Recent Comics Roundup: Brightest Day & Dark Tower

Today I’m going to give you guys my thoughts on a few recent comics, including three more Brightest Day issues, and the most recent comic in Marvel’s version of Stephen King’s The Dark Tower. Let’s start with a book that hit the week I was in Pittsburgh…

Justice League: Generation Lost #3

Continuing the story of the four Justice Leaguers who remember the truth about Maxwell Lord. As we’ve learned through Booster Gold’s little robot sidekick Skeets, though, computer intelligences also remember Maxwell Lord and all the nasty things he did — and that includes the scarab that gives power to the current Blue Beetle, Jaime Reyes. Jaime’s family is targeted by a group of Max’s OMACs, and he joins up Booster Gold to help hunt down the man who murdered his predecessor. It’s really nice to see Jaime having a place in this group, and what’s more, writers Keith Giffen and Judd Winick spread out and cover a lot more of the DC Universe here as well. Fire’s confrontation with her former associates in the Checkmate organization is very strong, and the return of another former JLI member at the end bodes poorly for our heroes. The tone of this book, of course, is drastically different from the old “Bwa-ha-ha” comedy of the original JLI run, but that doesn’t mean the book doesn’t work. the story is very solid and the characters feel like they’ve evolved since the old days, Booster especially. I also really love Tony Harris‘s cover, featuring Jaime and Ted Kord. It’s just a great cover, really. Three issues in, I’ve really been impressed with this maxi-series. I just hope that the writers can keep up this quality for the next 11 months.

Rating: 7/10

Brightest Day #4

In the fourth chapter of the core Brightest Day series, the Hawks find an arch built from the bones of their many, many former incarnations. There’s a trap that’s been laid for them, something that’s been calling to them for a very long time. Deadman, meanwhile, finally gets a chance to rest, only to find himself throwing down with Hawk and Dove, an oasis in the New Mexico desert mysteriously dries up, and Ronnie Raymond starts to have some nasty dreams about what he did while he was a Black Lantern. There’s definite plot progression here, although some of it is incremental. The Deadman story, however, moves forward quite a bit. This, I think, is the way to best handle a book like this one. With such a large cast, coming out every other week, each issue should progress all of the stories a little bit and one of them a lot. That makes for a satisfying read, and it seems like Geoff Johns and Peter Tomasi have figured that out. What happens at the end of this issue is really cool — it’s one of those instances where the characters come to the sort of conclusion that the readers did two or three issues ago, and they start to act on it. One of the most interesting things about Brightest Day thus far has been the strange new powers that Deadman is exhibiting. If the cliffhanger here is any indication, next issue we may actually get an examination of how those powers work, and that’s something we’re all interested in seeing. It’s also nice to bring in the Hawk and Dove story, which hasn’t played much a part in this main title yet (they’ve been featured more prominently in Birds of Prey). Solid issue.

Rating: 7/10

Birds of Prey #2

Speaking of the Birds of Prey, Gail Simone and Ed Benes‘s return to this title has been magnificent. Black Canary and Huntress find themselves facing a strange woman called the White Canary. As they go into battle their teammates — Hawk, Dove, and Lady Blackhawk — arrive on the scene just in time to find themselves targeted… not by the villains, but by the Gotham City Police Department. While the characters feel familiar — and wonderfully familiar — the book has a different dynamic than it did in its previous incarnation. There’s a different status quo, a different feeling, and that’s all to the good. We’ve actually got the Birds here trying to escape the GCPD and protect the Penguin, and the way it comes about doesn’t feel forced and it doesn’t make anyone seem out of character. The book is exciting, the fight scenes are fantastic, and the last few pages really makes Oracle out to be the bad-ass she actually is. Forget the fact that she’s in a wheelchair, forget the fact that she doesn’t have any super powers. Barbara Gordon’s mind and skill can make her one of the most powerful characters in the DC Universe, and Gail Simone gets that more than anybody else. The book doesn’t really seem to have a direct tie to Brightest Day, other than the inclusion of Hawk and Dove, but that’s no problem. You can read the title by itself or as part of the larger story, and either way, you’ve got a great comic.

