Beth Tabler
Although I don't fall in with the shambling masses, I have read World War Z ten times. Zombies can be scary or an interesting sociological construct like how they were written about in World War Z. But this fell seriously flat. I am not sure why this is a book? It has eighty or so words, and although the pictures are funny or ironic, once you “read” through the book the first time the reader is not coming back for seconds. There is no need to buy it. I can see this being an ongoing webcomic, single serving chuckles. But that's it. Hate to say it, but don't waste your time.
I Met a Traveller in an Antique Land is a special edition hardcover novella from Connie Willis published by Subterranean Press. I received this ebook from Netgalley.com for an honest review.
I hate giving Connie Willis's work a “meh” rating. Normally her work is absolutely wonderful and you can't put it down. This time the novella fell very flat. It felt much more like a rough draft that needed some buffing out and pruning. It probably would have worked much better as a short story.
To her credit though, I love the idea of a depository for books. No book shall be lost to damage or antiquity. I am a book lover myself and the story resonated with me deeply on that level. That is where the idea ends though. It is one note.
I spent quite a bit of this book wondering, “what the hell is going on?” I get that it is six vignettes of the character, moon knight. But honestly aside from the grittiness, there didn't seem to be much that united the main character through the six books into an actual personality. Aside from a badass. In that respect, it was rather boring.
I have read a lot of Ellis over the years. Next to Gaiman he is my favorite graphic novelist and Frankly transmetropolitan is absolute genius. That being said this was just eh for me. His writing is always good, and graphically this is well done. So it isn't those things, but the story arc felt so flat. It felt flat and combat magician is kind of a thing in urban fantasy right now and sorry to say they did it better. Gravel reminds me of Dresden and John Constantine but without Dresden's heart or Constantine's swagger. I wanted to like gravel but he lacked the hook that made me empathize or understand him at all. He was a G.I Joe with magic. It's still a decent read. I don't think Ellis can put out anything terrible. He is like pizza, even when it's sorta bad it's still damn good. I just don't think it's one of his best. I'll continue with the serious the ideas and plot are very interesting. We shall see where it goes.
This is adorable. The author took something that usually is told as a scary tale, “Pandora's box” and turned it into something beautiful and relatable for children. The story is told in rhyming verse and the author does a great job of keeping the verse flowing. The writing is smart, but can easily be understood by a 3-4-year-old. The illustrations are beautiful and mesh so well with the rhythm of the story. The beautiful surprise at the end of the story really turns the “Pandora's Box” mythology on its head. Well worth reading to your little ones.
I received a DIGITAL Advance Reader Copy of this book from #NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Absolutely gorgeous pictures and detailed information. Gardening books can become almost clinical with instructions. However, this book manages to skirt the line of information-rich and “coffee table” quality which gardening books seldom do. It makes the reader want to look through it again and again. Additionally, the section that covers featured plants is very useful. There is an entire world out there of plants that gardeners are not exposed to on a daily basis and this section shows you the lovely plants you can get for your garden. It really is an extraordinary book and I think that any succulent lover would benefit from having it in their library. A must-have!
I received a DIGITAL Advance Reader Copy of this book from #NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. You can see more of my reviews at www.beforewegoblog.com
I absolutely love the ideas in this book. I am a book lover, but also a lover of the ideas and scenes in books. Cooking can be a great storytelling tactic. Everyone has to eat, and many memories can be shared over tea or scones, or scotch eggs for example. Recipes whose sole purpose is to transport you back to a specific scene in a novel that you found evocative is such a fantastic idea. Many of the recipes are from well-loved children's' books. This opens up such a wonderful opportunity to share something special with your child and make a memory. The recipes are easy to follow, and the pictures are lovely and well framed. The writing is concise and easy to understand. I thoroughly enjoyed the ideas and writing in this book and look forward to testing out some of these recipes with my own daughter when she is older. For now, I will have to make some Winnie the Pooh Hundred Acre Tea with her and watch a movie.
