Confusing, emotionally not grabbing me, having a hard time keeping up with all the world building. (The latter is not a complaint, merely an admissionConfusing, emotionally not grabbing me, having a hard time keeping up with all the world building. (The latter is not a complaint, merely an admission.)
Enough so that rather than a review, I’ll leave you my notes to keep straight what and fucking who is who.
Maika Halfwolf - one-armed protagonist, Arcanic, daughter of Moriko (who was associate of Yvette) Arcanic - race of usually “monsters”, magic sometimes Shaman-Empress - most powerful Arcanic, Sciencemaster Monstra - ghosts manifested corporeal by Arcanics Tuya - friend of Maika Kippa - fox-tailed Arcanic
Federation - land/nation of humans, enemies of Arcanics Zamora - a Federation City, site of massacre by Arcanics The Cumea - ruling class of witch-nuns, human, ruled by Inquisitrixes Lady Sophia Fekete - a Cumean nun, known for her knives, glasses Lady Atena - associate of Sophia Lady Yvette Lo Lim - Sophia’s mother, grey hair, scarred left face
Daughters of Eden - humans, separate from Federation and it’s hatred
Constantine - site of a battle where 146K died Lilium - an Arcanic deterrent energy
Merged review:
Confusing, emotionally not grabbing me, having a hard time keeping up with all the world building. (The latter is not a complaint, merely an admission.)
Enough so that rather than a review, I’ll leave you my notes to keep straight what and fucking who is who.
Maika Halfwolf - one-armed protagonist, Arcanic, daughter of Moriko (who was associate of Yvette) Arcanic - race of usually “monsters”, magic sometimes Shaman-Empress - most powerful Arcanic, Sciencemaster Monstra - ghosts manifested corporeal by Arcanics Tuya - friend of Maika Kippa - fox-tailed Arcanic
Federation - land/nation of humans, enemies of Arcanics Zamora - a Federation City, site of massacre by Arcanics The Cumea - ruling class of witch-nuns, human, ruled by Inquisitrixes Lady Sophia Fekete - a Cumean nun, known for her knives, glasses Lady Atena - associate of Sophia Lady Yvette Lo Lim - Sophia’s mother, grey hair, scarred left face
Daughters of Eden - humans, separate from Federation and it’s hatred
Constantine - site of a battle where 146K died Lilium - an Arcanic deterrent energy...more
Really intriguing world Snyder and Daniels are creating here. Unique enough not to feel derivative (if you know what I mean). Enjoying getting to knowReally intriguing world Snyder and Daniels are creating here. Unique enough not to feel derivative (if you know what I mean). Enjoying getting to know Val, not quite so interested in the secondary characters (who fee a lot more like NPCs).
Dark world (seriously). Lots of good thinking about what life’s like once sunlight is gone.
Just a little disappointed by the info dump in issue 6, like they couldn’t decide whether to wrap this up or launch an new storyline from here. Felt a little like the end of a movie that you can just tell they’ve structured as a trilogy. Maybe if it didn’t feel like a six-issue climax I’d feel better about this. But it won’t stop me from reading the next trade when it drops next year.
Thematic BuddyRead with that gang we shouldn’t even be admitting to belonging to (but somehow proudly emblazon it wherever we go), the Shallow Comic RThematic BuddyRead with that gang we shouldn’t even be admitting to belonging to (but somehow proudly emblazon it wherever we go), the Shallow Comic Readers. [image] Criteria: An embarrassing amount of jugs on display
Yes, Miller had a real talent for drawing...
[image] [Composition]
[image] [it's almost balletic]
...even if he spent a remarkable amount of time focusing on the female nipple...
[image] [image] [image] [image] [image] [image] [image] [image] [image] [image] [image] [image] [image] [I mean, seriously Frank. Porn wasn't *that* hard to acquire in the 80's...]
And no, I can't approve of the throwback-to-unapologetic-misogyny times.
