kochalka-stuff and other comics

once again, 2nd foundation (which seems to have officially changed names to "chapel hill comics") has tested my willpower and won.

this weekend i finally caved and got the big fancy american elf/james kochalka sketchbook diary book, even though i own the first 4/5s of it! but it's neat to read it all at once--i for one am really glad he's stuck with the project. his little anecdotes really capture the rhythms of daily life. i think all married people and new parents especially should check this out, as it addresses family life in a more realistic way than most books.

other purchases: the new caper, the new powers, the new SiP, the new luba, and another little japanese illustrated storybook.

i'm going to be bold here and say that i have been somewhere between annoyed and disappointed in strangers in paradise lately. i mean, it's one of the comics that got me into comics back when i was 16, so i feel a certain loyalty to it, and, sure ,the story has its ups and downs over the years, but i'm really seeing a lot more of a downward turn than usual these days. the worst offense is the novelization of some bits--which in theory makes the action move along more quickly, except that terry moore always novelizes the preceding panels. why?? and i'm sorry, but his writing translates to comic book form much better than regular novel form. his work is totally potboiler and lame. it reminds me of danielle steel (so wonderfully mocked in this new york times article. my favorite line: "Ms. Steel shies away from the selfish, ruthless, shameless home-wrecker type, preferring something more genteel. She would rather focus on inadvertent fabulousness, as in: "She had never paid much attention to the impact she had on men, she was always too busy thinking and talking about a variety of topics." That syntax makes sense only if you notice the 62 other titles on the current "Also by Danielle Steel" list and realize that the author hasn't much time to sweat the small stuff, like periods and commas."). it's unbearable to read.

i'm not really enjoying the new caper storyline either. it all revolves around a hand in a cooler and there's a lot of random action-movie-style gunfire, which just doesn't do it for me.

powers and luba were pretty good though.