BT05 – When Blogathons a Legend!

Margie asked me a bit ago whether I’d eaten any real food today.

Hmmm.

So far …

… a number of Quaker Caramel Corn Rice Snacks
… a number of Doritos Santa Fe Tortilla Chips
… a couple of cups of coffee
… a couple of Coke Zeroes

So, no, guess not. Should eat something soon. Though, of course, we’re getting toward dinner time, so I might take a between-post break and eat some real dinner with the family. We’ll see.

Review code format (ranked 1-5, blah to faboo): [writing / art / new reader? / non-comics reader?]

Sojourn: The Thief’s Tale (Vol. 4) (Crossgen) [3/5/3/4] (collects #19-24)
w. Ron Marz; a. Greg Land
One of the great losses to the world of comics in the last year was the collapse of Crossgen, both for the creators it hurt (often unpaid, and now stuck down in Florida) and for the tales it cut short. One of the best of those was Sojourn, a solid fantasy tale by Marz and every-page-poster-worthy pictured by Land. In this, the last collection from the series, the quest for bits of the arrow continues into the desert, disrupted by a newly acquired companion and by betrayal from the desert-dwellers of Oudubai. Fine stuff. So sad.

Starman: The Stars My Destination (Vol. 8) (DC) [4/3/2/2] (collects #55-60)
w. James Robinson, David Goyer; a. Peter Snejberg, et al.
Better late than never, DC wrapped up this year collecting Robinson’s excellent Starman series, in which a third-rate older hero was given a major face lift and a background and supporting cast as rich and marvelous as any longer-established hero. In this volume, Jack continues his travels in space, meeting up with folks like the Omega Men and Starfire (and any other spacefarer that Robinson could dig up in the DC archives), all in search of what happened to Will Payton, one (or more) of the previous heroes to bear the name Starman. Meanwhile, problems are beginning to crop up in Opal City back home … This was one of the weakest arcs in the Starman series, largely because it took Jack away from Opal. Fun, to be sure, and better than a lot of other stuff out there, but still less grounded and less personal than the rest of the saga.

Starman: Sons of the Father (Vol. 10) (DC) [5/4/2/3] (collects #75-80)
w. James Robinson; a. Peter Snejberg
The conclusion of the series, as Jack must solve the mystery of the last Starman, then decide what his fate, and that of his career, must be. A perfect wrap-up to everything set up in the series to date, and a marvelous demonstration of how one can actually bring a series to a successful conclusion. Robinson’s entire series is worth reading and sharing with others as to what comic books can be, blending the human with the heroic perfectly.

Strangers in Paradise (Vol. 3, Part 6) (DC) [5/4/2/5] (collects #58-69)
w/a. Terry Moore
More soap opera, love, violence, silliness, and drama from Moore. Undercover cops, pregnancy, Vegas show girls, and the story of David. Too complicated to summarize, almost too complicated to quite succeed — but still an amazingly impressive ongoing story. Can’t say much more (or better) than that.

(listening to: McKennitt, Loreena, “Coventry Carol” from Winter Garden – Five Songs For The Season)
(listening to: Pet Shop Boys, “I Wouldn’t Normally Do This Kind Of Thing” from Very)
(listening to: Chandra, Sheila, “Lagan Love/Nada Brahma” from Moonsung: A Real World Retrospective)
(listening to: Thompson Twins, “Perfect Day” from Thompson Twins – Master Hits)
(listening to: Talking Heads, “The Democratic Circus” from Naked)
(listening to: Eurythmics, “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)” from Greatest Hits)
(listening to: Beatles, “The Fool on the Hill” from Blue Album 1967-1970)