July 2019 Journal
Lots of comics again, but I got to four prose books this time! Woo! Spent a lot of time finishing The Stone Sky (a strong finale to a trilogy that's been with me since the 2016 election), but I got to enough prose in the end.
Hawkeye Vol. 1-3 (Matt Fraction & David Aja) - Not sure why this didn't quite do it for me. It's a good comic - sharp, funny, and formally interesting. The dog issue is amazing, and Kate Bishop is rivaling Kamala Khan for my favorite Marvel character. Maybe I just need to reread it. Whatever went wrong with this one, it's more on me than Fraction.
Journey into Mystery: Fear Itself (Kieron Gillen & Dougie Braithwaite) - Probably my least favorite Gillen. It's a perfectly functional superhero comic, and Kid Loki is fun, but... y'know, I guess there's other things I'd rather read from Gillen than Thor mythology. Like Die, which is back this week!
Ultimate Spider-Man Vol. 1 & 2 (Brian Michael Bendis & Mark Bagley) - Good fun. You can see why Into the Spider-Verse is mostly based on Bendis' vision of Spidey. He cuts to the spritely heart of the character without any of the tedious sentimentalism of, say, the Sam Raimi movies. I'm utterly delighted by #13, which blows every scene in Spider-Man 2 out of the water. Fun superhero comic, even to a bitch like me who despite this rundown of comics is fucking sick of superheroes.
Lazarus Vol. 1 (Greg Rucka & Michael Lark) - Really liked this one. Quiet and thoughtful dystopian SF about a woman who's been gaslighted into being a killing machine by a feudal society and oligarchal family. Incredible stuff. Moves slowly, and I'm looking forward to reading more because I don't feel like the best of the comic is present in the first book, but this is set to be a new favorite.
Bitch Planet Vol. 1 & 2 (Kelly Sue Deconnick & Valentine De Landro) - Another strong title about the executive manipulation of women from Image. Funny how this keeps happening. I have to admit I didn't fall in love with this one, as it didn't consistently surprise so much as it consistently executed its premise well. #6 is great though, and there are some lovely characters in this. I'd be happy to see it return, but as it stands this is a damn good twelve issues.
Preacher Vol. 1 (Garth Ennis & Steve Dillon) - Thanks! I hate it. God, what a travesty. Ennis looks like he took a glance at Warren Ellis' creative crassness and copied it without emulating any of the cutting social commentary and political rage underneath it. There's room in the world for a Southern Gothic comic about religion that I'd love, but it'd need to say things rather than dwell on gratuitous 90s grimdark bullshit. Just garbage.
The Gnostic Gospels (Elaine Pagels) - Another book on religion that disappointed me. Pagels mischaracterizies the gnostics as optimistic underdogs focused on the beauty of the universe rather than the compellingly nihilistic cynics they were. I came to this book with a lot of questions about gnosticism, and walked away with even more. Its status as a strong popular introduction to the gnostics baffles me. It's far from a terrible book, but a satisfying one? Not by a mile.
Transmetropolitan Vol. 3: Year of the Bastard (Warren Ellis & Darrick Robertson) - For years I would have said From Hell is my favorite comic. That could still be true, but if From Hell has a challenger for that position, it's Transmetropolitan. This is an incredible series - funny, gross, and overwhelming, but with a constant undercurrent of ideas and things to say. Its "journalist takes down corrupt democracy" shtick is a bit naively optimistic now, but this is still an incredible comic. Wow.
Appointment with Death (Agatha Christie) - Found myself in the mood to read some mysteries before realizing I didn't actually own any mystery books. I quickly remedied this by going out and acquiring some cheap paperbacks. This one was my first Christie, and I was rather impressed by it. Its "minor book" status eclipses that it's a surprisingly intelligent take on parental abuse plugged into a fun mystery story too. Glad I started Christie with this one. She really is as good as everyone says.
And Then There Were None (Agatha Christie) - This one, however, was not. The first fifty pages are marvelous. Nothing happens in them, but it's a pregnant nothing happening, some truly ominous and atmospheric writing. Then the plot starts and gets into its predictable groove of an unsolvable mystery. By the end, it ruins itself with its stupid resolution that removes all the most intriguing elements of the story from the table. Disappointing.