Books - December 2007

Novels

Book of General Ignorance - John Lloyd and John Mitchinson

Graphic Novels

Batman - Batman and Son - Grant Morrison
Chronicles of Wormwood - Volume 1 - Garth Ennis
Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life - Bryan Lee O'Malley
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World - Bryan Lee O'Malley
Scott Pilgrim and the Infinite Sadness - Bryan Lee O'Malley
Spider-Man - Reign - Kaare Andrews
Wetworks - Book 1 - Mike Carey
Midnighter - Book 1 - Killing Machine - Garth Ennis
Fell - Book 1 - Feral City - Warren Ellis

And that closes out the year.
Statistics to come!!

Books - November 2007

November

Graphic Novels:
Confessions of a Blabbermouth – Mike and Louise Carey
The Spirit – Archives – Vol 1 – Will Eisner
*Silverfish – David Lapham - weird and awesome.
*The Last Call – Vasilis Lolos - don't know where it's going, but I love it.
*Godland Celestial Edition – Book 1 – Joe Casey - i've been a little non-committal with this book, but this sealed it.
Good as Lily – Derek Kirk Kim
*All-Star Superman – Vol 1 – Grant Morrison - Grant Morrison is my favorite comic writer these days.
Predator Omnibus – Vol 1 – Edited by Randy Stradley

Novels:
Sharp Objects – Gillian Flynn
Guests of the Ayatollah – Mark Bowen

Modern Country Music

So a couple of the young guys I work with at Borders like music as much as I do.
And we tend to have long, in-depth discussions about music.
We like different styles, but we all love music more than most people.
This confirms a theory I previously had about the freedom that men of my generation have when it comes to things like music, video games, and comics.
But the reason for this post is the following.
We have a 5 disc changer at work and very quickly, you tire of the discs that play on repeat. Well, for probably a month, I've heard the Across the Universe soundtrack easily 4 to 5 times per week. And I'm sick of it.
It doesn't help that it's shitty covers of Beatles songs.
Anyway, I mentioned to a co-worker that I was tired of it.
His response was that I should keep my mouth shut because the CD we're replacing it with is Carrie Underwood's new one.
And we had a discussion about why we hate country music.
Chiefly among the complaints given was that it sucks.
But that's not why I hate it.
I love traditional country music. I hate modern country.
And today, I was grooming myself in the mirror, thinking about this subject.
This sentence stuck in my head.
"The only difference between pop music and country these days is the amount of vocal talent."
I hate modern country music because there's simply nothing country about it.
It's slick and soulless.
And as we all know, I love soul.
But Johnny Cash had soul. He wrote songs he felt.
He didn't write singles. He wrote songs.
Willie, Waylon, Gram Parsons.
The list is long.
How is it that country music has so lost the point.
For the record, I feel the same way about soul music.
Very few modern soul singers have any soul at all.
They only seem to sing about how awesome they are or getting it on (Marvin gets a pass because even when he sang about getting it on, he had soul).
Every one of you that read this blog dislike country music for one reason or another.
Out of curiosity, what do you dislike about it?
If you like it, what do you like about it?
Sub-question: For the music you like, what is it that makes you like one song and not another?
Sound off!!

Books - October 2007

October

Graphic Novels
*X-Men First Class – Book 1 - Tomorrow’s Brightest – Jeff Parker - So much fun. Classic superhero.
Side Scrollers – Matthew Loux
Death Note – Book 11 – Kindred Spirit
Death Note – Book 12 – Finis
Star Wars: A Long Time Ago – Doomworld – Roy Thomas and Archie Goodwin
4 – Book 1 – A Wolf at the Door – Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa

Novels
The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid – Bill Bryson
*Bottomfeeder – B.H. Fingerman - It took a few chapters to really hit me, but when it did, it was excellent.
*Slam – Nick Hornby - One of my favorite authors writes about a teenage pregnancy. The book is aimed at teenager and it's pretty real and pretty blunt with no easy answers.

