What Are You Reading In April 2014?

Hey, everybody! Mostly doing the prose thing so far this month but have taken the time to read some old floppies (Batman: Hidden Treasures, The Savage Hulk, Miracleman). Oh, and I put Identity Crisis on hold at the library 'cause I got sick of reading all the spoilerific reviews of same on the Internets and figured I just needed to check it out for myself. You?

I've finished All-New X-Men, vol.1: Yesterday's X-Men. I'm not into Marvel Now and didn't read X-Men since 90's, but I've risked trying this book mainly due to Stuart Immonen's art. Bendis crafted a fresh story out of a tired concept (time travel + come from past to save the future + mutants). Curiously, the rate of action scenes for a X-book is very low and the character development is very strong, what turns out into the fresh thing cited above. In summary, very good. Regarding the art, Immonen gives a subtle nod to the row of previous X-artists that works like some Comic Nuggets, like the Illiana hair style by Arthur Adams. What an old fan could say?

I've been reading Morning Glories which has been compared to the television show 'Lost' (which i haven't seen. The art is great (they really nail facial expressions in some panels), and the story has me pretty much hooked.

2> I also haven't read the X-men since the 90s and sometimes think of dipping my toe back in, someday I'll take the plunge.

3> Try this first tpb. If you don't like it I will reimburse you (just kidding :)).

I'm reading Sin City (finished 1&2, still have 3 to go), and have started Wasteland - I've got the really heavy Apocalyptic edition, both volumes. And the 2nd issue of 100 Bullets. Then I really have to slow down on the comics and catch up on the stuff I'm supposed to be doing!

Finished Identity Crisis (well, the story itself, anyway - haven't got to all the text stuff in the back yet) - not a masterpiece, but a pretty engrossing read nonetheless. I'll try to write up a proper review later on today.

>5 EnidaV:

I still really enjoy Frank Miller's stuff (I even liked the near-universally-reviled All Star Batman & Robin, which is kind of amusing if read in a certain light), even though we seem to be on opposite sides of the political spectrum these days.

>3 brianjungwi: I'm hooked on Morning Glories, too, brian. But I have to admit the story has become confusing for me. I'm hoping it'll become less so as the series works toward a conclusion.

I'm still working on The Graphic Canon Vol. 1 (it's long!), and alternating with Vagabond Vol. 35, the Musashi-based series with great artwork by Takehiko Inoue.

I have finished Aquaman Vol.2: The Others by Geoff Johns, which I actually read in floppies. Action-packed! A new background is being created by Johns with his Movie-Maker's keen eye to what works on the character. Ivan Reis's art is again incredible.

Here's my Identity Crisis review (actually posted on LT this time!):

http://www.librarything.com/work/120163/reviews/108007232

Found a copy of What's Michael #10 in the used book store - reading it really made me want to find some other volumes - the art is wonderful and the observations of cat (and human) behavior are superb.

I have finished Fashion Beast which is based in a screenplay by Alan Moore and Malcolm MacLaren. The association of the name of Moore and Avatar Press led me to think about the extreme violence or sexual perversions of his current works, but the name of the McLaren, the punk svengali, pushed me to pick this book. And what a good choice!
Fashion Beast is the adaptation of an unfilmed movie that the hippie wizard and the punk svengali crafted in late 80's, which proposal is a cross between Beauty and the Beast and the fashion world, with a very light tone. Antony Johnston turns the experience fluid and the Facundo Percio's art is amazing, creating a fairy tale atmosphere with shades of Terry Gilliam's Brazil.
With a good pace and some small twists, this work can sit on the same shelf with any of the 80's works from Moore.

Yech, I looked up Frank Miller on Wikipedia and read what the things he said about the Occupy Wall Street protests. I've just started reading Chris Hedges and Joe Sacco's book, Days of Destruction, Days of Revolt which is partly about the protests and the income inequality in the States.

>13 EnidaV:

I love Chris Hedges, and that book sounds excellent (and it's at my local public library!). Many thanks for the heads-up. :)

War is a Force That Gives Us Meaning was a book that really...hmm I don't know how to put it, but if you've read it too, I guess you'll understand. If I say "it affected me deeply" I'll sound like a pretentious ass. Joe Sacco's books about Palestine and the war in the Balkans were equally compelling. So I am keeping my hanky handy. :)

I've never read any of Hedges' books in its entirety. I do, however, clearly recall seeing a lengthy interview with him on C-SPAN (http://www.c-span.org/) a year or so back and thinking, "Uh, can we get a thousand or so more people like him, please?"

I don't think saying a book affected you deeply makes you sound pretentious at all. That's the whole point of reading, isn't it? Doesn't particularly matter if it's non-fiction, fiction, comics, or whatever, either. I find it much more disconcerting to find out that someone is reading merely to pass the time. If you aren't occasionally reading things that touch you in some profound way, I would think you would want to look into making some changes in your choice of reading matter.

Not familiar with Joe Sacco's work, although I know that his work has generated a fair amount of controversy, including a fair amount of it in this very group. Having said that, I think it's it's very difficult to deal with the subject matter that he does and not upset somebody.

