Bat Appreciation Day | Batman Comics

Hey guys! So according to Holiday Insights, today is Bat Appreciation Day. Now, they definitely meant it as a day to appreciate boring old, regular bats. BUT as soon as I saw it, I immediately thought of Batman (I mean, what else would I think about?). So I thought it’d be fun to share some of my favorite Batman comics/story lines/etc. with you. Definitely know that this list is NOT meant to represent ALL of the best Batman comics out there, because there are a ton of Batman comics. These are just 8 of my favorite Batman comics and graphic novels.

8 Awesome Batman Comics

Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth by Grant Morrison, illustrated by Dave McKean

A Death in the Family by Jim Starlin, penciller: Jim Aparo, inker: Mike DeCarlo

The Long Halloween by Jeph Loeb, illustrated by Time Sale

The Killing Joke by Alan Moore, illustrated by Brian Bolland

Batman & Robin – Batman Reborn by Grant Morrison

AND Peter J. Tomasi’s run)

The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller

Batman: Eternal by Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV, and more

So happy Bat Appreciation Day! Have you guys read any of these Batman comics? 

Top Ten Tuesday: Ten Comics for Readers who would LIKE to try them

Top Ten TuesdayTop Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by the Broke and the Bookish. For today’s theme we had to choose a topic and give ten books for readers who liked that topic (Ten Books For Readers Who Like _________). I’ve decided to put a little spin on this and I’m going with:

Ten comics for readers who would like to try them

I know it’s kind of cheating, but as I did my freebie TTT post on Reasons to Read Comics, I thought I’d actually give you some comics to read! Please note that I have only been reading comics for approximately seven months, so my list is obviously not exhaustive nor am I say I’m an expert comic reader. If you have more suggestions, please feel free to leave them in the comments! I’m always looking for more to read. I’m going to link to some of my reviews, but I kind of cringe at them now – my comics reviews have improved as my reading and understanding of them have grown. These are in the order in which I first read them:

Saga Volume 1Saga – When I first told my branch manager at the library (who is a HUGE comics reader) that I wanted to try comics, he shoved the first trade of Saga at me. The very first line was “Am I shitting?” and I cracked up. Saga is a huge, sweeping fantasy about a war between a planet and its moon and the consequences of two people falling in love when they shouldn’t. But it’s also offensive, hilarious, weird, and super awesome. I know have Saga on my pull list at my comic book shop. [volume 1] I [volume 2] I [volume 3]

The Walking Dead – I love TWD so much that it had its own reason on that TTT post I linked to above. I devoured all 20 (at that time) trades – including buying several that were not in my library’s system because some jerk stole them – and I’m pretty sure it was the first comic I added to my pull list. It’s incredible, you guys. [volume 1] I [volume 2] I [volume 3]

Batman: Arkham Asylum – This is one of those books that as you read it, you feel as if you’re going crazy with the characters. I’m still (six months later) not really sure what I even read, but I love it. It’s also illustrated by the absolutely amazing Dave McKean who creates dark, bizarre, incredible illustrations. My super newbie review is on WPR.

Batman and Robin #39Batman and Robin – Okay, I’m going to attempt to tone down the obsession here because I could go do a whole post about how much I love Damian Wayne, you guys. In case you weren’t aware, that’s Bruce Wayne’s son, and he’s the focus of this Batman and Robin series I’m talking about. He’s such a sassy, stubborn, smug little punk, but he also just wants to live up to his dad and he loves his dog and…ugh. I love him. And not in a weird way. Just in a “I completely love this character and Patrick Gleason draws him SO perfectly” kind of way. He’s such a fun character to read each month.

Bodies – This mini-run from Si Spencer and Vertigo just ended and I’m still a little sad because of that, BUT this series is a whirlwind of craziness, timelines, open-mindedness, and I would highly recommend it. Seriously, the trade comes out soon and you need it. You can read all of my reviews for all eight issues (as well as my interview with Si) on WatchPlayRead.

Chew – So I’ve only read the first ten issues of this one (waiting on my hold to come in!), but it’s so freaking weird but totally awesome, you guys. It’s about a guy who can tell where ANYTHING came from and what happened to it right before it died – so when he eats chicken he can how it died. Doesn’t that sound sucky? Yeah. BUT then he gets recruited to work in this special police department where he takes “samples” of PEOPLE to find out how they died. EW. But it’s so funny and odd too.

Wild’s End – Marketed as a mix of War of the World and A. A. Milne. If that doesn’t sound like something you want to read, just move on to the next one. If you stuck around, WHAT?! Doesn’t that sound amazing?? It was. It was only a six issue mini run but it was full of so much Britishness and I just love it.

Through the Woods coverThrough the Woods – I reviewed this one on the blog. It’s creepy and dark and so so good.

Thor – The new Thor is a freaking woman, ladies and gentlemen (mostly ladies)! If that doesn’t sound appealing to you, boo on you. It’s a really cool story so far and I’m enjoying seeing new Thor and male-Thor who’s no longer worthy of Mjolnir duke it out.

