What Are We Reading? : October 2017

Hey all, hard to believe it's already October, and yet here we are 3 days in ... maybe a good time to start pulling out some creepier reads to fit in the Halloween season ??

For my part, I've been decidedly non-creepy in my reading. The most recent comics I've read are:
- The Adventures of John Blake, finally finished this one, it was disappointing, I'd hope for more from Philip Pullman, one of my childhood favorites
- Mystery Girl, liked this one very much and am looking forward to whatever Tobin does next
- Over the Garden Wall and Over the Garden Wall, volume 1, both nice companions to the show of the same title
- Harley Quinn: Preludes and Knock Knock Jokes and Harley Quinn: Night and Day, both of which were mildly entertaining but mostly sort of "eh"

What is everyone else reading?

Finished in September/October:

- DC Universe: Rebirth (by Geoff Johns et al.) - actually significantly better than I thought it would be. Everybody's talking about how this incorporates the Watchmen universe into the DCU (or vice versa), but what I found far more interesting is the way it incorporated the grammar of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' seminal work into the comic. Worth a look. 4/5

- The One: The Last Word in Superheroics (by Rick Veitch; introduction by Alan Moore) - Interesting and very, very strange exercise in 1980s Cold War paranoia by the Swamp Thing artist and scribe, made newly topical by President Trump's recent hair-raising interactions with North Korea. Recommended to fans of Veitch's work on ST and of The Beatles (I am one, natch). 4/5

- Batman: The Dark Knight - Master Race (by Frank Miller, Brian Azzarello, Andy Kubert, and Klaus Janson) - O how the mighty have fallen. If we're still studying American comics in, say, 50 years, it'll be interesting to see which part of Miller's career preoccupies scholars more - his meteoric rise or his long and depressing decline. This has some amusing moments but, unless you can read a copy for free, take a pass. Since I'm in a generous mood, I'll give this one a 3/5

>2 artturnerjr:
I am he, as you are me and we are all together! I like very much The One! and other solo works by Rick Veitch :)

Regarding The Master Race, some people say that this downward Frank Miller is actually from Earth 2.

Picked up Roughneck at the library and may read another Lumberjanes for a spooky angle.

>3 apokoliptian:

I am he, as you are me and we are all together! I like very much The One! and other solo works by Rick Veitch :)

It's really interesting, isn't it? He was definitely one of the more idiosyncratic creators to emerge from mainstream comics in the 1980s (which is saying something!). I'm still keeping an eye out for an inexpensive edition of Brat Pack.

Regarding The Master Race, some people say that this downward Frank Miller is actually from Earth 2.

*Sigh* If only that were true. I keep holding out hope that Frank's work will return to what it once was - his 80s and 90s stuff still means a lot to me (I still put it in people's hands from time to time) - and he keeps letting me down. I'm an incorrigible optimist, I suppose. :)

>5 artturnerjr:
You also may like to try Heartburst.

I've read Supercrooks, which has the slogan "A mix of Oceans' 11 and X-Men", but I can say "Don't believe the hype"! It is really the proposal of the mini-series (or what it tries to achieve) but it is very weak. The only good point is Leinil Francis Yu's art.

The best way of trying it is if you have the oportunity of reading for free.

I've finished Les Beaux Étés - Tome 1 - Cap au sud!, which is a slice of life of a Belgian comic artist that goes on vacations with his wife and 4 kids in the 70's. The art is stunning.

2 thumbs up!

Ack, I just want to read Legend of Korra: Turf Wars this month (totally binged this weekend on all Four Books of the TV series) but no matter what I do, the technology that I'm trying to use to request it keeps breaking... grrr.... :)

I'm currently reading Elseworlds Justice League, Vol. 1, so that's fun. Crazy What Ifs are always fun. :)

I've finished Fight Club 2 but the experience was so disapointing that I will read again to give it another chance. While I am a big fan of the movie, I considered the Fight Club book unidimensional and I had the same feeling for its continuation. The only good points were Cameron Stewart's clean storytelling and David Mack's covers inserted.

Hugo Pratt Sous le drapeau des pirates It is a study in hero neutrality, the hero being Corto Maltese with several short comic book stories set in Brazil, St Kitts and other Leeward Islands and one centered on the island of Maracatonqua in former British Honduras.

Just picked up Rutu Modan's Exit Wounds at the library; I liked The Property and so I figured I'd give this one a try.

I just finished the so far published volumes (1-3) of The Arab of the Future. It can't quite break through my deep aversion to dramatized biography but I understand where the awards and praise are coming from. The subject matter is acutely timely and seen from a rare angle.

I also read vol. 1 of Mushishi. The substance is a little... I don't know, aimed at kids. I appreciate the quiet tone though.

>1 sweetiegherkin:
My recommendations of creepier reads are:
- The Upturned Stone which tells a story of group of kids in a small town that stumbles on an urban legend that turns out more creepier than they could imagine, in a EC Comics-meets-Stranger Things way.

- The second volume of Swamp Thing. Terrible things are happening down the bayou.

- The collections of classic Hellraiser, which have the origin of Face with art of Bernie Wrightson.

- The recent collection of Epic's Nightbreed by Boom!, presenting the movie adaptation and the sinister meeting of the Nightbreed and Hellraiser.

I've just received Frankenstein by Bernie Wrightson. So, skip my previous recommendations and go straight to this one! ;)

I got a kick out of Lady Killer by Jamie Rich. Charming 50s homemaker is a skilled assassin.

Oops, I just recieved Legend of Korra Turf Wars and I'm pretty sure it's going to take me about 30 minutes to read. Bummer. Still, should be a cool add on to the TV series. :)

I've been reading some graphic novels aimed more at middle schoolers. Roller Girl and All Faire's in Middle School, both by Victoria Jamieson, were good reads -- light and quick. Now I'm on to Awkward by Svetlana Chmakova; so far the story is okay but I'm not really feeling the illustrations style.

Oh and by the way, here's an interesting article from this summer about graphic novels for kids

http://www.vulture.com/2017/06/raina-telgemeier-kids-comics.html

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I really enjoyed Roller Girls, sweetieg, and I haven’t read her other one. I’ll check out that link, too.

>20 jnwelch: I liked Roller Girl a little better than the new one, but they were both pretty entertaining and I think good for the target audience.

I finished up the Manga Classics version of Sense and Sensibility, which I thought was a good adaptation.

In time for Halloween, I've finished Beasts of Burden, which tells the adventures of a band of dogs and one cat dealing with exoteric menaces happening in their neighborhood. Evan Dorkin text is very good, but the star is Jill Thompson with her watercolors and realistic, detailed art.

Over the weekend I read Over the Garden Wall Vol. 2, which I felt didn't quite live up to either the show or the previous comics. I also started Wonder Woman: Lies and am about halfway through. It's the first Wonder Woman title I'm reading and I feel like I stepped into the middle of a conversation, as I don't really know the other characters...

>24 sweetiegherkin: Don't give up on the DC Rebirth series of Wonder Woman quite yet. I was confused as all get out too, but, make sure to give Wonder Woman: Year One a try too. It's a much better start to the DC Rebirth Wonder Woman than the first volume is (weirdly...).

>25 DanieXJ: Hmm, okay, good to know. Maybe I'll get around to that one eventually, right now my plate is a little full.