Some more shots from across the country. This week, statues. Enjoy.
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| Terry Fox Memorial, Ontario |
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| Winnipeg, Ontario |
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| Calgary, Alberta |
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| Stratford, Ontario |
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Northern Exposure Thursday #4
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Pick of the Week 14/3/12
This week the pick was chosen by a matter of inches. Saga reverberated with me emotionally, Thief of Thieves captured the thrills, and Saucer Country reminded me of what I loved as a kid. As such, here are this weeks picks filled with aliens, world wars, dinosaurs, and crime.
Saga #1 (Pick of the Week): The elephant in the room for comic releases this week. What do I say? Was it fun? Absolutely. Was it smart? No doubt. This new sci-fi-fantasy epic by Vaughan and Staples has been heralded as the second coming of creator-owned comics (or third, but who's keeping count?). There's a fair number of strange things at play during the first oversized issue: a cat lie-detector, a unicorn-woman, and erectile dysfunction in the form of a tv-headed alien. Drawn with a strangeness and familiarity, Fiona Staples makes the triumphant first issue a regular romp across the cosmos. The heart of the story, however, stays true to its two charming protagonists, Alana and Marko, and their new baby girl Hazel. The choice at making the book narrated from the point of view of Hazel is an inspired choice and while Vaughan has always been smart at adding references to his work that play between satire and metafiction, Saga continues the trend. Hazel's narration allows the reader to acknowledge that no, this isn't a "comic-book" story about pinning the future on a young girl. Vaughan reminds us the stakes aren't the galaxy, but this new family, and as such the universe can wait -- because there's nothing more compelling than people looking out for each other.
Team: Brian K. Vaughan, Fiona Staples.
Saucer Country #1: My "aliens and conspiracy theories" phase came and went before I was out of my teens. Saucer Country reminds me why those stories were so fascinating while promising to be something new. Most science-fiction stories involving alien abduction focus on the "out there" -- the hunt for truth versus fiction, Mulder. Exceptional tales, like Saucer Country, mirror external search with the "in there" of the subject's mind. Is Governor Alvarado the victim of alien probing, or could her abuse-survivor trauma be the source of fantastical explanations? The best thing about reading Saucer Country is I don't know what to expect. Alien abductions seem to be done-to-death fare but with a female character that has the means (and courage) to push herself to the highest level of government to find the truth, I'll be sticking around to see where this goes, plus Ryan Kelly on art isn't too shabby either. Special MVP credit to Giulia Brusco on colours for making the entire book ooze green suspense.
Team: Paul Cornell, Ryan Kelly, Giulia Brusco.
Peter Panzerfaust #2: Panzerfaust wins the "Han Solo" moment of the year for the "I Surrender" page. A strong follow up to the first issue, the structure feels far more polished. The players are spoken for and the plan is set, both clarified to the reader through light exposition and solid visual clues. Wiebe's writing comes across are authentic in the boy's speech and Jenkin's art is at its finest when it plays within the broken boundaries of a panel grid. As a war story my expectation is that in time the book will stray away from its cleaner depiction of war-torn streets and begin to explore the damage of mass-rubble, but I'll be damned if Peter and the boys haven't already racked up a remarkable body count. Panzerfaust remains a boyish thrill that makes subtle reference to its source material while providing the great poses, world-building, and smart cliffhangers that comics are known for.
Team: Kurtis Wiebe, Tyler Jenkins.
Thief of Thieves #2: After an underwhelming first issue, issue two gets to the meat of what the story's about. Giving up his life of crime, Conrad spends the issue trying to rebuild the bridge with his ex-wife while reminiscing over a previous heist. Smothered in the beautifully coloured pages by artist Shawn Martinbrough and colorist Felix Serrano, Nick Spencer's tale goes against a common crime convention: the last heist. Courage and money won't win back love where it might have before (shown in the flashback heist's robbing of a diamond store to steal an engagement ring). Little surprises like Conrad's wife being the getaway driver or her being pregnant give the story a pump of life that drives home the cover's tagline: "There is nothing he can't steal... Nothing he can't have... except for the life he left behind".
Team: Robert Kirkman, Nick Spencer, Shawn Martinbrough, Felix Serrano.
Demon Knights #7: The siege against our heroes has come and failed, and if the team's struggle to buy time should be a mirror to my reading the book, they JUST held out. The cunning of Vandal Savage, heroism of Jason Blood/Etrigan, and revival of Madame Xanadu were more than enough to get my heart racing. The art by Diogenes Neves remains insanely detailed and makes it unfair to other artists who leave blank backgrounds. The siege itself has been slow moving and the introduction of all the characters and probably would have been better to read in trade. That said, Cornell still demonstrates enough charm to make the book an enjoyable read (even if upon reflection things ponder on a little too long). Loud, fun, and fierce, the next arc will be something I pick up in trade.
