Far Sector

Go check yourself out Far Sector, by NK Jemisin & Jamal Campbell.

For the past dozen years or so on the Facebook,  I've kept a tally of what i read,  but this year. I wanted to keep better track of what comics I've been reading, if I'm reading collected editions. 

This one was a new one, for me. I really dig DC's Compact Editions. I first found them last year... I got Thomas a copy of Watchmen for Christmas. Every now and then one of the publishers will put out a smaller format collected edition, and they never give it enough time, or find enough outside the box marketing to make it work. This is DC's effort, and i hope they stick it out, because I really dig them. (My take is that they really should pour some resources and give it time for the format....DC, Marvel and a half dozen other publishers have a significant enough catalog to think outside the box when it comes to putting stories out there into new hands.....

I don't want to digress from the book itself, but I will, for a minute: I hate the way the comics industry has run itself for the past 30 years. It's become one that caters to collectors and investors almost exclusively, leaving those of us who just want to read a good story less and less willing to gamble on something new because the price tag just gets too high. I'm an Old Fart, now, who's only gotten back into the comic store as a regular visit in the last couple of years (shout out to Comics Unlimited in Cleveland, btw). Mostly, I buy trades. This became especially true when Marvel (just as an example... all publishers are more or less guilty) was charging 4 bucks for a single issue.... it just made more sense to find the trade six months later for 15 or 20 bucks, since I was past the days of waking up excited for New Comic Day. I still buy 3-5 single issues a month, but nothing like the dozen or more I'd throw money at 25 years ago....

But to belabor a point, even with trades it gets pricey, when you get into deluxe editions, and beyond that epic collections and even more the Omnibus.... it can be tough if you're still a fan of tactile reading but you don't feel like spending $100 every week at the store. 

I really like these Compact Collections DC is trying. They aren't using the glossy paper, and you can find the whole run of a story for 10 bucks. 

And you can gamble on something you might not have normally. 

I really dig Jemisen as a writer, but had only heard bits and pieces about this one. 

I liked it a lot. 

Nerfs the Green Lantern ring a bit, but it makes a better story if you don't have another green powered Superman around. 

Good SF story... new Lantern Sojourner Mullein is stationed at the City Enduring, a Dyson- style city of 20 billion, made up of 3 species who live with their emotions dampened in the name of peace.... and then the murders begin. Good cyberpunk mystery ensues. 

Like I said, I liked this one....

And I might not have wandered across it had i not liked the Compact packaging (and price).