It's time for me to acknowledge that I'm not going to write about Vegas yet. I still want to write about it, but if I don't at least get the book list updated soon, I'll probably abandon the site.

As it's been nearly a month since I updated, I'm going to save myself some effort & leave out the Amazon links for the catch-up list. If anything I write about catches your eye, let me know & I'll put up a link.

Books

• Athyra by Steven Brust. Another Vlad Taltos novel borrowed from Teena. I didn't enjoy this one quite as much as the others. Largely, I think, because it isn't told from Vlad's point of view.
  
• The Ring 2 by Hiroshi Takahashi & Meimu. A translation of a Japanese comic book adaptation of the sequel to the novel that was also adapted into a movie. (Does that make sense?) I hear that there will be a sequel to the American movie. I wonder if it will be an adaptation of the Japanese sequel or if it'll be a new story.
  
• Dame Darcy's Meat Cake Compilation. Dame Darcy has an unusual drawing style. I rather like it; it's got something of a Victorian feel to it. I just wish her lettering were easier to read. Oddball comics.
  
• Transmetropolitan, vol. 1: Back on the Street by Warren Ellis & Darick Robertson. A few years ago I checked this & one or two other collections of this series out of the library. I found the science fiction stories about Spider Jerusalem, a newspaper columnist (who bears a striking resemblance [in attitude anyway] to Hunter S. Thompson) somewhat interesting, but not enough to continue. Then a friend started talking them up, so I gave them another chance. The series got a lot better once it got into politics. One of the characters is a thinly veiled reference to George W. Bush, and I found the sheer vitriol directed at him to be refreshing. After checking all the available collections out of the library, I started picking up new volumes as they were published. Then my collector's nature took over, and I had to start buying the earlier volumes too. Once I had the entire run in book form, I started reading them from the beginning.
  
• Transmetropolitan, vol. 2: Lust for Life by Warren Ellis & Darick Robertson.
  
• God's Bosom & Other Stories by Jack Jackson. Jackson is rather unusual; he uses comics to tell history. And he does a damn good job of it too. This collection has some of his lesser works, but I highly recommend his other books. (If you can find them; they're mostly out of print. Nonfiction comics tend not to sell all that well.)
  
• Transmetropolitan, vol. 3: Year of the Bastard by Warren Ellis & Darick Robertson.
  
• Transmetropolitan, vol. 4: The New Scum by Warren Ellis & Darick Robertson.
  
• Transmetropolitan, vol. 5: Lonely City by Warren Ellis & Darick Robertson.
  
• Transmetropolitan, vol. 6: Gouge Away by Warren Ellis & Darick Robertson.
  
• In Your Face Again: A Feng Shui Scenario Anthology by various. This is a collection of adventures for the Feng Shui roleplaying game. I don't normally buy RPG adventures, but I really like the Feng Shui game & want to support it.
  
• Transmetropolitan, vol. 7: Spider's Thrash by Warren Ellis & Darick Robertson.
  
• Transmetropolitan, vol. 8: Dirge by Warren Ellis & Darick Robertson.
  
• Ranma 1/2, vol. 26 by Rumiko Takahashi. More martial arts romantic comedy. (Checked out of the library.)
  
• Bone, vol. 4: The Dragonslayer by Jeff Smith. Continuing to re-read this series since it's finally wrapping up. (Library.)
  
• Bone, vol. 5: Rockjaw, Master of the Eastern Border by Jeff Smith. (Library.)
  
• Bone, vol. 6: Old Man's Cave by Jeff Smith. (Library.)
  
• Transmetropolitan, vol. 9: The Cure by Warren Ellis & Darick Robertson.
  
• Transmetropolitan, vol. 10: One More Time by Warren Ellis & Darick Robertson.
  
• Orca by Steven Brust. Before I read this, I never thought I'd encounter (much less enjoy) a fantasy novel about the savings & loan scandal. (Borrowed from Teena.)
  
• Last Call by Tim Powers. I re-read this for the trip to Vegas. It's a World Fantasy Award novel about poker, tarot cards, the Fisher King, family, and T.S. Eliot's "The Wasteland." And it's set in Las Vegas.
  
• Pogo, vol. 11 by Walt Kelly. Fantagraphics Books was publishing the entire run of Kelly's wonderful comic strip. But apparently sales were none too good, since this is the final volume that has come out, & they had a long ways to go.
  
• Dragon by Steven Brust. (Teena.)
  
• Proposition Player by Bill Willingham & Paul Guinan. Another re-read inspired by the trip. This graphic novel is about a small-time card player who finds himself playing for bigger stakes than he ever thought when a bar bet results in him owning several human souls.
  
• Batman Adventures, vol. 1: Rogues Gallery by various. Remember Batman: The Animated Series? How cool & stylish it looked? This is a comic book based off that.
  
• Batman Adventures, vol. 2: Shadows & Masks by various.
  
