Weekly Recap - July 17th, 2010

Intro/Random:
Good news from the exterminator... just ants, not termites. And not many ants, at that. Whew!

This week I had mini-churros from Jack in the Box and a Son of a Peach donut from Gordough's. Both were quite delicious in very different ways.

Video is running kinda slow on my computer of late... thinking I need a new system. Also thinking I can't afford said system. I also want an HDTV, an iPhone 4, one of the new XBoxes, a new computer desk and any number of other gadget-y type things I can't afford.

Berkeley Breathed is going to be signing at the IDW booth in San Diego. There's my first slight twinge of sadness I'm not going. On the other hand, knowing I'd probably have to wait in line for hours to get my book signed takes the edge off considerably.

Comics I Read This Week:
Avengers Academy #2 - Not bad. I'm still not really invested in the kids, but Gage is doing interesting stuff with their powers and personalities.

Chew #12 - I continue to love this book. Love the "mistaken page" bit of storytelling this issue, love the Chu/Amelia relationship, love the last page cliffhanger, love Poyo, love the art throughout... just one of my favorite books.

Hack/Slash: My First Maniac #1-2 - A great take on the "year one" story for Cassie Hack. I've long been a fan of this series, and I'm glad to see it getting a new spotlight and a chance for new readers at Image.

Sixth Gun #2 - It was a long wait for the second issue, but totally worth it. Much as I loved Damned, Sixth Gun is even better. Great western/supernatural adventure, love the characters and Hurtt's artwork is fantastic.

Sweets #1 - The book looks fantastic, which is no surprise... the story is expansive and scattered, and it's either going to come together beautifully or wind up being an over-ambitious mess by the end. But there's enough potential in this New Orleans-based crime story that I want to follow up and see which way it goes.

Thanos Imperative #2 - If this is the swan song for the Abnett/Lanning cosmic stuff, they're going out big. So far, it's as good as Annihilation and Conquest. I sure hope these guys are doing the new Cosmic Avengers book, because they've got this stuff down to a science.

Unwritten #15 - Wow, things are happening fast in this book. The literary geography, conspiracy elements and just generally great character interaction make this easily my favorite Mike Carey book, and easily my favorite new Vertigo book since Y and Fables.

Graphic Novels I Read This Week:
Beasts of Burden: Animal Rites
BPRD Vol 13 1947

Reread Absolute Planetary Volume 1 and it was actually even better than I remembered it, Was very pleased with Absolute Planetary Volume 2 as well.

Brody's Ghost Vol 1 - Mark Crilley is *criminally* underrated in the comics industry. He's beloved by those that know him, but too few know him. Akiko, his earlier work, is a masterpiece that can most easily be described as Star Wars meets Wizard of Oz filtered through the sensibilities of Miyazaki. After that, the four part Miki Falls is a wonderful piece of supernatural romance.

And now we have Brody's Ghost, drawing on Crilley's asian influences to create a story of ghosts and psychic power wrapped up in a empowering oneself theme with fantastic characters, beautiful art and a very promising story.

Fans of Jeff Smith or Kazu Kibuishi's work should *definitely* check this out. It's a great opener, I can't wait for more, and I hope more people discover Crilley's work

Retailer Thought of the Week:
Almost as annoying as Marvel/DC's "three Wolverine/three Batman" in one week? The *flood* of long-delayed indie books that inevitably crowds my shelves the week before San Diego. At which point they're all competing much harder for the few indie fans' dollars, just like the Wolverine books compete for Wolverine fans' money.

On the upside, however, the flood of IDW material includes Scott Morse's new Strange Science Fantasy *and* Darwyn Cooke's Man With The Getaway Face teaser.

TV/Movies:
Missed Karate Kid at the Drafthouse, so we went to see it at Tinseltown. I actually saw three movies in the theater this week, which is a bit of a rarity. Saw Karate Kid (better than expected, Katy really liked it), Sorcerer's Apprentice (surprisingly solid little urban fantasy action movie. Would have liked more wacky Nic Cage (TM), but... fun!) and Inception (which I'm actually seeing after I write this recap, but I'm excited for).

Covert Affairs: Interesting opener, love some of the supporting cast, and it does have sort of a low-rent Alias feel to it. Of course, I loved the first couple seasons of Alias, and this is merely OK, but... I'll keep up with it for a few episodes, at least.

Accidentally watched about five minutes of a Castle rerun, including the fun opening sequence. Damn it, I'm gonna have to watch this show now, aren't I?

Does it make me a bad fan that I don't care at all whether Edward Norton is the Hulk or not? I like Edward Norton, but I didn't think he embodied Banner the way Downey Jr. just nailed Tony Stark, and I doubt Banner will be very prominent in the Avengers movie.

Along similar lines, if you think we should cast a wrestler for Thor or Captain America because "they're big enough" we can't have a serious discussion about superhero casting.

Walking Dead on AMC is looking pretty promising. The new cast shot is great, and this interview with Michelle MacLaren is pretty good as well.

Other Links:
My sister writes about their son's autism... and I thought she did an amazing job.