What I’ve been reading lately

I got some gentle nudge from Jeff this weekend about when I was going to write again. He reminded me that it doesn’t have to be an EPIC – which was a good wake-up call for me. I had set a dumb goal for myself. The very first thing I wanted to write about was Kingdom Come. I picked that partly because I loved it & also because I am currently borrowing it from Jeff & he might actually expect me to return it to him someday.

The problem with this is I want to do a quick re-read before I get started – this was the kiss of death for that idea. I just haven’t carved out the time to go back over it. I don’t know who else is like me but I always have a huge stack of things on my nightstand that I am reading. And you know how busy REAL life gets…

So instead of getting an ode to Kingdom Come, I’m just going to talk about a couple of recent things I’ve been reading – another excellent Jeff suggestion – Thank you Jeff! XOXO

One of the things keeping me away from my assigned reading is the commencement of Astonishing X-men with Joss “Buffy” Whedon. Yes, I KNOW he’s not just the “Buffy guy” but Buffy (most of the time – I still can’t get over whiny Dawn – ick) rocked. Now I am as much about fab artwork as anyone but what Joss brings to the book is the same thing that hooked me to Buffy & Co. – great, snappy, dialogue & – hallelujah – a little character development. I dearly LOVE my X-men, but they can easily get stagnant.

I feel that Wolverine finally sounds like himself again. Emma is SO wonderfully icy & bitchy & Beast has rarely been so pithy. Scott is such a tool (can I say that?) I’m glad at least now he has an interesting girlfriend. And I happily welcome the return of Kitty Pryde as a central character – I just love her & the character she’s grown into. The interaction of the team & their verbal sparring is so natural it makes for a delightful read.

Can I do SPOILERS now? Skip ahead if you don’t want or like details before you read. There were just a couple of cool moments that I wanted to mention so again I say – skip ahead if you like.

The first is not so much a spoiler – it’s just I love the way the first issue brings the team back together. There is no way I can do justice to the way the dialogue & storytelling builds up to the final reveal of the costumed team toward the end of the book. But when I turned the page to see that phenomenal two page spread of everyone in uniform & Cyclops saying “…we have to astonish them.” I am telling you – I got chills! I had one of my “happy girl” moments. *laughing* I know – could I BE a bigger freak?!?

Now this is TRUE SPOILER! But, to be fair, what are we on now – is issue 9 out? I get so out of touch… I’d be surprised if you haven’t at least seen a cover or two by now that would tip the book’s hand. Colossus is back! (Pausing for a moment to do a little happy dance). This gave me my other big “goose bump moment”.

Now being a squishy romantic girly-girl you might think I was going to talk about the Kitty/Colossus reunion. Sure, it is true I enjoyed every minute of it! I have a big soft spot for that particular coupling so I won’t pretend that I didn’t eat it up. And I’m woman enough to admit it – the cover of issue 6 where Kitty’s all melting into Colossus got me all hot & bothered. Migosh! I love that image!

So, aside from the obvious “jeez-won’t-anybody-stay-dead” factor I can’t see how Joss could have handled the big guy’s return more deftly. All the team member’s reactions to him were spot on.

Sorry! Wasn’t I supposed to be making a point about three paragraphs ago? Okay my other favorite moment was in issue 6. Ord is flying away & there’s no way to stop him, right? Oh no – in a beautiful moment that was a gift to those of us steeped in the X-men culture – it was a return of the “Fastball Special”! Yippee! The thing I love the most is that Joss, with his unique gift for finding the right words, for two pages, stepped back & let the pictures tell the story. The words “Fastball Special” were nowhere to be found in this issue – but WE knew. Perfect, I tell you….

Done with spoilers – you can come back now…. *grin*

I know I can’t be the only one who lets issues stack up for a few months then reads them all in a row for that continuity rush. Early issues of Astonishing X-men may be hard to find now (thank you Fritz for ALWAYS getting me a hook up! XOXO) but this is perfect for reading in the TPB format since the story has such a great flow.

Another title worth picking up is the re-launch of the Avengers. Since this seems to be “hugs & kisses day” *laughing* – Thank you David for the recommendation! XOXO This is a BIG turn-around for me because I have NEVER been able to get into the Avengers before.

I’ve read the “Essential Avengers” because, like all the other “Essential” TPBs I’ve picked up, I’m just interested in all the history & background I missed out on by not becoming a reader until my twenties. Ah, but it didn’t grab me. Neither did any of the random issues I tried.

This new version though has got me hooked! I think the team choices are neat and interesting (I know – I had to dig DEEP for those stellar descriptive adjective choices *grin*). The prison break set up was a great kick-off & again – I’m getting that good dialogue that I so earnestly crave.

They seem to be building a pretty attention-grabbing story – what’s going on with Jessica Drew, huh? I can’t wait to find out! I am sure that some, more clever than me, may have already figured it out. As much of a thinker as I am (or pretend to be *smile*) though – I STILL like to let the story tell itself. That’s the magic!

So, I look forward to good things from the new Avengers – I hope it stays strong. Oh, & for the uninitiated like me, it might be a good idea to pick up the Avengers Finale before jumping into the new series. It helps set the tone for where they pick up in issue one.

And last but not least – Good-bye She-Hulk! I’ll miss you. I see that after one year –it’s adios again for Jen Walters. Why won’t people read this title in any incarnation? Has it got “chick-book” stamped on it – is that is? Well, I don’t care what anybody says – I think She-Hulk is an outstanding superhero! Okay, well, not that Savage version – what was that all about?

You know what’s scary – I sat down with full intention of writing about a Batman TPB I just read – you can see how well that worked! But this is good news! Now I can jump straight into my next essay & there should be another one posted soon.

Uh-huh….and this is good news, WHY? *giggle*

As (I think) Oscar Wilde said – “Life is too important to be taken seriously”

Later!

Here are some similar arcade posts

• So Why Comics?
• Chicago Comic-Fest
• Spiderman 2 (2004)
• Fantastic Four (2005)
• The Notebook (2004)

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