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.