Like school in the summertime

...No class. Neither Art nor Diagnostic Reading met today. We had some very desultory online work to do.

I have bought (at half price or less) the following graphic novels since last time:

* 100 Bullets Volume 7: Samurai --- $7

I wasn't immediately drawn in by Brian Azzarello's ultra-gritty street epic when I read the first volume (I later traded it away), but I'm a sucker for prison stories, and the first half of this book deals with a righteous con trying to keep from getting stomped by a couple of really bad dudes. The second story's pretty good too. I'm not going to rush out and buy all the other books, but I did like this one a lot more than the first.

* Earth X --- $13

Alex Ross' wordy "epic" about Marvel's future dystopia. More like Earth Zzzzzz! Ha! See, that's a pun 'cause I was bored by it.

* Top 10: The Forty-Niners hardcover --- $13

I love me some Alan Moore, but he's an amazingly prolific guy, and they can't all be gems. I'm not very interested in the Top 10 franchise. I know the premise that everyone's a science hero leads to some interesting pastiches and parodies, but I get tired of seeing thinly-veiled alternates of famous icons in comics. It's an over-worked concept at best. This book, while a fun, light read, offers nothing new. I did get a kick out of seeing all the throw-away allusions and references hidden in every panel, though (like Popeye at a bar, firemen carrying away Curious George in the background, and so on).

* Queen and Country Volume 5: Operation Storm Front --- $8

Another superb, taut spy thriller. Greg Rucka can do no wrong. I'm still struck by the many similarities between this series and the BBC show "Spooks," and I wonder which medium had a specific plot or character development first.