Friday Slice of Heaven, Slice Into the Woods 02/24/2012

(Sung to the tune of Beastie Boys's "Sabotage")

I can't stand it, you must must demand it
I'm tellin' you son it's The Sixth Gun
It's the comic you should be buyin'
Supernatural Western, I ain't lyin'

Becky Montcrief, sweet mademoiselle,
Gun totin' honey she sure found hell
Oh my god, DC's gone dire
I'm tellin' y'all, it's I, Vampire

So, so, so, so
Listen up 'cause Andrew's fully screwed
"Well shut up Donist, what's goin' on in Chew."
Sure, Young Olive knows the score
This comic's the tops, give us more and more


Hey Obie, hand me another c-c-c-cup of c-c-c-c-coffee. Oh yeah...that's the ticket. Here you go little puppy, an espresso to chase that cigar you love so much; everyone knows how much Boston terriers love their cigars and coffee. After the nirvana-like state of relaxation we were able to achieve last week, this week succeeded in decimating our calm. It harshed our mellow, folks. So, why fight the stress? Donist World is going to embrace it! Look at there, Obie is trembling like a leaf after all of the coffee and nicotine and this week's tension-filled comics aren't helping the situation at all. And you know what, by golly, we're cool with that.

So, set your nerves on end and check out...

Friday Slice of Heaven




***Possible Spoilers Below***

The Sixth Gun #19

The Sixth Gun #19 - Written by Cullen Bunn and illustrated by Brian Hurtt, published by Oni Press. The Sixth Gun continues to be one of my most anticipated monthly comics and with good reason. Great characters, bizarre and interesting villains, and a story of terrible weapons that threaten to unleash an even greater evil upon the world, there is little not to like. More people need to be reading this incredible comic book.
Becky Montcrief continues her quest to locate the missing Drake Sinclair. Unfortunately, the closer she gets to finding him, the more dangerous and menacing her situation becomes. Becky is disturbed to the core when she arrives at the diseased town of Penance, where its broken inhabitants trudge through their daily lives. Her hope rises when Sheriff Maze, a man seemingly unaffected by the town, drops hints of where she will find Drake. Speaking of Drake, he is being wooed by the Knights of Solomon to take up his old position among them, but he's not making any friends in the process; plus they suspect he's taking them for a ride. Becky finds she's been lied too by Maze as she stumbles upon the actual town of Penance with citizens even more damaged than the people living in what turns out to have been New Penance. She learns the secret of both towns' plight, neither of which holds her health and wellbeing in much regard.
Crimony! Bunn and Hurtt bring an extra helping of creepy to this month's release with the citizens of the dual towns of Penance and New Penance...is that a nod to the film Dead Man at New Penance? The Knights of Solomon's hooded seers, who discover Drake's plan to mislead the Knights, are even more disturbing than the plagued victims of the towns. Bunn and Hurtt create a heavy sense of tension in their twisted tale of the weird West that builds until the cliffhanger ending that will make the wait for next month's issue all the more painful. Again, more people need to be reading this incredible comic book. If you like Westerns, the supernatural, beautiful art (with great coloring by Bill Crabtree), and a well-told story, then you can't go wrong with this series. Oh yes, skunk necklace...never mind, just buy this comic! Two TPBs are currently available with a third on the way. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Chew #24

Chew #24 - Written by John Layman and illustrated by Rob Guillory, published by Image Comics. Never let it be said that Layman and Guillory's Chew doesn't shock or surprise with every issue. This series leaves the reader not just questioning the sanity of its creators, but more so wondering what could possibly come next. Chew continues to astound in the best of ways and always leaves me hungry (see what I did there?) for more.
Say hello to Hershel Brown. He's a xocoscalpere, which in Layman's terms (see what I did there?) means he can sculpt anything in chocolate to such a degree that the item actually mimics its real-life counterpart. He's also a wanted man after he chopped up a bunch of people at a butter sculpting contest with a chocolate samurai sword. Tony Chu's teenage daughter, Olive, goes on her first real mission but when Mason Savoy has her drink a milkshake with the blood of a martial artist in it, she is less than thrilled. They find Brown attempting to sell a chocolate laser raygun to some Russians and Brown does not fare well in the ensuing carnage. Olive also learns that she is more than just an "ordinary" cibopath as she begins to understand the true nature of her gifts.
Death by frickin' chocolate...literally. Layman and Guillory continue to release the most unique comic to be found on the rack. At the very worst Chew delivers an entertaining and enjoyable read. At its best you get one of the most creative stories with fantastic characters who you learn to love and a desperate need to know what comes next. This, and honestly most issues of this series, fall clearly into the "best" category. There's a reason I smile every time I find this comic in my pull, and I am probably going to double dip this puppy by picking up the Chew: Omnivore Editions. If you are not reading this series you are definitely missing out. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

