Light Week

281. 
     B.P.R.D., vol. 13: 1947 by Mike Mignola, Joshua Dysart, Gabriel Ba, & Fabio Moon. Another look into the B.P.R.D.'s past.
     
282. House of M: Wolverine, Iron Man, Hulk by various. Another collection from a superhero cross-over. (Checked out of the library.)
     
283. 
     Wednesday Comics by various. Some of the stories here (especially "Kamandi", "Strange Adventures", and "Metamorpho") are fantastic. Unfortunately, there are enough stories that are just okay ("Sgt. Rock" and "Batman") or awful ("Superman" and "Teen Titans") that I couldn't make myself buy a copy. (Library.)
     
284. Proven Guilty by Jim Butcher. Volume 8 of the Dresden Files. I'm definitely hooked. (Borrowed from Michael.)
     
285. Never As Bad As You Think by Kathryn & Stuart Immonen.

It says something about me that in a light week, I finished five books.
Now for movies:

• To Catch a Thief Hitchcock, Grant, & Kelly. Doesn't get much better than this.
  
• Doctor Who: Full Circle
  
• Doctor Who: State of Decay This is the story that got me hooked on Doctor Who when I saw it sometime in the 80s.

Vacation Week

269. Huntress: Cry for Blood by Greg Rucka & Rick Burchett. An exploration of the Huntress. Very well done.
     
270. Baby's First Mythos Lovecraftian alphabet book. Oddly, I cannot find it on the Powell's website even though I bought the book at their Burnside store.
     
271. 
     Astonishing X-Men: Ghost Box by Warren Ellis, Simone Bianchi, et al. Ellis bringing SF concepts (in this case: invasion from parallel worlds) to the X-Men.
     
272. 
     Beasts of Burden: Animal Rites by Evan Dorkin & Jill Thompson. This is a fantastic collection of a series of stories about a group of dogs (and a cat) who fight supernatural menaces to their homes & people. Thompson's beautiful watercolors do an amazing job of conveying the story. And the whole book is well-designed. I bought this for myself, but once Teena read it, she claimed it for herself. (Borrowed from Teena.)
     
273. 
     Batwoman: Elegy by Greg Rucka & J.H. Williams. Lots of books with beautiful artwork this week, and this is one of them. Great story too.
     
274. Agents of Atlas: Marvel Boy by Jeff Parker, Feliz Ruiz, et al. New mini-series about a character from the 50s, with reprints of some of those 50s stories.
     
275. 
     Neil Young's Greendale by Joshua Dysart & Cliff Chiang. I am not familiar with the album that this graphic novel is based on, but maybe I should be. (Checked out of the library.)
     
276. Runaways, vol. 9: Dead Wrong by Terry Moore & Humberto Ramos. I avoided this for a while because I soured on Moore with the later issues of his Strangers in Paradise, but I've been enjoying Echo, so I picked this up. Pretty good.
     
277. Hotwire: Requiem for the Dead by Steve Pugh, from an idea by Warren Ellis. Science fiction exorcism.
     
278. Essential Defenders, vol. 1 by Steve Englehart, Sal Buscema, et al. Marvel's "non-team".
     
279. North World, vol. 3: Other Sagas by Lars Brown. More fantasy adventures.
     
280. Cthulhu Tales, vol. 4: The Darkness Beyond by various. Anthology of Lovecraftian stories.

Even though I was off work the entire week, I didn't watch much in the way of movies:

• Doctor Who: Survival The final Doctor Who story before the show went on "hiatus" for a long, long time. Not the best story to go out on.
  
• Inception Both Teena & I were really impressed by this. Hard to say much more without spoilers, so I'll leave it at that.
  
• Five Million Years to Earth (a.k.a. Quatermass and the Pit). There's something about British science fiction movies & television from the 60s and 70s. It just seems smarter than American SF from the same period. Maybe it's because it assumed its audience is made up of adults. And even when it is aimed at children (i.e. Doctor Who), it doesn't talk down to them. Anyway, this is a great story about an unusual find buried beneath London.

