Welcome back, Donist World Denizens! For those of you new to our site, I’m Donist, and I am joined by Donist World CFO the Reverse Obie* (my friends’ Boston terrier whose fur recently swapped colors) and by our marketing director / administrative assistant / party planner / nevertheless persisting puppy Tulip (my dog, Reverse Obie’s sister). Yes, Denizens, yes…keep your shirts on — unless you live in superheated Arizona or something — I realize I am a day late, but I have good reason. You see, it was Amy the intern and my 20th anniversary of being together this past Sunday, and in celebration we fled Santa Barbara for the calm tranquility of Avila Beach. Of course the massive storm followed us here, but it’s cool, we’ve been holed up in our groovy hotel room with episodes of
The Magicians,
The Americans, and
Riverdale to keep us busy, as well as plenty of comics loaded onto to ol’ trusty iPad via
Comixology — who’s currently having a nifty Warren Ellis sale going on right now, so get yourself some
Authority and
Planetary on the cheap! Anyhow, this week’s post is going to be somewhat abbreviated as Tulip has informed me I should spend time with my wife for a change as opposed to solidifying Donist World as a Fortune 320,000 company. I’ve been secretly communicating with Reverse Obie via text and FaceTime whenever I can, but Tulip is right: Amy, Tulip, and I left town to get away, relax, and celebrate two decades of being together. So, Reverse Obie’s holding down the fort, this post is going to be relatively short, and we’re going to chillax some more as the heavens rain down upon us. So, take time to appreciate those you love, stay warm, stay positive, have a beer or a strong ginger ale, RESIST, take care of yourself, and while you’re at it check out some great comics. Thank you for reading!
*Obie, through his dabbling in arcane magics mixed with ancient corrupt business practices, has had not just the colors of his fur switched, but a complete overhaul of his work ethic as well…I think I’m kinda okay with the mishap.
***Possible Spoilers Below***
Friday Slice of Heaven
Written by Matt Fraction, illustrated by Chip Zdarsky, edited by Thomas K, published by Image Comics. Dang, Denizens, it has been a loooooong time since we last saw an issue of this Donist World darling, and it was a loooooong time between issues before that, but despite beginning each new installment with a smidge of irritation at the lengthy delays, I’m usually smiling, or laughing, or feeling my heart break by the third page. I still love this dang funny book somethin’ fierce. Because of the length of time between issues and the fact that coworkers who don't necessarily read comics (but should!) might be reading this post and preparing to sic HR on me, I should probably explain what Sex Criminals actually is. Sex Criminals is a comic about John and Suze who separately discover they have the ability to stop time after they experience the…uh…little death. Growing up with this ability is cool at first, escapist in fact, but they each feel a sense of detachment and isolation until the day the meet each other and fall in love. The “criminal” side of things comes into play when the pair decide to use their time-stopping powers to steal money from the bank that is going to seize and tear down Suze’s beloved library, where she works. Her father also worked at the bank but was killed by a delusional employee at the start of the financial crisis. John hates the bank because he works there and his boss is a total douche. They succeed in stealing the money, but soon learn there are others with similar powers, a Sex Police if you will. Anyhow, the comic is so much more than that. It is a sex-positive, inclusive look at how awkward, bizarre, and wonderful sex can be. On top of all of that, it’s funny as heck, while being so charming, so utterly earnest that I fall in love with the characters every time I hang out with them in each new issue. Fraction’s writing and voice are phenomenal and Zdarsky’s illustrations gorgeous, especially when his colored work depicts “The Quiet,” the time-stopped world that is both ethereal and lovely. If you’re closed minded, then this is not the book for you (come to think of it, why are you even here?). If you are under 18 or immature, then this is not the book for you. If you are open to the fact that sex can be a positive and even humorous adventure, and you like great characters in laugh-out-loud funny situations, then you have to read what TIME Magazine called the number one comic of 2014. You can easily catch up via the first three trades. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
Written by Warren Ellis, illustrated by Jon Davis-Hunt, colored by Ivan Plascencia, lettered by Simon Bowland, published by Image Comics. Okay, everyone should know by now that I absolutely love Ellis’s The Authority and Planetary with all my heart. Heck, Planetary is next up on my reread list for the seventh or eighth time. So, to have the creator of those much-revered series returning to that universe with drastic new twists to the characters, there was no way I could pass on this new series; I’m sooooo glad I read this. Now I wasn't a total Wildstorm fanatic, so there are going to be more than a couple characters who I don’t recognize, but even for those characters who I do recognize, like Angela Spica, they have been overhauled, tweaked, revamped into something with just as many differences as they have similarities. We only have one issue thus far and although I don’t completely understand what the heck is going on, I cannot wait to see what happens next month. The writing is compelling as heck, and the art is stunning. Even without my love for the series that came before, the mystery of what is happening and the promise of a different type of superhero book has me most intrigued. Now, if we happen to get The Engineer, Jenny Sparks (she's coming), Jack Hawksmoor, The Doctor, Swift, Apollo, and The Midnighter all in one book once again, I would be a very happy camper. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
Slice into the Woods
I Want to Keep Things Positive, But - The GOP has been very busy the past few weeks working with the person who won the electoral vote yet who bigly lost the popular vote. Too bad most of the members are avoiding or refusing to hear what their constituents have to say. Sad.
Trying to Compose This Post on an iPad Pro - I am writing this little blurb after the original post and on my actual computer. Now, I love my wife’s iPad Pro with the keyboard and Apple Pencil and all, but I have to say that composing this entry on the iPad Pro was a chore. A lot of formatting issues, many problems typing once I reached a certain page length. I was actually able to get something posted, but mostly after throwing in the towel by jumping into Google Docs, typing my post, copying and pasting it into Blogger, and going from there. Very messy, but doable as a last resort. If I ever do get an iPad Pro, I would have to do a minimal post, that I later brought into my main computer for fine tuning and image addition. Ugh. It should not have been this difficult.
Friday Slice of Heaven, Slice into the Woods 2/17/2017
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