2019 is only a day away now and, I have to admit, I am terribly looking forward to getting there and putting 2018 behind me.
I remember last year posting a ramble like this, wherein I said goodbye and good riddance to 2017 and welcoming 2018 with a lot of enthusiasm. Well, what a difference a year makes as I find myself remembering 2017 rather fondly in comparison to its successor.
2018 has been rather a hellish year from my perspective and that can be summed up in one word; Depression. Since April or May (I can't remember which, the month's do kind of bleed into one), my degraded mental health caused much of my comics world to take a back seat as I tried to get my head back on straight. No blogging, no reviewing and none of the plans which I had this time last year.
However, as the last few weeks and months have proven, I feel more myself and am ready to return to the world. Moreover, I've reached the end of this year with some big plans I'd like to put into effect for 2019.
Now, in a general sense, I have a lot of 'New Years Resolution' I'd like to fulfil for this new year. However, of those, ten such 'resolutions' list relate to comic books in someway, be it new methods of reading, returns to form for past works or ideas for future projects.
1. Less new comics - The first on my list is a bit of sombre note, and completely in defiance of the 'big plans' I've just spoke of. However, my wife recently lost her job and, with another mouth to feed just around the corner, it's inopportune timing to attempt to seek alternative employment. This means belt tightening on all other places including (sadly) my comics. Therefore, my pull list has been reduced to two titles; Fantastic Four, a monthly title, and Lazarus, a (supposedly) quarterly title. Black Science still hangs on due to it's upcoming conclusion but, otherwise, the number of comics I pick up on a monthly basis is minimal to the point of non-existent. Hopefully, this is only a temporary measure and, after a year (if not less), more money will be brought in to allow for the purse strings to loosen. That said, when one door closes another door opens and with this necessity I do find a couple of other doors I can look through.
2. Back issue/Backlog reading - In the last couple of years I've become rather lax with my reading quantity, as I've found that I continually buy more and more comics (particularly from Comixology sales) which then just get placed to one side and largely ignored. However, with an overall inability to pick up anything new, I find that I have an opportunity to read most (if not all) of this immense backlog and maybe even some of the series I haven't read in a good long time. I do find this rather exciting because, as I've re-read much of my collection in the last couple of years to determine what's worth keeping and what isn't, the titles which were ignored were the ones I consider truly great titles I love. Therefore, reading them again now will more than a pleasure. Meanwhile, titles like Lemire and Sorrentino's Green Arrow run, Rucka's Wonder Woman run, Dini's Zatanna and Cornell's Saucer Country are all waiting to be opened, giving me plenty of content to burn through. Of course, I have a contingency in place should I run out of material in this way.....
3. More Comichaus - I've had a subscription for Comichaus for the entire year but, I have to be honest, despite the large selection of comics available there, I've found myself uninterested to go and look. A lot of this stems from the use of the app itself which doesn't really run well on my rather ancient iPad 2. However, I've been plugging away a few pounds here and there over the year in order to accommodate the second year subscription and, with the loss of any new purchases as well as seemingly smoother use of the app itself, I figured it's worth taking another crack at it. This is especially tempting given that a number of small press books, such as 32 Kills and Close, really interest me and are available through the app. It annoys me that it's taken me so long to make a real effort with but hopefully the lack of purchasing power allows me to see the app what it's truly worth.
4. Better note taking about comics - Now, this is something I want to get better at across the board. Whether it be for blogging, reviewing or just generally pondering on whether a comic is worth my time, my note taking on what I read is rather poor. I tend to base my thoughts/posts/reviews on memory which, as I get older (not that that's an excuse) tends to be a little more unreliable. Therefore, I want to start taking better notes for all these comics I hope to read.
5. Regular blog posting - So, despite a lack of funds, I will still (hopefully) have plenty of reading material to keep me going. This mean that I have no excuses to not have anything to write about. Therefore, while I've some degree of excuse for the lengthy hiatus during the middle of the year, I would like to return to a degree of consistency by writing on my blog on an average of twice a month, written up on Friday in order to post on the following Monday (which, ironically, I've done here despite writing as if it is Monday). Last year I had planned to post every week and a part of me feels that this may have caused me to burnout and suffer the way I did. This way, while not set in stone, I hope to maintain a consistent output without overdoing it. Besides, I'm hoping my free time will be focused elsewhere.
6. Return to reviewing - The biggest loss to my life last year was the decision to give up my comic reviewing duties at Pipedream Comics. In hindsight, it was still the best decision I could make as I needed to devote all my time on the things which were most important to me (i.e. myself and my family). However, I've missed the joy of reading incredible new comics and finding awesome new creators who (in my opinion anyway) could more than match anything the big boys can churn out. Therefore, starting with my recent review of Tales of Fractured Worlds, I'm hoping to return to form in 2019 and review on a twice monthly basis (to start with at least). I want to do this not only for the additional comics I would get to read but also to help me refine my writing skills which have, admittedly, gone rusty during my downtime. The truth is, I could use all the writing practice I can get for some of my bigger plans for the year.
