Graphic Novel A Day: Meathaus Vol. 8

Company: Alternative Press
Price: $14.95 ($10.17 on Amazon)

A collection of short stories from a variety of talented indy cartoonists. As with many of these small press anthologies, a lot of the stories are just way too weird for me, but there's some great artistry throughout. My particular favorite cartoonists working on this volume are Becky Cloonan, Brandon Graham, James Jean, Jimm Rugg, Scott Morse, Jim Mahfood, Tomer Hanuka, Nate Powell and Farel Dalrymple, but there's just a ton of talent onboard. I'm particularly amused (and disturbed) by the contribution of Mickey Duzyj, who offers up a tale of giant naked old women fighting it out in a city using laser guns. Seriously. I don't care who you are, that's just awesome.

Graphic Novel A Day: Punisher MAX Vol. 2 HC

Writer: Garth Ennis
Artists: Dougie Braithwaite & Leandro Fernandez
Company: Marvel
Price: $29.99 ($19.79 at Amazon)

Volume two of Punisher MAX is better than the first in some respects and lesser in some others. Either way, it's still a pretty good read. The gem of the book is the first story, which finds Punisher on a special ops mission for Nick Fury in Russia. It's Punisher as military adventure, with a great, hulking, almost Frankenstein-like Punisher by artist Braithwaite. Fury is the MAX version of Fury, and I think that I'm starting to like the idea that the MAX versions of these characters are in fact an alternate universe version of the characters... it makes it a lot easier to swallow stuff that I'd hate if it was in the Marvel Universe, like a lot of Ennis's take on Fury. The second story, with great art by Fernandez, calls back a lot of the characters from the first story arc and the Russia story arc, and it's got a lot I like, but it also has a few of the worrying signs of mutilation-as-funny that I don't like in Ennis' work. I think in general I prefer Punisher MAX to not have a lot of continuity between stories, to work more like a series of standalone movies or novels than serial comics.

Weekly Comics to Come - December 6, 2006:

Looks like a pretty good week. Had a hard time cutting my top five down from seven or eight.

TOP FIVE:
Beyond #6 (This is probably my favorite miniseries this year, I'm really anxious to see the conclusion and all the answers)
Manhunter #26 (Marc Andreyko's series gets another arc to prove itself in sales, with big gun guest stars)
Other Side #3 (Creepy Vietnam-era miniseries continues)
Runaways Vol 2 HC (Finally, a second hardcover volume of Runaways... the first one was terrific)
Superman Confidential #2 (Good opener, and I'm a big fan of both Cooke and Sale)

THE REST:
Agents Of Atlas #5 (Losing interest a little, but I still think I'm going to want to read the trade)
Batman Confidential #1 (Expect to be disappointed by the art, hope the story can survive it)
Doctor Strange Oath #3 (Despite a couple complaints, in general I'm really enjoying this)
Invincible #37 (I really wish this would get back to being a monthly. Maybe I should just stop reading until the trades come out)
Irredeemable Ant-Man #3 (Unpredictable and different, I like this one a lot. Great art by Phil Hester, too. Almost makes the top five this week)
Marvel Adventures Spider-Man #22 (The black saga/Venom costume continues in the all-ages book)
Meltdown #1 (Solid first issue about a superhero whose powers are killing him... great art by Sean Wang)
Midnighter #2 (Not expecting a lot, but my recent fondness for Ennis's Punisher has me onboard for at least one more issue)
newuniversal #1 (Curious to check this one out. Immonen's art is always good, and Ellis basically starting from scratch with a sci-fi superhero universe *could* be like his work on Apparat... if he doesn't fall into autopilot anti-superhero mode)
Official Handbook O/t Invincible Universe #1 (This should be a lot of fun)
Robotika HC (Beautiful and action-packed sci-fi series, can't wait to see the production values on this hardcover from Archaia)
Spider-Man Reign #1 (Wary of the grim and gritty vibe for this character, but curious to see what Kaare Andrews will offer)
Star Wars Rebellion #5 (Probably my second favorite of the current crop of Star Wars comics, behind Dark Times)
Tranquility #1 (Gail Simone and Neil Googe on superhero retirement... too bad it's part of Wildstorm's lame relaunch, but it could still stand alone)
Uncanny X-Men #481 (Losing interest, but still just enough to keep reading)
Walking Dead #33 (Kirkman has four or five books coming out this week)

Oh. My. God.
I am a format whore when it comes to my comics, but I am not a book fetishist. I don't go out of my way for first editions, I don't care if it's hardcover or battered paperback, and honestly, my novel and plain old prose reading is just way down from what it used to be.

But... this makes me drool and makes me wish I had $4000 in loose money lying around and a library room in the house to keep it in. In addition to a variety of literature and essays that would be interesting and of great use to my children as they start to go to school and get interested in reading, they've got pop culture treasures like early crime collections, works by Hammett and Chandler, a collection of Lovecraft and next year they're doing a volume for Philip K. Dick.

I think I might have to start buying a few volumes of these when I get done reading my graphic novel overstock.

The Zune:
Microsoft's Christmas-timed "iPod Killer." To be honest, I hadn't really even heard much about it before tonight. Just a few of Cory Doctorow's "DRM is Evil!" freakouts at Boing-Boing, the kind of thing I've gotten so tired of I just zapped it from the RSS feed without reading the attached article. But then Scott Kurtz referenced it in PVP, and I got curious. So I did what anyone would do. I Googled it.

First up on Google's list of links are blowjob-level fan pages for the player. I was reading these things, which go out of their way to avoid mentioning any of the shortcomings, and I was still suspicious. See, for all its minor faults (including a DRM scheme that does worry me, long-term) I *love* iTunes and my iPod. And generally... I hate Microsoft. So maybe I'm suspiciously minded by nature.

But my next stop, as it should be, was Wikipedia. There I started to get a more accurate look at the Zune, and after a few reviews at the New York Times and Chicago Tribune, I got what I think is a pretty accurate picture of the Zune.

It's a music industry-friendly player that is Microsoft's desperate attempt to take back some of the market that Apple has pretty much conquered. My guess is that within a year, Apple will have integrated the two good ideas (Wifi and a bigger video screen), done them better (maybe a more expansive use of Wifi and less crippling sharing options) and the Zune will shortly be a faint memory of Microsoft helping Apple do its product improvement research for them.

Can't wait for my wifi-enabled next-gen iPod, though. Thanks, Zune!

Graphic Novel A Day: Punisher MAX Vol. 1 HC

Writer: Garth Ennis
Artists: Lewis Larosa & Leandro Fernandez
Company: Marvel
Price: $29.99 ($19.79 on Amazon)

The impending publication of Punisher: First to Last, featuring memorable Punisher one-shots by Garth Ennis and various artists, encouraged me to finally go ahead and pick up the hardcovers of his MAX run. His early Punisher stuff was the same kind of self-indulgent, adolescent dark humor that he's mostly known for these days, and it got old. When Punisher became a mature readers book, though, somehow Ennis became the perfect guy for it, writing these gritty crime stories with plenty of action (delivered in fine style by artists like Larosa and Fernandez, who have grown since their early work and get even better with every story arc) that are pretty true to the roots of the character in pulp-y novels and '70s revenge flicks. Sure, there are still signs of Ennis' excesses, including an unnecessary love of characters being tortured or maimed and a dark humor streak that usually works but occasionally veers into breaking the mood... but in general, these are the perfect thing for a Punisher fan looking for stories that take the character seriously.

Graphic Novel A Day: Ex Machina Vol. 4: March to War
Writer: Brian K. Vaughan
Artists: Tony Harris, Tom Feister, Chris Sprouse, Karl Story & JD Mettler
Company: DC/Wildstorm
Price: $12.99 ($10.39 on Amazon)

OK, technically this is cheating, since I wrote it on Thursday morning and back-dated the time. But end result is I didn't miss a day, so it counts. Anyway, this is the latest volume of Vaughan's political/superhero series about a New York Mayor who also happens to have gained the ability to talk to machines via an encounter with some strange alien technology. Previous volumes have focused on 9-11, free speech issues, serial murders, severe weather procedures, gay marriage and a variety of other issues involved in running New York City. This time out, it's the story of protests and the lead-up to the Iraq War, with a new terrorist attack giving Mayor Mitchell Hundred the chance to show off his skills in handling the kind of crisis his predecessor had to deal with. It's a good mystery, good political storytelling as always and great art by Harris, Feister and Mettler. Only shame of it? I thought the character killed in this arc was interesting, and the death didn't contribute so much to the story that I thought it was worth losing the character. This also contains the two-part special, with guest art by Chris Sprouse, showing the origin and full story of Mitchell's "nemesis" Jack Pherson, who gained the ability to talk to animals and a desire to help them at the cost of humanity. It's an interesting flashback to Mitchell's days as the Great Machine, and an interesting change of tone and style for the book, focusing on those superhero elements but with a more realistic style. Good as always.

Graphic Novel A Day: Night Trippers
Writer: Mark Ricketts
Artist: Micah Farritor
Company: Image
Price: $16.99 ($13.25 on Amazon)

Mark Ricketts definitely has some of the most inventive premises in comics. Night Trippers is about vampires, the counterculture of the '60s, rock and roll and romance, not necessarily in that order. I get the feeling I would have enjoyed it more if I could map all the characters referenced to their real-life inspirations, but it's hard to miss the Beatles or Andy Warhol, and even if you don't get all the references, the culture comes through loud and clear. Also some nice action sequences featuring a vampire hunter and a far-flung, intriguing cast of well-developed characters. The art by Micah Farritor reminds me of a more '60s pop colored version of the work done by Marc Hempel or D'Israeli in his Sandman days.

Graphic Novel A Day:
In an effort to shrink down my ever-growing pile of graphic novels to read, and to finally clear off my night table so I can read more novels and actual books at night, I have decided to embark on a new plan: A graphic novel a day. I will read at least one graphic novel each day, and most likely post about it here. Often-times, it will be an informational post of what it's about, who published it and a link to buy it at Amazon (or somewhere else if not available). Think 4th grader's book report, done about midnight the night before it was due. Plenty of times, I'm sure, it will be a note along the lines of "Yesterday's graphic novel was X. Published by X, here's the link."