Superior Iron Man – Tony Stark’s mind has been messed with and his already present arrogance and intelligence have been amplified. He believes he needs to make the world a smarter and more beautiful place – by hooking SanFran’s residents on a drug that makes them smarter and prettier. Fun times.

Do you read comics? What other books would you recommend? If you are interested in seeing more comics I’ve read, you can head over to WatchPlayRead to read my reviews

WWW Wednesday [9] – A Thousand Pieces of You, The Book of Strange New Things, & Comics

WWW Wednesdays are hosted by Should Be Reading. To play along, just answer the following three questions: (As always, all titles are linked to their corresponding Goodreads pages)

  • A Thousand Pieces of YouWhat are you currently reading?

A Thousand Pieces of You by Claudia Gray. I’ll be starting this one today so I don’t have too much to say about it yet. I’ve heard mixed things but several people I trust have said they loved it. I’m looking forward to starting it.

  • The Book of Strange New ThingsWhat did you recently finish reading?

I finished Michel Faber’s The Book of Strange New Things yesterday. It wasn’t at all what I expected, but I really, really enjoyed it. More literary than I usually read, but it was refreshing and a nice change from my norm. I’ll be reviewing it next week.

  • What do you think you’ll read next?Batman and Robin Lego Variant

I haven’t decided yet. I’ve just started my current read, so I don’t know what I’ll feel like after, but I have a big stack of new comics that I’ll probably dive into after my current book. I’ve got the latest issues of Gotham Academy, Memetic, Thor, Superior Iron Man, Batman and Robin, Fiction Squad, Arkham Manor, and a few others I can’t think of right now. So I’ll be reading all of those next.

What are you reading?

WWW Wednesday [5]

WWW Wednesdays are hosted by Should Be Reading. To play along, just answer the following three questions: (As always, all titles are linked to their corresponding Goodreads pages)

  • What are you currently reading?The Young Elites

I just started Marie Lu’s The Young Elites last night. I’m only a few chapters in but I am already loving it. Her writing is amazing, and already the world-building is incredible. I hope to have time to read a good chunk of it at work today (oh the perks of working at a library!). I’m so glad it won my little what-to-read-next poll! 🙂

  • What did you recently finish reading?

Get HappyI recently finished (and reviewed) Mary Amato’s Get Happy, which I was quite impressed with – check out my review for more on that. I also read (and reviewed on WatchPlayRead) the first issue of the new Edward Scissorhands comic, which I also quite liked. I read the latest issue of The Walking Dead (always good), Batman and Robin (freaking awesome), and a few others. I’ve had a good few days of reading.

  • What do you think you’ll read next?Afterworlds

I think I’ll probably read Scott Westerfeld’s Afterworlds. It was the other book in my what-to-read-next poll and it lost, but after I finish The Young Elites, I’ll probably check that one out. I’m looking forward to that one as well. I’ve heard some mixed things about it, but I haven’t ever really had a problem with Scott Westerfeld, so I’m sure I’ll like it.

What about you? Link  me up to your WWW Wednesday post or tell me your answers in the comments!

Bout of Books 11: Wrap Up!

This past week I participated in my second Bout of Books read-a-thon. I really enjoyed it, just like last time, and I exceeded my goals which is super exciting!

Bout of Books 11

Here are my goals with how I completed them!

– Read two novels: I read The Girl from the Well by Rin Chupeco and The Geography of You and Me by Jennifer E. Smith (review this week). I also read half of The Truth about Alice by Jennifer Mathieu (review this week)
– Read five children’s books: Okay, I guess I didn’t meet this goal, but I read 4/5 so that’s pretty good. I read Jumanji by Chris Van Allsburg, Lost and Found and Up and Down by Oliver Jeffers, and Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst.
– Read at least three single issue comics: I read four issues of Batman and Robin and four issues of Batman, Incorporated!
– Read two trade paperbacks or graphic novels: I read Volumes 6-8 of The Walking Dead comics and Volume 1 of Chew
– Post reviews of at least half of what I read: I reviewed The Girl from the Well (review up later today), Through the WoodsChew over on WatchPlayReadOkay, not quite half, but I think I did pretty well.
– Participate in at least two Bout of Books challenges: These are linked to where you can find my entries. The Book Scavenger Hunt, The Book Spine Poetry Challenge, and The Spell It Out Challenge. Three challenges! Yay. All three of these were super fun.
– Participate in at least one Bout of Books Twitter chat: I participated in the chats on Monday and Saturday. The Twitter chats are a lot of fun and also super overwhelming, but I made some new blogger friends and gained some new followers. 🙂

The bottom line: Bout of Books is my favorite thing. I enjoy challenging myself to read more than I usually do in a week, and I’m really proud of myself for this week – I read 1,824 pages! That’s awesome. I exceeded my page count from last time and I met pretty much all of my goals. I’m looking forward to the next Bout of Books!