Mumble Herder

Books 1-10.
Books 11-20.
21. The Tombs of Atuan by Ursula K. Le Guin.
22. Rebellion at Christiana by Margaret Hope Bacon.
23. American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang.
24. This Sweet Sickness by Patricia Highsmith.
25. Sandstorm: A Forgotten Realms Novel by Christopher Rowe.
26. The St. Paul Stories of F. Scott Fitzgerald, edited by Patricia Hampl and Dave Page.

27. Thor: The Mighty Avenger Volume 2 by Roger Langridge, Chris Samnee, and Matt Wilson. For some reason in reading this I twigged to something that I hadn't quite realized in reading Volume One; this is a romance comic. I mean, yeah, it has superheroes, and robots, and Namor--well, Namor isn't really inconsistent with the romance thing, is he? But at heart, this comic is--or, tragically, WAS--about Thor and Jane Foster getting all googly-eyed over each other. And in case you're wondering, that is AWESOME. Seriously, I get all swept away myself, and when the story is abruptly cut off after issue 8, I feel sad, like realizing that maybe that girl you went on that great date with doesn't actually want to see you again. It hurts a bit, until you learn to focus on how great the date itself was, and at least you can relive it. In this, this comic is very like the late great Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane, which I also highly recommend for readers young and old.

Books 1-10.
Books 11-20.
Books 21-30.
Books 31-40.
Books 41-50.
Books 51-60.
Books 61-70.
Books 71-80.
Books 81-90.
Books 91-100.
101. Old Fort Snelling: 1819-1858 by Marcus L. Hansen.

102. Thor: The Mighty Avenger, Volume 1 by Roger Landgridge, Chris Samnee, and Matthew Wilson. I don't keep up very well on comics these days, largely because of budgetary issues; I'd love to be able to get an iPad or something and read them online, as I understand that this is a thing that is done nowadays, but, well, budgetary issues. But I follow a lot of comics blogs and creators and folks on Twitter, and when this series was canceled a few weeks ago, there was such an outcry that I thought I should look into it. And it is pretty wonderful--it flies directly in the face of the sort of thing that has become far too commonplace in comics, which is dark, dark, dark: tragedy, over-the-top violence, heroes being pushed to the brink (or beyond it) of villainy, etc. Sometimes those stories are well done, but of late (by which one could easily say, for the past twenty years or more) it's felt like a thing that is done because once or twice it's been really compelling. I am very much in favor of books that take the screwball creativity of the Silver Age and combine it with a humane sensibility and dialogue that doesn't sound like it was written by a twelve-year-old. The best example of this from my own recent reading is (perhaps unsurprisingly), Morrison and Quitely's All-Star Superman. This book doesn't quite reach those sublime heights, but it is gorgeous and funny and FUN; Jane Foster actually has a personality here, and Thor is noble and clueless and sweet and heroic. This is a comic you could put in front of your kids without any misgivings, and that is something that can be said of ridiculously few comics being put out nowadays. Go ahead and pick this up as a last-minute gift to yourself or someone else; maybe if we buy enough copies, Marvel will reconsider the cancellation.

Books 1-10.
Books 11-20.
Books 21-30.
Books 31-40.
Books 41-50.
Books 51-60.
61. Life Sucks by Jessica Abel, Gabriel Soria, and Warren Pleece.
62. JLA: Classifed: New Maps of Hell by Warren Ellis and Jackson Guice.
63. The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms (Book One of The Inheritance Trilogy) by N. K. Jemisin.
64. Fear Itself by Walter Mosley.
65. Tongues of Serpents: A Novel of Temeraire by Naomi Novik.

66. Showcase Presents: Legion of Super-Heroes Volume 2 by Edmond Hamilton, Jim Shooter, et al. This second volume shows the Legion stories in a time of transition, from the staid wackiness of the Silver Age towards a more "hip" attitude and the expansion of stories into more two-parters and extended arcs. As such it's pretty clunky and unfocused. Wunderkind Jim Shooter, who started writing for the Legion when he was fourteen--yes, FOURTEEN YEARS OLD--demonstrates a knack for the dramatic, but doesn't yet have a handle on telling a streamlined story. Overall, a bit of a letdown from the first volume.

Books 1-10.
Books 11-20.
Books 21-30.
Books 31-40.
Books 41-50.
51. Kitty Pryde: Shadow & Flame by Akira Yoshida and Paul Smith.
52. Best Short Novels 2006, Edited by Jonathan Strahan.

