Here’s a short ramble of what I have been reading of late.

The Fade Out
I’ve been reading Brubaker and Phillip’s Fatale and Criminal, and so far, I’m enjoying The Fade Out more. It’s a pretty compelling story about three people, two writers and an actress, working at a film studio a handful of years after World War Two. Being of the noir stripe, it’s has plenty of scandal and tension for a violent climax at the end. I haven’t finished reading as of writing this, but I can see one of two endings right now. Brubaker and Phillip’s work is the usual high-quality stuff, particularly for people who want to shy away from the standard superhero comics.

ODY-C
Matt Fraction and Christian Ward have put together a crazy version of Homer’s Odyssey, in the form of a psychedelic, gender-bent saga set in fantasy space. There’s isn’t much dialogue, most of the story is told through narration in loose prose. I like it, but so far at ten issues long, I’m not sure where it might go (which is good), or if it will continue (which is bad). The topping is also cursed.

INVISIBLE CITIES & CASTLE OF CROSSED DESTINIES
During my month of trips to Sydney, I picked up a couple of Italo Calvino books to read on the long coach rides to and from that city. Both were good with the major theme being about imagination and interpretation. And the fact that these were interpreted from Italian is not lost on me. Would learning and reading the work in Italian make it more profound? I have If On A Winter’s Night, A Traveller. Which I should pick up soon.

HOUSE OF LEAVES
Is a difficult read. Not that it is difficult in terms of language, but maybe because it’s a particular kind of novel, and I seem to be gravitating towards graphic novels and lighter reading as I mentioned above. Also I’m writing a book, so all my free time is being chewed up and spat out. I’ll have to bite the bullet soon.