attention to historical and geographical details rivals that of Hergé, and his characters are just brimming with humanity. It takes a skillful storyteller to make us fall in love with characters who are just ordinary people, but Bravo does it again and again.
Each of the four books is remarkably long, which is obviously a good thing; the term "generous" is the only one that comes to mind. This means a lot more work for the creator but gives us the time to really get into the story and appreciate all it has to offer.
It is not a war story. Like the aforementioned Maus, it is a chronicle of what happens to the ordinary folks who get caught in its wake. And who says ordinary folks means that we get the bad alongside the good; we also see how a decent society can quickly turn into a nightmare if its citizens turn their back on injustice. It starts with little things, barely irritations... and within a few months people betray their neighbours to the Nazis. It's quite chilling, even if, as the title says, Hope remains despite everything.
L'Espoir Malgré Tout is a major work, and as soon as shops open I'm going to get Bravo's other Spirou book (which was actually his first).
I'm surprised you didn't start with Diary (the first issue by Emile Bravo), this series is a direct continuation of that story. I liked this series more though, Diary has a bit at the end that made me really dislike the whole story.
Speaking of the Spirou Par.. series: in the most recent issue did an overview of all the various titles in the Spirou "universe". The main Spirou and Fantasio (56 issues by now, new creative team started last year), 2 Out of Band issues (Franquin and Jijehem before the main series started), 14 issues in Spirou Par.. (Somehow not listing the Hanco Kolk issue, I guess the French didn't like it), Emile Bravo is listed seperately, Spirou at the Soviets is listed seperately, Alec Severin's Spirou is listed seperately (more aimed at pre-Franquin Spirou stories) and the spin-offs for Champignac, Zorglub, Marsupilami, Petit Spirou, Mademoiselle Y (also a direct continuation of a Spirou Par..) and Supergroom (Yoann and Vehlmann attempt at a superhero parody I guess). So it's getting quite a lot of seperate titles.
I would have expected them to also list Gaston LaGaffe as there were some many crossover appearances by both in each other's titles.
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Jan 8, 2023 16:29:42 GMT -5
Métal Hurlant #4
I wasn't aware until last week that the legendary Métal Hurlant was once again being published. The quarterly publication alternates between new material and vintage strips, and considering how much time passed since its first incarnation it all feels brand new to me. Moebius, Druillet, Bilal, Nicollet, Mézières, Jimenez, Palacios and more all under two covers? Despite the hefty price tag (it's over 30 Canadian loonies), I don't regret the purchase -especially since the issue clocks at around 300 pages.
I hope that the mag finds its market and that it will manage to endure.
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Jan 11, 2023 10:10:32 GMT -5
I'm surprised you didn't start with Diary (the first issue by Emile Bravo), this series is a direct continuation of that story. I liked this series more though, Diary has a bit at the end that made me really dislike the whole story.
I read Journal d'un Ingénu after L'Espoir Malgré Tout, and I completely agree. That epilogue is pretty awful, even as a joke. I also tremendously disliked the bit about Spip gaining consciousness trhough electrocution; while it may have been the kind of crazy twist seen in the early Rob-Vel or Jijé Spirou, it had no place in such an otherwise down-to-earth book. On the other hand, and while I did not enjoy the first Bravo book as much as I did the following tertalogy (the bar being pretty high, admittedly), I loved the way he mixes the joys, sorrows, hopes and disappointments of real life. He also handles the ingenuity of Spirou extremely well, and in a way that can be both touching and frightening (as when we discover, unlike young Spirou who never suspects a thing, that the priests cover ongoing child milestation at the orphanage). I liked the way Kassandra is depicted as very naive in her own way: though more invested in current events than Spirou is, she is as blind to what the Soviet Union represents as Spirou is to political realities. Both are innocent, and it is sad that they could not get to know each other better. I didn't know Émile Bravo before reading this series, but he's definitely one of my favourite creators now! |
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Post by Dizzy D on Jan 11, 2023 11:21:02 GMT -5
The ending made me hesitate to pick up the tetralogy, but the good parts won out in the end and it turned out that was the right decision, because the mini-series was very, very good.
I think of the Spirou par.. series Journal is probably still the top (I liked Pacific Palice and La Lumiere de Borneo a lot though, for completely different reasons), though I liked a lot of this series and with most of them being standalone stories, a miss is not that much of a problem as you're not stuck with a creative team you dislike for a longer period. The most recent one, Spirou Chez Les Fous was disappointing though, but I still have to write something up for that for the European comics thread.
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Post by wildfire2099 on Jan 14, 2023 11:03:47 GMT -5
Read the first trade of 'Captain America: symbol of Truth' today.. that's the Sam one. Not too bad, but very heavy handed politically... and definitely made me go 'what?' a couple times. Like is Misty Knight just the designation girl friend to street level heroes now? I also thought it pretty odd the Doom was far nicer to Sam than Shuri was.. I get why she's in charge of Wakanda, lining up with the movie and all, but is Wakanda evil-ish now? Or maybe the US is?
If context exists, it might have made some of this better. It was pretty decent superhero romp though, overall.
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