How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love...
I’ve never gotten personal in my column, preferring to stay that one step back from the mobs…I’m no gossip-monger. That said, I’ve decided to come out and declare my love for Miss Elaine Eous. I’ve definitely stopped worrying about what my wife thinks about the whole thing…me and Elaine are destined to be together. Now that I’ve outted the two of us, Elaine asked if I would talk about some of the stuff she’s been liking lately. So, in honor of our new relationship, here’s the stuff Elaine’s excited about:
- Astro Boy Manga - Remember when you first read Lone Wolf & Cub? Remember how good that was? Remember how Ian laughed at you for reading about “stupid dumb guys fighting in bathrobes with pointy sticks” instead of “manly tights with bulging muscles and BAZOOM! death rays”? Me too. Lone Wolf’s one of the best things out there…but Astro Boy by Osamu Tezuka was one of the first. You’ve seen the cartoon…check out the source material. If you like that, Viz is finally publishing Phoenix, what many consider Tezuka’s finest work. Check ‘em out…they’ve got Elaine’s highest recommendations.
- Marvel’s Essential Line - Due to the fact that Marvel doesn’t put out an Essential book for half a year, then drops four on us in one week, they might be intimidating. However, there’s no greater bang for your buck then the Essentials. Classic Marvel stories, and you’ll forget all about the lack of color after a few pages. Check out Howard the Duck, which includes Giant-Sized Man Thing #4, one of Elaine’s favorite titles. Also, let’s not forget about Dr. Strange, which collects the entire Ditko/Lee run, plus the Astonishing Ant-man by some Kirby guy. Good lord, run out and grab your Giant-Sized Man-Thing while you can!
- Star Wars: Infinities and Star Wars: Tales - While Elaine’s not the biggest fan of Star Wars comics, she loves the movies and kept waiting for something great to come along. Finally, her wait is over: Dark Horse came up with original stuff that complemented the series, instead of whacking it over the head with too much backstory. Star Wars: Infinities is like a What If story, but it’s like, “What if…what if stories were good?” Cause it is. And Yoda kicks some ass, which is, you know, all anyone ever wanted. Star Wars: Tales on the other hand is what happens when you give indy artists and writers free reign (relatively) to have fun with the Star Wars universe. Very fun, and very weird. Elaine loves it as much as I do. She’s so cute.
- Tomorrow Stories - For whatever reason, everyone knows about the rest of the ABC line, but skip right over what’s easily one of the funniest and strangest comics on the shelf. Elaine’s personal favorite is Jack B. Quick, which makes her pee her pants every time she reads it. Seriously. It’s disgusting, but cute. Greyshirt’s a fantastic Spirit-esque sort of thing, while still having that Alan Moore-esque esque-ness. Cobweb is just porn, of course, but the First American never fails to amuse with strange British mockery of everything American, white-trash, and superheroic.
She has such good taste, doesn’t she? Well…except that Ian used to be heavily into her and they actually dated for awhile. Ahem. Ack. Sorry about that. He apparently still sees her every month or so (Editor’s note: If only it were at LEAST once a month…). Dammit Ian, stay with your girlfriend, and leave my woman alone!
The Big Planet Orbit is a monthly newsletter that has features on interesting comics that come out each month. Copies are available for free at any of our store locations.
Here are some of the features of the Big Planet Orbit:
- March Feature: King David, Batman/Deathblow: After the Fire, Hawkman #1
- The Facts: The major superhero books
- Indyville: The best independent and small press comics
- How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love...: Miss Elaine Eous
- In Case You Were Wondering: Ian's mail call