The Bullpen

[JoeyN]

Read Very Near Mint which was one of the Kickstarter projects I gave to. I enjoyed this a lot. Very fun book. You can check it out at verynearmint.com

[Sean M.]

Zak Smith's Pictures Showing What Happens on Each Page of Thomas Pynchon's Novel Gravity's Rainbow- I first saw the pictures on the net when I was reading the novel, Vince and Dave Faust made me aware of the book. I don't want to stray too far into hyperbole but it really is an amazing achievment and makes me realise that I should really read Gravity's Rainbow again. It also makes me wish that Smith would stop drawing picture of naked punk chicks and produce a comic book.

Jack Kirby's Fourth World Omnibus Volume 3- The saddest thing about this book is knowing that when it finishes in Volume 4 there is no more. I plan to read Final Crisis again immediately after just to peel back some more layers of Grant's magnum opus.

House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski- Dave Faust again made me aware of this through his posts in this thread. The cover was intriguing so following the standard googling, I picked it up. What I didn't realise from the pictures he posted was the size of this thing. For a novel it would make bloody giant  doorstop. I'm only a tiny way in but flipping through it, there seems to be some hyper-real textual play, which makes me giddy.

[Thanos.doom]

I am loving secret six  . You never know where this story is going and everything goes. 

[deadcowaroma]

I really, really, really appreciate what she's done with Finder.  It's amazing world building, which I tend to value pretty highly, and it just gets better the more of it you read.  But I don't love it.  I can't see being middle of the road on her stuff.  It's so unique, so idiosyncratic.  Her use of language, the way her stories are plotted, the sexuality that permeates the series; almost every element is in her voice and her style.  It doesn't always hit me just right, but it's always fascinating.  And you've got to read the annotations.  Please tell me the annotations made it into this edition.

I'm pretty sure. I'm taking the advice of the foreword though and ignoring the footnotes for the first time around.

[derek gagneaux]

I am loving secret six  . You never know where this story is going and everything goes. 

Karma.

Ragdoll's new team, The Secret Six Hundred and Sixty-Six, was pretty sweet.

[derek gagneaux]

These two issues of The Comics Journal





I actually subscribed to The Comics Journal (which is how I got a free copy of The Comics Journal Library Vol. 5: Classic Comics Illustrators). I can't wait for issue 301. It's a new format. 600+ pages of fantastic. Blessings be upon Fantagraphics for publishing this. I'd urge everyone to check out the Fantagraphics website if you haven't before. Almost all of their books ship with free signed bookplates, and if you join their 20/20 club there's no shipping and everything is 20% off.


PS- I swear that I don't work for Fantagraphics ... I just love comics.

[JimN]

I actually subscribed to The Comics Journal (which is how I got a free copy of The Comics Journal Library Vol. 5: Classic Comics Illustrators). I can't wait for issue 301. It's a new format. 600+ pages of fantastic. Blessings be upon Fantagraphics for publishing this. I'd urge everyone to check out the Fantagraphics website if you haven't before. Almost all of their books ship with free signed bookplates, and if you join their 20/20 club there's no shipping and everything is 20% off.

PS- I swear that I don't work for Fantagraphics ... I just love comics.

There's nothing wrong with that!

I love that Moon/Bá drawing.

Jim

[Lukeh]

Got my read on this morning.

Finished Bone!!! very satisfying read. Anyone who has this on the "too read" list get off ya arse and get it! Thing the complete volume only cost me 30 bucks(?) from amazon, for like 1300 plus pages. You can't go wrong with that!

After that I read Sam Kieths Ojo. Very cool story, in true Kieth style its slightly on the weird and creepy side and is all the more awesome for it.

Then I read Stumptown. For some reason I had a feeling this was going to be average, and had been hyped up a bit being from a fan fav. I have one thought. Awesome. I was a little skeptical about buying the HC for the price but am so glad I did. It's a complete package. But yeh the story and art is amazing. I been on a bit of a fantasy kick atm, so this was a refreshing change. IMO it doesn't get much better.

[Andrew Tom]

Read Hellboy: Vol. 8 Darkness Calls-  Another awesome Hellboy installment.  Which was expected.

Then I read The Goon: Vol. 1 Nuthin' but Misery.  Y'know, Zack told me what a great series this is; and I found a vol. 1 tpb (currently out of print) at C2E2.  All I can say is WOW!!!  I will definately have to pick up the rest of the Goon trades.  Love this title.

--Andy

[derek gagneaux]

Still on a Fantagraphics kick.

