Gwardinen Posted July 24, 2012 I still much prefer his work on American Vampire though, as it's really good and one of the only things the past 10 years that had to do with Vampires and didn't suck. I thought about reading that series a few times but couldn't find any descriptions of it that didn't pretty much just say "modern day vampires are cool, right?" Always felt like there might have been something more. Maybe I'll look into it again. Also, yes, the whole Court of Owls thing was pretty lacklustre. Honestly most of the New 52 started out fairly strong and have begun to meander. Even Aquaman and Animal Man, which took heroes I barely knew about, let alone cared about, and made them genuinely intriguing and piqued my curiosity for them outside of just superhero action sequences, have started to lose my interest. I'll keep reading everything with Superman in it, though, because I'm a fanboy. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TheLastBaron Posted July 24, 2012 I thought about reading that series a few times but couldn't find any descriptions of it that didn't pretty much just say "modern day vampires are cool, right?" Always felt like there might have been something more. Maybe I'll look into it again. Also, yes, the whole Court of Owls thing was pretty lacklustre. Honestly most of the New 52 started out fairly strong and have begun to meander. Even Aquaman and Animal Man, which took heroes I barely knew about, let alone cared about, and made them genuinely intriguing and piqued my curiosity for them outside of just superhero action sequences, have started to lose my interest. I'll keep reading everything with Superman in it, though, because I'm a fanboy. It's not modern day, it's turn of the century western with vampires. Think Red Dead, but with vampires (which after reading the comic makes me wish they did a vampire expansion instead of the zombie one). One thing that I like is that it's not just like there's people and then theres vampires, there's American vampires (hence the title) and European vampires, and they're different and don't get along with each other also. Also the art is fantastic, The first 5 issues are split into two halves with the fist being Scott Snyder's ongoing story and the second half being Stephen King's and Rafael Albuquerque does the art on both, but each has it's own style. Like I said, I've only been following Animal man really as far as current DC goes, but I might check out Justice League dark now that Jeff Lemire is on it (if it wasn't already obvious I love him). I mostly just read non Marvel/DC books (Mostly ones from Vertigo, Image, or IDW) or old series' I haven't gotten around to these days however. Also speaking even more of Jeff Lemire, everyone should check out his book Essex County, even people who don't read/like comics. In my honest opinion I think it's the best graphic novel that has been published within the past 10 years. It's not about a bunch of crazy stuff like most comics, it's just about the family lives of people in rural Canada. I don't really know what to say about it other than it's a must read. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Roderick Posted July 25, 2012 I just finished reading You Can't Win by Jack Black. God damn, this book was awesome. It's an autobiography about a hobo, theif, and professional shit heel during the 1920s. It was incredibly fascinating to read about the common class and underclasses of that era. Learning about hobo and thief society/politics was amazing and mildly depressing, but by the end of the book, there is an uplifting moral on life and a cautionary message about treatment of prisoners. Jack Black was a hobo in the 1920s?! Or is it a fictionalised autobiography? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nappi Posted July 25, 2012 Sure was. I actually added that book to my to-read list. Sounds really interesting. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Roderick Posted July 25, 2012 Oh man, that was not the image I had in my head. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nappi Posted July 25, 2012 Oh man, that was not the image I had in my head. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gwardinen Posted July 25, 2012 I mostly just read non Marvel/DC books (Mostly ones from Vertigo, Image, or IDW) or old series' I haven't gotten around to these days however. Same here, which reminds me to recommend Saga by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples! It is a new series that is described as Romeo & Juliet meets Star Wars meets Game of Thrones. I don't know if you really need to know any more than that, but frankly the author alone makes this worth trying anyway. I absolutely adored Y: The Last Man and Ex Machina, and so far Saga isn't disappointing either (though it's building fairly slowly). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gormongous Posted July 25, 2012 Same here, which reminds me to recommend Saga by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples! It is a new series that is described as Romeo & Juliet meets Star Wars meets Game of Thrones. I don't know if you really need to know any more than that, but frankly the author alone makes this worth trying anyway. I absolutely adored Y: The Last Man and Ex Machina, and so far Saga isn't disappointing either (though it's building fairly slowly). I loved Y: The Last Man but totally flamed out on Ex Machina. It's long enough ago that I can't really remember why, though. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Argobot Posted July 26, 2012 International trailer for Cloud Atlas (don't watch the trailer if you haven't read the book unless you're ok with spoilers): http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/watch-five-minute-international-trailer-for-cloud-atlas/ Personally, I'm not very excited for the movie and the trailer hasn't done anything to convince me otherwise. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chris Posted July 26, 2012 International trailer for Cloud Atlas (don't watch the trailer if you haven't read the book unless you're ok with spoilers): http://www.ropeofsil...or-cloud-atlas/ Personally, I'm not very excited for the movie and the trailer hasn't done anything to convince me otherwise. Goddamnit. I really wanted to be able to discuss Cloud Atlas on the book cast before shit about the film started coming out, but I guess we missed that boat. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Argobot Posted July 26, 2012 Goddamnit. I really wanted to be able to discuss Cloud Atlas on the book cast before shit about the film started coming out, but I guess we missed that boat. Well the movie isn't coming out until the end of October so there's still some time..... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Twig Posted July 26, 2012 Well the movie isn't coming out until the end of October so there's still some time..... That assumes they ever release the first bookcast! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nevsky Posted July 26, 2012 Same here, which reminds me to recommend Saga by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples! It is a new series that is described as Romeo & Juliet meets Star Wars meets Game of Thrones. I don't know if you really need to know any more than that, but frankly the author alone makes this worth trying anyway. I absolutely adored Y: The Last Man and Ex Machina, and so far Saga isn't disappointing either (though it's building fairly slowly). Massive, resounding ditto on the Saga front. My favourite comic of the moment. Guess the first trade should be out pretty soon, too! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TheLastBaron Posted July 27, 2012 Yeah, Saga is very good indeed. Another series by Image that's completely different but equally excellent is Chew. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Takhea Posted July 28, 2012 Read Albert Camus's "The Stranger" last week, and well I can really recommend it. The main characters way to see the world is just so well introduced in the very first line of the book. "Mother died today. Or, yesterday maybe, I don't know. I got a telegram from the home: 'Mother deceased. Funeral tomorrow. Faithfully yours.' That doesn't mean anything. Maybe it was yesterday." Have been trying to get into some of the more "high class" books lately starting with Dostoevsky's "Crime and punishment" and Nabokov's "Lolita". It has been a great experience so far as it's been a while since I've read anything that really makes you think, even after you put the book down. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chris Posted July 28, 2012 Read Albert Camus's "The Stranger" last week, and well I can really recommend it. The main characters way to see the world is just so well introduced in the very first line of the book. "Mother died today. Or, yesterday maybe, I don't know. I got a telegram from the home: 'Mother deceased. Funeral tomorrow. Faithfully yours.' That doesn't mean anything. Maybe it was yesterday." Have been trying to get into some of the more "high class" books lately starting with Dostoevsky's "Crime and punishment" and Nabokov's "Lolita". It has been a great experience so far as it's been a while since I've read anything that really makes you think, even after you put the book down. I haven't read Crime & Punishment since high school (although I should), but Lolita is a goddamn powerhouse of a book. Nabokov is a hell of a stylist. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Takhea Posted July 29, 2012 Yeah definitely, there were times during the book where I just had to stop and think why the hell I was feeling sympathy for a child molester. He certainly doesn't make it easy for you. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
much shorter Posted July 31, 2012 I noticed Chris mentioned the thousand summers of jacob de zoet, and how the Dutch were the only Western interested allowed in Japan. If any of you are curious to learn more about that, and learn some history, pick up After Tamerlane by John Darwin. Five Thumbs Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
savdec449 Posted August 3, 2012 This is a random request, but does anyone know any good books on film history? Specifically French New Wave, but I'd be down for anything, really. My only caveat is that I don't want anything that is too broad (e.g. a general history of Hollywood). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Irishjohn Posted August 3, 2012 Neal Gabler wrote a history of the role of the Jewish community in the development of the Hollywood system called An Empire of Their Own. Not sure if it's what you're looking for but it's good. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ben X Posted August 3, 2012 Easy Riders, Raging Bulls is popular. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Argobot Posted August 13, 2012 I don't know a lot about French New Wave, but if you're at all interested in the history of American horror movies/directors, then you should read Shock Value. It's all about how film moved from the overtop monster movies of the 1930s-50s to the more constrained horror movies of the 70s. Every chapter is a about a specific film and it's the director; the best is the chapter on Alien, and how Dan O'Bannon's early relationship with John Carpenter really influenced the development of that movie. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ThunderPeel2001 Posted August 13, 2012 Alien wasbasically Dark Star with a bigger budget and serious tone. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Argobot Posted August 13, 2012 True, but the story of how Dark Star influenced Carpenter and O'Bannon to make two of the most famous/important horror movies ever (Halloween and Alien) is super fascinating. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ThunderPeel2001 Posted August 13, 2012 I would have thought The Thing was more influenced by Dark Star than Halloween. Carpenter never spoke to O'Bannon again, which always made me wonder if he felt O'Bannon had stolen some of his intellectual property for Alien. The Thing always struck me as Carpenter trying to do the same movie, e.g. crew vs alien. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites