60

I was keeping track pretty carefully for awhile there. 

Even did some writing about my days leading towards Year 60 . . . with an eye on 59 years 11 months, because that's when my dad died. 

(Clarence Franklin Kalb, Jr. December 18, 1924 to November 18, 1984). 

But I lost my focus and didn't realize that I'd passed the 59 / 30 mark until just a little while ago. 

Yep.

I've outlived my dad by eleven days so far.

Which is kind of mind blowing.

Because in my memory my dad was much older than I am now.

Much more on top of his shit.

Much more at home in the world.

Of course, that might have just been my imagination.

Or it might just have been what he projected out into the world.

I'll ask him next time I see him.

Meanwhile, here's a song I wrote a while back.

(Been thinking about this 60 thing for awhile there.)

 

http://phonynoam.tumblr.com/post/163604959000/thomas-kalb-60

That's What Brother Ben Said . . . .

I just saw a little interview on CNN with 18-year old Ben Pontz, and I was REALLY impressed by this fellow. He was so intelligent and articulate . . . I couldn't help but think, "Gee, I'd much rather have this guy as my president than our current Chester Cheetah in Chief."

You can (and probably should, IMHO) read an opinion piece Ben wrote. You can find it at LancasterOnline July 30, 2017. In a blatant attempt to entice you to do just that, here's one of my favorite parts:

"I am disappointed in the president for exploiting a captive audience of young people to engage in flagrant self-promotion and to widen the chasm of division that pollutes our politics. I am disappointed in attendees who applauded the president as he demeaned his predecessor Barack Obama (who, incidentally, was involved in scouting), his former opponent Hillary Clinton, and the media.

"And I am disappointed in commenters on social media who posted horrifying side-by-side images and comparisons of the Jamboree and Hitler Youth rallies.


"Each group — presented with a unique opportunity to celebrate values that should guide our nation —displayed an appalling lack of self-control."

Is that some great prose or what? Ben also has a Twitter account, so you might as well hop over there and follow him. He's the real deal, and we need a lot more of that in this Age of the Fake Ass.

For sure.

Lesson * of 00 Lessons

"You don't want your life to wind up as black-and-white newsreel footage scored by a cello in a minor key."

Woody Allen
Anything Else (2003)

You Know You've Made It . . .

. . . when you are dead fuckin' drunk & your food lust leads you to grab a handful of Trader Joe's 12 Grain Mini Snack Crackers.

Mmm-hmmm. 

A Few Words About My Ass

WARNING: If you are reading this post because we have a personal relationship, then you might want to give this one a pass. Let's put it this way: if I were reading this blog because I had a personal relationship with myself, I would give this one a pass. Because I am going to talk about my ass. Just a little bit. Not in intensely gross detail . . . and no homo stuff 1  , but yes indeedy, my ass. I've been thinking about it for awhile, and I actually feel a certain amount of civic responsibility here. Because I'm not really the kind of person who enjoys talking about my ass. It's embarrassing, and it's private. But I have learned some things in the past few months that I think are worth sharing. So I did. Below. Here it comes. 

Fake. Still time to bail out. Really. I promise you that you will not miss anything that you need . . . unless you have some ass problems. And I'm not talking about BIG ass problems, because I don't have those and don't know anything about them. Just little ass problems. Growing old/er and things aren't the way they used to be when I was young kind of ass problems. Okay?

Okay. Forewarned, forearmed. 

A little bit of context first.

There's a Louis C.K. bit . . . I think it was on his show, but it could have been a bit in one of the stand-up routines. I regularly get offended by Louis C.K. and give up on him, then go back for another look because he can be so fuckin' funny, so I get his stuff mixed up sometimes.

ANYway. There's a Louis C.K. bit wherein he talks about just sitting around and then suddenly realizing that his ass is wet. And I had been experiencing a bit of that myself, so (1) I found his comments about it to be very funny, and (2) it made me feel better, like it wasn't some horrible terrible bad thing, but just a thing that happens to you that nobody bothers to tell you is going to happen to you because it's not very nice to talk about. Not to mention EMBARRASSING. 

I don't remember much of the specific stuff in this Louis C.K. bit, and I don't really feel like going back to find the nitty gritty details, but it seemed to me that it fit in to a larger category of Louis C.K. humor which centers around the idea of That Just Happens When You Get Old. Like the knee thing.

So . . . yeah. Funny  Felt better. & I kind of resigned myself to the fact that I would need to be more proactive in my ass wiping duties and would probably have to pay a little more attention to my laundering.

But then I started exercising and eating better food and more fiber and cutting down on calories. All pretty much at the same time, so I can't isolate the key factor here, but I can tell you this: I no longer have to worry about that shit. 2   So the moral of the story is that you DON'T have to just accept that you're getting older and that your ass is going to start leaking and that's just the way it is. I also want to add here that the higher fiber (and I am talking about >38 grams of fiber a day, per Dr.  & Mrs. Reuben's recommendation, which is a damned sight more than the "recommended" amount)  has NOT resulted in an unreasonable amount of shitting for me. In fact, if anything that activity has ceased to be as frequent  . . . or as URGent  3  . . . in my experience. 

And one more indelicacy. Prior to this diet / exercise regimen, I had occasional trouble with bleeding from my ass. NOT hemorrhoid bleeding.  4  My doctor told me that I had a small crack in the wall of my ass, and that when it got irritated (by exercise or by excessive--as in more than once per day--shitting), it would bleed. And that doesn't happen anymore, either. 

And I have to tell you, if the ONLY result of all of this weight loss, dieting, and exercising were the ass benefits, it would definitely be worth it for me. It is just demeaning, demoralizing, and humiliating to have your ass leak or bleed, man.

And I was ready to give up and accept my "Fate."

But if you're in the same place I was in, you know better now. You don't have to accept that fuckin' fate, man.

Kick ass.

Peace out.





1  Not that there's anything wrong with that, of course.

2  Yeah, pun intended. Had to happen, no apologies.

3  Another Louis C.K. bit, wherein he says something along the lines of, "When you get to be THIS age, every shit is an  emergency." Funny, for sure, but it doesn't have to be true.

4  I don't know why it is important to me that you know that I don't have (and never have had) hemorrhoids, but I have to admit that it IS. Character flaw, I suppose.

Saga-cious

"If we were all 

a little more 

selfish 

with our own lives 

instead of being 

in such a 

hurry 

to defend 

everything 

to the death...

the universe would be 

a much 

less 

scary 

place." 

Brian K. Vaughan

 Saga #45 

Picked up the new issue of Saga yesterday and read it this morning. The only bad thing about reading it monthly--as opposed to reading it in the trades when they come out every six months or so--is that when you hit the end of an issue you're not ready to leave that world behind quite yet. Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples are doing such a superb job with this book, though, that I can no longer take waiting for the trades. So I've gone from buying the e-comic book to not buying it at all and reading the trades from the library to buying the print copy hot off of the presses. (Well, relatively hot, since new comics come out on Wednesday and I usually don't pick mine up until Friday.)

Every issue of this comic book seems to leave me with at least one line that burrows into my brain and gives me something to think about. But not in an annoying, A Thing Just Burrowed Into My Brain way, of course. Well, maybe sometimes. Like the above quoted line . . . which fits in quite well with the predominant theme in Player Piano which I have been thinking about (as I re-re-read PP right now): how the lack of commitment to ideas, ideals, and ideologies is a strength, not a weakness . . . and our spiritual evolution may well depend upon a lack of commitment rather than devotion.

Hmpf.

That's counter-intuitive, ennit? Not to mention counter-conventional wisdom.

But hey, we all know that conventional wisdom is at least sometimes (and at most mosttimes) bullshit, and intuition? Well, who the fuck knows.

ANYway.

Saga is great. Of late I have been thinking about going back to buying the e-comics, though, for two reasons (and mostly for the first): (1) I'm thinking that an e-version purchased might generate more of a monetary reward for the creators (since the "production costs" are so much less) and (2) I have more than enough physical shit in my house already, and I am getting more comfortable with the idea of stuff that is Not Physical Shit.

So I'll have to do a little research on (1). Unless you already know, in which case, you can save me the trouble.

The Spirit of 2017

God bless you, Susan Collins, John McCain, & Lisa Murkowski. Your are living proof that some people cannot be bought, bamboozles, or intimidated. VERY American.

The Capacity to Really Give a Damn

"He could handle his assignments all right, but he didn't have what his father had, what Kroner had, what Shepherd had, what so many had: the sense of spiritual importance in what they were doing; the ability to be moved emotionally, almost like a lover, by the great omnipresent and omniscient spook, the corporate personality. In short, Paul missed what made his father aggressive and great: the capacity to really give a damn."

Kurt Vonnegut

Player Piano

pages 66 -67

In some ways, I think this little bit is at the heart of Kurt Vonnegut's writing . . . and possibly at the heart of my heart as well.

It's The Big Disconnect.

It was sometimes truly horrible when I was a young man. Almost unbearable--to the point wherein suicide seemed like a very good alternative to Soldiering On.

But it waxed and waned and waxed and waned.

Etcetera.

