#we love how hernandez draws bush

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Week Two: 1/10/2018

Books purchased:

Head Games Graphic Novel Craig McDonald/Writer Kevin Singles/Artist First Second

The Imposter’s Daughter Graphic Novel Laurie Sandell/Writer/Artist Little,Brown

Motor Girl Real Life TPB Terry Moore/Writer/Artist Abstract Studio

My Favorite Thing is Monsters Emil Ferris/Writer and Artist Fantagraphics

Elsewhere TPB Jay Faerber/Writer Sumeyye Kesgin/Artist Image

Royal City Issue 9 Jeff Lemire/Writer/Artist Image

Stray Bullets Sunshine and Roses Issue 31 David Lapham/Writer/ Artist El Capitan

Star Wars Forces of Destiny (Rey) One-Shot Jody Houser/ Writer Arianna Florean/Artist IDW/Disney

Star Wars Darth Vader Issue 10 Charles Soule/Writer Giuseppe Camuncoli/Artist Marvel

The Vision Hardcover Collection Tom King/Writer Gabriel Hernandez Walta

So it was a light new comic day for me but I still spent about $52 because I bought the new Vision hardcover collection which runs $40 by itself. I only picked up four new comics today (what I have heard some people call “floppies” so I’ll use that term here to designate new single issue comics). I did pick up some TPB’s (trade paperbacks) at a used bookstore and I did finish My Favorite Thing Is Monsters so I’ll be reviewing those as well. I have not read the Vision book yet so I’ll talk more about that next week. From what I’ve heard and read the book is supposed to be fantastic so I am looking forward to reading it. So let’s do this…..

Head Games Graphic Novel Craig McDonald/Writer Kevin Singles/Artist First Second

This book was okay. Just okay. I really liked the artwork by Kevin Singles. The cover blurb about him says this was his first time drawing a graphic novel and he did a really good job on it. Good visuals that enhance the story even when it’s meandering around which it’s prone to do. That brings me to the story itself. The main character is a Hemmingway like writer named Hector Lassiter who, the introduction tells us, is the subject of ten novels by Craig McDonald.  I’m not sure that I could read another book about this guy so ten seems like overkill. The problem I have with the character is that he’s too extra. He helped Blackjack Pershing chase Pancho Villa, he served in World War One, he’s buddies with Hemmingway and Dashiell Hammett, he has romanced great beauties such as Marlene Dietrich (who he endearingly calls “Kraut”…ugh), he’s a hard drinking, award winning book writing, son of a bitch. It’s as if Hemmingway’s life story was written by Dashiell Hammett and filmed by Sam Peckinpaugh. That may sound like a fun combination but it’s really a mess. Just like Hemmingway he is a hard drinking writer living a life of great adventure and sadness, just like Hammett he is a crime writer suffering from ailments that have slowed him down in his old age, and just like almost all of the great Peckinpaugh films he is a man out of time, unable to adjust to getting old and the changing world around him. He’s too much and the plot is as well. I won’t give it away but it’s convoluted and involves Pancho Villa, Prescott Bush, Orson Welles, and gun toting members of Yale’s Skull and Bones organization. I was kind of bored with it by the end.

Pass. Don’t bother unless you want to check out the art.

The Imposter’s Daughter Graphic Novel Laurie Sandell/Writer/Artist Little,Brown

I liked this book but I do tend to favor true stories and personal reflections, especially when it’s a good story. Laurie Sandell is a very good writer and her art is fun and colorful. The drawings are loose and a bit cartoony but they fit perfectly with her story and oh what a story it is! I won’t give too much away but here is the premise, Laurie’s dad is an imposter, I mean he is her real dad but nothing he has ever told her is true. He brags about his heroics in Vietnam and being a pen pal with the Pope and little Laurie is enamored of her larger than life dad until she discovers that all of his stories were lies. Not only that but he also turns out to be something of a scam artist. This causes Laurie to start seeking not only the truth about her father but also discovering who she really is. It’s a great read if you like personal memoirs like I do.

Buy. I recommend this to people who like slice of life comics.

Motor Girl Real Life TPB Terry Moore/Writer/Artist Abstract Studio

Motor Girl is okay. This is the first volume I’ve read and I’m not sure that I need to see more. Like most of Terry Moore’s stuff I’m “meh” about this. To be more specific, in case “meh” doesn’t serve well enough, I like his books but can live without them. I would buy another volume of this if I found it on clearance like this one (I paid $4 for it) but I wouldn’t go out of my way to find one and I certainly wouldn’t pay full price. It was a fun read with a few interesting ideas but nothing earth shattering. Like most of Moore’s work this one has a female lead (which I have no problem with). This lead happens to be a former Marine who works in a junkyard named Samantha (Sam). Sam spent some time in an Iraqi prison and has the scars, both physical and mental, to show for it. This leads the reader to question if anything they are seeing is real, like the giant talking ape she hangs around with or the aliens that keep coming to visit her. You may find that intriguing and want to know more but I’m not sure that I do.

Pass. For me, your opinion of Terry Moore may vary.

