Category Archives: Theatre

by

Movies and Books: 2023

It’s that time when I pull together my list of what movies, books, and (when applicable) live performances I’ve seen over the last year. Everything went way up from last year, which isn’t a surprise. The last few years had a bit of a loss of focus, so it’s nice to get back into the saddle.

Movies:

  1. Postcards from the Edge
  2. Kokomo City
  3. Fair Play
  4. Bad Behaviour
  5. L’Immensita
  6. The Quiet Girl
  7. Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret.
  8. Polite Society
  9. Joyland
  10. Asteroid City
  11. Wham!
  12. Call Me Kate
  13. No Hard Feelings
  14. Oppenheimer
  15. Barbie
  16. Valley of the Dolls
  17. Passages
  18. Theater Camp
  19. Red, White & Royal Blue
  20. Act of Violence
  21. Hud
  22. Bottoms
  23. Cassandro
  24. Strange Way of Life with The Human Voice
  25. Love at First Sight
  26. Marry My Dead Body
  27. Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour
  28. Dicks: The Musical
  29. Anatomy of a Fall
  30. The Holdovers
  31. The Killer
  32. Rustin
  33. The Taste of Things
  34. Fallen Leaves
  35. She-Hero
  36. The Summer with Carmen

Plays/Performances:

  1. Seven Methods of Killing Kylie Jenner
  2. Ride the Cyclone
  3. Wintergreen Music Festival: Wintergreen Swings, Big Band Style!
  4. Wintergreen Music Festival: Barber Violin Concerto with Elisabeth Adkins
  5. Wintergreen Music Festival: Motown with Masters of Soul
  6. The Jinkx & DeLa Holiday Show

Books and Graphic Novels:

  1. Adventuregame Comics Vol. 1: Leviathan by Jason Shiga
  2. What Did You Eat Yesterday? Vol. 18 by Fumi Yoshinaga
  3. Walt Disney’s Donald Duck: The Secret of Hondorica by Carl Barks
  4. The Nice House on the Lake Vol. 2 by James Tynion IV and Alvaro Martinez Bueno
  5. What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher
  6. Something is Killing the Children Vol. 1 by James Tynion IV and Werther Dell’Edera
  7. Something is Killing the Children Vol. 2 by James Tynion IV and Werther Dell’Edera
  8. Walt Disney’s Donald Duck: The Lost Peg Leg Mine by Carl Barks
  9. Superman’s Pal, Jimmy Olsen: Who Killed Jimmy Olsen? by Matt Fraction and Steve Lieber
  10. Paper Girls: The Complete Story by Brian K. Vaughan and Cliff Chiang
  11. Something is Killing the Children Vol. 3 by James Tynion IV and Werther Dell’Edera
  12. Follow Me Down: A Reckless Book by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips
  13. Something is Killing the Children Vol. 4 by James Tynion IV and Werther Dell’Edera
  14. Something is Killing the Children Vol. 5 by James Tynion IV and Werther Dell’Edera
  15. Once & Future Vol. 1: The King is Undead by Kieron Gillen and Dan Mora
  16. Marry Me a Little: A Graphic Memoir by Robert Kirby
  17. Once & Future Vol. 2: Old English by Kieron Gillen and Dan Mora
  18. Total Amnesia: The Complete Text and Programming Notes of the World’s Most Famous Lost Computer Game by Thomas M. Disch
  19. She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan
  20. Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse
  21. House of Slaughter Vol. 1: The Butcher’s Mark by James Tynion IV, Tate Brombal, and Chris Shehan
  22. Liebestrasse by Greg Lockard and Tim Fish
  23. The Last Wish by Andrzej Sapkowski
  24. What Did You Eat Yesterday? Vol. 19 by Fumi Yoshinaga
  25. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin by Kevin Eastman, Peter Laird, Tom Waltz, Esau Escorza, Isaac Escorza, Ben Bishop, and Luis Antonio Delgado
  26. Our Colors by Gengoroh Tagame
  27. Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me by Mariko Tamaki and Rosemary Valero-O’Connell
  28. Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo
  29. Wonder Woman Historia: The Amazons by Kelly Sue DeConnick, Phil Jimenez, Gene Ha, and Nicola Scott
  30. Sins of the Black Flamingo by Andrew Wheeler and Travis Moore
  31. The Dog Sitter Detective by Antony Johnston
  32. The Adventure Zone Vol. 3: Petals to the Metal by Clint McElroy, Griffin McElroy, Travis McElroy, Justin McElroy, and Cary Pietsch
  33. Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou: Deluxe Edition Vol. 2 by Hitoshi Ashinano
  34. Smahtguy: The Life and Times of Barney Frank by Eric Orner
  35. Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire
  36. Down Among the Sticks and Bones by Seanan McGuire
  37. Even Though I Knew the End by C.L. Polk
  38. Kowloon Generic Romance Vol. 1 by Jun Mayuzuki
  39. House of Slaughter Vol. 2: Scarlet by James Tynion IV, Sam Johns, and Letizia Cadonici
  40. Kowloon Generic Romance Vol. 2 by Jun Mayuzuki
  41. Kowloon Generic Romance Vol. 3 by Jun Mayuzuki
  42. White Cat, Black Dog: Stories by Kelly Link
  43. Dragon Hoops by Gene Luen Yang
  44. Grease Bats by Archie Bongiovanni
  45. My Travels in Japan: A Comic Book Artist’s Amazing Journey by Audry Nicklin
  46. Middlegame by Seanan McGuire
  47. Mimosa by Archie Bongiovanni
  48. The Adventure Zone Vol. 4: The Crystal Kingdom by Clint McElroy, Griffin McElroy, Travis McElroy, Justin McElroy, and Cary Pietsch
  49. Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke
  50. Take a Look at the Five and Ten by Connie Willis
  51. Bad Mormon: A Memoir by Heather Gay
  52. The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories by Susanna Clarke
  53. The Tea Dragon Festival by K. O’Neill
  54. The Human Target Vol. 1 by Tom King and Greg Smallwood
  55. The Human Target Vol. 2 by Tom King and Greg Smallwood
  56. Let Me Tell You: New Stories, Essays, and Other Writings by Shirley Jackson
  57. Nemesis Games by James S.A. Corey
  58. A Haunting on the Hill by Elizabeth Hand
  59. Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou: Deluxe Edition Vol. 3 by Hitoshi Ashinano
  60. Kowloon Generic Romance Vol. 4 by Jun Mayuzuki

