Kai's Thoughts

A place for reviews and thoughts form me

[kaithonks]

The Hull (Jun 10th)

Well, things have finally settled down in my life; I can catch up on my reads and readings.

The Read:

Let's speedrun this. I finally got Tamon's B-Side 6-7 and Apothecary Diaries volumes 6 and 7. I also got my library books, so Beyond the Clouds volumes. 2-3 Tegami Bachi: Letter Bee volume 2, Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation: The Comic volume 1, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Pink Ranger and DC Finest: The Demon: Birth of the Demon is all read. Now to my comic pulls. Deathstroke: The Terminator #1-3 are already the most boring shit it could have been. Absolute Flash #15, Batwoman #3, New Titans #35, Absolute Green Arrow #1, Sirens: Love Hurts #4, and Zorro #1 were all fine.

For the things I got in between these two weeks Green Lantern #35, Justice League: Dream Girls #1, Absolute Wonder Woman #20, Zantanna #2, Corpse Knight #2 The Rocketeer: The Island #3, Universal Monsters: Phantom of the Opera #4, Batgirl #20, DC x Sonic the Hedgehog: Metal Legion #2, and Godzilla #11. Where all read and mostly bangers are. With most Green Lantern, Batgirl, and Universal Monsters: Phantom of the Opera at the bottom of that pack.

The Unread:

On to my fresh books and pulls. Absolute Catwoman #1 I mostly got for the pretty cover, which also works because I got Justice League: Dream Girls #2. So happy Pride Month to me! Supergirl #14, The Fury of Firestorm #3, and Bleeding Hearts #5 all came out this week as well. And finally, I got The Muppets Noir #4, Ghost Pepper #12, and Godzilla's Monsterpiece Theater Presents: Godzilla's The Odyssey #1.

On to my library books again. With Pride Month in mind, I picked up Go for It, Nakamura! and Go for It Again, Nakamura. Something I've seen around but haven't read myself. I am not a big BL reader, as much of a surprise as that might come to people, but that's mostly because I'm not a big romance reader. I also end up picking up the last two volumes of Beyond the Clouds as well as Milky Way Hitchhiking volumes 1 and 2.

So a pretty manga-heavy week for me, but as I've been reading more Titans stuff, I also ended up picking up Titans: Beast World and Titans: Beast World Tour. Way? Honestly, I couldn't tell you.

I know I didn't give a lot of my thoughts here, but I wanted to catch up on all my reading. As even when I'm going through it, I do read. Mostly because it's the only thing that really keeps me sane.

[kaithonks]

So I’ve had some Thoughts about Universal Monsters: Phantom of the Opera

Well, it's been a minute since one of these, mostly because for the last couple of weeks my life was on fire. Metaphorically and almost literally.

Anyway, when the last issue of Universal Monsters: Phantom of the Opera came out, I was decently excited to see where they were going to go with this version of the story, but I ended up mildly disappointed.

Look, I have been a POTO fan for a good long while now. I've seen pretty much every movie version as well as read the original book and Susan Kay's novel Phantom, so I'm not against a re-imagining of POTO. Hell, the 1990 POTO mini-series is pretty different in how it treats Erik, but it's one of my favorites. And this comic pitched itself as something new, but this Erik ends up as a pretty standard version. Granted with 4 issues the comic doesn't really have the time to really dig into his character or Christine's, which are typically the best parts of a new POTO adaptation. Instead focuses on hitting the standard POTO story beats, the major change is that Erik here is Christine's father. While they don't explain his face, I'm guessing it was due to the war they mention Christine's father dying in. The major problem with this twist is that it doesn't really give any new weight to Erik deciding to live under the opera and haunt it. And while it definitely gives him more motivation to protect Christine, it again doesn't really connect to the opera and the music, and it all sort of gets jammed into a monologue about legacy. And then Christine has some words about living your own dreams, but neither character was really fleshed out enough for this to really have any impact.

What does make an impact is the art. Oil painting-like art makes every panel feel like its own little painting and really emphasizes the art of opera. It also gives Erik a most truly phantom-like presence. Though this does lead back into some criticism of the story. Also, I love Erik's design here; he does turn out to be just a man, and he never explains some of his more ghostly appearances, particularly the smoke hand when he talks to the Maestro. Other than that, I can accept most of his Phantom appearance, as the art is just expressing Erik more than a realistic showing, if that makes any sense. It's the same with how Christine will soar to shine when she sings. Again, I do love this, and I really like all of the art. The story is just kind of one of the weakest versions of POTO, and considering it sold itself with "THE HORRIFYING NEW VISION OF THE STORY YOU ONLY THINK YOU KNOW!" is a big promise that it didn't really live up to.

[kaithonks]

So think are a little bit better but there still will be no post this week as I stomp out that last bits of the fire that has been my life this past week.

[kaithonks]

Meant to post this earlier but oh well.

No posts this week due to things literally and metaphorically being on fire.

