Squiddies 2013

The Armchair Squid turns four years old today.  It's time to hand out some hardware.  And the Squiddy goes to...

Biggest Surprise: The Walking Dead

via Webcomics Guide

The critics raved but I was still unsure about The Walking Dead comics.  Zombie narratives are definitely not my thing - too much blood, too formulaic, too hopeless.  And yet, there was something about the series that worked for me.  I think two factors helped me enjoy Walking Dead more than the standard zombie fare: 1) the series is drawn in black and white so the copious amounts of blood are not red and 2) we don't actually see the zombies very often.  The story focuses on the struggles of a small group of characters to make a new life in a post-apocalyptic world rather than a constant onslaught from the undead.  After four trade paperbacks (finishing with Volume 4: The Heart's Desire), I decided I'd had enough.  That's still a lot further than I would have expected to get.


Biggest Disappointment: The Man Who Knew Too Little

via Wikipedia

We had a pretty good year with Family Movie Night films.  The Man Who Knew Too Little, a 1997 Bill Murray vehicle, was the only real clunker in my estimation.  It's funny at times but the story falls well short of compelling.


Best Match: Australian Open Fourth Round: Djokovic vs. Wawrinka

via Live Tennis Guide

Stanislas Wawrinka (Switzerland) is not likely to threaten for Major tennis titles.  At age 28, he has never advanced passed the quarterfinals of a Slam tournament.  However, he is the sort of tough grinder who's difficult to root against.  In January, it really looked like he had Novak Djokovic, the top seed and two-time defending champion, on the ropes in Melbourne.  The Serb eventually managed a 12-10 escape in the fifth set and went on to win the title.


Best Story: "Sweet Caroline"

After the bombing at the Boston Marathon, baseball stadiums across the country played Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline," a song adopted long ago by the Red Sox, in tribute.  When I heard the crowd at Yankee Stadium sang along with gusto, I couldn't help tearing up a bit.  However, the following from the Salt Lake City Marathon is even better.  Definitely worth a re-post:




Best Read, First-Time Category: Paper Lion by George Plimpton

via The Scores Report

Renaissance man George Plimpton was brilliant at playing the stuffy aristocrat on screen.  In print, he was humble, insightful and pretty darn funny.  Paper Lion is a seminal work in sports journalism, chronicling Plimpton's adventures while embedded with the 1963 Detroit Lions.  It's the sort of book that's embarrassing to read on an airplane because I can't stop giggling.  It also provides a wonderful glimpse of a simpler time in professional football - a must for any thoughtful fan.


Best Read, Re-Read Category: Macbeth by William Shakespeare

via Etsy

No one's better than the Bard and Macbeth is my favorite among his plays.  For my submission to July's Cephalopod Coffeehouse, I read an illustrated folio addition, artwork by Von.  Macbeth has it all: murder, intrigue, insanity, power lust, dark magic.  What's not to love?


Best Comics Find: V for Vendetta by Alan Moore and David Lloyd

via Amazon

I have long loved the film version of V for Vendetta but never got around to reading the original comics until last month.  After posting my review, I quickly learned that not all comic book readers are as impressed by Alan Moore as I am but he's definitely my favorite.  His allegorical rant against Thatcherism is highly compelling, the best graphic narrative I have seen so far.


Athlete of the Year: Andy Murray

via Roger Federer Fans

Andy Murray's entire career has been validated over the past twelve months.  Britain's #1 won his first Major at the 2012 US Open.  The real prize came just last month when the Great Scot ended the UK's 77-year title drought at Wimbledon.  Now maybe - just maybe - everyone will get off his back.  (Yeah, right...)


Post with Most Unexpected Consequences: A Comic Book Scavenger Hunt, A-Z: Fathom

via Westfield Comics Blog

One of the least interesting comic books I read for this year's A-Z Challenge inspired one of the most interesting conversations - most revolving around the merits of the cover art (or lack of merit, depending on perspective).  Discussion in that thread also lead directly to the creation of the Cephalopod Coffeehouse (details here).


