Christmas Covers - December 4

Daffy is not amused by Bugs' use of mistletoe on David Alvarez & Mike DeCarlo's cover for Looney Tunes #73 (2000)

For each day of December until Christmas I'm featuring a Holiday-related comic book cover. (Click on the image to get a larger version.)

Come back tomorrow, and every day this month, for a new Christmas cover.


Just 21 more 'get-ups' until Santa!

(2009: Norsk MAD vol. 38 #12)
(2008: Christmas with the Super-Heroes #2)
(2007: Popular Comics #12)
(2006: Yogi Bear #11)
(2005: The Batman and Robin Adventures #3)
(2004: Dell Four Color #1154)

(Polite Dissent's 2010 Comic Book Cover Advent Calendar)

Watching

Today's Bizarro is brought to you by Sudsy Feet.

After I published my previous post about the sort of TV shows I truly hate, many readers asked what shows I like. Some people are always trying to look on the bright side of things, declare the glass half full, pointing out the silver lining, filling the shoes with chocolate feet. (I made that last one up but I think it works.)

So here follows a list of shows I am addicted to, in no particular order. I watch TV every night, I fully admit. Some may say I watch TV too much, but I also read every night and exercise every day, so it all evens out. (If lifting a bottle of scotch can be considered exercise, and I am pretty certain it can. Especially when it's full.)

Comedy:
East Bound and Down (HBO) Kenny and Stevie rule!
Weeds (Showtime) Rent the first season, watch it from the beginning. So great.
Californication (Showtime) Great writing, acerbic humor.
Bored to Death (HBO) Not brilliant, but funny and anything with Zach Galifianakis is worth watching. Ted Danson is great in this, too. (Met Zach once and he was already a fan of Bizarro. I peed my pants a little.)
Community (NBC) Major network sit-com, but give it a chance from the first episode. Great comedy writing and characters. Senor Chang is classic.
Raising Hope (FOX) very strange characters, Cloris Leachman is brilliant, as is Garret Dillahunt as Burt.
Children's Hospital (Cartoon Network, Adult Swim) Rob Corddry created it and stars. So weird.
Louie (FX) Louie C.K.'s avant-garde sit-com.
Modern Family (ABC) One of the funniest sit-coms to come out of a major network in ages. Ty Burrell is brilliant.
30 Rock (NBC) Entire cast is brilliant, the writing is top notch.

Drama:
Dexter (Showtime) See the first season.
Mad Men (AMC) Watch from the beginning, truly top notch. (CHNW and I ran into John Hamm in a restaurant once, got to talking and had dinner with him. Super sweet guy. This was years before he was famous. Weird coincidence.)
Breaking Bad (AMC) Possibly the best drama on TV in ten years or more. My opinion, of course. Definitely watch it from the beginning, don't just drop in on it.
True Blood (HBO) A complete lark, a guilty pleasure. Not brilliant, but tons o' fun. Could be considered a comedy, too.
Damages (FX) First season is brilliant.
Rubicon (AMC) Fairly new show, I'm really digging it. Watch from beginning, very complex plot.
Boardwalk Empire (HBO) Terrific show with the sort of long term appeal of Sopranos.
Terriers (FX) A new show that I've really fallen in love with. Great characters and acting.
FlashForward (ABC) I was really hooked on this show but I'm told it got canceled. Damn.

I used to be hooked on Keith Oberman every night, but politics sicken me and I find that I'm much less agitated if I ignore them altogether. So many crazy, frightened people in the world. I can't look any more.

There are a few others I watch but those above make up my "must see" list. Of course, it goes without saying (then why am I saying it?) that anything with Ricky Gervais is a must see. Extras on HBO (I'm not sure if they're making that anymore), the original "The Office" from BBC or whoever (the America version is good, too, but I've never gotten hooked on it because I think it pales in comparison to the British one), any talk show, awards show, or guest appearance. No one funnier in the world. Russell Brand is always worth my time, too, as is Zach Galifianakis and a few others.