[kaithonks]

The Hull (May 20th)

So it's not been my week; I broke two nails and left a light on while I was gone, my milk spoiled, and my favorite character in this D&D thing I've been watching just died. But hey, new comics, I will be speed running this shit a bit because honestly, I'm in need of a nap.

The Read:

Honestly, The Fury of Firestorm #2 is really hitting me. It's a character I don't know much about, but this really has me jonesing for more about Firestorm. Ghost Pepper #11 is also really starting to cook as well. I should talk about it soon, but I want to see where this new turn takes us first. Though I do feel like I've been saying that a lot about Ghost Pepper. Barbara Gordon: Breakout #1 was also better than expected, and Absolute Martian Manhunter #12 and Bleeding Hearts #4 were keeping on their every peak status. All I have to say about Absolute Batman #20 is that my Jason Todd cover is very pretty. Then Supergirl #13 is peeking up again, and Godzilla vs. Texas was funny. And finally, D'Orc #1-4 was about as generic comedy fantasy as you could get.

The Unread:

All my manga and trade paperbacks are still not read, and I did start on Tegami Bachi: Letter Bee volume 2 but haven't finished. So with that, Beyond the Clouds volumes 2 and 3, Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation: The Comic volume 1, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Pink Ranger and DC Finest: The Demon: Birth of the Demon are also all unread.

Now to the new stuff. Well, this might not be new, but it's new to me, Deathstroke: The Terminator #1-3 got picked up because, well, I don't like Slade Wilson, and I like to be an informed hater. Absolute Flash #15, Batwoman #3, and New Titans #35 were all picked up, and really shouldn't be a surprise to anyone following this blog. I also got Sirens: Love Hurts #4, but the exciting stuff this week was Absolute Green Arrow #1 and more personal excitement from Zorro #1.

So some really good stuff this week, and I am going to go take that nap now.

[kaithonks]

So I’ve had some Thoughts about D'orc

Instead of talking about Absolute Batman, I am going to let that cook a little more because, honestly, the Robins are a sort of B-plot and it needs it. Instead, let's talk about something else I read last week called D'orc.

D'orc is bad!

Yeah, there is no beating around that bush. The thing is that it really isn't bad, but it commits the cardinal sin of being boring, so it's a different kind of bad than, like, it just being garbage. Like the art is fine, even really good and interesting in places. The writing is also technically fine. The real meat and the potatoes of why this comic is bad. The first red flag was there was a generic fantasy setting with "light" vs. "dark." The second was the protagonist being a special chosen one thought in this case to be destined to destroy the world. However, this is a comedy, and both the light and dark sides are essentially the same and over the top and zealous. And of course the main character, D'orc, is born of both light and dark and thus has his chosen one status. Oh but he doesn't care about either side and just wants to live his life and be kind. And he's really good at fighting and has a DEATH SHIELD, and his companion is a chicken he beheaded, but its head is how a GHOST.

So yeah, you can see there really isn't an original idea in this comic's head, save maybe the character's mix of dwarf and orc. But that fails a bit because they translated that as essentially a smart goblin. Dwarfs and Orcs are both hearty races known for being stout, so why is their hybrid so skinny and agile? Going hungry might be a reason, but then why is he so strong? He literally could have been anything, and the outcome would have been the same. Hell, he could have just been a goblin, and nothing would have changed because the namesake of the comic doesn't really mean anything. A counter to that might be because he's a mix of the light race and dark race, thus being the start of the story, but that also could have literally been anything. Him finding the shield could have been how he got attached to the prophecy, and again, nothing would change.

The foundation of this comic is so very boring and generic that really the only place it had to go was to be a comedy, but it's not even funny. It might have been fun like in the 2000s when a violent sentient Death Shield would have meant something, and that's kind of the bulk of the humor. There really isn't much funny here other than its big over-the-top scenarios. Now humor is subjective, and someone might find this funny, but I don't. Again, everything about this is so generic that even the humor is generic.

Honestly, I don't think there is any more criticism I could give this thing; it wouldn't be beating a dead horse that is a very comic fantasy story. Because it isn't even unique in how generic it is. There is nothing that stands out about it, but that also doesn't mean there is no value here. After all, for there to be cream, there must be the crop.

[kaithonks]

The Hull (May 13th)

Well, it's been another busy week for me, and honestly, a lot more comic stuff this week, I expect. Not only did I do a library trip, but instead of my order for manga trickling in, they all came in at once, so my wallet was not happy about that.

The Read:

Honestly, I really should talk about Booster Gold: Future Lost, but I was a little more worried about Absolute Batman. But I did really enjoy my time with Booster. He's a fun character by himself and sort of in a way to see other people treat all this superhero stuff that goes on in this world.

Batman: Detective Comics: Gotham Nocturne: Act II and Wonder Woman: Evolution were both good. Nightwing #135, Godzilla #10 The Muppets Noir #3 and Ben 10 #1 were also good. Though I was a bit surprised that Ben 10 is starting at the beginning, not that I'm complaining.

Batgirl #19 was towards the weaker side, and I think I will do another thought on it, but honestly I'm not sure how much of that post would boil down to "God, Tenji is such a bad character, and I hate him." Absolute Superman #19 was also fine; nothing really to say there.

