Victor's Laboratory

I finished my paper last night. The paper I spent all weekend on, and then some. It was, to put a name to it, REALLY FREAKING HARD! The thinking and writing was not so bad, but researching 23 items individually and then justifying their place in the New York Historical Society's library collection? Well, let me just say that there are a lot of books that seem pretty good that no one has an opinion about. But it's done, and I think it turned out pretty well.

This morning, I spent an hour in bed after I woke up, reading The Best American Comics, 2006. It does, in fact, contain some very good comics. And some mediocre ones. Seriously, there were plenty that any given page of Usagi Yojimbo beats without even any question or effort. The political comics, while I tend to agree with their liberal sensibilities, were the most egregious. Bad art combined with a lecture on oversimplified international politics DO NOT SOMEHOW MAKE EACH OTHER BETTER! That said, I did learn a few things that, if accurate, were pretty dang interesting. Plus, I have to admit: the World Bank can be a real male generative organ.

The good comics were real good, though. R. Crumb, Lynda Barry, Joel Priddy (who I'd never heard of before, but whose "The Amazing Life of Onion Jack" is awesome), Jesse Reklaw, and Tom Hart all shine.