The Move

Not really a review of anything comic related, but rather a more personal post.

I'm planning on moving in with my girlfriend when our leases expire this July.

This is actually an awesome piece of news, and I'm looking forward to it greatly.

The issue I'm having now is that I have a massive comic book collection, and I am worried about the options I will have in the storage of my books. I currently have close to 2 full bookshelves for my trade paperbacks, and 3 closets full of long boxes, giving me about 60,000 comics. Right now, I have a 3 bedroom apartment all to myself, with lots of room to keep my books as messy as I please, but the girlfriend is a meticulous housekeeper, and I will have to shape up in time for the move. (To be fair, I'm okay with this, and have been purging my clutter regularly over the last few months.)

But I don't know what to do about the comics. I'm not getting rid of them, but I can't keep them they way I am now. I am going to have to research my storage solution options.

The Watchmen Movie

Did I never post a real review of The Watchmen?

I really should get around to doing that.

I'll have to re-watch it though. Sometime after the holidays, I suppose.

The preview of the review: It was good.

The Spirit

I watched Frank Miller's "The Spirit" a couple of weeks ago on DVD. I had heard terrible, horrible things about it, and that led me to avoid it in theatres, but I scored a cheap copy at Blockbuster, so I figured, why not.

It was pretty bad.

The longer I thought about it, in the days since seeing it, the more I disliked it.

Frank Miller wrote Sin City. He wrote the Dark Knight Returns. He wrote some of the greatest Daredevil comics ever.

But he also wrote Robocop 2. Worse, he wrote Robocop 3. The Spirit's script is far closer to his Robocop stuff than his great comics. The Spirit is a comically dumb movie, with no drama, over the top fight scenes, and things played for yuks at every possible turn. Mix that in with his directorial vision to make this movie and noir as possible visually, and you end up with a film that is disconcerting to watch and not involving in the slightest.

Now, if this was just any old movie Miller had thrown together, I could sort of get behind it. I could see it as campy fun, a lovable loser of a movie. But The Spirit is Will Eisner's signature creation, and Frank Miller should feel shame for what he did to the franchise. Actual shame. Frank Miller should blush and get evasive if people ask him about this movie, and get all dodgy and try to direct the conversation to Batman or Marv. Frank Miller should feel awkward if he even sees a guy in a blue suit with a red tie.

Is anyone reading this friendly with Frank Miller? Can you tell me if he has any, like, conversations with people? Because the dialogue was terrible in this movie. I mean, seriously, Does he not go outside ever, even just to the grocery store or bus station, just to listen to people and learn how they talk to one another.

The Spirit is a movie that is just to east to rant about and critique all over. But I'm comforted that I am not alone. Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic pooped all over it too, and it takned in the box office too:

Budget	$53,000,000
Gross revenue	$39,031,337

Being a comic geek is one thing, but I'm also "the" comic geek in my social circles, so when a movie based on a comic comes out, it is often that I will get asked about it by friends and coworkers. This movie made me feel dirty, and like I should have to make excuses for liking comics as a genre.

Autumn Came and Left

Things got outta hand there for a while, and I haven't had the inclination to write about comics.

Not that I've stopped reading about them.

I went to Expozine here in Montreal about a month ago, to check out the indy comics and fanzine scene. The show, which was free, was a great success, both for organizers and for me. I got some very cool artwork that I must get around to framing and putting up soon. I also got a copy of P-Brane which I need to get around to, as it looks pretty cool.

The con itself was crowded, had lots of vendors tables, and was really rich in art prints for sale. Everyone I went with left with some artwork. I also ran into old friends there. Seems like it was the place to be.

Though it must be said that a room that has hundreds of hippies and hipsters squeezed into it like that venue did needs better ventilation, because it smelled like armpits and wet beards in there. Bleargh. It was pretty thick in there.

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In other comics news, I've been reading a lot of mainstream stuff lately. Astonishing X-Men continues to be good, late, and a little confusing. X-Men Forever is nostalgia goodness, if not sloppily drawn. The Deadpool stuff is a guilty pleasure, and Deadpool Team-Up has been fun. Bendis' Avengers has been rolling along, but I'm starting to feel that the title has been watered down by events happening all the time in other titles that I don't read. Conan has been okay, but hasn't been special for a while. I dropped Red Hulk because I don't enjoy being jerked around like that, and the novelty has worn off for me.

That's all for now. I'll try and be better as the winter cold will keep me inside and near my computer more often now.

New Avengers #54

I read New Avengers #54 this past weekend, which is the culmination of a few plot lines, all in one issue. It was fun to see things start to get wrapped up as other stories are being spun out. Leaving things dangling is a real pet peeve of mine, so it's fun to see the writer (Brian Michael Bendis) actually wrap up a few things here.

The search for the next Sorcerer Supreme is concluded, and Jericho Drumm, aka Brother Voodoo (and his ghostly brother) has been chosen and accepted.

The deal between The Hood and the Dread Dormammu has also been played out, as the New Avengers alongside Brother Voodoo and Damien Hellstrom fought off The Hood, then Dormammu in the middle of New Orleans.

The fight was pretty cool, but I really am missing both Lenil Yu and Jimmy Chung on this book, as the art has gotten darker and more static since their departure.

So now the story of Brother Voodoo, sorcerer supreme begins. The war of words in the media between Ronin and Norman Osborn continues, and the fight between the New and Dark Avengers builds up a little more.

The team continues to lack a certain chemistry for me, though. It's not about the moments of levity or down time, but rather in the way they fight. I think they need to get a little more organized, and start using tactics a little more interesting than "dog pile the bad guy!" They need their own "Fastball Special", as it were. I mean, guys like Spider-Man and Luke Cage might not have tons of team work behind them, but Wolverine and Ms. Marvel should. Same for Ronin and Mockingbird.

Despite that small gripe, this series continues to be a must read for me, and is what I consider the flagship title for the Marvel Universe.

Draw! Magazine

Draw! Magazine has a new blog here on Blogger.

I've always liked Draw!, and I hope that the content on this blog is just as good as the mag. The last issue had features on Bryan Lee O'Malley and Guy Davis, of Scott Pilgrim and BPRD fame, respectively. Cool sketches, behind the scenes stuff that's really fun to read and reread.

Just can't get going

It's been rough trying to keep going 'round these parts. Sorry for the delays.

Just a quick review today.

Tank Girl: One has been a very interesting read, starting right at the beginning of her creation. Hewlett was a very gifted artist almost right off the bat here, and it's easy to see that the strength of the character comes from his amazing line work. It's inspiring, and it made me want to draw (and ape his style for a few sketches).

The writing is less than stellar, very indie, and adolescent.

The book itself does do a few things that make me all weak in the knees. Mat-finish on the cover is my favorite thing ever for a graphic novel. It feels better to hold than a glossy cover. The art is remastered and very crisp, and the print quality is top notch.

The storytelling is short, sporadic, and crude. The art is sharp, crisp, and stylish. The features in the book are decent, with a good amount of coverage on the back story behind Tank Girl. You can see why she caught on in this volume; she's cool, tough, dressed funky, hot as hell.

Thanks go out to Hewlett for inspiring a generation of girls to dress like his heroine. I know I'm in his debt.