Featured this edition: All-New All-Different Avengers Annual #1, All Star Batman #1, Civil War II: The Accused, Deathstroke: Rebirth #1, The Flash #4, The Fuse #18, New Superman #2, and Superwoman #1.
All-New All-Different Avengers Annual #1 (Marvel)
I kind of had to buy this one as an early fan of G. Willow Wilson's Ms. Marvel, because this whole issue is dedicated to fan fiction, or Marvel creator versions of fan fiction, which turns out to be pretty funny.
All Star Batman #1 (DC)
Scott Snyder is never a sure-thing for me, although I did read through much of his New 52 Batman run, which was that era's biggest success story. I had to at least give his follow-up a shot. Turns out I love it, at least in this debut. This is a Two-Face story, which may have things to say about the current US presidential campaign season, and it's some of the best writing I've ever seen from Snyder. It doesn't hurt that he has John Romita, Jr., to help guide him along to greater creative heights. That's something few fans appreciated about Romita's Superman run, which was a real shame, but I think they'll have less of a problem accepting his style in this series.
Civil War II: The Accused (Marvel)
Screenwriter Marc Guggenheim has hopefully done enough comics where fans will accept him as one of their own. It can't possibly hurt his cause exploring one of Civil War II's touchstone moments: Hawkeye murdering the Hulk. Guggenheim helps Matt Murdock (Daredevil) navigate the intricacies of the resulting trial, exploring a range of relevant social topics. The only knock is that this could easily have been expanded.
Deathstroke: Rebirth #1 (DC)
Unlike other Rebirth one-shots, Christopher Priest's (he's now billing himself strictly as Priest) Slade Wilson primer doesn't really make the origin explicit so much as exploring his complicated history as a father, and the kind of morality he inhabits as DC's most famous mercenary and frequent star of his own series. The results are certainly fascinating, and they allow the reader to reach their own conclusions. I haven't read too much solo Deathstroke, but this may be the start of his best run yet.
The Flash #4 (DC)
Joshua Williamson continues to nail it. What else can I say? Even moreso than Sam Humphries' Green Lanterns, this is feeling like comics that will be remembered fondly for years to come. When this happens in the pages of The Flash, it usually means someone has managed to become the new standard by which all others follow. Williamson joins the ranks of Mark Waid and Geoff Johns in that regard.
The Fuse #18 (Image)
This issue was released earlier in the year, after which the series took a hiatus that just ended last month. The Fuse is Antony Johnston's police procedural set aboard a space station, and the issue concludes the "Perihelion" arc, which represents the day of the year Earth and the station are closest to the sun, which seems to bring about more communal chaos than usual. I like that Johnston (who became a legend, at least as I'm concerned, with his masterful Wasteland) not only builds scenarios but thinks of scenarios-within-scenarios like this. Also, the plot of what brought Ralph Dietrich to the station ramps up, and continues in the next arc, "Constant Orbital Revolutions." That's another Johnston trademark, the ability to build his stories a layer at a time, so that different arcs actually mean something and don't just mean another story in the series. This is much rarer than you'd think. Geoff Johns in his epic Green Lantern run would be another such example.
New Super-Man #2 (DC)
What Wilson's done in the pages of Ms. Marvel is something Gene Luen Yang is doing in the pages of this comic, introducing a unique cultural perspective that also presents a unique perspective on superheroes. I love that DC let Yang do this even after the lackluster response to his Superman.
Superwoman #1 (DC)
The blockbuster "Last Days of Superman" story that helped round out the New 52 era has proven to be reach creative groundwork for the Rebirth era, which now proudly includes Superwoman in its ranks of successes. Marvel has been swapping the identities and genders behind their icons for a couple years now, which in truth is kind of old hat in comics. On the surface, Superwoman probably seems like it's climbing aboard the bandwagon, but DC has at least put considerable thought into it. "Superwoman" is actually "Superwomen" in this issue, in which long-time creator Phil Jimenez gets another chance to shine in writing and art duties (he's previously done so with the likes of his early millennial Wonder Woman run), and features longtime supporting cast members Lois Lane and Lana Lang gaining powers. As Lois points out, this would hardly be the first time for her (perhaps the most famous example was in Grant Morrison's All Star Superman, but she also had Brainiac powers in the New 52, among other instances). Jimenez also acknowledges Lois's role in the controversial "Truth" arc, in which she exposed Superman's secret identity. The clever thing, though, is that Lana is along for the ride, too, and so any fans still grumbling about how Lois Lane was depicted in the New 52, and the lack of a romance with Clark Kent, can instead focus on Lana, Clark's Smallville crush. In fact, without giving too much away, Lana Lang is actually the star of this comic. I also like that her costume and powers harken to the much-maligned "Electric Superman" (as did Strange Visitor fifteen years ago). Good creators always know better than naysaying fans. This issue more than proves that Jimenez is a good creator.
