What Are We Reading in November, 2011

Do we really not have a November thread up yet? If we do, apologies.

I just finished Hark, A Vagrant, which had a lot of funny stuff based on classic books and history. Next up is Box Office Poison by Alex Robinson. I really liked his Too Cool to be Forgotten.

I'm reading Hark! A Vagrant too! Really great stuff.

I read & enjoyed Drinking at the Movies, Julia Wertz's autobio graphic novel covering cartooning, her move from SF to NYC, bad choices, and plenty of drinking. I sure hope she gets sober in her next collection! But seriously, she's a funny writer. Her crude/basic drawing style took me a bit of getting used to, but then so did those of Matt Groening & Lynda Barry back in the 80s.

Also liked Batwoman #3 and Buffy Season 9 #3. Dollhouse: Epitaphs #5, the last in this miniseries, was okay.

I'm reading Ex Machina Deluxe Book 4. This is so good that makes you think when will they discover the book and make a TV series of it.

>3 apokoliptian:

Never I hope. The chances of making a good enough movie are slim to none - and I am a fan of the series. Too bad it was that short :)

Reading the new DC titles (#3 of all of them rolling in - I am still giving them all a chance) and trying to order the Flashpoint ones so I can read the whole thing in a row... I know that I read some here and there but not all of them. Add to that issues 3 and 4 in Punished and Daredevil, #1 and 2 in Buffy Season 9 and issue 1 of 7 Warriors.

Have a pile of 2000AD to go through so will probably get to these next.

So far - not so bad.

I'm near the end of Gahan Wilson: 50 Years of Playboy Cartoons, and it is beyond great.

Just finished Batman Noel. Love the art - probably not everyone's cup of tea but it is right up my alley. The story? I am a Dickens fan, Christmas Carol is one of my favorite books -- of course I like the story. The spin on it to make it a Batman story is... interesting. Overall - a very happy reader just now:)

Finally got around to reading the volumes of Yakitate!! Japan that I've had sitting on my table for the past two months. Yakitate!! Japan is the story of a teenage bread maker who decides he must make the ultimate Japanese bread - Ja-Pan. I'm up to the end arc of the series, where the protagonist and friends are taking part in a traveling TV battle with a rival bakery chain (with locally-themed ingredients). If it sounds insane, that's because it is. But in addition to being a great, crazy, shonen manga, the food descriptions are fantastic, and always make me hungry.

I've also got Drops of God sitting on my table. Me and the bf went to a release party earlier this month at a wine shop with free tastings. Mmm.

I read Joe Sacco's The Fixer, about a local who arranges logistics (transportation, meetings, etc.) for journalists covering the war in Bosnia. I wasn't crazy about it at first (though I did like the art) but it's grown on me after the fact. It's as much about the way stories about war are created (by participants, politicians, and journalists) and how some bits are bound up in a mix of fact and fiction than it is about the specific events of the war covered here.

>8 lucien:

Sacco has this very specific style that grows on you... so I suspect it was as much the topic as his usual way to write things. With this being said, the Fixer is probably my least favorite from his books -- I like it but I prefer some of his others a lot more.

> 6 Batman Noel sounds interesting, I might have to check that out now. I'm also a big Dickens fan, so it sounds like an interesting melding of some of my favorite things.

> 8 You might also like War is Boring, although I'll admit I wasn't in love with it myself.

Had been on a reading spree lately obviously:)

New Teen Titans: Games - if you liked the series (pre and post Crisis), this is a OGN to be checked. Set out of the official timelines (considering the mess the DC timelines are when titles from pre-Crisis are involved, this is not that hard), it is just one more adventure for the team. It is written in a way that will probably work for new readers as well -- no previous knowledge is needed really besides some basic facts of the universe (who is Bruce for example) -- but knowing some of the back stories (Faraday's for example) adds a layer to the whole thing. And makes some of the last panels really worthy - recognizing the people there (and Flash is not Barry - which puts the book after the Crisis). The team assembles to stop a thread to New York City. Between Wolfman and Perez, there is no way this to go wrong:)

Batman: Arkham City - may be a prequel for the game but it is also a pretty good standalone story - open ended and allowing a sequel (which will be the game although I won't be surprised to see a GN one as well down the road) but the story does finish in a way.

Ultimate X-men Ultimate Collection Volume 1 - Back to the beginning - I am starting to reread the Ultimate universe from the start... and picking up the titles I never read as I go. I still like the Universe. :)

Not really sure what's next -- had been looking at my shelves and wondering what to grab.

I have now finished Ex Machina Deluxe Book 5. Hmm... it has gone unexpected in end. I must read again and then I tell my opinion. But besides it, great read.

I have just received the Cover Story: The DC Comics Art of Brian Bolland. It does not have all Bolland's covers and some of them are presented as thumbnails, what is pretty lame. But Bolland's comments for the spolighted works redeem the book.

>11 AnnieMod: I liked Batman: Arkham City a lot, and my son likes the game a lot. :-)

I'm still reading Box Office Poison, which is a chunkster. It's gone from romantic relationships to an interesting take on the early days of comics and a writer who got screwed out of the rights in his famous character.

>13 jnwelch: I read Tricked several years ago, but remember enjoying it very much. I've been thinking about Box Office Poison...

Read Arkham Asylum (for the very first time, believe it or not) earlier this week. You can read my review here:

http://www.amazon.com/review/R3AKC51YZ19CSW/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm

>15 artturnerjr:
Talking about reviews, I need to write a few.

"pretentious" is the word for the book - and don't get me wrong, I love it. Every time I reread it, I find something new to like :)

In the meantime, finished 99 days - which ended up almost predictably (in part because of the description of the book - will it hurt not to give away one of the major plot twists in the description? I guess without it, the description is bland but... ). Nevertheless - I liked the art well enough and the story was actually pretty good (both of them - because the book is telling two stories).

And went through the three collections from John Tomlinson's Mercy Heights (the ones that came bagged with Judge Dredd Megazine (313-315). Now waiting for 316 to show up so I can read the last part. If you like stories about space hospitals, this one is actually a pretty good one - if a bit too violent in places (not that I complain).

*rant*
Why the 2 big universes cannot leave their titles without crossovers for a while? Marvel managed a total of 7 issues in the new Daredevil before making a cross over (DD 8 will be part 2 of the story in ASM 677). Captain America in issue 2 was annoying enough but kinda understandable - DDs reboots had never been real reboots, the back history is still there. But a real crossover is just not fun.
*end of rant*

Now let's see what DC will do in the new 52 - anyone wants to guess when will be the first crossover and where (the whole lot of the Batman books is the most likely candidate but who knows) and which will be the first canceled title? :)

At last I pick up a copy of All Star Superman, I read alot reviews and comments about this book so I didn't want to missed it. Another great surprise was the book of Xavier Dorison, The Sentinels, is about a Iron Man french army project, they try to build a super soldier at the begining of the XX century just in time of the First World War, they have problems keepiNg the subject alive but after many errors they find the perfect human, a scientiest. This is a french graphic novel but the first part is too short only 63 pages, is a 4 part story, I have only read the first volume in spanish dont know if there is a english version. Also from the same author(Xavier Dorison) Long John Silver, Tome 1 : Lady Vivian Hastings, "Twenty years after the events of the Hispaniola, Lady Vivian Hastings knocks on Dr Livesey's door. Her hated husband has sent word from the Amazon: He has found the fabled city of Guyana Capac, and his brother is to sell the entire domain to pay for an expedition, dispossessing Vivian in the process. But the lady intends to get her share and has come to seek the one man who can help her gain control of the ship: Long John Silver."

>18 EduardoT:

I hope someone will translate Les Sentinelles in English - my Spanish (and my French) are on par with my Chinese... which is non-existent... I suspect D&Q is the most likely one to do it... although some of his other books had been published by a myriad of different publishers...

On a side note - I am getting my comics in some semblance of order which includes some bagging and boarding (especially for the ones that are part of the permanent collection). However - this does not go very well - opened my DD box and next thing you know I was halfway through the first arc in the previous reboot. Finished the first two arcs, guess I am just continuing slowly through these while reordering them.

Anyone else unable to shelve/put books in order without reading them? :)

And I guess it is just my rant day.

Why DC cannot sew their omnibuses (at least the New Teen Titans one is not). I am not worried for the binding - it is sturdy enough so I don't expect it to crumble. But it cannot open flat (and I have a Marvel omnibus here (Whedon's Astonishing X-Men) which is sewn and can lay flat. Considering the size of these things, chances are that you won't hold them when you read them so they should really lie flat. It does open enough so it can be read but if it is on a table, I will need my hand to keep it open... Oh well - still a happy camper with the Omnibus. Just a bit irritated.

> 17

Annie, as I've probably ranted here before, I no longer buy Marvel monthly comics, because of the cost and ad-to-story pages ratio. But I do get the Daredevil trade paperbacks (though the last one--Shadowland--was disappointing). I can only hope they continue to create the collections in some logical way, including crossover stories if they are essential to an arc.

>22 edgewood:
I am reading only Daredevil and Punisher from Marvel - I have so much to catch up on any of the other titles that it is easier to just wait for the trades and try to catch up in the meantime... I used to get the Ultimate line as well but needed to cut some titles... so off they went. With my preorder service, I am paying 2.09 for the 2.99 titles... so I kinda tend to stick for a bit longer with some titles.

