Sketch Reviews (October 6 2010)

A decent-sized week. Busy day, though, as I try to get as much done prior to leaving for the weekend on Friday. Thanksgiving is Monday here in Canada, making for a long weekend of visiting Michelle's family and, then, mine. Should be a good weekend, though. I'm looking forward to it quite a bit. For one thing, I get to spend a lot of time with Michelle in the car. You know how I know we're the right people for one another? We never tire of spending hours in the car together. We always find things to say -- or feel okay not saying anything. It's really great. I like her family and, at my parents' place, it's looking like my buddy Adam may join us on Sunday night since he'll be stuck in London because of other stuff. All that plus grabbing the five Hunter Thompson books that remain at my parents' plus some other stuff. So, getting everything done before then is the goal. Shouldn't be too hard to accomplish. On to the sketch reviews...

Scalped #41: I reread the opening scene twice. The first time, I yelled out "Oh my fucking god no!" It takes a lot to shock me. Page four of this comic stopped me cold, prompting the outburst. I'll admit, I'm sensitive about a few things -- and a coathanger... christ, man. This is a cold issue. The Red Crow/Shunka scene becomes all the worse when we see the fall-out. I'm not sure what to make about the ending. It has that 'romantic comedy' feel, but this is Scalped. Dash isn't Tom Hanks and Carol isn't Meg Ryan. It all ends in death and misery. It's getting to the point where I almost dread opening this comic; I always do it, because it's so fucking good. [****1/2]

S.H.I.E.L.D. #4: Lots of nice trappings, but the larger pictures remains obtuse. That's both good and bad. Good, because you get some stunning scenes and moments. Bad, because, fuck if I know what the book is about necessarily. It seems to be talking around the point... that may not be the case, but that's how it's beginning to come off. Like there's a central plot, but Hickman is more interested in everything that connects to it. I trust it all to tie together and work out. Hell, I'm enjoying the talking around approach since the scenes and small moments are worthwhile on their own. I'm just a negative thinker. [***3/4]

Thor: For Asgard #3: What sets this series apart from other Thor stories involving Ragnarok is that those ones felt epic, big -- external forces, easy to see enemies, lots of fighting and glory... this is just the death of an empire. It's decaying, cold, depressing... The way that the old man turns Undar is fantastic. The bickering, the way Thor just shuts down, obsessed with his dreams... the scene between Odin and Jord is a short punch to the gut... I made some jokes about not checking out Astonishing Thor, but Robert Rodi is really impressing me here... I may have to give it a look. Simone Bianchi has the right style that suggests epic fantasy, while also showing decay and death and depression... As I said in my random thoughts this week, if Marvel wants to churn out Thor book after Thor book, that's fine with me as long as they're as good as the ones they're pumping out now... [****]

Later.