Comics Daze

Finally a day for reading comics. And for music today: 1972 only. Or possibly also a bit of 1973 if I run out of 1972.

David Bowie: The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars

11:14: Death of Copra #1 by Michel Fiffe (Image Comics)

The end of Copra is here. I don’t know how long this series has been running? I think I’ve basically got, like, two thirds of the issues, and I’ve read them in random order, so the entire thing is kinda abstract to me… but really enjoyable. I should get my act together and read it all in the proper sequence one day. Perhaps after this series is done?

Is that a little Keith Giffen homage?

Anyway, as usual I have no idea what’s going on, and as usual, I don’t mind — I like it. Of course Fiffe’s artwork is a major attraction, but being this confused just makes it more intriguing.

11:28: Metamorpho #1-2 by Al Ewing/Steve Leiber (DC Comics)

I’ve been reading some old DC comics the past few months, but not old Metamorpho comics yet. But I vaguely remember it kinda fondly? It was Ramona Fradon, right?

I’m not one to buy a comic just because of the characters involved, though, but this is written by Al Ewing, who’s usually a reliably amusing super-hero writer.

They’re going for a 60s feel here — dense, loopy stories, and done-in-one-issue plots.

I’m not totally convinced, though. It’s amusing, but is it exciting? I dunno… Well, I think I’ll keep reading it, but I have to admit I’m a bit disappointed.

Joni Mitchell: For The Roses

11:55: Boxes 3 edited by Steven Ingram

I got this from here.

Wow, that’s a perfect recreation of how Aline Kominsky draws hair. Fun story, too.

There art in this anthology is very varied, and pretty good. Many of the stories aren’t all that interesting, though — they feel like they need more work.

Genesis: Foxtrot

12:18: Tokyo These Days 3 by Taiyo Matsumoto (Viz)

Oh, right, this is the series about an editor heroically putting together a comics anthology.

I like it — the pacing is nice and the artwork’s sometimes gorgeous.

But it also veers dangerously close to fan service — it’s like a daydream a comics fan might have about how they’d put together the perfect comics anthology and then… then… something.

I like it, though.

13:12: La Poderosa #1 by Powerpaola (2d cloud)

I got this from here — 2d cloud is publishing again, and everybody rejoices. I think!

This is about a European visa snafu.

It’s told in a kinda meandering but attractive way. Hopefully there will be more issues.

Sandy Denny: Sandy

13:20: Egirl Magazine #1 edited by Katherine Dee (2d cloud)

This curious magazine is about the history of egirls, mostly focusing on 4chan and related sites.

And… it’s interesting, but my main take-away is that somebody has spent way too much time on sus web sites.

13:37: East District by Ash H. G. (2d cloud)

This is a compelling read.

It’s kinda a zombie story, but also kinda not — it’s dream-like and seems very open for interpretation. Which I won’t! Interpret, that it. It’s ace.

13:49: Comic Odyssey #1 by Raymond Salvador (Venus Comics)

This is very stylish.

I guess it’s conceptually similar to All-Time Comics? I.e., it’s emulating older comics in a quite serious way, but also not quite. There’s apparently about half a dozen different comics from Venus Comics…

The second story in this issue is especially intriguing.

Neil Young: Harvest

14:06: The Shriekers and Pebbles #2-3 by Molly Colleen O’Connell

Oh, I love this.

It’s kinda gripping.

The final issue here is a strange dream-like thing… I like it.

Lal & Mike Waterson: Bright Phoebus

14:44: Death Spark 2 edited by Thomas Campbell (Comics Blogger Books)

This anthology has this all-star cast.

There’s a mix of shorter and longer pieces.

It’s extremely varied in approach, but it’s a cohesive read anyway — it’s got a kind of tonal unity going on.

Brilliant anthology.

And now I have to run some errands I forgot that I had to do. Be back in a couple hours.

Lou Reed: Transformer

16:50: Song of a Blackbird by Maria van Lieshout (First Second)

Oh, c’mon. That didn’t happen.

OK, this artwork doesn’t do anything for me. I mean, I like the general style, but the deadness of the pad-drawn line is offputting.

The collages with real pictures work quite well, though.

Oh, the story? The frame is a woman in the present who’s trying to find out the history of her (Jewish) grandmother, but the bulk of the book is about these heroic Dutch resistance fighters, who are being all heroic and Dutch and saving everybody. And also making art! Because art’s important!

It’s a very confusing mix — when you do this kind of thing, the person doing the investigation usually discovers the history, and then we (the readers) learn it, too. Instead what we’re getting here in the WWII-set sections are things that are never “uncovered”, so it seems totally unmotivated.

There’s also a “Greek chorus” kind of thing provided by the blackbird, who constantly oversees everything (and which may even be *gasp* god (or something)).

