Superheroes and Comic Book Club discussion
Types of Books We Read
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Really enjoy reading and discussing New/old trades or individual issues, another great book is Enemies & Allies .
I found Enemies & Allies to be excellent and thought Anderson had more fun writing Superman than Batman, which is weird for me. I look forward to his The Last Days of Krypton for the 1st book. While I know we should not do two months in a row of Superman related...but I will be pushing for Last Son of Krypton by Elliot S. Maggin real soon
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I really enjoyed Enemies & Allies, too. I liked how Anderson put the timeframe a little more in the past than what we're used to.
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Eddie - you bring up a good point though - maybe I should start a thread - something like, "What else are you reading?" and we can discuss other comic-related books, that might not be the book of the month..
(Ever since it came out, I've wanted to read Maggin's Kingdom Come adaptation, and still haven't gotten around to it!)
Has anyone been able to find an affordable copy of Tom DeHaven's "It's Superman"? All the ones I've seen online are way out of a grad student's price range, and I haven't found a single library in my entire state that has it.
It is a good book. I got the hardback from a sale's bin back in the day. Read it in two sittings. I not a fan of a more "realistic" Superman view but DeHaven won me over. Found the Smallville parts very well written.
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Amanda - I don't know if you like Amazon, but you can get new and used copies of it for pretty cheap: It's Superman
I know this isn't book related but Zack Snyder's stated that there's no kryptonite in Man of Steel....thoughts anyone?
I saw that too--I've read Goyer's interviews and I know he took a lot of inspiration from Straczynski's "Superman: Earth One," which I love, and I'm thrilled with the inclusion of Faora (I never had any desire to cosplay until I saw the promo shots of her in costume) over Ursa. I think they have a point about kryptonite--there's a reason Smallville fans nicknamed it "plot rocks." As much as I hated Raimi's Spider-Man films, I do like the idea of taking the Superman movies in that direction and making the struggle more internal (I'll do the right thing no matter how much it screws up my life--and oh, will it ever) than external (Lex Luthor dropped me on a kryptonite island, oh no!).
Jim--thank you! For some reason, those never popped up when I was searching on the mobile app--maybe because I was signed into Amazon Student at the time? Weird.
Exactly,it's better to explore him more psychologically than just pit him against Lex Luthor with a convenient stock of kryptonite.I think most film-makers are afraid to venture into that section of a superhero,maybe because they're scared they might get it wrong,so instead they do it in a very superfluous manner.But I'm sure they'll get it right with Man of Steel,especially because Chris Nolan's working on it too.As I'd like to say 'In Nolan we trust'
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So far, I've got as many books as I can find in the following shelves:
Comic Novelization / Adaptation
Short Story
Nonfiction: Comic Books
Nonfiction: Superhero
If you see any books missing from these shelves, feel free to let me know and I will add them!
I'll be working to populate shelves for the other genres as we go along (but the shelves for novels will get pretty big - so I'm trying to figure out how to break them up).
Jim--there are a few books I've read that aren't on the "Nonfiction: Superhero" shelf. You can find those titles on my "comics-research" shelf (I'm using the iPhone app, which makes it really hard to link them here, sorry).
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Jim, I would like to make a suggestion for October under the narrow field of Comic-Book-Related Novel. It's my own novel, "Fandemonium," set around a fictional comic-con. Comics blog Bleeding Cool just interviewed me about the book (http://www.bleedingcool.com/2013/08/3...) and Ted Rall, the award-winning editorial cartoonist and graphic novelist, calls it well-written, engaging, and fun. Midtown Comics, the largest comics shop in New York, is stocking it in their Times Square store as well as on their website. It's also available on Amazon, iBookstore and Kobo; find links to all at http://wattlepublishing.com/catalogue....Thanks for your consideration!
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But to be fair, I probably should make October an author month, and start a thread for authors to nominate their own books - if you're the only one that nominates your book, then we won't need to have a poll. But if more than one author nominates, their books, we'll vote on the October Book of the Month.
As interesting as your book sounds, I think that might be the best way to proceed - to give all the authors in the group an equal chance. I'll start an October 2013 Book of the Month thread, keep it open for 1 week and then vote.
Jim, I think that is eminently fair and I thank you sincerely for your consideration.
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I was worried we'd be overloaded, but at this rate, we'll have to pick a completely different book.
Sorry, I thought my book Fandemonium (http://wattlepublishing.com/catalogue...) was already in the running. Let me hasten to officially nominate it.
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True, there's not much, Andrez - but I thought in a group like this - dedicated to prose fiction, I thought I'd add it as a category, slim as it is :)
Andrez wrote: "Good idea, Jim — and I think it will develop over time."Andrez, permit me to acquaint you with my contribution to the category of novels about comics: It's called "Fandemonium," and it's about a once-famous comic book writer trying to recapture the spotlight at a comic-con. The award-winning graphic novelist Ted Rall said he was surprised "hat a book about comic geeks and comics culture could be so well-written, so engaging, and so much damn fun." Here is the Amazon link; it's also on iBookstore and most online bookshops. http://www.amazon.com/Fandemonium-Ric...
Actually I love superheroes so much that I wrote a novel and created my own, and although all of them are original creations, many are based on my favourite heroes. Grey Legacy is the book. I even hired an artist to give them life and you can see them as I posted their photos along with the book.
I wrote How Like A God, which was published in the 90s. I suppose it is a non-comic-related super hero novel (would this be NCRSHN? There must be an easier way to say this.) It is an answer to the Byrne reboot of Superman. Which, you will recall, involved losing Superboy, the Legion, Superbaby, Krypto -- all the fun stuff. Clark Kent got up one morning in his 20s, was super, strapped on the cape and flew away.
