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dalekofchaos · 2 years

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My biggest problems with Filoni’s Star Wars

I'd say my biggest critiques of Filoni's Star Wars would be

Complete change in Anakin's character from AOTC to the character he is portrayed as in TCW. We NEVER see Anakin knighted, so he should not be given a Padawan. Nor do I think Anakin is capable nor do I think the Council would trust Anakin with a Padawan. Honestly the change in Anakin's character felt like giving into RLM's complaints about Anakin and just turned Anakin into a mix of Luke and Han, but that’s not Anakin.

Lightening the skin of the clones and Boba and not bringing back Temmura to voice the clones, The whole whitewashing of the Clones is downright disgusting.

Constantly retcons. Kanan’s backstory. Ahsoka’s novel has recently been retconned. This is getting ridiculously mean spirited, it’s like the man has no respect for the canon novel/graphic novel writers.

Everything about Barriss. A Muslim coded character who was loved in the EU. And what does he do? From someone who was Anakin’s temporary is deaged to be Ahsoka’s, makes her willing to be okay for dying for the Jedi and having her bomb the Jedi Temple. I hope this was just him being tone deaf, but if intentional, oh boy yikes.

EVERYTHING ABOUT GRIEVOUS

EVERYTHING ABOUT MANDALORE AND THE STUPID RETCON OF THE FETTS BEING MANDALORIAN(YES I KNOW ALMEC IS AN ASS, BUT THIS WAS DIRECT FROM FILONI AND PABLO HIDALGO)

Minor nitpick but changing Obi-Wan's armor from the awesome design from the micro series to what he has from TCW. It’s like going from Gucci to Walmart.

Erasing Alpha 17 and Captain Fordo

The Bad Batch. It again enforces the whitewashing of the clones and could've easily been Delta Squad, since they are essentially the same fucking characters.

Bringing back Maul. Maul served a purpose. Sure George regretted killing him off too soon and I do think he should have been the Vader of the Prequels. But god, the way they hammered him in TCW, Rebels and Solo? Good god it's ridiculous.

The same damn story in EVERY Star Wars story. It's less noticeable in TCW and Rebels. It's good for The Mandalorian, but The Bad Batch just makes it clear he only knows how to tell one type of story. Grumpy man is forced to take care of small sunshine child. What's next? Book of Boba Fett doing it with Boba and Dash?

Abundantly clear he did not care about Boba Fett and used Book Of Boba Fett as a prop for The Mandalorian. Boba Fett doesn't do Boba Fett type things. He's a crime lord that doesn't do any crimes. He's outwitted by everyone in the show and instead of reaching out to characters Boba knows like Bossk, IG-88 etc, we need Din. And instead of focusing on flashbacks with Jango that focuses on his Mandalorian heritage, again we get proto-Mando season 3. It honestly would've been better to keep Grogu out of TBOBF cause now people are forced to watch it to see how Din reunites with Grogu instead of watching The Mandalorian season 3. If he didn't want to write for a show about Boba Fett, then he shouldn't have written a show about Boba Fett.

