Recent Reads

@recentreads.bsky.social

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Not necessarily recently written. I read a lot of old books. Also, I read a lot of comix.

A trade paperback book, with a photo illustration on the cover of a creepy shadow of a man on the wall of a staircase. The image is a still from the film Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror (1922).
A comic book trade paperback with an illustration of a figure dressed in white, with a white hood and cape, stands with his arms outstretched, his back to the viewer, on a narrow platform overlooking a city from high above, where explosions spell out "I'm back."
A hardcover book with a cover painting illustration. In the foreground a large elephant is led by small human figures, through a trash-ridden street, in front of awning-bedecked buildings. In the background rise numerous futuristic skyscrapers, with a zeppelin flying far above.
Graphic novel trade paperback, with a painted cover illustration and, at the top, the title in a bold san serif font, "No Man's" stacked over "Land," and "Land" bracketed with the American flag to the left and the Soviet hammer and sickle to the right. The illustration is of a wide-open eye, apparently frozen. Two human figures can be seen reflected in the eye, mostly in silhouette. There is blood on the skin below the eye.
Comic book trade paperback, with a cover illustration, drawn in pen and ink and colored. King Conan sits on a carved stone throne, holding a sword in one hand, point down on the floor between his feet. He is wearing a gold crown, gold bracelets, a large gold pendant, a large gold belt buckle, a purple tunic, high leather boots, and has a blue cloak over his shoulders. Behind Conan, to his left, stands Brule the Spear-Slayer, a Pictish warrior with a band of blue paint across his eyes, wearing a heavy fur cloak over his bare torso, a heavy short sword scabbarded at his waist, a long braid of his black hair hanging down his front to his waist, and in his right hand holding upright a large spear. In front of them burn two wide, shallow braziers, one low and just above the stone floor, the other waist height.
A pocket paperback, a.k.a. a mass market paperback, with a cover illustration of a desert canyon, with the face of a cougar superimposed over it. In the background, mountains are silhouetted against a sunset sky.
A hardcover book with a cover illustration painting. In the foreground stands a large, muscular man, beardless and with short hair, wearing a jerkin open to the waist, and holding a long hand-and-a-half sword in his right hand. Behind him.to. To the right sits an older bearded man, wearing a black robe, and holding a thick black staff. Behind him stands a young teenaged boy. They are surrounded by ruined buildings and tumbled-down blocks of stone.
A graphic novel trade paperback with a cover illustration done in shades of red and orange. From the left stretches a chain link fence topped with a coil of barbed wire, stretching into the distance in the center of the image. In the orange sky, at the top, is the title and credits. Insects fly through the air, or crawl on the sparse vegetation at the bottom. Low mountains cross the horizon in the distance.
A hardcover book with an illustration by Jim Burns, of a man, wearing what looks like leather clothes and a flapping cape, resting against a boulder, while spaceships fly over him in a planet-filled sky.
Graphic novel trade paperback with an illustration of a German WWII submarine laying slightly askew in a small waterway surrounded by a jungle. A number of white birds are flying over the submarine, while a couple snowy white egrets stand in front of it
A comic book trade paperback with a cover illustration centered on a humanoid figure with a doglike head, carrying a large firearm in his right hand, splashing through a puddle amidst the rubble of a bombed city, flames flickering around him.
Comic book trade paperback with a full cover illustration and the title in an ornate early 20th century font at the bottom. At the top, a pickup truck burns in the middle of a road, with a row of telephone lines to the left and in the distance is a farmhouse and a windmill. Behind the dark smoke rising from the truck are ominous dark clouds coming up from below the horizon. The lower three quarters of the page are taken up by a stylized gas mask with blood running down in thin rivulets from the top, and with lightning bolts reflected in the glass of the eye ports.
A trade paperback with a cover topped with the Star Wars logo in bright red, with Luke Skywalker holding a pair of binoculars, Obi Wan Kenobi looking serious, C3PO and R2D2, the Death Star, and a Storm Trooper riding a dewback, with a portion of a planet in the background, as seen from space, and a large spacecraft chasing a smaller one.
