As for my own reading, lately I've been checking out a lot of graphic novels & comics. Here are a few I recommend:

• My Monkey's Name is Jennifer by Ken Knudtsen (Slave Labor Graphics, graphic novel trade, 160 pages, published July 2003, USA)
      This unusual collection follows the adventures of Jennifer, an embittered chimp who is waiting for his claws to grow back so he can tear the eyes out of pretty much everyone, including his owner, a little girl who named him Jennifer, dresses him in frilly dresses and forces him to endure her tea parties. Their adventures involve mad scientists, transvestite ninjas, rhyming pirates, and Jennifer's fixation on his desire to feast on fleshy human testicles. Jennifer's inner monologue really makes this book. He's the meanest chimp ever -- or at least, that's what he wants the world to think. The artwork is dark and mad -- reminiscent of Johnny the Homicidal Maniac by Johnen Vasquez, only not quite so mad as that. Imaginative and funny, this book is a winner.

• Vic and Blood by Harlan Ellison, illustrated by Richard Corben (ibooks, graphic novel trade, 128 pages, published June 2003, USA & Canada & UK)
      Collects the classic Ellison story, "A Boy and His Dog," plus a prequel and an excerpt from a planned novel-length sequel. In addition to the illustrated adaptations of these stories, the book also contains the original text-only versions. Definitely worth checking out, particularly if you've never read "A Boy and His Dog" -- a strong story, punchy enough that any prequel or sequel can only diminish it somewhat. Still, it's interesting to see Ellison's further exploration of the post-apocalyptic world of the dog Blood, and his boy Vic.

• Caper by Judd Winick, illustrated by Farel Dalrymple (DC Comics, comic books, issues 1-4 of 12 are currently available, published December 2003 through March 2004, USA & Canada)
      This is a brutal and graphic tale of a Jewish crime ring in San Francisco in the early years of the 20th century. It's a straight-up gangster story, with plenty of bloody deeds, ethnic rivalries, sordid affairs, misplaced loyalties and unhappy betrayals in the new world of promise and opportunity. And it's only a third of the way through. Issue 4 ties up the introductory story-line; I can hardly wait to see where we go from here.

(Books are listed alphabetically by author. Only books received are noted.)

Pitchblende by Bruce Boston
Dark Regions Press (trade, 88 pages)
Publication date: 2003, USA
   A selection of poetry from one of the most respected of today's speculative poets.

Breaking the Circle: The Zrydovan Chronicles, Book 1 by Kevin James Breaux
Xlibris (trade, 297 pages)
Publication date: January 2004, USA

The Other Side of the Lens: Poems 1998-2002 by G.O. Clark
Dark Regions Press (trade, 44 pages)
Publication date: 2003, USA

Time's Eye: A Time Odyssey, Book 1 by Arthur C. Clarke & Stephen Baxter
Del Rey, Ballantine (hc, 337 pages + CD enclosed)
Publication date: 20 January 2004, USA & Canada

Cibola by James Cobb
Five Star (hc, 228 pages)
Publication date: January 2004, USA

The Bleeding Chalice by Ben Counter
Warhammer, Black Library (mm, 416 pages)
Publication date: December 2003, USA & Canada

Jimmy the Hand: Legends of the Riftwar, Book 3 by Raymond E. Feist & Steve Stirling
Voyager, HarperCollins (trade, 369 pages)
Publication date: 1 December 2003, UK

The Essential Guide to Werewolf Literature by Brian J. Frost
Popular Press, University of Wisconsin Press (hc & trade, 365 pages)
Publication date: 15 December 2003, USA

New Spring: The Novel by Robert Jordan
Tor (hc, 335 pages) / Audio Renaissance (11 CDs, read by Kate Reading & Michael Kramer)
Publication date: 6 January 2004, USA & Canada
   This novel completes the story of the novella of the same title that appeared in the Legends anthology. The audio version is unabridged, runs 13 hours, and includes an interview with the author.

Beastslayer: Gotrek & Felix, Book 5 by William King
Warhammer, Black Library (mm, 287 pages)
Publication date: January 2004, USA & Canada

Vampireslayer: Gotrek & Felix, Book 6 by William King
Warhammer, Black Library (mm, 320 pages)
Publication date: January 2004, USA & Canada

The Fairy Godmother by Mercedes Lackey
Luna (hc, 432 pages)
Publication date: January 2004, USA & Canada

Aspects of a Psychopath by Alistair Langston
Telos (trade, 112 pages)
Publication date: December 2003, UK / March 2004, USA & Canada

Bumper Crop by Joe R. Lansdale
Golden Gryphon (hc, 199 pages)
Publication date (forthcoming): April 2004, USA

The Moon Runners by Mary Lennox
Five Star (hc, 356 pages)
Publication date: January 2004, USA

On Account of Darkness and Other Stories by Barry Malzberg & Bill Pronzini
Five Star (hc, 246 pages)
Publication date: February 2004, USA

Gehenna, The Final Night by Ari Marmell
World of Darkness, White Wolf (mm, 352 pages)
Publication date: January 2004, USA

