What I bought - 11 May 2005

"Somebody kicked my dog Mavis and I'm gonna find out just who the hell it was. I'm all messed up on cough syrup right now, so just like never mind."

So ... what's up? I was sick all weekend, and somewhat heavily medicated, and I think my evil alter ego must have gotten out of the cage I keep him in deep in my brain. I call him Chilperic. Bad Chilperic! I hope he didn't do anything to piss anyone off ... but if he did, as a peace offering I'll send a pie to anyone who can identify the above quote!*

Here's what found its way into my subscription box this week:

Desolation Jones #1 by Warren Ellis and J.H. Williams III
$2.99, DC/Wildstorm

This is a beautiful book (the two-page "fight" is particularly spectacular) and it's nice to see an Ellis protagonist who's NOT Samuel L. Jackson, but is anyone else worried about Ellis like I'm worried about both him and Morrison? Are they both just trapped in this little "I write like this because of who I am" thing? With someone like Moore, you honestly never know what kind of story you're going to get, and it's usually excellent. I want to see Ellis do a romance. Or a western (not a techno-western, an actual western western). I want to see Morrison do a detective story. I mean, everything we've come to expect from Ellis is here - the tough-as-nails good guy who smokes and drinks a lot, the tough, tattooed female sidekick, the ultra-violence, the weird experiments ... I like the book, and recommend it, but is anyone else wishing these two spread their freakin' wings a little more? I suppose I should be happy that what they like doing isn't crap, but they have too much talent to keep doing this.

Elsinore #1 by Kenneth Lillie-Paetz and Brian Denham
.$75, Alias

The first batch of Alias book FINALLY came out, all for three-quarters of a dollar (nostalgia time for me, as when I started collecting, that's how much pamphlets cost). This was the only one I picked up, because the art on the others looked too cartoonish, and this looked nice and it has a historical bent to it, which always attracts me. The art is kind of like Tony Harris or Eric J, which is a plus. There's a mystery that begins in the plague year of 1665 in London, when mean doctors did some weird thing to one of their own (he volunteered). In the present, a psychiatric hospital holds some strange patients, including one who can conjure solid objects from his own blood and another who attracts lemurs. Yeah, that's right - he's right there on the cover! The staff recruits a new doctor, but they're really continuing whatever work the doctors from 400 years ago were doing. Cue scary music! It's a nice little book, and I will get the next issue to see what happens, but who knows how long it will last, given Alias's well-publicized production problems. Still, it's always good to see another publisher, and this is a nice book.

Fables #37 by Bill Willingham, Mark Buckingham, and Steve Leialoha
$2.50, DC/Vertigo

God, what a gorgeous James Jean cover. I mean really, it's almost unfair to Buckingham, even though the interior art is nice as usual. More fun and games with Boy Blue in Fable-Land, as he defeats a dragon and three knights who serve Baba Yaga, which Blue has a bit of a problem with. A low-level functionary figures out that there's someone in the land who's coming straight for the Adversary, and everything hums nicely along. Come on, it's Fables! Every issue is a treat. It's one of the best books out there right now! Just read it!

GrimJack: Killer Instinct #4 by John Ostrander and Timothy Truman
$3.99, IDW

Worth every penny. Ninja Mimes, for God's sake!!!! Not only that, but the "origin" of Munden's Bar, lots of character insight into Gaunt and Jo Chaney, the mystery deepens, Simone is totally evil, and there's more fighting. But you're not reading anymore, are you? Once you read "Ninja Mimes" you ran out to the comics shoppe to get your copy. Ninja Mimes, people!

Mnemovore #2 by Hans Rodioff, Ray Fawkes, and Mike Huddleston
$2.99, DC/Vertigo

This is one of those series that I hope pays off really well, because I'm liking the set-up. It's just creepy and mysterious enough but with enough hints as to what's happening, and that last page ... ewww. We learn a little more about the creature, from a source introduced in this issue. It's a really neat idea, and I'm looking forward to how it ties in with Kaley and Scott and the thing that's apparently feeding on them. Spooky stuff. Like I said, I hope the pay-off justifies the build-up.

Well, that was quick. It's nice to have a week in which I don't have to take out another mortgage on the house. Have a swell day!

* The management of "Comics Should Be Good" in no way endorses giving out pie. In fact, it is highly likely that the pie does not actually exist. You have been warned.