I'm enjoying "American Gods" by Neil Gaiman a lot. He writes such mythic stories... real STORIES. And most of his stories are about stories. I'm not sure if I can explain it, but his style is so sweeping, so inclusive of what Jung might call the collective unconscious, that I can't help but be caught up in them. Somewhere, Shadow and Mister Wednesday and Salim the gay ifrit and all the others are real.
The story is reminiscent of one he did in his comic book "Sandman." I forget which issue or which trade paperback it was collected in, but the story is about an ancient goddess having to perform as a stripper to get some worship to keep her alive. In "American Gods" Gaiman writes about a war between the "old" gods from the Old World and the new gods of television, freeways, internet, and so forth. It's really quite cool.
Speaking of cool, yesterday I read the two "Finder" trades and issue #22. I got them at the San Diego Internationl Comics Convention a few weeks ago. "Finder" is an interesting comic by Carla Speed McNeil. I picked it up because the Sequential Tarts recommend it and I wasn't disappointed. I spent several hours yesterday reading about Jaeger and his adventures in the domed city of Anvard in an alternate future ruled by insular clans. The artwork (all black and white) is great and the story is spiffy, but I especially loved the sheer complexity of the world that McNeil creates.
Mmmm, nice.
Anyway, I should go study for my test tomorrow... Nyah!
