Saturday, September 22, 2007

Episode #9 - Comic Book Top Ten!

Show Notes:
  • Erick and Nick give you the ten books you MUST be reading; seriously, you have to.
  • WWH rumbles forward, it's the exciting almost conclusion, raise your hand if you love 4 of 5 issues!
  • Ant-Man ends, awww, but with a silver lining, WOO!
All that plus a bunch of other issues and the random pick and bullshit moment of the week!

THIS PODCAST CAN CURE ERECTILE DYSFUNCTION, PROMOTE HAIR GROWTH, AND MAKE YOU LOSE WEIGHT, BUT ONLY IF YOU TAKE VIAGRA, ROGAINE, AND EXERCISE WHILE YOU LISTEN...STILL YOU HAVE TO LISTEN!

3 Comments:

Blogger Nick said...

This week I'm trying out a brand new low memory version, it shouldn't effect the quality, but lemmy know if there's any problems.

Also, enjoy the shit out of this awesome episode!

September 22, 2007 at 12:11 PM  
Blogger Erick said...

Why would you lie to loyal listeners, Nick? There's no Random Pick this week! Well, there was, but it was removed due to technical difficulties. So for this week only, here's my Random Pick:

Johnny Hiro: half asian, all hero #2
by Fred Chao, AdHouse Books

Now, this is a first for Random Picks, so prepare yourself: I recommend this book without any reservations. First off, this is what I would consider a romantic comedy, with a little action interspersed; if you aren't in touch with your inner-softy, this may not be for you. But I know Nick is (his favorite movie is Love Actually), and I certainly can't deny a certain affinity for John Cusack movies, so no problems there. But mainly, this book is just plain fun. It's just the right blend of everything to make you laugh and sigh and even think, but just a little.

The book centers on Johnny, a down-on-his-luck busboy, and his girlfriend Mayumi as they struggle to make it in New York. I didn't have the fortune of picking up the first issue, but I had no problem diving right in, as the premise is simple enough to get quickly involved. This particular issue focused on a zany adventure Johnny has at work when his boss, in an attempt to impress a food critic, somehow comes to the conclusion that Johnny must steal a lobster from a rival restaurant. With promises of rewards and a possible reversal of fortunes, Johnny diligently obeys, and of course things go awry and he ends up being chased through the city by several chefs with large, threatening knives. The foray comes to a massive (anti)climax when the critic chokes on a piece of sushi and is saved by a waitress that Johnny and his boss had previously dismissed as useless, and he leaves her with a nice tip. I'm sure there's a lesson in there, but I was too distracted by not one, but TWO guest appearances by the Food Network's master chef, Good Eat's Alton Brown.

The book has a beautiful stiff cover, and it contains no ads, with lots of comic content for its $2.95 price tag. In fact, they jam just a little more in by having the story spill on to the inside covers, which just makes me even happier, and the final part is a double-page homage to Alton that adds that much more quirkiness. It's all done in black and white, and Chao's style is very cartoony and full of energy; he's very talented at pacing his story, providing some very interesting page layouts and interspersed parts with Mayumi that provide good breaks in the wackiness. But what really put this book over the top for me is a very honest and unrestrained look at the racial differences of its characters. Chao uses the stereotypical Kung-Fu fight for some easy laughs, with dialogue like "A dishonorable busboy has stolen one of my precious Ise!" and "We slice you like sashimi!" And Mayumi speaks in a broken English that highlights her as displaced, among other things. But in one particular part, where Mayumi talks to a cat, you can really get a sense of the difficulty that underlies the humor, and it came off as very touching.

I really can't say much more to convince you to give this a try. It's a great break in your usual stack, and I'm sold on it.

September 22, 2007 at 1:16 PM  
Blogger Nick said...

If you're telling me I have to listen to the WHOLE podcast, you're dreaming pal.

I mean I already said that crap, who would ever want to listen to a whole hour of...

ENJOY THE PODCAST!

September 25, 2007 at 11:51 PM  

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