2006 Hugo Nominees!

http://www.locusmag.com/2006/News/03_HugoNominations.html

1. Congrats to mabfan on his two noms.

2. As usual, I have read none of the novels up for that prize. And have heard of only the GRRM book. But I will note my surprise that Anansi Boys and Harry Potter 6 were not nominated. I thought that at least one, if not both, would get in simply on the popularity of the authors.

3. Some collection of films up for best long-form dramatic presentation (aka best film)! My vote would go to Serenity, though I won't complain if Batman Begins. Of the five, the only I haven't seen yet is Wallace and Gromit. No surprise that Episode III was ignored. Some surprise that neither of Burton's films were nominated.

4. Three nominations for four episodes of Doctor Who, all of which will air in the US before the vote closes. My pick? "The Empty Child"/"The Doctor Dances".

5. And so much for the best video game prize. "Not to be awarded due to lack of interest." Can't say I'm surprised. I would bet that most Hugo voters are like me and remain indifferent about such things.

OYL: Batman, S&LSH

No spoilers, as usual.

Batman 651 - Batman and Robin get to work. Not as good as the first part, but still a good old-fashioned B&R story, with some good (if not uniformly so) art. There are some very nice Robinsonesque moments early on, but most of the comic is just our heroes doing what they do best.

Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes 16 - Aside from the very big change of title with accompanying Supergirl, this is almost what we had before. The only flaw? The "good teens vs. bad adults" PoV is back and in a rather annoying way. Most fans of this book will not be unhappy, I think, though I doubt this series will be getting many new readers, even with Kara along for the ride.