July continues, and with it comes Weekend Reading 168! As San Diego Comic-Con 2023 approaches, we’re sneaking in a few more minutes of reading time here at Stately Beat Manor.
What will you be reading this weekend? The Beat is waiting to hear from you! Give us a shout-out in the comment section and let us know.
ARPAD OKAY: This weekend I’m amphibian bookin’ with Grog the Frog by Alba Bg and Daviliorium. Silver Sprocket has been picking up where Peow Studio and the ShortBox curated comic boxes left off in regards to publishing creeper stunners of fantasy and science fiction, and the protagonist of this particular book is supposed to be an oblivious little a-hole, a literary device I am a perennial sucker for. Densely packed with weird crap, at a glance it speaks to me of what I like in a tightly wound Simon Roy post-apocalypse story, but also of the causally blunt characters of Lisa Hanawalt or Benji Nate. I anticipate Jack Vance in the Land of Ooo.
TAIMUR DAR: Not too long ago, Patton Oswalt and Jordan Blum were signing the trade collection of their series Minor Threats: A Quick End to a Long Beginning artist Scott Hepburn at Midtown Comics. I picked up a copy and got it signed. With only a few weeks before the insanity that is SDCC, I’m hoping to devote time to reading this series that I’ve heard nothing but great things.
CY BELTRAN: As always, I’m hoping to actually find the time to read, but if I do, I really want to check out The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson. I just cracked it open and it’s been wicked interesting to check out so far. I also finally bought the copy of Juni Ba’s Djeliya I’ve had saved at my local shop and I’m so excited to be able to dig into it. Ba’s been one of my favorite breakout creators of the last few years, and I can’t wait to check out this project.
REBECCA OLIVER KAPLAN: I am trying to get in a massive amount of reading before San Diego Comic-Con. Not only do I have a bunch of review copies to check out beforehand, but I also have a buttload of manga and manhwa and used graphic novels to catch-up on from Anime Expo 2023. In preparation for the “Junji Ito Experience” at SDCC, I am reading more Ito than anyone should read back-to-back. I am currently checking out TOMIE because I was told it’s less sexist than his other work (thanks Nuclear Comics!). When I picked up Ito, I also found affordable copies of Project MK-Ultra: Sex, Drugs & the CIA, Vol. 1 by Stewart Kenneth Moore and If Ur Stabby by Kaz Windness. Finally, I am working on my vocabulary by reading EVEN MORE novels, beginning with Star Trek: Voyager – Her Klingon Soul, written by Michael Jan Friedman with a concept by John J. Ordover and Paula M. Block.
You can peruse the 167 previous entries in The Beat’s Weekend Reading archive by clicking here.
