Indie Corner - 11/19/2014

Each week I'll spotlight a couple independent books I've read and may have flown under people's radar.

ANNIHILATOR 3

It's weird reading this after reading Pax Americana a few days ago.  It's weirder still that I had flashbacks to Joe the Barbarian (another good book, if you haven't read it).  But I think, like Joe, Annihilator is a weird story that won't be fully understood until the final issue, and read much better as a whole than serialized.  That's not to say I'm not enjoying the monthly installments, but I'm getting the sense this will be a future hardcover for my shelf.  I'm not going to say anything about what happens in this issue, but recommend checking it out if you're into weird, trippy Grant Morrison stuff.

The Abominable Charles Christopher v02

THE ABOMINABLE CHARLES CHRISTOPHER

There are two printed books of Abominable, a weekly strip found here: http://abominable.cc  It is, without a doubt, one of the best comics I've read in quite some time.  I was taken in by the first strip and have been awed, saddened, and frequently laughed at the unfolding story.  It's exceptionally good, and I can't recommend it enough.  You can read the strip at the link above, or purchase the collections at the same link.

INVINCIBLE 115

A long wait for a comic short on story, but brimming with absolute fighting insanity.  At long last!  Thragg!  Battle Beast!  And those last three pages are a punch right to the gut.  I guess we'll see that again in 50 issues or so.  Invincible is as amazing as it is devastating.

SECONDS

I think I've mentioned before that I read in bed.  I keep a comic or three on the bedside table, get into bed at night, and read a little before finally going to sleep.  Seconds, the new book from Scott Pilgrim's Bryan Lee O'Malley, is 323 pages and I finished it in three days.  I was reading in chunks of 50 - 100 pages per night - far more than usual - and when I got close to the end, finished it off during the day instead of waiting for night.  It's really good.  And cute, and amusing, and about growing up (at any age), much like how Scott Pilgrim was, though told in a way that's rather different.  Recommended for anyone that enjoyed the Scott Pilgrim series.

300

I saw the movie, back when that opened almost 8 years ago.  And I always meant to read the comic, but never brought myself to buy it.  Then I bought it and it sat on a shelf for a few years.  But since I'm recently unemployed, I've been plowing through my "to read" list and making decent headway. 

The movie is a remarkably faithful adaptation of the comic.  So your personal opinion on the movie should inform your decision whether to purchase the comic or not.  I enjoyed the movie and enjoyed reading the book, which is longer than I was expecting for such a seemingly thin book.

Originally published in 1998, only three years before Dark Knight Strikes Again, 300 actually feels more like Miller's older works of Ronin, Sin City, or Dark Knight Returns (I haven't read his Daredevil work).  I recommend the book for anyone that's a fan of the movie, which I plan to re-watch soon.