Previous Years’ Tallies:

by

Movies and Books: 2022

Another year, another tally. The most interesting thing (if it’s even interesting) is that I saw 11 less movies this year… but 8 of the movies from 2021 were from the AFI Docs film festival, which moved to LA in 2022, depriving me of my documentary-palooza that I normally partake of each year. Reading was definitely in spurts this year, often checking out a bunch of books in a series from the public library. I’m hoping to get back on the proverbial wagon in 2023, but haven’t I said that several years in a row now? (I’m afraid to look.)

Movies:

  1. A Hero
  2. Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar
  3. Nanny
  4. Palm Trees and Power Lines
  5. Girl Picture
  6. Utama
  7. House of Gucci
  8. Everything Everywhere All at Once
  9. The Tinder Swindler
  10. Doctor Strange
  11. Fire Island
  12. Elvis
  13. Emily the Criminal
  14. See How They Run
  15. Bros
  16. Do Revenge
  17. Tár
  18. The Banshees of Inisherin
  19. Corsage
  20. Holy Spider
  21. Rimini
  22. Will-o’-the-Wisp
  23. Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery
  24. The Whale

Plays/Performances:

  1. Trixie and Katya Live
  2. Elton John: Farewell Yellow Brick Road
  3. Holiday
  4. The Jinkx & DeLa Holiday Show

Books and Graphic Novels:

  1. Destroy All Monsters: A Reckless Book by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips
  2. Deuces Down edited by George R.R. Martin
  3. Hostage by Guy Delisle
  4. Dragon’s Breath and Other True Stories by MariNaomi
  5. Far Out: Recent Queer Science Fiction and Fantasy edited by Paula Guran
  6. Heartstopper Vol. 1 by Alice Oseman
  7. Heartstopper Vol. 2 by Alice Oseman
  8. What Did You Eat Yesterday? Vol. 16 by Fumi Yoshinaga
  9. Heartstopper Vol. 3 by Alice Oseman
  10. What Did You Eat Yesterday? Vol. 17 by Fumi Yoshinaga
  11. Heartstopper Vol. 4 by Alice Oseman
  12. Loveless by Alice Oseman
  13. The Ghost in You: A Reckless Book by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips
  14. The Secret to Superhuman Strength by Alison Bechdel
  15. Witch Hat Atelier Vol. 1 by Kamome Shirahama
  16. Witch Hat Atelier Vol. 2 by Kamome Shirahama
  17. Witch Hat Atelier Vol. 3 by Kamome Shirahama
  18. The City Beautiful by Aden Polydoros
  19. A Prayer for the Crown-Shy by Becky Chambers
  20. The Haunting of Tram Car 015 by P. Djeli Clark
  21. Witch Hat Atelier Vol. 4 by Kamome Shirahama
  22. Yokohama Haidashi Kikou: Deluxe Edition Vol. 1 by Hitoshi Ashinano
  23. Witch Hat Atelier Vol. 5 by Kamome Shirahama
  24. Other Boys by Damian Alexander
  25. Witch Hat Atelier Vol. 6 by Kamome Shirahama
  26. Witch Hat Atelier Vol. 7 by Kamome Shirahama
  27. The Extraordinaries by T.J. Klune
  28. Crushing by Sophie Burrows
  29. Check Please! Book 2: Sticks & Scones by Ngozi Ukazu
  30. Witch Hat Atelier Vol. 8 by Kamome Shirahama
  31. To Be Taught, If Fortunate by Becky Chambers
  32. Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands by Kate Beaton
  33. Fadeout by Joseph Hansen
  34. How Mirka Got Her Sword by Barry Deutsch
  35. The Art of Sushi by Franckie Alarcon
  36. Witch Hat Atelier Vol. 9 by Kamome Shirahama
  37. The Nice House on the Lake Vol. 1 by James Tynion IV and Alvaro Martinez Bueno
  38. Awkward by Svetlana Chmakova
  39. Brave by Svetlana Chmakova
  40. Gender Queer: A Memoir by Maia Kobabe
  41. Wynd Vol. 1: Flight of the Prince by James Tynion IV and Michael Dialynas
  42. Wynd Vol. 2: The Secret of the Wings by James Tynion IV and Michael Dialynas

