#431 - ... and with that "I wonder where 10 years went?"

So to start, in case you are wondering, the title is a quote from the Shawshank redemption, where during a conversation with Red about anniversaries at around the halfway mark, Andy says "I wonder where ten years went", referencing the first decade of his double life sentence.

Anyway, I love that film and, while the sentiment may be different, it felt like a fitting line to use.

So, it's New Years Eve in 2021 as I post this (having been writing it most of the week) and, with that, this marks the end of ten years of which I've been writing this blog.

Now, this week has been a little underwhelming when it comes to all things comics. I mean, sure, I received a whole host of comic trades from jolly old St. Nick in the form of the Criminal Deluxe Edition (Vol. 1), Crisis on Infinite Earths, John Ridley's the Other History of the DC Universe, Paul Cornell's I Walk With Monsters, Waid's Ant-Man and the Wasp, Lemire's The Sentry, Simone's Domino, Fantastic Four 1234 and Jed Macpherson's Cuddles as well as a digital gift of Spider-Man Masterworks Vol. 5. I also read through the entirety of Lemire and Sorrentino's Gideon Falls first omnibus, which I talked about earlier this week. Otherwise, however, I did very little with my other writing projects having been parked and deciding to take a break from my reviewing pile until the New Year. Ergo, it's been all quiet on the Western Front.

Therefore, I thought I'd just write about the year, and ultimately the decade in general because I always think that looking back is a good way to plan ahead and I sure have some things going forward which I wish to plan for.

But what can I say about 2021? Well, it's been quite a year (to put it mildly). When it's come to the comics we've seen on the shelves (when they've been there), I've felt that this year has been very much an anthology year thanks to things like Bi-Visibility, Marvel Voices and some 80th Anniversary celebrations on the DC for Green Arrow, Aquaman and Wonder Woman. This has also seemed to be the year of the limited series and the one-shot, with staple big-two characters getting more mini's than regular ongoings and some truly phenomenal one-shots coming out on a very regular basis.

However, while there have been some good things, 2021 just feels like it has been overwhelmingly bad. As I've thought back over the last twelve months, it feels like all comics has been subjected to is additional reveals of harassment by big name creators, publishers abusing their contracts with the talent on their books and even greater levels of toxicity and bullying against people within the community for no other reason than they are seemingly different to their bullies.

And while my own personal year has consisted more of me buying less comics and reading less of my own comics in favour of reviewing some truly phenomenal titles over at Pipedream Comics (which was a plus), it is certainly the larger, more macro events which has led to me feeling a sense of negativity and exhaustion toward comics that has been difficult to shake and a struggle to deal with, even as I've attempted to push it downstream several times.

I have to admit, it all feels like a far cry from when I started this blog all those years ago. When my then girlfriend/now wife encouraged to start my own little place to write down my thoughts (probably in an attempt to be relieved of having to listen to my yammer on about comics constantly), I know that I a. had delusions of grandeur in regards to my own importance and b. had little to no skill in how to write (beyond the basics) or in how to get my thoughts across coherently. At the time, my entire world consisted around the big 2 and superhero comics, especially as the 'New 52' was 6 months into its unveiling and Marvel's 'All-New' was just around the corner. However, as I think back on it, while the comics were enjoyable reads, it's surprising how incredibly limiting my pallette was.

Now, after 10 years of blogging, 7 years of reviewing and somewhere in between of regularly (trying to) communicating with the various talented creators of all that I read, I have come to realise just how bigger and wider the world of comics is. How much depth and quality exists beyond the big movie brand name of 'Marvel' and 'DC'. It's in the reviewing particularly that this has helped me, as Pipedream Comics editor Alex Thomas, who is most likely also my best friend in comics to date, gave me a wonderful chance to not only become a better writer and greatly improve my ability to critique and understand comics, their stories and their art but also read so many more comics which I'd probably have never even been aware of had I still been in the same place as 2011 came to a close.

In fact, as I jot all of this down, I find myself wondering, would I have done anything differently? The answer to that is isn't so cut and dried as 'yes' or 'no' because, while my experience has become so incredibly fruitful and ... evolutionary (for want of a better word), the feeling of exhaustion would certainly be something I could do without.

However, it's fair to say that if I could do it all again, I would. Every last bit of it (although I might have let Jon Lock go to the restroom a little sooner when we met at Bristol 2012)

I think that the feelings I have now are not down to the comics but (some of) the people who inhabit that world, as well as my own fear of standing up to them on the behalf of others.

