Naked Reading 2023 XXI and XXII

Double Naked Reading! I've updated my Naked Reading 2023 page with two new short comic reads:

Star Wars: Battle of the Bounty Hunters - A pop-up comic! A pop-up Star Wars comic even. Those facts alone make this a delightful book to me, and it was actually a pretty good little story too. Set after The Empire Strikes Back, this book follows Boba Fett as he faces various obstacles while trying to deliver Han Solo to Jabba the Hutt. The pop-ups bring all the problems Fett faces to life, with clever design that doesn’t just feel a novelty, but actually enhances the storytelling. A very pleasing fusion of comic book and pop-up book formats!

Star Trek Annual (2023) - This first annual in the recent crossover Star Trek comic series adds even more crossover to the mix, with a holographic mishap that leads the crew of the USS Theseus to encounter characters and ships from almost every corner of the Star Trek universe. A really fun book that revels in being packed full of easter eggs; this pleasing integrates elements of newer Star Trek series with old, making them feel like they’ve always been a part of the wider universe. Along the way it lets us get to know the new cast from the comic better, with especially delightful moments for the Andorian Lily and her ancestor Hoshi Sato.

Those are my mini-review, but I've also written more extensive thoughts on my book review blog, here, and here.

Plus once more as a little bonus for my Patreon supporters, I have some alternate takes of this self-portrait on that platform too; or the second one at least; I got what I wanted exactingly with XXI, but XXII ended up with a lot of options!