I am tired after sitting in the sun all day at the Tigers/Jays game. Well, not so much tired from that as the getting to and from the game via tunnel bus (none of the delays were Transit Windsor's fault). Just a hot and tiring day. But, it was also a lot of fun and a really great day nonetheless.
glamourpuss #26: I stopped reading this somewhere in the area of issue 12, I think. I still bought it every two months, but found that the release schedule made the Alex Raymond portion of this comic a little hard to follow properly. 11 (or so) pages every two months didn't exactly drill details into my head. So, I decided to simply save up the issues for a big reread and, now, the book has ended. I guess I get my chance. I did read Dave Sim's closing text piece and damn if that wasn't the most depressing thing I've read for some time. And it isn't him saying "Oh woe is me!" or expecting sympathy or pity -- it's just a man laying out how fucked he is and how fucked up the industry he works in can be. And he isn't blaming anyone either. It's just... sad. Sad that this is the reality of things. [TBD]
Scalped #60: The other big ending and it didn't blow me away. Too big of expectations? Too let down by the downer ending? I don't know... It just seemed like it didn't cohere entirely. Too much effort put in to making things ambiguous or left wide open for too many characters? In a sense, it felt like another issue of an ongoing, serialised story. Which is fine... but it doesn't necessarily make for the 'best' conclusion. I liked this issue and will no doubt grow to see it as the most appropriate ending for this series, but, right now... I'm not feeling it as much as I'd like to. [Not yet, no]
Secret Avengers #30: Ha ha ha... fuck you, Max Fury! You ain't no person! YOU AIN'T NO PERSON! [***1/4]
The Ultimates #14: "Hey, Sam, welcome on board The Ultimates. We know that you're following Jonathan Hickman and his run, with Esad Ribic and Dean White on art, has been highly regarded by some. We want to give you the best start possible by pairing you with artists that are vastly inferior and will make this book look like everything else on the shelf. That will help you win 'em over! Good luck, son!"
...okay, it doesn't help that Humphries's dialogue runs a bit too far towards the 'typical' superhero shit either. Hickman had a lighter touch, a way of making his different ideas seem different. If you look at what happens in this comic, it's not that different from what Hickman was doing it. How it happens, how it's presented, though, is very different and it's not as good. It's not as engaging, it doesn't have the same verve or energy. I hope it gets better, because, on a plot- and idea-level, it's still a good comic. On every other one, though... [**1/2]
Untold Tales of the Punisher MAX #3: A new exhibit for how, sometimes, self-contained single issue comics are just fucking boring. [**]
The Unwritten #40: Man, Tom's takedown of the crazy man was great. I'm glad that they held off on him showing up for a few issues. The best issue of the latest arc... But there still isn't a sense of what this book is about anymore and where it's going. I guess we'll have to wait and see on that end. [***3/4]
Wolverine annual #1: A great conclusion to this trio of annuals. Davis did a good job at making each self-contained but telling a larger story. Though, really, it seems like it should have just been a Dr. Strange/ClanDestine crossover mini-series or something. But, hey, if sticking these stories in annuals of other books helped make them happen, I'm not going to complain too much. Another big story to add to the ClanDestine group of titles. Lovely. [***3/4]
Later
The X-Axis – w/c 18 November 2024
7 hours ago
