It’s amazing how much more quickly I read through things when it’s not 100 issues of the same title.
Judenhass
I never got into Cerebus. I tried the first phonebook, but quit before I got very far into it. I never made it to any of the more popular storylines. Other than that, my only knowledge of Dave Sim is that he’s a misogynist who pissed off Jeff Smith somewhere along the line. So he’s controversial.
Whatever his other issues, Judenhass (available for free download here) is a stunning piece of work. Sim’s compiled a horrible array of quotes and actions demonstrating the world’s prevalent attitudes towards Jews over the course of human history, culminating in the Holocaust. It’s illustrated with lightboxed photographs, repeated to heartbreaking effect, and I’ve rarely been so engrossed by any piece of reading.
It’s not like the images or the history are anything new to me. But Sims’ masterful arrangement and presentation combine to strike an emotional chord that’s quite rare. It’s also appallingly topical today as the mantra of “Never again” feels closer to being violated than ever before in the seventy years of its existence.
Read this.
Regret buying: No
Would buy again: Yes
Would read again: Yes
Rating: Really good
Jumper
A graphic novel based on the Hayden Christensen movie, which I didn’t think was nearly as bad as the reviews made it out to be.
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| Helps that it's Rachel Bilson. |
It’s an interesting choice by writers Nunzio DeFilippis and Christina Weir to center the story on the Paladins (the antagonists in the movie) instead of the Jumpers. It doesn’t help that their fundamental premise feels flawed to me - they posit that Jumpers are dangerous because they inevitably grow up to become threats to society. Well duh, they’re kids with no one to guide them as they blindly experiment with their powers! Maybe use all your insane resources to teach them instead of the killers in your employ! Idiots.
Regret buying: No
Would buy again: No
Would read again: Yes
Rating: Nice
Last of the Independents
A fun little by-the-numbers bank heist gone wrong graphic novel by Matt Fraction and Kieron Dwyer. Nothing more, nothing less. I did like Fraction’s acknowledgement at the end: “Don Siegel, Sam Peckinpah, Clint Eastwood, John Ford, Howard Hawks, Sergio Leone, and anyone else that thought a middle-aged man could be an action hero.” I echo that sentiment, and I’m happy that it’s still the case today.
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| Yessss. |
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| Yaaaaassssssss. |
Regret buying: No
Would buy again: No
Would read again: Yes
Rating: Nice
Leave it to Chance 1-5
A cute little all-ages title by James Robinson and Paul Smith. It’s nice enough, but it doesn’t have the legs to keep my interest. It’s diverting enough that I’ll keep it around for my kids to read someday, but that’s about it.
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| Georgie is so cute. Love his design. |
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| Toad God!!!! |
Regret buying: No
Would buy again: No
Would read again: No
Rating: Fine
Levitation
Another Jim Ottaviani history, this one about a particular levitation magic trick. As with all Ottaviani graphic novels, it’s not quite as good as it could be. Clearly, I’m interested in the material, I bought the books. But they’re never as fun as I hope they will be. I think I keep buying them not because I think they’ll get any better, but because I still want to support Ottaviani in what he’s doing. Teaching history and science through comics is a laudable endeavor, and he deserves to be commended for it.
Regret buying: No
Would buy again: No
Would read again: No
Rating: Fine
Lookouts 1
I bought this because the people at Penny Arcade are brilliant and just about everything they create is worthy of attention. Gabe and Tycho aren’t the creative team on this comic, but I gave it a shot anyway. I actually think writer Ben McCool and penciller Robb Mommaerts do a wonderful job here. I only have the first issue because I missed the second at my shop, and I never picked it back up. There’s not enough here for me to want to read more, but that’s not a comment on the quality of the work.
Regret buying: No
Would buy again: No
Would read again: Yes
Rating: Nice
Me and Edith Head
A mini comic about a girl who finds purpose and fulfillment after being placed in the costume department of her school drama department. It’s fine, but not as good as the all the blurbs on the back cover…
Regret buying: No
Would buy again: No
Would read again: Yes
Rating: Fine
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