Discussing 3 Strong Debuts Amidst Personal Trauma
Hands shaking. Mind racing. Shortness of breath. Deep breath now. Get these words down. It'll help. This is therapy.
A universe-shaking Valiant event that promises to shake up the status quo like never before. A police procedural set in the far reaches of space starring the equivalent of a female Judge Dredd. A super sized magazine anthology featuring industry super talents. Three #1s landed in my pull list this week, each title I had been anticipating since their solicitations months prior. All three living up to the expectations I had set. Book of Death (Valiant), Mercury Heat (Avatar Press), Island (Image).
Fair question. Comics are released Wednesday and my away-from-civilization home in Newfoundland doesn't get them until the following day; I usually buy my new comics every Thursday or Friday. This week past, however, I didn't until Sunday. I've been housebound, stricken with a crippling anxiety brought on by a recent personal trauma.
The night of Monday July 13th at my place of employment (I work graveyard shifts at a restaurant chain) I was the victim of a robbery. A hooded stranger - criminal, bane of my existence, the villain in my life story of a comic book - threatened my life with a visible weapon and forced my cooperation in getting away with the store's money. A little more than a week has gone by, and he has remained uncaught. I think, anyway. I've only seldom left my home or spoken to people outside of my girlfriend and roommates, the thought of human contact now more frightening to me than ever before.
I've been unable to work since that night, and I like to think that in the event of extended breaks from work that I would at least be able to keep busy in my reading and writing, but the sad truth is, I struggle now to get into a rhythm to do either. A scenario which only spanned two minutes of my life (maybe less) has left me feeling broken, now eight days later. The most productive parts of my days include getting through a movie or multiple television episodes (the distraction is now a necessary component in my day-to-day life), going downstairs to make food and wash the dishes, and even just keeping my body out of bed for several hours at a time. My state of being is largely consumed with anxiety, a fear of life, and a lack of motivation (and lack of attention span) to perform certain tasks.
This is the first time I have been able to write since that night, and against my own wishes I find myself having to talk about that night. Sorry, comic fans. I'll try and get in some goodies for you soon.
Someone else's selfish act has altered my life in a significant fashion, undoubtedly for the worst, and I thus far find myself unable to move past it; to let it go. I've relived the incident over a hundred times. It haunts me and taunts me. I even get mad at myself for it having taken place and for my inability to pick up the pieces as quickly as I would like.
The harrowing potentially life-losing event throws me into an existential reevaluation; those tedious impossible-to-reach pimples on the back of life.
Comics, Trevor! Talk about the comics!
Oh, I want to. I want to go on and on about what I thought was so great about Book of Death, Mercury Heat and Island. Reading them two nights ago calmed me considerably. For just a little while, everything bad went away; no trauma. It was just me and books, full of colourful pages and intriguing worlds and enticing words.
But, there is the Other Thing. A sickness, it lingers. A fly buzzing around my head. Maybe this here, what I'm writing, is what I need to do.
"Writing is therapy." - ???
I feel like that's a quote a renowned person has probably said at some point. I just said it, but I'm not renowned. Will this swat my fly?
Book of Death #1 is not as immediately exhilarating as The Valiant #1 and Divinity #1. I'm not saying it's not as good, this one is just off to a slower, more meditative start. This feels like the start of something big. Tides are turning. Character alliances changing? The return of a fan favourite villain? This seems to be kicking off the upcoming Eternal Warrior ongoing in the same way the The Valiant kicked off Bloodshot Reborn.
Mercury Heat is the first Avatar Press comic I have ever read. Um, I have been a fool to overlook them for as long as I have. It's an exposition-filled world-builder of an issue, so I feel like it can only go uphill from here. It's getting a lot of necessary plot droppings out of the way, and still managed to conjure one hell of a debut. With Kieron Gillen on board, I'm sure the lead will transcend the Female Action Hero trope; I'm excited to see the person she is going to become. Omar Francia's art conveys a sterile ugly world, and somehow makes it all look clean and attractive. Anyone who can make spaceship corridors look anything but drab is an A-plus talent.
Island is the best deal you'll find in monthly comics today. A 100 page book at $7.99 gives you nearly 5 issues worth of content for the price of 2 regular comics issues. It's a gorgeous magazine-sized book, lovingly put together. Three lengthy comic stories, which will be serialized and carrying over into future issues. Emma Rios' is my favourite of the bunch. All the comics look fantastic, their aesthetics perfectly constructed; you could spend two hours slowly paging through this book, admiring every one of its panels. None of them are as well written as they are drawn, but they may grow on me in future installments.
-----
I will try to resume my ongoing Best Comics of the Decade series when I am feeling up to it. I apologize for the delay, but if you've read this far into this post, you know what I've been dealing with and I thank you for your patience.
I bought some trades recently, which I think I'll finally jump into this week: Rachel Rising volume 1, Phonogram: Rue Britannia, and Supreme: Blue Rose. I may report back and tell you what I think of them. I'm still trying to work out what format(s) this blog will take, so please bear with me as I try to find a comfortable rhythm on Comics Communion during these formative months.
