*GOOD* READS? I GOT BETTER ONES

yours, mine, and our favorite reads of 2022

I’ve become a list girl, in my old age. I love physical lists, written longhand with a pen in a book. And I love them the most at the end of the year, when I’m filled with self-loathing and a sense that I’ve done nothing of value (wrote 30+ comics, doesn’t count somehow) in all of 2022.

I’ve read over 30 books this year, though, and that feels like a success. This was my first year keeping a list of everything I read, and looking back on it feels like a huge accomplishment. I made time for stuff I wanted to read.

Is that an impressive number? Nope. Do I care? Nah. The point of the list isn’t to win, it’s to reflect - when I look back over the year, I can tell you about the best books I read.

But first -

LET’S TALK ABOUT THE BEST BOOKS YOU READ!

I gave the new Substack chat feature a try the other day, asking about the best books folks read this year, and you all gave me some great answers, including a few that have been on my list and I haven’t gotten to yet.

As far as comics, several of you seemed to love Ram V and Felipe Andrade’s The Many Deaths of Laila Starr, which I’ve been dying to read - Ram is indeed an awesome writer (and one whose Catwoman footsteps I stand directly in, a bit intimidating!) I also got a lot of folks loving It’s Lonely At the Center of the Earth by Zoe Thorogood. I’ve been a fan of Zoe’s art for a while now, and seeing you all recommend this so heavily sent it to the top of my holiday break reading list, so thank you for that!

In novels, you liked Grant Morrison’s Luda and Gretchen Felker-Martin’s Manhunt - two that I’ve had sitting by the bedside for a minute now and am looking to get into soon. You mentioned a few that were new to me but I’m very intrigued by - Camila Sosa Villada’s Las Malas/Bad Girls got added to my list (thanks Zal) and CadensLuna (hi Alex) suggested Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo - one that’s crossed my path again and again but I’ve never actually given it a shot. Raven suggested The Blood Trials by N.E. Davenport which looks super cool. That and Fonda Lee’s Jade City/Green Bone Saga, which Andrew enjoyed, are on my list next time I need a juicy series to tear into.

My fellow non-fiction readers like Mateus suggested A República das Milícias, an account of the rise of paramilitary groups and political power in Rio de Janeiro - which sounds very interesting, and Anthony enjoyed digging into mythology with the works of authors like Sebastian Berg and Stephen Fry.

THANKS, ALL! AS FOR ME -

You can see that picture of my list above, but here’s a quick bullet list of some of my favorites:
Comics: Tokyo Tarereba Girls (Akiko Higashimura), Far Sector (N.K. Jemisin), Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen, (Fraction + Lieber)

Novels: The Overstory (Richard Powers), The Last Days of New Paris (China Mieville), Detransition, Baby (Torrey Peters), No One is Talking About This (Patricia Lockwood), This Is How You Lose The Time War (Max Gladstone + Amal El-Mohtar), The Price of Salt (Patricia Highsmith)

Non-fiction: The Habit (Elizabeth Kuhns), A Paradise Built in Hell (Rebecca Solnit), Perfumes, the 2018 Guide, Luca Turin.

what kinda comic is this huh

TREASURE, PART I

My friends at 3 WORLDS 3 MOONS invited me back to do a story with the amazing Phil Hester, a favorite artist and writer of mine! Part I dropped today for paid subscribers, and if you’re not a patron of theirs and you’re a fan of comics on Substack, get ye there. Definitely one of my favorites.

CHIP EXPOSES OUR IMMORTAL OBSESSION WITH INTERVIEWING SEXY VAMPIRES

Over on the Zdarsky Channel Today, he’s a freak and a menace and a deeply gothic soul and I couldn’t be happier to be writing Catwoman while he writes Batman. Tune into our upcoming TED Talk: Everyone Needs a Leather Pants Phase: Rockstar Lestat and You (A Live Erotic Fanfiction Readerin’.)

THE HELLFIRE GALA @ LOS ANGELES COMIC-CON

This was the coolest thing to see live and you have to check it out for yourself. These cosplayers truly freaked it. I gotta highlight in particular -

Mochi (msmochiofficial) as Psylocke and London (londonheartsu) as Captain Britain. Heartstoppers. I mean her name is London, how perfect is she?! I screamed myself hoarse at the fashion show, check out more at the links.

STAY WEIRD, talk soon, pre-order Betsy Braddock: Captain Britain #1 at your local comic shop before January 23rd -

-TH 11.21.22. 18:35