Venneh

@The Master - are you looking for recs, re: Hans? My Brother's Husband v1: Surprised at the people they got for pull quotes for this - Alison Bechdel and Anderson Cooper do not strike me as the type to read manga. This is a really striking, compelling story - a single dad meets his dead brothers husband, and struggles to wrap his head around his brothers life, and come to terms with his own prejudices about being gay, all through his interactions with him, his daughter, and their neighbors. There's more of this to come, and I can't wait. Shutter v1-4: Read this again because I wanted to see if the story coheres better when reading it close together (it does), and to see if I could trace all the references that Del Duca puts in her art (you can). If you haven't read this yet, I highly recommend it. Single Issues: 171 Trades/Graphic Novels/Anthologies: 63 Omnibuses: 1

Happy day Kellen!

The Starlit Wood, edited by Navah Wolfe and Dominek Parisen: An anthology of spins and updates and riffs of fairy tales. The hit to miss ratio on this is amazing; a full four fifths of this is absolutely amazing, and even the ones that don't quite hit are very well written. A lot of award nominees have come out of this, and I would highly recommend picking it up. Favorites include: Seasons of Glass and Iron, Amal El-Montar; The Briar and the Rose, Marjorie Liu; Giants in the Sky, Max Gladstone, off the top of my head. books read: 38

Josie and the Pussycats 7: This is starting to grate on me a bit with the formula, but I can still get several laughs out of an issue, so I'm cool with it. Plus the alt cover lineup is pretty great. Insexts 11: I really hope Kristantina gets more time with the covers, they're starting to come off pretty slapdash. Another rip roaring colonialist/feminist revenge spree issue. Probably gonna need to read this again to parse a few things, but still a good time. Wonder Woman Annual: Got it because of the Rucka/Scott story about the Trinity meeting for the first time (A+, fun and funny, would read more), stayed for LaFuente, Ayala, and Hans. Single Issues: 171Trades/Graphic Novels/Anthologies: 58Omnibuses: 1

Things I liked: The Amazons, lil' Diana, Antiope, the trench warfare action scene (got several cheers at my showings), solid humor, Diana showing up in WWI (if you are going to have her confront the horrors of war/Man's World, that is the war to have her show up), good color transitions (man's world being mostly hard dark colors, Themyscira being bright and vibrant) *noncommital handwave*: The script feels like they cobbled together all the other WW movie attempts and then just sprayed on Snyder/Johns bombast at the end (but this has apparently been in various stages of development hell since 1996, so that is not surprising), I was never really sold on the romance angle (but that's not why this movie is here, happily), would have liked them to show some of the women who worked on Diana in the creators credits at the end Things I didn't like: Good times, even with its issues, still the best we've gotten out of the DCU so far in my opinion.

Wonder Woman: See thread

Rainbow Rowell and Kristafer Anka are doing a new Runaways series

Bitch Planet v2: Again, understand why this took forever and a day (they went out of their way to make sure they did not fuck up the trans representation), but man it is finally good to have this, especially in light of the fucking election. There's some neat process stuff that I love that I got to talk with Kelly Sue about this weekend (look at the power diagonals and who all you see more of on the first pages of these issues is all I'll say). We'll probably see v3 of this in 2018, but I'm looking forward to seeing where this goes. A Bride's Story v8: Kaoru Mori is unfairly good at her artwork, even just in minor panels, news at 11. I really love how the focus of this series has moved off of our hook characters and into the community as well. Single Issues: 168Trades/Graphic Novels/Anthologies: 58Omnibuses: 1

Snotgirl v1: Has a few of the Scott Pilgrim quirks amended for the modern day (instagram comments/likes! Texts), but this is mostly a major departure. Interested to see how this turns out (though as I understand this is on hiatus currently?). Would be interested in more. The Fish Wife: Melanie Gillian's completed comic from 24 hour comics. Gorgeous and quick. Toil and Trouble 1: Something about the three witches from Macbeth. Ehhhhhh. Eternal Empire 1: Evil empire conquering the world, white haired girl escapes work camps to help somehow. Not that intrigued from this first issue. Deadly Class 28: Man that is some hand wavy ass bullshit. The narrative feels like it's fracturing in a bad way, and it's pretty disappointing. Single Issues: 168Trades/Graphic Novels/Anthologies: 56Omnibuses: 1

