I Feel Like Talking About Comics

Can you pay phone bills at convenience stores in Canada? Because you can in Japan apparently. And since this was my first phone bill it's taken me aback a little (and I sincerely don't know if it can be done in North America). Just think, in the middle of the night, you get the munchies, so you head over to a 7-11 for a peach-flavoured kit-kat bar, some Wild Turkey and pay your Internet bill all at once. Nifty.

Not much happening here. I helped some guy beat House of the Dead II with all of my loose 100 yen coins (about 8-9 dollars worth). A little kid watched on and while I have no idea what he was saying, he seemed amazed by everything that was going on. I only got rookie, but that's because I allowed the continue to hit zero half way through. And I shot a guy who wasn't a zommbie so that didn't help.

My Mom wants to visit me in Japan some time, but I don't know when she's coming or what she'd do. Too my knowledge, winter is Hokkaido's big season because of the mountains used for skiing and I really don't know if the sakura bloom up here in Spring (I believe one student told me they bloom later here than anywhere else, but I don't know when that would be) so I really don't know what there is for my parents to do here.


I've been reading the comics that have been sent to me (and I at my KD) and have finished Astonishing X-Men Vol. 3, which might have been better in one sitting than one chapter a night (but still, I want it to last a while) and is a little disappointing, though mostly because all of the big surprises were ruined for me before I picked it up. Still, there are some great moments (Wolverine spends much of the story mentally regressed into his 12 year-old pansy self) and some interesting developments (the real secret behind Cyclops' optic blasts are revealed), but too much of it is setting up for the forth and final story arc. And since I'm not too into X-Men in Space stories, I'm not looking forward to that one too much.

Nonetheless, I'm definitely gonna get it because while I'm not all that interested in X-Men in Space, I want to know what the Hell's going on with Emma Frost and I want to know where Cassandra Nova's (Xavier's creepy and positively evil twin sister) consciousness went. I guess my biggest problem with this is that instead of a proper ending, it ends on a cliffhanger and I wanted at least a little bit of closure before blasting headlong into the next story. This story is clearly too attached to this next story and I really want to read the next one simply to clear up that one important plot point. Frankly, I don't even care is Colossus is destined to bust up a planet.

Right now, I'm in the middle of the first volume of Young Avengers, one of Marvel's most critically acclaimed series. It was created by veteran TV writer Allan Heinberg (The OC, Sex in the City, Grey's Anatomy and many more) and drawn rather well by Jim Cheug. It has a really good premise, a lot of critical acclaim, a good hook at the end of the first issue and a lot of potential but it's really left me cold... so far. The premise is an Avenger's themed super-group of teens shows up after the original Avengers team is decimated by one of their own. The characters look like side kicks and are all modelled after classic Avengers (Iron Lad, Asgardian, Patriot and Hulkling) but their origins and connections to the Avengers turn out to be not what anyone expects. I like the fact that Iron Lad is actually a young Kang the Conqueror and the revelation that the team was planned by the Vision before he "died," but the characters' aren't doing all that much for me. Of course, I am reviewing a book before it's finished, but at the same time, I'm just not that into it yet. Now if we're talking awesome teen super-book, I much prefer Runaways.

I also am close to being all caught up in Gantz and I always have to say that this series impresses me in terms of art, story telling and just how far the creator can go with keeping things fucked up. I do like the fact that the series feels a little less cynical in some ways, yet doesn't manage to betray it's feel. No matter what the character Kei Kurono is like, you root for him simply because of the fact that he's place in oer his head in an unfair situation. I really like the evolution of his character and where the series is heading. The best thing about this series is that whenever one question is answered it manages to raise many, many more. I love everything about this series and am constantly confused as too why no one is fighting for the rights to publish this series in North America.

I haven't read any manga that's been too impressive beyond that and I keep hoping whatever I'll read next turns out to be a nice hidden treasure (hey, it happened before with Level E... which none of you have read yet. Shame on you). I did catch up with One Piece a few month ago. I love the series still, but I have to say... END! It's been 10 years and there's no sign that they'll find the treasure. Now it doesn't feel monotonous as some series (Inu-Yasha) but I really feel that a series chronicling the characters quest for a single goal should end after 10 years, just because the fans deserve an ending. Just make sure it's satisfying and appears before people stop caring about the characters (time can do that).

As for what's happening in American comics right now... well, I'm not actually terribly interested in the death of Captain America. Not just because he'll be back, but also because I'm just exhausted of anything related to Civil War. I do like the direction for a lot of books that Civil War ignited but I don't think it was worth all of these talented creators giving readers a tired and wildly uneven (and sometimes even contradictory) final product.

I'm much more interested in seeing how 52 ends. I like 52 not only because it's well written, but it's tapping into the kind of things I love about super-hero comics: crazy ideas, the idea you can go anywhere or do anything while retaining the sense of danger and suspense. Luckily, the cast is all B-level characters so there's also a sense the things can be done with them that you can't do with the big iconic characters like Superman and Batman. Also, I really like Booster Gold, an athlete from the future who came to our time and become a super-hero simply to get popular and make money. He's always been kind of a neat character. There are other great ideas working here too: an island inhabited only by mad scientists, Booster using his knowledge of the future to stop crimes before they happen (and covering his uniform in stickers like a NASCAR car.... car) and Lex Luthor's giving ordinary people super-powers (including flight) only to turn them off at midnight on New Year's eve and watching them fall from the sky. Dick.

I'm not necessarily in favour of more weekly series on this scale, but I think that this series was certainly a success for the most part, especially considering this is the first American attempt at a weekly comics series in who knows how long. I'm very interested if all of the stories are in fact interconnected and what the 52 are.

I'd also really like to read SHAZAM!: the Monster Society of Evil, created by Bone creator Jeff Smith. there aren't enough high quality super-hero comics you can give to young readers and Jeff Smith's take on SHAZAM! is exactly the kind of book I want to see. It looks like it has the same humour that made Bone such a great read and has an old fashioned super-hero style that isn't drenched in kitsch. It's just a comic in the vein of the original series: a boy who gets to be a cool grown-up super-hero with a magic word. It's doesn't get any simpler than that.

I'm also excited about what's coming next in Heroes (not a comic, but close enough). I've been let down in ome elements of this show and have been very impressed with others. The origin of HRG (as the fans call him) episode was very impressive (though I have no idea how the crap he survived that much radiation) and was the kind of episode I wanted to see since the series began. I also liked Mohinder taking out Sylar (if just for a short bit) and am quite interested to see where that it heading. I'm just hope that the November explosion is taken care of at the end of this season, because I already want the show to move beyond that. I'm also interested to see if Hiro's father really wanted him to save face for his company or if he was just trying to protect him from "the Company."

I still don't care that much for the Petrelli family. They don't interest me that much. And Linderman's appearence was a bit disappointing (what won't you star in Malcolm MacDowell). I think my biggest beef with this series is that there's a lot of stuff I can see coming that the characters can't. Matt Parkman often strikes me as annoyingly incompetent (I'm never surprised he never made it as a detective). What I love in super-hero comics is seeing super-types doing intering, clever things with their powers. There's some of that (shooting Claire to appease Ted, Sylar telekinetically turning off his IV) but I'd like to see more of that as the series goes on. And some more subtlety. Not many people strike me as subtle on this show. Do something about that.

But now I have to wait a month to see. Crap.