Slim pickings in my comic pull, dear
My heart feels just a slight twinge of fear
But Matt Murdoch's a winning number
Mole Man's got some stiffs with which to encumber
Fighting underground you best bring it
Popping monster tongues make me feel sick
Defeated Molely will have to pay
Black Cat, Felicia, why don't you stay
I read the Daredevil comic book
I read the Daredevil whoa-oh comic book
Shhhhhhh, be vewy, vewy quiet. We're hunting comics. Huh huh huh huh. Hello there Donist World readers (mom), and welcome to Friday Slice of Heaven, Slice into the Woods. I'm here with my trusted companion and main critic, Obie, my friends' Boston terrier. We are on a search for new comics this week and although we found three, only one is providing the proper clues to the mystery of that which thrills the Donist. Obie is decked out in his finest Sherlock Holmes hat, coat, pipe and magnifying glass--minus the opium addiction of course--as we searched the comic racks this week and turned up a particularly intriguing comic. Elementary my dear Obie, it's...
Friday Slice of Heaven
***Possible Spoilers Below***
In the previous issue, Matt Murdoch, Daredevil, traveled below the ground in search of a grave robber, who was stealing the coffins of the dead...all of the dead. Daredevil follows and finds that the Mole Man, Harvey Elder, and his moloids were behind the dastardly deed and it seems that the Mole Man was after one body in particular; that of a woman he loved from afar. This issue we find Matt plummeting into the mouth of one of the Mole Man's "pets," requiring Horn Head to do something disgusting to get free. Harvey and Matt end up fighting, but Daredevil wins in the end taking the dead woman's body as well as some reparations--some of which he keeps...uh-oh--and he sets things right at the cemetery. Back at home he discovers that Felicia, the Black Cat, had stolen a hard drive possessing information worth killing for, but then put it back and is now on the run. Felicia is in hiding, and who's the stranger keeping an eye on Matt Murdoch's every move?
Another great issue of Daredevil and I will definitely be back for the next. Waid continues to bring excitement to a series that had been drowning in bleak despair for many years and here we have a fight with the Mole Man that has every opportunity to be cheesy and standard superhero fare. It's not. Instead the reader is left sympathizing to some degree with Harvey Elder and his screwed up life. His abhorrent crime is still wrong, but his reasons for stealing the bodies from the cemetery make sense and even Daredevil feels bad for the guy. Waid also shows with this issue that even a superhero is not infallible as Daredevil keeps some of the diamonds for himself. Paolo Rivera continues to provide some fantastic interior art and the cover alone is beyond lovely. I know there are a few other Marvel titles that I should be reading such as Uncanny X-Force and Wolverine and the X-Men, but for now Daredevil is the offering from the House of Ideas that I look forward to the most each month. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
Otherly Heavenly Things - As quiet a week as it was for new comics, there was still plenty to keep me happy and overjoyed in the meantime. for instance...
I Finished the Second Draft of My All-Ages Novel - Here, here! I started the book back in January 2011 and began work on the second draft a year later. I'm excited for what I've written, but I still want to run it by my in-house editor (um...my English Teacher wife. If you're a writer, you should get one of those), and will be doing god-only-knows what sorts of chores in order to repay her for her invaluable time. Still, I'm proud of not just the fact that I have written my second novel, but also the fact that I'm excited by my story and hope that others some day soon will enjoy it as well.
I Watched the Scott Snyder Recorded Critique of My Short Comic Script - I should clarify. The vast amount of encouraging and helpful information that Mr. Snyder provided was priceless. Seeing my weird, twitchy self on the monitor...not so much so. Anyhow, I watched through the nearly two hours of footage, took many notes and will begin expanding "Down By the Pond" from a five-page story out to a full twenty-two-page comic starting this weekend. I'm still reeling from just how kind Mr. Snyder was with his advice and his time. Hopefully I can improve the story and give it the space to breathe that it deserves.
Beer Tasting at the Mercury Room - I went to a beer tasting this past Saturday and it was an informatively awesome event. If I wasn't having so much fun, I would have been taking notes. We tasted six beers under the instruction of a licensed cicerone (the sommelier of the beer world): pilsner, a false-hefeweizen (I forget what it was called), a hefeweizen, a Belgian beer, an IPA and an Imperial Stout. Now I'm thinking that I want to not only write for a living, but also become a cicerone. Sounds like a plan, Stan. Afterwards we met more friends at the Hollister Brewing Company for more (better than what was tasted) beer and good food.
The Hunger Games Movie - Joy of joys. My friends and I went to the Hollister Brewing Company two days in a row and that's a good thing. Lunch and pints of IPA followed by a movie...what's not to love? As for the movie itself, I loved it too. All three of us did. I had devoured the Suzanne Collins three books in short order and was not disappointed by the movie at all. The horror and building tension of the Reaping was powerful as was the District 11 riot after the death of Rue. Scenes of the stark poverty of the districts intermixed the excesses of the Capitol infuriated me, but then tempered my reaction through the introduction of characters sympathetic to the tributes such as Cinna (Lenny Kravitz) and former Hunger Games winner Haymitch Abernath (Woody Harrelson). Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) and Peta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson) were exactly how I pictured them in the book and they were spot on in their rolls. Overall a great movie based on an excellent series of books. Bring on Catching Fire! VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
Archie the Married Life: Volume 1 - Written by Micael Uslan and Paul Kupperberg, illustrated by Norm Breyfogle, Andrew Pepoy and Joe Rubenstein, published by Archie Comics. The only reason this is not up above and getting its own mini review is that I'm only about a third of the way through the comic, but it is worthy of mention because I am loving this book more than I ever thought I would. Basically, after the whole Archie Marries Veronica and Archie Marries Betty hoopla--which I have not read--Archie Comics decided to push the matter and show what the title character's life would be like with each woman. I'm going to say it...it's fascinating, well-written and so realistic, that I could see aspects of myself within each character...with the exception of Veronica's father. The writers immediately grab hold of the reader, leaving them no choice but to sympathize with each character as they attempt to make their way through an increasingly difficult and oftentimes disappointing world. Don't get me wrong, this is not to say that there are not cheerful and uplifting moments, it's just that the protective shell of the old Archieverse has been removed and with that gone, well, life is not all that easy. Again, so very well done and I hope to have time to finish reading the very book 10-year-old Donist would have turned his nose up at. Archie The Married Life: Volume 1 is incredibly moving and a joy to read thus far. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
Holdfast Rifle Company and One More Food Thing - Last night Amy and I went with our friends to hear our other friends perform in their old-timey country band Holdfast Rifle Company at the Santa Barbara Brewhouse. You can hear a podcast with an older performance here and see a video here. Another great show and I'm not just saying that because I love these guys. The Brew House in addition to having great music and...well...brews, has some great food as well. How's fillet mignon and mushroom enchiladas grab ya? Oh, that's not enough? How's about raspberry chipotle cheesecake? I don't even like cheesecake and this was out of this world.
Slice Into the Woods
Three Comics Enter, One Comic Leaves - It was a light week for Donist World with only three comics purchased, but of those three, only one really wowed me, which is kind of a bummer. Here's hoping things turnaround next month.
Why Can't I Eat and Drink What I Want Without Gaining Weight - Yeah, that's it. Read the above entries about beer bonanzas, fillet mignon and mushroom enchiladas, and raspberry chipotle cheesecake. Damnit. Oh well, back to the Wii Fit to undo the damage of my forced inactivity towards the tail end of 2011 and my lack of self-control. Damnit.