Mountain of Judgment

Eep: Darwyn Cooke's take on The Spirit is very, very pretty. The writing is serviceable, the art is spectacular...but what really makes my heart skip a beat is the cover stock--heavy weight like a number of DC's other "prestige" monthlies (Green Lantern, Brave and the Bold) but with a matte finish that reflects much less light than the standard glossy paper, which holds the book's muted colors wonderfully, and which is as smooth to the touch as a baby's bottom. It's this aspect that vaults the comic from enjoyable read to outright fetish object. My only complaint may seem strange to level at a book which notably features done-in-one-issue tales in an era where most comics are padded for trade paperback publication. But I do think I'd like the stories more if Cooke forced himself, a la Eisner, to compress them into fewer pages. I don't mind padding too much when it looks as nice as this, but Cooke's a stronger stylist than he is a writer, and it affects his overall storytelling. Eisner's sentimental melodrama was helped by the page compression--perhaps because Eisner's character studies and O Henry twist plots were made for the short story format. I think the wispiness of Cooke's plots would benefit from a similar condensation. How about two ten pagers per issue? I feel like an asshole for nitpicking what is, on balance, one of the best mainstream books being published, but I'm pretty sure it could be even better.

Opp: I refuse to link to The Corner, but I love how Jonah Goldberg says "anti-torture absolutist" like that's an untenable position. Quoth Jonah: "But I think the anti-torture absolutists want to make as few thoughtful distinctions as possible — no doubt out of a desire to create "bright lines" between acceptable and unacceptable behaviors."

Really, it's no more ridiculous than "anti-baby rape absolutist" or "anti-serial killer absolutist," DoughBob LoadPants. And since when did staunch conservatives give a flying fuck about "thoughtful distinctions"? Oh wait, I know, when they're justifying war crimes!

Ork: "The Cylons were created by man. They evolved. They rebelled. There are many copies. And they have a plan." However, what if "they" aren't the Cylons we've been following for three seasons, and who don't seem to have much of a clear plan at all, but rather the Cylons who have just been revealed? [SEASON THREE FINALE SPOILERS AHEAD--AND DAVE, WILL YOU JUST START WATCHING THIS GODDAMN THING ALREADY?]

It's utterly implausible that the final five Cylons would have ended up among the last 40,000 survivors of the 12 colonies, in positions of significant influence, by mere chance. Whether they're conscious of it or not, the current situation had to be orchestrated to put them all into positions where they could survive to lead resistance to the other Cylons (not just on New Caprica or in the fleet, but during Anders' time leading the resistance on Caprica itself. Speaking of Anders, on further reflection we should probably assume that his sports celebrity status precludes the final five from having recognizable copies of themselves.) I also wonder if Tory's position in the group would have been filled by original Presidential aide Billy Keikeya had that actor stayed with the series. Or maybe Billy is Cylon #1 after all--wouldn't that be a cool reveal...

Ah Ah: Today I pick up my copy of LCD Soundsystem's Sound of Silver. Tonight I rock.

Right after I help put the kids to bed. And do the dishes. But then I rock!