Friday Slice of Heaven, Slice Into the Woods 11/9/2012

(Sung to the tune of Pulp's "Common People")

He's really mean, and he's pissed with Rot grudge
That Arcane d_bag holds Swamp Thing's world hostage
He's just that kind of guy

You think he's through? Ask Buddy Baker
Arcane chumps shake their fetid gross Rot money makers
But that's fine
Are you ready for heavy groovy times? Donist said

"You wanna read great comics, people?"
"You wanna see what great comics have in store for you"
"Try to sleep after these comics, people"
Ever had your heart crushed by comics, people? It's true.
Well let me tell you
I said, "Sweet Tooth is for you"


Ack! What is going on here? I just got into the Donist World corporate Mom's basement office and Obie, my friends' Boston terrier and Donist World CFO, has banners, hats and buttons strewn about saying "Obie for President - 2016." <sigh> Apparently, he will be running against challenger Tulip, who is Obie's sister and my dog as well as Donist World marketing director, administrative assistant, party planner, editor and food taster (???). Yup. There's the "Tulip for President - 2016." Criminy. Not only do I have to live in a politically divided country, I have to put up with a politically divided basement office. Sitting on my desk is a flyer--well-made by the way and pleasing to the eyes--running a negative campaign against Obie. It states that he is all about "Big Two" superhero comics and that he doesn't give a shake of his non-existent tail to the considerations of the indies or creator owned. It also says that he wants to pull kibble from the mouths of middle class dogs under the guise of trickle-down kibble economics and that he barfs too much. Obie is saying that Tulip is a comics snob with no appreciation of our founding comics fathers, and that she wants a free ride by taking from him to give to puppies who don't want to take the time to be potty trained. Obie's negative campaign flyer also says that Tulip loves to hog all of the toys and not share them with him. As I sort out this mess and determine how much all of this nonsense has depleted the Donist World coffers, have a look a this week's...


Friday Slice of Heaven


***Possible Spoilers Below***

Sweet Tooth 39...
<sob>

Sweet Tooth #39 - Everythinged by Jeff Lemire, published by Vertigo Comics, a DC Comics Imprint. Oh my expletive. I can't believe he expletive-ing did that. Actually, expletive, yes I can believe he did that. We expletive-ing knew it was coming with all the dream sequences and stuff. Expletive. Expletive. I mean...just expletive. With only one more issue to go on one of the best books to hit the stands in the past decade, I don't know what to expect and as apprehensive as I am to crack open next months final issue, I know it will be at the top of my stack. Expletive-ing expletive, this issue was expletive-ing expletive-ly expletive-ed. Oh man. Keep your mitts off Bobby, Lemire!
Jepperd realizes too late that Abbot's initial attack was a diversion as he and Singh rush to rescue Gus from Abbot's clutches. With a gun to Gus's head and clearly with the upper hand, Abbot sticks the knife in deeper by revealing that Jepperd's son Buddy is still alive. Jepperd has a choice: Gus or Buddy. Abbot didn't account for everything though. Chaos from an unexpected source erupts as Abbot flees into the base leaving Jepperd to save his family from the dog boys. Jepperd, terribly injured, pursues Abbot under the base and into to the tomb of the animal people for the final confrontation with the man who has made everyone's life hell.
<sob> <phew> I need a cigarette and I've never even tried smoking. Okay, let me pull myself together and wrap this up. Lemire has spent the entirety of his exceptional run on this book making you love and care for each of his characters. With each terrible event and situation they have been forced to endure, Gus, Jepperd, Bobby, and the rest have left me eagerly waiting to see what comes next, praying these people would make it out okay. Some do. Others don't. It's difficult to watch some of the scenes play out, but this is a harsh world that is wonderfully developed and written from the heart. Lemire's unique artistic style was shocking at first, but now I can't imagine this comic looking any other way (unless Matt Kindt is stepping in for an issue or two). This series has been emotional and at times tough to read, but that's what makes Sweet Tooth truly great. I am dying to see how everything wraps up, but I can almost guarantee I will be reading the final issue while covering my eyes and peeking between my fingers. Sweet Tooth is the perfect example of why I love comic books. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