Books - September 2007

September

Graphic Novels

Adventures in Oz – Eric Shanower
* Fantastic Four – HC – Book 1 – Mark Waid - One of the great runs on Fantastic Four. We'll miss you, Ringo.
* Re-Gifters – Mike Carey - This line may be geared towards young girls, but it's been high quality so far.
Zombie Tales – Book 1 – Edited by Marshall Dillon
Hellboy – Animated – Book 1 – The Black Wedding – Jim Pascoe
* Death Note – Book 5 – Whiteout – Tsugumi Ohba - Still great.
* Death Note – Book 6 – Give-and-Take – Tsugumi Ohba - So good.
* Death Note – Book 7 – Zero – Tsugumi Ohba - The last awesome volume before the series declines.
* Annihilation – Book 2 – Keith Giffen, Javier Grillo-Marxuach, and Simon Furman - Cosmic fun!! Up there with Planet Hulk!!
Death Note – Book 8 – Target – Tsugumi Ohba
Death Note – Book 9 – Contact – Tsugumi Ohba
* Jack Kirby’s Fourth World Omnibus – Vol 1 – Jack Kirby - Maybe the first cosmic epic. Great and weird and awesome.
* The Hedge Knight – George R.R. Martin - Very well done. I can see why people like it so much.
Chunchu: The Genocide Fiend – Vol 1 – Kim Sung-Jae
Death Note – Book 10 – Deletion – Tsugumi Ohba

Novels

Spook Country – William Gibson
* Neuromancer – William Gibson - Spook Country was so not great, I had to reread this awesome book. For cyberpunk, this is the pinnacle.
* Moon Called - Patricia Briggs - A strong book with werewolves and vampires and all. Also, I liked Mercy. She was a strong female protagonist and there just aren't enough of those.
* Neal Stephenson – Snow Crash - A little talky, but really great just the same.

Books - August 2007

August 2007

Graphic Novels:

* Doctor Strange – The Oath – Brian K. Vaughan - This is not my favorite Vaughan work, but Martin's art always stands out to me. I love it for the art.
*Wasteland – Book 1 – Cities in Dust – Antony Johnston - This is a great book. I can't wait for more.
*My Faith In Frankie – Mike Carey - I read this in singles and loved it. Unfortunately, they left out the colors in the trade. Lame.
Star Wars Omnibus – X-Wing Rogue Squadron – Volume 1 – Haden Blackman and Mike Baron
* Annihilation – Book 1 – Keith Giffen, Dan Abnett, and Andy Lanning - This is awesome. I generally prefer DC to Marvel, but of late, Marvel has had some really fun stuff. This is one of the best things they did all year.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer Omnibus – Vol 1 – Christopher Golden, Dan Brereton, Paul Lee, Scott Lobdell, and Fabian Nicieza
Banya The Explosive Delivery Man – Book 1 – Kim Young-Oh
* Death Note – Book 1 – Boredom - Tsugumi Ohba - A great manga. Really awesome idea and completely riveting. Seriously.
* Death Note – Book 2 – Confluence – Tsugumi Ohba - More greatness.
Flight Vol 3 – Edited by Kazu Kibuishi
* Death Note – Book 3 – Hard Run – Tsugumi Ohba - This volume was really a high point.
* Death Note – Book 4 – Love – Tsugumi Ohba - It says something that I read 4 volumes of this in the same month.
* Devil Dinosaur Omnibus – Jack Kirby - Kirby is awesome. This wasn't my favorite work of his, but it had that weird Kirby vibe to it. A lot of fun.

Novels:

Battle Royale – Koushun Takami

Rating

Since Jennifer and I started this book project, she has recently decided to rate the books she reads on a 5 star scale. I don't want to do that publicly. I don't feel it's the best idea for a burgeoning writer.
That said, I do want to note books that I loved.
So I will be bolding the entry and adding a short note by anything that really blew my mind. If you're reading this and your book is on the list, but isn't in bold, it doesn't mean I didn't like it. I don't absolutely love everything I read. That said, I can only think of 2 or 3 books on the whole list I didn't like.
So assume I probably liked it.

Books - July 2007

July 2007

Graphic Novels:

Fantastic Four/Inhumans – Carlos Pacheco
Maintenance – Book 1 – It’s a Dirty Job – Jim Massey
Crossing Midnight – Book 1 – Cut Here – Mike Carey
Dark Goodbye – Volume 1 – Frank Marraffino
Borderline – Volume 1 – Carlos Trillo
The Hills Have Eyes – The Beginning – Jimmy Palmiotti
The Lone Ranger – Book 1 – Now & Forever - Brett Matthews
* The Damned – Book 1 – Three Days Dead – Cullen Bunn - I've loved Hurtt's work for some time, but he outdid himself. And I quite enjoyed the story.
Clubbing – Andi Watson

Novels:

Monster Island – David Wellington
The Devil You Know – Mike Carey
Storm Front – Book 1 of the Dresden Files – Jim Butcher
* Crooked Little Vein – Warren Ellis - Too short, but crazy and entertaining. I wish it were like twice as long, which for me, is saying something.
* A Dangerous Man – Charlie Huston - A great ending to a great trilogy.