Previous Years’ Tallies:

by

Movies and Books: 2021

Another year, another round-up of movies and books. In 2020, seeing films in the theatre cane screeching to a halt after the seventh item on the list (Emma), and in a bit of balance for 2021 there were only seven films on the list seen in the theatre. The latter was a combination of trying to display an abundance of caution and also a lot of films either being simultaneously released online or me being willing to wait until it was online.

The overall reading went down for 2021, for a variety of reasons that are honestly a little too much to go into here, other than that’s what happened. But on the bright side, there actually was one live performance seen, so that’s a little exciting. This isn’t really a year in review itself, so I’ll stop it there other than to say that there are a lot of things I’d certainly like to read and view in 2022, and hopefully I’ll make some significant progress on those lists.

Movies:

  1. Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
  2. Promising Young Woman
  3. Swallow
  4. Minari
  5. Disclosure
  6. Nomadland
  7. Mildred Pierce
  8. Tab Hunter Confidential
  9. AFI DOCS: Shorts Program 1 [ A Night At The Opera, The Brother (Le Frère), Bug Farm, Golden Age Karate, International Dawn Chorus Day, Invisible Monsters And Tomato Soup, Under The Lemon Tree ]
  10. AFI DOCS: Shorts Program 2 [ Eagles (Águilas), The Game, The Hairdresser (La Coiffeuse), The I And S Of Lives, Senior Prom, When We Were Bullies ]
  11. AFI DOCS: Shorts Program 3 [ The Gallery That Destroys All Shame, Mama, The One Who Crossed The Sea (Der Übers Meer Kam), Scum Boy, Souvenir Souvenir, Trade Center ]
  12. AFI DOCS: Shorts Program 4 [ The Beauty President, The Communion Of My Cousin Andrea, Mission: Hebron, Spaces (Mezery), The Train Station, Unforgivable (Imperdonable), The Way We Wait ]
  13. AFI DOCS: Shorts Program 5 [ Halpate, Nsenene, Party Line, R.I.P. T-Shirts, Red Taxi, Since You Arrived, My Heart Stopped Belonging To Me (Desde Que Llegaste, Mi Corazón Dejó De Pertenecerme) ]
  14. AFI DOCS: Shorts Program 6 [ Audible, Coded, Shelter ]
  15. No Straight Lines: The Rise of Queer Comics
  16. Tom Petty, Somewhere You Feel Free
  17. Zola
  18. The Suicide Squad
  19. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
  20. The Celluloid Closet
  21. Who You Think I Am
  22. The Eyes of Tammy Faye
  23. The French Dispatch
  24. Dune
  25. Tick, Tick… Boom!
  26. King Richard
  27. Passing
  28. Belfast
  29. C’mon C’mon
  30. Single All the Way
  31. The Power of the Dog
  32. Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn
  33. Don’t Look Up
  34. Swan Song
  35. Red Rocket

Plays/Performances:

  1. The Return of the Jinkx & DeLa Holiday Show Live!

Books:

  1. Route 66 by Thomas Ott
  2. The Umbrella Academy Vol. 3: Hotel Oblivion by Gerard Way and Gabriel Ba
  3. Circe by Madeline Miller
  4. Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz
  5. The Witch Boy by Molly Knox Ostertag
  6. The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel
  7. Hour of the Huntress by Dave Gross
  8. Enter the Aardvark by Jessica Anthony
  9. The Hidden Witch by Molly Knox Ostertag
  10. The Midwinter Witch by Molly Knox Ostertag
  11. Fugitive Telemetry by Martha Wells
  12. Defekt by Nino Cipri
  13. What Did You Eat Yesterday? Vol. 15 by Fumi Yoshinaga
  14. A Journal of My Father by Jiro Taniguchi
  15. Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas
  16. Yotsuba&! Vol. 15 by Kiyohiko Azuma
  17. A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers
  18. Reckless by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips
  19. Friend of the Devil: A Reckless Book by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips

Previous Years’ Tallies:

by

Movies and Books: 2019

2019 was an extraordinarily busy year, and this year’s list definitely reflects that.

