What's A MATTER?!

DARK MATTER is wonderfully weird and borderline depressing. Drawing on elements of s/f and everyday happenstance of the comic book realm, Blake Crouch crafts a fun tale of a man on the run whose sole desire to simply get home to his wife and son. 

Be careful what you wish for, eh? In fact, Crouch's whole premise is "what if you can't go home?" and "if you make it home, what happens if everything has changed?". In doing so, DARK MATTER is a fun, suspenseful, chase of a tale.

What's missing, however, is more deductive reasoning, more problem solving to go with overall chase. The main character, Jason Dressen, is a physicist, so he's a bright guy. He is used to looking at equations and solving them. Unfortunately, he does not go about solving his biggest question, why his life has drastically changed, in a pure scientific or deductive method. As a result, DARK MATTER was s/f lite; suspense catered for a large audience. However, said large audience apparently had no problem with the science-heavy writing of Andy Weir and, if anything, Jason Dressen needed a little Mark Watney in him. 

Crouch's tale, nevertheless, is a fun, exciting read. Many thanks to NetGalley and Crown Publishing for making the ARC available and for the enjoyable read. 

As Always,

theJOE

A Fantastic Summit

Mountain climbing, crime drama, and historical fiction certainly might not appear to be a natural mash-up, but Harry Farthing pulls it off – and quite well at that – with THE SUMMIT.

Farthing goes to great lengths in setting up and describing the climbs to and from Mt Everest in Krakauer-ian detail, with a similar height of excitement. The treachery, the splendor, the whole man-versus-nature element, all well done. To compliment, Farthing adds in a historical mystery involving a Nazi attempt at beating the British to summit Everest first. The ramifications of that plot propel the lead story of a British climber, Neil Quinn, who accidentally is roped into a mission to discover if this indeed happened all the while protecting himself and this mission from the obligatory ne’er-do-wells and adding to the already high-level of danger as man must also go against man.

Aside from the plot and pacing, Farthing creates an excellent set of characters. Even secondary and tertiary players whose sole purpose is to propel the plot along are fleshed out and real-sounding.  Perhaps the only detraction in this regard is the occasional placing of dialogue where said characters’ speech can come across as expository rather than meaningfully implied.

Truly, THE SUMMIT is a fantastic read. Thanks to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for the advanced copy and a most satisfying novel.

As Always,

theJOE

Spectacular Uncanny Invincible

How else would one expect Stan (the Man) Lee to craft his own memoir than through a bombastic graphic novel, where he speaks to you like a friend about his MARVELous life - and he does this in the mighty manner that only Stan knows how. With fan-favorites Peter David and Colleen Doran along for the ride, the graphic novel explodes with four-color stories and secret origins a go-go. 

Unfortunately, the story doesn’t go any deeper than that.

Granted, AMAZING FANTASTIC INCREDIBLE is Stan Lee’s story, but so much about Stan is synonymous with Marvel Comics and aside from his tales on creating some of pop culture’s most known and loved characters, as well as a few of Marvel’s business owners’ problems, the memoir doesn’t dive deep into the bullpen. Instead, Stan crafts the tale he wants to tell – and tells it entertainingly well. 

For that deep dive, I highly recommend Sean Howe’s MARVEL COMICS THE UNTOLD STORY. In that novel, Howe prints a tale related by Jack “King” Kirby where Jack, who had since switched to working for DC, was being interviewed on a New York radio program. Before he could get into his relationship – and subsequent falling out – with Stan, Lee calls into the program, shanghais the interview with a barrage of superlatives, and promptly leaves. Afterwards, Kirby just sighed and said that conversation summed up his working relationship. AMAZING FANTASTIC INCREDIBLE left me feeling the same way. Explosions and exclamation points. Fun memories but nothing too deep. However, I think I was smiling a helluva lot more than Jack.

As always.
theJOE

H is for Humdrum

A depressing tale about depression. H is for Hawk. H is also for Humdrum. 

The book is half memoir, the tale of the attempt to deal with the loss of a father, and half thesis paper on TH White that, aside from White’s association with falconry, really goes nowhere, other than tying in the legend of King Arthur and Merlin also with hawks. Helen Macdonald has a great writing style, and her use of imagery and analogy to describe, to work through, her depression and the transference of such into owning a hawk, can be quite beautiful; her trials and tribulations with her hawk raising can get repetitive. The analysis of White feels and reads like a term paper complete with called out quotes and footnotes. 