• Nevada by Steve Gerber & Phil Winslade. Another graphic novel set in Las Vegas. The main character in this one works for a casino called "The Nile." But it looks exactly like the Luxor, complete with an intensely bright light shining up into the night sky.
  
• Catwoman: Crooked Little Town by Ed Brubaker, Brad Rader, et al. This is the 2nd collection of the current Catwoman comic. It has something of a noir-ish feel to it. Very cool.
  
• On the Far Side with the Dead Folks by Joe R. Lansdale & Timothy Truman. Nobody combines horror & westerns like Lansdale & Truman.
  
• Odd Job: The Collected Stories by Ian & Tyson Smith.
  
• Tiny Giants by Nate Powell. Wow, this really did not make an impression on me. I can't remember a damn thing about it. (Library.)
  
• Astro Boy, vol. 18 by Osamu Tezuka. I had gotten very far behind in reading this series because the stories were rather repetitive. Eventually I cancelled my subscription to the series. And now that I finally got around to reading the last couple volumes, I discovered that the stories had gotten a lot better. Also, the series ended four months after I stopped getting it. I don't know if they ran out of material to reprint (I doubt it though; Tezuka was amazingly prolific) or if poor sales caused Dark Horse to stop reprinting these comics. If the latter, I'll feel rather guilty.
  
• Kid Beowulf by lexis E. Fajardo. Eh. (Library.)
  
• Krazy & Ignatz: 1929-1930 by George Herriman. Reprints of the Krazy Kat Sunday strips continues.
  
• Issola by Steven Brust. Now I've got to wait for the next Taltos book, just like everybody else. (Teena.)
  
• Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card. I'd never read anything by Card before this. I liked it quite a bit, but I'm not sure I'll read anything else by him.
  
• Fallen Angel, vol. 1 by Peter David & David Lopez. This is something rather unusual; a mature readers only title published by DC that isn't a Vertigo title.
  
• The Mirror of Love by Alan Moore with photographs by Jose Villarrubia. In the late '80's, the British government tried to add "Clause 28" to the books. Clause 28 would have pretty much tried to erradicate even the idea of homosexuality. Alan Moore put together a benefit book to raise money to oppose Clause 28. The piece he wrote for it was a prose poem, "The Mirror of Love." This new edition has some amazing photographs to go with the poem.
  
• The Best of Spider-Man, vol. 3 by J. Michael Straczynski, Fiona Avery, John Romita Jr. with John Romita Sr. Remind me to discuss Marvel Comics' hardback collections at some point. I've got mixed feelings about them, and I'd write them now, but this entry is too long anyway.
  
• Astro Boy, vol. 19 by Osamu Tezuka.
  
• Mixed Magics by Diana Wynne Jones. Four short stories by a female British author who has been writing stories about magical schoolchildren for much longer & better than J.K. Rowling. I'd forgotten how much I enjoy her work; I'll probably re-read some of her novels soon.
  
• Icaro 2 by Moebius & Jiro Taniguchi. (Library.)
  
• Buzzboy by John Gallagher. (Library.)
  
• Budda, vol. 3: Devadatta by Osamu Tezuka. An amazing work. I wish I still worked in a place where I could order books cheaply, because I'd really like to own this series. Maybe if they come out in paperback. I've mentioned this before, but I wish I knew more about Buddhism, so I had some idea of how much Tezuka made up for his story. (Library.)
  
• American Splendor: Unsung Hero: The Story of Robert McNeill by Harvey Pekar & David Collier. The story of a Vietnam vet.
  
• What Right? by various. This anthology was put together to benefit a bookstore in Canada because Canadian customs has a tendency to seize adult comic books sent across the border.
  
• Human Target: Final Cut by Peter Milligan & Javier Pulido. A crime story set in Hollywood.
  
• The Arrow of Heaven by Rob Vaux. An adventure for the 7th Sea roleplaying game. I picked this up cheap somewhere a while back.
  
• Panic, vol. 3 by various. Back in the '50's, when Mad first debuted (it was a comic book before it became a magazine), it was so popular that it spawned a whole horde of imitators, including one from the very same publisher. "Panic" was the "only authorized" rip-off of "Mad." This book is a reprint of several issues.
  
• Jack Kirby's Forever People. Jack Kirby was an amazing creator. I don't think any other comic book artist has ever delivered as much action & power in their work. But Kirby really should not have tried to write hippie characters.
  
• Krazy & Ignatz: 1931-1932 by George Herriman.
  
• Star Munchkin Roleplaying Game by John W. Mangrum. This is a very funny parody of science fiction rpgs.
  
• The Wretch, vol. 1: Everyday Doomsday by Phil Hester. (Library.)
  
• The Silent Gondoliers: A Fable by S. Morgenstern by William Goldman. Goldman claims Morgenstern wrote The Princess Bride and that the book bearing his name is simply an abridged version. This is a cute little story, but not all that great.
  
• Green Arrow: Straight Shooter by Judd Winick & Phil Hester.
  
• Hawkman: Endless Flight by Geoff Johns, James Robinson & Rags Morales