Catch-Up

I read quite a few books in the last two weeks, so time to get cracking.

17. The Miskatonic Project: The Whisperer in Darkness by H.P. Lovecraft, Mark Ellis, et al. An adaptation & expansion of Lovecraft's story.
    
18. Batman Black and White, vol. 3 by various. Collection of short Batman stories. The quality varies. (Checked out of the library.)
    
19. MPD Psycho, vol. 4 by Sho-u Tajima & Eiji Otsuka. This horror series is growing on me as it goes. (Library.)
    
20. Jack of Fables, vol. 4: Americana by Bill Willingham, Matthew Sturges, & Russ Braun. We finally get to see the American fable-land in this volume.
    
21. Charley's War: Return to the Front by Pat Mills & Joe Colquhoun. More well-researched comics about WWI. (Library.)
    
22. Astonishing X-Men, vol. 2 by Joss Whedon & John Cassaday. Whedon's run on X-Men wraps up.
    
23. Gimmick, vol. 3 by Youzaburo Kanari & Kuroko Yabaguchi. (Library.)
    
24. Legion of Super-Heroes: The More Things Change by Paul Levitz & Steve Lightle. I am happy to see Levitz's run on LSH collected, but I wish they'd started earlier in his run.
    
25. You'll All Be Sorry! by Gail Simone. A collection of Simone's humor columns from the days before she was a professional comic book writer.
    
26. Showcase Presents Supergirl, vol. 1 by various. I was annoyed that the final story in this volume, one that spanned five issues, was resolved by a deus (or rather, an imp) ex machina.
    
27. The Brave and the Bold, vol. 2: The Book of Destiny by Mark Waid, George Perez, & Jerry Ordway. Fun super-hero cross-overs. (Library.)
    
28. X-Factor, vol. 5: The Only Game in Town by Peter David, Pablo Raimondi, & Valentine DeLandro. I can't say I care for the art, but I do enjoy the writing.
    
29. Marvel Adventures Hulk, vol. 4: Tales to Astonish by Peter David & Juan Santacruz.
    
30. Thieves & Kings: Apprentices, Book 1 by Mark Oakley. Oakley has returned to comics, and I hope he keeps it up for a long time. I really enjoy his work, even if it sometimes does seem overly precious.
    
31. Mighty Avengers, vol. 2: Venom Bomb by Brian Michael Bendis & Mark Bagley. Still not terribly good, but I'm curious. (Library.)
    
32. The Flash: The Wild Wests by Mark Waid, Daniel Acuna, & Freddie Williams II. I liked this quite a bit. (Library.)
    
33. Serenity: Better Days by Joss Whedon, Brett Matthews, & Will Conrad. Set between Firefly and Serenity, this tells of a time when a heist goes right for Mal Reynolds and crew.
    
34. Booster Gold, vol. 2: Blue and Gold by Geoff Johns, Jeff Katz, & Dan Jurgens. Johns tends to be hit or miss for me, but this is definitely a hit. (Library.)
    
35. John Constantine, Hellblazer: The Gift by Mike Carey & Leonardo Manco. This wraps up Carey's run on Hellblazer.
    
36. Nemi by Lise Myhre. A goth-themed comic strip that is just as trite as any you'll find in any family newspaper. Not bad, but not exactly good, either. (Library.)
    
37. The Nightmare Factory: Based on the Stories of Thomas Ligotti by various. I've never heard of Ligotti before this, but these adaptations are pretty creepy. (Library.)
    
38. Madman Atomic Comics, vol. 1 by Mike Allred. I really enjoyed the early Madman stories, but the latest run just doesn't really work for me. It feels self-indulgent. (Library.)
    
39. B.P.R.D., vol. 9: 1946 by Joshua Dysart, Mike Migola, & Paul Azaceta. Man, this series just continues to impress. Creepy & scary, just what I want from a horror title.
    
40. Legion of Super-Heroes: Enemy Rising by Jim Shooter, Francis Manapul, et al. Shooter started his career in comics 40 years ago with the LSH. And he's doing a good job on his return to the franchise. (Library.)
    