Swamp Thing #14

Swamp Thing #14 - Written by Scott Snyder and illustrated by Yanick Paquette, published by DC Comics. I half expected this issue to begin with a caption box stating "Call me Alec," but Moby Rot aside (check the cover), the second installment in "Rot World: The Green Kingdom" sets Swamp Thing on a course to destroy Arcane. Last week's annual didn't quite pick up where issue 13 left off and actually--despite some inconsistencies--falls chronologically somewhere near the middle of this month's offering. Regardless of the annual's timeline (still buy it!) and this issue's missing characters (Carrotbeard, Knothead and Stewart...probably not their real names), Swamp Thing continues to be my favorite New 52 title as the Rot World saga becomes more terrifying.
The last pocket of green is under seige by the Roteen Titans who are on the verge of defeating Swamp Thing and his newfound allies. As an infected Superboy prepares to deliver the death blow, Alec taps into the full power of the Parliament of Trees and literally stomps the opposition. Abigail has somehow survived the plane crash and looks to find and kill her uncle. Alec decides to take the fight directly to the Parliament of Decay, and Deadman agrees to accompany him claiming there might be a weapon capable of killing the Rot on contact. The heroes set sail on a dead sea for Gotham and run into Aquaman's unlikely replacement.
I cannot imagine something more horrific than riding in a small boat with immense monstrosities  lurking below and Snyder captures this fear perfectly. He also delivers an enraged avatar of the Green, leaving you feeling our hero's pain as he sets out on his hero's journey to find a mighty weapon, to save the love of his life, and to defeat an undying evil. Snyder's Swamp Thing contains everything I adored in my much-read D'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths yet updates it to a modern, crueler time of bleak despair with little hope. Paquette is back on the book this month, providing his usual stunning artwork, especially the splash page depicting exactly what happens when you piss off a force of nature. The "Rot World" event lives up to the anticipation and hype put in place since the start of the series. As anxious as I am to see if Alec can succeed in his doomed quest, I also want to stay in this devastated world for a while just to see just how bad things have become. The hopelessness of the few survivors in Rot World is fascinating and I have no idea how Swamp Thing can persevere against these odds, which keeps me glued to the pages and biting my nails for issue 15. Make mine Green! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Animal Man #14

Animal Man #14 - Written by Jeff Lemire and illustrated by Steve Pugh and Timothy Green II, published by DC Comics. Today's Donist World is brought to you by the letter "D," as in "despair." At least that seems to be the case after reading this week's comic books, but you know what, folks? That is a-okay by me, as all three books were a heck of a miserable good time. Oh, I almost forgot...this month's Animal Man is sponsored by a bunch of DC characters who were last worked on by...what was his name again? Was it Rot Leifeld?
The last thing a young kid needs to see is her mother rot-wretching all over her grandmother. That's just the beginning of Maxine's problems as she meets another kid close to her age, but despite appearances, the boy comes from a tainted lineage (and apparently he can be in two places at once). It's a dang shame, but that's the past. The present finds Animal Man, Buddy Baker, in the Red Kingdom beset by agents of the Rot including powerhouses such as Hawk & Dove, Deathstroke, and Grifter (Hawkman was last month), all of whom are led by the mad magician Felix Faust. Fortunately (or is it unfortunately) Faust is merely there to deliver the message that Maxine is alive and well...and in Arcane's care. Buddy, Black Orchid, Beast Boy and Steel decide that if they are to have a chance of stopping the Rot and restoring order to the world, they will need to join up with Swamp thing and the Green. We learn a little bit about Black Orchid, but before she can spill her origin the apes come crashing in.
I have never been a fan of the whole "check it out, it's DC apes and the heroes are turning into monkeys" story lines. Don't get me wrong, having Grodd show up on occasion is fine, but it seems that every couple of years we get the heroes and apes stories. It ain't my bag, but for the Red Kingdom portion of Rot World, this is an instant when bringing in the apes/monkeys actually makes sense in Buddy's story. Lemire handles the many characters of this issue perfectly, leaving me curious to know more about Black Orchid and how she can be of both the Red and the Green, while keeping me sympathetic to just how lost Buddy is in this twisted world. Pugh has some fantastic action moments with the crowning page being the final splash. As I mentioned with Swamp Thing, I am 100% in for the "Rot World" ride and next month can't come soon enough. Make mine Red! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!


This Past Tuesday - I'll keep this brief, but yes, I'm thrilled that Obama has won reelection against someone who is a businessman profiteer and servant of the corporations and not the people (corporations are NOT people). I'm also thrilled that 30 passed (this will not fix schools, merely stop things from getting worse and make sure my wife doesn't have 40+ students in a classroom. Much more needs to be done here to make the US once again competitive with the rest of the modernized world...charter schools are not the answer). I'm also glad that 32 went down in flames (protection for Unions...you know, the unions that gave us sick leave, overtime, minimum wage, days off, unemployment insurance, disability, child labor laws, etc). All of this is great, but a lot needs to be done to fix this country. We'll see, but I'm more hopeful than if Romney had won.


Slice Into the Woods


How Many Vote Suppressors and Election Tamperers Are In Jail? - One I believe. Was it in Oregon? With all of the (failed) efforts to suppress people's votes and to turn people away from the polls (guess which groups those might be) through misinformation, and the breaking of Federal and State laws, why are those "true Americans" who attempted to rig our elections not awaiting sentencing? Whether it ended up being Obama (thank goodness it was) or Romney who won, NO ONE should be allowed to walk free if they were complicit in any sort of effort to take away a person's right to vote. Take Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted (R) and his last minute "experimental" voting software patches, his fight to reduce voting hours, his voter ID nonsense, provisional ballots, ignoring court rulings and all the rest. Are there investigations pending? Are other instances of this type of behavior in other states (Florida) being investigated? I hope so. Letting these criminals get away with this crap just encourages this sort of behavior to escalate going forward.

Friday Slice of Heaven, Slice Into the Woods 11/9/2012