The Egyptian Princesses: Baranko's latest, and man is this an alternate history ass headtrip. We run into Hercules and Moses and Akenhaten (which was already a weird ass period of time in Egypt's history), and two princesses that get caught up in what can generously be described as some weird ass shit. Baranko's grotesque is immensely suited to this story, and his black and white work in this is wonderful (especially in the use of the water, damn). If you're looking for sense in this, why the hell are you reading Baranko? Just sit back and let it happen. Single Issues: 164Trades/Graphic Novels/Anthologies: 55Omnibuses: 1

Penance, Kanae Minato: Another quick, 200ish page novel that i finished in the space of a few hours of downtime at the con. Four young girls are accidentally party to their friends death, and the mother threatens them that if they don't either find her murderer or do penance in a way she finds sufficient in 15 years (the statute of limitations on murder at time in Japan), she'll make their lives hell. The chapters are essentially short stories that unfold from each girl's pov, and a final surprise pov that ties little hints left throughout the novel together. Yes, it's fucked up on several levels, but in a way that I don't feel like the author is getting off on it. Would recommend this if you find it cheap. Might try to find her other translated novel. Between the World and Me, Ta-Nehisi Coates: Mr. Coates' three part letter to his son about the world he will grow up in as a black boy. It's gorgeously written, and a quick read, and worth your time and then some. This book was not written for me, and it's good for me to recognize that - Mr. Coates did a speaking engagement at the university we're adjacent with, and mentioned he's a bit perturbed by how a book that sprung out of one of his best friends being killed by the cops has become coopted by white people using it as a white guilt moment of "oh, I didn't know it was like this"! So I want to be careful about how I engage with this. Books read: 37

Hidden Figures, Margot Lee Shetterly: Nonfiction book about the black female computers at Langeley and how they eventually were an instrumental part of landing men on the moon for the first time. Great read of a part of history that isn't focused on as much. Chalk, Paul Cornell: A story of bullying in Thatcher era England, and one boy's desire for revenge, and what that awakes in the countryside. Relies heavily on knowledge of 80s in England, has good mounting horror (bit of gore, if you don't like that, maybe watch out), a touch of music magic, and an end that feels like it has to wrap up the magical bit to get to the real ending in the epilogue. The supernatural bit doesn't quite meld with the rest. Your Name, Makoto Shinkai: A novelization of the movie of the same name. Not too much different than the end product, but still a fun read The Honey Month, Amal El-Mohtar: Twenty eight honey tastings paired with poems and stories written immediately after tasting them. I love the idea and the stories that resulted from this. The Kingdom, Fuminori Nakamura: This is... I'm not sure how I feel about this book. One the one hand, it's pretty tightly, if vaguely, plotted, and keeps up a pretty quick pace through all 200ish pages. On the other, the author kind of seems to get off on some of the sadomasochism experienced by the protagonist and other women in this book, and the number of times that she probably could've stabbed the main monologuer in this book stretches the imagination. Not sure if I'd read more by him, but a good quick noir. Books read: 35

Opus: Satoshi Kim's last, unfinished work. Meta ass story about a manga creator who ends up fighting his characters when they don't want to go with the ending he wants, essentially. Gorgeous pages, a really well thought out story, and even though it leaves off in a weird place (the magazine it ran in was cancelled and the last chapter is only roughs), it's weirdly fitting in the context of the story. Would highly recommend. A Long Walk To Valhalla: A story about two brothers (one who's mentally challenged), the event that changed their relationship, and a small girl who claims to be a Valkyrie who helps them process all that happened. In the same kind of vein as I Kill Giants, and just as wonderful. 4 Kids Walk Into a Bank 4: We get this kid trying desperately to help her dad and the full shape of the caper finally unfolding. Looking forward to seeing how this wraps (next issue is the last I think? Not sure). Single Issues: 164Trades/Graphic Novels/Anthologies: 54Omnibuses: 1

The Bear, Chrissy Williams: A friend's first poetry collection. It's a very true reflection of her voice, and I liked a lot of the poems. It comes out Stateside in September, would recommend. books read: 30

I hope the family is able to heal.

The Private Eye: BKV and Martin do a weird near future where the Internet no longer exists and everyone's right to privacy reigns supreme, and a murder mystery that threatens to undo it all. Some of the ideas don't always carry through (see: journos as law enforcement), but it's pretty and a neat concept. Day Men vol 1-2: i completely forgot what I read of vol 1, but hearing Stelfreeze rave about it at C2E2 had me come back to it and then read the second volume that we found half price. The story is still close enough to Vampire the Masquerade that I hope White Wolf doesn't look too close at it, but man, Stelfreeze does some really good work here. Shade the Changing Girl 8: Tbh I bought this for the Jen Bartel Lisa Frank velociraptor cover. Shade does the tourist thing in Gotham. *shrug* Batwoman 3: I don't know if this is the editor clamping down or Tynion smothering Bennett, but this feels like a generic Batbook, which is not a thing I want from this. Hoping next issue course corrects. Bug! The Adventures of Forager 1: I'll be real blunt: I have no fucking clue what's happening here, and I like it. Dialogue is funny, art is great, will probably follow this on the trade. Single Issues: 163Trades/Graphic Novels/Anthologies: 52Omnibuses: 1

