This week, I'll revel in comics history, and probably some other crap

Quick TV/DVD review: Battlestar Galactica: The Plan is sort of a victory lap for the TV show, one last chance to go back and relive the glory, or something like that. The idea is to see the Cylons' point of view of the story (and to explain the "they have a plan" caption from the beginning of each episode, although that plan turns out to be "kill all the surviving humans", which isn't exactly a revelation), although in practice, it ends up being like one of those comics series (Untold Tales of Spider-Man, say) where creators go back and tell what happened in between early issues of the original series. How did Sam form his band of freedom fighters? What exactly was going on with Boomer in the first season when she didn't realize she was a Cylon? You don't have to wonder; now you see every moment that we didn't see originally! There's something to be said for ambiguity, I think, and pretty much all of the "revelations" here were easy enough to figure out just by reading between the lines. We do get to see Dean Stockwell give more of his awesomely sneering, derisive, contemptuous lines though, which is always fun, especially when he's getting more and more frustrated at the failures of the other Cylons, and there's a nice emphasis on the scale of the destruction in the Cylon attack, making sure we realize what a horrible genocide it was. The worst bits probably involve some fairly dumb bits involving a memory-restoring elephant figurine and an abrupt realization of humanity's inherent goodness from a version of Stockwell's character, but those aren't that bad. Really, it's an enjoyable visit to the beloved milieu now that the series has ended, which is nice and all, but the great thing about the show was that it was always moving forward, continuing on to new plots and shifting status quos (status qui? Statuses quo? I don't speak latin), so it's kind of against the whole grain of the series to go back and revisit the past like this. But hey, I watched it, so I imagine plenty of other fans will also jump at the chance.

Back to your regularly-scheduled programming:

New comics this week (Wednesday, 11/11/09):

Anchor #2

As I mentioned the other day, I enjoyed the first issue of this Phil Hester/Brian Churilla series a good deal, and here's the second one already. This time out, our man fights some sort of supernatural huntsman on a horse preserve in England. I bet it will be awesome.

Authority The Lost Year Reader

Grant Morrison's run on The Authority didn't last long, but the story it started is finally going to get completed, although with Keith Giffen writing (from Morrison's plot, presumably) and Darick Robertson illustrating. I don't know how well that will work, but it might be interesting. Anyway, here's a double-issue reprint of those first two Morrison issues, with art by Gene Ha, so you can know what the hell is going on. I remember liking the first one (especially Ha's gorgeous art), but the second being a real letdown. We'll see if anything comes of this, but I kind of doubt it.

Batman and Robin #6

And speaking of Morrison, here's another one he wrote, and the last issue illustrated by Phillip Tan, which should make everyone rejoice, since Cameron Stewart and Frazier Irving will be taking over. Hell, I'll even start reading again at that point. I guess this is the last part of the Red Hood arc, if anybody cares. Enjoy, Bat-addicts.

Batman Doc Savage Special #1

On the other hand, here's the launch of another DC thing, with Batman thrown in to goose interest. Brian Azzarello writes and Phil Noto draws a revival of the old pulp hero, who I think will be joined by characters like The Shadow and The Spirit in the eventual ongoing series. I never know how Azzarello is going to work out on superhero-ish stuff, but if he's going for a pulp/crime feel, it could be good. As for Noto, he seems like an odd fit, since his stuff is usually kind of light and airy, rather than shadowy and grim. We'll see what happens, I guess.

Black Coat Or Give Me Death #1 & #2 Double-Sized

I haven't read any of this series about a masked American Revolution-era spy, but it does seem pretty cool, and the art has been by talents like Gabriel Hardman and Francesco Francavilla. This appears to be either a reprint or a double-issue kickoff of a new miniseries, so maybe it's a jumping-on point? Ben Lichius writes, and Francavilla illustrates the first issue, while Dean Kotz draws the second. Maybe I'll read it someday.

Chronicles of Wormwood Last Battle #2

Garth Ennis' continuing adventures of the Antichrist continue. Violence and profanity abound, I bet.

Citizen Rex #5

One more issue of Gilbert (and Mario) Hernandez's wacky sci-fi series to go after this one, and then I can start whining about a collection. I do so want to read this; don't let me down, Beto!

Comic Book Comics #4

Always the book of the week when this comes out, this comic about the history of comics is consistently awesome, entertaining, and educational. This issue is about the rise of Marvel Comics, along with R. Crumb and the undergrounds and Herge's Tintin. Fred Van Lente, Ryan Dunlavey, hilarity. It will be good, I declare it.

DMZ #47

Wow, almost 50 issues of this series already. I don't know what's going on in this issue, but I'll guess that Matty whines and acts like a dick, while awful shit happens in New York and political forces callously fuck around with people's lives. Good times.

Fables #90

Same here, I don't know what's going on, but I'm always excited to find out. I don't have any predictions though, although I know this current arc is about the various Fabletown witches. It's magical!

Ghoul #1

It's the latest Steve Niles/Berni Wrightson joint, about a supernatural mystery in Los Angeles and the freakish detective of the title who will solve it. I'm never sure about Niles' writing, but Wrightson's art is pretty much always awesome. Maybe worth a look, says I.

Hellboy The Wild Hunt #8

Mignola and Fegredo finally finish the latest Hellboy adventure, and while I don't know if I'll understand it, I do want to read it, so let's have a collection soon, please.

Muppet Show Treasure of Peg Leg Wilson #4

Roger Langridge finishes the latest Muppets miniseries, and I bet it's hilarious and fun and all the usual adjectives people ascribe to it. I still need to finish reading the last miniseries, and then I'll get to this one, and laugh and laugh and marvel at how good it is.

Pope Hats #1

I guess this comic by Ethan Rilly is finally coming out, at least in the direct market, but I read and reviewed it back in June. It's pretty good, one of those quirky comics about single twentysomethings, with some nice cartooning and funny dialogue. I hope the second issue shows up before too long. Read it, if you can tear yourself away from Green Lantern and his worshipful buddies.

Punishermax #1

It's the umpteenth relaunch of the Punisher, or one of his series, with a terrible title and an attempt at replicating Garth Ennis' style, sort of. Jason Aaron writes, and he's introducing mainstream Marvel characters like the Kingpin and Bullseye, but retaining the "adult" feel of the MAX version of the book, with lots of swearing and gory violence, all rendered in gross detail by Steve Dillon, whose art is probably the element most reminiscent of Ennis (even if he hasn't worked on the MAX version of the character before). The first issue isn't bad, although it focuses almost entirely on the bad guys rather than the title character. As can be said of most comics these days, we'll see how it goes.

Richard Moore The Pound

I'm always leery of releases from Antarctic Press, since they all seem like bad manga wannabes, but Richard Moore (of The Boneyard) is a pretty good cartoonist, so this might be one to check out. It's about genetically engineered chimera mercenaries...in spaaace! Neat? Maybe? Or maybe it's just furry porn...

Sky Doll Factory #1

Didn't Marvel already do one of these "behind the scenes" things? Or did I imagine that. Anyway, rather than being the next issue of the series (which isn't even out in Europe yet, as far as I know), this is one of those "artbooks", with lots of design material and background information. I don't know if the series was popular enough to merit something like this, but if you dug the pervy adventures of a space robo-prostitute (I actually did like the first issue), go for it.

Strange #1

Marvel's latest revival of Dr. Strange, although since they've turned him into a depowered loser, it's not really the same; shouldn't he be the awesome multi-dimensional, all-powerful magical hero? Actually, this one isn't bad; the issue sees him play baseball against a team of demons in order to save some souls and whatnot. Enjoyably witty writing by Mark Waid, nice slightly manga-ish art by Emma Rios (kinda like Amy Reeder Hadley's work on Madame Xanadu), a pretty good time to be had. Could be worse.

Supergod #1

It's the latest reimagined superhero thing from Warren Ellis at Avatar, sort of a superhero-as-religion taken to the extreme, with spandex dudes worshiped as deities and taking apocalyptic revenge against humanity, or something. I bet it's entertaining; maybe I'll read it when it's collected. Art is by Garrie Gastony, whom I've never heard of, but probably fits Avatar's house style, if I were to guess. Let's hope this is good; it seems like it's been a while since Ellis did something that blew me away.

SWORD #1

Another interesting Marvel book, this one follows the adventures of the Joss Whedon-created organization that defends Earth from extra-terrestrial threats. You've got Agent Brand, the X-Men's Beast, Lockheed, and others dealing with wacky aliens and Earthbound bureaucracy; it's pretty enjoyable, judging by this first issue. Kieron Gillen writes, with some cute, cartoony art by Steven Sanders (along with a backup story about the fate if Kitty Pryde drawn by Jamie McKelvie), and it looks to be a fast-paced, character-driven take on the wild, intergalactic corner of the Marvel universe. Give it a look, if that sounds like your bag.

Tracker #1

Top Cow is another publisher that I almost automatically avoid, but this series about a werewolf FBI agent doesn't look bad. Maybe they're getting away from the "scantily-clad girls plus demons and tentacles" genre. Anyway, Jonathan Lincoln writes, Francis Tsai draws, Darick Robertson provides a variant cover, and I will probably forget about the book's existence by tomorrow.

Wall-E #0

Here's Boom!'s latest Pixar comic, although it's one that doesn't seem to lend itself to a spin-off very well, if you ask me. We got all the information we needed in the movie, didn't we? This is apparently a prequel, seeing the cute li'l robot's beginnings as a junk compactor/collector on the dead Earth. So, basically an expanded version of the first 10 minutes of the film. Possibly enjoyable, but pretty much the definition of inessential.

We Kill Monsters #5

I mentioned Brian Churilla above, and here's the other comic he works on, about which I've heard good things. I think it's a miniseries that ends with the next issue, so maybe I'll have to watch for a collected version.

Absolute Justice HC

Another week, another gigantic, expensive version of a comic that doesn't merit the presentation. I can still hate on Alex Ross, right? Isn't that still fashionable? I've actually never read this series, and it did look kind of entertaining, in a bombastic, overserious, shiny way, but as I always say, there's no way it's worth $100. No way. So since everybody listens to my advice nobody will buy it and DC can stop doing these things. Problem solved.

A Christmas Carol HC By IDW

And so begins the onslaught of Christmas books (see plenty more below). I can't find much information about this, but it appears to be a comics adaptation of the classic Charles Dickens story, although it's not "by" IDW, they're just publishing it. It's written by Patrice Buendia with art by Jean-Marc Stainer, and it's a 64-page hardcover for $15. Not the best deal, methinks, even for a version of that story. It's probably preferable to the Jim Carrey abomination though.

