Friday Night Fights: Melaka Fray vs. Vampires

From Fray #7 (2003). Art by Karl Moline & Andy Owens. Color by Dave Stewart & Michelle Madsen. Story by Joss Whedon.

Who has Feet of Fury? Fray!

(click pix for larger)

Amazon Top 50

Here are the Top 50 Graphic Novels on Amazon this afternoon. All the previous caveats apply.


1 (-). Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days *
2 (-). Logicomix: An Epic Search for Truth
3 (+4). The Zombie Survival Guide: Recorded Attacks
4 (-). Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw
5 (-). Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules
6 (-). Diary of a Wimpy Kid
7 (-4). The Book of Genesis Illustrated by R. Crumb *
8 (+13). Bloom County Complete Library Volume 1 *
9 (-1). Predators and Prey (Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight, Vol. 5) *
10 (-). Watchmen
11 (N). 14 Years of Loyal Service in a Fabric-Covered Box: A Dilbert Book *
12 (+4). Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
13 (-1). Batman: Arkham Asylum (15th Anniversary Edition)
14 (-1). Batman: The Killing Joke
15 (+18). Batman: Year One
16 (+3). Fables Vol. 12: The Dark Ages
17 (-2). Asterios Polyp
18 (-9). Mercy Thompson Homecoming
19 (R). Tumor Chapter 1 (kindle)
20 (N). Bloom County: Complete Library Volume 2 *
21 (+20). Masterpiece Comics
22 (-4). The Walking Dead, Vol. 10: What We Become
23 (+19). The Cartoon History of the Modern World, Part 2: From the Bastille to Baghdad
24 (R). Time of Your Life (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 8, Vol. 4)
25 (-4). Maus I: A Survivor's Tale: My Father Bleeds History
26 (-6). Naruto, Volume 46
27 (-16). The Complete Peanuts 1971-1974 Box Set
28 (+18). Marvel Encyclopedia *
29 (-2). Astonishing X-Men Omnibus *
30 (-16). Stitches: A Memoir
31 (-). Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art
32 (N). Dilbert: 2010 Day-to-Day Calendar
33 (+14). The Sandman Vol. 1: Preludes and Nocturnes
34 (+9). Maus II: A Survivor's Tale: And Here My Troubles Began
35 (N). Berserk Volume 31 *
36 (+4). Bone: One Volume Edition
37 (N). The Umbrella Academy: Dallas
38 (+7). Locke & Key: Head Games
39 (-11). Batman: The Long Halloween
40 (-15). The Complete Calvin and Hobbes
41 (R). The Arrival
42 (-7). Pokemon: Diamond and Pearl Adventure!, Volume 5
43 (R). Wolves at the Gate (Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight, Volume 3)
44 (N). Hellboy Library Edition Volume 3: Conqueror Worm And Strange Places
45 (R). Freedom's Just Another Word for People Finding Out You're Useless
46 (-20). The Wonderful Wizard Of Oz HC
47 (R). The Long Way Home (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 8, Vol. 1)
48 (-10). V for Vendetta
49 (-19). Batman: Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader? Deluxe Edition
50 (-33). Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood


Items with asterisks (*) are pre-order items.

N = New listing appearing on list for first time
R = Item returning to the list after having been off for 1 or more weeks


Commentary:

* A big week for strip collections: The first Bloom County compilation hops up into the top ten, while the pre-order for the second comes in at position 20; And two new Dilbert items debut at #11 & #32, and the previous collection also sneaks back onto the list.

* Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days is at #2 on the overall bestseller list, just behind Dan Brown and just ahead of Sarah Palin. (Where the Wild Things Are is at #10 on the overall list, but is not included on the Graphic Novel chart.)

* The Other debuts this week are the latest volume of Berserk, The Umbrella Academy: Dallas, and Hellboy Library Edition Volume 3.

Anatomically Incorrect

Bizarro is brought to you today by The King's Colonoscopy.

Speaking of which, it is time for me, once again, to pay a stranger to shove things into my rectum. Yes, I am overdue for a colonoscopy, the medical equivalent of prison rape.

I had one about ten years ago, when I turned 40, and after complaining to my friends about how it was the worst, most painful day of my life, they all said, "But you're not supposed to remember it. They give you that amnesia drug."

Huh? They gave me no such drug. I guess they forgot. Perhaps they took it themselves.

Now I'm (over)due for another and I don't want to do it because:
A. The last one was a nightmare
B. I don't have health insurance and it's expensive
C. I don't know where/who to go to. Am I supposed to pick someone randomly from the Yellow Pages and pay them to shove things into my butt? Sounds like more like Craig's List than modern medicine.

A reasonable blog reader might ask, "Why don't you have health insurance, Dan?"

Because in NY it is phenomenally expensive when you are not affiliated with any group or employer. The cheapest I've found is through the Freelancers Union (which isn't really a "union" but a group of freelancers who buy insurance together so it is cheaper) and it's still over $1000 a month for minimum coverage for my wife and me, and of course, that doesn't include "pre-existing conditions" or anything else they decide they don't want to pay for. I'd literally rather die than pay $12,000 a year to an extortion corporation, only to be denied money back later when I really need it. It is the definition of organized crime.

I Twooted this last night, but how is it that even the dimmest Americans cannot see these two simple facts:
1. All politicians who oppose government-run health care actually HAVE government-run health care.
2. All politicians who oppose government-run health care are taking huge amounts of money from the insurance industry and big pharm.

Will this country ever wake up, or do I see residency in Europe in my future?