7. Publishing an anthology - Back in 2017, I was challenged by Matt Garvey to take part in a contest he had put together which resulted in me writing a four page comic script. This happened and I also found an artist wanting to take part to get it drawn. We didn't win. However, when the artist in question, Ayoade Adobarin, came back to me in 2018 asking if I fancied doing something else, I didn't see why not.
Now, nearly 8 story scripts later, I want the ideas I've put together to actually become something. Therefore, in 2019, I hope to find a way to publish an anthology of sorts containing these numerous ideas which I've had. In fact, I'm currently pondering on the best method of delivery and how I can feasibly get it made (because, as previously stated, I'm struggling for funds to buy comics let alone make them.
That said, I'm confident that I can find a way to make this happen and even if it isn't very good, at least I can say I've done it.
Of course, that's not all...
8. Scripting some one-shots - The ideas I've had are not contained to the eight I mentioned above. In truth, I've been scribbling down these little musings for quite a number of years. However, with spending much of 2018 scripting multiple short stories, I want to try my hand at making something a little more complex.
Therefore, in 2019, I'm going to have a go at scripting three separate one shots. I already know what the stories are (as does Andy Bloor, who I actually describe one of them too nearly THREE years ago!!) but the key will be to make them into something a bit more solid/real. Again, this might end up not amounting to anything but at least I can say that I've tried.
That said, these are the reason I plan to hold back on reviewing and blogging, so I can focus all my time on them, and so I do hope I can follow through on getting them all written up.
9. More positivity - This is a rather small entry, but by no means any less important as every day these days I feel as if I should be saying more about the comics I am reading and liking. In fact, I've been feeling very down on the comics I have been reading and don't like that I've been in that frame of mind. Therefore, for 2019, I want to make more of an effort to spell out the good things and what I like about the comics I read as well reduce the amount of criticisms. Of course, this won't be entirely 100% successful because I will be spending much time reviewing (which requires critiquing as part of the job). But if I can make my every comment feel more constructive then I like to think that I'll be happy enough.
10. A Comic a Day.... - My final resolution is, again, a small entry but I think could be the most important one of all. For 2019, I want to read at least one comic (that's the equivalent of a single issue) every day. This is because in 2018 (and possibly the couple of years before), it felt as if I was never allowed the time to read and so got frustrated by the number of comics I had to wait on before looking at. However, with the average comic taking me 15 minutes to read, I think this isn't right and so I want to set myself the goal of 1 comic every day. I think one comic is an easily achievable goal and if it isn't, I may need to reassess how I use my free time in a day.
And I'm done! This are the 10 New Year's resolutions I have regarding comics (I have a lot more when it comes to real life). Thinking back over this list, I'm actually confident that it might be a little too much and that I won't be able to follow through on most of them. However, these are things I want to do in my life and I think it's worth writing them down and admitting them in open so that you don't just ignore them.
Besides, it'll be interesting in a year to look back and see how many I've broken.
Friday 28 December 2018
Monday 24 December 2018
Batman: White Knight
It's been nearly two months since I last posted anything on here and this is due to no other reason that a lack of free time, as new addition preparation, Christmas shopping and some dedicated work on another project I currently have in the pipeline have effectively chewed up every spare minute I've had.
However, I've decided that I want to get back into a bit of a groove regarding a lot of things in 2019, including writing on here. I also figured that, with my birthday just a couple of weeks prior and a nice little haul of graphic novels received as a result, it would be a good idea to get some practice to achieving said groove as 2018 winds down, with a quick ramble of thoughts on one of these new titles.
That title was Sean Gordon Murphy's Batman: White Knight.
Now, this was a series which had developed a lot of goodwill in my mind over the course of it's release. Everywhere I read and everything I listened, I would constantly hear positive words used in respect to this book. Couple this with the fact that I have a tremendous love for Murphy's prior series, Punk Rock Jesus, and what you realise that this book was never going to be a 'if I bought it' but rather when.
Well, when arrived at 35 years and, I've got to say, the good vibes were not exaggerating (well, much anyway).
A basic breakdown of the story goes like this: After years of battling it out across the Gotham landscape, the War between Batman and the Joker comes to an unexpected end when, after being chased and beaten by the Dark Knight, the Clown Prince of Crime discovers a cure to being the Joker. Now back to being 'Jack Napier', the former super-criminal turns over a new leaf to help Gotham city; by ridding it of the increasingly dangerous Batman.
Going into this I really didn't know what to expect, apart from the obvious spoiler that Joker would be the hero and Batman the villain. However, I found this series to be incredibly enjoyable and, while not as fast or as action-packed as I'd expect from a Batman comic, it came with a lot of deep, thought provoking moments about the dynamic its two leads.
