Part 2 coming at'cha.



The Sandman Chronicles (Series Completed at #75, numerous specials and tie-ins.) Recommended for everyone who likes literature.


    The story begins in 1916 when an ambitious wizard preforms a ritual to capture Death and instead captures Deaths younger brother Dream. For the next 72 years Dream is locked away in a magic circle until his escape in 1988. The years he is kept captive aren't of any real consequence to him since he's immortal (he never ate, slept, or spoke during his captivity) but the reader is told through the conversations of many characters that Dream has changed since his captivity.
    Most comics give you a back story or origin as for why they are what they are. This main character is different. The story begins with Dream being captured, slice of life style, which works wonderfully in this series. As an immortal character who's been around from the very beginning that life existed, Dream simply goes magnanimously through life, as one event after another unfolds.
Dream isn't really a nice or likeable entity. He can be seen as egotistical, a loner, uncaring for anything or anyone who is not his direct responsibility and kind of slow on uptake when it comes to women or sympathy (as in it takes him 10,000 years for him to find any sympathy.) His janitor Mervyn Pumpkinhead even calls him a poser.

    I tell you all these things because The Sandman Chronicles are really about change. At the end of the series you get the feeling (and the speculation of several characters) that most the major events that happened in the course of the series were largely influenced or allowed to happen by Dream.
    Besides Dream there are numerous supporting characters that put most leading characters in other comics to shame. The story continued in other comic series like The Dreaming, Books of Magick, House of Mystery, and Several Death mini-series. Dreams family, called The Endless also have their moments in the spotlight (Destiny put in work on Superman once for stepping out of bounds.)

Favorite Scene: For most people the story of Ramadan (Issue # 50) is perhaps the best writing Neil Gaiman has ever done. For others the Season of Mists story arc stands out as the best.  But for me the two mirroring scenes where Dream essentially tells the reader his personal philosophy is the highlight of the series (especially when you've finished reading the series.) It should be noted that both times he's gearing up for war.
(Dream going to Hell.)

(Dream deciding to fight the Furies.)

Y- the Last Man (Series Completed at  #60.) Recommended for Sci-Fi readers. And anyone who likes a good laugh.

    One day, every male animal just died. Everywhere. Except for a loser named Yorick and his pet monkey. And when I say this guy is a loser, I mean he's a LOSER. He doesn't have a job, is to afraid to follow his passion of becoming an escape artist, and afraid to leave the house. He's madly in love with the only girl he's ever slept with AND was on the verge of proposing when the big D killed half the global population.
    What follows from there is a five year cluster fuck of him trying to get from the New York to the Australian outback where his girlfriend Beth was overseas for a semester. 
With a motley crew consisting of his bodyguard Agent 355, his poop slinging monkey Ampersand. and Scientific Genius Dr. Mann, Yorick get constantly sidetracked from (his) mission to find his love to repopulate the world and Dr Manns mission to find a solution to global human extinction.

    The series takes place in real time, meaning that five years actually occur in the comic during the 60 issue printing. The reader can see the changes that happen during the five year span, from the global economy of the female-only world, to the minor issues such as Yorick growing a beard and the characters changing their hair styles. It is also satisfying to see Yorick grow from a stupid loser to a some-what responsible man.
    There are several theories presented for why the male death-plague occurs, from the Rapture, to evolution of the human species when a human clone was created, to a virus unleashed by a mysterious party, to a curse originating from removing a holy artifact from the country it is supposed to protect.

Favorite Scene: Sometimes, in tense situations Yorick says some things that no one around him understands, such as yelling "Soylent Green!!! Soylent Fucking Green!!!" (from the 70's movie) instead of yelling about the cannibals chasing him.

The Boys (currently at issue 42) I don't know how to recommend this series. This series is seriously messed up.

   Apparently the series creator Garth Ennis is known for making comics that are filled with bad language and disturbing content. I've never read his celebrated Preacher series but I have read The Crossed, and it seems the man is good at what he does.
   In this world, which has real physics, superheroes have been around since 1938 and have been multiplying at an alarming rate. Super heroes more often than not open Home Depots and are booked to appear at community service ceremonies than fight super villains. Thinking like normal human beings with normal feelings, the "Supes" as they are called, which can at times outrun fighter jets and survive the rockets that those jet fighters fire justifiably believe that they are above the law. As the old adage goes, "Power corrupts" and some super beings that are used to getting everything they want get to the point where their humanity has ebbed away. When a "Supe" gets out of hand and kills one too many hookers, goes on a raping spree, or tries to start cult around themselves, that's when the CIA sponsored group called The Boys put in work.

    The story begins with Hughie who is relaxing at a fair in Scotland with this girlfriend Robin. Everything is roses when suddenly Robin is snatched away from Hughie, literally, being slammed into a wall beneath a super villian who is thrown by a "Flash" type superhero named A-Train. A traumatized Hughie is left holding her detached arms as the superhero cracks a joke and makes a flashy exit.

He is soon enough recruited into The Boys which include
Butcher: The leader of The Boys. He has a personal grudge against the "Supes" and can be best described as a "Supe racist".
Mothers Milk: A large African-American man who takes care of the administrative side of the group and serves as an NCO to Butcher.
The Frenchman: A crazy man who speaks bad french and is always seen with his goggles. He serves mainly as muscle and as a handler for The Female.
The Female: A emotionally and mentally stunted teenage girl who never speaks and tends to tear people apart during fights. She is undeniably the most dangerous of the group and serves as muscle along with Frenchie.
   
The comic series is a corruption of Marvel and DC heroes. For instance the main antagonists are called "The Seven" which have many allusions to the JLA. The G-Men are also clearly a gesture to the X-Men. This twisted manhandling of established superhero concepts is what makes me keep reading the series. Furthermore they use bad language in a casual way. The same casual way that my friends and I speak at any bar we frequent.

Favorite Scene: The most famous super hero team "The Seven" attempt to save a hijacked airplane and completely bundle it due to their incompetence. As I said before the series follows real physics, meaning that Super Heroes can't change the direction of a missile or plane because they have nothing in terms of mass to push against. Also none of them actually know how to fly a plane.

Fuck that shit. I'm an American. My president is black and my tax paying dollars are green.

(Translated English Version)

    It is a difficult time for illegal immigrants in Arizona at the moment. Your will be hearing many things in the near future that can be conflicting to what you have heard in the past and on the grapevine. This memo is being given to you to keep you safe, so that you will be afforded the possibility to live the American Dream that others have found in this great country.
    First, do not attend any rallies. The large Latino population, both documented and undocumented, has had a strong record of accomplishing goals by protesting demonstrations, rallies and sit-ins. This is not the correct strategy at this moment. Any form of demonstration can effectively be surrounded by a large police force, which will undoubtedly lead to questions to your legal status. A more sophisticated trap will be the town meeting to "discuss" the new police policies. The only meaningful discussion will be between the arresting officer and yourself.    
    Second, learning the English language must now take top priority. Law enforcement officials can only question you about your legal status if they have a "suspicion" that you are here illegally. A weak grasp of the English language is a strong indicator that you have entered the country illegally.