Retro Review

* blows the dust off the keyboard *

As I’m sure you’ve noticed, Retro Review has been rather quiet lately, as I’ve had to take some time off to put my house in order. I haven’t even been reading comics lately, if you can believe that. Well, not many, at any rate. I did finally manage to get around to reading the first volume of Alan Moore and Chris Sprouse’s Tom Strong, which was an interesting but ultimately unsatisfactory read, partially because it relies too heavily on nostalgia, not all of which holds up well, and partially because of expectation. It’s not at the level of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen or Top 10. I also read the first chapter of Bill Sienkiewicz’s brilliant Stray Toasters, which, while still as creepy as I remember, is a lot funnier than I expected.

However, that’s not to say I’ve not been reading: I’ve gotten sucked into a collection of Miranda July’s short stories (No one belongs here more than you), which are absolutely brilliant, more poetry than prose.

It’s been a slow period for comics, and a slow period for writing, and the next week looks to be much the same. So, Retro Review will remain on hiatus until Monday week, that’s the 15th of December, to give me a chance to get back into the swing of things, not to mention getting back home from a week-long trip. See you back here next week.

All the best,
Derek.

I had a bit of a false restart on Retro Review last week. It was kind of like an attempt by DC to restart Aquaman on Hawkman… okay, that was a little unfair. Geoff Johns’ Hawkman relaunch was good and did well, and Peter David did a great run on Aquaman. And I don’t think either book had problems with missed deadlines. I need to work on my geeky analogies.

Anyway, with a few things still going on, I needed to take a step back from blogging again, and rethink Retro Review a little. I’ve decided to devote the next couple of weeks to making some gift suggestions for trade paperbacks and runs of older books that would make good gifts for various people, starting with good comic books for children and younger teenagers, but also including good comics for non-comic readers, and people who like their comics a little more indie and a little less mainstream.

I have a large comics library but of course there’s plenty of comic books I’ve never read and know little about: if you feel I’ve missed an important series or a good contender for a particular category, please feel free to make some recommendations of your own in the comments.

See you tomorrow for a review of the wonderful Owly, the only guaranteed all-ages comic book I’ve ever read.

All the best, Derek.

A retcon is a change to the continuity of a story that goes into effect retroactively - not only does the change in the status quo affect the story from then on, but it also establishes that things have always been this way, and any older stories that contradict this reality should be ignored or adapted to fit. It is a practice that DC and Marvel engage in regularly, much to the irritation of plot- and continuity-obsessed readers. However, it is not only the Big Two who change established continuity: it can happen in long-running independent entirely creator-owned series like Terry Moore’s Strangers in Paradise.

If you are unfamiliar with the series, which ended in 2007, at its heart, it is the story of a group of people and how true love, truth and lies, and lust and obsession affect their lives. Initially, the focus is on the love between three characters: Francine, Katchoo, and David. However, as the series progressed and more characters gained voices and importance, the story developed to accommodate them. It is a good comic with many powerful and emotional moments, and with some excellent fully realized characters, and there are parts where the story, art and dialog shine. It has its weaknesses: the mafia-style Big Six organization’s story requires a lot of suspension of disbelief and distracts from the starker and more interesting reality of the main story; and the series arguably goes on for too long, leaving it sagging in the middle. That said, I still highly recommend it, especially the first few volumes, and especially to first-time comic readers.

However, despite being the vision of one writer, there is one glaring inconsistency that makes it difficult to read through the whole series and completely get lost in the world he created.

(The rest of this post contains plot spoilers for Strangers in Paradise.) Continue Reading »