Feel free to suggest your favorites. Not that I have any room in my schedule, but you never know when something might get canceled.

This post is too long. It's verging on the stupidity of all those millions of Tweets that document utterly unimportant and self indulgent information. Ick.

Oh yeah, hope you enjoyed today's cartoons.

Amazon Top 50

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


1 (-). Diary of a Wimpy Kid 5: The Ugly Truth
2 (+1). Diary of a Wimpy Kid Box of Books
3 (-1). Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days
4 (+1). The Walking Dead Compendium Volume 1
5 (+1). Dilbert: 2011 Day-to-Day Calendar
6 (+2). Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 1: Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life
7 (-). Serenity: The Shepherd's Tale
8 (-4). Walking Dead Volume 13
9 (+1). Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 2: Scott Pilgrim Versus The World
10 (+3). Dork Diaries 2: Tales from a Not-So-Popular Party Girl
11 (+8). 40: A Doonesbury Retrospective
12 (+4). Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 3: Scott Pilgrim & the Infinite Sadness
13 (-1). Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 4: Scott Pilgrim Gets It Together
14 (-). Scott Pilgrim Volume 6: Scott Pilgrim's Finest Hour
15 (-6). Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Boxset
16 (-1). Dork Diaries: Tales from a Not-So-Fabulous Life
17 (-6). Superman: Earth One
18 (-). Big Nate: From the Top
19 (+6). The Walking Dead, Vol. 1: Days Gone Bye
20 (-3). The Complete Calvin and Hobbes
21 (-5). The Walking Dead, Book 1
22 (+8). The Walking Dead Book 2
23 (-3). The Walking Dead, Book 6
24 (-1). Odd Is on Our Side
25 (R). The Complete Far Side 1980-1994
26 (+7). Fables Vol. 14: Witches *
27 (R). The Adventures of Ook and Gluk, Kung-Fu Cavemen from the Future
28 (+13). The Complete Peanuts Boxed Set 1975-1978 (Vol. 13-14)
29 (-). Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight Volume 7: Twilight
30 (+10). The Walking Dead Volume 2: Miles Behind Us
31 (-10). Walking Dead Volume 12
32 (+16). The Walking Dead Book 3
33 (-2). Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
34 (-7). The Walking Dead Book 5
35 (-). The Walking Dead, Vol. 10: What We Become
36 (-12). The Walking Dead Volume 11: Fear The Hunters
37 (-9). The Walking Dead, Vol. 9: Here We Remain
38 (-16). Batman and Robin, Vol. 2: Batman vs. Robin
39 (R). Bad Kitty Gets a Bath
40 (+7). The Indispensable Calvin And Hobbes
41 (+1). The Walking Dead Volume 3: Safety Behind Bars
42 (-6). Dr. Horrible and Other Horrible Stories
43 (R). Attack of the Deranged Mutant Killer Monster Snow Goons (Calvin & Hobbes)
44 (-10). Tales from the Crypt #8: Diary of a Stinky Dead Kid
45 (-13). V for Vendetta
46 (-7). Batman: The Killing Joke
47 (N). Garfield: 2011 Day-to-Day Calendar
48 (R). Garfield Potbelly of Gold: His 50th Book
49 (-3). The Zombie Survival Guide: Recorded Attacks


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:

* The Wimpy Kid holds the top 3 spots on the comics chart, but still cannot crack #1 on the overall chart; he sits at #2 behind former president Bush. (Yes, this is the same bullet point text as the past two weeks...)

* Wimpy coattails: Dork Diaries books see a boost with the release of the new Wimpy Kid, with volume 2 moving up into the top ten.

* Dead Watch: Fourteen of the top Fifty books are Walking Dead collections.

* The only debut this week is the Garfield desk calendar at #48.

* The bottom of the top fifty list is #2,080 on the overall chart this week.