I reserve the right to quit if a graphic novel isn't engaging me and to count that as a book read for the day. I also reserve the right to cheat and skip days, especially Tuesday, when I work until midnight, podcast and then read all my comics for the week. If I'm reading a big graphic novel, like one of the Marvel Essentials on my pile, I might let that slip over more than one day.

I currently have over 60 graphic novels ready to read, and that's not counting the half-dozen to a dozen graphic novels I buy every month. So this will probably go on for a while. I will either keep doing this for a good long time or quit when I lose interest. Knowing myself as I do, I'd vote for the latter, but I'm hoping for the former.

The Surrogates
Writer: Robert Venditti
Artist: Brett Weldele
Cost: $19.95 ($13.57 at Amazon)
Company: Top Shelf

The Surrogates is a sci-fi story set around the 2050s in Atlanta (Venditti's home town) about a U.S. in which 92% of the population rarely goes out, instead living their lives through mechanical surrogates which channel feelings and experiences back to them. There's a lot of interesting sociological changes as a result of this technology, and the core of the plot is about two cops investigating a fanatic who is running around destroying surrogates and encouraging people to live, which seems to link to a religious fanatic who runs an anti-surrogate cult on a reservation negotiated when he and his followers rioted many years ago. Good sociological exploration, characters, action and a tightly plotted story, not to mention Weldele's moody art, make it a winner. There's also a ton of extras, from those that existed in the single issues like the back cover ads for the surrogate company that look real or the text pieces examining the surrogates or the backstory of the world and its characters to those that are new, including deleted scenes, design sketches and pinups from a variety of artists. Features Top Shelf's usual excellent production values and design work, and is well worth the $20.

Weekly Comics to Come - November 29, 2006:
The answer to last week's question "Does a big week mean a great week?" was a resounding no, as 90% of what I read was disappointing.

TOP FIVE:
American Virgin #9 (This reads best in trades, but it's still enjoyable in single issues. New story arc starts here, I believe)
Batman The Spirit (After rereading New Frontier in Absolute format, I'm now really looking forward to this. Darwyn Cooke rules!)
Captain America #24 (Brubaker's Civil War Cap tie-ins have been great, equal to the quality of the rest of his run on this book)
Immortal Iron Fist #1 (Not entirely sold on the whole legacy thing, but I am intrigued by it)
True Story Swear To God Image Ed #2 (Just as great after the move to Image... hope it picked up some readership)

THE REST:
Crossing Midnight #1 (I'm not super-excited about Mike Carey's newest Vertigo book, but I am mildly curious)
Ex Machina Vol 4 March To War TP (Still enjoying this book a lot)
Goon Wicked Inclinations Vol 5 TP (Always entertaining)
Mail Order Ninja Vol 2 (I have this but haven't read it yet, but I really enjoyed the first one. Funny all-ages stuff)
Whisper #1 (Never read the original Whisper, but curious to see Steven Grant's action character make a return at Boom! anyway)
Zombies Vs Robots #1 (How can you go wrong with a title like that?)

Weekly Comics to Come - November 22, 2006:

Wow, it's a *huge* week. I'm not sure how great the week will be, because I know there will be disappointments in this giant crop of comics, but there should be some good reading, just based on the law of averages.

TOP FIVE:
Action Comics #845 (First Donner/Johns issue was promising, curious to see where they're going)
Daredevil #91 (More of Daredevil's adventures in Europe, and Brubaker and Lark are still kicking ass on this book)
Fantastic Four The End #2 (Really fun first issue, might this be the first good The End miniseries?)
Godland #14 (Reading #13 reminded me how much I'd missed this title)
Jack Of Fables #5 (Jack's escape plan goes awry... I haven't read the solicits, I'm just guessing here)

THE REST:
24 Nightfall #1 (A "secret origins" style 24 about the Nightfall covert ops mission that spurred season one)
Avengers Earths Mightiest Heroes II #2 (First issue was OK, but I'm not sure how long I'll keep reading without Kolins on art)
Captain America Red Menace Vol 2 TP (They're not gonna do big hardcovers of Brubaker's Cap work, are they? Looks like it might be time to buy the trades)
Conan #34 (Truman's first issue was a little weak compared to Busiek's, but I'm still down for following a few issues, based on the strength of the Scout trade I just read)
Connor Hawke Dragons Blood #1 (Dixon can do solid action, and I like this character... but his Richard Dragon series was pretty bad, and I hope this is more like his Nightwing, Birds of Prey and Green Arrow of old)
Damaged #1 (Don't remember much about this indie book, but it has MD Bright art, which is never a bad thing)
Drain #1 (New vampire book from Marvel's CB Cebulski, writer of the Marvel: Ultimate Alliance game, and the art looks nice)
Dwight T Albatross The Goon Noir #2 (First issue was a blast, looking forward to the creative line-up on this one)
Elephantmen #0 (I have this already, but it's good to see it re-released for those who have discovered the new series)
Enigma Cipher #1 (New World War II espionage book from Boom!)
Hellstorm Son Of Satan #2 (Dug the first issue, interested in seeing where it goes)
Impaler #2 (Ditto for Impaler)
John Woos Seven Brothers #2 (And ditto for this one. Push comes to shove, though, Impaler #2 is the second issue I'm most looking forward to this week except for FF: The End)
New X-men Omnibus HC (I have the original hardcovers, and I just dropped $75 on Absolute New Frontier. Otherwise, I'd definitely be buying this collection of Grant Morrison's ground-breaking X-Men work)
Pirates Of Coney Island #2 (First issue had an unexpected tone, but it was a good read. I want to see what happens next)
Planetary Brigade Origins #1 (I actually liked the Planetary Brigade more than the Hero Squared it was spun off from, in some ways)
Previews Vol #24.12 (Down the Line coming, but not until after Thanksgiving)
Punisher War Journal #1 (I've got kind of a bad feeling that this is gonna be Fraction just killing off perfectly good C-list bad guys... but I have to admit, I'm curious to read it anyway)
Runaways #22 (Losing me a little as it coasts to its pre-Whedon end, hopefully Vaughan can go out on a higher note)
Spider-man Loves Mary Jane #12 (Also coasting towards a changing point, with Miyazawa leaving, but I'm still digging the hell out of this one)
Uncle Sam And The Freedom Fighters #5 (Strange, a little heavy-handed, but readable)
Usagi Yojimbo #98 (Always good)
Walking Dead #32 (This latest story is getting a little long in the tooth, but a Halloween viewing of 28 Days Later has re-stoked my interest)
Wonder Woman #3 (Yep, it's been three months, must be time for another issue)
Y The Last Man Vol 8 Kimono Dragons TP (Closing in on the end of Y The Last Man)

Weekly Comics to Come - November 15, 2006:

TOP FIVE:
Absolute DC The New Frontier HC (Can't wait to finally crack open this gigantic book and give it a reread)
Action Comics #844 (First issue of the Johns/Donner/Kubert run was pretty solid)
Astro City The Dark Age Book Two #1 (Always glad to see Astro City return, even if Busiek's been off his game lately for me)
EC Archives Shock Suspenstories Vol 1 HC (I've just starting reading through this, and it's an amazing package)
Escapists #5 (My favorite miniseries of the moment)

THE REST:
Birds Of Prey #100 (BoP is losing me, but the changeover in this issue could bring me back)
Death Jr Vol 2 #2 (Long time between issues, but always entertaining)
GI Joe Dreadnoks Declassified #1 (Hoping for cheesy fun, expecting disappointment given the past GI Joe spotlights)
Invincible #36 (Another long wait between issues, but always entertaining)
Omega Men #2 (First issue had weak art, intriguing story... hope that it hooks me more here, expecting it not to, realistically)
Shadowpact #7 (Last issue was a weaker one, but I've liked the previous two quite a bit)
Southland Tales Book 2 (Enjoyed the first book... although I'm now waiting for the deluxe trade that will collect all three)
Union Jack #3 (Solid superhero action with terrific art by Mike Perkins)
White Tiger #1 (Mildly curious about this one)

Election Thoughts:
Given the way the last three elections turned out, I just kind of expected Wednesday to be a huge crushing disappointment. Instead, I was shocked at how well things went. The Democrats took over the House, Senate and won several governorships and the Bush Administration got the severe slap on the wrist they've been deserving. And as a bonus, this led to Rumsfeld finally being shown the door. Now if only there could be some kind of bus crash involving Cheney, Rove and maybe Robert Novak.

I don't have a great deal of faith that the Democrats will suddenly grow both a brain and a spine, but I do hope that this will allow the government to get back to general incompetence rather than outright villainy.

TV Thoughts on Election Eve:
Tomorrow is election day in the United States. Please, even if you've mostly given up on the system (I'm looking at you, Nate), go out and vote. Unless you're planning to vote Republican, then you can stay home. Kidding! Seriously, most of the local races here look pretty much decided, judging by the polls, and the guy (or gal, I'm looking at you, Kay Bailey Hutchinson) I don't want to win is winning many of the races. My change of address didn't go in and I didn't early vote, so I've got to drive back down to my old neck of the woods and vote before going to work instead of going somewhere convenient to my house.

The whole thing seems mostly out of my hands, and I'm not entirely convinced my vote counts, or that it'll get counted correctly, given that we're using Diebold machines here in Texas... but I'm still going to go vote. It's that last little vestige that convinces me we're still living in a democracy, and that the lunatics won't be running the asylum forever. Come tomorrow night or Wednesday morning, if the Democrats haven't re-taken the house, I may feel differently. I may just throw my hands up at the whole system. But right now, I still feel like I should vote.

Wow, and that was just the digression, not the point of the post. Anyway, further TV thoughts, spurred largely by NBC's Monday Night line-up of Heroes and Studio 60.