A hardcover book with a cover painting with the face of Dracula appearing in a blood red swirling cloud.
A hardcover book with a photo collage cover showing a portrait of the author in his flight helmet and goggles, while behind him is a prisoner of war camp with a watchtower, and above him soars a Spitfire fighter airplane.
Hardcover book with a dustjacket cover illustration showing Animal Man, a blonde man wearing goggles, a short blue jacket, and a skintight deep yellow and sky blue one-piece costume, laying on the ground, arms outstretched and one knee raised. His lower legs and the ground are uncolored black and white pen and ink drawing. In the lower right foreground is a large hand, holding a small paintbrush, that is being used to color in one of Animal Man's legs.
Hardcover book with a reproduction of a comic book cover inset on the cover. The "Ghost Rider" comic book cover shows a skeleton with a flaming skull, wearing blue and black leathers, astride a red motorcycle with flames streaming out behind it. In the background are the cooling stacks of a nuclear power plant, and behind those is the mushroom cloud of an nuclear explosion. A superimposed caption in bold white lettering in the lower right corner reads "Death in the nuclear family!" #marvelcomics #booksky
Trade paperback book cover with a colored pen and ink illustration in a near-aet deco style, showing a young man with black hair and a red headband running across the foreground. In his right hand he carries a large scimitar, and in his left a bulky necklace. He is shirtless and has red pantaloons. In the background is a Middle Eastern cityscape and palm trees, and a winding set of steps leading up to a tiny gazebo, under which stands a young woman a red halter and harem.psnts and a flowing cape.
A hardcover book with a cover painting showing a futuristic, and yet aged-looking, cityscape, featuring in the center a segmented zeppelin train, with buildings fading into the background, and a small flying vehicle and a large ornate sculpture in the foreground.
A squarebound publication with a vintage cover illustration of Doc Savage, wearing only a pair of red shorts and a belt with numerous small pouches attached, climbs over a couple of human skeletons.
A hardcover book with a dustjacket in black, with the title and author in an extended serif font in a light cool grey color. In the center is a small, nearly square rectangular illustration showing the skeleton of a dinosaur foot. In the background are two small, distant figures of dinosaurs, perhaps apatosaurs, with a full moon shining through clouds behind the.
Graphic novel trade paperback with a cover illustration of a man wearing a mask, white tights, a white tank top, and a cape, sitting in a baseball dugout, arms resting on his knees. A baseball bat leans against the fence in front of him. Behind him hanging on the wall of the dugout is, from left to right, a sign for "Ace's Shoe Repair," a baseball glove, a large round steel mace, a wizard's staff, a trident, and a two-headed spear. Below these items is a shelf, upon which sit a number of smaller items, including a towel, a baseball cap, and cans of soda.
Comic book trade paperback with a cover illustration of Hawkeye, down on one knee, in the lower right corner of the image, aiming his bow and arrow up at a crowd of superheroes dropping down towards him. To the left is a small pile of bodies with arrows sticking out of them. The book title is in the open space between Hawkeye and the crowd.
A squarebound publication with a cover painting showing an athletic looking man, wearing only a pale yellow breechcloth, who has an iron ring around his neck. An iron chain connects the ring to a stanchion on a wooden post, and he is struggling to pull the chain free. Three men can be seen, partially obscured behind him. In the background is a tall wooden stockade, with palm fronds visible above it, and in the distance looms a tall mountain.
Hardcover book with a dustjacket cover painting showing an aged Robert Sheckley's head floating in the center of a galaxy, with a spaceship that has left a glowing trail orbiting around his head.
A hardcover book in a square format, with a turquoise blue background, the headline at top.in a white bold extra condensed serif font, the subhead below it in the same font but slightly smaller and in yellow. In the center is a white circle with a yellow border, and in the circle is a greyscale cartoon, in which a waiter stands at a table, at which is sitting a dog holding a menu, and the dog is asking the waiter, "Is the homework fresh?"
