signed, Jeff Smith ♥

Scenario: back in July I purchase my three-day pass to New York Comic Con. Flash forward to October where I hastily book an earlier flight back to LA and sell the pass to Steph, and impulsively ask her if she'd get the 9th trade paperback of BONE signed for me by Jeff Smith. I only brought 'Crown of Horns' because incidentally she had picked that one up for me and mailed it to me before the summer, and overt sentimentality is what kept me from purchasing a full volume of BONE to get signed. And two days ago this arrived in my mailbox. So, I didn't get to go to New York Comic Con, and didn't get to stay in the city as long as I'd originally planned with my friends, but this is a little memento/reminder of what sweet friends I have.

Harvey Pekar (1939-2010)

a pal like you

summer blonde - adrian tomine

I had only read Shortcomings before Summer Blonde, and though I've always been fond of Adrian Tomine's illustrations, I don't call myself a big fan of his storytelling, unless angsty, verbose, self-reflective bordering-on-the-mundane conflict is what I'm in the mood for. But maybe I judged too soon. Summer Blonde's strength is that it's a collection of four stories and we get a better glimpse of Tomine's world and what stories he wants to tell. I had a problem with the pacing in all but one of the stories; I would say the pacing and his writing are Tomine's greatest weaknesses. He shows a remarkable empathy for his characters, however - if you were to meet Tomine for the first time he'd probably figure you out in a heartbeat, though he would probably also embellish you with extra emotional baggage/issues as well. Back to his characters, though they're usually fleshed out they also lack a certain wholeness, which could be due to the issues said characters might be facing... as you encounter them you realize you're only peeking into a small part of their lives and their outcome is ambiguous. An entertaining read, read it for the art if not for a strong dose of Adrian Tomine-y goodness...

BONE (Jeff Smith)

Last week while moseying around the Mid Valley Megamall out here in KL, killing time before watching the latest Harry Potter movie, I happened upon a sweet little comic book store, simply called Comics Mart, and did some much-needed browsing.

I considered picking up from where I left off on Neil Gaiman's Sandman (I've only read up to the third volume, Dream Country, tsk tsk) but since I would like to own The Absolute Sandman I refrained, and then, being unfamiliar with the setup of the store, asked the man at the front desk if they carried BONE. I could've sworn his ears perked up at my question, and one of the other guys there goes "Bone! You like that one right?" and he replies, half to himself and half to me, "Yes, it is my favorite."

I pick up the first two volumes and the other guy chirps "What are you gonna do now that she's getting those two!" And the other one says "I have my own copies of Bone!" and with a smile rings up my purchase. He asks me if I'm a local and I say no, I'm visiting from the U.S. but staying here a month longer, so he gives me a card with a stamp for every 25RM I spend, and stamps and initials three boxes. I tell him I'll be back for the rest later and he smiles, says nice meeting you, and see you soon!

Sweet! I tore through those two books fast, and just yesterday went back to pick up the next three volumes. I didn't tarry long, I just went in and picked up and left, but next time I think I'll stay and talk to the owner a little longer. He reminds me of one of the guys in charge of my favorite comic book store back home, how crazy is that?

So I haven't actually said much about BONE - it began and became popular in the 90's, is a sweeping saga much like Lord of the Rings, what with a cute humble protagonist Fone Bone, an anthropomorphic bone character, and fantastic beasts including talking bugs, rat creatures, and dragons! BONE isn't only epic though, it's funny. Fone Bone has two cousins, Phonciple P. (Phoney) Bone and Smiley Bone, and all three of them are trying to find their way back home to Boneville, where Phoney was chased out of, dragging with him his two cousins. Won't say much more now - I am halfway through the series. In between journeys to studio and class I'm always thinking about when I can make my next trip to the Megamall, hehe.