Rating: 9/10

And as a little change of pace, let’s look at something that doesn’t have anything to do with Brightest Day, but is cool nonetheless…

The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger-The Journey Begins #2

Despite having perhaps the most unwieldy title of any comic book published this year, this miniseries has really turned out to be strong. The first cycle of Dark Tower comics ended with the previous miniseries, The Battle of Jericho Hill. Although this miniseries has begun the adaptation of the first Dark Tower novel, we’re still filling in backstory, showing how Roland, the last gunslinger, went from the massacre at Jericho Hill to the point we find him at the beginning of Stephen King‘s masterwork. Here we see Roland’s final journey to his destroyed homeland, the introduction of a creature whose family will turn out to be very important to him later in the series, a terrible sight and a bloody battle, and some haunted happenings back home. Robin Furth, King’s longtime assistant, is doing great work developing the story. All of her additions and alterations come with King’s approval, which makes it easier to accept, but even if he wasn’t involved the things we see here work very well with the world he established. Peter David‘s script, and the artwork of Sean Phillips and Richard Isanove come together to make a really magnificent comic book. I’ve been reading the Dark Tower comics ever since Marvel began publishing them a few years ago, but it’s been some time since I was so impressed by an issue that I felt compelled to talk about it. King fans, check this out. It’s great stuff.

What I’m Reading: Brightest Day in May

Okay, technically I this is my second Brightest Day post in the month of May, following this earlier one, but it rhymes, and I had a rough week, and I’m tired, and shut your face.

I’m sorry, I… I didn’t mean that. It’s the last week of the semester and I’m worn down and… I like your face. Really?

Let’s review some comics, okay?

Justice League: Generation Lost #1

The other bi-weekly series that we’re going to follow for the next year kicked off two weeks ago with this first issue. Maxwell Lord was an entrepreneur with a metahuman talent, the ability to control people’s minds, but the power was a weak one and even a small strain caused him to break into nosebleeds. Instead of becoming a hero himself, he settled for organizing the “International” incarnation of the Justice League in the 80s and 90s. But in the opening days of what would become Infinite Crisis, Max revealed that he was in fact manipulating the heroes in concert with Checkmate, and murdered the Blue Beetle. Wonder Woman was forced to put him down to stop him from using Superman as a weapon, and the fallout nearly destroyed her career. But in the wake of the Blackest Night, Max has come back to life, and in this issue he’s pulling the biggest scam of all time — using his power to make the world forget he ever existed.

Keith Giffen, who wrote the original Max stories back in the JLI era, is the plotter and breakdown artist for this series, helping give it a strong continuity. This isn’t the “Bwa-ha-ha” League he wrote back then, however. He’s giving us a more serious story, with real stakes for our heroes. His co-writer, Judd Winick, has often been hit and miss for me. His humor books (like The Adventures of Barry Ween, Boy Genius) are great, but his superhero work often fizzles out. I’m hoping that having him work in concert with Giffen, we’ll prevent that sort of thing from happening here.

As this is a biweekly book, there isn’t much chance of a “regular” art team. Aaron Lopresti does the chores on issue one, and he does a solid job. Working from Giffen’s breakdowns, he tells a solid story that I enjoyed quite a bit.

Rating: 7/10

As it’s been three Wednesdays since I talked about Brightest Day, another issue of this biweekly has already hit the stands. Let’s talk about it, shall we?

Justice League: Generation Lost #2

In the second issue, Max has cut loose with his power and succeeded in not just making nearly the entire planet forget him, but place some sort of post-hypnotic suggestion that makes people reject the truth when confronted with it. Only four people remember the truth, four members of Max’s former League who were in contact with his blood when he pulled his stunt. Booster Gold is already considered a joke to many of the heroes of the DC Universe, so his word is taken with a grain of salt, but now Max is taking steps to discredit and ruin Fire, Ice, and Captain Atom as well. With no one to turn to except each other, they set out to prove the truth and bring Max to justice.

