Easter Sunday

Stumptown was a lot of fun. I picked up some interesting books and wish I could have afforded to get even more.

138. Thor: The Mighty Avenger, vol. 2 by Roger Langridge & Chriss Samnee. This was a great series. I wish it had lasted longer than 8 issues. Great, all-ages comic. Plenty of super-hero fights, but it's really about Thor & Jane Foster dating.
     
139. Marvel Adventures Avengers, vol. 10: Invasion by Paul Tobin, et al. More fun all-ages comics.
     
140. Dar!: A Super Girly Top Secret Comic Diary, vol. 1 by Erika Moen. This is one of the things I picked up at Stumptown. This is a collection of Moen's autobiographical web comic (which she has stopped doing and moved onto a new web comic. Very good and extremely personal. I will have to pick up volume 2 when I can.
     
141. Space: A Couscous Collective Collection by various. Anthology of space-themed stories picked up at Stumptown. A higher percentage of good stories than most anthologies.
     
142. Fables, vol. 14: Witches by Bill Willingham, Mark Buckingham, et al. Not willing to buy this series anymore, but interested enough to borrow it. (Checked out of the library.)
     
143. Phoenix Without Ashes by Harlan Ellison & Alan Robinson.
     
     Comics adaptation of a story Ellison wrote for the pilot of a 1970s television show The Starlost. (Ellison removed his name from the show before the pilot episode aired.)
     
144. Marvel Adventures Avengers: Thor by Paul Tobin & Scott Koblish. Tobin has a real knack for these all-ages comics.
     
145. Sweet Tooth, vol. 2: In Captivity by Jeff Lemire. I enjoyed the first volume, but it didn't really grab me. This volume did. (Library.)
     
146. Unwritten, vol. 3: Dead Man's Knock by Mike Carey & Peter Gross.
     
     God, I love this series. This is the best comic Vertigo has published since Sandman. It is all about stories and how they affect the world. Plus, there is adventure. Read this comic. Do it.
     
147. I, Zombie, vol. 1: Dead to the World by Chris Roberson & Mike Allred. Enjoyable comic about a zombie who passes as living and her adventures in Eugene, Oregon.
     
148. Powers, vol. 12: The 25 Coolest Dead Superheroes of All Time by Brian Michael Bendis & Michael Avon Oeming. I had a sense of deja vu while reading this, but I was a third of the way into it before the nagging sense of familiarity resolved itself into certainty that I had read it before. (Almost exactly a year ago.) While I enjoyed it, it doesn't say much for the story's memorability. (Library.)
     
149. Marvel Adventures: Black Widow and the Avengers by Paul Tobin, Ig Guara, et al. Bought this directly from Tobin at Stumptown.
     
150. Essential Marvel Two-in-One, vol. 2 by various. Marvel's 1970s-80s team-up title featuring the Thing.

Only one movie this time, so I'll save it for next week.

Early Post This Week

Tomorrow Teena & I will be at Stumptown Comics Fest, so I'm updating today.

128. Tiassa by Steven Brust.
     
     The latest Vlad novel. This one is unusual in that it is divided into 3 parts with 3 different narrators (including the narrator of Brust's Khaavren Romances*). (Borrowed from Teena.)
     
129. Invincible Iron Man, vol. 6: Stark Resilient, bk. 2 by Matt Fraction & Salvador Larroca. Iron Man's latest attempt to reinvent himself from a weapons dealer to philanthropist. (Checked out of the library.)
     
130. Vertigo Resurrected: Bad Blood by Jamie Delano & Philip Bond. Vicious look at British politics & royalty. Rather appropriate that it has been reprinted shortly before a royal wedding.
     
131. Rin-Ne, vol. 5 by Rumiko Takahashi. Supernatural romantic comedy (like nearly everything else Takahashi has done). (Library.)
     
132. Black Jack, vol. 13 by Osamu Tezuka. Still more medical manga. (Library.)
     
133. Fantastic Four by Jonathan Hickman, vol. 1 by Jonathan Hickman, Dale Eaglesham, & Neil Edwards. Great comics, but not very imaginatively named collection. (Library.)
     
134. Demo, vol. 2 by Brian Wood & Becky Cloonan.
     
     More one-issue stories about people with extraordinary abilities (although that premise seems to be falling by the wayside). Some great stuff here.
     
135. Thunderbolts: Cage by Jeff Parker & Kev Walker. The previous volume of Thunderbolts pretty much was Parker wrapping up plot threads from the previous writer. In this one, he takes the series in the direction he wants.
     
136. Showcase Presents The Doom Patrol, vol. 2 by Arnold Drake & Bruno Premiani.
     
     These comics are insane but a hell of a lot of fun. I get the impression that Drake had a blast writing them. So glad DC collected them in an affordable format.
     
137. Superman Adventures, vol. 3: Last Son of Krypton by Mark Millar, et al. More comics in the style of the 90s animated Superman show.

*Which I really need to finish reading one of these days.

Watched a lot of movies while on vacation last week:

• Doctor Who: Revenge of the CybermenEarly-ish Tom Baker Story.
  
