{"id":4664,"date":"2003-07-26T11:27:22","date_gmt":"2003-07-26T18:27:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/?p=4664"},"modified":"2003-07-26T11:27:22","modified_gmt":"2003-07-26T18:27:22","slug":"bt03_hey_kids_i","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2003\/07\/26\/bt03_hey_kids_i.html","title":{"rendered":"BT03 – Hey, Kids! It’s Comic Reviews!"},"content":{"rendered":"

I may have to skip answering comments until this is all over. I’m barely finding time to do the writing. Yeesh!<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Review code format: writing <\/b>(3-1, faboo to mediocre), art <\/b>(3-1), suitability for jumping on as a new reader <\/b>(3-1), suitability for giving to a non-comics reader <\/b>to get them hooked (3-1), and ?Eagerly waiting the collected TBP<\/b>? (Y\/N).<\/p>\n

Girl Genius<\/i> #9<\/b> (Airship) [3\/3\/2\/3\/Y]
\nThe biggest flaw in GG <\/i>#9? It feels like it’s been six months since #8. Phil Foglio is notoriously late with stuff, and GG is (promises aside) no exception, but the joy of actually reading individual issues nearly makes up for it. Foglio is a comic genius, and this series of mad scientists, airships, derring-do, and crazy magic gone wild is a true delight. If I had a time machine, I’d use it to go ahead ten years, pick up the next fifteen issues, and bring them back to read in one sitting. Pick up the previous collection<\/a>, or pick up the individual issues (if you can afford the wait — though there’s a good “what has gone before” summary at the beginning, there are still plot elements that come out of left field), but you will enjoy it regardless.<\/p>\n

Dork Tower<\/i> #23<\/b> (Dork Storm) [3\/2\/2\/2\/Y]
\nJohn Kovalic’s series poking fun at gamers (and gamers) and comics and the like is always tremendous fun, even if the individual installments read way too fast. This issue’s main story is a bit arc-heavy (tying into the ongoing Kayleigh\/Matt relationship) so it’s not a good a gateway issue as some of the others, but there are plenty of collections <\/a>that will make any geek, comic-reading or non-, doubled-up with laughter. <\/p>\n

Liberty Meadows<\/i> #32<\/b> (Image) [2\/3\/3\/3\/Y]
\nThe ongoing collection of Frank Cho’s newspaper strip — many of the strips redrawn extensively, both from Cho’s own desire and in reaction to not having a syndicate editor looking over his shoulder — continues to be great fun. LM <\/i>owes a lot to Berke Breathed’s work, while being both better-drawn and less surreal. There’s plenty of slapstick, a little drama, and enough fan service to keep all readers happy. This issue marks the return of the Cow; it’s a scosh weaker than other issues, but still enough to give me the giggles.<\/p>\n

Supernatural Law<\/i> #37<\/b> (Exhibit A) [2\/1\/2\/3\/N]
\nI keep running hot and cold on the adventures of Wolff & Byrd, Counselors of the Macabre. The idea of a law firm that gets involved in various horror and monster cases — in this case, a mad scientist who’s made contact with a beautiful princess in another dimension (drawn by Frank Cho) — is a solid one. But it’s still a one-trick pony, no matter how good that trick is, and efforts by Batton Lash (a very nice man) to liven things up with LA Law<\/i>-style soap opera don’t work for me, either. So sometimes I buy it, sometimes I don’t. This time I did, and didn’t terribly regret it.<\/p>\n

Blood & Water<\/i> #5<\/b> of 5 (Vertigo) [2\/1\/1\/1\/Y]
\nConclusion of Judd Winick’s attempt to do contemporary vampires. In the end, a marvelous setup in the first three issues grinds to a stereotypical halt in the last two, which is a bit of a surprise. The murky-not-spooky art of Tom Coker doesn’t help matters. I’m glad the series is over, and I might pick up the TPB — or I might not. But it’s a disappointment.<\/p>\n

