A Comics Update

I've been busy recently, which has resulted in my neglecting this 'blog. In an attempt to make it up to all of you (on the off chance that this is actually read by someone) with this update on the comics situation.

The last time I posted on comics, I had just purchased the first volumes of Dead@17, Aria, and Remote. Since then, I've got the second Dead@17 (published by Viper Comics) book and volumes two and three of Aria (published by ADV Manga).

The Dead@17 book is great. It isn't as dark as it could be, but sometimes you're in the mood for non-gothic vampire/zombie/horror comics.

Aria is amazing. The last time I liked a cast of characters this much, I was reading about Alpha and Kokone in Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou.

I've also taken a detour from manga to "goth-y" comics with a whole raft of books:

• Nightmares & Fairy Tales (published by Slave Labor Graphics) written by Serena Valentino with art by FSc.
• Gloom Cookie (volumes one, two and three, also from Slave Labor Graphics) written by Serena Valentino and a number of artists. I especially like Ted Naifeh's art in volume one and the story of volume three.
• Courtney Crumrin and the Coven of Mystics (volume two) and Courtney Crumrin in the Twilight Kingdom (volume three) written and drawn by Ted Naifeh and published by Oni Press.

While Serena Valentino's writing in Nightmares & Fairy Tales drew me in, it was Ted Naifeh's art in Gloom Cookie One that reeled me in.

His art is truly amazing, and the stories for the Courtney Crumrin books are excellent.

I also happened across, I don't normally look at monthly comics, the first issue of Death Jr. written by Gary Whitta with art by Ted Naifeh (published by Image). It has an interesting story with a new take of some old favourites such as Pandora (of Pandora's Box fame) and the Grim Reaper and his family (with the son as the main character).

Another two recent purchases are Emily & the Intergalactic Lemonade Stand (Ian Smith and Tyson Smith, published by AmazeInk, a division of Slave Labor Graphics) and Daisy Kutter: The Last Train (Kazu Kibuishi, published by Viper Comics). The former is a rather cute story about a girl, her robot, her quest to make enough money for a pony and the opposition they face. Though a little childish in places (probably by design), it has some genuinely funny moments. The latter is a brilliant western-with-robots.

I also made the mistake of buying the first volume of Hopeless Savages (by Jen van Meter, Christine Norrie and Chynna Clugston-Major, published by Oni Press). I felt let down by what could have been a great book. The story seemed contrived, and the dialogue seemed to be a fairly obvious attempt at imbibing the book with "punk". One of the children used a lot of made up words which grated tremendously. Overall, the concept was nice, the story was O.K., the art was quite nice, but the book seemed censored and perhaps a little "dumbed-down".

On the whole, I'm really happy with the books I've bought, which is a good thing considering how much money I've spent on comics lately (more than $350 in the last couple of months).