Here’s the latest list.

Oh you want my opinion?  OK!

No surprises at all on any of the lists but there are some great recommendations here.  From the Hardback list -

#2 – BATMAN: BATTLE FOR THE COWL Do you miss the 2008 presidential election?  All that drama for one little shot at being the most powerful person in the world?  Well, yay, now you can see grown men duke it out for a bat cape.  Actually, it’s pretty intense but there are no shocks as to who takes it.

#4 – WOLVERINE: OLD MAN LOGAN I rewatched X-Men Origins: Wolverine and realized that it really is as bad as they say.  But it also reiterated what I already knew – if it’s got Wolverine in the title I’ll read/watch it about a million times.

#5 – GREEN LANTERN: AGENT ORANGE Geoff Johns really can’t do any wrong at this point can he?

#7 – THE WONDERFUL WIZARD OF OZ The stunning artwork in this novel make it a must have.   I want to cut it out and decoupage my walls with it.   Seriously.

From the manga side (I’m skipping the paperback list for the interest of time and most of them are old news anyway):

#1 – WARRIORS: RAVENPAW’S PATH, VOL. 1 The purists have to shut up a bit this week as a “global manga” or “original English language” book takes the top slot.  I don’t like this series but I hear kids love it.  So if you’re looking for a good graphic series (ties into the prose series) for a kid then there you go.

#10 – SOUL EATER, VOL. 1 I can’t tell how I feel about this series.  On the one hand it’s funny and silly and I like the spikey art.  On the other hand, it’s also juvenile, gross and unoriginal.  Still, I read it every month in Yen Press so there must be something there right?

*spoilers* – this post is filled with them so just be warned

Wolverine delivers big time on the mutants.  If I had one giant gripe it’s that there’s too much time spent on Logan being “human” and not enough time on Gambit.  Let’s get the whining out of the way.  Yes, the plot is full of holes and contrivances.  Like any moronic villian, Stryker can build a multi-million dollar experimentation lab but can’t get decent security.  Yes, the dialogue is kind of cheesy but what do you expect someone to say when he’s got the spine of another charater in his hand?  Are there really elequent words for that?  And yes, it is bizarre that Logan chooses the name Logan over Howlett seeing as he clearly views Howlett as his real, if not biological, father but a Wolverine named Howlett is just silly.  Hee, see it makes me giggle just thinking about it.  Finally, the nudity (and please don’t get me wrong, I appreciate nudity) was the sort where the character runs likes he’s trying to hide his junk and not like he’s fleeing for his life.  If you aren’t going to commit then just skip it all together.  Get a rubber speedo or something.

Let’s move on to talking about the good stuff.  Deadpool, played by Ryan Reynolds, was a nice surprise.  He was funny and seriously worked his blades.  He’s got one of the best scenes in the whole movie.  He also made a formidable opponant as Weapon XI.

Sabertooth a.k.a. Victor Creed was also pretty damn scary.  A definite far cry from the overly hairy, somewhat wussy Sabertooth in the first film.  Some have complained that in the first film Wolverine’s relationship with Sabertooth isn’t acknowledged; I think you can explain that by saying that Wolverine’s memory is gone and Sabertooth had bigger things to worry about. 

Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine is always good to see, even in the awful X-Men: Last Stand.  Whoever cast him deserves a medal.  He reminds me of Michael Keaton’s Batman.  Jackman manages to be both large and ferocious in one minute then small and hurting the next.  It would have been easy to cast someone like the Rock but Jackman brings a humanity and stillness to the character.  It serves him well here where Logan experiences his long and painful life prior to joing the X-Men.

Then there’s Gambit.  When he finally shows up he puts on a great show.  I was really curious to see how they would make throwing cards look badass and the answer is – by doing it.  They needed about 2 more hours of him though. 

The only female presence in the film, Silverfox, was nice and perky and good storyteller.  Kinda weak though.  Her power was persuasian which isn’t nearly as cool as being able to BAMPF!  I normally appreciate the time spent on developing relationships, especially romantic ones.  But, hello?  MUTANTS! 

There’s a lot of fun mutant cameos (watch for a young Xavier) and if nothing else you can walk out knowing that poor Cyclops had a strong but limiting power, even as a kid.

What do people have against the Flaming Lips?

Matthew Brady a.k.a Warren Peace breaks down this month’s awesome Shojo Beat.  Sand Chronicles is getting so intense I read on the way in from the mailbox.

Comics Should be Good reviews Nighschool which I would read if my subscription to Yen+ ever kicks in.  Grrrr.

MangaCast supplies a yaoi fix by telling me about Live for Love.

Comics Reporter reports that Wolverine: Prodigal Son is not so good.  Too bad.

Matthew Brady takes a break from reading Monster to review Slam Dunk.

Comics Worth Reading has a review of Wolverine: Inside the World of the Living Weapon,  or as Johanna calls it “Wolverine: the Bloody Red Book” cause it is certainly red.

I was pleasantly surprised by the Maximum Ride adaptation in Yen Plus and Ester Keller of Good Comics for Kids is also pleased with the whole volume.

Personally, I couldn’t even make it through one volume of Claymore but lucky for you, Rachel Brown made it through 9 volumes and loved it!

Read About Comics reads League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Century, 1910.  Alan Moore lost me with Black Dossier so I’m not sure I want to even attempt 1910.