Ruby Spears Superman

RUBY-SPEARS SUPERMAN
Despite the involvement of DC Comics alumni (writer Marv Wolfman and artist Gil Kane), this 1988 Saturday morning Superman suffers from network restraints and sloppy animation. A few tales hold up, but this is mostly another piece of nostalgia that’s better left in the fuzzy part of the brain.

Connective Tissue

CONNECTIVE TISSUE by Bob Fingerman
Part H.P. Lovecraft, part Harvey Kurtzman, part Russ Meyer: That’s Bob Fingerman, the dark genius behind this tale of a zaftig video store clerk’s meat-candy bad trip. Using just a loose outline, Fingerman did the book’s illustrations first, filling in the prose later, resulting in a beautifully loose, dreamlike structure.

Bored to Death

BORED TO DEATH
Jonathan Ames’ nominally autobiographical “noir-otic comedy” casts Woody Allen’s MANHATTAN MURDER MYSTERY with a gaggle of Wes Andersonian misfits. Jason Schwartzman is charming as ever and Ted Danson steals every scene as a bored narcissist desperate for excitement. The show’s Brooklyn Hipster vibe would grate if it wasn’t so funny.

Mad Men Season 3

MAD MEN Season 3
Existential angst, marital woes, corporate uncertainty and overall anxiety overwhelm this season as the staff of Sterling Cooper deal with the end of the shiny, polished postwar era. The inevitable JFK assassination episode felt eerily dire and painfully real, foreshadowing a milieu shift to the more turbulent Sixties next season.

Schulz and Peanuts

SCHULZ AND PEANUTS by David Michaelis
This exhaustively researched biography paints an illuminating, sometimes heartbreaking portrait of one of the 20th century’s greatest artists (note I didn’t limit it to “cartoonists”). Selected PEANUTS strips correlate directly to Charles Schulz’ many demons (even infidelity) while reminding the reader what an extraordinary observer of human nature he was.

Visqueen: Message to Garcia

Visqueen, MESSAGE TO GARCIA
Visqueen leader Rachel Flotard’s musical ode to her late father is neither maudlin nor overly sentimental, but a raucous, smart slab of inspired ebullience. A peppery balance of hooks and sometimes startling nuance, this quantum leap forward for the Seattle band is easily my favorite record of the year.

Star Trek

STAR TREK
Self-avowed non-Trekkie/er J.J. Abrams crafts a highly successful reboot of SF’s sturdiest franchise, nicely balancing drama, humor and action. But Star Trek’s fuel is characterization, and the stellar cast rides nicely on the shoulders of Chris Pine as a worthy successor to William Shatner’s iconic James T. Kirk.

Models of the Runway

MODELS OF THE RUNWAY
Lifetime’s PROJECT RUNWAY companion isn’t really a competition as the models’ fates are left to the designers’ whims. As a reality show, it’s lacking in ANTM-esque drama or humor, since these are actual working models rather than deluded, narcissistic wannabes. So why bother watching? Um… well, Kojii’s pretty.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine

X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE
This origin tale of everyone’s (well, most people’s) favorite X-Man is a bloated affair overstuffed with too many characters (Gambit? Really?), ridiculous FX and a stilted, abrupt ending. Hugh Jackman remains likeable as Logan, and as a prequel, the movie serves its purpose. But as entertainment, it misses the X.

Project Runway Season 6

PROJECT RUNWAY Season 6
The long-delayed 6th season may be late, but it’s the location shift from NYC to Los Angeles that makes the show feel a bit off. Fewer drama queens and some pretty lame designers add to the overall been-there-done-that tone. Still, Heidi Klum and Tim Gunn remain adorable, don’t they?

Wednesday Comics

WEDNESDAY COMICS
BLACKEST NIGHT? Feh! The comics event of the summer was DC’s unabashedly retro homage to the glory days of Sunday newspaper comics tabloids. Not every strip worked (Wonder Woman, Hawkman), and I wish there would've been more variety (Binky?) and experimentation, but I was hooked and would love a sequel.

Frank Sinatra: My Way

Frank Sinatra, MY WAY Reissue
Concord’s reissue of this 1969 set is a mixed bag of (then) contemporary songs, sublime (“Watch What Happens”), superfluous (“Yesterday”) and silly (“Mrs. Robinson”). The iconic title track is what it is, for better or worse. Features two bonus cuts, a pompous essay by Bono (surprise) and truly hideous packaging.

