Before we even begin, what is some of y'all's problem with Chris Pratt as a voice actor?

He's a fine actor who can do comedy sidekick (his breakout role in the sitcom Parks and Recreation), character actor in supporting role (he had small but important roles in Best Picture nominees three years in row with Moneyball, Zero Dark Thirty and Her), full on movie star (he's great in Guardians of the Galaxy and, remember, I liked Jurassic World), and, yes, voice actor (The Lego Movie). And by all accounts he's a nice guy people like working with, and that does matter. He's hardly the only guy who does a lot of voice work, either. Since theaters like to play ten trailers before a movie before, I was able to notice a lack of Chris Pratt (or another personal favorite who people like to complain about online, Awkwafina), but not Keegan-Michael Key, who is way more ubiquitous as Pratt in voice work, and is often even in the same movie as both Pratt and Awkwafina, but who never gets this sort of backlash when cast. And, not to be too mean to Key, who I mostly like, but I've already noted Pratt is actually a pretty versatile actor and Awkwafina has a Golden Globe, while Key is the half of Key & Peele that is starting to look like he got carried by the other half. I'm sure he'll actually be great as Bumblebee, though.

But, to bring the movie I'm supposed to be reviewing into the picture, I really do not get why people were upset Chris Pratt was cast as Garfield, because, come on, it's freaking Garfield. Bill Murray voiced the role in 2004, and Murray went on to bash the movie in his cameo playing himself in 2009's Zombieland, picking it as his life's greatest regret. On the basis of that, if you don't like Chris Pratt, you should be thrilled he got the role! Garfield's creator, Jim Davis, has always been a pretty open about the commercial aspirations of the character. I mean, kind of like Keegan-Michael Key, I like the character fine, but he barely stands out as a comic strip and Saturday morning cartoon star, mediums that are known for producing mostly safe, crowd-pleasing pablum. And that's basically this movie.

Guardians of the Galaxy was the only furry comic to make it to the top 100 list again, so I’ve got nothing.

Treesong used to complain about zombie comic books a lot; he’d not be happy to see The Walking Dead #100 take the #1 spot on the December sales list. I guess Image was all like, “My Little Pony beat us as the number one non-Marvel-or-DC book last month? And they don’t even have a book out this month? Well, I guess we’ll just have to beat everybody instead!”

Previews runs a top 100 best selling monthly comics list; they’re obviously a bit behind, as this issue contains November’s. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic #1 was ranked at 15, making it the most bought book not from DC or Marvel. So, way to go bronies!

Here’s what’s coming up in February next year, for those of you who buy comic books. For those of you who don’t, I guess you can skip this one.

Due to technical difficulties, I was unable to get the December Previews list out before December, so there is a short hiatus in the archives. However, since there was a year and a half hiatus just before and nobody complained, I'm guessing I'm not going to catch much flak.

This May it’s time for the return of everyone’s favorite lasagna-loving feline with attitude.  Comic book writer and well-known critic Mark Evanier takes up a pen this time to bring as a new full-color Garfield comic book from Boom! Studios’ Kaboom! imprint.  It helps, of course, that he was one of the writers of the Garfield & Friends animated TV series back in the day. This time around the art duties are handled by Garfield comic strip cartoonist Gary Barker. Check out the pre-order information at Kaboom’s web site, which also shows one of the variant covers of the premier issue.

image c. 2012 Jim Davis / Kaboom