Death By Entertainment

Bizarro is brought to you at this moment by The Roman Colesseum.

I got into another family's car recently (I was invited, it wasn't a car-jacking) and saw that there were two separate DVD players on the backs of the front seats. In this way, their two children could each watch their own programming while riding in the car. Perhaps it was an overreaction, but I vomited.

When I was a kid (oh god, I hate sentences that start out that way) my siblings and I looked out the windows when we were in the car, even on long, long, interminably long car trips. If we wanted something else to do, we played games wherein we counted things. When we were bored with that, we punched and bit each other.

I wonder if the children in the aforementioned family have any idea what lies outside their own home and car. I wonder if they can identify a 3-dimensional cow standing by the roadside. Or if they know what high speed wind feels like against a rigid hand, or what a pop bottle sounds like when it shatters against the windshield of an oncoming car.

I fear for the future when the video generation are in charge. Their insatiable thirst for constant entertainment will likely make the blood lust of the ancient Romans look like child's play. I foresee a time when the Cottonbowl will be used to feed atheists to lions.

Friday Night Fights: Batman vs. Ra's al Ghul's Goons

From DC Special Series vol. 2 no. 15 - Batman Spectacular (1978). Art by Michael Golden & Dick Giordano. Color by Cory Adams. Story by Denny O'Neil.

Who has Feet of Fury? Batman!

(click pic 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 (N). Logicomix: An Epic Search for Truth
3 (+2). The Book of Genesis Illustrated by R. Crumb *
4 (-2). Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw
5 (-2). Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules
6 (-2). Diary of a Wimpy Kid
7 (-). The Zombie Survival Guide: Recorded Attacks *
8 (+22). Predators and Prey (Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight, Vol. 5) *
9 (-1). Mercy Thompson Homecoming
10 (-4). Watchmen
11 (+11). The Complete Peanuts 1971-1974 Box Set
12 (-3). Batman: Arkham Asylum (15th Anniversary Edition)
13 (+4). Batman: The Killing Joke
14 (-). Stitches: A Memoir
15 (-). Asterios Polyp
16 (-). Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
17 (-6). Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood
18 (-5). The Walking Dead, Vol. 10: What We Become
19 (+1). Fables Vol. 12: The Dark Ages
20 (N). Naruto, Volume 46 *
21 (-11). Maus I: A Survivor's Tale: My Father Bleeds History
22 (+21). Bloom County Complete Library Volume 1 *
23 (-11). The Complete Persepolis
24 (N). Rosario+Vampire, Volume 9 *
25 (+1). The Complete Calvin and Hobbes
26 (R). The Wonderful Wizard Of Oz HC
27 (N). Astonishing X-Men Omnibus *
28 (-5). Batman: The Long Halloween
29 (N). Ultimatum Premiere HC *
30 (-9). Batman: Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader? Deluxe Edition
31 (-12). Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art
32 (-5). The Stonekeeper's Curse (Amulet, Book 2)
33 (-8). Batman: Year One
34 (-3). Angel, Volume 5: Aftermath
35 (N). Pokemon: Diamond and Pearl Adventure!, Volume 5 *
36 (N). The Manga Guide to Molecular Biology
37 (R). The Complete Peanuts, 1973-1974
38 (+6). V for Vendetta
39 (R). The Best American Comics 2009 *
40 (-3). Bone: One Volume Edition
41 (R). Masterpiece Comics
42 (-10). The Cartoon History of the Modern World, Part 2: From the Bastille to Baghdad *
43 (-25). Maus II: A Survivor's Tale: And Here My Troubles Began
44 (-4). Stephen King's Dark Tower: Treachery
45 (-6). Locke & Key: Head Games
46 (R). The Marvel Encyclopedia *
47 (R). The Sandman Vol. 1: Preludes and Nocturnes
48 (R). Batman: R.I.P.
49 (-15). Batman: Hush
50 (-4). Blankets


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 huge debut this week for Logicomix, which jumps right up onto the charts at the #2 position; this is the biggest debut since I started tracking these rankings.

* Not to be outdone, the #1 title, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days, hits #4 on the overall books bestsellers. (Logicomix weighs in at #48 on the overall list.)

* Four manga titles debut this week, including the newest Naruto volume at #20.

* Marvel place five titles this week in the bottom half of the list, including debuts for the Astonishing X-Men Omnibus and the Ultimatum collection; also, the new eidtion of the DK-published Marvel Encyclopedia enters the rankings as well. SO a relatively big week for Marvel.