It Only Took a Month...

... But I'm back. And hitched!

Regular (or semi-regular) posting should resume this month. In spite of the holidays. Until then, enjoy these little nuggets of info:

I'm Sorry Mr. Lethem, But I Don't Much Care For Your Work:

After being duly impressed by Jonathan Lethem's take on Omega the Unknown, I thought I'd give his prose a try. Couldn't really get into it.

Fortress of Solitude had an interesting start about life in Brooklyn in the 70's and 80's, despite being a little worn out by hard-luck obsessive nerds thanks to The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. But then the second half of the novel kicked in. The lead character became more unlikeable alongside prose that spelled out what he was feeling and to some extent how we should feel about him.




In my infinite wisdom, I thought I'd give him another shot - perhaps his book Girl In Landscape, described on the back cover as a surreal sci fi Western. Imagine the flaws noted above imposed upon a teenage girl's journey of self-discovery.

Moving on.

How Can We Miss You Batman, If You Never Go Away?



Last week DC dropped issue Batman#681, the final chapter of Grant Morrison's "Batman R.I.P." storyline. Newsarama, CBR, and other sites have reported that all of the Bat-family of titles will be axed in the coming months, presumably to be relaunched with shiny new number 1's.

What's bothering me is the oddity of releasing another Morrison-penned issue of Batman featuring Batman immediately after said character's presumed death a week before. It's not that I expect Batman to stay dead or anything - I'd just like to get to the epilogue (which #682 doesn't really feel like, so much as another interesting story that should have occurred in the middle of Morrison's run).

Still thought the issue was pretty neat, though, with all of the alternate takes on Batman had something else come through the window that fateful night besides a lost and confused bat.

I'd like to do a post sometime about Morrison and his fascination with branding, legacy, and the pervasiveness of pop.

Spoil Your Awful Third Act On the Cover, Why Don't You?



All things considered, I did want to give this movie a chance. But man, what a dumb twist that undid a pretty compelling and effective beginning.

Also, Will Smith should play more bastards.