Ahsoka living through all 3 trilogies. The Jedi are supposed to be all extinct by the time of the Empire, Obi-Wan and Yoda should be the only survivors. Ahsoka lives beyond Order 66, throughout the Galactic Civil War and Filoni plays favorites and literally uses time travel to bring her back. Then apparently she lasts beyond the Galactic Civil War(why did she not meet Obi-Wan, Yoda, Luke or Leia?) Like fuck it is convoluted that she's survived this long. Hell, I will also say that Ezra, Cal and Cere should be dead too. Thrawn's fleet should have crushed the Rebels on Lothal and Vader should have killed Cal and Cere in Fallen Order. No one but Obi-Wan, Yoda and the Twins should be left alive from the Jedi. Luke is the Last Jedi for a reason. I came up with an emotional death for Ahsoka in Order 66, Rex kills her and then Rex kills himself. But for sure if Ahsoka survived Order 66, she should have died against Vader in Twilight Of The Apprentice. She should have died against Vader, it would solidify him as the monster that he is at this point in time: the one that can only be saved by his son who in turn would be saved by him. It took away all the tension and emotion by using World Between Worlds in bringing Ahsoka back. Filoni pulled a Moffat by having a dead character come back to life an episode/season later. Kind of insulting. Like imagine if Leia used WBW to prevent Alderaan’s destruction or imagine if Luke used it to stop Anakin’s fall. Yes it would be satisfying to prevent a tragedy, but for story purposes it takes away the tension and the monstrosity of the Empire. I think it would have been a good end if she was killed by Vader. In their fight she even says "I won't leave you, not this time!", but then time travels out of them and never tries to go to him again. I don't really know what they'll do with her, she isn't mentioned once in the sequels by Luke, so seems unlikely they met up. I don't think there is much they can do with her, not to mention its now dumb that she didn't turn up in the OT. Better she get killed by Vader in a poignant death scene. With her lamenting she couldn't give Anakin a proper burial with Padme much less kill Vader. Then Ahsoka appeared in THe Mandalorian. Good moment, but you are telling your new audience they need to watch your animated shows in order to even know who this character even is. Also it’s kind of insulting Ahsoka lived this long. And honestly Ahsoka living past Order 66 and past the Galactic Empire is the epidemy of refusing to let go and let your oc die. I've said countless times how Ahsoka has surpassed her expiration date and I stand by my point. For Ahsoka to survive all the way up to TROS is both baffling and insulting and it implies that Ahsoka stood by and did not help Luke with Ben. It implies she stood by and did nothing while The First Order was reigning and only waited until the last minute for the Emperor to return. Like Filoni confirmed she wasn't a force ghost, so it's just baffling she lived this long and Filoni should've just let go. She outlived the Empire AND the Skywalkers since Filoni said Ahsoka isn’t dead(good god man let her go) It's clear at this point that Dave Filoni doesn't know when to let go of her as a character. I like her, but It's kind of insane to me that she's now a part of all 3 eras of Star Wars. George Lucas wanted Ahsoka to die at the end of The Clone Wars, but Filoni somehow convinced him that she should live. Ahsoka Tano is a lot like The Simpsons. Great at first, but now I just roll my eyes at her existence. Ahsoka has been overexposed and it shows. She's a great character, but she's just become as overexposed as Maul was.

I also would include these videos about Filoni to my critiques

youtube

#Star Wars #Anti Filoni #Anti Dave Filoni #Anakin Skywalker #Clone Troopers #Boba Fett #Barriss Offee #General Grievous #Obi Wan Kenobi #Darth Maul #Ahsoka Tano #Alpha 17 #Captain Fordo #Delta Squad

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milfglupshitto · 1 year

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“Do you have to do that?” “I find it tends to bypass unnecessary conversation.”

Thrawn (2017), Timothy Zahn

happy last day of 2022! ringing in the new year by challenging myself to take a stab at an idea I've had for a while, a collage overlay of this panel from David Mazzucchelli's graphic novel Asterios Polyp:

#eyestrain #ask to tag #my art #undescribed #IDs will be added shortly #don't look to closely at this one folks. I've used photopea twice in as many years #nevertheless! still proud of the execution #thrawn 2017

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rachelkolar · 1 year

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2022 wasn't as killer a year for books as 2021, but I don't know how it could be; 2021 was my introduction to Clive Barker, Livia Llewellyn, and especially the Kushiel books, which made me wail "Where have you been?!" like Molly Grue. I still had no trouble putting together my top ten first-time reads and a couple of honorable mentions. There are so many good books, y’all!

Alphabetical by author:

Watership Down by Richard Adams, read by Peter Capaldi. This was technically a reread, but it didn't click for me at all when I read it in eighth grade. Boy howdy, it clicked this time. It's a classic for a reason, and Capaldi nails the narration.

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke. This is the only time I ever finished a book, flipped back to the beginning, and immediately read it again. I was crying at the end without quite knowing why. Just gorgeous and moving and wonderful.

Die by Kieron Gillen. Basically a hard R graphic novel of the 80s Dungeons & Dragons cartoon with some fascinating meditation on TTRPGS in general. It disappears up its own butt a bit, but it's still terrific.

Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro. This is everything I wanted AI: Artificial Intelligence to be.