I immediately saw the problem with this, but I'm an SF novelist. So the only way for me to express it was in a book. It's been out for a while, but the ebook edition is coming out on Christmas eve.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...
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I know, Brenda - I really struggled with this, actually.
But I wanted to separate out fiction about the superheroes we all know and love, and fiction about superheroes that we haven't learned about from the comics.
Suggestions are welcome!
And your book sounds really interesting!
This is a superhero non-comic related question. I was skimming book lists last week when I came upon an interesting one (to me), it's was about this hero who could transform into a boy and was violently attacked (sexually) by his arch nemesis. Or something along those lines but I cannot remember the title. any help?
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Jan: Book written by club member - Fandemonium by Rick Schindler
Feb: Nonfiction [with superhero tie in] - Supergods: What Masked Vigilantes, Miraculous Mutants, and a Sun God from Smallville Can Teach Us About Being Human by Grant Morrison
Mar: Superhero Fiction [Established DC Character] - Batman: The Ultimate Evil by Andrew Vachss
Apr: Kindle Freebie - Girl Power by P.T. Dilloway
May: Fiction [With Comic Fandom Tie In] - Malice by Chris Wooding
Jun: Short Stories (anything superhero or comic-related) - Super Stories of Heroes & Villains (various authors)
Jul: Humor (anything superhero or comic-related) - How to Succeed in Evil by Patrick E. McLean
Aug: Superhero Fiction [Original Characters] - The Rise of Renegade X by Chelsea M. Campbell
Sep: Nonfiction [with comic book tie-in] - Wonder Woman Unbound: The Curious History of the World's Most Famous Heroine by Tim Hanley
Oct: Young Adult Superhero Fiction (or children's book) - Hero by Perry Moore
Nov: Superhero Fiction [Established Marvel Character] - Civil War by Stuart Moore
Dec: Independent / Self Published / Under the Radar - Le bleu est une couleur chaude by Julie Maroh
SuperpowersWhy not read this book? Seems like a near-perfect match to what this group is about. I read it and was pleasantly surprised by its depth. We should try reading this one in the coming months.
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Why not read this book? Seems like a near-perfect match to what this group is about. I read it and was pleasantly surprised by its depth. We should try reading this one ..."
Sean - that might be a perfect book for August (superhero fiction based on original characters). We vote on books based on member nominations - so watch for nominations for our August Book for the Month, and you can nominate it then.
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These are older books, but as far as comic-book-related novels, I'd like to read (and be able to discuss with other knowledgeable and discerning readers) the Jack & Maggie Starr trilogy of crime novels by Max Allan Collins set in the comic publishing world of the '40s and '50s (A Killing in Comics, Strip for Murder, and Seduction of the Innocent) and for comic-book-related nonfiction, thanks to a shout-out in Grant Morrison's memoir, I want to read Alvin Schwartz' two insane-sounding autobiographies: 1) An Unlikely Prophet: A Metaphysical Memoir by the Legendary Writer of Superman and Batman and 2) A Gathering of Selves: The Spiritual Journey of the Legendary Writer of Superman and Batman, where he talks about Superman's status as a Buddhist tulpa--attaining reality solely by the act of imagination.
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Hi, Kevin! I'm sorry I missed this! I would have loved to put these in our polls. If you're still following the group, please add these to the next round of nominations.
Like A HeroI'm new to this group and have always loved comic books and superhero stories, so I wrote one of my own. I have ARCs of my forthcoming novel, Like A Hero, which releases October 18th. It's very much in a Batman vein, with some references to Captain America thrown in. I'd love to get some feedback, so feel free to DM me and I'll send you the ARC. Thanks so much.
Superheroes and Comic Book Club
Books mentioned in this topic
Like a Hero (other topics)Wearing the Cape: A Superhero Story (other topics)
Supergirl: Age of Atlantis: (other topics)
An Unlikely Prophet: A Metaphysical Memoir by the Legendary Writer of Superman and Batman (other topics)
Strip for Murder (other topics)
More...
Superhero Novel (Comic Book Superhero). Batman: Fear Itself, Spider-Man: The Venom Factor, Star Trek: The Next Generation: Planet X
Comic Book Novelization. A novelization of a comic book series. (Many of these may fit into the previous group, but this is more specific.)
Superhero Novel (Original superhero - not based on comics). Any superhero fiction not based on comic book superheroes. Nobody Gets the Girl, Phenomenal Girl 5
Comic-Book-Related Novel. Novels not about superheroes, but about comics books, comic creators, or the comic business. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, The Book of Lies
Short Story / Collection. There are a lot of short stories, and short story collections. Wild Cards, Third Class Superhero, The Further Adventures of The Joker
Nonfiction (Superhero Related). Let's expand our minds. Superman on the Couch: What Superheroes Really Tell Us about Ourselves and Our Society, Batman and Psychology: A Dark and Stormy Knight
Nonfiction (Comic Book Related). Books about comics. Chicks Dig Comics: A Celebration of Comic Books by the Women Who Love Them, The Ten-Cent Plague: The Great Comic-Book Scare and How it Changed America
Superhero / Comic Book Humor There are a lot of humorous books floating around. Not stuff that would fit under novels. How to be a Superhero, The Superhero Handbook
Juvenile / Children's Superhero Book. A book a month might be stretching it for this genre. But mixing it up a bit with a kid's book might make it a bit easier. The Astonishing Secret of Awesome Man, SuperHero ABC, The Accidental Hero
Graphic Novel. Regular comic books just to mix things up. Maybe these could be classics, or under-the-radar books. The Complete Persepolis, Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art, Powers, Vol. 1: Who Killed Retro Girl?