The first book: #1 The Arabian Nights
The first comic: #788 Bleach
Bleach is back! Problems resolved 😀
Arabian Nights - still quite a bit to go, but the story changed tactics with a number of shorter stories, this time with more animal protagonists and feeling more like parables than the fairy stories from the start or the lengthier stories that came in later. It has actually been getting more entertaining this way - I think I prefer the shorter stories for my commute.
Bleach - pretty good still. With the story ramping up to the final confrontation, it all feels more serious, but also like the protagonists are actually more powerful, the threats feel more realistic now. The fights also drag on a bit less as there's so much more to get to. It's all pretty fun really. Perhaps the break helped - it feels stronger.