Books

Some books I’ve read:

Jefferson: Art of Power by Jon Meacham

Man of Iron by Troy Senik

Continuing my quest to read a biography for every US President.  This covers Thomas Jefferson and Man of Iron.  It’s rare that I hit upon a bad biography, and the streak isn’t broken here.  I learned a lot, I was entertained, good times.  Looks like Monroe might be next for me.

Government of our Own by William C. Davis

I wanted to read about the actual government of the Confederacy, not just how it pertained to the fighting of the Civil War.  This book covers the founding of the nation, paralleling the Constitutional Convention of 1787.  It talks about how this new collection of founding fathers modified the existing Constitution to something that fit their (misguided) vision of a better country.  Like their predecessors, they were forced to compromise, fight, and scheme for every word.  I was fascinated by the whole process, and really enjoyed the read.  This is why I love books, learning in detail about something interesting that I previously knew nothing about.

Elektra by Jennifer Saint

A fleshed out account of the Iliad and Oresteia trilogy from the points of view of Elektra, Cassandra, and Clytemnestra.  Saint does a fine job of grounding all three characters and really delving in the motivations behind their actions.  I tried following it up with Saint’s Atalanta, but didn’t get very far.

World War 3.2 by John Birmingham

I tried so hard to like this.  Birmingham’s original Axis of Time trilogy is a super fun read.  But his followups have been massive disappointments, including this one.  Maybe he’s gotten self-indulgent with the self-publishing (he’s said this series is going to be stretched out to nine books.  Judging from the first two, he could do with some editing), or his writing method (using dictation software and AI support) has resulted in poorer results.  I’m not sure, but I know we’re 3 novellas and 2 novels in, and the best parts of the original trilogy, the actual battles and strategic execution of the war, have been reduced to a miniscule portion of the story.  It makes me sad, but I’m done buying this series.  

New comics

New comics from the past two weeks:

Absolute Martian Manhunter 11

This is where Deniz Camp completely loses me.  I’m done caring about the story, with an issue to go. Camp can do whatever he wants, I’m just going to look at Javier Rodriguez’s pretty art next month.

Fantastic Four 10

For someone so hyped up as the ultimate badass, Sue Richards the Invincible Woman sure goes down easy.  (As these knockdown-dragouts go.)  A bit of a letdown, but Bullseye shooting across the galaxy was frickin’ sweet.  

Absolute Batman 20

This issue’s a bit of a drag, as Batman confronts Scarecrow and discovers his entire origin story may have been manipulated into being from the very start.  Too much talking, but at least the fighting’s coming next issue w/ all of the Robins showing up.

Daredevil 1

I’ll always try something from Lee Garbett.  Luckily, Stephanie Philips keeps it interesting as well.  Matt starts a stint as a law professor at Empire State University, and immediately meets a sharp-tongued sure-to-be-a-love-interest antagonist.  Fun enough to add to my sub.

Voyeur 5

David Baldeon can draw, no question.  This is a beautiful comic.  It’s too bad Leah Williams’ heist is ultimately meh.  I’ll give Baldeon a look in the future, but probably wouldn’t buy a followup series of this.

Barbara Gordon: Breakout 1

Babs goes to Supermax prison in order to weed out rampant corruption.  I have no doubt she’ll be able to take care of herself, and look forward to what Mariko Tamaki comes up with.  Tamaki’s been underwhelming for a while now, but I’m still holding out hope for her. 

Mostly new comics

New comics!

Planet She-Hulk 6

This was cancelled earlier than writer Stephanie Phillips had planned for, and it shows.  She abruptly brings Jennifer Walters back to Earth in order to bring things back to a rough status quo ante before she leaves the title.  A sad ending to a title that started with a ton of promise and beautiful art, but completely fizzled at the end.

Truth 1

Batman and Wonder Woman team up in this Jeph Loeb/Jim Cheung one-shot.  I got it entirely for Cheung’s art, and it’s as lovely as I hoped for.  Loeb is definitely on the back half of his career, but the story is serviceable enough as cameo villains pop in at a regular tempo.  I’m pretty sure a drinking game devoted to every time a character says “truth” would render the participants unconscious in short order.  

From the library:

Duke 1-5

A fun start to the Energon Universe’s GI Joe branch, but I don’t regret not buying it. 

New comics

New comics!

Wonder Woman 32

Tom King returns to the parallel intertwined storytelling device that he employs so often.  Usually it works, but this time around it felt forced and unnecessary.  Sometimes I just want a straightforward story, is that so wrong?

Batwoman 2

Nope.  So done with this.  An unmitigated, uncharacteristic fail by Greg Rucka.

Battle Beast 8

Battle Beast returns to the fray, and it doesn’t disappoint.  The fight sequence with the regenerating sword is pretty sweet.  Like I said last time, this series needs Battle Beast fights to stay interesting.

Flash 32

Not bad, but I’m looking for a little more from Ryan North.  Hopefully he picks it up after he gets his feet wet with this first arc.