Movies:

  1. Black Mirror: Bandersnatch
  2. Shoplifters
  3. Serenity
  4. The Oscar Nominated Short Films 2019: Animated
  5. The Oscar Nominated Short Films 2019: Live Action
  6. Tootsie
  7. Booksmart
  8. Shazam!
  9. The Souvenir
  10. Rocketman
  11. AFI DOCS Shorts Program 1 [Ghosts of Sugar Land, Departing Gesture, Conception: Melissa, Take Me to Prom, St. Louis Superman]
  12. AFI DOCS Shorts Program 2 [In the Absence, A Love Song for Latasha, The Clinic, Life in Miniature, A Tale of Two Kitchens]
  13. AFI DOCS Shorts Program 3 [All Inclusive, Sweetheart Dancers, Lightning vs Thunder, Crannog, Exit 12]
  14. AFI DOCS Shorts Program 5 [Dulce, The Separated, A Very Thin Line, Mack Wrestles, Quilt Fever, The Trial]
  15. Three Identical Strangers
  16. Drag Becomes Her
  17. The Farewell
  18. Downton Abbey
  19. Pain and Glory
  20. Parasite
  21. Jojo Rabbit
  22. The End of the Century
  23. Joker
  24. Knives Out
  25. And Then We Danced
  26. Star Wars: The Last Jedi
  27. The Two Popes

Plays/Performances:

  1. The Play That Goes Wrong
  2. Katya: Help Me I’m Dying
  3. Lizzo: Cuz I Love You Too Tour
  4. RuPaul’s Drag Race: Werq the World Tour 2019
  5. BenDeLaCreme & Jinkx Monsoon: All I Want For Christmas Is Attention

Books and Graphic Novels:

  1. Rogue Protocol by Martha Wells
  2. Exit Strategy by Martha Wells
  3. The Best American Comics 2016 edited by Roz Chast
  4. A Forever Family: Fostering Change One Child at a Time by Rob Scheer and Jon Sternfeld
  5. What Did You Eat Yesterday? Volume 13 by Fumi Yoshinaga
  6. Yotsuba&! Volume 14 by Kiyohiko Azuma
  7. You & a Bike & a Road by Eleanor Davis
  8. Tremontaine: The Complete Season 1 by Ellen Kusher et al.
  9. The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin
  10. Full Fathom Five by Max Gladstone
  11. Carry On by Rainbow Rowell
  12. Bloom by Kevin Panetta and Savanna Ganucheau
  13. An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon
  14. The Life-Changing Manga of Tidying Up: A Magical Story by Marie Kondo and Yuko Uramoto
  15. Three Parts Dead by Max Gladstone
  16. Abbott by Saladin Ahmed and Sami Kivela
  17. A Spectral Hue by Craig Laurance Gidney
  18. Poochytown by Jim Woodring
  19. This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone
  20. The Ascent to Godhood by JY Yang
  21. Caliban’s War by James S.A. Corey
  22. Guts by Raina Telgemeier
  23. Abaddon’s Gate by James S.A. Corey
  24. Meddling Kids by Edgar Contero
  25. Kid Gloves: Nine Months of Careful Chaos by Lucy Knisley
  26. Clyde Fans by Seth
  27. Calypso by David Sedaris

Previous Years’ Tallies:

by

Movies and Books: 2018

2018 had me reading less, but seeing more for both movies and live performances. I definitely think some of the former had to do with a lot of work in the teaching realm, but I’m hoping to rally a bit in 2019. Maybe? We’ll see.

Movies:

  1. Phantom Thread
  2. Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
  3. The Oscar Nominated Short Films 2018: Live Action
  4. Love, Simon
  5. Annihilation
  6. Black Panther
  7. Thoroughbreds
  8. Isle of Dogs
  9. Il Boom
  10. Outside In
  11. Deadpool 2
  12. Avengers: Infinity War
  13. Ocean’s Eight
  14. AFI Docs Shorts Program 3
  15. The Gospel of Eureka
  16. The Liberation
  17. Alone in the Game
  18. When Ladies Meet (1933 version)
  19. Wild Strawberries
  20. Eighth Grade
  21. Never Goin’ Back
  22. Crazy Rich Asians
  23. Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood
  24. The Wife
  25. The Heiresses
  26. The Children Act
  27. A Star is Born
  28. First Man
  29. Can You Ever Forgive Me?
  30. Beautiful Boy
  31. At Eternity’s Gate
  32. Green Book
  33. The Favourite
  34. Cold War
  35. Non-fiction
  36. Diamantino
  37. Eva
  38. Aquaman
  39. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse
  40. Mary Poppins Returns

Plays/Performances:

  1. Blame it on Bianca Del Rio
  2. Miss Richfield 1981: Born Again
  3. Janelle Monae: Dirty Computer Tour
  4. Hamilton
  5. Garbage: Version 2.0 20th Anniversary
  6. Anything Goes

Books and Graphic Novels:

  1. Saturn Apartments Vol. 6 by Hisae Iwaoka
  2. Binti: Home by Nnedi Okorafor
  3. Here by Richard McGuire
  4. Saturn Apartments Vol. 7 by Hisae Iwaoka
  5. Shoplifter by Michael Cho
  6. Borne by Jeff VanderMeer
  7. Full Bleed Vol. 1 edited by Dirk Wood
  8. Doctor Who: The Eyeless by Lance Parkin
  9. The Red Threads of Fortune by JY Yang
  10. Theft by Finding: Diaries 1977-2002 by David Sedaris
  11. Moonstruck Vol. 1: Magic to Brew by Grace Ellis and Shae Beagle
  12. Spinning by Tillie Walden
  13. Gemma Bovery by Posy Simmonds
  14. Epileptic by David B.
  15. Full Bleed Vol. 2 edited by Dirk Wood
  16. Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
  17. Less by Andrew Sean Greer
  18. What Did You Eat Yesterday? Vol. 12 by Fumi Yoshinaga
  19. Theory of Bastards by Audrey Schulman
  20. Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey
  21. The Descent of Monsters by JY Yang
  22. Time Was by Ian McDonald
  23. All Systems Red by Martha Wells
  24. Check Please! Vol. 1: #Hockey by Ngozi Ukazu
  25. The Creepy Case Files of Margo Maloo by Drew Weing
  26. Japanese Notebooks: A Journey to the Empire of Signs by Igort
  27. Gumballs by Erin Nations
  28. Artificial Condition by Martha Wells
  29. My Brother’s Husband Vol. 2 by Gengoroh Tagame
  30. I Met a Traveller in an Antique Land by Connie Willis
  31. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild — Creating a Champion by various authors

