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December 16, 2013: Recommended comic book reads!

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1THE SUPERIOR FOES OF SPIDER-MAN

Writer Nick Spencer is at the top of his game here, exploring the private and professional lives of a group of B-team villains, The Sinister Six – who are actually made up of FIVE members hard-luck members.  They’re sneaky, opportunistic, and completely disloyal, but you can’t help but love ’em.  

1RAT QUEENS

Established notions of the fantasy genre are upended in this wild and whimsical series about “a pack of booze-guzzling, death-dealing maidens-for-hire”.  Equal parts dark fantasy and dark humor combine for an epic tale of magic, adventure and, above all, friendship. 

1ALEX + ADA

In a near future of advanced technology quite literally on the heels of a robot revolution, mild-mannered Alex Wahl is sent an unexpected birthday present from his grandmother: a Tanaka X5 android.  Bewildered and little creeped out, he decides to return the gift to the manufacturer, but there’s an earnestness and beauty to the android he names Ada that gives him pause.  The Luna Brothers have a knack for cracking dialogue and wonderful character-driven stories (see Ultra), and this title – written by Jonathan Luna and Sara Vaughn – holds the promise of comparable greatness.

5c47b60c1f25f87351b9c5c25a764d82_mTHOR: GOD OF THUNDER

To be honest, I’ve never been a big fan of Thor. I’ve always found him – well, kind of dull.  But in the hands of Jason Aaron, the God of Thunder is transformed into a rich, engaging, humorous character.  The latest story arc, The Accursed, is epic high fantasy with a Game of Thrones vibe but a spirt and style all its own.  

JUSTL-25-15-08c83JUSTICE LEAGUE (FOREVER EVIL)

A continuing tie-in to the major “Forever Evil” story arc running through the DC titles.   Alternate/Evil versions of the Justice League from a parallel Earth have orchestrated a take down of this planet’s heroes and triggered a super villainous uprising.  While there are big battles and action aplenty, for my part I’m enjoying the smaller, character-centered stories that shed light on the behind-the-scenes machinations of Earth’s new criminal power brokers.  Double-crosses, shifting alliances, and hidden agendas – writer Geoff Johns does a masterful job of building suspense and doling out the unexpected twists and turns.  Like a comic book version of a serialized cable series. 

Check them out if you get the chance, then report back!

Snow Monkeys update: Down 12 points with three quarters of football still to play!

Today’s entry is dedicated to long-time Stargate fan Jill Bratcher, AKA majorsamfansg1.  All the best for a speedy recovery and return home, Jill!

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16 responses

  1. JeffW Avatar
    JeffW

    Thanks Joe, I think I’ll pick up some of these…I’ve got the time. Are they in order of most favorite.

    And do you still have Torrey Smith? You should have a couple of points from him tonight if so.

    Reply
  2. PBMom Avatar
    PBMom

    I recommend Jericho. Definitely Jericho. Esai Morales was surprised they existed and amused when I took a picture of a scene with him in it.

    Can you believe it is finally the day? Tomorrow, the 17th, Patrick turns 18. It’s been a real emotional few days for me. Today I signed papers to be his foster mother starting on Sunday. This is the cheaper option for the state (much cheaper) who legally is responsible for his residential placement when he turns 18. Our court date for guardianship is Jan 9. Monday the friend of the court will come to visit and talk to Patrick to make sure he understood that his rights were about to be taken away from him. I told her he was not going to have any idea what she was talking about, but I understood it needed to be done. Patrick’s holiday party at school is on Friday. I have 24 bags of homemade things to pack them with. Too much to do, too little time. I am taking Jan 3-5 to go to Galveston to the Space City Con. It is going to be a huge Babylon 5 reunion, and also about 5-6 actors from Game of Thrones including Jason Momoa. Can’t wait to meet him.

    Reply
  3. JeffW Avatar
    JeffW

    Of course I meant the “most favorite” part as a question.

    @Jill aka majorsamfansg1:

    I’m praying for a swift recovery and a quick return home (from the hospital I assume?)

    Reply
  4. Sparrow_hawk Avatar
    Sparrow_hawk

    Good luck to your Snow Monkeys, Joe. I hope they make the playoffs!

    @PBMom: I hope everything goes smoothly with all of the legal stuff. Hang in there. And I hope Patrick has a very happy birthday!

