FALL might well have been the second act of HYPERION, similar to how Simmons wrote ILIUM and OLYMPOS. There's a LOT going on here, and FALL doesn't st...moreFALL might well have been the second act of HYPERION, similar to how Simmons wrote ILIUM and OLYMPOS. There's a LOT going on here, and FALL doesn't start out particularly interesting, especially if you havent just jumped into it having completed HYPERION. Still, it prevents an amazing scifi exploration of heady philosophy about Man, God and Machine. Simmons excels at this type of edge thinking, but you have to wade through 700 pages before you realize what he's doing. Do yourself a favor and stick with it.(less)
Ambitious-- Morrison really went for it with this line-wide DC crossover. In fact, I seem to remember he actually plotted out every DC book released d...moreAmbitious-- Morrison really went for it with this line-wide DC crossover. In fact, I seem to remember he actually plotted out every DC book released during the ONE MILLION month event, much to the chagrin of several other writers.
There's a lot missing from this book as a result of that though, and the collection's impact is lessened with text pages here and there that describe key story points that take place in other titles not collected. Because of the sheer insanity of what Morrison was trying to do, DC should have collected every single tie-in issue with the main story.
Semeiks' art is passable but certainly not as bad as it was in the JLA/WildCATS crossover.(less)
Pretty awesome stream-of-consciousness history of comics from the perspective of one of its most daring writers. Morrison has always brought a little...morePretty awesome stream-of-consciousness history of comics from the perspective of one of its most daring writers. Morrison has always brought a little bit of the crazy to his work, and that's in no short supply with SUPERGODS. Interwoven with his interpretation of the great movements in superhero comics since 1938 is Morrison's personal story about growing up in Glasgow and inching toward his rebellious career as a comic book writer. These scenes play out as a sort of superhero origin story themselves, something Morrison may be seeking anyway as he tries on the multiple "fiction suits" of his characters.
Say what you will about the dense oddity of Morrison's comics writing-- this, his first prose venture, is captivating and fun. What I enjoyed particularly about SUPERGODS is the background to some of Morrison's more insane ideas, e.g. the concept that the DC Universe is a living, conscious entity that writers tap into and make contact with to relay stories in a neverending parade of multiple universes. Most of this background involves a lot of trippy drugs and counter-culture for which the author has been made famous in the past. But the result is the same: a fascinating story about one comic book writer's attempt to alter the fabric of perceived and unperceived reality through writing his own comics.
That's not to say that some of the history Morrison presents isn't totally accurate or free from bias. He takes a lot of potshots at a lot of people in his narrative, some of it bordering on abject slander. But it's interesting to get his behind-the-scenes take on how the comics industry has worked for the past few decades. I particularly enjoyed his breakdown of the "Dark Age" of comics and its various authors, illustrators and events.
This volume of DC's deluxe-treated JLA disappoints by feigning to include several critical stories to the run. Granted, these deluxe editions have bee...moreThis volume of DC's deluxe-treated JLA disappoints by feigning to include several critical stories to the run. Granted, these deluxe editions have been billed primarily as a collection of Grant Morrison's work on the book, but even in that DC screws up by not including Morrison's summer crossover and JLA-led epic DC: ONE MILLION. So even for a large volume, this seems like a wistful collection. (Also missing are Mark Waid's first fill-in stories.)
Making things worse is Howard Porter's continued degradation as a monthly artist. Shoulders grow bigger, jaws stretch wider, and page compositions get more and more bizarre. Aside from a couple panels here and there, this work is largely incomprehensible.(less)
This volume contains the JLA stories where Morrison really kicks his insane-o madness into high gear. "Rock of Ages" in particular presents some of Mo...moreThis volume contains the JLA stories where Morrison really kicks his insane-o madness into high gear. "Rock of Ages" in particular presents some of Morrison's stabs at stories and ideas he would later fully flesh out in FINAL CRISIS, ALL-STAR SUPERMAN and BATMAN R.I.P. There's still a lot if unfortunate jumping around in DC continuity that's never really addressed directly-- this was the time period when Wonder Woman was replaced by her mother, for example, and Superman was this weird blue thing for a while.