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For the most part this is less "great noir homage" (cf. Brubaker/Phillips) and more "cliche-ridden tripe" - he executes the basic maneuvers but lacks any finesse:
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Given that Miller fridges a woman in Act One, bathes women in the Male Gaze and zealously populates the 'world' with distasteful caricatures of 'independent' women, it's hard to believe Miller sees women as a species as equal to men, or ever would put in the effort to portray them as such.
(Note: there's only one type of woman who's worth respect, the nurse:)
[image] [spoiler: Miller's mother was a nurse]
I ask this question every once in a while, 'cause I'm genuinely curious: if a writer consistently and deeply takes on a slur/bigotry-ridden tone in their writing, is that just an ironic distance thing, or do they actually enjoy embodying and proliferating this kind of prejudice and hatred? Every writer has a blank canvas upon which to spatter their imagination - if they continue to choose a specific subject matter time after time, is that choice, compulsion or just random chance?
I ask the same thing of Garth Ennis, who 'liberally' garnishes his hilarious writing with homophobic slurs. It makes me pause when I keep coming across this kind of streak (and with Ennis, it's a lifelong thing). In his case, he's a good enough writer (see some of his less-exaggerated over the top works to get my meaning) that it makes me wonder whether he's being ironic/holding up a mirror to society, or if he's just a bigot and enjoys expressing it. Occam's Razor or artistic commentary?
Looking at the twisted wreck of a man that Miller became in later life (the later books like All-Star Batman and Robin, the Boy Wonder, Vol. 1 & Holy Terror, his attitudes towards Occupy Wall Street), and comparing it to the dark/fascist hints in his earlier works, it's hard for me not believe that the later man was always in Miller and just was amplified after 9/11 - set free to fully embrace his angry/fearful/under-empathetic personality.
IIRC, in later Sin City books, the best a woman can be is the gang of murderous prostitutes.
Marv on the other hand is Miller's libertarian ideal: the ubermensch, fighting against the forces of order and oppression, overcoming them all with the super-strength and iron resolve of a Man who knows he's right when all others say he's wrong.
Marv looks like just a twisted, flat copy of Batman - the Batman Miller wanted to write, the Batman he's finally fully realized years later in Holy Terror:
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[image] [Put a pointy cowl on the guy and give him a giant penny]
Are there people in the world like Marv? Or Goldie? Or the dirty cops, or prostitutes, or Angry unsanctioned racist not-batman? Of course. Welcome to a planet of 7 billion. I guess that makes Miller an historian, a sociologist, a cartographer of the disgusting wasteland of humanity.
Very egalitarian and progressive of you Professor Miller.
Is Miller notable in comics history? Of course. He's taken steps that dragged comics out of the technicolor 70's and into the dark 80's. We gained an art form that took on adult levels of anger, violence and sad disappointment.
Does he deserve a place on the current shelf of "best comics creators"? That's for each of us to decide. Not hard to see where I stand on the matter, but I'd be an ass to assume mine is the only opinion that matters.
At least the climactic confrontations were fun.
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Four stars for some generally great art, minus two stars for a sad little tale from a sad little shell of a man, aspiring to become the more powerful, brave, righteous, merciless man that he drew....more
Penultimate. One more to the glorious (overdue) end!
In the past I noticed that when I ran across the more ridiculous scenes in a Chew trade, I found mPenultimate. One more to the glorious (overdue) end!
In the past I noticed that when I ran across the more ridiculous scenes in a Chew trade, I found myself either laughing spontaneously or putting myself in a mood where I was ready to smile at the absurd. That's this series' primary appeal for me, and I didn't want to miss maximizing my enjoyment.
Somehow though, when I found the scene in which Tony's daughter is swinging a jello battle-axe, I just powered through.
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Notable revelations: - new jobs for D-Bear, Olive - Backstory on why Mason Savoy is so obsessed with exposing the bird flu conspiracy - Prehistoric origins of the sky writing threat
The latter is where I'm most interested - as if Guillory is ready to wrap this super-stretched storyline up soon, and plots like he still means it.
