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#37…Adrian Tomine’s Shortcomings

October 29, 2007 in adrian tomine, book reviews, books, drawn & quarterly, graphic novels | Permalink

#37. Shortcomings by Adrian Tomine. Graphic Novel/Collected Works. 4.5 Stars.

Adrian Tomine is, depending on the day, my second or third favorite artist, and regardless of the day probably my second favorite storyteller in the comics format (Jeffrey Brown remains number one…he may never be surpassed…we’ll see). Tomine (i finally learned, pronounced “To-mean”, after years of Adam and I arguing about the pronunciation) is an insanely talented artist. He also has a very natural way with writing conversation, and he paces a story more beautifully than almost anyone out there in the field.

I read Shortcomings, published by Drawn & Quarterly yesterday after buying it at Jim Hanley’s this weekend. I have read much of it before, and it’s a bit of a cheat to count it as a book considering it doesn’t take long to read, but I felt compelled to include it because it is so deserving considering it’s quality of being included. I am also desperate as I should be at about book number 41 or 42…and I’m obviously not there, so forgive me a bit. Shortcomings follows the story of Ben and Miko (and also Ben’s friend the delightful Alice) as Ben and Miko’s relationship follows a harrowing course. My favorite thing about Shortcomings, other than Tomine’s absolutely stunning artwork and panel layouts (his inking is insane!) is the realistic feeling of this story. It’s not all happy and it doesn’t tie up nicely, it’s messy, as relationships are. And there is hurt and drama, but without any real over the top drama, which is more how life usually is I think. This book is the kind of quality across the board (writing, art, pacing, production values, etc.) that I wish all comics/graphic novels could be, and rarely are these days. If you like comics, or are interested in trying some out, I highly recommend Tomine’s Shortcomings.

You may also want to check out Tomine’s Summer Blonde, 32 Stories, and Sleepwalk are all brilliant, and any one of them is a worthwhile purchase and read.

4.5 Stars

Look at this panel…I mean are you kidding me? GORGEOUS.

Such amazing work and detail, yet it remains fluid and natural, not tight.

I tried to post an image of the cover…but it’s not working. 🙁

more Halloween…

October 29, 2007 in halloween | 2 comments

A picture of my brother 20 some years ago, looking at a jack-o-lantern and apparently taking a little bite out of the table…

Halloween baby!

October 27, 2007 in halloween | 5 comments

I love Halloween.

Something about Fall, which I also love, and the idea of being something else…anything else, for a little while. Plus, while anything might happen on Halloween there is much less expectation than with a holiday like the always sucking New Years, which can’t ever possibly live up to the hype and expectation (I really really hate New Years…can’t remember ever having a good one).

There’s also something naughty and juvenile about Halloween that appeals to me…the idea of being 14 or 15 and on a “date” with a boy you have a big crush on and being at a scary haunted house and that being the perfect excuse to be scared and maybe flirty…if a 14 year old even really knows what flirty is (I know I didn’t). And I love being scared, even though I’m a scaredy cat, and prone to being easily startled, and having nightmares about zombies. I guess the bottom line is that Halloween turns me on in a kind of juvenile and almost innocent way, whatever it is, the shit makes me happy.

So as my depression has been lifting (about damn time) and I’ve finally begun to enjoy one of my favorite months as my favorite holiday approaches (just in the nick of time) I was thinking of Halloween’s past and came across a couple photos…so I thought I’d share. I’m looking for one that is mysteriously missing of my famous randomly blinking devil horns (that year I went as “the world going to hell in a handbasket” – yeah nobody “got it”, but I liked it). The blinking horns are a crowd favorite and probably the best 10 bucks I’ve ever spent. I’ll be wearing them, as per tradition, on Wednesday at work, but I haven’t decided whether to wear the fun pink wig yet…thoughts?

There’s something great about wigs…and having awesome short hair, but only temporarily 🙂

And bangs that go away when you’re tired of them (much opposed to what I’ve got going on currently)

I know this one isn’t in color, but it’s a great little photo…and the hair looks platinum, which almost makes me want to switch back to it again. Also, I’m in my favorite hoodie sweatshirt. Hoodie sweatshirts are also awesome.

Me in a pumpkin patch when I was little. Pumpkin patches are awesome.

What have we learned today class? Pumpkin patches, hoodie sweatshirts, Halloween, pink wigs, and blinking devil horns are all awesome. And New Years Eve sucks.

Damages Finale

October 25, 2007 in damages, television reviews | Permalink

The Vulture Blog, has a great little piece on why the Damages Finale (and show) was so great. I couldn’t agree more. Check it out here.

I know this is not exactly revolutionary thinking, but Bill O’Reilly is an ass.

October 24, 2007 in Uncategorized | 5 comments

I don’t even like the Harry Potter books, I mean I think they’re great – for kids and pre-teens and maybe even teens. But I’m 31…they’re not for me. Had I been 12, or 8, or maybe even 16 I would have loved these books and movies just like the other superfans that are out there of all ages. Almost everyone I know loves these books and thinks everyone should love them. I have, at the request/order of a friend, read the first book, it just wasn’t for me at this age (then 26 I think), but I did try. I also believe I have seen almost all of the movies at some point on television as well, and they have been pretty well done and again, the kind of movie I would have killed for at 12. All that said, I have nothing against Harry Potter and and I think J.K. Rowling is a freaking genius.

So where on earth does Bill O’Reilly get off calling her “a provacateur”? I call her a thinker. I call her someone who gets to do whatever she wants with something she has created (what have you created lately Bill? Other than hate of course). And if Rowlilng wants to use her genius to help people become more open minded…and to use her work as a small platform for the continued education of the masses then I say HELL YES, and more power to her.

