Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Book List 2010

Non-Fiction
  1. The Ground Truth: The Untold Story of America Under Attack on 9/11 - John Farmer (Not as good as I was hoping for.)
  2. Official Book Club Selection: A Memoir According to Kathy Griffin - Kathy Griffin (Fantastic read from one of my favorite performers!)
  3. I am the New Black - Tracy Morgan with Anthony Bozza (Ditto.)
  4. Shooting Stars - LeBron James and Buzz Bissinger
  5. The U2 Reader: A Quarter Century of Commentary, Criticism, and Reviews - Hank Bordowitz (A re-read. Whenever I need some music journalism inspiration, this is always a good pick-me-up.)
  6. Game Change: Obama and the Clintons, McCain and Palin, and the Race of a Lifetime - John Heilemann and Mark Halperin (A page-turner, though it really focused on the Democrats and kept McCain and Palin as footnotes, and I was hoping for a complete picture across the aisle.)
  7. The Happiest Days of Our Lives (audio) - Wil Wheaton (I have read this book and listened to the audiobook many times, though I admit I probably prefer his keynote address at PAX better than anything else he’s written or performed.)
  8. Comic Wars: How Two Tycoons Battled over the Marvel Comics Empire - And Both Lost - Dan Raviv (Was hoping for a comic industry version of Storming the Magic Kingdom and was really let down. Had to slog through this one.)
  9. The Men Who Would Be King: An Almost Epic Tale of Moguls, Movies, and a Company Called DreamWorks - Nicole Laporte (A nice coda to DisneyWar.)
  10. Lips Unsealed: A Memoir - Belinda Carlisle (I couldn’t put this book down. Fantastic read.)
  11. Talking to Girls About Duran Duran: One Young Man’s Quest for True Love and a Cooler Haircut - Rob Sheffield (My first Sheffield book. Amazing.)
  12. The Accidental Billionaires: The Founding of Facebooook – A Tale of Sex, Money, Genius and Betrayal - Ben Mezrich (Like most of Mezrich's books, perhaps this book should have been on my “fiction” list instead?)
  13. Just Kids - Patti Smith (The story of the friendship between Patti Smith and Robert Maplethorp is stunningly beautiful. Cannot recommend this book highly enough.)
  14. Manhood for Amateurs: The Pleasures and Regrets of a Husband, Father, and Son - Michael Chabon (Chabon’s books have never taken hold of me like this one did.)
  15. Bicycle Diaries - David Byrne (An interesting take on sustainable transportation from former Talking Heads frontman.)
Fiction
  1. A Gentleman’s Game: A Queen & Country Novel - Greg Rucka (I loves me some Q&C.)
  2. Lost Horizon - James Hilton (A classic. One of my all-time favorite novels.)
  3. Night of the Living Trekkies - Kevin David Anderson and Sam Stall (I was skeptical of this one, but ended up not being able to put it down.)
  4. Flawed Dogs: The Shocking Raid on Westminster - Berkeley Breathed (Oh, how I miss Bloom County. But this was a nice reminder of the magic Mr. Breathed is capable of.)
Trade Paperbacks and Hardcover Collected Editions
  1. Spider-Man: Blue - Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale
  2. Hulk: Gray - Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale
  3. X-Men and Spider-Man - Christos Gage and Mario Alberti
  4. Marvel Divas - Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and Tonci Zonjic
  5. Marvel 1602: New World/Fantastick Four - Greg Pak and Peter David
  6. Queen & Country: Definitive Collection, Volume 3 - Greg Rucka (Another fantastic volume!)
  7. Iron Man: Enter the Mandarin - Joe Casey and Eric Canete
  8. Wolverine First Class: The Rookie - Fred Van Lente
  9. The Immortal Iron Fist Omnibus - Ed Brubaker, Matt Fraction, David Aja (Possibly my favorite Christmas present from my wife last year, and maybe the best omni Marvel has produced.)
  10. DC and Marvel Present: Batman vs. The Incredible Hulk - Len Wein, Jose Garcia Lopez, Dick Giordano
  11. Afrodisiac - Jim Rugg, Brian Maruca (A must read!)
  12. Daredevil Omnibus, Volume 2 - Brian Michael Bendis, Alex Maleev (Bendis and Maleev’s run on DD is topped only by Frank Miller’s legendary run.)
  13. Nextwave: Agents of H.A.T.E. - Warren Ellis, Stuart Immonen
  14. Air, Volume 2: Flying Machine - G. Willow Wilson, M.K. Perker (Meh. I ended up skipping volume 3 altogether.)
  15. Dead @ 17: Afterbirth - Josh Howard (I’m a sucker for this series. Always a fun read!)
  16. Spider-Man: The Death of the Stacys - Stan Lee, Gerry Conway, John Romita, Sr., Gil Kane
  17. Batman: Year One, Deluxe Edition - Frank Miller, David Mazzucchelli (Wow.)
  18. Robot Dreams - Sara Varon (Wonderful storytelling.)
  19. The Astounding Wolf-Man, Volume 2 - Robert Kirkman, Jason Howard
  20. New Avengers/Transformers - Stuart Moore
  21. Cloak & Dagger: Child of Darkness, Child of Light - Bill Mantlo, Rick Leonardi (A key limited series from my childhood that has stood the test of time.)
  22. The Losers, Volumes One & Two - Andy Diggle and Jock
  23. Empowered, Volume 1 - Adam Warren (Fun read!)
  24. Uncanny X-Men: Rise and Fall of the Shi’ar Empire - Ed Brubaker (I love so much of Brubaker’s work, but this left me a little cold.)