I remember being in a wrestling match in high school . . . so tenth or eleventh grade . . . and as I was struggling with my opponent for the few futile moments which preceded my defeat, I looked up into the bleachers and saw the people--including members of my family--watching, cheering, imploring, etc.-ing--and I it hit me how completely ridiculous it all was. My opponent and I had both spent many hours preparing for this brief struggle, and at the end of it everything in the world would be the same. Nothing real would be gained or lost. And the spectators who were, in many instances, so passionate about the match . . . why? What did they care which one of us won or lost? It was as if we were all faking an orgasm, working ourselves up to an enthusiastic appearance because we thought that that was what was expected of us. Or maybe just because we knew that we needed to give a damn about something, and this was as good a thing as anything else.

And I really can't enjoy parades. All I think is, "You're just a bunch of people dressed up in silly costumes walking down the middle of the street." Or riding ridiculously small cars down the middle of the street. Or whatever. But it just makes no sense to me at all. It's not fun. It's just stupid.

I just don't give a damn.

And I'm still that way to a large extent. Even the things that I do care about--comic books, literature, music, movies--seem stupid and pointless to me at least some of the time. Just ways of passing the time. Penny a point, ain't no one keeping score.

And if that incapacity to really give a damn sits in the center of your being, its gravity will be felt in all aspects of life and thought. Maybe it's what separates success and failure, as is implied in the Vonnegut quote. Maybe it's impossible to be a success unless you are able to let go of your skepticism and embrace the world and the necessity of action.

I don't remember what happens to Paul Proteus in Player Piano, but I am pretty sure that things are not going to end well for him. And now that I'm thinking about it, I realize that Paul, like all (? maybe . . . if I do read all of Vonnegut in this run, I'll get back to you on this) of Vonnegut's main characters, spends most of his time wandering aimlessly. Kind of like an Odysseus who has no hearth and home to guide him. An Odysseus whose bed is not rooted in the ground, but is a portable cot.

Hmmm. 

I wish I could remember James Joyce's Ulysses better. Did Joyce's hero also wander aimlessly? Was that part of his inversion of Homer's hero's journey? I suspect that that must be the case.

Guess I'll have to re-read that one as well.

But here's the thing: as hard as it is to live without the capacity to really give a damn, I'm thinking that it might be a better way to live. I think that at some point that line intersects with "The unexamined life is not worth living." Because if you do give a damn, that means that you have embraced the world and accepted its dictates, its standards, its limitations. And I am pretty sure that the main reason that the world exists is so that we can overcome it.

Kurt Vonnegut was not a man who was completely given over to sadness. And he certainly did give a huge damn about his family and writing and other writers and social justice and allathat. (As do I, by the way.) So it's not like it's impossible to enjoy at least some parts of life while knowing that most (possibly even all) of life--even some of the parts that you really give a damn about--are bullshit. 

I guess this is why we need friends. When it comes down to it, aren't friends primarily people who care about the same stupid shit that we care about? I have noticed that the majority of my conversations with friends is centered on books, movies, and music. It's not that I (or they) don't care about other things . . . but a large part of our friendship is, indeed, centered on the BM&M, so we spend most of our conversational time there. And isn't it hard to deal with when you tell a friend about something that your really love and they respond that they thought it was just okay . . . or worse?

Now I'm thinking about what is, perhaps, the main difference between Jacqueline and Joe. Joe is very anxious to talk about things that he enjoys. He wants to meet you in this world and exchange commentaries on experiences . . . just like "normal" people, but with an autistic-y twist (which primarily manifests itself in repetition and monologue). Jacqueline doesn't really give a damn. When she talks to you, it's usually about what is going on in her head. It's "Hawks don't chase churches, do they?" rather than "We're going to see The Dark Tower, then Justice League, then Star Wars . . . . " And I hasten to point out that I find both of them delightful human beings, and very much want to spend every moment that I can hanging out with them. But Jacqueline doesn't really need the world very much. If you want to walk her road, then she might be okay with that, but if you don't want to . . . well, fuck off, then. 

I often wish that I were more like that.

Michael Moore on Trump's Military Transgender Ban

"I couldn't think of any more brave people to have defending this country than transgenders, because every day they've got to . . . I mean . . . . "

on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert

7/26/2017

Bad grammar and disrupted syntax / thought process aside, this is still a beautiful expression of support for transgender troops.

Here's to ya, Mr. Moore.

kurt vonnegut: ice-skating ballerina

I truly love Kurt Vonnegut. 1  So don't take it the wrong way when I say that when I think about his prose, I think more along the lines of sneakers in the dryer than an ice-skating ballerina. You know . . . there's a rhythm and an impact, for sure . . . but it's not what you'd call elegant. In fact, that's part of the charm, isn't it? It's just straight up. For instance, in Breakfast of Champions he describes a gun as "a tool whose only purpose was to make holes in human beings." The simplicity . . . the clunkiness of it . . . is what makes it resonate in my mind, what makes it kick against the pricks. 3  So this morning while I was reading Player Piano, and ran across this line--

"They stood on the turf of the golf course now, in a muffled world of blues and blacks under the frail light of a new moon."

--it kind 

of took me by surprise. I mean . . . that's  fuckin' poetry, man. That's . . . ice-skating ballerina. 

I'm also thinking that Under the Frail Light of a New Moon is the title of my next novel.

1  Not in a gay way. 2


2  Not that there's anything wrong with that.

3  It's not vulgar . . . it's a Biblical allusion, man. Look it up.

3 of 100 Lessons

"Everyone has some darkness inside. It's like a hungry creature. It wants and wants and wants with a terrible power. And the more you give it, the bigger and hungrier it gets."

Jeanne DuPraud

The City of Ember

2 of 100 Lessons

"The trouble with anger is, it gets hold of you. And then you aren't the master of yourself anymore. Anger is."

- Jeanne DuPrau

The City of Ember

1 of 100 Lessons

"The main thing is to pay attention. Pay close attention to everything, notice what no one else notices. Then you'll know what no one else knows, and that's always useful."

- Jeanne DuPrau

Old Post Newly Found

O. is watching Walker, Texas Ranger--and he is deep into his second hour. Every few minutes he shouts, "You will be a knuckle sandwich!" Every once in awhile he answers in another voice, "Knuckle sandwich, hunh?" And then every other once in a while he adds, "With mustard."

Ah . . . what would I do without this kid? The world is so much more beautiful when I view it by the candlelight of O.'s innocence.

Another Explanation for the Rise of the Trump Reich

I've read all of Kurt Vonnegut's books. And read all of them from Player Piano through to Galapagos twice. And read Breakfast of Champions, Slaughterhouse-Five, and Cat's Cradle a few more times. But I love him so . . . so I have been thinking about having another run at the whole Vonnegut Œuvre. In publication order, of course. So I picked up Book The First--Player Piano--yesterday and started nibbling at it.

And this morning I hit this bit on page 50:

"He took it as evidence that his money and name could beat the system any time and, paraphrased, he'd said as much. The hell of it was that his attitude won grudging admiration from his fellow engineers, who had got their jobs the hard way. Paul supposed, gloomily, that beaters of systems had always been admired by the conventional."

And that's really it, isn't it? Why the callused-handed guy (or gal) who has worked hard all of his (or her) life and has very little to show for it still defends Trump? Because he (or she) admires The Beater of Systems. 

There's a superb The Jam song entitled "Saturday's Kids" which proclaims, 

These are the creatures that time has forgot,
Not given a thought, 
It's the system,

Hate the system, 
What's the system?

Because, after all, anybody who has reached adulthood has been screwed by The System. It's pretty much what The System is for, isn't it? So when we see this guy who does not back off when The System rears its ugly face, who does not flinch when those metallic mandibles clash and spark . . . well, we see someone we think can stand up for us. And what he says doesn't really matter very much. In fact, what he does doesn't matter very much. He will beat The System that has beaten us.

And so . . . Heil Hitler. Heil Trump.

That's how it is on this bitch of an earth.

Of course, we could do something about that. If we want to.

(Futility, Lightning)

" . . . all is futility except our striving towards Being. "

Czesław Miłosz

Adios, Amigo

2 things I love: Isle of Jura Whiskey & The Kansas Bible Company.

#FakeNews

Just to be clear: anyone (coughdonaldtrumpcough) who refers to CNN, The New York Times, The Washington Post, etc. as FAKE NEWS is a complete fucking idiot. I'm talking about not enough brainpower to make a night light twitch. Okay? Okay.

So . . . I tuned in to CNN to see what they had to say about Sean Spicer's resignation.

Now, just to be clear: I am not a Sean Spicer fan. His ignorant statements, his nearly constant and largely unmotivated belligerence, his willingness to say incredibly stupid things to defend Trumpin . . . .  No, not a fan.

HOWever.

Not only did CNN feel the need to mark his resignation by playing a series of clips of his stupidest moments, they also played bits of Melissa McCarthy mocking Sean Spicer.

And just to be clear: I think Melissa McCarthy's portrayal of Sean Spicer is (was) hilarious.

But it's not news.

So CNN . . . for fuck's sake, children. Grow the fuck up.

And while I'm on this . . . 

Not long ago I saw a movie in which several CNN people showed up as themselves in the positions as newspeople. I don't even remember which movie, but it doesn't matter. Seeing a newsperson as themselves in a non-non-fiction movie is not a good thing. It contributes to the impression that they are just playing a part. That they are not reliable as purveyors of the truth. That they are, in fact, fake motherfuckers. 

So knock that shit off too.

You have been warned, CNN.

We've got a wolf in The White House, for fuck's sake. Let's not leave any raw meat lying about.