But gosh, am I glad DC x Sonic the Hedgehog: Metal Legion #1 came out, because it's still such a fun series, and I'm looking forward to seeing more.

The Unread:

Again, I'm still behind on The Monkey King and The Three Kingdoms: The Alliance, and at this point I think I might be until my physical copies come in.

But onto the new stuff. Those orders I talked about were Tamon's B-side volumes 6 and 7 along with The Apothecary Diaries volumes 6 and 7.

So while I am nervous about Absolute Batman #20, I did get the Jason Todd variant, and speaking of being nervous, Barbara Gordon: Breakout #1 still not really sure what to expect here. Also, I picked up D'Orc #1-4 because, well, I've been watching a lot of D&D stuff recently. Also in my basket were Supergirl #13 and Godzilla vs. Texas because I am down for watching Texas getting its shit rocked. I had one layover in Dallas/Fort Worth, and that was enough for me.

Now on to the stuff I am excited for this week: Ghost Pepper #11, where shit gets real. Then the shocker from last month, The Fury of Firestorm #2. Then it's also a camp week, as I have Absolute Martian Manhunter #12 and Bleeding Hearts #4.

A lot of good stuff came out this week, but I also made a library trip where I got Beyond the Clouds volumes 2 and 3 and Tegami Bachi: Letter Bee volume 2, and a friend has been trying to get me into danmei for a minute now, and I saw Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation: The Comic volume 1, so that got added.

The last two books of my library trip there are DC Finest: The Demon: Birth of the Demon, which on first glance I thought was going to be a Ra's al Ghul thing, but unsurprisingly it's actually Etrigan. Seeing Kiby's and Ditko's names on the bottom I am very intrigued to give it a read. Finally, in the new books where I saw Etrigan's book, I also saw Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Pink Ranger. And while as a kid I was more of a Yellow Ranger person (which honestly looking back feels like a sign), this really intrigued me, as in the last Mighty Morphin Power Rangers book I read, I really liked where they took Kimberly's character.

Well, that's a lot for me to read this week, but a lot of good stuff I'm really looking forward to.

[kaithonks]

So I’ve had some Thoughts about Absolute Batman (Again, sort of.)

Again, I really don't have an excuse for the lateness other than I have been quite busy this week, and while I did read quite a bit last week, nothing I read stuck in my head. Though I have been thinking about comics, and something in particular has been rumbling around in my head, and that is what is happening with Absolute Robin.

To be fair, I have not been keeping up with Absolute Batman, in short because I think it's kind of regular Scott Snyder writing, i.e., good ideas that never really have more depth added to them. But I have recently decided to try the run again with the Robins coming into the story, and I will say the idea of them using mechs is fun. But again, Snyder's writing is often a good idea that doesn't really do anything with that idea, and here is sort of my read on what I saw out of #19. The idea here is that in this sort of reverse where the Joker is rich and Batman is poor, the Robins were also sort of raised by the Joker. But this falls at the first hurdle because it forgets that the Robins, all of them, are their own characters. And this is made worse by the fact Slade is here. I have never gotten why Slade is so popular, or I'd understand it more if more people treated him as the villain he is. And look, I get on a level why he is here leading the Robins; he's a tactician and manipulator, so it makes sense in some ways. But again, we are treating the Robins not as their own character but as a group that collectively should belong to Batman.

Here is another point. Why are they called Robins here? Robin originally was a play on Robin Hood, which made sense because Batman was supposed to be a Zorro-esque character, but the name eventually evolved into something more personal for the character of Dick Grayson. And it eventually became something more as it passed down from person to person. I honestly find Duke's We are Robin is an really good peek of the identity of "Robin" is in and outside of the universe. Robin is supposed to be a child, standing up and fighting for themselves and bringing in hope. Dick Grayson getting justice for his family; Jason Todd, a homeless child, becoming something more; Tim Drake saving the hero who's been a stable fixture of his life; Stephanie Brown, a way to prove herself and again be more than her father; and Damian Wayne, a way to find himself outside of his "destiny" as an heir. Robin is personal to all these characters, but it still brings each of them hope. Robin is a counterpart to Batman but does not depend on or need Batman the same way that Batman needs Robin, especially as over the years Robin has acted more as a foil to balance out a bit of Batman's grim dark development. So going back to my question, Robin, while a collective title is personal, so why on earth are they called Robin here? Well, it's simple. It's totally just for the recognition. There is no real understanding of what makes the characters of Robin work or care. But that's nothing new. Robin in general has been written off for a long time as a "support" to Batman and a potential heir to take up the mantle. But that's not what Robin is.

As issue 20 comes out today, I am very worried that we are going into another Robin Lives situation with this storyline. I would happily be wrong, though, with the Robins getting the respect they deserve.

[kaithonks]

The Hull (May 6th)

Well, my week has been interesting, and between planning for some event my family wants to do and taking up a sewing project I've put off for like two years. I'm not joking about that, but I'm fixing a homemade blanket that had pretty bad fraying. Anyway, on to the comics.