Team: Paul Cornell, Diogenes Neves, Robson Rocha, Oclair Albert.
Batwoman #7: Kate Kane's villains are proving to become modern revivals of those stories told to scare young children. Whereas Batman's rogues reflect the shattered psyche, Batwoman's luxuriate in the myth of urban legend: the Man with the Hook, White Queen, Bloody Mary, the Weeping Woman, and Killer Croc? It makes sense when you think about alligators in the sewers. It's a fascinating little bundle of foes. For the rest of the book the chronology and pacing continue to suffer some minor nitpicks. The bouncing between the "now" and the "weeks"/"days" ago does does little to escalate the drama. It's a rule of writing to keep the stakes high and tension moving, but by straddling several timeframes (and character relationships) the book speeds through rather loosely with the indication of where the dramatic beats should be. Instead, things just keep piling on and getting bigger and aa result of this, the story just kind of feels there, growing without an immediate emotional core.
Team: J.H. Williams III, W. Haden Blackman, Amy Reeder.
Until next week.
 |
| Four of these books banded together to create Blur |
Saga #1 (Pick of the Week): The elephant in the room for comic releases this week. What do I say? Was it fun? Absolutely. Was it smart? No doubt. This new sci-fi-fantasy epic by Vaughan and Staples has been heralded as the second coming of creator-owned comics (or third, but who's keeping count?). There's a fair number of strange things at play during the first oversized issue: a cat lie-detector, a unicorn-woman, and erectile dysfunction in the form of a tv-headed alien. Drawn with a strangeness and familiarity, Fiona Staples makes the triumphant first issue a regular romp across the cosmos. The heart of the story, however, stays true to its two charming protagonists, Alana and Marko, and their new baby girl Hazel. The choice at making the book narrated from the point of view of Hazel is an inspired choice and while Vaughan has always been smart at adding references to his work that play between satire and metafiction, Saga continues the trend. Hazel's narration allows the reader to acknowledge that no, this isn't a "comic-book" story about pinning the future on a young girl. Vaughan reminds us the stakes aren't the galaxy, but this new family, and as such the universe can wait -- because there's nothing more compelling than people looking out for each other.
Team: Brian K. Vaughan, Fiona Staples.
Saucer Country #1: My "aliens and conspiracy theories" phase came and went before I was out of my teens. Saucer Country reminds me why those stories were so fascinating while promising to be something new. Most science-fiction stories involving alien abduction focus on the "out there" -- the hunt for truth versus fiction, Mulder. Exceptional tales, like Saucer Country, mirror external search with the "in there" of the subject's mind. Is Governor Alvarado the victim of alien probing, or could her abuse-survivor trauma be the source of fantastical explanations? The best thing about reading Saucer Country is I don't know what to expect. Alien abductions seem to be done-to-death fare but with a female character that has the means (and courage) to push herself to the highest level of government to find the truth, I'll be sticking around to see where this goes, plus Ryan Kelly on art isn't too shabby either. Special MVP credit to Giulia Brusco on colours for making the entire book ooze green suspense.
Team: Paul Cornell, Ryan Kelly, Giulia Brusco.
Peter Panzerfaust #2: Panzerfaust wins the "Han Solo" moment of the year for the "I Surrender" page. A strong follow up to the first issue, the structure feels far more polished. The players are spoken for and the plan is set, both clarified to the reader through light exposition and solid visual clues. Wiebe's writing comes across are authentic in the boy's speech and Jenkin's art is at its finest when it plays within the broken boundaries of a panel grid. As a war story my expectation is that in time the book will stray away from its cleaner depiction of war-torn streets and begin to explore the damage of mass-rubble, but I'll be damned if Peter and the boys haven't already racked up a remarkable body count. Panzerfaust remains a boyish thrill that makes subtle reference to its source material while providing the great poses, world-building, and smart cliffhangers that comics are known for.
Team: Kurtis Wiebe, Tyler Jenkins.
Thief of Thieves #2: After an underwhelming first issue, issue two gets to the meat of what the story's about. Giving up his life of crime, Conrad spends the issue trying to rebuild the bridge with his ex-wife while reminiscing over a previous heist. Smothered in the beautifully coloured pages by artist Shawn Martinbrough and colorist Felix Serrano, Nick Spencer's tale goes against a common crime convention: the last heist. Courage and money won't win back love where it might have before (shown in the flashback heist's robbing of a diamond store to steal an engagement ring). Little surprises like Conrad's wife being the getaway driver or her being pregnant give the story a pump of life that drives home the cover's tagline: "There is nothing he can't steal... Nothing he can't have... except for the life he left behind".
