Books, Books, Books

426. Fullmetal Alchemist, vol. 25 by Hiromu Arakawa. So close to the end. Almost there. (Checked out of the library.)
427. The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick.
     
     After seeing the movie (see below), I knew I had to read this. I am glad I did. I wish I had listened to Teena sooner when she recommended it. Great book, with an interesting mix of text and pictures. (Borrowed from Teena.)
428. New Mutants: Unfinished Business by Andy Lanning, Dan Abnett, Leandro Fernandez & Michael Ryan. Pretty good super-hero stuff. I enjoyed it, but I am very glad I didn't buy this: $20 for a hardcover collection of 4 issues. Marvel seems determined to wring the last drop out of their audience. (Library.)
429. Echoes by Joshua Hale Fialkov & Rashan Ekedal. Suspense/horror. I saw the twist coming early on, and I don't like the way the ending was handled. (Library.)
430. Walt Disney's Donald Duck: Lost in the Andes by Carl Barks.
     
     Oh man, there are some great comics collected here. So glad Fantagraphics is collecting Bark's duck stories. Great mix of humor and adventure in these comics. My one quibble is that I don't know how good an idea it was to include, in the premiere volume of this new series of reprints, a story that includes African characters given that the story is from the 50s and follows the then standard depictions of the time.
431. Superman: Secret Origin by Geoff Johns & Gary Frank. Enjoyable story about the beginning of Superman's career, although I find that "one-note" is a little generous in describing a couple of the characters, and it's just a little creepy how closely Frank models Clark/Superman on Christopher Reeve. (Library.)
432. Ray Bradbury's the Martian Chronicles: The Authorized Adaptation
     by Dennis Calero. This book is too short. There isn't enough space to adequately adapt the stories, and so the art doesn't bring anything new. It just serves as a replacement for description. Occasionally awkward and confusing word balloon placement highlights how this book would have been better served by allowing more space for the story to flow. Much as I love the original, I can't recommend this. (Library.)
433. Irredeemable, vol. 6: by Mark Waid, Peter Krause & Diego Barreto. Still enjoying this series. (Library.)
434. Marvel Adventures Fantastic Four: Four-Three-Two-One... by Paul Tobin, et al. More great all-ages comics.
435. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?: Dust to Dust, vol. 2 by Chris Roberson & Robert Adler. Concluding volume of this authorized prequel. I enjoyed the story and art, and Roberson does a great job of integrating technological advances that have arisen since Dick wrote the novel. (Library.)

And now for movies from November and the beginning of December:

• K-9 and Company. Pilot for a Doctor Who spin-off that never went anywhere.
• Up. Pixar does great movies. There are a couple points where I always tear up when watching this. If you've seen it, you know where they are.
• Mystery Science Theater 3000: Secret Agent Super Dragon.
• Hugo. Great adaption of the novel I wrote about above. Scorsese really made it a love-letter to early cinema.
• Doctor Who: The Invisible Enemy. The introduction of K-9.
• Mystery Science Theater 3000: Santa Claus. Each December there are a handful of movies Teena and I always watch as Christmas approaches. This is one of them. Look for the others as the month progresses.
• The Film Crew: Killers from Space. Another bad 50s science fiction movie made fun of by MST3K alumni.