Friday Slice of Heaven, Slice into the Woods 6/28/2019

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/Day Spa Darling Tulip (my dog, Reverse Obie’s sister). All right. Yes, I know. We vanished for a month, we came back and proclaimed we were back, and then disappeared again. The thing is that after the turmoil of the past few months, my Boston terrier executive team and I decided to take a holiday to Carmel to regroup and recover. We fully intended to write a “Friday Slice of Heaven” entry but we got a little too into relaxation mode and it just didn’t happen. Instead, we had a couple meals and beers at Yeast of Eden—a fantastic brewpub—and spent three glorious hours at The Refuge. Now, The Refuge is located in Carmel and has a gorgeous view of trees and hills and is a spa whose rules dictate no electronic devices, no talking, and no one under 18 years of age. With that, you get to alternate between eucalyptus steam rooms, dry saunas, cold and cool pools (more like so-cold-you'll-freeze-your-junk-off and it-feels-like-there-should-be-ice-cubes-floating-around), warm and hot pools, reading by a sun-kissed fire pit (umbrellas for shade if you like), or relaxing in a gravity chair to calming chimes. It was pretty amazing. Tulip preferred the steam room as Reverse Obie sweated out the stress toxins in the Sauna. I, however, preferred the gravity chairs where I dozed off to memories or running with Tulip in between the side of the creek and the bike path as the sun shone bright with Tulip looking back to be sure I wasn’t dropping too far behind. The day did us all some good. So, take a breath, let your shoulders relax, grab a tasty beer and some pizza, get ready for the next Spider-Man movie, sit back, relax, and afterward 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

Ascender #3

(Written by Jeff Lemire, illustrated by Dustin Nguyen, lettered and designed by Steve Wands, published by Image Comics)

Some great comics released these past two weeks but DANG if Ascender didn’t completely flip my dome. Criminy, this comic is the best. In this issue, Andy and his daughter Mila are on the run from Mother, the murderous witch who commands hordes of diabolical creatures, but there are also dire threats lurking in the woods. We learn the tragic event that befell Effy and also the value of having a good dog—even a robotic one—by your side. Nguyen’s watercolored art is even more lovely than usual, which is saying something, and the final page reveal had my heart racing and made me jump up and pump my fist in joy. The first chapter of this tale, Descender, is a must-read Donist World Darling of a series and this second act is already shaping up to be every bit its equal.
VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Little Bird #4

(Written by Darcy Van Poelgeest, illustrated by Ian Bertram, colored by Matt Hollingsworth, lettered by Aditya Bidikar, designed by Ben Didier, published by Image Comics)

Where Ascender made me gasp and then cheer, the penultimate issue of this miniseries that thoroughly took hold of me with the first issue also made me gasp…but there was no cause for celebration with the final few pages. Only a creeping sense of dread and the admission that I have absolutely no clue as to how things will go down, which is right where I want to be with this breakout post-apocalyptic story that depicts the perils of a terrifying theocratic society that is startling in its depiction by Van Poelgeest and oh-so-beautifully brought to life by Bertram’s masterful lines and Hollingsworth’s otherworldly colors. Even though it is almost over, you don’t want to wait for the eventual hardcover. Seek out the floppies and then double dip on the collection when it drops at the end of the year.
VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Conan the Barbarian #7

(Written by Jason Aaron, illustrated by Mahmud Asrar, colored by Matthew Wilson, lettered by VC’s Travis Lanham, published by Marvel Comics)

There are three or four Conan related titles currently hitting the shelves every month(ish) and although I’ve heard good things about them, I’m currently only reading the one that restarted it all: Conan the Barbarian. Every issue has been outstanding so far with pretty much standalone tales of our favorite barbarian's adventures with the exception of a couple pages here or there of a witch’s brood's attempts to kill the Cimerian. Here, Conan has “rescued” five lovely women from their lives as sex slaves after a substantial payment to their former captor. But what does Conan mean to do with his new purchases? You’ll have to read it to see in this fun, thrilling issue that combines the mystery behind the barbarian’s motives with a deeper glimpse into how he thinks and who he is. If you’ve been on the fence about reading this exciting reboot, then rest assured that it is solid proof of Aaron’s deep love and knowledge of the character and that you definitely need to purchase the soon-to-be released trade.
VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Guardians of the Galaxy #6

(Written by Donny Cates, illustrated by Geoff Shaw, colored by David Curiel, lettered by VC’s Cory Petit, published by Marvel Comics)

Cates’s phenomenal work at Marvel is what lured me back to the House of Ideas. I loved Thanos Wins and his run with Ryan Stegman on Venom has been nothing short of heavenly, so picking up Guardians of the Galaxy was a total no brainer. In this issue, the moment the Guardians have been dreading is about to come true: the resurrection of the mad Titan, Thanos. Hela and the Black Order stand at the brink of success and a difficult decision must be made. I love this series, especially given that nearly all of my favorite cosmic heroes flow in and out of its pages, but I will say that…things…get resolved a tad too quickly for my liking. Regardless, this comic is a heck of a good time. The trade gets released in August.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

X-Men Grand Design - X-Tinction #2

(Everythinged by Ed Piskor, published by Marvel Comics)

Piskor set out on what I thought to be a nigh-impossible task for himself when he decided to take decades of crazy continuity spread across hundreds of issues and condense it all down into three, two-issue chapters (that there is six issues for those doing the maths) that would summarize all of that material into something that not only made sense, but captured the thrill and fun of reading the issues back in the day. He knocked it out of the freakin’ park. Couple this with the fact that he did EVERYTHING on this series—including the design and the selection of the aged-looking paper—and you have something special, something the likes of which we most likely won’t see for some time to come…unless, of course, it’s whatever it is the man decides to tackle next. If you haven’t been picking up these monumental issues, then the three oversized trades are definitely the way to go…unless Marvel agrees to put out an omnibus of the whole shebang, which I really hope they do. Please! Please! Please!
VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

That about does it for this installment, Denizens, but there were a few other, older things I read over the past two weeks that I think I will save for another day. Have a great 4th of July and get out there for some Spider-Man: Far from Home action! See you next time.

Friday Slice of Heaven, Slice into the Woods 6/28/2019