7 Days of Stack Week – Part 2: Comics & Crutches

It's that time of year again. In what's become an annual tradition here at iFanboy we have our version of Shark Week on Discovery. 



It's STACK WEEK! 



What exactly is STACK WEEK?  Well my lucky friend, it's the time of year where we take stock of the stack of books in our "To Read" pile and highlight some of the delightful comics that lie ahead for us in upcoming days, weeks, months and for some, years. 

It's the start of the week and Austin plans his attack on the menacing stack that stares him down. See how he plans to fight back in Part 2 of the 2011 Stack Week!

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You would think that a guy who's been out of work for six weeks with a broken ankle, and on crutches, would not have a comic stack. Well, you're quite incorrect – because I've got a moderate stack (but not as big as most) that's been staring me down day-after-day. It's not a matter of unwillingness to read the comics, or any sort of incoherent ability to read due to prescribed medicines – I've just been reading a lot of comics, mostly new single issues, and have yet to find away to read them all. Not to mention, when with broken bits, it's quite easy to become consumed (and distracted) in the offerings of Netflix instant streaming, writing and various social network sites. Nonetheless, I hope my participation in Stack Week, and writing of this article, will help any hesitancies to diminish allowing for an unadulterated urge to read these comics come to fruition. Being that my contribution to Stack Week comes at the beginning of the week, it is now my duty – my pledge – to destroy this stack by the end of the week. But, like any battle that is fought, there needs to be a solid strategy – a sound plan of attack.

Here are the (not so secret) battle plans of Gen. Austin R. Hartman, iFanboy Correspondent and life-long geek. 

Monday:

As I rise bright an early at the crack of noon, I think, "I love the smell of napalm in the morning." Which is false, hence why I thought it – I then think about how good Apocalypse Now is and give myself a pat on the back for making the reference to myself. Once I finally get my butt out of bed I look to the stack of comics – a favored enemy that I've allowed to stand tall for too long in my own den. At the top of the stack is Kathyrn Immonen and Sara Pichelli's Runaways vol. 11: Homeschooling. This is a series that I've been a long-time fan of, but some how let this book escape my cross-hairs. While some might be saying, "That trade came out in March of last year! How is it still in your stack?" Well, being that I started collecting all of the trades in the digest form, I choose to wait till Marvel releases the newer arcs in digest form (which are released last) – it looks so much better on the shelf. But with guilt, I do admit this trade was released in September and is more the reason to read this book today!

Tuesday:

With the first day down, I am hungry (or thirsty? maybe both?) for more action on the front-lines of comic book reading! Next on the list is Apostolos Doxiadix & Christos H. Papadimitriou's Logicomix: An Epic Search For Truth with illustrations by Alecos Papadatos & Annie Di Donna. The reason I purchased this book was because my friend and fellow ifanboy writer, Ryan, wrote a stellar review of the book that's about the existential odyssey of philosopher Bertrand Russell. And, as I've flipped through the 352 full-color pages, I am also very impressed with the art of the book. I'm very excited to finish this book and spend the rest of the day having deep and philosophical thoughts.

Wednesday:

Once I've returned to Earth from a long day of trudging through the existential trenches of my mind, it's time to take on the next comic(s). Wednesday is all about powering through David Lapham's Young Liars 1, 2 & 3. Having read and loved his Stray Bullets title, I was very excited to pick up all three trades of Young Liars – a story about a group of twenty-somethings living in New York city and fulfilling the punk rock life – until they discover someone in their group has a dark past. Being a twenty-something, living in New York and lover of (70's/80's) punk, I thought this book and I would be a great match. But, once I opened the book to find that each single issue starts with recommended punk rock track list to further the book's experience, I paused and dedicated to read this book with the soundtrack. While I can't wait to read these books, I would not like my retentiveness to deter readers from consuming these trades without the soundtrack. 
 

Thursday:

After a long night of hobbling around my house while listening to The Cramps, I clean-up and reset my focus towards the next target – Robert Kirkman's Invincible: The Facts of Life (vol. 5). I know what you're thinking – why was this in my stack? Well, to be honest, I felt rather indifferent towards the title after the first four trades. All of my friends love this book, and I love Walking Dead, so I purchased volume five in hopes of finding some interest and desire to get caught up in the series. Fingers crossed, right?

Friday:

I love Alan Moore. Fact. I don't care how crazy he might seem in this day and age, but he is a wizard with words. Speaking of him being a wizard, today is all about getting through Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell's A Disease of Language. The trade collects the graphic re-telling of two verbal magic/shamanistic pieces written and performed by Alan Moore in 1995 and 1999- and later drawn by Eddie Campbell. The performances/collaborations were titled Birth Caul (1999) and Snakes & Ladders, both of which I have read and own in their original printings. While both stories are magical and beautiful in their abstraction, the trade offers a long interview between Moore and Campbell along with sketches making this purchase well worth it. I think the reason I haven't (re-)read this is because Moore takes a lot of mental attention, that has left me somewhat exhausted, from it being such rich material, in the past.

Saturday & Sunday:

I'm putting Saturday and Sunday together because I play D&D on Saturday – so my battles will be fought elsewhere. But, for the weekend reads, I am going to get through two books – not comics – that have been sitting on my shelf for awhile. They're the second and third novels to the X-Men: Mutant Empire trilogy written by Christopher Golden (Daredevil: Predator's Smile) in 1996. All three books were gifted to me by a friend that knows I love the X-Men. Sadly, after quickly reading the first trade I lost my momentum for the following books that brought me back to late-90's X-Men titles, characters and arcs. It's a fun reminder of what they were like back in the day. I would say reading these books is a mix of reading X-Men for the first time and watching the old Saturday morning cartoon. I can't wait!

Hopefully this battle plan is successful, and I walk (crutch or cane) away victoriously and well-read! If you happen to like my plan of attack, you too should check out some of these reads or decimate your stack and keep checking back to see what else the iFanboy crew has cooking. Good luck!