Jason's Blog, page 13
September 19, 2023
September 3, 2023
Some books I've read 60
The Amazing Spider-Man: The Master Planner
Steve Ditko's last issues before he split. The last two or three are the weakest, so either he ran out of ideas or he lost interest. I will always prefer Romita, and later Andru, but Ditko deserves a lot of credit for creating the main characters in the comic and laying the groundwork for all that followed.
The Amazing Spider-Man: Spider-Man or Spider-Clone
Peak Ross Andru here, with inking by Mike Esposito or Frank Giacoia. The Jackal and the Gwen Stacy clone storyline, and then The Kingpin. Script by Gerry Conway and Len Wein. When I think about superhero comics, this is the stuff that pops out in my head. One more volume to go, publication in May, next year.
Captain America: The Red Skull Lives
Okay, the stories aren't all that interesting, but the art by Jack Kirby and in a couple of stories Gil Kane, is all dynamite.
Les aventures de R. Crumb by Robert Crumb.
This is one of the French translations of Crumb, published by Cornélius in a beautifully designed book on heavy paper. I don't have much by Crumb, mostly Fritz the Cat and the early sketchbooks, but I found a cheap copy of this book and will look for more.
I Am Homeless If This Is Not My Home by Lorrie Moore
Hmm... Not really to my taste, this book, the writer moving away from reality into fantasy / magic realism. I found it hard to care about the characters. Or character, really. Which is a shame. Moore can still write a killer sentence, though.
The Stones by Philip Norman
After all the Beatles books, I had been looking for a biography of Rolling Stones, and here it is! Well written, not too dry, and skipping some of the less interesting later stuff. But I still find Mick Jagger to be a bit ridiculous, I must confess.
Kiki Man Ray by Mark Braude
The story of Kiki de Montparnasse, her relationship with Man Ray and Paris in the 20's. How she moved from being a model to a singer and also an artist before the traditional sad ending. Where's the biopic?
The Twilight Years: Paris in the 1930s by William Wiser
Not bad, some good stuff, Henry Miller arrives and meets Anais Nin, James Joyce is an asshole to Sylvia Beach, but I prefer Wiser's earlier book, The Crazy Years: Paris in the Twenties.
August 16, 2023
August 12, 2023
August 11, 2023
Whoa!
Upside Dawn has been nominated for an Outstanding Collection Ignatz Award!
July 26, 2023
July 25, 2023
Allen Ginsberg
The Ginsberg biography I ordered arrived, but the spine was sun-damaged, so I made a new cover.
July 14, 2023
July 9, 2023
Some books I've read 59
One Two Three Four by Craig Brown
A great book about The Beatles, very entertaining, and also about the world around The Beatles, and how they, really, changed it.
Beatles '66 by Steve Turner
I started listening to Beatles music, especially Revolver, so I decided to re-read this book, about what the Beatles did that year, and how they went from being pop singers to... artists.
Paul McCartney: Many Years From Now by Barry Miles
It's hard to stop. I read the Philip Norman biography some time ago, but Barry Miles was an actual friend of McCartney, and spent years interviewing him, so the book should, maybe, be as close to an autobiography we will get.
Behold The Man by Michael Moorcock
A man travels back in time to meet Jesus, and yes, you can guess where this is going.
Lazy Days by Erlend Loe
A Norwegian couple and their kids rent an apartment in Germany for a month. The book has the Loe touch, but maybe doesn't reach the highs of...
Naive. Super. by Erlend Loe
I read this in French some years ago, but wanted to read it in English as well. His breakthrough in Norway, and in Europe as well, I would think. A reflection of its time, maybe, for good or for bad.
Ernest Hemingway: The Search for Courage by Keith Ferrell
It's a Hemingway biography, so I had to read it, but it's pretty superficial and doesn't bring anything new. This edition is from 2014, but the book was written in the 80's. As always with Hem bios, the last 50 pages are always depressing.
Currently reading:
My Life With Dylan Thomas: Double Drink Story by Caitlin Thomas
Shakespeare n'a jamais fait ça by Charles Bukowski
July 5, 2023
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