Sorry, forgot about one other book I read.
Sweet Tooth volume 1 -- In some ways this book feels a little slow moving but on the other hand, you're really getting in touch with the character(s). It's really well written but I thought the art could have been a bit stronger in some parts. It was some of the real close ups that seemed to miss for me the most. But definitely worth a look.
Friday, June 25, 2010
Weekly Comic Reviews for June 23rd, 2010
I didn't have any of my regular books this week but I did crack and buy Hulk #23 despite my dislike of this series. I couldn't help it after seeing the line up of artists they got. I also picked up Jack of Fables Volume 7 but I haven't finished it yet. I have read a few other books so I'll throw in some quick reviews of those.
Hulk #23 -- This book wasn't as bad as I thought it might be going in. You get some flashbacks going pretty far back, some of which are done by artists who were drawing the series during the times of the flashbacks so that's cool. I had the Red Hulk thing figured out so there weren't really any surprises to the story so it felt a little needless to go back over some of the details to explain them in such length. It also felt a little off to hear that Samson had been working with MODOK for that long. And the Grey Hulk's dialogue (or lack thereof) for the Tim Sale pages, that did sort of bug me a bit. Lee and Kirby's original Hulk wasn't really the "Ross bad!" sort of guy. But overall, it wasn't bad and finally outlined exactly who is the Red Hulk as well as "how" and "why". And the art is a great touch for the long time Hulk fan.
Pinocchio the Vampire Slayer volume 1 -- I decided to give this a look after hearing about the sequel coming out. It was okay but not really anything special in my opinion. I thought the story and writing started off decent but found it got rather predictable and dragged on a bit. It doesn't make my recommended reading list but I don't really regret trying it out.
The Pro -- I knew going in that this was an adult book and yep, it definitely was. It was pretty funny though and really well done. It does have some gross out humour and dirty jokes so if that's not your thing then you may want to avoid it. But it is a pretty original story with great art so it's a pretty enjoyable book (if you're into that sort of thing). I'd recommend this book but only to certain people.
Hulk #23 -- This book wasn't as bad as I thought it might be going in. You get some flashbacks going pretty far back, some of which are done by artists who were drawing the series during the times of the flashbacks so that's cool. I had the Red Hulk thing figured out so there weren't really any surprises to the story so it felt a little needless to go back over some of the details to explain them in such length. It also felt a little off to hear that Samson had been working with MODOK for that long. And the Grey Hulk's dialogue (or lack thereof) for the Tim Sale pages, that did sort of bug me a bit. Lee and Kirby's original Hulk wasn't really the "Ross bad!" sort of guy. But overall, it wasn't bad and finally outlined exactly who is the Red Hulk as well as "how" and "why". And the art is a great touch for the long time Hulk fan.
Pinocchio the Vampire Slayer volume 1 -- I decided to give this a look after hearing about the sequel coming out. It was okay but not really anything special in my opinion. I thought the story and writing started off decent but found it got rather predictable and dragged on a bit. It doesn't make my recommended reading list but I don't really regret trying it out.
The Pro -- I knew going in that this was an adult book and yep, it definitely was. It was pretty funny though and really well done. It does have some gross out humour and dirty jokes so if that's not your thing then you may want to avoid it. But it is a pretty original story with great art so it's a pretty enjoyable book (if you're into that sort of thing). I'd recommend this book but only to certain people.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Thinking About Garbage (a non-comic post for once)
So a new program at work is getting me thinking about garbage. The program involves taking away our garbage containers and giving us tiny ones that hook onto our recycle bins and I guess the idea is to encourage me to reduce the amount of garbage I toss out at work by limiting how much I can put in my garbage can. My first thought was what about throwing out the larger items that won't fit in there and aren't recyclable. I guess the idea is that I shouldn't be having anything like that but that seems a bit unrealistic at times. So I asked co-workers what they're plans for such items would be and the response was always the same (even with people who have gone through this before), that they would take it to a communal garbage can (the one near the kitchen) which tend to be large or if they get rid of those, take it home. And if they take it home then management can point to the numbers and say "Look, the program worked as we're generating less waste" but in the overall picture, the garbage is still going to the landfill. It's just taking a different/longer route.