Godshaper 2: We get more of the world shaped out in a really good issue, and the larger threat starts to take shape. Also, holy shit the art and colors on this are gorgeous. (Goonface was selling original inks from $45/page yesterday on Twitter. You might wanna get on it.) WicDiv 455 AD: *twang twang* Andre Lima Araujo gets to do some absolutely gorgeous and nuts and gory art this time around. Kieron's having fun as ever. Arclight: Stunningly, this does end up making a bit more sense as a cohesive story on the trade (though not gonna lie, the six month gap when the writer and artist broke up as a couple really show). Marian Chuchland is a fucking goddess, and everyone should come correct. A Land Called Tarot: Gael Bertrand does an entirely wordless comic whose aesthetic is best described as Moebius meets Miyazaki. Each chapter is also based on a card of the Tarot. Absolutely gorgeous and worth your time. Single Issues: 160Trades/Graphic Novels/Anthologies: 49Omnibuses: 1

The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories, Ken Liu: These tend to be either hit it out of the park good, or so eyerollingly cliche that you want to throw it at a wall. You can also see the structure of his stories kind of become samey as the collection goes on (and he also reuses names a lot, which becomes super noticeable bc the reused names are his wife and kids' names) which is mildly awkward. Also the silkpunk is a 50-50 shot of actually landing in a given story. I like him best as a translator and a short story writer I think. Standouts from this collection: title story, The Regular, and The Man Who Ended History: A Documentary. American Gods (Authors Preferred Text), Neil Gaiman: Okay. So. I've read this book front to back several times over (used to reread it once a year). Haven't read it in a few years, the show coming up made me want to do a read of the authors preferred version, and my opinions on Gaiman in the intervening years have changed a bit. Still a solid novel, if a bit weirdly structured. But what I notice now is how much the women in this novel either serve as people for Shadow to fuck, to get dead, to have an emotion at, to help him as a plot point, or sometimes all of the above. This compounded with some really tasteless stuff that Gaiman adds back (notably: trans joke with Bilquis) in this edition leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Still gonna watch the tv series at some point and hope Fuller gets to improve the material. Also fun: Death cameo from Sandman, seeing Karen Berger and Kelly Sue DeConnick in the reader credits. Books read: 29

Persona 5: We finished this up last night, and I kind of already want to dive into a new game plus run (which lets us carry over money, social skills, all the Personas we made, special items) and see if I can't max out the social links we just barely missed. We hit 90 hours for this playthrough (we went for the True ending), and we still have stuff I want to try to complete. The story goes epic on a scale I haven't seen since P3 , and while it goes a bit off the rails towards the last five hours on the True run, it's still great. The Persona formula is still there, but it's basically been refined to the point that it goes off almost perfectly - and while this run of games (3, 4, 5) has been great, I'm interested to see what a new team will do with Persona (GIVE US A FEMALE PROTAGONIST AND QUEER ROMANCE OPTIONS FOR THE LOVE OF FUCK). The camera is still your first, last, and worst enemy in this. Especially when you're trying to figure out some of the puzzles towards the end of the run. (Also Atlus please let up on the stupid fucking restriction on using the PS4 Share feature, I just want screencaps of Sojiro's skeptical face and to be able to take photos without having to rely on my phone.)