Heroes: The quality is still uneven, and tonight's episode was mostly standstill stuff, with only a few minor developments and one big one... but in general, the show has gotten better, and I'm enjoying it. Some weeks, I'm even looking forward to seeing where the mysteries and character arcs go. Still not loving it as I loved Lost, and if I could cancel this and bring back Smith and/or Kidnapped, I'd do it in a heartbeat, but I'm no longer actively angry that this gets to stick around while so many shows I really liked tanked so early.

Studio 60: Tonight's episode started off a little worrisome, and the whole "John Goodman as redneck judge" thing, the in media res opener, was almost nails on a chalkboard for me. Fortunately, I stuck it out and this turned out to be the best (and funniest) episode since the pilot. Whereas this kind of farce didn't work so well on West Wing, where it felt out of place, it feels perfectly in line with Studio 60, and still has a few important things to say about the culture wars at the same time. Clever writing, some funny moments and terrific acting. Now if only EW would quit gleefully predicting (and wishing for) its death.

Veronica Mars: I've recently been re-watching my season one DVDs of Veronica Mars, and I'm afraid the naysayers are right, and VM isn't as good as it used to be. Fortunately, it is still remarkably good, and I always watch it as soon as possible. The numbers are slightly up, and the CW doesn't have any hits, so I'm hopeful that the show might get to continue. I will say that I wouldn't mind them chopping down the cast a bit, and giving some of the often unseen players like Wallace and especially Mac some more juicy stories and screen-time to go with them. I'm also kinda tired of the Logan/Veronica relationship... I liked it at first, but this whole "strained relationship" thing is getting old, and I'm bored with it.

Lost: Some folks are abandoning Lost. I don't get it. I think the show continues to be excellent, and I'm just as wrapped up in the mysteries (and more importantly, the characters) as always. But then, I wouldn't mind the popularity of the show dying down so that the creators get their chance to end things rather than stretching them out forever to appease the ratings and advertising gods. But given its current ratings, and that it takes the lead spot on Wednesday at least 50% of the time, I don't see that happening anytime real soon.

The Nine: I'm up and down on this one. It's good, it's watchable, but I'm not sure I care about the aftermath of the characters' lives as much as what actually happened in the bank. And unfortunately, the story is much more about the former than the latter. Some good actors here, and it's especially good to see Tim Daly, but quite honestly, I'd rather that his underrated show Eyes was still going on instead.

The Office: So very funny. Easily in my top five shows, and one that I watch the night its on, rather than saving it on the Tivo. I can't believe it took me this long to catch on to how good this show is.

Battlestar Galactica: Continues to shine. The episodes just after the return from New Caprica haven't been as strong, but I think that's because the bar was set so high by the insurgency/rescue story arc. This season is so good it's making me reconsider going back to buy the DVDs of seasons one and two, which I hadn't done because I wasn't sure I'd ever re-watch the show. Now I'm thinking I want to.

Doctor Who: Fun, occasionally cheesy. Not in Galactica's league, but I'm pretty happy with the show, especially given that I'm not remotely a fan of the property in general.

Kidnapped: Ratings dropped so far that it didn't even get burned off on Saturdays, now it's gone to "online only." Which I think might translate to "We're going to quietly stop showing it altogether" and I'm still hoping for a DVD set to get some closure. This was a great, stylish show with a spectacular cast and some good writing, and it's a shame it didn't catch on. I'm amazed that fans of 24 didn't gravitate to this show, as it had a lot in common with that one.

Weekly Comics to Come - November 8, 2006:

Absolute New Frontier is delayed again, damn it. There are also rumors that the Invincible handbook has come out, but it hasn't come to my shop yet. Fairly light week, especially after last week's massive haul of good books.

TOP FIVE:
Batman And The Mad Monk #4 (Matt Wagner is writing and drawing the best Batman right now, period)
Damned #2 (Good first issue, great art by Brian Hurtt)
Doctor Strange Oath #2 (Another great first issue with great art)
Fables #55 (The reintroduction of witch-hunting Hansel continues)
Y The Last Man #51 (More on what killed all the men, including maybe a concrete answer?)

THE REST:
Avengers Earths Mightiest Heroes II #1 (I liked the first series, although without Kolins on art, my enthusiasm is much less)
DMZ #13 (Ricardo Burchielli returns for the next arc of DMZ)
Eternals #5 (I'm probably not going to pick up a trade at this point, but it's still an enjoyable read)
Marvel Legacy 1980s Handbook (This is my era, and I like these throwback handbooks)
Project Romantic SC (Another gorgeously produced anthology by Adhouse)
Star Wars Dark Times #1 (New Star Wars series starting right after the Revenge of the Sith)
Stormwatch Phd #1 (Wildstorm's relaunch has mostly been disappointing, but I'm still curious about Christos Gage's contribution)
Wisdom #1 (Doctor Who's Paul Cornell writes, which is the only reason I'm interested in a solo series featuring Warren Ellis's Mary Sue character)

Blog Template Update for October
This is the latest monthly update to the left column of the blog, updating my favorite comics and TV for the previous month. The listings are alphabetical, not by rank of how much I liked them in comparison. My criteria for what makes the list is when I read them, not necessarily when they were published.

So what'd I do in October? Well, the big news is probably that my wife is pregnant with our second child, due in June. We're very excited, and I'm about 50% less terrified, since I know the territory by now. Suzanne has been blogging about her pregnancy, Katy's reaction to it and such on her blog.

In addition, we had folks re-doing the bathrooms and kitchens in the house, which was kind of a pain but which has resulted in generally very nice bathrooms and kitchen. Except that the plugs in the bathrooms don't work. And the medicine chest/mirrors are gone, and I have no idea when they're coming back. But other than that, nice home improvements. I also got very into buying the Justice League Unlimited action figure three-packs when I saw them at the supermarket, and now have a pretty decent selection of obscure and popular DC heroes decorating my computer desk. We officially locked in the STAPLE! '07 special guest (Dean Haspiel) and there should be a few more exciting announcements in November about exhibitors and guests as well. Sales on STAPLE! tables are going very well, and if you're thinking of coming, you might want to look into registration as soon as possible. November fast approacheth, and that means three things to me: 1) Guitar Hero II will be arriving at my house and 2) Wizard World Texas is upon us and 3) Thanksgiving is coming soon.

This was a really good month for first issues, quite possibly the best all year. Criminal and Irredeemable Ant-Man are new and very promising series from Marvel, and there were also a couple great limited series launched this month, namely Doctor Strange: Oath and Other Side. Oni also launches once more into ongoing territory with the beautifully illustrated and intriguing genre-blend The Damned. Kind of amazing that despite hating almost everything related to Civil War and, indeed, much of Marvel's output, they still make up 50% of my Top 10. This probably speaks to Marvel's over-flooding the market once again, but it also speaks to two specific talents: Ed Brubaker and Brian Vaughan. Between them, they account for 8 of my Top 20. There are only two DC universe titles on my list, both on the fringes of the 52/Infinite Crisis-spun universe, which has basically lost all interest for me. But Vertigo takes up 4 spots, about half of Marvel, with roughly 25% of the level of output. And Vertigo dominates my Top 10 graphic novels with 3 spots as well.

There are only a few books on the indy list, and most wouldn't be considered indy by some. (By the way, I'm aware that some folks spell it indie. I spell it indy, and will continue to do so until someone can prove to me that both spellings aren't appropriate, via something other than their opinion.) Those books are The Damned, Dork and The Escapists. One Image book, one Dark Horse and one from Slave Labor. Indy makes up the lion's share of the rest of my graphic novel list, though, with an anthology published by Alternative, a new book from IDW, the first book I've ever bought from Dynamite and books from Dark Horse and Image.

Last month, I thought I was going to have a hard time pruning my Top 10 TV list. But then CBS cancelled Smith, which prompted me to stop watching The Unit, and things got a lot clearer. Shows that almost made the cut were Heroes, which I started to really dislike but which recovered strongly in the last two episodes and both The Daily Show and The Colbert Report, which I love but which have been shunted aside for the time being. There are like 30 of them on my Tivo right now, and I watch them at a rate of maybe one or two a week, so I'll never catch up. I watched 30 Rock to see if I wanted to add it to the weekly routine, and it was godawful. Just painfully unfunny, except for Alec Baldwin, who can't carry the show on his own. I know that some critics are hailing 30 Rock while hating on Studio 60, and I just don't get it. At least Studio 60 isn't supposed to be a comedy. My absolute favorite show right now is Battlestar Galactica... I liked but didn't love it for most of its run, but the opening three episode arc has been just amazing. Just below that, I've become obsessed with The Office, which makes me laugh harder than anything on TV since Arrested Development (although it's still not as good as AD... but what could be?) and I'm really enjoying the new Lost and Doctor Who seasons as well. Studio 60 and Veronica Mars have both been uneven for me, but they're always at least entertaining and occasionally great.

New links I added to my RSS reader this month: 2 Guys Reading Comics (on the strength of a hilarious takedown of Civil War #4), Artistic Veritas (covering TV and Tivo, my other two big addictions besides comics and the Internet) and artist blogs for Matt Madden, Marko Djurdjevic and Takeshi Miyazawa.

Official Handbook of the Katy Universe:
Katy came into my office tonight and asked if we could make a new superhero. So we used HeroMachine and came up with this one, that she named Arrow:



At this rate, she'll have her own superteam in the next couple of weeks. She's been calling Butterfly Wing by the name Gold Butterfly Wing or Butterfly Gold, and she has told me that there's a bad Butterfly Gold, inspired by my having bought the Justice Lords action figures in the Justice League Unlimited line.

She can also name Aquaman, Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, The Atom, Martian Manhunter, Flash, Green Lantern, Lex Luthor and a few more, and asked to have superhero pictures put up in her room so she could look at them. So I put up my Justice League poster, with the season one roster on it. She also quite enjoys those oversized Paul Dini/Alex Ross books, especially Wonder Woman and the Justice League ones. So yeah, my daughter's already a superhero fan. I take full responsibility.

