Another Break from the Dresden Files

208. 
     20th Century Boys, vol. 8: Kenji's Song by Naoki Urasawa. Still blown away by this series. Can't wait for the next volume.
     
209. Mercury by Hope Larson. Young adult comic about two young women in Nova Scotia separated by a hundred and fifty years. (Checked out of the library.)
     
210. Dungeon Twilight, vol. 3: The New Centurions by Joann Sfar, Lewis Trondheim, Kerascoet, & Obion. Another Dungeon volume. (Library.)
     
211. 
     The Question, vol. 6: Peacemaker by Dennis O'Neil & Denys Cowan. Wrapping up the monthly series. As I mentioned on a previous volume, this doesn't seem as innovative as it did when the comics were first published, but that's because other comics imitated it. I do hope they continue with these collections and go on to The Question Quarterly.
     
212. Potter's Field by Mark Waid & Paul Azaceta. A mysterious man investigates the anonymous people buried in New York's Potter's Field. (Library.)
     
213. Area 10 by Christos N. Gage & Chris Samnee. Supernatural mystery involving trepanation. (Library.)
     
214. 
     The Stuff of Legend, bk. 1: The Dark by Mike Raicht, Brian Smith, & Charles Paul Wilson III. A puppy and a group of toys venture into the closet after their boy has been stolen by the Boogeyman. Nicely done, and I'm looking forward to the next volume (although it will be a while before it's done.)
     
215. 
     The Bronx Kill by Peter Milligan & James Romberger. As I have mentioned before, Milligan can be hit or miss for me. This story about escaping the past (or not) was a hit. (Library.)
     
216. Superman: New Krypton, vol. 1 by James Robinson, Geoff Johns, et al. (Library.)

And now on to movies (including the ones from last week):

• The A-Team. I never watched the show when I was a kid, and I found the movie a big, dumb, fun action movie. Teena loved the show when she was young, and she adored the movie. Not smart in the least, but entertaining.
  
• The Matrix Reloaded. We watched this with the RiffTrax commentary, which enhanced the movie. Although I wish they had shut up during the highway chase sequence. And during Neo's confrontation with the Architect. (The latter makes me strange, I know.)
  
• RiffTrax Plays with their Shorts. Another collection of educational shorts with commentary by some of the people from Mystery Science Theater 2000.

A Small Week

205. Summer Knight by Jim Butcher. The fourth Dresden Files novel. The stakes get pretty high in this volume. (Borrowed from Michael.)
     
206. Secret Warriors, vol. 2: God of Fear, God of War by Jonathan Hickman & Alessandro Vitti. (Checked out of the library.)
     
207. Underground by Jeff Parker & Steve Lieber. Great suspense piece about a couple of park rangers being chased through a cave system. Unfortunately, my copy has a printing error that disrupts the climax of the story.

I have watched a couple of movies this week, but I'll write about them next week.

More Books Than I Thought

I got through quite a few books since last week.

192. Tiny Titans: Sidekickin' It by Art Baltazar & Franco. This is an odd comic. It's aimed at kids, but it's full of references that only long-time comics readers would get. Apparently children still like it. This 42-year-old does. (Checked out of the library.)
     
193. The Muppet Show Comic Book: On the Road by Roger Langridge. Langridge has really captured the feel of the television show, which is an amazing achievement.
     
194. Grave Peril by Jim Butcher. Back to the Dresden Files novels. This time: vampires. (Borrowed from Michael.)
     
195. The List by various. A collection of one-shots tying into Marvel's "Dark Reign" event. (Library.)
     
196. Supergirl: Cosmic Adventures in the 8th Grade by Landry Q. Walker & Eric Jones. This is a great kid's comic, and it features a fantastic version of Supergirl. This was just a mini-series, but I would love to see more from this creative team. If the kids that Teena teaches were a little older, I would get this for her classroom. (Library.)
     
197. Dark Avengers Vol. 2: Molecule Man by Brian Michael Bendis & Mike Deodato. (Library.)
     
198. Wonder Woman: Warkiller by Gail Simone & Aaron Lopresti, with Cliff Chiang. Great stuff. I will miss Simone on Wonder Woman.
     