The plot really kicks into gear this month, as the aftermath of Max’s global windwipe starts to come together. The writers have done a good job of filling in the gaps, even to the point of figuring out who Max would attribute each of his crimes to  in order to make people forget him more readily. The things he allows people to believe about Ted Kord’s death are perhaps more insidious than anything else he’s done, and it kind of makes you hope that Booster Gold is the one who lays the smack-down on him when the time comes. I’m also glad that the writers gave us a more scientific explanation (well… comic book science) for why these four and no one else remember Max. I was afraid it would be more emotional, that these four somehow felt more strongly than anyone else, but an answer like that would really be a disservice to Guy Gardner, the Martian Manhunter, Power Girl, and other members of those JLI teams.

Two issues in, I really think the writers have given us a solid start. I just hope there’s enough meat to the story to last a whole 26 issues.

Rating: 7.5/10

Titans: Villains For Hire Special #1

With the former Titans team pretty much disbanded and its members scattered to the four winds, the assassin called Deathstroke takes the name for his new team of mercenary villains. Their first target? Someone known to the heroes of the DCU all too well.

Plenty has been written about this issue already, so I won’t belabor the point, but there is one positive thing I can say about it. I promised that I wasn’t going to go out of my way to get every Brightest Day related title, but until I read this issue I was afraid that might happen anyway. Now, the chances of me following this story into the ongoing Titans comic are slim to none. First of all, the hero that’s killed in this issue is done so almost in a perfunctory way. I feel like he was discredited, killed just to show how “badass” the villains are. Death in comics, especially in a post-Blackest Day world, should mean something. When Ted Kord died, for example, it was very clearly the opening shot in a war. I don’t get the sense that there are going to be any serious repercussions for what Deathstroke’s team does in this issue.

What’s more, the team doesn’t really make any sense. Deathstroke has never needed a team before, and the only reason this book is called Titans is because no one seems to know what to do with the franchise. There are only two characters in this book I’m interested in reading on a regular basis, Tattooed Man and Osiris, but neither of them are villains. Neither of them belong on a team full of murderers. There’s an attempt to explain what Deathstroke has over them, but it doesn’t make their inclusion seem any less forced.

I was really happy to see Osiris among the living at the end of the Blackest Night, but my happiness was short-lived. I won’t be following his future adventures in this book.

Rating: 3/10

Birds of Prey #1

The birds are back! Barely a year after the title was canceled in the restructuring of the Batman universe, Gail Simone and Ed Benes return to the title they made great. Oracle decides to get the band back together for a new mission, calling up Black Canary, Huntress, and Lady Blackhawk to once again help her protect the heroes of the DC Universe from threats they can’t face on their own. While she’s rounding up her friends, however, the recently-resurrected Hawk is having some issues re-acclimating to life among the living. It seems he and his partner, Dove, may have to find a home among the Birds to figure out where to fly.

This new dynamic offers some really interesting story possibilities that I’m sure Simone will have the guts to address, and I don’t just mean the fact that Hawk is the first male member of this traditionally all-female team. Before he died, Hawk walked around for some time in villain’s clothes, and he killed a lot of people, including several founding members of the Justice Society of America. I can’t imagine the folks at JSA headquarters are going to be wild about him joining the “911 operators of the DC Universe,” as Simone often refers to this squad. This is something that almost has to be addressed. But I have every faith in Simone’s ability to do it.

Benes’ art hasn’t lost a step. He’s still got great, energetic, dynamic pencils and fantastic fight scenes. Coloring has progressed even more since his first run with these characters, and it’s not hyperbole to say this book looks better than ever.

I was really bummed when this title was canceled, but I couldn’t be happier to have it back, and back in the best of hands.

Rating: 8/10

The Flash #2

In part two of “The Dastardly Death of the Rogues,” Barry Allen is on the run from a group that mimics his worst enemies, but claim to be from the far future. This group, the “Renegades,” is in our time to arrest Barry because he’s going to murder one of their members 84 days in the future. Barry is none too keen on the idea of being arrested, of course, especially for something he hasn’t done (yet), and the Flash is soon on the run. Meanwhile, the present-day Rogues approach their recently-returned member, Captain Boomerang. Boomerang is none too happy with his old friends, though, as they seem intent on making him “prove himself” before they let him back into the club.

