Dead Part of the Year
The week between Christmas & New Year's always seems like down-time to me. Here is one last entry before my end of the year post.

442. Showcase Presents Metal Men, vol. 2 by Robert Kanigher, Ross Andru, et al. These comics are insane. Mere words cannot do justice to the weirdness. They have to be experienced to be believed.
     
443. Irredeemable, vol. 4 by Mark Waid & Diego Barreto. I am enjoying this, but I hope Waid has a conclusion in mind. A comic about a Superman-equivalent going bad cannot be maintained forever. (Checked out of the library.)
     
444. Ex Machina, vol. 4: March to War by Brian K. Vaughan, Tony Harris, & Chris Sprouse.
     
     Still re-reading this series.
     
445. Essential Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man, vol. 2 by various. Comics I recollect fondly from my childhood. Still entertaining. And how can you go wrong with a comic where Spider-Man fights a Nazi made out of bees?
     
446. Doctor Who: The Only Good Dalek by Justin Richards & Mike Collins. The story is good, and the art is well done, but it isn't very strong in terms of story-telling. There were times when it was unclear what was happening. (Library.)
     
447. Star Wars Legacy, vol. 3: Claws of the Dragon by John Ostrander & Jan Duursema. I expect to get volume 10 next week, and I am refreshing my memories of this series.
     
448. North 40 by Aaron Williams & Fiona Staples.
     
     Lovecraftian story about a Texas county that gets exposed to eldritch horror.
     
449. Ex Machina, vol. 5: Smoke Smoke by Brian K. Vaughan & Tony Harris.
     
450. Ex Machina, vol. 6: Power Down by Brian K. Vaughan & Tony Harris.
     
451. Star Wars Legacy, vol. 4: Alliance by John Ostrander, Omar Francia & Alan Robinson.
     
452. Ex Machina, vol. 7: Ex Cathedra by Brian K. Vaughan & Tony Harris.
     
453. Thor: Tales of Asgard by Stan Lee & Jack Kirby. Nice presentation of back-up stories from the 60s. Stan & Jack were firing on all cylinders with these stories. The comics; however, have been re-colored for this collection. The colorist did a good job and clearly knows what he is doing, but he used a subdued palette here, which really does not suit Kirby's artwork. Kirby artwork should be full of bright, high-contrast colors, not subtle gradations of muted colors.

A few movies since I last updated:

• Mystery Science Theater 3000: Santa Claus Conquers the Martians Another of the movies Teena & I watch each December.
  
• Rifftrax: Live Christmas Shorts-Stravaganza This one isn't a tradition yet (we saw the live show last year and watched the DVD of that show this year), but it may well become one.
  
• True Grit I had never seen the original version before this. Fortunately, it aired on cable before we went to see the Coen Brothers' version (which will be later this week).
  
• It's a Wonderful Life The last of the movies Teena & I watch every December. It may be sentimental, but I love it.