We've all been bitching for a few books now how languid the pace of the story got in the middle of the run - going in circles plot-wise, giving us no real momentum, lots of poyo diversions and pointless new food freaks (with no impact to the overall story).
It seemed like the creators committed (to someone - themselves? Image? Family members?) to a sixty-issue run [like Aaron's Scalped, or Vaughan's Y] that would be epic in scope, but hadn't worked out what they'd do with a third of the run in the middle.
[image] [Ironic they'd include this throwaway line...]
It's really too bad because if they'd chopped out some of the fluff, and kept at the madcap pace they'd started with, fans would be eating this shit up.
I'm one of those guys who like to support the fun books, and I've committed to seeing this through to the end, but it's sometimes been a chore. (Like trying to keep a Windows computer free of viruses, or never wearing the same clothes two days in a row. Who's got time for these inevitable failures, man?)
Death death and ... more death to come I'm sure. Good. Or bad. I don't know for sure, but let's just get this finished.
Four stars - I'm being generous, and it's because the damned ante got raised with some measurable emotion attached....more
Good solid story weaving in more of the back-herstory of our Queens. I like getting to know these warriors and their complicated stories - the subtletGood solid story weaving in more of the back-herstory of our Queens. I like getting to know these warriors and their complicated stories - the subtleties of being frail, broken humans (and other species), the joy of being weird and lustful and hedonistic and self-flagellating.
I love the art - with just a tad difference from the previous artist - that I was hoping she'd stick around.
And now I don't know what to think. The former artist was great: his replacement was pretty great too. I don't want this book to stop - in fact, I wish it'd come faster.
Yet...
What can I do in loving this book that won't eventually turn to the question of whether my support of the book is tacit support of a spouse-and-child-abuser - whether once or serially? I am disgusted by creators caught in similar scandals and I've generally put them on the never-read-let-alone-pay-them-again darklist.
There's no way I can support a creative team that not only brings this abuser back in, but also treats their second artist as poorly as it seems they've done to Fowler.
What the fuck guys? Is this something you'd be proud to tell your fans? Are you going to blithely carry on then, and hope that people forget you're both kinda scummy?
Shit. I was really looking forward to curling up with these Queens for years. Now I feel like there's little way I can justify calling myself a fan.
Guess I'll have to see what I think in a year, when the next trade eventually saunters onto the shelves.
And until then, I'll rate this volume without consideration for this shit - both to give Fowler a deserved boost, and because the story *was* damned fun.
Fuck.
Edit: as I said in my comments below, there's no telling who's a bad person here and who's a victim - which probably means they're all a little worse for wear, and we'll never know for sure who to believe. At best there's some bad feelings and controversy swirling here; most likely, there's some bad behaviour and misunderstandings among people who aren't entirely equipped to deal with the vagaries and challenges of life (and who among us is?). Ugh. Might be best to let this book fade out and out all your energies into something fresh folks. Hope all the best for those who've been touched by this mess.
I just finished reading volume 3 of this extremely compelling series, and I cannot _believe_ what Soule has cooked up this time for t What. The. FUCK.
I just finished reading volume 3 of this extremely compelling series, and I cannot _believe_ what Soule has cooked up this time for twists.
If you've been reading the previous books like I have, you are getting used to Soule crafting an Olympic-level chess match between all the players of the various layers of this story. Political factions and opponents extremely well-matched (like the First Lady playing the Impeachment-leading congressman like a fiddle, or the ex-President anticipating and flanking every move the current President makes on the world stage).
Well, get ready to take it up to 11.
The escalation of world tensions goes off the hook - world war and all its rampant apocalyptic outcomes, crazy world leader-level actions inevitable or surprising...shit, reading this review must sound like I've not got hold of my faculties, because I don't want to give away any of the amazing page turns here, but I can't help by try to allude to some of the reasons why YOU HAVE TO READ THIS BOOK.