I received a DIGITAL Advance Reader Copy of this book from #NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I absolutely love the ideas in this book. I am a book lover, but also a lover of the ideas and scenes in books. Cooking can be a great storytelling tactic. Everyone has to eat, and many memories can be shared over tea or scones, or scotch eggs for example. Recipes whose sole purpose is to transport you back to a specific scene in a novel that you found evocative is such a fantastic idea. Many of the recipes are from well-loved children's' books. This opens up such a wonderful opportunity to share something special with your child and make a memory. The recipes are easy to follow, and the pictures are lovely and well framed. The writing is concise and easy to understand. I thoroughly enjoyed the ideas and writing in this book and look forward to testing out some of these recipes with my own daughter when she is older. For now, I will have to make some Winnie the Pooh Hundred Acre Tea with her and
This book which made me laugh so many times I lost count. I either full on guffawed or chuckled; each “chapter” is a perfect bon mot on something that will make you feel all the feelings. Most of the scenarios I have felt or gone through myself. I too have a psychotic dog that wants to end the existence of all other dogs by doing a scream yodle thing. So, this book is a weirdly relatable collection of great stories and I am not sure how comfortable I am with that. It all made me realize that I am in fact this weird. As for her actual writing, her wit is honest and open even when dealing with tough subjects such as depression. It doesn't come off as simplistic, but relatable and real. It really was such a pleasure to read. I would recommend this book to anyone.
I received this as an advanced copy from Netgalley.com for an honest review.
I swear, Sarah Anderson's strips are pixelated joy. Each one speaks to me in a different way, and I found myself nodding enthusiastically as I read them and/or laughing my ass off. She speaks to my inner animal lover and my inner anxiety and angst fueled woman. I liked this so much, I want to get some of strips printed out and hang them on the wall so moments when I am losing my mind, or having crazy anxiety due to my period and I can look up at the picture and go “ahhhh. Yes. I am not alone in this insanity.” I haven't read the first two books in the series which is so very exciting because that means I get to experience them for the first time and look forward to all the joy. I would definitely recommend this book to any adult reader. I find some of her strips speak specifically to being a woman, but even then male readers will get a chuckle. Readdddd itttt.
I was provided a free copy of this novel from NetGalley.com for an honest review.
This is a great graphic novel, albeit slow paced. It isn't plodding or lazy but instead the text meanders from one frame to the next. Much how I would think a cowboy of the old west would mosey. I don't know if that is a stylistic choice by the authors, or just how the authors write, but it is effective.
I think there is a great need for graphic novels set in the old west. It was an interesting era and it is rife with historical misinterpretation. Really, the past is interesting and exciting enough without having to dress it up in silver spurs and the OK coral. The authors really did justice to the time frame. Plus the lead character is likable without being annoying, and flawed enough to seem realistic. All and all a great read and I am looking forward to reading more from this author duo.
I was supplied with an ARC of this novel from netgalley.com for a honest review.
Well jesus-riding-a-pogo-stick.. that is a weird take on James Bond mythos.
First lets talk about what is completely awesome about this story. It is offensive (in a good way), ribald, crazy, and exceptionally well drawn. The writing is comedic and dirty but still very smart. Typical of Ennis's books, of which I am a huge fan. Specifically It reminds me a lot of the style of “The Boys.” Gratuitous sex and violence.
What I found to be not so hot was stories pacing. It didn't seem to get anywhere till the very last part of the book. The rest of it was some lead up and a lot of dick jokes, Eh I really think Garth Ennis could have done better in that department.
All in all I would recommend this series to readers after they have read some of Ennis's better work: Preacher and The Boys specifically. He really shines in those and the characters are spectacularly put together. Also this has to be said, you really should not read this book if you are not an adult and even then it's iffy. I felt like I needed a shower to wash some mental grime off from reading some of his other stories, and this story is not an exception. However for this series there is more story to be written maybe it will get pulled together in one glorious climax (he he). We shall see where it goes.