Richard Matheson: Collected Stories, Vol. 1 by Richard Matheson, edited by Stanley Wiater
Edge Books, Gauntlet Press (trade, 399 pages)
Publication date: 2003, USA & Canada

White Devils by Paul McAuley
Simon & Schuster (hc, 521 pages)
Publication date: 2 February 2004, UK

Caves of Ice by Sandy Mitchell
Warhammer, Black Library (mm, 256 pages)
Publication date: February 2004, USA & Canada

The Puppet-Masters: Clan Brujah Trilogy, Book 3 by Tim Nedopulos
World of Darkness, White Wolf (mm, 288 pages)
Publication date: December 2003, USA

A Time to Die by Mickey Zucker Reichert
Five Star (hc, 248 pages)
Publication date: February 2004, USA

Renegade: The Hunter by C.L. Rossman
1st Books (trade, 225 pages)
Publication date: November 2003, USA

Berserker Prime by Fred Saberhagen
Tor (hc, 396 pages)
Publication date: 7 January 2004, USA & Canada

A Perilous Power by E. Rose Sabin
Tor (hc, 286 pages)
Publication date: 7 January 2004, USA & Canada

The Highwayman by R.A. Salvatore
CDS Books (hc, 384 pages)
Publication date (forthcoming): March 2004, USA & Canada

Nightmare Logic by Larry Seagriff
Five Star (hc, 222 pages)
Publication date (forthcoming): March 2004, USA

The Double Shadow, and other Fantasies by Clark Ashton Smith
Wildside Press (trade & hc, 106 pages)
Publication date: December 2003, USA

Designer Genes: Tales from the Biotech Revolution by Brian Stableford
Five Star (hc, 270 pages)
Publication date (forthcoming): March 2004, USA

Robinson Crusoe 1,000,000 A.D. by Terry Sunbord
Clocktower Books (trade, 244 pages)
Publication date (forthcoming): April 2004, USA

The Butterfly Effect novelization by James Swallow
Black Flame, Black Library (mm, 416 pages)
Publication date: January 2004, USA & Canada
   Based on the screenplay by J. Mackye Gruber & Eric Bress of the New Line Cinema film of the same title.

Toreador: Dark Ages Clan Novels, Book 9 by Janet Trautvetter
World of Darkness, White Wolf (mm, 288 pages)
Publication date: December 2003, USA & Canada

Dr. Tim, Book One by Christopher Varian
etompro (trade graphic novel, 110 pages)
Publication date: December 2003, USA

Mark of Heresy by James Wallis
Warhammer, Black Library (mm, 416 pages)
Publication date: December 2003, USA & Canada

The Eye of Gehenna: Clan Novel Saga, Vol 2 by Stewart Wieck, Gherbod Fleming, Eric Griffin, et al.
World of Darkness, White Wolf (trade, 592 pages)
Publication date: November 2003, USA & Canada

A Galaxy in a Jar: Selected Poetry by Laurel Winter
Dark Regions Press (trade, 56 pages)
Publication date: 2003, USA

The Knight by Gene Wolfe
Tor (hc, 430 pages)
Publication date: January 2004, USA & Canada

Magazines

Alchemy, No. 1, 2003, USA
Contributors to this issue include: Alex Irvine, Theodore Goss, Nnedi Okorafor-Mbachu, R.A. Lafferty, Carol Emshwiller, Sarah Monette.

Challenging Destiny, No. 17, December 2003, Canada
Contributors to this issue include: Marissa K. Lingen, Fraser Sherman, William McIntosh, Brian N. Pacula, A.R. Morlan, and featuring an interview with Scott Mackay.

Cthulhu Sex, No. 16, Vol. 2, USA & Canada
Contributors to this issue include: Mike Koenen, Eric Pape, Michele Lee, Thea Hutcheson, Richard Dysinger, Jean Ann Donnel, Lee Clark Zumpe, Dusti Lewars-Poole, Kristopher Reisz, Octavio Ramos Jr., Kenneth G. Kig, John Lawson

Fantasy & Science Fiction, February 2004, USA & Canada
Contributors to this issue include: Paolo Bacigalupi, Ysabeau S. Wilce, Robert Reed, Albert E. Cowdrey, Steven Utley, Daryl Gregory, Chet Williamson.

Fantasy & Science Fiction, March 2004, USA & Canada
Contributors to this issue include: Matthew Hughes, Jim Young, Alex Irvine, M. Rickert, Charles Coleman Finlay.

Interzone, No. 192, November/December 2003, UK
Contributors to this issue include: Paul Di Filippo, Ian Watson, Cherith Baldry, Darrell Schweitzer, Dominic Green, and featuring an interview with Stan Nicholls.

Talebones, No. 27, Winter 2003, USA & Canada
Contributors to this issue include: Jack Cady, Mark Rich, Nina Kiriki Hoffman, Diana Sherman, Catherine MacLeod, Martha J. Allard, Ilsa J. Bick, Michael A. Arnzen, Don Web, G.O. Clark.