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A Moment of Clarity mini-collection volume 1 collects the first 5 episodes of John Bintz’s series. Each episode is short (about 12 pages) yet is filled with heart felt emotion befitting an awkward 6th grader trying to survive the social struggles in life. For instance, in episode two, Johnny (whom we’ve come to know as a sweet and meek youngster – a target for exploitation by the those inferior troglodytes: the ignorant, the insensitive, and the immature) decides to rent his bicycle to earn some spending cash. His first (and only) customer is a neighborhood brat who after considerable time joyriding refuses to relinquish her rental. Since, unwisely, there was no time limit specified at the beginning of the rental, the rider apparently has decided to set the limit herself, which by the looks of things is indefinite. Here is a common theme in Bintz’s stories: little Johnny is confronted, as we all are, with a test of character. How do you react to someone who takes advantage of you? What do you do?

This type of conflict is universal, and attractive, because it’s what makes A Moment of Clarity identifiable. Most humans can relate to Johnny’s insecurities. But as it is with real life, these moments are really tests that reveal character and enlighten, moments that define who we are, moments of ... clarity. www.claritycomic.com

I saw the movie with Hugh Grant a while ago. He’s not my favorite actor. But after reading the book, I think he was well cast. He does well as a flat character stirred out of his complacency by another seemingly flat, 12 year old misfit. I guess if you look at anything and anyone long enough, they start to take on three dimensions. It’s just harder to discern in some. I liked the awkward conversations and the characters all had a sort of honesty about themselves (honestly not really understanding what their own point is and whether that’s important or not) that was very appealing.

I wouldn’t say I have a new belief in God because of this book. I did find the discussion about God, Catholicism, Hindu, Islam, agnosticism and aetheism interesting without it being pedantic and preachy. I would also say that it was surprisingly entertaining for a book that primarily takes place for (227) endless days on the ocean. Martel manages to make the mundane things interesting and the exotic, unusual things...well, you come to accept them as normal. I did struggle, at times, with visualizing some of his descriptions.

The first cartoon I remember from this on-line strip is the one where the main character/stand in for the author, Davan, sends an ex-girlfriend a baby shower gift of a wire coat hanger. This should tell you all you need to know about this comic. Just in case it isn’t, it’s about a group of artistic, misanthropic, alcoholics in Boston who take great pleasure–and go to great pains–to torment friends and foes alike. I really enjoy the self-deprecating characters in this foul-mouthed strip. And I’m not alone. You can tell that success has hurt the comic somewhat, however, as too many characters who were either heinously stupid, pathetic losers, or complete jerks have been turned into the likeable but misunderstood sort. I still read and like it; I just liked the grittier days better.

I haven’t read Spider-Man in a long time. Too many stupid story lines about alien costumes and clones. If only there was a way to cut out all the past nonsense. Well, starting the series over with a modern twist is an extreme way of doing that, but sure, OK. Bendis retells the story of Peter Parker, the nerdy kid who gets super spider powers and how it changes his life as he explores what it means to be saddled with both great power and great responsibility. There is a lot to like in the forty or so issues I read of this series: catchy dialogue, modern references, good art, and interesting takes on some classic villains. My problems are that the traditionally loser Parker is one of the coolest lady killers around, the dialogue is unrealistically snappy, the emphasis on modern references makes the comic dated all the faster (as opposed to the generic original), and some of the changes Bendis made to the villains (Green Goblin, I’m looking at you) are ridiculous. For all my complaints, I enjoyed Spider-Man as I haven’t in years.

Computer enhancement made this film of rebel intrigue and doomed love visually marvelous. Still, a half hour before the movie was done, I was.

A teenage cheerleader is sent to a rehab camp for homosexuals in this view of the plight of those trying pointlessly to fit in. It’s silly, over the top and not a great movie, yet it makes me happy every time I watch it.

This is a laugh out loud film about a foul mouthed, alcoholic, perverted thief (who wears a Santa disguise to commit crimes) who slowly develops an affinity for a nerdy kid.

Someone is impersonating Myth Adventures hero Skeeve the Magnificent and racking up quite a debt and it is up to his ex-partner/mentor Aahz to settle the situation–involving a pack of shape changing mall rats and a would be world conqueror–any way he can. This second collaboration of the two authors is a good deal of fun and excitement. Nye seems to lend a higher level of prose and longer stories, yet I recall the earlier books as funnier and–being that they had Skeeve and Aahz together, playing nicely off each other–somewhat sweeter. Perhaps that exact magic can’t be reinstated, even if the old team is resembled; at least give me the faux quotes introducing each chapter. Is that so much to demand?