It’s not really clear how much of his time as a Black Lantern Captain Boomerang remembers. Does he remember killing his own son? Does he remember that his teammates basically gave him the boy as a snack? Does he even really want to reunite with the old team? One of the things that made Geoff Johns‘ first tenure on the Flash so memorable was the way he redefined the villains. It looks very much like he’s poised to do the same here.

Something that’s different than when he wrote the adventures of Wally West, though, is the way he’s bringing in more of the goofy comic book science and tech. Things like the Renegades are a very Silver Age-ish concept, and he’s executing them nicely in the present day with a more modern edge. Add in some great art by Francis J. Manapul and you’ve got another book I’m really happy with.

Rating: 8/10

Brightest Day #2

While some of the returnees have splintered off into the other titles we’ve been discussing, here in Brightest Day the focus really seems to be on some of the other characters. Firestorm is in a quandry, with Jason Rusch and Ronnie Raymond fused together in the Firestorm matrix. The situation is even more uncomfortable because Ronnie doesn’t remember, as a Black Lantern, killing Jason’s girlfriend. Jason, however, remembers it all too well. Also this week, the Martian Manhunter is seeking out the daughter of the scientist who brought him to Earth in the first place, and the Hawks are hunting down their oldest enemy. Firestorm is probably the most interesting part of this book to me, though, with Deadman coming in a close second. Still being jerked around by the White Lantern ring, Deadman gets a fantastic last-page cliffhanger.

The main mystery of Brightest Day seems to be split between this title and Green Lantern, with this book delving into those who returned from the dead and why. I’ve heard a few people understandably perturbed by the lack of Lantern content in this book, but I don’t think that’s what this is about. It reminds me much more of 52, the weekly series Johns co-wrote a few years ago, in that it follows a group of characters in the wake of a major event and examines how it changes their lives and, as a result, their world. Taken on its own merits, I think this story is succeeding quite well.

While I don’t expect a biweekly book to have a regular art team, it bothers me a bit when there are so many different artists on a single issue. Guys like Ivan Reis, Patrick Gleason, Adian Syaf, Scott Clark and Joe Prado are all fine artists, but their styles are too different from one another to transition without a jolt. Hopefully future issues will be able to have a little more consistency.

Rating: 7/10

Justice League of America #45

This issue is part two of the two-part prelude to the five-part Justice Society of America crossover, “The Dark Things.” (They really should have just called it a seven-part crossover.) Jade, a Blackest Night returnee, comes back to earth inside a crystal. This “Starheart” is the mystical artifact that powers her father, the Golden Age Green Lantern, but now Alan Scott’s power is going haywire. The Justice League, Justice Society, and a few friends get together to try to prevent a disaster, but Power Girl seems to have gone mad. There’s only one person Batman can find with the juice to face her — Supergirl.

We know Supergirl is joining the team full-time soon, and this issue works very nicely as an introduction to her membership. She’s called up to deal with a specific threat (a nutcase Power Girl), but she’s already working well with the rest of the group. Robinson seems to want to build a JLA that’s built around all of the main “families” of the DC Universe without actually having the usual members. That’s an interesting idea, and as such, Supergirl is a very good candidate to represent the House of El.

The end of this book is an interesting cliffhanger, if not an earth-shattering one. Future solicits have already spoiled the end of this book (I hate when that happens) and I doesn’t seem like the sort of thing that’s likely to be permanent anyway. Still, it’s a pretty good superhero team-up, and it seems to be helping the League on a much-needed march towards stability.

Rating: 7/10

Green Lantern #54

The other main mystery in this series is that of the White Lantern itself. Fallen to Earth, we see as Hal Jordan, Carol Ferris and Sinestro (the “New Guardians” of the Green, Violet, and Yellow Lantern Corps, respectively) step up and try to lift the Lantern. It becomes clear, though, that the Lantern isn’t there for just anyone. It’s waiting for someone… or something.

