The Pull List

What's that? Another weekly regular occurrence? I can hardly believe it - three weekly segments on my blog now, with this one being all about a favorite of mine, and a favorite of yours as well I'm sure - comics. Within this segment I'll pick a couple favorites from my weekly pull along with a random pick that may have slipped through the cracks.

Definitely won't be interesting to everyone, but I love comics so this is what you're going to get!

Co-book of the week: The Goon #25

Back in March, I threw down a review for the first OGN related to this series called Chinatown and pretty much raved about the series. As well I should, as Eric Powell's bizarre series is one of the best ongoings on the market today. This week we see our boy the Goon at a crossroads: leave his home and find happiness perhaps, or stay and protect his friends (he's the only hope for the town) and live a miserable existence. Harder question than you'd imagine to answer, as the character for all his toughness is ultimately a good guy and doesn't want people to suffer because of his actions.

This continues the path of seriousness that Powell has taken this once off-the-wall and frequently laugh out loud series down, and as much as I loved it before, it may be actually better since he restarted releasing the series. The story has progressed more in the past five issues than it had in the previous 20, and we still get entertaining yarns and glorious art from Powell - I don't know what changed...a new colorist, new inker, new art style for Powell, but this book is one of the best looking things on the market right now.

Every comic reader should be on this book. It's a must read, and has been for the entirety of its run. This issue is a fine example of all the Goon brings to the table, but would not be good for someone who has not read the rest of the series.

Co-book of the week: Action Comics #866

Since directly after One Year Later finished (a five or six issue stretch that DC imposed upon all of their books after Infinite Crisis), Geoff Johns has been the creative mastermind behind Action Comics. While his run started off very well, a combination of pairing with Richard Donner for writing and Adam Kubert's incredibly slow pencils curbed any momentum the series developed. Finally, after more than a year, that arc ended and we were graced with a new member of the creative team: Gary Frank.

The Johns/Frank team is nothing short of a match made in heaven, as brilliantly exemplified in this issue. They've already recreated the magic behind Superman's relationship with the Legion, and now they're giving us a reborn Brainiac for the ages. Also, they're finally tackling the Clark Kent side of things, as we see Johns exceptional work of handling even the most mundane of situations is just as exciting as his action work.

So long as this book continues to be released on time, it will likely continue to be one of the best books DC is releasing (Vertigo not included) and even rivals the work Johns is doing currently on Green Lantern. Exciting things are afoot in this book, and now is the best time to jump on.

"You shouldn't miss it, but probably did" book of the week: Captain Britain and MI:13 #2

I'm a big fan of Paul Cornell's comic work. This Doctor Who series writer wrote one of my favorite mini's of the past few years with Wisdom, and now he's tackling a major Secret Invasion tie-in and handling the job better than some of the most seasoned comic vets. Cornell's writing on this book make this lowly American genuinely care for the British heroes desperately staving off invasion, all the while maintaining the wit and bizarre happenings that ran rampant in the Wisdom series.

Plus, Pete Wisdom is in it. I legitimately would buy anything if he was featured. The guy is awesome.

Capitalist Pig Tuesdays

A very light load this week, as there are absolutely no viable movie purchases (or any other special category items as well). However, there is one high profile release this week that is definitely worth a gander, if you dare!

Album of the week: My Morning Jacket's Evil Urges

My Morning Jacket is a strange band to me. Many media outlets raved about them, bloggers could not stop talking about them, my mom absolutely adores them. And there I am, constantly wondering "what's the big deal?" I dug the instruments, especially on tracks like "One Big Holiday" and especially when performed on their live album Okonokos.

Then one day last month I was listening to my ipod at work and a song came on that caught my ear. It was "Off the Record" off their massively adored album Z. I was hooked, and since I've become a big fan of that album and the band overall. Just in time for the release of their new album Evil Urges.