• Source CodeTeena & I both really enjoyed this director's Moon, and we liked this movie as well, although we felt that the ending was somewhat mishandled.
  
• Doctor Who: The Brain of MorbiusDoctor Who takes on the Frankenstein story (sort of).
  
• RedThis bears almost no resemblance to the graphic novel it is nominally based on, but it is an entertaining movie. Completely preposterous, but loads of fun. What's not to love about Helen Mirren kicking ass?
  
• The Third ManI don't think there's anything I can say about this classic that hasn't already been said.
  
• Doctor Who: The VisitationThe final story with the sonic screwdriver until New-Who.
  
• Mystery Science Theater 3000: Project MoonbaseSupposedly based on something written by Robert A. Heinlein. I suspect very little of his story remains.

The Next Few Weeks

Here we go:

106. Yotsuba &!, vol. 8 by Kiyohiko Azuma. More cuteness. (Checked out of the library.)
     
107. Irredeemable, vol. 5 by Mark Waid & Peter Krause. (Library.)
     
108. Showcase Presents: The Phantom Stranger, vol. 1 by various. The Doctor Thirteen back-ups included in this work better when the Phantom Stranger doesn't appear. Since Dr. Thirteen's whole premise is that he's a rationalist and ghost-breaker, he is undermined by the presence of a supernatural entity (even if Thirteen refuses to believe it). Some great art by Jim Aparo.
     
109. Star Trek: Leonard McCoy, Frontier Doctor by John Byrne. (Library.)
     
110. It Was the War of the Trenches by Jaques Tardi.
     
     WWI comics. Grim but good. (Library.)
     
111. Vertigo Resurrected: Finals by Will Pfeifer & Jill Thompson. Satirical look at higher education.
     
112. The Walking Dead, bk. 1 by Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore, & Charlie Adlard. I requested this from the library several months before the tv series began on AMC, but because the local system only has 3 copies, it took until several months after the season ended for my turn to arrive. (Library.)
     
113. DMZ, vol. 9: M.I.A. by Brian Wood, Riccardo Burchielli, et al. The main character goes a long way toward redeeming himself in this volume.
     
114. Yotsuba &!, vol. 9 by Kiyohiko Azuma.
     
     Simply adorable. (Library.)
     
115. Goon, vol. 10: Death's Greedy Comeuppance by Eric Powell. (Library.)
     
116. Angel: Immortality for Dummies by Bill Willingham & Brian Denham. Apparently at the end of the previous writer's run on the Angel comic, a reset button got pressed, which doesn't make me inclined to seek out the book collecting those issues. Hell, the only reason I got this one was that I enjoy Willingham's writing. (Library.)
     
117. Naoki Uraswa's 20th Century Boys, vol. 13: Beginning of the End. "Beginning of the end", really? There are another 12 volumes to go. However, I am still enjoying this & will keep going for now.
     
118. The Walking Dead, bk. 2 by Robert Kirkman & Charlie Adlard. It took considerably less time (although it was still a while) to get the second volume. (Library.)
     
119. The Downsized by Matt Howarth.
     
     Something unusual for Howarth, a slice of life comic. Excellent as his work always is. I am afraid I haven't been keeping up with his work since he moved primarily to self-distribution via his website. I really should rectify that, since he does some amazing SF comics.
     
120. Finder: Voice by Carla Speed McNeil.
     
     I am so glad that McNeil found a publisher for her amazing series when self-publishing became no longer viable. I have raved about previous volumes here, so here is a link to a preview of a book that will be showing up on this blog sooner or later.
     
121. Angel: The Crown Prince Syndrome by Bill Willingham, Elena Casagrande, et al. (Library.)
     
122. Air, vol. 4: A History of the Future by G. Willow Wilson & M.K. Perker. The final volume of this magical realist series. It ended before the creators had told all the stories they wanted to with these characters, but they were able to wrap things up in a satisfactory manner. I look forward to their next project.
     
123. Farscape: Scorpius, vol. 2: Glorious Basterds by Rockne S O'Bannon, David Alan Mack, & Gordon Purcell. (Library.)
     
124. The Complete Bad Company by Peter Milligan & Brett Ewins. British SF war comics from the 80s. Gets pretty trippy at times, but that's not unusual for Milligan's work.
     
125. Superman Adventures, vol. 2: The Never-Ending Battle by Mark Millar, Aluir Amancio, et al. Comics based on the animated Superman series from the 90s. Much better than Millar's recent work. These were written before he stopped trying and/or developed contempt for his audience.
     
126. Owly & Wormy-Friends All Aflutter! by Andy Runton. Wordless comics. (Borrowed from Teena's classroom.
     
127. Essential Captain America, vol. 3 by various. Reading these Essential volumes has made me realized that Sal Buscema appears to have penciled every Marvel title in the 70s at one point or another and that Tom Palmer inked these same titles, just not at the same time.

And that brings me up to date. I might update tomorrow about a podcast or two, but no guarantees.

A Month Behind

It's been a while, hasn't it. Comments will be short in an effort to get through this quickly.