This Week's Comics 2017

1/4/17

Autumnlands #14 End of the second story arc and it looks like it will be a few months before this title comes back to the stands. I really like Benjamin Dewey's art, but the story doesn't do much for me. I am thinking about taking this one over to the Day Old Bread Comixology buy list, which would save me a buck per. And besides, the art always looks better on the Kindle, so if it's the art that's the main attraction ANYway . . . yeah. So it shall be written, so it shall be done.

Aquaman #14 What can I say, I am grooving on Aquaman again . . . and they're printing the thing every two weeks. And it was another satisfying Aqua-experience. I'm about ready to (1) put this on my holds list and (2) get my hands on issues 1 through 11. Either in trades or a sale if DC ever has one. (The Rebirth titles haven't gone down in price the way other DC issues always do.)  But, um . . . I also bought Aquaman Annual #3 from 1997, which was published under the Pulp Heroes banner and which was also written (at least in part) by Dan Abnett, so I pretty much had to do it, right? But turns out that after the superb Glen Orbik cover (a superb virgin copy of which you can see if you Google "glen orbik aquaman annual cover") there wasn't much there for me. The interior art was pretty bad--very cartoony, which I didn't think fit the bill here--and none of the stories were worth the time it took to read them.

The Fall and Rise of Captain Atom #1 I don't know why either. It just felt like it needed to be done. Besides, it was written by Cary Bates, who has literally (and by that I mean literally literally) been writing comics since I was a kid. And it was pretty ok, but I don't know if I need any more. Probably not. 

The Walking Dead #162 The end of The Whisperer War. And that double page spread on the penultimate page? Geez. This comic just keeps bringing it. And the letters pages continue to be a hoot. And next issue is going to be a full lengther for 25 cents. Seriously.

Speaking of my Comixology Day Old Bread Buy List, Eclipse #4 went to $1.99, so I picked that up. I still like this story. And the art works for me. And while I was there, I picked up Plastic Farm #24 and #25, which were (1) just 99 cents each and (2) the only issues I didn't have of this series . . . the vast majority of which I have in physical collection format. Still haven't read very many of them, though, and I don't know why . . . since I really enjoyed the issues that I did read. Something else to get on. Looks like this title may not longer exist, though. #25 came out April 8 2015, and writer / artist Rafer Roberts has been doing work for Valiant lately, so ahmo guess his Indie Days are either over with or few and far between now. Which is a shame, as Plastic Farm was pretty interesting, but hey, Shakespeare gots to get paid, man.



1/11/17


Action Comics #971 Another thin week in which this is the only paper comic book for me. But it was good. Dan Jurgens knows how to write Superman stories that are interesting, for sure.

Earth 2: Society #20 Picked this up because it's kind of embarrassing to just buy one comic book, you know? And besides, I am starting to feel a real Dan Abnett writer crush coming on, so I wanted to see what he was doing with this title. Came in at an unwieldy spot, as this was Part 4 of a story, but it was still pretty happening. Kind of wish that I had stayed with this title now, but it kind of went from great to shit for awhile there. Well, that's what trade paperbacks (and Comixology sales) are for.

And fortunately Comixology came through with two more (at $1.99 each, natch): Hadrian's Wall #4 and The Rift #1. Hadrian's Wall was really good . . . a big jump up from previous issues, both in writing and art. The art really reminded me of Bill Sienkiewicz quite a bit, and that's about as high as praise can get. Alas, there's going to be a double month break before issue #5, which I suppose means a three month wait for the Day Old Bread sale for me.

The Rift felt kind of familiar--World War II plane comes through a rift in the space time continuum and trouble ensues--but I enjoyed it quite a bit and might even go for another or two. The art was pretty good, especially the splash page (which you can see if you go to the Comixology preview).

Saw Seven to Eternity #4 on the stands and liked the look of it, so when I got home I ordered issue #1 from Comixology ($1.99). Liked it a lot. Very impressive artwork. So I bought #2 and #3.


1/18/17

Aquaman #15 Another interesting issue. It might be time to catch up on the early issues of this one. Dan Abnett rocks it.

Cave Carson Has a Cybernetic Eye #4 I'm officially tired of this book now, and am dropping it from my holds list. The art is wonderful, but the writing is not good--very chaotic and fragmented. It's like reading page after page of non sequiturs. 

Kamandi Challenge Special #1 On the one hand, this is just a reprint of Kamandi #32 . . . which cost 50 cents when it came out in August of 1975 . . . and this version is going to cost $7.99, which is an outrageous price for a comic book . . . but on the other hand, it's a brand new Kamandi comic book! Hot shit on a warm plate! UPDATE: And then the shit got hotter. DC went whole hog on this and added the previously unpublished (except in the nigh mythical Canceled Comics Cavalcade issues #1 and 2, of which 35 copies were "published") but completed Kamandi #60 and 61. 

Super Powers #3 I really enjoy this kiddie comic. Even when they tuck up the page order, as they did in this issue. But it's fun and not stupid. That's saying something these days.

They're Not Like Us #13 It's been a long time since this comic book came out. (Issue #12 came out almost a year ago--March 30 2016.) Excited to see it return, but ahmo have to do some re-reading to be able to follow the story. I do love the look of this book--from the "no cover" cover to the 22 pages of story, no ads, back cover, done. Actually 23 pages of story since the first panel of every issue is on "the cover.")

Walt Disney Comics and Stories #736 has a cover by Walt Kelly, so that might be worth looking at. But unfortunately that version was sold out by the time I got to the comic book store.


And on the Comixology front,  Kill Or Be Killed #5 just came out, so in three or four weeks that should go to the Day Old Bread price, and Motor Girl #3 just came out, which means that Motor Girl #2 has gone to DOB price, which means ahmo buy that rot now. And our survey says . . .

Motor Girl #2: another good issue. I've never been a big Terry Moore fan--though I tried Strangers in Paradise and Rachel Rising--but this book is up my ally, I think. Kind of wish it was in color, though, as there doesn't seem to be any reason for it not to be story-wise, but seeing as the first issue only sold 11,587 copies and the second issue only sold 8,819 copies (according to Comichron), maybe that's just not financially feasible. Which is a shame, as it is at very least a good story . . . with some very good artwork . . . and it's not just about people punching each other in the face.


1/25/17

Action Comics #972 Another solid story courtesy of Dan Jurgens. I really look forward to this book these days. How about going weekly, D.C.?  Oh, right. We HAVE been there before.

Doom Patrol #4 Gerard Way tries so hard to be weird, but he just isn't. Which is why his Doom Patrol doesn't work. He's also taken Grant Morrison's worst idea--Danny the Street--and made it central to this story. Enough for me. Good-bye, Young Animal.

Kamandi Challenge #1 What a disappointment this was. An inferior re-telling of Kirby's stuff, with added doses of stupidity and violating the original premises. Nothing could make me stop buying this book, but I'm seriously unhappy with this first issue. Even Dan Abnett's story sucked. And the Dan Dido one was awful. Sigh.

Serenity: No Power in the 'Verse #4 I love Firefly / Serenity . . . And will buy the rest of this series and whatever comes next, but this is some sub-par shit.
 Dark Horse could at least get a good artist for this book. Sheesh. 


Warhammer 40,000: Will of Iron #4  Was sold out. That will teach me to put things on my hold list, won't it?


2/1/17

Aquaman #16 More good Dan Abnett story-telling, yes sir.

Image +  #10 Is The Origin of Negan over yet? No, honey. Two more issues after this one. Then we're finished, right? Of course.

Previews #341

Super Powers #4

The Expanse Origins #1 Just saw this this morning. It's very exciting. A 4 issue Expanse series courtesy of Boom! Studios . . . which hasn't got a great track record with me, to be sure, and the sample pages on Comixology don't do anything to assure me of it, but here's hoping that they put together a nice package this time around.

The Silence #1 A local production. The art was kind of cool--reminded me of Jack Katz's The First Kingdom in a way . . . but, sorry to say, the writing was not good. High production values for a local job, though. I'd buy another issue if I saw it, but I probably won't go out of my way to find it.

The Spirit: Corpse Makers #1 A Francesco Francavilla Production--writing, pencilling, and inking. And I really love FF . . . but I didn't get around to reading this one until three weeks after I'd bought it. It was good. Great art--an interesting hybrid of Eisner and Francavilla. And the story was okay. I don't feel any great enthusiasm for the title, though, so I'm not sure if it has a future with me. Maybe another issue or so to figure that out.

The Walking Dead #163 Twenty-five cents for 28 pages of story. 

Wolverine vs. Hulk #1 I almost never buy anything roomMates these days . . . but it was only a dollar (do you sense a theme this week?) and it was a reprint of Incredible Hulk #181, which I used to own, so . . . . 

Vampirella #0 Well . . . it was only a quarter, you know? So I thought I'd have a look. 

Amazing High Adventure #1 - #5 for a mere $4.99 in the back issue bin.



2/8/17

Action Comics #973 Still working for me.

Earth 2: Society #21 Hmm . . . not really all that exciting. 

John Carter: The End #1 It's a Dynamite comic book, so I was hesitant to buy it for that reason alone . . . and Edgar Rice Burroughs's creations have not fared well in the comic books lately, so that made me even more hesitant . . . and the cover art looked shitty, which means that the interior art is going to be really shitty, so that made me even more even more hesitant . . . but Brian Wood had a hand in the writing, so I decided to give it a try. But I'm guessing Mr. Wood's hand was not firmly on the tiller, because this was not a good comic book. I'm definitely not up for a second issue at list price . . . and probably not even for the Day Old Bread price on Comixology, but we'll see how that goes.

