Some comments on some graphic novels cluttering up my breakfast table.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Tellos: Reluctant Heroes <\/b><\/i>and Tellos: Kindred Spirits<\/b><\/i> (Image)<\/u>
\nThese two volumes comprise the full run of Tellos<\/i>, a wonderful magical fantasy written by Todd Dezago and ilustrated by Mike Wieringo. All the trappings of a youthful fantasy are here — anthropomorphics, lurking menaces, swashbuckling heroics, brave sacrifices … and there’s yet more, a deep, dark mystery that only unfolds at the very end. As cliche as it sounds, readers of all ages and genders will enjoy this. You can only sit back at the end and wish for more.<\/p>\n
Authority: Earth Inferno and Other Stories<\/b><\/i> (Wildstorm\/DC)<\/u>
\nAs blasphemous as it may sound, I’m actually tired of the Authority. When Warren Ellis originally invented them, the idea of superheroes who actually weren’t afraid to commit bloody violence in pursuit of what they thought was right was refreshing, and Ellis (and Mark Millar after him) had a lot of fun poking fun at the status quo, heaping outrage upon outrage in a way kept you wondering what sacred cow they’d butcher next.<\/p>\n
Well, guess what. After a while, being “the bad boy” stops being charming, and butchering sacred cows just becomes a big mess. Attempting to top themselves every turn in grand guignol, in the end the Authority rather became parodies of themselves.<\/p>\n
It’s noteworthy that some of the better stories in this collection were one-shots, focusing on individual character, something the regular series never really did. By getting inside the heads of Jack Hawksmoor and the Engineer, this volume demonstrates some humanity that all the quick, blasphemous wit and “Can they do <\/i>that?” outrage of the regular series never had.<\/p>\n
Thor Visionaries: Walter Simonson<\/b><\/i> (Marvel)<\/u>
\nThis volume collects issues 337-348 of Thor, the start of the Simonson era. This was one of the <\/i>hot comics when I was in college, discussed heatedly around dining hall tables and D&D games alike. Simonson breathed life back into the Thor franchise, producing a Ragnarok worthy of the name, a Loki who really was the epitome of selfish evil, and a host of foes and friends, old and new. Everything he touched was revitalized, and his run on the title has never been matched. I can’t recommend this one highly enough.<\/p>\n
Usagi Yojimbo: Grasscutter II<\/b><\/i> (Dark Horse)<\/u>
\nSamurai, ninja, mystical swords, hopeless quests, honor, betrayal, friends and enemies … UY is always a wonder, and Sakai’s talent grows with each passing volume. Read this. Read any of the others. They are fine, fine, fine entertainment, as entertaining and educational as any Kurasawa flick.<\/p>\n
Rose <\/b><\/i>(Cartoon Books)<\/u>
\nThis book does better as a prequel to Jeff Smith’s Bone <\/i>than as a stand-alone tale. But Charles Vess’ art is always a delight, and here, adopting some of Smith’s simplicity, he shines. It’s worth picking up the book just on that basis alone.<\/p>\n
Whiteout <\/b><\/i>and Whiteout: Melt<\/b><\/i> (Oni)<\/u>
\nThis series introduced the name Greg Rucka to me, and I’m glad it did, because he’s become one of my favorite “crime” writers in comics (and, yes, he has a series of books, too, and, yes, I plan on reading them). These tales of mystery, murder, and international intrigue in the Antarctic are utterly lacking in super-heroics, just the ordinarly mortal kind, where US Marshal Carrie Stetko has to root out evil in a land where the weather is as deadly as the human who inhabit it. Grand stuff.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Some comments on some graphic novels cluttering up my breakfast table….<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2365","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-media-comics"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":22002,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2011\/08\/06\/book-review-the-facts-in-the-case-of-the-departure-of-miss-finch-by-neil-gaiman-and-michael-zulli.html","url_meta":{"origin":2365,"position":0},"title":"Book Review: “The Facts in the Case of the Departure of Miss Finch” by Neil Gaiman and Michael Zulli","author":"***Dave","date":"Sat 6-Aug-11 12:58pm","format":false,"excerpt":"The Facts in the Case of the Departure of Miss Finch by Neil Gaiman My rating: 3 of 5 stars Adaptation of a bit of atmospheric trifle by Gaiman, abetted (though not as well as he could be) by Michael Zulli on the art. A Felliniesque \"Twilight Zone\" episode (albeit\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Comics & Comic Books"","block_context":{"text":"Comics & Comic Books","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/media\/media-comics"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":52027,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2015\/08\/02\/dave-does-the-comics-2015-08-edition.html","url_meta":{"origin":2365,"position":1},"title":"Dave Does the Comics – 2015-08 Edition","author":"***Dave","date":"Sun 2-Aug-15 11:38am","format":false,"excerpt":"Three graphic novels I recently wrapped up:The Autumnlands Vol. 1 \"Tooth and Claw\" (Image) w Kurt Busiek \/ a Benjamin DeweyWell-worn tropes neatly remixed for an exciting story and engaging world-building. Howardesque fantasy, a boy's hero's journey, and anthropomorphs who aren't just a set of cat ears. 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I plan on reading more, soon. #ddtb Embedded Link 10 Graphic Novels for the Literary Minded | LitReactor As graphic novels continue to become more\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2365","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2365"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2365\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2365"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2365"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2365"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}