Previous Years’ Tallies:

by

Movies and Books: 2017

This year’s media consumption had less movies, less books, less graphic novels… and more live performances. So that’s something, at least. But I think that teaching three classes in addition to everything else really sucked up a lot of my free time, as well as just have some less free time overall. Something to get better about in terms of priorities, clearly.

Movies:

  1. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
  2. Hidden Figures
  3. Elle
  4. 20th Century Women
  5. The Oscar Nominated Short Films 2017: Live Action
  6. Colossal
  7. AFI Docs Shorts Program: Labors of Love
  8. Dina
  9. Nobody Speak: Trials of the Free Press
  10. AFI Docs Shorts Program: The Unexpected
  11. Wonder Woman
  12. The Big Sick
  13. Atomic Blonde
  14. Baby Driver
  15. Dunkirk
  16. Ingrid Goes West
  17. Girls Trip
  18. Beach Rats
  19. Blade Runner 2049
  20. The Florida Project
  21. God’s Own Country
  22. Lady Bird
  23. The Lego Batman Movie
  24. In the Fade
  25. Goran
  26. Pin Cushion
  27. The Shape of Water
  28. Call Me By Your Name

Plays/Performances:

  1. Fun Home
  2. Wig Out
  3. Mean Girls
  4. The Pajama Game
  5. Crazy For You

Books:

  1. The Last Policeman by Ben H. Winters
  2. The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket
  3. The Swan Riders by Erin Bow
  4. Sorry Please Thank You: Stories by Charles Yu
  5. Crosstalk by Connie Willis
  6. The Reptile Room by Lemony Snicket
  7. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by J.K. Rowling, John Tiffany, and Jack Thorne
  8. The Wide Window by Lemony Snicket
  9. The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers
  10. Air by Geoff Ryman
  11. Lily and the Octopus by Steven Rowley
  12. The Good Times are Killing Me by Lynda Barry
  13. Passing Strange by Ellen Klages
  14. The Massacre by James Cooray Smith
  15. The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories by Ken Liu
  16. Cocktails at Seven, Apocalypse at Eight: The Derby Cavendish Stories by Don Bassingthwaite
  17. Radiance by Catherynne M. Valente
  18. Lust & Wonder: A Memoir by Augusten Burroughs
  19. The Target Book: A History of the Target Doctor Who Books by David J. Howe
  20. Doctor Who: Only Human by Gareth Roberts
  21. Doctor Who: Sick Building by Paul Magrs
  22. A Taste of Honey by Kai Ashante Wilson
  23. Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch
  24. Binti by Nnedi Okorafor
  25. The Black Tides of Heaven by J.Y. Yang

Graphic Novels:

  1. Emma Vol. 4 by Kaoru Mori
  2. Peanuts: A Tribute to Charles M. Schulz by various creators
  3. Patience by Daniel Clowes
  4. Emma Vol. 5 by Kaoru Mori
  5. Beyond: The Queer Sci-Fi & Fantasy Comic Anthology by various creators
  6. Hellbound Lifestyle by Alabaster Pizzo
  7. My Brother’s Husband Vol. 1 by Gengoroh Tagame
  8. Monstress Vol. 1: Awakening by Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda
  9. The Terrible and Wonderful Reasons Why I Run Long Distances by Matthew Inman
  10. Beanworld Vol. 4: Hoka Hoka Burb’l Burb’l by Larry Marder
  11. Usagi Yojimbo Vol. 29: Two Hundred Jizo by Stan Sakai
  12. The World of Edena by Jean “Moebius” Giraud
  13. The Leaning Girl by Benoit Peeters and Francois Schuiten
  14. The Theory of the Grain of Sand by Benoit Peeters and Francois Schuiten
  15. Usagi Yojimbo Vol. 30: Thieves and Spies by Stan Sakai
  16. Usagi Yojimbo Vol. 31: The Hell Screen by Stan Sakai
  17. Zenith: Phase 1 by Grant Morrison and Steve Yeowell
  18. Zenith: Phase 2 by Grant Morrison and Steve Yeowell
  19. Tune: Vanishing Point by Derek Kirk Kim
  20. Nijigahara Holograph by Inio Asano
  21. Vattu: The Name & the Mark by Evan Dahm
  22. Vattu: The Sword & the Sacrament by Evan Dahm
  23. Saturn Apartments Vol. 4 by Hisae Iwaoka
  24. Saturn Apartments Vol. 5 by Hisae Iwaoka

Previous Years’ Tallies:

by

Movies and Books: 2016

This was in some ways a very good year; I saw more movies and read many more books than last year! It also seems to be the year I’ve more or less given up the ghost on tracking any serialized comics in Goodreads (which is how I keep up with what I’ve read each year), as well as tracking zines and such. I’ve also read a lot less serials now that I’m writing far fewer articles about them, which is certainly part of it. A few got added into the list, but the attempt to do so slacked off tremendously the further into 2016 I went.

