Sunday Sundry

What a lazy day off, where after 55 hours at work since my last day off on Monday I just sat around all day resting.

I did watch Citizen Kane for the first time ever today. I've always been hesitant to try classics, be it in movies, comics, or whatever. As so much has been said about them that the reality rarely ever lives up to the hype. Or they are something that are very much a product of the time they were made, and/or reliant upon the age of the audience when they first encounter them.

Citizen Kane I must say is one of the rare exceptions to that rule, as its relevance and message are still as strong today as they must have been even way back in 1941. It was one of the few times where while I can see the influences it had on other movies since, the original still has a certain magic and allure all of its own.

Let's see, I've been online a lot today still catching up on my various bookmarks and the like. One piece of interest especially stood out to me today, was Johanna Draper Carlson's naming of the comic PS238 a Comic Worth Reading.

Now getting past the odd choice of name, that might prove a hindrance to anyone wanting to get the book from their retailer since it isn't an easy name to remember. I thought this quote in her review was especially interesting:

The cartoony, open linework by Aaron Williams helps them look like children, though. They're a little doughy, not quite fully-formed, with their time in the oven still ahead of them.

I'm not sure if that description of the art paints a clear picture of what she describes for everyone. Yet it certainly made me hungry for some baked cookies.

I did read a few comics today as well:

The Legion #35-38 - I've liked a great deal of Gail Simone's work on other titles, and was looking forward to her run on LEGION with artist Dan Jurgens. Especially after not really caring for the run of the creators on the series for the past few years.

Yet this seemed to be almost the equivalent of a summer blockbuster movie, with bad guys terrorizing the good guys for no reason that is ever explained. Which just left me uncaring after I read it, because it seemed to lack any importance or relevance. Making this a story that will likely be forgotten with the upcoming reboot.

My Faith In Frankie - This charmingly funny tale of a young girl who has her own personal god, who loves her more than she can stand sometimes given his interference in her love life. Still works in this smaller digest form, without coloring. Though I missed the red shade of embarrassment that told more in some sequences than an entire paragraph of text.

The initial sketches and character designs at the back make the book worth the cost for those who have all of the issues. Plus the preview of upcoming "The Dead Boy Detectives" book by Jill Thompson has me really looking forward to it.

Crazy Love Story Volume 1 - The book describes itself as crazy, but it instead just seems fairly dumb and mean. Jin Sung Moo has fallen for a girl named Shin Hae Jung, who is a real "ice princess," who cares about nothing or no one except what makes her happy.

She and her boyfriend Jimmy, a Hong Kong action movie obsessesed wacko who likes to live out life as if it was a movie, use and abuse Jin in some eerie play to amuse themselves.

Jin takes the physical and mental abuse, and still professes his love for Shin though I have a hard time telling what is there to even like about her. The entire thing makes little sense, and the pure meanness and stupidity of the characters just left me annoyed more than anything else.

Be it Jin's almost stalkerish obsession with Shin, or Shin and Jimmy's near homicidal abuse of each other and Jin. I just found myself wishing the entire bunch would drive themselves off a steep cliff.

SGT FROG Volume 5 - Continues the tales of the frogs from outerspace, who are trying to conquer Earth. I thought volume 4 was a bit of a let down, with more time given to its "fan service" elements than the wacky humor the series usually provides. This one gets back to its strength of wacky ideas, and cockeyed humor that I'd come to love in previous volumes.

As the frogs crash a school sports festival, play a game of Parcheesi that has the fate of the Earth riding on it, and deal with an intergalactic Reality Show. Among other fun, exciting adventures.

Sigh back to work tomorrow, I'll try to update as often as I can, but I work for the postal service and this is our busiest time. One thing I love about this time of year though, is seeing the letters from kids going to Santa Claus. (which go to a company in North Pole, Alaska who answers them) Just thinking about the imagination and belief that the kid behind that letter is filled with, makes me smile in its pureness.

Which is something magical that I guess we all lose at some point, but it is nice to be reminded of its existence at times.