More Books

259. Chew, vol. 1: Taster's Choice by John Layman & Rob Guillory. This was pretty good, but I don't get all the praise I've seen for it online. (Checked out of the library.)
     
260. 
     Witchfinder, vol. 1: In the Service of Angels by Mike Mignola & Ben Stenbeck. Another Hellboy spin-off, this one set in Victorian times. As long as Mignola keeps writing these, I'll keep reading them.
     
261. Agents of Atlas: Turf Wars by Jeff Parker, Gabriel Hardman, et al. A great updating of characters from the 50s. This comic deserves to sell a lot more than it does, and I will be sad when the latest version finishes with issue 5.
     
262. One Model Nation by C. Allbriton Taylor, Jim Rugg, & Cary Porter. I would have enjoyed this more if I knew more about the Baader-Meinhoff gang and the German music scene in the 70s. (Library.)
     
263. Agents of Atlas vs. X-Men & the Avengers by Jeff Parker, Gabriel Hardman, et al. I picked this up at a signing even at the shop where I get my comics, and Parker signed this for me. Plus, he drew an awesome sketch of Gorilla-Man for me.
     
264. Spider-Man: Death and Dating by various. (Library.)
     
265. Unknown Soldier vol. 1: Haunted House by Joshua Dysart & Alberto Ponticelli. Good but depressing comic about the situation in Uganda. (Library.)
     
266. Star Drop by Mark Oakley. Oakley doesn't publish books very often, but when he does, they are worth the wait. This is a collection of a web comic about a galactic princess hiding on Earth. Sweet & fun.
     
267. Showcase Presents: Dial H for Hero by Dave Wood & Jim Mooney. Entertaining but not-very-good comics about a teenager who has an alien artifact that transforms him into a different superhero every time he spells out H-E-R-O on the dial.
     
268. 
     Gotham Central, bk. 3: On the Freak Beat by Greg Rucka, Ed Brubaker, Michael Lark, et al. Police procedural set in Gotham City. Great stuff. Glad it's getting reprinted in a nice format (that includes all the issues).

Just a couple of movies this week:

• Special: Specioprin Hydrochloride (Rx) A man participates in a clinical trial for a new anti-depressant and begins to think he has super-powers. This is good (albeit depressing) up until the end. I just don't like the ending. Neither did Teena.
  
• Mystery Science Theater 3000: Jack Frost Russo-Finnish production of a folk tale. It is somehow reassuring that other countries also produce terrible movies for children.

Lots of Books (many of them from the library)

240. Captain America: Theater of War by Paul Jenkins, et al. (Checked out of the library.)
     
241. Children of the Sea, vol. 2 by Daisuke Igarashi. Slow-paced, but beautiful manga about two boys who were raised by a pod of dugongs. (Library.)
     
242. Girl Genius book9: Agatha Heterodyne and the Heirs of the Storm by Phil and Kaja Foglio. This is good as always, but it does sometimes feel like the story has stalled.
     
243. Black Widow: Deadly Origin by Paul Cornell, Tom Raney, & John Paul Leon. (Library.)
     
244. 
     DMZ, vol. 8: Hearts and Minds by Brian Wood, Riccardo Burchilli, & Ryan Kelly. Still great, even though the main character has become extremely unlikeable.
     
245. 
     Scott Pilgrim's Finest Hour, vol. 6 by Bryan Lee O'Malley. Great and satisfying conclusion to the series. I hope the upcoming movie lives up to its source material.
     
246. Avengers/X-Men: Utopia by Matt Fraction, et al. (Library.)
     
247. Wolverine Weapon X, vol 1: Adamantium Men Premiere by Jason Aaron & Ron Garney. (Library.)
     
248. The 120 Days of Simon: A Graphic Odyssey Through Sweden by Simon Gardenfors. A Swedish cartoonist and rapper spends four months couch surfing. I have to say he comes across as a bit of a jackass in this, but that may be deliberate. (Library.)
     
