Michael’s Year in Books

What did you read this year?

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2023

22,338

pages read

books read

Michael

1 like Like

Eight Billion Genies #1 by Charles Soule

Shortest Book

pages

Marvel Universe by Arthur Adams Omnibus by Arthur Adams

Longest Book

1,200

pages

Average book length in 2023

240

pages

Most Shelved

3,053,635

people also shelved

Archie Comics 80th Anniversary Presents by Archie Superstars

Least Shelved

people also shelved

Michael’s average rating for 2023

3.5

The Complete Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck Vol. 2 by Don Rosa

Highest Rated on Goodreads

4.65 average

Michael’s first review of the year

it was ok

Seven Secrets will change the world! But we won't tell you anything about them and will do a really poor job world building. And we will focus on a love child that two "secret keepers" (two people guard each secret briefcase - why only two? why are the secrets in a briefcase? don't you dare ask logical questions!!!) had and who was raised in one of the briefcases (are they portals to another dimension? One seems to be! What a secret!!"

A few peopl Seven Secrets will change the world! But we won't tell you anything about them and will do a really poor job world building. And we will focus on a love child that two "secret keepers" (two people guard each secret briefcase - why only two? why are the secrets in a briefcase? don't you dare ask logical questions!!!) had and who was raised in one of the briefcases (are they portals to another dimension? One seems to be! What a secret!!"

A few people had this on their "top ten" lists of the year and I am not one of them. The art is manga style and it is fine. Nothing great but pleasing to look at. the premise is..IMO...dumb. And since Tom does a crap job explaining it in this volume I can't change my opinion. these secret keepers have seven briefcases to guard or the world will end. And, as I said, two people guard them. But not really because all the other people who work in this organization will also guard them so I am not sure if the two who guard them should be so special. And, other than competing for the job, they really aren't any more special than the others who help guard the briefcases of secrets.

God - it is exhausting trying to even explain this premise, and I didn't buy into it.

Also - the two guarding the suitcase shouldn't have sex because a baby in their life would be a distraction. So maybe neuter them? Just throwing out ideas here because I assume the all the duos guarding the suitcases have a lot of sex since they seem to be male/female pairs.

Also - they all end up in a super secret fortress that has one door that is unbreakable...by 19th century standards. So imagine NOBODY'S surprise when 21st century explosives make short work of the door. This organization never upgrades their security? It's stuff like this (plus the idea "there is a traitor in our midst but we will ignore that and keep being taken by surprise") that makes me wonder "how did this organization guard 7 suitcases for so long?" They are idiots.

So, a lot for me to not like, but my biggest complaint still has to be that Tom didn't make me care about the secrets. They might just have well been guarding rare comics. Then I would have cared. ...more

MICHAEL’S 2023 BOOKS

Green Lantern The Silver Age 4 by Gardner F. Fox

it was amazing

The Many Deaths of Laila Starr by Ram V.

Batman Black and White 4 by Mark Chiarello

Green Lantern/Green Arrow by Dennis O'Neil

it was amazing

X-Men Epic Collection, Vol. 3 by Roy Thomas

Batman Black and White, Vol. 3 by Mark Chiarello

Batman Black and White, Vol. 1 by Mark Chiarello

Batman Black and White, Vol. 2 by Mark Chiarello

Eight Billion Genies #2 by Charles Soule

Eight Billion Genies #3 by Charles Soule

it was amazing

The Many Armors of Iron Man by Roy Thomas

Archie Comics 80th Anniversary Presents Artist Spotlight - Ha... by Archie Superstars