Fables<\/i> #15<\/b> (Vertigo) [2\/2\/2\/2\/Y]
\nBill Willingham, an old favorite of mine, won at least one Eisner at the SDCC for this book, and I can undersand why. The idea of a covert society of fairy tale characters living in the modern world (having fled their own dimension), and how their archetypes interact with each other and with the rest of the world is a fine one, and Willingham manages it with humor and imagination. This issue continues an arc of Bigby Wolf and Snow White battling a plot by Bluebeard to take control of the community is nicely done. Good stuff. The first two collections <\/a>are out there — go find them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I may have to skip answering comments until this is all over. I’m barely finding time to do the writing. Yeesh!…<\/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":[13,11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4664","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blogathon","category-media-comics"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":11627,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2007\/07\/28\/bt07_nerds_and_geniuses.html","url_meta":{"origin":4664,"position":0},"title":"BT07 – Nerds and Geniuses","author":"***Dave","date":"Sat 28-Jul-07 11:53am","format":false,"excerpt":"Full Frontal Nerdity: Big Book of Epic Fail, Vol. 1\u00a0(Do Gooder Press) w\/a.\u00a0Aaron Williams\u00a0 Writing New reader? Art Non-comics reader? \u00a0Williams' FFN strip -- available online and reprinted in...","rel":"","context":"In "Blogathon"","block_context":{"text":"Blogathon","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/blogathon"},"img":{"alt_text":"ffn-bboef","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/images\/ffn-bboef.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4626,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2003\/07\/27\/bt03_comfort_fo.html","url_meta":{"origin":4664,"position":1},"title":"BT03 – Comfort Food, Part 4","author":"***Dave","date":"Sun 27-Jul-03 5:26am","format":false,"excerpt":"Well, between the Red Bull and the Eurythmics, I seem to be doing better. Or else I'm just typing gibberish, like Uncle Duke used to do in the middle of...","rel":"","context":"In "Blogathon"","block_context":{"text":"Blogathon","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/blogathon"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":50090,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2015\/04\/15\/new-girl-genius-collection-on-kickstarter-woot.html","url_meta":{"origin":4664,"position":2},"title":"New "Girl Genius" collection on Kickstarter! Woot!","author":"***Dave","date":"Wed 15-Apr-15 4:48pm","format":false,"excerpt":"And they're already successfully backed. Again, woot!Lurves me some Girl Genius, I do. Terribly witty and lovingly crafted steampunk, as only Phil and Kaja Foglio could produce. Girl Genius Graphic Novel: a New Journey Begins! by Studio Foglio \u2014 Kickstarter Studio Foglio is raising funds for Girl Genius Graphic Novel:\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":[]},{"id":19903,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2011\/01\/19\/book-review-agatha-h-and-the-airship-city-by-phil-and-kaja-foglio-2011.html","url_meta":{"origin":4664,"position":3},"title":"Book Review: “Agatha H. and the Airship City” by Phil and Kaja Foglio (2011)","author":"***Dave","date":"Wed 19-Jan-11 8:38pm","format":false,"excerpt":"I am a Girl Genius fan. I've been reading the comic since it started up (and Phil for much longer than that), have most of the volumes in hardcover, and think it is da bomb. Which is, in part, why I am disappointed in the novelization. Robbed of Phil's imaginative\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Books"","block_context":{"text":"Books","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/media\/media-books"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/01\/agatha1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":17918,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2010\/07\/21\/foglio-fiends.html","url_meta":{"origin":4664,"position":4},"title":"Foglio Fiends","author":"***Dave","date":"Wed 21-Jul-10 11:16pm","format":false,"excerpt":"Phil and Kaja Foglio. They had new color hardcover Girl Genius vol 1s. Phil also drew an appropriate sketch in the Xxxenophile I brought.","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":10381,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2007\/01\/31\/vintage_foglio.html","url_meta":{"origin":4664,"position":5},"title":"Vintage Foglio","author":"***Dave","date":"Wed 31-Jan-07 7:09pm","format":false,"excerpt":"Sweet -- classic Phil Foglio \"What's New? (with Phil and Dixie) (every Sunday) and \"Buck Godot: Zap Gun for Hire\" (Tue-Thu-Sat) comics up on the web. Most excellent. (And, of...","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":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4664","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=4664"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4664\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4664"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4664"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4664"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}