It's the final weekend of 2021, so The Beat team is reading. Surprise!

It’s the final weekend of 2021, and you know that here at Stately Beat Manor, we’re going to be spending our time with Weekend Reading 91!

As always, we hope that you’ll share your reading plans with us, too. Give us a shout-out, here in the comment section or over on social media @comicsbeat!

AVERY KAPLAN: This weekend, I’ll be reading Focus on George Pérez , the 1985 publication from Fantagraphics Books. This spotlight on George Pérez was edited by Tom Heintjes with art direction by Tom Mason, and I’m especially interested to read the long-form interview with Pérez by The Beat’s own Editor-in-Chief, Heidi MacDonald, as well as the little-known facts article by Andy Mangles. Then, my mother-in-law gifted me a copy of the Star Trek: The Next Generation: Technical Manual by Rick Sternbach and Michael Okuda. Finally, I can read up on the Rubber Ducky Room!

TAIMUR DAR: I got slammed during the week leading up to this Christmas weekend, so I’m hoping I can finally relax and enjoy some reading. I’ve been waiting to read American Comics: A History by Jeremy Dauber and luckily the copy I put on hold through the libby app is finally available! I’m also going to take the time to properly dive into Wonder Woman Historia: The Amazons #1 written by Kelly Sue DeConnick and drawn by Phil Jimenez that everyone has been raving about and I picked up but I haven’t had time to read yet. 

JOHANNA DRAPER CARLSON: While in London earlier this month, I picked up a copy of Posy Simmonds: The Illustrators at the Cartoon Museum there. It’s an overview of her life and work by Paul Gravett (so I know it’s going to be well-researched and -written), with plenty of illustrations and art pages. Simmonds ( Tamara Drewe, Gemma Bovery) is my favorite not-given-enough-attention comic creator, and I’m greatly anticipating learning more about her influences and artistic decisions. That also means a great excuse to re-read her newest graphic novel, Cassandra Darke , a Christmas Carol -influenced thriller. For a lighter mood, I’m also trying Cat Massage Therapy , a ridiculously adorable-looking manga by Haru Hisakawa in which a cat makes people feel better by walking on them. 

DEAN SIMONS: Everything seems to shut down on Christmas here in the UK – and it appears Monday AND Tuesday the country may remain in a kind of silent mode – no shops open, no decent TV, etc. To take my mind off the intense boredom, I continue my slow-reading of Kendare Blake’s Five Dark Fates . I have less than half of the book remaining. Aside from that, I have Tite Kubo’s Bleach – currently at vol. 35 – to tide me over. Also, while poring through the Angoulême official selection lists recently, I was puzzled that Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles made it in. I never found the 80s/90s cartoon appealing as a kid but have decided to give the Tom Waltz and TMNT co-creator Kevin Eastman scripted revamp series a go via the curated IDW Collection omnibuses.

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