Catchin' up with comics

And...I'm back. Hope you didn't miss me too much! The week's holiday from blogging was just what I needed to mentally catch up after a busy busy December—I loved blogging in London, but each night in the hotel was spent tap-tap-tapping away capturing the adventure of the day, just to keep up. A few fill-in-the-blanks posts aside, I managed to keep myself from falling more than a day behind (as opposed to 2005 where it took me almost a year after my London holiday to finish transcribing my scribbed hoofwritten notes into the blog), but the lesson I learned is blogging is a harsh and demanding mistress. (Even tho' I'm too young to know what a mistress is.) At various times on my holiday I thought "Well, I won't blog daily next London trip"...and "But I like keeping such a timely souvenir of my adventures!" I did notice my daily readership drop down to less than half of its usual velocity, although that may have been a factor of a Christmas week. In any case, next time I go to London, who knows? But I'm back, and this little bull is rested and ready to talk about comic books again.

Oh yes, comic books! I'm sure some of you have asked (go on, say it aloud) "When's he gonna get back to blogging about comics?" A: Right now, because I'm got a stack of three week's worth of comic books to review, all the comics I didn't buy when I was in London purchased this past week in one fell swoop at Jim Hanley's, and to stay on schedule I'll review 'em all, but swiftly, in a pithy sentence or two each (and minus the time-consuming jpegs for this week only):

52 WEEKS 33-35: These comics are fun. 52 heads into its home stretch and continues storylines that make me wonder: will they ever intersect towards the end? Dandy cliff-hanger in #34 leads into pure Luthor bwah-ha-ha evil in #35, and reading three of these at once really keeps the pace rolling. I plan to read all 52 issues in one marathon sitting when the series is done; three-in-a-row suggests to me they might make more sense and have more forward movement that way. Still, week after week a fun ride.

JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED #29: This comic is fun...sorta. A story basically focusing on what a jerk B'wana Beast is. Another one of those too-often "JLU member learns a valuable lesson at the end" stories. Still the best Justice League comic out there, though.

FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD SPIDER-MAN #15: This comic is fun. Take it from this little stuffed bull who works in book publishing: the book-signing scenes in this comic are actually pretty accurate. Well, except for the supervillain attacks, but I'm told that does happen at some Janet Evanovich signings.

BART SIMPSON #33: This comic is fun...sorta. Bart generally seems to be written for a younger audience than Simpsons Comics, but this issue feels like it skews even younger. Entertaining and funny stories but very little of the subversive element than sets Simpsons comics ahead of the crowd. Great iconic cover, though.

SIMPSONS COMICS #125: This comic is fun...sorta. Short stories feel like inventory comics leftover from Bart Simpson. A funny and clever Bart-meets-Cletus comedy in the first story, but the two remaining stories (by Tom Peyer and Chuck Dixon) seem flat and just not my cup of tea. Still the most consistently fun comic I buy, but just a slight dip in the ha-ha level this issue.

HEROES FOR HIRE #5: This comic is fun. Fast-moving action comic that doesn't take itself (or its Civil War tie-in elements) too seriously. I'm very interested to see if the pace (and humorous patter) can be sustained.

SUPERMAN CONFIDENTIAL #3: This comic is fun. Suffers a bit from mid-storyline lag: this always seems to hit around issue 3 or 4 of a contemporary storyline, doesn't it? But great cliffhanger and wonderful scenes of, as I've said before, my favorite element of the Superman mythos: the Lois/Clark/Superman triangle.

NEXTWAVE #11: This comic is fun. "Fun" doesn't quite do it justice, does it? It's like a Brueghel painting mixed with a Where's Waldo book—half the comic is double-page spreads as Nextwave battles their way to the completely insane Dirk Anger...never have I wanted original comic art so much! Buy two copies and paste one together, coz it all fits together end-to-end, like the Bayeux Tapesty. Except with Elvis M.O.D.O.K.s and rampaging Elanis.

ALL STAR SUPERMAN #6: This comic is fun. Still the most beautifully subtle Superman comic currently being published. It's not short on action but there are iconic scenes in here and other issues in this series that I think will be remembered and referenced for years to come: the appearance of Krypto in this issue is one of 'em. Definite proof to all nay-sayers that you can still pay homage to the history and continuity of Superman and yet write an original and touching story. This definitely have been the most fun comic in a week that didn't include...

GUMBY #2: This comic is fun. 34 ad-free pages of beautifully-colored quirky and elegant Rick Geary art and Bob Burden's signature weirdness and whimsy ad up to the perfect comic mix. If you didn't pick this up because you don't read "kid's comics," you're missing out on one of the most imaginative illustrated works of 2006. It also features The Best Line of the Week which must be seen rather than just reported:



That's why GUMBY #2 is the most fun comic of the week and one of the most fun comics of the year.

"Most fun comics of the year"? you ask. "What are those?" (Tune in tomorrow Thursday or Friday, fun fans!)

In the meantime, I hereby declare it Comic Book Reviewing Amnesty Day. I take a deep gulp as I peer up at the huge pile of comic books I bought but never got a chance to review weekly in 2006, a stack taller than me:



I've kept this stack of 2006 comics sittin' on my coffee table vowing to, even at a late date, to review 'em. Pish-posh to that now, I say: it's a new year with new comics and I must look forward and not backward. (Um, except for my post tomorrow.) I can barely attack those books now, even with my little mountain-climbing gear. So I will box them or shelve them and move onwards, looking ever-forward into our brand-spankin' near-mint all-new all-different Uncanny New Year. And to go along with that, what fits better than some lovely New Year's Resolutions? So here is your Comics Oughta Be Fun Semi-Solemn Cow-Vows for In 2007:

• Although my budget means I'll be trying to buy fewer comics this year, I will still buy 'em weekly.
• Despite cutting down some titles I'm not getting a full fun-quotient out of, I still want to have a variety of titles, so once again I'll do my best to Pick Up One New Comic Title Each Week That I Haven't Been Reading.
• I will do my best to review each week's comics within the week I buy 'em. However, if I start building up a backlog of unreviewed comics, I'm not gonna worry about it and build up another huge stack. Life goes on and there will be more next week, so if you don't see comics reviews every week, don't panic. Like a London bus, there'll be another one along in just a little while.
• I still ain't readin' Civil War.

Also, I vow to pick up after myself, do my chores, not eat so much candy, and to be nicer to my little sister. May you have a wonderful 2007 and best of luck with your New Year's resolutions. As always, enjoy your comics, and remember this: they oughta be fun!