Anyway, a nice tally of films and books, if nothing else, and I’m hoping to continue that progress into 2017.

Movies:

  1. Carol
  2. Brooklyn
  3. The Oscar Nominated Short Films 2016: Live Action
  4. The Oscar Nominated Short Films 2016: Animated
  5. Hail, Caesar!
  6. Max Max: Fury Road
  7. Zootopia
  8. Marguerite
  9. Hello, My Name is Doris
  10. Midnight Special
  11. Captain America: Civil War
  12. Love & Friendship
  13. The Lobster
  14. The Lovers and the Despot
  15. Obit
  16. AFI Docs Shorts Program: No Borders
  17. Under the Sun
  18. Looking: The Movie
  19. Finding Dory
  20. Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie
  21. Star Trek Beyond
  22. Kubo and the Two Strings
  23. Hell or High Water
  24. Captain Fantastic
  25. Steel Magnolias
  26. Hunt for the Wilderpeople
  27. Moonlight
  28. The Handmaiden [아가씨 Agassi]
  29. Being 17 [Quand on a 17 ans]
  30. Manchester by the Sea
  31. Mother [Ema]
  32. Frantz
  33. Arrival

Plays/Performances:

  1. Bianca del Rio’s Not Today, Satan
  2. Carousel

Books:

  1. The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison
  2. Her Smoke Rose Up Forever by James Tiptree Jr.
  3. The Caped Crusade: Batman and the Rise of Nerd Culture by Glen Weldon
  4. When Gravity Fails by George Alec Effinger
  5. The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu
  6. Tropic of Sunshine by Patrick Youngblood
  7. Drag Teen by Jeffrey Self
  8. Lady Susan by Jane Austen
  9. Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer
  10. In the Garden of Iden by Kage Baker
  11. The Magicians by Lev Grossman
  12. The Evening and the Morning and the Night by Octavia E. Butler
  13. The Black Archive: Ghost Light by Jonathan Dennis
  14. What the Witch Left by Ruth Chew
  15. The Mystical Beast by Alison Farthing
  16. Naming The Flowers by Kate Wilhelm
  17. Look Away by George Alec Effinger
  18. Thebes of the Hundred Gates by Robert Silverberg
  19. Superman: The Unauthorized Biography by Glen Weldon
  20. Witches of Lychford by Paul Cornell
  21. All I Could Bare: My Life in the Strip Clubs of Gay D.C. by Craig Seymour
  22. Arabian Wine by Gregory Feeley
  23. This Census-Taker by China Mieville
  24. Get in Trouble: Stories by Kelly Link
  25. The Black Archive: Image of the Fendahl by Simon Bucher-Jones
  26. Lion Time in Timbuctoo by Robert Silverberg
  27. The Scorpion Rules by Erin Bow
  28. Archivist Wasp by Nicole Kornher-Stace
  29. Three Moments of an Explosion by China Meville
  30. Home Cooking: A Writer in the Kitchen by Laurie Colwin
  31. Luna: New Moon by Ian McDonald
  32. More Home Cooking: A Writer Returns to the Kitchen by Laurie Colwin
  33. Stoner by John Williams

Graphic Novels:

  1. Killing and Dying: Stories by Adrian Tomine
  2. Wizzywig: Portrait of a Serial Hacker by Ed Piskor
  3. Scheherazade: Comics About Love, Treachery, Mothers, and Monsters edited by Megan Kelso
  4. Second Avenue Caper: When Goodfellas, Divas, and Dealers Plotted Against the Plague by Joyce Brabner and Mark Zingarelli
  5. The Best American Comics 2009 edited by Charles Burns, Jessica Abel, and Matt Madden
  6. The Best American Comics 2010 edited by Neil Gaiman, Jessica Abel, and Matt Madden
  7. Emma Vol. 1 by Kaoru Mori
  8. The Wicked + The Divine Vol. 3: Commercial Suicide by Kieron Gillen and assorted artists
  9. Doctor Fate Vol. 1: The Blood Price by Paul Levitz and Sonny Liew
  10. Curiosities: An Illustrated History of Ancestral Oddity by Mike Yamada, Victoria Ying, and Jonathan Ying
  11. You Don’t Say by Nate Powell
  12. Black River by Josh Simmons
  13. Our Expanding Universe by Alex Robinson
  14. Rutabaga the Adventure Chef: Book 2: Feasts of Fury by Eric Colossal
  15. What Did You Eat Yesterday? Vol. 10 by Fumi Yoshinaga
  16. East of West Vol. 5: All These Secrets by Jonathan Hickman and Nick Dragotta
  17. Step Aside, Pops: A Hark! A Vagrant Collection by Kate Beaton
  18. Something New: Tales from a Makeshift Bride by Lucy Knisley
  19. Bitch Planet Vol. 1: Extraordinary Machine by Kelly Sue DeConnick and Valentine De Landro
  20. Trash Market by Tadao Tsuge
  21. How to Talk to Girls at Parties by Neil Gaiman, Fabio Moon, and Gabriel Ba
  22. Snow Angel by David Chelsea
  23. SuperMutant Magic Academy by Jillian Tamaki
  24. Yotsuba&! Vol. 13 by Kiyohiko Azuma
  25. Nemo: River of Ghosts by Alan Moore and Kevin O’Neill
  26. Al-Qaeda’s Super Secret Weapon by Mohammad al-Mohamed Muhammad
  27. Mae Vol. 1 by Gene Ha
  28. Get Jiro! by Anthony Bourdain and Langdon Foss
  29. Elfquest: Wolfrider Vol. 1 by Wendy Pini and Richard Pini
  30. Elfquest: Wolfrider Vol. 2 by Wendy Pini and Richard Pini
  31. Elfquest: The Discovery by Wendy Pini and Richard Pini
  32. Elfquest: Dreamtime by Wendy Pini and Richard Pini
  33. Elfquest: The Searcher and the Sword by Wendy Pini and Richard Pini
  34. Elfquest: In All But Blood by Wendy Pini, Richard Pini, and company
  35. Nimona by Noelle Stevenson
  36. Beautiful Darkness by Fabien Vehlmann and Kerascoet
  37. What’s Your Sign, Girl? edited by Robert Kirby
  38. Emma Vol. 2 by Kaoru Mori
  39. To Terra… Vol. 1 by Keiko Takemiya
  40. Guardians of the Louvre by Jiro Taniguchi
  41. Alphabet edited by Jon Macy and Tara Avery
  42. The Omega Men: The End is Here by Tom King and Barnaby Bagenda
  43. Hilda and the Stone Forest by Luke Pearson
  44. Emma Vol. 3 by Kaoru Mori
  45. Angel Catbird Vol. 1 by Margaret Atwood and Johnnie Christmas
  46. Ghosts by Raina Telgemeier
  47. The Best American Comics 2014 edited by Scott McCloud and Bill Kartalopoulos
  48. Rosalie Lightning by Tom Hart
  49. Bread and Wine by Samuel R. Delany and Mia Wolff
  50. What Did You Eat Yesterday? Vol. 11 by Fumi Yoshinaga

Previous Years’ Tallies:

by

Movies and Books: 2015

Another year gone by, another tracking of books and movies and such for the year. I know I missed a lot of graphic novels when you count the collected editions (since I read a fair number for review purposes in serialized formats), as well as for the various zines I’ve read. I’d said that in 2014 that it was a hectic year in terms of school and tracking fell to the wayside a bit. That was not only true for 2015, but also for reading and seeing films in general. Ah well! Hopefully 2016 will be more productive.

Movies:

  1. The Imitation Game
  2. Mr. Turner
  3. Early Summer [麦秋 Bakushū]
  4. The Housemaid [하녀 Hanyeo] (1960 version)
  5. Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
  6. The Oscar Nominated Short Films 2015: Live Action
  7. The Oscar Nominated Short Films 2015: Animated
  8. Bigger than Life
  9. Saint Laurent
  10. Inside Out
  11. Tangerine
  12. Grandma
  13. Big Business
  14. Black Widow
  15. The Grifters
  16. Room
  17. A Royal Night Out
  18. The Wait [L’Atessa]
  19. Star Wars: The Force Awakens
  20. The Danish Girl

Plays/Performances:

  1. Quiz-O-Tron
  2. Welcome to Night Vale: The Investigators
  3. Bianca Del Rio’s Rolodex of Hate

Books:

  1. Lady Audley’s Secret by Mary Elizabeth Braddon
  2. Blindness by Jose Saramago
  3. How I Paid for College: A Novel of Sex, Friendship, Theft & Musical Theatre by Marc Acito
  4. Tiny Deaths by Robert Shearman
  5. Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn
  6. The Reference Interview Today: Negotiating and Answering Questions Face to Face, on the Phone, and Virtually by Dave Harmeyer
  7. Dear Committee Members by Julie Schumacher
  8. The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett
  9. Information Technology Project Management by Kathy Schwalbe
  10. City of Stairs by Robert Jackson Bennett
  11. The World of Ice & Fire by George R.R. Martin, Elio M. Garcia Jr., and Linda Antonsson
  12. Basic Research Methods for Librarians by Ronald R. Powell
  13. Collection Management Basics by G. Edward Evans
  14. Remembrance of Things I Forgot by Bob Smith
  15. The True Deceiver by Tove Jansson
  16. The Monstrumologist by Rick Yancey

Fiction Magazines, Chapbooks, and Zines:

  1. Kinfolk Vol. 14
  2. Kinfolk Vol. 13
  3. Lucky Peach #16

Graphic Novels: Continue reading Movies and Books: 2015→

by

Brush Up On Your Shakespeare

A while ago, I told myself I was going to start filling the gaps in my Shakespeare, and that was something which went absolutely nowhere (aside from buying three of the Arden Shakespeare editions of some of the plays). These days, I don’t do New Year’s Resolutions (although in 2012 I think I’ll give an Uberlist another go), but if I was going to try some resolutions, I think one would be to try and move some of the second and third-tier plays up one or two positions.

