My 2024 Booklist
Well, that was a year. Between my dedication to watching every 1999 film possible, and also the stress and resultant scramble to relocate after being asked for a divorce (not because I tried to watch every 1999 film possible...or was it?!) I read less than I originally intended this year, but I still managed to get a good bit of reading done...from my guest room. Here is what I read. Now that I'm back out in the country, perhaps my list for 2025 will be more extensive.
2024
Vampiress Carmilla #18 -- Warrant Publishing (Various Writers/Artists)
Alphacore #1 -- Written by: Chuck Dixon; Art by: Joe Bennett (I've liked most of the entries in Eric July's ever-expanding Rippaverse, but this is the first one I've loved. Dixon is a legend for a reason. Bryan Solari is my spirit animal. Also, Bennett's vibrant art is outstanding)
Funny in Farsi -- Firoozeh Dumas (Read this Persian-American memoir at the start of the year in a last-ditch, failed attempt to get closer to my Persian-American wife of 18 years. She's my soon to be ex-wife, so it didn't work, but this book is a humorous and breezy read)
Shudder #14 -- Warrant Publishing (Various Writers/Artists)
The Hunter -- Richard Stark aka Donald E. Westlake (If you think the 1999 film, Payback, is dark and gritty, its source material (also the source material for 1967's Point Blank) is BRUTAL!)
Alliance (Star Wars: Legacy, Vol. 4) -- John Ostrander with Various Artists
Vampiress Carmilla #19 -- Warrant Publishing (Various Writers/Artists)
Star Wars: Cloak of Deception -- James Luceno (If you're a
prequel fan, it's fun to see Chancellor Valorum get absolutely played by
Palpatine here. If you wish that the prequels did a better job of setting up
Chancellor Valorum, it's fun to see Chancellor Valorum get absolutely played
by Palpatine here. Just a fun book that somehow makes intergalactic
political intrigue cheeky and enjoyable)
(Star Wars) Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter -- Michael Reeves (Speaking of fun, this book is a blast, featuring a drawn out chase splitting perspectives between Darth Maul and his prey, a surprisingly charming and lovable small time criminal. And speaking of brutal...THIS ENDING!)
Without Remorse -- Tom Clancy (Clancy's dark
bildungsroman for his second most famous Ryanverse character, John Kelly,
aka "Clark." The gritty 70s revenge thriller bits here are absolutely
thrilling. I wish they composed the majority of the book, but there's a
side tangent--classic Clancy--about Vietnam POWs that takes way too many
calories away from the main course. Clancy could have trimmed 150-200 pages of
the side-material, even if he kept that side-plot, but only gave it to us
from Kelly's perspective--we don't need all of the passages from the hostages and captors points of view! If Clancy had done this, then focused almost entirely upon Clark's revenge on
street-level druggie punks, and the subsequent cat-and-mouse game with Jack Ryan's police
officer father, this would be his finest work)
Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (Novelization) --
Terry Brooks (As per the legend, fills in a lot of details missing from the film...a
must read for prequel fans)
Star Wars, Episode I - The Phantom Menace (Graphic Novel) -- Adapted by Henry Gilroy, Art and Coloring by Rodolfo Domaggio and Al Williamson
Star Wars Episode 1 Adventures (Graphic Novel) -- Various Writers and Artists
Evangeline -- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (While my genetic makeup is only minorly Cajun, I've lived in South Louisiana all my life, and this feels like the lament of my people)
Shudder #15 -- Warrant Publishing (Various Writers/Artists)
Vampiress Carmilla #20 -- Warrant Publishing (Various Writers/Artists)
Yaira #1 -- Written by: Jen & Sylvia Soska; Art by: Débora
Caritá
(I enjoyed a lot of this and the art is quite good, but Yaira # 1 is a bit
overstuffed. I'd prefer a more compact and cohesive story, but I guess
this is a first issue, even at graphic novel-length)
Shudder #16 -- Warrant Publishing (Various Writers/Artists)
Vampiress Carmilla #21 -- Warrant Publishing (Various Writers/Artists)
Star Wars: Heir to the Empire -- Originally by Timothy Zahn,
Adapted to Graphic Novel Form by: Mike Baron, Artwork by: Oliver Vatine
and Fred Blanchard (Baron does his best to get as much of the novel's story into these
comics, but Zahn's work is just too dense. Thus, these adaptations of
Zahn's trilogy live and die by the artwork. I'm not a huge fan of the
exaggerated French style utilized here)
Darkness at Noon --
Arthur Koestler (Every college-aged kid who claims "communism works, it just hasn't
been done right" should be forced to read this novel. The modern book
jacket now claims that the book is a screed against fascism because it is currently more popular to rail against fascism than it is to rail against communism (though most people who use the word "fascism" as a descriptor, including the current publishers of Darkness at Noon, have no idea what that word means).
