Teena's Birthday Post

I finished Mass Effect earlier today, so I'm hoping I'll be back on schedule for a while. (No guarantees though. Mass Effect 2 is available used pretty cheap, so I may just move on to it. I doubt it, though. I expect my next video game will be a re-play of Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door, something completely different from the gritty science fiction I have been playing.
Anyway, on to the books I've finished in the last 3 weeks:

402. Supergod by Warren Ellis & Garrie Gastonny. The third and most apocalyptic of Ellis's three meditations on how people with superpowers would deform the world (following Black Summer and No Hero.)
403. Spider-Girl: Family Values by Paul Tobin, Clayton Henry, et al. (Checked out of the library.)
404. Secret Warriors, vol. 6: Wheels Within Wheels by Jonathan Hickman & Alessandro Vitti. The final volume of this series looking at super-spies in the Marvel Universe. It depicts things as being much grayer than is typical in superhero comics. (Library.)
405. Unwritten, vol. 4: Leviathan by Mike Carey & Peter Gross.
     
     Man, I love this series and its exploration of stories. This volume has a couple of moments that just stunned me, and I was left saying, "Of course. It couldn't be anything else." This is the best comic being published at the moment.
406. Everything, vol. 1: Blabber, Blabber, Blabber, Blabber: Comics from around 1978-81 by Lynda Barry.
     
     Barry's art and writing style have changed in the 30-some years since these comics were created, but she was good even then. Looking forward to the next volume.
407. The Legion of Super-Heroes: The Curse by Paul Levitz and Keith Giffen. Over a year of LSH comics from Levitz' peak era. Very glad these comics have been collected.
408. Neonomicon by Alan Moore & Jacen Burrows.
     
     An interesting (and very disturbing) take on Lovecraft. One I've never seen before. It ends in an oddly touching way. Moore may have become obsessed with sex as he has gotten older, but he can still write rings around most people.
409. Essential Captain America, vol. 5 by Jack Kirby, et al. Two-thirds of this book is by Kirby, and reading these comics now, I find it hard to believe there was a time I didn't like his art style. When I was a kid, I thought it was too blocky. I eventually figured things out and see Kirby for the genius he was. Great stuff (even if it is pretty damn silly).
410. DC Comics Presents: Catwoman: Guardian of Gotham by Dough Moench & Jim Balent. An Elseworlds story with Catwoman & Batman trading places.
411. Black Jack, vol. 16 by Osamu Tezuka. The penultimate volume of this medical manga. (Library.)
412. DC Comics Presents: JLA: The Age of Wonder by Adisakdi Tantimedu, Galen Showman & P. Craig Russell. Another Elseworlds story, this one setting superheroes in the early part of the 20th century. Beautiful art and a good story.
413. 20th Century Boys, vol. 17: Cross-Counter by Naoki Urasawa.
     
     At this point I can't believe there was a time I was considering dropping this series. I can't wait to see where the story goes next. This volume contains a hint at a revelation that has me more interested than ever.
414. Chew, vol. 4: Flambe by John Layman & Rob Guilory. (Library.)
415. DC Comics Presents: The Jack Kirby Omnibus Sampler. I can't afford The Jack Kirby Omnibus, so I'm making do with this. Some great old comics here.
416. Star Wars Omnibus: Quinlan Vos - Jedi in Darkness by John Ostrander, Jan Duursema, et al. Glad to see these comics collected. Ostrander has a great handle on showing somebody tempted by the Dark Side. Much better than Lucas (not that that's saying much.)
417. Showcase Presents All Star Comics by Paul Levitz, Joe Staton, et al. 70s comics set on Earth-2.
418. Ozma of Oz by L. Frank Baum, adapted by Eric Shanower & Skottie Young.
     