I, Vampire #6

I, Vampire #6 - Written by Joshua Hale Falkov and illustrated by Andrea Sorrentino, published by DC Comics. I was worried for the the fate of this series since this is the second issue in the second cross-over event and we're only on issue six. Now we don't know good math here at Donist World, but by Obie's estimation that puts 50% of this series as part of some cross-over event if you include the John Constantine appearance in issue four. After reading the sixth installment, gone is the slight bit of awkwardness from last month, and we are left with an "Oh my god, that did not just happen" book in the best of ways.
Batman, John, Tig and Andrew fight for their lives against the hordes of recently converted vampires descending upon them. Thankfully Andrew has a plan to thin the herd by killing the vampire boy who sired the mob of young vampires. Unfortunately, Batman's not a fan of the "K" word, but he's not the only dissenter in the group as...Oh my god, that did not just happen! Wait, who the hell is that guy?! Oh...him...dang.
Holy cow! I was not expecting that at all. Fialkov succeeds in alleviating the awkward moments from the previous issue and deliver an exciting and tense issue that leaves the reader with one hell of a cliffhanger ending. Oh man...just...wow. Sorrentino provides some of his best work to date and Marcelo Maiolo's colors bring amazing life to the undead and the two combined leave me wishing I had every page framed on my wall. It's difficult not to spoil the ending on this issue, so I will just urge people to pick up this great comic that despite being 50% cross-over is a mighty fine book...even though the "Rise of the Vampires" event picks up in Justice League Dark #7 for more cross-over fun. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Gaudi inspired Blue Iguana

Other Heavenly Things and Such - Last Friday, Amy, Tulip (Obie's sister and our dog) went on a mini vacation to Ojai for three nights, four days and had some much needed time to relax. We stayed at the wonderful and quirky Blue Iguana Inn, had some delicious food, wine and beer, and found a candy shop that had my favorite Atomic Fireball jawbreakers and Willy Wonka Bottlecaps. We will definitely return.

Black Summer TPB

Last week I mentioned that I was halfway finished reading Black Summer, written by Warren Ellis and illustrated by Juan Jose Ryp, published by Avatar, and now that I have finished the book, I have to say that it was great. When superhero John Horus becomes upset at the way the country is being run by the current administration (written during the Bush years, so guess what was going on in Ellis's head at the time) and decides to take matters into his own hands by brutally killing him, his administration, backers and some security guards, following all of that with a public address. The world is thrown into chaos and his old teammates are left wondering if they should sanction the lapsed hero or join him. Unfortunately, a supposedly dead man rises from the ashes with a response of his own. A fantastic, dark cynical comment on the politics of the time and a look at what would happen when a superbeing decides enough is enough. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! Now if only Ellis would release a Black Summer 2...you know, a prelude on each of the characters in the book in their early days and written and drawn by different...just kidding. :)
I try my best not to play many video games. I know me. I remember the dark days of "Age of Empires" where I can still hear the priest chanting as he healed my phalanx soldier, and a cold shiver drizzles down my spine, making me wince. But...I bought the Kingdom Rush app for $.99 on my iPad and the game rules. Think tower defense mashed with dungeons and dragons along with beautiful, cartoony art and characters, great sound effects, humorous little comments and loads of addictive fun. My personal favorite tower is the Ranger tower with the poison arrows and the strangling thorn vines, but there are plenty of other close contenders. I believe you can play the game for free online at the link above, but having it on the iPad while comfortable on the couch and with a nice beer or glass of wine...you know, classy all the way. So much fun that I want to stop writing and play a quick round over and over and over and over...
Finally, I almost forgot to mention that I picked up a bottle of rye whiskey called Old Overholt from the so-awesome-I-wish-it-was-in-town Ojai Beverage Company. The rye was as inexpensive as it was smooth and I couldn't be happier. The OBC had an immense selection of beer that I could have spent the day drooling over, but my wife kept me in reality and I ended up buying a 4-pack of Dubhe imperial black IPA, which was also very tasty. Black IPAs are a difficult type of beer to find in Santa Barbara, so I was glad to not leave empty handed.


Slice Into the Woods




Back from Relaxing and Into the Stress - C'mon now. After a much needed four-day break in Ojai, I jumped right back into some crazy stressful stuff on the jobby job front. Also went to the doctor's office and I have a couple more test to go through, but I am happy to say that I'm off of the blood thinners and hope to stay that way. The main thing is that all of the job commitments and doctor visits cut into my writing time this week--thus the late post--but hopefully everything stays calmed down for the near future...I've got some books and comics to write gosh darn it.

Friday Slice of Heaven, Slice Into the Woods 02/24/2012