Beast GN

I thought this had already come out, but maybe not. It's a new graphic novel from Marian Churchland, who is probably best known for illustrating some issues of Elephantmen (she's also Brandon Graham's girlfriend, for those who care), and it's a sort of retelling of "Beauty and the Beast", with a girl who is a sculptor completing a work for a strange, shadowy monster type of fellow. I've read about half of it in PDF form, and I should really finish it, because it's quite good. Hopefully I'll have a review up at Comics Bulletin before too long. Check it out, if you get the chance. Here's a preview.

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep HC Vol 1

It's the first collection of Boom!'s adaptation of Philip K. Dick's novel, with four more to follow, I believe. There's no credited writer (other than Dick), since the full text of the book is being used (which explains the length), but the art is by Tony Parker, and based on the one issue I read, it's decent enough, but nothing revolutionary. I would recommend the novel if you haven't read it before, but it's not a bastardization or anything, so unless you don't want to have it visualized for you (and it's too late for that anyway, what with Blade Runner and all), you might want to give it a look. Maybe. Or don't, I'm not the boss of you.

Escapists TPB

Dark Horse has this new version/printing of the Bryan K. Vaughan/Philip Bond/Steve Rolston/Jason Shawn Alexander/Eduardo Barreto miniseries that spun off from Michael Chabon's The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Klay. It's not bad, although it's not my favorite of Vaughan's works. Give it a read if you missed it, uh huh.

The Fir-Tree GN

More Christmasy stuff, one of a trio of related books from Harper Collins; this is apparently an adaptation of a Hans Christian Andersen story about a tree that dreams of being a Christmas tree. Sounds rather twee, but it's illustrated by Lilli Carre, so that means it's worth a look, at least. I'll try to wait until after Thanksgiving though. Here's a preview.

Gift Of the Magi GN

Harper Collins Christmas book number two: adapting the O. Henry story with art by Joel Priddy. Again, probably worth a look. Preview.

Hot Potatoe HC

From Drawn & Quarterly, it's the new book from Marc Bell, collecting a bunch of his paintings and comics and whatnot. I don't think I've ever actually read any of his comics, but I've seen samples here and there. While it's interesting, and nicely-drawn, I don't know if I like it, since it seems like a bunch of chaotic information without much point. There's no accounting for taste though.

Incredibles Family Matters TP

Collecting the Boom! Studios miniseries that tells the continuing adventures of the superhero family from the movie. I haven't read it, but it looks pretty good. Written by Mark Waid, art by Marcio Takara. It has since been turned into an ongoing series, so good times for all.

Insomnia Cafe HC

So far, M.K. Perker has been the artist for comics written by G. Willow Wilson (Cairo, Air), but he's striking out on his own with this graphic novel from Dark Horse about a rare books expert who discovers an archive of books that are still being written, and a dark conspiracy or something along those lines. Could be good; I'll take a look inside if I see it on shelves.

James Bond Omnibus

This collects a large portion of the newspaper comic strip version of Ian Fleming's superspy, apparently including eleven adventures. It might be worth looking at, but what with 007's adventures being readily available and popular in other media, this might just be a curio for those who used to read the strip or Bond fanatics. Or, you know, people who are excited about this Golden Age of Reprints that we're in.

A Kidnapped Santa Claus GN

Harper Collins Christmas book number three, adapting L. Frank Baum's story. Art by Alex Robinson, which probably makes it a really fun read. Again, here's a preview.

Luna Park HC

The latest entry in the Vertigo Crime line of graphic novels, this one is written by novelist Kevin Baker, with art by Danijel Zezelj that's apparently colored by Dave Stewart (I thought these were all black and white, but who knows). It takes place in early 20th century New York, following a Russian mob enforcer and his prostitute/fortune-teller girlfriend as they try to cheat their employers out of a big haul, or something like that. I don't know about Baker, but Zezelj is a pretty great artist, so I'd love to give this a read sometime, even though I still have yet to read any of these books. Someday, I suppose.

Nylon Road A Graphic Memoir GN

I recently read this book by Iranian ex-pat Parsua Bashi; it's a sort of Persepolis-esque memoir about growing up in Iran, and it's pretty good, if a bit scattered. I'll have a full review up at Comics Bulletin sometime soon, I hope (that is, I've already written it and am just waiting for them to post it. Expect linkage).

Peanuts 60th Anniversary Book

The Schulz love never stops. This "tribute" book will probably contain artwork and reminiscences from various people, and all that jazz. Maybe even actual Peanuts strips; who knows? I'd rather read the actual strip, but this is probably a nice coffee table book, so I can't complain. Why would I? Oh yeah, because I do about everything else.

Pim & Francie In The Golden Bear Days HC

Al Columbia! I don't think I've ever read any of his comics, outside of samples here and there, but I like what I've seen, so here's a chance to get caught up. Lots of freaky-ass disturbing horror and the like, sure to cause nightmares for a long time after reading. Sounds like fun. Here's the usual Fantagraphics slideshow/preview.

Strange Suspense Steve Ditko Arcives HC vol 1

Fanta also has this collection of early Ditko crime and horror comics from 1953-54, before the Comics Code had been established. I bet there's some great stuff in here. You can have a glimpse through another one of those slideshow/previews.