Geoff Johns throws in two different B-plots in this issue, and each of them is intriguing. Atrocitus, “New Guardian” of the Red Lanterns, is prowling the subways of New York in search of something, while the entity that captured Parallax a few months ago makes a play for another of the entities that power the seven Corps. The mystery of the entities is one thing that Blackest Night didn’t dig into very deeply, and I’m really glad to see that storyline is being fed here. The whole “Sword in the Stone” analogy for the White Lantern seems a little on the nose, but that may be a red herring (or green or yellow or whatever the case may be). Atrocitus is becoming more and more interesting as a character, and I’m very curious to hear the long-awaited story of Dex-Starr.

I’ve said it over and over, but one of the best things to come out of the Blackest Night are the new characters in the new corps. I want to see more of those guys, and that’s what Johns is giving to me. It doesn’t appear that’s going to change any time soon, and I’m very happy about that.

Rating: 9/10

Green Lantern Corps #48

Closing off our look at the recent Brightest Day releases, we have Tony Bedard‘s debut as the new writer of Green Lantern Corps. As Guy Gardner leaves for a mysterious new mission of his own (which no doubt will be the focus of the upcoming Green Lantern: Emerald Warriors series) John Stewart comes to Oa to help with the rebuilding of the planet after the war. As he and Kyle Rayner help the rest of the Corps with reconstruction, the former Guardian called Ganthet approaches his brothers and sisters with a fateful decision — he is renouncing his status as a Guardian for any Corps, and instead will become the new permanently-stationed Green Lantern of the planet Oa.

The idea of Ganthet stepping down and becoming a “grunt” is an interesting one, and to the best of my knowledge it’s something that’s never been done before. Between that and the trade-off of Guy for John, Bedard has immediately created a very different feel for this book than it had under Peter Tomasi. As good as Tomasi’s run was, this new approach has a lot of promise of its own. John has really been forced out of the spotlight in recent years, ostensibly sharing the main Green Lantern title with Hal, but really getting very little screen time. Putting him in this book is already giving him a higher profile, without sacrificing any of the focus on Kyle Rayner or the rest of the cast. We also get a new mystery surrounding the Alpha Lanterns, characters that seemed to be out of a purpose not long ago. Bedard has re-purposed them and is turning them into something different, ominous, and fun to read about.

It’s a new era for this title, but it’s still a very strong part of Brightest Day.

Rating: 8/10

What I’m Reading: 2009 Edition

In the past, I’ve always compiled a year-end list of the books I’ve read during the past year. However, I’ve noticed that my good pal Walt Kneeland, on his awesome Comic Reviews By Walt blog, keeps a running list on his website throughout the year. It’s something that never occurred to me before, but I like it. So therefore, I’m going to keep this post updated frequently, whenever I’ve got something to add to the list. I’ve also added the links to the right-hand column of the page, right beneath my Twitter Feed, so you’ll be able to access it easily if that sort of thing floats your boat. I’ll do the same with my movie lists. And y’know what? If it’s a book I’ve reviewed, I’ll even link to the review. I’m all about service, friends.

So without further ado, here’s what I’ve read so far in 2009:

