Casanova

[Joker]

Who's reading this? Have you read the previous arcs, or did you jump on with Acedia #1?

There's a lot going on if you've read the previous arcs. Small stuff, possibly larger stuff, it's hard to say how large at this point, though.

This is also a great place to jump on, as not even Casanova knows his history at the moment, so you could go back and read the three previous arcs after the conclusion of this one and discover his past then, too. Which could be a pretty interesting way to read the series. That depends on how this arc wraps up, though.

So, thoughts on Acedia now that we're two issues into it?

[HaroldAllnut]

I was a huge fan of the first two volumes of Casanova, but Fraction really lost me with "Avaritia." I don't want to call it pretentious, but I think the series sort of lost its way. I wasn't really a huge fan of the first issue of "Acedia," either. How did you like issue 2, Joker?

[FanboyStranger]

I lost some interest with Avaritia, too, but I feel that Acedia's been a return to form. Oddly enough, I think the biggest positive change has been a return to a more subdued color pallette-- hated the colors in the Marvel ICON series.

Not sure what I make of Chabon's backup yet, but the second installment was a lot stronger than the first one, in my opinion.

[Joker]

I'd love to hear more about complaints with Avaritia, because I loved that arc. All those chickens came home to roost, and the colors were the best of the series, to that point.

Acedia has been perfect, for me. I thought issue 1 was a perfect reintroduction to the series, and was easily one of the most beautiful issues of a comic I've seen in a while. 2 was great. A lot of nods back to Gula which is awesome. He's definitely tying the arcs together by artist, because Avaritia was tied much more to Luxuria than Gula.

I like that Fraction keeps real time in the comics, too. Looking forward to see where 3 takes us.

[FanboyStranger]

I'd love to hear more about complaints with Avaritia, because I loved that arc. All those chickens came home to roost, and the colors were the best of the series, to that point.

I greatly preferred the monochromatic palettes for Luxuria and Gula. I felt that Avaritia overwhelmed me with color, and honestly, that really lessened the impact of the story for me. There weren't a lot of books using color as such an integral part of its storytelling method when Casanova first appeared, so it made the book stand out like it made a book like Mage stand out in the '80s. To see Casanova look more like a conventional comic book lessened it to me.

I also didn't get the same enthusiasm from Fraction on that mini, probably because the monthly grind was wearing him down, and Ba and Moon were doing some really great work elsewhere like Daytripper and their Mignola-verse work that seemed fresher to me. I still think it was a good comic, but this current mini feels more like Casanova to me.

[ViewtifulJC]

Avaritia was too tryhard, but Acedia has been dat hotness.

[Deniz Camp]

Gah, it kills me not to be able to discuss this month by month, especially with how few seem keen to talk it up. Casanova is absolutely one of the best comics on the stands, but I'm addicted to the volume-by-volume reading format and I'd rather not stop now.

A brilliant, brilliant piece of work. Not only Fraction's best by far, but one of the most formally innovative, and deeply personal, in the mainstream. Plus it's filled with all my favorite pop culture trappings.

Do it, people. Buy these books. Love them deeply.

[The Beast Of Yucca Flats]

Honestly, if I'd not known about Chabon on the backups, I'd have sworn Fraction himself penned them; it's almost kinda like Fraction's mimickry of Chaykin-writing on Satellite Sam.

[Ilan Preskovsky]

Honestly, if I'd not known about Chabon on the backups, I'd have sworn Fraction himself penned them; it's almost kinda like Fraction's mimickry of Chaykin-writing on Satellite Sam.

Yeah, that's what makes it so fascinating to me. Chabon - who is hit and miss for me but when he hits, he hits magnificently - can vary his style quite a bit but it's still astounding to see just how unrecognizable he is here.

Anyway, I'm very much enjoying the latest volume. I actually skipped the previous arc because it was, if I recall correctly, selling for $5 an issue, which was just inexcusable to me, and unfortunately the current HC collection is $30 - or, what, $7.50 an issue? It's a good, dense book but, unless they were at least 48 pages an issue, that was way, way too expensive. Which is a pity because though I am following the current arc perfectly well, I definitely feel like I'm missing out by not having read the previous four-issue ICON mini.

