Comic Thoughts by I.M. Vine: Issue 02 - Fear Agent, Batman, Get Jiro (Part 1)

[I_M_Vine]

Introduction

Hello there, strangers.

This here is a little experiment I started last week. Ever since the pandemic started, I have become somewhat addicted to collecting graphic novels. It has come to the point where I am out of space for my books even after I tried to thin it out. The problem? I have yet to read many of the books I have acquired.

Thus, I thought it would be a good idea to start reading and writing down my thoughts. This will help me keep track of the books I have read so far and what I thought about them.

I’m interested in seeing if there are other collectors are there like me who buy a lot of books but don’t get around to reading all of them. Maybe this will inspire them to start reading as well.

Finally, I also want to share how I got these books and how much I paid for it (if I remember). I want to share my story, but I welcome all of you to share yours as well.

Feel free to disagree with me if you want. I am not a professional reviewer. I am just a guy with too many graphic novels and a desire to get back into writing.


Disclaimer:

In my first issue, I reviewed 9 titles. That is because I had a backlog of books I had already read. This week, we only have 3 books. I expect this to be the norm moving forward. On the flipside, having less books lets me dive a little deeper in my review. However, I do not want to spoil the book for anyone, nor do I want to go in too deep into the story. These are just my thoughts and impressions of the books I read this week.


Question of the week:

• What is one comic book you had zero expectations over but ended up absolutely loving it?

For me, it is either Kingdom Come or Fear Agent (see my thoughts below).


Reviews:

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• Get Jiro by Anthony Bourdain

Why, How and How Much?

I found this book at an Ollie’s a few months ago. I believe it was 2.99. I snagged it up immediately even though I had no real intentions of reading it. I love me a 2.99 Vertigo book.

Thoughts?

I doubt I would have read this book if it wasn’t that I recently found the prequel to this story, Jiro: Blood and Sushi a few weeks ago at my local Ollies. I picked up that 5-dollar deluxe hardcover book and went home happy (you can read my thoughts on that story in Issue 01 of Comic Thoughts).

I wanted to read something simple and short, so I read Jiro: Blood and Sushi. It was decent enough, so I decided to give this one a shot.

This book reads like a sort of John Wick spoof. Part of the story in the first few issues is to figure out who Jiro is, but the problem is I just read the prequel to this story a few days ago. I already know who Jiro is.

I think I kind of ruined the story for myself. I think I would have enjoyed this story a lot more if I had gone in blind like it was intended.

As for the story itself, this seems like a simple run of the mill bad ass guy story, not that there’s anything wrong with it. Sometimes, I enjoy some mindless fun. I don’t think comics need to always have a deeper meaning to be fun.

Honestly, this story is competent enough, but nothing that you should go out of your way to read. I certainly wouldn’t pay full retail price for this book, but for 3 dollars? It overdelivered.

Recommendation:

If you are into Japanese food, a foodie or a chef, I think you will get a lot more mileage from this book. For me personally, I don’t regret reading it, but I doubt I will remember anything about this story in a few weeks’ time.