Kraftwerk: Kraftwerk 2

Which makes things like this inexplicable: One of the heroic Dutch people have been made by the Nazis, so he asks for cyanide to kill himself. The other heroic Dutch people refuse him the poison, and the blackbird says “YOU MUST NOT, Emma”… and then a few pages later, he’s arrested, tortured, gives up the entire Resistance scheme, which means that a bunch of them are killed and they can no longer help.

So… is the blackbird supposed to be… SATAN!?!? IS IT SATAN

As you may surmise, I’m a bit annoyed with this book for children. I know! It’s not meant for me! Still, it’s a fucking annoying book, on all levels. Or as Kirkus puts it: “Powerful, moving, and utterly unforgettable”, or Publisher’s Weekly: “a powerful testament to art and its ability to foster change and connection”.

Yes: Close to the Edge

17:47: Daisy Goes to the Moon by Rick Geary from a novel by Mathew Klickstein (Fantagraphics)

As mistrusting as I am, I assumed that this was just a gag (I mean, the cover says that it’s written by somebody else, but nope — Daisy Ashford did exist.

OK… so I’m guessing this is written in the style of those books by that nine-year-old? So it’s faux outsider, basically?

I love Geary’s artwork, and would read anything he illustrates, but this just doesn’t quite work. The story is pleasantly loopy, and there are several sequences that are great, but…

I mean, it’s fine. I enjoyed it.

18:18: Chickenpox by Remy Lai (Henry Holt)

I don’t know whether this is autobio — it’s about a girl that has four younger siblings and has to stay cooped up in the house for a week with chickenpox — but it feels almost supernaturally well-observed.

The kids’ logic feels so right on, or at least from what I dimly remember. Did Remy Lai take a lot of notes when she was a kid? (Oh! Remy… that’s the name of the most annoying sister!)

It’s really good! It’s funny, it’s interesting (we get a lot of details about Indonesian culture), the storytelling beats are on point, and it’s unexpectedly moving. It’s a complete success at what it’s trying to.

(Although some people may be grossed out about all the details we learn about chickenpox.)

Matching Mole: Matching Mole

18:58: Miss Cat: The Gnome’s Nightmare by Jean-Luc Fromental & Joëlle Jolivet (Thames & Hudson)

Man, there’s a lot of comics for children today.

This is charming.

The story is totally loopy and very inventive. It’s fun!

Oh, that town hall looks familiar…

TSK TSK stealing the Oslo town hall and putting it right next to the water tsk tsk.

Nick Drake: Pink Moon

19:15: Blood Magazine by Danny Welch

This is a collection of diary comics, and it’s harrowing and gripping.

And with a wild fold out center.

Annette Peacock: I’m The One

19:43: Akasha by Nick Forker

This is something altogether different.

It’s like a spiritual thing about birth and stuff.

Miriam Makeba: Pata Pata

19:49: Synapses by Ivo Puiupo (Kuš)

This is a collection of shorter pieces…

… done in a variety of styles.

It’s really cool.

19:58: The End

And now I think I’m going to call it a day, because I’m exhausted.

Book Club 2025: The Snow Queen by Michael Cunningham

Like everybody else, I loved Cunningham’s book The Hours — it had a certain something very special going on. So I continued reading his books, but by the time I bought this one, I’d grown somewhat weary of his style. But I’ve got this strange habit of continuing to buy books from authors I’ve gone off of for a couple years… so I bought this in 2014, and then never read it.

And I’d forgotten all of that until I started reading this book today, and then it came rushing back in. I think there’s probably people out there that will swoon over this prose and call it things like “well written”, but I just find it cloying and annoying.

So I made it to page 60, and then I ditched it.

I told you so:

A light isn’t just a light. A snowflake isn’t just a snowflake. Themes of youth and aging, expectation versus reality, and providence are scattered all about, like snow. The characters themselves are symbolic, within a context, within the context of the other characters. There is never a wasted sentence. If it seems like there is a wasted sentence, you’re probably missing something.

Overall: If you get turned on by good sentences, clever perspectives on life, or feeling 10 years wiser after reading a novel, The Snow Queen will leave you satisfied in an almost sexual way.

Heh heh:

I could not and did not connect with this novel by one of my favorite contemporary writers. And the overuse of parentheticals (parentheticals everywhere) (and once a parenthetical following a parenthetical) (all much to my annoyance) was beyond distracting. Even so, stylistic quirks aside (annoying though they were) (annoyance being the overpowering effect of this slim volume), ain’t much here to ponder or (in my case) enjoy.

The Snow Queen (2014) by Michael Cunningham (buy used, 3.08 on Goodreads)

Wherein I Explain Why Emacs Is The Best Tool For WordPress

When I look at popular tools for writing blog posts, they all seem to require an ungodly amount of work to get common things done. They mostly all get the basics right: You can just type away at a text, and then post it. Easy peasy. Sometimes it loses your work, but that’s modern computers for you.