And Comixology had a big old sale on Image titles, so I picked up Saga #37 - 40 for a mere 80 cents each (not a typo, not an imaginary purchase) . . . and I really enjoyed them. Every time I read Saga, I want more. And Khaal #1 had dropped a buck from print price, so I picked that up as well. It was interesting, at least, and the art was superb. I think I'll have another. On the cheap, of course.


2/15/17

Aquaman #17 Still good, but for the first time I thought, "Maybe I won't add this to my holds list." We'll see.

They're Not Like Us #14 I really like this book--the "no cover" layout, the art--but I'm more than a little confused by the story. Could be my fault, though. I really need to start over and see if I know what's going on here.

The Walking Dead #164 Wow, didn't this just come out a minute ago? But I am more than happy to have more. This continues to be an exciting book. It's almost always the first one I read. And the relationship between Rick and Negan continues to be fascinating. I wonder if the tv show will have the guts to move in this direction. Hard to imagine.

And a big surprise . . . Warhammer 40,000: Will of Iron #4 showed up on the stands. Only one copy left, too, so I picked it up. And . . . well, sometimes you just need to read about giant men in armor kicking the shit out of each other, but (other than the cover) the art is not great, and the story could be a lot better. Why the hell don't these people hire good artists, at least? They have some amazing art on the book covers. Come on, guys, spend a few bucks. Speaking of which . . . I thought this was the final issue, but there was an ad at the end of the book for issue #5. Apparently this is an ongoing series of mini-series. Same team, though, so I think I'll sit this one out.


2/22/17

Action Comics #974 Um . . . this is actually getting pretty exciting. Who is this human Clark Kent fellow? This actually rates as one of the best written comics that I'm reading these days. Dan Jurgens is kicking ass again, for sure. And this story continues in Superman #18, so guess what I'll be buying next week? Just like in those good old days when there was basically a weekly Superman comic book. Those were the days of the little triangle in the corner which told you which story installment you were reading. Anyway . . . the only possible bad thing there is that Jurgens doesn't write the Superman book, Patrick Gleason and Peter J. Tomasi. I don't know enough about them to be excited about that, but here's hoping.

Kamandi Challenge #2 Just reading this book was a challenge after that first shitty issue, but this one was a little better. For one thing, the art (and the cover in my variant edition) were by Neal Adams, and for once the color didn't look like it'd been poured on by Jackson Pollack. In other words, great art with the classical Neal Adams look. The story was by the previously mentioned Peter J. Tomasi, and it had a few nice twists--the best of which was the appearance of Metron's Möbius Chair. Didn't see that one coming. But as I said before, this is Kamandi, and I would keep buying it no matter what it looked like or what happened or failed to happen in it. It's just a hell of a lot more pleasant when it's a good issue. I do like this "exploring Jack Kirby's Map of Kamandi approach to story-telling, but the challenge aspect seems a bit lame. I'm guessing I'm not alone in that opinion, as I just looked to see and issue #1 only sold 23,576 copies  (114th "best seller" for January 2017) . . . and the Special issue only sold 5,722 copies. Those are not good numbers. 

Reich #1 A local-ish comic book. Apparently not new, though, as it bears a copyright date of 2007. Hmmm. It was interesting enough to make me think about getting the second issue. It was also only $3, which is rare for local books. Most of them are so expensive I don't even think about buying them.

Serenity: No Power in the 'Verse #5 This book is really just not worth the time or money. Sad. Maybe next mini-series I should switch to the Day Old Bread Comixology route. I mean, $24 for a half-assed story with kind of shitty art really isn't bang for the buck.

I'm really interested in Starstruck: Old Proldiers Never Die #1, but it's got a list price of $4.99 . . . and it's listed as being "33 pages" long. (?) On top of that, it advertises that "50%" of the story is new, which means that I already own 50% of this in my old Epic Comics comics. Think this is one for the Day Old Bread file. On the other hand, whilst looking for information on this title, I found that Comixology has a collection 359 pages which collects all 13 issues of the remastered series on sale for $13.99 ($21.99 list). That's a pretty good deal--$1.08 per issue . . . and I'm pretty sure I didn't get all 13 issues of the original series. So I might have to do that. Or . . . I just saw that this collection is also a part of Comixology Unlimited . . . which I have been thinking about for awhile. And they offer a 30 day free trial . . . . It could happen. News at eleven. 11:00: The Great Escape had two copies left. I bought one of them. Hey, it was 15% off since I'm a holds customer.

And on the Comixology front . . .
Saga #42 just went to $1.99, and I decided I needed to have it, and I got it, read it immediately, and have henceforth resolved to buy this title monthly. It's just too good to wait for the collections every six months. I am going to try to wait for the Day Old Bread price, since a buck off does make a difference, but I already know that it's going to be hard. Man, this is such a good comic book.

I also saw two things that I want but probably won't buy (unless there's some super de dooper sale):
Adventure Time Comics Vol. 1, which has a very cool cover--yet another riff on Action Comics #1, which is a big reason why I want it, of course, and Spidey Vol. 1: First Day. I have read about how great this Spider-Man title is, and I would like to read it . . . really wanted the Marvel Treasury Edition version when it came out . . . but the interior art is just such shit, you know? Maybe the LFPL will help me out on this one.



3/1/17

Aquaman #18 Sorry to say it, but this was just meh. And I was just about to put this on my holds list. But I think the aqua-dream is over. Maybe one more issue just to be surprised.

Image+ #11 So . . . I was thinking that this was the penultimate issue featuring "Here's Negan"--wasn't this promoted as a 12 part story?--but either I misunderstood or plans have changed. I just saw an ad in Previews for issue #14 which not only announced another chapter of the story, but also referred to it as "ongoing." And I'm really only buying this for the Negan story. And $2 for four pages of comic book is way too steep. Besides which, I have to ask if this story has even been worth it. After 44 pages, nothing much has really happened. It's hard to break the ocd comic book nerd syndrome, but it might be time to do that. I love Image Comics, but I don't need Image +.

Previews #342

Royal City #1 Man, wtf is up with these $4.99 comic books? But at least it's Image, and they seem to go out of their way to give your buck a big bang. This comic, for instance, has 46 story pages. And it's Jeff Lemire, so I'd have paid the price for half of the pages.

Super Powers #5

Superman #18 This is first issue of the four part "crossover" with Action Comics. And I have to say . . . this was a truly excellent comic book. Even though I didn't care for the art. But man, the story . . . . If you've ever thought that Suprman was boring, you should check this issue out. Ill bet you'll want to read Part 2. Had to buy this one on Comixology, as there were no copies left at The Great Escape.

The Walking Dead #165 That last image . . . oh my God. Seriously? Next issue can't come too soon.

Motor Girl #3 on Comixology? Yep, and all in black and white for $1.99, and it was good. Even gooder than the first two issues, which were pretty good. With this one, though, we got a glimpse of some deeper waters, which made the story much more interesting. This is mos definitely on the buy list.

Also . . . DC is having a Superman Reborn Sale, advertising "up to 70% off," and when I saw the contents (8 comics! Superman #50 - 51, Batman and Superman #31 - 32, Action Comics #51 - 52, Superman and Wonder Woman #28 - 29), the preview (beautiful art and an intriguing story which promises to fill in some of the blanks I've encountered because I didn't pick up on the new Superman stuff until Action Comics #957) and the price ($5.99--for a comic that lists at $19.99), and for a per comic book price of 75 cents) . . . well, hallelujah, I'm there. 



3/8/17

 Action Comics #975 Big "anniversary" issue, which included a second story written by Paul Dini. The front story (by Jurgens) had the big reveal for the Clark Kent storyline, and I wasn't all that happy about it.  A bit anticlimactic for moi. The Dini story was okay, but didn't seem very Dini-ish. So yeah, a disappointing issue.

Green Arrow #18  I bought this for two reasons: (1) I thought that the signature on the variant cover was "Neal Adams" (and it did look Neal Adams-y, as did the art style) and (2) it was in a plastic bag and I wanted to know why. Turns out the cover was by Mike Grell, so i wasn't disappointed at all, and next issues variant will be by Neal Adams, so I'll have to check that out. The story was pretty good. It's a DAP riff, but Queen Industries as the heavy, so there's that. All this and Roy Harper, too. Not bad at all. And it was bagged because there was a free issue of Into the Badlands #1, which was actually kind of interesting. The art was mostly black and white with occasional splashes of color, mostly red. And 24 story pages (plus 4 pages of character bios, no ads. Pretty coo, actually.


John Carter: The End #2 came out this week, but I wasn't even tempted. In fact, I'm wondering why the hell Brian Wood put his name on this awful comic book. So few words . . . A and such bad art. If you have to have it, Comixology's price on #1  dropped to $1.99 when #2 came out. But it's not worth that, either.

I was kind of interested in Man-Thing #1 (of 5)--especially the version with the Francesco Francavilla Variant Cover--as it is written by R. L. Stine. But I glanced through it and moved on. And Back Issue #95 has an interview with Bill Sienkiewicz which probably won't get me to part with $8.95, but maybe I'll see how expensive the digital version is. Speaking of Bill Sienkiewicz, he seems to be popping up a lot lately. Just covers, but still, it's always good to see his stuff. Styles vary so wildly that it's difficult (and probably stupid) to say that so and so is my favorite, but . . . I think Bill Sienkiewicz is my favorite comic book artist.