Curse of Dracula by Kathryn Ann Kingsley. This is sort of the catch-all for my discovering Kingsley this year; I read *eight* of her books. She's my exact horror romance sweet spot for when I want a bit of creepiness and a lot of swoon. Sometimes you just want Phantom of the Opera where Eric gets the girl, okay? (Although that's more Impossible Julian Strande than Dracula, but how am I supposed to say no to well-done vampire smut?)

Boys Life by Robert McCammon. I did a trivia special about the Stoker Awards in October, so I read a *lot* of Stoker winners this year, and this was the best. Bradbury-like dark fantasy dripping with nostalgia. I cried twice. (CW: a dog and a child die)

The Call by Peadar O'Guilin. I freaking loved this book. Body horror plus the Wild Hunt? Yes please! Also, while this is coming from someone whose only physical disability is terrible eyesight, Nessa is possibly the best disabled character I've ever read. She has polio, and the book is crystal clear on two points: this *doesn't* mean the Wild Hunt is going to kill her immediately, but it's *horrible* for her chances. We never get any "if she works hard, then by cracky, she may as well not be disabled at all!", but it's always clear that she has a chance and anyone who says otherwise can kiss off.

Kings Rising by C.S. Pacat. When I was on a heavy Thrawn kick last winter, I asked r/romancebooks to recommend a book with a Thrawn-like love interest, and some saint mentioned this. Laurent isn't quite Thrawn–imagine Thrawn's angry teenage brother–but whew, he's close enough. The whole trilogy is good, but the power dynamics are so delicious in the third one that it wins the day. (CW: the first book has noncon, and there's repeated mention of childhood sexual abuse, although none on screen. The villain is into that sort of thing.)

Fevered Star by Rebecca Roanhorse. Black Sun was one of my favorite reads of 2020, and this is a worthy sequel. It even made me like Naranpa!

The Hidden Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab. Just…gorgeous. I loved this one.

Honorable mentions: Starless by Jacqueline Carey (speaking of great disabled characters), Prairie Fires by Caroline Fraser (the true story of Little House on the Prairie), NPCs by Drew Hayes (just a blast), Pride and Protest by Nikki Payne (a fun, spicy modernization that had me laughing out loud), and Clown in a Cornfield by Adam Cesare (a gory romp that dares to ask: what if there were a clown in a cornfield?).

#best books of the year #best books of 2022 #amreading #piranesi #ve schwab #kathryn ann kingsley #horror novels #romancelandia #fantasy novels #kieron gillen #graphic novels #captive prince #cs pacat #rebecca roanhorse #watership down #klara and the sun #stoker awards

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strwrs · 2 years

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I’m enjoying the Death Star book, it’s fun you get some new characters and explore more stuff before a new hope

Legends are fun because authors just went nuts with everything because George Lucas said go ahead

Legends thrawn novels are really good and fun to read. Mara Jade is also introduced in one of those books. I haven’t exactly gotten to the later legends books. I have jumped around a bit. Also just wanted to read more of thrawn-love him.

Yoda Dark Rendevous was so good. It’s a peek into Yoda’s relationship with Dooku and that’s really interesting and kinda heartbreaking ngl. In addition to Yoda being wise and stuff you also do see yoda’s gremlin side and it’s so fucking funny.

Labyrinth of Evil is also really good. It’s taking place like right before revenge of the Sith. It’s also the first book in the Dark Lord trilogy: labyrinth of evil, the revenge of the Sith by mat strover, and then the rise of darth vader. I recommend all of them.

Labyrinth of Evil is the one with one of the most heartbreaking lines Obi-Wan has said after Anakin asked “And you Master? What does your heart tell you you’re meant for?”

And obi wan replies with a smile “infinite sadness.”

I really loved the Old Republic books and seeing the Sith at the height of their power, it’s just so interesting. The Darth Bane trilogy gives background on that infamous Sith and kinda sets up what Sidious does later on and introduces the rule of two.

There’s like at least two (so far that I’m aware of) zombie related books. So that’s interesting. Dark and graphic for sure. Just be aware of that. Red Harvest and Death Troopers are the books in case you’d rather avoid that.

There’s a Revan book that’s an addition to the game he was in. Love Revan he’s awesome.

There’s a Darth Maul book where he’s in prison and that’s fun to read. It’s called Lockdown.