The Read:

As people might be able to tell from my last post, I didn't really have anything stick out to me last week. Well, I mean, the new Zatanna run started off strong, but I won't be talking about that till it wraps up. and Swamp Thing reprint, All In Special, and Justice League: Intergalactic Special were all fine. Though Batman / Wonder Woman: Truth #1 was weirdly more about Wonder Woman sticking her nose in Batman and Catwoman's relationship than anything else, which was fine, but ya know, not uncharted territory.

I did read Tegami Bachi, which was good, but it did give me a few reminders of "Oh, this is a weird Shonen Jump thing," especially when Niche joins in. On the sort of other side, I also read Princess Jellyfish #8, and when I finish the last volume, I will be getting around to talking about that.

The Unread:

From the library I still have Batman: Detective Comics: Gotham Nocturne: Act II, Wonder Woman: Evolution and Booster Gold: Future Lost. All of which are currently sitting under my sewing kit. I also am still behind on The Monkey King and The Three Kingdoms: The Alliance.

Now on to my comic pulls for this week. I finally have Nightwing #135, as I missed that the week it came out, and it was the only Nightwing issue of the Dan Watters run I was missing so far. I also got Batman #9, and when I got it, I was asked if I was excited for the new Barbara Gordon run, which made a big "eeeeeeeh" because I have seen the whole prison arc, and I'm not sure what to make of it, and apparently this is the prologue to that or something, which again has me going "eeeeeeeh."

I got my standard Batgirl #19 and Absolute Superman #19, but more importantly, I got DC x Sonic the Hedgehog: Metal Legion. And I got the variant with Rouge and Catwoman on it. So you know two bad bitches.

Finally, I have Godzilla #10 and The Muppets Noir #3, but also new this week is the Ben 10 comic, which has me in a bit of a nostalgic mode as I watch the original show back in the day and was really into it up to the live-action movie. And as a side note, I also really enjoyed Generator Rex, which was from the same people. Anyway, I'm a bit excited for this but am not sure what to expect out of it.

[kaithonks]

So I’ve had some Thoughts about The Adventure Zone

I have no excuse. I got distracted by a sewing projoects I've been puting off for like a year now. And I didn't really have much to say about what I've read. But I have been considering picking up The Adventure Zone graphic novel, which my library has the first few volumes of. And I have been relistening to the original podcast. I first started listening back in about 2017ish, somewhere before Story and Song came out, and I planned to listen to Amnesty but never got around to it. I have also been more into other D&D-focused YouTube videos and streams; mainly YouTube Shorts got me into the World of Io, and while this is not my typical content given the very different mediums we are working in here, I do have some thoughts about this and some thoughts about how The Adventure Zone will have some translation issues into a comic.

First things first, I had never played a tabletop RPG when I listened to The Adventure Zone originally, so as the McElroys learned the game, I sort of did too. I have now played myself (mainly Spire: The City Must Fall, I am still on the hunt for a D&D group0 and understand the game and its workings better. With that, I don't think that The Adventure Zone would have been as popular in a post-COVID world. I will still argue it's still a very good and emotional story; I just don't know if it's a great D&D story. Again, I am not devaluing how good I think The Adventure Zone actually is, especially once we get to the 11th hour arc; it's just you can tell in quite a few parts that the story being told is mostly for the audience and not necessarily the players.

I'm not really assigning any merit to that observation, but I think because the McElroys started in a place of "this is a podcast" when starting The Adventure Zone, they were thinking more about the listeners than those playing that game. Yes, Griffin sort of has a few moments of "This is obviously the way forward," but Travis and Justin both have moments where they force the rest of the party to follow in. With Justin often making out-of-character comments or having Takko get bored, Travis's character Magnus' whole "charges in" bit really railroads the story, more then I think Griffin actually does. And I might be biased because Magnus is my least favorite character of the bunch, kind of for the reason. Especially when towards the end he doesn't tell the others about the void fish or the Red Robe helping them in the Suffering game. But looking back as a whole, the story is still good, and I feel it uses its audio medium really well, especially as Griffin gets more comfortable with adding sound effects and music.

Now let me backtrack to the comment about being for the audience and not necessarily the players. As I've been watching World of Io, particularly the Devil's Due campaign, which is a beta test for a new system, I feel the players have a lot more control over the story, and the DM, Brett, is writing this for them and not for people watching. This can really be seen in how the player Tomato has added so much to the story. Brett made a whole side quest around the gambling debate Tomato's character had, which was mentioned in an offhand comment in season one. Granted The Adventure Zone really shifted its story after episode three, but again, that felt less like it was because the character and players made choices and more because Griffin found a story he wanted to tell.

Again, I am not really assigning any merit to either property or the way they tell stories. They are simply different, and I enjoy both quite a lot. With that, they are both very tied to their mediums, with The Adventure Zone being a podcast and the World of Io YouTube videos. And going into the graphic novels, The Adventure Zone is going to lose a lot, as I'm imagining the brothers' conversations and arguments will be cut out, and I have no clue how it will deal with Griffin's monologues, which are some of the best parts of the show. So I'm expecting the graphic novel to lose a lot of what really makes The Adventure Zone really work as a story.

