It’s taken nearly four years to make it from our inaugural entry in March 2020. Nevertheless, we’ve managed to survive until Weekend Reading 200! It seems like our milestone 100th entry was just yesterday… give or take a few decades.
As you might expect, the Beat Elite will be spending the weekend holed up in Stately Beat Manor, getting lost in a big pile of books. But this week, to celebrate the landmark entry, we’ve invited a plethora of celebrity guests over for a big Weekend Reading gala!
We’re hoping you’ll consider taking part this weekend, too! Please let us know what you’re reading while you avoid the arrival of Monday, either right here in the comment section or over on our Bluesky page.
AVERY KAPLAN: It’s been a long road, getting from there to here. I’m thinking of those dark days in July 2020 when we were stuck at home eating affordable hot dogs instead of soggy $19 ones, traveling only via Animal Crossing: New Leaf and resorting to back issues for reading material. So for our landmark 200th Weekend Reading column, I’m selecting Comic-Con: 40 Years of Artists, Writers, Fans & Friends. Written by Gary Sassaman and Jackie Estrada, with a foreword by Ray Bradbury and a cover by Sergio Aragones, this book is filled with reproductions and photos of the first 40 years of Comic-Con.
Then as far as prose goes, I’m checking out Hell Bent by Leigh Bardugo, the sequel to Ninth House. The first book won me over with its refreshing depiction of magic, which is conceptualized not as dull colored sparks coming out of hokey wands, but rather, a complex system designed to keep power in the hands of an elite few (a potent and relevant metaphor).
Finally, I’m eager to dive into Adversary by Blue Delliquanti. Between Delliquanti and publisher Silver Sprocket’s respective records, I’m sure I’m going to enjoy this comic. To all those who have contributed to this column over the past four years, I am sincerely grateful. And for you readers: thanks for reading our column, thanks for reading The Beat and thanks for reading in general. Long days and pleasant nights, friends.
RYAN NORTH: Sorry to out myself as a Fake Geek Guy here, buuuut – this weekend I’m reading The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkein for the first time. It’s the latest selection for the book club I’m a part of, and we chose it after everyone could not believe I’ve never read ANY Tolkien EVER. They were shocked and appalled at my cultural miseducation – horrified, really. I was roasted pretty ruthlessly. Anyway so far I’ve read the first couple of chapters, and I gotta say – this Tolkien guy’s got chops! I really think he might be going places!!
WENDY XU: I’m currently reading LEECH by Hiron Ennes. Not gonna lie, Tamsyn Muir‘s blurb of “Wuthering Heights but with worms” really sold me, even though I usually hate “X but with Y” comps. It is, however, a beautifully written, dark and atmospheric medical fantasy… with worms, told from the POV of the equivalent of whatever that hivemind parasite thing living in Star Trek’s Jadzia Dax is. I’ve been listening to it on audiobook while inking comics pages. And if I were to suggest an accompanying illustrated book to pair with it: THE UNFORTUNATE LIFE OF WORMS by Noemi Vola, is a meditation on being a worm as a metaphor for being a person, with lots of really fun worm comics. That one I’ve been reading in little snippets as a bedtime story.
ARPAD OKAY: So I’ve been reading Hurricane Isle and Other Adventures, Fantagraphics’ “best of” Roy Crane’s daily strips starring Captain Easy and Wash Tubbs. A handsome, heavy volume of some of the best adventure comics ever written. Flip the book over and on the back Gil Kane is quoted, saying “Superman was Captain Easy; Batman was Captain Easy.” But my read so far has been Tintin was Wash Tubbs. A globe-trotting blend of pulp action and good-natured humor. A boy adventurer, treasure, dames, gangsters, roughnecks, danger, derring-do. Ron Coulart’s essay at the book’s start posits Floyd Gottfredson was so besotted with Crane’s work that Mickey Mouse is Wash Tubbs. And there’s a lot of talk out there but not really any print about Tintin taking pages directly from Mickey’s book. If there’s writing out there connecting Wash Tubbs, Mickey Mouse, and/or Tintin, I’d love to see it!
