Four comics could hardly be more different

End of an epic, an entire epic, a real-life non-epic, should be the start of an epic

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031) The Sandman: The Wake by Neil Gaiman et al, finished March 18

And so I have made it. All the way through all ten volumes. Two or three or maybe four of which I had not read before, but now have.

And it is a satisfying journey. It is. But—as is typical with my Gaiman experience—it is the short things I like better than the long things. The stories that largely stand alone more than the overall epic arc.

But I do like the arc.

And I think that's all I have to say.

possibly nine weeks

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032) The World of Edena by Mœbius, finished March 23 

If I've read Mœbius before, it would have been something short and I do not remember it. Neither can I remember now what led me to finally seek out some Mœbius.

(I may have been delayed because I've often confused Mœbius with Dave Sim—perhaps because Mœbius  rhymes with Cerberus?—and seeing those massive b&w books on comicbookstore shelves was always a bit intimidating as a kid. [Not to mention his later reputation as a nut.])

Anyway, Mœbius has been a big influence on modern science-fiction film and Miyazaki and, of course, comics, so it's about time. I guess many people consider Ednea his magnum opus and it is certainly large and strange and epic, consisting of galactic mysticism and nested dreams. By the end there's no way to know what's real. If you have an allergy to surrealism, do not read.

The art is stunning and lovely, and the writing isn't self-serious even though it's stabbing at large notions like the meaning of life, the purpose of love, the role of government, the weight of dreams, etc etc. I think I'd rather read something else of his, something more grounded, but hey—now I get it.

perhaps one or perhaps three weeks

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033) Three Rocks: The Story of Ernie Bushmiller, the Man Who Created Nancy by Bill Griffith, finished March 23

A lot to like about this book. I learned new details about Bushmiller himself and it includes plenty of actual strips. It's not clear exactly what Griffith's points are. He glances around to interesting bits like a moth without clear regard for order or purpose. It's like he had a checklist and figured out how to get each point into the chronology and that was that.

His memoir about his mother was a more coherent work. And other books about Nancy are more persuasive as to its qualities. This one I liked reading but the space it gave on an obvious literary hoax and the weird epilogue suggest Griffith loves Nancy beyond reason.

And I guess that's okay.

one or two weeks

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034) Mighty Jack and Zita the Spacegirl by Ben Hatke, finished March 23

This crossover book doesn't just bring together the characters from the two series. Hatke is coming into his full power here. The characters have aged ever so slightly and that adjustment makes the story's thematic beats hit ever so much more effectively. I don't think his publisher would go for this (they won't even let Raina attempt this), and I don't know if he's interested, but I'd love to watch him take these characters into adulthood. Move beyond the kids-on-safe-adventures genre and see what he can do.

(Please don't interpret that desire as a knock on kid-lit. The books are great. But they have their limitations, as with any genre. I want to know what else he can do.)

two days