What I Read - Jul 29, 2010

Ikigami vol 4: episode 7 - Each collection of Ikigami tells two stories. They are told consecutively, not concurrently. The subject of the first story in this collection is a teacher who was put on administrative leave after being framed by one of his students. His life has fallen apart since the incident. Receiving notice that he is about to die doesn't improve his state of mind and leads to him taking some rather drastic measures in an attempt to set things right.

This series has a lot of potential which I feel that it doesn't always live up to. One of the pitfalls of telling each story in three acts is that there is a limited amount of space that can be devoted to developing the characters. Sometimes there is enough character development to satisfy me and other times there isn't. Episode 7 falls into the latter category. I wanted to like it more but it felt a bit too rushed; I had a hard time buying into how the two main characters, the teacher and the student changed over the course of the story.

What I Read - Jul 27, 2010

Mister X vol 2 - I really like the art, the architecture and the overall look of this book. I'm not too wild about the stories. They fall short on my scale. I find them to be very hard to follow. I feel as if I am reading an abridged version of the story. Why? Because there is very little in the way of exposition and many of the conversations seem to be without a beginning or ending. Also people do crazy, violent things with, what seems to me, very little provocation. If there is a rhyme or reason to this story then it didn't speak loudly enough for me to hear it. Nice looking but ultimately I found this collection to be disappointing.

What I Read - Jul 12, 2010

1. Mister X v2 by Dean Motter and Seth - I love this comic. I am also confused by it. Maybe confused isn't the right word. Mostly it is the art that grabs me and throws me for a loop. The overall look of the city reminds of mid-20th century travel and propaganda posters. The faces remind me of faces drawn by Hergé in Tintin. The colors are like nothing I've seen recently in a comic book; so dazzling and varied. This book is a real treat for me but probably won't satisfy everyone.

2. Persepolis v1 by Marjane Satrapi - Now that I'm reading it I'm truly disappointed that I waited so long before giving it a try. The artwork is deceptively simple but extremely effective. Satrapi is a masterful storyteller and does a great job mixing in serious and funny moments in the process of recounting her life story. Recommended reading for everyone.

3. Blazing Combat - Printed in beautiful black and white (as was the original) this is a collection of the short-lived series of the same name published by Warren in the mid-1960s. There were no ongoing stories; this is an anthology; most of the stories are 6-8 pages long. A variety of settings are used with most of the stories taking place sometime during the 20th century. Very few of the stories strike me as flag-waving propaganda. Must read for anyone who enjoys old war comics such as Sgt Rock or the ' Nam.