Whats everyone reading?

[Mabs]

I'm also a massive fan of Sandman. Radiator, I read Sandman Vol. 1 in the TPB format (and all the other books in the series for that matter), but I found myself going back a few pages in some instances to suss a few things out. I found it really improved my reading experience because the first volume can be a little difficult for newcomers. But if you can persist, then I can assure you that it's an absolute pleasure and a ball from hereon. Vol. 1 is more like Gaiman finding his feet and by the time you get to Vol. 3, 4, that's when his storytelling truly excels. I found the Sandman series to be nothing less than mindblowing and gripping. Not to mention an.absolute joy to read. And I too, like Pictsy, shed a little tear when I got to the final Volume (The Kindly Ones).

At the moment I'm reading Tour of Duty: Megacity Justice. So far it's been really enjoyable. The artwork by Colin MacNeil, Mike Collins, PJ, et al, is truly outstanding. I loved the previous book in the Tour of Duty double act, and it looks like this too is on the way to becoming one of my favourite Dredd stories.

[Mikey]

Britten & Brulightly (Jonathan Cape) Hannah Berry

Noted - that's what I'd call a glowing review.

Just finished reading Morrissey's autobiography (it was a xmas present). He's a miserable egotist for those not keeping up, and the book doesn't disappoint in that department. However nearly every line reads like a lyric and there's plenty of wry humour, some of it even directed toward himself. I was surprised at how positive he was about the Smiths thinking he'd just lay the boot in, but he left that for the section on the various court proceedings (which do go on a bit).

M.

[TordelBack]

...shed a little tear when I got to the final Volume (The Kindly Ones).

A pedant writes:  Not the final volume!

[Mabs]

I know Tordelback! But it pretty much wraps up the story of our key protagonist. I read the other two books too, which I must say I really enjoyed.

[El Chivo]

Recently read Bryan Talbot's Grandville which is great & yesterday picked up Grandville: Bete Noir
Our local library rules!

Chi

[Frank]

Just finished reading Morrissey's autobiography (it was a xmas present). He's a miserable egotist for those not keeping up, and the book doesn't disappoint in that department. However nearly every line reads like a lyric and there's plenty of wry humour, some of it even directed toward himself. I was surprised at how positive he was about the Smiths thinking he'd just lay the boot in, but he left that for the section on the various court proceedings (which do go on a bit).

I got that for Christmas too, Mikey! The Dickensian description of tenement life in Manchester and the privation and abuses of the school system (imagined and real) set the tone for the rest of the entertaining but uniquely unreliable narration.

[CrazyFoxMachine]

Recently read Bryan Talbot's Grandville which is great & yesterday picked up Grandville: Bete Noir
Our local library rules!

Grandville is brilliant - don't forget Mon Amour as well which has some awesome Alwyn colouring at the back! To my shame I'm yet to buy Bete Noir - I'd intended to buy it off the man himself but he didn't have any on him at.... Thought Bubble 2012 maybe?

[pictsy]

And I too, like Pictsy, shed a little tear when I got to the final Volume (The Kindly Ones).

I cried at a different point, but it's very personal and I'm not going into what and why

[Mabs]

Decided to pop into my local library in the evening, and I was shocked to find the recent 2000ad presents Sci-fi Thrillers on the shelf! Suffice to say I grabbed it without delay, and right now just taking small bites out of it (figuratively speaking!). The Visible Man was really fun, looking forward to the rest after I finish my other books.

[TordelBack]

Decided to pop into my local library in the evening, and I was shocked to find the recent 2000ad presents Sci-fi Thrillers on the shelf! Suffice to say I grabbed it without delay, and right now just taking small bites out of it (figuratively speaking!). The Visible Man was really fun, looking forward to the rest after I finish my other books.

Absolutely brilliant collection.  Keep meaning to write a detailed review, 'cos with maybe one exception I think the contents and concept are inspired.  I'm dying to see a similar collection of horror-themed stories from 2000AD, which is a rich untapped vein indeed.

[HOO-HAA]

Wrapped on Aliens: Genocide and now onto Aliens: Original Sin. This one is set after the events of Alien: Resurrection so enjoyed a little rewatch to put me in the mood. Has its problems, that movie, but I've always heartily enjoyed it.

[NapalmKev]

Judge Dredd: Year One.

A good solid story and great artwork. Some stunning art in the Covers Gallery at the back.


The Walking Dead collection: Volume 2.

Ever since the group reached Washington It's been a very zombie-light borefest. A far cry from the first collection which I thought was excellent.

Cheers

[Chris Tresson]

3x Batman & Two-Face
2x Batman: Black & White
2x Detective comics
2x Batman: The Dark Knight
2x Batman
2x Green Lantern
2x Action Comics
2x Deadpool
2x Superior Spider-man
1x Daredevil

I've been writing, so the comic subs have been neglected!

[I, Cosh]

Ursula le Guin's Orsinian Tales. Billed as her foray into "mainstream fiction", there is very little here to differentiate it from her genre fiction. By which, I mean that it is written with the same skillful expression and psychological insight as anything else she has done. A collection of stories set at various times in the history of an imaginary Eastern European nation, if it has a linking theme it's people struggling against the strictures of custom and convention, finding tiny moments of hope and love in human connection.

It made me wonder about placing the stories in an invented landscape? Does it just provide a level of abstraction which would not be possible setting it in a real place? Or, given the backdrops of much of her other work, is it partly the process of imagining the setting which germinates the content or an idea to explore which leads to the imagined environment? Whatever, typically good stuff.

[TordelBack]

Ursula le Guin's Orsinian Tales.

I was sure I'd read this, but reading your description I don't think I have at all, which pretty much makes my day: unread LeGuin to find!  

An interesting question about imagined settings.  I suspect that it removes distractions for the reader and gives the writer more control over expectations. I love historical fiction, but often I find myself either filling in the blanks with my own shaky knowledge of the period/locale, or wondering whether I am missing some reference or point because I don't know enough, and thus perhaps putting a cast on things that the write rdoesn't intend (which is obviously still okay, but it is different).  I have this problem with Moorcock's Pyat books, where half the time I just can't decide if Pyat is a really terrible fantasist (he is) or whether I'm just ignorant of the history and characters involved (I am).

In a purely imagined setting I'm left to work out my anxieties fully within the author's grasp, and I can be fairly sure that any mystery I'm pondering is of her making.  We all approach the work in a similar state of ignorance, and the revelation can be more precisely focused.