This Week on Goodreads

Well, since I can't seem to get the doohickey that automatically posts my Goodreads reviews here to work, I'm taking a post to list all the ones I've done so far this week, for the books I managed to finish reading.


Showcase Presents: Green Lantern Vol. 4 by Dennis O'Neil
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

This volume of Showcase Presents Green Lantern while featuring some great artwork from Gil Kane (including one story inked by the late, great Wally Wood), Dick Dillin and Mike Sekowsky, has some of the lamest sixties' stories. This was the low period in DC Comics (well, one of them, anyway) between the Go-Go checked covers and the relevant period that started when Neal Adams took over the art on Green Lantern/Green Arrow (and Denny O'Neil was given more of a free rein with the story content) with what would have been the next issue after the last reprinted in this book.

The book's description is a bit off as well. The only real member of GL's rogue's gallery that appears is Hector Hammond, who at the time was both big-headed and paralyzed. The Lamplighter makes one of his only appearances, and there's a guy who can control Hal Jordan's Power Ring by the force of his own will whenever Hal's actually using it. There's a couple tales that follow the stale-even-then storyline of an alien who comes to Earth/inept guy with powers, is able to beat up GL almost by accident, and then is used by a group of criminals. The Fantastic Four did this kind of tale best with the original Impossible Man and "Infant Terrible" stories, and it doesn't work all that well here.

At least this book wasn't labelled "Essential" or anything like that, so no advertising laws were broken.


The Amazing Spider-Man: Mayhem in Manhattan by Len Wein
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The first Spider-Man novel isn't too bad. It captures the flavor of the seventies Spider-Man comics to a tee. You can see this story in your head, played out over two or three issues.

Unlike a lot of these sorts of initial adaptations, it doesn't spend a lot of time going over Spidey's origin; Wein and Wolfman seem to understand that if you're buying a Spider-Man novel, you already know a bit about the character.

The story is fast-paced, and even though an astute reader will know who the Master Planner is by the middle of Chapter One, you don't really care; it's not that kind of book.

It isn't the first Marvel Comics' novel, though. Just an FYI, the first one was The Avengers Battle the Earth Wrecker, back in 1967. It was the first book in the short-lived (eleven official entries) Marvel Novel Series.


Essential Fantastic Four, Vol. 2 by Stan Lee
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Good volume of Marvel Essentials, with Jack Kirby just starting to hit his stride on the book. This one covers Fantastic Four #21-40, along with a couple of stories from annuals. The only downside is that the Spidey-Torch tale from the Strange Tales Annual is reprinted from the actual comic and not the original black-and-white artwork. Highlights include Dragon Man, Diablo, the Frightful Four, Daredevil, and Dr. Strange.


How to Survive an Amazon Forum Troll Attack: a Writer's Guide by Michele Foal
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

At the risk of joining the subject matter, this is a one-joke, five-minute read. And it doesn't help that the first instance of said joke is misspelled. I can see what the author is trying to do, buy for maybe two chuckles, it falls on it's face.



Doctor Who: The Bodysnatchers by Mark Morris
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Good story featuring the Eighth Doctor and his companion Sam. This one is set in the same Victorian London as The Talons of Weng-Chiang, and features a character from that story. A good afternoon read for any Whovian.



Essential Iron Man, Vol. 1 by Stan Lee Don Heck, Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The first volume in the Essential Iron Man series naturally features Shellhead's first appearances in Marvel Comics' Tales of Suspense.

These are some fun stories, even if a lot of them are somewhat forgettable. Iron Man battles a villain called Doctor Strange, a giant caveman robot and a mess o' Commies before getting into with his soon-to-be Rogues' Gallery: Crimson Dynamo, the Melter, the Mandarin, Mr. Doll ... okay, so even then, not all of them were classics. Captain America, the Angel (and the original X-Men) and Hawkeye the Archer (when he was a bad guy) also show up in these pages.

The artwork is a sixties' dream: Don Heck, Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko all take turns at the helm, with Ditko re-designing Iron Man's golden armor into the red-and-yellow suit he was most associated with for the next 25 years.

While there are, as I mentioned, a lot of stories that read like filler, is actually is an "Essential" volume for once, for both fans of the Golden Avenger and Marvel Comics in general.