Superman Red Son Deluxe Edition HC

Here's what's often thought to be one of Mark Millar's better works, an Elseworlds story in which Superman landed in Russia and became a Communist enforcer rather than a fighter for truth, justice, and the American Way. It's not bad at all, if you're interested in alternate takes on Superman and that sort of thing. Art's by Dave Johnson and Kieron Dwyer Killian Plunkett, ending by Grant Morrison (as the story goes). $25 is a bit expensive, but that's the way things are these days.

Through The Wire The Words And Lyrics Of Kanye West HC

Looks like the genre of "comics inspired by popular musicians" is going strong, although this is more illustrated text than comics, printing the lyrics of twelve of Kanye's songs with illustrations by famed animator Bill Plympton. Interesting, to say the least. Here's a blog post with one of the illustrations.

Usagi Yojimbo HC Yokai

This is probably already out, but I failed to mention it, so allow me to remedy that. Stan Sakai's first graphic novel in his long-running "rabbit samurai" series, a full-color hardcover from Dark Horse about Usagi running into some ghosts and such. Probably very pretty. Here's a preview.

Wolverine Weapon X Adamantium Men Prem HC Vol 01

If you have to have Wolverine in your comics, this series written by Jason Aaron is probably your best bet, since (so far) it's mostly free of whatever entanglements the larger Marvel universe brings. This first arc saw him fight a bunch of soldiers that had been given healing factors and laser claws and cancer-causing guns. It was pretty fun, if a bit over-serious at some points (Tucker Stone's takedown of the issue in which Wolvie discussed literature with a guy he was trying to kill is pretty funny), with some nice art by Ron Garney. You could certainly do worse when it comes to Marvel superhero comics.

X-Men Wolverine Gambit Prem HC

Like this, for instance. Actually, I've never read it, but it's from the 90s, and it's notable for being an early work from the team of Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale. So it probably looks nice but reads terribly. So, why not package it in an expensive hardcover? Comics fans: willing to shell out lots of money for pure crap every time.

Year Of Loving Dangerously HC

If you think Ted Rall is worth reading but hate the way he draws, here's the book for you, since it's illustrated by Pablo Callejo. Me, I think he's kind of an asshole, so an autobiographical comic about Rall fucking a lot of women and being a general dick doesn't seem like my idea of a good time. He's probably going for the style of one of those addiction memoirs like A Million Little Pieces or Permanent Midnight or The Alcoholic, and who knows, maybe he succeeds, but I don't especially want to read it. But maybe you might, who am I to judge?

Cat Paradise Vol 2 GN

Manga! About cats! Fighting demons! I didn't read volume 1, but maybe I will sometime. And here's volume 2, so I can be behind! Yay!

Ikigami The Ultimate Limit Vol 3 TP

The series about government killing people to motivate them continues. I read and liked the first two, and I've got the third sitting there waiting for me to unwrap the shrink wrap; I imagine it will continue to be pretty good. We'll see, whenever I get around to it.

Inu Yasha VIZBIG Edition Vol 1 TP

I've never read any of this manga, but I have seen an episode of the anime here and there, and it never really did anything for me. But hey, it's Rumiko Takahashi, so it can't be that bad. Like the other books in the VIZBIG line, it's the first three volumes of the series in one, with a larger trim size and color pages and whatnot. I'm not sure if it's still flipped, like I've heard the original localized printing of the series was, or if they've switched to original right-to-left format. If I do get around to reading the series, this is probably the way I'd want to do it.

Jormungand Vol 1 TP

Another release that Viz is trumpeting, this looks to be in the seinen genre, about a team of assassins or mercenaries or something. Hey, I can't complain about cool, violent action comics. I'll read it if I get the chance.

Swans In Space Vol 1 GN

Finally, here's something from the opposite end of the spectrum, a cute kiddie manga published by Udon about girls going to space in a swan-shaped ship to right wrongs and help people out. Sounds super-cute; maybe I'll get it to read to my daughter.

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And I think that is everything of note, and probably then some. Blogging shall commence soon enough, I expect. Be there!

Monster Mash: Love is doomed

Non-Monster stuff first, so skip down to the cover image if you don't want to read my blathering and linkage:  

I haven't talked about Battlestar Galactica around here for the last couple seasons or so, but the final episodes and the lead-up to the finale have been pretty incredible.  And while I don't know if the last installment was perfect, it was probably about as satisfying as it could be, bringing everything to a conclusion and answering about as much as possible.  Some of the long-running mysteries were kind of hand-waved away as "God did it", but the divine has been a long-running aspect of the show, so it's not completely unexpected, and I did like the final nod toward "god" being some sort of alien intelligence rather than an actual deity; it satisfies my atheist urges, even though this is all fiction anyway.  But the best thing about the episode for me was probably the character moments; I teared up at least twice, once early on when President Roslin gave some final thanks to Dr. Cottle, who couldn't figure out how to react, and later on when Adama and Roslin were taking their final flight.  The final scene between Starbuck and Anders wasn't bad either.  Good times all around, with some exciting action and actual finality; I call it a win.

By the way, if you want to read more of my babbling about TV shows, I reviewed last week's Dollhouse at The Factual Opinion.  Man, that episode was terrible.  I still haven't watched the one from last night, but it better be good, or I'm done with this thing.

Links: I gotta point out this excellent review of an old Smurfs comic by Jog; it's an amazing piece of criticism, summarizing the story and enlightening readers by pointing out the Belgian politics that influenced the creators.  If there was a prize for internet criticism, this post would be the one to beat.