Shatterpoint was really interesting, what happened to Depa was fucked up but exploring Mace Windu’s character was fun.

The Republic Commando books are fun and explore the thoughts and feelings of troopers. Before, during, and after order 66.

There’s also a two-part series called Gambit and Siege that takes place during the clone wars. Centers around Anakin and Obi-Wan.

aahhhhh tysm for these recs omg!!!!

yesss thrawn, my beloved!! i have heir to the empire rn, and it has been staring at me from my bookshelf lmao. can't wait to read the legends thrawn novels!!!!

ooohh yoda dark rendezvous sounds v interesting... gotta love the frog grandpa <3.

and labyrinth of evil is another one i have!! AND OH MY GOSH I DIDN'T REALIZE IT WAS PART OF A TRILOGY WITH THE ROTS NOVEL. I'VE GOTTA READ RISE OF DARTH VADER TOO OMG.

i am writing all of these down on my to-read list!!!! thank you so so so much; this was genuinely so helpful, and i loved reading what you thought about all of these books <33

#ty ty ty ty nonnie <333 #ask #anonymous #sw recs #<- so i can find it later if i need to!! :)

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nekobakaz · 2 years

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Last Books That...

Book Questions -- tagged by @jedihlaalu

:3 (please excuse the irregular italics, Tumblr being Tumblr) (also yes, I have been reading a lot of Star Wars lately)

Last book I...

bought: do preorders count? If so, then Zachary Ying and the Dragon Emperor by Xiran Jay Zhao. If not then Star Wars: Thrawn: Acendancy: Chaos Rising by Tim Zahn.

borrowed: a stack of Star Wars graphic novels, and Star Wars: Aftermath: Empire's End.

was gifted: .... The Doctor Who Fooled the World by Brian Deer. If you're familiar with the shit that happens in "Autism Moms" Facebook groups, it's EXACTLY the doctor you're thinking about.

gave/lent to someone: I've lent out some of my Jonathan L Howard books, lemme check which ones... Johannes Cabal the Necromancer, both books for The Russalka Chronicles, and both books for the Carter and Lovecraft series. huh... I kinda want those back...

started: Star Wars: Aftermath: Empire's End.

finished: Star Wars: Aftermath: Life Debt

gave five stars: hmmm, Xiran Jay Zhao's Iron Widow. I literally screamed when I finished it, and then lay on my bed crying.

gave two stars: I'm honestly trying to think of a book, but coming up empty. Star Wars: Alphabet Squadron maybe?

didn’t finish: the second Alphabet Squadron book. I love seeing glimpses of Hera, but idk, the book just wasn't my cup of tea. I'll probably try it again later. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Tagging: random people from my activity feed: @thebergeronprocess, @handbaskethell, @kieraoona, @anotherchariotpulledbycats, and @datasoong47, and anyone who wants to :) No pressure though

#book recommendations #tag game

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riachuelowii · 3 months

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just read the Thrawn: Alliances graphic novel, Thrawn is so babygirl material ngl

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p12lysanderdelanne · 4 months

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i went into a music shop today for a ghost album but forgot if i already had the albums they had in stock and came out with a sailor neptune cucumber soda and the star war thrawn graphic novel instead

#great success (???)#back on my bullshit #working on a big wip rn #and it needs to be PERFECT #so it'll be out when its out #the band ghost #sailor moon #star wars

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readtilyoudie · 1 year

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Star Wars: Thrawn

#manga(visual)monday #star wars: thrawn #jody houser #luke ross #grand admiral thrawn #darth sidious #emperor palpatine #anakin skywalker #eli vanto #star wars #fantasy #sci-fi #graphic novel

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monkeyjaw · 4 months

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Year in Review (by way of books) 2023

Books and Comics/Graphic Novels 2023

January

The Doubtful Guest – Edward Gorey (illustrated book/graphic novel)

The Promised Neverland: Volume 6 – Kaiu Shirai, Posuka Demizu(manga)

The City and the City – China Mieville

Sandman Volume 6: Fables and Reflections – Neil Gaiman, various artists (graphic novel)

Sandman Volume 7: Brief Lives – Neil Gaiman, Jill Thompson, Vince Locke (graphic novel)

