Finishing this up tonight, I appreciated reading through the sample script and other supplementary materials included at the end of the book. I have the horrible habit of consuming media without any technical appreciation for how it is made. I write for a living, so I have some appreciation for what writing fiction must be like, but I have zero understanding of film (or at least very little), and it occurred to me while reading this script that I read a lot of comics without really understanding the creative process there. That was a good thing to think about.

And yet, reading through the script felt like a slog. I started this immediately after finishing my reread of Volume 2 and just couldn’t stay interested enough to read through the script quickly—perhaps because I’d just recently read the story it scripts out, and it felt repetitive. I also have mixed feelings about the stories included earlier in the volume. The second one in particular follows up on a novel I haven’t read and may never read, which feels like a disservice to the reader. I also tire of dramatic pregnancy plot elements in fiction with female lead characters, as though we must be reminded of their maternity.

I gave this a higher review the first time I read it, and maybe I’d feel better about it if I’d given myself more time before the reread. On the other hand, I also wonder if I’d have been satisfied with just addinf the first two volumes to my comics collection—or to just rewatching The Sandbaggers.

• Greg Rucka
• The Sandbaggers
• pregnancy