Blog Template Update for August
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.

August was in some ways a bit of a down month, with some fairly sparse weeks, but there were gems in almost every week, and I found myself again having a tough time cutting down to a top 20 from a top 32 or so. As you all probably know by now, August was also the last month Fourth Rail will be updated, and the first month (or at least, the last couple days) of Comic Pants, the new comic reviewing site I'm involved with. It was also the month in which Dragon's Lair, where I work, celebrated its 20th anniversary with comic guests and more, and that was pretty busy and fun.

This month, there weren't a lot of new series launched that I found all that interesting. Monkey vs. Lemur was a fun one-shot, as was Eberron: Eye of the Wolf, and Batman and the Mad Monk and Savage Brothers were both good intros for new limited series, but I don't think any new ongoings of note launched in August. Of course, that's speaking as someone without much interest in Justice League of America or Heroes for Hire, which were definitely the two biggest launches from Marvel and DC for the month.

Lots of folks are griping about summer TV, but they must not have cable. With Entourage and Deadwood both having excellent seasons, Weeds season two starting off strong, the camp-but-fun Who Wants To Be A Superhero, solid sci-fi in USA's 4400 and regular doses of Daily Show and Colbert Report, I'm having trouble keeping up with the Tivo. That's not even mentioning the four-part special Feasting on Asphalt with Alton Brown, how addicted I've become to Travel Channel's Professional Poker Tour or the love I found for the darker, meaner Seinfeld, F/X's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.