of most excellent fancy

Reading Duel in the Sun, recommended by Shoreturtle. If you are interested in running, sports stories, the decline of two world class athletes, or just an interesting memoir, this is it.

Mice Templar 3
Oeming's art on this series is outstanding, different than Powers yet unique as that is. The coloring is also striking- dark greens and reds.

Y the Last Man 60
The deep post regarding this last issue I wanted to write didn't happen, but my quick thoughts-
I thought it was a melancholy end to the series. Yorick does escape from his straightjacket to see a world of women carrying on. But the clone Yoricks-- the saddest thing is that the one said "humor isn't my strong suit" (or something like that). His humor was the best thing about original Yorick, along with his heart.

The death of Ampersand was heartbreaking. Again, they never got him right in the cloned versions. Hero and Beth1 being a couple was a pleasant and happy surprise. Yorick spending his life with Beth2 and his daughter, but never really loving them, was not as happy.

Thank you Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra (who will now do art on the Doctor Who series! Yes!).

(you'll notice Hamlet does not say "Alas, poor Yorick. I knew him well")

Hamlet:
Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio, a fellow of infinite
jest, of most excellent fancy. He hath bore me on his back a
thousand times, and now how abhorr'd in my imagination it is!
My gorge rises at it.

Hamlet Act 5, scene 1, 179–188

cardboard boxes.

Packing and more packing. Up to episode 11 of Flight of the Conchords before the HBO freebie goes away. Finished Jane Eyre today- clearly ahead of her time with questions of self and independence and marriage and class.

Phillygirl should be happy that The Middleman was optioned for a TV show. If you haven't read the story of the spunky redhead artist and her involvement in a secret spy agency, go find it now!

Finally read some comics-
Buffy Season 8, issue 6
Brian K. Vaughan comic and dramatic voice comes to the Buffy series-- with Faith at the center of the story. I loved hearing Faith's tough girl quotes, and her dialogue with Giles. With 2000 slayers in the world, Gigi is a rich and protected slayer with a Warlock coaching her. Can Faith fake her way into society to get a chance to take her out??

The Boys issue 10
Raunchy as usual, but I haven't been laughing quite as much. The Boys are headed to Russia next, so maybe this storyline will grab me again.

Justice League wedding special
Ollies bachelor party, the league of injustice, the girls dancing on the town. I hated the butt shot cover of Wonder Woman. Otherwise, a workable issue with some villian and good guy fights...

And the last Y had a major development for one character right? These last issues have been so spread out, but the end is 2 issues away. I'm not sure how I feel about that Disturbia boy being Yorick for the film-- at least he seems intelligent.

Moore Lost Girls, other girls

My celebration of Alan Moore and Melinda Gebbie's wedding was to get Lost Girls on ILL, because there ain't no way we'd buy it at our public library. I'm glad another patron asked for it, and I get to look it at for week until it goes back, because I'm sure my tech services branch had a coronary if they flipped through it. So far, I've read a few pages, but the pastel based children's type illustrations are not my cup of tea-- more on it later.

Birds of Prey 105. More fangirl squees over the combination of the new BOP and the Secret Six. Hawkgirl, and Harley Quinn (Philly Girl!) driving up saying 'Hey, half-naked fellas and top-heavy lady!'. Just makes me grin.

I stopped reading All Star Batman and Robin 5, and wouldn't have bought the Wonder Woman heiny issue. Now that hear the content (WW just wants to bang Superman!) , so glad I passed. Issue 6 does have that adorable Batgirl cover though...

I did buy World War Hulk 106, and was glad to see it's focus on She-Hulk. Not sure I'll follow the whole series.

Tag 3 deepens the story for Ed, the Tag survivor who is traveling around to piece the Tag history together. It's detective novel, or reporter thriller, but it works. Drawn by Chee, written by Mike Leib, Ed's a below-average type who gets the girl- of course it all turns on him. A minor complaint, but a la Identity Crisis and other , the girl goes batty and screws up the boys life.

Y 56!! Inevitable reunion, but a bit anticlimatic. 355 gives a scarf to Yorick, signaling the (temp) end of their road. Only 4 more issues of my favorite series ever.

