Continuing with catching up.

248. Courtney Crumrin & the Coven of Mystics by Ted Naifeh. I like these well enough to check them out of the library. My best guess as to why they don't quite work for me is that they come across as a little too angsty & "Oh, nobody understands the burden of being me." (Library.)
     
249. Scream Queen by Ho Che Anderson. (Library.)
     
250. Superman: True Brit by Kim "Howard" Johnson & John Byrne, with John Cleese. I had hopes for this story: John Cleese helping write a "What if Kal El's ship landed in England rather than Kansas?" Sounds promising, but overall it was just lame. The jokes fell flat. Too many of them were rehashed Monty Python gags that weren't actually funny but instead reminded the reader of something that actually was humorous. The book suffers in comparison. Not recommended. (Library.)
     
251. The Losers, vol. 2: Double Down by Andy Diggle, Jock, & Shawn Martinbrough. I enjoyed this, but I can't think of anything to say about it. (Library.)
     
252. Batman: War Games, Act 2: Tides by various. (Library.)
     
253. Canvas by Alex Fellows. (Library.)
     
254. Proof of Concept by Larry Young et al. The idea behind this book is that the writer throws out a bunch of ideas for possible comic book series or graphic novels & then has a variety of artists illustrate them. None of the concepts really grabbed me, but I did like a couple of them. (Library.)
     
255. What's Michael?, vol. 10: Sleepless Nights by Makoto Kobayashi. Japanese comics about cats.
     
256. True Story, Swear to God: 100 Stories by Tom Beland. A collection of comic strips. I see now why people have been raving about Beland.
     
257. Filler by Rick Spears and Rob G. I rather enjoyed this gritty crime drama until I got to the end. The twist at the end of the book renders everything that came before unnecessary. It made the whole experience unsatisfying. (Library.)
     

Only 4 weeks behind now.

Another quiz, courtesy of Mr. Piggs and Gemma.

You are a Black Coffee

At your best, you are: low maintenance, friendly, and adaptable At your worst, you are: cheap and angsty You drink coffee when: you can get your hands on it Your caffeine addiction level: high

What Kind of Coffee Are You?

I would debate the level of caffeine addiction, but the rest seems about right.

Here's a Harry Potter personality quiz based on the Myers-Briggs test.


Harry Potter Personality Quiz by Pirate Monkeys Inc.

Here's two weeks' worth of books.

238. Wizard's Castle by Diana Wynne Jones. This is a compilation of Howl's Moving Castle and its sequel, Castle in the Air. I didn't reread these before we went to see Miyazaki's adaptation of the first book, and I'm glad I didn't. They are quite different, and if I'd reread the book first, I would have spent the movie making comparisons between the two, instead of just enjoying it. Of the two books, I prefer the latter. I suspect that's because of the Arabian Nights feel.
     
239. Magic Pickle by Scott Morse. Silly.
     
240. Michael Chabon Presents the Amazing Adventures of the Escapist, vol. 2 by various. I stopped buying the individual issues of this series because Dark Horse was releasing the collections mere weeks after all the issues collected (both of them) were published. I didn't feel like spending money on the same material twice so close together. And now they seem to have stopped collecting issues. It looks like I'll have to hunt down back issues, and I know I'm going to do so. Will Eisner contributed to one of the uncollected issues.
     
241. The Secrets, vol. 1: The Other Statue by Edward Gorey. (Checked out of the library.)
     
242. Powers, vol. 8: Legends by Brian Michael Bendis & Michael Avon Oeming. I know Bendis isn't all that popular among comics bloggers, but I still like his stuff. (Although Powers is the only comic of his where I don't wait for the trade. Wait, I also buy individual issues of The Pulse.) Lots of revelations in this collection (and the infamous "monkey sex" issue).
     
243. Supreme Power, vol. 1 by J. Michael Straczynski. I found it interesting that the supplementary material in this collection never once mentions the fact that the Squadron Supreme (which Straczynski is re-imagining in this series) was based on the Justice League. I guess there are too many trademark issues, but it's obvious (and always has been).
     
244. The Wizard King, book 1: The King of the World by Wallace Wood. I have to say that the thing that most stands out in my mind about this book is how the coloring has added clothes to all the femal characters. It's clear from the linework that Wood intended them to be nude. (Library.)
     