A lot of the things which were weaved into this really spoke as I read through this, such as how this was written from the perspective of a failed relationship as Joker pointed out how much Batman needed him, something which would become more apparent as the series progress, as well as how Batman is actually an incredibly ludicrous and dangerous concept when you look at him without an equally maddening opposite to bounce off of.
Throughout this read I found myself struggling to align myself completely with either character as both characters, despite reasons to like them, continued to delve in questionable actions ask seek to finally defeat the other. I enjoyed this writing as a result, as it left the story ambiguous with no clear distinction as to was right and who was wrong, making it all the more compelling.
I think it's this, along with the stance against corruption by Jack, makes this very much a spiritual successor to Punk Rock Jesus, which I had (coincidentally) read just a few days prior to starting this.
Speaking of Punk Rock Jesus, I really love the art in that series and, although rough on a couple of panels, is a real highpoint to that book. I say this because in White Knight, Murphy brings me the same glorious style, but with much cleaner and smoother lines. The art is fantastic, how Joker doesn't look like Jack, despite them practically identical (and I really scanned his face throughout to be sure), the Gotham Landscape, the villains, everything. This is only cemented by Matt Hollingsworth colours, which despite being mostly muted tones, rapidly change from scene to scene along with the bold, wacky colours some of the villains sport (Two Face's bold red stands out).
There are a few other things I loved about this series, but fear saying them here would spoiler it for any who haven't read it. There are also a couple of things which feel pointless and shoehorned in to this story for the sake of it (again, can't say without spoilers), but in the grand scheme of things I think they are easy to forgive and let go of.
This is because, all in all, I really, REALLY loved Batman: White Knight as not only a story but also a commentary on so many aspects of life which constantly come to my mind..
So, with that in mind, I've really got to thank my cousin for getting this for me. I have already, but it was too good a read not to go and drive home that fact!
However, I've decided that I want to get back into a bit of a groove regarding a lot of things in 2019, including writing on here. I also figured that, with my birthday just a couple of weeks prior and a nice little haul of graphic novels received as a result, it would be a good idea to get some practice to achieving said groove as 2018 winds down, with a quick ramble of thoughts on one of these new titles.
 |
| Batman: White Knight TPB |
Now, this was a series which had developed a lot of goodwill in my mind over the course of it's release. Everywhere I read and everything I listened, I would constantly hear positive words used in respect to this book. Couple this with the fact that I have a tremendous love for Murphy's prior series, Punk Rock Jesus, and what you realise that this book was never going to be a 'if I bought it' but rather when.
Well, when arrived at 35 years and, I've got to say, the good vibes were not exaggerating (well, much anyway).
A basic breakdown of the story goes like this: After years of battling it out across the Gotham landscape, the War between Batman and the Joker comes to an unexpected end when, after being chased and beaten by the Dark Knight, the Clown Prince of Crime discovers a cure to being the Joker. Now back to being 'Jack Napier', the former super-criminal turns over a new leaf to help Gotham city; by ridding it of the increasingly dangerous Batman.
Going into this I really didn't know what to expect, apart from the obvious spoiler that Joker would be the hero and Batman the villain. However, I found this series to be incredibly enjoyable and, while not as fast or as action-packed as I'd expect from a Batman comic, it came with a lot of deep, thought provoking moments about the dynamic its two leads.
A lot of the things which were weaved into this really spoke as I read through this, such as how this was written from the perspective of a failed relationship as Joker pointed out how much Batman needed him, something which would become more apparent as the series progress, as well as how Batman is actually an incredibly ludicrous and dangerous concept when you look at him without an equally maddening opposite to bounce off of.
Throughout this read I found myself struggling to align myself completely with either character as both characters, despite reasons to like them, continued to delve in questionable actions ask seek to finally defeat the other. I enjoyed this writing as a result, as it left the story ambiguous with no clear distinction as to was right and who was wrong, making it all the more compelling.
 |
| This is just glorious art. The black and white feel but mixed with a splash of colour. |
Speaking of Punk Rock Jesus, I really love the art in that series and, although rough on a couple of panels, is a real highpoint to that book. I say this because in White Knight, Murphy brings me the same glorious style, but with much cleaner and smoother lines. The art is fantastic, how Joker doesn't look like Jack, despite them practically identical (and I really scanned his face throughout to be sure), the Gotham Landscape, the villains, everything. This is only cemented by Matt Hollingsworth colours, which despite being mostly muted tones, rapidly change from scene to scene along with the bold, wacky colours some of the villains sport (Two Face's bold red stands out).
There are a few other things I loved about this series, but fear saying them here would spoiler it for any who haven't read it. There are also a couple of things which feel pointless and shoehorned in to this story for the sake of it (again, can't say without spoilers), but in the grand scheme of things I think they are easy to forgive and let go of.
This is because, all in all, I really, REALLY loved Batman: White Knight as not only a story but also a commentary on so many aspects of life which constantly come to my mind..
So, with that in mind, I've really got to thank my cousin for getting this for me. I have already, but it was too good a read not to go and drive home that fact!
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