Splendiferous

I finally got to watch American Splendor last night, and found I liked it a lot. I don't particularly care for the whole "underground comics" scene, most of which I find pretentious and overhyped, but Splendor was the opposite. It wasn't great, but it was brutally honest and a good story to boot. The comic-style effects they used weren't overdone or overbearing, and I especially loved the scene where Harvey Pekar laid into Letterman, whom I've never liked (I've always thought most late-night shows like that are run by unfunny, egotistical dicks plying for attention from the lowest common denominator - except for Jon Stewart). A totally different kind of indie movie from Lost in Translation, but a good film all the same. Now, I want to read the comic collection.

Speaking of comics, I finally got around to reading mine last night. The highlight was "Freaks of the Heartland," a new series from Dark Horse that looks very Stephen King. Written by Steve Niles, who also did "30 Days of Night," one of the most original vampire stories I've read in a long time, "Freaks" seems like a nice start on an interesting series. The book's highlights are Greg Ruth's illustrations, which manage to to mix a very surreal and sinister quality in with basic scenes of life on a farm. They aren't overtly scary in an axe-murderer sense of the term, but there's a general feeling of unease and otherworldlyness they portray that sets the tone of the book far more than the actual writing to this point.

This weeking is going to be relaxing. Today, I'm goofing off. Below is showing on StarZ so I don't have to spend money to rent it. Tomorrow, I'm going to breakfast and the zoo with Brook and Wendi. Next week, I'm leaving for New York for six days. And, when I get back, The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra is playing in Seattle. I can finally begin my quest to take advantage of the indie film scene here!