     I'm loving these comics adaptations of the Oz books, if for no other reason than they give me a chance to understand the jokes that went over my head when I read the books as a kid. (Borrowed from Teena.)
419. Detroit Metal City by Kiminori Wakasugi. The final volume of this absurd series about death metal in Japan. (Library.)
420. Scarlet, vol. 1 by Brian Michael Bendis & Alex Maleev. This story about a young woman fighting a corrupt system seems especially relevant given that the Occupy Wall Street movement began since these comics were published. (Library.)
421. Yotsuba & !, vol. 10 by Kiyohiko Azuma
     
     More adorableness. (Library.)
422. DC Comics Presents: Batman: Bad by Doug Moench & Barry Kitson. It'd be nice to see more of Moench's stuff get collected (and not just the Batman as a vampire stuff that has been), but I'll make do with stuff like this.
423. Essential Fantastic Four, vol. 7 by various. Super-hero comics from the 70s. The final issue in this collection was the first issue I got as part of a subscription I had when I was a kid. I'm going to have to pick up the next volume and see if the rest of those comics hold up to my memories. (I suspect they won't.)
424. FF, vol. 1: Tomorrow by Jonathan Hickman, Steve Epting & Barry Kitson. Hickman tosses out huge SF concepts all through these comics. He's a great fit for the Fantastic Four. (Library.)
425. Superman: The Black Ring, vol. 1 by Paul Cornell & Pete Woods. Ironic that Superman appears at the head of this book's title, since he doesn't appear in it. This is all about Lex Luthor and his ambition. It's tough to pull off a comic focused on a villain, but Cornell pulls it off.

Since I've been so far behind and this post is so long, I'm going to put movies off until next week.

Another Excuse

No house guest this week, but Mass Effect was calling, so no real post this week either. There's a 4-day weekend coming up, so maybe I'll get caught up then.

An Excuse

We have a houseguest this week, so no post.

Man, I'm really enjoying Mass Effect. What a great game. That's why this update is late.

391. Detroit Metal City, vol. 9 by Kiminori Wakasugi. More absurdity. (Checked out of the library.)
392. Stumptown by Greg Rucka & Matthew Southworth
     
     Crime story set in Portland. Great story and beautiful art. It's fun identifying the locations Southworth used for reference in his art. The book design is gorgeous, as well. An amazing package all around. I hope there's more to come, but in the current comics market, I'm not holding my breath. This book was a birthday present. Thanks, Gemma & Dee!
393. God Save the Queen by Mike Carey & John Bolton.
     
     Urban fantasy. Bolton is a fantastic artist, and this story plays to his strengths.
394. Alpha Flight Classic, vol. 2 by John Byrne. Some awkward story-telling here & there, but still plenty entertaining. I hope we see a third volume of Byrne's run and then another with Mantlo's & Mignola's issues.
395. Boy's Ranch by Joe Simon & Jack Kirby. I've had this book for years but kept putting off reading it. Reading the collection of Simon & Kirby's Sandman comics a few weeks back convinced me to crack it open. I'm glad I did. Fun stuff.
396. The Last Dragon by Jane Yolen & Rebecca Guay.
     
     Comics adaptation of one of Teena's favorite stories by Yolen. Beautifully done. (Borrowed from Teena.)
397. Beards of Our Forefathers: A Collection of Wondermark Comic Strips by David Malki !
     
     Web-comic collection. The creator repurposes art from old magazines, advertisements and books. Very absurd stuff. Lots of fun.
398. All-New Atom: Small Wonder by various. I really enjoyed the end of Gail Simone's run. But the writer who took over after she left made the story entirely too serious.
399. Captain America: The Trial of Captain America by Ed Brubaker, Butch Guice, et al. This continues to be a great series.
400. Zorro, vol. 3: Tales of the Fox by Matt Wagner & Francesco Francavilla.
     
     And with this book, I have completed by 2011 list of A-Z book titles.
     
401. DC Comics Presents: Batman: Blink by Dwayne McDuffie & Val Semeiks. While it is nice to see more of McDuffie's comics collected, it would have been nice if this had come out before he died.

Movies:

• Mystery Science Theater 3000: Manos: The Hands of Fate. Actually watched this a few weeks back but kept forgetting to list it here.
• Doctor Who: The Creature from the Pit. I had seen this once before when PBS showed it in the 80s, but I remembered almost nothing about it. It's quite funny.