[MacCready]

A bunch of Graphic Novels over the past 2-3 Weeks or so...

Reckless by Ed Brubaker & Sean Phillips. Picked the first two volumes the first go, ended up reading both over the course of the same weekend (along with Brubaker's & Phillips's Cruel Summer, another amazing graphic novel). Anyway, picked up the last two volumes and loved each run I read. Really difficult to find any fault with any of the various series runs they've done...But the Reckless stuff is just perfect for dark, noir stories that range from the mid/late '60s to the late '80s (for the most part)...Only minor pet peeve is the storyline that focused on the main character's assistant. I kind of get how he'd eventually want to explore that character more, but I just thought it felt a little out of place at times. But oh well. This is really some of the best work being down out their right now in the grand scheme of comics...

All My Best Friend's Are Junkies by Brubaker & Phillips. I think that was the title. Great graphic novel set in a rehab facility. It's a brief, kind of a read in one-sitting (like the best of their stuff, you just feel the story propel you ahead, so before you know it you've blown through the story).

Sage of the Swamp Thing. Started with the first "BOOK" (I'm trying to collect the softcovers released a while back) in the Alan Moore run (and I'm currently confused between two artists both coming to mind for some reason, but the main artist is just stellar; I'm sure I'll think of the name later but oh well). And wow. I've read almost all of the other major work Moore has done, but I can't believe I had put off reading this til now. I was blown away by the written word and the artwork and how they just flow. It feels seamless. And for a character that I typically haven't loved the character of Swamp Thing (a lot of that has to do with being a kid and trying to watch that crappy Swamp Thing cartoon series (I think it existed) and the toys of said series I briefly collected/amassed once long ago), but this takeaway by Alan Moore is just a delightful read. And surprisingly accessible.

Bone: The Complete Series by Jeff Smith - Well, eventually I'll get through this...I kid, I kid. It's a delightful read so far, and I'm only a quarter or so of the way into it. It's filled with fantastical plot devices and a nice mixture of humour and drama. A good way to pass the time, and the great artwork really helps in conveying the character's emotions. And I totally get why this book is often cited as appealing to both adults as well as kids and young adults. It's just got this great mixture of humour, along with enough subtext so that a lot of kids are just going to enjoy for the humorous tale it weaves, and other (more then likely adults) can enjoy the subtle jokes and animation humour that they might only appreciate later on in life. Amazing deal/steal, too, as I got the black/white softcover for like $60 CA (within the current exchange rate I thought it would be higher, but that's essentially what I paid, I believe), for like a 1300 page opus.

The Sandman by Neil Gaiman and various artists. Hmmmm. Yummy. I mean, it does take a little bit to really win you over, but once it does you're pretty much hooked. I've read through the first four (softcover) volumes so far, but hope to maybe be able to pick up at least volumes five and six "in-store" (hopefully) sometime this next week. Some stories were better than others, but I just found the stories just kind of welcomed me in...Once I started an issue I would find it hard to become dis-engaged. It just has this weird lull...I enjoy the darkness and the humour, and the insanely detailed and twisted artwork. Shoulda read this years ago, but, hey, at least I can kind of read on my own leisure...Would've sucked having to wait for this series month by month...But I kid...

The Fade Out by Brubaker & Phillips. Thought I might was well add this. Another great story by this great team, obviously inspired by their love for old school hard-boiled film noir. While I like some of their other tales a bit better than this, it's still a great read (and at a pretty decent price, for what you're getting). I was impressed by this, reading it in one sitting. I just know it wasn't quite the same as when I finished Cruel Summer or any of the Reckless books...It's a story that was pretty intelligent and done in a certain style, but it feels like another "par for the course" for the Bru/Ellis team. I can't really expect any more from them...it's just a well written, well drawn book...

Also bought some Hellblazer graphic novels (the softcovers). Bought Book 1 (Delano), and Books 5-6 (when Ennis takes over). Bought 1 just to get started on the series, then intend to dive into the Ennis run (I know, I know, pretty sure I have to buy another volume or two after these ones, as I know he wrote more)...I've never had an issue reading the Hellblazer comic books non-sequentially...like, I remember picking it up again when Azzarello came aboard and I collected it for a good 15-20 issues or something like that, as well as reading other comics based on the creators involved. They're generally great to excellent but you never know. I just know I loved the Azzarello run, and I had read the odd Ennis one when I picked them up the odd time, and even some of Warren Ellis's run, which I liked a lot and look forward to re-reading...So I figure, I was loving Ennis was doing on Preacher, and being familiar with Hellblazer as a character, I was like, I'm reading those next, as it's usually cited as the best runs in the series, or at least right up there. After these, I hope to get the Ellis run, as well as the other Ennis books (one or two, I think)...Already got the Azzarellos in either single issues, and the odd graphic novel (like that prison-set story that was awesome), so I'd rather not re-buy those ones, unless I look into it and I'm missing some key story, than maybe I'll re-buy, just to have them in the one set.

Had a lot of spare time the past while...Just what I've been reading recently...Like said, right now I'm most excited to keep looking at the Alan Moore run on Swamp Thing, finishing more of Bone (which can be done at a leisurely pace; story doesn't have to be rushed to be enjoyed), probably looking into more Hellblazer and Sandman graphic novels to be picked up...Yeah, those were some of the key works that I was just never actually getting around to reading, aside from the odd issue here and there, but most titles I was pretty much brand new to. Looking forward to reading this stuff I currently have on the plate...

Oh...Also bought the complete 2-Volume Strangers in Paradise Omnibus by Terry Moore. Had read and heard so much about the series when I was younger, and I always regretted never getting into it. When I went to my nearest comic store and saw this badboy on sale, I just couldn't help myself. I picked this mammoth thing up and can't wait to read it. When I do read this particular series, I want to just focus on that and only that. There's occasions where I'll kind of bounce around while reading and might have 2 graphic novels on the go along with some works of non-fiction, but this is one of those instances where I just want to focus on this book alone. It reminds me when I waited and waited til Season Three of Twin Peaks came out on Blu-Ray. I waited and waited and when I cracked it open, it's all I watched for like 3 or 4 nights. Didn't watched anything in between the episodes or anything like that. It was great to watch it that way, and I'm hopeful that these volumes draw me in in a similar fashion and I just fly through them...