Pass Me The Ranch

 ...it was one of my favorite games of 2013 in a past blogging. In fact, it was the only video game on my list. In the past, the Grand Theft Auto series always starts out with a tidal wave of hilarious fun to be had, only to dither over the weeks in months into "been there, done that" territory for me. The outcries of violence spilling over society when GTA 3 have failed to come to pass due to others kind of feeling the same after so many rounds of blowing everything up.

This has hardly been the case with Grand Theft Auto V. Having purchased it back in early October, I am still finding something new to laugh at, marvel at and love with every playthrough. The main story is the best cinematic representation in the gaming world with three separate story arcs crashing headlong into one another. The game is incredibly deep, well written and all over the map in terms of residency. Turn to the massive multiplayer online game and now, Grand Theft Auto V just opens up like a planet eater.

Once you log into the server, you get dropped into a world of comedic chaos like nothing in gaming. The offline mode can get chaotic with massive car chases, shootouts and mayhem. Once that aspect transfers to a mode where 20 random individuals are all creating chaos, now you get to watch other people create hilarity and wreckage all around you. A fine walk down a pier on a sunny afternoon might come complete with a flaming sports car flying upside down off of a mountain side.

...there used to be this animated show on late night in the 1990's called Oh Canada. I made a few attempts to watch it but back then, it failed to register with me. It had this strange somber atmosphere that felt like pencil sketches of barren scenery with featureless characters, even when the screen would show something completely different.

When I read Jeff Lemire's Essex County, I recalled that same feeling. The artwork was rough with characters that lacked detail amidst landscapes that felt empty. This was combined with dialogue that was sparse and lacking colorful language, but I liked the book quite a lot. The collection was a puzzle that all fit together in the way that it was intended.

After a period of working in a more mainstream comic fashion, Jeff Lemire came up with The Underwater Welder. Much like Essex County, this is a return to black-and-white sketches over gray watercolor. The characters look intentionally rough to match their environment and day-to-day life. The dialogue is back to being minimally dispersed and descriptive. There is a decided lack of excitement to the text as it fits the dreary existence of a man who feels lost.

I mentioned Oh Canada because I feel like there is an intentional parallel between the series and the  work of Jeff Lemire (who happens to be Canadian). There is a sparse quality to his more personal stories that might be pure coincidence, but reminds me of the sparse quality of Oh Canada. The difference (for me) is that I find his comic work to be amongst the better available today.

Read: Ghosted by Joshua Williamson

Watch: Jeopardy

Listen: Whores Ruiner