249. Gotham City Sirens: Union by Paul Dini, Guillem March, et al. The story is good, but the art is very cheesecake-y, and not in a good way. (Library.)
     
250. Power Girl: A New Beginning by Justin Gray, Jimmy Palmiotti, & Amanda Conner. Now, Amanda Conner does a good job of cheesecake art. Plus, she does great facial expressions and background details. (Library.)
     
251. 
     Starman Omnibus, vol. 4 by James Robinson, Tony Harris, et al. This contains several issues that had not been previously reprinted, including the crossover with Hellboy.
     
252. Theo and the Blue Note by Peter Kuper. Kid's book about jazz. (Library.)
     
253. Tiny Titans: Adventures in Awesomeness by Art Baltazar and Franco. More kid's comics. (Library.)
     
254. 
     FreakAngels, vol. 4 by Warren Ellis & Paul Duffield. The latest collection of Ellis's webcomic.
     
255. X-Men First Class: Finals by Jeff Parker, Amilcar Pinna & Roger Cruz. I got this signed by Parker on Saturday, when he appeared at Cosmic Monkey Comics. He is one of my favorite current comics writers.
     
256. 
     B.P.R.D., vol. 12: War on Frogs by Mike Mignola, John Arcudi, Guy Davis, et al. Collection of one-shots about the B.P.R.D.'s fight against the frog monsters.
     
257. Irredeemable, vol. 3 by Mark Waid, Peter Krause, & Diego Barreto. (Library.)
     
258. The Night Owls by Peter & Bobby Timony. The adventures of a 1920s detective agency that specializes in dealing with the supernatural.

And even with all that, I had time to watch some things:

• Munchhausen Gorgeous, extravagant German film from 1943 that contains absolutely no reference to the war.
  
• Mystery Science Theater 3000: Lost Continent
  
• Trek in the Park: Space Seed. Live re-creation of a classic Star Trek episode. This was a blast, made better by bumping into gretchin and Sven.
  
• MST3K: Beast of Yucca Flats

Scott Pilgrim #6 Is Coming!

229. 
     Zorro, vol. 2: Clashing Blades by Matt Wagner & Cezar Razek. And with this title, I have read at least one book beginning with each letter of the alphabet this year.
     
230. Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life: Vol. 1 by Bryan Lee O'Malley. I decided to re-read the first five volumes to remind myself of the story.
     
231. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, vol. 2 by Bryan Lee O'Malley.
     
232. Scott Pilgrim & the Infinite Sadness, vol. 3 by Bryan Lee O'Malley.
     
233. 
     Scott Pilgrim Gets It Together, vol. 4 by Bryan Lee O'Malley.
     
234. Scott Pilgrim vs. the Universe, vol. 5 by Bryan Lee O'Malley. This series is a blast, and I'm really looking forward to volume six (although not enough to go to a midnight sale to get it).
     
235. Dead Beat by Jim Butcher. I'm enjoying these books more and more as they go along. (Borrowed from Michael.)
     
236. The Incredible Hercules: The Mighty Thorcules by Greg Pak, Fred Van Lente, Reilly Brown, & Rodney Buchemi. In this volume, Hercules has to disguise himself as Thor. (Checked out of the library.)
     
237. 
     Showcase Presents Enemy Ace by Robert Kanigher, Joe Kubert, et al. The stories in the first third of this book are pretty repetitive. But after that, they really start taking off. The contrast between Kanigher's superhero comics (completely insane) and his war comics (really well done) is amazing.
     
238. Detroit Metal City, vol. 5 by Kiminori Wakasugi. (Library.)
     
239. 
     Weathercraft: A Frank Comic by Jim Woodring. Woodring's comics are always dreamlike (and often nightmarish), especially the Frank comics, which are wordless. Fantastic stuff. (Library.)

