Stuff I've Been Reading (and Hi)

I love losing myself in comics when I don't have much time to read. They’re satisfying and they’re quick reads, and so they make me feel accomplished – I’m actually finishing books! Here’s what I’ve been reading:

Death: At Death’s Door by Jill Thompson is a manga-style retelling of the events of Sandman #4, Seasons of Mist. It tells us what Death, Delirium and Despair were up to while Dream was busy with the events of the aforementioned Sandman book. And what they were up to was throwing a party for the dead. I’d explain why, but I don’t want too give too much away. This book was fun. The tone is very different from that of the Sandman, and while I prefer the original solemn, mythological tone, it was interesting to see this story be approach in such a different way. At Death’s Door is mostly light, even goofy sometimes. And I liked the artwork a lot. A nice little companion to Seasons of Mist.

Spawn: Angela by Neil Gaiman with Greg Capullo and Mark Pennington is one I'm not quite sure what to make of. I guess I'm glad to have read it. And the story was an interesting one. In this book, Angela, an angel, is framed for the crime of High Treason against Elysium. This apparently has to do with a failed attempt to kill Spawn, which I assumed happened in a previous book in the series. That's the thing, really. I’d never read Spawn before, and I’m sure I’d have had appreciated this book much more if I had. It very definitely felt like the follow-up to something and the prelude to something else. Things I did like: the hints at a complex world with its own mythology, Angela herself, the way the story developed. Things I didn’t like: feeling a bit lost at times, some of the dialogue, and above all the artwork. This is a first for me with a Neil Gaiman comic, because he normally works with artists I love, but I’m afraid I didn’t like the art of this book very much at all.

Finally, I read Trese: Murder on Ballet Drive by Budjette Tan and Kajo Baldisimo. This was by far my favourite of the three. It’s a Filipino comic, and I wouldn’t have heard of it, let alone read it, if it wasn’t for Lightheaded. So thank you! The main character of this book is Alessandra Trese, an investigator who specializes in unexplainable (aka paranormal) crimes. The film-noir atmosphere of this book drew me in immediately. This book collects four stories - four cases - and they all read a bit like particularly good episodes of the X-Files. What makes the stories unique, though, is that the supernatural creatures often come from Filipino mythology. I’d seen Neil Gaiman say that Filipino mythology was especially cool, and that it was wonderful to see local writers doing so many interesting things with it, and now I got a taste of what he meant. Trese is a great series. You can find out more about it, and even read it online, here. I’ll be reading issues 5-7 very soon.

Other Blog reviews:
Bombastic Bagman (Spawn: Angela)
Everyday Reads (Trese)
Fyrefly's Boon Blog (At Death's Door)
Working Title (At Death's Door)

(Have you posted about any of these books? Please let me know so that I can add a link to your review)

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Hello, everyone. I arrived safely and I've been having a really nice time so far. I've spent this week going for walks, watching Pixar and Studio Ghibli movies with my boyfriend, and trying to stop falling asleep at 8pm because my body thinks it's midnight. I think I've finally succeeded. The critters in the pictures bellow are capybaras, the world's largest rodents. I was thrilled to finally see some because I looked for them the other times I was here with no luck. Now I just need to spot some armadillos and my experiences with the local fauna will be complete!

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Back to books: on the flight here I finished The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao (great) and Looking for Alaska (even better). Hopefully next week I'll be able to post my thoughts on those. I'd also like to do the memes Melody and Jeane tagged me for. We'll see what time allows.

One more thing: I decided to join the second Japanese Literature Challenge. I know I'd said no more challenges this year, but I regretted missing the first round of this one and I really can't resist this time around. Besides, I decided that next year I will not under any circumstances have more than four (or maybe five) challenges going at the same time, so I'd better make the most of my addiction this year, right? I'll post my picks sometime soon.