I don't see one of these already. Maybe everyone is too focused on Valentine's Day to read. Not me.

What I have read recently:

Civil War: Spider-Ham 1 Liked seeing the character again, but it seemed like the gag went too long and a lot of it felt like filler.

Meltdown 2 of 2 Honestly my favorite book for the past two months. Really well-done story-telling and art. Makes me want more and makes me want a copy to keep and a copy to read. I will now try anything I hear Schwarz is putting out.

Batman: Legend of the Dark Knight 214 - Random purchase because it looked interesting. One of the better Batman stories I have read in a while and I was never really a fan of Deadshot.

Connor Hawke: Dragon's Blood 3 of 6 - I like the character and all, but felt the issue was kinda meh.

I just read the Essential format Savage Dragon. I've got a lot of the original Dragon (and tons of old Image stuff) issues in a box somewhere, but this was a lot easier than trying to locate them among the mess that is my comic collection right now. This is the first time I've ever read Dragon and it was a pretty good read. Not excellent, but I enjoyed myself along the way.

Right now I'm reading Definitive Shi, another B&W compiliation though the transition from color in this case is less than stellar. A lot of the art is dark & muddy. This might be a case where I put this down and go looking for the original color comics that I have stored away somewhere.

I'm also making my way through my Spirit Archives and having a blast. I highly recommend these.

Here is what I picked up today. . .

52 WEEK #40 - Still against the grain for me, I'm diggin' every single week with this book.

ACTION COMICS ANNUAL #10

DETECTIVE COMICS #828

HELMET OF FATE SARGON THE SORCERER #1 - I'm actually enjoying these one-shots more than I thought I would.

JONAH HEX #16

LOVELESS #15 - Soooo good, soooo underrated.

MIDNIGHTER #4 - Been pretty dissapointed with this series so far.

NIGHTWING #129

SCALPED #2 - Going to stick out at least the first few issues, but they might as well announce the cancellation now.

SUPERGIRL #14 - This book blows so much, I keep hoping it will get better.

WELCOME TO TRANQUILITY #3 - This is my "BUY THIS BOOK PEOPLE" RANT of the week. There is nothing like this out right now, Googe should be a superstar if more people would check out his work, & Simone is writing one of the most fun comics on the stands.

FELL #7 - Worth the wait, comics don't get any better than this.

SAM NOIR RONIN HOLIDAY #1 - Great book, glad they keep on doing more.

INCREDIBLE HULK #103

IRREDEEMABLE ANT-MAN #5 - It sadly seems a lost cause preaching about how smart, original, & fun this series is. Nobody seems to want to give this book much of a chance, the sales are abysmal.

MS MARVEL #12 - Every issue I dig this series more & more. The Special last week was great.

NEW AVENGERS #27

NEWUNIVERSAL #3

UNCANNY X-MEN #483

SHAZAM THE MONSTER SOCIETY OF EVIL #1 - Screw Dark Tower, this is the comic every single person should be buying. Actually, I don't blame anyone for holding off for the inevitable Absolute Hardcover that this series should become. Plus, it will probably be a year before we see issue #2.

Okay, bit the bullet and got Friendly Neighborhood Spider-man #15. This is one of those stories that you can enjoy reading, but in the end, still don't like. The character moments are great, but some of the story seems like filler, like the typical "Superhero saves the authorities that are hunting him down" scenario. And the return of the black costume is just soooo token.

I sat in Barnes & Nobles and read the Marvel Zombies hardcover. That book was just wrong.

I just finished the second issue and that book is nuts. It seems like each turn of the page could just be anything.

I seem to be taking a break from comics recently and sticking to good ol' fashion novels without pictures.

Of course, once I finish the current book I'm reading, I plan to really dive into my collection of trades and graphic novels. First up is the entire 6 issues of LOVE AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE. Vol. 6 came out a couple of weeks ago, and I'll read the whole series over the weekend.

I caught up late to Batman/Spirit and enjoyed it. Was that a one-shot?

They make those?

I've been reading the two Invincible Ultimate hardcovers, and I am about to start the Showcase Presents: House of Mystery book after that probably. Haven't been to the comic shop to pick up my regular books in a few weeks.

52 Week #40 -Steel layeth the smackdown. Where's Montoya and the Question, dammit.

Action Comics Annual #10 - There's some fabulous art in this book. Stories aren't that bad, either.

Detective Comics #828 - Not sure how I feel about this issue. I know they've been setting the Riddler up as a PI, and it does kinda make sense, but..

Fantastic Four The End #5 (OF 6) - Near the end. Thank god.

Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #17 - I really hate when they, out of blue, decide that the comics have to mirror the upcoming movie. Ugh.

Ms Marvel #12

New Avengers #27 - Like Yu. Hate Bendis.

Newuniversal #3

Nightmare On Elm Street #5 - These books (this one, Friday the 13th and Texas Chainsaw) have had the fun (and good art) sucked out of them by DC.

Nightwing #129 - Haven't read this yet, but i'm close to dropping it.

Outsiders #45 - See Nightwing.

Spider-Man Reign #3 - So, is this a homage to Miller's Dark Knight?

Supergirl #14

Uncanny X-Men #483 - Never thought i'd say this...but Brubaker is making the X-Men unbearable.

X-23 Target X #3 - Story's "eh", but the art is great.

