Batman: Gotham County Line is the first cross-genre Batman title that I've seen that involves a very strong horror feel. Here Batman leaves the heart of downtown Gotham to visit the 'burbs and finds himself well out of his depth. He's gotten himself into something that he doesn't understand as the villian doesn't - at first - appear to be a villian and draws Batman into a mystical world of undying victims who return to haunt the Dark Knight.The tone of the story isn't bad, though I found the whole thing a little heavy-handed, opening with Batman coincidently exploring his beliefs about the afterlife before he just happens to head into a case that involves that very thing.
The mini-series isn't abad one, but it didn't do too much for me. We get appearances by Deadman and the Phantom Stranger, and the artwork supports the creepieness of the setting and tone, but the whole thing seemed forced to me. THe story didn't flow together.
I didn't get Superman - Up, Up, and Away. It's the first Superman trade from after the one-year-later jump. The basics here are that Metropolis has been surviving a year without Superman. Clark's been around, but he's powerless for some mysterious reason following the events of Infinite Crisis. He and Lois have been enjoying each other's company, and Clark has turned into one heck of a reporter now that he's been able to focus his full attention on that rather than on saving the world.Ah, but Lex Luthor has been plotting to draw out Superman and - of course - to destroy him. And if the world needs him, Superman will be there...
The best moments here are the ones of Clark and Lois together, enjoying being normal people in love. It's a side of the two characters that we don't get to see all that often, and it's a nice touch. But we all know that it won't last. Clark is Superman, and he'll somehow shake out of things (in the dumbest way possible here - apparently he's powerless because spoiler alert he's been blocking his powers, all he had to do was to want to be Superman again. spoiler done now, thanks)
Geoff Johns has been a bit of a golden boy of late in the comics world, and his work here shows that he's got a gift for characterization, but the rest of the storyline doesn't ring with me. Lex is plotting against Superman. Meh...
Lex has found a way to bring a bunch of Kryptonite out to fight Superman (and it feels a lot like aspects of the recent Superman Returns flick). Meh...
And Superman rebuilds the fortress of solitude using some crystals. Meh...
The best thing about New X-Men - Imperial is the logo in the top left corner.Apparently I'm stupid enough to keep trying to read X-Men comics in spite of the fact that I am so clearly out of my depth. I have no frickin' clue what the back story is or who most of the characters are, so I give. I'm sticking to the Ultimate X-Men from here on out.
And the artwork in the second half of this book was horrible - possibly the worst I've seen in a mass-produced trade. Blech...
It's been a month or so since I saw Capote, but it's stuck with me as an outstanding film. The pacing is a bit slow, admittedly, and it took me a while to get into the film - the one weakness that I would offer is that it lacks a grabbing intro - but once hooked, I was amazed at the pain and struggle that Hoffman's Capote goes through in writing In Cold Blood - the struggle of wanting the protagonists dead and saved at the same time.It is an impressive portrait of a man who - according to the film, at least - was crushed by the effort of laboring over his masterwork.
The now-cancelled HBO series Carnivale (sorry for the lack of accent marks) is a fascinating but ultimately unsatisfying tale.The wife and I worked our way through the first season in fits and starts - checking out all six discs from PLCH - and found ourselves thoroughly engaged in the storyline in which we follow a deceptively complex carnival travelling throughout the southwest and southern plains states in depression-era 1934. The storylines center around two characters - obvious opposite numbers as forces of light and dark - Ben Hawkins, carnie, and Brother Justin, fallen preacher.
The first season introduces us to the major characters and sets in motion plotlines which will clearly take years of series work to properly tie up. The series's Wikipedia page provides guidance as to where many of those plotlines were heading, but it looks like that's all we'll be getting as the series was cancelled after its second season. Apparently the show's creators had planned for a six-year run broken into three "books" of two seasons each.
But the story was not to be told, leaving everything torturously unfinished.
I don't know whether we'll work through the second season or not, knowing as I do now that we'll never get all of the answers. It's a frustration, to be certain, and it makes me pretty leary to recommend the series, though I am thoroughly hooked and would love to see the tales through.
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