Now if you listen to some reviewers, this album is the beginning of the end for the band. What do I think? As a fan of music, it's the first time I've listened to a MMJ album and thought "damn, this is good" right off the bat. As someone who recently got into the band and is now familiar with older material I think "it's a little different, but still good." Sure, tracks like "Highly Suspicious" are a bit off the beaten path. Sure "Thank You Too!" may sound like their attempt at a wedding ballad.

But they're all delightful tracks full of the MMJ spark, with the southern fried charm they add to the alternative rock formula being on full display on tracks like "I'm Amazed" and "Touch Me I'm Going to Scream, pt. 1," every bit as relevant and fantastic as they were on other albums. It's an extremely diverse album, with wildly different directions being taken from track to track. This in my opinion is not a crime, but is the sign of a band that doesn't want to be pigeonholed as any one thing, and of a band that doesn't want to settle into a groove (or rut, depending on your angle).

With all that said, I consider this album to be a out and out success for the band, and really shows their talent as musicians and as songwriters. At this point, their next release could be any genre and I wouldn't be surprised. That's a very rare sight out of a band these days.

Click here to stream the album, totally legal and free.

Favorite Guilty Pleasures

This week on Sheri and I's list day, we sort of cheat and don't really do a list. What we do is actually just present a multitude of favorites, because to be honest it'd be pretty hard to really rank what your favorite guilty pleasure is. I mean, is it the best thing that is a guilty pleasure? Is it the most embarrassing of all of them? What is it?

So instead, it's just a random group of things that we love that are not exactly industry standard, and generally things that a normal person would keep on the down low for loving. Of course, Sheri and I are not normal people and share whatever we love with everyone, but these are things that still draw ire and "seriously?" comments from the average person.

So without further ado, here is a link to Sheri's blog, and below are my favorite guilty pleasures.

Comics: I'm putting this one first because it's a strange choice for many different reasons. #1 - I love them quite a bit, and do not feel any sort of guilt about it. #2 - They've become quite popular, negating any of the negativity that used to come to them. #3 - Even if I did feel guilty about them, I have too damn many of them to possibly hide the fact that I have them.

I have 23 full long boxes at this point, with several hundred extras yet to be put away. To say I'm addicted may be an understatement. In fact, the one embarrassing thing about them is the fact that I have so many of them. Truth be told though, there was a time when I actually quit reading comics due to concerns of how people would think of me. I missed a lot of damn good comics because of that, and I'm embarrassed to this day of how I acted. Sorry comics! I'm glad you forgave me!

Hugh Grant romantic comedies: Generally, I'm a sucker for romantic comedies. At one point, my mom called me a "hopeless romantic" but really, who isn't a sucker for a happy ending? In specific, Hugh Grant romantic comedies really get to me, from the higher end works of his career (which has rarely left the comfort of the romcom) like Notting Hill and Love Actually, all the way to lower end materials like Mickey Blue Eyes and Nine Months.

I like it all, and good god, does it make me feel dirty sometimes.

Fatboy Slim's You've Come a Long Way Baby: There was a time that this wouldn't be a guilty pleasure, and this would be considered hip. Too bad for me the year for that was 1998, not 2008. No less, this album coming on my ipod randomly (in specific, massive hit "Praise You") was the inspiration for this list.

At this point, Fatboy Slim is received with a mixture of derision and scorn quite often, and frequently matched up against fellow "strangely popular bad bands that headlined music trends" like the Cherry Poppin' Daddies (seriously, that name was announced on the radio...and frequently) and Chumbwumba (they weren't even part of a trend, I just wanted to mention them). The difference between those two and my boy Norman Cook?

His music rules! I was terribly addicted to it my freshman year of high school, and when I hear tracks from it I hear the relentless mocking coming from those around me about it - but I also hear some seriously fat beats and catchy tunes. Rock on Fatboy, rock on.

Ridiculously bizarre 80's movies: Was anything normal in the 80's? Seriously? So much weird stuff came out of that decade, chief amongst the trends being the cult classic movies that came from it. Here's a quick lineup. Evil Dead? Check. The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the Eighth Dimension? Check. The Adventures of Baron Munchausen? Check.

