Monday, August 01, 2005

Here's two weeks' worth of books.
  1. Wizard's Castle by Diana Wynne Jones. This is a compilation of Howl's Moving Castle and its sequel, Castle in the Air. I didn't reread these before we went to see Miyazaki's adaptation of the first book, and I'm glad I didn't. They are quite different, and if I'd reread the book first, I would have spent the movie making comparisons between the two, instead of just enjoying it. Of the two books, I prefer the latter. I suspect that's because of the Arabian Nights feel.
  2. Magic Pickle by Scott Morse. Silly.
  3. Michael Chabon Presents the Amazing Adventures of the Escapist, vol. 2 by various. I stopped buying the individual issues of this series because Dark Horse was releasing the collections mere weeks after all the issues collected (both of them) were published. I didn't feel like spending money on the same material twice so close together. And now they seem to have stopped collecting issues. It looks like I'll have to hunt down back issues, and I know I'm going to do so. Will Eisner contributed to one of the uncollected issues.
  4. The Secrets, vol. 1: The Other Statue by Edward Gorey. (Checked out of the library.)
  5. Powers, vol. 8: Legends by Brian Michael Bendis & Michael Avon Oeming. I know Bendis isn't all that popular among comics bloggers, but I still like his stuff. (Although Powers is the only comic of his where I don't wait for the trade. Wait, I also buy individual issues of The Pulse.) Lots of revelations in this collection (and the infamous "monkey sex" issue).
  6. Supreme Power, vol. 1 by J. Michael Straczynski. I found it interesting that the supplementary material in this collection never once mentions the fact that the Squadron Supreme (which Straczynski is re-imagining in this series) was based on the Justice League. I guess there are too many trademark issues, but it's obvious (and always has been).
  7. The Wizard King, book 1: The King of the World by Wallace Wood. I have to say that the thing that most stands out in my mind about this book is how the coloring has added clothes to all the femal characters. It's clear from the linework that Wood intended them to be nude. (Library.)
  8. Age of Bronze, vol. 2: Sacrifice by Eric Shanower. Shanower is doing an absolutely amazing job of retelling the Trojan War. It's taking a long time, I assume because the vast majority of comic buyers aren't interested in a realistic depiction of life in the bronze age. (The only supernatural elements Shanower uses are visions & prophecies.) It's clear the book is meticulously researched. It's also clear Shanower cares a lot about the subject. I hope this sells very well outside of comic book stores, because it's wonderful stuff, and I want to see it completed.
  9. Negative Burn Winter Special 2005 by various. Negative Burn was a great anthology comic in the 90's, but anthology comics almost never sell very well. NB lasted longer than most, but it too was cancelled. Now it's back in a series of specials. (Well, assuming more than one gets produced. And given that this "Winter Special" didn't come out until June, I'm not getting my hopes up.)
  10. Julius by Antony Johnstone & Brett Weldele. Shakespeare's Julius Caesar retold as the story of contemporary London mobsters. That should be enough to tell you whether or not you'd be interested in it.

Only 5 weeks behind now.

(By the by, I ended up not getting the books I linked to earlier.)

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