Tom Neely posted a nice one-page cover version of the X-Men story where Kitty Pride fought the demon in the mansion, done in the style of Nancy.  It was done for a charity art show; that guy can draw.

Check out Paul Pope's cover for the long-rumored and actually finally upcoming Marvel "indie" anthology!  Damn, that thing is beautiful; I can't wait to see it colored.

And speaking of Pope, DC has announced a new title called Wednesday Comics, and it's a pretty cool concept, replicating the format of old Sunday newspaper comics that took up an entire page, with some great creators involved, including Pope, Mike Allred, Joe Kubert, Kyle Baker (this appears to be where that Hawkman project he's been mentioning is going to see print), Neil Gaiman, Walt Simonson, Ryan Sook, Amanda Conner, and others.  I rarely get interested in new superhero-based projects, but this should be pretty awesome.

And finally, this preview of a new comics-instructional book for kids is charming and fun.  It's called Adventures in Cartooning, it's by James Sturm, Alexis Frederick-Frost, and Andrew Arnold, and it's coming out in April from First Second.  Looks like one to watch out for.

Okay, to the real content.  Watch out for SPOILERS:

Monster, volume 15

By Naoki Urasawa

It seems like I say this for every installment of the series, but wow, a lot happens in this volume.  We see some continued revelations about what's going on with Johan and the conspiratorial machinery that created him and wants to control him, Nina continues to regain her memories (including a somewhat dodgy scene involving hypnosis) and develops a new resolve to stop her brother, Detective Suk and Verdeman (Tenma's lawyer) discover in each other kindred spirits who want to bring out the truth, and Tenma encounters yet another person with a past that has been affected by the conspiracy and a desire for vengeance.  It's all excellent furthering of the plots, although with only three volumes to go, one wonders how Urasawa is going to wrap everything up satisfactorily.  He does seem to be relying on coincidences more and more often, including a scene in which Tenma is trying to escape on foot from the Frankfurt police and is somehow rescued and spirited away (after being knocked unconscious by a car) by somebody who just happens to be associated with his quest.  But at this point, you kind of have to just go with Urasawa's story; it's all or nothing.

And luckily, the emphasis on character overrides any clunkiness of the plot.  The real centerpiece of this volume is what goes on between Eva and her bodyguard Martin; they're both wounded individuals that have built up impressive, seemingly-impenetrable facades, and the moments where their exteriors crack and real emotion shows through is played wonderfully, giving real heart to the story, rather than concentrating solely on the tangled schemes that ensnare everyone.

The emotion starts early, with the first scene in the volume seeing Tenma confront Martin in a bar, only for Martin to beat the snot out of him and tell him to get lost:

Martin seems to have developed some affection for Eva, even though she treats him so scornfully.  But maybe he recognizes some similarities in her, as somebody who has suffered some losses and found her own way of coping.  Not that her methods are very healthy; they seem to consists primarily of constant drinking and mocking rejection of anybody she encounters.  But he managed to get through her shell too, if only by reversing the trajectory of his life and refusing to kill her.  We learn that he has twice seen people he cared for kill themselves when he had to opportunity to stop them.  When Eva expresses similar desires, he doesn't continue the trend; perhaps it's balking at doing the deed himself rather than letting others finish themselves off, but it seems that he has turned over a new leaf, refusing to allow someone to let despair overwhelm them, not if he can help it:

As we learned in last volume's flash-forward, this decision will have dire consequences for him, but it seems to be enough to have jostled Eva out of her drunken, nihilistic state, at least for now.  In a series of heartbreaking scenes, she waits for him at a train station, hoping to run away together, and it's fascinating and sad to watch her familiar look of contempt melt into one of sadness and even possible hope:

And then when she finds out Martin's fate, it turns to sorrow and regret:

Urasawa does such an excellent job with facial expressions that all this emotional information is communicated through the images; the words aren't even necessary to get the full effect of what she is feeling.  It's wrenching stuff.  Following these characters over the course of the series, we feel like we've gotten to know these characters, and we're going through this rocky emotional terrain right along with them.  And luckily, even though this seems like it could be a natural exit point from the series for Eva, it looks like we haven't seen the last of her.  I'm glad; she's turned into one of my favorite characters.

In addition to all this character work, a few important plot points are struck, including the revelation of another major villain of the series.  That would be Peter Capek, who appears to be one of the men behind the Red Rose Mansion, 511 Kinderheim, and the origins of Johan.  And, interestingly, Johan appears to have gained an apprentice, another young man with murderous intentions.  He has a confrontation with Martin that is deliciously freaky, mostly because he seems to be Johan's opposite; where Johan is cool and emotionless, he seems to get a perverse joy out of the idea of death and despair:

It's another counterpoint to Johan's inhumanity; Urasawa seems to be examining the various reasons that people kill each other, from loud displays of passion, to perverse serial killings, to calm and calculated genocidal impulses.  Or maybe he's just coming up with an array of different villains that are all compelling in their own manner.  Whatever the case, it's highly enjoyable to watch them bounce off each other, with the end result almost certain: Johan will execute all of his pale imitators, and only Tenma will be able to stop him, although everyone else, from Nina to Eva to Reichwein to Verdeman, will get involved in the ultimate confrontation.  We'll have to see how that plays out in the final volumes.  The end is not too far off now...

TV non-comments

Not especially keen ones, at least. I watched this the last night, and I felt like I should say something about it, but I'm having trouble gathering my thoughts into any coherence:

Battlestar Galactica, season 3 finale:

(Spoilers, of course).