And a few movies:

• Dexter: The Complete Second Season. I found this just as excellent as the first season.
  
• Mystery Science Theater 3000: Crash of the Moons.
  
• Cinematic Titanic Live: Danger on Tiki Island. Within the movie, the characters call the island "Blood Island". It seems to me that would have made just as good a title.
  
• Adam's Rib. Hepburn & Tracy. One of the screenwriters was Ruth Gordon. Yes, THAT Ruth Gordon.

Not Too Many Books

221. 
     Blood Rites by Jim Butcher. The sixth book in the Dresden Files series. Vampires this time around. Still really enjoying these. (Borrowed from Michael.)
     
222. Rin-Ne, vol. 3 by Rumiko Takahashi. Yeah, it's formulaic. But it's entertaining. (Checked out of the library.)
     
223. 
     20th Century Boys, vol. 9: Rabbit Nabokov by Naoki Urasawa. I'm still hooked, but a plot element was introduced that seems aimed at stretching out the story. Given how much I love Pluto, I'll be sticking around for a while, but the fact that we are not yet half-way through makes me wonder if Urasawa can maintain the story so long.
     
224. The Goon Volume 8: Those That Is Damned by Eric Powell. Things are getting serious. (Library.)
     
225. Fullmetal Alchemist, vol. 22 by Hiromu Arakawa. Getting ready for the series climax. (Library.)
     
226. Echo Vol. 3: Desert Run by Terry Moore.
     
227. Echo, Vol. 4: Collider by Terry Moore. Good stuff.
     
228. 
     Hellboy, vol. 10: The Crooked Man and Others by Mike Mignola, Richard Corben, et al. Amazingly, this is the first time we've seen Hellboy tackle American folklore. Creepy story with fantastic art by Corben.

• RiffTrax Shorts-a-Poppin'. More educational & cautionary short films with sarcastic commentary.
  
• Doctor Who: Resurrection of the Daleks. This is one of the bleaker and more violent Doctor Who stories.
  
• Micmacs. Great movie from the director of Amelie. Unfortunately, the theater-going experience was not nearly as pleasant. A jerk sat next to Teena & texted all through the movie. Plus he became verbally abusive when asked to stop. People are awful.
  
• Let The Right One In. Now this is a vampire movie. Not a sparkle to be seen. I do have difficulty believing the American remake will be nearly as good.

I recently finished the main game portion of Super Mario Galaxy 2. There is quite a bit of bonus content that unlocks after you complete the main game. Unfortunately, you have to be a considerably better player than I am to get access to all of it. I did what I could. This game is a blast and definitely harder than the first one.

Happy Independence Day!

217. Booster Gold vol. 4: Day of Death by Dan Jurgens, et al. (Checked out of the library.)
     
218. 
     I Kill Giants by Joe Kelly & JM Ken Niimura. Wow, just wow. What an amazing book. I picked this up because it was recommended by a podcast I listen to (Awesomed By Comics), and I am really glad I did. Any kind of summary I attempt would not due justice to this story. Just let me say this is the best book I've read all year. I cannot recommend this book enough.
     
219. Wolverine First Class: Class Actions by Peter David, Dennis Calero, et al. (Library.)
     
220. 
     Death Masks by Jim Butcher. Still really enjoying the Dresden Files novels. (Borrowed from Michael.)

And a couple of movies:

• Doctor Who: Image of the Fendahl. I had fond memories of this story. I recall it as one of my favorites, and I am glad to say that it still holds up today. Very atmospheric & creepy.
  
• The Secret of Kells. Neither Teena nor I had heard of this movie before we watched the Oscars & saw that it was nominated for best animated film. We thought it looked interesting, so when it came to the Hollywood Theatre, we decided we had to check it out. And we are very glad we did. Gorgeous, stylized animation about the origins of the Book of Kells. Just beautiful.
  
• Daria: The Complete Animated Series. I had seen some of this show when it first aired, but there was quite a bit I had never seen before we got the DVDs. Great series.