Team: Robert Kirkman, Nick Spencer, Shawn Martinbrough, Felix Serrano.
Demon Knights #7: The siege against our heroes has come and failed, and if the team's struggle to buy time should be a mirror to my reading the book, they JUST held out. The cunning of Vandal Savage, heroism of Jason Blood/Etrigan, and revival of Madame Xanadu were more than enough to get my heart racing. The art by Diogenes Neves remains insanely detailed and makes it unfair to other artists who leave blank backgrounds. The siege itself has been slow moving and the introduction of all the characters and probably would have been better to read in trade. That said, Cornell still demonstrates enough charm to make the book an enjoyable read (even if upon reflection things ponder on a little too long). Loud, fun, and fierce, the next arc will be something I pick up in trade.
Team: Paul Cornell, Diogenes Neves, Robson Rocha, Oclair Albert.
Batwoman #7: Kate Kane's villains are proving to become modern revivals of those stories told to scare young children. Whereas Batman's rogues reflect the shattered psyche, Batwoman's luxuriate in the myth of urban legend: the Man with the Hook, White Queen, Bloody Mary, the Weeping Woman, and Killer Croc? It makes sense when you think about alligators in the sewers. It's a fascinating little bundle of foes. For the rest of the book the chronology and pacing continue to suffer some minor nitpicks. The bouncing between the "now" and the "weeks"/"days" ago does does little to escalate the drama. It's a rule of writing to keep the stakes high and tension moving, but by straddling several timeframes (and character relationships) the book speeds through rather loosely with the indication of where the dramatic beats should be. Instead, things just keep piling on and getting bigger and aa result of this, the story just kind of feels there, growing without an immediate emotional core.
Team: J.H. Williams III, W. Haden Blackman, Amy Reeder.
Until next week.
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Northern Exposure Thursday #4
This week's instalment is in honour of another great issue of Animal Man. Have your pet spayed or neutered and enjoy some hipster-shots from across Canada.
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| Ottawa, Ontario. |
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| Winnipeg, Manitoba |
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| Vancouver, British Columbia |
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| Nakoda Lodge, Alberta |
Pick of the Week 7/3/2012
Transformations, some through fire.
Swamp Thing #7 (Pick of the Week): Even after defeating the rising threat of boy-herald-of-doom William Arcane, Alec Holland is having a terrible go of things. Forced to make the decision of whether to change into a monster to fight monsters is not an easy chase, or one devoid of high stakes. Nature is burning, the princess has been kidnapped and warped into a mirror-evil, and the influence of the Rot continues to spread. It's when things get THIS bad the reader can expect to feel an emotional battle-cry when the protagonist puts their foot down with a commanding "enough is enough" bravado. Snyder and Paquette do an excellent job transforming Holland into the big-green monster without giving too much away, the jolly green force of nature being treated as exotic and hidden from the reader as much as possible. There is no last-page stinger of Swampy revealed, but of Holland going off to make his heroic stand after his monstrous-new-form scares the agents of the Rot (who are no pushovers themselves). By showing the reader the intense carnage of the Rot, the choice to hide Holland's monstrous form takes the character back to its roots in horror comics. Toes curled in excitement for next month's instalment.
Team: Scott Snyder, Yanick Paquette. A deal with the devil.
Animal Man #7: Perhaps my second favorite issue since the series started seven months ago. Having so much in common with the fight against the Rot, the series feels at its most unique when its replicating the emotion of family life. There are flash-forwards to a possible future-war (in which Buddy Baker's daughter Maxine becomes a threatening badass) but the scenes with Buddy's non-powered son Cliff and the pair's lurking around town that sells the book for me. Buddy and Ellen's attempts to raise their children is like, to make use of a pun, herding cats. I'll admit, even though parents and their kids bump heads in fits of ego there's nothing more rewarding than having your dad swoop in and steal the scene making you both look cool. Steve Pugh continues to take over art duties from Travel Foreman and does well drawing people but lacks the visceral horror and of Foreman's monsters of Rot.
Team: Jeff Lemire, Steve Pugh, Travel Foreman, Jeff Huet.
Manhattan Projects #1: A nifty little concept made better by some great storytelling decisions. Notable for the twin-timelines of two men, the swapping of which comes as a great a twist on the story as any. What happens when the world's greatest scientist-turned-pacifist gets swapped for a homicidal maniac? Time will tell. Robots and b-level science fiction fun done at the a-level, Manhattan Projects is a great first instalment for a new creator-owned gem. Plus, Einstein.
