Friday, January 27, 2017

Friday Slice of Heaven, Slice into the Woods 1/27/2017

Welcome back, Donist World Denizens! For those of you new to our site, I’m Donist, and I am joined by Donist World CFO the Reverse Obie* (my friends’ Boston terrier whose fur recently swapped colors) and by our marketing director / administrative assistant / party planner / Women’s marcher Tulip (my dog, Reverse Obie’s sister). Geez Louise, Denizens, I’m still recovering from the mild bronchitis I contracted over three weeks ago, and I’m trying to get used to these new progressive lenses for my glasses; so not fun. Anyhow, my puppy executive team and I are trying to remain positive in what has been a bleak week for our country, and we are focusing on maintaining our status as a Fortune 320,000 company. Earlier this week we reorganized the Donist World corporate office (Mom’s basement) as a way of taking some semblance of control, no matter how small, of our lives. We also joined a The Women’s March this past Saturday. It felt great knowing that with our Santa Barbara numbers added to the immense worldwide number of marchers, we totally stomped Trump’s pathetic inauguration attendance. Hey, we do what we can. So take a deep breath, get plenty of rest, stay warm, stay positive, make some hot tea, take care of yourself, and while you’re at it check out some great comics. Thank you for reading!

*Obie, through his dabbling in arcane magics mixed with ancient corrupt business practices, has had not just the colors of his fur switched, but a complete overhaul of his work ethic as well…I think I’m kinda okay with the mishap.

***Possible Spoilers Below***

Friday Slice of Heaven


Future Quest #9

Written by Jeff Parker, illustrated by Ron Randall, colored by Veronica Gandini, lettered by ALW Studios’s Dave Lamphear, published by DC Comics. Dang, Denizens! Now, this is what I have been talking about for the past couple of issues. You have action, adventure, and everyone — and by everyone, I mean everyone — has finally come together to face the menace of Onikron. Even some of the villains have decided that the threat to Earth is so dire that they need to help out our heroes (no spoiler here, it’s on the dang cover, by golly). There are some truly fantastic moments that had my heart racing with excitement, but my favorite involves a sequence with Space Ghost and Race that made me want to cheer out loud. I’m not sure where Evan “Doc” Shaner is this issue, but Randall is a fitting stand-in as he delivers some strong storytelling and provides a vibe that reminds me of the more dramatic moments from the Jonny Quest cartoon. Gandini’s colors are vibrant, lively, and round out the experience of this all-ages comic that has me once again excited to see what happens next. If you have not been reading Future Quest, then you’re in luck come late-February when the first trade drops. This is one exciting and fun series! VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Saga #42

Written by Brian K. Vaughan, illustrated by Fiona Staples, lettered and designed by Fonografiks, coordinated by Eric Stephenson, published by Image Comics. You’ve been reading this Donist World Darling since the beginning, right? If you have, then you already know to expect the shizzle nizzle to go down on a regular basis, but just because you expect something crazy to happen, it doesn’t mean you are actually prepared once it does. I sure as heck wasn’t ready for the three heavy reveals that close out the seventh chapter of this sci-fi, fantasy, family drama, space opera of politics and emotion. On the brighter side of things, Staples’s already stunning art is a powerful showcase of her ability to pull you into the emotion of a scene with her unparalleled character acting; I dare you not to be moved by the ending sequence with Marko and Alana. I also loved seeing Petrichor pull through for her family-by-circumstance and she continues to be yet another badass character among many badass characters. Still, the things that go down this issue… <sigh> Anyhow, back to my original comment: if you have not been reading the wonderful comic Saga then you are totally missing out, but you can, and should, catch up immediately with the gorgeous hardcover (the second comes out in May), or the six available trades with a seventh coming out in April. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Thanos #3

Written by Jeff Lemire, illustrated by Mike Deodato, colored by Frank Martin, lettered by VC’s Clayton Cowles, published by Marvel Comics. Yup, you know I got mad love for Thanos, and although my reaction when I first heard about this new series was one of Only Jim Starlin can do the Mad Titan justice, but when I saw Lemire was the writer…well, Denizens, I knew everything was gonna be okay. I was right. Thanos is slowly dying from an unknown ailment and he’s trying to find a cure to whatever it is that is destroying him from the inside out. The problem is that many people want to send him to an even earlier grave. Thus we have his run-in with the Shi’ar Imperial Guard. The first two issues were mostly setup and an introduction to the players in Lemire’s tale, but this issue, with the exception of a couple of character interviews, is all about the knock-down, drag-out fight; it’s pretty glorious. Deodato’s art is even better on issue three than on the two previous issues as the action flows beautifully and there are fewer shadows. That said, I do miss the groovy crosshatching and halftone dot effects that were so prevalent in the previous issues. Martin’s colors provide an otherworldly look to the series that fits just right for this cosmic series. I am really enjoying Thanos. Here’s hoping the excitement continues and it steers clear of any “events” for a good long while. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!


Slice into the Woods


President-Neglect Donald Trump - <sigh> I manage to be shocked and appalled on a daily basis (no exaggeration) by what this orange asshole is doing to ruin our country. Thankfully, his evil and wicked ways (and that of the GOPers attempting to kill people’s health insurance, decimate reproductive rights, and destroy Social Security) is succeeding in uniting people against these morally-bankrupt, traitorous villains. The many Women’s Marches — I participated in the one in Santa Barbara — were tremendous, and now scientists are set to march and there are plans to march on April 15 to make Trump finally reveal the tell-all of his tax returns. The fight against these monsters has just begun, and it is only going to grow.

Books in the Amazon.com Top 100 - It’s pretty damn telling as to where our country is at mentally and emotionally given that 1984 is the number one book on Amazon.com. Here are a few of the other books in the Top 100.

1. 1984 by George Orwell (this is sold out, btw)
4. Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis by J. D. Vance
9. It Can’t Happen Here by Sinclair Lewis
11. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
14. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
24. The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
25. The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
28. How to Win Friends & Influence People by Dale Carnegie
32. The Origins of Totalitarianism by Hannah Arendt
33. Animal Farm: A Fairy Story by George Orwell
40. 1984 by George Orwell (yup, on here again. An older edition)
43. The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander
83. Animal Farm: 1984 by George Orwell (two books in one!)
98. March (Trilogy Slipcase Set) by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell (I need to get this)




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