53. All Star Superman Volumes One and Two by Grant Morrison, Frank Quitely and Jamie Grant. As I've probably said more than enough times by now, I'm a Superman skeptic, but after reading the first Legion of Super-Heroes Showcase volume, I remembered a bit of the affection I used to have for Silver Age Supes. Since everyone and their tapeworm has been raving about this series for the past several years, and I'm a big Morrison fan, and the covers are pretty, I thought I'd pick it up. It's clear that Morrison has more than a bit of affection for the Silver Age Superman stories; he draws on a ton of that stuff here, even if just for background detail. I have a lot of respect for anyone who, rather than try to refute the wackiness that was the Silver Age--in favor of, say, the gritty "realism" of the Foil Age or the straightforward nihilism that Mark Millar represents--embraces the weirdness, giving it a modern voice and context. That's essentially what Morrison has done here, and he's done it quite well. It's also a surprisingly gentle story, especially for Morrison, and considering that it involves monsters and renegade suns and time-traveling musclehead thieves. The supporting cast gets a nice workout, and did I mention that the art is pretty? Seriously, Quitely's lines are reliably nice, but Grant's colors just leap off the page. Anyway, this is one Superman story I can definitely recommend.

Books 1-10.
Books 11-20.
Books 21-30.
Books 31-40.
41. When Baghdad Ruled the Muslim World: The Rise and Fall of Islam's Greatest Dynasty by Hugh Kennedy.
42. The Suffrage of Elvira by V.S. Naipaul.
43. The Magicians by Lev Grossman.
44. The Teammates: A Portrait of a Friendship by David Halberstam.
45. Showcase Presents: The Elongated Man by Gardner Fox, John Broome, Carmine Infantino, Sid Greene, et al.
46. Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned by Wells Tower.

47. Showcase Presents: Legion of Super-Heroes: Volume 1 by Curt Swan, Jerry Siegel, et al. The Legion is one of those things that certain comic book fans talk about with reverence and glee, but it's not an easy fandom to jump in on, given the long and wacky history (future), which of course has been rebooted more than once (yay Crises!). This is a pretty good place to start, though. Wacky Silver Age plots mostly fall into one or more of three categories:

1. Mysterious new member has mysterious (and plot-crucial) power, can you guess what it is?
2. Trusted Legionnaire appears to be a traitor! What's going on?
3. Crazy new "SCIENCE" may be key to bringing Lightning Lad back to life/making it possible for Mon-El to survive outside the Phantom Zone.

Really, that only gives a taste of the wackiness. The Legion of Substitute Heroes may be my fave, because seriously--they have STONE BOY, whose power is TURNING HIMSELF INTO A STATUE. Which cannot move. Or speak. Or do anything but be stone.

Many of the early stories in this volume are Superboy/Superman/Supergirl stories, and given that I rather dislike Superfamily stuff, I was surprised at how much I liked them. One reason is that, damn, Curt Swan has really damn pretty lines. In the Showcase/Essential black-and-white format, there are more than a few artists whose pencils don't do that well; their lines are sloppy, or their backgrounds are blanks left for the colorist to do something with. Swan's style is so clean that one might take it for granted, as I think I had before reading this.

The other reason I liked Superman (mostly Superboy) OK in this volume is that, well, this is Silver Age stuff, and it doesn't take itself very seriously. Smallville may be small, but it appears to have daily bank robberies, dam bursts, and superheroes and -villains stopping by from the future on a near-daily basis. It's difficult to get irritated with that sort of over-the-top kitchen sink approach. There are two more volumes of this out, and another on the way. I'm hoping to get caught up on all the weirdness.

Books 1-10.
Books 11-20.
Books 21-30.
31. Blonde Faith by Walter Mosley.
32. The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros.
33. Justice League of America, Volume 2 by Gardner Fox, Mike Sekowsky, et al.
34. Killer Princesses by Gail Simone and Lea Hernandez.
35. Michael Chabon Presents: The Amazing Adventures of the Escapist, Volume 1 by Michael Chabon, Kevin McCarthy, Glen David Gold, Howard Chaykin, Bill Sienkewicz, etc.
36. Gate of Ivory, Gate of Horn by Robert Holdstock.
37. Becoming Charlemagne: Europe, Baghdad, and the Empires of A.D. 800 by Jeff Sypeck.

38. Justice League of America, Volume 3 by Gardner Fox, Mike Sekowsky, Carmine Infantino, et al. Really, the story here is JLA #37, where Johnny Thunder's Thunderbolt from Earth-2 is taken over by the Johnny Thunder from Earth-1, a petty crook who first erases the JLA from existence by sending the Thunderbolt back in time to prevent their origin stories from taking place, then slips members of his gang into their places to gain their super-powers. Note that in at least some cases--Superman, Batman, the Martian Manhunter--this makes absolutely no sense; standing in the spot where lightning struck Barry Allen's lab to get the Flash's power, sure, but how exactly does replacing an alien with a human give him that alien's powers? And Batman . . . I don't even know where to start. And yet. This issue was in a box of comics that my uncles had left in my grandparents' house, and I used to read it over and over again, and it's so ridiculous that it's awesome. What's more, it was part one of a two-part story, and until I read this volume I never knew how the Justice Society (from Earth-2) managed to save the JLA. If I needed to explain, though, why I like superheroes and comic books, that issue would be part of the answer, because it has alternate earths, team-ups, ridiculous humor, and a replacement Batman with enough stubble to scour every pan in an aircraft carrier mess hall.

Books 1-10.
Books 11-20.
Books 21-30.
31. Blonde Faith by Walter Mosley.
32. The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros.