She-Hulk, Vol. 1: Single Green Female by Dan Slott
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The first trade paperback reprinting Dan Slott's She-Hulk is a good intro to both the character and the Marvel Universe, or at least the back side of it. She-Hulk (Jennifer Walters) moves out of Avengers Mansion and joins a law firm specializing in super-hero law. There are plenty of cameos by Marvel Universe denizens, including the Thing and Dr. Strange, and of course, everybody's favorite neighborhood web-slinger. This is one of the few comic book series of the past twenty years that actually seems to remember that Marvel had a history and rich background characters before the nineties.


She-Hulk, Vol. 2: Superhuman Law by Dan Slott
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The second trade of Dan Slott's She-Hulk is just as good as the first, featuring Jennifer Walter's first court case with her new law firm, along with having to watch over young miscreant Southpaw and work as a magistrate for the Living Tribunal (who needs to get some pants). She manages to beat the Champion of the Universe, but old enemy Titania shows up to deal her some bad cards. A great series worth a read by any comic fan!



She-Hulk, Vol. 3: Time Trials by Dan Slott
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This volume of the She-Hulk trade paperbacks features the first five issues of the 2005 series, again written by Dan Slott. Titania's rampage has left emotional scars on Jennifer, and she now has to use a device to transform into her alter-ego. Timely Plaza is being rebuilt, but a mysterious new CEO has plans that don't necessarily coincide with everyone else's, as the first starts handling cases for super-villains as well as heroes. Another fun storyline worth reading.


Showcase Presents: DC Comics Presents: Superman Team-Ups by Len Wein
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

DC Comics Presents was a team-up comic that ran for nearly 100 issues starting in the late eighties. This Showcase Presents volume reprints the first 26 issues.

There are some fun stories here! First of all, you've got at least six stories each featuring artwork by comic legends Jose Luis Garcia Lopez, Joe Staton, and Dick Dillin. Curt Swan, Jim Starlin and Rich Buckler also provide artwork. The stories have some continuity, with considerably more continued (if somewhat tenuously) stories than your usual team-up book. Three stories are linked by Superman's battle with best friend Pete Ross, over Ross's son, fated to become a warlord for a distant planet. Superman time-travels to with the Flash and Sgt. Rock, doesn't quite help Swamp Thing against Solomon Grundy, and literally moves the planet in an adventure with Adam Strange.

This is nearly 500-pages of good, bronze age stories. Highly recommended!


The Ultimates: Against All Enemies by Alex Irvine
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book reads a lot more like an issue of the Ultimates than the previous book by Michael Jan Friedman did. For the most part, the Ultimates just don't get along very well. Even Captain America is lacking in trust in this one. The Chitauri are back, working several angles to get their revenge and destroy the "virus" that is humanity.

This one was fairly well-written by Irvine, who appears to do mostly genre books and novelizations. If you are a Marvel or Ultimate Comics fan, you'll probably want to give this one a try. It more accessible for the average reader as well.


The Ultimates: Against All Enemies by Alex Irvine
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book reads a lot more like an issue of the Ultimates than the previous book by Michael Jan Friedman did. For the most part, the Ultimates just don't get along very well. Even Captain America is lacking in trust in this one. The Chitauri are back, working several angles to get their revenge and destroy the "virus" that is humanity.

This one was fairly well-written by Irvine, who appears to do mostly genre books and novelizations. If you are a Marvel or Ultimate Comics fan, you'll probably want to give this one a try. It more accessible for the average reader as well.


God Speaks by His Spirit to the Coming Storm by Anthony Alan
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

If you're big into theology, you might enjoy this book. There's a discussion (with "divine commentary") on the Book of Ezekiel, and a third of the book is devoted to a series of adages that are supported by scripture and bible teachings.

The book is more Sunday school than anything else - trying to drive home points through repetition. There are also instances of misogynism and blatant isolationism (where the interpretation of the "good book" is told as people should stay away from other cultures).

I only picked this one up as part of a review project on a website. It is interesting from some points of view, but it is also poorly formatted in a sort of an outline/Top Ten list style that while separating the points, doesn't lend well to casual reading.


Essential Marvel Two-in-One, Vol. 3 by Mark Gruenwald
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A good volume in the Essentials series, featuring some excellent stories from MTIO. The Project Pegasus saga is reprinted here, as is the Serpent Crown and Maelstrom storylines. Great artwork by Ron Wilson, Gene Day, John Byrne. and George Perez abounds.


THE AVENGERS Battle the Earth-Wrecker by Otto Binder
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

While this was the first Marvel Comics novel adaptation and was written by a sci-fi legend (and comic book) writer like Otto Binder, it certainly doesn't read like one. This tale would've been dated the day it was published. So much effort seems to have been spent making the Avengers' banter try to be natural and unforced, the rest of the novel suffers (and the banter comes off hackneyed anyway).

