The Pickytarian

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May 09, 2005

To Buy or Not to Buy

Is it just me, or does it seem like every week has been a slow week lately? Hmmm. It's easier on the wallet, I suppose, but it's getting trickier to find reading material for my subway rides. Last week I even had to read a real book! (Of course it was A Gentleman's Game by Greg Rucka, which is a Queen and Country story. Fans of that comic series, by the way, really should read that book. Not just because it's a solidly entertaining action story featuring Tara Chace and the rest of the cast, but because there are events in there that seem to dramatically impact the status quo of the comic.)

With an eye towards filling my subway reading quota, I reserved two more comic-related books at the library: Men of Tomorrow by Gerard Jones and Fortress of Solitude by Jonathan Lethem. I'll be sure to check in with a one-sentence review of each, only about a year beyond being relevant, as soon as I read them. Anyway, let's get on to this week's "To Buy or Not to Buy," wherein I review books that I haven't even read:

Action Comics #827 - This issue kicks off the Gail Simone/John Byrne run on this title, and I'm cautiously optimistic about it. While Byrne seems to have the uncanny knack for making an ass of himself online, his art still conjures up warm and fuzzy feelings of nostalgia for me. Not that the cover looks so good. In fact, it kind of looks like Superman is trying to pass a Kryptonite kidney stone. Nonetheless, I think I'm going to check this one out.

Desolation Jones #1 - Warren Ellis + J.H. Williams III = Sold!

Gotham Central #31 - I'm really starting to miss Michael Lark's art, and my interest in this title is starting to diminish as a result.

Judge Anderson Vol 1 Anderson Psi Division TP - I don't know what this is, but when I saw it listed I immediately thought of Harry Anderson from Night Court. Which, if you made him psychic, would probably be a really cool comic book. Unfortunately now I've got that image in my mind, and this book has no hope of measuring up.

Mnemovore #2 - This horror mini-series features some fantastic artwork, including dynamic and attractive covers, from Mike Huddleston. The story, about an amnesiac teenage snowboarder and some kind of tentacled alien brain-eating monster, could go either way. I'm still on board but we'll see.

Preacher Vol 1 Gone To Texas TP New Edition

Preacher Vol 2 Until The End Of The World TP New Edition - On the off-chance that you've never read Ennis & Dillon's Preacher, DC seems to be reprinting the TPB's. Now is your chance to check out what may well have been the best comic series of the 90's.

Rann Thanagar War #1 - Must... resist... smart-aleck remark...

Astonishing X-Men #10 - The general tide of opinion seems to be turning against Whedon and Cassady's run on this title. I was not taken with the first arc, and while the second one started out with satisfyingly creepy feeling of portent, it has since devolved into a level of ridiculousness that even the most forgiving X-fans seem unwilling to accept. And now the Danger Room has morphed into an evil robot-woman? Ay-yi-yi. Whedon seems unwilling to do anything except mine the past for half-baked ideas whose quality verges on fan fiction. Luckily for him, John Cassady is providing the artwork. This book is a prime example of how far I will follow my favorite artists.

District X #13 - I've supported this series through its first two uneven story arcs, but honestly I think I've run out of patience with it. I am sort of morbidly curious to see what happens to it in the wake of the House of M stuff; I believe the title is changing along with who knows what else. I'm assuming they will be eliminating yet another one of the cool ideas that came out of Grant Morrison's X-Men run. I'm taking this as my opportunity for a jumping-off point.

Man With The Screaming Brain #1 - Written by actor Bruce Campbell with art by Rick Remender and Hillary Barta, this adaptation of Campbell's upcoming horror movie looks promising. I'm down.

Star Wars Tales #23 - I'm not going to buy this comic, but I wanted to take this opportunity to get something off my chest. My office building is next to the famous Ziegfeld theater, where the line has supposedly begun to form for the premiere of the latest Star Wars debacle. I say "supposedly" because the line is actually a charity event, where people pledge to spend x number of hours on the line over the next 2 weeks in order to benefit the Starlight Foundation. In return they receive tickets to the opening-night midnight showing of the film. I can't really bad-mouth the fact that they are raising money for charity, but there's something disingenuous about calling it a "line" when the people can come and go as they please. If you're not sleeping on the sidewalk, you're not waiting in line! And you call yourself a fan? It's hard to believe that I could have even less respect for the people who would wait in a days-long line to see this crappy movie, but somehow they found a way to make it happen. Except they are raising money for charity, which is a good thing, but... still.

Usagi Yojimbo #83 - Month after month, Stan Sakai schools everybody with his masterful drawing and his ability to craft a satisfying, self-contained 24-page comic story.

Posted by jdonelson_nyc at May 9, 2005 11:23 AM

Comments

Posted by: Peat at May 11, 2005 10:09 AM

Posted by: jdonelson_nyc at May 11, 2005 10:27 AM