33. Justice League of America, Volume 2 by Gardner Fox, Mike Sekowsky, et al. Either Fox or his superiors must have realized, at some point, that the pattern of 1. Strange New Villain/Unexpected Return of Old Villain who 2. Stumbles Upon Seemingly Unbeatable Power/Has Seemingly Unbeatable Diabolical Plan but is foiled when the JLers 3. Suddenly Switch Tactics/Reveal That They Anticipated Everything And Had the Fight Won Before It Even Started--you know, that pattern--was getting a bit stale. Here are new members, team-ups with the Justice Society of Earth-2, and fewer attempts to shoehorn every single member into every single issue. It's still a bit repetitive, but I guess I'm making allowances because it's unlikely that anyone involved expected that any nearly-40-year-old-dudes would be sitting around 40 years later reading these collected issues with a critical eye.

Books 1-10.
Books 11-20.
21. And Now We are Going to Have a Party by Nicola Griffith.
22. A Black Explorer at the North Pole by Matthew Henson.
23. Cinnamon Kiss by Walter Mosley.
24. Killdozer!: Volume III: The Complete Stories of Theodore Sturgeon, by Theodore Sturgeon.

25. Justice League of America, Volume 1 by Gardner Fox, Mike Sekowsky, et al. So . . . this is not very good, overall. I mean, say what you will about what's happened with the personalities of, say, Hal Jordan in recent years (I'm a mass murderer! Whoops, sorry; I got better) or the grim "my-parents-are-dead!" Batman that we can't escape, but at least those are personalities. In these stories it's difficult to tell J'onn J'onzz from Wonder Woman; the heroes are for the most part interchangeable except for their powers (and their weaknesses; the Martian Manhunter's vulnerability to fire is just as tiresome as Superman's kryptonite troubles), and ditto the villains. Some of the plotting is wackily imaginative, though--Fox was also an SF writer, and you can see that in some of the story premises. They don't make sense, but they're occasionally marvelous in their elaborate implausibility. The highlight of the book, for me, has got to be the two-part introduction of Felix Faust and the Demons Three, Abnegazar, Rath and Ghast. When I was a kid I had a comic with the Demons Three in them, where they took over the JLA satellite or something . . . the point is, it was awesome. And probably I'd have thought that about this volume too, back then.

Books 1-10.
Books 11-20.
Books 21-30.
Books 31-40.
Books 41-50.
Books 51-60.
Books 61-70.
Books 71-80.
81. Elektra: Assassin by Frank Miller and Bill Sienkiewicz.
82. Our Band Could Be Your Life: Scenes From the American Indie Underground 1981-1991 by Michael Azerrad.
83. The Dakota or Sioux in Minnesota As They Were in 1834 by Samuel W. Pond.
84. The Last American Man by Elizabeth Gilbert.
85. The Flight of Red Bird: The Life of Zitkala-Sa by Doreen Rappaport.

86. Count Geiger's Blues by Michael Bishop. Given that Brittle Innings is one of my favorite books of all time, it's surprising that I haven't read more of Bishop's stuff before this. Count Geiger's Blues is an odd book. At times it reads like satire, and yet ultimately it's one of the more humanist books I've read recently. The two modes don't always mesh, but the novel is impressive in its conception: snobby Fine Arts critic Xavier Thaxton becomes unwittingly exposed to a large dose of toxic waste, following which he begins to develop some pronounced, um, allergies to the finer things. This leads to some broadening of his artistic horizons, and also--in a roundabout sort of way--to him briefly adopting the identity of the titular superhero. Bishop sets his story in the fictional Southern metropolis of Salonika, thus placing it in the comic-book tradition of Gotham City. But the book is also a social satire, an environmental critique, a commentary on Nietzsche . . . it's possible that there's too much going on here. When it works, it's great, but there are times when it's too self-aware and the moving parts are visible. An interesting but flawed book.

Books 1-10.
Books 11-20.
Books 21-30.
Books 31-40.
Books 41-50.
Books 51-60.
Books 61-70.
71. The Elephant's Secret Sense by Caitlin O'Connell.
72. Bloom County Babylon: Five Years of Basic Naughtiness by Berke Breathed.
73. Moon Called by Patricia Briggs.
74. The End of the Story: The Collected Fantasies of Clark Ashton Smith, Volume 1 by Clark Ashton Smith.
75. Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg.
76. Hmong Means Free: Life in Laos and America by Sucheng Chan.
77. Dungeon: Zenith Volume 3: Back In Style by Joann Sfar, Lewis Trondheim, and Boulet.

78. Watchmen: Absolute Edition by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons (Re-read). I had re-read my TPB of this sometime before the movie came out, so it took me a while to get to this fancy edition that janradder lent me. I have to say that reading it like this--enlarged, on the high-quality paper--is a surprisingly different experience; I picked up on background details that I had never noticed in multiple readings of this series. Reading it also made the film more disappointing in retrospect, but that's well-traveled ground at this point so I won't rehash it.