I also picked up a set of the 1990 mini-series Atlantis--mostly for the lovely Esteban Marato artwork. Man, that guy can DRAW.


3/15/17

Aquaman #19 Looked at this on the stands pretty thoroughly, and it just looked like another stupid comic book. Not the story I was so taken with just a month or two ago at all. The villain in this piece was named Dead Water. For Pete's sake. I'm out.

Mirror #6 @ $3.99 and old issues are now $1.99 on Comixology, so this one is going to the Comixology Day Old Bread list.

Superman #19 Comixology won't save me a dime on this one, but I want to read it NOW, so I'm going to buy it from them. And . . . well. I really do not like Patrick Gleason's art. It reminds me of bad manga art . . . very jagged, very cartoony. Big eyes. Not my cup of tea, for sure. Peter Tomasi's writing was pretty good, though. At least as good as you can expect with a Mr. Mxyzptlk story. (Why did they think that would be a good idea?) This crossover (with Action Comics) series ends next week in Action Comics #976, and I'm pretty sure I won't be reading any more Superman issues for quite awhile.

Warhammer 40,000: Revelations #1 (of 4) Comixology collection of previous mini-series, "Will of Iron," lists at $11.99 (original cover price $15.96), and single issues go down a dollar when the new one goes on, so I'm going to go Comixology Day Old Bread on this one, too. I was happy to see that this issue was actually listed as Warhammer 40,000 #5, though. Have they ever had an ongoing title before? Not that I've seen. Now if only they'd get a good artist . . . .

Kill or Be Killed #7 is out, so #6 is $1.99. I'm on it. AND . . . it was good. No demons at all, either. The art continues to have bloated head moments, but there are other times when it is just startlingly beautiful. Especially street scenes. Also, is it my imagination or is Sean Phillips using a new technique . . . makes some of his lines look more like pencil, and it really adds to the art. The back of the book text feature had so many errors that I wrote to Ed Brubaker and offered to proofread it for him for free for future issues. Doubt that he'll take me up on it, but figured it was worth a shot. I hate to see a writer whose work I admire look shoddy. More news as it happens.

AS IT HAPPENS: Well . . . got a response. He attributed all of the errors I pointed out to stylistic differences rather than grammatical errors. So he either misunderstood what I was saying or doesn't see the errors himself. Which makes me sad. Kind of makes me less interested in his work, too, which is a shame, but there it is.

Starstruck: Old Proldiers Never Die #2 was out today . . . still $4.99 for 20 story pages . . . and I passed it by. And btw, issue 31 stayed at $4.99 on Comixology, so I don't expect to see any "relief" on that front. I've also not yet finished reading the original run of Starstruck that's up on Comixology, and it was the first thing I borrowed under my Free Trial . . . so maybe this isn't a series for me.

I also saw that Amazing Spider-Man #25 went on the stands today . . . and it lists for 9.99! Holy shit. Nice cover and 75 pages (maybe . . . I don't trust these page counts at all, especially not from Marvel), but no way in hell is this thing worth $10. Sheesh. Make Mine DC.



3/22/17


Action Comics #976 I'm not thrilled about the shitty Patrick Gleason cover I saw for this on Comixology, but hopefully a variant will be available. Hate to say it, but I'm actually not all that thrilled about this issue. But afterwards . . . I managed to get the slightly less shitty Gary Frank cover. The story was a little better than the previous issue, and it looks like there's a bigger story behind the Mr. Mxyzptlk shenanigans. But the best news is . . . only 24 issues (12 months) until #1000!

Iron Fist #1 Why is there another Iron Fist #1? Well, obviously because of the tv show, but jeeze, didn't they just restart this thing a minute ago? But I have to admit that one look at the cover and I was interested. Very nice artwork. Might have to go for this. Even though it's a MARvel. Nope, couldn't do it. Iron Fist working in a fight club? I don't think so.

Will Eisner's The Spirit: The Corpse-Makers #2 Is out, and as much as I love Francesco Francavilla, I'm not going to be plucking this one off of the stands. I might read it when it goes on sale on Comixology. Or I might wait for the collected edition on Comixology. Or I might wait to see if the library gets it. But it's just not an urgent thing, y'know?



3/29/17

Image+ #12

Kamandi Challenge #3 (Of 12) Mmm. Another less than stellar issue. And it didn't even have Neal Adams art to make the writing tolerable. DC is fucking up this Kamandi Re-do. Sigh. And I don't think I'm the only one who's disappointed. Issue #2 only sold 16,650 copies according to Comichron. (And #1 wasn't exactly a blockbuster, either, with a mere 23,576 copies sold.) What a shame.

Previews #343

Serenity No Power In The 'Verse #6 (Of 6) Have to admit that I'm kind of glad that this is over. My loyalty to the Firefly gang demands that I buy every issue, but maybe I'll go to Comixology next time.  $1.99 a pop wouldn't be nearly as painful as $3.99 a pop. (Wow, that'd be $11.94 for the series instead of $23.94 for the whole shebang. That's mos def the way to go.)

I also bought a bunch of stuffs from Comixology. Mostly Antarctic titles: Steam Wars: Princess Legends #1, Steam Wars: First Empire #1, Steam League #1, Airship Enterprise #1 - 3, and Cadmus #1, the last of which I liked the art on so much that I also bought Songs for the Dead #1 (by the same artist, but from Necromancer Comics). And then there was a super-despite-Cooper sale on Ghost in the Shell--all three volumes for $20--so I got that. And Little Orphan Annie by Ted Slampyak Volume 2. Enjoyed all of them. Still working on Ghost, though--it's over 800 pages long. And I was most impressed by the Antarctic books. Might go back and have another taste in the near near.


4/5/17

Providence #12 Ah, at last. Been a long time since we danced in the moonlight. And it was worth the wait, but (1) I have only a slight idea as to what happened here and (2) ahmo have to go back to the first book and have another go at this thing--preferably in a Big Gulp.

They're Not Like Us #15 I was very excited to see the return of this series, but apparently I should not have been so unrestrained: it all ends in just a couple of months (June 28 2017) with issue #18. Man, me liking a series really is the kiss of death, isn't it? Anyway . . . it was good. Loved the art. Don't want it to end.

The Walking Dead #166 Oh my my. Can you boogie, can you slide? This comic book really just continues to kick ass. It is my go-to first read comic book.

Motor Girl #5 is coming out, which means that #4 will go to $1.99 on Comixology soon, and I'm looking forward to that.  Speaking of which, Starstruck Old Proldiers Never Die #3 (Of 6) coming out probably means that #2 of that series will go to $1.99 . . . #1 did . . . but you know, I don't know if I even care. I never finished reading the original run when I did my free Comixology Unlimited trial, and I still haven't read the first issue of this mini-series. I guess I wanted to be into it more than I actually was into it.

But while I was doing my Comixology buy, I picked up Steam Wars: First Empire #2 and #3 (a mere 99¢ each).



4/12/17

Action Comics #977 Oh, man, did we really need another re-telling of The Origin of Superman? It's not that it was bad, it's just that they keep telling the same fucking story. Come on, #1000.

Super Powers #6 The last issue of this series, alas. I have really come to love Franco Aureliani and Art Baltazar. At least there's Baltazar's Revolution: Aw Yeah! which just kicked off its four issue run. Meanwhile, back at Super Powers . . .

And on the Comixology front . . . . Big sale. 30% off when you order over $15's worth of comics (until April 20th, 2017, 11:59 PM). So I got to do some clean up. And get a few things I was probably not going to get otherwise but really wanted. E.g. . . .

Donald and Mickey: The Walt Disney's Comics and Stories 75th Anniversary Collection
$1.99, marked down from $6.99 . . . and it's 138 pages of goods. And it includes work by Carl Barks and Walt Kelly. Yep.

Eclipse #5 It's been a long time since issue #4. December 7, 2016, to be exact. Was it worth the wait? Well, yeah. Kind of. I need comic books to come out more regularly so I can keep up with them, though. Biweekly is nice. (Thanks, DC.)

Hyperion #1 I don't know why I wanted to read this comic book, as (1) it's a Marvel book and (2) I have no previous affinity for this character. But something about it attracted me, and since the SALE put the price down to $1.39 for this issue, the time was right. And it was a pretty good read. I didn't like the villain part--yet another stupid Crazy Circus group. Hyperion himself was interesting, though. I'd like to read at least a little bit more, but not enough to pay for it. LFPL?

Injustice 2  #1 $0.99 The return of Tom Taylor. I couldn't even wait for the print version, and I'm glad that I didn't. This was too short, of course, but it was good. Really good. It made me remember why I loved this title so much when I first started reading it. In addition to everything else (excitement, surprise, etc.), there were actually some good laughs in this chapter. Ah, Tom Taylor. You the man, man.

Mirror #6 Another book I've missed (last issue came out July 13 2016 . . . oh, wow, that's a really long break). I'd previously bought this in the print version, but it went to $3.99, and the art is so pretty that I wanted to see it in the Kindle format anyway (since that always enhances the artwork IMHO). As usual, the story is a bit shit, but the art is so beautiful and the page design is so cool that I don't even care about that.