The Ultimate line is designed to allow new readers to experience Marvel characters from the start (a modern start that is). Millar brings us the mutant X-Men, who humans hate and fear for their unique powers, and has them battle the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants and attempt to gain acceptance along side normal people. If this little summary doesn’t tell you anything about the various characters in the books: good. I don’t know anything about them either. For a title designed to introduce a reader to a series, Millar simply throws a bunch of slightly retooled characters at us for no better reason than to spotlight everyone’s favorite: Wolverine, who–for someone with no memory–is the closest we have to an actual rounded character in the stories. I fail to see a reason for this series.

The penultimate Potter book focuses on Harry’s relationship with his mentor Dumbledore and their exploration into the past of archenemy Lord Voldemort, sadly, at the expense of most of the other relationships and characters that Harry has developed and interacted with over the previous five years at Hogwarts. The Half-Blood Prince is more of a segue way to the final installment of the Potter series and, therefore, lacks the dark intrigue of The Order of the Phoenix or the simple cleverness discovered by being introduced to such a “magical” world as The Sorcerer’s Stone.

After France fell to the Nazis, Germany began to plunder (among other assets) its wine. This is the story of how winemakers became some of the first–and most effective–resisters to Nazi rule. Well researched, well written, well done! Wine & War is a high-speed historical adventure. My only trouble was my lack of knowledge on how to pronounce the various French names and wine brands.

A masterless samurai stumbles into a war between two rival gangs and seeks to take advantage of the chaos by increasing it. It is probably my favorite Akira Kurosawa film.

Akira Kurosawa’s masterless samurai hero from Yojimbo returns to help an idealistic group purge their clan’s corrupted officials. It’s fun to watch Sanjuro out think his enemies and make a mockery of the traditional samurai image, but the film was too heavy in its preaching.

Eisner recalls a somewhat fictionalized account of his life that examines anti-Semitism in America and how the experiences shaped him. It’s a powerful look at the supposed land of equality.

Houellebecq’s essay(ies) beautifully and unapologetically states what I have been saying for years: Lovecraft, for all his elitist, racist insanity was an astounding horror writer, truly capturing a dreadful nihilistic view of the universe.

This kooky tale of a toilet paper sculpture designer looking for inspiration would be better if it didn’t cost $6.95.

An awesome gang of paranormal misfits must save the world from an ancient evil. This decent movie is based on one of my favorite comics has the unfortunate and completely unnecessary addition of a normal human sidekick.

The bride continues to seek revenge on her old associates and lover who attempted to murder her. I liked this one better than the first as I felt it was less reliant on camp although it was still filled with disappointing ludicrousness.

Sutton’s cartoons humorously and voraciously attack Republicans and conservative agendas. Pity his beloved Democrats would never do the same.

When I realized that Asprin had finally gotten back to writing the Myth Adventure series, I reread this title. I’m not sure if it is because I hadn’t read this in ten years, but it didn’t impress me. Our hero Skeeve, the magician, is faced with the dilemma of whether he should marry the lunatic Queen Hemlock. The trouble, I think, is that nothing really happens in this tale. No madcap adventure in strange dimensions, no overcoming devious villains, just Skeeve’s ponderings. To put it simply, it is not the same series that I fell in love with.

Aside from The Phantom Menace, I have never waited so long for an artist to continue his work. Like with Lucas, I’m horrifically disappointed in Asprin. Granted, if I had been more diligent I could have read this a mere eight years after the cliff hanging Sweet Myth-tery of Life, still, I was looking forward to engaging the myth group back in action. Told through the view of the mobster/bodyguard Guido, the story parallels Sweet Myth-tery (see review) and by that I mean this book is as unexciting as the other. True, more (something) actually happens, yet all the build-up of rebel activities, romance and murder turns out to be absolutely nothing.

While this book was written between Sweet Myth-tery of Life and Something M.Y.T.H. Inc., it actually takes place much earlier (volume 3.5). After reading the disappointing pair mentioned, I excitedly indulged in Asprin’s attempt to rekindle his passion for and understanding of his core characters and adventure scenarios. Apprentice magician Skeeve, his mentor Aahz, and the enticing Tananda are off dimension hopping in search of a fabled golden cow. Sounds like a true Myth Adventure to me. Unfortunately, the story isn’t terrific and I was annoyed that Asprin picked another vampire dimension to sojourn in. It was nice to see the old gang back in action, but considering Asprin isn’t even writing the series himself anymore, it may be time to stop reading them.