[FanboyStranger]

Honestly, if I'd not known about Chabon on the backups, I'd have sworn Fraction himself penned them; it's almost kinda like Fraction's mimickry of Chaykin-writing on Satellite Sam.

Yeah, it is really is. But you can tell he's having fun doing it.

[Joker]

Yeah, that's what makes it so fascinating to me. Chabon - who is hit and miss for me but when he hits, he hits magnificently - can vary his style quite a bit but it's still astounding to see just how unrecognizable he is here.

Anyway, I'm very much enjoying the latest volume. I actually skipped the previous arc because it was, if I recall correctly, selling for $5 an issue, which was just inexcusable to me, and unfortunately the current HC collection is $30 - or, what, $7.50 an issue? It's a good, dense book but, unless they were at least 48 pages an issue, that was way, way too expensive. Which is a pity because though I am following the current arc perfectly well, I definitely feel like I'm missing out by not having read the previous four-issue ICON mini.

They were 32 (or more) actual pages of comics, plus the backmatter. I definitely don't care for $5 comics, but I forgave them. It was almost 2 times what you get from a $4 Marvel/DC book.

I'm certain those HCs can be purchased online at a discount, too.

[Ilan Preskovsky]

They were 32 (or more) actual pages of comics, plus the backmatter. I definitely don't care for $5 comics, but I forgave them. It was almost 2 times what you get from a $4 Marvel/DC book.

I'm certain those HCs can be purchased online at a discount, too.

Sure but most comics weren't $4 back then and I've dropped most Marvel and DC books by now, in part because of the price.

And I'll look out for the HC's online but the problem with living in a country like South Africa is that most online deals are pretty much negated by high shipping fees and import taxes.

[Joker]

That is a bummer. Sorry, though, there were a lot of $4 comics at that time. Not as many as now, but they weren't a rare bird. I agree it was a high price, but I happily paid it for Casanova, despite already owning the original issues, the original HC and TPB of Luxuria.

I did skip the Icon trades, though.

[FanboyStranger]

Sure but most comics weren't $4 back then and I've dropped most Marvel and DC books by now, in part because of the price.

And I'll look out for the HC's online but the problem with living in a country like South Africa is that most online deals are pretty much negated by high shipping fees and import taxes.

Book Depository has the Avaritia tpb for 51% off, and the HC will be released in 10 days with a 10% discount. No shipping costs to South Africa.

BD is a great alternative to Amazon for books (even though Amazon owns BD now). I live in the US, and I buy a lot of Rebellion/2000AD books, which are harder to come by in the US. Generally, they're available with a sizable discount, free shipping, and I've never had to wait more than 8 days for delivery. (Usually they're here in 4-5 days.)

[Ilan Preskovsky]

That is a bummer. Sorry, though, there were a lot of $4 comics at that time. Not as many as now, but they weren't a rare bird. I agree it was a high price, but I happily paid it for Casanova, despite already owning the original issues, the original HC and TPB of Luxuria.

I did skip the Icon trades, though.

Wow, you must really love the series!

And yeah, there were definitely some $4 comics then but it was in the early days of that price increase so $5 really seemed insane to me. It still is pretty much, even if Casanova definitely gives you way more bang for your buck than most comics these days - especially from the Big 2.

Book Depository has the Avaritia tpb for 51% off, and the HC will be released in 10 days with a 10% discount. No shipping costs to South Africa.

BD is a great alternative to Amazon for books (even though Amazon owns BD now). I live in the US, and I buy a lot of Rebellion/2000AD books, which are harder to come by in the US. Generally, they're available with a sizable discount, free shipping, and I've never had to wait more than 8 days for delivery. (Usually they're here in 4-5 days.)

Thanks for the recommendation and I have actually used BD a number of times now and have been pretty happy with them. Interestingly though, and I don't think most people realise this, to offset the costs they incur for free shipping the amount of a discount they offer on their books varies a lot from country to country. The HC would actually still cost $30 for me from them. The trade is pretty decent though at $14.35, which I think I will get in a quieter month for my comics budget. Huh, I guess I forgot or didn't realise that ICON released a trade for the series in the first place. That definitely helps.