Episode 270


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No matter how hard they tried, Dan and Mike couldn't seem to agree this week. Is The Spirit, volume two goofy or trying too hard to be goofy? They agree that Wonder Woman: The Circle looks good, but that's where their consensus ends. And one of the hosts barely finished Sandman, volume two: The Doll's House. [ 1:40:38 || 46.0 MB ]

The above is from: http://www.earth-2.net/theshow/episodes/e2ts_270.mp3

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Honestly, it’s actually interesting to hear the opinion of someone who didn’t like something I really enjoyed. But man, I completely agree with Dan here. I loved that Gaiman halted the story to introduce Hob Gadling. And I thought that the wacky serial killer panel was great. I loved that the humor that came from it was pretty light hearted, yet it still kind of instilled the fact that Rose was in serious danger.

I don’t know man, everything in that book worked for me. I was interested in the series after the first trade, but now I’m completely hooked.

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Re Mike on Sandman.

I think its certainly true that there are some things that are beloved almost unconditionally by many that a few new people just won't get. Its often almost intimidating enter into a world that is so very hyped up, I think Watchmen falls into this category as well. You don't hear a lot of honest criticism because a dissenting view is almost dismissed as uninformed, despite what the reality may be. I think its a brave man that risks ridicule and having labels such as "Illiterate", "Philistine" or "wouldn't know a good book if it sat on their face" thrown at them, I'm really impressed that Mike has made that choice. :happy:

I don't want to give the impression that I don't like Sandman, I truly enjoy it and the main reason for this is the little asides that humanise what is otherwise a pure force of nature, especially the Hector Hall and Hob stories, or Dream's interaction with his brothers, sisters and whatever Desire is. I can also understand that there are people who get even more out of it than me, there are certainly some trades in the series that I didn't find as strong as this collection.

I understand where Mike comes from. Its very nontraditional storytelling and its very rare that an aside for its own sake can be rewarding. This is especially true in the trade format, where a desire to understand the overarching story can trump the individual appreciation of each issue. I stopped reading Walking Dead in trades for that very reason, you lose so much of the issue to issue tension from the story, I found that I wasn't getting the most out of the experiance. Its a similar situation in Sandman, just writing a direct story issue to issue would be contrary to the nature of the characters and the book, every issue is designed to be a meal in and of itself. In other books I might consider this a bloated style but Sandman seems to get it right for me, at least most of the time.

Its definitly one of those books where you can't be looking at the clock meaning to get somewhere, and I mean that both literally and within the story. Personally I read most of the series lying on hotel beds with nothing else to do, it absolutly focused me on the books with no distractions and no timetable.

Of course this does give rise to an awesome comeback every time Mike talks about not loving Fables or any other great book. "Yeah but you didn't like Sandman".

I was wondering Mike, how much Gaiman have you read before?

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Not much, really. Of his comic work, I've read both of the Death limited series, Sandman: Endless Nights, Sandman: The Dream Hunters and 1602. I've also read half of Anansi Boys and a select few stories in his Fragile Things collection.

From what I recall, I loved the Death books, and I hope they get some sort of hardcover treatment soon. Endless Nights and The Dream Hunters I'd have to read again, because I don't recall how I felt about them. I liked 1602 at the time, but I need to reread it to see if it holds up. Anansi Boys and Fragile Things weren't finished not because they were boring, but because I find it hard to finish any novel and / or short story collection.

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Not much, really. Of his comic work, I've read both of the Death limited series, Sandman: Endless Nights, Sandman: The Dream Hunters and 1602. I've also read half of Anansi Boys and a select few stories in his Fragile Things collection.

From what I recall, I loved the Death books, and I hope they get some sort of hardcover treatment soon. Endless Nights and The Dream Hunters I'd have to read again, because I don't recall how I felt about them. I liked 1602 at the time, but I need to reread it to see if it holds up. Anansi Boys and Fragile Things weren't finished not because they were boring, but because I find it hard to finish any novel and / or short story collection.

My housemates, who are normally not comic readers, were very much into Sandman back in thier studded choker and skull-ring phase (ie when I first met them about 9 years ago). In particular they recommended the Death books but I've only ever got the little Manga story by Mike Carey that runs parallel with Lucifer's abandonment of Hell. I must see about locating those, the character of Death is one of my favorites from the Sandman collections.

I wasn't as wild about 1602 as others were, I thought the modern concepts were too unreal to shoehorn into a historical setting.

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I hate almost everything Gaiman has done in comics. Death is way too sentimental for me. 1602 was a joke. Eternals a slap in the face.

Midnight Days and Black Orchid is his best stuff if you ask me. But I think Sandman is amazing and that second trade is the best of the bunch. Maybe next to Kindly Ones.

Anansi Boys I still think is a boring piece of shit that I can't get past 55 pages on though I've tried three times.

American Gods is amazing.

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For those of you keeping score, that's Dan 5, Mike nil. :angel:

In all seriousness, I do understand why people might not like Sandman. It's very non-linear, a little pleased with how literate it is at times, is very reliant on the reader's knowledge of 70s DC horror comics, and can sometimes gaze into its own asshole a little bit. I was a little surprised that you didn't care for it, Mike, because it struck me as something that might be up your alley, but I certainly can't fault you for not digging it.

Still, a 2 for The Spirit and a 4 for Wonder Woman Fights Monkeys? :devil:

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