Just a couple brief reviews….
All Star Batman and Robin #3 – Pal Dorian flipped it open to a particular panel in the book, and laughed and laughed and laughed. Pal Corey looked at the same panel, and did the same. Now that I’ve brought it home, sat down, and read the whole thing…God bless Frank Miller, for bringing this comic of pure freakin’ joy into existence.
Acme Novelty Library #16 – It’s depress-o-riffic!
Well, okay, it’s the beginning of the Rusty Brown/Chalky White saga…Rusty Brown, for the uninitiated, is sorta like The Simpsons‘ Comic Book Guy, only far less socialized, and far more cringe-inducing. This volume focuses on Rusty’s unhappy childhood, his unhappy school life, his unhappy family life, his unhappy father, his unhappy soon-to-be-best-pal Chalky, Chalky’s unhappy sister, and several more unhappy people. And yet, it’s funny. Depressing, but funny. The book itself is another of Chris Ware’s usual impeccable presentations…designed like a school textbook, with one of those “student’s name/year issued/condition of book” thingies on the inside front cover, complete with some very authentic looking vandalism and the scribbled names of Chalky and Rusty. Well played, sir.
This gives me the excuse to show you my favorite incredibly depressing Rusty panel, from a 2001 Acme edition, showing Rusty’s future six (well, now two) years hence:
There, but for the grace of God…but then again, it ain’t 2007 yet. Check back with me in a couple years.
10 – New from Boom! Studios is this one-shot by Keith Giffen and Andy Kuhn, in which ten people are given a gun and a list of people to kill, before they’re killed themselves. Graham, the “hero” of the book, enters the game late, having been on vacation when the guns and lists were distributed, and finds himself face to face with the last remaining survivors of the event. It’s a fast-paced read, nasty and brutal, with plenty of gunfights and not so much plot…not that it really needs it. Kuhn’s art, with its jagged line and rough feel, brings a gritty, down-to-earth, yet disturbing, note to Giffen’s violent story. Without trying to give anything away, I will note that the ambiguity behind the intentions of the other “contestant” adds to the unsettling effect of the climax, leaving the readers to fill in some of the backstory on their own. In short, it’s quick, disposable entertainment that your mom wouldn’t approve of, just like comics should be.
Harlequin Pink A Girl In A Million & Harlequin Violet Response – Probably not a good sign for Dark Horse & Harlequin Romance’s romance manga line when my biggest manga customers laughed mockingly at these books. Oh, dear.
And just to keep myself from getting on my high horse, here…the DEVO action figure I special ordered for myself came in. Woo hoo! Kid Chris got one, too.
Now, each package comes with one figure, and five heads (one for each member of the band). To form the whole band, you’d have to buy five figures, and have each one wearing a different head…which of course would leave with you with 20 extra heads to deal with. However, if you were to buy five potatoes, and plug some of the extra heads into them, you could possibly reproduce the “Oh, No! It’s Devo” album cover. You’re on your own for spud ring construction.