If you ever caught these on cable, you'd quickly speed by and say something akin to "no way am I watching something like that!" Honestly, they look and sound ridiculous. I agree. But damn, they sure are entertaining! They feature crazy costumes, rock band super heroes, tree sex, and Jeff Goldblum in a ridiculous cowboy costume, and they are awesome from beginning to end. We could use a lot more of that type of creativity today.

Avril Lavigne's "My Happy Ending": This is the guiltiest of all my guilty pleasures. Well, probably.

No less, I consider myself a pretty decent music-phile who knows quite a few bands that your average music fan has not heard. Hell, I pride myself on the elitist mantra of "I liked them before they were big."

However, good god, this song has some sort of magical pull upon me. I hear it in Best Buy, and I find myself nodding my head and fighting urges to sing along. Sitting in a restaurant and it comes on the radio? Toe tapping and whistling along. It's the bane of my existence, but damn! It's so catchy! I can't help it. In the dreaded world of radio hits, we could use more of pop gems like this and less crap - yes Nickelback, I am looking directly at you and your very, very ugly lead singer.

Drama (aka Laguna Beach and the OC): I don't mean dramas. I love dramas, but I don't consider them to be guilty pleasures. No, I'm referring to the exquisite brand of drama that only stories coming from the county of counties (aka Orange County) can provide.

Sure, they're ridiculously cheesy and totally contrived (even you Laguna Beach, the "real" Orange County), but they sure provide some tasty drama and some incredible levels of unintentional humor. Of course, on typical occasions I would never, ever mention that I enjoy them because frankly, they are embarrassing. Embarassing, but delicious.

Bubble Boy: Ask 9 out of 10 people that have seen this movie, and they'll tell you that this movie absolutely sucked. I mean come on, it's a ridiculously cheesy and stupid comedy about a kid who loves a girl, but can't show her that because he's a bubble boy. When she leaves to get married, he has to chase her down in a bubble suit across the country to express his love. How could that be any good?

Very easily!

Ever since I saw this movie (I had seen October Sky and was a big fan of Jake Gyllenhaal, so I of course saw this) I loved it. Sure, it is all those things I said in the first paragraph, but the whole movie is ok with that. Every actor commits fully to their roles, every moment is taken up for all it can be - this movie does not waste a second. It takes what should be mediocrity and by god, it squeezes out awesomeness from the humble beginnings.

Well, that's what I say. Everyone else I know hates it...but there it sits on my DVD rack, nestled in between Cabin Boy and Buckaroo Banzai.

S.W.A.T.: This is what critics are referring to when they say "mindless summer action flick." It's based off a TV show from yesteryear, it's frequently flat out impossible (2 mile shot from a gun to take down a helicopter? don't worry...I got that), and it stars maybe the world's most hated leading man (Colin Farrell, come on down!).

But man, I saw this in theaters and thought it was entertaining. Then I randomly decided to buy it for $2.99 on a Black Friday one year, and have watched it roughly 200 times since. It is maybe the single most rewatchable movie ever made, and it gets slightly better each time. If it started out as a hair above average before, now it's stellar.

Sure, it may be everything that's wrong with Hollywood, but everything is awesome whenever it's on. I may actually be this movie's single biggest fan. Yay me?

Kids/Animated movies: This may be a revelation towards my maturity level, but if I was to have a movie marathon of the movies I get the most enjoyment out of, they'd likely be comprised of at least 50% kids and animated movies.

You like Unforgiven? I love Fievel Goes West. You like Field of Dreams? I love Little Big League. Odds are, if it's intended for 10 and under, I'll love it as well. I can't help it, I just love that stuff.

One of my strangest and favorite evenings during my summer vacations in college was one when my parents were out of town, and everyone I knew was tied up with other things. What'd I do? I made a couple PB&J sammiches, threw them on a Fievel Goes West plate, grabbed a huge glass of milk, and put in my old Fievel tape. It was glorious. I can't emphasize that enough. Did I mention that I was 20? I'm a sad, sad man...

