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On Line | |
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On Line | |
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02/16/2002 |
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| By Ilija Stojsavljevic |
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The Final Return of the Mad Serb with Rantings and Ravings for a New Millennium! |
| It has been way too many years since I have
written a regular column for the Edge and most Edge readers, myself
included, would even say that I never wrote a conventional column. The
editors of the previous incarnations of the Edge always encouraged me to
submit items for print, but after my temporary job related move out of
town (That’s his story not mine!) I just lost the zest for writing about
one of my favorite vices. I had also lost some of my enthusiasm for the
hobby during that time. I am now reading as much if not more books than I
have ever read and enjoying comics more than I ever had before.
Now I want to share some of my enjoyment of the medium with my readers out there that are if there are any other readers outside of my editors, and me who have to read my column. I know he/she (I must respect all genders in this politically incorrect, I mean correct world that you live in, since I live in my own mind and that is a truly special place that we will catch a glimpse of in each column) hates reading these columns because they make less sense than I do when I speak in person. I will start this month by suggesting that everyone take a chance on the Marvel Mangaverse. I found it a fun read with a different take on some of my favorite characters. I especially found the Avengers book fun since it mixed a great team book and robots, Japanese style. It was not a great read of the century, I will get to that later, but it was an enjoyable couple of hours to read the entire compliment of issues. Plus giant sized robots rule! Next I highly recommend that Star Wars fans read Star Wars the series published by Dark Horse Comics. It is a series of story arcs that take minor characters from Episode One and new characters created for the series and provides additional history for them. The artwork is solid, the writing is typically well done and the covers are stunning. This series, more than makes up for some of the mini-series that have a more stylized artists drawing them and comes out on a regular basis. (Quit sugar coating and say that you don’t like artwork drawn with 6-inch crayons!) Pay no attention to the comments that are going to be in this and many of my columns because it is just the serious side of my mind trying to think its cooler than the fun side that will be writing this column. Finally, I will go in a slightly darker direction, by recommending that everyone who likes to read about human nature and the weird things that we do (speak for yourself you are the only one who does weird things in this mind). 100 Bullets by Brian Azzarello and Eduardo Risso has been one of my favorite titles, since a friend introduced me to it 2 years ago. (What friends? You hang out with comic book guys and a Yeti!) I will admit that I did not read it from issue number 1, and I have regretted it ever since I found it. Luckily DC has at present published 3 trade paperbacks, which help the story greatly since you don’t have to wait for the next issue:
The books explore what an individual will do when given 100 untraceable bullets and a gun with information about whom has done a disservice to them. The individual then chooses what they will do knowing that there are no legal consequences to their actions. I often imagine what I may do given those conditions and scare myself with the answers. The Risso artwork fits the mood of the book well. The writing and especially the dialogue is similar to every day life since Azzarello, uses the newspaper and humanity as his inspiration, as he told me at the Chicago Con 2 years ago (Quit dreaming, he told everyone attending the panel that! Not you alone!) That is all that I have at this time. I will make it better the next time we meet at the top of this column. Please email me at TheMadSerb with any comments, concerns, and criticisms, because I am interested in your opinion. (No you’re not, quit pandering to your audience of one!) |