Supermodel garbagewoman

Written by Brian K. Vaughan ; Art by Goran Sudzuka and José Marzan Jr.; Cover by Massimo Carnevale

In Y the last man 53, we return to the very first person to reveal Yorick as a man- the ex-supermodel now garbagewoman who disposes of the male corpses. Y has always been an interesting experiment of gender politics, and the question of what all the strippers, models, happy ending massagers and Coors light commercial twins would do if all the men and their attention was gone is a fascinating one. I love the scenario that women who learned something- scientists, miltary types, farmers would be of the most use to a new society.

Of course, there is still a place for those who sell their bodies. We meet a 'working girl' who dresses up like a man for other women. Waverly, our ex model has been creating a new life picking up remains, and her path crosses with Yorick's mom. Her final speech that "the day of selling our tits and ass are over" and that they have "a shot to be more than everyone used to see us as. We can be more than just bodies." I really enjoyed this issue.


X-23 issue 2
WRITER: CRAIG KYLE CHRISTOPHER YOST PENCILS: MICHAEL CHOI
Speaking of kiss-ass women, here's a rarity-- a Marvel title I am really enjoying. I raved about the art last review, but this issue added a young Captain America and Daredevil that added another element. Laura starts a friendship with Megan, and her first day in school is just a riot while she interacts with her teachers. But a big cloud of dread hangs over these fun experiences, and we know our girl can not just have a normal life.

Hero genre mash-ups

I read Slate most days for political and social content. I was happy to see this frontwebpage article on Comics that reinvent the superhero genre.

Mary Jane's image from Spider-man loves Mary Jane is the cover image, and the list includes some of my fav's from recent years: Love Fights, Living in Infamy, Ex Machina, Astro City, and the evercool SMLMJ. Although McKeever is planning to depart the title also, so a new writer and David Hahn as new artist-- let's hope the new team can carry on at the same level.

Reading the most recent Girls last night gave me the normal eye raising and moments of humor. The cover of issue 24, the series finale is here. Man, will I miss Y and Girls. They have been great reads that I look forward to, and have for years. And 52 at issue 37.

70 titles per month from DC

DC Comics month to month sales figures

There are some really interesting tidbits on DC sales to ponder here- see if your DC or Vertigo titles get comments like "harsh drop" or "declining, due to fickleness" It's a different keyhole to peek through as a fan, but most of the numbers synch with our feelings on titles- delays cause lost interest (Wonder Woman), some restarts didn't work (The Flash).

'it can’t gloss over the fact that 52 and Justice League of America appear to be the only major successes in the publisher’s stable right now. Other recent relaunches, such as Wonder Woman and Flash: The Fastest Man Alive, are dropping down the chart at an alarming rate. New high-profile creative teams on Action Comics and Superman are commercial disappointments so far.'

Re: my favorite line Vertigo:
At Vertigo, the monthly direct market sales continue to look bleak. While Fables and Y: The Last Man remain as strong as ever and the spin-off Jack of Fables appears to be successfully establishing itself as a much-needed third flagship, shifting upwards of 20K every month, there’s not much else.

Teasing out some titles I read---
11/2006: 52 Week 30 — 102,576 (- 0.1%)

11/2006: Birds of Prey #100 — 34,607 (+13.9%)

11/2006: The Boys #5 — 26,842 (+ 8.0%)

11/2006: Mystery in Space #3 of 8 — 25,804 (-10.3%)

11/2006: Y: The Last Man #51 — 25,606 (-4.5%)

11/2006: The Creeper #4 of 6 — 18,492 (-12.5%)

11/2006: DMZ #13 — 14,228 (- 2.8%)

Nice to see this about The Exterminators, which I don't read, but friend of my MidJersey Comicon Mike Hawthorne is mentioned..
Holding level as guest artist Mike Hawthorne steps in. Issue #13 begins a four-part storyline, so The Exterminators should be safe until #16 at least.

This is a surprise to me:
11/2006: The All-New Atom #5 — 25,569 (-10.1%)
Another commercial disaster.