RON CHAN: This weekend I will be reading (Or more accurately, re-reading. It’s real good!) Sunflowers, an autobiographical shortform comic about living with bipolar 1 disorder by Keezy Young. When I bought Sunflowers from Keezy at Emerald City Comic Con last weekend, she said she felt weird saying “I hope you enjoy it” since it’s not really a fun subject matter, but I have indeed enjoyed it immensely. Keezy’s skill at storytelling, beautiful artwork, and deeply-personal writing come together to make a lovely comic that is both informative and charming.
ADAM KARENINA SHERIF: To honor this lovely column’s 200th entry, I’m going to divulge my full reading slate. In prose (no pics), I’m currently reading Patricia Highsmith’s Strangers On A Train. It’s my first Highsmith and like Ryan North(!) above, I’m reading it as part of a book club (comprised of two members). The impulse came from this brilliant Ali Fitzgerald comic bio of Highsmith that ran in The New Yorker fairly recently. In poetry, I’m reading When My Brother Was An Aztec by Natalie Diaz, whose Postcolonial Love Poem was nothing short of life altering.
In comics-adjacent reading, I’m delighted to have snagged a copy of Jim Rugg’s 1986 zine – which collates all kinds of comics-related writing and advertising from the year in question, including some writing our own Heidi MacDonald did for Amazing Heroes. Finally, in comics (pics), this weekend I’ll be reading Dracula, Motherf**ker by Erica Henderson and Alex de Campi after being so thoroughly blown away by their most recent collaboration, Parasocial. Okay!
STEENZ: I just started two books recently: Blue Period Vol 2 and Radium Girls. Both I’ve gotten from my local library!
Blue Period is by Tsubasa Tamaguchi and is about a student who decides to focus on art. He’s used to doing well in school, but art is something he really has to work at. There’s so much more to art than the ability to draft an image realistically. There’s color theory, composition, and FEELINGS! It’s a really fun read and has reminded me why I love art in the first place. It’s an especially great manga for those who might want to dabble in the arts themselves. Big ups to Gale Galligan for recommending this to me!
Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America’s Shining Women by Kate Moore has been a THRILLING read. I like reading nonfiction, especially ones that focus on scams and scandals. And this is QUITE the scandal. Kate does a great job giving a voice to all of the women that worked in the Radium field painting watches and clocks. I feel like we know so little about the struggles these women went through. But Kate deftly unveils their stories and the difficulties getting anyone to listen to them about the dangers of radium. I don’t want to put it down!!
A.C. ESGUERRA: Of course you ask me what I’m reading on the very weekend it’s “horny stuff”. First, Rebecca Mock’s DIE HORNY, about a big monster villain and her happily pathetic henchman on a derailed honeymoon. Mock packs a ton of wonderfully drawn action, comedy and innuendo into the energetic hot-pink pages. Power Rangers and 90s anime infused with extra step-on-me energy and just a touch of tech industry critique—I want more!
In prose I’m doing my annual reread of the CAPTIVE PRINCE trilogy by C.S. Pacat (known more recently in comics for FENCE), a tale of two enemy princes destined to fight, f**k and have feelings. Not necessarily in that order. It’s full of vicious dialogue, political intrigue and an unabashed amount of high fantasy and BL/erotica tropes from the Livejournal era. I love it to bits.
PAIGE BRADDOCK: I was captivated by the cover art for this beautifully illustrated modern fable about protecting our planet. In this lushly illustrated picture book, The Wild by Yuval Zommer, the Earth is imagined as a magical, precious, and vulnerable creature called the Wild. These days I find myself both drawn to and inspired by picture books. I plan to sit and study each illustration while enjoying a cup of coffee this weekend.
TAIMUR DAR: My sister gifted me a copy of All of the Marvels: A Journey to the Ends of the Biggest Story Ever Told by Douglas Woulk for my birthday last January. I’ve been making my way through the other books I got for my birthday but I’m finally going to sit down and begin All the Marvels this weekend. And with the tragic passing of Akira Toriyama, I think it’s fitting I read some of the original Dragon Ball manga since so many I was obsessed with the Dragonball franchise as a kid.
