Showing posts with label Graphic Novel. Show all posts

Other People's Reviews: The Muppet Show Comic

Wednesday, January 05, 2011

Image via WikipediaGranted, the authors of the Muppet Mindset blog are coming to this graphic novel with pro-Muppet bias, but it looks like an entertaining read.

So check out their reviews of the multiple issues of The Muppet Show. I for one am holding out for the trade.

Issue one

Issue two

Issue three

Issue four

Posted in Book, Fiction, Graphic Novel, other people's reviews by Laura | 0 comments

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4.5-year index

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Image via WikipediaIt looks like I forgot to do a 4-year index back in April, and these indices do make it easier to find things, so let's get back on track.

Books

Food and drink

Delaware

The Dog House

Massachusetts

Boston Beer Works
Cornwall's Restaurant
Finale
Sabur
S oulFire
Sunset Grill and Tap
Tasca

New Jersey

Cheeburger Cheeburger
Whitman Diner

New York

Bacon-Wrapped Asparagus
Blue Point Brewery
Brooklyn Brewery
Burger Heaven
Cafe Buenos Aires
Croxley's
Grand Lux Café
Hanami Japanese Restaurant
John Harvard's Brew House
Max Brenner
Miller's Ale House
Peter Luger Steakhouse
Red Lobster
Tio Pepe
Trattoria Lucia

Ontario

Fressen
Groucho’s Gourmet Market
Kelsey’s
Naz’s Falafel House
R ichtree Market Restaurant
Smokeless Joe’s
Swiss Chalet
Wayne Gretsky’s

Pennsylvania

Allentown Brew Works
Bistro Cassis
California Pizza Kitchen
Crossroads Coffee
Derek's
Five Guys Burgers and Fries
Flanigan’s Boat House
Irish Pub
Iron Hill Brewery
Kildare's
Macaroni Grill
Manayunk Brewery and Restaurant
Melting Pot
Old Eagle Tavern
Pei Wei Asian Diner
Rock Bottom Restaurant and Brewery
Roller's at Flying Fish
slainte
Sonic
Stoudt's Brewing Company
Zake’s Café

Recipes

Wasabi Pea Tuna Salad

Movies

2006

Alpha Dog
Cars
Clerks II
Lady in the Water
Man of the Year
Monster House
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest
The Prestige
Snakes on a Plane
Superman Returns
X-Men: The Last Stand

2007

300
Amazing Grace
Ghost Rider
The Golden Compass
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
I am Legend
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End
The Simpsons Movie
Spider-Man 3
TMNT
Transformers Wild Hogs

2008

Cloverfield
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Iron Man
Prince Caspian
Wanted

2009

Star Trek
Up
Watchmen

Internet

Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog

Video

Cast Away
Clerks.
Driving Miss Daisy
March of the Penguins
Much Ado About Nothing
Shattered Glass
Sideways
To Kill a Mockingbird

Music

The Dream of Gerontius
Symphony of 1000

To Do and See

Massachusetts

Sam Adams Brewery Tour

New Jersey

G reen Room Billiards

New York

American Museum of Natural History
Bronx Zoo
Cooper Station Post Office
Rockefeller Center Tour

Ontario

CN Tower
The Guvernment
Steam Whistle Brewing

Pennsylvania

The Barnes Foundation
Ghost Tour of Philadelphia

Television

West Wing Series Finale

Posted in Attraction, Book, Fiction, Food, Graphic Novel, Housekeeping, Movie, Music, Nonfiction, Recipe, Restaurant, Television, Video by Laura | 0 comments

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3.5 year index

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Image by moby74 via Flickr

Books

Fiction

Graphic Novels

Nonfiction

Food

Delaware

The Dog House

Massachusetts

Boston Beer Works
Finale
Sabur
S oulFire
Sunset Grill and Tap
Tasca

New Jersey

Cheeburger Cheeburger
Whitman Diner

New York

Bacon-Wrapped Asparagus
Burger Heaven
Cafe Buenos Aires
Grand Lux Café
Hanami Japanese Restaurant
Max Brenner
Peter Luger Steakhouse
Red Lobster
Tio Pepe
Trattoria Lucia

Ontario

Fressen
Groucho’s Gourmet Market
Kelsey’s
Naz’s Falafel House
R ichtree Market Restaurant
Smokeless Joe’s
Swiss Chalet
Wayne Gretsky’s

