Theodore > Recent Status Updates

Even if I think that the concept of Batman putting together an international team of Batmen is kind of stupid, the globetrotting nature of these stories is a lot of fun and allows Dick and Damien to stay together as Batman and Robin, so it’s a fun read thusfar

One of the more stunning covers Araki has done for Steel Ball Run thusfar so I’m glad VIZ decided to use this one for their translated edition. Man… Part 7 really starts to hit its stride around Sugar Mountain and it never lets up. Wekapipo and Magenta Magenta are awesome, and the Tubular Bells conclusion at the beginning is great too. Araki is a true master

Even so early into Dragon Ball, Toriyama is seriously an amazing artist. He’s gotta be one of the greatest creators in the history of sequential art, up there with Jack Kirby, Perez, Araki, and the like. Even among that upper echelon I think he’s truly one of a kind

Just the first issue. Realized I should probably read all of this Batman Incorporated stuff before the Batman and Robin book I started the other day

Been reading lots of Batman the last few days. Just read the titular story of this volume, “Year One.” Really great stuff. Miller at his best, fantastic art from David Mazzucchelli. Just all around a basically perfect comic story

This is definitely a bunch of Jerry Seinfeld stand up bits written down. I’m a huge fan of the show, and recognize some of these bits from it, and it’s easy to read these in Jerry’s voice with his delivery, but it’s nothing special at all. But, it’s very short so I’ll probably finish it

I just read a few of these every now and then. Comics were so different in the 60s. Total slow motion man

Just the first issue, the Magpie story. Perfectly acceptably average issue of Batman

I was lukewarm on this book at the start because of Grendel’s woe-is-me narration, but the philosophy and political discussion has won me over quite a bit, not to mention the way that it plays with form. Basically everything after the Dragon has been very thought-provoking (by design I’m sure)

In an attempt to actually finish this collection instead of keep at the stop-start pace I’ve been going at, I’ll just be reading one story a day until it’s all done. Hacienda I did not finish, the story felt like it kept meandering around some vague political revolutionary ideas about class but never really came together

Compelling, but sometimes feels like Gardner is up his own ass

almost there…

Finally cracked the thousand page mark. I really need to focus what I read and stop jumping around

Read about half of this last night. Volume 6/Chapter 52 is sort of the turning point for the series in many ways. It’s been violent and gory and bloody but all very small-scale. Rumblings of war, Kaneki is kidnapped, Jason makes his first appearance. You can tell as a reader the stakes are about to get way way higher from here on out. I know Kaneki’s life is about to get way worse

Whew… some of these Silver Age tales are real slogs. There’s a lot of fun to be had, too, but they can be a challenge to sit through without falling asleep sometimes

Read three GLC issues, all by Dave Gibbons and all very good. This era of GL has a ton of cool ideas and characters, very glad to be getting back to reading these stories after a short break

stopping in the middle of chapter because i’m drinking, but still such a good time

I love all of Jojo, but Diamond is Unbreakable may be my favorite part. Josuke is in the running for my favorite protagonist, too. Araki’s art here is very playful but when the action gets going he locks in

The major action piece in the church here shows an insane level of improvement. It can still get kind of messy and hard to read, but the action is a lot better and more fluid. Basically all of the previous volume was building towards this fight and it really pays off because Ishida is able to provide compelling action and nail the character moments for Touka and Nishiki especially. Tsukiyama is funny as always too

The best part of a short story collection is that you can put it down for two months and return to it later

Pretty solid collection of horror stories that have to do with traditional Japanese culture. Manners, myth, spirits, and local tradition all factor in to the horror and tone of these one-shots. Rohan Kishibe is present but these stories could appeal to all readers, not just Jojo fans. Despite his questioning, Heaven’s Door really is the only Stand ability here, which I love. Rohan is grappling with tradition

I read the first story, “At a Confessional,” last night and just finished “Mutsu-Kabe Hill.” It’s an interesting twist on Araki’s work. He’s operating in a much more typical horror sphere than the constraints of Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure typically allows him to. The best way I can describe it is like, The Twilight Zone… and Rohan Kishibe is there. Lots of fun and he’s a great horror writer