MERVE GİRAY: Since we’re celebrating International Woman’s Day, my plan for the weekend is to start reading Gösta Berling’s Saga by Selma Lagerlöf, the first woman to be awarded The Nobel Prize in Literature. For comics, I originally set aside a few newer volumes of the series I was keeping up with, but similar to Taimur, I’ll revisit Dragon Ball to honor Akira Toriyama instead as well.
D. MORRIS: Like many, I was devastated by the passing of Akira Toriyama. In his honor, I plan on pulling out my copy of Akira Toriyama’s Manga Theater. It is a collection of short stories that also charts his growth as an artist.
CY BELTRAN: I’ve been behind on my reading for a while, so this is a huge catch-up weekend for me. I’ll be starting off by finishing up the excellent 20th Century Men by Deniz Camp, Stipan Morian, and Aditya Bidikar. Then, for a book club I’ve joined, I’m gonna be wrapping up We Play Ourselves by Jen Silverman, which is about a queer playwright who escapes to LA after some public shenanigans in NYC. Finally, I’m so so so behind on this year’s Oscar, but I plan to find time to check out Oppenheimer (I know!) and The Holdovers, two films that I somehow missed in theaters and now have to stream on Peacock on my little laptop. Hopefully I can do all of this in the next 48 hours!
JANICE CHIANG: My weekend reading will be Tao Te Ching by Lao Tsu who was a philosopher in the royal court of Zhou. His writings are known to have formulated the principles of Taoism. When I seek answers to questions I have in my life and broader issues of national and global events I re-read this book. I believe philosophy represents the knowledge and experiences of civilizations who have proceeded our lifetime.
Although technology and standards of living have evolved over the centuries, there are fundamental human experiences that are universal regardless of the timeline. I see within our nation has much turmoil in the government and among the citizens. There is a lot of strife and hardship in every country in the world as well. Why is there more pain than joy?
One main principle of the Tao Te Ching is to understand humankind’s relationship to Nature.
Meaning that the self importance of humankind is the gateway to destruction. Not only do the decisions of a few affect the lives of the majority but Nature herself is the target, too. Climate destruction, warfare, transgressions between people and creatures who share the Earth with us is our present state of affairs.
Once, I was waiting on line at our local health food store. I had a bunch of parsley that I needed for a recipe. A man in front of me turned around and saw that I had one item. He told me to go ahead of him and said, ”I’m a Catholic Taoist.” This man was David Johansen/Buster Poindexter the musician. In retrospect, he was letting me know that he believed in theology…The belief that all religions share the same positive principles. Compassion being the main principle of unity.
The reason I periodically return to read this book is for a quieting of the agitated mind.
With philosophy, one’s understanding deepens as we have more life experiences. It helps one sum up where we stand and how to move forward.
I was honored last year as a Special Guest at San Diego Comic Con and was able to present my work and experiences in our industry during a Spotlight Panel. We have a special community of creators, readers, fans, and cosplayers. There is always great joy and discovery during conventions where old friends are reunited and new friends are made.
How do we navigate these difficult times? Our day to day interactions are an opportunity to bridge the divide between “strangers” and those outside our normal circle of family and friends. Achievements in history, culture, knowledge, and philosophy is a social activity being that they are the culmination of many people’s lifetime experiences. The challenge is will one contribute or destroy for the sake of destruction?
ETHAN SACKS: Weekends are a good time to catch up on my reading, and I always have one non-fiction book and one novel in which I am simultaneously engrossed. It may sound weird, but it appeals to different parts of my very warped brain. Sometimes the non-fiction selection is research for an upcoming comic. Right now, however, it’s a book called Stolen Focus: Why You Can’t Pay Attention — and How to Think Deeply Again by Johann Hari. It’s a sobering look at how everything in modern life — from the way social media is designed to our diets to sleep deficiency — has rewired our minds. Sobering, but it’s something I feel is important to face. For fun, I’m currently devouring my Star Wars colleague Charles Soule’s latest mind-blowing novel, The Endless Vessel. And next up, I’m going to read fellow Star Wars writers Alyssa Wong and Daniel José Older’s new High Republic epic, Escape From Valo. What can I say? I have ridiculously talented friends.