X-Men Annual #1 - Slightly better than the monthly. They really need some new writers on this book. Hell, even the 90's were better than the shit going on in the books today. Well, not really...but close.

X-Men Phoenix Warsong #5 - Mercifully over.

Well it's February, but as usual I'm a month behind and reading January's comics. Not many single issues this time:

52 #35 to 39: I'll stick with it to the end, but other than that World War thing that's coming up, I still don't see what the big deal is. That whole AnimalMan/Adam Strange/Starfire/Lobo in space arc kinda fizzled out. SuperNova's reveal was ok, I certainly didn't guess it. And did they ever explain how Hawkgirl got to be giant sized, and how she somehow is back to normal now? Or is that in another book?

All star Superman 6: great as usual, though I wish I waited for the trade for this one

Eternals #6: Another one I wish I waited for the trade for, especially since the hardcover has already been solicited. this is why I don't buy Marvel monthlies.

Justice Society of America 2: With the reveal here (which isn't a huge shock, but they did it early) about the "new" Starman, and all the other storylines weaving together, I think I'll stick with this title monthly.

Savage Dragon 131:

Supergirl and the Legion of Superheroes #26: The Wanderers, Lightning Lord, Mon-el, and a cover that they must've drawn wrong on purpose so as not to reveal the big baddie. Love this book.

Teen Titans 43: With the reveal of Titans East, I've done a complete 180 on this title... I hated it when it was first reintroduced with a pretty low-rent cast and a Doom Patrol cross over, but I'm really excited about it now.

No rant about Supergirl (sans Legion) this week, as I didn't get an issue... can't remember if it's because I didn't order it or it didn't come in this month. Found it amusing that in one of those DC Nation back-of-the-issue blurbs, they were pretty much calling for female readers to start reading Supergirl. Yeah sure.

I picked up Criminal 1-4, Damned 1-4, and the first Invisibles TPB.

Also read the first premier HC of the new X-factor series by Peter David (mainly because I'm a PAD fan). I know nothing of House of M, but the series was surprisingly good and kept up the humor pretty well (besides issue 5, which was a little brutal).

I hate to repeat, but still reading the Definitive Shi. Has anyone else read this? I typically read before going to bed and the further I get into it, the more pissed off I get. I've never read Shi before, though I have many of the original issues, but the story is just okay. I'm sure Bill Tucci gets better as a writer, but this is fairly primitive professional style work. I'm not blown away by any stretch of the imagination. But what's really bothering me is the printing of this book. It's horrible! Some of the panels are so dark I can't tell what's going on. I started at a panel of a foot pushing down on a car's accelerator pedal for five minutes before I figured out what it was. And I had to deduce that by looking at the panels previous and following and figuring out what should come between. Terrible. Just terrible.

I loved the invisibles. one of the very first series i picked up. The series is never as good as in the beginning though, as it turned into more of a freakish circus-of-destruction to appeal to a more American audience.

I have most of the original SHI issues (I think it's 1-12, the chromium covered speciak, Tomoe 0-3, the manga special, the halloween special). Read them back in the day, and was really unimpressed with it. Despite all of the acclaim it received, I found the whole affair terribly bland. Tucci's a decent artist, but he couldn't craft an interesting story or create interesting characters.

I remember reading Shi before I started getting David Mack's Kabuki, and I'm grateful that I didn't pass over Kabuki because my dissatisfaction with Shi.

I haven't seen the Definitive Shi -- and have no real desire too -- what's the problem with the reproduction? Is it made off of the black and white line art or did they just scan the finished color art at grayscale? If the latter, then that's an awful way to make b&w art; it almost always comes out muddy.

I believe they scanned the color art at greyscale. The last page of the collection is a b&w reproduction of the first cover's (I'm pretty sure it is the first) line art and it looks great. Having the entire book like this would have made it much more readable.

I have the original Kabuki comics somewhere as well, but I've never gotten around to reading them. Someday though.

I don't know if I should laugh or cry after reading this. I want to laugh because you sound just like me with all the books and comics I have left unread. I want to cry because you sound just like me with all the books and comics I have left unread.

You know, Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters is probably one of the most beautiful comics out right now. I love the dark rich colors and the heavy lines used to create the images.

What media is being used here? Is it a special water color?

Got Essential Defenders 2 for Valentine's Day!

It's probably water color that's finished with computer. I love it too BTW. There are so few books out nowadays that I will buy just for the art.

Yeah that's sounds like a possibility. I'm glad someone else appreciates it.

When I was a kid comics used to come out on Friday's and I'd get my stack and sequence them in the order I'd read them, saving the best for last, and I'd sit at the dining room table and methodically read them all. Then in high school I got a life and my new comics got bagged, boarded, and boxed and there they still sit. Death of Superman? Never read them. The whole Breaking of the Bat storyline? Got 'em somewhere? The launch of Image comics? Never read a word of an Image comic till I read the Savage Dragon Archive last week, despite have a boatload of Image comics.

I read a comic as I eat breakfast (being nearly hands free reading and all that) and I'm working my way through Firestorm for the first time. Not that new Firestorm series, I'm talking about the original 1980's Firestorm.

Did I miss a meeting or is this a result of the lateness of the last parts of Civil War? Somewhere is an explanation of Spidey switching costumes?