    Pecan Tassies! I make those every year from my Aunt Virginia’s recipe which is very similar to the one in the link from yesterday. I make a no-nut variant for my daughter who is allergic to tree nuts and we call them mini-shoofly pies. The are the first cookies I’ll be making for Christmas. Baking will commence on Wednesday as soon as I get home from work!

    Reply
  5. Henry Chamberlain Avatar
    Henry Chamberlain

    Nice roundup. I should do more of that. But I tend to like to focus on one title, or book, at a time.

    Reply
  6. arcticgoddess Avatar
    arcticgoddess

    “Today’s entry is dedicated to long-time Stargate fan Jill Bratcher, AKA majorsamfansg1. All the best for a speedy recovery and return home, Jill!”

    —Well said, Joe. Jill is a wonderful person and deserves the best. Good luck, Jill. Hang in there!

    @PB Mom – I know what you are going through. It is rough to see every support just torn away as soon as they turn 18. It sounds like you have things well in hand, though. Remember to take a break for yourself as well. Best wishes on your sons 18th birthday.

    Reply
  7. Airelle Avatar
    Airelle

    ~~Jill , @ majorsamfansg1, best wishes for sure for a speedy recovery!
    ~I hope my baking is about done, made spinach balls tonight, pretty darn good, but they do smell up the house a bit. Need more peanut butter fudge for tomorrow, and then I still need to get on those Christmas cards, where does the time go?!? But at least I got all the out of town packages mailed and have been delivered, Yeah! Now I am going to bed, to dream about cookies probably.. See you tomorrow. sleep well.

    Reply
  8. archersangel Avatar
    archersangel

    i never got into comic books. i don’t know if it’s a girl thing or what. (i know that girls read them, but in general most don’t) but i did get into the real ghostbusters series, as well as the back to the future ones. & i own the 4-issue adaption of indiana jones and the last crusade.

    Reply
  9. dasndanger Avatar
    dasndanger

    Just a quickie since I had a big night (as in…too busy to check the interwebs). Early dinner, quick nap, then Almost Human and last Friday’s Bones, with the hubby. Then he went off to read the latest Pendergast book while I watched a rugby match, news, and Stewart and Colbert. That is a LOT of tv for me, but it served its purpose – I finished the puzzle! Woo! It’s very purty. 🙂

    And isn’t my life just so frickin’ exciting. 😛

    I will ponder your comic book suggestions. Right now I’m not reading much – just the pulpy stuff from Dynamite for the most part. I’ve had to cut back both for financial reasons, and for a lack of interest. I think last week I realized why I’m having a lot of trouble getting into comics (besides all the horror/supernatural content of late): I miss Dirty Harry types. While I was watching a few Dirty Harry movies (the original, Magnum Force, and The Enforcer – screw the coding), I realized just how much I love that sort of character. He’s not unlike Eastwood’s Man With No Name, or Mad Max, or old school Wolverine. And that coolness, confidence verging on arrogance, and ability to control a situation is also evident in other characters I love from Elric to Pendergast – and yes – even my dear Todd. A touch of angst always helps, too. 😉

    I guess that’s what I’m looking for in a character, and I’m just not able to find him lately. Any suggestions?

    das

    Reply
  10. dasndanger Avatar
    dasndanger

    @ Jill – Get well soon! 🙂

    @ PBMom – All the best to you and Jeff and Patrick! 🙂

    @Joey – Remember how we were talking about dreams the other day? And how I said I dream about strange houses I’m looking to buy, and public toilets? Well…last night I combined the two in a very detailed and somewhat complicated dream.

    Last night I dreamt that we bought this bungalow, typical of those in Wildwood. It was a bit like this place, run down, with a greyish stone foundation and facing in the porch area (also typical of houses in Wildwood, I just couldn’t find a picture of one):

    http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v54/dasNdanger/bungalow_zpsdd24e618.jpg

    The bottom floor consisted of big, empty rooms in desperate need of paint and new carpet. As we walked through I kept asking about the kitchen and bathroom, but was told we’d get to them, and that the bathroom was small and so each room had its own toilet. And sure enough, in each room (this would be the living room and bedrooms) stood just a toilet, off to the side, with no dividing wall or even a privacy partition.