Therefore, it brings into perspective what I want to do as 2022 begins. These actions consist of:

• First of all, I want to focus, almost exclusively, on my 'to read' pile. Therefore, apart from the remnants of my pull list, I don't intend to buy anything new (although that thinking rarely works ill grant you).
• However, when I do buy (hopefully when my 'to read' list is down to zero), what I do buy will majority digital in order to reduce the clutter in my house.
• Of course, if a comic does deserve to be physically represented on my shelf, I'll buy it as a trade, instead of floppies. This is because I've realised the difficulty I re-reading single issues as a bulk. Therefore, only FF and Lazarus will be bought in single issues (at least until they end).
• I'd also like to begin re-reading my current collection. The reason for this would be to streamline it reducing its size by disposing what I don't like, and keeping what I do. This way, my shelves would (hopefully) be left with only the very best.
• I'd like to get back into a habit of producing one pipedream comics review a week, something I felt I struggled to maintain on a consistent basis last year.
• Utilise the reviews to improve my descriptive writing better, as it is something I often feel I struggle with.
• Become a better critic, while maintaining positivity, by working on my analysis of comics.
• In order to fit all of the above, remember that I don't have to blog if I don't have time to. This is because, while I always enjoy writing here, I don't always have the content and my other responsibilities are a little more important (after all, this is just a personal thing).
• Attempt to develop a more positive outlook in general towards comics and the community at large. While I never attempt to act negatively towards anyone, I do feel I need to either avoid the negativity I see or not let it affect me. Either way, I want to give out an air of positivity.
• I want to work to get a comic of my own out. For years now, I've been writing scripts and ideas and I've now reached a point where I've been thinking about making them into something. I've got the logistical plans in my head and really now I only have to find the confidence to put what's in my head into action.
  

And that's everything. In truth it is a long list and certainly one I'm not sure I can fully stick to. I've learned in the last ... well, ten years, that while it's good to have a long list of objectives, I seldom ever manage to succeed with all of them. However, after the last two years, I've also come to realise that standing still isn't really much on the way of fun and so I would rather try and move forward (and most likely fail) rather than stay where I am indefinitely.

So, with that, my yearly ramble is at an end and if anyone who started reading this is still here then kudos to you. Now, I guess it's time to put my words into actions and get the new year underway. That said, while I have a lot of hopes and dreams of my own for 2022, what I really hope is that we'll get to see more positivity, something which I (for my part) can help facilitate.

As long as that happens, I have faith that the rest can all fall into place.

#430 - Gideon Falls Deluxe Edition Vol. 1

I'll be honest, I hadn't intended to write another blog post this year, certainly not a specific comic book/series post, after last week's had me jotting down my thoughts on Boba Fett is Dead. However, what i read next turned out to a vastly more absorbing read than I had ever expected.

A few weeks ago, amongst my many birthday gifts, I received a hardcover copy of the Gideon Falls Deluxe Edition Vol. 1. Having read the first issue for free on Comixology some time ago, as well as hearing an absolute slew of reviews and trusted opinions pretty much praising every single page of, I added it to my incredibly large wishlist before pushing it higher up the list and requesting a print copy (specifically this one) after reading Jeff Lemire and Andrea Sorrentino's Green Arrow run.

Gideon Falls (specifically this first omnibus containing the first three trades) tells the story of Wilfred Buckle, a priest struggling with events from his own past who is sent to the small town of Gideon Falls when his predecessor in the role dies under mysterious circumstances. However, Wilfred's (or Fred for short) view on this sleepy little town soon takes a turn when he is drawn by a mysterious voice and strange visions to a field in the middle of nowhere ... and a terrifyingly unusual black barn. Now, joining forces with the cynical sheriff and a zealous doctor, Father Fred attempts to learn the truth about this barn. Meanwhile, in a city a long way away, Dr Angie Xu finds herself drawn into the world of her patient, Norton Sinclair, a man with little past who continues to delve into the city's trash as he attempts to rebuild a structure he sees in his dreams ... the very same black barn.

I feel that maybe I went a little over the top in explaining the series concept but the truth is, I don't think even this amount was even enough to accurately describe and explain this comic and do it justice. This is because I found Gideon Falls to be an unusual story (to put it mildly) as it had such outlandish and bizarre scenes, set pieces and plot points that it left with with an every increasing number of questions than answers to those questions.

However, this ... 'strangeness' didn't change the fact that, despite it being ever mysterious, Gideon Falls was absolutely engrossing to me. I felt that Lemire's story was a real slow burn but pretty much from the get go I was completely captivated and I found myself drawn in deeper and deeper the further I progressed. Everything about this world/s (due to the fact it took place in more than one setting) had such an incredible atmosphere, making me think of the Alan Wake video game (which I guess means Twin Peaks too as the latter influenced the former), with characters which seemed a little exaggerated but just enough to actually make me more curious about what is going on (such as the mysterious 'Bishop').

