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Incorruptible, vol. 1, by Mark Waid
I'd gotten really burned out on the original series for this, Irredeemable - it's just so relentlessly bleak - so I almost didn't try this one. Glad I did, though. A bad guy compelled by circumstances to become a good guy leaves a lot more room for comedy and hope than the other way around... and I'm now caught up in the world of the story enough to want to go back to the Irredeemables, as well.
(1, O1)
A God Somewhere, by John Arcudi and Peter Snejbjerg
An existentialist, power-mad, Nietzschean, single-volume superhero. There was a comic book series a few years back - maybe it's still going on? - that tried to set Greek tragedy in the present day, and (IMO) failed, because it lacked the depth and passion and vividness of its source material. This story is much less obviously drawn from that well, but does a better job of pulling out the same mix of emotions. Very tasty.
(2)
Joe the Barbarian, by Grant Morrison and Sean Murphy
Powerful, witty, gripping, and adventurous. Balances several levels of tension expertly, and is beautifully drawn to boot. I was all "how did I never hear of this brilliant graphic novel classic before??" and then found out it's relatively new... last two years. So, I guess you could add timeless to that list of adjectives as well.
(3, O2)
Essential Dykes to Watch Out For, by Alison Bechdel
Memories piled upon memories for me, reading this "best of" collection for a strip I first started following in the mid-90s in Montreal. It was neat to watch the evolution of so many favorite characters, telescoped into a mere 300 pages or so.
(4)
Death's Daughter, by Amber Benson
Hm. I have severely mixed feelings about this fluffy contemporary fantasy. At it's best, it's hilarious and winning, but there were several sections where I just got so darn *annoyed* with the protagonist or the explicitly stated world-building assumptions (hint: Kali is not actually "all washed up" as far as modern-day worshipers go: fun character, crappy Eurocentric(?) logic for including her) - that I had to put it down for a month or two before trying it again. So it took me months to get through a chicklit-style fantasy novel! Most of those sections were near the beginning of the book, so I'll probably (cautiously) try the next one.
(5, O3)
I'd gotten really burned out on the original series for this, Irredeemable - it's just so relentlessly bleak - so I almost didn't try this one. Glad I did, though. A bad guy compelled by circumstances to become a good guy leaves a lot more room for comedy and hope than the other way around... and I'm now caught up in the world of the story enough to want to go back to the Irredeemables, as well.
(1, O1)
A God Somewhere, by John Arcudi and Peter Snejbjerg
An existentialist, power-mad, Nietzschean, single-volume superhero. There was a comic book series a few years back - maybe it's still going on? - that tried to set Greek tragedy in the present day, and (IMO) failed, because it lacked the depth and passion and vividness of its source material. This story is much less obviously drawn from that well, but does a better job of pulling out the same mix of emotions. Very tasty.
(2)
Joe the Barbarian, by Grant Morrison and Sean Murphy
Powerful, witty, gripping, and adventurous. Balances several levels of tension expertly, and is beautifully drawn to boot. I was all "how did I never hear of this brilliant graphic novel classic before??" and then found out it's relatively new... last two years. So, I guess you could add timeless to that list of adjectives as well.
(3, O2)
Essential Dykes to Watch Out For, by Alison Bechdel
Memories piled upon memories for me, reading this "best of" collection for a strip I first started following in the mid-90s in Montreal. It was neat to watch the evolution of so many favorite characters, telescoped into a mere 300 pages or so.
(4)
Death's Daughter, by Amber Benson
Hm. I have severely mixed feelings about this fluffy contemporary fantasy. At it's best, it's hilarious and winning, but there were several sections where I just got so darn *annoyed* with the protagonist or the explicitly stated world-building assumptions (hint: Kali is not actually "all washed up" as far as modern-day worshipers go: fun character, crappy Eurocentric(?) logic for including her) - that I had to put it down for a month or two before trying it again. So it took me months to get through a chicklit-style fantasy novel! Most of those sections were near the beginning of the book, so I'll probably (cautiously) try the next one.
(5, O3)
