Comic/Manga/Movie Recs, 11/28/11
Monday, November 28th, 2011 04:23 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
retsukoIn Comics:
Locke & Key, Guide to the Known Keys (One Shot), Words by Joe Hill and Pictures by Gabriel Rodriguez: This is a good jumping-in point for newcomers to the story; this is also a good one-shot for those who've been interested in this work, but are suspicious of horror comics. The scares in this story are minimal, and the main plot is, in a large part, a beautiful tribute to Windsor McKay's Little Nemo, as well as an establishing plot point for the origins of some of the keys in the story. The cover, by itself, presents a lovely piece of artwork, rendered in Rodriguez's fine pencils and Foto's luminous colors. As I've said before, this is a great read, a modern comic masterpiece in the making.
Gunnerkrigg Court: Reason (Volume 3), Words and Art by Tom Siddell: It's nice to read this in one installment, instead of in one-page-three-times-a-week bits and pieces. Not to say that Siddell doesn't update regularly (he does, much to his credit), but the story is more coherent when read as a whole piece of work. In fact, when the whole series ends, I look forward to sitting down and reading all the books cover to cover, so that I can get a sense of the larger story, instead of the parts and pieces here and there. Still recommending this, although not as a jumping-in point. Like Lost or The X-Files, this is an epic without an easy middle point, only Volume 1.
In Manga:
Kingyo Used Books, Volume 4, Words and Art by Seimu Yoshizaki: How psyched was I that this volume concerned a manga that I've actually read?! For once, I wasn't on the outside looking in! (The manga was Ranma 1/2!) This volume, more than any of the others, made me eager to track down the other works mentioned in the story, especially a volume of ghost stories, a cute early work of Moto Hagio's, and a book of short stories that sounds like it should have been licensed and translated LAST YEAR for its arresting subject matter and artwork. As usual, the Kingyo bookstore is filled with manga lovers and the people they've helped reconnect with favorite works, and the stories in this volume carry on that tradition. There's a love letter to manga at the end that's incredibly heartfelt and sweet. A wonderful translation as always, definitely a good buy to add to your shopping list!
At the Movies:
The Muppets: I don't want to give away any of the insanely wonderful and funny details of this movie for anyone who's not seen it; suffice it to say that I had a smile on my face from the beginning all the way to the end. Bret MacKenzie's songs are excellent and the whole affair is perfectly paced so that I never felt like any of it was overdone and forced. I didn't quite buy one major plot aspect, but that's really not important. What's important is that the movie (and the Toy Story short that precedes it) is clever without being too showy about it, and the emotions are genuine and evocative. Take a small kid to see this, or just go see it yourself. It's the perfect antidote to the holiday blues.
Locke & Key, Guide to the Known Keys (One Shot), Words by Joe Hill and Pictures by Gabriel Rodriguez: This is a good jumping-in point for newcomers to the story; this is also a good one-shot for those who've been interested in this work, but are suspicious of horror comics. The scares in this story are minimal, and the main plot is, in a large part, a beautiful tribute to Windsor McKay's Little Nemo, as well as an establishing plot point for the origins of some of the keys in the story. The cover, by itself, presents a lovely piece of artwork, rendered in Rodriguez's fine pencils and Foto's luminous colors. As I've said before, this is a great read, a modern comic masterpiece in the making.
Gunnerkrigg Court: Reason (Volume 3), Words and Art by Tom Siddell: It's nice to read this in one installment, instead of in one-page-three-times-a-week bits and pieces. Not to say that Siddell doesn't update regularly (he does, much to his credit), but the story is more coherent when read as a whole piece of work. In fact, when the whole series ends, I look forward to sitting down and reading all the books cover to cover, so that I can get a sense of the larger story, instead of the parts and pieces here and there. Still recommending this, although not as a jumping-in point. Like Lost or The X-Files, this is an epic without an easy middle point, only Volume 1.
In Manga:
Kingyo Used Books, Volume 4, Words and Art by Seimu Yoshizaki: How psyched was I that this volume concerned a manga that I've actually read?! For once, I wasn't on the outside looking in! (The manga was Ranma 1/2!) This volume, more than any of the others, made me eager to track down the other works mentioned in the story, especially a volume of ghost stories, a cute early work of Moto Hagio's, and a book of short stories that sounds like it should have been licensed and translated LAST YEAR for its arresting subject matter and artwork. As usual, the Kingyo bookstore is filled with manga lovers and the people they've helped reconnect with favorite works, and the stories in this volume carry on that tradition. There's a love letter to manga at the end that's incredibly heartfelt and sweet. A wonderful translation as always, definitely a good buy to add to your shopping list!
At the Movies:
The Muppets: I don't want to give away any of the insanely wonderful and funny details of this movie for anyone who's not seen it; suffice it to say that I had a smile on my face from the beginning all the way to the end. Bret MacKenzie's songs are excellent and the whole affair is perfectly paced so that I never felt like any of it was overdone and forced. I didn't quite buy one major plot aspect, but that's really not important. What's important is that the movie (and the Toy Story short that precedes it) is clever without being too showy about it, and the emotions are genuine and evocative. Take a small kid to see this, or just go see it yourself. It's the perfect antidote to the holiday blues.
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Date: 2011-11-30 11:57 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-11-30 08:54 pm (UTC)