Whilst perusing titles to fill up my basket to most thoroughly maximize this April Sale, I happened upon a thing called Poetry Comix. Which usually goes for 99¢ per, but on sale they were a mere 69¢ each. The art is not the best, but the poetry includes work by William Blake, Edgar Allan Poe, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Christina Rossetti, Kabir, Anne Bradstreet, William Shakespeare, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Alexander Pope, Emily Dickinson, Lewis Carroll, Phillis Wheatley, W.B. Yeats, Alfred, Lord Tennyson, and Oscar Wilde, Celia Thaxter, Joshua Henry Jones Jr., Walt Whitman, Sir John Suckling, Kabir, Emma Lazarus, Chief Joseph, Elinor Wylie, William Collins, Meera Bai, Anne Locke, Li Bai, Lord Byron,  T.S. Eliot. And the one shot issue contains "Goblin Market" by Christina Georgina Rossetti. So I bought issues #1 - #4 and the One Shot. And?

Speaking of Revolution: Aw Yeah! #1, I almost bought this on the stands for $3.99, but since I knew that it would go to $1.99 on Comixology if I waited, I waited. But the sale took it to $2.79 without any further waiting, so I threw down. And? Even better than the Super Powers mini-series. For one thing, it's just so weird! Baron Karza travels to different universes to collect various heroes--like Rom, Snake Eyes, etc. Quite the larf.

Warhammer 40,000: Revelations #5 Much as I like my giant robotic warriors sagas, I was no longer willing to pay $3.99 per for the print issues of the Warhammer books. But $2.99 . . . and marked down to $2.09 with the sale . . . I am there.

Over The Garden Wall (2015) I've just recently fallen in love with the mini-series Cartoon Network put out a few years back, so I decided to go for this package, which includes the four issue comic book run plus a one shot . . . and is written by series creator Pat McHale. $6.99 sale price, 145 pages.

Also very interested in / tempted by Captain America Masterworks Vol. 9, which collects Captain America (1968) #176-192 and material from Foom (1973) #8, which lists for $16.99, which is quite high for me, but it is 343 pages of Primo Cap, and it lists for $75 in hardcover ($51.99 on Amazon), so it's actually quite a good deal, but . . . HOLY FUCK! I just flipped over to Amazon to check on the list price and the Amazon price, and happened to see this little bit of honey-sweet heaven: Kindle Price: $8.50. That's the price of two Marvel comics, man . . . for 343 pages of (big breath) Steve Englehart, Tony Isabella, Bill Mantlo, John Warner, Marv Wolfman, Sal Buscema, Frank Robbins, Herb Trimpe, and even a little bit of Gil Kane, too.

4/19/17

Batman #21 Uh-huh. Back to the Batcave . . . and that blood flecked smiley face button embedded in the cave wall. Oh, yeah. Originally intended to go for the lenticular cover, but The Great Escape didn't have any, so I went for the regular cover version. The book? Not nearly as exciting as I was hoping that it would be for such a noteworthy story. I'll still read parts 2 - 4 (unless it really goes off the rails), but I'm not burning inside for it.

Royal City #2 I'm enjoying this book. It seems more in line with the Jeff Lemire I first knew and loved. (I mean, he really did some SHIT work there when he broke into the mainstream, and I think he's still doing a bit of that--though, having been burned before, I've stayed away from his Marvel/DC/Valiant work ever since.) But I have to admit that Royal City hasn't really pulled me in yet. Nice art, though.


On the Comixology front:
Steam Wars First Empire #4, $3.99--but I'll wait for that price to go down. I'm also at least a little bit interested in the Edgar Rice Burroughs mash-up Greatest Adventure #1, but not at $3.99. Maybe not even at $1.99, as the art (courtesy of Dynamite Entertainment) looks a bit shit, but Bill Willingham wrote it, so it's probably worth $1.99. (But why can't Dynamite hire some decent artists, for the love of Mike?) But the real excitement was to be found in Injustice 2 #2. Oh, man, this comic book just keeps kicking ass. Courtesy of Tom Taylor. Please, Tom, don't ever go away again. You take the magic with you when you go. (Little Tom Taylor joke for you there, Unwritten fans.)



4/26/17

Action #978 A little bit interesting, but mostly another issue of recaps. Time to pick up the pace, Dan Jurgens. Let's get to that little voice in the Fortress.

Black Monday Murders #5 Thassright, BMM just became one of the few books on which I not only switched from e-comic to paper, but also went for a full price version after getting previous issues at cut rate prices. Cause it's that good, and I didn't feel like waiting, and if I'm going to pay full price for a comic book I feel that I should be able to turn the pages. Also because my buy list was getting pretty short, and I wanted to throw some money back The Great Escape's way. Totally worth it, btw.

Flash #21 Sigh. Let's go DC. You're blowing it, dudes. Although this was slightly better than Part One in Batman #21. Terrible art, though.

The Kamandi Challenge #4 Oh, man, I wish that I could say that I was looking forward to this title, but the truth is that it's just my comic book nerd fetishistic personality that keeps me coming back to plunk down my $3.99 for this tired ass piece of crap. At least this one has an alternate cover by the lovely Mr. Paul Pope, of whom I don't see nearly enough these days. (Though he does also have another DC cover this month . . . though I can't remember which title it's for, alas. Oh, wait a minute, it wasn't a DC title. It's IDW's Micronauts: Wrath of Karza #1. Don't think I'll be buying that (though I do have a complete run of the first volume of Micronauts, mmm-hmmm. And the second run, too, I believe. And the reprint deluxe series. And . . . a few more here and theres. But when I tried to come on board with the new IDW run I couldn't take it. The writing was just shit.) But this issue of The Kamandi Challenge was just Fucking Awful. I know these guys mean well . . but why can't they tell a better story?

What's that you say? Comixology? Why, yes, as a matter of fact. Of course I bought Injustice 2 #3 the minute it came out (Tuesday), and it was super de dooper. But there are a few other titles I'm thinking about: Airship Enterprise #4, which has gone to 99¢, Antarctic Press's Alexander Hamilton #1, which is by Rod Espinosa, and a lovely little foreign series (translated into English, thankfully), Wunderwaffen, which is an alternate history of World War II thing and looks pretty happening. There are nine "volumes" up on Comixology right now,  each one for $1.99 (regular price $5.99), and each issue around 49 pages long, and the art is pretty amazing. Reminds me of the great cover art on many of the Antarctic titles. And Will Eisner's The Spirit: The Corpse-Makers #2 is down to $1.99, so I might go for that . . . though I have to say that the coloring on this book is just fucking terrible. (Note to Francesco Francavilla: You draw like a motherfucker on adderall, man, and your writing is okay by me, but you should really consider hiring Joëlle Jones to do your colors, man.) And? Well, first let me say this: 81 panels. You know, you get more than half of that in Injustice 2 every week for a buck, and it is top notch stuff . . . so much better than this Spirit that it makes my left ball ache. I do love Francavilla's art, but the story is pretty ho-hum, and, as previously noted, the color is just terrible. I think I've had enough of this one.


5/3/17

First up, of course, my Tuesday purchase: Injustice 2 #4. Still lovin' it. Can't even tell you how much I love this book . . . because I already did. It's great. If you're not reading it, invest 99¢ in the first issue and see if you can resist buying the next three. Peace out.

And in the store:

Batman #22 Well, just one more issue. Maybe something cool will happen. Doubt it, though. So far it's just been three issues of let's have Batman and Flash run around and be confused. Come ON, DC, this is supposed to be the foundation stone for the whole Rebirth thang. You're just holding your trump cards for the finale, right?

Black Bolt #1 I really like Black Bolt. Always have. And Marvel doesn't always lower the price on its e-comics. So . . . I picked it up at The Great Escape. And I really liked this book. The story was a bit murky and repetitive, but I would be interested in reading more of this. I'd never heard of the writer, Saladin Ahmed, and a little Googling about seems to indicate that this is his first work in comics, but that he is a novelist, short story writer, and poet, which is pretty fuckin' cool.

Pestilence #1 This is another $3.99 book, but it looks really interesting. And it's from AfterShock Comics, who seem to be putting out some pretty good stuff. (I haven't read too many of their titles, though, because (1) they're $3.99 apiece and (2) the coloring is kind of shitty throughout the line so far as I've seen. But what a concept we have here: this story proposes that the Black Death was actually a Middle Ages Zombie Apocalypse. I didn't like this book much, though. The interior art was really bad, and the story wasn't enough to get me to come back for more. Good concept, though. Bye bye.

Swordquest #0 Well, it was only 25¢. (Or free on Comixology.) I wouldn't have picked this up if not for the cheapness factor. For one thing, it's a Dynamite Entertainment production, and Dynamite pretty much sucks ass. They get some good covers and even some good writers, but the interior artwork on their books is pretty much consistently awful. And as for this Swordquest . . . really  bad artwork, extremely bad writing . . . even the story was unbearably stupid. How on earth does this company survive?

The Walking Dead #167 Stunning book. And 44 story pages for $2.99? Image Comics kicks so much ass it's just stunning. It's definitely The Best comic book company going these days. Variety, value, and quality. It's all right here at Image, brahs and tahs.


In other news, the first collection of Terry Moore's Motor Girl (Vol. 1: Real Life) is out--$15.99 from Comixology, and apparently not yet available anywhere else. It collects issues #1-5, which puts the per issue cost at $3.20, which is kind of a rip-off. The page count is listed at 131, though, and  my count for the regular issues is 116, so there must be some extras included, but I've found that the extra stuff in collections is rarely better than slightly interesting, so I don't see how the price for the collection makes any sense--as you can buy issues 1 through 4 for $1.99 each right now--#5 is still at $3.99--so if you buy the individual issues from Comixology, you pay only $11.95 . . . and no doubt #5 will go to $1.99, so that would put it at $9.95 for the whole kit and caboodle. This is a really excellent book and definitely worth reading, but the marketing people need to get a fucking clue, man.



