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21. The Cartoon History of the Universe vol 1 by Larry Gonick - I re-read these books all the time. Yet I don't look up my assumption that the book on the history of Greece from after the Persian War to Alexander was written first. The inking and the drawings are so different that it has to have been the chapter the inspired the rest of the book. Nominally I'm a little sad that Gonick hasn't done more cartoon histories since he could definitely focus on more material, but this is the standard "Western" history (after the first two chapters on Evolution and early civilizations to the collapse of the Bronze Age) and as such, it's going to talk about the history that you get in the average suburban high school - except for the Bible stuff which has too much baggage (see every rant I ever go on about the Bible being great literature hobbled by idiots who praise it without actually reading the fucking thing. Or buy my books). Yet, it still colors in a lot more than you would ever learn in high school. I'm actually still happy that he includes the Philistines getting hemorrhoids. Discovering that there's butt humor in the Bible made me want to become Jewish. Ok, that's not the reason I gave to any rabbi or annoying Shabbos guest. Anyhow I don't know what else to say except I definitely will read it again.
22. The Umbrella Academy vol 3: Hotel Oblivion by Gerard Wray (Way?) and Gabriel Bo - speaking of reading a book again, I didn't get this one. I mean I liked it and the plot is simple enough. Everyone has to come together because somehow all the Hotel Oblivion prisoners get free and cause some shit. They are rescued by the Sparrow Academy which is the alternate academy. But there are many details that I just don't get. Why is Rumor giving dollhouses to her daughter and seemingly forgetting about them? Who are all the side characters? What are the regular characters planning?
MOstly I'm wondering if this got more complicated or if it was always complicated but in the first two volumes I had the television show to provide a basis. THe television show departed a great deal from the comic but at very least the broad strokes were there. This one is just out there and I need to read it again.
23. Ms. Marvel: Stormranger by Saladin Ahmed, Minkyu Jung and Joey Vazquez - I finally like Saladin Ahmed's writing on this thing. In the first few stories, he seemed to be floudering and trying to do things with the character that didn't quite work, including a cosmic adventure that suggested that Kamala was the chosen one but turned out to be a regular Kree thing that she kind of fit (so like Dune where Paul Atreides was the Chosen One because the Bene Gesserit planted the prophecies in the Fremen culture in order to ready them for Bene Gesserit travelers) but it was a lot of meh. The first story in this one made me think that he was trying to copy Wilson with more stories about tech douchebags and old enemies who were mostly fellow teenagers who were misunderstood.
But when it came time for Dr. Strange to operate on her father it became something special. I think maybe I'm saying that because my mom died last year and I do have a great deal of experience dealing with ailing parents, but it also felt like he was digging into the characters. Granted, the operation is supposed to be the B-plot subservient to a repetition of the black costume story from SPiderman where the new suit is a Kree weapon that she has to stop (there are different details and she actually works to stop it instead of just trying to get rid of it). That's fine, but definitely the family stuff and the Bruno plot are the heart of the story.
So cool. Saladin Ahmed is getting the hang of Kamala Khan. Makes me hopeful for her in the movies.
22. The Umbrella Academy vol 3: Hotel Oblivion by Gerard Wray (Way?) and Gabriel Bo - speaking of reading a book again, I didn't get this one. I mean I liked it and the plot is simple enough. Everyone has to come together because somehow all the Hotel Oblivion prisoners get free and cause some shit. They are rescued by the Sparrow Academy which is the alternate academy. But there are many details that I just don't get. Why is Rumor giving dollhouses to her daughter and seemingly forgetting about them? Who are all the side characters? What are the regular characters planning?
MOstly I'm wondering if this got more complicated or if it was always complicated but in the first two volumes I had the television show to provide a basis. THe television show departed a great deal from the comic but at very least the broad strokes were there. This one is just out there and I need to read it again.
23. Ms. Marvel: Stormranger by Saladin Ahmed, Minkyu Jung and Joey Vazquez - I finally like Saladin Ahmed's writing on this thing. In the first few stories, he seemed to be floudering and trying to do things with the character that didn't quite work, including a cosmic adventure that suggested that Kamala was the chosen one but turned out to be a regular Kree thing that she kind of fit (so like Dune where Paul Atreides was the Chosen One because the Bene Gesserit planted the prophecies in the Fremen culture in order to ready them for Bene Gesserit travelers) but it was a lot of meh. The first story in this one made me think that he was trying to copy Wilson with more stories about tech douchebags and old enemies who were mostly fellow teenagers who were misunderstood.
But when it came time for Dr. Strange to operate on her father it became something special. I think maybe I'm saying that because my mom died last year and I do have a great deal of experience dealing with ailing parents, but it also felt like he was digging into the characters. Granted, the operation is supposed to be the B-plot subservient to a repetition of the black costume story from SPiderman where the new suit is a Kree weapon that she has to stop (there are different details and she actually works to stop it instead of just trying to get rid of it). That's fine, but definitely the family stuff and the Bruno plot are the heart of the story.
So cool. Saladin Ahmed is getting the hang of Kamala Khan. Makes me hopeful for her in the movies.