The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglas – Frederick Douglas, read by Charles Turner

The Sandman Volume 8: World’s End – Neil Gaiman, various artists (graphic novel)

The Bartimaeus Trilogy 2: The Golem’s Eye – Jonathan Stroud

The Man Who Fell To Earth – Dan Watters, Dev Pramanik (graphic novel)

The Carpet People – Terry Pratchett, read by Stephen Briggs

Hikaru no Go Volume 15: Sayanara – Takeshi Obata, Yumi Hotta (manga)

Hikaru no Go Volume 16: The Chinese Go Association – Takeshi Obata, Yumi Hotta (manga)

Witch Hat Atelier Volume 1 – Kamome Shirahama (manga)

February

The Sandman Volume 9: The Kindly Ones – Neil Gaiman, Marc Hemple, various artists (graphic novel)

Titus Groan – Mervyn Peake, read by Simon Vance

Paper Girls Volume 3 – Brian K. Vaughan, Cliff Chiang (graphic novel)

Beastars Volume 1 – Paru Itagaki (manga)

Revenge of the Librarians – Tom Gauld (graphic novel)

Lucifer Volume 1: Devil in the Gateway – Mike Carey, Peter Gross (graphic novel)

Saint Young Men Volume 1 – Hikaru Nakamura (manga)

The Sandman Volume 10: The Wake – Neil Gaiman, Michael Zulli, Jon Muth, Charles Vess (graphic novel)

Hikaru no Go Volume 17: A Familiar Face – Takeshi Obata, Yumi Hotta (manga)

Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand – Helen Simonson

Beastars Volume 2 – Paru Itagaki (manga)

Woman World – Aminder Dhaliwal (graphic novel)

Black Paradox – Junji Ito (manga)

Beastars Volume 3 – Paru Itagaki (manga)

March

Lucifer Volume 2: Children & Monsters – Mike Carey, Peter Gross, Ryan Kelly (graphic novel)

Doomsday Book – Connie Willis, read by Jenny Sterlin

Moonshadow – J.M. DeMatteis, Jon J. Muth, Kent Williams (graphic novel)

The Magic Fish – Trung Le Nguyen (graphic novel)

Sleepless Volume 2 – Sarah Vaughn, Leila Del Luca (graphic novel)

The Monkey Prince Volume 1: Enter the Monkey – Gene Luen Yang, Bernard Chang (graphic novel)

Unbroken – Lauren Hillenbrand, read by Edward Hermann

Thrawn: Ascendancy 2: The Greater Good – Timothy Zahn, read by Marc Thompson

Thud! – Terry Pratchett, read by Stephen Briggs

April

Operation Mincemeat – Ben McIntyre

Beastars Volume 4 – Paru Itagaki (manga)

Parasyte Volume 2 – Hitoshi Iwaaki (manga)

Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand – Helen Simonson

The Promised Neverland Volume 7 – Kaiu Shirai, Posuka Demizu (manga)

Parasyte Volume 3 – Hitoshi Iwaaki (manga)

The Wheel of Time Bk 4: The Shadow Rising – Robert Jordan

Twig – Skottie Young, Skyle Strahm (graphic novel)

Spring Rain: a graphic memoir – Andy Warner (graphic novel)

The Multiversity – Grant Morrison, various artists (graphic novel)

The Promised Neverland Volume 8 – Kaiu Shirai, Posuka Demizu (manga)

Goldie Vance Volume 2 – Hope Larson, Jackie Ball, Brittney Williams (graphic novel)

Team of Rivals (Abridged) – Doris Kearns Goodwin, read by Richard Thomas

Stretching the Heavens – Terry L. Givens

May

The Promised Neverland Volume 9 – Kaiu Shirai, Posuka Demizu (manga)

Parasyte Volume 4 – Hitoshi Iwaaki (manga)

Parasyte Volume 5 – Hitoshi Iwaaki (manga)

Conan Volume 1 – Robert E. Howard, L. Sprage De Camp, Lin Carter

Parasyte Volume 6 – Hitoshi Iwaaki (manga)

The Promised Neverland Volume 10 – Kaiu Shirai, Posuka Demizu (manga)