Books - June 2007

June 2007

Graphic Novels:

* Batman Black and White – Book 1 – edited by Mark Chiarello - Unbelievable. Absolutely unbelievable.
* Batman Black and White – Book 2 – edited by Mark Chiarello - More of the same.
Star Wars Legacy – Book 1 – Broken – John Ostrander
The Plain Janes – Cecil Castelucci
Jonah Hex – Book 2 – Guns of Vengeance – Jimmy Palmiotti
Aliens vs. Predator Omnibus – Vol 1 – Randy Stradley and Ian Edginton
* Blade – Book 1 – Undead Again – Marc Guggenheim - I'm not a Blade fan, but this book is a lot of fun.
* Planet Hulk – Greg Pak - Probably the most fun Marvel comic I have read in some time.

Novels:

The Know-It-All: One Man’s Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World – A.J. Jacobs
* Out – Natsuo Kirino - Took a bit to heat up, but it turned out to be an excellent crime book. I got this sickening feeling in my stomach as things started going awry.
My Dirty Little Book of Stolen Time – Liz Jensen

Books - May 2007

May 2007

Graphic Novels:

Red Rocket 7 – Mike Allred
Showcase Presents: The Phantom Stranger – Book 1 – Robert Kanigher
* Agents of Atlas – Jeff Parker - So much fun. And the art was great.
Golgo 13 – Book 6 – One Minute Past Midnight – Takao Saito
Nevada – Steve Gerber
Loveless – Book 1 – A Kin of Homecoming – Brian Azzarello
Bad Company – Book 1 – Goodbye Krool World – Peter Milligan
Green Lantern Corps – Book 1 – To Be a Lantern – Dave Gibbons
Ghost Rider – The Road to Damnation – Garth Ennis
XIII – Book 1 – The Day of the Black Sun – J. Van Hamme
The Book of Lost Souls – Book 1 – Introductions All Around – J. Michael Straczynski

Novels:
My Horizontal Life – Chelsea Handler
Layer Cake – J.J. Connolly
* Rant: An Oral Biography of Buster Casey – Chuck Palahniuk - More good Palahniuk. Not his best book and I was confused during some sequences, but I quite liked it.
* Six Bad Things – Charlie Huston - I bought this when I was in the middle of reading the first in the trilogy, but didn't read it for a few months. I think this one was the best of the three.
5 People Who Died During Sex and 100 Other Terribly Tasteless Lists – Karl Shaw

Books - April 2007

April - 2007

Graphic Novels:
Last Hero Standing – Tom DeFalco
Jonah Hex – Book 1 – Face Full of Violence – Jimmy Palmiotti
* Fables – Book 6 – Homelands – Bill Willingham - I can't explain why, but I have had the reveals of this story figured out for some time. That said, it's extremely well done.
Deathblow – Sinners and Saints – Brandon Choi and Jim Lee
Thunderbolts – How to Lose – John Arcudi
2020 Visions – Jamie Delano
Skrull Kill Krew – Grant Morrison and Mark Millar
Pantheon High – Book 1 – Demigods and Debutantes – Paul Benjamin
Catwoman – The Replacements – Will Pfeifer
The Punisher – Book 6 – Barracuda
28 Days Later: The Aftermath – Steve Niles


Novels:
I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell – Tucker Max
* Anansi Boys – Neil Gaiman - I loved reading this book. In my opinion, a million times better than American Gods.
* The Clean-up – Sean Doolittle - I love books where everything goes horribly wrong and this is a strong offering in that genre.