I speak of course of the “revelation” that the beloved Dumbledore character has been revealed, Post-Potter series, to be gay. You can see Bill O’Reilly’s infuriating interview with senior Entertainment Weekly editor Tina Jordan (who handles herself pretty well in the face of such idiocy) here.

And you know what, Rowling is catching some flak from other places (not just the idiot O’Reilly) for not putting Dumbledore’s “gayness” CLEARLY within the books, but I say more power to her. Why should her characters have to have clear sexual identities – it’s not in any way shape or form what the story is about. Furthermore, where do people get off assuming that characters are straight unless told otherwise? This is all just further proof that Bill O’Reilly’s mind remains the most closed, backwards, uneducated mind on the entire planet, as if we needed more proof of that.

Lastly, where does Bill O’Reilly, who has a show based entirely on PROVOKING get off calling anyone else, least of all Rowling, a provocateur.

Idiot.

Oooh. I found this great picture of pure evil on the internet. I can’t believe pure evil like this is so readily available in jpeg format, seriously don’t look at it too long…your eyes will melt right out of your head.

McSweeney’s…not to be outdone by a Tandem Bicycle, posts another brilliant short piece today…

October 24, 2007 in mcsweeney's, writing | Permalink

A piece titled “What Happened After I Lost My Guardian Angel: A Timeline” by Jon Methven posted over on McSweeney’s today, and it is so funny, mostly because it’s too too true. It will only take you a few moments and will be the funniest thing you read all day, so run, don’t walk, to McSweeney’s to check it out, here.

The Darjeeling Limited

October 23, 2007 in movie reviews, movies, the darjeeling limited | Permalink

I saw this movie (finally) last week.

I’m not sure what to say about it, but for some reason I want to write about it.

I’m a huge Wes Anderson fan, The Royal Tenebaums is one of my favorite movies, and I also love Rushmore and Bottle Rocket. For some reason I haven’t ever managed to see The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, although it remains a constant fixture of my Netflix queue.

The Darjeeling is no Royal Tenebaums, but it is still a beautiful and excellent film, and the more I think about it, the more I love it. Officially I gave it 4 stars, instead of the 5 that comes with the words “I love it”, and I guess I have to admit there is something missing somewhere in the film that is preventing me from taking it to the 5 star rating, but the more I think about the characters the more I love them, and the more I realize how quickly I accepted the well known stars as the characters they were playing.

THE GOOD: I quickly forgot to see Own Wilson and instead saw Francis, the same was true for Schwartzman’s Jack and Brody’s Peter (it may have been most true for Brody’s Peter) and in an age of movie stars just being movie stars that happen to be saying lines that belong to characters, this is no small feat. I was overcome with a desire to take care of them, even though they were simultaneously driving me nuts (they are as frustratingly quirky as any of Anderson’s charcters). They read perfectly as brothers, both the love and the hate evident in every frame. I applauded their quest for spiritual enlightenment and reconnection to each other. Anjelica Huston as their mother was pitch perfect as usual and really cemented the relationship between the brothers, explaining so much about the who and why of Francis, Peter, and Jack.

There was also a pretty amazing (very short) sex scene between Jack and the train ‘stewardess’, Rita, which was incredible. So realistic and true to life I had trouble thinking of a more realistic sexual encounter on film. I’m sure they’re out there, but I couldn’t think of one, and it took me by surprise as Anderson’s films are generally pretty non-sexual, at least not in an overt way, I had no idea he had it in him. Rita, played by Amara Karan was stunning, I predict incredible fame coming her way as she gave a heartbreaking performance.

On top of all that the film overall was just gorgeous, as all Anderson’s film tapestries are, rich and filled with incredible moments…is there anything more romatic than a train ride cross country? Yes, and that is a slow motion shot of three brothers trying to catch a train that is going to take them somewhere, anywhere.

THE BAD: Nothing really, except to say that I did feel something was missing. Something I could not quite put my finger on. Like all of Anderson’s films this movie felt like real life. Like there is no “real” arc to a character, because nothing in life is that straight forward, and I love that, but there was something missing here…I just don’t know what.

THE UGLY: Not an ugly frame to be seen.

Jack, Peter, and Francis.

Tandem Bicycle Seat Open over at McSweeney’s…

October 23, 2007 in mcsweeney's, writing | Permalink

If you’re not reading McSweeney’s Internet Tendency everyday for their incredible new short pieces, you are missing out. But I’m here to let you know when you are really really missing out.

Go now to McSweeney’s and check out their new piece posted yesterday by Collin Nissan titled “Good News: A Seat On My Tandem Bicycle Just Opened Up” it’s a hilarious bit of fun, and if it’s not enough to cheer you up a bit today than you’re probably not cheer-up-able…

And just for fun…a picture of a tandem bicycle. For some reason i find tandem bicycles hilarious.

I cannot believe I didn’t know about this…Jeffrey Brown and Wolverine AND ZOMBIES!

October 22, 2007 in comics, jeffrey brown, writing, x-men | 4 comments

How have I missed this!? I can’t believe it. I’m now dying to get my hands on a copy of Jeffrey Brown’s Wolverine v. Zombies comic, Dying Time, the first 11 pages are printed in the interview below, but I’d love to have a copy in my hands of the real (complete) thing, so if anybody has one they wouldn’t mind giving up…let me know.

Please check out this interview with Jeffrey Brown and Silver Bullet Comic Books to read more about Dying Time, and about the god Jeffrey Brown in general. And if you love Jeffrey Brown as much as I do and would love to see more of his work with Wolverine, email/write Marvel and let them know, I know I will.

#6 comic of the week

October 22, 2007 in comic of the week, comics | 4 comments

This is true. I swear. And I wish it wasn’t.