Year: 2006

I was stunned and saddened to hear about the passing of Octavia Butler, my favorite science fiction writer, the other day. The author of 12 novels and 1 published collection of short stories, Butler was a pioneer in the science fiction realm, being a lone African-American woman, and a lesbian, in a field dominated by white males. The author died outside of her home in Seattle, after falling and striking her heard on a walkway.

The first of Octavia’s books that I ever read was entitled Wild Seed, and it was a fantastic story about two immortal super beings; one who could change shape, who was in pursuit of the other who possessed complete control of her body. As a young man it made quite an impression on me, and years later, when I read her Xenogenesis trilogy (Dawn, Adulthood Rites, and Imago) I was hardly surprised by the talent behind them. What I loved about this trilogy was the daring exploration of sexuality and gender that they encompassed. Her collection of short stories, Bloodchild and Other stories, was a daring gathering of stories and essays from throughout her career that spanned genre.

After the throught-provoking Parable of the Sower and its sequel, Parable of the Talents which found a new religion forming around a young woman after an apocalyptic tragedy has decimated the earth, there was a noticeable lack of new work from Octavia as she suffered some personal writer’s block. There are interviews where she discusses working on a third book in this series, Parable of the Trickster, but it is apparently unfinished. She did return with a bold new novel last year called Fledgling. This novel might have taken some of her fans by surprise as it was a vampire novel, but one steeped in science fiction rather than fantasy or gothic horror.

In 1995 Octavia was the recipient of a “genius grant” from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the only the only science fiction writer to receive such an honor. This $295,000 windfall followed years of poverty and personal struggles with shyness and self-doubt. In an 2004 interview with the Seattle P-I Octavia commented, “People may call these ‘genius grants, but nobody nobody made me take an IQ test before I got mine. I know I’m no genius.”

Octavia’s first novel, Kindred, published in 1979 after being repeatedly rejected by publishers who could not understand how a science fiction novel could take place on a plantation in the antebellum south, is her most popular novel, selling more than a quarter of a million copies to date. I’ve never actually read Kindred and I am looking forward to the experience.

I was struck by how saddened I was by the news of Octavia’s death. This was the first time one of my “favorite artists” of some sort has died, and I was taken aback by the lack of any future work by this talented woman. I can only hope that Octavia knew some fulfillment and happiness from this career that brought so much to her fans.

So, it’s really Michael, not Scot, despite what it says below (I’m using his laptop), but the important thing is that I’m writing this post (and actually posting it) while on a bus to New York City. That’s right, wireless internet access on a bus ride to New York. It’s one benefit of the LimoLiner. I first discovered the LimoLiner courtesy of my colleague Kerry, when we traveled to New York City last May for the BookExpo America Conference. The LimoLiner is a bus that makes the journey from the Hilton in the Back Bay neighborhood of Boston to the Hilton at 53rd & 6th in New York. It costs more than the Fung Wah, but it’s less than Amtrak. It boasts luxury leather seats (and they are comfortable), that wireless internet access I mentioned earlier, meal service (unlike say… an airplane!), and a movie. It’s a nice alternative to driving, in my opinion!

So we’re off to New York for the weekend to visit with Bruce and see Scot’s friend Susan in her first off-Broadway musical! It’s called [title of show] and we’re looking forward to it. While we’re in town we also hope to stop in at the New York ComicCon Comic Book Convention. All the Marvel and DC bigwigs will be there, and wouldn’t you know? Librarians can reigster for free!

Okay, so it’s a tired meme, but I enjoyed reading it on lymjello’s blog, so I figured, what the heck, I’ll bite. I’ve also followed lymejello’s lead and added my own category.

Four jobs I’ve had:

1. Library Administrator
2. Magazine Reviewer
3. Manager of a Record Store
4. Tax form picker/shipper

Four movies I can watch over and over:

1. The Sweet Hereafter
2. Miss Firecracker
3. Passion Fish
4. Last Night

Four albums I can listen to over and over:

1. Emm Gryner, Girl Versions
2. Martha & the Muffins, Then Again – A Retrospective
3. Kate Bush, The Dreaming
4. Jane Siberry, The Walking

Four places I’ve lived (this one’s pretty boring for me):

1. Boston, MA
2. Melrose, MA
3. Andover, MA
4. Reading, MA

Four TV shows I love:

1. Star Trek: Deep Space 9
2. Twin Peaks
3. Days of Our Lives
4. The Comeback

Four highly regarded and recommended TV shows that I’ve never watched a single minute of:

1. 24
2. Commander-in-Chief
3. Alias
4. American Idol

Four places I’ve vacationed:

1. Australia
2. Canadian Rockies
3. Toronto, ON
4. Phoenix, AZ

Four boys I find adorable:

1. Scottie
2. Don
3. Jonno
4. Phil

Four of my favorite dishes:

1. Fancy Pants
2. Pasta Bolognese
3. Danish Pastries
4. Iced “Corn” Cookies

Four sites I visit daily:

1. Chlotrudis Society for Independent Film
2. Internet Movie Database
3. All These Wonderful Things
4. Dudes Nude

Four places I would rather be right now:

1. A Tropical Nude Beach
2. Watching a movie in a theatre
3. Visiting my friend in Buddina, Queensland, Australia!
4. Visiting Jennifer in Rutland, VT

I have a lot of difficulty compartmentalizing things into years, but I thought I’d give it a try with my comics, since I only keep a single year’s worth in my apartment before moving them to a friend’s for storage. Because of this new set-up, I was able to take a look at the comics I got in 2005 and see what I liked and what I didn’t like. Here is a list of some of my high points, low points and other observations about some titles.

