Lots of Books This Week

349. Mermaid Saga, vol. 4 by Rumiko Takahashi. Final volume of this horror series.
350. Frequently Asked Questions: An Unshelved Collection by Bill Barnes & Gene Ambaum. More comic strips about a public library. (Checked out of the library.)
351. Hereville: How Mirka Got Her Sword by Barry Deutsch.
     
     Enjoyed this so much when I got it from the library a few months back I decided to pick up a copy at Stumptown Comics Fest. Deutsch is local, and he was there. So I got this copy signed. Wonderful story. I hope there will be more.
352. Invincible Iron Man, vol. 7: My Monsters by Matt Fraction, Salvador Larroca & Carmine Di Giandomenico. Another Iron Man collection. This one includes a story that takes the Iron Man villain The Mandarin, and rescues him from his racist origins as a Yellow Peril cliche. (Checked out of the library.)
353. Taskmaster: Unthinkable by Fred Van Lente & Jefte Pao. A minor character that's been around for ages get a back-story. Both funny (especially Don of the Dead) & touching. (Library.)
354. The Other Side of the Mirror, vol. 1 by Jo Chen. Romance comic. The art is very nice, but the story feels amateurish. But then, this is one of Chen's first published works.
355. The Other Side of the Mirror, vol. 2 by Jo Chen.
356. Shadowland: Power Man by Fred Van Lente & Mahmud Asrar. A new character emerges from a Marvel cross-over. (Library.)
357. Strange Science Fantasy by Scott Morse.
     
     Fun, weird stories using comics tropes from non-superhero genres: war, detective, adventure, science fiction. I quite enjoyed this. (Library.)
358. Korgi, vol. 3 by Christian Slade. Latest volume of this silent comic about a magical korgi and his friends. (Borrowed from Teena.)
359. The Sandman by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby
     
     I had gotten used to Golden Age comics being more about enthusiasm than skill. A lot of the comics I've read from the 40s have an undeniable energy (stemming from the excitement of young people doing something that's brand new), but they're just not very good. That is not the case with the stories reprinted in this book. They're great. Simon & Kirby knew what they were doing, and they crafted some highly entertaining stories about a guy in a purple and yellow jumpsuit. So glad I picked this up.
360. Amulet, bk. 3: The Cloud Searchers by Kazu Kibuishi.
     
     The story continues. Still fantastic. (Borrowed from Teena.)
361. John Constantine, Hellblazer: Bloody Carnations by Peter Milligan, Giuseppe Camuncoli, Stefano Landini & Simon Bisley. I am glad that Milligan's run on Hellblazer turned out to be one of the things by him that I enjoy. I'm not sure what is happening with the character now that he is again part of the main DC universe. I hope this continues as a separate continuity.
362. Questionable Content, vol. 2 by Jeph Jacques. The second collection of the web-comic. (Borrowed from Teena.)
363. Ruse: The Victorian Guide to Murder by Mark Waid, Mirco Pierfederici & Minck Ooserveer.
     
     Sherlock Holmes pastiche. Pretty good, too.
364. Essential Defenders, vol. 4 by various. It took me a long time to get through this book. The stories just didn't hold my interest, especially the "Tunnelworld" one. That story dragged on and on. There was a great bit late in the book when Valkyrie and the Hulk go grocery shopping. Other than that, it was pretty dire.
365. Paying for It: A Comic-Strip Memoir about Being a John by Chester Brown. This is a very odd book. Self-serving, I have to assume. I don't think that Brown is going to convince anybody who doesn't already think prostitution should be decriminalized, but his arguments are interesting (if not persuasive). (Library.)
366. Chester 5000 XYV by Jess Fink. Silent steampunk erotic comics.

That's a lot of books, so I'll hold off on movies until next week.