NAOMI SACKS: I’m reading One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston. This novel follows 23-year-old August who just moved to New York City. She meets Jane, a mysterious and cool woman always on her subway, and falls in love. But as she learns more about Jane, August discovers that Jane is from the 70s and decides to help Jane find her place in time. This book has a really nice blend of romance and sci-fi elements, and the local history woven in makes it feel like a love letter to New York City. I also happened to find this book translated into Portuguese and French, so I’m excited to try reading it again in those languages once I’m done! (I don’t speak Portuguese. I bought the Portuguese version entirely on impulse. I don’t know how I’m going to read it.)
GREGORY PAUL SILBER: As I wrote in last week’s “Weekend Reading,” I’m still reading Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, and I’m nearing the finale. Specifically, I’m reading the Penguin Classics edition entitled Frankenstein: The 1818 Text, which, per the back cover, “preserves the hard-hitting and politically charged aspects of Shelley’s original writing” as later editions were altered by Mary Shelley’s famed (but apparently sexist) husband, poet Percy Shelley. This is my first time reading it at all so I have no frame of reference, but regardless, it’s a hell of a book. Don’t let the fact that it’s over 200 years old scare you away; it’s suspenseful, profoundly philosophical, and in some respects surprisingly modern. Expect a more thorough examination of the novel and how it speaks to current storytelling trends by next week or so in my column, Silber Linings.
SAMANTHA PUC: I’m always reading more than one book at a time, and this weekend is no exception! For The Nonbinarian Book Club, I’m reading Krista Burton’s Moby Dyke, which is a road trip saga about visiting the last remaining lesbian bars in the US, and I’m also determined to finish Jenny Fran Davis’s Dykette which is a weird, wild time. I keep checking it out from the library, reading a little, returning it, putting it back on my holds list, rinse, and repeat. It feels like flirting, which seems appropriate for the plot. I just finished Shalene Gupta’s The Cycle, which is (to my knowledge) the first book published about Pre-Menstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD), and it was affirming, infuriating, and informative all at once. Last but definitely not least, I’m hoping to read Matthew Erman and Sam Beck’s Loving, Ohio! My TBR is meticulously sorted and stacked in my apartment and my harddrive and I’m trying to work through it patiently, which as you can tell isn’t exactly working, but chaos becomes me (at least when we’re talking about reading habits).
KELAS LLOYD: I run a bookclub that started about a year into the pandemic, and I managed to con them this month into reading something that’s long been a part of my physical TBR pile – A History of Wild Places, by Shea Ernshaw. It’s about a hunt for a missing woman that intersects with a mysterious commune/cult, which fits well with the short story centering on a cult that I’m writing at the moment.
GEORGE CARMONA 3RD: In anticipation of the upcoming Netflix show The Three-Body Problem, I wanted to be one of those people who judge everything by the source material. Written by Liu Cixin and translated by Ken Liu, Three-Body Problem is an intense read about a secret alien invasion, a mysterious VR game, and the reaction of Earth’s governments. Outside of manga, I haven’t read any Asian sci-fi, so this has been a very interesting modification with my expectations as to how the book reads and feels.
On the comic side of things, I’ll be finishing off DC Comics’ 2022 Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths event. Writer Joshua Williamson asks and answers the question what happens when the Justice League dies? As I’m enjoying the current Titans run and the status of the Justice League, I wanted to go back and read how Nightwing and the Titans stepped up to become the DCU’s A-team. To back Williamson up on this massive reboot of the DCU is a squad of talented artists including main artist Daniel Sampere, Jim Cheung, Jack Herbert, Giuseppe Camuncoli, Cam Smith, Rafa Sandoval, Chris Burnham, Jordi Tarragona, Daniel Henriques, Danny Miki.
