Wedge-heeled calf-high sleek black leather fall/winter boots of which I approve. Mostly-basic shoes like this are rarer than you'd think!
26 Oct 2009
The tough thing about letting The Umbrella Academy be my introduction to comics wasn't the writing. I could tell right off that it was excellent and, after all, bad writing is no surprise to you if you've ever read books, let alone fanfiction.
No, the tough thing is that Gabriel Bá's art is not only excellent - execution-wise it's probably in the top 1% - but also has an incredibly distinct style, and its uniqueness, aside from being memorable and full of character, is imaginative and playful.
If you search about for another comic to flip through, the art is not only a step down in quality (and that's even when the second GN my wife bought was Watchmen), but a disappointing step back into a more formulaic system of imagery. Way and Bá play with the genre and are masters of it; most comics I've picked up and flipped through (the ones I've read are much fewer, mainly for feminist reasons having nothing to do with the art) plod dully along within the genre, mistaking it for the limits of possibility, not even realizing what they're doing - like plebefic.
Some of the books Wax has bought have had nice art. We recently bought Volume 1 of Neil Gaiman's Sandman, which has some stunning visual design and blocking in the lines and ink, but possibly the worst, most repulsive coloring imaginable. (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
effex tells me the early volumes were re-colored in later editions, and we will have to be careful to purchase those if possible, now.) And I just got Volume 1 of newish Vertigo title Madame Xanadu, which has really beautiful line-art & coloring by Amy Reeder Hadley and Guy Major. We've also bought a special GN of Witchblade set in feudal Japan drawn not too badly by [I had to go check] Billy Tan, with some truly excellent coloring by Steve Firchow.
But none of these I've seen have so far approached the innovation and the sheer coolness of Bá's deliberately stylized noir approach, which reminds me of Batman: The Animated Series from my childhood (which received design awards at the time, I believe). (I'm sure there are other genius artists working in the industry whose work I have not happened to encounter, and this is not a cry for recs, because I still don't intend to explore comics widely and certainly not on the basis of art. I try not to buy books that don't pass the Bechdel test, for one thing, and I prefer to save most of my book budget for female protagonists.)
No, the tough thing is that Gabriel Bá's art is not only excellent - execution-wise it's probably in the top 1% - but also has an incredibly distinct style, and its uniqueness, aside from being memorable and full of character, is imaginative and playful.
If you search about for another comic to flip through, the art is not only a step down in quality (and that's even when the second GN my wife bought was Watchmen), but a disappointing step back into a more formulaic system of imagery. Way and Bá play with the genre and are masters of it; most comics I've picked up and flipped through (the ones I've read are much fewer, mainly for feminist reasons having nothing to do with the art) plod dully along within the genre, mistaking it for the limits of possibility, not even realizing what they're doing - like plebefic.
Some of the books Wax has bought have had nice art. We recently bought Volume 1 of Neil Gaiman's Sandman, which has some stunning visual design and blocking in the lines and ink, but possibly the worst, most repulsive coloring imaginable. (
effex tells me the early volumes were re-colored in later editions, and we will have to be careful to purchase those if possible, now.) And I just got Volume 1 of newish Vertigo title Madame Xanadu, which has really beautiful line-art & coloring by Amy Reeder Hadley and Guy Major. We've also bought a special GN of Witchblade set in feudal Japan drawn not too badly by [I had to go check] Billy Tan, with some truly excellent coloring by Steve Firchow. But none of these I've seen have so far approached the innovation and the sheer coolness of Bá's deliberately stylized noir approach, which reminds me of Batman: The Animated Series from my childhood (which received design awards at the time, I believe). (I'm sure there are other genius artists working in the industry whose work I have not happened to encounter, and this is not a cry for recs, because I still don't intend to explore comics widely and certainly not on the basis of art. I try not to buy books that don't pass the Bechdel test, for one thing, and I prefer to save most of my book budget for female protagonists.)
Look, dressing up is like a once-a-year event for me, okay?
So finally the deities of Facebook saw fit to provide smallish versions of the wedding party photoshoot in the park from my cousin's wedding. (Most of it was really adorable pictures of my cousin, but I'm not going to post those here. Just the ones that include me.)
Also, in the big versions, there is totally one where you can see how much cooler my shoes were than everyone else's. It's definitely petty, but considering the amount of shoe-blogging I do I'm sure you're not surprised to learn that that is one of my principal joys in life. ( Big versions! )
So finally the deities of Facebook saw fit to provide smallish versions of the wedding party photoshoot in the park from my cousin's wedding. (Most of it was really adorable pictures of my cousin, but I'm not going to post those here. Just the ones that include me.)
Also, in the big versions, there is totally one where you can see how much cooler my shoes were than everyone else's. It's definitely petty, but considering the amount of shoe-blogging I do I'm sure you're not surprised to learn that that is one of my principal joys in life. ( Big versions! )
Because Wax does shift work, I often have to eat dinner by myself. I don't like doing a big Preparing a Meal for one person, so I tend to eat leftovers, sandwiches and similar things, or cook small, quick, 1-person things. Occasionally these are frozen, from mixes, etc, but I don't like to rely overmuch on that type of food as it's typically overly expensive, bad for the environment, and less tasty. So most of the time I go to (in order of frequency over the last few years)
What do the rest of you do for quick 1-person meals? I'm casting about for new ideas, here, because I want to cut back the amount of the pesto dish I eat (it has recently struck me that it consists mostly of starch in the form of white flour, and a single tomato and a lot of oil doesn't do a lot to make it more nutritious, even if it is sometimes very delicious). (I'm well aware that rice and ramen noodles are just as starchy. I do like starch, and live mostly on it; I'm just looking for ways to incorporate at least a LITTLE other nutrients into my diet).
- Quick pasta with pesto: ready-made pesto paste, lemon juice and olive oil over pasta with minced tomato (I find that I can't eat it without the tomato). There's a non-quick version too that involves other vegetables. ( More detailed )
- Potato and egg: 1-2 potatoes & a soft-boiled egg mashed together with a few tablespoons butter, salt, & a dash of dill. Can be topped with shredded cheese or slices of cheese, then microwaved ~30 seconds.
- Ramen noodles with a pinch of garlic and chili powder and a dash of lemon juice and soy sauce.
- Rice or rice cooked with a cube of bouillon with soy sauce.
What do the rest of you do for quick 1-person meals? I'm casting about for new ideas, here, because I want to cut back the amount of the pesto dish I eat (it has recently struck me that it consists mostly of starch in the form of white flour, and a single tomato and a lot of oil doesn't do a lot to make it more nutritious, even if it is sometimes very delicious). (I'm well aware that rice and ramen noodles are just as starchy. I do like starch, and live mostly on it; I'm just looking for ways to incorporate at least a LITTLE other nutrients into my diet).