Weekly Comics to Come - October 31, 2006:

TOP FIVE:
American Virgin #8 (After re-reading the first trade, I find myself more in love with this title than ever)
Beyond #5 (Dwayne McDuffie and Scott Kolins close in on the finale of their B-lister war in space tale)
Criminal #2 (Brubaker and Phillips follow up the strongest debut issue of 2006)
Local #7 (This one's in Tempe, Arizona... this is in my top three series running right now, alongside Fables and Escapists)
Other Side #2 (Another strong first issue, can't wait to see the second)

THE REST:
Agents Of Atlas #4 (Modern conspiracy, Golden Age characters, great art... a fun diversion from Marvel that not enough people are reading)
Ex Machina #24 (More of New York politics, the firefighter rapist, drug dealers and more)
Irredeemable Ant-Man #2 (Fun first issue, great art by Phil Hester, curious to see where this one is going)
Justice League Of America #3 (This one has some weaknesses, including Benes's Turner-esque artwork, but it has some strong moments and a good lineup... if Meltzer would ever put the damn team together)
Killer #1 (New action/crime thriller from Archaia Studios)
Midnighter #1 (Probably just Garth Ennis on autopilot again, but Chris Sprouse's art will be nice)
Mouse Guard #5 (Archaia's unusual fantasy series races toward the conclusion of its first miniseries arc)
Mystery In Space #3 (Basically solid entertainment, although The Weird backup does nothing for me)
Pirate Tales #1 (Boom! anthology focused on pirates)
Superman Confidential #1 (Darwyn Cooke writes, Tim Sale draws, Randy reads)
Uncanny X-Men #480 (Brubaker and Tan hooked me good with the last issue, I'm digging this book)

My Daughter Made Her First Superhero:
This is Butterfly Wing, and she can fly. She doesn't have any other super-powers, but Katy has a lot more when she has her super-powers, like using her bracelets to turn things into gold and wearing a crown that protects her from bad animals.



Created using HeroMachine.

Weekly Comics to Come - October 25, 2006:

TOP FIVE:
American Virgin Head TP (This is a weird, beautifully drawn book that I really enjoy)
Godland #13 (Hooray! More Kirby/crazy Godland! I just read Vol. 2, so I'm very much in the mood for this)
Marvel Comics Encyclopedia HC (The DC Encyclopedia was fantastic, I expect great things from the Marvel one as well)
Scout Vol 1 TP (At last, some of Tim Truman's post-apocalyptic Apache epic is collected)
Supermarket TP (Great crime/sci-fi action from Brian Wood and Kristian Donaldson)

THE REST:
Captain America #23 (Still good, despite Civil War, a tribute to the talented creative team)
Conan & The Songs Of The Dead #4 (The wrap-up of the Lansdale/Truman Conan)
Daredevil #90 (Good Ed Brubaker week, and the first part of DD's Paris adventure was great)
Deathblow #1 (Vaguely interested in Brian Azzarello's take on spec op Deathblow)
Hawaiian Dick Vol 2 Last Resort TP (The previous trade was a great collection, I hope this one lives up to it)
Impaler #1 (Solid horror outing with a new take on Dracula)
Jack Of Fables #4 (Just as good as the main Fables book)
Marvel Adventures Spider-Man Vol 1 HC (Big week, or else I'd be picking up this oversized hardcover of all-ages Spidey... another time, perhaps)
Meathaus Vol. 8 SC (Indy anthology with some impessive names attached)
Planetary #26 (That rare beast, an issue of Planetary, is spotted in the wild!)
Previews #26.11 (Down the Line coming next week, looks like)
Seven Soldiers #1 (Finally, the conclusion that determines whether or not I'll be buying the four trades or not)
Spider-man Loves Mary Jane #11 (Continues to delight and entertain)
Uncle Sam And The Freedom Fighters #4 (Third issue was weaker, but I liked enough in the first three issues to keep reading)

More TV Thoughts:

Battlestar Galactica - Well, it's official. Three episodes in, and season three is far and away my favorite season of Battlestar Galactica yet. Some great moral ambiguity, even for the cylons, a tension-filled situation as we wonder how on Earth the humans are going to get off the planet and what kind of plan Adama could have and plenty of questions about what's going to happen next. Along with great writing, great acting and a nice guest turn by Amanda Plummer (that was unexpected).

Studio 60 - I have to admit, while I'm still loving the show, the people complaining about the lameness of the sketch comedy aren't wrong. It's *painfully* unfunny, and they probably shouldn't spend any time showing it if they can avoid it. Because the backstage stuff is great, and I'm really loving the romance between Matt and Harriet, because it really does seem legitimately impossible. They may have great chemistry, but it seems like they don't belong together, and that's an interesting thing. Jordan McDeere is the TV president equivalent of Jed Bartlett... I don't for a minute believe that someone that principled, smart and witty could rise to that position, but I sure wish they could, and I sure love the wish fulfilment of it. How great would it be if someone at network television actually had the principles to pass on a "toxic" reality show like the one pitched tonight? Did seem like Sorkin was talking to his audience a little with the reporter's speech about why it's an important story for Vanity Fair, answering the criticisms of Studio 60 being about "just TV." But I agree with all the points made, so I'm onboard with it.

Heroes - A noticeable uptick in quality, almost a quantum leap forward, as Bryan Fuller (Wonderfalls, Dead Like Me) steps in to write his first episode. The writing was so much sharper, all the character bits seemed stronger and I loved seeing some of the connections being made. Oh, and that ending... totally superhero genre, and I loved it. Fun to see that Hiro's heroic destiny (at least in one world) isn't just as comic relief. And Nathan's character became a whole lot more interesting with the revleation of a wife and kids and his interaction with Niki, just as Niki's subplot continues to intrigue, as we see her other personality for the first time. I was on the verge of dropping this show last week... now I'm anxious to see what happens next. A more consistent level of writing would help a lot, but it's good to know that Fuller's voice isn't entirely lost, as his is the one I trust the most amongst the various producer/writers on the show.

Weekly Comics to Come - October 18, 2006:
TOP FIVE:
Batman And The Mad Monk #3 (Matt Wagner's Batman is still the best Batman being published right now)
Fables 1001 Nights Of Snowfall HC (Got a glimpse of this in San Diego, and it looks gorgeous. Can't wait to read this)
Omega Men #1 (The pitch for this one, featuring space adventure and topical events like religious extremism and terrorism, sounded interesting)
Runaways #21 (I'm just as excited about this book as ever, hope Vaughan brings things to a good conclusion of sorts in a few issues)
Shadowpact #6 (The last two issues of this book have been great, it's becoming a new favorite)

THE REST:
Authority #1 (Most of my enthusiasm for the Wildstorm relaunch is gone, now that Morrison's two titles are shipping)
Birds Of Prey #99 (This one is waning for me a little, but the upcoming roster change is intriguing)
Birds Of Prey The Battle Within Tp (Definitely still onboard for this trade, though, which had some great stuff)
Casanova #5 (The book is losing me a little, as it doesn't offer much in the way of a coherent story... might read better in trade)
Conan #33 (Tim Truman's run on the character begins here)
Damned #1 (Pretty solid prohibition gangster/Hellblazer-style demon wars comic with great Hurtt art)
Elephantmen #4 (Beautifully illustrated sci-fi book, glad this is coming out more frequently than annually)
Hellcity Vol 1 GN (Really dug Rotting in Dirtville, so I'm looking forward to seeing this new release from Gigantic Graphic Novels)
Hellstorm Son Of Satan #1 (Looks potentially fun, based on preview pages)
Lone Ranger #2 (First issue was surprisingly solid)
Marvel Adventures Avengers #6 (I'll give Bedard another chance to impress after a weak #5)
Marvel Adventures Avengers Vol 1 Heroes Assembled Tp (The four issues collected here, though, are all great)
Naoki Urasawas Monster Vol 5 (The thriller manga continues)
Noble Causes #24 (More on the war between Blackthornes and Nobles)
Seven Sons Gn (AIT/Planet Lar's re-telling of an old Chinese fable, looked interesting in Previews)
Union Jack #2 (Looking forward to the second issue of this international ensemble action book)
Wasteland #4 (More of Oni's post-apocalyptic buzz book)
Wildcats #1 (See my comments on Authority, plus I'm a bigger fan of Gene Ha's art than Jim Lee's)

The New Fall Season - The Continuing Adventures of Randy's Tivo:

Wow, it's amazing how fast optimism and joy can turn to bitterness and spite. The rapid-fire cancellation of two of my favorite shows, Kidnapped and Smith, not to mention underperforming ratings for the other new shows I'm really enjoying (Studio 60 and The Nine) have me convinced that all the great new TV I loved won't even live out the month, let alone the season. Kidnapped is at least getting closure, but it's moved to Saturdays, and it looks like it won't air this week, as there's some sort of special or sports on in its timeslot. I'd probably be better off just waiting on the inevitable DVD release, but I really want to see more of it now.

Studio 60: The latest episode was not as strong as the rest, but it's still the best new show of the season, especially with the only other contender for the title (Smith) was unceremoniously dumped by CBS. CBS has been unceremoniously dumped by me. It doesn't even exist as a network anymore as far as my Tivo is concerned. I'm hoping that the show's declining ratings won't mean a cancellation or "hiatus," but at this point I just keep expecting the other shoe to drop.

Heroes: Weak. There are some things I like, including Hiro's story and the neat little twist of having Sylar, the villain, have all of the heroes' powers, including the psycho personality that Nikki has. I'm guessing here, but I think it's pretty clear that's where they're going. But really, I think the producers think it's like Lost, when really it's not even in The 4400's class yet. Too many characters, only half of them interesting, a boring serial killer villain and hazy science and origins... it needs to get more focused, and fast. Actually, I guess it doesn't, as it's the breakout hit of the season. But I won't watch something just because it's genre, and Heroes may wind up on the same "dead to me" pile as Smallville soon.

Veronica Mars: I don't know how the second episode was because Time Warner killed one of the two channels carrying CW programming, with no warning. So I had an hour-long block of text about how Time Warner couldn't carry the program instead of Veronica Mars on my Tivo. It's not available on iTunes or streamed on the CW site, either. I'll find some way to watch it, though, I'm sure.

