Morning Truckers.
The arrows keep pointing at that imminent holiday. Just got to get through a hectic week then I can be ejaculated into the armchair for Christmas. I’m a fan. Not religiously, just for a bit of peace and quiet. The pile of comics, movies and books put aside never get fully eaten but I’ll hopefully make a dent. In other seasonal planning … and as a cautious intro…I stopped eating meat in 1984, stopped believing in Gawd in 1986 (not so easy for a Catholic Boarding School kid) and stopped the dreaded drink (mostly) in 2017. What’s next? It’s one that I’d recommend. The scrolling in and along of social media. Put it on your New Year’s iDiary as a task. Give it a go. Play along at home. Trust me and the experts, it’ll help.
(This plot does not, obviously, involve the Awesome Comics Slack – message if you fancy joining. It’s without cost).
Meanwhile and erstwhile over at the Awesome Comics actual podcast we have been on a rip of great guests in the last few months. This week is not in any way an exception with the convivial Fred van Lente appearing in the interview slot. He graciously shared some of his tips on comics scripting and talked about past, present and futuristic projects. Here are just a few of the projects that Fred is/has/will be involved with. Go check out his website right here.
As we enter our tenth year on the ACP we never chase thanks or really even promotion but our cockles never fail to get warmed when we hear back from a comics person and they make some effort to spread the word about their guest spot. Fred did both, and because of that he has friends for life.
Next week is our Christmas Comics / Three Amigos read-along episode which is closely followed by our Favs of 2024! I am still wildly undecided and have a long list of around thirty titles to play with. It’s also the top ten comics of the year on here next Tuesday.
So, let’s get on with my favs and least favs of the week.
Small Press Comic of the Week.
Sadly I have searched high and low and nothing small press has been tickling my grey matter. There’s always next week.
Tops.
Another massively enjoyable comic with an eye to the craft from Ghost Machine. I’ve literally just read this and pushed me even further into the Christmas spirit. There are a couple of Hallmark moments but nothing that crosses the line into cheesy. And that artwork!!!
Bottoms.
What is it with the new X-Men titles and people taking naps?!? (Please see (Un)Exceptional X-Men issue 1 for another, frankly confusing, example.)
This is turning into such an incredibly idiotic run of books. I continue to suspect that it’s a company-wide conspiracy to kill off these comics. It’s a shame as in some of the cases the art is fine to pretty good. But the writing/plotting/dialogue is letting it down at every turn.
C’mon Marvel. It should be better than this. Especially for the prices we are paying.
Many thanks for reading.
Tip of the week – Never, ever believe the hype.
And whilst we are dealing with hype, can I just say a thanks to all the new visitors to this site. Numbers have significantly jumped in the last few weeks from all corners of this flattish earth. More to come in the new year.
Be happy! It’s almost time to shout – ‘My knob is glowing!!!!’
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