In my head, there are three tiers for Shakespeare plays and my experience with them. First tier is seen them performed; second tier is never seen them performed but I have read the play; third tier is never even read them (or at least have no memory of doing so — I came down with the flu during one of my Shakespeare classes and I have a sneaking suspicion there’s at least one on that list which we read/studied that has been wiped from my brain in a haze of medicine). There’s a huge hole in my historical play list (never seen a single one performed, only studied the Hal plays), something which is rather regrettable.

(I suppose I could also add in an even higher tier of ones I’ve been in performances of, although that’s limited to As You Like It, Julius Caesar, and Romeo and Juliet. Since that list is unlikely to ever expand, though, probably not.)

Anyway, I’ve noticed that the Shakespeare Theatre here in DC is performing Cymbeline starting later this month, which is a third tier play for me. But on the downside, it’s directed by the person who did a not good job with Twelfth Night two years ago. Hmm. Decisions, decisions. (I’m also kicking myself for missing the Folger Theatre’s production of Henry VIII a few months ago, because really, how often is that performed in the DC area?)

For those of you who like that sort of thing in general, what are your feelings on Cymbeline? And if I were to try and read one or two of the “third tier” plays this year, any recommendations? (I suspect Richard II would be an obvious choice.)

Continue reading Brush Up On Your Shakespeare→

by

A Tale of Two Theatres

In the course of four days, Charlie and I ended up seeing not one but two plays at the Shakespeare Theatre here in DC; first Edward II (on Thursday night), then Tamburlaine (on Sunday night). Both were written by Christopher Marlowe, but at opposite ends of his (admittedly very short) career.

And oh, what a difference those years made. Both of these plays are rarely performed, but for very different reasons indeed.

Edward II came across almost perfectly—bringing Wallace Acton out of retirement to play the titular role was perfect. Acton brought a mixture of tenderness and anger and conflict to the role, as a king who was more interested in being with his beloved Gaveston than worrying about the rest of the country. I think it’s a lot to director Gale Edwards’s credit that even knowing exactly how it would all end (hint: badly), she makes one hope for something else.

Her addition of Gaveston as a ghostly figure several times later in the play is perhaps laying the emotion and relationship a bit thick, but I couldn’t really complain; it added a level of elegance and wistfulness that I think the play needed. At the same time, and I know this sounds strange, it’s a bit subtle in places. She didn’t overuse the effect, thank goodness, and we left with a very positive, “I’m glad we went and saw this,” feeling.

And then there’s Tamburlaine. The idea that this is a play initially performed over the course of two nights and was twice as long as the (three hour!) performance we saw fills me with horror. And, apparently, director Michael Kahn. But one got the impression that he was less-than-fond of the play at all (Tamburlaine is told he will never defeat someone, at which point he does, then takes his foe’s lands for his own and marches on leaving death and destruction in his wake, at which point the cycle starts all over and over and over and over again), and was faced with the following dilemma: do you take a bad, overwrought play and tell the actors to do it straight-faced? Or do you have them eat the scenery?

Hello, scenery-eating.

Seriously, it was over-the-top crazy. In the opening scene, I was reminded of a Gilbert & Sullivan play with all of the mincing around the stage and overly-affected voices and gestures. And let me just say right now that I loathe Gilbert & Sullivan with a passion. So you can just imagine the look on my face right around then. (Although as I could not help but note later, this meant that I finally got my dream come true; a Gilbert & Sullivan production where everyone dies horribly and violently.)

Avery Brooks ate the scenery with the best of them, although he at least was clearly having fun with it. But actors who were restrained and subtle in Edward II were anything but that in Tamburlaine, and the more we saw, the clearer it became that this was Kahn’s directorial choice rather than any fault by the cast.

It’s a pity, too, because the staging and the costuming were both beautiful. Brooks-as-Tamburlaine riding in through the gates of the city towards the end was jaw-droppingly beautiful, and the orange-backlit-drummers that appeared periodically looked great enough that I want them installed in my home. But after the intermission, a good 30 people were missing in the lower seat section and who knows how many up in the higher seats left as well. (Not to be confused with the person who left partway through the second half after the queen died. I guess she was all he cared about at that point.)

Then again, Brooks’s bow at the end? It wasn’t one of joy, or even a, “This was hard but worth it.” No, his bow was someone who had just been forced through a hellish experience. I am now starting to suspect his “injury” was really him needing a two-week mental break from the badness of it all. (Ok, probably not. But it’s a funny thought!)

Ah well. I’m still glad I went, if only for the whole, “My head just exploded from the badness of this director’s choices” experience. And after all, it sure did make us appreciate Edward II that much more. Next up is Mary Zimmerman’s Argonautika, which promises to be lovely.