Dread

STATION ELEVEN is the first finished TV series of 2022. What a great story. It tells the post-apocalypse in a fractured timeline variably from the moment the pandemic is hitting to twenty years after the fact. LOTS of great performances in this show. Mackenzie Davis carries it really well (she was the soldier form the future in Terminator Dark Fate), Himesh Patel and Matilda Lawler I could absolutely watch a show of just those two. Good stuff. On to Peacemaker tonight I think.

That was really fun. Also, Julius Schwartz should hit up them digits!

Halloween Kills: review forthcoming Features: 7 Shorts: 0 Documentaries: 0 Rewatches: 0

Eden Lake: review forthcoming, but Jesus Christ! Features: 6 Shorts: 0 Documentaries: 0 Rewatches: 0

Doom Patrol: Weight of the Worlds #1: sadly, not very good. Fantastic Four The Prodigal Sun #1: this is intriguing. Ignited #2: I'm not feeling this. No One Left to Fight #1: this is not for me. I don't know who it's for. Definitely not me. Old Man Quill #7: the twist I sort of feared came, but this is still a great series. The best little chunk of the MCU that exists right now is set in the future. Savage Avengers #3: Kulan Gath removed Conan's heart, but it's cool because the escaped Venom symbiote entered the wound and we have Conan fighting with a symbiote sword. I don't know what else to say to get you to read this. It's fucking nuts! I love it. Also, Conan picks up an unconscious Wolverine whose claws are extended, swinging him around as a weapon. Saying something like "little warrior, if you wake up you must tell me where you got these blades!" Space Bandits #1: definitely not for me. Stitched: Terror #2: so this is basically a trashy, lurid remake of the Blind Dead Films and I fucking dig it. Superman Up In The Sky #1: this is pretty decent. I'll give it another issue. Test #1: this is not for me. I really like the art though. The Punisher #13: still so damned good. What an ending! Thumbs #2: not for me. Uncanny X-Men #21: Kudos to Matthew Rosenberg for rocking two killer arcs on X-Men and Punisher at the same time. Batman Universe #1: this was pretty good. I'll check out more. Black Hammer/Justice League: Hammer of Justice! #1: ok, this was pretty fucking great. Giant-Size X-Statix #1: Fuck, I can't wait for X-Cellent. Fallen World #3: This continues to be good. The best Rai related thing at Valiant (new Valiant) that I've read yet. Invisible Woman #1: this is not quite what I was hoping for, but I'll give it one more. Lois Lane #1: ok, I'm in. Reaver #1: I'll give it one more. Road of Bones #3: kind of a ho-hum issue. Stitched Terror #3: wild ending. Good stuff. Unearth #1: this reminded me so much of the stupid biologists from PROMETHEUS that it bugged me. I'll give it one more. Vampirella #0: decent establishing story and a classic by Busiek and Art Adams. War of the Realms Omega #1: I forgot there was one more. These are just lead-in stories for the stories spinning out of WOTR. It's bookended by a Heimdall/Daredevil story. Easily the best part of a great crossover is those two guys. I liked a slice of everything I got here. Wolverine/Captain America Weapon Plus #1: ok, I can honestly say I never thought I'd read a comic where Wolverine and Captain America violently fight the cyborg bear from Brute Force. Wolverine vs Blade #1: this is rough. Just a showcase for some painted art that has poor storytelling. Daredevil #8: so good. Jimmy Olsen #1: not my cup of tea. Loki #1: I might give this one more. Punisher Annual #1: this is one of the wildest Punisher stories in years. Since Frankencastle I guess. Punisher sneaks onto a rocket pre-launch. Somehow so does J Jonah Jameson. Just as the astronauts (who are actually Russian Special Ops guys) threaten to kill their JJJ stowaway, Punisher pushes him out of the way and kills the dudes. But he pushes JJJ onto the control panel and the launch begins. Yes...I know. So The Punisher and J Jonah Jameson launch into space and take on The Brood. It's nuts. Weird scene: Punisher says something like "What's out there?". JJJ is like "Moon's haunted? I don't know. My son went into space and came back as werewolf. Don't ask me!" Fucking crazy. Resonant #1: interesting. I'll read more. Superior Spider-Man #9: the bulk of this issue is a conversation between Otto and Peter. It's amazing. Great issue. The Life and Death of Toyo Harada #5: Fuck, this series is so MASSIVE. Uncanny X-Men #22: Wow. Well done, Rosenberg. Good sendoff. Vampirella #1: this is on the brink. It gets one more issue. X-Force #10: holy shit. Great ending. Quick question: how long has it been a thing where Rachel Summers is Mother Askani? Fearless #1: a Marvel anthology featuring all female creative teams tackling female heroes. Looks like Sue Storm and Storm's stories are continuing. The Millie the Model one was awful, but I'm fully aware I'm not the target audience. I'll read more of this for sure. Guardians of the Galaxy #7: fucking GREAT. Marvel Team-up #1-4: Defenders Dialogue are doing MTU and Marvel Two In One so I'm reading along. Two In One is definitely the better of the two series thus far. I'm reading that in Epic Collection form. Issues: 43 Trades: 0 Omnibus: 0 Graphic Novel: 0