I am flummoxed. I very much wanted to like this book. I feel like it would increase my “cool” factor exponentially if I did, but alas I was confused and slightly perturbed. As a reader I don't have a whole lot of experience with Manga as a genre. I have dabbled in it, but never went swimming. That being said, I have quite a bit of experience in reading the cyber punk genre which is one of my favorites. Manga absolutely excels in it. “Ghost in the Shell,” and “Akira” are bonafide classics and rightly so. But “Blame!” just didn't do it for me. I can appreciate the quality of the artwork and the simplicity of the dialog: the dialog is minimalistic and it relies on the stark visuals to convey meaning and tone. But, I think it reached to far into starkness and loses any sort of context for the story. I got lost repeatedly and the characters ended up meaning nothing to me. Any die hard manga fan should check out this novel but the average reader trying to branch out would be well served to check out “Akira” or “Ghost in the shell”.
Eh maybe I am just not cool enough.
I was provided a free copy of this novel from NetGalley.com for an honest review.
Butcher writes another slam dunk in the Urban Fantasy genre with everyones favorite anti-hero and total pain-in-the-ass wizard. This go around is in the form of a graphic novel.
To preface, Harry is seething in anger and anxious about past dealings that are coming to haunt him. He is a man holding on by how fingernails. But then he gets an unexpected request for help from a member of the White Council. This takes Harry out of his comfort zone of Chicago and the reader to an unfamiliar location. Harry attempts to do what he does best, protect the innocence and cause hate and discontent for some rather nasty baddies that are attempting to shit on Harry's evening. As always, things definitely do not go as planned.
Typical for Jim Butcher, the writing is excellent. The language and imagery are crisp and interesting with out being to verbose. In a not so typical fashion for Butcher's writing the pacing seemed off. I found that at the start of the novel the pacing was lugubrious and slow. Maybe that was a writerly choice for tone setting, but I found that off putting. Especially in a format such as a graphic novel. Where pacing and imagery are literally at the forefront. The story picks back up in a typical Dresden fashion and ends in some very interesting ways. Overall a very good read and I would recommend it to anyone. This series has a big place in my heart and I am always so excited with Jim releases new stories.I can't get enough of this world and I believe that everyone needs a little Harry Dresden in their lives.
I received this book as an ARC and am new to the series. But, oh man this book has made me a believer. The book is just adorable. Not adorable in the annoying cutesy fart way, but adorable in an uncluttered visually appealing way. This book, and I would have to assume series seems like it would launch a 1000 memes for adults and still be silly and approachable for young readers. A very uncommon combination in books. I enjoyed the lighthearted tone, the graphics, and occasional interesting science fact thrown in. (Good for trivia night as an adult.) I would highly recommend this novel to the 2nd-5th grade reader.
As a side note, I can definitely empathize with Narwhal's obsession with his new favorite food. I too find myself feeling like Narwhal. You may call me Madam von peanut.
I received this as an advanced copy from Netgalley.com for an honest review.
There are countless stories rich in history interlaced in the concrete, wire, and foundations of human civilization; whether it be a tower in Pisa or a bridge that spans the waters between New York City and Brooklyn; every brick, trestle, and pylon could tell a story. It is up to us, the stewards of the past, to recognize, learn from, and appreciate these works. We would not be where we are as a society without people like the Roeblings. I can now say after reading this novel the Roeblings are added in my mind to the likes of Guggenheim, Olmstead, and Vaux.
The novel is not the dry telling of pounds per square inch of pressure in the caissons or the tensile strength of the wires; It is the story of a monumental project and the people who dedicated their lives to see it through. Specifically, a husband and wife team whose love and respect for each other are tantamount, as well as their mutual intelligence shines throughout the story much to the credit of the author Peter J. Tomasi. Graphically it is beautiful. They set the historical tone without being overly fussy and fastidious to detail. Sarah Duvall did her research into the period. Pictures of the bridge are not overly technical. I would assume this is a stylistic choice, yet they convey all the necessary information to the reader. This allows the story to move at a good place and pause when necessary for reflection. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who appreciates a good history lesson that is so intriguing it could be written as a work of fiction. I look forward to reading many more works by the author and enjoying the art of the illustrator.