Kinda like the end of season 2, we got a conclusion (of sorts) to the running plot, and then a setup and cliffhanger for the next season. I must say, I did like the courtroom stuff, especially Lee's monologue about justice. It was a good summary of the series, and kind of an acknowledgement of the problems with serial fiction; he pointed out all the huge plot points and conflicts from past seasons that have nearly been forgotten by now. Interesting, and pretty moving as well. And I do agree with the final verdict, although it was probably a given, since they're not going to have Baltar executed. He's too good a character. Roslin sure seemed bloodthirsty about it though. I guess she wanted revenge for the death squad incident. I guess it's good to not just have everybody be moved by Lee's speech and wrap it all up with hugs.

Okay, enough about that; then we get to the season 4 setup/cliffhanger. Four major characters revealed to be Cylons. Or is it a trick? Who knows. It works for most of them, but raises some questions with Tigh. The Cylons infiltrated the human society 40 years ago? That seems suspect. Or maybe they replaced him somewhere along the line. Huh, I guess questions like these might be answered sometime, but I suspect it's "make it up as you go along" syndrome. I did like the Bob Dylan stuff; that was pretty weird. And then we get the Starbuck scene; as I suspected, she's probably a Cylon. Unless she went through some sort of dimensional warp when we saw her explode. Maybe she has superpowers now or something. And she says she's been to Earth and will lead them there. Interesting. I'm glad to see some progress in the search for Earth, rather than just having it as some possible series-ending event in the undetermined future. And that final zoom was pretty cool. All in all, a pretty good season finale, and I'll be watching the next season whenever it shows up.

Afro Samurai:

Spike reran all five episodes of this series the other night, smashed together into a "movie". I had watched episodes 2-4, so I finally got to see the first one, then fast forward to the last one. It's a pretty fun little series, with tons of cool violence and wacky ideas. Turns out Afro's father used to be the owner of the Number One Headband, so most of his quest was about revenge. But another theme that emerged was his rejection of his adopted family (the master and students that took him in) in pursuit of his quest, and how that rejection caused them all to be killed. That aspect almost overshadowed the main quest. Lots of fun fight scenes, but I still think the freefall fight with Robo-Afro in episode 3 was the coolest. And Samuel L. Jackson's sidekick character turned out to be imaginary, as I suspected. The ending was pretty wild, with a villain who kept fighting after his arms and head had been chopped off, growing a third arm out of his back. Then he impaled Afro through his afro, before being chopped into tiny pieces. Fun! I dug it, but I'm glad I got to watch it on TV for free; I don't think it would be worth whatever the DVD will cost (although I suspect there was some editing for TV; the DVD probably contains nudity from the sex scene in episode 2). It's worth a rental, I guess. Check it out if my description interests you.
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I'm home sick today, so I might get a chance to do some comics reviews, if I feel up to it. Stay tuned.

Tragedy!

I just caught up on a show that I Tivoed, so here's my thoughts:

Battlestar Galactica (episode 3.17):

Wow, I didn't see that coming. Now I kind of understand all the romantic complications that have been dragging along for the middle part of this season. I'm interested to see what comes of this as well. Okay, that's enough for the vague reactions, now it's SPOILER time.

So. Kara. Dead? Probably not. I've been reading comic books (of the superhero variety) long enough to suspect she'll be back. But how? I was beginning to think she might be a Cylon (one of the mysteeerious Final Five!) earlier in the episode, but now it seems like a fairly probable, um, possiblity. You've got the crazy visions, and the weird oracle lady (who I suspect is also a Cylon) repeating word-for-word what the other Cylon (Leonus? I forget his name, even though they said it several times this episode) said to her. Although it's interesting to see that her mother was a veteran of the first Cylon war. Maybe the Cylons fixed her up with an adopted Kara baby (which is an interesting concept in itself). So I'm betting the big cliffhanger in the finale will be the reveal that she's a Cylon. Although they'll probably surprise me.

As I mentioned, her death makes me see all the love quadrangle hoo-hah from earlier in the season in a whole new light. Obviously, if they're going to kill her off (or, as I suspect, keep her around but make a major change to her character and status on the show), they should deal with her relationship with Lee. But it would be too easy to get them together just before killing her off. That would make him a widower and really pile on the angst, which we really don't need. So, while it was dragged out for quite a while, I think I understand the reasons for it now. Nicely done, boys.

As for the prophecy/dream stuff, well, that's kind of a crapshoot anyway. Who knows if the writers even know exactly where they're going with this. But, the vision she was seeing was supposed to be a pointer to Earth, right? So what does it mean, and is she supposed to lead them (either humans or Cylons) to Earth somehow? If she's a Cylon, is this some sort of arcanic programming? I say this because it seems the Cylons apparently don't know who the "Final Five" (I hate that term) are, so they wouldn't know what's going on with her. Ah, who knows. I'm just throwing out ideas here, and they might be stupid ideas anyway.

Anyway, good episode. I'm starting to feel hooked, and I probably haven't been into a show this much since I was a big fan of The X-Files. Keep it up, fellas!

Miscellaneous!!!

