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Whoops. Forgot to bring the plug for my laptop. This means I'm running on an old battery 68% power. No, wait, scratch that, 67%.
This means, soon, no LJ-ing at work, no working on HEFNER MONOLOGUES scripts, no more building up to the heartbreaking climax of the Harvey Dent novel (it's SO close!), none of that. What the hell am I gonna do with myself until 6? How oh how will I pass the time?
Oh yeah. Comic book store.
I think I'll finally read much-beloved stuff like CONCRETE, SEVEN SOLDIERS, and maybe even LUCIFER.
Or, y'know, I could do some work. Yyyyyeah, or I could read comics!
And while I'm on about comics, allow me to indulge in a mini-rant. Garth Ennis, author of PREACHER (a comic you may never have heard of, but will very soon, once the HBO TV show arrives) writes two major books right now: THE BOYS and THE PUNISHER.
THE BOYS is ugly. It's an ugly, nasty, hateful book, chock full of every juvenile, obnoxious aspect of Ennis smug, jeering, resentful id given free reign. We saw hints of this in the worst moments of PREACHER (giant woman made our of meat, anyone?), as well as every other thing he's written. THE BOYS is also extremely popular, so I clearly have a monopoly on my opinion.
But much of my own intense dislike and resentment for THE BOYS stems from the fact that it sells 50 issues per shipment more than THE PUNISHER. PUNISHER is far more shocking, disturbing, and powerful than THE BOYS, which in of itself shouldn't be too surprising, considering the title character.
What is surprising is how THE PUNISHER is also often heartbreaking, moving, fragile, and painfully human. There's a real maturity toward the horror in that book, a genuineness in the face of even some of the more outlandish moments and characters (Barracuda, for example) that always sneaks up on you. Even when you think the book is going right back to being pointlessly violent or slipping back into its pattern (Meet bad guys. Frank kills bad guys. The End), Ennis always manages to surprise you with each storyline.
So it frustrates me that a book that I hate (and I rarely outright hate things) like THE BOYS constantly overshadows a book that far better displays the actual talents of the writer, even if Ennis' inclinations are more toward the former (we get it, Garth. You hate superheroes, God, and all forms of authority. It was funny ten years ago. Get over it). PUNISHER ain't perfect, and certainly nor was PREACHER. But I honestly do think that Garth Ennis' work in PUNISHER is the best work he's done since... well, the best of PREACHER.
52% and counting.
This means, soon, no LJ-ing at work, no working on HEFNER MONOLOGUES scripts, no more building up to the heartbreaking climax of the Harvey Dent novel (it's SO close!), none of that. What the hell am I gonna do with myself until 6? How oh how will I pass the time?
Oh yeah. Comic book store.
I think I'll finally read much-beloved stuff like CONCRETE, SEVEN SOLDIERS, and maybe even LUCIFER.
Or, y'know, I could do some work. Yyyyyeah, or I could read comics!
And while I'm on about comics, allow me to indulge in a mini-rant. Garth Ennis, author of PREACHER (a comic you may never have heard of, but will very soon, once the HBO TV show arrives) writes two major books right now: THE BOYS and THE PUNISHER.
THE BOYS is ugly. It's an ugly, nasty, hateful book, chock full of every juvenile, obnoxious aspect of Ennis smug, jeering, resentful id given free reign. We saw hints of this in the worst moments of PREACHER (giant woman made our of meat, anyone?), as well as every other thing he's written. THE BOYS is also extremely popular, so I clearly have a monopoly on my opinion.
But much of my own intense dislike and resentment for THE BOYS stems from the fact that it sells 50 issues per shipment more than THE PUNISHER. PUNISHER is far more shocking, disturbing, and powerful than THE BOYS, which in of itself shouldn't be too surprising, considering the title character.
What is surprising is how THE PUNISHER is also often heartbreaking, moving, fragile, and painfully human. There's a real maturity toward the horror in that book, a genuineness in the face of even some of the more outlandish moments and characters (Barracuda, for example) that always sneaks up on you. Even when you think the book is going right back to being pointlessly violent or slipping back into its pattern (Meet bad guys. Frank kills bad guys. The End), Ennis always manages to surprise you with each storyline.
So it frustrates me that a book that I hate (and I rarely outright hate things) like THE BOYS constantly overshadows a book that far better displays the actual talents of the writer, even if Ennis' inclinations are more toward the former (we get it, Garth. You hate superheroes, God, and all forms of authority. It was funny ten years ago. Get over it). PUNISHER ain't perfect, and certainly nor was PREACHER. But I honestly do think that Garth Ennis' work in PUNISHER is the best work he's done since... well, the best of PREACHER.
52% and counting.