[kaithonks]

The Hull (Apr 29th)

So let me start off really quickly by saying I went to Miku Expo last week, and as someone who's been listening since like 2011 but never had a chance to go to a live show, I was and still am very excited. It honestly was one of the best things I've ever done, and I met some wonderful people and really had a great time. And I would go for one, but I do want to get to the actual comic part of my comic blog.

The Read:

The surprising hitter for me last week was Corpse Knight #1. I'll be honest; I bought it purely for the cool titles and interesting covers, but the story really grabbed me in a way a first issue hasn't in a long while. Honestly a lot of the time the first issue sets up too much and doesn't really hook me until the second issue, which is the case for The Other/Half #2. The first issue of that didn't really pique my interest all that much, but the second issue raised the stakes for me, and the ending of issue two kind of feels like where issue 1 should have ended based on what I was told about the run from the start.

Speaking of things with slow starts, No Place #5is finally starting to pick up a bit of speed, and I feel it's moving in the right direction for what it seems to want to do. I don't feel like there is much to talk about here, but in case something does happen, I want to save my thoughts.

The Rocketeer: The Island #2 and Phantom of the Opera #3 are both still pretty good. I think any fan of either piece of media will enjoy these runs.

Absolute Wonder Woman is still peak, and Absolute Flash is interesting. I have never read Ray Palmer stories, but I have now read two stories where he is essentially a MacGuffin that the protagonists need to find, which is weird.

For Green Lantern #34 I am still not sold on Odyssey as a character, as her instantly moving to LA and being picked up as a star feels very… Mary Sue adjacent. But for Kyle I'm willing to deal, especially as they are using his past as an artist.

Spider-Man/Superman #1 sure was a crossover. Honestly, it was fine. I do like Superman and Spider-Man as a duo, and I think there is chemistry there, especially given the different nature of how they came to be superheroes.

The Unread:

I started Tegami Bachi, but other than that most of my library books are unread, so I won't bother listing those here again.

For the new things this week, two things I have forgotten to mention are my digital copies of Chaiko's The Monkey King and The Three Kingdoms: The Alliance. These were projects I backed a while ago and will be getting hard copies of, but their digital copies were recently released, and I did start on The Monkey King as Journey to the West has been on my list since I watched Overly Sarcastic Productions' videos on it. So both of those have been sitting on my computer for a minute now.

Anyway, this week at my shop I got the new Swamp Thing from DC Black Label, as well as All In Special, Justice League: Intergalactic Special, and something I am really excited for: the new Campbell Zatanna run!Finally, I got Batman / Wonder Woman: Truth #1, which only has me on the back foot. Loeb's more recent work hasn't been great, and DC as a whole has been running Wonder Woman through the ringer, but I am willing to give it a try for Wonder Woman.

[kaithonks]

So I’ve had some Thoughts about Spirit World

Well, I was very busy over the weekends and honestly considered making this post about Miku Expo. I did remember that this is a comic blog. I did also remember that I got Spirit World a while ago and had read it. So instead of gushing and flexing about how I got to see Hatsune Miku live, I might as well talk about this decent comic I read for my decent comic blog.

I feel that gives my opinion on Spirit World away. And yeah, it's decent. It feels like one of those comics where it's being limited by its pages and its short 6-issue run. The idea of a non-binary person who is half alive and half dead working and a spirit envoy who sees about mystical threats in the living and spirit worlds is pretty interesting. And the concepts aren't that far apart. As a non-binary person myself, I often feel a bit torn between the binary genders, and it can be hard to find a good balancing act. So our hero Xanthe Zhou had a good base for a character and a very natural character conflict that ties in to their duties as an envoy. But this is where I feel the shortness of the run hits a few road blocks. This is a pretty action-packed comic; there are quite a few fights in it, and while they are really well-done fights, I don't think that they fully work into the premise, the natural conflicts, and the story in Xanthe. There is a bit of a scene where they meet their mother again, but it happens so fast and doesn't really seem to have any weight on Xanthe or the rest of the story. I think pairing them with Constantine was a good idea, giving his supernatural expertise and his position as an elder queer, but again, I don't think they do much with that. The story simply seems to prioritize its action and kind of generic story over the bits that would actually give a nice twist and really spice up that story into something more.

While I'm being a bit hard on Spirit World, it is by no means bad. And the action is honestly really well done in using its paneling to create really flowing fight scenes and using Xanthe's abilities with paper to give more flair to those panels. For example, when their paper tails become the panels. Or when the paper offering Xanthe's sister gives her then frames the sister. The action there is good and really fun, but it just ends up taking up too much time that could be used to really flesh out Xanthe and this world; only seeing the Jade Court in the last two issues really doesn't give them any time to be built up or really give them their importance, especially as we see them have no real reaction to Cassandra and John being in the Spirit World.

