For This We Waited Two Weeks??
Gah.  So tired.  Just want to sleep, but I suppose I'd better blog something otherwise I'm going to get in the habit of not blogging.  (As the nuns in Catholic school always said, if you do something for three weeks, it'll become a habit.)  Since I'm feeling incoherent, this is going to be pretty scattered/sketchy.

First of all, I apologize to all those who emailed while I was away:  I know I haven't responded to everyone yet, but I plan to.  Strangely, the two-week period where I was gone may have been the blog's busiest in terms of email.  I blame The Beat!'s inclusion of this blog in its "Crisis On Infinite Blogospheres" roundup.  (A genuine thanks to The Beat! for mentioning and linking to this blog.  And even bigger thanks for working my name into the construction "Mr. ________ could not be reached for comment."  It's been a life-long dream to see myself referred to in that way.)  And The Beat! is one savvy scout:  Stamina is something I always worry about with this whole blogging thing.  Personally, I'm surprised I've lasted this long at it, given my flaky attention span.

Next, I just took a look at what's coming tomorrow in my Big Monthly Box O' Comics and I'm pretty excited.  Now, generally I don't list out what comics I'm getting each month, but this time I figured what the heck:  It can serve as a glimpse into the comics I actually read when I'm not busy making snarky comments about them.  Plus, I'm wiped out and desperate to fill space.

• 8 1/2 GHOSTS ONE SHOT (Not sure what to expect from this, but the preview art has looked very nice.)

• ABSENT FRIENDS #1 (See preceding comment.)

• ADAM STRANGE ARCHIVES VOL 1 HC (Adam Strange has always been one of those third/fourth/fifth-string characters that appeals to me, but I don't think I've read many of his original comics, so this a chance to see what his solo stories were like.)

• ALTER EGO #33 (What can I say?  I have an inexplicable love of Mike Sekowsky's artwork.  Plus, the flip covers (one inserting the Silver Age JLA into the cover of FF #1, the other inserting the Invaders into the cover of The Brave and The Bold #28) really caught my eye.)

• AQUAMAN #15 (Aquaman?  Hey, I've enjoyed new series writer Will Pfeifer's work on HERO, so I thought I'd check this out.)

• BACK ISSUE #2 (I believe I preordered this before I read the disappointing first issue.  Ah well, at least the solicit promises "rare artwork by [Adam] Hughes and ALAN DAVIS"; "rare art by STEVE RUDE"; "and rare art by DAVE STEVENS, BO HAMPTON, MIKE HOFFMAN, and VAL MAYERICK!"  There's also "unpublished [but not rare?] DC Comics art by STEVE DITKO, JIM APARO, and JOE KUBERT," so at least there should be pretty pictures to look at.)

• COMIC ART MAGAZINE #5 (Always a slick, high-quality package.)

• COMICS JOURNAL #258 (Originally ordered for the Ditko coverage, but now most looking forward to reading the letter from Sean Collins and the ensuing petty digs by the TCJ staff.)

• DIGITAL WEBBING PRESENTS #13 (Kevin Melrose turned me on to this anthology and I've really enjoyed the two issues I've read so far.)

• EPIC ANTHOLOGY #1 (This will one day be a highly-valued collector's item, right?)

• GOON #5 (Always a fun read.)

• GOTHAM CENTRAL #16 (The solicit says this is "the first of three stand-alone stories featuring the supporting cast." Good.  As much as I'm enjoying this series, many of the characters are indistinguishable for me so far.  It'll be nice to get a little more characterization for the various cast members.)

• GYO VOL 2 (Wasn't that impressed with the first volume, but it was still a better horror manga than Dark Horse's Ringu adaptation.)

• HARD TIME #1 (I think I'm the only person in the comics blogosphere -- perhaps the entire online comics community -- interested in the DC Focus books.)

• HERO #13 (I'm still worried that this "guy transformed into gal" storyline is going to veer into gratuitously titillating territory, but the first part wasn't bad.)

• HUMAN TARGET #7 (I'm beginning to lose interest in this title.  I'll probably decide whether or not to drop the series based on this issue.)

• JACK STAFF VOL 1 EVERYTHING USED TO BE BLACK & WHITE TP (I sampled the first color issue from Image and liked it.  It certainly helps that Union Jack is another one of my favorite "will-never-have-his-own-series" characters.)

• LOSERS ANTE UP TP (I've been hearing good things about this series and the trade was dirt cheap, so I'm checking it out.)

• MICHAEL CHABON PRESENTS ADVENTURES O/T ESCAPIST #1 (Should have waited for the trade.)

• MY FAITH IN FRANKIE #2 (Really enjoyed the first issue of this series.)

• NAUSICAA OF VALLEY OF WIND VOL 1 TP 2ND ED (Shawn Fumo seems awfully excited about this book.  Me, I preordered it based solely on the strength of Hayao Miyzaki's animated work, but it's nice to know that bloggers whose opinion I respect are looking forward to this (Christopher Butcher ranks it as "one of the best manga ever released into the English language."))

• TOM STRONG #25 (Erg.  Forgot that this was written by Geoff Johns (who I don't find as objectionable as certain other bloggers, but he's still not Alan Moore).  On the plus side, the art's by the under-utilized John-Paul Leon.  And where have I seen that cover before?)

• TOM STRONG'S TERRIFIC TALES #9 (Well, I'm looking forward to 1/3 of this at least.)

• WONDER WOMAN #201 (I've been enjoying Rucka's run on this book so far.  I know a lot of fans have been complaining about the "lack of action" in this book, but, frankly, I think the slow burn Rucka's been working on is much more interesting than a series of slugfests each month.)

Observations:  A lot of magazines about comics (for me at least).  And a good number of trades (5), but three times as many singles (15)!  How did that happen?  I thought I was supposed to be one of the poster boys for "Waiting For The Trade."  Hmm.  I guess that just goes to show that groupthink doesn't always translate into corresponding groupact.

Finally, here's your Vacation Photo of the Day:

  ¶ 11:20 PM | |