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Whats everyone reading?

Started by Paul faplad Finch, 30 March, 2009, 10:04:36 PM

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sheridan

Quote from: pictsy on 03 August, 2020, 12:33:45 AM
I should probably clarify.  I have deep and conflicting opinions on it as a body of work and I still try to reconcile it with the creator.  Usually it is easy for me to know whether I can separate the art from the artist, but I have a hard time figuring out my feelings when it comes to Cerebus. 


I don't think I'd have any problem keeping the art away from the artist.  Until the beginning of Reads, that is.  Then we're not allowed to.

broodblik

Has anyone read Wild's End by Dan Abnett and  I.N.J. Culbard? Is it worthwhile since the more I read Abnett's stuff the more I like his work.
When I die, I want to die like my grandfather who died peacefully in his sleep. Not screaming like all the passengers in his car.

Old age is the Lord's way of telling us to step aside for something new. Death's in case we didn't take the hint.

Colin YNWA

Oh yes. Oh sweet Jesus yes it is very  very good.

SmallBlueThing(Reborn)

Wilds End is magnificent. It's almost classic Rupert-level magnificent in fact. In fact he mere mention of it has made me want to dig them out and read them again. It's by far my favourite thing Abnett (and Culbard) have done outside the prog- and I'm a huge fan of both gentlemen, AND Culbard adapted my second d favourite ever work of prose fiction, At The Mountains of Madness- and did a sterling job.

But Wilds End is better.

SBT

broodblik

Looks like I have found my next purchase
When I die, I want to die like my grandfather who died peacefully in his sleep. Not screaming like all the passengers in his car.

Old age is the Lord's way of telling us to step aside for something new. Death's in case we didn't take the hint.

Colin YNWA

Here's what I said about it not that long ago when I first read it

QuoteThought there was a thread about Dabnett and INJ Culbard's Wild's End - First Light but couldn't find it if so. Either way if  you've not read this you really should. Its a lazy elevator pitch to say this is War of the World's meet Wind in the Willows... but its War of the World's meets Wind in the Willows.

Its quite magnificence the use of anthropomorphic characters adds to the wimpsy that places it in a simpler time and place and by doing so heightens the stark drama as our heroic - and oh the lead characters are so gloriously heroic without being cardboard cut outs - protagonists struggle against an alien horror.

Jez, Dabnett and a host of artists, including INJ, have been doing such fantastic comics in the Prog of late. This is so good it stands side by side with them. I have the sequal digitally expect me back tomorrow evening to rave some more. My latest comics haul can wait!

kev67

I have started reading The Stepford Wives by Ira Levin. I suppose everyone knows what the story is. Personally I expect it would be cheaper to get a cleaner if you wanted a house that clean. Besides, robots, they'd constantly be breaking down. They'd need constant maintenance. I don't think Ira Levin thought it through.

Bolt-01

Vol 03 of Wilds end has almost reached the top of my to be read pile -- I'm very much looking forward to it.

Apestrife

Seven Soldiers by Grant Morrison, and a cadre of artist. Probably my 5th time reading it. Grows every time. Together with Allstar Superman it's probably my favorite read of Morrison. Reading the ending almost feels like being part of the final spell by Zatana. Only thing which doesn't resonate much with me is the Cyrus Gold thing. I get the gist of it, but I feel like I'm missing something from the story to figure out why it matters. [spoiler]The evil magic man Zor is made into Cyrus Gold, who is then lynched because stuff he's done to children.[/spoiler] Okay?


MacabreMagpie

'How To Survive a Pandemic', a previous work that has been republished with covid context that I heard recommended on Penn Jilette's podcast a while back.

I didn't expect to get this from the book but, holy crap, it's managed to put me off meat all over again even though I haven't eaten any for 15 years. I didn't realise how much of a role the very existence of farming/the meat trade played in the risk of pandemics.

Link Prime

A copy of the 1st collected edition of Superman: The Man of Steel by John Byrne dropped on my doorstep this week.
I do recall reading a lot of Byrne's stuff during this era, but fortunately a fair chunk of this collection is brand new to me also.
It's absolutely fantastic stuff by one of the all time - ALL TIME - greats, and presented beautifully.
Dying to leave the office later today and get back to reading it.

NB - It's a steel on Amazon at the moment: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Superman-Man-Steel-John-Byrne/dp/1779504918/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=man+of+steel+hardcover&qid=1599825556&sr=8-1

Colin YNWA

Just reading some Marvel Star Wars comcis I picked up in some sale or other. And the two series I've read so far provide an interesting contrast.

Firstly I got the first two trades (digitally) of the main Star Wars series by Jason Aaron, John Cassidy and Stuart Immonen and I found these pretty unsatisfying. They were breezely enough and alomost fun rolicking adventures as Star Wars comics should be. But by God did I find them annoying. They were like a decent covers band trying to right new material based on the band they have sent years admiring. Every other page there was some dialogue, a moment of action, the introduction of a character, an exchange between to characters, whatever some point of story and you could almost feel Jason Aaron turn to camera (eerr we have bands and cameras now in this write up???) wink at the audience saying "See what I did there. That was just like that bit you remember in the movies right! See how I'm nailing the tone and feel of those films you loved." and of course in doing that he pulled me out of the story entirely. By the end of the 3rd or 4th comic I was worried I'd jhave been audably growning each time he did it and my wife would be wondering what was wrong.

Overall the fun bits were washed away by the fact they attempted nothing really new and rather than rift off the old material to do something interesting they just mushed things together into a lumpy mess.

So having read those I approached Keiron Gillan and Salvador Larroca's Darth Vader with a degree of nerves. I've never really got on with Gillan's work before finding it by and large not as good or smart as it attempts to be. Here however he nails it. Its great stuff. As with Aaron and co's stuff he riff on the stuff that's gone before. As is entirely appropriate but he adds so much new and fresh stuff, all absolutely in the style and tone of the orginal stuff that he gives us something cohesive, new and exciting. Its brill stuff.

He also does some masterful work of introducing story points that clearly bypass the main problem with stories about villains, being by and large they are destined to fail in their main quest - typically to beat the heroes. Here different tangental challenges are thrown Vader's way, so chasing down Luke and the Rebels isn't really the main thrust of his challenge. He also creates some great new adversaries whose fate we don't know and I'm assuming mean Vader can happily kill them off.

Finally he introduces a great supporting cast, beyond those challenging Vader, in Doctor Aphra and here to dark droids a wonderfully playful oposite to R2 and 3PO. They are the real stars of the show and such a great new thing in the Star Wars mythos. So while I won't be buying anymore of the main series I now fully intend (well when I digtial sale comes along) to snap up the rest of this Vader stuff and may well check out the Aphra series I think is out there (my Spurrioso maybe?).

Bit more Vader to go then a Lando series which looks interesting...

Proudhuff

#6762
Another vote Wild's End, great stuff, altho I do wish more was made of the different species and how they interact: predator's and prey, Orwellian animal/class divide, and what do they all eat was constantly nipping at the back of my mind...
DDT did a job on me

Proudhuff

In other news just finished a book on the Clash: Passion is a fashion. Excellent read, well written and insightful.

Going on to Black by Design: A two-toner memoir by Pauline Black.
DDT did a job on me

von Boom

I've been reading Take Back Plenty by Colin Greenland. This came out while I was in uni and missed it until now. It's a cracking book. If you like space opera at all you must read it.