On a final note I will say one little detail I did like was the gold spider lilies used for Xanthe's character design. Most anime watchers will know how to read spider lilies, which are often used as a symbol of death, but that's not their only meaning. They can also symbolize reincarnation and bonds between separated people. And with Xanthe's flowers being yellow, a color associated with life, warmth, and friendship, it really emphasizes the last part and sells Xanthe's desire to save these souls and remember them when other people cannot.

So not a bad run by any means, and at the end of the day I am glad I read it even if it didn't fully live up to its potential.

[kaithonks]

The Hull (Apr 22nd)

Well, I finished everything on my reading list last week, and honestly, it was a lot of good reads, so there is a lot of hope for this week. Thought with that I don't really plan to do much reading since I have Miku Expo coming up, which I am so excited for!

The Read:

So the last of my library books was Batman: Detective Comics: Gotham Nocturne: Act I, and honestly, Ram V has yet to really let me down, and I was recommended this run a while ago when I told my comic dealer I was a fan of Two Face's stuff. And yes, this is genuinely one of the better takes on Two-Face's mental illness. Ram V really knows how to work with his artist to really show Harvey's mentality and his personal internal struggles.

Of my last pulls last week, The Other/Half #1 was interesting enough for me to think about picking up a second issue. Ghost Pepper #10 is really starting to pick up, and I'm really loving where it is going.

To my DC readers, Batwoman #2 and Nightwing #137 were fine. Honestly, I feel a little weird about DC KO: KnightFight #3 because I don't think that issue really adds anything to the story, and Tim Batman really was just glazed over where Dick and Jason both got dramatic moments. And Damain, while his Batman wasn't nearly as important, still had a bit more presence. And I am no Tim fan, but I feel a little bad for Tim fans with that.

Still on Batman, Absolute Batman was fine, but I'm not really a fan of the direction of the Robins. I think there is a lot of disregarding of Robin as its own character and treating them more as a Batman accessory. Which I'm guessing is why Slade fucking Wilson is here. But Jason Todd and Stephanie Brown are here (despite that slightly weird cover that I honestly thought was fan art), so I feel obligated to give it another read.

Speaking of Steph, New Titans #34 again, I am mostly here for Eddie Bloomberg and Stephanie Brown, but it's not a bad story so far.

The Unread:

With the last batch of library books finished, I went back for more and was told that I was "trying to read everything" as I tried getting a friend to help me remember what I was reading. First off, Princess Jellyfish #8, I really have some mixed feelings as I approach the end of this series, but I'll talk more on that when I actually get there. But other than that, I decided to go for a reread of Tegami Bachi, so I picked up volume one of that. I haven't touched that series since I was in middle school, so I'm wondering how my feelings about it might have changed. But for a taste of something new, I also got Beyond the Clouds. Honestly, it reminded me of, I think it was, a western-style manga about a girl and school that turned the kids into these soulless monsters. I don't remember it well.

So, other than manga library books, I got Batman: Detective Comics: Gotham Nocturne: Act II, and I am hoping my library gets the rest of this run. But I also got Wonder Woman: Evolution and Booster Gold: Future Lost.

Now on to my comic. I got my Absolute Wonder Woman and Flash. I also got my Green Lantern #34 as well as Spider-Man/Superman #1. Before moving on to my indie stuff this week, I saw my shop had the collected Spirit World run on sale, so I decided to pick that up and give that 6-issue run a try.

So I did end up getting The Other/Half #2 and The Rocketeer: The Island #2 also came in. Phantom of the Opera #3 and No Place #5 were also on my pull list, but finally Corpse Knight #1 was the real new thing. That I was a bit excited for. And honestly, I was kind of happy for such an indie-heavy week because I really have been trying to work my way out of just being a DC person. And no, that doesn't mean I'll be getting into Marvel. Spider-Man crossovers are my exception.

[kaithonks]

So I’ve had some Thoughts about Speed Racer

One show I was weirdly obsessed with when I was a child was Speed Racer: The Next Generation. That eventually led to a whole sort of Speed Racer phase. I still have a bit of a soft spot for the live action, and thinking back, this was likely the start of my career as a fan of older anime. Hell, one of my personal favorites is an anime from 1978, so I am a bit of an oldtaku. So one can imagine seeing that first issue of this Mad Cave Speed Racer run; I was pretty excited. And that first issue was pretty good, but I totally spilled my mind to add the thing to my pull list. The good news is my local store stocked volume one of My Goldfish Memory.

With that, this kind of makes it a bit hard for me to tell what is genuinely good and what is my nostalgia speaking. But sort of on that, I don't think it's really trying that hard to hide the twist of Racer X, but it still spaces the reveal out, and I think it does a good job at placing that at the end of his volume. I like that there are still little hints and similarities drawn between Racer X and Speed.

On that, I also like the direction Spritle took with his social media aspects; it gives him a lot more reason to be what he was in the original show. Honestly, as a whole, the comic feels really respectful of Speed Racer's past while still trying to have its own identity. Like, I like that Trixie and her family are Speed's sponsor; it sort of gives her some more agency and investment in Speed's racing career over just being a love interest. I am hoping they will bring her helicopter where she can watch the races.