Pennsylvania

Bistro Cassis
California Pizza Kitchen
Crossroads Coffee
Derek's
Five Guys Burgers and Fries
Flanigan’s Boat House
Macaroni Grill
Pei Wei Asian Diner
Roller's at Flying Fish
slainte
Sonic
Zake’s Café

Recipes

Wasabi Pea Tuna Salad

Movies

2006

Alpha Dog
Cars
Clerks II
Lady in the Water
Man of the Year
Monster House
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest
The Prestige
Snakes on a Plane
Superman Returns
X-Men: The Last Stand

2007

2008

Cloverfield
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Iron Man
Prince Caspian
Wanted

2009

Star Trek
Up
Watchmen

Internet

Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog

Video

Cast Away
Clerks.
Driving Miss Daisy
March of the Penguins
Much Ado About Nothing
Shattered Glass
Sideways
To Kill a Mockingbird

Music

The Dream of Gerontius
Symphony of 1000

To Do and See

New Jersey

G reen Room Billiards

New York

American Museum of Natural History
Bronx Zoo
Cooper Station Post Office
Rockefeller Center Tour

Ontario

CN Tower
The Guvernment

Pennsylvania

The Barnes Foundation
Ghost Tour of Philadelphia

Television

West Wing Series Finale

Posted in Attraction, Bar, Book, CD, DVD, Fiction, Food, Graphic Novel, Housekeeping, Movie, Museum, Music, Nonfiction, Recipe, Restaurant, Television, Theater, VHS, Video by Laura | 0 comments

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Quickie Round-Up: Cheerful Books edition

Thursday, October 08, 2009

Cover of Westing GameDid you make it through my list of depressing books? If you did, I bet you could use a pick-me-up. I know I could.

Here are some lighter, more pleasant books I've picked out to help put a smile back on your face.

Books I've previously reviewed are linked to the appropriate post; in between are some quickie reviews.

1776

The Daring Book for Girls -- The female answer to The Dangerous Book for Boys touches on crafts and cooking, but also has great instructions for games, survival skills round-ups, and stories of real-life princesses who could wipe the floor with Cinderella. If you're a dude, hide the cover and get over yourself; it's fun, useful reading for all.

Gods Behaving Badly: A Novel -- The classical gods are living in London. Their powers are waning and they're bored. Their lives finally get interesting again when two mortals inadvertantly get sucked into their drama. A beach read.

Going Postal

Good Omens

Grayson -- A champion swimmer finds a baby gray whale who had been seperated from his mother. She manages to swim alongside him until the mother can be found. Short and sweet.

Little Evils (Sluggy Freelance)

Making Money

Offbeat Bride

Practical Demonkeeping -- An immortal everyman teams up with a Djinn to hunt down and capture a demon. A quick, fun read.

Project Everlasting: Two Bachelors Discover the Secrets of Americas Greatest Marriages -- Nonfiction. Two bachelors see marriages falling apart around them, and inspired by one author's grandparents, decide to roam the country in an RV and find out the secrets to long-lasting marriage. This book presentd their findings. Very uplifting.

Skipping Towards Gomorrah

The Tales of Beedle the Bard -- This companion to the Harry Potter series tells some fairy tales from the wizarding world. A few minor points stuck out to me (Hermione Granger seems too much of a prescriptivist to translate a singular personal pronoun, gender unknown, as "they"; she strikes me as the "he or she" type), but overall it's a cute book, well-suited for kids who are disappointed the series is complete, or who maybe aren't quite old enough for the last few books.

The Westing Game -- The heirs of the late recluse Sam Westing have absolutely nothing in common. They're an ethnically, socioeconomically diverse group with personalities that vary as much within families as between them. But they all have a shot at the estate of their "Uncle Sam" -- if they can figure out which of them killed him. Lots of fun.

The World of Jeeves

You Suck: A Love Story -- An average guy is turned into a vampire by his girlfriend, and the two of them have misadventures in dealing with a set of his-hers-and-theirs obstacles: his idiot friends, her ancient sire, and their new teenaged minion. Lots of fun.

So, go read one, have a laugh or a pleasant thought, and enjoy!

Posted in Book, Fiction, Graphic Novel, Library, Nonfiction, round-up by Laura | 0 comments

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Quickie Round-Up: Depressing Books edition

Wednesday, September 09, 2009

Cover of Angela's Ashes

I mentioned in a previous review that I'd read quite a few depressing books for book club. Well, it's not just book club.