Instead of using Kang, the obvious choice, we get Karzz, a similarly high tech tyrant from the future with no real Elam and a predilection for being a polyglot. The mediocre painted cover also shows characters not in the story. This is definitely not worth paying an exorbitant ebay price to obtain; Otto's dead, so find the pdf file that is making the rounds of the net.

View all my Goodreads reviews

AVAILABLE ON AMAZON.COM FOR THE KINDLE

THE TV SHOW QUIZ BOOK: VOLUME 1
By Rich Meyer


Indulge yourself in nostalgia for the old days of holding the rabbit ears in bizarre positions to get what you wanted from that glowing eye in your living room! Bewitched, Car 54, Mr. Belvedere, Jack Benny, Ellen, Rocky Jones, Quark, WKRP, Sherlock Holmes, Roy Rogers, Donna Reed, SCTV, Dobie Gillis, Mr. Ed, the Prisoner and Patty Duke are just some of classics you'll find in this e-book quiz book!


US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004PYDCPW
UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B004PYDCPW
CA: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B004PYDCPW
DE: https://www.amazon.de/dp/B004PYDCPW

Comic Book Reviews May 6th, 2013

I've been catching up on my comic book reading for the past couple of weeks, and thought it was time to post a few reviews. We're doing two titles I've mentioned here before, and all three are from DC Comics' current "New 52" continuity.

All Star Western could for the most part have been part of the old DC Universe with only a few tweaks. It is quite possibly one of the top five books being published today. The writing is excellent and the artwork is perfect for the time period. Bounty hunter Jonah Hex has starred in the first nineteen issues, in stories set primarily in 1880's Gotham City, with Dr. Amadeus Arkham, the person who would found the legendary Arkham Asylum, along for the ride. The title features a back-up story set in the same era, highlighting western characters such as El Diablo, the Barbary Ghost, and Bat Lash, as well as a new version of Tomahawk, Dr. Thirteen and an early version of Stormwatch. Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti have captured the essence of the era perfectly in this series. All Star Western is a series that belongs on everyone's comic pull list.

The biggest disappointment in the "New 52" for me so far has been Justice League. This book is supposed to be the flagship title of the company, but it comes off as the same-old, same-old. We've seen almost all of these stories before, in one form or another, and the original iterations were much better. The artwork, yes, it's pretty darn good. Jim Lee is the only real original Image graduate that actually improved since those halcyon days of artists who cared little for human anatomy. But the book is severely lacking. The Justice League always seems to be bit players in someone else's story. From the hackneyed origin story with Darkseid to bring Cyborg into the JL fold, to the "Throne of Atlantis" storyline, and the current one, which portends to be a retelling of "Tower of Babel" and the Justice League: Doom animated feature, I find myself not caring about any of these characters. Superman and Wonder Woman getting friendly? Yawn. Batman being nosy and underhanded. Ho-hum. Been there, done that, got the t-shirt. How about having these people act like heroes again, rather than bit players in other sagas or spoiled brats?

Finally we have The Movement, written by fan favorite Gail Simone, noted for stints on Wonder Woman, Batgirl, and several other popular titles. This book is set in Coral City, a previously unknown municipality in the DC Universe. There's a lot of corrupt cops, one cop trying to do his best, a possibly possessed young man who's a serial killer and a bunch of young metahumans. What there isn't is a cohesive story. I've only read the first issue, but nothing in it makes me want to leave the house to look for the second. I have no empathy for anyone in this story. I've read some of Simone's Batgirl issues, and they made sense and were entertaining. If this is how she writes when creating her own characters, then she should stick to established ones. Freddie Williams III provides some interesting art, very reminiscent, at least to me, of some of the art on Rachel Pollack's Doom Patrol run. But it's not interesting enough to shell out money for the next issue.

I'd have to say that, right now, The Movement is the absolute nadir of the "New 52" imprint, even topping Liefeld's Hawk and Dove for that honor.

I'm so proud of myself for not making any obvious puns on the name of that last book.  Next time around, some of the "Marvel Now!" titles, including Dark Avengers, Indestructible Hulk, and Savage Wolverine.

AVAILABLE FOR THE AMAZON KINDLE - FREE TO BORROW FOR AMAZON PRIME USERS: 
1,001 Comic Book Trivia Questions (Comic Book Quiz Book Volume 3)
By Rich Meyer

Here's truth in advertising: 1,001 trivia questions (and answers) about comic books! All genres, hundreds of popular characters, easy ones and stumpers ... hours of family fun!