Secret Empire/Spectacular Spider-Man FCBD: So, for Secret Empire - it does some neat things with panel logic and breaking it down towards the end of the 10 pages, but after a certain point it does get a bit hard to follow the specific details of what's going on. Spectacular Spider-Man is restrained for Zdarsky, but still funny, I'll page through it here and there when it comes out. Drawn and Quarterly FCBD: The excerpt of the Chechnyan hostage story was tense and for mostly being drawn in the same colors, gorgeous. The Poppies of Iraq does good stuff with narrative flow, not necessarily my favorite style, but still well done. Valiant FCBD: Good lead-ins for the upcoming Bloodshot and XO Manowar arcs. Would highly recommend XO if you haven't been reading that. They also have a preview for Secret Weapons, which we've been lucky enough to read in its entirety (episode coming up), and which I will also highly recommend. Secret Weapons 1: You'll be hearing about this on an upcoming podcast episode. TLDR? You're gonna want to get this, especially if you loved the feel of the Aja/Fraction Hawkeye. Weekend Routines: A zine-type comic, nothing too notable, but fun. DC Superhero Girls FCBD: It's cute, it's fun, it weaves in a lot of the ladies from their superhero properties and does fun cameos too. Also apparently a lead in for a summer type graphic novel, which is good thinking on their part. I Hate Image: Very effective use of I Hate Fairyland's Gert to introduce a lot of their properties and make fun of themselves. I think this is the standout of FCBD this year, if only because it made me laugh out loud in the middle of a restaurant several times. Harrow County v1: Southern Gothic horror as fuck, and yeah, I'm definitely here for this. Might've already had one of the major twists already spoiled by the issues Carla sent me, but these are still gorgeous and creepy and lovely. Shutter v4: Styles go from old school romance-esque comics to Tintin to Disney-esque to three parallel stories in one issue differentiated only by color scheme. Holy fuck did we ever sleep on this. Story jumps off again in a big way. This wraps up this year, and I can't wait to see how it turns out. Single Issues: 158Trades/Graphic Novels/Anthologies: 47Omnibuses: 1

The Coldest Winter: solid spy story featuring one of the characters from Coldest City (though I definitely thought one of the few female characters was gonna turn out to be Lorraine in disguise). Not a fan of the art style here; feels like the artist did photorealistic tracing and then filled it in black and white in Photoshop. Single Issues: 151Trades/Graphic Novels/Anthologies: 45Omnibuses: 1

Fun, cute thing while reading Black Hammer last night: at one point one of the issues is told in the style of the old school horror comics. Two of the characters that approach the creepy ass cabin are called Len and Bernie, and Bernie is wearing a hat that's very close to the one Wrightson wore a fair bit. The one called Bernie is eventually turned into Not the Swamp Thing.

I was in the middle of that one weird random sickness combo I had, and Preston suggested that I check the site out while I was busy trying not to die on my family's couch, and here we all are, kids. <3

Bloodshot Reborn vols 3-4: Volume 3 and the bullshit "it's all in your head" twist at the end can fuck the fuck right off. The art wasn't spectacular, and it felt like a bad Mad Max fusion prior to that, but the twist moved a solidly mediocre volume into bullshit. Volume 4 (Bloodshot Island) is pretty amazing, though. We get follow through on some stuff that was mentioned back in volume 2, and what is a pretty great premise and great art by Suayan combining in a pitch perfect way. Also includes the Bloodshot Annual, which is worth it for the Bloodsquirt story alone. Skip vol 3, but vol 4 is worth your time. Wrath of the Eternal Warrior 5-6: Turns out there were two issues I missed in the lead up to the Labyrinth arc where Juan Jose Ryp just lets loose and goes full Conan, and it's pretty goddamn great. Also explains one bit of Labyrinth that I didn't fully get when I was reading just the issues. (Also paged through the rest of the Labyrinth arc, because this was in the vol 2 collection, because goddamn, that fucking arc). Doctor Strange: What Disturbs You, Stephen?: P Craig Russell does a reworking of a Doctor Strange annual he did back in the 70s. Both the expanded retelling and the original are included, which I really like, just to see the difference in how he does it 20 years on versus when he was just starting out. P Craig Russell is fucking gorgeous, news at 11, etc. Also includes some of his earlier art and inking work on Doctor Strange, some of which feels like they were grasping for content to fill out the trade, but hey, we found it for $10, we're not complaining. Black Hammer vol 1: Totally not the Justice League getting stuck in a mysterious small town/Essex County Elseworld/AU story, no sirree. Lemire does great with the riffs on the golden age archetypes (Gail forever), and Dean Ormston does great at capturing both the small town dread and the Golden Age flashbacks, and differentiating between the two well. Very interested to see where this goes. Black Hammer Annual: Great use of a uniting story to give it over to individual artist/writer teams to riff (including the Kindts, Nate Powell, Emi Lenox, Ray Fawkes, Mike Allred!) for a few pages each. Caravaggio vol 1: MILO MANARA DOES LADIES AND SEX AND BOOBS PAINTING AND SWORDS REAL GOOD GUYS. Don't think this needs too much more than that. (Other than god bless Dark Horse pricing almost everything at 40 to 70% off in the last hours of a con because they don't want to drag shit back to Oregon.) Single Issues: 151Trades/Graphic Novels/Anthologies: 44Omnibuses: 1

I was in college when I joined up with y'all.