Troy’s Book Club: total grab bag

I read a good amount of books this year, and a LOT of comicbooks. I re-read some poems from Mary Oliver (beautiful), some old East Coast horror from HP Lovecraf, a Reconstruction-era Western (pretty decent), ANOTHER biography of Houdini, a graphic novel about the oppression in Palestine, a graphic novel about not-good people, and a LOT of digital comicbooks of JOHN CONSTANTINE: HELLBLAZER!

Mary Oliver writes pretty beautiful poetry.

I had never read any Lovecraft before, though I knew something of his history and themes and reputation (and if you want to read a neat, bizarre, sorta-meta biography, read PROVIDENCE by Alan Moore and Jacen Burrows). So, this was my first time with his words; I got the book at the Milwaukee Paranormal Conference and was excited to read it. It was some good stuff, but I admit, what I enjoyed most was the surprise appearance of Milwaukee in one of the stories (click the pic above).

STRAY BULLETS is a long, involved story about 4 not-really-great people on the run from a drug boss, who they stole a suitcase of money and cocaine from. It’s pretty good, if you’re into that kinda story. WALKER’S WAY is a novel that Naomi and I read together. It’s written by a Wisconsin author, about a former-slave-turned-bounty-hunter in the American Reconstruction Era. THE SECRET LIFE OF HOUDINI was probably the most exhaustive biography of Harry Houdini that I have read so far (and I’ve read 3 or 4 now…).

I read a few issues of THE SPIRIT, re-published by Kitchen Sink Press. Will Eisner IS the master of modern comicbook art, and his skill with using a panel is unparalleled. Here’s a few examples of his great panel-work…

Thanks to HOOPLA, a digital e-book service, I have read a LOT of comicbooks while laying in bed. 🙂 I’ve slowly been reading/re-reading the entire run of JOHN CONSTANTINE: HELLBLAZER, and I’ve now read through 17 volumes…and still have a good amount to go yet. I’ve also read a bunch of comics written by Tom King (BATMAN/CATWOMAN, THE HUMAN TARGET, ONE BAD DAY). I’m also slowly reading all of Nick Spencer’s run on writing SPIDER-MAN. All these books are great examples of darn good comics!

A friend lent me Joe Sacco’s PALESTINE, and that is probably the most important book I have read this year. It is based on the author’s visit to Palestine in the early 1990s…and does a good job of describing the day-to-day difficulty of living in Palestine. I don’t know what the solution to the Israel/Palestine problem is, but I know that one population oppressing another for over 75 years canNOT end well. A solution MUST be found.

Troy’s Book Club: a BUNCH of comics…

This post is wayyyyy overdue! I put the photos together in MAY…and then forgot to post! So, here they are now, a mixed bag of comicbook trades I read in the Spring of 2023! All of these were gotten from the wonderful, downtown Central branch of the Milwaukee Public Library!

THE PUNISHER INVADES THE ‘NAM – is an interesting book. Marvel publishes THE PUNISHER character, who has a canon part of his origin based on his experience in the Vietnam War. THE ‘NAM was was Marvel’s realistic-ish war-comic based on the Vietnam War. This collection combines them…and it can be a pretty affecting thing when you have superhero-type character interact with real historical events.

WARZONES: SQUADRON SINISTER is a limited series with a complicated backstory…which you (my reader) doesn’t need to know. All you need to know is that this comic is a mashup that combined three groups of characters (New Universe, Shadowline, and Squadron Supreme) that were near and dear to my heart as a junior high comicbook reader and oh my GOSH, it was neat to see them in action again! 🙂

GRENDEL VS THE SHADOW was FUN. I’ve long been a fan of Matt Wagner, of both his writing and his art, and to see him bring these two characters head-to-head, was a lot of fun.

GREAT LAKES AVENGERS: SAME OLD, SAME OLD…has a mixed history of success/fail with the stories told about them. Naturally, living on Lake Michigan, I will ALWAYS read a GLA story! This one…was weird, had potential, squandered it, started plot-lines/seemed to abandon them, went in weird directions unexpectedly…just..was odd.

X-MEN: NO MORE HUMANS…is a comic that I read, and that’s about all I can say for it. 😦

HARD TIME by Steve Gerber, Mary Skrenes, and Brian Hurtt is pretty impressive. It was published by DC Comics between 2004-06, and tells the story of a young man who goes to prison as a result of a school shooting that he may…or may not have been a part of. I think this was the first book I saw with Brian Hurtt’s artwork, and I’ve been a fan ever since. Gerber is good at bringing social issues/satire into comicbooks. Sadly, he passed away in 2008.

Day 3669-Day 3682 (April-Dec 2023)

April 24 – day 3669

walking on that trail,

standing water ‘tween ridges,

all the reflections

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May 1 - day 3670

standing in the rain,

and waiting to make photos

of people walking

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May 4 – day 3671

I couldn’t help it;

imagined glaciers and time

as we hiked the hills

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May 22 – day 3672

in my hands, some cake,

toilet paper, and soda, 

and shiny balloons

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June 20 – day 3673

around and around

going nowhere, but logging

a whole lot of miles

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July 10 – day 3674
she was moving out,
but I brought in two boxes
of old comicbooks

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July 26 – day 3675
talked with the junk-man,
helped get a fridge in his truck,
went on with my day

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Aug 2 – day 3676

the scent of the rain

was so THERE and I just want

to remember that.

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Aug 15 – day 3677

it surprised us both

how quickly the light could change,

twilight to sunrise

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Sept 6 – day 3678

days pass by so fast,

I never get enough done;

just keep on trying

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Oct 1 – day 3679
“as a little kid,
what did you think you could be?”
he said, “reporter”

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Nov 1 – day 3680

it was warm inside,

but outside the window, snow

and wind and slick ice

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Nov 22 – day 3681

saw two small kittens

scurry across the dark street,

following their mom 

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Dec 13 –

day 3682

sitting at my desk,

wishing I was out running,

getting some more miles