Started STATION ELEVEN last night. Really good.. So not what the trailer makes it out to be.

Out of the Dark/Skinwalkers: review forthcoming Features: 5 Shorts: 0 Documentaries: 0 Rewatches: 0

The Manitou/Seconds/Black Friday: reviews forthcoming Features: 3 Shorts: 0 Documentaries: 0 Rewatches: 0

Again: you're a fucking machine. I don't know what it is, but I read a low fraction of prior years. Books too. I've really suffered with reading and writing this year. I won't call it a resolution because I'm writing after a pretty long drought. I want to read a lot more this year.

The kid chose Step Brothers. Great pick. That was the last movie I watched in 2021. Features: 146 Shorts: 2 Documentaries: 18 Rewatches: 2

Black Hammer Age of Doom #11: There is a lot of padding in this series. Captain America and the Invaders: The Bahamas Triangle #1: I liked this a lot. A fun throwback. Roy Thomas writes and Jerry Ordway draws. Lovely. Dead Man Logan #9: still great. Marvels X: the prequel to the Earth X trilogy is an end of the world story in a way. Truly fantastic. Had the same feel as the Earth X stuff, that I definitely need to reread now. The Other History of the DC Universe: not a fan. This wasn't a comic book, it was a visual essay. I get what it was going for, but it wasn't what I wanted to read. Beasts of Burden: Occupied Territory: this was fucking fantastic. A WW2 tale featuring one of my favourites of the dogs. Really good. Nailbiter Returns vol 8: this shit is getting crazier! The Goddamned 2: the Virgin Brides: this was amazing. I wish it came out more frequently. Monsters: this is the almost 400 page Barry Windsor Smith graphic novel. One of the finest pieces of comic book work I've read in the last decade. Definitely the best of the year. Immortal Hulk #27-50, 0: I wanted to finish this today and I did. Holy shit. Immortal She-Hulk #1: they should just give all the Gamma characters to Al Ewing forever. Immortal Hulk: Flatline, Great Power, The Threshing Place, and Time of Monsters: to a one, all fucking excellent one shots. Detective Comics #1000 The Deluxe Edition: this is a trade paperback-full of Batman stories with some great art and YMMV on the stories. Mine did. That's probably my final count of the year. Issues: 490 Trades: 25 Omnibus: 20 Graphic Novel: 16

A Christmas Horror Story: review forthcoming Prisoners of the Ghostland: It won't really be a review, but you'll hear my thoughts in the next DM episode. Death to 2021: this, like it's predecessor, was a pointed satire in faux documentary style from the Black Mirror guy. It's smart and funny and features return characters that I adored the first time. The absurdity fit all is a little depressing, honestly. Pig/The Green Knight: well, you'll hear about them in the best of 2021 episode of DM if that tells you anything. One more movie to watch this year. But it's the oldest kid's choice. Features: 145 Shorts: 2 Documentaries: 18 Rewatches: 2

Caught up on Curb. Definitely my all-time favourite TV comedy. Now that I'm caught up, I've started watching Barry. The first episode anyway. It was great. Stacy and I watched the first couple episodes of Dark Side of the 90s last night. Very much the same style and format as Dark Side of the Ring (it's a Vice show). First episode was about trash TV (Jerry Springer, Jenny Jones) and the second was on the Viper Room.

