“These dreams go on when I close my
eye-eye-eye-eye-eyes. Every second
of the night, I live another life.”
Last night I dreamt that Sean, Obie’s owner, and I were
working at an orca training facility located just off of State Street at De La
Vina Street. The orca pools
managed to extend about a city block out and were a city block deep. The pools did not end there, they also
extended out to remote areas via underground, water-filled tubes, many of which
extended to the ocean, which is how the majestic black and white creatures made
it to the training facility.
Great computers from the late eighties stood ready to record
the vital stats of the killer whales and the lovely view from the lab window
afforded a Santa Barbara-wide horizon of mountains and blue skies. Working with our wild orca friends, who
voluntarily traveled the miles of tubing from the ocean to the lab to be
studied for some reason, became mysteriously docile upon entering the great
tank.
Towards the end of the dream, Sean and I ordered lunch,
which arrived far past the promised thirty-minute cut-off, but the pizzas
looked amazing and the sandwich was the size of a large house cat. The delivery girls were mad that they
could not find our office, despite the fact that the address was clearly
labeled on the door, the receipt and their iPhones, so I’m not really clear on
what their problem was, but the main point to remember is that they were
H…O…T…fine-ass ladies. Two
brunettes and a blonde all with crummy attitudes, but as Motley Crue would
attest, they had the looks that kill.
Then I woke up.
Now, what does this have to do with comics and why am I
mentioning this dream. Well,
nothing actually. It was a very short
week for me comicwise, but come to think of it maybe there was more to it. Maybe the orcas, in all their black and
white glory represent Obie, Sean’s Boston Terrier and my harshest critic. Maybe, the orcas voluntarily coming to
work with me was my mind subconsciously telling me to work more closely with
Obie and that we can finally come to some sort of an agreement. Maybe Donist World is actually an orca
testing facility located in the heart of Santa Barbara where two hot brunettes
and a hot blonde with crappy attitudes can deliver beautiful pizzas and
sandwiches and remind me that there is always…
Friday Slice of Heaven
POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD...
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| Echo Vol. 4 Collider |
Echo Vol. 4: Collider - Everythinged by Terry Moore, published by Abstract Studio. I need volume five immediately. This installment manages to ratchet up an already intense story another notch or two. Julie and Ivy come to an agreement after Julie is able to use her new found powers in an amazing new way. Cain is back and is possibly more bat-shit crazy than before, and is again in possession of the metal, but Julie took it from him in the previous encounter. How did he reacquire the metal? I guess we will see. Characters croak left and right in this volume, including one that I was cheering for and another who we only just meet and who goes down in the wrongest of ways. A person previously assumed dead becomes a disgusting new foe and HeNRI continues to need some heavy-duty regulating.
Moore has an amazing ability to tell a story with expression, emotion and mannerisms and to bring the reader fully into his world. Add the dialogue and captions to flesh out the story and you have a thoroughly addictive read. I care deeply for the safety of Julie, Dillon, Ivy, the "deceased" Annie and all the rest. I am genuinely worried for these characters and the arrival of each new threat leaves me hoping for the best and wishing that I could help. Echo is one of my favorite books...ever. You should be reading this. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
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| The Killer: Volume One |
The Killer: Volume One - Written by Matz and illustrated by Luc Jacamon, published by Archaia. The Killer has been on my radar for a while as I have been hearing about it for some time. I just finished Matz and Jacamon's first four issues of Cyclops, which I loved, and I knew I could not go wrong with this book. It's nice when I am right.
The Killer is about, well, an unnamed (unless I missed it somewhere) killer. An assassin to be exact, and he is on the verge of leaving the business. Written in the first person, this compelling series follows a killer for hire as he pulls a job in Paris that just doesn't seem right and he is tailed to Venezuela, his future place of retirement, and he deals with his pursuer. The Killer agrees to take one final assignment back in Europe only to discover the mark is not who he is supposed to be, and The Killer has become the target.
Well written and insightful into the mind of this interesting character, who, although despicable, gains my sympathy and interest. I also must mention the lovely art of Jacamon that has an almost cartoonish quality, while depicting emotion in a manner unlike anything I have seen. Jacamon's coloring is worthy of mentioning as it is intense, vibrant, beautiful despite nearly being flats with minimal shading. But it is the minimal touches on the characters themselves and the lush designs on the settings that impress the most; after seeing these pages I want to retire in Venezuela.
A fantastic book all around and I am glad to jump immediately into the next one. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
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| Batman & Robin: Batman Reborn TPB |
Batman & Robin Volume 1: Batman Reborn - Written by Grant Morrison and illustrated by Frank Quitely and Philip Tan, Published by DC Comics. At a time when I am moving further and further away from mainstream superhero comics, I decided to take a chance on Batman & Robin and I am glad that I did. Morrison can be hit or miss for me and this is a a definite hit.
Batman & Robin follows Dick Grayson (formerly Nightwing and formerly Robin) as Batman during Bruce Wayne's absence and the new Robin, Damian Wayne (Bruce Wayne's son...I have been gone for a while) joins him. Damian is a complete brat, but at just ten-years-old, he is a genius and ruthless fighter and argues often with Dick as he does not believe his predecessor to be up to the task holding the title of Batman. What Morrison does so perfectly is show the trust and respect slowly building between these two characters in-between the constant bickering. Still on the character side, Morrison (re)introduces some truly oddball and terrifying characters that are the stuff of nightmares (see Pyg and Scarlet) and gives them hefty doses of menace that works well for this series.
Also worthy of mention is one of my favorite artists, Frank Quitely, who although seemingly rushed in some panels, delivers unparalleled action and tension. Although I would have liked to have seen Quitely throughout the series, Tan does a good job of keeping the mood and the only thing that struck me as odd was that Damian looked different from panel to panel.
Overall a great superhero comic and one that is a lot of fun to read. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
Slice Into the Woods
Technology - Damn. Technology does wonders for our lives, doesn't it? Who would have ever thought that I could transfer the all-time favorites from my pr0n collection to my iPad, a laptop or to my PS3, or hell, even all three. This here Donist World thing would not be possible without technology and therein lies the rub. Throughout this month, the Playstation Network was hacked and has been down for what seems forever. Blogger, via Google, went down for a few days and before that (and currently) my Amazon link widget has vanished with the new "upgraded" interface. When these things go down, what do I do? What if they never come back? What if my login, password, credit card, personal information are leaked into the wild west that is the internet? Scary stuff and time for some backups and rethinking of passwords.
Technology, making certain aspects of life easier, while compounding the difficulties and stress of others. What would I do without you?
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