TV Can Be Good

Back in the office today and not loving it. My head is still a little foggy, but the law does not sleep! Actually, I slept ok last night – first time in a long time. Here’s what I think about stuff:

My Name is Earl
I had high hopes for this show, and they were met for the most part. Pretty funny stuff – I just hope they can keep it fresh. Jason Lee is lots of fun. Kat has developed a bit of a crush on him – and that’s ok with me. Does anyone do trailer trash better than Jamie Pressley? I’ll keep watching.

The Office
Was late getting into the US version – caught in on DVD last month. My local video store, The Film Buff, has a great selection of TV on DVD and it has become my preferred way of watching shows. I am sure that the UK version is even better (I haven’t seen it – which probably helps my view of the US version), but this is funny, funny stuff. I like humour that makes my jaw drop. “It says ‘Bushiest Beaver’” was the highlight of the show. Looks like the best hour of TV for the week.

Seven Soldiers #0
This book came highly recommended by Joe Rice, as well as Alex Cox, the co-owner of Rocketship in Brooklyn. Those two are contributors to an excellent blog http://listencomics.blogspot.com/ , which is included in my links. I am always a little hesitant to get into a series that is stretched out over many titles and will likely extract $100 from my wallet, but I thought I’d give it a try. I have a soft spot for the original Seven Soldiers – and even own a couple issues of the old Leading Comics. I am also a big fan of Vigilante (love the old Gray Morrow back-ups in Adventure and World’s Finest), so I am always happy to read something involving Greg Saunders. The premise is a good one, and there is a depth to the story that encourages the reader to dig a little deeper (this also involves buying more book, but alas). As I understand, this #0 is only a prologue and the characters introduced here will be replaced. That’s good – because I wasn’t too impressed with some of the revamped characters (namely Boy Blue and Dynamite Dan) and felt Williams’ art on The Whip was a bit pneumatic. I did however like the handling of Vig, and Gimmix (formerly the light hearted Merry, Girl of a 1,000 Gimmicks). The whole ‘barely participated in a few superhero scraps, but happy to milk it on the convention circuit’ angle is great. As a writer, Grant Morrison knows his strengths and he plays to them often (sometimes a little too often), but he was able to take some loose ends and tie them up fairly nicely here. I also enjoyed Williams’ artwork – but some of the layouts were a bit over the top. Overall, it was a good read, and I’d probably give it a ‘B’ or ‘B+’. I don’t know if I’d pick up the rest if it weren’t for Alex, who said that the series was one of the best things he’s ever read in comics. That’s a strong statement, so I will be buying the rest of it. I truly hope that it turns into the kind of series I will want to devour time and time again.

Alter Ego #52
This is my final issue of my subscription. Kat got it for my birthday last year, so hopefully she renewed. This was one of the better issues of the past year – and I was very interested to read about two contributors who don’t get much ink – Joe Giella and Jay Scott Pike. Joe Giella’s takes on Mike Sekowsky and Frank Giacoia were illuminating – always interesting to find out that these creators were also people with normal (and abnormal) problem. The Pike interview was of particular interest to me as he is a real enigma in the comic book world. I have been picking up Atlas romance books wherever possible lately – as they have some of the nicest artwork ever. Pike is truly a master, and has somehow remained relatively unknown. I’d love to get my hands on some of his ‘jungle’ work from the 50s. I somehow doubt that we will ever see an Essential Jann of the Jungle. Oh well, one can dream.