Penric’s Demon – Lois McMaster Bujold, read by Grove Gardner

Kamen Rider: The Classic Manga Collection - Shōtarō Ishinomori, translated by Kumar Sivasubramanian (manga)

Parasyte Volume 7 – Hitoshi Iwaaki (manga)

Shuna’s Journey – Hayao Miyazaki, translated by Alex Dudok de Wit (manga)

Parasyte Volume 8 – Hitoshi Iwaaki (manga)

Maggy Garrison – Lewis Trondheim, Stephane Oiry (graphic novel)

Double Cross – Ben McIntyre

The Promised Neverland Volume 11 – Kaiu Shirai, Posuka Demizu (manga)

June

The Promised Neverland Volume 12 – Kaiu Shirai, Posuka Demizu (manga)

The Promised Neverland Volume 13 – Kaiu Shirai, Posuka Demizu (manga)

My Hero Academia Volume 1 – Kohei Horikoshi (manga)

Think Again – Adam Grant

Adventure Game Comics Volume 1: Leviathan – Jason Shiga (graphic novel)

Ranma ½ Volume 35 – Rumiko Takahashi (manga)

Ranma ½ Volume 36 – Rumiko Takahashi (manga)

The Promised Neverland Volume 14 – Kaiu Shirai, Posuka Demizu (manga)

Thrawn Ascendancy Volume 3: Lesser Evil – Timothy Zahn, read by Marc Thompson

Leviathan Wakes – James S.A. Corey

The Man Without Talent – Yoshitsaru Tsuge (manga)

July

A Bride’s Story Volume 3 – Kaoru Mori (manga)

The Promised Neverland Volume 15 – Kaiu Shirai, Posuka Demizu (manga)

The Promised Neverland Volume 16 – Kaiu Shirai, Posuka Demizu (manga)

Almost American Girl – Robin Ha (graphic novel)

The Woman Who Smashed Codes – Jason Fagone

The Swamp – Yoshiharu Tsuge (manga)

The Wheel of Time Book 5: The Fires of Heaven – Robert Jordan

A Bride’s Story Volume 4 – Kaoru Mori (manga)

Pulp – Ed Brubaker, Sean Phillips (graphic novel)

Locke & Key: Small World – Joe Hill, Gabriel Rodriguez (graphic novel)

Breaking Cat News – Georgia Dunn (graphic novel)

August

Labyrinth Coronation Vol 1 – Ryan Ferrier, Simon Spurrier, Daniel Bayliss (graphic novel)

A Bride’s Story Volume 5 – Kaoru Mori (manga)

Worst Journey In the World Volume 1 – Sara Airress (graphic novel)

Best American Comics 2016 – various artists, writers, edited by Roz Chast (graphic novel)

Labyrinth Coronation Volume 2 – Ryan Ferrier, Simon Spurrier, Daniel Bayliss (graphic novel)

Hikaru no Go Volume 19: One Step Forward! – Takeshi Obata, Yumi Hotta (manga)

Hikaru no Go Volume 20: The Young Lions – Takeshi Obata, Yumi Hotta (manga)

Thirsty Mermaids – Kat Leyh (graphic novel)

Criminal: Coward – Ed Brubaker, Sean Phillips (graphic novel)

Parable of the Sower – Octavia E. Butler, read by Lynne Thigpen

Hikaru no Go Volume 21: Great Expectations – Takeshi Obata, Yumi Hotta (manga)

Hikaru no Go Volume 22: China vs. Japan – Takeshi Obata, Yumi Hotta (manga)

Hikaru no Go Volume 23: Endgame – Takeshi Obata, Yumi Hotta (manga)

Dead Boy Detectives Vol. 1: Schoolboy Terrors – Toby Litt, Mark Buckingham, Gary Erskine (graphic novel)

Dead Boy Detectives Vol 2: Ghost Snow – Toby Litt, Mark Buckingham, Gary Erskine (graphic novel)

Seek You – Kristen Radtke (graphic novel)

John Constantinte Hellblazer Volume 2: The Devil You Know – Jamie Delano, David Lloyd, Richard Piers Rayner (graphic novel)

September

Once & Future Volume 5: The Wasteland – Kieron Gillen, Dan Mora (graphic novel)

