Dread

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

Ann Nocenti and Louise Simonson are two underrated all-stars of 90s Marvel.

Get Back episode 1 was incredible once you get past the opening 11 minutes. I'm unsure if I should be logging them as movies because no TV show I know has an episode runtime of 2 and a half hours.

Critters/Critters 2/Critters3/Critters4/Critters Attack!/Werewolves Within/ Candyman (2021): reviews forthcoming Light of My Life: a halfway decent post-apocalyptic film. Casey Affleck is the father of a girl who is one of the only females left alive after a pandemic kills them all (Y the Last Man but the opposite). It's pretty ok. Without the little girl who plays the daughter, it would suck. She's amazing. Free Guy: on one hand, this is basically They Live for the Fortnite/GTA generation. ON the other, it isn't good. It's perfectly serviceable. Features: 136 Shorts: 2 Documentaries: 17 Rewatches: 2

Mr. Mercedes is long done. Midnight Mass on Netflix was excellent. Like Salem's Lot with more religious overtones. Curb Your Enthusiasm : never watched this before other than a few episodes. I'm almost done season 6 now and it's become one of my all-time favourite shows. Lucifer is done and is pretty ho-hum overall. First couple episodes of Hawkeye are pretty great. So far, it's got my vote for the best of the Live Action series. I think that catches me up on TV stuff. Edit: oh yeah...Only Murders in the Building which I'm still stewing over. Not sure how I feel about it, TBH

Black Widow: while much of this was competent, it feels really too little too late. As such, it's impossible to give a shit about Natasha when literally any other character is onscreen. They did Taskmaster dirty. This probably has the worst CGI in an MCU film to date, but it still lands somewhere in the middle of them as far as quality is concerned. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings: holy shit, this was fantastic in almost every way. It might be my favourite MCU film. Simu Liu was awesome. Tony Leung. Come on! That guy's been rad for thirty years. He's probably the best villain in the MCU. Kingsley is redeemed here. Michelle Yeoh was a little wasted and boy do I ABSOLUTELY not care for Awkwafina. I can do without ever seeing her on screen again. Razofist has been a character in a major blockbuster. That's a thing that happened. Great fun. Guns of Eden: i was able to sneak peek this one, with the picture lock version. Thanks to having this friend and other friends who are filmmakers, I've been gifted opportunities to view unfinished picture lock films before. This means the movie is done being shot and edited, but still may need visual or audio FX. I think this was the first action movie version I've seen though, and the lack of gunshots took a little getting used to. It also made the few gunshots in the film very shocking, haha! Still, great movie with an incredible lead actress who is definitely star material. Features: 127 Shorts: 2 Documentaries: 17 Rewatches: 2

Last one was too long to edit, so here's the next: X-Men Epic Collection Proteus: this is a pretty fun era of the X-Men. Earlier in the Claremont/Byrne run. The new X-Men face Magneto for only the second time. They wind up in the Savage Land to face Garokk, The Petrified Man. They have a fun little battle with Arcade. They sow the seeds of the Dark Phoenix Saga. They have a great battl ewith Alpha Flight (Pierre Trudeau spent a lot of money on Weapon X and we want him back!). And Wolverine meets Mariko Yashida for the first time. Because it's Claremont so obviously we have to fetishize Japan a little bit. Great read. X-Men Epic Collection Dissolution and Rebirth: what a wild ride this is. Begins at the tail end of the X-Men being dead and undetectable in Australia. Wolverine is crucified by the Reavers and rescued by Jubilee. Storm becomes a child. Psylocke becomes Lady Mandarin and then just ninja Psylocke. Gambit debuts. The core X-Men team becomes Moira McTaggert, Siryn, Legion and Multiple Man. So weird. The art vacillates between the excellence of Jim Lee and Marc Silvestri and guys you've never heard of then or since. I told you it was wild. Last Stop on the Red Line #1: completely forgettable. Old Man Quill #5: this would be a contender for series of the year lists if I wasn't a year and a half behind reading comics. Rock Steady #1: not for me The Life and Death of Toyo Harada #2, 3: Dysart's Valiant stuff is pretty solid as a rule. The art on this is fantastic. Uncanny X=Men #18: this was really great Vampire Mob #1: Not good War of the Realms #4:so fucking great. At first I felt like the plot was too piecemeal (think What If? issues trying to get through a lot of time in a few panels), but it all paid off with Dark Freyja and Iron Odin being horny and killing elves. War of the Realms Strikeforce The War Avengers #1: Just great. Age of X-Man Apocalypse and the X-Tracts #4,5: This probably stands as my favourite of these series. Age of X-Man Next Gen #5: great ending to a great series Age of X-Man Prisoner X #4,5: this was alright. Age of X-Man The Amazing Nightcrawler #4, 5: Kind of a yawn. Age of X-Man The Marvelous X-Men #5: Pretty good. Age of X-Man X-Tremists #4, 5: not the best ending. Age of X-Man Omega #1: Look, I thought the minis were fun for the most part, but I knew that it would end with a whimper and push us into the big time X-event that I'm excited to start now. Asgardians of the Galaxy #8, 9:Really fun. Incursion #4:Fuck this was good. Justice League Dark #11: Man, this series is killing it. I love the magic in the DC Universe. It's always falling apart sand threatening to destroy everything. Like, that is its natural state. Marvel Comics Presents #5:Fun Nightcrawler story. Somehow already forgotten who the third story was of... Mary Shelley Monster Hunter #2: this is not for me. Road of Bones #1: very cool. A horror story in this setting is unique as far as I know. I'm down. War of the Realms Uncanny X-Men #2: It seems like a lot more time has passed in this mini than the others. War of the Realms Journey Into Mystery #3: this is just a little too goofy for me. Issues: 365 Trades: 19 Omnibus: 20 Graphic Novel: 14