Beverly Cleary, Grendel, New comics

Beverly Cleary passed away yesterday at the age of 104.  Her Ramona books were a staple of my childhood, and I can’t wait to share them with my daughter.  Through Ramona Quimby, Cleary illustrated the huge gap between how children and adults think, and how painful and isolating a grownup’s inability to understand a kid’s point of view can be.  I shared the acute sense of injustice that Ramona often felt when she got into trouble - while things may technically have been her fault, there were always mitigating circumstances that no one else saw.  

That spoke to me, and it’s something I hope I remember as my daughter grows up.

Thanks for the joy and understanding you brought to my life, Mrs. Cleary.

New comics!

Taskmaster 5

The twist isn’t all that twisty, but that’s fine.  What’s awesome to discover is that even with all his abilities, Taskmaster still isn’t a match for Black Widow.  That’s as it should be.

Captain Marvel 27

I was done with this series after the departure of Lee Garbett on art, but this issue is just too delightful to pass up; Carol’s friends help her deal with her breakup with Rhodey, to hilarious effect.  It’s so much fun.  Enough so that I might have to keep getting this for a little while longer.  

Grendel: Devils and Deaths 1-2

Grendel: Devil’s Choices 1-4

Oh my god, Darko Macan and Edvin Biukovic are an amazing team.  They have the terrifying ability to make you care about characters right before tearing their lives apart.  The result is a phenomenal pair of stories that just barely missed the Pure Joy rating.  Probably the third best Grendel story I’ve read after the original Devil by the Deed and the first Batman/Grendel.  

Mega spoilers in the 3 images below.

Heartbreaking.

Even more heartbreak.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: Yes

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Really good

Grendel vs Shadow 1-3

Shadow: Death of Margo Lane 1-5

More things written and drawn by later-period Matt Wagner.  I’m realizing that I bought these based on the reputation he made earlier in his career, and that he hasn’t done anything beyond Nice for a while.  Also, I don’t find the Shadow to be that interesting of a character.  He’s a mix of Batman, Chow Yun Fat, and Sherlock Holmes, with overly dramatic monologues and a cheesy laugh.  Not for me.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: No

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Nice

Grendel/Batman II 1-2

I’m saving Grendel/Batman I for the last of my Grendel books to read, it’s just so darn good.  This one’s pretty good, but it’s a ton of fights without the cerebral nature that elevated its predecessor.

Sweet Batman.

Sweeter Robin.

But then again, Wagner's always been good at the Dynamic Duo.

Love the way Robin's sitting.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: Yes

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Pretty good