I actually enjoyed this more on second read, which I'm finding to be the case with a lot of Morrison's work. This is enhanced by Porter's increasing skill with the art chores. While still not totally skillful, Porter's composition and detail ratchets up quite a few degrees.(less)
Awesome, AWESOME work from the author of posthumanity's ILIUM. Simmons wrote HYPERION before ILIUM, so you can see him experimenting with a lot of the...moreAwesome, AWESOME work from the author of posthumanity's ILIUM. Simmons wrote HYPERION before ILIUM, so you can see him experimenting with a lot of the concepts he later incorporates. Simmons' Hegemony is a sprawling complexity to comprehend, and he chooses the frame of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales to describe his far future world. Not only does each individual's tale serve to uncover a new facet of the mystery surrounding the novel's main plot, but they also paint a deep, rich picture of some aspect of this new scifi world. It's damn near impossible to put down. (less)
Terrible, terrible, TERRIBLE novel. Which is so disappointing given the interesting way the book unfolds as a "digi-novel" on the iPad. I bought this...moreTerrible, terrible, TERRIBLE novel. Which is so disappointing given the interesting way the book unfolds as a "digi-novel" on the iPad. I bought this primarily to experience Zuiker's take on integrating multiple forms of media into a single storytelling experience. The presentation is extremely innovative.
Unfortunately the story itself is written at the quality of a mass market grocery store aisle paperback. It's cheesy, overwrought, and outright stupid in many places. The drama is retarded and the characters are not compelling at all. Even worse, the filmed movie sections of the narrative are cast with some of the worst actors I've ever seen, particularly the guy who plays Steve Dark as such a melodramatic jerk.
I couldn't even finish the book because it was so awful. Avoid at all costs.(less)
Not wildly different from Tarantino's JACKIE BROWN adaptation but enough so that it still reeks of pure Elmore Leonard. I still can't help imagining R...moreNot wildly different from Tarantino's JACKIE BROWN adaptation but enough so that it still reeks of pure Elmore Leonard. I still can't help imagining Robert Forster as Max Cherry. Good read made more fun if your read the prior Ordell/Louis book THE SWITCH. great Leonard fun.(less)
I may have missed the boat on this one. ENDER's GAME reads like a product of it's time: Cold War. Lots of America v Russia overtones cloaked in an ost...moreI may have missed the boat on this one. ENDER's GAME reads like a product of it's time: Cold War. Lots of America v Russia overtones cloaked in an ostensibly "original" sci-fi story.
As a product of said time, ENDER'S was probably a revolutionary idea: videogaming taken to its fullest potential in acting as complicated simulated environments in which to train soldiers of the future. VR, 3D, online, and social gaming has peeled the novelty of this concept off, at least for me.
I feel like Card was onto something with focusing on kids though because ENDER'S could have been a Harry Potter-like scifi franchise. I've not reaD any of Card's sequel novels, and I'm not sure I will, but I'm half interested to see where he takes Ender next. Loglines for subsequent books don't fill me with a lot of desire to run out and buy one.
ENDER'S GAME read to me very much like the kind of scifi you would expect from the 1980s. Same vein as FOUNDATION but not near as complex as something like DUNE.(less)
Starts out very strong but devolves into rando scifi tropes by the end. Entire story seems rushed. Still, there's some great stuff in here, particular...moreStarts out very strong but devolves into rando scifi tropes by the end. Entire story seems rushed. Still, there's some great stuff in here, particularly the background on the Spartans. Made me want to play the games again. Not sure I'll read more of the books, but I enjoyed this transmedia element of the franchise.(less)
Absolute magic. Cooke's love letter to sixties-originated Richard Stark continues in this adaptation of THE OUTFIT. Cooke draws an intense Parker, so...moreAbsolute magic. Cooke's love letter to sixties-originated Richard Stark continues in this adaptation of THE OUTFIT. Cooke draws an intense Parker, so awesome, so menacing. Between that and his fetish for 1960s design, Cooke peppers THE OUTFIT with page after page of fun, hard boiled CRIME.
Speaking of crime, my favorite bits were the "Here's how it works" sections of the individual crimes Parker has his friends pull off against Outfit operations. Each is designed and drawn in a different, sixties-inspired fashion, from the whimsical to the two-fisted. There's a LOT of information crammed into these sections; LOTS of exposition. But Cooke illustrates them as how-to guides-- sort of an interesting pocket book on how to scam like a criminal.(less)
I had forgotten how much fun this book was. I gave up buying the singles and trades since Ellis & Cassaday couldn't seem to get an issue out but o...moreI had forgotten how much fun this book was. I gave up buying the singles and trades since Ellis & Cassaday couldn't seem to get an issue out but once a year. It reads so much better in collected form anyway.
This first act is sets the stage for what's revolutionary about PLANETARY: the genre-bending links to the main mystery. Ellis uses analogues for everything from the Justice League to Godzilla in showing how the secret history of the world can be unearthed by a team of weird archaeologists. Character analogues abound: The Shadow, Doc Savage, John Constantine. Many of these provide vehicles for Ellis to comment on the replicated genre itself, which can be fun. But overall, it's just cool to watch Planetary uncover all of these awesome homages.