I received this as an advanced copy from Netgalley.com for an honest review.
First I have to start out by saying that I absolutely adore the “The Others” series. I am a pretty big fan. Like, “go out at midnight and purchase the new novel” type fan; I am a fan of this novel too. That being said, it was tough to get used to the new characters in this expansion. I enjoyed the characters in the first five novels so much that it isn't fair to call this “The Others #6”, but maybe “The Jumble #1.” The same overall world, but very different tonality, plotting, and characters. If you go into #6 thinking that you are going to see Meg and that sort of plot, you are in for some sadness. It doesn't flow quite as smoothly as the first five books did but I think the issue for me is that it is missing the depth of personality the original characters had. Simon, Meg, Vlad, and Tessa all were very original ideas with particular character traits. We haven't got there quite yet with #6. That might be because we had a much longer time to get to know the other characters in the first five books or maybe Anne Bishop is trying out a different writing style. They are both excellent, but I don't think this novel resonates as well as the others did. Plotting is a bit slow to get going. Anne Bishop is introducing a new area, new characters and introductions take a bit of time. In the end, It was a fun book. Not really a rampant page-turner, but I enjoyed the time we spent together, and I look forward to more installations. It is worth the read just to get to live in the world Anne Bishop created some more.
I Kill Giants is one of those graphic novels that will speak to each person who reads it at least once in their lives. No one wants to take a direct look at pain and grief, especially when that pain is in the form of how a child sees the world. But, I Kill Giants tackles grief to show how imaginative children can be without ever dumbing down the content.
It is intense, and once you understand what is going sad and brilliant.
“All things that live, die. This is why you must find joy in the living, while the time is yours, and not fear the end. To deny this is to deny life. To fear this... is to fear life. But to embrace this... Can you embrace this?”
It starts with the protagonist fifth-grader Barbara and her disconnected view of the world. She is everything you would think of an eccentric, intelligent kid of her age should be. She wears bunny ears, doesn't connect with other kids, and goes out and slays giants.
Giants aren't real, right? According to Barbara, they are. Due to her obsession with giants, kids at school are cruel. Which, as someone who survived 8th grade, can attest to is real. Due to her overactive imagination, Mrs. Molle, the school counselor, takes an interest in her and wants to help her. Armed with her bunny ears, Barbara sets traps to catch the giants. And, she bravely believes that she can face the giants and be the hero.
“You are stronger than you think.”
The pain of this story is Barbara's reality. Instead of dealing with the pain of her Dad's departure and her mother's illness, she slays giants. Things she can control. All of this is not immediately obvious. It is a graphic novel; Barbara could be a girl who truly goes out and slays giants. But, this story is deeper and more profound. It is a story about grief and loss and how people channel that. Compartmentation seems like such an adult concept, except that it isn't.
I know that the concepts in this story are not everyone's forte. Dealing with depictions of grief is difficult for some readers, but what I liked most about this story is, sadly, every person in this world will have to deal with grief. Along with joy, grief is one of the most human of emotions. It helps define our lives. And, even though I wanted to take Barbara in my arms during most of the book and tell her that everything will be ok, I couldn't. It wasn't going to be ok; Barbara's mother is going to die. This story is one to get the tears rolling.
Graphically, I Kill Giants has a very crisp exaggerated Manga style. Many of the panels were explosive—Especially those dealing with the giants. The pain in her life is immense, and the giants are too.
I love Barbara, I have been Barbara, and I will someday, sadly, be Barbara again. If you want a well-written story, exciting visuals, and a character that you will empathize with and cheer for, you should read this.
