A Sleeper, Giant, and Batman Walk Into a Bar...

Hey All,
Here's some reviews Old-school-style. Enjoy!

Sleeper Season 1


I've waited to read this series for far too long. It is a mix of Donnie Brasco and Wanted with a much more gritty tone. Poor Holden Carver is placed undercover in a criminal organization after discovering that he is impervious to pain. When his handler Lynch falls into a coma Holden finds himself with no link to the outside world. Quickly Holden finds himself caught up in the terrible clutches of Tao, his criminal mastermind of a boss. He also falls in love with the wonderful Miss Misery, a woman who thrives on doing evil. Brubaker creates a wonderful comic noir world. Holden has superhero powers but it is a curse rather than a gift. He has to do horrible things to maintain his cover and be constantly paranoid about where he stands. It is always a complaint about comics that there's nothing new under the sun. Great writers like Brubaker show that that is completely wrong. He creates an entire new world of characters with original back stories. My favorite segment is when we learn the origin story of Miss Misery. Brubaker bends gender expectations in such a wonderful way with her character. It was highly enjoyable and unexpected. I can't wait to see where this will go next.

If you like Sleeper then check out: Criminal, Incognito, Wanted

3 Story: Secret History of a Giant Man


A few years ago it was Matt Kindt's Two Sisters that got me back into reading graphic novels. And then Super Spy blew my precious little mind last year. However I wasn't sure what to make of 3 Story before I picked it up. No spies, a giant, and no puzzles to figure out? What is this? All my fears were assuaged quickly. Kindt is about more than the cleverness of Super Spy. 3 Story is about a giant, but only in regards to how his existence is interpreted by those who love him. His mother, wife, and daughter all try to accommodate him. They build a house, send him to college, and even create a family with him. Despite all this though the reality of the giant's physical condition is that he can never be "one of us". In the end he can't even communicate with anyone. I was struck by panels that showed him always alone. The emphasis on isolation reminded me of Jeff Lemire's work in his excellent Essex County Trilogy. This is a wonderful character study without a hint of hipster-ish irony.

If you like 3 Story then check out: Super Spy, Two Sisters, Essex County Trilogy

Batman: Battle for the Cowl


Despite all the characters depicted on the cover this is really about a battle between two types of vigilantism: Faschism vs. Altruism. Which will win out? Well the ending is kinda inevitable. I mean if you didn't know how this would turn out well then maybe you need to read more comics. But I did enjoy the art by Tony Daniel. Daniel is particularly good with action scenes and muscalature. However writing-wise it's a big step down from Morrison. I like my Batman with a little more complexity. It is a nice hardcover, however I think they should've included more of the cross-overs than just the Gotham Gazette issues. If you can't get it on discount then I'd just hold out for the paperback.

If you like Battle for the Cowl then check out: Batman A Death In the Family, Under the Hood, Batman R.I.P.

Have a great week! Book Slave

Take it Easy

Hello,
I hope you all had an excellent holiday weekend here in the states. I did. Good times, bbq, and family, were all available to be had. In the whereabouts that I reside it has become a sweat lodge and I've received my first major sunburn. Must remember to find the shady tree to read under.

So after last week's review-extravaganza today we are taking it easy. Recently I was captured by Newsweek's What To Read Now issue. I like to think of myself as a well-read individual but I was woefully humbled. I'll definitely be taking a look at some of these titles in the upcoming months. There's also some other cool essays and articles. I particularly enjoy the essays by Jon Meacham and David Gates where they extol the virtues of re-reading.

I wish I could re-read more often. It's great to be able to look at text from a new point of view based on life experience. I had this happen when I re-read My Antonia a while ago. As a highschooler I was caught up in the will-they or won't they romance between the lead characters. However 10 years later when I opened it again I was struck by how this story is more about the strong immigrant women who built their lives from nothing. I wonder what I will see in the text a few years from now, most likely something new. Gotta love a rich text. So it's definitely worth checking out the July 13 issue of Newsweek. Good job again editor Jon Meacham.

Well onward!

Review
Batman Private Casebook
This was a collection of issues from the latest run of Paul Dini's work on Batman Detective. This was a re-read for me because I had read the issues as they came out. I came back to it because lately I've been obsessed with Batman's female characters such as Cat Woman, Zatanna, and the Birds of Prey. These issues are so good, Dini is the best at writing stories that contrasts the differences between Bruce Wayne as a human vs. Bruce Wayne as Batman. In his interactions with Cat Woman and Zatanna as a reader Dini explores the loneliness of being Batman. Other than Alfred and Tim, Bruce is unable to lead a normal life due to his commitment to protect Gotham. Even when he's out "being Bruce Wayne" at a society party he is kidnapped. It is like the evil of Gotham is drawn to him no matter what. Dini gets that. Also want to throw some props out to artist Dustin Nguyen who is an incredible artist. I love his work on the Batman series.

The Reading List
Pride and Prejudice and the Zombies
Escapist

Magazine
Four Four Two

Comics
Wednesday Comics #1

Comic Pull List: Batman #688, Bprd 1947 #1, Green Arrow Black Canary #22, Green Lantern #43, Red Robin #2, Stand American Nightmares #4, Superman World Of New Krypton #5, Wednesday Comics #1

Check out count: Eh?

Have a great week! Bookslave.

Catching Up Part 2

Hello,
I hope you are all doing well. This weekend the ABA, that's American Bookseller's Association, are descending upon my town. Winter Institute 2009 baby! My book store will be hosting several events so I'll be hobnobbing galore. Tonite it was a crazy madhouse in my store where the reception was being held. I met some interesting book sellers from all over the country. Also if you are in the Marriot Hotel on Friday night feel free to buy me a drink. Anyway it should be fun and maybe I'll have some more stories for you all.

So due to last week's insanity, here's more reviews. Onward! (Again!)

Reviews
Batman: A Death in the Family
I picked this up because it's a famous Batman story. The death of Jason Todd is controversial because it was a choice made by the audience literally. As Denny O'Neill explains in the book that Jason Todd was an unpopular "Robin" character. So they opened up a phone line and people could vote on life and death. I have a lot of sympathy for writer Jim Starlin because he had to build around a known conclusion. Everybody knew that Jason Todd was going to die somehow. So the suspense has to build around the circumstances. Starlin does a good job of building sympathy for a previously unlikeable character. Jason Todd is not a bad guy, he just has some attitude problems.

I was surprised at how much I liked this version of Batman. In this story Batman is fighting terrorists in the Middle East. (In 1989 folks!) The Joker sells nuclear weapons to the Ayattolah! I will admit I laughed at the idea of the Joker being given diplomatic immunity and protected by Superman. This Batman is more a part of the real world (as much as a man in a cape can be) and is pretty removed from Gotham in this series. Heck he's even kinda James Bondish. It was a bit refreshing I have to say. If your interested in some old school Batman comics give it a read.

Biographical Information: Batman: A Death In the Family

Green Lantern: Tales of the Sinestro Corps
I kept hearing how good Geoff Johns and Green Lantern was all last year so I decided to give it a try. This collection of issues I thought would catch me up. Unfortunately there was two brilliant issues and the rest were kinda mediocre. However the brilliance of those issues make this collection worth checking out. I was deeply affected by the story of Super Boy. Super Boy has grown to hate his idol because he is forced to destroy everything he loves. Johns brings it to the level of Greek tragedy and its great. The other brilliant chapter is the purely psychological issue where Hal Jordan has to deal with his inner weakness which is embodied by Parallax. This is a great "talking head" issue where a man battles for his life. I was enthralled. Unfortunately the rest of the collection is not that great. I don't know why some of these issues were included other than as filler. So I'd say check out those two parts and skip the rest.

Other Reviews
Collected Editions

Brontes at Haworth
I have a real love/hate relationship with the Brontes. To be fair I haven't read all their novels and I'm not a big fan of gothic romance. I liked Jane Eyre, but I loath Wuthering Heights. I hate it with an all consuming passion. However I find the story of the Bronte sisters as fascinating. The fact that there were 3 sisters who became legendary authors after being utter failures. They failed at being teachers and governesses (female occupations of the time) and turn to writing as a last resort. The irony is that they should've been writing all along. Brontes at Haworth is an interesting hybrid because it is the size of a coffee table but it has enough biographical writing to just be a book. It has some great reproductions of paintings and writings from the sisters. It is a simplistic biography because it has no angle. I wouldn't use it as a source for your critical theory paper. However I thought it was a good introductory book and worth checking out.

Biographical Information: Bronte, Bronte Blog

So folks have a great weekend! Book Slave.

Book Binge-ing

Hello cyber-world,
I have been on a wonderful book binge lately. Hopefully you all will benefit from the results. It's hard to turn down the books when they are being sold at discount, y'know what I'm saying? Anyway on with the show!