41. The New Avengers, vol. 7: The Trust by Brian Michael Bendis & Leinil Yu. I just can't look away. (Library.)
    
42. Sharks Just Wanna Have Fun by Jim Toomey. (Borrowed from Teena.)
    
43. Rosario + Vampire, vol. 1: Vampires by Akihisa Ikeda. Another manga series. (Library.)
    
44. Doctor Who Classics, vol. 2 by Steve Moore, Pat Mills, John Wagner, & Dave Gibbons.
    
45. Ted McKeever Library Book 1: Transit, the Complete Series. This is from early in McKeever's career, and it shows. (Library.)
    
46. Fullmetal Alchemist, vol. 17 by Hiromu Arakawa. Still liking this.

And now, what I've been watching:

• Avatar the Last Airbender, Book 3: Fire, vol. 4. The finale to this series. Teena & I both enjoyed this series quite a bit. I think it helped that the creators had a story to tell, and they told it, rather than dragging things out when it proved popular.
  
• Cinematic Titanic: Frankenstein's Castle of Freaks. The jokes are funny, but the movies they've selected to mock are unpleasant enough that the jokes don't matter.
  
• Iron Man. This movie doesn't bear thinking about too much, but it sure is fun.

A Slight Delay

Rearranging furniture and organizing CDs and books today. Will update next week.

Reading Resolution
In 2009, I will read at least one book a month that is not a graphic novel. Also, I will make a dent in the number of unread Essentials and Showcase Presents volumes I have. And, to stop falling months & months behind in listing the movies I've seen, I treat them like books & post about them each week.

Now on to the books I've read so far in 2009.

1. X-Men: Messiah Complex by various. It's an X-Men crossover. Not much more to be said. (Checked out of the library.)
   
2. Punisher, vol. 10: Valley Forge, Valley Forge by Garth Ennis & Goran Parlov. Another Punisher story from Ennis. (Library.)
   
3. MPD Psycho, vol. 3 by Sho-u Tajima & Eiji Otsuka. Disturbing but good. (Library.)
   
4. X-Men: Divided We Stand by Ed Brubaker & Mike Choi. I liked seeing hippie versions of the X-Men. (Library.)
   
5. Private Wars by Greg Rucka. The second novel featuring characters Rucka created for a comic book. Somewhat realistic spy-thriller. Very good.
   
6. Cat Eyed Boy, vol. 2 by Kazuo Umezu. Completely insane, but fascinating. (Library.)
   
7. Magic Trixie Sleeps Over by Jill Thompson. Adorable story about a young witch who tires of her bedtime routine and what she learns when she sleeps over at her friends' houses.
   
8. Scalped, vol. 3: Dead Mothers by Jason Aaron, R.M. Guero, et al. Noir story set on a reservation. (Library.)
   
9. Star Wars Legacy, vol. 4: Alliance by John Ostrander & Omar Francia. I continue to enjoy these stories set over 100 years after the movies.
   
10. Mail, vol. 2 by Housui Yamazaki. After only two volumes, the formula is clear: ghost shows up & menaces somebody, detective appears at the last minute and exorcises the ghost. But the stories are entertainingly told, so I'm not worried about the repetition. (Library.)
    
11. Tom Strong's Terrific Tales, Book 2 by Steve Moore, Alan Moore, et al. I didn't get this when it was first published because I was waiting for the paperback edition. By the time I finally accepted that there wouldn't be a paperback edition, the cloth was basically out of print. Fortunately, there are copies to be found at comics stores & the like.
    
12. The All New Atom: The Hunt for Ray Palmer by Gail Simone & Mike Norton. (Library.)
    
13. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Nunzio DeFilippis, Christina Weir, & Kevin Cornell. I haven't seen the movie, but I suspect it is quite a bit different from this graphic novel adaptation of Fitzgerald's story. (Borrowed from Teena.)
    
14. Empowered, vol. 4 by Adam Warren. There's a surprising amount of heart in this comic that started as a collection of cheesecake drawings.
    
15. PS238, vol. 6: Senseless Acts of Tourism by Aaron Williams. This series about a grade school for superpowered children is great. (Borrowed from Teena.)
    
16. Dan Dare by Garth Ennis & Gary Erskine. (Library.)

And now the movies (& DVDs) I finished watching since the beginning of the year:

• The Muppet Show, Season 3. This season contains the Harry Belafonte episode, one of my favorites.
  
• A History of Violence. We had had this on our DVR for over a year, and we finally got around to watching it last night. Very good.

Wrapping Up 2008

Okay, time for the last few books I read last year.