As I said, this series left me with more questions than answers, but these are the type of questions which are still with me a couple of days after I finished reading. Unfortunately, I don't want to share those questions here as I don't want to spoil the series for anyone who stumbles across this who has yet to read it. However, thanks to the question of what the villain of the book really is as well as the connections between locations and why the travel between the two causes such unusual problems, As a result I really do wonder if, while the title seemed like an outright horror to begin with, is Gideon Falls more a comic that walks a fine line between horror and something more sci-fi?

As for the art ..., well, I don't what I can say that tops my love of Andrea Sorrentino's artwork after Green Arrow, his 80th Anniversary anthology and the recent Batman: the Imposter. Once again, I love Sorrentino's style in this book, as it is absolutely gorgeous in a gritty, very human kind of way and worked really well with Lemire's writing in drawing me in. In fact, the art style in the real world actually made me think of Michael Lark's style in Lazarus as it just seemed so grim and dirty in places, as if you could actually feel the dust kicked up when Father Fred first arrives. However, Sorrentino's work doesn't stop there as his artwork when the Black Barn takes prominence in the story is so trippy and is very LSD inducing as you move through it. That said, that art is still equally addictive, keeping me enthralled in the book even while I found the panels weird as they flipped and inverted from the norm, their angles were rather breathtaking that way. Then there were Dave Stewart's colours which, while very natural in the the Town and a lot of greys in the city, I was struck by all of the deep reds connecting to the black barn, which I found to be very eye popping as well as made me wonder if the villainous Smiling Man is really the Devil?

By the end though, of both the book and this post, I think it is fair to say that I'm not sure the length turned out to be long enough. I could probably have rambled on about this comic series far more than I already have as I delved into every nook and cranny the story offered up to me. The same could be said for this omnibus, where 16 issues was no where near enough, leaving me eager for the next deluxe edition (because I need something that'll match this one). I often wonder when the world in general praise a comic/book/film/etc, is it really going to live up to the hype? It's a flaw in my thinking that I really need to work on. With Gideon Falls, however, I can totally see what everyone is talking about when they cheer its name. This series so far was a phenomenal read and my only concern going forward is that I won't be able to get the second deluxe edition when it is released.

So, hopefully that'll be around Christmas time next year.

#429 - Star Wars: Blood Ties - Boba Fett is Dead (just in time for Christmas)

So Christmas is nearly here!!

As of when I posted this, it's Christmas Eve and tomorrow sees Christmas music, gifts, a floor full of wrapping paper, good food, good drink, family squabbles and falling asleep in front of the Queen's(?) speech.

However, maybe more importantly (don't tell my wife) is the realisation that in less than a week we get more new Star Wars in the form of the Book of Boba Fett.

With this new series that I've been anticipating since its announcement just around the corner, I thought I'd get into the mood for it by reading something relating to the man(derlorian) himself.

Star Wars: Blood Ties - Boba Fett is Dead does exactly what it says on the tin as the Galaxy's deadliest Bounty Hunter is gunned down by a group of Stormtroopers and Bounty Hunters. However, when news of this Manderlorian's demise is announced across the Empire, it is received by Cantina owner Connor Freeman, a man who owes the Fetts his life in more ways than one. But when a hooded figure begins hunting down those responsible for Boba's demise, is Connor seeking retribution for Fett and, if so, is his debt worth such a task?

It's been a while since I had first read the opening issue, one that Comixology were good enough to offer for free, but it had certainly piqued my interest in the entire mini by being a really good read.

Fortunately, the series as whole measured up to that first issue in my opinion as I thought Tom Taylor had created an entertaining story which finally seemed to show Boba Fett as the badass many a Star Wars fan has wished him to be since Return of the Jedi. I really enjoyed the characters whom Taylor filled the story around Fett, from the Bounty Hunter's wife and (very funny) daughter, to the antagonists with a vengeful agenda against Fett (I could even hear Fett's post Attack of the Clones voice when I read his dialogue). However, if there was one thing about this story which I couldn't get on board with it was the connection between Boba and barman Connor.

However, this struggle was mainly down to timelines and consistency (how did a Clone have a kid that was older than Luke and Leia?), which is pretty easy to ignore.

The art, on the other hand, was something I didn't enjoy quite as much. I mean, the art is solid and has a photo-realistic look that I like. However, unlike J.K. Woodward's work in Mirror Broken and The City at the Edge of Forever, I struggled to get into this series' work as much. That said, I did enjoy the accuracy that was put in to ensure that Jango and Boba reflect the actor who played them.

In the end, despite some problems that I had with it, I thought Boba Fett is Dead was a good read. It is just a shame that it isn't classed as part of the new Disney Canon (although you never know). Nonetheless, it's intrigued me enough about the Legends series that I might just check out the prior, connecting Boba Fett minis.