Sort of on top of the race, the art does a really good job of conveying motion in these wild races. Which is important with the races being so key to this story, and that is something I enjoyed about the live-action movie: the wildness and brightness of the races, even if it pushed too far at times.

I still like the focus on family, and that Speed might not have gone out to Trixie had Pops not been in the hospital and needed the money. He might have just stuck with street racing. And him starting in street racing and using that on a professional course also makes a lot of sense and adds a bit to the Speed Racer themes of fighting corporations.

Overall while I don't think this is doing anything really different, it does what it wants to do well and is a fun read. Which at the end of the day is all I can ask for from a comic, especially one attached to a property with so much history.

[kaithonks]

The Hull (Apr 15th)

Well, I have caught up with my reading pretty much, and I was planning a library trip, but I'll probably have to go later this week as I still have things I need to read. Regardless, quite a bit of fun stuff I got through this week.

The Read:

While I love Mr. Villain's Day Off with the fourth volume, I am mildly concerned about the joke wearing a little bit thin, but to be honest, it's not really trying to be more than it promises, which is just a light, feel-good story about a Power Ranger villain who on his day off loves animals.

Tamon's B-side is starting to really pick up narratively, and I'm enjoying the other member's B-sides. Keito is personally my favorite right now, but I like all the boys and I do like Utage. I know for a fact Tamon and Utage are endgame, but honestly I kind of just want to see them all end up as friends who live out their individual dreams, but I know that won't happen, so I'll just enjoy this charming ride.

I forgot to mention I got The Apothecary Diaries volume 5, and that series is still going strong. I also enjoy Maomao and Jinshi's relationship as it slowly develops.

Of my library books I am still loving the crap out of Princess Jellyfish, and I think something that adds to what makes that series so special is Higashimura's ending little comics about her life and things she enjoys. I think it adds more depth to the Amars, making them a little more real because their characters are coming from a place of understanding and learning to grow.

Honestly, the more I read and reread New Teen Titans, the more certain areas of the current Titans' disappointment. It definitely feels like some regression has happened that hasn't fully been fixed. The biggest kind of bummer to me is Raven. I like that she's not just goth here; it gives a little more bit to her character, and I like the Indian influences even if they don't go into much depth with them.

Ram V's Catwoman: Fear State wasn't the best out of his that I've seen, but it was probably one of the better Fear State books I've read, and Winick's New 52 Catwoman run was… well, it was New 52. I'll probably read some more of it just to keep testing the water, but no favors are being done here in my opinion.

Out of my singles last week the kind of surprising one was The Fury Of Firestorm; it was a lot more interesting than I expected it to be. It had me really wonder who this character is and what is going on with him. I have preordered the next two issues partly because there is a Dustin Nguyen variant in there but mostly because I am very interested in seeing what happens.

There isn't much else to say about that rest. Bleeding Hearts is still going in a really interesting direction for a zombie story, but I have a lot of faith in Camp's work. The Muppets Noir #2 is fine, as are Supergirl #12 and Sirens: Love Hurts #3. I was mildly disappointed with Everyone Loves a Jewel Thief #1, but I'm willing to give the story a chance. Godzilla's Monsterpiece Theatre Presents: Romeo & Juliet and Godzilla #1 was also about where I expected it to be, and I kind of love it.

The Unread:

The last of my library books I need to read is Batman: Detective Comics: Gotham Nocturne: Act I. And I would say the good news is I am all caught up with my personal collection, but I added the trade paperback of Speed Racer to the collection. Which came to me at a recommendation that I actually don't remember; I just remember someone recommending it and that I had read the first issue and liked it enough. But not enough that I didn't forget to pull the rest of the series.

Speaking of recommendations I got the first issues of The Other/Half at the recommendation of the comic shop worker. Our tastes typically aren't aligned, but I'm more than willing to give anything queer a try.

Batwoman #2, Nightwing #137, and Ghost Pepper #10 are all the usual suspects and all in my to-read pile. But to fill in a gap, I got DC KO: KnightFight #3. I also decided to give Absolute Batman another try as I heard about them bringing in the Robins, and while I am expecting this to go very poorly, I won't say anything until I read it myself.

Finally, I got New Titans #34. Look, they put Eddie Bloomberg and Stephanie Brown at the end of the last issues. Was I not supposed to pick up the next one?

[kaithonks]

So I have some hopes about Witch Hat Atelier Anime

Well, this post is late because, well, my day job had me working quite a few hours this week, which makes me glad I've pretty much read everything I'd been wanting to read this week because I simply haven't had the time. But last week Witch Hat Atelier's long-awaited anime finally premiered, and I kind of want to talk about it.