I love the batshit and frustrating stuff we get from the spacefarers and their alien friends too. Well, "enablers" or "keepers" more like, but we're never sure if they're benevolent of malificient (is that a word now? Doesn't matter, it's more interesting than using the predictable "malicious" here). Soule structures this book with escalating piano-wire tension, lots of short bursts of cycling storylines to keep us engaged and wanting to get back to what-the-fuck-is-going-on-now, and terribly interesting plot.
I want to invent a time machine and fly forward six months so I can get my hands on the next volume NOW. (And maybe some winning lotto numbers so I can afford to buy crates of this series and give it away to all my friends.)
Just one question for the artist: are you suggesting some of the aliens are into body modification?
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No criticism here - the artwork (pencils and colours) is awesome....more
Thematic BuddyRead with that gang we shouldn’t even be admitting to belonging to (but somehow proudly emblazon it wherever we go), the Shallow Comic RThematic BuddyRead with that gang we shouldn’t even be admitting to belonging to (but somehow proudly emblazon it wherever we go), the Shallow Comic Readers. [image] *Criteria: An embarrassing amount of jugs on display*
Here's a cheery beginning to a comic that's been mostly about fun and frolic for five previous volumes - here's the greatest hits of the downer moments we occasionally saw, all re-presented early on to get your motor revving: - Blubbering confessions of inadequacy by the main protagonist - Downer scene where dead heroes are eulogized and secrets are squashed - Asshole "heroes" take advantage of their lessers
Is this book becoming a cross between Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Garth Ennis' The Boys?
The opening passage had me laughing, so this secondary feeling creeping in is bumming me out man. I get this momentary feeling that the book has peaked and now it's just going to be a slow slide into repetition. (Layman's Chew, anyone?)
Eloquent rants by the imprisoned demon aside... [image]
OTOH, Warren explores at least one new concept I wouldn't have imagined myself - psychic emulations that the telepath left on her girlfriend's memories:
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This story overall though, it felt more like a semi-precious stone on a beach full of familiar rocks, and I was hoping to see a rainbow-painted dolphin or some surfing armadillos.
Simple summer time-waster for the already-indoctrinated Empowered reader. (Dogs help you if this is your first book - oh the confusion!)
It wouldn't be a Boob Window review without some examination of the artistic rendering of the female anatomy, thus: it must be said that when Adam Warren puts his mind to it, he gets the basic physics of the female secondary sex characteristics:
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However, there's just as many times he's apparently drawing on autopilot (not to be confused with any noun preceded by autoerotic):
[image] [no that frame is not rotated, that's our Emp hanging upside down, apparently in a reverse-gravity field]
But damn if he doesn't know how to render a comely female form, and have a few laughs on the subject while he's at it:
Gorgeous art, arresting premise, good storytelling.
I have the great fortune to live in Portland, where Kelly Sue either (a) lives or (b) has stationeGorgeous art, arresting premise, good storytelling.
I have the great fortune to live in Portland, where Kelly Sue either (a) lives or (b) has stationed an incredible LMD to keep us fooled.
I have gone out for nearly every signing that Kelly Sue has held, and taken the time to get to know her as a person (almost moreso than as a writer).
Kelly Sue's a fascinating person - opinionated and generous, painfully self-critical and talented and expressive as soon as she gets out of her own way. Successful in ways I could only envy - every time I see her table at one of the Portland comics shows, the lineup of people waiting to see her gets longer and more daunting. (Hell, at the last Rose City Comicon, I almost walked straight up to her table because I assumed the line of 30+ people was waiting for the bathroom. Barely walked away with my life.)
The stories of Kelly Sue's that I like best as weird/dark and sarcastic as hell, expressing a point of view that is fuelled by incredibly personal feminism and socialism, without becoming that kind of smash-you-over-the-head screed that unsubtle creators throw at us when they're new to the gig. (I still remember my brother taking me to see one of his Toronto theatre idols do a one-man show about politics that couldn't have been more political and tone-deaf if it was written by a ten-year-old. We were both disappointed to the point of drink.)
