Friday Slice of Heaven, Slice Into the Woods 12/10/2010

I'm not sure what the deal with this week was, but it just seemed to drag on and on.  Of course it wasn't the good parts that seemed to go for eternity, no, it was the dull monotonous portions--guess which--that I sat and fully experienced the act of aging.  Why couldn't the moments of daily composing, editing and critiquing seem to last, or the night our friends came over to watch the season finale of The Walking Dead, or the serene walk through the woods with Tulip?  Nope, all flash in the pans.  There were some interesting things though.  Expect minor brief SPOILERS.

Friday Slice of Heaven

The Walking Dead: "TS-19" S01E06 - I downloaded the HD version of this episode through the PSN on Monday morning and the wait to watch it on Wednesday with our friends was excruciating.  Although I was excited to watch the final episode of the all-too-short season, I had a bit of dread over what was to be expected.  Last episode left off with Rick and the gang reaching the CDC and being let in--an event not found anywhere in the comic book series.  My fear was misplaced. 

The episode opened with a sequence that was also not found in any of the comics of Shane desperately trying to awaken Rick from his coma, and at great risk to his own life.  Just when I was firmly planted in the camp of "F_Shane," he has to go and pull something like this, where I really felt sorry for the character and--I'm hesitant to say this--semi-understood his frustration.  But then he returns to form.

Of special note in this episode was Dr. Jenner, played brilliantly by Noah Emmerich, a man as completely removed emotionally from the living as the zombies are removed mentally; in his mind everyone is dead on their feet.  The scene where he explains the zombie process with X-Ray scans of TS-19 is fascinatingly terrifying but confirms for the audience that once bitten you and everything that was you is gone.  

Not much of a cliffhanger for the finale, and the groups position really has not changed much at all, but extensive character development, desperation, and action rounded out this series quite nicely.  I should be able to have plenty of marathon viewings of this show during the long painful wait for season two in October 2011.  Dang.  :(

T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents #2 - Written by Nick Spencer with illustrations by Cafu and ChrisCross, published by DC Comics.  I vaguely remember the THUNDER Agents from years ago and admittedly I knew little about them going into this series, making the purchase solely because of writer Nick Spencer.  I am glad that I did.  The intrigue and suspense of the shadowy group S.P.I.D.E.R. takes a back seat to the development of the character, Henry Cosgei, the man who becomes the speedster Lightning.  Cosgei is a Kenyan runner and part of a small group of farmers called the Kalenjin, and an extraordinarily fast professional runner until he is accused of doping and loses everything.  Henry then agrees to wear the Lightning suit, which will eventually kill him with each use of the suit's speed amplification powers.  

This book is compellingly written, the dual art duties of the flashbacks and present day merge seamlessly, and I can't wait for the third issue.  

I don't want to say this, but this book is so good that it will probably go the way of Gotham Central, The Order and a host of other critically acclaimed books as it does not have Wolverine, Batman, or any of the other bigwig heroes.  I pray that I am wrong.  Buy it!

THUNDER Agent# 2 - An exciting fun read

Superboy #2 - Written by Jeff Lemire with illustrations by Pier Gallo, published by DC Comics.  Okay, I'm going to talk about this book in response to a shoddy review I read complaining that Superboy was stupid for even giving Poison Ivy the time of day.  The reviewer argued that the character should have known that Poison Ivy was evil and not gone on her little side quest and that the teen super-powered Connor Kent would never have fallen for her trap.  Bullshit.

Was the reviewer ever a teenager?  Apologies to any of my nonexistent teen readership, but teenagers tend to be stupid as dirt.  Seriously.  I'm sorry, if an incredibly buxom, green-skinned, red-headed, scantily clad and lascivious minded beauty approached a teenage Donist and kindly asked him to help her steal a painting from a bad little museum, I would be forging my mother's name on the school absence slip and catching the next bus to the museum.  Teenagers tend toward irrationality and if someone like the villain in this book came along, hordes of boys would gleefully jump off a cliff to impress her.  This rationale also curiously applies to United States Senators but that is a topic for another day.  

To the book itself, I loved the story, the characterization and the events as they unfolded.  The uber-creepy farmers near the end of the book have me fully intrigued and I'm looking forward to the next installment of this great series.

Superboy #2 - Another great DC book this week.

The Stuff of Legend Vol. II: The Jungle part 2 - Written by Mike Raicht and Brian Smith, illustrated by Charles Paul Wilson III, published by Th3rd World Studios.  I have been semi-slamming my LCS for a while now about skipping comics in my pull or missing them all together.  This issue was another one that somehow missed showing up in my pull.  Luckily, I checked out www.mycomicshop.com on a whim and saw that the latest issue had been released, so I ordered it from them.  The bad news is that I had to wait so long to get this, the good news is that there will be less of a wait for part three.
I honestly cannot say much more about this series other than it continues to be excellent and well worth the wait in between issues.  Strong, solid writing resurrects distant memories of the epic wars my own toys waged against the forces of Darth Vader, Baron Karza and Darklon the Evil, and remind me how much I loved those days.  Wilson III's art continues to be devastatingly beautiful, and come to think of it I need to see if there are any prints or posters or the like available for purchase to hang in the house.  A twisted mashup of Toy Story--without the songs and joy--and Saving Private Ryan, The Stuff of Legend continues to be one of the best series I have ever read.
With this issue, The Boogeyman's army leader, The General, sees his backstory come to light and the seeds of his doubt in The Boogeyman's campaign surface.  Percival the pig sinks further into the clutches of evil and the group wander into the dark, mysterious jungle to be brought before The King.
I have two suggestions for this comic book:
1) Multiple motion picture deal.
2) Hardcover Omnibus collecting all three (?) parts when all is said and done.
A magically addictive read.

The Stuff of Legend Vol. II: The Jungle part 2 - Another beautiful installment.

Slice Into the Woods



The Walking Dead TV Series - Now I have to wait, what...nine or ten months for season two?  Sigh.  Oh well, Mad Men will be back before that, but we still have six months to wait for that one, too.



GOP Senators block Zadroga 9/11 Health Bill for First Responders - Fuck you evil anti-American
assholes.

Friday Slice of Heaven, Slice Into the Woods 12/10/2010