Both fascism and communism suck, but this book has absolutely nothing to do with fascism--it is a brutal takedown of a communist society by a real-life
survivor of said society)
Sons and Lovers -- D.H. Lawrence (The second of two Modern
Library Top 100 novels I knocked out this year (Darkness at Noon being the first). Lawrence's writing is magnificent. He also has a solid grasp on human behavior, but this book
gets so icky with the Oedipal stuff (the incest here isn't physical, but
psychological), and I hate the ending)
Goodyng: The Polymath -- Written by: Mike Baron; Art by: Will Conrad (Outside of the name he comes up with for the villain, Baron fares very well here, up until the book just...stops. I need more, old man!)
Animal Crossing -- Kelsey Lewin (A fun reflection of the author's relationship with the Animal Crossing franchise that will bring up a lot of warm feelings for that franchise's fans, particularly those, like me, who purchased the first game for the Nintendo GameCube over 20 years ago. As much as I enjoy it, though, I have an issue with the book's final chapter. As she describes the current state of Animal Crossing, it's obvious that Lewin really wants to let Nintendo have it for some issues she has with the most recent Animal Crossing game. Unfortunately, she couches her words and doesn't go all in like it feels like she should. No reason not to speak your mind, Kelsey. It's your book!)
Wimpy, Weak, and Woke: How Truth Can Save America From Utopian Destruction -- John Cooper (I wish Cooper wouldn't have presented this work under such a clickbait, lowbrow title. The truth is, this book is a philosophical deep dive into the infiltration of the American church by socialist utopianism, as Cooper pens page after page of breakdown and takedown of the Hegelian dialectic, as well as every philosophical system that sprung from it. I'm afraid that title will keep away those who might benefit most from this dense, yet effective work)
The Blair Witch Project #1 -- Written by: Jen Van Meter; Art by: Guy Davis, Tommy Lee Edwards, Bernie Mireault (If you're a fan of the film, this lore-building comic is so much fun!)
Star Wars: Dark Force Rising -- Originally by Timothy
Zahn, Adapted to Graphic Novel Form by: Mike Baron, Artwork by: Terry
Dodson (Baron does his best to get as much of the novel's story into these
comics, but Zahn's work is just too dense. Thus, these adaptations of
Zahn's trilogy live and die by the artwork. Thankfully, I love the
realism the artist goes for here. When I read a Star Wars comic
featuring the original characters, I want the characters to LOOK LIKE
those characters!)
Vampiress Carmilla #22 -- Warrant Publishing (Various Writers/Artists) (I need to reiterate something I said last year: if you like throwback horror comics that feature great artwork, you should really get into Shudder and Vampiress Carmilla!)
There Are Dads Way Worse Than You -- Glenn Boozah; Illustrated
by: Priscilla White
(My soon to be ex-wife got me this book as a goodwill token so that I wouldn't feel
as bad that we had to break the news of our divorce to our son. It didn't
help)
The World Is Not Enough: The Official James Bond Magazine --
Starlog (So fun! Actually made me appreciate the film more. TWINE has risen from
bottom to mid-tier Bond for me, and a mid-tier Bond film is still one I
greatly enjoy!)
The Green Mile -- Stephen King (I read this because my podcast covered the film. It's a page-turning, cinematic book that the film actually follows very closely!)
The Horseman: Welcome to Florespark -- Written by: Chuck Dixon, Art by: Joe Bennett
Official Dreamcast Magazine #2 (November 1999) -- Imagine Media, Inc. (I only need a few more Official Dreamcast Magazines for the complete set, and this was the first one I bought to start completing my collection (I had a subscription 25 years ago, but missed several issues). A very fun read for both nostalgia delivery and essentially, speculative fiction, as half the games featured here were never released. Also, for anyone skeptical that I'm adding a magazine here, these things are dense! The publishers filled every square inch of the large pages with text and images. It took me a while to get through this thing, though I enjoyed every minute of it)
Star Wars: Dark Force Rising -- Originally by Timothy Zahn, Adapted to Graphic Novel Form by: Mike Baron, Artwork by: Edvin Biukovic (Baron does his best to get as much of the novel's story into these comics, but Zahn's work is just too dense. Thus, these adaptations of Zahn's trilogy live and die by the artwork. The workmanlike style of this volume really works for me! I teared up seeing some of these images, particularly those of Luke Skywalker with his future wife, Mara Jade, as well as those with the young Solo twins. Also, I think this final volume features Baron's best adaptation work of the three--maybe it took him awhile to get his legs. Also, congrats to Mike Baron, my most read author of 2024! Also, congrats to the word "fun," used TEN times in this piece! Happy New Year!)
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