Books - March 2007

March - 2007

Graphic Novels:
Lazarus Churchyard – The Final Cut – Warren Ellis
Essential Painkiller Jane – Joe Quesada and Jimmy Palmiotti
The Exterminators – Book 1 – Bug Brothers – Simon Oliver
Edgar Allan Poe’s Haunt of Horror – Richard Corben
Elektra – Book 4 – Frenzy – Robert Rodi
* Gyakushu! – Book 1 – Dan Hipp - Absolutely no idea what it was about, but I loved it.
The Foot Soldiers – Book 1 – Jim Krueger
The World Below – Paul Chadwick
Ultimate Spider-man – Book 13 – Hobgoblin – Brian Michael Bendis
Swamp Thing – Book 1 – Dark Genesis – Len Wein

Novels:
* Candy Girl: A Year in the Life of an Unlikely Stripper – Diablo Cody - A fast read. A lot of fun too.
At Risk – Stella Rimington
Clown Girl – Monica Drake

Kratos

God of War and God of War II have been beaten by me at my house. They are undeniably two of the greatest and most fun games I have ever played and I feel sorry for any stooge (and also poor/homeless/any other reasonable reason for not having these games) unfortunate enough not to own a PS2. I love that even now, with the PS3 out there, these guys made a PS2 game. And if it is the very last PS2 game I ever buy, I will have known that this system went out with a hell of a bang.
The best thing I can say about God of War II is that it is a worthy successor of God of War. Now, let's talk God of War III.

Books - Feb 2007

Books - Feb 2007

Graphic Novels
Fury: Peacemaker – Garth Ennis
* I Yam What I Yam – The Complete Popeye Vol 1 – E.C. Segar - Been a Popeye fan since I was a kid. GET THIS COLLECTION!!
* Manhunter – Street Justice – Book 1 – Marc Andreyko - This is a critical favorite, though sales aren't that great. It's really good though.
Howard the Duck – Steve Gerber
Shaman Warrior – Park Joong-Ki
* Fables – Book 5 – The Mean Seasons – Bill Willingham - A great series.
Weird Science – The EC Archives – Vol 1 – Al Feldstein
Mail Vol 1 – Housui Yamazaki
Villains Vol 1 – Adam Cogan
Iron West – Doug TenNapel
James Bond: Serpent’s Tooth – Doug Moench
Satsuma Gishiden Vol 1 – Hiroshi Hirata
The Surrogates – Robert Venditti
* Arkham Asylum – Grant Morrison - This is a classic. I liked it a lot.
Marvel Adventures – The Avengers – Book 1 – Heroes Assembled – Jeff Parker
* Oldboy Vol 1 – Garon Tsuchiya - What a great concept. I wish I thought of it.
Iron Ghost – Chuck Dixon
* Oldboy Vol 2 – Garon Tsuchiya - Still great.
* Desolation Jones – Book 1 – Warren Ellis - So out there, but a lot of fun to read.
My Dead Girlfriend Vol 1 – Eric Wight

Novels:
* I Am Legend – Richard Matheson - A classic. A great novel packaged with some iffy short stories.
* The Wheelman – Duane Swierczynski - This is a great crime novel. Loved it.
* Working Stiff: The Misadventures of an Accidental Sexpert – Grant Stoddard - Not profound, but a lot of fun.
The Pistol Poets – Victor Gischler

2007 - A new project - Books - January 2007

Around New Year's, Jennifer came to me with an idea she had found somewhere.
We're charting and recording the books we read this year.
Month by month and then on January 1, 2008, we're going to look back and see what we read.
Well, since it's February 1st today, it's time to look at January's books.
And I decided to post them.
I got a lot read in January. A lot of free time during vacation.

January 2007

Graphic Novels:
Planetary Book 1 – All Over the World – Warren Ellis - Has my favorite issue of Planetary, #3. READ IT!!
Planetary Book 2 – The Fourth Man – Warren Ellis - More greatness.
Planetary Book 3 – Leaving the 20th Century – Warren Ellis - So good.
Fables Book 1 – Legends in Exile – Bill Willingham - A lot of fun.
Fables Book 2 – Animal Farm – Bill Willingham - Still good.
Fables Book 3 – Storybook Love – Bill Willingham - Still good.
Essential Godzilla - King of the Monsters – Doug Moench
Catwoman Book 1 – Dark End of the Street – Ed Brubaker - I loved this.
Tarzan: The Joe Kubert Years Vol 1 – Joe Kubert
Batman Year 100 – Paul Pope
Fables – The Last Castle – Bill Willingham
Catwoman Book 2 – Crooked Little Town – Ed Brubaker - Love Brubaker, love the art, love the tone.
American Virgin Book 1 – Head – Steven Seagle
Kamandi: The Last Boy on Earth – DC Archives vol 1 – Jack Kirby
Fables – Book 4 - March of the Wooden Soldiers – Bill Willingham - Still very good.

Novels:
City of the Dead – Brian Keene
Already Dead – Charlie Huston
The Morningstar Strain – Plague of the Dead – Z.A. Recht