At the time PLANETARY was being published, it wasn't uncommon to see such genre-commenting storytelling. Everyone from Alan Moore to Mark Millar was raiding the linen closets of prior genre history and creating crazy mashups. But there's something unique about PLANETARY that I can't put my finger on. Perhaps it's Ellis' sparse but punctuated writing style, leaving the heavy lifting o the storytelling to Cassaday's astonishing art and Dupuy's amazing colors.
This was Ellis at his best, I think. He used PLANETARY to great effect in redefining the language of science. I love how he combines strings of words into mad, unpossible lyrics of awesome. When matched with Cassaday's incredible art, it's just such a unique experience that it's impossible to wrap your head around it at times.(less)
A lot of the magic from the first act of PLANETARY is lost as Ellis changes the narrative to the conflict between The Four and Snow. That's not to say...moreA lot of the magic from the first act of PLANETARY is lost as Ellis changes the narrative to the conflict between The Four and Snow. That's not to say that there aren't great "historical fiction" stories that are as good as the ones from the prior volume. Snow's adventure in tracking down Sherlock Holmes is just one of those. Ellis manages to continue his genre commentary even as he pushes the main narrative forward, having a laugh with the Lone Ranger and westerns even.
As the main narrative pushes forward though, we begin to see more and more of Planetary's raison d'etre through Snow's eyes: when he says Planetary exists to ensure the world "stays strange," he's not just talking about keeping the hidden mystery archaeology of the world a secret, but exposing the benefits of these finds to change the world for the better. This all culminates in the final showdown with The Four, which yields a prize Snow has sought all along.
I was very satisfied by the ending of this story. I was worried that we would be subjected to a typical Ellissian grotesquery in which Crazy Shit Happens and Clever Conclusions Abound. It's actually one of the most upbeat conclusions Ellis has ever written, and I value the rebellious positivity that's maintained throughout PLANETARY as a result.
Of course, the stories contained in this volume represent the best work of illustrator John Cassaday's career. The pencil lines are much cleaner, much more transparent, and you can tell that he is illustrating in conjunction with colorist Laura Martin. The effects are really a treat, and there's plenty of Mad Craziness made actual on the pages that challenges even the greatest scenes from the first few issues.
I am disappointed that a few key stories did not appear in either of these ABSOLUTE collections. PLANETARY/AUTHORITY was a great Ellis-written tale that could have blended ably with the main PLANETARY narrative, and PLANETARY/BATMAN was a fun one-off that worked as its own story within the narrative (also presented by the original creative team). These are my only complaints in that it's not really an "absolute" collection and thus doesn't warrant the full stars.
That being said, it's still an AWESOME story and an AWESOME collection.(less)
I've recently rediscovered a bunch of these old Star Trek books as ebooks, and they're a BLAST rereading years later. I particularly dug STRANGERS IN...moreI've recently rediscovered a bunch of these old Star Trek books as ebooks, and they're a BLAST rereading years later. I particularly dug STRANGERS IN THE SKY from way back when not only because the book was awesome but also remembering fondly George Takei's reading of the audiobook version.
The story is particularly fun because of its nonlinear pace, jumping back to a pre- "Where No Man Has Gone Before" era where Gary Mitchell and Lee Kelso are major characters on Kirk's Enterprise. Bonanno - a longtime Trek fan and writer - constructed great characters in Mitchell and Kelso given that they had only received one episode of screen time.
Aside from the characterization, it's just a really great story. My views may be colored with nostalgia but I don't mind. :)(less)
I really loved this book. I mean, I REALLY dug it. There's just a ton of great stuff to like. Gray & Palmiotti do a great job building up Power Gi...moreI really loved this book. I mean, I REALLY dug it. There's just a ton of great stuff to like. Gray & Palmiotti do a great job building up Power Girl as her own character, independent of the JSA. There is a lovable cuteness to her that plays against the stereotype of the giant-boobed, scantily clad superheroine. It's very refreshing to have such a good time with honest bits of fun character building, like the oft-used 9-panel grids, which the writers use to great effect.
The real star of this book though is Amanda Conner. Her artwork is just super-pro on POWER GIRL. She's able to convey all kinds of facial expressions and humanity, nuanced emotion from the cast... despite PG's two giant parasites. Which are also lovely. (C'mon, it's unabashedly cheesecake. Enjoy it.) I'd compare Conner's work here to Kevin Maguire's JUSTICE LEAGUE work: awesome, human, emotional, detailed. Conner gets hyper-detailed in some things (like the zippers and piping on PG's uniform), but her panels never seem overly crowded. She is just a DAMNED good artist who looks like she is having the time of her life penciling this book.
