93. Ring Koji Suzuki (3/5)

I was kind of disappointed with this book; the story was good and all, but it just didn't deliver the shivery scares that I've experienced from the movies and even the manga. The only part that really raised the hairs on the back of my neck was right at the beginning; after that, it sort of went downhill as far as the scare factor goes. I'll probably still seek out the sequels, though, because I'm interested in how Suzuki takes things to the next level.

94. Preacher: Proud Americans Garth Ennis (4/5)

As usual, by turns emotionally powerful and extremely funny.

95. Preacher: Ancient History Garth Ennis (3.5/5)

This is a collection of the Preacher "specials," and thus features mostly secondary characters. It's good, but I didn't enjoy it as much as the collections that follow the main storyline. The story of the Saint of Killers gets four stars, and the rest gets three.

96. Preacher: Dixie Fried Garth Ennis (5/5)

This might actually be my favorite of the series so far; the flashback to Cassidy's first visit to New Orleans (and his encounter with a vampire of the Anne Rice persuasion) is HILARIOUS, even as it paves the way for a more tragic encounter later on. Since Cassidy is my favorite character in the series, this collection left me tingling with anticipation and foreboding -- is Cassidy really as much of an asshole as he seems? Is the friendship between Jesse, Tulip, and Cassidy heading for a firey crash? Excellent storytelling, as always. Plus it contains the lines: "Are you afraid of snakes?" "Only if they're dressed as werewolves."

97. The Amazing Adventures of the Escapist: Vols. 2 & 4 Various authors, based on the character created by Michael Chabon (3.5/5)

I'm counting these two books as one, because they're super short comic collections and took me about an hour to read. The stories here are kind of uneven, although the overall effect is positive. I particularly enjoyed the stories about Luna Moth, actually, possibly because she's a librarian.

98. Clumsy Jeffrey Brown (4/5)

Clumsy is baldly intimate in a way that should be embarassing, but somehow isn't. It's the autobiographical story of a long-distance relationship, told in comic-style vignettes. Brown's artwork is both crude and nuanced; sometimes his drawings are barely better than stick figures, but their body language and faces are expressive nonetheless. He captures the bittersweetness of a failed relationship perfectly; I think everyone who reads this book finds something in it that is intensely familiar.

99. Unlikely Jeffrey Brown (4/5)

Another autobiographical story of a failed relationship, Unlikely is chronologically before Clumsy, and tells the story of Jeff's first lover. It's just as good, if not better, than Clumsy, although sometimes very painful to read. Watching this relationship fall apart is harder than seeing the relationship in Clumsy come to an end, because of all of Allisyn's baggage and Jeff's complete inability to deal with it. These books aren't for everyone; I think a lot of people might find them self-indulgent. But I love Brown's ability to write honestly about human relationships and the way that sometimes, everyone seems to come out looking like the bad guy.

RWIOC: 37/50