My Favorites Part 1 - Comics

I guess I should talk about things that I love right now as opposed to things I hate. There will be plenty of negativity to come.

Strange that I started with Comics as opposed to film. Film is and always will be my favorite form of artistic expression. Sure you could go the Cocteau route and say that film isn't an art form ("Film will only be an art when it costs as much as a pencil and paper."), but I strongly disagree. Just look at this year, PT Anderson, Todd Haynes, Ang Lee, The Coen Brothers, etc. got final cut. I do however, find a little truth in what Cocteau had to say. I mean when you paint, you don't have anyone telling you what to do unless it is a work for hire. Ultimately it is your money if it is your canvas and paints. There are very few large scale films that the filmmaker could do as they want. Apocalypse Now being one of the most famous examples as Coppola basically financed the whole film himself. There are however, legions of indie films where the directors did as they wanted and those films sometimes do find an audience. Honestly, there is no right or wrong answer to this question (as there isn't for most things in life). This debate could easily be like a Freshman philosophy class, we can talk ourselves in circles.

Back to Demo.

Demo is by far the best thing I have ever seen in the comic medium. Mind you, I am new to the world of comics, but never have I seen something so pure. There isn't a frame of this series that isn't ripe with life. Basically, Demo is a series of 12 self contained stories about young people that sometimes have "abilities". The closest thing I can say that ties these stories together is the feeling of alienation that you find in most of these stories. It is a testament to how amazing Brian Wood's writing is and Becky Cloonan's art in that these 28 (or so) page stories can move you to almost tears. Sometimes they hit you in your gut harder than those football players back in High School used to... I guess they were feeling a little emasculated by the fact that they never won a game. Sure there are some stories that are better than others (Mixtape and the Stand Strong come to mind off the top of my head), but even the weaker ones are better than most shit you will ever read or watch. I really could ramble on and on about this fucking amazing book, but just go out and read it. I hear Vertigo will be re-releasing it in July, but do yourself a favor, go buy the indie publication of it now and then buy the Vertigo one later when it comes out. Sure it's like the comic version of a double dip, but fuck it, are you telling me you wouldn't replace your bare bones copy of Breathless with the new Criterion 2 Disc??? Plus it's cool to support amazing talent.

Wow... Is that 2 entries that are pretty devoid of humor or pathetic attempts at it??? No shit. I didn't know that was possible.