-Hey, guess what I bought today? That's right, the issue of The Comics Journal with all those best of 2007 lists. I'll try to have the final master list up tomorrow.
UPDATE: The computation is done, but it will be tomorrow before I can put it all together with my comments. Adding TCJ data does change the bottom of the top ten, but the impact is greater on numbers 11-20 or so. At least that's my preliminary observation; I haven't actually done the ranking yet.
-Continuing the earlier discussion of the best of 2008 from the other day: I finished reading Blue Pills and Paul Goes Fishing this weekend. I thought the former got a little better in the middle, especially as more details about the reality of living with HIV came through. I really wasn't crazy about the ending with the mastodon, and there was something about Peeters' art which I didn't like--it's like the least attractive combination of Brian Lee O'Malley and Craig Thompson possible. I also found the characters hard to relate to, and there was something about the translation which seemed especially impenetrable ("Idiocies! Idiocies! Idiocies!" for example). Some people probably consider it a positive that the idiosyncrasies and rhythms of the French language remained intact, but I found it distracting. Blue Pills has its moments, but I found it disappointing on the whole.
On the other hand, I was really impressed with Paul Goes Fishing. I'd read a few of Michael Rabagliati's shorter Paul stories, and always found them winsome and engaging, but not especially deep. I really need to read the longer volumes, I guess, because Paul Goes Fishing greatly exceeded my expectations. I was especially taken with how subtly the ending recalled earlier themes about the intersection of technology with nature. I guess I still think Little Nothings is the best thing to come out in the first 1/6 of 2008, but Paul Goes Fishing is a strong second. Given that the most-ballyhooed releases are still to come, it's looking like a really good year for comics.
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3 comments:
I haven't read Fishing yet, but the other Paul books are quite excellent, especially Paul Leaves Home.
I agree 100 percent about Blue Pills too, right down to the awkward translation. Quite the disappointment for me.
That's actually a really good description of the art in Blue Pills. Kudos for that one. I didn't mind it, for the most part, although, as I mentioned in my review, I was weirded out by the depiction of female characters (namely Cati). Actually, I quite liked it aside from that aspect.
Also, I had originally intended to comment on the translation in the review, but it didn't seem to fit. I noticed a lot of ellipses, for one thing. I mostly chalked it up to, as you say, the rhythms of the French language, since I think I've noticed a similar style in other French books (I can't think of any specific examples though; maybe The Rabbi's Cat? Or Vampire Loves?). Again, it wasn't something that bothered me, but it was notable.
So, I don't know. To each his own, I guess.
(I'm really bad at internet discussions, aren't I? I should be lambasting you guys for your poor taste right now, or calling you names because you didn't agree with me on every point. Sorry to be boring and civil.)
This topic was really educational and nicely written.
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