  25. Star Wars Adventures, Volume 1: Luke Skywalker and the Treasure of the Dragonsnakes - Tom Taylor (Fun stuff recommended by my kiddo.)
  26. Star Wars: Tag & Bink Were Here - Kevin Rubio, Lucas Marangon (Again, one of my kiddo’s favorites!)
  27. Mercury and the Murd - Shawn Pryor, Chad Cicconi, Dave Dwonch
  28. Athena Voltaire: Flight of the Falcon - Steve Bryant, Paul Daly
  29. Blacklisted - Adam Witt, Pat Loika
  30. Star Wars: Infinities, A New Hope – Various (Another recommendation from my kiddo.)
  31. Nova, Volume 3: Secret Invasion - Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning
  32. Nova, Volume 4: Nova Corps - Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning
  33. Guardians of the Galaxy, Volume 1: Legacy - Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning
  34. Catwoman: Crime Pays - Will Pfeifer, David Lopez, Alvaro Lopez
  35. Ms. Marvel, Volume 4: Monster Smash - Brian Reed
  36. The Walking Dead, Book Five - Robert Kirkman, Charlie Adlard, Cliff Rathburn (The brilliant series continues.)
  37. Indiana Jones Omnibus: The Further Adventures, Volume 2 - Various (Childhood revisited.)
  38. Daredevil - Visionaries: Frank Miller, Volume 2 - Frank Miller (Re-read it for the Elektra piece I wrote for an upcoming issue of Back Issue. So entertaining. This is the best DD has ever been.)
  39. Daredevil - Visionaries: Frank Miller, Volume 3 - Frank Miller (Ditto.)
  40. Super-Villain Team-Up: MODOK’s 11 - Fred Van Lente, Francis Portela
  41. Ms. Marvel, Volume 5: Secret Invasion - Brian Reed
  42. Elektra Omnibus - Frank Miller and Bill Sienkiewicz (Another Christmas present from my wife last year. Amazing.)
  43. Y: The Last Man - The Deluxe Edition, Book Three - Brian K. Vaughan, Pia Guerra (A must-read series!)
  44. Avengers: Hawkeye - Mark Gruenwald (More of my childhood reading captured for posterity. Probably my favorite four-issue limited series of the ’80s.)
  45. Avengers: West Coast Avengers Assemble - Roger Stern
  46. Iron Man: Demon in a Bottle - David Michelinie and Bob Layton
  47. Powers: The Definitive Hardcover Collection, Volume 3 - Brian Michael Bendis, Mike Avon Oeming
  48. Star Wars Adventures, Volume 4: The Will of Darth Vader - Tom Taylor (Another kiddo recommendation.)
  49. Spider-Man: The Gauntlet, Volume 1 - Various
  50. Ms. Marvel, Volume 6: Ascension - Brian Reed
  51. The Astounding Wolf-Man, Volume 3 - Robert Kirkman, Jason Howard
  52. Dark Rain: A New Orleans Story - Mat Johnson and Simon Gane (A captivating story.)
  53. Proof, Book 1: Goatsucker - Alexander Grecian and Riley Rossmo (Recommended by my friend Vince and others. Enjoyed every volume of it!)
  54. Proof, Book 2: The Company of Men - Alexander Grecian and Riley Rossmo
  55. Proof, Book 3: Thunderbirds Are Go! - Alexander Grecian and Riley Rossmo
  56. The Invincible Iron Man, Volume 1 - Matt Fraction, Salvador Larroca
  57. The Avengers: Vision and the Scarlet Witch – A Year in the Life - Steve Englehart
  58. Revolver - Matt Kindt
  59. The Amazing Screw-On Head and Other Curious Objects - Mike Mignola (One of the best books of the year. Period.)
  60. New Avengers: Luke Cage - Town Without Pity - John Arcudi
  61. Dan Dare - Garth Ennis, Gary Erskine
  62. Chew, Volume 2: International Flavor - John Layman, Rob Guillory
  63. Spider-Man: The Gauntlet, Volume 2 - Various (Not as good as the first or third volumes.)
  64. Marvel Essential: Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man, Volume 3 - Roger Stern, Bill Mantlo (Loved every minute of this trip down memory lane.)
  65. Guerillas, Volume 1 - Brahm Revel (Really dug this fascinating look at war.)
  66. Y: The Last Man - The Deluxe Edition, Book Four - Brian K. Vaughan, Pia Guerra (This series gets better and better with each volume. So sad the story is going to end for me soon with the final volume finally solicited.)
  67. Daredevil Omnibus, Volume 1 - Ed Brubaker, Michael Lark, Stefano Gaudiano (Not as good as Miller or Bendis’ runs, but certainly in the top three.)
  68. Guardians of the Galaxy, Volume 2: War of Kings, Book 1 - Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning
  69. War of Kings - Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning and Various
  70. Nova, Volume 5: War of Kings - Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning
  71. Guardians of the Galaxy, Volume 3: War of Kings, Book 2 - Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning
  72. Torso - Brian Michael Bendis and Marc Andreyke (I love these kinds of stories that are rooted in non-fiction and set in places I’m familiar with.)
  73. Spider-Man: The Gauntlet, Volume 3 - Various
  74. Captain America/Black Panther: Flags of Our Fathers - Reginald Hudlin, Denys Cowan
  75. Fallen Son: The Death of Captain America - Jeph Loeb, Various
  76. The Immortal Iron Fist: Immortal Weapons - Various
  77. Daredevil Omnibus, Volume 2 - Ed Brubaker, Michael Lark, Stefano Gaudiano