Category: Comics

Ongoing Investigations: Case #137

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I finished up Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure Part 6, with volume 7-17, over the course of this week. When I got into the meat of the story the chapters just flew by. At first I thought that Jolyne and company would break out of prison fairly quickly but in all actuality they spend a good deal of time inside the big house. Of course with any prison story you must have a big break out and as with any Jojo’s story post part 2 it means there will be a stand battle. Oddly enough Jolyne’s escape is more Memento than The Great Escape. The most surprising part of this arc is who lives and who dies in this part of the series. Jojo’s is pretty good at not flinching when it comes to killing characters. Heroes and villains die with equal ease. After Hirohiko Araki kills the protagonist after part 1 you assume all bets are off but Stone Ocean takes it to a new level. You have to give it to Enrico Pucci for being the most credible villains since Dio (not than anyone has come off as a pushover before then). Foo Fighters has easily become my favorite character in the series so far. Jojo’s is a series with some very strange characters but Foo Fighters is near the top of the list. She is great fun and another awesome supporting character in a line of greats for the series. This is a grand and glorious ending the what can be seen as a complete cycle of the series. After this part the universe is literally different and completely new doors have opened up for story possibilities. I did have some revelations about the series after this part and might just do a Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure survival guide article filled with tips on how to survive in the Jojo’s universe by being genre savvy.

I’ve been enjoying Croisee in a Foreign Labyrinth (eps. 2-7) probably for its setting more than anything else. But still it has small enjoyable moments as bits of French culture are revealed through Yune’s experience. I wasn’t expecting a wacky princess character like Alice to show up, but probably more intriguing is her sister Camille. Her connection with Claude has yet to be fully realized but I’m very curious. Doubly so because I expected there would be a romance in the works between Claude and Yune but that may prove false.

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Comic Strips on the Internet! How Novel!

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hisuiconWhile I was at work today a thought suddenly dawned on me. Everyday after I clock the first thing I do is read my daily web comics. It is a ritualized activity for me that I do like most people have breakfast or a cup of coffee to start the work day.  But I realized a very important fact I never thought about before. I don’t really know anything about the web comics community nor have I ever really participated in that community despite reading web comics quite religiously.

hisuiconIt is odd because even if I do not immerse myself in a hobby I usually have some idea of the inner politics of a fandom due to nerd osmosis. (Nerd osmosis being the process in which you just passively pick up information about other nerd hobbies without much effort due to nerd interests intersecting on a fairly regular basis). But despite reading Sluggy Freelance for over a decade I don’t really participate in comic forums or even follow any of the artists of comics I read on twitter. I do follow several web comic artists like Kara Dennison, Magical Emi, and Anatole_serial but never because they are web comic artists. What about webcomics let me be so cursory about them when I usually get into the meta details of any fandom I am a part of?

hisuiconUsually when I enter a fandom I go to research the heck out of it. I look at the history of the hobby, what people like and dislike about various titles, who are the king makers and the pariahs, and what trends shape up the medium. But for some reason I log in every day with my web comics, enjoy what I read, and then think no more on it. Is it because web comics are just a diverse medium that I don’t see it as a monolithic fandom, is web comic fandom just a quiet fandom in general, is my daily time with each strip so short that I don’t feel the need to dig deeper, or is it something else? There has to be a difference but I just can’t put my finger on it. If any one has a clue please let me know.

hisuiconBefore anyone asks I will say that the web comics I regularly read are:

hisuiconBy the way if you want to plug your own comic, recommend me something, or just talk about the web comic community then leave me a comment below.

Ongoing Investigations: Case #136

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Detective Conan movie 9: Strategy Above the Depths takes place on a luxury cruise line, but thanks to today’s technology they aren’t totally cut off from the outside world as the usual police are flown in to investigate. I found this aspect to be slightly disappointing actually, but they want to get in all those favorite faces. There is a lot going on on this ship including conspiracy, murder, and bombs. Since these movies are known for spectacle, these bombs go off creating havoc just as the killer is confronted. While this time around the audience knows the culprit from the beginning, there are still some twists as Conan tries to uncover the clues and motive. Knowing the answer beforehand allows you to follow Conan’s logic, but it takes some of the fun out of trying to deduce the perpetrator. And when most of the people are safely off the ship, an intense show down begins as Conan and Kogoro look for Ran on the fast sinking vessel. This Conan movie lands in the middle for me, not super great fun but certainly not a lame film either.

I got Hayate the Combat Butler volume 15 for my birthday but I never did talk about it. It is nice to go back to a long string of silly stories considering all the drama with Ruka Suirenji and doujin and how serious it has been recently in the manga. We get two really great Nagi chapters with her wandering around the mansion at night and her building RC cars. They are great little stories and the RC storyline has one of my favorite lines of all time, “An Otaku who lacks love and care is just a nerd.” Good Nagi and Hayate moments throughout. This volume also has two Fumi Hibino chapters. I usually think her chapters are funny but she is easily my least favorite Hayate character. It also ends with the beginning of a Hinagiku story which I am sure will make many people happy. But speaking of making people happy there is a Maria story and a little Maria fan service as well. Great volume all in all.

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