Lost: Fantastic. I love the mysteries, really intrigued by the various new characters, and every week I turn it off wanting to watch the next episode immediately. If I could time travel into the future, I'd bring back newspapers, stock reports and as many DVD box sets of Lost as there were available. Which then wouldn't play on my antiquated old technology DVD player, of course. There's always a trick with time travel, you know.

The Nine: Still interested, although the lower ratings have me worried that this will be yet another serialized show that doesn't pay off with anything but cancellation and unsolved questions. Great cast, though, and I like the mysteries. It's not in the same class as Kidnapped, Smith or Studio 60 for me, but it's very watchable.

30 Rock: Really weak. If it weren't for Alec Baldwin, it might be unwatchable. But Baldwin is *so* good that he elevates the entire show when he's on. Hopefully the rest of the show will rise to his level.

Battlestar Galactica: Amazing two-hour opener. I haven't been as on-board this series as my friends, it's been in my "like it, don't love it" box for a long time... but this was a phenomenal opener. Battlestar Galactica is officially in my top five shows at the moment. Which brings me to the updated list:

TOP TEN SHOWS (ALL SHOWS NOT YET CANCELLED):
1. Studio 60 on Sunset (NBC)
2. Lost (ABC)
3. Battlestar Galactica (SCIFI)
4. Veronica Mars (CW)
5. The Nine (ABC)
6. The Office (NBC)
7. Doctor Who (SCIFI)
8. My Name is Earl (NBC)

I don't have two more. I'm watching Heroes and 30 Rock, but they're on probation for me.

CBS Can Go To Hell:
At least Kidnapped is getting to finish out its story. CBS is cancelling Smith, which is probably my second favorite show behind Studio 60, and they're cutting it off without any warning, right before they go into the big heist next week.

This also probably means not enough episodes to even get a DVD release. Which really sucks. Not too surprising... Smith had a great cast, sharp writing and edgy subject matter. It's really only the kind of thing that's going to succeed on HBO. Which is where more and more of my viewing is going. I've also learned an important lesson, that it doesn't pay to invest any time in CBS's serials, since they're likely to pull them without any consideration for viewer payoff. Since the only other thing I'm watching on CBS is (or was) The Unit and Shark, I won't have any particular trouble just letting the network go entirely.

Studio 60 and The Nine are now the only new shows I'm excited about that remain on the air. It looks like Heroes is the big success story of the season, a shame since it's the one show that disappointed me after a promising start. Hopefully it'll start getting a lot better, fast, because it's most likely to be the show that sticks around. I'm also hoping that NBC and ABC will be smarter about letting their new shows build an audience, but after Kidnapped got a quick cancellation, I'm not holding my breath.

Then again, Kidnapped *really* had low ratings, and at least NBC did give the show's producers 10 more episodes to wrap up, which is forward-thinking in terms of promoting future serials. CBS just cut their best new shows out at the knees, and I'll remember that next year and the year after that at least when figuring out which new shows to try.

Weekly Comics to Come - October 11, 2006:

TOP FIVE:
DMZ #12 (After the strength of last issue, I'm doubly looking forward to the new issue of this one)
Dork #11 (Finally! At long last, a new issue of Dorkin's always interesting solo anthology book)
Escapists #4 (Runs neck and neck with Fables as the most anticipated read of the month for me)
Fables #54 (This latest visit to the Homelands has been every bit as engaging as the last, as we get some insight into the bad guys)
Twelve Reasons Why I Love Her GN (Fantastic romantic drama/comedy graphic novel. Review HERE)

THE REST:
Gen 13 #1 (On the plus side, it's Gail Simone... but I'm generally not crazy about the characters or the artist. Still, I'll give it a shot)
Pirates Of Coney Island #1 (This one looks like crazy fun, I'm looking forward to checking it out)
Side Scrollers GN (I've had a preview copy of this sitting around for a month or so, and I liked Loux's work on F-Stop, so I guess it's finally time to make time to read this)
Star Wars Legacy #4 (Needs to get a lot more focused and fast, because it's the first Ostrander book on the verge of losing me)
Steady Beat Vol 2 (Rivkah's long-awaited second volume in her Austin-based manga series)
Uncanny X-Men #479 (Continuing Brubaker and Tan's 12-issue story arc)
Worldstorm #1 (As I recall, this is mostly a preview book, but I'm curious to get more of a sense of Wildstorm's new relaunch)

One Down:
'Kidnapped' Headed for Early End

The bad news is, they're cancelling Kidnapped. The good news is, they're giving the producers the remaining 10 episodes to wrap it up, so hopefully it won't be another intended for long run serial that never gets an ending. Sure, the ending will probably be a little rushed, but 13 episodes isn't a bad amount of time to tell this story, and I'll stick with it through to the end.

Bummer, though. NBC being this quick on the draw with a good show sort of crushes any of my hopes that they might take a longer view, and probably spells the doom for my other favorite show this season, Studio 60.

30 Rock:


I was enjoying it based on Alec Baldwin's performance, and thinking "I'll give this a shot." Then I got to the last 10 seconds, with Tracy Morgan's performance, and I about died laughing. This one definitely goes on the viewing schedule.

New Fall Season - The Nine, Lost and more

I continue to be pleased and impressed with the new TV season. Now if only more people were. The mind boggles at what is getting big ratings (Deal or No Deal? Really? Isn't that just Millionaire, which nobody even *remembers* anymore, with hotter girls and a bald Howie Mandel?) and what isn't (if NBC cuts Studio 60 short, I'm gonna be pissed... mostly at the vast number of viewers who weren't tuning in but who spend their time watching Survivor: Race War or whatever godawful sitcom is running against it). The only downside of this season, which has thus far presented more great TV than I've seen in about three years, is that nobody seems to be watching all this great TV. It seems entirely likely that after a great development season, we could see all these promising shows cut down by low ratings, only to be replaced by worse shows next year.

How is Heroes (which I'm already getting bored with, two episodes in, and I'm a *superhero genre fan*) getting bigger ratings than Studio 60 (which continues to be great with each episode)? How does CSI, a dull procedural, beat out Smith, a clever and stylish show about the other side of the law? I'm not trying to say everybody should love what I love, but I sure as hell wish more people did, because it would stop all the entertainment I love from going away before I'm done with it. Selfish? Well, yeah. I'll admit that.

At any rate, tonight and Tuesday featured the premiere of some new stuff. In fact, I'm still catching up, since I don't watch TV on Tuesday nights, so I haven't watched the latest episodes of Kidnapped (another low-rated favorite), The Unit (which I can take or leave at this point) or Smith (which I'm planning on watching next). What I did watch tonight:

Lost - Tons more questions, and I'm dying to know more about The Others now. I'm actually pretty much OK with the rate at which the creators are doling out answers, as they offer up some hints but always raise more questions. The quality of the writing is such that I'm always pulled in. My only complaints about the season opener are twofold: 1) I really would have liked to see more of the rest of the cast, besides Jack, Sawyer and Kate, who are the most over-exposed and often-times least interesting members of the show and 2) I was kinda bored with Jack's flashback. It wasn't bad, by any means, always watchable, but I was never on the edge of my seat. Jack suffers from the "Cyclops" syndrome... he's the stable leader type, and so a lot of writers can do one of two modes. Either he's in full-on control, which is boring but noble, or he's on the verge of losing it from the pressure, which often comes off as whiny or self-indulgent. Jack is an interesting character, it's just that he's got a lot less interesting demons than most of the rest of the cast.

Oh, and I really would have liked a two-hour season opener, which probably could have answered both of my complaints, featuring more of the ensemble cast. Still... easily in my top five shows on TV, still.

The Nine - A new one, the follow-up to Lost, and all the buzz is definitely warranted. We've all seen the hostage drama and even some of these character archetypes before, but a talented cast, a clever twist in flipping the timeline so that the show basically starts a week after the robbery and some tricks learned from shows like 24 and Lost makes for a gripping drama with lots of mysteries. I worry about how they're going to sustain those mysteries without feeling like they're dragging them out, but as with Lost, it seems the core of the show is strong characters and strong writing, and seeing how people pick up their lives *after* a traumatic event like a hostage crisis is something we haven't really seen a lot of before. It's also perfect for serialization on TV, as opposed to the 2-hour movie format, which is pretty much perfect for the hostage drama itself.

Like I say, I wonder how this can sustain more than a season, maybe two, based on the premise, and remain satisfying. But I also wondered that about how anyone could sustain a story about a bunch of survivors crashed on an island, and that's working out quite well so far.

Veronica Mars - Lost and Battlestar Galactica both had recap shows to catch viewers up on what had gone before, but Veronica Mars is the one that really needed it, especially given it's uber-complicated season and finale last year. Still great, and Kristen Bell as Veronica Mars is one of the most watchable characters on TV, but I felt like a fresh viewing of season two would have clicked me into the show harder. It's definitely a continuation of the series, rather than a fresh start, and while I love that as a fan, I wonder if they might not have gone a slightly more accessible route for the hopefully large new fanbase they'll be getting from their new post-Gilmore Girls timeslot.

Here's hoping for big ratings, though, because I still love the show.

Revised Top 5, now that I've seen everything (except Battlestar Galactica, which starts Friday, and 30 Rock, which I'm now kind of curious about, which starts next Wednesday):

TOP FIVE SHOWS (NEW SHOWS ONLY):
1. Studio 60 on Sunset
2. The Nine
3. Kidnapped
4. Smith
5. Heroes, but it's on the verge of being a top 4

TOP TEN SHOWS (ALL SHOWS):
1. Studio 60 on Sunset
2. Lost
3. The Nine
4. Kidnapped
5. Smith
6. Veronica Mars
7. The Office

And no doubt Battlestar Galactica will fit somewhere after it premieres. If I had to go to 10, I'd probably slot in Doctor Who, My Name is Earl or The Unit, but while I enjoy all of those shows, any one of them could disappear and I wouldn't much care. Everything else on my Top 10, I'll be sad to see it go. And I'll be surprised if at least half of them don't get killed by networks unwilling to let a show build its audience. My guess would be that we'll lose Studio 60, Kidnapped and probably Smith. I can't guess at Veronica Mars or The Nine until we see ratings.