Reviews
League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Vol. 1
After reading the Alan Moore interview book last week I decided to reread this great work. Moore takes characters from classic literature, puts them into a team, and throws them into an adventure in 1898. This is great adventure, sci-fi, mystery and humor. Murray and Quatermaine are the Nick and Nora of this book and I love it! I also love the hilarious opportunist jerk that is the character of the Invisible Man. I heartily reccommend this book. (BTW Avoid the film like the plague, it is horrible and not even close to the book. Don't cause yourself this pain.)

Wolverine #64
The "Get Mystique" storyline continues as we follow Wolverine and Mystique through their shared past and the present. In this installment Wolverine is conflicted when Mystique hides amongst American soldiers. Will Wolverine risk their lives to get to Mystique? This internal dillemma and the way it plays out is why Jason Aron is great. While Mystique cares about no one but herself. Wolverine has always been about the conflict between his humanity and his animal nature. I especially like his writing of the confrontation scenes between Logan and Mystique. Awesome art and splash pages from Ron Garney.

Detective Comics #843
This issue written by Paul Dini featured a team up between Batman and Zatanna to take down the Ventriloquist. Zatanna has been hired to do a magic show at the opening of a new night club. Bruce Wayne attends and is kidnapped by the Ventriloquist who is taking advantage of a gang war. While the action and villians stuff is great, I think that actually my fave scene was between Bruce Wayne and Zatanna. It touched upon their relationship, the will they or won't they that Dini introduced last year. Dini definitely writes the best Detective issues and this one was worth checking out.

What's In My Bag
Magazine
Entertainment Weekly

Comic
Secret Invasion #1

Books
Dealing With Difficult People
Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
(crazy4novels thru down the gauntlet on getting this done, It will be done, oh yes it will be done)

Checkout Count: Crazy, but not insane.

If you are interested in more of my pithy pop culture opinions I point you to Never Enough Time. Check it out, enjoy have a good weekend, Book Slave.

Death and Taxes

Hello Tax Paying Citizens,
Yes it's tax day! As the Beatles said:
"If you drive a car, I'll tax the street
If you try to sit, I'll tax your seat
If you get too cold, I'll tax the heat
If you take a walk, I'll tax your feet
Taxman"
Perhaps I should get involved with capital gains. Then I'll get a tax cut. Well at least I have a rebate coming! (Even though it really borrowed from the chinese) OK I'll stop. This is not the "Complain about Taxes" blog is it? Let's lose ourselves in fantastical worlds. Are you coming?

Reviews
The Invisibles Vol. 1
I picked this up on the recommendations of a co-worker (shout-out to awesome DJ Strange) and the podcast Comic Book Queers.
The story follows an angry young punk who is thrown out on his own in London. He discovers a crazy alternative universe that exists below the surface. In this alternative universe a gang called The Invisibles battles weird/psychosexual villians. As expected Grant Morrison brings on the weird and trippy. This kind of comic is not really my bag. I found the first three issues to be drastically different than the next 4 issues in tone. The philosophical and psychosexual undertones were way over my head. Warning: This book is not for the meek. I will give the book props for it's gay subtext which is uncommon in comics. However, I think I'll be sticking to Morrison's more mainstream fare.

Tales of the Batman
This collection of Batman stories, all drawn by Tim Sale, is awesome. I found the stories incredibly entertaining. Amazingly the majority of these stories barely even include Batman as a character. These tales are more about the world that Batman inhabits. In most of the stories it is the villians that take center stage, especially one story that centers around Arkham Asylum. These are all drawn/written in a classic style but with a dark edge. I also loved the three-parter Blades, written by James Robinson. Don't miss this collection.

Alan Moore on his Work and Career
Confession time: I love Alan Moore. I worship at his feet. So I picked up this interview book and gave it a read. Moore rarely does interviews and hasn't been at a comic-con since 1986. I think that he likes to create an air of mystery/magic around his own personal image. (This also stretches to his appearance, check it out here.) Unfortunately this interview book is pretty dry. It's a straight interview which I think could've benefited from being broken up. Also some panels/pages from his works would've been great too. Interesting but again it was kinda exhausting.

What's In My Bag
Books
Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao

Graphic Novel
League of Extraordinary Gentleman Vol. 1

Magazine
Paste

Comic
Countdown to Final Crisis #5

Checkout Count: Insane!

"You say you want a revolution..." Enjoy the week! Book Slave