Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Consumerism, or how I got on this month (followed by comics blathering)

Since my declaration a few weeks ago I haven’t done badly. Depending on your point of view. I have bought;
3 newspapers – 2 on the USA election and 1 because I needed reading material on my lunch break
A Zombina and the Skeletones CD – needed for my soul health. As I really liked them live and it wasn’t an impulsive purchase I think this is OK.
(EDIT - I also bought this direct from the band at the gig, and not at a high street store. is that more ethical? Or is not buying from high street chain stories leading to putting people out of work? Which is a very bad thing.)
A pair of fishnet holdups – bought for a work event and ended up not being worn due to unsightly bulges. I will see if they are usable in any way, if not, they will be donated to my sister. Bought from an independent local shop although I could have got them cheaper from Marks and Spencer.
Comics – I already mentioned how comics don’t count as purchases.
A second hand book – Esme Dodderidge – The new Gulliver. Second hand from a charity shop, a women’s press sci fi book. Fantastic! Managed to theorise and overtly criticise power relations and patriarchal culture, whilst not boring me and also delivering an interesting story.
Gloves for my Mum’s Christmas present – new but bought from an independent local department store.
Antihistamines, toothbrush, food, beer, etc. These don’t count.

Now in 4 weeks, that ain’t bad. I’ve even told rl people about my plans, so I have to stick to it. Eeep!

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Comics roundup, from last week, because I’ve been horribly busy.

Spoilers ahead for Terra 2, Superman/Supergirl Maelstrom 2, Supergirl 36 and of course Aquaman.
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Terra #2: Great cover. Not to sure about Peej’s expressions on the first two pages, she looks like a naughty girl about to be spanked. And not in a good way. The rest of the art is still great though.
Terra and Silver Banshee’s conversation is great and it’s nice to see a burial ritual. I am very much enjoying this.
Sadly, no overt fem slash this week.

Superman/Supergirl Maelstrom #2
So, THAT was Kal’s great idea to make Kara feel better? Take her to a planet with a red sun and lots of dangerous beasties? What a dick. That’s a dumb idea, and Kara knows it.
It’s good to see the snarky take no bullshit Kara again. Also, really great cover.

Supergirl #35
Don’t like this cover. Not keen on any of the New Krypton covers actually. It’s good to see Kara stand up to her parents as she tries to establish a life for itself. But, uhhh, the origin? Kryptonite poisoning was making her crazy? A rogue Braniac caused her folks to send her to Earth? Ummm…ok. So, about those phantoms then, were they all in her imagination?
I like the Argo City in a bubble origin and I like a mad Brainiac theory as much as anyone, but was all her angst and other origins completely in her head then? Was the Kryptonite poisoning the darkness that Power Girl felt, back when they first met?
Was the poison what caused her to split into dark Supergirl when Lex blasted her with black K rays?
And wouldn’t Batman have already found this back when he tested her to death when she turned up on Earth?
Bah. I hope someone answers my questions.

Aquaman
I’ve now finished v4 including the Sword of Atlantis issues. This lot would have been better if it had continues, unfortunately it sort of petered out. Tad Williams issues were good, although I can see Topo’s character being a stock in trade type character Mr Williams’ books.
Just Imagine Stan lee’s Aquaman was rubbish – a rip off Spiderman and bugger all thought.
Marvel vs Dc was also a pointless slugfest. Aquaman 1,000,000 was ok. The Tempest mini only really works if you already know who he is – check it out if you’re an Aquaman fan.

I’d mostly recommend picking up Peter David’s run and the American Tidal arc though.

Now to read volume 1, if I can cope with the style, and the Atlantis Chronicles.

Meanwhile, enjoy more pretty, this time from the Cerdian war saga:





2 comments:

Christian Zamora said...

Wow! I'm impressed! You really took your "not buy things" deal quite seriously. I'm definitely impressed. I'm not really a "consumer" in its wide sense. I pass on a lot of things just because I'm not interested in "stuff" and even I get more stuff than you do.

Wow!

Saranga said...

I said I didn't buy much! Plus I've been out and about a lot this past month so haven't had a lot of spare cash to buy actual items..which helped.

Christmas is kinda putting a dampener on this though. Turns out I got to buy for 21 people...argghhhh.. Oh well, the least I can do is try and get stuff from local businesses.