My Favorite Thing is Monsters Emil Ferris/Writer and Artist Fantagraphics

So I finally finished this and I have to say that all the praise this book is getting is well deserved. There is a lot going on here but the characters and their development keep it interesting. The artwork is phenomenal, drawn as if in a lined notebook with colored pens, sketchy but technically sound with gorgeous crosshatching. I was a bit irked that the book ended because I wanted to keep reading and it just left me hanging. I know there is a second volume in production now but there’s no telling how long that will take because this one must have taken forever to do. There is a ton of diversity and representation in this book with little stereotyping or misrepresentation. The book itself deals with monsters both real and imagined, from werewolves to Nazis, zombies to child abusers. I won’t give any of this away because I think it needs to be read without prejudice going in. I highly recommend this book and, if you don’t want to take my word for it, I suggest you look at any of the reviews online because almost all of them agree.

Buy. Yes, buy this. You will thank me later.

Elsewhere TPB Jay Faerber/Writer Sumeyye Kesgin/Artist Image

I thought this book was interesting. I enjoy most of Faeber’s books, especially Copperhead, so I was intrigued by this one. This is another book I picked up relatively cheap and I’m not sure if I would have bought it otherwise. I’m glad I bought it because I enjoyed it but I’m not sure I would continue to buy it. The art by Kesgin is nice and the story is unique but not exactly exciting. The gist is that an alternate dimension exists where things from other worlds get sucked in and trapped there. If you have seen Thor 3 then it’s kind of like that. A lot of people and things that have mysteriously vanished end up here, like DB Cooper and Amelia Earhart. Amelia is of course plucky and brave just as she was in real life and DB is a money hungry cad but together they plan to overthrow the head of this crazy place and escape back to their lives. I did enjoy the book but I’m not sure it’s something that would hold my attention over a long period of time.

Pass.  I reserve the right to change my mind if I ever read another volume because I think it may have potential but for now it’s a pass.

Royal City Issue 9 Jeff Lemire/Writer/Artist Image

I like a lot of Lemire’s work but sometimes his work is a little surreal and difficult to follow. I prefer his books that are about people and their relationships. This is one of those books. Some may find the book slow moving but it’s atmospheric and we are slowly seeing the characters develop and it’s worth the wait. The pacing mirrors the slow moving small town that the characters inhabit. It’s the story of the town just as much as it is of the Pike family. This is the story of people who grow up in dead end factory towns who never leave and always wonder what could have been if they had left. Everyone in this town is haunted by regret and lost dreams, the Pike family is haunted by that as well as the ghost of their little brother, Tommy. Patrick Pike, the de facto lead character, is one of the people who escaped from the town becoming a best selling author but now his star is fading and he’s come back to town to deal with his own ghosts. I love this book. Some may find Lemire’s art a bit cartoony or loose for their taste but I find it homey and ethereal. The art fits the story perfectly and Lemire knows how to use angles and varying shot lengths that help underscore the impact of this morose tale.

Buy. I love the book but I expect that not everyone is a fan of Lemire, or slow building character pieces, or mesmeric art so think about whether you enjoy those types of things before picking it up.

Stray Bullets Sunshine and Roses Issue 31 David Lapham/Writer/ Artist El Capitan

I enjoy David Lapham a great deal but almost exclusively on things he does by himself. I haven’t enjoyed much that he has done for outside publishers but I love his crime books like Stray Bullets and Murder Me Dead. Lapham does have a tendency to get off track at times but this run has been relatively straight forward. One of the fun things about Lapham’s characters in these books is that almost no one is innocent and almost no one is completely a villain. There are a lot of realistic characters in these books who just happen to do really dumb things. These books can be fun one second and deadly serious the next, it’s a good mix. There is a lot of history built into this series. I think the original series had 100 issues, I can see the omnibus from where I sit but I’m too lazy to get up and get it. The good news is that you don’t have to have read all of those books to get into this series but, you know, it wouldn’t hurt and that was a hell of a series so…. These books center around crime but they are mainly character pieces about crappy people. Lapham is great at building character and dialogue, sort of like a comic book version of Quentin Tarantino without all of the foot fetish stuff. If you haven’t read any Stray Bullets I suggest you correct that. I hope Lapham keeps doing this series for a while, it’s what he’s best at.

Buy. Go get the omnibus! It may be a bit expensive but it’s worth it! Then start on this series.

Star Wars Forces of Destiny (Rey) One-Shot Jody Houser/ Writer Arianna Florean/Artist IDW/Disney

This book was not as good as the Leia one. I guess these are tie-ins with some new Star Wars merchandise? Like Disney Princesses in space? I don’t know and I really don’t care to find out. I won’t spend a lot of time talking about this because it’s not worth it. Nice art, irritating story. Do you want to know what happened to Rey and BB8 between the time she found him and the time she took him into town? No? Me either but Disney seems to think we do. This books ends with a deus ex machina rescue that will just make you wonder why you read the whole book.

Pass. Unless you’re ten or younger I guess.

Star Wars Darth Vader Issue 10 Charles Soule/Writer Giuseppe Camuncoli/Artist Marvel

Why do I keep reading these Star Wars comics? That is all.

Pass. Only for Star Wars fans with low expectations.

That’s all folks. I’ll read The Vision and get back to you!

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