I know it's "bad blogger form" to lump several different topics together in one post, but hopefully my reasons for doing this will be made clear in tomorrow's post. Until then...
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TV:

I watched the most recent episode of Battlestar Galactica (3.16) today, and it was a doozy. Or at least, for the type of episode it was, it was very good. We're coming up on the tail end of season 3, and while the show had been in a bit of a mid-season lull, the last few episodes have seen a real rise in quality. This episode raised, or at least expanded upon, an idea of class-consciousness in the fleet, with people from poorer colonies feeling that they were doing all the crappy jobs, while richer types from Caprica were living it up in positions of importance. Hmmm, replace "poorer colonies" with "flyover states", and you've got one of the show's patented metaphorical looks at current events! But even without that aspect, I find it fascinating that the show looks at the social issues that would naturally come up in a fleet that is scraping by with little resources while fleeing a threat. I'm also loving Baltar's new role as a Karl Marx figure, smuggling out propaganda about "the aristocracy" and "the working class" from his prison cell. Great stuff! Next week looks to bring Kara back into the spotlight, and hey, it might even deal with Cylons, who are, you know, the big villain, even though they haven't been seen for like five episodes. I'll be watching.
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Comics:



During the Oscars last night, I read the book Bardin the Superrealist, by Max, a Spanish cartoonist (I had to distract myself during all the speeches and boring stuff, or I would have torn my hair out). It's quite good, but really weird, with a lot of references to Salvador Dali and Luis Buñuel. I would have scanned and posted some stuff, but my wife took it back to the library before I had the chance (by the way, I want to thank her for picking up a lot of the stuff I've been reading lately; she's great). My favorite strip was probably the one paying homage to Dali and Buñuel's Un chien andalou, specifically to the scene with the slashed eyeball (I haven't seen that film, but I've heard enough about it to know the infamous scene). It's a hilarious strip; I laughed out loud at a panel featuring a funeral procession composed of walking eyeballs. Funny stuff. I also liked the various stories about Bardin confronting a pantheon of gods, with the primary god taking the form of Mickey Mouse, except with eyeballs for his head and ears (which kind of reminds me of Grant Morrison's Mickey Eye). I didn't really understand that stuff, but it was cool anyway. So, recommended, although keep in mind that I read it for free.
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Video games:



Finally, I wanted to comment on a new video game I bought, God Hand. I had heard that, while not a great game, it was enjoyably demented, so I picked it up when I saw it for fairly cheap. The game concerns a character who, as you might guess from the title, has the hand of a god, which he uses to beat up a lot of punks. So far, there doesn't seem to be much more to it than that, but in my limited play I've already come across a few examples of insanity: a poison chihuahua (it's green, and, uh, poisonous), a "kick me" sign that the girl sidekick stuck to the main character's bakc, and a couple of bosses who are very flamingly gay. They look like characters from the infamous Cho Aniki series, wearing midriff-baring, feathered, bethonged wrestling singlets and shouting lisped insults at you, calling you things like "brokeback cowboy." Wow. That's the kind of stuff I came for! (pun not intended). I'll keep you up to date if there's anything else in the game worth mentioning.
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Okay, that's it for today. Stay tuned tomorrow for a "special" post!

Quick TV musings

Don't people say that all the time in their blogs? "Musings"? Maybe "thoughts"? Anyway, here's some quick reviews (or whatever) of some shows I recently watched:

Rome, episode 2.5:

This was a pretty good episode, although I'm still not sold on the new actor playing Octavian. Someone said the character was supposed to be 19 in this episode; surely the old actor could have played that age. Weird. I liked his takeover of the senate, which let to more sniveling reaction scenes from Cicero. Probably my favorite part of the episode was when Agrippa rescued Octavia from an, um, unsavory location. When she's forced to admit to Atia that she was at an orgy, Agrippa says, "[It was] the early stages of an orgy! The Bacchic rituals had not yet begun!" And I liked the scene with Antony and the general he defeated, then recruited. James Purefoy is a good scenery-chewer. And then there was the odd reunion at the end of the episode; weren't Octavian and Antony at each other's throats? Then when they see each other face to face, they hug like all is forgiven? Weird. I'm sure there will be more to the situation. We'll see.

Battlestar Galactica, episode 3.14:

This was also a good episode, better than the last one. I like when they take a look at the workings of the fleet, or in this case, the management of refugees. Plus, an interesting spotlight on Helo, a character who often gets shuffled into the background. My favorite moment was when he punched Tigh, then Tigh said, through a bleeding smirk, "You better get that hand checked out." I always like characters like that, the lovable (maybe only to me) assholes. Tigh has gotten especially assholish since his experiences on New Caprica. Good for him. Oh, and we had the return of Hallucinatory Baltar! I liked that twist, that "Caprica Six" was seeing Baltar in her head like he was seeing her. So it's good to see him again. It seems like we're in the lull between "event" episodes that bookend the halves of each season, so I expect the next few will be more like this one. I'll keep watching and find out.

Extras, episode 2.5:

Man, nobody does painfully awkward comedy like Ricky Gervais. He gives us a taste of what's to come with the beginning of the episode, where he's forced to autograph a picture for a makeup girl when he doesn't remember her name. But that's nothing compared to the climax, when his homophobia wins out against his artistic impulses when he's supposed to kiss a guy in a play directed by Ian McKellan. That scene goes beyond "painful" and becomes "excruciating". Wow. This is a great show. Next week is the season, and probable series, finale. It was fun while it lasted!