Showing posts with label Civil War II. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Civil War II. Show all posts
Friday, August 12, 2016
Monday, June 6, 2016
Reading Comics 188 "Reading that Civil War II FCBD story again, and suddenly it makes perfect sense"
I have no idea if Brian Michael Bendis and/or Marvel did this deliberately, but suddenly it's my favorite comic book experience of 2016 so far.
So I went back and reread, like you may have read in the title, the Civil War II Free Comic Book Day story. This comes after reading Civil War II #1, the first issue, technically, of the series itself. If you remember, I thought the FCBD story was pretty random, originally. The only thing I took away from it was the character of Ulysses, the precog who would end up being at the center of Civil War II's conflict. I had no idea why Thanos was being tossed into the middle of the fray like that. Thanos stories typically are huge deals in and of themselves. Just look at the very circuitous way the Avengers movies are taking to get back to him, after his debut in 2012's Marvel's Avengers and subsequent appearance in Guardians of the Galaxy.
As it turns out, that missing scene I talk about in my Civil War II #1 review is actually the FCBD story. Which is to say, Civil War II #1 is explained by FCBD Civil War II, and vice versa. Again, I don't know if this was deliberate, but in hindsight, it works like gangbusters.
The thing that makes it so brilliant is that, if you read these the way I did, incomprehension first and then with a reread, you realize what happened, and the depth just keeps getting deeper. In Civil War II #1, you get the conflict around Ulysses spelled out, and the aftermath of the fight in FCBD Civil War II.
If you then go back and reread FCBD Civil War II? You realize the full tragedy of the situation Captain Marvel has found herself in. She's the one who sides with the idea of using Ulysses in the war on crime. But we learn that this support is coming at a price, because we learn that Jim Rhodes' death isn't just personal for Tony Stark, but for Carol Danvers, too.
Maybe all this reaction from me is unique to a reader who doesn't reside in regular Marvel readership, but comes and goes, because I didn't know Carol and Jim had a thing going on. It doesn't matter. It gets the impact it needs.
And the thing is, if I'd made all the connections I'd needed, right from the start, I don't know if the impact would have been the same. Clearly I'd read FCBD Civil War II first, but I'd forgotten most of that by the time I read Civil War II #1. I don't do a lot of compulsive rereading. There are fans out there who read and reread the same issue. I don't. I read it and move on. Usually, if I reread something, it's not because I'm trying to figure something out, but because I just happened to read it again, or generally like the material.
This is a first for me. I've read a lot of comics in my day, and this is a first for me. I can appreciate the significance of that. Bravo, Bendis. Bravo, Marvel. I don't always give you the props you deserve, but this time, you've absolutely earned them. You made a pretty deliberate creative choice. It took me a while to figure it out, but that choice was indeed a very, very good one.
So I went back and reread, like you may have read in the title, the Civil War II Free Comic Book Day story. This comes after reading Civil War II #1, the first issue, technically, of the series itself. If you remember, I thought the FCBD story was pretty random, originally. The only thing I took away from it was the character of Ulysses, the precog who would end up being at the center of Civil War II's conflict. I had no idea why Thanos was being tossed into the middle of the fray like that. Thanos stories typically are huge deals in and of themselves. Just look at the very circuitous way the Avengers movies are taking to get back to him, after his debut in 2012's Marvel's Avengers and subsequent appearance in Guardians of the Galaxy.
As it turns out, that missing scene I talk about in my Civil War II #1 review is actually the FCBD story. Which is to say, Civil War II #1 is explained by FCBD Civil War II, and vice versa. Again, I don't know if this was deliberate, but in hindsight, it works like gangbusters.