This book has all the markings of near-future sci-fi, and some great characters who I'm instantly interested in (and in the case of Penny, instantly in love with)....more
Tension, lots of slow-building tension. Even before this book was done for me, I was sure it wouldn't resolve any of the big questions: who will win iTension, lots of slow-building tension. Even before this book was done for me, I was sure it wouldn't resolve any of the big questions: who will win in the battle between 43 and 44? Will the alien Chandelier turn out to be a weapon or a communication device (or something else)? How will international tensions be eased? Will the U.S. (and the world) survive?
Even one issue in, Soule's masterful, deliberately slow but progressive unspooling of the plots is painful...because it's impossible to let go.
Then on top of it, Soule goes and looks at some of the most unjust, illogical events of recent history and finds a way to use them directly in service of the great conspiracy. Housing bubble? Funding campaign for the weapons research. Pretty clever shtick mister, awfully sharp.
From page one, this friggin book escalates like an unconscious body in free fall, pushed from a plane without a parachute. There's no WAY we'll survive this shit at the end, as fast as it's coming to meet us, and I can neither avoid meeting the end headlong nor staring straight at the horror that approacheth.
Tortured analogies aside, this book is at least as good as Book One, just as deliciously satisfying for its cynical West Wing politics and its brain-stretching look at alien encounters.
As usual, the story gets ridiculous pretty damn fast:
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And that's *after* the Poyo fantasy sequence, de rigeur:
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OTOH, the Very Serious is iAs usual, the story gets ridiculous pretty damn fast:
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And that's *after* the Poyo fantasy sequence, de rigeur:
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OTOH, the Very Serious is in play as well:
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But super-silly is the name of the game 'round these parts:
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What always cheers me up is how ridiculously illustrated this book is:
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And then Layman and Guillory hand us a last page that makes them deserve to die in a carcinogenic tire fire. Fuck.
Pretty satisfying book, all in all. Thank christ they moved some stuff forward. It was getting excruciating in the last couple of books. Good news fellow Shallow Comic Readers - there's hope left in this series! Come back, it's redeemable! I swear. ...more
Still feeling conflicted about this comic. It's a bit embarrassing to read next to my wife, for one. She hasn't caught me reading a spank book yet, buStill feeling conflicted about this comic. It's a bit embarrassing to read next to my wife, for one. She hasn't caught me reading a spank book yet, but it's only a matter of time before she notices a page with the hot, curvy, mostly-naked, tied-up heroine and loudly asks what exactly I'm reading.
It'll be almost as unnerving to read this on the bus to work.
And I can't exactly claim I *don't* like looking at the pictures.
And yet the author redeems himself quite often by (a) passing the Bechdel test, (b) regularly and self-referentially acknowledging the ridiculous premise, and (c) creating some adorably human and normal moments between the heroes.
Yet, the author also behaves as one who enjoys drawing the curvaceous female form in various states of peril. Should I despise him, for creating what he loves so? When creators create the things they'd like to read, that makes for better comics. And these are certainly entertaining enough to drag my attention away from all the more admired comics among my piles of paper and electrons.
Still enjoying the hell out of the Demonspawn - Doomspeak and Doom levels of arrogance make for hilarious dialogue.
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And enjoyed some depth of character origin in our little Emp. Almost made me cry it was so sad.
Also like the back-of-the-envelope theory on the variable fallibility of Emp's costume - correlates solely on her self-esteem eh? Well that's pretty...believable, for a titillating silly book like this at least. ...more
Emp is a tricky comic to read let alone write about, considering the artistic subject matter. She's super-powered only when wearing a super-skin-tightEmp is a tricky comic to read let alone write about, considering the artistic subject matter. She's super-powered only when wearing a super-skin-tight body-paint costume; when that costume shreds (at the breath of a butterfly), she loses her powers and usually gets tied up; when she's tied up in a shredded costume, she looks ridiculously hot, vulnerable and uncomfortably manga-y.