First Flat Top hike of the "summer"

One of my favorite things about summer time is hiking, and living in Alaska I have many, many options within a very short distance. One of the best (meaning leisurely and great exercise, plus scenic as all get out) in town is Flat Top, which is a mountain that is probably the most popular hike in Anchorage. Amy and I already hit it up once this year, but considering today was a nice day I figured I'd take my first stab at running up it.

Running up Flat Top is something my buddy Matt and I started doing last year, and it's been a bit over a year since the first time when I ran it in 29 minutes and 53 seconds the first time through. By the end of the summer last year I was down to around 23 minutes, but that was a long time and many beers ago. Plus, last year actually had a summer that resembled a summer, as Flat Top was heavily marred by snow and mud all the way up.

However, even with those natural impairments to my path, I still made it up in exactly 30 minutes, and all the way back and forth in around 55 minutes. The way down was slower than usual because I have a natural aversion to death, and considering that the top of the mountain was a special fusion of ice and snow, I decided to slide down as if I was sledding...but you know, without a sled. All in all, it was a really good time and fantastic exercise, but I really, really wish it was nicer here so I could have hikes that didn't require me to tread through snow.

Oh well.

Fun fact though...side benefit to running up and down the mountain? When I was running down the stairs and coming out of a flat stretch at near full speed, I came upon a group of four people - two guys who looked like they were about to die and two really cute girls, one of whom stared at me with a mixture of "who's this hot guy?" and "why am I not hiking with him?" as I ran by with a hurried "hello!" Fannnntastic!

The Weekend Edition

Ahhhhhhh yeah!!!!!!

That's the sound I'm making because it was the first weekend of the year for me that really felt like summer hit Alaska. That of course is a very good thing, because summers in Alaska are absolutely incredible and the best place in the world to experience them. I can never get enough of them, and even with the late start this time I still feel as if this summer is going to be all-time, to quote Amy.

What made this bad mamma jamma so rad? Let me count the ways...

• Frisbee Golf fridays
• Margaritas at La Mex
• Bernie's outdoor patio, absolutely dominated by the Crewnit and the extended Crewnit
• Dance party plus at the Anchor
• Coffee with my sister
• Roughly 13 naps - very necessary
• Getting caught up on comics
• Camping out at Eklutna
• How I Met Your Mother redux
• Doing all that while keeping it vegan

Really, in an extremely unsurprising trend revelation, the days were decent but the nights were spectacular. Friday night we had a massive posse pretty much take over Bernie's Bungalow Lounge downtown and it was a heck of a time, and it all came on the heels of a great round of frisbee golf where Colver and I tied at even and an hour or two at La Mex having margaritas.

On top of that, after Bernie's a smaller group (key conspirators: myself, Amy, Kim, Cate, Patrick, etc.) went to the Anchor and had a blast rocking the dance floor. Suffice it to say, there was a significant amount of the running man thrown down that night, along with a lot of me getting strangely low to the ground. Little known David fact: I can get very, very low while dancing. I may be secretly good at the Limbo, if anyone in fact still limboed.

The Crewnit with our driftwood wizard wands

Saturday night may have been even better though, as Colver, Lorna, Kim, Amy, Hannah, Jason, and I went out to Eklutna for a camping trip featuring Loaded Questions (and the absolutely ridiculous answers that went along with them - my porn star name = Sir Francis Drake Huffman, for example), the First Annual Crewnit Beach Tag Football Game (Eklutna Megabowl? Discuss.), Johnson family domination (Jason's brothers Eric and Michael came out), driftwood wizards, steamrolling up the ying yang, and fitting everyone (besides Amy, who was satisfied by staying outside) into Colver and Lorna's mansion tent.

My team from the Eklutna Megabowl - Hannah, myself, and Eric

Camping is always one of my favorite activities during the summer (along with hiking, it forms a fairly deadly duo), and I have a feeling there will be a lot more trips like this throughout the summer. Sadly, I missed out on the first camping trip of the year (where the legendary Perv Com was created) but I vow to not miss any others for the rest of the summer. Or at least that's what I say now, as sometimes things are out of my control.