Best Family Adventure: Lake Superior

We did not make it to the seashore this year but we did the next best thing by visiting the world's largest body of freshwater.   During our Michigan adventure, we took a boat tour of Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore.  Superior is nothing short of awe-inspiring.  I felt like I had reached the edge of the world, staring out across 150 miles of empty water.  Until this summer, it was the only one of the Great Lakes I'd never seen, except from an airplane.


Best Unexpected Benefit of Blogging: A Blogger Posse

At this point, I really shouldn't be surprised by the joys of making friends in the blogosphere.  However over the past few months, I've found an unexpected niche among a small enclave.  It started with Suze's Tiny Harmonies series in March, grew with A-Z in April and found a regular meeting place with the Cephalopod Coffeehouse.  Several of them are Coffeehouse regulars so if you'd like to get to know them, too - and why wouldn't you? - please join us for August's meeting.


Squiddy Posts from Previous Years:

2012
2011
2010

On the Coffee Table: V for Vendetta

Title: V for Vendetta
Writer: Alan Moore
Artist: David Lloyd

Image via Wikipedia

I was first introduced to the extraordinary work of Alan Moore through the film version of V for Vendetta.  For me, the movie was a wonderfully pleasant surprise - can't say I was expecting much, then was completely blown away.  Since getting into the comics hobby a few years back, I have found Alan Moore to be just about the most dependable name in the medium.  The Watchmen, Top 10 and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen have all ranked among my favorites.

Given all that, I really should have been better prepared for the original comic book version of V for Vendetta.  Mind you, I expected it to be good.  I did not expect what I would call the most satisfying graphic narrative work I have encountered thus far.  I've been on the lookout for a benchmark against which I could measure all others.  I believe I have found it.

First published in the early 1980s, V for Vendetta is set in a near-future England.  Nuclear holocaust has destroyed much of the world and Britain is a fascist police state.  V is a masked, anarchist terrorist staging his own private revolution.  While he is certainly the central character and driving force of the narrative, most of the story is told from the perspective of others: Evey, the girl V rescued from the streets, as well as those within the establishment who are baffled in their efforts to stop V's attacks.

So, what is Alan Moore's genius?  I am far from the only one who considers him the best comic book writer ever.  What is his certain something?  Attention to detail is a very big part of it, I think.  Moore's approach seems that of a great screenwriter.  The big story is built upon the strength of individual scenes.   Words matter - all of them.  Characters matter - all of them.  Taking the broader scope, Moore is able to apply a human face to meaty political considerations.  Moore wrote V for V as a response to Thatcherism but rather than simply ranting as most of us would, he created a metaphorical reality with breath, blood and flesh.  He's far from the first to do so but few have managed it so effectively.

Moore's understandable objection to the film adaptation was the fact that his political message was twisted to suit a 21st century American audience.  The book pits anarchy against fascism.  In the movie, it's liberalism vs. neo-conservatism.  The impact on the audience is comparable but the creator's intent is irrevocably altered.  I still love the movie and am eager now to watch it again, but I must concede it's not quite the same story.

On the Coffee Table: Extraordinary Gents, Vol. 2

Title: The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Volume II
Writer: Alan Moore
Artist: Kevin O'Neill

Image via Wikipedia

The League of Extraordinary Gentelmen is Moore's and O'Neill's spoof on the superhero team genre, incorporating characters of Victorian era literature.  The League consists of Mina Murray (Dracula), Allan Quartermain (King Solomon's Mines), Hawley Griffin (The Invisible Man), Henry Jeckyll/Edward Hyde and Captain Nemo (20,000 Leagues Under the Sea).  My review of Volume I can be found here.

Volume II draws heavily from the works of H.G. Wells.  The overarching plot is based on War of the Worlds.  In addition to Griffin, Dr. Moreau plays a vital role in the story. 

The fun of The League is in waiting to see who will pop up next, what other literary references will find their way into the story.  Many of the allusions are obvious, others more subtle.  The League lodges at an inn called "The Bleak House," for instance.  Just as with Volume I, the story whets my appetite for the source material as much as for The League story itself.

Definitely for adults only: depictions of brutal violence between league members as well as a nude sex scene with Mina and Allan.