X-men: MAGNETO TESTAMENT hardcover-- Quite possibly the best piece of literature about the Holocaust I've ever read. That's right, you read that correctly. "X-men", "Holocaust", and "literature" all in the same line. There's nothing superheroic or supervillainous or X-meny about the story. Just really really accurate portrayals of the people and the Auschwitz experience. Read it and weep, literally.
Thunderbolts: Secret Invasion-- If I knew I was going to blow money on something this stupid, I should have paid a hooker to talk to me about Proust.
Spider-man Loves Mary Jane digest volume 2-- Remember our teenagers years where we went through a gauntlet of pathos that ranged from post-prom pre-coital jitters and heartache over choosing friendship over the inevitable acceptance of our peers? Yeah, me neither. Good thing I get to live vicariously through Peter, Mary Jane, and the rest of the ancillary Spider-man cast.
Final Crisis-- It's kinda like pink wine: people say it's an acquired taste, so you just nod in agreement and pose like James Lipton so you don't look like the complete retard you are for not getting what the fuck Grant Morrison was talking about. "Graveyard Universe, you say? Why yes, I would like another glass of pink wine."
Green Lantern Corps: Sins of the Star Sapphire-- It's easy to dislike the concept of the Green Lanterns and its Rainbow Pride brethren (Yellow Lanterns = fear, Pink Lanterns = Love, Mauve Lanterns = empathy for Extreme Makeover Home Edition benefactors). But because the war they're all embroiled in has caused so much hate and bile it's like 2 minutes with Janice Dickenson, it really feels like A WAR. Especially in this story arc, considering we're talking about the Lanterns of... wait for it... Love. Yes. Lanterns whose idea of love by the way is wearing low-cut tops and stalking broken-hearted cosmic beings. Still, Mongul using his yellow lantern rings to hold together his dismembered arm is so ballpark awesome it makes up for all the Care Bear connivance.
32 Stories: The Complete Optic Nerve Mini-comic Series-- Adrian Tomine is one of the 1990's indy comics scene's progidies. In an era of Holofoil Covers, X-men #1 cover variants, and Death of Superman, he was able to carve a niche in the volatile market of crap and Rob Liefield shoulder pads. This collection is the pudding's proof that yes, he deserved the accolades. As much as I want to delve into the quality of the art (awesome) and stories (meh), mad props go to the format. Drawn and Quarterly REPRODUCED the ashcan format that the fledging creator used and collected them in a box set that opens like a bodouir but still fits neatly on the shelf.
That's it. Now I'm off to the bar to watch my friends get drunk while I scarf down some fish and chips.