US SITE: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007YUL0CQ
UK SITE: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B007YUL0CQ

Movie Review: Justice League: Doom

Since The Avengers movie seems to be the big thing right now, and since I detest actually going to the theatre nowadays (fat ass + narrow seats = uncomfortable), I thought I'd watch and review another recent super-hero flick: Justice League: Doom.

This is the latest in the DC Universe animated movies, and like most of the recent ones, is only related to any of the others on unique tangents and cameos. The whole series is basically an offshoot of Justice League and Justice League Unlimited, the popular animated series on Cartoon Network. There are bits and pieces of iconography from that series all over the place, but this tale is really a combination homage to two things: Challenge of the Super Friends and Mark Waid's legendary JLA story "Tower of Babel". 

The "Doom" of the title is the Legion of Doom, named after Lex Luthor's halfwit team from the Super Friends cartoon. This time, however, it is led by Vandal Savage, the immortal villain. A modern version of Cheetah is the only holdover from that team, which features Metallo, Bane, Ma'alefa'ak, Star Sapphire and Mirror Master as the arch-enemies of each Leaguer. 

As a nod toward the recent "New 52" revamp, former Teen Titan Cyborg is thrown into the mix. A good chunk of the story is a variation on a plot line in "Tower of Babel": The Batman has contingency plans to neutralize each member of the Justice League, should such a thing become necessary. The aftermath of a staged robbery by the Royal Flush Gang affords Mirror Master the opportunity to get into the Bat-Cave and steal those plans, which Vandal Savage modifies into death traps for each member of the League (which are not the same as in the original story). 

While in "Tower of Babel", Ra's Al Ghul destroyed the most basic of communication abilities in all over the planet. Vandal Savage plans to ignite a solar flare that will devastate half the planet, with him and his Legion of Doom becoming masters of the survivors. 

This movie was as action-packed as most of the other major entries in the DCU Animated line. There's a lot of the same character design work as the previous Justice League movie, Crisis on Two Earths, but the movie isn't directly related to that. There's not a lot of backstory that a viewer needs to know to jump right in and enjoy this great movie. 

If I had to rate this flick on a ten-point scale, I'd easily give it an 8. I think it is a good segue for anyone interesting in the Justice League and perhaps interested in looking at the New 52 comic line. Mind you, the Justice League comic book is a pale shade of most of the other titles, it is still probably the most accessible due to all the familiar faces.

NOW AVAILABLE FOR THE AMAZON KINDLE

The Golden Age of Radio: 1,001 Trivia Questions about Old-Time Radio
NEW DRM-FREE EDITION

by Rich Meyer

If you remember how much department store clerks cringed when they saw Jack Benny coming on Christmas, or remember listening to Martians attacking New Jersey, or worried about how Kitty Kelly was going to be exonerated of those murder charges this time, then this is the quiz e-book for you!

The well-known and the very obscure are featured throughout this quiz book, which is easy to navigate and can be used by the neophyte fan and the seasoned listener alike. The shows in this quiz book cover the entire span of radio performances, from the very first in the 1920s to modern programs in the eighties and nineties, and from soap operas to musical programs to news shows and quiz programs.

This book is now in a DRM (Digital Rights Management)-Free version for your convenience! Now you can convert the book to be able to read it on any platform or e-reader you like!

Book Review: Showcase Presents Ambush Bug

When reviewing the names of super-heroes and super-villains that everyone knows, there's a select group that comes to mind: Superman, Spider-Man, Batman, Wonder Woman, Wolverine, Hulk, Ambush Bug, the Fantastic Four, Captain America, the Silver Surf ... umm what? You don't know Ambush Bug? But I'm sure Ambush Bug knows you. And Showcase Presents Ambush Bug is the only collection of his original adventures that we're probably ever going to see.

Ambush Bug knows most comic book readers because he's one of the few characters that knows he's in a comic book. Before getting all meta on us, the character began as somewhat of a throwaway villain in DC Comics Presents #52, facing off against Superman and the New Doom Patrol. He was created by Keith Giffen and Paul Kupperberg. Back then he was a happy-go-lucky (and slightly murderous) bad guy who could teleport using these little bugs. It was a few months later, in #59, when Ambush Bug was steered into a more comedic role, when he inadvertently went to the 30th Century with Superman and was engaged by the Legion of Substitute Heroes. Back then, the Subs were thought of in the same vein as the Legion of Super-Pets in sheer usefulness, so hilarity reigned.

