When you say “weekend,” we say “reading”! It’s time for Weekend Reading 59 here at Stately Beat Manor, the fifty-ninth entry of our ongoing feature.
What prose and comics will you be paging thorugh this weekend? As always, we’d love to hear from you! Let us know what you’re reading, either in the comments or on social media @comicsbeat!
TAIMUR DAR: This is the first weekend for the last few weeks where I haven’t had to work on interview or article coverage for The Beat so I can finally truly relax with some good reading. Going to take advantage and begin a series that’s been on my list to read before I die, Neil Gaiman’s Sandman, starting with the first volume Prelude & Nocturnes.
DEAN SIMONS: I am in the home stretch of my 2000AD catchup as I am now around the March 2021 issues of the British weekly anthology. Durham Red and Proteus Vex make way for, among other things, T.C. Eglington and Simon Davis’ second series of folk horror Thistlebone. Rather excited to see more Davis drawn horror. One of the great things about the weekly anthology is that everything (except Judge Dredd) finishes a series or story arc and then we get something new to take its 4-6 page slot. And the best issues are when the art of the different serials are so drastically different from each other that just flipping through the pages is an experience.
AVERY KAPLAN: I’m having a disco inferno this weekend with Dazzler! I’ve never sat down and read the pop star mutant’s solo series and now seems like the perfect opportunity. Plus, one of the perks of these circa mid-1980s pamphlets is the fact that the advertisements are nearly as engaging as the comics. Just what is it that explains the upsetting quotation marks used in your listing for “‘Fake’ Vampire Blood,” Fun Factory???
BILLY HENEHAN: I love Nick Spencer’s writing, and I’ve been a huge fan of Patrick Gleason since he and Peter Tomasi were the most underrated creative team at DC Comics. On top of that, Spider-Man is my favorite superhero. Then tell me why, dear reader, have I been completely ignoring Amazing Spider-Man. That ends this weekend. I’m binging the series all weekend starting back when Ryan Ottley was handling the art in issue #1. See you on the other side!