5/10/17

Action Comics #979

Bug The Adventures Of Forager #1 (Of 6) I was thinking about giving this book a shot anyway, since it is yet another attempt by DC to get a Jack Kirby character right, but when I saw this annotation--(Cover C Paul Pope)--it mos def hit the buy list. Assuming I can find one on the stands. But I'm thinking that won't be much of a problem, since there is no doubt that this book will not sell. No Doubt. Alas, because as it turns out, it was a very interesting book. I'll buy more. I'm guessing it won't make it past issue #5, though.

A.D. After Death #3 (Of 3) Jeeze, took 'em long enough to get this one out.



From Comixology, I picked up

Hadrian's Wall #5, which was superb, best issue yet. The art continues to remind me of Sienkiewicz, which is a Big Compliment, and the story this time out was really good. What a shame that this book is only an 8 issue series. But I'll betcha it'll be back in the near near.

Injustice 2 #5, which was so so good I can't even talk about it.

Also Madwoman of the Sacred Heart Volumes 1, 2 and 3 . . . on sale for $1.99 a pop (regular price $5.99 each), which is a Moebius / Alexandro Jodorowsky thang.



5/17/17

Flash #22 The last "The Button" episode. And . . . well, it DID have a cool cover. Other than that, I'm just glad that this is over. What a complete waste of time this little arc was. Batman and Flash run around for four issues, then end up back where they started. Sheesh. Could have done that in a page, maybe two at the most.

Royal City #3 Holy shit, I actually forgot to pick this one up! That might not be a good sign.

Eclipse #7 is out, so you know what that means . . . and apparently a second Warhammer comic book, Warhammer 40000 Dawn Of War III #1 (Of 4) . . . both of which I'll be looking for on Comixology once the price drops. But you know . . . I still haven't read the Warhammer book I bought on Comixology a few weeks back.

Speaking of Comixology . . . big Image sale, so I made a big purchase:

Seven To Eternity #5 $1.99   $0.60
Eclipse #6 $1.99   $0.60
Mirror #7 $1.99   $0.60
Come Back to Me Again --not an Image title (published by Europe Comics), but on sale $10.99   $4.98 and quite interesting looking, as was
Noir $11.99   $4.98
The One Trick Rip-Off + Deep Cuts Almost bought this several times previously, but it had a big 
price tag ($15.99). But the Image sale put it at  $4.80, so that had to happen.
Rock Candy Mountain #1 Almost picked this up at The Great Escape as it looked interesting, and
there was a text piece that looked really interesting. But it was 1 $3.99 comic, and you know how I
feel about those (at least as a general rule). Intended to buy it when it went to $1.99 on Comixology
but kind of forgot about it, but that's okay, as now it's a mere $0.60.


5/24/17

Action Comics #980 Kind of starting to get interesting again, but I really hate it when villains say shit like, "Call me Cyborg Superman!" I mean, for fuck's sake.

Kamandi Challenge #5 Oh, man, I am SO ready for this bullshit comic book to end. Of course my loyalty (obsession) with this character demands that I buy this book to the bitter end, but it's already pretty fucking bitter, so I can't imagine what it's going to be like by the time we hit issue #12. The art is okay, but the story . . . and by Bill Willingham, for fuck's sake . . . is just so painfully stupid. This issue is primarily dedicated to Kamandi falling from great heights, for instance. He spends quite a few panels falling. Fuuuuuuck.

5/31/17

Hmmm. Unless I'm missing something, it looks like this is going to be a very light week at The Great Escape. Some good titles are coming out--

Injustice 2 #8 Nice change of pace issue. Light hearted, poignant, and actually funny. Tom Taylor is the shit, man.

Motor Girl #6 Which means that #5 went to $1.99, so yes, I'm going to eat it. And? Good stuff. I really like this book. Plus there was a Bowie allusion this time out: ""I know how this works, I saw the Bowie movie--come for the water, stay for the girls, right?" Good times.

Hadrian's Wall #7 The penultimate issue, alas. 'cause it's good.

Image + #14 My last issue, I think. This is supposed to contain the final installment of the Negan story, and that's really all that I'm in it for. Who knows, though. Maybe next issue will have something equally cool that I'll have to have. Oh, wait a minute. I just read a thing that said this title is going back to free with Previews. So never mind.

Previews #344

Saga #43 It's been awhile since the last issue of this one came out. And I was really groovin' hard on the series. So I might have to switch this one over to the print list. We'll see.

--but Previews and Image + are the only ones I've been buying in print.



6/7/17

Injustice 2 #9, of course. Hands down the most exciting comic book going. Also the most poignant. And also the funniest. Tom Taylor is The Fuckin' Man, man.

Magnus #1 Well dip me in batter, roll me in shit flakes, and call me a turd . . . Dynamite actually put out a good comic book. Picked this up just because (1) it was a light week and (2) I have a soft spot in my head for those old Gold Key characters, so I usually feel the need to at least take a pick at any new iterations. This Magnus has a lot more to do with William Gibson cyberpunk than the old Conan 2099 kind of bullshit we've seen in the past. And hey--Magnus is a woman, too. Matter of fact, I liked this book so much that I may even take a look at the other Gold Key characters Dynamite is playing with these days. (Which I did last time they went through this, but I faded out just a little bit before they did.) Speaking of, I just took a gander and it looks like Magnus has been through five different companies: (1) Gold Key, (2) Valiant, (3) Acclaim, (4) Dark Horse, (5) Dynamite. And this second round at Dynamite is not even connected to its previous Magnus run in any way. Interesting. Verrrrrry interesting.

The Unsound #1

The Walking Dead #168 Another most fabulous, fantastic, moving, REAL issue. And Negan fans     . . . oh, man, I hope you're on board here.

Black Bolt #2 came out this week and I thought about it . . . picked it up and had a look and a little read of it . . . and put it back. It's just more Marvel shit, so far as I can see. Don't need it. Not at $3.99 per, anyway.

And I was interested in Jazz Maynard #1, but figured it would hit $1.99 at Comixology in a few weeks, so I'd wait for it. For one thing, the color was pretty much just shit brown throughout, so I couldn't see my way clear to putting the $3.99 down for that. But it looks cool, kind of Jose Muñoz-ish, which is always a good thing.



6/14/17

Action Comics #981
Bug : The Adventures of Forager #2
Sovereigns #2 is out, so maybe I'll take a look at #1 on Comixology if the price drops. Kind of want more of the Gold Key thang after enjoying Magnus so much.

Also looking interesting: Kill the Minotaur #1



6/21/17

Black Monday Murders #6

Eclipse #8 is out, so check Comixology for #7. Did I ever read #6?
Royal City #4

I see that King-Cat Comix And Stories #77 is out this week . . . at the steepish price of $5.00, but I will have to at least take a look at that.

Comixology front: Injustice, of course, but also Nancy Drew and The Hardy Boys: The Big Lie.




6/28/17

Action Comics #982 I'm starting to weaken, DC. Get it going again, for fuck's sake. I don't know if I can hold on after #1000 unless they ramp this back up again.

Detective Comics #959 Kind of interesting. I may stick around for another issue or two. Pretty sure I'll have to bow out and then come back for #1000, though--can't imagine reading another 41 issues of this straight through.

Kamandi Challenge #6 Every time I think this comic book can't get any worse, it gets worse. Six more issues to go. Sigh. It could have been so beautiful, DC. But you decided that bukake was superior to making love to Jack Kirby's beautiful ideas. For shame.

Previews #345 Some exciting shit this way comes.

Saga #44 Yep, I finally put this title on the buy the print version of this one when it comes out list. It's so good. What took me so long to get around to this? Dunno. But I'm there now.

I also picked up Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma Vol. 1, which was (1) on sale for $4.99 and (2) really good. So good that I picked up Food Wars!: Shokugeki no Soma Vol. 2, which was also on sale for $4.99, but unfortunately (1) there are 23 more volumes of this book, (2) the sale is over, so the rest of the collections are $6.99 each, and (3) apparently the last five volumes have not even been published in English yet, which kind of deters my inclination to get obsessive. But it is a most excellent book, and certainly shows me what COULD be done with American comics if anybody had the balls to do something that didn't feature two guys punching each other in the face.



7/5/17

Looking to be a light week, but . . .

Oh, man, just saw that Beanworld Volume 4: Hoka Hoka Burb'l Burb'l is coming out in hardcover July 18, 2017. All new Bean Material! It's been a long time since we did that stroll.

The Walking Dead #169 Which was really good, as usual.

I also picked up Aquaman #25. Yeah, I thought I was through with this one, too. But then I saw that Stjepan Sejic was doing the art on this book, and he is just so fucking amazing that I had to have a look. And you know, this issue was more like the ones that I liked than like the ones that made me stop buying this title, so maybe I'll stick around for a bit.

And Marvel's latest True Believers title was (yet another) reprint of Amazing Fantasy #15, which I mos def didn't need, but it filled out the book with a reprint of Spidey #6, so I went for it. Still trying to figure out why people have been praising Spidey so highly. Read it. Still don't understand the praise. Seems like a pretty pedestrian Spider-Man book to me. Probably worth a buck, though.

