Something Big 

(Link to index page)

I remember  English class way back in my freshman year of high school. We had a lesson on reading for escape versus reading for interpretation. Reading for escape was wasting time on murder mysteries, science fiction, or rock 'em sock 'em adventure stories. Reading for interpretation was what more sophisticated folks did. They read talky books about real people doing real world things. Unlike escape reading, these books were good for you. Sort of like the difference between eating healthy  broccoli, or junk food burger and fries.

Now, I'm old enough, and well-read enough to appreciate, and even enjoy broccoli literature, but I'm still a burger and fries reader at heart. And in this troubled age and time, sometimes a good burger and fries read for escape is just what the doctor ordered. 

Get ready for a double double with cheese.

A week or so back, I posted a link to the Arkhaven comics page. Arkhaven has been part of the reward I give myself after going through the mostly depressing news of the day. My favorite story on the Arkhaven page has been "Something Big", story by Chuck Dixon, art by Frank Fosco. This week Arkhaven posted the final installation, so the whole tale can be read start-to-finish.

The aliens have landed. Earth is in ruins. Larry Dorfman is a former bank robber living in a ramshackle trailer outside of Reno. He watches the massive alien ship out in the desert, and discovers that whatever it is that the Gorks are doing out there, it involves gold, and lots of it. Gold.  But how in the world do you pull off a heist on the aliens?

Maybe with a little help from a gang of feral kids.

It's a comic book plot with a comic book climax. If you sat down, and thought about it, you might recognize that almost every trick in a good pulp writer's bag is incorporated into the story. And they all work like magic. Chuck Dixon is the master of the craft.  You're going to be set up, you're going to be played. And you're going to shout YEAH!!! Like you never saw it coming. 

Take some time out for Something Big. It'll lighten up your day.

JWM