The thing that makes it so brilliant is that, if you read these the way I did, incomprehension first and then with a reread, you realize what happened, and the depth just keeps getting deeper. In Civil War II #1, you get the conflict around Ulysses spelled out, and the aftermath of the fight in FCBD Civil War II.
If you then go back and reread FCBD Civil War II? You realize the full tragedy of the situation Captain Marvel has found herself in. She's the one who sides with the idea of using Ulysses in the war on crime. But we learn that this support is coming at a price, because we learn that Jim Rhodes' death isn't just personal for Tony Stark, but for Carol Danvers, too.
Maybe all this reaction from me is unique to a reader who doesn't reside in regular Marvel readership, but comes and goes, because I didn't know Carol and Jim had a thing going on. It doesn't matter. It gets the impact it needs.
And the thing is, if I'd made all the connections I'd needed, right from the start, I don't know if the impact would have been the same. Clearly I'd read FCBD Civil War II first, but I'd forgotten most of that by the time I read Civil War II #1. I don't do a lot of compulsive rereading. There are fans out there who read and reread the same issue. I don't. I read it and move on. Usually, if I reread something, it's not because I'm trying to figure something out, but because I just happened to read it again, or generally like the material.
This is a first for me. I've read a lot of comics in my day, and this is a first for me. I can appreciate the significance of that. Bravo, Bendis. Bravo, Marvel. I don't always give you the props you deserve, but this time, you've absolutely earned them. You made a pretty deliberate creative choice. It took me a while to figure it out, but that choice was indeed a very, very good one.
Saturday, June 4, 2016
Civil War II #1 (Marvel)
For any fans reading this who's like to see an alternate take on this same basic story, watch the movie Minority Report, or the Philip K. Dick story that inspired it. In this second Civil War, Marvel is tackling the matter of punishing the offender before they commit the crime.
You could argue that this is also within the realm of the surveillance debate that various high-profile leaks in recent years have provoked, and maybe it would be a good case to make, but I'm not sure I would buy it. In the end, this is another excuse to get superheroes to fight each other. It's a comic book tradition, and Marvel has admitted to that. It's the fan classic: who would win? The question, when making an event out of it, is how to justify it?
DC Versus Marvel was to that point the biggest such answer, and then came the first Civil War, which tackled the classic question of accountability, and then AvX, which was about exploring the issue of too much power, and now we have Civil War II.
I've decided that it's kind of just an excuse to explore the new Marvel landscape, to meet the new power players. This isn't a bad thing. Captain Marvel and Ms. Marvel, Nova, the Inhumans, these are all characters who have emerged in recent years as the new generation of Marvel icons. It's Captain Marvel who is leading the charge to support the Inhumans and their new resident precog, Ulysses, while Iron Man leads those who think all this could end badly.
The Free Comic Book Day preview that baffled me did feature Ulysses, but gave no indication that he would have such a significant role in the event itself. Interestingly, while the preview was filled with random action, Civil War II #1 itself leaves most of that action off-panel, so that it's the discussions and character conflicts that drive the plot. That's typical Brian Michael Bendis, the king of conversation comics. It's a little shocking when this means James Rhodes (War Machine) dies off-panel, or that a big event like the Thanos takedown was not in itself the big event of this big event (it's really, really odd how Marvel has been using Thanos, both in the comics and movies, considering his significance). We also get the apparent death of She-Hulk, but that just seems like overkill (if you'll pardon me for saying that).
All of which means I still don't know why the two sides will, y'know, fight, but I can see this Civil War for what it is, which for once is fairly straight-forward. I still have no idea what Secret Wars was all about, or what it accomplished, other than give Jonathan Hickman his big event.
Bendis is reuniting with Ultimate Spider-Man artist David Marquez, and that seems like another indication that Civil War II is really about that next generation. I don't know. I don't know what I'll miss if I don't continue reading this one, but I'll at least keep tabs. If the last Civil War proved anything, these things can take pretty dramatic turns...
You could argue that this is also within the realm of the surveillance debate that various high-profile leaks in recent years have provoked, and maybe it would be a good case to make, but I'm not sure I would buy it. In the end, this is another excuse to get superheroes to fight each other. It's a comic book tradition, and Marvel has admitted to that. It's the fan classic: who would win? The question, when making an event out of it, is how to justify it?
DC Versus Marvel was to that point the biggest such answer, and then came the first Civil War, which tackled the classic question of accountability, and then AvX, which was about exploring the issue of too much power, and now we have Civil War II.