    We finally make it upstairs. Here there was a large room – like a loft – with a small, cramped galley kitchen only wide enough for one person at a time. The kitchen must have been centered since the windows at one end of it overlooked the street (like the center upstairs windows of the house in the picture I posted). It was dismal and very dirty – greasy and cluttered – and all the appliances and fixtures were probably from the 40s. As soon as I saw it instead of being disappointed, in my dream state I saw it as a challenge and got really excited about fixing it up.

    I was still looking for the bathroom and finally found it – through the kitchen and off to the left: a small room wedged under the eave, not much bigger than a closet, dark with only a single lightbulb and no windows. The walls were covered in yellowed and chipping paint, and the ancient toilet and sink were stained by rust and age (I saw no shower or tub). I figured I could fix that up, too. 🙂 Then the wind blew, and the whole top of the house shook! I looked out the front windows and realized that the wood for this upper floor was all spongy and rotted and the bathroom and kitchen were both sagging. I started to bounce up and down and the whole floor bounced with me. I was now afraid it would collapse, or be destroyed in the next storm, and I started questioning paying so much for such a dilapidated shack ($175,000).

    I think my brain couldn’t handle this, because I then walked out the back door of the upper floor and realized that the house was snuggly built into the side of a hill like a Hobbit hole, and the roof was actually a lawn. This suddenly gave me the feeling of security and stability, and then I woke up. 🙂

    All in all it was a good dream, though it does remind me that I desperately need to reorganize my kitchen. 😛

    das

    Reply
  11. sylvia Avatar
    sylvia

    Re odd locations for bathroom stuff.
    Watched a real estate show of showing homes to prospective buyers then revealing their decision.

    One home had a very odd location for a Jacuzzi tub – in the Master Bedroom and not in an enclosed area but rather on one side of the room. Bed was on the other, etc. The weird thing is the “real” bathroom was a smallish room with PINK tub, PINK toilet, PINK basin and couple other pink things….looked terrible.
    Then the other room with the Jacuzzi tub that looked very modern and nice…but in the bedroom.

    oh well.

    Reply
  12. Tam Dixon Avatar
    Tam Dixon

    Get Well Soon majorsamfansg1!

    Sparrow_hawk: It looked like a good recipe (Pecan Tassies). I may try it next week and split it with the neighbor. Enjoy your cookie making!

    JeffW: Cream cheese and sausage…you can’t go wrong there. Have fun!

    “Lilyhammer” has a season 2 on Netflix! Has anyone seen the first season? Very funny show!

    Thanks for the comic suggestions!

    Reply
  13. shinyhula Avatar
    shinyhula

    These look very cool. Rat Queens looks goods, as does the Thor. I like the artwork in Foes.

    I’m jamming really old spanish pop songs, having a flashback Tuesday. One of my faves was uploaded as a slide show of sad beagle puppies? I love youtube, it’s so random. The sad beagle puppy uploads make me appreciate how cool the SGU, SGA and SG1 fan vids are.

    Reply
  14. Randomness Avatar
    Randomness

    I recently finished off The World God Only Knows Season 3(Goddess Arc). I like this series, it’s based on a long running manga series about probably one of the most socially awkward guys in anime lol. The anime is quite popular, as is in the manga.

    Through no fault of his own he has to help capture loose souls that invade peoples(With an emptiness in their hearts) bodies, by basically helping them get over whats affecting them(And with help of Elsie who is a demon who captures said loose souls), and as he is utterly obsessed with visual novels he views life in such a manner, and sees people he helps as ‘conquests’. Keima isn’t a jerk or anything(Well he doesn’t intend to be), just very awkward. The show is quite awesome actually.

    The character development of Keima as the show goes along actually is pretty decent.

    I love the Season 3 opening

    Reply
  15. Luis Avatar
    Luis

    Joe,
    I love to read silver and golden age comics i have a vast collection that dates as far back as: Action comic #77 (1944) most of my comics are from the 50’s,60’s early 70’s.

    Reply
  16. James Avatar
    James

    It’s ironic that while TRINITY WAR sucked, Johns is kicking a** with FOREVER EVIL and JUSTICE LEAGUE.

    He’s at his best when he’s making villains credible threats again. As much as I enjoyed Grant Morrison’s take on the Syndicate back in 2000, I appreciate how Johns is adding new tweaks to one of the iconic villain teams.

    Reply

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