Crumbs!

They’re publishing a Doctor Who novel by Michael Moorcock. That sentence makes me happy in so many ways.

* * *

One of the nice benefits of reading every comic Grant Morrison writes is that sometimes you’ll get a slice of esoteric weirdness and some simple, straightforward superheroics on the same day.

Back in the nineties, when Morrison was writing both JLA and Invisibles, it was possible to read one trippy JLA action comic that ended with an explosion in San Francisco, and pick up a perfectly rudimentary issue of the Invisibles that started with an explosion in San Francisco. What was the difference between Mason and Batman anyway?

A few years later, and Morrison was focused on rebuilding the X-Men from the ground up, (only to see his efforts undermined the month after he left the title), while The Filth was going off in strange and pungent new places.

It’s still happening, and I still get a kick out of reading a Morrison Batman, and then moving on to Joe The Barbarian. The funny thing is, I’m always keener to read the superhero stuff first, but it’s the more challenging work that is almost always more rewarding.

I don’t know what that means, but getting two very different comics from the very same creator on the same day is always a fine thing.

* * *

What a pleasure it is to live in a world with Ennio Morricone!

Movie soundtracks can be massively frustrating when listened to out of context, with chords swelling, choirs soaring and percussion booming at intervals that can be incredibly jarring when separated from the visuals they support.

But Morricone's work is Art with a capital A. It stands the test of time better than many of the movies it was designed for. His shameless sentimentality never got in the way of his relentless experimentation, producing melodies, tones and sounds that are more emotionally affecting than any other film composer.

He has created music out of nothing, and the start of Once Upon A Time In The West shows this better than anything, turning the creek of an old windmill and the buzz of a fly into an opera.

It’s so easy to take somebody like Morricone for granted, but as one of the greatest film composers who ever lived, he is always worth listening to.

* * *

Even after ditching 90% of my DC superhero comics, I could never get rid of my full run of Mark Waid’s Flash. I keep forgetting how good it was, especially when compared to DC’s regular output in the 90s, until it becomes time for another purge, and then I’m hooked again.

* * *

Torrenting is AWESOME, because while reading Legion of Super Heroes v4 annual #1 earlier today, I was struck by the sudden urge to read that issue where Ultra Boy is accused of killing his old girlfriend. I had it when I was a little kid, but I’ve never seen it anywhere ever since. After sixty seconds on the internet, I had downloaded that entire issue,

BAM! Look at fucking Colossal Boy here! He’s fucking colossal!

Or the bit where Ultra Boy escapes from a hotel room by k-chunking his way through a bunch of floors, and then fucking flooring it through the sewer! That shit is HARDCORE!

Why yes, I have had a couple of beers. Why do you ask?

I think I need to go lie down….