199. Superman: The Coming of Atlas by James Robinson & Renato Guedes. Robinson wrote one of my favorite comics of the 90s: Starman. And then he left comics for a while. Since his return, something seems to have changed. (I haven't heard a single good word about JLA: Cry for Justice, for instance.) So I was leary about picking this up, but I have to say that I quite enjoyed this and I am considering getting the rest of his run on Superman.
     
200. Halo: Helljumper by Peter David & Eric Nguyen. I don't play the Halo video game, but I like David's writing. This was good, although the art was unclear in places. But that would probably not have been the case if I were already familiar with the setting. (Library.)
     
201. Rin-Ne, vol. 2 by Rumiko Takahashi. Takahashi is mining a lot of the same material that she did in Inu-Yasha, but you don't go to romantic comedies for original storytelling. And this is plenty of fun. (Library.)
     
202. Ex Machina, vol. 9: Ring Out the Old by Brian K. Vaughan & Tony Harris. Building to the climax in the next volume.
     
203. Showcase Presents: Challengers of the Unknown, vol. 1 by Jack Kirby, Bob Brown, et al. Some great, fun comics here.
     
204. Air, vol. 3: Pureland by G. Willow Wilson & M.K. Perker. I recently learned that this comic has been canceled, which is a shame, because it is very good. And one of the best examples of magical realism I've ever seen in comics. However, the creators are getting the chance to wrap up. Perhaps sooner than they would have preferred, but they are bringing the story to a close.

Two DVDs this week:

• Doctor Who: The Three Doctors. Still going through a lot of Doctor Who adventures.
  
• Doctor Who: Tomb of the Cybermen. I really enjoyed this and would love to see more of Patrick Troughton's stories.

A Few More Books This Week

Taking a short break from the Dresden Files books, so there was more time to read graphic novels from the library.

181. Cat Burglar Black by Richard Sala. Hits all the standard Sala themes: sinister conspiracies, mysterious voices, gruesome deaths (off panel here). (Checked out of the library.)
     
182. Ghost Rider: Trials and Tribulations by Jason Aaron & Tony Moore. Continuing Aaron's In Nomine-esque story about an angel's attempt to take over heaven. (Library.)
     
183. Ghost Riders: Heaven's on Fire by Jason Aaron & Roland Boschi. Completing Aaron's run on Ghost Rider. (Library.)
     
184. Sweet Tooth, vol. 1: Out of the Woods by Jeff Lemire. Interesting post-apocalyptic story. Definitely just the beginning. Will pick up further volumes to see where it goes.
     
185. Secret Six: Depths by Gail Simone & Nicola Scott. Simone is a twisted woman, and it comes out in this brilliant comic about a group of super-villains.
     
186. The Unknown by Mark Waid & Minck Oosterveer. Brilliant detective with six months to live investigates the possibility of an afterlife. (Library.)
     
187. Superman: Kryptonite Nevermore (DC Comics Classics Library) by Dennis O'Neil & Curt Swan. 70s comics in which all the kryptonite on Earth is destroyed and Superman's powers are reduced. Interesting, but overpriced. I am glad I did not buy this $40 hardcover. (Library.)
     
188. Wolverine: Get Mystique by Jason Aaron & Ron Garney. Yes, I have been reading a lot of Jason Aaron lately. (Library.)
     
189. Black Blizzard by Yoshihiro Tatsumi. Manga thriller from the 50s about two escaped prisoners who are handcuffed together. I really liked this and would love to see more old manga. (Library.)
     
190. Batman and Robin, vol. 1: Batman Reborn by Grant Morrison, Frank Quitely, & Philip Tan. When the artist is up to Morrison's script (as Quitely is), this comic is brilliant. When they are not (as Tam, sadly, isn't), it isn't nearly as good.
     
191. Super F*ckers by James Kochalka. The easiest way to describe this is to say that it is the Legion of Super-Heroes if they acted like real teen-agers.

Several DVDs this week:

• Dexter: The First Season. Intense series about a serial killer who is careful to target only bad guys. Michael C. Hall gives a fantastic performance in the title role.
  
• Doctor Who: The Infinite Quest. Animated Doctor Who adventure. The animation is fairly limited, and the story is only so-so. Good voice acting, though.
  
• Doctor Who: Black Orchid. It is quite refreshing to see a Doctor Who adventure with low stakes. The Earth is not in danger of being invaded, and there is no real threat to the Doctor. Nicely done historical story.