Hardcover book, with the dustjacket front cover predominantly the author's name in a dark red bold semi-serif font, and the title in a dark green bold display font. Below the title is a minimalist illustration of mountain peaks in a greenish gray, with a tiny silhouette of a red helicopter between them.
Hardcover book with a dustjacket, which has the word "MARS" across the top, in an extra bold sans serif font, in silver, with a three dimensional effect. The word "CROSSING" is across the bottom, in the same font and color. The author's name is just below "MARS," in the same font but much smaller. Between the title words is an illustration, with a large red circle mottled with black in a random pattern. Set in the center of the circle is a small image of the planet Mars as seen from space. Thin white lines loop around the planet, denoting spacecraft paths.
Graphic novel hardcover book with a cover illustration of a man in medieval plate steel armor, but no helmet, holding a long sword in his left hand, his right hand holding the reins of the rearing horse he is riding. In the foreground a group of armored men on foot charge at the mounted man, many waving weapons.
Comic book graphic novel hardcover book with an illustration of an old bearded man wearing robes and sashes, holding an unidentified object in his right hand. He is standing amidst a pile of dark gold-colored objects, perhaps tumbled statuary He is backlit by a light tan colored sky with dark gold stars. Behind him are angled pillars and the dark ceiling above him is littered with small bright blue circles with black dots in their centers, perhaps eyes.
Comic book trade paperback with a cover illustration of a female vampire, sitting barefoot on her side on a dark beach, trees behind her, her shoes sitting on the ground to her right. She is leaning on her right arm and has a blood-covered forefinger of her left hand in her smiling mouth. To her left behind her sprawls the body of a man, his intestines ripped out and stretched across the ground and over her lower legs. Phosphorescent blue water foams just below her feet and behind her to he right can be seen the ends of a couple surfboards, their fins sticking up. In the trees behind her are many pairs of glowing eyes.
A comic book trade paperback with a cover illustration of the Witcher with his head in near center of the image, right arm forward and reaching towards the ground. There is a bright glow from the ground, as if he is kneeling on one knee above a fire. His left arm is stretched back behind him and is holding a long sword, ready to swing. He has another long sword strapped to his back. Leaping towards him from the top left of the image is a wolf-like creature, and another one is silhouetted in the lower right, snarling at him.
Hardcover comic book collection with a cover illustration of Kevin Smith in his trademark backwards-worn baseball cap and a bulky dark blue blazer with three comic book-related pins on the left lapel. He is holding up a copy of the Quick Stops comic book in his right hand and pointing at it with his left hand. On the cover of that book, a man and a woman are hugging. A series of word balloons on the right side of the illustration have Smith introducing himself and the book. In the lower left foreground are three more comic books splayed out over each other. The one in front shows a man in contemporary clothing and angel wings, over the heads of characters Jay and Silent Bob.
A hardcover book with a photo-illustration of a dark figure wearing a white veil, with a gnarled hand in the foreground holding something that is streaming smoke that further obscured the details.
A hardcover graphic novel, with an illustration of a man in partial silhouette, his face obscured. He is wearing a suit jacket and tie, and holding a flashlight in his right hand, pointed at the viewer. He has a police badge on his belt at his waist. Behind him to his right can be seen a group of men with flashlights, gathered around an outline in white on the ground. To his left is a police car, a uniformed officer, and another person. To both sides loom large buildings.
Trade paperback comic strip collection, with a cover illustration that is a parody of a Star Wars movie poster, with a female figure sitting on the ground in the foreground, with a bald man standing right behind her, a lightsword held in both hands above him. In the background a male figure scratches his head and a female who is holding a cellphone in her left hand and poking at its screen with one finger of her right hand. In the far background are a couple of buildings and the silhouettes of pine trees, and a very starry sky.