As always, let’s get started with the numbers …

Media consumed # (remaining/total)
Physical Comics Read: 14 (0/411)
Digital Comics Read: 0 (475/539)
Trade Paperbacks/Graphic Novels Read: 7 (28/49)
Books Read: 6 (115/172)
Movies Watched: 6 (108/143)
TV Seasons Completed: 2 (91/101)
TV Shows Completed: 0 (28/38)
Podcast Episodes Remaining: 136

So it’s been a while since I posted anything, and that’s because the usual August madness happened: back to school; back to work; and in my case, a return to a full classroom after a year and a half of Zoom school and hybrid learning. I didn’t think that finally physically being in front of 20-25 students was going to be as exhausting as it has been, even though said classes are going fine.

I’m sure that anyone in my profession will agree with me when I say it’s not necessarily the classes that are exhausting, but the work beyond those 80-minute blocks. And when every couple of days drops yet another thing that we have to keep track of, it’s no wonder I’m behind on grading because I don’t seem to have the energy to do it when I have the time.

Thankfully, I’ve got this to look forward to. Reading, watching movies, and listening to podcasts is a great distraction. So let me go through the lists.

Comics: My physical list continues to be at zero, and while I did buy some comics to fill holes in my want list, I read everything I bought. Digitally, I haven’t returned to Star Trek comics for a little while because I’ve been having too much fun reading 80s DC books on the DC Infinite app. I’m toying with signing up for Marvel Unlimited again (I dropped my subscription when I couldn’t side load it onto my old Kindle and reading on the laptop was cumbersome). The big thing for me, though, will be October’s Baltimore Comic-Con. I’m going to try and be really exact with what I plan to look for, but I know that I’m also going to grab random crap as well. We’ll see how that goes.

Trades and Graphic Novels: I got a few more, and checked a few out of the library. I know that I have about 28 left to read, but a number of those are either essentials, omnibus editions, or part of a series of trades (such as Batman: No Man’s Land of which I’m missing the fourth volume), so this is going to go slower than it should. I will probably get back into my Claremont X-Men dive in a couple of weeks, or maybe I’ll read that omnibus of Phil Jimenez’ Wonder Woman.

Books: So I totally understand why people accumulate reading lists and never fully finish because new and shiny books come along. I also totally understand why I should not be allowed around a sale table at Barnes & Noble because the stack of books that is unread and the stack of books that is overflow from my bookcases is growing. I may need to do another book donation culling, especially since I think the library has reopened their book donation program.

TV and Movies: I’m incredibly close to offloading my Netflix DVD subscription but the issue is time and that streaming services are more tempting. I’ve run through my Kanopy watchlist more than any other, mostly through documentaries. TV continues to be catching up with the DVR as well as a backlog of Netflix stuff like The Movies that Made Us.

Podcasts: Here’s the list that grows even as I listen because I keep finding new shows to listen to, especially when listening to the show means that my wife is also listening and we can talk about them. But that’s some of the fun of it. I mean, I love my comics podcasting friends, but I will set aside my backlog of those shows for “Something was Wrong” and “Dr. Death” and their stories about con men because we’ll spend a good half hour to an hour after each episode talking about them.

And that’s it for the month. I have a backlog of review material that I need to post, so you may see me writing about stuff I watched over the last month or two. Plus, there’s some more journals to get through. So look out for that.