Good Books, For Free

I know it's been a while since I've posted, and everyone's probably dying to see how my Christmas was, how work is going, and what I think of the Time Person of the Year choice, but all of those topics will have to wait until I get more time to sit down and type.

For now, I've just visited Grabbing Sand, where Thomas scripted a great post about four books--available for free online--that would be great "gateway drugs" for future comic fans. As usual, he was dead on in his reviews and summary, so I started to leave him a comment to say as much. And, as usual, my comment started to get longer than his original post. I suck like that.

I didn't want to hijack his blog with my stupid ramblings, so I figured I may as well take my thoughts back to my own site--you know, the place where I'm SUPPOSED to rant and rave.

Anyway, read the original post here, then come back for my response, below. (The former will be worth your while, but I make no promises about the latter.)

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In response to More Comic Book On-Ramps:

Ironically, of the books he mentions, I just finished reading Morrison's entire Animal Man run, as well as a reprint of the first issue of Sandman. And I finally read the first issue of the new JSA book. I think Grabbing Sand reviewed that weeks and weeks ago, but my shop gave it to me at my last visit. How did he get it so fast (or how did I get it so slow)? Makes me wonder if my shop is holding out on me.

Anyway, I'll have to agree with Thomas's assessments of all of the books on his list. While I think Animal Man is a bit scattershot at times, and often handicapped by Buddy's involvement in Invasion!, JLE, etc., I agree that it was a unique experiment in storytelling and in breaking down the fourth wall. I found the end of Morrison's run a little less than satisfying, but was still intrigued by the direction he was taking things (and he had one of the most interesting letter columns I've ever seen in a superhero book). Sadly (or perhaps not), I didn't read a single issue after Morrison's run.

As for Sandman, again, the review is spot on. The book was a clever re-imagining of an old character that somehow stays true to the original ideas but brings a whole new concept to the fore. I would also agree that the first issue was very different than most of the rest of the series. Not that it was any better or worse, just different.

I haven't read any of the Starman stuff, but I've heard good things and will get to it soon. (I have a list of must-reads that I'm currently working through, which is why I just read Animal Man.)

As for 52, I've been saving the entire series as it comes out, in order to read it as one long book when it's all been published and delivered. Is that a bad idea? Already, I've had some plot points spoiled by things I've read in mags or other comics, so I may be blunting any of the surprises before I even start reading the series. But I tried reading the first three or four issues as they came out, and found that the constant switching between characters meant that each issue only advanced each character's storyline by fractions. This made me feel like I was being teased with a plot while nothing actually happened. It was sort of an extreme case of Brian Michael Bendis's "decompressed storytelling." I thought that reading all fifty-two issues in a row would help with the pacing and keep me more involved in each character's story. I'm not sure how well that will go, but at least it will give me something to read for a few days this spring.

I do have to give props to the DC editorial staff, by the way, for keeping this book on time. From what I've heard, the quality's been there. But even if it wasn't, doing a weekly book of any grade is an accomplishment. They've definitely made Marvel look even worse about all of the Civil War shipping delays.

Anyway, that's my reply. See how I started to ramble? When I copied it from his comment box and pasted it here, I went in and removed any references to "you" (meaning Thomas at Grabbing Sand) so that it would make more sense. Reading it back, it didn't really help all that much.

Christmas updates and other nonsense coming soon. I hope everyone's had a great and healthy holiday season so far, and that you all stay safe this New Year's Eve.