I feel misled that the description of the book – as well as reviews – failed to capitalize on the vast portions of the title dedicated to White, making me regret my purchase. 

B is for Boring.


As Always,
theJOE

The Quick? Certainly not referring to the length of this novel...

Easily about 150 pages too long, THE QUICK presents a fantastic premise... and promptly does nothing with it. Likewise the handling, and ultimate conclusion, of certain characters is mostly unfulfilled. 

Lauren Owen has an interesting style, jumping the narrative between multiple characters and their own voices into, and out of journal entries, which fits both the time and locale. However, this style also gives way to lengthy, and unnecessary, exposition forcing the narrative into the same shadows that many in her book inhabit, ending as a dull read in a genre that has certainly produced better efforts.

As always,
theJOE

No Normal and Great Fun

Chances are that if you are reading this review - and thanks for your time at that - you already have an interest, and at the very least an understanding, of the Ms Marvel character, so once you have finished reading this review, I highly recommend you open up another browser window and log on to your favorite online distributor to purchase MS MARVEL Vol 1: No Normal.

Writer Willow Wilson introduces and, over the course of five issues, familiarizes the character of Kamala Khan, a Muslim teen of Pakistani decent, who like any high school girl, heritage aside, just wants to have fun. Wilson makes Kamala a delight of a teen and a pleasure to read, infusing the character with both a strong moral right and heavy dose of angst, the likes of which are a very deep homage to Stan Lee and Steve Dikto's Spider-Man, and probably have not been accurately seen in comics since Marv Wolfman and George Perez's NEW TEEN TITANS.

Adrian Alphona's art is also a treat. His panels are full of fun little asides and silly happenings that provide a hip sense of humor to the proceedings. Two of my faves? Tasty GM-O's cereal and Radoslav's Vietnamese grocery. But there others worth the exploration.

There are perhaps two critical elements of the read, and the first is simply a by-product of producing a monthly title. That being, Kamala's power-giving event is never fully explained. Nothing as easy as a spider bite or a dose of gamma radiation here. This is something that will certainly be drawn out and discovered in the months - and collections - ahead but for the purpose of this graphic novel, comes as lacking. The second is a by-product of the genre at large, and that being the obligatory super-villain fight. For as genre-crushing as this title has been in every way, the necessary fight scene, the trial of our hero versus those shadows of the dark, is, unfortunately, not as organic as the other parts of this story, and comes across as a needed evil, not a threatening one. Luckily such encounter is not detrimental to the overall arc and, if anything, builds anticipation for the next collection.


As always,
theJOE

A Fantastic, Swashbuckling Adventure - starring everyone's Favorite Fuzzy Elf

Full disclosure: I haven’t read an X-Men comic since Grant Morrison’s run ended on NEW X-MEN. How many years ago was that? A lot has changed in the X-Men omniverse since then.  Most of those changes are irrelevant to this tale which kicks off a new X-Men title – AMAZING X-MEN – other then the fact that, well, Nightcrawler is dead and living in the paradise of Heaven.

Or is it paradise? Kurt’s father, the demon Azazel, attacks said paradise along with a horde of demon pirates, because what else would tempt everyone’s favorite fuzzy elf into returning to the land of the living than an outright swashbuckling adventure, which is exactly what  Jason Aaron and Ed McGuinness conjure in their QUEST FOR NIGHTCRAWLER story.  The story is fun, fast, and completely captures ‘Crawler’s cavalier attitude. Plus, in a treat designed specifically for us Gen-Xers, Firestar and Iceman get to team-up, and even flirt. Go for it, Spider-friends.

The trade paperback compilation ends on a wrap-up tale that completely puts a downer on the otherwise action-adventure lightness of the other chapters as Nightcrawler’s family reunion – with both his chosen and biological families – does nothing more than resets the main story back to the status quo. Sure, Aaron is no doubt setting up future plot lines, but contained with this collection, the story reverses some of the fun changes put into play - Kurt sulking in the shadows instead of flying high with a smile.    

Hey, this is a fun, enjoyable read and comes recommended. However, the fanboy in me still has to ask the following: why Cyclops is wearing a ridiculous-looking uniform and doesn’t appear to be on friendly terms with other students? And how is it that Wolverine is not dying of metal poisoning if he no longer has his healing factor? That one-panel Excalibur reunion was rather worth it.  BAMF!

