Pile o’ comics
2007-11-27 | Filed under Comics |
Some of the stuff I’ve been reading in the past few months and/or have in the TBR pile:
Fables was on my list for a while; I’ve heard great things about it. My high expectations weren’t quite met by the first collection. I don’t think I’m holding repeated information against the book (since the clunkiest instance came at the end of one issue and the beginning of the next—as Larry said, that’s the price you sometimes pay for reading it all at once), but I probably am influenced by the short story. It’s not very strong, and was the last thing in the book to make an impression. (It’s not just first impressions that matter.) But aside from that, it was a nice, self-contained arc. I enjoyed the second collection as well; the transition between issues was smoother, and the extra goodies were artwork, not prose, so with a small sample set it feels like the series is getting stronger.
Strange Girl left me sort of cold. I wanted to like it, but I think it was just trying a bit too hard. I might read later volumes if Larry picks them up, but wouldn’t seek them out myself.
The Un-Men #1 confirms that I should not read single issues. The ads were distracting, it was short, there was obviously no resolution, and I ended up feeling that nothing happened (though quite a lot did). I guess it’s okay to read single issues provided I have a stack of them. Unless we acquire a stack or collection of Un-Men, I’ll have no real idea how I feel about it. Actually, that’s probably “until” rather than “unless,” since Larry enjoyed the first one.
We’ve been reading 100 Bullets for the past year or so, and picked up volumes 10 and 11 the other day. Originally, I was reading in spite of Risso’s artwork, but I’ve become a convert to his style.
Hero was an impulse buy at Anime Weekend Atlanta; I wanted to find something new, and the Neil Gaiman quote didn’t hurt. My eye was drawn by the dark cover, purple and black and sinister, contrasting sharply with happy bouncy shojo art. Sadly, the contents of the book exert no similar hold upon me.
We bought Monster on Tim’s recommendation, and I’ve quite enjoyed the first few volumes. It’s a pile of clichés: serial killer, diabolical orphanarium, ridiculously noble protagonist, etc., but it’s working for me. I’ve taken a momentary break; since the English translations haven’t all been released, I need to pace myself. Because I am just not one of those people who learns Japanese solely to read manga in the original language and watch anime the second it’s released. I can wait a couple months for VIZ and fan-subbers to work their magic.
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