Finally we return to the adventures that made the Myth series so popular. Too bad it took another author to do it. The collaborating writers take our hero Skeeve and pit him against a group of foul tempered demons who are holding a dimension of Wuhses (that’s right) in their clawed grasp. I glad the fun is back.

Ex-beatnik, ex-cop, current PI Jonny is hired to keep an eye on a free spirited drop-out and gets himself caught-up in a convoluted series of fatal scams. Not a bad read, despite its problems, with some stylish art from Eduardo Risso.

This self-righteous, not especially well-done tale of a superhero that decides to fight corruption in the US government has been done before and better.

This animated Batman movie relies heavily on the comics Batman: Year One and Year Two and was, until Batman Begins, the best Batman movie ever. It shows Batman confronting old enemies and old flames while revealing much of their origins in clever, stylistic ways.

A hero seeks to defeat various supernatural beings. Very pretty, very horrible.

The Roman soldier, Arthur, defends Britain against invading Saxons in this completely atrocious new legend.

A young girl’s journey through time and genre in search of her lost love is recorded and reacted to by a documentarian. Confusing, convoluted, creative, and clever, this animated Japanese film is incredible.

Akira Kurasawa’s magnificent movie pits seven noble but poor warriors against a group of bandits who wish to loot a farming community in 1600’s Japan. The film has humor, action, emotion and strong political and cultural statements. It is a true classic.

This self-help-esq fictional tale of a Spanish shepherd who goes on a quest to find a treasure and Personal Legend flows with a simplicity of good intentions if not terrific prose. The trouble with this book, as with The Celestine Prophecies, et al. is that their mantra advice “when a person really desires something, all the universe conspires to help that person realize his dream” is well-meaning and often good advice about perusing what you love, yet not always the most realistic. As someone who spent some twenty years on my own “Personal Legend,” I have come to the dreary conclusion that the universe does not always share an individual’s dream and that circumstances are such that, by chance or by destiny, they may cripple even the most determined person.

Batman Begins tells the origin of the Batman and his earlier days a Gotham’s crime fighter. This movie was fantastic. If only Batman could be played by someone as good as the supporting cast members.

A friend of mine knows this woman. Apparently, she seems so sweet and nice and then you look at her art and you just can’t believe how freaky/erotic it is. Thought y'all might enjoy it: www.yukoart.com. Notice Letters of Desire - X.

And here’s the other cake. This one was so-ooo tasty. It was an Apricot Almond cake with a Buttercream frosting, recipe from Silver Palate. The dragonfly wings were made by cutting a gelatin sheet into the wing shape and jabbing it into the fondant balls that make up the body of the dragonfly. I then painted it with this green irridescent dust stuff. I ended up having to support the wings from underneath with another smaller piece of gelatin sheet because painting 'em made them floppy. Design was “copied” from my dining room rug. Did I mention never again?

Chris suggested I post the pix of the wedding shower cakes I made. This one is an exclusive Chris design. He made the spectacular lizard as well, and cleverly added the white currants for the coconuts in the palm trees. He wanted something to contrast with the cake I made for Erin which is less, uh, dark than this one. This is the same flavor as Bea’s cake below (orange buttermilk cake filled with lemon curd/whipped cream filling and frosted with lemon meringue buttercream). If Chris told me “No fear, JoAnn!” one more time...as I attempted to carefully make a damn leaf...

Bea’s birthday was this weekend. I wanted to get some wedding cake practice
in before I did my niece’s wedding cake for Labor Day weekend.

Chris created a stencil for the centerpiece that I then used to cut out and
make an impression so I could paint the fondant (icing in playdough form)
using all these really cool non-toxic dusts in golds and blue and green.
This cake took me 2 days - from lemon curd to orange buttermilk cake to
lemon mousse filling to lemon merengue buttercream icing to decorating.
Chris also added the cool red flames with white highlights. Oh and no, I
didn’t do the roses. I bought those.

As a result of the entire experience, I un-volunteered to make my niece’s
cake. This represents 1/3 of the work involved in making the full wedding
cake. And my sister doesn’t have a standing mixer.

Still fun though - in a masochistic kind of way. And I have 2 more cakes to
do this weekend for Chet & Erin’s wedding shower. Another of these (in the
round) and I promised an apricot-almond number too. Oy.

