Amy Reads the Week (of November 11th, 2007)

Apologies for the lateness of this column, Gentle Reader, as the Internet Reads was down yesterday evening.

I feel like I have spent much of my past four months apologizing for the General Hecticness of My Life, and Gentle Reader, I have owed you the Lion’s Share of those apologies. Yes, You, the Gen Pop of a Comic Book Collective of Fans. You, my Friends, who listen, willingly, patiently, intelligently, to my babblings about Television, or Comic Books, or Novels. You, my Friends, who send care packages and discs of television series (gratitude, Mr. Fanboy), comics and necklaces (gratitude, Rachel), who listen, cyber-wise, in-real-life-wise (gratitude, Friends Reads). This I am so thankful for.

And yet I persist in General Malaise, Malingering, Busy-work, any number of things that keep me from filling the days of Arrogant Self-Reliance's Constant Readers with High Prose of the Popular Culture Variety. For this, I apologize, slightly teasingly, but in most sincerity.

Slightly teasing, of course, Friends, but I am teasing myself for my persistence in the busy-ness of my life. And to prove this, I glanced recently through my ever-increasingly-tall stack of Unread Comics and bemoaned to Mr. Reads that I would never, ever catch up. I am barely afloat in DC comics, enough to understand Wally’s frustration when Bruce chastises him on Child Safety. I am so far behind in the Marvel Universe that I still don’t know why Elektra was a Skrull. As for Dark Horse, I manage to keep abreast of Buffy, but my plan to begin reading BPRD has fallen to the wayside. Add in Vertigo and Image and Wildstorm, and you have one Very Grumpy, one Very Frustrated Ms. Reads.

That is not to say that I have not been reading, or viewing, or working through other comics, or books, or television series. I have. But Thanksgiving holiday looms near, and with it, I plan to finish—yes, Friends, finally!—that pesky dissertation chapter that has haunted me for so long, and I plan to sit and read several months’ worth of comics.

Many of you have recommended new series to me (Shelly, if I recall correctly, recommends Criminal), or old favorites (Matthew ever recommends Legion), or urge new characters into the fold (Sally, Ragnell, and Kalinara and the Green Lantern Love). Mr. Reads is pushing me towards back issues of JSA, Teen Titans, and the recently-read Watchmen.

So I ask you, Gentle Reader, to help me choose the material for my Thanksgiving Reading Extravaganza. I plan to catch up on current pull lists, but I also plan to work through old issues of one of the following:

Justice Society of America
Several Elseworlds series in the backlog
Ms. Marvel
Teen Titans

If we take it to a vote, which would you recommend for my upcoming reading marathon? Reviews promised, of course!