NANCY POWELL: A new Asian Comics exhibit just opened this weekend at Bowers Museum in Santa Ana, CA, and so in honor of that, I picked up Eike Exner’s Comics and the Origins of Manga: A Revisionist History, based on a dissertation he wrote as a USC graduate student. Exner posits that comics (and subsequently manga) developed in reaction to new technologies in audio visual entertainment. It is a departure from the more commonly held belief that manga arose from centuries-old Japanese art forms. I am also excited to be reading four zines I picked up at the Cartoon Art Museum by Donna Almendrala. Her artwork is just too adorable to resist.
YAZMIN GARCIA: I’ve heard a lot of good things about See You in My 19th Life by Lee Hey so I’m reading the first volume this weekend. Juwon Yun has lived through and remembers her previous 17 lives. Just before she was able to tell her secret to her friend Seoha Mun, she dies in his arms. She reincarnates again a year later and she’s determined to be in Seoha Mun’s life again. I enjoy the reincarnation trope so I’m excited to get into this series.
BEAU Q.: As a comic artist, as a comic writer, as a comic critic, as a comic reader, I’d be remiss if I didn’t load up on Akira Toriyama work that’s been floating around my reread list. In this moment, I find myself drawn to rereading all the Toriyama corners and after-chapter volume inserts from Akira Toriyama’s Manga Theater and Dr. Slump volumes 1-18 where Tori Studio circa 1983-85 document their goofing off and subsequent crunchtime. Manga Theater has been my coffee table tableau for years now, and reads as Toriyama’s diary of trial & error with finding his creative voice in a then-shifting manga industry. As we mourn Toriyama’s passing, it’s never too late or too foolish to catch a glimpse of who he was when he first started, so that we can pursue our dreams with such fervor and foolishness.
MATHEW NEW: I’m always reading several things at once! Right now I’m reading Usagi Yojimbo Saga Vol. 3 (one of the huge volumes from Dark Horse). Stan Sakai is a legend so I probably don’t need to say much but if you’ve never read Usagi you really should! Also I’ve been watching FX’s new Shogun series and it’s been fun to realize how much I already knew about 17th century Japan because of all the Usagi Yojimbo I’ve read!
I’m also reading the first volume of Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou by Hitoshi Ashinano. I’m only just finishing the first volume, but it’s a slice-of-life series about a cute android who runs a little café set in a future some time after an environmental disaster. It’s post-apocalyptic but gentle, which is a really interesting dichotomy. Of course, with the recent sad news we’ve all heard by now, what I’ll actually probably be doing this weekend is launching a re-read of Dragon Ball. RIP Akira Toriyama, possibly the greatest cartoonist of all time.
DERRICK CROW: It’s been a minute since I’ve contributed here, but I’m always happy to, I’m just not always getting to read something. This weekend though I’m finally picking up a book that I’ve had in my little collection for awhile: Anime Architecture: Imagined Worlds and Endless Megacities by Stefan Riekeles. An incredible collection of behind-the-scenes cels and sketches of cities seen in many well-known anime and the stories behind their creations. I got it as a Christmas gift and now I’m finally checking it out! I also recently finished watching Monarch: Legacy of Monsters and loved it. I’m also watching Shogun on FX. I highly recommend both. Like others here, I would like to use some of this time to pay tribute to Akira Toriyama who has also cast a wide shadow over my life in many inspirational and personal ways. He is an absolute legend and will always be remembered. I hope he’s reading plenty of dirty magazines up in the great beyond.
KRISTINA ELYSE BUTKE: As always, I’m bringing the BL! I’ve got two very different BL manga to read this weekend. First off is Heat x Beat: A Shut-in Omega Becomes and Idol by Ken Homerun. This is my second venture into Homerun’s Heat x Beat world of alpha and omega idols with cute tails and animal ears. In this volume, Minoru is an omega shut-in due to heartbreak, and he vents his feelings through music. It attracts the attention of the mega-popular idol Hijiri, who sweeps Minoru into the spotlight! After that, I’ll be reading The Man Who Shattered my World by Osamy Moriya. This one is about Tachibana, who only goes for slender, pretty men as partners. But when the brawny, tough Kuzumi enters his life, the tables get turned! Both Heat x Beat and The Man Who Shattered My World come from Tokyo POP’s LoveLove line and I’m excited to dive into both!