Thankfully, even if the networks fuck it all up by losing all these good shows, in January we'll have nonstop Lost, nonstop 24 and new Shield, and that's all good.

Blog Template Update for September
This is the latest monthly update to the left column of the blog, updating my favorite comics and TV for the previous month. The listings are alphabetical, not by rank of how much I liked them in comparison. My criteria for what makes the list is when I read them, not necessarily when they were published.

September was a decompression month, in a lot of ways. The 20th anniversary celebration of Dragon's Lair was over, so that was a ton of stress gone, and basically things calmed down a bit. Of course, then we started having people in to remodel the kitchens and bathrooms, and organization for STAPLE! '07 started up, we launched Comic Pants and started planning for Wizard World Texas, and... OK, it was a decompression week and a half. At any rate, though, it was a good month, plenty of good comics, lots of good TV and a good first month for the new site.

Pretty solid, if unspectacular, month for comics in September. There weren't a ton of books that got cut to make my top 20, but there were a few. There weren't a lot of new first issues, but The Goon Noir, the first issue of True Story Swear to God at Image and Union Jack #1 were all solid openers.

Television, though, is really looking up. This was the best new Fall season in years, and I've got four new shows that I really like added to my viewing habits. I'm hoping that Kidnapped's relatively low ratings don't spell doom, as it's probably my second favorite show of the new season, right behind Studio 60. Smith is right behind that, and Heroes right behind that. And The Nine hasn't even started yet, and has been getting good buzz. I also finally discovered how funny The Office is - I'm almost through watching the second season DVDs, and the third season's first two episodes were great. I'm watching five NBC shows this year, six if you count Scrubs, which hasn't officially started yet. No FOX shows, since too much TV means Family Guy and Bones get cut due to time, and no ABC shows until Lost starts up. If The Nine is good, ABC and CBS are tied for second in my viewing, with two shows each. CBS has The Unit and Smith. CW has Veronica Mars. What's kind of amazing is that there's so much else I would watch, if I had unlimited time. Bones, Shark, the two CSIs I've seen (original flavor and Miami), Without A Trace, these are all solidly-produced, well-acted procedurals. If I wasn't more interested in serials, or if I had an eighth day of the week set aside just for TV, I'd probably watch them as well.

And that's not counting cable. Weeds season two on Showtime is great, I love Professional Poker Tour on Travel channel, Doctor Who just restarted on SciFi and Battlestar Galactica restarts this Friday. I'm about two months' behind on Daily Show and Colbert Report, and those may have to get cut from my regular viewing as well, not because I love them any less but because a four-day a week hourlong is just too much time commitment to watch. Might be time to switch to Youtube "Best Of" viewing like my buddy Dave Martindale.

Throw in 24 and The Shield starting early next year, and it's just a great time to be a TV fan. Probably the best level of quality of all the entertainment mediums I follow with what some might call an obsessive style. Certainly a better average than you get in either comics or movies these days. If only Arrested Development could have lived to see it.

For those who care, I've converted my RSS links into regular site links. I've also updated them according to what's in my actual newsreader feed at the moment, and I'll add and subtract each month as I keep discovering new artists and others with webpages. By the way, I know Will Pfeifer isn't an artist, but he's the only writer I keep up with at the moment, blog-wise, so for now he goes in with that group.

Weekly Comics to Come - October 4, 2006:
It's not a *great* week in terms of the amount of stuff I read, and I'm a little annoyed at the amount of indy stuff I've ordered that's running late (where the hell is Tim Truman's Scout TP?) and that Absolute New Frontier is shipping late as well... but there are a lot of books this week that I've either read and loved or are highly anticipating. Criminal alone makes this one of the best weeks of the year.

TOP FIVE:
Criminal #1 (I don't think there's anything more I can say about how good this book is. Podcast HERE, full review HERE.)
Doctor Strange Oath #1 (Always good to see somebody trying their hand at Dr. Strange, even better when it's Brian K. Vaughan and Javier Pulido. Expecting great things.)
Irredeemable Ant-Man #1 (Kirkman's writing has been hit or miss with me, but Phil Hester's art looks great, the premise sounds like fun and the preview pages were solid)
Other Side #1 (New writer offers up a script that the pros have been praising to high heaven, and it drew in Cameron Stewart on art, and his work looks amazing on the book. Looking forward to this Vietnam tale)
Y The Last Man #50 (The reveal at last... what killed all the men?)

THE REST:
Agents Of Atlas #3 (Second issue was even better than the first. Parker has an interesting modern conspiracy tale using older characters, and Kirk's art looks fantastic)
Beyond #4 (One of my favorite superhero series running right now, as Dwayne McDuffie shows everybody else how it's done)
Elephantmen #3 (Beautifully illustrated science-fiction that I liked before, but like even more in mostly monthly doses instead of annual ones)
Fear Agent #8 (I'd really like a stronger story arc structure, but there's a lot to like here)
Mystery In Space #2 (First issue wasn't half bad, I'll give the second a read)
PVP #28 (More Scott Kurtz humor)
Savage Brothers #2 (Solid, funny first issue featured a new twist on the zombie genre)

Iron Man is...
Apparently, Robert Downey Jr. is the new Iron Man. I've gotta say, it wouldn't have been my first choice, but after thinking on it for a few moments, I think it's a good one. Potentially great, actually.

You'd Think I'd Be Used to It:
Given the way comics and TV that I love routinely fail to catch on and die before I'm done with them, but it still surprises and saddens me each time. This story in the Hollywood Reporter paints a grim picture of ratings for this new season, which is one of the best I've seen in a couple years.

Mentioned as potential goners are almost everything I've enjoyed, from Smith to Kidnapped to Studio 60. Kidnapped, as a serialized drama, would be particularly annoying, although Studio 60 is the one that, if it goes, may drive me even further to just watching HBO, F/X and other cable networks that tend to let the audience grow a little more than the quick to cancel broadcast networks.

The New Fall Season - continuing evaluation:
Tonight I watched Heroes (third time total, second time watching the butchered... excuse me, edited for time... version). I liked it on third viewing, and the teaser at the end gives me great hope, but I saw some of the flaws more clearly on third viewing as well, and I really, really think the network would have been wise to give them a 2-hour timeslot to launch with, so they could show the excellent pilot I saw in San Diego. There should be more on Heroes in this week's Comic Pants podcast, unless plans change between now and tomorrow night.

Also watched Studio 60. That one has a pilot I watched five times, and I loved it more each time. The second episode didn't bowl me over continuously the way the first episode did, but it got me good at all the right moments and the final five minutes were killer. As long as Aaron Sorkin is working in television, I'll be watching it.

Was kind of annoyed with the darkness on Heroes and, to a lesser extent, Studio 60. I don't know if my TV is fading out, if NBC was broadcasting darker or if Heroes was shot too dark, but I noticed it here and didn't when I watched the online version of Heroes, so I'm suspecting it's NBC (I hope, and hope it's corrected) or my TV (I hope not, because I really can't afford to buy a new one, despite how much I want one).

EW's feature on Battlestar Galactica and the Galactica webisodes have me jonesing for the October 6 third season premiere, but of course the third season I'm most anticipating is also in that week, as Lost starts up a mini-arc before disappearing into January.

It's a good time to be a TV fan.

TV Update - Reviews Part 2:

Pretty happy with the TV right now. Standoff had a supremely weak second show which, combined with its weak premise and misuse of a good cast and schedule conflict with The Unit and Veronica Mars, means it's killed from my viewing, even in DVD. Wouldn't surprise me if it gets the chop before midseason. Justice was also formulaic, way too predictable and yet unreal and a waste of a good cast, and it's on up against Lost, so good riddance to that one as well. Both FOX shows, by the way, which leaves me with... two FOX shows, Bones and Family Guy, both of which I might just stop watching as they're not favorites in any way. Arrested Development really was the only must-watch show in FOX's line-up, and given how kill-happy they've been with shows I love before (like Firefly), I can't say I'm sorry to more or less kiss the network goodbye for a season or two.

NBC, on the other hand, is kicking ass this season. Something about the Jim/Pam will-they/won't they teaser caught my eye, so I rented Season One and Season Two of The Office from Netflix. And it's so much better than I expected. Season Two is where everything started to gel, and it developed its own personality separate from the British version. I'm two discs in, and I've found myself watching the deleted scenes and commentaries, and considering picking up the DVD set, which is a rarity for comedies. Combine with My Name is Earl, which usually makes me laugh and is always watchable, and NBC has the only sitcoms (or half-hour shows) I'm watching.

They also have a great new slate of shows. Heroes and Kidnapped have solid pilots with a lot of potential, and Studio 60 is easily the best new show of a pretty strong new season.

I also forgot that Doctor Who is starting back up on SciFi, and while I'm not as big on that as I am on Battlestar Galactica, I liked it enough to watch it on Tivo. As for what I've watched since last update:

The Unit (CBS) - Weak opener, and it's become way too clear that unlike Shawn Ryan's other show, The Shield, this one is going to be all about maintaining status quo. There's some clumsy writing to put Jonas quickly back in the field and bring Mac and his wife back into the fold, and while there are some great turns of phrase (it's Mamet, what do you expect?), it never quite becomes exciting TV. The Unit is kind of like CSI or any of those procedural shows, slickly produced but without the heart that shows willing to take chances like Battlestar Galactica, The Shield and Lost have. I'll still watch, but only until Veronica Mars takes over the timeslot.

My Name is Earl (NBC) - Talked about this in general above, but the season opener has some very funny gags. The culmination of the show, as Earl relates the end of Joy's story with "that was my second guess" had me laughing out loud.

The Office (NBC) - Fantastic opener, again with the status quo change (however temporary) that introduces new characters, puts new spins on older ones and offers great, subtle character moments along with a ton of laugh out loud humor. Second only to It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia for half-hour comedies on the air right now. At least, of the ones I watch, because clearly it takes me some time to find sitcoms.