As Always, 

theJOE

A casual, forgettable crime story fueled by British wit

This was my first introduction to Michael Kenyon’s character of Inspector Peckover. The initial greeting had me politely grimacing and concluded with a handshake of questionable resolution; unsure if our paths will ever meet again. THE MAN AT THE WHEEL was an enjoyable road trip of a read that weaved onto the occasional turn and jug handle before landing back on the narrative straightaway, yet once arrived at the destination, the fast wrap-up and unsatisfying ending resulted in the journey quickly fading back into the distance of the rearview mirror.

THE MAN AT THE WHEEL had an interesting format presenting two dual narratives, each own a separate chapter and insight containing their relevance to the plot - the aforementioned Henry Peckover, and hack writer of the Post, Michael Ramsden, each covering the shady dealings, for their own personal reasons, of American televangelist Jody James. Kenyon does a good job at maintaining their separate voices, although both contain a heathy amount of British irony and one-liners suitable for Blackadder dialogue as well as some deep slang that American readers could find indecipherable, even for those hip on Anglo pop-culture.

To note, I was reading a digital advance copy presented by NetGalley and Endeavour Press; THE MAN AT THE WHEEL was initially published in 1982. What makes the read interesting with all the hindsight that 2016 affords, is the topic itself – a murder mystery/crime drama involving a criminal American televangelist, which in 1982 would have been a clever novelty as opposed to the very tread-over topic such has become.

Fans of both Kenyon and Peckover will no doubt be entertained. Audiences of neither will probably find this in line with Peckover’s humor: amusing, insubstantial, and ultimately forgettable.

As Always,

theJOE

A Batman Thesis for Nerds and Normals Alike

An opening along the lines of “Holy book reviews, Batman!” or even “Pow! Zap! A Batman book!” would do this title a disservice, especially seeing as how author and NPR comic-book critic Glen Weldon tirelessly points out how the legion of Bat-Nerds have desperately tried to bury any references to the full-color, high-gloss Batman of the late sixties in favor of the Denny O’Neil comics of darkness and night, and Christopher Nolan’s growling films. Weldon covers this and a whole lot more in his meticulously researched, thesis-in-the-making, THE CAPED CRUSADE, which provides the ultimate pop-culture look at all things Batman.

Weldon’s book, to stay within a theme, hangs between a historical look at the character’s comic book origins, a healthy discourse on the Adam West series from 1966, and a deep cut insider-look at the Burton-Schumacher-Nolan films. All of these insights are heavily intertwined with nerd backlash and fandom praise. Weldon shows the fine balance of acceptance between how Batman plays into pop culture, and how outside events, shaped by various creator control, influence the stories of the Caped Crusader.

Loaded with interviews, quotes, and plenty of subjected barbs at fandom foolishness, THE CAPED CRUSADE is a fun, quick read. Weldon maintains his nerd credentials throughout, but also provides an impartial take on the character to satisfy the reading pleasure for the occasional “normal” who might only be familiar with all things Christian Bale. Or Adam West.   

What Weldon fails to properly show, or doesn’t focus nearly enough on, is the primary reason that most of the silent majority of Batman fans, that is those not taking to the cons or the internet with their scornful posts and rants, are simply Batman fans… because it’s fun. Many fans might understand, or probably just blatantly ignore, the editorial mandate in the comics to replace Batman with an armor-wearing psychotic, or to isolate the brooding tactician from the rest of the DC Universe, or a filmmaker’s decision to give the character a rubber suit complete with nipples. Fans want to be entertained with stories and the legend – both the fantastical and the grounded – of Batman, regardless of Dr. Hugo Strange is ridiculous or Poison Ivy just plain silly. Or if the animated series of the nineties kicks ass in just about every imaginable way.

A great deal of fans already understands some of the inherent foolishness at the idea of a man who mourns the loss of his parents by dressing as a bat – and ignores such dogma. They want metaphor, or fisticuffs, or over-the-top action, or a long-running opera. Batman has survived this long in the public eye and public consciousness because, as Weldon does point out, everyone has their favorite version of the character. And there are plenty to choose from. So enjoy. Dive into the book and perhaps be inspired to revisit, or just plain discover, some of those great, and maybe not-too-great, Bat stories available everywhere.  Same Bat-time. Same Bat-channel.

As Always,

theJOE