I broke down and bought WATCHMAN.

Yep. I flipped through the book on many occasions, not actually reading it. Looked pretty boring to me. I hope this wasn't as much a let-down as The Dark Night Returns. I know it's blasphemy for me to say that, but Frank Miller's art, with the exception of a few panels, is a little less than stellar.

I bought WATCHMAN because I took back the book I bought, called Goodbye Chunky Rice. That book, I loved the art, but couldn't sympothize with any character other than the rat. Why does the stupid turtle leave, pay too much money for the boat ride, and let all of his charished posessions go? He's an idiot! Plus, I need a happy ending. Or at least some element of PLOT. It seems the book is about a turtle who leaves for no apparant reason, and leaves his best friend too. And then a couple of puppies die, and a creepy guy feels sorry for it. The art is beautiful though. So beautiful that I struggled to give it back, but I absolutely was annoyed by the lack of plot. Maybe it's too deep for me. Maybe I have a small cookie cutter idea of taste. But for my buck, this just wasn't worth keeping. Too much of a downer for me. Love the art!

However, it's probably hipocritical for me to dislike that book for it's downerness, and then pick up WATCHMAN, but what a great first chapter! It's a who done it with great character depth and makes me keep guessing and keeps me thouroughly entertained! The art is great. The layouts looked too stale when I was younger, but now I can appreciate the simple design. It doesn't distract from the art or story. And the art is amazing! Definately holds the test of time, since this came out in the early 80's. Amazing first chapter, can't wait to read the rest, definately worth the 17 bucks.

However, I also got in the mail the book, WILL YOU STILL LOVE ME IF I WET THE BED. Cute gags, but the art on the cover is not the art inside. So that was a disappointment. I guess you can't judge a book by it's cover. And also, I wish it had an overall theme to the book. Like a loose plot that ties everything together, instead of a daily gag a day comic strip feel this has. But it is inspiring. She cranked out 100 pages of gags, something that I'm struggling with, and I only have to get 16 pages done. Or 20. Or 24. Whatever I decide. Plus, the 7 dollar price-tag is a bit much for such a small little book. It looks like a mini-comic size. I just wish it was 5 bucks.

Man I'm bitchy on this post. So let's summarize:

Dark Knight Returns:
Didn't live up to the hype for me, but I'll give it another look.

Goodbye Chunky Rice:
Amazing art. Story lacks much plot, and is a major downer.

Watchman:
Awesome! A must read!

Will You Still Love Me If I Wet The Bed:
Art is not as good as the cover, but it's inspiring. And it has cute gags about boobs and boners!