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There, I said it. It's a comic tailor-made for the male gaze. And sometimes take swipes at the predicament and the premise to give us a slightly less-swollen sense of shame about it.
It's a little like Red Sonja or Power Girl - I feel like they gotta work twice as hard to make this feel less like a guilty pleasure and more "intelligent" or "worthwhile" - like a Shallow Reader can't just enjoy it for what it is, without constantly watching over their shoulder to see who's going to catch me reading this would-cause-a-public-lynching-when-read-on-the-bus.
This first volume is particularly tricky, with short sequences and obligatory tied-up-in-costume-shreds filling out most of the page count. It mercifully starts to veer into ongoing storyline territory about a third the way through, so there's actually a heroine to cheer for, and some actual stakes she's engaged in claiming.
Funny thing tho - I found myself enjoying this, the more the characters accumulated an actual flawed-and-funny personality. (And the personality of the Immortal Demongoat, trapped in a bondage belt and lying on a table - that's almost Dr. Dinosaur worthy.)
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Most redeeming moments: when Emp speaks to the reader through the fourth wall of the intro panels. She's actually aware of how exploitative these little undressings are.
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Most uncomfortable moment: when Emp and her boy toy engage in some pretty pornhub-worthy action.
Most hilarious moments: every time the Caged Demonwolf speaks.
Most empathetic moment: Sistah Spooky's origin story. Makes me want to get to know her more.
Shallow Comic Reader approved(tm).
[Side note: this might be the only comic I first heard about on War Rocket Ajax that I actually *want* to keep reading.]...more
I crept up next to this book and pled, "Please, please be one of Remender's insanely entertaining books".
The book whispered to me, "Come stare into thI crept up next to this book and pled, "Please, please be one of Remender's insanely entertaining books".
The book whispered to me, "Come stare into the abyss of imagery that is just beyond the liminal boundary of understanding, and confront your duality in the torrid love affair between abject pessimism and swollen optimism."
"Sneak glimpses of glum tedium until you just can't take it anymore, then watch as it gets torn away like a tattered curtain and replaced by the shrill noise you hear when madness tries to speak to death, and you realize that you speak neither's language but still absorb an intuition of the tale."
I’m doing just as well at making as little sense as possible, as the artist has with the staging and action. I literally had *no* idea what half of the panels were meant to illustrate - is that orangey blob a deep-sea creature? A parapet? A weapon? A baby’s deformed head? Nobody can possibly tell me they followed the illustrations in this book - you and I both know that we’re just guessing what the fight scenes are doing, or what most of that background is supposed to mean. (It’s like someone spilled water on the watercolour painting - the lines are still there, but everything got all swirly-muddy and nothing makes sense anymore.)
Damned shame too, because I *think* there’s a grand story underneath this muddy, blurry mushroom trip. Suffice to say, Remender’s writing is not served by this art, unless it was intentionally scuffed up to keep us from following it in the details.
I can clearly say it’s a coin toss whether I’ll follow this tale - there’s some great revenge fantasy as well as sci-fi heroism available in the plot, but it’s near-impossible to get into because I’m always rubbing my eyes, hoping the damned scenes will come into focus. Thus, not an enjoyable read. More like something that got assigned in Grade 10 English class (when they started forcing us to read Canadian literature, because *there’s* a rich history of bland writing…)...more
Son of a motherfucker, does Latour ever grind up his characters into some of the most grizzled, tough-as-oak bastards I've ever not met.
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This iSon of a motherfucker, does Latour ever grind up his characters into some of the most grizzled, tough-as-oak bastards I've ever not met.
