Whats everyone reading?

[Hawkmumbler]

I must say as much as i'm loving Aaranovitch's Rivers of London series he does have a tendency to over describe his female cast's physical characteristics in a way he doesn't his males, occasionally it borders into the excessive.

Still, you want some high tier cringe, watch any of the Strange Aeons reviews of Greg "Onision" Avorae's woeful incel tomes, they way that man see's women is truly on another level abhorrent.

[shaolin_monkey]

The Gone Away World by Nick Harkaway - absolutely brilliant! New secret weapon nearly wipes out the world, by dissolving reality. The narrator takes you through his involvement alongside his buddy/brother. Extremely engaging, superb high-end prose, and with an imagination I have not come across for quite some time!

[Lorenzo]

The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman  No, not the book... the graphic novel by Martin Rowson!
Being a pleb I've never read the original but I have seen A Cock and Bull Story with Steve Coogan several times because I enjoyed its madness so much. Now, I really enjoy Rowson's inimitable style of political cartoons for the Guardian but, in this book, his style mimics that of the 19th century Punch magazine.
It's bonkers, brilliantly drawn and hilarious. It can take forever to read as each page has so much detail you have to study each plate really carefully.
If you want something a bit different, check out the video link or visit Self Made Hero.

[Dark Jimbo]

The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman  No, not the book... the graphic novel by Martin Rowson!

Ooh, thanks for the heads up! Have long intended to tackle the book, but the GN looks even more up my alley!

[TordelBack]

That sounds great! Book is brilliant, as is the Coogan film, and Rowson generally arsom, so I'll have to see this. Thanks for the info!

[The Adventurer]

My Comics Read in August 2019

[broodblik]

I am a big fan of Conan. So when Marvel acquired the rights to publish Conan, I was very skeptical. 

I just read both the "Savage Sword Of Conan: The Cult Of Koga Thun" and "Conan The Barbarian Vol. 1: The Life And Death Of Conan Book One". I can as a fan recommended both, great art and great storytelling.

So yes Marvel I can give you a 

[von Boom]

Whereas I am in the opposite camp. I read the first three issues of both and gave up. The storytelling was weak and the art was amateurish.

[Keef Monkey]

If you pay very close attention, you can see where Al Ewing wrote himself a Clive Cussler-style cameo into the book.

It was very subtle, but I think I spotted it! That was fun.

Staying on (this) topic, I was un/fortunate to read a Twitter thread around the observation that male authors writing female characters tend to have them endlessly reflecting on their breasts/nipples.

All my current reading is now blighted. Once noted, it is endemic, and bizarre. In particular, it seems impossible for a male-written female character to feel cold without a comment on the state of their nipples, irrespective of age, or to un/dress or wash without reflection on the size/shape/consistency of their breasts. Men, it turns out, really are pathetic: even my man King is a major offender here.

Anyway, it's weird as feck and now it's all I can see, and so I've passed it on to y'all. Enjoy the wokeness.

I've been following a Twitter account (called something like Men Writing Women? Something along those lines) which collects lots of very cringey examples of this sort of thing. It made me realize how much of this bizarre stuff I've been seeing in books forever and which somehow just hasn't registered as weird (because it's always been there maybe?) but now that I've had it pointed out to me and seeing all those examples pulled out I know it's really going to slap me in the face (or the nipples maybe) every time I see it in something I'm reading.

[Hawkmumbler]

I recall one passage doing the rounds where a male writer describes a post coital scenario where the poor lass is somehow able to "feel" where the little white buggers are worming around inside her.

Truly bottom of the barrel cringe material.

[GordyM]

God Hates Astronauts. A funny, anarchic and messy (in a good way) mash up of superheroes, sci fi and whatever weird shit enters its creator Ryan Browne's head.

[Colin YNWA]

God Hates Astronauts. A funny, anarchic and messy (in a good way) mash up of superheroes, sci fi and whatever weird shit enters its creator Ryan Browne's head.

Its brilliant isn't it. I'll be re-reading soon and very much looking forward to that.

[Apestrife]

Seven Soldiers by Grant Morrison. I don't know how to describe it other than it being a brilliant and very rewarding read (reread as well). While a thing or two about the seven unknown men in slaughter swamp still is a bit of a mystery to me (especially regarding the coat towards the end), but other than that I could really felt most of coming together in my head. Other than the cross over cleverness I'm also at awe over the imagination which went into each one of the arcs of the story. Frankenstein's especially.

Won't be long till I give it another read. And I cannot recommend the recent omnibus enough 

[Greg M.]

For me, the highpoint is the Klarion stuff with Frazer Irving - very atmospheric, very unique ambience.

[Patrick]

I've been out of comics for a couple of years, but last week I picked up "My Heroes Have Always Been Junkies", an origibal Criminal gn by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips. I hadn't realised I missed those guys. Gorgeous work - and fantastic colouring by Sean's son Jacob. It was apparently the pilot for a new Criminal series that started in January - I'll have to catch up on that.