I can't seem to get myself motivated to update on Saturdays anymore. We'll see how it goes.
- Eternals by Neil Gaiman & John Romita, Jr. An interesting take on Kirby characters from the late 70's. Not Gaiman's best work, but worth reading. This is the first time I didn't buy the individual issues of a Gaiman-written series, and I think that was a reasonable decision.
- Criminal, vol. 1: Coward by Ed Brubaker & Sean Phillips. I don't read much crime fiction, but I do like it when it's done well. It's done well here. Excellent story about a heist gone wrong. Highly recommended.
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling. This time the book didn't feel as bloated as it did the first time around. It's still too long, but World Quidditch Cup didn't feel as interminable as it did when I originally read the book. Another complaint I have about this book is the House Elves storyline. I cannot believe anybody in this day and age would write about a race of sentient beings who are enslaved, but "it's okay; they like being servants." The whole idea is just appalling. But as much as I complain about this book, I will say that the chapters with Voldemort are well done; extremely creepy & scary. Also, this passage:
"Well, times like that bring out the best in some people and the worst in others. Crouch's principles might've been good in the beginning--I wouldn't know. He rose quickly through the Ministry, and he started ordering very harsh measures against Voldemort's supporters. The Aurors were given new powers--powers to kill rather than capture, for instance. And I wasn't the only one who was handed straight to the dementors without trial. Crouch fought violence with violence, and authorized the use of the Unforgivable Curses against suspects. I would say he became as ruthless and cruel as many on the Dark Side. He had his supporters, mind you--plenty of people thought he was going about things the right way, and there were a lot of witches and wizards clamoring for him to take over as Minister of Magic.
shows a lot of insight into human nature, especially since the book was published in 2000, and Rowling didn't have the War on Terror to serve as an example. - Captain America: Red Menace, vol. 1 by Ed Brubaker, Mike Perkins, et al. I probably should just stop checking books written by Brubaker out of the library & just buy them from the start, because I end up buying them anyway.
- Doctor Strange: The Oath by Brian K. Vaughan & Marcos Martin. A nicely done story about a character who has lots of potential, but hardly anybody seems to know what to do with him or how to handle him.
- Captain America: Red Menace, vol. 2 by Ed Brubaker & Steve Epting.
- Civil War: Captain America by Ed Brubaker, Mike Perkins, et al. I seem to have learned my lesson, since I bought it without having read a library copy first. I haven't heard much positive about the overall Civil War cross-over, but Brubaker is a good enough writer that he was able to do good work with the crappy, editorially mandated premise that was handed to him.
- Showcase Presents: Shazam! by various. Slight, but entertaining kid's comics from the 70's. The quality took a bit of a downturn when the creators begin emulating the live-action Shazam show that was airing on Saturday mornings at the time. The comics that are collected in the volume originally included reprints of Captain Marvel stories from the 40's & 50's, and I would love it if those stories had been included in the collection, for some reason, they weren't.
- Discworld's Unseen University Diary 1998 by Terry Pratchett. Every year, Pratchett used to put out a weekly planner that included information about some aspect of Discworld. Yesterday we found a copy of the 1998 edition in a used book store & picked it up. There's a chance we found an incredible bargain (the book store had it at $5, and people are trying to sell it on Amazon for over $300. However, the eBay prices are considerably lower, so it doesn't look like we'll be selling this for a huge profit.
- Y: The Last Man, vol. 9: Motherland by Brian K. Vaughan, Pia Guerra, & Goran Sudzuka. It feels like this series is starting to wrap up, and I believe there's only one volume to come after this one. Consistently entertaining.
- InuYasha, vol. 27 by Rumiko Takahashi. (Checked out of the library.)
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