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This is tense reading, trying to decide whether to hate or pity the man that is and was Euless Boss. As a boy with the worst possible chances given him by that evil monster called Life, he's a complete sad sack with no reason to even look at him. As a boy so low he'll do whatever weird-ass things it takes to make the team, he's slightly admirable in his misery.
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(And it gives me great pleasure to see butter used in such a hilarious context.)
These two Jason's are quite the masters of southern misery aren't they? This second collection absolutely wallows in collective shitting on the heads of people who already earned their lifetime supply. It's vivid, it's easy to believe you're right there, and it's oddly enjoyable to wallow this close up.
Yes, we come to understand Coach Boss in a way I never expect to find of a villain - even after Aaron's Scalped made the arch-villain into a tragic hero. Yes, Aaron is way too sympathetic to his bullies - or maybe likes to make them live deep in the muck of their own making.
Gorgeous book - entirely useable and appropriate in this story, and gives us some shades of grey to go with our moral outrage. No way this doesn't make the next book with the daughter go down like a glass of broken glass. ...more
Still love the irreverence. As much as anything, just hearing all the smack and snide talk from these women - in circumstances where the hero party woStill love the irreverence. As much as anything, just hearing all the smack and snide talk from these women - in circumstances where the hero party would normally be so dour, earnest and/or heroic - makes this a good read for me.
It's been too long since I read the first book though, and I don't remember how much of the plot, subplots or character flaws are callbacks, and which is new stuff.
Y'know what? Fuck this, I'm going back to re-read it. I bought it, might as well get my money's worth. See you in a bit...
...
Yep, this book definitely benefits from remembering the events and character moments of the previous volume. Ahhh, that's better. I remember now why I like these women and secondary characters so much. A helluva lot more interesting than one-dimensional "elf, Orc, fighter, thief" tropes usually gives up.
Wiebe goes a lot deeper with these characters than I would've expected from his fun, irreverent and flighty first volume. Here we get an interesting excuse to do a little flashbacking and origin mining - getting to know why Hannah is such a bitch to everyone (and wherefore the updo), tons of what-the-fuck on Dee's hipster-jungle vibe, and a really heartwarming backstory on Violet's family and bearded ladies.
I wanted to know more about these ladies last volume and I got my wish - and was NOT disappointed, which is a crazy-assed crapshoot with these new writers. Damned if I'm not a HUGE fan of these women now, and will probably start raving to everyone I know about this book. ...more
Oh lord below, just let me survive the slog through this book so I can eventually get to the next one (which Goodreads people *promise* me is good - oOh lord below, just let me survive the slog through this book so I can eventually get to the next one (which Goodreads people *promise* me is good - or at least tolerable). Maybe less rape, dick-talk from Negan and hand-wringing from the generic fools who populate this world.
Seriously, you've survived *years* among the walkers, biters and moaners, and you *still* don't have sense enough to keep your head down and one eye over your shoulder EVERY DAMNED WAKING MOMENT? You *deserve* to die, Stupid Nameless Background Character #473 - there is no zombie-apocalypse earth on which you earned the right to eat the last of the organic carrots.
There are plenty of Dramatic Moments of Culmination - at least, that’s the way they’re played, even though I couldn’t be bothered to even try to remember who any of these extras are. Deathbed hand-wringing, stand-up speechifying, meaningful glares and sidelong glances…it’s all sturm und drang with no cliff walls from which to echo balefully.
The inevitable stand-off and stand-down occurs (Because Rick), and then this book just takes a leap of writer’s ego and terror that I CANNOT condone: (view spoiler)[Rick spares Negan’s life, because “we’re better than that”. (hide spoiler)]
Here’s the deal: murderous pieces of shit need to die, to preserve the herd. You leave a diseased fish in the tank, they all gonna perish. Spoiled apple, there goes the barrel o’ monkeys. Ripe banana? Separate it from the others, lest you have ten pounds of black cigars on your hands.