Picture of the Crewnit from Estadia de Bonfire, aka Bonfire Stadium in Eklutna

We had a rocking good time, and Amy and I even made it through totally vegan - vegan italian sausages are surprisingly delicious, FYI. If we can make it through an Alaskan camping trip without eating any animal products, I'm fairly certain the both of us are going all the way. Hurrah for our incredible willpower I say.

#12 - Carnet de Voyage by Craig Thompson and #13 - Aqua Leung by Mark Andrew Smith and Paul Maybury

#12 - Carnet de Voyage by Craig Thompson
#13 - Aqua Leung by Mark Smith and Paul Maybury

Currently, I am simultaneously working through two legitimate books (aka not graphic novels) in Bill Bryson's Neither Here nor There and Dale Carnegie's How to Win Friends and Influence People, but while reading them I've been simultaneously reading many (many, many, many) comics on a weekly basis and the occasional original graphic novel. These two were finished back during my Sasquatch trip, but I never had the opportunity to write about them before now.

Also, I just want to say that I am resigned to the fact that I likely will not reach my 52 book goal for the year, but eclipsing thirty is still a very real and far more possible goal for myself.

No less, on to the books!

As some of you may have noticed, I've been on a bit of a Craig Thompson kick lately. First, one of my all-time favorite graphic novels in Blankets, then Good-bye Chunky Rice, and now Carnet de Voyage. The reason why is in terms of graphic novelists, I find him to be one of the most interesting, real, and visually intriguing of the whole bunch.

Now Carnet is a bit of an oddball, as it isn't really an OGN (original graphic novel for the uninitiated) but a travel journal that Thompson made while he was travelling on a signing tour through Europe and northern Africa (latter part was just visiting, not actually signing). Within the pages of this we just get a bit of insight into who he is as a person while also getting a view into what it's like to travel the world in this modern age of amber alerts and strained foreign relations.

Overall, it's an interesting if not somewhat repetitive read. It cannot compete with his other works, but as an unabashed fan of his visual style, I dug it. Thompson gets the opportunity to stretch his legs even more within these pages, as instead of needing to tell a story he simply has to journalize events which leads to even more creative layouts (I'm a huge fan of his layouts). Additionally, he gets to get into far more interesting landscapes and architecture, which allows him to really show what he can do in terms of intensive detail.

If interested in traveling and/or a fan of Thompson's artwork, definitely give this a shot. I enjoyed it, but I'm really big on both sides of that and/or equation.

Aqua Leung on the other hand is a far more successful venture as it is actually a story based OGN, thus having the inherent boost of having the structure (you know, beginning, middle, end...ish) that Carnet lacked.

This book is Mark Andrew Smith and Paul Maybury's very own rendition of the legend of Atlantis, and it is an extremely interesting interpretation and read. Although it starts a bit unfocused with a bit in the beginning with some sort of massive cosmic turtle who acts as the storyteller introducing us to the backstory and to the characters. Once we get involved with Aqua, the story really takes off and we're treated to a very fun romp where a young boy finds out that he is not just an ordinary kid but the savior of the kingdom of Atlantis.

Sure, it sounds slightly ridiculous, but it's very fun and has a big imagination to it. The visuals do take a bit to get used to, as I found them to be a bit cluttered at times and the coloring to be a bit overly dark. Midway through the book though the storytelling duo really finds their visual niche and the quality of art begins matching the quality of the writing, and the second half is far more interesting than the first because of that.

Aqua Leung was a very interesting read, but one major problem that I was unaware of going in is that it is secretly a part one. Or at least I hope so, as the story of Aqua was only partially told and there was no resolution in terms of Aqua's attempts to unify the kingdom of Atlantis.

Because of that, you have to be willing to wait for the completion of the story at a later, unknown date. The main problem with that is I'm unsure whether the completion of the story is really worth the wait in the same way that Bryan Lee O'Malley's Scott Pilgrim series or Kazu Kibuishi's Amulet series is. We'll see, pending further volumes. An interesting start, I just wish I knew it was only the first volume going in.