I've decided that it's kind of just an excuse to explore the new Marvel landscape, to meet the new power players. This isn't a bad thing. Captain Marvel and Ms. Marvel, Nova, the Inhumans, these are all characters who have emerged in recent years as the new generation of Marvel icons. It's Captain Marvel who is leading the charge to support the Inhumans and their new resident precog, Ulysses, while Iron Man leads those who think all this could end badly.
The Free Comic Book Day preview that baffled me did feature Ulysses, but gave no indication that he would have such a significant role in the event itself. Interestingly, while the preview was filled with random action, Civil War II #1 itself leaves most of that action off-panel, so that it's the discussions and character conflicts that drive the plot. That's typical Brian Michael Bendis, the king of conversation comics. It's a little shocking when this means James Rhodes (War Machine) dies off-panel, or that a big event like the Thanos takedown was not in itself the big event of this big event (it's really, really odd how Marvel has been using Thanos, both in the comics and movies, considering his significance). We also get the apparent death of She-Hulk, but that just seems like overkill (if you'll pardon me for saying that).
All of which means I still don't know why the two sides will, y'know, fight, but I can see this Civil War for what it is, which for once is fairly straight-forward. I still have no idea what Secret Wars was all about, or what it accomplished, other than give Jonathan Hickman his big event.
Bendis is reuniting with Ultimate Spider-Man artist David Marquez, and that seems like another indication that Civil War II is really about that next generation. I don't know. I don't know what I'll miss if I don't continue reading this one, but I'll at least keep tabs. If the last Civil War proved anything, these things can take pretty dramatic turns...
Monday, May 9, 2016
Reading Comics 186 "Free Comic Book Day 2016"
So, Saturday was National Comic Book Geek Day, otherwise known as Free Comic Book Day, which to further clarify (because every time I bring up to my sisters, they assume you can pick up just any comic for free), is when pretty much every publisher puts out a special release that's absolutely free. It's the best comics advertising of the year, and what they provide often gives you keen insight to what they consider important.
Take DC, for instance. This year they published a special reprint edition of Suicide Squad, somewhat obviously because the next DC movie is...Suicide Squad. But more importantly, because DC's next big event is DC Rebirth...which is just around the corner, and the big reveals are waiting to be discovered in Justice League #50 and DC Rebirth Special. So this year there wasn't really much point in doing something other than what it did for the freebie. The company has brownie points to earn for its next movie, because no one actually thought Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice was as cool as DC did, and Deadpool looked like it just created a revolution earlier this year, and so yeah, the somewhat tonally-similar Suicide Squad looks like a pretty good horse to back.
But enough about that. But a little more about movies! Because after visiting my local haunt, I went and saw Captain America: Civil War. It was a pretty good movie, all told. It's my favorite Avengers movie, somewhat easily, I might add. Although plot-wise it's full of holes (about as many as people tried really hard to see in Batman v Superman), it does the Marvel method better than any other in that franchise to date. So that's pretty cool.
Getting back to the comics, my local haunt put a three-book maximum, and so I had to be pretty careful. The first choice was really obvious, and so that left two. I'll walk you through my thought process:
Avatarex FCBD Special Preview (Graphic India)
This is Grant Morrison. You know Grant Morrison, right? Chances are, if you've read this blog at all, you'll catch a hint that he's one of my favorite comic book writers. So this was the gimme. Avatarex is something I first learned about last year, but it was a pretty exclusive affair in 2015, being available only through a special online bundle (I assume it was digital, but Graphic India did not go out of its way to make this easy to decipher). Once I'd read this preview, I found out what Avatarex is all about. Basically, it's Morrison's modern 18 Days, featuring Superman as depicted in Man of Steel and Batman v Superman. The whole thought process is very clearly spelled out in the preview. Also included in the preview is an excerpt from 18 Days, which is a project I've wandered from recently but fully intend to read completely at some point, because it's fascinating. This is the primordial superhero epic, the Crisis in Ancient India, as it were. Morrison himself isn't writing the complete story, which is part of the reason I've found it easy to stray, but it's such powerful stuff, a vision Graphic India would really have needed to screw up. And thankfully, from everything I've read to date, the company really hasn't. Which is really good. It's also good that we're getting a writer of Morrison's caliber presenting comics from a totally different landscape than we're used to. And bringing his A-game...