What. The. Fuck. Does Kirkman think he’s pulling, keeping that turd in play? There is only one reason to keep a character like that - not because the readers like him, or he’s necessary for some dramatic outcome later on. No, he’s alive only because Kirkman is too lazy to come up with a *novel* threat to the humans. Every other scene where this kind of outcome is threatened, we get rid of the rot. This dude lives so that Kirkman can pull him out later and get a cheap jump scare, and some lazy drama.
Fuuuuuck that. I see you coming Kirkman, and I will continue to read your shitty books for free whenever they show up at the library shelves. (Oh sure, I’ll keep reading this - it’s a sport for me to crap on Kirkman twice a year. Like one of my favourite holidays.)...more
Such an easy, breezy, fast-moving read. Even though so little is actually explained - or maybe because of it - this just turns pages so damned fast. ISuch an easy, breezy, fast-moving read. Even though so little is actually explained - or maybe because of it - this just turns pages so damned fast. It's a perfect Sunday-with-a-steaming-cup kind of read.
Bagley is one of the artists from Bendis' incredible run on Ultimate Spider-Man, and this book can't help but feel like a side-chapter from that incredible collaboration. But what I don't quite get out of this is a sense of the characters through their facial expressions. Everyone seems to look a little muted, like those loose drawings never quite come into focus, so you lose the ability to really clarify what everyone is thinking or feeling.
The story of geniuses that somehow invent superpowers is a neat angle to explore, but is almost a complete aside to the core story. They're treated as any curiosity, and while the authorities are scared and skeptical, it's not like they would proceed any differently in any police procedural. In fact, as much as I've enjoyed Bendis in the past as joyously as I have, this did as little for me as it did for many of my GoodReads compatriots.
It's not that I don't care for these characters - though they were pretty bland, I at least didn't want to see them fry for doing so little. But there were few surprises as there was no previously stark or unique behaviour against which to surprise me. Stock TV teledrama characters, acting out the usual "how do we hide this from the government?"
I can see that Bendis is looking to crank this up a notch - slowly encircle the kids with corporate sharks who will make any gubmint authority look like child's play - and this is the only reason to give this series another chance whenever Bendis & Bagley can squeeze out another handful of issues. I am *all in* if they can really illustrate the insidiously sociopathic nature of corporate conglomerates - as long as it doesn't end up looking like a couple of bad seeds. It'll make me a helluva lot happier if, after taking down the first few evil powermongers, everyone realizes that the next ten to replace them are even worse, and there's no stopping the endlessly voracious and silently single-minded beast....more
Once again, DAMN Bendis, why you gotta make everyone else seem like they're trying too hard to be funny when it seems to just roll off your polished wOnce again, DAMN Bendis, why you gotta make everyone else seem like they're trying too hard to be funny when it seems to just roll off your polished white head?
I swear Oeming is just getting better as an artist. Same core style - capital-S style - and in this volume I'm noticing him add elements to the edges of the pages that aren't strictly necessary to advance the strory. Beakers lined along a page with scientists, an out-of-context sexual picture that might represent a flashback or a warped memory, but goes unexplained. Weird, leaving me feel slightly off-Center, and *that* is the best way to engage me a little deeper.
Oeming's further a master of the unusual and visually interesting camera angles. No one does overhead shots like this guy, or can make battle scenes seem as action-y and exciting as him. I was flipping pages through this book like a crazed madman, especially as the trouble heated up.
And man does shit heat up here. I fucking love this series. Walker/Millenium is *not* doing well, and the secret forces around him aren't exactly giving him a break.
Story ends on a great change moment, and I can't wait for more of this.
Can I confess something here, my fellow shallow readers? Are we alone? OK good. Deena. Freaking. Pilgrim. Hot. Bitter, angry, chip-on-her-shoulder-a-mile-long hot. That attitude, as much as anything else about this book, keeps me coming back for more. In my youth I would've pursued this woman until my hands bled. Well, come to think of it there were a couple of women in college who probably wished I never heard of them, and they both had unattainable attitudes like this. Growr!...more
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