Hoarders

HOARDERS
These tales of people struggling with obsessive compulsive hoarding disorder are frustrating, mind boggling and often heartbreaking (especially for me, as my entire family suffers from this malady to some extent). The differing methods of those assigned to help painfully display how nearly impossible this addiction is to defeat.

Community

COMMUNITY
THE SOUP’s eminently likeable Joel McHale is less likeable as a lawyer out to get a real degree in this sporadically funny, but often lazy sitcom (fuzzy feel good endings abound). Of the mostly boring (Britta) or overplayed (Abed) ensemble, Chevy Chase and John Oliver shine, but remain underused.

Dave Brubeck: Time Out Legacy Edition

Dave Brubeck, TIME OUT Legacy Edition
One of jazz’ all time classics gets a lavish, loving reissue with live recordings from the 60s, a half-hour documentary on the groundbreaking recording and more. Happily, the original side remains uncluttered with superfluous alternate takes, leaving its startling impact fresh a half century later. Everyone should own this.

Dexter Season 4

DEXTER Season 4
After watching the previous seasons this summer, DEXTER has become my favorite current show, and Season 4 may be the most subversive yet. Entertaining in every way, with a pitch-perfect cast (John Lithgow, serial killer!), brilliant writing and the best score on TV. Worth the price of Showtime by itself.

Superman / Batman: Public Enemies

SUPERMAN / BATMAN: PUBLIC ENEMIES
I despise Ed McGuinness’ work (he drew the source comics), and even this film’s streamlined animated versions are still a bit too “Tom of Finland.” The story suffers from weak characterizations (Oh, Power Girl) and a predominance of slugfests. This weakest of the DC animated movies is for fanboys only.

Patton Oswalt: My Weakness is Strong

Patton Oswalt, MY WEAKNESS IS STRONG
I hate to say it, but marriage and fatherhood HAS had a dulling effect on one of comedy’s most brilliant wordsmiths. Baskets of rainbow kisses have their place, and this is a funny set, but I miss the pure, unadulterated misanthropy and anti-social anger of the pre-domesticated Patton.

Inglourious Basterds

INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS
The title is a misnomer, as the film mostly revolves around the revenge of Shoshanna (where’s the payoff with Landa?) and Operation Kino. Mike Myers is distracting and the anachronistic music is jarring, but those are minor quibbles. This is another rousing hoot / holler from film’s ultimate cover artist.

District 9

DISTRICT 9
The lofty aspirations of the much-vaunted Apartheid parable fall to the wayside in act 3, replaced with every Sci-Fi and action film cliché in the book, right down to the cute kid alien! Plus there are more plot holes than a Scooby Doo episode. Bleak, but hollow.

The Cake Boss

THE CAKE BOSS
Carlo’s Bake Shop is in my town, and honestly, the pastries are just okay. But this dull reality series’ manufactured drama and humor are borderline tasteless and its forced “Mia famiglia” platitudes make me wince (also I wanna slap the idiots who clog the Hoboken sidewalks taking pictures every day!).

Love and Rockets: New Stories No.1

LOVE & ROCKETS: NEW STORIES No. 1 by los bros Hernandez
Los Bros Hernandez return with the third iteration of their legendary comic book, and while it’s a kick to see Jaime doing superhero stories, I still can’t shake the feeling that the long-peaked Gilbert is making his shit up as he’s drawing it. I’ll wait for Xaime’s collected editions.

Watchmen

WATCHMEN
An acolyte of the source material, I loved this faithful deconstructionist superhero flick, even preferring the movie’s altered climax to the comic’s. But WATCHMEN relies on a dense, hyper-specific frame of reference to fully appreciate its style and substance. If you’re not the slightest bit geek, I’d skip it.

Watchmen: Music from the Motion Picture

WATCHMEN Music from the Motion Picture
Alan Moore did much of the movie’s music supervision when he wrote the comic, as some of the songs on this collection were quoted therein. Some creaky classics (Bob Dylan, Simon & Garfunkel) sparkle with fresh context and Nina Simone’s “Pirate Jenny” alone makes this worth buying for Watchnerds.

Trust Me

TRUST ME
This contemporary MAD MEN is entertaining, but Tom Cavanagh’s hyperactive man-child shtick can be grating and it is impossible to believe that Eric McCormack’s nervous, clueless Mason could even keep his job, let alone be promoted to creative director. Ultimately as realistic as an Axe Body Spray ad.