My Top 3 Graphic Novels

I really only got into comic books over the past year. I bought my first grapic novels in France (one which I still haven't read because it was actually in French), though my "superhero obsession" started long before that.
Anyway, I actually went through my collection the other day so I could write down which issues I have an hopefully be able to keep a better eye out for some of the storylines I'd like to finish reading.
((i.e. I only have parts 3,4, and 7 of the Resurrection of Ra's Al Ghul series and would love to finish the JLA Quen of Fables story arch, but I'm missin part 3 of 3))
It turns out, I have 55 comic books and 8 graphic novels (with one headed this way in the mail!). I'm ridiculously excited and, while it's a far cry from Leonard's 2,600 comic books, I feel quite accomplished.
In celebration of this fact, I've decided to show you my top 3 favorite graphic novels.

1. The Killing Joke

One of the most reputable story archs of the the Batman saga, The Killing Joke is a story that will shock you from beginning to end. It's all about how one bad day can change a person forever. It encompasses the beginning of the Joker, the end of Batgirl, and so much more. The art is superb and the storyline compelling.
I've never read a better graphic novel and doubt I ever will.






2.The Brave and the Bold: The Lords of  Luck

Speaking of artwork, the pages of Lords of Luck are stunning to no end. They really went over the top with this one and it paid off. The imagery is both beautiful and mind-blowing. Major props are due to George Pérez for this one.
This storyline follows The Book of Destiny, a stolen book that forecasts the future to whomever bears it. Clearly, all hands are vying for it and our heroes have to get it back to it's rightful owner before some serious damage is done. Craziness, of course, ensues and we have everything from Supergirl and Lobo teaming up to Batman facing off with the Legion of Superheroes (in which, he pwns, of course. Only Brainy would be stupid enough to underestimate the Dark Knight.).
You'll be on the edge of your seat the entire time.
Sure, I may be a bit partial because this is the first graphic novel I've ever owned and I pored over it religiously for weeks, but it still wows me and I'm sure it'll do the same for you.

3.Batman & Robin: Batman Reborn

After the death of Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson takes on the mantle of Batman with Damian Wayne (the son of Bruce and Talia Al Ghul) as his Robin. What ensues is bloody havoc wreaked by both the bad guys and Damian, who's known for executing his opponents, to the dismay of both is departed father and his new mentor/older brother, Dick.
Under Dick's guidance, Damian must learns what it means to be Robin- to fight evil without becoming evil himself. It's a hard lesson and even to the end, he hasn't learne it, but he's on his way there.
Again, the artwork in this book is something to be commended. Paired with the gore that runs rampant within it's pages, it's enough to make you queasy, but still very well done.
I can't wait for it's sequel: Batman vs Robin, which is due in the mail any day now!




So these are my top 3 from what I own. Enjoy and let me know what your top 3 graphic novels are!

'Christmas Break' Resolutions

Well, the end of my first semester in college is practically here. My Bible school lets out on December 10th, but I'm skipping the last two days. Why? Because I can. Therefore, Wednesday is my last day of school for an entire month!
There's nothing like finals to make someone want to drop out of school for the rest of their adult life. Especially when that person was an idiot and forgot to read the three books each due on the day of that class's final. Yes, children, that was me. I was dumb enough to procrastinate and paid for it in three all-nighters in the space of a week. No, it wasn't fun, either.
I didn't even finish one of the books on time that I spent an all-nighter on! Waste of time much?
Anyway, Winter Break is coming up for everyone. High school students may only get a week or two, but that week or two will be highly treasured, I'm sure. Though we college kids get a month, it'll likely seem as quick.
So in order to take full advantage of my break, I've started to write out all the things I'd like to accomplish this month. Now, it's not a huge list. I'm hoping to actually fit some rest in there, ya know. And I need it, seeing as I couldn't even keep my eyes open during class today and was almost late to one because I'd fallen asleep in my chair from the class before it.
Here's what I have so far:

1) Keep Quiet Time/Prayer Time consistent. Due to the consistency of my class schedule each day, it's been quite easy for me to set a time for these and follow through. All I had to do was wake up an hour early and spend it with God. My main problem has been not carrying it through to the weekends, though, because I'm so tired that I'm sleeping through my alarm set for ten. You can imagine what difficulties would arise if I were still attempting 6am. So I'm going to have to create a set time to wake up this entire break if I want to accomplish this goal.

2) Read as much as possible. In the year 2009, I read exactly 30 books and my New Year's Resolution for 2010 was to hit 35, or at least 31. Sadly, I'm coming up quite short on this goal, having only read 24 at this point. I'm pretty confident that if I start A.S.A.P., I ought to be able to at least hit 31. This may be the only one of my resolutions to actually reach fruition, so here I am with fingers crossed and book cracked open.

3)Write like the wind, Bullseye! Wow, that was pretty cheesy... Anyway, I've got multiple 'writing projects' going on at once and haven't been devoting much time to them. As Ray Bradbury put it, "Quantity produces quality. If you only write a few things, you're doomed." And John Irving makes a similar point when he said, "The way you define yourself as a writer is that you write every tiem you have a free minute. If you didn't behave that way you would never do anything." These remind me that if I want to be a good writer/author (which I very much want to be), then I need to be far more devoted to my writing, instead of getting distracted as I so often am. This means I'll have to make myself sit down and work on this blog, work on my Fanfiction stories (you can find those at www.fanfiction.com/~kirstenerin if you really want to), and especially start cracking down on the book I've been trying to write for a few months now.

4)Spend plenty of time with family and friends. This honestly goes without saying. I mean, it's pretty much what distracts me most often from these other things I'm trying to accomplish. I love my family and friends so much and this opportunity to spend hours on end with them only makes my smile brighter!

That's pretty much it, my little Christmas Break Resolutions. Haha. Of course, my list is a bit more detailed, having to do more with specifics, but this is the main jist of it. What about you? What are your 'Christmas Break Resolutions'?