Goin' Ape

Renny is back on the comics and what does he think?

Dropsie Avenue: The Neighbourhood by Will Eisner is a real winner. Eisner mixes a Disneying sentimentality with some very harsh and awful realities. It's a surprisingly good combination.

Good As Lily by Derek Jerk Kim not as good as Same Difference. It has a cool concept, but there are a couple major holes in the 'built world' and so the story is pretty unsatisfying. The dialogue is not up to Kim standards, either. He didn't draw the comic either and the guy who did is sort of doing a Kim style but faster and sloppier. If you get to the back of the comic, you see that he made it for Minx, which seems to be a series by DC for 14 year old girls. Which then explains the general tone and style of the comic previously, except for one really off-colour joke about pus-filled sores from an STD. But if someone else wants to read this comic, it is a quick read and I'd like to talk to someone about how this comic could have been fixed. Because I very strongly get the sense that it could be, but I'm not sure exactly how. It would have to involve something done in the actual devices of the story. He's got to be more specific with his 'magic' - I think that's the first step.

The Spiegelman comics about the Twin Towers. Worth reading. Interesting. Not fantastic. But it is a new way of looking at 9/11 - he was pretty close to it. The other thing too, is that he was one of the few voices dissenting during that period when it was not okay.

Right now I'm reading the 5 year collection of American Elf, Kochalka's daily journal comics. At first I could not stand it and I wanted to strangle this man! A massive compendium of burping, pissing, farting, fucking, saying something cute to your wife, saying something cute to your cat. The man is in his 30's and he is constantly celebratory of how immature he is. Literally, pouting until he gets McDonald's. But the strips, they grow on you. Somehow. He's got a very distinct sparse style that allows him to be very novel at times. The strips are more interesting when something happens in his life, like a trip overseas than when he is back at home waiting for his wife to get home and talking to his cat (literally! There are several comics like this!) So it sort of makes you wish he'd apply himself in some slightly different direction. The problem is when people start copying Kochalka. Seriously, I once bought a comic by some chubby guy who was ripping Kochalka off (which he acknowledged) and didn't have the same stylistic grace and so it was just poor.
I picked up the book because Jeff Rowland and Scott McCloud said this guy was the best and I respect their opinions. Right now I'm still torn as to whether the strips are any good, but I do keep getting drawn back in.

I've got an exam on Wednesday for my class in social geography. We only have to study four chapters. On the topic of relative versus absolute poverty, my prof said this, roughly,
"If I cannot afford $1,200 for an ice cream, does that mean I am in poverty? If I cannot afford to go to little cafe in Manhattan and pay $1,200 for just ice cream and they put some little fruits around the edge of the dish, does that mean I am poor? Compared to Jennifer Lopez, who can just say "sure" and pay $1,200 just like that, just for ice cream, maybe, I am poor. But not really, I am not really in absolute poverty."
He talked about some other stuff and came back to the ice cream example twice more in the lecture.

Labels: Absolute Poverty, Comics, Egg, Ice cream, Jennifer Lopez

posted by Leo 1:50 PM // |

Semi frequent readers of the blog (Cup in eye?) will know that once every few months in Toronto, someone eggs me.
The first time I got got was on College Street in the summertime. Ben and Meghan were thurrr and can attest to the carnage. They got me right between the backpack and the back. Thankfully, it was warm so I could take my shirt off and rollerblade home.
The second time was on the Bathurst bus a couple months after the first incident. The windows were up so everyone was ok. My sister was there that time. I can't say I was the target specifically this time, but I was visible from the assaulter's vantage point.
The third time, the time that proves that I am being targeted by egg-chuckers in this city, happened just last night. Salmon Eye were walking home along St Clair just west of Bathurst at about quarter to two in the a.m. when I hear something that sounds like a glass bottle smashing. After initial stun, we realize we were the intended targets of drive-by egg chuckers! Two eggs are dripping down the construction site plyboard walls.
"What the fuck! It's a fucking egg! How the fuck is this even possible! This is the third time I have had a fucking egg thrown at me in the city of Toronto by a total stranger."
Sam was just as shocked. There was a woman walking ahead of us who kind of glanced around, but kept on going. The eggers did not target her, nor the next woman ahead of her. Salmon Eye talked about how bad it woulda been to get hit. I want to put out a message to all eggers in the GTA, because I know you read my blog and target me. Listen: if you must throw eggs at people for the purpose of nasty prankery, take the eggs out of the fridge two hours before you chuck them. A cold egg is much harder than a soft one and can cause real injury.
As Salmon Eye continued down the street, we saw two guys around our age who seemed fairly drunk, even from a distance. "Are these the eggers?" I thought to myself. Well, no matter, because there's no way we could take them. As we got closer, the one guy in a rugby shirt asks me, "Hey, did you guys get egged?" He had yolk all down his sleeve and some on his shoulder. His friend, in a Queen's University jacket was untouched. The rugby shirt guy showed us his bottom forearm, "They got me right here. It really hurt, it's gonna fuckin' bruise up". When I got back home I noticed I got some eggwhite splashback on my jeans. At least I didn't get a fucking welt on my head.

When people ask me, "Is Toronto a safe city?" I say sure. I ride public transit constantly and no one ever tries to pick your pocket, I've never been stuck up. Girls tell me dirty old men can be a problem, but me, I just have a problem with eggers.

I wonder what Redman would do if someone threw an egg at him?

Labels: Egg, Egged, Eggers, Redman, Toronto

posted by Leo 11:37 AM // |

archives

Monday, November 19, 2007

The Comics

Monday, April 23, 2007

Three Times is a Charm