85. Freakangels, vol. 5 by Warren Ellis & Paul Duffield.
    
    Another collection of the excellent webcomic.
    
86. Incorruptible, vol. 2 by Mark Waid & Horacio Domingues. Super-villain reforms after a super-hero goes bad. (Checked out of the library.)
    
87. Incorruptible, vol. 3 by Mark Waid & Marco Takara. (Library.)
    
88. Astonishing X-Men, vol. 6: Exogenetic by Warren Ellis & Phil Jimenez. SF take on the X-Men.
    
89. Chew, vol. 3: Just Desserts by John Layman & Rob Guillory. (Library.)
    
90. Morning Glories, vol. 1: For a Better Future by Nick Spencer & Joe Eisma. Runaways crossed with The Prisoner.
    
91. Secret Avengers, vol. 1: Mission to Mars by Ed Brubaker & Mike Deodato. (Library.)
    
92. Batman: Fortunate Son by Gerard Jones & Gene Ha. Batman & rock 'n' roll.
    
93. The Sixth Gun, bk. 1: Cold Dead Fingers by Cullen Bunn & Brian Hurtt
    
    Great supernatural western. May need to get a copy for myself. (Library.)
    
94. Hikaru no Go, vol. 22: China vs. Japan by Yumi Hotta & Takeshi Obata. (Library.)
    
95. Stephen King's The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger: The Journey Begins adapted by Robin Furth, Peter David, & Sean Phillips. (Borrowed from Teena.)
    
96. Captain America: Man and Wolf by Mark Gruenwald & Rik Loving. Captain America as a werewolf. (Library.)
    
97. Black Panther by Jack Kirby.
    
98. Moving Pictures bu Kathryn & Stuart Immonen
    
    The other graphic novels written by Kathryn Immonen that I have read (mostly superheroes) haven't really impressed me. This one, about people smuggling art out of Nazi control during WWII, did. (Library.)
    
99. Time and the Batman by Grant Morrison, Tony S. Daniel, et al.
    
100. Pantheon by Mark Andreyko & Stephen Molnar. This version of "Greek gods in the modern world" (from an idea by Michael Chiklis) reads like a series proposal that didn't go anywhere. Zeus is even drawn to look like Chiklis. (Library.)
     
101. Mondo Urbano: A Sex, Drugs and Rock'n'roll Story. by Mateus Santolouco, Eduardo Medeiros, & Rafael Albuquerque. (Library.)
     
102. Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne by Grant Morrison, et al. Baman lost in time.
     
103. Suicide Squad, vol. 1: Trial by Fire by John Ostrander & Luke McDonnell.
     
     Finally, a collection (the first of several, I hope) of one of the best super-hero comics of the 80s. Ahead of its time then and possibly even now. I really hope this sells well and we see more collections.
     
104. Moto Hagio's A Drunken Dream and Other Stories. Shojo manga that ranged from just okay to amazing ("Iguana Girl"). Library.
     
105. Essential Nova by Marv Wolfman, Sal Buscema, Carmine Infantino, et al. Marvel's 70s attempt to recapture the magic of Spider-Man.

Not caught up yet, but that's enough for now. More tomorrow.

Movie Catch-Up

Update: I have fixed the links to a couple of the movies.

Too many books read in the past 4 weeks to do all at once. Plus I have a bit of a headache, so I'm going to keep this short & just do the movies I've seen since my last real update.

• Finding NemoI've said this before, and I'll say it again, Pixar casts their movies exactly right. "Just keep swimming."
  
• Doctor Who: RobotTom Baker's first story as the Doctor. Eccentric from the very beginning.
  
• Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Magic Voyage of SinbadA Russo-Finnish version of an Arabian story. Bizarre stuff. In one scene a guy fights a bear that switches (seemingly at random) between a guy in a bear costume and an actual bear.
  
• MST3K: Master Ninja 1The first 2 episodes of a short-lived tv-series starring Lee Van Cleef & Timothy Van Patton edited together to make a "movie". Only the commentary makes it bearable.
  
• Fraggle Rock: Complete First SeasonI didn't cable in the 80s, so I had never seen this show until we got NetFlix Watch Instantly. I love it. It's one of the best children's shows I've ever seen. Looking forward to future seasons.
  
• RiffTrax: Santa and the Ice Cream Bunny. I have no idea what prompted anybody to make this movie. It consists of an atrocious version of "Thumbelina" padded out to 90 some minutes by adding a framing sequence of Santa Claus being stuck in Florida and telling a story to the children to attempt to help him. And at the end, a rabbit driving an old firetruck shows up to save the day. This movie makes no sense whatsoever. I think I lost sanity by watching it.
  
• Doctor Who: Carnival of MonstersThis Jon Pertwee story is quite fun, if rather disjointed.
  
• Mystery Science Theater 3000: Master Ninja 2The next two episodes.

I finally remembered to at the Saint Clair Gamers Actual Play to my sidebar. The latest session is our first In Nomine session and the first game I have run in a couple years.

That's it for now. I have the week off, so I will update books later in the week.