I just finished the third Jaime Hernandez Love and Rockets book: PERLA LA LOCA. It was just as great as the previous books. Jaime does very interesting things with story pacing. The beautiful ending of this volume made me feel a little choked up. Onto volume four: PENNY CENTURY!!!

Also halfway through The Comics Journal issue 300.

[JoeyN]

Spent the morning reading...



  

[Sean M.]

Steed & Mrs Peel (Grant Morrison/ Ian Gibson) - Why this has never been reprinted is a minor crime. Morrison matches himself nicely to the tone of the Avengers TV series, while Gibson's artwork has an impossiblly quaint English summer vibe combined with bande-desinee inflections. The backup two parter, which mixes in the Incas to the Avengers world nicely. A really fun little mini.

[Jeppe]

I finally got around to reading these. GREAT comics! While the art of the first few issues was amazing, the high level was kept up throughout these two volumes, and the storytelling was (to my mind) even better than in Batman: RIP. Now I can hardly wait for the third hardcover to arrive.

[Jon O]

I read a bunch this weekend.

The Big Guy and Rusty the Robot Boy by Frank Miller and Geof Darrow

Super fun, non stop action.  Full of poking fun at Japanese sci fi tropes.  The story plays completely to the artists strengths which is great because GEOF DARROW IS A GOD.  Every panel is filled to the brim with gorgeous.  These cities are packed the brim with detail creating a world that feels, alive, over crowded and chaotic.

Tiger Tiger Tiger by Scott Morse

I'm just starting to discover Mr. Morse.  I've found his work to be really artsy and free.  Though there isn't much in the way of narrative, he still managed to pull on the ole sentimentality and make me start tearing up.  This is basically just an illustrated telling of a few half conversations about the writer/artist and his son.  The art is loose and what looks like to me pencils and water colors.  It's incredible what emotional weight the story carries when you think about how it's constructed and it's relative lack of cohesive narrative.

iZombie: Dead to the World by Chris Roberson and Mike Allred

Two issuses in and I was agreeing with Vince.  Nothing bad about the book, but absolutely nothing pulling me into the story.  I'm a huge fan of Allred, but my favorite part about his work is the energy in action shots.  There is a lot of talking and character/world building at the beginning.  He draws this stuff fine (great in fact) but it's not what I personally like to see from him.  By issue four it starts picking up, I like the Fossors coming after the vampire problem, and how that's going to bring unwanted heat on the other monsters populating the area.  That's a cool way of putting the monsters against each other, even with a common foe.  Ellie is a really fun character (Spot has not impressed me yet) and I loved when Ellie and Gwen go to talk to the mummy.  When I heard the relationship of the different monsters explained (under/over souls etc) I was sold.  They've got me on board to buy the next trade when it comes out, despite a wholly average first half.

Ex Machina Deluxe Edition 5 by Brian K Vaughn and Tony Effin Harris

I thought this series was great overall with a few missteps.  The source of his powers was a tad lame and though it makes sense throughout the story, I always felt like those sections were the weakest parts of the story.  The ending also felt rushed.  I would have liked to have seen more from the antagonist that spoke to crops, and I would have liked to have kept the reporter around in her last role for longer to up the threat level.  I would have also enjoyed an issue or two to flesh out the aftermath of everything that happened during the climax and to see how each of our characters got to the places the book leaves them.  A great series, but a few too many questionable choices to keep it as one of those truly legendary series.

Return of Bruce Wayne by Grant Morrison and tons of insanely talented artists

This book was super.  I loved Batman as a caveman.  Loved him as a pilgrim.  Loved him as a pirate.  Loved him as a cowboy (and the guest appearance in that issue was awesome too).  Loved him as a detective investigating his own parents murder (also had some great connections to R.I.P.).  Then we get to the last issue and Morrison takes the story into exponetially weirder territory, and honestly having read his entire Batman run in trades no less 6 times as well as a couple reads of Final Crisis, and I still am completely lost as to what happened to Batman, how Darkseid had planned it, or why it was such a big deal.  I'm sure it's all in there, but it was a let down after 5 issues of such badassery.  Every artist in this book was incredible with a special shoutout to Cameron Stewart (who I'm always impressed with).

Whew.  What a great way to spend my last weekend of Spring Break.

[BoomerZ]

Steed & Mrs Peel (Grant Morrison/ Ian Gibson) - Why this has never been reprinted is a minor crime. Morrison matches himself nicely to the tone of the Avengers TV series, while Gibson's artwork has an impossiblly quaint English summer vibe combined with bande-desinee inflections. The backup two parter, which mixes in the Incas to the Avengers world nicely. A really fun little mini.

Karma  - Loved this series!