Which does not mean that they are not pissing me off with all the crossovers - I really want to see Marvel publish a title from the 616 universe for 12-18 months without crossing somewhere.

And yeah - collections that collect crossovers based on titles and not based on logical order are a pain. :)

> 21

Somewhat related: Last week I started The Someday Funnies, which is a giant, 16" x 12" hardback. After I few bouts reading it in my chair and cramping up my arms, I finally had to give in and lay on my bed to read.

>24 LitClique:

Yep - same thing with the Wednesday Comics - too big to read comfortably while holding it. Or the Prince Valiant reprints... These books should open flat... normal GNs do not bother me because someone supposedly hold them while reading but the big editions? :)

PS: How is the The Someday Funnies? I was wondering if I want to get it.

Had been reading #3 in a few of the DC series and remembered why I actually like single issues (even if I am buying collections later...) - there is nothing like the "what will happen next" waiting :)

After laughing my head off on the last page of JLA 3 (and if someone came to DC in the last months, it probably is not funny but the history of Aquaman actually makes it a very funny moment), I really want to see what's going to happen next. Add to this Batman, GL, Catwoman and a few more and it is quite a lot of issues where I cannot wait the next one...

Way too silent here :)

My reading spree continues:
Incognito and Incognito: Bad Influences - I like Criminal a lot, no idea why I never got around to read these two. Done now. Dark and gritty. And if you like the style - really good.

Ultimate Spider-Man, Ultimate Collection, Vol. 1 - as I said, I am reading the Ultimate Universe. My least favorite superhero but the book was actually enjoyable.

Who is Jake Ellis? - I like discovering new authors. Not bad...

Dan Dare Omnibus - and this is what most of the people that do not read comics expect comics to be. Well - I do not care. It is old fashioned but it is sweet - and compared to most of the titles I read, it is actually a breathe of fresh air. And that says a lot when the writer is Garth Ennis -- although you would not guess if you just read it.

Justice - one of the out of continuity stories about the JLA members (and the reserve cast. And the villains. And the sidekicks). I've read it a few years ago, I read it again this weekend, I still like it a lot.

Reviews for all of them in the respective works (touchstoned) if anyone is interested. :)

A second war themed comic for me this month with Vaughan's Pride of Baghdad. It's inspired by the true story of a group of lions that escaped from the Baghdad Zoo during the Iraq war. I thought it was a clever premise to use to talk about notions of freedom but the rest of the work doesn't live up to it. The artwork is very good but there's little story and the dialog is often poor. Still worth a read but I found it a little disappointing after the interesting set-up and all the praise that it's generated.

>16 AnnieMod:

Thanks for reading, AnnieMod. Yeah, I'm definitely going to have to give Arkham Asylum another go before it's due back at the library; I'm sure there's a lot going on that I missed on the first reading.

Flight Volume 5 was another good entry in this series edited by Kazu Kibuishi. 21 short illustrated stories by different authors, beautifully colored. No knock-outs for me, although the one about what happens when the earth stops spinning came close.

The Marvelous Land of Oz is a graphic adaptation of the second Oz book by L. Frank Baum. Well done again by Eric Shanower. Baum's books were favorites of mine as a kid, and I'll be picking up the third graphic adaptation at some point, Ozma of Oz.

re: 17

OMAC and Frankenstein will have a crossover early in the new year but it's more of a same story from different perspectives than a traditional crossover.

And I know that Animal Man and Swamp Thing will be also be crossing over but I'm pretty sure that it won't be until sometime into their seconds arcs.

>31 JGKC:

Yeah - these were kinda clear. As were all the Batman books. And the Stormwatch will have effects on the rest of the ex-Wildstorm titles (according to the solicitation for issue 5 (I think? Or was it 6?)) which probably will lead to a crossover at one point.

I am finishing re-reading Runaways Vol. 1 by Brian K. Vaughan and Adrian Alphona. Even if you know the secret that runs through the story (sorry kids, no spoilers here), the book does not wear out. The progression, characterization and rhythm are brilliant.

>31 JGKC:
So much for the initial wondering... in the issues from last week, they officially announce 2 crossovers (and one more potential -- similar to what was announced for Stomrwatch and the other ex-Wildstorm titles)

Animal Man/Swamp Thing (which was already mentioned)
Teen Titans/Superboy/Legion Lost
And The Batmans of course - the current storyline in the Batman may impact Nightwing, Batgirl, Birds of Prey and Red Hood and the Outlaws.

Oh well... will see where all this ends...

Box Office Poison by Alex Robinson was good, but longer than I wanted. It has an ambitious mix of many characters and storylines, and some streamlining would have been fine with me. (Tough to do, since it's a collection of the comic books). The story of old time cartoonist Irving Favor who was defrauded by Zoom Comics was particularly good.