Detective Comics 1108

Is a Tom Taylor title worth buying if it’s perfectly fine?  I cut the cord with his Superman run, I wonder if I have the strength to do it with this.  It’s on my watch list.

Harley & Ivy 5

Erica Henderson is Pulling.  It.  Off. 

Absolute Batman 19

Scott Snyder and Nick Dragotta introduce a bunch of new, exciting things: Absolute Scarecrow, Absolute Robins, and Jim Gordon dies!  After a less-than-stellar run w/ Absolute Poison Ivy, happy days look to be back again.  (As happy as things can be in Absolute Gotham.)

Powers 25 8

We get Kutter’s origin, and it’s not nearly as interesting as her partner’s.  Still not turning down Bendis/Oeming, though.  

Absolute Wonder Woman 19

Diana and Zatanna free Zatara and fight Giganta.  And before she can catch her breath, Diana jumps back into the fray against something called the Iron Maiden.  Speaking of breath, this Diana takes mine away.  

Spider-Man/Superman 1

Just about every single one of these stories would have been better if they showed the greatness of these icons instead of speechifying about what makes them so.  It gets really old really fast.  It’s a waste of some truly phenomenal creative teams.

Fine Print TPB 3

Stjepan Sejic is one of the best comic creators out there right now, yadda yadda yadda.  I will buy anything this dude puts out.  He doesn’t disappoint with this.  Can’t wait for whatever comes next.  (I think it’s more Sunstone.)

New comics

New comics!

DIE: Loaded 6

We meet the final member of the party, and the issue ends with a major plot twist.  This would probably be better all at once as a trade, but I like supporting the single issues.

Flash 31

Ryan North starts a new run.  It’s weird seeing Wally West as a dad. (It’s been a while since I’ve read this title…)  Gavin Guidry, whom I haven’t heard of before, has a touch of Cliff Chiang in him, which is never a bad thing.  As with Tom Taylor over on Detective, this issue harkens back to the old days where not every story arc had to be some epic, game-changing saga.  This is just the Flash being a hero with a basic villain, and there’s nothing wrong with that.  I expect North is only going to up his game from here.

Resurrection Man: Quantum Karma 1-6

I’m slowly picking up anything from Ram V that looks interesting to me.  This is done in conjunction w/ artist Anand RK.  Like his recent New Gods, this is a cosmic saga, dreamlike in its tone, and slightly nonsensical.  But it’s beautifully crafted and I very much enjoyed the experience of reading it.  The time loop at the end felt a little too obvious, though.

New comics

New comics!

Detective Comics 1107

It’s odd when Tom Taylor is strictly average, but that’s really been the story of his run on Detective.  On the plus side, though, Pete Woods does a surprisingly good job filling in for Mike Janin, which I would never have believed possible given my exposure to his previous work.  

And who the hell is Prion?

Fantastic Four 9

The Invincible Woman kicks the crap out of the FF, and Ryan North has written himself into a corner w/ a villain who really shouldn’t ever lose.  She’s going to have to lose via personality flaw, like Thanos whenever he gets his hands on a cosmic artifact.

Absolute Martian Manhunter 10

Good to know this is ending after issue 12, or else I’d probably cut it soon; no matter how gorgeous Javier Rodriguez’s psychedelic art is, the Deniz Camp story is finally wearing out its welcome.

Superman/Spider-Man 1

More good than bad in this DC/Marvel crossover.  Enough that I don’t regret picking it up.

Absolute Wonder Woman 18

May Kelly Thompson and Hayden Sherman stay on this title forever.  There’s no end to how much I love this series.

New comics

New comics!

Powers 25 7

More build up.  Not as good as previous issues, but Bendis keeps it interesting.

Batwoman 1

I had to see what Greg Rucka would bring in his return to Kathy Kane.  Unfortunately, he also brought her mad sister Alice, who I’ve never been a fan of.  She’s like an evil manic pixie dream girl, or a dark Delirium from Sandman.  Not a fun read.  The art by Dani isn’t appealing either.  However, Rucka does turn the tide with an epic final page, which buys him another issue.  But he’s on a super short leash with me.

Planet She-Hulk 5

One of the few times where a title getting cancelled means I’ll actually stick around.  With only one issue to go, I might as well see how Stephanie Phillips finishes up this truncated series.

Wonder Woman 31

The Matriarch, Tom King’s attempt at a new Wonder Woman nemesis, finally takes center stage.  It’s typical King with flashbacks, narrating from the future, and plenty of unresolved mysteries.  Not the worst start.

Battle Beast 7

The title returns from hiatus, and it reveals the problem with this series: Battle Beast is sidelined w/ injury for most of the issue, and none of the other characters can carry the story.  No one’s likeable or entertaining enough, and that led to an empty reading experience.  (Heck, Battle Beast has barely zero personality himself, but at least his fights are fun to look at.)  Maybe this title doesn’t have the staying power I thought it did.