And oh yeah, I felt compelled to pick up Sacred Creatures #1 because (1) Klaus Janson had a hand in it, and Klaus is super-cool, and (2) it was 68 story pages long for $4.99--and not those bullshit one page is one panel pages, either. Oh, also (3) in the last panel there's a dead naked angel lying on someone's living room floor. So you know. You've gotta support THAT.

And of course there's Injustice 2 #13, which was, you guessed it, FAB.



7/12/17

Action Comics #983 Getting interesting again. Blind Superman, for one thing.

Bug #3 I'm not a big Michael Allred fan, but this title is working for me despite his awkward art. The writing is just exactly what Doom Patrol needs--sincerely odd without being "look at me, see how whacky I am?" (You know, like girls with purple hair or Gerard Way's writing.) And I think that is the perfect texture for Bug. Here's hoping that DC has finally found a way to make a viable Jack Kirby comic book.

Detective Comics #960 Hadn't really meant to stick around on this title, but it's kind of interesting. Not really like Batman books I've read in the past. The Group thing, for one. This issue also had a really kick ass cover which I would have thought was Bill Sienkiewicz, Rafael Albuquerque. Hmpf. Never really liked his kind of loopy art style before, but he did a brilliant (and blue) cover on this issue. Variant cover, I guess, actually.

And from Comixology

Beanworld Volume 4--162 GLORious NEW pages of Beanworld action and adventure. Oh, man. It's been a very long time since I did me some Beanworld.

Injustice #15 Still rocking in the free world. Wish there were more pages, though. Wish I could hold off and read at least three of them in one sitting. But that won't happen.

7/19/17

Aquaman #26 Oh, the art is so good . . . especially that nice variant cover. But this is not worth $3.99 to me. Bye bye again.

Kill the Minotaur #2 Still not sure about this title, but hey, it's a lot of pages (30) for $3.99, and it's still Greek Mythology to me.

Magnus #2 The art is a bit under par, but the story is really interesting. Magnus essentially as computer hacker. Definitely still interested in this one. The short Turok back up feature was kind of shit, though, so I don't know if I will check out the new issue 1 of that title next month. Probably will just because, you know . . . it's TURok.

7/26/17

Action Comics #984

Detective Comics #961

The Kamandi Challenge  #7 Oh, let it end, please. PLEASE. But at least mine had a Bill Sienkiewicz cover.

Image Plus #16  Umm . . . I thought this Negan story was over LAST time out. Guess I lost track. But I think this magazine is free with Previews again, so there's that. Which is the only reason I'll still be getting it.

Saga #45 Mmm hmm. How did I live so long without a monthly does of this?

Millennium: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo #1 Got it from Comixology. For $2.99 instead of $5.99. Thought it was pooty good. But I have to read it again, 'cause I was drunk when I read it.

Nancy Drew And The Hardy Boys: The Big Lie #4 I LIKE it. But I'll wait for the price drop--$1.99 instead of $3.99.



8/2/17

The Walking Dead #170 Another touching issue. Man, this comic book is just GOOD.

New Gods Special #1 Never even saw it. But I don't need it $4.99's worth, and I doubt very much that the price will drop on this puppy.

Turok #1 Thought about it. Looked at it. Nah. Not for $3.99, anyway.

DC Comics Superhero Best Of Figurine Collection Magazine #35 (John Constantine) Well, what do ya know. Never saw it, but wouldn't mind having a look, at least.


8/9/17

Action Comics #985 Oh, man . . . I had it in my hands, but when Joe saw it he asked if he could look through it, and I wandered off and totally forgot about it, and Joe must have put it back on the shelf! Shit! I want my Action, man! Hmm. I guess I like that comic book more than I thought I did. I'll be heading out tomorrow morning . . . .

Detective Comics #962

Robotech #1 I can't even hide behind the excuse of Nostalgia, since I never saw or read this series before. But . . . well, Brian Wood wrote it, so that's okay, right? Tee-hee.


8/16/17

Action Comics #985  Got it, read it, liked it. The writer was not Dan Jurgens though--it was Rob Williams, who seems to have done a bit of work in the comics field, though I don't know him at all. But this story was pretty interesting. The art not so much. It reminded me of Liefeld's early Image work . . . which is not something I have much of an appetite for, I'm sorry to say. We'll see where it goes, though.

Aquaman #27 Didn't I quit buying this book? Dunno, but the cover was so pretty . . . and the interior art as well . . . and the story was kind of interesting. I think I may be in for a longer haul. At least while Stjepan Sejic is on board for the art.

Kill the Minotaur #3


And from Comixology:

Injustice 2 #19  Can't keep writing "This is so fuckin' good," since that would be boring, but really     . . . this is so fuckin' good. Thank you, Tom King.

Motor Girl #7 This is really fuckin' good, too, by the way. It always seems too short, though. And not in a That Was So Good It Went By Too Quickly way, like Injustice 2 . . . but in a "I really like this book but I don't feel like I'm getting my money's worth in terms of quantity" way. And I'm only paying $1.99 per issue. If I were paying full price, I might have stopped . . . even though I like it a lot.

Sheena #0 Didn't really even want this, but it was there for free, so what the hell, right? But it wasn't good. No more for me, thank you. Dynamite strikes out again. Big surprise.

Nancy Drew And The Hardy Boys: The Big Lie #4 Oh . . . I take that crack about Dynamite back. Didn't realize that (1) the price on NDandtheHB:TBL had dropped or that (2) it was a Dynamite book.

8/23/17

Action Comics #986 Gettin' pretty good again . . . and it looks like Dan Jurgens will be coming back soon, which I'm all for.

Batman #29 It's been a long time since I bought a Batman comic book. But I was thinking, "I really like Tom King's work on Injustice 2 so much . . . why am I not buying his Batman? So I picked up this issue and read it and enjoyed it and am just now realizing that Tom King does not write Injustice 2, Tom Taylor does. But hey, what's $2.99 + tax - 15% off (thank you, The Great Escape) between friends? And I really did enjoy this issue of Batman quite a bit. For one thing, the premise was kind of stupid and awesome: Bruce Wayne invites The Joker and The Riddler over to his house for dinner. A nine course dinner. So the story is basically structured around the nine courses. And although The Joker does throw a knife at The Riddler, other than that there is no actual violence. And a lot of panels of food and people eating. Very cool. I might buy the next issue just to see what else is going on here.

Detective #963

Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps # 26 and #27  I actually meant to buy #26 when it came out, but didn't happen to see it. Wanted to see what The New Gods were up to these days. I have to say, though, that this is probably the worst title for a comic book that I've ever heard of. WTF? The only way to make it worse would have been to add a few hash tags.
Kamandi Challenge #8  I don't want to talk about it.

Nightwing: The New Order #1  I paid $3.99 (+tax -15% discount) for this book, so you know I was really interested.

Spy Seal #1  Almost missed out on this one. I'd seen it in Previews and wanted to take a look at it when it hit the stands, but I forgot about it, and since I pick up my books on Friday instead of when they come out on Wednesday, I managed to miss it when it sold out. But when I was checking out there was a copy propped up by the cash register. Just waiting for me. I also had a nice little chat with the cute gal who was working today. I like chatting with cute girls.


8/30/17

Previews #

Saga #


9/6/17

from comixology

Injustice 2 #22

Hadrian's Wall #8

Showcase #75

The Unsound #2

A

9/27/17

Injustice 2 #25

Batman '66 Vol. 4

Batman: Son of the Demon (2006) #1

Harley Quinn and Batman (2017-) #1

Uber #0

Comixology look out list:

The Chimera Brigade #1 Confusing. There's issue 1, now at $2.99, Volume 1 for $5.99, and Collection Volume 1 (coming in March, like The Madness) for $14.99. All of which makes me think . . . fuck these guys.

Die Kitty Die Looks like a fun comic--kind of like a PG13 version of the old Archie books. $3.99 per issue and four issues out so far, so if a collection comes out, I'm there.

The Fourth Planet by Fred Kennedy and Miko Maciaszek: #1 and #2 went to $2.99, looks like it won't go down from there unless there's a sale, so ahmo get #1 and see how that goes.

Glenn Gould: A Life Off Tempo Really interested in this, but not for $15

Buy List:

(1) Action Comics #980

(2) Black Monday Murders #5

(3)  Eclipse #7 #8 is out at reduced price . . . no sign of #9

(4) Hadrian's Wall #7 (8 issue series) #8 is out at full price

(5) Image + #13

(6) Injustice 2 #19

(7) Kamandi Challenge #7 (12 issue series)

(8) Mirror #7

(9) Motor Girl #7

(10) Previews #347

(11) Rock Candy Mountain #4

(12) Royal City #5 

(13) Saga #45

(14) Seven to Eternity #5  #6 and #7 are out at reduced price, but I don't know if I really care anymore

(15) Steam Wars: First Empire #4 End of issue #4 said "To Be Continued . . . . " but that was four months ago. Whu hoppen?

(16) The Walking Dead #170

(17) Warhammer 40,000 #5  #6, #7 and #8 are all out at reduced price, but I haven't felt that Warhammer urge lately. 



line through title = losing interest in this book
underlined title   = buying the print version of this book; currently only seven of these, one of which is a catalogue, one a promo thing which is about to be free, and one a mini-series.