Warren Ellis is a writer that asks profound questions. In Transmetropolitan, he talked about the role of the media and investigative reporting. Freakangels talks about absolute power and Trees is a story about the science fiction trope of Supergod. A being so powerful, so complete, that humanity is but a speck of dust to them. The most clever part about all this excellent writing is that Ellis tells his tales in the guise of well written graphic novel stories. His books are deep and thoughtful as well as exciting and, in some cases, beautiful. Orbiter is no different and so much more. It might even be Ellis's best story thus far.
Ten years ago, Venture, a U.S. space shuttle, soared for the heavens, lasted a few minutes and promptly disappeared. It left without a trace. This broke the U.S. space agency and the hearts and minds of would-be explorers. Now, at present, Kennedy Space Center is a shantytown. We never know the specifics of what has happened, and why the U.S. is in such decline, so much so that people are starving and living in lean-tos. But, I could guess it has to do with the demise of NASA. Space travel and the hope for more can be a buoying thing to people. It is the ultimate what-if. Without that, life can become long and sad. There is nothing to strive for. After a few pages describing what a shit hole life has become, the Venture comes wailing like a ball of hellfire through the air and slams into the ground liquidizing a few unfortunate souls that were in the wrong place at the wrong time.
The Venture is back. But the more significant and more interesting question is, “where has the Venture gone?”
The military step in as they are want to do. “Is the Venture a threat to the U.S.?” A military commander, Colonel Bukovic of U.S. Space Command, gathers a team of scientists to investigate. The best and brightest the U.S. has to offer have been languishing in poverty and boredom because NASA no longer exists. Bukovic, an angry military commander trope, needs to answers yesterday on what is going on with this ship. It looks like it hasn't aged a day, it should have run out of gas years ago, and where is the crew?
We jump from an overall exposition of the state of the U.S. to a much more intimate look at the scientists as characters. Michelle Robeson, once a prominent biologist, is now trapped on the Earth and has lost her greatest love. “been trapped on this planet since Venture disappeared. It radiates from her. This palpable feeling of something having been stolen from her.”
Terry Marx is a young and violently brilliant engineer. He comes off at first as a little hamfisted. Wrong with girls and awkward in conversation and personality. As the story propelled forward, he, as a character, got a lot more solid and interesting. The great mystery of it all is what drives him. He never got the opportunity to use his intelligence to reach out to the stars, that was taken from him when NASA was closed. Now with Venture back, he can flex the mind muscles that have laid dormant for so long. The final main character is Anna Bracken. Anna was a psychologist whose primary purpose was to help and study those astronauts who have returned from space flight. “To help make sense of it all.” She knows that she will never go to space, but she can experience the sense of wonder and thrill vicariously though helping ones who had. When NASA was shuttered, she lost her chance of hope and wonder. It was taken from her as it was taken from all citizens when NASA closed. Each of the three main characters represents a viewpoint. Michelle lost her ability to experience the greatness of space, and she will always yearn for it. Terry lost his chance to dive deeper, to peel back the layers of science to find what was underneath, and Anna lost her opportunity to live vicariously.
We, as a society, lost so much when NASA closed.
Now the Venture is back and full of questions.
Ellis tackles something fundamental in Orbiter, and it is this, “if you take away the greatest thing a human can yearn for, an impossible thing, what is left? How do we go on?” Space flight is, and dreaming is synonymous with a lot of people. If we shutter space flight, do we take away people's ability to dream big? Maybe? It certainly helps to know that great things are happening. Orbiter is a science fiction story that asks the essential questions, “who are we?” And, “can we be more?” Inside of the more profound questions, Ellis writes a good, if short, character study on the three types of people as well. Layers inside of layers
It is a beautiful and deep science fiction that should be read and often.