Shark (CBS) - The buzz on this was that it was weak and formulaic, saved only by the acting chops of James Woods. So I was pleasantly surprised by it. I mean, it is a weaker show, a procedural that probably won't hold my interest for more than a season, but it has some fun moments, and James Woods really does make it worth watching. I'd rather see him in a more interesting premise (bounty hunting with Greg Grunberg, maybe?), but I'll watch him here, as long as nothing else cuts in on the timeslot or I don't wind up with too much else to watch. It'll get cut from viewing after I cut Bones and Family Guy, at any rate.

There's been some good buzz on Jericho, but honestly, I just can't even work up the enthusiasm to watch it. If it goes more than one season, seems to be heading towards some sort of conclusion and keeps getting good buzz, I'll check it out on DVD... but I'll be surprised if that happens.

Weekly Comics to Come - September 27, 2006:

TOP FIVE:
Conan Ultimate Guide To Savage Barbarian HC (Great hardcover guide to Conan. Full review HERE.)
Jack Of Fables #3 (Another great issue, this book lives up to the quality of the main Fables comic)
Losers Endgame TP (The conclusion of Diggle & Jock's great modern action book)
Ragnars Kings Of The Road (New book from artist/designer Ragnar... not entirely sure what to expect, but his art is always beautiful)
True Story Swear To God Image Ed #1 (Tom Beland relaunches his humor/romance book at Image)

THE REST:
American Virgin #7 (Hasn't gotten any less weird, but continues to be intriguing and beautifully drawn)
Batman #657 (Losing interest fast... kind of glad to see an Ostrander/Mandrake fill-in coming)
Batman And The Mad Monk #2 (Another solid entry in Matt Wagner's Batman miniseries)
Captain America #22 (Will Civil War kill my interest in one of the few remaining Marvel books I read? After reading CW #4, I'm gonna guess yes, and hope no)
Daredevil #89 (This one, thankfully, is mostly clear of Civil War... and has been great)
Eternals #4 (Also clear of Civil War... #3 was a dip in quality, but the rest has been very entertaining)
Invincible #35 (Still enjoying this book, for the most part)
Justice League Of America #2 (#1 had some things to recommend it... I'll read #2 as well, waiting for the other shoe to drop)
Northwest Passage #3 (Scott Chantler's two-fisted tales of Canadian history conclude!)
Previews #26.10 (Down the Line coming next week)
Secret Six #4 (Considerably weaker than Villains United, still the best substitute for new Suicide Squad that we're gonna get)
She-Hulk 2 #12 (Civil War weakening my interest in all things Marvel Universe, but I'm still enjoying this book for now)
Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane #10 (Counting down until we lose Takeshi Miyazawa, unfortunately... but I'll enjoy it while I can)
Ultimates 2 #12 (Curious to see how this one wraps... probably six or eight months from now.)
Uncle Sam And The Freedom Fighters #3 (Enjoyed the first two issues, curious to see whether it will continue to entertain)
Usagi Yojimbo #97 (Always enjoyable, one of the most solidly crafted comics out there)

Weekly Comics to Come - September 20, 2006:

TOP FIVE:
Dwight T Albatross The Goon Noir #1 (All-star Goon anthology starts here)
Godland Vol 2 Another Sunny Delight TP (Hooray! More Godland in trade means more Godland issues coming soon!)
Runaways #20 (I know everyone is super-excited about Whedon, but I'm mostly hoping that Vaughan gives his run on the book a good wrap-up of sorts, because I'm not entirely sold on Whedon's comics work, despite being a huge fan of his TV work)
Shadowpact #5 (Another great issue, this one is turning into a favorite of mine)
Union Jack #1 (Very solid action-packed first issue, with amazing art from Mike Perkins)

THE REST:
Birds Of Prey #98 (The new Batgirl mystery deepens, and it's a really interesting story)
Conan #32 (Another chapter in "Born on the Battlefield" by Busiek and Ruth)
Exiles #86 (The all-Wolverine squad vs. The Exiles... should be fun)
Lonely Heart Art Of Tara Mcpherson HC (Dark Horse does great art books, McPherson does great art)
Marvel Adventures Avengers #5 (Tony Bedard takes over writing and pits the Avengers against Loki and the Wrecker)
O.C.T.: Occult Crimes Taskforce #2 (Enjoyed the first issue, and the wait for number two has killed some of my enthusiasm, but not all of it)
Owly Plush Toy (I bought one of these for my daughter in San Diego... they're great)
Playboy Interviews The Directors TP (Playboy interviews are great, and the list of interviewees is impressive)
Walking Dead #31 (I'm kind of ready for the wrap-up of this current storyline, but that's mostly because Kirkman is really building tension)
Wetworks #1 (Not expecting a great deal here, as I'm not a huge Portacio fan, but... paramilitary dudes in armor vs. horror monsters *is* a great concept)
X-Men First Class #1 (Not a fan of Roger Cruz's art, but the writer is Jeff Parker, who does such a great job on Marvel Adventures: Avengers and Agents of Atlas)

Damn:
Former Texas governor Ann Richards died today. And George W. Bush, who replaced her in an election that *still* breaks my heart to this day, is still alive.

The world ain't fair, folks.

What the fuck?
San Francisco State Arabic Professor barred from re-entering U.S. - So let me get this straight... he's teaching Arabic courses, which is more useful in the "war on terror" than the majority of the Bush Administration's crazy schemes, he's got a wife and kids in the U.S., there's no suspicion of any terror links (or you know that the State Department would be bringing it up as fast as possible)... and they ban him from re-entering the country? Without a timeline?

You know, if somebody tried to lock me out of the country where my wife and child lived, I'd go berserk.

TV Update - Reviews:

Thanks to the networks getting a lot more free about previewing their shows, I've had the chance to see a few of the shows I was excited about. So far, the season is looking pretty good:

Smith (CBS): This one is available on Google Video, and it's well worth a look. The cast is great, Ray Liotta shines on TV, and there's some nice, dark modern crime caper stuff going on. Oh, and I loved Amy Smart on Scrubs, but she's even better here as a femme fatale. It's not quite at the level of, say, Heat, or what I've seen of Brubaker & Phillips' Criminal, but it's damn good.

Studio 60 (NBC): Netflix now has available a DVD that has Studio 60 and Kidnapped, two NBC shows, on disc. It's also available as a streaming preview from AOL. I watched Studio 60 for the second time, and I'm even more convinced that it's gonna be the best new show of the season. Matthew Perry, Bradley Whitford and Amanda Peet in particular are fantastic, but there are already hints of a great ensemble in the "Big Three" (D.L. Hughley, Nate Corddry and Sarah Paulson) and there's not a weak link in the cast.

Kidnapped (NBC): This one was also a really entertaining first episode. Jeremy Sisto is quite the badass as a young retrieval specialist for hire, Delroy Lindo is cool as hell (as always) and there's some nice style, action and tension at work. There's a jump-cut editing/directing style that reminds me of Tony Scott, which I like but which might put some people off. Jason Smilovic, who wrote the first episode and is either exec producer or at least one of the producers, has a pedigree that includes Karen Sisco, so I'm inclined to keep an eye on this one.

Add in Heroes, which I've already seen and really liked, and that's four new shows that look really good, alongside Veronica Mars, Lost, and Battlestar Galactica (back in October!)... plus the strong buzz on The Nine, and that's a lot of great TV this season. Three of those new shows are NBC... I don't know what happened in development this season, but it was a good thing for that network.

Fall TV Preview 2006:
Entertainment Weekly has done theirs, so now it's time to do mine. For those who care (and I know that might be none of you), here's Randy's Fall TV Preview. All times are central, because that's my time zone.

TOP FIVE SHOWS I'M ANTICIPATING (NEW SHOWS ONLY):
1. Studio 60 on Sunset
2. Heroes
3. Smith
4. The Nine
5. Kidnapped

TOP FIVE SHOWS I'M ANTICIPATING (ALL SHOWS):
1. Studio 60 on Sunset
2. Lost
3. Heroes
4. Smith
5. Veronica Mars

ALREADY STARTED:
Fox got a jump on new TV this year, and they've already launched several of their shows. I have Tivo'ed but not yet watched the first two episodes of Bones (7 pm Wednesdays), Tivo'ed late and not yet gotten any episodes of Justice (8 pm Wednesdays) and Tivo'ed and watched the first episode of Standoff (8 pm Tuesdays).

Bones is like CSI or Law & Order with more of a sense of humor. David Boreanaz, who made his name playing moody and morose on Angel, is surprisingly fun as the witty, relatively lighthearted FBI agent Booth, and the team of scientist "squints" he works with, headed by Dr. Temperance Brennan (played by Emily Deschanel, sister of Zooey), are quirky and entertaining to watch. The runaway supporting character is artistic, sexy, funny Angela Montenegro, played by Michaela Conlin. The episodic nature of the show, not to mention its crime procedural nature, make it unlikely to ever become a huge favorite of mine, but I always enjoy watching it, and will if there's nothing else opposite.

Justice I'm watching for the cast (Victor Garber in a starring role, plus Eamonn Walker) but probably won't watch as soon as something goes on opposite. Standoff is the same way, as it features Gina Torres and Ron Livingston. I liked the first episode, and there's good chemistry between Livingston and Rosemarie DeWitt, but as with Bones, it doesn't quite reach above solidly put together and well cast. One of those shows I'll watch as long as I don't have too much else to watch or there isn't something else on opposite.

Family Guy also starts again as of tonight at 9 pm. I always enjoy the show, although I haven't watched it for a while.

STARTING NEXT WEEK:
Studio 60 on Sunset (NBC, Mondays at 9, starting Sept. 18) - I've already seen this one online through the miracle of Youtube and a well-timed heads-up from Zack Smith, and I'll be very surprised if it doesn't turn out to be the best new show of the season. Take all the best of West Wing and Sportsnight, add in another amazing cast for writer/showrunner Aaron Sorkin to write for and you've got a great hourlong drama that is also hilariously funny and remarkably smart. I've already seen the pilot online, and I'm still chomping at the bit to watch it again when it finally airs.