1. Speaker For the Dead; Orson Scott Card, 1987-A
2. Look at My Striped Shirt; Phat Phree, 2006-B-
3. You’ll All Be Sorry; Gail Simone, 2008-B+
4. Tales of Beedle the Bard; J.K. Rowling, 2008-B
5. Street Gang: The Complete History of Sesame Street; Michael Davis, 2008-A
6. Tales From Outer Suburbia; Shaun Tan, 2008-B+*
7. Kingdom Come; Mark Waid &; Alex Ross, 1996-A+*
8. Infected; Scott Sigler, 2008-B+
9. Archer & Armstrong: First Impressions; Jim Shooter, Barry Windsor-Smith, 2008-A-*
10. Sheldon: Nerds on Parade; Dave Kellett, 2008-A-*
11. Mini-Marvels: Secret Invasion; Chris Giarrusso, 2009-A*
12. Tiny Titans: Welcome to the Treehouse; Art Baltazar, Franco, 2008-A-*
13. Fool; Christopher Moore, 2009-B-
14. A Slobbering Love Affair; Bernard Goldberg, 2009-B-
15. It’s Not Easy Being Green; Jim Henson, 2005-B
16. Love and Capes Vol. 1: Do You Want to Know a Secret?; Thom Zahler, 2008-A+*
17. Starman Omnibus Vol. 2; James Robinson & Tony Harris, 2009-A*
18. Before You Leap; Jim Lewis, (as Kermit the Frog), 2004-B
19. The Graveyard Book; Neil Gaiman, 2008-A
20. Transmetropolitan Vol. 1: Back on the Street; Warren Ellis &; Darick Robertson, 1998-B*
21. Tales of the Green Lantern Corps; Len Wein and others, 2009-A*
22. JLA/Avengers; Kurt Busiek & George Perez, 2003-B+*
23. Enemies and Allies; Kevin J. Anderson, 2009-B+
24. Breathers: A Zombie’s Lament; S.G. Browne, 2009-B
25. Shade’s Children; Garth Nix, 1997-B+
26. Superman: Panic in the Sky; Dan Jurgens, Jerry Ordway, Louise Simonson & Roger Stern, 1993-A*
27. JLA: Salvation Run; Matthew Sturges & Bill Willingham, 2008-B*
28. Contagious; Scott Sigler, 2008-A-
29. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy; Douglas Adams, 1979-A
30. The Complete Peanuts: 1969 to 1970; Charles M. Schulz, 2008-A*
31. The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet; William Shakespeare (probably), 1597(ish)-B+
32. 3 Geeks: Going to the Con; Rich Koslowski, 1997-B+*
33. 3 Geeks: An Eclectic Potpourri of Reading Pleasure; Rich Koslowski, 1999-B*
34. The Restaurant at the End of the Universe; Douglas Adams, 1980-B+
35. Nice Girls Don’t Have Fangs; Molly Harper, 2009-B+
36. The Complete Peanuts: 1971 to 1972; Charles M. Schulz, 2009-A*
37. Star Trek: Countdown; Mike Johnson & Tim Jones, 2009-B+*
38. Life, the Universe, and Everything; Douglas Adams, 1982-B
39. So Long and Thanks For All the Fish; Douglas Adams, 1984-B
40. “Young Zaphod Plays it Safe”; Douglas Adams, 1986-C
41. Sheldon: Pure Ducky Goodness; Dave Kellett, 2006, B+*
42. Dust and Shadow; Lyndsay Faye, 2009-B+
43. The Lightning Thief; Rick Riordan, 2005-A-
44. Nina Kimberly the Merciless; Christiana Ellis, 2009-B+
45. The Sea of Monsters; Rick Riordan, 2006, B+
46. The Big Book of Barry Ween, Boy Genius; Judd Winnick, 2009, B+*
47. The Titan’s Curse; Rick Riordan, 2007, A-
48. The Battle of the Labyrinth; Rick Riordan, 2008, A-
49. Sheldon: The Good, the Bad, and the Pugly; Dave Kellett, 2007, B+*
50. The Last Olympian; Rick Riordan, 2009, A+
51. Personal Effects: Dark Art; J.C. Hutchins & Jordan Weisman, 2009, A-
52. Was Superman a Spy?; Brian Cronin, 2009, A-
53. “All You Zombies”; Robert A. Heinlein, 1958, A
54. The Strain; Guillermo Del Toro & Chuck Hogan, 2009, B+
55. Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Demigod Files; Rick Riordan, 2009, B
