Summer Reading Round-Up
Somewhere outside the timeline you remember lies the Akashic Library, its shelves stretching off endlessly into the quantum foam. What mysteries shall we explore as we wander its hallways? Close your eyes and take three steps forward . . .
That’s it, everybody, summer’s over—school started and I’ve gone back to work. I’m busy getting back into the swing of my job, which is why this month’s newsletter is so late. Just kidding, they’re always this late! But I am pressed for time, so this one’s mainly going to focus on three books I read recently. First, some updates . . .
BEOWULF VS. GRENDEL UPDATE
To recap, I order the proof copy of Beowulf Vs. Grendel and tragically it was unreadable. It was a problem with the PDF format that seemingly meant I had to start over and redo the layout. But fortunately my friend Ray, a tech wizard and a generous soul, figured out a way to convert the PDF. I resubmitted the file and waited. Weeks later, the book arrived . . .
SUCCESS! Ray is a hero whose feats will long be celebrated in story and song. I sent out coupons to the backers so they could order their copies, thus completing the Kickstarter campaign. Mission accomplished.
BUT WHAT ABOUT PEOPLE WHO AREN’T BACKERS?
Great news, I put the book on sale to the general public. So you can head over to DriveThruRPG and get yourself a copy!
I’d recommend it for people who like:
Sword & Sorcery RPGS
Mythology & Legends
English literature
Removeable arms
Radicalness
Get your copy here!
LIGHTNING MAN LIVES!
I’ve finished the first 7 pages of Lightning Man volume 2! You can read them right here, absolutely free. I’m happy with how it’s going so far; I get to draw the kind of stuff I like to draw (squiggles, swirls, and monsters.)
Wondering how this story started off? Not to worry, The Adventures of Lightning Man volume 1 is still available for purchase in a handsome hardcover edition.
THE ETSY JUGGERNAUT MOVES UNDENIABLY FORWARD
I’m still selling art in my Etsy shop. I haven’t added anything recently because I’ve been busy working on a Top Secret Commission, but I just finished it and hopefully I’ll have time to add some new drawings soon.
This drawing of America’s Favorite Comics Characters, Fuzzball & Scuzzball, is still available for purchase:
As always, I’m donating every dime I make from art sales to help people in Gaza. I’m currently donating through Gaza Funds. Even if you don’t want one of my drawings, consider clicking that link and donating to someone in need. And if you want to get yourself something pretty AND support a good cause, visit my Etsy shop.
DON’T BE AFRAID TO COMMIT
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BOOKS I'VE READ SINCE LAST TIME
Legion of Super-Heroes: Zap Goes the Legion, Jim Shooter, Carey Bates, Win Mortimer, Dave Cockrum, and various
Gilgamesh, translated by Sophus Helle
Dawnrunner, Ram V, Evan Cagle, and various
To give some added context, I’m going to share the back cover blurbs of the three books I’m talking about:
Zap Goes the Legion is a collection of Legion of Super-Heroes comics from 1968-1974. That's a lot of years for one book, which tells us this was a transitional time for the Legion, as their adventures bounced from Adventure Comics to Action Comics to Superboy, sometimes with months-long gaps in-between stories.
I'm traditionally a fan of the Legion stories from the 60s and the 80s; the 70s has always been a blind spot for me. But now that I am 50, at long last I'm getting into it.
This collection starts off with the end of Jim Shooter's first run as writer. Jim did good stuff but Curt Swan is gone and the art is by Win Mortimer, who is Not Great. Shooter leaves and is replaced as regular writer by Cary Bates, who is also Not Great. So there's a period in the middle of the book where the stories and the art are both mediocre. Why did I keep reading? What could redeem this series?
Three words, my friends: Dave Mothergrabbin' Cockrum. Cockrum comes on board as artist and it's a breath of fresh air. He's just starting out, he's not as polished as he will be later, but he is bursting with energy and a new perspective. Almost singlehandedly he transitions the Legion from the Silver Age to the Bronze Age. He redesigns their spaceships, their costumes, their technology, and he makes it all look COOL. Have you ever wondered how an artist can elevate a series with mediocre scripts? See what Cockrum does here.
This book includes the whole Cockrum run, which is brief. After he drew a beautiful double-page spread that featured the whole cast, Dave asked for the original art for that spread back, and editorial said no. So he quit the book, went to Marvel, and reinvigorated their third-rate book the X-Men into a billion-dollar franchise. Epic loss for DC.
As part of my Birthday Book Tour I went to the Book Loft in Columbus, where I saw Sophus Helle’s translation of Gilgamesh and told myself, “No, you don’t need another translation of Gilgamesh, you should read something new.” I didn’t buy it. Fortunately we returned to the Book Loft a couple of days later. I saw the error of my ways and purchased it.
The Epic of Gilgamesh was written thousands of years ago but there are chunks of it still missing, and they keep finding more. So a new translation will include lines you’ve never seen before. This one’s from 2021, and includes a fragment discovered in 2018. It turns out Enkidu and Shamhat had sex twice as long as we previously thought!
Helle translates the epic from the original Akkadian and provides context in an introduction and then five essays following the epic. Even though I’ve read several books about Gilgamesh I enjoyed his insights and learned new things. Glad I bought it!
Dawnrunner by Ram V, Evan Cagle, et al. was a Father’s Day gift from my kids. Thanks, kids!
Dawnrunner is set in a world very, very similar to the one in Pacific Rim, except that the rift the monsters come through isn’t underwater, in the Pacific Rim, but in the air above South America.
The art is stunningly beautiful, with one shortcoming I must mention—when there’s a fight scene, it’s hard to tell what’s happening. Since I enjoy clarity of action in comics, and I enjoy the simple pleasure of seeing a giant robot fight a giant monster, this is a serious issue. However, everything else about the art is good enough to make up for this one shortcoming. And there’s good character stuff, too!
TV SHOWS I’VE WATCHED
The Righteous Gemstones season 4
Leverage season 4
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3
Severance season 2
Peacemaker season 2
MOVIES I’VE WATCHED
White House Down
Blood Simple
Raising Arizona
Barbie
Superman
Raising Arizona
Miller’s Crossing
I saw Superman in the theater again, this time with my wife. I still love it!
In other news I’m buckling down and, inspired by my favorite podcast Blank Check, finally doing something I’ve intended to do for years: Watch every Coen Brothers movie in order. As you can see in the list above I’ve done the first three, Blood Simple, Raising Arizona, and Miller’s Crossing.
They’re all very good. I’d never seen Blood Simple or Miller’s Crossing before—Blood Simple is a tight noir crime story that’s surprisingly good for a directorial debut and Miller’s Crossing is an entertaining gangster picture. I’d seen Raising Arizona before; I loved it in the 90s and I love it now, so much so that I showed it to my kids. They also loved it. Hilarious movie.
Fifteen movies to go! Next up is Barton Fink. More on that next time.
Your Friend,
Leighton