–Jo

A hero is only as great as his foe. Can’t remember where I heard this recently...Troy, perhaps? While this book is certainly entertaining, I just get the feeling I got in the 2nd part of The Lord of the Rings (or in Last of the Mohicans) where they just run and run and run, fight a battle, deal with love and loss, and then run some more. There is no running in this book per se but we have not reached the final, exciting conclusion - not even the climax or denouement. Six books later and we’re still in the rising action part. Am I going to have to wait another year or two till the next one? This is the same reason serial comics don’t work for me. Gimme the trade paperback so I can read the tale in one sitting from beginning to end. That would make me happier. I should have just waited till the entire series was completed before starting. That being said, it was a fun read and I’m still reeling a little from what happens in this story.

The second volume of Andy Diggle’s The Losers finds the eponymous gang of ex-CIA agents still searching for who sold them out. As with the first volume, there is a lot of intrigue and even more gunfire. And I really appreciate Diggle’s unrestrained bleakness toward government and business coruption. But it’s starting to wear a bit thin for me. Jock’s artwork is still dark and the coloring is uniquely moody, but these only serve to underscore how one-dimensional the characters are. The story is (quite rightly) plot-driven, but I’m ready to start caring about these characters. And so far, other than pull off some fine spy tricks, they haven’t really risen above their name.

Blue collar workers sit around drinking and telling stories in a bar on the moon. Not bad, not great.

Chris Lanier presents a haunting picture of the ravages of war and occupation in Combustion. Through wordless and “woodcut” images, an unnamed soldier becomes aware that his actions have consequences. The deeper he is sent into the field, the more human his enemy becomes, and the less able he is to make sense of the conflict. As with most wordless comics, I think even a few words might make this a stronger story, and they would certainly make the actions easier to follow. Lanier’s artwork, while similar to Drooker or Kuper, is still a bit too scratchy to convey clearly in some places, especially in transitional scenes. Nevertheless, Combustion certainly aligns with my own thoughts on war, and for that alone it receives good marks.

In Catherine Doherty’s Can of Worms an adopted woman searches for her biological mother. This (mostly) wordless story follows a (largely) autobiographical quest through family secrets and civil records. Doherty’s subdued and two-tone artwork does a nice job of conveying the subtleties of discovery and disappointment. I’m less convinced, however, by the need to be wordless. Although Doherty cleverly uses legal documents and personal letters to convey the more complex issues, there are some scenes that simply cry out for dialogue. All in all, it’s a well-rounded freshman effort in very tricky and very personal territory.

Martial arts/assassin/action flick in book form. Kinda “La Femme Nikita” with Asia as the dominant backdrop. These are the first three books about John Rain (Fujiwara Junichi) a half Japanese/half American assassin with angst. He doesn’t fit in - in Japan, in America or in normal society. He loves jazz, fine scotch, and Kodokan judo. He’s really good at his job but doesn’t particularly like it. He has a hard time reconciling it - and the precautions he has to take - with his desire to have a “normal” life. (Other than the whole killing thing, he’s more normal than he thinks.) Supporting characters in each book are also fairly well developed. Each book is quite entertaining. Looking forward to the 4th (Killing Rain) when it comes out in paperback.

Best Batman yet - although I liked the guy who played Alfred in previous movies better (Michael Caine is too polished or something). Christian Bale is sufficiently brooding and his actual physical features - his sharp nose, odd jawline and mouth - actually add to the character, kind of a pretty boy but with an odd edge, just the ticket for Batman. Seemed like they spent some time on an actual story line this time and did some nice character development. I’d watch it again if it came on TV.

A tale of self-discovery, losing oneself, and re-discovery. The bittersweet story of a librarian who falls in love with a winged girl and embarks on a journey to find his own wings so that they could be together. An age old tale that loses nothing in the re-telling - pulls softly at the edges of faded memory and fashions it anew in its own image. Leaves me wanting - for more...

Beinhart (of American Hero => Wag the Dog fame) presents a fictionalized version of the last election with an ambiguous but much more hopeful ending. David Goldberg is a university librarian who starts moonlighting for the neighborhood’s aging, eccentric billionaire who wants to start his own memorial library. Homeland Security goes after Goldberg assuming he has discovered secrets he’s not supposed to know about. Goldberg manages to remain pretty believable as a librarian while being forced to play secret agent on the run.

I laughed. I cried. I learned. And I was amazed - yet again - to discover how similar people are throughout the world; and to recognize just how incredibly fortunate I was to be born American and middle class. This book is about a boy, Amir, who finally becomes a “man” when he’s 38. Amir grows up in pre-Russian invasion, pre-Taliban Afghanistan, escapes to San Francisco with his larger-than-life father just after the Russians invade when he’s 18, and later returns to Afghanistan, his past and his sins, and to find a “way to be good again.” It’s about a person, a family, a community, a nation and shows how much we, as individuals, can affect.