Sunday, September 27, 2009

So Far, So Good

Haven't had any computer issues lately. Let's hope it stays that way.

  1. Essential Iron Man, vol. 1 by Stan Lee, Don Heck, et al. In most Marvel comics of the period, radiation is the macguffin that will do whatever the story requires. In Iron Man, it's transistors. Nobody ever seems to have explained to Stan that a machine can't be transistor-powered. And man, the red-baiting is turned up to 11 in these stories. Only a handful of the bad-guys aren't commies.
  2. The Silent Invasion, vol. 1/2: Secret Affairs/Red Shadows by Larry Hancock and Michael Cherkas. Speaking of commies, this comic is set in the 50s and is all about Cold War fears. Who's a Red? Who's an alien? Who are the shadowy figures manipulating the public?
  3. A Mess of Everything by Miss Lasko-Gross. Semi-autobiographical comics about a mixed-up teenager. I liked this better than I expected. (Checked out of the library.)
  4. Conan, vol. 6: The Hand of Nergal by Timothy Truman & Tomas Giorello. (Library.)
  5. Green Lantern: Rise of the Red Lanterns by Geoff Johns, Ivan Reis, Mike McKone, & Shane Davis. If Johns took this a little less seriously, I would have enjoyed it a lot more. You've got to admit that there is something inherently goofy about the sudden creation of a whole bunch of new [insert color here] Lantern Corps. But Johns is extremely earnest about all this, and shows it by depicting lots of gory death & dismemberment. Lighten up, dude. Your comics will be the better for it. (Library.)
  6. Skelebunnies: Complete Collection by Tommy Kovac. (Library.)
  7. Jingo by Terry Pratchett. For a couple of weeks, I've felt like re-reading this book about how countries are manipulated into war. Pratchett is so good. What an amazing writer.
  8. Atomic Robo, vol. 1: Atomic Robo and the Fightin' Scientists of Tesladyne by Brian Clevinger & Scott Wegener. Fun stuff, but it feels an awful lot like Hellboy-lite. (Library.)


Despite the delay, not many movies since I last updated them:
  • RiffTrax: Missile to the Moon.
  • A Night at the Opera. Ah, the stateroom scene.

Sunday, September 20, 2009

Back in the Saddle (I Hope)

Well, here's hoping the computer doesn't break down again. In any case, I'll be keeping things short, since I'm a month behind.

  1. Showcase Presents: Supergirl, vol. 2 by various.
  2. Skin Horse, vol. 1 by Shaenon Garrity & Jeffrey C. Wells. First collection of a web comic about the government agency in charge of social services for non-human sentients. Lots of fun.
  3. Just a Pilgrim by Garth Ennis & Carlos Ezquerra. (Checked out of the library.)
  4. Tales Designed to Thrizzle, vol. 1 by Michael Kupperman. Absurdity & strangeness. (Library.)
  5. Justice League International, vol. 3 by Keith Giffen, J.M. DeMatteis, Kevin Maguire, et al. (Library.)
  6. Showcase Presents: Bat Lash by Sergio Aragones, Nick Cardy, et al. Western comics.
  7. Graphic Classics: Oscar Wilde by various. (Library.)
  8. Birds of Prey: Dead of Winter by Gail Simone & Nicola Scott. (Library.)
  9. Jack Kirby's The Losers. War comics from Kirby.
  10. Superman: The Third Kryptonian by Kurt Busiek, Dwayne McDuffie, Rich Leonardi, et al. (Library.)
  11. A Drifting Life by Yoshihiro Tatsumi. Autobiographical manga. Fascinating look at Japanese life during the post-WWII years. (Library.)
  12. Uncanny X-Men: Manifest Destiny by Ed Brubaker, Matt Fraction, Greg Land, et al. (Library.)
  13. The Antarctic Express by Ken Hite & Christina Rodruiguez. Lovecraft's At the Mountains of Madness retold as The Polar Express.
  14. More Digressions by Peter David. Essays on comics & life.
  15. The Boys, vol. 3: Good for the Soul by Garth Ennis & Darick Robertson. Ennis clearly has a goal in mind with this series. I'm looking forward to seeing there he goes. (Library.)
  16. The Muppet Show Comic Book: Meet the Muppets by Roger Langridge. Very nicely done. Langridge really captures the feel of the show on the page.
  17. Yokai Attack!: The Japanese Monster Survival Guide by Hiroko Yoda & Matt Alt. (Borrowed from Teena.)
  18. The Salon by Nick Bertozzi. Mystery set in Paris during the birth of modern art. (Library.)
  19. 100 Bullets, vol. 13: Wilt by Brian Azzarello & Eduardo Risso. The final volume wraps things up. Unfortunately, it has been so long since I read the previous volumes, that I had a hard time remembering who had betrayed who and just who everybody was. Even with that disadvantage, this is still very good. (Library.)
  20. Showcase Presents: Eclipso by Bob Haney, Jack Sparling, et al. Man, eclipses happen remarkably frequently in this book. Every couple of months, by my calculations And there are more solar eclipses than lunar ones. It's amazing.
  21. Secret Six: Unhinged by Gail Simone & Nicola Scott. Simone is a twisted person, which means that this comic about villains is fantastic. Lots of sick fun.
  22. Justice League International, vol. 3 by Keith Giffen, J.M. DeMatteis, Ty Templeton, et al. (Library.)
  23. 20th Century Boys, vol. 4: Love and Peace by Naoki Urasawa. Still loving this series.
  24. Punk Rock and Trailer Parks by Derf. (Library.)
  25. Wolverine: Not Dead Yet by Warren Ellis & Leinil Yu. (Library.)
  26. The Witch-Woman: A Trilogy about Her by James Branch Cabell.
  27. The Invincible Iron-Man, vol. 2: World's Most Wanted by Matt Fraction & Salvador Larroca. (Library.)
  28. Tangent Comics, vol. 1 by various.
  29. Herbie Archives, vol. 2 by Shane O'Shea & Ogden Whitney. Wacky stuff. (Library.)
  30. Scalped, vol. 4: The Gravel in Your Guts by Jason Aaron, R.M. Guera, & Davide Furno. This noir series set on a reservation is getting increasingly dark. Hence, noir. (Library.)
  31. Fables, vol. 12: The Dark Ages by Bill Willingham, Mark Buckingham, Peter Gross, et al. The war with the Adversary is over, and a new threat has arisen.
  32. Swallowing the Earth by Osamu Tezuka. Tezuka's first work aimed at a more mature audience. Odd, but I quite liked it.


I'll catch up on movies next time.