The Once and Future Witches – Alix Harrow

The Sandman Presents: The Deadboy Detectives – Ed Brubaker, Bryan Talbot, Steve Leialoha (graphic novel)

Batman: The Doom That Came To Gotham – Mike Mignola, Richard Pace, Troy Nixey, Dennis Janke (graphic novel)

Free Country: A Tale of the Children’s Crusade – Neil Gaiman, various writers, artists (graphic novel)

Man’s Search For Meaning – Victor E. Frankl, read by Simon Vance

John Constantine Hellblazer Volume 1: Original Sins – Jamie Delano, Mark Buckingham, Richard Piers Rayner (graphic novel)

Can’t We Talk About Something More Pleasant? – Roz Chast (graphic novel)

Edge of Spider-Verse – Dan Slott, Jason Latour, various artists/writers (graphic novel)

Spider-Gwen Volume 1: Greater Power – Jason Latour, Robbi Rodriguez (graphic novel)

John Constatine Hellblazer Volume 3: The Fear Machine – Jamie Delano, Alfredo Alcala, Mark Buckingham, Mike Hoffman (graphic novel)

Cosmic Odyssey – Jim Starlin, Mike Mignola, Carlos Garzon (graphic novel)

October

The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr. –edited by Clayborne Carson, read by LeVar Burton

Spider-Women – Robbie Thompson, Jason Latour, various artists (graphic novel)

Spider-Gwen Volume 2: Weapon of Choice – Jason Latour, Robbi Rodriguez (graphic novel)

Gender Queer – Maia Kubata (graphic novel)

Black Orchid Book 1 – Neil Gaiman, Dave McKean (graphic novel)

Black Orchid Book 2 – Neil Gaiman, Dave McKean (graphic novel)

Black Orchid Book 3 – Neil Gaiman, Dave McKean (graphic novel)

Tombs – Junji Ito (manga)

Locke & Key: The Golden Age – Joe Hill, Gabriel Rodriguez (graphic novel)

Wraith – Joe Hill, Charles Paul Wilson III (graphic novel)

A Great and Terrible King – Marc Morris, read by Ralph Lister

The Birds and Don’t Look Now – Daphne du Maurier, read by Peter Capaldi

My Lesbian Experience With Loneliness – Nagata Kabi (manga)

Spider-Gwen Volume 3: Long-Distance – Jason Latour, Robbi Rodriguez (graphic novel)

The Birds & Other Stories – Daphne du Maurier

November

John Constantine Hellblazer Volume 4: The Family Man – Jamie Delano, Grant Morrison, various artists (graphic novel)

The Feng Shui Detective Agency – Nury Vittachi

Delicious in Dungeon Volume 1 – Ryoko Kui (manga)

The Saga of Swamp Thing Volume 1 – Alan Moore, Stephen Bisette, John Totleben (graphic novel)

Spider-Verse – Dan Slott, various writers/artists (graphic novel)

Breakfast With Socrates – Robert Rowland Smith

Harleen – Stjepan Sejic (graphic novel)

Spider-Gwen Volume 4: Predators – Jason Latour, Robbi Rodriguez (graphic novel)

Spider-Gwen Volume 5: Gwenom – Jason Latour, Robbi Rodriguez (graphic novel)

Flipped – Wendelin Van Draanen

American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer – Kai Bird, Martin J. Sherwin, read by Jeff Cummings

Spider-Man, Spider-Gwen: Sitting in a Tree – Brian Michael Bendis, Jason Latour, Sara Pichelli, Robbi Rodriguez (graphic novel)

December

John Constantine Hellblazer Volume 5: Dangerous Habits – Garth Ennis, Jamie Delano, various artists (graphic novel)

My Solo Exchange Diary Volume 1 – Nagata Kabi (manga)

Birds of Prey Volume 1 – Chuck Dixon, Jordan B. Gorfinkel, various artists (graphic novel)

My Solo Exchange Diary Volume 2 – Nagata Kabi (manga)

Shuna’s Journey – Hayao Miyazaki, translated by Alex Dudok de Wit (manga)

When Stars Are Scattered – Victoria Jemison, Omar Mohamed (graphic novel)

My Alcoholic Escape From Reality – Nagata Kabi (manga)