EMMA GROVE: I got halfway through reading a Shirley Jackson book Life Among the Savages, about raising her children and husband, then started writing and illustrating a new book and couldn’t focus on anything else. Shirley Jackson is definitely one of my favorite authors, and I love her writing, so I hope to finish it one day soon.
PAUL ALLOR: I recently picked up Fabien Vehlmann and Kerascoet‘s Satania. I loved their Beautiful Darkness, so I’m really looking forward to that. And on my friend Claire Napier‘s recommendation, I’m checking out Tsubasa Yamaguchi‘s Nude Model, which looks dark and horny, one of my favorite combinations! On the prose side I’m working on Heaven and Hell: A History of the Afterlife, which started as research for a pitch that didn’t really come together—but honestly, a non-fiction examination of death what comes thereafter is research for nearly everything I write. I’ve also finally started Tom Lake, the latest by Ann Patchett, one of my all-time favorites. And I’m always dipping in and out of short fiction—lately I’ve been reading The Collected Stories of Stefan Zweig and Broken Stars (a collection of contemporary Chinese sci-fi). And I’m on a Robert Aickman kick, but I’m always on a Robert Aickman kick!
REBECCA OLIVER KAPLAN: I’m finally digging into my box of First Second review copies this weekend, beginning with Plain Jane and the Mermaid by Vera Brosgol and The Case of the Golden Bone by Sara Varon.
DEAN SIMONS: Like a lot of people, the news of Akira Toriyama’s passing floored me. I had been on a gradual Dragon Ball reread for the past year or so (I am presently on the Namek saga). The anime and the manga were gateways for me as a kid in the late 90s/early 00s. This weekend I will be reading his other series – the single volume tales Sand Land (original Japanese publication 2000; translated by Anita Sengupta and Gerard Jones) and Cowa! (original Japanese publication 1997; translated by Alexander O. Smith).
LISA GULLICKSON & BRAD GULLICKSON: This weekend, we’re entrenched in Awesome Con, our local Washington DC convention we refuse to miss. So, we had to get ahead of our comic book homework, devouring advance reader copies before getting lost in panel lines and signing schedules. Spectregraph #1 by James Tynion IV and Christian Ward reads like a William Castle haunted house flick with a blockbuster budget. We found its particular narrative device so stressful that we nearly ground our teeth to dust while reading. And that’s well before the ghost guts start overflowing the panel borders.
We also spent some serious time but not serious money hunting through the dealer’s room. We’re suckers for old romance comics, especially of the late silver age as it transitions into early bronze – the late sixties and early seventies. The aesthetic draws us in. We love the thick line art of aspirationally gorgeous women with vaguely mod hairstyles weeping bulbous tears over one heartbreak or another. But we’ve come to enjoy the predictable ride of their formulaic plotlines. We find them clumsily charming. In the late sixties, they were reaching for empowering women plotlines – like someone tunelessly humming a song they think they heard once – and inevitably, they fall hopelessly flat.
We acquired 1965’s Heart Throbs #98 from DC Comics for $7.50, and we could not be more thrilled. How can you resist hooky cover captions like, “Extra… Girls! Do you like going out on a blind date? Before you answer, read… ‘Blind Date'” or “If you’re starting to go steady, read… ‘He Laughed at My Tears.'” The crown jewel of this issue, however, is “Never Say Never,” in which Stell Miles’ old boyfriend turned guitar-wielding, titular Heart Throb comes back to town with plans of sweeping her off her feet. When he finally tries to win her back with an unwelcome kiss, she triumphs when she introduces him to her equally if not more handsome husband in a business suit. Housewives one; Heart Throbs zero!
You can peruse the 199 previous entries in The Beat’s Weekend Reading archive by clicking here.