It's a tragedy this creative team left POWER GIRL after only 12 issues, because this is SOLID work, DC. You screwed up royally by not keeping these folks happy. I wouldn't have given POWER GIRL a second look, but Gray, Pamiotti, and Conner really turned this into a masterpiece. Some of the most fun I've had in comics since the old Giffen/DeMatties JUSTICE LEAGUE days.(less)
The problem w/ updating a book like this w/ new content by the authors 10 years later is that it almost makes reading the original book unnecessary ou...moreThe problem w/ updating a book like this w/ new content by the authors 10 years later is that it almost makes reading the original book unnecessary outside of some classroom like exercise. The first half of this new edition of CLUETRAIN basically involves all the authors returning to discuss what they got or wrong on their original manifesto of 10 years ago. So by the time you finish reading that material up front, it's pointless to go back and read the original stuff: they basically tell you the important parts up front.
There are no terribly obvious flashes of brilliance here either. By 2010, everybody knows about the humanist movement of employees and customers who want to force businesses to become more human. This is almost a prehistoric version of a social business manifesto, which sounds cool until you read it and go "DUH!" The lessons are good and the tone is engaging, but I wouldn't recommend this for anyone seeking true insight about modern social business.(less)
Vol 6 continues the unfortunate trend of BUFFY stories simply not making sense due to poor storytelling. I think the writers need to study how success...moreVol 6 continues the unfortunate trend of BUFFY stories simply not making sense due to poor storytelling. I think the writers need to study how successful comics are written before trying this again. It reeks of TV show writers trying to masquerade as comics writers. Also not helping is Georges Jeanty's deteriorating quality of artwork. Had a hard time distinguishing who people were supposed to be, which doesn't bode well for a series based on recognizable characters.(less)
This was a GREAT addition to the GRENDEL mythos. I was first skeptical of yet another detour by Wagner into more RED, WHITE & BLACK stories of Hun...moreThis was a GREAT addition to the GRENDEL mythos. I was first skeptical of yet another detour by Wagner into more RED, WHITE & BLACK stories of Hunter Rose. However, unlike those stories, BEHOLD THE DEVIL actually takes us to a new place with Grendel and puts sort of a nice little cap on the entire body of work.
Wagner, as always, stuns with both his amazing black & white (and red) art and his mastery of Hunter Rose's poetic dialogue. I think Hunter's aristocratic, nuanced writing gets better and better the more Wagner writes him. I loved also the Christine Spar excerpts placed at key points in the story, which not only frame the story but also provide welcome background to new readers or those who have been out of touch with GRENDEL for a while.
Ultimately the capper on my adoration of this story is the plot twist at the end. GRENDEL has always been about the surreptitious rise of evil through time (until it reaches a point where the world of the future is so evil that the spirit of Grendel is seen as an agent of salvation). However, those stories always seemed disconnected from the original Hunter Rose stuff, on purpose or not. Wagner fills that final loop in his GRENDEL opus by matching Hunter to a real demon who gives him visions of the future and insight into the legacy his name shall leave centuries later.
I love this idea. It confirms the demonic, spiritual nature of Grendel and that Hunter was merely a vessel to achieve a motif. Hunter, of course, egomaniac that he is, rejects this vision, leading to his burning of the journal entries he'd made of the entire affair (hence, the "lost days" Spar writes about). It really is a fantastic thematic cap on the series.
One of my favorite, understated character arcs in BEHOLD THE DEVIL (and the larger GRENDEL mythos) is that of Larry Stohler, Grendel's personal aide and accounting mastermind. Larry's motivations for allying with Hunter Rose have never been explained. Wagner keeps those motivations still secretive in BEHOLD THE DEVIL, but he adds a bit of indirect characterization to Larry when he has him recover Hunter's burned journal entries. Larry reads these entirely and burns them himself right before the police come for him (after Hunter's death in the continuity). It's implied that he knows everything that's to come, that Grendel's evil will encompass the world. We knew before that Larry killed himself after Hunter's final battle, but BEHOLD THE DEVIL shows us that perhaps Larry - ever faithful yet unfazed servant - killed himself because he knew what was coming. Perhaps he was guilty over the horror that he had unwittingly helped unleash on the world. Regardless, that scene is possibly one of the most well-written and drafted scenes in Wagner's entire comics ouevre.
Dont miss this if you're a GRENDEL fan. It's pure magic. If you're new to GRENDEL, BEHOLD THE DEVIL is still a great story on its own, and it will galvanize you to check out the rest of the series.(less)
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