Injustice: Ground Zero #1-24: this is basically last season but from Harley's perspective. She frequently gets annoying. Counting these as half issues each. Punk Mambo #3: really digging this series. Road of Bones #2: holy shit this is really good. Steel Cage #1: terrible. Stitched: Terror #1: i like the art and storytelling, but the story was not good. Too cliched. I'll try another because it will be a different story. Superior Spider-Man #8: this is so good. He is humbled by not being wanted in the main group of adventurers for War of Realms and instead teams up with West Coast Avengers. I actually liked Gwenpool in this. Thanos #3: still really enjoying this. Thor #14: fucking rad. War of Realms New Agents of Atlas #4: this ended well. War of Realms Punisher #3: fucking great! War of Realms Uncanny X-Men #3: interesting peak of the crossover minis. But it really does seem that a lot more time passed in this miniseries than in the actual War of Realms event. It felt like it was month 3 for a thing that lasted a couple days. War of Realms #6: what a fucking ending! Holy shit. One of the best Marvel events ever IMO. Wolverine Exit Wounds #1: this is a weird anthology. A fucking great opening written by Larry Hama bringing together Barry Windsor-Smith's Weapon X to my favourite Claremont issue of Wolverine (#10, by the way). Then there's a mediocre Logan and Kitty in japan story by...you guessed it! Claremont. Then there's a fucking awful Wolverine vs Venom story (if you can call it that) by Sam Kieth but looks like something a Sam Kiethg ripoff is doing. Big yikes. Issues: 457 Trades: 19 Omnibus: 20 Graphic Novel: 15

Victims/Animales Humanos: reviews forthcoming The Unforgivable: a Netflix movie with Sandra Bullock. IN a lot of ways it's similar to the Jake Gyllenhaal one. Just a star-produced vehicle. Not uncommon. This was solid. There were elements of it that bothered me, but overall a great little flick. Val: some really great behind the scenes footage from his biggest films. The stuff with him now is really hard to watch. Features: 140 Shorts: 2 Documentaries: 18 Rewatches: 2

Deathcember: review forthcoming Features: 137 Shorts: 2 Documentaries: 17 Rewatches: 2

The Life and Death of Toyo Harada #4: Holy shit, there's two more issues? Fucking fantastic. The Punisher #12: still one of the best Punisher runs ever. Thumbs #1: pretty good. I'll check out more. Trust Fall #1: not for me Uncanny X-Men #19, 20: man, while the series floundered a bit in the early parts of Age of X-Man, it's really come along. Great issues. War of the Realms Journey Into Mystery #4, 5: despite a few issues (Wonder Man is meta like Deadpool now?) I really enjoyed this. War of the Realms New Agents of Atlas #3: my least favourite is coming along ok. I do enjoy the new Asian/Polynesian heroes. War of the Realms #5: coming along nicely. X-Force #9: better than the last few issues. Captain America #11: really coming around on Coates' run. Bringing in the Daughters of Liberty helps. Daredevil #7: outstanding. Hellboy and the BPRD Beast of Vargu: pretty fun. Fegredo is a great replacement for Mignola. I like him better. Marvels Annotated #4: man, they really worked hard to make the protagonist feel for Gwen Stacy huh? This series is awful. PSI-Lords #1: ehhh...I'll give it one more. Red Sonja and Vampirella Meets Betty and Veronica #2: this is dumb fun. War of the Realms War Scrolls #3: worth it for the Daredevil story alone. Wolverine Infinity Watch #5: kind of a dry fart. Conan the Barbarian #7: still out here consistently telling solid Conan stories. Crow/Hack Slash #1: I'm intrigued. Exciting Comics #2: ok, I'm out. Fantastic Four #11: the art on the cover and inside the book is both awful, and this is where the story goes to shit. I'm out. Slott actually had me for a little while. Horror Comics #1: pretty typical Justice League Dark #12: still fucking fantastic Marilyn Manor #1: unreadable. Marvel Comics Presents #6: Man, this Wolverine story is going on forever. The Deadpool one was unreadable. Really good 90s Ghost Rider story. Issues: 433 Trades: 19 Omnibus: 20 Graphic Novel: 15

He still did some big stories for Batman, like the two mentioned. I think that the companies wanted him on teams. Team books are pains in the asses for artists and there's noone better in the biz for drawing a shitload of characters in the same book. Wonder Woman happened because he was drawing their biggest selling book at the time and could basically do anything he wanted.