Team: Jonathan Hickman, Nick Pitarra, Chris Peter, Rus Wooton.
Fatale #3: Despite a ridiculous number of reprints I find anxious myself to wash myself of this series, but keep pulling along in the hopes things will improve. Each time the next issue comes out I find that I have to go back and read the first few out of sheer confusion over what exactly is going on (a problem I've never had with a series before). Longtime collaborators Brubaker and Phillips have hit a snag with their recent series by perhaps thinking too far ahead. Brubaker's writing pushes two stories (one then, one now) together to explore a femme fatale gifted with mysterious powers from an even more mysterious force. The conflict that arises is that there are a lot of balls in play: from police drama to cults to the fatale to the modern incident to men with glasses to demons, ect. Reading Fatale leaves me with the sensation of bumbling around in the dark and able to grab onto some beautiful granite countertops but unable to glean anything remarkable about them. Phillip's reliance on drawing the same face with different hair is also beginning to show.
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| Trees on fire, labs on fire, all's clear, and car's on fire. |
Swamp Thing #7 (Pick of the Week): Even after defeating the rising threat of boy-herald-of-doom William Arcane, Alec Holland is having a terrible go of things. Forced to make the decision of whether to change into a monster to fight monsters is not an easy chase, or one devoid of high stakes. Nature is burning, the princess has been kidnapped and warped into a mirror-evil, and the influence of the Rot continues to spread. It's when things get THIS bad the reader can expect to feel an emotional battle-cry when the protagonist puts their foot down with a commanding "enough is enough" bravado. Snyder and Paquette do an excellent job transforming Holland into the big-green monster without giving too much away, the jolly green force of nature being treated as exotic and hidden from the reader as much as possible. There is no last-page stinger of Swampy revealed, but of Holland going off to make his heroic stand after his monstrous-new-form scares the agents of the Rot (who are no pushovers themselves). By showing the reader the intense carnage of the Rot, the choice to hide Holland's monstrous form takes the character back to its roots in horror comics. Toes curled in excitement for next month's instalment.
Team: Scott Snyder, Yanick Paquette. A deal with the devil.
Animal Man #7: Perhaps my second favorite issue since the series started seven months ago. Having so much in common with the fight against the Rot, the series feels at its most unique when its replicating the emotion of family life. There are flash-forwards to a possible future-war (in which Buddy Baker's daughter Maxine becomes a threatening badass) but the scenes with Buddy's non-powered son Cliff and the pair's lurking around town that sells the book for me. Buddy and Ellen's attempts to raise their children is like, to make use of a pun, herding cats. I'll admit, even though parents and their kids bump heads in fits of ego there's nothing more rewarding than having your dad swoop in and steal the scene making you both look cool. Steve Pugh continues to take over art duties from Travel Foreman and does well drawing people but lacks the visceral horror and of Foreman's monsters of Rot.
Team: Jeff Lemire, Steve Pugh, Travel Foreman, Jeff Huet.
Manhattan Projects #1: A nifty little concept made better by some great storytelling decisions. Notable for the twin-timelines of two men, the swapping of which comes as a great a twist on the story as any. What happens when the world's greatest scientist-turned-pacifist gets swapped for a homicidal maniac? Time will tell. Robots and b-level science fiction fun done at the a-level, Manhattan Projects is a great first instalment for a new creator-owned gem. Plus, Einstein.
Team: Jonathan Hickman, Nick Pitarra, Chris Peter, Rus Wooton.
Fatale #3: Despite a ridiculous number of reprints I find anxious myself to wash myself of this series, but keep pulling along in the hopes things will improve. Each time the next issue comes out I find that I have to go back and read the first few out of sheer confusion over what exactly is going on (a problem I've never had with a series before). Longtime collaborators Brubaker and Phillips have hit a snag with their recent series by perhaps thinking too far ahead. Brubaker's writing pushes two stories (one then, one now) together to explore a femme fatale gifted with mysterious powers from an even more mysterious force. The conflict that arises is that there are a lot of balls in play: from police drama to cults to the fatale to the modern incident to men with glasses to demons, ect. Reading Fatale leaves me with the sensation of bumbling around in the dark and able to grab onto some beautiful granite countertops but unable to glean anything remarkable about them. Phillip's reliance on drawing the same face with different hair is also beginning to show.
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Northern Exposure Thursday #3
This week's shots from across Canada.
This week's theme is a continuation of last week's graffiti and wall murals. Enjoy.
This week's theme is a continuation of last week's graffiti and wall murals. Enjoy.
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| Montreal, Quebec |
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