But blogging is more than just typing: You have to link to other posts, you have to include images (both your own and from the web), and you may even have to add some videos.

And all those things are usually annoying chores, involving way too many steps. (Admittedly, I have not experienced professional systems for editing WordPress, and perhaps they’re really good? Or perhaps I’ve missed your favourite tool?)

So in this blog post I’m going to explain that Emacs (with the Emacs for WordPress (ewp for short)) package is, like, the best. For nerds. Not for normal people. I mean, it’s Emacs.

OK, first the basics. The editing stuff comes later.

You say M-x ewp and you get this basic buffer:

Yes, it just lists your blogs. Hit RET on a line, and you get the posts:

Wow, I’ve really been reading lots of books lately… Anyway, there’s commands like M to list media on the blog:

In this buffer you can do common stuff like uploading images and videos, rotate images, rescale videos and all that stuff.

Back to the main view, there’s the C command that lists comments:

Here you can do the usual stuff, like trashing spam comments and responding to comments.

OK, get the drift? The basic admin stuff is like any other WordPress interface, only more Emacsey.

So let’s look at editing. The basic premise is that ewp just edits WordPress posts just as they are: That is, as HTML. There’s no special format (or formatting) used, and this is important: This means that you can edit WordPress posts with any tool you like. So even if you’re mostly composing your blog posts with ewp, you can still edit them using the WordPress mobile app, for instance.

But at the same time, when using ewp, you’re using Emacs with the security that this entails: You’ll get undo and auto-saves locally, so you’re never in the danger of losing your precious prose (which is a real problem with some other WordPress interfaces).

Anyway! A very common thing to do is to quote some text from a web page:

The point here is that ewp inserts not only the quoted text as a blockquote, but it also inserts the link to the page the text was on, and puts the cursor at a convenient point for further editing.

Or you may want a shorter quotation:

Again, both the quoted text and the URL in one fell swoop.

Most interfaces have a convenient way to just paste in images you’ve found on a web page, but then they make you go through a pretty tedious process to do extremely common things like cropping and rotating images. In ewp, it’s trivial:

And here’s that cropped and rotated image:

And this should be obvious, but I feel I have to mention it explicitly, because many tools fail here: If you put an image in an ewp edit buffer, it will be uploaded to your blog automatically: Absolutely no manual work involved.

Another common thing to do is to have a link to an image and you want to put that on your blog. However, hot-linking images to a site owned by somebody else is something you shouldn’t do, not only because the images will often disappear, but it’s rude, bandwidth wise. So:

ewp downloads the URL, and then uploads it to your own media library automatically.

From the screencasts included above, you may have guessed that ewp has a number of commands for dealing with video, too. Unfortunately the video support in Emacs (or at least the version of Emacs I’m using; I don’t know from modern versions) is somewhat lacking. ewp does the basics: It allows you to put <video> elements into your post, and it automatically creates and uploads “poster” images that are used by the web browser as placeholder images.

It also (optionally) resizes the videos, and converts (using ffmpeg, of course) the images to an mp4 format that browsers understand. (This is a pretty common problem — many things that create video files, and even mp4 video files, create files that web browsers can’t play natively.)

But writing blog posts isn’t just all about stealing content from other web sites. I mean… creating meaningful links to other creators in the world. Widely.

Sometimes you have to steal content from movies, too.

ewp can watch directories for incoming images and inserts those images automatically into the post you’re writing. That can be used in a number of ways — when I’m watching movies, this is basically my workflow:

Whenever I see something interesting, I just tap a special key on that little keyboard that I have next to me, and that tells the mpv that’s running on a machine in my bookshelf to take a screenshot, and then that’s rsynced to my laptop there, and then the image appears as if by magic:

And also nicely cropped automatically — that’s actually a somewhat complicated thing to do in a sensible way, because you should have a reasonable number of screenshots to determine what the “real” format of the movie is. There may be very dark shots, and you don’t want those to be suddenly blown up ridiculously… Hm, looking at the image above, it doesn’t look like a perfect trim, actually — looks like a kinda janky transfer to DVD.

Sometimes you just have to take a picture yourself, and Emacs helps with that, too:

I’ve mentioned this before, but I’m using a camera that uploads things automatically to my laptop, and then ewp finds it and:

Since this is Emacs, there is of course a gazillion more commands to deal with editing and publishing blog posts, but I think those are the main things that I’ve been annoyed by and fixed over the years. Editing something that looks like this in Emacs:

Is way more fun than traipsing through some 95 click interface for doing anything.

Blogging can be fun! At least if you find Emacs fun.