Below is a round-up of some depressing books for days when you just want to wallow. Books I've previously reviewed are linked to the appropriate post; in between are some quickie reviews.

You didn't think I only read one book a month, did you?!

9-11 Artists Respond

Angela's Ashes -- This book ticked off Ireland. We know the young boy in the bad neighborhood with the troubled family eventually grows up and makes good, but when you read this book you have your doubts. Doesn't quite live up to the hype, but still very good.

Birds Without Wings

Gilead -- A widowed minister remarries in old age and has a child with his much-younger second wife. He then meanders through the book, contemplating his impending death and everything he wants his son to know. Touching if you can get through it.

The Giver -- In a time and place where everything is the same, one person in the community must hold all of mankind's memories, to keep the leaders of the community from making bad decisions based on ignorance. Jonas, at 12, has been chosen to fill this role. Dark, thought-provoking, and a surprisingly quick read.

The Good Earth -- A poor man starts a family, manages to accumulate land a bit at a time, and finally gets rich. Mo' money, mo' problems, anyone? Another award-winner, and decently informative.

The Knitting Circle -- A woman experiences tragedy and her marriage starts to fall apart because of it. She's convinced to join a knitting group, and learns that every member of the group has been through something horrific in one way or another. Not just the little everyday hard stuff we all deal with, but, like, gang rape. I'm not exaggerating. Very chick-lit, if that's your thing.

Linden Hills -- Once upon a time, a community was founded for upwardly-mobile African-American families. But generations of corrupt landlords and status-hungry tenants have turned this prestigious neighborhood into something vaguely resembling Dante's vision of Hell. I read this for a
Theology class; we kind of focused on that metaphor.

Maus I and Maus II

The Memory Keeper's Daughter -- A doctor and his wife have twins. One twin has Down's Syndrome. Rather than raising the child, the doctor sends a nurse to take her a group home, and tells his wife their daughter died. This pretty much ruins the life of all involved, with the exception of the daughter and, eventually, the nurse. Addresses issues we might not think about.

Night -- What is it ab out the nature of God -- or the nature of Man -- that allowed young Elie to survive the Holocaust when so many others did not? One of those books everyone should read.

Parable of the Sower -- A young woman with intriguing ideas about religion has to make her way across California with a destitute band of survivors after her gated community is destroyed. Not an optimistic view of our future, but a great read. Likewise its sequel, Parable of the Talents, in which all of the heroine's plans are destroyed and we lose a little sympathy with her.

The Road -- After the world as we know it ends, a father and his young son try to escape nuclear winter and find enough clean food and water to survive. And excellent book, but not one to inspire optimism.

Silence -- Jesuit priests go to Japan to spread the gospel and find out what happened to one of their own who has gone missing. It doesn't end well. A fantastic translation, I'm told.

The Silent Woman

The Sparrow -- Oh, those wacky Jesuits are at it again. This time, they travel to a planet where intelligent life has been discovered. We learn on the first page that only one of them has survived, and he has been through hell. I don't exaggerate. Actually one of my favorites, but hardly light and fluffy.

A Thread of Grace

Watchmen -- Sorry, but as awesome as this graphic novel is -- and it is, trust me -- it is not cheerful. At all. Don't tell me you saw the movie so you don't need to read the book. It doesn't work that way.

So. That ought to do it. You go ahead and get all depressed, while I see what I can find to cheer us up. Enjoy!

Posted in Book, Fiction, Graphic Novel, Library, Nonfiction, round-up by Laura | 4 comments

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Assorted Graphic Novels

Friday, August 21, 2009

Image by Hryck. via Flickr

Watchmen, Sluggy Freelance: Little Evils, Gargoyles: Clan Building Volume 1

You should know

It occurs to me, since I reviewed Watchmen, that I never got around to reviewing the graphic novel. Or several other graphic novels I've read in the recent past.

I borrowed Watchmen from Dan long before the movie came out. Sluggy Freelance is a webcomic I've been following since my Freshman year of college; the comic itself has been around for about ten years. I'm currently a moderator on their official forums, so there's your full disclosure. Gargoyles is based on the Disney cartoon, which I loved as a kid.

So?

Watchmen

If you read my review of the movie, you'll already have a bare-bones sense of the plot.