245. Age of Bronze, vol. 2: Sacrifice by Eric Shanower. Shanower is doing an absolutely amazing job of retelling the Trojan War. It's taking a long time, I assume because the vast majority of comic buyers aren't interested in a realistic depiction of life in the bronze age. (The only supernatural elements Shanower uses are visions & prophecies.) It's clear the book is meticulously researched. It's also clear Shanower cares a lot about the subject. I hope this sells very well outside of comic book stores, because it's wonderful stuff, and I want to see it completed.
     
246. Negative Burn Winter Special 2005 by various. Negative Burn was a great anthology comic in the 90's, but anthology comics almost never sell very well. NB lasted longer than most, but it too was cancelled. Now it's back in a series of specials. (Well, assuming more than one gets produced. And given that this "Winter Special" didn't come out until June, I'm not getting my hopes up.)
     
247. Julius by Antony Johnstone & Brett Weldele. Shakespeare's Julius Caesar retold as the story of contemporary London mobsters. That should be enough to tell you whether or not you'd be interested in it.
     

Only 5 weeks behind now.

(By the by, I ended up not getting the books I linked to earlier.)

Just putting a couple Amazon links in for my own use.
Ultimate X-Men, vol. 4
New Avengers, vol. 1

It's way past time I started updating books again. I'm not going to get caught up tonight, but if I don't get started, I'll never make any progress.

226. Get Fuzzy, vol. 5: Say Cheesy by Darby Conley. "Get Fuzzy" is my favorite newspaper strip that isn't "Doonsebury." Always happy to see another collection.
     
227. Ojo by Sam Kieth, with Alex Pardee & Chris Wisnia. Kieth writes & draws strange books. I like weirdness, but sometimes I don't know what to make of his work.
     
228. The Atomics: Spaced Out & Grounded in Snap City by Mike Allred et al. Silly, good-natured fun.
     
229. Hunter X Hunter, vol. 1 by Yoshihiro Togashi. I keep discovering more shonen (boy's) manga that I enjoy. They're horribly formulaic (a boy is determined to become the best at something; with pluck, determination, and the help of the friends he makes along the way {at least some of whom will be former rivals or adversaries}, he achieves his goal), but I still like them.
     
230. Ultimate Fantastic Four, vol. 3: N-Zone by Warren Ellis & Adam Kubert. I really enjoyed Ellis's take on this new version of the FF. But he quit after 12 issues, so this will be the last of the collections I get.
     
231. Courtney Crumrin, vol. 3: In the Night Kingdom by Ted Naifeh. I wish I could put my finger on why Naifeh's work doesn't quite click with me. I feel I should like it, but there's something about it that doesn't work for me. (Checked out of the library.)
     
232. Bleach, vol. 4: Quincy Archer Hates You by Tite Kubo. Another shonen series I've been enjoying. At least I'm saving some money by not buying these. (Library.)
     
233. Peanutbutter & Jeremy's Best Book Ever by James Kochalka. I'm finally beginning to appreciate Kochakla's work. This is damn cute but not cloying. (Library.)
     
234. Little Lit: It Was a Dark and Silly Night by various. (Library.)
     
235. The Baroque Cycle, Vol. One: Quicksilver by Neal Stephenson. It took me a long time to finish this book, but I really enjoyed it. I'm looking forward to the next two volumes, but I've been putting them off because they're just as long as this one.
     
236. Pearls Before Swine: This Little Piggy Stayed Home by Stephan Pastis. A comic strip collection. (Library.)
     
237. Planetes, vol. 4, pt. 2 by Makoto Yukimura. This is the final volume of a highly impressive science fiction manga. (I have no idea why the last two volumes are labeled vol. 4, pts. 1 & 2. Why not simply five volumes?) Hard SF is such a rarity to find in comics of any sort, plus this one has some emotional depth to it as well. Unfortunately, this appears to be a high-water mark among manga, and I may have some difficulty finding anything else this good.
     

That's it for now. I'll try to get caught up by the end of this week, but I'm not making any promises. I'm still 7 weeks behind.

Gretchin pointed out that Blogger will now host images, so here's a copy of The Moon.

(Okay, I need to figure out exactly what graphics programs Teena has so I can fix that.)