Civil War II FCBD (Marvel)
Brian Michael Bendis and Jim Cheung present this preview of the upcoming sequel (-ish thing). In terms of what they present here, I'm glad I read, and relished, Charles Soule's Secret Wars effort, because as of this material, I have no idea what the fight will be about. This is more like random material they tossed in (which is kind of how most of Captain America: Civil War plays out, but again, I say that out of admiration, because eventually, weird logic ensues), including completely downplaying Thanos. (Somewhere along the way, I have to assume someone making the movies decided Thanos wasn't as important to the overall arc as Joss Whedon suggested, because he's been almost completely insignificant, even in Guardians of the Galaxy.) Unlike the reprint synergy DC brought to FCBD this year, Marvel's just reads cynically. Which is weird, because Bendis is literally one of the chief sources of inspiration that brought about the hugely successful movies, and his work subsequently just looks like afterthought. Even weirder, the special also slips in a random All-New, All-Different Avengers excerpt, which is Mark Waid literally riffing on last year's Ant-Man. I just don't get it. Here's Marvel doing exactly what DC usually does, and ending up looking like it wasted the whole thing. But at least it reminds everyone that Marvel's got comics, too...
Valiant 4001 A.D. FCBD Special (Valiant)
This is a company I've grown quite fond of in the last year. I haven't been reading a lot of it lately, but it made for an easy selection, because there are various previews of upcoming projects, including the titular latest crossover event and Divinity II, both from writer Matt Kindt, who is easily the company's greatest steal, if nothing else than for his Divinity. The second volume of this saga looks just as fascinating as the first, with Kindt pulling back the curtain a little and having a look at the two cosmonauts left behind last time and maybe more about what's really going on. I look forward to reading more of that.
And finally, I was also to slip into another shop later in the day. Predictably, the pickings were slim, but I came away with:
Camp Midnight FCBD Special (Image)
In the spirit of Lumberjanes (which is a huge buzz book I've sampled thanks to comiXology), Camp Midnight is a young readers adventure set in summer camp. The writer is Steven S. Seagle, whom I'd shockingly not yet made a label here, despite his rather formative accomplishments (including the seminal if sparsely-referenced It's a Bird... Superman graphic novel). He's part of the creative group behind Ben 10 and Big Hero 6. And his writing chops are in evidence here, which is an excerpt from a graphic novel. A lot of times, material aimed at younger readers tries to be too clever, so that it ore represents Adult Swim-inspired material like Archer, or the caffeine-inspired cartoons that kids have today. Seagle wisely backs off from that approach, but still maintains an edge. Glad I had a second chance to catch a look.
It's also worth talking a little about the character of FCBD as I experienced it this year, in Virginia. My last two experiences were in Maine, and waiting in line there was a little like experiencing riffraff congregating (plus some Stormtrooper cosplay). This year I had a better sense of the comic book fans who saw this as a special occasion. I got to overhear, and participate, in some of the better chatter I've heard at a comic book store. These places can sometimes be a wretched hive of scum and villainy (it's no wonder geeks largely define the dialogue of the Internet), so it was nice to experience something better for a change.
On the whole, it was a pretty good day.
Take DC, for instance. This year they published a special reprint edition of Suicide Squad, somewhat obviously because the next DC movie is...Suicide Squad. But more importantly, because DC's next big event is DC Rebirth...which is just around the corner, and the big reveals are waiting to be discovered in Justice League #50 and DC Rebirth Special. So this year there wasn't really much point in doing something other than what it did for the freebie. The company has brownie points to earn for its next movie, because no one actually thought Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice was as cool as DC did, and Deadpool looked like it just created a revolution earlier this year, and so yeah, the somewhat tonally-similar Suicide Squad looks like a pretty good horse to back.
But enough about that. But a little more about movies! Because after visiting my local haunt, I went and saw Captain America: Civil War. It was a pretty good movie, all told. It's my favorite Avengers movie, somewhat easily, I might add. Although plot-wise it's full of holes (about as many as people tried really hard to see in Batman v Superman), it does the Marvel method better than any other in that franchise to date. So that's pretty cool.