This ties in to a complaint I've had, that it's sometimes a pain in the butt to recycle or do the right thing with waste. I'm not talking about the hassle of needing to separate paper and plastic. The thing is that I'm told I shouldn't throw out batteries, the new light bulbs, and other stuff, that I should take it back to some stores and other times I'm not told what I should do with it. The problem is I go to the stores and get the confused clerk who looks at me like I'm asking them to disable a nuclear device. They'll sometimes say they heard talk about a place I could take them on the other side of the city like it's some mystical place that nobody has actually seen. So they expect people to drive (or in my case take the bus) across the city to get rid of a couple light bulbs?
So what I'm thinking, companies probably shouldn't get caught up in the numbers and actually implement more helpful programs. Have spots at work where your employees can dump off batteries, electronics, or what not. It may be a little more costly and some people may look at the "waste" coming out of your building and see it higher than others but on the other hand, you'll be actually helping your employees to do the right thing but making it easier on them seeing as how work is someplace they go anyways instead of making them trek all over the place to throw stuff out.
But I guess that's just me wanting others to make my life easier (even if it also encourages me to do the right thing environmentally).
This ties in to a complaint I've had, that it's sometimes a pain in the butt to recycle or do the right thing with waste. I'm not talking about the hassle of needing to separate paper and plastic. The thing is that I'm told I shouldn't throw out batteries, the new light bulbs, and other stuff, that I should take it back to some stores and other times I'm not told what I should do with it. The problem is I go to the stores and get the confused clerk who looks at me like I'm asking them to disable a nuclear device. They'll sometimes say they heard talk about a place I could take them on the other side of the city like it's some mystical place that nobody has actually seen. So they expect people to drive (or in my case take the bus) across the city to get rid of a couple light bulbs?
So what I'm thinking, companies probably shouldn't get caught up in the numbers and actually implement more helpful programs. Have spots at work where your employees can dump off batteries, electronics, or what not. It may be a little more costly and some people may look at the "waste" coming out of your building and see it higher than others but on the other hand, you'll be actually helping your employees to do the right thing but making it easier on them seeing as how work is someplace they go anyways instead of making them trek all over the place to throw stuff out.
But I guess that's just me wanting others to make my life easier (even if it also encourages me to do the right thing environmentally).
Friday, June 18, 2010
Weekly Comic Reviews for June 16th, 2010 -- POSSIBLE SPOILERS
I'll try to keep the spoilers to a minimum. I only had one book this week, the Incredible Hulk #610, but I also read volume 2 of Chew. I may have a few more TPB reviews after this weekend.
Incredible Hulk #610 -- Just to get it out of the way, I love Pelletier's pencils and this book is intense visually. The detail but into the work was amazing and the big two page spread at the end was everything you could have wanted it to be. I thought the writing was good but I really haven't been a fan of this World War Hulks storyline. There were a few times I found myself questioning the overall story and then just deciding not to worry about it. I did find it funny that in a room filled with the smartest people that it was Samson who saw a weakness in their machine beforehand (though I guess he was the one responsible for building that part, at least I think he was). Speaking of Samson, I may have to go back and look up how and why he got hooked up in all this to begin with. Anyway, it's a great book in what I found to be a lackluster story. I'm looking forward to seeing what happens next. We saw that Skaar doesn't want the dumb Hulk so either he's changed his mind or he's thinking this isn't the dumb Hulk any more.
Chew volume 2 -- I decided to give this series another try. In my review of the first volume I thought it was well done but possibly not for me and I figured why not give it a bit more time. Unfortunately I felt the same way after this volume. Really well written and drawn really well but just not working for me. So I think that's it for me on this series. Definitely worth checking out but possibly reserved for those with a particular taste in comics (see, I made a funny... Okay, only those who read the books may get it and it's not that funny but I'm tired).
So that's it for now. And I know I haven't really been burning up this blog with posts, and I'm really trying to work on it.
Incredible Hulk #610 -- Just to get it out of the way, I love Pelletier's pencils and this book is intense visually. The detail but into the work was amazing and the big two page spread at the end was everything you could have wanted it to be. I thought the writing was good but I really haven't been a fan of this World War Hulks storyline. There were a few times I found myself questioning the overall story and then just deciding not to worry about it. I did find it funny that in a room filled with the smartest people that it was Samson who saw a weakness in their machine beforehand (though I guess he was the one responsible for building that part, at least I think he was). Speaking of Samson, I may have to go back and look up how and why he got hooked up in all this to begin with. Anyway, it's a great book in what I found to be a lackluster story. I'm looking forward to seeing what happens next. We saw that Skaar doesn't want the dumb Hulk so either he's changed his mind or he's thinking this isn't the dumb Hulk any more.