This graphic novel is less linear overall; it was written as a serial, so each chapter is a somewhat self-contained story. As a result, instead of being a strictly ensemble story taking place in a vivid universe, each issue focused on a particular element of the story -- this character, that exposition, this tangent, that philosophical musing. This made the story less linear than it appears in then movie -- which wasn't all that linear to begin with. The events portrayed in the awesome opening sequence are more scattered, and touched on in more depth. Also, a few plotlines -- plotlines that appear in the DVD features, but did not show up on the big screen -- are actually sort of a big deal in the book.

Sluggy Freelance: Little Evils

This is dead-tree version of books 4, 5, and 6 of the longrunning webcomic Sluggy Freelance. We kick off with a roundup of the characters and what they've been up to: Protagonist Torg is stuck in the past with potential love-interest Zoë; best friend Riff is trying to get them back; Bun-Bun the vicious talking rabbit is presumed dead; Aylee the interdimensional alien has been frozen in time; Gwynn, Zoë's friend and Riff's ex, is in a coma; K'Z'K the demon is on the loose; and Kiki the ferret just got distracted by something shiny. Browse the website to see if you'll like this one, but I think you will. It kind of sounds dreary, but it's actually a ton of fun.

Gargoyles: Clan Building Volume 1

Greg Weisman, creator of the Gargoyles animated series, has been waiting for over a decade to expand on his vision. With this graphic novel (a collection of more-or-less monthly comics) he threw away Season 3 of the series, picking up where Season 2 left off. The Clan is back at the castle, and humans know they exist. Alliances have shifted. Enemies, such as the Xanatos family, have become protectors, and the Illuminati is up to something, as usual. Throw in the standard Gargoyles mix of Magic, Mythology, and Mad Science, and the reader is thrown into Weisman's deeply-layered universe. No, seriously, this was a kids' show! But it ages well. Enjoy.

Rating

Read what suits you

I liked all three of these books, but they are all very different. Some may appeal to you more than others. That's OK. But depending on your tastes, I think you should give at least one of them a try. And if you like it... maybe the other two as well.

The rest of the Internet

Beware of spoilers

In between advice for saving, Trent at The Simple Dollar enthuses about Watchmen and other books he'd read recently.

Listen to Alan Moore himself read from Roshcarchs' journal. (hat tip to Wil Wheaton)

The wikipedia entry on Watchmen.

Nicholas Michael Grant provides an introduction to Watchmen.
LibraryThing pages for all three books.
Samy Masadi at The Anchor highly recommends Watchmen.

Hunter Baker at The American Culture discussed Watchmen.
The Clan-Building, Volume One page at the Gargoyles Wiki.
Isaac Kelley at PopMatters reminiscnes about Gargoyles and speaks highly of Clan-Building, Volume One.
Michael May at Newsarama is also nostalgic and appreciative of Clan-Building, Volume One.

Posted in Book, Fiction, Graphic Novel by Laura | 0 comments

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The Reviewing Whatever List of Imperatives

Sunday, June 14, 2009

Cover of The Simpsons Movie (Widescreen Edition)Updated 1/2/10

I've reviewed quite a few things along the way, and most of the stuff I've encountered has been largely positive, but with qualifiers: you should see this movie if you like mindless summer flicks; you should read this book if you like historical biography, and so on.

There are a few things, though, that I recommend across the board; I may not expect you to completely agree with me, but I think you should -- no, must -- at least check them out.

Must read

Maus Parts One and Two.
The Gift of Fear.
The Commitment.
Kockroach.
Lonesome Dove.
The World of Jeeves.

Must watch

clerks. and clerks ii.
The Prestige.
The Simpsons Movie.
Prince Caspian.
Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog.
John Adams.
Up.

Must...eat?

Tasca (MA)
Tio Pepe (NY).
Five Guys Burgers and Fries.

Must.... other, I guess

Rondout Inn (NY).

Posted in advice, Book, Fiction, Graphic Novel, Housekeeping, Massachusetts, Movie, New York, Nonfiction, Restaurant by Laura | 2 comments

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Watchmen

Saturday, March 28, 2009

Image by Foenix via Flickr

Watchmen

2009, in theaters

You should know

I've read the book. Chris, with whom I saw the movie, has not (at least, as of press time).

So?

First off, let me emphasize that this is not a kids' movie. Yes, it was based on the graphic novel, but that's not a kids' books, either. There is violence, sex, sexual violence, lots of murder, bad language, bad music, and a moral ambiguity that never takes a break. If your 8-year-old can handle that, awesome. If not, don't blame me; I warned you. But it's rated R for a very good reason. This is not one of those movies where they add the s-word to get a PG bumped up to a PG-13 and attract the 18-35 crowd. This is a real, actual R movie.