The boob tube

Watched some TV last night, both stuff that I had recorded, and stuff that aired yesterday (well, I also watched yesterday's stuff off a recording, but I did see it on the day that it aired). So here's some quick thoughts:

Rome, episode 2.4:

Highlights:

• When asked why she's torturing the kid who tried to kill her, Atia replies, "The confession's not legal unless there's torture!"
• Mark Antony vowing to destroy his enemies, especially Octavian, when we know that's not going to happen.
• Seeing Servilia tortured. I don't especially like her, and I think her rivalry with Atia has dragged out for too long.
• Cicero's speech to Agrippa. Nicely acted by David Bamber; he's been a standout this season.
  

Lowlights:

• Switching actors for Octavian. I kind of understand why they did it: they want to show him as older, and the previous actor (Max Perkis) still looked young; the previous actor might also have been unconvincing as a military leader. Still, it's always offputting when a different-looking guy is playing the character, and other characters (who still look the same, of course) recognize him.
  
• Servilia escaping. I wish they would just kill her and end the rivalry plot. Or they could kill Atia, I suppose, which would be risky since she's a very enjoyable character, but it would mean some forward motion.
• My confusion over when Mark Antony went from beloved leader to traitor. Was it when he beat up the guy in the Senate?

It's still a good show, and I especially enjoy all the little details (which I hope are researched and not just made up). If I remember right, the first season got a bit slow in the middle episodes, so hopefully this season will pick up.

Battlestar Galactica, episode 3.whatever (the most recent episode):

Highlights:

• Baltar's interrogation, for the most part. It was interesting to see them struggle to get information out of him.
• The opening bit where the creators basically said, "See, Baltar's a Cylon after all...Psyche!".

Lowlights:

• The godawful love parallelogram, or whatever you want to call it. They've dragged it out for so long, and just when you think they're going to split up the two marriages and end all the pining, they decide to stay together so they can drag it out longer. Oy.
• The continuing nonsense about the "final five". This reeks of Lost- (which I don't actually watch) or X-Files-style writing where the writers string the viewers along with the promises of revealed secrets, which always makes me suspect they're pulling stuff out of their asses.
• Why did they spend all their time interrogating only Baltar? Don't they have a captive Number Six? Being an actual Cylon, you'd think she would be able to provide them some real information. Maybe they want to see if Baltar leaked any information. Or maybe they think she's too manipulative to trust anything she says. It would have been nice to at least mention her existence though.

Well, it wasn't an especially good episode, but hopefully they'll get back on track. With Baltar back with the humans (and Lucy Lawless dead), their should be less focus on the inner workings of Cylon society or whatever, and the Cylons can stay more like faceless pursuers. We need more space battles, and less Cylon intrigue.

My Name Is Earl, 2/8 episode:

Highlights:

• Joy's black half-sister being married to a white equivalent of Darnell.
• "My daddy was Ray, I'm Ray Ray, I gotta have me a Ray Ray Ray!"
• DJ Qualls' skinny arm when he was trying to arm wrestle against his character's buff wife.
• Darnell giving Listerine to Mr. Turtle.
• Just plain good character-based comedy all around.

No lowlights! My wife and I were discussing why this show is so funny, and I put forward the theory that the characters are defined well enough (and their dialogue is also written very well) that when they say something silly, it's recognizable as part of their personality, and they don't have to stoop to using catch phrases to be funny. Good episode.

The Office, 2/8 episode:

Highlights:

• Michael dragging the wheelchair down the aisle. In fact, most all of his disgruntled behavior after being upstaged at the wedding was cringe-inducingly hilarious. I particularly liked his toast, which he started by saying, "For the next 40 minutes, you will see why this couple is so perfect for each other...", or something like that. And then, in a "confessional" scene, he says, "The most important part of a good speech is the opening line. If I have enough time, I like to use three or four of them."
• Michael's conversation with Uncle Al. "That guy is weird!"
• Scrantonicity!
  
• Dwight and Angela dancing outside. I really like their relationship, especially in the way it's made Angela a more well-rounded character and more than just the hateful bitch of the office.
  

No lowlights on this one either! Another good episode. Only the pre-credits scene took place in the titular office though. I don't think that's happened before.

30 Rock, 2/8 episode:

Highlights:

• Isabella Rossellini saying "Oh Johnny, you know I love my Big Beef and Cheddar!" That's funny regardless of context.
• Alec Baldwin's drunken monologue celebrating/lamenting his divorce. He is incredibly funny on this show.
• Tina Fey arguing on the phone with the flower people. "Oh, I just found the card. The flowers are from your mom. Your gay mom sent me flowers!"
  
• Kenneth saying "I got her underwear!", while holding up a pair of what are obviously men's briefs. In fact, now that I think about it, those were probably his own briefs, which makes it even funnier.

No lowlights on this show either! You're 3 for 3, NBC! (I didn't watch Scrubs). For my money, 30 Rock is the funniest show on TV right now. At least once an episode, there's a scene where either my wife or I laugh so hard we have to hit pause (then we usually rewind and watch it another 2 or 3 times). Last week, it was the scene where Isabella Rossellini was beating the shit out of Tina Fey. A previous one was the goofy dance Tracy Morgan did when he was a guest on Conan O'Brien's show. My wife was literally gasping for breath because she was laughing so hard at those scenes. This week, it was the aforementioned underwear scene that got me laughing. It's just such a hilariously-written show. I can't recommend it enough.
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So that's everything I watched yesterday. Stay tuned tonight; hopefully, I'll have some reviews of new comics!