A universe-shaking Valiant event that promises to shake up the status quo like never before. A police procedural set in the far reaches of space starring the equivalent of a female Judge Dredd. A super sized magazine anthology featuring industry super talents. Three #1s landed in my pull list this week, each title I had been anticipating since their solicitations months prior. All three living up to the expectations I had set. Book of Death (Valiant), Mercury Heat (Avatar Press), Island (Image).
 | ||
| Book of Death (Valiant) |
"These books all came out last week, how come you only got to them now?"
Fair question. Comics are released Wednesday and my away-from-civilization home in Newfoundland doesn't get them until the following day; I usually buy my new comics every Thursday or Friday. This week past, however, I didn't until Sunday. I've been housebound, stricken with a crippling anxiety brought on by a recent personal trauma.
The night of Monday July 13th at my place of employment (I work graveyard shifts at a restaurant chain) I was the victim of a robbery. A hooded stranger - criminal, bane of my existence, the villain in my life story of a comic book - threatened my life with a visible weapon and forced my cooperation in getting away with the store's money. A little more than a week has gone by, and he has remained uncaught. I think, anyway. I've only seldom left my home or spoken to people outside of my girlfriend and roommates, the thought of human contact now more frightening to me than ever before.
I've been unable to work since that night, and I like to think that in the event of extended breaks from work that I would at least be able to keep busy in my reading and writing, but the sad truth is, I struggle now to get into a rhythm to do either. A scenario which only spanned two minutes of my life (maybe less) has left me feeling broken, now eight days later. The most productive parts of my days include getting through a movie or multiple television episodes (the distraction is now a necessary component in my day-to-day life), going downstairs to make food and wash the dishes, and even just keeping my body out of bed for several hours at a time. My state of being is largely consumed with anxiety, a fear of life, and a lack of motivation (and lack of attention span) to perform certain tasks.
This is the first time I have been able to write since that night, and against my own wishes I find myself having to talk about that night. Sorry, comic fans. I'll try and get in some goodies for you soon.
Someone else's selfish act has altered my life in a significant fashion, undoubtedly for the worst, and I thus far find myself unable to move past it; to let it go. I've relived the incident over a hundred times. It haunts me and taunts me. I even get mad at myself for it having taken place and for my inability to pick up the pieces as quickly as I would like.
 | |
| Mercury Heat, Free Comic Book Day preview (Avatar Press) |
Comics, Trevor! Talk about the comics!
Oh, I want to. I want to go on and on about what I thought was so great about Book of Death, Mercury Heat and Island. Reading them two nights ago calmed me considerably. For just a little while, everything bad went away; no trauma. It was just me and books, full of colourful pages and intriguing worlds and enticing words.
But, there is the Other Thing. A sickness, it lingers. A fly buzzing around my head. Maybe this here, what I'm writing, is what I need to do.
"Writing is therapy." - ???
I feel like that's a quote a renowned person has probably said at some point. I just said it, but I'm not renowned. Will this swat my fly?
 | |
| Island (Image) |
-----
Book of Death #1 is not as immediately exhilarating as The Valiant #1 and Divinity #1. I'm not saying it's not as good, this one is just off to a slower, more meditative start. This feels like the start of something big. Tides are turning. Character alliances changing? The return of a fan favourite villain? This seems to be kicking off the upcoming Eternal Warrior ongoing in the same way the The Valiant kicked off Bloodshot Reborn.
Mercury Heat is the first Avatar Press comic I have ever read. Um, I have been a fool to overlook them for as long as I have. It's an exposition-filled world-builder of an issue, so I feel like it can only go uphill from here. It's getting a lot of necessary plot droppings out of the way, and still managed to conjure one hell of a debut. With Kieron Gillen on board, I'm sure the lead will transcend the Female Action Hero trope; I'm excited to see the person she is going to become. Omar Francia's art conveys a sterile ugly world, and somehow makes it all look clean and attractive. Anyone who can make spaceship corridors look anything but drab is an A-plus talent.
Island is the best deal you'll find in monthly comics today. A 100 page book at $7.99 gives you nearly 5 issues worth of content for the price of 2 regular comics issues. It's a gorgeous magazine-sized book, lovingly put together. Three lengthy comic stories, which will be serialized and carrying over into future issues. Emma Rios' is my favourite of the bunch. All the comics look fantastic, their aesthetics perfectly constructed; you could spend two hours slowly paging through this book, admiring every one of its panels. None of them are as well written as they are drawn, but they may grow on me in future installments.
-----
I will try to resume my ongoing Best Comics of the Decade series when I am feeling up to it. I apologize for the delay, but if you've read this far into this post, you know what I've been dealing with and I thank you for your patience.
I bought some trades recently, which I think I'll finally jump into this week: Rachel Rising volume 1, Phonogram: Rue Britannia, and Supreme: Blue Rose. I may report back and tell you what I think of them. I'm still trying to work out what format(s) this blog will take, so please bear with me as I try to find a comfortable rhythm on Comics Communion during these formative months.
"Someone else's selfish act has altered my life"
ReplyDeleteCheck your male privilege, you have NO idea what kind of economic misery the "robber" lives with.