The Unit (CBS, Tuesdays at 8, starting Sept. 19) - A military spec ops show crossed with a more serious Desperate Housewives. You'd think that a show by David Mamet and Shawn Ryan (creator of The Shield) and starring Dennis Haysbert (President Palmer of 24) would be can't miss, must-watch entertainment. But while the show is very good, and I found myself an avid follower, it's not quite the crack-addiction level of TV that The Shield or Lost are for me. I'll be watching, though, at least until Veronica Mars starts running opposite in October, at which point The Unit becomes DVD watching.

Smith (CBS, Tuesdays at 9, starting Sept. 19) - Ray Liotta as a career criminal, Virginia Madsen as his wife who doesn't know the truth, Shohreh Aghdashloo as the leader of the crew... that's amazing casting, and the buzz from those who've seen it is that it's great. Basically, it sounds like Heat: The TV series, and if done right, that could be a very good thing.

Kidnapped (NBC, Wednesdays at 8, starting Sept. 20) - The teenage son of a wealthy couple is kidnapped, and the show unfolds as a "hired gun" (played by Jeremy Sisto) and FBI agent (played by Delroy Lindo) try to get him back. Again, critical buzz is good, so I'll give this one a chance, at least until October, when it's up against Lost. At that point, if I like it, I'll watch it on my office TV or wait for DVDs.

My Name is Earl/The Office (NBC, Thursdays at 7, starting Sept. 21) - I watched Earl all of last season and, while it's no Arrested Development or Seinfeld, it does have some of the same comedic appeal and watchability of Friends at its best. I fell off watching The Office, but it's gotten so much critical love, and I did like some elements of it when I watched it, that I want to give it another chance. Especially since I'm a huge Steve Carrell fan, and I like Ed Helms, who is joining the show for 10 episodes this season.

Shark (CBS, Thursdays at 9, starting Sept. 21) - It's James Woods playing a defense attorney who has a crisis of conscience and goes to work for the prosecutor. I'm no huge fan of legal dramas in general, but the write-up in EW, not to mention the fact that it's James Woods, means I'll give it a look. The only thing running opposite that I'm even mildly interested in is Six Degrees, which has a good cast and J.J. Abrams as executive producer, but it sounds basically like a New York real-life drama, and that's not a genre I'm really interested in without some kind of twist.

STARTING LATER:
Heroes (NBC, Mondays at 8, starting Sept. 25) - I saw the 72 minute version of the pilot in San Diego and thought it was really great. Saw the 52 minute (or whatever it is) that they're going to actually run on iTunes and thought it was merely good. They cut out two characters, one of whom is the great Greg Grunberg, and tightened up the story to such a degree that it feels too fast to me. A lot of the tension is gone, and I wasn't fond of the cuts made, and I think NBC would have been smarter to bite the bullet and give them a two hour or hour and a half spot for the first episode. But the other characters will show up in episode two, I'm sure, and there's still a lot to like about this well-cast, well-written and well-shot show.

Veronica Mars (CW, Tuesdays at 8, starting Oct. 3) - The series got a 13-episode pickup, and in both San Diego and print stories, there's definitely been a sense of "If we don't pick up ratings after Gilmore Girls, we're gone," but I'm hoping this will be the year the show finally catches on with a wider audience. It's smart, has a great cast and the best father/daughter relationship on television. This year it's supposed to be structured as 3 smaller mysteries, rather than one gigantic sprawling one, and that can only be a good thing. Even as a diehard fan of the show, I found some of last year's plotting a little byzantine.

Lost (ABC, Wednesdays at 8, starting Oct. 4) - The best show on television (barring The Shield, which runs off-season and thus doesn't count in this comparison) returns. I loved season two as much (if not more) than season one, can't wait to see more mysteries resolved and yet more unfold and can't wait for more great characterization, excellent writing and terrific acting.

The Nine (ABC, Wednesdays at 9, starting Oct. 4) - The buzz on this show from critics is strong, the cast is solid (including Tim Daly, Kim Raver, Scott Wolf and Chi McBride) and the premise intriguing. Basically, it takes place after a bank robbery/hostage situation, and explores nine people affected by the robbery, along with flashbacks to what happened during the situation. Interesting premise, interesting structure, good cast, critical buzz... I'm surprisingly intrigued by this one.

Act-i-Vate Wave 3

Act-i-vate Wave 3:
The cool as hell "virtual studio" Act-i-vate has added their newest members, and it's a great group. I'm a fan of Mike Dawson's since I read his Gabagool!, and I'm delighted to learn that there's more of Jason Little's creation Bee, whose adventurers were published in a terrific hardcover called Shutterbug Follies. In fact, in addition to the four pages on Act-i-vate, you can see more episodes of Bee, and several complete comics, on Jason Little's site.

And the new feature "the other muse," which started today, is fun reading as well. Act-i-vate has been impressive since the beginning, and their third wave adds another level of promising talent. Go, read. You won't be sorry.

Weekly Comics to Come - September 13, 2006:

TOP FIVE:
American Born Chinese SC (I'll have a full review of this on Comic Pants soon, but if you want a review right now, you can check out what Greg McElhatton had to say. The usual excellent First Second production values on a well-crafted, fun and insightful story)
Escapists #3 (I love Vaughan's work, and I think this is my favorite thing he's writing right now. Gorgeous artwork, too)
Fables #53 (It's my favorite book. I've read this issue already, and it's another great story. Terrific 3-page backup tale with Josh Middleton art, too)
Pride Of Baghdad HC (I'm excited by this because of how excited Vaughan is about it, and because the art looks amazing. I was going to try and wait out a softcover, but it's reasonably priced for a hardcover, and I've gotten so interested in the story that I have to read it as soon as I can get my hands on it)
DMZ #11 (One-shot revealing the story of Zee, with guest art by Kristian of Supermarket fame. I've seen his pencilled artwork, and it's amazing)

THE REST:
Captain America #21 (The Twenty-First Century Blitz, possibly my favorite story in Brubaker's run, concludes this issue)
Casanova #4 (It's bizarre, and I'm not always entirely sure I'm following the story... but I really dig the vibe, and love the art)
Ex Machina #23 (Another interesting arc... the book reads better in trades, but it's always a great read)
Journey Into Mohawk Country SC (An illustrated account of a Dutch trader's venture into Mohawk Country... off-beat, intriguing and beautifully illustrated from First Second Books)
Making Comics SC (Re-Inventing Comics was disappointing, but Understanding Comics was amazing, so I'm onboard for McCloud's latest, at least in theory)
Phonogram #2 (First issue was... weird. But I did like the vibe enough to give the second issue a try)
Sam Noir Samurai Detective #1 (It's a great concept, I've got to see if the creators can pull it off)
Scarlet Traces The Great Game #3 (Having trouble enjoying in single issues, but I expect I'll really enjoy the collection)
Silent Ghost #1 (Mystical kung-fu comic with art by Brett Weldele, I'm curious to check this out)
Star Wars Legacy #3 (Long delay between issues, and I'm still not sold on the series... hope it picks up soon, as Ostrander/Duursema are creators I really like)
Talent #3 (Fantastic conspiracy thriller with great art by Paul Azaceta, one of the best books in Boom's impressive stable)
Wasteland #3 (Loving this book so far, can't wait to see what happens next)

Help Lea Hernandez:
This is all over the Internet. But in case you haven't seen it yet, I repost it here, because it's important that *everyone* know about it. I'm off to send some money via Paypal right now.

"Early this morning, the Texas home of award-winning writer/artist Lea Hernandez, my friend and co-creator of the graphic novel Killer Princesses, caught fire and burned. Half her house is now gone, and the rest is smoke-damaged. In addition, she lost at least six of her family’s beloved pets, two dogs and four cats. If you knew Lea, you’d know how devastating that is.

She’s lost a great deal of her family’s possessions, including irreplaceable art. She doesn’t yet know the full accounting of what’s been lost at this time.

Most know Lea as the brilliant creator of such works as Rumble Girls and Cathedral Child. She drew the Marvel Mangaverse PUNISHER book, and has drawn for TRANSMETROPOLITAN, among many other accomplishments. She is also the co-founder and original editor for GIRL-A-MATIC, one of the most important venues for female-friendly comics created to date.

She’s also my friend, and it’s entirely possible I wouldn’t have a career in comics if she hadn’t asked me to write Killer Princesses for her to draw.

And finally, Lea is one of the last great firebrand hellraisers in comics.

Lea has two (wonderful, amazing) special needs children and right now they need a place to stay and some clothes to wear. More than that, they need
some help, and fast, in the form of donations to her paypal account. Lea’s a proud person so I’m going to ask FOR her. This is important, and a great chance to do a wonderful thing for a creator who has consistently enriched this industry we all love so much. Please, take a moment and send WHATEVER YOU CAN to Lea’s paypal account and help make this time a little bit less painful for someone who would do the same for you if the positions were reversed.

If you’re a retailer, I ask that you set up a donations jar. If you’re a creator, I ask you to think of how devastating this would be to your career and donate what you can. If you’re a reader, I’m asking you to take a moment and hit the paypal link. You’ll be doing something heroic and you’ll feel great about it, I promise.

Read what Lea had to post on a neighbor’s computer while wearing her pajamas at: Livejournal.com/users/divalea

Donate (PLEASE) to her paypal account at: divalea@gmail.com

Finally, if I understand the story correctly (as told to me by Lea’s good friend and current Girl-a-matic editor), it was Lea’s daughter hearing the smoke alarm that allowed the family to get out in time, so for God’s sake, do everyone you love a favor and CHECK YOUR SMOKE ALARMS.

Thank you so much for helping. Really, any amount you can send will make a difference. That’s all I can say.

Sincerely and gratefully,

Gail Simone"

Nooooooooooooooooo!!!!!:
BRIAN K. VAUGHAN, ADRIAN ALPHONA LEAVE RUNAWAYS WITH #24

Seriously, I love all of Vaughan's work, and I'm pleased that he seems to be leaving in order to do more creator-owned work (as opposed to, say, taking over Spectacular Spider-Man or something unworthy of his talents like that), I'll be really sad to see him leave Runaways. The replacement creative team will have to be fucking amazing...