To be clear, so far I have only seen clips of the anime, so these are going to be some general concerns and hopes I have for the anime. I have already talked about some of my concerns in my last post about Witch Hat Atelier, in fact, a lot of its depth is coming from the fact it is about drawing in a drawn medium. The beautiful panels that character can interact with and the fact that in certain moments a hand is shown actively drawing the manga bring a level of depth to the conversation of skill and learning. It essentially acknowledges the world outside of its pages and brings attention to it, saying, "You, the reader, can learn, can have hope, and can change society for the better." And while the Witch Hat Atelier anime does use some of Shirahama's paneling tricks in the opening, which I've seen as a nice nod, I'm still not convinced that they will translate this acknowledgment.

I am not saying that it can not be done. Not at all. And I'm also not saying that a lot of care isn't being put in to this anime. Because clearly it has Shirahama's style, which is almost perfectly copied here, and it does feel like life was breathed into the manga. But again, something I think that people struggle with is that manga and anime cannot be made one for one in changing mediums; there is a direct change in what the story is. And a lot of people seem to forget that there needs to be an adaptation rather than strict translation. It's more important to capture the spirit of the work than what the work directly says because something just can't come across. So while I love The Witch Hat Atelier, I don't want this anime to be just anime manga pages. I want it to take the ideas that Shirahama has brought to the table and apply them to this other drawn medium. Instead of playing with the paneling, I want things to be done: the key frames and in-betweens. I want to see the hands animated in this show. I know I don't know much about animation; I am more of a comic guy who's studied comics and wants to keep talking about them, but that doesn't limit what I want to see from other mediums. I'd love to see professionals play with their craft as Shirahama does and see others who study that take that apart so I, who don't understand those tricks, can learn them and appreciate it too.

Currently I am waiting for the first season of Witch Hat Atelier to finish before I give it a watch, partly because I want to own the Blu-rays regardless of what happens with the overall quality of the show and partly because I just want to binge it on one of my days off. As a special little treat. Honestly, so far from what I've seen, I've got pretty high hopes for the anime because it looks like the team behind it loves the manga as much as I do, and that regardless will make a good product.

[kaithonks]

The Hull (Apr 8th)

Last week I caught myself up with my library books; this week I sort of caught myself up with my paperbacks. And I say "sort of" because the moment I did catch up, I added like three more to the collection. But everyone should know that is just par for that course.

The Read:

First off, The Apothecary Diaries is going to be one of my new favorite things. As I read up to volume 4 of the manga, I plan to keep adding it to my collection. Maomao is generally such a fun protagonist with Jinshi being a great foil. Honestly, the whole cast is great, and I've found the stories and pace really enjoyable.

Speaking of things I really enjoyed, New Gods: Edge of Darkness. While I still really enjoy Ram V's work, I'm slowly finding out that I really like Orion. Honestly, I liked the whole story, but I'm just finding a special kind of love of Orion.

Both Gachiakuta 5 and Witch Hat Atelier 14 were still really good. And I guess on that note I will say I am holding off until the season finishes to watch the new Witch Hat Atelier anime, though I love the opening. You really can't miss with an EVE song, though I was reminded of BUMP OF CHICKEN's newer stuff. Though on that, Delicious in Dungeon 2 was also really fun, and the painting chapter really hit me as a D&D moment where the DM is trying to lay a plot but the party just isn't listening. Which was really funny.

To my singles form last week, maybe surprisingly or unsurprisingly, Godzilla was probably my favorite. That run is still going pretty strong. Batman #8 was fine, as was Mad About DC. I do feel Bizarro: Year. None needs some time to cook before I say anything about it. As for Absolute Superman #18 and Batgirl #18, I will give them to the end of these new arcs.

The Unread:

So of my personal library, I still need to read Tamon's B Side volumes 3-5, as I was missing volume 3 up to Saturday when my Barnes and Noble order arrived, really. But with Tamon's B-Side volume 3, I got Mr. Villain's Day Off volume 4. So awhile ago I really moved around and didn't really keep any books because I was simply moving around too much to justify that weight, but when things finally started to slow, I got volumes 1 and 2 of Mr. Villain's Day Off. They were some of the first things in my new book collection, and I enjoyed them so much I ordered volume 3, but honestly, I had to move two more times after that, and then I got busy, and I forgot about the series, though I keep Mr. Villain's Day Off philosophy in my heart. Lol. Anyway, I'm very excited to read volume 4.

I have started on Princess Jellyfish volume 6 with 7 still into the read pile along with the rest of my library books.

Now to my pulls: The Muppets Noir #2 came in this week along with Bleeding Hearts #3. I also picked up Supergirl #12 and Sirens: Love Hurts #3, both of which I got a very nice variant for.

And new this week I got The Fury Of Firestorm #1. To be honest, I've only heard of the character and have never really read anything about Firestorm, but the local comic shop person said it was good, so I wanted to give it a shot, and with my growing love of Orion, I'm more open to trying new characters out.

New but stepping out of DC, Everyone Loves a Jewel Thief #1 felt targeted specifically for me, as I do love a good jewel thief. And finally, Godzilla's Monsterpiece Theatre Presents: Romeo & Juliet and Godzilla #1 because that idea was too funny to pass up on, and well, I felt especially compelled, as I do have a degree in English and therefore am legally obligated to love Shakespeare.