• Best Series ? Ex Machina (Brian K. Vaughan; Tony Harris)
• Best Superhero Comic ? Birds of Prey (Gail Simone; Various Artists)
• Best Writing on a Regular Series ? Wonder Woman (Greg Rucka)
• Most Consistently Excellent ? Y: The Last Man (Brian K. Vaughan; Goran Sud?uka)
• Carrying on the Neil Gaiman Legacy – Lucifer (Mike Carey; Peter Gross)
• Best Event ? Infinite Crisis and Various Spin-Offs (Geoff Johns; Phil Jimenez)
• Biggest Surprise (Positive) ? Young Avengers (Allan Heinberg; Jim Cheung)
• Most Refreshing Writer ? Dan Slott (She-Hulk; Thing; Great Lakes Avengers)
• Best Miniseries Starring an Obscure Character ? TIE! Drax the Destroyer (Keith Giffen; Mitch Breitweiser) & Stormbreaker: The Saga of Beta Ray Bill (Michael Avon Oeming & Dan Berman; Andrea Divito)
• Best Epilogue ? Phoenix: Endsong (Greg Pak; Greg Land)
• Best Use of a Prestige Artist ? TIE! Justice (Doug Braithwaite & Alex Ross) & Phoenix: Endsong (Greg Land)
• Best X-Men ? X-Men (Peter Milligan; Salvador Larroca)
• Best of the Four ? 4 (Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa; Various Artists)
• Best Ultimate Title ? The Ultimates 2 (Mark Millar; Bryan Hitch)
• Most Ambitious Mess ? Seven Soldiers of Victory (Grant Morrison; Various Artists)

• Most Welcome Use of a Character ? Zatanna
• Nicest Cameo by an Obscure Character ? Black Orchid in Day of Vengeance
• It?s About Time ? The Reunion of Katchoo and Francine in Strangers in Paradise (Terry Moore)

• Biggest Disappointment ? Kitty Pryde: Shadow & Flame (Akira Yoshida; Paul Smith)
• Stuck in a Rut, or Why Am I Still Buying This Crap? ? Uncanny X-Men (Chris Claremont; Various Aritsts)
• Most Overrated ? Astonishing X-Men (Joss Whedon; John Cassaday) ? Plus, there were only 6 issues
• Most Dismal Event ? House of M (Brian Michael Bendis; Olivier Coipel)
• Shadow of Its Former Self ? The New Avengers (Brian Michael Bendis; Various Artists)
• Most Pointless High Profile Resurrection ? Hal Jordan/Green Lantern
• Most Welcome but Shoddily Executed Resurrection ? Donna Troy
• Great Style, Too Much Substance ? Otherworld (Phil Jimenez)

A couple of things I want to mention further. This is only the second time in my history of reading comics that I have stopped buying The Avengers. The first was when Rob Leifield was writing it (it picked it up a few issues later when Walt Simonson took over). What Brian Michael Bendis has done with a former favorite title of mine is inexcusable. It in no way resembles a comic called The Avengers, and despite the use of one of my favorite characters from the 1970’s (Spider-Woman) it just plain sucks. DC knocks one out of the park with its massive Infinite Crisis event, including four terrific lead-in mini-series, and other regular titles picking up some compelling threads (the Wonder Woman/Superman clash specifically.) I am the first to admit how much I enjoy Young Avengers, a title I was sure to hate. Allan Heinberg has made a convert out of me. It’s great to read Dan Slott’s work, bringing old-style superheroics back to comics with a nice dose of humor on titles such as She-Hulk, The Thing and the Great Lakes Avengers mini-series. Who would have thought I would have enjoyed miniseries starring such obscure characters as Drax the Destroyer and Beta Ray Bill so much? And the attention paid to Zatanna this year has been very much welcomed. Kitty Pryde, on the other hand, a much-loved character, disappointed in her mini-series, which I just felt fell flat. The X-Men titles themselves were a mixed bag. I bucked the majority and really enjoyed Peter Milligan’s work on X-Men, while being greatly disappointed in Joss Whedon’s Astonishing X-Men despite a strong start in 2004. And Chris Claremont? Just give it up. Greg Pak did an astounding job adding another chapter to the Jean Grey/Phoenix saga. And to think, I’ve had dinner with him! And as for my boyfriend, talented artist/writer Phil Jimenez? He had a mixed year; his astounding pencils make Infinite Crisis so beautiful, and add some wonder to Otherworld, but his muddled writing in that series and the non-event, The Return of Donna Troy were disappointing. Finally there’s House of M. The less said about that mockery the better.

Then there were some titles that were solidly enjoyed, but didn’ tmake any of the “best categories.” Geoff Johns continues his superlative work on JSA, while DC’s struggling title Manhunter continues to keep my interest. J. Michael Straczynski’s Supreme Power remains one of the most refreshing superhero comics, but it will have strong competition with the revamped return of Peter David’s excellent X-Factor, the most anticipated series of 2006. Pulse remains the best series by a writer I don’t like (Brian Michael Bendis) and the Legion of Superheroes, while interesting and fun to read, isn’t catching on the way Mark Waid probably intended. All-in-all, I can say it was a year filled with ups and downs. Now I just have to save some money and start dropping some of the titles that continuously disappointed me throughout the year.