OK, that's out of the way.

So, having said all that, I want to add that for the most part, I really did enjoy the movie. I never expected it to be exactly the same as the book. For one thing, I was spoiled as to the ending. For another, the book is long, and even with the movie as long as it is (162 minutes), something had to give.

I did find that having read the book filled in some blanks. There were a few moments that were a little unclear to Chris that made sense to me since I had the context. So on the off chance you haven't heard already, the film takes place in a world where superheroes -- or, at least, costumed vigilantes -- are very real. And illegal. Former heroes essentially have three paths they can take. They can work for the government, like The Comedian. They can flagrantly break the law, like Rorschach. Or, they can retire, and either capitalize off their past, like Ozymandias, or just walk away from the whole thing, like Nite Owl. But then, costumed heroes start turning up dead, leaving those who survive to face their demons and avenge their colleagues.

And by the way? It's 1985 and the United States is counting down to nuclear war with the Soviet Union.

We open with a great montage that explains the alternate timeline we're dealing with, showing the heroes who have gone before; some are dead, others are retired.

As we proceed through the narrative line, we begin to fill in the blanks and learn more about the characters and what makes them tick. Why is Silk Spectre so angry at her mother? How did Dr. Manhattan gain superpowers (he's the only one who actually has them)? What makes a hero? What makes a villain?

I mentioned above that something had to give. In the original text, much more attention is given to the backstories of the first generation of heroes. This is not strictly necessary -- the opening scene really covers the major points -- but it does provide a lot of information. Likewise, there is quote a bit more information about Ozymandias's post-hero activities -- he's a massively powerful businessman (it would not surprise me if it turned out he was a partial inspiration for David Xanatos). Finally, there's a complex subplot invlving a man who runs an newsstand and a boy who buys comics there, which revolves around a comic within the comic (which is available on a direct-to-video DVD and will be a feature when the movie comes out on video).

Rating

See it unless...

You can't stand violence, or you have a small bladder. Reference my paragraph above about the R-rating, and if that's not a deal-breaker, make sure you can handle sitting through a film that's almost 3 hours long. If so, get going.

I do recommend reading the book first, but you can get away with no doing so. If you come out of the movie less-than-impressed, though, seriously consider returning to the source material, rather than assuming that since the film didn't do it for you, the book can't.

The rest of the Internet

Beware of spoilers...
The real Doomsday Clock is currently set to 11:55 PM. Interestingly, the real-life Doomsday Clock in 1985 was set closer to midnight than the one in Watchmen.
TelevisionWithoutPity's Moviefile writes about the world in which the movie takes place, and writes reviews both with and without spoilers, as part of its extensive coverage of the movie.
Francesco Marciuliano at Francesco Explains it All was impressed by the movie, but didn't really enjoy it.
Dana Stevens at Slate explains what the big deal is.
Wil Wheaton waxes enthusiastic about the film.
A review at Selections From the Scrolls of the PlatinumWarlock notes that some of the more graphic scenes take things a touch too far.

Posted in 2009, Chris, Graphic Novel, Movie, New York, Theater by Laura | 0 comments

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Wednesday, January 05, 2011

Related articles

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Books

Fiction

Nonfiction

Food and drink

Delaware

Massachusetts

New Jersey

New York

Ontario

Pennsylvania

Recipes

Movies

2006

2007

2008

2009

Internet

Video

Music

To Do and See

Massachusetts

New Jersey

New York

Ontario

Pennsylvania

Television

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Books

Fiction

Nonfiction

Food

Delaware

Massachusetts

New Jersey

New York

Ontario

Pennsylvania

Recipes

Movies

2006

2007

2008

2009

Internet

Video

Music

To Do and See

New Jersey

New York

Ontario

Pennsylvania

Television

Thursday, October 08, 2009

Wednesday, September 09, 2009

Friday, August 21, 2009

Watchmen, Sluggy Freelance: Little Evils, Gargoyles: Clan Building Volume 1

You should know

So?

Rating

The rest of the Internet

Sunday, June 14, 2009

Must read

Must watch

Must...eat?

Must.... other, I guess

Related articles

Saturday, March 28, 2009

You should know

So?

Rating

The rest of the Internet

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