New Warriors Classic 1 by Fabian Nicieza

Legends of the Dark Knight by José Luis García-López

it was amazing

The New Champion of Shazam! by Josie Campbell

Crisis On Multiple Earths 6 by Gerry Conway

The Untold Legend of the Batman by Len Wein

The Complete Dick Tracy Volume 8 by Chester Gould

Crisis on Multiple Earths, Vol. 5 by Gerry Conway

The Complete Dick Tracy Volume 9 by Chester Gould

Crisis on Multiple Earths, Vol. 4 by Cary Bates

A Field Guide to Lies by Daniel J. Levitin

really liked it

The Big Guy and Rusty the Boy Robot by Frank Miller

it was amazing

Walt Disney's Uncle Scrooge by Carl Barks

Uncommon Sense Teaching by Barbara Oakley

Crisis on Multiple Earths, Vol. 3 by Mike Friedrich

it was amazing

Adventures of TinTin Blue Lotus by Hergé

Daredevil Epic Collection, Vol. 13 by Ann Nocenti

The Spirit Archives, Vol. 19 by Will Eisner

it was amazing

X-Men Epic Collection, Vol. 6 by Chris Claremont

it was amazing

How to Tell If Your Cat Is Plotting to Kill You by Matthew Inman

Avengers Epic Collection, Vol. 10 by Jim Shooter

Arsène Lupin, Gentleman-Thief by Maurice Leblanc

it was amazing

Comedy Comedy Comedy Drama by Bob Odenkirk

it was amazing

Michael’s last review of the year

really liked it

I can't explain how big an Arthur Adams fan I was in the 80's. Right from the moment I first saw his detailed art and unique poses I was hooked. And while his art style has become less detailed over the years and leans towards more cartoony it does mean he doesn't take 8 months to finish one issue of art anymore (as was the case with Longshot 1 his first venture into comics.

This was my most eagerly awaited omnibus/graphic novel of 2023 and I was I can't explain how big an Arthur Adams fan I was in the 80's. Right from the moment I first saw his detailed art and unique poses I was hooked. And while his art style has become less detailed over the years and leans towards more cartoony it does mean he doesn't take 8 months to finish one issue of art anymore (as was the case with Longshot 1 his first venture into comics.

This was my most eagerly awaited omnibus/graphic novel of 2023 and I was not disappointed. Although I had almost all the stories in their original issues I hadn't read many in years and looked forward to seeing them restored to their full glory (especially Web of Spider-man annual 2 - where his art really shines but my original copy's colours and line work have faded).

Highlights of this omnibus are:
Longshot (his art is still maturing but it is unique and fantastic from the start - the story and character of Longshot are interesting and creative but very weird - typical Ann Nocenti.
The two parter New Mutants/X-Men annual on Asgard. One of my favourite comic book stories ever.
Web of Spider-man: Arthur's take on Spider-man was so perfect.
Fantastic Four 3-Parter: An okay story by Walter Simonson but worth it for the way Arthur draws monsters/Skrulls, Hulk, and Ghost Rider.

The other stories are okay but nothing amazing. There are many X-men Annuals (which suffer from the "OMG X-Men were too complicated back then" especially the time travelling Franklin Richards story) and X-Babies, and a 2 part X-Factor.

The worst of the lot is Mojo Mayhem as an Excalibur prestige format issue because a) Mojo is very one dimensional as a villain b) we only really see Kitty Pride not Excalibur c) the story drags on way too long (I think it was originally going to be a normal annual and then they changed their minds and made it longer) and reads very juvenile (Mojo's agent needs everyone's signature so one by one the characters are tricked into signing things) d) the reveal of who the Agent is makes zero sense (they make it seem like the Agent has been around forever but they are basically created out of one of the other characters).

So the weaker stories is one reason for only 4 not 5 stars and also there is a LOT of padding in this. I mean - I love extras and the addition of all of Arthur's covers was VERY welcome...but over 100 pages (maybe closer to 200) of pencil art is too much for me especially when some of the breakdowns are barely visible. I don't want to complain too much because some of the pencilled art was so worth it but it was a lot of filler. It highlights the fact that two decades of Arthur's art (although he did do work for other companies during this time - to be fair) still isn't a lot of issues - he was a slow drawer.

Make no mistake though - I loved this omnibus and am super happy to have it. Highly recommended. ...more

2023 READING
CHALLENGE

Michael Emond read 93 out of 75 books.

124%

What did you read this year?