tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-52182032024-03-19T01:19:22.037-05:00Inside Joke Theatre - Randy Lander's BlogHi, I'm Randy Lander, and this is my blog.Randy Landerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01927023143072517623noreply@blogger.comBlogger1270125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5218203.post-31096768246529063752024-03-01T00:00:00.096-06:002024-03-01T00:00:00.241-06:00Monthly Update - February 2024<p> <b>Read 12 Novels (Last Year 10) (2)</b></p><ul><li>Way of Shadows</li></ul><b>Read 50 Graphic Novels (Last Year 27) (6+3=9)</b><br /><div><ul><li>Batman Detective Comics by Tynion HC Vol 3-4</li><li>Batman & Robin by Tomasi Book One</li></ul></div><div><div></div><div><div><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol></div><ol></ol><ol></ol><b>Comics I Read This Month (Last Year 442) (34+36=70)</b><div><ul><li>Action Comics #1062</li><li>Avengers #10</li><li>Avengers Twilight #3</li><li>Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees #3</li><li>Birds of Prey #6</li><li>Cobra Commander #2</li><li>Daredevil #6</li><li>Doctor Strange #12</li><li>Duke #3</li><li>Edge of Spider-Verse #1</li><li>Fantastic Four #17</li><li>GI Joe Real American Hero #304</li><li>Green Lantern War Journal #6</li><li>If You Find This, I'm Already Dead #1</li><li>Nightwing #111</li><li>Sensational She-Hulk #5</li><li>Spider-Boy #4</li><li>Spider-Punk Arms Race #1</li><li>Star Trek #17</li><li>Star Trek Defiant #11-12</li><li>Star Wars Mace Windu #1</li><li>Superior Spider-Man #4</li><li>Superman #11</li><li>The Deviant #4</li><li>The Infernals #1</li><li>The One Hand #1</li><li>The Sentry #3</li><li>The Six Fingers #1</li><li>Titans #8</li><li>Transformers #5</li><li>Ultimate Black Panther #1</li><li>Ultimate Spider-Man #2</li><li>Usagi Yojimbo Ice & Snow #5</li><li>Vengeance of the Moon Knight #2</li><li>W0rldTr33 #8</li></ul><div><b>Top 10 Comics This Month:</b></div></div></div><div><ol><li>Duke #3</li><li>Transformers #5</li><li>Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees #3</li><li>Fantastic Four #17</li><li>Birds of Prey #6</li><li>If You Find This, I'm Already Dead #1</li><li>Cobra Commander #2</li><li>Nightwing #111</li><li>Action Comics #1062</li><li>Avengers Twilight #3</li></ol></div><b>TV I Watched This Month:</b><ul><li>After Midnight "Season 1"</li><li>Avatar The Last Airbender "Season 1"</li><li>Last Week Tonight "Season 11"</li><li>Mr. & Mrs. Smith "Season 1"</li><li>Quantum Leap "Season 2"</li><li>Scrubs "Season 1-3"</li><li>True Detective Night Country "Season 4"</li></ul><b>Top 50 TV This Year So Far:</b></div><div><div><ol><li>Fargo</li><li>Quantum Leap</li><li>Monarch Legacy of Monsters</li><li>Avatar the Last Airbender</li><li>After Midnight</li><li>Echo</li><li>Mr. & Mrs. Smith</li><li>True Detective Night Country</li><li>Reacher</li></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol></div><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><b>Movies I Watched This Month: </b><div><ul><li>Double Indemnity</li><li>Sunset Boulevard</li><li>TMNT Mutant Mayhem</li><li>Some Like It Hot</li><li>The To-Do List</li><li>Chungking Express</li><li>The Beekeeper</li><li>It Happened One Night</li><li>Midnight Run</li><li>Emperor's New Groove</li><li>I'm Your Woman</li><li>Nimona</li><li>The Marvels</li><li>Rear Window</li><li>The Thieves</li><li>The Fast and the Furious</li><li>Fast & Furious</li><li>His Girl Friday</li><li>Orion and the Dark</li><li>The Farewell</li><li>The Lost City</li><li>22 Jump Street</li><li>Drive-Away Dolls</li></ul><div><b>Favorite New Movies This Year So Far:</b></div><div><ol><li>Beekeeper</li><li>Self-Reliance</li><li>Drive-Away Dolls</li><li>Orion and the Dark</li></ol></div></div></div>Randy Landerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01927023143072517623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5218203.post-28116358718170625542024-02-01T00:00:00.086-06:002024-02-01T00:00:00.129-06:00Monthly Update - January 2024<p><b>Read 12 Novels (Last Year 10) (1)</b></p><ul><li>Sous Chef 24 Hours on the Line</li></ul><b>Read 50 Graphic Novels (Last Year 27) (6)</b><br /><div><ul><li>Berlin</li><li>Black Cat by Jed MacKay Omnibus</li><li>Batman Detective Comics by Tynion Vol 1-2 HC</li><li>Spider-Man Quantum Quest</li><li>Daredevil to Heaven Through Hell Vol 4 HC</li></ul></div><div><div></div><div><div><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol></div><ol></ol><ol></ol><b>Comics I Read This Month (Last Year 442) (34)</b><div><ul><li>Action Comics #1061</li><li>Avengers Inc. #5</li><li>Avengers Twilight #1-2</li><li>Batman Off-World #3</li><li>Cobra Commander #1</li><li>Daredevil #5</li><li>Deviant #3</li><li>Duke #2</li><li>Fantastic Four #15-16</li><li>G.I. Joe Real American Hero #303</li><li>Green Lantern War Journal #5</li><li>Immortal Thor #6</li><li>Nightwing #110</li><li>Pine & Merrimac #1</li><li>Sensational She-Hulk #4</li><li>Sentry #2</li><li>Somna #2</li><li>Spider-Boy #5</li><li>Star Trek #16</li><li>Star Trek Defiant 2024 Annual</li><li>Superior Spider-Man #3</li><li>Superman #10</li><li>Swan Songs #6</li><li>Titans #7</li><li>Titans Beast World #3-6</li><li>Transformers #4</li><li>Ultimate Spider-Man #1</li><li>Universal Monsters Dracula #4</li><li>Usagi Yojimbo Ice & Snow #4</li><li>Vengeance of Moon Knight #1</li><li>W0rldtr33 #7</li><li>Wesley Dodds Sandman #4</li></ul><div><b>Top 10 Comics This Month:</b></div></div></div><div><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>Avengers Inc. #5</li><li>Duke #2</li><li>Fantastic Four #15-16</li><li>Deviant #3</li><li>Transformers #4</li><li>Ultimate Spider-Man #1</li><li>Pine & Merrimac #1</li><li>Vengeance of Moon Knight #1</li><li>Cobra Commander #1</li><li>Nightwing #110</li></ol></div><b>TV I Watched This Month:</b><ul><li>After Midnight "Season 1"</li><li>Echo "Season 1"</li><li>Fargo"Season 5"</li><li>Monarch Legacy of Monsters "Season 1"</li><li>Reacher "Season 2"</li><li>Schitt's Creek "Season 4-6"</li><li>True Detective Night Country "Season 4"</li></ul><b>Top 50 TV This Year So Far:</b></div><div><div><ol><li>Fargo</li><li>Monarch Legacy of Monsters</li><li>After Midnight</li><li>Echo</li><li>True Detective Night Country</li><li>Reacher</li></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol></div><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><b>Movies I Watched This Month: </b><div><ul><li>Hunger Games Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes</li><li>Heat</li><li>Godzilla King of the Monsters</li><li>Godzilla vs. Kong</li><li>The Equalizer 1-3</li><li>Out of Sight</li><li>Self Reliance</li></ul><div><b>Favorite New Movies This Year So Far:</b></div><div><ol><li>Self-Reliance</li></ol></div><b>Places I Ate This Month (Last Year 370): (25)</b><div><ul><li></li><li>Arby's</li><li>Baguette House</li><li>Corner Bakery</li><li>Deckhand Oyster Bar</li><li>Firehouse Subs</li><li>Golden Chick</li><li>Interstellar BBQ</li><li>Jewboy Burgers</li><li>Kebab Shop</li><li>KG BBQ</li><li>Liberty BBQ</li><li>P. Terry's</li><li>Pizza Hut</li><li>Plantain Bar</li><li>Popeye's</li><li>Ramen Tatsu-Ya</li><li>Santorini</li><li>Shake Shack (x2)</li><li>Smoky Mo's</li><li>Tsos Chinese</li><li>Tumble 22</li><li>Whataburger (x2)</li><li>Whiskey Cake</li></ul></div></div></div>Randy Landerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01927023143072517623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5218203.post-38683621763051208072024-01-01T00:00:00.104-06:002024-01-01T00:00:00.141-06:00Monthly Update - December 2023<p> <b>Read 50 Graphic Novels + 12 Novels (Last Year 68) (27+10)</b></p><ul><li>Where The Body Was HC</li><li>Dark Knights of Steel Vol 1-2 HC</li><li>DCeased War of the Undead Gods HC</li><li>Adventures of Superman Jon Kent HC</li><li>Parker Girls HC</li><li>Nice House on the Lake HC</li><li>Invincible Iron Man by Busiek & Chen Omnibus</li></ul><div><div></div><div><div><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol></div><ol></ol><ol></ol><b>Comics I Read This Month (Last Year 363) (405+37=442)</b><div><ul><li>Avengers Inc. #4</li><li>Batman City of Madness #2</li><li>Batman Off-World #2</li><li>Batman Santa Klaus Silent Knight #1-4</li><li>Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees #2</li><li>Birds of Prey #4</li><li>Daredevil #4</li><li>Deadly Hands of Kung-Fu Gang War #1</li><li>D&D Fortune Finder #2</li><li>Duke #1</li><li>Fantastic Four #14</li><li>G.I. Joe A Real American Hero #302</li><li>Green Lantern War Journal #4</li><li>Immortal Thor #5</li><li>Moon Knight #30</li><li>Nightwing #109</li><li>Original X-Men #1</li><li>Sensational She-Hulk #3</li><li>Spider-Boy #2</li><li>Spider-Woman #2</li><li>Star Trek #15</li><li>Star Trek Defiant #10</li><li>Superior Spider-Man #2</li><li>The Deviant #2</li><li>The Sentry #1</li><li>Thunderbolts #1</li><li>Titans #6</li><li>Titans Beast World #2-3</li><li>Transformers #3</li><li>Universal Monsters Dracula #3</li><li>Usagi Yojimbo Ice & Snow #3</li><li>Wesley Dodds the Sandman #3</li><li>W0rldTr33 #6</li></ul><div><b>Top 10 Comics This Month:</b></div></div></div><div><ol><li>Transformers #3</li><li>Duke #1</li><li>Batman Santa Klaus Silent Knight #1-4</li><li>Birds of Prey #4</li><li>Fantastic Four #14</li><li>Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees #2</li><li>Nightwing #109</li><li>Moon Knight #30</li><li>The Deviant #2</li><li>Star Trek Defiant #10</li></ol></div><b>TV I Watched This Month:</b><ul><li>Blue Eye Samurai "Season 1"</li><li>Doctor Who "60th Anniversary"</li><li>Fargo"Season 5"</li><li>Julia "Season 2"</li><li>Last Week Tonight "Season 10"</li><li>Monarch Legacy of Monsters "Season 1"</li><li>Quantum Leap "Season 2"</li></ul><b>Top 50 TV This Year So Far:</b></div><div><div><ol><li>Ted Lasso</li><li>The Bear</li><li>Fall of the House of Usher</li><li>Barry</li><li>Poker Face</li><li>Shrinking</li><li>Star Trek Strange New Worlds</li><li>Last of Us</li><li>My Adventures with Superman</li><li>Afterparty</li><li>Party Down</li><li>One Piece</li><li>GenV</li><li>Only Murders in the Building</li><li>Sex Education</li><li>What We Do In The Shadows</li><li>Star Trek Lower Decks</li><li>Fargo</li><li>Marvelous Mrs. Maisel</li><li>It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia</li><li>Loki</li><li>Quantum Leap</li><li>Monarch Legacy of Monsters</li><li>Mrs. Davis</li><li>Primo</li><li>Special Ops: Lioness</li><li>Never Have I Ever</li><li>Harley Quinn</li><li>The Mandalorian</li><li>Justified City Primeval</li><li>Last Week Tonight</li><li>Julia</li><li>Doctor Who</li><li>Muppet Mayhem</li><li>Schmigadoon</li><li>Hijack</li><li>Bupkis</li><li>White House Plumbers</li><li>Top Chef</li><li>Ghosts</li><li>Star Trek Picard</li><li>Minx</li><li>The Good Fight</li><li>Star Wars Bad Batch</li><li>Twisted Metal</li><li>Good Omens</li><li>Grand Crew</li><li>Ahsoka</li><li>Scott Pilgrim Takes Off</li><li>The Simpsons</li></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol></div><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><b>Movies I Watched This Month: </b><div><ul><li>They Cloned Tyrone</li><li>The Hunt for Red October</li><li>Noelle</li><li>Clear and Present Danger</li><li>The Naked Gun</li><li>Bottoms</li><li>Leave the World Behind</li><li>We're the Millers</li><li>The Killer</li><li>Beverly Hills Cop</li><li>Avengers Endgame</li><li>Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3</li><li>Kiss Kiss Bang Bang</li><li>Die Hard</li><li>Violent Night</li><li>Elf</li><li>Klaus</li><li>Polite Society</li><li>Chicken Run Dawn of the Nugget</li></ul><div><b>Favorite New Movies This Year So Far:</b></div><div><ol><li>Spider-Man Across the Spider-Verse</li><li>The Marvels</li><li>Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3</li><li>Joy Ride</li><li>Dungeons & Dragons Honor Among Thieves</li><li>Mission Impossible Dead Reckoning Part One</li><li>Scream VI</li><li>Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny</li><li>Barbie</li><li>Talk to Me</li><li>Evil Dead Rise</li><li>Fast X</li><li>Totally Killer</li><li>Quiz Lady</li><li>No One Will Save You</li><li>Asteroid City</li><li>The Killer</li><li>Operation Fortune Ruse de Guerre</li><li>Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar</li><li>Transformers Rise of the Beasts</li><li>Polite Society</li><li>Theater Camp</li><li>No Hard Feelings</li><li>Blue Beetle</li><li>Knock at the Cabin</li><li>Leave the World Behind</li><li>Bottoms</li><li>Ant-Man and Wasp Quantumania</li><li>Cocaine Bear</li><li>Chicken Run Dawn of the Nugget</li><li>They Cloned Tyrone</li></ol></div><b>Places I Ate This Month (Last Year 441): (346+24=370)</b><div><ul><li>Baguette House</li><li>Chuy's</li><li>Deckhand Oyster Bar</li><li>El Dorado Cafe</li><li>Hopdoddys</li><li>Jersey Mikes</li><li>Jewboy Subs</li><li>Kebab Shop (x2)</li><li>Kemuri Tatsu-Ya</li><li>KG BBQ</li><li>Mighty Fine Burgers</li><li>Panda Express</li><li>Pinthouse Pizza</li><li>Popeyes</li><li>Shake Shack (x2)</li><li>Smoky Mo's</li><li>Tarka</li><li>Tso's Chinese Delivery</li><li>Wendy's</li><li>Whataburger</li><li>Y'alls</li><li>Wingstop</li></ul></div></div></div>Randy Landerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01927023143072517623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5218203.post-49216775096428783542023-12-28T21:13:00.213-06:002023-12-28T21:13:00.147-06:00Best of 2023 - Comics<p> <b>Ongoing Comics:</b></p><div>Last year I read about 350 comics, and this year I read 450, which is the most I've read in the last three years.</div><div><br /></div><div>It seems like there's a lot more miniseries than anything else, just like last year. I had 10 best new series and 9 best ongoing series. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Best Ongoing Series:</b></div><div><br /><div><b>1. Nightwing (#100-109) (Last year #1 Ongoing)</b></div><div>A very satisfying 100th issue that brought back the Titans lead to a slightly down year for Nightwing, as it spent a lot of time setting up Titans, and playing around in a supernatural story featuring Z-list villain Neron, but it came on strong at the end with a fun pirate-themed story. Even lower tier Nightwing by Taylor is still pretty great, though, and it remains my favorite ongoing title.</div><div><br /></div><div><div><b>2. Fantastic Four (#3-14) (Last year #7 New Series)</b></div><div>A bunch of good done-in-one sci-fi superhero stories, closing out with dinosaur Dr. Doom and a cliffhanger payoff to the missing Baxter Building that was set up in the first two issues makes this my favorite Fantastic Four run in a long time. I might even put it above Byrne and Waid/Wieringo if it keeps up this pace.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>3. Moon Knight (#19-30, Annual #1) (Last year #3 Ongoing)</b></div><div>Starting the year off with the deep cut villainy of The Commodore and closing it off by seemingly killing off Marc Spector to start a relaunch in 2024, this got almost too in-the-weeds Moon Knight continuity at times, but McKay's Moon Knight continues to be a fantastic take on the character, and the strong supporting cast and Midnight Mission setting gives me a lot of hope for the new Moon Knight in the new year.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>4. Doctor Strange<span style="white-space: pre;"> (#</span>1-10) (Last year #4 New)</b></div><div>I enjoyed McKay's series focused on Clea, but the return of Stephen Strange, working with his warlord wife, has been even better. General Strange is a really exceptionally adversary, and I like the setup of W.A.N.D. and various other trappings of this book.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>5. Star Trek<span style="white-space: pre;"> (</span>3-16, Annual 1, Day of Blood, Day of Blood Shax's Best Day)</b></div><div>2023 was the year I finally watched all of Deep Space 9 and finally fell in love with Lower Decks, which made it the perfect year for this series, which like Lower Decks, uses every bit of Star Trek continuity, and like Deep Space 9, is not afraid to explore the darker aspects of Trek. The Day of Blood crossover, finishing off the story started in Star Trek #1 last year, was really strong, and the new status quo for the Theseus is really working well so far. Better than at least half of the Star Trek shows, and as strong as some of the best.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>6. Spider-Man <span style="white-space: pre;">(</span>4-11) (Last Year #10 New)</b></div><div>I'll be honest, I think Dan Slott's story, introducing Spider-Boy, is merely OK compared to the work he did on Amazing Spider-Man, but with maybe the worst Amazing Spider-Man I've ever seen by Zeb Wells as a backdrop, this is a welcome port in the storm for Spider-Man fans who don't want to tear their hair out every month.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>7. Punisher<span style="white-space: pre;"> (</span>9-12) (Last Year #8 New)</b></div><div>Turns out this was a miniseries, but I'm counting it in the ongoing series list, because I've got too many miniseries already. This was a satisfying end for Frank Castle, and while I'm almost certain they'll bring him back, this story will resonate better if they don't.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>8. Daredevil<span style="white-space: pre;"> (</span>7-14) (Last Year #2 Best Returning)</b></div><div>Zdarsky's Daredevil ended... kinda weird, to be honest. But there was a lot to like throughout, and it remains another great run for a character who has had a surprising number of great runs.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>9. Saga<span style="white-space: pre;"> (</span>61-66) (Last Year #4 Best Returning)</b></div></div><div>There was a time when Saga was my runaway favorite series, and the loss of Marko and the many delays have turned it into one I merely like. But I do still like it.</div><div><br /></div></div><div><div><b>Best New Series:</b></div><div><br /></div><div><div><b>1. Transformers (#1-3)</b></div><div>We're three issues into Daniel Warren Johnson's Transformers run and it's the best Transformers I've ever read. I'm a mild Transformers fan, but DWJ is doing something really interesting and unique. Specifically the action sequences are fantastic, but the tie-in to the new Energon universe is making me like the G.I. Joe/Transformers connection in a way I haven't previously.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>2. Duke (#1)</b></div><div>It may seem a little crazy to put a book on the #2 spot when I've only read one issue, but it's a great first issue, and it plays very well with what has been going on with the Energon books Transformers and Void Rivals. There's a lot of promise in the G.I. Joe universe for the first time in a while, and since G.I. Joe is what got me into comics, I'm pretty excited about it.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>3. Avengers Inc. (#1-4)</b></div><div>Well as it turns out this is canceled with the next issue, but that doesn't change the fact that this Wasp-led P.I. book is the best Avengers book in a long time. Al Ewing does some great work with B- and C-list villains and heroes, and I'm sad we won't be getting more of it.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>4. Birds of Prey (#1-4)</b></div><div>Kelly Thompson has a fresh take on this team that I've always liked, with some great moment-to-moment writing and a fun concept. Leonardo Romero's art is at least half the selling point, though. I've always liked his art but his new style is really beautiful.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>5. Star Trek Defiant (#1-10)</b></div><div>This companion book to Star Trek, putting Worf together with a crew including Spock, Lore, Sela, Ro, and several others, is just as good as the primary series. And the post-Day of Blood status quo, turning them into bounty hunters dealing with other Next Gen-era threats, has been great so far.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>6. Titans (#1-6)</b></div><div>While I really like the idea of Titans as the replacement for the Justice League, based out of Bludhaven, and Taylor is always good with the moment-to-moment writing, I've been a little let down by the plot so far. It's still fun, but I hope that the story re-aligns after Beast World ends.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>7. Immortal Thor<span style="white-space: pre;"> (#1-5)</span></b></div></div><div><span style="white-space: pre;">Al Ewing's take on the Hulk was a great ride, and his take on Thor is completely different, but of the same </span></div><div><span style="white-space: pre;">level of quality and fitting the character just as well.</span></div><div><span style="white-space: pre;"><br /></span></div><div><b>8. W0rldTr33 (#1-6)</b></div><div>One of the creepiest horror series I've ever read, Tynion continues to be the best horror writer in comics.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>9. Void Rivals (#1-6)</b></div><div>The launching point of the Energon Universe, it's an interesting sci-fi story so fr.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>10. Green Lantern War Journal (#1-4)</b></div><div><div>This new series focused on John Stewart has been not only good for him, but the best use of Steel I've seen since Priest wrote him. </div><div><br /><b>Miniseries:</b><br /><br /></div><div><div>1. Peacemaker Tries Hard</div><div>2. Batman Santa Claus</div><div>3. Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees</div><div>4. Adventures of Jon Kent Superman</div><div>5. Rare Flavours</div><div>6. Dark Knights of Steel (#9-12) (#1 best miniseries)</div><div>7. Marvel Unleashed</div><div>8. Star Trek Holo-Ween</div><div>9. Star Trek Deep Space Nine The Dog of War</div><div>10. Secret Invasion</div><div>11. The Deviant</div><div>12. DCeased War of the Undead Gods (#1 best returning)</div><div>13. Quest</div><div>14. TMNT/Usagi Yojimbo Wherewhen</div><div><div>15. Seasons Have Teeth</div></div><div>16. Clear</div><div>17. Dungeons & Dragons Fortune Finder. </div><div>18. Titans Beast World</div><div>19. Batman City of Madness</div><div>20. Fishflies</div><div>21. Usagi Yojimbo Ice and Snow</div></div><div><br /></div></div></div><div><div><b>Best One-Shots:</b></div><div>There were not a lot of great one-shots this year.</div><div><br /></div><div><div><b>1. Batman One Bad Day Ra's Al Ghul</b></div><div>Tom Taylor's chapter in this mostly forgettable series of one-shots was really good, giving Ra's Al Ghul a little bit of a Poison Ivy-esque makeover while not completely selling out Batman.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>2. Batman/Catwoman Gotham War Battle Lines</b></div><div>The crossover story that followed was good until it ended in a pretty terrible way, but this one-shot, setting up a Civil War type story where a Zur-En-Ah influenced Batman took on a Catwoman who was reforming henchmen, leading the Bat-family to have to take sides, was a pretty interesting setup.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>3. Superior Spider-Man Returns</b></div><div>I'm not sure we really need Superior Spider-Man back, but this was a good way to bring Otto back into this part of his life.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>4. Fallen Friend The Death of Ms. Marvel</b></div><div>Killing off Kamala Khan for shock value in Amazing Spider-Man only to bring her back a month later was unbelievably stupid. But this tribute to the character, with work from G. Willow Wilson, Mark Waid, and others, was really good.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>5. Space Usagi Yokai Hunters</b></div></div><div>Fun to see Space Usagi again, but I would have preferred a new miniseries to a one-shot that spends a lot of time in feudal Usagi times.</div></div><div><br /></div><div><div><b>Best Graphic Novels for the Year:</b></div><div><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>Where The Body Was HC</li><li>Nightwing Vol 3-4 HC</li><li>Night Fever HC</li><li>Nice House on the Lake HC</li><li>Dark Knights of Steel Vol 2 HC</li><li>DCeased War of the Undead Gods HC</li><li>Adventures of Superman Jon Kent HC</li><li>Superman Son of Kal-El Vol 3 HC</li><li>DC Universe by Dwayne McDuffie HC</li><li>Spider-Man Animals Assemble HC</li><li>Parker Girls HC</li><li>D&D Endless Nights of Adventure TP</li></ol></div></div>Randy Landerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01927023143072517623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5218203.post-20962145579318499042023-12-28T00:28:00.092-06:002023-12-28T00:28:00.123-06:00Best of 2023 - TV<p>I had been seeing television gets better each year, and even though this year there were less shows, although the quality level across the board was still pretty high. For television. Last I year I watched 87 shows and had 21 that I didn't finish. This year I had 71 and 17 that I didn't finish. Given that next year is gonna see the effects of the strikes, I don't see it being the same next year.</p><p>Of the 15 shows in my Top 10 new last year (I combined Marvel and Star Wars into one entry), none of the Marvel shows had a second season, nor did Peacemaker, Sandman, Severance, or Cabinet of Curiosities. Strange New Worlds, The Afterparty, and The Bear both had excellent second seasons and landed in the top 10 ongoing, Julia had an excellent second season and landed just outside of it. Reboot I completely lost interest in.</p><p>In the Top 20, 0 came from Disney+ (3 less than last year), 4 came from Netflix (1 more than last year), 4 from networks and Hulu (1 less than last year), 4 from Apple+ (3 more than last year, 1 from Prime (same as last year), 2 from Peacock (1 more than last year), 1 from Paramount+ (same as last year) and 3 from HBO Max (2 less than last year), and 1 from Starz.</p><p><b>Network Breakdown:</b></p><p><b>Apple+</b><br />Just like last year, Apple+ had 6 shows I liked.</p><p><b>Disney+</b><br />Disney+ had 8 shows for me, 6 of which were Star Wars and Marvel. The other two were Doctor Who and Muppets Mayhem.</p><p><b>HBO Max</b><br />Last year Max had a lot of my favorite shows, and as expected, Zaslav changed it this year. Last year they had 11 shows I liked, 5 of which were in my top 20. This year it was 7, 3 of which were in the top 20.</p><p><b>Hulu</b><br />Hulu had 14 shows, a little more than the 13 from last year, and of those, 4 are in my top 20, which is 1 less than last year.</p><p><b>Netflix</b><br />Netflix had 14 shows, 2 less than last year, and of those, five of them are either finished or unlikely to have another season.</p><p><b>Paramount+</b><br />Paramount+ had 10 shows, 2 less than last year, 3 of which were Star Trek, and 3 of which (True Lies, Bass Reeves, Rabbit Hole) were pretty terrible.</p><p><b>Peacock<br /></b>Peacock had 9 shows, 3 more than last year, and I underestimated them, because Poker Face was one of the best shows of the year, and I quite liked Twisted Metal and and Mrs. Davis, although only one of those will continue on. </p><p><b>Prime<br /></b>Prime had 4 good to great shows this year, 3 that were ok, and 2 that I really disliked. </p><p>All of the streaming services had a downturn this year. Disney+ in particular is looking to have a rough 2024 with no MCU shows except January's Echo, and a skip year for most of Star Wars. I'm not sure what to expect from 2024 on any of the streaming services, but I expect I won't watch as much on any of them.</p><p></p><ol><li>Hulu (#4 last year)</li><li>Netflix (#6 last year)</li><li>Apple+ (#2 last year)</li><li>Peacock (#8 last year)</li><li>Paramount+ (#7 last year)</li><li>Disney+ (#3 last year)</li><li>Max (#1 last year)</li><li>Prime</li></ol><p></p><p><b>Top 10 Ongoing Shows:</b></p><p>Interesting to see how many of these have been gone for one, two, or in one case four years. Better Call Saul, Harley Quinn, and Hacks jumped way up for me. The first one is the big surprise, because I've always loved it, but I guess there was just a lot of competition in 2020.</p><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>Ted Lasso (Apple+)</li><li>The Bear (Hulu)</li><li>Barry (Max)</li><li>Star Trek Strange New Worlds (Paramount+)</li><li>Afterparty (Apple+)</li><li>Party Down (STARZ)</li><li>Fargo (Hulu)</li><li>Only Murders in the Building (Hulu)</li><li>Sex Education (Netflix)</li><li>What We Do In The Shadows (Hulu)</li></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><b>Top 10 New Shows:</b><br /><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>Fall of the House of Usher (Netflix)</li><li>Poker Face (Peacock)</li><li>Shrinking (Apple+)</li><li>Last of Us (Max)</li><li>My Adventures with Superman (Max)</li><li>One Piece (Netflix)</li><li>GenV (Prime)</li><li>Blue Eye Samurai (Netflix)</li><li>Monarch Legacy of Monsters (Apple+)</li><li>Mrs. Davis (Peacock)</li></ol><div><b>Just Outside the Top 10:</b></div><div>I know, I'm cheating even more than usual, but this was such a good year for TV. Any of these shows would have been top 10/20 in a slower year. If I extended out to Top 20 on New and Ongoing, here's roughly where everything lands. And honestly, I could extend out another 10 places.</div><div><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>Star Trek Lower Decks (#11 Ongoing)</li><li>Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (#12 Ongoing)</li><li>It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (#13 Ongoing)</li><li>Loki (#14 Ongoing)</li><li>Quantum Leap (#15 Ongoing)</li><li>Primo (#11 on New)</li><li>Special Ops: Lioness (#12 on New)</li><li>Never Have I Ever (#16 Ongoing)</li><li>Harley Quinn (#17 Ongoing)</li><li>The Mandalorian (#18 Ongoing)</li><li>Justified City Primeval (#13 on New)</li><li>Last Week Tonight (#19 Ongoing)</li><li>Julia (#20 Ongoing)</li><li>Muppet Mayhem (#14 on New)</li><li>Hijack (#15 on New)</li><li>Bupkis (#16 on New)</li><li>White House Plumbers (#17 on New)</li><li>Twisted Metal (#18 on New)</li><li>Ahsoka (#19 on New)</li><li>Scott Pilgrim Takes Off (#20 on New)</li></ol></div><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><b>Complete List of Shows:</b><br /><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>Ted Lasso</li><li>The Bear</li><li>Fall of the House of Usher</li><li>Barry</li><li>Poker Face</li><li>Shrinking</li><li>Star Trek Strange New Worlds</li><li>Last of Us</li><li>My Adventures with Superman</li><li>Afterparty</li><li>Party Down</li><li>One Piece</li><li>Fargo</li><li>GenV</li><li>Only Murders in the Building</li><li>Sex Education</li><li>What We Do In The Shadows</li><li>Blue Eye Samurai</li><li>Star Trek Lower Decks</li><li>Marvelous Mrs. Maisel</li><li>It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia</li><li>Loki</li><li>Quantum Leap</li><li>Monarch Legacy of Monsters</li><li>Mrs. Davis</li><li>Primo</li><li>Special Ops: Lioness</li><li>Never Have I Ever</li><li>Harley Quinn</li><li>The Mandalorian</li><li>Justified City Primeval</li><li>Last Week Tonight</li><li>Julia</li><li>Doctor Who</li><li>Muppet Mayhem</li><li>Schmigadoon</li><li>Hijack</li><li>Bupkis</li><li>White House Plumbers</li><li>Top Chef</li><li>Ghosts</li><li>Star Trek Picard</li><li>Minx</li><li>The Good Fight</li><li>Star Wars Bad Batch</li><li>Twisted Metal</li><li>Good Omens</li><li>Grand Crew</li><li>Ahsoka</li><li>Scott Pilgrim Takes Off</li><li>The Simpsons</li><li>Shoresy</li><li>Mayor of Kingstown</li><li>The Other Black Girl</li><li>I'm A Virgo</li><li>The Recruit</li><li>Cunk on Earth</li><li>Not Dead Yet</li><li>Horror of Dolores Roach</li><li>History of the World Part II</li><li>Star Wars Visions</li><li>The Consultant</li><li>The Night Agent</li><li>Secret Invasion</li><li>Silo</li><li>Based on a True Story</li><li>Tiny Beautiful Things</li><li>Up Here</li><li>Beef</li><li>Kaleidoscope</li></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><b>Shows I Didn't Finish:</b><br /><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>Strange Planet</li><li>The Great</li><li>Yellowjackets</li><li>American Born Chinese</li><li>Citadel</li><li>Shadow & Bone</li><li>Florida Man</li><li>Dead Ringers</li><li>True Lies</li><li>Night Court</li><li>Gotham Knights</li><li>Hello Tomorrow</li><li>Rabbit Hole</li><li>Lawmen Bass Reeves</li><li>Extrapolations</li><li>Junji Ito Maniac</li><li>Swarm</li></ol>Randy Landerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01927023143072517623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5218203.post-81831179426462589792023-12-17T21:06:00.002-06:002023-12-17T21:06:37.640-06:00Best of 2023 - Food<p><span style="background-color: white;">Last year I ate out about 450 times, this year...about 400. So I cut back a little bit. I tried out 26 new places this year, 7 of which landed on my favorites list.</span></p><p><span style="background-color: white;"><b>New Places:</b></span></p><ol style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="background-color: white;">Aster's Ethiopian</span></li><li>BBQ Ramen Tatsu-Ya</li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Budare's</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Buddha Burger</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Gangnam Korean BBQ</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Jade</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Jai Chi Korean</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Kanji Ramen</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">KG BBQ</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">La Popular</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Marufuku Ramen</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Mum Foods</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Odaku Sushi</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Revelry on the Boulevard</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">San Francisco Bakery & Cafe</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Sangnam</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Soupleaf</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Southside Market</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Spicy Boys Fried Chicken</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">T'Loc's</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Taste of Home Dumplings</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Thai Lada</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Thai Lotus</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Uptown Sports Club</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Walnut Creek Pub</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Whiskey Cake</span></li></ol><ol style="text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="text-align: left;"></ol><span face=""Trebuchet MS", Verdana, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white;">These are my top 20 favorites, the ones that are accessible, not crazy expensive, *and* delicious enough that I went there numerous times during the year. Ziggy's Kielbasa dropped off the list because I just don't go up to Cedar Park enough, Torchy's has kinda lost it for me, and Smokin Beauty closed, which is really sad.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Verdana, Arial, sans-serif;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Verdana, Arial, sans-serif;" /><b style="background-color: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Verdana, Arial, sans-serif;">Favorites:</b><br style="background-color: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Verdana, Arial, sans-serif;" /><span style="background-color: white;"><ol style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="background-color: white;">KG BBQ (My new favorite place, the combo rice bowl with lamb and brisket is my go-to)</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Jewboy Burgers (This is the place I ate most in the year, 16 times. Still my favorite burger place.)</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Jewboy Subs (I ate here almost as many times as Jewboy Burgers, it's just as good with a completely different menu.)</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Hopdoddy (I had four of their burgers of the month, and ate there about five more times beyond that)</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Jack Allen's Kitchen (My go-to lunch place for a chicken fried steak, Liberty BBQ has gotten a little pricey for me)</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Texas Roadhouse (Still my favorite affordable steak place)</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Deckhand Oyster Bar (Like to go here for crawfish etoufee and cowboy boudin)</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">T'Loc's (New to me this year, delicious Sonoran hot dogs)</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Buddha Burger (Also new to me this year, just a really solid burger)</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Julie's Noodles (I didn't go as often this year, but still the best soup dumplings in town)</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Pinthouse Pizza (my go-to pizza place for lunch)</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Chuy's (Still my basic tex-mex option, close to my house and to the store)</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Brotherton Black (I don't go often, but their brisket reuben and grilled cheese are both great)</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">El Dorado (I don't get here as often as I'd like, but it's really good tex-mex. Their mexican remix of a shepherd's pie is amazing)</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Kenny Fort Pub (Great fish and chips, at some point I'll try some of their other stuff)</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Sushi Nini (My semi-regular lunch outing for sushi near the store)</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Tropicana (I mostly order in, but this Cuban place has really good sandwiches and other cuban food)</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Tso Chinese Delivery (My go-to Chinese delivery place)</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Taste of Home Dumplings (Near the house, really delicious dumplings, the fried crawfish dumplings are especially great)</span></li><li>La Popular (I've only been once, because it's so far south, but this is a great Mexican food place)</li></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol></span><div><span face=""Trebuchet MS", Verdana, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white;">I also kept track of where I ate lunch this year, and these are my favorites, based on how often I ate there. It's not just quality of food, here, but also closeness to work, where I'm usually eating lunch. I doubled my options this year.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Verdana, Arial, sans-serif;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Verdana, Arial, sans-serif;" /><b style="background-color: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Verdana, Arial, sans-serif;">Lunch Favorites:</b><br style="background-color: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Verdana, Arial, sans-serif;" /><div><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>Popeye's (My favorite fast food chicken, and I ate here almost as often Jewboy Burgers)</li><li>Golden Chick (This one climbed onto the list because of their zesty wings)</li><li>P. Terry's (Still my favorite quick burger place)</li><li>Whataburger (It's right next to the store, and they offered up a ton of free food for using the app)</li><li>Arby's (All about those curly fries)</li><li>KFC (Pretty much only for chicken pot pie, but I got that eight times. Why don't more people do pot pies?)</li><li>Smoky Mos (Near the store, I tend to go for their brisket-topped potato)</li><li>Tumble 22 (Not as special anymore, but it's now near the store and I eat pretty often)</li><li>Culver's (Aaron's favorite place, and there's one near the store and the house)</li><li>Jersey Mike's (This jumped onto my list mostly for cheesesteaks)</li><li>Vera Cruz (Really good tacos)</li><li>Firehouse Subs (This is where I go when I'm craving a meatball sub)</li><li>Shake Shack (A little pricey, but always tasty and now near the store)</li><li>ModPizza (They added one near the store, and it was already close to the house)</li><li>Raising Cane's (If this were closer to the store or my house, I'd go here more often)</li></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol></div><span face=""Trebuchet MS", Verdana, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white;"><div><span face=""Trebuchet MS", Verdana, Arial, sans-serif"><div>Other places I like but only went to a couple times: Via 313, Hoody's Subs, Velvet Taco, Cotton Patch Cafe, Panda Express, Tarka, Waffle Love, Wendy's, Wingstop, Wiseguys, and Rodeo Goat (delicious burgers in Dallas).</div><div><br /></div></span></div>Then there were the places that I ate at once or twice, due to either it's location (downtown especially) or price, or because it's too new to have tried many times. This list is purely down to my favorites, where I'd eat if location and price were no object. <br /><br />On my list last year that I never made time for this year were Franklin BBQ, Cork & Barrel, Valentina's Tex-Mex, Tiki Tatsu-Ya, and Culinary Dropout.</span></div><div><br style="background-color: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Verdana, Arial, sans-serif;" /><b style="background-color: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Verdana, Arial, sans-serif;">Rare Treats:</b><br style="background-color: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Verdana, Arial, sans-serif;" /><div><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>Kemuri Tatsu-Ya (quite possibly my favorite restaurant in Austin, I usually manage it once a year)</li><li>Interstellar BBQ (This has become my favorite BBQ, in particular the duck and frito pie sausage they have on Fridays)</li><li>Gus's Fried Chicken (If it wasn't so hard to park, I'd go here at least every month)</li><li>Perry's Steakhouse (Really delicious but expensive steak, I manage it every few years, and this was one of them)</li><li>Salty Sow (great happy hour)</li><li>Soupleaf (all you can eat hot pot, this place is great)</li><li>Gangnam Korean BBQ (all you can eat Korean BBQ, really delicious but super far south)</li><li>Estancia (Didn't go last year, but this was my birthday dinner this year)</li><li>Thai Lada (fantastic crab fried rice)</li><li>Jade (a little pricey but good dim sum)</li></ol><div>I also liked Salt Traders, Uptown Sports Club, and Whiskey Cake, but they're all extra pricey and not quite good enough for the price.</div></div></div>Randy Landerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01927023143072517623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5218203.post-91329793100333408022023-12-17T19:36:00.004-06:002023-12-17T19:36:58.017-06:00Best of 2023 - Boardgames<p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Last year I played </span>94 different games, 250+ times, with 70 of them being new to me. However... 82 of those plays and 3 of those new games were on BGA, but still, that's 170+ plays, 67 new games, and over 90 different games. This year I played 92 different games, 133 times, with 69 of them being new to me. So about the same number of games, really.</p><p><span face=""Trebuchet MS", Verdana, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white;"></span><span face=""Trebuchet MS", Verdana, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white;"><b>Top 20 Favorite New Games:</b></span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Verdana, Arial, sans-serif;" /></p><ol style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"><li><span style="background-color: white;">Cosmoctopus</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">DC Comics DBG Injustice</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Star Wars Deckbuilding</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Empire's End</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Kutna Hora City of Silver</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">World Wonders</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Sanssouci</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Spellbook</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Thunder Road Vendetta Maximum Chrome</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Diced Veggies</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Fliptown</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Marvel Age of Heroes</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Marvel D.A.G.G.E.R.</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Paleovet</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Splendor Duel</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Spots</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Apiary</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Horrified Greek Monsters</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">The White Castle</span></li><li>Express Route</li></ol><ol style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"></ol><div><b>Other New Games, In Order of Favorites:</b></div><ol style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"><li>Motor City</li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Tapple 10</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Wandering Towers</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Leaf</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Last Light</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Forbidden Jungle</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Perfect Wave</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Tesseract</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Nucleum</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Purrfect Match</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Castles by the Sea</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Nekojima</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Search for Lost Species</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Steam Up A Feast of Dim Sum</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">MLEM Space Agency</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Broken and Beautiful: A Game About Kintsugi</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Waterfall Park</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">The Glade</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Evil Upheaval</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Tequila</span></li></ol><ol style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white;"></ol><div><b>Favorite Games:</b><br /><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>My Father's Work</li><li>7 Wonders Architects</li><li>Canvas</li><li>Cosmoctopus</li><li>DC Comics DBG</li><li>DC Comics DBG Injustice</li><li>Deep Sea Adventure</li><li>Dice Throne Season Two</li><li>Empire's End</li><li>Heat Pedal to the Metal</li><li>Kutna Hora City of Silver</li><li>Namiji</li><li>Parks</li><li>Return to Dark Tower</li><li>Space Base</li><li>Star Wars Deckbuilding</li><li>World Wonders</li><li>Azul Summer Pavilion</li><li>Clank!</li><li>Diced Veggies</li><li>Dog Park</li><li>Fliptown</li><li>Sanssouci</li><li>Spellbook</li><li>Thunder Road Vendetta Maximum Chrome</li><li>Trekking through History</li><li>Apiary</li><li>Azul</li><li>Azul Master Chocolatier</li><li>Dune Imperium</li><li>Ethnos</li><li>Horrified Greek Monsters</li><li>Libertalia Winds of Galecrest</li><li>Marvel Age of Heroes</li><li>Marvel Champions</li><li>Marvel D.A.G.G.E.R.</li><li>Marvel Remix</li><li>Meadow</li><li>Paleovet</li><li>Roll Camera! The Filmmaking Game</li><li>Splendor</li><li>Splendor Duel</li><li>Spots</li><li>Star Realms Nova Collection</li><li>Starship Captains</li><li>The White Castle</li><li>Unmatched Teen Spirit</li></ol></div><div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><b>My "to play" list of games I have</b></span></div><div><ol><li><span style="background-color: white;">7th Sea City of Five Sails</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Abstract Academy</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Canopy</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Chronicles of Crime 2400</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">CULTivate</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Dawn of the Ulos</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Deep Dive</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Fox Experiment</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Galaxy Trucker</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">GI Joe DBG</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Ka-Pow!</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Marvel Mayhem</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Meeples & Monsters</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Mercurial</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">On Tour</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Pandemic Legacy Season 0</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Point City</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Retrograde</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Roll Player Adventurs</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Sagrada Artisans</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Smash Up Marvel</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Stifling Dark</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Starfinder Pirates of Skydock</span></li><li>Unmatched (lots of them)</li></ol><div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><b>My "to play" list of games I don't own</b></span></div><div><ol><li><span style="background-color: white;">Ark Nova</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Bad Company</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Barcelona</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Between Two Cities Essential Edition</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Cakes!</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Cartographers Heroes</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Council of Shadows</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Darwin's Journey</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Daybreak</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Dice Manor</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">D&D Heroes of Undermountain</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">D&D Trials of Tempus</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Earth</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Ensemble</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Expeditions</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Fika</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Forest Shuffle</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">King of Monster Island</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Nimalia</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Origins First Builders</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Paint the Roses</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Rebuilding Seattle</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Revive</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Rolling Heights</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Skoventyr</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Skull</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Sky Team</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Skymines</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Splito</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Stella Dixit Universe</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Terraforming Mars Ares Expedition</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Trailblazers</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Verdant</span></li></ol></div></div></div></div>Randy Landerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01927023143072517623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5218203.post-86321185383209036472023-12-17T18:54:00.003-06:002023-12-19T22:33:56.288-06:00Best of 2023 - Movies<p><span style="background-color: white;">Last year, I watched 87 movies, 37 of which were new releases, 24 of which were new to me (8 of which were terrible movies Les and Nick made me watch for TV Dudes Patreon), and 26 were rewatches. This year I watched 91 movies, 29 of which were new releases, 16 were new to me, and the other 46 were rewatches.</span></p><span face=""trebuchet ms" , "verdana" , "arial" , sans-serif"><span style="background-color: white;"><b>Top 15 New Movies This Year:</b></span></span><div><div><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>Across the Spider-Verse</li><li>The Marvels</li><li>Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3</li><li>Joy Ride</li><li>Dungeons & Dragons Honor Among Thieves</li><li>Mission Impossible Dead Reckoning Part One</li><li>Scream VI</li><li>Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny</li><li>Barbie</li><li>Talk to Me</li><li>Evil Dead Rise</li><li>Fast X</li><li>Totally Killer</li><li>Quiz Lady</li><li>The Killer</li></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol></div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , "verdana" , "arial" , sans-serif"><span><b>Other New Movies I Saw This Year: </b></span></span><br /><div><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre</li><li>Asteroid City</li><li>No One Will Save You</li><li>Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar</li><li>Transformers Rise of the Beasts</li><li>Theater Camp</li><li>No Hard Feelings</li><li>Blue Beetle</li><li>Knock at the Cabin</li><li>Leave the World Behind</li><li>Bottoms</li><li>Ant-Man and Wasp Quantumania</li><li>Cocaine Bear</li><li>They Cloned Tyrone</li></ol></div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , "verdana" , "arial" , sans-serif"><span><b>Movies That I Saw For the First Time This Year:</b></span></span><br /><div><ol><li>Doctor Sleep Director's Cut</li><li>The Drop</li><li>Bodies Bodies Bodies</li><li>The Menu</li><li>M3gan</li><li>You Might Be The Killer</li><li>The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent</li><li>Wrath of Man</li><li>Candyman</li><li>Halloween III Season of the Witch</li><li>The Blackcoat's Daughter</li><li>RocknRolla</li><li>Revolver</li><li>Gangs of New York</li><li>Skinamarink</li><li>Swept Away</li></ol></div></div>Randy Landerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01927023143072517623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5218203.post-71679356575787936542023-12-16T00:56:00.003-06:002023-12-16T00:56:00.129-06:00Marvel Cinematic Universe Phase 4 (2021-2022)<p>So back in 2019, right on the cusp of Avengers Endgame coming out, I needed a project to distract myself and I decided to rewatch and recap every MCU movie, leading up to Endgame itself.</p>It was fun, and several friends said they enjoyed reading them. I find myself once again in need of a project to distract myself, and I watched all of Hawkeye today as part of a Christmas mood, and so I decided why not try to do the same with phase 4, now that it has officially wrapped with Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special?<br /><br />I don't know that I'll make it all the way through. I may get to Eternals and stop dead. Or I may continue writing these up.<br /><br /><b>Wandavision (January 2021)</b><br />At any rate, it kicks off with Wandavision, which came out in January 2021. Now that we've seen that Phases 4-6 are about the Multiverse, it makes a little more sense why they would open with a reality warping series, but even now, I look at it and wonder why they decided to launch MCU TV with a story that was almost pure sticom homage for the first three episodes.<br /><br />Even now, with the benefit of hindsight and binging all nine episodes in one go, I think the first three episodes are wildly self-indulgent. Fun if you're a classic sitcom fan, but my love of sitcoms really begins in the '80s, so the spot-on riffs on '50s, '60s, and '70s sitcoms did basically nothing for me.<br /><br />Which is not to say they're bad. No, it's actually really impressive how perfectly the creative teams boiled down sitcoms to their decade essence, from the theme songs and opening credits all the way through to the set and costume design. There's even some nods to sitcom tropes, with the "very special episode" about Sparky dying, the pregnancy episode, the boss coming to dinner episode, the shenanigans at a talent show episode, etc. I just remain certain that there was a way to start cutting between the outside world/S.W.O.R.D. stuff in, say, episode two, rather than waiting until episode four to clue us in on what was going on. <br /><br />The show really gets going when it introduces S.W.O.R.D. and the triple threat of Monica Rambeau, Jimmy Woo, and Dr. Darcy Lewis. One a new supporting character who happens to be one of my all-time favorite comic characters (Monica), the other really fun comic relief from their respective movie series. There's not enough of any of them here, and in fact there was plenty of online begging for a Woo/Darcy spinoff, which I still think would be delightful. But they're used very well.<br /><br />Also, the development of Wanda and Vision here, both of which have been interesting enough in their own right, shows the actors and characters to be worthy of the spotlight shone on them. Wanda and Vision are one of the best couples in comics, and the show really does justice to them.<br /><br />The nods to comics here are strong as well, and do the usual MCU trick of pulling in all the things that worked in the comics into a more cohesive narrative. In particular, the nods to West Coast Avengers and Vision & Scarlet Witch miniseries that were early in my comics collecting career, like the "Glamour and Illusion" riff, made me happy in the way that the MCU focus on '70s-'80s Marvel material often has. And both "Probability Hex" and "Chaos Magic," two explanations of Wanda's powers in the comic, make appearances here.<br /><br />That does mean that they bring in some elements I didn't like from the comics, notably the outright sabotage of Scarlet Witch by first John Byrne and then Brian MIchael Bendis. I know some are very upset about Scarlet Witch's role in Multiverse of Madness, but it feels of a piece with what was done here, and what's been done in the comics. I don't *like* it, but I get it.<br /><br />The show also delves into theme more strongly in a 9-episode show than even a 3 1/2 hour movie can manage. It's a really effective meditation on grief, with Vision's "what is grief if not love persevering" being the "I can do this all day" or "I love you 3000" of the piece.<br /><br />There are some pretty notable developments here around the edges showing what the post-Endgame MCU looks like. Seeing the difference between Director Hayward's living through the Blip and Monica's having vanished during it, for example. The appearance of Billy and Tommy, the first nod toward building the Young Avengers that I think we all know is coming.<br /><br />And the Easter Eggs and speculation started going wild with this one. The return of Evan Peters as Quicksilver spurred all kinds of craziness about how they were going to bring in mutants and the X-Men canon (not to mention several people *sure* that he was secretly Mephisto), only to have it be revealed to be literally a Bohner joke. There is a *lot* more teasing of the fans going on now, or maybe the Internet just got a lot more weird and speculative during the pandemic. It's kind of fun to joke about, but I have to admit I sometimes find myself annoyed at how everyone needs to predict what's going to happen instead of enjoying the ride, especially when the shows get criticism not for what they are, but what they aren't.<br /><br />Which ironically leads me to my criticism of the show as what it is and what it isn't. This is a mystery box show, ala Lost, which I feel is a weird fit for the MCU formula. It's a sitcom of sorts, although looking at She-Hulk in comparison, it's hard to argue that Wandavision couldn't have been better and funnier while still moving the MCU ball down the field.<br /><br />I'm a little sad they created a new character in Director Hayward rather than making him perennial thorn-in-the-heroes-side Henry Peter Gyrich, but there is still some speculation that Hayward is a skrull or something else, so maybe they didn't want to use the character that way. Or maybe they're saving him. Or maybe they just didn't think of it. <br /><br />Certainly the MCU has no problem with "in name only" versions of the character because Kathryn Hahn's Agatha Harkness bears no resemblance at all to the comics version, who is an old woman seen as Franklin Richards' governess, before she was Wanda's mentor. But that's OK, because this reinvention of her as the sinister force who took advantage of Wanda's grief-spawned cosmic oopsie is a delight to watch.<br /><br />The Infinity Stones remain the most powerful force in the MCU. They unlocked Wanda's potential, they created Vision, they gave us Captain Marvel, and by proxy they gave Monica her powers. I'm honestly a little surprised, though not displeased, that the Vibranium meteorite didn't somehow tie into them. At the same time, the successful shift of Dr. Strange from quantum manipulation to "nah it's just magic" that happened in the Avengers sequels means that the MCU is just fine having full-on witches and magic here, rather than having to explain it all as cosmic genetic manipulation, and I'm glad for that.<br /><br />There's also plenty of setup done here for the future. Obviously Wanda's role in Multiverse of Madness is teased with her sinister Darkhold finale, and Monica's interaction with a Skrull is a nice nod to her Captain Marvel origins and her role in the Marvels sequel. And as previously noted, it seems like Billy and Tommy are the first building blocks toward Young Avengers. Over the course of phase four we'll meet at least two or three more of them.<br /><br />I really like Wandavision, and it holds up well, but I do think those first three episodes are slow if you don't *love* classic sitcoms, and it was the first indication that Phase Four was going to be very different from what had gone before.<div><br /></div><div><div><b>Falcon and Winter Soldier (March 2021)</b></div><div>Musically and cinematography-wise, this felt like a continuation of the Cap series, especially focusing as heavily as it did on super soldiers. Dealing with the Blip makes sense, and clearly this was meant to be the first Marvel show, rather than the more ambitious (and stranger) Wandavision. The GRC (Global Repatriation Council), the notion of refugees kicked out of their new homes when their original owners blipped back into existence, and how the world changed after the Blip is a background element, but it's an important one.<br /><br />This also has great action scenes. It opens with Sam's air rescue and helicopter fight, battling it out with Batroc, and we get to see Falcon kick ass in a way he didn't really get to in the movies. The truck battle with the Flag Smashers on top of two semis is really inventive and fun, and shows off how cool flight is as a power. The gun fight in Madripoor among the shipping containers is just a really solid run and gun action scene. The fight with the Dora Milaje is really good, and Bucky and Sam fighting Walker in all his 'roided-up Super Soldier serum madness is a fantastic fight as well. And the way Sam combines flight and the shield in the helicopter rescue at the end has me excited for the possibilities of the next Cap movie.<br /><br />Dealing with Winter Soldier's past and his sins, ala the Brubaker series. Also love Bucky's ties to Wakanda in the MCU, and that they used that here. Given that Zemo killed T'Chaka, it's a natural stress point, and just really good to bring them all together. And having the Wakandans build Sam's Captain America suit (which is a dead-on perfect take on the comic version) makes a lot of sense too. Also love that he has Steve's notebook.<br /><br />Dr. Raynor, former soldier and now therapist, is an interesting character, and as with Hayward in Wandavision, I like her but also kinda wish they'd used Doc Samson, psychiatrist to the superheroes. But her being ex-military gives her a flavor that Samson wouldn't have, so it makes sense. <br /><br />The show really hits on race in a way I wasn't expecting, when Sam interacts with the bank, or the cops, and they treat him differently than they would the Falcon. He's a hero, but he's still a black man, and it's clear that people treat him differently. That also comes into Sam's struggles with the shield and Cap's legacy, which is of course a throughline that leads up to him becoming Cap at the end, but a different kind of Cap. Isaiah's "they'll never let a black man become Captain America, and no self-respecting black man would want to be" is a surprisingly subversive thing to be in a Disney+ show.<br /><br />Sam and Bucky have such a fun relationship/rivalry, Sam's sister and nephews are such a good addition to the character, and I love centering him in New Orleans. One of my favorite moments in this series is just Sam and Bucky hanging around and fixing his family boat, and talking about Steve's legacy. That's the kind of thing that would never make the cut in a limited run-time of a movie (even a 3 1/2 hour Marvel movie), and it's such good stuff, it shows what the MCU can do with the TV format.<br /><br />The Mark Gruenwald run was one of my earliest comics loves, and this show drew a lot from that. Flag Smasher. Power Broker. Battlestar. John Walker. All reinterpreted for the MCU.<br /><br />Wyatt Russell as John Walker is fantastic casting. He *looks* like square-jawed blond Cap, and acts like a fascist, just like the comics version. Very notable that he carries a gun. Making him married was a good choice, he's a lot more three-dimensional at first, although he's smug and jerky from the outset too. From the earliest, we can see that his humility is kind of a put-on, that he may believe it but the moment he gets any pushback from a Flag Smasher he's angry, violent, "Do you know who I am?" We can see his fragility when he mutters "they weren't even super soldiers" after he gets his ass kicked by the Wakandans, and I don't think it's a coincidence that the blond, blue-eyed white-haired man got his ass handed to him by strong black women and just couldn't handle it. And it's no surprise that Lemar getting killed leads him to becoming a murderer.<br /><br />Speaking of, even though I'm sorry he was killed off to motivate John (unlike in the comics, where he just kind of vanished because nobody uses him), I was delighted to have Lemar Hoskins, aka Battlestar, in this show. Making them both military instead of just glory-seeking entertainers like in the comics is a perfect MCU adjustment. Also using a brass band version of "Star-Spangled Man," it all reads like "this is what would have happened with Steve Rogers if he was in the '00s instead of the '40s, and if he was a modern military guy instead of the man Steve Rogers was." <br /><br />Then there are the Flag Smashers. In the comics, it's one guy with a goofy costume (which I love) who basically just wants to get rid of all nations. Making it more of an organization, with the same dedication to no borders but centered on how the world looked during the five years of the Blip, is a really good update. And gender-flipping Karl Morgenthau and casting the incomparable Erin Kellyman was a good move too.<br /><br />On top of the Mark Gruenwald stuff, there are plenty of nods to other elements of the Marvel Universe. Lt. Torres is the new Falcon in the comics, and given Sam's new job at the end of this, I have to wonder if we'll see that in Captain America New World Order. <br /><br />Introducing Carl Lumbly as Isaiah Bradley, and another Young Avenger introduced in his grandson, was great, and I love that Winter Soldier fought Isaiah in the '50s during the Korean War. Then there's Madripoor (including Princess Bar, Wolverine's hangout) and Smiling Tiger (Sam's cover identity), a deep cut from the New Warriors. Dr. Nagel, who was working on the super soldier serum for the Power Broker, comes from The Truth, the same place that Isaiah Bradley comes from. And there's the introduction of Julia Louis Dreyfuss as Contessa Valentina Allegra deFontaine, the hotter, snarkier, more morally compromised Nick Fury for Phase 4. She's only had brief appearances, here and in Black Widow and Wakanda Forever, but I love every minute of it, and can't wait to see her in Thunderbolts. With any luck, we'll get Zemo too.<br /><br />The development of Sharon Carter and Baron Zemo is great here. Both were memorable but almost cameos in the films, this gives them a both a lot more development. Zemo being a rich baron *and* special op deepens him. Instead of his comics motivation, where he's a Nazi grandson who hates Cap and has a glued-on mask (no seriously, look it up) here he doesn't want there to be super-beings, and honestly, it's a reasonable position to take. His weirdly correct appreciation of black culture is a fun running gag, but also points to him as a smart and educated man. He espouses philosophy about supremacy, he recognizes fine art, he knows how to get information from the kids on the street, it's clear that the writers *loved* Zemo. Also "He's out of line, but he's right" may be the most memorable moment in this series, it's definitely the most memed.<br /><br />Although making Sharon Power Broker isn't something I loved, making her a disavowed spy in Madripoor is a good move, and fits with what Mark Waid did with her when he brought her back. (I didn't like that either, back in the day, and something I said about it in a review caused Waid to hate me with a white hot passion for like a decade. To be fair, I was a 20-something kid, so whatever I said was probably dickish.)<br /><br />That said, the Power Broker was a huge part of Gruenwald's run, and was basically a generic white guy businessman until he got stuffed full of his own serum and wound up looking like a grotesque over-built body builder (again, look it up), and this more sinister low-key version of is both more interesting and a better fit for the MCU. In the comics, he was responsible for setting up the Unlimited Class Wrestling, and it's a shame we didn't get that, because that's a fun concept.<br /><br />I know this show is held in lower esteem by a lot of people, it is almost always lowest on the lists of Disney+ shows. I don't get it, though. I think this all works really well, it has the same quality of all the Captain America movies, which for my money are some of the best movies in the MCU. It's arguably less ambitious than the other shows, a pretty straightforward action thriller, but that's a speed that works for me. I'm looking forward to Captain America New World Order.<br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div><b>Loki Season 1 (June 2021)</b></div><div>Loki was the third of the MCU TV series, and even given my fondness for Falcon/Winter Soldier, I have to admit it's clearly the best of the initial three. At six episodes, most of them weighing in around 30 minutes, it's a tighter show than WandaVision or Falcon/Winter Soldier, and with its introduction of the TVA, the multiverse, and the return of one of the MCU's premier villains, it's arguably the most ambitious of the projects.</div><div><br /></div><div>The big themes of Loki are Order and Chaos, Determination vs. Free Will, and you couldn't pick a better dichotomy there then the one between the TVA (and the man behind their curtain, more on that later) and Loki(s), gods/goddesses/alligators of chaos. The TVA is a perfect bureaucratic nightmare. They'll casually disintegrate someone or wipe out an entire variant timeline, and Loki catches on fast to how little they value his life. It's interesting that Loki's stated motives in Avengers, restated here are "freeing people from freedom," which kind of sounds like the ideals of the TVA, but Loki isn't really being honest about that with himself or with others. He's an agent of chaos, and even if he really did want to bring order to the people in the name of taking away the burden of freedom, he definitely doesn't want that imposed on himself. </div><div><br /></div><div>This also plays out in microcosm among the TVA, represented by Judge Ravonna Renslayer, Agent Mobius, and Hunter B-20. To one degree or another, they are all cogs in the TVA machinery, and all true believers. But as the show goes on, all of them face a crisis of one sort of another, and even the most loyal of them realizes that she has been lied to by the organization she's devoted her life to. Ravonna in the comics is Kang's long-suffering love, and she mostly has existed as motivation for him, often literally just frozen in time, so her MCU version, played by Gugu Mbatha-Raw, is a notable improvement. Agent Mobius was a nod to beloved creator Mark Gruenwald, and I'm glad they kept the mustache look for him. Owen Wilson is fantastic in the role of a dedicated if quirky civil servant of the TVA, he has great chemistry with Loki, although I think we're all a little disappointed that we didn't get to see any of his jet-skiing pre-TVA life. Maybe in season 2. And Miss Minutes is a great addition, I don't know if Tara Strong gave her the southern accent or if that was always the plan, but she's the perfect kind of faux-friendly corporate tool to explain with a cheery smile all the horrible things her organization is responsible for. I love when she's vamping for time alongside Ravonna when Sylvie has them on the ropes late in the season.</div><div><br /></div><div>Speaking of the TVA, it looks fantastic, with it's late '60s art deco technology, colors, and design. When we see glimpses of the scale of it, and looking at Quantumania trailers, it seems clear that it's similar to the scope and design of Kang's realm. Mobius also notes that time moves differently in the TVA. Is the TVA located inside the Quantum Realm?</div><div><br /></div><div>Then there's Loki, or more correctly Lokis. The way Tom Hiddleston plays Loki is a lot of fun. The way he "turns on" that smile so you can see that it's entirely fake, and his disdain for the Avengers and Tony Stark. And he immediately tries to join the TVA and help them take out the Avengers. And when he realizes he can't use his powers, he realizes how much trouble he's in. The theme of the first episode and indeed much of the show is that his "glorious purpose" isn't what he thought it was. The judge tells him "it's not your story" and he finds out that he was supposed to die. He's an enemy of the very concept of the sacred timeline, but he won't find that out until he meets Sylphie. Which... Sophia Di Martino has to match Sylphie up with Hiddleston's Loki, who has had four movies to develop at this point, and she does an admirable job. Her darker backstory, kidnapped from Asgard as a child and then growing up hunted the TVA, seeing apocalypse after apocalypse, shapes her into a very different kind of Loki. The two of them bantering and bickering their way through the doomed Lamentis-1, and the extremely odd love story of two variants falling in love with themselves, really works with these two actors. My favorite Loki, though, might be Richard Grant, playing a full-on classic Loki in full-on classic Loki costume, and he gets one of the most memorable moments of the series facing off with Alioth at the end of time.</div><div><br /></div><div>There are a ton of fun moments in this one. The drawer full of useless Infinity Stones. Loki as D.B. Cooper, aided by Heimdall, because he lost a bet with Thor. During the Lamentis-1 sequence, Loki smashes a cup and yells "Another!" so I guess that's just an Asgardian thing, not just Thor. That Sif time loop cameo. Plenty of Easter Eggs too, including but definitely not limited to Throg, the Thanos Copter, the U.S.S. Eldridge (from the Philadelphia Experiment), and President Loki and Kid Loki from the comics. All the Lokis betraying one another because *of course* they do.</div><div><br /></div><div>Then there's the reason I wanted to rewatch this before Quantumania hits, and that's the Kang of it all. Or at least, Jonathan Majors giving us our first glimpse of Kang, even if he's not technically Kang in this one. In the comics, He Who Remains is head of the TVA, but unrelated to Kang. Loki wisely changes this so that He Who Remains is sort of like Immortus, the more patient, less conquer-y version of Kang who nevertheless has always seemed a little sinister, ruling over his version of Limbo. Jonathan Majors plays him as a bit quirky and odd, which you would be if you were the last being in the universe, and I'm looking forward to seeing how it contrasts with his Kang. We also get the origin of Kang, the MCU version, and learn that the TVA was created to end the Multiversal War of Kangs.</div><div><br /></div><div>Hearing about the Multiversal War and the sacred timeline, you can hear some of the developments that will resonate throughout phases 4-6. In particular, "madness" is mentioned as the condition of a multiverse, and the promise of "another multiversal war" seems like a presaging of Secret Wars. How that plays out, we'll see, but just as WandaVision laid the groundwork for Doctor Strange 2 (and the upcoming Vision and Agatha series, and Monica in the Marvels), and Falcon/Winter Soldier laid some groundwork for Captain America 4 and Thunderbolts, I suspect there's a lot of foundational work being done here in Loki that we haven't quite seen yet, but which will be crucial in Phase 5 and 6.</div></div><div><br /></div><div><div><b>Black Widow (July 2021)</b></div><div>This is the only MCU movie I didn't see in the theater, due to pandemic stuff. So let's get this out of the way first... this movie should have come out before Infinity War and Endgame. It takes place between Civil War and Infinity War. It gets a little extra weight from knowing Natasha's fate, but it would have been so much better if she had this much more development before she met it. In rewatching it now, though, I realize that I actually like it a lot more than I remembered liking it. This is a pretty great flick that had the misfortune to be the next movie after Endgame, which was the culmination of like 20+ movies, and it doesn't compare as well to that. But compare it to the first Cap, Iron Man, or Thor and I think it's as good or arguably better.</div><div><br /></div><div>In the comics, Red Guardian was Natasha's husband, part of the Red Room project. Making him the surrogate father, Americans-style, to their undercover family is a *much* better replacement. David Harbour's cartoonish and boastful Red Guardian is a delight. And she's basically an original character, but Rachel Weisz as Melina Vostokoff, Natasha and Yelena's foster mom, is also great. In the comics, Melina is a third tier Black Widow villain, an armored agent of the Russian federation known as Iron Maiden.</div><div><br /></div><div>There are a ton of great action sequences, most of it kept at the tight, espionage level of the Bourne movies, or if you want to get a little further afield, Atomic Blonde. That airstrip escape is a pretty solid opening sequence. Natasha and Taskmaster on the bridge is a good fight. Natasha vs. Yelena in the safehouse in Budapest is brutal and fast and shows off their well-matched skill sets. The motorcycle/car/tank chase in Budapest is up there with Winter Soldier for best vehicle chase in the MCU. The prison break is pretty spectacular. </div><div><br /></div><div>This movie goes pretty hard on the horrors of the Red Room. Opening with basically child slavery and showing the training they underwent in the credits with that haunting cover of Smells Like Teen Spirit is probably creepier and more effective than any other origin sequences would have been. We've had plenty of snapshots of the program, from implied honey pot work by a teenager, forced sterilization, murder from a young age, and so these still images and snippets of video let us see exactly what Natasha and the other Widows went through.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Widows as an organization of deadly female assassins is a natural extrapolation of having two Black Widows in the comics, and it's a really good expansion of the concept. To be honest, I feel like this would have worked really well as a TV miniseries that expanded on all the characters, but Yelena gets to reappear and develop in Hawkeye, so that kind of works anyway.</div><div><br /></div><div>Natasha's tech/ID connect is Rick Mason a.k.a. The Agent. In the comics, a pretty deep cut, the son of Spider-Man foe The Tinkerer, who has also appeared in the Spidey movies in the MCU in a very different take. As with most of the characters in this movie, he's so modified as to be a new character, but he serves his purpose well. He's not as memorable or fun as the best MCU supporting cast like Spidey's Ned or Ant-Man's Luis, but... he's fine.</div><div><br /></div><div>Taskmaster is a favorite villain of mine. His power is cool and really easy to do in comics, where you can make explicit that he's duplicating moves of existing heroes and villains. He's a smartass and also someone who decided to use his powers to train henchmen for other villains. And he's a mutant whose power is photographic reflexes. This version is... fine. But it feels like they stole a lot of his personality and the really cool origin of his powers in order to give us an only OK surprise. I hope that MCU Taskmaster gets to be a lot cooler and more fun in Thunderbolts. That said, if you watch some of the online videos and see how much work the fight choreographers put in to Taskmaster's moves to echo other characters, it's clear that they did the work. I just wish they'd called it out a bit more in the movie. It's like they wanted Taskmaster to be like the Terminator, silent and implacable, but it doesn't quite work.</div><div><br /></div><div>And then there's grown-up Yelena. In the comics, Yelena Belova was introduced by Greg Rucka & Devin Grayson as the replacement for Natasha, and she was trying to kill her. Making her instead a foster sister is a much better replacement. And Florence Pugh absolutely kills it here, her deadpan sarcasm and casual confidence are winning, and she is believable as someone who just incorporated all her trauma and kept rolling forward. Love her teasing Widow about her fight poses and her larger-than-life superhero life, but it also tells an important bit of story, that Yelena resents Natasha for basically forgetting about her, and that she wants to be the heroic role model, not the killer she is. There's another nod to her very Russian, very deadpan suicidal nature during the prison escape, with her bemused "this would be a cool way to die." </div><div><br /></div><div>Would it have *killed* them to pay off that Winter Soldier and Natasha met each other in the Red Room? For that matter, I would have loved to have seen the Natasha/Hawkeye flashback, rather than just being told about it. The film does a good job picking up on the Dreykov's daughter bit that was mentioned in Avengers, and fleshing it out, but a little de-aged Jeremy Renner/Scarlet Johannson flashback would have been great.</div><div><br /></div><div>Fun to see Ursa Major in the prison sequence, although I would have loved to have seen him turn into a bear during that prison riot. Also, Red Guardian's tale of meeting Captain America... just boasts? If so, I don't think he would have asked Natasha about him. Hints at Jack Monroe, a.k.a. Nomad? Hints at Isaiah Bradley? Seems more likely. Either way, I want to see that resolved.</div><div><br /></div><div>Love the Red Room being basically a Russian helicarrier. Complete with Russian versions of the Quinjets. The MCU has a reputation, not entirely unearned, for having weaker third acts, but this whole movie, from the moment they land on the Red Room all the way to that amazing falling fight sequence at the end, is spectacular. The battle through the falling debris of the Red Room is the big superhero set piece, an imaginative and evocative fight for people whose super powers are basically super martial arts.</div><div><br /></div><div>Ray Winstone is pretty English to be Russian, but in his relatively few minutes of screen time, he makes a great General Dreykov. Slimy, utterly convinced of his own power and position, and brutal to those under his command. The way he uses these women, including his own daughter, as if they were nothing more than killer robots, makes it deeply satisfying when Yelena finally does get him. Also Natasha getting him to break her nose so the pheremonal lock doesn't work is some pretty badass shit. And getting him talking, giving away his secrets, is exactly the trick that she used on Loki.</div><div><br /></div><div>The chemistry between the made-up Russian family of Red Guardian, Malina, Natasha, and Yelena is so good that I'm actually pretty sad we'll never see more of it. When things turns serious at the dinner table and really shows how screwed up Natasha and Yelena are, and how much Yelena wanted her family to be real, everyone involved makes it very real even in this heightened superhero genre film. Natasha's sacrifice in Endgame is important, but I'd rather have had her and this cast continue on in the MCU, exploring the espionage side of the universe. But at least we'll get Red Guardian and Yelena (and Taskmaster, I think?) together in Thunderbolts.</div></div><div><br /></div><div><b>What If? (August 2021)</b></div><div><div>I love the concept of What If? and Elseworlds and alternate world takes. It's probably part of the reason I love Spider-Verse so much. Gimme a multiverse and in general, you've got to work hard to make me not like it. Which is why I'm a little disappointed that I only love about half of this series, and I think there are two legitimate clunkers (What If? Doctor Strange and What If? Thor) in the bunch.<br /><br />One of the touches I love about this is when we see The Watcher in the background, invisible to the people he's watching. Jeffrey Wright definitely understood the assignment too, and gives us the perfect Uatu.</div><div><br /></div><div>What If? opens strong, if a little predictably, with the back-to-back tale of Captain Carter and Star-Lord T'Challa. Both feel like they're working a little too hard to elevate their leads when neither character nor actor needs that kind of thumb on the scale. Is it funny that T'Challa is so much better at being Star-Lord that he actually talks Thanos out of his lifelong genocide plan? Yes. Does it make sense? Not really. But the What If? formula in comics usually involved a mix of "everything would stay sort of the same, the timeline corrects" and "everything would be so terrible that everyone dies" and these first two sort of lean into that first one.<br /><br />In particular, how much you'll enjoy Captain Carter relies on how much you liked Captain America the First Avenger and how much you like the Peggy/Steve relationship. Tony building the HYDRA Stomper for Steve using a captured cube is something I like very much, Sharon just wailing on some Nazis with a sword and shield is also something I like very much. There's not a lot of twists and turns here, but it's an enjoyable story to me.<br /><br />Star-Lord T'Challa is also very enjoyable, but it's... odd. It kinda feels like they want to get that James Gunn weirdness and heart in but don't quite know how to manage it. I love the way all the relationships get tweaked with T'Challa in the role, I didn't *quite* buy Tivan as a big bad because he's such a quirky goofball, but it mostly works. </div><div><br /></div><div>A murder mystery conspiracy thriller about how the Avengers didn't form in this universe was not what I expected from the third episode, but given how much I like the SHIELD/spy stuff, this became one of my favorite episodes. And I love the way Fury and Widow work together.</div><div><br /></div><div>The voice cast on the show in general is impressive, but episode three is a particular high point, with Fury, Hawkeye, Hulk, Loki, Crossbones, and Agent Coulson, and Lake Bell picking up the slack to do a pretty perfect Black Widow. </div><div><br /></div><div>I love that episode three opens with an unseen scene from Iron Man 2, before it all goes wrong. There are also visual and story references to a lot of early Marvel, including scenes from Incredible Hulk and Thor.</div><div><br /></div><div>In retrospect, the reveal of how the murders took place was very clever, but there was really no way to figure it out on first watch. Usually I'd say that's not playing fair with the audience when it comes to a mystery, but I think it works here.</div><div><br /></div><div>Also that last fight between a disguised Loki and a bitter Yellowjacket version of Hank is a ton of fun. As is Loki predictably deciding to take over the Earth with no Avengers to stop him.</div><div><br /></div><div>In the MCU, I've always liked Doctor Strange more as part of an ensemble, and his What If? episode is no exception. It's cool to see chaos magic and time manipulation and magic played with on this level, but I've never quite bought into the romance between Christine and Strange, and so all the stories trying to convince me that it's so important fall a little flat.</div><div><br /></div><div>Also, Christine's death can't be an Absolute Point, because the entirety of Strange's real origin has Christine alive and him in the accident, so it's a weird premise. And introduces a bunch of new stuff, like the Library of Cagliostro, which is completely original to this episode but doesn't exist in the MCU anywhere else. A few Easter eggs when he's absorbing beings would have been nice. Given that What If? is about alternate paths of characters and events we've known, this one feels more like an original Dr. Strange story, and not a super-interesting one. </div></div><div><br />While I like Marvel Zombies, the sort of dark humor take that Kirkman gave it was not my favorite, and so I wasn't expecting a lot, and I think it wound up as my favorite episode. The choice to have mostly the more low-powered characters left to fight the super zombie apocalypse really works, and I loved seeing Sharon Carter, Winter Soldier, Wasp, Okoye, Happy, Kurt (from Ant-Man), an unpowered Bruce Banner, and of course Spidey all together. Even if, true to zombie form, not all of them make it past the first encounter with zombies.</div><div><br /></div><div>The origin of a zombie plague, which I know Kirkman doesn't have much interest in exploring (and I don't know that he did), makes a lot of sense as something from the Quantum Realm. <br /><br />Having Spidey the pop culture aficionado make a Zombieland style how to survive the zombie apocalypse is a fun touch too. Using Peter Parker was a particularly smart move in general, because he gets to be the light of hope in the darkness when they need it. <br /><br />There's also a really nice balance between goofy and serious here. Ant-Man as a severed head floating around on the cape works and is kinda sweet too. Wasp's last ride is tragic and heroic, but then we get the hilarious bit of her throwing a zombie at their escaping quinjet and it bouncing off harmlessly. Using Vision as another bad guy, the "man gone mad" in the zombie apocalypse scenario, mostly works if you buy into the depth of his relationship with Scarlet Witch, which I do. </div><div><br /></div><div>I still kind of hate the episode with Bro-Thor. I know that everyone became convinced that wacky was the way to go with Thor thanks to Taika Waititi, but as we learned in Love & Thunder, not even Taika could pull the trick off twice. There's stuff I like, including Captain Marvel coming down to lay a smackdown on Thor, and the science/magic couple tattoos of Thor and Jane, but it's few and far between.</div><div><br /></div><div><div><b>Hawkeye (November 2021)</b></div><div>I was pretty much always going to love a Hawkeye show. In fact, the only way I wouldn't have loved it is if I had *hated* it. Because while Jeremy Renner's Hawkeye bears little resemblance to my favorite version (that would be '80s newlywed Hawkeye running the West Coast Avengers), he has made him a likable, sardonic everyman hero in the MCU in the little bits he's been allowed to do.</div><div><br /></div><div>So when given a wider canvas to work with, and a perfect partner in Hailee Steinfeld's Kate Bishop, it's no surprise that Renner came through. That it is also the Shane Black style Christmas MCU movie we didn't get (Iron Man 3 is the one we did get, and the less said about that, the better) is the little light-up angel on top of the tree.</div><div><br /></div><div>Hawkeye and Green Arrow are two of my favorite characters. I dunno, I just have a thing for archer superheroes, I guess. But I love the goofy elements that a lot of writers are embarrassed by. Give me trick arrows and impossible shots and normal people taking beatings that only superheroes should be able to take.</div><div><br /></div><div>And Hawkeye does that, but it also shows that Hawkeye and Kate are both vulnerable. Giving Clint his trademark hearing loss but instead of getting it from biting down on a sonic arrow to stop sound-based mind control (no, really, look it up) he can't pin down which explosion or concussion caused it? *chef's kiss*</div><div><br /></div><div>Likewise, Hawkeye having a secret family and kids is an Ultimates thing, something Mark Millar used for cheap drama by having them all murdered, and I'm glad that instead the creators in the MCU made it a centerpiece of why Hawkeye does what he does. Seeing him try to enjoy a New York Christmas with his family is delightful, and the scene with him talking to his little boy with the help of Kate is legitimately heart-warming and heart-breaking at the same time.</div><div><br /></div><div>But it also makes the relationship between Clint and Kate work better than it does in the comics. And it works great in the comics, but the whole reluctant mentor/surrogate dad thing that he's got going gets much more reinforced by having Kate's dad killed instead of being a supervillain, and by having Clint be a dad in his regular life already. And Kate's hero worship of Clint, her sincerity, works better than the patented snark that is Matt Fraction's stock in trade. I want to be clear, the Fraction/Aja run is a *huge* influence on this show, and it's a good thing, but I think again that the MCU has improved on the source material.</div><div><br /></div><div>Like the Tracksuit Mafia. And Echo. And the goofy, lovable version of Swordsman. All just great here. And of course, Lucky the Pizza Dog is great, but you can't improve on that, because he is always the best boy who did nothing wrong.</div><div><br /></div><div>I remember when this was coming out, everyone kept speculating that Kingpin was involved, and I was like "Nah, they're not gonna bring in any of the Netflix stuff." (I did the same thing with Daredevil. My track record for that is, uh, not great. I'm so glad they did, though. Vincent D'Onofrio makes a great, menacing Kingpin, and they really gave him the MCU upgrade here, with note-perfect costuming (that flower pattern shirt!) and a physicality and power that pushes him into near-superhuman. Look at him throwing Kate around, taking a hit from an arrow and a car and then getting up and walking around again. He's not in this a lot, but he *owns* the screen when he is.</div><div><br /></div><div>Speaking of memorable guest stars, bringing in Yelena from Black Widow honestly elevates the Black Widow movie about half a star for me in hindsight. The most fun is when she and Kate are talking things over in her apartment, the second most fun is when they're fighting it out in the building, but the really crucial bit is when she and Clint have emotional catharsis, bonding over the death of Natasha.</div><div><br /></div><div>The action in this show is top notch. That car chase, complete with Pym arrow and bridge-jumping, cable line swinging escape. Clint taking on the Tracksuit mafia. The LARPer battle for the Ronin suit. And everything about the finale, especially all the trick arrows, Kate bringing down the Rockefeller tree, and those perfect new costumes.</div><div><br /></div><div>Then there's the cherry on top for me, the reveal that the watch they've been looking for the whole time belongs to Laura, and she was SHIELD, and she was Agent 19, and that pretty much seals that she's Mockingbird, that she just retired to a new identity. And *that* means we could maybe see the adventures of young Hawkeye and Mockingbird in the future. Even if we don't, knowing that Clint and Bobbi made it work in the MCU, that they have kids and a stable relationship, unlike the continuity shitshow that it devolved into in the comics, makes me very happy.</div><div><br /></div><div>I could write more about this... it's six episodes but I loved every minute of it. I didn't even really touch on Vera Farmiga's perfect performance as Kate's mom, and I only lightly touched on Tony Dalton as Jack. Hell, I almost forgot to talk about Rogers! The Musical, which just killed me the first time I saw it. Just a perfect version of an MCU show I always wanted.<br /><br /><br /><div><b>Wakanda Forever (November 2022)</b></div><div>The joy of Wakanda contrasted with the death of T'Challa (and Chadwick Boseman) feels like a respectful way to pay tribute to the actor who just embodied the character. It's like we were all invited to the public funeral of this version of the man, not the real person that we didn't all know, but everything he represented as the hero. I understand the calls to recast T'Challa, but I think that the creators did an excellent job with the decision that they made. And T'Challa's coffin being taken up into a ship, representing his ascension to an afterlife, was a nice touch. Also not since Up has any movie had the whole audience crying before the credits rolled.</div><div><br /></div><div>Speaking of contrast, the verbal smackdown Ramonda lays down on the arrogant members of the UN works nicely with the physical smackdown the Dora Milaje lay down on their mercenaries in the Wakandan Outreach Center. The "oh shit" moment of the Dora revealing themselves had me just grinning when I watched this. Also, it's a funny moment, but Okoye's distaste for the energy daggers of Shuri carries forward the tradition vs. change arguments that were a big part of the first movie. The same argument plays out in the introduction of the Midnight Angels, a fairly new set of characters from Ta-Nehishi Coates' run, who are recreated note perfectly here, and in Shuri's disinterest in recreating the heart-shaped herb and the mantle of Black Panther.</div><div><br /></div><div>I love that even in a world with Thor and Bast, Shuri is still basically an atheist, and is pushing back against her mother's more spiritual grieving. I know that her arc is basically learning to accept tradition and spirituality, but it's as rare to see atheism portrayed this way as it is to see nakedly anti-colonialism and I love that Coogler puts it in these movies.</div><div><br /></div><div>Talokan is such a reinvention of Atlantis and Namor its almost a wholly original idea. Making Talokan another site of vibranium, tying it into Namor's powers, and portraying Talokan and Wakanda as mirror images of those affected by colonialism is just all really smart, and a good engine for conflict. </div><div><br /></div><div>The Talokani having sirens is a neat idea, and makes sense as an aquatic threat. I'm kind of surprised they've never done with Atlanteans. I really like the reinvention of Atlantis as Talokan, although I think in trying to make them scary Coogler made everything a bit too dark, and often hard to really see or appreciate all the work that went into those visual designs.</div><div><br /></div><div>Talokan technology is as inventive and different as Wakandan technology was in the first movie. The "water bombs" to give them an advantage in fights is pretty clever. And the flooding of Wakanda, seeing them under attack, is suitably horrific that even if you sympathize with Namor up to that point, it's clear he's sort of crossed the line. I'm not 100% sure I needed him to kill Ramonda, but I understand why the filmmakers felt he had to.</div><div><br /></div><div>In the comics, Namora was Namor's cousin and eventually a member of Agents of Atlas (and mother of Namorita, a New Warrior). She feels like a character open to reinterpretation, and making her the more hawkish daughter of Namor, who is more overtly immortal in this interpretation, is a good reinvention. </div><div><br /></div><div>Another great reinvention is Nakia, who in the comics was sort of a villainous ex-Milaje with a crush on T'Challa. Reinventing her as Wakanda's premier spy and T'Challa's true love gives her a lot more to do, and of course sets up that great post-credits sequence.</div><div><br /></div><div>As cool as the reveal about Hydra/SHIELD was in Winter Soldier, I think in retrospect that getting rid of SHIELD was a huge mistake. The facility the Talokani attack, who exactly Julia Louis-Dreyfus's Val works for, it's all a bit nebulous, sort of CIA/NSA, and it really feels like it should have been SHIELD. That said, everything with Everett Ross and Val, including the revelation that they were married, is delightful.</div><div><br /></div><div>There are a lot of callbacks to the original Black Panther in this. Ramonda returning to Wakanda after the UN is a visual callback to the return of T'Challa after the death of his father. She then goes right to Shuri and her lab, just as T'Challa did. Coogler is establishing the characters, in the same way he did in the first movie.</div><div><br /></div><div>I thought they were going to tie in Riri Williams by way of the Wakandan Outreach center, and make her a protege of Shuri, but making her the only one smart enough to develop a Vibranium detector and thus a conflict point between Wakanda, Talokan, and the U.S. works really well. Riri's reaction to Shuri, recognizing her immediately and asking if she was being recruited, made me fall in love with her right away. And Shuri recognizes right away their kinship, noting that "brilliance at a young age is not always respected by the elders."</div><div><br /></div><div>Shuri seeing Killmonger in the spirit realm was a shock, and it makes perfect sense. Shuri is struggling with her anger and her resistance to the traditions of Wakanda, in different ways from Erik Killmonger, but similar enough that it makes sense. The conflict between Shuri's revenge (for T'Challa, for her mother, for everything) and her becoming Black Panther and a leader is, if not as effective as T'Challa's realization of the tainted legacy of his father, still pretty damn effective.</div><div><br /></div><div>This movie could have used more M'Baku, but his relationship with Shuri, as reluctant advisor, is interesting. By necessity, it changes his character, making him less of the fun outsider that he was in the first movie and in Infinity War, but Shuri had to shift roles as well, as did everyone, with the loss of Chadwick Boseman. Leaving M'Baku in charge, though, is fun, and I can't wait to see the follow-up. Especially with Ross now in exile in Wakanda as well.</div><div><br /></div><div>That last fight between Shuri and Namor is brutal. Glad they worked in the Imperius Rex, and I like that there's a callback to "show him who you are" from Ramonda. And the callback to the "vengeance has consumed us" from Civil War. There's an argument to be made that both Black Panther movies pull back from their more militant messages at the end to give us the more traditionally noble superhero ending, but... I'm a sucker for that kind of thing, so it works for me.</div><div><br /></div><div>Then there's that epilogue. I know there was some controversy (to say the least) about not recasting T'Challa, but the revelation in Haiti lets them have their cake and eat it too. Shuri can be Black Panther for a while, and then, eventually, T'Challa will be the Black Panther again. Chadwick Boseman gets a fitting tribute, we get a strong female black character in the MCU, and everyone gets their strong black male role model back too.</div><div><br /></div><div>Last quick thoughts:</div><div><br /></div><div>I love a lot of the designs in this movie. Both Ironhearts (in particular the post-Wakandan design), everything to do with Namor and Talokan, the Midnight Angels, Nakia's spy suit... but that big Wakandan platform at the end is kind of a clunky design. Would have loved to have seen a Wakandan Helicarrier or something.</div><div><br /></div><div>"The American equivalent of a Wakandan village school" being how Okoye describes Harvard is hilarious.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Boston car chase is good, but it doesn't hold a candle to the chase in Korea in the first movie. </div><div><br /></div><div>Attuma in the comics is one of Namor's most notable foes, I wish he'd been given enough development to be Namor's M'Baku, but he's kind of just a brute without much character. But there are a *lot* of characters to service in this movie, so that's fair.</div><div><br /></div><div>It wasn't until my second viewing of this that I realized Ramonda was about to tell Shuri about T'Challa Jr. right before Namor showed up. I'm glad they revealed that she knew about her grandchild before she died. Still question the decision to kill Ramonda, though, especially given how much Angela Bassett just shined in this role.</div></div></div></div>Randy Landerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01927023143072517623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5218203.post-67410263625692243972023-12-01T00:04:00.084-06:002023-12-01T00:04:00.132-06:00Monthly Update - November 2023<p> <b>Read 50 Graphic Novels + 12 Novels (Last Year 68) (19+10)</b></p><ul><li>How to Be Perfect: The Correct Answer to Every Moral Question</li></ul><div><div></div><div><div><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol></div><ol></ol><ol></ol><b>Comics I Read This Month (Last Year 363) (367+38=405)</b><div><ul><li>Amazing Spider-Man Gang War First Strike #1</li><li>Avengers Inc. #3</li><li>Batman Off-World #1</li><li>Crave #1</li><li>D&D Fortune Finder #1</li><li>Daredevil #3</li><li>Daredevil Black Armor #1</li><li>Doctor Strange #9</li><li>Fantastic Four #13</li><li>Fishflies #3</li><li>Green Lantern War Journal #3</li><li>Howard the Duck #1</li><li>Immortal Thor #4</li><li>Justice League vs. Godzilla vs. Kong #2</li><li>Luke Cage Gang War #1</li><li>Marvel Superheroes Secret Wars Battleworld #1</li><li>Marvel Unleashed #4</li><li>Moon Knight #29</li><li>Nightwing #108</li><li>Outsiders #1</li><li>Punisher #1</li><li>Quest #4</li><li>Sensational She-Hulk #2</li><li>Spider-Boy #1</li><li>Spider-Woman #1</li><li>Star Trek #14</li><li>Superior Spider-Man #1</li><li>Swan Songs #5</li><li>The Deviant #1</li><li>The Holy Roller #1</li><li>Titans #5</li><li>Titans Beast World #1</li><li>Transformers #2</li><li>Ultimate Universe #1</li><li>Universal Monsters Dracula #2</li><li>Usagi Yojimbo Ice and Snow #2</li><li>Void Rivals #6</li><li>Wesley Dodds The Sandman #2</li></ul><div><b>Top 10 Comics This Month:</b></div></div></div><div><ol><li>Transformers #2</li><li>Birds of Prey #3</li><li>Marvel Unleashed #4</li><li>Fantastic Four #13</li><li>The Deviant #1</li><li>Avengers Inc. #3</li><li>Immortal Thor #4</li><li>Nightwing #108</li><li>Titans #5</li><li>D&D Fortune Finder #1</li></ol></div><b>TV I Watched This Month:</b><ul><li>Doctor Who and the Star-Beast</li><li>Fargo"Season 5"</li><li>Gen V "Season 1"</li><li>Julia "Season 2"</li><li>Last Week Tonight "Season 10"</li><li>Lawmen Bass Reeves "Season 1"</li><li>Loki "Season 2"</li><li>Monarch Legacy of Monsters "Season 1"</li><li>Quantum Leap "Season 2"</li><li>Review "Season 3"</li><li>Schitt's Creek "Season 2-3"</li><li>Scott Pilgrim Takes Off "Season 1"</li><li>Shoresy "Season 2"</li><li>Star Trek Lower Decks "Season 4"</li></ul><b>Top 50 TV This Year So Far:</b></div><div><div><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>Ted Lasso</li><li>The Bear</li><li>Fall of the House of Usher</li><li>Barry</li><li>Poker Face</li><li>Shrinking</li><li>Star Trek Strange New Worlds</li><li>Last of Us</li><li>My Adventures with Superman</li><li>Afterparty</li><li>Party Down</li><li>One Piece</li><li>GenV</li><li>Only Murders in the Building</li><li>Sex Education</li><li>What We Do In The Shadows</li><li>Star Trek Lower Decks</li><li>Fargo</li><li>Marvelous Mrs. Maisel</li><li>It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia</li><li>Loki</li><li>Quantum Leap</li><li>Monarch Legacy of Monsters</li><li>Mrs. Davis</li><li>Primo</li><li>Special Ops: Lioness</li><li>Never Have I Ever</li><li>Harley Quinn</li><li>The Mandalorian</li><li>Justified City Primeval</li><li>Last Week Tonight</li><li>Julia</li><li>Doctor Who</li><li>Muppet Mayhem</li><li>Schmigadoon</li><li>Hijack</li><li>Bupkis</li><li>White House Plumbers</li><li>Top Chef</li><li>Ghosts</li><li>Star Trek Picard</li><li>Minx</li><li>The Good Fight</li><li>Star Wars Bad Batch</li><li>Twisted Metal</li><li>Good Omens</li><li>Grand Crew</li><li>Ahsoka</li><li>Scott Pilgrim Takes Off</li><li>The Simpsons</li></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol></div><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><b>Movies I Watched This Month: </b><div><ul><li>Christmas Vacation</li><li>Planes, Trains, and Automobiles</li><li>Quiz Lady</li><li>The Drop</li><li>The Marvels</li><li>Tucker and Dale vs. Evil</li></ul><div><b>Favorite New Movies This Year So Far:</b></div><div><ol><li>Spider-Man Across the Spider-Verse</li><li>The Marvels</li><li>Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3</li><li>Joy Ride</li><li>Dungeons & Dragons Honor Among Thieves</li><li>Mission Impossible Dead Reckoning Part One</li><li>Scream VI</li><li>Evil Dead Rise</li><li>Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny</li><li>Barbie</li><li>Talk to Me</li><li>Totally Killer</li><li>Quiz Lady</li><li>No One Will Save You</li><li>Asteroid City</li><li>Operation Fortune Ruse de Guerre</li><li>Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar</li><li>Transformers Rise of the Beasts</li><li>Theater Camp</li><li>No Hard Feelings</li><li>Blue Beetle</li><li>Knock at the Cabin</li><li>Ant-Man and Wasp Quantumania</li><li>Cocaine Bear</li></ol></div><b>Places I Ate This Month (Last Year 441): (319+27=346)</b><div><ul><li>Buddha Burger</li><li>Gus's Fried Chicken</li><li>Jewboy Burgers (x2)</li><li>Marafuku Ramen</li><li>Ng Cafe</li><li>P. Terry's</li><li>Panda Express (x2)</li><li>Popeye's</li><li>Ramen Tatsu-Ya</li><li>Razzoos</li><li>Rodeo Goat (x3)</li><li>Rudy's</li><li>Shake Shack (x3)</li><li>Sonic</li><li>Texas Chili Parlor</li><li>Texas Roadhouse</li><li>Thai Lotus</li><li>Tumble 22</li><li>Velvet Taco</li><li>Vera Cruz</li><li>Whataburger</li></ul></div></div></div>Randy Landerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01927023143072517623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5218203.post-85399463891746736012023-11-01T00:00:00.105-05:002023-11-01T19:51:30.462-05:00Monthly Update - October 2023<p> <b>Read 50 Graphic Novels + 12 Novels (Last Year 68) (19+9)</b></p><ul><li>Deserter by Junji Ito</li><li>Tombs by Junji Ito</li><li>D&D Endless Nights of Adventure TP</li></ul><div><div></div><div><div><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol></div><ol></ol><ol></ol><b>Comics I Read This Month (Last Year 363) (319+48=367)</b><div><ul><li>Alan Scott Green Lantern #1</li><li>Avengers #6</li><li>Avengers Inc #2</li><li>Batman #138</li><li>Batman City of Madness #1</li><li>Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees #1</li><li>Birds of Prey #2</li><li>Bite-Sized Tales of Terror #1</li><li>CapWolf & The Howling Commandos #1</li><li>Captain America #2</li><li>Catwoman #58</li><li>Daredevil #2</li><li>Doctor Strange #8</li><li>Fantastic Four #12</li><li>Fire & Ice Welcome to Smallville #2</li><li>Giant Robot Hellboy #1</li><li>Green Lantern War Journal #2</li><li>Hell to Pay #4</li><li>Immortal Thor #3</li><li>Jay Garrick: The Flash #1</li><li>Justice League vs. Godzilla vs. Kong #1</li><li>Marvel Unleashed #3</li><li>Marvel Zombies Black, White & Blood #1</li><li>Money Shot #5</li><li>Moon Knight #28</li><li>Nightwing #107</li><li>Operation Sunshine #1</li><li>Peacemaker Tries Hard! #6</li><li>Rumpus Room #2</li><li>Sensational She-Hulk #1</li><li>Space Usagi Yokai Hunter #1</li><li>Star Trek #13</li><li>Star Trek Defiant #8</li><li>Star Trek Holo-Ween #1-4</li><li>Subgenre #1</li><li>Superior Spider-Man Returns #1</li><li>Superman #7</li><li>Swan Songs #4</li><li>TMNT/Stranger Things #4</li><li>The Enfield Gang Massacre #3</li><li>Titans #4</li><li>Transformers #1</li><li>Universal Monsters Dracula #1</li><li>Void Rivals #5</li><li>Wesley Dodds Sandman #1</li></ul><div><b>Top 10 Comics This Month:</b></div></div></div><div><ol><li>Fantastic Four #12</li><li>Transformers #1</li><li>Avengers Inc. #2</li><li>Nightwing #107</li><li>Star Trek Defiant #8</li><li>Star Trek Holo-Ween #1-4</li><li>Peacemaker Tries Hard! #6</li><li>Birds of Prey #2</li><li>Doctor Strange #8</li><li>Green Lantern War Journal #2</li></ol></div><b>TV I Watched This Month:</b><ul><li>Ahsoka "Season 1"</li><li>Fall of the House of Usher "Season 1"</li><li>Gen V "Season 1"</li><li>Loki "Season 2"</li><li>Only Murders in the Building "Season 3"</li><li>Quantum Leap "Season 2"</li><li>Schitt's Creek "Season 2"</li><li>Schmigadoon "Season 2"</li><li>Shoresy "Season 2"</li><li>Star Trek Lower Decks "Season 4"</li><li>Star Trek Voyager "Season 1"</li></ul><b>Top TV This Year So Far:</b></div><div><div><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>Ted Lasso</li><li>The Bear</li><li>Fall of the House of Usher</li><li>Barry</li><li>Poker Face</li><li>Shrinking</li><li>Star Trek Strange New Worlds</li><li>Last of Us</li><li>My Adventures with Superman</li><li>Afterparty</li><li>Party Down</li><li>One Piece</li><li>GenV</li><li>Only Murders in the Building</li><li>Sex Education</li><li>What We Do In The Shadows</li><li>Star Trek Lower Decks</li><li>Marvelous Mrs. Maisel</li><li>It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia</li><li>Loki</li><li>Quantum Leap</li><li>Mrs. Davis</li><li>Primo</li><li>Special Ops: Lioness</li><li>Never Have I Ever</li><li>Harley Quinn</li><li>The Mandalorian</li><li>Justified City Primeval</li><li>Last Week Tonight</li><li>Muppet Mayhem</li><li>Schmigadoon</li><li>Hijack</li><li>Bupkis</li><li>White House Plumbers</li><li>Top Chef</li><li>Ghosts</li><li>Star Trek Picard</li><li>Minx</li><li>The Good Fight</li><li>Star Wars Bad Batch</li><li>Twisted Metal</li><li>Good Omens</li><li>Grand Crew</li><li>Ahsoka</li><li>The Simpsons</li><li>Mayor of Kingstown</li><li>The Other Black Girl</li><li>Secret Invasion</li><li>I'm A Virgo</li><li>The Recruit</li></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol></div><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><b>Movies I Watched This Month: </b><div><ul><li>Candyman</li><li>Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar</li><li>Werewolf by Night</li><li>The Blackcoat's Daughter</li><li>Totally Killer</li><li>Doctor Sleep Director's Cut</li><li>You Might Be The Killer</li><li>Halloween III Season of the Witch</li><li>Bodies Bodies Bodies</li><li>Final Girls</li></ul><div><b>Favorite New Movies This Year So Far:</b></div><div><ol><li>Spider-Man Across the Spider-Verse</li><li>Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3</li><li>Joy Ride</li><li>Dungeons & Dragons Honor Among Thieves</li><li>Mission Impossible Dead Reckoning Part One</li><li>Scream VI</li><li>Evil Dead Rise</li><li>Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny</li><li>Barbie</li><li>Talk to Me</li><li>Totally Killer</li><li>No One Will Save You</li><li>Asteroid City</li><li>Operation Fortune Ruse de Guerre</li><li>Wonderful Life of Henry Sugar</li><li>Transformers Rise of the Beasts</li><li>Theater Camp</li><li>No Hard Feelings</li><li>Blue Beetle</li><li>Knock at the Cabin</li><li>Ant-Man and Wasp Quantumania</li><li>Cocaine Bear</li></ol></div><b>Places I Ate This Month (Last Year 441): (293+29=322)</b><div><ul><li>Arby's</li><li>Budare's</li><li>Buddha Burger</li><li>Chuy's (x2)</li><li>El Dorado Cafe</li><li>Golden Chick</li><li>Jewboy Burgers (x2)</li><li>Jewboy Subs</li><li>Jinya Ramen</li><li>KFC</li><li>ModPizza</li><li>P. Terry's</li><li>Pinthouse Pizza</li><li>Popeye's</li><li>Salt Traders</li><li>Shake Shack</li><li>Shanghai Chinese</li><li>Smoky Mos</li><li>Steamies</li><li>T'Loc's</li><li>Thai Lada</li><li>Torchy's</li><li>Tso's Chinese Delivery</li><li>Velvet Taco</li><li>Wendy's</li><li>Whataburger (x4)</li></ul></div></div></div>Randy Landerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01927023143072517623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5218203.post-59654638890144000832023-10-01T00:00:00.075-05:002023-10-01T00:13:30.781-05:00Monthly Update - September 2023<p> <b>Read 50 Graphic Novels + 12 Novels (Last Year 68) (16+9)</b></p><ul><li>Justice Society of America Vol 1 Omnibus</li></ul><div><div></div><div><div><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol></div><ol></ol><ol></ol><b>Comics I Read This Month (Last Year 363) (281+38=319)</b><div><ul><li>Alpha Flight #2</li><li>Avengers #5</li><li>Avengers Inc #1</li><li>Batman #137</li><li>Batman/Catwoman Gotham War Battle Lines #1</li><li>Batman/Catwoman Gotham War Red Hood #1</li><li>Blue Beetle #1</li><li>Captain America #1</li><li>Catwoman #57</li><li>Daredevil #1</li><li>Doctor Strange #7</li><li>Fantastic Four #11</li><li>Fire & Ice Welcome to Smallville #1</li><li>Fishflies #2</li><li>Green Arrow #4</li><li>Green Lantern War Journal #1</li><li>Immortal Thor #2</li><li>Marvel Unleashed #2</li><li>Money Shot Comes Again #4</li><li>Moon Knight #27</li><li>Nightwing #106</li><li>Peacemaker Tries Hard! #5</li><li>Quest #2</li><li>Rare Flavours #1</li><li>Rumpus Room #1</li><li>Saga #66</li><li>Star Trek #12</li><li>Star Trek Day of Blood Shax's Best Day #1</li><li>Star Trek Defiant #7</li><li>Star Trek Picard's Academy #1</li><li>Superman #6</li><li>Swan Songs #3</li><li>TMNT/Stranger Things #3</li><li>Titans #3</li><li>Ultimate Invasion #4</li><li>Usagi Yojimbo Ice and Snow #1</li><li>Void Rivals #4</li><li>Werewolf by Night #1</li></ul><div><b>Top 10 Comics This Month:</b></div></div></div><div><ol><li>Fantastic Four #11</li><li>Avengers Inc #1</li><li>Titans #3</li><li>Nightwing #106</li><li>Peacemaker Tries Hard! #5</li><li>Rare Flavours #1</li><li>Batman/Catwoman Gotham War Battle Lines #1</li><li>Batman #137</li><li>Doctor Strange #7</li><li>Moon Knight #27</li></ol></div><b>TV I Watched This Month:</b><ul><li>Ahsoka "Season 1"</li><li>Harley Quinn "Season 4"</li><li>Minx "Season 2"</li><li>My Adventures with Superman "Season 1"</li><li>One Piece "Season 1"</li><li>Only Murders in the Building "Season 3"</li><li>Schitt's Creek "Seasons 1-2"</li><li>Schmigadoon "Season 2"</li><li>Sex Education "Season 4"</li><li>Special Ops: Lioness "Season 1"</li><li>Star Trek Lower Decks "Season 4"</li><li>Star Trek Voyager "Season 1"</li><li>The Afterparty "Season 2"</li><li>The Other Black Girl "Season 1"</li><li>You're the Worst "Seasons 3-7"</li></ul><b>Top TV This Year So Far:</b></div><div><div><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>Ted Lasso</li><li>The Bear</li><li>Barry</li><li>Poker Face</li><li>Shrinking</li><li>Star Trek Strange New Worlds</li><li>Last of Us</li><li>My Adventures with Superman</li><li>Afterparty</li><li>Party Down</li><li>One Piece</li><li>Only Murders in the Building</li><li>Sex Education</li><li>What We Do In The Shadows</li><li>Star Trek Lower Decks</li><li>Marvelous Mrs. Maisel</li><li>It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia</li><li>Quantum Leap</li><li>Mrs. Davis</li><li>Primo</li><li>Special Ops: Lioness</li><li>Never Have I Ever</li><li>Harley Quinn</li><li>The Mandalorian</li><li>Justified City Primeval</li><li>Muppet Mayhem</li><li>Ahsoka</li><li>Schmigadoon</li><li>Hijack</li><li>Bupkis</li><li>White House Plumbers</li><li>Top Chef</li><li>Ghosts</li><li>Star Trek Picard</li><li>Minx</li><li>The Good Fight</li><li>Star Wars Bad Batch</li><li>Twisted Metal</li><li>Good Omens</li><li>Grand Crew</li><li>The Other Black Girl</li><li>Last Week Tonight</li><li>The Simpsons</li><li>Mayor of Kingstown</li><li>Secret Invasion</li><li>I'm A Virgo</li><li>The Recruit</li><li>Cunk on Earth</li><li>Not Dead Yet</li><li>Horror of Dolores Roach</li><li>History of the World Part II</li><li>Star Wars Visions</li></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol></div><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><b>Movies I Watched This Month: </b><div><ul><li>Theater Camp</li><li>No One Will Save You</li></ul><div><b>Favorite New Movies This Year So Far:</b></div><div><ol><li>Spider-Man Across the Spider-Verse</li><li>Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3</li><li>Joy Ride</li><li>Dungeons & Dragons Honor Among Thieves</li><li>Mission Impossible Dead Reckoning Part One</li><li>Scream VI</li><li>Evil Dead Rise</li><li>Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny</li><li>Barbie</li><li>Talk to Me</li><li>Asteroid City</li><li>Operation Fortune Ruse de Guerre</li><li>No One Will Save You</li><li>Transformers Rise of the Beasts</li><li>Theater Camp</li><li>No Hard Feelings</li><li>Blue Beetle</li><li>Knock at the Cabin</li><li>Ant-Man and Wasp Quantumania</li><li>Cocaine Bear</li></ol></div><b>Places I Ate This Month (Last Year 441): (276+19=295)</b><div><ul><li>Arby's</li><li>Aster's Ethiopian</li><li>Culver's</li><li>Golden Chick</li><li>Hopdoddy</li><li>Kenney Fort Pub</li><li>KG BBQ (x2)</li><li>ModPizza</li><li>P. Terry's</li><li>Popeye's</li><li>Sushi Nini (x2)</li><li>Taste of Home Dumplings</li><li>Texas Roadhouse</li><li>Tso Chinese Delivery</li><li>Tumble 22</li><li>Vera Cruz</li><li>Whataburger</li></ul></div></div></div>Randy Landerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01927023143072517623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5218203.post-8363410557892358802023-09-01T00:00:00.081-05:002023-09-01T00:00:00.149-05:00Monthly Update - August 2023<p><b>Read 50 Graphic Novels + 12 Novels (Last Year 68) (15+9)</b></p><ul><li>Nothing this month</li></ul><div><div></div><div><div><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol></div><ol></ol><ol></ol><b>Comics I Read This Month (Last Year 363) (247+34=281)</b><div><ul><li>Adventures of Superman Jon Kent #6</li><li>Alpha Flight #1</li><li>Avengers #4</li><li>Conan the Barbarian #1</li><li>Daredevil #14</li><li>Dark Knights of Steel #12</li><li>Death of the Venomverse #1</li><li>Doctor Strange #6</li><li>Fantastic Four #10</li><li>Fire and Ice #1</li><li>Godzilla War for Humanity #1</li><li>Groot #4</li><li>Immortal Thor #1</li><li>Magneto #1</li><li>Marvel Unleashed #1</li><li>Money Shot Comes Again #3</li><li>Moon Knight #26</li><li>Moon Knight Annual #1</li><li>Peacemaker Tries Hard! #4</li><li>Quest #1</li><li>Sandman Universe Special Thessaly #1</li><li>Spider-Man #11</li><li>Star Trek #11</li><li>Star Trek DS9 Dog of War #5</li><li>Star Trek Defiant #6</li><li>Star Wars Dark Droids #1</li><li>Swan Songs #2</li><li>TMNT Stranger Things #2</li><li>The Sacrificers #1</li><li>The Vigil #4</li><li>Ultimate Invasion #3</li><li>Void Rivals #3</li><li>What If? Dark Moon Knight #1</li><li>What If? Dark Venom #1</li></ul><div><b>Top 10 Comics This Month:</b></div></div></div><div><ol><li>Fantastic Four #10</li><li>Adventures of Superman Jon Kent #6</li><li>Moon Knight #26</li><li>Doctor Strange #6</li><li>Peacemaker Tries Hard! #4</li><li>Marvel Unleashed #1</li><li>Quest #1</li><li>Star Trek Defiant #6</li><li>Star Trek #11</li><li>Daredevil #14</li></ol></div><b>TV I Watched This Month:</b><ul><li>Ahsoka "Season 1"</li><li>Harley Quinn "Season 4"</li><li>Justified City Primeval "Season 1"</li><li>Minx "Season 2"</li><li>My Adventures with Superman "Season 1"</li><li>Only Murders in the Building "Season 3"</li><li>Parks & Rec "Seasons 6-7"</li><li>Special Ops: Lioness "Season 1"</li><li>Star Trek Strange New Worlds "Season 2"</li><li>Strange Planet "Season 1"</li><li>The Afterparty "Season 2"</li><li>What We Do In The Shadows "Season 5"</li><li>You're the Worst "Seasons 1-2"</li></ul><b>Top TV This Year So Far:</b></div><div><div><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>Ted Lasso</li><li>The Bear</li><li>Barry</li><li>Poker Face</li><li>Shrinking</li><li>Star Trek Strange New Worlds</li><li>Last of Us</li><li>My Adventures with Superman</li><li>Afterparty</li><li>Party Down</li><li>Only Murders in the Buildings</li><li>What We Do In The Shadows</li><li>Marvelous Mrs. Maisel</li><li>It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia</li><li>Harley Quinn</li><li>Quantum Leap</li><li>Mrs. Davis</li><li>Primo</li><li>Never Have I Ever</li><li>The Mandalorian</li><li>Bupkis</li><li>Ahsoka</li><li>Justified City Primeval</li><li>Special Ops: Lioness</li><li>Hijack</li><li>White House Plumbers</li><li>Top Chef</li><li>Ghosts</li><li>Star Trek Picard</li><li>Minx</li><li>The Good Fight</li><li>Star Wars Bad Batch</li><li>Twisted Metal</li><li>Good Omens</li><li>Grand Crew</li><li>Last Week Tonight</li><li>The Simpsons</li><li>Mayor of Kingstown</li><li>Secret Invasion</li><li>I'm A Virgo</li><li>The Recruit</li><li>Cunk on Earth</li><li>Not Dead Yet</li><li>Horror of Dolores Roach</li><li>History of the World Part II</li><li>Star Wars Visions</li><li>The Consultant</li><li>The Night Agent</li><li>Silo</li><li>Based on a True Story</li></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol></div><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><b>Movies I Watched This Month: </b><div><ul><li>Guardians of the Galaxy 3 </li><li>Across the Spider-Verse</li><li>Tropic Thunder</li><li>Blue Beetle</li><li>Avengers Infinity War</li><li>Avengers Endgame</li><li>Joy Ride</li></ul><div><b>Favorite New Movies This Year So Far:</b></div><div><ol><li>Spider-Man Across the Spider-Verse</li><li>Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3</li><li>Joy Ride</li><li>Dungeons & Dragons Honor Among Thieves</li><li>Mission Impossible Dead Reckoning Part One</li><li>Scream VI</li><li>Evil Dead Rise</li><li>Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny</li><li>Barbie</li><li>Talk to Me</li><li>Asteroid City</li><li>Operation Fortune Ruse de Guerre</li><li>Transformers Rise of the Beasts</li><li>No Hard Feelings</li><li>Blue Beetle</li><li>Knock at the Cabin</li><li>Ant-Man and Wasp Quantumania</li><li>Cocaine Bear</li></ol></div><b>Places I Ate This Month (Last Year 441): (220+26=276)</b><div><ul><li>Arby's</li><li>Aster's Ethiopian</li><li>Beau Jo's Pizza (Denver)</li><li>Biker Jim's Gourmet Dogs (Denver)</li><li>Bodega Denver</li><li>Cherry Cricket (Denver)</li><li>Jack Allen's Kitchen</li><li>Jersey Mikes</li><li>Jewboy Burgers (x2)</li><li>Jewboy Subs</li><li>KFC (x2)</li><li>Nola Jane (Denver)</li><li>San Francisco Bread Company</li><li>Salty Sow</li><li>Smoky Mos (x3)</li><li>Stem Cidery (Denver)</li><li>Sushi Nini</li><li>Taste of Home Dumplings (x2)</li><li>Torchy's</li><li>Tso's Chinese Delivery</li><li>Vera Cruz</li></ul></div></div></div>Randy Landerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01927023143072517623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5218203.post-3956288333010062842023-08-01T00:15:00.091-05:002023-08-01T00:15:00.132-05:00Monthly Update - July 2023<p> <b>Read 50 Graphic Novels + 12 Novels (Last Year 68) (15+9)</b></p><ul><li>Nothing this Month - I don't think I'm gonna make this goal this year</li></ul><div><div></div><div><div><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol></div><ol></ol><ol></ol><b>Comics I Read This Month (Last Year 363) (213+36=247)</b><div><ul><li>Adventures of Superman Jon Kent #5</li><li>All Eight Eyes #4</li><li>Avengers #3</li><li>Barnstormers #1</li><li>Daredevil #13</li><li>Disney Villains Scar #3-4</li><li>Doctor Strange #5</li><li>Fallen Friend The Death of Ms. Marvel #1</li><li>Fantastic Four #9</li><li>Groot #3</li><li>Guardians of the Galaxy #4</li><li>Hallow's Eve #5</li><li>Knight Terrors The Joker #1</li><li>Moon Knight #25</li><li>Peacemaker Tries Hard! #3</li><li>Phantom Road #5</li><li>Seasons Have Teeth #4</li><li>Spider-Man #10</li><li>Spirit World #3</li><li>Star Trek #10</li><li>Star Trek DS9 Dog of War #4</li><li>Star Trek Day of Blood #1</li><li>Star Trek Defiant #5</li><li>Swan Songs #1</li><li>TMNT Usagi Yojimbo Where/When #5</li><li>TMNT vs. Street Fighter #2</li><li>Tales of the Titans Starring Starfire #1</li><li>The Hunger and the Dusk #1</li><li>The Vigil #3</li><li>Ultimate Invasion #2</li><li>W0rldtr33 #4</li><li>What If? Dark Loki #1</li><li>What If? Dark Spider-Gwen #1</li><li>World's Finest Teen Titans #1</li><li>X-Men Days of Future Past Doomsday #1</li></ul><div><b>Top 10 Comics This Month:</b></div></div></div><div><ol><li>Fantastic Four #9</li><li>Peacemaker Tries Hard! #3</li><li>Adventures of Superman Jon Kent #5<br /></li><li>Moon Knight #25</li><li>Doctor Strange #5</li><li>Fallen Friend The Death of Ms. Marvel #1</li><li>Avengers #3</li><li>Tales of the Titans #1 Starfire</li><li>World's Finest Teen Titans #1</li><li>Star Trek Day of Blood #1</li></ol></div><b>TV I Watched This Month:</b><ul><li>Good Omens "Season 2"</li><li>Harley Quinn "Season 4"</li><li>Hijack "Season 1"</li><li>Horror of Dolores Roach "Season 1"</li><li>It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia "Season 16"</li><li>Justified City Primeval "Season 1"</li><li>Mayor of Kingstown "Season 2"</li><li>Minx "Season 2"</li><li>My Adventures with Superman "Season 1"</li><li>Parks & Rec "Seasons 3-5"</li><li>Secret Invasion "Season 1"</li><li>Silo "Season 1"</li><li>Special Ops: Lioness "Season 1"</li><li>Star Trek Strange New Worlds "Season 2"</li><li>Ted Lasso "Seasons 1-2"</li><li>The Afterparty "Season 2"</li><li>The Good Fight "Season 6"</li><li>Twisted Metal "Season 1"</li><li>What We Do In The Shadows "Season 5"</li></ul><b>Top TV This Year So Far:</b></div><div><div><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>Ted Lasso</li><li>The Bear</li><li>Barry</li><li>Poker Face</li><li>Shrinking</li><li>Star Trek Strange New Worlds</li><li>Last of Us</li><li>Marvelous Mrs. Maisel</li><li>Afterparty</li><li>Party Down</li><li>It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia</li><li>What We Do In The Shadows</li><li>Quantum Leap</li><li>Mrs. Davis</li><li>Primo</li><li>Hijack</li><li>Never Have I Ever</li><li>Secret Invasion</li><li>The Mandalorian</li><li>Bupkis</li><li>My Adventures with Superman</li><li>Harley Quinn</li><li>White House Plumbers</li><li>Top Chef</li><li>Ghosts</li><li>Star Trek Picard</li><li>Minx</li><li>The Good Fight</li><li>Star Wars Bad Batch</li><li>Grand Crew</li><li>Special Ops: Lioness</li><li>Last Week Tonight</li><li>The Simpsons</li><li>Mayor of Kingstown</li><li>I'm A Virgo</li><li>The Recruit</li><li>Cunk on Earth</li><li>Not Dead Yet</li><li>Justified City Primeval</li><li>Good Omens</li><li>Horror of Dolores Roach</li><li>History of the World Part II</li><li>Star Wars Visions</li><li>The Consultant</li><li>The Night Agent</li><li>Silo</li><li>Based on a True Story</li></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol></div><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><b>Movies I Watched This Month: </b><div><ul><li>Barbie</li><li>Catch Me If You Can</li><li>Gangs of New York</li><li>Harley Quinn & Birds of Prey</li><li>Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny</li><li>Mission Impossible Dead Reckoning Part One</li><li>Talk to Me</li></ul><div><b>Favorite New Movies This Year So Far:</b></div><div><ol><li>Spider-Man Across the Spider-Verse</li><li>Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3</li><li>Dungeons & Dragons Honor Among Thieves</li><li>Mission Impossible Dead Reckoning Part One</li><li>Scream VI</li><li>Evil Dead Rise</li><li>Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny</li><li>Barbie</li><li>Talk to Me</li><li>Asteroid City</li><li>Operation Fortune Ruse de Guerre</li><li>Transformers Rise of the Beasts</li><li>No Hard Feelings</li><li>Knock at the Cabin</li><li>Ant-Man and Wasp Quantumania</li><li>Cocaine Bear</li></ol></div><b>Places I Ate This Month (Last Year 441): (187+33=220)</b><div><ul><li>Arby's</li><li>Chuy's</li><li>Culver's</li><li>Domino's</li><li>Golden Chick (x2)</li><li>Hoody's Subs</li><li>Hopdoddy's</li><li>Jack Allen's Kitchen</li><li>Jade</li><li>Jewboy Burgers (x2)<br /></li><li>Jinya Ramen</li><li>KFC (x2)</li><li>KG BBQ</li><li>La Popular</li><li>P. Terry's</li><li>Popeye's (x2)</li><li>Sangnam</li><li>Shake Shack</li><li>Short Stop</li><li>Smoky Mo's</li><li>Sushi Nini (x2)</li><li>Texas Roadhouse</li><li>Thai Lada</li><li>T'Loc's</li><li>Tropicana</li><li>Tso's Chinese Delivery</li><li>Via313</li><li>Waffle Love</li></ul></div></div></div>Randy Landerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01927023143072517623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5218203.post-43685206039371738462023-07-01T00:00:00.097-05:002023-07-01T11:01:24.727-05:00Monthly Update - June 2023<p> <b>Read 50 Graphic Novels + 12 Novels (Last Year 68) (15+9)</b></p><ul><li>Spider-Man Animals Assemble!</li><li>Nightwing Vol 3 Battle for Bludhavens Heart HC</li></ul><div><div></div><div><div><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol></div><ol></ol><ol></ol><b>Comics I Read This Month (Last Year 363) (170+43=213)</b><div><ul><li>Adventures of Superman Jon Kent #4</li><li>All Eight Eyes #3</li><li>Ambassadors #6</li><li>Avengers #2</li><li>City Boy #2</li><li>Creed The Next Round #1</li><li>Cyborg #2</li><li>Daredevil #12</li><li>Dark Knights of Steel #11</li><li>Doctor Strange #4</li><li>Fantastic Four #8</li><li>Green Arrow #3</li><li>Green Lantern #2</li><li>Groot #2</li><li>Guardians of the Galaxy #3</li><li>Hallow's Eve #4</li><li>Hell to Pay #5</li><li>In Hell We Fight #1</li><li>Incredible Hulk #1</li><li>Local Man #5</li><li>Moon Knight #24</li><li>Nightwing #105</li><li>Peacemaker Tries Hard #2</li><li>Phantom Road #4</li><li>Poison Ivy #13</li><li>Saga #65</li><li>Scarlet Witch Annual #1</li><li>Shazam #2</li><li>She-Hulk #14</li><li>Spider-Man #9</li><li>Spirit World #2</li><li>Star Trek #9</li><li>Star Trek Deep Space Nine Dog of War #3</li><li>Star Trek Defiant #4</li><li>Starfinder Angels of the Drift #1</li><li>Superman #5</li><li>TMNT/Usagi Yojimbo Where/When #4</li><li>The Seasons Have Teeth #3</li><li>The Vigil #2</li><li>Titans #2</li><li>Ultimate Invasion #1</li><li>Void Rivals #1</li><li>W0rldtr33 #3</li></ul><div><b>Top 10 Comics This Month:</b></div></div></div><div><ol><li>Adventures of Superman Jon Kent #4</li><li>Nightwing #105</li><li>Titans #2</li><li>Avengers #2</li><li>Peacemaker Tries Hard #2</li><li>Dark Knights of Steel #11</li><li>Fantastic Four #8</li><li>W0rldtr33 #3</li><li>Void Rivals #1</li><li>Star Trek #9</li></ol></div><b>TV I Watched This Month:</b><ul><li>American Born Chinese "Season 1"</li><li>Based on a True Story "Season 1"</li><li>Citadel "Season 1"</li><li>Class of '09 "Season 1"</li><li>Cutthroat Kitchen "Season 2"</li><li>I'm A Virgo "Season 1"</li><li>It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia "Season 16"</li><li>Never Have I Ever "Season 4"</li><li>Peacemaker "Season 1"</li><li>Secret Invasion "Season 1"</li><li>Star Trek Deep Space 9 "Season 7"</li><li>Star Trek Strange New Worlds "Season 2"</li><li>Star Wars Visions "Season 2"</li><li>The Bear "Season 2"</li><li>The Good Place "Seasons 1-4"</li><li>The Great "Season 3"</li><li>The Simpsons "Season 34"</li><li>Top Chef "Season 20"</li></ul><b>Top TV This Year So Far:</b></div><div><div><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>Ted Lasso</li><li>The Bear</li><li>Barry</li><li>Poker Face</li><li>Shrinking</li><li>Star Trek Strange New Worlds</li><li>Last of Us</li><li>Marvelous Mrs. Maisel</li><li>Party Down</li><li>Quantum Leap</li><li>Mrs. Davis</li><li>Primo</li><li>Never Have I Ever</li><li>Secret Invasion</li><li>The Mandalorian</li><li>Bupkis</li><li>It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia</li><li>White House Plumbers</li><li>Top Chef</li><li>Ghosts</li><li>Star Trek Picard</li><li>Star Wars Bad Batch</li><li>Grand Crew</li><li>Last Week Tonight</li><li>I'm A Virgo</li><li>The Recruit</li><li>The Simpsons</li><li>Cunk on Earth</li><li>Not Dead Yet</li><li>History of the World Part II</li><li>Star Wars Visions</li><li>The Consultant</li><li>The Night Agent</li><li>Based on a True Story</li><li>Tiny Beautiful Things</li></ol><ol style="text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="text-align: left;"></ol></div><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><b>Movies I Watched This Month: </b><div><ul><li>Spider-Man Into the Spider-Verse</li><li>Spider-Man Across the Spider-Verse (x2)</li><li>Transformers Rise of the Beasts</li><li>Quick & The Dead</li><li>Ant-Man & Wasp Quantumania</li><li>Asteroid City</li><li>Django Unchained</li><li>No Hard Feelings</li></ul><div><b>Favorite New Movies This Year So Far:</b></div><div><ol><li>Spider-Man Across the Spider-Verse</li><li>Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3</li><li>Scream VI</li><li>Dungeons & Dragons Honor Among Thieves</li><li>Evil Dead Rise</li><li>Asteroid City</li><li>Transformers Rise of the Beasts</li><li>Operation Fortune Ruse de Guerre</li><li>No Hard Feelings</li><li>Knock at the Cabin</li><li>Ant-Man and Wasp Quantumania</li></ol></div><b>Places I Ate This Month (Last Year 441): (150+37=187)</b><div><ul><li>Arby's (x2)</li><li>Chuy's</li><li>Cotton Patch Cafe</li><li>Deckhand Oyster Bar</li><li>Firehouse Subs (x2)</li><li>Gangnam Korean BBQ</li><li>Golden Chick</li><li>Gus's Fried Chicken (x2)</li><li>Hideout Pub</li><li>Hoody's Subs</li><li>Hopdoddy's</li><li>Interstellar BBQ</li><li>Jersey Mikes (x2)</li><li>Jewboy Burgers</li><li>Jewboy Subs (x2)</li><li>ModPizza</li><li>Odaku Sushi</li><li>P. Terry's (x2)</li><li>Pinthouse Pizza</li><li>Popeye's</li><li>Raising Cane's</li><li>Salt Traders</li><li>Santorini Cafe</li><li>Soupleaf</li><li>Sushi Nini (x2)</li><li>Texas Roadhouse</li><li>Tropicana</li><li>Tso's Chinese Delivery</li><li>Tumble 22</li><li>Wiseguys</li></ul></div></div></div>Randy Landerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01927023143072517623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5218203.post-68566949344970157482023-06-01T00:00:00.110-05:002023-06-01T17:48:07.281-05:00Monthly Update - May 2023<p> <b>Read 50 Graphic Novels + 12 Novels (Last Year 68) (13+9)</b></p><ul><li>Superman Son of Kal-El Vol 3 HC</li><li>Hack/Slash Vol 3 HC</li></ul><div><div></div><div><div><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol></div><ol></ol><ol></ol><b>Comics I Read This Month (Last Year 363) (126+44=170)</b><div><ul><li>Adventures of Superman Jon Kent #3</li><li>Ambassadors #5</li><li>Avengers #1</li><li>City Boy #1</li><li>Cyborg #1</li><li>Danny Ketch Ghost Rider #1</li><li>Daredevil #11</li><li>Doctor Strange #3</li><li>Fantastic Four #7</li><li>Green Arrow #2</li><li>Green Lantern #1</li><li>Groot #1</li><li>Guardians of the Galaxy #2</li><li>Hairball #2</li><li>Hallow's Eve #3</li><li>Hulk Annual #1</li><li>Joe Fixit #5</li><li>Local Man #4</li><li>Moon Knight #23</li><li>Nightwing #104</li><li>Peacemaker Tries Hard! #1</li><li>Punisher #12</li><li>Shazam! #1</li><li>She-Hulk #13</li><li>Silk #1</li><li>Spider-Man #8</li><li>Spirit World #1</li><li>Star Signs #1</li><li>Star Trek #7-8</li><li>Star Trek Annual 2023 #1</li><li>Star Trek Deep Space Nine The Dog of War #2</li><li>Star Trek Defiant #3</li><li>Star Trek The Motion Picture Echoes #1</li><li>Star Wars Lando #1</li><li>Stargirl and the Lost Children #6</li><li>Superboy Man of Tomorrow #2</li><li>Superman #4</li><li>TMNT Usagi Yojimbo Wherewhen #2-3</li><li>The Vigil #1</li><li>Titans #1</li><li>Where Monsters Lie #4</li><li>W0rldTr33 #2</li></ul><div><b>Top 10 Comics This Month:</b></div></div></div><div><ol><li>Titans #1</li><li>Adventures of Superman Jon Kent #3</li><li>Nightwing #104</li><li>Peacemaker Tries Hard! #1</li><li>Fantastic Four #7</li><li>Avengers #1</li><li>Moon Knight #23</li><li>Doctor Strange #3</li><li>TMNT Usagi Yojimbo Wherewhen #2-3</li><li>W0rldTr33 #2</li></ol></div><b>TV I Watched This Month:</b><ul><li>Barry "Season 4"</li><li>Bupkis "Season 1"</li><li>Citadel "Season 1"</li><li>Class of '09 "Season 1"</li><li>Ghosts "Season 2"</li><li>The Great "Season 3"</li><li>Last Week Tonight "Season 10"</li><li>Not Dead Yet "Season 1"</li><li>Marvelous Mrs. Maisel "Season 4"</li><li>Mrs. Davis "Season 1"</li><li>Primo "Season 1"</li><li>Star Trek Deep Space 9 "Seasons 6-7"</li><li>Ted Lasso "Season 3"</li><li>Top Chef "Season 20"</li><li>White House Plumbers "Season 1"</li></ul><b>Top TV This Year So Far:</b></div><div><div><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>Ted Lasso</li><li>Barry</li><li>Poker Face</li><li>Shrinking</li><li>Last of Us</li><li>Marvelous Mrs. Maisel</li><li>Party Down</li><li>Quantum Leap</li><li>Mrs. Davis</li><li>Primo</li><li>The Mandalorian</li><li>Bupkis</li><li>White House Plumbers</li><li>The Great</li><li>Top Chef</li><li>Ghosts</li><li>Star Trek Picard</li><li>Mayor of Kingstown</li><li>Star Wars Bad Batch</li><li>Grand Crew</li><li>Last Week Tonight</li><li>The Recruit</li><li>Cunk on Earth</li><li>Not Dead Yet</li><li>Citadel</li><li>History of the World Part II</li><li>The Consultant</li><li>The Night Agent</li><li>Grand Crew</li></ol></div><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><b>Movies I Watched This Month: </b><div><ul><li>Confess, Fletch</li><li>Wolf of Wall Street</li><li>Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3</li><li>Evil Dead Rise</li><li>Midnight Run</li></ul><div><b>Favorite New Movies This Year So Far:</b></div><div><ol><li>Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3</li><li>Scream VI</li><li>Dungeons & Dragons Honor Among Thieves</li><li>Evil Dead Rise</li><li>Operation Fortune Ruse de Guerre</li><li>Ant-Man and Wasp Quantumania</li><li>Knock at the Cabin</li><li>Cocaine Bear</li></ol></div><b>Places I Ate This Month (Last Year 441): (115+35=150)</b><div><ul><li>Arby's</li><li>Culver's</li><li>Firehouse Subs</li><li>Golden Chick</li><li>Hoody's Subs</li><li>Jewboy Burgers</li><li>Jewboy Subs (x2)</li><li>Kanji Ramen</li><li>Kenny Fort Pub</li><li>Kerbey Lane</li><li>KFC (x2)</li><li>P. Terry's</li><li>Perry's Steakhouse</li><li>Pinthouse Pizza</li><li>Pizza Hut</li><li>Popeye's (x2)</li><li>Raising Cane's</li><li>Short Stop (x2)</li><li>Smoky Mo's (x2)</li><li>Spicy Boys Fried Chicken</li><li>T'Loc's</li><li>Taco Palenque</li><li>Texas Roadhouse</li><li>Torchy's Tacos</li><li>Tropicana</li><li>Tso's Chinese Delivery</li><li>Uptown Sports Club</li><li>Vera Cruz</li><li>Whataburger</li><li>Wiseguys</li></ul></div></div></div>Randy Landerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01927023143072517623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5218203.post-12819712920143342952023-05-22T22:49:00.007-05:002023-05-22T22:49:33.253-05:00Best of TV 2023 - Halfway Point<p>So we're almost halfway through 2023 (I KNOW) and for those looking for TV to watch, here is my Top 20 as it stands on May 22nd, organized not in order of favorites but by streaming network.</p><p>I'm as surprised as you are that the lead network is probably Peacock, which also has Girls5Eva, Killing It, Rutherford Falls, and AP Bio, all comedies I recommend.</p><p><b>Peacock</b></p><p><i>Poker Face</i> (Rian Johnson. Natasha Lyonne. A stacked cast of guest stars. Maybe the best new show of 2023. All episodes available, but thankfully there's a season 2 coming)</p><p><i>Quantum Leap</i> (I've never seen a full episode of the original, but this continuation of the continuity with new characters is so much better than it has any right to be. Clever, often funny, often touching, with solid mythology and really excellently written episodes of the week)</p><p><i>Mrs. Davis</i> (Damon Lindelof's next iteration of fatih vs. science, featuring an omnipresent AI, a magician's assistant-turned-nun, and so much ridiculousness. A love it or hate it show, and I love it)</p><p><i>Bupkis </i>(Curb Your Enthusiasm style fake autobio with Pete Davidson, really funny and out there)</p><p><b>Apple+</b></p><p><i>Ted Lasso</i> (3 seasons, best show on TV, about to be complete in a couple weeks)</p><p><i>Shrinking</i> (Another contender for best new show of 2023, first season all available, from several creators of Ted Lasso, and Harrison Ford is delightful in this)</p><p><b>HBO Max </b></p><p><i>Barry</i> (4 seasons, among the best shows on TV, about to be complete in 1 week)</p><p><i>Last of Us</i> (1 of 2 seasons done, it's gonna be a long wait for season 2, this is grim but also kinda uplifting at points, like Walking Dead if it were 100 times better and less interested in spinning its wheels and torture porn)</p><p><i>White House Plumbers</i> (Mini-series about the Watergate burglary, especially notable for Justin Theroux's delightful portrayal of G. Gordon Liddy as a total boob)</p><p><b>Prime</b></p><p><i>Marvelous Mrs. Maisel</i> (4 seasons, about to be complete in a few weeks, looks like it's gonna stick the landing, some of the best banter on TV)</p><p><i>Primo</i> (Perfect first season of a sitcom, sweet and very funny, shows the fingerprints of producers Mike Schur and Morgan Sackett (The Good Place) but is based on the life of and written/showrun by Shea Serrano)</p><p><b>Disney+</b></p><p><i>The Mandalorian</i> (Seems to have fallen into love it or hate it territory, I still love it. If you loved Clone Wars, Rebels, and Bad Batch, I suspect this will be up your alley as well)</p><p><i>Star Wars Bad Batch </i>(Speaking of... A-Team in the post-Order 66 Star Wars universe is fantastic)</p><p><b>Hulu</b></p><p><i>The Great</i> (Season 3 of the darkly funny, surprisingly horny, only slightly based on true events story of Catherine the Great)</p><p><i>Grand Crew</i> (A really delightful ensemble cast in a comedy about friends hanging out in a wine bar and living life in LA..)</p><p><b>Paramount+</b></p><p><i>Ghosts</i> (2 seasons in, this American remake of a British comedy is a delight, with great characters and expanding world-building, and features Rose McIver in the lead)</p><p><i>Star Trek Picard</i> (After an uneven first couple seasons, the third season is basically a new finale and victory lap for the returned Star Trek Next Generation crew, and if you have any nostalgia for TNG, you'll want to watch this)</p><p><b>STARZ</b></p><p><i>Party Down </i>(The reason to have STARZ, an impressive cast returning to a show made before they were all quite as famous, outrageously funny, if all returns were as good as this, I'd be less skeptical of them. Get STARZ for a week and watch the whole series)</p><p>I'm waiting to binge all of Mayor of Kingstown and Yellowjackets, both of which likely would be on this top 20.</p>Randy Landerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01927023143072517623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5218203.post-30570285022235381392023-05-01T00:00:00.001-05:002023-05-01T00:21:43.930-05:00Monthly Update - April 2023<p> <b>Read 50 Graphic Novels + 12 Novels (Last Year 68) (11+9)</b></p><ul><li>Exit Strategy (Murderbot Diaries #4)</li><li>The Revolution Was Televised Updated Edition</li></ul><div><div></div><div><div><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol></div><ol></ol><ol></ol><b>Comics I Read This Month (Last Year 363) (87+39=126)</b><div><ul><li>Adventures of Superman Jon Kent #2</li><li>All Eight Eyes #1</li><li>Clear #2</li><li>DCeased War of the Undead Gods #8</li><li>Daredevil #10</li><li>Dark Ride #5</li><li>Disney Villains Scar #1</li><li>Doctor Strange #2</li><li>Eight Billion Genies #8</li><li>Fantastic Four #6</li><li>Green Arrow #1</li><li>Guardians of the Galaxy #1</li><li>Hairball #1</li><li>Hallow's Eve #2</li><li>Hell to Pay #4</li><li>Joe Fixit #4</li><li>Local Man #3</li><li>Money Shot Comes Again #1</li><li>Moon Knight #22</li><li>Nightwing #103</li><li>Phantom Road #2</li><li>Planet of the Apes #1</li><li>Poison Ivy #11</li><li>Saga #63</li><li>Scarlet Witch #4</li><li>She-Hulk #13</li><li>Spider-Man #7</li><li>Star Trek #6-7</li><li>Star Trek Deep Space Nine The Dog of War #1</li><li>Star Trek Defiant #2</li><li>Superboy Man of Tomorrow #1</li><li>Superman #3</li><li>TMNT/Usagi Yojimbo: Wherewhen #1</li><li>The Ambassadors #2-3</li><li>The Seasons Have Teeth #1</li><li>W0rldTr33 #1</li><li>Where Monsters Lie #3</li></ul><div><b>Top 10 Comics This Month:</b></div></div></div><div><ol><li>Adventures of Superman Jon Kent #2</li><li>Moon Knight #22</li><li>Fantastic Four #6</li><li>Eight Billion Genies #8</li><li>Guardians of the Galaxy #1</li><li>TMNT/Usagi Yojimbo: Wherewhen #1</li><li>W0rldTr33 #1</li><li>Clear #2</li><li>Phantom Road #2</li><li>The Seasons Have Teeth #1</li></ol></div><b>TV I Watched This Month:</b><ul><li>Barry "Season 4"</li><li>Beef "Season 1"</li><li>Citadel "Season 1"</li><li>Dead Ringers "Season 1"</li><li>Florida Man "Season 1"</li><li>Ghosts "Season 2"</li><li>Grand Crew "Season 2"</li><li>Last Week Tonight "Season 10"</li><li>Not Dead Yet "Season 1"</li><li>Marvelous Mrs. Maisel "Season 4"</li><li>Mrs. Davis "Season 1"</li><li>Quantum Leap "Season 1"</li><li>Rabbit Hole "Season 1"</li><li>Star Trek Deep Space 9 "Season 5-6"</li><li>Star Trek Picard "Season 3"</li><li>Ted Lasso "Season 3"</li><li>The Big Door Prize "Season 1"</li><li>The Mandalorian "Season 3"</li><li>Tiny Beautiful Things "Season 1"</li><li>Top Chef "Season 20"</li></ul><b>Top TV This Year So Far:</b></div><div><div><ol><li>Ted Lasso</li><li>Poker Face</li><li>Shrinking</li><li>Last of Us</li><li>Party Down</li><li>Quantum Leap</li><li>The Mandalorian</li><li>Top Chef</li><li>Ghosts</li><li>Star Trek Picard</li><li>Mayor of Kingstown</li><li>Star Wars Bad Batch</li><li>Grand Crew</li><li>Yellowjackets</li><li>Last Week Tonight</li><li>The Recruit</li><li>Cunk on Earth</li><li>Not Dead Yet</li><li>History of the World Part II</li><li>The Consultant</li><li>Night Agent</li><li>Up Here</li></ol></div><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><b>Movies I Watched This Month: </b><div><ul><li>A Knight's Tale</li><li>Ocean's Eight</li><li>Cocaine Bear</li><li>Spider-Man No Way Home</li><li>Office Space</li><li>Confess Fletch</li></ul><div><b>Favorite New Movies This Year So Far:</b></div><div><ol><li>Scream VI</li><li>Dungeons & Dragons Honor Among Thieves</li><li>Operation Fortune Ruse de Guerre</li><li>Ant-Man and Wasp Quantumania</li><li>Knock at the Cabin</li><li>Cocaine Bear</li></ol></div><b>Places I Ate This Month (Last Year 441): (91+24=115)</b><div><ul><li>Chuy's</li><li>Corner Bakery (x2)</li><li>El Chilito</li><li>El Dorado Cafe</li><li>Estancia</li><li>Fat Dragon</li><li>Golden Chick</li><li>Hopdoddy's</li><li>Jewboy Burgers</li><li>KFC</li><li>KG BBQ</li><li>P. Terry's</li><li>Popeye's</li><li>Raising Cane's</li><li>Razzoo's</li><li>T'Loc's</li><li>Texas Roadhouse</li><li>Tso's Chinese Delivery (x2)</li><li>Tumble 22 (x2)</li><li>Whataburger</li><li>Whiskey Cake</li></ul></div></div></div>Randy Landerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01927023143072517623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5218203.post-675818777491883272023-04-01T00:00:00.106-05:002023-04-01T00:30:48.448-05:00Monthly Update - March 2023<p> <b>Read 50 Graphic Novels + 12 Novels (Last Year 68) (11+7)</b></p><ul><li>Parker Girls Vol 1: Death Quiet TP</li><li>Justice League The Nail HC</li><li>Dissolving Classroom HC</li><li>Underwater Welder</li><li>Artificial Condition (Murderbot Diaries #2)</li><li>Rogue Protocol (Murderbot Diaries #3)</li></ul><div><div></div><div><div><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol></div><ol></ol><ol></ol><b>Comics I Read This Month (Last Year 363) (50+37=87)</b><div><ul><li>Action Comics #1052-1053</li><li>Adventures of Jon Kent Superman #1</li><li>Batman One Bad Day Ra's Al Ghul</li><li>Clear #1</li><li>DCeased War of the Undead Gods #7</li><li>Daredevil #9</li><li>Dark Knights of Steel #9</li><li>Doctor Strange #1</li><li>Dungeons & Dragons Saturday Morning Adventures #1</li><li>Fantastic Four #5</li><li>Hallow's Eve #1</li><li>Invincible Iron Man #4</li><li>Joe Fixit #3</li><li>Local Man #2</li><li>Mary Jane & Black Cat #4</li><li>Moon Knight #21</li><li>Nightwing #102</li><li>No/One #1</li><li>Phantom Road #1</li><li>Poison Ivy #10</li><li>Punisher #10</li><li>Scarlet Witch #3</li><li>Secret Invasion #5</li><li>She-Hulk #11</li><li>Spider-Gwen: Shadow Clones #1</li><li>Spider-Man #5</li><li>Spider-Man Unforgiven #1</li><li>Star Trek #5</li><li>Star Trek Defiant #1</li><li>Star Trek Strange New Worlds The Illyrian Enigma #4</li><li>Stargirl The Lost Children #4-5</li><li>Superman #2</li><li>The Ambassadors #1</li><li>Waller vs. Wildstorm #1</li><li>Where Monsters Lie #2</li></ul><div><b>Top 10 Comics This Month:</b></div></div></div><div><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>Nightwing #102</li><li>Batman One Bad Day Ra's Al Ghul</li><li>DCeased War of the Undead Gods #7</li><li>Adventures of Jon Kent Superman #1</li><li>Fantastic Four #5</li><li>Doctor Strange #1</li><li>Secret Invasion #5</li><li>Moon Knight #21</li><li>Punisher #10</li><li>Clear #1</li></ol></div><b>TV I Watched This Month:</b><ul><li>Ghosts "Season 2"</li><li>Grand Crew "Season 2"</li><li>History of the World Part II "Season 1"</li><li>Last of Us "Season 1"</li><li>Not Dead Yet "Season 1"</li><li>Party Down "Season 3"</li><li>Poker Face "Season 1"</li><li>Quantum Leap "Season 1"</li><li>Rabbit Hole "Season 1"</li><li>Shrinking "Season 1"</li><li>Star Trek Deep Space 9 "Season 4"</li><li>Star Trek Picard "Season 3"</li><li>Star Wars Bad Batch "Season 2"</li><li>The Consultant "Season 1"</li><li>The Mandalorian "Season 3"</li><li>The Night Agent "Season 1"</li><li>Top Chef "Season 19-20"</li><li>True Lies "Season 1"</li><li>Up Here "Season 1"</li><li>Yellowjackets "Season 2"</li></ul><b>Top TV This Year So Far:</b></div><div><div><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>Ted Lasso</li><li>Poker Face</li><li>Shrinking</li><li>Last of Us</li><li>Party Down</li><li>Quantum Leap</li><li>The Mandalorian</li><li>Top Chef</li><li>Ghosts</li><li>Star Trek Picard</li><li>Mayor of Kingstown</li><li>Star Wars Bad Batch</li><li>Grand Crew</li><li>Yellowjackets</li><li>Last Week Tonight</li><li>The Recruit</li><li>Cunk on Earth</li><li>Not Dead Yet</li><li>History of the World Part II</li><li>The Consultant</li><li>Night Agent</li><li>Up Here</li></ol></div><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><b>Movies I Watched This Month: </b><div><ul><li>Aladdin</li><li>Chef</li><li>Dungeons & Dragons Honor Among Thieves</li><li>Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre</li><li>Revolver</li><li>RocknRolla</li><li>Scream VI</li><li>Sherlock Holmes</li><li>Sherlock Holmes Game of Shadows</li><li>Swept Away</li></ul><div><b>Favorite New Movies This Year So Far:</b></div><div><ol><li>Scream VI</li><li>Dungeons & Dragons Honor Among Thieves</li><li>Operation Fortune Ruse de Guerre</li><li>Knock at the Cabin</li><li>Ant-Man and Wasp Quantumania</li></ol></div><b>Places I Ate This Month (Last Year 441): (61+30=91)</b><div><ul><li>BBQ Ramen Tatsu-Ya</li><li>BD Riley's</li><li>Chi'lantro</li><li>Chuy's</li><li>Cotton Patch Cafe</li><li>Culver's</li><li>Deckhand Oyster Bar</li><li>Garbo's</li><li>Golden Chick</li><li>Hopdoddys (x2)</li><li>Jack Allen's Kitchen</li><li>Jersey Mike's (x2)</li><li>Jewboy Burgers </li><li>Jewboy Subs</li><li>Kenny Fort Pub</li><li>KG BBQ</li><li>P. Terry's</li><li>Popeye's</li><li>Raising Cane's</li><li>Saltgrass Steakhouse</li><li>Southside Market</li><li>Sushi Nini</li><li>Tarka</li><li>Tumble 22</li><li>Vera Cruz</li><li>Walnut Creek Pub</li><li>Wingstop</li><li>X'ian Sushi & Noodle</li></ul></div></div></div>Randy Landerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01927023143072517623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5218203.post-71047309906863466342023-02-14T00:35:00.012-06:002023-02-28T20:31:01.774-06:00Monthly Update - February 2023<p> <b>Read 50 Graphic Novels + 12 Novels (Last Year 68) (7+5)</b></p><ul><li>Catwoman Lonely City HC</li><li>Rogues HC</li><li>Night Fever HC</li><li>Injustice: Gods Among Us Vol 1 Omnibus</li><li>DC Universe by Dwayne McDuffie HC</li><li>Thursday Murder Club</li><li>Lamb</li><li>All Systems Red</li></ul><div><div></div><div><div><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol></div><ol></ol><ol></ol><b>Comics I Read This Month (Last Year 363) (26+24=50)</b><div><ul><li>Bloodline Daughter of Blade #1</li><li>Blue Book #1</li><li>DCeased War of the Undead Gods #6</li><li>Daredevil #8</li><li>Eight Billion Genies #7</li><li>Fantastic Four #4</li><li>Invincible Iron Man #3</li><li>Joe Fixit #2</li><li>Local Man #1</li><li>Mary Jane & Black Cat #3</li><li>Moon Knight #20</li><li>Mosely #2</li><li>Nightwing #101</li><li>Saga #62</li><li>Scarlet Witch #2</li><li>Secret Invasion #4</li><li>She-Hulk #10</li><li>Spider-Man #5</li><li>Star Trek #4</li><li>Star Trek Strange New Worlds The Illyrian Enigma #3</li><li>Superman #1</li><li>Torrent #1</li><li>Wasp #2</li><li>Where Monsters Lie #1</li></ul><div><b>Top 10 Comics This Month:</b></div></div></div><div><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>Nightwing #101</li><li>Fantastic Four #4</li><li>Scarlet Witch #2</li><li>Star Trek #4</li><li>Spider-Man #5</li><li>Moon Knight #20</li><li>Superman #1</li><li>Invincible Iron Man #3</li><li>Daredevil #8</li><li>DCeased War of the Undead Gods #6</li></ol></div><b>TV I Watched This Month:</b><ul><li>Cunk on Earth "Season 1"</li><li>Ghosts "Season 2"</li><li>Hello Tomorrow "Season 1"</li><li>Last of Us "Season 1"</li><li>Party Down "Season 3"</li><li>Poker Face "Season 1"</li><li>Quantum Leap "Season 1"</li><li>Shrinking "Season 1"</li><li>Star Trek Deep Space 9 "Season 2-4"</li><li>Star Trek Picard "Season 3"</li><li>Star Wars Bad Batch "Season 2"</li></ul><b>Top TV This Year So Far:</b></div><div><div><ol><li>Last of Us</li><li>Poker Face</li><li>Shrinking</li><li>Ghosts</li><li>Quantum Leap</li><li>Party Down</li><li>Mayor of Kingstown</li><li>Star Wars Bad Batch</li><li>Star Trek Picard</li><li>The Recruit</li><li>Cunk on Earth</li></ol></div><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><b>Movies I Watched This Month: </b><div><ul><li>Wakanda Forever</li><li>Ant-Man and Wasp Quantumania</li><li>Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels</li><li>Wrath of Man</li><li>The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent</li><li>Knock at the Cabin</li><li>Scream 4</li><li>Scream (5)</li><li>Snatch</li><li>The Gentlemen</li></ul><div><b>Favorite New Movies This Year So Far:</b></div><div><ol><li>Knock at the Cabin</li><li>Ant-Man and Wasp Quantumania</li></ol></div><b>Places I Ate This Month (Last Year 441): (35+27=62)</b><div><ul><li>Arby's</li><li>Brotherton Black</li><li>Domino's</li><li>Firehouse Subs</li><li>Golden Chick</li><li>Hopdoddy</li><li>Jack Allen's Kitchen</li><li>Jersey Mike's</li><li>Jewboy Burgers (x2)</li><li>Jewboy Subs</li><li>Julie's Noodles</li><li>Liberty BBQ</li><li>Long John Silver's</li><li>Mum Food's</li><li>Popeye's (x2)</li><li>Snooze</li><li>Sushi Nini</li><li>Texas Roadhouse</li><li>Tony C's</li><li>Vera Cruz</li><li>Via313 (x2)</li><li>Waffle Love</li><li>Whiskey Cake</li><li>Wingstop</li></ul></div></div></div>Randy Landerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01927023143072517623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5218203.post-46453021813866456832023-02-01T00:00:00.099-06:002023-02-01T00:00:00.222-06:00Monthly Update - January 2023<p><b>Read 50 Graphic Novels + 12 Novels (Last Year 68) (2+2)</b></p><ul><li>Nightwing Vol 2 Get Grayson HC</li><li>Usagi Yojimbo Origins Vol 4 Lone Goat and Kid TP</li><li>Mexican Gothic</li><li>The Art of Racing in the Rain</li></ul><div><div></div><div><div><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol></div><ol></ol><ol></ol><b>Comics I Read This Month (Last Year 363) (26)</b><div><ul><li>Action Comics #1051</li><li>American Jesus Revelations #3</li><li>Batman #131</li><li>Batman One Bad Day Bane #1</li><li>Daredevil #7</li><li>Dark Knights of Steel #9</li><li>Dark Ride #4</li><li>Fantastic Four #3</li><li>Hell to Pay #3</li><li>Invincible Iron Man #2</li><li>Joe Fixit #1</li><li>Mary Jane & Black Cat #2</li><li>Moon Knight #19</li><li>Nightwing #100</li><li>Poison Ivy #8</li><li>Punisher #9</li><li>Saga #61</li><li>Scarlet Witch #1</li><li>Secret Invasion #3</li><li>Spider-Man #4</li><li>Star Trek #2-3</li><li>Star Trek Strange New Worlds Ilyrian Affair #2</li><li>Stargirl Lost Children #3</li><li>Strange #10</li><li>Wasp #1</li></ul><div><b>Top 10 Comics This Month:</b></div></div></div><div><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>Nightwing #100</li><li>Fantastic Four #3</li><li>Scarlet Witch #1</li><li>Secret Invasion #3</li><li>Dark Knights of Steel #9</li><li>Moon Knight #19</li><li>Strange #10</li><li>Star Trek #2-3</li><li>Daredevil #7</li><li>Spider-Man #4</li></ol></div><b>TV I Watched This Month:</b><ul><li>1883 "Season 1"</li><li>Bojack Horseman "Season 1"</li><li>Ghosts "Season 2"</li><li>Junji Ito Maniac "Season 1"</li><li>Kaleidoscope "Season 1"</li><li>Last of Us "Season 1"</li><li>Mayor of Kingstown "Season 2"</li><li>Night Court "Season 1"</li><li>Poker Face "Season 1"</li><li>Quantum Leap "Season 1"</li><li>Shrinking "Season 1"</li><li>Star Trek Deep Space 9 "Season 1-2"</li><li>Star Wars Bad Batch "Season 2"</li><li>The Recruit "Season 1"</li></ul><b>Top TV This Year So Far:</b></div><div><div><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>Last of Us</li><li>Poker Face</li><li>Shrinking</li><li>Ghosts</li><li>Quantum Leap</li><li>Mayor of Kingstown</li><li>Star Wars Bad Batch</li><li>The Recruit</li><li>Night Court</li><li>Kaleidoscope</li></ol></div><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><b>Movies I Watched This Month: </b><div><ul><li>Skinamarink</li><li>M3gan</li><li>Better Off Dead</li><li>The Menu</li><li>Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind</li></ul><div><b>Favorite New Movies This Year So Far:</b></div><div><ol><li><br /></li></ol></div><b>Places I Ate This Month (Last Year 441): (35)</b><div><ul><li></li><li>Arby's (x2)</li><li>Black Star Co-Op</li><li>Corner Bakery</li><li>Culver's</li><li>El Dorado Cafe</li><li>Firehouse Subs</li><li>Golden Chick (x2)</li><li>Gus's Fried Chicken</li><li>Hopdoddy</li><li>Jai Chi Korean</li><li>Jardin Corona</li><li>Jewboy Burgers</li><li>Jewboy Subs (x3)</li><li>KFC</li><li>Liberty BBQ (x2)</li><li>P. Terry's</li><li>Popeye's</li><li>Revelry on the Boulevard</li><li>Smoky Mos</li><li>Sushi Nini</li><li>Texas Roadhouse</li><li>Tropicana</li><li>Tso Chinese Delivery (x2)</li><li>Tumble 22</li><li>Via313</li><li>Walnut Creek Pub</li><li>Wendy's</li><li>Wen's Cafe</li><li>Whiskey Cake</li></ul></div></div></div>Randy Landerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01927023143072517623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5218203.post-73987732409534989412022-12-31T23:30:00.071-06:002023-01-01T21:41:24.861-06:00Monthly Update - December 2022<p> <b>Read 50 Graphic Novels (Last Year 41) (53+15=68)</b></p><ul><li>Superman Son of Kal-El Vol 2: The Rising HC</li><li>Daredevil to Heaven Through Hell Vol 3 HC</li><li>Gideon Falls Deluxe Book 2 HC</li><li>Black Paradox</li><li>Sensor</li><li>Liminal Zone</li><li>Immortal Hulk Vol 5 HC</li><li>Art of Star Wars Visions</li><li>Catwoman of East End Omnibus</li><li>Friday Book 2 TP</li><li>I Hate This Place Vol 1 TP</li><li>Black Panther by Priest Vol 1 HC</li><li>Magic Vol 3 HC</li><li>Twig Vol 1 TP</li><li>Seven Secrets Vol 3 TP</li></ul><div><div></div><div><div><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol></div><ol></ol><ol></ol><b>Comics I Read This Month (Last Year 396) (330+33+363)</b><div><ul><li>A Vicious Circle #1</li><li>Action Comics #1050</li><li>American Jesus Revelations #1-2</li><li>Batman vs. Robin #4</li><li>DCeased War of the Undead Gods #5</li><li>Daredevil #6</li><li>Dark Crisis Big Bang #1</li><li>Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths #7</li><li>Dark Web #1</li><li>Fantastic Four #2</li><li>Image Anthology #9</li><li>Invincible Iron Man #1</li><li>John Stewart the Emerald Knight #1</li><li>Mary Jane & Black Cat #1</li><li>Moon Knight #18</li><li>Nice House on the Lake #12</li><li>Night Club #1</li><li>Nightwing #99</li><li>Poison Ivy #7</li><li>Punisher #8</li><li>Radiant Pink #1</li><li>Sandman Universe Dead Boy Detectives #1</li><li>Secret Invasion #2</li><li>She-hulk #9</li><li>Spider-Man #3</li><li>Star Trek Strange New Worlds The Illyrian Enigma #1</li><li>Star Wars High Republic The Blade #1</li><li>Stargirl The Lost Children #2</li><li>Strange #9</li><li>Superman Son of Kal-El #18</li><li>The Variants #5</li><li>Timeless #1</li></ul><div><b>Favorite Comics This Year:</b></div></div></div><div><ol><li>Nightwing</li><li>Superman Son of Kal-El</li><li>Dark Knights of Steel</li><li>Devil's Reign</li><li>DCeased War of the Undead Gods</li><li>Shirtless Bear-Fighter 2</li><li>Mary Jane & Black Cat Beyond</li><li>Astro City That Was Then</li><li>Daredevil</li><li>Moon Knight</li><li>Saga</li><li>Iron Cat</li><li>Star Trek Discovery Adventures in the 32nd Century</li><li>Catwoman Lonely City</li><li>Public Domain</li><li>Daredevil Woman Without Fear</li><li>Dark Ages</li><li>Dark Ride</li><li>The Variants</li><li>Savage Avengers</li><li>Death of Dr. Strange</li><li>Strange</li><li>I Hate This Place</li><li>Batman vs. Robin</li><li>Rogues</li><li>Eight Billion Genies</li><li>Spider-Punk</li><li>Spider-Man</li><li>She-Hulk</li><li>The Joker</li><li>Devil's Reign Moon Knight</li><li>Secret Invasion</li><li>Punisher</li><li>Punisher War Journal</li><li>DC Mech</li><li>Parker Girls</li><li>Hell to Pay</li><li>Amazing Fantasy</li><li>Nice House on the Lake</li><li>Batman</li><li>Fantastic Four</li><li>Amazing Spider-Man</li><li>Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths</li><li>Justice League Road to Dark Crisis</li><li>Stargirl the Lost Children</li><li>Robin</li><li>Little Monsters</li><li>Joe Hill's Rain</li><li>Rogue Sun</li><li>Radiant Red</li><li>The Closet</li><li>Newburn </li><li>Blade Vampire Nation</li><li>Robin & Batman</li><li>Dungeons & Dragons 2022 Annual</li><li>Radiant Black</li><li>Alien</li><li>Star Wars Visions</li><li>Flawed</li><li>Minor Threats</li><li>American Jesus Revelation</li><li>Reckoning War Trial of the Watcher</li><li>Crossover</li><li>Poison Ivy</li><li>Rogues Gallery</li><li>The Phalanx</li><li>Stray Dogs Dog Days</li><li>Star Trek Picard Stargazer</li><li>DC vs. Vampires</li></ol></div><b>TV I Watched This Month:</b><ul><li>Avenue 5 "Season 2"</li><li>Doom Patrol "Season 4"</li><li>Fleishman is in Trouble "Season 1"</li><li>Ghosts "Season 2"</li><li>Letterkenny "Season 11"</li><li>Mythic Quest "Season 3"</li><li>National Treasure Book of Secrets "Season 1"</li><li>Sex Lives of College Girls "Season 2"</li><li>So Help Me Todd "Season 1"</li><li>Star Trek Prodigy "Season 1"</li><li>Tulsa King "Season 1"</li><li>Welcome to Chippendales "Season 1"</li><li>Willow "Season 1"</li></ul><b>Top TV This Year So Far:</b></div><div><div><ol><li>Star Trek Strange New Worlds</li><li>Atlanta</li><li>She-Hulk</li><li>Ms. Marvel</li><li>The Afterparty</li><li>Peacemaker</li><li>What We Do In the Shadows</li><li>Better Call Saul</li><li>Sandman</li><li>Julia</li><li>Barry</li><li>The Bear</li><li>Only Murders in the Building</li><li>Harley Quinn</li><li>Cobra Kai</li><li>Reboot</li><li>Moon Knight</li><li>Hacks</li><li>Guillermo Del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities</li><li>The Boys</li><li>Never Have I Ever</li><li>Mythic Quest</li><li>Avenue 5</li><li>Sex Lives of College Girls</li><li>Star Trek Discovery</li><li>Marvelous Mrs. Maisel</li><li>Star Trek Picard</li><li>Star Trek Lower Decks</li><li>Severance</li><li>Grand Crew</li><li>Girls5Eva</li><li>Midnight Club</li><li>Minx</li><li>The Offer</li><li>Welcome to Chippendale's</li><li>Death to 2021</li><li>Quantum Leap</li><li>HALO</li><li>Last Week Tonight</li><li>Inside Job</li><li>Tulsa King</li><li>The Orville New Horizons</li><li>Evil</li><li>Rings of Power</li><li>Baymax</li><li>Murderville</li><li>Pam & Tommy</li><li>Rutherford Falls</li><li>Ghosts</li><li>Made for Love</li><li>Loot</li><li>So Help Me Todd</li><li>Archive 81</li><li>Stranger Things</li><li>Tales of the Jedi</li><li>Obi-Wan Kenobi</li><li>Book of Boba Fett</li><li>Andor</li><li>Reacher</li><li>Big Shot</li><li>The Watcher</li><li>Our Flag Means Death</li><li>Fleishman is in Trouble</li><li>Uncoupled</li><li>Bumper in Berlin</li><li>Physical</li><li>Dragon Prince</li><li>House of the Dragon</li><li>Killing It</li><li>Shoresy</li><li>Letterkenny</li><li>Umbrella Academy</li><li>Star Trek Prodigy</li><li>Bumper in Berlin</li><li>Woke</li><li>Russian Doll</li><li>Undone</li><li>Cat Burglar</li><li>Little Demon</li><li>Superman & Lois</li><li>The Resort</li><li>The Expanse</li><li>The Patient</li><li>Wolf Like Me</li><li>Westworld</li><li>We Own This City</li><li>Bust Down</li><li>Interview with the Vampire</li><li>From</li><li>WeCrashed</li><li>Slow Horses</li><li>Pieces of Her</li><li>Resident Alien</li><li>Upload</li><li>Maggie</li><li>The Outlaws</li><li>Welcome to Wrexham</li><li>American Horror Stories</li><li>American Horror Story</li><li>Bad Sisters</li><li>The Imperfects</li><li>The Woman Across The Street From The Girl in the Window</li><li>Paper Girls</li><li>League of Their Own</li><li>The Old Man</li><li>Players</li><li>Cyberpunk Edgerunners</li><li>Tokyo Vice</li><li>American Auto</li><li>Man Who Fell To Earth</li><li>Dahmer</li><li>The Baby</li><li>How We Roll</li><li>The Dropout</li><li>Bel-Air</li><li>Single Drunk Female</li><li>Legend of Vox Machina</li><li>Pivoting</li><li>Suspicion</li><li>Life & Beth</li><li>Joe vs. Carole</li><li>Echo 3</li><li>Outer Range</li><li>Roar</li><li>The Endgame</li><li>Naomi</li><li>Stay Close</li><li>How I Met Your Father</li><li>Welcome to Flatch</li></ol></div><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><b>Movies I Watched This Month: </b><div><ul><li>See How They Run</li><li>Nobody</li><li>Nightmare Alley</li><li>Elf</li><li>Nope</li><li>Violent Night</li></ul><div><b>Favorite New Movies This Year So Far:</b></div><div><ol><li>Everything Everywhere All at Once</li><li>Glass Onion</li><li>Barbarian</li><li>The Sea Beast</li><li>RRR</li><li>Black Panther Wakanda Forever</li><li>Weird</li><li>Violent Night</li><li>Enola Holmes 2</li><li>Prey</li><li>Nope</li><li>Confess, Fletch</li><li>Scream</li><li>Turning Red</li><li>Do Revenge</li><li>Three Thousand Years of Longing</li><li>Thor Love and Thunder</li><li>Top Gun Maverick</li><li>Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness</li><li>Vengeance</li><li>Chip 'N Dale Rescue Rangers</li><li>Lightyear</li><li>Incantation</li><li>Ride the Eagle</li><li>The Adam Project</li><li>Orphan First Kill</li><li>Bullet Train</li><li>The Gray Man</li><li>X</li><li>Hellraiser</li><li>Kimi</li><li>The Batman</li><li>Day Shift</li><li>Tragedy of Macbeth</li><li>Sonic the Hedgehog 2</li><li>Rosaline</li></ol></div><b>Places I Ate This Month (Last Year 325): (412+29=441)</b><div><ul><li>Arby's</li><li>Brotherton Black</li><li>Chuy's</li><li>Corner Bakery</li><li>Deckhand Oyster Bar</li><li>Franklin BBQ</li><li>Golden Chick</li><li>Hoody's Subs</li><li>Jewboy Burgers (x3)</li><li>Jewboy Subs</li><li>KFC</li><li>Liberty BBQ</li><li>Mod Pizza</li><li>P. Terry's (x2)</li><li>Popeye's</li><li>Smoking Beauty (x2)</li><li>Smoky Mo's</li><li>Texas Roadhouse</li><li>Tony C's</li><li>Torchy's Tacos</li><li>Tso's Chinese Delivery</li><li>Tumble 22</li><li>Via313</li><li>Whataburger</li><li>Ziggy's Kielbasa House</li></ul></div></div></div>Randy Landerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01927023143072517623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5218203.post-81915888234867917502022-12-29T00:00:00.148-06:002022-12-29T22:13:36.124-06:00Best of 2022 - Comics<p><b>Ongoing Comics:</b></p><div>Last year I read about 400 comics, and back during the pandemic, I read between 250-300. This year I read a little over 350, so more than the pandemic, but it was definitely a weaker year for comics.</div><div><br /></div><div>In some ways. Last year was particularly good, I had trouble cutting down to a Top 10 ongoing and miniseries, and pretty easily got to Top 10 new series. This year my miniseries was over-flowing, but my ongoing couldn't get past 7, and four of those ended this year. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Best Ongoing Series:</b></div><div><br /></div><div>This year Savage Avengers closed out with a great finale, and it was #2 on my ongoing series last year. Immortal Hulk also ended last year.</div><div><br />Last year nine of the ten of my top 10 were on last year's list. This year, six of them were from last year's new series and the other one was on last year's top 10.<br /><br /><div>1. Nightwing (#88-99, Annual #1) (Last year #1 Best New)</div><div>Tom Taylor and Bruno Redondo continue to deliver the best comic book on the stands, month-in and month-out. Progressive, funny, sweet, and action-packed, this year sees further development of the long-delayed and finally consummated Nightwing and Batgirl romance, the culmination of the Blockbuster plot in a very satisfying way, and then in an annual at the end of the year, the secret origin of Heartless, the next big bad who's been a part since the first issue of the run.</div><div><br /></div><div>2. Superman Son of Kal-El (#6-18) (Last year #2 Best New)</div><div>As much as I love Nighwing, Superman Son of Kal-El is close to taking that #1 spot every month. Jon Kent as the queer young activist Superman is a thing I didn't know I needed, and this year's story, pitting him against Lex Luthor and Henry Bendix, is a great acceleration of what started in the first volume, and wraps up with this one. The return of Kal-El is also great, and seeing how Superman deals with his gay son is note perfect, but I have to admit I'm sad to see Jon returned to the secondary position that he'll be in with Kal back.</div><div><br /></div><div>3. Moon Knight (#7-18, Annual #1) (Last year #8 Best New)</div><div>Jed McKay's Moon Knight has risen month by month to the top of my reading list. The inclusion of Tigra, his West Coast Avengers pal, as an inside man for T'Challa, was a nice touch. The Structure, a sort of pyramid scheme/mafia vampire group, makes for a great set of bad guys. And the annual, which brought in Werewolf By Night in an interesting and new way, was a great way to finish off the year.</div><div><br /></div><div>4. Newburn (#3-7)</div><div>Chip Zdarsky's story of a fixer for the mafia who's an ex-cop continues to be great.</div><div><br /></div><div>5. The Joker (#11-15) (Last year #3 Best New)</div><div>The first two thirds of this series were good, but I was slowly losing some interest, and while it wrapped up solidly enough, I didn't love the finale as much as I loved the opening. That said, it's a solid finale to a series that was really more about Jim Gordon than the Joker. I just would have liked a stronger ending for Gordon's story, it all boiled down to Court of Owls/Bane/Joker more than I wanted at the end.</div><div><br /></div><div>6. Amazing Spider-Man (#84-93, #88.Bey, #92.Bey)</div><div>This was #6 on last year's top 10 too. Most of the second half of the Spider-Man Beyond story was great, with especially great stuff featuring the Daughters of the Dragon and Monica Rambeau. It almost tanked because of the weird decision to turn Ben into a villain at the end, but on balance it was the best Spider-Man has been since Slott left.</div></div><div><br /></div><div>7. Robin (#11-17) (Last year #7 Best New)</div><div>This was #7 on last year's best new series, and the last third of this series giving Damian a new costume and a new standalone status quo was a solid read, leading nicely into Batman vs. Robin.</div><div><div><br /></div><div><b>Best New Series:</b></div><div><br /></div><div><div><div>1. Eight Billion Genies (#1-6)</div><div>Everyone on Earth gets a genie with one wish. Things go poorly. An amazing high concept with a really fun, wacky, apocalyptic interpretation courtesy of Charles Soule and Ryan Browne. I'm a little wary because their last collaboration, Curse Words, didn't quite come together at the end, but so far, this is great.</div><div><br /></div><div>2. Public Domain (#1-5)</div><div>Chip Zdarsky writes and draws this story that's about superheroes, their creators, and the companies that own them, and it feels like the kind of inside baseball that's working out stories from his time as a creator. It's also got fascinating characters and Zdarsky's trademark weird sense of humor, and is so far a great ride.</div><div><br /></div><div>3. Dark Ride (#1-3)</div><div>Speaking of great rides, this one from the team of Birthright posits a Disneyworld style park based on a man with more of a horror bent, and then goes a step further that his success came from a deal with devils. It's sort of about the legacy of Walt Disney if he was a secret satanist with magic powers, as viewed through the lens of his two screwed-up kids, and it's another great premise well-executed so far.</div><div><br /></div><div>4. Strange (#1-9)</div><div>Jed MacKay is one of my favorite writers at Marvel right now, and his take on Clea as the new Sorceror Supreme is as good as his take on Moon Knight and Black Cat. Mixing in the departed Stephen Strange, a conspiracy-minded magic bad guy, and a new magic-inflected version of SHIELD makes for more worldbuilding fun alongside the usual great character work, dialogue, and moments I've come to expect.</div><div><br /></div><div>5. She-Hulk (#1-9)</div><div>It is weird how much of this book is about resurrected D-lister Jack of Hearts. But after taking time to read it in a trade-sized chunk, I realized I really liked Rainbow Rowell's take on Jen, even if it's quite different from what we got in the TV series or in the comics up to this point. It's not up to the level of Soule's or Slott's run yet, but it's a solid offering for a favorite character of mine, and the artwork, by Roge Antonio, is fantastic.</div><div><br /></div><div>6. Hell to Pay (#1-2)</div><div>Image launched a few books this year with great premises, and Hell to Pay is the last one on this list, with Charles Soule on the helm. Where Eight Billion genies has the weirder art of Ryan Browne, this has a more traditional style from Will Sliney. It's about a couple working for a magical illuminati, and has in its DNA a bit of Raiders of the Lost Ark and Thin Man, and the first three issues are a great trip.</div><div><br /></div><div>7. Fantastic Four (#1-2)</div><div>Two issues in and Ryan North and Iban Coello's Fantastic Four compares easily to the kind of thing Busiek and Anderson were doing on Astro City, which is honestly about the tone I'd want for a perfect FF book. I'm a little wary of the dark secret at the heart of the book, and starting the ultimate team book by having everyone separated, but the first two show a real knack for two of the important romantic relationships in the book, not to mention humanistic science-fiction superheroics, and it's got me more interested in the FF than I have been in years.</div><div><br /></div><div>8. Punisher (#1-8) (and Punisher War Journal)</div><div>OK, confession time, even with his very problematic nature, I've always been a Punisher fan. He's been co-opted by the military, the police, and right-wing douchebags for so long, and that probably had something to do with Jason Aaron and Marvel deciding to re-invent him as a sword-wielding badass leading the Hand, the evil ninjas from Daredevil. I don't know how sustainable it is long term, but it's been a fun action-adventure ride, and the painted style artwork from Jesus Saiz is exceptional.</div><div><br /></div><div>9. Rogue Sun (#1-6)</div><div>Another entry in the Massive-Verse, this one is supernatural, about a son getting his estranged father's powers, set in New Orleans, and I think it is my favorite of the bunch. It's got gorgeous art from Abel. It is also very likely to wind up on my "reading in trade" because it seems that once these books get more than a half a dozen issues in I lose the thread, but I always enjoy it in larger chunks.</div><div><br /></div><div>10. Spider-Man (#1-3)</div></div><div>I'm not sure where this is going to land next year. I will either like it a lot, as the finale of the Spider-Verse saga Dan Slott began, and returned to finish with Mark Bagley on art, or I'm going to be really annoyed with it. There are some choices made that I'm not crazy about, and it's less fun than the original Spider-Verse, but Slott has a handle on Peter and some of these other characters more than anyone who has followed him, and he thinks big, and Bagley, while sometimes a little plain, is an expert storyteller.</div><div><br /></div><div>11. Poison Ivy (#1-7)</div><div>G. Willow Wilson's tale of a more villainous Ivy, estranged from Harley Quinn and deciding whether or not to commit genocide against the human race, is really compelling, and helped considerably by Marcio Takara's stunning artwork. It's not *quite* a Vertigo style riff, it's pretty comfortably inside the superhero/anti-hero mold, but the moment-to-moment writing of Ivy is really good and the body horror/plant horror stuff is really well done. I don't know if the second story arc will keep my attention, but so far it has it.</div><div><br /><b>Miniseries:</b><br /><br /></div><div><div><div>1. Dark Knights of Steel #3-8, Tales From Three Kingdoms) (Last year best new #5)</div><div>Tom Taylor's DC Elseworlds taking the characters and turning it into a fantasy epic with more than a little Game of Thrones really kicked into high gear this year. I'm not yet ready to say it's as good as DCeased overall, or better than his high points like Nightwing and Son of Kal-El, but it's damn good.</div><div><br /></div><div>2. Devil's Reign (#3-6, Omega)</div><div>Chip Zdarsky and Marco Chechetto did something impressive by giving me a line-wide crossover that had a really satisfying ending and never dropped the ball. The backdrop of a Mayoral race between Kingpin and Cage, the use of the Purple Children, the mix of legal maneuvering and superhero action? It was Civil War on a smaller scale, and ten times better than that comic ever was, and it also gave us a new Daredevil status quo that I love. I just wish I enjoyed the Thunderbolts follow-up a little more, because the re-invention of that team was really good.</div><div><br /></div><div>3. Iron Cat (#1-5)</div><div>Black Cat was #3 ongoing last year, and it's nice to see Jed MacKay getting what I call the "Agents of Atlas" treatment where a creatively amazing but commercially disappointing property keeps getting more chances than it probably should. Because this miniseries, introducing an old partner now rival of Felicia, and teaming her up with Iron Man? It was a ton of fun, and I'm glad that all of it is being collected into an omnibus in 2023.</div><div><br /></div><div>4. Star Trek Discovery Adventures in the 32nd Century (#1-4)</div><div>Licensed comics are notoriously spotty, but this series of one-shots focusing on a singular member of the crew of The Discovery was universally good. The reason it's so high on the list, though, is issue #1, entirely from the point of view of Grudge, Booker's cat. Just a delight all the way through.</div><div><br /></div><div>5. Catwoman Lonely City (#1-4)</div><div>I am on record as thinking that artists-turned-writers often disappoint. I understand the transition, customer response is often writer-focused, you can turn in a lot more scripts than you can finished art, and creative control is absolutely a thing. But I'm always sad when a great artist becomes a good or mediocre writer, often reducing their artistic output to covers only or less. So it is especially good when one of the best artists in the industry (Cliff Chiang) also turns out to be a damn good writer, turning in a Dark Knight Returns for Catwoman, with a bit more of an Elmore Leonard touch than Frank Miller. I'm a sucker for the "one last heist" story, and this is a brilliant example of it with stunning art.</div><div><br /></div><div>6. Daredevil Woman Without Fear (#1-3)</div><div>Elektra taking over for Daredevil gave us a really cool looking new costume and an interesting take on a character that I've enjoyed only sporadically. Her frustration with Matt's methods, combined with her weird sense of honor that forces her to stick to them, is a lot of fun. This establishing mini lead nicely into the new Daredevil run.</div><div><br /></div><div>7. Dark Ages (#4-6) (Last year best new #4)</div><div>Tom Taylor can do no wrong for me at DC, but his Marvel track record is not too bad. All-New Wolverine remains a favorite, X-Men Red was cut tragically short. And Dark Ages is another alternate universe Tom Taylor story, the kind of thing he does best. Turning an apocalyptic event into something kind of hopeful, but also serving up plenty of danger, this is likely to get lost in the hype around DCeased, Dark Knights of Steel, and Nightwing, but it's a really good read.</div><div><br /></div><div>8. The Variants (#1-5)</div><div>Gail Simone takes the multiverse approach to Jessica Jones, along with artist Phil Noto, and the result is a twisty noir mystery with superhero overtones, basically the kind of thing Jessica is perfect for. I admit I wanted more, but it's a solid done-in-one story. If Gail and Noto were to wind up doing more Jessica Jones in the future, though, I certainly wouldn't be sad about it.</div><div><br /></div><div>9. Spider-Punk (#1-5)</div><div>One of the best characters to come out of Spider-Verse, the anti-fascist Hobie Brown Spider-Punk gets a posse here with Kamala Khan, Riri Williams, and Karl Morgenthau, and faces off against President Norman Osborn. Overtly political and clever, Cody Ziglar really nails the character here, and Justin Mason's character designs and punk rock art work really well. I wouldn't be sad to see more of these characters from this creative team either.</div><div><br /></div><div>10. Batman vs. Robin (#1-4)</div><div>We're just over half way through Mark Waid's story, and it is weirdly supernatural, but I can't deny it's working. Pitting Damian against his father works, and bringing back Alfred (even though it was a tease, boo) gave some nice emotional heft to a lot of it. Also it's got art by Mahmud Asrar, so it looks great.</div><div><br /></div><div>11. Rogues (#1-4)</div><div>See above for my thoughts on "one last heist" stories, add in Flash's Rogues Gallery (arguably the best one in comics, up there with Batman and Spider-Man), and mix in stunning artwork from Leomacs, and you get this gem of a story from Joshua Williamson. There are some weird choices here (Bronze Tiger was never a Rogue), but the characters are spot on, the heist plot suitably DC superhero-y, and the whole thing unfolds beautifully.</div><div><br /></div><div><div>12. Secret Invasion (#1-2)</div><div>The first Secret Invasion was a mess, and I only half-read it. But the concept is sound, and Ryan North seems to be re-inventing the story, taking a cue from the international espionage of the upcoming Disney+ series. His take on Maria Hill as a smart, savvy CIA operative trying to stop a shapeshifting invasion is really good, and though I wish artist Frncesco Mobili was better at coherent and exciting action sequences, the first two issues have me interested to see where it goes.</div></div><div><br /></div><div>13. Joe Hill's Rain (#1-5)</div><div>If I have a grudge against artists-turned-writers, I have an even bigger grudge against licensed books that use the author's name but are written by someone else. So it's surprising that Chris Ryall's adaptation of Joe Hill's horror short story was so effective for me. I'll admit that it sort of petered out by the end, but I don't know how else you would have ended it. It's a melancholy and engaging read.</div><div><br /></div><div>14. Radiant Red (#1-5)</div><div>Another miniseries in the Massive-Verse, this one focusing on the more criminal Radiant Red. All of these read better collected, but the miniseries format serves it well, and this was a fun read.</div><div><br /></div><div>15. Parker Girls (#1-3)</div><div>I forget how much I love Terry Moore's artwork, and most of what I remember about Strangers in Paradise was that it ran too long. But it turns out that a return to the call girl assassin ring Parker Girls was exactly what I wanted, and I'm enjoying this a lot. So much so it got me to read some of Moore's back catalog that I'd miss.</div><div><br /></div><div>16. Nice House on the Lake #7-12) (Last year #6 best new)</div><div>I confess that James Tynion is starting to fall into the "great opener, poor ending" category as this one sort of whimpered out for me by the end, and reveals itself not to be a complete story, which is kind of disappointing. That said, the art by Alvaro Martinez Bueno is stunning, and I suspect when read all in one (or as the two volumes it will be by the end of the year) I'll enjoy it more.</div><div><br /></div><div>17. The Closet (#1-3)</div><div>See above re: Tynion's endings. This has some amazing moment-to-moment writing, a really creepy premise, and needed at least one more issue to really land. But it's still a solid horror outing.</div><div><br /></div><div>18. Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths (including Justice League Road to Dark Crisis) (#1-7)</div><div>To be honest, like most crossovers, I thought this dissolved into nonsense by the end. But the first half really worked for me, and even if the ending was cosmic editorial gobbledygook, those moments carried it through for me.</div><div><br /></div><div>19. Rogues Gallery (#1-4)</div></div><div>A story about a home invasion by disgruntled fanboys, this one was a pretty dark little crime tale. Yes, I picked it up in part because it's the name of my store.</div></div><div><br /></div><div><b>Best Returning Series:</b><br /><div>I did add a "returning series" for stuff that came back like Saga, or had a new volume like Daredevil and DCeased.</div><div><br /></div><div>1. DCeased War of the Undead Gods (#1-4)</div><div>So glad to see the return of Tom Taylor's DC zombie series. This is the finale of the trilogy (yes, there were three series in volume 1), and Taylor is going big, with zombie Darkseid with a yellow lantern ring being only the tip of the iceberg. It's great, and I can't wait for the finale in 2023.</div><div><br /></div><div>2. Daredevil (#1-6)</div><div>This was my #1 for last year, along with the first two issues of Devil's Reign. It remains a super good run, and the idea of Daredevil and Elektra as a team running the opposite number of the Hand is a really interesting new take on the characters, and is right in line with what Zdarsky has been doing. It's also taking advantage of the new Punisher status quo in interesting ways.</div><div><br /></div><div>3. Shirtless Bear-Fighter 2 (#1-3)</div><div>I didn't expect a second series for this but it is a goddamned delight. Full of fun puns, outrageous ideas, and as great as the first one.</div><div><br /></div><div>4. Saga (#55-60)</div><div>There was a loooong wait for this to come back, but it came back strong. I'm still not sure about the decision to kill off a major character for shock value, but it's working so far. I'm not as in love with it as I was when it went on hiatus, but it's still great.</div><div><br /></div><div>5. Alien (#1-2)</div></div></div></div><div>This one I'm not sure about, I tend to lose interest in them, but the first two issues, focusing on an android kill squad on a suicide mission to an alien-infested planet, is really interesting.</div><div><br /></div><div><div><b>Best One-Shots:</b></div><div>This format had a good year. It's rare to get this close to a top 10.</div><div><br /></div><div>1. Mary Jane & Black Cat Beyond</div><div>So much fun. There's a miniseries coming tying into Dark Web, and it's honestly the thing I'm most looking forward to in that crossover. It's Jed McKay, which is worth noting as he's written maybe the best Black Cat ever.</div><div><br /></div><div>2. Astro City That Was Then</div><div>With big new collections *finally* available, we get this nice little one-shot that reintroduces the world and its concepts for new readers as well as a solid story for those who have missed getting new Astro City.</div><div><br /></div><div>3. Devil's Reign Moon Knight</div><div>Most of the Devil's Reign tie-ins and mini-series lost my interest, but this one-shot, putting Moon Knight into prison, where his crazy and brutality is sort of an asset, made for a good read.</div><div><br /></div><div>4. Amazing Fantasy #1000</div><div>This anthology of Spider-Man stories had some real gems in it, from Dan Slott, Neil Gaiman, and Kurt Busiek, and really nice art, with Michael Cho a real standout.</div><div><br /></div><div>5. Reckoning War Trial of the Watcher</div><div>I didn't really read Reckoning War, but this one-shot, which is basically "What If the Watcher Hadn't Interfered with Galactus?" is a really good read and one of the best What Ifs produced in quite some time.</div><div><br /></div><div>6. Timeless 2022</div><div>Last year the Timeless special, also written by Jed MacKay, felt more like an ad for upcoming Marvel books, even though I enjoyed it. This year it had sprinkles of visual teases for next year, but it also had a really good story pitting Kang against a foe that challenged him, without punking him out or making him any less the powerful conqueror and time-traveler that he should be. I am crossing all my fingers and toes that MacKay is the next writer for Avengers, which promises to pick up on what was established here.</div><div><br /></div><div>7. Blade Vampire Nation</div><div>This is a weird one, as Mark Russell gives us a political thriller/assassination story set in Dracula's new Russian nation with Blade as the sheriff. It's a spinoff of Aaron's Avengers, which I don't really like, but if there were more stories in this setting by this creative team, I'd totally read them.</div><div><br /></div><div>8. Dungeons & Dragons 2022 Annual</div><div>What a fun anthology one-shot this was, all tied into the Wild Beyond the Witchlight setting from Dungeons & Dragons.</div><div><br /></div><div>9. Star Wars Visions</div><div>Picking up on one of the best stories from the Star Wars Visions series, this was a solid one-off.</div><div><br /></div><div>10. The Phalanx</div></div><div>I did not think I had any interest in a riff on Youngblood and the like, but Jonathan Luna has a history of doing fun stuff with weird concepts and this one-off was no different.</div><div><br /></div><div><div><b>Good Series I'm Waiting on Trades for:</b></div><div>I added a category for "good series I stopped reading" because there are some books that just need bigger chunks to read in, and so I've switched to trade collections on some series.</div><div><br /></div><div>1. I Hate This Place</div><div>2. Radiant Black</div><div>3. Crossover (Last year #7 ongoing)</div><div>4. DC vs. Vampires</div><div>5. Little Monsters</div><div>6. Twig</div><div>7. Star Trek</div><div>8. Bone Orchard Mythos Ten Thousand Black Feathers</div><div>9. Skybound Presents</div><div>10. Sins of the Black Flamingo</div><div>11. New Masters</div><div>12. Star Trek The Mirror War (Last year #9 best new)</div><div>13. Stillwater (Last year #8 ongoing)</div><div>14. Department of Truth (Last year #10 ongoing)</div></div>Randy Landerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01927023143072517623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5218203.post-70783424336227180652022-12-28T00:00:00.147-06:002022-12-30T13:30:51.753-06:00Best of 2022 - Graphic Novels<p>I bought 37 graphic novels this year and I've read 27 of them so far, which is better than I did last year keeping up. I only have 5 left unread from 2020-2021, although I do also have some more from 2019 and before to read. All in all, I read about 90 graphic novels this year, most of them bigger hardcovers, some of them in serialized format. That's double the number I read last year, so making good progress on my stack.</p><div>If you wanted to get a sense of what I think was the best of 2022, and you're only buying graphic novels, here are my recommendations, broken down by creative team a bit:<br /><ol><li>Tom Taylor (Superman Son of Kal-El Vol 1-2, Knights of Steel Vol 1, Seven Secrets Vol 3, Nightwing Fear State & Vol 2, Batman The Detective)</li><li>Ed Brubaker (Reckless by Brubaker & Phillips (two volumes out this year, plus the three from years before, and Friday Vol 2 TP)</li><li>Chip Zdarsky (Daredevil Vol 2-3 HC, Daredevil Woman Without Fear, Devil's Reign, Newburn Vol 1)</li><li>Jed MacKay (Moon Knight Vol 1-2, Death of Doctor Strange, Strange Vol 1)</li><li>James Tynion (Batman Vol 5, The Joker Vol 2, Something Is Killing the Children 4-5, The Closet, Nice House on the Lake Vol 1)</li><li>Junji Ito (This year's were Liminal Zone and Black Paradox)</li><li>Jeff Lemire (Ascender HC, Gideon Falls Vol 2 HC, Mazebook, Little Monsters Vol 1, World of Black Hammer Vol 4, Bone Orchard Vol 1 The Passageway)</li><li>Kurt Busiek (Astro City Metrobook Vol 1-2)</li><li>Darwyn Cooke (Parker Martini Edition Last Call HC, Catwoman East End Omnibus)</li></ol><div><b>My Top 50 Favorite Graphic Novels of 2022:<br />(Published in 2022)</b></div><div><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>Parker Martini Edition Last Call HC</li><li>Reckless (Ghost in You HC & Follow Me Down)</li><li>Nightwing Fear State HC & Vol 2 HC</li><li>Superman: Son of Kal-el Vol. 1-2 HC</li><li>Knights of Steel Vol 1 HC</li><li>Catwoman East End Omnibus</li><li>Me You Love in the Dark TP</li><li>Milestone Compendium One</li><li>Daredevil by Chip Zdarsky: to Heaven Through Hell Vol. 2-3 HC</li><li>Astro City Metrobook Vols 1-2 TP</li><li>Savage Avengers Vol. 5 TP</li><li>Moon Knight by Lemire & Smallwood Complete TP</li><li>Moon Knight Vol 1-2 TP</li><li>Death of Doctor Strange TP</li><li>Strange Vol 1 TP</li><li>Friday Book 2 TP</li><li>Newburn Vol 1 TP</li><li>She-Hulk Vol 1 TP Jen's Back</li><li>The Nice House on the Lake Vol 1 TP</li><li>Good Asian Vol 2 TP</li><li>The Sandman Book 1-4 TP</li><li>Amazing Spider-Man: Beyond Vol. 1-4 TP</li><li>Batman Vol 2 Joker War TP</li><li>Batman Joker War Saga TP</li><li>Batman Vol 5 Fear State HC</li><li>Batman The Detective HC</li><li>Robin Vol. 1-2 HC</li><li>Ascender HC</li><li>Gideon Falls Vol 2 HC</li><li>World of Black Hammer Library Edition Vol 4 HC</li><li>Little Monsters Vol 1 TP</li><li>Halo & Sprocket Complete Color Edition TP</li><li>Usagi Yojimbo Origins Vol 2-4 TP</li><li>Many Deaths of Laila Starr TP</li><li>Moon Knight Omnibus Vol. 1-2 HC</li><li>Immortal Hulk Vol 5 HC</li><li>Black Paradox/Liminal Zone</li><li>Swing Tp Vol 05</li><li>I Hate It Here Vol 1 TP</li><li>Chu Tp Vol 02</li><li>Mr. Lovenstein Presents Failure HC</li><li>Curse Words Omnibus</li><li>Radiant Black Vol 2 TP</li><li>Twig Vol 1 TP</li><li>Magic Vol 2-3 HC</li><li>Crossover Vol 2 TP</li><li>The Flintstones HC</li><li>Fire Power by Kirkman & Samnee Hc Book 01</li><li>Bone Orchard Vol 1 The Passageway HC</li><li>Die HC</li></ol><ol style="text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="text-align: left;"></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol></div><div><b>Other Graphic Novels I Read This Year:</b></div><div><div>Alien Dead Orbit TP</div><div>All New Wolverine HC</div><div>Avatar Imbalance Library Edition</div><div>Avatar North and South Library Edition</div><div>Babyteeth Vol 2 HC</div><div>Beasts of Burden Occupied Territory HC</div><div>Black Hammer Visions Vol 1 HC</div><div>Clementine Vol 1 TP</div><div>Daredevil by Charles Soule Omnibus</div><div>Ether Library Edition HC</div><div>Fine Print Vol 1 TP</div><div>Hack Slash Vol 1-2 HC</div><div>Rachel Rising Omnibus</div><div>Rat Queens Vol 3 HC</div><div>Seven Secrets Vol 3 TP</div><div>Spider-Man Life Story HC</div><div>Stillwater Vol 2 TP</div><div>The Kitchen TP</div><div>The Silver Coin Vol 2-3 TP</div><div>Tuki Vol 1 Fight for Fire TP</div><div>Tuki Vol 2 Fight for Family TP</div><div>World of Black Hammer Library Edition Vol 2-3 HC</div></div></div>Randy Landerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01927023143072517623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5218203.post-64930888957667921532022-12-27T22:17:00.001-06:002022-12-27T22:17:00.198-06:00Best of 2022 - Boardgames<p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Last year I played 20 games that were new to me, 46 different games, and 60 times. This year, I played a *lot* more, in part thanks to Boardgame Arena's online tools, but in part due to more game nights and a super-productive BGG Con, plus a visit to GAMA and GenCon. All told, I played </span>94 different games, 250+ times, with 70 of them being new to me. However... 82 of those plays and 3 of those new games were on BGA, but still, that's 170+ plays, 67 new games, and over 90 different games.</p><p><span face=""Trebuchet MS", Verdana, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white;"></span><span face=""Trebuchet MS", Verdana, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white;"><b>Top 20 Favorite New Games:</b></span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Verdana, Arial, sans-serif;" /></p><ol style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"><li><span style="background-color: white;">7 Wonders Architects (59 plays, 14 of them in person, it's fair to call this my favorite new game of 2022)</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Dice Throne Adventures</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Birdwatcher</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Marvel Dice Throne</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Canvas</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">My Father's Work</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Flamecraft</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Starship Captains</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Trekking Through History</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Vengeance Roll & Fight</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Eternal Palace</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Framework </span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Namiji (and Aquamarine Expansion)</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Marvel Remix</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Wormholes</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Cubitos</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Guild of Merchant Explorers</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">My Shelfie</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">First Rat</span></li><li>Vivid Memories</li></ol><div><b>Other New Games, In Order of Favorites:</b></div><ol style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"><li><span style="background-color: white;">Aeon's End</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Radlands</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Azul Master Chocolatier</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Spirit Island</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Clank!</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Dungeons, Dice & Danger</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Zombicide Gear Up</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Everdell</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Roll Camera!</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Quantum</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Call to Adventures Epic Origins</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Saloon Tycoon</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">First Empires</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Dragon Parks </span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Arch Ravels</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Monolyths </span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Project L</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Oh My Ring</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Skull Canyon Ski Fest</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Don't Llama Dice</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Ready Set Bet</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Mists Over Carcassonne</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Horizons of Spirit Island</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Star Trek Five Year Mission</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Decorum</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Kites</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Dead Men Tell No Tales</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Elector Counts</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Yak</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Floriferous</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Wavelength</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Ted Lasso Party Game</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Big Monster (BGA only)</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Unicorn Stew</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Loot of Lima</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Gingerbread House</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Zoff in Buffalo</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Can't Stop (BGA only)</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Happy Dim Sum</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Scout </span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Cover Your Kingdom</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Small Islands</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">SPECTRE the boardgame </span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Bullet❤️</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Twilight Inscription</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Magic Maze</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Firefly Misbehavin</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Hey Yo</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Hive Pocket</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Train of Thought</span></li></ol><ol style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"></ol><ol style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"></ol><div><b>Favorite Games:</b><br /><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>Star Realms (mostly app play)</li><li>Azul (Mostly on BGA)</li><li>Barenpark (BGA only)</li><li>Deep Sea Adventure</li><li>PARKS</li><li>Horrified Universal Monsters</li><li>Space Base</li><li>DC Comics DBG</li><li>TEN</li><li>Dinosaur Island Rawr n Write</li><li>Dice Forge</li><li>Super Skill Pinball: 4Cade</li><li>Kingdomino</li><li>Caper Europe</li><li>Terrors of London</li><li>Isle of Cats</li><li>Celestia</li><li>Downforce</li><li>Dune Imperium</li><li>Marvel Champions</li><li>Here to Slay</li><li>Just One</li><li>King of New York/King of Tokyo</li><li>Quacks of Quedlinberg</li></ol></div><div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><b>My "to play" list of games I have</b></span></div><div><ol><li><span style="background-color: white;">Abstract Academy</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Canopy</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Chronicles of Avel</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">CULTivate</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Dragon Prince Battlecharged</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Galaxy Trucker</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">GI Joe Mission Critical</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Meeples & Monsters</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">On Tour</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Pandemic Legacy Season 0</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Roll Player Adventurs</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Rolling Realms</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Starfinder Pirates of Skydock</span></li><li>Truffle Shuffle</li><li>Unmatched (lots of them)</li></ol><div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><b>My "to play" list of games I have preordered:</b></span></div><div><ol><li><span style="background-color: white;">Age of Comics The Golden Years</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">DC DBG Injustice</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Motor City</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Sagrada Artisans</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Star Realms Rise of Empire</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">The Fox Experiment</span></li></ol><div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><b>My "to play" list of games I don't own</b></span></div><div><ol><li><span style="background-color: white;">Alien Fate of the Nostromo</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Ark Nova</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Bequest</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Between Two Cities Essential Edition</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Burgle Bros 2: The Casino Capers</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Cakes!</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Cartographers Heroes</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Chai</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Chronicles of Crime 2400</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Crime Zoom</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Dinosaur World</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Dune War for Arrakis</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">D&D Heroes of Undermountain</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Endless Winter Paleoamericans</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Forsaken</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Getaway Driver</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">GI Joe DBG</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Heat Pedal to the Metal</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Hibachi</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">It's A Wonderful Kingdom</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Libertalia Winds of Galecrest</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Living Forest</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Monuments</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Nightmare Productions</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Origins First Builders</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Paint the Roses</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Skate Summer</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Skull</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Skymines</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">So You've Been Eaten</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Sobek</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">The Spill</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Stella Dixit Universe</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Terraforming Mars Ares Expedition</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Tusk Surviving the Ice Age</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Unfathomable</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Verdant</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">The Wolves</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Wonder Book</span></li></ol></div></div></div></div></div></div>Randy Landerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01927023143072517623noreply@blogger.com0