“Hell is hilarious if you're the one in charge.” ~ Lucifer
I absolutely love this series thus far. It was one of the books I wanted to finish reading by the end of the year via this list. 10 Books I Want to Read This Year.. And Why
My blog post from earlier this year, “Kill the Dead” by Richard Kadrey - I read the first “Sandman Slim” book, aptly named just “Sandman Slim” and dudddde, holy anti-hero batman. Yaas. Bring on the “I don't give a shit attitude.” I love that the language in Sandman Slim is punchy. Not overly wordy and detailed. I want some concisely written words.”
I received everything I asked for and more after reading #2 in the series. Sandman Slim should be on more lists and garner more praise. It should be up there with the likes of Dresden, and October Daye because it is just that damn good. It is so refreshing when there seems to be so much unoriginal urban fantasy out there. Always the same sort of schtick. Not this book...
“Twenty percent? What am I, your waiter? I got you five vampires, not a BLT.”
― Richard Kadrey, Kill the Dead
This story picks up a while after the first Sandman Slim story left off. We have our resident anti-hero having a hell of a time mentally, and in some ways physically while trying to the bills by doing the odd killing or menacing here and there. I don't want to give too much away, but if you enjoyed the first book in this series, “Sandman Slim” you will probably enjoy this one. They are a little different in style and texture. But, the dark humor and great story come through. There is a bit of a love interest, and a new interesting character getting fleshed out in Lucifer. I am going to keep this short, as this book is a pause in a longer story. But read the series. It is so worth it.
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The Boys is a hefty series written by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson. Ennis, of Preacher fame, “blows the bloody doors off” of the Superhero genre. The Boys is not your tidy and inoffensive Superman type story. Instead, this is a bloody, gory, disgusting, and brutal take on superheroes as a genre set in a modern world. It would have to be harsh if you think about the corruption of absolute power. A superhero is probably not a sane person, and given a skewed lens of the world filtered through a life without limits, I can see them acting...badly. Although not all people are bad, as we see in the story, enough of them are that you will need a group like The Boys to attempt to keep them in check. The Boys are so harsh that it is almost repulsive, but in typical Ennis style, the reader can not turn away.
“Remember the seven Ps.
Seven what?
Proper preparation and planning... Prevent piss-poor performance.”
The superheroes in this story are called The Seven, which is a nod to the Justice League, and are your basic despotic, raping, and pillaging psycho and sociopaths. They kill for the fun of it, lord over humans, live to the excess, and are generally horrible but powerful human beings. In turn, the book explores governments' and by extension societies' responses to the superheroes with a band of misfit black ops soldiers of varying degrees of sociopathic and homicidal tendencies sent in to fight them. They, too, are incredibly screwed up but in exciting and equally terrifying ways. Their sole purpose is to keep the “supes” in check. In the center of all, this is a sweet and goofy love story. No, really, I am serious. Ennis makes it work, and it is awesome.
The overarching plot follows The Boys through a series of screwed up interactions with superheroes. The Boys “manage, police, and sometimes liquidate Vought-American's superhumans,” so that is what they do. They attempt to keep the supes in check, things go awry, there is much sex and death, people die in awful ways, and there is always another superhero to stop. Neither side can claim the moral high ground. Wee Hughie is the main character that the narrative focuses on. At one time, Hughie was just a regular bloke, his story is wrought with sadness. Hughie was in a relationship with the love of his life. His girlfriend stepped off the curb in a wonderful romantic comedy moment and was summarily destroyed in an explosion of gore and viscera. All while holding Wee Hughie's hands. No one could be quite right in the head after that.
“There'd be no point trynna blackmail a bloke everyone already knows is a cunt, would there?”
Through the series, we learn the backstory about why The Boys are the way they are, and why each of them has a reason to hate supes. Each of them has a good cause and a solid backstory. By the end of the series, we have a much richer picture of The Boys and some closure to the story. It would be exhausting if the writing and art weren't so good.
Additionally, Ennis modeled the character “Wee” Hughie as a mirror image of the actor Simon Pegg. It is a great fan nod. Some find it distracting to read about “Wee” Hughie walking into an orgy, but my sophomoric sense of humor found it utterly hilarious. The 13-year-old in me is doing double fist pumps and giggling.
