comics and a new superblog

In case there was any confusion - I am not on hiatus.  I took last night off after reporting on the passing of Jane Russell as I was reading and had nothing to ad.

I was reading X'ed Out, a newish comic from Black Hole creator Charles Burns.  I quite liked the book, but only figured out in the last few pages that its not a self-contained volume, and only the first in a series.  That's quite fine, as I was pretty well hooked by Volume 1.

yes, this is about the world's worst Easter Egg hunt

Also read James Sturm's much-hyped Market Day.  The book is definitely worth checking out at some point, but, frankly, I think nothing was going to live up the hype that this book received last year upon its release.  I don't want to take anything away from the book, because its a lovely story and well crafter, but...  sometimes a book is just exactly in that space where the former-English majors just sort of lose their lids as the creator hits on all the right sweet spots that tell the reader "this story is meaningful".

yup, it is exactly about what you're thinking its about

Mostly I just thought it was a well written book that used the comic medium and Sturm's style and the immersive world of the character particularly well.  Otherwise, it sort of fell into the "yeah, that's about what I'd expect" sort of book I figured from the solicits and reviews.  Its a good comic, absolutely...  X'ed Out may just be a little closer to my personal wheelhouse, so reading the two on top of one another might not have been fair.

After suggesting I read it for, oh...  three years, NTT was kind enough to send me a copy of Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, Vol. 1.*  I don't read much (ahem: any) manga, but even I know (a) the name Miyazaki is synonymous with good comics and (b) a thoughtful, lovely comic when I see one.  I'm only partway in, but so far, so good.

giant monster: check. flying device whatzit: check.  flashing weaponry: check. - what's not to like?

A new Super-blog?  It seems that there's a new Superman-themed blog out there in the world, hosted by a gentleman named TomO.  Let's give a warm welcome to Superman 101 (aka: Superman Daily)!  (Daily? Man, pace yourself...  Its a marathon, not a sprint.)

TomO has already blog-linked me, or whatever we're calling it these days. I take this as a sign that I am Tom's personal hero, and somewhere out there, he's built a small shrine to your host, The League (I've already got a motion for a restraining order on him started, just in case).


*We're always happy to take a free comic!  Just, you know, not whole crates full at once.  JimD.