Deathstroke's original design is incomparable. And yeah, that's one of those formative Batman stories for me. Hard to go wrong when you've got Perez and Aparo in the same story arc.

With the news out today that George Pérez has an inoperable form of pancreatic cancer and has 6 months to a year to live, I thought we'd partake in some adora vivos. Love him while he's alive. Wolfman and Perez on Teen Titans is almost single-handedly responsible for my comics fandom. While Marvel was beating DC across the board, Teen Titans was the only thing with the power to challenge Uncanny X-Men. What a fucking time to be a comics fan! But...his masterpiece, IMHO? I've got to reread JLA/Avengers. I've been meaning to for a long time.

Get Back was so good. I've heard complaints that it kind of fizzles at the end, but that's what happened. They fizzled. I was delighted to finally see the whole rooftop performance. Combined with the ineffectual police trying to shut it down, it's a great piece of cinema, and really gives the film/show a climax it deserves. Having started season 9 yesterday, I believe I will be fully caught up on Curb Your Enthusiasm by the end of the year. The last episode of this season hits December 26th. Before this past few months, I'd only ever seen a few random episodes. This is the funniest show that's ever been on television, IMO.

New Jack City, White Men Can't Jump and The Fan. Solid lineup.

Always. A pretty great candidate for Hey, An Actor!

Over the last two nights, Stacy and I binged True Story on Netflix. It's fantastic. Go in without any preconceived notions and enjoy. Wesley Snipes is in it, and he's fucking fantastic.

Custer: Bernet and Trillo's woman detective GN. I think this was the last thing Trillo wrote. It was ok. War of the Realms New Agents of Atlas #2: kind of soured on this being Shang-Chi and the Champions. War of the Realms Punisher #2: so good. War of the Realms Strikeforce The Land of Giants #1: cool. Wolverine Infinity Watch #4: this was ok. X-Force #8: not digging the art. Sort of a forgettable padded issue. Young Allies Comics 70th Anniversary #1: a solid little war story from the era of Bucky Cap. Great art. Batman Last Knight on Earth #1: this was weird. I don't know what to take as reality here. Daredevil #6: GREAT issue. Dark Red #3: I'm just not vibing on it. Doomsday Clock #10: wild. Fantastic Four #10: man, do I hate how Slott writes Franklin. Giant Man #2: Still good. Heroes in Crisis #9: what a dumb and convoluted plot. Stupid ending. I still enjoy the framework. Also, solid Vision joke by King here. Killer Groove #1: not for me Offbeats #2: also not for me. Punk Mambo #2: yes, I know this is a punk rock Constantine in the Valiant U, but I am loving this. She Said Destroy #1: not for me Spencer/Locke 2 #2: I have checked out. Superior Spider-Man #6: this is still really good. Thanos #2: still decent. The Devils #2: i get it. But I'm done. Bad art and trite writing. The Forgotten Queen #4: great ending. Thor #13: really great Wailing Blade #1: no War of the Realms War Scrolls #2: The transformation of Daredevil in this event is fucking wild. Wolverine The Long Night #5: it kind of haphazardly crashes to an end. I get it. Making it better would be very different from a script that would work as an audio story. Asgardians of the Galaxy #10: great series overall. DCeased #2: this is not very good. I am out. They did this better and it made more sense in Blackest Night. Dead Man Logan #8: still great Fallen World #2: ok, this is nuts. I dig it. Giant-Man #3: what a great little miniseries that came out of nowhere. Guardians of the Galaxy #6: i am down for this direction. Not my favourite team lineup, but I'm digging the story. Ignited #1: I wasn't expecting to like this as much as I do. Incredible Hulk Last Call #1: Peter David and Dale Keown on Hulk. Had to try it. Not bad. Meet the Skulls #5: eh...kind of lacklustre. Old Man Quill #6: great. I love this universe. Red Sonja Birth of the She-Devil #1: I don't need a RS origin story. Savage Avengers #2: what the fuck. Considering putting everything aside to just read this series up to the now based on the scene of Kulan Gath magically fighting the hostless Venom Symbiote. Sonata #1: not really my bag. Stronghold #4: holy fuck this is crazy. Superior Spider-Man #7: Gage made Gwenpool tolerable for me. I'm impressed. Issues: 406 Trades: 19 Omnibus: 20 Graphic Novel: 15