Getting back to the comics, my local haunt put a three-book maximum, and so I had to be pretty careful. The first choice was really obvious, and so that left two. I'll walk you through my thought process:
Avatarex FCBD Special Preview (Graphic India)
This is Grant Morrison. You know Grant Morrison, right? Chances are, if you've read this blog at all, you'll catch a hint that he's one of my favorite comic book writers. So this was the gimme. Avatarex is something I first learned about last year, but it was a pretty exclusive affair in 2015, being available only through a special online bundle (I assume it was digital, but Graphic India did not go out of its way to make this easy to decipher). Once I'd read this preview, I found out what Avatarex is all about. Basically, it's Morrison's modern 18 Days, featuring Superman as depicted in Man of Steel and Batman v Superman. The whole thought process is very clearly spelled out in the preview. Also included in the preview is an excerpt from 18 Days, which is a project I've wandered from recently but fully intend to read completely at some point, because it's fascinating. This is the primordial superhero epic, the Crisis in Ancient India, as it were. Morrison himself isn't writing the complete story, which is part of the reason I've found it easy to stray, but it's such powerful stuff, a vision Graphic India would really have needed to screw up. And thankfully, from everything I've read to date, the company really hasn't. Which is really good. It's also good that we're getting a writer of Morrison's caliber presenting comics from a totally different landscape than we're used to. And bringing his A-game...
Civil War II FCBD (Marvel)
Brian Michael Bendis and Jim Cheung present this preview of the upcoming sequel (-ish thing). In terms of what they present here, I'm glad I read, and relished, Charles Soule's Secret Wars effort, because as of this material, I have no idea what the fight will be about. This is more like random material they tossed in (which is kind of how most of Captain America: Civil War plays out, but again, I say that out of admiration, because eventually, weird logic ensues), including completely downplaying Thanos. (Somewhere along the way, I have to assume someone making the movies decided Thanos wasn't as important to the overall arc as Joss Whedon suggested, because he's been almost completely insignificant, even in Guardians of the Galaxy.) Unlike the reprint synergy DC brought to FCBD this year, Marvel's just reads cynically. Which is weird, because Bendis is literally one of the chief sources of inspiration that brought about the hugely successful movies, and his work subsequently just looks like afterthought. Even weirder, the special also slips in a random All-New, All-Different Avengers excerpt, which is Mark Waid literally riffing on last year's Ant-Man. I just don't get it. Here's Marvel doing exactly what DC usually does, and ending up looking like it wasted the whole thing. But at least it reminds everyone that Marvel's got comics, too...
Valiant 4001 A.D. FCBD Special (Valiant)
This is a company I've grown quite fond of in the last year. I haven't been reading a lot of it lately, but it made for an easy selection, because there are various previews of upcoming projects, including the titular latest crossover event and Divinity II, both from writer Matt Kindt, who is easily the company's greatest steal, if nothing else than for his Divinity. The second volume of this saga looks just as fascinating as the first, with Kindt pulling back the curtain a little and having a look at the two cosmonauts left behind last time and maybe more about what's really going on. I look forward to reading more of that.
And finally, I was also to slip into another shop later in the day. Predictably, the pickings were slim, but I came away with:
Camp Midnight FCBD Special (Image)
In the spirit of Lumberjanes (which is a huge buzz book I've sampled thanks to comiXology), Camp Midnight is a young readers adventure set in summer camp. The writer is Steven S. Seagle, whom I'd shockingly not yet made a label here, despite his rather formative accomplishments (including the seminal if sparsely-referenced It's a Bird... Superman graphic novel). He's part of the creative group behind Ben 10 and Big Hero 6. And his writing chops are in evidence here, which is an excerpt from a graphic novel. A lot of times, material aimed at younger readers tries to be too clever, so that it ore represents Adult Swim-inspired material like Archer, or the caffeine-inspired cartoons that kids have today. Seagle wisely backs off from that approach, but still maintains an edge. Glad I had a second chance to catch a look.
It's also worth talking a little about the character of FCBD as I experienced it this year, in Virginia. My last two experiences were in Maine, and waiting in line there was a little like experiencing riffraff congregating (plus some Stormtrooper cosplay). This year I had a better sense of the comic book fans who saw this as a special occasion. I got to overhear, and participate, in some of the better chatter I've heard at a comic book store. These places can sometimes be a wretched hive of scum and villainy (it's no wonder geeks largely define the dialogue of the Internet), so it was nice to experience something better for a change.
On the whole, it was a pretty good day.
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