56. G.I. Joe; Chuck Dixon, 2009, A-*
57. The Dark Half; Stephen King, 1989, B
58. The Long Walk; Stephen King (as Richard Bachman), 1979, B-
59. Superman: Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow? (Deluxe Edition); Alan Moore, 2009, A*
60. Franklin Richards: Not-So-Secret Invasion; Marc Sumerak & Chris Eliopoulos, 2009, B+*
61. Batman: Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader? (Deluxe Edition); Neil Gaiman, 2009, A*
62. Starman Omnibus Volume 3; James Robinson, 2009, A*
63. ABC Warriors: The Meknificent Seven; Pat Mills, 1978, B*
64. Judge Dredd: Dredd Vs. Death; John Wagner & Alan Grant, 2005, B*
65. Preacher: Gone to Texas; Garth Ennis, 1996, B*
66. Preacher: Until the End of the World; Garth Ennis, 1997, A*
67. Preacher: Proud Americans; Garth Ennis, 1998, B+*
68. Earthcore; Scott Sigler, 2005, B+@
69. Personal Effects: Sword of Blood; J.C. Hutchins, 2009, B@
70. Dark Entries; Ian Rankin, 2009, B*
71. G-Man: Learning to Fly; Chris Giarrusso, 2009, A*
72. Drood; Dan Simmons, 2009, A-
73. FlashForward; Rober J. Sawyer, 1999, B+
74. Danse Macabre; Stephen King, 1980, B+
75. Peter and Max: A Fables Novel; Bill Willingham, 2009, A
76. Kabumpo in Oz; Ruth Plumly Thompson, 1922, B-
77. UR; Stephen King, 2009, B+
78. It’s Hard Out Here For a Shrimp; Pepe the King Prawn, 2008, B
79. Kronos; Jeremy Robinson, 2008, B+@
80. “The Red-Headed League;” Arthur Conan Doyle, 1891, A
81. 7th Son: Descent; J.C. Hutchins, 2009, B+
82. Cakewrecks; Jen Yates, 2009, B+
83. The Zombie Survival Guide: Recorded Attacks; Max Brooks, 2009, B*
84. Batman: The Long Halloween; Jeph Loeb, 1997, A*
85. The Monstrumologist; Rick Yancy, 2009, B
86. Half-Minute Horrors; Susan Rich (ed.), 2009, B
87. Nice Girls Don’t Date Dead Men; Molly Harper, 2009, B
88. Animal Farm; George Orwell, 1945, A
89. The Colour of Magic; Terry Pratchett, 1983, B
90. Living Dangerously With Saturated Fats; Dave Kellett, 2009, A
91. Just After Sunset; Stephen King, 2008, B+
92. Abducted to Oz; 2003, Bob Evans & Chris Dulabone, F
93. The Dude Abides; 2009, Cathleen Falsami, B+
94. Nocturnal; 2007, Scott Sigler, A-@
95. Title Fight; 2009, Scott Sigler & Matt Wallace, B+@
96. Lost; 2001, Gregory Maguire, D
97. The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus; 1902, L. Frank Baum, A
98. “A Kidnapped Santa Claus;” 1904, L. Frank Baum, A
99. A Kidnapped Santa Claus; 2009, Alex Robinson (based on the story by L. Frank Baum), A*
100. The Gift of the Magi; 2009, Joel Priddy (based on the story by O. Henry), B+*
101. The Fir-Tree; 2009, Lilli Carré (based on the story by Hans Christian Andersen), B-*
102. Haunted Christmas; 2009, Mary Beth Crain, B
103. “Scrooge & Cratchit;” 2002, Matt McHugh, B+
104. More Holmes For the Holidays; 1999, Martin H. Greenberg (ed.), B
105. North Pole Lost and Other Holiday Stories; 2007, William H. Cooke, D
106. The True Gift; 2009, Patricia MacLachlan, B
107. The Night Before the Christmas Before I Was Married; 2009, Adam Maxwell, B-
108. Purgatory; 2009, Tim Dodge, B@
109. Archie New Look Series Vol. 3: Moose and Midge in Break-Up Blues; 2009, Melanie J. Morgan, B*
110. Mini-Marvels Ultimate Collection; 2009, Chris Giarrusso and others, A*

*-Graphic novel or comic strip collection
“”-Short Story
@-Audiobook

Last updated on December 31, 2009