Reading List: January

Let this be a cautionary tale: too much TV will reduce the time you spend reading. Shocking, I know. Anyway, this month I haven't really read a lot. The reason is threefold, or maybe I should say there is only one reason: DVD sets. Three of them, to be precise. I spent January watching the complete third season of Lost, the complete fifth season of Scrubs, and the complete sixth season of The X-Files. No wonder I barely had time to read (or do anything else, for that matter). I still got some reading done, though:

Cañari, vol. 2: La última ola
The second installment in Crisse and Carlos Meglia's cool fantasy is lots of fun to read, and the artwork is simply gorgeous. Highly recommendable.

Sueños Coraline #1
I got this book because it's drawn by the great Terry Dodson, but there are two things that are different from his usual stuff: the artwork isn't inked, and there's lots of nudity. Regarding the story by D.P. Filippi, it's about a young woman who is hired to take care of a child. However, it turns out the boy is a genius, and has apparently invented some sort of device that allows him to make dreams come true… sort of. Drop-dead gorgeous artwork and an interesting story make this book a great read!

Dust: el Castillo Reicher
I already talked about this comic book here. Fun!

Promise of the Witch-King (The Sellswords, book II)
I didn't enjoy this book as much as the first one, which wasn't all that amazing to begin with. I doubt I'll ever read the third installment. I think I'm really, really tired of R.A. Salvatore's ultra detailed battle scenes. Quite repetitive and boring.

Un día de cólera
Arturo Pérez Reverte recreates the events that took place on May 2nd, 1808, in Madrid, Spain. It's a fun, gory story, very well told and with exquisite prose, but it ends up being a bit repetitive. Still very recommendable, though.

Divine Right, vol. 1
I re-read this comic book written and drawn by Jim Lee, and I still think it's a fun read. Lee is not the best writer in the business (not even close), and he tends to repeat himself maybe a bit too much. And still, Divine Right: The Adventures of Max Faraday (who, by the way, looks an awful lot like Fry from Futurama) is a fun romp that makes you laugh and keep turning the pages: monsters, slackers, hot babes, and weird magic going on. Who could ask for more?

B is for Burglar
The second book in Sue Grafton's alphabet mysteries, B is for Burglar is fun if sometimes a bit too predictable. Still, it's well written, and Grafton's creative and dead-on comparisons, sense of humor, and real-to-life dialogue deserve all the praise I can give them. I already have the third book!

Modern Masters Volume 14: Frank Cho
This book is basically a terrific 100-page long interview with Frank Cho conducted by Eric Nolen-Weathington. Cho discusses pretty much everything in his life and career, from his early days in college (and before!) to his latest gigs (Mighty Avengers) and future projects. If you are interested in knowing everything about this amazing artist, get this book. If you are interested in seeing lots of artwork by Cho, then get something else. And if you'd rather read his work instead of reading about it, do yourself a favor and go get Liberty Meadows.