Dune Messiah – Frank Herbert, read by Simon Vance, Euan Morton, Scott Brick, Katherine Kellgren

Smoke Bitten (Mercy Thompson #12) - Patricia Briggs

Lore Olympus Volume 1 – Rachel Smythe (graphic novel)

Diary of a Young Girl – Anne Frank, read by Selma Blair

Lore Olympus Volume 2 – Rachel Smythe (graphic novel)

Spider-Gwen Volume 6: The Life of Gwen Stacy – Jason Latour, Robbi Rodriguez (graphic novel)

Hungry Ghosts – Anthony Bourdain, Joel Rose, various artists (graphic novel)

I read 156 books and graphic novels in 2023. 119 graphic novels, 37 books. 25 non-fiction, 131 fiction. 69 graphic novels, 50 graphic mangas. 15 re-reads.

Starting in March with Unbroken, I started reading a number of books about World War II. I think I had, as ever a goal to read more non-fiction and since there are so many books on the 2 World Wars, they are often the ones that I’m able to check out from the library without a super long wait list. Then Oppenheimer came out this summer so I was more intrigued and decided to read the basis for the film (which is atypical for me outside of comics). Following Unbroken I read a few spy books, Operation Mincemeat and Double Cross in May by Ben McIntyre that were super interesting.

I had previously read The Confidence Men about 2 British POWs from WWI who escaped a Turkish POW camp by (among other things) a Ouija board. I had started reading The Diary of Anne Frank/Diary of a Young Girl sometime this past year I think and finally finished it near the end of the year and Victor Frankl’s Man’s Search For Meaning in October. I started listening to The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich in November or December and read for my family’s book club The Woman Who Smashed Codes about Elizabeth Friedman and her husband who developed cryptology in the US between World War I and II and was treated pretty wretchedly by the US government for her efforts. This was in no small part due to J. Edgar Hoover, who seems to be more and more a villain every time I have the misfortune of encountering him in books and other media.

A manga series I had started last year, The Promised Neverland, I’m close to finishing (I believe there are 20 volumes, which isn’t super long for a manga series. Full Metal Alchemist is 20-something volumes if I remember correctly) and I finally finished Hikaru no Go about a teenager who accidentally finds himself competing in the Japanese game Go due to a haunted Go board in his grandfather’s attic. A web comic that my wife got me interested in, Lore Olympus, retells the story of Persephone and Hades with a combination of contemporary and antiquity culture. The comic is broken up into “seasons” and the second season was recently finished so I wanted to read up to that point while waiting for the end of the third season. Unfortunately, it was long enough ago that I had read up to the end of the first season I ended up having to start over. But this was good as there were a number of things I caught the second time through and appreciated more on a re-read.

I also read the 4th and 5th Wheel of Time books for the second time this past year, which was an interesting experience. There were a lot of things I remembered incorrectly because of the 25ish years since I read them initially. I don’t think I’m going to read the entire series all the way through again, but I might read book 6. I finished re-reading The Sandman (partly due to the release of the Netflix series) and went on a kick of other Vertigo (an imprint of DC Comics that focused on non-superhero books, more adult and more creator-controlled that is now largely if not entirely defunct) titles (the Dead Boy Detectives, Hellblazer, Swamp Thing). Don’t know where I’ll go with that. Also read a decent amount of Spider-Verse comics (mostly Spider-Gwen but one big crossover book that was sort of the culmination of the Spider-Verse storylines (I think?)) that was interesting. Spider-Gwen is a great comic that has yet to lead to the frustration I felt with the later Miles Morales books.

Nagata Kabi’s memoirs about self-esteem, her fraught relationship with her parents, alcoholism and eating problems is both interesting and very frustrating. I am very lucky to not have hardly any of her emotional, mental and health issues that are wound up together but reading her mangas it is hard not to want to shake her when she seems to recover from one life-threatening catastrophe only to work herself into another. I’m morbidly curious about her later volumes about pancreatitis.

Lastly, there were some books on Arthur and some non-fiction or books by African-American authors that I had intended to start or finish that I’m dragging my heels on. We’ll see what happens in the next year with that.

#books #reading #graphic novels #manga #memoir

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