I understand that the whole Palestine-Israel issue is always going to be a thorny one but Joe Sacco has also written two brilliant books about the Balkan wars, Safe Area Gorazde and The Fixer. Sacco went into Gorazde, a Muslim safe area stranded deep in Serbian territory, and made friends with the inhabitants. He does give you a very brief background to explain why the Serbs hate the Muslims but it is pretty sketchy (The Fixer is a follow up, but once again it's one-sided). So I don't consider Joe Sacco a journalist, even thought I think he considers himself one and I know he has a degree in journalism. I just like all of his books because they are very moving personal tales of people going through difficult times. AND he is an amazing artist, a master of the cross-hatch technique. It takes me ages to read his books because I feel I have to look at every face, every window, every plant and every other teeny tiny detail because he has taken the time to draw them.

The only other artist that I've read who has an even more stupendous mastery of cross-hatching is Howard Cruse and his brilliant, brilliant book Stuck Rubber Baby.

8 jnwelch> Morning Glories has me confused at times as well. I think reading them as tpb(s) helped, now that i'm almost caught up, i think it'll be a challenge to keep things clear month to month.

Currently reading I'll give it my all...tomorrow, a manga about a salary man who quits his job and decides to be a manga artist. It's a nice mid-life crisis/love-able 'loser' type story.

I just finished Mimi Pond's Eggs Over Easy, which I really loved!

I liked Vagabond Vol. 35 very much, and by the number you can tell I'm hooked on this series by Takehiko Inoue. It's an adaptation of the story of legendary swordsman Miyamoto Mushashi, and very well done. I'm continually impressed by the artwork.

>17 EnidaV:

I am becoming increasingly suspicious that we were separated at birth. :D

Use of cross-hatching is probably my favorite technique to geek out on in illustration. I tuned into that aspect of Sacco's work right away when I picked up that book we started discussing back in #13. I know I've seen Cruse's work before but I'll be damned if I can remember where; I'll have to make it a point to research his him further.

Some other artists who make very effective use of this technique are Robert Crumb (his landscape drawings, such as those collected in The R. Crumb Coffee Table Art Book, are particularly jaw-dropping in this regard) and Bernie Wrightson (the painstaking artistry of his Frankenstein illustrations are an especially humbling example of this master's work). The old EC guys (Jack Davis in particular) are also great to check out, as are the old masters like Dürer:

http://donauschwaben-usa.org/Albrecht%20D%C3%BCrer_%20Rhinocerus%20woodcut.jpg

>21 artturnerjr:

Wrightson's Frankenstein is indeed mind-blowing. You would probably also appreciate the linework of the Filipino artists Alfredo Alcala, Alex Niño, & Ernie Chan. They more or less got me into reading mainstream comics when I saw their work in Marvel's black & white mag, Savage Sword of Conan, in the '70s.

>21 artturnerjr:
I would also recommend Moebius (Incal) and Brian Bolland (Killing Joke) for some fine cross-hatching. Al Williamson has some good use of fine lines, even in his inker works, like in the Daredevil by John Romita Jr..

>22 edgewood: & 23

Fan of all of the above. Brian Bolland is even more meticulous than Wrightson, if such a thing is possible - that's why he pretty much exclusively does covers now.

ETA: Here's a nice example of Bolland's cross-hatching technique:

Wow! I should say right now that I have no drawing talent whatsoever. It's amazing to me that these artists can make images of such power using only black ink. In a way their more impressive than the images with color, aren't they?

I've looked up every artist you guys have pointed me towards (thank you!) but even though the library system here is gigantic and has 10000+ volumes of graphic novels, but very few of them are illustrated by any of these artists. I guess B & W is not popular with the mainstream comics publishers?

I did get the ( R. Crumb ) book he did with his wife Aline but yech...I shouldn't throw stones since the best I can doodle is funny hats but she can't draw very well, can she?

(BTW if it's been irritating people, I'm sorry I've taken so long to figure out how to do Touchstones)

.....whoops, I thought I needed 2 sets of brackets for an author!

>25 EnidaV:

I did get the R. Crumb book he did with his wife Aline but yech...I shouldn't throw stones since the best I can doodle is funny hats but she can't draw very well, can she?

I'm not really a big fan of Aline's work. Otoh, I am quite fond of Robert's brother Maxon's stuff. And Sophie Crumb (i.e., the lady that calls Robert and Aline "mom and dad") has some interesting-looking work out there, too:

http://sophiecrumb.blogspot.com/

What happened to Jesse Crumb's drawing career? In the Crumb movie, which came out ages (20 years?) ago, he was drawing with his dad so he clearly inherited the family talent but when I Googled him all I came up with were some cards.

I guess Maxon is the guy who was always sitting on the board of nails to stop himself from sexually assaulting women? I don't have the greatest memory but his description of how he pulled down a girl's pants in a drug store and her butt popped out just like 2 ripe peaches has somehow been stuck permanently in my brain.

>28 EnidaV:

I guess Maxon is the guy who was always sitting on the board of nails to stop himself from sexually assaulting women? I don't have the greatest memory but his description of how he pulled down a girl's pants in a drug store and her butt popped out just like 2 ripe peaches has somehow been stuck permanently in my brain.

Yeah, that was pretty disturbing, wasn't it? Actually the whole film is pretty disturbing; who would have guessed that Robert was the normal one in the family? :O