530. Afterdead 1: The Desert Peach 31, 32 & Beyond by Donna Barr. I've had this since it came out, quite a while ago, but it took me a long time to get around to reading it. Once I did, I remembered just how good Barr is. In this book, she re-envisions and merges her series, including The Desert Peach, Stinz, and Bosom Enemies. It's weird, but it works.
     
531. Afterdead 1.2: The Desert Peach Crosses Over by Donna Barr.
     
532. Hogfather by Terry Pratchett. Very funny and with interesting insights into the origin of Santa Claus (well, the Hogfather, but he's the Discworld version).
     
533. The Best American Comics 2006 by various. Picked this anthology up in a used book store. I was surprised at how many of the selections were things I had already read in their original appearances. I don't think of myself as reading many art comics.
     
534. Tall Tales by Al Jaffee. The best of a vertical comic strip done by the man who created Mad Magazine's fold-ins.
     
535. Garfield Minus Garfield by Jim Davis, with Dan Walsh. The idea of removing Garfield from Garfield is genius. It's amazing how the strips are changed without the cat.
     
536. Promethea, Book 1 by Alan Moore & J.H. Williams III.
     
537. Promethea, Book 2 by Alan Moore & J.H. Williams III.
     
538. Promethea, Book 3 by Alan Moore & J.H. Williams III.
     
539. Promethea, Book 4 by Alan Moore & J.H. Williams III.
     
540. Promethea, Book 5 by Alan Moore & J.H. Williams III. When I bought the final volume of Moore's treatise on magic disguised as a superhero comic, I decided I'd reread the first four volumes. It took me a while to get around to it. I think this comic is great, even if the superhero disguise does grow thin when Promethea takes a tour up the Tree of Life. I think this is one of Moore's best works.

540 books in 366 days.

And now to finish catching up with the movies & DVDs I watched last year.

• Avatar The Last Airbender, Book 2 Earth, vol. 4.
  
• Space Ghost Coast to Coash, vol. 4: The 1998 Episodes.
  Movies seen at the 2008 H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival
  
  • Hellboy.
    
  • Shorts Block 2.
    
  • Dark Paradox.
    
  • Shorts Block 3.
    
  • Shorts Block 1.
    
  • The Dunwich Horror.
    
  • Alien Raiders. Despite a generic and uninspired title, this is the stand-out movie from the festival this year. This is a smart & well-done little horror movie. I was glad to look, when looking for the movie on Amazon, that it will be available on DVD next month.
  
  
• Kakurenbo - Hide and Seek. A creepy anime short about a group of kids playing a game.
  
• Avatar The Last Airbender, Book 3 Fire, vol. 1.
  
• Godzilla vs. Megaguirus.
  
• Jesus Christ, Vampire Hunter. Amazingly, this movie is available on Blu-ray. I have absolutely no idea why.
  
• Myster Science Theater 3000: Werewolf.
  
• Avatar the Last Airbender, Book 3 Fire, vol. 2
  
• MST3K: First Spaceship on Venus.
  
• Cinematic Titanic: Legacy of Blood. Some funny jokes here, but the movie they are making fun of is so unpleasant and squicky that we won't be watching this again.
  
• Avatar the Last Airbender, Book 3 Fire, vol. 3.
  
• Wall-E. We picked the DVD up shortly after it became available. So good.
  
• Cinematic Titanic: Santa Claus Conquers the Martians. We are so used to the MST3K version of this that the jokes fell rather flat.
  
• Love Actually. We just adore this movie.
  
• MST3K: Santa Claus.
  
• Thunder Road. Robert Mitchum as a moonshiner caught between the feds & the mob.
  
• The General. Buster Keaton.
  
• MST3K: Future War. Incredibly disjointed movie that had absolutely no sense of place. Some funny jokes about it, though.
  
• It's a Wonderful Life.
  
• MST3K: Laserblast. The best thing about this movie is the stop-motion animation on the aliens.
  
• MST3K: Santa Claus Conquers the Martians. We decided we had to watch this version too.
  
• Sunshine. We liked this quite a bit, although it was easy to pick nits about the poorly-designed spaceship.
  
• Mad Men, Season 1. Wow. What an amazing show. This is absolutely fantastic. They do the period so well. Believe the things you've heard about this.
  
• Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog. Including Commentary! The Musical.