Also...
It turns out that Brian Wood may have surpassed Neil Gaiman as my all-time favorite comic book writer. A meaningless title held by Neil for the past 13 years or so. I hadn't really read Wood until
DMZ came out a few months ago. I liked the idea of the concept and wasn't too broke at the time to start reading new stuff, so I picked it up. 5 issues in, and after Brubaker's Daredevil and Captain America, DMZ is the most eagerly awaited book of the month. Dystopian futures might just be on the way to becoming a passe topic, but Wood handles the topic beautifully and unexpectedly. Despite being under DC's Vertigo banner and, therefore, "mainstream" the comic still exhibits elements of his underground background and subversive thought. And I'm still not to the good stuff yet.
On a bored Saturday after tax refund day, I wondered in the the
shop looking for something new to read. Luckily, Phil, the shaggy headed trivia brained comic-book-dude recomended I pick up a relatively new book (up to issue 4 at the time and, lamentably so, still stalled at #4...) called
Local. I think I wrote about this already somewhere in the past, but I don't remember... From the "Run Lola Run"-esque multi-possibility futures story in #1 through the creepy pseudo boyfriend and stories of band members post-band to the beginning of a story whose root is simply sibling rivalry, Local has been entertaining and thought provoking through every issue. If only #5 would ever see print...
I meant to pick up Brian's new series from IDW called Supermarket, but I forgot my list and forgot it came out... I might now wait for the trade... I did manage to get the new release of the Tourist TPB last week but have yet to delve into the world of ex-military-turned-drug-smuggler-in-Britain-intrigue.
What I did finish, however, was
Channel Zero. I know I'm very behind the times in this, but hopefully you can forgive my tardiness. CZ is, at the time of this writing, the best complete story I've read this year. (as a minor disclaimer, I still haven't finished Brothers Karamazov... but I did read The Old Man and the Sea) Nothing else in the field of comics has touched it my recent reading - and this is being said in light of the fact that I recently reread V for Vendetta. I might be slightly jaded having just finished the book last night but the story resonated with me as I exist in my current place and time more than anything else has in recent memory. The government might be the visible enemy, but it's the masses who do nothing to stop it who are the real problem. I've got my own problems tho! I can't worry about the terrible decisions being made in my name by my government. Or, check this... someone on the sean hannity message boards actually told me this, "The election is over, it's stupid to keep discussing the issues." What a dumbshit. Maybe I deserved it... I WAS on the sean hannity message boards. But at least it was with the intent of stirring up trouble. Fucking stupid narrow minded piece of shit sean hannity. Free speech... breathe it... live it... we might not have it for much longer.
FREEDOM IS A VIRUS
personal expression is a small price to pay for peace and stability.
don't be part of the problem, be part of the future.
"No one responds to street art anymore. ... People tend to respond to things like loaded guns in their faces. That, and celebrity spokesmodels."
Oh yeah... from the FAQ on his personal website (
www.brianwood.com):
5. Who/What do you listen to?
Rival Schools, Ted Leo, American Analog Set, Monade, Stereolab, Minor Threat, Billy Bragg, Sonic Youth, Swingin Utters, Detroit Cobras, Gillian Welch, Walking Concert, Spoon, PJ Harvey, Preston School Of Industry, The Shins, Elliott Smith, The Wrens, Hidden Cameras, Neutral Milk Hotel, Pinback, Matt Pond PA, Keren Ann, Woody Guthrie, Bob Dylan, Notorious BIG, Prince Paul, Green Lantern, Cuban Link, Gang Starr, Bob Mould, Guided By Voices, many others.
I've got some listening to do now... but cool.
Labels: Comic Books