Chew volume 2 -- I decided to give this series another try. In my review of the first volume I thought it was well done but possibly not for me and I figured why not give it a bit more time. Unfortunately I felt the same way after this volume. Really well written and drawn really well but just not working for me. So I think that's it for me on this series. Definitely worth checking out but possibly reserved for those with a particular taste in comics (see, I made a funny... Okay, only those who read the books may get it and it's not that funny but I'm tired).
So that's it for now. And I know I haven't really been burning up this blog with posts, and I'm really trying to work on it.
Friday, June 11, 2010
Weekly Comic Reviews for June 9th, 2010
I had no "monthly" books this week but I did pick up Irredeemable volume 3 so I figure I'll give that a quick review.
Irredeemable volume 3 -- Volume 2 sort of disappointed me slightly but I was hoping volume 3 would turn it around. Unfortunately it didn't really work for me. My biggest issue with it was that there seemed to be so much build up about one character's big dark secret that seemed rather forced, like they were hitting me over the head repeatedly with this idea of a big dark secret that was going to tear everyone apart, and by the time it's revealed I was sort of like "meh". In some ways it's like the solicitations that say "this is the biggest event ever" and then you read it and think "well, it was okay I guess". And there just didn't seem to be enough advancement in the story or the characters (and the introduction of a new character that I didn't really feel anything for) that this volume just left me a little empty. I don't see myself buying volume 4. I have heard that this series is working for some though and I would say it might be worth checking out, I just don't find it working for me.
Irredeemable volume 3 -- Volume 2 sort of disappointed me slightly but I was hoping volume 3 would turn it around. Unfortunately it didn't really work for me. My biggest issue with it was that there seemed to be so much build up about one character's big dark secret that seemed rather forced, like they were hitting me over the head repeatedly with this idea of a big dark secret that was going to tear everyone apart, and by the time it's revealed I was sort of like "meh". In some ways it's like the solicitations that say "this is the biggest event ever" and then you read it and think "well, it was okay I guess". And there just didn't seem to be enough advancement in the story or the characters (and the introduction of a new character that I didn't really feel anything for) that this volume just left me a little empty. I don't see myself buying volume 4. I have heard that this series is working for some though and I would say it might be worth checking out, I just don't find it working for me.
Thursday, June 03, 2010
Weekly Comic Reviews for June 2nd, 2010
Only the one book this week.
Serenity: Float Out #1 (of 1) -- I don't want to spoil anything but I knew it! I absolutely knew it. I had an inkling after watching the series on DVD and was absolutely convinced after the movie. So having confirmation on the last page felt nice. But getting to the book, if this was a single issue of an ongoing series then I'd say it was a really good filler issue. As a stand alone that doesn't really tie into anything at the moment, it felt like just a little tease of what we could be seeing. The story was nice though I thought the execution in some parts could have been a bit better, like the story with three ships, I was a little lost through parts of that. Overall, an important read for Serenity/Firefly fans but it would be nice if it was part of something more.
Just a little depressing
So the other night I'm talking to one of my aunts on the phone and she starts telling me about how a friend of my cousin (her daughter) was found dead in his apartment from a heart attack. She tells me about how he was 49, always lived alone, never had a woman in his life, didn't have many friends, and always tagged along with my cousin's husband and their family. And then she says "So of course I thought of you" and began telling me to look after myself and such. Though to be honest, I couldn't really tell you what she said because I was so taken aback by that line.
Of course she only sees me every 5 years or so and doesn't really have any clue what's going on in my life but it makes me wonder what "reports" she's getting from the local family members that would make her think of me. That's how that side of the family works, someone stubs their toe and suddenly the phones light up with reports of possible loss of limbs and then the rumours about how you did it on purpose start circulating and growing.
I guess I should be happy she thinks about me at all. :) The joys of family, gotta love 'em.
Of course she only sees me every 5 years or so and doesn't really have any clue what's going on in my life but it makes me wonder what "reports" she's getting from the local family members that would make her think of me. That's how that side of the family works, someone stubs their toe and suddenly the phones light up with reports of possible loss of limbs and then the rumours about how you did it on purpose start circulating and growing.
I guess I should be happy she thinks about me at all. :) The joys of family, gotta love 'em.
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