“You know you can be a real bitch sometimes.”
The art is a very “Marvel comic” style, purposely drawn to convey the superhero motif. The supes and their world are drawn and colored to emphasize the superhero world's grandness and gaudiness. Versus The Boys, who are dark and melancholic.
Typical of Garth Ennis's style, the writing is large, precise, and excessive. If you are familiar with Preacher, you will be familiar with his style. The Boys is a challenging series. It is full of sex and violence to the extremes. If this bothers you, maybe look for something from a different author. But for me, this severity and excessiveness are part of its charm. Superheroes are maniacs at their core. This book acts on the extremes of superheroes with extreme characters in retaliation. Who else could keep superheroes in check than people with nothing to lose except their own moral code?
Spider is the hero you did not know that you needed. Brash and deranged, Spider yells at the top of his lungs things that make you uncomfortable. And, if you are nervous? Good. Scared to exams painful truths? Good. Because the truth is coming for you, and Spider is going to bringing it with the fervor and intensity of a bulldog on crystal meth.
Transmetropolitan was written twenty-one years ago, published by DC Comics between 1997 - 2002, but it might as well been written yesterday for how current and prescient it is. The story is built around the antics of our protagonist and antihero, an investigative journalist named Spider Jerusalem. He is tattooed, brash, brilliant, sarcastic, caustic, drug addicted, and a wild man of journalists fervor. Often drawn wearing a pair of stereoscopic sunglasses, one red lens, and the other green while streams of smoke curl out of his nostrils and usually sporting a scowl of discontent while gesticulating wildly at the idiocy of passers-by. Describing him, he sounds like a lunatic when in actuality he is the reincarnation of gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson dropped into the 23rd century.
The first six issues of the 60 issue story make up Vol. 1 Back in The Streets. It is written as Spider is getting his feet under him after a five-year voluntary sabbatical. Called back to finish his book deal with his editor, lovingly known as Whorehopper, he unwillingly reenters The City and society and is equal parts horrified and fascinated by it. The City, as it is referred to, is Id and hedonism run amok puked out in a cyberpunk Technicolor fever dream. If you can dream it, and have the money, you can do it. All of which sounds impressive when tempered with wisdom and ethics. However, The City is neither of those things. Spider is constantly reminded of why he hid in the wilderness and eschewed all human contact.
Issue three of Volume 1 talks about Spider's first story back into the throes of journalism. He is covering a pseudo-alien messiah named Fred Christ, as he represents the Transcience movement. The Transience movement being a subculture of body modification fetishists who use technology to change themselves to something resembling a new species. In this case, adapting aspects of an alien species. Fred Christ's base is located in the Angel 8 district of The City. After Spider burns a transient guard in the eye with a cigarette, Spider notices how tense the Transient population is. It is a powder keg ready to blow. Spider finds Fred Christ and has a brief interview with him where Spider basically eludes that Fred is puffed up with fake power and that the government is going to come down and stomp out this little movement of Freds. Here is where the writing shines. Eventually, the government does get with the stomping, and Spider gets right in the middle of it and live blogs. He brings the gritty moment to moment of the brutal beating of the Transient population by an uncaring police authority to the people. Eventually, this sways the audience gawking at this display via Spider's writing and causes a public outcry shutting down the beating. Spider helped. I don't think he intended to help but to speak the truth as he saw it; however, his truth saved some transient people.
God, I love Spider Jerusalem. He is everything I wish Journalists still were. Raw, uncut assholes who search for the truth as they see it no matter what they have to go through. In the politically charged climate of now, it seems that those who speak truth to power are not the journalists as we used to know them, but bloggers and users of Twitter.
The question is “Should you read this?” Should you delve into the gritty world of Spider and meet with the truth on his terms. I am of a resounding yes, there is a reason why he is a classic graphic novel series. I think the world needs Spider Jerusalem's even if he is just ink and ideas. All Hail Spider Jerusalem!