Ambush Bug made several more appearances in Supergirl, Action Comics, and DC Comics Presents before he earned his first mini-series, which was so popular he got a Stocking Stuffer special followed by a second mini, a Secret Origins origin, and a second special before comic books turned all dark, grim and serious again.

All of these funny books (and for once that phrase is truth-in-advertising) are reprinted in Showcase Presents Ambush Bug, another volume in DC Comics' black-and-white series of trade paperback reprints. The stories all have an element of humor to them, and Ambush Bug, knowing that he's in a comic book, does his best to strain all the conventions of comic books that existed back in the eighties, the era of the DC fanboy and the Marvel zombie. It's fast-paced comedy, like if SCTV was combined with Cracked.

Showcase Presents Ambush Bug is an excellent read, both as a reprint volume and just as something to page through when you're bored and want to snicker a little now and then.

DC Comics: The New 52 - Justice League #1

I have to say that I can’t recall seeing commercials on TV for comic books since the early eighties, when Marvel Comics did one for G. I. Joe: A Real American Hero #1. I didn’t see much point to that one, and I didn’t see much point to the current one for DC Comics’ “The New 52” line. And after reading Justice League #1, I can’t see much point to that whole idea, either.

It’s been very hard to be an old-school comic fan over the past decade. The few remaining writers that we could count on for quality stories have gone completely commercial and sold out. I suppose I can’t blame them, considering what a dying art form and hobby comic books and comic book collecting has become. But when I sit back and read fantastic tales stories in the pages of Starman or Doom Patrol or JSA or even New X-Men and see the kind of confusing, monotonous tripe that writers like James Robinson, Grant Morrison and Geoff Johns are putting out now, it saddens me.  I quit reading most Marvel Comics after the lingering “Civil War” crossover event, and stopped reading most DC books after the fiasco of “Final Crisis.”

The hobby is in a downward slide. For example, back in 1968, the first Doom Patrol series was cancelled for selling only 250,000 copies a month. The version of the series that was cancelled in 2002 was only selling around 15,000 copies. The best seller that month sold around 148,000 issues. Huge crossover events that are so convoluted you need a scorecard haven’t helped matters. Readers want solid stories of the characters they enjoy - they don’t want to buy a bunch of comics they’ve never read in order to follow the plotline of a single story. And since new comics are about as valuable as new baseball cards, there’s not even a speculator market anymore.

Let’s take a look at the first issue’s story, written by Geoff Johns and featuring art by Jim Lee, which is set five years before the current continuity. For some reason, Cyborg is set to be a major player in the Justice League this time around. I hadn’t realized that Victor Stone, who has gone through lord knows how many transformations over the years, was suddenly a major commercial star. But we’re going to be seeing his origin over the course of the next few issues. I’m betting some major accident involving some of the other soon-to-be JLA’ers. As for the “heroes” we also see in this issue, not a single one of them have any original qualities that make them endearing to me. The Batman is, well, the Batman - stuck-up and overbearing. Superman appears to be a jerk as well, and Green Lantern Hal Jordan is pretty much an idiot. Batman even pulls a stunt he did in All-Star Batman and Robin by stealing GL’s Power Ring. At least this time, Robin wasn’t around to nearly kill the “Emerald Gladiator”...

If this book is representative of the New 52 continuity reboot, I’m very scared for the future of DC Comics. It has the scent of the disastrous revamping that Marvel Comics tried in 1996, giving their flagship titles to Jim Lee and Rob Liefeld of the then-popular Image Comics to remold into something new. That was a creative fiasco, no matter how you look at it. Having Jim Lee as a player in any reimaging of any comic book is not something I’d call a move that inspires confidence in the whole. I’ve also read where they’re bringing in Liefeld, who is perhaps the single worst artist in the history of comic books, to do another of the New 52 titles (The Hawk and the Dove), so I’m having the distinctly ominous feeling that this is a venture that is doomed to failure.

There’s nothing in Justice League #1 that makes me want to pick up issue #2. Much like Marvel did, DC Comics is completely abandoning the remains of their hardcore, old-time fan base. I hope that they realize that in this economy, it’s a bad thing to lose steady readers for the sake of bringing in a few short-term sales on a bunch of #1 issues. And I also hope they realize that in this age, even those old-time fans can find plenty of other diversions to make them forget about new comics, and stick with the old ones they can rely on for solid entertainment.